Bryant Park Today

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:56pm

Excellent performances all around, perhaps the best I've seen in all my years attending the lunchtime concerts. Despite it being hot as f**k outside, the performers (especially the Les Miz cast) sold the material extremely well.

I've never seen all the hype in Les Miz, but they (Salonga, Jacobs, McGinnis, and Sarich) were absolutely out of this world. Darlene Love was very good, as well.

My favorite piece of (free) swag? Gotta love Disney Theatricals, which gave out full-size Mary Poppins kites.

[americanboy99]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:57pm

I want a kite!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 2:59pm

I missed Hairspray's first song - I think. I read Ashley Parker was going to be there, but I didn't see him, so I assume he performed (and I missed) "It Takes Two"?

Here is what else the actors performed:

Hairspray: "Run and Tell That," "I Know Where I've Been"

Les Mis: "I Dreamed a Dream," "Empty Chairs at Empty Tables," "On My Own," "Bring Him Home" (Lea Salonga, Adam Jacobs, Megan McGinnis, and Drew Sarich were all superb!)

Mary Poppins: "Practically Perfect," "Let's Go Fly a Kite" (snippet), "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious"

I left before Stomp. I didn't get a kite either.

Updated On: 8/2/07 at 02:59 PM

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:18pm

Yep, Ashley Parker Angel was there.

Gotta give the performers credit, they all stayed to sign autographs for the younger kids (and creepy old men) for a surprisingly long amount of time.

[goofy108]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:23pm

any video?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:44pm

Some photos:

[ashley0139]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:46pm

Aww I would have loved to have seen Megan. I love her.

[little_sally]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:53pm

Awww, Gavin Lee was there!

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 3:53pm

Yankeefan, I love how quickly you changed your icon to the kite!

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 4:00pm

I love that damn kite. Best piece of swag I've ever gotten...and that's coming from the person who's received lots of free promo crap.

[nyb418]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 4:57pm

Yes, after three years of attending Bryant Park Broadway shows I was thrilled to get a Disney Mary Poppins kite too!They handed them out around soundcheck time.Quantities were probably very limited.It was cute to see some of them opened and displayed during "Lets Go Fly a Kite" . I love this show!!!Ensemble sounded awesome.

God Bless the people handing out those fans. They were desperately needed in the 90 + heat.It was too darn hot and I didn't feel like chasing down the Stomp people to get a button and sticker they were handing out.Absolutely loved the performances today. Special shout out to the lovely and always gracious Ashley Brown and Gavin Lee who I believe signed and posed for the entire population of NYC. These two never stopped smiling!And they had reason too. What is up with the creepy old men there each week? The man in the bright orange shirt is just disturbing as well as the other man in the hat who is there in th front demanding signatures from every one, even the lite fm crew!!!

Les Mis sounded wonderful, but where were their promos? Not even a Les Mis fan?? LOL!!!I was lucky enough to get Lea Salonga to finally sign my Miss Saigon playbill and Drew Sarich was so sweet. He took the time to say hi and and sign as well. He loved that I brought a Lestat playbill.

When Ashley Parker Angel arrived the entire row of tweens near me screamed so loud that Ashley Brown actually jumped while she was signing for fans.He sounded so good on "It Takes Two" and Darlene Love is a legend.Wondeful performances although I missed Shannon Durig.No Tracey represented today. Guess they wanted to spotlight
Ashley. He drew quite a crowd. Not exactly sure how many autographs/pictures he was available for, but the girls next to me were quite thrilled.

Stomp continues to impress me. Very creative show and talented cast.

I have been fortunate enough to see the park shows and film them on my lunch break all summer long. IF anyone is interested in the video, pm me.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:33pm

I have lots of video that I'm in the process of uploading onto YouTube.

[bwayfan3]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 10:47pm

The performances were great today although I left before Stomp as well. I was actually quite impressed at Ashley Parker Angel. He has a lovely voice, (not highlighted nearly enough in the monumental lyrics of "Liquid Dreams" :)).
All of the Les Mis performers were wonderful, but I was near the back next to a lot of camp groups and the combination of the heat and the more dramatic solo turns each member of the cast was giving made it very challenging for a lot of the audience to pay attention. I think the larger ensemble numbers are better for this venue because people were right on it when it came time for Supercalifragilisticexpalidocious.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/2/07 at 11:03pm

Okay, maybe the videos won't be around until tomorrow.

I left before Stomp as well. It was too hot. Did someone finally come get that little girl from the tent?

[Myron]

Posted: 8/3/07 at 10:22am

I arrived early and got a good spot. The performances were great, especially in non-stop sunshine, heat and humidity. I was very impressed with the cast of "Mary Poppins". Except for the "Banks" kids, all the performers were not understudies. Ashley Brown was especially gracious to all her fans. It was a great gesture when I received a kite. It was nice that Lea Salonga came but during sound check, she faced away from the audience because of the sun. Darlene Love was charming but where was the "Beav" (Jerry Mathers) ? I am from the generation who well remembers the early TV classics. It would have been nice to see him perform. Kudos to the cast from "Stomp"; although not really a Broadway musical, the way they performed flawlessly in the heat was admirable. Everybody in attendance had a good time.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/3/07 at 12:24pm

One video up!


EDIT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n56ub4dksg - Megan McGinnis

Lea Salonga - I Dreamed a Dream

Updated On: 8/3/07 at 12:24 PM