Profile for ChorusKitty

I was delighted to finally be able to see Laurie Metcalf perform live on Friday evening (sold out) in this good new production at the Steppenwolf.  For naysayers who say this play couldn't work or fill a Broadway theatre, the downstairs theater at Steppenwolf is roughly the same seating capacity (perhaps a little less) than the Hayes, where the seats a LOT more cramped together and the stage is actually smaller and would work for an intimate show like this as well.

The play is

I caught the third performance (on June 27th) of "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil" at the Goodman.  I believe anyone who was captured by the John Berendt love letter to Savannah, as I was, is going to come away from this new musical completely mystified.  "Misinterpretation of the Garden of Good and Evil" would honestly be a more apt title of this desecration of a book which captured America's imagination enough to stay on the New York Times bestselle

I saw the show on Thursday night and enjoyed it for the most part.  The show has a very strong book and the lyrics are often quite funny.  The actual music is less successful, imo.  Ernest's big number in Act Two gave me "Music Man"/Harold Hill patter song vibes, and as good as Seiber is, the song was a let down for me.  (The puppet props in the scene also didn't really make any sense to me as well).  The "For the Gaze" number and the final

No, I don't need to "get a grip;" like everyone else on this platform, I can give my view on the show and how I perceived its strengths and weaknesses.  I truly enjoyed the first act, I was disappointed in the second act. C'est la vie. I don't begrudge anyone for feeling it's their favorite musical of the season.  I realize many people love it, and it's the front runner for Best Musical. That doesn't change *my* disappointment in the character arc o

This was the last show I saw on my NY trip, and the staging is incredible and the lead has incredible energy and passion throughout the grueling physical performance. 

The sets, lighting and puppetry are phenomenal.  Front mezzanine may be optimal for viewing but I was in row K on the orchestra center aisle and you could see everything perfectly.  You would probably not want to be in the first 4-5 rows, however.

I'm a bit torn about the book, because while the

RippedMan said:"
Well, I can understand the frustration, but I think it's more so meant to be a little tongue-in-cheek / fantastical. Basically, Kimberly took the best of a bad situation."

A child who grows up in a psychologically abusive household which has criminal elements and who then goes on to be a felon is... "fantastical?" 

In the end, Kimberly and Seth are no better than the rest of her family.  I'm not sure how that i

After all the gushing on here about this show I was expecting more, I guess. Like "Fun Home," I didn't find the music or lyrics memorable and found the book more interesting.  The cast is insanely talented, so I wanted to care and have empathy for the characters, which I did in Act One. But by the end of Act Two even the hero and heroine have lost their moral compass, and I didn't understand what perception the director, composer, lyricist, or author wanted audiences to

Saw this revival tonight and I honestly almost left after the first act because it was so dull, but will admit I was glad I stayed for the second - but mainly because the plot finally started moving. I wouldn't say the second act redeems the first,  but at least a modicum of tension develops.  

I'm not sure what's happened, but the cast energy was so low, like you might see toward the end of a nine month touring bus and truck company where everyone is tired o

Jeffrey Karasarides said: "This is something Sam Eckmann just said in the Gold Derby message boards: "Good Night, Oscar is not the type of play many critics go for these days. But people who are actually in the industry (aka Tony voters) are VERY high on it, especially for Hayes." He mentioned before nominations were announced last year that people within the industry likedMJway more than the critics did. That show ended up receiving 10 bids overall, won 4

Wayman_Wong said: 

"I imagine the Tony nominations will look quite different, and not just because they're limited to Broadway and have gendered categories. The Tony nominations will draw on a broader consensus from about 40 nominators. ... I recall when the Drama Desk showered ''9 to 5" with a record-breaking 15 nominations, and the Tonys only gave them 4 nominations and snubbed it for Best Musical. The Drama Desk gave ''A Catered Affair'

PipingHotPiccolo said: "
(There are overall more forgiving than I expected them to be, and yet much harsher on the cast. Uzele's vocals arent "sophisticated" enough for Variety? Wow.)"

If he said, she hits the notes but doesn't really interpret the music dramatically (as someone essentially posted in an early preview report), that would be more insightful of a viewpoint.  But simply saying her vocals aren't "sophisticated,&quo

Saw the 7:30 pm.show tonight (definitely a change of pace after seeing the "Sweeney" matinee) and found it enjoyable. The cast definitely sells the show, which to me was the key to its success; with less committed players it could easily start to sink in its own silliness.

Musically I was perplexed a bit at how ballad heavy the evening was for a musical comedy. But the script, such as it is, was light and made me outright guffaw multiple times. The clever resolution of the &q