Sorry Helenj, my mistake. I didn't mean to include you in that group. I did go back and review and I was thinking of someone else. My sincere apologies. I am pretty excited about "Glengarry Glen Ross" myself. What a cast!
Poohbear, or should I call you Mr Pooh? With full disclosure being needed here, I must add the following info: I saw Titanic with my mother. And she doesn't text. We sat in row CC and I didn't see any of what you described so I think you made it up. But since you brought it up, I did receive a few random text messages during the show FROM TITANIC CAST MEMBERS asking me what I thought of the production. I didn't check them until intermission though because that would be rude.
If what you are saying is true, then those "kids" certainly owe you an apology. After all it is a proven fact that text messaging during a performance can cause your actors to be under-rehearsed, your audience to fall asleep, and your set to be made of cardboard.
And Lucy, I couldn't agree with you more. Anyone who is able to put egos aside and all of the "which show is better?" crap and just read the reviews can see that they are unbalanced. Your comment gives me hope.
I've never attended YSU and I was not a cast member of The Full Monty or Titanic. I did see both shows. I have good friends in both shows. I liked both shows. However, it is my opinion that while both shows were at about the same level at their opening, Milan chose to lift one up and shoot one down. That is my opinion. I am sorry if that bothers you so much.
If I was going to give one an award for Best Musical or whatever I would probably choose Titanic. It is a much more difficult show. It is also a much more boring show and they had a very rough opening night but it is still a harder show. More people, bigger set, period costumes, the list goes on. When it comes to skill level, Titanic wins hand down. But I had a much, much, much, much, much better time at Full Monty.
Yahoo, the same deductions you make about others can be said about you and your loyalty to Titanic. There are plenty of people on this board, as I am sure there were in the audience from what I observed, who didn't care for Titanic. You can't dismiss everyone who has a negative opinion saying they are all YSU students. Using your own logic, I deduce that since you are fiercely defending the show you must either be in Titanic, or have a friend or family member in Titanic.
If you actually read these message boards you will notice that the people who turn it into a Playhouse/Oakland thing are fedup, maradonda, helenj and yahoo. Robert Joki didn't say anything negative about the Playhouse. Brandon Smith didn't say anything about it either. Kage Coven didn't. Neither did Nicole Zayas. Are these the YSU students you are talking about? Richard Bell wrote about the Playhouse but I think that was more about a bad experience than random Playhouse bashing. Personally, I would have the same opinion of Titanic and this review if it were at The New Castle Playhouse or TNT or Salem or Lisbon or The Victorian Players or yes even the Oakland. It just wasn't that good.
I don't think this has anything to do with The Oakland vs the Playhouse. I would sooner call it The People vs Milan Paurich.
I was just reading the old message board from the Full Monty review and I think it is amusing that someone called this situation months before it happened. Someone posted a comment that said Milan would praise Titanic to the gills whether it was great or not. And he did. I for one am thrilled that I got to see Titanic opening night because now I know without a shadow of a doubt that Milan Paurich does not always tell the truth in his reviews. The show was decent and had some talented people but as I said before it had some major problems. To say that the audience was at any point "thunderous" or that any cast member "brought down the house" is beyond exaggeration. I was there. No one brought down anything. It was an evening of golf claps.
I get the idea from reading this message board that people who have received good reviews from Mr. Paurich (or who have kids who have received them) are terrified of the thought that their precious little clips of newspaper may be based more on politics than actual performances.
I saw Titanic Friday night. It wasn't a bad show at all but it also wasn't great. I was a little disappointed because I loved Sweeney Todd last year and Beauty and The Beast this year and had high hopes for Titanic. There were some major problems with the show, most specifically sight lines, and underrehearsed actors who didn't know their lines. A good deal of the staging was stagnant and everyone just stood around singing. Then during the sinking of the ship it looked like someone just said "stand over there and bump into each other." The scene changes were extremely long as well and oddly when they were over very few things had actually changed. The set did not reflect in any way the decadence of the original "ship of dreams." Everything was a dull gray color and looked like it was made of cardboard and poster paint. It looked like more like an Oakland set than a Playhouse set. Some of the costumes were nice but others were decades off. The effect of tilting the ship was a neat idea but sadly the mechanism that allowed them to do so was extremely distracting during what should have been a showstopping performance by Playhouse veterans, Sis Soller and Joe Scarvel. The show was also 2 hours and 45 minutes long and it felt long. After the show I spoke with several of the cast members and my distinct impression was that they knew the show hadn't gone as well as it could have. As an audience member I was able to forgive these things because the finer aspects of the show; the music, the voices, the acting, the lighting were all very enjoyable. I don't regret seeing it at all. But I have to admit that this review is not an accurate representation of what truly happened on the stage last weekend. It makes me wonder: If another theater had put on the same production with the same people would Mr Paurich have reviewed it differently?
I doubt Rob Joki is jealous of his actors. I saw THE BOOK OF LIZ last year I became and instant fan of his. Most recently I saw his production of DOG SEES GOD and it was the best live theater production I've ever seen. I didn't think theatre could be like that: intimate, beautiful, unassuming, and real. What I like about Joki's style is that he showcases actors and scripts, not himself. He chooses shows no one else will touch and casts people no one else will give a chance and still manages to put on a great performance.
I've never been much of a theater person. I don't really understood the tendency of theater people to constantly rip apart each other's work. As an audience member I don't go to a show to pick it apart. I go to enjoy it.
As for Mr. Paurich, I realize it is his job to review shows but what I don't realize is where negative reviews like this have a place in Youngstown. I am always reading about how our local theaters struggle. At any given time at least one of them is on the verge of closing. It seems to me we are very fortunate to have these organizations and we should support them. If we lived in a larger city like New York and had hundreds of high budget professional theater shows to choose from, it would necessitate reviewers like Milan letting the public know what shows are worth seeing. No one wants to spend $100 to sit through a bad show. But we live in Youngstown, Ohio. How many other musicals are going on right now? And how much did you pay to see The Full Monty? $10? Or did you get in for free?
If you are the kind of person who goes to a show to critique it (and I am referring to fedup, helen, and bottled water when I say this) you are truly missing out on something.
I am going to see The Full Monty this weekend and I encourage everyone else to do the same. And even if it is bad, even if the cast can't sing, even if Eric McCrea's cameo is the best thing in the show, I am going to enjoy myself and support the people who worked so hard and continue to work so hard to entertain the valley.
‘Titanic’ more than just spectacle
Sorry Helenj, my mistake. I didn't mean to include you in that group. I did go back and review and I was thinking of someone else. My sincere apologies. I am pretty excited about "Glengarry Glen Ross" myself. What a cast!
Poohbear, or should I call you Mr Pooh? With full disclosure being needed here, I must add the following info: I saw Titanic with my mother. And she doesn't text. We sat in row CC and I didn't see any of what you described so I think you made it up. But since you brought it up, I did receive a few random text messages during the show FROM TITANIC CAST MEMBERS asking me what I thought of the production. I didn't check them until intermission though because that would be rude.
If what you are saying is true, then those "kids" certainly owe you an apology. After all it is a proven fact that text messaging during a performance can cause your actors to be under-rehearsed, your audience to fall asleep, and your set to be made of cardboard.
And Lucy, I couldn't agree with you more. Anyone who is able to put egos aside and all of the "which show is better?" crap and just read the reviews can see that they are unbalanced. Your comment gives me hope.
May 30, 2008 at 1:10 a.m. permalink suggest removal
‘Titanic’ more than just spectacle
I've never attended YSU and I was not a cast member of The Full Monty or Titanic. I did see both shows. I have good friends in both shows. I liked both shows. However, it is my opinion that while both shows were at about the same level at their opening, Milan chose to lift one up and shoot one down. That is my opinion. I am sorry if that bothers you so much.
If I was going to give one an award for Best Musical or whatever I would probably choose Titanic. It is a much more difficult show. It is also a much more boring show and they had a very rough opening night but it is still a harder show. More people, bigger set, period costumes, the list goes on. When it comes to skill level, Titanic wins hand down. But I had a much, much, much, much, much better time at Full Monty.
Yahoo, the same deductions you make about others can be said about you and your loyalty to Titanic. There are plenty of people on this board, as I am sure there were in the audience from what I observed, who didn't care for Titanic. You can't dismiss everyone who has a negative opinion saying they are all YSU students. Using your own logic, I deduce that since you are fiercely defending the show you must either be in Titanic, or have a friend or family member in Titanic.
If you actually read these message boards you will notice that the people who turn it into a Playhouse/Oakland thing are fedup, maradonda, helenj and yahoo. Robert Joki didn't say anything negative about the Playhouse. Brandon Smith didn't say anything about it either. Kage Coven didn't. Neither did Nicole Zayas. Are these the YSU students you are talking about? Richard Bell wrote about the Playhouse but I think that was more about a bad experience than random Playhouse bashing. Personally, I would have the same opinion of Titanic and this review if it were at The New Castle Playhouse or TNT or Salem or Lisbon or The Victorian Players or yes even the Oakland. It just wasn't that good.
I don't think this has anything to do with The Oakland vs the Playhouse. I would sooner call it The People vs Milan Paurich.
May 29, 2008 at 10:08 a.m. permalink suggest removal
‘Titanic’ more than just spectacle
I was just reading the old message board from the Full Monty review and I think it is amusing that someone called this situation months before it happened. Someone posted a comment that said Milan would praise Titanic to the gills whether it was great or not. And he did. I for one am thrilled that I got to see Titanic opening night because now I know without a shadow of a doubt that Milan Paurich does not always tell the truth in his reviews. The show was decent and had some talented people but as I said before it had some major problems. To say that the audience was at any point "thunderous" or that any cast member "brought down the house" is beyond exaggeration. I was there. No one brought down anything. It was an evening of golf claps.
I get the idea from reading this message board that people who have received good reviews from Mr. Paurich (or who have kids who have received them) are terrified of the thought that their precious little clips of newspaper may be based more on politics than actual performances.
May 28, 2008 at 9:15 p.m. permalink suggest removal
‘Titanic’ more than just spectacle
If YACTA has taught us anything, it's that people don't always get awards for being good at something.
May 28, 2008 at 8:40 p.m. permalink suggest removal
‘Titanic’ more than just spectacle
I saw Titanic Friday night. It wasn't a bad show at all but it also wasn't great. I was a little disappointed because I loved Sweeney Todd last year and Beauty and The Beast this year and had high hopes for Titanic. There were some major problems with the show, most specifically sight lines, and underrehearsed actors who didn't know their lines. A good deal of the staging was stagnant and everyone just stood around singing. Then during the sinking of the ship it looked like someone just said "stand over there and bump into each other." The scene changes were extremely long as well and oddly when they were over very few things had actually changed. The set did not reflect in any way the decadence of the original "ship of dreams." Everything was a dull gray color and looked like it was made of cardboard and poster paint. It looked like more like an Oakland set than a Playhouse set. Some of the costumes were nice but others were decades off. The effect of tilting the ship was a neat idea but sadly the mechanism that allowed them to do so was extremely distracting during what should have been a showstopping performance by Playhouse veterans, Sis Soller and Joe Scarvel. The show was also 2 hours and 45 minutes long and it felt long. After the show I spoke with several of the cast members and my distinct impression was that they knew the show hadn't gone as well as it could have. As an audience member I was able to forgive these things because the finer aspects of the show; the music, the voices, the acting, the lighting were all very enjoyable. I don't regret seeing it at all. But I have to admit that this review is not an accurate representation of what truly happened on the stage last weekend. It makes me wonder: If another theater had put on the same production with the same people would Mr Paurich have reviewed it differently?
May 26, 2008 at 10:40 a.m. permalink suggest removal
Oakland’s ‘Full Monty’: too long, but enjoyable
I doubt Rob Joki is jealous of his actors. I saw THE BOOK OF LIZ last year I became and instant fan of his. Most recently I saw his production of DOG SEES GOD and it was the best live theater production I've ever seen. I didn't think theatre could be like that: intimate, beautiful, unassuming, and real. What I like about Joki's style is that he showcases actors and scripts, not himself. He chooses shows no one else will touch and casts people no one else will give a chance and still manages to put on a great performance.
I've never been much of a theater person. I don't really understood the tendency of theater people to constantly rip apart each other's work. As an audience member I don't go to a show to pick it apart. I go to enjoy it.
As for Mr. Paurich, I realize it is his job to review shows but what I don't realize is where negative reviews like this have a place in Youngstown. I am always reading about how our local theaters struggle. At any given time at least one of them is on the verge of closing. It seems to me we are very fortunate to have these organizations and we should support them. If we lived in a larger city like New York and had hundreds of high budget professional theater shows to choose from, it would necessitate reviewers like Milan letting the public know what shows are worth seeing. No one wants to spend $100 to sit through a bad show. But we live in Youngstown, Ohio. How many other musicals are going on right now? And how much did you pay to see The Full Monty? $10? Or did you get in for free?
If you are the kind of person who goes to a show to critique it (and I am referring to fedup, helen, and bottled water when I say this) you are truly missing out on something.
I am going to see The Full Monty this weekend and I encourage everyone else to do the same. And even if it is bad, even if the cast can't sing, even if Eric McCrea's cameo is the best thing in the show, I am going to enjoy myself and support the people who worked so hard and continue to work so hard to entertain the valley.
Defend Youngstown
May 6, 2008 at 9:20 p.m. permalink suggest removal