(no subject)

Aug 06, 2007 22:21

My rant about NYC. Long long long. So it's cut and broken up. Enjoy!


Legally Blonde
I have, surprisingly to myself, been a fan of Legally Blonde the Musical for a few months now. I am very familiar with the soundtrack, and I'm pretty much in love with the entire cast, having watched all the broadway.com videos. So I was beyond excited for this show. Ask anyone. I was hopping up and down in front of the theatre. The theatre itself is great! Smack dab in the middle of Times Square, "So Much Better" on loop outside, videos in the lobby, LEGALLY BLONDE in huge letters on the doors. The lobby was small with some nice chandeliers and a bar and a gift shop set up. (I bought a souveneir program, the backpack that came free with it, and a poster for my dorm room.) We got in line to go into the theatre about fifteen minutes before they opened the doors to the theatre, so waiting around was intense. Viv, Liz, and I kept screaming "OmiGod you guys!" and shaking and freaking out. It was their first show and I just freak about everything.

The first thing that we noticed was the absentee board. ONLY ONE ABSENCE FOR OUR SHOW!!!!! And it was the part of Serena (Leslie Kritzer for Tracy Jai Edwards), so I really didn't mind. We were just excited to be seeing Laura, Christian, Orfeh, Richard, and Kate. Anyway, they finally let us into the theatre. We were in the nosebleed seats (This is the curtain a few rows back from where we were sitting.) But it was okay. We had binoculars! And it actually wasn't THAT bad. As long as I had my glasses on, I could see everyone's faces and everything.

The show itself was AMAZING. There are no other words for it. It's not any sort of revolutionary piece of theatre, but it's loud and colorful and fun. I think I like it better than the movie. My mom even won't stop raving about it. The cast fit together so perfectly. They weren't like their movie counterparts, Laura wasn't Reese, Christian wasn't Luke, and Michael wasn't Victor, but they made the characters their own. It was funny and cute and captivating. I was shocked that the end came so quickly. We were practically dancing in our seats. The sets were larger than life, the songs are great, the dancing is fabulous. And I loved the whole ensemble. Bootlegs don't do this show justice.

Now for my thoughts on specific actors...
Laura Bell Bundy - Adorable, believable, wonderful. She IS Elle Woods. You could tell that she was recovering from a bout of illness though. She was having trouble with some of the songs. She couldn't hold the note in "So Much Better," but she covered it well. She was also pretty offkey in one song, but she fixed it. Even though she was sick, she just had so much energy. And she cried during "Legally Blonde"! You could see how much work she put into the role. I loved her. Seeing her was awesome.
Christian Borle - Okay, I know this guy is happily married to a woman I am a huge fan of, but I am so in love with him. Especially after seeing him live. He does a ton of little things that are absolutely hilarious ("Class of '05, represent!" *ghetto hand gesture*, Red Bull: "What is this? My second, third? I don't know, but I LOVE IT!!!!!"). He is beyond cute. I loved how insanely sweet and sincere he was during "Chip on My Shoulder," "Take it Like a Man," and "Legally Blonde." And he and Laura work really well together.
Richard H. Blake - Warner Huntington III for sure. He was HILARIOUS. Very model-esque and boneheaded. Perfect!
Kate Shindle - The recording does her no justice. My jaw was literally dropped when she was belting during "Legally Blonde Remix." It's so different than Idina and Sherie's belts. It's higher and sharper. I don't even know. But I love it. She was also a class A bitch when she needed to be.
Orfeh - Phenomenal phenomenal phenomenal. I hated her Paulette before I saw it onstage, but it was so perfect. She was so funny. And her voice is spectacular. Like Sherie's did, it filled up the whole theatre. She and Laura also worked very well together, and she and Andy (of course) had great chemistry! Her "Bend and Snap" was flawless.
Andy Karl - Funniest performer in the whole show. Kyle the UPS guy was my favorite. Just the way he walked had me in stitches (the music helped). And he was just so... dumb. It was great! He also played Dewey and the rapping Grandmaster Chad. Fucking amazing at all three. A definite standout.
Annaleigh Ashford was also insanely adorable in ways that bootlegs can't capture.

Favorite songs: "OmiGod You Guys," Laura's ring gestures in "Serious," "Postive," "Chip on My Shoulder," the jumpropes in "Whipped into Shape," "Bend and Snap," "Legally Blonde" and the Irish part of the remix.

After the show, we sprinted out of the theatre to the stage door as fast as we could. We were the second ones on the line, so that was awesome! Michael Rupert (Professor Callahan; a Tony winner!) was the first one out the door. He was very nice and genuinely cared about our opinions on the show. Signed programs and stuff. A lot of the ensemble was pretty snobby, either just walking right by us or grabbing the programs and signing out of obligation. Nikki Snelson (Brooke) was incredibly sweet and asked us where we were from and everything. It was awesome meeting her because she was in the show that turned me onto musical theatre in the first place (Annie Get Your Gun). Other ensemble members who were sweet and talked to us and seemed to care: Noah Weisberg, Matthew Risch, and Annaleigh Ashford (who seemed really tired). Noah and Matthew were wicked excited that it was Liz and Viv's first show. So did Amber Efe. "Yes! That means nothing else will top us!"

Laura, Christian, Richard, and Kate didn't come out (:-(), but ORFEH and her husband Andy Karl did. Considering they were stars of the show and both had three more shows to do in less than 48 hours, they were both insanely nice and funny. Orfeh took pictures with us and talked to us and signed our playbills in a pink sharpie. Andy made jokes about signing next to his wife. "I GUESS I'll sign next to her." And he seemed really touched when I told him how great he did. So talking to them made up for the lack of my lovers coming out.

RENT
For me, finally seeing RENT in the Nederlander was a cathartic experience. I’ve seen it before on tour, but being third row where it all started, with TWO original cast members back… it’s indescribable. I was in a very reflective mood the whole time. After Legally Blonde, I barely talked at all. It’s sad, I know. But I just wanted to remember it.

Anyway, third row was pretty awesome. We were about five feet from the stage. The music was loud, the actors were so close that they could spit on us. It was in your face, and I loved it. It was like RENT is supposed to be. Not the nosebleed seats I had the other time.

The show itself was great. I actually liked our Maureen! Which is saying something because there are about three or four ever that I don’t despise. She was loud and dramatic and spunky, but she wasn’t annoying (though, by the end, the fact that she swoops her voice up at the end of all of her lines). Her “Over the Moon” was very funny. Besides the dreds, Collins had nothing special going for him until “I’ll Cover You Reprise” where he actually cried. There were tears running down his face! It was so sad! Benny was fine. A lot like Taye. A bit more spastic though. I didn’t like the Joanne. She was far too blasé. Angel was… Well, I didn’t really pay attention. He was a good woman, but there were definitely some things that I hated that he did. But he was tolerable.

Now the people you’ve been waiting for…

Tamyra Grey - She’s a great singer. I can’t deny it. And of the two Mimis I’ve seen live, she’s my favorite (but no one can beat Daphne, Marcy, and Ro). Her “Out Tonight,” her “Another Day,” and her “Without You” really stood out in my mind. My only problem with her was that she had two facial expressions. Sad and angry/seductive. But overall she was great and has a lot of potential. And her chemistry with Adam was amazing. You can tell she must really like him in real life.
Anthony Rapp - I love this man. He was the first RENT cast member I really fell in love with. I mean, he IS Mark. (And he’s so nice in real life!) Between him and Adam, he definitely looks older. He has noticeable facial hair now, and his face is lined. Also, his head is so huge! Lmao. My friend JJ pointed it out to me when we met him. I can see why he’s called the “Albino Pumpkinhead.” Anthony is a great Mark, but with the exception of one or two little added things (a little sassy “Mmmhmm” during “Tango Maureen”), he hasn’t changed anything about the part in twelve years. Twelve years of productions of RENT and he really hasn’t changed at all. He’s a better singer now, but… all of his reactions are the same. The way he delivers lines… He’s Anthony Rapp, so I love him and he really was great. I just would have liked to see a little something new. However, making eye contact with him during “Seasons of Love” when he was five feet away was pretty awesome.
Adam Pascal - Who the hell taught this guy how to act? One of my favorite pastimes is making fun of his lack of acting ability, but he SHOCKED me. He’s so good now!!! Maybe it comes from years of playing Roger. He was funny and charming with the right amount of angsty goodness. And for being 36, he didn’t look half bad. His singing has only gotten better; he hit my favorite note in “Glory.” And he didn’t forget any words! He did this funny little dance imitating Tamyra during “Candle” and he threw his guitar pic at Anthony during “Boheme.” He was very flirty with Tamyra, touching her leg and stuff under the table. And he kissed the “Seasons” soloist and seemed very close with the Collins. The bad things: he scratched his ass quite noticeably during “Boheme” and lip-synched to what Mimi and Benny were singing. When he was trying to be romantic, it came off as a little too stylized and over the top. It was choreographed. But all in all, he’s gotten a lot better at everything (but dancing) since the movie.

Anthony and Adam’s chemistry was as good as ever. They’re my favorite Mark and Roger pair, bar none. They brought a lot of their real life relationship into the roles, and it was really believeable. You could tell that they had a ton of fun with it.

Favorite songs: I mean, I love them all, and the cast did a great job with everything, but there can be only one for me. They blew the roof off with “What You Own.” Perfect. Amazing. Powerful. Had me in tears. (“Glory,” “I’ll Cover You Reprise,” and “Seasons” were great too.)

We didn’t stagedoor this one because, literally, the entire theatre was waiting outside of the Nederlander. Mob scene! We figured it was best to just keep a positive view of the whole experience. My friend Brian, who was at the same show, waited, and his friend met them both. I guess they were both extremely nice.

Other Notable Moments
- We got lost on the car ride home. Missed an exit, wound up going south for a long time in Jersey. What should have been a four and a half hour car ride wound up taking 9 hours.
- We passed the Naked Cowboy and Spiderman. Sex on sticks right there. Lmao.
- Walked around the theatre district. Checked out the Gershwin (Wicked), the Imperial (formerly DRS), and the Marquis (Drowsy Chaperone).
- Ate at the cool ass McDonald’s in Times Square because we’re cool like that.
- Hung out at the massive Toys R Us in Times Square. Didn’t go on the Ferris Wheel BUT we saw Harry Potter dolls and giant dummies made of legos (including Jack Sparrow!)
- Took the ferry to and from the city. Great views.
- View from the hotel.
- M and M shop was AWESOME and delectable!!!!

More pictures (of Orfeh) will be coming soon. Hope you enjoyed this!
Previous post Next post
Up