Book of Mormon Tour Opinions- Page 2

[ak72090]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 2:32pm

Wow-- just looked at the cast of the 1st National Tour of BOM-- and theres a lot of professional debuts! Anyone see this tour yet?? How have the debuts been? (It just started last week.)

Updated On: 5/17/14 at 02:32 PM

[MikeInTheDistrict]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 5:02pm

The "professional debuts" are to be expected with any show that has such a young cast, which is appropriate because they're meant to be college-aged characters. The cast was excellent when I saw them in D.C. last summer.

The touring and Broadway productions are basically identical in terms of sets//costumes and on par with each other cast-wise. BOM is not a "big" show in terms of sets/costumes/effects, so it wasn't hard for them to replicate it for the tour. I liked Mark Evans a lot. He was fully committed to the wide-eyed, corn-fed naivete that the character requires. For some reason, I don't really remember Christopher John O'Neil's performance very well. I thought he was good, but he didn't really do anything to differentiate his version of the character from Josh Gad's original. I second JohnnyBroadway's mention of Grey Henson. He was hilarious.

Updated On: 5/17/14 at 05:02 PM

[brdway411]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 6:18pm

I have seen it 8 times and never paid more than $27 and even got a free ticket from the fan website last year. Come to NYC spend the day and do the SRO line. It's a ton of fun and a great way to hang out with other fans of the show. And the view from Standing room is GREAT!

[haterobics]

Posted: 5/17/14 at 6:23pm

I've done standing room twice, and sat both times!

First time, at 8:02, an usher said they needed my space, as someone in the audience had leg surgery and couldn't bend their knee enough in their seat, so I went and sat with their family in the front mezzanine.

Second time, right after Hasa Diga, I saw a woman storm out offended, and her premuim-seat-buying-infuriated boyfriend trailing behind, so I grabbed the person in SRO next to me, said get ready to move into our seats and as soon as the song ended, we went up the aisle and sat down in the fourth row.

So, I highly recommend SRO, although from what I hear you may actually have to stand?! I cannot confirm that.

[inception]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 11:09am

Saw the 2nd national tour company in Portland, Oregon Saturday night. They move on to Seattle for a couple weeks now. The set is identical to the one on Broadway. Looking at the cast of the current Broadway company it looks like it has different people than who I saw last fall. I thought Cody Jamison Strand gave a more nuanced & fully fleshed out (no pun intended - though he is also physically much bigger) performance as Cunningham than whoever I saw last fall in NY - it was a Canadian from Winnipeg I remember. Denee Benton as Nabulungi has an exquisite voice which I overheard many people commenting on. I thought David Larsen was adequate as Price, but nothing special. In comparing the Broadway company to the tour I found the dancing to not be as tight on tour. I specifically noticed how sloppy the tapping was during Turn It Off - but I only noticed because in NY I was blown away by their precision.
Other than that the biggest difference is the size of the venues on tour. Keller Auditorium in Portland seats almost 3000 people so even at the back of the orchestra you would be further away from the stage than any seat in NY. I didn't go up to the top balcony to see what the view was like, but you must be almost a mile from the stage. I did only pay $80 for about 3/4 back in the orchestra so that was better.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 11:12am

I specifically noticed how sloppy the tapping was during Turn It Off - but I only noticed because in NY I was blown away by their precision.

Really? A lot of people say it's the other way around (I saw both the 2nd national tour and Broadway in Dec/Jan and felt that way as well).

[JohnyBroadway]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 12:22pm

I have seen both touring companies, the 2nd company wins by a land slide.

[IndyTheatreGeek]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 9:44pm

I only saw the current tour cast, but it was very good. I got a sixth row center orchestra seat for $125 by waiting until the day before. Ticketmaster eas still trying to get $250 or so for resale tickets.. I don't think I missed anything by seeing this cast and tour rather than the NY or London shows. I thought Alexandra Ncube was fantastic in her role of Nabulungi. Tapping was spot on and impressive.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 10:15pm

Alexandra Ncube and Alexia Khadime are the only Nabulungis I haven't seen. Considering going to Philly to see the 1NT since it's been about a year and a half since I saw that tour last.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 10:21pm

I caught the tour in Portland 3 weeks back, as well. A friend really wanted to go--I admit, the show has never really been on my radar except for TV performances I've seen. Not much of a review--but I enjoyed it a lot--way more than I expected to. We were given tickets by a relative of my friend as a gift--yes, the Keller auditorium is massive, even by these big touring theatre standards. Our tickets were good though--we were in one of the boxes which meant we were relatively close to the stage (though climbing to my seat--we had front row--honestly gave me vertigo, and my friend said the same thing--but I tend to be scared of heights anyway.) I found the cast overall very strong, but, again, I don't have any previous experience with the show except for Tony clips... (This was the second company, right?)

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/21/14 at 11:55pm

Yes, Portland is the 2NT. They were previously the Chicago sit-down.

[PepperedShepherd]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 3:04pm

I thought David Larsen was adequate as Price, but nothing special. In comparing the Broadway company to the tour I found the dancing to not be as tight on tour. I specifically noticed how sloppy the tapping was during Turn It Off - but I only noticed because in NY I was blown away by their precision.

I have to disagree with you on both counts. I've seen 8 different Elder Prices, and David is probably my second favorite after Gavin. (I never saw Rannells.)

As for the dancing: I saw the NYC production twice this past May and was honestly shocked at how sloppy the ensemble was. Truth be told, "Turn It Off" at the first performance was terrific -- but it was downhill from there. At the 2nd performance, "TIO" was no more than adequate, and "Spooky Mormon Hell Dream" looked like dinner theater. Absolutely wretched!

So you may've seen an "off" performance by the 2NT, whereas I saw 2 "off" performances by the Broadway cast. But that's Live Theater, for ya.

[inception]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 7:11pm

I wonder how much of the cast changed in the 6 or so months between when you and I saw it? I know the leads now are different from when I saw it. What a shame since people are paying so much that they don't keep the quality up.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 7/23/14 at 9:33pm

I loved David Larsen and I saw him in his first weekend. He was already totally comfortable and at ease in the role.

Posted: 11/12/14 at 1:37pm

BOM coming to SF for 2 month run April-June 2015.
Looks like Gavin Creel is in the production(or as of now)and if his contract will still be in force for SF?
Wondered if he has a certain Day/Show Off?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 11/12/14 at 1:42pm

He won't be on tour by then.

[onesongglory2]

Posted: 6/1/15 at 8:00am

Does anybody know when AJ Holmes is leaving the 1st national tour?

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 6/1/15 at 11:14am

Is there as big of a difference between the 1st and 2nd national tours of BOM as there were between the 1st and 2nd tours of Wicked?

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/1/15 at 11:52am

No, just the casts. I've seen both multiple times and can't think of any set or staging differences.

EDIT: I think the disco balls in "You and Me (But Mostly Me)" may be different, but that also may depend on the venue.

Updated On: 6/1/15 at 11:52 AM

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 6/1/15 at 9:34pm

Thanks!