#1
Posted: 9/19/08 at 6:57pm
I don't hate this show the way some seem to hate it already. I actually think the show itself is cute and fun. Jason Robert Brown's score is great, as is to be expected. He's managed to write both catchy pop tunes (I've had the title song stuck in my head for two days now) and his signature ballads ("A Little More Homework" is fantastic). The book is surprisingly strong as well. Direction is solid, sets are serviceable, and the lighting is above average. But this show fails on some very important levels.
First of all, Christopher Gatelli's choreography is heinous. It's repetitive, ugly, and never interesting. It doesn't help that many songs have unnecessary dance breaks, but here's to hoping some get cut... because Gatelli's movement makes the cast look inept and sloppy. In the act one finale, why have a bunch of DDR pads on the floor if the choreography is not going to utilize them? Evan and Brett are having a DDR dance-off, but they're not dancing to DDR. It just doesn't make sense, like most of the choreography this cast is given. Although honestly, a lot of them just aren't up to the challenge of Broadway yet.
The majority of the cast is outstanding. Allie Trimm is unbelievable as Patrice. She possesses a crisp voice with a powerful belt that outshines everyone else in the cast. Elizabeth Egan Gillies is perfect as Lucy, and her two numbers in the second act ("Opportunity" and "It Can't Be True") show her off wonderfully. Other standouts were Eric M. Nelsen as Brett, who is probably the best actor in the show, playing the stereotypical jock; Al Calderon as Eddie, one of Brett's friends and back-up singers; and Eamon Foley, who gets his moment of glory in "Bad Bad News." Unforunately, there are also some kids who just aren't there yet. I went to the second preview, and Graham Phillips's voice is already exhausted. As it stands, he is too weak to carry this show on his shoulders. He's fine in the book scenes but all over the place singing JRB's score. He's being completely overshadowed by his supporting players. And I know some people are going to find this rude or whatever because of the actors' ages, but Aaron Simon Gross needs to be recast. His inflection is strange at times, and incomprehensible at others. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying, and he's in almost every scene. He cannot hit the high notes in any of Archie's songs, and it's hurting the others he is singing with (namely Trimm and Phillips in "If That's What It Is"). It's a shame, because I know he could be great... but his voice is obviously about to change.
All in all, I had fun. It was great to hear a new Jason Robert Brown score, and I was laughing out loud at a lot of the book's smart one-liners. I just wish the material was done better justice by some of those involved. Will it be a hit? Probably not. Teenagers will love it, parents will find it harmless and entertaining, but critics will probably ravage it.
First of all, Christopher Gatelli's choreography is heinous. It's repetitive, ugly, and never interesting. It doesn't help that many songs have unnecessary dance breaks, but here's to hoping some get cut... because Gatelli's movement makes the cast look inept and sloppy. In the act one finale, why have a bunch of DDR pads on the floor if the choreography is not going to utilize them? Evan and Brett are having a DDR dance-off, but they're not dancing to DDR. It just doesn't make sense, like most of the choreography this cast is given. Although honestly, a lot of them just aren't up to the challenge of Broadway yet.
The majority of the cast is outstanding. Allie Trimm is unbelievable as Patrice. She possesses a crisp voice with a powerful belt that outshines everyone else in the cast. Elizabeth Egan Gillies is perfect as Lucy, and her two numbers in the second act ("Opportunity" and "It Can't Be True") show her off wonderfully. Other standouts were Eric M. Nelsen as Brett, who is probably the best actor in the show, playing the stereotypical jock; Al Calderon as Eddie, one of Brett's friends and back-up singers; and Eamon Foley, who gets his moment of glory in "Bad Bad News." Unforunately, there are also some kids who just aren't there yet. I went to the second preview, and Graham Phillips's voice is already exhausted. As it stands, he is too weak to carry this show on his shoulders. He's fine in the book scenes but all over the place singing JRB's score. He's being completely overshadowed by his supporting players. And I know some people are going to find this rude or whatever because of the actors' ages, but Aaron Simon Gross needs to be recast. His inflection is strange at times, and incomprehensible at others. I couldn't understand half of what he was saying, and he's in almost every scene. He cannot hit the high notes in any of Archie's songs, and it's hurting the others he is singing with (namely Trimm and Phillips in "If That's What It Is"). It's a shame, because I know he could be great... but his voice is obviously about to change.
All in all, I had fun. It was great to hear a new Jason Robert Brown score, and I was laughing out loud at a lot of the book's smart one-liners. I just wish the material was done better justice by some of those involved. Will it be a hit? Probably not. Teenagers will love it, parents will find it harmless and entertaining, but critics will probably ravage it.
