I'll agree that Gemignani was more interesting than Groff, but I'll never complain about hearing Groff's vocals, which are just gooey good. I'm glad he got the best song for "Frozen 2."
I enjoyed Miguel Cervantes but I preferred Javier Muñoz, who captured the impetuous obnoxiousness of Hamilton in a way that read as very believable. Because Lin-Manuel himself always feels like a total sweetheart offstage, and his persona is well known, I found it a bit hard to buy into the idea that his Hamilton was capable of being a pompous prick who should have learned when to shut up. It was easier for me to disappear into the character with Mr. Muñoz.
I'm a huge fan of Karen Olivo and I expected I'd like her Angelica more than Renée Elise Goldsberry, but I came to believe that with Angelica, less is more. The text does so much of the work that I think Angelica is best served by not getting in the way of it all.
I'm sad I did not get to see Solea Pfeiffer, who blew me away in the SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD at City Center, and Joshua Henry, who I would practically cross the earth to see. I think he's a god.
- GMB |
