Company Reviews (and beyond)- Page 22

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 3:14pm

Also, according to Instagram, this is Paige's last weekend in the show, so they may want to keep running it without her and stay comfortable with that, since they won't be able to put her in next week anyway.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb1WPvQOzlg/

eta: Too slow again!

Updated On: 4/2/22 at 03:14 PM

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 3:23pm

That’s odd they only used her for a short period with the show. 

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 3:28pm

OkuraKen said: "Per this Instagram post from a friend of hers, Paige Faure's contract with Company ends this weekend.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb1WPvQOzlg/"

You do realize that Becky is a Broadway actress herself, yes? 
 

I hope that this Omicron 2.0 madness gives this cast a break - and that Britney can still perform next week. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 3:37pm

OkuraKen said: "Per this Instagram post from a friend of hers, Paige Faure's contract with Company ends this weekend.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb1WPvQOzlg/"

Guess she was just a vacation cover, more or less. I don't think she ever went on, even as a New Yorker.

[suicidalmickeymouse]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 8:39pm

Matinee was just glorious. NRD was just astonishing. The vocals. The warmth. Also big shoutouts to Heath on for Theo and whoever was on for Paul (don’t have my playbill atm). Really amazing performances all around. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/2/22 at 9:37pm

Here at the evening show after seeing it Wednesday night.

- Daniels has improved and gotten much deeper than she was on Wednesday. The impact I was looking for in Marry Me a Little was there now.

- There was a technical glitch after she came up from the Peter and Susan terrace and turned around--the row of apartments and David and Jenny weren't there, just a curtain and completely empty stage. Daniels went, "...Hello?" Then an announcer said there'd be a brief pause as she exited. About five minutes later, it was announced they'd continue, and she was frozen on the steps with David and Jenny as the set appeared.

- I think I figured out why I hated Another Hundred People the first time, loved it Wednesday, and it didn't work again tonight (for a completely different reason): the number of people. The first time it was too chaotic because there were too many people. Wednesday the number they had may have been just right. Tonight, they didn't have enough people, so they cut the New Yorkers entirely. Hildreth and Scott moved the C of NYC into place for the Andy and Theo bits, but otherwise the NYC letter stayed in place center stage, and it was just PJ and Bobbie on an otherwise empty stage. It was really static and fell pretty flat (though of course I realize they just didn't have the people), with Conte standing at the front of the stage motioning a lot at people who weren't there, trying to generate energy that wasn't there. I also don't love Conte's take and all the weird riffs he's doing with his voice. I preferred Saunders on Wednesday. Saunders was a good Theo though. I agree Rodriguez is also a very good Paul.

eta at the end of the show: Daniels is great all around. The comedy is even stronger (both in the bedroom scene and her drunk scene after LWL), and Being Alive. The number almost hit the emotional heights of Lenk's take, and the singing is beautiful and sounds effortless. Partial standing O afterward. I think it was noticeable that the audience didn't burst into applause in the same place they did Wednesday (at the "But alone is alone, not alive" ). I interpreted it that Wednesday's audience was blown away by how amazing she sounded in that moment; tonight's was more caught up in the emotion of the moment--as they should be--so held it until the release of the ending.

So great.

Updated On: 4/4/22 at 09:37 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 10:13am

So Bobby Conte just stood on stage during "Another Hundred People"? That number always looked to busy with the letters moving around. But then to have nothing happening is just as odd. From those that have seen both Conte and Saunders as PJ, the general consensus is that people prefer Saunders' PJ more.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 1:26pm

At the matinee. Rodriguez is on as Larry. Kready as Paul. 
Anisa is the sole New Yorker. 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 1:33pm

ACL2006 said: "So Bobby Conte just stood on stage during "Another Hundred People"? That number always looked to busy with the letters moving around. But then to have nothing happening is just as odd. From those that have seen both Conte and Saunders as PJ, the general consensus is that people prefer Saunders' PJ more."

He moved around a little bit at first, but by the end (especially after the Theo section), it was just him and Daniels standing downstage center while he just sang to her, and gestured out toward the audience (or "the world" ), and toward the empty stage.

Good for Kready for getting to go on (though I loved Nicholas's Paul).

Updated On: 4/3/22 at 01:33 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 1:52pm

Was gonna attempt to get into NYC today to catch the matinee, but just couldn't make it work. Kudos to Kready on his Paul debut. Curious as to why they won't let Paige go on as a New Yorker?

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 5:53pm

This afternoon was actually my 10th time seeing the show since 2020. 
I need to applaud every single understudy on that stage. These enormously talented people are heros, and the show couldn’t have gone on without them. 
 

The energy was a little off for me throughout, but I think it’s because I’m so accustomed to the original cast. These marvelous actors were working their butts off, and you would have no idea so many understudies were performing if you didn’t know. 
 

Tally Sessions and Kathryn Allison were quite the pair, and the audience was roaring with laughter. Tally has a lovely voice, and “Sorry Grateful” was more soaring with his powerful voice, whereas Sieber sings it a little more restrained. 
This was my second time seeing Allison as Sarah and she was even better. This rising star is one to keep your eye on, she is truly a gifted performer and comedienne. 

Matt Wall and Britney Coleman were a great pairing. Matt turned the role into his own, while he was less goofy than Fitzgerald, he was very funny. 
 

Javier Ignacio and Jeff Kready were fantastic together, completely believable as a couple. Javier’s take was a little more masculine than we’ve seen, and he portrays less anxiety than Doyle, but it was a very admirable interpretation. You could tell he doesn’t have the full stamina to perform NGM, as there were a few breath issues, but he sounded great. 
Kready’s take was similar to Etai’s, equally as lovable and caring. I believe this was his first time on in a principal role, and he nailed it. I loved seeing his interactions with Nikki.

Nikki was a great Bobbie, as others have said, I imagine closer to Rosalie Craig’s lovable girl next door interpretation. She is a classically trained vocalist with a stunning voice, and at times she dips into that operatic sound, but mostly avoids it.

Katrina is more of a traditional Sondheim singer, and I’ve grown to love her vocals in the role, even if they’ve been a little rough around the edges at times. Katrina is also a trained singer and musician,  but I adore how every note and lyric she sings is driven by the character, even if it’s not as “pretty” sounding as some would like. 
 

Nikki and Elder had great chemistry in act two, and Elder has gotten even funnier in the role. 

Patti’s performance keeps evolving, no two performances are ever the same. She knows how to keep it fresh, and LWL was as show stopping as ever this afternoon. 
She and Nikki worked well together in the club scene, while it was less intense than what Patti and Katrina do, it was still effective. 
The very dashing Rodriguez was excellent as Larry, and I could see him playing the role full time. 
 

As someone else mentioned, Nikki’s “Being Alive” Doesn’t have the modulation like Katrina’s, which I’d imagine is to keep her out of that operatic territory. 
She also doesn’t get on her knees during the song, and performs it all standing. She sounded absolutely lovely, and brought a ton of emotion, but for me it wasn’t the cathartic experience of Lenk’s which brings me to tears. 
I think with more experience playing the role, Nikki could reach the emotional heights and intensity that Lenk has found as Bobbie. 
 

This new alternate staging of AHP was lackluster but they made it work out of necessity, and Conte was able to maintain more vocal stamina this way. 
 

The show ended at 4:45, almost ten minutes faster than normal, which I find interesting, but it did begin right after 2pm. 
One of my favorite moments was after Patti took her bow at curtain call and she said “great job!” to Kready with a thumbs up. She truly is the leader of this company. 
 

I am so glad I got to see so many amazing understudies today. Special shout-out to Anisha as the sole New Yorker, she had a very funny bow at curtain call. 
It was a great afternoon, and you won’t be disappointed with these terrific understudies. 

Updated On: 4/3/22 at 05:53 PM

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 6:36pm

Hopefully everyone stays healthy until Friday. They're now in a situation where if anyone else is out this coming week, they'll be forced to cancel. Might they talk Paige into staying one more week as insurance?

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/3/22 at 9:58pm

Also forgot to mention, since there was no male New Yorker, Matt Wall played the waiter in his club costume, instead waiter attire like Javier usually wears. 

Also, I love Patti’s new wig, it’s a big improvement. I’m not sure why they changed the design on her club dress, the old one looked fine. 

[ShutUpLuPone2]

Posted: 4/4/22 at 5:04am

ljay889 said: "This afternoon was actually my 10th time seeing the show since 2020.
I need to applaud every single understudy on that stage. These enormously talented people are heros, and the show couldn’t have gone on without them.


The energy was a little off for me throughout, but I think it’s because I’m so accustomed to the original cast. These marvelous actors were working their butts off, and you would have no idea so many understudies were performing if you didn’t know.


Tally Sessions and Kathryn Allison were quite the pair, and the audience was roaring with laughter. Tally has a lovely voice, and “Sorry Grateful” was more soaring with his powerful voice, whereas Sieber sings it a little more restrained.
This was my second time seeing Allison as Sarah and she was even better. This rising star is one to keep your eye on, she is truly a gifted performer and comedienne.

Matt Wall and Britney Coleman were a great pairing. Matt turned the role into his own, while he was less goofy than Fitzgerald, he was very funny.


Javier Ignacio and Jeff Kready were fantastic together, completely believable as a couple. Javier’s take was a little more masculinethan we’ve seen, and he portrays less anxiety than Doyle, but it was a very admirable interpretation. You could tell he doesn’t have the full stamina to perform NGM, as there were a few breath issues, but he sounded great.
Kready’s take was similar to Etai’s, equally as lovable and caring. I believe this was his first time on in a principal role, and he nailed it. I loved seeing his interactions with Nikki.

Nikki was a great Bobbie, as others have said, I imagine closer to Rosalie Craig’s lovable girl next door interpretation. She is a classically trained vocalist with a stunning voice, and at times she dips into that operatic sound, but mostly avoids it.

Katrina is more of a traditional Sondheim singer, and I’ve grown to love her vocals in the role, even if they’ve been a little rough around the edges at times. Katrina is also a trained singer and musician, but I adore how every note and lyric she sings is driven by the character, even if it’s not as “pretty” sounding as some would like.


Nikki and Elder had great chemistry in act two, and Elder has gotten even funnier in the role.

Patti’s performance keeps evolving, no two performances are ever the same. She knows how to keep it fresh, and LWL was as show stopping as ever this afternoon.
She and Nikki worked well together in the club scene, while it was less intense than what Patti and Katrina do, it was still effective.
The very dashing Rodriguez was excellent as Larry, and I could see him playing the role full time.


As someone else mentioned, Nikki’s “Being Alive” Doesn’t have the modulation like Katrina’s, which I’d imagine is to keep her out of that operatic territory.
She also doesn’t get on her knees during the song, and performs it all standing. She sounded absolutely lovely, and brought a ton of emotion, but for me it wasn’t the cathartic experience of Lenk’s which brings me to tears.
I think with more experience playing the role, Nikki could reach the emotional heights and intensity that Lenk has found as Bobbie.


This new alternate staging of AHP was lackluster but they made it work out of necessity, and Conte was able to maintain more vocal stamina this way.


The show ended at 4:45, almost ten minutes faster than normal, which I find interesting, but it did begin right after 2pm.
One of my favorite moments was after Patti took her bow at curtain call and she said “great job!” to Kready with a thumbs up. She truly is the leader of this company.


I am so glad I got to see so many amazing understudies today. Special shout-out to Anisha as the sole New Yorker, she had a very funny bow at curtain call.
It was a great afternoon, and you won’t be disappointed with these terrific understudies."

Thank you so much for this detailed review. Really wish I could see the show with the understudies.

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/4/22 at 4:45pm

Nice interview with Nikki in Variety:

https://variety.com/2022/theater/news/nikki-renee-daniels-company-broadway-1235221625/

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/4/22 at 6:30pm

ljay889 said: "Also forgot to mention, since there was no male New Yorker, Matt Wall played the waiter in his club costume, instead waiter attire like Javier usually wears.

Also, I love Patti’s new wig, it’s a big improvement. I’m not sure why they changed the design on her club dress, the old one looked fine."

Was curious about this. Thought maybe they'd make Anisha do it.

[ljay889]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 11:37am

Britney Coleman is definitely on as Bobbie tonight. 

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 11:49am

Really want Jeff Kready to go on as David tonight opposite Nikki.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 12:45pm

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 12:45pm

Double post

Updated On: 4/5/22 at 12:45 PM

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 12:45pm

Triple post 

Updated On: 4/5/22 at 12:45 PM

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 4:26pm

Can’t wait for tonight!!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 4:51pm

GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Can’t wait for tonight!!"

Please share the u/s list if possible.

[GoodThingGoing3]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 4:53pm

Looks like the 92nd St. Y is doing a screening of the new Company documentary followed by a talk with Lenk, Lupone, and Elliott on May 23rd. I just got tickets - didn't know it was happening and it seems like a great time!

[GiantsInTheSky2]

Posted: 4/5/22 at 6:45pm

ACL2006 said: "GiantsInTheSky2 said: "Can’t wait for tonight!!"

Please share the u/s list if possible."