Bailey's first without the 6 pages ragging on her Bio...

[ruprecht]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:29am

Sorry, I'm not going to add to the thread that has10 posts about her performance and 6 pages about her dumb insert bio and I love you Amneris for saying what you did. Whenever I try to tell it like it is, my posts get deleted:

I saw the show last night and here are some thoughts. I think she will be better in time as a performer but her pitch problems may never go away, I think she's too young and makes even her sorority sisters look like they were left back and Christian Borle has never looked so out of place and miserable. She's really small so her wig looked like it was bigger than her whole body but that's not a criticism. Her southern drawl came out now and again, in full force and I also don't get the sense that she's a leader yet. Her scenes with Orfeh were the only ones that really worked in my eyes and not because I love Orfeh (austengirl) but because it finally makes the "mentor" thing real. I actually enjoyed their scenes better than I ever did with LBB. I thought Autumn looked pissed the whole show and in my eyes, could NEVER be Elle Woods. I don't remember the new Enid's name but I thought she was very natural. She got a huge laugh on "please". Ven Daniel's is simply not great. I know everyone says he's a great guy but since I didn't wait in the rain to meet him and always think it's so stupid when that's what this board basis a performance on, all I have to go by (and should care about) is his performance. I know Andy Karl is a tough act to follow but he's just not funny, he's really short and stocky and is pretty much an eh actor. The audience was CRAZY last night, yelling and screaming at every turn and even they were sort of luke warm whenever he was on stage. I thought both Matt Risch and Jason Gillman blew him away.

Bailey is sweet and has that likeabilty factor LBB never (IMO) did but she's got to really work harder to grow. She can't rest on the "I'm a reality T.V. star" thing and get away with it because that will fade soon enough. Sorry there wasn;t more about Autumn but I never got the hype and now that i've seen her, I get it even less.

[Flippancy]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:32am

Thank you, rupe. A clear concise and level-headed opinion.

This is what I wonder -- and I'm not bashing li'l Bailey AT ALL -- but do you think she's thought about where she goes from here? She is so young, and thrust into all this hoopla. I hope she's not buying into the hype hook, line, and sinker. Back when I was in the the business, I was always thinking 2 or 3 steps ahead in terms of career.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:32am

The new Enid is Lucia Spina. Sorry your experience wasn't as good!

[FosterChild]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:33am

Thanks Rup, I'm still upset I couldn't go with you guys last night but I will be there tonight and this is the thread I'll be posting on too. From what I've heard, you're being very nice regarding Ven Daniel's.

[ruprecht]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:35am

That's just it Flippancy, I think that's ALL she's thinking about right now, the hype, that is.
Updated On: 7/24/08 at 09:35 AM

[Grand Motel]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:42am

Thanks you, that other thread is ridiculous even for this board.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 9:48am

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[jess20882]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 10:20am

I posted my review last night, on the other thread, but this one seems to be a better venue for it...so here goes...

"I just got home after standing in the pouring rain, thunder, and lightning for an hour and a half to get autographs. Hence the late review...

BAILEY - I can't say she is all the way there yet (I don't think anyone was expecting her to be) but she impressed me SO MUCH. Her voice is way more developed than it was when the casting show was filmed. She got rid of her 'shmacting' problem that Jerry Mitchell said she had, and as always her dancing was wonderful. She had one or two little flubs, and was noticeably out of breath after 'What You Want' and 'Positive', but other than that I really enjoyed her performance. She is believable as Elle, seemed to have wonderful chemistry with the rest of the cast - including Christian, and I can't wait to see what else she brings to the role. The audience went WILD when she made her rising entrance in OMG, and was ridiculously enthusiastic throughout the entire show.

ENID - Lucia filled the role of Enid very well. Her vocals seemed a little less impressive than Natalie's, but her acting was very good. Her line delivery really worked.

KYLE - Ven was...ok. He got all his lines, did the LBRemix choreography very well, but didn't seem to add a whole lot to the role.

AUTUMN - Autumn was fabulous! The audience went crazy when she delivered her on-line solo in OMG ('Elle and Warner were meant to be'), and throughout seemed to be having a great time. And who said she couldn't dance? She got every step down pat.

CAST - Everyone seemed on top of their game tonight. Orfeh did a few nice extra riffs, Christian was adorable, and can I just say that I completely LOVE Tracey Jai! I have seen the show three times before and always enjoyed her performance but tonight, she just seemed like she gave 110% - she nailed every funny line and her timing was spot-on...

I saw some fun people in the audience tonight - Andy Karl was there, as were Jerry Mitchell, Heather Hach, and the show's producer (I apologize...can't remember his name!). Most of the girls from the casting show were there too - Lindsay, Lauren, Cassie O, Emma, Celina. Afterwards, while everyone was standing in the pouring rain, they all came out to sign autographs and take pictures. They were all SO nice! Emma was a sweetheart - she asked everyone's name individually so she could write us all personal messages on our playbills, Lauren was really really nice, and they all seemed to be having so much fun. The crowd went nuts when Autumn came out to sign and take pictures, and when Bailey came out it was pandemonium - at least where I was standing. She was so gracious and signed everyone's playbills and let people take pictures of her (but not with her - her security lady said she had to keep moving down the line so she couldn't really stop - bummer). Totally adorable.

Overall I was REALLY impressed with the performance. To everyone who seems to be doubting Bailey right now - I say give her a chance. She has improved loads since the casting show, and I think she can only get better... "

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 10:31am

The other thread's gone now, anyway. What gives? Sure, it got off-topic, but so have other threads without being deleted.

Aaanyway, thanks for those reviews. I agree with you about Autumn never being able to be Elle.

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 10:37am

Yeah, it is interesting that thread got deleted. There were a lot of positive reviews posted in it about Bailey's performances yesterday.

It's funny the op said Christian Borle looked miserable, because all the reviews I read last night said they had great chemistry. I guess everyone perceives things differently.

[Shawk]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 10:53am

Granted, I haven't seen any of these people in the show, and I only saw the show once, pre-Broadway, but to say that Autumn could "never" be Elle seems a bit... much. There are many people who could "never" be Elle (for example, I am really hoping that Michael Ball will never be Elle), but "never" seems a bit strong to use in this case.

[ruprecht]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:41am

It's easy Shawk, from what I saw on the very few episodes I watched and moreso from what I saw last night, Autumn has zero stage presence and has no dance ability whatsoever. Very different than saying Michael Ball should never play the role. He was never in the running for it. Austengirl, you work really hard for a total newbie on this board. Let's hope you don't get yet another of my threads/posts deleted.

[winter_sky]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:49am

How come the thread got deleted? I posted my review and then went to bed. Did I miss all the fun?

[austengirl]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:54am

It was still up this morning when I first logged in. I have no idea why it got deleted.

You didn't miss any fun. Ruprecht is still mad because I said I FF through Orfeh's "Ireland" song everytime I watch LB on dvd, even though I apologized and meant no disrespect to Orfeh. I just don't care for the song. He can't seem to let it go.

[oohshizz146]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:56am

Thanks for the great review! What exactly is Autumn when shes not on as Elle? Regular ensemble?

[jess20882]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 11:59am

Yup, she is on in Becky Gulsvig's old track...

[Shawk]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 12:12pm

Well, I saw Autumn in Little Women and didn't find that she had no stage presence, and I hesitate to judge anyone from what was shown on MTV. But as I said, I haven't seen her in LB so I couldn't speak to that.

[justaBwayfan]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:01pm

The show was great last night!!!!! and I have to disagree with the people who did not like Ven Daniel's performance. He was great... and it was only the first day!!! Everyone is going to sink into the roles in a week or two. He looked AMAZING in the UPS outfit and his dancing in the Remix was awesome... completely different from Andy and great to watch someone with his build dance so well. His Kyle is funny.... and in one of the scenes you can see he is totally flirting with Orfeh. I'm sure it isn't easy replacing someone with such a fan base, or replacing your coworkers HUSBAND! LOL I can't wait to see him do it again!!!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:07pm

So, what was up with her bio?

[Shawk]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:11pm

Straight into the lion's den we go!
Cast bios

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:16pm

Oh, that is awesome. Thanks!

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:16pm

Oh, that is awesome. Thanks!

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:17pm

Apparently our criticizing Bailey's bio when there were no reviews being posted was the worst thing ever and went on for more pages than I certainly remember it being.

I didn't see what Amneris said, though.

On-topic: So Autumn still can't dance? I heard that she was good from other reviewers.

Updated On: 7/24/08 at 01:17 PM

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:31pm

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 01:31 PM

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/24/08 at 1:34pm

I just felt that it rambled too much, but that's the only thing I'll say about it on this thread.