Saw the show last night and have mixed feelings about it, some of it was very enjoyable and some of it was not that great. I still think the men are poorly developed and portrayed, and I thought Curtis' cousin and the Latin gangster were incredibly weird and ridiculously stereotypical characters that were used to get cheap laughs.
I know this is sacrilege but I didn't particularly cared for Victoria Clark's Mother Superior, as a big fan of her work I was surprised by this, but I found her quite unlikable (and not in a "she's a great antagonist" kind of way) and thought her jokes were forced. I also didn't get the need to create the whole backstory with Eddie, it's clearly there to satisfy some requirement that there needs to be a romantic story in a musical comedy; perhaps I'm joining some of those who commented on Chester Gregory's poorly executed portrayal of the role. And frankly, I'm surprised people found the bit about the two bachelors who collect antiques funny, I thought it was once again, another cheap joke made at the expense of "the other."
Having said that, when the show is on fire it really is on. Patina Miller is electric, she's simply a star and it can't be denied. She carries the show and sells every number. The sequence that starts with "Raise Your Voice" and ends with "Take Me to Heaven (Reprise)" is pure musical comedy perfection, you can't help but love it, but at the same time I feel like nothing in Act II comes anywhere near that wonderful moment, unlike in the film which has a fantastic finale.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
