Nicole Scherzinger KILLIN' IT as Maureen in RENT(reviews)
Last night was the opening for RENT at the Hollywood Bowl, which was directed by Neil Patrick Harris, and starred Nicole Scherzinger and Vanessa Hudgens!
By checking twitter, people are BLOWN AWAY by Nicole's performance! Here's tweets about her performance as Maureen:
@cadlymack No, Aaron Tveit can NOT be any hotter. I can't wait to hear what you think of Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen. She surprised me.
@stephvaz: Nicole Scherzinger just stole the ****ing show!
@meuZik: Nicole scherzinger plays a DAMN GOOD maureen
@cschleichsrun: Nicole Scherzinger is the best actress of her generation. #hyperboleatthehollywoodbowl
@nicholaspilapil: Nicole Scherzinger is FIERCE and stole the first act. OBSESSED.
@yourlegsgrow: Holy ****, Nicole Scherzinger is one of the best things I have EVER seen on a stage. Please leave your band, Broadway NEEDS your brilliance.
@andywalker83: Dear Nicole Scherzinger, I'm sorry I called you 'Pussycat Doll #1' in my earlier tweet. You're rocking it in this
@taurenlegend: So many high school memories. RENT at the Bowl is amazing. Nicole Scherzinger is incredible as Maureen. <3
@mypoproks: And Nicole Scherzinger is one of the best Maureens. Did not see that coming. #RENT
@8449: Vanessa Hudgens is improving- rough start! However, Wayne Brady & Skyler r great. Nicole Scherzinger is ****in killin it. Best Mimi Ive seen
@deciphur: Rent is amazing so far. Especially Nicole Scherzinger as Maureen. (@ Hollywood Bowl w/ 149 others)
@HollywoodBowl for @actuallyNPH's RENT w/ Wayne Brady & Nicole Scherzinger as standouts!
@Frederick_Levy: Nicole scherzinger is amazing as Maureen. Vanessa Hudgens is destroying Mimi
@JamesAdanznfool: RENT at the Hollywood Bowl and Nicole Scherzinger is AMAZEBALLS!
@jamietwitter: for real people, nicole scherzinger is an awesome maureen
@inuyaki: Scherzinger killed it as Maureen. Brought flava to the role. Wayne Brady and Skylar Astin are also really good. #rent #hollywoodbowl #fb
@JasonAMatthews: Vanessa is a B- at best, but Nicole Scherzinger is a revelation. CRUSHED Over the Moon! @hollywoodbowl
@KateAurthur: Intermission at #Rent. Nicole Scherzinger stealing the show, who knew? VHud trying her best, but...
@StaceyRabs: Best Performance: Take me or leave me by Nicole Scherzinger and Tracie Thomas
@rickymar: RENT was butchered. Nicole Scherzinger was amazing though! Best Over the Moon ever.
@Kiangass: RENT WAS FANTASTIC! Congrats guys on a great opening night (especially Nicole Scherzinger who was phenomenal and Vanessa who was defied ..
@ milkandhunny: Nicole Scherzinger was fantastic in Rent and so was our truffle cheese and incredible wine :-)
ericbanthony: @traciethoms and @nicolescherzy couldn't be any better...INSPIRATION!
EllenHWong: @NicoleScherzy exceeded my expectations tonight. Definitely created her own leap of faith. Best duet was take me or Leave me w @traciethoms
sachisaurus: Intermission of Rent at Hollywood Bowl. Good so far, despite technical probs. @NicoleScherzy is AMAZING. I mean damn. Review to follow.
LadyG007: OMG!!! I think I just died.... @traciethoms and @NicoleScherzy *passes OWT!!* Thank U
She's FINALLY gonna receive the recognition she deserves as THE AMAZING ARTIST SHE IS!
and people will finally stop thinking of her as just "the lead of the Pussycat Dolls".
This is probably the best thing that happened for her!
After RENT is done, it would be the perfect time to release her solo single!
SHE'S COMING TO OWN!
and seriously, is there something she's not good at?
Singing? Dancing?? Acting??
SHE'S A TRIPLE THREAT! Not to mention her beauty, sexiness and amazing personality anc character!
SHOW THEM WHAT YOU ARE MADE OF SCHERZY!!!
Nicole Scherzinger and Tracie Thoms performing Take Me or Leave Me:
Not yet! I guess we'll have more info after RENT is done! The album is done, or close to being done, so we shall have the info pretty soon!
FIRST REVIEW:
Friday 6th, a nice an balmy evening in Hollywood California. The crowd of people are all restless and partly drunk. The stage is set up not in the usual way. It’s haphazardly thrown together. Think of the original set up of the musical, it’s raw but every piece serves a purpose and is put together in a way that it looks complete. When I saw the set up of this rendition, I thought they weren’t even done putting it together and over hearing several other comments about it, it was safe to assume that the set up didn’t look right.
The lights go on. The part of Mark is portrayed by Skylar Astin who gives a good performance. His portrayal isn’t the same monotone and socially awkward Mark that I’m used to seeing. At first I couldn’t warm up to it but by the second act I found myself to be quite a fan of this more expressive Mark. Skylar’s vocals are very nice. He has a nice color to his tone. I can’t say more because his vocal performance falls right into a whole line of Marks that all sound quite similar to each other, which I find is a good thing.
Aaron Tiveit, who played a lovely rendition of ‘Star Spangled Banner’ before the show started, made a surprisingly excellent Roger. I do think that he would be more suited for Mark’s role than Roger’s in all honesty. Besides that, Aaron’s Roger is very baby faced and has such a musical theater sounding voice which is lovely to see and hear, but doesn’t fit the role. I am such a fan of his and I found myself more happy to look at him that to listen to him. Acting wise, It was very well done.
As the show reaches the first full ensemble song, I was surprised at the size of the cast. It was pretty huge. I understand the reason for that was to minimize the repeating roles but it made the staging even more awkward. The whole ‘RENT’ intro song was to introduce and vent the struggles of those living in Alphabet City. All I could focus on was all the unnecessary people AND movement. It was just chaos running all around the stage. Quite horrendous.
As the plot continues on we meet Mimi who is Played by Vanessa Hudgens. I didn’t expect much in the first place and I was sadly right. Her notes were pitchy and rushed. She never annunciated and kept dropping the ends of her phrases. I expect that type of singing from beginners not a person who’s been in the industry and got cast in a musical. Such a disappointment, because she was definitely a horror to watch an listen too. I find it upsetting that she was picked for the role because I don’t think she’s mature enough to understand the character. It’s no wonder they pick women older than her to play the part because Mimi is most defiantly not as innocent acting as her rendition.
The role of Collins was played by Mr. Wayne Brady who did a decent job. The only issue being that the acting and singing were very bi-polar. It also didn’t help that he wasn’t able to fully reach and sing the lower register notes and do full justice to the score. His voice and riffs were excellent but just not suited for the role of Collins.
Angel was played by Telly Lung who was in the last cast of RENT on Broadway. I was pleasantly surprised to witness his Angel after seeing him be an ensemble member. I see a lot of Justin Johnson’s Angel in his portrayal but it’s no surprise because Justin’s Angel has been the best Angel I’ve seen. With Telly’s Angel he’s copied all of Justin’s quirks and mannerisms that made his angel unique.
Collins Pennie portrays Benny and sadly it was pretty frustrating to watch. It was very bland and lacked passion and ability.
The stars of the show were Ms. Tracie Thoms and Nicole Scheringer. These two women not only had great acting skills but amazing voices to boot. They literally stole the show. Both managed to make their parts unique and yet so truthful to the original portrayals. I would gladly watch these two preform again. Amazing.
Now onto the show itself. I was so upset that they cut songs and dialog. Not just because of that in itself but in the way it was so done. It was so choppy and cut so horribly that it made the transitions extremely awkward to work around. Not to mention cutting out Mark’s introduction in ‘Life Support’, the songs ‘We’re Okay’, ‘Voicemail #4’, and ‘Contact’. They also cut up the remaining songs making the flow utterly disastrous.
Also the orchestration was just so awkward. Inputting random violins and saxophones not only made the sound very distracting, it didn’t even fit with the original score and sound of the production.
With the extra cast members it also made the bad staging even worse. The blocking and choreography was so cluttered and thrown together that it was actually an eyesore. Especially in ‘La Vie Boheme’, I didn’t think that that large table could get any longer. It made that lovely exciting scene so disastrous and overly distracting. I didn’t even know where to look and not in a good ‘Oooh what’s going on there?’ way.
Honestly, watching RENT in a venue that seats over 17,000 people was quite interesting. You just can’t feel the story like you can in a smaller and enclosed space, it just goes over ones head.
To top off the evening, while I was leaving I heard a woman say to her companion, ‘Well really, if people are really that promiscuous, they deserve what they get. If that means dying then that’s what they deserve.’ THE GALL. Even after watching the musical. If the point wasn’t able to get across, that solidified my belief that this performance of RENT was quite a failure. The only consolation being that Broadway found a new star tonight.
-Vanessa Hudgens sang a verse too early in Out Tonight, and then ended up having to sing it again later in the song. That blunder wasn't nearly as bad as Nicole Scherzinger's, during the Act II opener, when she completely forgot what she was supposed to say to Joanne on the phone and trailed off. However, both of them acquitted themselves quite nicely. Scherzinger's Over the Moon was the funniest I've ever seen, and her Take Me or Leave Me with Tracie Thoms was fantastic. For Vanessa, she completely surprised me with her singing. She more than held her own opposite Aaron Tveit, Wayne Brady, Tracie Thoms, and Telly Leung. Her biggest crutch is acting, which was underwhelming compared to the rest of her cast.
Skylar Astin was serviceable as Mark. Tracie Thoms is never a great Joanne but she wasn't bad either. Wayne Brady had some trouble with Collins's bigger and higher notes, and he lacked chemistry with Telly Leung. Telly himself was also just ok.
I thought the biggest disappointment of the night fell to Aaron Tveit. I saw him in Next to Normal and thought he was going to own the role. Instead, his Roger was soft and lacked edge. He just wasn't convincing as a formerly drug-addicted rocker. The worst performer by far was Collins Pennie, who played Benny. His singing was rough and all over the place. It was grating and just plain awful.
I thought Neil Patrick Harris did a great job directing the show. The cuts he made were really smart and didn't disrupt the flow of the show at all. "We're Okay" was cut, and when you really see it missing in the show, you realize that the song is completely pointless. Yes, we already know that Joanne is frazzled by Maureen and Maureen is probably cheating on her at that moment, so the song always felt unnecessary. He also cut the Season of Love Reprise, and the show flowed so well that I completely forgot about it until they sang it during the curtain call. Contact was also cut, except for the part of Angel's death, which Telly sang wonderfully.
The musical director of the show was horrible. There were added instruments and synths that sounded out of place and were completely distracting. Also, the pacing of the show was a bit off. Light My Candle, Out Tonight, One Song Glory, Another Day, and Take Me or Leave Me were all extremely slow. I felt that if they had sped the songs up, some cuts could've remained.
Overall, it was a really good production of Rent. This version, with the cuts, I think is more polished than the original Broadway production. Vanessa Hudgens wasn't the train wreck that everyone thought she was. Quite the opposite, she was one of the vocal standouts of the cast. Nicole Scherzinger delivered one of the best Maureen performances I've ever seen, save for that forgotten part. But yeah, I really liked it.
* Nicole as MAUREEN. This woman is the standout of the entire show and brings the house DOWN with Over The Moon and Take Me. She never waivers for a second in her performance and it shows. What a powerhouse, and her acting is also wonderful. I'm THRILLED for her.
* Aaron Tveit is effortless as Roger. It's almost too easy for him...he is great. The male standout.
* Wayne Brady...but does he ever dissapoint? He really shines in I.C.Y Reprise, it makes me wish he would've have so much more to sing. *Tango Maureen. I won't tell you what the surprise is, but if you think of the movie you will have a small incling of what to expect. It worked really nicely, I just think they could have made it even BIGGER. (you'l find out more soon enough)
ANOTHER PLUS:
Over The Moon is HYSTERICAL, and staged and sung like you've never heard. Nicole raps as well- which is quite funny. She owns this number. I haven't seen a better Maureen is a very long time.
-NICOLE (not gonna try to spell her last name)- MAUREEN
This woman stole the show! She is by FAR the best Maureen since Idina. She has created a completely different role. Her costume had a VERY modern Katy Perry look, and her hair was curled in a 1920’s way, ala Katy Perry. VERY sexy in all leather, and she OWNED the roll. Over the Moon was phenomenal. Her Tango was gorgeous, and Take Me or Leave me was one my favorite parts of the show.
-I saw it at the bowl Friday night with my two kids. Nicole S really did a fantastic job as Maureen, making her even funnier and wackier, but she painfully missed a a few lines in the second act. La Vie Boheme was great, and the Take Me or Leave Me duet was hot, the only non-ensemble number which got a lot of applause. Astin as Mark, Brady as Collins, and Tveit as Roger were very good, but Leung as Angel really stood out for me. Tracie Thoms was excellent as always.
Finally, Nicole is gonna stop being underrated, I love her so much
YEES! I love how everyone thought she was an ok singer and wasnt THAT talented just because she was the lead singer of PCD!
Let me see if the haters will post that AMA 2007 performance now....
One more review, praising Nicole!
I was super happy to finally get to see Tracie Thoms perform live on stage, and considering she was a fan first, I never worried about her. Gwen Stewart is always incomparable, though I was bummed that half of her usual material got cut because cast members were added and roles divvied up. But she is a consummate pro. Telly Leung and Wayne Brady were solid and believable, and Rachael Harris was a fun turn as Mark's Mom/Alexi Darling. Who the hell knew that woman could sing!? In a moment that shocked me to my core, Nicole Scherzinger freakin' rocked Maureen. I rolled my eyes when they trotted her out during "Tango Maureen" because I hate anything that borrows from Columbus' movie version of this amazing story, and I felt she stole the spotlight a bit as only Maureen would tend to do. But when it came time for her solo-- even without the powerhouse entrance of riding up on the Harley-- she nailed everything from the notes to the accents. Whether or not she was purposefully trying to imitate Idina Menzel's very distinct voice doesn't even matter; she sounded enough like her to sell me while still managing to put her own little spin on the piece (by doing all of the stuff about Benny as a rap!). She made me a fan. "Take Me or Leave Me" is my benchmark of any RENT performance, and Tracie and Nicole rivaled even my dream cast pairing of Stewart (who I will never understand why she doesn't go for the bigger role!) and Menzel.
But sadly, this leaves us with Vanessa Hudgens as Mimi. Poor, poor Vanessa. She was in way over her head here.
=Kicking the show into its highest gear is Pussycat Doll singer Nicole Scherzinger, who rocks the stage as Mark's ex-lover Maureen. Sassy, defiant, sexy, and delightfully funny, she's an oasis in an often banal first act. Her rendition of "Over The Moon" is so vivacious that she gets us to moo - - not because we feel we're meant to, but because we want to share in her joyful noise.
Scherzinger is perfectly matched with Tracie Thoms, repeating her movie role of Joanne. The pair's big duet, " Take Me Or Leave Me" is the show's most dynamic number. Conversely, Wayne Brady is pleasant if a bit too low-key as Tom Collins and Telly Leung's interpretation of his drag-queen lover, Angel, is a bit too butch. Simply put, he needs to "diva it up."
