MR

Whose going to Hunchback's opening night? Are there any dinner plans planned?

Was planning on going until I spaced on dates. I'll be on a plane to Australia.

Enjoy!

StyxCollector wrote:Was planning on going until I spaced on dates. I'll be on a plane to Australia.

Enjoy!

That's too bad about the play. But Australia is a cool place to go. Hope to get there someday. Say hi to the Wombat.

styxfanNH wrote:

StyxCollector wrote:Was planning on going until I spaced on dates. I'll be on a plane to Australia.

Enjoy!

That's too bad about the play. But Australia is a cool place to go. Hope to get there someday. Say hi to the Wombat.

Eh, I'm human. For some reason I had it in my head the opening night was 5/5. Oh well. I'll catch one of the shows between then and July. I'll be in Australia then Japan - so methinks that as good as the show will be, I'll probably be having a better time

I just got home too. Amazing is so underated. I watched Dennis out of the corner of my eye at the soundboard as the play went on. Styx tie ins are throughout as is Dennis's Wit. The Egyptian rant is classic Dennis.

At one point I though t I heard a chunk of Rain in it and Dennis said definitely not. When I told him where I thought I heard it he thought for a second, sang the part and said, it's similar but definitely different.

To no surprise, Dennis knows every line, every measure of Hunchback.

It is a must trip in a small theatre where the action happens around you. Hell, I almost got knocked off my chair by Qusimodo and I know others said they felt they were going to get stabbed during the sword fights in the aisles.

I am glad Dennis had a second chance at this. It was well worth the trip.

I was able to go (and it was nice meeting some of you). I found the minimalist set and the ensemble's ability to perform a variety of roles quite wonderful.

The inclusion of the new material and the omission of Alms for the Beggar Man were great improvements. Certainly the songs where Frollo rails at God and Quasimodo explains what he hears in his silent world are beautiful inclusions that move the story along. The pacing was solid and the actors were wonderful in their renderings of the characters.

I know Dennis' version to be very faithful to the novel. While I think the book for the musical needs some work, overall I found the production earthy and lacking in pomp and pretense. Yes there were some subtle Styx references, however I think they would not be caught by someone who isn't a Styx fan. I think the Egyptian humor, while classic Dennis was overdone and unnecessary.

For me, Jeremy Rill makes a wonderful Frollo. James Rank was heroically forceful as Phoebus. Mahiette as played by Miss Liz Pazik was terrific. Michael Harnichar as Gudule was wonderfully cast as the bigoted second in command.

If you are able, certainly make an effort. Regardless of Mr. DeYoung's involvement, I think it is a strong piece of theater. It still needs some work, but it has a solid framework.

Peace to all

Glad everyone enjoyed. I'm having fun here Down Under but hope to catch it at some point in June.

I second Sadie's review.

After listening to the demo CD for several years, and hearing Dennis sing beautifully to himself and with himself, it was nice to see how the songs were supposed to play out. Only he can know if this production met the expectations in his mind, but they far exceeded the ones in mine.

Beautifully realized with excellent use made of the small theater. Every part of it was used for the performance except the lobby! The voices chosen for the lead roles were perfect as well. Really powerful and they gave, in my view, the right emotional delivery of these songs that are so familiar to me. (I resisted the urge to sing along. )

I was on the back row and a familiar looking guy was right behind me, tweaking with the board. I think (and hope) he was quite pleased with how this work came to life.

Bugsy

Don't know if this was posted before, but from Sunday's Chicago Sun-Times

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/s ... 18.article

bugsymalone wrote:I second Sadie's review.

I was on the back row and a familiar looking guy was right behind me, tweaking with the board. I think (and hope) he was quite pleased with how this work came to life.

Bugsy

Was JY running the sound board ????

And here are the official reviews from both the Chicago Tribune and the Chicago Sun-Times. Interesting to read the differences. I'll reserve my comments until they can be read by others.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/ ... 3957.story

http://www.suntimes.com/entertainment/w ... 21.article

classicstyxfan wrote:

bugsymalone wrote:I second Sadie's review.

I was on the back row and a familiar looking guy was right behind me, tweaking with the board. I think (and hope) he was quite pleased with how this work came to life.

Bugsy

Was JY running the sound board ????

LOL, classic! You know, had he been there, I think a spontaneous performance, adding an additional murder scene, might have made for interesting theater indeed.


Bugsy

It was really great all around. I loved all the singing coming from all over the place. I thought during Ave Maria it felt like I was actually in the musical in the church, it was really neat with all the singing coming from behind and in the aisles.