623 posts
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Post by chernjam on Mar 23, 2023 17:33:10 GMT
I'm predicting mixed-positive from the critics
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Post by mattnyc on Mar 23, 2023 18:19:52 GMT
I was at the final preview and the crowd was so much more enthusiastic than I’m used to for this show. If I were a betting man I’d bet on mixed to negative reviews across the board with some good pull quotes focusing on the cast. I also fully expect more than one review playing on “Bad Cinderella” being “Bad”. We shall see what happens tonight…
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2023 4:03:52 GMT
The bad reviews are very, very bad. Some of the more vicious callouts I've seen in a long long time.
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Post by mattnyc on Mar 24, 2023 4:59:31 GMT
Maybe I should become a betting man.
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Post by fluxcapacitor on Mar 24, 2023 5:54:13 GMT
Ouch. These reviews.
The frustrating thing from reading a bunch is that they could so easily be describing the London production. They seem to pick up on the same issues, problems, frustrations, and - in fairness - highlights (e.g. “Only You”)
They had plenty of time to overhaul it. To make it better. To make sense of it. But these reviews show they just changed a few lyrics, added a couple of tunes, gave Cinders a new hairstyle and didn’t bother looking at the deeper issues.
I think this one might go down in infamy and be quoted as one of the “BIGGEST FLOPS ON BROADWAY - EVER!!” clickbait links for years to come.
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19,776 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 24, 2023 6:06:44 GMT
New York Times “The title warned us” ⭐️
New York Post “A wacko storybook dumpster fire on Broadway” ⭐️
😮
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Post by andypandy on Mar 24, 2023 6:06:52 GMT
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914 posts
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Post by karloscar on Mar 24, 2023 8:12:15 GMT
Well at least it's the writers and director who are taking the flak. And rightly so. "Is it too late to rename it Great Stepmother?" has to be the best headline so far.
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4,983 posts
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Post by Someone in a tree on Mar 24, 2023 8:42:29 GMT
How cruel is it to laugh at all these bad reviews ?
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1,483 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Mar 24, 2023 8:46:17 GMT
How cruel is it to laugh at all these bad reviews ? Not at all. The people behind this show have heard all these criticisms before, from the London production, and then done f**k all to address them. They deserve all the terrible reviews they get. |
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1,046 posts
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Post by jgblunners on Mar 24, 2023 10:59:20 GMT
“When lyricists are replaced by ChatGPT, Zippel will not be mourned.”
💀
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2023 11:57:19 GMT
From the Variety review:
To clear up the obvious question, “Bad Cinderella,” which opened at the Imperial Theater Thursday night, isn’t good. Composed by Webber and with lyrics by David Zippel, it is a muddled and momentum-less retooling of the familiar fairy tale in search of a coherent point of view as if it were a glass-slippered foot.
And this is one of the more generous critic responses.
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Post by ThereWillBeSun on Mar 24, 2023 12:20:11 GMT
How cruel is it to laugh at all these bad reviews ? Not at all. The people behind this show have heard all these criticisms before, from the London production, and then done f**k all to address them. They deserve all the terrible reviews they get. THIS is the frustrating thing... it feels like more thought has gone into rebranding Cinderella rather than address the issues at hand. I steered well clear of the WE production because ALW just p*ssed me off with the whole 'I'm saving the industry' when he did nothing to champion new writers during the pandemic. I appreciate I can't be a critic in that sense as I didn't see the production in person, but can only go by bootlegs and what's been discussed on here / Mickey Jo Theatre. (looks like he was there for the final preview) |
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Post by fluxcapacitor on Mar 24, 2023 13:20:36 GMT
How cruel is it to laugh at all these bad reviews ? Not at all. The people behind this show have heard all these criticisms before, from the London production, and then done f**k all to address them. They deserve all the terrible reviews they get. Hit the nail on the head. I haven't read any new criticisms in these reviews. I've heard everything before - all directed at the original production. I just don't understand how a show which had months of development, then a much longer period of previews than usual, followed by a lauded West End Run, could fail so incredibly to change any of the core issues before opening on Broadway. They just spray painted it a bit and thought they knew better. It beggars belief. Looking back, I actually think the original London reviews - which were unexplainably overly positive - did them a huge disservice. I think they purposely spun the positivity at the time as we were just starting to open up again after Covid lockdowns and they wanted to give the industry a little boost and light. But in doing so, they might have lulled the production team into thinking they had some kind of modern masterpiece on their hands. |
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 24, 2023 13:33:13 GMT
Looking back, I actually think the original London reviews - which were unexplainably overly positive - did them a huge disservice. I think they purposely spun the positivity at the time as we were just starting to open up again after Covid lockdowns and they wanted to give the industry a little boost and light. But in doing so, they might have lulled the production team into thinking they had some kind of modern masterpiece on their hands. Oh I don't know. It ran less than a year in London and was snubbed at the Oliviers. The Telegraph 5* review came out right after the very first preview, which is so unusual that it's hard not to think that the producers played a $ignificant role in that. They must have been really deluded. But it could be! I was very surprised they didn't get a name for the leading role, maybe they really were overconfident in the material. |
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2,859 posts
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Post by couldileaveyou on Mar 24, 2023 13:37:41 GMT
Also, I didn't realize that the book was not just Emerald Fennell's. IBDB credits Alexis Scheer for "additional material", but the New York Times review says Scheer's role was "book adaptation". Was there a fall out in the creative team?
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86 posts
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Post by woobl on Mar 24, 2023 15:35:34 GMT
Well at least it's the writers and director who are taking the flak. And rightly so. "Is it too late to rename it Great Stepmother?" has to be the best headline so far. Seems ALW and Cameron Mackintosh's lapdog is getting some flack by the critics - funny that a yes-man has done so well. Oh, wait... |
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Post by westendboy on Mar 24, 2023 17:47:21 GMT
The bad reviews are very, very bad. Some of the more vicious callouts I've seen in a long long time. And only two days after ALW's birthday! That's gotta sting! |
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1,483 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Mar 24, 2023 18:20:31 GMT
The bad reviews are very, very bad. Some of the more vicious callouts I've seen in a long long time. And only two days after ALW's birthday! That's gotta sting! He’s got worse things to deal with right now 😢 |
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520 posts
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Post by anthony on Mar 24, 2023 20:25:54 GMT
The bad reviews are very, very bad. Some of the more vicious callouts I've seen in a long long time. And only two days after ALW's birthday! That's gotta sting! Considering his son was moved to hospice care yesterday, I imagine it probably isn't his biggest problem. Obviously I haven't seen the Broadway version and whilst the West End version had its problems, it really isn't as bad as some of these revies make out. Genuinely think that it's just popular at the moment to hate any anything the Lord touches. Saying that, it seems crazy to have transferred it without a major revamp. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2023 21:02:51 GMT
I think some critics are particularly harsh on this show right now because Broadway has (or recently had) other princess or fairy tale shows that far outshine Bad Cinderella. If you're bringing something similar to the stage, you've got a higher bar for comparison than a brand new show that may break ground.
In his review for the Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones alludes to this:
"Why, one wonders aplenty as one watches, did such a distinguished personage of the musical theater as the incomparable Andrew Lloyd Webber choose to spend some of his precious remaining time on Earth on a musical updating of a beloved fairytale that (a) has no demonstrable respect whatsoever for the dramaturgical structure of the source, and (b) comes with a crass and mostly tasteless sense of humor that feels woefully out of sync with the moment."
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19,776 posts
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Post by BurlyBeaR on Mar 24, 2023 21:16:19 GMT
Can we steer away from discussing ALW’s family please. I’m sure we all acknowledge the situation, there is no more to be said so let’s leave it at that.
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1,483 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Mar 24, 2023 22:43:35 GMT
I think some critics are particularly harsh on this show right now because Broadway has (or recently had) other princess or fairy tale shows that far outshine Bad Cinderella. If you're bringing something similar to the stage, you've got a higher bar for comparison than a brand new show that may break ground.
In his review for the Chicago Tribune, Chris Jones alludes to this:
"Why, one wonders aplenty as one watches, did such a distinguished personage of the musical theater as the incomparable Andrew Lloyd Webber choose to spend some of his precious remaining time on Earth on a musical updating of a beloved fairytale that (a) has no demonstrable respect whatsoever for the dramaturgical structure of the source, and (b) comes with a crass and mostly tasteless sense of humor that feels woefully out of sync with the moment."
I don’t see how that quote alludes to your point at all. |
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1,483 posts
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Post by steve10086 on Mar 24, 2023 22:45:40 GMT
The most inesplicable thing is why ALW didn't get a new director - as he did with Love Never Dies - who would have looked at the show with fresh eyes and obviously much needed improvements. A real director might answer back. That’s why ALW (and CM) prefer to work with Laurence Connor. |
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Post by mattnyc on Mar 24, 2023 23:04:21 GMT
Direction can only do so much when the book remains so weak.
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