6 show, 5 day trip
Rankings for this trip:
Sunset Blvd.
Gypsy
Cabaret
Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending
Redwood
Sunset and Gypsy were clearly at the top. Cabaret, DBH, MHE, and Redwood were closer together in ranking.
Mini reviews
Sunset - I was dubious of the Jamie Lloyd treatment, but I LOVED this production. Nicole is unbelievably good and Tom is perfect as Joe. It snowed a little this day and Joe’s outdoor time was shortened but still was cool to see in person.
Gypsy - This cast is so fun and talented. Audra is Audra and deserves all of the accolades she will get this year. I loved Joy Woods/Jordan Tyson in The Notebook and only wish they had more big moments.
Cabaret - 2nd time seeing this production. I still can’t get over the immersiveness of the theater and prologue. I preferred the Eddie/Gayle casting better. Eddie’s creepy/sinister portrayal and Gayle’s unhingedness weren’t there with Adam/Auli'i. Adam’s singing was definitely above Eddie’s though.
DBH - So funny and fun! The sets, costumes and tech are incredible and Megan and Jennifer have such great chemistry on stage.
MHE - a very sweet and well done musical. We had the Claire understudy Hannah Kevitt. Both Hannah and Darren were phenomenal. It’s hard to believe that Hannah is an understudy. The set design was very cool and the firefly scene was incredibly moving and beautiful.
Redwood - I was impressed with the set design given my low expectations. The projections are used very well and added more to the story than I had expected. Idina was great as well as all of the supporting actors. In the end this is a vehicle for Idina and w/o her it doesn’t last longer than Lempicka/HORR did last year. The book wasn’t as bad as some reviews made it out to be IMO.
Audience behavior - actually very good overall.
At Redwood the woman sitting next to me asked me to lean towards the people I came with. I told her I couldn’t do anything about the size of the seats, I’m big (6’0” 210 lbs) but not massive. She then loudly breathed her wine breath the entire show. Like Darth Vader had waking sleep apnea at times.
One talker that I’m proud to say that my teenage son stared down into silence at DBH.
One brief phone alarm next to me that was silenced/turned off quickly.
At Gypsy just before Everything’s Coming Up Roses the staff could be heard loudly talking in the wings of the mezz which was annoying.
No one in my family was vomited on.
Rankings for this trip:
Sunset Blvd.
Gypsy
Cabaret
Death Becomes Her
Maybe Happy Ending
Redwood
Sunset and Gypsy were clearly at the top. Cabaret, DBH, MHE, and Redwood were closer together in ranking.
Mini reviews
Sunset - I was dubious of the Jamie Lloyd treatment, but I LOVED this production. Nicole is unbelievably good and Tom is perfect as Joe. It snowed a little this day and Joe’s outdoor time was shortened but still was cool to see in person.
Gypsy - This cast is so fun and talented. Audra is Audra and deserves all of the accolades she will get this year. I loved Joy Woods/Jordan Tyson in The Notebook and only wish they had more big moments.
Cabaret - 2nd time seeing this production. I still can’t get over the immersiveness of the theater and prologue. I preferred the Eddie/Gayle casting better. Eddie’s creepy/sinister portrayal and Gayle’s unhingedness weren’t there with Adam/Auli'i. Adam’s singing was definitely above Eddie’s though.
DBH - So funny and fun! The sets, costumes and tech are incredible and Megan and Jennifer have such great chemistry on stage.
MHE - a very sweet and well done musical. We had the Claire understudy Hannah Kevitt. Both Hannah and Darren were phenomenal. It’s hard to believe that Hannah is an understudy. The set design was very cool and the firefly scene was incredibly moving and beautiful.
Redwood - I was impressed with the set design given my low expectations. The projections are used very well and added more to the story than I had expected. Idina was great as well as all of the supporting actors. In the end this is a vehicle for Idina and w/o her it doesn’t last longer than Lempicka/HORR did last year. The book wasn’t as bad as some reviews made it out to be IMO.
Audience behavior - actually very good overall.
At Redwood the woman sitting next to me asked me to lean towards the people I came with. I told her I couldn’t do anything about the size of the seats, I’m big (6’0” 210 lbs) but not massive. She then loudly breathed her wine breath the entire show. Like Darth Vader had waking sleep apnea at times.
One talker that I’m proud to say that my teenage son stared down into silence at DBH.
One brief phone alarm next to me that was silenced/turned off quickly.
At Gypsy just before Everything’s Coming Up Roses the staff could be heard loudly talking in the wings of the mezz which was annoying.
No one in my family was vomited on.