Clays impossible not to like # 64: A super smart, caring, determined, classy, easy-going, and genuinely good, likeable guy

[ldyjocelyn]

I'm sooooooo happy the Project made their goal! I needed that nudge reminder, since I'm not going to the Gala this year, but still want to donate to the cause. I really feel their goals for the group are so worthwhile...

Glad Clay and company are having fun rehearsing, and I look forward to reading reviews for the next month!

[Couch Tomato]

Looks like I missed a couple of birthdays. Happy birthday gbmifan and Kandre. Hope you had wonderful days and celebrations.

Wish I could see this show but everyone please have fun. Praying for clack.

[merrieeee]

Reports from CV is that he is killing it and no loincloth!

[merrieeee]

Quote:

He's wearing a white shirt and pants and a tank top under shirt under the shirt. He's killing it on the songs

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For all the lovers of his lower register "Close Every Door" will be very happy. Intermission ending!

[merrieeee]

Ladies behind me debating on whether or not he's wearing a wig. Haha! Everyone loves him. Lots of applause. Wig is different than in the promo pic. Looks lighter & more brushed back off his face. Close Every Door or whatever it's called was GREAT, lots of applause. No loin cloth yet, just white linen, white sandals. Intermission right now. I don't know how to make this red. Haha! - Vertigo's daughter

QUOTE (Shrimp1978 @ Jul 31 2013, 07:08 PM)

"Close Every Door" was freaking amazing. But his mic needs to be a little louder when he's hunched over on the ground singing the beginning. Stage right is where the narrator stands quite often and within the first few rows he can be hard to see because of her.

Sorry for the strange posting.......on iPad!

[merrieeee]

My friend who is there reports "goosebumps" and "teary eyes." Says Clay is "adorable" and he's hitting the "OMG notes." Says the audience is whooping and hollaring after he sings - they're loving it!!!

Says he looks so "damn cute" and she wishes it was really his hair.

Finally, she said they were told if they saw someone with a phone on, they would be escorted out.

[ldyjocelyn]

Thanks for bringing these over merrieee! I am just getting back to a computer after being at a different college for most of the day.

It sounds wonderful! I hope we get something out of this as clack. I'm glad he's doing so well! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[merrieeee]

This is like old times! Eeeee

[merrieeee]

From Facebook.

QUOTE

Julie White

Watching clay Aiken what a show!!!!

[merrieeee]

Lot of people stood when Clay took his bow! He did the typical clap and dance during the final bows! Lots of people waiting by the stage door. Pharaoh made a joke "This is how we do it on EGYPTIAN Idol, Joseph!"

[merrieeee]

Can't remember who asked, but he sort of wore a gold outfit. When he came out in the gold chariot he had a gold plated breast plate & a gold headress, all worn ON TOP of the white linen outfit.

[ldyjocelyn]

From Scarlett's Facebook timeline:

EEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[merrieeee]

QUOTE

Laura Talbot ‏@LauraMichele17 1st time @OgunquitPH tonight. Show was first rate & @clayaiken was amazing! But do they always do that long speech b4 the show? #unnecessary

[merrieeee]

Quote:

Keala is awesome. I was impressed by her immediately. I don't think their mics need to be turned up much, just in certain places in the show. I can't remember where I noticed it for her but definitely for Clay when he's on the ground for part of one song. Yes Clay is funny. Forgive me for not remembering exactly, but there's quite a bit where he just stands there and his facial expressions say everything and he's quite good at that. I I remember correctly there is was a sequence in Spam where he just made facial expressions and was hilarious and this was similar. The Pharoh is a trip. (And hotttttt!) he's not the strongest vocist compared to Clay and Keala but he did nail it when he went for the big moments. The mashup at the end is quite fun and shows how talented the cast is but Clay doesn't particular in it until the very end where it slows down and he comes out in another (different) beautiful coat. I will admit I didn't think I was going to think much of the show since I was never a fan of "any dream will do" and if the whole show was that kind of music, ho hum. But keala immediately brought me in and of course Mr. Aiken. He was made for these songs. I course I don't really know the original score at all but if adjustments had to be made for his voice, they were sublime. And so was his voice. I did not notice one single moment of struggle and I usually notice that right away. Lets hope it stays that way for the whole run. I don't have immediate plans to go again but seeing as I only live 35 minutes away, there's no way I'm missing out on going at least one more time.

More soon if I think of it.

Quote:

The speech is the artistic director explaining 1. that the show (and all of their shows) is not a traveling show, that it is staged and directed etc precisely for that playhouse 2. Told about the upcoming shows and 3. Named each of the shows sponsors by name even though they were projected on the walls while he lights were up and 4. Told no photos etc.

I didn't think much of it because its a community theater who is proud of their reputation and needs every single sponsor that they have but I'm hearing that this complaint came from the cast but they don't want to tell the director themselves out of respect. Said it dragged down the opening excitement of the crowd.

[FearofH2O]

Thanks merrieeee. It'll be several weeks before I get there. Hopefully our house will be ba ck to normal and we'll have the kitchen finished.

[ldyjocelyn]

Ok.

So...even though I'm not going to get to see this play, I dreamt about it last night. I actually dreamt that the white outfit was just part of the "preview" costume last night, and that when the show actually premieres, he's going to be in the loincloth. This dream surprises me, as I don't care one way or the other if the does wear the loincloth or not.

Heh.

Off to look for more reports...

[luckiest1]

I hope someone manages to get a picture of Clay as Joseph, but it sounds like they are being strict about cameras and phones. I am so glad I managed to find a way to get to this! Only 3 weeks today until I am there for 2 shows!

[ldyjocelyn]

Stage door video from last night. (Via Claytonsmycff at CV)

[FearofH2O]

Happy Birthday Annabear

[ldyjocelyn]

I wished her this on Facebook, but HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNABEAR! (I also asked her to check in with us once in a while...)

Recaps from CV. For the record, I asked EmeraldEyes, an admin over there, for permission to post recaps from CV here.

Keala is awesome. I was impressed by her immediately. I don't think their mics need to be turned up much, just in certain places in the show. I can't remember where I noticed it for her but definitely for Clay when he's on the ground for part of one song. Yes Clay is funny. Forgive me for not remembering exactly, but there's quite a bit where he just stands there and his facial expressions say everything and he's quite good at that. I I remember correctly there is was a sequence in Spam where he just made facial expressions and was hilarious and this was similar. The Pharoh is a trip. (And hotttttt!) he's not the strongest vocist compared to Clay and Keala but he did nail it when he went for the big moments. The mashup at the end is quite fun and shows how talented the cast is but Clay doesn't particular in it until the very end where it slows down and he comes out in another (different) beautiful coat. I will admit I didn't think I was going to think much of the show since I was never a fan of "any dream will do" and if the whole show was that kind of music, ho hum. But keala immediately brought me in and of course Mr. Aiken. He was made for these songs. I course I don't really know the original score at all but if adjustments had to be made for his voice, they were sublime. And so was his voice. I did not notice one single moment of struggle and I usually notice that right away. Lets hope it stays that way for the whole run. I don't have immediate plans to go again but seeing as I only live 35 minutes away, there's no way I'm missing out on going at least one more time.

More soon if I think of it.

Clay Was DROP DEAD GORGEOUS !!!!! His Hair Look more Natural ! Then the promotional picture! Those Vocals are to Die For !!! :lovesmiley2:

I am planning to see both shows tomorrow ! I gotten my poster signed at Stage door! I haven't slept yet nor eat much I am still too excited ! I put my IPhone away during the show I didn't want to get thrown out. They made a announcement & I just want to take it all in !!! No Jerome ! I had BB left 5 & 7 u couldn't see the full production from those seats !

Ok I am going to bed now ! Good night ! Elvis the Pharaoh was Smoking Hot !!!!! He gave a great dance performance in loin cloth !!!!!! Ok now I am going to bed !!!!

Is "everyone" a synonym for "NJU"'s? And is synonym spelled correct? :headscratch:

Most of the people around us were NJUs. The effusive lady behind us was telling people that it was the best version of Joseph she had seen, and that she bought the tickets BEFORE it was announced that Clay would be in it.

I'm lousy at recaps but here are my thoughts:

First, I need to thank my daughter who was a great sport and did a pretty darn good job of posting bits of information. Yay for Sadie!

I agree that the intro was too long but, having seen Young Frankenstein there a few days earlier, I think most of it was something they feel they have to do. Part of it was cluing people in that this was NOT a touring company and an original production specially designed for Ogunquit. The guy talks a mile a minute (even faster at the Young Frankenstein show I was at) and I think it's because he knows it is a long spiel. I get Jess' point, but it didn't bother us enough to consider commenting on it. I also agree with Jess about the sound. Where we were Keala's mic seemed up too high a lot and Clay's sound varied a lot. Sometimes just right, sometimes down too low, seldom up too high.

Overall, we liked the production and were entertained. But, to be honest, if Clay weren't in it, I doubt either one of us would be interested in seeing it again. Neither one of us were in love with the show itself. A few of the scenes seemed to go on too long. Of course, most of those were ones that Clay wasn't in. The songs he sang were great, but I wish there had been, at least, one more song special to him. I also wished there could have been more opportunities for him to show his comic flair. It seemed to me that most of the big laughs came from what other members of the cast were doing. It goes without saying that we are STILL very much looking forward to tonight, and the other shows we're set to see! He is just too awesome to miss.

Clay's voice was Clay's voice. No complaints- except for the mic levels. The wig looked decidedly better than the promo picture! A bit more mannish and slightly away from his face with big curls on the bottom half. His costume, I guess, had to be plain but, as usual, the pants are really baggy and the sleeves are full length. I was quite sure there would be no loincloth, but wasn't quite expecting soooo much coverage. He looked handsome and adorable, but I think they could have done a bit of a better job with his costume. The other costumes were pretty good. The production was not as lavish as Young Frankenstein and, actually, kind of plain. I guess the sets were made just for this run? Perhaps the complete set wasn't up yet and these things will be different tonight?

That's pretty much all I can think of now. Told you I was lousy at recaps!

P.S. (This is Sadie) The brothers were AWESOME! Their whole scene after Joseph has gone to Egypt, where they sing “Those Canaan Days” was hilarious. The french accents and the facial expressions, the comedic timing... really good! That was one of my favorite scenes.

My husband and I attended last night's show and loved it. I'm sure that their rehearsal today will fine tune some of the transitions and pace. Clay's voice was stellar and he really was Joseph. The entire cast was awesome. It is a fun show and am very glad that I have some additional shows to attend. My husband actually volunteered "Clay is a really good actor."

Hosaa, Levi sang the, One more angel in heaven hoedown song, and did a great job. It was neat at the end on the show when the actors did the "remix" to see them all without their brothers' beards and costumes.

Clay looked beautiful in Joseph's dreamcoat! I was happy overall with the choice of the linen outfit. To me the only time when it seemed out of place was when he had on the gold breastplate over it. I think the loincloth would have been too distracting. The stage is small and it was loaded with people. There was the cast plus 20 kids at times on the stage. The set was very simple with large stone columns lining both sides of the stage which made the small stage seem even smaller

I needed more Joseph in the remix at the end, I guess that is just my desire to hear Clay's beautiful voice.

This was a preview show and just as Joseph is making his first appearance there was a glitch. The curtain opens at the rear of the stage and you see Joseph about to sing, Any Dream Will Do, and suddenly the curtain closed in front of him and then reopened but didn't rise fully, Clay actually had to push the curtain up from his shoulder level as he started to sing and move forward.

A little tidbit more that I don't think I commented on, Close Every Door. He does sing higher for most the show so this song REALLY shows off his lower range. When you hear it you'll understand what I mean. It was kinda amazing and I'm not one who cares much for the whole lower register thing.

Oh and one more thing. I'm not sure if the whole sitting down thing after he comes out in the longer robe was planned. I think I saw panic in his eyes when he tripped(?) backwards and landed down perfectly and did this little jazzy hands thing. Which I think covered him if it was a trip since I didn't see any comments on it. Even those I was with didn't notice it.

I almost forgot -- the next show is this afternoon, at 2:30 p.m. Eastern. There's also a show this evening.

[luckiest1]

Looking forward to lots more recaps! I need details, little, itty-bitty details! LOL it's going to be a long 3 weeks....

Happy Birthday Annabear!

[merrieeee]

Since there seems to be a lot of consternation out there about the speech beforehand I might just hibernate for the rest of the day! More things change the more they stay the same!

[ldyjocelyn]

Press photos being taken today at the afternoon matinee. EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

[FearofH2O]

Since there seems to be a lot of consternation out there about the speech beforehand I might just hibernate for the rest of the day! More things change the more they stay the same!

So true!

[shortyjill]

After reading around today, something of which I haven't really done in a while, I realized why and I think I'll stick to the FCA bubble. For those who don't, please bring over as much as possible so I don't have to venture back out again. *g* Please and thank you!