Reviews of Chicago Fan Day Performance

[shrekster224]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 6:47pm

For those of us who couldn't make it, how was it?

[liotte]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:01pm

Awesome! Huge energy from the audience with a lot of entrance applause for the lead actors, and huge applause after each musical number. Great performances all around.

[musicalperson17]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:07pm

was the theatre full?

[liotte]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:38pm

[lsinger2]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:39pm

Chicago is not my fav but the day was so fun! Lots of food, tshirts, goodies for all. I won a signed poster for answering trivia. You could sit anywhere. I got there late and still got prime orch seats. The mezz was mostly fill so was the orch but def not 100%. Chita Rivera, Karen Ziemba, and others were talking/signing and hanging with the crowd. Show was filled with energy and they added facebook jokes to the show. I LOVED Velma, one of the best! Still smiling!

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:42pm

Seriously? They actually added Facebook jokes to a show that's supposed to take place 80 years ago?

[CapnHook]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 7:48pm

"When You're Good to Mama" stopped the show.

Lots of added Facebook references in the show, the funniest being the "Poking" ad-lib.

Shocked that there were so many empty seats. They should have done a standby ticket line.

Prior to the performance, the line went from the theater and around the block in both directions. The Orchestra line continued to Broadway and up to 50th St, where it then turned the corner and went on and on.

They gave away hats & t-shirts to everyone. Signed posters to trivia winners. And Seth Rudetsky gave away restaurant gift certificates and other prizes to random seat & trivia winners.

There was no acknowledgment of the many alumni in the house, other than Chita Rivera, Walter Bobbie & Ute Temper (via Barry Weissler) and Lilias White (via Seth). I also saw Karen Ziemba and Bryan Batt.

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:06pm

The only reason I remember Lillias White being in the audience was because Seth Rudetsky called her out in the midst of my contest against that other kid naming the show's songs. (BTW, my fatal answer, "Tap Dance" was technically correct). I still won a $50 Dave & Busters Gift Certificate as a consolation (since the guy in the Rear Mezz it was to go to actually never showed up)

The show was electric. I absolutely love it. Leigh Zimmerman was the femme fatale in every sense of the word, and Bianca Marroquin was the cutest conniving waif I've ever witnessed. Also, Colman Domingo was Mr. Personality as Billy Flynn (and, IMHO, better than Richard Gere), and LaVon Fisher-Wilson as Mamma was simply tops and nothing less.

The Facebook references were also hilarious solely because they were so sneakily ad-libbed into the show.

"...Look at her, this girl's in all the papers...and Facebook."

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:11pm

"...Look at her, this girl's in all the papers...and Facebook."

Now I'm VERY glad I didn't go to this today.

[ljay889]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:13pm

The wonderful Brent Barrett was there. As well as Amra-Faye Wright.

The performance was great and full of energy. The facebook jokes obviously didn't make sense, but they were perfectly fitting for the event.

It was my first time seeing Bianca's Roxie, and I was blown away. She's been playing Roxie for almost 10 years, and her performance felt extremely fresh.
Leigh Zimmerman was great. Coleman Domingo's acting was fantastic, but I was expecting more from his vocals.
Lavon brought the house down. Sure her riffs were a bit much, but I enjoyed them more than Carol Woods' riffs. Some of her acting choices were different from other Mamas, and I loved it.
And finally it was nice not to see an elderly Amos. Rob Creighton was wonderful. Probably the best Amos that I've seen.

I won a $75 gift card to Serafina Restaurant. I never win those kind of things, so that was nice.

It was a great day!

[quizking101]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:17pm

"Coleman Domingo's acting was fantastic, but I was expecting more from his vocals."

My only complaint with him was "We Both Reached For The Gun". He whispered A LOT of the Roxie parts, to a point where, if I didn't know the lyrics, I wouldn't have understood him. And i was in the front row.

I'm also glad I found out R. Lowe's real gender after all that androgyny that left my head in a tizzy.

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:39pm

"in the midst of my contest against that other kid naming the show's songs."

I knew you looked familiar.!!! Very classy, shaking your opponents hand when you (shouldn't have) lost. :)


This was my first time seeing Chicago and what an amazing first experience. I hope to bring my mom to the show very soon - hopefully before Leigh Zimmerman leaves. Her and Bianca (who I saw in In The Heights) are fantastic together. The Facebook jokes were nice - the one about poking was the one that reallly got my laughing. The only thing that I didn't like was that I was sitting next to a couple who couldn't stop laughing at every little thing and thought it would be "fun" to loudly sing the final high note in A Little Bit Of Good. And as others have stated, LaVon Fisher-Wilson did her THANG!!!! I loved it.

[steven22]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 8:47pm

I'm surprised Brenda Braxton hasn't been back...

[Rentfan931]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 9:10pm

"I'm surprised Brenda Braxton hasn't been back..."

She did a stint of Love, Loss, and What I Wore which ended at the beginning of January. I think she did a short stint over the summer or before the summer. I could see her returning in February when Leigh leaves...unless Leigh extends.

[Eris0303]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 9:31pm

Chita was two rows behind me and Brent was in my row. I didn't see Karen - would have loved to. I also met Kirbycat today!

[KirbyCat]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 9:47pm

Ah! You remembered! :)
Eris and I were appalled the crowd's behavior at the stage door, if any of you were wondering. To say that people completely disregarded the fact that there were barricades would be a severe understatement.
Updated On: 1/30/11 at 09:47 PM

[rmusic11322]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 9:57pm

There were barricades? :/ I was right in front the the stage door and I didn't see any.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 9:57pm

QuizKing, you two were hysterical in your little contest!

KirbyCat, can you elaborate on what happened at the stage door? I usually leave right after shows.

Carol Woods was sitting in front of me, Lillias White was right behind, Karen Ziemba and Vinnie Pastore across the aisle.

The cast's energy was just insane, clearly giving their all and then some compared to their normal performance (I've seen the show more than 40 times, so I can tell the difference).

I do have to say that James Harkness was a breath of fresh air as Fred Casely, giving the role more character than it's had in ages. And Lavon Fisher-Wilson was brilliant, giving one of the brightest, funniest performances as Mama Morton as I've seen in ages. And Robert Kreigton was a revelation as Amos.

Updated On: 1/30/11 at 09:57 PM

[kmbrlee8252]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:01pm

QuizKing, you were robbed!! Great job, you owned it!

Seth was hysterical! Had me laughing the whole pre-show! And Julie James is divine! Love, love, love her!

I left right after and didn't see the stage door antics, any stories of the craziness?

My first time seeing the show as well, thought it was good, LOVED Bianca! She was fabulous! Loved her in ITH and loved her even more here!

All in all, really fun day, well organized with many surprises!

[Eris0303]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 10:08pm

There were barricades?

Uh...yeah

KirbyCat, can you elaborate on what happened at the stage door? I usually leave right after shows.

I hadn't planned on staying for the stage door since I knew it would be mobbed but I decided to see if anyone I knew was around. Barricades were set up but when the actors started to come out people slipped around in front of them and formed a circle around them. I actually saw someone open the door to the alley. I have no idea where security was.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 11:08pm

I just saw pics on the web of what you mean about rushing the barricades. It looks like a total mess. It's never a huge deal on a normal night, so maybe security thought this would be a normal night still? I know when I was leaving the lobby was a mess of people trying to get autographs of people in the audience.

[Lynnespock2]

Posted: 1/30/11 at 11:46pm

What a great day this was! Food, games, tee shirts and hats started the day. They made standing on line not only bearable but fun. The show was terrific with great talent and energy and the audience was so responsive to the actors. I had a terrific time!

[Otello]

Posted: 1/31/11 at 12:07am

At first sight of the line I was a little discouraged but with all the action that was happening it made the line bearable. Once in the theater it was a flurry of activity from guest speaker like Seth Rudetsky and the producer Barry Weissler. Just sitting in the same theater as Chita was exciting enough but then when the show started the the excitement grew so huge I was shaking. Thrilling energy form the audience and you could feel the performers feeding off of it. That iconic Velma stance as she comes up on that elevator right at the top of All That Jazz...WOW! Bianca was personable and fun as Roxie. Leigh was gorgeous and a real force as Velma. The cell block Tango brought the house down after every monologue. Colmans acting was spot on but lacked just a little in the voice department. Robert Creightons Amos was cute and amiable. LaVon was funny and her Good to Mama was another show stopper. R .Lowe is the best Mary Sunshine. A lot of people I talk to thinks R. lip syncs the song. It just looks too easy and sounds incredible. All in all it was a thrilling and energetic Sunday Matinee. On the topic of Mary Sunshine(spoiler alert) and Seth Rudetsky. I just found this videoon Playbill.com(link below) where R. sings Think of Me from Phantom of the Opera. BOTH PARTS!! Really funny and sounds better than a lot of women Ive heard. Thanks to all the production staff and crew and orchestra and performers for giving all they had today. AWESOME!!

http://www.playbill.com/multimedia/video/4488.html Updated On: 1/31/11 at 12:07 AM

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 1/31/11 at 12:57am

I felt that the performances were spot on for the most part, Leigh Zimmerman is now my all time favorite Velma. I didn't particularly enjoy Coleman's take on Billy Flynn, I found it a bit coarse. The stage door fiasco seemed to have stemmed in part from the cast signing in the lobby initially.

I was thrilled to get my poster signed by the bulk of the cast, plus Walter Bobbie, Amra Faye Wright, Karen Ziemba, Brent Barrett, Vincent Pastore, Ute Lemper, and Lillias White. I just missed out of Chita, and Seth Rudetsky seems to have left immediately after doing the pre-show.

At the stage door I overheard Amra Faye Wright mention that she will be replacing Leigh in February.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 1/31/11 at 2:23am

Okay, so, just to catch you guys up: about six years ago it was unanimously agreed upon here at BroadwayWorld that the phrase "spot on" was to be retired forever. They're lazy, meaningless words strung together that everybody THINKS mean one thing when, in reality, they mean nothing.

Personally, I am a little bit surprised that on Chicago Facebook Fan Day so many people saw the show live for the first time. Really? How is this possible? Do you people support live theater with your wallets or do you think showing up for free in some way keeps theater alive? And comparing Colman Domingo to the horrible Richard Gere when, in reality, he is trying to measure up to the glorious James Naughton ("who??" I can hear many of you ask as I shudder) is just something that dumbfounds me.

Anyway, I guess I'm glad that some of you finally got around to seeing Chicago, and I hope you enjoy that new Off-Broadway show RENT that's coming up in the spring. You know, IF they can get somebody almost as good as Rosario Dawson, the original Mimi. I hear this Jonathan Larson might really be something someday.