I saw Little Women last night. It's a pleasant show (damn it with faint praise whydoncha). Both Sutton Foster and Maureen McGovern are excellent. There is some nice music. McGovern gets a very good number in the second act where she sings her feelings about the death of daughter Beth. Sutton Foster has a big first act closing number called (IIRC) Astonishing. Unfortunately, it's not. Nothing in the show is astonishing. It's perfectly pleasant and well done. The costumes work well. There is good use of some rear projections for sets, unlike those used in Good Vibrations. The supporting cast is fine, it's just missing the spark that could turn it into a wonderful, emotional evening. It's a little long (almost 3 hours) and since it's opening on Sunday I doubt that it will be trimmed much. This is crass, but for $30 I didn't mind it. For $100 or $75 I think I would have been more upset. So, DR Debra/Vixmom, those are my thoughts. I think if you can get discount tickets (you will most likely be up in the mezzanine) your daughter will enjoy the show. It's not a great piece of musical theatre but it's a nice introduction if a child hasn't seen much theatre. The beauty and power of the book isn't always transferred to the stage but there are moments which are very nice. I think it may have a life if only for school groups. There were many, many students in the theatre, no doubt they are reading the book and came to see the show.
I was also sitting next to a stupid couple who should be banned from the theatre! She complained incessantly about the seats. Now granted the mezzanine of the Virginia Theatre does not have ample leg space, but give it a rest lady. You're in a public place. Do you really think everyone around you wants to hear you berate your husband repeatedly for getting such bad seats? Do you really think everyone around you wants to hear (as you sit with your mink) how these seats "are killing me". If you're so unhappy, LEAVE! And her husband TOOK OFF HIS SHOES during the show. If they had been loafers I don't think I would have minded, but they were intricately laced tennis shoes! He had to pull his legs up in the cramped space so he could put them on at intermission and walk down to the men's room. I was hoping that since her highness was so unhappy that they would leave at intermission but no such luck. She stayed during intermission and he came back from the mens room. Before the show the wife handed her husband a bag containing a piece of pastry (how apropos to yesterday's topic), a gooey chocolate thing, and the buffoon ate it while she told him he could save it and eat it later, then stuck her fingers in the pastry and took some. I had, in front of me, a bobble-head doll and if I could have removed his head I would have done so with pleasure. Being rather short (5' 3") I do sometimes have a problem with who sits in front of me in the theatre. I try to get an aisle seat when possible but with TDF E-Tix, you pays your money and you takes your chances. The man sitting in front of me was one of those movers who kept shifting and leaning over to talk to the wife (I think he was there because she wanted to come, not because he wanted to see a musical based on a book he probably never read). Just when I was able to see unobstructed, Bobble-Boy would take a new position. It made watching the show a little frustrating. Perhaps the couple next to me and the man in front affected my viewing of the show. Who knows?
The most pleasant part of the evening was running into former DR Jason! We were both in the far reaches of the mezzanine, thanks to TDF E-Tix. We had a very nice conversation. He had an audition on Monday and scored a callback for possible summer work. MTI still has Dear Jason in it's grip so he is quite busy. He also saw Good Vibrations and feels the way I do, that it's a show in trouble and if it's not fixed it will open and close very quickly.
I'm seeing Lone Star Love next week, a musical based on Merry Wives of Windsor and set in Texas. Jason saw it and enjoyed it so I'm looking forward to it. I won't be seeing Gary Sandy (from WKRP In Cincinnati) since his last performance was yesterday evening. Oh, well. It's a small, Off-Broadway theatre so I don't think I'll have the audience problems I had yesterday.
It's approaching 8:45am here. I must get to work.
I'm listening to BBC Radio 3 right now. I'll be back later with other music choices.
