Okay, I saw her Friday night debut and she was completely fantastic in the part!
Some of you might have read my judgments toward her casting when she was announced, I even said I'd return my tickets but enough people said that I should just go and watch the show and so I did and I'm not ashamed (in fact I'm glad) to say that I was completely off the mark re Ms.Block and that I definitely learned a lesson about judging a performance before actually seeing it.
First of all, you could have never been able to tell this was her opening night performance. She had all the songs down, a fully realized take on the role, she had wonderful chemistry with her three male co-stars and she looked like she was having a blast on stage (and so was the audience). More importantly, she was able to carry the show while still letting everyone shine, it felt like an ensemble piece (and I mean that as a compliment both to her and the really impressive group of people Marshall assembled for this production).
I know people weren't sure about what her dancing would be like. Yes, she's not Sutton Foster in that department, she seemed a bit hesitant with some of the steps in "Anything Goes" but once she got to the showstopping "Blow Gabriel Blow" she was on fire (even if she can't really do kicks, but who cares, this is not A CHORUS LINE). What I felt was more important is that she seemed to be having a blast all throughout and her acting and singing were terrific. She's good times as Reeno.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
