Profile for akhoya87

Part of me wonders whether there is some subconscious backlash (or at least bar-raising) because of the high prices charged by this production, and the efforts to make it "immersive."  Part of me also wonders whether the production rises and falls primarily on the casting.  I loved the London production, but it worked "best" for me when I saw it with Fra Fee and Amy Lennox.  Every version I've seen since then has been lackluster by comparison.  

Jordan Catalano said: "Unfortunately, I had an even more negative reaction to Ato Blankson-Wood's Cliff. I just feel he's so miscast and some of the things he does (which i've never seen anyone else in London do, so I'm guessing it's his choice?) are cringeworthy and laughable. Having these two huge roles so, I'm sorry but, miscast, just brings the whole thing down for me. Because this is the internet I gotta reiterate - I said FOR ME.
 

I just came out of the preview feat. Hawley Gould as Alice Paul.  For the most part, I think the show works.  It's a little too long, and I wish the creatives would just embrace the fact that the show works best as an ensemble piece, and not try to have it also serve as a story conveying Alice Paul's personal narrative.  The message of an intergenerational fight is incredibly poignant -- why water it down?  Totally fine to have us look in from Paul's perspectiv

I saw Lempicka last night.  I went into the show knowing nothing about it, and I feel as if I still know nothing, even though I sat through the two-and-a-half-hour production.  Yes, it's a show about Tamara de Lempicka, whose works I've seen, but about whom I knew very little.  But is it a musical about her artistry?  Her sexuality?  Anti-Semitism?  The show is so ambitious, it achieves nothing in its ambition, book-wise.

The entire company is

I was just saying to a friend that the theatre is ready for a good ballroom-dance-inspired musical.  Take the Lead is a great choice -- looking forward to this.  I wonder if they'll bring in folks with experience in choreographing ballroom dancing -- or even cast ballroom dancers.  

This is an incredibly niche pet peeve, but I've seen several shows where the characters are supposed to be dancing some ballroom dance (usually a waltz, tango,

It'll be really interesting to see how the Tony eligibility committee rules on performers from The Notebook.  Following the Tony Shalhoub/Band's Visit precedent, I think there's a case to be made that Maryann is really the lead, despite the fact that she sings for all of what, 60 seconds?  (The singing comment is not meant to be glib -- I thoroughly enjoyed Maryann's performance, both in Chicago and on Broadway, even though I have mixed feelings about t

Wick3 said: "I think older kids would appreciate watching The Notebook but I can see how younger kids may get bored or fall asleep."

When I last saw the Notebook, I was fortunate enough to be sitting front row.  And misfortunate enough to be sitting next to a group of Gen Z/Gen Alpha folks who were there with their family.  I think only one of them paid attention to the show; the rest looked bored, and occasionally pulled out their phones to not-so-discreet

Setting aside casting decisions beyond her control, it seems like there's near-universal acclaim for Maryann Plunkett's performance.  I know she'll likely be up for Best Featured, and that it's highly unusual (if not unheard of) to nominate someone for Best Lead Actress when they give us all of one song.  But I do feel like of anyone in the cast, Maryann and Dorian Harewood are the closest thing we have to leads, just given their stage time and presence.  Of cou

I'm going to offer what's probably an unpopular, incredibly niche bit of criticism.  At the outset, I liked the concept very much.  The story delivers on deaf representation quite well, on many different levels.  Some of the tunes were great earworms.  (The Bastards song is still stuck in my head.)  Erin Weaver's King is hilarious (I loved her in Into the Woods @ Signature VA).  Johnny Link delivers a very earnest portrayal of the title chara

quizking101 said: "
Sutton, I think, was the worse of the two. She couldn’t seem to stick to any accent for longer than a scene, switching between Cockney, Londoner, and I definitely heard an American slip at some point. 
"

My ears may have deceived me, but I thought I heard her slip in some American (mostly in the form of an American military accent) when she delivered the general/privates line in Worst Pies.  That seemed like a strange cho