Show Boat at Avery Fisher Hall

I also got a free ticket for Friday, anyone see this?

You lucky bastards. How'd you manage that?

Suck it, 27 year olds!

"Norm Lewis may not have the vocal heft that others have brought to the role of Joe, but he sings with great emotion. "

Yeah, that's precisely the reason his casting seemed odd to me. Wonderful actor, but this a concert.

Philip Boykin said he got the offer, but they wouldn't let him miss a week of On The Town! He would have been incredible.

To clarify: Lewis has a lovely voice, and performed with real feeling. I wasn't trying to put him down. That said, I do still find his casting somewhat odd. He's a light lyric baritone, not exactly the voice type for which the role was written. I would have cast an opera singer (perhaps Eric Owens) or someone like Philip Boykin, but perhaps they decided to go with someone with a more theatrical background to match the rest of the cast.

That said, Lewis does his best within his limits. His voice is beautiful--we know that--just not ideal for this role.

I was thinking Philip Boynkin as well (just couldn't remember his name).

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Well, I, for one, did not remain dry-eyed.

The performances, with the exception of Fred Willard, all moved me. I thought the concert presentation of this worked perfectly, and provided a stage upon which to present the glorious music of the show.

Beautiful evening.

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Hearing the original, full orchestrations was a treat, as well as the inclusion of songs that weren't in the original score ("It's Getting Hotter in the North," while maybe not as theatrically effective as other songs that have filled its slot, was great to hear - it's perfect Kern writing in his "elegant" vein - like Berlin and "Let's Face the Music"). The acoustics of Avery Fisher Hall, however, always make a theatre score sound less tight, less sharp than they are intended to sound.

Lauren Worsham was, as always, perfect. However I don't think any of the other principals (with the possible exception of Natasha Williams) could really succeed in a real production. Vanessa Williams looks gorgeous and sings carefully (but she never had a thrilling voice to start with, did she? - merely capable). I find Ovendon's voice unbearably harsh and nasal, and as an actor he runs the gamut of A to A. Lewis has tremendous dignity and gravitas and humor, but unfortunately he doesn't have the notes to really make "River" shine. I enjoyed the choice to make Frank & Ellie the comic couple more then the dancing couple, and thought Fitzgerald and Mauzey were very fun.

It was an enjoyable one-off evening, if not really more than a theatrical side dish (rather than a full meal).

I thought it was a mixed bag. It's wonderful to hear the original orchestrations, and the score contains so many perfect songs. However, I thought this was hindered by subpar casting choices and the lack of stronger direction. Norm Lewis simply does not have the instrument to make "Ol Man River" the powerhouse number it should be; Alli Mauzey seemed to be a poor man's Annaleigh Ashford and, when paired with expert musical comedian Christopher Fitzgerald, her weaknesses were more apparent.

I very much enjoyed Vanessa Williams and Lauren Worsham.

I do think the production could have benefited from a stronger director, who could have possibly helped make the melodramatic scenes work and helped the performers dig a little deeper into the material.

That being said- the old woman's monologue in the finale is so expertly manipulative that it's hard not to feel SOME emotion.

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To those of you who got Free Friday tickets - where are your seats? I'm sitting in Row Z Seat 12 on the right side.

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