Just back from END OF THE RAINBOW- Page 6

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/1/12 at 7:39am

Everyone keeps saying its about Judy's decline. Maybe so. But hudy's decline was SAD. It wasn't funny. It was devastating. And here, this little man who wrote this little play seems to think her decline is funny. A comedy!

It doesn't get more tasteless than this. I lingered near members of the creative team last night during the encore and considered saying that they should be ashamed of themselves. But chickened out.

And to the poster who said the youngins will like it because it's like seeing Judy live? NOPE. Wrong. I'm 25 and I sat there getting angrier and angrier as the night went on.

[James2]

Posted: 4/1/12 at 11:07am

I got a rush ticket last night on a whim, and I couldn't believe what they gave me. I bought it a wee bit over 30 minutes before curtain, and they gave me Row L in the center Orchestra. An almost perfect view. Is this show being generous with its seats, or is it not selling that well?

Also, I can't say I disliked it as much as some of the comments here have, but I wouldn't tell anyone to run to see it.

[PETAL6]

Posted: 4/2/12 at 6:33pm

https://www.broadwayworld.com/videoembed.php?colid=364548

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/7/12 at 1:49pm

And as I predicted the reviews were divided.....


Not how I want to remember Garland. Not all that impressed with this show.
Not all that impressed with Bennett who admittedly does work hard.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 10:00am

From the little I've seen of Bennett, she's obviously very talented, but I have to agree that the wonderful Tommy Femia is a more compelling and truer Judy Garland.

[PETAL6]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 11:57am

This is where everyone is going wrong, Miss Bennett is not an impersonator,and has never claimed to be one. She is a characterization......

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 11:59am

Yes, that is the official party line and it has been repeated ad nauseum. Now, in your own words, can you describe the essential differences between what a performer doing a characterization and what an impersonator is attempting to do?

[Joey.]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:00pm

I saw the play on Saturday the 31st and was appalled as well. Left during intermission.

Tracie is quite an energetic performer, but the play itself is garbage. As so many here have expressed - vulgar drag show tabloid nonsense.

The nail in the coffin for me was the radio interview in the first act. And that was even before the "mange pills" scene.

If you really and truly love the woman and feel that her legacy is one of ultimate joy, humor, and CLASS in the face of so much sadness, do yourself a favor and skip this. End of story.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:20pm

"This is where everyone is going wrong, Miss Bennett is not an impersonator,and has never claimed to be one. She is a characterization......"

I agree, but while Femia is an impersonator he transcends it. And when I said that judging by what I've seen of Bennett, Femia is truer and more compelling, I met artistically truer not literally truer; literally in the sense of how an impersonation might be judged (although of course the latter is true as well, that was not my concern because, as you said, I don't expect Bennett to be offering an immpersonation but rather her interpretation).

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:24pm

I do think that even if Bennett is great in the part, the show itself has garnered such bad feelings and bad reviews that it will hurt her Tony chances. They won't be able to get this bad taste out of their mouths long enough to vote for her.

It's true that great performances have been honored from mediocre shows, but it's always a challenge to overlook the material.

But truly terrible, vile, disgusting, and abhorred shows? Not so much.

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:39pm

If one goes to the theater with spite and contempt for what they are about to see, they will pick out all the flaws they imagine and will be in a totally negative mood. Go with an open mind and be entertained. Those walking out at intermission miss the best half, it shows her problems/fears about going on stage, now that she's in her late 40s and no longer the youngster.
This is about the real Judy, the side of her that none of us/fans saw. It is not about how we saw her in public or the icon we adored. When someone is hooked on drugs too, they are unable to function rationally and that comes across too. I think none of you wish to admit that this is how Judy was. Some say they prefer the drag queen impersonators but Bennett says herself in one interview that she couldn't be as good as them. Consider also that this role is acting too, not just singing; no mean feat.
Quilter researched and met people that knew her and witnessed her manner/behaviour behind the 'scenes,' particularly when she appeared at the London Palladium and though you may not wish to believe it because you have the lovely/sweet image in your mind; that is not how she was in reality.....in her dressing room. She was very difficult to deal with, apparently.
She also had a great sense of humour which the script embraces.
I understand any production will be liked or not liked, but some criticism on here is venomous rather than constructive IMO
Don't we all behave differently in public than we do at home? I guess none of you swear/fart/belch/pick your nose or scratch your genitals when out and about.........or do you?

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 12:39 PM

[Reginald Tresilian]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:55pm

Hermajest, you're just going to have to accept that in the US at least, Garland is someone about whom people have very strong feelings. It isn't just a matter of being predisposed to like any old play on any old topic.

I'm really looking forward to seeing this obviously polarizing show.

You're obviously a big fan, but I'm curious to know if you see any flaws in it at all.

[goldenboy]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:55pm

I went to see End of the Rainbow with wonder, excitement and anticipation. I mean a play about Judy Garland..... how wonderful. I had heard such wonderful things about it from London, I didn't go with contempt or spite or malice. I went with an open mind. My open mind became bothered and bewildered. (to borrow a phrase)

I was just let down by the play, the performance and the mean spiritedness of the whole evening. I don't want to remember Judy that way. Judy may have had problems but she was a class act. Tommy Femia portrays her with love and class but still with a sense of humor and still with a sense of being knocked about. This play and its portrayal of Judy was tacky and malicious.

Yes Tracy Bennett is a hard working actress as Judy. She didn't capture Judy Garland for me.

Lest you think I am an awful curmudgeon there was one thing I loved about the show.... I loved the set.

So let's agree to disagree and not fault people for their opinions.




Updated On: 4/8/12 at 12:55 PM

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 12:58pm

^I find that when one goes to the theater expecting a disaster one is quite by dint of surprise disposed by to praise. And if one goes to the theater expecting a hyped masterwork one is by dint of disappointment disposed to rangling. One being "me" in this case.

Having come to this conclusion I tend to agree with you that an open mind, and managed expectations, is the best course.

Having said that I admit to a prejudice in this instance. i can't imagine a better or more award-worthy performance than Nina Arianda's in Venus in Fur. However, aware of this, I will endeavor to counter my prejudice and give Bennett every benefit of an open heart. Still, judging by what I've seen on youtube, I am not particularly impressed, but that is, of course, out of context. The next question is, with all the stuff to see this season, limited time and a limit to how many thousands of dollars I am going to spend going to the theater, do I really want to see this show?

But I digress...

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:07pm

Reginald
I loved the play and found it very funny/sad...as did the whole of London. The only flaw I could pick out was at one point it was a bit repetitive when she searches for drugs/drink etc but maybe the playwrite wished it to be like that. When a writer can make one both laugh and cry, he/she has done an extremely good job, end of.
I wonder too is it the difference between UK/USA humour??
In the dog scene, [I don't find that crude,] I found it so funny and it gave me a better insight to Judy's humour and how she'd react like that when drunk. I loved Judy more at that point if that's possible because of how funny she was, even in her dire straits of being penniless she still 'fooled' around.
Some of the lines were taken from the book 'Weep No More My Lady.' I don't know,but it maybe the script has been changed for NYC

Updated On: 4/9/12 at 01:07 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:23pm

Go with an open mind and be entertained.

hermajesty---see, if you're TELLING me to "be entertained," that's not keeping an open mind either. That's deciding in advance that I am going to be entertained regardless of the material. It's a command rather than an opinion.

And it's just as bad as saying "I don't like it" before I see it. It makes no sense to "be entertained" no matter what.

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:26pm

sorry best12bars, I didn't realise this forum was a writers' club or lessons on terminology. Not only is there criticism about the flaws in a production on here, there's criticism about the posts. Amazing......so friendly. I don't know of another forum like this one.

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 01:26 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:40pm

It's a discussion forum, not a one-sided conversation.

And aside from criticizing my post, you didn't address my point either.

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 01:40 PM

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:44pm

ok so the terminology should have been...'go with an open mind and hopefully you'll be entertained'.............is that good enough; now can you answer the several points I raised?

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 01:44 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:54pm

What points did you raise? You offered your opinion that this was the "real Judy" and you slammed other people for not giving it a chance.

But many people don't agree with the material, and they're turned off by this show.

Personally? NONE of us knows what the "real Judy" was like. Any opinion you get, including her own children's, will be filtered through what they saw and know, plus what they're willing to tell us, plus what they are accepting themselves and rationalizing as "the truth."

She was a complex woman with many sides and layers. Many bright spots and dark lows, but I can't tell you whether or not she ever barked like a dog or took a crap in her living room or dressed up like Hitler on Easter. I don't know. This play has decided that she was a certain way. There's no proof either way. So it's put out there as one possible "truth." That makes it open to a lot of scrutiny from audiences. They may love it, and they may hate it. But they are not required to appreciate it in advance. If that's galling to you, so be it.

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 1:59pm

Based on the reviews and opinions so far, I gather the play is poorly written regardless. It may depict her a certain way, but offers no real insight, no cohesiveness, and no perspective. It's just sensationalism without a point or purpose. That may be "entertainment" enough for some, but it wouldn't fly in my book, even if I could open my mind enough to embrace her darker side ... and even with a dedicated performance from its leading lady.

I don't mind a "dark" portrait of Judy Garland. But it's a play, so there needs to be some sort of point or insight, or don't bother. The same would be true for a "light and happy" play about Garland, too.

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:07pm

I have slammed no one nor been personal as posters have with me. As I explained, I am in the UK and have not got the funds to fly and see your many wonderful productions on Broadway. I am therefore 'stuck' with a West End transfer I have seen to comment on..i.e. this one.
I am only trying to defend a production that got rave reviews in the UK and was nominated for Olivier's. I am not getting at anyone nor their opinions. Each to their own but I still cannot get the venom of some posters.
Anyway...back to the topic...

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 02:07 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:21pm

I have slammed no one nor been personal as posters have with me.

Then this ...

Each to their own but I still cannot get the venom of some posters.

And this ....

Amazing......so friendly. I don't know of another forum like this one.

Not a slam?

[hermajesty]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:24pm

not personal though.

Its 'if the cap fits...'

Updated On: 4/8/12 at 02:24 PM

[best12bars]

Posted: 4/8/12 at 2:25pm

Oh, okay.