Profile for henrike

inlovewithjerryherman said: "Katie Spelman is truly a genius." I'm not sure if I'd consider her a genius director yet. It seems like she does well in creating a good overall picture of the stage via blocking and taking advantage of the moody vibes of certain types of music. But if she were to be assigned to direct straight plays, I wouldn't be confident in her ability to guide the actors to the scene's potential. And unfortunately, Brigadoon had some important book scenes that fell flat.

Looking at the Wikipedia synopsis, I think the biggest change is Click Here To Toggle Spoiler ContentHarry walks to the bridge, and we see him jump off to kill himself. Jeff sees the whole thing, but couldn't do anything about it.

I saw this past weekend, and I didn't think it was good. The set was pretty. The two leads were fantastic. It was great to hear the score.However, tonally, the show didn't work for me. I don't know the original book line-by-line, Alexandra Silber's "updated" book was still clunky. The comedy landed like a perfunctory sitcom routine tightened by AI, but the drama didn't feel earned at all. Perhaps that flaw is more attributed to Spelman's direction. Actors were rushing to deliver the next line...

For a show that's truly infused with historical cultural references of the Chinese American experience, could they not have gathered a full cast of Chinese-Americans? I'm a bit surprised that this theater company is still doing the "Asian-America as a monolith" casting practices in 2026, especially if the show has culture-specific references.

I saw it over the weekend. The set is essentially a bare stage, painted all in black with turntable along with a loooooong green sofa. There's also a big heating stove. But with not much else to decorate the otherwise minimalist stage, that scene wasn't too shocking since everybody saw it coming. There's a pianist upstage on a platform underscoring the entire play. Costumes are period. I'm not too familiar with the different versions of translations, but there were some random bursts of cursi...

^ Oops. You're right!

Made the drove down to Orange County to see it over the weekend. Spoilers below.=============I agree with the previous assessment that the concept was half baked. The set, given how it'll only run for a month or so, was impressive. It did, however, feel like a generic 3-stort steel scaffolding set up, with "BOGG'S ASYLUM" sign tacked on. There was a performer at the very top of the set throughout the whole show, hunched over like a zombie, creepily moving his arms to the beat of the music as ...

Vocally, that Colbert performance was fine. But I agree that there was no connection at all between them. Granted, it was just a TV studio performance. But is that how they sing at the Beaumont?

Compared to Redwood (only bringing this up, since this also had its pre-Broadway run at La Jolla Playhouse), I thought The Heart was better, but only marginally. And I agree with FightTheDragons that there are two stories that are being told. Naturally, you'd think that the donor's story and the recipient's story would mesh together, and somehow create a compelling circle-of-life moment. Except it failed to do that.The opening number with the EDM/techno beat (I think? I don't remember) featur...

TaffyDavenport said: "The show doesn’t deserve raves."I agree. It's a fine revue, but I have no idea how it got such accolades in London.

Ensemble1698878795 said: "Industry folks are saying Lea Salonga’s Roses Turn outshines Audra's. Trust that it’s not just this board. Remember, Tony voters are also voting towards their own interests. Y’all really don’t like to make space for new stars. Noted."LOL. Absolutely no way Lea outshines Audra. Lea is a wonderful actress/performer when it comes to certain dramatic ballads, but her abilities are limited outside of that, in my opinion.

I saw the understudy on Thursday (I also read that Audra had appeared live on The View earlier that day, and she didn't seem to be sick? So perhaps she just needed a break from it all.)Tryphena was quite good as Rose. Sang very well (in the typical belty fashion Rose is usually sung). She also had a very charismatic stage presence, which, unfortunately, took a bit away from what a monster Rose could've been. I also saw Audra the previous weekend, and Audra's Rose is definitely way more fearle...

I saw tonight's performance (3rd preview), and I thought it had some fun moments. But I agree that the book needs work.There's some breaking of the 4th wall in the beginning, which made all of us entranced by Jonathan Groff's charming persona. The first act was quite enjoyable, in fact. The second act, however, needs to be rewritten from scratch. The way it's currently written, its challenging to care about his relationship with Sandra Dee. There was some mediocre acting with the supporting r...

I thought Jeremy Jordan's acting was fine. No surprising choices. Just played Floyd as how I'd imagine him to be.Now, Lizzy McAlphine as Nellie is another story. Just merely thinking that her acting is passable on a Broadway stage was a disgraceful decision made by the production team. I was genuinely upset at how terrible her acting was.I went in with somewhat low expectations, but still wanted to like the show. And that urge is still there. Some beautiful moments, just like The Light in the...

Currently intermission. Click Here To Toggle Spoiler ContentThe set is flat and bare with some random rectangular chunks tilting diagonally to create slopes.Jeremy Jordan and Taylor Trench are highlights so far. But the book just isn't good. Almost as tedious as last year's Uncle Vanya, and Tina Landau hasn't done anything to elevate the material.

When I saw it in London, it was raining and they still did the title song with the umbrella. For those who saw it in NY, did they pump in a ridiculous amount of theatrical haze in the stage/auditorium? That left quite an impression on me as I entered the Savoy.

Oh boy. This season (23-24), I've seen quite a bit of duds. Redwoods at La Jolla wasn't that good. Hunter Thompson was bad. Many of the new shows I saw last month on Broadway weren't that good. I had a bad feeling when they initially postponed the production due to it requiring more work. But I'm afraid to say that Prelude to a Kiss is not salvageable.I saw it this week, and I can confidently say that this is the worst musical I have seen in the past few years of avid theater-going. There are...

I caught the show tonight, and overall, it's solid. But given that Cabaret is produced everywhere (colleges, community, regional), it's been explored to death. And this production wasn't revelatory for someone who has seen multiple productions of it.One thing must be said: Ato Blankson-Wood gives the most amateur acting I've seen in a principal role on Broadway.His book scenes with Sally in act 2 were just truly awful. Basically ruined the emotional impact of the show at the end. Giving no hi...

Just got out of the show. I was initially worried as they had canceled the original first preview performance, but the technical elements and the actor memorization weren't an issue. That being said, I'm not sure how this will be received. Personally, I found it to be absolutely tedious to sit through. If you thought Camelot at the Beaumont was boring, I suggest taking melatonin before Uncle Vanya so that you will at least get a good sleep while the actors are busy acting moody and mildly dep...

I'm guessing their plan is to give a false sense of urgency in buying those high-priced tickets by keeping the March "closing date" for now. Once it gets closer to the original closing date, they'll probably announce the sale of an extension.If they announce an extension too early, the sales would probably stagnate as buyers think they have much longer timeline to see the show. Similar tactic to Funny Girl - when they announced the closing date 6 months away, it probably increased the demand ...