#1
Posted: 8/3/05 at 7:53pm
(I've posted reviews of the current cast before, so I'm going to focus on who really stood out.)
I unexpectedly saw Hairspray again last night. This is now the show I've seen the most... only 5 times, not THAT impressive. However, I've seen Marissa as Tracy for 4 of those times, so I was EXCITED to finally see someone new. If you have the chance to see Shannon Durig, DO IT! Don't get me wrong, I loved Marissa in the role, but I really feel no mistakes were made in hiring Shannon to take on the role. Her voice is much more smoother. One thing I noticed is that she dances a lot more. If a character is randomly dancing, she'll join right along. (I didn't really pick that up in the past, so forgive me if others have done that.) Her dancing cracked me up, especially in the detention scene when she copies Seaweed's intro dance. I have never seen ANYTHING as funny is that... she really threw her whole body into it!
The other cast member I really enjoyed was Becky Gulsvig as Amber. I had never heard of her before, so I didn't know what to expect. As she just took over for Jordan (who I feel was a great Amber... also LOVED Tracy Jai by the way), I was impressed with how well she played the role. Her Amber seemed more innocent, but not enough to take away from the characteristics of Amber... if that makes sense. I really don't know how much more she can improve in the role, but if she does, she will be AMAZING!
Tracy Miller... I've said it before, but I will always love this girl! Everything she does and says leaves me dying of laughter... no matter how many times I see it.
Darlene Love has also shown growth in her role. I didn't pick up on any errors, as was always brought up in previous posts about her. She nailed "I Know Where I've Been." She threw in many of her own things also, which worked well.
There were MANY understudies on tonight. Chester was out and Eric Christian was on. He was really good in the role of Seaweed, but I did miss the backbend! Liz Larsen was on for Julie. Her performing was a lot more closer to Jackie Hoffman's characters, which was so great to see again. It was definitely weird to see Andrew Rannells on as Corny Collins because last time I saw him filling in, it was for Link. Corny came across a lot younger due to this, but he really did an excellent job also.
The rest of the cast was excellent and full of energy. I didn't see any signs of being tired or lipsynching and all of that. They definitely were having a great time. It also helped that the audience was so into it also!
Overall, this was the best performance of the show I have seen this summer. I brought along a friend who needed A LOT of cheering up. He never saw it before and he found it simply amazing. He was in a great mood the rest of the night because of it!
Again, congrats to Marc and everyone else involved. The show is still as great as when I first saw it
!
I unexpectedly saw Hairspray again last night. This is now the show I've seen the most... only 5 times, not THAT impressive. However, I've seen Marissa as Tracy for 4 of those times, so I was EXCITED to finally see someone new. If you have the chance to see Shannon Durig, DO IT! Don't get me wrong, I loved Marissa in the role, but I really feel no mistakes were made in hiring Shannon to take on the role. Her voice is much more smoother. One thing I noticed is that she dances a lot more. If a character is randomly dancing, she'll join right along. (I didn't really pick that up in the past, so forgive me if others have done that.) Her dancing cracked me up, especially in the detention scene when she copies Seaweed's intro dance. I have never seen ANYTHING as funny is that... she really threw her whole body into it!
The other cast member I really enjoyed was Becky Gulsvig as Amber. I had never heard of her before, so I didn't know what to expect. As she just took over for Jordan (who I feel was a great Amber... also LOVED Tracy Jai by the way), I was impressed with how well she played the role. Her Amber seemed more innocent, but not enough to take away from the characteristics of Amber... if that makes sense. I really don't know how much more she can improve in the role, but if she does, she will be AMAZING!
Tracy Miller... I've said it before, but I will always love this girl! Everything she does and says leaves me dying of laughter... no matter how many times I see it.
Darlene Love has also shown growth in her role. I didn't pick up on any errors, as was always brought up in previous posts about her. She nailed "I Know Where I've Been." She threw in many of her own things also, which worked well.
There were MANY understudies on tonight. Chester was out and Eric Christian was on. He was really good in the role of Seaweed, but I did miss the backbend! Liz Larsen was on for Julie. Her performing was a lot more closer to Jackie Hoffman's characters, which was so great to see again. It was definitely weird to see Andrew Rannells on as Corny Collins because last time I saw him filling in, it was for Link. Corny came across a lot younger due to this, but he really did an excellent job also.
The rest of the cast was excellent and full of energy. I didn't see any signs of being tired or lipsynching and all of that. They definitely were having a great time. It also helped that the audience was so into it also!
Overall, this was the best performance of the show I have seen this summer. I brought along a friend who needed A LOT of cheering up. He never saw it before and he found it simply amazing. He was in a great mood the rest of the night because of it!
Again, congrats to Marc and everyone else involved. The show is still as great as when I first saw it
!
::bust a move::
