#1
Posted: 1/6/08 at 10:06pm
May I start by saying that I have no idea why this show is closing? It put a smile on my face from beginning to end and it's better than A LOT of the stuff that's on Broadway today.
That being said, I had an absolutely wonderful time at the Bee today! The entire cast was so energetic and great, I wanted to come on stage with them! They made a lot of local references. One of the funniest was definately, "Our usual pronouncer Clay Aiken couldn't be here tonight. He had a date with his girlf-- I mean boyfri-- oh, nevermind!" That got a huge response from the Raleigh audience! One of the audience spellers was about ten or eleven. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. This is what he got when he approached the mike: "Mr (I forgot his name) got into a fight with his mother this morning about his clothes. He said "It's just a spelling bee mom, it's not like I'm going to a Broadway show!" HAHA! Also, during the moment where Mr. Panch loses his cool, Logainne blurted "This spelling bee is about as suprising as the Iowa caucases! Me and my dads have been having trouble choosing a candidate with all of the celebrity endorsements. With Streisand for Hilary, Oprah for Obama, and Chuck Norris, "Walker Texas Ranger" for Huckabee--looks like he got the short end of the stick! In the end we'll probably go with Oprah. Maybe she'll add him to her favorite things! 'You get Barack Obama, You get Barack Obama! (in Oprah voice) EVERYBODY GETS OBAMA!!!!!!!!!" HILARIOUS!
On to the cast:
RONA LISA PERETTI (Roberta Duchak): I knew she was going to be great from the moment she stepped into the theatre. She did not dissapoint. Her voice was beautiful and clear. She had just the right amount of perkiness for Ms Peretti without being annoying. When a late-comer walked in, she stopped and said "Alright, we have a late-comer to my left. We'll just wait until you sit down. The bee started at 2:00, thank-you!" She was great!
DOUGLAS PANCH (James Kall): He was definately a scene-stealer! Some of the biggest laughs came from the readings of the definitions and sentences. Although they are funny alone, you need the right person to do it, and he hit the nail on the head! He reminded me a lot of the original Mr. Panch.
MITCH MAHONEY (Kevin Smith Kirkwood): He was one of the weak points. When he sang, it sounded like he was straining a bit, but he riffed the heck out of "Prayer of the Guidance Counselor"! I think it takes a lot for two words to create so much laughter, but he did it with "Git up!" I'm sure he's a great performer by himself, but when surrounded by the rest of the cast, his performance was forgettable.
CHIP TOLENTINO (Justin Keyes): I think that because I saw a video of the show with the original cast before I saw it live, I expected more from him. He was still great, but "My Unfortunate Erection" kind of fell flat.......and that's kind of hard to do with a song like that. It also seemed like he talked through a lot of the song, which bugged me. He was hilarious as Jesus though!
LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERRE (Dana Steingold): SHE WAS AWESOME! I ended up really caring for Olive, even though I knew what the outcome of the play would be. She was definately one of the high points of the play! I can't say enough good things about her, so I'll stop here.
LEAF CONEYBEAR (Andrew Keenan-Bolger): Once again, after seeing the video of the original, it felt like there was something missing from his performance. I think someone else had mentioned that he looked too young, and I agree. I still enjoyed him. He's got a great voice.
WILLIAM BARFEE (Eric Roediger): Another high point! He was hilarious throughout the entire show. "Magic Foot" was one of the best songs of the night! A+ PERFORMANCE!
OLIVE OSTROVSKY (Vanessa Ray): Once again, another knock-out performance! As with Logainne, I ended up caring about Olive. Vanessa's heart-filled performance of "The I Love You Song" was my favorite. She reminded me of so many girls that I've met throughout my school years.
MARCY PARK (Katie Boren): I loved her! Her performance was another very realistic potrayal. I rejoiced along with her when she finally let loose. I missed the line "Jesus? I knew you were asian!" I was hoping they would figure out a way to modify the line so that it would make since ('cuz Chip was black). Either way, the conversation between Marcy and Jesus was another highlight.
If you were having any doubts about seeing the tour, GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!!!!!! It was definately one of my most favorite days at the theatre!
That being said, I had an absolutely wonderful time at the Bee today! The entire cast was so energetic and great, I wanted to come on stage with them! They made a lot of local references. One of the funniest was definately, "Our usual pronouncer Clay Aiken couldn't be here tonight. He had a date with his girlf-- I mean boyfri-- oh, nevermind!" That got a huge response from the Raleigh audience! One of the audience spellers was about ten or eleven. He was wearing jeans, a t-shirt and sneakers. This is what he got when he approached the mike: "Mr (I forgot his name) got into a fight with his mother this morning about his clothes. He said "It's just a spelling bee mom, it's not like I'm going to a Broadway show!" HAHA! Also, during the moment where Mr. Panch loses his cool, Logainne blurted "This spelling bee is about as suprising as the Iowa caucases! Me and my dads have been having trouble choosing a candidate with all of the celebrity endorsements. With Streisand for Hilary, Oprah for Obama, and Chuck Norris, "Walker Texas Ranger" for Huckabee--looks like he got the short end of the stick! In the end we'll probably go with Oprah. Maybe she'll add him to her favorite things! 'You get Barack Obama, You get Barack Obama! (in Oprah voice) EVERYBODY GETS OBAMA!!!!!!!!!" HILARIOUS!
On to the cast:
RONA LISA PERETTI (Roberta Duchak): I knew she was going to be great from the moment she stepped into the theatre. She did not dissapoint. Her voice was beautiful and clear. She had just the right amount of perkiness for Ms Peretti without being annoying. When a late-comer walked in, she stopped and said "Alright, we have a late-comer to my left. We'll just wait until you sit down. The bee started at 2:00, thank-you!" She was great!
DOUGLAS PANCH (James Kall): He was definately a scene-stealer! Some of the biggest laughs came from the readings of the definitions and sentences. Although they are funny alone, you need the right person to do it, and he hit the nail on the head! He reminded me a lot of the original Mr. Panch.
MITCH MAHONEY (Kevin Smith Kirkwood): He was one of the weak points. When he sang, it sounded like he was straining a bit, but he riffed the heck out of "Prayer of the Guidance Counselor"! I think it takes a lot for two words to create so much laughter, but he did it with "Git up!" I'm sure he's a great performer by himself, but when surrounded by the rest of the cast, his performance was forgettable.
CHIP TOLENTINO (Justin Keyes): I think that because I saw a video of the show with the original cast before I saw it live, I expected more from him. He was still great, but "My Unfortunate Erection" kind of fell flat.......and that's kind of hard to do with a song like that. It also seemed like he talked through a lot of the song, which bugged me. He was hilarious as Jesus though!
LOGAINNE SCHWARTZANDGRUBENIERRE (Dana Steingold): SHE WAS AWESOME! I ended up really caring for Olive, even though I knew what the outcome of the play would be. She was definately one of the high points of the play! I can't say enough good things about her, so I'll stop here.
LEAF CONEYBEAR (Andrew Keenan-Bolger): Once again, after seeing the video of the original, it felt like there was something missing from his performance. I think someone else had mentioned that he looked too young, and I agree. I still enjoyed him. He's got a great voice.
WILLIAM BARFEE (Eric Roediger): Another high point! He was hilarious throughout the entire show. "Magic Foot" was one of the best songs of the night! A+ PERFORMANCE!
OLIVE OSTROVSKY (Vanessa Ray): Once again, another knock-out performance! As with Logainne, I ended up caring about Olive. Vanessa's heart-filled performance of "The I Love You Song" was my favorite. She reminded me of so many girls that I've met throughout my school years.
MARCY PARK (Katie Boren): I loved her! Her performance was another very realistic potrayal. I rejoiced along with her when she finally let loose. I missed the line "Jesus? I knew you were asian!" I was hoping they would figure out a way to modify the line so that it would make since ('cuz Chip was black). Either way, the conversation between Marcy and Jesus was another highlight.
If you were having any doubts about seeing the tour, GET YOUR TICKETS NOW!!!!!!!! It was definately one of my most favorite days at the theatre!
