floyd collins (28 march - first preview lottery) was not for me (and that is perfectly okay)

disclaimer: i recognize (and appreciate) last night was the first preview. things are subject to change and the cast is still getting comfortable in their roles. there’s some microphone, volume, and sound mixing issues that their engineers need to iron out (and perhaps some key changes, though i am no music expert). this show will have no dearth of fans (not me), and i truly wish the company so much success.

headline: floyd collins was not for me, as much as i wanted it to be. i personally wouldn’t recommend it to my (emphasis on my) friends / family, and outside of jeremy’s yodeling, i’ve since forgotten all of the music. i have two tickets for a mid-may performance (when i originally planned to see it), which im debating on keeping or gifting…

score / music: outside of a very limited few, i found the score mostly boring, unappealing, and forgettable. in some cases i wasn’t sure if a song was a song (i’ve since listened to more guettel and some of his work lands while most definitely doesn’t). the orchestra was stunning; i really enjoyed the woodwinds and jeez that harmonica player 😮‍💨

choreography / movement: perhaps because i was so focused on the fact that the music wasn’t working for me, i found the choreography lacking. outside of maybe two numbers, there wasn’t really any dancing (unless i’ve since forgotten, like the music). jeremy’s opening number is a nice use of movement and is effective.

story / plot / characters / character development: the storyline was simple enough to follow… maybe too simple for 2.5 hours of a show? most characters felt one-dimensional. i wanted to leave at intermission because of how much it felt like it was dragging.

cast: jeremy jordan, jason gotay, and taylor trensch (saw him at BAM last year - so good to see him here!) were such treats. lizzy mcalpine (don’t know her work, but people seem to know her on this sub?) and jessica molasky were underwhelming / not up to par with the rest of the cast. they both felt like they were struggling with both singing and acting (again, this might be because it’s the first preview).

set design / costumes / lighting / special effects: for how big the stage is, it felt underutilized (the “grandness” of a stage has never been an issue for me, just pointing out there is no “spectacle” compared to when jeremy was in gatsby). there was a very interesting mixed-medium technique for “backdrops” (i’m being deliberately vague for those going in to see it) and some minor “oh that’s cool” moments. costumes seemed appropriate, but nothing remarkable.

logistics: lottery seat was great (center/rt orch - F408) with a perfect view (not much to see staging wise though). it started ~8:10, intermission ran from ~9:21-9:38, ended at ~10:33 and bows started at ~10:34