Cast:Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger), Gwen Stewart (Seasons of Love Soloist & others), Justin Johnston (Angel Schunard), Nicolette Hart (Maureen Johnson), Lexi Lawson (Mimi Marquez)
For the rest of this wonderful cast, see the official Rent The Broadway Tour website.
As almost all fans of Rent know that Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal (the original Mark & Roger) are still touring with the show along with original cast member Gwen Stewart and a bunch of other amazing performers. I'm sure it's needless to say that I still love the show. I wouldn't have seen it so many times if I didn't love it. I'll simply comment on the things that were different this time around, since everyone knows I love Rent and would recommend it to anyone and everyone (as long as you're not too prejudiced) - especially when it has three of the original cast members touring with the show.
I still need to look up who Lisa is... as many of you may know, they had always intended to change the names of those attending the life support meeting based on friends/family members of those in the show who had been lost to AIDS. The way I've heard it reported, due to Jonathan's death the show got pretty much frozen where it was and no one ever wanted to change the names of those attending life support with Angel, Collins, & Mark. As of the time I went back to see Rent on Broadway with Anthony & Adam (August & September of 2007), they had changed the last name (originally Sue) to Lisa. I figure she has to be someone pretty important, or they wouldn't have made the change that late in the run of the show. They are still using Lisa on the tour.
The sound was the best I've heard in Rent since Adam and Anthony returned to the show. When I saw it on Broadway the mics kept going out and the same was true (even more) at the Pantages last year. This year they managed to get it right in the most unlikely of places (there are often sound problems with other shows at the Orange County Performing Arts Center). It was great to hear this cast with the sound well done for a change. :-)
The current cast is really amazing - they're basically the same cast I saw earlier this year in the tour, which explains why they all work so wel together. If you haven't seen Rent yet, see it before Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal leave the cast - they're amazing and so is the rest of the cast!
Grade: A+
Labels: Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Best Musical, Broadway, comedy, drama, musical, theatre, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast John O'Hurley (King Arthur), Merle Dandridge (The Lady of the Lake)
For complete info on the touring cast, see the Monty Python's Spamalot tour cast page.
The cast of the tour is wonderful. Were they all as good as those I saw in the Original Broadway Cast? No, but that's an unfair comparison - that cast was definitely an all star cast.
I was looking forward to hearing The Lady of the Lake sing the original lyrics to the Diva's Lament, since I'd only seen Sara Ramirez in Spamalot after she had won the Tony award for her role as The Lady of the Lake. For whatever reason, they opted not to change the lyrics back, so the only changes in the show were those to update it a bit more to current events.
I still think Monty Python's Spamalot is a hilarious show with some really good music. I also think that it's a show one can enjoy even if he/she isn't a huge Monty Python fan. I liked Monty Python in high school and college, but can't quote all of their movies and I really like the show. Even more telling, my sister, who really isn't a fan of Monty Python at all (and rarely found them funny) had a great time at the show when she saw it. Monty Python's Spamalot makes fun of musical theatre (including their own show) and takes itself as irreverently as the Monty Python team always did the rest of their comedy.
If you haven't seen Monty Python's Spamalot and enjoy funny shows, I can't imagine what you're waiting for... get tickets to see it on tour.
Grade: B
Labels: 2009, Best Musical, comedy, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Anthony Rapp (Mark), Adam Pascal (Roger), Gwen Stewart (Seasons of Love Soloist & others), Justin Johnston (Angel Schunard), Nicolette Hart (Maureen Johnson), Lexi Lawson (Mimi Marquez)
For the rest of this wonderful cast, see the official Rent The Broadway Tour website.
As almost all fans of Rent know that Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal (the original Mark & Roger) are currently touring with the show along with original cast member Gwen Stewart and a bunch of other amazing performers. I'm sure it's needless to say (when I saw Rent for the 13th & 14th times this weekend) that I loved the show. I'll simply comment on the things that were different this time around, since everyone knows I love Rent and would recommend it to anyone and everyone - especially when it has three of the original cast members touring with the show.
I still need to look up who Lisa is... as many of you may know, they had always intended to change the names of those attending the life support meeting based on friends/family members of those in the show who had been lost to AIDS. The way I've heard it reported, due to Jonathan's death the show got pretty much frozen where it was and no one ever wanted to change the names of those attending life support with Angel, Collins, & Mark. As of the time I went back to see Rent on Broadway with Anthony & Adam (August & September of 2007), they had changed the last name (originally Sue) to Lisa. I figure she has to be someone pretty important, or they wouldn't have made the change that late in the run of the show. They are still using Lisa on the tour.
The only change they made that I did not like was making parts of the funeral scene like a Greek chorus (where everyone says certain portions). Since this is a funeral and clearly each person came up to talk about their own thoughts and share their memories of Angel, the rest of the cast saying exactly the same thing while the person in question (Mimi, Mark, then Maureen - the three M's, never really noticed that before...) is talking about their own memories. I would give that scene (only because of this change) a C.
The sound board was a mess the last two times I saw Rent on Broadway. In August, I was surprised to see Anthony Rapp have to start "La Vie Boheme" twice (once on time and once rushing things in late, since his mic hadn't been on). This time around, the sound was amazingly well done. They didn't seem to miss any major queues, which is really amazing for songs like "Christmas Bells," which also had a lot of problems the last couple times I saw it on Broadway. In fact, Sunday afternoon Anthony Rapp's mic went out at a horrible time (after Benny tells the pastor he'll pay, everything Mark said was a bit garbled - he then had to go on to do the end of his Buzzline broadcast and sing "What You Own" with Adam Pascal - no time between scenes for them to fix the mic) and they ran a hand held mic out to him very quickly so only a couple of his lines were a little garbled, and "What You Own" sounded perfect (as did most of his sign off to Alexis on Buzzline). Anthony had to deal with holding a mic throughout the one song, but clearly he knows how to hold a mic and this wasn't a problem. When Anthony went off stage, they replaced his regular mic, but I was impressed with how quickly they fixed the problem so everyone there could fully enjoy the show without interruption.
The current cast is really amazing and this weekend's shows were probably the best I've seen due to a combination of the cast and the fact that all the sound issues were gone. I think a few people in the cast were a bit better the last time I saw the show on Broadway, but the overall effect was much better on tour in spite of the Greek chorus aspects of the funeral and the fact that for some reason they kept the house lights on FULL force until Mark said "Smile." in the beginning. This was really annoying for those of us in the rear of the orchestra, since there were very bright lights above us. Personally, my eyes took a while to adjust once the lights went off, since I'd been focusing on stage with the lights above me initially. If you haven't seen Rent yet, see it before Anthony Rapp & Adam Pascal leave the cast - they're amazing and so is the rest of the cast!
Grade: A+
**Note: This review encompasses the 1:00 p.m. show on 3/8/09 & the 8:00 p.m. show on 3/7/09
Labels: Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Best Musical, drama, musical, Rent, theatre, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 1:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kyle Riabko (Melchior), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Christy Altomare (Wendla), Steffi D (Ilse), Sarah Hunt (Martha), Kimio Glenn (Thea), Gabrielle Garza (Anna), Anthony Lee Medina (Otto), Andy Mientus (Hanschen), Matt Shingledecker (Georg)
For complete information on the tour, see the official Spring Awakening site.
Spring Awakening has been one of my favorite shows since the first time I saw it on Broadway last year. I saw it three times in four days (2 of the tickets were purchased at TKTS) and have since seen it from the stage on Broadway and on tour twice (counting this time in LA). Clearly, I'm a HUGE fan of the show. I've enjoyed going with people who haven't seen the show yet out here in California. Not everyone can make it to New York once a year.
The touring cast of Spring Awakening is still mostly wonderful and they did just as amazing a job with the sets, lighting, sound, costumes, etc. I think most of the cast was better this time than when I saw them in San Diego a couple months ago. They seem to have come together more as a cast and the show is really working well. The only exception to this (and I heard another audience member talking to one of her friends about the same thing) is that Christy Altomare (Wendla)'s performance seemed to get worse. She's not horrible, but she's definitely the worst Wendla I've seen by a large margin (having seen Lea Michele & Alexandra Socha play Wendla on Broadway). Whispering was so flat that it was painful. I don't know if she was just tired (again) and I caught her on another bad night, but the next time the Spring Awakening tour comes to town, I hope Christy has moved on to do another show so I can see the next Wendla.
The friend I encouraged to go see Spring Awakening rarely attends the theatre, but he's a big fan of Spring Awakening now. He did a lot of research on the story and read a lot about it after seeing the show, needed the music right away, etc. He's also planning to see Spring Awakening again the next time it's in town, which is quite the endorsement from someone who couldn't remember the last time he'd really attended the theatre. :-)
I clearly still wouldn't suggest one see Spring Awakening if you can't handle sexual themes and brief (tasteful) nudity.
The music is amazing and I think the story (originally a 19th century German play) is timeless. The fact that the aspects of Spring Awakening that are shocking audiences today were in the original play is proof of that, it seems. I clearly still wouldn't recommend the show if you can't handle nudity & sexual themes, but if you can, Spring Awakening is wonderful!
If you enjoy musicals and are okay with sexual themes & a bit of nudity, you should definitely see Spring Awakening!
Grade: A+
Labels: 2008, Best Musical, drama, Duncan Sheik, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Hunter Parrish (Melchior), Gerard Canonico (Moritz), Alexandra Socha (Wendla), Emma Hunt (Ilse), Amanda Castanos (Martha), Caitlin Kinnunen (Thea), Emily Kinney (Anna), Gabriel Violett (Otto), Matt Doyle (Hanschen), Andrew Durand (Georg)
For complete info, see the official Spring Awakening site.
I love Spring Awakening! It's a very close second favorite to Rent. For my earlier review, check out last year's Spring Awakening review.
Seeing Spring Awakening from stage is something I'd recommend to anyone who loves it, but those who haven't seen it before should definitely see it from the regular audience first. James and I both loved seeing Spring Awakening from the different perspective. Getting to see things one can't normally see from the audience (like the audience reactions, the cast looking away from the audience, etc.) was very interesting. I enjoyed seeing the show I love so much up close and getting to enjoy the unique view.
The sound quality isn't very good, since you're on stage, but it's great to sit next to ensemble members and (from time to time) members of the rest of the cast.
The current Broadway cast of Spring Awakening is wonderful and I highly recommend seeing it before it leaves Broadway in January. The economy must be killing it, I thought it would run for years and years, as Rent did.
A couple of the cast members didn't really fit the type I see in that part, but since the only member of the Original Broadway Cast I didn't see in the show three times was the original Ernst (Gideon Glick, who had left the show before I got to see it), I have their pictures in my head for the characters. The current Ilse's hair is just a bit too controlled, but she has a wonderful voice, so I was able to look past that. I also think one of the girls picking Moritz over Melchi was more believable with the original cast where both the guys are fairly evenly matched in appearance. I can't see anyone picking the current Moritz over Hunter Parrish's Melchior - especially when you see those beautiful blue eyes up close.
If you can't get to Broadway to see Spring Awakening before it closes in January, it's currently touring around the country, so catch it when it comes to theatre near you. The touring cast is also wonderful!
Grade: A+
Labels: Best Musical, Broadway, drama, Duncan Sheik, musical
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Kyle Riabko (Melchior), Blake Bashoff (Moritz), Christy Altomare (Wendla), Steffi D (Ilse), Sarah Hunt (Martha), Kimio Glenn (Thea), Gabrielle Garza (Anna), Anthony Lee Medina (Otto), Andy Mientus (Hanschen), Matt Shingledecker (Georg)
For complete information on the tour, see the official Spring Awakening site.
Spring Awakening has been one of my favorite shows since the first time I saw it on Broadway (about a year ago). I saw it three times in four days (2 of the tickets were purchased at TKTS), so clearly I love the show. When I saw that Spring Awakening was going on tour, I was very excited. Now, my friends who don't go to New York can all see it! I took my aunt to see it in San Diego, where the tour started. It was great to see the Balboa Theatre restored, too. They did a wonderful job with the theatre and I'd see another show there in a heartbeat. The staff was wonderful and very friendly, too.
The touring cast of Spring Awakening is wonderful and they did just as amazing a job with the sets, lighting, sound, costumes, etc. I highly recommend checking out Spring Awakening when it's on tour. I'll definitely see it again with friends when it's in LA. At times Christy Altomare (Wendla) left a little to be desired, but I tried to give her the benefit of the doubt and assume we just caught her on a bad day.
I don't agree with calling it the Rent of this generation, since 11 years is hardly enough time for a whole generation, but it is a lot like Rent. I clearly still wouldn't suggest one see Spring Awakening if you can't handle sexual themes and brief (tasteful) nudity.
The music is amazing and I think the story (originally a 19th century German play) is timeless. The fact that the aspects of Spring Awakening that are shocking audiences today were in the original play is proof of that, it seems.
If you enjoy musicals and are okay with sexual themes & a bit of nudity, you should definitely see Spring Awakening!
Grade: A+
Labels: 2008, Best Musical, drama, Duncan Sheik, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Erich Bergen (Bob Gaudio), Steve Gouveia (Nick Massi), Christopher Kale Jones (Frankie Valli), Deven May (Tommy DeVito)
For complete info on the tour, see the Jersey Boys tour site. Tickets are pretty much sold out at the OCPAC except for Thanksgiving day, in spite of all the ads they're wasting their money to air.
Friends who had seen Jersey Boys were disappointed it was even nominated for Best Musical, winning it went beyond annoying for them. They said that the show was basically a Frankie Valli & the Four Seasons conver band concert with a lot of swearing. While I'd agree there's a lot of swearing and that the show is essentially a cover band, there is a story (told by all four members of the Four Seasons, in turn) and I found it pretty interesting. Would I rush out to see Jersey Boys again? No. Would I turn down free tickets? No. It's somewhere in between.
I certainly don't think Jersey Boys deserved to win the Best Musical Tony Award in 2006. I've seen 2 of the other 3 shows that were nominated (The Drowsy Chaperone and The Wedding Singer). I thought both of these shows were better than Jersey Boys, but I still really enjoyed the show. Perhaps it was the low expectations, but the guy I went with said he was going to assume the best and he enjoyed the show, too. Neither of us knew anything about the forming of The Four Seasons or any of the guys in the group, so it was interesting to hear their versions of how the group was formed.
I still don't think Jersey Boys deserves all the hype or the sold out audiences everywhere, but I'm glad that a show is doing well. Always a good sign for theatre as a whole and I'm a huge fan of the theatre!
Grade: B
Labels: Best Musical, comedy, drama, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Adam Pascal (Roger Davis), Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen), Tamyra Gray (Mimi Marquez), and the rest of the cery talented cast
For info, see the official Rent site.
Everyone who knows me knows I love Rent. I even planned an entire trip just to see Rent with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal last month. I had seen them in the roles they originated in the movie (which I own, clearly) many times, but I'd never seen them live. I'm still kicking myself for allowing the fact that I had just moved to San Diego keep me from seeing the Original Broadway Cast of Rent. When they extended their run to include my originally planned trip, clearly I bought a ticket to see them in it again!
I'm so glad that Adam and Anthony decided to go back to their roles of Roger & Mark at the same time. They extended their run through October 7th, so if you still haven't seen them in Rent get tickets now! It's even been at TKTS, which is shocking to me, but clearly this is a slow time for Broadway with kids just getting back to school, etc.
The reception for Adam and Anthony (on stage and at the stage door) was not nearly what it was last month, so I'm really glad I planned that trip to experience the rock concert atmosphere at a Broadway musical. I doubt I will ever seen an audience so excited to see a musical in my life.
Clearly, it was amazing to see Anthony Rapp as Mark and Adam Pascal as Roger again. Tamyra Gray was amazing as Mimi. Definitely the best Mimi I've seen out of the 12 times I've seen Rent. I was a bit bummed that she didn't have long hair, since I love that part of Out Tonight, but it was worth it to hear her singing Mimi's songs.
I was surprised how much the cast had changed in just one month. The Benny I saw this time around (Rodney Hicks) was better than D'Monroe was on Broadway. Not sure why he changed his performance so much from how he did on the tour, but Rodney Hicks was definitely an improvement. Tonya Dixon isn't as good as Merle Dandridge, who was probably my favorite Joanne Jefferson to date. Everyone else was about the same as the last cast in performance levels.
I also noticed that they added Lisa (subtracting Sue) from the Life Support meeting. I wonder who Lisa is... I'm guessing she's someone who recently died of AIDS and I'm sorry to hear that. Initially, they say that Jonathan Larson had planned that the names of the Life Support meeting attendees would change with each cast and they'd be friends of the cast who had died of AIDS. When he died just before the opening of Rent Off-Broadway, I think that froze the show in many ways and no one wanted to touch it. I can understand that and I find it interesting that they did allow another name to break in to the meeting.
If you have a chance to get to see Rent on Broadway before Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal leave, do it! I'd still love to see the entire movie cast do the Broadway show, but I'm guessing that will never happen. At least I got to see Adam and Anthony. It's a moment I will cherish forever!
It's been over 11 years and Rent still rocks! I definitely recommend seeing it on Broadway if you haven't yet. The theatre was renovated specifically for the show, so it's definitely part of the experience. I was surprised to see that after 11 years some people still left the show, since they were offended by the content. It really makes me sad that there are still people who are that closed minded in today's day and age, but at least they wasted quite a bit of money, which is nice to know.
Unfortunately, they were still having problems with the microphones. I really think they need a new sound design guy. This should NOT be happening on a Broadway show - especially one that won the Tony award for Best Musical (even if it was 11 years ago). They were cutting out from time to time in the first act, so it sometimes seemed like someone had missed a line, but if you were watching them you could tell that they were on cue, but the mic just wasn't on (or wasn't working). Disappointing, but NOTHING could ruin the experience of getting to see Adam and Anthony in Rent. It was sad to be watching Anthony singing something then checking his mic to make sure it was plugged in properly, since no one got to hear the "I think we've met" or whatever else was being sung at the time... Very sad.
Grade: A+++
Labels: 2007, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Best Musical, Broadway, dancing, drama, musical, original
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Jonathan Groff (Melchior), John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz), Lea Michele (Wendla), Lauren Pritchard (Ilse), Lilli Cooper (Martha), Remy Zaken (Thea), Phoebe Strole (Anna), Brian Charles Johnson (Otto), Jonathan B. Wright (Hanschen), Skylar Astin (Georg)
For complete info on this amazing cast, see the official Spring Awakening page.
I really can't say enough good things about Spring Awakening. Gideon Glick isn't in it at the moment, which was a bummer, but Blake Daniel and Matt Doyle both did a great job as Ernst in the three times I saw Spring Awakening.
If you haven't seen Spring Awakening yet, definitely check it out when you're in New York. It deserved all 8 Tony Awards it won (Musical, Book of a Musical, Original Score, Featured Actor in a Musical, Choreography, Direction, Orchestrations, & Lighting) and a few it didn't (Actor, Featured Actress, Scenic Design, etc.). Having seen both David Hyde Pierce's performance and Jonathan Groff's, I'd say Jonathan was robbed, not Raul Esparaza, who was expected to win. I also think that Lea Michele and Lauren Pritchard both deserved nominations for Featured Actress, if not the award itself.
The lighting of Spring Awakening is truly amazing. It's something you have to see to believe. The music is wonderful. The choreography/direction and movement is so well done. The young cast is fabulous. I think the only reason Jonathan Groff didn't win the Tony for Best Actor is that Spring Awakening is such an ensemble piece, where everyone in the cast is amazing and most of the cast is on stage for almost all of the show (even if they're sitting with the audience on stage in parts). I would love to sit on stage sometime and enjoy it from a completely different point of view. Perhaps next year...
I actually saw Spring Awakening three times in one week, something I've never done with any other show. Granted, the first time I saw Rent I would have done the same given the circumstances. I can't believe that the musical that deservedly won the Best Musical Tony Award this year was actually at TKTS for discount tickets already, but I definitely took full advantage of the situation. Since I normally only get back to New York once a year, I have to squeeze everything in to the short time I get in the city.
If you have a chance to see Spring Awakening before the original cast leaves, do it! Previews started last November, so you should have a bit of time, but don't delay. Of course, if you miss them, I'm sure the new cast will be wonderful, too. I just can't recommend this cast more.
The only bad thing about the show is that it's playing at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre, which has almost no slope to the orchestra section and isn't staggered well row to row, making it very difficult to see portions of the show. I spent the first time I saw Spring Awakening constantly moving and trying to see around the heads in front of me. I was close to the stage, which was very good for the first time I saw it, but there was a lot I missed. I caught a lot more the second time, but honestly, the best seat I had for Spring Awakening was the third time I saw it - in the next to last row, in the far corner of the orchestra section. The last two rows are elevated, so I could actually see the whole show. It was wonderful! In a couple places (where the cast is seated on the stage), I would have to watch a portion of the stage at a time, but I could actually see everything on stage with little adjustment on my part. It was great to see some of the portions I had missed the first two times I saw the show.
I don't want to say too much about the show, since I think you should see it for yourself. I wouldn't recommend it to anyone who has problems with brief (very tasteful) nudity or sexual content. However, I think everyone else will love Spring Awakening. It's an amazing show! The audiences I enjoyed the show with ranged in ages from teenagers to fairly old and (unlike the audience of Rent, which has been there for over 11 years, you'd think people would know what it's about by now), I didn't see anyone not return for the second act of Spring Awakening. I'm not sure if that says something about the show or the audiences, but I was happy to see that everyone stayed each night. I couldn't believe that I saw people leave Rent all these years after it opened on Broadway. The fact that there are still people in this world who can't handle the simple subject matter of love (no matter who is involved) bothers me, but at least everyone could handle Spring Awakening, which is definitely a good thing.
Grade: A+
Labels: 2007, Best Musical, Broadway, drama, Duncan Sheik, John Gallagher Jr., Jonathan Groff, Lauren Pritchard, Lea Michele, musical, original
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Adam Pascal (Roger Davis), Anthony Rapp (Mark Cohen), Tamyra Gray (Mimi Marquez), and the rest of the cery talented cast
For info, see the official Rent site.
Everyone who knows me knows I love Rent. Nothing new there. This time, I planned an entire trip just to see Rent with Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal. I had seen them in the roles they originated in the movie (which I own, clearly) many times, but I'd never seen them live. I'm still kicking myself for allowing the fact that I had just moved to San Diego keep me from seeing the Original Broadway Cast of Rent.
I'm so glad that Adam and Anthony decided to go back to their roles of Roger & Mark at the same time. Of course, it was only for 6 weeks and ending right before I planned to get to the city, so I had to plan a weekend trip to go see Rent with them. As much as I love my friends on the east coast, they all know that Rent was the important thing to me this weekend!
When Adam walked on stage, it was like a rock concert crowd. There is always applause for whoever is playing Roger, but this was wild. Anthony got the same reception when he came on stage. I've never heard anything like this in a Broadway theatre before, and I doubt I ever will again. It was just a wonderfully electric crowd. :) I'd guess that almost everyone in the crowd had seen Rent a few times (like me). I'm sure there were some there (like my friend Kenny) who were fortunate enough to see this cast in their first production of Rent, How lucky they are!
Clearly, it was amazing to see Anthony Rapp as Mark and Adam Pascal as Roger. It was really a dream come true for me. I didn't know much about the rest of the cast, though I'd seen a couple of them before. I don't watch American Idol, so I hadn't seen Tamyra Gray before. She was amazing as Mimi. Definitely the best Mimi I've seen out of the 11 times I've seen Rent. I was a bit bummed that she didn't have long hair, since I love that part of Out Tonight, but it was worth it to hear her singing Mimi's songs.
James and I both believe they've added some background choreography, since the last time either of us has seen Rent and we really enjoyed that. It added a bit, but wasn't too distracting.
I also noticed that they added Lisa (subtracting Sue) from the Life Support meeting. I wonder who Lisa is... I'm guessing she's someone who recently died of AIDS and I'm sorry to hear that. Initially, they say that Jonathan Larson had planned that the names of the Life Support meeting attendees would change with each cast and they'd be friends of the cast who had died of AIDS. When he died just before the opening of Rent Off-Broadway, I think that froze the show in many ways and no one wanted to touch it. I can understand that and I find it interesting that they did allow another name to break in to the meeting.
If you have a chance to get to see Rent on Broadway before Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal leave, do it! Of course, getting tickets will be difficult. It's great to see Rent selling at about 100% again! If I could have gotten tickets to see Rent the night that I saw the matinee, I would have gone back that night in a heartbeat. In fact, I look back and wonder what I was thinking buying tickets for just ONE performance out of the three I could see in the two days I was in New York for this trip. Oh well, live and learn... I'd love to see the entire movie cast do the Broadway show, but I'm guessing that will never happen. At least I got to see Adam and Anthony. It's a moment I will cherish forever!
The only down side was that they were having some real problems with the microphones. They were cutting out from time to time in the first act, so it sometimes seemed like someone had missed a line, but if you were watching them you could tell that they were on cue, but the mic just wasn't on (or wasn't working). Disappointing, but NOTHING could ruin the experience of getting to see Adam and Anthony in Rent.
Grade: A+++
Labels: 2007, Adam Pascal, Anthony Rapp, Best Musical, Broadway, dancing, drama, musical, Rent
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
For complete details, see Cirque du Soleil's KA page.
KA is another very well done show from Cirque du Soleil. The theatre alone is amazing. It's very well themed and has speakers in the incredibly comfortable seats. Cirque du Soleil never does anything half-way and they did a wonderful job creating KA.
There were a couple slow points in the show, but overall, I really enjoyed KA and would recommend it to anyone who will be in Vegas. I'd rank it third in the Vegas Cirque du Soleil shows, behind 'O' (my favorite Cirque show anywhere) and Mystere, but it is very enjoyable and well worth taking the time to see.
As usual, every act in KA is amazing and fun to watch. Check out KA if you have the chance, you won't be disappointed.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, Best Musical, Cirque du Soleil, dancing, gymnastics, Vegas
Reviewed by Kat at the 9:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Joe Mandragona (Chad), Jannie Jones (Sylvia), Tracee Beazer (Lorraine), Jenny Fellner (Natalie Haller/Ed), Dennis Moench (Dennis), James Royce Edwards (Dean Hyde), Susan Anton (Miss Sandra)
For complete info, see the All Shook Up! tour page.
The All Shook Up! tour is almost over, so if you really love Elvis music, I suppose you should catch it while you can... However, I wouldn't recommend it for anyone else. I'm not a big Elvis fan, but I enjoy most of his music, so I thought All Shook Up! would be cute and worth seeing. If you're expecting something like Mamma Mia! or Movin' Out, don't. It's not nearly as good.
The cast of All Shook Up! is wonderful and I'm sure we'll see them all again in a better show. This was definitely the worst show of the Orange County Performing Arts season (and extra Broadway add-on package) this year. The story is very contrived and not well written. The characters are mostly ridiculous. The sets are pretty well done and the cast is great, but that's not enough to make All Shook Up! worth seeing, unless you really love Elvis music. In that case, it's probably worth seeing for how they arranged the music for the cast.
Grade: C-
Labels: 2007, Best Musical, comedy, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Conrad John Schuck (Daddy Warbucks), Marissa O’Donnell (Annie), Alene Robertson (Miss Hannigan), Anastasia Korbal (Molly), Lola (Sandy)
For complete information on the current Annie tour, see the Annie tour page.
I've loved Annie, since I was young and saw it on Broadway for the first time. At the time, I was in the age range of the orphans and wanted to be in Annie. Over the years, I enjoyed many productions of Annie.
The current touring company of Annie is really amazing. I wasn't sure of Marissa O'Donnell in the beginning of her first song ("Maybe"), but after the first phrase or so she seemed to relax and was wonderful through the rest of the performance. Anastasia Korbal was an amazing Molly. She's completely adorable and very a very talented singer, actor, and gymnast. The rest of the cast was great, too.
This was the first performance of Annie I've seen where they completely matched the star's hair for the wig in the final scene. Instead of the very bright (almost orange) hair they used in all other productions of Annie, they matched Marissa's hair color perfectly. If it weren't for the line going across her forehead (it didn't seem like they even tried to disguise the wig with make-up), the audience would be able to believe that the hair & wig crew had somehow miraculously styled Annie's hair. If they'd just blended the line by using the same color make-up on the wig to disguise the line, it would have been much nicer.
The other distraction in the show was Miss Hannigan's microphone. They used a flesh colored microphone in her mostly black (with streaks of gray) hair. I'm hoping this was due to her normal microphone malfunctioning and that most people who see the show will experience a microphone for Miss Hannigan that blends in well with her hair, but I think it would have been much better to put the flesh colored microphone by her skin than in her dark hair.
I would definitely recommend catching this tour of Annie if you like the show. The cast is wonderful and it's still a very enjoyable show.
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Alexander Gemignani (Jean Valjean), Norm Lewis (Javert), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Fantine), Celia Keenan-Bolger (Eponine), Adam Jacobs (Marius), Ali Ewoldt (Cosette), Aaron Lazar (Enjorlas), Jenny Galloway (Madame Thenardier), Gary Beach (Thenardier)
For more info about this revival, see the official Les Miserables website.
For the most part, the cast of the revival of Les Miserables is amazing. The staging and sets are mostly the same. The orchestrations have been changed a bit, but are wonderfully done.
Daphne Rubin-Vega didn't impress me in the original Broadway cast of Rent, but she was much better in that than she is in this revival. She was by far the worst Fantine I've seen in the 5 Les Miserables productions I've seen. Sometimes when I saw it, characters were so bad that I looked forward to them dying. This feeling was never as strong as it was for Fantine when I saw Les Miserables this year. I kept counting down till her part would be mostly over. The sad thing is that everyone around us who had seen the show more than once was in complete agreement on this part of the show.
The other annoying thing (though this was true in every production I've seen) is that the wheels for changing the sets out make a ton of noise. It'd be nice to see them minimize that a bit more.
Fortunately, the majority of the cast was the best or second best person I've seen playing the role. This definitely makes the revival of Les Miserables a good show to see. If you've been missing Les Miserables since it left Broadway or (like my husband) you didn't get around to seeing it during the long run on Broadway or the tours, I definitely recommend this production. If you can, try to find out when the standby is going to be in for Daphne Rubin-Vega as Fantine.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2006, Best Musical, Broadway, musical, original, revival, war
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Sara Ramirez (The Lady of the Lake)
Too many stars to name all the major players in this one. For a complete cast list, see IBDb's Spamalot page.
I was very pleasantly surprised that Hank Azaria returned in time to complete the original Broadway cast again in time for me to see the show. I had heard such great things about the OBC that it was great to experience it myself. Most of all, I'm thrilled that Sara Ramirez, who earned a very well-deserved Tony for her portrayal of The Lady of the Lake hadn't left the show before I got to Broadway to see it. The entire cast of Monty Python's Spamalot was amazing, but Sara Ramirez still managed to stand out.
Although I am a fan of Monty Python, I believe even people who generally don't enjoy Monty Python's skits and movies would thoroughly enjoy this show. I was surprised to see how much of the show was simply making fun of musicals in general and not really based on a Monty Python movie or skit. The Diva Lament is the best example of this, but they make fun of the sappy moments in musicals throughout the show.
The music isn't the greatest, but I'm definitely glad that Monty Python's Spamalot won the best musical Tony award this year. The music is fun and the show is hilarious. The tour starts soon, so even if you're not in the NYC area, I highly recommend this show for a fun night when it gets to a theatre near you.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2005, Best Musical, Broadway, comedy, musical, original
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Daniel Jenkins (Mark Twain & Voice of Huckleberry Finn), Tyrone Giordano (Huckleberry Finn), many other talented cast members
I was very happy that much of the original Broadway cast started off the tour for Big River in LA. Deaf West Theatre did an amazing job with this production. I had heard so much about this revival of Big River and really wanted to see it for myself. The way this revival incorporated sign language into the entire musical and used deaf and hearing cast members side by side was truly original and amazing. The show was very well done. I don't know how long it will tour, but this version is definitely worth seeing, even if you're not a big fan of the original Big River musical.
Grade: B
Labels: 2005, Best Musical, Deaf West Theatre, drama, musical, revival, tour, Tyrone Giordano
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dan Rosenbaum (Roger Davis), Andy Meeks (Mark Cohen), and other great cast members
Rent will probably always be my favorite musical. The moment I first saw it in the west coast premiere in La Jolla in 1997, I fell in love with the music, the lyrics, and the sentiment of the show. I am so sad that Jonathan Larson is no longer with us. Imagine what he could have done in time.
The cast of the current touring production is really great. This was probably the second or third best cast I've seen, which is saying a lot, since I've seen it 10 times now.
Of course, I will always highly recommend Rent to anyone who has not seen it (and even those who have).
Grade: A-
Labels: 2004, Best Musical, drama, musical, Rent, romance, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Victor Garber (Fredrik Egerman), Marc Kudisch (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm), Laura Benanti (Anne Egerman), and many other talented performers
I had never seen A Little Night Music and was really looking forward to finally seeing it. As a big fan of Stephen Sondheim, I had (of course) heard a lot of the music already, but never in context of the show.
The show is very amusing and fits with all the wonderful Sondheim music. It was wonderful to see where everything fit in the story and how well it worked, since I didn't know the story of A Little Night Music at all before seeing it.
The cast they've put together for this LA performance is wonderful. They do a great job bringing this Sondheim work to life.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, Best Musical, comedy, musical, romance, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Constantine Maroulis (Roger Davis), Brian Gligor (Mark Cohen), and many other talented performers
Rent I can't imagine ever not recommending this show to everyone. The cast is still very good in spite of all the changes over the years to the touring production. If you haven't seen Rent yet, where have you been? Go see it the next time the tour comes to your area!
Grade: A-
Labels: 2003, Best Musical, drama, musical, Rent, romance, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Brad Little (The Phantom of the Opera), Lisa Vroman (Christine Daae), Tim Martin Gleason (Raul), Kate Wray (Meg Giry), and many other talented performers
Like almost everyone who loves theatre, I went through a The Phantom of the Opera phase. Mine took place in high school (which still seems to be when most people hit it even now).
Although The Phantom of the Opera isn't the best show and definitely relys on too much spectacle, it is entertaining. I hope that this will be the last time I see it, since two times was more than enough and this was my third. However, it's definitely a show everyone should see if they like musical theatre and my boyfriend had never seen it.
The cast of the touring company is very good and the music is still good, though I prefer Evita or Song & Dance of Andrew Lloyd Webber's.
Grade: B-
Labels: 2003, Andrew Lloyd Webber, ballet, Best Musical, drama, musical, Phantom, romance
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams