Romy and Michele's High School Reunion The Musical in Seattle

[Broadway Bounce]

Posted: 6/2/17 at 3:54pm

It starts June 8th at the 5th Avenue Theatre in Seattle.  Info here.

Anyone going? Anyone interested?  Look forward to reviews.

 

 

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Updated On: 6/2/17 at 03:54 PM

[Broadway Bounce]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 1:52am

Performances started tonight. Did anyone go? Any reviews? Any news?

[choitoy]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 2:24am

I have a friend that went, but I usually keep in touch with him through Facebook, and he usually doesn't post reaction stuff there.  I don't attend until the 20th, which I think is four performances after it is "frozen".

[choitoy]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 2:31am

The 5th did post a photo of the show curtain on it's Facebook page.   I can't figure out how to link it right now because I'm on my iPad.  The curtain looks very busy though, like 80's pop culture threw up all over it. 

Just checked out the comments in the picture also.  It looks like the intermission went longer than usual (so they had the original screen writer and book writer for the musical, Robin Schiff, come out and talk.   It also looks like act two was stopped for a few minutes. 

Updated On: 6/9/17 at 02:31 AM

[Broadway Bounce]

Posted: 6/9/17 at 8:25pm

Thanks for the update!

Here's some video of a photo shoot:  http://www.king5.com/entertainment/television/programs/evening/romy-and-michelles-high-school-reunion-debuts-in-seattle/446670732

 

 

[CoolDogeGuy]

Posted: 6/11/17 at 4:05am

I'm going to see this show while it's still in previews on Wednesday, June 14. Stay tuned for my review!

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 6/13/17 at 3:08pm

Anyone seen this yet?

[SeattleTraveler]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 2:23am

Just got home from seeing this. It was a lot of fun! There's some room for improvement, but that's to be expected for only being on day 8. Best new work I've seen at the 5th in a while. It definitely pulled in a big crowd, even on a Thursday, and they were pretty into it. I'm going to try to go again later in the run. 

I've also never seen the movie, so I might try to watch that before I go again to see how it compares. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 9:51am

"Romy and Michele" is only running for 2 more weeks. Does anyone know when the press opening is? 

I haven't seen the film but the song clips online remind me of "Legally Blonde: The Musical." 

https://www.youtube.com/user/5thAvenueTheatre/videos

 

EDIT: Never mind. It opened last night. Reviews should be up soon.

http://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/its-a-romy-and-michele-reunion-as-5th-avenue-theatre-launches-new-musical/

Updated On: 6/16/17 at 09:51 AM

[jesseeinstein2]

Posted: 6/16/17 at 6:30pm

First review is very positive! The show is so much fun!

Romy and Michele makes so much more sense as a musical...there are moments, like a particular nightmare sequence, that work so much better on stage it’s as if the film tried to adapt the play version.

Raves for Wolfson, Wall, Burnett, and Soltau:

...two star-making performances. Wolfson, tasked with recreating in both speech and song Mira Sorvino’s iconic Romy accent...fills the entire theatre from floor to ceiling every time she’s in the spotlight. And Wall [as Michele] basically takes over the second act, giving one of the production’s five (!!!!!) standout musical numbers, “I Invented Post-its.”

Only twice is a scene stolen from the titular characters. First by Jordan Kai Burnett’s Heather Mooney, taken with brute force in a saucy and cigarette smoke–laden manifesto on love (it’s bull****), and then by Tess Soltau as the super evil cheerleader turned super evil mommy Christie Masters, flanked by her chorus of pregnant ladies. Everything else is Romy and Michele, their friendship way more fleshed out through a series of knockout duets and fearlessly bad dance routines.

https://www.seattlemet.com/articles/2017/6/16/romy-and-michele-s-high-school-reunion-should-have-been-a-musical-all-along

[kuhset]

Posted: 6/17/17 at 12:10pm

I'm excited to see it on the 27th. I asked a friend who saw it in previews and they said that "it was cute! not the most phenomenal show, but very true to the story and style of the movie and a fun time all around, especially for people who do LOVE the movie. I think it sat right around 2 hrs + intermission. overall it was good lighting, there were just several times where it was too direct to the audience and a little blinding". She also said that I'd probably enjoy it more after seeing the movie, and that "the girl playing Romy is gonna have a weird speaking voice/inflection that makes her sound kinda like she's not so great of an actor/isn't saying the lines right sometimes but again, knowing the movie, she is actually doing a pretty great impression of the movie actress". 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/19/17 at 11:01am

I'm surprised there aren't more reviews at this point. 

Broadwayworld.com Review. Negative.

"So, the script is mostly just the same with large chunks lifted right from the screenplay. But where the show falls down is with the music and especially lyrics from Gwendolyn Sanford and BranDon Jay." 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/seattle/article/BWW-Review-5th-Aves-Cute-ROMY-AND-MICHELE-Isnt-Lyrical-or-Catchy-20170617

Updated On: 6/19/17 at 11:01 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/19/17 at 11:27am

She also said that I'd probably enjoy it more after seeing the movie, and that "the girl playing Romy is gonna have a weird speaking voice/inflection that makes her sound kinda like she's not so great of an actor/isn't saying the lines right sometimes but again, knowing the movie, she is actually doing a pretty great impression of the movie actress".

The film actress is Oscar winner Mira Sorvino. 

[h6p8gv]

Posted: 6/19/17 at 1:41pm

ANybody have the song list from the production

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 2:53pm

Reviews are out and BWW is rounding them up: 
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Review-Roundup-ROMY-AND-MICHELES-HIGH-SCHOOL-REUNION-World-Premiere-in-Seattle-20170620

Variety is Negative. "While the potential is still there for a musicalized “R&M” to improve upon its source, as “Legally Blonde” did, at present this loud, effortful stab at a crowdpleaser goes in the opposite direction."
https://variety.com/2017/legit/reviews/romy-and-micheles-high-school-reunion-review-musical-1202471730/

Seattle Times is Mixed. "The show’s finale finally sees an attempt to branch out into new territory, with a plot adjustment that makes sense for all the characters involved, and a joyous big finish that doesn’t merely trade on the good feelings of the source material. It’ll have you exiting the theater with a bounce in your step, and for a show like this, maybe that’s more than enough."
https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/review-romy-and-michele-and-their-reunion-on-the-5th-avenue-theatre-stage/

Seattle PI is Negative. "Why would the 5th’s producers take a silly film that flopped big time (despite some terrific performances) and think they could turn it into a successful musical? "
https://blog.seattlepi.com/feetfirst/2017/06/19/a-tone-deaf-romy-and-michele/

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/20/17 at 2:55pm

Re: h6p8gv, I have not found the song list online but the reviews mention several:
 

Big Night Out – Romy and Michele
I Invented Post-Its – Michele & Chorus
Love Is… (Bulls***, Baby) – Heather Mooney
I Don’t Have You – Sandy Frink
Business Woman’s Special
Ten Years
You’re the Coolest Person I Know
Without You

Updated On: 6/20/17 at 02:55 PM

[kuhset]

Posted: 6/28/17 at 2:43am

I just got back from seeing the show! Having not seen the entire movie (I watched ~20 minutes of it earlier, but didn't get to finish the entire movie before going), I found it very cute. I think it could do well Off-Broadway, similar to Heathers. They play a bunch of hit songs from the 80s-90s before the show & during intermission, which was nice as it helped set the mood for the show. 

The first act is centered around Romy & Michele deciding to go to the reunion, and trying to figure out what to tell everyone when they're there. From the bits of the movie that I've already seen, they were definitely very true to it. There were lines that seemed to be identical from the movie, and it worked very well. The audience was really responsive, and there were a lot of laughs. You could tell that people who were there weren't usual theatre goers (Where's Patti LuPone when you need her?), and that they strictly went because they were a huge fan of the movie. Lots of whooping and enthusiasm from the audience, and I feel like most of the fans of the movie walked out happy! 

There were a few jokes that I'm guessing were in the movie, but seem very outdated now. Other than that, it was pretty cohesive, and quite funny throughout. The lighting was a little blinding at times. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the score as a whole. It almost reminded me of Legally Blonde, Heathers, and American Psycho, although with less memorable lyrics. I’ll post the song list at the bottom of the post, but the two numbers that seemed to be the best received were Love Is, as sung by Heather, and I Don’t Have You, which is sung by Sandy in Act 2.

As stated in the BWW Review, "The cast is full of energy and fun and trying their hardest. Wolfson and Wall are adorable as the ditzy heroines and manage some decent vocal impressions of the originals but never get their moments to convey much about their relationship or character other than being party girls. Burnett is delightful as the bitter foul mouthed loner Heather. Grant completely kills as the nerdy Sandy turned hottie and his voice is incredible. Hannah Schuerman is quite lovable as the awkward Toby and Tess Soltau makes for a fine villain as the superficial A-Lister Christy." - I definitely agree with that. The cast is incredible and are really pulling the show along. The audience really loved all of them too and was very enthusiastic. 

It took me almost the entire number to realize that there was a dream sequence (which is in Act 2), which I'm not sure is because of how it was staged, or because I am unfamiliar to the movie. I ran into a friend at intermission who had never seen the movie either, and said that their frequent time skips made it a little confusing. 

This show was visually very intricate. I will say that there were parts in Act 1 where the lights shine over the audience, and ended up just hitting me right in the eye - making it hard for me to see some parts. The costumes definitely helped move things along, although I spent most of the show wondering when the post-it dresses would show up after having seen a photo on Stephanie Wall’s instagram ( https://www.instagram.com/p/BV3K6jKl4Mn/?taken-by=stephiewall ). It wasn’t used in the whole show at all, but only at bows — I’m still glad it was worked in somehow though! 

There’s a dance number in Act 2 that seems a little out of place - not so much in the fact that it is a dance number, but the way it is choreographed. I understand that there is some kind of dance between Romy, Michele and Sandy, although I’m not sure how it’s shown in the movie. The dance in that scene reminded me of something that should’ve been in An American in Paris or On The Town, rather than a musical like this. Aside from that, the choreography was very ‘cute’.

Overall, I felt like this musical could do really well off-Broadway. I think there are some things that could be worked on, but I do understand why people enjoyed it so much. It definitely reminded me of high school and a lot of fears that I had during it (especially not fitting in, and wanting to be different/make a name for myself), and makes me want to get back in touch with some friends from high school. It’s a very “feel-good” musical too. I'm quite tired & am not sure if this made any sense, but wanted to get this up before I forgot about it tomorrow! Feel free to ask me any clarifying questions.

SONG LIST: 

Act 1 / 

Romy & Michele's Big Night Out - Romy, Michele, Ensemble
Ten Years - Romy, Michele, Toby 
Look at Those Girls - Christie, Kelly, Cheryl, Lisa, Romy, Michele, Ensemble
You're the Coolest Person I Know - Romy, Michele
Party Hardy/Somebody to Dance With - Romy, Full Company
It's A Giant Mystery - Romy, Michele, Sandy, Heather
Get A Life - Romy, Michele, Ensemble
Love Is - Heather, Male Ensemble
The Lie Will Set Us Free - Romy, Michele, Ensemble 

Act 2 / 

Business Woman Special - Romy, Michele, Ensemble  

One Big Lie - Romy, Michele

I invented Post-Its - Michele, Christie, Kelly, Cheryl, Lisa, Ensemble

Welcome to the Reunion - Toby

I Feel Fulfilled - Christie, Romy, Kelly, Cheryl

Michele is Lost - Michele

Without You - Romy, Michele
You're the Coolest Person I Know (Reprise) - Romy, Michele

We’re Done - Romy, Michele, Kelly, Cheryl, Christie, Lisa, Ensemble

I Don’t Have You - Sandy

It's A Giant Mystery (Reprise) - Romy, Michele, Sandy

Changing Lives (One Outfit at a Time) - Romy, Michele, Ensemble

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 9:20pm

5th Avenue Theatre continues to post songs from Romy and Michele on their channel. The score appears to set a great deal of the films text to music but I'm not hearing any catchy hooks or chorus. Since the show is aping Legally Blonde I'd say I'm not hearing a "Ohmigod You Guys," "What You Want" or "So Much Better."

 

The Lie Will Set Us Free: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFT8UAAXrAU

[BeNice]

Posted: 7/3/17 at 11:38am

Saw this. While this is a fun tribute to the movie and seemed like a fun, campy girls night out at lower than Broadway prices, this is most definitely not a Broadway musical. It is not clever, the music is very amateur, and the script is just the movie placed on stage. There is no reason for this to exist other than a send up of the film. It would do well to tour in smaller regional houses and maybe if it did hit New York do a limited New World Stages or off off Broadway run. 

[The Distinctive Baritone]

Posted: 7/3/17 at 6:51pm

Out of town tryouts have moved to Broadway with worse reviews, but I'm guessing this show has been dealt a mortal blow. It should do well in small regional theaters though.

[gleek4114]

Posted: 1/28/20 at 1:11am

Way back when I followed the show’s Facebook page and today they posted an update as well as new artwork stating she next chapter for the show is coming in 2020. It’ll be interesting to see if that proves true.

[Fan123]

Posted: 1/9/24 at 3:24pm

There's an hourlong workshop version of this show happening in London on 30 January - 1 February, as part of MTFestUK. Tickets are being sold to the public.

https://theotherpalace.co.uk/romy-and-michele-the-musical/