Posted: 7/10/19 at 8:19pm
Posted: 7/10/19 at 9:44pm
I may be biased since I got a cheap $30 seat that put me in the obstructed view (don't do it!), I thought it was OK.
This production seemed more "stripped-down" than I was expecting in terms of set. Geoff Packard as Harold Hill was fine, but unremarkable.
Matt Crowle and Bri Sudia were the best parts of the production -- and they have such small roles!
I recommend getting a ticket, but maybe you'd want to save the $30 to pay for a tenth of a ticket for the upcoming Broadway revival.
Posted: 7/10/19 at 10:49pm
Posted: 7/11/19 at 3:39pm
Saw this in one of its first previews and found it to be a very pleasant production of an already perfect musical. The tempos were so fast I was amazed I could still hear every word perfectly (the tempo for Pick-A-Little STARTED where it usually ramps up to).
Geoff Packard was an appealing Harold Hill but, dare I say it, a tad too young?
The most obvious weak link here is Marian. While fine in the acting department, her singing and more specifically her delivery of her songs was shockingly amateur for this caliber of production house.
The ending is very strange -- maybe it was just because it was their third time going through it but it seemed awkward.
For a regional production, it's well worth seeing, though.
Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:00pm
Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:04pm
Posted: 7/11/19 at 7:12pm
^^I'm deeply curious about what that original ending was... when I saw it last week, there was nothing strange about the ending.
I have to say, Marian's singing was not very good, and that really ruined a lot of the evening for me. She had no power or control, especially in the high range. Other than her, I mostly really enjoyed the production and would recommend it to anyone who can get an affordable seat.
I was surprised to find very few of Mary Zimmerman's tricks in the show. I suppose this musical didn't lend itself to many moments of inventive stagecraft. It's mostly a very traditional and straightforward production.
Regarding Packard as Harold Hill, I was stricken by the couple lines in the text that mention that he graduated from college in 1905, and the time of the musical is 1912. Wouldn't that make the character just 29 years old?
Posted: 7/11/19 at 10:32pm
Posted: 7/12/19 at 4:58pm
Regarding the original ending during early previews, I'll include it as a spoiler...just in case.
At the preview performance I saw (third preview, I believe), at the end of the show when Harold is brought before the townspeople I noticed several audience members abruptly leaving. I was kind of shocked they were heading out before the end but...traffic, right?
Anyway.
The next thing I know, when the "band" comes out onstage it's the actors from the show PLUS the audience members in their modern clothes, band hats and lugging instruments. They all played their instruments as horribly as they are supposed to. When the townspeople call out "there's my (insert name here)" and went to hug their child, they went over to the (mostly adult) audience members who seemed just as surprised as we were. They got them offstage before the curtain call. It just seemed really disorganized, rushed, and unplanned.
Totally agree about Marian. Just a very strange choice considering the level of talent I've seen in Chicago. She was a fine actress, excellent even in some parts, but the voice and the stage presence while singing were just not there. Maybe she just needed more time in the role. Bri Sudia is her understudy and I can't help wondering how much more interesting she would have been in the role.
Posted: 8/18/19 at 12:04pm
