I was predisposed to like The Visit having loved the recent The Scottsboro Boys, and while it has much to recommend it, I couldn't fall in love with it. Better than Curtains, but nowhere near their classic shows.
The choral singing is exquisite, and some of the songs lovely. I'm afraid I might be a bit of a plot whore, because it felt like very little happened, and I wanted more, more, more (compare to Hamilton where I would have been content with less!)
The plot consists of an expectation, an expectation dashed, an option, and then waiting for the option to be chosen or not. And that's really ALL that happened, unless your idea of an exciting plot twist is a drive in the country.
I enjoyed the costuming, the lighting, the movement, the performances, really everything but the story itself. It wasn't too dark for me, it was too slight. If it had been condensed down to 1 hour and paired with something else it would have seemed much, much stronger-perhaps someone has musicalized Albee's The Sandbox? 3/5 stars.
Oh, and Donna McKechnie was in attendance--don't know if standbys usually watch the show, but it was a treat just to see her standing and smiling. Now if only someone could write something for both of them together!
Hamilton on the other hand is such an embarrassment of riches that it is difficult to know where to start. Much of it was worthy, and I could sit back and think "this is good, but it's not grabbing me." But oh, the stuff that grabs is so incredibly good that it more than justifies the waits in between. In particular most of the material assigned to the very strong women, or where they sang lead against the ensemble, were thrilling.
I have a slight auditory processing disorder, so it is difficult for me to understand the most rapid-fire rhythmic dialogue, and I was grateful that the diction from most actors was so clear and strong as to allow me to catch most of it. Rap will probably never be my thing, but I enjoyed Hamilton immensely despite it.
I thought Andy Blankenbuehler's choreography killed 9 to 5 dead, but his work here is stunning. The match-up of his choreo to Miranda's music is perfect (compare to Mia Michael's quite interesting choreography for Finding Neverland that nonetheless jarred with the tone of the score).
Bradley Cooper was in the audience, and several other in-the-biz types where I vaguely felt I should recognize them but didn't.
All the performers were incredible--the amount of lyrics, harmonies, dance and other staging they had to remember is considerably more than in the average show. Particularly good were Philippa Soo, Renee Elise Goldberry, Jonathan Groff, and fun to see Thayne Jasperson featured so prominently and with such a lovely voice for someone so known as a dancer.
5/5 stars, rounded up from 4.8 because that would be silly.
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