| Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? | |
| Posted by: | Ann 02:48 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| I know a couple chatters were there. Now, speak up! ;) | |
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| re: Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? | |
| Posted by: | ilw 04:49 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? - Ann 02:48 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| Sitting in the theater during the first preview of Honeymoon in Vegas, I had the same thought that I had during a preview of The Book of Mormon: this is a musical comedy that's going to be a hit because it is laugh-out-loud funny and manages to sustain comic momentum through the whole show. I think Honeymoon is the better show, due to its brilliant score by Jason Robert Brown, which not only captures the sound of Las Vegas but also includes beautiful ballads, hilarious take-offs of Hawaiian music, and the "Airport Song," which starts out semi-realistically and gets sillier and funnier as it goes along. There's a great overture and entr'acte and lots of effective underscoring, including a clever echo of the Vertigo movie theme, which is used to underline the similarity in the two stories' plot of a woman reminding a man of his former love. The original cast recording is on sale in the theater for an outrageous $25. I bought it anyway, since I think this is the only place to get the CD for now. A digital version is available on Amazon and iTunes. There were a few technical bumps and Tony Danza stumbled on a few of his lines, but generally things went smoothly for a first preview. I hope that the airplane set piece can be made more stable: its conspicuous rocking was distracting. I saw the show during its tryout at Paper Mill, and I think the performances have improved. The book has changed a bit and the staging is different due in part to the smaller stage (it seems a little cramped at the Nederlander), but I didn't notice many musical changes. (I did notice that "Anywhere But Here" has been shortened.) Seat warnings: the stage is high, so you definitely want to avoid the first row of the orchestra and maybe even a couple of rows behind that. I was sitting in the fifth row and still couldn't see Tony Danza's feet during his tap number. During intermission, I went up to the mezzanine, and spoke to a woman in the front row who complained that the railing bisected her view. I think this is because they've extended the stage to cover the orchestra pit. (The musicians are on stage.) | |
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| re: Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? | |
| Posted by: | richmurphy 05:11 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? - ilw 04:49 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| I was there last night as well, and also think the show will be a hit. The only flubs I found distracting involved a special effect glitch during the parachuting scene (I am being vague to avoid a spoiler), and malfunctioning lights on one of the Flying Elvises' costume. I really liked how the full orchestra was on stage for the overture and entr'acte, and then broke into pieces and rolled away when the show began. Encores might steal this idea if they keep making their set designs more lavish (and if the City Center has the wing space). Between that idea, the appropriately garish Vegas neon settings, and the clever use of projections, designer Anna Louizos deserves a shout-out for her work here. | |
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| Opening Jan. 15 - 2 months of previews??? | |
| Posted by: | John_Patti 08:15 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Honeymoon in Vegas first preview ... ? - richmurphy 05:11 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| Isn't that a lot of previews for a show that previewed across the river and already got the NY Times approval? | |
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| would you open a show around dec 18 | |
| Posted by: | dramedy 10:01 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | Opening Jan. 15 - 2 months of previews??? - John_Patti 08:15 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| Critics might be on vacation and good reviews lost in the holidays. Probably 2nd week I jan is first chance. | |
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| re: would you open a show around dec 18 | |
| Posted by: | garyd 11:07 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | would you open a show around dec 18 - dramedy 10:01 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| "Music Man" opened in mid-December. Of course that was eons ago. "Its Only a Play" previewed for decades. ( well for a long time) | |
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| The list of hit shows that opened in mid-to-late December . . . | |
| Posted by: | keikekaze 02:05 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | re: would you open a show around dec 18 - garyd 11:07 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| . . . is a long one. Why Broadway has lately abandoned these dates, I don't know. Drama critics certainly do not need a month's vacation in the middle of the theater season. | |
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| Perhaps they fear the distrcated consumer will miss reading about | |
| Posted by: | Esther 10:45 am EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | The list of hit shows that opened in mid-to-late December . . . - keikekaze 02:05 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| the opening? What good are good reviews if no one reads/sees/hears them? | |
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| re: Perhaps they fear the distrcated consumer will miss reading about | |
| Posted by: | keikekaze 03:38 pm EST 11/20/14 |
| In reply to: | Perhaps they fear the distrcated consumer will miss reading about - Esther 10:45 am EST 11/20/14 |
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| Well, that may be, or there may be many similar reasons alleged that have something or other to do with the holiday season, but all I can say is that none of those holiday-related reasons ever hurt The Music Man, Amadeus, Dreamgirls, or the many other Broadway hits that opened in the second half of December. | |
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| re: Opening Jan. 15 - 2 months of previews??? | |
| Posted by: | Manager-561 08:50 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | Opening Jan. 15 - 2 months of previews??? - John_Patti 08:15 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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| Nobody wants to open in December, so I think they are extending previews to have a January opening. | |
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| And "Beautiful" had almost the same dates last year. nmi | |
| Posted by: | Ann 09:26 pm EST 11/19/14 |
| In reply to: | re: Opening Jan. 15 - 2 months of previews??? - Manager-561 08:50 pm EST 11/19/14 |
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