wandernic - Tumblr blog

[wandernic]

My SPOILERY Be More Chill review

In honor of tonight’s opening, I wanted to put together my impressions of the show, brought to you by five off-Broadway and four Broadway preview viewings. I will divide things up by scene/song to better order my thoughts. Please DO NOT read if you haven’t seen or don’t know the story well already. 

(In that case, here’s a mini-review for you: GOOOOO SEE THIS! Okay now do yourself a favor and close this window.)

More Than Survive:

I like the change to Mr. Heere just eating cereal in his underwear, and unable to drive Jeremy to school. This better conveys Jeremy's real frustration with his dad being mentally checked out than the (admittedly funnier) off-Broadway scene, which just made Jeremy seem grossed out by him.

I miss the Chloe-Jake breakup scene a bit, but it didn't really add much to the narrative other than seeing them as a couple for a brief moment. The next mini-scene where Jenna addresses the breakup with Chloe accomplishes what's needed, plus adds to Jenna's narrative as the girl everyone goes to for the dirt and nothing else.

I Love Play Rehearsal:

I would shower Stephanie Hsu with multiple Tonys for this scene alone. Her Christine is equal parts adorable and batshit, and we can easily see why Jeremy finds her so much more fascinating than the conventionally attractive popular girls at school.

Minor gripe: BRING BACK JAKE'S DAB. That shit was hilarious, and in a simple move showed how Jake, while trying to live up to the cool jock everyone knows him to be, has the same amount of dork inside that everyone does.  

The Squip Song:

Ugh I get they're trying to clean this up for a staid Broadway audience, but Rich drawing the penis on the wall and brazenly peeing in front of Jeremy are both missed. Not just for the humor, but because without it Rich just seems like his Squip made him merely mean, instead of confident. That confidence would presumably be what Rich was seeking with a Squip, not to become a garden variety bully, so it loses something in the translation when Rich isn't displaying that through his inappropriate jokes.

I do appreciate Rich's bullying of Jeremy being stepped up, because it's important we get a fuller idea of Jeremy's suffering. Off-Broadway, it just came across as "I can't get the girl I dig and a boy at school sometimes says shitty things." Though certainly emotional bullying is awful, its pervasiveness over a long period of time is hard to convey in a few short scenes. Having Rich also physically intimidate Jeremy makes you feel Jeremy's fear in a palpable way, which leads you to sympathize more with him.

Also can we give Gerard Canonico a Tony merely for the "It's from Japan!" scream? I think, yes. Seriously, his performance in this role is so iconic, it's hard to imagine another actor playing Rich.

Two-Player Game:

The perfect scene for conveying the true dynamic of Jeremy and Michael's friendship. That dynamic being, Michael is a much better friend to Jeremy than Jeremy is to Michael. This is one of the challenges for Will Roland in portraying Jeremy: he is not an easily likeable character. Yes, Jeremy is bullied at school, but he also makes everything about him, his needs, his pain, etc. There isn't a moment in which Jeremy checks to see how Michael's doing (lest we forget Michael is also bullied - the backpack prank was pulled on him, too.) So this song works as both a fun bop, and as a display of the unequal nature of this friendship.

Also, on the whole I *love* Chase Brock's choreography. Especially in "Halloween" and the utterly phenomenal "The Pitiful Children." The one exception is when Jeremy and Michael get up from the bed to finish this song; these moves are clunky and not sharp. It's hard to tell if executed more crisply, they would work better for me, or if the actors are intentionally sort of keeping it loose to demonstrate that these dudes are not as cool as their peers.

Be More Chill:

Jeremy's Squip being activated and the ultimate dramatic appearance of that Squip is one of my favorite moments in the show. My God, the evolution of the Squip from last summer has me floored. It was always good, but what Jason Tam is doing with this character now is must-see. This Squip is like an emotionally abusive partner. He coldy points out what he sees as your flaws, then smooth talks you about your amazing potential, and you forget that you were ever hurt or mad to begin with. Rinse, repeat. He also reminds me of the current administration, in that he'll say something totally out of bounds, then quickly walk it back to where he really wanted you, and you're temporarily swayed by the dial-down that he's not so bad after all. Fucking masterful.

If this man isn't nominated, seriously fuck the Tonys.

Do You Wanna Ride?

What I love most about this besides its hilarity is that it shows a bit of quid pro quo in the seemingly one-sided Chloe/Brooke friendship. While Chloe pretty openly treats Brooke poorly on multiple occasions, when Brooke wants an assist in trying to get Jeremy to say yes, Chloe immediately jumps to her cue and joins in. This is actually more than Jeremy ever helps Michael with anything in the entirety of the show, which is pretty fucking sad when you think about it.

Katlyn Carlson and Lauren Marcus have perfect chemistry as the best frenemies we'd love to hate if only we didn't kind of totally love them so damn much.

Be More Chill Part 2:

I liked the staging for this better at Signature. It serviced the choreography much better when they didn't throw a mall fountain mid-stage that forces them to redirect the dance moves in a less visually striking manner. I especially miss the hoveround rolling down center stage with the mall shoppers trailing behind it. We've already been to Payless and the food court; we know it's a mall. The fountain is unnecessary. Also, can we give Troy a better alter-ego when he goes on? The Starbucks get-up just looks like Michael went to work at his mall job and for some unknown reason put a wig on.

Sync Up:

I love the expansion of the supporting roles in the show, something this song supports to great effect. I don't have a lot more to say on this scene since it's new to Broadway, and I don't remember as much as the other scenes.  Also I believe before this song is when Jeremy ditches his glasses, and I like the change from first preview in how that was accomplished (though I did laugh at the Spiderman rip-off that first night).

A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into:

I MISS THE PART WHERE BROOKE NODS HER HEAD ALONG WITH CHLOE WHILE LECTURING CHRISTINE. This is in all caps because that shit was comic gold; why take it out? It also demonstrated how in tune with Chloe's whims and emotions Brooke is, which is to say, too much. If I can't have this back, I'm going to at least need someone to explain why it was taken out.

I believe this scene is where the Squip puzzles over the person Christine is, and I love both that she's entirely confounded him, and that post-song, she ultimately defeats his carefully constructed plotting just by being the unpredictable person she is.

As for the song, this has been unchanged that I can see, and that's because it does exactly what it needs to do well.

Upgrade:

One of the best changed scenes from Signature. It was fine there, but is much more fleshed out now, and gives more insight into many of the characters that is needed and appreciated. I especially appreicated the added dialogue between Jeremy and Brooke, in which we get Brooke's insight into her self-doubt, and how Jeremy's seeming interest moved her.  

I did prefer how the Squip insinuated himself more in this scene at the first preview. When he was trying to get Jeremy to get with Brooke, he pretty much physically climbed on him to push him into her on the bleachers. In a future preview, the Squip stood completely away from them onstage, directing Jeremy with hand motions, and I didn't think that worked at. All. Last Sunday, he stood near them and physically pushed Jeremy with just his hand to kiss Brooke; while an improvement, it still wasn't as effective as the first preview for two reasons.

One, the complete disregard for personal space is just much funnier. Two and more importantly, when the Squip was literally pushing Jeremy's body into Brooke's with his own (imaginary) body, it demonstrated an important aspect of the Squip's control of Jeremy. What looks like the Squip being physically seductive is really a demonstration of his seduction of Jeremy's mind. This is significant, because Jeremy ends up doing a lot of things he doesn't particularly want to do, but the Squip seduces him into thinking he does. I found that incredibly effective.

Loser, Geek, Whatever:

My gripe with this otherwise effective scene is the singing of the song itself. Every time it starts to build steam melodically, it's cut off by Jeremy saying/shouting so many of the lyrics. The build-up then has to start again, leaving the song to finish up not as impactful as it could be. This could be a barn-burner Act 1 closer, and instead it's just pretty good. Also I don't know how Will Roland takes that loooooong end note up and down and back again, and still belt as powerfully at the end of it as the start. The show must be using some new can't-even-look-it-up-on-the-internet technology to pump air into his lungs from backstage. This actor has taken on a very difficult character and pitched it just on the line of where it needs to be to work. So impressive.

Halloween:

Love the song. LOVE the choreo (lookin' at you, Chase Brock.) Love LOVE the addition of the Squip front and center. This makes so much sense, because by manipulating Jeremy he's really manipulating all of them, and his inclusion in the midst of the party instead of on its periphery demonstrates this incredibly well.

I don't love the substitution of a pumpkin candle for a gas can. What even was that thought process? That sucks up the drama of that moment almost entirely. What level of foreboding does one accomplish with a pumpkin?

This scene contains my only major problem with the show, and that is Jake's sudden and unexplained loss of interest in Christine. Are we to infer that they slept together once and that's all Jake was after? And that all of his character development in Act 1 was bullshit? In which case what was the point of developing his character at all? This whole thing could be easily fixed by a line or two where Jake realizes he still has feelings for Chloe, but that never happens. I haven't seen the show since last Sunday (when multiple people told me it was locked in), so I hope since that time they've unlocked it to fix the one glaring flaw, either clarifying Jake is a dick, or Jake misunderstood his own feelings. In any event, Britton is absolutely CRUSHING IT with the nuances of Jake, and I can't wait to hear him on the Broadway cast album.

Do You Wanna Hang?:

Katlyn Carlson is a comic genius. All the little touches she throws into this hilariously awful attempt at seduction are amazing. The only part of this I liked better at Signature is when Jeremy asks her if she's jealous, and in this version she's crying while saying "obviously not." (Or at least she was on Sunday). I think this works better if she immediately *stops* crying at that point, playing it like it's the most absurd possible question Jeremy could ask.

Michael in the Bathroom:

Alternate title: George Salazar at the Tonys

Michael is quite simply the beating heart of this show, an odd role for a supporting character. As played by George, he is that quirky, too weird to be popular but too sweet to not love friend that if we were very lucky, we had growing up. Michael is so important because to be frank, Jeremy is kind of a self-involved dick. That would make the show entirely dependent on Will Roland's ability to make us relate to Jeremy through those trials he faces that we've all experienced - and he does an amazing job. But he also gets a Herculean assist from George, who so convincingly relates how steadfast and loyal to Jeremy Michael is, it makes us believe there's something special in Jeremy that warranted this devotion.

A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into (Reprise):

During the couch scene between Jeremy and Christine, they've cut out Christine's very valid explanation as to why she can't date Jeremy (it involved getting to know herself better first). This is a problem, because it doesn't make sense at the end of the show when she likes him - we never see why she made that leap, so we're meant to assume she likes him for doing the bare minimum of correcting his own mistake. The way it was at Signature, we find out at least that she just isn't in a head space to date someone on the heels of her breakup with Jake, which shows she could be interested in Jeremy once she gets past that.

The Smartphone Hour:

Easily one of my favorite scenes. Tiffany Mann as Jenna is a delight from start to finish, and this is her moment to shine. Her comic sensibility is perfection. Lauren and Katlyn chime in with equally hilarious support.

My only complaint in this number is the slight lyric change to "Jake's house." For pity's sake, we just spent three or four songs at Jake's party; I promise you, we grasp who's house it is. And the change ruins the flow of the song a bit.

The Pants Song:

Okay yes this song is sweetly funny and does exactly what is needed to advance the plot here. But I just want to talk about Jason SweetTooth Williams overall right now. HOW IS HE A REAL PERSON THAT CAN SO EFFORTLESSLY JUMP FROM ROLE TO ROLE WITHIN SECONDS WITHOUT MISSING A BEAT. Mr. Reyes and his delusions of grandeur is my favorite, but Williams brings equal skill to all his roles, including Jeremy's dad. What a talent.

The Pitiful Children/The Play:

This may be my favorite song. Especially with the song, choreography, and performances here, this show is firing simultaneously on all cylinders. I also love that Jeremy and Jenna have an extended conversation that lets us know her a little more. Tiffany Mann gives a heartfelt authenticity to this that is lovely.

I think this is the scene where these critiques go (apologies if not). I wish Jeremy didn't tell his Squip "you were supposed to make Christine like me!" One thing I love about Jeremy is that he is not really into the popular girls, but the most interesting girl. He digs Christine because of all that she is.

When he says this line, he is upset because the Squip didn't make Christine do what he wanted, meaning he now wants her to change to like him. I think this would work better and make Jeremy come across as less of an incel if the line were more like, "you were supposed to make me someone Christine would like!" It was, after all, himself that Jeremy was looking to change - not Christine, who he loves as she is. That is this character's saving grace, and this diminishes it a bit.

That said, I do think there was an overcorrection in trying to make Jeremy more likeable. In the three previews I saw before Sunday, Jeremy tricks Jenna into drinking the Squip-spiked drink. In the last version I saw, he actually tells her what it is, and she immediately drinks it. It's pretty unrealistic that she would do that. Worse, it conflicts with Jeremy's "you were supposed to make Christine like me!" outburst. If we must allow for the fact the Squip has gained so much control of Jeremy he no longer cares that Christine likes him of her own choosing, he's certainly not going to care about respecting Jenna's need to consent to taking the Squip. Given the choice, I would either change Jeremy's line about making Christine like him, or his choice to tell Jenna what's in the drink. Back-to-back, they don't give us a good sense of how much control the Squip has of Jeremy at that point.

After Jeremy and Michael battle everyone and Jeremy makes his final choice, as the result becomes clear, Michael bizarrely explains what is happening on the spot. This makes little sense, especially in light of the fact that at the hospital, he asks Jeremy how he knew what would result from what he did. Um, he didn't know, you literally explained it to him in the middle of the last scene, bro. I would omit Michael's inexplicably instantaneous explanation from the Play scene and let the audience sit with the aftermath a moment, before having it clarified in the hospital scene.

Voices in my Head:

Not a fan of the lyric changes here, which seem to water down the edge of the teens ("she probably thinks that acne is hot") to morph them into Stepford children ("we got your back 'cause we are your squad" - vomit). Otherwise, this scene wraps everything up well and leaves you satisfield with the weird, wild journey you just went on.

What a score (my #1 favorite in all of musical theater history), what a cast, what a show! If there are not multiple Tonys thrown at this masterpiece, any significance the Tonys have is null and void.

In short, GET THERE or you’re missing the show of the year!

[wandernic]

Roman Banks as Evan Hansen

SPOILERS AHEAD I am trying to piece together the remnants of my brain to put something helpful and informative in word form, but I keep coming back to the same thought.

How?

Or more accurately,

HOWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWWW????

I always go into the performance of a new actor in the role of Evan Hansen with fairly high expectations, whether or not such a thing is fair or even pragmatic. I reason, if they were good enough to get cast to play Evan Hansen on Broadway, they have to be pretty damn good, right?

Still.

I was privileged to see Michael Lee Brown, Taylor Trensch, and (the still-missed) Noah Galvin in each’s first week playing the role. Each actor brought amazing talent to the table and gave the role his own spin. Each impressed me with an accomplished performance. Each made me excited to see them again in the role as soon as I could.

But never have I seen someone THIS good right out of the gate. I know in previous posts, I’ve talked about how certain actors playing Evan in their first week were able to create chemistry with several of their co-stars right away. But never have I seen anyone create an instant chemistry with EVERY other actor on that stage. I was shocked when several actors told me after the show that they’d never even run lines with Roman. Considering the easy rapport and organic feel of the cast interactions in each scene, this seems impossible to believe.

Singing wise, Roman has a beautiful voice, and is one of the few I’ve heard hit those high notes in Waving Through A Window without any hint of struggle. The song felt comfortably within his range. His voice has a lightness and ease to it that works well in this role, especially in his tremedously sung If I Could Tell Her.

 Roman’s characterization of Evan is quite simply superb. He inhabits the role with a sweetness that puts the audience on Evan’s side immediately. So much so that when Connor pushed Evan, the audience audibly gasped and even cried out in protest -- something in 30+ previous viewings of this show I have never seen happen. Roman’s gentle comic touch was also a big plus, and reminded me not a little bit of the balance Evan’s originator so ably struck between comedy and drama.

 Another aspect that Roman brought to the show was that his take on Evan affected how the actors around him played their roles, and resulted in especially strong performances from each of the cast members. It felt like everyone upped their game just that little bit more. I especially liked the tender dynamic between Mallory Bechtel’s Zoe and Roman’s Evan, who actually look and seem like high schoolers a year apart in age.

 During Words Fail (the standard gauntlet for any Evan), Roman seemed to have a strategy unique to Evans I’ve seen, in that he was actively trying to swallow down his tears to sing the melody correctly. He definitely accomplished that, and when he completed the song, the dam broke and the tears overtook him. I do think the moment is a little more dramatically effective if Evan’s actor allows himself to let go before the song is over, though this almost always sacrifices some of the melody to the raw emotion. 

Overall, I cannot remember being this impressed with a Broadway musical debut in a very long time. What a tour de force by Roman, and an unforgettable memory for all lucky enough to witness it. 

[wandernic]

Alex Boniello as Connor Murphy

******YOU KNOW THE DRILL, SPOILERS AHEAD****** Boy howdy. Just know this is gonna suck in advance because for me, Alex has redefined the character in such a subtle but impactful way that it’s hard for me to put into words. “You had to be there” is a shit review, but you kinda did. Nonetheless, I’ll try.

From his first scene at the Murphy breakfast table, Alex’s delivery of Connor’s lines is completely unique to his own portrayal. I never found myself thinking “this was obviously inspired by Mike,” like I have when some of the understudies have gone on as Connor. I know some will want me to quantify that more specifically, but I wouldn’t say this is better or worse - just new, different, and above all refreshing - a resonant reimagining of the character. In the scene in which Jared makes the school-shooter wisecrack and Connor responds “I’m laughing. Am I not laughing hard enough for you?”, Alex’s Connor is dead serious in this response. This was powerful, because in the moment you concurrently see how hurt Connor was, and how quick he was to put up that tough-guy wall to cover his pain. The computer lab scene was probably my favorite moment for Alex. The moment he sees Zoe’s name on Evan’s note, he isn’t just angry, but seems to have a moment of disbelief. It’s as if he doesn’t want to believe what he’s reading after reaching out to connect with the only other person he believes feels the isolation he does. There is an expression of utter shock, then betrayal on his face, when what he thought (Evan is like him) collapses into what he now thinks (Evan is just another cruel classmate taking another cruel shot). This sequence busted my heart in a whole new way. Sincerely, Me - LOLOL. Alex hasn't quite mastered the post-“I rub my nipples with delight” freeze frame exaggerated pose, but more than made up for that with the “our friendship goes beyond, your average kind of bond...” moment. He RUFFLED TAYLOR’S HAIR Y’ALL. From a fangirl perspective it was of course adorable, but also effective from a narrative perspective, in that it show’s Evan’s head canon friendship with Connor as even more idealized. It just brings home how much Evan doesn’t just want to keep up the pretense of that friendship for the Murphys’ sake, but how much he wishes it was actually true.

I also noticed in Alex‘s portrayal, Connor doesn’t shout the “but not because we’re gay’ line like Mike had been doing for comedic effect. This Evan-head-canon Connor doesn’t seem to care much if people think that. I don’t know if that’s because in Alex’s mind, Evan suspects Connor may have been gay, or because he suspects Evan just thinks Connor didn’t give a shit what people thought, but I like this creative decision on Alex’s part. Because Evan *doesn’t* really know anything about Connor, I like it that he isn’t projecting a sexuality or opinion about it onto Connor in this version. (I also like Mike’s version, because teenage boys projecting assumptions onto other people is totally realistic, too.) Disappear: I’m the only human who hasn’t seen the YouTube video yet. (I decided to do this first so I wasn’t unduly influenced by that.) The loss of Mike’s powerful vocals here was noticeable. Taylor and Alex sounded great together, though, and more evenly matched. I sometimes felt like Mike was drowning out some of the non-Ben Evans with the strength of his voice, which I was okay with too.

Acting-wise I was again in love with Alex’s choices here. As they spoke, this Connor gave Evan little smiles and glances, like Evan imagines Connor as not just his bestie but his co-conspirator, as if they are really in this together. It gave even more of a glimpse of the power of Evan’s justifications - like what he’s doing is okay because it’s for Connor, and Connor would totally be on board with it anyway.  In Connor’s final scene with dialogue, I loved Alex’s “did you fall or did you let go” delivery - understated and affecting.  In the “Words Fail” scene, when Connor appears, looks at Evan, then exits, I think this needs to be held a bit longer. Evan is finally letting go of this fantasy of his friendship with Connor, and Connor should linger so that we’re reminded how hard it was for Evan to come clean and let go of the world he’d created. Overall, if you’ve never seen the show (um why are you here, so many spoilers), go now.  If you HAVE seen the show, go AGAIN. Alex gives a moving, nuanced performance you will not want to miss.

[wandernic]

if anyone outside of tumblr ever asks me what it’s like to have a semi-popular blog I’m going to tell them about the time I made a post that SIMPLY AND CLEARLY ONLY said I like how hotels smell like pools and that I feel peaceful walking through their hallways and it literally branched into three very confusing discussions that are STILL going to this day, years later, which are:

pool employees Very Aggressively informing me that being able to smell a pool means chlorine levels are too high and I shouldn’t like that

hotel employees Very Aggressively telling me hotels aren’t peaceful for THEM and I should be more considerate of them when I say I find hotels peaceful

people??? angrily explaining to me that any time I’m in a hotel there is probably a victim of human trafficking in one of the rooms so I shouldn’t romanticize hotels.

and that about sums up any experience I’ve had with a post that gets too many notes tbh it’s probably best if everyone would stop reblogging my posts forever

[wandernic]

Does anybody else think this sounds more like a lost Be More Chill song than a cut Dear Evan Hansen tune?

[wandernic]

Taylor Trensch as Evan Hansen

!!!!!!!!SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!!!!! Last night marked Taylor’s first performance as the official lead in Dear Evan Hansen.  Along with attending last night, I took in one of his preview performances on Saturday.  Some thoughts: -Taylor’s opening monologue as Evan has a slower delivery than previous Evans.  I’m not sure if this is a conscious creative choice, or if he’s just trying to make sure he doesn’t trip up on the lines since it’s all new for him.  The result of this delivery makes this Evan seem a bit less manic/on the edge, and a little more comfortable in his own skin.  In general this Evan seems less overwhelmed throughout. -Speaking of which, a friend and I have been calling Taylor’s Evan “happy Evan.”  Not because Evan is actually happy, but he has more genuine smiles and seems a bit more open to the little affection he is offered.  When Heidi lovingly grabs his shoulders at the beginning of the show, he still turns away to the other side of the bed, but it’s with a sweet little laugh - like even though he’s a little uncomfortable, he’s also glad she actually seems to care about his well-being when no one else does. Don’t get excited thinking this more optimistic Evan will lead to a happier experience for Evan overall.  He merely sets us up for a greater heartbreak.  When Heidi proposes the Taco Tuesday for them, Taylor’s Evan lacks the cautious optimism of previous Evans (who I think were half hopeful, but half expected that she would probably flake out as has likely happened before.)  This Evan seems genuinely happy at the offer and like he unreservedly believes the proposed mother-son time will actually happen.  When it doesn’t, we can practically see the wall of self-protection arise within Evan.  While Heidi’s reasons are understandable (she is juggling everything on her own, and can’t avoid dropping the ball sometimes), this is the moment it becomes clear Evan has been let down one too many times by the only person he has in the world.  This is when he realizes he has no one he can confidently count on to be there for him.  Having seen this show multiple times, this is the first time I’ve realized this is likely the moment where Evan’s motives with the Murphys truly shift from mostly wanting to help them, to desperately needing their companionship to fill the void in his own life.  The look on Taylor’s face when Evan realized his mom forgot him has me shook.  That scene went from an “aww poor Evan” moment to “WTH HEIDI HOW COULD YOU?!”  Freaking devastating.

-WTAW was our first opportunity to hear the power of Taylor’s singing voice.  It is strong and has a beautiful tone.  I did notice the very occasional dropped noted in this and other songs in which Evan has to run around while singing (Disappear, Sincerely Me).  I think this glitch will be easily remedied with more performances in the role to increase his comfort level with the material.  There were moments in the show Taylor’s voice reminded me of Colton Ryan’s Evan, and other times it reminded me a bit of Michael Lee Brown’s.  I am not unaware this is like saying a color reminds me of both red and blue, but for the purposes of this analogy, Taylor is purple.  He is especially strong on the highest notes in the songs. -One of my favorite things is in Only Us, when Zoe and Evan take each other’s hands, Taylor’s Evan actively wipes his palms on his pants first to clear away any potential sweat.  It added a nice nuance to the relationship to show that even though Zoe is now Evan’s girlfriend, he’s still so in awe of her that his hands get sweaty.  (This feels like a bit of Twitter life advice: “Find yourself a guy whose hands still get sweaty in your presence“ lol). -Taylor’s interactions with the rest of the cast already show a lot of chemistry between the characters.  I can imagine how this will even increase with more performances under his belt, and am excited to see it.  I felt his dynamic with Mike Faist’s Connor is especially strong already. -For me, Taylor’s strongest sequence is the final portion of the show, starting from Good for You, through Words Fail, and especially his bond with Rachel Bay Jones’ Heidi in Words Fail.  I do think he’s still perfecting where to sing the melody in Words Fail and where to let it drop in favor of a dramatic shout (as has every Evan before him), and I’ll be interested to see what he’s done with it in another month or two. -Overall, the role of Evan is once again entrusted to a tremendously talented performer.  This show keeps knocking the Evan casting out of the park, and Taylor Trensch is no exception!

[wandernic]

Seconded re: Colton.  Hope to see Olivia someday soon!

Colton Ryan/Olivia Puckett DEH Review

Major Plot Spoilers ahead.

Wow. Honestly, just wow. I’m staring at the screen trying to write this and am still at a complete loss. For what it’s worth, this was my first time seeing the show. I’m seeing it four times while I’m in New York, but this was my first. I’ve been watching the video for as long as I can remember and haven’t gone a day without listening to the soundtrack. I’ve heard Colton’s audio as well as Michael Lee Brown’s and had no idea what to expect going in to this performance. With that being said, nothing could have prepared me for this. I have heard so many reviews regarding the two understudies the past few days and wasn’t sure what to expect out of Colton, but he stole my heart, crushed it to pieces, squeezed it into a mess, only to put it back together again in the finale. This boy is not getting enough credit for his talent. After seeing all of the MLB reviews and Colton reviews, I was left in awe of his performance. This guy deserves all the things, and I wish I could give them to him. He definitely deserves consideration for when November roles around. When he did Evan’s opening monologue, it was fast. Very fast. Almost faster than Ben’s and to the point where if you weren’t paying attention, you probably missed something. I felt right at home. This of course leads into AHAM and this is the first chance we have at seeing Olivia’s Zoe. (HOLY COW!!!!!) Her portrayal of Zoe was SO different from Laura’s. Mike Faist seemed to have more of a joking tone with her and their opening interaction seemed less hostile and more of a normal sibling dynamic. This then leads into Evan asking Alana to sign his cast as she tells him about her summer. I thought that Colton looked very anxious and uncomfortable and you could see him fighting with himself as to what the right thing to say to her was. Will of course stole the show immediately when he came on stage and continued to do so throughout. His performance wow’d me and is so much stronger in person than any video could do justice. Cutting to WTAW - and just wow. I was left speechless. I believe Colton was losing his voice (he seemed hoarse at the beginning of the show but once his vocals warmed up - he nailed it) but this just made the performance even better for me. You could hear the desperation in his voice as he sang and especially when asking “Is anybody waving, back at me?”. His interaction with Olivia was textbook perfect. He was so nervous even I was uncomfortable for him but Olivia was genuinely apologetic that Connor had shoved Evan and seemed upset at the fact Connor was like this. At one point in the song, Colton chased after her waving and she paid him no attention and his face was absolutely heartbroken (I started crying here and never stopped). Heading in to the WTAW reprise in the computer lab, Colton looked devastated when Heidi calls and says she can’t come pick him up and so pained when she asks how his day was. Even he was crying during the reprise and this is something I wasn’t expecting. Olivia in For Forever showed a side of Zoe I had never seen. She looked so sad as Evan sang and I felt terrible that these happy memories of her brother were ones she didn’t have. (JLT’s performance and breakdown during this song - OMG!) Colton’s chemistry with the Murphy’s seemed natural and only grew as the show went on. Sincerely, Me is one of my favorite numbers and seeing it in person was AMAZING. Because of Mike and Colton’s off stage friendship, this on stage performance was incredible. Colton mouthed the words he was typing in the emails as he was doing it and this just made the whole thing more realistic to me. OLIVIA CAN FLAT SING. Requiem is not normally a song to leave me in tears, but the emotion in that song did me in. Zoe was so heartbroken and couldn’t even bring herself to read through all of the emails. I thought at one point she was going to break down trying to sing it but you could see the tears in her eyes. I loved how it seemed more painful and heartfelt. Colton’s If I Could Tell Her normally gives me goosebumps but with Olivia on stage? I was speechless. They have natural chemistry and it looked so natural every time they were together. When Evan kisses her at the end, she didn’t seem angry, just shocked. Disappear was wonderful as well and I felt like I got to see so much more of Jared’s character development when he tries to make an input to the Murphy’s and Evan shuts him down. This is something that doesn’t translate in the boot or audio versions for me. You Will Be Found was where I lost it and didn’t recover. There was something so raw during the speech and watching him crumble on the floor. As Nic mentioned, Colton held on to Connor’s tie for dear life and was audibly crying before he could manage to look out at the crowd again and continue. Hearing Colton cry and look so broken made me want to jump the stage and give him a hug. Michael Park’s breakdown made my dad cry and I had to look away to control my sobs. He fell to his knees and JLT had to come help him up as he pulled her into a hug. When Zoe saw this, you could see her eyes tear up and when she sang and spoke to Evan at the end, she was crying about having her brother back. Once again, Colton and Olivia’s chemistry was off the charts. When they kissed, she wrapped both her arms tight around him and he her and they were both holding on for dear life. Break in a Glove is a song I find necessary for the show but haven’t died to listen to on repeat. However, the dynamic between Evan and Larry here is SO good. They were both glad to have someone to share this with since they missed out on it when they were younger. Evan looks so hopeful and Larry looks so excited to share this and it was beautiful. Only us - UGH!!! Olivia nailed this. She was so gentle with him and looked at him so lovingly and Evan looked so enthralled by her. She did indeed kiss him more than one time throughout the song and whenever they were close enough, she was touching him. In the end, Colton pushed her down onto the bed and it looked like the most natural thing in the world. Good for you was just SO good. Jared’s heartbreak, Alana’s hurt, RBJ WAS CRYING and everyone else was too. Colton looked traumatized that he was going through this and the emotions on his face were painful. Everyone talks about Colton singing words fail well and they aren’t wrong. This performance left me shaking with sobs and the girl beside me who had no idea about the performance going in, clutching on to my arm and crying. There was so much emotion on the stage at one time I didn’t even know how to handle it. Zoe was crying, Cynthia was sobbing, and Colton was just so so so broken. He kept pulling at his hands and at his chest like he was hurting and he would mouth i’m so sorry in between lines. I made eye contact with him during this song and felt sorry for him because I was sobbing harder than he was. I didn’t even have time to recover before So Big/ So Small. Rachel Bay Jones was crying so hard and at the end of it, Colton threw himself into her lap and buried his face. He was completely off the couch and into the floor with his arms wrapped so tightly around her I don’t know how she could move. She held him so close and held his face in between her hands. When Evan finally pulls away, he looked like it was the last thing in the world he wanted to be doing. And of course, I cried through the finale because it was over and it was the most beautiful performance I’ve ever seen. Overall, I would say, after hearing so much of the OBC and the audios, Olivia blew me away. Completely. She was absolutely incredible and gave me so much more to Zoe that I never knew I needed. Colton stunned me and stole the show. His vocals were wonderful and in the parts where he struggled made it all the more real to me. It was these times where he seemed so desperate and broken the most. Nothing in the world could have prepared me for this and I’m so thankful. If you get the chance to see Olivia, TAKE IT and enjoy every second. If you get the chance to see Colton, please do not sell your tickets because Ben isn’t there. It is still worth it and I didn’t feel like I missed any part of the performance by having Colton. (He’s also beautiful and one of the sweetest people in the whole world. I love him to pieces) ❤️

[wandernic]

Colton Ryan as Evan Hansen

*Plot spoilers ahead Colton's portrayal of Evan is more informed by Ben's performance than Michael Lee Brown's is.  His rushed, staccato delivery of the opening monologue immediately makes us feel this is the Evan we know.  Vocally, he makes some of the same choices as Ben, most notably when he growls out some of the lyrics in Words Fail.  Both of them sacrifice the melody of the song somewhat in ceding to the drama of the moment.

Whereas I think Michael's performance as Evan prioritizes the vocals, Colton's definitely puts acting the part first.  This can lead to the occasional vocal hiccup as he is so thoroughly invested in the emotion of the moment.  That said, when he is singing full out and putting more focus there, it is a thing of beauty.

Yesterday I talked about MLB's strong dynamic with Will Roland's Jared and especially Rachel Bay Jones' Heidi.  I should've also mentioned that Kristolyn Lloyd's performance as Alana seemed more intense opposite MLB, too.  Colton's Evan, on the other hand, shines more with the other characters.  

His interactions with the Murphy parents are more heartfelt, and you can completely feel the parent/child bond that forms between them, making the eventual reveal all the more heartbreaking.  Colton's easy camaraderie with Mike Faist's Connor is on display as well, making their interactions (especially in Sincerely, Me) a joy to watch.  Finally (and I'm ready to fight this out), Colton's Evan has the most believable romantic connection with Laura Dreyfuss' Zoe of all three Evans. There is a physical chemistry between them not present with the other Evans. In both Ben and Michael's takes on Evan, the weight of the events that take place seems to build on them as the story goes on.  Colton's Evan, on the other hand, seems to be almost immediately overwhelmed by everything going on.  He feels on the edge of his emotions from the start, and like with every new development, he could break under the burden of what's taking place.  There is something very visceral about the way he's grasping to hang on throughout, and I think it makes us sympathize immediately with Evan, because we can see how close he always is to drowning under all of this.

By the time Evan drops the note cards before You Will Be Found, even having seen the show before you think "this is it; there's no way he recovers here."  The naked fear and shame in Colton's Evan in this moment is absolutely breathtaking.  When he clutches Connor's tie (for dear life, it would seem), you see the moment on his face when he decides he must overcome his own demons to give Connor a tribute that's real in some way.  When he talks about wishing they could have helped Connor not feel alone, you absolutely feel Evan's sorrowful regret that he didn't - that he failed to see someone in the same pain as him and help.  This palpable remorse makes the buildup of You Will Be Found very affecting and the climax incredibly heartrending.

If anyone's expecting me to have a clear choice for who should take over the role, I can't help you.  I would say MLB's a bit more strong vocally, while Colton excels dramatically.  More turns in the role for both of them would only improve their already stellar performances and work out any kinks. I would be perfectly happy to see them share the role.  If I have to lean at all in either direction, I'd say with more performances under his belt, Colton's a bit more prepared as-is to take this on full-time.  By the time Ben departs, though, they could be equally ready, and I'd enjoy seeing both in the role repeatedly.   With two spectacular talents waiting in the wings, this show really can't go wrong.

[wandernic]

Michael Lee Brown as Evan Hansen

*Minor plot spoilers ahead

Michael has a gorgeous voice.  He uses more vibrato than either Ben or Colton, which was a tiny bit jarring only because I'm not used to it in this role with these songs, but he sounded GREAT at all times.  I also think he really doesn't need to use the vibrato as much; when he holds a high note without it, his voice is to.  Die.  For.  

I was struck how Michael's Evan is most believably a high school teenager.  I have no idea of MLB's actual age, but he's the only Evan during which it never once seems like this is an adult man playing a teen, if that makes sense.  This lends an added vulnerability to his portrayal.  

It also makes the eventual Evan/Zoey romance a bit less believable, because since he feels so young, Zoey actually seems like the older student.  For her to fall for Evan in this dynamic doesn't feel quite as realistic.  I honestly think a few more performances in the role would easily take care of that, though, and help them find a more credible romantic bond.

There are acting choices that MLB makes that I like very much; specifically a part where he got an audience laugh out of a line that had never gotten one before (that I don't even think was written for a laugh.)  Naturally, because I slept before posting this, I now CANNOT REMEMBER the line.  GAH!

WTAW was sung spectacularly.  I think the singing was the focus here because of the importance of the song to the show, and he was holding back a bit acting-wise in favor of getting the notes right, which he definitely did.  More turns in the role will also help there, as it will with You Will Be Found.  It was sung *beautifully*, and just needs more palpable panic from MLB's Evan when he drops his note cards mid-speech.

I love love LOVED MLB's dynamic with Rachel.  It felt like Michael's different portrayal of Evan gave her something substantively new to work with, and she KILLED it.  This was one of the best performances for her of the seven I've seen.  At the moment when out of pain, Heidi sarcastically apologizes for not being able to give Evan certain things, and Evan bites back, "It's not my fault other people can!", the audience audibly gasped.  It was this huge "oh no he DIDN'T" moment, which I've never seen happen quite like that at that point in the show.  VERY dramatic.  

Particularly because that moment was so harsh, Evan needs to be especially overwhelmed by what he's done in "Good For You," and I didn't quite feel that.  Again, I believe this is down to the newness of performing the role. I think remembering where he had to move on stage during the song was likely the priority here.

I also felt that Will Roland's performance got a new life playing opposite Michael.  He had the audience in the palm of his hand every time he opened his mouth.  It was fantastic.

Words Fail.  Boy howdy, there aren't enough ways to say how thoroughly Michael CRUSHED this.  Snot bubbles glistening and visible from Row L, y'all.  What I especially like is how he was able to act this full-out, yet made the conscious choice to almost never drop the melody in favor of the drama (something both BP and CR do more of.)  I don't think it's necessary to growl the lyrics quite so much to sustain the dramatic effect, and Michael proved this definitively last night.  So, so good.

In conclusion, this performance just solidifies my belief that as great as he is, this show doesn't need Ben Platt to survive and thrive.  The audience was all in for Michael's performance, just as they are for Colton when he plays the role.  If you see the show, #YouWillBeFound no matter which Evan you're fortunate enough to experience. <3

[wandernic]

I was here for this <3

ben realizing i got the notecard he dropped: “i love when good people get it!”

[wandernic]

Um. I would immediately *start* watching Supernatural if Dean and Castiel became a canon couple.

Reblog if you would continue watching Supernatural if Dean and Castiel became a canon couple

If you would stop watching, reblog this post.

This is an experiment to test the effects of this relationship on the viewing audience.

[wandernic]

[wandernic]

[wandernic]

2 characters kiss: SHIP IT

2 characters hold hands: SHIP IT

2 characters look at each other: SHIP IT

2 characters talk: SHIP IT

2 characters are the same sex: SHIP IT

2 characters like the same thing: SHIP IT

2 characters stand in the same room: SHIP IT

2 characters are from the same planet, or not: SHIP IT

2 characters have a face: SHIP IT

2 characters: SHIP IT

2: SHIP IT

: SHIP IT

[wandernic]

Click here to join the intrepid Nukes and Lures who have clearly lost their minds...

[wandernic]

  FFFFFUUUCCCCCCKKKK YYYYYYESSSSSSSSS.

[wandernic]

Awww, kiddie!Nuke.  You complete me. 

Pic posted by May Wong on Facebook.