Ahh congrats! I would have gone in person if I could have gotten out of work, haha.
LOL that’s exactly why I went today. I’ve been avoiding the other drawings just cause I’m a good 40+ minutes away from Manhattan but I had the day off today and I figured other people would be in work/school so I went down. It was still PACKED downtown, though I’m sure not as packed as the lotteries over the weekend were. They have out an insane amount of tickets though- they called numbers for forty-five minutes straight, and it seemed like about 1/3rd of the crowd won tickets.
As for the show itself... I liked it! I’ll echo what someone said before: it seems like a really large, elaborate high school production, which is in NO away an insult. All the principal equity players are great and a lot of the featured ensemble members were pretty fantastic, too. I can definitely see this becoming a high-school staple and I’m sure they already have a JR version in the works somewhere.
That said... not a huge fan of the book. Got a couple audible groans from me sometimes (which admittedly added to my enjoyment). Roger Bart makes a weird reference to the movie Clue at some point? Which is very bizarre? And Hercules gets a boner? Besides the jokes the structure of it was extremely poor too, and a lot of things just seemed to be glossed over (Megs death, the climax of the show encompasses about five lines and a bit of movement here).
I’m extremely glad I saw it though. I couldn’t stop smiling the whole time.
^And I barely remember Hercules singing "Wait for Me" to Meg. Where was that?
Also, something I just remembered. Freaky Friday didn't even get Pre-Broadway tryouts and it still got a cast album. If Freaky Friday, a show made for licensing got one, so could Hercules, a Off-Broadway musical.
My husband won the digital lotto last night, so I attended with him. I thought it was such a wonderful night of theatre. There was a feeling of community both in the audience and on the stage, very true to the Public Works mission. (And at the very least, Disney would be foolish not to license the show, even as is.)
Tonight's lotto looked pretty full, but it was my first time. The person I paired with said Saturday was pretty much the same. BUT they did have a ton of tickets. I won at about 8:15 and there was only about 30 people left. Maybe everyone won eventually? Did miss the opening number of the show though. And more people were seated after the second number.
I won the in person lotto last night, at around 8:10, thankfully there were still some announcements and acknowledgments being made, so I saw the whole thing. Sat center, row L. I almost left at 8, so my recommendation is definitely don't lose hope at 8PM, they had runners coming down the hill with tickets at 8:05!
Overall, it had some weak points, but I very much enjoyed it. Roger Bart is an absolute treasure, and the voices on the Muses blew my hair back.
I just got out. Electric performance, the audience was loving it.
As other posters have said the big group numbers: Zero to Hero, Great Bolts of Thunder and A Star is Born are jaw dropping. The energy coming from the stage is palpable. I thought Jelani was great and his big emotional scene was incredibly moving. Phil’s reprise of One Last Hope/Go the Distance was the new highlight for me. I thought it was a super beautiful moment for James (who is excellently cast). I loved Roger as Hades although I wasn’t into his costume and felt like the placement of his song felt jarring. Liked Krysta a lot and her new moments. The Muses stole the show tho. They’re just stunning, I wanted more.
The book left some to be desired for me. They actually condense the book moments quite a bit and I’m not sure if that was in service of the plot. Things felt rushed at times. Also, I found the thought that they don’t show Meg’s death to be a mistake.
Also I know they wanted to show off the puppets but I felt dramatically they didn’t build the tension.
i would be very surprised to not see this pop up again in some shape or form....you don’t spend two years working on something like this to run a week...
I saw this on Friday, my fourth time trying the in-person lottery. I absolutely loved it, what a special night. My favorite part was sitting in front of whole family who's mom/sister/aunt had a small speaking role. They were SO EXCITED and yelled "That's my mom!" at one point. That really drove home to me what the Public is all about.
I do think that this production works so well because it is made for the Public Theatre with a Public Theatre audience. I could see it being licensed for regional productions, but a lot of the jokes and references wouldn't work for a different crowd.
I was at closing night last night. What a special show! Jelani Alladin was crying through most of the scene where he decides to stay on Earth. I really hope this show has a solid future in some form, even if it's not Broadway.
There was a little girl in front of me who couldn't have been older than 3. She was so into it that she barely said anything to her parents (except when she wanted a snack) and she would wave her arms when the muses waved their arms. Then she would wave her arms with the community chorus in the finale. So cute!
"This thread reads like a series of White House memos." — Mister Matt
I was at the final performance last night and it was truly a magical evening of theater. The sense of community (on stage and off) was palpable and beautiful. The performances across the board, from the leads - Jelani was perfect and incredibly moving - to the community ensemble members, were fantastic. The puppetry was delightful. Everything about this was moving and wonderful. If it transfers in some capacity it will never capture the same feeling of this Public Works production, but I still think it should. The adjustments they've made to the narrative are strong and the ideas about what it truly means to be a hero and the feeling of justice and community resonated strongly. We'll see what happens, but regardless I'll lever forget this night.
joined:8/13/19
joined:
8/13/19
Posted: 9/4/19 at 5:52pm