PARADE On Broadway - Reviews & News Thread- Page 24

[JHughesPSPB]

Posted: 4/30/23 at 9:21pm

Would anyone have an idea if Ryan Vona has any planned appearances as Leo during this run?  I'd LOVE to see him play this role.  Although he's the standby I thought I heard that someone else was playing Leo during Ben's planned time away in May.

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 4/30/23 at 10:06pm

Saw the matinee today and it was definitely the best revival of this season. The whole cast was incredible except for the opening number by the young soldier. I didn’t know if the accent was intentional or if he didn’t enunciate. I had a hard time understand the words he was singing. The highlights were Micaela, Ben, Jake as Frankie, Alex as Jim Conley. 

Not sure if anyone else had similar thought, but there were many moments when Ben was signing that sounded just like Dear Evan Hansen and I was waiting for him to wave through the window

Updated On: 5/1/23 at 10:06 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 4/30/23 at 11:04pm

JHughesPSPB said: "Would anyone have an idea if Ryan Vona has any planned appearances as Leo during this run? I'd LOVE to see him play this role. Although he's the standby I thought I heard that someone else was playing Leo during Ben's planned time away in May."

I haven't heard any announcements about Vona, but Max Chernin is doing the May dates.

[briansb]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 11:55am

Wow, really loved this show. Was not familiar with the musical at all prior, but it's definitely left an impact on me. 

The most impressive part of the show was the direction. I could feel the directors hand (in a positive way), and the creation of imagery, pacing and flow throughout the musical was really impressive and perhaps the best I've seen this season. I'll be disappointed if Arden doesn't make the slate of best director nominees. 

Micaela and Alex stood out the most to me from a performance perspective. Yes, Micaela's accent was a bit distracting at times (especially how it sometimes came in and out of songs was weird), but her vocal and emotional performance were perfect. Alex commanded probably the largest applauses after his songs and with good reason. 

I love Ben Platt through and through, and thought he did a great job here. I did think so many of the mannerisms -- the way he sings, belts, moves, etc -- was so reminiscent to Dear Evan Hansen that it didn't fully land for me because I kept seeing Ben as Evan. That's probably just a me problem though because of how many times I saw DEH back in the day lol. I don't think it's the best performance of the year, but he was still very effective as the lead. There was just a little "oomph" that felt missing to me to make it a standout performance.

Side note but the front row center of the mezzanine was glorious seating for this production. I was worried about sound initially because the opening Soldier number I could understand almost none of the words, but someone else earlier in the thread pointed out a similar issue so could just be the enunciation from the actor. 

The revivals this year are so fantastic! 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 12:41pm

briansb said: "I love Ben Platt through and through, and thought he did a great job here. I did think so many of the mannerisms -- the way he sings, belts, moves, etc -- was so reminiscent to Dear Evan Hansen that it didn't fully land for me because I kept seeing Ben as Evan. That's probably just a me problem though because of how many times I saw DEH back in the day lol. I don't think it's the best performance of the year, but he was still very effective as the lead. There was just a little "oomph" that felt missing to me to make it a standout performance."

I'm glad you said it, and I've only seen Ben once in the movie, but I've listened to the soundtrack many times. I had the exactly thought yesterday that his singing was so reminiscent of his role in DEH that the two characters blended in for me at times. 

 

[Lot666]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 2:39pm

briansb said: "front row center of the mezzanine was glorious seating for this production. I was worried about sound initially because the opening Soldier number I could understand almost none of the words, but someone else earlier in the thread pointed out a similar issue so could just be the enunciation from the actor."

We sat in center orchestra row I, and couldn't understand him either. Everyone else was clear as a bell.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 4:27pm

MemorableUserName said: "JHughesPSPB said: "Would anyone have an idea if Ryan Vona has any planned appearances as Leo during this run? I'd LOVE to see him play this role. Although he's the standby I thought I heard that someone else was playing Leo during Ben's planned time away in May."

I haven't heard any announcements about Vona, but Max Chernin is doing the May dates."

For anyone interested:

 

[PipingHotPiccolo]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 8:03pm

....who are those people? She makes quite a case for what an incredible job Micaela Diamond is doing.

[mshalo18]

Posted: 5/1/23 at 8:11pm

PipingHotPiccolo said: "....who are those people? She makes quite a case for what an incredible job Micaela Diamond is doing."

That's Max Chernin and Betsy Morgan. She has a decent resume, but I don't care for this at all.

[BJR]

Posted: 5/2/23 at 12:54pm

I've always really enjoyed Max. He's wonderful. I'm sad I'll be out of town and can't see the show again with him, too.

[Ensemble1680343767]

Posted: 5/5/23 at 7:47pm

FYI it looks like some things have shifted for the dates Ben is out. Ben will still not perform on 5/19 and 5/20, but both dates only have 8 PM shows listed now (no Saturday matinee). It looks like Ben is back on Sunday 5/21 and that Sunday will have a 3 PM and an 8 PM show.

[TaffyDavenport]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 9:21am

Also, because the Sunday 5/21 8 p.m. show was just added, it's basically unsold and prices are comparatively cheap, without a discount code (ATLANTA raises the prices).

[theatergoer3]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 9:53am

I saw this last week and just adding on to the raves here.
 

A stunning revival and one of my favorite productions of the year. I hadn’t seen Platt on stage before but I liked him a lot and Diamond was incredible. Loved the supporting cast as well. Arden should win the Tony. 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 11:59am

Do you think they will extend with business doing so great?

I wonder if who would replace Ben if he has to leave. 

[binau]

Posted: 5/6/23 at 12:54pm

I think it’s too early to tell if they’ll extend. While week to week the sales look good they still are selling a lot of tickets only a few days before or sometimes even the day of performances (not like Sweeney, which is practically sold out well in advance). Additionally, it isn’t clear to me how important Ben Platt’s name is for sales - the sales when Ben is out will help inform. A Tony for best revival likely won’t be enough. My hunch is at best there will be a small extension or no extension as the audience for both the show and Ben Platt will run out by then. 

[KJisgroovy]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 2:24pm

Can anyone who has seen this recently speak to how long its running? Will I have time to catch Moulin Rogue at 5PM after a 2PM Sunday performance? Seems like it... but just checking.

[Voter]

Posted: 5/9/23 at 2:27pm

I saw it in the last week of previews and it run times was about 2 hours and 35 minutes 

[bear88]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 6:22pm

binau said: "I think it’s too early to tell if they’ll extend. While week to week the sales look good they still are selling a lot of tickets only a few days before or sometimes even the day of performances (not like Sweeney, which is practically sold out well in advance). Additionally, it isn’t clear to me how important Ben Platt’s name is for sales - the sales when Ben is out will help inform. A Tony for best revival likely won’t be enough. My hunch is at best there will be a small extension or no extension as the audience for both the show and Ben Platt will run out by then."

I suspect you’re right, but I hope it gets an extension through Labor Day, as I will be in town in late August and would like to see the revival. Not holding my breath, though.

 

[Phillyguy]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 7:29pm

Can someone explain to me why the opening number by the young solider is so hard to understand? I listened to the soundtrack. It’s still a bit hard to understand all the words but it is not nearly as bad as hearing it live. Is the accent intentional? I have no trouble understanding anyone else. 

[bananamilk]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 8:03pm

I saw the show yesterday and thought something was off with the sound! It sounded kind of muffled throughout the show honestly but especially so for the young soldier. It made it difficult to make out what he was saying. I didn’t really notice anything about an accent. The sound even felt a little muffled (not sure how to describe it properly - it just sounded kind of shallow?) for Micaela Diamond. I wasn’t sure if it was just an off day or if that’s how it was supposed to sound :o Updated On: 5/10/23 at 08:03 PM

[stoptheworld38]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 11:06pm

Got tickets for later this month! So pumped, it’s been my most-anticipated show of the season! 

[CoffeeBreak]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 11:31pm

You're correct.  The tech of this show isn't the best - sound included.

Updated On: 5/10/23 at 11:31 PM

[steven22]

Posted: 5/11/23 at 11:00am

There was a discount code going around for when Max Chetnin is on next weekend and I missed saving it. Does anyone have it? 

[ljk3]

Posted: 5/19/23 at 5:53pm

How did you find out about Ben Plato’s time off?  Where does that (important) info come from?  Thanks

[ljk3]

Posted: 5/19/23 at 5:57pm

I totally agree with your comments about Ben Platt. I didn’t think his acting was that great in this role and quality of his voice seemed somewhat ruined by the sound quality which was too miked or something. 

Updated On: 5/19/23 at 05:57 PM