WAITING FOR THE MOON - Wildhorn's Latest — Page 4

hey everyone. I saw Waiting for the Moon last night in the middle of no-where New Jersey. (People down there we met even asked.."you came here from New York to see this?")
But, YES, a couple friends and I did drive down there to see it, and it was worth it!! Not only was it worth it, it was an awesesome show. Also, I am admittedly not a Frank WIldhorn fan, and I loved it. The music was incredible. Very Cole Porter-eque melodies. The plot was easy to follow. You really felt for Zelda and Scott. It had all the elements of a broadway hit.

Now, the show does have its flaws. They need to tidy up the book and the lyrics a bit. I also felt some of its problems would fix itself with a larger budget. However, I can see the potential in this show.

Lauren Kennedy was incredible. If they do move the show to NY, I really hope they keep her. Jarrod Emick is adorable. He was great, but I think he can make his performance even better.

So, if you're in New Jersey, go see it! (Let's just say it was a little adventure to get there....)

I wish this show the best of luck, and really hope to see a polished version on Broadway in the next few seasons.

With "Waiting for the Moon" obviously aimed for Broadway, and Jarrod Emick starting rehearsal the week following its closing in New Jersey for (the also-Broadway bound) "Ring of Fire : The Music of Johnny Cash" (Buffalo in Sept., San Francisco in Feb., then Broadway)...he might have a choice of which Broadway musical he wants to star in...if all goes well.

Emick played Johnny Cash in a developmental version of "Ring of Fire" last fall - back when it was about the life of Johnny Cash...but they've since dropped the characters and the life story approach - and Richard Maltby, now aboard as director, is making it into a collection of Johnny Cash songs in a revue format.

IssaMe, that IS interesting. Thank you for the information.

Marrydother - I saw Linda Eder at the same theater complex. The auditorium didn't remind me of a professional theater, but more of a high school auditorium. It's surprising how many professional shows are done at the complex.

Just make sure you follow the directions to get there on the website. Mapquets or Mapblast won't do a great job. It IS in the middle of nowhere, but not far off the NJ Turnpike Exit 4.

True, it may be considered an auditorium to many and how fortunate for those students to have the use of a state of the arts venue. There was a big article in the S.J. Courier Post about the transformation and success of these "high school auditoriums" into state of the arts PACS.

But if you ask 90% of the performers they will tell you they LOVE them. Close to NYC, excellent staff, great audiences, valuable try-out venues, easy access, nice areas. OK... done plugging.

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Updated On: 7/25/05 at 09:34 AM

From the Talkin' Broadway review:

WAITING FOR THE MOON is the second F. Scott Fitzgerald musical that I have seen this season. The other one, Peter Mills’ THE PURSUIT OF PERSEPHONE which was workshopped by Manhattan’s Prospect Theatre, essentially covered Fitzgerald's years at Princeton University. I commend it to Messrs. Wildhorn and Murphy. It could teach them much about Scott Fitzgerald. More importantly, it could provide them an excellent object lesson on how to construct a musical."


Personally, I thought PERSEPHONE was the best score I had heard this season - an astonishingly fine group of bright and tuneful Cole Porteresque melodies with erudite clever lyrics.

I hope Wildhorn's show does not squash the future chances for Peter Mill's superb score, which I am hungering to see recorded.

If will be very intertsting to see if Wildhorn liked the score as much as I do.

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I personally can't wait for Wildhorn's score to be recorded.

so sorry i missed it! i hope it has a regional life or gets recorded at least...

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IssaMe - is it official that this show will be moving to Broadway? I never read any information about this.

Thanks for clearing it up, Pati B.

Mo3, I PM'd you.

Lauren Kennedy has a song from the show on her new CD, which you can get on the PS Classics site.