#1
Posted: 12/20/08 at 12:41am
The other thread was really long so I just thought I'd start one with my own review.
I am have a very close bond with this show as I played Baby John two times before. It is one of my favorite musicals of all time, so I was very excited to see this "new" interpretation.
Note: Fire alarm went off in the middle of Act Two, waited outside for 20 minutes, then went right back in and the show picked right up.
Overall, the show was excellent. The singing, dancing, acting was all top notch except for some minor quibbles, more on that later. The strongest links in the show are Karen Olivio as Anita, Josefina as Maria, Curtis as Action, and the guy playing Doc (no playbill right now, sorry) They all had amazing performances and were so natural and real on that stage. Karen is an amazing actress, the "rape" scene is thrilling and there were alot of audible gasps throughout the house. She wasn't the best dancer, but her amazing stage presence made up for it. Great performance. Josefina has a beautiful voice, and her acting throughout was believable, still has more to work out on the final scene, way too rushed moment wise. Curtis Holbrook was explosive! You could just see the rage and anger pouring from his veins. He was the most believable and versatile performer on that stage, his Krupke was great.
The rest of the cast was uniformly good. It is clear that they are all amazing dancers, but that the singing and acting is kind of lacking. The dance numbers are incredible with the book scenes besides "the rape" being a bit flat.
The only weak link per say would be Matt Cavenaugh. We couldn't figure out what we didn't like. His voice is ok, a little too much virbratto for my taste, but pleasant. His acting was serviceable, but he used the same accent from Joe Kennedy in Grey Gardens and it came off kind of cheesy and fake. He overplayed the moments and his last scene was too rushed as with Maria above. I think he is just too old for the part also. I don't know. Something just felt off and wierd.
Other notes: The set was fine, nothing amazing, but good looking. I liked the the set for the rumble sequence, very cool. They can get rid of the projections, they look dumb and not part of the show. Draws your attention away from what is happening.
The spanish was actually really cool and the subtitles didn't take away from the show at all. It was refreshing to hear Spanish text for the different songs and book scenes. I really liked it.
One complaint I do have is the final scene. It needs to be gut wrenching and sob inducing. They rushed everything and I think they need to carry Tony out with Maria following in her shawl rather than a fade out on him just lying there with her crying next to him. The moments were all rushed, the bullet went off and he was dead within 5 seconds and her singing was even quicker than that. It was only scene that needs some serious fixing.
All in all, great show. Go see it! I would give it 4 ouf of 5 stars.
I am have a very close bond with this show as I played Baby John two times before. It is one of my favorite musicals of all time, so I was very excited to see this "new" interpretation.
Note: Fire alarm went off in the middle of Act Two, waited outside for 20 minutes, then went right back in and the show picked right up.
Overall, the show was excellent. The singing, dancing, acting was all top notch except for some minor quibbles, more on that later. The strongest links in the show are Karen Olivio as Anita, Josefina as Maria, Curtis as Action, and the guy playing Doc (no playbill right now, sorry) They all had amazing performances and were so natural and real on that stage. Karen is an amazing actress, the "rape" scene is thrilling and there were alot of audible gasps throughout the house. She wasn't the best dancer, but her amazing stage presence made up for it. Great performance. Josefina has a beautiful voice, and her acting throughout was believable, still has more to work out on the final scene, way too rushed moment wise. Curtis Holbrook was explosive! You could just see the rage and anger pouring from his veins. He was the most believable and versatile performer on that stage, his Krupke was great.
The rest of the cast was uniformly good. It is clear that they are all amazing dancers, but that the singing and acting is kind of lacking. The dance numbers are incredible with the book scenes besides "the rape" being a bit flat.
The only weak link per say would be Matt Cavenaugh. We couldn't figure out what we didn't like. His voice is ok, a little too much virbratto for my taste, but pleasant. His acting was serviceable, but he used the same accent from Joe Kennedy in Grey Gardens and it came off kind of cheesy and fake. He overplayed the moments and his last scene was too rushed as with Maria above. I think he is just too old for the part also. I don't know. Something just felt off and wierd.
Other notes: The set was fine, nothing amazing, but good looking. I liked the the set for the rumble sequence, very cool. They can get rid of the projections, they look dumb and not part of the show. Draws your attention away from what is happening.
The spanish was actually really cool and the subtitles didn't take away from the show at all. It was refreshing to hear Spanish text for the different songs and book scenes. I really liked it.
One complaint I do have is the final scene. It needs to be gut wrenching and sob inducing. They rushed everything and I think they need to carry Tony out with Maria following in her shawl rather than a fade out on him just lying there with her crying next to him. The moments were all rushed, the bullet went off and he was dead within 5 seconds and her singing was even quicker than that. It was only scene that needs some serious fixing.
All in all, great show. Go see it! I would give it 4 ouf of 5 stars.
