#1
Posted: 9/25/06 at 11:38pm
Ok, so I just got back from the dress rehearsal of the Boston production of Spelling Bee. Here's my review of the show, with no comparisons to original cast, as that is completely unfair to any show...
The standouts to me were Jenni Barber as Olive, Sara Inbar as Logainne, Greta Lee as Marcy, and Stanley Bahorek as Leaf. My favorite character in this show is Leaf, and Stanley Bahorek did not disappoint. His acting was just as good, if not better than his singing, which was very strong, but I don't think the material showed off his best vocals. I looked forward to seeing him as Carl even as much as Leaf--he was by far the audience favorite(then again, it was an audience made up of mostly college-aged girls), and nailed EVERY joke (Leaf Coneybear has cats).
Greta Lee as Marcy also made an impression with her acting, and she had the part down perfectly. Her "Six Languages" was well-sung and extremely hilarious, and she was very aware of the other actors onstage, being extremely consistant throughout the show.
Sara Inbar did not impress me originally as Logainne, as I felt she lacked some energy, but as the show went on, she turned around completely, and I ended up feeling extremely sorry for her when she missed her word. Which is saying a lot since the character of Logainne usually annoys me. Her sign language got huge laughs, as well as her breath-holding. My one complaint is that she was not the annoying little girl that Rona was making her out to be...
Jenni Barber played Olive with everything that she should have. Her first song, "My Friend the Dictionary" was not increadibly impressive, but she was by far a stand-out in the "I Love You Song" and in the final sequence between her and Barfee("My Favorite Moment..."). Her acting throughout was great.
In fact, the entire cast had their characters down completely( it probably helped that many of them have been playing the roles in San Francisco for some time) as well as the energy. The only complaint was that a few of the actors were not amazing singers. This I felt was true of Aaraon J. Albano, as Chip. Maybe his mic needed to be turned up higher, but I felt that he was lacking a little bit in power, and his performance fit the part, but he could have turned it up a bit and truly been amazing.
Betsy Wolfe as Rona was a good fit, and she was especially funny when she was going crazy dancing. A few of her jokes were not as hilarious as might have been intented, but I think she may have been avoiding copying the original cast a bit, and thus, her delivery may have been a bit off.
Daniel Pearce as Principal Panch was also a good fit, just not extremely memorable. He was most funny when dealing with the last audience-speller, as he attempted to get him off stage.
Jared Gertner was a little bit of a disappointment for me, but I cannot ultimately place why. He did have a lot of energy, and his vocals were good (not great), but there was something lacking in his performance for me. Ok, maybe I'm being overly technical here, but I didn't really feel that I could relate to him at all, and I could with the other characters. I'm not sure if he truly IS Barfee, yet...
The major disappointment for me was James Monroe Iglehart as Mitch. I could tell that his vocals were great, but he missed a few notes tonight. I think part of his character choice was to act uninterested, but it came off as a little bored and lacking in energy. Also, his portrayal of Logainne's dad was more uncomfortable than believable. This, however, was not true of him when he was Olive's dad. This portrayal is what saved him for me, as I felt that he was amazing during "The I Love You Song". Perhaps he is just not a character actor.
Overall, the performance was great, and I laughed so hard. There were a few Boston jokes added in, which were well accepted, and it was funny to see the "am I a Red Sox or a Yankee?" line have a Boston crowd. The contestants brought onstage were great and often hilarious, and the cast seemed ready to handle the audience participation. The sets were great, much like, if not exactly, the broadway set if you would like a visual, and the theatre it is being performed at is great for the show, as it is intimate.
So, I definately would recommend this show to anyone around Boston or traveling through Boston--it is definately worth it. The show follows through on its laughs, and hopefully will do very well in Boston. I am very excited that this is an open-ended run, I just hope that the Boston audience allows it to stay for a while.
Sorry this is soooo long-I know most of you guys won't get out to see this, but I hope anyone around here who was not planning on coming to see this will reconsider--the show is really of great quality.
The standouts to me were Jenni Barber as Olive, Sara Inbar as Logainne, Greta Lee as Marcy, and Stanley Bahorek as Leaf. My favorite character in this show is Leaf, and Stanley Bahorek did not disappoint. His acting was just as good, if not better than his singing, which was very strong, but I don't think the material showed off his best vocals. I looked forward to seeing him as Carl even as much as Leaf--he was by far the audience favorite(then again, it was an audience made up of mostly college-aged girls), and nailed EVERY joke (Leaf Coneybear has cats).
Greta Lee as Marcy also made an impression with her acting, and she had the part down perfectly. Her "Six Languages" was well-sung and extremely hilarious, and she was very aware of the other actors onstage, being extremely consistant throughout the show.
Sara Inbar did not impress me originally as Logainne, as I felt she lacked some energy, but as the show went on, she turned around completely, and I ended up feeling extremely sorry for her when she missed her word. Which is saying a lot since the character of Logainne usually annoys me. Her sign language got huge laughs, as well as her breath-holding. My one complaint is that she was not the annoying little girl that Rona was making her out to be...
Jenni Barber played Olive with everything that she should have. Her first song, "My Friend the Dictionary" was not increadibly impressive, but she was by far a stand-out in the "I Love You Song" and in the final sequence between her and Barfee("My Favorite Moment..."). Her acting throughout was great.
In fact, the entire cast had their characters down completely( it probably helped that many of them have been playing the roles in San Francisco for some time) as well as the energy. The only complaint was that a few of the actors were not amazing singers. This I felt was true of Aaraon J. Albano, as Chip. Maybe his mic needed to be turned up higher, but I felt that he was lacking a little bit in power, and his performance fit the part, but he could have turned it up a bit and truly been amazing.
Betsy Wolfe as Rona was a good fit, and she was especially funny when she was going crazy dancing. A few of her jokes were not as hilarious as might have been intented, but I think she may have been avoiding copying the original cast a bit, and thus, her delivery may have been a bit off.
Daniel Pearce as Principal Panch was also a good fit, just not extremely memorable. He was most funny when dealing with the last audience-speller, as he attempted to get him off stage.
Jared Gertner was a little bit of a disappointment for me, but I cannot ultimately place why. He did have a lot of energy, and his vocals were good (not great), but there was something lacking in his performance for me. Ok, maybe I'm being overly technical here, but I didn't really feel that I could relate to him at all, and I could with the other characters. I'm not sure if he truly IS Barfee, yet...
The major disappointment for me was James Monroe Iglehart as Mitch. I could tell that his vocals were great, but he missed a few notes tonight. I think part of his character choice was to act uninterested, but it came off as a little bored and lacking in energy. Also, his portrayal of Logainne's dad was more uncomfortable than believable. This, however, was not true of him when he was Olive's dad. This portrayal is what saved him for me, as I felt that he was amazing during "The I Love You Song". Perhaps he is just not a character actor.
Overall, the performance was great, and I laughed so hard. There were a few Boston jokes added in, which were well accepted, and it was funny to see the "am I a Red Sox or a Yankee?" line have a Boston crowd. The contestants brought onstage were great and often hilarious, and the cast seemed ready to handle the audience participation. The sets were great, much like, if not exactly, the broadway set if you would like a visual, and the theatre it is being performed at is great for the show, as it is intimate.
So, I definately would recommend this show to anyone around Boston or traveling through Boston--it is definately worth it. The show follows through on its laughs, and hopefully will do very well in Boston. I am very excited that this is an open-ended run, I just hope that the Boston audience allows it to stay for a while.
Sorry this is soooo long-I know most of you guys won't get out to see this, but I hope anyone around here who was not planning on coming to see this will reconsider--the show is really of great quality.
***It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves.
-- William Shakespeare***
