Well, dear readers, Deceit continues to deceive the critics and delight the audiences. It’s truly fascinating. I predicted early on that we’d get creamed by most of the major press, and they did not disappoint. Now, even though I read only one of the pans (the LA Weekly), I’ve been told about the others – they are certainly entitled to their opinions and to either like or dislike the play, but the writing in these reviews is so amateurish as to border on the sublime, amateurishness-wise. I mean, if they can’t write, why should they review someone else’s writing? We also had the misfortune of having nothing but second and third-stringers from all the major press. The smaller websites and press have given us raves, and reading those raves (not that they really mean anything), you get the idea that they don’t pre-judge and that they at least make an attempt to be positive. The bad reviews are head-scratchers if you’ve seen the play and heard the audience reaction and buzz. It’s like they saw a different play. They came in negatively and they left negatively. If you think I’m bellyaching, I’m not – anyone who was in the theater on Friday night, the night the majority of the press was there, could feel the negative energy emanating from each and every one of these guys – it was powerful. The fact that these LA critics routinely bash good and professional waiver theater shows and routinely give gushing raves to the worst crap you’ve ever seen, speaks volumes. There was a musical that had its LA premiere last year. Now, this musical was one of the most critically and audience-reviled musicals ever (it had some vocal fans, who like pretentiousness, but they were few and far-between). In New York, it didn’t play long. The reviews were scathing. Well, when they announced a waiver theater production here, directed by a very bad director, but with a very good cast, I predicted that the LA press would fall all over themselves proclaiming the musical brilliant. They did not disappoint – every one of them said it was brilliant. So, in a funny and ironic way, had we gotten gushing reviews it would have actually worried me. This way, we’re just another decent show that got shafted by a bunch of really poor critics. I am, of course, having fun reviewing the reviewers or critiquing the critics. Turnabout is fair play, after all. Or is it fair play is turnabout? And just what in tarnation IS turnabout, anyway?
So, now we have to do damage control and just try to get the word out among the people that the play is making audiences very happy. We have to take the three raves and play to their strengths – a new poster, new postcards and flyers, and trying to get people to tell their friends (this is already happening). All I know is that night after night audiences filled with people neither I or the cast knows, come, have a good time, talk about the show at intermission, and come out after act two and continue to talk about the show. We’ve had no walkouts (save for one elderly woman who thought the end of act one was too intense), and no negative comments from anyone. To paraphrase Miss Unsinkable Molly Brown – we ain’t down yet.
Well, why don’t we all click on the Unseemly Button below because I still have to tell you about last night’s performance.
So, after reading the wretched LA Weekly review, the love-letter from the Tolucan Times, and hearing that the LA Times was a horrible pan, I went to the theater for our Thursday night show. I knew we had a group of college students attending, forty of them. So, I knew it would be a nice house. Well, it turned out that the show was completely sold out, not one seat left. That was the perfect antidote to the bile that I’m told most of the critics have fallen all over themselves to spew. The play began promptly at eight, and the crowd was into the show from line one and they stayed riveted until the act two curtain. There were lots of very big laughs, the cast was the best they’ve ever been, and each twist was greeted with a wonderful audience reaction. Of course, had you read those reviews you wouldn’t think any of the twists worked and that it was all completely predictable. I’m not sure if these people have actually ever seen a thriller, although they all invoke Deathtrap as if they have. The actors got a wonderful hand at the end, and then we had a Q&A. Originally, it was just going to be for the students, but I kid you not, every single person in the audience stayed. We had a great deal of fun, and they asked very interesting questions. I talked about the process of creating and writing the show, the actors talked about their approaches to the characters, and it was just a great time. So, who do I listen to? The critics who hate us? The critics who love us? Or the audiences, who, thus far, have all been nothing but wonderfully positive and effusive? Well, I think you know the answer – with a big emphasis on the latter.
Can you believe it’s Friday already? This week just flew by, like a gazelle in an itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot bikini. Today I shan’t do much of anything, save for returning an important telephonic call this morning, for which I may have to have a meeting in the afternoon. Otherwise, I have the day to myself to finish (finally) the short story, and to hopefully begin another right away. Then I shall attend the evening’s performance of Deceit, although I may show up a bit late – not sure yet.
Well, dear readers, I must take the day, I must do the things I do, I must, for example, accentuate the positive and eliminate the negative, critics-wise, I must do errands, I must hopefully pick up some packages that should be arriving, and I must write and relax, not necessarily in that order. I do hope I haven’t been too critical of the critics – I wouldn’t want to hurt their feelings or have them feel too bad over my criticisms. I mean, I have refrained from calling them morons, haven’t I? Today’s topic of discussion: It’s Friday – what is currently in your CD player, and your DVD/video player? I’ll start – CD, the soundtrack to Mrs. Henderson’s Profession, which is very enjoyable. DVD, They Live By Night, Nicholas Ray’s classic film, and in the bedroom player, a new anamorphic region 2 transfer of Hercules Unchained, which I’m really enjoying. Your turn. Let’s have loads of lovely postings, shall we, whilst we continue to accentuate the positive and eliminate both the negative and the critics in one fell swoop.