Thursday, November 19, 2009
How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying
Pittsburgh City Paper: "When it comes to sheer snarkiness, you can't beat the musical How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and a script by Abe Burrows, Jack Weinstock and Willie Gilbert)."
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
5 comments:
I'm glad that the show was getting positive reviews in the local press. Considering some of last years reviews for Into the Woods and the Other Shore, these are pretty positive.
On the other hand, after hearing Doc's lecture in Foundations II about critics, I find myself disliking most reviews. These are not very informative as for the piece, and they also don't provide much information about the particular production. Seems like they're playing it too safe, now.
At least they're not shredding everything apart.
I dont understand the relevance of this review. It seems that over 75% of what is written could be gathered from a book - talking about the structure of the play itself. When Hoover finally gets 'down to business' he has only trite adjectives to use when describe ing the performances and direction. Design isn't even mentioned. If iI were a theatre-goer, this would hardly give me any inclination to see the show.
I tend to agree here with Josh. A lot was said about the show in general in this review. Very little was actually said about how our production was. I find most reviews to be empty in that regard. These people are supposed to be critics, not additional advertising, although that may end up being a byproduct of reviews, depending on how good the review is. It irks me how fluffy reviews often become. However, with a show as empty as HTS in terms of story and content, I guess there isn't much to talk about. I'm curious, outside of the lab experience, why this show was chosen by the committee. What are we saying with this show?
It's good to hear that the show was well received, and especially glad that they mentioned the set design. I thought that the set for this show was a good demonstration of how even on our somewhat limited budget, sets can be quite bold. I really enjoyed the show, and thought that the designs were nicely coherent and imaginative. The show was a lot of fun to work on. I did think it could have made a point a bit more solidly, but I could see enough references to one that I felt the show had some value outside of just being pretty and audience-friendly.
Hey folks--it's a musical. It's supposed to be big and fun and ridiculous. Go see it to see it and have a good time, not to analyze it and rip it apart. What good does that do anyone?
This reviewer happened to like the show. Great. Good for him. His review says exactly what it needs to say. Great. Good for us. It's not his job to advertise the production--he just has to say what he feels. If you want to know all the details about a show, go see it yourself--don't rely on someone's newspaper article to tell you.
Post a Comment