I saw Paige in the show as well and she was fantastic. Yes, she can sing, act and dance and she does it all very well. I enjoyed her MUCH more than Ann Reinking.
"Choreography was basic.... community theater style. No interesting costumes, no set. WOW! If you were planning to see this tour, save your money and go see ANYTHING else!"
Community theatre choreography??? HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! I guess you go to some pretty amazing community theatres.
"THIS particular production was atrocious. I hope that other versions live up to what it is supposed to be."
Well, I guess you wouldn't like the Broadway revival either as the tour was identical. The only other version was the original Broadway production, which was a bit more opulent, but ran just a little over two years and was overshadowed by the other minimalist non-set, no fancy costume musical, A Chorus Line.
"I know that it's mostly music, but I felt like I was at a concert, not a musical."
The staging of the revival was based on a concert production that basically transferred to Broadway as a revival.
"No interesting costumes, no set."
That was a popular artistic concept that allows the story, music and performances come through without the trappings of overproduction. When the concert won raves for its simplicity, that became the concept for the revival. It's minimalist, but not a new concept. Many shows have been staged this way.
"Is the orchestra always on stage?"
Yes.
"Also... there was almost NO dialogue."
That's how it was written. The stage version came first. Not the film.
A friend of mine who had only seen the movie hated it as well. Especially the Cell Block Tango. She as expecting the film choreography. When I explained to her that the film shoreography would be impossible to perform live on stage eight shows a week, she backed off a bit. But she still had no idea that the stage production might be different and therefore had a preconceived notion of what the show "should be".
"At intermission everyone in the audience around me was saying how they wanted to go and rent the movie."
Nobody around me said that at all. I guess those who expect to see the film proabably should have stayed at home and watched the DVD. What is the point of going to a show expecting it to be a reproduction of a film? Unless the stage production has a $100 million budget, it's going to look a bit different. Especially if the film was completely REWORKED from the stage production IT WAS BASED ON.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
