After Midnight First Preview- Page 2

[Luv2goToShows]

Posted: 10/19/13 at 7:36pm

I saw this two years in a row at City Center and loved it. I would like to see it again, it is just a matter of fitting it in. I am curious to hear how it compare to the Cotton Club Parade, if and what changes were made. Run time is the same so I am thinking they did not make many, if any, changes, other than casting (some)

[RippedMan]

Posted: 10/19/13 at 7:55pm

Having lived in the city for the past two years, I don't know how I missed seeing it either time.

[Copperfield2]

Posted: 10/19/13 at 8:40pm

Did anyone here see Black and Blue on Broadway years ago? Is this better than than that show? Because I wasn't crazy about that revue but this one does sound good.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 10/19/13 at 8:46pm

Comparing this to Twelfth Night seems a little bit like apples/oranges.

More like apples and shoes.

Posted: 10/19/13 at 8:50pm

How many shows has 'Tasia missed?

[WiCkEDrOcKS]

Posted: 10/19/13 at 10:40pm

I just got in from tonight's performance. This was the perfect antidote to A TIME TO KILL, which I caught this afternoon. It's lively, wildly entertaining, and beautifully performed.

The talent in this cast is simply boundless. Each of them should be singled out. Adrienne Lenox is one of my favorite theater performers, and I was thrilled to see she has two solos, both of which she knocked out of the park with pitch-perfect comedic timing and brassy pipes. Fantasia is sensational, delivering each of her songs (and a bit of dancing!) with an old-school simplicity that makes your arm hair stand on end. Her "Stormy Weather" was worth the price of admission alone. Dulé Hill serves as a "master of ceremonies" of sorts, and he's fine, even if his voice isn't near the caliber of the rest of the cast's. The rest of the performers, particularly the dancers, are all phenomenal. Like I said, they all deserve raves and they are the true backbone to the show; it's really nice to see a show where everyone gets a chance to shine.

The design is simple, but effective; I'd imagine it's similar to the design at City Center, as it reminded me of the setup for most of their shows. The orchestra is on the stage, fully exposed for most of the time, and the piece they're on glides downstage for a few of their numbers, then back up. The lighting design and scrims/curtains that are used for some of the segments are gorgeous, as are the costumes.

As with any revue, the show isn't reinventing the wheel, but this is a revue done right. Warren Carlyle's choreography is fantastic, and is performed in a remarkably synchronized and crisp manner, especially for the early preview period. I was way in the last row of the mezzanine (the show seemed to be sold out) and I almost felt like I was onstage with them; that's how explosive the talent on the stage is. Each song probably got an average of three mid-performance ovations; the audience ate it up. This one is indeed head and shoulders above Broadway's other musical offerings so far this season. It's just a blast.

[Wickedmonkey332]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 9:14am

Wow great thank you Whizzer and dreaming!!!

[evic]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 9:48am

This was great at City Center. Amber Riley was sensational and I am sure Fantasia is just as good. The cast was superb. I hope Warren gets his Tony this year. He is a great choreographer with imaginative and unique ideas.

[best12bars]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 9:57am

Judging from the clips they posted here on BWW, the show looks terrific. I LOVE the choreography, and the production elements, and Fantasia and the others sound great.


LINK

[sklabam]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 10:58am

There's a book to it, but uses Langston Hughes poetry as the narrative. I found the show pretty amazing.
Dancing is an A+ (the best night of dancing I've seen in a decade at least)
Singing a B+ (a couple numbers need work - tap dancer out of breath can't really sing!)
Set is an A
Costumes an A+ (come on! TONY TONY TONY)
Humor is rich and story compelling; you know the Cotton Club was this brilliant spot on the planet where adversity and strife got set aside for a minute.

Ellington's arrangements reminded me what flipping genius he was. The music is timeless and compelling. After Midnight is the high point of the year for me.

[sklabam]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 11:02am

Much better than Black & Blue for sure. Performances here are stellar with:
Fantasia
Desmond Richardson
Dule Hill
Adrienne Lenox
and more I cannot remember

Cast is powerful, fun, connected and sells it!


Updated On: 10/20/13 at 11:02 AM

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 10/20/13 at 6:31pm

Wow, Whizzer, what a pleasant out-of-nowhere surprise to read this thread! Thank you!

(I didn't really need another show on my list, but *sigh*...)

[Pammylicious]

Posted: 10/21/13 at 3:50pm

Very excited just got tickets for Wednesday matinee. Looking forward to seeing Fantasia.

[JeffDaEgg2]

Posted: 10/23/13 at 11:31am

Apparently there is general rush for partial view tickets, $30. TAKE YO TIME, TASIA.

Posted: 10/23/13 at 8:30pm

Would anyone be willing to post the complete list of songs?

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 12:27pm

There are some pretty negative reactions to After Midnight on, you know, that other board. This thread here on BWW got me really pumped about seeing this show. The thing that worries me about the ATC posters is that the negative reactions I'm reading are of the "I really wanted to love this/was looking forward to this, but it fell flat/didn't live up to expectations" variety as opposed to the snarky "I told you so" variety. So, who's right? The boomers over at ATC or the millenials down here at BWW?

And, yes, I know that I'm making a gross generalization about the readership of both sites. But, seriously, was the praise in this thread a bit overdone or do you think it's a safe bet? I know there's no one answer to such a subjective question, but speak up anyway. I'm only in NY for less than a week and would prefer to give up my After Midnight slot to another show if this one leaves audiences a bit flat. For the record, I LOVE the music of the era. I adore Aint Misbehavin and while it certainly was a mixed experience, thoroughly enjoyed much of Black and Blue. It also appears to be mostly a show focused on the art of songcraft and dance -- something we seem to be lacking these days. So, put my mind at ease. I should still see After Midnight, right?

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 12:32pm

I would not compare this to Aint Mis Behavin. This show stands on its own. VERY top notch in all aspects. You won't see another Broadway show like this on Broadway this year. GARAUNTEED! If you want to be transported back to the era of REAL jazz and blues, not only mentally but emotionally as well. Then you must do yourself a huge favor and see this show.

[Trish2]

Posted: 10/24/13 at 4:13pm

Hey Horse Tears- Count me in on the "middle of the road" on this one. While it's certainly professional looking, and adept, it was as if I was looking through a gauze curtain throughout it. Very little seemed to "pop".

Firstly, the lead male, Dule Hill, doesn't sing well and is a bit lacking in the personality department. Adriane Lenox (fantastic), Fantasia Barrino ( you get what you expect) and Carmen Ruby Floyd ( a pleasant surprise) have at least one or two good songs that they each put over with aplomb, but that's about it in the vocal department. The men almost seem non-existent in the show, tap dancers aside. It's a hodgepodge of material strung together like a cabaret show, with the exception of having a terrific, large band.

The tap dancing is of the "hoofer" style, the stuff that Savion Glover popularized back in the day, but today is more commonplace. We've seen it all before, though Dormeshia Sumbry-Jones and especially Jared Grimes really stand out among the dancers. Grimes is credited with his own choreography, while I suspect Jones had a say in her material as well. I beg to differ with many of these posters on this being the choreography of the year- it's a strong prediction to make so early in the season. I found most of it tedious, repetitive, redundant and uninspired, the dancers notwithstanding. Let's face it, there hasn't been much plentiful dancing, good or bad, over the past few seasons, so I can see why some people might get fired up over this.

I wouldn't leave Stroman out of the picture just yet. Once once she gets her hands on Bullets over Broadway, I think the gangsters and molls may triumph over the cupie dolls and feathers of the Harlem nightclub scene.

In short, while there is some to like in this production, i won't be recommending to to friends on their upcoming Holiday trips.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 4:30am

Saw After Midnight tonight with a couple of friends - one who never goes to the theatre, one who sees everything and loves musicals and one who is, admittedly, a bit of a snob and prefers straight plays to musicals - nothing wrong with that - the reason I mention it is that we were all walking on air after the show. This is 90 minutes of pure joy. We would turn to each other throughout the evening and find that we were all grinning.

Is there a story? No. Is it even much of a thematic evening? Not really, but the show doesn't pretend to be something it isn't. It's a full on review and rather than get bogged down in what likely would have been a lackluster book, with half as many songs we got one sensational number after another -- 26 in total. Everything others have written in this thread is spot on. The one weak link is probably Dule Hill, but his role is hardly essential to the evening's entertainment.

Adriene Lennox - her first song, "Woman Be Wise" is a total showstopper. What presence, what a great voice and what a brilliant sense of comedic timing. She had the entire audience roaring. Her second number, "Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night" was excellent as well, but couldn't quite live up to the TKO of the first number. I do wish she had one more song to sing, though.

Fantasia - truly surprised me. Her first number, "I Can't Give you Anything But Love" was very nice, but not particularly great and it happened to follow Adriene Lennox's sensational opening number and suffered in comparison as the only two solo female performances up to that point in the show. Still, this proved to be a nice warm up number for Fantasia, because when she came back she truly surprised me with a gorgeous and heartfelt performance of "Stormy Weather", an electrifying red-hot performance of "Zaz Zuh Zaz" and a lovely "On The Sunny Side of the Street".

The dancers, singers and singer-dancers: I'd be typing on my phone all night if I tried to single them all out. With the exception of Dule Hill, there isn't a weak link here. These are supremely gifted men and women who sing with such passion and beauty and dance with such athleticism and grace. And every single one of them seemed to be having a sensational time on stage. That kind of energy is palpable and cannot be phoned in.

The design of this show was also fantastic. The costumes lovely, colorful, vibrant and with just the right sense of whimsy. The lighting was absolutely perfect and the use of frames, scrims, backgrounds behind around and in front of the ensemble and the band were beautifully and seamlessly executed. The sound design was also great. Could hear the vocalists when they had a subtle turn of phrase and when they and the band were at full force you could almost feel the music hit you.

And, of course, the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars were sensational. What a band. While I was pleasantly surprised at how great the Chicago orchestra still sounds is it possible that there is a better sounding band/orchestra on Broadway right now, than the Jazz at Lincoln Center All Stars? Just brilliant musicianship throughout -- both as soloists and as a well oiled ensemble.

Before seeing the show I thought the rotating guest star thing was silly gimmick. It may be a bit of one, but it's also a great idea and adding a new guest star every few months and, presumably, a few new numbers is going to be a truly great idea. We'll get to hear more of the wonderful music of Arlen, Ellington, Cab Calloway and others. But, honestly, if I lived closer and they never rotated guest stars, I know I would be back multiple times.

Excuse the long post. All I can say is, this was the most joyous night I've had in the theatre since I saw Fela! I hope the critics embrace it and that it has a long, healthy run.

(excuse typos, on phone)

Updated On: 10/29/13 at 04:30 AM

[Broadwaystar2]

Posted: 10/29/13 at 4:40am

LOVE LOVE LOVE your post! And the fact you did that all on a phone is HIGHLY commendable...Lol!

[matineeidol2591]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 1:12am

Caught After Midnight this evening-what a blissful night in the theatre. The cast is immensely talented, the songs/band a delight, and the choreography exhilarating-I respectfully object to anyone who says Carlyle's skills are lacking. I would recommend this to anybody! A special shout out to those gorgeous costumes as well. Don't miss After Midnight!!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 10/30/13 at 3:06am

Yes, I have to agree. I think Carlyle did stronger work here than people are giving him credit for. As for the authenticity, he's explicitly said in interviews (I think on this very site) that he was not attempting to create an exact replica of 1920s/30s choreography, but to reference it and take it as inspiration. I was actually impressed how he and the singers, dancers and singer-dancers were able to infuse their work with a contemporary style without betraying the feel of the music. I thought the choreography was very fine and frequently thrilling.