Zippy's RENT and Avenue Q reviews

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:22am

Lets start with Avenue Q. As i mentioned in another ave q thread, WOW!!!! I am in love with this show! I enjoyed the cast tremendeslly and i think everyone should see the show with John. He was just so amazing and really nice. The rest of the cast was great too. Really i have nothing bad to say.

Now skip to Sunday- WOn the Rent lotto! Yeah second row center baby! It was Jeremy's second to last show, tear! I was pleased by the show overall. Krystal was amazing as an actress but there is something about her voice that just annoys me. She was crying at the end because i think it was also her second to last show. Phillup was Collins. I didn't care for him. He showed no emotion. Also Drew was just ok. Nothing great but not horriable. Justin was angel and he was just great! The cast overall had great chemistry and they were all having fun on stage which was nice to see. Afterwards we met Jeremy and he was really nice. DOes anyone know what he is doing next?

sorry for lack of details. If you have questions, just ask!

[BEKA531]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:27am

you won rent lottery? how many people were there? maybe i should try next week during midterm week instead of waiting...

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:35am

there were quite a few. Actually more crowded then i have seen it! It was Jeremy's and Krystal's second to last performance so maybe that had something to do with it. THe show i think was sold out because they were selling standing room. And good luck!

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:42am

I saw the show yesterday too! That's so cool! I wanted to go to the stage door but my mom didn't want to, so we left. I liked Collins but didn't like Drew at all. Everyone else was great.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:45am

My review from last night: (SRO)

Roger - Jeremy
Mark - Drew
Collins - Philip*
Benny - D'Monroe
Joanne - Merle
Angel - Justin
Mimi - Krystal
Maureen - Kelly
Mark's mom et al - Caren
Caroler et al - Destan
Mrs Jefferson - Frenchie
Gordon - Colin
Steve - Enrico
Paul - Nick
Alexi - Mayumi

GREAT audience; best I've heard in a long time. Packed, sell out crowd with a pretty long cancellation line. =)

Jeremy was back and in incredible form today. OSG in particular was very moving, and he had a difficult time getting through Your Eyes, emotionally. I know that by Tuesday I'll be very excited to see Cary, but for now let me say that Jeremy is one of the finest Roger's I've ever seen. Tomorrow is going to be rough. Jeremy was having a little too much fun during LVB; he and Mayumi seemed to be having some sort of um, masturbation contest during Mark's opening. And if anyone could figure out what the hell he and Krystal were doing in HNY, I'd be interested in an explanation.

OK, remember all those things that Drew picked up about enunciation and character? Forget them; they're all gone. I know he's been sick, but he was just off tonight.

Philip is markedly improved as Collins, though very weak in ICYR. Poor Jeremy, standing to his right, easily overpowered him. Still, not a bad job at all, and like I said, better than I've seen him do.

Justin is the greatest. Charm, sass, and those moves! It took me a few times to warm to him, but now I'm a big, big fan.

Krystal - nothing new, a solid, good performance. Same with Merle and D'Monroe.

Kelly has a sexah new haircut (or, new in the last week or so). Tonight she was really powerful, as an actress and singer. Right up there with Maggie in connection with the character.

Caren has me scared for tomorrow night (she's doing Maureen for a week). She's absolutely adorable, and seems to have a nice voice, but she's not very comedic, is she? For a rared up audience not to laugh on the "call your mother" line, something's got to be amiss. Maureen is a demanding comedic role, so we'll see.

Maymi and Colin were their usual amazing selves. Destan and Frenchie both with solid performances as well. I had the same problems with Enrico that I always do.

A good show, to say the very least. Looking forward to tomorrow. (and Tuesday. Oy.)

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:50am

Mark's Mom doesn't give one all that much to work with. I've seen Caren in her own show (and granted, she did write it) and she was really hilarious. She's a very talented actress, and I'm sure her Maureen is going to be a bit more impressive than Mark's Mom can allow.

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 11:51am

Thanks, zippy and theGa. I really wanted to see Jeremy again, but time was against me.

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:01pm

I though Phillup was emotionless. I didn't even feel like crying during ICY:R! I am going to miss jeremy! Out of the seven times i have seen the show, he was roger for six of the shows. He is just amazing and really sweet! THe cast didn't come out for a while. Caren, i liked her but didn't really notice her. I love Colin though and the audience was great! My friend and i were mooing really loudly as was the who ochrestra!!!!!!

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:06pm

I got SRO, because I'm a big lotto loser :) I was the only one mooing back there. It was disappointing. Luckily tonight I'm going with my best friend, who moos louder than anyone I've ever heard :)

Didn't cry through ICYR, but did through OSG.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:16pm

My sister and her friends were also mooing really loudly.

[GirlfriendFromCanada]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:18pm

Maybe it's just me, but I only moo when the Maureen makes me WANT to moo. Kelly just doesn't do it for me. Though, if I'm the front row, I moo anyway so I don't look bad.

I'm going to miss the Kushnier. The more I think about it, the more I realize how much.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:23pm

Kushnier was great. I would always pray for him to start singing when Drew was singing.

[TabooWickedFan]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:28pm

see i too did the Avenue Q/Rent at night day. I havent seen Rent since last summer and I was so excited to see it again.

I was there yesterday as well and here is my review;

Jeremy-Roger
Wow. He blew me away, I have seen him once or twice before and I thought his performance was phenominal. His One Song Glory fantastic and he had so much emotion. He kept making me tear up during all his emotional scenes with Krystal. Oh his chemistry with Krystal was outstanding, Another day blew me away. This in my opinion was one the best performances I have seen from him, he will be missed so much. You can tell him and Krystal were savioring every moment on stage together. Oh and he was really goofy yesterday during Happy New Year it was so cute. They are a great Mimi and Roger pair and Im said to see both of them go.

Drew-Mark
I have heard a lot of bad things about his performance and everything so I was a little weary but I try to go in with an open mind when it comes to seeing some one new and Drew was no different. I liked him, not my favorite Mark mind you but I liked him. You could tell he was a little nasal at points but I thought he had good chemistry with everyone, making Merle laugh during TM but overall I liked his performance. I was surprised cause I thought i wouldn't.

*Phillip-Collins
I haven't seen a different Collins in a long time and when I saw his name up on the board I was excited to see someone new. Though it was is different to not see MRF I enjoyed his performance as Collins a lot. His chemistry with Justin was great, he was very emotional when he needed to be and his ICYR made me cry. Overall he was on last night and I was so happy to see him do the role.

D'Monroe-Benny
He tried some new riffs here and there last night, trying to spice it up a little bit. He is usually always on nothing new but I enjoyed him. He always does a great job.

Merle-Joanne
Fantastic. One of my favorite Joanne's. Her TMOLM was on fire with Kelly last night. She seems to be having so much fun up there (they all did) and what a voice she has. She was so great

Justin-Angel
WOW. WOW. WOW. He was amazing. They should have given him this part a long long time ago. He has an amazing voice and such a stage presence. His chemistry with Philip was wonderful and he tried new things as Angel that I had never seen before. Man can this boy dance, he was so on last night so happy to see he is in this role and enjoying himself as much as he as.

Krystal-Mimi
The first time I saw her I really didn't like her take on Mimi and then when I saw her name on the board I was like hmm. But I take most of what i said back. She was so awesome last night. SHe seemed to be enjoying every minute on stage and her Good Bye Love with Jeremy she was sobbing which in turn lead to me crying. She has such a voice and her chemistry with Jeremy was so outstanding. Though she has a few moments of jerky movements it was sutle and I enjoyed her a lot last night. She had so much emotion that from Your Eyes to the end her and Jeremy were both crying

Kelly-Maureen
This was my first time seeing her and I was excited to see a new face. I enjoyed her performance last night, she has an amazing voice and her and Merle during TMOLM was amazing and Over the Moon was hysterical. She had a great performance last night

Ensemble-
They were all amazing and very full of energy and seemed to be having a lot of fun. They were all great. Frenchie's solo was really really good better than the last time I saw it. Mayumi should get more credit in reviews because this girl never has a dull performance and she was so on last night, amazing dancing.

It seemed that the audience was getting into the show which is always great to see and the theater was pretty much full. I sat Row A mezz on the side which is such a great seat and all of the mezz was full. So the day was awesome, got pictures with Drew, and Jeremy and while waiting for them do you know who was trying to get in to see his friends? none other than MATT CAPLAN. that was a pleasant surprise so i took a picture with him and he was signing autographs. he said he is trying to get some gigs perhaps at the Knitting factory which should be fun.

well sorry so long but if you read the whole things Thanks!

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:37pm

nice review, Taboo!

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:42pm

Great review!

[TabooWickedFan]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 12:48pm

thanks! oh i forgot to say that Jeremy i believe is going into the studio in Feb. and is going to rest and hopes to be doing some gigs later on

[zippyjen]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 7:21pm

matt was there? I love that man!! I am so glad you also enjoyed the show. I found with lotto that it really is all luck. I won twice out the five times i have tried.

[TabooWickedFan]

Posted: 1/17/05 at 8:11pm

yea luck in the draw lol maybe i will try for lotto...some day. yea matt was there i think he was trying to be very low key but he was extremely nice signing playbills and such