Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
#1Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/23/11 at 12:38am
I feel like I have read nary anything on the show.
Any feedback or comments? I don't think it gets reviews until next week but curious to read what others thought of the show
#2Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/23/11 at 3:22amThere's a long detailed review of a preview performance on the West Coast wing of the ATC board.
Faced with these Loreleis, what man can moralize!
Alan 2
Swing Joined: 2/24/11
#2Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/24/11 at 4:30pm
Saw this in preview last Friday. After 10 minutes, I turned to my wife and apologized for dragging her there. We would have been happy to leave at the intermission but one of the couple we were with, said it had to get better. At the end, he admitted he was wrong. Maybe we were over-expecting and (there were some standing ovators at the end but that is pretty par for the SoCal course) but the songwriter said in a puff video that he wrote the songs in half an hour and it showed.
Looking forward to Good People in March.
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
#3Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/24/11 at 4:40pmAll of William Finn's songs sound like they were written in half an hour.
grumpyoptimist
Leading Actor Joined: 2/26/11
#4Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/26/11 at 6:49pm
I saw a preview Thurs 2/24. Also was at a reception beforehand where the Managing Director of the La Jolla Playhouse spoke. Sounds like they're doing a lot more daily work on it than one would expect for this level of a cast one week from opening. He said that our night (Thurs) they would be trying a completely new Finale...and that the previous night they had axed an entire number from the show and the show probably didn't miss much by its absence, so it would stay out. There were parts in the show where it seemed like "that part must have went in today" because the timing was off and some of the actors would seem tentative.
I think the show would be helped with a bigger ensemble, which will happen naturally if they take it to Broadway. All that said, I think it's fixable with some changes to the songs and one could have a "cute" show. A lot of tourists will go just because they like the movie. My friend who I went with may be getting free tix for opening night (having seen the preview, I would not pay for tickets at this point), if I go I'll let you know how it goes...
#5Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/27/11 at 1:45amI was at the Sunday, 2/20 performance. Was there a number called "Back of the Bus" (or something like that) between Richard and Sheryl in the show the night you saw it? I really thought that should have been cut, so hopefully they have done that by now. I thought the opening (Hunter with an acoustic guitar) was really weak, although I liked the song and thought with a bigger orchestration right from the beginning it could be good. I actually think that people knowing the movie so well is not necessarily good for this show, as there are no surprises left to discover in the musical. True, they try to deepen the characters through some of the songs, but that didn't always improve the story from the movie. Still, I loved the work of Malcolm Gets, Hunter Foster, and Jennifer Laura Thompson (solid pros). Finn and Lapine just need to do a lot of work on the material. Glad to hear they are doing that.
miss pennywise
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/7/04
#6Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/27/11 at 1:56amI agree with Phyllis.
http://www.roches.com/television/ss83kod.html
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#7Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/27/11 at 12:46pmI saw this last night and thought it completely unmemorable. The songs were lame and uninspired. The tone was wrong, there were far too many songs (c'mon, how many solos did Hunter Foster really need), and sad to say Georgi James was disappointing. It looked like a full house, but I walked out disappointed.
#8Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/27/11 at 1:46pm
>I actually think that people knowing the movie so well is not necessarily good for this show, as there are no surprises left to discover in the musical.
But the movie took an oscar, isn't that the reason why they decide to musicalize? I doubt people who never heard of the movie would go to see the musical. They may decide to go?regardless, but if they haven't seen the movie, they may rent the dvd first, so either way, there is little surprise.
I did think "in the back of the bus" was a waste. I'm curious how the finale was changed as I thought the feel good happy ending was just wrong.
Updated On: 2/27/11 at 01:46 PM
bk
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/20/03
#9Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/27/11 at 1:50pmThis is the problem with this horrid trend of making musicals out of recent films. Enough already. Let a decade go by at least.
#10Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 2/28/11 at 2:44pmSaw this and Emma on my CA trip. MUCH preferred Sunshine. Not perfect yet, but so much heart. And love love love Georgie James!
irisheart
Swing Joined: 3/1/11
#11Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/1/11 at 7:19pmI made a special trip to see EMMA and Little Miss Sunshine - and I also found Sunshine to be totally charming and the better of the two. It's a smart, funny, and enjoyable piece.
#12Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/1/11 at 9:42pm
I also saw both Sunshine and Emma. I didn't think either was very good but I thought the dialogue for Emma was far more clever and the music much better.
Both made me appreciate Limelight much more. That earlier production at The Playhouse was heads and shoulders better.
#13Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/13/11 at 1:36am
I saw the matinee this afternoon and was completely let down. While I didn't love EMMA, there was some charm and talent onstage, and it was a pleasant, if occasionally dull, sit. This was ill-conceived and dreadful.
William Finn has been taken to task for admitting that he wrote the score in less than an afternoon, and even if I hadn't heard that comment, I would have figured it out myself. The score is flat as a pancake, lacking any sort of coherent style or melody, and his lyrics are (for the first time ever) elementary at best. It's all so shapeless and conversational that one wonders why this information needed to be conveyed through song in the first place. Every scene commands a new number, most of which echo what's already been established by the book.
While the scenic design is clever and distinctive (particularly the bus), it doesn't help that Lapine's book has xeroxed the movie scene by scene. This time around, however, the characters are unpleasant and charmless. It's not entirely the actors' fault, but Hunter Foster comes off as obstinate and defensive, Jennifer Laura Thompson is a shrill nag, and Dick Latessa panders as the horny grandpa. Grandpa's musical salute to "poontang" (complete with flashback of him seducing a "femme fatale") is painful. Finn can't resist having Grandpa warble the word "poontang" repeatedly throughout, a seniors-say-the-darndest-things moment that isn't funny the first time and becomes even less so as the number drags on.
Because Lapine sticks so closely to the film, the show unnecessarily shares (and sometimes compounds) its tonal problems. The most contrived scene in the film is Frank's (Malcolm Gets was out, so we saw Andrew Samonsky) run-in with a former lover and his new boyfriend at a gas station. Lapine makes this one note, far-fetched scene longer and Finn turns it into a musical number. The result is a lot of obnoxious hemming and hawing as the gay couple taunts Frank by grinding against each other. A stereotypical turban-wearing clerk looks on, and the same ensemble member is called on to play a Hispanic pageant host with Speedy Gonzalez speech patterns later in the show.
It's also unclear how the show wants us to feel about the pageant itself (I had this problem with the film, too). Are we supposed to take it seriously, find it humorous, creepy, etc.? Here it's all of the above, and the satire is so soft and easy (a needless comic number in which a former winner describes her bulimia) there's no comedic edge to anything. Seeing 8-year-olds parade around in Jon Benet Ramsey-type costumes is uncomfortable, even more so when an adult eagle scout (and pageant judge) hits on Dwayne, the teenage son.
Olive's dance, hilarious in the film and a great opportunity for a huge, energetic closing number, is over before it even starts. The show closes with drippy "can't we all just get along?" patter from Finn, which sounds no different than any of the 21 (?!) songs preceding it.
I love Lapine's work and am a huge fan of SPELLING BEE, but they completely missed the mark here. A major disappointment.
Philly56
Swing Joined: 3/13/11
#14Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/13/11 at 6:31pmI saw both as well and preferred Sunshine. The script was imperfect but the acting was superb. Hunter and Jennifer were well cast. Dick La Tessa was a riot. Andrew Samonsky (is he the u/s?) was terrific. I thought his performance was sincere with the right balance of gloom and humor; sad and sweet. The set and the bus maneuverings were clever. The whole thing just needs to be filled out a bit more. Maybe they should stray from the movie somewhat and make it more their own.
NikkiFourEyes
Swing Joined: 3/24/11
#15Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/26/11 at 10:14am
Being new to this board, I have read the guidelines, FAQs, and numerous threads. If I make a mistake, please instruct gently. :)
I attended a preview performance and counted 25 musical numbers which includes reprises and the finale. I have listed them below and I am hoping that someone who attended after opening will be able to determine what songs were cut.
Thanks! Here we go:
Act I:
10 Steps 4 Success
Same Old, Same Old (Very Good Day)
Olive Antonia Hoover
Grandpa's Advice
Refuse to Lose
Grandmother's Trunk
Back of the Bus
How Have I Been?
Success Begins at Home/The Fight
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World
Something Better Better Happen
Nothing Gets in the Way
Something Better Better Happen(Reprise)
Act II:
At This Point in Our Journey
Heaven
You're Not My Family
Too Much Information
Suffering
What You Left Behind
Little Miss Sunshine
She Deserves Much More(Back of the Bus Reprise)
The Most Beautiful Girl in the World(Reprise)
Olive's Big Number
No More Sugarcoating
Finale
brightasyellow
Understudy Joined: 7/7/10
#16Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 9:56am
I saw this last Saturday and really enjoyed it. It has its problems and needs to be tightened up (but what world premiere musical doesn't?) but it has a lot of potential.
I thought the cast was the real highlight, although the understudy for Frank, Andrew Samonsky, was a real let-down. Any scene that featured him was a true energy-suck. Dick Latessa was fabulous as Grandpa and Hunter Foster really embodied the spirit of Richard. I'm a fan of Taylor Trensch and he was fantastic, even though I wasn't a fan of his solo. It was completely different musically than the rest of the show and not in a good way.
There were definitely points that needed to be cut, but I still enjoyed it and the drive to and from L.A. to San Diego was worth it.
Wildcard
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/21/06
#17Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 1:25pmI enjoyed this production although I wouldn't say that it's my favorite of the shows I've seen in the past few months. I thought the sets were great, minimal as they were. I do agree with most of ABB2357's points. The gay ex-lovers confrontation scene was too long and the beauty pageant was uncomfortable. They placed these little girls right in front of the audience and I didn't know where to look. It made me squirm. The music wasn't too memorable and "You're Not My Family" was just painful. After a whole first act of not speaking, I would have expected a better song from the character. I didn't like Andrew Samonsky much in South Pacific but I felt like his personality (or lack thereof) fit his character in this show more.
#18Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 1:46pmHas Malcolm Gets been out a lot? I'm surprised Samonsky is going on this much.
#19Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 1:47pmHas Finn really stated that he wrote the full score to a show in an afternoon? That seems like a moronic thing to say... like painting a bulls-eye on your shirt.
#20Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 8:04pmthe word of mouth wasnt so stellar on this...once i saw clips, pics and heard buzz, i gave away my tickets...
#21Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/30/11 at 8:32pmI can't find it at the moment, but there was a video interview in which Finn said all the songs in the show are essentially first drafts and he didn't do much revising to keep everything "spontaneous." It would certainly account for how repetitive and lazy the lyrics are. Will post a link later on.
#22Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/31/11 at 1:49amthats the collective sigh of having given up these tickets...its not even Baby Its You styled medicority/awful -- it just sounds annoying
#23Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:05am
I leant William Finn my coat once.
He never returned it.
This is why his show isn't working, most likely.
dramarama3
Stand-by Joined: 2/13/09
#24Little Miss Sunshine - La Jolla Playhouse
Posted: 3/31/11 at 2:20am
I think people are taking Finn's score comment the complete wrong way...
Didn't he say that he would write songs and if they weren't working or having any direction within half and hour he would scrap it? Not that he wrote them in half and hour, or the score in one afternoon.
Formerly 'dramarama2'
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