#1
Posted: 9/4/06 at 4:04pm
Here are the thoughts of a French guy after a week seeing shows on Broadway. Pardon my poor English.
Forbidden Broadway SVU 8/26 :
I arrived in NYC arround 12 noon with a 6 hour jet lag and was getting ready to go to bed when my friend Andra called me to ask me if I wanted to join her to see Forbidden Broadway SVU. I was a bit worried as I own all the recordings and was thinking it can not be better on stage. Well, if you are looking for fun and love Broadway that is the place to be. French is my mother tongue and I still got to understand the whole thing. I laughed hard too when Annie started to sing “I am thirty years old, tomorrow” and my friend Andrea shouted : 40 !
The cast was great and the new “Light in the Piazza” segment was hilarious as well as the “Les Misérables” come back.
Only half of the theatre was full that night which is a pity as it is a great show.
The Wedding Singer 8/27 Matinee :
I was a bit reluctant at first because I heard many people on the boards saying they did not like it, plus with an average attendance of only 60 %, some might think it sucks. Well I have to say that I haven’t laugh like that during a show since I first saw the Producers with Nathan Lane in London two years ago. Sure it is not a huge show with gigantic sets and flying witches but still, there was an energy in that show that made everybody feel good, isn’t that what theatre is made for sometimes ? As a foreigner I understant it is quite hard for somebody whose mother tongue is not English to understand all the jokes this show delivers,..... but still its visual aspects are very appealing. My sister in law who does not speak a word of English liked it very much and laughed on many occasions.
You can feel the energy coming from the cast as soon as the curtain rises up. “This is your wedding day” is the show’s first and best song in my oppinion. The other songs fit well into the show but are forgetable with the exception of “Saturday night in the city”.
The whole cast but Laura Benanti and Matthew Saldivar was there. Tina Maddigan was great as Julia even better than what I had heard on the Cast Recording with a great voice and real comic timing. Stephen Lynch, and Amy Spanger were great as well. I really have to say that my favorite character in the show was Linda, you may only see her twice in the show but woa ....... I LOVED her two numbers.
This show may not last for long on Broadway and it is a shame.
Wicked 8/29 :
I had to see Broadway’s blockbuster everybody is talking about in good and bad. Well I had read so many bad comments about Eden and Kate that I was disapointed to see they were both in. Some will say it is not Sondheim but musical theatre is supposed to be populer, oops popular. Do not get me wrong, I love Sondheim and have seen most of his shows. Wicked is very appealing with catchy tunes and great sets, I am not a fan of great neither, I love Chicago.
Well Eden was in great voice and delivered a great performance. Her strong voice made the Gerchwin tremble. Her acting may not be the best but she totally convinced me as Elphaba, she was funny at times. And now Kate, I have read so many bad reviews about her. I LOVED her in the part, her singing was great in both lyrical and belting songs. She was so funny during Popular which was the highlight of my night with Eden’s rendition of No Good Deed. The show is in great shape and I agree with people who think the Wiz should have a bigger part. Fyero was just OK, easily forgetable just like Madame Morible and her accent. The girl playing Nessarose was brillant and made the most of her 15 minute stage presence.
I am definitely seeing it again in London in October.
The Producers 8/30 Matinee :
Well, I have seen the show in London with Nathan Lane two years ago and loved it. I liked the film as well. Well this time it really did not leave a good impression ..... I pretty much did not laugh during the whole piece and I do not think it was because of the book but mostly because of the cast. The show looked tired and some actors were waiting to much for laughs that were not coming. It was such a disapointment. Springtime for Hitler was phoned in, the girl playing Ulla didn’t get the fact that she is not just dumb, she knows what she want and fakes a lot in playing the blond doll. Roger Debris was terrible as was his Carmen, I was so sure to see Gary Beach that seeing he was not in the show any more ruined it.
I won’t talk about Max neither. Such a mess, trying to do things just like Nathan Lane..... Hunter Foster was great on the other side even if a bit too young, IMO, to play Leo.
What a waste ...... This show used to be great.
Tarzan 8/31
Well, I have to say that I love the cast recording. The show is, well, .......boring. The first 10 minutes are great, the music is wonderful, the sets are too. I nearly fell asleep during the first act as it was so long without any real development in the story. The guy playing Kerchak, Horace V. Rogers was doing all these faces that were funnier than scary, his singing on the other hand was good. I was totaly blown away by Merle Dandridge and Josh Strickland’s voices. Jane Ganbatese was sounding odd in her first song entrance. She was replaced in act two by her understudy Natalie Silverlieb who was trully wonderful, a great singer and actress. The second act was a bit better than the first one even if the end is really flat and .......... boring like most of the show. The best thing I could say about it is that the show offers great voice talents but no great acting.
It is a show for kids, with no real back story and beautiful colors.
Forbidden Broadway SVU 8/26 :
I arrived in NYC arround 12 noon with a 6 hour jet lag and was getting ready to go to bed when my friend Andra called me to ask me if I wanted to join her to see Forbidden Broadway SVU. I was a bit worried as I own all the recordings and was thinking it can not be better on stage. Well, if you are looking for fun and love Broadway that is the place to be. French is my mother tongue and I still got to understand the whole thing. I laughed hard too when Annie started to sing “I am thirty years old, tomorrow” and my friend Andrea shouted : 40 !
The cast was great and the new “Light in the Piazza” segment was hilarious as well as the “Les Misérables” come back.
Only half of the theatre was full that night which is a pity as it is a great show.
The Wedding Singer 8/27 Matinee :
I was a bit reluctant at first because I heard many people on the boards saying they did not like it, plus with an average attendance of only 60 %, some might think it sucks. Well I have to say that I haven’t laugh like that during a show since I first saw the Producers with Nathan Lane in London two years ago. Sure it is not a huge show with gigantic sets and flying witches but still, there was an energy in that show that made everybody feel good, isn’t that what theatre is made for sometimes ? As a foreigner I understant it is quite hard for somebody whose mother tongue is not English to understand all the jokes this show delivers,..... but still its visual aspects are very appealing. My sister in law who does not speak a word of English liked it very much and laughed on many occasions.
You can feel the energy coming from the cast as soon as the curtain rises up. “This is your wedding day” is the show’s first and best song in my oppinion. The other songs fit well into the show but are forgetable with the exception of “Saturday night in the city”.
The whole cast but Laura Benanti and Matthew Saldivar was there. Tina Maddigan was great as Julia even better than what I had heard on the Cast Recording with a great voice and real comic timing. Stephen Lynch, and Amy Spanger were great as well. I really have to say that my favorite character in the show was Linda, you may only see her twice in the show but woa ....... I LOVED her two numbers.
This show may not last for long on Broadway and it is a shame.
Wicked 8/29 :
I had to see Broadway’s blockbuster everybody is talking about in good and bad. Well I had read so many bad comments about Eden and Kate that I was disapointed to see they were both in. Some will say it is not Sondheim but musical theatre is supposed to be populer, oops popular. Do not get me wrong, I love Sondheim and have seen most of his shows. Wicked is very appealing with catchy tunes and great sets, I am not a fan of great neither, I love Chicago.
Well Eden was in great voice and delivered a great performance. Her strong voice made the Gerchwin tremble. Her acting may not be the best but she totally convinced me as Elphaba, she was funny at times. And now Kate, I have read so many bad reviews about her. I LOVED her in the part, her singing was great in both lyrical and belting songs. She was so funny during Popular which was the highlight of my night with Eden’s rendition of No Good Deed. The show is in great shape and I agree with people who think the Wiz should have a bigger part. Fyero was just OK, easily forgetable just like Madame Morible and her accent. The girl playing Nessarose was brillant and made the most of her 15 minute stage presence.
I am definitely seeing it again in London in October.
The Producers 8/30 Matinee :
Well, I have seen the show in London with Nathan Lane two years ago and loved it. I liked the film as well. Well this time it really did not leave a good impression ..... I pretty much did not laugh during the whole piece and I do not think it was because of the book but mostly because of the cast. The show looked tired and some actors were waiting to much for laughs that were not coming. It was such a disapointment. Springtime for Hitler was phoned in, the girl playing Ulla didn’t get the fact that she is not just dumb, she knows what she want and fakes a lot in playing the blond doll. Roger Debris was terrible as was his Carmen, I was so sure to see Gary Beach that seeing he was not in the show any more ruined it.
I won’t talk about Max neither. Such a mess, trying to do things just like Nathan Lane..... Hunter Foster was great on the other side even if a bit too young, IMO, to play Leo.
What a waste ...... This show used to be great.
Tarzan 8/31
Well, I have to say that I love the cast recording. The show is, well, .......boring. The first 10 minutes are great, the music is wonderful, the sets are too. I nearly fell asleep during the first act as it was so long without any real development in the story. The guy playing Kerchak, Horace V. Rogers was doing all these faces that were funnier than scary, his singing on the other hand was good. I was totaly blown away by Merle Dandridge and Josh Strickland’s voices. Jane Ganbatese was sounding odd in her first song entrance. She was replaced in act two by her understudy Natalie Silverlieb who was trully wonderful, a great singer and actress. The second act was a bit better than the first one even if the end is really flat and .......... boring like most of the show. The best thing I could say about it is that the show offers great voice talents but no great acting.
It is a show for kids, with no real back story and beautiful colors.
In my heart, I found the answered dream,
and in my soul I found the song, and in my friends
I found the magic, the love,
the moon up above- they were mine, all mine, all along..!
