Ripley's out of Next to Normal tonight- Page 2

[IdinaBellFoster]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 8:46pm

Jessica was fantastic at Second Stage, I can only assume she has grown as the show and the rest of the cast have.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 8:58pm

I doubt Phillips gets the kind of director's attention that Ripley gets/got.

Since Alice Ripley is above the title, and people ask for refunds, can someone else then buy the tickets? Or how would that work? Like, if she's out tomm. ?

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 9:20pm

My question is...does he pole dance?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 9:31pm

Second act was way stronger. Phillips was good and very different than Ripley.

It was good overall, just not the same without Alice. I enjoyed it quite a lot but can't say I wasn't let down by Ripley not going on. But Phillips got stronger as the show went on and Massey was fine as Gabe. They both were good but didn't live up to their predescessors. Nothing tragic but nothing amazing. They were strong.
Updated On: 6/9/09 at 09:31 PM

[steven22]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 9:36pm

WickedRocks..full review please!

[BwayBoundJoe]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 9:43pm

Thanks wickedrocks, it's good to know that even if Alice is out that her understudy will be able to move the show along. Even if she can't do it as well as Alice, she also hasn't been given the chance to perform since the show started performances in Nyc.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 10:20pm

Sure! I'll post more when I get home. I'm on my BlackBerry now.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 10:55pm

Complete and utter disaster this evening.

If there were any doubts about how integral to the success of the show Alice Ripley's performance was, they were answered this evening. Jessica Phillips was an absolute abomination in the role of Diana. Embarrassingly bad, and they should be ashamed of themselves for putting this woman on Broadway.

Her acting was so laughable. She played the whole thing like a cartoon, like she was in some parody of next to normal. It was very out of place and off-putting. She made some very, umm, interesting, choices. Among them:

-The line, "Thank you, doctor, but my husband is waiting in the car" was delivered with a British accent. Yeah, I don't understand that choice either.

-During the "What was his name?" exchange, she acted like a spoiled child who had a toy taken away. She stomped her feet and jumped up and down and whined.

Vocally, it was like she was doing Broadway pop, and was performing in Wicked. I kept waiting for her to start riffing on I Miss the Mountains, which by the way, she sang with a smile. Yes, a smile.

Perhaps her biggest offense this evening, however, was that she didn't cry. Not once. Not a single tear at any point. During Maybe, Jen (who sounded under the weather herself) was pouring her heart out to hear, and Phillips just stared back at her. Disgraceful. But I suppose not crying went with her cartoony portrayal. She was giving her co-starts NOTHING to play against, because she was so emotionless.

I wish I had taken the box up on their offer to refund or exchange my tickets, because this was horrendous.

David Stone was there nervously pacing the aisles before the show, not looking pleased at all, surveying the empty seats and return line.

Ripley better hurry back, because the show clearly needs her.
Updated On: 6/9/09 at 10:55 PM

[PiraguaGuy2]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:00pm

Bu tell us how you REALLY feel.

[heo1128]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:11pm

"Perhaps her biggest offense this evening, however, was that she didn't cry. Not once. Not a single tear at any point."

Actually, not true. Not her biggest fan, but I did see the occasional tear. Forced tears, but tears none the less.

[bwayfan7000]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:12pm

What are the chances of Ripley still being sick on Saturday? I think I might seriously be pissed if Philips is on when I see this...

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:18pm

1. How the hell do we know. Does she have the sniffles? Contract the swine flu? Have her appendix removed? Don't know.

2. ONE person's assessment isn't going to necessarily be YOUR truth should you see the understudy. (Nothing against your opinion AdamGreer, I hope you realize.)

3. Saturday is days away....I'm sure Alice will return.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:18pm

Well, honestly, I wasn't harsh because it was her first performance in the role on Broadway and all but the more I think about it the less I like her performance.

I didn't think she was an abomination but she was definitely not at Ripley's level. Or anywhere near it.

Her acting was pretty terrible and her singing was gorgeous but she sang everything like a pop song with tons of riffing. Sounded gorgeous but was really not "Diana"esque.

She also had no chemistry with Bobby Spencer or Jen Damiano. Bobby Spencer stole the show tonight. He was clearly the rock...if tonight was my first time seeing it, I would have really not been floored by it at all.

Did anyone else notice the incestuous tension between Massey and Phillips?! Or was it just me? They got so close face-to-face at one point that I thought they were going to kiss! Haha!

I didn't think it was atrocious but it definitely was a letdown...I was really thrilled for this specific performance and was letdown a lot.

Oh and why the hell did the show start so late? There were lots of empty seats scattered throughout the mezzanine too.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:21pm

Maybe the refunds at the box office kept FOH busy and they didn't want to keep patrons away that were staying??

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:31pm

I said something on the other thread, but there was a computer glitch or something around 6:30 and the box office people couldn't do anything for 5-10 minutes which prevented people picking up or purchasing tickets for the evening's show from doing that, and there was a huge line by that point.

They were NOT refunding (since they refused to do flat out exchanges ~ my biggest gripe as I thought the rule was "refund or exchange" and the house manager even TOLD them to do direct exchanges but they, at least with me "had already started the process") tickets until AFTER the show started.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:32pm

That is bizarre about the refunds/exchanges...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:35pm

Yeah, part of the reason we stayed, was because we bought our tickets back when they were $60 with the code. The man would not let us just exchange them. We had to return them, then we could re-buy tickets at the new price scale (which is $70 now)

Shady.
Updated On: 6/9/09 at 11:35 PM

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:36pm

Yeah. The house manager assured us we could do a flat out exchange without having to do the refund and repurchase crap. The box office guys just grabbed my ticket (the first one did and was like 'refund only" then I complained and the house manager went back to find out what was going on and tell them to EXCHANGE), then the other one immediately called telecharge to get my "refund code" at which point I lost it a little. The house manager repeated that he was allowed to EXCHANGE it without all that, but by that point "the process had already started".

The house manager was nothing but nice to me since there was apparently nothing that could be done to stop the refund process and is going to work with me when I can buy another ticket.

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:36pm

That is really odd.

So is she sick? Or did she take this performance off to rest?

I had heard she took it off to rest from a reliable source but am hearing rumors about respiratory infections now and all sorts of stuff...

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:38pm

How would any of us know?

Judging by how panicked and annoyed David Stone looked this evening, it was certainly not planned.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:39pm

I would think - and this is total just speculation on my part - that it must be serious or why else would you take off the performance right after you win a major award? Doesn't make much sense, especially coming from a producer stand point. I would think David Stone would be PISSED if she just took it off to have some "down time."

[jordangirl]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:40pm

I don't know anything for sure. But rest and sick aren't necessarily mutually exclusive.

I should say... Had it been any night other than tonight I likely would have stayed to support the show and the cast. But tonight was going to be special so I didn't. (Though given adamgreer's review I will probably rethink that stance for now.)

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:40pm

I don't know I thought maybe someone knew her personally or something. Or had overheard something through the producers or powers-that-be at the theater tonight.

Well, if she's sick, I wish her a speedy recovery of course.

[morosco]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:44pm

Here's an interview that was done just after she won the award. Her voice sounds a bit rough. (She reminds me so much of Molly Shannon here.)

Backstage at the Tonys: Alice Ripley Updated On: 6/9/09 at 11:44 PM

[defyingravity07]

Posted: 6/9/09 at 11:48pm

Alice had another YouTube out burst.

"KISS MY SWEET ASS" AR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Kcj0FSP7g
http://www.youtube.com/ripleytheband