10.27.98

Site hosted by Angelfire.com: Build your free website today!

after not seeing the show for almost two months - i missed it even more than i could imagine. those were two long months. school then work then school then work...in this e-n-d-l-e-s-s loop. this show lifted my spirits and i *really* needed that. i can't even begin to explain how much it means to me. a bunch of actors walk out on stage. and for almost three hours i am completely mezmorized - again and again. it's a kind of exhilarating inspiration to remind me what stuff REALLY matters to me. but ok -- on with the story.
T...U...E...S...D...A...Y... DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG THAT DAY WAS? two (**VERY BORING**) classes - and i was out of there! ok - train to the city -- 1 hour later i'm there:) i go get sro - my favorite box office person wasn't there:( even though they're all really nice) i got an sro ticket -- on the ~~>gasp<~~ far right -- SRO R 10... I (that's me ~~>sammi) have never seen a show from the right side but - it's good to try new things right? right. VERY good:) lucky for me -- there were a few empty orchestra seats - so most of the sro people sat down - and i got to stand pretty much in the center - to the right of the aisle :):) which was perfect only trouble with sro - you don't see balcony scenes that easy - requires scrunching down a bit - no big deal:) but sammi, why are you dwelling on this sro stuff when you still might win the lottery right? wrong:) i must have the WORST luck in the world. There were a total of 40 people at that lottery - YES i counted - and they were all doing the lotto for people who were there - so there would only be a few people who wouldn't win. yup you guessed it - that would be me. even Robert (the homeless man that sells newspapers outside the Neder) said it was the smallest lotto he had ever seen. oh well, i was going to see the show - that's all that mattered:) funny thing - Justin didn't do the lottery - the blond woman who runs stuff there did it and he showed up pretty much when it was over and just hung around and talked to people. wierd.
ok -- to the SHOW! The audience was not well behaved. They got better as an audience a bit into the show but they were pretty unattentive to things like sitting down, keeping quiet etc. It took MUCH longer than usual to get them seated. oh well, more on that later. but finally - the show i hadn't seen in almost 2 months began... ok first of all Norbert!!!!!!!!!! ( I hadn't seen him since July!!!!!!!! i was SOOOOOOOOOOOO excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:) then of course everything begins somehow - for the first few minutes - they lacked togetherness Norbert was quieter than i remember him then .... "the power blows!..." all it took was this one song to get them INTO it! what an amazing lift - by the middle of Rent Norbert and Jim were totally ON everyone was in sync and those two were in each other's face - it was AMAZING! How i could go SO long without one of those fantastic "...when the notes are sou-uh where is the pow-uh..." i have NO idea (hey did you know Jim does kneebends too?;) it looks great with Norbert's and i like it a lot) OSG - again, Norbert started off a little quiet...but with the first kneebend WOW! he just let it all out! this is my absolute favorite song and norb does everything with such craft:) i guess you're just born to be butz;) LMC - my 3rd time seeing Marcy -- this girl just gets better and better:) she really knows her stuff - i love how her Mimi is playful and cute but she knows how to show her anger too T4U - Wilson, as has been said numerous times, makes a BEAUTIFUL woman. His Angel (the character) is beautiful as well -- looks like they're all having so much fun:) you can see the dancing isn't the easiest but he works hard and gets results YS - Jacques. i *do* try to keep worshipping to a minimum but may i say KING -- no: GOD of Bennys. period. (did i mention I love his Benny?;) he does it perfectly -- i can close my eyes and listen to him and just by hearing him *see* his Benny. I can also just look and *hear* his Benny -- from anywhere in the theater - he IS Benny and everyone can feel how great he is at that !!!!!!!! He's right there from beginning to end very solid but always SO much fun to watch! "...and so into the abyss...." Tango: Maureen - :sigh: how I've missed Jim and Gwen!! Is this HUGE fun or what? "...called you pookie..." how Jim creeps up her shoulder - is VERY amusing -- and then they begin as soon as he does that first tango step - my eyes are glued to the stage and NOTHING can take me away from it. and then they're tangoing -- priceless moments these are i tell you:) you know how in real tangoing (i'm no tango expert - is this a tango motion or some other dance? i'm not completely sure) the guy holds up his hands and claps when the girl dances? well this is what Jim did! It was so hilarious! just so you know - if i'm standing at the complete opposite end of the theater and i'm still having THAT MUCH fun? those two rock like you wouldn't believe:) as *if* i had to tell you that How Gwen pulls Jim to her "...did she moon over other boys..." that is just too great - they're totally playing to the audience and yet are completely serious the whole time! I should mention this was my last time seeing her:( but I'll never forget how great she is!! as i said earlier -- from the middle of Rent Jim was totally on - almost as if he was determined to make everyone - on stage and in the theater - as on as him - to make SURE they were having a blast -- it was great:) LS - Mark makes a VERY good Gordon - his Gordon is just so dry and serious - there's no mistaking what he's talking about which is exactly how it should be Leslie is the best Paul:) The way Paul's lines go, it sounds like someone who has gone through what Gordon is feeling and has learned to cope -- which is EXACTLY what listening to Leslie feels like - it's beautiful:) and yes i was scrunching down to see Leslie - that's the one thing you can't see in SRO - whatever is going on up there but it's great how i almost didn't have to cause it just sounded GOOD. OT - it looked like a bit of glitter in Marcy's hair but i really couldn't tell from way back there -- though glitter is really not THAT critical (it DOES add a lot but -) where Marcy is concerned she's just SOOOOOO good. It was an OT with power, with energy, with an AMAZING voice - it was just GOOD! and then Another Day - Norb was doing well though i've seen more energy in that guy, i've heard more energy in his voice it was still beautiful and wonderful 'cause of course Norb is Norb -- he's just so good !!! Marcy totally went all out with her parts of this song and it was BEAUTIFUL On The Street - is rarely mentioned but i just REALLY like Shelley's bag lady - it's got a lot of anger but all totally real - VERY good SF - "...brush the sauce onto the meat..." Michael just does it with such style it's great to watch Jim is just half sprawled (for lack of a better description...works for me;) across the table tapping to the beat on his legs :) gotta love that:) Michael and Wilson have good chemistry together CB - Mark was making extra funny faces and voices - he's unforgettable:) in the part where Jim, Norb and Marcy sing "...take it slow..." you could hear them sing that whole part which i love OTM - Carla Bianco. the new maureen. She 'rolls in' on the 'motorcycle' and looks different. Same clothes, almost the same hair as Kristen, but different. And so it began... a GLORIOUS Over The Moon!!!!!!! Funny, original, i LOVED it!!!! I could see why some people might have trouble getting used to her. I could see it almost immediately. But it's what made me like her Maureen that much! Her Maureen *IS* different. She kind of acts like a stuck-up rich girl Maureen. She thinks she so great and so smart and so pretty - not what we'd expect from a background of just wacky (though just as great) Maureens - not to compare for better or worse - it's just a different look. And it worked. for me at least. Her ego is just about in the sky and she thinks she is SO AMAZING! And she does a GOOD performance artist. A lot of changes - she sings talked parts much more - which works well in OTM though in other parts i did think they needed talking. Where she mimics Benny "...that's bull..." the background voices are different - but it sounded good. I remember thinkin she should just copy his voice a bit more - speak in a 'Benny tone' like other Maureens i've seen. just my personal preference She is AMAZING though. She tries to hit the cowbell i don't know HOW many times - and misses. But it's funny not ridiculous like it might sound. When her voice echoes she bends back a bit more with each echo - it's just wonderful Go Carla!!!! And i don't know HOW MANY people she got mooing in that audience but from where i stood it sounded like the BUILDING was moooing - for a less than enthusiastic (vocally anyway) audience it was FABULOUS! Go Carla!! She was ad libbing too - something along the lines of "...yes you all the way up there in the back - MOOO with me...." and it seemed to be working:) A friend of mine says if she sees a new actor in a part and doesn't miss the old one - then that means the new actor was good. Well, for me it's not exactly that -- i'll always miss Kristen tons but i did love Carla!! LVB! - me on the right side - i'd finally get to see the jump-and-lie-down-on-the-table from a perpendicular angle (kills me - the things i notice... IT WAS STRAIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!!!!!;) Carlos as waiter was GREAT!!!! He's my fav. waiter to date i think! So they sit down:) For anyone who loves LVB as much as I do, SRO R1 is a VERY good place to be:) may i just say that Jacques as Benny is perfect. "...bohemia is dead...." What i love most is how Jim starts off - climbs on the chair one step at a time - each time going just a bit further - a kind of mix of obnoxious and rebel but all together comic :) well ok i hope you know what i mean since i DO NOT know how to put that into words. "mucho masturbation" he rubbed his nipples i think... it's new;) Leslie is ALL over the place - he is having SO much fun! Carlos was DYING to dance you could see - so he danced on the side - but he REALLY looked like he wanted to be on that table with them. When the beeps went off - Norb went from GOOD USUAL Norb to GREAT AS HE SHOULD BE Norb - i knew he was hiding it in there somewhere;) LVB B - WOW they were all over the place - dancing singing jumping everything -- LOTS of fun up there:) it was a make-sure-they-hear-it-see-it-see-this-attitude: VERY GREAT!!!!
some notes (it's intermission people - in my review and in the show too;) anyway....

during the first few songs - I noticed Richard Blake was watching the show from behind the sound-control stage (i have no *CLUE* what it's called). Someone explain to me why he STILL has to take notes?;) well i don't know if that's why he was there -- but i WAS watching the show so i didn't pay too much attention (...besides staring a few minutes in that direction when i first noticed - i mean it's NOT exactly who'd you expect to see back there;)I think he left around 'Glory' -- though my eyes were pretty much glued to the stage by then:)
something about the lighting - it looked different than usual
there were quite a few empty orchestra seats so everyone else who had SRO sat down about 'Glory" and i moved to SRO R 1 -- which was PERFECT:) i actually prefer this than some middle of a row in the orchestra (i know i'm weird you don't have to tell me;)
something that kind of got on my nerves - LOTS of noise in the SRO area throughout the show. It bothered me a lot - what seemed like ushers or other people who work in the theater kept walking, running, talking, laughing, joking and it was making a good deal of noise. I have never seen this before. The few extra people on the 'sound stage' however who were watching the show were totally into watching. so why were all these other people making so much noise? i just thought *they* should know better. maybe that's too much to ask.
LOTS of talking/whispering in the audience -- they did give good applause and stuff but not well behaved. they took FOREVER and a day to get seated both before the show and at intermission - longer than usual. At one of the quietest parts of the show "...the riot continues..." there was LOTS of whispering - yes it annoyed me.

SOL - everyone in the front row was getting smiles (was sammi jealous? maybe just a little;) TMOLM - now here it wasn't as great Gwen was fabulous as always but she just seemed kind of worn out:( and Carla was good -- but she needs to be much more powerful vocally imho "...i'm nowhere..." -- *OMG* that has got to be THE lonliest voice on earth *OMG* WY - Marcy just rocked - beautiful beautiful beautiful:) VM #4 - it's funny seeing the looks from a frontal view - i'm so used to the side - still priceless tho;) Contact - the dancers are SO amazing!!!! Jacques. Byron. Leslie. WOW. THEY ARE BEAUTIFUL! SOOOO GOOD! the sheet wasn't moving that much;) ICYR - Jim's eulogy (the story about Angel) - is SO beautiful. perfect. can you say P-E-R-F-E-C-T? good. cause from here on - that's it:) [I know i get hooked on those small details] Michael's ICYR: if anyone can make you feel the sadness at this point it's Michael -- it's beautiful and sensitive and touching. he starts off, his voice totally trembling but also totally strong and controlled -- gee that makes sense;) it's a mix of the two opposites and it's one of the most beautiful things in the world. It sounds like he's going to break down or has already yet at the same time he sings it clear and strong and full. It's amazing. in Halloween - Jim was totally distressed and i do mean distressed. totally. And yes i know it's acting but it hit so strong. It was just so sad. Bewildered. Just despair. It's the perfect impact - Mark's been so fun and helpful all along - now he's breaking apart inside and who's going to support him? GL - Marcy's Mimi was sad. and angry. and you could FEEL it. She was singing marvelously. High & low & soft & loud & out there & in here WOW and i have never seen Jim that upset in "maybe i'm the one of us to survive" it was GOOD! "...vampire welfare queens..." there's something you get used to in seeing Jim from side view. but - What You Own -- WOW!!!!!!! Those two just about BLEW THE ROOF OFF!!!! What I love about Jim & Norb is that they sing together; they're completely in sync the whole time. Like one can feel the other even though he's behind him. How they make you feel that Mark and Roger really ARE best friends. And would someone PLEASE explain to me HOW they keep getting better and better and better and better and better? Everytime i see it i think omg that was perfect! And then when i see it again it's doubled in perfection! I am in eternal awe:) "then again maybe we won't screen it tonight..." -- AHHHHH!!! HOW DO I **LOVE** HOW NORB SAYS THAT!!!!!!! Your Eyes/Finale -- was beautiful. it's one of my favorite parts -- they way the music and everything all comes together for that one moment:) They got TONS OF APPLAUSE!! (no skipping off stage though) Then Michael explained about BC/EFA and donations and everything and the cast went to the exits with buckets and ribbons:) i took out all the $$ i had left in my wallet and gave some to Byron who smiled so nice at me almost like he remembered me and some to Norbert (couldn't just walk by and not give him some too:).

oh! before i forget - the cast was:
Roger - Norbert Leo Butz:)
Mark - Jim Poulos:):):):):)
Collins - Michael McElroy:
Benny - Jacques C. Smith:)
Joanne - Gwen Stewart:)
Angel - Wilson Cruz:)
Mimi - Marcy Harriell:)
Maureen - Carla Bianco:)
Mark's mom & others - Tamara Podemski:)
Christmas caroler, Mr. Jefferson & others - Byron Utley:)
Mrs. Jefferson, a woman with bags & others - Shelley Dickinson :)
Gordon & others - Mark Setlock:)
Steve, squeegeeman & others - Juan Carlos Gonzalez:)
Paul & others - Leslie Odom Jr.:)
Alexi Darling & others - Tina Ou:)

This was my last time seeing Gwen - from what I've heard i was quite lucky to see her this week since she was out a bit. I am going to miss her Joanne terribly. I'd just like to say THANX Gwen! all the best in whatever you do! you are truly amazing:)

my last review - from 9/5/98

FWD