The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
theatreboi11
Broadway Star Joined: 5/9/05
#0The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
Posted: 10/9/06 at 1:57pm
*Possible Spoilers*
First off I just want to start by saying this show is amazing! I do agree with what some people have been saying that it isnt Les Miz or Miss Saigon, but hey, who cares! I have been so excited for months to see this show and over all it completely lived up to my expectations.
The Overature: About the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. It starts off nice and slow and then becomes so gorgeous I could not stop smiling. By far one of the best overatures out there.
The Opening: So powerful. There is a lot going on but thats fine. It really brings you into the chaos and sets up the show nicely.
Stephanie J Block: FANTASTIC! God this girl is amazing! This role fits her so well. I wish she had much more singing, but that is only because of how beautiful her voice is. In retrospect she sings a great deal and is so incredibly powerful in the role.
The Chorus: WOW. That is all I have to say. The songs for the chorus are outstanding and they pull it off better than most choruses I have seen.
Hadley Frasier: Beautiful voice. I wish he sang more but his first solo is outstanding!
The Queen: Super love that she sings operatic. It fits so well with the mood and the show and contrasts nicely with the Irish. At times I was hard to understand her but it is completely forgiven with her OUTSTANDING costumes!
The Dad: Overall, good. He was very hard to understand and due to this my family and I completly lost a vital part of the plot. Good voice but compared to some of the power houses he ends up being just mediocre. Also his death is very cheesey (death is a very hard thing to pull off anyway)
The Husband: The actor was good but the character is not that great. They put him in the position to be the bad guy well, but in the end I wasn't very into the character.
The End of the First act: I was completely ok with no hard core act one ender. I fell visually the act ends on a fatastic note. At first I felt the powerful singing ending in a very somber last note was weird, but on the other hand very effective in the end.
Music: SO BEAUTIFUL. It is a very good mix of power house songs and beautiful ballads. The orchestrations were some of the best I have heard. Overall, I rarely found myself bored or disappointed with the music.
Costumes: If this show doesnt win the Tony for costumes I have no clue what will! The queens costumes alone were breath taking. I enjoyed the whimsical take of the english bunt roll. Overall, a fantastic costume show.
Lighting: I was blown away by some of the lighting. Most notable is the duet in the second act where the stripped the stage of any set and used some of the most creative and fantastic lighting!
Set: Overall, it was impressive. At times I felt it was too much and other times felt it was too little.
Direstion: I must say that out of everything in this show I HATED the direction most. And by hated I mean HATED!!!! Yes there was some wonderful creativity, but there is way too much standing around and repition of ways to bring on the chorus. I was not impressed whatso ever and in the end thought if there was a an element bringing down this show, this is absolutly it!
Dance: Loved it! My criticism is that there is not enough of it! Really there are only two full out dance numbers and with as powerful as they are it leaves you wishing there was more dancing. By far the Wedding dance is the show stopper! I had the chills so bad I thought I was stroking out!
Plot: I knew very little about the story of Grania O'Malley going into this. In general the plot is good. I feel there is a significant lack of climax. I also felt myself not being able to care much about any of the characters. I feel they need to really strengthen the plot and find the moments to expand on so the story comes across more powerful. I didn't feel there were any plot holes or stretching to make things work, however I did feel things weren't made important enough.
The end of the show: Wonderful last song. The show ends very powerful. However, I felt it was a little awkward between the space from the last note and the end of the song. I was really wanting one last held out strong note at the very very end. To me it felt unfinished.
The Curtain Call: It starts off with an irish dance to bring out the chorus and then just drops half way though and never really picks up. Also, the curtain call became very awkward and drawn out due to too much time between actors coming out and weird looks on their faces.
This show has so much potential and tons of room to grow. Hopefully, the really make the effort to work things out and strengthen it because so far this show is way to good to let fall through the cracks! The show in itself is visually and audibly stunning! I recommend not going to see this show expecting Les Miz or Miss Saigon. You will be disappointed. Approach this show as a new work with these writers and appriciate the staple this will become. In the end, I loved the show! Wonderful job to the cast and crew. Here is to a successful run in Chicago and on Broadway!
(Martha Graham from a letter to Agnes de Mille) "There is a vitality, a life force, a quickening That is translated through you into action, And because there is only one of you in all time, This expression is unique. If you block it, It will never exist through any other medium And be lost. The world will never have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is, Nor how valuable it is, Nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours, clearly and directly, To keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep open and aware Directly to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open. No artist is pleased. There is no satisfaction whatever at any time. There is only a queer, divine dissatisfaction, A blessed unrest that keeps us marching And makes us more alive than others."
Updated On: 10/9/06 at 01:57 PM
#1re: The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
Posted: 10/9/06 at 3:07pm
I was totally at this show!! front center.
I am completely blown away by this show...it is honestly probably my new favorite show.
I went to the stage door, the Wicked cast came and saw this show too so they were all at the stage door. I talked to Hadley, Stephanie and Marcus Chait..all extremely sweet.
I'm gonna try to see the show again real real real soon...
I love it sooo much!!
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
#2re: The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:06pmThank you for a good review! I saw the show on the 7th and was absolutely blown away! Sure, it needs a little work, but the creative teams knows this. I think people are forgetting the fact that this is the first week of its pre-broadway run! I mean, there is plenty of time for changes! This is the first time it's been performed with an audience!
#3re: The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:19pm
Thank you Kaycee...
don't you guys remember what Wicked was in previews!? and even now it isn't THIS good :)
and don't yell at me people...I've seen Wicked 8 times, I'm not hating on it.
and all that I could do because of you was talk of love...
#4re: The Pirate Queen: 10/8 7:30 show
Posted: 10/10/06 at 5:40pm
Cue all the Wicked haters....
But eesh, yes. Wicked had issues in SF, and I very much prefer the state of PQ in its pre-broadway run to Wicked.
