Anyone going to the first preview of PROMISES, PROMISES tonight?

I'm dying to know if Ashford is keeping the "Turkey Lurkey Time" choreography. Here's the original as reference.


Turkey Lurkey Time

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someone please post the new song list. I am curious to know where they placed the interpolations.

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I'll be there in the front mezz!!

Uh oh just got the playbill. There are going to be some unhappy people. A House Is Not a Home is the new act 1 finale! Yikes. Chuck gets a reprise of it in act 2. Grapes of a Roth is the second song in act 1. I don't see the Marge and Fran duet listed.
Some of you will not be happy about this.

So where is Turkey Lurkey Time?

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Intermission. Act 1 still ends with the scene between Fran and Chuck. House is sung when he leaves the stage, he returns, they have their exchange and the act ends like It I guess it originally did.
I can't tell if the Bennett choreography was used for Turkey. It felt kind of underwhelming, and sometimes the focus felt like it was off the three women.
Two leads are good so far.
Prayer was basically a dance number for Kristin and the girls. It was kind of odd.
I don't know what else to say yet.

Updated On: 3/27/10 at 09:42 PM

I can't tell if the Bennett choreography was used for Turkey. It felt kind of underwhelming, and sometimes the focus felt like it was off the three women.

Most likely not then

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"Seems odd to not use iconic choreography in a song that was created as a showcase for the choreographer."

Exactly how I felt about the last revival of "Oklahoma."

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Any merchandise for sale? Windowcards?

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Some more thoughts.

I thought it was good, but never great. I know it was the first preview, so hopefully it will get stronger.
Sean Hayes is extremely charasmastic, and is a fine singer. He was very good. I would nominate him for a Tony.
Chenoweth is good, but you never once feel like you are watching Fran Kubelik. You are always aware that you are watching Kristin Chenoweth as Fran Kubelik. Thankfully she didn't add any of her crazy soprano notes. She sings the score pretty straight as it was written. I admire her for that. Her two additions were fine, but nothing spectacular. Her "Whoever You Are" was actually very good. She will certainly be nominated, but I would not choose her over Zeta-Jones.
Tony Goldwyn is a fine presence in a sleazy role. His singing is rather weak, and still needs some work.
Katie Finneran is also fine. She does not come close to stealing the show, which I imagine Marian Mercer practically did.
Dick Latessa was a wonderful Dr. Dreyfuss.
The sets were fine, nothing great. The actual apartment was the best set.
I still do not know if they used the original Bennett choreography for Turkey Lurkey Time. Bennett is not credited in the Playbill, so I doubt it is.
The best parts of the show for me were the incredible orchestrations and orchestra, and of course the simply fabulous score. The book felt a bit dated at times.
I think it will get better in time, but I am not sure purists are going to love this one.
Audience reaction was extremely enthusiastic, they clearly enjoyed the addition of two very famous Bacharach songs.

Updated On: 3/28/10 at 12:22 AM

Let me start off by saying that I'm not a fan of the show itself. It's very dated and it just didn't work for me. I was very let down by the choreography/staging of Turkey Lurkey Time. The cast is good. Kristin Chenoweth, while not the greatest actress in the world, made the whole experience worthwhile for me. She is a true star. She has more star quality than anyone alive except Liza, IMO. It was nice to hear her sing in her lower register. She took the role seriously and thankfully do any of her cutesy gimmicks. I feel so blessed to have been in her presence tonight.

"Hopefully she'll bring a little more goofiness over the next few weeks."

- But I think the point is that Fran is not a goofy character.