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| Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 11:07 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I'm not a New Yorker so when I plan a trip to take in an Encores show, I always buy a ticket for the final performance. Given the short rehearsal time, the final performance (for me) has always provided the most satisfying experience. Why would anyone buy a ticket to an earlier showing when the performance may well be disappointing? Just for the record, I saw the Sun. evening show of The Tap Dance Kid on 2/6/2022. I was blown away by how entertaining it was. I had never seen this musical on stage and had not listened to the OBC recording in years. Actually I had forgotten that Emma was originally portrayed by Martine Allard, who was a big girl. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of Shahadi Wright Joseph and was amazed at the dancing talents of Trevor Jackson and Alexander Bello in particular. Jared Grimes' choreography was outstanding. Overall I found the evening to be a fine showcase for black artists. For a change, I noticed more black folks in attendance (I was seated in the balcony) than any other Encores show I have ever attended. I spoke to several people at intermission and afterward and did not hear a single negative comment. Just my observations. |
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| There is never an Encores final performance where... | |
| Posted by: young-walsingham 03:48 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| ...they leave a cast album behind. The everlasting joys of The Boys from Syracuse, Babes in Arms, Out of this World etc.... | |
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| re: There is never an Encores final performance where... | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 05:30 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: There is never an Encores final performance where... - young-walsingham 03:48 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Call Me Madame too. The early days! Fond memories. On a Clear Day with it's insane second act, but a delightful Kristin Chenoweth. Promises Promises in far better version than the Broadway revival. No, No Nanette. Fabulous! |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 01:10 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Why would anyone buy a ticket to an earlier showing when the performance may well be disappointing? Because I prefer not to get home at midnight when I have to be at work early the next morning. This should not require a huge imaginative leap. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:08 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? - MockingbirdGirl 01:10 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I knew I'd get a sensible reply from you. Thank you very much. You're right, of course. I should have made my questions a little more specific. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 01:12 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? - MockingbirdGirl 01:10 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Do you go on other weeknights? | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? | |
| Last Edit: MockingbirdGirl 01:27 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: MockingbirdGirl 01:25 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? - Singapore/Fling 01:12 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Typically not. But I might do so on a Thursday or Friday, when I don't have the entire work week stretching out in front of me. | |
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| sure but | |
| Last Edit: Chazwaza 12:57 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 12:50 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Of course the last performance in a run of just a handful of performances is going to be the one where the staging is most smooth and the cast is the most gelled together and each person has settled into their part the most... the most/best of 7 performances, sure. But every performance they sell tickets to is a valid performance and they should expect a one-time audience every time. The director should plan a staging that can be executed well in the short time frame they have so that they show and cast can shine and be the best they can be from performance 1... and the producers should absolutely expect people coming prior to the final performance expecting the show to be ready... because it should be. If you can't pull off a polished FULL production on a concert-staging's schedule, then you should stick to doing a concert staging. And that includes the time, energy and resources needed to entirely rewrite the show into a new show and direct it from scratch with a full and notably longer book too. Beyond that, as others have said, not everyone can go to the sunday night show for any number of reasons... and Encores doesn't want them all to. They need to sell tickets for each performance, and audience who choose to or can only go one of the pre-final performances shouldn't need to expect to be disappointed unless they go in prepared to see a rehearsal. |
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| re: sure but | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 09:00 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: sure but - Chazwaza 12:50 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Thank you for your answer! | |
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| re: sure but | |
| Posted by: Chazwaza 10:25 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: sure but - BroadwayTonyJ 09:00 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| :) Also, you never know. Logic says the last of a very short run like this would be the best, but sometimes people are off, or tired. Sometimes Fri or Sat are the most electric, and that's what you want. Sometimes they aren't. You really can never know if the best performance will be their very first, their last or one in the middle. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 12:34 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| People have lives and pick the performance that fits their schedule. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:05 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - KingSpeed 12:34 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| That makes sense. Thanks. I was just looking for some answers. Nothing more. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: Ncassidine 11:23 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 11:06 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| "Why would anyone buy a ticket to an earlier showing when the performance may well be disappointing?" Because most people don't like to go to the theatre on Sunday night? |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 01:03 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: Singapore/Fling 12:58 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - Ncassidine 11:23 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I love going on Sunday night and prefer it to a matinee, but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. But BTJ gets to the core conundrum of Encores!, which is that with the run so short, the audience and the critics are seeing the very first preview and responding to it as if it is the finished show - and Encores! needs their buzz to sell tickets. But as these “concerts” have become fully teched, nearly 3 hour musicals, that first show is not going to be as polished and right as it will be over the weekend. As for whether the best show is the last one, not necessarily. I think partly, you almost never get a perfect show, so some things might really pop on Sunday night, but Saturday night a different thing hit. The audience can also come into play; I chose last night to see “The Life” partly because I hoped the audience would bring that Friday night excitement with them. I do think that if you wait until at least the 3rd performance, it’s more likely that you’ll see a version of the show that has gelled and worked out some of the kinks. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:04 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - Ncassidine 11:23 am EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I actually didn't know that. When in New York, I always attend Sunday evening shows. I hate to waste a slot. However, I do know a lot of people (a few on ATC, but most not) who agree about only seeing the final Encores show and not earlier ones, unless they plan on seeing a certain Encores production more than once. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 04:06 am EDT 03/20/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 12:04 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I’ve seen almost every Encores. I used to have a Friday night subscription which was usually fine. But I switched to Sunday night a few years ago and I have usually found those performances to be very good. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: NoPeopleLike 12:18 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 12:04 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Re: "I hate to waste a slot." Most people who see a show are not seeing many shows over a short period of time. They might go see one show every couple of months or so, or a few shows a year. They don't want to choose a Sunday night when they have work or school the next day. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Last Edit: BroadwayTonyJ 12:31 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 12:30 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - NoPeopleLike 12:18 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Encores would seem to be the exception to the rule because there are so few performances. So many folks see disappointing performances and then complain about it on ATC. I've never seen a bad Encores show when I attended a final performance. The Tap Dance Kid is the most recent example. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: NoPeopleLike 01:29 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 12:30 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| If you've never see a bad Encores show (including Tap Dance Kid), my guess is you're not very picky. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: FinalPerformance 08:42 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - NoPeopleLike 01:29 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| They're not picky their asleep. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:56 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - FinalPerformance 08:42 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I've never dozed at any Encores performance. Generally I have strong, black coffee beforehand. Why be so nasty? There was nothing judgmental in my post and certainly nothing offensive. | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:38 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - NoPeopleLike 01:29 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| That's mean. Have I ever criticized you for any reason? I was just looking for some honest answers to a couple of simple questions. I've seen 21 Encores productions. I just reviewed them all. Many were excellent. Others very good. The rest I found to be enjoyable. I was disappointed that Olivia Dukakis in 70, Girls, 70 read directly from a script and rarely looked up, but the rest of the cast, particularly Anita Gillette, was so good that I still liked the performance. The shows I decided to buy tickets to were mostly ones I had never seen on a stage like House of Flowers, Fanny, Face the Music, Applause, Juno, Music in the Air, Lost in the Stars, Where's Charley?, Zorba!, Pipe Dream, High Button Shoes, and one or two others. Sometimes I happened to be in New York and decided re-visit a show that I was particularly fond of (Follies, 1776, The Golden Apple, Of Thee I Sing, 70, Girls, 70, Mack & Mabel). In all honesty, I have not seen a bad Encores show. I typically go to the theatre to have a good time, not to be a critic. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: PlazaBoy 08:51 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 08:38 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| You are taking me down memory lane. I've enjoyed most of my Encore experiences as well. The night I saw Applause, Christine Ebersole had a terrible cold. It was sad to see her struggle. You knew she would have been great, but just couldn't muster it that evening. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Last Edit: writerkev 01:04 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: writerkev 01:03 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 12:30 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| With all respect, what you’re saying makes very little sense. Are you suggesting the first several performances play to empty houses? That absolutely everyone tries to see the same show? How would that work? As for your idea that people don’t like the shows because they see early performances, you have no way of knowing that. (And it’s highly unlikely. Things don’t truly improve that much in a matter of a few performances to change from an F to an A.) The only way you could make your case about “Tap Dance Kid” with any confidence is if you’d seen both the first and the last shows and could speak to the difference in quality. As it is, you may have simply liked the show much better than most people did. That’s fine, but you can’t necessarily attribute it to the improvement made over a few extra shows. You’re simply speculating, and it just doesn’t seem likely. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:03 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - writerkev 01:03 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Huh? I stated what I have been doing for the past several years. Then I just asked a couple of questions. I was curious about something. I didn't criticize anyone. I liked the final performance of a show. Did you actually read my post? | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Last Edit: writerkev 08:25 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| Posted by: writerkev 08:23 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 08:03 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| I did, yes. You suggest that you liked “The Tap Dance Kid,” so it must be because you saw the final performance instead of earlier performances which people have criticized. That’s what I don’t think makes sense. (And you basically ask why everyone doesn’t see the final performance, the weirdness of which is pretty obvious.) | |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:51 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - writerkev 08:23 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| The title of my post asked two simple questions. I was looking for honest answers. That's all. I asked a rhetorical question in my original post, i.e., Why would anyone buy a ticket to an earlier showing when the performance may well be disappointing?. You are reading things into my very straightforward questions that are not there. Please don't re-interpret. I have no hidden agenda. There is nothing offensive in my post. |
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| re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId | |
| Posted by: Thom915 11:39 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Encores: Isn't the Final Performance Always the Best? What Is the Reason for Attending Earlier Ones? & My Experience at The Tap Dance KId - BroadwayTonyJ 08:51 pm EDT 03/19/22 | |
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| Having been in or worked on several shows with very limited runs, I can say final show is not necessarily the best. There are too many variables to have any guarantee of which show will be best. You are probably correct in the likelihood that the first or second performances will improve in subsequent shows but after that it's anybody's guess. And the degree of improvement varies from production to production depending on any number of variables. You also say you didn't insult anybody and I don't believe you meant to but in truth you did namely those people who had reservations about Tap Dance Kid (and now The Life) without seeing the performance you deigned to be the best. For the record, I saw the Sunday matinee of Tap Dance Kid. That's pretty close to your hypothetical best performance but for3/4 of the show I was bored out of my mind. The last 20 minutes were terrific as were a couple earlier numbers and the mother/daughter scene was very nice and rang true. I had a friend who went Thursday evening and the thought everything was great, proving only that different people have different tastes and arguably standards. I am glad you enjoyed it. Many of the people around me did also. Others grumbled like myself. |
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