Hartford Reviews

[CJ-Rochester]

Oh my I hope Janet will recover soon. She is such a fantastic Mrs. W. Whoever is there tonight please let us know if she is back.

[Billy Whiz]

Oh my I hope Janet will recover soon. She is such a fantastic Mrs. W. Whoever is there tonight please let us know if she is back.

No she wasn't. Cara played Mrs W and she was excellent.

[mikey2573]

Saw the show last night (Friday). While it has lost some of its luster, in the end it still delivers. For some reason there are a lot of actors shouting and yelling their lines, and a lot of the laughs were simply not there. I still don't know why Small Boy yells, "Fat Bastard!" at George; last night it got barely a chuckle. Some of the acting seemed a bit "over the top" and there was a lot of mugging for laughs. It is sort of like what happens with successful sitcoms after a number of years; the characters become goofy and lose a lot of their charm. Think of Kramer in the final few seasons of SEINFELD. The actor playing Dad thankfully kept it real even during his comic moments. He didn't go over the top during the scene with Posh Dad and the ballet dancer (remember Greg Jbarra trying to climb into the box at the Imperial?) He kept it under control and really appreciated that.
One of my biggest shocks was how far back the mezz is from the stage. Usually the front row of the mezz overhangs at least the middle portion of the orchestra. Not at the Bushnell. The front row mezz is almost at the back row of the orchestra. And the balcony? Forget about it! They looked like they were in another zip code! Very oddly designed theater. It just goes back and back and back, whereas other theaters go up and up (but keep you relatively closer to the stage).
We had the understudy Mrs. Wilkinson who seemed to have her character's harshness down but none of her warmth to conflict with that harshness. It made for a somewhat unappealing Mrs. Wilkinson. Hoping that Dickinson makes it back sometime this weekend.
Noah is still quite good (but again, why all the SHOUTING!!!! ?) and he is one of my favorite singers among the Billys I have seen. Of course his dancing was top notch and his ELECTRICITY got one of the longest applauses I have ever heard. I saw Noah a couple of times in Boston but have never seen the other two Billys who have joined the show since. Looking forward to seeing them this weekend.

[jdmag44]

FRIDAY. Noah/Cameron

OMG. The forum members were everywhere. Noah had a big fan-club mostly family and friends. He delivered a Great performance . Yes the shouting is still irritating. This is going to be a special weekend.

Joe

[ERinVA]

We had the understudy Mrs. Wilkinson who seemed to have her character's harshness down but none of her warmth to conflict with that harshness. It made for a somewhat unappealing Mrs. Wilkinson. Hoping that Dickinson makes it back sometime this weekend.

I have to disagree with this assessment. I actually enjoyed Cara Massey's performance as Mrs. W. a lot. I thought she was quite good, and showed a good balance of toughness and warmth. Of course, she isn't exactly like Janet in the role, but I would be happy to see her play Mrs. W. again if Janet--whose interpretation I love,by the way--doesn't manage to make it back.

[jdmag44]

I must agree with Ellen. I thought Cara had a good balance and had a noticeable warmth. I am a BIG fan of Janet and I miss her but was very satisfied with Cara. It is a difficult and complex role and she did very well. I do hpe Janet is ok.

[CJ-Rochester]

One of my biggest shocks was how far back the mezz is from the stage. Usually the front row of the mezz overhangs at least the middle portion of the orchestra. Not at the Bushnell. The front row mezz is almost at the back row of the orchestra.

Interesting, because Kport said the opposite earlier in the week:

the mezzanine is not so far from the stage that one feels separated from the action. In fact, I would recommend the front row of the mezzanine for some of the best sight lines in the theater

I hope Kport's account is true, as my ticket for the final show is in the front section of the mezz. We shall find out soon enough.

[johnnyc]

I'm afraid I have to second the statement that the mezzanine is rather far back from the stage. I'll be trying to get something in the orchestra not farther back than row J for tonight's performance. My current ticket is in mezzanine row B., but exchanges are possible if a closer seat is available close to showtime.

[mikey2573]

I would say that the designer of the Bushnell did not like "overhangs". Thus, those sitting in the orchestra have virtually no overhang of the mezz to contend with. 90% of the people sitting in the orchestra can look up and see the ceiling of the theater, not the bottom ceiling of the mezz. The same can be said of the mezz; no balcony overhang when you look up. As a result the mezz and the balcony are pushed WAY back to avoid that overhang. There is a small portion of the mezz on either side that sticks forward, but not significantly. So the result is that those sitting in the mezz are very far back, and those in the balcony should bring a telescope to view the stage. One big clue about this are the steps leading down to the front of the mezz; basically about an inch or so high, which means the mezz stretches BACK instead of stretching UP. A mezz stretching up would have much steeper stairs. I was sitting in the front mezz and had to use my theater glasses through most of the show. I am not sure if the orchestra was completely full (I would guess not). I know the mezz wasn't. So there was some seat shifting for Act 2. I might consider that this weekend as I am sitting primarily in the front mezz, which I now know is much further back than I anticipated when I bought my tickets.

As for the Mrs.Wilkinson understudy, I think of the character as having that harsh abrasive exterior which Billy is eventually able to crack. It is that conflict that makes her so interesting. I saw the harsh exterior but never saw that crack in the wall. To each his own I guess.

[porschesrule]

Here's a review from a blog called In the Spotlight, which bills itself as "Supporting the Arts in Western Massachusetts and Beyond":

http://www.inthespotlightinc.org/2013/0 ... sical.html