I just saw this tonight...and I enjoyed every second of this amazing production. Everything was perfect, I was transported into a world of magic and fairy tales thanks to this great new version of this book by Douglas Carter Bean.
The sets were terrific, the show didn't have a dull moment, the orchestra was first rate and so were the stars of the show.
Pop princess Carly Rae Jepsen blew me away. She has a great pop voice and her voice is good enough for Broadway. But what impressed me about her, was her acting. Who knew she was so great!? Then I read she did many musicals in her high school and that made complete sense, because she was a natural.
Queen of comedy Fran Drescher was hilariously funny, she didn't have to sing much, which is a good thing, but she had a few one-liners that are delivered in a way she only knows how to.
Victoria Clark was fantastic and I think she was perfectly cast (for a change).
Joe Carroll was excellent as the Prince. He is top notch.
Peter Bartlett was great delivering his one-liners too, Todd Buonopane was first rate as usual, Stephanie Gibson couldn't have been better, Phumzile Sojola is great and Ann Harada was a scene stealer.
I highly recommend everyone to re-visit the show if you have already seen it and if you didn't, go see this. It was a lovely evening at the theatre.
I don't "stage door" often, but I was so touched by this performance, that I decided to wait in the freezing cold. Fran came out and was a class act, she thanked everyone for coming and got in her car, then the lovely Carly Rae came out and took pictures with as many fans as she could and I was able to tell her I loved the show and that many of her fans really appreciate that she cancelled an appearance at a show for boy scouts after finding out that they didn't let gays join. She couldn't have been nicer, a true Broadway star.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
"Then I read she did many musicals in her high school and that made complete sense, because she was a natural"
She also studied at the Canadian College for the Performing Arts here, where I live, in Victoria. While I can't say I've been super impressed with the productions I've seen of theirs, they do make everyone focus on all three "threats."
"I don't really care too much if there are any other threads about this, but I wanted to create my own."
Yes. How could we possibly expect legendary theatre critic muscle23ftl to sully his exclusive review by posting it in one of the two existing threads discussing the new cast of Cinderella? That would be like asking Ben Brantley to post his review in the Pennysaver. It simply isn't done.
Victoria Clark is the best part of the entire production, but Madame is certainly a larger role than Marie. Though Marie has the advantage of those beautiful songs.
I guess I just had the impression that Victoria Clark had "second billing" female wise before, but maybe I just wanted to think that because she IS Victoria Clark.
I would venture to say that Victoria Clark is not receiving huge amounts of attention in the new wave of press surrounding the show is because she is not new to the production. Anybody who would have seen the show just for her performance has more than likely done so by now. By heavily marketing the new stars the producers are hoping to gain audience members who might be fans of the two new women and might have been avoiding and/or unaware of the show before they came aboard. If a new star with a pre-established fan base was brought in to play Marie/Fairy Godmother then you would certainly see more marketing focusing on that actor/character as well.
Anyone else wants to share opinions of the pop princess or the queen of comedy in this show?
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
I loved the show so much I went to see it again...and the theater was completely sold out on a Tuesday night...so if you're interested to see the new stars of Cinderella, you better get tickets in advance. Once again, I staged door, which I rarely do anymore, and the stars couldn't have been sweeter. Fran made a speech thanking everyone for coming and got in her car, Carly took pictures with some fans and signed autographs, but as the crowds are getting larger, she can't stay and sing for everyone. Joe Carroll didn't come out for some reason, I also didn't spot Victoria Clark coming out either.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
If a press agent were to try to equally bill Victoria Clark with Fran Drescher and Carly Rae Jepsen in the same ad, they should be fired because they CLEARLY do not know how to perform their job. 1. As stated, Drescher and Jepsen are new to the production, that equals FRESH press. 2. The target demographic that you are marketing Jepsen and Drescher to wouldn't know Victoria Clark from a homeless woman on the street. That is no insult to Clark. It is demographic. One demographic thinks Clark walks on water, a different demographic think Jepsen or Drescher walk on water. Enough said. 3. Jepsen and Drescher are an "event." "12 weeks only, come now." That is not the case for Clark.
Does anyone know if this new cast will get a recording?
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-