Lennon in SF-a review

[justme2]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 1:29am

I saw the May 13th performance of "Lennon" at the Orpheum. Here are my thoughts:

An inventive storytelling technique that is hard to describe. All the actors kind of "hand off" scenes and dialogue from the mind of Lennon to the other actors as his life progresses and the action is quick and tight. The actors never portray one role. Also, the actors are onstage for a good 10 minutes pre show, milling around and talking to each other.

The opening began with a video image of the space shuttle orbiting earth, listening to Imagine. The astronauts apparently requested to wake up to the song each morning. It's peaceful and beautiful, until the show does the one thing I hate in theater most, make the audience realize the show has REALLY begun by blasting gunfire into the speakers. While the audience changes their now wet pants, the actors begin the show with the birth of Lennon.

There is only one set, and the orchestra is placed onstage, amidst the action. There are two racks of clothing on either side of the stage, and though you don't notice it, the actors are changing costumes on stage constantly. There are props that the actors move around, and three white curtains used to project images onto, plus a couple of large prints, but that's about all.

They cover the major events in Lennon's life, such as losing his mother at a young age and not having a relationship with his father, time with the Beatles, his religious influences, meeting Yoko, losing Yoko, becoming a father and so on.

All the actors are on stage the entire time. There was only one 15 minute intermission, and I was impressed with the actors energy. The songs are evenly split among them, and there were several standout numbers.

I enjoyed the way the show was presented and the performances. Terrance Mann was hysterical as David Frost, Mike Douglas and The Queen of England! As I said before, the roles of John and Yoko were played by everyone at different times in the show, and when not playing one of the two, the actors protrayed the people in their lives.

They had a good selection of songs from his library, from Beautiful Boy to Attica to Gimme Some Truth. Standout performances from Terrance Mann and Marcy Harriell. The orchestra was fantastic and they played for a good ten minutes after curtain, much to the enjoyment of the audience.

I don't know if I'd catagorize this show as a jukebox musical. There's more there than simply playing popular songs.

Sorry so long...in short...Good Show, Great actors and the best of luck to them in NY!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:05am

I just got home from seeing the closing performance. I really hope this show doesn't fall on its face in New York and audiences appreciate it for what it is and doesn't expect the wrong things to come of it (hint: It's called "Lennon," not "The Beatles.").

I had seen the next-to-last preview prior to tonight's performance, and I enjoyed it even more, and I'm not just saying that because I was in the second row. :)

HOORAY, GO LENNON!

[justme2]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:23am

Did you notice any major differences from the preview timeframe and last night?

I am hoping this show does well in New York. Your comment about people expecting Beatles songs and a Jukebox Beatles musical reminded me of the two girls sitting next to me Thursday. When the Beatles scene started with Twist and Shout, they said "finally, I was waiting when it would start, I wonder who's going to play Paul?".

You are soooooo right about the title....it's called Lennon for a reason people!

Were you able to catch a daisy from your second row location? My friend who saw the show earlier this month did!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:32am

I wasn't able to catch a daisy, but Mandy Gonzalez (as the Maharishi) threw an orchid that rather gracefully glided right into my lap.

I don't remember anything really major changing, other than the elimination of "Crippled Inside" and giving more lines throughout the show solely to Will Chase than to the other people playing John.

[teth]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:40am

Hey! I was there on the 13th too! I was in the second row (pit tickets ). The last time I went, I sat more toward the back.

In any case, I loved it...even more so this time.

I don't know if the whole expectation thing will affect it too negatively. I just think that people may not like it because it's not really a jukebox musical like Mamma Mia! or All Shook Up. Although I love the show in general, I still think the weak book will have a negative impact. Coming out of it a second time, I still did not really learn who Lennon really was. The whole thing was just a sequence of random facts and things that Lennon did. I am eager to know what kind of changes they'll make for Broadway.

Despite all that though, I still think strong performances from the cast really made this memorable. I want the soundtrack!! ("Starting over....OVER" is playing over and over in my head. :p)

Did they really cut Crippled Inside? I don't think I remember hearing it this second time around. I think the projected image of Lennon and Yoko way at the end was added recently too?

(Random note: During one song, Will Chase was practically spraying the audience with spit...like...you would see clouds of spit every two seconds. Thought that was funny. However, I was afraid that he would come over to my side... :p)

[Shawk]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:42am

I also saw it in previews and more recently, and I understand that they mean to rework the first act to be more sequential, which I think is sort of weird as I didn't have trouble following it and I think if anything needs some work, it's the second act.

"Crippled Inside" is cut, and some of the dialogue around where it used to be changed, and a few lines were reassigned. Nothing dramatic. Although I suspect there may be dramatic changes prior to the NY opening.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:44am

Come to think of it, yeah, I'm pretty sure the giant projection of Yoko and John in profile at the very end wasn't there during previews. (Or at least the one I saw.)

[Shawk]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 3:48am

I do think there are some different projections here and there, but I didn't pay that much attention to the projections overall, so I could be lying.

[cathywellerstein]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 11:28am

how was mady gonzalez? i'm dying to see her in this.

[Shawk]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 5:09pm

It's a real ensemble show, with people popping up as a variety of characters, although Will Chase and Chad Kimball take most of the weight as John Lennon. Mandy Gonzalez has a great voice, but I remember her most as characters with fake facial hair (the Maharishi and Geraldo). She also plays various other parts, and John Lennon on occasion.

[cathyhyatt]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 5:28pm

i was just gonna ask that cathywellerstein...
so how IS mandy gonzalez!?

[hrh_annette]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 7:30pm

Lovely review, justme2. And my daisy is still in good shape : )

[justme2]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 9:04pm

I enjoyed Mandy Gonzalez's singing...though it's hard to remember which actors sing which songs, as the show is very fast and very tight. The playbill lists songs only, not who is singing them in which scenes. I do remember Mandy as the Maharishi, Shawk! She was funny as hell! Also, Mandy seemed to be the youngest one of the cast. Is that true? The one singer that stands out most is Marcy Harriell. A powerhouse voice that owned the songs she had.

And, has Julia Murney always been blonde? I remember her as dark haired, and her playbill photo shows dark hair. But she is BLONDE in this show.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 9:29pm

Chad Kimball might be younger than Mandy Gonzalez. I'm not sure.

[Shawk]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 9:37pm

Part of the problem in remembering who sang what is that they often share songs, in the spirit of "I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together," so sometimes it's hard to recall who sang what line in those songs.

[teth]

Posted: 5/15/05 at 10:21pm

I agree. However, I'm glad that all of them got an opportunity to lead a song. There were so many memorable performances. Marcy's performance of "Woman is the N.." is still ringing in my ears. So was Chad's in "Mother."