opinion: bare the pop opera or bare the musical?
Warning: This gets really long! Also, this is all just my opinion, please don’t hate on it.I have to go with the pop opera, easily. For me, there’s almost no competition between the two of them. The original was clearly superior, and it should have been left alone. I look forward to the day that we will inevitably see a production of Bare: A Pop Opera hit Broadway in some way, shape, or form. Although I will watch the book musical every once in a while, it does not even remotely compare to the original show, which is creative genius and an absolute masterpiece. There were only a few things I liked about the book musical, which are as follows:
Jason Hite as Jason was fantastic. I wish we could see what he could do with pop opera!Jason, I’m sure he would have been amazing! He could have been a favorite part of the show for me if this version’s Jason didn’t suck so royally. This Jason made me want Peter to leave the relationship, which is the exact opposite of what you want.
Alex Wyse made me care about an ensemble character. Even though Alan is not at all important in the original show, I found him silly, funny, and lovable.
A few of the added songs were not too bad. “A Million Miles From Heaven” is a fantastic opener, although I don’t like it as much as “Epiphany”, and it could certainly find its place somewhere in the original show. I also liked “Best Friend”, which I found hysterical, and “Drive You Out of Your Mind”, although Nadia was so out of character it physically pained me. I kind of liked “You Don’t Know”, but it replaced “Plain Jane Fat Ass”, which really shows the strength of Nadia and Jason’s relationship as siblings, and “A Quiet Night At Home”, which is one of my favorite songs from the pop opera.
I thought the changed lyrics in “You and I” were adorable, but they weren’t even remotely as good as the pop opera lyrics. However, I adored the new lyrics in “No Voice” and thought that they were absolutely necessary for this version. Although I still prefer the lyrics in the pop opera, these lyrics are just as heartbreaking and strong competitors.
Now for the things I didn’t like, which there are a lot of.
I cannot stand Nadia in this version. She is one of my favorite characters in the pop opera: I too suffer with weight issues (although more like those of Katie Stevens’s portrayal in the LA revival), and I am also a queer Catholic girl (I am among the many people who headcanon her as such). I found pop opera!Nadia witty, sarcastic, and relatable. The book musical took Nadia as a character, hollowed her out, and shat all over the remnants. I like Barrett Wilbert Weed, but she is not Nadia. Most of all, I hate the fact that they made her the drug dealer. For one thing, this meant that Lucas, my problematic fave, was gotten rid of. More importantly, this meant that Nadia gave Jason the GHB. I understand that their relationship is not even remotely as close in this version, but even here you would think that Nadia would have thought twice before giving him a lethal dose of a drug! Pop opera!Nadia would not have done that in a million years. She practically knows him better than she knows herself, and she easily sees his pain and would know not to do that. And don’t even get me started on the whole into-Matt thing…
In general, I hate the characterization of this show. I didn’t find any of the characters particularly compelling or relatable. All of the original characters feel like shells of their past-selfs, and they lost their emotional depth. The book scenes had the opposite effect of their intent. Plus, they got rid of Sister Chantelle, who is one of my favorite characters. Sister Joan just isn’t the same as Sister Chantelle’s sass and fabulousness.
I loved the storyline about Peter coming out to Claire. I wish they hadn’t cut it, because it gave us two amazing songs and another layer of tension and sadness.
I loved the “Elizabethan pop” of the songs from Romeo and Juliet, and I wish they hadn’t cut so many of them! Although they’re perhaps a bit odd, there’s something about them that I adore!- Most of the changed lyrics sucked. I love “Ever After”, and even the tune itself is beautiful, but “I Meant to Tell You” was terrible. Even worse, though, was “Kiss Your Broken Heart”. What does that even mean? “Touch My Soul”, although not my favorite song of the show, is one of those songs I find myself singing at random times, but “Kiss Your Broken Heart” is stupid. Additionally, what kind of a lyric is “Hide your heart before it’s damaged/ fragile as a paper cup” in “All Grown Up”? It’s so dumb it makes me laugh!
I don’t like the fact that Jason sings “Role of a Lifetime”. He should not be as self-aware as he is, particularly this soon in the show. It honestly doesn’t make sense. Plus, the changed lyrics were not good, but then how could they be when up against artistic brilliance? Although it saved us the pain of listening to Taylor Trensch singing the song, it was not a good decision in my opinion.
The changed storyline was not good. I disliked the fact that the characters were no longer classmates since middle school and that Ivy is a transfer student. Part of what I love about the original show is that they have been friends for so long and their bond is still so close after all of these years. There’s a sense of love for each other there that you lose in this version simply due to the fact that they aren’t as close. Additionally, having Ivy and Matt be together doesn’t make sense, because a major part of Matt’s character arc was the fact that he’s in love with a girl who barely gives him a second glance. Worst of all was the decision to have Jason and Peter only get together at the start of the show. Part of what is so heartbreaking about the pop opera is that Jason and Peter have been together for so long (it’s implied that it’s been several years) and that they still love each other so deeply after all this time, whereas in the book musical they have only just gotten together. Although we get some of the “thrill of first love” because of it, it’s not the same, or as good, as the long-standing relationship of the original.
Wow, this got really long and rant-y! TL;DR: I don’t like the book musical very much at all, and I absolutely prefer the artistic brilliance of the pop opera. Although I recommend watching the book musical if you can get your hands on the bootleg for comparison purposes, be prepared for it to be not nearly as good. If you’ve seen the book musical and not the pop opera and were disappointed by the book musical, please watch the pop opera, I promise it is gorgeous and you will not be disappointed.
