Ben Hope

[Etravel]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 4:56pm

Hello..I am complete Newbie to the board and just have a rookie question or two if you guys can help out..We are coming to NYC in May and were planning on seeing Once, but now I am a bit concerned about it due to the departure of Steve Kazee and Cristin..Just wondered if the show is still wonderful with Ben Hope and still a recommended show to see? I know it's personal opinion but just wanted to get some pro's thoughts on if we should still go! We are also going to see Matilda, and we are 2 adults and 18 and 19 year old daughters..Thanks!

[suestorm]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 5:05pm

yes, the two leads have been with the show for a while and are great replacements, while i havent seen ben, i have laura and she is amazing. my sister saw ben and loved him as well!

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 6:26pm

I cannot speak to Ms. Dreyfuss as I have not seen her (she has been getting positive reviews on this board since she became a regular replacement), but I have seen the show five times, four with Steve Kazee and the last in February with Ben Hope. Although he does not yet have the acting range of Steve Kazee, I was thoroughly taken with his performance and would highly recommend seeing the show. (Note: I live on the west coast so I'm not one of the folks who can just pop back in if I miss a regular, so I take getting replacements very seriously and still loved Ben's performance)

[AntV]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 7:34pm

I would take the girls to Cinderella instead. I think they'd be more impressed, entertained, and moved by that love story than the bore of Once.

And yeah, definitely see Matilda, they'll love it. The college girls in the school group I went with did. Updated On: 3/28/13 at 07:34 PM

[jnb9872]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:18pm

Matilda is very entertaining and a great highlight of your week, without doubt. That said, Once is something special. I saw both Steve (at NYTW) and Ben (on Broadway) in the role what's most important is that the show they're in is so strong, so creative, so beautiful that Ben, while in many ways not as evenly-excellent as Steve, does not diminish from the show in any way in Steve's absence. If anything, for all I loved about Steve, I think Ben is much more natural at the humor the Guy displays on occasion. Nothing can match Steve's voice (save, of course, for Glen Hansard's voice, which in turn is actually the unmatchable one) but Ben does the show justice and then some, from what I recall.

[HeyMrMusic]

Posted: 3/28/13 at 10:29pm

Ben doesn't have Steve's lower singing range and he doesn't sound like Glen all that much, but he makes the songs his own and sounds great. Since I've seen Steve (a couple times) before seeing Ben, it was nice to see and hear a fresh take on the role. It's still very much a compelling performance.

I haven't seen the other replacements, but the show (when I saw it last week) is still as magical as it was when I first saw it. The act one finale still takes my breath away.

[grumpyoptimist]

Posted: 3/29/13 at 12:09am

Etravel, FWIW, I took a couple 25yr old women last year and they LOVED the show (they were particularly taken with the break from traditional love story format).