#1
Posted: 12/30/04 at 7:57pm
Overall, I had a fantastic time. The weather was delightful, as I love cold weather. I came with my two sisters, brother, mom, two older cousins, my other cousin and aunt.
The first day we got there, we got to the hotel, the Afinnia 50 on East 50th, and I hopped straight into a cab to go to the Minskoff to exchange the Fiddler tickets for the correct day. Once I got into the Theatre District I couldn't stop beaming. It felt amazing looking around and looking and seeing all the marquees again in almost a year.
I exchanged the tickets with no proble.
We ate at Sardi's that night. The food was okay, but just imagining all the people who had been there before was amazing.
Fiddler on the Roof (Sunday night)
I was pleasantly surprised by this production. I came in expecting mediocrity based on things I had heard, but found myself highly enjoying the entire show.
Leveaux's direction was top-notch. The set was gorgeously designed and was the star of the show. I loved minimalist approach, which I didn't think would work with Fiddler.
Leveaux's biggest problems in direction was the cynical nature of the direction, but they were only made evident at times. Two choices he made that were highly irregular and I felt weakened the integrity of the show were the animals in the dream sequence, but more importantly the sexuality of 'Matchmaker' was completely unnecessary.
Molina is not a vocalist, but his acting is so damn amazing, I didn't care at all. 'If I Were A Rich Man' was the showstopper it was meant to be and delivered with great heart and soul. Molina guided 'Tradition' into a rousing opening that got the audience enthusiastic.
Unfortuantely, the scene after 'Tradition' killed the energy, due to Graff and the daughters. All three daughters, with the excpetion of Tricia Paoluccio's Chava, were all-around below mediocre.
Graff sang the part of Golde well enough, but she kept slipping between having an accent and not having one. Her acting left something to be desired.
John Cariani's Motel had me laughing the whole show, but I felt ashamed for doing so after his first few scenes. Cariani's clown antics diminshed Motel's humanity. But his 'Miracle of Miracles' was far and away one the evening's highlights.
Robert Petkoff grew on me. At first very grating to me, he became the insecure yet confident man with pent up enthusiasm i have always thought of Perchik to be.
Nancy Opel was out as Yente, and Barbara Tirrel was very mediocre in her spot. Little to no comedic timing. 'Topsy Turvy' was a complete waste of time and there no need for it whatsoever.
Overall Grade: B+
After Fiddler I met Molina. Nice man. He belongs on stage.
Twelve Angry Men (Monday night)
A favorite of mine, this was the first production I have seen of Twelve, yet I have read it many times. An all-around superb production.
In a cast of some of the finest stage actors working today, there was not a weak link in the cast. Genuinely acted and magnificently directed.
The set was simple and highly effective. Especially when the focus would shift to the bathroom.
Boyd Gaines played the pivotal role of Juror Number 8 well, yet in perhaps the shows most difficult role merely because of the what I have always felt to be smugness in the character, he succeeds.
But in an ensemble show and production in which every actor deserves great acclaim, there were three standouts.
Tom Aldredge had one the smallest roles as Juror Number Nine. But his supreme prescence made every line he said ring out with astonishing deliverance. My first time to see this legend live, and my anticipation was well worth it. i just wish he had been on the side of the table facing the audience so I could have seen his every expression.
Larry Bryggman as Juror Number Eleven gave the most truthful performance. Truly heartfelt and from the soul, he had me mesmerized.
Juror Number Three is such a cliche character. To give this man heart and make you feel sorry for him while despising him at the same time takes an actor of great caliber and Phillip Bosco was well up to the task. Commanding the stage and the 'jury room', he gave one the finest performances I have seen on stage. I hated him the whole show, yet cried for him at the end. I belive Mr. Bosco should begin clearing off some shelf space.
Overall Grade: A
I met Tom Aldredge afterwards. Extremely nice and humble. We talked for a few minutes and he broke into a rendition of 'No More'. Quite a character. And very under-appreciated.
After TAM I waited in the Gershwin for 45 minutes then went to the Gershwin stage door. It was freezing. And windy. By the time the show let out there were a good 50 people there, but by 11 there were at *least* 200 people waiting.
They all cheered and clapped when McIntire and JLT came out, but I was waiting for Mr. Hearn.
I was very nervous. Both at the prospect of meeting a man I so idolize, but also becuase the man at the stage door said he never sign. His guard just escorts him to his car.
When he came out, he saw me holding my Sweeney Todd libretto and smiled in such a sincere fashion, came over and signed it. Obviously freezing, I knew he wanted to get to his car, so I just told him that he and Mandy Patinkin were my absolute idols. He got tears in his eye, gave me a smile I'll never forget, patted me on the shoulder and winked.
It pissed me oof that no one else cared for him.
George Hearn versus Idina Menzel. Please.
I didn't even wait to see if Idina came out.
But everyone was wondering why I was giving up the best spot before she came out. Haha....i met who I wanted to meet.......bitches.
Wonderful Town (Tuesday night)
I am a big fan of the Murphy recording and was looking forward to the show. I was thouroughly and completely disappointed.
I could see how the production could have been great with Murphy and Westfeldt, but overall it was sloppy and poorly directed.
Coming in, I gave Shields the benfit of the doubt. I was too kind. A lousy actress with poor comedic timing who couldn't sing to save her life. One of the poorest performances I have ever seen, she has no right being on the B'way stage. Give the role to someone like Karen Ziemba, please. And they took the ending of '100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man' way down, which frustrated me.
Jennifer Hope Wills was passable. I believe that with a better Ruth she would have been very good, but in this particular production with Shields, every performance was weighed down. She had a nice soprano, if a bit pitchy at times.
I was so looking forward to seeing Gregg Edelman for the first time. Adore him on the 1776 Revival recording. But even he disappointed me. It seemed as if he didn't care for the show and wasn't giving 100%. Not even 60%. He was the best in the show, but could have been much, much better.
The choreography was the highlight of the show. Marshall deserved the 2004 Tony. But while she is a brilliant choreographer, this show showed that directing is not her strongest suit.
I think the book is the greatest weakness of the show.
Becuase I love the Cast Recording, but hated the proudction.
The set was okay. Average and cliche. Like most of the production.
Perhaps five people in the entire theatre gave the show a standing ovation. Morons.
Overall grade: D+
Pacific Overtures (Wednesday afternoon)
Not one of my favorite Sondheim shows. But now it is.
I don't know what to say.
Everything was brilliant.
The cast. The book. The score. The set. The direction.
I was in heaven the entire show.
The songs entranced me. The book mesmerised me.
The staging enthralled me. The cast amazed me.
B.D. Wong was slighly miscast, but he grew on me and had won me over by the end.
There was not a weak musical number.
'The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea' was brilliant. A perfect opening.
'Someone in a Tree' was the hghlight of the show to me. Right after 'A Little Priest', the most perfect theatrical song ever written.
'Pretty Lady' was the finest sung song. Gorgeous.
'A Bowler Hat' was magnificently staged.
It was so nice to see real singing, not screeching, on the B'way stage.
The greatest and most entertaing show I have ever seen on the Broadway stage.
Everyone else I saw it with didn't like it. Most hated it.
I was one of the only people who gave it the standing ovation it so richly deserved.
I don't get it. I really don't.
Overall Grade: A+
Little Women (Wednesday night)
I was expecting a fun night at the theatre with this one.
Nothing deep, just nice fun, like Hairspray.
I was very depressed with Little Women.
A very uneven book with a very cliche score and God-awful lyrics.
Corny jokes and have I said an uneven book.
Sutton Foster was great, but the material is so far beneath her. But everyone else in the theatre loved it and my group LOVED it.
They were mad at me for not liking it. But I coudln't get past the amateurness of the material.
Aunt March's and Jo's early Act I song, 'Could You', pulled out every lyrical and musical cliche in the book.
The performances were overall very good, despite the worthless material they had to work with.
It amazed me that Foster gave the performance she did despite what she had to work with. However, I didn't like how her big Act I Finale 'Astonishing' had to rely on the high screeching.
Jenny Powers as Meg and Megan McGinnis as Beth were the standouts of the show. Both give low-key yet heartfelt performances.
The only great song in the show, 'Some Things Are Meant To Be', is a duet magnificently sung by Foster and McGinnis.
Maureen McGovern can't act very well, but she can sing the heck out of any song, so it is too bad her two big solos seem like filler. Her Act I solo 'Here Alone' seems to be written merely to give her an Act I solo.
Danny Gurwin as Laurie and Amy McAlexander as Amy are so annoying and over-the-top obnoxious. Both have voices better suited to clearing pigeons from a roof. Gurwin has the right enthusiasm, but it is focused in the wrong places and comes off as aggravating.
One would wish that Foster would have better material in her return to Broadway.
This show seems as if Allan Knee (Book-writer) and Howland and Dickstein (Composer and Lyricist) were trying to pull the story in different directions and the result was a very askew show.
Unless they fix it up before opening i expect the critics to rip it apart and for it to close in the next few months.
Then perhaps Foster can find a show worthy of her talent and stage prescence.
And I do believe I was the only person in the Virginia Theatre who refused to give a standing ovation at curtain call. And I got many glares.
Everyone loved Foster's high belting. They eqaute that with good singing.
My twenty-six year old cousin told me that the Pacific Overture lyrics were crap compare to this, that she felt anyone could have written the PO music and that it really wasn't music to her, and that Foster was the best singer we had heard because she wa so loud.
What a world. What a world.
Overall Grade: C+
The first day we got there, we got to the hotel, the Afinnia 50 on East 50th, and I hopped straight into a cab to go to the Minskoff to exchange the Fiddler tickets for the correct day. Once I got into the Theatre District I couldn't stop beaming. It felt amazing looking around and looking and seeing all the marquees again in almost a year.
I exchanged the tickets with no proble.
We ate at Sardi's that night. The food was okay, but just imagining all the people who had been there before was amazing.
Fiddler on the Roof (Sunday night)
I was pleasantly surprised by this production. I came in expecting mediocrity based on things I had heard, but found myself highly enjoying the entire show.
Leveaux's direction was top-notch. The set was gorgeously designed and was the star of the show. I loved minimalist approach, which I didn't think would work with Fiddler.
Leveaux's biggest problems in direction was the cynical nature of the direction, but they were only made evident at times. Two choices he made that were highly irregular and I felt weakened the integrity of the show were the animals in the dream sequence, but more importantly the sexuality of 'Matchmaker' was completely unnecessary.
Molina is not a vocalist, but his acting is so damn amazing, I didn't care at all. 'If I Were A Rich Man' was the showstopper it was meant to be and delivered with great heart and soul. Molina guided 'Tradition' into a rousing opening that got the audience enthusiastic.
Unfortuantely, the scene after 'Tradition' killed the energy, due to Graff and the daughters. All three daughters, with the excpetion of Tricia Paoluccio's Chava, were all-around below mediocre.
Graff sang the part of Golde well enough, but she kept slipping between having an accent and not having one. Her acting left something to be desired.
John Cariani's Motel had me laughing the whole show, but I felt ashamed for doing so after his first few scenes. Cariani's clown antics diminshed Motel's humanity. But his 'Miracle of Miracles' was far and away one the evening's highlights.
Robert Petkoff grew on me. At first very grating to me, he became the insecure yet confident man with pent up enthusiasm i have always thought of Perchik to be.
Nancy Opel was out as Yente, and Barbara Tirrel was very mediocre in her spot. Little to no comedic timing. 'Topsy Turvy' was a complete waste of time and there no need for it whatsoever.
Overall Grade: B+
After Fiddler I met Molina. Nice man. He belongs on stage.
Twelve Angry Men (Monday night)
A favorite of mine, this was the first production I have seen of Twelve, yet I have read it many times. An all-around superb production.
In a cast of some of the finest stage actors working today, there was not a weak link in the cast. Genuinely acted and magnificently directed.
The set was simple and highly effective. Especially when the focus would shift to the bathroom.
Boyd Gaines played the pivotal role of Juror Number 8 well, yet in perhaps the shows most difficult role merely because of the what I have always felt to be smugness in the character, he succeeds.
But in an ensemble show and production in which every actor deserves great acclaim, there were three standouts.
Tom Aldredge had one the smallest roles as Juror Number Nine. But his supreme prescence made every line he said ring out with astonishing deliverance. My first time to see this legend live, and my anticipation was well worth it. i just wish he had been on the side of the table facing the audience so I could have seen his every expression.
Larry Bryggman as Juror Number Eleven gave the most truthful performance. Truly heartfelt and from the soul, he had me mesmerized.
Juror Number Three is such a cliche character. To give this man heart and make you feel sorry for him while despising him at the same time takes an actor of great caliber and Phillip Bosco was well up to the task. Commanding the stage and the 'jury room', he gave one the finest performances I have seen on stage. I hated him the whole show, yet cried for him at the end. I belive Mr. Bosco should begin clearing off some shelf space.
Overall Grade: A
I met Tom Aldredge afterwards. Extremely nice and humble. We talked for a few minutes and he broke into a rendition of 'No More'. Quite a character. And very under-appreciated.
After TAM I waited in the Gershwin for 45 minutes then went to the Gershwin stage door. It was freezing. And windy. By the time the show let out there were a good 50 people there, but by 11 there were at *least* 200 people waiting.
They all cheered and clapped when McIntire and JLT came out, but I was waiting for Mr. Hearn.
I was very nervous. Both at the prospect of meeting a man I so idolize, but also becuase the man at the stage door said he never sign. His guard just escorts him to his car.
When he came out, he saw me holding my Sweeney Todd libretto and smiled in such a sincere fashion, came over and signed it. Obviously freezing, I knew he wanted to get to his car, so I just told him that he and Mandy Patinkin were my absolute idols. He got tears in his eye, gave me a smile I'll never forget, patted me on the shoulder and winked.
It pissed me oof that no one else cared for him.
George Hearn versus Idina Menzel. Please.
I didn't even wait to see if Idina came out.
But everyone was wondering why I was giving up the best spot before she came out. Haha....i met who I wanted to meet.......bitches.
Wonderful Town (Tuesday night)
I am a big fan of the Murphy recording and was looking forward to the show. I was thouroughly and completely disappointed.
I could see how the production could have been great with Murphy and Westfeldt, but overall it was sloppy and poorly directed.
Coming in, I gave Shields the benfit of the doubt. I was too kind. A lousy actress with poor comedic timing who couldn't sing to save her life. One of the poorest performances I have ever seen, she has no right being on the B'way stage. Give the role to someone like Karen Ziemba, please. And they took the ending of '100 Easy Ways to Lose a Man' way down, which frustrated me.
Jennifer Hope Wills was passable. I believe that with a better Ruth she would have been very good, but in this particular production with Shields, every performance was weighed down. She had a nice soprano, if a bit pitchy at times.
I was so looking forward to seeing Gregg Edelman for the first time. Adore him on the 1776 Revival recording. But even he disappointed me. It seemed as if he didn't care for the show and wasn't giving 100%. Not even 60%. He was the best in the show, but could have been much, much better.
The choreography was the highlight of the show. Marshall deserved the 2004 Tony. But while she is a brilliant choreographer, this show showed that directing is not her strongest suit.
I think the book is the greatest weakness of the show.
Becuase I love the Cast Recording, but hated the proudction.
The set was okay. Average and cliche. Like most of the production.
Perhaps five people in the entire theatre gave the show a standing ovation. Morons.
Overall grade: D+
Pacific Overtures (Wednesday afternoon)
Not one of my favorite Sondheim shows. But now it is.
I don't know what to say.
Everything was brilliant.
The cast. The book. The score. The set. The direction.
I was in heaven the entire show.
The songs entranced me. The book mesmerised me.
The staging enthralled me. The cast amazed me.
B.D. Wong was slighly miscast, but he grew on me and had won me over by the end.
There was not a weak musical number.
'The Advantages of Floating in the Middle of the Sea' was brilliant. A perfect opening.
'Someone in a Tree' was the hghlight of the show to me. Right after 'A Little Priest', the most perfect theatrical song ever written.
'Pretty Lady' was the finest sung song. Gorgeous.
'A Bowler Hat' was magnificently staged.
It was so nice to see real singing, not screeching, on the B'way stage.
The greatest and most entertaing show I have ever seen on the Broadway stage.
Everyone else I saw it with didn't like it. Most hated it.
I was one of the only people who gave it the standing ovation it so richly deserved.
I don't get it. I really don't.
Overall Grade: A+
Little Women (Wednesday night)
I was expecting a fun night at the theatre with this one.
Nothing deep, just nice fun, like Hairspray.
I was very depressed with Little Women.
A very uneven book with a very cliche score and God-awful lyrics.
Corny jokes and have I said an uneven book.
Sutton Foster was great, but the material is so far beneath her. But everyone else in the theatre loved it and my group LOVED it.
They were mad at me for not liking it. But I coudln't get past the amateurness of the material.
Aunt March's and Jo's early Act I song, 'Could You', pulled out every lyrical and musical cliche in the book.
The performances were overall very good, despite the worthless material they had to work with.
It amazed me that Foster gave the performance she did despite what she had to work with. However, I didn't like how her big Act I Finale 'Astonishing' had to rely on the high screeching.
Jenny Powers as Meg and Megan McGinnis as Beth were the standouts of the show. Both give low-key yet heartfelt performances.
The only great song in the show, 'Some Things Are Meant To Be', is a duet magnificently sung by Foster and McGinnis.
Maureen McGovern can't act very well, but she can sing the heck out of any song, so it is too bad her two big solos seem like filler. Her Act I solo 'Here Alone' seems to be written merely to give her an Act I solo.
Danny Gurwin as Laurie and Amy McAlexander as Amy are so annoying and over-the-top obnoxious. Both have voices better suited to clearing pigeons from a roof. Gurwin has the right enthusiasm, but it is focused in the wrong places and comes off as aggravating.
One would wish that Foster would have better material in her return to Broadway.
This show seems as if Allan Knee (Book-writer) and Howland and Dickstein (Composer and Lyricist) were trying to pull the story in different directions and the result was a very askew show.
Unless they fix it up before opening i expect the critics to rip it apart and for it to close in the next few months.
Then perhaps Foster can find a show worthy of her talent and stage prescence.
And I do believe I was the only person in the Virginia Theatre who refused to give a standing ovation at curtain call. And I got many glares.
Everyone loved Foster's high belting. They eqaute that with good singing.
My twenty-six year old cousin told me that the Pacific Overture lyrics were crap compare to this, that she felt anyone could have written the PO music and that it really wasn't music to her, and that Foster was the best singer we had heard because she wa so loud.
What a world. What a world.
Overall Grade: C+
"One no longer loves one's insight enough once one communicates it."
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
The opposite of creation isn't war, it's stagnation.
Updated On: 12/30/04 at 07:57 PM
