|
|
Post by esteveyb on Sept 11, 2024 0:49:53 GMT
I’m waiting until I ‘experience’ this before passing further comment, but will they refund my diesel & train fare if it’s as inept as described here. If it isn’t ‘a big fancy musical’ I’m surely entitled to something? I am so confused by some here completely missing the point of what the show is trying to say - oh it should be a chamber piece in Southwark Playhouse? With a tiny cast? The point - which I'm not sure COULD BE any more obvious - has been completely and utterly missed. Why Am I So Single? is LITERALLY about the realisation on stage that the love stories in the 'big, fancy' musicals where the girl and boy end up together in a 'big, fancy' love affair are just as epic and can make a 'big, fancy' love story as that between the two of them - best friends - speaking to the experiences of a) younger people who don't settle down as early as previous generations and b) queer people. Many of the songs are literally pastiches /parodies of the elements that make a 'big fancy musical' as a result, with the necessary larger staging to hammer home that point. There's:
- the big countdown song, literally referencing Cell Block Tango
- a big 00s Good Charlotte/Sum 41 emo-rock ballad (about Ross and Rachel from Friends)
- a huge tap number
- a Marilyn Monroe pastiche (about what Oliver wants from a lover)
- a massive emotional ballad (the 'I Want' song)
- the big act one 'bee' song (literally a huge distraction because they are avoiding a big conversation by focusing on the little problem, but demonstrating their trust and friendship in each other, which sets them up for act two)
- a big 00s pop number (about them snogging on their first night meeting each other)
- the utterly epic disco number, decades of queer shame and masking set to song
- the 'fake end' about men being trash
For a new musical, nearly all of the songs here are incredibly strong, and very catchy - something that seems to get overlooked so often. Many of them work just as well as standalone songs, as they do in the musical. If you're not humming 'spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin like I'm a disco ball' or 'take 'em to the dump, dump, dump, dump' when you leave, for example, there's something wrong. |
|
|
|
Post by danb on Sept 11, 2024 6:06:08 GMT
As I said, I’m waiting to see it to make a judgement…and I’m the one missing the point? If I’d seen it I’d know ‘that’ about it wouldn’t I? Please be as precious as you like about your new favourite show, but actually read and understand the words of others before being so defensive…and actually pretty rude at the same time.
|
|
1,267 posts
|
Post by theatrelover123 on Sept 11, 2024 6:38:25 GMT
I’m waiting until I ‘experience’ this before passing further comment, but will they refund my diesel & train fare if it’s as inept as described here. If it isn’t ‘a big fancy musical’ I’m surely entitled to something? I am so confused by some here completely missing the point of what the show is trying to say - oh it should be a chamber piece in Southwark Playhouse? With a tiny cast? The point - which I'm not sure COULD BE any more obvious - has been completely and utterly missed. Why Am I So Single? is LITERALLY about the realisation on stage that the love stories in the 'big, fancy' musicals where the girl and boy end up together in a 'big, fancy' love affair are just as epic and can make a 'big, fancy' love story as that between the two of them - best friends - speaking to the experiences of a) younger people who don't settle down as early as previous generations and b) queer people. Many of the songs are literally pastiches /parodies of the elements that make a 'big fancy musical' as a result, with the necessary larger staging to hammer home that point. There's:
- the big countdown song, literally referencing Cell Block Tango
- a big 00s Good Charlotte/Sum 41 emo-rock ballad (about Ross and Rachel from Friends)
- a huge tap number
- a Marilyn Monroe pastiche (about what Oliver wants from a lover)
- a massive emotional ballad (the 'I Want' song)
- the big act one 'bee' song (literally a huge distraction because they are avoiding a big conversation by focusing on the little problem, but demonstrating their trust and friendship in each other, which sets them up for act two)
- a big 00s pop number (about them snogging on their first night meeting each other)
- the utterly epic disco number, decades of queer shame and masking set to song
- the 'fake end' about men being trash
For a new musical, nearly all of the songs here are incredibly strong, and very catchy - something that seems to get overlooked so often. Many of them work just as well as standalone songs, as they do in the musical. If you're not humming 'spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin like I'm a disco ball' or 'take 'em to the dump, dump, dump, dump' when you leave, for example, there's something wrong. Oh I would say that everybody here that has seen it knows exactly what the show is trying to say. It’s just a shame that what is being said takes so flipping long, is overly simplistic and is clunky in its telling. I genuinely thought Disco Ball would never end, the Bee song wasn’t needed as we got the point they were trying to make several times and, whilst fun in the moment and delivered with energy, I haven’t remembered a single song after leaving the theatre. |
|
|
|
Post by ladidah on Sept 11, 2024 8:41:43 GMT
I understood the show perfectly well, it just needs a lot of changes.
|
|
|
|
Post by fiyerorocher on Sept 11, 2024 9:01:16 GMT
For a new musical, nearly all of the songs here are incredibly strong, and very catchy - something that seems to get overlooked so often. Many of them work just as well as standalone songs, as they do in the musical. If you're not humming 'spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin like I'm a disco ball' or 'take 'em to the dump, dump, dump, dump' when you leave, for example, there's something wrong. Other than Disco Ball, I really don't think they've got any particularly impressive songs in there. It struck me as particularly odd, as the songs in Six *are* incredibly strong and were what helped to propel the show to international success, going viral on social media. Nothing in WAISS can really match up to that. So yes, there is something wrong with this show. Presenting it as so intellectual that it's gone over the heads of the people here is just inaccurate. It suffers from pacing, particularly an incredibly lethargic ending and an overly long Act 1 (unless they've made big cuts already), weird staging, and far from the best dialogue. People know what they're trying to do, they just don't do it all that well, and they could do it in about half the time. If the run time is essential to the point they're trying to make about big fancy musicals, at least find something to put in the show so it's not padded out with scenes that just go round in circles. |
|
|
|
Post by max on Sept 11, 2024 9:37:20 GMT
Is the Bee Song a reference to the play 'Constellations' perhaps? In the play Roland is a beekeeper, and when he and Marianne meet after a gap they spend a long time talking sideways in an attempt to suss out each other's relationship status. Details of his honey making business become safe ground for both to fill the awkward gap.
|
|
|
|
Post by kallyloo on Sept 11, 2024 10:45:32 GMT
I have no idea why the Bee song was there. There was no essential narration point or observation it highlighted to warrant it’s existence, but it was a huge amount of fun and the choreography and set were pure joy imo.
|
|
1,267 posts
|
Post by theatrelover123 on Sept 11, 2024 19:33:29 GMT
Is the Bee Song a reference to the play 'Constellations' perhaps? In the play Roland is a beekeeper, and when he and Marianne meet after a gap they spend a long time talking sideways in an attempt to suss out each other's relationship status. Details of his honey making business become safe ground for both to fill the awkward gap. No. No it’s not |
|
|
|
Post by esteveyb on Sept 11, 2024 22:34:01 GMT
For a new musical, nearly all of the songs here are incredibly strong, and very catchy - something that seems to get overlooked so often. Many of them work just as well as standalone songs, as they do in the musical. If you're not humming 'spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin, spin like I'm a disco ball' or 'take 'em to the dump, dump, dump, dump' when you leave, for example, there's something wrong. Other than Disco Ball, I really don't think they've got any particularly impressive songs in there. It struck me as particularly odd, as the songs in Six *are* incredibly strong and were what helped to propel the show to international success, going viral on social media. Nothing in WAISS can really match up to that. So yes, there is something wrong with this show. Presenting it as so intellectual that it's gone over the heads of the people here is just inaccurate. It suffers from pacing, particularly an incredibly lethargic ending and an overly long Act 1 (unless they've made big cuts already), weird staging, and far from the best dialogue. People know what they're trying to do, they just don't do it all that well, and they could do it in about half the time. If the run time is essential to the point they're trying to make about big fancy musicals, at least find something to put in the show so it's not padded out with scenes that just go round in circles. That's just inaccurate though. Six was a slow burn. The demo of 8 Dates is at 158,000+ plays on Spotify already in around 2 weeks, and before the show even opens properly. It's not 'overly intellectual' to point out that criticising the size of the cast, and the venue, is ridiculous when they are intrinsic to the point of the show. Losing either of these elements removes the entire point of the authors trying to write and stage a 'big, fancy musical'. Surely that much is obvious, irrespective of personal feelings. |
|
|
|
Post by esteveyb on Sept 11, 2024 22:47:02 GMT
I have no idea why the Bee song was there. There was no essential narration point or observation it highlighted to warrant it’s existence, but it was a huge amount of fun and the choreography and set were pure joy imo. It's hilarious and unexpected - a literal distraction for the audience, emphasising this is a 'big, fancy' musical - but also quite important for the character development with Oliver using any distracton to avoid telling their truth to Nancy! |
|
|
|
Post by esteveyb on Sept 11, 2024 22:53:23 GMT
Oh I would say that everybody here that has seen it knows exactly what the show is trying to say. It’s just a shame that what is being said takes so flipping long, is overly simplistic and is clunky in its telling. I genuinely thought Disco Ball would never end, the Bee song wasn’t needed as we got the point they were trying to make several times and, whilst fun in the moment and delivered with energy, I haven’t remembered a single song after leaving the theatre. Clearly not from some of the comments. Disco Ball being long and 'a bit much' is literally referenced by Oliver throughout the rest of act 2. The length, with the continual manic keychanges at the end is, yet again, the point, regardless of personal feelings. |
|
202 posts
|
Post by Paulw on Sept 11, 2024 22:59:13 GMT
Other than Disco Ball, I really don't think they've got any particularly impressive songs in there. It struck me as particularly odd, as the songs in Six *are* incredibly strong and were what helped to propel the show to international success, going viral on social media. Nothing in WAISS can really match up to that. So yes, there is something wrong with this show. Presenting it as so intellectual that it's gone over the heads of the people here is just inaccurate. It suffers from pacing, particularly an incredibly lethargic ending and an overly long Act 1 (unless they've made big cuts already), weird staging, and far from the best dialogue. People know what they're trying to do, they just don't do it all that well, and they could do it in about half the time. If the run time is essential to the point they're trying to make about big fancy musicals, at least find something to put in the show so it's not padded out with scenes that just go round in circles. That's just inaccurate though. Six was a slow burn. The demo of 8 Dates is at 158,000+ plays on Spotify already in around 2 weeks, and before the show even opens properly. It's not 'overly intellectual' to point out that criticising the size of the cast, and the venue, is ridiculous when they are intrinsic to the point of the show. Losing either of these elements removes the entire point of the authors trying to write and stage a 'big, fancy musical'. Surely that much is obvious, irrespective of personal feelings. Sorry to pick you up on this but plays on Spotify means nothing, some will be repeat streams, some will be people interested in the show and seeing what it’s like and some will be fans/super fans of Six! Spotify plays really doesn’t mean anything these days I’m afraid if it did they wouldn’t need to sell tickets through Rush or have it on theatre week with discounts so soon after starting previews! I’m sorry to say it but this is a self indulgent show that is way above its level as it is at the moment, has no one learned anything from the likes of Six and Operation Mincemeat? Build a show hone it then go again and go bigger venues each time to gauge it |
|
7,251 posts
|
Post by Jon on Sept 12, 2024 0:23:46 GMT
WAISS featured on ITV News London with Marlow and Moss being interviewed.
|
|
1,267 posts
|
Post by theatrelover123 on Sept 12, 2024 5:00:29 GMT
Oh I would say that everybody here that has seen it knows exactly what the show is trying to say. It’s just a shame that what is being said takes so flipping long, is overly simplistic and is clunky in its telling. I genuinely thought Disco Ball would never end, the Bee song wasn’t needed as we got the point they were trying to make several times and, whilst fun in the moment and delivered with energy, I haven’t remembered a single song after leaving the theatre. Clearly not from some of the comments. Disco Ball being long and 'a bit much' is literally referenced by Oliver throughout the rest of act 2. The length, with the continual manic keychanges at the end is, yet again, the point, regardless of personal feelings. And yet again, I disagree and don’t think that any good musical needs to LITERALLY hammer home points relentlessly because they think the audience aren’t smart enough to have understood the points within the first minute. It’s not Proust! And merely acknowledging how annoying the characters and their moaning is for 2 mins at the end doesn’t negate the 2+ hours of moaning beforehand. The actors were wonderful but the characters are not. |
|
|
|
Post by danb on Sept 12, 2024 5:51:46 GMT
WAISS featured on ITV News London with Marlow and Moss being interviewed. I’m not sure how they had time for that, as one of them is clearly spending a lot of time on here under a pseudonym, feverishly defending their work. 😂 |
|
|
|
Post by ladidah on Sept 12, 2024 8:26:10 GMT
It thinks it's a lot cleverer than it is.
|
|
|
|
Post by punxsutawney on Sept 12, 2024 9:06:12 GMT
Other than Disco Ball, I really don't think they've got any particularly impressive songs in there. It struck me as particularly odd, as the songs in Six *are* incredibly strong and were what helped to propel the show to international success, going viral on social media. Nothing in WAISS can really match up to that. So yes, there is something wrong with this show. Presenting it as so intellectual that it's gone over the heads of the people here is just inaccurate. It suffers from pacing, particularly an incredibly lethargic ending and an overly long Act 1 (unless they've made big cuts already), weird staging, and far from the best dialogue. People know what they're trying to do, they just don't do it all that well, and they could do it in about half the time. If the run time is essential to the point they're trying to make about big fancy musicals, at least find something to put in the show so it's not padded out with scenes that just go round in circles. That's just inaccurate though. Six was a slow burn. The demo of 8 Dates is at 158,000+ plays on Spotify already in around 2 weeks, and before the show even opens properly. It's not 'overly intellectual' to point out that criticising the size of the cast, and the venue, is ridiculous when they are intrinsic to the point of the show. Losing either of these elements removes the entire point of the authors trying to write and stage a 'big, fancy musical'. Surely that much is obvious, irrespective of personal feelings. Six was a slow burn which built up the hype through fringe shows, one show a week runs, and smaller productions before going to the West End. WAISS has had none of that, it had a group of workshops and then was unceremoniously put on a West End stage. A lot of people in here have agreed that there is a good show here, but it hasn't been honed in through fringe runs and the opportunity for audience feedback that a show like Six had. That's not an attack on the creatives, the performers, or people who do enjoy it as it is! The only person responsible for that is the producer who rushed it to the West End. |
|
5,031 posts
|
Post by Someone in a tree on Sept 12, 2024 9:13:20 GMT
It thinks it's a lot cleverer than it is. Like Book of Morman ? Im looking forward to seeing Single, but i can wait until after previews and is perhaps more ironed out. Has anyone visited more than once? Are radical rewrites happening ? |
|
|
|
Post by ladidah on Sept 12, 2024 9:35:07 GMT
It's more wink-at-the-audience than Book of Mormon
|
|
|
|
Post by esteveyb on Sept 12, 2024 11:18:51 GMT
That's just inaccurate though. Six was a slow burn. The demo of 8 Dates is at 158,000+ plays on Spotify already in around 2 weeks, and before the show even opens properly. It's not 'overly intellectual' to point out that criticising the size of the cast, and the venue, is ridiculous when they are intrinsic to the point of the show. Losing either of these elements removes the entire point of the authors trying to write and stage a 'big, fancy musical'. Surely that much is obvious, irrespective of personal feelings. Six was a slow burn which built up the hype through fringe shows, one show a week runs, and smaller productions before going to the West End. WAISS has had none of that, it had a group of workshops and then was unceremoniously put on a West End stage. A lot of people in here have agreed that there is a good show here, but it hasn't been honed in through fringe runs and the opportunity for audience feedback that a show like Six had. That's not an attack on the creatives, the performers, or people who do enjoy it as it is! The only person responsible for that is the producer who rushed it to the West End. Six is a very different type of show - however, the original student production back was not even that drastically different to the version we have touring the world, and the differences between the original Arts Theatre run and now are even less significant. I think Why Am I So Single? is very self-aware, and taking it to LAMDA for workshops would have honed the material quite significantly - especially for the Gen Z audience it's predominantly targeting. |
|
319 posts
|
Post by MrBraithwaite on Sept 12, 2024 12:38:57 GMT
Haven't read any reactions to this, but after seeing a few of the terribly filmed TikTok-style phone clips they used for advertising before the first preview and after reading the "Calling all Ladies, Gaydies and Theydies"-slogan, decided not to go to the second preview and to book something else instead, as this was clearly not for me (having booked early only because of their SIX fame). Had a wonderful evening at 'Farm Hall'.  |
|
|
|
Post by loathehydrangeas on Sept 12, 2024 13:11:45 GMT
I thought I’d love this, it’s often very funny and they have some really good stuff in there but it’s such a flimsy plot and way too long… I enjoyed a lot of the music (especially Disco Ball) yet many songs outstayed their welcome and the Bee Song fell totally flat to me, even with the fun Beyoncé Mugler-esque costume. I would almost have preferred if the meta narrative about writing a play was scrapped altogether and it was just friends gossiping about their love lives, all of the talking to the audience and references became far too indulgent for me by the end. Would be very interested to hear about any cuts or changes made! I think it could be a great 80-90min show but wouldn't recommend in this form sadly
|
|
|
|
Post by ladidah on Sept 12, 2024 13:31:15 GMT
That's the problem, when it's so long and you keep thinking, 'oh that's the end...no that's the end,' it ruins some of the goodwill!
|
|
33 posts
|
Post by jacobjb25 on Sept 12, 2024 18:39:27 GMT
There is a fair amount to enjoy here. Jo Foster and Leesa Tulley are giving wonderful star turns here. Noah Thomas is a joy even if criminally underused. The songs are pretty fun, Ellen Kane's choreography is vibrant.
But the book is weak. If they wanted it to be about the 'mundane' and/or be a character driven piece, fine - just don't drag it out into a two act show in which nothing really happens.
|
|
11 posts
|
Post by theatrecatlady on Sept 12, 2024 19:14:37 GMT
WAISS featured on ITV News London with Marlow and Moss being interviewed. Not sure that this interview has done them any favours… |
|
