Ok, I saw the show last night and the balcony was fine for the production. You lose some facial expressions, but that's a given. I did prefer being upstairs for the visual effect of the video panels. Overall, I thought it was quite an impressive production, mostly ready for Broadway.
The cast is quite strong. Moya is a strong Effie, though she pushes a little to hard in the first act and her vocal exhaustion started coming through in act 2. She struggled to maintain pitch in I Am Changing and Listen, which was forgivable, given the beast of the role, but painfully noticeable. She could stand to dial it down a bit when full-on shaking-the-rafters belting simply isn't necessary (We Are a Family springs immediately to mind). Chester appropriately steals his scenes as Jimmy and was an immediate crowd-pleaser. His vocals were quite impressive. I wish I could say the same for Chaz Lamar as Curtis, who I felt was the one weak link in the cast. His acting was a bit contrived and I didn't care for his vocals at all. His voice was just too thin and reedy and the liberties he took with the melody in When I First Saw You distorted the song to distraction. Adrienne brought a memorable stamp to the almost thankless role of Lorell, earning a well-deserved ovation for her work in the second act. And Syesha delivered a complex portrayal of Deena Jones, bringing some depth to the role that could easily be overlooked.
For the most part, the direction was quite strong, though there were a couple of missed opportunities. The more comedic moments could use some tightening, such as Lorell's "I am a woman" scene and the television sequence is a bit muddy, especially at the beginning. I was really looking forward to Ain't No Party, which was sung flawlessly, but it was lacking the sarcastic sass that defines Lorell as a new woman taking control. It was all pain that fueled the anger and she came off more as a victim reaching her epiphany in the moment. The epiphany needs to come before so that it fuels the scene and she is fully in the driver's seat when the song takes off. Then the transformation is more defined and the entire scene through the end of Jimmy's Rap becomes more fun and thrilling to watch.
The video screens are incredibly effective and appropriate. I loved the effect used for Stepping to the Bad Side and the background reveal for Dreamgirls in the firs act. The rest of the set is as expected, though I don't really get the used of clear furniture, which looks a bit out of place for the period. The only time I felt the set really got in the way of the production was in the second half of One Night Only. It appeared they were trying too hard to recreate the scene from the film and the girls were mostly lost in front of the huge drop of lighting equipment (not helped by Long's one major misstep in costuming which provided little-to-no silhouette against an insanely busy backdrop, otherwise the costuming was divine). The effect gave little room for choreography, so the only thing to look at was pretty much the set piece, which just brought down the momentum a bit. As it is, the scene is ok, but it was the one moment that really felt quite inferior to the original, even with all its high-tech gadgetry.
And speaking of choreography, Shane Sparks needs to pull it WAY back. The choreography was artistically the weakest part of the whole production. He has some very clever moments, such as the second half of Stepping to the Bad Side, but on the whole, there is just way too much going on in practically every moment and at times, it's just too modern. His experience in music videos and film is way too evident. The constant aerobic quality of his choreography is fine when you can use crisp rapid editing and tight shots to create an exciting visual atmosphere, but when you're looking at the whole picture for the duration of any given number, it comes off as a bit half-time dance team-y. Movement for the sake of movement because music is playing is fine for music videos, but not in a musical, where every move needs to have definition, purpose and direction, even in the concert sequences. This is where Michael Bennett truly displayed his finesse and understanding of theatrical movement. The movement did not have to be big to be seen, understood or effective. It just had to be honest and appropriate. If Shane can pull it back and simplify the majority of the choreography (especially for the small singing groups), then every scene will be much more sharply focused.
By the way, was it me, or did the final scene (Hard to Say Goodbye/Dreamgirls) use the original costumes and choreography? But honestly, I'm picking at the show with a fine-toothed comb because I had been spoiled with seeing a dynamite production previously (Jennifer Holliday's tour in the 90s, recreating the original staging) and even those who cherish the original will still be impressed with this tour. And those who are new to the show on stage will probably love it. My parents were absolutely THRILLED with the show and walked out lamenting its loss of the Best Musical Tony award, like the show queens they are.
"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian
