That is the question the band's four remaining members faced Monday (10/29) as they wrapped a two-night, ticketed dress rehearsal of their new show in the comparatively quiet confines of suburban Wallingford, CT's Chevrolet Theater.

It's hard to say whether or not the appreciative throngs of fans who came out to these uncomfortably paced and maddeningly late-starting performances were just keeping the energy going until the band finally broke into familiar territory about two-thirds into their set.

One thing is certain: the explosive and sustained applause for the band's first "classic" of the night, "Notorious," far exceeded the reception doled out in response to the entire body of new material that preceded it.

But one has to consider things from the musician's perspective, I guess. Based on the limited number of hits the band has generated since its heyday in the mid to late 1980s, there is always the issue of relegating much of the creative new output on any new project to the "never heard from again" drawer once a supporting tour begins. So I give Duran Duran points for crafting a show in which, for at least a couple of weeks, the entire body of new material will get a chance to live and breathe on stage.

The showcase representing the entire "Red Carpet Massacre" album--in order, from top to bottom--will hopefully give each song an opportunity to find an audience, or at least an audience member who will enjoy it. It is obviously a risk--especially in the case of the Wallingford shows, where the curtain was delayed for nearly an hour both nights--to pony up with another hour of unfamiliar and remarkably average material before delivering an abbreviated section of hits, the most popular of which are conspicuously absent ("Rio" and "Hungry Like the Wolf," for example).

For real fans, however, the new material woven together on "Red Carpet," appeared more than tolerable, especially for those who have transitioned to more modern pop fare such as current emanations from the likes of Justin Timberlake, who collaborated as a songwriter on Duran Duran's new single, "Falling Down." The influences of producer Timbaland are also felt in the omnipresent blat of synthesized returns and the gut wrenching beat of electronic rhythms which pervade the "Red Carpet" material.

To their credit, Duran Duran veterans LeBon, John Taylor, Nick Rhodes and Roger Taylor looked like they were enjoying the chore of running through each new number. LeBon's voice is strong and clear as a bell, and John Taylor was animated throughout, smiling and switching between bass and keys, tossing in vocals as required.

Roger Taylor had his work cut out for him managing to keep any computerized drum mis-fires to a minimum, while Rhodes stood behind a bank of keys on a rear pedestal, seeming to take it all in with rapt approval.

Among the new offerings, "Falling Down" paled by comparison to a number of the songs that came before and after, including "Night Runner," "Box Full of Honey" and the instrumental "Tricked Out." Perhaps the band was banking more on the Timberlake lightning to electrify it on the charts despite it being among the weaker songs on the new album.

Monday's show also introduced a four-song techno set with just the original foursome lined up downstage with headsets and synthesized instruments as their only accompaniment.

The "classics" set also reached back to material as current as Duran Duran's last project, 2004's "Astronaut," for the main show closer, "(Reach Up For The) Sunrise."

The band also gave up the Dylan Classic, "Lay Lady Lay," which was pleasant enough, but uncomfortably out of place. A rousing version of "The Reflex," was included, with the band going to their international monster hit "Girls on Film" to end the show.

One would hope that fans will come to Broadway and the Barrymore ready and willing to embrace the Duran Duran of today and yesterday with equal passion. But this reviewer has a feeling that Duran Duran's quest for fame on the Great White Way might be programmed to fail--or at least face the music--as it is likely to be played through the keyboards of New York's hardened critics.