Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and that should be respected. No reviewer here is forcing anyone to agree with his/her opinion.

Bryy’s post above spoke volumes: If you get bad press, fine. Don’t be bad press for yourself.

Granted this review isn’t the greatest piece of theatre criticism ever, but you really need to get over it. What if the reviewer LOVED musicals and still gave you a bad review? Would you still be all upset over it? Seriously, if you do theatre you know this is part of it. Some people like your stuff and say nice things, some do not. You take the good and bad and just deal with it. This review isn’t going to kill your production. It’s not as if LATR is the LA Times or the NY Times.

As far as lowering your creative standards because this is a “fringe” production is concerned, I have to disagree. I don’t lower my expectations as a patron. I still expect there to be production values. And that is probably the reason why you shouldn’t do a musical. If you can’t do it well, then don’t do it. Don’t tape things together, roll out some plastic boxes all because it’s “fringe” and then complain when somebody calls you out on it.

Lastly, it is uber tacky to write a comment on a review with praise for your own show.

You are correct, it is best to assign a reviewer who has a preference and a liking for the genre of a show. Know it was not, nor will it ever be our intention to do harm to a show. Our reason to be is support of small theatre in Los Angeles. (That being said, we are also committed to honest review and analysis, we won’t pull punches.)

For the Fringe Festival, as we have so many shows to cover and a limited number of reviewers, it was not possible to find out everyone’s preference beforehand and to assign shows on that basis. During the regular theatre season, we do take that into consideration. As we grow and the Fringe grows, I would like to have that luxury.

I know this is little compensation to you at the moment. Several of our reviewers are also seeing shows that were not assigned and I will be posting their “extra” reviews in post over the next few days. Hopefully, one of them will have seen your show so we can have, as they say in the medical profession, a second opinion.

I thank you for your honest thoughts here and invite others who have watched the show to post their thoughts as well.

Shame on you. It’s fringe production and you don;t like musicals and that is who was assigned to us?

If you are reveiwing a Musical you should have Musical experience to draw from and have a background understadnig of how a musical is done, what is required and what is important . A reviewer that knows and loves musicals! not someone who doesn’t know musicals and its demands and achievments -and focusses on BOXES? And that it was “contrived”? Have you seen Wicked? have you ever watched an Elvis presley movie? The Mask? Moulin Rouge? Do you think Charley Chaplin is a real little guy? Do you even like that stuff???

An irresponsible review like yours can kill a project like this. While the whole audience was amazed you were focused on plastic boxes as a bad choice for a fringe production?

Next time… Maybe you should focus on the fact that while one man shows abound at the fringe , whole productions are rarely attempted because of their complication and what we did was a feat.shame on you
Did you mention the live band? did you mention how much fun the rest of the audience besides you was having?
did you mention how incredible it was that we managed to get this together on a shoe string?
You damned us! Shame on you.Shame on you for not knowing what a fringe is. For reviewing a show that you would never like but doing it anyway. Do you think that caviot at the beginning of your damaging review that “you don;t like musicals anyway” excuses your irresponsibility?
You could have mentioned the gorgeous band. You could have mentioned the gorgeous costumes and APPLAUDED THE INGENIOUS USE OF OF BOXES TO GET THINGS ON AND OFF STAGE QUICKLY WITH OUT CLATTERING THINGS AROUND AND AT LITTLE EXPENSE. YOU COULD HAVE NOTED HOW COMITTED THE ACTORS WERE TO OUTFIT THEMSEL;VES SO GORGEOUSLY. You could have mentioned the fabulous performances that did not begin and end with a nurse saying Muhaha. You could have taken the time to consider what you were saying in the context of what you were watching. And had your review support us despite your lack of love for musicals in general.

Shame on you! And shame on alliance for sending someone that does not like musicals!
Shame on them too!
What in God’s name were you thinking when you assigned someone who does not like musicals to a Musical for a fringe production?helene Udy
Producer