Meh surprised me last month with tickets to see a new musical previewing in Seattle before it heads for Broadway. The show was last night, and we had such a fun date night! We started with dinner at a tasty tapas place we'd never been to, and lucked out when we discovered that their valet parking was both free and time-unlimited. Then we strolled the few blocks over to the theater, where they had costumed flight attendants out front handing out bags of peanuts - silly!Before the musical began, the artistic director (who of course has a blog) came out and explained what a preview entails, that the show is constantly being tweaked in response to audience feedback, and that they really appreciated our participation in the process. And then for only the third time, the show was presented! The music was fun and there were some great numbers; a few minor glitches were covered brilliantly by the actors (one almost cracked himself up when a pratfall off the stage almost became a real one). The cast was fabulous as well; Aaron Tveit (playing Frank, DiCaprio's character in the movie) had some showstoppers, and Tony-winning Norbert Leo Butz was hilarious as the obsessive FBI agent Hanratty. The audience loved it, and there was even an 'in' moment where Hanratty did a film noire bit and said "It was hot. Practically August hot," with a knowing look to the audience.
Curiously, I haven't been able to find any reviews of the show online; I'm not sure if the local papers are holding off on the moving target that a preview must be, or if a gag order is part of the preview process. But it runs for another week here, and then is off to Broadway. I recommend everyone check it out!
No comments:
Post a Comment