On The Town

Luckily I haven't been hiding under a rock these past few months. Besides going to the Orange Bowl (Yay Trojans!), I managed to make my way to NYC in April to see a few shows:

Spamalot - I fear I was a little under the weather during this show, so I didn't quite appreciate all of the antics. While David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria are wonderfully witty and talented, I loved the characters that Christian Borle portrayed. Not Yet Dead Fred, Prince Hubert, and the Historian...very entertaining indeed.

Little Women - I wasn't too thrilled with how they treated the story and it took a gazillion listenings of the CD to warm up to some of the songs since then. But, it had Sutton Foster as Jo March, as well as Louisa May Alcott's book as source material...so there were redeeming qualities to be had.

Dessa Rose - This was based on a book about two strong women during the time of slavery, played by Rachel York and LaChanze...of course, I managed to catch it when they were BOTH out. But I was astounded by Kenita Miller's performance as Dessa Rose, and I can't wait to see her in another Broadway production in the future. And...Flaherty and Ahrens always make me weep with their powerful music & lyrics.

Chitty Chitty Bang Bang - As expected, this is a very fun show which I think kids and adults would both enjoy. Raul Esparza and Erin Dilly perform wonderfully, but of course, the star of the show is the car itself. Charge some hard cash for people to take a couple of spins in that thing, and I think the producers could recoup their investment in putting on this show!

La Cage Aux Folles - The cagelles were beautiful and dance and flip around the stage with the greatest of ease. Their talent and build was directly proportional to the sound of the females sneering in the audience. If only WE could look as good as that company of male transvestites! If you liked the Birdcage, you should like this show...since they're based off the same story. Gary Beach was the consummate drama queen, Robert Goulet was as debonair as could be, and Gavin Creel...as cute as always.

Brooklyn - The set was very creative and the costumes were quite inventive. Try telling a fable and using trash to make your outfits. There was a lot of energy coming from the small cast of five...Eden Espinoza has some pretty powerful pipes as well. This show is closing at the end of the month, but I can't help but think that it would have lasted in NYC longer if it was playing off-Broadway. Let's see if the upcoming National Tour can be successful.