My NY trip reviews - 6 shows in 6 days! (& stage door pics)

[joshy]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:21pm

I had an absolutely amazing week in New York - I only visited once before as a kid, so it was really my first time to 'do' the city properly as an adult. I had a great week of theatre too -
I saw South Pacific, Xanadu, Gypsy, Spring Awakening, [title of show], and The Little Mermaid. Although I do think the theatre in London is better because there's more variety - mostly because of all the quality plays at the National/Donmar/Royal Court - the buzz and excitement of the Broadway scene is incredible! Like the Broadway Flea Market, which I was glad I was in town for, was a really lovely event that we just don't have an equivalent for here! (I think...)

Anyway, my reviews...


The Little Mermaid: So I saw this immediately when I arrived. I was jetlagged and tired, and I wanted to see In the Heights but lost the lottery, and didn't have enough energy to walk around - so I just crossed the street and got a student ticket for Little Mermaid out of curiosity. I grew up watching the movie on endless repeat, so I guess I just wanted to see how they had translated it to stage. Ineptly is the answer, I think. The staging is poor, often the action bears little or no relation to the words being spoken/sung, the design is alternately garish and OTT and ugly and bare. And the costumes...there were less muscular glittered torsos at the last gay pride parade I attended. But I did like Sierra Boggess, she captured Ariel's youthful, passionate nature and displayed an impressive commitment to a show which maybe wasn't deserving of it. (Unlike some of the cast - I saw one member of the ensemble roll their eyes at another cast member during Kiss the Girl.) Sherie Rene Scott raced through her scenes at a breathless pace - she must have shaved a good few minutes off the running time. So while I was excited to finally hear her singing live, I was a bit disappointed by her rushed, not-scary-enough, I-just-wanna-get-home performance. But the Ursula failure isn't all her fault - I can't believe with all the $$$ that Disney have, they had to make an Ursula costume where she carries her tentacles around herself. The show, ultimately, looked and felt kind of cheap. But I enjoyed the songs, and it was fine for a sleepy first night in New York...


Spring Awakening: I knew the music beforehand, and I was excited to see Hunter Parrish (I love Weeds), but I didn't expect to love the show so much. I thought it was theatrically exciting, with a simple but distinctive theatrical 'life' of its own, and musically fantastic - it sounds way better live than on CD, and I thought the integration of the rock music with the period scenes worked really well. On the whole I thought the cast was excellent - Hunter Parrish has an angelic singing voice and his acting is natural and affecting. Alexandra Socha is extremely believable as Wendla, and her rendition of 'Whispering' made a song I had always thought kinda dull on the recording heartbreaking. A great thing about both their performances is that they avoided the overacting you often see in young performers for more emotionally understated, and therefore way more moving, performances. I can't wait for the show to come over to London now, and I hope it will be successful here! I've seen some criticsm of the choreography, but I thought it was very good - I'd call it movement rather than choreography, I thought it was very expressive and appropriate to the story. Just as the songs are what the kids can't openly express, the 'choreography' is another way of conveying the inner feelings that they aren't permitted to reveal but which are boiling inside them.

Also, a side note, I just want to say how I kind of admire Hunter Parrish for doing the show - with his looks and cool factor he could easily just be making loads of bad teen movies and making more money that way, so the fact that he's actually chosen to do theatre, harder work for less money, is really cool. Unlike Zac Efron, he is actually talented - so it's good to see that he cares enough about his craft to do Broadway! And the fact that he's so obviously loving doing the show.


Gypsy: I was so, so excited to see Patti LuPone on stage. Since I was 6, when I started listening to the Les Mis cast recording, I've been a little bit in love with her. So that really made the show for me - and she didn't disappoint. She was incredible, blowing the roof off the theatre with her singing and giving a credibly crazy performance. I didn't love the production itself - paced too slowly in places and too often playing for comedy where I would rather it had plumbed the darkness of the story. But fantastic performances all around and that wonderful score made for a memorable evening.

Xanadu: I remember when this show was announced, thinking it sounded like the worst idea ever,and that you would have to pay me to sit through it. Well, over a year later, it was amazingly still open and I found myself paying $27 (I envy how cheap the student tickets are on Broadway) to sit with my knees practically under the stage to watch it. And I can't believe how much I enjoyed it. I was in uncontrollable hysterics the whole way through. Every single element was perfect - the phenomenal cast, the sharp but silly book, the songs (sounding WAY better than they did in the movie) and the skates. I adored it and wanted to go back in and see it again straight away when it ended. I was really sad to hear that it would be closing so abruptly, but I feel grateful that I got to enjoy it just over a week before the end of its run! And Xanadu will definitely make me less hasty to judge a show before I've seen it...


[title of show]: I didn't really want to see this show...I was taken along by the best friend of the girl I was staying with, because she loved the show. I thought I was going to find it smug and irritating - mostly because of the way I'd heard that fans were reacting during the show's earlier performances. But I found myself really caught up in the show, and while I'm not an obsessive fan now - it does have its problems - I left the show feeling moved and an overwhelming sense of affection for the show and the performers! (I was glad that the audience didn't have any of the annoying things I was worrying about, people laughing at jokes before they happened or suchlike. It seemed to be mostly an audience of people new to the show, which I think is the best way to experience it!) We saw the first show after they'd had their closing notice, so the actors were themselves overcome with emotion, and that definitely added to the poignancy of the show for me - tears were rolling down their cheeks during the last time. Heidi Blickenstaff is a star in the making. Susan Blackwell is a hysterical, addictive stage presence. The score is a mixed bag, it's the wit and verve of the book scenes that really make this show winning. Despite my initial reservations, by the end of the show I was deeply moved and totally on their side, rooting for them to put their show "out there".

South Pacific: This is such a beautiful production, with an absolutely luminous performance from Kelli O'Hara. I felt it took a bit of time to warm up, but by the time she sang 'A Wonderful Guy' it had captured my heart and I cried through much of the second act. I loved how subtle and understated the performances were, with the effect of making everything so deeply felt and moving that a show which can easily seem corny and cliched seemed as real and immediate as a show written this year. The design was gorgeous as well, and the orchestra was fabulous...I wish I could have met Bartlett Sher and talked to him about this wonderful production!


Here are some of my stage door pics...it was interesting doing the whole stage door thing here, it's definitely different to how it works in London! I have photos with Kelli O'Hara and Matthew Morrison but I look awful because I'd been crying the whole way through the show so no one can see them, haha...
















Updated On: 9/26/08 at 04:21 PM

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:28pm

What a wonderful post! This is who we are and what we do, people..........

And joshy, since you were listening to "Les Mis" at age 6 I shudder to think how precocious you are as an adult! I'm thrilled you had such a great time in New York. Thanks for sharing it with us!

[joshy]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 4:57pm

Thanks Paul!

Oh, I don't think I'm that precocious....I didn't really understand Les Mis properly at 6 anyway. I thought a 'whore' was a lady who sold her hair.

Hope I can get back to New York soon.

[Broadwaynerd101]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 5:01pm

OT - The guy behind you on your second pic with the thumbs up is hillarious!!

[AlgonquinProd2]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 5:06pm

Very cool post. Sounds like you had a great time, even despite the shows you didn't love so much. And you saw practically everything worth seeing.

[matty159]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 8:25pm

Great reviews. Glad you enjoyed your trip!

Your South Pacific review makes me jealous because I can't get tickets for my trip next month...and am too impatient to wait in the cancellation line.

Really happy you fell for [tos]!

[sally1112]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 8:54pm

Glad you had a nice trip. You are making me want to go back worse than I already did.

You saw some good shows. Be thankful that you got to see Xanadu before it closes. It is such a great experience.

[Steve2]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 8:57pm

Thanks for your detailed reviews. I appreciate how you admitted to not wanting so see a show or thought you would have little interest but went anyway with open mind!
You saw some of the best that broadway has to offer now and so lucky to see Xanadu and TOS before they close.

[broadwayfan7]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 9:41pm

Thanks for your reviews! Your pictures look nice too!

[BroadwayBelle2]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 9:53pm

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing them.

[pli1018]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 10:21pm

Nice reviews!

Also OT: I like the transparent man in the picture with Jackie and Mary. :)

[WishingOnlyWounds2]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 10:29pm

Nice reviews.

I've seen The Little Mermaid twice. Once with Sherie as Ursula and once with understudy Cicily Daniels as Ursula. Cicily was my first Ursula and made the show! I actually enjoyed it a lot, which I thank Cicily a lot for as well as Sierra and Brian D'Addario who was on for Flounder (She's in Love was one of the biggest highlights of the show).

When I saw Sherie she seemed tired and you could tell she didn't want to be there. I was very disappointed.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 10:49pm

Glad you liked South Pacific...it really is one of the best Broadway productions of this decade. It has totally re imagined a show that many admirers of this production found corny, tired, and dated (including myself) because no significant director could bring it to a new and relevant level until Sher. Seriously, you can hear a pin drop in that theatre during the show because the audience is so captured by the show.

[clever name]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 11:09pm

What a great post! Glad you shared your pics.. There is a ghost behind you in the last shot, btw.

[ThankstoPhantom]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 11:46pm

^ Whoa, or maybe a double exposure? Could be double exposure, but then how could it be so perfectly set behind Hoffman? It would likely have overlapped her image....

[clever name]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 11:56pm

IT'S A GHOST!

[Robert Taylor]

Posted: 9/27/08 at 1:20am

OMFG, that ghost is frickin' creepy.

Great reviews, thanks for sharing.

[legally_popular]

Posted: 9/27/08 at 10:20am

LOL at the ghost!

Sounds like a great trip, very nice line-up of shows.
Thanks for sharing!

[casey1234]

Posted: 9/27/08 at 11:24am

nice reviews!

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 9/27/08 at 11:45am

Hey. Great pictures. I must say that you look like you could be related to tennis star Monica Seles. from RC in Austin, Texas