I agree, it is LIVE theatre, no chance for re-takes tech problems occur, thats the beauty of live theatre you never know what is going to happen. This show will be around for a while despite what the critics or others say. It is a timeless story that every single person on this earth can relate to!
"Although the video projections are slick and impressive, they quickly become overwhelming, reducing the film's romantic intimacy into bloated and dizzying spectacle. Yet far more irritating is the rock score."
"What is affecting about Ghost is how seriously its creators have taken it. By embracing all it has to say about loss and wrapping it, without apology and without mocking, in an inventive theatricality, they've amplified rather than diminished what they started with. This is how adaptations are supposed to work. One wishes Rubin, Stewart, Ballard, and Warchus were willing (or, given the show's "special arrangement" with Paramount Pictures, able) to leave the movie still further behind. But by refusing to be chained to or limited by what came before, they've turned out a musical that, although less than haunting, is more substantial than theatregoers had any right to expect."
This is exactly how I felt. "...more substantial than theatre goers had any right to expect..." Perfectly stated. If this were a daily, it would be a money review.
Auggie27: This is the first time I've ever felt antipathy towards a show. Then again, I've never seen a show where all elements of the production are epic fails.
I don't know of any automated sets in recent memory that have not broken down at some stage or another. It just so happened that Ghost's did so when the majority of the reviewers were in the house. I would like to think as professional reviewers they can accept this happens from time to time and judge the show on the performances of the fluid sections of the show.
"On press night, a hiccup with the scenery caused an alarming crunch as walls collided and the show was halted mid-way through the second act for hasty repairs. That 20 minutes of quiet chat time with folks in neighboring seats was a high point. It also brought to mind another show plagued early in its run by technical glitches, Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark, which suddenly isn’t looking quite so irredeemable."
"There is so much wrong with "Ghost," it's hard to know where to start. Bruce Joel Rubin's book does not allow us to see the lovable side of Sam before he dies, therefore we're insufficiently invested in his return; the score by Dave Stewart and Glen Ballard (with Rubin) has mundane, repetitive music and simplistic lyrics; the two leads, imported with the show from the U.K., lack gravitas, maturity, sensuality and accessible emotions. The dramaturgical holes gape wide: The nature and rules of Sam's apparent limbo (purgatory?) are never consistently applied. One minute he's flying, the next he's walking off into the sunset, sans purpose. I was never sure whether this was New York of 22 years ago or the high-tech Gotham of today."
Okay this Chicago Tribune review calls Sam the "loving HUSBAND" of Molly. Pretty sure they weren't married as that is why Molly starts off the song "Three Little Words" by saying "I wanna get married Sam."
"Auggie27: This is the first time I've ever felt antipathy towards a show. Then again, I've never seen a show where all elements of the production are epic fails. "
*Confused* Then wouldn't this mean you at least disliked the show? I can't imagine feeling antipathy towards something I thought was an epic failure in every respect.
I feel bad for them, it kinda seems like it's getting a kick in because it's overblown with visuals. I thought the visuals worked amazingly well, the idea of mixing movie making with theatre was exciting to me. I had only ever cried once during a show and that was during Parade in London, Ghost was the only other show that made me cry. To me if the show achieved that as well as making me care about the characters then it did its job well. It should never have gone to New York as everyone here in the UK predicted the US critics would kill it because it was a larger than life musical. Luckily its having a good run in the UK and will most other places it opens.
Variety - Negative (with praise for production and cast), annoyingly it says it opened to a dire reception in the UK, it opened to mixed at worst and miked to positive at best. http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117947430
"The automaton choreography has people looking like zombies, even when they are not. Illusionist Paul Kieve makes amazing stage pictures, but, so far anyway, they can't compare to human theater magic."
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joined:10/5/11
Posted: 4/23/12 at 08:18pm