Busy week...
It's sunday night and the Patriots are on the verge of immortality (at least that's what FOX Sports wants me to believe) EDIT: HOW WRONG WE ALL WERE! The Giants? Really... I really wouldn't have seen that coming at all! wow... that's all I can say, wow. I mean, to win every game all season and lose the only game that matters. oh well. Here's to another terrific Tampa Bay season in 08'/09'
I'm going to see "There will be Blood" tomorrow right after work and "No Country for Old Men" on Tuesday evening for Aimee's Karaoke hosting party at MVP's on Elkton Road (EDIT: sadly, not so much, feel better Aimee). Then a full week of events at good ol' Clayton Hall.
I saw "Sweeney Todd" at the Drama League on Friday. There were a number of things that I really enjoyed about the production and a good amount i'd personally change, but it might have been the best production i've seen at the Drama League (which doesn't speak for much, for truth me told i've only see less then a handful of shows there and i've been in more then i've seen... ) But it was enjoyable and there were some stand out performances (and a couple less then stellar). I was happy to hear Mr. Corey Leigh lend his voice to Anthony (even if it was only in a backstage capacity) While the other actor was physically unable to. I think it was the best vocal performance of his I have physically ever heard from Mr. Leigh. Not to slight the Actor was was cast as Anthony, for to be honest I have no idea what he sounds like (minus a versus in "Johanna" that was pre-recorded for the performance), but it would have nice to actually see Corey on stage as Anthony. for me, it was a tie over the true strongest performance in the show belonged to. Megan Pisors performance of Johanna was excellent, Sadly he Microphone never seemed to turn on so it was incredibly hard to hear her most of the time (a situation that sadly seems common sometimes at the WDL, I know i've been there in that situation before) or Karen Murdock's scene stealing Ms. Lovett, even when confined to such a small area to work with like in "by the sea". Murdock only could of benefited from a live orchestra instead of a recording so she could have expanded herself, but was a delightful charm in almost every moment she appeared on stage. On the other side, I was less impressed with Sean Kelly as Turpin and James Smith's performance as Sweeney. Turpin seemed to lack much of the dynamics the role required and Smith started the show strong and plummeted in much of act one, only to really get his intensity and bloodlust back on "a little priest" after "Epiphany" seemed lackluster, but both of them really shined in "Pretty Women" and it's reprise when Turpin returns and made me wish they delivered that the entire show. Smith has all the tools needed to be a great Sweeney, from a great vocal range to a menacing physical presence, which make me feel like rather then seeing a weak actor portraying Sweeney I was seeing a weak performance, which seems like a shame due to the high expectation that role bring to the audience. The Staging and positioning in the opening "Ballad" was excellent, including the rise of Todd and Lovett from the Orchestra Pit (which I haven't seem a single production at the Drama League do). I was little disappointed with some of the musical staging in parts of the show ("Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" seemed to clumped to note an example) but "City on Fire" was everything it should have been. The company on a whole was excellent, and incredibly dynamic and deserves tremendous praise for they were the true backbone of the show, and I can't say that every production at the drama league does that kinda of job with the company. When the Chorus joins together in "Todd" everything stops allowing the audience to really drawn into the intensity and action of what were witnessing, and in every moment this occurred it went off without a hitch. All that being said, it did rub me in the wrong way by the end of the performance for the reprise of "Ballad", all the way down to the repeat of the automated lift. I'm not certain if it was the exact ambition to bookend the performance by ending it the way it began or not, but it didn't feel as important the second time around, which is a same because of how strong it felt the first time it happened. One last note... the blood was really unfortunate. I don't know what the mixture was, but it was hard to see and kinda not really there. It needed to be bigger or not there at all (like the original Broadway production did with scarves). Still, the show was really fun to watch and made for an exciting evening of theater.
Also at the show I got to see Mr. Steve Weatherman, Mr. Michael Boudwyns and Mrs. Sarah Valentine and my Grandfather (who told me about my Cousin Nedda who just had a Baby Girl on Thursday evening!)
There will be more to write about later...
I'm going to see "There will be Blood" tomorrow right after work and "No Country for Old Men" on Tuesday evening for Aimee's Karaoke hosting party at MVP's on Elkton Road (EDIT: sadly, not so much, feel better Aimee). Then a full week of events at good ol' Clayton Hall.
I saw "Sweeney Todd" at the Drama League on Friday. There were a number of things that I really enjoyed about the production and a good amount i'd personally change, but it might have been the best production i've seen at the Drama League (which doesn't speak for much, for truth me told i've only see less then a handful of shows there and i've been in more then i've seen... ) But it was enjoyable and there were some stand out performances (and a couple less then stellar). I was happy to hear Mr. Corey Leigh lend his voice to Anthony (even if it was only in a backstage capacity) While the other actor was physically unable to. I think it was the best vocal performance of his I have physically ever heard from Mr. Leigh. Not to slight the Actor was was cast as Anthony, for to be honest I have no idea what he sounds like (minus a versus in "Johanna" that was pre-recorded for the performance), but it would have nice to actually see Corey on stage as Anthony. for me, it was a tie over the true strongest performance in the show belonged to. Megan Pisors performance of Johanna was excellent, Sadly he Microphone never seemed to turn on so it was incredibly hard to hear her most of the time (a situation that sadly seems common sometimes at the WDL, I know i've been there in that situation before) or Karen Murdock's scene stealing Ms. Lovett, even when confined to such a small area to work with like in "by the sea". Murdock only could of benefited from a live orchestra instead of a recording so she could have expanded herself, but was a delightful charm in almost every moment she appeared on stage. On the other side, I was less impressed with Sean Kelly as Turpin and James Smith's performance as Sweeney. Turpin seemed to lack much of the dynamics the role required and Smith started the show strong and plummeted in much of act one, only to really get his intensity and bloodlust back on "a little priest" after "Epiphany" seemed lackluster, but both of them really shined in "Pretty Women" and it's reprise when Turpin returns and made me wish they delivered that the entire show. Smith has all the tools needed to be a great Sweeney, from a great vocal range to a menacing physical presence, which make me feel like rather then seeing a weak actor portraying Sweeney I was seeing a weak performance, which seems like a shame due to the high expectation that role bring to the audience. The Staging and positioning in the opening "Ballad" was excellent, including the rise of Todd and Lovett from the Orchestra Pit (which I haven't seem a single production at the Drama League do). I was little disappointed with some of the musical staging in parts of the show ("Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" seemed to clumped to note an example) but "City on Fire" was everything it should have been. The company on a whole was excellent, and incredibly dynamic and deserves tremendous praise for they were the true backbone of the show, and I can't say that every production at the drama league does that kinda of job with the company. When the Chorus joins together in "Todd" everything stops allowing the audience to really drawn into the intensity and action of what were witnessing, and in every moment this occurred it went off without a hitch. All that being said, it did rub me in the wrong way by the end of the performance for the reprise of "Ballad", all the way down to the repeat of the automated lift. I'm not certain if it was the exact ambition to bookend the performance by ending it the way it began or not, but it didn't feel as important the second time around, which is a same because of how strong it felt the first time it happened. One last note... the blood was really unfortunate. I don't know what the mixture was, but it was hard to see and kinda not really there. It needed to be bigger or not there at all (like the original Broadway production did with scarves). Still, the show was really fun to watch and made for an exciting evening of theater.
Also at the show I got to see Mr. Steve Weatherman, Mr. Michael Boudwyns and Mrs. Sarah Valentine and my Grandfather (who told me about my Cousin Nedda who just had a Baby Girl on Thursday evening!)
There will be more to write about later...