#1
Posted: 1/15/07 at 9:02pm
Boy, let me start by saying that my wife and I were pleasantly surprized with the show. The Old Globe Theater is a small, maybe 500 person, replica of the original theater that shook the world many years ago.
I went to the Old Globe Theater looking forward to spending time hearing Michael Arden's voice and enjoying his innocent style of acting. But, came away impressed with a show that was filled with emotion, impressive staging, seemless lyrical content, and best of all...Noah Galvin.
As was mentioned before, I sat in partial view seats, they weren't too bad and I don't think I missed too much of the story.
ACT I
The opening scene "It's Better This Way" worked very well. The Old Globe Theater was set with a large circle downstage, with 3 levels of wings upstage. The ensemble carried the scene well and it was evident that Noel Galvin, as the lead Billy Lucas, was ready to give the audience a stunning performance. "Filling in the Blank" followed with Noel singing a profoundly meaningful song for anyone that has been a foster child or knows a foster child.
Michael Arden appears stangely military, I don't know if his costume was measured wrong or he is not the military type, but he looked a bit odd, in his 1st song "In These Skies". His voice is top notch and stirrs the audience into the biggest applause of the musical. We were soon introduced to Lisa Datz as Elizabeth and her voice is bit lagging compared to the other actors. Maybe the deeply depressed character, Billy's mom, causes her to tone it down, but even later she fails to impress.
Betsy Wolfe owns the stage in "Make It From Scratch". Wow, her acting and voice has the audience laughing and cheering her on. Her on stage husband, played by Duke Lafoon was solid. His voice highlighted every scene he was in.
Gabrielle Boyadjian as Emily, get slowly moving with her "Now I'm on Your Case". Gabrielle is a stand out by the end of the show, but she looked a bit unsure of herself in this song. Michael and the ensemble end the first act with creative choreography and wonderful harmonies.
ACT II
Noah lets everyone know that he is no fluke as he opened the second act with "Call Me ACE". Noah is one of the few children actors that is fully into his character, his timing is very good, he doesn't sit on certain lines, and he never over acts and plays to the audience. He seemed like a true mini-professional.
The second act moved smoothly, with Gabrielle hitting stride in "Sooner or Later". Darren Ritchie's portrayal of Ace is strong and confident. He hits the right marks and carries the storyline sensibly and with a Broadway veteren's ease. Darren's voice is strong and in the last scenes he is distinctly leading the talented ensemble to wrap up the show.
It was a good night at the theater and look forward to going back down to San Diego with my 11yr old son to see ACE again.
I went to the Old Globe Theater looking forward to spending time hearing Michael Arden's voice and enjoying his innocent style of acting. But, came away impressed with a show that was filled with emotion, impressive staging, seemless lyrical content, and best of all...Noah Galvin.
As was mentioned before, I sat in partial view seats, they weren't too bad and I don't think I missed too much of the story.
ACT I
The opening scene "It's Better This Way" worked very well. The Old Globe Theater was set with a large circle downstage, with 3 levels of wings upstage. The ensemble carried the scene well and it was evident that Noel Galvin, as the lead Billy Lucas, was ready to give the audience a stunning performance. "Filling in the Blank" followed with Noel singing a profoundly meaningful song for anyone that has been a foster child or knows a foster child.
Michael Arden appears stangely military, I don't know if his costume was measured wrong or he is not the military type, but he looked a bit odd, in his 1st song "In These Skies". His voice is top notch and stirrs the audience into the biggest applause of the musical. We were soon introduced to Lisa Datz as Elizabeth and her voice is bit lagging compared to the other actors. Maybe the deeply depressed character, Billy's mom, causes her to tone it down, but even later she fails to impress.
Betsy Wolfe owns the stage in "Make It From Scratch". Wow, her acting and voice has the audience laughing and cheering her on. Her on stage husband, played by Duke Lafoon was solid. His voice highlighted every scene he was in.
Gabrielle Boyadjian as Emily, get slowly moving with her "Now I'm on Your Case". Gabrielle is a stand out by the end of the show, but she looked a bit unsure of herself in this song. Michael and the ensemble end the first act with creative choreography and wonderful harmonies.
ACT II
Noah lets everyone know that he is no fluke as he opened the second act with "Call Me ACE". Noah is one of the few children actors that is fully into his character, his timing is very good, he doesn't sit on certain lines, and he never over acts and plays to the audience. He seemed like a true mini-professional.
The second act moved smoothly, with Gabrielle hitting stride in "Sooner or Later". Darren Ritchie's portrayal of Ace is strong and confident. He hits the right marks and carries the storyline sensibly and with a Broadway veteren's ease. Darren's voice is strong and in the last scenes he is distinctly leading the talented ensemble to wrap up the show.
It was a good night at the theater and look forward to going back down to San Diego with my 11yr old son to see ACE again.
"Bad theater is better than no theater"
Some smart guy.
