#1
Posted: 10/4/06 at 1:25am
Well, I just got in from opening night in Dallas for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels--and I still have much to do tonight, so this may be a little brief.
My friend and I arrived to the show 25 minutes before the show, bought our *3rd balcony* tickets, and went to our seats. Opened my Playbill--full cast. When we got in, I couldn't believe how few people had arrived yet. Most of the people didn't get to their seats until about 5 minutes before the show started. It was about 2/3 full, maybe.
The overture started, and I noticed they no longer use the scrim curtain and show the dancers behind it during the overture. All the dialogue that was there is gone. The opening dialogue to the show is pretty much gone.
Now there's the song, "The Only Game In Town", which I had heard was horrible. I must say, while it isn't anywhere near as good as Give Them What They Want, it wasn't anywhere near as dreadful as some of the other parts of the show. It had some nice dancing by the ensemble. Not a horrible start to the show, but I don't understand why they replaced Give Them What They Want with it. The song wasn't half as funny.
Norbert made his entrance (and got hardly any entrance applause). He came on to the stage--I was ready to be amazed like I had been when I had seen him the last 2 times I saw him in the show. Well, he seemed very bored. Many of his lines were just flat...so many jokes fell flat. The audience still laughed at many of them, but I know what he is capable of and I know he can do better.
What Was A Woman To Do--Wow, poor Hollis Resnik (Muriel). The woman's mic kept cutting out and making odd noises throughout this song AND the rest of the show. It was very distracting. Several of her lines that are funny, were lost because of the sound cutting out. It was still a good song, one of the better ones from the show.
Great Big Stuff--OK, something I noticed about Norbert is...he now dances in a silly way to almost every song. Great Big Stuff--ok, he just JUMPED right into the dancing righ when they music started. It caught me off guard. It didn't make any sense to me, but the rest of the audience really enjoyed it. He continued doing this throughout the song, and it seemed that the audience got pretty tired of it. He's just run out of creative things to do, so he's decided to...dance in a silly way? Also, I noticed that his voice wasn't ANYWHERE near as good as I remembered it being. He just was very lazy--and wasn't using his good voice. He sounded very scratchy and it was not pleasant to listen to.
Chimp in a Suit--Drew McVety (Andre) did a fine job with this song. It's always been a throw away song to me, but he sang it fine. Norbert showed his ass cheek...the end.
Oklahoma--Jenifer Foote (Jolene) was good. I can't get Sara Gettelfinger out of my head though--she WAS Jolene. Mylinda came at a close 2nd. Jenifer was not bad, but she lacked energy in the song. Her high kicks were not high kicks. She just looked like she wasn't really trying. The energy in this song just didn't seem quite as high as it was in the Broadway show.
All About Ruprecht--Finally! A song that was done well. Well, minus the Norbert milking the "look at my stomach, it's hairy and unattractive" joke way too much. Once you got past that, and his...silly dancing, it was a very good song. "The Bush's of Tex were nervous wrecks because their son was dim" created a very...uncomfortable atmosphere in the audience. I, of course, cheered, but about 60% of the audience just sat there...quietly. I wouldn't be surprised if they change it for the run in Dallas.
Random note--I noticed Norbert now says the word "sh!t" about 5 times more than he used to. It becomes obnoxious and not funny after about the 10th time.
When Tom Hewitt and Norbert were making the deal and Tom was listing places that Freddie could work, Tom decided to ad-lib a line in there. "China, (some other place), and just so there are no hard feelings...I'll throw in Waxahachie". Well, the fourth wall came crashing down and Norbert started laughing...out to the audience. Many people in the audience found this to be very funny, and began to laugh and applaud. I, personally, was annoyed. I've never really felt angry if the actors broke the fourth wall or started laughing, but I felt Norbert was already giving about 10%, and he was only taking it down even more by doing this. He asked Tom if he just made that up (or something). I...feel like a bitter queen. I just was not amused.
Here I Am--Laura Marie Duncan (Christine) did a fabulous job with this song. She sang it just fine. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was when she "dances" with the bell boys (before the dog incident). I was sitting in the balcony at this point, and the Music Hall is HUGE. The actors need to make things bigger, in my opinion. If this were a typical Broadway show, it would be fine for them to be acting the way they do, but some people are about 200 feet away and can't even see faces. Dance moves and gestures should be made bigger, I think.
Nothing Is To Wonderful To Be True--Laura has a beautiful voice, and she sang this song wonderfully. Norbert was ok, I guess, but he was too silly, again. Norbert was over-acting the whole night. He made little pauses before each "miracle" he talked about (midget, shampoo, etc.)--taking a moment to "think" before EACH one, which got a little annoying.
The Miracle--Eh, not a number you can really critique--but I will say this--I LOVED the last pose. After Lawrence snapped his finger, the entire cast popped out from behind a prop or part of the set--and it was one of the few changes that really actually worked for the show.
Alright, that's all I have for now, since I really need to get to bed. I'll try to finish this tomorrow evening. Hope my review so far has been semi-decent. I'll probably also go back and add details if I remember them. Have a great night
Oh, I went to the stagedoor afterwards and met Tom and Norbert. Norbert was kind of rushing, but Tom was very nice. We didn't really get to talk, but he was much more of a people's person.
Norbert made a very...odd face in my picture, as well as my friend's picture. lol, He didn't smile...I'll post it later, maybe if you want to see it.
In case you all are wondering, Act II, I moved down to the orchestra and snatched some 3rd row dead center seats--the show was much easier to see. For the most part, the show was better act II. We'll get to that tomorrow!
-----------------------------
ACT II
As I said, my friend and I moved down to 3rd row (in the orchestra--dead center). I thought maybe it was the fact that I was about 75 feet away from the actors--maybe that was what bored me in the first act.
Well, Ruffhousin' mit Shuffhausen started...and I must say, that song was DEAAAD. Not funny at all. Tom Hewitt had very little energy and Norbert made the same face over and over when he got whipped. It was funny the first time, but when he did it 5 times, it lost its humor. I hated this song. It was one of my favorites in the Broadway show, but probably one of the worst in this production.
Like Zis/Like Zat--The song was fine, but Joanna and Greg will always be the best at that song. It seemed to be lacking a little energy, but they got through it without totally boring me to tears. I wish this production had more energy.
The More We Dance--FINALLY some energy! The ensemble finally had me excited. The dancing in this number always amazed me on Broadway. Here, it wasn't quite as energized as Broadway's dancing, but it was still very good. Norbert's acting in the middle was better--not so over the top. It was refreshing. Instead of riding a Vespa (or whatever it was) chasing Christine and Lawrence, he gets on a Segway. It was funny, but I'm just now realizing that doesn't make much sense, considering he's not supposed to be able to even move his legs...and yet, he's standing on a Segway? Eh, whatever. The audience loved it, including myself.
Love Is My Legs--Always been a favorite, but this time...it wasn't. Norbert acted like a diva throghout the whole thing--and it didn't work. Norbert just needs to limit himself to how much diva action he does. He put his hand next to his ear about 7 times during that song. It really just wasn't funny to me. Laura acted this song very different from any of the Christine's I've seen on Broadway. She wasn't as compassionate as the ones I've seen. She was much crazier in the song--but I guess it worked with Norbert's craziness. It was a pretty good song, but I just wish Norbert would take it down a notch..
The scene comes when Christine is supposed to leave and Lawrence is saying goodbye. This scene was done very well--it was a breath of fresh air compared to what I was seeing in Act I with some of Norbert's parts. I really felt moved by what Laura was saying, and saw the pity Tom had for her. It was a beautiful scene, and the song that followed only made it even better.
Love Sneaks In--a very pretty song, always been a favorite of mine. I believe this was in a lower key, which was fine. It sounded nice and Tom did a great job with it. Don't really know what else to say.
Wow, Drew and Hollis...in the next scene (balcony scene)...I'm not going to lie, it was horrible. I LOVED it when Greg and Joanna did this scene--it was so perfect. This couple uses awkward pauses as much as they can to try to be funny, and it only makes their scenes drag on more than they previously did, Drew especially. The scene dragged...wasn't very funny, it ended. Thank God.
Son of Great Big Stuff--Finally, Norbert did something I hadn't seen him do before that was better than before. "She said she loves me! She said she--...she said she loves me?" Norbert really showed that he had a change in feelings after he realized that. As small as it was, I noticed it and liked it better than just blowing it off.
The next scene (where Christine comes to tell Lawrence about Freddy robbing her) was done very well. It was another scene that was about as good as the scene before Love Sneaks In. The acting in this scene was done very well--Laura had tears in her eyes and Tom looked disgusted when he found out that Freddy had stolen the money. When Christine was leaving after she got the money, she turned around and took her time to say goodbye to Lawrence, which made the goodbye very touching.
The Reckoning--The only thing I have to say about this is that Tom did this song different from John and Jonathan. He found it to be very amusing that she stole 50,000. He was laughing the whole time in amusement. Laura no longer runs through the audience, she just directs the orchestra, comes up, says her lines and then goes back down in the orchestra pit.
Dirty Rotten Number--this was in a different key, which kind of distracted me. I didn't like it in a lower key--it just didn't have the same feel to it that it had before. It seemed slower too. It wasn't as quite enjoyable.
Finale--Well, this was in the original key, which was nice. Laura belted out that "3 of a kind", which sounded great. I enjoyed it. The show was over, and I was ready to go home. The show dragged on a lot, and left me bored several times. The show would probably be 5 minutes shorter if they didn't milk every awkward pause that is created in the show.
For some reason, Laura's wig always bothered me. I saw a picture somebody posted and they said, "she looks like Barbie", and I must say--I totally agree. I wish they would get her a better wig. It just looks very fake.
I'm not a fan of the tour, but I have tickets to see the show 2 more times (including Norbert's last day from 3rd row, which I'm hoping he will be much better on, considering...it is his last performance that we know of). I'm hoping the tour will get better. Some things need to be toned down. Some parts need more enrgy. It's a pretty weak show compared to the Broadway show. It has several flaws. I hope Norbert starts doing better--I know he is incredibly talented and can do much better. Last night was just very upsetting to see him give so little effort in many parts.
I'm sorry if I'm very harsh--I'm just so picky, I guess. Hope this has been decent.
Rating this production on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I'd give this production a 5. It has many flaws, but has some very nice parts in it too.
My friend and I arrived to the show 25 minutes before the show, bought our *3rd balcony* tickets, and went to our seats. Opened my Playbill--full cast. When we got in, I couldn't believe how few people had arrived yet. Most of the people didn't get to their seats until about 5 minutes before the show started. It was about 2/3 full, maybe.
The overture started, and I noticed they no longer use the scrim curtain and show the dancers behind it during the overture. All the dialogue that was there is gone. The opening dialogue to the show is pretty much gone.
Now there's the song, "The Only Game In Town", which I had heard was horrible. I must say, while it isn't anywhere near as good as Give Them What They Want, it wasn't anywhere near as dreadful as some of the other parts of the show. It had some nice dancing by the ensemble. Not a horrible start to the show, but I don't understand why they replaced Give Them What They Want with it. The song wasn't half as funny.
Norbert made his entrance (and got hardly any entrance applause). He came on to the stage--I was ready to be amazed like I had been when I had seen him the last 2 times I saw him in the show. Well, he seemed very bored. Many of his lines were just flat...so many jokes fell flat. The audience still laughed at many of them, but I know what he is capable of and I know he can do better.
What Was A Woman To Do--Wow, poor Hollis Resnik (Muriel). The woman's mic kept cutting out and making odd noises throughout this song AND the rest of the show. It was very distracting. Several of her lines that are funny, were lost because of the sound cutting out. It was still a good song, one of the better ones from the show.
Great Big Stuff--OK, something I noticed about Norbert is...he now dances in a silly way to almost every song. Great Big Stuff--ok, he just JUMPED right into the dancing righ when they music started. It caught me off guard. It didn't make any sense to me, but the rest of the audience really enjoyed it. He continued doing this throughout the song, and it seemed that the audience got pretty tired of it. He's just run out of creative things to do, so he's decided to...dance in a silly way? Also, I noticed that his voice wasn't ANYWHERE near as good as I remembered it being. He just was very lazy--and wasn't using his good voice. He sounded very scratchy and it was not pleasant to listen to.
Chimp in a Suit--Drew McVety (Andre) did a fine job with this song. It's always been a throw away song to me, but he sang it fine. Norbert showed his ass cheek...the end.
Oklahoma--Jenifer Foote (Jolene) was good. I can't get Sara Gettelfinger out of my head though--she WAS Jolene. Mylinda came at a close 2nd. Jenifer was not bad, but she lacked energy in the song. Her high kicks were not high kicks. She just looked like she wasn't really trying. The energy in this song just didn't seem quite as high as it was in the Broadway show.
All About Ruprecht--Finally! A song that was done well. Well, minus the Norbert milking the "look at my stomach, it's hairy and unattractive" joke way too much. Once you got past that, and his...silly dancing, it was a very good song. "The Bush's of Tex were nervous wrecks because their son was dim" created a very...uncomfortable atmosphere in the audience. I, of course, cheered, but about 60% of the audience just sat there...quietly. I wouldn't be surprised if they change it for the run in Dallas.
Random note--I noticed Norbert now says the word "sh!t" about 5 times more than he used to. It becomes obnoxious and not funny after about the 10th time.
When Tom Hewitt and Norbert were making the deal and Tom was listing places that Freddie could work, Tom decided to ad-lib a line in there. "China, (some other place), and just so there are no hard feelings...I'll throw in Waxahachie". Well, the fourth wall came crashing down and Norbert started laughing...out to the audience. Many people in the audience found this to be very funny, and began to laugh and applaud. I, personally, was annoyed. I've never really felt angry if the actors broke the fourth wall or started laughing, but I felt Norbert was already giving about 10%, and he was only taking it down even more by doing this. He asked Tom if he just made that up (or something). I...feel like a bitter queen. I just was not amused.
Here I Am--Laura Marie Duncan (Christine) did a fabulous job with this song. She sang it just fine. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was when she "dances" with the bell boys (before the dog incident). I was sitting in the balcony at this point, and the Music Hall is HUGE. The actors need to make things bigger, in my opinion. If this were a typical Broadway show, it would be fine for them to be acting the way they do, but some people are about 200 feet away and can't even see faces. Dance moves and gestures should be made bigger, I think.
Nothing Is To Wonderful To Be True--Laura has a beautiful voice, and she sang this song wonderfully. Norbert was ok, I guess, but he was too silly, again. Norbert was over-acting the whole night. He made little pauses before each "miracle" he talked about (midget, shampoo, etc.)--taking a moment to "think" before EACH one, which got a little annoying.
The Miracle--Eh, not a number you can really critique--but I will say this--I LOVED the last pose. After Lawrence snapped his finger, the entire cast popped out from behind a prop or part of the set--and it was one of the few changes that really actually worked for the show.
Alright, that's all I have for now, since I really need to get to bed. I'll try to finish this tomorrow evening. Hope my review so far has been semi-decent. I'll probably also go back and add details if I remember them. Have a great night
Oh, I went to the stagedoor afterwards and met Tom and Norbert. Norbert was kind of rushing, but Tom was very nice. We didn't really get to talk, but he was much more of a people's person.
Norbert made a very...odd face in my picture, as well as my friend's picture. lol, He didn't smile...I'll post it later, maybe if you want to see it.
In case you all are wondering, Act II, I moved down to the orchestra and snatched some 3rd row dead center seats--the show was much easier to see. For the most part, the show was better act II. We'll get to that tomorrow!
-----------------------------
ACT II
As I said, my friend and I moved down to 3rd row (in the orchestra--dead center). I thought maybe it was the fact that I was about 75 feet away from the actors--maybe that was what bored me in the first act.
Well, Ruffhousin' mit Shuffhausen started...and I must say, that song was DEAAAD. Not funny at all. Tom Hewitt had very little energy and Norbert made the same face over and over when he got whipped. It was funny the first time, but when he did it 5 times, it lost its humor. I hated this song. It was one of my favorites in the Broadway show, but probably one of the worst in this production.
Like Zis/Like Zat--The song was fine, but Joanna and Greg will always be the best at that song. It seemed to be lacking a little energy, but they got through it without totally boring me to tears. I wish this production had more energy.
The More We Dance--FINALLY some energy! The ensemble finally had me excited. The dancing in this number always amazed me on Broadway. Here, it wasn't quite as energized as Broadway's dancing, but it was still very good. Norbert's acting in the middle was better--not so over the top. It was refreshing. Instead of riding a Vespa (or whatever it was) chasing Christine and Lawrence, he gets on a Segway. It was funny, but I'm just now realizing that doesn't make much sense, considering he's not supposed to be able to even move his legs...and yet, he's standing on a Segway? Eh, whatever. The audience loved it, including myself.
Love Is My Legs--Always been a favorite, but this time...it wasn't. Norbert acted like a diva throghout the whole thing--and it didn't work. Norbert just needs to limit himself to how much diva action he does. He put his hand next to his ear about 7 times during that song. It really just wasn't funny to me. Laura acted this song very different from any of the Christine's I've seen on Broadway. She wasn't as compassionate as the ones I've seen. She was much crazier in the song--but I guess it worked with Norbert's craziness. It was a pretty good song, but I just wish Norbert would take it down a notch..
The scene comes when Christine is supposed to leave and Lawrence is saying goodbye. This scene was done very well--it was a breath of fresh air compared to what I was seeing in Act I with some of Norbert's parts. I really felt moved by what Laura was saying, and saw the pity Tom had for her. It was a beautiful scene, and the song that followed only made it even better.
Love Sneaks In--a very pretty song, always been a favorite of mine. I believe this was in a lower key, which was fine. It sounded nice and Tom did a great job with it. Don't really know what else to say.
Wow, Drew and Hollis...in the next scene (balcony scene)...I'm not going to lie, it was horrible. I LOVED it when Greg and Joanna did this scene--it was so perfect. This couple uses awkward pauses as much as they can to try to be funny, and it only makes their scenes drag on more than they previously did, Drew especially. The scene dragged...wasn't very funny, it ended. Thank God.
Son of Great Big Stuff--Finally, Norbert did something I hadn't seen him do before that was better than before. "She said she loves me! She said she--...she said she loves me?" Norbert really showed that he had a change in feelings after he realized that. As small as it was, I noticed it and liked it better than just blowing it off.
The next scene (where Christine comes to tell Lawrence about Freddy robbing her) was done very well. It was another scene that was about as good as the scene before Love Sneaks In. The acting in this scene was done very well--Laura had tears in her eyes and Tom looked disgusted when he found out that Freddy had stolen the money. When Christine was leaving after she got the money, she turned around and took her time to say goodbye to Lawrence, which made the goodbye very touching.
The Reckoning--The only thing I have to say about this is that Tom did this song different from John and Jonathan. He found it to be very amusing that she stole 50,000. He was laughing the whole time in amusement. Laura no longer runs through the audience, she just directs the orchestra, comes up, says her lines and then goes back down in the orchestra pit.
Dirty Rotten Number--this was in a different key, which kind of distracted me. I didn't like it in a lower key--it just didn't have the same feel to it that it had before. It seemed slower too. It wasn't as quite enjoyable.
Finale--Well, this was in the original key, which was nice. Laura belted out that "3 of a kind", which sounded great. I enjoyed it. The show was over, and I was ready to go home. The show dragged on a lot, and left me bored several times. The show would probably be 5 minutes shorter if they didn't milk every awkward pause that is created in the show.
For some reason, Laura's wig always bothered me. I saw a picture somebody posted and they said, "she looks like Barbie", and I must say--I totally agree. I wish they would get her a better wig. It just looks very fake.
I'm not a fan of the tour, but I have tickets to see the show 2 more times (including Norbert's last day from 3rd row, which I'm hoping he will be much better on, considering...it is his last performance that we know of). I'm hoping the tour will get better. Some things need to be toned down. Some parts need more enrgy. It's a pretty weak show compared to the Broadway show. It has several flaws. I hope Norbert starts doing better--I know he is incredibly talented and can do much better. Last night was just very upsetting to see him give so little effort in many parts.
I'm sorry if I'm very harsh--I'm just so picky, I guess. Hope this has been decent.
Rating this production on a scale of 1-10 (10 being the best), I'd give this production a 5. It has many flaws, but has some very nice parts in it too.
"If it walks like a Parks, if it wobbles like a Parks, then it's definitely fat and nobody loves it." --MA
Updated On: 10/4/06 at 01:25 AM
