Bring It On

Wow, what a fun show. And what talent. I was really pleasantly surprised seeing this show. I really thought it was going to disappoint, but glad I took a chance. Not only does Bring it On give a fresh new story, but the stunts are incredible. You can tell that half of the cast are professional gymnasts and cheerleaders, while the other half are dancers who sing. There are no singers who move well. Even the one fat chick can pop and lock like no one else. The first 4 songs were "meh" at best. I was really concerned, thinking I had wasted $35 on rush tickets. But as soon as the urban characters showed up, the music got better. I also feel like as soon as Campbell moved to Jackson High School, the tone of the musical loosened up. Don't take yourself too seriously when you're a cheerleading musical.

I could not believe how high these girls were flying and managing to sing. My friend Teddy Toye is cast in this show as a swing and lucky for me, he was actually performing the day I went. I didn't really like the lead's voice, but she did a great job of not only singing her heart out, but also stepping up to the plate for some stunts. It's a huge cast!

 I got box seats and the sight lines were a little bad. At intermission I saw there were seats in the orchestra so I moved and scored.....3rd row, center section. They were almost too close. I've seen MANY shows in this theater and the sides are really bad. Previously, I've seen Leap of Faith, American Idiot, Gypsy, and The Producers here. So yeah, I've been in this theater AT LEAST 10 times.

Ghost

What a disappointment. I wanted to like this show going in, but it was just bad. The lyrics were so trite, the screens were distracting, and the choreography was probably the worst we've ever seen for an ensemble. Ensemble dance parts were SO bad that we found ourselves chuckling. The ensemble was pretty much unnecessary. We felt like the production team spent the whole budget on special effects (San walking through walls and moving things without touching them was very cool) so there was only enough money to use cheap clip art for the backgrounds.

During the love scene, they actually showed a short movie that included some close ups of Sam's butt. It made me feel very uncomfortable as an audience member. I was also shocked at how bad some of the actors were being on stage. The understudy playing the bad guy actually broke character during a freak out scene to pick up a prop that dropped, completely out of character. The actors playing Sam, Oda Mae, and Molly were great. It's too bad they couldn't save the show. 

 Both times I've ever been in this theater, I've been seated in the rear mezz. I need to sit closer. This theater was meant for HUGE productions like Beauty and the Beast.

Les Miserables

 Our second show in London was Les Miserables because Aaron hadn't seen it since he was a child and I hadn't seen it since 2006. Okay, 6 years isn't that long, but I love this show. The London cast was great. Aaron was confused as to why Jean Val Jean's songs are so high. I have no answer for it except that it was written that way. I hated the Cosette. She sounded like a balloon that was deflating with a flattened neck. Other than her, it was great. This was probably the best Gavroche I've ever seen.

One thing I really didn't like was when Javert killed himself. Rather than jumping into fog, he was on the ground and the bridge piece flew UP to look like he jumped.

Matilda

 What a sweet ingenious choice for a musical. Matilda is one of my favorite books from my adolescence. So when I heard it was being made into a musical, I had to get tickets. Oh, and go to London to see it because I am NOT waiting a whole year to see it in NYC. The music was great, though listening to it without the visual is harder. In London, they don't give you playbills (you have to pay 5 pounds to get one) so I don't actually know who was performing. I quite regret not buying one now. The Matilda that night was great, and we found out later that Matilda's boyfriend was sitting next to us. The Trunchbull character was great because it's cast list Edna in Hairspray, by a man.

We actually saw part of the set fall off and nearly hit Matilda and Miss Honey. Everyone in the cast really worked hard. Aaron and myself found that the large children's cast songs were the best. 

Clybourne Park

 What an amazing piece of theater. I was really worried about this one. We've been burned by a lot of plays this last year. This was nominated for best new play so we figured it couldn't be that bad. It's pretty much a side story/sequel to A Raisin in the Sun. It really interested us because it dealt with gentrification of a neighborhood, something that is happening in our neighborhood. The actors were great. In fact, one of the actors won a tony for his performance. And how could he not?! The cast is comprised of 7 actors who play 2 different roles, 1 in the first act, the other in the 2nd. Some of the actors play similar attitudes throughout, but man, this one actor was a complete 180.

I even really liked the set design. I'm not sure how they made this house in the first act look nasty and covered in grafitti, but they did a seamless job.

We had excellent seats (thanks TDF) in row F of the orchestra in house left. We didn't miss a thing.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I have been putting off seeing Rock Musicals/Operas because the music is just meh for me. I'm not huge into rock to begin with, so making a show ONLY music for 2 1/2 hours is rough for me. I've never liked the music of JCS, but lo and behold, I now like it due to this cast. Were they perfect? Definitely not. The cast didn't look happy to be working. They were only nominated for 2 tonys, one being best revival and the other for their Judas. Both Judas and Jesus were great. Mary was nice, but her voice I found to be very held back. Maybe she was holding off for a different night?

 We sat in row M of the orchestra off stage right, but didn't miss anything. The concept of the show was great, using lots of lights like the Dow. It felt very much like a rock concert. And a very powerful moment of the show was when Jesus got whipped repeatedly, counted 40 times by Pontius Pilot.

Previous to this show, we have seen Chinglish and La Cage Aux Folles here.

Nice Work if You Can Get It

How on earth did this get nominated for best musical?! I don't get it. Sure, it was cute, but BEST?! This is far from best in my opinion. First off, it's an old soul musical. Even though it's filled with Gershwin's songs, it's a new story....but hey, wait a minute, I feel like I've watched it before....that's because it's a kooky show of mistaken identities, lies, and quick costume changes. I shouldn't bag on it though, as it was entertaining. I didn't leave at intermission. Kelli O'Hara was wonderful and the guy who played Cookie was great. I didn't even know he was nominated until intermission, but I knew he was the best.

I feel as though Matthew might have been the weak link here. He's a crowd pleaser. Everyone wants to see Ferris Buehler on stage....and you'll get him, that's for sure....because Matthew isn't really acting. 

The chorus girls might have also been a weak link for me. The jokes were just too corny and not delivered with an oomph. My grandparents would've loved it though, so I guess I'm not the target audience.

I sat WAY far back....row E of the rear mezz. At intermission, I moved up to front row of the rear mezz....still pretty far back, but a little closer. Previous to this show, I've seen August Osage County, The Boy From Oz, Billy Elliot, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels...(my first "date" with my now husband!)