Did anyone see the revival? Did it play better live? Michael McKean has none of the personality or fun of Eddie Foy in the original.
It played very well live - and was one of the toughest tickets to get for its whole run.
It had a very good cast beyond HC. And really transformed Kelli O'Hara into the "it" girl of the season. The role is so different from the part of Clara that she played in Light in the Piazza, and many questioned whether she could pull it off and was the right choice. But she really performed the part beautifully, inproving consistently over the course of the run. He, on the other hand, had a difficult time at first - he seemed somewhat uncomfortable on stage. And the final scene had him shirtless, which he seemed especially uncomfortable with. While he is not a great stage actor, he certainly was a crowd pleaser, and from what I understand, got thunderous applause after each performance.
As for the singing, it played really well on stage, but I think they "jazzed" up some of the numbers for the recording, as well as the other recording he made with Kelli - also very jazzy. Also, it was staged very well, so numbers such as Hey There, while perhaps weak as a purely vocal track, were much more compelling when watching the live performance. I don't think it translated very well from the stage to the recording. But in person, it was a wonderful production.
