2017 Live Entertainment Thoughts

Which do you think is the best show(s) of 2017?

  • Celtic Fyre

    Votes: 34 64.2%

  • All For One

    Votes: 10 18.9%

  • Britmania

    Votes: 11 20.8%

  • Mix It Up

    Votes: 7 13.2%

  • OktoberZest

    Votes: 1 1.9%

  • More Pet Shenanigans

    Votes: 4 7.5%

  • Howl to Coexist

    Votes: 5 9.4%

  • Sunny Days Celebration

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Total voters
    53
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Lord Robert

Lord Robert

"Not pet. Wingman."
Apr 18, 2014
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The shows have now opened for the 2017 season and there has been some discussion going around about the merit of the state of quality for live entertainment since the beautifully improved "All For One" opened. I did notice that still great "Celtic Fyre" has at least two cast members short this season and "Britmania" has surprised a good amount of people, me included, for how awesome it turned out in comparison to it's bad predecessor "London Rocks". Now the show that has the most divisive opinions has been "OktoberZest" for it's hugely messy presentation but great talent that does save it for me personally from being a bad show, but changes to it would be greatly needed. While that I do highly enjoy "Mix it Up", I have heard something (take it with a grain of salt first) that there's been plans of whenever or not the show will end it's seven season run this year and replace it with a traditional Italian show. "More Pet Shenanigans" is still quite awkward to sit through but "Howl To Coexist" is still a wonderful animal show and I pray that it will stay that way.

So for me, "Celtic Fyre" is still king with both "Britmania" and "All For One" in the second best spot for how tight, beautiful, and awesome they both are to me. I feel that despite "OktoberZest" turning out to be such a mess, my optimism for the live entertainment department headed by Pete Dunklee has grown quite considerably and that is saying something. :)
 
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I agree 100% with everything you said. Celtic Fyre has just held up tremendously over the years. I think time is really the true test of quality and CF has held its charm since its inception. Sure, they've had down seasons, but even it's down seasons are still top notch and I don't see it ever sinking to anything close to poor quality.

Britmania and All For One are both great as well, but the real test will be how well they hold up over time. If the behind the scenes folks continue to make necessary changes to improve the shows over the years, they'll hold up just as well I'm sure. They've got an excellent start so my hopes are high!
 
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Before I continue, are we sure that Pete Dunklee is still the VP of Entertainment? I have no evidence to suggest that. In fact, here is a listing for that job.

Also, I think the department is as much in shambles now as ever, if not worse off. Every aspect of tech, costuming, and most importantly, direction is now mostly in very incompetent hands. I don't even want to think about our new cost-saving pyrotechnics team.

There are a few people who are holding on, and some are even holding up their jobs and more. The rest is just left up to contractors that the park never should have been involved with. I hate pointing fingers, but how can their best shows be abandoned entirely in order to fix what was so bad last year?

That said, I do believe that last year's biggest problems are fixed for now (London Rocks and All For One). However, only the latter of those came from in-house staff. If corporate finds that our in-house teams can't fix the problems themselves (and believe me, they will), we may be faced with another massive set of layoffs.

It's sad to think of it, but things happening backstage seem to be very intense recently. I hate to think that any more layoffs are necessary to pull the department forward, but otherwise they are at a stalemate. Soon I believe we shall find whose big ideas will prevail, and I can only hope they will make the right decisions. Until they do, Williamsburg's live entertainment budget is non-existent, and in most cases it shows.
 
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Zimmy said:
Nicole said:
I picked the wolf training show!

I always support their animal education and conservation efforts.
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Good call, and the pet show is..  well... I just worry about the animals happiness.
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The animals there are all adopted from shelters and extremely well taken care of of.  The company that runs the show does shows fot BGT andd all three sea world parks as well as a show at the Columbus Zoo and the Jacksonville Zoo.  They also worked closely with Jack Hanna on a number of projects and have been praised by him on numerous occasions for both their skill and treatment of the animals.
 
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CastleOSullivan said:
Before I continue, are we sure that Pete Dunklee is still the VP of Entertainment? I have no evidence to suggest that. In fact, here is a listing for that job.

Also, I think the department is as much in shambles now as ever, if not worse off. Every aspect of tech, costuming, and most importantly, direction is now mostly in very incompetent hands. I don't even want to think about our new cost-saving pyrotechnics team.

There are a few people who are holding on, and some are even holding up their jobs and more. The rest is just left up to contractors that the park never should have been involved with. I hate pointing fingers, but how can their best shows be abandoned entirely in order to fix what was so bad last year?

That said, I do believe that last year's biggest problems are fixed for now (London Rocks and All For One). However, only the latter of those came from in-house staff. If corporate finds that our in-house teams can't fix the problems themselves (and believe me, they will), we may be faced with another massive set of layoffs.

It's sad to think of it, but things happening backstage seem to be very intense recently. I hate to think that any more layoffs are necessary to pull the department forward, but otherwise they are at a stalemate. Soon I believe we shall find whose big ideas will prevail, and I can only hope they will make the right decisions. Until they do, Williamsburg's live entertainment budget is non-existent, and in most cases it shows.
Click to expand...

Yeesh. From the way it sounds, it reminds me of something going through heavy surgery that no one knows how it's going to end up. I am hoping everything turns out okay at the end that the department can come out of this insane detox stronger and better than ever. But if I am going to be honest I think live entertainment was worse when You-Know-Who was in charge, he made that department entirely horrid/retched and working in it was a pure pain for others who had to deal with his behavior. So in 2017, the department has improved but it still has a long way to go to get out in the clear.
 
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horsesboy said:
Zimmy said:
Good call, and the pet show is..  well... I just worry about the animals happiness.
Click to expand...
The animals there are all adopted from shelters and extremely well taken care of of.  The company that runs the show does shows fot BGT andd all three sea world parks as well as a show at the Columbus Zoo and the Jacksonville Zoo.  They also worked closely with Jack Hanna on a number of projects and have been praised by him on numerous occasions for both their skill and treatment of the animals.
Click to expand...

While I understand that in theory, what I saw in practice, when I watched More Pet Shenanigans, was simply disturbing.

The animals did not seem happy or safe. I saw cats falling off high wires, and the dogs didn't seem to want to participate.

The wacky highjinks music and sound effects are cheesy and annoying, as well.

The whole thing made me cringe.
 
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Lord Robert said:
While that I do highly enjoy "Mix it Up", I have heard something (take it with a grain of salt first) that there's been plans of whenever or not the show will end it's seven season run this year and replace it with a traditional Italian show.
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THIS makes me very happy.  I saw "Mix it Up" about a week ago - while it was very good (and very well received by the audience present), you folks know my opinions on traditional, well-themed entertainment...
 
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Haberdasher1973 said:
Lord Robert said:
While that I do highly enjoy "Mix it Up", I have heard something (take it with a grain of salt first) that there's been plans of whenever or not the show will end it's seven season run this year and replace it with a traditional Italian show.
Click to expand...

THIS makes me very happy.  I saw "Mix it Up" about a week ago - while it was very good (and very well received by the audience present), you folks know my opinions on traditional, well-themed entertainment...
Click to expand...

I agree, while "Mix it Up" is highly entertaining and pretty good in it's own right, I think it's high time a traditional, really good Italian show should once again grace the stage. I didn't mention this before but not only have I heard about that rumored plan, but the big thing I found from that is that it might also include a LIVE BAND. Again this is all a rumor but a good rumor I hope is true.
 
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"OktoberZest" is a great example of being a show that has some good things but ultimately turns out to be a mess and a misfire both at the same time. Whenever they did the traditional German dances/songs it's pretty good, but everything else is quite awkward to sit though especially the finale.

Oh well, at least there's Bier Fest to look forward to. :)
 
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chickenkingBGW posted this wonderful highlights video of the live show lineup of 2017 and comparing this to the lineup of 2012 proves that while we have come a long way since then, we still have some things left to go before it's finally in the clear.

 
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