Has Usher been reviewed?

[DAME]

Posted: 9/1/06 at 11:08am

If he has.. can someone post some links?

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 9/1/06 at 11:16am

Amongst the board members, he has been. His official press opening is Sept. 6.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 10:59pm

Anyone seen him in it yet?

[Just_John]

Posted: 9/5/06 at 11:42pm

Yes and I'm pretty sure everyone has said that he's good with the dancing and singing, but dear god he is the worst actor I have ever seen on a broadway stage.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/6/06 at 10:25am

Really? an you give me a link to the threads?

[DAME]

Posted: 9/6/06 at 7:39pm

bump

[TomMonster]

Posted: 9/6/06 at 7:41pm

Tomorrow morning they should be out...tonight is his "official" opening.

[DAME]

Posted: 9/6/06 at 10:09pm

So maybe later this evening?

[salpmx]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 9:43am

The official review is today, I think Bianca told me it was today, so lets wait and see!!

[pab]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 5:57pm

NEW YORK -- There's more smooth smile than dark snark in Usher's genial if work-in-progress portrayal of Billy Flynn, the shady lawyer defending those 1920s killer chorines in "Chicago."

The R&B superstar has made his Broadway debut in the long-running musical revival. He could use more edge. For the most part, the show holds up well, and thanks to the marketing wizardry of producers Barry and Fran Weissler, it should do boffo business during the normally slow month of September when the tourists have gone home and children are back in school.

Usher clearly has boosted receipts at the Ambassador Theatre, where his portrayal of Flynn is greeted with squeals and cheers from an audience that wants to see the singer on stage.

It doesn't matter to those fans that his acting is rudimentary and he looks too young to play an experienced, jaded wheeler-dealer such as Flynn. The man sings and dance with ease. But it's also a little disconcerting when Usher addresses other members of the cast as "kid" (it's in the script) _ since most look older than he does."
Usher's Broadway Debut: Work in Progress

[BroadwayBaby2004]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 7:29pm

Has anyone been to stage door since he started? Is it crazy there? Does he come out and sign after the show and in between performances? Is it crowded before the show?

[Just_John]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 8:29pm

He comes out and signs a few autographs for people in the front of the barricades. But even many people in the front shoving playbills in his facdidn't get an autograph. I'm not sure if he comes out after matinees.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 8:40pm

"particularly Marroquin who sizzles during the big "Roxie" dance number. She's funny and touching, sort of in the manner of Gwen Verdon"
-from the review posted by pab

I want to see the show again while Bianca Marroquin is still in it, but I'm waiting until after October 1st when Usher leaves.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 10:40pm

Usher gets a kind notice from Newsday, though Winer isn't happy with the overall shape of the show:

http://www.newsday.com/entertainment/stage/ny-chicago0908,0,3318351.story?coll=ny-theater-headlines

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 10:42pm

Theatremania is fairly positive:

http://www.theatermania.com/content/news.cfm/story/8978

[Phantom2]

Posted: 9/7/06 at 10:50pm

I have no doubt he's good.

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 12:59am

Brantley at the Times is somewhat dismissive:

http://theater2.nytimes.com/2006/09/08/theater/reviews/08chic.html

Talkin Broadway is mixed overall, but kind to Usher:

http://www.talkinbroadway.com/world/Chicago06.html

[DAME]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 2:32am

That is a terrible review from the Times. And a wake up call. Sounds like the show needs a shake up.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 3:08am

http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/usher_in_new_kind__of_ol_razzle_dazzle_entertainment_clive_barnes.htm

USHER IN NEW KIND OF OL'
RAZZLE-DAZZLE



By CLIVE BARNES





SO how did that mono- named, honey-voiced R&B megastar mea sure up in his official Broadway debut last night in "Chicago"?

Well, the 27-year-old Usher proved as smooth as a reflecting glass and gave out that ol' razzle-dazzle as if a searchlight were being shone upon it.

Smoke and mirrors have nothing on this seductively undulating whiz kid. As the musical's smarmy lawyer, Billy Flynn, he sings and dances better than Jerry Orbach, who created the role back in 1975, and Richard Gere, who gave the part a fresh charismatic jolt in the far more recent movie version.

But he is not as in-like-Flynn as either of them - or quite a few of the others in the long succession of actors who have identified with Billy in the gorgeous Kander and Ebb musical's long Broadway career, some three years in the 1975 original, and 10 years and counting in its present version.

This self-styled "Ultimate Entertainer" - in fairness, the "Ultimate" bit could be result of a hyperactive publicist - has an easy charm and considerable presence. But he still has to find his feet as an actor.

At present, his acting consists largely of learning his lines and delivering them with a grin continuously breaking out into a knowing crinkle. Our "ultimate" is at present hardly Laurence Olivier, or, more to the point, Jerry Orbach.

Still we have seen a lot worse star-casting than this, and in any case "Chicago" is very much an ensemble show. It even survived Melanie Griffith!

The present team - headed by a completely delicious Bianca Marroquin as Roxie Hart, the experienced Brenda Braxton as that other murderous heroine, Velma Kelly, Kevin Chamberlin as Roxie's delightfully cuckolded husband, and Lillas White as the sonorously cynical prison matron - is as good as any we have had.

Just a word to the director, Walter Bobbie: After a 10-year run, even subtlety can get exaggerated, and "Chicago" is anything but subtle. An overall tone or two down in style wouldn't hurt.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 3:13am

Usher's Broadway Debut: Work in Progress

By MICHAEL KUCHWARA
AP Drama Critic

NEW YORK (AP) --

There's more smooth smile than dark snark in Usher's genial if work-in-progress portrayal of Billy Flynn, the shady lawyer defending those 1920s killer chorines in "Chicago."

The R&B superstar has made his Broadway debut in the long-running musical revival. He could use more edge. For the most part, the show holds up well, and thanks to the marketing wizardry of producers Barry and Fran Weissler, it should do boffo business during the normally slow month of September when the tourists have gone home and children are back in school.

Usher clearly has boosted receipts at the Ambassador Theatre, where his portrayal of Flynn is greeted with squeals and cheers from an audience that wants to see the singer on stage.

It doesn't matter to those fans that his acting is rudimentary and he looks too young to play an experienced, jaded wheeler-dealer such as Flynn. The man sings and dance with ease. But it's also a little disconcerting when Usher addresses other members of the cast as "kid" (it's in the script) - since most look older than he does.


Flynn is not the lead role in "Chicago" and Usher's presence puts a weird dynamic on the evening. It takes longer for the women portraying murderers Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly - in this case, Bianca Marroquin and Brenda Braxton respectively - to assert themselves. But assert they do, particularly Marroquin who sizzles during the big "Roxie" dance number. She's funny and touching, sort of in the manner of Gwen Verdon, who originated the role in the original 1975 Bob Fosse production.

Where this company of "Chicago" shines the brightest is in its supporting cast. They practically run away with the show, approaching its 10th anniversary in New York this fall.

Let's start with Lillias White as Matron "Mama" Morton, "the keeper of the keys" and "the countess of the clink" at the Cook County Jail. The theater veteran gives an outrageous, thoroughly idiosyncratic performance that panders hilariously to the audience. It's theatrical larceny of the highest order.

As Amos, Roxie's hapless husband, Kevin Chamberlin gives one of those deceptively ingratiating performances. It starts small but gradually builds in sympathy. The actor is also blessed with "Mr. Cellophane," the most hypnotic song in the fine John Kander and Fred Ebb score.


Then there is R. Lowe, the best Mary Sunshine this veteran observer of "Chicago" has seen. It's an articulate (you can understand every lyric), funny performance of the show's newspaper sob sister, a role that could be thrown away. Not so here.

The show's hardworking dancers remain the sexiest chorus line on Broadway with standout turns by the long-legged Melissa Rae Mahon and Gregory Butler as a buffed Fred Casely, Roxie's lover. They handle the Ann Reinking choreography - done, as it says in the Playbill "in the style of Bob Fosse" - with ease.

The on-stage orchestra, conducted by Leslie Stifelman, has always been one of the special pleasures of "Chicago" and the musicians never fail to please. It's not often you see an audience remaining in its seats after a performance, just to listen to a show's exit music.

If anything, what Usher's presence in "Chicago" does is introduce a whole new audience to one of the most beguiling musicals of the last three decades. He remains in the show through Oct. 1.

Updated On: 9/8/06 at 03:13 AM

[DAME]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 11:47am

Except for that last review.. it really does not sound like the show is in good shape.

[courtnyj]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 11:53am

I'm sure it was better when it opened, but I saw it for the first time a few weeks ago and loved it! It may not be as good for folks who are familiar with earlier casts, but the show still plays well to new audiences! Still, I can't help but think, if I loved it now, how wonderful would it have been to see it 10 years ago?!
Updated On: 9/8/06 at 11:53 AM

[Anthony3]

Posted: 9/8/06 at 4:53pm

im going to see Chicago tonight!

[Anthony3]

Posted: 9/9/06 at 12:58am

just came back from the show.... Usher was just ok. I didnt really like his voice and his acting. Hes a good dancer though! The crowd was wild. He threw a bunch of roses at the audience during curtain call!

The stage door was a mad house!!! There were approx. 200 people with like 25 barricades all lined up across the street... it was wild!

Bianca was the best Roxie I have ever seen!

[BroadwayChica]

Posted: 9/9/06 at 9:42am

I was also at the show last night. I pretty much agree with the overall sentiments: Usher sure can sing and dance, but his acting is atrocious. He recites his lines from memory (reminiscent of the cute but bad actor in a high school play), and often seems out of place. Still, the guy oozes charisma and charm, so it's tough to completely hate his portrayal.

I agree about Bianca. I thought she was fantastic. A very understated, incredibly funny, fragile Roxie. I found her portrayal to be quite compelling. I also thought she was (and don't kill me for saying this), very reminiscent of Gwen Verdon.