This fan review was written by Julie about the performance she saw on June 15, 2000. This is used from a post on Talkin' Broadway with Julie's permission. Thank you Julie!
{Stokes was not performing tonight}. Neither was Michael Berresse. Hmmm. Do the Tony winners usually take off on Friday evenings two weeks after the Tonys? Nevertheless, the Martin Beck was packed to the rafters tonight (and it still has the worst sight lines in town). I don't think anybody left the theatre before the first note of "Another Openin'"
My Raghead friend was VERY upset when we learned that Stokes was not going to perform. I told her that "those folks on the TB boards seem to like Merwin Foard in the role, so let's give it a try anyway. " (She had never been a big Marin fan until...tonight).
I enjoyed a lot of the parts I had slept through on the first vieweing. "Too Damn Long" was actually quite wonderful...and drew probably the biggest round of applause. However, "From This Moment On" is still, IMO, one of the worst staged, most out-of-place numbers that I've seen in any show. The gangsters were divine and dead on, as usual. Amy Spanger's performance was much more memorable this time. Kevin Neal McCready played Bill Calhoun. Nice voice, not much of a presence in the role.
Marin chewed up the scenery, as usual. Stopped the show again during "I Hate Men". She loves that song, doesn't she? However, her singing was not the same tour-de-force as I remember it from December. We all know that gal can raise the roof off of any theatre, but her voice just did not resonate with her normal vibratto. Was she holding back because of performing with Merwin? I kept hoping for her to "crank up the volume." I think I've listend to the CD too many times.
Merwin was very good. I liked his version of "Where is the Life..." (my favorite Fred/Petrucchio song) better than Stokes's. But nobody has that Petrucchio swagger down as Stokes does. I guess I'll have the see the show again right before he leaves.
My friend loved Marin and has joined the fan club. The consensus around our seats was that Marin got gypped two weeks ago.
Thank you Julie!
