NewYork – A SPURDLE reviews

“Just in time” review

My next show and the first a double header on my last day in New York for this trip is the matinee of “Just in Time”. This production opened at the Circle in the Square theatre on March 31^st 2025 and is currently scheduled to conclude its extended run on January 11^th 2026. The show has a running time of around two hours and thirty minutes with a start time of 2pm for the Saturday matinee. The shows book is created by Warren Leight and Isaac Oliver and is developed and directed by Alex Timbers who has done a brilliant job with the use of the theatre space, but more on him later.

The circle in square theatre 23^rd August 2025

I took my seat in auditorium of the circle of the square and suddenly remembered that I have been in this theatre space before. It was for “Once on this Island the musical” back in the start of 2018. At first I did not recognise the space as it was so different and has now been transformed into a 50s style cabaret club. As this is no a traditional theatre space even for broadway terms there is only one level and floor seating for this particular production. I was sat in the orchestra row 5 seat 119. As per the image below my view was totally uninterrupted and am amazing view. Having said that any seat or even standing behind the Garuda rails at the top would provide an amazing view of the show with no bad seat in the full house auditorium.

I was a little hesitant as I am not aware of Bobby Darin as an individual however the production images of the show made it look like a Broadway spectacle and the draw of seeing Jonathan Groff live was too much and I would like to quickly say I was not disappointed. For those who don’t know like myself Bobby Darin was a singer/songwriter and actor who is considered one of not the best of his time in the 50s and early 60s. This show charts the story of his remarkable short life while highlighting and including some of his iconic songs some of which I knew and most I did not. However that was not a problem as this show did not rely on you knowing who he was or any of his songs as the show provides the full biopic of his life.

The show starts in a pretty unique way by breaking the fourth wall as Jonathan Groff is introduced as himself. After a very quick introduction we are thrown straight into the autobiographical section of the show and suddenly Jonathan Groff IS Bobby Darin. Before I get onto how brilliant Jonathan Groff is, the story and book of this show is fantastic. It was detailed enough for a complete Bobby Darin novice like myself to understand while keeping it fast paced. The two and half hours just flew by also helped by the brilliant direction and staging.

The set was pretty much static with the occasionally sliding of the piano in and out. There was very clever use of a second “mini” stage directly opposite the main stage and across the floor seating tables. This can be seen in the view from my seat image above and is in the bottom right. The performers moved from main to mini stage through the seated tables shown in the same image above or from the aisles literally through the audience. Very clever use of lighting to direct the audience attention to either area meant that small prop and scene setting could occur on the opposite stage. This meant for some very slick scene changes without the need for any actual moving set pieces.

The general lighting and especially direction and use of this unique theatre space meant that the whole show have a very immersive feel. This was aided by the intermit theatre space which really made you feel like you were stepping into that cabaret show space. Along with the lighting both around the auditorium and spotlight on the aisles really made you feel you were in the show rather than just watching it on stage. This was even my opinion from someone sat in the main seating, for those in the seated tables at point there were actually in the show and at all times had performers brushing past them. No matter where you were in the auditorium at some point during the show you were only a few feet away from the action, which as a whole gave an amazing non traditional musical theatre experience which was amazing to be part of. The on stage 9 piece band who did not literally miss a beat during the whole show really added to the authentic caberat club atmosphere.

As mentioned earlier the direction and production of the whole show was brilliant and Alex Timbers deserves the recognition for this as he has made this a truly unique and amazing broadway production. If he does not get nominated for Tony for this show then something is seriously wrong. The music as you would expect contains some of bobby Darin biggest hits including “Splish splash” and “Mack the knife” along with other huge hits from the time in which Bobby Darin covered or recovered over his active years. Each one perfectly fit the relevant part of the story and making this essentially a jukebox musical but not as you know it thanks to the brilliant direction and general production. The full cast recording as of last week is now available and I highly recommend you listen to it. A little taster of the show can be seen in the short trailer below:

Now to move onto costumes for this show which not only added to but made this a true broadway spectacle. The use of very subtle but slick costume changes throughout the show ensure that the slow of the production was kept up and aided the slick scene changes due to some very clever costume and prop movement around the stage. All costumes where spectacular non more so than the three sirens/ Bobby back up dancers. Who seem to reappear within seconds in a totally different but as amazing costume as before. Apart from Groff these three of Valeria Yamin, Claire Camp and Julia Grondin where the hardest working performers in the show.

Aside from these three performers the other standouts for me were the two actresses playing bobby love interests who start with Connie Francis played by Gracie Lawrence and Sandra Dee who is played by in this production the understudy Larkin Reilly. Both respectively are amazing and their vocals were brilliant. Again goes to show the power and talent of an understudy, without a note in my playbill I would not have known. Gracie has more stage time in the first act and Larkin taking the stage in the second act as we move onto the latter part of Bobby career and life. Along side these there are a brilliant supporting cast which also included Caesar Samayoa who I instantly recognised from the original cast of “Come from away” and also appears in the Apple TV recorded version of the show.

Now for a comment on the the star of the show Jonathan Groff. I do not generally support the idea of seeing a show just for one person as I believe as already mentioned in this review how amazing the supporting cast and understudies are. However I have to admit that as confessed earlier seeing Jonathan Groff in person was one of the main draws to the show for me. I can confirm he did not disappoint and was out of this world, one of the best musical theatre performers I have seen. I fully understand why he is a Tony award winner and should be nominated and WIN awards at the next Tonys for this performance. For the entirety of the first act he did not leave stage and took water breaks in characters and at relevant parts of the story. Even during the second act you can count the minutes on one hand that he leaves the stage. All this while performing every song in my mind to perfection along with every dance routine and his acting was spot on. Just to top off this triple threat perfection he even plays multiple instruments and the piano on more than one occasion during the show, all live. Showing he really is a quadruple threat and has to win another Tony.

Overall if it is not obvious already I loved this show and as a result is has to be 4 out of 5 stars. You do not need to be a Bobby Darin fan or even know who he is to appreciate and love the quadruple threat that is Jonathan Groff in this brilliant immersive production of Bobby Darin life where you are literally feet away from the action wherever you sit.

More information on this show can be found on their website.

“Smash” review

My next show show on this Broadway trip is the first of a double header for Saturday as it is the matinee of “Smash” the musical. I was dry excited to see this as it is based o the huge TV show first broadcasted in 2012. However I somehow missed the boat on its original run. As a result I only just finished watching the the whole series a few weeks ago in preparation to see this show. So the concept and characters are very fresh for me. This production is still currently in previews which started on 11^th March 2025 and has an official opening night scheduled for 10^th April 2025. The show has a book written Rick Elice and Bob Martin with music & lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Whittman and directed by Susan Stroman. The matinee has a start time of 2pm and a running time of two hours and thirty minutes at the Imperial Theatre.

I took my seat in the orchestra row K seat 105 of the imperial theatre, which has great stagger so any seat within the stalls is pretty much uninterrupted. I was readying myself for a stage version of a the great TV show. A to show I highly recommend if you missed the orginal run back in 2012 and are a fan of musical theatre. It is currently available on Amazon Prime in the UK to binge the whole series.

*View from the orchestra row K seat 105*

First of all I have mention how surprised and taken back I was by the total change to almost all the characters and all the supporting cast. With only Ivy Lyn and Karen viewing kept from the original TV show. This was a total shock as I was expecting a stage version of the to show. Which in a way it was but not with the same character which is what I was expecting. Even the character dynamics between Ivy and Karen were changed. Along with all new characters playing similar positions but different dynamics. For example the womanising director of of Derek Wills is replaced by a camp Nigel. A Karen is married to one of the ensamble and the writers are married. If you have seen the TV show you will release how different this was and also reflect in my disappointment of the change. Which did take some time to readjust.

For those who have not seen the show or have but want to know the full character run down. Here is a brief synopsis. We take a step into the rehearsal room of a brand new Broadway musical “Bombshell” the Marilyn Monroe musical as well as seeing some of the “bombshell” songs. It during this time we meet the leading lady Ivy Lynn (Robyn Hurder), the understudy Karen (Caroline Bowman) and the director Nigel (Brooks Ashmanskas). We are also introduced to the writers husband and wife Tracy (Krysta Rodriguez) and Jerry (John Behlmann). Along with the producer Anita (Jacqueline B. Arnold) and her assistant Scott (Nicholas Matos). During the show we also also introduced to Chloe (Bella Coppola) who nearly takes the leading role from the production team and Susan (Kristine Nielsen) who plays Ivy Lynn Marilyn’s advisor. Between all of these and the ensemble they all highlight the trails and tribulations of putting on a Broadway musical.

The overall concept although very similar if not the same to the original TV show it did have a few touches of modernisation. Mainly around the use of social media and the role that “Influencers” play on the modern world.

The set design was good and mainly in the first act switched between the rehearsal room and the bar. With the second act bringing in set boxes to represent the back stage areas of the theatre of the dressing rooms and writers rooms of the theatre. While having the occasional curtain drop to reveal the “Bombshell” song performances. The overall staging was very good and had a triangle design which worked well and along with the lighting made for very good scene definitions. During some of the “box scenes” having the rest of the stage fairly well lite meant that we were able to see the actors walk out of the scene into the rest of the stage no kind of spoilt the illusion of the scene for me. However there overall scene transfer and slickness to it was Broadway quality and was impressive.

The musical theatre part of this musical only really came form the “Bombshell” scenes. Which were lifted directly from the TV show including all music & girls and choreography. Which seemed unaltered as each song I was able to recall watching only a few weeks ago on the TV show. These include Mr & Mrs Smith, the 20^th Century Fox Mambo and “I Never met a wolf who didn’t love to howl”. I for one am so glad that these remained untouched as they were amazing in the TV show and amazing in this show. There was definitely something special about seeing these songs being performed live on a broadway stage after watching them on my iPad on my daily comments a few weeks prior. There did seem to be one or two new original musical theatre pieces added to this production but I was glad they kept the orginal “Bombshell” songs. As well as the title track of “Let me be your star” my fave outer track from the whole show and still is after seeing it performed live is “Don’t forget me” which luckily has been recorded on the “Smash” YouTube channel and can be found below.

Don’t forget me

As a new Broadway musical I am not convinced that it hit the ark. Although it did have some comical parts of the script and the amazing “Bombshell” songs. I am not sure it really hit the mark and will be very interested in what the critics say in a couple of weeks time for the opening night. In my opinion they should have kept more to the original TV show characters and not just used the concept. As a musical theatre show I would rather have just seen a staging of “Bombshell” the musical. As it was only the Bombshell scenes which had the musical theatre aspects.

And now for more on some of the individuals from the cast. It was very interesting to see Krysta Rodriguez live as she is the only cast member who was in the orginal TV show. However if not a bit confusing as she was not playing her Ana character but instead one of the writers Tracy.

Robyn Hurder as Ivy seemed almost nervous during the start of the production. I am not sure if this is on purpose to highlight the progression of the character throughout the production or weather it was because the prodcution was still in previews. However I was pleased to see that by the end of the show her vocals were perfect. However I was still slightly distracted as I just was thinking that she is not Megan hilly (Who I watched live a few days prior in “Death becomes her”). Maybe this was just me and almost hindered by the fact that I have just watch end the original TV show. This view should not reflect on Robyn and a great performance.

I had a similar preconception and distraction with Caroline Bowman playing Karen as Katharine McPhee was amazing in the TV show. However Karen on this stage show did not have such a major role however Caroline vocals were spot on and amazing Tom start to finish throughout the whole show and was a great talent to witness live.

The next person who deserves a perticular mention is Bella Coppola as Chloe, a brand new character to the Smash world. Who vocals if not exactly beat Caroline or Robyn but were perfect for this role.

My final mention has to go to Brooks Ashmanskas as the very camp director Nigel. As soon as I saw Brooks bin stage I instantly remembered him from the original run of “Prom” which I watched o broadway a few years ago. He was brilliant in that and was brilliant in this and fitted this role perfectly. He brought the campness and more importantly the comedy to the production perfectly. Even though portraying a similar role his performance was great and expect another Tony nomination in his future fro this role.

Overall I give this production 2 out of 5 stars. A different skew of the orginal TV show with different characters added to the same concept. With the same great “Bombshell” songs/routines. If you haven’t seen the TV you might like it even more than I did and if you did see the TV you will love the iconic performance live.

More details on the show can be found on their website.

Sunset Boulevard on Broadway

And now for my last show of this trip to Broadway and I really did save the best till last. My final show was “Sunset Bulovard” at the St James Theatre. This is the hottest ticket in town after recently opening for previews on 28th September 2024 with opening night scheduled for 20th October 2024 after its triumph run in the West End , winning pretty much everything that it could. The success was so huge that I was unable to get a ticket for the West End run so was very happy when I managed to secure a Broadway ticket. Currently the show is scheduled to run until 6th July 2025, however there will be no surprises if this gets extended.

While waiting in the entry line outside the theatre the theatre staff welcomed us all and exclaimed that this is the best show in town. When taking my seat in Mezzanine Front Center Row B Seat 109 within a very dark auditorium I was wondering if this show was going to live up to the hype and was Nicole Scherzinger really that good. All these questions and more will be answered within this review.

View from Mezzanine Front Center Row B Seat 109

As most people are aware this is a Andrew Lloyd Webber classic musical. With the book and lyrics from Don Black and Christopher Hampton. However this particular version had an ace up its sleeve in the form of director Jamie Lloyd.

I have to admit that I have never seen a production of Sunset Boulevard in the past. I was obviously aware of some the absolute classic musical tracks from this show but did not know the story or context in which they were in within the story. I have to be honest I forgot how many classic musical songs come from this production. So for those like me who don’t know the story is a basic brief synopsis of the show.

Left: Alternative cover Right: Modern Playbill cover

We open with a body a bag and Joe Gillies (Tom Francis) emerging from it reporting there has been a murder. We then change time frame to see Joe a struggling script writter trying to get a studio to take on one of his pieces of work. It is here we also meet Betty Schaefer (Grace Hodgett Young). While trying to outrun people chasing him for money Joe ends up in Norma Desmond’s (Nicole Scherzinger) house. We learn that Norma was a huge movie star however now a nobody and lives in her house with her security man Max Von Mayerling (David Thaxton). Norma is trying to make a come back and persuades Joe to help her with her script she is writing. The relationship escalates and Norma seduces Joe after attempting suicide. Act one ends with a very muted and depressive News Years eve party.

Act two opens with the now infamous street walk in which Tom Francis (Joe) wanders the backstage area and streets of the theatre while performing Sunset Boulevard live. While Norma and Joe along with Max are living together Paramount studios call to talk to Norma she is convinced it is about them taking up the script however we later learn it is to buy her car. We discover that Max is protecting the delusional Norma as we find out that he was in fact Normas first wife. Norma then learns of Joe and Betty affection for each other. In a finale crescendo to act two and the show. Joe attempts to leave Norma and tells her the truth that she is now a washed up actor and her new script will never get made. With this Norma shots and kills Joe (The murder we opened with).

From here on out I fear that it may be a short review as it lives up to the hype and awards and more. This production was outstanding and the director of Jamie Lloyd is an absolute genius. I will now try and attempt to justify this view.

First of all this is like no production let alone musical I have ever seen before, and I seen a lot shows. It wasn’t a concert musical but then it was not a traditional musical or even a more modern musical. This can not be categorised and has to be put in its own class and league. I think it is this reason why it has and will be so successful. I believe this all comes down to previous mentioned genius director Jamie as well as the amazing score and lyrics underpinning it.

There was no staging and for me to speak so highly of a musical with no staging that is not a concert musical is praise in its self. Most of the time it is the actors on a very large black empty stage with just some very good use of lighting and spotlights to concentrate the eye. As well as lots of dry ice. The lighting design or should I say the spotlight design is brilliant. The only changing feature of the set is the drop down video screen that takes up the whole backdrop of the stage.

It is this video screen which engulfs the stage which plays the live fed video feed from the onstage handheld camera operators. These camera operators are the stars of the show on their own. I have seen lots of shows (Network) and some musicals (Bat out of hell) use on stage handheld camera to livestream to a big screen. But i have never seen it done the way this production does it. The quality and clarity of the close up is so extreme you can see the individual hairs on the actors beard along with the scale of the screen make it so impressive. It allows every seat in the auditorium to have the best view regardless of your physical location within the theatre. Jamie Lloyd relies so heavily on these to portray the feeling of each face on screen. I can not speak highly enough of how effectively this was used. As mentioned before this format also allows the ability to have the infamous live walk through the streets of whatever city the show is playing in. One small piece of direction which I really appreciated was as a character left the story towards the end the actor physically removed their radio mics a very small but impactful move.

The effectiveness of this lack or set and camera work is only achievable because the score and lyrics are so good. The quality of the songs especially the more popular and famous ones allow the director to have the ability to strip it back and just listen to the songs. Like all Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals you find the score repeating its self throughout the production but this is a classic ALW approach and does not distract from it being an absolute classic of not only his but musical theatre as a whole.

The costume like the set are basic and understated with simple black and white outfits. With only Joe changing his costume once he becomes part of Normas life.

Before I discuss each of the main actors individually a quick mention of the ensemble. Which as expected was brinllient again there were a few but not so many traditional musical theatre ensable routines. But when there was they were executed perfectly. One such routine which stands out to me was the scene in which the whole ensable are lined up on chairs and stand up and then sit down exactly in unison to leave two random meembers standing to perform their line. The accuracy of these movements resempbled more of the rocketts Christmas show at rockfella that a musical.

Now for the main cast. Betty played by Grace Hodgett Young was brilliant and supported Tom Francis brilliantly. A surprising standout for me was David Thaxton playing Max Von Mayerling not only his amazing low voice but is acting and an ability to act with a camera a matter of centimetres away from your face.

Now for the main stars of the show apart from the director. Tom Francis playing Joe Gillis. There is no surprise that Tom along with a lot of the cast have revived their originated roles of this particular production from the West End to Broadway. He did not disappoint at all the vocals the acting the stage presence. We’re all perfection, even keeping though vocals out on the streets during the live Sunset Boulevard song. I was not really aware of Tom that much before his appearance of this role in the West End. However I along with everyone else will be very well aware of his next step in his career.

Now to move onto the title actress of the show and playing Norma Desmond, Nicole Scherzinger. Going into this show I was questioning whether she along with the whole production would live up to the hype and the awards that it gained in London. I can confirm that she DID. I had not seen her in any of her another stage shows such as Cats so was unsure how she would be able to cope “acting” a musical. I am always very wary of star casting especially in musicals. But in this age i am happy to stand corrected Nicole vocals were out of this world. The ability to stand centre stage with a spotlight and some dry ie and receive not one but two standing ovations mid way through the show just highlights how power her voice was. The first standing ovation came shortly into act one following “With one look”. Have never seen an audience reaction like it in a theatre easpically mid way though the show. It wasn’t until the end that I remembered that she has to to do this 7 or 8 times a week, highlight such power. Not only power but feeling and was seeing it as a musical theatre show and acting through the song like a real musical theatre superstar. It was not only the singing but her whole portrayal of Norma from the deranged to the funny to the vulnerable were all clear to see from Nicole. And unlike on normal musica theatre there was nowhere to hide as her face was the size of the stage thanks to the on stage cameras. I have to mention the casting team who casted Hannah Yun Chamberlain who played young Norma. The likeness to Nicole but younger was unbelievable. It even fooled the American audience who started cheering like it was Nicole during the opening scenes.

You will be able to hear all the whole cast on 25th October when the Cast recodering is released. I for one can not wait to relisten to this whole show and the brilliant cast again and again. It appears to have a total of 39 songs which is much more than any other cast recodering of this show. So I expect it to be everything you can hear during the show. Take my word for it whatever the cast sound like on the recording they sound the same if not better live.

Overall I give this performance a 5 out of 5 stars. There is no other show or production like it. Jamie Lloyd is a genius taking an Andrew Lloyd Webber score and classic Don Black and Christopher Hampton musical and making it like no other. If you can see the show see it, at least listen to the cast recording once it is released. It deserves all the hype and awards it has got and will get.

More details on this show can be found on there website.

Water for Elephants Musical

Now for my third review of this Broadway trip and my first matinee after starting this review site. Which means that it is a two show day for my last whole day in New York. The first show is “Water for elephants the musical” which is currently playing at the Imperial theatre. Which opened on 21st March 2024 and is set to close its broadway run on 8th December 2024 before embarking on a US tour.

This show is based on the 2006 Novel by Sara Green which again I have not read or even aware of the story, so once again entered the theatre for the 13:00 start and took my seat in Orchestra Row L seat 104 not knowing anything about the story. This musical production has music and lyrics by PigPen Theatre Co and a has a running time of 2 hours and forty minutes.

The show starts within a modern day circus and Mr Jankowski (Christopher Russo) who begins to regale the current circus workers the story’s of his past. We are then transported back to 1930s where a young Mr Jankowski, Jacob Jankowski (Kyle Selig) jumps on a train out of town. Without being aware that it is a circus train of the famous Benzini circus. After some convincing Jacob gets to stay a night so he can head out of town. It quickly transpires that Jacob is a nearly fully qualified vet after having to miss the final exams due to his vet father and mother dying in car crash. The circus ring leader and boss August (Paul Alexander Nolan) persuades Jacob to join the circus as their vet to look after the vast array of animals that made up the 1930s circus show. Jacob meets the circus leaders star of the show and wife Marlena (Isabelle McCalla) and her horse. Shortly after due to the poor work conditions the horse has to be put down by Jacob. This results in August having to find a new star of the show and buys the first available animal which happens to be an elephant named Rosie. While attempting to train Rosie, Jacob and Marlena start to fall in love. The first act concludes with the realisation that Rosie can perform when spoken to in Polish. A grand reveal of the whole elephant concludes the first act.

The second act involves a successes story of the new star act with Rosie. Jacob is treated to lavish parties with August and Marlena. Even though he has a new star act August continues to mistreat both Rosie and Marlena. Both Marlena and Jacob grow closer while Jacob tries to break it off for the sake of the whole circus. This is unsuccessful and August finds out about the affair and demands his right hand man Wade (Wade McCollum) to get rid of Jacob and his friends Walter the clown (Michael Mendez) and Cam (Stan Brown). Both of these were the reason Jacob was accepted on the circus train in the first place. As Jacob is with Marlena off the train, Wade continues to get rid off (Kill) Walter and Cam. The show crescendos with a large stampede of all the animals believed to have been caused by Wade due to the guilt. This stampede goes down as the greatest circus disaster of all time and destroys and kills everyone apart from Jacob, Marlena and Rosie. Who in the aftermath continue to live together for the 50 years before Marlena dies. We then rejoin at modern time in which Mr Jankowski is offered to join the new circus show and get out of his nursing home and join the circus again.

Now for the theatre review part.

First of all the set and props, which were surprisingly lacking for a broadway show. There was very little set design as a whole providing a very basic staging. However this show was not relying on the staging to give impact. This type of staging means that this production is very well suited to a tour production as mentioned at the start this is the next stage of this production life. This means that the touring audience will not actually miss out on any of the staging from the Broadway production. The main set/props are two scaffolding towers which are used to replicate the train. This is done very effectively due to the actors movement and lighting.

Lighting is a huge part of this production and is used instead of set design to set the scenes. As well as stage lighting, the use of shadows are very impressively used throughout this production. Not only in order to set scenes but also to portray the animals and scales very effectively.

The use of puppetry throughout this whole production is brilliant. Due to the vast amount of animals needed for the circus a few are portrayed by actors in suits but the rest are all puppets controlled by the actors. The use of these puppets for me rivals War horse and Lion King. Camel’s dog which is handled and controlled by a number of the cast is very impressive along with the other animals that make up the circus crew. However the stand out has to be Rosie the elephant herself. Who for most of the first half was only portrayed by a trunk or a leg here and there had its grand reveal at the end of act one. This reveal reminded me of the King Kong musical reveal which causes the American broadway audience to have an audible reaction. In this case of large cheers and applause. Very much like war horse you forget that Rosie is in fact a puppet and start treating her like a part of the cast as you start to feel compassion for her.

Not only is the puppetry amazing the use of physical theatre and especially acrobatics and circus style performers were breath taking. Instead of the ensemble having normal dance breaks and or supporting the songs and main characters. For most parts of the production the ensemble who I am going to call he circus performers from now on. These circus performers were the main characters and the main point of interest for the show. I really like how it replaced dance routines with circus/acrobatic routines. Unlike cirque du soleil which I have seen their Broadway show Paramour amany years ago. The routines themselves were not the purpose they symbolised and supported the show and the story. For example the death of the horse in act one is portrayed by an amazing aerial acrobatic routine performed by Nick Zelle. The whole production relied on physical theatre in which even the title principal performers of Isabelle and Kyle had to partipate in as well as perform brilliantly vocally. I can only imagine of the extra training they had to undertake in order to complete this successfully.

Before I move onto the music and lyrics and then the performers. I have to touch on some of the amazing transitions that occurred. It was these transitions that moved the show from the 1930s to modern day. They were so obvious but seamless at the same time. With either a simple light transition. Or one transition which consisted of Paul Alexander Nolan physically transitioning between August and the modern day character of Charlie by literally stepping out of the ring master costume while leaving it floating in the middle of the stage being supported by the rest of the cast.

Now for the music and lyrics and musical part of the musical theatre. For me this was not a major part of the production and unlike normal musical theatre shows, the show was not relying on the songs to progress the story, instead to just accompany it. This becomes more obvious when you look at the cast recording which is available on all major platforms. As it only has 19 songs around an hour of content for a two hour and forty minute show. I personally don’t think this impacted the production as it was relying more on the physical theatre than the songs. However I was a little disappointed as I expected a broadway musical. But it did not distract from the show at all. Having said that there were some stand out songs and musical performers. One came from Wade and his a capella country esc accompany in songs such as The road Dont make you you young. Even though it was not as in keeping with the rest of the show, i really did enjoy it. My favourite track has to be Isabelle singing “What do you do”.

One of my favourite songs of the show

Overall this was a great Broadway show not necessarily the best Musical theatre show I have seen. But the physical theatre and acrobat performances make it a great show and I recommend seeing if you can on tour or if we are luckily enough for it to come to the UK. I expect not initially West End but possible a touring production.

I give this production 3 out of 5 stars. A great story with amazing physical theatre and acrobatics with a bit of musical theatre thrown in. Not a standard broadway musical but still worth a watch.

Further information of “Water for Elephants” can be found on their website.

The Great Gatsby Musical

So now for my second review of this Broadway trip and the first of the three musical scheduled for the weekend. The first being the Great Gatsby playing at The Broadway Theatre. Like many shows and especially musicals I very rarely have seen the film or book in which the production is based on. This production is no different. Like my other musical reviews I will provide a quick synopsis overview before reviewing the musical production areas in more detail.

The Great Gatsby opened on Broadway on 29th March 2024 and currently has not posted a closing date. I can totally understand why, I expect this show to run and run and do not expect a closing date anytime soon. I would expect them to announce a principle cast change before long. The production is considered one of the bigger newly opened musicals on broadway. Mainly because of its title leads of Jeremy Jordan and Eva Noblezada. Both in my eyes considered current Broadway megastars. For my production I had the pleasure of whitnessing the understasudy for Jay Gatsby who was played by Alex Prakken, more on this stella cast later. It has music by Jason Howland and Lyrics by Nathan Tysen and is directed by Marc Bruni.

It was another 19:00 show start which seems to be a new thing on Broadway. Again not an issue for me and somewhat prefer an earlier start. I took my seat in the Broadway Theatre in seat Orcherstra Row O seat 1. The last time I was in this particular theatre was for King Kong the musical back in 2018/2019.

Many may already know the story of The Great Gatsby, as mentioned before I did not and for anyone who doesn’t, here is a quick run down of the synopsis.

The show opens with Nick Carraway (Noah J. Ricketts) visiting his relative (Cousin) Daisy Buchanan (Eva Noblezada) with her husband and their friend Jordan Baker (Samantha Paula). We quickly learn that her husband Tom Buchanan (Pascal Pastrana) is having an affair with Myrtle Wilson (Ryan Nixon), the local garage owners wife. On one of their regular trips to the city, Nick becomes witness to Toms violent side. This prompts Nick to take up the offer from his neighbour and local rich guy Jay Gatsby (Alex Prakken) who is known for throwing lavish grand parties in his mansion. Jay Gatsby wants Nick to organise a meeting with his cousin Daisy. As Jay and Daisy met and fell in love five years prior before the war. And only recently realised that both are still alive and live locally. Act one ends with a successful meeting of Gatsby and Daisy organised by Nick after seeing Toms true side. At this meeting Nick and Jordan appear to also fall in love and are seen entering his cottage together. While Act one concludes with Gatsby and Daisy in bed together.

Act two opens to a flurry of excited and in love couples narrated by Meyer Wolfsheim (Eric Anderson). A party is arranged so Gatsby and Daisy can relive the night they fell in love five years ago. During this time we learn that Gatsby has obtained his fortune from dodgy dealings being facilitated by Meyer Wolfshiem. During the party tensions increase between Gatsby and Tom for obvious reasons. As the tensions grow they decide that Jay, Daisy, Tom, Nick and Jordan should travel the Plaza in the city. Gatsby and Daisy have confessed there love for each other and Nick and Jordan become engaged. It is at this point the story’s takes a Shakespeare tragedy esc style ending. With many turns of events which conclude with Jay and Daisy vehicle hitting a killing Myrtle who was pregnant with Toms baby as a result of their affair. On hearing the fatal news, Myrtle husband (Paul Whitty) who is now aware of the baby assuming it is Jay Gatsby’s kills Jay and then himself. The story concludes with Nick having to leave town and Daisy who also leaving with Tom to start a new life.

Left: Alternative cover Right: Modern cover

Now for the musical theatre part of the review.

Let’s start with set and prop design. Which are simply outstanding some of the grandest and best set design i have seen on broadway (Apart from Moulin Rouge which was in a league of its own). The set design was so clever with amazing use of some top quality projection. It meant that the set on stage seamlessly blended with the back screen making it appear even more grander than it was. I have not seen this quality of projection and ability to merge with the onstage set before. The use of projection was also used to portray rain which somehow seemed to cover the whole stage without the use of actual rain. Lights and projection were also used to make a stationary car appear to be moving. With lights on the wheels and the screen falling away behind it gave such a good illusion of a moving car. In some way they did not even need this trickery as the two cars on stage were amazing props. They were full size cars which moved independently of the staging. It allowed the actors to actually drive them back and forth and around the stage. Again something I have never seen on stage before. They were like life size children’s toy battery cars. Simply amazing props work and highlights the size of stage that the Broadway theatre has. Not only these amazing cars but the level of details on the set and props was outstanding. You were able to see inside details of the cottage through the door even though we never went inside for a scene.

A quick note on the costumes, which were as grand and glamorous as you expect for this 1920s themed story. But again the detail was so impressive with no costume being repeated in any of the scenes. There was even a quick change on stage.

Now for the music and lyrics which were amazing. Some proper real broadway musical theatre. There were amazing ballads from both male and females and not only the two leads by others as well as well as great ensample pieces. This orginal principle cast has already completed a cast recordering which can be found on all major platforms. I have already downloaded the whole cast recodering album. Out of the 23 tracks my stand out by far, a song which I have already replayed six times on my walk from the theatre to my hotel bar where I am writing this review is “For Her” which is sung by Jay Gatsby. On the recodering it is Jemery Jordon but for me especially for the first time hearing it while live Alex Prakken did not dissapoint and is a perfect example of why understudy’s are amazing in any production. Even though there were so many amazing songs for me “For Her” just stands out and really gave me goosebumps on the first time hearing those notes. A snippet of the song along wither another can be found on this YouTube video.

Includes my favourite track For Her

Now to delve into the actors. I have already mentioned how impressed I was by the understudy of Alex Prakken, there are some very large Jeremy Jordan sized shoes to fill but he filled them and some. The next is Eva Noblezada who if you watched the above link you would have seen and may recognise due to her multiple award nominations over the years. Again she did not disappoint the passion and vocals were breathtaking. I was sum what surprised that it seemed the main character was in fact Nick and not Jay Gatsby as a result Noah J. Ricketts had a lot more time on stage and some great dedicated songs more than I was expecting which was performed effortlessly. While browsing the cast list before the show, the name of Eric Anderson stood out to me as I watched him in the original broadway cast of Pretty Woman a few years ago. I was surprised that he was not as heavily used in this production especially in the first half but was pleasantly surprised when he opened the second act as Meyer Wolfsheim. Overall all four main characters as well as the supporting roles and ensemble were faultless.

Overall this is an amazing new Broadway musical with everything you expect from a broadway spectacle with amazing ensemble pieces, duets, breathtaking solos. With amazing music and lyrics that hint at the 1920s era but somehow keep a very Morden broadway musical theatre feel. All using an amazing set and prop design.

I give this production 4.5 out of 5 stars. A must see for the incredible set and prop design and amazing music and lyrics. I expect to be rewatching this when it undoubtedly transfers to the West End.

Further information of “The great Gatsby broadway musical” can be found on their website.

Job on broadway

Here is my first broadway review on this site. If you have read my About me page you will be aware that a New York and broadway visit is a bi annual trip for me. Within hours of touching down in JFK and arriving at my hotel in Time Square I was making my way to The Hayes Theater which was around the corner from my hotel.

The first production of this trip was a play. The other three productions scheduled for the rest of the weekend are all new musicals. The play in question is “Job”. Which opened on Broadway on 15th July 2024 after a lot of off broadway success, The production is on a limited run and as a result closes on 27th October 2024. The show is written by Max Wolf Friedlich and stars Peter Friedman and Sydney Lemmon more on them later. Once again like many plays on the West End and Broadway this was a straight though play with no interval and a total running time of 80 minutes. As mentioned in previous reviews I am a big fan of this format especially for a production as intense as this. However having a 19:00 start time (Well 19:10, if you know you know. Anyone who has seen a Broadway show will be aware). It did mean thatI was back at my hotel bar writing this review well before 21:00.

After receiving my Playbill from the always enthusiastic usher I took my seat in the orchestra Row E Seat 111. A brief note on the playbill itself. When initially handed it I was somewhat surprise by the strange cover sheet as it differed from the norm that I have seen in the past. On closer inspection I discovered that Playbill are celebrating their 140 year anniversary and as a result had around four or five “alternative” covers. Mine was of a 70s vibe. I was pleased to eventually realise that the current/ modern playbill cover was located on the inside cover. Both version for the playbil cover can be seen below:

Left: Alternative 1970 cover Right: Modern cover

After booking the ticket a matter of hours before, during the very drawn out taxi ride from JFK to Manhattan I was luckily to obtain a single seat ticket in a very good location. This seat only added to the authentic feeling of the production. As soon as the house lights went down you are transported to be a fly on the wall to a therapist session/meeting. With a very dramatic opening scene in which the therapist is being held at gun point by the patient. I am concuios that I don’t want to provide any major spoilers for this show. Apart from the fact there is a twist at the end however I will refrain from providing the details of said twist. Just in case you are lucky enough to see this or any future version of this production.

The show running time of 80 minutes makes much more sense when you release the context of the show and also lends to the authenticity of making you feel you really are observing a real therapy session. This authenticity is also continued by the fact the staging (shown above) does not change throughout the whole production. There is no set changes what so ever. At most the chairs are moved from their original spots. Again showing what i imagine a happens in a real theory session. The set design as you can see from above is simple however very effective, I especially liked the floating ceiling mould to depict the top of the room and almost frame the whole stage.

Throughout the 80 minutes we are drip fed information about not only the patient Jane but the therapist Loyd. By the end we discover that Jane works for a big tech company and is the “first line of defence” for online filtering. The audience are given a small insight into the way the internet and social media is filtered mainly by bots. But when the algorithm is unable to come to a conclusion a human has to watch and review the content to make a final call. We learn through quite graphic description the kind of things that Jane not only has been exposed to but is expected to experience on a daily basis to produce the first line of defence. She sees it so the general public don’t. We also learn that Jane has more recently taken on confronting some of the contents creators in a vigilante esc campaigns. As the audience is slowly feed Jane’s background and experience we expectedly assume this is why she is in this therapy session because of her JOB. The big tech company who is imposing a therapist sign off for her return to office after she suffered a viral breakdown. We learn a little but crucially enough about Loyd, he is divorced with two young children a young boy and a young daughter who committed sucide at a young age. We later discover why this could have occurred.

Throughout the session/production Jane raises and mentions lots of challenges and issues that face not only her generation (Millennial) but anyone and everyone who is impacted and connected via the internet. This challenges and issues include the expectation that social media put on individuals along with racism and politics views of the class system of not only the country (US) but the world as a whole, as well as abortion. The ability to put this challenges across and develop such an intense building production all within less than 80 minutes is credit to the writer Max Wolf Friedlich. The show especially during the first half has some very well written dark humour which slowly gets turned on its head to become a very dark and intense final ten to fifteen minutes of the show. The audience go from laughs to audible gasps of realisation within the final few scenes of the show. Again I do not want to provide any spoilers but I really was on the edge of my seat for the last ten minutes. Which brings me nicely onto the ending.

The ending is left up to the audience interpretation and I can not give opinion of which way it would go without spoiling it. In one hand I like the opening ended/ open to interpretation ending as it means each audience member potentially has a different conclusion to one another. However on the other hand not having a black and white clear conclusion does make me feel like we are robed of a truly dramatic finish. Maybe the unknown is more impactful, it defenelty made me think on my short walk back to by hotel.

There is one aspect of the production I have to touch on and this is the lighting. Even though the set does not change the lighting for the most part is the same however it along with sound effects are brilliantly used to symbolise Jane’s panics attacks which occur multiple times throughout the session. The use of total blackouts outs and square light blocks on the back stage wall with load sound thuds. Transform you from the fly on the wall of the theorist office to inside Jane’s mind and the pure panic and confusion that is happening in her head during the session. The stark contrast between the office lighting and the dark thoughts in Jane’s head are really effective with the first transisation being a true jump scare for the audience.

Before I conclude the review I have to touch on and mention the two main and only members of the cast. The fact that it is only two actors on stage together from start to finish and able to create such a rollercoaster of emotions without fancy set changes or other cast members is a credit in itself. First Loyd is portrayed by Peter Friedman of Succession fame as well as lots of other stage and screen productions. He has the ability to instantly convince the audience he is a theorist but maybe with a difference. I had no doubt in the way he portrayed himself throughout the encounter with Jane that this was a theorist from his mannerisms to the amazing script. It all added to the authenticity of the production. This played perfectly opposite Sydney Lemmon who was playing the role of Jane. We easily get drawn into the trauma that Jane has and really feel compassion for her even though the opening scene is her holding her therapist at gun point. The ability of Sydney who no surprise orginaited this role to be able to take the audience on this rollercoaster thoughout the script is a credit to her.

Overall I give this production 4 out of 5 stars. You become a fly on the wall of the most dramatic therapist session you will ever experience. From laughs to audible gasps of realisation. A extremely well written 80 minute play that brings you on a roller coaster where you get to choose the conclusion.

You can check out “Job” on their website which includes all their socials