The new NINE CAST - review

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 12:52am

Well, the wait is over! And, it was well worth it.

John Stamos... did it. After Antonio Banderas impressed the hell out of me, Stamos did just that. Despite what others have said, his singing was clear, obviously trained, and pleasant. His acting was phenomenal as well.

Rebecca Luker is astonishing as Claudia. "Unusual Way" is my favorite song in the show, and she added a lot of heart and meaning to it. Eartha Kitt was utterly fantastic. She was hilarious, with a stone-cold personality as Liliane LaFleur. Marni Nixon was predictably great. Mary Stuart Masterson was (once again) moving in the role of Luisa.

As for Sara Gettelfinger as Carla... Well, all I have to say is this: A star has been born. Updated On: 10/10/03 at 12:52 AM

[Seany]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 12:55am

!!!YAY!!!

[WhatDoINeedWithLove?]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 1:24am

YAY! Im so excited to see it now!

[catcher]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 1:33am

Stamos had a voice? When I saw it last night he had none, so it was hard to tell whether it was good or bad.

[broadway86]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 6:28am

Yes, he did have a voice. Having never heard him sing before, I expected him to crack every five minutes. But, he didn't. True, he did go off-key a total of two times... but it was only his fourth time performing such a difficult role.

[hrh]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 9:45am

Stamos didn't have a voice when I saw it either 10/8 matinee. In his favor, I could understand everything he said (not so with Banderas), but I enjoyed the music so much more with Banderas.

It was actually painful to listen to Stamos struggle to stay on-key and to have enough breath to hit notes. He was okay on soft numbers like "Only With You," and the movie sequence songs, but "Guido's Song," "The Bells of St. Sebastian," and "I Can't Make This Movie" were very weak.

OTOH, Gettelfinger, Luker, and the new Little Guido were actually better IMHO than the originals. Luker is warmer and a better actor than Benanti and her voice is golden. Gettelfinger has the fearlessness and belt required for her big number. Daniel M? (can't remember) as Little Guido is very natural, energetic, and has a wonderful clear voice.

So the new cast overall is an improvement. Too bad Nine is not more of an ensemble show 'cause if Guido is weak the whole show suffers. And with Stamos at the center, the show suffers.

hrh

[Al Dente]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 10:00am

This is why stunt casting is SO ridiculous. There's absolutely no need to pollute B'way with "stars" who can barely walk and talk at the same time. I'm thrilled that Gettelfinger is being so well received. I don't know her work but I'm happy for her on principle, alone.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 10:12am

I'm glad Nine is still an enjoyable show to go see. Sara looks stunning as Carla. I love the red wig.

[tpdc]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 12:10pm

You are so right about the actor playing Guido being the key to the show working. Despite wonderful work by Karen Akers, Liliane Montevecchi and especially Anita Morris, I hated the original production due to Raul Julia as Guido. Though I liked him when I saw him on stage in other roles, I thought he was charmless as Guido. He also had tremendous problems with the score at the performance I saw. It hurt my ears to listen to him screech his way through the songs. I think his vocal problems threw his whole performance off. I wound up hating the show. Then when I saw it with Banderas, I actually enjoyed it. The whole thing makes more sense when you have a charming and sexy Guido. And the music sounded great. But I still think it's a show full of gorgeous music that ultimately goes nowhere in the end.

[BwayTheatre11]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 1:01pm

Glad to hear some of you like it! New casts can be scary.

[magruder]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 1:19pm

Raul Julia greatly improved during the run. Word was he had trouble during previews and after opening with the range of the songs, and he has more than a few pinched moments on the recording. But I saw the show several months in (when Maureen McGovern had already replaced Karen Akers, but everyone else was still in), and he sailed through it. He sounded great. Hearing the cast recording later was a bit of a shock to me.

[zoom]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 1:21pm

Hmmm...speaking about performers who are trying to act straight.........................

[tpdc]

Posted: 10/10/03 at 2:39pm

I did see the original production of NINE within days of the opening, so maybe Julia was still having problems with the songs. It got to the point where I looked at my program to see how much more he was going to sing. A friend of mine saw it later in the run and didn't like the show but thought Julia was fine.

[ShbrtAlley44]

Posted: 10/12/03 at 12:02am

I saw it tonight. Stamos was good, but he needs to get a little more into the role...with a few more performances, he should be fine. He needs to work a little on his enunciation. I liked Sara, but not as much as Jane. Marni was sweet, although she sounded a little like a child when she sang, strangely enough, and Eartha just pissed me off. You could tell she was trying to improvise and failing. I miss Chita! Rebecca was lovely, delivering a beautiful rendition of "Unusual Way"; however, she moved around a lot during the song (shaking her head, walking towards John on "you've made me..." and touching him on "whole") I preferred Laura's take, where she stayed away from him. But her vocals were absolutely gorgeous. She sang one wrong line, though, which kind of stopped me from crying :) Overall, the cast is still strong. Stamos just needs to get a better grasp on the character..he appears a little nervous and was very self-deprecating after the show.

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 10/12/03 at 11:31am

I hope the response is good enough to get Nine an open-ended run.