I also saw Audra McDonald tonight and was less than thrilled. I had previously seen her in 'Carousel' and was expecting to be captivated. Alas, I was not. First, the Rose Theatre is awful. A big barn. Yes, I was in the balcony and would not recommend it to anyone. Along the ceiling are big square plexi lights which change color periodically serving no other purpose than to distract those of us in the cheap seats. And the seats are very narrow, even by Broadway standards. You can see the brick wall behind the stage as well as pipes, conduits, and a ladder off stage left. Very classy. Secondly, while Audra has a fabulous voice, her choice of material left me cold. Her repertoire was more suited to a small nightclub rather than a big hall. The songs got lost in all that space. Even she acknowledged that her music is 'dark'. Toss us a bone and sing something with a melody! The audience seemed less than thrilled. About half of them stood for the ovation but after a (brief) encore, it looked like everyone stayed seated. The post-show buzz going down the escalator was not terribly enthusiastic either. An underwhelming evening.
'Our whole family shouts. It comes from us livin' so close to the railroad tracks'
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