obsessedjb, I was there last night too. Gallagher said afterward that this was the most amazing audience they have ever had. He said it's a night he will never forget. Where were you in the autograph line afterward?
For those of you who were not there, let me give you a recap. Well first off, I was walking to my seat at around 7:45 and who is sitting two rows behind me? Karen Ziemba! I guess she decided to come and see what all the fuss was about.
The actors came onstage and the audience CHEERED for what felt like two minutes. The cast looked like they were in shock. Especially Groff. He had this huge smile on his face.
The lights came down and Lea gave the most gorgeous "Mama Who Bore Me". The audience cheered for about a minute after the "Mama Who Bore Me" Reprise. Then the classroom scene began with the boys, and for those of you who have seen the show, you know that Moritz is asleep in his chair and Stephen Spinella begins his lesson and starts questioning the class. So he sees that Moritz is asleep and he shouts "Moritz Stiefel!" and Moritz startles and wakes up. Well, the second Gallagher opens his eyes the audience starts cheering (an entrance applause if you may). They cheered, and cheered, and cheered for about two and a half minutes, until Stephen Spinella finally said his next line.
Following "Bitch of Living" there was more cheering and a partial standing ovation. The cast was on fire last night. "The Dark I Know Well" was haunting as ever. Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik, and Michael Mayer were all in the audience and people were chatting with them during intermission.
The only sad part was that Jonathan B. Wright was out last night. I don't know what's with that kid. He seems to have the worst attendance of the cast. So that was disappointing. Matt Doyle was on as Hanschen, and he was fine. But really, Jonathan B. Wright is the only actor that can pull off those lines and have the audience in the palm of his hand. Plus, Doyle looks like he could be Gideon Glick's identical twin, and the dynamic between the two was just sparkless.
Gallagher, on the other hand, performed like there was electricity running through his body. This was the best I'd ever seen him. He didn't miss a beat. "Left Behind" was devastating. Groff's delivery was beautiful. Following "Totally F*cked" the audience cheered for another two minutes.
At curtain call, the audience was on their feet immediately, cheering. The actors came out three times. The third time, with the audience still cheering, Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater came out onto the stage and the audience cheered some more. Then Michael Mayer came on stage. Gallagher was crying. They were all so happy.
The stage door was very busy, as expected, but they all stayed and were chatting it up with everyone, until every last person got an autograph. The last two to leave were Groff, and finally Gallagher. Duncan, Steven, and Michael were signing autographs down the line as well. It was an absolutely magical evening. This is the best musical I have ever seen, and I hope that it is on Broadway for a very, very long time.
Edited for typo.
"Winning a Tony this year is like winning Best Attendance in third grade: no one will care but the winner and their mom."
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
Updated On: 6/12/07 at 10:33 AM
