Chances of Seeing Alice Ripley Opening Night in Cleveland?- Page 2

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 1:15am

I do think taking time off does help her voice for sure. When I saw her the first time in Cleveland (after a whole day off) it certainly wasn't as bad as the Friday I saw her after performing the whole week. I told the person I went to the show with that Alice might not be in, and she said she would've been disappointed because she wanted to see Alice, but after the show, she said she wished the understudy had been on because Alice's voice was distractingly bad.

[KChenowethfan]

Posted: 7/1/11 at 11:53am

I saw the June 28 performance of N2N at the Kennedy Center. It was the first performance of the run. While her voice wasn't in the shape it was in when I saw the show at Second Stage, Arena or on Broadway (earlyish in the run), it wasn't completely shredded. The pitch was mostly on, but she did struggle when she wasn't full out belting. However, apparently she was in good form in comparison to some other nights on tour. Acting was still amazing though. Comments suggested others found the vocal issues distracting. I didn't find them THAT bad. But then again, I am a long time Alice fan since Side Show and I realize her voice isn't what's traditional in musical theatre.

I really liked Emma Hunton as Natalie. Great acting and really, really amazing voice. The rest of the cast was mostly up to par too, with the exception of the kid playing Gabe (blanking on his name and don't have my playbill in front of me). I thought he lacked presence and his vocal ability was sub-par compared to the people I've seen in the role. I don't particularly go for the nasally boy-band sound.

[YankeeMate]

Posted: 7/2/11 at 4:50am

"The rest of the cast was mostly up to par too, with the exception of the kid playing Gabe... I thought he lacked presence..."

Maybe that's a subtle casting decision since Gabe exists only in other character's imaginations.

Personally, I found both Curt Hansen (Gabe) and Preston Sadleir (Henry) virtually indistinguishable from each other both physically and vocally. Of course, that may be another conscious casting choice since Henry is supposed to remind Diana of "somebody."

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/2/11 at 11:52am

I find Curt's voice very disappointing. You would think the producers would have access to some top notch male singers. Curt is not even close to the power and control of Aaron or Kyle. I doubt lacking stage presence is a casting decision. I mean, Gabe is a strong presence-a force to be reckoned with, he's not going anywhere quietly. He needs a powerful belt to match that.

[TripleThreatEsther]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 12:08pm

I'm planning to see the show while it's in Toronto. However, I've heard that Alice is only doing the role four times a week. Does anyone know if there's any truth to this?

If there is - does anyone know which performances she'd be doing?

Thanks.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 12:57pm

It's in her contract that she is only required to perform six times a week. It all depends on the week, of course, but if you want to catch Ripley the best time to do it is during the week. Her understudy is incredible though!

[binau]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:15pm

Interestingly Ripley has apparently missed an early performance in Charlotte (Wednesday), according to an obnoxious post on Facebook that criticises Ripley's 'terrible singing'. Excited though because it means she should definitely be on for at least 1/4 weekend performances (It would be a disaster if she missed 5/8 shows in the week, lol)...

Updated On: 7/14/11 at 03:15 PM

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:21pm

The last weekend in DC she missed two of the four weekend shows... The weekend before I think she only missed one. So I think you definitely have both Pearl and Alice in your future, haha.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:23pm

Couldn't she just plan her absences rather than making herself so elusive. By the time this tour is over her voice and the goodwill towards her will be equally shredded.

JUST TELL US WHEN YOU WANT TO REST THE PRECIOUS VOICE!!!!!

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/14/11 at 3:27pm

Once she rests her voice I think it will be back to the way it sounded at the beginning of her n2n run. One of the performances she gave in DC this past weekend sounded like Alice on the cast recording. She just needs REST. I'm excited for this tour to finally end.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 12:48am

I emailed Dancap in Toronto and asked them how many shows Alice was doing a week and they said she was contracted to do 8.

The following day I get an email that the Wednesday matinee I has front row center tickets to has been cancelled from the tour roster, effectively making only 6 performances that week.

Totally sucks. I hope I get the same seats for another show. This is what you get for planning in advance.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 12:55am

So many people planned to go to the very last show in Toronto (originally scheduled to be July 31st). I was planning on flying in from New Hampshire and somehow we found out that over a week ago, they cancelled the last performance, as well as the matinee the day before, without informing any of the ticket holders. The new last performance is on Saturday, July 30th, so we all had to rearrange our trips to push them back a few days. It's frustrating that they still haven't informed ticket holders - you can only find out if you do so yourself or call them.

Bettyboy72 - When did they email you? Because I have friends who had tickets for a couple of the cancelled performances who have still not received any formal word from the Four Seasons Centre or DanCap. They also do not know yet whether they will be able to refund their tickets. Luckily, mine were not yet paid for, just reserved, so it wasn't too much of a hassle.

It was kind of a dick move on their part. And I also heard that the cast was not informed until two days ago about the cancelled performances.

Updated On: 7/17/11 at 12:55 AM

[binau]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 1:07am

Just a quick update for Alice's attendance for what it's worth..she was on for both Saturday shows today in Charlotte, by the end of the 8pm show her voice was quite strained though (she struggles toward the end of "So Anyway", the 8pm show was particularly difficult for her - I thought for a second she would just speak the lyrics and not attempt to sing them). She can still manage to belt somewhat clearly though...hoping to catch Pearl tomorrow..will post more info after the weekend.

[WalkinglnSpace]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 1:58am

I got a call today from DanCap telling me about that matinee being cancelled and they were able to exchange my tickets for the Tuesday night instead. Still annoying since it ruined my plans. She did give me some kind of deal they had on? Not sure what that was about... but I obviously gladly took it. Very disappointing that they are cancelling it... she said one of the theories is because of poor ticket sales?

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 2:12am

The deal was great, so I just bought new tickets. It was $65 for front orchestra, instead of $129 (regular price). I'm now going on Friday, and Saturday night for the last performance.

I wonder if this was a move initiated by DanCap or the n2n company managers. I guess it's just frustrating that there were so many people flying in and they cancelled less than two weeks before the scheduled date.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 9:44am

I didn't see the email until last night, so Ill have to call today. I don't know if they are even open today. Plus, the friend I was going with is out of town, so I cant speak to him until later about if he can go Tuesday or Weds night (that Weds matinee was a perfect fit for us.) SO it may be tomorrow when I call for tickets.

This totally sucks and it won't bode well for the new production company Dancap. I don't know if its ticket sales or Alice's voice that is implementing the changes but customers will lose faith if you do crap like this.

I don't think Dancap shows are selling well. They started selling 9 to 5 tix for $29 bucks and they lowered N2N tix to $65. Even Donny and Marie got discounted. Tours don't tend to discount, especially in major markets like Toronto.

All in all, I think there are many people who have some disappointment around this tour and towards Alice as well. It's been a bumpy tour.

[Goggles]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 12:52pm

So how many performances did they cancel? Wed mat and both shows on Sunday?

[Tag]

Posted: 7/17/11 at 1:07pm

I'd be willing to bet they cancelled performances due to low ticket sales (very low). They haven't cancelled other tour performances due to Alice's lack of voice and there is an understudy for that reason.

Nothing seems to be doing very well in Toronto right now. Billy Elliot, Railway Children and even Hugh Jackman had discounts. It seems that only the major tours (Wicked, Lion King) are genuine sellouts.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 4:00am

From what I've seen, Alice gives wonderful performances throughout the week but struggles to maintain a strong vocal during the weekends. The exception would be Washington DC - strong performances throughout.

Anyway, it's unfortunate that they aren't selling well in Toronto. I can't believe the tour is almost over! I've seen Next to Normal so many times, though, that I really do feel ready to put this whole experience to rest. I am really looking forward to Alice's next project.

Also, I can't wait to see what comes of Pearl Sun's career! She has really proven herself to be a beautiful addition to the touring company. I know there are fantastic things in her future and I can't wait to see what she moves onto.

[Hanna from Hamburg]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 12:15pm

I saw Alice in N2N in Charlotte . . . July 16th at 2:00 p.m. I was expecting to get an understudy due to 2 performances that day, but Alice was in. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that her pitch is much more accurate than it was on Broadway, but the vocal strain is incredibly obvious. My partner said her voice was distracting and irritating. In addition, it was difficult to make out the lyrics and was an added bonus that the theatre had Open Captioning.

That being said, Alice's acting is unbelieveable and I was excited to see the show again.

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 1:10pm

Maybe its possible the lack of sales and cancellation of shows in Toronto is the culmination of the bad word of mouth about Alice's attendance and vocals.

After all, all these theatre organizations that book tours are all in communication with each other. They have to be talking. Toronto is a major city-this shouldn't be happening.

I was able to get good seats and a partial refund for another show (not first row, but pretty close) so I'm ok with the cancellations. Getting a discount helped ease the pain.

I hope Alice does all the shows in Toronto.

[shomeika]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 1:11pm

Poor managing of Toronto stop..I'd informed the contacts at the N2N website ages ago that the "tickets" link for toronto on their website still said "season tickets only" and has said that since day one. They've been selling tickets for ages. Never updated on website (at least not as of this weekend). Shame?
***********

UPDATE: the N2N website now has been updated to allow you to buy tickets for Toronto

Updated On: 7/18/11 at 01:11 PM

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 2:42pm

Shomeika, you're right. Im glad you did that-I noticed that myself. I think DANCAP is very new to the game and having some trouble with marketing effectively. I think now with the performance cancellations, the houses will be filled more respectably. Also, its probably better for Alice to be doing less shows.

[THDavis]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 5:59pm

As excited as I was to hear that Alice would be touring (though I missed her both times I caught the show, each in a separate city), I truly wish she would have taken this time to let her voice mend and the producers would've gotten a performer like Julia Murney, who I think has the chops to do the role as well.

Ripley is such an experience to see and I hope that she gets back most, if not all, of her vocal stamina. I truly admire her as a performer and can't wait to see what she can blow us away with next.

[littlegreen2]

Posted: 7/18/11 at 6:03pm

^ I completely agree.