Profile for DSamuels90

My school happened to be blessed with a well funded & supported arts department, so we did anywhere from 4-6 shows every year. Usually two of those were musicals: a fall semester production with auditions open to the whole school, and a spring semester production limited to the students who successfully auditioned & registered for a musical theatre class. We also had a one act play production class in the fall semester, and that was the show we took to the one act competitions (in my time, we...

The show didn't play on Broadway, so it might not count, but there's a VERY prominent robot in the musical version of Fritz Lang's Metropolis. The character spends most of the show in the form of Maria, but if the album is any indication, "Futura" should have had at least two scenes in the first act: the reveal of the Futura robot in the laboratory, and the Act I finale when Maria's likeness is transposed onto the machine.

I actually quite like Love Never Dies. The studio album was very pretty, if clunky in storytelling, and I think the changes made for the Australian production were great improvements.  Considering productions I've actually seen, I'd cast my vote for Joseph blahblah Dreamcoat. After that, Cats, which is a score I don't mind listening to, but as a show you couldn't pay me enough to sit through it again. Based on albums, it becomes a tie between Joseph and Starlight Express.

I absolutely loved this. Had the pleasure of playing Sipos in a college production, and I was thrilled when this live stream was first announced.For me, Act I was was plagued with BUFFERING nearly every 15-20 seconds. I nearly gave up at intermission, but decided to try a different browser (from Firefox to Chrome) for Act II. So glad I did, because the second act played without a single hitch. I'll be revisiting it within the week so I can properly experience the first half.Despite the techni...

Laura Benanti's high note = perfection. Also love how they're using the projected scenery. It looks really good, at least on my tv.Â

Here in Atlanta, not only did the sound go wonky, but the feed got dropped & "rewound" to the "Greased Lightning" scene. Finally rejoined the live feed at the end of "Hopelessly Devoted," but the sound was a mess & the video kept getting interrupted by Hulu ads. Other than that, I'm enjoying this more than I'd expected. Not my favorite show, but from a technical standpoint it's very impressive. I imagine a live "West Side Story" broadcast would fit this kind of production like a glove. Also, ...

The scene & "ballet" were VERY well received. We've got the Braves, so I don't think there's anyone in Atlanta who would have trouble with some baseball humor. That scene made me glad I didn't leave at intermission.

I can't compare Errico & Swenson to their movie counterparts, but not having seen the movie. Between the two, Errico was the disappointing one for me. Maybe it was an off night, or maybe that's just her style. In this case, I only have albums & one not legal video to draw on for reference. Lovely voice, but there was nothing behind her eyes from square one (yes, I was close enough to see her eyes -- the theatre is surprisingly intimate). She perked up in Act 2, but thanks to Act One's length ...

I saw it this past Tuesday night. I knew nothing of the film going in, so I don't really have anything to compare it to besides other musicals, just FYI. I was really excited to get to see Melissa Errico & Will Swenson live. Naming names would be mean, but suffice to say one of them seemed bored throughout the first act, and woke up a little in the second. But by then I already didn't care about that character any more, so the little boost didn't help much. Some of my friends who saw the show...

Regarding the comments about the set/dragon clock: I always assumed the concept was that the entire show was one of the clock's puppet shows, with us its audience looking in to see Elphaba's story. Hence the presence of the dragon on the proscenium (the books frequently point out the dragon figure perched atop the clock's stage) and the cogs/gears which make up various set pieces. Obviously nobody watching the musical who hasn't read the book would get this (unless the one mention of the cloc...

Does anyone here know why the cast album was released as a single LP? I see a note on the back of the sleeve: "Special-value cassette package containing over 80 minutes of music also available." Was vinyl already declining in popularity in 1982? I would have thought a double LP release would have been beautiful to look at. As it is, if I didn't already know what the show was about (thank you Google), this album would have left me very confused with its all-too-brief synopsis and obvious studi...