well...Drew Sarich went on as Lestat tonight...

[bobbystrong]

Posted: 5/26/06 at 11:22pm

just for Act Two.

[Esparzafan]

Posted: 5/26/06 at 11:46pm

Really? I'm so sorry I missed that by one night! Damn!

[tmz814]

Posted: 5/26/06 at 11:49pm

I am so pissed. My friend was ther and I am not going till tomorrow night.... aaarrrggghhh!

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 12:23am

I heard Drew is also going to finish the Broadway run (as Lestat).

Anyone heard of the wig problem last night? Apperantly Drew's wig kept falling off.. they had to stop the show and try to fix it.

Updated On: 5/27/06 at 12:23 AM

[SteveWilson]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 1:26am

His wig kept slipping further back on his head as the act went on, until he finally (and wisely) simply removed in the scene that follows Armand singing "After All This Time". There was actually something oddly appropriate about it, inasmuch as Lestat is so defeated and vulnerable at that moment, and we watched the actor completely submit to the reality of the situation onstage, even if it meant risking looking silly (which he didn't). Then, in the blackout following the scene, he dashed offstage and the hair crew scrambled to get the wig back on. It took a moment, but Brad Haak and the orchestra covered by replaying the transition music. There were a few chuckles, but only because the audience knew that something was obviously amiss and there was an interesting sense of "hmmmm...how are they gonna fix this?" The final scene worked great and Drew received a well-deserved ovation...as did Sean MacLaughlin, who was also great subbing for Drew as Armand. Both of them deserve major kudos. Hopefully the folks who caught the show won't let the technical glitches distrcat form what was an amazing performance by Mr. Sarich.

[SteveWilson]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 1:26am

As for Drew going on for the whole weekend, none of us at the theatre heard anything about that. I would call it a rumor.
Updated On: 5/27/06 at 01:26 AM

[WaltSummersPI]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 1:33am

Thanks for the update, Steve. You guys had a FANTASTIC show tonight.

[joanna2]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 1:57am

Congrats on not only a fantastic show (which I sadly missed) but a FANTASTIC RUN in Lestat. You, along with the rest of the cast, have found a spot in my heart forever!

[overthemoon419]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 2:01am

I saw Lestat for the first (and probably only) time tonight, and I was pleasantly surprised. No, the show isn't perfect, but what show is? I had fun, and I left the show singing "I Want More" - I rarely leave a show singing. The cast blew me away, especially Drew, who was a fantastic Armand and an equally fabulous Lestat.

I'm sorry to see Lestat go.


//edit: BTW, is Hugh Panaro okay? I would imagine he'd have to feel pretty awful to leave mid-show.

Updated On: 5/27/06 at 02:01 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 2:09am

I've heard he had a cold, but I had no idea he had to leave. Well, hope he has time to recuperate, and I'm glad Drew got an act to shine!

This is a little strange. Hugh's last performance in Martin Guerre was also an "Act 1 only" performance. Hope he makes it to closing this time.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 2:50am

The semi-comprehensible mlop of ATC was there, too, if any of you want to read her post.
http://talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat/d.php?id=265836

[Gingersnap]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 6:16am

He's been fighting a cold for about a week. He's been coughing since I saw him on Sunday at least and had no time off this week, too, because they did the cast recording on Monday.

[All_For_Laura]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 7:57am

Thursday Night was my second time, and Hugh told me he had a bad cold at the stage door. He also said though, that he wanted to finish the run. Hopefully he will be back on the rest of the weekend.

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:07am

That explains it...I was in the 3rd row for the Wednesday matinee and Hugh was spitting like a madman...poor guy was sick. You wouldn't have known it by his performance.

I wasn't expecting to like this show but wow was I surprised. The performances were exceptional, especially Drew's and Carolee's, and the music was good. Sure, the story is clunky, but consider the subject matter. It doesn't deserve to close. Wedding Singer, on the other hand.... Oy.

[joanna2]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:10am

Haha, I think Hugh always spits like a madman!

Posted: 5/27/06 at 11:47am

I was also there. Ill be back with some thoughts a little later...

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 12:09pm

What people have been saying about this show, I agree with completely. In time I think people will realize how enjoyable the show was and as Carolee Carmello mentioned, I hope the show gets a wider audience through the cast album. Which I'm sure it will do.

And thanks Steve for keeping us up on details, and not to mention doing a fantastic job in the show. You guys are (honestly) one of the best, if not the best cast I have seen onstage, ever.

[EponineThenardier]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 12:44pm

Okay, someone just said at the link that Drew is definately going on for the whole show at today's matinee. We'll see if there's any truth to it. *cough* someone get pics during curtain call *Cough*
Link

Posted: 5/27/06 at 2:32pm

THIS HAS SPOILERS IN CASE ANYONE IS SEEING IT THIS WEEKEND FOR THE FIRST TIME.

Ok. So, last night was the one and only time I was able to attend Lestat. As a long time lover of Anne Rice I felt I just had to see it. Im very glad that I did. I thought it was probably the best vampire musical Ive seen, but that isnt to say there werent things I would have done differently. Its a difficult task stringing together events and references from three books into one short show without changing things and losing some of the detail, but I expected that.

My biggest gripe was in the production values but I know that because Im an artist, Im usually first struck by the design aspects.

From where I was sitting, "going into the fire" looked really poor, Im sure it looked better from front and center, but that should have been considered in the design process. The platform was easily seen and the fire clearly just a single straight line.

And Ive also never been a very big fan of video screens, particularly when in shows dated some 200 yrs before the advent of video. :) That isnt to say some of the things projected werent very cool, creepy or mood setting- they were. I just wished they were displayed in some other way. Maybe just a blank back wall instead of those moving panels.

Lastly on the topic of the production, I felt there should have been a bigger physical difference between these characters as human vs. vampire. As a lover of the novels, I felt like the pale porcelain quality of the skin, and perfected versions of themselves couldve been displayed with a bit of makeup or wigs in a truer color, contact lenses, press on nails or any number of other details. Of course keeping the pace going probably limits that opportunity, but I felt it was missed.

Now to the story line, the only rewrite that I felt hurt the show was how Nicholas was handled. Nicky does go "mad" in the books, but not in this sense. Nicky is really written in a way which shows you his concerns in life and why Lestat LOVES him, its also a parallel to Louis which was completely lost in this show. Its supposed to answer why Lestat chooses Louis later on.

Ok, enough with what I didnt like. All of the actors were wonderful. And it was interesting to be there on an a night where Hugh started the show and Drew took over for the second act because the two acts show Lestat in very different circumstances. Act one, Lestat is cocky and strong and feels like he is on top of the world. Act two, Lestat is being less crazy, hes got a "family" and gets broken down and hurt. I wish I could go back again and see Drew start the show and Hugh finish :)

Carolee was wonderful. You really saw the difference in her from sick dying woman and invigorated vampire, her love for her son and she was just perfect. Alison (Claudia) got an enormous applause. She has such a big voice for such a tiny girl. Im sure we will see more of her. I cant recall the actors name, but whoever played Louis also did a wonderful job. Hes a hard character because so much of his struggles are internal: god/devil, heaven/hell, love/hate (for lestat), life/death. Some of the very things left out of Nicky's character.

I also enjoyed the music. It changed stylistically from song to song but I didnt feel that was a drawback. These characters are all from different eras and it seemed appropriate to me that Gabrielle sound more classical and Claudia more pop, etc. And they moved the story when it was necessary, and internal dialogue is so important to these stories. Theyre all main characters.

I really hope to see more done with the Vampire Chronicles because I felt this, even though imperfect, was coming along and getting there.

[thespian geek]

Posted: 5/27/06 at 6:25pm

Louis is played by Jim Stanek.

And yes, Drew played Lestat at today's matinee. Anyone go?

[tmz814]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:15am

Drew went on as Lestat for the night show tonight (5/27) as well. I heard about it from Allison before I got into the city, so I was psyched. He was fantastic. No wig issues today. His voice was great and he made Lestat very sexy and sensual. It changed the show completely for me. I usually love the 2nd act and sort of tolerate act 1. Tonight I was enthralled from start to finish. He was fantastic.

Updated On: 5/28/06 at 12:15 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:16am

Yay! Tell us more, tell us more! (Marius, tell us more.)

Sorry, no more references to Origin of the Species...

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:19am

Will Hugh be well enough for the final performance tomorrow afternoon? I would feel so badly if he had to miss the show tomorrow...

So glad that Drew got 2.5 chances to play Lestat before the show closed though. There were TONS of people waiting at the stage door after the matinee and Drew was very nice to all of them. (i happened to be walking by and stayed and watched the madness for a while) Updated On: 5/28/06 at 12:19 AM

[tmz814]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:25am

I don't know what else to tell. He brought humor and sexiness to the character that I don't think I really came across before. He also seemed much less whiny. You actually felt for Lestat throughout the show. You felt his pain when all the people he loved were leaving him and you felt sorry for him. He made you actually like Lestat, even with all of his faults, etc. I love love love his voice. He really had everything down and if there wasn't the announcement and the insert in the playbill you probably wouldn't have noticed that he was an understudy. I really loved Drew as Lestat. It changed the show completely! Jim Stanek was out as well.

Anyone know if Drew is going on as Lestat tomorrow as well (I forgot to ask Allison)?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/28/06 at 12:27am

Thanks!

Who went on as Louis?