It is 1:15 AM and I just arrived home from NYC and one of the most enjoyable performances I have ever attended!!!

I do believe the seats in the NY State Theatre should come with seat belts as I almost fell out of my seat laughing at certain parts of the show, actually many parts. The show was pure delight. I was laughing so hard that my sides literally hurt by performance end.

Let me first say that I did get to see Michael at the stage door!! YEAH!! He arrived at about 6:15 PM looking fabulous!! There were about 20 of us to greet him and if you can believe it several of us had gone “shopping” in the tents as the plaza at Lincoln Center and almost missed him going in LOL

What an incredible performance. Michael’s Reginald is wonderful, over the top as he had told several of the fans at the stage door Thursday, and just wonderful. This is Michael Ball as I have never seen him and I loved what I saw and experienced.

The cast was also very good. The actor who played Archibald was very good and he and Michael had excellent chemistry. The Duke, Colonel and Major were also very good and very funny, and I also enjoyed the actress who played Jane.

I have been listening to “Patience” on CD from a 1962 recording for months and have gotten to know the show very well. I don’t know how I can listen again to the CD after seeing the performance I attended tonight!! The cast brought so much to the characters and the orchestra was fabulous and the music was just a little bit different. I found the tempo to the songs to be a bit slower in the performance tonight which I liked.

Of course I did not get to “see” but only listen to the songs and speaking parts but to see this cast of actors and actresses put this story together was the most fun I have had in a long time. I am not a fan of opera and have never attended one. “Patience” is a satire and what is classified as a “light opera.” And funny! There were times some in the audience were actually crying from laughing so much.

There are subtitles above the curtain and I have to say that I could understand every word Michael spoke and sung. As far as I was concerned no subtitles were needed when his character was speaking or singing.

The building on the stage Thursday night is Reginald’s castle and it moves around on the stage and actually turns and the other side is used in several of the other scenes and the costumes are marvelous.

When the curtain goes up after the overture all of the “maidens” are positioned on the stage doing dramatic and exaggerated movements to the song “Twenty Love Sick Maidens,” as they are singing. Patience comes on the scene and then the Dragoons. On comes Reginald with all of the maidens following him. He has his “nose” in a book of poetry and must be on stage over 5 minutes before he drops the book down and we get to see his face. It felt like an eternity!! LOL The expressions on Michael’s face are wonderful. The character is perfection!!

He did the same two songs back to back like on Thursday on the roof and changed it slightly. The ladder was not in place when he appeared up there and I wondered how he would get down LOL He actually stayed up there after he was done singing both songs and Patience returns to the stage and he is having a conversation with her from the roof LOL It is very funny. He finally does come down and the ladder is carried on and is leaning against the side of the building for him to come down to the stage.

Reginald is a sham and we learn that early on and he does have quite a few “side glances” at the audience in reaction to some of the things he encounters with the maidens and Dragoons.

After he gets snubbed by Patience he decides he will be “raffled off” and he comes on stage with this crown of flowers on his head and all of the maidens are singing and playing instruments. He is sitting right below one of them who has cymbals and his reaction to each time she claps the symbols is something that has to be seen. I was laughing out loud to the faces he was making in response to each time the cymbals clapped

 

It was very obvious that Reginald was totally “bored” with all of the attention and his expressions tell the audience everything!!

The part of the show where he is raffled off is very funny. He is on a podium “running the show” and really enjoying himself.

I enjoyed Michael’s performance through the entire show. At times I likened his behavior to acting like a spoiled child not getting his way and stomping his feet and “pouting.” He does a lot of pouting and is adorable.

There are a few places in some of the songs where the “words were changed.” While the Dragoons are singing when they come on for the first time the words are changed to get a dig in on President Bush and reference is make to Hillary Clinton. It was funny because it was unexpected and got a big laugh from the audience. There is also a line change from Archibald as he is telling the poem of “Teasing Tom.” At the end Tom marries and he makes reference to him marrying someone from the New York City Ballet and I cannot recall exactly what he said but many in the audience laughed.

Also, at two different times Michael comes on the stage and at one point sings a line or two from “Memory” from Cats about “being beautiful then” and it got a big laugh from the audience. The other time he comes on stage and makes reference to Les Miz by singing a line or two from “I Dreamed A Dream.”

One of the best scenes is when he confronts Archibald and demands he changes or he will curse him. The bander back and forth, and the dancing they do together is to die for! I can’t even explain it and you will have to see it for yourself. It is priceless!!

The other very funny part of the performance is when the Duke Major and Colonel appear on stage in aesthetic costumes and “try” to win over several of the maidens.

Overall the performance was very enjoyable and very funny. The dialogue and songs are very cleverly written and beautifully executed by Michael and the other cast members. I knew going in tonight I would enjoy Michael’s performance and he was fantastic. But I had the pleasure of being thoroughly entertained by the entire cast and at the end of the performance many of us were standing and many a “Bravo” was heard from the audience.

I did see Michael after the show. The reception for him was wonderful. He chatted about the show and reference was made about the “songs” he sang from Cats and Les Miz and he took credit for those as I was sure these were his additions. There was surprise that no lines from “Love Changes Everything” were in the performance and Michael said it was a good suggestion.

It was great to see him after the show. I could tell he thoroughly enjoyed playing Reginald and was pleased with opening night. He commented how it was going to be a bit strange to not do the show again for 5 days. Can’t wait to get back to the New York State Theatre on September 17th. This is a performance you want to see at least twice, three times or more...

Thank you Michael for a most fantastic evening. I do believe that you enjoyed it as much as I did!!

Chris Callaghan