The Beast in the Jungle at Vineyard

[HBBrock]

Posted: 4/1/18 at 9:30pm

https://www.vineyardtheatre.org/the-beast-in-the-jungle/

What’s the word? We go to the second preview, and it’s one of my most anticipated shows of the Spring.

Do you all have a good or bad feeling about this one? I’m aware that it’s a world premiere, and nobody really knows.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 4/30/18 at 4:37pm

Previews begin this Friday.

[Relevance81491]

Posted: 4/30/18 at 8:31pm

 I don't see it until the end of the month, and my expectations (bassed on the level of talent involved) are sky high.  For those lucky enough to catch it early, Should I read the short story before or after seeing the production?

[Relevance81491]

Posted: 5/4/18 at 11:26pm

bumping now that previews started

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/6/18 at 11:35am

Saw the 2nd preview last night and thought it was absolutely beautiful. This is Stroman’s best work in years.

It’s not a musical, per se. It has the feel of a musical, but they don’t sing. There are scenes of spoken dialogue, and there are dance sequences. On the poster they call it a “dance play.” Kander has written original incidental music, but it’s far from a background element. It’s played live by an orchestra, and it permeates everything in the show. And the dancing is obviously phenomenal. There are also puppetry elements, which was very beautifully done.

I had mixed feelings about the story. It’s essentially about a man looking back on his one lost chance at love, and how he always screwed it up because of his own fear and insecurities. It’s not groundbreaking or original, but it’s filled with tender emotion. At first I was irritated because the protagonist was so obviously objectifying the women in his life, and his primary conflict seemed to just be his own damn fault. However, by the end I was no longer irritated by that fact - and that’s all I’ll say.

Definitely some tweaking and tightening left to do - particularly in the last 15 minutes of the show, which aren’t bad, but you can tell they are trying some different things out that will probably get trimmed through previews.

The 3 leads (Peter Friedman, Tony Yazbeck and Irina Dvorovenko) are all excellent.

The listed running time was 1h45m, but it ran 2 hours with no intermission last night.

I think this could make a lovely and welcome addition to this coming Broadway season, personally. I don’t know whether it will be considered a play or a musical, but either way I imagine it would be a serious contender.

Updated On: 5/6/18 at 11:35 AM

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/6/18 at 12:14pm

I'm very curious about this. I thought The Landing cast album was fascinating. Especially the third title piece. I'm loving Kander's recent work. And Stroman had success with Contact, another "dance play" I also enjoyed. I think I would like this.

[stlrod]

Posted: 5/6/18 at 12:55pm

Found a code for $20 off regular priced seats for anyone interested.  Fine print said only good until opening but worked for May 26 just fine (one of the few dates with regular priced seats.)   It is BIJTME.

[HBBrock]

Posted: 5/6/18 at 1:55pm

Saw this last night and really loved it. It’s significantly better than much of the schlock that has landed on Broadway recently.....Rocktopia, Home for the Holidays, Prince of Broadway, Summer, Frozen, Margaritaville....this blows all of them away.

The whole production was executed so beautifully and the cast was fantastic.

I would love to see this transfer. 

 

[Browneyes142]

Posted: 5/15/18 at 9:23pm

as soon as I saw all the names involved, I was excited to see it. I was completely blown away though. The dancing was effortless and beautiful, but it was Tony Yazbeck's dramatic work that truly blew me away. Yes there are things that could be tightened up but I was very impressed.
FYI, today tix has digital Rush tickets. That is how I saw it, it was either 25 or $30. Worth every penny.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 1:57pm

Just extended: https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/THE-BEAST-IN-THE-JUNGLE-Extends-Through-June-24-20180529

Happy for them! 

Though unfortunately it seems like this hasn't gotten the buzz I was expecting. The reviews were very mixed, and so is the word of mouth (from my perspective at least). Sad to see it isn't taking off, because I thought it was absolutely beautiful. 

Updated On: 5/29/18 at 01:57 PM

[Jay Williams]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 3:08pm

Stro is a lovely and talented and generous woman!     Hope this can get legs to move to Bway.  Have you ever auditioned for her?    She makes you feel amazing!    And her smile is delicious.

[little_sally]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 3:11pm

Saw this over the weekend. Tony Yazbeck is terrific.

[Susanswerphone]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 10:48pm

Beautiful production of a rather ho-hum story, though I do agree that this deserves to transfer, or have an extended run. I loved the puppetry, music and dance. And I have developed a new appreciation for the artistry of Mr. Yazbeck. I couldn’t take my eyes off of him the entire evening.

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 11:05pm

Loved this, and I am so glad it extended so more people can see this.  Gorgeous!

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 5/29/18 at 11:29pm

For those who have seen it, is the music so unconventional that we likely won’t get an album or do you think it could work as a cast album? There are no actual sung songs, correct?

[JBroadway]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 10:35am

CATSNYrevival said: "For those who have seen it, is the music so unconventional that we likely won’t get an album or do you think it could work as a cast album? There are no actual sung songs, correct?"

 

It's possible they could make an album of the music, especially with Kander's name attached to it. But yeah, there is no singing in the show whatsoever. So it likely wouldn't be a "cast" album, per se, because they cast wouldn't be involved. 

Is there any precedent for a Broadway show recording and releasing its incidental music? I know they do that in England a lot, but I can't think of any American shows that have done it. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 5/30/18 at 6:46pm

That Time Out Review is rough. 

[AntV]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 3:22pm

Are they filming this? Look at this seating chart for Thursday:

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pesptpm/10295095/1037525

Looks like empty spots for three cameras.

[Browneyes142]

Posted: 6/19/18 at 4:49pm

AntV said: "Are they filming this? Look at this seating chart for Thursday:

https://web.ovationtix.com/trs/pesptpm/10295095/1037525

Looks like empty spots for three cameras."

You know, I'm sure if they are, it's just to archive it but that would be the perfect for a Fathom Event. I don't think it would probably have the name recognition, at least by title to pull it off but that would be really cool .

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 6/21/18 at 7:57pm

JBroadway said: "I had mixed feelings about the story. It’s essentially about a man looking back on his one lost chance at love, and how he always screwed it up because of his own fear and insecurities. It’s not groundbreaking or original, but it’s filled with tender emotion. At first I was irritated because the protagonist was so obviously objectifying the women in his life, and his primary conflict seemed to just be his own damn fault. However, by the end I was no longer irritated by that fact - and that’s all I’ll say.



I thought I would be irritated by the main character being a bit of a womanizer but they keep things so chaste and playful it doesn't really come across badly. And while he seems taken with May for superficial reasons, I feel like she ends up being the more interesting character. She's not a manic pixie or just a muse. She mentions some difficulties after he left (purposely being vague) and she did spend a lot of her life loving him but she still had a life. She had a husband and she was able to create. Whereas he's an art dealer whose only purpose in obtaining art is to sell it. She's all about permanence and he's all about avoiding it.

I think my issue was that it was a very simple story. I enjoyed my time in the theater but they didn't really need two hours and in hindsight there was a lot of (entertaining) filler. It seemed like a weak structure on which to hang some fantastic dancing. I wish they had gone really basic in a fairytale/archetype/fable sort of way or expanded the story so it had more depth. I mean, to me the main character's conflict is pretty familiar if you've read a couple of romance novels so it seemed pedestrian and (intentionally for those books) easily surmountable.

I think it works because of the talent on stage. I kind of want to see it again before it closes but while I would enjoy seeing the choreography, I know the story is not going to wear well upon a second viewing.

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 8/21/18 at 10:45pm

Looks like there will be an album of the score.

https://www.broadwayrecords.com/cds/the-beast-in-the-jungle-original-score-recording

[EllieRose2]

Posted: 8/21/18 at 11:14pm

Such a thrilling, gorgeous show.  I loved the music in it so this was an unexpected, great surprise.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/21/18 at 11:21pm

I know it's highly unlikely at this point with the tepid reviews, but my god I wish this would transfer. 

[Fan123]

Posted: 12/18/18 at 4:53am

Interestingly, there's an (as far as I know) completely unrelated dance-based film adaptation of the novella premiering in the Netherlands soon, with music by Jeannot Sanavia. Trailer available in this article:

https://variety.com/2018/film/global/trailer-rotterdam-festival-beast-in-the-jungle-1203048287/amp/