A Strange Loop - Barbican

[Someone in a tree]

I'm so pleased about this. Also pleased that a friend is member. Jackpot

[mattnyc]

Mar 8, 2023 7:57:52 GMT viserys said:

I'm not interested in this at all, but from all I know it's a fairly intimate show, so the vast Barbican (and its pricing) seem a weird/odd/wrong choice. I always thought it would be typical fare for the Young Vic or another smallish theatre with that kind of programming.

It played the Lyceum in NYC, which is only about 200 seats less than the Barbican. If it had been at a smaller theater (something we don’t have many of) or remained Off-Broadway it most probably would have had a much more successful fun.

[nottobe]

I also have to say I am sceptical about it being in such a large theatre. Unlike other Broadway transfers, this does not have name recognition the general public know and it is not the most commercial story and I think may divide critics and audience members. I also doubt it will have names the general public know. Maybe this is also because personally I am not that drawn to this. Maybe I will be proven wrong and it will be a hit but I have to say I doubt it.

[mrbarnaby]

Mar 8, 2023 8:00:36 GMT theatrelover123 said:

I’m very much looking forward to cheaper tix/waiting for deals for this

That will absolutely happen

[oxfordsimon]

Having read a bit of the synopsis, I am slightly intrigued. But a lot comes down to the score.

This has quite a small cast from my limited research. Won't that feel a bit lost on the Barbican stage?

[jek]

I have just had an email from the Barbican about this (I am a member). Booking for patrons is already open. Members Plus can book from tomorrow. Ordinary members (like me) - the £59 a year level - can book from Monday 13th January. General booking opens on 20th March. It's 20% off ticket prices for members for performances between 17th June and 1st July. Performances are at 8pm with Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30 pm. The one exception to this is that there is a matinee on Wednesday 28th June - it appears that Thursday 29th June is press night as that is marked as sold out. There are £10 Young Barbican tickets available for those aged 25 and under for the early performances (the same dates as when there is a membership discount). Can't find out what the general pricing is - it just says from £20. Running time is one hour and 40 minutes.

mtchairs The schedule for 9th to 17th August is as outlined above.

[lonlad]

It wasn't a hit in NY despite winning the Tony so why should it be a hit here -- and at the Barbican?? The whole thing is very odd. Will be interested to see whom they cast here given that the NY company had its, um, issues .....

[shownut]

Mar 9, 2023 18:05:23 GMT lonlad said:

It wasn't a hit in NY despite winning the Tony so why should it be a hit here -- and at the Barbican?? The whole thing is very odd. Will be interested to see whom they cast here given that the NY company had its, um, issues .....

If people were only interested in producing theatre so it appealed to the masses to become a "hit", the musical theatre canon would be short of many a show that makes the form extremely interesting and challenging.

"Caroline or Change", "Fun Home"  and "Parade" are at least three examples of shows put in front of the public eye because the producers had strong convictions that they should be produced, whether they set the box office on fire or not. "A Strange Loop" definitely fits into that category. Art houses like The Barbican can take that risk and thank God they do.

In terms of the "issues" you mentioned, Usher is a vocally and emotionally demanding role. I personally hope the Tony-nominated Bway lead is not at the fore of this company unless they do a 6 and 2. For such a short run they need a reliable actor who can finish a performance and not regularly bow out mid-show. Just my .02.


 

[BurlyBeaR]

From reading about it it sounds awful. Hard pass from me. Let’s hope the demographic it’s aimed at are prepared to go to the Barbican!

[shownut]

Mar 9, 2023 19:20:07 GMT BurlyBeaR said:

From reading about it it sounds awful. Hard pass from me. Let’s hope the demographic it’s aimed at are prepared to go to the Barbican!

The "demographic" it is "aimed at" is the general theatregoer. It won the Pulitzer, Drama Desk and Tony so it is hardly an obscure piece that rolled out of some makeshift theatre and onto the stage of The Barbican.

I am curious what "demographic" you had in mind here.

[mrbarnaby]

People who like boring musicals?

[shownut]

Mar 9, 2023 20:23:01 GMT mrbarnaby said:

People who like boring musicals?

Well if they will turn up to see pretentious bores like "Standing At The Sky's Edge", anything is possible. :-)

[Being Alive]

But is it actually for the general theatre goer?

I go to the theatre more than your average human, and I see challenging and difficult work...I cannot get more than three tracks into the cast recording without being bored stiff and having to give up as I'm not connecting to it at all.
From what I can gather, it's target audience is not a good match for the core audience of the Barbican (which, if we are honest with ourselves, is likely to be white, upper-middle class and likely older) - this feels like something you'd see at the Young Vic for 8 weeks.

And to call it a hit is subjective - it's the second shortest running Tony-winning Best Musical after Passion...take from that what you will.

I will go, on an offer which will be available, out of curiosity more than anything else...

[theatrelover123]

Mar 9, 2023 20:26:48 GMT shownut said:

Mar 9, 2023 20:23:01 GMT mrbarnaby said:

People who like boring musicals?

Well if they will turn up to see pretentious bores like "Standing At The Sky's Edge", anything is possible. :-)

Wow

[shownut]

Mar 9, 2023 22:02:34 GMT Being Alive said:

But is it actually for the general theatre goer?

I go to the theatre more than your average human, and I see challenging and difficult work...I cannot get more than three tracks into the cast recording without being bored stiff and having to give up as I'm not connecting to it at all.
From what I can gather, it's target audience is not a good match for the core audience of the Barbican (which, if we are honest with ourselves, is likely to be white, upper-middle class and likely older) - this feels like something you'd see at the Young Vic for 8 weeks.

And to call it a hit is subjective - it's the second shortest running Tony-winning Best Musical after Passion...take from that what you will.

I will go, on an offer which will be available, out of curiosity more than anything else...

I actually didn't refer to this show as a "hit" at all, I said quite the opposite.

I fit the demographic you just described as the 'core audience' for The Barbican and find the show thrilling, daring, raw and poignant.

Will it land with similar theatregoers? Who knows, but at least they are being presented with a challenging piece that may educate as much as it entertains and doesn't pander to their expectations (as you suggested would be preferable). The subject matter might not be everyone's cup of tea but not all white, upper-middle class, older theatregoers drink from the same well. Some will be quite interested to know just what a "big, fat, queer-ass, American Broadway show" is. They are about to find out.

In terms of the listening experience, mine was opposite yours. The opening refrain, which salutes Sondheim's opening refrain from COMPANY, had me hooked from the get-go and I think it is one of the more interesting scores of the past 5 years. There is one song I have to skip through as the content is difficult to stomach (though it is vital to the arc of the show), but otherwise, I think it is a brilliant and original piece. Apples and oranges I guess. 

 

[danb]

So if we know that things are so ‘apples & oranges’ why can’t we recognise it and enter the conversation at that point, rather than a page of self important hyperbole denigrating others experiences and opinions because they differ from our own?

[shownut]

Mar 10, 2023 9:04:24 GMT danb said:

So if we know that things are so ‘apples & oranges’ why can’t we recognise it and enter the conversation at that point, rather than a page of self important hyperbole denigrating others experiences and opinions because they differ from our own?

Because it is a theatre chat room. If it were not "apples and oranges" there would be nothing here to chat about.

The comments that were "denigrating others experiences" began way up the line before I chimed in so perhaps you read one quarter of the story and decided to chime in?

"Self-important hyperbole"....hmm...someone here is having a testy morning and it certainly isn't me. I guess the mere fact that I admit to being a white, middle-upper class, older theatregoer, (a demographic decribed by the poster I responded to) makes me "self important"? 

Maybe try a little more coffee with an extra bit of sugar before you post here in the morning? Might do you wonders. 

[danb]

😴

Chat rooms tend to be two way conversations, not people stuck in their own echo chamber.

[Being Alive]

Thanks for that shownut - genuinely interesting that you had a different experience listening to it!

Let's see what happens eh?

[shownut]

Mar 10, 2023 9:29:16 GMT Being Alive said:

Thanks for that shownut - genuinely interesting that you had a different experience listening to it!

Let's see what happens eh?

Yes, lets....and I only make that case because on more than a few occasions I have dismissed a show after hearing a few songs only to find that within the show they work wonders and end up becoming something I really adore.


In this instance, the original recording from Playwrights Horizons is far stellar to the OBCR which was poorly produced and sounds quite muddled. I can understand why folks listening to the later version might stop after a few tracks as it lets the material down.

[shownut]

Mar 10, 2023 9:20:12 GMT danb said:

😴

Chat rooms tend to be two way conversations, not people stuck in their own echo chamber.

And if you read on you will see that it is a two-way conversation and a pleasant one at that.

It appears, in this instance, you are the one hearing the echo. 

[danb]

Mar 10, 2023 9:45:27 GMT shownut said:

Mar 10, 2023 9:20:12 GMT danb said:

😴

Chat rooms tend to be two way conversations, not people stuck in their own echo chamber.

And if you read on you will see that it is a two-way conversation and a pleasant one at that.

It appears, in this instance, you are the one hearing the echo. 

Well, I am a dreadful person, so it is only to be expected.

[shownut]

Mar 10, 2023 9:50:23 GMT danb said:

Mar 10, 2023 9:45:27 GMT shownut said:

And if you read on you will see that it is a two-way conversation and a pleasant one at that.

It appears, in this instance, you are the one hearing the echo. 

Well, I am a dreadful person, so it is only to be expected.

I doubt that.

[viserys]

Mar 10, 2023 10:09:27 GMT shownut said:

Mar 10, 2023 9:50:23 GMT danb said:

Well, I am a dreadful person, so it is only to be expected.

I doubt that.

 As you should. He's a cuddly teddybear really. 

[Mark]

Mar 9, 2023 22:02:34 GMT Being Alive said:

But is it actually for the general theatre goer?

It absolutely isn't. It's a great show in my opinion but as I mentioned in an earlier post, there's no way I'd be going with my parents, and I'd have to think very carefully about who I would recommend it to. It will appeal to those who love theatre and are open to a very different kind of musical. 

That said, I did take a friend in New York who has seen very little theatre, and he seemed to like it, if a bit indifferent towards it (his past shows had been Come From Away, The Commitments, Translations and Mean Girls).

But then I think as a white gay guy, its kinda MEANT to make you feel a bit uncomfortable.