I was there last night and it was my first time seeing ACL ever. I hadn't even seen the movie before. Maybe because I was a newbie and it was an evening follow-up to a matinee of Lisa and Harry in Chicago (um...), I thought ACL was just great. Being a newbie, I obviously don't know the ins and outs of the show, but I have listened to the OBC tons of times and I was completely satisfied except for the speeded-up tempo of At The Ballet. I'm sure this has been discussed before, but what was that about??
I don't know all the actor/character names, but I'll try. The standouts for me were the woman playing Diana (who was the understudy, I guess - Michelle Aravena); the woman playing Bebe; Deidre Goodwin; Michael Gruber; Jeffrey Schechter; and Jason Tam was *really* great.
I didn't imagine the Val part would be played so broadly for laughs and I didn't know if that's just the way the part is written or if it's Jessica Lee Goldyn's choice. Don't get me wrong, she was funny, and mostly I liked her, but it bordered on clowning.
I mostly didn't care for the two actors doing Sing, although I warmed up to Tokarz as the show went on.
The beefy guy who recounts driving the prostitue around -- I can't even figure out who he is from the program. He didn't move me so much.
I didn't really have a problem with D'Amboise. God knows I was looking for a problem after reading the ceasless trashing here and on ATC. I thought she was fine.
I missed the original production and stayed away from the movie on purpose, so this was a great night for me. At least getting to see the staging of the show and getting the energy of the performances. I know people complain about it being a tepid or lackluster production, but I didn't find it so. Maybe because there were new people and new energy or maybe because I've never seen the show and just don't know better. Or maybe I just really like it. Anyway, I'll definitely go again.
ETA: I think I left some people out that I liked. The guy who's from Buffalo. Is that Bobby/WIll Taylor? If so, I liked him too. Also, the textbook guy.
Updated On: 7/26/07 at 07:02 PM