MR. SATURDAY NIGHT Previews- Page 4

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 11:27am

How and where are they marketing this show? Has Billy done any interviews, except for like some sports show where he talked about the Oscar Smack? I heard about a week of radio ads in mid-March. I don't think I've seen any mailers or subway ads. Are they just relying on word of mouth and whatever advance they got when they started selling at those astronomical rates?

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 11:28am

everythingtaboo said: "How and where are they marketing this show? Has Billy done any interviews, except for like some sports show where he talked about the Oscar Smack? I heard about a week of radio ads in mid-March. I don't think I've seen any mailers or subway ads. Are they just relying on word of mouth and whatever advance they got when they started selling at those astronomical rates?"

Billy Crystal is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium for Opening Day today, and Shoshana Bean is singing our national anthem.

[BroadwayRox3588]

Posted: 4/8/22 at 11:30am

EDSOSLO858 said: "Billy Crystal is throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at Yankee Stadium for Opening Day today, and Shoshana Bean is singing our national anthem."

I think they should switch at the last minute. Have Bean throw out the first pitch, and Crystal sing the anthem. Wouldn't that be fun?

[KitKatBoy24]

Posted: 4/11/22 at 11:21pm

I might have an extra lotto ticket to Tuesday 4/12’s performance at 7pm. Dm me if you’re interested!

[JBroadway]

Posted: 4/12/22 at 12:03am

Certainly not a disaster, but I found this show aggressively mediocre, to the point where I don't even feel like it's worth my energy to pick it apart in a long post. 

But I will say: Crystal is genuinely very good. I expected this to be 2.5 hours of Billy Crystal just being whacky and charismatic for the audience, and not much else. But no, in addition to being very funny, it's also a technically solid acting performance; he hams it up when appropriate, but the rest of the time, he's grounded, he's focused, he's listening and responding to his scene partners, and it feels like a fully-realized character. It's a better performance than Hugh Jackman in Music Man, if you ask me.

 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 4/12/22 at 12:15am

Crystal is a genuinely good actor who hasn't always been given a fair shake. Harry/Sally is pretty damn perfect when it comes to comedic acting. He was quite good in a movie he directed last year called HERE TODAY about a comedy writer with early stages of dementia, in which Laura Benanti plays his daughter and Tiffany Haddish plays his new friend (and Bway's own Charlie Rosen was the composer). It has some of the same themes as Mr. Saturday Night since they're both about aging comics.

There's an inherent sadness about him that has become more evident with age, which means he has to work doubly hard when he's playing younger here.

[Michael Walters3]

Posted: 4/12/22 at 3:17pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I’ve seen it twice now. I just love it."

I couldn’t stop smiling when I left the theatre. It’s a very lovable show to me.

[BarnabyTucker]

Posted: 4/14/22 at 11:42pm

I saw tonight's performance and Billy Crystal shines in spite of the show.  They really should have made this a 90-minute one act that just focused on the Borscht Belt comedy and should have been a compilation of sketches.  

It's funny that the show references Neil Simon's THE SUNSHINE BOYS because something similar to that is exactly what I would have wanted to see. 

I didn't care for the father/daughter drama and I thought the second act took a nosedive when it just became ballad after ballad and fraught efforts to be compelling.  Billy Crystal is joined by a wonderful company of actors and I would have been thrilled to have had it just been him, Randy Graff, and David Paymer as his second bananas to work off of. 

I have a feeling the creative team was too afraid to kill their precious darlings and left a lot of fat on the show.  At nearly three hours it needed a show doctor to come in and chop it down to what it should have been: a 90-minute salute to Mr. Crystal and the Borscht Belt.  In.  Out.  A nice memory for the audience to walk out with. 

JRB and Amanda Green must have been phoning it in with this one.  The only song I can remember was a promising opening number for Billy Crystal where he plays to a nursing home, and a weird and pointless song that Randy Graff sings about Tahiti in the second act. 

Overall, the entire company was giving it their all and I just wish that they had better material to work with.  Billy Crystal should have drawn from his success with 700 Sundays, and should have never left the stage.  Anytime he was offstage I was tempted to turn my phone on and fiddle around with it.  Of course I would never do that because I'm not a savage. 

Speaking of savages, the audience was full of them.  Two separate parties in my row were intoxicated and screaming throughout the first act.  Thankfully they left at intermission.  I'm thankful to the house management and ushers whom I have a strong feeling escorted them out.  If they didn't escort them out, I completely understand as I think ushers are often put in the position of being the first line of defense when dealing with potentially dangerous patrons and I would never want them to put their safety at risk.  

Updated On: 4/15/22 at 11:42 PM

[ElephantLoveMedley]

Posted: 4/15/22 at 9:24am

I thoroughly agree with most of the reviews on this thread. Billy Crystal is truly fantastic in this. As expected, he nails the charisma and comedy aspects of the role (really, no one delivers one-liners better than him), but his acting range outside of the comedy is very impressive. I was also totally surprised to see how strong of a singer he is. It’s not just an evening of Billy Crystal comedy schtick; he really is a full-fledged, terrific musical theatre actor, and in a pretty big role, too. I fully expect a Tony nomination for him, and it will be well deserved.

This show, however… oof. It’s a slog and felt absolutely endless at times. The book is just not good and needs a ton of fat trimming to make the story feel more effective and streamlined. The direction is also pretty terrible here; there is no sense of pace or energy for what could and should be a pretty lighthearted, easy-breezy, energetic, fun show. Each scene slowly rolls into the next.

It pains me to say it, but this is Jason Robert Brown’s worst score. And I say that as someone who adored Honeymoon in Vegas. Just not good.

And unfortunately, when you have the trifecta of a bad book + bad score + bad direction, it makes for a bad show.

I will say though, the company is small but fantastic and seems to be really enjoying themselves on stage. Shoshana is phenomenal in a truly thankless role (which I’m honestly a little surprised that an actress of her caliber and reputation is in). I adored seeing Randy Graff belt it out in Act 2, even though I can’t remember for the life of me any part of how that song went.

If you’re a Billy Crystal nut and you don’t want to miss the opportunity to see him perform live and show off his talent and range, you should see this. You won’t be disappointed by him. However, if you’re looking for a well-constructed, engaging, interesting musical… I’d recommend other options.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 4/15/22 at 10:13am

Billy Crystal is good and the show is mediocre-to-poor, but the production itself is shockingly bad, like an Off-Broadway revue from 20 years ago. Better to have staged it AS a reading or a blalckbox memory show than this feeble gesture at staging. It doesn't make the comedy the focus, it just makes it look like it's swimming listlessly in a void. The arrangements are tinny and small. The (contemporary, in no way dressed or integrated) upstage screens that make up the "set" are used in the most literal-minded way throughout, usually looking like a Google Image search display, but they also play ACTUAL CLIP ART at one point. Bean is the only person in the cast who can carry a tune. I'm not sure if there's anything in the lyrics that would qualify as an actual joke. Or an insight. They just come in for the characters to announce what we already know about them or what we already know is happening. I would have been fine and happy with an evening of Borscht Belt jokes, but this show is mostly a very unpleasant guy not being very interesting or funny, produced at a level that should be embarrassing in the regionals. 

[South Florida]

Posted: 4/15/22 at 8:09pm

I never thought Billy Crystal was funny, and Mr. Saturday Night the movie was a bad watch.  Good luck  though, seems like a good guy.

 

[Alexander Lamar]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 10:37am

Tickets for opening night are on sale to the public 

Updated On: 4/21/22 at 10:37 AM

[CYAPollyanna]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 10:59am

That’s embarrassing. 

[Jimbo2]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 11:47am

Has anything changed for poor Shoshana Bean? Any new songs at all? Feel bad for her.

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 12:13pm

Alexander Lamar said: "Tickets for opening night are on sale to the public"

Not a good sign at all. It's rare for tickets to any opening night to be available to the public. But this is surprising due to Crystal's name and being in a smaller theater.

[WestEndGal]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 4:22pm

Jimbo2 said: "Has anything changed for poor Shoshana Bean? Any new songs at all? Feel bad for her."

I mean, maybe she could just change up the melody like she used to do with SUTBM in Waitress - create a whole new song!
 

*said with tongue in cheek*

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 11:10pm

I won the lottery (front row orchestra right, seat A-6, not obstructed view) and saw this last night and honestly I was pretty bored. There aren't any particularly memorable musical numbers. Shoshana is underutilized, as others have said. I didn't find the main character likeable and found it a bit anachronistic that one running gag in act I is Buddy continuing to forget the name of his Black female agent - that doesn't play well for laughs in 2022. The way he treats the women in his life in general doesn't play well for laughs in 2022. I'll also admit I'm not the person this show is marketed towards - I'm Jewish, but I'm in my 20s. In some ways this show felt like hanging out with my grandfather (my grandfather has a similar sense of "Borscht Belt" humour), but not necessarily in a *good* way, and the story itself wasn't very compelling to me, nor was the music. A-6 was a surprisingly good seat though - the stage was high, but I don't think I missed anything except for maybe if there were small moments when Buddy goes into the den area. Otherwise the only obstruction came from the actors sometimes having their back turned. For $50 (with fees), not a bad seat.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 4/21/22 at 11:15pm

I’ve seen this twice now and just have more fun at it than anything else I’ve seen in a long time. 

[BalconyClub]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 8:01am

I can’t remember any other show that sent out guidelines ahead of time suggesting when to arrive in such detail. It was something like if you have seats in rear mezzanine or rear orchestra, you should arrive at ‘x’ time, and if you have seats in front mezzanine or front orchestra, you should arrive at ‘y’ time.

I had a great seat in center orchestra, row O.

It sounds like the unsightly wires that a previous poster mentioned have been hidden away. The upstage band sits behind a short, barely there, hide-the-wires, 8” curb wall.

Overall, a fun night (Thursday performance) for Billy Crystal fans. And it was great seeing a dancing hot dog - maybe the first performing weiner since Bullets Over Broadway.

Musically, this is a big miss. No need to buy the OBC if one is ever made. Though there are a few beautiful passages for trumpet, trombone, and tuba, other times the undercurrent is a dull, repetitive riff.

As suggested in the script, much of good comedy is timing and delivery, and Crystal is a PRO with his comedic chops. Lots of groaners, one-liners, and bathroom humor, but one pair of ball jokes would have sufficed.

I loved the wall of past comedy stars in one of the Friar’s Club scenes: Phil Silvers, Phyllis Diller, Nipsey Russel, Johnny Carson, Buddy Hackett, Totie Fields, Sid Caesar, and many others.

There are 11 - maybe 12 - snapshot screens used as a backdrop throughout much of the show.

Overall, I liked the look of the production, as it felt like a welcoming variety show. No songs to recall, and I can’t remember half of the jokes, but in the moment, I was transported to Billy Crystal’s closing act.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[MCW1227]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 9:03pm

Going tomorrow afternoon just to see Crystal as I’m not expecting much from the production. I got TDF tickets and was wondering if anyone has gotten tickets through TDF and where the seats were located? Thanks in advance! 

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/22/22 at 9:46pm

MCW1227 said: "Going tomorrow afternoon just to see Crystal as I’m not expecting much from the production. I got TDF tickets and was wondering if anyone has gotten tickets through TDF and where the seats were located? Thanks in advance!"

Last Saturday matinee we were seating in row B of the mezzanine, left side. Great seats but I ended up getting moved to row D center orchestra aisle because there was less than zero leg room.

[MCW1227]

Posted: 4/23/22 at 6:09pm

Michael Walters3 said: "Jordan Catalano said: "I’ve seen it twice now. I just love it."

I couldn’t stop smiling when I left the theatre. It’s a very lovable show to me."

Totally with you on this!  I didn’t find it to be mediocre at all.  Tremendous comedic timing, Crystal gets my Tony award for what that’s worth. I loved Rob McClure but Crystal is just at another level.  His acting was top notch and his comedy was perfect.  Great to see him and Paymer recreate these roles.  I agree that it should be a couple of numbers shorter and the pacing between the 2 acts could be a bit more even but I loved it!  
 

This time on Broadway with all of the incredible star power on stage is a time to be celebrated!  Seeing Plaza Suite last week and now this show is like watching a master class in acting.  Amazing!! 

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 4/24/22 at 12:00am

Billy could’ve kept this.

Well done, but very dry. The book doesn’t work for me in a lot of ways.

Shoshanna was the highlight of the show. When her character was front and center, the show came to life.

I can’t recommend this show in good conscience. But was nice to experience Billy and David Paymer on stage. Both are everything you imagine. But the show is a drag.

[OffOnBwayHi]

Posted: 4/24/22 at 12:11am

JBroadway said: "Certainly not a disaster, but I found this show aggressively mediocre, to the point where I don't even feel like it's worth my energy to pick it apart in a long post.

But I will say: Crystal is genuinely very good. I expected this to be 2.5 hours of Billy Crystal just being whacky and charismatic for the audience, and not much else. But no, in addition to being very funny, it's also a technically solid acting performance; he hams it up when appropriate, but the rest of the time, he's grounded, he's focused, he's listening and responding to his scene partners, and it feels like a fully-realized character. It's a better performance than Hugh Jackman in Music Man, if you ask me.

"

100% agree with this.

[Brodo Swaggins]

Posted: 4/27/22 at 12:46am

I felt bad for almost everyone involved in this. As many have said, Billy was fine, even good, if not great. He can't really sing, though, which make the duets and ballads in Act 2 excruciating - but no worse than those sung by the rest of the cast, especially the guy playing his brother, who TRULY cannot sing. Everyone just seemed exhausted, even Shoshana Bean, who is usually great.

Bottom line: There is absolutely ZERO reason for this to have been a musical. No memorable songs, a whole lot of misplaced and wasted talent. The best bits were the Borscht Belt tributes and the great schtick Billy excels at so naturally throughout, but every time those were starting to heat up, we get smacked by another throwaway musical number.

Woof.