Justin's Theatre Reviews

                                                  SPOILER ALERT-SPOILER ALERT                                                                         Something really big happened to me the day after I saw "The King and I" on Broadway. I saw the original cast of "Hamilton" on Broadway.    I was already a really huge fan of "Hamilton" , so of course I couldn't believe I got into that show,...

   After I saw "Les Miserables" on Broadway, the next day (December 26, 2015) I ventured to my second Broadway show which was the new revival of "The King and I" at Lincoln Center, starring Kelli O'Hara and Ruthie Ann Miles in their Tony winning roles of Anna Leonowens and Lady Thiang.  "The King and I" is a classic Broadway musical about a woman named Anna Leonowens who goes to Siam to be the schoolteacher to the King of Siam's 67 children. The musical is based on a true story and explores the unlikely relationship between Anna and The King of Siam (Hoon Lee).   The show starts out on a huge ship that makes its way down the Lincoln Center Stage. On that ship is our Anna Leonowens, Kelli O'Hara and Jake Lucas,  plays her son Louis. Kelli O'Hara had me from the moment she walked onstage, she was greeted with a nice entrance applause and all eyes were on her, especially mine. O'Hara gave one of the best performances that I have se...

NOTE: There is nothing new to say about the "Les Miserables" on its own, so this review is just about the cast, sets, etc.   Christmas Day, 2015. It happened....I saw my first Broadway show, that show was the 2014 Broadway production of "Les Miserables". Nearly everything about it. The cast, the sets, the costumes, almost everything was breathtaking. I have said this in my past reviews of "Les Miserables", and I am saying it again, "If you don't know what 'Les Mis' is about, Google it.    I did not see Alfie Boe (Jean Valjean in the 25 Anniversary Concert) as Jean Valjean. I saw his understudy Will Ray. Ray did a wonderful job as Jean Valjean. I thought that he sounded very similar to Hugh Jackman and Ramin Karimloo. Same goes for Adam Monley as Javert who gave a haunting rendition of "Stars".   I was very taken with Brennyn Lark's portrayal of the role of Eponine. Her acting was very tough and she had a voice that mad...

   On December 20 2015, I saw the current national tour of "Ragtime". I enjoyed the show very much, but before I say absolutely anything else, I want to say that I was very disappointed of the set. You are probably going to groan when I say why, but...I was so put off by the fact that all of the "sets" were projections. When it comes to sets, that is probably my biggest pet peeve. It is cheap and makes the stage look empty and thin. I really dislike how projections are starting to take over backdrops. I get that it is 2015 and some people would rather make projections than construct backdrops, but looking at a projection is simply not the same as looking at a backdrop or a set piece onstage.  "Ragtime" tells the story of three groups of Americans- African Americans, An Upper Class Family, and Eastern European Immigrants. It is a very interesting show and I am interested in learning of the origins of this show, other than the novel by E.L. Doctorow.   T...

  Before I say anything, I would like to apologize for posting this review after the show had closed. It was very difficult for me to construct this review and I had things to do. But with no further adieu, here is my review of the UTEP Dinner Theatre Side Dish Student Production of "The Last Five Years".   Tonight (December 12, 2015),  I saw the UTEP Dinner Theatre's first student directed production, which was the Jason Robert Brown musical "The Last Five Years", which tells the story of the five year relationship between Jamie (Ricardo Parra) and Cathy (Josey Mitchell). Cathy tells the story backwards and Jamie tells the story in order.   I have listened to the original cast recording of "The Last Five Years" (starring Norbert Leo Butz and Sherie Rene Scott) a few times. The few times I have listened to it, I said "Wow, the music is really good, I wonder how the dialogue is"...Then, I saw the movie which had (enough) dialogue...then I ...

   Last night was the now annual NBC Live musical event. As you most likely already know, this year that live musical was "The Wiz".  "The Wiz" is a modern retelling of the classic L. Frank Baum novel, "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". If I need to explain what this show is any further, just google it, you uncultured swine.  Believe it or not,I wasn't familiar with "The Wiz" before watching this. All I knew was it was an adaptation of "The Wizard of Oz" and that the movie version starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson was not very well received. So really, I didn't know what to expect and I wasn't disappointed.   I think out of the three live musicals NBC has done, this one had the strongest cast. In past years, the live musicals had some weak links, such as Carrie Underwood (The Sound of Music) and Christopher Walken (Peter Pan). But this year, I didn't have very many issues with anyone. Everyone who was cast fit their...