#1
Posted: 2/20/06 at 10:39am
What a day.
First we saw the Pajama Game. The show, as a whole, was very good. I would say that the second act is more enjoyable than the first, though. The choreography for "Steam Heat" is not the original (which made me die a little inside), but it was still great. "Hernando's Hideaway" was another showstopping number. I think that they'll definitely get a costume nomination, because the costumes in that particular number were fantastic. We saw the full original cast, which was very lucky. In terms of performances, they were generally pretty good.
Good performances:
Michael McKean was probably the best out of the big names. Being 15, I haven't really seen him in any of the TV shows or movies he was in, but his comedic timing was perfect. I also loved how his hair just kind of bobbed with every move he made. If you see the show, you'll know what I mean.
Jennifer Cody had such a small role (Poopsie), but she could really make you look at her in any scene she was in. She had such a wacky character, and boy, can she dance!
Joyce Chittick (Mae) was incredible. Her transformation from being that nerdy girl in the back into the sexy "Steam Heat" girl was flawless.
Megan Lawrence (Gladys) was probably my favorite performance in the whole show. In the beginning of "Hernando's Hideaway", it's just her dancing around Harry Connick Jr., and she is great at playing this weird, nasal-voiced secretary.
Side note -
Kelli O'Hara was good, I suppose, but she didn't do anything stand-outish. I think she was better as Clara.
The only not-so-good performance I want to comment on is (please don't kill me) Harry Connick Jr. I know that he's a musician and a vocalist, but an actor.....well, it wasn't that great. Most actors play to the whole theatre, but Harry would just bob his head around and look at the floor. Since I was sitting in the mezzanine, all I saw was his hair. The vocal part of the role was fine, he sang that very well. Just he needs to work more on the acting.
Sweeney Todd!
It was incredible. I absolutely loved the concept, being both a musician and actress myself. It was such a neat idea to blend the two. The simple set was great, and I think they have the Tony for lighting. Every performance was great; I really can't pinpoint the best. Last night we saw Benjamin Eakeley (understudy for Anthony), and it was his first performance AND Broadway debut. I couldn't even tell it was his first time going on. So if you go up to see Sweeney and see his name on the "this role will be played by..." board, don't think of it as a bad thing: he's terrific.
That took a while to write. Enjoy!
First we saw the Pajama Game. The show, as a whole, was very good. I would say that the second act is more enjoyable than the first, though. The choreography for "Steam Heat" is not the original (which made me die a little inside), but it was still great. "Hernando's Hideaway" was another showstopping number. I think that they'll definitely get a costume nomination, because the costumes in that particular number were fantastic. We saw the full original cast, which was very lucky. In terms of performances, they were generally pretty good.
Good performances:
Michael McKean was probably the best out of the big names. Being 15, I haven't really seen him in any of the TV shows or movies he was in, but his comedic timing was perfect. I also loved how his hair just kind of bobbed with every move he made. If you see the show, you'll know what I mean.
Jennifer Cody had such a small role (Poopsie), but she could really make you look at her in any scene she was in. She had such a wacky character, and boy, can she dance!
Joyce Chittick (Mae) was incredible. Her transformation from being that nerdy girl in the back into the sexy "Steam Heat" girl was flawless.
Megan Lawrence (Gladys) was probably my favorite performance in the whole show. In the beginning of "Hernando's Hideaway", it's just her dancing around Harry Connick Jr., and she is great at playing this weird, nasal-voiced secretary.
Side note -
Kelli O'Hara was good, I suppose, but she didn't do anything stand-outish. I think she was better as Clara.
The only not-so-good performance I want to comment on is (please don't kill me) Harry Connick Jr. I know that he's a musician and a vocalist, but an actor.....well, it wasn't that great. Most actors play to the whole theatre, but Harry would just bob his head around and look at the floor. Since I was sitting in the mezzanine, all I saw was his hair. The vocal part of the role was fine, he sang that very well. Just he needs to work more on the acting.
Sweeney Todd!
It was incredible. I absolutely loved the concept, being both a musician and actress myself. It was such a neat idea to blend the two. The simple set was great, and I think they have the Tony for lighting. Every performance was great; I really can't pinpoint the best. Last night we saw Benjamin Eakeley (understudy for Anthony), and it was his first performance AND Broadway debut. I couldn't even tell it was his first time going on. So if you go up to see Sweeney and see his name on the "this role will be played by..." board, don't think of it as a bad thing: he's terrific.
That took a while to write. Enjoy!
