Posted: 12/4/16 at 8:02pm
I thought the boy playing Fletcher did a great job...
Posted: 12/4/16 at 9:43pm
Jasmine Richardson (Nicki Marron) was out for the Saturday matinee. Emily Jenda went on as Nicki. I only heard her do one song before they cancelled the performance but she was really great. She made a great impression on me with her powerful voice. I hope I get to see her again.
Emily Jenda, Jasmine Richardson and Naomi C Walley all understudy Cox.
Posted: 12/5/16 at 12:45pm
How is the view from the mezzanine? Is it really far? Looking at 4th row mezz for a date this week.
Posted: 12/5/16 at 12:49pm
I was in the last row of the mezz and thought the view was great. The last row of the mezz has extra leg room.
Posted: 12/5/16 at 2:02pm
https://www.facebook.com/theatermania/videos/10157791725240621/
This looks exactly like On Your Feet to me, for some reason.
Posted: 12/5/16 at 2:06pm
^ Too funny! My friend said the same thing as we were walking out of the show yesterday! The set is definitely similar with the sliding panels.
Posted: 12/5/16 at 11:41pm
Can anyone that has seen it comment on what the set is for the cabin scene? In the West End they had a HUGE cabin on a turntable, that seemingly came out of nowhere and was completely at odds with the rest of the set design. I can't imagine they could tour with such a big cabin.
Posted: 12/6/16 at 1:34am
I guess America expects whomever is playing Rachel to mimic Whitney. Meh.
It's why I loved Headley's performance in the OLC. It was her original, personal performance.
Posted: 12/6/16 at 8:20am
Tag said: "Can anyone that has seen it comment on what the set is for the cabin scene? In the West End they had a HUGE cabin on a turntable, that seemingly came out of nowhere and was completely at odds with the rest of the set design. I can't imagine they could tour with such a big cabin."
The cabin set is one of the nicer set pieces for the tour. It is just one room though (the kitchen/living area), and it is not on a turntable.
Posted: 12/6/16 at 9:15am
Pretty cool that Dionne Warwick attended a performance. Wonder how she felt about the show!
Posted: 12/7/16 at 6:23pm
So can anyone confirm that there is no scheduled alternate for matinees? I have a ticket for tomorrow's matinee and evening show, and if it's identical casts I'd rather not do two shows back to back.
Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:40am
I have an extra orchestra ticket for the 1:30 matinee on Dec. 22 - PM me if interested
Posted: 12/8/16 at 8:57am
sparepart973 said: "So can anyone confirm that there is no scheduled alternate for matinees? I have a ticket for tomorrow's matinee and evening show, and if it's identical casts I'd rather not do two shows back to back."
There is no scheduled alternate for matinees as far as I know. Deborah has stated in interviews that she will be doing all 8 shows a week. I think I just got unlucky on the day I went when she was out.
Posted: 12/10/16 at 12:58pm
Well, I trekked down to New Jersey again this afternoon after missing Deborah Cox this past Sunday afternoon only to find out that she is out again this afternoon. Switched my ticket to tonight. I was told by the box office that she would be in tonight. I'm not sure what's going on, but they may want to schedule an alternate for her if she is already taking shows off before the tour has even really started...
Posted: 12/10/16 at 7:04pm
considering the vocal demands for the role, I'm going to guess that an alternate will be put in place down the line.
Posted: 12/10/16 at 11:21pm
I was at tonight's performance and it was just SENSATIONAL. Deborah Cox and Jasmin Richardson were superb, as was the rest of the company. The design is breathtaking, and combined with the lighting and projections, the experience is thrilling. Don't miss it--see the show before it makes its way to Broadway after the tour.
Posted: 12/10/16 at 11:35pm
I was there last Saturday afternoon which was cancelled mid-way due to the technical difficulty and medical emergency. Exchanged our tickets for today's matinee and Deborah Cox was out. Completely disappointed as I thought for sure she'd be doing all of the shows. The show itself is good, and the understudy was fine, but there was a difference.
We drove about 2 1/2 hours to get to the theatre again this weekend so there was no way we were going to try to see Deborah on another date.
Oh well, I guess there's no way of knowing if the star will be in or out. Loved Emily Jenda as Nikki - she was Nikki last week as well and I was glad she was back in the role.
Updated On: 12/10/16 at 11:35 PM
Posted: 12/11/16 at 1:13am
Cox is notorious for missing shows
Posted: 12/11/16 at 1:41am
Well, the third time was a charm! I tried three times to see Deborah Cox. Last Sunday I saw Jasmin Richardson. I bought tickets to go back yesterday afternoon, but arrived at the Paper Mill to see she was out. I switched my ticket for the evening show, and went and caught a movie and just enjoyed the lovely town of Millburn before finally catching Deborah Cox at the 8pm show. I am a HUGE fan of Deborah Cox, and have been dying to see her take on this role ever since the national tour was announced.
I am so glad to report that the wait was well worth it. Deborah Cox is giving an extraordinary performance. I would consider this to be the performance of a lifetime (at least for me). She has a powerhouse voice that nearly blows the roof of the Paper Mill. Cox elevates the production to a whole new level with her voice and performance. While Jasmin Richardson was fine in the role when I saw her last week, she was definitely not in the same league as Deborah Cox, but then again, very few are when it comes to singing the famous hits of Whitney Houston.
As I reported in my earlier review from last week, the show is really not in the best of shape. It was easier to overlook the problems with Deborah Cox leading the show, but the writing is still not the greatest, and some of the book scenes have some pretty bad jokes and awkward dialogue. The set is a mixed bag. The opening number and the cabin scene have great sets, while the rest of the show uses awkward sliding panels and frame certain scenes. The lighting is top notch.
I am so glad I finally got to see Deborah Cox take on this role and sing these songs. I am curious to see how the tour will do, and whether or not they will have a scheduled alternate. While the show is far from perfect, it is a lot of fun, and getting to hear Deborah Cox sing these songs is something else.
Posted: 12/11/16 at 2:54am
So I also attended the matinee last week that was cancelled and was able to return to yesterday's matinee. Cox was out but I thoroughly enjoyed Jasmine Richardson (Rachel) and Emily Jenda (Nicki). This show has a cheese factor of 10 especially when I think about those projections at the end but who cares. It is really about hearing Whitney's music anyway. The projections used of the stalker I thought were effective.
I also thought that Judson Mills as Frank Farmer was perfectly cast. He has a lot of masculine sex appeal but the love scenes (book) need work. And please change that first image of him during the projections at the end. The photo looks like he has been out partying for several nights and lacks that manicured polish we have seen all the way through the show.
I agree that, at moments, I was reminded of On Your Feet but the choreography at The Bodyguard was boring. I think this is definitely an area that could use tightening and more creativity. Overall, I had a good time and can easily see this transferring to Broadway based on the music alone.
Posted: 12/11/16 at 2:58am
Ado Annie D'Ysquith said: "Pretty cool that Dionne Warwick attended a performance. Wonder how she felt about the show!
Ado after seeing Ms Warwick perform I would have LOVED to tell her about how I felt about her 'show'.
"
Posted: 12/11/16 at 3:14am
How much did you all pay? I'm totally curious about seeing this show, but seems like most tickets are in the $100 range. While not out of the realm of possibility, I'm also interested in going to Toronto to see it. But can't decide which will be better.
Posted: 12/11/16 at 1:11pm
I've seen both Deborah and Beverley as Rachel (amongst many others!). Deborah definitely gives a more convincing acting performance. She's actually really good. Vocally she is fine, but I found her only giving it all in some numbers. Beverley Knight is a very poor actress, and to a North American audience, her accent wouldn't fly at all. Having said that, her vocals are absolutely thrilling throughout the show. I've seen her several times, and she's got great vocal stamina at all times. Having seen her in concert, the score of BG is actually much less demanding to what she normally does for a living.
Posted: 12/11/16 at 1:15pm
I'm still only ever going to see this if Heather Headley returns to the role.
Posted: 12/11/16 at 1:29pm
I might be wrong, but I believe that in Heather's original contract, it stipulated that if the show were to come to Broadway, she would star (but this was only for a certain number of years after the West End production). The producers may be waiting it out in the hopes of having a bigger name star in the Broadway production, as I have heard that it most likely will not be Deborah.
