How to Succeed thoughts

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 6:00am

I know there are other threads about thoughts on the show, but none of the first page of the search were about the show itself, so here we go.

There was a lot that I loved about the show, and yet, as a whole, I didn't love it.

Radcliffe: charming and fun, but lacking interesting character choices. Finch should/could be so much more. NO chemistry with Rosemary. NONE. Pleased enough with his singing, and quite impressed with his dancing. (Although you are still aware how hard he is working.) Often he is speaking SO fast, many of his words get lost.

Laroquette: Fun acting choices, adequate singing, LOTS of incoherent speaking.

Rosemary: (sorry, I don't have playbill in front of me for her name) Enjoyable, but again, too bland a character. What is it about her that Finch falls in love with? She just "is".

I would have like more from Hanke as well. He could have been so much more unlikeable.

I LOVED the choreography (I didn't find it over the top at all) and the sets and the lighting. The entire cast has amazing energy and truly seemed to be having a great time.

The real test will be that I'm seeing this again in 2 weeks with different people, we'll see how it stands up a second time.

The audience, however, ate it up, particularly Radcliffe. The standing ovation started before the curtain calls begain.

And Brotherhood of Man was outstanding.

Updated On: 4/11/11 at 06:00 AM

[GatorNY]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 9:27am

I agree Mama. I went to the matinee yesterday, and I kept wanting more of something. I thought Daniel was good, but couldn't get past the fact that the grey suit, colored bow tie and slicked hair made him look like Pee Wee Herman.

My seats were in row O of the mezzanine, so I'm not sure what was being done on stage might not have made it up to me. I wonder if my slight disappointment was because of having enjoyed the revival with Broderick so much. I felt like all the numbers that worked so well in the Broderick revival just didn't go the distance (like "Coffee Break" and "A Secretary is Not a Toy.") The staging and choreography for "Brotherhood of Man" was fantastic, but by that point I was like: Ashford, why couldn't you have given us something like that before now?

I am certainly glad I saw it, as it was enjoyable and fun, just wished I would've been wowed a bit more by the staging and choreography. The lighting and costumes were great. I gave a big cheer for Hanke too, I really liked him. I'm glad to see him end up being cast in a show that's going to be around for a while. The audience around me, 85% late teen girls all just about gave birth though...screaming and breaking water everywhere.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 1:20pm

It was just "blah", like most musicals this season...

[Unknown User]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 1:31pm

Why do people who love musicals not love so many musicals?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 6:30pm

Gator....a lot of those kids were mine. I brought 88 people to the theater with me...most of the my drama students. We were scattered from row P and back! Of all the shows we saw over the weekend, the kids loved this one by far, the most.

Joe -- I don't think we are looking to NOT love it, but we just aren't willing to give things a free pass. As I said, there were lots of things I DID love about it, and all in all, I had a nice evening.

[GatorNY]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 7:05pm

So funny Mama. I'm glad they liked it! What a thrill for them.

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 7:09pm

Dramamama611, first, thanks for taking those kids to theater.

As for whether holds up to the 'real test,' I'd say it's already passed. By your own admission, you say: 'The audience ate it up, particularly Radcliffe. The standing ovation started before the curtain calls began.' That's been my experience on the 2 times I've seen it; the audience is having a blast.

Yeah, if you're older, you can compare this with that, or Radcliffe with Broderick or Morse; no one is asking to give anything a pass. But let's not forget possibly the bigger picture: If a 50-year-old musical is making this many people happy, and the songs and the jokes are still working, 'How to Succeed' is surely doing something right & deserves the credit.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 4/11/11 at 7:21pm

They loved it. I was surrounded by Radcliffe's face and other paraphenalia all day today.