#1
Posted: 11/24/08 at 4:51pm
I don't usually write reviews, so I figured that this time while I was thinking of it, I would.
I've only seen Spring Awakening once ( 2.23.08 ) and I'm a big fan. The night I saw it, Matt Dolye was on for Melchior and Alexandra Socha was on for Wendla. I'm a HUGE Matt Doyle fan, and he blew me away (I had pretty high expectations). Alexandra was also great, despite what I had heard, and the rest of the cast was great. So, to say the least, the new cast had big shoes to fill.
I have to start by saying, the lights never fail to amaze me. They are absolutely wonderful and should be mentioned in every single review. The Mirror-Blue Night scene is absolutely breathtaking and there is nothing like seeing it live.
In my opinion, the new cast is all talented, but they just don't seem to sparkle like the cast I saw. They hit all the notes, and all their marks, but they're all just cookie cutter performers. Morgan Karr was on for Georg tonight. I thought he had an awesome voice, and his solo is Touch Me was top notch. He did an awesome job singing, but really didn't stand out anywhere else. For being an understudy though, I was pleased with him and those pipes of his.
Emily Kinney is probably the most talented supporting member they have in the show. She was so enjoyable to watch and my eyes were drawn to her more than once. Her acting was top notch and her solos were great. I was also really surprised with Amanda Castanos. I actually didn't expect much from her, but her "The Dark I Know Well" gave me chills. Her voice actually blended with Emma Hunton's (who was amazing, as usual) as opposed to Lili Cooper's voice who I could hear in EVERY SINGLE SONG. Unfortunately, that was the only time she really stuck out. The girl who plays Thea was dreadful. She had no energy, no real good delivery and I don't even remember her singing. She was the worst peformer that night.
The male ensemble was extremely bland. I'm a huge Matt Dolye fan but he was phoning in. Same goes for Blake Daniel and the boy who played Otto. The man who played the Adult Men was a good. I liked him a lot, but he wasn't at the top of my list. He did keep spitting a lot. :) And I found Christine Estabrook REALLY annoying this time. Last time, I laughed like a fiend. This time, was way to much, and she was so over the top she barely landed any laughs.
The three leads were all wonderful. I was disappointed with Alexandra, simply because she was better the last time. I found that her line delivery was really mediocre in comparison to the last time I went. She was kinda faking it all. And her voice didn't really shine like it did last time. However, Whispering was absolutely the best scene in the whole show. She made up for any mistakes she may have made. Her vocals were spot on and she FELT the song like you wouldn't belive. It was absolutely haunting.
Hunter Parrish was fine. He was great, but he wasn't at the top of my list. You can definitely tell he's a baritone because you could see the jaw tension on his higher notes and he never held them out for to long. Regardless, he sang them all and really proved his own. I liked Matt's Melchior better, but I thought that Hunter's was much more true to the Melchior of the original play. He has definitely proved his own and I would welcome him back to the Broadway stage any day (for some reason Big River just keeps popping in my head...I'm not sure).
I saved the best for last. Gerard as Moritz was my absolute favorite and he BLEW ME AWAY. I thought Blake was really over the top, and he lost a lot of the humor. Gerard did everything perfectly in my book. Blake, in my opinion, fished for laughs every minute. Gerard wasn't afraid to be taken seriously, but still nailed the comedy. He was really into it his character and I never thought, "Oh, he's acting." When Melchior was chastised in school, I couldn't stop looking at Gerard who looked like he was going to cry. It was perfect. He was so intense. He was still funny, but I took him seriously too. When it got around to the suicide scene, the theater was so still, like I'd never seen before and Gerard took his time delivery each line very carefully. I think if he had strictly been the funny guy, It would have taken away from the scene. And what a voice! I always hated when Blake and John Gallagher went into their falsetto in Don't Do Saddness (the high G in the chorus). I always thought that was a really bad artistic descion. Gerard just kinda made it work. He was the best part for me, and I would reccommend the show just for him. The supporting cast is somewhat lackluster, but they're all talened and I think would be much better in a different kind of show.
I've only seen Spring Awakening once ( 2.23.08 ) and I'm a big fan. The night I saw it, Matt Dolye was on for Melchior and Alexandra Socha was on for Wendla. I'm a HUGE Matt Doyle fan, and he blew me away (I had pretty high expectations). Alexandra was also great, despite what I had heard, and the rest of the cast was great. So, to say the least, the new cast had big shoes to fill.
I have to start by saying, the lights never fail to amaze me. They are absolutely wonderful and should be mentioned in every single review. The Mirror-Blue Night scene is absolutely breathtaking and there is nothing like seeing it live.
In my opinion, the new cast is all talented, but they just don't seem to sparkle like the cast I saw. They hit all the notes, and all their marks, but they're all just cookie cutter performers. Morgan Karr was on for Georg tonight. I thought he had an awesome voice, and his solo is Touch Me was top notch. He did an awesome job singing, but really didn't stand out anywhere else. For being an understudy though, I was pleased with him and those pipes of his.
Emily Kinney is probably the most talented supporting member they have in the show. She was so enjoyable to watch and my eyes were drawn to her more than once. Her acting was top notch and her solos were great. I was also really surprised with Amanda Castanos. I actually didn't expect much from her, but her "The Dark I Know Well" gave me chills. Her voice actually blended with Emma Hunton's (who was amazing, as usual) as opposed to Lili Cooper's voice who I could hear in EVERY SINGLE SONG. Unfortunately, that was the only time she really stuck out. The girl who plays Thea was dreadful. She had no energy, no real good delivery and I don't even remember her singing. She was the worst peformer that night.
The male ensemble was extremely bland. I'm a huge Matt Dolye fan but he was phoning in. Same goes for Blake Daniel and the boy who played Otto. The man who played the Adult Men was a good. I liked him a lot, but he wasn't at the top of my list. He did keep spitting a lot. :) And I found Christine Estabrook REALLY annoying this time. Last time, I laughed like a fiend. This time, was way to much, and she was so over the top she barely landed any laughs.
The three leads were all wonderful. I was disappointed with Alexandra, simply because she was better the last time. I found that her line delivery was really mediocre in comparison to the last time I went. She was kinda faking it all. And her voice didn't really shine like it did last time. However, Whispering was absolutely the best scene in the whole show. She made up for any mistakes she may have made. Her vocals were spot on and she FELT the song like you wouldn't belive. It was absolutely haunting.
Hunter Parrish was fine. He was great, but he wasn't at the top of my list. You can definitely tell he's a baritone because you could see the jaw tension on his higher notes and he never held them out for to long. Regardless, he sang them all and really proved his own. I liked Matt's Melchior better, but I thought that Hunter's was much more true to the Melchior of the original play. He has definitely proved his own and I would welcome him back to the Broadway stage any day (for some reason Big River just keeps popping in my head...I'm not sure).
I saved the best for last. Gerard as Moritz was my absolute favorite and he BLEW ME AWAY. I thought Blake was really over the top, and he lost a lot of the humor. Gerard did everything perfectly in my book. Blake, in my opinion, fished for laughs every minute. Gerard wasn't afraid to be taken seriously, but still nailed the comedy. He was really into it his character and I never thought, "Oh, he's acting." When Melchior was chastised in school, I couldn't stop looking at Gerard who looked like he was going to cry. It was perfect. He was so intense. He was still funny, but I took him seriously too. When it got around to the suicide scene, the theater was so still, like I'd never seen before and Gerard took his time delivery each line very carefully. I think if he had strictly been the funny guy, It would have taken away from the scene. And what a voice! I always hated when Blake and John Gallagher went into their falsetto in Don't Do Saddness (the high G in the chorus). I always thought that was a really bad artistic descion. Gerard just kinda made it work. He was the best part for me, and I would reccommend the show just for him. The supporting cast is somewhat lackluster, but they're all talened and I think would be much better in a different kind of show.
I want to apologize for some offensive messages posted on this board under my name. The night 0f 12-15-08 I did not have internet access, and someone had used my name to post something offensive. My avatar was also changed. I dont' know what else was posted, or if anyone recieved bad PMs, but I want to apologize for that. I've changed my password, and even though I was not the one posting these messages it still needed to be corrected.
