"Since when do shows use handheld mics. I have never seen that in a show before."
How can you judge the show when you don't even understand the d@mn concept of it? The mics represent the fact that the teenagers are expressing their inner thoughts. Plus it goes along with the whole feel of it being a rock musical. The fact that they use handheld mics does not interfere with the quality of the show! It's a dumb reason to dislike a show.
And contrary to what you think, you CAN'T judge a show by the cast album. I've seen shows where I enjoyed the album, but disliked the show, and vice versa. I mean, you can choose not to see a show because you don't care for clips/cast recording, but don't pass of the show as a bad show when you haven't even seen it!
"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611