Cast: Adriana DeMeo (Jennifer), Robin Sachs (Alex), Dakin Matthews (Hitch), Sarah Aldrich (Blonde), Martin Noyes (Husband)
Hitchcock Blonde is heading to Broadway For further information, see Playbill.com's Hitchcock Blonde article. It's going to be closing on March 12, 2006, so get tickets soon if you're interested in catching it in Costa Mesa.
Hitchcock Blonde combines three stories in a very interesting drama. The 1999 story follows a lecturer (Alex) and his student (Jennifer) trying to save some lost Hitchcock footage from an unknown 1919 Hitchcock film ("The Univited Guest, " never completed). The 1959 story covers Hitchcock, the Blonde (Janet Leigh's body double for Psycho), and her husband in their own drama. The 1919 story is pieced together with rescued cells from different reels found.
The stories are very interesting. I particularly liked the story in 1999 with Jennifer & Alex. This is probably partially due to the amazing acting of Adriana DeMeo & Robin Sachs. I hope I get to see them in many more shows in the future.
I was amazed at how much they managed to make Dakin Matthews look like Alfred Hitchcock. Matthews also did an amazing job with Hitchcock's mannerisms and accent to portray him so well. I've been impressed with Dakin Matthews in everything I've seen him in, but this was a stand-out performance.
The sets were amazingly well designed. The way the set flipped around and used screens to easily change settings was very effective. In my opinion, the scene that is best orchestrated is a scene where the shower is used as a screen to project an image. The whole thing is very well done and fits in perfectly with the story. I know that audiences tend to be impressed with any water on stage, but that's not the reason I find that scene amazing. It's simply really well done. (I'm not raving about the pool they used...)
Although it was reported that Jane Krakowski would play the blonde when Hitchcock Blonde opens on Broadway, that has been pushed back so many times, I'm not sure if she is still attached to the production. After seeing Hitchcock Blonde, I can't imagine why she'd want to take the part, since it's relatively small compared to her other Broadway roles and wouldn't showcase most of her talents.
Hitchcock Blonde is definitely for mature audiences only, since it contains nudity and adult themes. I recommend this for any Alfred Hitchcock fans out there (and I know there are many). The story is very well done and I think Hitchcock would be pleased, in spite of the concentration on his obsession with blondes.
Allergy alert: Another important note for those (like me) who are allergic to smoke (or asthmatic) is not to sit stage right (the left of the audience as you're facing the stage). I normally get center seats and almost never sit closer than the 5th row, but I had to exchange my tickets for another date and ended up in row C only a few feet from the stage. Of course, this put us only a few feet from the three cigarettes that were smoked. I found it odd that there were no signs mentioning the smoke, since all other shows seem to warn you (even if they use herbal cigarettes, which these were not), but we suffered through. Hopefully, this note can spare those of you who are allergic to smoke the extra allergic reaction from being very close to a smoker. With our bad luck, the smoke even blew our way, which clearly bothered the man in front of me and a few other people, as well. Hopefully, this doesn't normally happen in the show.
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams