JOHN & JEN w/ Kate Baldwin & Conor Ryan

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 2/10/15 at 6:31am

JOHN & JEN with Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan starts tonight off-Broadway! I'm going Saturday afternoon and I'm so excited. Anyone going tonight?

I've loved the show ever since first hearing the cast recording many years ago. This will be my first chance to actually get to see it. I can't wait!
JOHN & JEN

[themysteriousgrowl]

Posted: 2/10/15 at 6:40am

Ugh. Kate Baldwin can do anything.

And this is the only Lippa score that I really like.

I don't think I'll make it, so I look forward to hearing everyone's reports! Thank you for starting this thread!

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 1:45pm

15 minutes til showtime. I'll report back!

[Cupid Boy2]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 1:52pm

Can't wait to hear your thoughts! I've been looking forward to hearing about this.

[SayitSomehow]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 5:15pm

Saw the second preview and it was pretty freakin' great.

TDF sat me front row center in what is already a very very tiny space - Kate Baldwin could have fallen on my lap at any moment. To be that close to her as she sang that quite beautiful score with that exquisite voice was phenomenal. She is just ravishing in looks and spirit. Okay, done crushing on her.

Conor also sounded great and naturally has the child-like essence for the role. The two of them seem really connected throughout the entire show. Strong chemistry and genuine love. They both work really hard bringing the story to life in a very spare setting. Simply beautiful to listen to and to watch - highly recommend it!!!

Updated On: 2/14/15 at 05:15 PM

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 5:17pm

I am totally in love with her. Seeing this in the beginning of March and I'm ecstatic!

[LittleEdieFan]

Posted: 2/14/15 at 5:31pm

Saw the matinee today. Kate Baldwin was in extraordinary fine voice and Conor Ryan was spot on playing the Johns. Such a beautiful musical. It's a winner!

[Broadway Bob*]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 11:29am

Do NOT miss this!!! Absolutely exquisite from beginning till end! Kate Badwin sang and acted beautifully. She carried the character all the way through from 6 - 40ish brilliantly! She never went too far and became caricatures of youth. Conor Ryan was also spot on in his portrayal. His singing was so effortless. And he is gorgeous!!! The thing I REALLY loved - since they were in such a smal space, they used no microphones. It was so nice to hear natural voices for a change after the over amplified Broadway shows I'd seen the nights before. Just a gorgeous change of pace! Also after the show both Ms. Baldwin and Mr. Ryan were quite gracias and generous with their time at the "stage door." Two very sweet people deserving of a hit run!!!

Please believe me when I say, RUSH down and see this. You don't want to miss it!!!

[imeldasturn]

Posted: 2/15/15 at 11:49am

It's a lovely show and Kate will be terrific in it

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 2/21/15 at 7:40am

I'm not sure when, but TDF now has tickets going into next Friday-Sunday (Feb. 27th-March 1st). Going on Saturday! I can't wait! This will actually be my first Off Broadway show.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 10:10pm

I was there tonight - the last preview - and I would say it's absolutely worth going to if you're a Kate Baldwin fan. She's spectacular. She acts her t**ts off. She's great. I loved her voice, her subtle acting choices. She was just perfection. Ryan was fine. His voice is fine, his acting was fine. He just wasn't exciting the way Baldwin is, but eh, maybe that's the part. The show itself is less exciting. Nothing really happens that's all that interesting. It's all very basic. The set is the ugliest thing I've seen in a professional production.

But still, I'm happy I saw it for her. She was amazing.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 2/25/15 at 11:07pm

When is this set to close? If it gets good reviews could it possibly transfer to another Off Broadway House for an open ended run?

[dave1606]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 1:10pm

I saw this last night and I agree with RippedMan. Kate is phenomenal. Her facial expressions, and reactions, especially in Act 2 are just incredible. She sings the role beautifully and I would love a cast recording with her on it.

I can't say I loved Conor Ryan, but the role is stacked against him. Kate gets a fully realized character and he has to start over mid-way through the show.

I HATED the set design. It was like being trapped in some terrible art installation at the Moma. Dark, brooding, and just not right for the piece at all. I also couldn't help that think the show would benefit from some of the Heidi Chronicles projections which do such a great job of putting you in a time and place. Since we were stuck with SUCH an ugly set, it was often hard to place where the characters were without closely listening to the lyrics.

Overall, it was lovely due to Kate. If you are a fan you need to see this. But the show itself doesn't have too much to offer, and I don't think this production is doing the piece any favors.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 2:25pm

^I agree with the set and what everyone is saying about Kate. Holy acting. I'll have to remember to get as close to the stage as I can for her future shows because I was so far off in Big Fish that I missed all of her facial expressions/subtle movements.

Kate is fricken fantastic.

[LarryD2]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 2:35pm

I saw this show during its original run at the now-defunct Lamb's Theatre. Hard to believe that was twenty years ago. Carolee Carmello had left by the time I saw it (she was pregnant) and Michele Pawk was playing Jen. She and James Ludwig gave good performances, and some of the music was memorable, but I never found the show fully satisfying.

The current revival provoked similar feelings.

Kate Baldwin is wonderful, and it is a treat to see her perform in such an intimate space. She manages to sell even some of show's most trite material. Conor Ryan I found more successful as Act Two John; in Act One, I didn't buy his transition from worshipful younger brother to headstrong young soldier.

The second act characterizes Jen as a painfully inept mother, in a rather unsympathetic way. I didn't respond to that twenty years ago, and I still don't now.

Still and all, Baldwin is pretty spectacular. I could feel tears behind my eyes during "Just Like You"--honestly, I'm getting chills just typing about it now.

[LimelightMike]

Posted: 3/6/15 at 10:49pm

Is there a Playbill or program for this? I've yet to see this one.

[CoreyRyan3]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 12:24am

Any chance this gets an extension because I am dying to see it and already have a full trip for my March visit.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 1:07am

Mike it's a large sized program. The picture/design is quite pretty compared the awful physical production.

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 3/7/15 at 6:15pm

If I did it correctly, here is the program:

They also had smaller photo-looking sheets of paper with that same design in color, but I totally forgot to grab one on my way out. ):