I saw the Saturday matinee. Beyond floored by Mykal Kilgore. He is THE one to watch. Standing O mid-show is rare. In this case - well deserved.
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I wanted to like this show. I read the review in Friday’s NYT and the applause at the very start of the show was almost deafening, it was so enthusiastic.
Yet the balance between the miked voices and the loud band in the background was way off. I couldn’t make out the lyrics of a lot of the songs. The audience was enthusiastic since they knew the musical. While I knew “Stars and Moon”, all the other songs were new to me and the lyrics were muddled by the unbalanced sound system.
I left the theater disappointed since I had truly wanted to like the show but had been unable to do so.
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I loved this show, too. I was there on Thursday night and Shoshana Bean's cleavage kept popping out of her fur-lined Mrs. Santa outfit, so it must have been intended. Am I wrong? Mykal Kilgore was indeed wonderful. Also, I attended the "Lobby Project" before the show. The Civilians interviewed Jason Robert Brown and the original cast; took their comments verbatim; set them to original music and created a 30 minute musical about the birth of "Songs for a New World." It was a fitting prelude to a stirring evening.
Mr Mykal Kilgore, I didn't know you, but you are right: Now I do. I saw this last night, drawn in as a Shoshana Bean fan, but you left me wanting more. I'm looking forward to the next time I will get to see Mr Kilgore. Wow.
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