Sam saw this show on Broadway and absolutely loved it. He burned me a copy of the CD and overall, I liked the score.
Last night Chris and I attended the touring production in Charlotte. I was very much looking forward to seeing Alice Ripley in the role that won her a Tony Award.
The set was reminisent of
Rent and
Spring Awakening with scaffolding and purple, bright lighting.
Curt Hansen played Gabe and Emma Hunton played his younger sister Natalie. Both were outstanding. Jeremy Kushner played the dual role of Dr. Madden and Dr. Fine. He was okay. Nothing about either performance really stood out for me. Asa Somers performance was absolutely heartwrenching. By the end of the show I was trying to hold back tears. I was not successful.
Alice Ripley was astoundingly disappointing. I'm no singer, but I can certainly tell when someone is off key. She ever found the appropriate key. It might have been that she was tired. It might have been that she was sick. It might have been that she really didn't want to do the tour. Whatever it was, it came through in her performance.
If it hadn't been for the strong performances by her castmates, I would have demanded my money back.
While I grew up in the Smurf era, I didn't really get into the cartoons. Still, I did own a few of the figurines and used the "smurf" language for a time. That a Smurf movie was coming out did nothing for me. That it was offered in 3D did not impress me. That it was a live actin movie set in NYC and starring Neil Patrick Harris and Jayma Mays had me putting it on my "must see" list. Mallorie is a fellow NPH and Jayma Mays fan so she was willing to go. Cade decided to go based on a few TV commercials.
