And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Matt_G
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
#0And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:11pm
Okay, so I got myself a rush seat last night for BROOKLYN, (Music and lyrics by The Mickey Mouse Club and book by Hallmark) on a whim because I had to see this because I would be upset if I didn't see what all the fuss was actually about.
I almost don't know where to begin. I guess I'll start with the positive. The voices in this show are amazing. They're just incredible, especially that of Ramona Keller. She was great in CAROLINE, OR CHANGE but this time she has a chance to get front and center and sing. And does she ever. She made a fan for life out of me last night and I will now add her to the list of people I would pay to hear read the phone book.
And that's about it for the positive. The story was just plain confusing to me at times. I won't go into great detail because it's been discussed to death but honestly, I was looking around and saw other people with the same look on their face. In addition to the story not making a lot of sense, it just wasn't very good. I counted 18 songs in the playbill, and only 3 of those served the purpose of moving the story along. There were MANY times songs should have been used to explain motivation, but instead were just Pop-Tart songs placed in the scene. The majority of them sounded the same and were just plain boring. Oh, and before I forget. Eden, (Who played Brooklyn, a girl who speaks in greeting cards) PLEASE STOP SCREAMING. You're going to hurt yourself and others. You have a great voice but it's just not needed for these songs or for any other for that matter. I needed an Advil after ONCE UPON A TIME (which sounded strangely like "Once Upon A Time In New York City" from Disney's OLIVER & COMPANY)
Watching this show, the character I found most interesting was Paradice. Not only was she the most fully developed character in the show, but SHE was the one I cared about. She was the one I rooted for in the "competition" (and what the hell kind of a competition was that anyways? The loser was never allowed to sing again? What is that, like American Idol: Extreme Edition???)
Anyways, I don't have all day so let me wrap it up on a positive note and say that Keller's songs "Love Me Where I Live" & "Superlover" will be on my iPod when the recording is released. Sorry if this review was all over the place, but hell, so was this show.
"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."
Updated On: 11/6/04 at 01:11 PM
Yankeefan007
Broadway Legend Joined: 3/20/04
#1re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:18pmha! always a pleasure to read horror stories from the show that was written by the Mickey Mouse Club and Hallmark (can I use that when i describe the show please???)_
Ebonic_Singer
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/18/04
#2re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:18pmHaha--at least now when you violently bash a brooklynit, you've seen the show and have something to base it on.
#3re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:19pm
That was a very civil review. Well done!
And I still will never see the show. Ever. No.
"The stage is where I live and come alive and act out all the things that go on in my life. It's not just what I do for a living, it's my shrink and my love affair. No one in my life has ever or ever will kiss me on the mouth like this lover called my relationship with my performance."
Matt_G
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
#4re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:19pm
Sorry YankeeFan, I'm claiming that as my own. 
"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."
jczelyph
Broadway Star Joined: 10/21/04
#5re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:22pmLove that review! Hilarioso. Thanks.
"Jane, I've been dealt a blow - I've been dealt a blow, Jane."
#6re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:23pm
Tiny, are you there.... ??
Wait.. I will do it... "thanks for the review, Matt"...
My wife sold our "Bklyn" tix to one of the her co-workers for $20 each.
We went to see "The Incredibles" instead. Movie rocks !!!
#7re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:28pmI've got tickets for the 11th. I'll see if I agree with you then.
Chrysanthemum62001
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/14/04
#8re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 1:31pmEnjoyed reading the review, and glad you finally got to the city safe and sound!
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
BwayTheatre11
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/03
#9re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 2:25pmIn an interview, Kevin Anderson even said that the show is a concert with a storyline.
CCM '10!
shesings
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/14/04
#10re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 2:35pmI've got to see this. I mean theres such a fuss about it, everyone either seems to LOVE it or HATE it. I imagine I'll probably be in the latter group, but I need to see for myself. I really don't like the idea of a "concert with a storyline". That's not a musical.
LadyGuenevere
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/28/03
#11re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 2:36pm
Matt_G how DARE you write a negative review?
Telling the truth about shows- that really makes me sick.
BwayTheatre11
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/03
#12re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 2:39pmLady, it is not the truth about a show. It is an opinion of a show. You might hate it, but others love it.
CCM '10!
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#13re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 2:39pmI LOVED wha you said about the book and music!!! I saw Eden and the cast on a show and she sang Once Upon a Time. I was like what the hell!? She just SCREAMED the whole time, and the lyrics were CHEESY!!!! From what I saw, I think Idina should play Brooklyn, at least sing the song.
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
BwayTheatre11
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/25/03
#14re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 3:00pmI completely disagree with you about Idina!
CCM '10!
FosseBoi
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/30/04
#15re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 3:05pmI'm just going to ignor that!LOL
"I've always secretly longed for an actress to get to the top of the cherry picker and projectile vomit all over the guards below."- Wonderwaiter in the "Defy Gravity?" thread.
~~~~~~~~My dream? Sutton Foster as Cassie in A Chorus Line
LadyGuenevere
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/28/03
#16re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 3:06pm
I agree about Idina.
If they both play Brooklyn at the same time, their voices would give out a few more years later than planned.
Amy Archer
Leading Actor Joined: 7/2/03
#17re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 3:42pm
[SPOILER BELOW}
While we're at it...
Did anyone notice that Brooklyn's father's unfinished lullaby is "From a Distance"?
And I've heard the story described over and over again as a fairy tale, but [SPOILER ALERT] what kind of fairy tale is it if the heroine loses? That's not what happens in a fairy tale. It's like the Prince running off with Cinderella's stepmother.
#18re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 3:52pmMatt G I could not agree with you more that the character i really cared about was Paradice. Brooklyn's character totally annoyed me...its seemed that she was unreasonably sweet...to the point of all that niceness seeming totally fake...anyway, i'm glad someone else felt that way too becuase I was starting to wonder if something was wrong with me for really being glad brooklyn lost that whole competition thing.... Updated On: 11/6/04 at 03:52 PM
Matt_G
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/1/04
#19re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/6/04 at 4:13pmBrooklyn losing the competition was the most realistic part of that show. But that character was so annoyingly sweet I really wanted someone to smash that guitar in her face just to shut her up for a few minutes and let Ramona sing another song.
"Noah, someday we'll talk again. But there's things we'll never say. That sorrow deep inside you. It inside me, too. And it never go away. You be okay. You'll learn how to lose things..."
Swankified089
Chorus Member Joined: 5/12/04
#20re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/7/04 at 11:39am
Matt_G - that's EXACTLY how I felt!
Thanks for the honest review
#21re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/7/04 at 11:49am
It must be a commonality that all the girls who play Elphaba have to scream and emote instead of actually singing. I swear, if I ever sang the way one them do I would have no voice.
No wonder Idina always sounds like crap on tv.
Spooky
Featured Actor Joined: 7/20/04
#22re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/7/04 at 11:59am
I left the show wondering if I've become a theater snob, because the audience around me seemed to like it (though they restrained a few moments before giving a ovation)
I liked Paradice the best and like others have said, was rooting for her. By far she had the best wardrobe.
The costumes were better than the show.
By the end, I was confused as to the heck the father actually was.
And Kevin Anderson brings new meaning to white man "dancing".
I wish there was intermission, I would have left.
#23re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:37pm
"I left the show wondering if I've become a theater snob, because the audience around me seemed to like it (though they restrained a few moments before giving a ovation)"
I sometimes feel that way after every show even if I like it a lot. There was a time when an audience gave a standing ovation to a show because it was extraordinary. These days an audience will stand for anything (pun intended).
"Smart! And into all those exotic mystiques -- The Kama Sutra and Chinese techniques. I hear she knows more than seventy-five. Call me tomorrow if you're still alive!"
timote316
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/04
#24re: And Now What You've All Been Waiting For.....Matt_G's BKLYN Review
Posted: 11/7/04 at 12:44pmlol, good review Matt. I almost fell out of my chair when I read your comment about smashing Eden in the face with the guitar lol. Its a funny thing to picture.