Thanks for the comments, and for participating in the musical. One of the unfortunate things about my writing style is it comes across harsher than I mean it too, especially when I write a review.
Where I am coming from is ~50 years of experience as an actor/singer/musician in school and community theater musicals, and this has included many staged readings and even a couple of sessions in composer/lyricist livingrooms trying out brand new numbers for a to-be-written show. I know exactly what it is like to be in a cast which has had minimal time to rehearse, and is presenting a "proof of concept" performance. My review was my opinion of how well the concept was proved. YMMV, and I don't expect anyone to agree with me.
There were a couple of tunes in the show, but on a scale of zero to Rogers and Hammerstein, most of the music has a ways to go yet. Maybe a thoroughly rehearsed presentation would change my mind.
I think you misunderstood my comment about the ending. At the end of the performance I wanted more. I wanted one more act. The plot had brought us to the point of a fork in the road - the choice between non-violence and military defense, and I wanted to see which won out. We're left with our Terrans in the middle of a war, with the possible power to stop the war or change its outcome, and we're just left hanging. Of course this planet has more stories, but this particular story was not finished.
And yes, I take it for granted that the presentation was an act of courage - every performance of a new work is. Just as reading the reviews afterward is. :-)
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Date: 2011-02-02 11:49 pm (UTC)Where I am coming from is ~50 years of experience as an actor/singer/musician in school and community theater musicals, and this has included many staged readings and even a couple of sessions in composer/lyricist livingrooms trying out brand new numbers for a to-be-written show. I know exactly what it is like to be in a cast which has had minimal time to rehearse, and is presenting a "proof of concept" performance. My review was my opinion of how well the concept was proved. YMMV, and I don't expect anyone to agree with me.
There were a couple of tunes in the show, but on a scale of zero to Rogers and Hammerstein, most of the music has a ways to go yet. Maybe a thoroughly rehearsed presentation would change my mind.
I think you misunderstood my comment about the ending. At the end of the performance I wanted more. I wanted one more act. The plot had brought us to the point of a fork in the road - the choice between non-violence and military defense, and I wanted to see which won out. We're left with our Terrans in the middle of a war, with the possible power to stop the war or change its outcome, and we're just left hanging. Of course this planet has more stories, but this particular story was not finished.
And yes, I take it for granted that the presentation was an act of courage - every performance of a new work is. Just as reading the reviews afterward is. :-)