<p>Eh - it could have been better. Mad TV’s alternative ending video that I posted is better. They did not riff on Carrie. They probably would like for her to host and it is NBC.</p>
<p>I love Carrie. She is a valued member of our community and many of us enjoyed the show. Maybe we have no taste. Whatever. It’s a TV show! She’s not Julie Andrews. She’s Carrie Underwood. It wasn’t trying to be Broadway theater.<br>
I don’t understand all the outrage. Maybe she’ll talk on a cellphone on your next flight and then you can REALLY get upset!</p>
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<p>I don’t doubt that she worked hard and did the best she could. That’s irrelevant. She’s a professional. Professionals get judged on results, not effort. </p>
<p>She chose to take the job. She stank up the joint. She chose to expose herself to well-deserved ridicule, so she has no reason now to start shoveling out religious crap to the people who accurately described her acting performance as worse than what you’d see in a second-rate high school musical.</p>
<p>If you’re a professional performer, and your performance is panned, your best response is to remain quiet instead of getting all defensive and suggesting that every single critic is wrong. Sanctimoniousness doesn’t go over well.</p>
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Of course it was! Do you really think three Tony award winning Broadway performers agreed to star in a production thinking it was intended to be anything less? I’m sure if any of them had realized Carrie Underwood’s limitations they would have run for the hills, but they apparently they had faith that NBC knew what it was doing. I hope that the next time something like this is attempted, the pros decline to participate unless they can vet any stunt casting in advance.</p>
<p>The reason for the outrage (though I’d say it’s more like intense disappointment) is that those of us who love musical theater (including many who have kids who have participated in the genre and understand its challenges) don’t want to see the art form disrespected by a combination of stupidity and cupidity. Eighteen million people were enticed to watch a bad production. Musical theater deserves better.</p>
<p>BTW, the heaping of scorn on Carrie Underwood is obscuring the fact that Stephen Moyer was equally as dreadful and also should never have been sharing a stage with pros.</p>
<p>Can’t link from my phone but go to NBC.com/Saturday-night-live/video</p>
<p>I agree that the outrage here is a bit over the top, but it reminds me of what we used to say in college: it’s the drama crowd.</p>
<p>One more “drama crowd” gripe-and it has nothing to do with Carrie Underwood. Does anyone remember the days when “important” telecasts were shown “without interruption”, with just a set of commercials at the beginning and another at the end? Wouldn’t it have been nice if Walmart had been classy enough finance SOM that way, perhaps with a third set of commercials fitting nicely at the normal intermission point? Instead, the frequent and lengthy interruptions (depicting a family I had zero interest in getting to know) just detracted from the flow and assured that this production would be nothing like the experience of live theater.</p>
<p>With a 3 hour production, the actors may have wanted the commercial breaks, for costume changes and bathroom breaks, etc. This couldn’t have a 15 minute intermission, so they have to give them a break somehow.</p>
<p>For those who missed the SNL skit, heres a link [Saturday</a> Night Live | NBC](<a href=“http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/?par=Saturday%20Night%20Live%20|Video|Sub%20Nav|Main|null|1]Saturday”>http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live/?par=Saturday%20Night%20Live%20|Video|Sub%20Nav|Main|null|1)</p>
<p>The SNL skit didn’t riff on CU at all - it would have been written and rehearsed before Thursday night’s performance anyway. </p>
<p>I still think that despite CU’s acting shortcomings, the show would have been a lot better with a live audience. At least it would have had more energy. I also think the multiple commercial breaks forced the rest of the production to be RUSHED. Who knows - perhaps Steven Moyer would have been better if he didn’t have to spit out his lines like he was speed reading to get to the next scene on time.</p>
<p>I think that, in time, CU will look back on this as a learning experience - hopefully, with laughter. Most of the professional critics have said she can’t act, but most aren’t harshly savaging her or displaying outrage. The ones I’ve read indicated that “living up to Julie Andrews” was an impossible task to begin with, and that CU just wasn’t up to it acting-wise. But I haven’t seen anything really MEAN - the truth is almost everyone LIKES CU. Most people seem to have wanted her to succeed and are disappointed that she didn’t/couldn’t, but I think people still like her for what she does do well, which is sing Country and host the CMAs.</p>
<p>Since they were both NBC productions, someone might have gotten a sneak peak at rehearsals…</p>
<p>Just sayin’</p>
<p>I watched the SOM “live” production last night. I had taped it and so was able to FF through the commercials. I really liked it. As a non MT parent who just happens to enjoy musicals, I was very entertained. Carrie’s acting chops are not all there admittedly but she wasn’t terrible at all (as I was expecting after reading through this thread). I loved her voice. I was more critical of the pairing with Stephen Moyer. No chemistry. I didn’t believe they were falling in love. Other than that, I loved the production. The kids were mostly great, excepting Greta, the youngest. She was the worst actor in the production IMO.</p>
<p>How long was it without the commercials? Wonder if additionally the inclusion of the commercials was in part to fill the 3 hr dedicated timeslot.</p>
<p>It was about 2 1/2 hours. Wish I could edit it and keep only the production.</p>
<p>i liked the Captain and Maria singing in the SNL skit, AND “maria” knew how to play the guitar. perhaps NBC should have cast them…</p>
<p>Regarding an earlier post. If Carrie Underwood wants to sit next to me and talk on her cell phone on an airplane, that will be fine with me. :)</p>
<p>Growing up, we belonged to the same place of worship as Robert Merrill. Sat in front of him one year at one of the big holidays, but bummer, he didn’t sing. Guess he would have overshadowed everyone and he knew it. That or he was resting his voice, or both.</p>
<p>“The reason for the outrage (though I’d say it’s more like intense disappointment) is that those of us who love musical theater (including many who have kids who have participated in the genre and understand its challenges) don’t want to see the art form disrespected by a combination of stupidity and cupidity. Eighteen million people were enticed to watch a bad production. Musical theater deserves better.”</p>
<p>Wow, that’s really jumping the shark. MT is ruined forever??</p>
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<p>They often rewrite right up until show time. That is one reason the cast relies so heavily on cue cards.</p>
<p>I enjoyed the SNL open more when I watched it again. I think Kate McKinnon and Taran Killam would have been better choices than Underwood and Moyer. </p>
<p>It was better that they chose not to trash Underwood.</p>
<p>The Carrie Underwood SOM DVD version will be released on Dec. 17. It’s #15 in Amazon’s DVD bestseller list. The grim reaper hasn’t visited musical theater yet.</p>
<p>Cartera - I have never heard of the actors that you mentioned. If they had been cast, I probably would not have been enticed to watch it.</p>