High Fidelity-10/07/06 Matinee

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:45pm

So I just got back from today's matinee performance of High Fidelity, and I absolutely loved it! So here are some highlights.

Will Chase-Fantastic, fantastic voice. He has such great stage presence. He fit the part of Rob well. He was just fantastic.

Jenn Colella-She's adorable! She has such a pretty voice. Number Five With a Bullet was hysterical. Her part is a little underwritten, but she's doing great.

Christian Anderson-If I had to pick one reason to see this show, it would be him. He stole every scene he was in. And what a voice! He was great.

Jeb Brown-He had me on the floor. Literally. I almost fell out of my seat from laughing so hard.

And other people worth mentioning: Rachel Stern, Matt Caplan, Jay Klaitz, and Emily Swallow. Overall, a great cast. I'm loving Matt's mohawk.

Some things I didn't like. Well, "Breaking Up Alone" seemed very tacked on, and didn't show off much of Jenn's fantastic vocals. Other songs felt tacked on as well, and I think it's because of the book. The book was probably the weakest part of the show, it just needs to be fleshed out a bit more. But overall, it was great. It's not Les Miserables or anything, but it's a fun feel good musical. Quoting Frank Rizzo at Variety, "Even with all its out-of-town try-out flaws, "High Fidelity" is a musical that celebrates the power of pop culture with wit, verve and a killer beat."

And can I just say that the sets are incredible?

After the show I went to the stagedoor, and saw a bunch of people. My camera had to die right before I took pictures with Will and Christian. You can really tell that these people are all great friends. Their chemistry is real. Everyone was so nice and sweet. And Matt Caplan showed some teeth when we took a picture. Hahaha. His fiance, Karen Olivo I think, was hanging around and he was pretty preoccupied. Jenn is the biggest sweetheart, I love her. It was a great day.

I highly recommend this show, it's fun and quirky. It's got a great cast and I really think it's going to do well. The orchestra wasn't even full, so it's easy to get tickets. Please give this show your support! Updated On: 10/7/06 at 05:45 PM

[neddyfrank2]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:46pm

What are the sets that are so amazing?

Can anybody tell me what is so amazing about them?

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 5:50pm

The sets are fun and vibrant, and the cool things is that they're easily adaptable. They can become different things. I don't know, I know that doesn't sound good, but you have to see it for yourself. It's hard to describe.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 7:01pm

The set is cool because little twists and turns make one set into something completely different. The scene changes ares so smooth because of the way that the set changes. I have never seen anything like it so it is difficult to describe. The closest thing I can liken it to is the sets of The Drowsy Chaperone because of the way that Man in Chair's apartment turns into the set of the show within the show, but High Fidelity takes it one step further because there is no remnant of the previous set.

[timote316]

Posted: 10/7/06 at 11:49pm

I just got back from the evening performance, and figured this would be better than posting a whole new thread.

Will Chase is fantastic. His acting, vocals, everything.... really spot on in this show.

In one of the Boston paper reviews, Jenn Colella was called bland. I can't say I disagree. As allie said, her part is very underwritten, so that could be the reasoning, but bland is a good description.

The rest of the cast is uniformly solid. Christian Anderson and Jay Klaitz are outstanding.

The sets. I know everyone keeps talking about the sets and how wonderful they are, and I agree, but they really are a malfunction waiting to happen. Everything is automated. There are these central column-like things that spin, combining with various extendable wall units to create the various locales in the show. I really did like the sets, they were very effective and allowed for quick but very visually interesting set changes, but I kept waiting for a wall to get stuck or the couch to freeze mid-flipping or the giant central trapdoor to stick open or something. However, it didn't happen.

THE highlight of the show, however, is the Rob-Ian scene in the record shop, the one where its rewound and replayed three times. Perfect.

Overall, I think the show needs a bit of tightening. I don't think the book was all that weak, but it certainly needs some streamlining. Laura's first song really worked in that moment, it didn't seem tacked on at all (the songs aren't listed in the Playbill, and I don't remember the title... but, looking at the first post, its called "Breaking Up Alone"). I do think that a better finale is needed.... maybe a full-cast reprise of "I Wouldn't Change a Thing" (I think that's the title...) would work in that spot, after Barry's performance. I don't know. Its one of the things they need to work on.

I don't know how successfull the show will be on Broadway, honestly. It was good, and certainly entertaining, but not quite at the Broadway level just yet.

Oh, and the pre-show announcement was perfect. Perhaps the best I've ever heard. Any announcement that ends with "shut off the f--king cell phones!" is #1 in my book.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 1:38am

According to Will Chase, there is a lot that will be changed, the ending is one of those things. It has already gone through several incarnations and will probably go through a few more.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 9:34am

Oh yeah, the Rob/Ian scene was fantastic! I loved it.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 11:15am

I was also at the evening performance yesterday. And I have to say I truly enjoyed the show. That's not to say it's not without its faults. It can obviously use some changes, but overall I really really enjoyed it.

First, I thought some of the songs were too long. That weird one with Ian was way too long, in my opinion. Personaly song favorites included: the top 5 breakups one, Number Five with a Bullet, Wonderful Love, and a few others.

Jenn Colella's role is SO underwritten. I want to know more about her character. I realize the show is about Rob, but you don't really warm to her character at all because you don't know her. Plus, her gorgeous voice is way underutilized. Someone write her another song. I LOVED her in Number Five with a Bullet.

Rachel Stern was in for the role of Liz/Jackie and pulled it off wonderfully.

The entire cast was really just great. All very talented.

THE highlight of the show, however, is the Rob-Ian scene in the record shop, the one where its rewound and replayed three times. Perfect.

Agreed. I thought that scene was brilliantly executed.

So those are my thoughts. I'm sure I'll think of more when I'm more awake. I'm really hoping to see the show again while it's still here, and maybe hope to see some changes.

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 11:21am

Rachel Stern has actually permanantely (sp? I'm out of it) taken over the role of Liz/Jackie. They just don't want to spend all the money to change the playbill.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 11:34am

Oh. Just kidding! Well, she was hilarious.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 11:47am

Also, I could be very much mistaken but I could have sworn I saw Bridget Moynahan (sp?) there. She is from Six Degrees and played the fiancee of John Cusack in Serendipity. It doesn't really make sense because she is doing Six Degrees right now but I would have sworn it was her. Anyway.

[wendy kroy]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 12:05pm

They must have really changed the show since last week if people like it this much. Glad to hear people are enjoying it. My issue with the show was..."Who cares?" I liked the music and the performances but ultimately the story had no impact on me whatsoever. It is hard to love a musical when you cannot connect to even one character on the stage. Maybe it is just ME but I don't understand why THIS STORY is a musical.

The sets are the thing I cared for the most. The sets should garner a Tony nomination for sure.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:05pm

I just went to the HF website and just realized how much I really like the score. I can't wait till they record.

[FinallyAmember]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:08pm

Has anyone checked out the High Fidelity lotto yet. I've heard student rush is easy to come by, but I'm curious about the lotto. I know the Wicked lotto was crazy in boston, but High Fidelity doesn't have that kind of hype. Anyone know?

[alliez92092]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:13pm

Lotto's pretty easy. The people at the box office told me that almost no one stops by for it.

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:13pm

I did the HF lotto last night. Not enough people came to even fill up the lotto, so everyone got seats. Then they drew the names to get the order people would be in, then no one was in that order anyway. It hasn't been filled up yet.

[timote316]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:21pm

Ashley, are you following me? Or, actually.... you got your Adam tickets first... and if you did the lotto, you got those tickets before me, too.... so, Ashley, I promise: I'm not following you!

[FinallyAmember]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:21pm

Thanks for the info. I guess I will be at the lotto Wednesday. How are the seats?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 4:28pm

Ashley, are you following me? Or, actually.... you got your Adam tickets first... and if you did the lotto, you got those tickets before me, too.... so, Ashley, I promise: I'm not following you!

Weird! We both just have such good taste. Where were you sitting last night?

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 10/8/06 at 8:35pm

i cant wait till this comes to NYC

that cell phone announcement sounds hilarious :P

i really want a cast recording of this!

[ashley0139]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 2:49pm

So I saw the show again and I figured instead of starting a new thread I'd bump this one that already has one of my reviews on it.

I think I enjoyed the show more this time because I was able to notice the smaller stuff. Plus I had already heard the music so it was more familiar. The audience last night was so responsive! The "rewind" sequence was extremely well received. The cheering got louder each sequence. The audience loved it. I still think some of the songs are too long. I really dislike the first song that Ian sings. And I think the other one I don't like as much as the others is "I Slept With Someone Who Slept With Lyle Lovett." "Ready to Settle" got a great response from the audience as well as the more upbeat numbers such as the first one and "Number Five with a Bullet."

The one thing I really don't understand is at the end of the show. In the middle of "Wonderful Love" Rob asks Laura to marry him. She laughs and says "you really didn't expect me to say yes did you?" And then says thank you for asking. Then goes into the second half of the love song and gets back together with Rob. Doesn't really make sense to me. Anyway, those are my additional thoughts on the show.

P.S.- Give Laura some more songs! We know Will can sing- let's hear more of Laura!

[joe5]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 3:25pm

I saw the Matinee on 10/9. And it was much better than excepted. I can't wait to see again and again.................

[beyondthebreakofday]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 4:14pm

Ummm.....I'm slightly shocked. I didn't like the show very much at all. Yes the performers were good, but the material they were given made the entire show rather sub par. I thought that the storyline was very weak and that everything the movie did right this show did wrong. The movie was so unique in its jokes and its references whereas the dialogue and jokes in this show seems so mainstream and overdone. (I seem to remember a scientology joke?).

I do not think the book writers took advantage of the story line that was already in place. Particularly, I was annoyed with the fact that all of Rob's relationships were covered in one song and then solved in yet another. Instead of making this a common thread and giving the show a purpose (by having Rob re-live each of the relationships), this issue was solved and set aside.

I doubt that this show will find an audience after all those who go strictly because of the movie. Yes the performances were good, but nothing in the story line kept me interested and the music was far from memorable. The story and music jumped from remarkably sappy scenes to disjointed and pointless ones.

I saw the show the night after opening night in Boston and I may go back before the show leaves for New York-- hopefully to see the changes they have made to fix it.

[joe5]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 4:28pm

Shocked, that someone likes something you don't. Oh how sad, just keep bashing.

[beyondthebreakofday]

Posted: 10/13/06 at 4:32pm

bashing? I thought this was a message board....you know, for people to express opinions? I was simply expressing my surprise that all of these posts were positive--next time I'll make sure to ask you first if that's ok.