Spring Awakening and Rock n' Roll Reviews
Ace and I went last Saturday (the 20th) to see the touring cast of Spring Awakening at the Curran. Preface: I like the play better than the musical. I always have, I always will, and if you want to hear a long rant I'll tell you why sometime. But that aside...
The touring cast was really good. Set is awesome, very minimal but appropriate. All the voices were nice, especiually Kyle Riabko's Melchior and Blake Bashoff's Moritz though. None of the girls were very...belt-y, really, which kind surprised me. I was expecting it a little more at least from Steffi D., since Ilse kinda lends herself to a bolder voice, but whatever. Christy Altomare was a very good Wendla, but she didn't blow me out of the water. Maybe one of you NY people can tell me: when did Wendla stop wearing the too-short white dress all the way through the first act? The only scene she wore it in was "Mamma Who Bore Me", and then she was in the long blue dress until "Whispering". Andy Mientus definitely stood out as Hanschen (actually, he reminded me of Benjamin Eakley's Beadle, because he had this creepy Aryan-Nazi-screw-me-now vibe going on). Angela Reed and Henry Stram played the Adults and were absolutely fantastic. Angela Reed totally had a Madeline Kahn going on as Wendla's mother, which was hysterical, but all her characters were nicely distinct from one another.
If anyone has specific questions about anyone/thing (I'm looking at you, Cesca ;D), I'll be happy to tell you more.
Then last night I went to see Tom Stoppard's Rock n' Roll at ACT. Now I actually hadn't read this one before, so my entire knowledge came from the little bit of reading about it I'd done back when it first opened. It was a really fantastic show, though. That set was just beautiful-it was designed so as though you were looking up at the sky while boxed in by skyscrapers, and the other major sets-Jan's living room, Max's garden, the interrogation room, and the John Lennon wall-just rolled in from different sides.
The actors were brilliant. Manoel Felciano played Jan and was just adorable and so genuine that it sucked you in. Jack Willis was a perfect Max. Rene Augesen, who played Eleanor and older Esme, was fabulous all the way through. In the scene whenere she tells-off Lenka and has the breakdown in from of Max she was so fragile and strong-minded that you entirely forgot you were watching a play. The entire cast was strong though. Jud Williford was great as Ferdinand, Delia MacDougall was an awesome Lenka, and it was fun to see Summer Serafin again (who I saw in SF Shakes MND two summers ago). I was also crazy-impressed with all the actors who had to learn the Czech-Britch hybrid accents. Fabulous show, I'd totally go see it again if I had the time.