Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Drewprecht
Understudy Joined: 10/6/05
#0Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 5:53pm
****=Brilliant
***=Great
**=Good
*=Fair
0=Horrid
Just thought I would say that a cell phone rang in EVERY SINGLE SHOW I went to in NY. Very upsetting. Also, I saw too many understudies. Why are so many Broadway actors not performing every show?
Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living In Paris-**
Amazing performances. All four singers were fantastic!! The music was good as individual songs, but I wasn't feeling the piece as a whole. I thought it wasn't cohesive, and wish they connected more. Very "Songs For a New World." The actual show itself was only fair for me, but the actors really made the show watchable and each brought a bit of life to a disorganized musical review.
Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Park)-***1/2
This play was extremely well done! I have read the play and seen the original film, but I really do feel that Liev Schrieber was fabulous! He internalized the character so beautifully, and as mentioned before on the board, his Banquo's Ghost scene on the table was fabulous. The supporting actors were great as well, with Banquo being a highlight. Lady Macbeth was horrid. She spoke it horribly and felt 0% of what she was saying. She obviously doesn't understand the big picture of the show. Also, the boy in the show was painful to watch. I have never seen a child act Shakespeare well thus far. The use of the space and of Central Park was phenomonal, and this production was unbelievable!
The Threepenny Opera-**1/2
The staging strange, the show odd and the music weird, but it worked most of the time. Some good performances from Alan Cumming and Tiger Brown, but the one actor that brought this show from average to truly entertaining was Brian Charles Rooney. He was extremely funny, and was entertaining as hell. Also, really enjoyed Jim Dale and Ana Gastayer. I just wish the director went a little simpler in the show because the show doesn't need to be over-showy. A fun afternoon!
The Drowsy Chaperone-****************
The best comedy I have ever seen on Broadway! Smiled and laughed the whole show. My jaw hurt by the end. Amazing performances all around, Bob Martin, Sutton and "Adolpho" were amazing! I hope this show runs for a very long time, and am shocked it didn't win best musical. I saw Jersey Boys a while ago, and although I enjoyed it (even w/the horrible Frankie Valli understudy), it was not as original and creative as Drowsy. Best night of the week!!!
Shining City-**
I love Brian F. O' Byrne. He is amazing! Oliver Platt was great and the 2 supporting actors were good as well. The show was a tad slow, and I felt the story itself was weak, but since it was acted well, I enjoyed it.
Awake and Sing-***1/2
What a great show!!! Amazing performances all around, and a great story that should be on Broadway right now! The set was unbelievable, as was the lighting. I really enjoyed this one!
The Color Purple-***
It was fun. Good story that should be told. I thought the book and music were only satisfactory, but the plot carried it along. LaChanze was out, but her understudy was great. Felicia Fields was hysterical, and her and Brandon Victor Dixon were really great together. Mister understudy was on, and he was o.k for me, wish it would've been full cast though.
The History Boys-**1/2
After seeing this play, I am not surprised there was no Pulitzer for drama this year. Too brittish and too sophisticated for me. I tried my best to absorb everything in the first act, but its a difficult show. The second act was better for me though. Good actors, especially Samuel Barnett. The plot was a little boring, not enough there for me. After a great year of plays last year with Doubt and Pillowman, this was not very impressive.
Thanks for reading! Feel free to post any questions or comments!
#1re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:01pm
Could you post a few of the jokes that were so funny in Drowsy?
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#2re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:12pmEvery single joke in Drowsy! The show is a brilliant comedy. Also, one needs to know a lot about 20's music to write some of the numbers in the score. I didn't stop laughing either.
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
#3re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:15pmOk, tell me one of the jokes that was funny. I know a lot about the 20's. And i love period musicals. Hello Dolly!, My Fair Lady and Wonderful Town are among my favorites.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#4re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:36pm
One of my favorites..
Seven overrated wonders, sever underwhelming seas.
Six excrusciating continants.
Antarctica. Oh please!
Tonya Pinkins: Then we had a "Lot's Wife" last June that was my personal favorite. I'm still trying to get them to let me sing it at some performance where we get to sing an excerpt that's gone.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
Tony Kushner: You can sing it at my funeral.
#5re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:40pmThe History Boys wouldn't have won the Pulitzer either way because it's only awarded to American plays. (Or something like that.)
A little swash, a bit of buckle - you'll love it more than bread.
Smaxie
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/26/05
#6re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:42pmA British play cannot win a Pulitzer Prize. It's only awarded to American playwrights. But The History Boys won every possible award for Best Play that it could win on Broadway: the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, NY Drama Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Award.
Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.
#7re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:43pm
muscle23ftl --- We know you don't like the show. There are plenty of us who do.
Drewprecht's opinion is Drewprecht's opinion. Just as yours is yours.
Challenging it means nothing.
"Jaws is the Citizen Kane of movies."
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
Updated On: 6/26/06 at 06:43 PM
blocked: logan2, Diamonds3, Hamilton22
#8re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 6:55pmDid i criticize anyone's taste? i just asked to hear what jokes were so funny, because me and my friend didn't find it funny, maybe seeing them written would change my mind. I am not boycotting the show. Drew said clearly to ask him any questions or comments. Best12Bars, i am not challenging anything so don't try to start a fight.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#10re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 7:28pm
Lol.
If you didn't like the jokes initially though, what is the point of wasting time writing them? I enjoyed many of the jokes especially the playful attack at Elton John and the miss saigon joke. But its a matter of like and dislike. I doubt writing out the funnies from the show will make you like it more. I'm sorry you didn't like it, because it is so well-written.
...What happened next, was stranger still, a woman breathless and afraid, appeared out of the night, completely dressed in white. She had a secret she would tell, of one who had mistreated her. Her face and frightened gaze, my mind cannot erase...But then she ran from view. She looked so much like you...
#11re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 7:47pmDrewprecht: Who was the horrible Frankie Valli understudy you saw? Was it Dominic Nolfi? I agree that he was horrible. JLY should have scheduled absences so those of us who are going to see him will actually see him in the show!
#12re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 7:54pmTnks for reminding me, All for Laura, I was extremely offended when they made fun of Elton John's flop. It was simply tacky. Any show that flops is sad news, wether one liked it or not, and im not a Lestat fan. But people losing their jobs is never something i'd laugh to, or celebrate cruel and insensitive reviews.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
Effie
Understudy Joined: 9/6/04
#13re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 8:50pmNo need to be offended, Muscle23ftl. The Elton John joke was in Drowsy during its autumn run in Los Angeles. Pre-Broadway and pre-Lestat. They were making fun of The Lion King and Aida. I would add Billy Elliot to that list, but I assume the joke has been with the show since its origins in Toronto. I would hate to think that taking unnecessary offense at one joke at the top of the show colored your enjoyment of the entire rest of the evening.
#14re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 9:02pmI thought Drowsy wasnt funny at all. It was simply 'boring'. Thank god it didnt last more than 95 minutes.
#15re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 9:06pmI loved Drowsy both times I saw it, even from my ratty seats. I don't think it's necessarily a show that I'd go and listen to the cast recording of over and over (though lately, there have been very few that I do) but I thought it was cute and very funny.
But when did New Hampshire become--Such a backward wasteland of seatbelt hating crazies?...I mean, only 40 people actually live there. The others are just visitors who come for the tax-free liquor and three inches of novelty coastline. John Hodgeman on The Daily Show (1-30-07)
Drewprecht
Understudy Joined: 10/6/05
#16re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 9:30pm
Without A Trace: Yes, It was Dominic Nolfi. I was absolutely underwhelmed. He had no falsetto, which is pretty damn important. His acting was horrible, and I felt i was watching a bad JLY impersonator. I would like to see it with JLY, even though every appearance I have seen him on lately, his falsetto has had a buzz and sounded awful!
Also, I think Drowsy is very particular, and not everyone is going to like a show that appeals to a certain group of people. I still thank you all for your comments though! It really was a great trip!
PitPro2004
Broadway Star Joined: 2/15/04
#17re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 9:52pmDrew, did you happen to see Drowsy at yesterday's mat by any chance? I had hoped to run into Beth Leavel, but didn't see her come out the stage door. A friend mentioned allergies, perhaps some of the cast members weren't feeling well, but I just wondered who made it out and who didn't. :)
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium!"
Drewprecht
Understudy Joined: 10/6/05
#18re: Reviews from my NYC Trip!
Posted: 6/26/06 at 9:56pmI saw it last Wed. evening. We waited about 30 min. for Beth due to guests.
