Profile for AwesomeDanny

(wrong thread, please delete)

The Oakbrook production lists a cast of 26 on their website: http://drurylanetheatre.com/shows/17-181/42nd/meet-castThe appeal of this production is not that it's stripped down, it's that it is entirely reimagined. Chris Jones of the Chicago Tribune writes:"Here’s the root of my enthusiasm: If you remove this show from its period and turn its corny comic ballads into torch songs and orchestrate some numbers like they were penned by a rapper, some like they belong in the 1970s, and allow the c...

I saw this production this weekend and have to chime in with agreement--I loved it. It was hilarious and really hit home. Almost the whole audience gave a standing ovation (I know these are commonplace in New York, but I rarely see standing ovations at the smaller houses in Chicago). I'll be recommending it to all of my friends.

It's a rehearsal video--the orchestra has not been added yet, just rehearsal pianist and percussion. Why would you think that is the final orchestration?

I'll be visiting New York next week, and I'd like your help figuring out what to fill my final two slots with. I already have tickets to The Little Foxes, Six Degrees of Separation, and Sweeney Todd. The shows I am considering are: OsloPresent LaughterIndecentSweatA Doll's House Part 2Marvin's RoomPacific Overtures I live in Chicago and see a lot of great theatre there, so I want to spend this trip seeing things I otherwise would not get to see--that's why the big musicals aren't on this list...

I saw Wayne Brady on Tuesday, and while he hit all the right notes, I found him extremely lacking in presence. Burr no longer felt like a leading role, or the prime narrator, he just felt like another one of the guys, a role on the same level as Washington, Lafayette, and Mulligan. Because of that, the through line of the tension between Burr and Hamilton didn't really come through, and the show just felt very episodic and expositional. I was amazed in how one performer lacking gravitas could...

You didn't say when precisely in November you'll be here, but the following shows are running at some very dependable storefronts in that month: The Last Wife (Timeline)Fly By Night (Theo Ubique)The Trump Card (Theatre Wit)End of the Rainbow (Porchlight)Pirandello's Henry IV (Remy Bumppo)Pygmalion (Remy Bumppo)The Room (A Red Orchid) Some of these shows are closing early in the month, but when reviews come out, some will announce week-long extensions. At some of the larger theaters, I would c...

I saw the show last night and my feelings were very mixed. I've been a fan of Landau for years, and her work was a delightful visual treat, but so little of the show felt like the SpongeBob world I grew up with, for better or for worse. I haven't read the entirety of this thread, so if I am just repeating what others have said, I apologize.My main problem with the show was the score. The problem (for the most part) was not that the songs felt too disparate and eclectic to be of one world--the...

I'm leaving for NYC tomorrow (Thursday, and I'm flying back on Monday afternoon), and I'm finalizing my plans of what shows to see. The shows I have planned are: Thursday: Antlia Pneumatica (the main reason for my trip, kind of)Friday: Fun Home (the other main reason for my trip)Sunday evening: The Color Purple (another high on my list, and I see it's one of the few shows with Sunday evening performances) I think that on Saturday I will try to see She Loves Me and Fiddler on the Roof, and tha...

The plot structure of a show counts as a book. In my opinion, Hamilton has a fantastic, Tony-worthy book because of its structure. Lyric writing is more of a moment-to-moment thing, but how they connect is totally different. Evita is a sung-through show that I would say has a weak book because the structure is so sloppy. If you accept the basic principle of a linear plot as one event causes the next, which causes the next, until the last domino falls, that's the end of the show, Hamilton has ...

For me, the main reason to see the show was the always-astounding Larry Yando in the role of Prospero. The magic was fun and usually well-integrated, but the music and the Pilobolus choreography felt like they came from a different world. I also wished that the songs set some of Shakespeare's text to music instead of writing new lyrics--there's so much to pull from, and what they came up with really stuck out. I was also very unimpressed with the young actress playing Miranda. I could name at...

Fascinating to see such negative sentiment here. I remember five years ago, when Elaine Stritch did A Little Night Music, she refused to have an earpiece because of her dignity, which led to numerous long, awkward pauses as she tried to recall her lines. People then seemed to say that she should have sucked it up and used an earpiece like Angela Lansbury, who originated the role in that revival, did. Also, I don't understand why so many people here think that actors who need help with their l...

Scarywarhol said: "Saw the NT Live broadcast of this and feel so alone. I thought it was gimmicky, tacky, and over-wrought. The production, that is--good performances. I've seen this whole bag of tricks used so many times. "You are not alone. I also saw the broadcast and thought it was alternately extremely irritating and laughably bad. I love the play, and I think that the 2010 revival really captured what is so great about the piece. This production is so filled with "ideas" that the storyt...

The play was extremely well-received in its world premiere in Chicago last year, directed by the (tragically) recently deceased PJ Paparelli. As a big fan of Karam's writing, and this play in particular, I am glad to hear your positive reactions. I love how Karam makes an essentially plotless story so compelling by weaving in a building sense of suspense into the proceedings. The characters he crafts are so believable, relatable, and lovable. I consider Karam to be among the very top tier of ...

^ There were massive and lengthy scene changes occurring in the intermissions of that production. I assume those dictated where they placed the intermissions.

EricMontreal22, that was indeed the case with Cromer's production. The first act was left in its original state, but the second act consisted of just the first scene of act two in the published script, relocated from the cocktail lounge to (if I am remembering correctly) a pier at or near the Finley residence. The third act of Cromer's production consisted of the second scene of act two and the entirety of the third act in the published script. The only thing that didn't work for me about thi...

To clarify for Mr Roxy, a production was announced for Broadway a few years back with David Cromer set to direct Nicole Kidman and James Franco in the lead roles. That production fell through, but Cromer was able to stage his production in Chicago with Diane Lane and Finn Wittrock in those roles. The production was very well-received and sold remarkably well, but no transfer occurred. I am glad it worked out the way it did, as Lane and Wittrock were better than I could imagine Kidman and Fran...

LYLS3637 said: "It's very successful in a few areas. It was "It Gets Better" before there was "It Gets Better." "Is there really anything in the show that suggests that things get any better? It's a depressing two hours with an even more depressing conclusion.

I'm not much of a fan of Van Hove's work, but everything else about this so excites me. I don't mind if Proctor is significantly younger than he historically was as long as it makes sense within the world created onstage. It's historical fiction; I don't mind if some details are fudged. But the most exciting thing about this, for me, is Phillip Glass's score. I am very much looking forward to hearing thoughts on what will probably be a very divisive production.

I know that West Side Story is generally understood to be a staple of high school drama programs, but I have never actually known anyone whose high school did the show. It requires a lot of men with dance ability, and so few high schools have that. It's nice to see lots of very strong shows that can really inspire a love of theatre on this list. However, seeing favorites of mine produced so commonly also makes me very nervous--as Gaveston said, there's nothing like a weak high school producti...