Brief Brooklyn Tour Review-ish--8/4/06

[Parks]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:03am

Returned from my 3rd time seeing the tour. This time, I wasn't sitting in the balcony though. I was sitting 3rd row (thanks to the lovely 50% off discount--which you all should take advantage of if you're in Dallas over the next 2 days!)

*Excuse me for the horrible review--it's not so much a review as much as little things I noticed.*

The cast--was amazing again tonight. Everybody was great, as usual. Diana sang "Once Upon A Time" the best I've heard it--EVER. She was even better than the first 2 times I saw it here. It was very weird getting to see the show up close. The actors and actresses all have great facial expressions. I love Diana's Little Brooklyn. I can't get over it--her Little Brooklyn voice...ah. Music to my ears :-P.

Julie has such a gorgeous voice--it's a shame she doesn't sing more.
Lee is a great actor and I love his voice most of the time--but sometimes, it seems like he's screaming a little too much. He has a very rock-ish voice, which I do like.
Melba was spunky as always. I loved all of her songs--but I'm wondering, can she sing Raven without getting that whole yelling thing going on (where her voice starts getting raspy towards the end)? She has a lovely voice, but I don't know if she's putting a character voice on or what. It kind of bothers me. She toned it down a little bit from opening night, I think. Another thing I noticed--when I saw the show last Friday, when she sang the word "bleed", she over-enunciated it, more like "Blee-duh". I'm guessing she got a note saying she needed to enunciate more, maybe. She didn't do the blee-duh again tonight. It was much subtler tonight.
Cleavant was great. I personally don't care for many of his songs--but this man has SO much soul in him. The entire cast does--but he truly shines. Great performance.

Now--on to some other stuff some of you wanted to know about...

-Went to the "talk back" tonight--she was the only cast member to come out. There were only about 10 people there (maybe less?) Hardly anybody knew about it, I think.
-I gave her flowers, and I was really nervous and giggly...and after I gave them to her (before she talked), I kinda skipped back to my seat and she started laughing.
-She talked about how she likes theatre, but her real passion is in recording (which we kind of knew already).
-She wouldn't mind returning to the tour next summer if her schedule will allow it.

On to the other...stuff:
-She was not at the Kelly Clarkson concert on Friday--she went home and slept.
-I told her I saw her in Hairspray in March--and we kind of had a moment. (I was kind of in shock--talking to her--wasn't able to come up with the words "I Can Hear The Bells" to tell her which scene I was talking about) I told her I was sitting front row and she looked at me and I started giggling and she kept a straight face.
-I took it a step further, you guys. I asked Diana DeGarmo...if she'd marry me. She said she WOULD! She told me I could be her Dallas husband. She's going to get a husband from each city, and I can be hers from Dallas. She then asked me my name...I told her "Parks"...and she said, "Parks...I'll have to remember that".

You guys,

my life...is...COMPLETE.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:05am

Too cute.

[Marie2]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:29am

Parks, you are awesome. Diana will definitely remember you now. She's got an amazing memory and even if you don't see her for another year, you can tell her "Hi, I'm your Dallas husband" and she'll know exactly who you are.
What kind of flowers did you get her?

[Parks]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:34am

roses--they were yellow.

Check out the new avatar!

Wife and husband...and some other girl.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 12:40am

Very nice, Parks!

[EugLoven]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 1:27am

Take a look at the Tour Production photos here:
https://sanfrancisco.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=11343

[Parks]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 1:47am

Ah! Awesome pics. I was wondering during the show where pics were. I know there aren't any on the brooklynthemusical.info site (or whatever it is). LOVE the costumes and set.

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 1:55am

Awesome pictures!

[ABoyLikeThat]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 2:03am

Parks, that is awesome. Congratulations on the engagement! You and Diana look really cute together. I'm sure Diana will remember you after this for sure.

So what exactly is this "talk back" thing? I take it it was something done after the show, not at the stage door.

[Bret]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 2:18am

Oh good! I expect an invite to the wedding, of course.

[nannerz60]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 9:38am

Parks -
You rock! Thank you so much for that! Congrats on the engagement, too! Love the pic! Glad you enjoyed!

[Parks]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 9:58am

A talk back (which some shows do--usually smaller shows, I think) is when some of the crew members and cast members come out after the show to talk about the show. Audience members can ask any questions they want. Last night, only about 10 or so questions total were asked. Again, not many people knew about it. It was in the auditorium.

and correction--it wasn't brooklynthemusical.info that I looked for pictures on--it was the official site (whatever that is).

[BreakingTheCircle07]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 10:24am

Ooooo that's so great! Where are you two registered, Parks?

[idolseacrest]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 1:55pm

lmao...PARKS!!!! You're my hero! You proposed to her instead of asking her out. I praise your guts to do that!!!! Glad you had a great. I told you her reaction would be priceless. Now I'm telling you will be embedded in her memory forever because that girl has a darn good memory.

[AberJ01]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 3:00pm

Diana DeGarmo is a joke in the role compared to Eden Espinosa's performances in the role of Brooklyn, there's not even a close comparison. It's actually quite sad...

Then again she wasn't really even that good on American Idol, talk about people who got alot farther than they should have...

[Parks]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 7:41pm

I think somebody's a little bitter over American Idol...lol.

Have you seen Diana in the role, Aber? Live--not on videos on YouTube? She is AMAZING. I haven't seen Eden, but I've heard her--and I must say, Diana can sing the part a little better. I liked her sound better, atleast. Eden wasn't bad--it's an INCREDIBLY vocally demanding role. I just think that Diana sounded better in some of the songs--and she brought more energy to the part (where it belonged).

...would it be too much to say I plan on seeing the show again tomorrow (closing day)? :-P

[dancingthrulife04]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 7:45pm

...would it be too much to say I plan on seeing the show again tomorrow (closing day)? :-P

Of course not! You have to go see your wife again before she leaves.

[ABoyLikeThat]

Posted: 8/5/06 at 8:25pm

Haha, you must go back after this, Parks! You have to see your wife again and give her a proper send off.. If you get to meet her again, definitely post about it. :)

[AberJ01]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 2:21am

Lol, why would I be bitter about American Idol? That's a really stupid thing to be bitter about. Plus either way it's not like she won anyway, and on top of that her first album tanked BIG time and her second album is going to probably do even worse, so really in reality there isn't anything to be bitter about.

As far as the performances go, yes I did see both Diana on the tour and I did see it on Broadway with Eden as well. Eden performing the role of BKLYN was absolute pure magic. I knew absolutely nothing about her or the show going into the theater when I went to New York, and I left speechless. She had just an amazing night the night we went. Diana on the other hand in my opinion first did not have the acting chops of Eden. Once Upon a Time was the big one for me, I just felt nothing expression wise while Diana was singing.

Now comparing singing is pointless. Eden Espinosa simply has one of the most stunning voices I've heard in years. Like I said I went into the show on Broadway not knowing a thing about Eden or BKLYN it was just an extra show we picked up tickets to very last minute, but I left the theater just completely amazed. I've made two trips since to see her in Wicked, and really she even adds a special magic to that musical that I thought after seeing Idina no one could equal, but Eden surpasses even her.

To me Diana was just a complete disappointment really. Her voice doesn't have the power Eden had, not to mention Diana's high range isn't as strong as Eden's is. To me I'm sure she's great as Penny in Hairspray, but her voice just wasn't cut out for the run in BKLYN. Sorry, it's just my opinion, and you can disagree or agree all you want, but like I said, as far as Brooklyn's go, there is just no comparsion between the two in my mind.

[Parks]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 3:19am

Diana has improved so much since American Idol--her 2nd album will probably be better than her first. Who knows how it's going to do? What do you have against her, honestly? You're obviously very bitter about something--to be criticizing her for things like bad record sales. So what if she didn't do well? Hello? Justin Guarini (sp), anyone? If people could see how amazing she is now, her next CD would fly off the shelves.

you have an opinion, fair enough. When did you see Diana in the role? Was it recently or towards the beginning of the run? She's improved a lot, I bet--she's really great in the role now. At the beginning of the run, she was singing in a lower key for some songs, I know--which are now back up to their original keys.

We seem to have very different opinions...seeing how you liked Idina a lot and I'd prefer somebody more like Kristy Cates.

After listening to the Brooklyn Live CD, which I finally got tonight, I prefer the touring cast to the original cast big time. I like Diana's Little Brooklyn voice--which I've said over and over. I can't get over it--it makes you believe she's really a 5 year old, while Eden didn't really have a little girl voice that she could do. She played an adult playing a little girl. Diana WAS Little Brooklyn.

by the way--I'm going to see the show again tomorrow for sure--for free . My friend has season tickets. I seriously cannot wait for tomorrow. My love for the show grows even more every time I see it. I'm going to be sad to see it go .

I honestly don't understand how Brooklyn was so hated on Broadway. People were saying it was one of the worst shows they had ever seen? Almost everyone I've talked to who has seen it here has either loved it or atleast enjoyed it. There's only 1 person who has absolutely hated it...and he's on these boards. He knows who he is.

[emo_geek]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 4:05am

AberJ01, I too went into BKLYN on Broadway knowing nothing about Eden or the show. I too came out amazed with my jaw still on the floor. Eden is my hero, yet I can not wait to see Diana. From what I have heard online, Diana does have the chops to pull it off, and it looks like she is. I am seeing Diana 3 times (maybe 4) in San Jose next week and can not wait. About the record sales...this was before Diana turned into who she is today...he next record is going to be what she wants...her first was what her producers wanted.

[Marie2]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 4:23am

AberJ01's marriage proposal must have gotten turned down.

Diana's second CD is an indie project. She's under no pressure to be a platinum artist and can easily go back and forth between her recording career and her theater career. I'm not the biggest fan of Brooklyn but I've been blown away by what I've heard and also plan to see the show in San Jose. I can't compare her acting to Eden's as I've never seen Eden perform in this show but I wouldn't be surprised if Eden comes across as the better actress-she's more experienced. However, in terms of singing, I think they are both amazing and it's more a matter of personal preference rather than talent level.

[AberJ01]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 4:07pm

Kristy Cates?? Lol we must really have opposite opinions because I thought she was HORRIBLE as Elphaba, but that's just me I guess.

Like I said in my last post though, I think our experiences with BKLYN are just different. For me it was just one of those performances you cant put into words. I dunno, like seeing Bernadette Peters in Gyspy or something. Eden owned the role start to finish, and literally vocally Eden singing the role of Brooklyn still to this day is the most amazing thing I've ever heard live, period. Going into the tour, which I saw not too long ago, Diana had ALOT to live up to. Did she do things well? Yes. Did she sing flat and mess up everything? No. My opinion was just that merely Eden was FAR better than her in the role. Sure Diana pulled off the child's voice better than Eden, I'll give you that, but who cares? The magic that I felt throughout the entire show just wasn't there for the tour performance.

It seems though that you were a Diana fan before going into the show, and really I doubt you would have left the theater disappointed no matter what happened. That is frequently the case with alot of people. While I don't hate Diana DeGarmo, and I will say that she has improved since Idol, I on the same token do not think she is anything special either. Her voice is good, but there isn't anything that special to it. Trust me there are thousands of girls who sound just like her, I hear them all the time. Sure I wish her luck, I don't think her second album will sell that well, but that's me. Sure, her fans will rush to the store to buy it when it's released, but honestly she isn't a name.

Back to BKLYN though, when I saw the show on Broadway a year and a half ago and I came back and posted on here how much I loved the show, and everyone replied to my post by saying how horrible the show was. I even posted back on here that I had never seen a show so hated as BKLYN seemed to be. In all fairness I can see why alot of people didn't like BKLYN. In places the book/plot of the show is lacking majorly, but musically I think it did not get the credit it deserved by any means. People picked on the lyrics of the show while to me they had inspirational quality to them. It's a shame though, really once this tour is over I think we've seen the end of BKLYN

[emo_geek]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 4:38pm

Actually I dont believe we've seen an end to Bklyn. It is playing in Korea right now, and another tour is planned for next summer.

[Marie2]

Posted: 8/6/06 at 6:01pm

The Eden vs Diana issue is very valid, with some favoring Eden for understandable reasons and others favoring Diana for understandable reasons. I can't figure out why her second album is an issue as it's success or failure has nothing to do with her theater work.