Profile for WestCoast331

Yes, about 5 minutes in. They just announced understudy is going in and they are going to do their best. A large number of people exited at the announcement. Stay safe everyone.

Twice! Love Never Dies, which was one of those moments where my entire group was thinking it and finally someone had the guts to recommend it 10 minutes into intermission and we all bolted. God Looked Away with Al Pacino at Pasadena Playhouse: Brutal brutal brutal first act which frequently ventured into long periods where the audience wasn’t sure if Pacino knew his lines/what was going on. Everyone was uncomfortable. It was truly bizarre and very freeing to walk out of.

I sat in N center orchestra last night. You might see the grand entrance of Satine a few seconds later but other than that you shouldn’t miss anything (from N, I could see everything including said entrance but mezzanine overhang almost perfectly bordered proscenium). They bring her down pretty low to the stage very quickly and before she starts singing if I remember correctly. There’s actually not much “height” to the actual production. Almost everything takes place center stage, very few ri...

Was there tonight— can’t really comment on seat selection (snagged a center orchestra row N yesterday at discounted rate off or Ticketmaster). All I have to say is that the show is in INCREDIBLE shape. As a big fan of the film, I thought it expanded on a lot of the film’s motifs and included enough of the film’s big moments. The Elephant Love Medley is reworked but it is fresh and includes a lot of interesting snippets. The overall production is sublime— the theatre itself is worthy of a few ...

Was at the pantages tonight and Betty was there in full force. Sure there are some small things here or there that I thought Bernadette did better (mostly all things food related), but it doesn’t matter— Buckley commands the room the entire time. Most impressively, though, is how well this touring production stands up to the Broadway one. It remains the ultimate crowdpleaser, and the tunes sounded just as timeless here as they did in NYC. Sets seemed identical, they used the pasarelle identic...

Was there tonight— Stephen Christopher Anthony was on, and he was absolutely fantastic (saw Trensch in NYC in the spring for comparison, who was stellar in different ways). Anthony’s vocals were top-notch, didn’t quite reach the emotion of Trensch’s Words Fail. Show is in excellent shape, plays really well at the Ahmanson. So glad it didn’t go to the Pantages, which works plenty fine for bigger shows but would’ve swallowed DEH whole. The show continues to unravel more and more each time I see...

Yup, ended at ~10:55 tonight

Well am I glad I snuck this little marvel into my trip. There’s so much to love here, much of which comes from the overall production and Sher’s direction, and it’s easy to see this thing racking up a ton of nominations. I’ll pretty much echo everything people have been saying... Ambrose and Hadden-Paton’s scenes together were the highlight for me, and I thought they both held up relatively well vocally. The sound mix is really soft throughout (and I was sitting Orch J), which certainly doesn...

We did the doubleheader yesterday, which was more exhausting than I would have anticipated. That being said, I’ll echo everyone else here in saying that this has got to be one of the most impressive technical achievements Broadway’s seen. I avoided all spoilers and didn’t read the script beforehand— wise move I think— and I certainly wasn’t alone as there were a lot of other people gasping at various reveals. The story worked on the whole for me... a few random quibbles here and there but ove...

Now that a bunch of you have been able to go— there are a ton of seats available for the date I’m looking at. Second row center mezz vs center orchestra row P or so vs house left rows J-L but 4 seats in? There are almost too many options and I haven’t been to the Neil Simon since Hairspray. I know there are other threads about this from prior shows, but this production is so big I figured I would check in now that many have seen it from various locations. A good dilemma to have, certainly.

Somebody grab V3 on 4/4, that was my old ticket haha

Thanks to this board I kept on checking. Had previously bought 1 ticket for a random day but now have 4th row center on my birthday with my family (granted at a pretty penny... but still!). What a fantastic surprise. Y'all the best.

It's pure movie magic all-around. This is old-school filmmaking at its finest. Stone is exceptional, Chazelle's direction of the final act even more superb.

Saw it tonight and enjoyed myself a good bit while also left feeling a little underwhelmed. Amelie is one of my favorite films, and I think the show captures some small moments of the film extremely well while missing the emotional heft of others. The direction is very clever, and the cast as a whole is excellent. Soo is, as always, in great voice here. She wasn't as magnetic and intriguing as expected at first but seemed to settle into the role more and more as the show went on. The biggest ...

This is the best you'll ever hear this score, and the most aggressive.

I was the "car wash" recipient tonight-- what a ridiculous experience. Lena's Hedwig is definitely more emotionally devastating than Darren's, and her vocals are absolutely exceptional. She earns the transition to Tommy Gnosis more than any other Hedwig I've seen. The humor improved as the night went along, but it is a different vibe seeing her vs any others. Felt more... experimental?Regardless, the show is as wonderful as ever. And yes, as asked before, she went topless at the end.