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| Courtesy of Wikipedia |
When we walked into the theater, we kept hearing pings for the text messages that were flashing on the stage. The set was a mixture of simple furniture and digital media. It reminded me of the set for The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, but even more modernized. Throughout the show, there were images showing some of the dialogue or what was written in various letters.
I knew the music pretty well, but I didn't know the context or setting for them, so it was neat to see how they fit into the story. It was also hard not to sing along. I have a new appreciation for "Words Fail," which seems slow on the soundtrack, but packs a punch during the show. I love how "Sincerely, Me" and "Good for You" were played out on stage. The only song I became emotional from was "You Will Be Found." They were showing the impact it had on random teenagers. Everyone had a really strong singing voice, which enhanced what I normally heard through my car stereo.
The cast was small, but the actors were excellent. They worked well together in an ensemble. We saw Stephen Christopher Anthony as Evan. He was fantastic in the role and really made it his own. I had no idea what Evan's talking mannerism was like, but he did it really well. Starting later this month, he'll be playing Evan full-time on the national tour. Jessica Phillips played his mom, Heidi. She had a very powerful voice and great stage presence. I really liked Jared Goldsmith as Jared Kleinman. He was really funny. I know the role is meant to be funny anyway, but he just added a certain essence to it. Those were the three who really stood out to me, but everyone else gave great performances, whether it was through their singing, acting, or both.
I went into the show expecting to cry the entire time. Spoiler alert: I barely cried. I got teary-eyed during the end of act one, but that was about it. I enjoyed the show and everything it stood for and I liked seeing how the story played out around the songs I knew so well. I went in knowing very little aside from the songs, in an attempt to not spoil the plot for myself. I just don't know if I personally connected with it the way I was hoping to. Maybe if I had been a teenager in this day and age? Or if it had been presented by Pixar? In any case, my son loved it and was totally moved by everything. I do appreciate the message that they were trying to put across, whether it's a way to prevent teen suicide or just a confidence and morale booster. It is important to know that everyone matters and deserves to be "seen." I'm glad I finally had a chance to see it and would definitely recommend it to others who haven't seen it yet.
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| Just for fun...My son's Purim costume in 2018 |
3 comments:
When I went to see it, you could literally hear people in the audience crying and sniffing during So Big/So Small. The guy next to me was almost sobbing. I teared up during that song, and You Will Be Found.
I liked it a lot. But Joni had a little trouble with it. Since she works with a lot of kids on the spectrum, she thought some of the behavior was not real accurate. She liked it but definitely not as much as I did.
No mention of the guy in the audience that passed out 5 minutes before the end causing havoc? ;)
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