LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE reviews- Page 3

[tazber]

Posted: 11/23/14 at 10:09am

Bump!

I loved the La Jolla production. I loved the sets and thought they handled the van with great creativity and cleverness.

I also loved the score and the performances, particularly Hunter Foster and Malcolm Gets.

"In the Back of the Bus" (the flashback song),"Suffering", and "Don't Sugarcoat It" are as great as anything Bill Finn has ever written, imo.

It wasn't perfect, but I definitely had the "high" you get after seeing a really great show.

Does anyone know what changes they made for 2nd Stage that were so disastrous?

[StageDoor3]

Posted: 11/23/14 at 12:50pm

I saw the La Jolla production twice - once early in the run and one of the last performances. And I saw the production at 2nd Stage. I think the show had improved towards the end. The opening scene with Hunter Foster was gone, and the focus at the end was on the lessons the parents had learned pursuing Olive's dream. But it still had a lot of problems.

My memory of the show isn't that strong but here are my thoughts -

I don't think the New York production was "more disastrous" than the La Jolla production. The NY production was more focused and had a number of new songs. The set was a big road map that extended out onto the ceiling over the audience and video projections of the road and more. The 2nd Stage is smaller than La Jolla so you're dealing with two different scales, but I liked the 2nd Stage set better. Instead of a vehicle on stage, they just used chairs on wheels. I honestly think that worked better than in the La Jolla production. There was more opportunity for movement with the chairs.

With total respect for all the talent in the NY production, I feel the casting was better in the La Jolla production. Hunter Foster and Jennifer Laura Thompson were "quirkier" than Stephanie Block and Will Swenson. And I recall the conflict between the father and the mother became more heated during the road trip in the NY production than in the La Jolla production. That was stronger dramatically, but it didn't make me sympathize with them as a viewer. I liked that they added a Greek chorus of the other kids in the beauty pageant, but that device soon disappeared.

As for the music - I love William Finn. He writes wonderful songs for character and can turn a lyric like few lyricists. In my opinion he has written some of the most unique, haunting and effective songs in musical theatre. I can't recall all the songs for either production, but except for a couple of stand out numbers, I just don't think his music for either version was that strong.

And I think the basic problem with the musical is that the story which worked on film didn't work on stage. Lapine and Finn are wonderfully talented people, but I'm not sure this story could work on stage. The film is based more on characters than plot, and most of us know the film and the ending. The characters go from quirky scene to quirky scene, and we end up just waiting for the beauty pageant to happen. The humor didn't translate in either production. What seemed to be natural on film, seemed forced, almost arch and a little creepy on stage - the whole dead body business and the beauty pageant with young kids dressed and made up like adults right there on stage in front of us. I wanted the show to work every time I saw it, but it just felt flat.

I don't know where the show "stands" right now - if they're working on it or have left the project. But either way I look forward to everything that Lapine and Finn have in store for us in the future.



Updated On: 11/23/14 at 12:50 PM

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 11/23/14 at 1:25pm

"I don't think the New York production was "more disastrous" than the La Jolla production. The NY production was more focused and had a number of new songs."

Exactly. It wasn't a disaster at all, it was great, with wonderful performances by all the actors. The sold out audience loved it and they extended it due to ticket sales. It was successful.

Updated On: 11/23/14 at 01:25 PM

[tazber]

Posted: 11/23/14 at 1:41pm

I used "disastrous" because the NY reviews were so harsh.

I'm delighted to hear that the show was a success then at 2nd Stage.

William Finn can do no wrong by me. Even when his shows are flops to everyone else they are gold to me.

Was the bulimia song still in at 2nd Stage? It was sung by the adult Miss California at La Jolla. It was really extraneous though so I could see it being cut. It was hilarious.

[newintown]

Posted: 11/24/14 at 10:30am

I enjoyed the show during its comic moments, but found all the serious stuff to be maudlin and painfully drawn-out. And the rhythm of the show seemed stuck in a rut of "funny stuff-serious stuff-funny stuff-serious stuff" and on and on and on, what one might think was a good metaphor for the van that won't always go, but felt more (to me) like just a show that wanted to cover all tones, never successfully finding even one.