22 shows in 16 days - all the reviews in 1!

[Nath]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 7:24am

ok so i have finally written up my reviews (all of them in brief) and reposted them all in one message!

enjoy comment etc etc etc welcome feedback and discussion!
for those who missed it I came to NYC from Australia over New Years and saw 22 shows in 16 days and here are the reviews!


color Purple- 28th Dec. 06
ok this was our first Broadway show so it had a bit of an overwhelming-oh-my-god-i-can't-believe-we-are-here feeling over it.
I really enjoyed the show, however I felt that it had pace issues and flew over scenes/moments when I think more time could have been spent developing relationships between the characters-esp in Act 1, I also felt at times the show was over sung- or excess singing, and too much emphasise placed on developing a good gospel sound as opposed to furthering a character or the plot which made the show feel heavy at times.
My best on ground award goes to Gavin Gregory (who was an understudy!) as Harpo who I felt really worked the material as opposed to letting the material work him... don't know if that makes ANY sense...


Hairspray - 2pm matinee show 29th Dec. 06

ok I LOVED this show, the energy, the clever use of set and ensemble to move scenes and pace the show, can clearly see why this show is still kicking. Was so disappointed by the actor playing Wilbur, Corny Collins and i thought the van tussles were very 'blah'. But everyone else seemed to cover their misgivings- Best on ground went to Diana DeGarmo... OMG! she was sensational!! such a great part!
*side note* was a particularly good looking audience which added to my enjoyment :) lol

Drowsy Chaperone 29th Dec. 06
ok so this show remained in my top 5 shows for my entire tripped. I loved this show! Such a clever 'adult' musical, which doesn't take itself to seriously. I came to this show dieing to see Sutton perform, her being the draw card loving the man in the chair. He was amazing! how is this show going to cope when he leaves? Loved the set, the costumes, the script, and while the music isn't the most amazing is perfectly suited for the show.
I did however love Sutton, plain to see she is a true star, and yes I nearly jumped out of my seat when she came on... very very exciting...

Spring Awakening - 2pm 30th Dec. 06

another show that remained in my top 5 shows from the trip. I was skeptical about this show -the whole 'the new rent' did nothing for me, because I don't like rent! But this show is far superior to Rent in its direction, staging, content and delivery. Loved the whole portrayal of teen angst, and how it pushes you to think about other perceptions, and your theme song might be different form someone else’s but then again it might not.
Wasn't the biggest fan of the score if taken outside the show, but in context found the whole experience amazing.

Chorus line - 8pm 30th Dec. 06

what can I say. proved why this was such a successful show. ok slightly dated now, but still a fantastic experience. My main crit would have been that some of the characters (or the actors portrayal) were a tad weak, and I think this would have been pushed higher on my list with more focused and intense 'acting'.
*his show need an interval, I'm sorry, I'm tall and I hate sitting in theatres because the seats are so uncomfortable!!


The Wedding Singer (final show!) 5pm - 31st Dec. 06

Really enjoyed the show, but can kinda understand why it wasn't successful. Found the book really weak, and the jokes obvious and predictable(to a point where you knew what the next joke was going to be). Really enjoyed the score and the energy in the chorey though!
What made the experience fantastic was that it was closing and there was an amazing buzz in the audience and constant cheering etc etcetc so that was fantastic- hilarious American teenagers in the audience (especially one who nearly cried when the souvenir stand had run out of keyrings) also made the experience more enjoyable! lol

Forbidden Broadway 1st January 07
Hilarious show as I thought it would be, the audience was so dead (prob hung over it was new years day!). Was so glad I was able to see this show- hilarious Chicago and Mary Poppins skit were my fave.

Jersey Boys 2nd January 07
Firstly great theatre!
Good jukebox musical, prob one of the best I’ve seen, but still these shows don't do it for me. leads were amazing but found the ensemble so boring and lacked energy. All aside was a great production.

I love you you're perfect now change - 2pm 3rd January 07
Ok I hated this. Only reason we saw it was because my friend are in production in auks coming up and wanted to see it, and I’d never seen it so thought it would be good. But it was sooo boring, all the jokes were lost and I think I napped during the 2nd act for a while... oops...

Mary Poppins - 8pm 3rd January 07
wow... o.k. this was a spectacular. A big brassy lavish production in the most beautiful theatre I have ever been in. Stunning. From the 3 storey house to the lavish costumes and sets. Best on ground went to Bert, so charismatic and funny!
Def one of my top shows. Enjoyed the Mary Poppins actress but found her accent a littler 'american-english' which clashed with some of the real English accents on stage. As far as the show/book goes I wasn't a fan of how dark the story turned at times, esp. when Mary kinda turned into a witch and banished the nanny to 'hell' was an odd moment... but its mary poppins and I was as excited as a kid in a candy store :)



Wicked. 4th January 07
what can I say everything I expected. having known the cd back to front, loved the book (I am disappointed in the changes from book to stage esp. the ending but I did know about these before seeing it and that’s a whole other discussion) twas very exciting to finally see the show.
Firstly I love that this theatre has a foyer! so few Broadway theatres do! Glinda was awesome, Fiyero was awful (did he do a singing audition??) and the elphaba warmed on me. Such a great show.

Spamalot. 5th January 07
ok this was one of the biggest disappointments of the trip. Felt like I had missed the joke the whole time... and to top it off was crushed that Marin Mazzie was off this night (and it was friday evening! what the??). Seemed like the show would have been fantastic with the original cast, but since then everyone is just trying to emulate the originals without bringing their own take to the parts.
this show easily fell into the bottom of my list!

Company 2pm - 6th January 07
this show had my 2 fave moments on Broadway - ladies who lunch and being alive... yes I cried... (1st and only) Raul was stunning!
ok I completely appreciated the concept of the actors playing the instruments-and it was done well- but I didn't quite get the point, didn't understand how it furthered the characters or the story. very interesting but I didn't quite get it!

Tarzan. 6th January 07
ok first 20seconds were the best 20secs I saw on Broadway... the next 2.5 hours were the worst! Boring set. odd costumes, mundane songs. Got over the 'flying' very quickly, got over seeing the harnesses and ropes and safety lines. def the worst Disney show out there (and to top it off Tarzan wasn't 'ripped' enough! lol)
oh I loved this theatre... loved the tiering of the orchestra, had fantastic seats!

Avenue q 7th January 07
Yep the funniest show we saw! Very exciting, after knowing the CD backwards, to see new people have fresh takes on all the jokes. Such a clever clever show!

Chicago 7th January 07
I love this show, has been my favourite show since I first heard the recording (yep before the revival came out), and I think is the show that made me fall in love with theatre when I saw the revival in Aus (with Caroline O’Conner!). the sad part is the seats we had were prob the worst seats we had for the whole trip!!
But this is a tried and tested show, completely understand why it has run so long, -such good writing.
We were lucky to see Bebe (she had just started!) which was prob one of my top moments of the trip, unfortunately we lucked out seeing Huey Louis ruin Billy’s songs and throw away some of the best lines in the show. Was the best of the ‘long running’ shows, because it felt like the cast were still having fun and the material wasn’t boring them.
Ps Best Mary sunshine I have ever heard! I still laugh at the ‘reveal’ when people hadn’t guessed it!

Alter Boys 8th January 07
Completely what I had expected from hearing the CD. Tongue in Cheek boy band take off, great performances and a hilarious script/story. We were in the front row and loved it!
Ps love the theatre complex this was performed at!

Grey Gardens. 9th January 07
Hmm this was the show EVERONE told us is the must see of the season, and without sounding un-educated I think I just didn’t quite get it, ok well I did (I understood the story etc etc etc) I just didn’t understand a) the hype and b)is it really a story worth musicalising?
Appreciated the first act and its relevance to the 2nd, loved the stunning set and the contrast between acts, sensational performances, I didn’t maybe I was having an off night but felt the show didn’t achieve much, or have relevance in its need to be told… I liked and appreciated but just don’t know how much.

Producers. 2pm - 10th January 07
One word b-lah.
Can someone please go in and give this set a paint, fix up the costume hems and reteach the cast the steps. This is one tired tired show- seen this production in Aus and it blew me away, here on Broadway didn’t even have a breeze. Was ‘lucky’ enough to see Tony Danza in the lead… does more need to be said?

Les Mis. 10th January 07
Ok ok this is the trimmed taut and ‘terrific’ ‘revival’ version, but I was excited to see this on Broadway. Have always liked the show (not top of my list but an appreciation of it) and twas good to see it again… some interesting takes (fantine belting I dreamed a dream being one…)
I have never understood colourblind casting when it comes to young/old eponine/cossette’s surely if you were born Asian you would grow up Asian?? Crazy…

The apple tree - 11th January 07
Ok a ‘to die’ moment seeing Kristen, Marc and Brian on the same stage. What can I say Kristen is a god, so energetic and throws herself into everything. Completely see her owning previous roles like Precious McGuire, Sally, and Glinda.
Have never seen the show before and came away really enjoying and am now getting the CD because I found the show so interesting!
Ps studio 54 seats – what the? Could they be any smaller? I’m a tall guy and upstairs was AWFUL

Beauty and the Beast - 12th January 07
I had heard the forbidden Broadway take on ‘Beauty’s been decreased’ but never really believed it… but alas all true, scaled down kid-ified version now on show. What has happened to the stunning set and awesome gold crusted costumes? Found performances generally weak, and the chorey seem simplified too. HOWEVER top points to the Belle and Gaston who were awesome and saved the show.
*wins the ‘most merchandise on sale’ award

re -cap - (In no particluar order!)

top shows
Droswy Chaperone
Spring Awakening
company
ave q
Wicked

worst
I love you etc etc etc
Spamalot
Tarzan
Producers
wedding singer

Updated On: 2/12/07 at 07:24 AM

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 8:04am

Good reviews!

Sorry you didn't like Wedding Singer and Tarzan, though

On your top/worst list, A Chorus Line isn't there, does it fall inbetween or something?

[TWSFan4Ever]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 10:17am

Haha, just read your Beauty/Beast review again, have they actually scaled down the costumes and sets?

[Nath]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 4:06pm

yeah alot of shows fall in between!

[The_Jackal2]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 4:08pm

Wow, thanks for posting all this. I liked hearing your opinions on everything. Sorry you didn't like everything but it sounds liek it was a fun trip! :)

[JamesMacon]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 4:12pm

Yes, thank you for taking the time to post all of this. Sounds like an amazing trip! I felt the same way about Tarzan. The first minute is awesome, and then it just goes downhill from there. So glad you enjoyed Avenue Q and Company! I really need to see Company now...

[Nath]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 7:02pm

we went into Tarzan really hoping we would liek it... but it was unbelievably bad.

[DRSisLove]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 7:53pm

Can you post dates, and cast lists for each show?

[Nath]

Posted: 2/11/07 at 11:18pm

sheesh! ok I'll get dates,


-but casts upon request!

[Nath]

Posted: 2/12/07 at 6:00pm

dates added!

would love to hear feedback,thoughts etc from people on these shows! also if anyone was at the same shows as me :)

feel free to reply/pm!

[JKlock]

Posted: 2/12/07 at 7:00pm

sounds like an awesome trip :)
Glad you enjoyed Forbidden Broadway!I saw it in December and I definetly want to see it again before summer since the acts change every few weeks