Post by urinetown01 on Aug 3, 2009 12:38:11 GMT -5
I never thought I’d say this, but… I really didn’t care for it. Act One was AMAZINGLY slow. When the act finished, I was thinking it was close to 10pm (the show started at 8), but no, it was only 9:21!
The show had such a promising start. It started basically at the end where Frank Jr. (Aaron Tveit) finally gets captured by Hanratty (Norbert Leo Butz). Frank stops Hanratty and addresses the audience. He turns his story into ‘The Frank Abagnale Jr. Show’ and does a wonderful opening number called “Live in Living Color!” The show had such a promising opening. The set design was very sparse and used a video screen as the backdrop (which was used very effectively), they also had a mid-stage video screen. I thought that was pretty cool. The orchestra was on kind of a Bandstand at the back. It gave it kind of 60’s variety show feel.
But from there, the show went downhill. The story might have been captivating, but they way they told it was pretty boring. They did have a variety of music styles from the time period, but the sound was so bad (way too much echo) that you couldn’t understand 70% of the lyrics. I’m thinking that’s what really killed it. Horrible sound. Probably missed all of the jokes. Suffice to say, I was actually bored. BORED! Watching those actor’s onstage. Though one of the highlights was Tom Wopat as Frank Sr. His songs were in a crooner style and they suited his silky voice perfectly.
Act 2 was so much better than Act 1. Not just because Kerry Butler’s character finally entered the story. The music was faster paced, the story shuffled along at a faster clip. The only real down part was when Frank Jr. and Brenda (Kerry Butler) visited her parents (Linda Hart & Nick Wyman) in New Orleans. The scene seemed contrived and song Bury Me Beside the One I Love) was just horrible. Oh wait, there was another sleeper moment in Act 2. It was a duet (Don’t Be a Stranger) between Frank Sr. and Paula (Rachel de Benedet), the mom. That song just stopped the show (and not in a good way). Seemed totally out of place. It didn’t really add anything to the story and just told us things we already knew and didn’t need to rehash.
The male chorus was really fun to watch and listen to. Such energetic dancing. Jerry Mitchell should get commended for it. But the female chorus, while nice to look at, were way to screechy! Again, it could have been the sound system.
Aaron Tveit was wonderful. His voice was so pure and beautiful to listen to. Plus there were a few scenes of him shirtless. That was nice. He really held the show together. He pulled it off, but the material didn’t really stand behind him. Kerry Butler had a wonderful song in Act 2 called “Fly, Fly Away” which really gave her a chance to show off her golden pipes! I just wish she would have belted a bit more instead of holding back. Norbert was… okay. I’m sure that if the part was better written he could have been wonderful. He was a bit over-the-top at times. Didn’t really fit with the character.
All in all, it was a decent night at the theater, but definitely not one I think I want to repeat any time soon. Maybe I’ll see the show again towards the end of the run and see if it got any better.
The show had such a promising start. It started basically at the end where Frank Jr. (Aaron Tveit) finally gets captured by Hanratty (Norbert Leo Butz). Frank stops Hanratty and addresses the audience. He turns his story into ‘The Frank Abagnale Jr. Show’ and does a wonderful opening number called “Live in Living Color!” The show had such a promising opening. The set design was very sparse and used a video screen as the backdrop (which was used very effectively), they also had a mid-stage video screen. I thought that was pretty cool. The orchestra was on kind of a Bandstand at the back. It gave it kind of 60’s variety show feel.
But from there, the show went downhill. The story might have been captivating, but they way they told it was pretty boring. They did have a variety of music styles from the time period, but the sound was so bad (way too much echo) that you couldn’t understand 70% of the lyrics. I’m thinking that’s what really killed it. Horrible sound. Probably missed all of the jokes. Suffice to say, I was actually bored. BORED! Watching those actor’s onstage. Though one of the highlights was Tom Wopat as Frank Sr. His songs were in a crooner style and they suited his silky voice perfectly.
Act 2 was so much better than Act 1. Not just because Kerry Butler’s character finally entered the story. The music was faster paced, the story shuffled along at a faster clip. The only real down part was when Frank Jr. and Brenda (Kerry Butler) visited her parents (Linda Hart & Nick Wyman) in New Orleans. The scene seemed contrived and song Bury Me Beside the One I Love) was just horrible. Oh wait, there was another sleeper moment in Act 2. It was a duet (Don’t Be a Stranger) between Frank Sr. and Paula (Rachel de Benedet), the mom. That song just stopped the show (and not in a good way). Seemed totally out of place. It didn’t really add anything to the story and just told us things we already knew and didn’t need to rehash.
The male chorus was really fun to watch and listen to. Such energetic dancing. Jerry Mitchell should get commended for it. But the female chorus, while nice to look at, were way to screechy! Again, it could have been the sound system.
Aaron Tveit was wonderful. His voice was so pure and beautiful to listen to. Plus there were a few scenes of him shirtless. That was nice. He really held the show together. He pulled it off, but the material didn’t really stand behind him. Kerry Butler had a wonderful song in Act 2 called “Fly, Fly Away” which really gave her a chance to show off her golden pipes! I just wish she would have belted a bit more instead of holding back. Norbert was… okay. I’m sure that if the part was better written he could have been wonderful. He was a bit over-the-top at times. Didn’t really fit with the character.
All in all, it was a decent night at the theater, but definitely not one I think I want to repeat any time soon. Maybe I’ll see the show again towards the end of the run and see if it got any better.
