#1
Posted: 9/28/09 at 12:14am
Went to the Sunday matinee in Tempe, AZ and got to see Lauren's final performance. Don't know if it's standard, but for the matinee, the understudies for the roles of Elle Woods, Emmett Forrest, Brooke Wyndham, Fforzheimer, and then two other roles were also announced before the curtain came up (seems like a lot of understudies - normally when we see a show on the Sunday matinee it's usually just the lead).
Overall, Lauren did a nice job as Elle. Her singing was strong, though she did sound a little winded during "So Much Better". Once we stopped comparing it to the MTV version, the show was very enjoyable. The understudies for Emmett and Brooke also gave very good performances. The simplified set design of the opening number deflates some of the initial energy, so it took the audience a while to get into it.
There were more college & teen age girls (dressed to the nines) in attendance than I've ever seen for a show in Tempe (including Wicked) - which demonstrates that the MTV show really expanded the audience for a Broadway musical! The most telling comment came from some tweens in the lobby before the show when they saw the notice that Lauren was playing Elle - they got so excited that they were going to see her as well as Rhiannon Hansen.
Overall, we were very happy with the touring company!
Overall, Lauren did a nice job as Elle. Her singing was strong, though she did sound a little winded during "So Much Better". Once we stopped comparing it to the MTV version, the show was very enjoyable. The understudies for Emmett and Brooke also gave very good performances. The simplified set design of the opening number deflates some of the initial energy, so it took the audience a while to get into it.
There were more college & teen age girls (dressed to the nines) in attendance than I've ever seen for a show in Tempe (including Wicked) - which demonstrates that the MTV show really expanded the audience for a Broadway musical! The most telling comment came from some tweens in the lobby before the show when they saw the notice that Lauren was playing Elle - they got so excited that they were going to see her as well as Rhiannon Hansen.
Overall, we were very happy with the touring company!
