Cast: Moya Angela (Effie Melody White), Syesha Mercado (Deena Jones), Chester Gregory (James "Thunder" Early), Chaz Lamar Shepherd (Curtis Taylor, Jr.)
For complete info, check out the Dreamgirls website.
I'd never seen Dreamgirls live before. I knew the music and had seen the movie, but hadn't seen the live show. The most important thing in Dreamgirls for me is that Effie has a great voice, since And I am Telling You I'm Not Going is my favorite song from the show. I thought Moya Angela did well, but I definitely wasn't wowed by her performance.
Judging by the reaction in the crowd, a lot of people were really impressed with Chester Gregory. I think he played the character well enough, but his performance didn't blow me over. The story of Dreamgirls, loosely based on Diana Ross and the Supremes, is fairly interesting, though it's not super gripping. If you want a lively and highly exciting show, this is probably not it. However, the music is really good and the cast of the touring production does a good job, so if you haven't seen Dreamgirls it's worth checking it out on tour. If you have, you can probably skip this one.
Grade: C+
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:00 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 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: Steve Wilson (Caractacus Potts), Kelly McCormick (Truly Scrumptious), Zachary Carter Sayle (Jeremy Potts), Aly Brier (Jemima Potts)
For complete info, see the official Chitty Chitty Bang Bang tour page.
Perhaps it's because I wasn't a huge fan of the movie or because I expected very little from the stage musical version of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, but I thought it was a cute show. The car was really amazingly designed. The music isn't very good, but it's not as bad as I expected. I talked to a friend who saw it and she ranked it among her 5 worst shows of all time. It's not even close to mine. Of course, she hasn't been unfortunate enough to see The Black Rider, 3hree, and the other horrible shows I've seen over the years.
I think if you go without expecting much, you can enjoy the predictable and sappy story. The cast is great, the car is amazing, and the costumes and the rest of the sets are very well done.
Don't expect it to be the best show you've ever seen, but I don't think it'll be too high on the list of the worst shows, either.
Grade: C
Reviewed by Kat at the 6:30 PM show | 2 screams
Cast: Eric Schneider (Danny Zuko), Emily Padgett (Sandy Dumbrowski), Allie Schulz (Betty Rizzo)
For complete info, see the official Grease on Broadway site and select the touring cast.
I suspected, the cast (as a whole) was better than the cast of the revival with Max Crumm & Laura Osnes as Danny & Sandy. Grease is still Grease and there aren't many people who like musical theatre who don't know about the show or that the show varies from the movie in a few ways. The revival put songs that had only been in the movie version into the stage version for the first time on Broadway and they kept these in the touring production.
Unfortunately, the touring production did a couple of things the Broadway revival did not... These are the parts that lower my grade of the show. I'm grading the show including the pre-show and post-show entertainment, since it's impossible to separate these from the show - they were things one had to experience (to some extent) in order to see the show on tour.
Before the show, Dominic Fortuna (as Vince Fontaine, his character in the show) did a pre-show DJ sort of thing as if he were already playing music for a party or event of some kind. He encouraged audience participation (including singing along, which can be pretty painful with some of the audience members not being in tune). This bothered me a little (not as much as it bothered a friend of mine who saw the show on a different night), but the house lights were still up and I was able to read. I blocked out those singing along as much as possible (too bad I didn't have my ipod with me) and survived until the show.
The show was well done. The cast was very good (definitely better, as a whole, than the only time I saw Grease on Broadway, so that was positive. They did add some terrible references to American Idol and Taylor Hicks' voice was definitely bad, but it wasn't completely unbearable.
The cast sang during the bows, as they did in the Broadway revival. This is always fun for fans and gets people up and dancing some as they leave the theatre. Unfortunately, after this, they dimmed the lights. Thinking it was something collecting for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS (a charity I support regularly), I sat back down. Sadly, I was mistaken. This was for a completely unannounced (to my knowledge - I talked to many other patrons who had not been aware of this horrific event) concert by Taylor Hicks (who played the Teen Angel in the touring production).
Tolerating Taylor Hicks' voice for his small part as the Teen Angel (especially with the horrible added American Idol references) was bad enough. I did not pay my good money for a show I enjoyed to be trapped in my seat and tortured with my idea of hell (country music sung by a horrible singer). The way the Orange County Performing Arts Center is designed, those of us with good seats (I wasn't that far off center) are very far away from the only aisles. In spite of this, I fought my way out of the theatre, so I would not have to be tormented by the entire post-show concert by Taylor Hicks. On my way out, I heard many fellow guests who were fleeing the theatre saying things like "Oh, HELL no, I don't want this" to each other. Clearly, I was not alone in feeling that I had been trapped and had a concert forced onto me. One of my friends (who saw the show on a different night) has some elderly subscribers between her and the nearest aisle, so she had to stay in her seat with her fingers doing their best to plug up her ears and endure the torture of the Taylor Hicks concert.
If you're going to see Grease live - beware! There is a Taylor Hicks concert afterwards and no matter how rude it may seem to the performers, if you want to escape before people sit down, you must do so near the end of the bows.
I think the theatre should allow time for people to exit or at least tell them that after bows the lights will dim again for a concert. Many of us did not want to see Taylor Hicks. I even considered not seeing the touring production of Grease because of him (even though the Teen Angel is a fairly small part of the show. I ended up seeing it in spite of him, but certainly didn't want to hear any more of his voice (especially if it's country music) than absolutely necessary.
Grade: C- (without the extra stuff, this would probably have been a B or B-)
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: LaTonya Holmes (Celie), Rufus Bonds, Jr. (Mister), LaToya London (Nettie), Felicia P. Fields (Sofia), Angela Robinson (Shug Avery), Stu James (Harpo)
For complete info, see the The Color Purple musical site.
I had no desire to see this musical. The reasons for that were the fact that the official title is Oprah Winfrey Presents The Color Purple (I'm totally NOT a fan) and the fact that I really like the movie. I couldn't picture it as a musical and I wasn't sure they can do a good enough job.
Since The Color Purple was a part of my season tickets at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, I decided to check it out. I found that they really did a good job with the musical. I didn't buy the CD and I don't plan on doing so. I probably won't see the musical again, but the stayed true to the story (as far as I recall, it's been years since I've seen the movie) and the music is very good.
I saw the understudy for Celie, which was definitely disappointing, but (as usual) the understudy was amazing and I can't imagine the regular Celie doing any better. The cast is very good, so if you didn't see The Color Purple yet, you may want to think about seeing it on tour.
Grade: B-
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 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: 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: Rebecca Riker (Cassie), Gabrielle Ruiz (Diana), Emily Fletcher (Sheila), Hollie Howard (Maggie), Michael Gruber (Zach)
For the complete cast & schedule information, see Broadway.com.
I’ve always been a big fan of A Chorus Line. I love how it shows what one goes through during an audition – the
Overall, this cast was much better than the original Broadway revival cast I saw a couple years ago. Rebecca Riker (the understudy for Cassie) has a much better voice than Charlotte
d'Amboise. I was surprised that she didn’t sing when doing the combination with the guys either. I had thought they’d cut that out because d’Amboise couldn’t hold her own. I guess they just cut it from this production, though I can’t imagine a director being okay with Cassie simply choosing not to sing because she doesn’t feel like it. No director I’ve worked with would be happy with that and I’ve never worked even close to that level. Emily Fletcher as Sheila was also much better than Deidre Goodwin and since that’s one of my favorite parts in A Chorus Line, it was great to see it being done so well. Gabrielle Ruiz has an amazing voice, but didn’t quite have the spunk Natalie Cortez does for Diana and James T. Lane was much better as Richie than Anthony Wayne.
The overall performance was better than that on Broadway, though. Though some of the cast members are not as good as their Broadway counterparts, none of them were bad. They were all very good in their roles and had I not seen the other cast, I wouldn’t have thought they weren’t good enough. In contrast, I was very bothered by the performances of Charlotte d’Amboise and Deidre Goodwin on Broadway. Having a good Cassie and Sheila are important to me and both of them had been better in every other production I’ve seen of A Chorus Line.
I definitely recommend the touring production of A Chorus Line. There’s not much to the set, so it’s easy to take on the road and the cast is great.
Grade: B+
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Dana DeLisa (Eliza Doolittle), Christopher Cazenove (Professor Henry Higgins), Walter Charles (Colonel Hugh Pickering), Marni Nixon (Mrs. Higgins)
For complete information on this tour, see the official My Fair Lady musical site.
I had never seen My Fair Lady live before, so I was definitely curious about this touring production. I hadn't seen the movie in a long time, so there were songs that I'd forgotten were a part of My Fair Lady. The cast is very good, but this is definitely not one of my favorite shows.
The friend I took with me mentioned that he always sees shows like this (I'm not sure if he means older shows or shows without spectacle, he's only seen newer shows with tons of spectacle) as being similar to High School productions and I had to agree a bit on this one. I wonder what he'd think of my favorite shows which are newer, but still lack spectacle (Rent, Spring Awakening, & The Last 5 Years). My other favorite show (Wicked) definitely has loads of spectacle.
I wouldn't go out of my way to get to this show if it's coming to you, but if you're already a subscriber I wouldn't say it's worth avoiding, either. It's a well done production of a classic.
Grade: C+
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Judy Kaye (Mrs. Lovett), David Hess (Sweeney Todd), Edmund Bagnell (Tobias), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony), Lauren Molina (Johanna), Keith Buterbaugh (Judge Turpin)
For complete info on the great touring cast, see the official Sweeney Todd on tour site.
I had forgotten (until the show started) that they had set this revival of Sweeney Todd in an asylum. It definitely makes for an interesting backdrop for the show. The characters playing their own instruments was a bit more distracting for Sweeney Todd than it was for Company (which I missed on Broadway, but caught on PBS and will definitely own on Blu-ray DVD at some point) for some reason - perhaps that's because there are actual sets in a typical production of Sweeney Todd or because the set of this production kept being rearranged to make the different locations of the musical. Either way, I still really enjoyed the show. The cast of the tour of Sweeney Todd is great! It was really nice to finally get to see Judy Kaye perform in person.
The way everything worked out so well with the right cast members being available to play the right instruments (and having them delivered to them or getting to the right place on stage) was really impressive. The way the show was choreographed & organized was just as impressive as the show itself.
I definitely recommend catching the tour of Sweeney Todd, while it's still at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA, or as it makes the rounds throughout the country.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, crime, drama, musical, Stephen Sondheim, thriller, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:58 AM 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
See the Cirque du Soleil Corteo site for complete information.
Not surprisingly, Corteo is wonderful! I couldn't recommend it (or any Cirque du Soleil). Every time I see a Cirque du Soleil show, I'm amazed with all the interesting acts the creators think about. I just don't know how they come up with some of the ideas, let alone execute them.
The story of Corteo was one of the clearest of any Cirque du Soleil show I've ever seen. There was also a great deal of English, whereas the older shows tended to be all in French. Part of me misses the French (even though I only understand a little) and part of me was happy that I could understand everything I could hear (at times with the music and the low mic level, I couldn't hear what was being said clearly).
The tent shows are always a little uncomfortable, since the seats have very little padding, etc., but it's well worth it to experience Corteo. Check out the schedule and try to see it when it's close to you.
Grade: A
Labels: 2007, Cirque du Soleil, dancing, gymnastics, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Vicki Noon (Sophie Sheridan), Mary Jayne Raleigh (Donna Sheridan), Christine Sherrill (Tanya), Allison Briner (Rosie), Ian Simpson (Harry Bright), Milo Shandel (Bill Austin), Sean Allan Krill (Sam Carmichael), and a great supporting cast
For complete info on the tour cast, see the official Mamma Mia! site. You can also find out information on where the tour is heading and other locations of Mamma Mia! productions.
If you haven't seen Mamma Mia! yet, I definitely recommend you catch it in one of the many locations around the world. It'll be playing at the Winter Garden on Broadway for years to come and I'm sure the tour will continue for a long time, too. Mamma Mia! is a fun show. I was disappointed that more people didn't get up to dance on their own during the bows. I'd seen the show twice before and both times everyone in the audience was up and dancing by the second song. This time, Mary Jayne had to actually ask the audience to stand for the last song of the bows. Sad...
The cast is amazing and Mamma Mia! is very entertaining. The dancing is even better than I remembered. The ensemble is really amazing right now. I'm sure the dancing was great before, but I didn't remember how good and it was a wonderful surprise.
Grade: B
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 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:Christine Andreas (Margaret Johnson), Katie Rose Clarke (Clara Johnson), David Burnham (Fabrizio Naccarelli), David Ledingham (Signor Naccarelli), Betsy DiLellio (Franca Naccarelli), Jonathan Hammond (Giuseppe Naccarelli)
For complete cast info and how to get tickets for the rest of the tour, see the The Light in the Piazza tour page. Unfortunately, it leaves the Orange County Performing Arts Center after the performances tomorrow.
Clearly, I wouldn't see a show I didn't really enjoy twice in less than two weeks. I saw The Light in the Piazza (with almost exactly the same cast, Wendi Bergamini was not able to perform as Franca Naccarelli today, though Betsy DiLellio did a wonderful job and I don't think I would have known that it wasn't the same actress if I hadn't read the slip of paper in the program). David made fun of me for being a theatre freak, which those of you who know me well know is completely accurate, so I'm comfortable with that. I love the theatre and often get more than a little obsessed with it. *grin* I enjoyed The Light in the Piazza even more the second time I saw it and I'm so glad I got to see it again so soon. It's great that it was in town longer than a week and that I had a day free to see it. Although I'm sad it hasn't been selling out everywhere (since it's a wonderful show), I am thrilled that I was able to get a ticket.
I got very lucky today and got a wonderful almost completely center seat in the 5th row of the orchestra (which is row B at the OCPAC). Normally, I wouldn't sit closer than row 5 in a theatre, since closer than that is too close for my neck, but due to the spacing of the seats at the OCPAC, I'd sit in row A, the 4th row, there. It's nice to have so much leg room in a theatre.
The lady next to me was really sweet. We ended up talking, since she was an older woman (86) who hadn't gotten a program and I offered to get one for her when she realized she didn't have one. I gave her mine. Next thing you knew, we were talking about our love for New York, how her friends told her The Light in the Piazza was a horrible show, how I'd already seen it and came back to see it again, David Burnham's great CD, how she's moving to Florida to be closer to her daughter, and just about everything else.
At intermission, the woman next to me said she thought there was a bit too much Italian, but that the music was beautiful. By the end of the show, she said she understood why I had come back to see the show again. I'd managed to convince her it was worth the trip. :-) I'd also convinced her to buy David's CD, but they only took cash, so I think she was going to have to buy it elsewhere.
When I saw the show the other time, I figured I'd buy a program online, since I didn't see a booth and my David was tired. The reason I didn't see a booth is that they didn't sell anything there. What a bummer. I would have bought a program and perhaps a shirt (depends on the designs available) if they'd had them to sell. I guess I'll look online to see what they made and see what I find when I'm in New York in August.
If you get a chance to see The Light in the Piazza and can handle not understanding every word that they say (and like romantic musicals), I highly recommend it. It's a wonderful show with a great story and amazing music. Until July, I can also say that the cast, scenic design, orchestrations, and everything else on the tour are well done, too.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, Christine Andreas, dancing, David Burnham, drama, Katie Rose Clarke, musical, romance, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast:Christine Andreas (Margaret Johnson), Katie Rose Clarke (Clara Johnson), David Burnham (Fabrizio Naccarelli), David Ledingham (Signor Naccarelli), Wendi Bergamini (Franca Naccarelli), Jonathan Hammond (Giuseppe Naccarelli)
For complete cast info, see the The Light in the Piazza tour page.
For information on tickets while it's still at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, see their The Light in the Piazza page.
There is definitely a reason The Light in the Piazza won the 2005 Tony for original score, orchestrations, scenic design, costume design, and lighting design (much of which inspired the touring production designs). In another year, The Light in the Piazza might have won the award for best musical. I thoroughly enjoyed it and plan to purchase the CD. While I understand why Spamalot won the Best Musical Tony and it appeals to a wider audience with the comedy angle, The Light in the Piazza's score was far superior to Spamalot's and I'm so glad it won the six awards it won (Victoria Clark won for best actress, too). It's too bad that it's not still running on Broadway, but I guess there will always be a bigger market for the shows with more spectacle and humor than heart.
When they say that The Light in the Piazza is the most romantic show in ages, it's very true. The story is beautiful and the music is gorgeous. I've already bought the album and look forward to enjoying it for years to come.
The touring cast is wonderful and all the designs have been wonderfully recreated for the tour. I definitely recommend catching The Light in the Piazza while it's at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. They're near the beginning of the run here, so it will be in town until the 13th. Of course, it will also be touring around the country - in LA later this year and surely going to other parts of the country if you're not in the LA/OC area. I enjoyed David Burnham so much as Fabrizio that I purchased his album, which was just released in March (what luck I had in the timing of the show coming to Orange County).
I'm glad they recorded the Lincoln Center production for PBS, which I currently have on Tivo. I plan to watch it sometime, just to get an idea of how it looked there, since I missed that production.
For those of you who have spouses, kids, or friends who get lost once people start speaking (or singing) another language and may start drifting if the music is a bit too soft and pretty, this might not be the show for them. David enjoyed it, but was a bit tired before the show started (even though the OCPAC starts their shows at 7:30 now, I guess it's a good thing...) and doesn't understand foreign languages or get the gist of what people are saying as well as I do, so he started to tune the show out in points. Personally, I could have listened to the music without understanding a word for hours and would have been okay with that. David isn't as easy to please. He enjoyed it, but the matinee might have been better for him. Of course, I picked the night I did, since this is our first year with OCPAC tickets and I wanted pretty good orchestra seats starting out and to work on improving them each year from there.
The whole point of part of the show being in Italian is that in the beginning, Margaret & Clara don't speak Italian very well. Therefore, they don't understand most of what is being said around them. The Italian in the show allows the audience members to be taken into their world, where they can't understand things that are being said (or sung). The music is beautiful, so I don't see why it would matter in the case of such a great show. However, if you can't get over a fact like that, skip this one and save those around you from having to hear you complain.
The Light in the Piazza is a wonderful romantic show set in Florence and Rome (and a little in America) in 1953. I don't know how anyone who likes romantic musicals could not enjoy this show. The story is about a sweet girl meeting a wonderful (and gorgeous) guy in Italy and the events that unfold as a result. I recommend it and would definitely see it again.
Grade: A-
Labels: 2007, Christine Andreas, dancing, David Burnham, drama, Katie Rose Clarke, musical, romance, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 PM show | 0 screams
Cast:Chita Rivera and an amazing ensemble
For complete info, see the official Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life website.
This show had been in LA and then San Diego before it went to Broadway and I missed it there. However, my aunt (wise beyond her years) caught it near the end of the run in San Diego and told me I HAD to see it. I tried when I was in NYC, but with my sister there, I wasn't sure she'd be interested in a show on dance. Now that I've seen it, I think anyone who loves Broadway theatre and/or dancing would love this snow, but I didn't know it at the time.
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life is an amazing show. Catch it at a theatre near you if you can. If you enjoy dancing and/or musical theatre, it's an amazing retrospective of dance in theatre throughout her years in the theatre. The second Chita Rivera appeared on the stage, I thought, "Wow - I'd LOVE to look that good now." Considering the fact that she's 74 (I had to look it up online and I'm amazed that she's in such great shape) and I'm only 33, this is a bit of a sad statement for me. However, if you saw her in person, you would understand that she still has an absolutely amazing body and that same wonderful voice.
Before seeing this show, I didn't know much of what to expect. I didn't ask Tricia much about it, since I wanted to enjoy it for myself and (since we're alike in that way), she totally understood. I thought that perhaps it was a one-woman show. I was wrong and I'm so glad I was wrong. The ensemble in Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life is amazing! They're all wonderful dancers and singers and do such a great job.
I won't say too much about the structure of the show other than to say that Chita Rivera does some numbers herself and some with members of the ensemble. She narrates in between songs and sings parts of many wonderful songs from the shows she's done throughout her amazing career. If you like theatre and/or dance, you must get to a performance of Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life. If it comes out on DVD, I'll definitely own it. Then, my husband (a musical theatre fan, but not as fond of shows that are just dance) will get to see it. I went with a friend who loves dance and she enjoyed it, but I know that David will enjoy it, too. I really hope it's been recorded for PBS, since they always end up releasing the shows on DVD at some point and Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life really should be preserved forever.
Grade: A
Labels: 2007, Chita Rivera, dancing, musical, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 7:30 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