RENTBOY sees Brooklyn (Atlanta, Ga)

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:28am

Today (July 14th, 2006) I saw the night show of Brooklyn: The Musical. First off, the Fox Theater is - like so many of you said - beautiful. Wow. I had to walk around the entire theater to see everything. It was breathtaking and enormous. I kept thinking about how Wicked would have look at the theater, considering the stage is so vast. The Brooklyn set didn't really fill it up, but it also didn't look too diminutive on the stage. The clouds were a really cool effect. I'm still not sure how they did that. I didn't feel to touristy considering about half the audience was doing the same thing.

As for the show, well, I knew going in that it was going to be horrible. In the sense that the book is very weak and the lyrics are quite terrible. It lived up to my expecatations. The performances were all around great and for the most part I forgot about how terrible the lyrics were, but there were some VERY low points. For instance, when Taylor Collins (I kept thinking about how Lee Morgan looked like Taylor Hicks with his grey hair - or maybe it was just the light) does his whole "drug usage" scene. It was just a very laughable scene. I wasn't sure if it was the show, or Lee Morgan's talent, but that whole sequences stuck out. I heard the girl behind me say "This is dumb." I have to agree. The whole war sequence where he's shooting people with his guitar - stupid. They need to cut that / rewrite it or something because it just is bad. However, the song that follows, "The Truth" is quite good and catchy - though Lee Morgan uses this weird raspy, whisper thing that doesn't work. The rest of the show was great, or at least entertaining.

Diana Degarmo was great in the part. She's from Atlanta, Ga - or close enough, so there was a lot of support for her. She sang the sh*t out of that role. She has such a naturally beautiful voice. I think I preferred her rendition of the songs more than Eden because Diana's singing came off as so natural and effortless. Her acting wasn't half bad either.

Melba Moore looks good for her age. She messed up a lot of lines, but she landed all the good comedic lines. She slurred a lot of her lines, but somehow that worked. She had this weird "pimp walk/bad knee" thing going, but if she was in pain, she hid it well. She could sing pertty well and hit some incredible high notes. The crowd seemed to love her.

Cleavant Derrricks had a lot of heart in his performance. He must love the project to want to tour with it. His singing was good, although I heard this really white hick man behind me (granted we're in the south) say after the show, "I really liked it until that old black guy started singing."

Lee Morgan - He was okay. He seemed to be really into the music and his singing was okay, though I'm not sure how his career in musical theater will further granted it seems he's straining to sing every note. I wanted to like it, but for some reason everything he said came across as phony. Like I said before, I'm not sure how much is the script or his acting, but something didn't come together.

Julie Reiber - she was my favorite. She just played each role so well. Her "Faith" was beautiful. I think "Faith" is the bet written part out of the entire show. She doesn't really have any cheesy lines or sequences to deliver and she has one of the best songs - "Christmas Makes Me Cry." Everytime I'd watch Julie in the background she seemd to be so into the show and the roles and delivered a steller performance.

The set was great. I was so interested to see how everything would be incorporated. It was very inventive and creative, as were the costumes. The costumes were really interesting to watch. It was cool how they just used found objects for the costumes and most of the set. I wonder though, do they have to repaint that wall every night (and twice on matiness) and do they have a new shower curtaine very night (the one where Brooklyn spray paints on).

On a side note, after the performance when they were bowing, they thanked the band and I was sitting 7 rows back, and the crowd split and I saw John McDaniel. I didn't realize he was there. That was pretty cool just because I had watched him on the Rosie O'Donnell show for so long.

That concludes the review. Now I have to get back to the Fox because they have a great upcoming season.

[JustChillin8908]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:36am

Glad it wasn't any worse then you expected. I hope to see the 2nd tour IF it comes near me.

I have to agree that the Fox has a GREAT season, I wish I lived near that theatre!

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:48am

Im glad you went to see it Rentboy, so overall, did you like the show or not?
I've seen the show in NYC and i wouldn't be caught dead seeing it again, but i'd love to see Melba forgetting her lines though.

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 02:48 AM

[Marie2]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:04am

Going in, did you expect Diana to be ok in the role or did she surprise you (with her acting mostly)? It seems like most reviews are saying Diana and Cleavant are the standouts while Melba is really struggling.

[Kungaloosh1937]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:11am

How does Melba Moore still have problems with her lines this long into the run?

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:13am

I didn't know what to expect. I bought the cast recording over a year ago, and I haven't listened to it that much and I purposely didn't listen to it before I saw the show. Diana definently blew me away with her performance. I thought she was very strong and was the definite stand out of the cast. Cleavant was great, but I sort of expected him to be considering he's being doing the show for some long. I thought Melba was struggling, but she had these weird moments where she shined and delivered a really good line. But then that would be followed up by a slip-up or a slurred line. I don't see her returning to the stage any time soon, but she does fine in the role. Overall I had a good time. I wouldn't list it in my top ten favorite shows, but it was a good time. I don't think I'd recommend it to any of my friends just because parts of it were incredibly stupid (Drug scene, army scene) but the songs and the singing were great. There were a lot of die hard fans there though. The stage door was a mob afterwards. I would say go see it if you've never seen it. After all you're supporting theater, but don't go in expecting it to be thought provoking.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:17am

Also, I could have sworn Doubt was coming to Atlanta this season, but now it says it's not. Was I crazy or did they pull out of the engagement?

[C is for Company]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:24am

I saw the show in NYC and despised it and I laughed so hard when you mentioned the 'low-point' being the whole drug usage scene and the guitar shooting. That is one of the most memorable scenes that stands out to me and I still remember how awkward it was watching it. The performers were terrific, I love Ramona and the cast had great talent. But the material.....
Diana must have been great

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:35am

Yeah, I wondered if they knew they were in such a horrible show because they gave so much. The whole drug sequence was so akward! I could tell everyone in the audience was thinking the same thing, "this is stupid" becasue of the way people get groaning or laughing or adjusting their positions. It was a long scene and they should trim it or cut or something. The way Lee talked to himself and said "Faith" was so laughable. He said it in such a high pitch, I laughed under my breath. It was such a weird show. But I had a good time.

[C is for Company]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:46am

Most of it was tolerable with the knowledge of it being bad. But that scene made me just so uncomfortable to watch. The guy must be offstage thinking Oh ****, I gotta go act like a moron onstage trying to act all dramatic when people are just going to laugh at me. Sad cause a lot of them have had credibility and are all doing the best they can. It isn't their fault, the script and story are just so not meant for the stage or anywhere.
The story is supposed to be a fairy tale right? Then why doesn't the dad show up at MSG and Brooklyn loses and pretty much everything goes wrong? How is that any way to end it along with that really bad and unclear ending with the real Taylor. Was that his true story, was it just a story, like you can't just say that "the rest is Brooklyn". That just doesn't make sense.
I don't remember much else except bad semi-political and socially charged soapbox speeches.
I loved Raven, damn Ramona made it worth sticking around for.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:53am

Lee Morgan was enjoyable when I saw it - and yes, his hair IS salt & pepper.

He and Ramona were the only bearable parts of the show when I saw it on Broadway. Ramona was a total stand out and totally swallowed Eden whole.

" I don't remember much else except bad semi-political and socially charged soapbox speeches. "

That's pretty much why this show is terrible. (Well, one reason.) You have this ex-homeless guy writing a show, telling people what pisses him off about society...most notably the economy. Ironically, how much money did he make off this show?

But Ramona was a trooper.

The one thing this show did right was letting Ramona kick Eden's ass in the final competition. That's life. Ramona = goddess.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:55am

Even the great singers couldn't save this show for me.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:57am

Yeah, I'm sure Melba has nothing on Ramona - both singing and acting. Melba has this way of delivering everything with the same inflection which consists of just screaming things in a raspy tone, where as Ramona had some sass to her line readings.

I'm so glad you brought up the ending C is for Company. I remember hearing "the rest is Brooklyn" but I thought maybe I just didn't hear it right because that makes no sense. The rest is Brooklyn? I tried to make sense of it, thinking: if the story really is Streetsinger's story, and there is no Brooklyn, then the rest of the story is make believe? But even that was like "wait,what?"

I found the show to be too "Life is good" and then take some wierd twists at the end that sort of counter acted the entire begining. I expected her to win and for them to put some damn words to that lullaby which they beat into your head. But nope.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 4:00am

Yeah, I felt bad for Ramona going from Caroline, or Change to this. It's like going from brillance to something a child could write.

Oh, another really akward part was the whole "Superlover" bit which to me made no sense. So she sleeps with superheroes, but that's okay because they're fake. What?! And then she goes on that whole soapbox about how kids are carrying guns and stuff. That was done so bluntly and not done elegantly or anything, I just felt sort of akward like, do I clap? laugh? or is this suppose to effect me?

[C is for Company]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 4:04am

It was just so contradictory with itself and poorly done, it was almost embarrassing.
I wish I could just go back and tell Ramona she was better off sticking around as the Radio in a show with such artistic integrity and an example of a well done show.
However, her little rants on the audience were also done in a manner that isn't particularly offensive but said with such directness to the audience that it was discomforting. I felt like she should have been lecturing the people who made the show or mocking how much we paid for our tickets to watch it.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 4:13am

Exactly! I actually hid my ticket so nobody could see how much I paid, though they were all older so they probably paid the same amount. I was laughing at row infront of me. It was a rather old couple, 70-80s with hearing aids, and a younger couple. The guy from the younger couple was laughing so loud at everything, but not laughing at the show, with it. And his wife looked really pissed the entire time. And the older man looked confused as hell. I know he wasn't use to that type of singing and then Melba comes out looking like a prostitute - ha. I'm sure they didn't pick up the cast album on their way out...

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:40pm

Glad you liked the theatre, at least. I love it.

Also, I could have sworn Doubt was coming to Atlanta this season, but now it says it's not. Was I crazy or did they pull out of the engagement?

I never saw that on their season, but maybe I missed it. I was going to see the show, but the box office said they didn't have a rush and I didn't really want to pay full price for it.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:53pm

Oh, well maybe I lied and Doubt was never coming to ATL, but I've been telling everyone it is, oh well - ha. I was just thinking about how it would never work in that theater.

Ashley, are you going to see the show?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:55pm

Unless they come up with a rush in the next couple days or someone offers me a ticket, probably not. Though I would like to.

ETA: I think the Fox would be a little large of a venue to house Doubt, as much as I would love to see it.

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 02:55 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:56pm

I would imagine you can get a pretty cheap ticket, it was a large crowd but it was nowhere near filling up the theater. I'd say just go the day of the show and ask if they have any. I was suprised to find that the theater here where I live does do student rush, it's just never advertised.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 2:57pm

Ashley, do you live close to Costa Mesa, CA or Atlanta, GA?

[ashley0139]

Posted: 7/15/06 at 3:03pm

Atlanta. I am just visiting CA next month. My posts have been kind of split between those two cities lately. Normally, I wouldn't care about the Wicked in Costa Mesa thing, but... well... just see my avatar. :)

Updated On: 7/15/06 at 03:03 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 12:21am

I bet Julia rocked the top off the Fox!

[FosseBoi]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 1:26am

"Doubt" was never comming to the Fox, believe me I checked when they announced.

Glad you enjoyed it!

[broadwaybelter]

Posted: 7/16/06 at 1:38am

"Ramona was a total stand out and totally swallowed Eden whole."

I'm sorry--but was anyone else thrown by this comment. Probably just me and my dirty mind....



hehe?