Ben Platt and Micaela Diamond to star in NYCC Gala presentation of Parade- Page 6

[zainmax]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 6:19pm

Dylan Smith4 said: "Someone was saying on another thread that this may transfer to the American Airlines Theatre in the Spring. Can anyone confirm this or is it just a rumor at this time?"

Rumor. Another show already has the AA Theatre lined up.

[amiyagi]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 7:59pm

zainmax said: "Dylan Smith4 said: "Someone was saying on another thread that this may transfer to the American Airlines Theatre in the Spring. Can anyone confirm this or is it just a rumor at this time?"

Rumor. Another show already has the AA Theatre lined up."

Interesting...hints? Pirates of Penzance has been rumoured. 

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:07pm

What a special and moving night at the theatre

Micaela Diamond will be a star for the rest of her life.

Ben Platt did a really nice job and landed plenty of the comedic/lighthearted moments, even some that sounded like they weren’t written as such. 

Alex Joseph Grayson got the two biggest ovations of the night, with his two spectacular numbers which he delivered beyond excellence. 

I didn’t like having Leo “mime” during That’s What He Said. Come Up To My Office is plenty of flashback. Let Leo sit there and be terrorized by what he’s hearing from Jim Conley on the witness stand. 
 

Some overdirection as mentioned above… lots of things were pointed out with hands and arms or demonstrated, etc.

Sean Allan Krill did a lovely job as the Governor. Charming and filled with humanity.

A waste of Howard McGillin. Should have had him as the Judge and left John Dossett with just the Old Soldier. Or even put him as Mr Peavey.

Britt Craig has been eviscerated with the removal of his first song. That was a real let down. It’s not like cutting those 2.5 minutes makes the long show much shorter. Get rid of the even more pointless Pretty Music, if anything. Jay Armstrong Johnson, while no Evan Pappas, did a great job with the role overall and the Big News Reprise.

Orchestra sounded divine, strong, sensational. 

I hope it transfers, but if not I hope you can see it. 

 

Updated On: 11/1/22 at 10:07 PM

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:15pm

Every person I know who went last night and tonight has said the same thing: Ben Platt is good, Micaela Diamond is extraordinary. 

Going Thursday and can't wait to see. 

Updated On: 11/1/22 at 10:15 PM

[barcelona20]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:26pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Every person I know who went last night and tonight has said the same thing: Ben Platt is good, Micaela Diamond is extraordinary.

Going Thursday and can't wait to see."

I think we all knew this from the preview/press videos didn't we?

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:28pm

I also thought the show was quite good, having no previous experience with the show.  Ben Platt did a good job of reminding us why he was so critically acclaimed on stage before he essentially became an internet meme, though I can't say his performance was a particular standout--I think he fit the role well, but was about where I'd expect a well-cast actor to be, with nothing particularly special.  Micaela Diamond really has a fantastic voice and I hope we see more from her in the future, and I really enjoyed both Manoel Feliciano and Jay Armstrong Johnson a lot as well.  I didn't even recognize Howard McGillin was in the show until a previous poster mentioned it, what role does he play? The name listed in the program doesn't ring any bells for me.  I really don't think there were any particularly weak links in the cast at all, and I liked how there were a good number of features for all the characters.

I thought the staging worked well in the most part, with much of the ensemble sitting in the benches opposite the podium for a good part of the show, but they made good use of the three different levels of the stage.  I did like the miming in That's What He Said, though I wish they had put him in different lighting for the flashback scenes or at least tried to differentiate them a bit more.  I think my biggest quibble comes from the transition from Civil War-era to 1913 in Old Red Hills of Home, as it seemed a bit abrupt to me and I couldn't see the connection between including both time periods.  I get that it's to tie in Confederacy Day/Georgia pride and history but it just seemed pretty unnecessary to me.

Not sure if this is how it's usually directed, but I liked how a lot of scenes flowed directly into the next one (eg Leo and Lucille would be downstage ending their scene as the song began for the next scene and people filed in upstage), though a lot of the time it seemed the audience was eager to applaud which either delayed or obscured the next scene.  The break for intermission was also a little less definitive as (minor staging spoiler!) Ben Platt stays on for the entirety of intermission (which I did think was a good decision), and it seemed the audience was confused about whether intermission had actually started despite the house lights being up.  A good chance to run to the bathroom before anyone else though!

I was in the balcony and there are some projections on the back wall that are pretty much impossible to make out, though I could see the bottom portions of them, but they seemed more like added contextual backdrops rather than anything important, and all the necessary text was also printed on the front of the podium section, where it was easy to read.

[broadwayben3]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:28pm

Spring transfer? yes or no?

[Dylan Smith4]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:44pm

God, I hope so! I would pay anything to see Ben Platt back on a Broadway stage!

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:51pm

broadwayben3 said: "Spring transfer? yes or no?"

Ambassador Theatre Group and Seaview Productions enhanced this production.

I don't see it moving without a rave from the Times and other publications. Platt is a good solid name who will bring some fanbase, but this show is big and challenging material.

Prove me wrong.

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:53pm

Can we expect any reviews tonight? 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:55pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Can we expect any reviews tonight?"

Probably tomorrow afternoon. Critics would have attended tonight.

[BCfitasafiddle]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:56pm

ErmengardeStopSniveling said: "BCfitasafiddle said: "Can we expect any reviews tonight?"

Probably tomorrow afternoon. Critics would have attended tonight."

Oh, duh. My mistake. Why did I forget tonight was the first public performance? Lol. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 11/1/22 at 10:59pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Oh, duh. My mistake. Why did I forget tonight was the first public performance? Lol."

Because Encores kind of treats the invited dress as a full performance :)

[alexidarling15]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 11:36am

BCfitasafiddle said: "Every person I know who went last night and tonight has said the same thing: Ben Platt is good, Micaela Diamond is extraordinary.

I went last night and completely agree. I actually think he might have played a bit better if she hadn't been so extraordinary. 

I was also impressed by Paul Alexander Nolan as Dorsey. Krill is excellent as the governor (poor Jennifer Laura Thompson is basically wasted, with very little to do). Alex Joseph Grayson is a scene-stealer and I hope to see him all over the place soon. Eddie Cooper made the most of his role, too - devastating.

For those who have seen Parade before. Do they always show the old photos of the real people? I LOVED that.

 

[TheatreMonkey]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 12:43pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "What a special and moving night at the theatre

...
Britt Craig has been eviscerated with the removal of his first song. That was a real let down. It’s not like cutting those 2.5 minutes makes the long show much shorter. Get rid of the even more pointless Pretty Music, if anything. Jay Armstrong Johnson, while no Evan Pappas, did a great job with the role overall and the Big News Reprise..."

I know that this change happened for the re-worked London premier (and has stayed), but why on earth?! Aside from excellent world building, the song was an integral part of the character, Britt Craig, who represented an equally important aspect of the real-life railroading of Leo Frank: the frenzied whipping up of the populace by the local media. If time was a concern, why ditch the wonderful "Big News" but add that momentum killing song at the fishin' hole? Or, as much as I love "Pretty Music" as a song, it doesn't seem nearly as necessary as "Big News" in the grand scheme of things.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 12:57pm

"Ben Platt Scores in 'Parade' at City Center"

https://www.amny.com/entertainment/theater/review-ben-platt-scores-in-parade-at-city-center/

"Ben Platt Stars in an Excellent Parade at New York City Center"

https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/reviews/review-ben-platt-stars-in-an-excellent-parade_94503.html

"A PARADE For Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow"

https://www.theatrely.com/post/a-parade-for-yesterday-today-and-tomorrow-review

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 12:57pm

Yes I’d forgotten about that fishing song as it was just that - forgettable. 
Big News is indeed a world builder. I guess Old Red Hills and How Can I Call This Home do that job as well, but Big News is a totally different take - that of the hustler, that of commerce - and is so valuable. 
Shrug! 

[bwayobsessed]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 2:58pm

My apologies if this has been discussed, is there any sort of (non student) rush or lottery for this? 

[UWS10023]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 3:21pm

I think it is pretty well sold out. My seat was in the balcony. I wish I had seen it from a closer vantage point for I think I would have gotten more out of it.

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 4:33pm

It's a Critic's Pick from the NYT

[CATSNYrevival]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 5:24pm

BorisTomashevsky said: "Britt Craig has been eviscerated with the removal of his first song. That was a real let down. It’s not like cutting those 2.5 minutes makes the long show much shorter. Get rid of the even more pointless Pretty Music, if anything."

I also miss "Big News" and don't care much for "The Glory." As I understand it, at least some of the changes were made in effort to erase Hal Prince's fingerprints on the work and I think that was a mistake. The changes aren't drastic but I still prefer the original.

 

[Jmuep2]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 6:05pm

BCfitasafiddle said: "Every person I know who went last night and tonight has said the same thing: Ben Platt is good, Micaela Diamond is extraordinary.

Going Thursday and can't wait to see."

I would agree with this. He’s fine, though miscast. She’s amazing. 

[2]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 8:59pm

Boy, this show has the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It’s a shame such a glorious score lands with such a thud onstage, and the inability to make out the lyrics at City Center is not helping. Jay Armstrong Johnson missed all the high notes in his number, but everyone is uniformly good. I have no doubt this will be a success but I can’t say I’m enjoying it so far.

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 10:00pm

2 said: "Boy, this show has the subtlety of a sledgehammer.”

This is a fair critique of this show. It’s definitely a 90s era melodrama.

 

[ATerrifyingAndImposingFigure]

Posted: 11/2/22 at 10:45pm

Has “People of Atlanta” been reinserted?