About time we had a general previews thread for this...
Just wanted to let interested parties know that they seemed to have just opened up the front row of the orchestra for every performance. It is being sold as a premium ticket, but only $160, so not as much as the various premiums behind it. Was too hard to pass up A101 for the night before opening, so I didn't...
To the best of my knowledge, the front row at the St. James is awful. Its like sitting in front of a wall. Unless they significantly lowered the stage. Id steer clear of the first three rows.
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I was at the invited dress last night. Don't want to tell too much, after all it was still technically a rehearsal. The show is in GREAT shape though. Its a massive production, huge cast, sets, costumes, orchestra. Cast is uniformly excellent (Mazzie is pure brilliance). I'll post more thoughts this evening after their first official performance.
For each preview, a limited number of orchestra rush tickets will be available each morning when the box office opens at 10 AM. Rush tickets will be sold on a first-come, first-served basis for $37 each, with a limit of two tickets per person.
A friend was at the invited dress last night, and although she wouldn't tell me much because I am seeing it Saturday, she did say Betsy was great albeit a bit underused and she wished she had more to do. Having seen Betsy before, this isn't at all a surprise.
I feel weird sharing a lot about the final dress but re: Betsy being underused...did your friend know the movie? I agree that Betsy is very talented and "...New Baby" is sure to be a standout but Ellen's character doesn't really take up as much space as the others and I'm not sure how you could give appropriate stage time to Olive, Helen, Cheech and the rest if you expanded her role any further. The show is truly an ensemble piece and they have a lot of talent onstage in every role.
Just as an FYI, it ran about 2 hrs 50 minutes last night. There were some minor technical issues as well, lots of moving set pieces.
Isn't Betsy Wolfe playing the Mary-Louise Parker role? If so, I bet she understood her part was very small, it's a pretty tiny role in the film, and there is nothing about it that calls for the role to be expanded.
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My friend didn't know the movie (and neither did I), so that's the frame with which that comment was coming from. Obviously you can't drastically change a role from the movie, but she was commenting that Betsy was great and it'd be nice to have seen her in a role that gave her more to do.
Friends saw the invited dress last night and said that it is very promising and fun. Not the train wreck most had hoped it would be and that turning it into an interpolated musical really works for the material.
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