>i hope all this hype doesn't leave me disappointed with the end result.
"WithoutATrace," I hope so, too. It's hard to know what's been built up in your mind. I went with very low expectations because I thought, from the poster, that this was a straight parody of an old show -- something I knew I would hate since I don't really like music "from the 20's." So, the way the show was presented was an utter delight to me.
What I will tell you is that this is not a "spectacular." It's an intimate show that played very well in the gigantic Ahmanson. Or rather, it plays like an intimate show. I could see this just as easily working in some summer theatre with barebones sets and young actors. The delight of the show is that it's written so well and with such heart. Unlike many shows around, this feels like it was crafted by actual theatre people who've (gasp) actually seen a show before.