 | I've always been interested in the American Civil War. Gone With the Wind, North and South, The Blue and the Grey ... all favourites. I grew up on GWTW and have gone through three copies of the book and two copies of the movie! So I was very interested in this show. As well, there were a number of actors in it that I had wanted to see for a long time, including Matt Bogart, Gilles Chiasson and Michel Bell, whose rendition of "Ol' Man River" on the Showboat revival cast recording is one of my favourite songs of all time. Plus, the music was written by Frank Wildhorn, and I'm a big fan of his other scores. |
 Michael Lanning | I rushed this show, so I had a front row centre seat, which made for an interesting experience. I was also seated with some die-hard fans of the show, and it was my first real experience seeing a show and talking with "groupies" like that. I knew going in that the show didn't have a linear plot line or anything, and that was a good thing - I would have been disappointed if I had been expecting something like GWTW or N&S. It was basically a series of vignettes, with some recurring characters, which dealt with different issues of the war. | 
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| The cast was excellent - every performer had a moment to shine and they were all terrific. I was particularly thrilled by Michel Bell, who stood right in front of me to sing his solo, and his low notes actually made my seat vibrate. He was incredible. All the cute young things playing soliders were fun, and I really enjoyed Matt and Gilles. I also was blown away by Irene Molloy - her numbers as a young Union widow were especially heart breaking. Of all the cast (disregarding the ones I already knew about) I think I would be most interested in seeing her in something again. The show itself had its good points and its bad. I really like the score - it's one that I listen to repeatedly. Some people would complain that it isn't true to the period, but that doesn't particularly bother me. The music is moving and exciting, and great fun to sing along to in the shower or car. :-) However, I don't think the concept was executed as well as it could be on stage. For one thing, I got very tired very quickly of the "slavery is bad" point being hammered into my head. Those numbers, while well-performed by the cast, seemed to blend together and were all the same after awhile. The battle scenes were a little silly. And I would have totally eliminated the character of Autolycus Fell, who was basically just Thenardier transplanted to the United States (not surprising, given the same actor played both roles :-). But even with its flaws, I was still in tears by the final number. I wish I had had the chance to see it again. | 
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