GENTLEMAN's GUIDE Tour

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 4:04pm

Has anyone here seen it yet?? I'm going to the first performance in Pittsburgh tonight and am super pumped to see it at long last.

[Alessio2]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 4:07pm

Please let us know what you think. I'll be seeing it when it comes through Los Angeles but that's not until March!

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 4:13pm

I'm seeing the tour tomorrow. I last saw the show on Broadway a month after the Tony win and found it to be incredibly hilarious and charming. I can't wait to revisit it.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 4:14pm

I'll be seeing this tour a few months down the line. Really, really hoping it lives up to the production caliber on Broadway as this is one of my favorites. Looking forward to it!

[sorano916]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 4:41pm

I saw it in Schenectady, and the show's in good & capable hands. I've seen it on Broadway (once with Bryce & Jefferson and once with Kevin, who's Monty on tour, & Greg) and the tour is right up there. 

Kevin is delightful as Monty. John is doing justice to what Jefferson started and making it his own. Kristen Beth is excellent as Sibella and Adrienne has been my favorite Phoebe. The rest of the cast is really good, too.

[rebeccmam31]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 5:59pm

Mr. Nowack said: "Has anyone here seen it yet?? I'm going to the first performance in Pittsburgh tonight and am super pumped to see it at long last."

Oh, please report back what you think! We are seeing it in Pittsburgh on Saturday.

[Markecib]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 6:26pm

I'm seeing this tomorrow. Wonder if it's going to get swallowed in the Benedum Center, but luckily I have good center orchestra seats, but I feel bad for anyone in the upper tiers or worse the sides.

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 6:31pm

I saw it in Chicago last month.  I had seen it on Broadway back in December 2013 after it had just opened, and wanted to take some family to see it.

 

Really, not a huge difference between the tour and the Broadway production.  Maybe it's just me, or maybe it was the theater it was in, but it seemed a little bit smaller.  I just remember the sets being bigger on the Broadway production.  Don't quote me, however.

 

Still, there's a great cast, and it's just as much fun to watch as it was the first time around.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 7:45pm

I saw the tour in Durham last month and personally, I thought the show was pretty overhyped...

https://www.broadwayworld.com/raleigh/article/BWW-Review-A-GENTLEMANS-GUIDE-TO-LOVE-MURDER-National-Tour-at-Durham-Performing-Arts-Center-20151014

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 7:54pm

I didn't catch the hype either. I saw on Broadway last year and was pretty much underwhelmed. Fell asleep in several scenes. Didn't do my customary intermission walkout since it is a Tony winner (but very tempted).  I exchanged my season tix for the touring production for Wizard of Oz!

Posted: 11/17/15 at 7:59pm

You missed the best parts of Porgy and Bess!

[ebontoyan]

Posted: 11/17/15 at 8:19pm

^No worries we accidentally stage doored a play (can't remember the title) with Samuel L Jackson and Angela Bassett and got pics and autographs! More exciting than anything we could have seen in P&B. We did see it in Jan 2012 before it won the Tony's I would have been persuaded to stay if I already knew it had Tony pedigree 

 

Now back to GGTLAM...

Updated On: 11/17/15 at 08:19 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 12:33am

Wow, what a fun show!

 

Act One was far superior to Act Two (except that well known trio) but overall it was a wonderful evening. I had really liked most of the score on record but i absolutely adored it all in the theatre. The cast is wonderful. One of the most enjoyable tour performances I've had!

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/18/15 at 1:45am

It was also really interesting to see the two main contenders for Best Musical 2014 in a matter of weeks. I definitely think the more worthy show won.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 12:22am

I just got home from this evening's performance and enjoyed it quite a bit. I do have some hesitations, though, about how it's translating to the vast touring houses it's playing. I was in the last row of the orchestra tonight and having previously seen the show on Broadway, thought that a great deal of energy was lost from that distance. I can't imagine how those even further back in the mezzanine were faring. Not to mention that the house being primarily comprised of unenthusiastic subscribers didn't help either. The laughter in the theatre never came close to matching what I experienced at the Walter Kerr.

 

That aside, this production is a fine representation of its Broadway counterpart, which I loved. The cast was uniformly strong, and the staging is more or less identical. There's one new sight gag at the end that I enjoyed immensely and thought clarified the storytelling well for an audience viewing the show in a house of that size. Definitely check it out if it will be playing a city near you. Just try not to sit too far back.

Updated On: 11/19/15 at 12:22 AM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 1:12am

Now I didn't see the show in the much smaller Walter Kerr, but I was in the second tier and still enjoyed it immensely. Of course I'm used to seeing shows from that distance.

 

Sad to hear that your audience was unenthusiastic, last night I didn't get that impression at all. All the jokes were met with ample laughter. Of course it could just have been the section I was in (was mostly younger "theatre geeks" giving me that impression.

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 1:58am

If only we had had some enthusiastic theatre geeks in my section, too, haha. A woman sitting next to my friend fell asleep several times throughout the performance, and I counted at least seven patrons walk out in the second act. It was disheartening to say the least because I really do love the show.

Updated On: 11/19/15 at 01:58 AM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 2:04am

Wow I certainly didn't see anyone falling asleep!

 

One of the wonders of theatre, that the same show can get vastly different reception depending on the night.

[Jeffrey Karasarides]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 6:50am

When I saw the tour, the audience was laughing throughout the show, for which I kept wondering why. I must've been one of the few people who mostly didn't find it funny (though I did chuckle a few times).

My mother has a friend who is a season ticket holder at DPAC and she asked her what she thought of the show, and she responded 'I wish we left at intermission'.

Updated On: 11/19/17 at 06:50 AM

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 10:42am

I saw the show in Durham as well and I had the feeling it was suffering for being in a really large house. I kept thinking it would play better in a smaller space. I did think the cast was fine and the staging and performing for "I've Decided to Marry You" is definitely a highlight. There are also some staging gems elsewhere (including the "trip to Africa"), but ultimately the score suffers from a sameness in the operetta pastiche melodies, and the story sort of peters out towards the end.

Updated On: 11/19/15 at 10:42 AM

[SoVa theatre mom]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 12:23pm

Saw it last month in Durham. We loved it and found it to be very funny.   I thought it was well staged for the space - our season tickets are at the front of the Grand Tier (first balcony) and I don't think we missed anything.  The audience was age-diverse - from my 12 year old to people older than my parents and all seemed entertained. 

 

[Markecib]

Posted: 11/19/15 at 2:37pm

I was there last night in the Orchestra Cnter toward the front. I found it enjoyable and think this show tours really well. Though the Wednesday audience seemed, um dead. I usually go on Tuesday's but had to switch out my tickets. The audience looked much older and more reserved. It was odd hearing specific people laughing. 

I thought the cast was great and it's one of those shows that remains faithful to the Broadway staging.

I did feel bad for anyone on the sides, as the Benedum Center is much wider than deep, they had to have a limited view because of the speakers. If you were on the sides further back you would be fine, but mid Orchestra forward had to be rough.