Sarah on theater

I really wasn’t into the first act but I loved the second. I’m not sure if it was a matter of misplaced expectations or if the humor just landed better for me after intermission - probably both - there was certainly less yelping about newt orifices after the break and more, like, clever madcap farce (idk lol)

On balance I think it’s a very good show that at points just didn’t feel like it was “for me.” Even in the moments when the humor didn’t totally work for me, I thought the songs were fun and effective (if a little heavy on patter exposition), it was well-staged and -choreographed, and they got a ton of mileage from the stage and the small cast. I was surprised and impressed by how respectfully they treated the memory of Glyndwr Michael, all things considered.

And I think it’s so cool that this quirky musical about a bizarre little bit of history has blown up so far from off-off-West End. These folks are actually living their dream right now and it’s a real joy to be a part of that. Can’t wait to see what they do next.

I liked the first act better the second go-round since I was less worried about whether the boy I dragged from work was into it

Successive viewings of this show have only heightened my appreciation for it, and I would probably now rank it among my favorites of the last season.

Got the jumping photo! I’ve really come to love this show. It’s uncommonly rewarding on repeat viewing, which might just mean it’s going too fast to begin with. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ This has become sort of my de facto recommendation for when I have an out-of-town visitor of the “guy who isn’t into theater but wants to see a show” variety, and they pretty much eat it up every time.

Fun for me this go-round because I caught a couple of understudies for the first time. Amanda Jill Robinson (as Johnny Bevan) was doing a pretty close impression of Zoë Roberts but sprinkled in an amusingly Carreyesque facial elasticity. Gerianne Pérez (as Ewen Montagu) felt a bit more distinct from Natasha Hodgson, deemphasizing some of the growly swagger to the benefit of the intelligibility of a couple of songs. In both cases they were maybe lacking some of the literal years of chemistry with the rest of the cast, but that’s understandable, and they were otherwise perfectly competent.

Given that Natasha and Zoë might be my two favorite members of the original cast, this was a good opportunity for me to appreciate the rest. (I know everybody loves Jak Malone, and I think he’s great, too—but my controversial take is that “Dear Bill” is a bit of an out-of-place momentum killer. Don’t hate me.) Claire-Marie Hall was especially in good form and I think her contributions are a little underrated.