Justin's Theatre Reviews

    There are lots of shows that I don't think received justice they deserve. Some of those shows are amazing, yet they flopped ("Side Show"). The other ones are off Broadway shows that didn't get the Broadway transfer they deserve ("Heathers: The Musical"). "Clinton: The Musical" falls underneath that category.   "Clinton: The Musical"is a loving parody that tells the story of the presidency of Bill Clinton, in which Bill Clinton is portrayed by two actors, in order to represent the two sides of Bill Clinton. One of the Bills, is the one who truly wants to make America a loving, peaceful place. The other one, is the one who runs around playing the saxophone, wearing sunglasses, and sleeping with a White House Intern. Both Bills co-exist among each other, but luckily Hillary Rodham Clinton is the only one who can see both of them at the same time.    From the second I started listening to the cast recording for the first time, I was h...

 NOTE: As you read this review, please know that I was quite taken out of the second act due to the atrocious audience behavior during that half of the show. Crumpling chip bags, CHEWING THE CHIPS, unnecessarily loud comments, the whole lot.   It is shows that "Spring Awakening" and "Rent" that have such huge, diehard fanbases, who are so passionate about the show they are fans of. On my side, I say "Wow, those shows must be really amazing!". Then, you actually attend a production of one of those types of shows.   It is really a shame because most of the score for "Spring Awakening" (Music by Duncan Sheik, Lyrics by Steven Sater) isn't bad. But, the story unfortunately isn't good at all. "Spring Awakening" tells the story of the sexual awakening of teenagers located somewhere in 19th century Europe (Germany, I think? Correct me If I am wrong). As you'd expect, the plot and the way it is executed is uncomfortable, dis...

     I know that I am in the minority here, but I do not like "Grease" very much. I do enjoy the show's score, the story isn't very good. The characters aren't very well written and I just can't get past the shows horrible message..."CHANGE YOURSELF FOR THE GUY YOU LIKE!" I just don't know were the self respect is in that. Anyways, despite my feelings about "Grease", FOX's live televised production was FANTASTIC.    Unless you've been living underneath a rock, you know that NBC has produced three other live musicals on television (The Sound of Music, Peter Pan, The Wiz). "Grease" was FOX's first live musical, and they blew NBC out of the water!  Most of this production's success not only goes to the strong cast, but to director of the show, Thomas Kail (Director of " Hamilton" and "In the Heights"). You can tell that he took a look at all of the things NBC did wrong, and he did it right. F...

  "Rock of Ages" is probably my favorite jukebox musical, after Jersey Boys. Although the plot to this show is incredibly silly and cliche, you don't really notice because of the way it is executed and the use of the 80's rock songs in the show.   "Rock of Ages" tells the story of Drew and Sherrie- two aspiring artists who fall in love, but alas...mistakes are made and they have a difficult time getting together. Also in the mix are Lonny and Dennis, who own the Bourbon Room where Drew and Sherrie work, two Germans who threaten to tear down the strip to build other things,  Regina, who protests the tearing down of the strip, the owner of a local strip club,  and a rock star who is there to create as much conflict as the Germans. I personally think you could probably piece together a lot of the story just reading the lineup of the characters.    In the lead roles of Drew and Sherrie, Jonathan Contreras and Nabil Gonzalez both play their roles with a cert...

    If you know anything about me, you know that I LOVE Idina Menzel. She is probably my favorite performer alive. She has been my phone lockscreen on multiple occasions and I have a Idina Menzel "Frozen" phone case. So naturally, when I saw that the national tour of "If/Then" starring Idina Menzel was going to a nearby city that with conveniently located relatives, I hopped on the chance to get tickets and it was a trip that was well worth it.   "If/Then" tells the story of Elizabeth (Idina Menzel), who is returning to New York City after a failed marriage in Phoenix, Arizona. After arriving in NYC, Elizabeth meets up in the park with her new friend, Kate (LaChanze) and her old college boyfriend, Lucas (Anthony Rapp). While at the park, Elizabeth has to choose if she wants to go to a music festival with Kate and her girlfriend, Anne (Janine DiVita) or a street action with Lucas, who is an activist. The show follows both of those paths.   The sho...