Hair: Tuesday 9/1/09
The understudies were Paris Remillard on for Woof (this week Bryce Ryness's daughter was born), Katie Kiyan for Crissy, and Matt DeAngelis on for Josh Lamon (aka Theo Stockman's roles). Also, Krystal Joy Brown was new to me, since Saycon has since left the show for Fela! (The last time I was at Hair was, I believe, May 5th).
I was thrilled to see that the show was still as energetic and smooth and tight as it was in the spring, pre Tonys. I think a lot of the energy is due to the new faces (swings etc) in the Tribe who are keeping the show fresh and exciting. Gavin Creel and Caissie Levy give consistently passionate yet everchanging performances and I have endless respect for the work they do on stage. Will Swenson was crazy on Tuesday- his opening monologue to the audience was extra long and insane, as well as continued outbursts in the middle of Gavin's lines.
What a beautiful beautiful show, and I have yet to see a bad understudy/tribe member. (Also, I have seen all the Crissy covers now: Allison, Briana and Katie, and they are all great, although Allison is still probably my favorite).
9 to 5: Saturday matinee 9/5/09
I have been meaning to revisit 9 to 5 , as I enjoyed it a lot the first time I saw it in June, so I figured closing weekend was the time to do it. (No understudies!!)
What energy! Everyone was so thrilled and into everything that they were doing, it made me appreciate the show even more. While I thought the fantasy sequence of Dance of Death/Cowgirl's Revenge/Potion Notion was silly and unnecessary the first time through, I really had a great time watching it last night. Stephanie J. Block's emotions were cranked up through the roof, which I could tell as soon as she began to cry during the beginning of "I Just Might". Allison Janney has grown even more into her Drama Desk winning role, as proven with her second act monologue to Tinsworthy about the sacrifices women make in terms of work and career. I wish it was posted word for word online somewhere (as soon as I post this I'm going to look) because I find it so moving and inspiring. Megan Hilty performs a beautiful Doralee. Yes, she copies Dolly. Yes, it's SPOT ON, and also a developed character. I hope Megan moves on to something other than Wicked after this. Also, I found Kathy Fitzgerald slightly annoying the first time, but enjoyed her character more the second time.
