Thursday, October 7th, 2010 (My 58th Birthday)
Dayton
Gabe
Emily Skinner as Mrs. W.

Dayton! Definitely a veteran at this, and I enjoyed his performance, His acting and singing were very good, and I thought his dancing was fantastic. Angry Dance was the most powerful I have seen this week, and his Swan Lake was one of the best and most synchronized of any I have seen in a while. I think it does help that the taller the Billy, the better the older Billy can sync their movements.
My only complaint is the usual: I hate it when Billy says “My mom’s dead,” too quickly behind Debbi’s line. I went two nights with it just fine, and Dayton said it too fast. But he was really fun to watch, and I loved his energy in the Finale.
Gabe was funny again, and I think he just plays a really nice and hammy Michael. I just wish he would work on the “nutcracker” line. Way too mumbled and unclear. Audience barely got it last night. But I still like him as Michael!
Let’s take a breather before I begin the nasties. Some things that are new to me. Like Tall Boy spitting at Tony. It really clarifies the intensity of the situation and the rejection that the whole family of a scab would get. Nice addition. I also like the build-up to Deep Into The Ground. I like seeing small boy try to push Dad up to get him to sing. So cute. And I like the general drunkenness of the people. It gives it a lot of believability. I am sure there are other changes I will remember later.
So now, on to the bad news.
So far, Emily is not my favorite Mrs. W. I’m sorry. I hope this will change. I hope I see 5 more shows in which she can really wow me.
First and foremost she is playing waaaaay too much to the audience. It was like we were sharing in some private little joke with her. She looked at us more than she looked at the people she was talking to. It was distracting to me.
Second, she jumped on other people’s lines, and she was too loud sometimes.
Third, she seems to smile, or possibly grimace, too much.
I will, as I said, give her a chance to grow on me. I hope she does.
Rest of the cast, rest of the show, was awesome.