Profile for WhizzerMarvin

I was not prepared for what I witnessed this evening. My fingers are still trembling as I type this. This is the best show to have graced a Broadway show in YEARS. Yes, YEARS. A heaping of brilliance upon brilliance like this beautiful play is so rare these days that it feels like nothing short of a miracle. It is both wildly funny and extremely emotional. The final 20 minutes of act one, which are comprised of a monologue by the fantastic Paul Hilton, reduces me to tears and the Stephen Dald...

Hey uncageg, I fortunately am not dealing with any health issues. I’ve been traveling a lot, but am back in New York at least through the winter and am catching up on the fall offerings. I saw both Lightning Thief and Freestyle Love Supreme (at 10pm!) last night, so I’m making progress. As for the Lightning Thief- oy to the vey. I mean, can no one write a frickin song anymore? This is truly a soul-crushing production with absolutely zero redeeming factors. The score is beyond dreck and the bo...

Owen, my thoughts fall more in line with yours. The show might not be the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but it’s also a total waste of time and worse, a total waste of good source material for a musical. The score is downright terrible. Generic to the nth degree; the piece begins (naturally) with the witches who are given a dull as dirt song about destiny (yawn) and then the second number is some drippy blob of a song given to Lady M that warns you that this will not be getting any better. Only...

SouthernCakes,I will discuss the plot with some spoilers, but be warned that I do not think one should read any spoilers if they are going to see the play. With that said...SPOILERS********************** Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

I saw the play tonight and it was thoroughly NOT what I expected, that is to say, this is not an historical drama. This is not 12 Years a Slave: The Play. I didn’t know what to make of the first 30 minutes because the tone was all over the place and it felt very amateurish (it turns out intentionally so) and then something happens to shift the play. Ideally there would be a pause or intermission here, because as it stands the piece is way too long. Harris could also solve the problem by short...

I was at The Height of the Storm: The Father Strikes Back the other night, and talk about a case of deja vu! Not only is it the same play as The Father, but it’s in the same theater. It’s like I got to repeat a night or my life that I didn’t want to. This playwright is such a one trick pony. At least the mother was a little more unconventional, but it was essentially covering the same ground as these two father plays. Jonathan Pryce does a good Frank Langella and really if you saw the previou...

disneybroadwayfan22 said: "So, what’s the Elephant Love Medley like now? "The Elephant Love Medley retains maybe 1/3(?) of its songs from the film and the other two thirds are new. It is much longer in the stage show than on film. To the other question, the show would not be strong without the sets, costumes, lights, but that was an integral part of the film too (masterful editing, sound mixing, etc). I strongly disagree though that we need big splashy to be transferred into another world. Pe...

QueenAlice said: Wow, Kad I completely disagree with your assessment of the film as having no heart. The last third of the film has true pathos and I remember half the theatre in tears by the end of it. The film also ends in a somber, quiet, reflective way. The musical on stage has none of that."I finally got around to seeing Moulin Rouge tonight (those ticket prices are crazy- this is the most I’ve ever spent on a musical preview ticket; they really need to cut Danny Burstein’s line asking h...

These people were definitely Yanni fanatics. We needed Dr. Hapgood to put them in Groups A & B and then for Cora to lock everyone (including my friends and me I suppose) up in the Cookie Jar.

I was at Yanni last night and the whole evening was pretty surreal. Definitely a fascinating evening from a psychological perspective and a complete 180 from the experience at Morrissey earlier this month. All big “stars” who perform one-person shows have long bios that don’t think twice about breaking their arms to pat themselves on the back, but Yanni had one of the more outlandish bios I’ve read of late. Some selections: A legendary composer and performer unlike any other, Yanni has brough...

Yes, the standing in the aisles happened in the mezz too. People from the back rows would randomly walk midway down the mezz for 30 seconds or so to get some better photos or film a song from a better vantage point. Maybe they kept a better watch on the smoking in the orchestra, but it was a free for all in the mezz!

This is another (slightly) get-off-my-lawn-type rant, but what’s with the people who essentially film the entire show on their phone (typically for concerts, I realize), but never take the time to actually be in the moment and watch the performance with their eyes and not through the screen? I notice this when I travel too. People take so many photos of a sunset or a building or a monument, but they never actually stop to take in the building and experience it. My phone is in my hand just as ...

I was in the rear mezz. You? It was just so odd to see people smoking inside a public place. Clearly the ushers didn’t care. It’s not like you couldn’t smell it or see the smoke lingering in the air. I felt like I had taken a time warp back to a previous era.

This was truly a first for me. I have never seen audience members light up joints before inside a theater and pass them down the aisle as each member takes a puff, but that’s what happened tonight. On multiple occasions! No wonder I have the munchies. I wasn’t very familiar with Morrissey’s music, but I dug it and thought he was a great performer. Very thoughtful projections- loved the yellow vests and the French flag lighting cues. The people in front of me stood the entire show, so I just g...

Love Laurie and Joe Mantello, but the body of the last revival is still warm. Plus, that revival was absolutely wonderful- it’s not like we need a palate cleanser to remind us what a good show this is.

I’ve thought about framing it...my two friends who also bought tickets and I have joked that we must have been the only three people in the world who purchased advance tickets to this thing! I remember on the day of the first preview at The Crucible playing across the street at The Kerr, my friend and I stood in the rush line watching the nerds load-in and saying things like, “We can’t believe this is actually going to happen!” Well, it didn’t.

https://m.imgur.com/UdXLp5j

I remember going to the official website and seeing a splash page that the site was in beta weeks before previews. I still have my ticket stub to the first preview that I never got to use.

Vintage, I think you quoted me saying it was differently and unusually sung (it is!), but that necessarily mean that “unusual” will translate to “bad.” They just don’t sing it in R&H style. The actors are good singers, but it’s like if Beverly Sills had been hired to sing Wagner. Well, she’s not a Wagnerian singer and her Brünnhilde would have be no Brigit Nilsson. It’s not that Sills couldn’t sing the notes, but her voice type and style is not what one typically associates with the role. Sti...

JBroadway is correct. There is not a guaranteed fifth nominee, simply the possibility of one.