A Mini-Viewpoint of My NY Week

[dramamama611]

Posted: 8/15/09 at 11:42am

Just a few ramblings, on the theatrical week I had. Only in order of my viewing:

Vanities, closing performance
Nice, sweet, and enjoyable performances. I'm a fan of the play and was pleased to hear so much of the dialogue intact. While the performances were pleasant enough...none were standouts, and they were all three inconsistant. I am disappointed with the ending and the need to put a 'happy ending' on a story that did not have one. Talk about your 'deus ex machina'!

It was rather sweet to watch the ladies struggling with the final number, as it was closing. Their curtain call was also a little tough for them to get through.

I don't see this having any sort of life after this, however.


N2N.
Complete cast. First time seeing Kyle Dean Massey. I enjoyed Massey, but missed the charm that Tveit brings to the part. Everyone else was top notch; and I am always in awe of J Robert Spencer and the amazing growth he has developed within this role. Wonderful and moving....but I think it's time to put this one away.

Toxic Avenger.
Go. Really. What a hoot. Total camp, totally UN-PC, but what energy, what fun! However, I can't imagine how any of the performers are going to protect their voices. Just to see the freakish amount of costume changes the 3 of the 5 actors endure is worth the price of admission!

Hair.
With Jay. Loved him. His youthful appearance and obvious vulnerability brought a lot of depth to the role. His voice is incredibly clear. The rest of the cast was, as always, top notch and full of energy. As I was in the front row, there was lots of interaction, but none could be topped by having Will Swenson crawl onto my lap and literally lay on top of me. Sweat and all. I love that I keep seeing so many new things each time I watch Hair. As I posted in another thread, I got to go backstage after the show, which was so much fun, poking around the prop shelves, reading the call board, exploring the stage.

Burn the Floor.
Meh. Yes, I knew it was Ballroom Dance. Yes, I knew that was it. And the dance was amazing...but still left me a bit cold and uninvolved. The 'dancing with the stars' folks were good...but honestly no better than anyone else and the only thing that stood out about them was that their choreography was better. Those dancers did indeed, work their "arses" off.

HORRID audience behavior directly in front of me. It was so bad that I got the usher to complain...and I wasn't the only one. FIVE women in front of me would not put their phones away OR shut up. Pictures, video, texting.....horrid. One of them had a flash on thier camera phone and didn't seem to think it was a problem. However, once the usher yelled at them to put them away (a good 3 or 4 numbers into the show) 4 out of the 5 did. ONE however, kept texting away. She was reprimanded at LEAST 4 or 5 times. Each time, she put it away and then talked about it. The fifth time, the usher got pretty harsh with her and the woman had the audacity to YELL at her and causing quite the scene. The usher left to get security. At intermission, there was another scene, which mostly involved the rude women yelling and claiming to get the usher fired. The woman was the biggest liar I'd ever seen! I went to both the usher AND security to make sure they knew other patron's thoughts. It was horrid, truly. They seemed to enjoy act two more...but maybe because they actually WATCHED the show!

Billy Elliot.
Third time seeing it, 2nd time with Trent. My, he's improved in his acting and gotten SOOOO tall. I truly do wonder how much longer the origianl boys can last in the role. At the end, when Billy exits through the audience he walked past me and he actually had tears running down his face from the last scene with the mom.

The Bacchae.
Sold out house, and quite an enthusiastic audience for Euripides. (Although the man behind me was argumentative that we were about to see Shakespeare!) I loved the set and the chorus of women. They moved as one entity...even when their movements were NOT totally synchronized. I thought several performances were outstanding, but was a bit underwhelmed.


And, on an unrelated note: The Guggenhiem has a Frank Lloyd Wright exhibit going on, truly beautiful.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 8/15/09 at 8:24pm

Sounds like a great trip! I am insanely jealous of Will Swenson getting in your lap though.

[wendilin622]

Posted: 8/15/09 at 9:11pm

Psch. Your NY trip is nothing without NPH.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 2:15am

Any idea how long Jay is in for? Was it just this past week? And yeah, the Wright exhibit is really cool, but too bad like half of his projects never actually got built! like that awesome opera house in the Middle East!

[BroadwayBound062]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 2:32am

Sorry to thread jack but was Vanities limited engagment? But thanks for the reviews!

[AndAllThatJazz22]

Posted: 8/16/09 at 1:43pm

^ Vanities was a limited engagement.