I saw the show Saturday night and was thoroughly disappointed. My main gripe was with the writing. Unless one is familiar with the (rather mediocre, yet entertaining) film, you would be completely lost.
We were sitting in the 4th row, center mezzanine and we had A LOT of trouble deciphering lyrics. The whole murder trial set-up was among lyrics that Callahan had to sing, and since the sound was so bad, the plot -- although ridiculous and simplistic -- was hard to follow. The book writer obviously tried to fit as much in as possible, but plot-wise, it was a complete mess.
Performances were strong, but mostly unremarkable. Laura Bell Bundy did well. Christian Borle, who I admire greatly, was wasted in a thankless role. (I still think he should be playing the Marty Feldman role in YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN, but Roger Bart snagged that one.) Kate Shindle was very good. Michael Rupert was Michael Rupert. Orfeh was pretty good, but she's given some bizarre-ass Irish number that makes no sense.
The score, very obviously written by the BAT BOY composer, was for the most part just loud. There was nothing new or original about it at all. For a couple of the songs, it seems as though they just kept the music from BAT BOY and put in some LEGALLY BLONDE-related lyrics.
I had heard such great things from their out-of-town tryout that my hopes were, perhaps, too high. Maybe, since they're still in previews, they'll clear things up.
Sad when my favorite parts of the show were the two dogs!
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