Let me add my voice to the glowing side of the aisle. I haven't been more impressed with a new musical in ages. I'm not sure there's much to be gained from getting swept up in hypotheticals of what could happen down the road, but this has a ton going for it.
It's primarily sung-through, and the score and lyrics are first-rate. There are at least a half dozen take-home tunes. I simply cannot wait for the recording. The show opens strongly and genuinely grips. Yes, we know the ending, but there's real tension, and some of the more personal plot points are, I think, less well known (certainly new to me). In at least one case a narrative turn was really quite shocking.
As pretty much everyone has commented, the cast is beyond excellent. They're not just big performers, they're all in the right roles. Shaina Taub leads from the front, and Grace McLean is just plain, outstanding as Woodrow Wilson. It would take far too long to detail everyone, even down to the minor roles the performers deserve awards (e.g. Aisha de Haas is a brief delight as a wealthy donor).
I'd argue the staging is less strong than the musical itself (though it was the second preview, so take this with a pinch of salt). There's some clever use of vaudeville-style elements, which work really well, but much of the rest of the staging is more unimaginative and lacks a bit of pizzazz. The overall design is striking and mostly used effectively. It'll scale well, very easy to see this on a much bigger stage. The lighting is a bit of a bland mishmash though and at times made the show look fairly basic. There's a brief appearance by a horse statue (ridden by Soo!) that I hope gets adjusted soon as it both looked silly and partially blocked her face (I was about halfway back, I'd guess it completely blocked her face for much of the front section).
Despite some of this current staging unevenness, I left on a huge high. It's very zeitgeisty and I can see it being enormously popular with press & celebrities. The narrative does not canonize these characters. It's an honest portrayal of people trying to do their best to make the world a better place. You might not come away wanting to be Alice Paul's friend, but you'd find it very hard not to respect her and what she achieved. There's a positive and inclusive message and one that's earned rather than pushed in your face. Overall, a delightful show that I hope many people get the opportunity to see.
- which isn’t as catchy or anthemic as I think it wants to be - but I loved Shaina Taub’s writing. In particular, a song late in act two (“I Wasn’t There&rdquo
