I was so excited to see this show. I love the story of Bonnie and Clyde. This is the first show I saw that introduced me to Jeremy Jordan and now I completely love him (he is the only reason I saw Newsies). This is a show that has been through some shit, frankly. Critics for some reason don't like to give Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll and Hyde) credit when credit is due and I feel as though Bonnie & Clyde received a lot of flack because of that relationship. Jeff Calhoun, the director, has even been quoted as saying that he has "never had a show close while it was still playing to audiences like a hit." It's true - this show played like a hit.
Right from the beginning, it holds the audiences attention. One hears a radio playing a quaint tune (later learned to be "How 'Bout a Dance?'") and the silhouette of a car becomes clear behind a scrim, before it is lit into by dozens of bullets - the scrim rises and you see bloodied and murdered Bonnie and Clyde slumped behind the wheel of the car. Talk about demanding an audiences attention right from the start. I LOVED the way it started. It was startling, but absolutely amazing. It was really great.
I really enjoyed this set. In addition to beautiful cars, and real-looking little shacks and dusty houses, they made good use of projections, which showed the audience photos of the real Bonnie and Clyde (mugshots, iconic pictures such as Bonnie with the cigar, and newspaper headlines), in addition to photos of the real Blanche and Buck. It was really nice and innovative and they took full advantage of this - something that I think really added to the storytelling - reminding the audience that this is based on true events and these were real people.
I enjoyed this retelling of Bonnie and Clyde's story because it really made them seem more endearing and more fun. They were two crazy kids in love, Bonnie with dreams of becoming "the main attraction at the picture show, like Clara Bow" and Clyde wanting to be like Al Capone. They were very human in this and two kids in love that just followed a series of unfortunate circumstances while looking for a better life.
Laura Osnes and Jeremy Jordan had PHENOMENAL chemistry. It was absolutely amazing. I really felt like they were absolutely in love and could not get enough of one another. They were electric and my friend and I both left saying that we wanted a love like Bonnie and Clyde's - minus getting shot up in the end.
Melissa van der Schyff was phenomenal as Blanche and I was rather surprised that she wasn't nominated for a Tony. She was hilarious and wonderful and funny and sad and she has an amazing voice. I felt so bad for Blanche and started to tear up when she lost Buck, especially after she followed him, just to lose him anyway.
There were a few points where I got a little bored ("You Love Who You Love" cannot hold my attention at all), but overall it was a fun show and it was really nice. It was also touching that they got shot going to see their parents to give them money - they were good kids just tired of being poor. It was especially good because it made the circumstances seem less extreme, especially given the economy these days.
I'm so happy that this show managed to get a cast recording. It was so much fun and so short-lived - it will at least live on in my car.
I give Bonnie & Clyde an A-. This show closed (prematurely) on December 30, 2011 after just 36 regular performances.
Billy Elliot - what to say? This is probably one of my favorite shows of all time. I absolutely love the movie that it was based on, I love Elton John - I was dying to see it. The day I was going to see it, I wasn't planning on it. I had woken up early and hiked my butt uptown to see if I could get lucky at the Wicked lottery and when I loss, I ran blocks to see if there were any student rush tickets left for Billy. Thankfully, there were.
I was nervous waiting for it to begin, because I wasn't sure what to expect, since the movie is so something that didn't seem like it would translate well on stage. Boy, was I wrong. I actually ended up seeing this show twice, with two different Billys and Michaels.
This show was absolutely outstanding. I understand why it swept the Tony Awards in 2009. The music was amazing and I loved how strong and solid they sounded. They are mostly men, and it sounded amazing. My favorite song was "Solidarity," because I loved the way that the deep men's voices combined with the delicate little girl voices, combining the vulgarity of the strike and the innocence of the children.
My favorite number visually is "Grandma's Song." It was really nice to see her, on the stage, telling her story and the men's ensemble smoking and working with chairs. It really gave it a haunting vibe, like the audience was truly traveling into this woman's memories and it was very effective and it was really beautiful to watch. The staging and the choreography of this number were really outstanding and it definitely stood out and lingered with me.
The cast was really great and the relationship between Billy and his father, Jackie was great, as was the relationship between Mrs. Wilkinson and both Billy and Jackie. You could see the strain on Billy's relationship with his father that dancing in secret created, and you could also see how conflicted Jackie was and how much he cared about Billy. It was also clear how much of a mother figure Mrs. Wilkinson became to Billy - which, speaking of, I really enjoyed how they managed to incorporate his deceased mother through a letter and fond memories.
The only thing that I wish was different was Michael's relationship with Billy. It was a little too comical, which I enjoyed ("Expressing Yourself" was SO much fun and resulted in an epic applause) - in the film, I really enjoyed how uncertain and a little concerned Michael was about his homosexuality and that Billy loved his friend anyway.
The set is really cool! It was very simple for the most part, with three walls to make it either look like the gym where the dancing and boxing took place or the apartments where Billy and his family lived. The best part was the way that his house rose from the floor with his bedroom on top and the kitchen in the bottom. It was really cool and added an ew dimension, which was nice to see.
The dancing was great, as well (as could be expected) and I loved watching this young kid dance so phenomenally, especially when Billy danced with his older dream-self. It was great!
This show is really outstanding. It makes you feel so much and you laugh and you cry and it's just really phenomenal. It's sad that it closed, though it had a long, happy life on Broadway (although, it could've been longer). It is on tour, so I definitely recommend trying to go see it if it comes near you. It definitely made a "Billyver" out of me.
I give Billy Elliot an A. This show closed January 8, 2012 after 1,304 regular performances.
I saw How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (H2$) in November. It was the first show that I saw on Broadway when I went to school. It was the first Broadway show I also really enjoyed (I saw Chicago and Tarzan in high school, less than impressed, but that's a story for another time).
I can say 100% that the only reason why I went to see H2$ was to see Daniel Radcliffe. I wasn't even really going to do this, but I kept hearing such phenomenal things about him and people were genuinely surprised (and pissed off) that he wasn't nominated for a Tony. I had to go see for myself if he was really good or if these are just die-hard Potterheads (such as myself) who just want Daniel Radcliffe to get recognition.
I don't entirely enjoy this show or that many shows from this era in general. They're a little TOO hokey and tongue-in-cheek and I find them to be a little repetitive and boring. That being said, I felt that way about this one as well, but I did enjoy it a lot more than I initially expected to.
Daniel Radcliffe was absolutely phenomenal. I was so pleasantly surprised and I thought for sure, being one of the Potterheads, that I would not be able to separate him from Harry Potter - but I really was surprised. Not once throughout the entire performance did I think of Harry Potter, n'or that I was watching the boy who portrays Harry Potter. He put his entire heart and soul in that performance and I really enjoyed watching him. He was having so much fun and it really was infectious and it felt as though the entire theater was just in an upbeat great mood whenever he was around. I can see why he wasn't nominated for the Tony, because he is not that strong of a singer and there were a ton of amazing men in the 2011 season for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical, but he is an excellent dancer and attention must be paid to how much he worked for this part and how he never missed a performance. He has a work ethic that many people lack and it really shines through in his performances - he does not rest on his laurels and that's admirable.
Similarly, John Larroquette shone on that stage. I found myself unable to take my eyes off of him whenever he was in clear view and he was absolutely hilarious. He deserved that Tony Award he received. He was jovial and strict. Scary and lovable. The perfect business complement to Daniel Radcliffe's endearing, yet slimy Finch. They both did a great job being these heartless businessmen that are rather slimy, but still being endearing and absolutely hilarious - something that is not easy, no matter how hard the writing may try. John Larroquette was so energetic and it really played well with all of the characters.
Christopher Hanke was perfect for this role. I absolutely loved to hate him and he was so talented. He really stood out at times and it was really enjoyable to watch his facial expressions. Similarly, Rose Hemingway was really a treat to watch and she sort of reminded me of Renee Zelleweger in that Down With Love movie that she did with Ewan McGregor (in a good way). She was quirky, but endearing and she had a beautiful voice. She was absolutely spectacular. The only problem was that the chemistry with Rose Hemingway and Daniel Radcliffe felt really off (probably because he looks seventeen and she looks twenty-five). I did not quite buy this relationship, but they did the best they could and I really enjoyed "Been a Long Day." It was probably one of my favorite performances throughout the entire show (besides "Grand Old Ivy") while I waited for what is the show-stopping "Brotherhood of Men."
The costumes were really outstanding. I loved them all. They fit well, they looked amazing, and they provided enough movement for for all of the outstanding dance numbers. I'm always so impressed with theater costumes and like to really stare at every detail and she how authentic they look and how they allow dancers (if there are dancers) to move. These were really outstanding. They looked like flawlessly tailored suits, but the choreography was really great and they were able to do it.
The choreography was really outstanding. I'm glad dance-heavy shows and revivals are trying to wiggle back into the spotlight, because they really add a little something different and fanciful. There's something magical about a musical and the dancing really helps to take an audience there.
The set was so neat! I really enjoyed the multiple levels and the way that they were able to just roll in and out. I also really loved JB's office - it was really warm and cozy and felt like a real wooden, fancy office. Beautiful.
Overall, it was better than I expected, but once was enough. I made no real rush to go see Darren Criss or Nick Jonas in the Finch role, and once John Larroquette was replaced by Beau Bridges, I really stopped caring. I was a little bored whenever Daniel Radcliffe and/or John Larroquette were not on stage, but when they were on stage (especially together) I could not stop laughing and I really just felt like I was watching two great friends interact. After Grand Old Ivy, while everyone was applauding, the two broke character to laugh and catch their breaths and it was perfect. Sometimes things like that are really great to see - the audience should get to see how much actors love their job.
I would give this a solid B. Unfortunately, the show closed May 20th, 2012 after 473 regular performances.
