XANADU review 7/1/08

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:07pm

Okay so my friends and I rushed Xanadu today because we all wanted to see Curtis Holbrook go on as Sonny. We got our tickets..there happen to be 3 random seats Orch row G so we were really happy and the house seemed PACKED so I was thrilled.

My initial first thought when Curtis came out in the beginning was WOW he's a lot smaller than Cheyenne hahaha. At first I thought his acting was a little shaky but he TOTALLY grew into the role and was great! Cheyenne's Sonny is more stupid and ditzy while I felt Curtis' Sonny was less stupid and more adorable and cute and loveable. I thought his Don't Walk Away was amazing! He also made fun of Kerry at one point hah it was very cute. If you've seen the show you know that Kerry says "the task is near impossiBOO!" and responded with his and when he said "possible" he exaggereated and was like "possiBOO" and that got a laugh from the audience and Kerry herself, it was really sweet.

Kerry Butler was on FIRE tonight. This was my sixth time seeing it and by far her best performance I thought. Absolutely EVERYTHING she said or did was hilarious I really enjoyed it. She was just AMAZING, she always is.. but tonight was just.. WOW..I loved it. And maybe it was because Curtis wasn't as used to his role as Cheyenne was so she outshined him, but I really think that even if Cheyenne was there she would have been amazing, She was just on a roll tonight and the audience ate up everything she said.

Mary and Jackie never cease to amaze me. Unfortauntely no ad-lib from Jackie I was so upset lol.. but she was still great. Mary seemed to be extra "hissy" tonight.. she hissed everywhere it was HYSTERICAL the audience, again, loved it!

Tony Roberts.. awesome as usual!! Not much to say about him.

And OMG since when is Ryan Watkinson the new Thalia/Young Danny?!?!?! He wasn't even understudying Kyle, Kyles not in the PLaybill anymore.. sorry if its old news but I was shocked and pleasantly surprised, I thought he did wonderful in his roles and his tap dancing was great.

Stagedoor everyone was just amazingly gracious, this is definitely one of the nicest casts on Broadway right now. I got a picture with Curtis because he was the reason I went and is just such a pleasure! Kerry whose my role model/idol/inspiration as some of you already know hahah remembered me still! its soo cool..I'm always so starstruck in front of her but no one else! She asked how I was.. what time this was for me seeing the show and I told her 6 and she was like "Wow your getting up there!" and i said "haha yeah well Hairspray's 8 so im catching up to that!" and she said "Oh well thats the best show!" and i was like "oh I know!" so she was so awesome as always and its jsut such an honor for her to remember me each time. Sometimes she asks for my panrets.. when I was bringing my friends for my sweet sixteen, its just so thoughtful haha. Ryan was so happy I noticed he got promoted to his new role and hes such a sweetie! Everyone else was nice and great as well.

If you haven't seen this show GET OUT THERE AND SEE IT NOW!! It will not disappoint and you'll regret it if you miss out!

I'm really sorry for the long post!

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:13pm

Kyle left the show to be in WICKED.

Ryan will be playing Thalia/Young Danny for July.

Curtis will be going back to his old role when Cheyenne comes back, and Ryan will go back to his old role.

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:16pm

Oh ok.. i knew about Curtis but not about Kyle and Ryan! Well good for Kyle!!! And im happy for Ryan too!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:23pm

Great review, FuturePenny2! I knew that Ryan was going on as Thalia this month, but I thought that wasn't going to start until this weekend.

Have you seen Patti go on at Kira? If you haven't, you should. She's on this weekend and I believe all the Sundays this month. She's amazing, and it'll be a special treat to watch her and Curtis together.

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:27pm

I'm dying to see Patti go on! Especially with Curtis and I know shes on the 5th and 6th but I'll be away on vacation The only reason I ahven't seen her yet is because I haven't been able to bring myself to see the show without Kerry haha because I love her so much haha but I REEALLY wanna see Patti

[dshnookie]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:28pm

Futurepenny2, I was there too - the guy on stage getting touched by Mary Testa :) Great show.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:29pm

is there a new playbill cover or is it still the picture of chey and kerry?

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:32pm

Bundles- the cover is still Kerry and Cheyenne but Cheyenne is no longer on the inside.. Curtis' headshot is where Cheyenne's would be and his name was replaced on the page with all the info.

dshnookie- OMG! Before it happened I was watching you because I knew it was gonna happen and wanted to see your reaction! ahaha! was this your first time to the show? glad you liked it!

[MrBundles]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:35pm

thanks futurepenny!

I'll be revisiting the show from the stage on the 11th! woo!

P.S. Has anyone seen Annie go on?

[dinglehopper89]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:35pm

maybe Kerry was also doing really well because of the packed audience.
so there was more response and the actors really get into it. when the audience is empty and there arent as many laughs sometimes the actors are kind of like 'who are we kidding this isnt fun'

At least that happened with me and the musical my high school did. Friday: so many laughs, hyper audience-we did great
Saturday: everyone in the audience was dead-we suckeddd. After the first number everyone realized the crowd was not going to enjoy the show.

And good review. I really wanna see the show again! I've only seen it once =[[

[dshnookie]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:35pm

My second time, first time I saw it from the orch. I figured I had a 50/50 shot between myself and the guy across from me - glad it was me. I'm very very shy so when she put her hands on my shoulders and whispered 'lights' and the spotlight hit me I wanted to die. It was fantastic though, glad I didnt go with one of the side seats instead :)

[Broadway212]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:36pm

Did they change the playbill cover the one I have says Xanadu with Kerry on the front?

Updated On: 7/1/08 at 11:36 PM

[Wanna Be A Foster]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:37pm

P.S. Has anyone seen Annie go on?

I saw Annie go on for Jackie once. She had a totally different take on the role, but she was adorable.

[MrBundles]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:38pm

thanks foster. I'd LOVE to see her go on.

[timote316]

Posted: 7/1/08 at 11:44pm

I saw Patti and Annie (on for Jackie) back in January, and both were fantastic.

So, they are going without a second male swing while Cheyenne is in Damn Yankees (Marty Thomas being the first)? That could present some problems, no?

[Actor2]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 12:38am

I'm seeing the show Saturday night with Patti.

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 2:13am

So wait, after July when he's done playing Sonny, Curtis will definitely be back as Thalia and his other previous roles?

Or is this just a rumor?

[sbflyfan]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 2:14am

So wait, after July when he's done playing Sonny, Curtis will definitely be back as Thalia and his other previous roles?

Or is this just a rumor?

[Steve2]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 4:21am

I'm really sorry for the long post!

No, thanks for taking the time to write the detailed review! Where else can we get information like this, and good to hear about Curtis. An interesting observation on Kerry Butler's performance as well.

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 1:44pm

Aw thank you Steve2!

[MimiLovesRoger]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 1:52pm

Wow thanks for the review!
I'm seeing the show tomorrow and I cannot wait!

[FuturePenny2]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 1:59pm

you'll love it! have a fun time!!

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 2:03pm

sbflyfan, Curtis is definitely going back to his original role in August.

I've seen Annie on for Jackie twice. Very different, but still great!

[Dolly_Levi]

Posted: 7/2/08 at 2:43pm

Are there any Curtis as Sonny pics?
Are his shorts as short as Cheyenne's?
HA!

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 7/3/08 at 12:58am

Wasn't Kyle already in Wicked? Was he just in the show while Curtis was away doing Saved?