2nd try for rclocalz's trip to Broadway!!! (show reviews inside)

[rclocalz]

Posted: 3/8/05 at 9:13pm

Hey Everyone!

I finally got back from my internship in NYC and just recovered from a terrible flu, yuck (someone on the plane must have given me it). Well I had a blast as usual on my trip and the internship was hard work (I'll talk more about that later). I got to see a lot of shows with the little time I had and here are some of my short thoughts of the shows:

LITTLE WOMEN - Right when I got off the plane, I went straight to the theatre to get student tickets for this show. For $30 I had a great time. The show was absolutely beautiful! The set and lighting was perfect and the costumes were great. I think it might win Tony for best set design. The performances were good and satisfying, but Sutton and Maureen were superb! You really saw a difference between these two and the rest of the cast. I have never read or saw Little Women before so from the point of view of a virgin Little Womener, I really liked the story, but found it to be long and tiresome at certain points. The music was beautiful (not too catchy, but pretty) and I can't wait for the CD. Sutton didn't come out of Stage Door, but hey you can't win everytime!

SPAMALOT - I was at the very back row of the orchestra level, but thats okay because Eric Idle was standing right behind me with the production team!!! I had A BLAST at this show! You really can't look at this show as a broadway musical, but more as mere entertainment and laughter. It was so funny and a perfect cast. Hank Azaria and Christopher Sieber were the stand outs! They were just great in all the mulitple roles they played and Christian Borle was also great. David Hyde Pierce and Tim Curry also did fine, its just that their roles did't require too much talent. Sara BLEW me away! I left wanting to see more of her! She is absolutley adorable. The music was sooooo funny and I can't wait for this CD either. The set was better than I thought it was going to be and perfect for the show. Lighting good. Sound okay. Costumes cute. However I don't think its going to beat DRS for the tony. Everyone was nice at stage door and I even met Mike Nichols around the corner getting into his expensive car (he doesn't sign autographs).

DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS - What such a fun night at the theatre!!! I disagree with some of the reviews because I thought it was a top notch production with a steller cast. John Lithgow and Sherie Rene Scott were perfect in their roles, but Norbert Leo Butz stole the show. The other supporting roles did a great job and the ensemble looked like they were having a blast up there. I have never seen the movie before and laughed myself to death with every turn of the story. The music was so catchy and when they record this thing, I see a Grammy waiting in the wings. The set was glitzy, it looked sort of Las Vegas style or something, but worked well, as well as the lighting. Costumes were just fine. THIS IS MY PICK FOR THE TONY!

WICKED - I got lottery for this show thanks to my friend Jennifer (or was her name Jessica?) anyways the girl in front of me. We sat front row center and the show was such a spectacle. It was marvelous to look at and one of the bigger stages I've seen on Broadway. But that's the thing. It was just fun to look at, but I found the book and story sort of lacking or missing something. I don't know, its just like one act Elphaba is all alone and the next minute she's like making out with Fiyero. Well, besides the book, its a great production with a nice big orchestra (that was nice to see). On to the actors. Jennifer Laura Thompson was AWESOME and perfect for the role! I loved her and her comic timing was on! I had a little harder time warming up to Shoshana Bean. She has a superb voice (on of the better voices on Broadway right now), but her acting seemed sort of... community collegeish? I just never fully believed her in the role. David Ayers was okay in the role of Fiyero, but that is one of the characters that is not fully developed in the book. George Hearn was so great to see since he is one of my idles from his Sweeney Todd days, but his performance wasn't too memorable on stage. Anyways, it was a fun night of theatre for $25.

FIDDLER ON THE ROOF - Did student rush for this. Another beautiful set and I liked their transitions. I had NO idea that the stage lifts and angles during the dream scene, that was pretty cool. I really went for Harvey, because there was so much buzz about him in the role. I was pleasantly suprised at how much I liked him. He does not have a great voice but he made it work and when he hugged his daughter in that one scene, I almost cried (I'm not a crier). He brought so much life into that show. Andrea Martin was also great. One person who was NOT great is that dude who played Motel. That dude needs to TONE IT DOWN! He was all over the place and completely forced his comedy to the point it made me sick (maybe thats how I got the flu). The rest of the cast was okay and shame on them for all those little papers flying out of my playbill! just kidding.

ALTAR BOYZ - Amazing show! I was so suprised at how much fun I had. I am a Christian and was not offended at all by the material and loved it so much. They made fun of the idea of a Christian pop boy band, and not Christianity. I laughed so hard that I cried (I'm not a crier). It was a sold out performance and I can see why. GO SEE IT! I found the dodger stages facility pretty cool too. It's like a cinaplex.

SUS MANOS - Well, this is what my internship was about. I worked on the set and lighting production side of this show, so I must say that the set and lighting was amazing! hehehe. Maybe you will have to see for your self. The show is really good with superb acting and a great script by Lauren Gunderson. We got a really good write up in Talkin' Broadway. But I am quite partial to it, so you will have to make your own opinion. So go see it before it finishes up its limited engagement this week. So here's a little marketing for ya:

Sus Manos (Her Hands)
Flying Fig Theatre Company
playing on Theater Row at the Emerging Artist's Theatre
432 West 42nd Street, 4th Floor
ends on March 14th!
For tickets: www.smarttix.com or call 212.868.4444
For more information go to www.flyingfig.org

Okay so that was my fantastic trip and I had a blast as you can see. Sorry that was a little longer than I expected. I am happy to be back in Nashville, Tennessee though because "Moving Out" is coming here next week, yay! You all have a wonderful night!

--RCLocalz

Updated On: 3/8/05 at 09:13 PM

[ashley0139]

Posted: 3/8/05 at 9:25pm

Wow it sounds like you had a great time. I bet it was amazing to see all those shows in such a short amount of time. I have seen, of those, LW and Wicked. Some points I agree and some disagree, but that's for another time... Hope you had lots of fun though!

Updated On: 3/8/05 at 09:25 PM

[rclocalz]

Posted: 3/8/05 at 9:28pm

Yeah, it was A LOT of fun! It's like work from 7am to 7pm on "Sus Manos" then go see a show afterwards. Theatre 24/7! I love NYC!

Updated On: 3/8/05 at 09:28 PM

[PJ]

Posted: 3/8/05 at 10:26pm

Glad you enjoyed Little Women. I'm seeing it again this Saturday!

[rclocalz]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 2:18pm

Hey guys, I put up a couple pictures from my trip in the fan photos section.
rclocalz's photos

[wendy72]

Posted: 3/9/05 at 2:31pm

I agree with your review of DRS --it was a great, fun, entertaining evening and anyone who passes on this based on some sour (Brantley's) review are really missing out!