Day 6-11/25/09

Show: Bye Bye Birdie
Date: 9/10/09 (First Preview)
Type: Audio
Cast: John Stamos (Albert Peterson), Gina Gershon (Rosie Alvarez), Bill Irwin (Harry MacAfee), Dee Hoty (Mrs. MacAfee), Nolan Gerard Funk (Conrad Birdie), Jayne Houdyshell (Mae Peterson), Allie Trimm (Kim MacAfee), Matt Doyle (Hugo Peabody), Jake Evan Schwencke (Randolph MacAfee)

One thing I really noticed was that this is a show that if you don't see it, you don't get it all. There's a lot of times I heard laughing but there was nothing to laugh at that I heard. So this show has been out for 2 months, and you've probably heard quite a bit about it.
John and Gina were about as bad as everyone says. John did okay with the acting but his singing wasn't so great. Gina seemed just pretty bad overall. One thing is that although you can't see her, you can tell by the way she's singing that she's making some strange faces (Also I have seen the video, so I know that) It was very odd, because in English Teacher the two weren't atrocious, they were...eh. But as the show went on they got worse. Spanish Rose is honestly just painful.
Bill Irwin has been criticized for being too campy, and he is. But I happen to kind of like it, although it is a little much. I did like Dee Hoty and Jake Evan Schwencke, they both were very believable as the characters and Jake is just adorable. Not so crazy about Nolan, I guess he wasn't terrible but he wasn't all that special. Jayne Houdyshell was pretty funny as the mom, but at times I thought it was a little much. Not necessarily her fault, but I felt like some of the bits just kept going. Allie was really good as Kim, her voice sounded so good in How Lovely To Be A Woman. I also liked how some of the lines that are really stupid she says with this false conviction. For instance "I'm 15 and it's time I settled down..." was said completely earnestly, but in a way that was really funny. She greatly showed up Gina in What Did I Ever See In Him, but there was one note at the end that she was kind of weak on. I bet now she hits it much better. She and Matt sounded absolutely wonderful in One Boy, their voices complimented well. I think Matt was absolutely hilarious. There's this one part before One Boy where he's all freaked out and talking kind of fast, I thought it was brilliant. It honestly sounded like they talk in old 50's movies. Like Allie, a lot of his lines are kind of stupid but the way he says them is just awesome.
Telephone Hour is probably one of my favorite songs, it's so fun and so cute. I also really like One Boy and sometimes I like One Last Kiss, Honestly Sincere, and Lot Of Living. The rest are sort of iffy for me.

I really wish I could see this show before it closes!

See you tomorrow with Avenue Q!