Our version of Tommy has received good, if not great, reviews from the critics, including one who usually doesn't like musicals so usually doesn't give us a good review no matter what we do. Here are a couple from The Seattle Times and Talkin' Broadway.
Our regular subscribers are use to us doing the old standards by Rogers & Hammerstein, etc. (it's what brings in the cash so we can do things like developing new works). I keep imagining them saying what Reverend Lovejoy says here (it's towards the end). We've had people walk out because they didn't like it or wasn't what they expected. Others have raved and said it is the best thing that they have seen here. We're doing a second curtain call more than 75% of the time because of standing ovations.
At intermission, as we sit outside behind the theatre to cool off, some patrons can be seen leaving. Usually only two or so. Some days we get offended if we don't see anyone leave. 'Ok then, let's take it up a notch!' we joke.
Our regular subscribers are use to us doing the old standards by Rogers & Hammerstein, etc. (it's what brings in the cash so we can do things like developing new works). I keep imagining them saying what Reverend Lovejoy says here (it's towards the end). We've had people walk out because they didn't like it or wasn't what they expected. Others have raved and said it is the best thing that they have seen here. We're doing a second curtain call more than 75% of the time because of standing ovations.
At intermission, as we sit outside behind the theatre to cool off, some patrons can be seen leaving. Usually only two or so. Some days we get offended if we don't see anyone leave. 'Ok then, let's take it up a notch!' we joke.
Agreed!!I like comments from real people. So here are some things that have been said or written to me directly.
This first one needs a little bit of a background to understand part of her comment.
There was quite a bit of drama at the theatre right before we opened Tommy. Including two different days where an ambulance had to be called. One for a techie, one for an actor. Both are fine and only one missed the second act and was there the very next night.
We did have to take a 45-minute intermission during our paid-preview to wait for the ambulance and figure out what to do when minus a cast member.
After that show, this little old lady who was ushering approached me as I walked out of the booth. She grabbed my arm excitedly and said, "That was... OH MY GOD! Just.....OH MY GOD! That was..... WOW! A few people left at intermission, probably because of, well, you know... but boy did they miss out!!"
I think she liked it.
The assistant TD at the theatre that we will be moving the show to came to see it mostly for the job aspect - looking at what the stage is suppose to look like, etc. I saw him in the Green Room afterwards. This was our conversation:
Whadya think?
Wow.
A lot to do, eh?
Wow.
I got a total of five wows and couldn't get anything else out of him. I didn't know if he was overwhelmed by the set or the show or both. We do have two concentric revolves and a lift, which is a little more than what we normally do.
K-Lyn e-mailed me this comment after she came from out of town to see it.
I always go back to the binary scale of 0 = don't go, 1= go. Tommy scores a 2 = drive 200 miles to go.
One Sunday night show, the sound engineer reported to us over headset that someone had got out a lighter on our second curtain call. The actors have reported that other people have waved their lit-up cell-phones.
About the marquee: I was walking back to my car from the bar late at night and was testing out the night setting on my new camera, hence no lights coming from the theatre.
3 comments:
I really need to scoot around the blog world more than the 5 blogs I check daily. I've read your blog before, but the numerous times I've passed by the Village Theater while taking Gayle to/from the fish store I never made the connection that you were there. I've been trying to convince Dan to take me to "Tommy", but he is not a musical fan, and even less of a fan of The Who in general. :( Boo! Are you working on the plays for the 07-08 season?
I'm not sure I'll be working on the Mainstage next season. I'm wanting to do work on some of the developing musicals at the "Old Space" (you would know it as "FirstStage" or: that really old building that looks like it is about to fall apart and is sinking on one side that's across and down the street from the main theatre.
Oh, and I've lurked a few times on your blog, too. Apparently we went to the same high school.
You know, I've wondered since we moved here why they have two theaters so close to each other in such a little town, and if the older one actually has stuff going on (seems like the signs always point to going to the main stage?)
We did go to high school together... you were in the grade above mine & my participation in the theater arena was fringe at best so I doubt you'd remember me. (Mostly I just hung around the area to be near my boyfriend... once he stopped going to the school I dropped away) I was a band geek more than anything else.
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