NYC Vacay
NYC Vacay
#0NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/12/05 at 9:32pm
Hi Everyone,
I just returned from NYC after a four day stay seeing four shows, here’s a review of each of them… BTW, I'm a horrible speller...
Friday Night – Mamma Mia! – This has been my favorite show since it came to BWay, so it was appropriate to start my vacation in my favorite Greek Taverna. First off, both Sophie and Rosie were out, which I hear happens way too often… so understudies were on. Carolee was pretty good as Donna, certainly not as good as Louise Pitre, but better than Dee Hoty. Either her or the sound guy were being lazy, because if I didn’t already know all the words, I wouldn’t have been able to understand much of what she said. However, Her delivery and especially her last note in “The Winner Takes It All” was the best I’ve ever seen. The new Tanya was okay, but it seemed she would have been better to play the more serious Donna. Tanya is my favorite character in the show, and after seeing 7 of them, this one was either #6 or #7… The Dad’s were okay, as usual… I’ve never cared much for them… However, the actor playing Bill needs to decide if he’s going to use the Aussie accent, and stick with it, because he needs some work! Sophie and Sky were okay, but they didn’t have the chemistry that Joe Machota and Tina Madigan had. The ensemble was in good shape, as well as the sets and lights still looking great. The spotlights seemed to be having some trouble, but I’m sure I was the only one that noticed. As I said, Mamma Mia! is my favorite show, but I would have to give this production a 3 out of 5 stars.
Saturday Night – Wicked – I had last seen Wicked with Eden Espinosa and Jennifer Laura Thompson (When she was new to the role) and I didn’t care for the show too much, thinking it was lacking in emotions. However… I must have seen a completely off night, because the show was great! Shoshana was so wonderful in the role, I didn’t miss Idina’s vocals at all. She has a wonderful quality to her voice, and will go much farther than this. Jennifer was also wonderful as Glinda, and remained my favorite character in the show. They have added this hair flip twitch during Popular that went on for a while, and she got a huge round of applause. I have never been a fan of David Ayers, and while I still don’t care for his style, he was passable as Fiero, much better than Joey. The rest of the cast was great, except the new Boc, who I thought was terrible. The sets in the show continue to amaze me me, Eugene Lee is so talented! The Defying Gravity effect worked much better this show then my last time seeing it. It looked like she was really flying, unlike last time where it looked like she was getting pushed forward. I must have had a strange affect on the lights of both these shows, because there was a random bright blue light that snapped on and off twice during the 1st Act. The show has only gotten better, so I would give it a 4 ½ out of 5 stars. It also wins the award for best BWay Cares speech, with the ensemble spinning, Shoshana’s dress popping and Jennifer rambling.
Sunday Night – Avenue Q. – This was the one show I wanted to see the most, as I hadn’t seen it before and had been humming to the soundtrack for the last year. We were actually able to get lottery seats for the show, which was awesome, we were SO close! The show was so cleaver and very worthy of it’s Tony Award this year! The only changes from the original cast was the understudy for Gary Coleman and of course, the lovely Barret Foa. Barret was excellent as Princeton/Rod as were all the other actors. My favorite characters were the “Bad Idea Bears” and they had me rolling with laughter! I also thought Jennifer Barnhardt was great in a thankless role of being hands, boxes, bears and extras. I was also impressed with the set design, and how it used everything so effectively. With a little help from my front row seats, I’d rate this show as 5 out of 5 stars, well done!
Monday Night – The Phantom of the Opera – In a perfect world, DRS or Spamalot would be open on Mondays, but faced with seeing Chicago for the 9th time, or Rent for the 3rd time, I chose Phantom, which I had seen before and was the first show to get me excited about Broadway. The show’s sets have always been a favorite of mine, and those were in excellent condition. The chandelier falling seemed much slower than my young eyes once thought, but it’s still a great effect. I did notice this time around how simple the lighting design is. I know it was designed quite some time ago, but I’ve seen cruise ship lighting 10 times better than this show. Now the show itself… It’s sad when the first thing I can recall about the show was the sets… but the actors left much to be desired. I thought the trio were all below par for a Broadway show, esp. Hugh Panaro, who behaved more like Jim Carrey during the last scene, than the Phantom. I only paid $20 for my ticket so I can’t complain too much, but I do believe that is the last time I will visit the Majestic Theatre for a while. Overall this show gets a 1 out 5 stars rating from me, mainly because of the beautiful sets.
So overall I had a wonderful time in NYC, seeing the four shows, shopping on 5th Ave, clubbing and barhopping, and I can’t wait to go back again someday soon! Later this month I’ll see a show to top all of the above… Cher’s Final Show of Her Farewell Tour in Hollywood, CA! Yea!
If Lincoln were alive today, do you think he'd be pleased with his tunnel?
ikmbway
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/22/05
Joshua488
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/29/04
#4re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/12/05 at 9:43pmNo, he was the weekest of the trio, Raoul was prob. the best.
If Lincoln were alive today, do you think he'd be pleased with his tunnel?
ashley0139
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/3/05
#5re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/12/05 at 10:04pmAhh! I love Hugh. I just wanted to say that many cruises have very advanced lighting and are very technically up-to-date and sometimes even more so than many theatres on land. Since ships are always being built they can find what the newest and best idea is.
"This table, he is over one hundred years old. If I could, I would take an old gramophone needle and run it along the surface of the wood. To hear the music of the voices. All that was said." - Doug Wright, I Am My Own Wife
#7re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:18pmYeah, I'm a bit biased, probably because I work for Royal Caribbean, as a light tech, haha. But I would be underwhelmed by Phantom's lights regardless. I know they were great in the 80's, but they could use a touch up.
If Lincoln were alive today, do you think he'd be pleased with his tunnel?
Broadway Star Joined: 12/31/69
#8re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/12/05 at 11:29pm
So jealous! I wish I was vacationing in NYC! *sigh*
I'm so sorry that you didn't like Hugh as the Phantom. I know that he's been under the weather lately, but that shouldn't be an excuse because I've seen him perform with a massive cold and he's still awesome. Jim Carrey, eh? Hugh does experiment with the role a lot. Oh well...I guess you win some and you lose some! :)
~Rosalynn
eslgr8
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/04
#9re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/13/05 at 2:47amWelcome back to Broadway World! Hope you're enjoying the Love Boat. :)
#10re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/13/05 at 9:37amPersonally, I have no interest in seeing Phantom on B-way again. I also was blown away when I first saw it, but feel like the show has become dated/tired over the years. However, I would like to see the version that is going to be going into the Venetian in Las Vegas. With them building a theatre especially for the show and completely updating the special effects, it should be very impressive.
". . . POP . . ."
mikewood
Broadway Star Joined: 4/7/05
#11re: NYC Vacay
Posted: 4/13/05 at 9:46am
What....no matinees?
Any BCEFA momentos? I got Little Women and Steel Magnolias signed posters?
BLAH BLAH BLAH
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