| Re: thoughts on the other shows I saw. | |
| Posted by: theaterbear 10:34 am EDT 05/16/24 | |
| In reply to: re: A dissenting opinion on Illinoise - Mmac72 10:04 am EDT 05/16/24 | |
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| Merrily was wonderful. So happy to have all three leads in but the standout to me was Katie Rose Clarke’s Beth. I’ve seen KRC in other things and always thought she was fine, but here she really blew me away. The show still has its flaws but is so heartbreaking and beautiful. The one thing that really struck me with this production though is - what exactly has Frank done that’s so wrong? Maybe it’s because Groff is such a likable actor, but I kind of kept siding with him. The Outsiders really surprised me. I live in LA and word out there during the tryout was that it was a skip. But with all the nominations I felt I should see it. I really really liked it. The lyrics are a bit pedestrian and some of the performances aren’t where I wish they were, but the direction, choreography, staging, and lighting more than make up for it. That fight in the rain was breathtaking. Stereophonic is terrific as are the performances. Eli Gelb really surprised me. When the show started I thought “I’m going to hate this actor” - it felt like he was doing “stereotypical stoner voice” and it was going to be a very one note performance but he completely won me over and created a real flesh and blood character. The women are exceptionally good and the voices - for people who call themselves “non singers” were terrific. It’s too long though. It ran 3:10 the day we saw it. The Who’s Tommy - was a bit of a let down for me. I saw and loved the original production and this felt like a copy of a copy of a copy. Faded and a bit dull. After 30 years I expected the production values to have increased but instead we have much less. I consistently felt myself comparing it to the original (performances, choreography, design etc) and it seemed to always come up short. To be fair, it’s possible my memory has heightened what was actually on stage in the original - but even vocally, many cast members in this simply weren’t as good as their predecessors. There was one performance - and I don’t want to mention who it was because that’s just mean - but that performance was so truly terrible - perhaps the worst performance I’ve ever seen on a Broadway stage (and I saw In My Life!) that it took me out whenever they were on stage. Mugging, pulling focus, BAD. Even in the final line up during “Listening to You” they were so over the top that you couldn’t help but have your eye drawn to them. In a negative way. I also didn’t see the need for the time jump - are The Walkers 140 years old at the end of the show? I’ve heard what Des was going for but it’s not clear to someone just watching it. I also felt cutting “Holiday Camp” was a mistake. It isn’t a great song but it gives us some time to see the rise of Tommy as a public figure and shows us Ernie and the others capitalizing off it. Without it he’s just suddenly famous and doing arena tours… playing pinball? I guess? |
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