Zach reminded me of Robin Williams and Alan Tudyk. It is also my opinion that he would look good with the thin beard.
The humor of Val’s lines and physicality was somewhat hindered by her unnecessary Lina-Lamont-esque accent. This is yet another example of the unfortunate tendency to play the broad comedy instead of aiming for subtle humor (has intellectual comedy died?!?!?!?!?!?).
Cassie performed extraordinarily well despite being ill and rather heroically managed to keep her coughing to a minimum.
While forewarned that there was no real guitar and that necessary “licks” were synthesized, I found the absence less annoying than anticipated (beyond the opening number). The fact that the lack of a real guitar didn’t glare out of any other numbers (to me, a non-musicians) is a testament to the phenomenal orchestrations of Marvin Hamlisch. Not to say the show should always be done sans (or synthed) guitar – it’s just an interesting alternative concept.
Judy Turner said she wanted to be Tina Turner….apparently Lana Turner isn’t a household name in America anymore…
Other than that, the show was an exemplary national tour (I still liked Brea’s regional performance better though).
Oh. And it was hilarious to watch a mother pull her daughter out of the theatre (with what I can only assume was a disgusted, outraged look on her face) during “Dance Ten, Looks Three (Tits and Ass)”. Although in partial defense (actually out of brute curiosity), I wonder how a parent is supposed to reliably find out if a show is appropriate for their child…I mean sure you can search the internet for details of the show and judge for yourself, but not all internet reviews are reliable judges of content. Of course I know this mom knew NOTHING about the show and didn’t ask anybody about it before bringing her pre-pubescent daughter to it. I hope she’s learned her lesson.
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