Boston review [title of show] posted
Boston review [title of show] posted
tapfrog
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/16/06
broadwaybaby77
Leading Actor Joined: 10/17/04
#2Boston review [title of show] posted
Posted: 1/23/10 at 1:19pmHas anyone seen this production? I went to the final dress rehearsal and I'm curious to hear other people's thoughts. I'm most specifically interested in whether or not you thought this show worked with a cast other than the originals.
#2Boston review [title of show] posted
Posted: 1/23/10 at 1:26pm
I saw it on the 16th. Really, really didn't enjoy it. The jokes felt very forced and either fell flat or completely missed the mark. The singing was terrible. The worst of the bunch was the woman playing Heidi and the best was the woman playing Susan, which is TOTALLY not right considering Heidi is supposed to have a great voice and Susan is only supposed to be able to carry a tune (ex. the "Filling Out The Form" scene). Also, the woman playing Susan put on a jokey "ghetto" voice the WHOLE SHOW. The guy playing Hunter wasn't at all funny and kept trying to play gay and went all over the place with his pitch when he actually hit the right notes, while the guy playing Jeff was just awkward and looked 14. And the guy playing Larry looked miserable the whole show.
All in all, just a total misfire. I loved the Broadway production and went into this one without comparing, but I couldn't help but miss the hilarity and heart the OBC brought to the show. The production in Boston has none of it.
Updated On: 1/23/10 at 01:26 PM
#3Boston review [title of show] posted
Posted: 1/24/10 at 1:07pm^I'm with ColortheHours on this one (I actually saw it the same day, too). The cast was just NOT good.
The choice may have been mistaken, The choosing was not... "Every day has the potential to be the greatest day of your life." - Lin-Manuel Miranda
broadwaybaby77
Leading Actor Joined: 10/17/04
#4Boston review [title of show] posted
Posted: 1/24/10 at 1:24pm
I completely agree. The people I went with enjoyed it, but so much of the show left a bad taste in my mouth.
I understand the concept of casting unknowns to make the show seem more authentic, but, as a theater student in Boston, it was very discouraging to see a show with such, er...peculiar talent. I'm sure they are all very talented actors in other respects, but this show was not the right fit for any of them. I found it very comical that Heidi, the 'singer' of the bunch, sang her big number in a weird, unclear mix. The whole song shouldn't be screamed at the audience, but at least belt the climactic note! Also, the actress playing Susan bothered me. Her way of being funny just wasn't funny to me, and thus, I didn't laugh at anything she did. In this production, I didn't understand why Jeff and Hunter were friends. Their relationship came from nowhere and felt stilted and awkward. In fact, all of the relationships in the cast appeared forced. Maybe the awkwardness stemmed from the fear of not hitting the high notes...
I really wanted to like the show. I saw the OBC and really enjoyed it, and when I found out it was going to be done in Boston, I even went ahead and marked it in my calendar. While I was waiting for the show to start, I thought about if the show would still translate without the creators as the cast. This production has shown me that the show does not work unless it is genuine. Sure, you can have four chairs and a keyboard, but if the heart and spirit (and vocal talent) isn't there or translatable to the audience, the show drags and its message is lost.
#5Boston review [title of show] posted
Posted: 1/24/10 at 3:09pm
That's exactly it, broadwaybaby77. If they put the heart into it that the OBC put, it would have come off much better, despite the vocal and acting shortcomings. Sadly, it all felt forced.
I agree about Hunter and Jeff's relationship. There was no reasoning as to why they were friends. They didn't seem to like each other very much.
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