FAIRYCAKES to close Off-Broadway

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 9:58am

These Are Some Pucked Up Fairytales.

An all-star cast of theatrical favorites comes together in this uproarious clash of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and old world fairy tales from five-time Tony® nominee Douglas Carter Beane (CINDERELLA, XANADU, THE LITTLE DOG LAUGHED).

One night in the forest, puckish mischief leads to mismatched lovers from across all your favorite stories. And what begins as love at first sprite, grows into something more as the feelings from one midsummer night carry over to the bright light of day.

So come and sit for a spell.
Because in this theatre, magic is real.

Limited run of 14 weeks only begins tonight at the Greenwich House Theater

Updated On: 11/3/21 at 09:58 AM

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 10/14/21 at 5:23pm

I have front row seats for the Closing Performance of this, and I can't wait!!! I love Beane, Jackie Hoffman, and several other cast members.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/15/21 at 12:46am

Seeing it next week. Have had my ticket for so long I almost forgot!

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/16/21 at 2:12am

cant wait to see this.

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 7:54am

Hoping the initial negative impressions over on the other board are just teething pains of a great show working out the kinks. It would be a shame if a production with this much talent involved turned out to be a bummer.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 9:45am

JasonC3 said: "Hoping the initial negative impressions over on the other board are just teething pains of a great show working out the kinks. It would be a shame if a production with this much talent involved turned out to be a bummer."

Douglas Carter Beane doesn't have a sterling track record, and he's also directing his own work. Intrigued to see it, but maybe I'll wait a few weeks... Bigger stars have been attracted to worse plays in the past!

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 11:04am

^ good points

[GilmoreGirlO2]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 12:12pm

I saw the show this past weekend and it was, unfortunately, a major disappointment for me. This type of show would usually be right up my alley, but I really think Beane was encumbered by the rhyming format. Many lines felt thrown in simply to make a rhyme and it often felt like Beane had to sacrifice making jokes clever or witty in order to make the rhyme work.

The cast is trying their hardest, but there’s simply not much to work with. The few times I laughed were based off of actor choices (funny expressions, funny voices), but not the text itself.

The direction and staging is quite clumsy, as well (the scene transitions are particularly clunky, despite trying to make little musical moments out of them), but hopefully those are things that could get smoothed out as the run goes on.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 12:24pm

That space is so tight, I had wished it were in a larger venue. I also saw it this past weekend.

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 1:12pm

The entire play is rhymed??

Why on earth is Beane directing this himself? Few directors can successfully direct the original productions of their own work. Another perspective is good!

[Sutton Ross]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 1:20pm

GilmoreGirlO2 said: "I saw the show this past weekend and it was, unfortunately, a major disappointment for me. This type of show would usually be right up my alley, but I really think Beane was encumbered by the rhyming format. Many lines felt thrown in simply to make a rhyme and it often felt like Beane had to sacrifice making jokes clever or witty in order to make the rhyme work.

The cast is trying their hardest, but there’s simply not much to work with. The few times I laughed were based off of actor choices (funny expressions, funny voices), but not the text itself.

I feel exactly the same way when I saw it. It was really annoying after awhile, honestly. 

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 1:38pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "The entire play is rhymed??

Why on earth is Beane directing this himself? Few directors can successfully direct the original productions of their own work. Another perspective is good!"

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The whole play is in iambic pentameter and in act two there is a spell that takes away "enchantment", including iambic pentameter and rhyme, which confuses and throws off the characters in this more "normal" version of their world.

 

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 2:18pm

I am a huge huge fan of Beane but I couldnt figure this one out. He's trying to do Into the Woods meets Moliere in Shakespearian plots and he's bogged down by the meter and rhymes. Jokes don't land when you add 4 other syllables and or see the rhyme coming. 

The spoiler in the previous comment is when things start to get interesting and I wish that happened much sooner since that's when the comedy really starting cooking. The should cut a lot of Act 1 and just make this 90 minutes straight through.

It also seemed like it was a musical and the songs were just pulled out minus one or two little moments with music.

Julie Halston and Arnie Burton walked away with the entire play and were the only ones who got big laughs, which is a shame with a cast this stacked with comedic actors. 

[luisacontini]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 3:46pm

think it needs a week or two to get tighter and for the actors to have more chemistry. jackie hoffman (BRILLIANT) and kuhoo verma stole the show.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/19/21 at 10:55pm

Saw it this evening. The first act really needs to be tightened up for the second act to work, in my opinion. I kept thinking during the first act, ""Well this was probably funny on paper". I think it could work with better direction. I thought that re-writes could be tricky as it is in rhymes.

It picks up in act two. I thought Goodman, Harada and Halston "stole" the show. We do get to hear Lloyd's beautiful singing voice and she seems to be having fun up there s does Rocca.

The costumes are gorgeous and nice lighting. A serviceable set. There appeared to be a change at the top of Act 2 since the actress who played Cinderella read most of her monologue from a piece of paper that she slid in her pocket near the end.

If you are thinking of seeing it, just go. It's a killer cast and I enjoyed them giving it their all and I really hope he tightens it up during previews.

Updated On: 10/20/21 at 10:55 PM

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 10/20/21 at 2:19pm

I saw this on Sunday evening and enjoyed it for the most part. The overall tone reminded me a bit of Head Over Heels, and it did seem like it was on the edge of being a musical but pulled itself back. The rhymes were a bit of a grab bag, as there were a few that I found clever and a few that were a bit rough, but I've never really been a stickler for rhymes and the general satirical tone the play takes helps to not take them as seriously.

The first act does seem to plod along a bit and it takes a while for all the pieces to come together so that you understand what the main conflict is, but I've always been a sucker for fairy tale mash ups and I thought this was fairly creative in that sense, even if parts of the plot are somewhat cliche. I wish there was a bit more character development that happened, especially with Peaseblossom, who I'd wager to call the main character, but most of the characters are drawn in fairly two dimensional strokes, which actually works for the most part but it seems that Peaseblossom was meant to be more fleshed out.

Still, I thought Kristolyn Lloyd was the standout for me, and I rather enjoyed Kuhoo Verma and Jason Tam as well (Arnie Burton was quite funny too). The overall cast seems to be doing great work but there's a lot of hamming it up and mugging to the audience that doesn't always work. On paper I'd say it looks pretty similar to Into the Woods but I don't think that's the style they were going for at all, and generally it's pretty much just lighthearted fun.

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/20/21 at 2:51pm

And for those curious, come of the fairies double as both a Midsummer fairy and a "Disney" fairy, so this alone may give you some insight on how things play out for some characters...

Moth = Tinkerbell (Jackie Hoffman)

Peaseblossom = Blue Fairy (Kristolyn)

Cobweb = Maleficent (Z)

Mustardseed = Tooth Fairy (ann Harada... was there another Disney one associated with this character?)

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 10/20/21 at 11:20pm

This was PHENOMINALLY BAD and honestly someone is going to get injured, this show is way too big for way too small of a space and I lost count over how many times peoples fairy wings hit other people and walls and the backdrop

the show makes absolutely ZERO sense, and a big red flag is I sat next to Douglas tonight, didn't see him take a single note in his note pad, they are for whatever reason inviting press in to review a week into the run, this show is going to get absolutely slaughtered and as others have said needed a director seperate from the material to guide it

As others have said Julie Halston is the BEST part of this, but they had to hold the show because she had a nose bleed which led to Ann Harada getting stranded onstage in an insane mermaid outfit but led to Jackie Hoffman improving some amazing rhymes 

Also the whole point of the show is a message of love and acceptence straight out of 2009, this is  abizarre and confounding show

stay FAR FAR AWAY from this absolute trainwreck of a show

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 10/21/21 at 6:06am

Uh-oh.  This went from highly anticipated to, dare I say, how do i get these tickets off my hand?  

[BIG BALONEY]

Posted: 10/21/21 at 11:32pm

Silly fun and a cast with great costumes made for a fine evening. They worked hard and had a good time doing it. The audience went along for the ride. It was a bit long in parts but it's a preview. Fairycakes works well in an off Broadway house.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/22/21 at 12:06am

After Head Over Heels, I think we need to retire the rhyming thing. It's not cute. Sounds like a fun concept, but just wasn't executed. Great cast though. Sat this is such a miss but curious to hear the reviews. Sounds like the kind of escapism we need right now. 

Maybe just hit up a happy hour beforehand. 

[A Director]

Posted: 10/22/21 at 2:11am

RippedMan said: "After Head Over Heels, I think we need to retire the rhyming thing. It's not cute. 

Does this mean doing Shakespeare should be retired?  What about musicals?

 

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/22/21 at 2:18am

I'm having Something's Rotten flashbacks now.

[BoringBoredBoard40]

Posted: 10/22/21 at 2:34am

Something Rotten was atleast focused, this show is all over the place

[JasonC3]

Posted: 10/22/21 at 10:29am

Sorry, I was too obtuse with my Rotten reference. I was keying in on the previous poster's mention of Shakespeare and musicals, not the quality of Something Rotten as a show. Updated On: 10/22/21 at 10:29 AM