June in Theatre

In the month of June, I was lucky enough to see 2 shows I hadn't seen before and another I had seen twice before.  Let's just say it was a very good theatre month.

First up was Matilda.  I'm still not exactly sure how I feel about this show.  For starters, I was quite excited to see it with Christopher Sieber, knowing he'd been killing it as Mrs. Trunchbull for the last year or so.  However, when word came down his last show would be June 5 and we were seeing it on the 7th, I was pretty bummed.  Then it came the story line.  I've actually never read Matilda nor have I seen the movie so I had a vague idea what it would be about but I wasn't exactly sure.  

The production itself was fabulous.  The stage decoration was colorful and fun and perfect for a kids show.  All of the actors and actresses were fantastic - particularly the little girl that played Matilda.  I even liked the actor that replaced Christopher Sieber - he was a riot!  My problem was more with the story line.  It got dark - like super dark.  I know Roald Dahl has a sort of history with dark stuff, but I wasn't expecting it to go that dark.  For a kids show, I was expecting light and breezy - not so much creepy teachers bumping off their sister and brother in law.  Also after 2.5 hours, the ending seemed just a bit rushed.  The ending was at least happy I guess, but it got happy in about 30 seconds.

Survey Says: It wasn't my favorite, but my theatre partner in crime loved it so it was definitely worth it.

Second was Something Rotten! for the third time.  It's ridiculous how much I enjoy this show.  It's just fun and funny, and makes me smile.  Unfortunately, Brian d'Arcy James just left last month, but the rest of the cast was pretty much the same.  Fortunately, Brian's replacement, Rob McClure, is just as funny in the part.  He even looks a bit like Brian, so at certain times, I had to do a double take because I thought I was seeing Brian.  

Survey Says: Still a fabulous way to spend an afternoon, as well as the perfect way to sit out a nasty thunderstorm. Also, my theatre partner in crime laughed a whole lot so I'm assuming she loved it as much as I did!

Last was the King & I, which I will gladly admit to only wanting to see because I'm a fan of Daniel Dae Kim. Shallow yes, but at least I'm honest.  It was also going to be my first show at Lincoln Center.  This one was a huge success.  First, the venue is perfect!  I'm not sure there's a bad seat in the house, and with the enormous stage, we got to see some gorgeous set decoration.  At one point a boat rolls onto the stage and the entire stage moves to cover the orchestra pit.  It was amazing!

I will admit also to not being a huge classic musical fan.  I'm a bigger fan of the new stuff. But I did enjoy this one quite a bit.  This was another case of having the general idea of a storyline, but not knowing the particulars.  Marrin Mazzie was perfect as Anna, and her chemistry with Daniel Dae Kim was spot on.  He was just as dreamy in person, and wonderful in the part.  He's not a fantastic singer, so he sort of talked his way through, but it still sort of worked for the part.  It truly was a gorgeous production - everything from the costumes to the set pieces were chosen perfectly.

Survey Says: Probably wouldn't seek out the show itself again, but thoroughly enjoyed getting the chance to see it with such a great cast!