JUST BACK FROM WHOOPI'S FIRST!!!
as per miss pennywise...
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The "Power Point" review, from the "Suddenly" seats...
* "Oh hey!" got huge applause, at least 30 seconds - I think audiences for the next six weeks are going to be in an amazing mood.
* In the audience, Eric Benet and Caroline Rhea.
* Andre on as Melpomene, Marty on as Terspiscore, making Broadway debut tonight as Featured Skater was Jacon ben Widmar. Curtis back as Thalia full-time.
* The Playbill has Whoopi above Kerry and Cheyenne.
* I'm Alive: Huge applause to Whoopi's introduction; Whoopi has the last line in the "role call". First time we notice that Andre is not only covering for Mary, but also doing some major hand-holding for Whoopi, who does not have any of the choreography down (almost clothes-lining Kenita at one point).
* Kerry/Andre dialogue: Andre has a hysterical reaction to "My old, old and potentially senile sister." that actually stops the show cold with laughter, and Kerry has to re-start her line.
* Evil Woman: Probably the crowning moment of the evening. Andre and Whoopi are clearly having a ball working off each other in the dialogue. "He my baby daddy!" gets probably the biggest laugh of the night (bravo Andre!), followed closely by Whoopi's reply to the daughters' names: "See, that's why they think black people can't name their babies!" I can see Kerry offstage right doubling over in laughter, and hear the ensemble behind me cracking up.
* Whenever You're Away From Me: Just mentioning because it was great to have Curtis back doing his tap solo, which got loud and extended applause. Also, the "nickel bag" line introduced recently has stuck around, though it didn't get a good a laugh without Curtis as Sonny to receive it.
* Don't Walk Away: the clarinet doesn't break properly and cast has to try and pick up the pieces for the next five minutes; I stop watching to look for metal pieces like there's anything I can about it (stage manager in me); otherwise, Cheyenne rocks the song as only he can.
Whoopi is doing alright. Not landing the jokes very strongly, and the normal Jackie ad-lib moment did not go over well. Then we hit...Whoopi as Aphrodite. Here's where we realize she should've had a lot more rehearsal then she did. Why you ask? Well, first, there's the index cards. They first pop out when she does the Aphrodite monologue, and it's actually kind of funny. When you see she has to read off the cards for the rest of the show, it becomes distracting, and all her jokes fall flat. But the cast does a tremondous job picking up the slack, and the audience doesn't really care, and we're having fun watching her enjoy herself. It's Whoopi and you know she'll get into the swing of things in a couple of days with a bit of on-the-job training.
But I do want to give a special nod to the cast for not only putting on an amazing performance, but also being able to do so while looking for metal debris on the stage and also having to guide Whoopi around the stage.
And a special MVP to Andre for being able to make us actually say "Mary who?" If you get to see Andre this week for Mary, you will be in for a major treat.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008
Updated On: 7/29/08 at 10:36 PM
