THIS AIN'T NO DISCO thread

[ColorTheHours048]

I’ve heard really good things about this, with the caveat being that it’s going to need every moment of its preview period to sort itself out.

[macnyc]

That's what I heard too. 

[HBBrock]

Mac....yes, the first preview was cancelled for a paying audience. But the final dress still happened.

I was supposed to be at the second preview tonight, but that has now become the first preview.

[cjmclaughlin10]

Bumping. Hopeing to hear some thoughts from the first preview which should be ending shortly

[GeorgeandDot]

I'm excited to hear about this. Does the Atlantic have a rush for this production?

[starcatchers]

GeorgeandDot said: "I'm excited to hear about this. Does the Atlantic have a rush for this production?"

I believe so? They’re usually really bad about publicizing it when they do. 

[cjmclaughlin10]

I have had excellent luck with the $20 student rush. Not positive about a general rush, but I think Hangman had SRO (I could be wrong)

[SDV]

I saw the workshop of this a year ago upstate and it was...problematic, to say the least. And as you might guess from my profile pic I’m inclined to like anything Trask does. I’m seeing the matinee tomorrow but curious to hear any thoughts from tonight.

[HBBrock]

I was there tonight. I personally really enjoyed it! The music was fantastic and the story was interesting. The cast was great.

It does need tightening and some cuts and got out at 10:30pm. Overall, it got a pretty lukewarm response from the first preview audience. I hope this will be really great in a couple weeks. There is a ton of potential here.

[BroadwayLuv2]

Saw this tonight and thought it was an unfocused mess. Didn’t care or feel connected to the characters or story. It needs A LOT of work. Many of the songs don’t further the story and some characters are altogether unnecessary. I can’t imagine this will be in good shape by opening. This would have been a better fit for NYMF where they could put more work in before bringing it off Broadway. It’s an abitious show but it did not deliver tonight.

[HBBrock]

.

[nychappy]

I was also there tonight and really liked it.  Granted, it needs a lot of work.  Minor tweaking/polishing but also larger work on the book.  The score and staging were great -- different from Hedwig but definitely I'm already thinking that I can't wait for a cast album one day.  First act needs to be tightened up.  Some cliched characters and unnecessary scenes. I think all the actors were great but Samantha Ware (who is usually great) did not sell me on her character (Sammy).  Not sure if it is the way the character is written or if Ware isn't the right actress for the role.  The first act of the show is flashy (like you expect from  Studio 54) but I enjoyed the second act much more.  More interesting songs and scenes.  So curious to see how this show will evolve.  It has such potential to be amazing, but it isn't there yet.

[FutureDirector]

I was there tonight as well. I'd consider it a train wreck of a piece of writing givn a first rate production. A real exercise in sh*t polishing. The design is spectacular, the staging is top notch, performances good (particularly the main girl and the guy who played the Worhol character), the score is interesting (maybe not top shelf Trask, but worth a second listen), but man what a disaster of a book and story. The characters never get past bland cliches, the moments carry little to no dramatic tension, and whenever issues of substance are dealt with they are skimmed in such a surface level level way it is almost offensive. Some individual scenes work, but nothing connects together to build anything even resembling a coherent piece of storytelling. I could keep ripping the writing but it's honestly not worth getting into the specifics the narrative is so far from saving. I was shocked that I could be as board as I was watching that flashy of a musical.

[cjmclaughlin10]

My back25 seat is front row and all the way to this side... great view of a poll. You get what you pay for I guess

I had a great Back25 for Hangmen, The Bandss Visit and The Homecoming Queen... Still greatful they offer the program

[HeatherIlana]

I have a ticket for tonight’s show that I cannot use. Bought it for $81 but is negotiable. 

[HBBrock]

There are some very severely obstructed seats for this show.

We were row J 2 and 3. Perfect seats.

[CT2NYC]

HBBrock said: "There are some very severely obstructed seats for this show.

We were row J 2 and 3. Perfect seats."

Which seats looked obstructed?

[HBBrock]

The first two rows extreme sides the last seat or two on the aisle will be entirely obstructed.

[RippedMan]

Hot mess express. Saw this tonight and loved the design and score, but oof if the story isn’t just awful. The first 3 songs happen and there’s not an inkling to what the show will be about or who the main characters are. Everyone was in great voice, and Stockman was the standout acting wise, but everyone else felt bland and safe considering the whole time they’re talking about punk and going against the man. Yet it all feels so safe and clean and boring. There were some interesting touches here and there, but I don’t know that the director knew what story they were telling. “The Artist” (aka an Andy Warhol character) has the 11 o’clock number - even though we know nothing about him - and there’s a cool projection of a disco ball falling and shattering to pieces. It’s gorgeous, but it doesn’t time out with any emotional moment or any big swell in the song. It just kind of happens.

The story is a downright fire. I can’t think of anyway for them to fix the story in the time they have. The two main characters are so bland and boring and the boy is so dead behind the eyes. Only Kennedy really made an impression as an actress, but her character also served no purpose. It felt like it was saying so much and yet amounted to nothing.

That said, I’d like to hear the songs again. Especially Sammy’s Act 1 solo.

[mariel9]

Honestly, I don't think this is fixable. They'd have to strip it down for parts and start from the beginning. And to do that, the creators would have to admit it needs to change. According to friends I went with, nothing has changed since the staged reading a year ago. The book is as bad as everyone says. It's unclear that the two main characters are the main characters until significantly into Act 1. They share their deepest secrets and become besties in one evening at the Museum of Natural History. Both protagonists need 2-3 fewer bad things in their lives. It doesn't increase the drama for a single character to have 4 movie-of-the-week problems. There are a ton of other characters who range from paper thin to unnecessary. It's unclear what the show is about--Fame? Art? Chosen family?

But I was most disappointed in the songs. They lyrics are obvious and literal and with lots of basic rhyming couplets. (There is also dialogue that is rhyming couplets, which, wtf, why. Why are they rhyming.) It's hard to believe this is the man who wrote Hedwig.

I really liked the cast. They're doing their best, bless their hearts.

Some of the most inexplicable things under the spoiler tag:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The Artist (Andy Warhol) is a caricature throughout--mannered observer dropping deadpan bon mots. There is no indication he has an interior life until the big 11 o'clock number. There is no reason why he sings this song. There is no introduction or transition of any kind.

Sammy (our female protagonist) goes to Studio 54, which she hates, because it is on the way home from her job and Forest Hills.

Sammy is a punk. Because she wears a hat? When she is first asked to sing, she does some kind of beat poetry, not punk. When she finally does sing, it's pop. There is not a single punk thing about her except, I guess, that she is from Forest Hills, where the Ramones are also from (this is actually stated in the show).

Chad's emergency contact is . . . Studio 54? His dad dies and Steve Rubell, who doesn't know who he is, gives him the message? Then sings a come-on song about sitting on daddy's lap?

There is a trans character whose entire storyline is basically: "I'm a guy." "OK, *sings* I didn't fall in love with you for your chromosomes." Then they kiss behind a hat because we can't see two queer characters kiss?

After two scenes in Act 1 where Steve Rubell refuses entrance to Studio 54 because the people aren't attractive/cool enough (including our punk Hat Girl), there is a scene in Act 2 where the velvet rope supplicants are wearing t-shirts that say "too ugly to get in" on the back and letters on the front that spell "Let Us In" on the front. LITERALLY spelling out something that is too obvious to miss.

When Sammy gets her big debut, we first get an entire song from a character we've never been introduced to, played by a member of the chorus. Is this supposed to be a new character? Is this a Studio 54 denizen who has also been plucked from obscurity by the Artist for fame? Who knows?

After the chorus girl sings her song, The Artist introduces a German avant garde electronic artist (Trask) who plays a long electronic song while the Artist dances avant gardely. At one point he lies down on a stool and spins around. At two points, he freezes and holds the pose for . . . 30 seconds? A minute? An eternity? It's interminable and excruciating.

There is a scene at the Artist's factory where his hangers on are wearing the leftover raincoats from American Psycho and garbage bags.

Binky, the publicist/manager(?) has a big number near the end of Act 2 where she sings, "It's me you can't forget/not one single regret/I need a cigarette/oh look a clarinet" and the waitress walks by with a clarinet on a tray which Binky picks up and plays two notes on while also smoking a cigarette, WHY.

Chad's big art debut is a bust when the big neon Rake sign changes to Fake. Is this sabotage? An accident? An artistic critique from the universe? Who knows, but after a lot of exaggerated laughter from the chorus, he runs out in despair and starts turning tricks again. On the road.

DA to his assistant "Tonight I wanna be on your staff" *endless blowjob*

 

[uncageg]

Here's hoping that maybe they have not changed much since the reading and decided to just throw everything against the wall, so to speak, in a full production and see what works and start making changes.

Seeing it next weekend.

[RippedMan]

What really annoyed me was when The Artist asked Sammy to sing, and she does beat poetry. And then he says he's going to make her a famous singer. But, like, she didn't sing so how does he know she can sing? Plot holes everywhere. They really need to find a better opening number, there's one in there somewhere where they introduce everyone and set up some sort of plot.

[LightsOut90]

this was a real mess.

several good songs dont save a show thats derivative of half a dozen other show (American Psycho, Next To Normal, Spring Awakening) its also way too big and busy for such a small space, idk what Chillena Kennedys character is (except a weird Joan Rivers knock off)

The girl that's Sammy has a killer voice but to be honest id much rather watch a super campy show about Steve Rubell and the rise and fall of 54 and cut everything else.

 

[LizzieCurry]

Pretty much agree with BroadwayLuv2. The cast is pretty great (I hadn't seen Samantha Ware since she was Nabulungi), but so many scenes had me wondering why they were happening at all, and why I should care about what was happening and who was doing what. The score is pleasant, but not memorable. The costumes look like a 2018 guess at what the '70s looked like (the '80s costumes seemed much more accurate).

[Lot666]

LightsOut90 said: "id much rather watch a super campy show about Steve Rubell and the rise and fall of 54 and cut everything else."

I'd love to see that!