On The Twentieth Century Previews- Page 11

[Auggie27]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 6:51am

I saw the second CARRIE preview (a Friday night).

Jeesh, Namo, I was wet behind the ears, then; you must've been a lad in lederhosen.

Updated On: 2/25/15 at 06:51 AM

[ILuv2shop531]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 9:10am

Was at the show last night and really enjoyed what I saw, thought Ellis did a great job directing this as well as everything else he has done this season. Also, was very impressed with choreography and then saw it was Warren Carlyle and understood why :). Kristin had a slight wig malfunction in the beginning of her first scene but handled it hilariously. Although I had nothing to compare to, I thought James Moye and Ben Crawford were fabulous, on for Peter and Andy respectively. I've been following James's career for the last few years now since Dogfight and it was nice to see him carrying a show. There was one point in the second act where the conductor had to noticeably feed him some lines but other than that spot on! Sad to have missed Andy Karl, but Ben was hilarious! I'm sure the show will keep getting better and better but in great shape for not that far into previews!

Updated On: 2/25/15 at 09:10 AM

[tazber]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 9:20am

Thanks for that review ILuv!

I can't wait to see this!

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 9:31am

Tazber, when are you going? I'm very much looking forward to seeing this next Friday. I've been listening to my original cast recording as of late. On the Twentieth Century was the 2nd cast recording I ever purchased (and I never saw the show).

[carolineorchange21]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 12:18am

I was fortunate to snag a general rush ticket for today's matinee. I really enjoyed James Moye's turn as Oscar and he was letter perfect, which attests to the commitment of these performers - especially if he was having dialogue issues last night. I didn't feel in anyway 'cheated' by the lack of Peter Gallagher, in fact was so happy to see a superb New York actor take on a part I've loved since first hearing the OBC recording. Maybe Gallagher and Cheno have some magic chemistry that will make his performance shine, but I can't see him surpassing the extremely talented Mr. Moye. Let's hope he (Moye) has much visible work after 20 Century.

Ben Crawford is one of the sexiest and most hysterical men I've seen on the NY stage and has a delicious baritone to boot. I have no way of knowing if his performance is a copy of Andy Karl's, but he sold that role like he had rolled it out and baked it himself. Aside from stunning looks and a topnotch voice, Bruce is necessarily a buffoon and Crawford nailed the complicated, farcical door-to-closest-to-hall-to-closet movement that makes this show so fun.

Mary Louise Wilson brought the (half empty) house down with 'Repent', as expected. No one will surpass Coca but a great actress in a great part make it her own and Ms. Wilson is no exception.

The ensemble was on their game and the bit parts went over beautifully.

The dancing! The porters! You all have seen/will see the show so I need not say more on movement :)

I teared up a bit during one of Lily's comedic monologues for two very different reasons

1. I'm seeing freakin Kristin Chenoweth, legend, in the flesh, on a motherf*ckin Broadway stage and she is a genius in this role.

2. God, how much I miss Madeline Kahn. I wasn't alive when 20 Century first opened so I can't attest to Madeline Kahn's performance but I am aware of the details of her infamous, brief run. While Cheno owns this role now, the cadences of a particular speech made my throat catch because I could hear Madeline delivering it that way :)

Cheno sings, she dances, she clowns, I cannot praise her highly enough. I really hope she remains illness/accident free because this is still previews and she's flawless. I'm prematurely jealous of all of you who will get to see this after it opens cause she's only going to get better.

Updated On: 2/26/15 at 12:18 AM

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:50am

From what I've been reading, this is going to be a very wearing run for the cast and you might want to see it early while Kristin and most of the rest of the cast is fresh and healthy and enthused.

[disneybroadwayfan22]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 9:51am

I can't wait to see Cheno in this! :)

[GreasedLightning]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 12:41pm

Andy is great! And they show off his assets for an entire scene.

Not to be crude - but what do you mean by this?

[NotScott]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 4:13pm

He wears a tank top. Not very scandalous, but proof he hasn't let himself go after Rocky.

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 2/26/15 at 11:38pm

Has anyone stagedoored this show yet? If so which exit are they using.

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 2:37pm

I've been told it's the one on 43rd street, i.e. it's best to leave the theater on the right of the auditorium, opposite of the main entrance.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 3:13pm

Gallagher is now out through Sunday. Stinks, as this we are leaving for our trip tomorrow! I'm actually excited to see Moye, though! Seeing good things about him on Twitter.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 6:20pm

Just a heads up, if you want to spend a lot of money seeing this show Roundabout just released some close orchestra tickets for tomorrow night. I've been stalking their website ALL week to see how this is done, and they really do release them the day before/of the performances!

I will be seeing Cheno from second row!!

[jonartdesigns]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 8:58pm

Thank you Iris.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/27/15 at 10:19pm

With Roundabout's curious preservation of many of the best center orchestra seats, for subscriber swaps I guess, if you're willing to spend the money you can get many of the best seats in the house a day or two before the performance.

I'm a subscriber who had an April ticket. I'll be seeing the show more than once, so when I checked this morning and found great seats for sale for both Saturday shows, I swapped into tomorrow's matinee - first row. I don't know if the first row is a particularly good spot, but I like to be close to the performers. I'm interested in the post-show cast/audience discussion, although I'm not expecting too much.

As I write this, available for the matinee, all center orchestra, a seat in the second row, two seats in the fourth row and four seats in the fifth row.

For the Saturday night show you have available a seat in the second row and four seats in the third row. These seats should have been sold a couple of months ago.

[JBroadway]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 9:42pm

Saw the matinee today and had a total blast! I had heard the score, but I never really appreciated it until I heard it live. James Moye did a great job as Oscar. Interestingly, I had a hard time picturing Gallagher in the role. Moye was very over-the-top in a hilarious way, and I've always thought of Gallagher as being kind of a smooth, understated actor. How does Gallagher play the role?

Another interesting thing to note: they had to stop the show today in act 2, in the middle of "She's a Nut" because of technical difficulties.
*POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD*
Right after Mary Louise Wilson's character rides by on top of the mini train, the large map was supposed to come down so that the set piece of the front of the train could be brought in. Neither the map nor the set piece came in. James and Kristin sort of stumbled on and started to sing their parts on the bare stage. After they exited, there was announcement saying they'd have to stop. After about 5 minutes, they started from Wilson's cross on the mini train. Kristin hilariously improved, "I feel like I've sung this before" into the lyrics of that section of the song that they had to repeat.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 2/28/15 at 10:39pm

Very eventful Saturday matinee. The delay to me seemed to last about ten minutes. Then the show resumed with no further problems. Afterwards, for what it's worth, they said that the computer had crashed. Reminder that this is live theater, an early preview, and the controlled chaos on the stage is even harder to stage than it looks.

I was sitting in the first row and to me it appeared that they got a pretty full standing ovation at the end. From my first row seat when I stood at curtain call I could have reached over and shook hands with James Moye. There was clearly a lot of good feeling in the audience. At the end of the first act I thought high expectations might impact my final opinion, even though I love "Veronique" and "I've Got It All," but the second act won me over.

After the cast left the stage someone from Roundabout introduced the twenty minute Q&A with cast members. No Kristin, but I think every male member of the cast came out and sat in chairs on the stage facing the audience. I wish I had brought my little voice-quality recorder to capture it, because I know I'll never be able to relate it accurately from memory.

James Moye was asked about the difficulty of taking over the lead role so soon after opening. Not a problem except for the first Sunday performance. He then got a big hand as the audience gave its opinion of his performance.

The subject of Amanda Green's new lyrics for "Because of Her" was brought up and she was complimented on them. I think someone said that it brought the character up-to-date. Why would you do this in a period piece? They wanted the song to say more about Oscar and his feelings? Personally I think that they just wanted to give Comden and Green's daughter something to do as a legacy.

The only woman out there was Kristin Chenoweth's chief dresser. Kristin has nine wardrobe changes in the show. Two of them that occur on the train set and are only allocated 90 seconds are the most difficult.

The cast members mostly seemed to like answering questions from the audience, and the Q&A could have gone on much longer, but apparently Roundabout agreed to hold participating cast members only twenty minutes. The next two of these sessions are scheduled for the Sunday matinees on March 8th and March 22nd.

A couple of cast members, including Andy I believe, explained how demanding the show was vocally and physically. I completely agreed with that and I still marvel that those actors were going to do the whole thing all over again in less than three and a half hours.

That's entertainment.

[tazber]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 7:45am

Thanks JBroadway and Blue Eyes for those reports!

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 7:58am

Went last night and absolutely fell in LOVE with this show. The costumes were gorgeous, the set was AMAZING, and the singing gave me chills. I've been in love with the cast recording for a few years (just got into Broadway three years ago) and it was a thrill to be able to see it come alive.

Moye was excellent. He has an awesome voice. Cheno was perfect and I can see why all of her teachers and whomever told her she was destined for this part. I will never forget how amazing her "Babette" was. The tap dancers were INCREDIBLE and got very large applause throughout. The rest of the cast was brilliant. We were second row so we were able to hear distinct voices in the chorus and that was a treat in and of itself. Andy Karl was hilarious, it was my first time seeing him perform. Wilson was HILARIOUS as Primrose, though I don't think she got the applause she deserved. I even bought a "She's a nut" shirt.

We stage doored last night because we didn't see any of Cheno's weird and crazy fanatics and it was great. Moye came out first and seemed very grateful and then Cheno's bodyguard came out and told us that she would only sign Playbills/her book and she would not be posing for pictures or talk to us. I'm pretty sure she signed everything and she talked (albeit softly) to everyone who talked to her. She's a complete sweetheart.

What a perfect night to be able to see this musical. I will 100% be going back, multiple times even. It's such a rush to hear that music live!!

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:46am

I should have mentioned the set and costumes. Extraordinary. I didn't mention Kristin because all the other reviews have already praised her enough. At last she has a star turn in a show to call her own. I don't know how she sits politically with the Tony voters but audiences would give it to her. You just don't see this kind of unique spectacle on Broadway very often.

Brutal to deny it to Kelli for a seventh time, but every year she gives a Tony-worthy performance.

I can understand why Kristin has said that she will have to live like a nun to make it through this run.

Peter Gallagher is supposed to return on Tuesday. Feeling a little pressure, maybe? I think I'll go back in two months and sit in the front mezzanine for a different perspective. See if it has evolved any since the early performances.

One stage-struck teen age girl wanted to do Broadway and asked what she should do to make it. The first comment was "practice." Then the lead porter told her that these days you have to be a quadruple threat to make it on Broadway. You also had to play an instrument, and his instrument was the sound of his taps. Isn't tap dancing the third threat? I didn't understand it either.

[newintown]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 1:57pm

"Live like a nun?"

I wouldn't call the role a stroll through the park, but Lily doesn't sing a note til 1/2 way through act 1, then has 2 duets, 1 not-so-long solo, and leads a production number with the chorus helping. In Act 2, she leads 1 more production number, and contributes to a group number and a musical scene.

For a true soprano, she actually has less material than many other leading ladies. Rose, Mame, Dolly, even Tevye have more material, not to mention the more ridiculously badly-written recent roles like Caroline, Diana, and Aimee Semple McPherson.

Like I said, it's no stroll in the park, but hardly an unusual work load.

Of course, it doesn't help to be 10+years older than the character, and suffering from the effects of eating disorders and injuries.

[OlBlueEyes]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:09pm

Clearly not everyone is an unquestioning Cheno fan. I've wondered how her persona would survive the aging process.

I have come to respect Kelli O'Hara. She has not gone off to the other coast to appear in TV series of dubious value such as GCW. Despite two small children, she goes from one production to the next, without confining herself to any particular genre, and never fails to deliver. A hard working soprano who is also a fine actress. Yet she still shows for almost every charitable and fund-raising event.

Not being an actor nor a singer, I'm not in any position to judge the relative difficulty of the Lily Garland role. But I'm happy to see that Kristin will have at least one memorable Broadway production on her resume in which she was able to showcase her considerable talent.

TS: What are the challenges of a role like this?

KC: It's all going to be hard. I'm going to have to live like a nun, which I do anyway, so it's not going to be that big of a change. The key will be sleeping a lot, resting my voice, and staying in physical therapy. I have previous injuries, and I have to take care of my body so that I can get through the run. But I'm going to do it because I'm ready.


Bway World Interview

[dreamcoat12]

Posted: 3/1/15 at 9:50pm

I saw the OTTC tonight and absolutely loved it!! I knew nothing about the show going in and couldn't have been more impressed! Kristin was phenomenal and even though I was upset that Peter was not going to be in the show, his understudy was incredible as well. I can't imagine Peter playing the role the way James did. Andy, Marc, Michael and Mary were wonderful in their supporting roles. "She's A Nut" was the best part of the show for me. The set and costumes were stunning! I read some of the earlier comments on this thread and have to check out photos/clips from the original show to see the big spectacle everyone has been talking about! Would love to see the show again if I get the chance. Haven't laughed so much at a Broadway show in a while!

[Theatrical Landladies]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 5:53am

Guys please keep the reviews and comments coming on this as I would love to know if anyone spots changes being made during preview. Interesting development with the opening droping back!

[BwayGeek2]

Posted: 3/3/15 at 10:44am

I'm seeing this Thursday and I'm so excited!!! I'll let y'all know what I think!