I thought Stemp was very good-- especially his dancing and pretty magnetic stage presence. He leaned too far on the frenetic side (sort of reminding me of Michael Crawford's Cornelius performance in the film) but I thought "wow, this guy is going to do a lot of tremendous stuff in his future."
I got to see Bette and Bernadette, Gavin and Santino, Beanie and Molly, David and Victor, and Taylor and Charlie.....and thought each one was incredibly talented and contributed to a production that overall was enchanting.
But my favorites were....Bette, Santino, Beanie, Taylor...and David (though that one is close...loved them both).
Overall, the biggest and best surprise to me was how Santino Fontana became the beating heart of the show with an understated, funny, moving and nuanced performance in an wonderfully over-the-top production... the guy is just amazing. He was just as great in the concert staging of Promises, Promises a few months ago. |
