#1
Posted: 3/28/05 at 2:36am
Alright, here goes: Don't read this if you don't want any spoilers.
I HAD THE BEST TIME! It was soooo much fun. Yes, the story is a bit lame. It's for children. And what can I say, I felt seven again. I'm just going to break it down into actors and their characters.
Oh, real quick. Someone had mentioned they wanted a good and proper Overture. Well, it was probably just me, but it seemed to last FOREVER! I mean it was loooooong. So, who ever that person was, they should be happy. Alright, now on to the actors and the characters they play...
Damn, one more thing! I just wanted to say how amazed I was to see the show go so smoothly. Congrats to the crew for doing such a wonderful job.
Kevin Cahoon-So, first off. My absolute favorite character in the show is the Childcatcher. He is so cool. If I were a child, he would scare the ****e out of me. But as I am an adult, I find him extremely sexy. Ah yes, what can I say. I've always been into the whole whiteface thing. He's sadly not in the show very much, but when he is, I am a *very* happy person. I didn't know so much the wonders of Kevin Cahoon before tonight. I had only heard he was one talented mofo. But I can now certainly say, he IS one talented mofo. He has one number. It's "Kiddy-Winky-Winkies" and it is brilliant. I can't imagine Mr. Richard O'Brien's performance to be any better. And I ADORE me some Mr. Richard O'Brien. So I met Kevin afterward. He is the sweetest guy ever, and absolutely adorable in person. I think Gregory Maguire should write a novel about the Childcatcher through his eyes. Hell, I'd read it.
*************SPOILER*************
Towards the end of the show, when "the good guys take over", they put the Childcatcher in a net and raise him up over the audience to the control room at the top of the theatre. It was so neat. The crowd ooohed and ahhhhhed on that one...
Robert Sella and Chip Zien: I'm putting these two actors in the same group because there charactars are side kicks. You never see the one without the other. Their characters are the strangely lovable Boris and Goran. First of all, Chip Zien is a living legend in my book. I have had a crush on him for quite sometimes, and seeing him on stage tonight was such a thrill. And Robert Sella. I was really anticipating him as an actor becuase he was the Emcee in Cabaret. They are unbelievable. Their comedic timing was perfect, and they play off of each other so well. Again, I love the white faces. They have a number called "Act English" that almost killed me." Robert, is great on the spot too. In the very beginning of the show, Truly's motorbike thingy malfunctioned and wouldn't ride off stage. Robert, who is on stage at this time with Chip says "let me help you with that good lady" and proceeds to push it off stage. It was hysterical. Then, he adds another line that I didn't quite get because the audience roared with applause. So cute.
Erin Dilly who is Truly Scrumptious. Okay, I didn't really like Erin Dilly as much as the girl who's on the London Cast Recording. Erin doesn't have as good of a belt. But, that actually works because Raul Esparza is not nearly as vocally strong as Michael Ball. But more on him later. I really liked how they made Truly in the show a stronger woman than she was in the movie. Maybe stronger isn't the best word choice. I guess I'm trying to say, she wasn't as froo froo. I was really looking forward to "Doll on a Music Box", and it was adorable. And Raul as a rag doll... But yes, more on him in a second...
Marc Kudisch as Baron Bomburst. I have seen Marc in more shows than any other actor. I love his nice thick baritone voice. It's very near perfect. At times, his charactar reminded me of Mr. Graydon in Millie. Perhaps it's because they are both spoiled. Who knows. Anyways, he is absolutely hysterical. I'm convinced now this man could play any role. In the show, he has this obsession with toys, and in particular this teddy bear. It was crazy. And, I have two words for you. "Bombie Samba". I howled throughout this number. Well first of all, Marc is dancing in this very strange pair of pants. And he's a nice big guy. And well, it was funny. His facial expressions are priceless. Especially in the number called "Choochie Face". ****Spoiler**** It's a number he does with the Baroness, and the costumes are red and black. And well, Mr. Manly Man himself, Marc Kudisch, is wearing a corset. And, he wears it well... Again, I had the same exact problem with Marc's character as I did with Kevin's. Neither one of them are on stage enough. They are both such great characters, and there parts are sadly, minimal.
Philip Bosco played Grandpa Potts. He was lovable. That's going to have to do for now.
Chitty-I hate to say it, but I was impressed with the flying car. It's done so well.
The dogs- The dogs are absolutely precious. Tonight, one of them liked the limelight a little too much, and the trainer had to drag it off stage. A diva was born.
And...
Raul Esparza fondly known as Cactus Potts. Well, I really didn't know what to expect from him. I was even afraid to speculate. For those of you who were wondering if he could pull this off, he can. Not only does he pull it off, but he convinces you every step of the way. He CAN be a daddy. And he's a great one at that.
However, I'm proud to say the man still struts on stage. He has such a confidnece on stage that I don't see very often. His numbers all have somewhat of a big finish as my friend points out. I was most looking forward to the "Hushabe Mountain" number. It was great. I say this with all the love and respect... he isn't Michael Ball. His voice isn't as strong on this song as I would have liked for it to have been. *ahem* Could that be from the smoking, yes, I think it could! Of course , when it really mattered he pulled through for a great finish. The refrain was perfect. All the power it needed, but still able to be such a beautiful soft lullabye.
The number of his that I actually enjoyed the most was the "Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious" duet. His voice was like soft velvet, and he sung it with such emotion. Something he has quite a talent for. When he tells Truly he loves her in the song, I got a knot in my throat. He is such a great actor.
I am also to say that Raul has brought to this character, some of the same things he had for Phillip. There are times when he does the graveling *very hard to understand gravel thing* that Phillip always did. The "you brought me diayyyymonds" kind of growl. And, surprisingly enough, it works just as well here as it did in Taboo. He also brings a lot of Phillips attitude to the character. Honestly, he plays Cactus as kind of a ****e head. The man is hard headed and stubborn. He doesn't want to be told he's wrong, and has a hard time admitting it when he is. And that reminded me of Phillip. Yet, all the while, he manages to make the character this extremely lovable and truly good man. Please excuse the expression. In a word, he is perfect.
There is a lot of dancing. In "Me Ol'e Bamboo" there is a scene where he steps over the bamboo stick, puts it in between his legs, and says "ow". Ha ha, it's cute. Sadly, there is no actual leaping over them like there is in the movie. You know, the way Dick Van Dyke jumped over the brooms in Mary Poppins. It is still heavily involved on Raul's part, and I was watching him trying to catch his breathe after the number. He was exhausted.
As am I after writing this review...
This show isn't the crap I was expecting it to be. It is a bit lame, but the actors in this show play their parts so so well. "It's fantasmagorical!" The whole bit with the Childcather is stunning. It's a cool show. And it's not like Raul is pulling the whole show like I thought it would be. The actors are going to do a fine job of sharing that task. Thank god, that will make things a bit easier for Mr. Raul Esparza. I think this is going to be quite the hit.
I HAD THE BEST TIME! It was soooo much fun. Yes, the story is a bit lame. It's for children. And what can I say, I felt seven again. I'm just going to break it down into actors and their characters.
Oh, real quick. Someone had mentioned they wanted a good and proper Overture. Well, it was probably just me, but it seemed to last FOREVER! I mean it was loooooong. So, who ever that person was, they should be happy. Alright, now on to the actors and the characters they play...
Damn, one more thing! I just wanted to say how amazed I was to see the show go so smoothly. Congrats to the crew for doing such a wonderful job.
Kevin Cahoon-So, first off. My absolute favorite character in the show is the Childcatcher. He is so cool. If I were a child, he would scare the ****e out of me. But as I am an adult, I find him extremely sexy. Ah yes, what can I say. I've always been into the whole whiteface thing. He's sadly not in the show very much, but when he is, I am a *very* happy person. I didn't know so much the wonders of Kevin Cahoon before tonight. I had only heard he was one talented mofo. But I can now certainly say, he IS one talented mofo. He has one number. It's "Kiddy-Winky-Winkies" and it is brilliant. I can't imagine Mr. Richard O'Brien's performance to be any better. And I ADORE me some Mr. Richard O'Brien. So I met Kevin afterward. He is the sweetest guy ever, and absolutely adorable in person. I think Gregory Maguire should write a novel about the Childcatcher through his eyes. Hell, I'd read it.
*************SPOILER*************
Towards the end of the show, when "the good guys take over", they put the Childcatcher in a net and raise him up over the audience to the control room at the top of the theatre. It was so neat. The crowd ooohed and ahhhhhed on that one...
Robert Sella and Chip Zien: I'm putting these two actors in the same group because there charactars are side kicks. You never see the one without the other. Their characters are the strangely lovable Boris and Goran. First of all, Chip Zien is a living legend in my book. I have had a crush on him for quite sometimes, and seeing him on stage tonight was such a thrill. And Robert Sella. I was really anticipating him as an actor becuase he was the Emcee in Cabaret. They are unbelievable. Their comedic timing was perfect, and they play off of each other so well. Again, I love the white faces. They have a number called "Act English" that almost killed me." Robert, is great on the spot too. In the very beginning of the show, Truly's motorbike thingy malfunctioned and wouldn't ride off stage. Robert, who is on stage at this time with Chip says "let me help you with that good lady" and proceeds to push it off stage. It was hysterical. Then, he adds another line that I didn't quite get because the audience roared with applause. So cute.
Erin Dilly who is Truly Scrumptious. Okay, I didn't really like Erin Dilly as much as the girl who's on the London Cast Recording. Erin doesn't have as good of a belt. But, that actually works because Raul Esparza is not nearly as vocally strong as Michael Ball. But more on him later. I really liked how they made Truly in the show a stronger woman than she was in the movie. Maybe stronger isn't the best word choice. I guess I'm trying to say, she wasn't as froo froo. I was really looking forward to "Doll on a Music Box", and it was adorable. And Raul as a rag doll... But yes, more on him in a second...
Marc Kudisch as Baron Bomburst. I have seen Marc in more shows than any other actor. I love his nice thick baritone voice. It's very near perfect. At times, his charactar reminded me of Mr. Graydon in Millie. Perhaps it's because they are both spoiled. Who knows. Anyways, he is absolutely hysterical. I'm convinced now this man could play any role. In the show, he has this obsession with toys, and in particular this teddy bear. It was crazy. And, I have two words for you. "Bombie Samba". I howled throughout this number. Well first of all, Marc is dancing in this very strange pair of pants. And he's a nice big guy. And well, it was funny. His facial expressions are priceless. Especially in the number called "Choochie Face". ****Spoiler**** It's a number he does with the Baroness, and the costumes are red and black. And well, Mr. Manly Man himself, Marc Kudisch, is wearing a corset. And, he wears it well... Again, I had the same exact problem with Marc's character as I did with Kevin's. Neither one of them are on stage enough. They are both such great characters, and there parts are sadly, minimal.
Philip Bosco played Grandpa Potts. He was lovable. That's going to have to do for now.
Chitty-I hate to say it, but I was impressed with the flying car. It's done so well.
The dogs- The dogs are absolutely precious. Tonight, one of them liked the limelight a little too much, and the trainer had to drag it off stage. A diva was born.
And...
Raul Esparza fondly known as Cactus Potts. Well, I really didn't know what to expect from him. I was even afraid to speculate. For those of you who were wondering if he could pull this off, he can. Not only does he pull it off, but he convinces you every step of the way. He CAN be a daddy. And he's a great one at that.
However, I'm proud to say the man still struts on stage. He has such a confidnece on stage that I don't see very often. His numbers all have somewhat of a big finish as my friend points out. I was most looking forward to the "Hushabe Mountain" number. It was great. I say this with all the love and respect... he isn't Michael Ball. His voice isn't as strong on this song as I would have liked for it to have been. *ahem* Could that be from the smoking, yes, I think it could! Of course , when it really mattered he pulled through for a great finish. The refrain was perfect. All the power it needed, but still able to be such a beautiful soft lullabye.
The number of his that I actually enjoyed the most was the "Doll on a Music Box/Truly Scrumptious" duet. His voice was like soft velvet, and he sung it with such emotion. Something he has quite a talent for. When he tells Truly he loves her in the song, I got a knot in my throat. He is such a great actor.
I am also to say that Raul has brought to this character, some of the same things he had for Phillip. There are times when he does the graveling *very hard to understand gravel thing* that Phillip always did. The "you brought me diayyyymonds" kind of growl. And, surprisingly enough, it works just as well here as it did in Taboo. He also brings a lot of Phillips attitude to the character. Honestly, he plays Cactus as kind of a ****e head. The man is hard headed and stubborn. He doesn't want to be told he's wrong, and has a hard time admitting it when he is. And that reminded me of Phillip. Yet, all the while, he manages to make the character this extremely lovable and truly good man. Please excuse the expression. In a word, he is perfect.
There is a lot of dancing. In "Me Ol'e Bamboo" there is a scene where he steps over the bamboo stick, puts it in between his legs, and says "ow". Ha ha, it's cute. Sadly, there is no actual leaping over them like there is in the movie. You know, the way Dick Van Dyke jumped over the brooms in Mary Poppins. It is still heavily involved on Raul's part, and I was watching him trying to catch his breathe after the number. He was exhausted.
As am I after writing this review...
This show isn't the crap I was expecting it to be. It is a bit lame, but the actors in this show play their parts so so well. "It's fantasmagorical!" The whole bit with the Childcather is stunning. It's a cool show. And it's not like Raul is pulling the whole show like I thought it would be. The actors are going to do a fine job of sharing that task. Thank god, that will make things a bit easier for Mr. Raul Esparza. I think this is going to be quite the hit.
"What a mystery this world. One day you love them and the next day you want to kill them a thousand times over." The Masked Bandit in THE FALL
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