Lord Cherry's Review

Tag: 2025

  • Dreamgirls

    Dreamgirls

    Walnut Street Theatre – Philadelphia, PA

    This was the first time I saw “Dreamgirls” and I am honestly quite ignorant on the subject of The Dreams (and on a lot of music in general), so I went into this show expecting to know a minimal number of the songs.

    By intermission, I realised that I am only familiar with one song (“(And I’m Telling You) I’m Not Going”) and I could not be more blown away with the performance of that song. Effie White (played by Aveena Saywer) was obviously a stand out singer from the start of the show, but the passion, the anger, the desperation to prove herself shined through so much more than her physical voice alone. Her ability to throw herself into and onto the table as she belted her way through that song ended with her getting a (well deserved) standing ovation despite the scene not having ended yet.

    By the curtain call, I realised that was the only song I already knew in the entire show.

    This show has it all: high intensity dance numbers, a fabulous musical score, a cast that can belt to their hearts content with remarkable control of their vocal abilities, and the raw emotion needed for these characters. “Dreamgirls”, it would seem, is extraordinary at showcasing each actors’ singing, dancing, and acting abilities. However, this cast took it one step further; they made it look like it was done with ease.

    Well done.

  • Operation Mincemeat

    Operation Mincemeat

    Everything I had heard and read about this show was “Monty Python meets Mel Brooks with a dash of Hamilton.” I, as a huge fan of Monty Python and Mel Brooks, came into this show figuring I would either love it or loath it. Personally, I hope that Monty Python and Mel Brooks would be proud to have their names linked to this musical.

    I appreciate the small cast, only five actors are in this production (not including the understudies) and they work as a number of different characters as well as changing the sets throughout. A very notable moment of these seamless transitions was the ending number of the first act (“Just For Tonight”) which blended a high intensity, dance infused pub crawl with the solemn duties tasked to the crew of the submarine carrying a corpse.

    The cast consists of David Cumming (playing Charles Cholmondeley and others), Claire-Marie Hall (playing Jean Leslie and others), Natasha Hodgson (playing Ewen Montagu and others), Jak Malone (playing Hester Leggatt and others), and Zoë Roberts (playing Johnny Bevan and others).

    This is a show where the gender of the cast played no importance towards the gender of the characters they portrayed. Jak Malone blew me away with his singing ability and his rendition of “Dear Bill” brought me to tears. Both Malone and Natasha Hodgson played gender swapped characters for their main roles and they both nailed it. Natasha was a convincing man, even dropping her voice to an impressively low tone quite frequently. Malone, on the other hand, nailed the daintiness expected from a woman of that time with both grace and dignity.

    Waiting for the curtain to rise at the Golden Theatre

    In fact, this was Jak Malone’s Broadway debut. I can describe his performance in one word: Phenomenal. I hope to see a lot more Malone in the future.

    The Stage

    The entire show was very well put together. The scene transitions and movements were very simple, allowing each of the actors to shine, while keeping the show flowing in both times of light hearted laughter and when dealing with the harsh realities of life. I can see why this show keeps getting extended and why it excelled in London’s West End. All in all, the show really was “Monty Python meets Mel Brooks with a dash of Hamilton” and I mean it that in the very best of ways.

    Bravo! Well done. The standing ovation at the end of this show was absolutely earned.

  • Ride The Cyclone: The Musical

    (Performed at Music Mountain Theatre. Lambertville, NJ)

    This is the very first time that I have ever seen this show. The only thing I knew about this show was that it was about teenagers dying in a roller coaster accident and had gained a cult following. Going into this show, I wondered if this was just going to essentially be Final Destination: The Musical. I was very glad to see that it was not.

    The set was beautifully done; mimicking a carnival, including a series of tv screens with an accurate countdown of your “wait time” in line before you take your ride on the Cyclone begins.
    In fact, the whole show keeps the carnival motif, even making the afterlife into a carnival like game of its own.

    The cast was small, consisting of seven actors, most of whom are currently either college students or recent graduates. The first actor that I found myself drawn to was Roger Madding (playing The Amazing Karnak). I found myself watching him when the other actors were supposed to be the main focus of the show. This is because, while he did stumble over a line or two, his robot movements – or rather lack of movements – was amazing. Madding managed to stay almost perfectly still, down to barely blinking, regardless of if the spotlight was on or even
    near him. Bravo, sir, that looked quite difficult.

    Elizabeth Axler (playing Jane Doe) definitely stood out for her vocal ability. There was not a single note that she did not hit perfectly. Elisa Carey (playing Ocean) did a wonderful job playing
    the girl that we all love to hate. After all, who has not encountered that person who thinks they are always the main character of the story and that they more important than others? Surely, every high school has had at least one person like that. This ability to be relatable to everyone makes the character a lot of fun. Sarah Harrison (playing Constance) managed to bring me to tears with her acting ability by the end of the show. Constance is a much deeper character than I expected her to be, but I am glad that she was because Harrison was able to nail it. Nicholas La Russa (playing Noel) did a phenomenal job. I saw in the Playbill that he has previously played Angel in RENT and I can definitely believe it because his dancing was absolutely top notch. Connor Riley (playing Mischa) can certainly play the bad boy well. It was
    interesting to see an actor who can clearly dance and sing play a character that is almost always half-assing his way through life. It makes me wonder if it is harder to play a character that is more reserved, a deep thinker perhaps, than it is to play a character that is more “in your face”. Riley managed to make Mischa both too cool to care, but also a tortured soul. It was a beautiful
    combination. And finally, Shawn Ritzheimer (playing Ricky) brought such life to a character that is initially silent. By the end of the show, the audience is happy to see the outcast character,
    with an amazing imagination, come into his own.

    While this show points out that not every show has a moral, this is one show that does. Enjoy life – it is not a game, but it is a ride. Appreciate what you have already because you never know when that ride will come to an end. Take the time to appreciate the beauty of the things around you and don’t feel shame for doing so.

  • Maybe Happy Ending (Rewatch)

    Maybe Happy Ending (Rewatch)

    Maybe Happy Ending is a show that I could see over and over again (This is my second visit read my first review here) because it gives me faith in humanity. The very basic premise of this show is following two Helper Bots (robots designed to be human helpers) as they decide what makes an ending happy. And while it is robots that this story follows, “what makes an ending happy” is something that is very human in nature and thought. It poses the question of what would you prefer: no sorrow, but no memory of the good or embracing the sorrow and hurt that comes with life, but keeping the happy memories, even if they bring you sadness?

    The Show's Playbill Cover

    Getting hurt, feeling pain, is very human and as this show points out “everything must end eventually”; whether that is a life or a battery or a relationship or anything, everything does end eventually. So, what’s better? No memory and a blissful existence or feeling the pain, but keeping all the good that came with it, too?

    There is no easy answer to that question and, I believe, that the answer will change from person to person because both answers are correct. For some, no memory is the better option, but for others, keeping the good memories outweigh the hurt that accompanies those memories.

    And hearing the audience sniffle and cry during various points in this show gives me some faith in humanity because it means we, the audience, are having empathy and feeling real emotions for a robot – a thing that literally cannot feel these emotions – and yet, we feel their pain. Empathy is a beautiful thing.

    I stand by this show being near perfection. Darren Criss is not only a wonderful actor and singer, but his ability to be so…animatronic throughout the entire show is impeccable. And for Helen J. Shen, who is so petite off of the stage, feels so big with her command of the stage throughout the show.

    The empty stage before the show begins. The title “Maybe Happy Ending” in English and Korean glow in a neon light on a curtain resembling a dark computer monitor

    This show blends technology and big band/crooner style music to perfectly frame the events of this show in both a literal and figurative way. The set itself moves, providing a physical frame for each scene. But also the entire show is encased within the music of Gil Brentley, a fictionalised Frank Sinatra type singer, which allows the scenes to flow flawlessly as well as frame the themes of the show.

    This show has a lot of attention to detail (the technology aspect of this show really exemplifies this), but my favourite tiny piece of detail came inside the playbill. The “character” (I put character in quotes because Hwaboon is a plant ) of “Hwaboon” received its own spot and bio. I adore that the plant, who is very much treated as a character and is in almost every scene of this show, has previous acting credits. What a wonderful wink and nod to the theatre fans in the audience who actually take the time to read the playbill.

    HwaBoon's Playbill Entry.

  • Cabaret (I had to return)

    This was my second time visiting the Kit Kat Club. Read my earlier review here. This is a show that I wish were required viewing for everyone in America, if not the world.

    Cabaret is a show that takes place in Berlin, Germany, as the Nazi’s rise to power. Before the Nazi’s, Germany (especially the city of Berlin) was a hotspot for the LGBTQ+ community. It was where people were able to be themselves. And this is shown by the Kit Kat Club itself. Inside the club, everyone and everything is care free. Everyone and everything is beautiful. Life is beautiful. The show itself goes back and forth between the room rented by the American protagonist, Clifford, and the club, hosted by the Emcee.

    This show, on the surface is about Nazi’s coming to power and how the people react. It then delves deeper: The show is about compliance. The show is about not knowing what to do. The show is about not believing that it could happen. The show is about not believing it can happen to you. The show is about not believing it can be that bad. The show is about fleeing. The show is about standing your ground. This show is about rationalising the horrors that are around you in order to deny that they are occurring. This show is about being so certain that you are right that you either ignore what’s happening around you or you do not even realise that it is getting as bad as it is.

    I love this production. I love how immersive it is. I was seated on the opposite side as I was the first time that I saw this show. This allowed me to be closer to the actors during the main show. This allowed me to see more detail. This allowed me to appreciate the small movements of the dancers that I had not noticed before. This includes Herman covering his eyes as he dances to avoid looking at the overly sexual men and women and the fist placement of the gorilla (played by Karl Syler Urban, for this performance). Even being able to see the small glances that the actors gave each other while on stage put even more depth into a show that’s already very deep.

    In this show, we see how Nazi Germany slowly creeps its way into every aspect of the characters lives, even inside of the Kit Kat Club itself. And we watch as everyone’s lives are changed.

    This was the second time that I’ve seen the show with Adam Lambert as the Emcee. And he is phenomenal. The first time that I saw this show was before the election. It was before, when we still had hope for the next four years. But now it is after the election. The side of progress and freedom lost and executive orders have been signed. We are in a country where we can clearly see the fascists regime coming in and actively deciding who is or is not American enough. We have people, both legal immigrants and undocumented immigrants, being rounded up and sent away. ICE is infiltrating schools and places of employment. There is a push to deny the existence of transgender, non binary, and intersex individuals. Guantanamo Bay is being set up to be an interment camp (a labour camp). There is already talk of taking away the legal protections granted by marriage to those who are already married, but happen to be in a same sex marriage. And all of this information may be taking its toll on Adam as his performance was more strained this time around. In fact, he cried at a few different points in the show. He even changed some of his line delivery. For example: the first time that I saw this show, he almost spat out “she wouldn’t look Jewish anymore” while this time, the line was spoken softly and it came off as being more like genuine love. I am glad to report that there was no laughter, not even nervous/uncomfortable laughter after this line (there has been many reports of Adam stopping the show, in character, to explain that that line is not a belly laugh line). This time around, you could have heard a pin drop. I heard no laughter, but I did hear audible gasps of shock.

    Both times that I have gone, I have seen the Sally Bowles understudy (Gabi Campo) and she has been phenomenal. I have never seen Auli’l perform the role, but if Gabi is the understudy and she is this good, I have to imagine Auli’l is amazing as well.

    Another impressive thing to note is the pre-show. I noticed many new faces for the dancers and musicians. And with new faces, came new dances. Very impressive to see them changing up the pre-show and therefore having to learn and memorise even more dances.