Chasing Rainbows - Papermill

I was at the matinee on Sunday, and I had a fantastic time, and plan on returning before the end of the run. @LeftofLinus I couldn't have had a more different experience from your friend. The set and technical elements were a well oiled machine, and the piece itself was a well crafted night of theatre, both referential for die hard Judy fans (some of the deep cuts are just lovely) and accessible for those less familiar with her early years.

The choreography is extremely strong, and Mike Wartella as Mickey Rooney is a standout - he makes a meal out of a role that could have swallowed actors with less presence than he. However, I really do have to hand this show over to Ruby Rakos and Max Von Essen as Judy and her father Frank. Their dynamic was incredibly moving, and the theatre seemed to sit forward collectively whenever they walked onstage. Von Essen in particular seems to have found a true home in the lilt of the standards, and at breaking your heart through them. I was not the only one crying in my row

Lesli Margherita does well with what she is given, but her part is not quite fleshed out enough for someone of her calibre yet - I hope that as the show incubates it will develop into something more, as Ethel is rife for historical exploration and Margherita is certainly capable.

They could stand to shave about 15 minutes off of the show (10 from the first act and 5 from the second IMO)

, and as they are currently in previews (their opening was never announced as anything other than this coming sunday, so perhaps your friend confused first preview and opening night Linus?) I expect they will. I would personally love to see this show make the jump this spring, but I suspect the creative team will want a little more time to polish, and I look forward to tracking its journey, no matter how long it takes.

Overall - a lovely night at Papermill, and a show that I wholeheartedly recommend to fans of Judy, Old Hollywood, or American Standards.

I saw the show on Saturday night, Sept 28. I was surprised by how much I enjoyed it! My expectations were low, in light of other original new musicals I've seen at Papermill recently, including The Sting, Ever After, The Honeymooners, and others.

But this show was a real delight! Often hilarious, yet dark shadows of the toll showbiz and drugs would take on our young star, always hover, ultimately leading to powerfully moving character arcs for Judy and her father Frank Gumm, especially.

The production is GORGEOUS! The lighting in particular is truly superb, costumes on point, scenery and orchestrations of very high caliber. The use of standards intermixed with original material was mostly seamless, and very clever and at times deeply resonant when used as songs illustrating various characters' feelings and emotions...

Ruby Rakos is a stunning find as Judy Garland/Frances Gumm; Max Von Essen sings thrillingly and provides realistic ache as Frank Gumm; Karen Mason finds a real person in Kay Koverman and really gets to shine in second act song; Michael Wartella is ASTONISHINGLY good as Mickey Rooney, and Colin Hanlon scores memorably as Roger Edens. The entire cast is truly spectacular!

I'm so glad I saw this, and I highly recommend it. Especially to "Friends of Dorothy" like me! :)

Updated On: 10/1/19 at 11:39 AM

I'll see anything Max Von Essen is in!

LeftofLinus said: "A friend of mine went "opening night" where they were alerted it would be another preview and not indeed opening night."

It officially opens this Sunday (10/6).

I saw it last night. Act 2 is definitely stronger than Act 1. It finds its center much better and it definitely packs the emotions at the end. As all have said Ruby is magnetic and I thought Karen Mason's number in Act 2 was perfection. It was simple and clever, a perfect use of the source material.

I feel like the piece as a whole struggles to decide what it wants to be. It feels very much like a modern jukebox musical but I think it somewhat wants to be a classical musical. I think lots of my personal feelings are conflicting because of this. On one hand I thought that they were making it too frilly, not exploring the drama enough. On the other hand I wanted it to be less sappy and just embrance the 1930s esque musical fun. I feel like projections and LED tape make it hard to really feel like the latter but the source music makes it hard to be the former. But at the same time I thought a lot of the scenic transitions were rather good. Although at the performance I saw during one of Max's emotional moments there was a bunch of clanging of something banging into on of the portals for a while actually.