JANE LYNCH in ANNIE Tonight!

[frankywhitley]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 10:31pm

Was at Annie tonight and Jane lynch KILLED it. Her Hannigan was amazing. and the audience was loving her!

[jetts7]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 10:36pm

I hope I get to see her in it!

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 10:48pm

I am going tomorrow. How did the rest of the cast seem with the new addition?

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 10:48pm

Lucky! I want to see her -_-

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 11:15pm

A friend got last minute tickets tonight and said she nailed it and the audience couldn't get enough!

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 11:43pm

Glad to hear it!

[frankywhitley]

Posted: 5/14/13 at 11:48pm

the cast seemed overjoyed... and Im sure they are. I think Jane Lynch is exactly what this ANNIE needed. I enjoyed Katie Finnerin as well.. but I was in the minority... but I think the majority that didnt like katie will LOVE Jane.

[ucjrdude902]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:02am

I can tell you that hearing what I'm hearing will get me to go. I was offered free tickets a month ago and passed.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:17am

It was a great debut for Jane Lynch.

She was not on the cast board nor in the Playbill. She was only listed on the understudy board and there was a pre-show announcement that was met with excited cheers.

As far as Jane's performance --

She was completely confident on stage. No hesitation, no missed lines, no tentativeness whatsoever. She was completely solid on every line, aspect of staging, etc. You'd think she had been playing it for months.

I think she finds herself in a tricky position of wanting to play Hannigan, but knowing that the producers are marketing JANE LYNCH. The marquee, all the front of house art, etc is HER.. Not her as Hannigan, so you get a performance that reflects that. Her Hannigan is very much informed by her Sue Sylvester - to appeal to the ticket buyers - but she she still manages to bring something else to it as well, so I think all parties should be happy. You can tell that she has the voice to hit every note - and she does, but she doesn't attempt a Broadway belt. Her singing is very much in character and in the style of her "Hannigan", but she does open her throat and belt it out when needed. She also manages to find a few laughs new laughs - her altered delivery of "This one speaks Korean" when showing the orphans to Grace Farrell was a RIOT. The audience - particularly the gays - ate up EVERYTHING that came out of her mouth and the dynamic of the audience was notably different when she was off-stage.

All in all, a very solid debut in a flawed staging and refreshing to not see Finneran, who delivered a rehash of her "Promises, promises" performance that, sadly, came off as a third-rate interpretation of carol Burnett's Hannigan.

As a side note, Warlow is a treasure and Lilla Crawford is still a stand-out Annie - it's a shame Lapine forced that ridiculously awkward Brooklyn accent on all of the kids. She should be up for a Tony or an honor... not the Matilda girls, sorry. The direction of Lily St Regis taken in this production is still every bit of offensive at it was in previews.

[Candleshoe2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:22am

I was there tonight as well, and thought for her first performance, she was pretty great. The audience really loved her, and I know that she will only get stronger as the run progresses. I would recommend visiting/re-visiting the show for her . . . still not a huge fan of the overall production though.

Updated On: 5/15/13 at 12:22 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:27am

How big of an entrance applause did she get when she opened the door at the top of the staircase and yelled that famous first line, “Ah-ha, caught ya!”?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:35am

Well, she had to hold and say it twice.
For better or worse, because of the awkward set design and her towering height, her entrance isn't as "grand" as it could be. If you know to expect it, you see the top of her head through the window as she climbs the escape stair to get in position and she actually has to duck to get through both doors AND the arch underpass beneath the stairs in the orphanage.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 12:48am

I had a good feeling about this. glad to hear she was prepared, unlike one of her GLEE co-stars.
Sometimes type-casting pays off.

[McBroadway2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:02am

I am seeing the show next Wednesday and I was looking forward to seeing Jane but now after reading these comments I am even more excited! I am glad she did such a great job!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:18am

CurtainPullDowner,
No matter what any person may think of her interpretation of Hannigan of vocal prowess, NO ONE can walk out of that theatre and think she is sleepwalking through the show or "slumming it on Broadway". Every line was letter perfect, every note was hit, every step was 100% accurate and made with complete and utter confidence. The woman was/is an absolute pro.

For those interested, No "to-do" was made at curtain call about her first night. I can only hope that as she took her bow, the cast applauded and as the curtain fell, she was able to walk off that stage happy with a job well done and knowing that she she seemed more solid and confident in her material than just about any actor I've seen on their first night as a replacement for a leading role.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:29am

Any word/predictions on who will replace Lynch if the show stays open after she departs?

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:35am

Michele Bachmann.

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 1:37am

^ I know this revival put a new spin on Miss Hannigan, but making her something out of a horror movie is taking it too far...

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 2:29am

bwayguy, great observations.

[gstrus2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 6:10am

Anyone know if she came out the stagedoor yesterday?

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 7:01am

Yes she did. Someone posted on Twitter thanking Jane for posing for pics with her family after the show...and then posted the photo.

"As a side note, Warlow is a treasure and Lilla Crawford is still a stand-out Annie - it's a shame Lapine forced that ridiculously awkward Brooklyn accent on all of the kids. She should be up for a Tony or an honor... not the Matilda girls, sorry. The direction of Lily St Regis taken in this production is still every bit of offensive at it was in previews."....

Amen to that.



Updated On: 5/15/13 at 07:01 AM

[newintown]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 9:57am

"...her altered delivery of "This one speaks Korean" when showing the orphans to Grace Farrell was a RIOT."

Is this line new to this production? I don't recall ever hearing it before.

[jetts7]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 10:21am

I need to go back and see her in it now!

[dreaming]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 10:46am

Did anyone do the lotto last night? (I'm wondering how busy it might be now, although no one knew last night, so I suppose we won't be able to tell until later this week.)

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 5/15/13 at 10:54am

""...her altered delivery of "This one speaks Korean" when showing the orphans to Grace Farrell was a RIOT."

Is this line new to this production? I don't recall ever hearing it before."

Yes it is. It's in reference to Junah Jang's character.