I finally caught Bring It On last night. I don't know why it took me so long, I like the first movie well enough (the musical has been 'inspired by' all the movies, but not literally adapted from any of them), and I'm a big fan of the collaborators Tom Kitt, Amanda Green, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Jeff Whitty. I also thought Andy Blankenbuehler's work on In the Heights was fantastic. So, with that celebrated a team, why did it take me so long to get there? Who knows? But once they announced a closing date, I figured I'd better get myself over to the St. James.
I guess the ushering staff is used to people coming in couples or in groups. When the usher looked at my ticket, he said "Just you, then? Are you meeting someone?" I said, uh, no, can't single people see this show? He got a bit flustered. Note to self - don't passive-agressively banter with the ushers. Then there was the man in the aisle seat who refused to let me pass to my seat. He just sort of pretended he didn't know what was going on, so I went to the other side and went in that way. Sigh. Whatever. The youngsters sitting on one side of me were quite excited to be there and even took a flash picture of their Playbill. Why it had to be during the overture and not another time, I have no idea. They were pretty amusing though - I overheard the guy say to the gal "Wow, you're really smitten by him! What did he do to tick you off so much?!" Um, not sure that word means what he THINKS it means. The gals in front of me wanted everyone to hear them talk and laugh, so they proceeded to talk and laugh in their outdoor voices. No, not even their outdoor voices. Their standing-next-to-a-landing-helicopter voices. I had to shush them a couple of times. I should've just moved, but I can be so stubborn.
Actually, quite a few people in the audience were talking. I guess they're so used to seeing the movies in their own home, it doesn't dawn on them to shush during a live performance. After a couple of SHs, I gave up. They were paying attention to the show, so I decided to let it go. For once. OH, and on my way into the theater, there was a board that listed quite a few understudies who would be performing, but since there was no slip of paper in my Playbill, I'm not quite sure who all the understudies were. I hope I don't mess up anybody's name.
Anyway, after all that, I really enjoyed the show! It's all sorts of adorable, with a really energetic young cast, a tuneful score and a pretty humorous book. It seemed fairly obvious to me which songs were composed by Kitt and which by Miranda, but all the songs fit together very well and fit the characters/situations cleanly. And the choreography, from the dance routines to the amazing cheer routines, was fantastic! Andy did a great job with the choreography, but his direction is also spot on. The pacing and movement of the show is brisk, but never hurried.
The lead gal, Taylor Louderman (who so reminded me of Alicia Silverstone in Clueless), was really good. Smart and funny, yet vulnerable. She gets all the highs and lows of a teen having to change schools in her senior year exactly right. Her singing and dancing are terrific, though she did throw in a few Liza Minnelli-type S/Sh sounds, which were a little off-putting. But I stopped noticing as the show went on. Adrienne Warren is excellent as Danielle, the leader of the dance crew at the new high school, with sass and heart. The girls' big 'I really like you' number seemed to come out of nowhere, but it was excellently performed. I'm pretty sure I saw understudies for two of the most fun supporting characters, Bridget, the wannabe cheerleader who goes from outcast to popular in her new school, and La Cienega, a transgendered teen at the new school. If the pictures I saw in the playbill can be trusted, I believe I saw Janet Krupin as Bridget and Michael Mindlin as La Cienega. Please forgive me if the names are wrong - but they were both fantastic! They found all the laughs, but also created real teenagers who could be excellent role models for the teens in the audience. Well done, both. Actually, the whole cast was quite good. Thumbs way up on the entire cast.
I really enjoyed Bring It On. It's sunny and good-natured, which appeals to me right about now. I'm sorry I didn't take my sister to see it when she was in town, I think she'd have liked it, too. Though I'm sure theater companies across America will be doing this fun show for a long time to come.
p.s. subway story: I was waiting for the R train, seemingly forever, to go home. A guy walked past me and very helpfully pointed out to me that his c*ck was really big. Good to know. And good thing I was playing Solitaire on my iPhone at the time. I would've hated to actually make eye contact with him when he told me...
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