Won lotto (barely!!), and so got to see Jon as Frederick and bonus Linda as Frau Blucher! Awesome.
I've noticed about myself that I tend to enjoy every show better the second time, and this was no exception. I wasn't too impressed with the show when I saw it back in October, but after seeing 6 of the understudies perform songs at the At This Performance concerts (for the record - Matt LaBanca, Brian Shepard, Heather Ayers, Justin Patterson, Christine Marie Norrup and Linda Mugleston), I was pretty excited to go back. And that meant that I had a super fun time picking all them out in the ensemble.
Anyway. I thought Jon was great, but I've been a fan of his since High Fidelity (yes, I'm one of the few). He's less zany than Bart, but entirely endearing and brilliantly funny without trying. His facial expressions were genius. And I especially enjoyed the "Man About Town" scene. I think they haven't quite got the sound mix right for him, though. Linda was great too - but I've never understood why people rave about Andrea Martin, because I just don't find the role that funny.
But a note to the girl sitting behind me who claimed to have seen the show 42 times, instructed people around her on how to react to certain moments, gave entrance applause to everyone (except the understudies), shouted the actors' names after certain songs and during curtain call and screamed inappropriately before jokes had fully landed: you damn near ruined the show for me. Don't be so selfish and learn to hide your insanity. It's what I do.
broadwayunderstudies.com - most underrated performers on broadway