Smokey Joe's Cafe

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 10:40am

Has anyone seen it? I did a quick search but didn't see any reviews for it here... trying to decide if it's worth it. I know it's just a jukebox musical and am certainly not expecting anything profound... but I really loved the performances in the original, and would be very happy to see some equally killer singing in this one. 

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 10:56am

I’d watch the preview videos of the cast first if I were you. I love the original Smokey Joe’s but this looks like a 90 minute riff fest based on the videos I’ve seen. They’ve shortened it and given the cast the sheet music as a mere suggestion.

[bwayjulia]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 12:49pm

I saw it this weekend and ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT.  Everything about it seemed new and fresh. The cast is as talented a cast as they could have possibly put together -- and I saw the original several times and also loved that cast but I am going to say these performers are better. Standouts for me were the quartet, particularly Dwayne Cooper and Kyle Parker (who does a lot of riffing but I thought it was fantastic and suited to the music and vision of the show) and Alysha Umphress who is always fabulous in anything she does.

I liked the 90 minute length - a lot of what I considered filler songs were cut leaving a leaner, more impactful show.  The set by Beowulf Borritt is wonderful and even though there isn't a book or storyline to follow, the location allows for individual "stories" to emerge.  The performers have clearly done a lot of work in character development even with a bookless show.

I highly recommend it.  We had rush tickets for $30 and were in the front row. Was it The Band's Visit, with its beauty and themes and social relevance?  No, but it was basically a Broadway level production that was PURE JOY and a delightful theater outing.  And you can't really top this music - when put together like this you realize what geniuses Leiber and Stoller were. 

Oh, and I had never been to Stage 42 before and was very impressed with how nice the theater was.  You wouldn't be able to tell that there was a real, full size newish theater in there.

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:38pm

Great, thank you! I love every song in the original, so I'm sure I'll enjoy this. I have a discount code for the side sections, anywhere from 2nd row and back. Is there a benefit to sitting orchestra right or left?

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:45pm

Glad to hear people are enjoying it. Never saw the originally but the video clips of this production seemed so amateurish, that it turned me off. I’ll try to keep an open mind going forward.

[QueenAlice]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 3:48pm

I always liked the show and wish it well. I wonder how its selling - that theatre has always been tough to fill...

[TheSassySam]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 4:03pm

How's Dwayne Cooper? 

 

I loved him on Drag Race! He was on Season 4 as Milan.

[bwayjulia]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 4:52pm

JudyDenmark, I think any seat is probably great.  I didn't see any staging in the pockets upstage so I'd say anywhere is fine.

 

SassySam: OMG. I just realized he was MILAN!!!!  He was a standout. Amazing voice and what a comedic actor - talk about triple threat (quadruple if you count drag, haha)!  I hope he gets recognized come awards time.

[Emmaloucbway]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 8:05pm

Is the rush digital or in-person?

[uncageg]

Posted: 7/9/18 at 9:17pm

Rush is in person. Lottery is digital.

[Jonathan Cohen]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 8:44am

TheSassySam said: "How's Dwayne Cooper?



I loved him on Drag Race! He was on Season 4 as Milan."

He patted me on the head when I saw it (instead of high fiving me, because my hands were full). I thought Dwayne had the best, at least most unique voice. 

Overall, I thought the show was a really fun experience. I never saw the original version, but I appreciated how instead of having a forced, half hearted attempt at a story; they skipped it and just focused on the music. It felt a little long to me, even if they cut some stuff from the original it's still 40 straight songs; but what they did with Jailhouse Rock, Yakety Yak/Charlie Brown, and Love Potion #9 were particular standouts.   

I'm not sure if this a product of who they cast, most of the songs being originally written and arranged for men, or some personal bias on my part I'm not conscious of; but on the whole I was more impressed with the male singers than female singers in the show.  

 

 

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 7/10/18 at 1:56pm

Jonathan Cohen said: "I'm not sure if this a product of who they cast, most of the songs being originally written and arranged for men, or some personal bias on my part I'm not conscious of; but on the whole I was more impressed with the male singers than female singers in the show."

Interesting - a friend of mine just said the exact same thing. I don't think it's the nature of the show, though... in the original, I'd argue that BJ Crosby was the MVP. Her "Fools Fall in Love" (specifically the reprise) is one of the greatest performances I think I've ever seen. May she rest in peace. 

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/15/18 at 2:17am

saw this today, its fun and well sung but just like why, why does this production exist, the audience was mostly in their 70s/80s and very white and i just felt like couldnt the same resources have gone toward something new and exciting.

Even at a cut 90 minutes it feels too long, i wanted an actual story. 

also awkward was an understudy going on for the first 30 minutes and then the guy he was in for appearing and retaking over the track and then the understudy awkwardly disappearing until the curtain call

i dont see this one lasting too long. 

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 7/16/18 at 4:22am

This production exists because the original opened in 1995 and closed over 2000 performances and almost five years later. A West End production lasted two years. 

The producers made a bundle and think that lightning can strike twice. Even a mere 1000 performances would do nicely, if the show makes it to Broadway, which is the intent. It will be interesting to see what kind of audience it attracts. The songs are pretty ancient to even middle-aged audiences.

Reviews while previewing in Maine were solid.

[LightsOut90]

Posted: 7/16/18 at 2:21pm

yes it ran as long as it did but in the inbetween weve had Motown, Beautiful, Baby Its You, Trip of Love and half a dozen other shows that mined these songs and similar ones from the era, this will be lucky to still be running by the end of the year let alone 1000 performances, it was 75% full on a saturday matinee, and thats with them HEAVILY papering 

[yfs]

Posted: 7/16/18 at 11:34pm

LightsOut90 said: "yes it ran as long as it did but in the inbetween weve had Motown, Beautiful, Baby Its You, Trip of Love and half a dozen other shows that mined these songs and similar ones from the era,this will be lucky to still be running by the end of the year let alone 1000 performances, it was 75% full on a saturday matinee, and thats with them HEAVILY papering"

Not sure Trip of Love was much competition I imagine the success of this revival will depend on word-of-mouth, which, based on the performance I saw, should be terrific. The audience was certainly having a blast -- a better time than they had at most shows I've been at recently. 

[little_sally]

Posted: 7/20/18 at 12:45pm

I'm with LightsOut90 on this one; while the cast is very talented (and it's always nice to see Alysha Umphress on stage), this production seems pointless.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 10:10am

It must be frustrating when you get one negative review, and five enthusiastic to rave reviews (based on BWW critics' summary) and you know that the only one most will ever read is the negative Times review. Not the Times Square Chronicle or the DC Metro Arts Review. And the Times review not even by one of their first string critics.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 12:07pm

Just finished reading the five reviews that are linked through Playbill’s page:

http://www.playbill.com/article/the-verdict-critics-review-smokey-joes-cafe-at-stage-42

I’d say Time Out’s 3-Star review is far from a rave. Also, while mostly positive, The Wrap’s review ends with some pointed criticism of the current production.  

[SomethingPeculiar]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 12:23pm

There's a very worthy conversation brewing on Twitter related to a tasteless paragraph in the NYTimes review.

[Kad]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 12:25pm

I don't even have to click that link to know what paragraph is being discussed. It startled me and irked me, too.

Updated On: 7/23/18 at 12:25 PM

[Elegance101]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 2:05pm

I believe the paragraph has been changed, though I'm not positive. It still sucks, but the word "fat" is no longer used (was it originally used?).

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 2:13pm

No, that is the original language that was used.

[Elegance101]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 2:22pm

Realized that after looking into it more, my bad!

Now the critic is replying to people basically saying she did nothing wrong on Twitter. Yikes.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 7/23/18 at 10:57pm

Miles2Go2 said: "Just finished reading the five reviews that are linked through Playbill’s page:

http://www.playbill.com/article/the-verdict-critics-review-smokey-joes-cafe-at-stage-42

I’d say Time Out’s 3-Star review is far from a rave. Also, while mostly positive, The Wrap’s review ends with some pointed criticism of the current production."

Why do I even bother to point out that I said five enthusiastic to rave reviews, not five rave reviews.

Really. The Wrap had some criticisms. It didn't see perfection?

The only production that Ben Brantley called perfect was South Pacific, and he qualified that by saying that the 2nd act was too long.