I found Stemp a fine replacement. Certainly, his dancing was beautiful, and they were wise to rework some choreography to better feature him. However, I missed the quirky lunacy that Taylor Tresnch brought to Barnaby. He got more laughs, and the comedy grew more organically out of his character work (and rapport with Creel and Feldstein). In his scene work, I very much felt that Stemp was "wearing" Trensch's choices without really making them seem his own. I also felt more of a sincere connection between Trensch's Barnaby and Feldstein's Minnie Fay than I did between Stemp's Barnaby and Molly Sims's Minnie. I did not feel the latter pair really seemed to be taken in by each other with that sort of daffy, awkward infatuation of youth.
Again, I liked Stemp--but I think the production was better served by Trensch's unique comic sensibility than Stemp's gifts as a dancer. Nevertheless, I too look forward to seeing what Stemp does next. |
