LENNON review (9/16/8pm)

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 9:10am

Full cast!

Byfar, this was the best performance I've seen yet (and it was my 8th time)! This cast is electric all the time but there was a magic on that stage - probably the realization there was only a week left to feel that energy and magic.

I've reviewed it so many times that I'm just going to be repeating myself if I go into detail, but I will say this...

If you've seen it and loved it, there's no better time to go again then now. The cast is having the time of their lives up on that stage because they know that their time is limited. And if you haven't seen it, maybe it's time you reconsider the opinions of your lovely theater critics. Give this show a chance. I, a Lennonite, will admit that the book is very weak. But these performances are stellar. These songs are so much fun. You'll laugh, cry, sing along, want to dance and leave humming TONS of songs.

No, it's not PIAZZA. But it's also not a jukebox musical. This is so much more.

Give it one last chance.


...."They're gonna crucify me."

[Penny4Eyes]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 9:12am

my friend camellia, the biggest john lennon fan in the world saw this show and said it was DISGRACEFUL. but to each her own

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 9:18am

Penny, I'm a huge John Lennon fan. But the difference between her and I might be that she was a Beatles/John Lennon fan. I personally love John's music much more AFTER he left the Beatles.

The show isn't disgraceful at all. It leaves out some of his worst moments, yes. It does make him out to be a tiny bit better than he was. And it does spend some time glorifying Yoko Ono, but if you watch Julie Danao-Salkin during the scene in which John leaves the Beatles, she has the most malicious little smirk. There is so much more to her Yoko that just doesn't get said in the script. We ALLLLLLLL know that there's more to Yoko, and if you read between the lines, it's there.

This is not a disgrace. It's a celebration of a genius.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 10:55am

I saw it last night as well.


The cast is fantastic, but the show is just not a musical. There is NO drama or urgency behind it whatsoever. The characters barely interact with each other. I felt like I was being sung AT a lot of the time. It's allright as a musical revue, but as a musical? I dunno. It was a concert.

Seriously, though....Will Chase? SOOOOOOOO amazing.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:35am

I'm going tonight; I hope they're all in (read: Will and Julia!). I want to be there to support them one more time.

[Pinguin]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:36am

I'm sure with the show closing soon the cast will be making an honest effort to all be there :0)

[alli2]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:41am

i was there too, with steven and others. probably the best performance i've seen yet. i'm so sad that marcy's not going to be there at closing.

[tagiunagi]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:42am

Will Chase = God

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:46am

Will Chase is beautiful. BEAUTIFUL.

[Marguerite Chauvelin]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:52am

Will..... :) I fell in love with him because of Lennon.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 8:18pm

I love hearing good things about Lennon. :)

(Though I can't speak from the perspective of a Lennon fan -- I first heard maybe half those songs when I saw Lennon the first time.)

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 8:21pm

I'm sure the whole cast will be there until the end, except for Marcy...

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 8:22pm

Where's she going?

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 8:25pm

Planned vacation.

Although, it'd be awesome if she came back for, at least, the last show.

Not that I can go anyway

[Liz_Bennet]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:13pm

I'm sorry, but Lennon is a jukebox musical. You may think that it is a quality jukebox musical, but it consists of previously independently written songs strung together to form a theatrical piece. That's a jukebox musical. Yes, it is usually used as a pejorative term around here, with a value judgment attached, but Lennon is one, like it or not.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:40pm

I saw it tonight. And... what breaks my heart so, so much is that once they go, the audiences love the show. They were SO enthusiastic and were on their feet right away. I'm so in love with the cast... God, I hate that they're closing. Hate it. I really do love it - as detrimental as some of it may be, I think it's beautiful. And fun. Gonna miss you, Lennon.

PS, Yoko was there tonight. (And so was Kelly Ripa!)

Updated On: 9/18/05 at 11:40 PM

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 9/17/05 at 11:47pm

I just wanted to second "Will Chase = God". And if I were the type of girl to notice someones rear end, I might would say his was nice and shapely. Of course, I'm not the type of girl who pays attention to those kind of things...