It felt fitting to see the closing performance after attending the first preview and multiple times in between.
The audience greeted most entrances with applause and "A Musical" and "Something Rotten" had partial standing ovations (at least on the mezzanine level).
There weren't any crazy ad-libs like when Brian d'Arcy James left, but the cast was being generous deflecting applause to each other at the end of songs. This was my first time seeing Leslie Kritzer as Bea, but I suspect she added on a riff or two.
My train is almost at its station but I'll add more when I get home.
Edited to add:
The kisses seemed to be drawn out a bit longer, especially Josh Grisetti and Catherine Brunell after "We See the Light." They shared a kiss that was starting to get a tiny bit of applause because it felt longer than usual, and still got a second one in before Brother Jeremiah's entrance.
When Nigel and Portia first meet and Nick points to the old woman as the one Nigel is going to marry, it was one of the moments that milked the most applause. Rather than just do the reveal of the old woman and a slight twerk walking upstage, the twerk was prolonged then she started grabbing stuff off the produce cart and offering it to Portia.
During the tap battle just before Nick's final "Yes," Rob McClure put his right foot in the air, mimed having a string holding it up that was tied into a bow, then "cut" the string to drop his foot for the corresponding tap. It was my second time seeing him in the role and I admired how effortless his dancing looked throughout the show.
The curtain speeches were given by Brad Oscar and Karey Kirkpatrick, and apparently Brian d'Arcy James and Brooks Ashmanskas were among those in the orchestra audience. There was a nice surprise when Kirkpatrick indicated he thought John Cariani wasn't there because of The Band's Visit, then most of the cast gestured to the stage left side and he came onstage with Kate Reinders. The company members who were there for the entire run were highlighted, and they also brought the stage managers and many backstage crew onstage.
Besides the cast, John O'Farrell and the Kirkpatrick brothers, plus Cariani and Reinders, also made stage door appearances.
Updated On: 1/2/17 at 12:29 AM
, and found this line hilarious.
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