"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
Regarding Reidel I'm sure he trolls here and on ATC. I loved in one of his recent columns he made mentions of "spys" on the west coast for First Wives Club, but I have a feeling he got all the fodder for that column right here!
Hey Dottie!
Did your colleagues enjoy the cake even though your cat decided to sit on it? ~GuyfromGermany
I saw the show this past Saturday evening. Haley was on for Maria and was perfect. I haven't seen Josefina the two times I've seen this production, but Haley acted and sang flawlessly.
There were maybe 7/8 understudies on this past Saturday night.
Matt was in on Saturday night and it seemed like he had more vibrato than the previous time I saw him. I still really like him as Tony and think he does a great job.
"Those You've Known And Lost Still Walk Behind You"-Spring Awakening
Understudies can, and often are, great -- sometimes even better than the "name" who was cast in the role. So seeing an understudy isn't necessarily a bad thing -- unless it's a West Side Story understudy. Sorry, but the 16 understudies I saw gave competent to sub-par performances, and at $125 a ticket, competent just doesn't cut it. While the U/S for Maria was competent, the U/S for Anita -- a very key role -- was horrendous. She screeched her way through "A Boy Like That" because the key wasn't right for her. Her dancing was mediocre at best -- often off the mark. I saw "Hair" the next night with Steel Burkhardt in for Will Swenson and Steel was sensational. I would pay full price (again) gladly to see him do the role again. So understudies can be great, but apparently not in WSS.
I must say I agree. I saw it this past weekend and was dumbfounded by his(Tony) performance. The rest of my family was as well, and I could see many audience members with similar looks of confusion on their faces everytime he came on stage. There was nothing about his performance I enjoyed. The girl who played Maria...Josefina, right? was OK. I did not think she was great. Now Karen was absolutely amazing, on the other hand. And as for Cody Green, I saw him and thought he was pretty good. Other than his good looks he isn't something to Ooo and Ahh about but he wasn't bad or anything.