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re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no trouble finding an audience."

Posted by: BruceinIthaca 01:06 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no trouble ... - lowwriter 12:53 am EDT 03/31/14

As with "Mothers and Sons" (which I liked a lot more than "If/Then," albeit in its DC version), I think Brantley writes a fair and actually somewhat generous review. He praises Idina Menzel for doing what she does well (even when her material lets her down), praises the other actors as appropriate to their roles in the show, and focuses his negative remarks where many of us thought they belong--the trite and poorly written book and the less than distinguished score.

And if Adele Manatee stays with it, I bet the reviews won't matter for awhile. The teenage girls who made "Wicked" a huge success are now at the right age for this one.

I still think "Next to Normal" was better and braver and, even when it dipped into cliches about mental illness, still was reaching for something important.


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And what about the title? An odd choice and a potential liability?

Posted by: Delvino 07:26 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no tro ... - BruceinIthaca 01:06 am EDT 03/31/14

As everyone has noted, this show arrives with a star, and the star is still the event.

But bigger picture issues here, beyond Menzel's departure (which will come one day): isn't the title "If/Then" with its odd punctuation and stubby shorthand less attractive than it might be? It's accurate in terms of content, but it's hard to imagine anyone being curious -- with $138 in their hand -- about a show dubbed "If/Then." "Once" is poetic, "If/Then" chilly.


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re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no trouble finding an audience."

Posted by: lowwriter 01:11 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no tro ... - BruceinIthaca 01:06 am EDT 03/31/14

I thought the review was pretty much a pan except for some of the performances. If the songs and book are both trashed, why would I want to see it after reading the review?

I have a ticket for the show but I wouldn't have bought one after reading Brantley's and other reviews.


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re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no trouble finding an audience."

Posted by: pierce 02:07 am EDT 03/31/14
In reply to: re: "Yet I suspect this show, which has been doing solid business in previews, will have no tro ... - lowwriter 01:11 am EDT 03/31/14

And after reading Brantley's review for Wicked I thought the show would be headed for the half-price ticket booth and a modest run. Instead, it became a smash.

The critic's job is to be report honestly about how he/she felt about a show. I think most of them realize that today's theatergoers will take note of what's been written, then make up their own minds.


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