I finally saw ACL last night...

and it was INCREDIBLE! There wasn't a single weak link in the cast, and they are all true triple threats. Charlotte D'Amboise gave an amazing acting and dancing performance. However, her singing was very inconsistent- at times it was beautiful, and some other times (like when she was trying to belt) it just sounded wierd. Despite this, she more than made up for it. The rest of the cast was uniformly strong (even with 4 understudies), and it was amazing to finally see a show I've been wanting to see for about ten years. I highly reccomend this show, especially to people who are familiar with the music but haven't seen it before.

Richie (E. Clayton Cornelious), Bebe (Lyndy Franklin), Judy (Jessica Lea Patty), and Al (Mike Cannon)

They were all wonderful!

I thought Jason Tam was still out. Who played Paul?

How was Joey?
I loved Jason's understated performance and his dancing.

Yup, some smart Movie director snatched him up for a month.

Tam Topped Duding?

Saw the show today. I didn't know that Tam would be out, I was very much looking forward to his performance. I would see the show again just to see him in it. I wasn't that affected by Dudding. The end of his monologue seemed fake. I wanted so much to like him, but I ended up not even caring when he got hurt. O well. Understudies for Al (Mike Cannon), Richie (E. Clayton Cornelius), and Bebe (Michelle Aravena) were on at the matinee. Of the three, Cornelius was the best, fitting in perfectly with the rest of the cast. Cannon and Aravena seemed a bit awkward and stuck out from the rest. You can tell they were the understudies. It was fun to see Aaron J. Albano on as one of the rejects, though, since I saw him recently in Spelling Bee in Boston. Good show, glad I finally got to see it, and I'm kind of happy it's on Broadway right now. This was a more welcome "return visit" for me than Les Miz.

~Steven