Balloon Dude's First Review!

Kevin reminded me this morning that it's Update Tuesday, and I said it might have to be an Update Wednesday this week, as I wasn't sure how long it would take me to put together a decent post since I was unable to attend opening weekend of the show. All I had to report this morning was that we sold around 200 tickets on opening night -- which is fantastic! But it doesn't make for a very interesting/long post. But well done to the cast and crew for publicizing the show so well!!!

So I'm wracking my brain on the way to work, trying to flesh out "We sold a ton of tickets" into something more, well, lengthy. And I get to the office, and lo and behold, there's a review up already! McCall Doyle has written us a lovely review over at ShowBiz Radio.

Now, I've been getting some grief (mostly from my loving husband!) about how much I link to other sites, so I suppose I should go ahead and post some quotes from the review here so I don't force you all to go to another site to read the highlights. Problem is, every other sentence listed something that someone involved in the show did awesomely, so it's hard to pick just a few highlights and not feel like I'm leaving people out. So here's most of the review, although you can click the link above to read the whole thing (that whole, what, 15 words I didn't include here?).

"[Mark] Gray-Mendes is painfully underused…he was perfectly cast as the sensitive loser, singing with lyricism and depth, but his songs were among the shortest in the show and he spent a lot of time onstage without a whole lot to do. Write his character more songs, please! [Susanna] Todd is a charmer, with a strong belting voice and a perky persona."

"The show was anchored by its two leads, but there were brilliant scene stealers. Ryan Khatcheressian as an egotistical pilot and Rebecca Clary his stewardess bimbette sidekick were hysterical. Khatcheressian has always been known in this area for his vocal prowess, but here he finds the humor in every last aspect of his character and takes it to a new level."

"Cory Okouchi infuses his cameo as Mr. Frankel with life and over the top energy…Josh Doyle as Charles Lindbergh is thoroughly amusing, and Cathy Arnold as Amelia Earhart is a winner. And Lori Staley’s brief turn as the little French Boy is delightful."

"The very functional set (Kevin King) complete with wonderful projections, helps the show along. The lighting design (also Kevin King) is beautiful, with a dreamy, pastel palette."

"The costume design (Jacquin Pierce Allen, Michael Schaaff) was effective and fun ..."

"The surprise second ending (after the curtain call) was the dream child of director Jones … it may have changed the flavor from bittersweet to honey … but was nicely executed by Jen Faulconer."

Well done to the cast and crew!!!