I went Friday night and agree with a lot of what Someone in a Tree2 said in his/her review. Overall, though, I had a great time at the show and thought the show was extremely well done for a semi-staged production with such limited rehearsal time. The ensemble was very tight and thought the performers in the featured roles -- Amber Riley as Dionne, Jenna Ushkowitz at Dionne, Jonah Platt as Woof, Mario as Hud, and some of the unnamed tribe members who had key moments in the second act (if anyone knows the name of the actress who played Abraham Lincoln/sang in What a Piece of Work is Man, I would really love to know it).
The leads were a bit more mixed, yet also had great moments. For instance, I found Hunter Parrish's vocals weak on I Got Life and Flesh Failures, but did a phenomenal job on Where Do I Go. Similarly, I get what Someone in a Tree2 meant in describing Kristen Bell's Shiela was the "blondest" Shiela ever. On the other hand, I thought she did a wonderful job with Easy to Be Hard. And I generally thought Benjamin Walker did a good job with Berger in Act I, but he brought very little to Act II. Some of that has to do with Act II being more Claude's story, but I still think Berger should have been a bigger presence. In Act I, though, I think Walker did very well, bringing a strong presence to his opening presence, Donna and Goin' Down.
Updated On: 8/3/14 at 12:42 PM