WAR PAINT Previews

[ljay889]

I saw Ben Platt too! 

Also, I forgot to mention I really enjoyed the design elements as well. Sets, costumes, and lighting were top notch. Like you said, not extremely inventive, but perfectly suited to the show and attractive to the eye.  

[IdinaBellFoster]

Happy to hear such posistive thoughts!! I really loved this show. Sounds like there trimming a bit. It was almost 2:50 last week. 

[sing_dance_love]

Caught the first preview (for my birthday!), just getting around to reading through this thread. I enjoyed it quite a bit and agree with much of what has been said on either side of the debate.

The Great:

-Patti and Christine are absolutely on fire. Patti's voice was jaw-droppingly strong. It really was thrilling. Both beautifully handle the comedy and drama their characters require and their performances are a wonderful compliment and contrast to each other. 

-The costumes are beautiful and the set is appropriate.

-I very much enjoyed Dossett and Sills, personally, and really didn't have any issue with their numbers.

The Good:

-The score is, as many have said, both intelligent and clever. There are some lovely musical passages and I agree that I have a feeling some of the more atypical, but stylish and inventive, melodies will land after repeat listens. I just didn't find much to be as affecting or profound as "Another Winter In A Summer Town" or some of F&K's other best work. I thought "Forever Beautiful" and "Back on Top" were really the standouts.  "Pink" I thought was fine, and "Face to Face" and most of their duets just felt like they needed something...more. However, "If I Had Been A Man" I thought was excellent and the musical highlight of the evening. In general, I really enjoyed the score though, just hoping for a dash more emotional impact. 

The Needs-Some-Work:

- The Staging. I actually found a lot to like in the actual choreography, I enjoyed the Fire and Ice sequence a lot, but the musical staging left a lot to be desired. I think some of those lovely duets and solos could have that bump up in impact that I was hoping for with some more interesting staging than constantly crossing back and forth from 2 Stage Right to 2 Stage Left and standing there. 

-The Book. Wonderful doses of humor (Patti really nails some wonderfully juicy lines), and I really enjoyed "the meeting" towards the end of the show. And the characters are fascinating and appropriately layered, but it just needs a push towards compelling. It's not that it's "plotless" as some have intimated, it's that there's nothing that pushes the evening forward and drives you to the edge of your seat. I'm not saying I know what that is, and it's not that a twin character study isn't a valid approach to a show, but it's what I think the evening needs to feel truly satisfying.

But hey, just having Patti and Christine doing excellent work and just siiiiiiiiingingggggg almost takes it there on its own. For that alone, I'll remember the evening and It's only because there is so much on that stage that is wonderful or on the verge of it, that I just want it to be even better. 

[Addison D.]

sing_dance_love said: 

"...But hey, just having Patti and Christine doing excellent work and just siiiiiiiiingingggggg almost takes it there on its own. For that alone, I'll remember the evening and It's only because there is so much on that stage that is wonderful or on the verge of it, that I just want it to be even better."

 

Agreed!