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Post by squidward on Jan 8, 2018 17:22:27 GMT
Thats totally fair Emi, i'm the same with lots of shows - I've heard so much good stuff about The Bands Visit, but the recording left me cold and i have no interest in seeing it when i'm in New York... its good to know your own taste and not waste money on stuff you wont enjoy  Oooh don't get me started on that one...can't warm to it AT ALL I would rather see Spongebob than that! Anyway I will give the recording of this a listen even if I never plan to darken it's door! But you're right time and money is limited, and as much as I'm all for giving stuff a go you can't give everything a go! I totally understand Emi and I've felt the same way about many shows, in fact sometimes if I don't fancy seeing something and people keep telling me I should see it, I dig my heels in even further ('Once' was a good example of that, I did go and see it in the end and it did nothing for me whatsoever). Anyway back to SB, I do get the feeling from some other people who have posted on this subject that the very notion of an SB musical on Broadway is an anathema. I was a doubter myself initially being more of a fan of shows like 'Next to Normal'and 'Fun Home' with the odd bit of BOM thrown in. Even though I like the cartoon, it was the fact that the late great David Bowie had given his blessing to the production to use one of his tracks that really peaked my interest. I forgot all about it until we had a trip planned to NY (primarily to see Dear Evan Hansen, which unfortunately without Ben Platt, the less said the better) and then checked out the Chicago clips & interviews/listened to the CD of SB. It was then I decided I had to see it. The minute we (my husband, 14yr old Goth daughter who is SO not a fan of SB and myself) walked into the theatre, we felt transported and that feeling continued from curtain - or should I say Pineapple? - up, to the end which is the only point in the show where an image of the cartoon is seen and that's projected in silhouette on a backcloth, which I thought was very classy. I think it would be tremendously sad if the show doesn't run because people are put off by the title. So much imagination,wizardry and love have been put into the production by Tina Landau,the cast and production team (it's worth checking out some of the interviews with her on You Tube, particularly the TED talk she did about imagination) and it really makes mincemeat of the other ostensibly 'family' orientated shows like the literal dead on arrival stinkers like 'Shrek' & 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory'. Of course each to his own, but I just wanted to give this production a shout-out on the board as the thread didn't seem very active when I searched for it. |
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Post by Deleted on Jan 8, 2018 18:16:31 GMT
Oooh don't get me started on that one...can't warm to it AT ALL I would rather see Spongebob than that! Anyway I will give the recording of this a listen even if I never plan to darken it's door! But you're right time and money is limited, and as much as I'm all for giving stuff a go you can't give everything a go! I totally understand Emi and I've felt the same way about many shows, in fact sometimes if I don't fancy seeing something and people keep telling me I should see it, I dig my heels in even further ('Once' was a good example of that, I did go and see it in the end and it did nothing for me whatsoever). Anyway back to SB, I do get the feeling from some other people who have posted on this subject that the very notion of an SB musical on Broadway is an anathema. I was a doubter myself initially being more of a fan of shows like 'Next to Normal'and 'Fun Home' with the odd bit of BOM thrown in. Even though I like the cartoon, it was the fact that the late great David Bowie had given his blessing to the production to use one of his tracks that really peaked my interest. I forgot all about it until we had a trip planned to NY (primarily to see Dear Evan Hansen, which unfortunately without Ben Platt, the less said the better) and then checked out the Chicago clips & interviews/listened to the CD of SB. It was then I decided I had to see it. The minute we (my husband, 14yr old Goth daughter who is SO not a fan of SB and myself) walked into the theatre, we felt transported and that feeling continued from curtain - or should I say Pineapple? - up, to the end which is the only point in the show where an image of the cartoon is seen and that's projected in silhouette on a backcloth, which I thought was very classy. I think it would be tremendously sad if the show doesn't run because people are put off by the title. So much imagination,wizardry and love have been put into the production by Tina Landau,the cast and production team (it's worth checking out some of the interviews with her on You Tube, particularly the TED talk she did about imagination) and it really makes mincemeat of the other ostensibly 'family' orientated shows like the literal dead on arrival stinkers like 'Shrek' & 'Charlie and The Chocolate Factory'. Of course each to his own, but I just wanted to give this production a shout-out on the board as the thread didn't seem very active when I searched for it. Oh it’s totally shout-out worthy! And actually if it gives families another non-Disney show to go to particularly I’m glad! It seems a really fun evening out so I hope it gets a decent run! |
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Post by Mark on Apr 21, 2018 16:03:26 GMT
Got my rush tickets for the matinee today, and Dad is coming along for the ride since Come From Away was completely sold out.
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Post by QueerTheatre on Apr 22, 2018 11:06:18 GMT
Got my rush tickets for the matinee today, and Dad is coming along for the ride since Come From Away was completely sold out. Where were your rush seats, out of interest? Prim trying to work out the cheapest way to see this, from as close as possible.... |
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Post by Mark on Apr 22, 2018 13:00:18 GMT
Got my rush tickets for the matinee today, and Dad is coming along for the ride since Come From Away was completely sold out. Where were your rush seats, out of interest? Prim trying to work out the cheapest way to see this, from as close as possible.... Went into box office at around 11am. Was offered Orchestra rush for $75, Mezzanine for $50 or Balcony for $30. We took Mezzanine for $50 and were row D right in the centre. The balcony looks high, definitely worth the extra for the Mezzanine, we had a great view. The show itself is a lot of fun. The costumes are fabulous. Ethan Slater was out which is a shame but his understudy did a great job. The Squidward tap number was a definite standout, absolutely crackers. Score is a bit imbalanced with some really excellent numbers and some which for me didn't work. That said, I'd return to see it again as it was a lot of fun. |
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Post by geweena on Apr 22, 2018 20:47:24 GMT
Rush seats seem to be pretty good for this show. Went in March and 30 mins before show started was offered rush seats in orchestra for $75. When got the tickets the were 2nd row centre! Incredible seats
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Post by Deleted on Apr 24, 2018 18:26:08 GMT
Received the most Outer Critics Circle Award nominations of the year. Even more than Potter or Angels.
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Post by Mark on Apr 24, 2018 18:50:30 GMT
Received the most Outer Critics Circle Award nominations of the year. Even more than Potter or Angels. For all the presumptions people may have, it's a real quality show, with exceptional design elements, and some great performances. |
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Post by squidward on Apr 27, 2018 1:02:10 GMT
Received the most Outer Critics Circle Award nominations of the year. Even more than Potter or Angels. For all the presumptions people may have, it's a real quality show, with exceptional design elements, and some great performances. ...And now 11 Drama Desk nominations as well! Even if they don’t win a thing, I’m so happy for everyone involved that the show has been recognised for all its uniquely brilliant elements. I would have thought that Tina Landau, David Zinn and Ethan Slater are all very strong contenders. Fingers crossed that there will be some awards headed back to the Palace Theatre in the near future! |
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Post by Deleted on May 5, 2018 15:34:33 GMT
Currently listening to the OBC recording. It's doing nothing for me. So far (Just A) Simple Sponge and Super Sea Star Savior are the only ones I kinda enjoyed.
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Post by jess173 on May 5, 2018 17:46:08 GMT
I saw this twice this week. And I have to say it’s so much better live than on the CD. I liked the CD to begin with, but it’s very different on stage and it’s so much fun.
At our first visit Ethan Slater was out. Although the understudies did a good job, I was a little disappointed because I was so used to Slaters voice from the CD and it just felt weird hearing someone with a deeper voice sing the songs.
The second visit was kind of unplanned. We had absolutely no luck with any lotteries or TKTS that day so we decided to see Spongebob again (a bargain for 30$). This time Ethan Slater was on and boy was he fantastic. His performance was so energetic. He just was Spongebob. I hope he gets the Tony. He deserves it.
It’s such a feel good show. The audience loved it (and we did too). Too bad it’s not exactly a hit. Maybe the Tonys can help but I don’t think it will survive much longer than the end of the year. Such a shame...
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Post by sherriebythesea on May 7, 2018 15:23:53 GMT
I saw matinee yesterday and it was bonkers. Fun, crazy, colorful, the whole production just wonderful. I saw the u/s Curtis Holbrook as SpongeBob and it didn't take very long for my disappointment at not seeing Ethan Slater disappear. I was front row center mezzanine and thought my poor knees were going to explode with pain. Couldn't move them at all. Even with all that the show just made me happy and smile and made my discomfort seem not so bad..
Had my 14 year old granddaughter with me and we both agreed that Gavin Lee's number was our favorite bit.
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Post by mailtrix on May 7, 2018 15:45:50 GMT
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Post by 49thand8th on May 8, 2018 14:29:42 GMT
This is very good: exeuntnyc.com/features/whats-wrong-with-brand-name-art/Of course, SpongeBob’s message is a simple one (I’d argue the premise of The Band’s Visit is as basic) but how the show communicates this message is the art and here there are ample creative choices to dig into and discuss. Director Tina Landau builds the show up in smart, strategic, colorful, and inventive ways playing on its cartoon background but finding a stage language that is fitting. Though it is clearly expensive and well-budgeted it never feels like she’s needlessly throwing money at problems. Instead, each song and scenario strengthens the characters and their universe. In some large-scale musicals, you get the sense some directors substitute their lack of ideas with loudness or frivolity or frenetic action which may not actually be moving the story forward. My take on Kinky Boots was whenever there was a low energy dip the instruction was to send out more drag queens whether that made any sense or not. SpongeBob could have turned into the shouty, punch-you-in-your-face, unsubtle, sparkly, seizure-inducing nightmare of Aladdin. It’s not.
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Post by squidward on May 8, 2018 17:02:41 GMT
Congratulations to the mighty SpongeBob and all the residents of Bikini Bottom! Four Outer Critics Circle won today for Ethan Slater, Tina Landau, Outstanding New Musical and score.
Thrilled that the show is being officially recognised for the genius work of art and enormous joy that it is. Bring on the Drama Desk Awards & The Tonys!
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Post by iamamazing on May 10, 2018 16:11:54 GMT
I can really see this musical working really well over here as Spongebob has a large fanbase over here and the set design looks incredible. It Will need a big theatre like the Dominion for exsample or Safsdbury. This will easily do a good 3 to 5 years over here.
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Post by 49thand8th on May 11, 2018 14:56:35 GMT
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Post by squidward on May 11, 2018 20:07:26 GMT
Thanks for posting. David Zinn is a creative genius. His level of creativity, artistry and ingenuity are off the scale.I hope he gets the Tony. He certainly deserves it!
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Post by stuart on May 12, 2018 8:20:30 GMT
I can really see this musical working really well over here as Spongebob has a large fanbase over here and the set design looks incredible. It Will need a big theatre like the Dominion for exsample or Safsdbury. This will easily do a good 3 to 5 years over here. Spongebob does have a big fanbase but does it correlate into a theatregoing fanbase? Everytime I’ve mentioned the show to people I know, they’ve sniggered or looked at me with a look of disdain. I think if this was to ever hit the West End, people would dismiss it as a show for children. It would struggle in a barn too. I could see it doing a decent year at somewhere like the New London or Prince of Wales (not that I see Mormon going anywhere anytime soon) but I think it would struggle for anything bigger. |
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Post by Mark on May 12, 2018 8:26:49 GMT
And the problem being the physical production as is currently stands is very big, and would be difficult to make smaller like Legally Blonde etc did.
We have so many shows that do the lunchtime slots at our West End theatres that means I'm not sure if there's a market here for a big show like this aimed at kids/families.
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Post by daniel on May 12, 2018 8:48:30 GMT
If Spongebob were ever to transfer, I'd expect a similar situation to Shrek, whereby the production was stripped back to a new, more simple staging, which became the template for all future productions.
The current staging is utterly brilliant but it would need somewhere like the Palladium/AV/Drury Lane/Dominion to really have an impact, and sadly I can't see it sustaining a run in any of them.
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Post by squidward on May 12, 2018 12:03:20 GMT
I can really see this musical working really well over here as Spongebob has a large fanbase over here and the set design looks incredible. It Will need a big theatre like the Dominion for exsample or Safsdbury. This will easily do a good 3 to 5 years over here. Spongebob does have a big fanbase but does it correlate into a theatregoing fanbase? Everytime I’ve mentioned the show to people I know, they’ve sniggered or looked at me with a look of disdain. I think if this was to ever hit the West End, people would dismiss it as a show for children. It would struggle in a barn too. I could see it doing a decent year at somewhere like the New London or Prince of Wales (not that I see Mormon going anywhere anytime soon) but I think it would struggle for anything bigger. Sadly I think you may be right about a theatre going fan base here in the UK. I’ve had the same disdainful reactions from people who know I’ve seen it twice and am evangelistic about what a unique and uplifting production it is. It’s a hard sell. I think people assume it’s a corporate cash-in children’s show with people lumbering around the stage with large character costumes on ( there was actually a production like that that toured the UK once and bombed). There’s no comparison between SB and Shrek. Shrek, in my opinion was the epitome of a cororate cash-fest, which just retold the story of the movie almost verbatim,with a poor script, variable score, copycat costumes from the movie and a patchy cast, whereas SB’s narrative is nothing to do with the cartoon and everything about the cartoon itself has been reimagined. It has so much intelligence, imagination and artistry in it, not to mention a score made up of tracks from brilliant artists like Bowie, Cyndi Lauper and John Legend. The casting is also completely colour and gender blind. All that said, I don’t know how the marketing people can get past the initial reaction of scorn that a lot of people have about the show, so I’d be very surprised (delighted, but surised) if it ever came over to the UK, |
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Post by Deleted on May 12, 2018 13:18:43 GMT
If memory serves, though, Shrek on Broadway didn't work as well as they had hoped, and the London production was a deliberate "re-think" of it. The fact it looked scaled down on the set was partly economics, but partly choice, if I recall. And it worked with a far longer run here than anyone expected (not surprised, the Broadway version - I saw it on DVD - wasn't as good, IMHO). You are correct dear Monkey- I saw both versions- the Broadway was, for want of a better descriptor 'very Broadway' and flashy big etc. The London (then tour) versions were scaled back and looked a lot leaner but also cleaner for it. It's not in my top 10 ever by any stretch but it's a decent musical that was vastly improved by a bit of descaling. Much like a kettle. As for ole Spongey I reckon if they COULD scale it back enough to fit into a smaller theatre here it might have a nice limited run/touring life. |
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Post by squidward on May 13, 2018 1:54:10 GMT
If memory serves, though, Shrek on Broadway didn't work as well as they had hoped, and the London production was a deliberate "re-think" of it. The fact it looked scaled down on the set was partly economics, but partly choice, if I recall. And it worked with a far longer run here than anyone expected (not surprised, the Broadway version - I saw it on DVD - wasn't as good, IMHO). You are correct dear Monkey- I saw both versions- the Broadway was, for want of a better descriptor 'very Broadway' and flashy big etc. The London (then tour) versions were scaled back and looked a lot leaner but also cleaner for it. It's not in my top 10 ever by any stretch but it's a decent musical that was vastly improved by a bit of descaling. Much like a kettle. As for ole Spongey I reckon if they COULD scale it back enough to fit into a smaller theatre here it might have a nice limited run/touring life. [/quote I think a big part of what makes SB such a joyous experience is the immersive design that envelops the theatre from the moment you walk in. Aside from the massive Rube Goldberg devices on either side of the stage, there’s a Hawaiian band on one side of the auditorium and Patchy The Pirate’s schtick hsppening on the other side. That plus all the other adornments hanging from all sorts of places just transport you into other world. I think the show would lose something without that and the stage design which features a sort of circular catwalk that is heavily used throughout the show. David Ziinn the designer) is an absolute genius so no doubt he could find a way of scaling it down, but I don’t think it would work as well. Also it’s a big cast which really knock the show out of the park, especially in the showstopper numbers like Squidward’s moment in the spotlight, so it would be expensive to tour ( I can’t imagine them substituting cast members for puppets like they’ve done in the recent Shrek tour). I could be wrong, but I think a watered down ( no pun intended) touring version of the show could really diminish what makes it so special. That said, it wouldn’t surprise me if the producers have their eyes on some sit down weeks across the States when the show closes, but I just can’t see it making it across the pond. |
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Post by sherriebythesea on May 14, 2018 20:17:43 GMT
Plus it gave me the opportunity to explain to my granddaughter what a Rube Goldberg device is |
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