Profile for StageStruckLad

I'm not sure Pal Joey was better than The Life, the previous record holder for worst Encores show ever. Pal Joey's storyline has now been changed to the story of a Black singer who feels that the whites have appropriated the music created by Blacks. So of course the music of Rodgers and Hart, two white songwriters, makes perfect sense for this new plot. Thank god for Loretta Devine. The audience loved her. And sympathy to poor Elizabeth Stanley, who had the most poorly rewritten storyline. Sh...

Thanks, Inception. Seems like a minor point to waste so much time on. I liked the actress playing Morgan, though. Thought she would make a good Mrs. Mullens in Carousel.

Can someone please explain why Morgan asked Arthur to write ten numbers on a piece of paper? That bit of business must have taken up five minutes of stage time for no reason that I could discern. Maybe Sorkin could have better used those five minutes to give Jenny and Lance more time to fall in love…which in this production seems to come out of nowhere.

Surprised at all the hate for this show. Lots of laughs and the cast is very talented. It’s not great, but I thought it was a fun gay-themed comedy that is also trying to make a few serious points. It was nice to see Bryan Batt back on a NY stage again, too.

Well, if Billy Porter's revision of THE LIFE didn't actually kill Encores, I'm afraid it put Encores in critical condition. Last night's show was by far the worst Encores production in the past 29 years and was also one of the worst musicals I've ever seen...and I saw METRO! I don't blame the performers, many of whom were excellent. I place ALL the blame on Porter. His inept rewrite of the book drained 99 percent of the humor from the show, and in place of humor he inserted countless lectures...

Even flawed Encores productions (DuBarry Was a Lady, Kismet, Band Wagon, 70 Girls 70, House of Flowers) have their merits, and this one was no exception. What concerns me is this incredibly stupid statement from Lear deBessonet, the new artistic director: "Almost zero shows before the 21st century have a worldview and politics that sit well with a contemporary viewer." So much for Shakespeare, I guess! She also says that "Encores had been this gorgeous archeological site that had been perfect...

I saw it last night and wanted to love it. But I mostly just liked it. I hadn't read any of the previous posts because I wanted to go into it fresh. I was surprised to read here that Hugh was sometimes breaking character. He did it twice last night, getting the giggles when Sutton slammed his hat into his chest during "Marian the Librarian" and later in a dialogue scene with Sutton in front of Marian's house. The audience of course loved it. I share some of the same complaints from earlier po...

Dissenting view here. I found the music quite unmemorable. And most of the lyrics are impossible to understand, despite the fact that the theater is so small. Thank goodness the words were projected on the walls.

Saw this last night. Or, more accurately, saw half of it. It was so bad that we fled at intermission. It's certainly not the fault of the very talented cast, who are doing their best to elevate the insipid and inane script. The costumes are also a lot of fun. The decision to do a rhyming play probably wasn't a great idea, but to do it with so many near-rhymes and mangled Yoda-like syntax is fatal. I think I chuckled maybe twice during the first act, which seemed to drag on forever. The qualit...

Not sure why this popped into my mind, but I was thinking about how Bernadette Peters was the only actress to star in shows on Broadway written by three of the biggest names in theater for the past 50 years: Sondheim, Herman and Lloyd Webber. I know there are other important composers from this period, including Cy Coleman and Kander and Ebb, but of these big three names, Patti has only done Sondheim and Lloyd Webber; Angie and Chita have only done Herman and Sondheim. Am I forgetting another...

Thanks, Sutton Ross. I didn’t think to check the Second Stage website to see if there were other options. I guess the part about refunds accidentally fell off their two emails about “Take Me Out” and “Between the Lines.”

I love Second Stage, and I hope they and all the other theater companies find a way to come back when this crisis ends. That said, I think Second Stage should have offered a refund as an option. Manhattan Theater Club handled it much better when they offered a choice of donating the cost of tickets back to them or getting a refund. Here is the line they used regarding my tickets to "How I Learned to Drive":If you are not able to accept a tax credit for your unused tickets at this time, we und...

Sutton Ross, the line "If this isn’t feasible, you may also request a refund" did not appear in the letter from Second Stage. I just double-checked to make sure I hadn't missed that line.

So I get that times are tough for all the theater companies, and I appreciate that some have been proactive about giving refunds for the canceled shows this season. That's why I was surprised to receive the following email today from Second Stage about their canceled show "Between The Lines." Aren't they obligated to offer a refund?"You are receiving this email because you have tickets to Between the Lines, a Daryl Roth production which was scheduled to play at the Tony Kiser Theater this mon...

Is there nothing Covid can’t ruin?

There is lots of Telecharge confusion. I purchased my discounted Company tickets at the box office and last week received an email from Telecharge saying that I could click on a link and get a refund or exchange my tickets at the discounted rate. It now appears that the offer only applies to people who purchased tickets online. If you purchased your tickets at the box office Telecharge will automatically refund the cost to your credit card. No exchange is possible on the Telecharge site. You ...

It was open to the public last night for a Christmas Eve celebration, so we wandered in. I had forgotten just how lavishly beautiful the interior of that theater is. It may be the most beautiful one on Broadway, and I’m happy to see that the church has kept it in impeccable condition. I was truly stunned at its beauty. And I lamented that it was no longer a theater. It may be open today for Christmas as well, and if you’re in the neighborhood I would highly recommend stopping in. But it is he...

Saw the show last night. My thoughts...THE GOOD: Shereen Pimentel was the best Maria I've ever seen, and understudy Jordan Dobson was an outstanding Tony, performing in what I guess was only his second performance. He sang gorgeously and acted like he'd been doing the role for weeks. The large orchestra also sounded great. Some of the orchestrations sounded different, and I guess those were contributed by Jonathan Tunick.THE MEH: Understudy Gabi Campo didn't make much of an impression as Anit...

On Monday night, Porgy arrived on a kind of cart/scooter. At the end of the opera he called out ”bring me my cart,” but he ended up leaving the stage using his crutch. I miss the goat. The singers and orchestra sounded glorious, but I was surprised at how hard it was to understand the lyrics. I know the opera very well, so it wasn’t a problem for me, but I was in row M of the orchestra, and I saw many people around me using the super title displays.

Even 4th row center seats were less than ideal last night, and I’m fairly tall. I wouldn’t recommend sitting closer than 6th row or so. The stage is very high. Wasn’t it also high for Straight White Men?