The Truth About Pirate Queen (A Review) 10/18/06

Ok, i was kind of unsure whether or not i should put up a quick review on the pirate queen tonight. Here it is though:

So, i was excited when my friend called me up and said i needed to get downtown because he got me a ticket for pirate queen. he is such a sweetie. i was excited because i love stephanie block and i cant get on this website without seeing something about the show and my theatre conservatory is 4 blocks away from the theatre so it makes perfect sense that they would want to give out free pirate queen tickets. People in Chicago are all about supporting chicago theatre so...yeah.
Okay, getting to it. i really must say...it was okay. thats my honest reaction. the show itself is just okay. i honestly felt like i dont care as much about the story and the music and dialogue doesnt suck me into the show by any means. THE PERFORMANCES SUCK ME INTO THE SHOW. The Ensemble was absolutely amazing. the energy was up and you could just tell they were thrilled to be a part of this cast and this show. Which can kind of make you sad when you dont love it. i must say that i didnt go into the show with any expectations or anything. i felt like the first 20 minutes of the show i just didnt really have a clue what the hell was going on. the first song seemed so long and i just wanted it to stop. I wasnt really taken by the story or music until the scene 9 song. The song is called "I'll be there" and Hadley Fraser sings it beautifully. His character is lovely and he is just brilliant and i could definitely see him be the next big thing. his performance in the show made me very happy. Stephanie's big number comes shortly after and the woman just went there for me. at first i was like...you're kidding me. Stephanies voice isnt meant to be contained. She just knocked it out of the park and i do believe that she might be grabbing a new boyfriend called Tony this year. this is definitely looking like her year if they really clean up this show before broadway. I mean the woman can sing and definitely ACT...which is refreshing because some stars just cant. Stephanie is truly more than i could have hoped for. This is definitely Hadley and Stephanie's show and they just rock it out of the park. As far as the rest of the show, The dancing was wonderful. The Audience went nuts over the dancing. the ensemble rocks. Besides that i didnt really like the rest. i mean, i am sad that i didnt care about the story and that i didnt care ultimately about the set and the show. i mean bleh. I want this show to be amazing but it could use some cuts and rewrites and a lot of cleaning up. The sword fight were waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay to slow. i wanted to shoot myself in the head. thats all from me for now. i am exhausted. Best of luck to the cast because they are worthy of an amazing show and this could very well be with some clean up. bed time. if you have questions, i am down.

I agree with you completely, soulman, except you put it way nicer than I did on a different thread. I also felt like I had no idea what was going on at the beginning of the show as well and no idea what we as the audience were supposed to be hoping or waiting for. I know that I will get pounced on for being negative again for a show that everyone is so rabidly excited about, but I honestly don't understand what the raves are about from people. I'm honestly wondering if they've seen the show. I agree that the ensemble and the stars are fantastic, but by the end I just wanted the show to be over. I hate that I don't like the show, but it needs major amounts of work in order to get any recognition at the Tonys.

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I've seen teh show twice now and had no trouble hearing/understanding a thing anyone was singing.


I wonder if that has anything to do with being first row center both times.....


i'm seeing it Nov. 2 from the balcony, I'll tell you if I have trouble.

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Boy from Chi-

I agree with you that it is very difficult to understand Queen Elizabeth's lyrics, and I think it is a huge problem with the show. Linda is great in the role, but we need to hear what she's saying to care about the conflict between she and Grace. Hopefully it's something they're working on.

Also, I just responded to the Pirate Queen Update thread regarding the character of Donal. I too am hoping they can clear up for us more of who he is and where he comes from, why he and Grace have to get married, and what pushes him to make the hateful decisions he does. I found him to be one of the more interesting characters, but I too wanted to know more about him.

As far as Eveleen, I got that she was sort of a midwife type, elder of the clan. Almost a mother figure to Grace. I enjoyed her singing at the funeral, although it goes on quite a bit longer than necessary, but as a character, she isn't very developed. It's more of a featured role in the ensemble I think, than one of the principal characters of the piece.

-QB

After resting on the show, i still feel the same way as last night. i just think it needs a lot of work for it to be well recieved in NY and we know how the critics of new york are. i am heading back to home to NY soon so i will definitely be able to catch the show again if they have a rush or lottery or whatever. anyway, i couldnt understand a word queen elizabeth, the book isnt well written and the music is just a little boring. i wish the best for this show for the cast sake. i mean lennon had a great cast too, but hey. funny, i enjoyed lennon way more than this show. thats frustrating.

OMG, so if broadway.com is correct...the Pirate Queen's official bway opening night is April 2nd..My effin 21st bday...

NO shows EVER open on my bday (believe me, I've checked on Ibdb.com in their little date finder thing!)...

and it just so happens to be this show, which I hold so dearly...

now, can I make it to NYC on my bday?

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One thing's for sure, when it comes to the Pirate Queen I'm not "popular", but I did chat with some guys in the band when I saw the show and can answer this one.

They are indeed using a Uilleann pipe player, his name is Kieran O'Hare. While some of the musicians were brought over from Ireland, Kieran is a Chicago native. There's an exposed pipe solo right before the funeral scene that is just stunning. Kieran also plays the Irish whistles.

Although I've criticized many of the Pirate Queen's songs, the Irish music in the show is wonderful and they've got a world class band there. I also want to mention how superb Aine ui Cheallaigh is. She plays Evleen and sings a few haunting solos in Gaelic.

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What makes this thread "The Truth"?

What doesnt make this the truth?