Pre-show was absolutely nuts. I was in the mezzanine. Luckily people stayed....relatively calm. But some were doing a mad-dash, and others who arrived afterward were understandably furious about the situation. For the record, the seats in the mezz were NOT all priced the same. They ranged from $50 to $150 at least, maybe even more expensive.
But anyway, the show was amazing. They did the full show, including the book. Staging was minimal, but they did have staging (it wasn't just them standing at mics in front of music stands).
In cast anyone is curious - there was some pretty close intimacy, but no nudity. "Totally F*CKed" was so exhilarating, and you could tell the actors were having the time of their life. You could tell they were taken back to another time in their lives, and were enjoying the nostalgia of their youth as much as we were.
The whole cast was great. it was wild seeing every single one of them return to their roles. It was pretty strange having Krysta Rodriguez and Jenn Damiano (both stars in their own rites) singing backup with no featured moments at all. But it was faithful to the original casting! People did applaud for Lea - I agree that everyone in the audience seemed to just indulge in the joy of seeing the full original cast, her included.
They were all in great voice, but as far as vocals go, I think Skylar Astin walked away with the evening.
As far as acting goes - again, they were all really strong, but I think the standout was John Gallagher Jr. His final number+monologue was pretty transcendent. He played it totally differently from how he did it originally. It wasn't as angsty - it was a little lighter, more flippant, almost joyful. Like he was so far gone, and so ready to die, that he was almost happy - but still with that undercurrent of despair hidden underneath. A very layered, far more interesting interpretation of the scene. It was clear that we were watching an actor who had this role ruminating somewhere inside him for 15 years, and returned to it with smarter, more mature craft.