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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 29, 2009 10:37:50 GMT -5
Today I thought I'd say a few words about what is probably considered the centerpiece of the HOF Museum - The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Theatre. It is here where they show a three-screen "spectacular" that pays tribute to everyone who has been inducted into the HOF. Note: I did not say "shows the induction of" - I said "pays tribute to". The show is 60+ minutes long, which doesn't allow a lot of time for each act. But remember, there are three screens, so they can put some acts on one of the side screens. So you are sitting there turning your head left and right, like at a tennis match and trying to keep track of what is going on. Its glitzy and sparkly, and they use different flashy fonts to identify the act. Sometimes the name is on one screen; sometimes it's on all three. Sometime it moves across the screen; sometimes it flashes off and on; sometimes the letters get larger; sometimes the letters get smaller - you get the picture. Sometimes the only way you know who they are referring to is by either recognizing the artists or recognizing the song. Seeing names like Roy Orbison for about three seconds on a side-screen, and missing the Everly Brothers entirely gives you an idea how "effective" the exhibit is. BTW, they do not show the artists being inducted; they show them in about 30 seconds of a live performance - usually their signature song.
Needless to say, I was not happy with that show. It just leaves you unsatisfied and with your head spinning.
Somewhat better was the show on the small screen in the Theatre lobby, which showed snippets of the induction ceremonies and of interviews with the inductees. It was just mini-shots, but it was at least on a single screen - so you could more or less follow it. Of course, once they were ready to start the main show, we had to go into the main theatre, so never saw the entire lobby show.
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Post by Dawn on Sept 29, 2009 11:04:23 GMT -5
That does sound disappointing - makes me dizzy just reading your description of it. I'm not a huge fan of multi-screen productions; they're just too overwhelming and jumpy. I guess they felt they had to have something that included most of the inducted artists, but to give a fraction of a minute to the acts doesn't do them justice. And no Everly Brothers? There's no shortage of filmed footage of them from what I've seen, so for them to not be included is inexcusable.
The lobby show sounds cool, though.
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 29, 2009 11:12:27 GMT -5
That does sound disappointing - makes me dizzy just reading your description of it. I'm not a huge fan of multi-screen productions; they're just too overwhelming and jumpy. I guess they felt they had to have something that included most of the inducted artists, but to give a fraction of a minute to the acts doesn't do them justice. And no Everly Brothers? There's no shortage of filmed footage of them from what I've seen, so for them to not be included is inexcusable. The lobby show sounds cool, though. It was probably tougher for us to see because we were in the front row (that's where the wheelchair accessable row happened to be), but I can't imagine it being easy to watch from anywhere. Maybe Railyn or someone else saw it from a different perspective, I'd be interested in hearing about that. Dawn, I'm sure the Everlys were included. It was probably just one of those quick shots, however, that I just happened to miss because I was looking elsewhere. |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 29, 2009 19:26:55 GMT -5
The first time we went, we tried watching about 10 minutes of that movie and gave up because we had motion sickness - and we were sitting in the back.
When we went the 2nd time, I suggested to "the gang" that we forgo the movie and head up that ramp that runs behind the theatre (which is cool). One of our party watched a minute or two, and then came up the ramp behind us and said "I see what you meant".
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 29, 2009 21:03:23 GMT -5
The first time we went, we tried watching about 10 minutes of that movie and gave up because we had motion sickness - and we were sitting in the back. When we went the 2nd time, I suggested to "the gang" that we forgo the movie and head up that ramp that runs behind the theatre (which is cool). One of our party watched a minute or two, and then came up the ramp behind us and said "I see what you meant". I'm glad we aren't the only ones with that crazy theatre! I don't think I know what you mean about the ramp. Is it behind the screen? What's there? |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 29, 2009 21:36:14 GMT -5
I'm glad we aren't the only ones with that crazy theatre! I don't think I know what you mean about the ramp. Is it behind the screen? What's there? I don't know what you're going to discuss, so I don't want to spoil it. When you walk from the small room with the induction video into where the theater is, you have two choices. You can go into the theater, or you can go to the left, and start winding up that ramp. It's dark, and there's a ton of glass panels on there. I think you know what I'm talking about. There's only one real way out of that theater. You'd have to take it, otherwise you'd be back out in the lobby with the induction videos. |
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Post by Ken on Sept 29, 2009 22:30:19 GMT -5
The three screen setup sounds kind of neat, but I totally agree, having to turn your head from left to right every 30 seconds does not sound like fun at all. I agree with Dawn, the lobby show sounds good!  |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 30, 2009 8:21:00 GMT -5
I'm glad we aren't the only ones with that crazy theatre! I don't think I know what you mean about the ramp. Is it behind the screen? What's there? I don't know what you're going to discuss, so I don't want to spoil it. When you walk from the small room with the induction video into where the theater is, you have two choices. You can go into the theater, or you can go to the left, and start winding up that ramp. It's dark, and there's a ton of glass panels on there. I think you know what I'm talking about. There's only one real way out of that theater. You'd have to take it, otherwise you'd be back out in the lobby with the induction videos. Railyn, please feel free to discuss that ramp and what is there. We never saw it!  We went to the theater for the last show of the first day at the HOF, and basically had to leave the museum immediately thereafter. We never got back to that area, thinking there was nothing else to see there. I guess we'll have to go back to Cleveland again. ;D |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 30, 2009 8:25:40 GMT -5
The three screen setup sounds kind of neat, but I totally agree, having to turn your head from left to right every 30 seconds does not sound like fun at all. I agree with Dawn, the lobby show sounds good! It's really too bad; as a centerpiece the show should be the best of all the movies, and it's probably the worst. Most of the smaller 5 minute movies dispersed throughout the museum are much better. |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 30, 2009 8:26:58 GMT -5
Railyn, please feel free to discuss that ramp and what is there. We never saw it! We went to the theater for the last show of the first day at the HOF, and basically had to leave the museum immediately thereafter. We never got back to that area, thinking there was nothing else to see there. I guess we'll have to go back to Cleveland again. ;D You missed the best thing there? When you go into that theatre, there is a ramp on the left. It curls uphill and around, and on the left side is a ton of glass panels that are illuminated. In alphabetical order is the name of each artist or group that is in the hall of fame, and the signatures of each person in that group (living or deceased, although a few are missing signatures). We had fun stopping at them and looking for groups that have had rotating members over the years to see who was (and wasn't) on their piece of glass. |
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Post by H2IZCOOL on Sept 30, 2009 8:32:31 GMT -5
Railyn, please feel free to discuss that ramp and what is there. We never saw it! We went to the theater for the last show of the first day at the HOF, and basically had to leave the museum immediately thereafter. We never got back to that area, thinking there was nothing else to see there. I guess we'll have to go back to Cleveland again. ;D You missed the best thing there? When you go into that theatre, there is a ramp on the left. It curls uphill and around, and on the left side is a ton of glass panels that are illuminated. In alphabetical order is the name of each artist or group that is in the hall of fame, and the signatures of each person in that group (living or deceased, although a few are missing signatures). We had fun stopping at them and looking for groups that have had rotating members over the years to see who was (and wasn't) on their piece of glass. D'oh? We had been with about 20 other people in the little lobby where they were showng the induction clips, and then suddenly everyone started rushing into the main theater, so we weren't looking for anything else. Then like I say, after the show, they basically herded us back out through the lobby. That ramp area you describe, Railyn, certainly sounds wiorth seeing!  |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 30, 2009 9:02:43 GMT -5
D'oh? We had been with about 20 other people in the little lobby where they were showng the induction clips, and then suddenly everyone started rushing into the main theater, so we weren't looking for anything else. Then like I say, after the show, they basically herded us back out through the lobby. That ramp area you describe, Railyn, certainly sounds wiorth seeing! Yeah, when you get to the top of it, there's a display case with stuff belonging to the current class of inductees. Nelson was particularly interested in some stuff that Cliff Burton's dad had loaned them. Then you end up on the next floor up. When you came back the next day, you must have just gone up to the next floor, bypassing the movie area. But it's not going anywhere. You can always go back. |
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Post by Railyn on Sept 30, 2009 9:07:56 GMT -5
It's in the area I have circled below:  I couldn't find any photos of it online. I thought maybe the HOF itself would have some, but no. |
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We went to the theater for the last show of the first day at the HOF, and basically had to leave the museum immediately thereafter. We never got back to that area, thinking there was nothing else to see there. I guess we'll have to go back to Cleveland again. ;D 