Saw the first preview, got rush tickets about an hour and a half before curtain and was in the sixth row of the Mezz, which was pretty full and the orchestra looked full as well.
As for the show, WOW! Bennett is just a powerhouse and very captivating. You could hear people catching their breath from crying at the end of both the first and second acts. What an emotional rollercoaster it must be for Bennett, who really traverses the hills and valleys of Judy Garland, and she really does it beautifully.
Even though it was a first preview and we still have so many productions to open before Tony Noms are given out, I feel like she's a shoe-in. Michael Cumpsty is wonderful as Anthony, her accompanist.
The one off thing about the show, I felt, was Tom Pelphrey. There was something very stiff and robotic about his line delivery and I really wanted to see him fight with himself and then realize his own defeat over giving Judy pills to get her back on stage. I don't really know much about Deans as a person, so perhaps Pelphrey is giving us a very honest characterization of Mickey Deans and I'm just ignorant as to who he was in real life.
All in all, this is a performance not to be missed!
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