2 Days. 5 Shows.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 9/7/15 at 1:34am

What a weekend.  I am utterly exhausted but it was so worth it.  This may be my best theater weekend yet.

 

Saturday Matinee:  Something Rotten.  I really loved this show.  I knew I'd enjoy it but I didn't know how much.  Having grown up with musical theater, I got most of the references and was laughing hysterically.  Brian D'Arcy James is absolutely fantastic in this.  His comedic timing is killer.  Brad Oscar was also so hilarious.  And it goes without saying that Christian Borle is everything.  This is one I'm so glad I saw with the original cast--I don't know that it would be the same without them.  Heidi Blickenstaff has an outstanding voice.  Kate Reinders was so cute--did she remind anyone else of Cheno a bit?  She both looked and sounded like her to me, and even had similar mannerisms.  At any rate, there wasn't anything about this I didn't enjoy.  I had a rough few days and it was exactly what I needed to put me in a good mood.  I sat in the front row of the mezzanine and the St. James is the best mezz view I've experienced in awhile.  You're so close!  It really was the ideal view for this show.

 

Saturday night (normal time):  Hedwig.  I know y'all hate Taye but I still really like his Hedwig even though he's totally different.  I saw him his first night and to me the problems he had were fixed.  The makeup malfunctions that seemed to be causing him grief have been remedied because he no longer wears fake eyelashes and they don't put eyeshadow directly above his eyes.  He didn't have the issues with forgetting the lines he did the first night, although I understand other people have said otherwise for other shows.  I will say, though, his first performance he seemed much more sorrowful and I didn't get as much of that this time.  I kind of wish I could mix those aspects of the two performances I saw with him.  He did some different jokes and ad libbing this time around and it was hilarious.  I think his renditions of Origin of Love and Wicked Little Town may be my favorite, since he brings a really soulful quality. His renditions of the rock songs don't hit quite as well.  He's not my favorite Hedwig, but I really enjoyed it.  The crowd was not very energetic unfortunately which kind of detracted.

 

Saturday Late Night:  Sleep No More.  I don't even know what to say about this.  I'm still thinking about everything I saw.  If you haven't done this yet, you must.  I already want to go back and try to follow different characters and see different things.  I saw the witches' prophecy scene pretty close to the beginning and that was when I knew that I was experiencing something very different.  I'm still processing.

 

Sunday matinee:  On the Town.  I just loved this show.  I love a good classic musical with great dance and this is just that.  Misty was glorious.  The Coney Island ballet made me ugly cry because she moved me so much.  Tony Yazbeck is divine as well.  I'm so glad I got to see this show before it closes.  There were several times when I thought the score reminded me of West Side Story and then I looked at the program and sure enough, it's because Leonard Bernstein is the composer.  I don't know why I never realized that before.

 

Hamilton:  This show gets better every time I see it because I keep hearing new lyrics.  Having brushed up on my MacBeth for Sleep No More, I heard the MacBeth reference for the first time.  I sat in the third row and I love experiencing this show from so close.  In my mind it is one that is worth the price of premium.  Leslie Odom Jr. had tears absolutely streaming down his face during the World was Wide Enough.  I couldn't see that from row Q where I saw it last time.  HIs performance remains the stand-out for me, although the entire cast is really so phenomenal I could praise them all.  Christopher Jackson's performance seemed even more powerful tonight.  The whole cast was just on fire tonight, and the audience was extremely reactive.  Since this was my third time seeing it, I took the time to watch some ensemble members dance in the background and they are glorious.  Betsy Struxness is the stand-out in the ensemble to me.  Neil Haskell was in Thayne Jasperson's track tonight and he did a great job. 

 

I was originally going to try to catch something tomorrow night but unfortunately I now have to fly out due to work commitment on Tuesday so this is all for this time!

 

Now I need to go pass out because I am SPENT.

 

Updated On: 9/7/15 at 01:34 AM