I was there Saturday night and had a great time. The musical has been improved with the shifts they've made to the book. The score remains terrific, even if it is less well sung than the original.
Davie and Padgett are lovely as the Hilton sisters. Padgett really impressed me with her timing and her voice is beautiful, with a high enough belt/mix to put over the powerful numbers for the girls. Davie, while a good Violet, doesn't have the belt to give the chills that Ripley did. It's just not the same in a head voice...and Padgett couldn't help but drown her out. That said, they both acted the roles beautifully.
Hydzik and Silverman were both great. Hydzik was helped tremendously by the changes in the book, and Buddy is less of a jerk...just a misguided man with a not-so-secret secret. Silverman was perfect. I did love his Giorgio and he was just as impressive here, likeable and smarmy. Both men have amazing voices as well.
My only problem with the cast was with David St. Louis as Jake. His performance was both overacted and oversung. He is clearly having vocal problems at this point from all of the aggressive pushing he is doing. His Jake was so protective of the girls that he just came across angry all the time. There was no sweetness that Norm Lewis conveyed. That said, he got the biggest applause, so I must be in the minority.
Robert Joy was good as Sir, but his british accent was hard to understand some of the time.
The rest of the cast was great, and they work their asses off backstage, getting in and out of costumes and characters! The design was very good, especially the costumes. The "freaks" were, well, freaky, especially the "geek" and "three legged man". The moving scaffold was efficient, if not completely original.
I recall the original staging to be constricted by the girls' inability to move efficiently, so much of the action was directed at them, rather than them feeling a part of the action. I didn't feel that with Condon's direction at all. He did a fine job keeping the sister's moving.
I did miss "Tunnel of Love", even if the song is still there in a different form.
Go see it if you can. We had box seats and there were many empty chairs, unfortunately. I can't imagine how they will get investors to mount this on Broadway...but fingers crossed!
"Carson has combined his passion for helping children with his love for one of Cincinnati's favorite past times - cornhole - to create a unique and exciting event perfect for a corporate outing, entertaining clients or family fun."
"In Oz, the verb is douchifizzation."
PRS
