Did anyone see Vanessa Williams' Christmas?

Posted: 12/16/04 at 6:07pm

I did a search and nothing came up! How was she?

[bwaylyric]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 6:12pm

Her concert at the Palace or the Live By Request show on A&E?

I attended the concert and left during intermission.

Posted: 12/16/04 at 6:26pm

The concert? Yikes, was it as bad as I tought it might be? She was AWFUL on the A&E show- Yuck!

[SWTaffy]

Posted: 12/16/04 at 6:39pm

I saw the concert and A LOT of people left at intermission. I enjoyed it enough. I think it should have been at a smaller theatre.

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 12/18/04 at 5:09pm

The long and short of it is, Vanessa is a tremendous performer, with a strong, versatile voice. She is capable of a whole lot more, but obviously a show with 90& Christmas content can't be one that allows for sponteneity or excitement. I can definitely understand why people left though, there were major problems around Vanessa the night I saw it (Friday).

The show came off as a cheesy Christmas special - is there any other kind? - and very old school.There were some highlights: obviously when the hits came out. Betcha Never was always one of my faves, and it was great to see it as an encore. Colors of the Wind, Love Is and Saved the Best for Last raised the show to another level entirely.

Vanessa can sing, dance and hot latin encore, be funny and self-deprecating, and interpret all genre of songs wonderfully. The Irish Duo that came out was great, and when she came out of sing Holly & The Ivy, it was outstanding. And with the exception some Isley Brothers song, the songs were all arranged and sung beautifully.

But the attempts at warmth did cpme off as rehearsed. There was little chance for humor - although her saying she'll drive into a ditch if she's hears Usher on the radio one more time was hysterical. They could've lost kids from Central Casting used in one song and the random "adults partying" scene portrayed during one song. Frankly, I just forgot about all of them and kept listening to Vanessa. Billy Porter and the Inspirational Voices were superb, though. Lights were great, until they blinded me, and I was at side orchestra! The set was waaay too far downstage, it gave no sense of depth and it felt like it restricted and sort of blocking or more elaborate choreography. The sound wasn't justify the great arrangements - they sat on the stage and took up more than a third of the stage.

I remember a mini-tour Vanessa did got great reviews some years back. And if she goes on tour again, or does a "real concert" I will be there every night. (I heard she was going to be in Morristown in May.) But Vanessa was just stuck in a muddled vehicle (supposedly one that she decided should focus on her new album) that never played to her versatility and strengths as a performer.

[apdarcey]

Posted: 12/18/04 at 5:51pm

i just sang back up for her at tnt's christmas in washington where i assume she did some of the numbers that she'll perform during her broadway concerts... pm me for more...