RENT at Hollywood Bowl (with REVIEWS)- Page 6

[TheRyanOConnorShow]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 4:43pm

I wrote up my thoughts on RENT at the Bowl, for anyone interested.
Hollywood Bowl Pays Its RENT

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 4:44pm

if you couldn't see her as Mimi...you weren't looking.

There's a money line if ever there was one.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 4:47pm

It's totally nitpicky, but I was also wondering why he didn't have his jacket on at the beginning of the show. And that's not even complaining over a difference, it's a continuity issue. But minor in comparison to the bigger missteps.

To be fair, there were a lot of things about the performances I did like. I thought Aaron's Glory was one of the best I've ever heard, very much enjoyed Nicole's Over The Moon, was shockingly impressed by Wayne Brady's ICY Reprise, always love Tracie Thoms, and thought (at least some of) the new orchestrations were fantastic. Just so I'm not accused of being a hater.

[US Asians]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 5:24pm

@raygunn24
Criticism on this thread doesn't always mean they are haters since most of us LOVE theater and Rent.

Re: Location Location Location
Since where one saw the production is often strategic in one's perception of the Hollywood Bowl production of RENT, where were you sitting on Sunday?

Re: What NPH Did Right
With the edits and staging, could you easily follow the plot, even if one is a Renthead?

Re: Performances
Since it is hard for the entire cast to sing their proverbial A.. all on one performance, it is understandable that you were seeing them through rose-tinted glasses where they can absolutely no wrong.

Re: "AMAZING standouts"
You mentioned that "So much has been said about some of the AMAZING standouts" - wondered where you read that Vanessa was a standout performer?

Re: Vanessa
Since I contributed to your so-called "blather surrounding her 'lackluster' performance on Friday" - I, along others around me - as noted in Calvin Jung's review at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4i4PZLLVjK4 - wanted Vanessa to be successful. Even today's review in the LA Times (with the writer probably having one of the best seats in the house) didn't think that Vanessa was ready for the role of Mimi. It is hard to come from a Disney environment where nothing is allowed to go wrong within their world targeted at pre-teens to tweeners where the biggest problems is not being with their best BFFs or favorite boyfriend/girlfriend to playing an emotional role such as Mimi in a believable fashion.

Re: Why was Vanessa "Stunt Cast"
Did she bring in many people to the production or would have this production brought this many people without her? Hey, maybe bringing in Paula Abdul (though a little too old, ok - way too old), Shakira, Rihiana (!?!), Miley (Disney star but showing more emotional depth than Vanessa), Brenda Song or some other starlet from Glee would have brought the same results.

Re: Perfect Show?
Was this a perfect show or were there things that could have been improved, especially since they only had two weeks of rehearsals
telly leung interview

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 5:26pm

OMG, enough with the Telly Leung interview already!

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 5:38pm

It's not enough 'til it has its own thread!

Miley (Disney star but showing more emotional depth than Vanessa)

Hate to tell you that that's not saying much. And your list is one imagined atrocity after another.

I think there are two issues with Vanessa: one, that she was not, for whatever various reasons, equipped to perform this role on stage. Two: that she is just not right for the part. It's like Minnie Mouse performing Out Tonight, for God's sake. Even when she doesn't sound awful, she sounds like a twelve-year-old. Mimi is supposed to be young, but there have been young actresses who played the role (well) and didn't sound like children. She comes across having too much innocence, and at best, like a child playing a really dirty game of dress-up. Maybe NPH was trying to go for a more youthful Mimi, but I think with her he went too far. Enough with the Disney this, Disney that business. She's just miscast.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 5:55pm

Telly Leung interview

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 05:55 PM

[twotrey]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 5:56pm

As for what roles Nicole should tackle... Vanessa in IN THE HEIGHTS. I can see her in the movie version, actually.

[US Asians]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:02pm

@ryan o'connor
Thanks for the review.

Glad that by Sunday, the program had its "show legs" underneath them to provide a much "better" performance than "Opening Night."

That brings another issue, acknowledging from NPH's tweet that Friday was the first time they had a complete run-through (correct me if I am wrong), one might make casting decisions to have celebrities who have a complete understanding on how to put on a successful Broadway production.

Even with Broadway veterans, this is a hard task unless they are all on the level of Kristin Chenoweth and Bernadette Peters.

The trust that Friday night's audience had in the program's decision makers was misplaced.

The Hollywood Bowl made its money on this production. The question is, will audiences trust the Hollywood Bowl's decision makers to go see the Opening Night perforance at their next attempt in staging a Broadway show - I, will not. At the very best, I will see the last date of their engagement that will the benefits of using the prior dates as "rehearsals" in front of people gullible enought to pay money for a dress rehearsal.

[orangeskittles]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:05pm

I'm pretty sure about 3 people have already made the Nicole/Vanessa suggestion.
Telly Leung interview

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 06:05 PM

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:15pm

Reading this thread, I've seen a lot of assumptions that the short rehearsal period was NPH's decision. Is this known information or just an easy way to cast blame? I may have missed something, but I was under the impression this was Hollywood Bowl mandated.

skittles wins.

[US Asians]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:23pm

Telly's interview was only provided because it was specifically asked on this thread.

Re: Miley
Didn't say she was a good choice. It was mentioned because she is a better choice. A Disney alum that might be an even better choice would be Christina Aguillar.

If she is thinking about going the Norah Jones path (successful singer doing films/theater), Christina might be an interesting choice - at least she has the vocal chops

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:28pm

Please tell me you're not suggesting either Miley or Christina Aguilera for Mimi. Not to mention that nobody thinks of Aguilera as a "Disney alum" in the same way they do and will Miley and Vanessa.

Norah Jones is kind of a random person to decide to name that "path" after.

Deeper and deeper goes this very bizarre hole.

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 06:28 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:31pm

Just something that irks me. And I guess I am mostly referring to poster Ryan's blog. The Bowl was not sold out. You not only say it was.. but also make a big deal of it? Sure there were a lot of people there on all three nights. But it was not sold out. I know it is silly. But mis information irritates me.

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 06:31 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:33pm

Didn't people also say that about Les Miz, too, and it wasn't?

[DAME]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 6:35pm

Yep. It is like one PR person put's it out there and it just rolls.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 7:18pm

I actually would like to see what Nicole Scherzinger could do with Mimi. I think she's the right ethnicity, as least as much as Vanessa is.

[US Asians]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 7:22pm

@luvtheemcee

Re: Stunt Casting
Please note my description of alternative "stunt cast" choices of Christina Aguillar had the phrase of "better" - not best

Whether people think of her as a Disney product or not, fact is that she is a product of the Disney machine.

There is no doubt that Christina has the vocal chops and draw to attract a great deal of people. Would she make a good choice - well, it would be BETTER than Vanessa. With Nicole's "take" is making a name for herself and Christina venturing into other areas of the entertainment biz while creating a lot of buzz

If the casting choices were/are not acceptable, wondered what alternative choices other people think are/were available to Neil Patric Harris that would help sell 50,000 (apx) tickets to performances over three consecutive days.

Who do you think would have been a better choice for a director?

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 7:24pm

Apparently Broadway.com posted the video of Nicole's "Over the Moon". :] Not that I don't love these or anything, but don't these type of videos usually get taken off of 'that site' right away due to copyright claims?

http://www.broadway.com/buzz/153224/hollywood-is-over-the-moon-for-rents-nicole-scherzinger/

[Wildcard]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 7:45pm

"I actually would like to see what Nicole Scherzinger could do with Mimi. I think she's the right ethnicity, as least as much as Vanessa is.

Well, given that both Nicole and Vanessa's "ethnic" appearances come from their Filipino sides, then neither is really accurate for the latina role. Nevertheless, I agree with you in imagining what Nicole's Mimi would've been like. While this was a theatrically staged show, the venue lends itself more to a concert presentation thereby necessitating that ideally, the best vocal performers would have been chosen for the roles. Vanessa just needed more warming up and training. Her "Without You" was actually decent because she had warmed up at this point.

[US Asians]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 8:21pm

Filipino & Latina Looks
Since Filipino heritage includes within their ethnic identity a great deal of Latina culture - it shouldn't make a great difference.

Re Vanessa
She did better on the ballads since she didn't have to move much and the demands were less. It is sad that her "team" didn't realize that she had to "properly" warmup prior to her performance - especially with a song that requires a great deal of control.

Re: Vocal Training
As every successful and professional singer knows, practicing/training for a vocally demanding road often means rehearsing while one is running to get into proper cardio conditioning and strength to properly sing one's songs. Again, a surprising problem (if true) that her team didn't take care of.

Re: Hollywood Bowl Staging / Director
Who do you think has the success and experience to produce a Broadway show at the Bowl?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 8:44pm

Telly Leung

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 9:47pm

I like how US Asians only responds to people when s/he thinks s/he can prove them wrong. This is totally off the topic at this point, but I wouldn't want my silence to be taken as him/her having done so, so I tend to think Christina Aguilera (please note proper spelling) would have become famous with or without Disney; it wasn't really a Disney vehicle that shot her to fame. Being on a show when you were younger and having people go, after you're a big deal, "Oh, she was on that!" is totally different than being KNOWN for that thing. The Mickey Mouse club did not gain Christina the amount of fame that HSM did for Vanessa Hudgens, nor was the association at that level. Similar starts in that by the same company, yes, but very far from the same thing. Again, this is totally beside the point, but you are making awkward generalizations all over the place.

Also, I thought from the start that NPH was an inspired choice to direct this. Some of his choices turned out to be disappointing. A wise thing to do if you plan to stick around here would be to not put words in people's mouths.

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 09:47 PM

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 10:18pm

I've been watcing some (poor quality) YouTube clips, and I gotta say I'm suprised by how good Hudgens sounds. Based on what little of the HSM stuff I've heard, I imagined a really breathy soprano voice. She actually sounds better here than in HSM, for the most part.

Granted, she's a little nasal and oft-'pitchy' in Light My Candle (to say nothing of the cutesy yalping in Out Tonight), but her Another Day and Without You are pretty damn good. I can't really disern from these clips what her acting was like, but from a vocal standpoint, I don't think she should be embarassed. I saw a Mimi in the RENT tour a few years back who was far worse, so the thought that VH is at a strictly amateur level seems a little harsh. She's got a clear-sounding voice with a good vibrato that neatly punctuates the end of those big notes. To say nothing of the overall performance, I think her voice is better than Rosarios.

I'm sure NPH could have found many, many girls who would have been better, but based on the reviews, I thought she would be a hell of a lot worse. And she's what, 19? I reckon she'll be better in a few years if she manages to stay around.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 8/9/10 at 10:24pm

She's a little older than that. Don't feel like looking it up, but I believe she's either 21 or 22. There have been other girls about that age who have played the role. They just didn't seem quite so... virginal.

I'll admit that I often enjoy the HSM soundtracks, but she sounds (well, they all sound) very autotuned on it. Her voice is pretty when she's not yelping, trying to belt, or off-pitch, but I'm sorry, sometimes isn't good enough. "It could have been worse" doesn't make it okay. Call me too harsh if you must, but that's how I feel. There's a standard that should be upheld.

Updated On: 8/9/10 at 10:24 PM