| Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| The official curtain time for “Rocky,” the new musical at the Winter Garden Theater, is 8 on most nights. But at the risk of promoting tardiness among theatergoers, I feel obliged to point out that the show doesn’t really get started until 10:10 or thereabouts. That’s when a production that has seemed to be down for the count since the opening bars of its overture suddenly acquires a pulse. And the audience wakes out of a couch potato stupor — the kind you experience when you have the television tuned to an infomercial station — to the startling tingle of adrenaline in its blood. Of course, by that point, it’s all over but the fighting... | |
| Link | Swinging at Fighters and Serenading Turtles |
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| NY Mag Pan | |
| Posted by: | Singapore/Fling 02:11 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Brantley on ROCKY - MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| "Unfortunately, this two-character, black-and-white kitchen-sink drama, reminiscent of Paddy Chayefsky in his made-for-TV days, is trapped inside (and eventually strangled by) a garishly colorful bloated mess of an unmusical musical called Rocky." Jesse Green's summation includes some of the more thoughtful writing I've seen as to just why this project began with challenges it was unable to overcome. | |
| Link | Why Rocky Doesn't Fly Now |
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| Terry Teachout Likes It in WSJ - A knockdown hit | |
| Posted by: | lowwriter 12:35 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Brantley on ROCKY - MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| So yes, "Rocky" is a straight-down-the-center commodity musical-but a damned fine one, maybe the best I've ever seen. A knockdown hit, in fact. | |
| Link | WSJ Article |
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| Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | WaymanWong 12:52 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Terry Teachout Likes It in WSJ - A knockdown hit - lowwriter 12:35 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| He says Karl ''is the biggest thing since Hugh Jackman. He looks like a movie star, has charisma ... and is merely sensational.'' | |
| Link | Huffington Post: 'Rocky' is a Broadway knockout |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 08:46 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - WaymanWong 12:52 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| MERELY sensational? Sounds like a bit of a dig. I doubt he meant it that way, but that's an odd choice of word. | |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | Chazwaza 01:33 pm EDT 03/16/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - Chromolume 08:46 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| I don't like Rex Reed, but I think the word choice is better than you're giving credit for. I think the use of a minimizing adverb is meant to give a sassy kind of power to the surprising nature of the sensation performance. Yeah, he's pretty good, he's only SENSATIONAL! I dunno, it's hard to explain, but I think it works. | |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 11:11 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - Chromolume 08:46 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Maybe Rex had been listening to the OCR of "Redhead" and was bowled over by Gwen Verdon's recording of "I Feel Merely Marvelous"? | |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 11:32 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - PlayWiz 11:11 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Perhaps, but he could have kept the idea of that alliteration and penned "simply sensational," which I think would have sounded better. ;-) | |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | PlayWiz 11:34 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - Chromolume 11:32 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Agreed! :) | |
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| Who Reads Rex Reed Anymore? | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 03:12 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - WaymanWong 12:52 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| teachout's review will matter, especially his christmas present of a pull quote but rex reed? john simon probably has more sway at this point, and when's the last time anything he said made any difference? | |
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| re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl | |
| Posted by: | TheHarveyBoy 06:48 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - WaymanWong 12:52 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| I never thought Rex Reed was much of a critic. Now I don't think he's much of an architect, either. Can anyone explain what he means here? "On the stage, where money is tight, space limitations prevent a third wall between the actors and the audience" Triangular rooms or what? | |
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| Perhaps... | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 07:49 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Rex Reed also calls ''Rocky'' a knockout and raves about Andy Karl - TheHarveyBoy 06:48 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| ... Rocky is so cartoonish and two-dimensional that it really is only breaking the third wall. ;-) | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | old_school 12:16 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | Brantley on ROCKY - MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Brantley nails it.*SPOILERS* It's a beat by beat walk through of the movie. No acid in the characters, no surprises or turns in the characters and it suffers from a saccharine sweetness. Karl needed to be allowed to own this character. He apparently, wasn't.I never felt for one moment that Mick the trainer spent his life in the ring and boxing gym. Rocky's rant at him should be an aria and crescendo. The only REAL moment was when Adrian turned on her brother. It had truth and passion to it and the audience responded truthfully and spontaneously to it. Apollo Creed should be really big man to underscore the David and Goliath metaphor.Watching the fight from up on the stage was anti climactic.We were probably great set dressing. It obviously worked better from the front. Score?...Anyway, storytelling is an art. This was a missed opportunity as storytelling. It'll probably run for years. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | lordofspeech 12:32 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - old_school 12:16 am EDT 03/14/14 |
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| Brantley's writing is exciting here. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 11:29 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | Brantley on ROCKY - MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Maybe next year's revival of Follies can play the Winter Garden. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 11:32 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - AlanScott 11:29 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| i'll bite. i assume you're joking - though how anyone could joke about FOLLIES is beyond me. is there a revival of FOLLIES planned for next year? | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | BruceinIthaca 11:58 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - enoch10 11:32 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| No, next year is GYPSY's turn--with the little girl who plays Lily on Modern Family as Rose. | |
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| Hah ..... | |
| Posted by: | jdm 10:38 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - BruceinIthaca 11:58 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| but give it five years and you know Sutton Foster will be doing it! :-) Jim | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 11:33 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - enoch10 11:32 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| No. But with how frequently they occur, I think we'll be due for one by then. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | enoch10 11:36 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - AlanScott 11:33 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| i hope you appreciate the emotional roller coaster the last minute and a half have been for me. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | pecan26 04:43 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - enoch10 11:36 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Enoch, I love you. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 11:41 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - enoch10 11:36 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Truth is that I did think of you before I posted. But I did not wish to cause you stress. Well, not a lot of stress. | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | Chromolume 11:37 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - enoch10 11:36 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| "I always like to think there's a Follies, kid..." ;-) | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | pierce 05:29 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - Chromolume 11:37 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| You believe him, thithter? | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | showtunetrivia 01:51 am EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - Chromolume 11:37 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Priceless! Chromolume, you're wonderful! Laura, still laughing | |
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| re: Brantley on ROCKY | |
| Posted by: | AlanScott 11:41 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Brantley on ROCKY - Chromolume 11:37 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Don't you wish it was our Follies? It's everybody's. | |
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| And the AP | |
| Posted by: | MockingbirdGirl 10:18 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | Brantley on ROCKY - MockingbirdGirl 10:17 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Link | 'Rocky' Predictable Until It Gets Puzzling |
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| re: And the AP | |
| Posted by: | singleticket 01:58 pm EDT 03/14/14 |
| In reply to: | And the AP - MockingbirdGirl 10:18 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| This baffling idea means the show actually grinds to a halt so folks in the theater's most expensive seats can be ushered onstage, while worried-looking stagehands awkwardly move heavy equipment onto their old rows. At this point, "Rocky" is trying to be immersive. The cost is its soul. This made chuckle. Was Spiderman the first musical to create these specialized ticket zones that are priced above the tiers of the premium tickets? I find it fascinating particularly in this case because the theatrical display of the highest ticket holders becomes folded into the staging of the show. In some ways it makes sense, aren't the ticket holders who sit at the front of a fight the ones who pay the most money or who have the most clout? But on another level it's so nutty and greedy that it must upstage the storytelling. I think it would for me. | |
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| re: And the AP | |
| Posted by: | owk 10:47 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | And the AP - MockingbirdGirl 10:18 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Who actually wrote this AP review? Pretty good piece of theater criticism. | |
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| re: And the AP | |
| Posted by: | MikeR 11:32 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
| In reply to: | re: And the AP - owk 10:47 pm EDT 03/13/14 |
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| Mark Kennedy | |
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