Pirate Queen Update- Page 2

[Julian2]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 1:10am

Updated On: 10/18/06 at 01:10 AM

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 1:18am

Lot's of smoke
but the boys have some big paddles
I can't see the costumes at all.

[TechEverlasting]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 9:24am

I'm going to watch Pirate Queen again this week. After seeing one of the first previews I look forward to seeing what they've been able to do with cuts and rewrites. The merchandise stand is close to the box office, so I took some notes for those who are interested.

Souvenir program (It does look gorgeous.) $15.00
Thick blue pens with the PQ logo $8.00
White coffee mugs with a blue logo $10.00
White mouse pad with logo $15.00
Black baseball hat with gold logo $20.00
White and black logo t shirts $30.00
Refrigerator magnets $2.00

(Living in a city where you can watch new mega musicals being developed and then go have deep dish pizza: Priceless!)

There were white posters hanging up with the usual logo, but I was told those aren't available for sale. They do have one poster for $15 which is stunning. It has Grania's face as we've seen it before, surrounded by the markings from a sextant with a pirate ship sillhouetted in the background. There's gold text at the bottom that says something like "World Premiere, Cadillac Palace". As if I haven't spent enough on tickets already, I'll probably end up buying one of these.


Also, the banners hanging up around the theater have a slogan on them I haven't seen before:

"When she fought for freedom she became a legend
When she fought for love, she became a woman."

They should attach barf bags to the light poles just in case any passers by become nauseous after reading that little gem. I hope after they finish rewriting the show they can rewrite that.

[fachedaluna]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 12:09pm

Julian2

How did you get those pictures. WOW they look professional.

Interpreting the pic...I believe (to me) that it highlights her dad. Perhaps that's why it's smokey and you can't see the crew's costumes. If any of you have been to Ireland, you'll remember how overcast and foggy it can be...especially on the water. Looks pretty authentic. (IMHO)

[Popular]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 12:44pm

Those pictures are on the Broadway in Chicago website. MORE! MORE! Thanks for posting them.

[WickedLauren]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 2:19pm

Yay for pictures of the show. I saw it this weekend, and the first picture is from the opening number, "All Aboard". The lighting is brighter on stage, highlighting Dubhdara, really cool opening image. The one of Stephanie and Hadley looks like its from "Here on this Night", and they are soooo good together in this number.

Like Popular said, more pictures!!!!

[WickedLauren]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 2:20pm

Oh and I just noticed there are 2 shirtless guys in the first picture, and they're like that for the whole opening number, pretty awesome stuff.

[Over_the_Moon]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 2:22pm

Student rush available?

[WickedLauren]

Posted: 10/18/06 at 2:25pm

Nope, no rush or lottery in Chicago. No idea for NYC. The theater was very full when I saw it.

[bella cantato]

Posted: 10/19/06 at 1:32pm

I just saw the show yesterday for the matinee and I wanted to post some of my thoughts- but didn't want to start a new topic, so here they are.

First of all, if anything needs to be recognized when this show makes it to New York, it is how AMAZING Ms. Stephanie J. Block is. SERIOUSLY. I wish I could put into words how fabulous her performance was, and I will try, but I'm not going to do it justice.

Her transition from young girl to a strong woman is subtle but noticeable. I don't really know exactly what choices she made as an actress- because I didn't really notice until the end how much of a difference there was, but I found myself sitting there going, "Oh wow, she's really grown up." It might have been in her voice, the way she held herself, the energy in her step, but she transitions beautifully from a young, fearless girl to a strong, graceful woman.

And her voice. Seriously? I'm going to say it right out- I am a huge Idina Menzel fan. But Steph can sing Idina under a table. She goes from husky, to belting, to beautiful soprano MULTIPLE times throughout the show without a blink of the eye. She has an amazing range, and so many colors in her voice. I can't believe that the role of Elphaba was stolen from her, because her voice is just ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous. I cannot wait until the cast recording comes out. I'm already chomping at the bit and I don't know if they've even started yet?

All that said, the show in general was pretty great, but I do think they have a lot of work to do. The first act seemed to be going in about 15 different directions, and it wasn't until the end of the act that I finally understood where they were going. I think some things need to be cut out or shortened... I honestly thought that the act was going to end when they left to find Grania's father, and so the rest of the act was kind of like, "When is this going to end?" for me. Not because I was bored, but just because I had felt like it was going to end and so I was sort of confused. And the people around me were feeling the same way, because some of them started to get up at the end of the song, and we all were kind of like, what ??

One issue I hold is with Donal. His character seems to be more written for the convenience of plot than anything. I think, if he is going to turn back to evil after his moment of goodness, this needs to be foreshadowed in some way. Maybe the money scene should be put up front, or something. But I was left thinking, “where on earth is he going?” Not that characters should be predictable at all, but it just seemed unfocused.

I couldn’t really understand Queen Elizabeth either, and while Linda Balgord has an amazing range, I feel like bringing some of her songs down might help to make the lines somewhat clearer. I felt like I was missing information.

The other complaint I have is the setup, when you first walked in. As soon as I stepped into the theatre all I could think was, “Wow, this looks like Wicked.” I don’t know how… it must have to do with the map, or the cartoonish quality, but before even opening my playbill I knew that the set designer had also done Wicked. It was bizarre. I kind of felt like they should go somewhere else with it…

Anyway, besides a few flaws, I thought the show was really great. It has a lot of potential and I hope they continue to work on the script. If the first act was tighter, I think it would solve a lot of the problems. The music is beautiful and I can’t wait for the cast recording. Here’s hoping for a great NY reception!

[Popular]

Posted: 10/19/06 at 1:48pm

Thanks for posting. Serioulsy... someone get me to Chicago already!

[queenbee2]

Posted: 10/19/06 at 4:16pm

Bella-

Thanks for your thoughts on the show. I have to say, I really agree with some of your comments. Yes, Stephanie is great in her role (I'm not sure about singing better than Idina, but she is a fantastic vocalist in her own right). And I certainly agree that the first act seemed a bit unfocussed. I too was unsure as to where they were trying to take us. But I was at least interested in finding out and going on the ride. I wasn't too bothered with the initial similarities in the set compared to Wicked (I noticed some things that looked familiar, but as the show evolved it really was a much different look.

I also agree that they should do some more developement on the character of Donal. It seems like the decisions the character makes are somewhat inconsistent, which is great if they are justified. But sometimes I thought the creators hadn't really fleshed out exactly why he made the switches he did. And I certainly don't think this was any fault of the actor. I am a big fan of Marcus as an actor and singer (and I admit, I enjoy looking at him) and thought he was great in the role. Extremely focussed and very strong in his choices. I just wished he had more to do. And not just for the sake of doing more, but so we as an audience could be more involved in his story and follow along as we see him turn so "bad". I would hope the creators are feeling the same way and that this might be something we may see more developed in New York?

Other than that, please keep the reports coming from Chicago, as many of us are very interested in how the show continues to evolve through previews.

Thanks-

QB

[bella cantato]

Posted: 10/19/06 at 5:08pm

QB- Thanks for your notes! I just wanted to follow up... because I definitely didn't mention how fabulous I thought Marcus was in the role. He definitely did a great job AND the man is gorgeous! And I think you vocalized what I wanted to say a little bit better- if his actions were inconsistent, that is fine, we just need to see some development there as to why.

Cheers,
Erin xoxo

Updated On: 10/19/06 at 05:08 PM