Atlar Boyz - Tour Philly 11/28

[Gpvegas]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:48am

Atlar Boyz – Tour Philadelphia 11/28

This was the first night of their stop in Philly. I was very excited to see the show as I fell in love with in off-broadway and have seen almost every new cast member on broadway. The 5 original guys were the best of the casts I have seen. I was curious to see how these road guys would compare.

The stop was at the Merriam Theater in Center City Philadelphia. A huge theater of over 1,800 seats. We were in the first balcony 4th row. The seating had zero leg room and the sound was a bit to loud. However, that was made up by the excellent performances on the stage. These guys had great energy and excellent voices and good dancing. If there was anything that I had to say fell a bit short was the dancing. I found it to be a little less inspired then the off-broadway version. I am not sure if it was due to limitation of the cast or just a different spin on the choreography.

The staging was good for how large the theater is compared to the New World Stages in NYC. It definitely was a bit lost in the theater and the energy of the crowd was not the same.

Now on to the performances. For me it really is hard not to compare to my favorites of the original cast. But honestly, I enjoyed these boys more then most of the replacements I have seen in NYC. For those interested –

Matthew was played by Matthew Buckner. Very good dancer and nice voice.

Mark was played by Ryan Ratliff. His performance was magnetic. One of the people with me said, she kept on try to watch all the guys dancing but she kept going back to

Ryan because he was so good. While Tyler is my ultimate Mark. Ryan is 2nd now. He did play Mark as a bit more subtle, not as outwardly flamboyant as Tyler did. He got a partial Standing O after Epiphany.

Luke was played by Jesse Johnson. He had a great voice. His dancing during Body, Mind and Soul was toned down compared to Andy Karl but I really think this was a change in choreography because he can definitely move.

Abraham was played by Nick Blaemire. He was amazing as Abe, great voice, acting and dancing.

Juan was played by Jay Garcia. Again excellent all around.

I have to say, if this tour gets your way check it out, you will not be disappointed. I really have to be honest and say I was not expecting it to blow me away the way it did.

[paphillyguy]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 11:57am

Great review. I agree the seating in the 1st mezz is very tight in the theater. I felt the show did lose its energy in that cave.

The cast did first rate work.

Especially since until the end, I really thought the audience was DEAD. They did show their appreciation at the end with their ovation but during the show they were DEAD.

Also, what is up with the theater selling big bags of Popcorn. CRUNCH CRUNCH PLEASE.

All in all a great night. I saw it on Thursday 11/30.

[carymetorent2]

Posted: 12/4/06 at 4:51pm

I saw the tour yesterday in Philly. These tour boyz are amazing. Probably the tightest cast since the originals and I am a harsh critic when it comes to this show. Someone to watch is Nick Blaemire who shines both vocally and acting wise as Abraham. I caught an understudy for luke - Austin - and his vocals were also incredible. Such talent - I hope some of them make it to New York.