BAT OUT OF HELL Will Play 8 Weeks At NY City Center In 2019- Page 20

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 11:49am

I personally think it will complete the run through Sept. 8, but beyond that I doubt it.

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 12:15pm

How has the actual audience reaction been to individual scenes, songs and actors? Do you think the audience is comprised of primarily fans of the albums?

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 3:20am

OffOnBwayHi said: "I personally think it will complete the run through Sept. 8, but beyond that I doubt it."

 

I think they would still get paid if the run was cut short and City Center would still get their rent. You all make valid points but I am going to predict that the last week gets canceled and there will not be an extension.

 

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 3:26am

Sho-Tunes-R-Us said: "How has the actual audience reaction been to individual scenes, songs and actors? Do you think the audience is comprised of primarily fans of the albums?"

From what I have heard, fans of the music seem to enjoy the production and the sophisticated theatre types are more critical of the production values. There is a general sense that the show is about 20 minutes too long. There has also been a fan base that has seen multiple productions so they are making comparisons. My friend who works at City Center says there has been some walk outs with people grumbling while other patrons just love it.

 

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 4:52am

Wonder if it will be some critics Guilty Pleasure for late summer.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 9:10am

SouthernCakes said: "Their contractsalso guaranteed a tour..."

I’m talking about the contract between City Center and the production, not the employees’ contracts. The contract so ironclad that the production had to remount just for this engagement. 

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 10:20pm

Saw this tonight via TDF and I was second row dead center in the Mezz. Couldn’t have asked for a better seat for this show.

We had an understudy for the lead who was fine. I didn’t find his vocals or acting anything exciting compared to the talent around him, but I’ve nothing to compare it to.

The show is just campy, bombastic,and fun. I had a great time and was entertained. I thought the direction and design was fun and inventive. I liked when they’d parallel the daughters bedroom.

The book is a total mess. So many times we’d have this huge song and then a characters like “But maybe not,” which negates everything we saw before it.

Honestly I couldn’t tell if the actors were in on the camp or not. Some were having fun and some seemed to be taking it very seriously (particularly the guy playing Tink.)

The women in this show are incredible. They all have fantasied voices and lean very hard into the camp and are having fun. I thought Lena Hall was just flat-out incredible. When they started “It’s All Coming BAck To Me” I thought damn Lena Hall would slay this, and luckily I got my wish.

To those who have seen it before, what is the center circular platform used for? It looks like it’s a lift, but it’s never used and not sure why it would be there if wasn’t being used. Same for a large hook hangin from the lighting rig?

I didn’t think the motorcycle sequence worked at all. There was no sense of movement and the thing just folds apart and I had no clue it was blowing up.

[SmoothLover]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 10:59pm

I hear Meat Loaf is going to be around next week and they are going to integrate him on the stage somehow. Thursday is opening.

it will be interesting to see if the NY Times reviews it again since they have already reviewed a previous production.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:03pm

Oh, and the choreography is indeed awful.

Is he just in it for the opening night run?

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:27pm

Did they change the choreography from London?  Because I don't recall it being awful or bad.  Just very very energetic.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:28pm

It’s still all those things. Just feels outdated and just too much. I wish the ensemble had left during Paradise so the focus could just stay on Bradley Dean and Lena Hall who were slaying it!

[V2David]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:30pm

Just got out of the Sunday PM show. Unfortunately, Andrew was out (I had a feeling this might happen with so many shows), but there is really nothing you can do to avoid this (until they publish a schedule). The backup was very good, but I can't help wishing I saw Andrew.

As for the rest of the cast, Christina Bennington is just simply amazing. I saw her in London, and I think she has gotten even better! And this without the regular Strat! Her voice is magnificent and her chemistry with (backup) Strat was very good. She was the real star of the show. 


The rest of the cast was excellent. Lena Hall and Bradley Dean were great together! I really enjoyed their performances. Everything they were in were major highlights of the show.  I don't want to get too much into the rest of the cast, but I highly enjoyed ALL of the performances.

As for the special effects, yes what you read is all true. But I don't think it takes away too much from the show. The Dominion theater (the shows permanent home for a while in London) was obviously a much better theater for a show like this. That said, the producers I'm sure did the best they could with what they have. If you saw the show in London, you will miss the effects. If you didn't, you will still be happy with what they did. There is still plenty of pizzazz.

As for seating, I sat in the front row center of the Grand Tier. Absolutely loved the seats. I think these may be the best seats in the theater. You can see everything very clearly, no obstructions at all. As for other seating hints, I would NOT sit far right (when facing stage) on the Grand Tier/lower Mezzanine level. It seemed there was constant lights being projected into the audience faces. Now I didn't sit there, but I can only imagine that would be super annoying. But sitting far left is also a problem as you probably won't be able to see the projections on stage. I would think Center Orchestra and Center Grand Tier and Center lower Mezzanine are where you should shoot for. Avoid far left or far right. Too many issues...

The crowd was pretty good for a Sunday night. I was concerned because the day before the show it looked like there were a ton of unsold seats. They must have sold a lot of (discounted) tickets the day of the show. Crowd was pretty enthusiatic although we did here some weird laughing from the Mezzanine or Balcony at inopportune times. Either I was missing stuff, or people were laughing at things they shouldn't have been. That being said, I found the show funnier then London. Most of the comedy bits came from Lena & Bradley (and not to say anything bad about Sharon or Rob) but I just really enjoyed Lena & Bradley's comedic timing.

Most of the changes previously mentioned are correct. The show is slightly shorter with the removal of the opening Act 2 song. While I missed it, most people are still saying the show is too long or some songs go on too long. They are probably right. The main exception would be "Anything For Love". I found it too long in London but was perfectly okay in NY.  I doubt it is shorter though --- I was just looking forward to hearing  Lena Hall and Bradley Dean sing their parts, so it felt shorter. They were great. [POSSIBLE SPOILER] They did not drag Strats body off during first intermission. Instead, he quickly ran off when lights dimmed. Not sure if this is a change or it was due to the different actor. [END OF SPOILER].

Well that is all I can think of for now. I actually liked this cast and the comedy bits better here then London (didn't see Andrew as Strat for either). But the overall London production was (understandably) better.

If you like Meatloaf, Jim Steinman, or this music you should love the show. Great performances, high energy and bombastic fun. For those who don't like this type of show, nothing I am going to say will convince you otherwise. I love Christina Bennington & hopefully I will see Andrew as Strat one day. But I have a feeling it won't be in the USA.  

Updated On: 8/4/19 at 11:30 PM

[V2David]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:35pm

SouthernCakes said: "To those who have seen it before, what is the center circular platform used for? It looks like it’s a lift, but it’s never used and not sure why it would be there if wasn’t being used. Same for a large hook hangin from the lighting rig?

I didn’t think the motorcycle sequence worked at all. There was no sense of movement and the thing just folds apart and I had no clue it was blowing up.

"

The motorcycle would spin around in London during Bat Out of Hell. I'm sure the rest had to do with the flying bicycle special effects which they dropped.  As for the effect itself, I thought it was ok.  But I also knew it was removed from these messages, so I was expecting the worst...

The mirroring if the bedroom scene with doubles was an awesome effect.  I'm not sure if they did that in London (or to this extent) but it was very, very cool.

 

Updated On: 8/5/19 at 11:35 PM

[V2David]

Posted: 8/4/19 at 11:45pm

SmoothLover said: "From what I have heard, fans of the music seem to enjoy the production and the sophisticated theatre types are more critical of the production values. There is a general sense that the show is about 20 minutes too long. There has also been a fan base that has seen multiple productions so they are making comparisons. My friend who works at City Center says there has been some walk outs with people grumbling while other patrons just love it.
"

I'd say that's about right. People are either going to love it or hate it.  I love it. I love the music. I love the energy. I love the performers. But is it great theater?  To me it is, but I can understand why some people don't get it for what it is.

Updated On: 8/5/19 at 11:45 PM

[ren598]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 12:11am

Just curious what they had in terms of merch?  Similar to what they had in London?

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 12:49am

I thought “I’d Do Anything for Love” and the duet with the house keeper / her love interest - those 2 could be trimmed. They went on for forever.

When/where was the pool sequence and where was the elevator?

It’s still pretty elaborate.

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 1:17am

Thanks again for the ongoing input. Sounds like a wild time will be had by many. Hope to include myself in that group come 8/20.

[Sho-Tunes-R-Us]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 1:33am

I'm selling a single BOOH ticket for the 8/20 performance. Adjacent to me, center orchestra, row L, seat 102. Please check buy/sell board for details or message me for deets.

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 3:15am

ren598 said: "Just curious what they had in terms of merch? Similar to what they had in London?"

They are truly selling everything you could want or imagine. Shirts, keychains, souvenir books, cast recordings, tote bags... Biggest merch booth I’ve ever seen.

Whatever they had in London, I’m sure they have that and more.

[WldKingdomHM]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 5:03am

Saw the matinee yesterday. Cast was amazing. Andrew is phenomenal, but they need to do something with the ensemble, and choreography they were just awful. Act 2 dragggggssssss. 

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 9:09am

l0islane said: "No exploding bike"

Tom-497 said: "a motorcycle crash toward the end of Act I, done with a burst of silver confetti and projections of jagged shards"

This is very disappointing. While I have not seen any previous productions of the show, the original staging of the climax of the title song was described in multiple reviews and I was really looking forward to it. I can understand why, due to physical constraints at the NY venue, it may not be possible to shove a car into the orchestra pit, but I don't get why the motorcycle effect has been removed here.

[Lot666]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 9:11am

SouthernCakes said: "We had an understudy for the lead who was fine."

I'm a bit surprised that an understudy has already gone on for Strat. Is he sick?

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 9:30am

Lot666 said: "SouthernCakes said: "We had an understudy for the lead who was fine."

I'm a bit surprised that an understudy has already gone on for Strat. Is he sick?"

I think in London, Polec initially did not do both shows on a two-day show.  Sounds like he did the matinee but not the evening show.  (That said, we saw him on a Saturday matinee in London which he did not originally do)

 

[ren598]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 9:46am

OffOnBwayHi said: "ren598 said: "Just curious what they had in terms of merch? Similar to what they had in London?"

They are truly selling everything you could want or imagine. Shirts, keychains, souvenir books, cast recordings, tote bags... Biggest merch booth I’ve ever seen.

Whatever they had in London, I’m sure they have that and more."

OffOnBwayHi, thanks for the update on the merch.  Looks like I’ll be spending more on merch than the actual cost of the ticket.

[SouthernCakes]

Posted: 8/5/19 at 9:50am

Honestly was surprised having now seen the show that he’s already called out. He has a ton of off stage time and I thought the main girl had a much more difficult role vocally but maybe Andrew brings more to the role than the understudy we saw.

According to cast members it wasn’t a planned call out.