Well I saw this for the second time today. As I mentioned earlier, Audra was out, but her understudy was just fine and sounded a lot like her. I strongly disliked the show when I saw the second preview. It was bloated, messy, confusing, and too long.
The show has definitely been tightened since the first preview. The first act is much more solid and focused than it was before. Sadly, the same can't be said for act two. While it is shorter and trimmed down, it is still just all over the place and is very hard to follow. It plods on and on at a glacial pace.
I absolutely hate the ending with each character saying "I died in this year... etc". It just does not work. While I definitely had a better experience with the show the second go round, this still remains one of the biggest disappointments of the season for me, and I really can't recommend it except for the glorious choreography which is the true star of the show.
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "