Author Topic: 2019 Trip Reports  (Read 76565 times)

Swoosh

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #120 on: June 17, 2019, 12:41:46 PM »
The line about the forest is lifted directly from Monty Python’s Spamalot

So someone reached out to me about my review on MiG and I clarified my review with the following message. 

Quote
Greetings.  I appreciate you reaching out.  A little backstory on me, I’ve attended well over 60 Broadway/Off Broadway shows in the past 5 years.  I’ve seen the spectrum from epics to complete flops, so I know what works. 

I’ll start off saying that I enjoyed the show, but I enjoy live musical theater.  I’m not sure that can be said of all guests. 

While the show is not horrible, I personally feel Reuben’s suffers from trying to do too much in too short of a time.  I think spending a little more time in each scene would help a lot.  Give us some meaningful dialogue on why and how this connects to the big story.  Think about why Dickens, Wonderful Life, Heading West and even For the Glory were all successful.  They told a story - a meaningful one.  I felt like that was missing here. 

Song choices might also have something to do with it as well, as only a well-seasoned theater goer (snob) is going to recognize the music.  The sing-a-long left the audience around me very confused.  Most didn’t know the song - even my family had no clue what the song was (I did - but I’ve seen Pippin). 

I think another issue is that Reuben’s is an “original” story so the general public won’t feel like they have an investment in the story.  Both For the Glory and Heading West had historical aspects that the audience could draw past experiences from.  I’m afraid that fact alone will hurt the staying power of the show. 

Finally the biggest complaint I heard was the audience (around me) felt the show was a bait and switch.  They went in expecting a pirate show and it wasn’t.  Look at the ads.  Look at the ushers.  Look at the “Photo with a Pirate”.  Look at the announcer using pirate ship terms.  Do you think they’re wrong in being upset about the bait and switch?

I know this is long and I’ll be more than happy to listen to your responses, but I feel my report was fair for what the show was.  I’m sure I’ll watch it again this season, and I hope it’s improved by then.  I guess we’ll see


Here’s a list of most of the major songs and where they are from
“Sailing for Adventure” - Muppet Treasure Island
“Friend in Me” - Toy Story
“Time to Start Living” - Pippin
Let it Shine - ?
“Defying Gravity” - Wicked
“To thine own self be true” - Something Rotten
Home is not a place (that’s how you know you are home) - ?
“Bright Star” - Bright Star
SWOOSH

palallin

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #121 on: June 17, 2019, 01:59:45 PM »
I appreciate the list:  I only knew the first two.

I am no Disney fan  ;)

I particularly did ot liek the hiphop piece.

I agree very much with the comment that there just wasn't much Pirate here, which disappointed me.

I get the anthology approach, but a tighter connection among the "episodes" would have been welcome.

palallin

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #122 on: June 17, 2019, 02:16:49 PM »
I have added some comments below (asterisks mark the original comments):

*He is the cook, but is John Silver ever called a "captain" in Treasure Island?

Yes, Silver was Captain Silver to his crew.  He was even deposed and reinstated; the early Disney version does a good job of representing it.

*The hiphop monks were pandering and mildly offensive.  Their colorful socks worked for the gag, but the Converse shoes were stupid.  I'm not sure if they were just trying to force a gospel message into the show, but this was too weird.

There is NO gospel message there at all; in fact, the monks are far more Buddhist in their outlook than Christian (of any stripe).  I agree about the pandering though perhaps not for the same reason.

*The kid being named Reuben Branson was a cheap gag, and they practically had to beg the audience to laugh at it, as if they thought they had to explain the joke before the punch line ever arrived.  By the way, why are so many SDC characters named Rube and Reuben?  Had the boy been a Dugan, it would have been a nice nod.

I actually appreciated that joke though Dugan would have been good, too.

*The soundtrack does not blend as one show.  The songs don't even stick to a particular genre.

Variety is the driving force here, but the result isn't always pleasing.

*They kept repeating "You look vaguely familiar" to David's characters, as if they thought the audience was too stupid to recognize he was the same actor in different roles.

I don't think that was the reason:  I think it was simply a Mel Brooks-ish joke.

*Why was he the same actor in different roles?  That didn't tie anything together, and could have made more sense if he had shown up as a real person in Reuben's cabin at the end (like the Wizard of Oz).

Point well taken.  But David does an excellent job (as always) of pulling it off.  A final tying up would have improved the story, however.  Maybe even a WoO-ish appearance prior tot eh dream.

*Was Reuben sufficiently troubled by his lack of destiny at the beginning (He's not even wary of meeting Long John Silver.)?  Was there really a need for a swashbuckling adventure at all?  What was all of this talk of destiny?  I thought the kid just wanted to read himself to sleep, but all of the sudden the kid needs to find himself.

Post-modern psychobabble.  By far, most boys don't want to find themselves:  they want to be someone else  8)

*Gypsies, who are called vagabonds (I don't think anyone ever mentioned the word gypsies.), suddenly appear, but why?  If all of these are supposed to be characters of classic stories, what book did the gypsies come out of?  I don't recall any of them being named.

I have vague memories of gypsies in adventure stories from my own youth (including 101 Dalmatians--the excellent novel, not the wretched movies Disney made out of it).  None stand out as 3 dimensional.

*Sing along?  They ask the audience to sing along to a song most of us have probably never heard, carting out a giant, gaudy scroll and unfurling the words to one verse of the song.  For some reason the scroll remains unfurled during the next verse, even thought the words are different.

This one is the production trying too hard:  I think they know no one knows the piece.

*I'm not sure how Reuben and his mom get back to the fantasy at the end.  The whole thing was supposed to be a dream, but now they just have to "believe" and all the characters reappear for the finale.

Not uncommon (if not ideal).

*Usually these shows have a huge, natural standing ovation at the end.  Not here.  The audience stopped clapping before the actors faded into the background.  Actors waved as they walked upstage, and the audience was packing up to leave.  Embarrassing.

We saw the first performance, and there was very much a natural Standing O at the end.  Of course, I have seen performances of SDC's Dickens that did not end in a Standing O, so the quality of the audience is really a red herring here.

*Again, they performers and crew work very hard with what they've been given.  They do the best job possible.

Agreed whole-heartedly.

 

History Buff

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #123 on: June 17, 2019, 03:51:30 PM »
We saw the first performance, and there was very much a natural Standing O at the end.  Of course, I have seen performances of SDC's Dickens that did not end in a Standing O, so the quality of the audience is really a red herring here.
 


That would have a lot to do with the actors' families being in the audience for the first performance, I'm sure.  There will always be those few who know the performers and raise the roof.
« Last Edit: June 18, 2019, 12:49:08 AM by History Buff »
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Duelist

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #124 on: June 17, 2019, 09:20:17 PM »
This show didn't really appeal to me from the start.  I hope the acrobatic Lumberjack show works in the fall.
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #125 on: June 18, 2019, 12:50:06 AM »
This show didn't really appeal to me from the start.  I hope the acrobatic Lumberjack show works in the fall.

I have high hopes for the lumberjacks.
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palallin

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #126 on: June 18, 2019, 08:29:58 AM »
That would have a lot to do with the actors' families being in the audience for the first performance, I'm sure.  There will always be those few who know the performers and raise the roof.

Possibly, but not necessarily.  Many people will not share these concerns:  they were entertained and responded.

Swoosh

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #127 on: June 18, 2019, 10:11:14 AM »
That would have a lot to do with the actors' families being in the audience for the first performance, I'm sure.  There will always be those few who know the performers and raise the roof.

Possibly, but not necessarily.  Many people will not share these concerns:  they were entertained and responded.

Ok cool.  You’re allowed to like the show.  Just like he’s allowed to not like the show.  Let’s move on. 
SWOOSH

Duelist

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #128 on: June 18, 2019, 08:42:45 PM »
You kind of foresaw the Lumber Jack show, HB.  From this thread:

http://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=130.15

« Last Edit: June 18, 2019, 08:47:13 PM by Duelist »
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #129 on: June 19, 2019, 12:34:35 AM »
You kind of foresaw the Lumber Jack show, HB.  From this thread:

http://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=130.15

Yeah.  I remember that.  It's the first thing I thought about when I saw the ads for it.  I hope the show is everything I imagined.
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palallin

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #130 on: June 19, 2019, 08:51:11 AM »
Ok cool.  You’re allowed to like the show.  Just like he’s allowed to not like the show.  Let’s move on.

Actually, I *didn't* like the show that much.  No debate here, I wanted to discuss particulars because the particulars matter.

However, I shall desist and "move on" per orders.

Swoosh

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #131 on: June 19, 2019, 12:35:08 PM »
You kind of foresaw the Lumber Jack show, HB.  From this thread:

http://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=130.15

Yeah.  I remember that.  It's the first thing I thought about when I saw the ads for it.  I hope the show is everything I imagined.

I wouldn’t expect much Lumberjacking in the show and more of a thinly themed Cirque du Soleil knockoff
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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #132 on: June 19, 2019, 02:16:43 PM »
You kind of foresaw the Lumber Jack show, HB.  From this thread:

http://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=130.15

Yeah.  I remember that.  It's the first thing I thought about when I saw the ads for it.  I hope the show is everything I imagined.

I wouldn’t expect much Lumberjacking in the show and more of a thinly themed Cirque du Soleil knockoff

With lots of manly muscle and sweat of course!
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Duelist

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #133 on: June 19, 2019, 07:30:17 PM »
You kind of foresaw the Lumber Jack show, HB.  From this thread:

http://www.sdcfans.com/forums/index.php?topic=130.15

Yeah.  I remember that.  It's the first thing I thought about when I saw the ads for it.  I hope the show is everything I imagined.

I agree.  Now if the PTB would make your other Attraction ideas come to fruition it would be a very special place!

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golfprowj

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Re: 2019 Trip Reports
« Reply #134 on: June 27, 2019, 01:18:11 PM »
Visited SDC Monday- took my 3 year old daughter for the first time! Highlight of fatherhood to see her experience this great place. Took her on my favorite ride Flooded mine. Really hope they don’t change that ride, to many great memories!