Annie Preview Thread- Page 11

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 12:36pm

Jordan,
If you note in my commentary i don't state that you could not see the full set, but understand how it could read as very flat from that angle.
As far as Blankenbuehler, I only state that it was a welcome surprise to see that it was a very different style than what we have seen from him... not that it was great.
Yes, I was also told that things are changing daily.. that is what previews are for after all. You make it sound as though it is an absolute disaster. I very respectfully disagree.

(Edit: if you would like me to speak at some length of my problems with the production, I am more than happy to. Overall, I found it to be a very winning production.)

Updated On: 10/16/12 at 12:36 PM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 12:44pm

"In the end, I'm glad I saw it. I happen to love the movie (since I grew up with it) and it was nice to see a live production. So I guess I would sum it up with that word...nice."
- Jordan Catalano

"You make it sound as though it is an absolute disaster."
- broadwayguy2




Wow. That is some After Eight-caliber cognitive dissonance.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 12:53pm

LOL! Well it was no MARY, MARY. But to be fair, what is...?

And by "big changes" I don't mean preview tweaking. I mean BIG changes. We'll see if they happen, though.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 7:20pm

Jordan, you know there are only black-and-white reactions allowed or understood around here.

If you didn't think it's the BEST SHOW EVER on Broadway, then it must have sucked.

There is no in-between.

[Vermont]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 8:04pm

To broadwayguy2,
Curious what show you went to. I saw show on sat and also noticed a couple mishaps but loved Annie's performance as well.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 8:06pm

I just want them to release some photos and video so I can see what the set looks like!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 10/16/12 at 9:15pm

"And hearing this morning from friends that BIG things might be changing with this show since they know it's not working, either."

It's true then. Loretta Swit is being brought in as the new Hannigan.

At last a role worthy of La Swit's magnificent talents!!!!!!!!

[alterego]

Posted: 10/17/12 at 8:04am

I love you Dollypop ! You always make me laugh.

[cglaid]

Posted: 10/17/12 at 11:38am

I saw this last night. Here are my brief thoughts. Lilla is sensational, as is Anthony Warlow and Brynn O'Malley (who might've been my surprise favorite). Liked Rooster, couldn't stand Lily. Finneran, eh. Why does she look like a tranny?

The sets are beautiful. And the sets were fabulous. Loved the rotating "rooms." Never seen a production of Annie before, but thoroughly enjoyed myself. I thought the show was succinct, moved nicely, and everyone was on their game. My only gripe is that I was sitting in the front row after winning lottery and the orchestra sometimes overpowered the dialogue. Maybe it was just where I was sitting, but I missed some of the lines.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/17/12 at 11:45am

"I love you Dollypop ! You always make me laugh."

You must have seen him naked.

[PurpleFanta]

Posted: 10/17/12 at 8:36pm

Patrick Healy interviewed Finneran, and she has some interesting things to say about the role.

"The hardest thing in musical comedy is to be economical with my performance, to avoid being over-the-top for the sake of it," Ms. Finneran said. "I'm feeling more pressure about "Annie" than anything else I've done."
NYTimes Article

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/17/12 at 8:45pm

That article pretty much confirms what I thought. She's trying to rein it in, but instead she's holding back completely. The "pressure" she refers to definitely shows in her performance. She looks like a deer in headlights for 90% of the show. I wish she'd let go and have fun with it.

And I'm sorry, Mr. Lapine, but there is really nothing "subtle" about ANNIE, least of all Miss Hannigan. This is a family-friendly musical comedy and Hannigan is a virtually entirely comedic role...I really doubt that even the world's biggest cynic is walking in to ANNIE expecting or hoping to see Hannigan portrayed as "a tough, desperate woman out of a Eugene O’Neill play."

I love Finneran and I have loved some of Lapine's work, but I couldn't disagree more with what they have to say about Hannigan. Please tell me I'm not the only one...?
Updated On: 10/17/12 at 08:45 PM

[somethingwicked]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 12:17am

I think what Finneran's saying is that she wants to make Hannigan a real person and not a cartoon, which is something I fully support. As she asserts in the Times piece, she's someone who really utilizes the preview period to flesh out her characterization, and I have no doubt she's doing that s we speak.

It's interesting how polarizing her performance appears to be- some people are accusing her of being completely over the top and recycling her tricks from PROMISES, PROMISES, and other people are saying she's severely underplaying it. It's amazing how folks can watch the same thing and see two completely extreme opposite ends of the spectrum. I'm sure what she's doing is evolving, of course, but not that much.

Updated On: 10/18/12 at 12:17 AM

[Vermont]

Posted: 10/18/12 at 10:54pm

Did anyone see show tonight or last night (Wednesday Thursday)? Any thoughts on Annie or Hannigan?

[Kev]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 10:41am

Did anyone see show tonight or last night (Wednesday Thursday)? Any thoughts on Annie or Hannigan?

On Thursday, Taylor Richardson was Annie and Jaidyn Young covered Duffy. Richardson was excellent in the title role.

Any idea why Richardson, as opposed to Annie standby Young, is going on instead of the latter?

[behindthescenes2]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 11:42am

Saw the show last night, and I hear that Lapine has been given pages and pages of notes from the writer, and original team, telling him he is missing the point of the show. It pains me to say that the tap dancing choreography looks like it is a directly from a small town BEGINNER tap class at a school that could be titled: Miss Marsha's ballet, clogging, jazz, fire baton and tap school. Why didn't they get a real tapper to choreograph this show - a real one say one particular very tall director/choreographer, who understands musicals. This team needs to walk over to Book of Morman and become schooled in what a real broadway musical just might look like. Annie, Warbuck and Finneran are fantastic - hate the clothes, love the set and Finneran, please fix your role - ignore Lapine if he is directing you this way, otherwise there will be no tony nomination much less a win this time.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 11:45am

Yeah, Marty ain't happy with James AT ALL.

[DivaBrigader]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 8:57pm

I think maybe they are toying with the idea of having an alternate for Lilla and this way Taylor is ready to go.

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 9:36pm

Taylor and Jaidyn on tonight like Thursday.

[NYsky]

Posted: 10/19/12 at 11:00pm

Is it possible that Lilla has just been sick and needs extra time to rest her voice?
Seems as if Taylor has been doing an excellent job filling in on such short notice and such little practice, but are we looking into this too much? Maybe it's much ado about nothing.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 10/20/12 at 9:22am

Here's the thing.. and this is not to be seen as a defense of Lapine's direction. (Though I did love much and took isuues with some key things).

I think Charnin would / will take issue with ANYONE else's direction of that show. Good, bad or indifferent. So I take that with a major grain of salt. In fact, I would personally take Charnin's dislike (after the last few productions he has staged) to be a sign that I am on the right track.


As far as Crawford vs Richardson vs Young:
To the best of my knowledge, Crawford has indeed been battling illness and they would, of course, rather play it safe than sorry. As per usual, understudies and stand-bys aren't fully rehearsed until after a show is frozen. Richardson has ONE role to understudy, whereas Young as four roles to learn. At this point, it should be expected that Richardson is a tad more up on the game of having learned the role.

[behindthescenes2]

Posted: 10/20/12 at 11:06am

I agree that every revival needs a fresh look, but when you are dealing with set (cartoon) characters that only work within a certain framework, you absolutely risk screwing up something that is already at it's best, "if it isn't broken, please don't fix it" is the phrase. Stop trying to make something more of it, where there is no more. It is a cartoon character brought to life, it should be joyous and fun, please don't try to put a slant on it that drags it down, like they did Little Mermaid with that stupid lesbian feminist crap, and I am gay so shut up, I call it as I see it and I blame the director and the main producer for killing The Little Mermaid before she had a chance. That is a true example of what too much thinking and pondering and looking for motivation can do to a simple and uncomplicated story - Jesus, Annie is fun, hopeful and JOYOUS..damn you don't have to be a professional to see it.

[NYsky]

Posted: 10/20/12 at 11:25am

Here's how I believe the process works and please correct me but I'm feeling pretty confident here: Crawford is clearly Annie and clearly sick. The voice is always the last thing to recover. Richardson, understudy, will be Annie whenever Crawford is sick or needs time off such as a Wednesday or Saturday matinee as long as there is enough time to make the audience aware of the switch such as the slip of paper in the playbill or a sign in the foyer area. Young would only step in as Annie if something happened in the middle of the production such as a twisted ankle or the like. However, if that happened right now Richardson would be the clear choice as she's done it and has done it exceptionally well. They certainly never planned for Richardson to fill in until after opening night and I'm certain they are breathing a great sigh of relief that she not only made it through but carried the show. From what I hear Young is also extremely talented and given time she will be ready when needed.

[mikem]

Posted: 10/20/12 at 12:50pm

Does anyone know if Lilla or Taylor is going on this afternoon or tonight?

[Rainbowhigh23]

Posted: 10/20/12 at 2:10pm

I saw the show last night and it was the first time seeing a full stage production. In the end I totally enjoyed it. There were moments that were a little blah but who cares, the house was packed and everyone was having a good time. It was sad to miss Lilla Crawford but Taylor Richardson gave a wonderful performance - she was working at her Noo Yawk accent at first but once she tore into "Tomorrow" with Sandy there was nothing to critique of her performance; she was spot on. The crowd was cheering loudly when she belted those final notes. During "When I'm stuck with a day that's grey and lonely" she, to me, sounded a lot like Andrea on the OBC. The orphans were adorable and Molly was a real standout - that's obvious, her being the youngest, but she really did a great job. (Personal note on the subject matter - when she's crying, "Momma! Momma!" at the beginning and Annie comforts her, even just hearing that on the OBC album made me cry, same for last night)

Katie as Miss Hannigan didn't really do it for me. Those who critiqued her performance earlier in the thread were spot on - she played up the drunk part a bit too much, and came across as scary but flat (I much prefer Dorothy Loudon's performance). Someone mentioned that the orphans were part of the "Easy Street" number, I don't remember them being in it last night; that number was a bit of a dud so I probably lost interest anyway. I loved Anthony Warlow and Brynn O'Malley, Clarke Thorell and J. Elaine Marcos were good, with J. Elaine not being an Asian stereotype at all. "You're Never Fully Dressed Without A Smile" and "The Cabinet Meeting" scenes were two of the best of the evening, they were very well done.

As far as the set - get rid of the clothesline at the beginning! Next - the orphanage was unique but did look a little flimsy - I was a bit worried for Katie at one point because in one scene it looked like part of the set was going to come down on her and the orphans' heads. Daddy Warbucks' mansion as a storybook was a very interesting set design, and was stunning for the Christmas scene.

The overture controversy - oh, the overture, please bring it back! So annoying when it's playing and the newsreel that tells you nothing you don't already know cuts into it.



Updated On: 10/20/12 at 02:10 PM