Women on the Verge LAST Show (Sunday 7 p.m.)

[billyboyA]

Posted: 1/2/11 at 10:28pm

What an AMAZING vibe tonight at the last show!! Laura brought down the house several times. At the end of her big 1st act number, she seemed to get hit by a wave of emotion as she left stage. The audience wouldn't STOP applauding. Talk about stopping the show!!

Patti waved a kiss of thanks to the audience after the lights went down after her 2nd act showstopper. Was very sweet and heartfelt.

The taxi driver made a couple of great jokes, including one directed to what was supposedly David Yazbek in the back of the theater at the very beginning. The whole place ERUPTED.

No actors in any show could have hoped for a more warm and excited audience. We were with them from the second they cheered prior to the 1st act curtain.

I didn't get the feeling that Sheree was overly emotional about it as she went through the show - she was just having a ball with it. Whereas, after Laura was finished with each section, you could tell she was trying to hold it together. It was SO HUMAN and SO beautiful...

Same with Patti at moments.

One thing that sort of surprised me - and that's an UNDERSTATEMENT - is that there wasn't SOME sort of curtain speech. Some acknowledgment that the show was closing. Some sort of thanks to the production team.

I'm not criticizing - and I've never been to a Broadway closing, so maybe it's just not done. But as we neared the curtain calls, I thought to myself "here we go - this is going to be emotional!"

But nothing. The audience went NUTS for a good minute or so after the curtain closed, but there was no re-opening. No second round of bows. The lights just went up and it was over. No different than it feels at a random Wed matinee of a long running show.

That was my only disappointment of the night. The people involved in the show, and the audience were ALL feeling pangs of emotion with it being the last one... I wish that someone - a producer or a director... or SOMEONE had stopped with some acknowledgments.

And some flowers for Sheree, Patti and Laura.

After all, even though it's not going out as a hit - there's a level of achievement with this show. Everyone I know HATED it in previews - and these are people I TRUST and RESPECT - and I saw it a couple of months later and LOVED it... therefore, it only stands to reason, that these performers and creative team did, in the end, pull out a wonderful show....