FIRST DATE - Previews
FIRST DATE - Previews
jacobsnchz14
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/13/06
#1FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 12:57am
"Smash" and The Addams Family actress Krysta Rodriguez is set up with "Chuck" star Zachary Levi on a First Date in the new Broadway musical comedy that begins performances July 9 at the Longacre Theatre.
The work, which received a Seattle premiere co-produced by A.C.T. and the 5th Avenue Theatre, features a book by Austin Winsberg ("Gossip Girl"), with music and lyrics by Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner (Secondhand Lions, Twice Charmed), who began writing songs together in high school.
Will anyone be there? I'm sure Whizzer will be...
#2FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:01amBlech. I've only heard awful things about this show. If it's even slightly successful, good for them.
#2FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:07amIt seems unlikely that the ONE person in the audience will come on here and tell us about it.
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
#3FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:13am
Yeah, I don't remember a more "dead-on-arrival" word of mouth in a long time... Even SCANDALOUS seemed to have more going for it than this...
I haven't seen it, so not giving an opinion... Just seems in the dead of summer, to open a show such as this, and not really do much marketing beyond some signs on taxis, and have this word of mouth..... In the old days I'd say it'll close in previews, but everything opens these days, so I give it 3-4 weeks beyond opening.
#4FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:14am
Look for the Tupac show to take the Longacre in late 2013 or early 2014
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#5FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:19amAs a Zac Levi fan, I am really excited for this one. I wish them well!
blisseau
Swing Joined: 5/2/12
#6FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 2:07am
...I'll be there. I'm fully prepared for it to be horrible, but I secretly hope it's surprisingly decent. But it will probably be horrible.
My main reason for seeing the show is the cast. So it's got that going for it, at least.
#7FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:34am
I will be there.
I loved all but the last three episodes of Chuck and am excited to see Zachary Levi on stage. His small screen co-star already set the bar pretty high with her Broadway debut last season, although she obviously had some pretty amazing material to work with. I hope the easy charm and goofball humor that he excelled at on TV will be on display at the Longacre this evening.
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
#8FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:37amIt does put off a preliminary odor of Glory Days, doesn't it? Which I hope, for their sakes, is illusory...
#9FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:52am
I'm probably gonna go sometime this week, I'm kind of quietly optimistic about the show itself. I do think the concept can be a rich one to work with, but it all depends on execution. My friend in Seattle said she'd heard good things about the run out there, but she hadn't seen it herself.
As for the business end, I don't see many ways this becomes a hit at all, but I also personally don't think it'll be as D.O.A. as SOUL DOCTOR. But that's not a stance I'm likely to defend with anything remotely approaching vigor.
Words don't deserve that kind of malarkey. They're innocent, neutral, precise, standing for this, describing that, meaning the other, so if you look after them you can build bridges across incomprehension and chaos. But when they get their corners knocked off, they're no good anymore…I don't think writers are sacred, but words are. They deserve respect. If you get the right ones in the right order, you can nudge the world a little.
Updated On: 7/9/13 at 08:52 AM
#10FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:52am
"His small screen co-star already set the bar pretty high with her Broadway debut last season.."
I'm racking my brain trying to think who..?
willep
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/08
#11FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:55amYvonne Strahovski. She was in "Golden Boy" last season.
#12FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 8:58amStrahovski was a revelation in Golden Boy; it was my favorite show last season. I've only seen clips thus far of First Date, but Golden Boy it ain't!
Marie: Don't be in such a hurry about that pretty little chippy in Frisco.
Tony: Eh, she's a no chip!
dramamama611
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/4/07
#13FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 9:51am
Let's not forget that people said the same things about the possibility of success for:
N2N
Once
Pippin
Peter & the Starcatcher
Rock of Ages
And who knows what other shows.
That being said, it sounds like a dud, but perhaps we will be surprised. We can hope.
If we're not having fun, then why are we doing it?
These are DISCUSSION boards, not mutual admiration boards. Discussion only occurs when we are willing to hear what others are thinking, regardless of whether it is alignment to our own thoughts.
#14FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 10:00amEven if people said the same things about those shows (which I don't recall) the factors weren't the same. This one is DOA with its opening date, increased competition during an already successful season and Off-Broadway premise at Broadway prices.
"Pardon my prior Mcfee slip. I know how to spell her name. I just don't know how to type it." -Talulah
#15FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 10:02am
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
#16FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 10:03am
I saw the show out in Seattle and really enjoyed it. I also saw the recent reading they did and the changes they made were very smart.
I'm very excited for it. Sometimes Broadway needs something light and fun! Everyone thought XANADU was going to be a dud because who would ever think a stage musical of XANADU would be a good idea.
#17FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 10:03amLets not forget the starry Broadway premiere of THE MOTHERF*CKER WOTH THE HAT, that almost capsized in previews until Oprah's blessing
Check out my eBay page for sales on Playbills!!
www.ebay.com/usr/missvirginiahamm
#18FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 10:03am
Good to also point out that people said the same things about the possibility of success for:
Hands On A Hardbody
Chaplin
Bring It On
Lysistrata Jones
Scandalous
Leap of Faith
Ghost
On A Clear Day you Can See Harry Connick
Bonnie and Clyde
Wonderland
Jeckyl & Hyde
The People In The Picture
Baby It's You
Catch Me If You Can
Women On The Verge of Closing Early
Bloody Bloody Early Closing Notice
Come Fly Away
9 to 5
The Story of My Life
13
A Tale of Two Cities
And so many more...
jawjuhh
Stand-by Joined: 5/29/11
#19FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:18pmI just bought a rush ticket for this (it also seems you can buy more than one) so I will be seeing it tonight! I've been in the mood for a light and fun show so I'm pretty optimistic about this.
#20FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 1:21pm
Lets not forget the starry Broadway premiere of THE MOTHERF*CKER WOTH THE HAT, that almost capsized in previews until Oprah's blessing
More like Ben Brantley's rave, followed by about a dozen articles in the Times promoting the show. (It was also one of those rare instances where a show used the preview period to make necessary changes and actually got better.)
"You travel alone because other people are only there to remind you how much that hook hurts that we all bit down on. Wait for that one day we can bite free and get back out there in space where we belong, sail back over water, over skies, into space, the hook finally out of our mouths and we wander back out there in space spawning to other planets never to return hurrah to earth and we'll look back and can't even see these lives here anymore. Only the taste of blood to remind us we ever existed. The earth is small. We're gone. We're dead. We're safe."
-John Guare, Landscape of the Body
iluvtheatertrash
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/9/04
#21FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 2:13pmFYI - I nabbed two rush seats at 1:00 this afternoon in Orchestra, Row P. Box Office attendant had said he'd sold a lot, and had more to sell. So get thee to the theater!
"I know now that theatre saved my life." - Susan Stroman
FlowerChild67
Stand-by Joined: 7/11/12
#22FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 2:46pmI'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it's going to close early. The one song that's up on YouTube I love (Safer), and I adore Krysta Rodriguez and Zachary Levi. But I'm pretty sure it's going to be a flop. For one thing, it's opening during the summer. Why, oh, why would they do that, unless they're hoping that it will become a tourist show. And I'm pretty sure that's not what they're going for. Who knows, though?
#23FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 3:11pm
Wondering why the idea of a summer opening seems to equate a flop, I looked at past summer openers:
Anna Karenina, Aug 26, 1992 – 46 perf
Camelot (revival), Jun 21, 1993 – 56 perf
She Loves Me (revival), Jun 10, 1993 – 354 perf
Chronicle of a Death Foretold, Jun 15, 1995 – 37
1776, (revival), Aug 14, 1997 – 333 perf
An Evening with Jerry Herman, Jul 28, 1998 – 28 perf
Kat and the Kings, Aug 19, 1999 – 157 perf
Hairspray, Aug 15, 2002 – 2642 perf
The Boys from Syracuse (revival), Aug 18, 2002 – 73 perf
Avenue Q, Jul 31, 2003 – 2534 perf
Big River (revival), Jul 24, 2003 – 67 perf
Dracula, the Musical, Aug 19, 2004 – 157 perf
The Frogs, Jul 22, 2004 – 92 perf
Lennon, Aug 14, 2005 – 49 perf
Kiki & Herb: Alive on Broadway (limited run, yes?), Aug 15, 2006 - 27 perf
Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me, Aug 17, 2006 – 165 perf
Grease, Aug 19, 2007 – 554 perf
Xanadu, Jul 10, 2007 – 512 perf
[title of show] , Jul 17, 2008 – 102 perf
Hair (return of a revival), Jul 13, 2011 – 67 perf
Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark (running for 7? 8? Months), Jun 14, 2011 – 859 perf
Bring It On The Musical, Aug 1, 2012 - 171 perf
Fela! (return engagement), Jul 12, 2012 – 28 perf
Two-three genuine hits in there (in the past 21 years, out of 23 shows), at least 13 real flops, and a few in between.
Like any time in the year, it's a risky business, but maybe more so in summer.
KirbyCat
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/23/08
#24FIRST DATE - Previews
Posted: 7/9/13 at 3:37pm
So, rush tickets are sold based on availability?
I'm looking to go tomorrow morning.
