Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (Boston Opera House 3/9)

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 10:51am

As I walked into the beautifully restored Opera House, I knew that I would not be seeing the same show I had seen last year with Jonathan,Norbert,Rachel,JoAnna and Gregory, so I kept an open mind with the tourning cast. What I did not expect was seeing a cast on tour that was so such a delight. Lets just do role call here;

TOM HEWITT-was charming as Lawrence the only problem I had with him, was in the way he carried a joke. Some MAJOR punch lines were lost during his dictation of the jokes. I think MY major problem was always comparing him to Jonathan Pryce, who I saw as Lawrence on Broadway. Hewitt's voice was very nice tho.

D.B. BONDS- First sentence out of my mouth during intermission was "Freddy was so funny". D.B. was funny indeed, but not original, most of his actions I laughed at were things that Norbert did that was funny. It was clear that D.B. understudied Norbert in the past (Last 5 Years) because a lot of Norbert came out through D.B. An aspect I enjoyed from D.B.'s perfrmance was his voice. The Character "Feddy" is , in my mind" not likely to be the best singer, but hearing D.B. really belt some numbers (parts of "GBS" and "DRN") made me realize that "Maybe Freddy could sing really well".

LAURA MARIE DUNCAN- Overally pleased with her performance. I did notice a change in her costume tho, "Christine's" yellow dress she wears in the "Here I am" was a little bit different. She had some type of a tiny jacket over the top part of her dress (sorry I dont know the techinal name,ha). MOST IMPORTANT, her riff at the end of the show was amazing! I was kind of waiting all night to hear what she had, and I got a little nervous when her "Here I am" was not what either Scott or York sang. Laura's "Nothing is too wonderful" was her best number of the night.

HOLLIS RESNIK-(Muriel) I was happy with her performance, tho I felt that Muriel should read a little bit older on stage, maybe just 5 years or so.

DREW McVETY-(Andre) One of the best performances of the evening! So funny! Was really pleased.

PAIGE PARDY -(Jolene) What a ROAR! SO funny and out of her mind.

Overall I was satisfied with the production. I did not laugh much because I had expected most of the jokes. The set scaling back was not as bad as I thought. If you want to rush this you could go 10 min before the show and get a seat.

Quick Funny story tho.

Before the doors opened I was looking at the items for sale when a guy threw a program, that he had purchased, at the man selling them. The vender screamed at him as the other man walked away "Tat was unnessary, dont you trow (he couldnt pronounce the "th" sound) tings at me, i'll trow you out" My grandmother turned to me and said "Oh my, lets to in"

[EponineAmneris]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 10:59am

Good to read this positive review. I love and miss DRS I hope the the comes close!

[ElFantasma14]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 11:16am

The merch man did have an odd accent; he was nice though. got me a "Great Big Stuff" shirt, even though if I wear it i'll be pelted with "What does that mean???"
Updated On: 3/10/07 at 11:16 AM

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 12:03pm

Ha. the main reason I did not get that shirt, cause I knew I would get a detention from at least one of my teachers!

[JamesMacon]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 12:14pm

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I miss DRS as well...

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 12:37pm

I was at the show last night too.

The new opening number was so disappointing. It wasn't fun or engaging, plus it was weird to hear the "give them what they want" theme music throughout the show. The scaled down sets were ok, but there were a few times that the stage looked really bare, the one that comes to mind is the scene when Christine was leaving/Love Sneaks In. All that was there was a lamppost and it looked strange.

TOM HEWITT- (Lawrence) He was vocally very good, and at times his speaking voice was scarily similar to John Lithgow. He was pleasant to watch but he didn't blow me away. He also didn't sustain his German accent when playing Dr. Schuffhausen

D.B. BONDS- (Freddy) He wasn't really playing Freddy, he was playing Norbert Leo Butz playing Freddy. That's really disappointing. Vocally he was pretty good but his acting was really forced. He was trying too hard and the subtle jokes were thrown in your face which made them less funny.

LAURA MARIE DUNCAN- (Christine) Laura Marie was TERRIFIC! Her voice was amazing and she was hilarious. Its really hard to compare to Sherrie Rene Scott, but she definitely came close and she was much better in the role than Rachel York.

HOLLIS RESNIK-(Muriel) She was very good, but seemed a little young for the role. On the whole, I enjoyed her performance.

DREW McVETY-(Andre) Another weak link of the performance. His accent was not sustained and he was not very funny. He really appeared to be going through the motions rather than giving his all.

PAIGE PARDY -(Jolene) She was my absolute favorite part of the show. Her Jolene was far superior to Mylinda Hull and it was at least on par with Sarah Gettlefinger, maybe even better. She was an amazing dancer, a great singer, and a extremely skilled comedian.

Overall, the female principles were far superior to the male principles and the tour looks really bare (although that could simply be due to the fact that I saw the Broadway production which had incredible sets). Seeing the show did make me remember how great it was and I do wish that it was still running in its full and original glory. The tour is fun and it brings back memories but it makes me sad that this wonderful show has been so scaled down and lost a lot of its heart in the process.

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 2:27pm

where were you seated?

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 3/10/07 at 5:16pm

house right, row k, you?

[BroadwayBoy2]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 10:09am

ORCH LEFT Center Row,Q Seat,19

[jaystarr]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 10:33am

It was a good show. I saw it on Thursday night 3/8. Its good I bought the cheapest tixs bec. the balcony was half empty (mostly students that night) and we went down to the mezzanine (luckily!) The Opera House is very pretty (my first time, though I lived in Boston and been to almost all the theater in NYC) It looked like a jewelry box inside, Definitely much prettier than any of NYC's theater (Walter Kerr, New Amstersdam & Al Hirscfiled) though I had problem with the ACOUSTICS of the theater ( or it just me?) I felt that it does not sound good ~ compared to some other theater- felt like the something is wrong with the acoustics- I just cant pinpoint it out- Theater is very pretty but Acoustic sucks ! Musical is funny & good , though cast is a little bit inferior that the Original Broadway Cast..

Advise : see it on Weekdays and pay the cheapest tixs ($32.00- dont even go to bostix bec. usually the house is not full and ushers dont mind if you change your seats (mostly everyone did it that evening)--- overall worth my $ 32.00 though that evening was bitterly cold ! -J*


Updated On: 3/11/07 at 10:33 AM

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 3/11/07 at 6:53pm

Once again, I'm always glad to catch early reviews of shows that are on their way here this season!

We'll be seeing DRS next week and can't wait! Thanks for the thoughts on the performers and scenery!

Also...KUDOS to DREW McVETY, who - according to what I just read - managed to give both one of the best AND one of the worst performances DURING THE VERY SAME SHOW!!! HAHA!

And THAT, my friends, is one of the most exciting aspects of live theater!

Thanks again!