BIG THUMBS DOWN for CHICAGO in Sosua

HS10

Active member
Feb 17, 2008
274
115
43
Last night I went to see the play CHICAGO in Sosua.
The play was all in Spanish (OK I can deal with that BUT all previous plays here in Sosua were in english and the fact that this one was in Spanish was never mentioned at all by anyone promoting the show)

MY BIG THUMBS DOWN is because the whole thing was one big professional recording...not one word of dialogue or one song was live. Just one big pantomime to a (very loud) soundtrack. Very stupid and very boring.

I think it was terrible to offer a 'play' and give us a soundtrack!
 
Dec 26, 2011
8,071
0
0
That's a huge disappointment. I saw a very good play(in Spanish) in SD at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in 2010. Beautiful building. Impressive performance. And the tickets we're unreasonably inexpensive.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
Last night I went to see the play CHICAGO in Sosua.
The play was all in Spanish (OK I can deal with that BUT all previous plays here in Sosua were in english and the fact that this one was in Spanish was never mentioned at all by anyone promoting the show)

MY BIG THUMBS DOWN is because the whole thing was one big professional recording...not one word of dialogue or one song was live. Just one big pantomime to a (very loud) soundtrack. Very stupid and very boring.

I think it was terrible to offer a 'play' and give us a soundtrack!

Very surprised to learn the speaking was in Spanish and the music was recorded. Even though you can handle the Spanish, I'm sure there were many in the audience who can't....at least not for an entire show.

I agree that the publicity on the show was very misleading. Certainly no indication that the language was Spanish and that the performers would be using recorded music. See the report below from the Sosua News on Thursday. This is not good news for the future of theater in Sosua or the reputation of the Association for the Development of Sosua that sponsored the show.

Friday July 6, there will be a on-off performance of the classic Broadway hit, 'Chicago the musical' in the Congress center of Sos?a Bay Casino. The show starts at 7 PM and the entrance is only 400 pesos or 11 dollars. For tickets please call 809-742-4281, or visit POP Lounge, Sea Horse Ranch, EPS, Infiniti Blu, or ADSs Office located in the Plaza of Bailey's (Sos?a). The board of the foundation ADSS (development of Sos?a) is proud to be able to bring this musical to Sos?a. Chicago is a musical based on the story of two showgirls: Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly. Both have murdered someone, so they ended up in prison. A world behind closed doors, where everyone has to fight for themselves, because there exists no justice.

This certainly applies to the warden, Mama Morton. Separately the women fight relentlessly for their freedom and they try in various ways to attract the attention of the media and the infamous lawyer Billy Flynn. To achieve this, the two women play a dangerous game with each other. Who has the most power and passion?

The sexy costumes, challenging dance style, cabaret acts and the big show element make Chicago one of the most spectacular and extravagant musicals of all time. World famous are the songs 'All That Jazz' and 'Cell Block Tango'. Friday evening the musical can be seen at the Sos?a Bay Casino. Don't miss it!
 

jrhartley

Gold
Sep 10, 2008
8,190
580
0
64
chicago is now performing in my car - ticket prices rd 500 for a backseat

in an act of desperation
 

Tamborista

hasta la tambora
Apr 4, 2005
11,747
1,343
113
chicago is now performing in my car - ticket prices rd 500 for a backseat

in an act of desperation

For some reason, I pictured you as more of a MAME kinda gal!

[video=youtube;T0vHKhitjuE]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0vHKhitjuE[/video]
 

Gilles Beaulieu

New member
Apr 7, 2010
143
2
0
Last night I went to see the play CHICAGO in Sosua.
The play was all in Spanish (OK I can deal with that BUT all previous plays here in Sosua were in english and the fact that this one was in Spanish was never mentioned at all by anyone promoting the show)

MY BIG THUMBS DOWN is because the whole thing was one big professional recording...not one word of dialogue or one song was live. Just one big pantomime to a (very loud) soundtrack. Very stupid and very boring.

I think it was terrible to offer a 'play' and give us a soundtrack!

Welcome in the new word.
2012.
If you live in Paris, you speak french.
If you live in Italy, you speak ???
If you live in R.D. you speak the language of the people.
It is to complicate for you ???
If you don't like the country, you know what you have to do ????
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
Welcome in the new word.
2012.
If you live in Paris, you speak french.
If you live in Italy, you speak ???
If you live in R.D. you speak the language of the people.
It is to complicate for you ???
If you don't like the country, you know what you have to do ????

I think you are a bit off base with this post.

Yes, Spanish is the language of the country, but there have been other plays put on in Sosua by a local theater group during the past couple of years, all of which have been in English. Absent any mention in the publicity about the language, I think most if not all who have attended the previous plays would have been assuming this play to also be in English.

There is no recent history of plays in Spanish in Sosua, only plays in English.
 
Aug 21, 2007
3,043
1,970
113
I agree, Ken. However, instead of assuming- as we Americans always do, that everyone does everything like us or to please us- why not simply ask the questions prior to purchasing tickets?

The other plays were performed by a local theater group of ex-pats. This was presented- as is my understanding- by Dominican university students from Puerto Plata. It says so on the tickets. It was a fund raiser for several organizations, organized by ADSSosua.

People are working hard to bring a variety of entertainment options to Sosua. This is not New York City. This is small town Sosua in the Dominican Republic. Let's give credit where credit is due. We can continue always finding fault in everything, or we can appreciate what others are doing to improve Sosua, do our own part to help the cause, and be glad there are options aside from bars and late night activities on Pedro Clisante.

Lindsey
 

HS10

Active member
Feb 17, 2008
274
115
43
I gave it a BIG THUMBS DOWN not because it was in spanish. I would have very much enjoyed watching the show in spanish.
I gave it a BIG THUMBS DOWN because there was not one word or song live on stage. It was not even a recording of this group but one continuous professional recording. IMHO it was absurd.
 

Ken

Platinum
Jan 1, 2002
13,884
495
83
Sosua News On "Chicago"

[h=5]Friday July 6 the MAEPP theater group presented the musical 'Chicago the Musical' in the conference room of Sos?a Bay Casino. A lot of people showed up and they appeared to be an enthusiastic audience. The performers danced beautifully, that's certainly true, but none of songs were sung live and the music sounded a bit (too) loud. The sexy costumes, challenging dance style, cabaret acts and the big show element make Chicago one of the most spectacular and most extravagant musicals of all time. World famous are the songs 'All That Jazz "and" Cell Block Tango'. The association 'La Asociaci?n para el Desarrollo Sostenible the Sos?a (ADSS), contracted this musical for Sos?a. The board Lorena Feliz Santos and Carolina Beltran of the foundation ADSS announced after the show that this musical was the first cultural activity of a planned series.[/h]
[h=5]For the next few months there are several shows (musicals, theater), music performances (jazz and classical), gastronomic and sporting events on the agenda.[/h]
 

london777

Bronze
Dec 22, 2005
786
29
28
By all means perform in Spanish, but why not present a Spanish play? Even better if with a Dominican theme. Why some tenth-rate copy of foreign stuff long past its shelflife? Has the Dominican Republic no culture of its own?