On Sunday I was honored to be among a dozen or so bloggers invited to attend what turned out to be the final performance of the Broadway musical Little Women, starring Sutton Foster (Jo) and Maureen McGovern (Marmee). The news that the show's cancellation had come as quite a surprise to the cast and many producers earlier in the week, so I found this performance to have something of a double meaning, particularly in the second act as the March family tries to cope with the loss of Beth. (I'm sorry, I'm not going to label Beth's death a spoiler; if you have any interest at all in the book or the myriad movies made from it then you already know, and if you didn't know you probably have little desire to peruse this classic anyway.)
From what I could tell squeezed into my seat (the Virginia Theatre is a wee bit unforgiving to large folk) up in nosebleed territory (mezzanine row J, two long flights up), the audience was probably about 90% female, which didn't surprise me at all. Everyone wept as expected in the right places, and the performances were poignant and enthusiastic, even if the adapted material didn't always live up to the actors' talents. Besides Foster, the real standout for me was Danny Gurwin, who played Laurie, and the times the two of them were on stage together were delightful. Best of all, it retained what the point of Little Women had always been for me - the idea of pursuing your dreams, and keeping memories alive, through writing.
One of my favorite bits came at the end, where the cast took their final bows and then Foster, after thanking all their audiences and the folks behind the scenes at the theatre, brought out head electrician Gregory Cap, whose last show this was after a 46-year career in the industry. You don't often see crew members honored like that, and I thought it was a wonderful touch. What a great note to go out on.
After the show, cast recording CDs in hand, we hiked the eight blocks downtown to dinner at Angus McIndoe (right around where you took the Spamalot picture, Cat) and had a chance to chat. I am not exaggerating when I say I was tremendously outclassed by everyone else at dinner. Here are my pictures:
Liza Sabater (who scored a full 10 on the Sabater Sobometer during Act II) and organizer Kaliya Hamlin get a kick out of all the digital cameras suddenly whipped out. (If you look at the other photo galleries mentioned below, you'll see this tableau from at least two other angles.)
Kaliya, Mary Hodder, Betsy Devine and Laurie Duncan, as we waited to be seated.
From what I could tell squeezed into my seat (the Virginia Theatre is a wee bit unforgiving to large folk) up in nosebleed territory (mezzanine row J, two long flights up), the audience was probably about 90% female, which didn't surprise me at all. Everyone wept as expected in the right places, and the performances were poignant and enthusiastic, even if the adapted material didn't always live up to the actors' talents. Besides Foster, the real standout for me was Danny Gurwin, who played Laurie, and the times the two of them were on stage together were delightful. Best of all, it retained what the point of Little Women had always been for me - the idea of pursuing your dreams, and keeping memories alive, through writing.
One of my favorite bits came at the end, where the cast took their final bows and then Foster, after thanking all their audiences and the folks behind the scenes at the theatre, brought out head electrician Gregory Cap, whose last show this was after a 46-year career in the industry. You don't often see crew members honored like that, and I thought it was a wonderful touch. What a great note to go out on.
After the show, cast recording CDs in hand, we hiked the eight blocks downtown to dinner at Angus McIndoe (right around where you took the Spamalot picture, Cat) and had a chance to chat. I am not exaggerating when I say I was tremendously outclassed by everyone else at dinner. Here are my pictures:
Liza Sabater (who scored a full 10 on the Sabater Sobometer during Act II) and organizer Kaliya Hamlin get a kick out of all the digital cameras suddenly whipped out. (If you look at the other photo galleries mentioned below, you'll see this tableau from at least two other angles.)
Kaliya, Mary Hodder, Betsy Devine and Laurie Duncan, as we waited to be seated.
Laurie, Suzy Conn and Allison, whose last name I didn't catch and whom I can't link to 'cause she's not blogging just yet. (Did I mention, another two flights up to our dining area? I'm getting too old for this.)
Scott Freiman (one of the show'/s co-producers and our "host"), Betsy and Esme Vos. Scott regaled us with all sorts of behind-the-scenes tales, but saved the best for at least two books he's
Esme, Sanford Dickert and Mary.
Seriously, guys. Look at their websites. They're all accomplished adults, and I'm like some kid going "uh, er, well, I'm a secretary, and um, I like to write..."
It was an absolute delight meeting Betsy, whom I've admired for ages and who has written up her thoughts on the afternoon here. She informs me that the Rose Center ceremony where her husband Frank's name will join those of other American Nobel laureates should be sometime next month, so maybe I'll go and get an "after" picture to go with the "before" one I took when Cat was here. It was also way cool meeting Suzy, whom I had the honor of sitting next to and who blogged about the event here, and I have no doubt but that she'll be a big star herself someday with her upcoming musical Plane Crazy. Mary took lots of pictures, as did Betsy, and you might even catch me in one. And here's Sanford's review. Many thanks to Scott and Kaliya for being so gracious and warm! The Little Women show blog stays active through the upcoming national tour, and I wish them nothing but the best of luck.
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