I was there last night, as well. The play is beautiful, no doubt. This was my first exposure to the play. Some very funny moments, also some incredibly moving ones. One scene between Dennis Boutsikaris as Jack Jerome and Santino Fontana as his son Stanley almost moved me to tears.
Laurie Metcalf is terrific as Kate Jerome -- a truly multifaceted portrayal of this woman. But the performance of the night, for me, goes to Jessica Hecht, as Blache. She was absolutely phenomenal. I had seen Hecht in previous shows and she always left a lasting impression on me, but here, she completely disappears into this role. I never would have guessed that was Hecht if I hadn't known beforehand. A truly specific, detailed characterization that I believed and cared for from start to finish.
I was also impressed by Alexandra Socha's performance as Nora. I wasn't a fan of Socha's performance in SPRING AWAKENING, perhaps because I had Lea Michele's performance to compare her to, but she really shines here in this role.
The set is detailed, accurate to the time period and location, and really fills out the stage.
There appeared to be some sound issues, though. Some, or all, of the actors didn't appear to be miked, or perhaps they weren't projecting enough. I was sitting in the Orchestra, and had some trouble hearing Noah Robbins in his opening monologue, as well as other times. The other actors were a bit hard to hear at times, as well.
But overall, I immensely enjoyed the show. It was only the first preview, and I feel it can definitely use some tightening, but I'm sure by press previews, they'll be in even better shape.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
