Boston Spelling Bee

[way_to_spend_the_day]

Posted: 9/25/06 at 11:38pm

Ok, so I just got back from the dress rehearsal of the Boston production of Spelling Bee. Here's my review of the show, with no comparisons to original cast, as that is completely unfair to any show...

The standouts to me were Jenni Barber as Olive, Sara Inbar as Logainne, Greta Lee as Marcy, and Stanley Bahorek as Leaf. My favorite character in this show is Leaf, and Stanley Bahorek did not disappoint. His acting was just as good, if not better than his singing, which was very strong, but I don't think the material showed off his best vocals. I looked forward to seeing him as Carl even as much as Leaf--he was by far the audience favorite(then again, it was an audience made up of mostly college-aged girls), and nailed EVERY joke (Leaf Coneybear has cats).
Greta Lee as Marcy also made an impression with her acting, and she had the part down perfectly. Her "Six Languages" was well-sung and extremely hilarious, and she was very aware of the other actors onstage, being extremely consistant throughout the show.
Sara Inbar did not impress me originally as Logainne, as I felt she lacked some energy, but as the show went on, she turned around completely, and I ended up feeling extremely sorry for her when she missed her word. Which is saying a lot since the character of Logainne usually annoys me. Her sign language got huge laughs, as well as her breath-holding. My one complaint is that she was not the annoying little girl that Rona was making her out to be...
Jenni Barber played Olive with everything that she should have. Her first song, "My Friend the Dictionary" was not increadibly impressive, but she was by far a stand-out in the "I Love You Song" and in the final sequence between her and Barfee("My Favorite Moment..."). Her acting throughout was great.

In fact, the entire cast had their characters down completely( it probably helped that many of them have been playing the roles in San Francisco for some time) as well as the energy. The only complaint was that a few of the actors were not amazing singers. This I felt was true of Aaraon J. Albano, as Chip. Maybe his mic needed to be turned up higher, but I felt that he was lacking a little bit in power, and his performance fit the part, but he could have turned it up a bit and truly been amazing.
Betsy Wolfe as Rona was a good fit, and she was especially funny when she was going crazy dancing. A few of her jokes were not as hilarious as might have been intented, but I think she may have been avoiding copying the original cast a bit, and thus, her delivery may have been a bit off.
Daniel Pearce as Principal Panch was also a good fit, just not extremely memorable. He was most funny when dealing with the last audience-speller, as he attempted to get him off stage.
Jared Gertner was a little bit of a disappointment for me, but I cannot ultimately place why. He did have a lot of energy, and his vocals were good (not great), but there was something lacking in his performance for me. Ok, maybe I'm being overly technical here, but I didn't really feel that I could relate to him at all, and I could with the other characters. I'm not sure if he truly IS Barfee, yet...
The major disappointment for me was James Monroe Iglehart as Mitch. I could tell that his vocals were great, but he missed a few notes tonight. I think part of his character choice was to act uninterested, but it came off as a little bored and lacking in energy. Also, his portrayal of Logainne's dad was more uncomfortable than believable. This, however, was not true of him when he was Olive's dad. This portrayal is what saved him for me, as I felt that he was amazing during "The I Love You Song". Perhaps he is just not a character actor.
Overall, the performance was great, and I laughed so hard. There were a few Boston jokes added in, which were well accepted, and it was funny to see the "am I a Red Sox or a Yankee?" line have a Boston crowd. The contestants brought onstage were great and often hilarious, and the cast seemed ready to handle the audience participation. The sets were great, much like, if not exactly, the broadway set if you would like a visual, and the theatre it is being performed at is great for the show, as it is intimate.
So, I definately would recommend this show to anyone around Boston or traveling through Boston--it is definately worth it. The show follows through on its laughs, and hopefully will do very well in Boston. I am very excited that this is an open-ended run, I just hope that the Boston audience allows it to stay for a while.

Sorry this is soooo long-I know most of you guys won't get out to see this, but I hope anyone around here who was not planning on coming to see this will reconsider--the show is really of great quality.

[liotte]

Posted: 9/25/06 at 11:52pm

Thanks for the review!!

I can't wait to see it on Sunday!!!

[way_to_spend_the_day]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:28am

let me know how you like the show after you see it--I'm sure you'll love it!!

[Raviolisun]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:37am

Thanks for the review! I'm glad to see you love Jenni Barber and Sara Inbar as much as I did. :] They were great performers and even greater people.

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 12:54am

Aw. Part of why I did like Jared Gertner was because he reminded me of the kids I hated in school, but let me see the vulnerable side I never saw of them. If that makes sense. :)

I've seen James Monroe Iglehart seem low-energy -- hopefully it was a one-time only thing. It didn't happen that often when I saw the show.

I never thought Rona was trying to make Logainne out to be an annoying little girl. Interesting.

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:07pm

I just posted my thoughts on the Spelling Bee Love thread, but I figured I would post them here as well. I don't have time to read way_to_spend's review right now (I'm off to class), but I'll probably read it and comment on it later. For now, here are my thoughts:

I was about 6 rows back and it was nice to see the show from the center of a theatre (my lotto seats have always been on the side).

Aaron J. Albano: He was very cute and tons of fun. MUE was so energetic, but I don't love the fact that it was staged in front of the first row of the orchestra because it was a little hard to see. (A silly note...the individually wrapped candys are better in Boston than NY.)

Stanley Bahorek: He was cute and funny but there was a little something missing. The character had no depth. Vocally was adiquite, but nothing really stood out. The audience loved him, he got the biggest "awww" when he was eliminated.

Jenni Barber: She was easily my favorite member of the cast. At first I found myself missing Celia a bit, but Jenni won me over very quickly. She has a gorgeous voice and her "The I Love You Song" was so incredibly emotional that I almost started crying. (Jenni cried through the whole song.)

Jared Gertner: Another cast member that I don't feel strongly about. Barfee is probably my least favorite character in the Bee so I can't really give a fair opinion. Jared was fine and he did very well vocally.

James Monroe Iglehart: James played the role a lot tougher than Derrick does, but it was funny and quite believable. His voice was beautiful and he was hillarious as Loganne's Dad.

Sarah Inbar: WOW! She was perfect in the role. I didn't think that I could love anybody as much as Sarah Salzberg, but this Sarah at least came close. She reads very young on stage and I loved how she spoke and signed every word. Her lisp was a little patchy a few times but all in all she was awsome.

Gretta Lee: I hate to say it, but I was underwhelmed. Gretta could hit all of the notes and do the "I Speak Six Languages" dance, but there was something missing. She was too cheerful the whole time and she didn't make me care about Marcy at all. She does get an honorable mention though, because after Chip tells Marcy to watch what he does, she turned back to the audience and mouthed "asshole" which sent everyone into gales of laughter.

Daniel Pearce: Another actor who didn't make a strong impression. He was funny, but nothing over the top. The one thing that was interesting was that he sang more than the other Panches. He sang, or at least spoke melodically, the beginning of "Spelling Rules" and when Chip was eliminated for "tittup" he spoke-sang "If you start to spell a word..."

Betsy Wolfe: Betsy has a great voice but seemed a little too young to play Ms. Peretti. She didn't portray enough of the respected athority figure. She kept saying "Oh my god" and sounded a little too much like she should be in the movie Clueless. Her "I Love You Song" was brilliantly sung and acted too.

There were a few cute adlibs added to the show, but to me, most of it fell flat. The thing that this Bee really has going for it is the fact that its actors look a lot younger than the actors on Broadway and their energy is still very new feeling. On the other hand, I laughed more at the sentences than I did at many of the antics and "The I Love You Song" was the high point of the show due to James, Jenni and Betsy's superb acting and singing.

[lite2shine]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:30pm

I saw Bee in SF three times and every time Gretta was off key.

I hope Boston Bee will be received well and have a healthy run!

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:40pm

I never really thought it mattered if Marcy Park was a less-than-spectacular singer.

she turned back to the audience and mouthed "asshole" which sent everyone into gales of laughter.

Ha, that's from the adult show.

[liotte]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 1:45pm

In Chicago, Jen Sese used to turn around to face the audience and she said "Jackass", which I loved.

I can't wait til Sunday!!!

[way_to_spend_the_day]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:08pm

Elphabarose---I'm so surprised that you were underwhelmed by the show! You must have seen opening night? so I assume the energy was there, what didn't do it for you? I was in stitches for most of the show and didn't want it to end!

[ElphabaRose]

Posted: 9/26/06 at 10:30pm

I was there last night at the final dress. I love the show itself, I've seen it 5 times in NYC. I guess a better way to put it is that I was underwhelmed by much of the cast. I still laughed, but much of the time it was things that are funny in the writing, like the sentences for the spellers. I didn't find some lines funny that I usually do, and I'm blanking on what those things are right now because my cast is being distracting.

[DoubleDown11]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 9:35am

I just found out yesterday that my wife got tickets for me for Saturday night's performance for my bday. Woohoo! Honestly I don't know much about the show so I'm hoping I enjoy it. It sounds like there are some mixed reviews here. Something tells me though that I will probably enjoy it since I haven't seen the bway cast and know little of the music and characters. It'll be a big night out for us...dinner, drinks and a show. With a fourteen month old child its hard to have a night out on the town. I just wanted to share in my excitement. I'll report back on what I thought.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 9:48am

Sorry to be off topic, but is there a post about ASU in Boston? I couldn't find any. Thanks!

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 10:48am

Yay for Stanley!!!

I actually adore Jame's Mitch - his Prayer of the Comfort Counselor is so hammed up and hilarious, I honestly think he steals the show.

Aw, I miss that show. And the last time I went to see it in SF, Stanley was out... ;_;

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:00am

Something tells me though that I will probably enjoy it since I haven't seen the bway cast and know little of the music and characters.

It's a great show, DougleDown! I purposely avoided learning more about it before I saw it (I owned the OBC but had only listened to it once or twice) and ended up being a HUGE Bee fan. You don't need any prior knowledge to enjoy it.

[folkyboy]

Posted: 9/28/06 at 11:02am

well i saw it on Broadway and loved it enough to see it again when it comes here. so i think you'll enjoy it DougleDown. Bill Finn is an amazing lyricist

[Zenachick]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 7:16pm

Anyone try lotto lately? I am planning on going tomorrow (Tuesday)

[alliez92092]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 7:18pm

Lotto is no problem. No one participates. You can basically tell them which lotto seats you want.

[Glory]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 7:22pm

i went on a tuesday half an hour before curtain and got the lotto seats for 2nd row because no one did it. tuesdays are the best days go. I might be hitting it up too!

[liotte]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 7:23pm

I want to go!

[crzyrocket]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 7:32pm

Lotto is my best friend.

They seem to be just giving away random seats now. I usually go 10 minutes before curtain (I hate waiting) and they're almost always available.

The last time I went (last night), I wound up Row G, center orchestra. Right smack in the middle of what would be considered a premium seat.

If for some odd reason they're sold out, there's a college discount. Best available for only $37.50.

[Rachel2789]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 8:19pm

When I went last Friday, we got row G, left orchestra. Where are the other seats that they use for lotto? It was my first time doing it, but I'd like to go back before they leave since I completely fell in love with the show/cast!

[crzyrocket]

Posted: 12/11/06 at 9:34pm

The lotto seats used to be the first couple rows of the side orchestra, usually the last 2 of each aisle so it was a pretty extreme side view of the stage. Plus, if you were on the odd side, you completely missed seeing Jesus.

[yellibean2]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 3:55pm

crzyrocket, you were there 12/10 at 5:30 in Row G? How have I not seen you yet? I was also sitting in Row G (I actually got comps, but that's a completely different story).

[shesamarshmallow]

Posted: 12/12/06 at 7:49pm

Any fans of the SF/Boston Bee cast should search on the site that must not be named for spelling bee national anthem. It's so cute! "Is that a motion picture camera?"