110 IN THE SHADE - FIRST PREVIEW - 4/13/07- Page 3

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 8:18pm

Glad I bought a ticket this afternoon.

[TomMonster]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 8:21pm

Seeing it Wednesday and can't wait. I spoke with Tom Jones recently and he's thrilled with the show...

Updated On: 4/14/07 at 08:21 PM

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 8:54pm

bjh2114, will Audra even be elligible for the other awards Christine will be inelligible for this season? 110 in the Shade, as well as LoveMusik and Legally Blonde, will still be in previews when the Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle nominations are announced? Does that render them inelligible or are the rules for those two awards different from that of the Tony Awards. If they are the same, competition for the Leading Actress category will consist of Lisa Brescia, Ashley Brown, Lea Michele, Kristin Chenoweth, Debra Monk, and Stephanie J. Block, along with off-Broadway actresses and other Broadway actresses whose roles are deemed Leading Actress in their award's system, but featured actress on Broadway (ie Karen Ziemba).

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 9:00pm

110, LoveMusik, and Legally Blonde will all be eligible for the 2007 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards...the opening night dates are only for the Tony Award cutoffs.

[MungoGypsy8232]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 9:15pm

Thanks WithoutATrace! I'm excited now to see who will win, hopefully Audra will win one award and some other actress will win the other as to build suspense between 3 actress-competition for the Tony Awards (Christine, Audra, and Donna/Kristin)!

[inlovewithjerryherman]

Posted: 4/14/07 at 9:23pm

Just saw the afternoon matinee today - rushed ten minutes before curtain with no problems.

Before I spill my thoughts on the show, I need to just say that this was my first trip to Studio 54 - and it's pretty much the coolest theatre ever. There's not a bad seat in the house. (and our rush seats were very good, back of the mezannine, in the left half of the center section.)

I thoroughly enjoyed the show - it's great to see a classic preserved and presented with so much respect. McDonald, needless to say, was thrilling. She makes more choices in one scene than most actresses do in a lifetime, and her singing was simply golden. As WithoutATrace mentioned, "Raunchy" and "Old Maid" were thrilling.

Steve Kazee was really awesome. His voice is extremely smooth and sensual, very fitting for the character. "The Rain Song" was awesome, but my favorite moments from him were "Melisande" and his dues with Audra in Act I, "You're Not Fooling Me". In the latter, the song just came out of each of them so naturally. Their chemistry was fantastic throughout.

John Cullum was very dry and very funny. Bobby Steggert and Carla Duren's "Little Red Hat" was sensational - really funny (grat lighting in that number - hats off to Christopher Akerlind for great lighting design throughout).

My biggest problem with the show was the pace. Act I was pretty boring for a good bit, there. It seems like Audra and Kazee drive the show forward, and at the top of Act I, neither of them are onstage for quite a bit, and the energy just dragged like a stone in the scenes around "Lizzie's Comin' Home" and "Poker Polka". Perhaps this was just due to the fact that it was a matinee, and after all - the cast is stillvery early in previews and there's plenty of time to pick the pace up. Many people around me had REAL problems with the show - I overheard more than three people saying they hated the show, but loved Audra. I chalked it up to the surprising ending (which I won't spoil, and which I personally found to be really thrilling and very moving) and the slow pace in Act I.

My two friends left the theatre on the fence about the show, but came to like it after discussion. I left floating on a cloud, and a lot of people left in a bi*chy huff, so I'm really curious to see how it will do with audiences and with critics.

[D2]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:04pm

Well, hell hath frozen over - I finally understand the adulation for Audra McDonald and I surrender willingly and happily to her charms.

She is giving a stunning performance in 110 IN THE SHADE, creating a Lizzie who is at once ferociously as tough as nails and heartbreakingly fragile, and for once she inhabits a role down to it's very core. Her voice has always been gorgeous, and she uses it beautifully here - the score fits her like a glove and she wears it well. I'm not going to predict anything here, but the awards race has now gotten HOT, and I wouldn't bet on placing that Tony on any decrepit mantle in a decaying mansion just yet. McDonald emerges from this show as a true contender. With this performance she is a bona fide leading lady, and should she win she will absolutely have deserved to.

That said, the production she leads is also stellar - easily and by far the best of Roundabout's rather lackluster season. 110 IN THE SHADE is a modest show, dealing in "simple little things." But it does pack an emotional wallop when done well, and this production, remarkably tight in it's 5th preview tonight, is almost perfect. It is directed and designed with intelligent simplicity, and the cast, from McDonald down to the smallest role, is wonderful. John Cullum (who admittedly fumbled one or two lines tonight) is in great voice and makes a remarkably sympathetic H.C, Steve Kazee makes a dynamic Starbuck, and Christopher Invarr is excellent as File. If the relationships between Lizzie, Starbuck and File are not as defined as they could be, it's still early in previews and by the time the show opens that minor flaw will most likely be corrected. Bobby Steggart nearly steals the show as Jimmy Curry, and his duet with Carla Duran as Snookie brings the house down.

110 IN THE SHADE is not one of the greatest musicals ever written, not by a long shot, but it is a lovely, emotionally satisfying one. And when given a production like this, it makes one realize what a rich and varied repertoire we have in our Musical Theater. It has sentiment without being sentimental, it has an edge without being cynical, and it leaves one flushed with the excitement of hope in renewed dreams. What more could anyone ask for?

Updated On: 4/16/07 at 11:04 PM

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:10pm

All of these wonderful reviews make me so happy. I'm going again on Wednesday--I can't get enough!

[obsessedjb]

Posted: 4/15/07 at 11:31pm

^^agreed! I'm seeing it in about three weeks and I am very excited!!

[courtnyj]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 12:14am

Yay! I'm seeing this in two weeks--on my birthday! I hope they'll have enough rush tickets available that day though, because the list of friends who want to come along keeps getting longer! I'm so excited!

[jaystarr]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 7:25am

Thanks guys for your review- Cant wait to see it on 5/6...-j*

[jbdc]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 9:16am

reading everybody's reviews makes me want to see it again! I got offered a ticket to the first preview at the last minute, and I'm so glad I took it, cuz I was leaving town on Saturday for a show and won't be back til it's closed. Boo. EXTEND THROUGH THE SUMMER!

Edit/new thought:
re: inlovewithjerryherman's review

I understand about the parts at the beginning where it dragged for you (I remember thinking during the poker song only about how brilliant audra was in the earlier scene)and the reaction of some audience members. The guy sitting in front of me didn't like it at all. And when the fabulous old queen next to him asked what he tought during intermission, he said, (I'm paraphrasing) "well, my friend's in the show, so I came to see him and it's okay. I really like whoever the woman playing Lizzie is. She's great. But the show's just not.... exciting. And I'm in town from Utah, and kind of wish I'd seen something more exciting." And the woman behind me said at one point-I don't recognize any of these songs.

So-yeah--it's a plot about relationships, self esteem, and the heat and drought vs. the rain are symbols of not really living vs. living. People who want misunderstood green witches, sorority girls and dogs, or another jukebox show won't get those things. There isn't much action, just interactions--but that's the story--simple and as such, IMO, more universal. They will see the best ensemble on Broadway right now and virtuosic, profound acting. But it won't be everybody's cup of tea.
PS--"more choices...than most people make in a lifetime." My thoughts exactly. She makes my jaw drop--and by acting. She doesn't have to belt to a g or something like that to make jaws drop. It's been three days and I still can't get over it.
Updated On: 4/16/07 at 09:16 AM

[theatrespaz]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 10:22pm

Does anyone have a run time for the show? I've read officially 2:45, but also seen where it comes in a bit shorter than that and since it's in previews I wouldn't guess it'll be longer. I've trying to get tickets for the final perf and want to make sure I'll make an 8pm flight out of JFK.

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 10:37pm

ok, this is probably my most neurotic post ever (or at least so far!) ...

... but given ms mcdonald's attendance record ...

... i have a subscription. my tix are for thurs 6/14 -- i.e., right after the tony awards. if audra bails, can i request a refund/reschedule -- i.e., is her name above the title? it's actually not clear from the roundabout website ...

(surprise, surprise.)

[D2]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 10:57pm

Audra McDonald, John Cullum and Steve Kazee are all billed above the title on the title page of the Playbill. So if she bails, you can too.

[whatever2]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 11:01pm

thx.

fingers crossed that it doesnt come to that -- what are the odds of another date before it closes on july 15th? -- but it's still good to know ...

roundabout has been SUCH a rollercoaster this year!

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/16/07 at 11:45pm

If you are a subscriber and you're worried, why don't you just exchange your tickets now for an earlier date?

[iliketheater]

Posted: 4/17/07 at 1:07am

I have to echo D2. I went in expecting Audra to be amazing, as she always is, and left completely in AWE of her. She is absolutely a contender for the Leading Actress Tony. Her Lizzie was one of the most developed characters I've ever seen on any stage, she was strong and humerous in the first act, and fragile and beautiful in the second act. "Raunchy" was one of the best moments of the show, "Old Maid" was so moving, and I really felt her vulnerablilty during "Is It Really Me?". Of couse I'm a huge fan of hers (see aviator) but for some reason, I was not expecting to be quite as blown away by her as I was. I kid you not when I say I left in awe.

Kazee didn't win me over right away, in fact I really didn't like him until the second act. Something about him just doesn't seem right for the role. (MVHO)

Stand-outs for me were Bobby Steggert as Jimmy, who's so cute and everything a triple-threat should be; John Cullum as H.C, and Carla Duren as Snookie.

The ensemble, although small, was very effective. They did an excellent job of bringing me to their enviornment.

Overall I really enjoyed the show. The lighting & set design are fantastic, and it moves pretty well (although there are a few set changes that need to be fixed). It has an incredibly joyous ending, go see it!


...Side note: Lonny Price was there the same night I was, he's so great! Congrats to him and the rest of the cast/crew.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:27pm

Saw it again tonight. Kazee is really improving. His characterization of Starbuck is becoming more and more defined. And what a voice he has!

Audra was, of course, phenomenal. Lizzie's numbers have never sounded better.

[theatrespaz]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:38pm

Can anyone answer my question above re: time. I'd love to try and see the final performance but if it's 2:45, I wouldn't make my flight. Thanks!

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:40pm

Tonight's performance came down at 10:35.

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/18/07 at 11:58pm

You were there tonight and didn't say hi?

Anyway, I'll chime in on the Audra praise -- but I'll write my full review out tomorrow. I's tared and have work tomorrow!

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:02am

I didn't see you! Where were you sitting? (I was in Orch. K-1)

[Calvin]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:06am

I was in the center of the front section of the mezz.

[AC126748]

Posted: 4/19/07 at 12:07am

We seem to miss each other at the same performance a lot. We need to just go see something together.