I just saw the show last night and it is so much better than the two times I saw it in previews. Now a good few months into the run, everyone really seems relaxed and now more into making sure the audience is enjoying themselves. While some of the lyrics are hit or miss, the score continues to enthrall me, and the orchestrations are some of the most compelling and unique I've ever experienced, even compared to the UK production, which I saw a year ago. The choreography is so much fun to watch, and the costumes are just gorgeous.
Manu Narayan, who I was very unsure of in previews, has matured quite a bit in the role and I can say now justifies his leading man status. He does wonders with an occasionally creaky script, even makes the one cringe-inducing scene in the show (the Miss India pageant) a lot more fun than I remember. And may I say, he's a lot hotter than I remember...Anyway, Ayesha Dharker (Rani) is such a freakin' hoot, she cracks me up more every time I see her! Sriram Ganeshan (Sweetie) still struggles with pitch problems, makes up for it in the acting categories; thankfully he makes that big reveal scene a lot less stunted as it once did.
And Anisha Nagarajan has blossomed the character of Priya into a nicely layered performance, much less earnest and goody goody than I saw in previews, there's a lot more spitfire subtext built into the role now. Anisha and Manu's vocals are also a lot stronger than I heard before. While Manu still couldn't get that first big note, he absolutely nailed The Journey Home, I got shivers!
And the ensemble still looks and sounds great.
It's certainly not the best show, but it's more hugely enjoyable than I remember, and the audience (mostly caucasian) really ate it up! I gave the show a shot hoping for a marked improvement, and I got a lot more than I hoped.
This week, all proceeds from the performances will be donated to the Children's Hope Organization, with the donation going to help rebuild schools destroyed by the recent floods in India. Last night Western Union donated $10,000, there was a small presentation before the show began.
and btw, not cool to heckle loudly, and uninformed, for something you got to see for free, at performers doing what they can for you. hope it made you feel better.
"Hey little girls, look at all the men in shiny shirts and no wives!" - Jackie Hoffman, Xanadu, 19 Feb 2008