GENTLEMEN'S GUIDE TO LOVE & MURDER -- Previews- Page 4

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/27/13 at 9:06pm

After Eight I LOVE YOU!! Very well said!

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/27/13 at 9:12pm

^

Why, thank you Broadwaystar2.

You are a gentleman's gentleman.

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/27/13 at 9:53pm

^^ My pleasure!??

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 2:47am

You guys, you guys. Come on. I wasn't genuinely outraged that other people had a different opinion than I did. Obviously I was joking. A bit crassly, I give you, but still joking. I'm just stunned that people who have access to NY theatre and have, most likely, seen far many more shows than I have would enjoy this production. Apart from a few of the performances -- most especially Bryce Pinkham -- and the beautiful orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, I couldn't believe how insufferably dull and painfully unfunny this show was. And it's not that I'm not the audience for this type of show. I love farces and I love light murder mysteries -- Clue and Murder by Death, Agatha Christie adaptations, The 39 Steps, Jeeves & Wooster etc. Nearly everything about this show -- from the music, lyrics, book, direction and even some of the performances felt completely misguided and strangely tone deaf.

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 3:26am

Hoarse Tears I am not sure what show you saw. But as a frequent Broadway patron, I found the show EXCEPTIONAL. It's sad to say this but, this show is actually taking a chance by taking us back to the simplicity of Musical Theater. Back when you didn't need an excessive amount of lights and dancing to enhance the show. The score is amazing, the book is great, and the acting and singing by all are empecable. To be honest I I see it as a contender for Best Musical as early as it might be. Of all the shows that have opened so far, this one is certainly the best!

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 8:01am

"Obviously I was joking. A bit crassly"

You might try working on that.

Really, this show is not for the crass in mind or soul. Many others are, unfortunately!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 8:13am

I'm just that people who have access to NY theatre and have, most likely, seen far many more shows than I have would enjoy this production.

Yes, it is stunning, isn't it? You will find, if you ever grow out of your adolescence, that life is filled with similar stunning realizations, and not everyone believes what you believe they ought to.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 10:43am

'It's sad to say this but, this show is actually taking a chance by taking us back to the simplicity of Musical Theater."

Or some people prefer vanilla to chocolate, or vice versa. Or some people prefer strawberry. Or they don't like ice cream at all.

[Lavieboheme3090]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 11:12am

But I think we can all agree that those 2nd act hats are two of the most glorious things that we have seen so far this season.

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/28/13 at 7:16pm

The hats are GORGEOUS! I think the costuming of the leading ladies is empecable!

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 12:52pm

"P.S. From the comments of some of the pedantic (and longwinded) spoilsports here, it seems that some people are more concerned with dissecting a show for Broadway World than with actually enjoying what's going on on stage. It's sad, when you come to think of it."

Or maybe some people can remember a show enough to write an informative review (if we love it or hate it) rather than just spouting one sentence of hate speech.

[RaisedOnMusicals]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 5:24pm

Broradwaystar2, I am by no means the spelling police, nor the grammar police, so please accept this constructively for future use. The proper spelling is impeccable.

Trust me, I've made more than my share of both spelling and grammatical mistakes.

[dented146]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 10:10pm

Having seen the show in San Diego, I felt that most of you would enjoy it very much. I was a bit taken back by Michael Bennett's review because over the years I've developed a healthy respect for his opinion. Further more, much of his criticism was spot on stuff that I could see in retrospect.

But maybe with a light comedy such as this, searching for perfection in the structure or errors in the characters relationships is more than we need to do to enjoy the show. I'm not suggesting that those things couldn't be improved or should not have been addressed but can't something just be fun? To me it's akin to finding fault with a candy bar because it has no nutritional value.

[After Eight]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 11:19pm

"can't something just be fun? "

Dented, you raise a very good point here.

Yes, indeed, something can just be fun. The problem is, the pedantic and pretentious aren't at all interested in fun. They just want to nitpick and perorate at length about how something doesn't compare to a movie, a novel, etc. The same thing happened after the first preview of Women on the Verge.

What a bunch of wet blankets.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 12:03am

I was a bit taken back by Michael Bennett's review because over the years I've developed a healthy respect for his opinion.

Michael Bennett was disappointed because the muscial didn't follow "classic British farce structure."

But the source material was never a "farce" per se. Neither was Kind Hearts and Coronets, the Alec Guinness film which was also based on the original novel.

It's a black comedy, which is a far cry from farce. Black comedy is a British version of the French humour noir, which is a knowing and ironic humor found in situations that are otherwise taboo, usually death or illness or sex.

But black comedy is rarely farcical. And British and French farce rarely involve death.

Comparing farce and black comedy is like comparing poisoned apples to oranges.

Updated On: 10/30/13 at 12:03 AM

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 12:52am

Pal Joey, not to be misinterpreted, I wasn't disappointed because I wanted the show to take on a farcical structure or tone--in fact, I pointed out in my critique that the movie is in fact a dark dry comedy. I was disappointed because I felt like in their attempt to musicalize the material, the writers did not exhibit a consistant over all tone for the piece, and that more often than not, I do indeed see it falling into the territory of farce or "broad comedy" but as it were, undeveloped farce bordering on the hammy which isn't very satisfying or funny to me.

I would in fact greatly have preferred it if the show had been written as the true dark comedy because I think that would've made it completely unique as a musical and quite delicious.

I also have no doubt that this show had many charms that were more evidence in a small regional theater. Losing that intimacy is always something of the cost of doing the production on Broadway.

Updated On: 10/30/13 at 12:52 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 8:12am

MB, you point out one of my biggest hesitations about getting a ticket for GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE -- the possibility that an indecisive tone leaves it feeling like a dark comedy that’s a few shades too bright and/or a half-assed farce that’s just not farcey enough. Because, as PJ points out, dark comedy and farce are an ocean apart, and I’m wary of a production where the twain shall drift towards one another.

[pennydreadful]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 2:05pm

Mysteriousgrowl, make sure you get a discount ticket. I don't regret seeing it, but it wouldn't be my first or even fourth choice, if there are other shows you also want to check out while you're in town. I am the perfect audience for this show - an old maid librarian who mainlines BBC DVDs - and I started checking my watch during the first number. The actors did a great job with what they had to work with.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 2:23pm

penny, as a fellow an BBC mainliner (“Poldark”? Anyone? My favorite TV show of all time?), that’s great to know. I’d only go on a discounted ticket. To be honest, the reason I’m even considering it is because my trip is a 5-day binge with my mother, and I’m already subjecting her to three Shakespeares, Pinter, and Beckett. If it were just me, I’d throw MACBETH or GOOD PERSON into the mix, but having a musical seems smart to add variety and balance things out a bit.

It’s between this and AFTER MIDNIGHT, which seems to be the question of the month around here, and, having read all that's posted, I'm equally on the fence about both. I'd hate to see a mediocre musical just for the sake of seeing a musical when I know there are several other things really worth seeing.

Updated On: 10/30/13 at 02:23 PM

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 4:43pm

Favorite BroadwayWorld quote of 2013:

"What a bunch of wet blankets."- After Eight.

L. O. L.

[pennydreadful]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 5:22pm

Mysteriousgrowl, what about Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet? Are you seeing Julius Caesar at St. Ann's Warehouse? I'd see either of those before Gentleman's Guide. YES to Poldark!! Do you watch Orphan Black on BBC America?

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 7:21pm

I caught the matinee today and found it charming and quite fun. It's about 10 minutes too long. And sure, the score isn't terribly memorable. But it isn't a BAD score. It works for the show, and it works well. There are some quite nice moments especially in the second act. Sure, the exposition could be trimmed a great deal. But the cast is superb. The set is lovely. The staging is delightful.

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I hope they have a lot of success!

P.S. Lauren Worsham and Lisa O'Hare are REAL treats.

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 8:21am

penny, we’ve both seen NATASHA. (I’ve seen it three [soon-to-be-four] times…)

CAESAR will be closed by the time we visit, but with RICHARD, TWELFTH NIGHT, and Bedlam’s HAMLET already on the roster, I wouldn’t add another Shax, anyhow.

Eh, maybe we’ll do FUN HOME. I’ve seen it, but it might be interesting to give it another look.

I haven’t seen “Orphan Black,” but I’ll need another series soon, after I finish “Breaking Bad.” Should I add it to my Netflix queue?

[kyle4]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 4:02pm

i am not a FAN of ICE CREAM...

but i enjoy a DOVE BAR occasionally...

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 10/31/13 at 4:40pm

Completely off topic--but I love Poldark, so... Yes you should give Orphan Black a chance -- it may not be saying much to say it's the best Canadian tv show of all time (well maybe next to Slings and Arrows) but there you go. Not rally sure what it has to do with BBC though, except that in the US BBCAmerica carries it for whatever reason.