Adding to the Boys and Bands on Broadway

I recently blogged about shows doing out of town tryouts before getting ripped apart by New York critics. Last night a show opened that pretty much got shredded by them. Some shows, for some reason, have people sharpening knives before it arrives...especially people on a certain theater forum. Gettin' the Band Back Together has been worked on for years and did their out of town tryout in New Jersey...which makes sense for a show about 40-somethings in New Jersey reliving their high school days by reviving their old band. Yes, it's an original musical. No, it's not totally an original story. But as a writer...I can attest that not many ideas ARE original. Boy meets girl. Boy loses girl. Boy wins girl back has been told over and over.

The creative team behind this show also came to NY when there were numerous shows with either band or boy in the title. So it instantly causes confusion when discussing it. Then the lead producer is also the book writer. So that makes critics sit up and get ready to give the man a lesson in their review.

Here's the thing: I enjoyed myself when I saw the show last week. And I truly expected to hate it because of what I was reading and hearing. Yes, there are holes in the story. Yes, it feels like the women are there just for the men to gain a prize. Yes, there is a Jewish rap song. But there is also a lot of comedy. Some true heart for anyone who has tried to chase after something in life. And some hum-able songs. I stood in the lobby prior that night
listening to the cast album being piped in and thought: I actually like this music. So I'm not sure why people felt the need to tear it apart. I've seen some other shows already this season that I have NOT blogged about simply because I can't find anything nice to say about them.

I can with GTBBT. John Rando has turned what maybe should be an off-broadway show into a fun night for tourist: and let's face it - a LOT of tourist go to the theater. So the fact they talk to the audience first and cast members hand out rice krispy treats at intermission and this show uses (like every other show on Broadway now) confetti to show it's truly a party...so be it. It's giving the audience what they want. Much like the Oscars are planning with the Popular Film category this year. Sometimes what critics like and what audiences like are two different things. I'm not the target audience for this show...but this gay man can appreciate the bro-humor being thrown around in it and yes, I live in NJ so I laugh at some of the inside jokes. 

The cast is wonderful. They are committed 100 % to these characters...as loosely as they may be drawn. But an average audience member does NOT sit and evaluate character development or the fact the lead guy is missing his 11 o'clock number. Writers, composers, theater-insiders...we do that. 

So if you want to go out to dinner, get your drink on, and then go see a fun, easy show where you don't have to do much thinking...I'd pick Gettin' the Band Back Together over some other things currently playing. Just my 2 cents.