My overall impression
What can I say about Meet & Greet? The show was absolutely fantastic. From the moment Carolyn Hennesy took the stage I was captivated. She was regal, she was classy, she was the embodiment of the Broadway Diva—-starting to slip. To me, the character was a combination of Dorothy Zbornack and Julia Sugarbaker. Carolyn’s delivery was spot on. Her timing was impeccable. She was absolutely brilliant, and someone I would want to watch over and over again. I was fortunate enough to shake her hand after the show, and she was incredibly gracious. No wonder she is an Emmy Nominee.
When Vicki Lewis stormed onto the stage, she was able to steal all the focus and make the show all about her, at least for her monologues. The delivery of her well sculpted language, a true tribute to the writers, was masterfully delivered the entire time. She was able to steal focus when she was talking to herself, but was truly a part of an ensemble the entire rest of the show. She made bold choices, she took risks, and they ALL paid off in tons of laughter. She was truly a delight.
Teresa Ganzel was truly a transformation to behold. Her character comes off as a ditzy blonde, but I truly felt while she was being like that, I could sense a strong confident business woman underneath. Her character did a true 180, and we got to see a woman take down her shield, and simultaneously be vulnerable and confident at the same time—just by being herself. Which I believe is a great message.
Finally, in the tight, tight, TIGHT, LEOPARD (SO AMAZING) dress was Daniele Gaither. She was a great foil to MJM, and Daniele was able to land some very solid lines. Great timing. Her attitude and sass was fun to watch, and her revelation of her true back story made you way more sympathetic to her character.
Rounding out the cast was Paul Iacono as the catty casting director. He helped move the play along, but I would have liked to see more of a shift from him toward the end of the play, I felt like the character had a huge shift, but not sure Paul was able to really enjoy it. He did a good job and was fun to watch, but when you have 4 powerhouses on stage most of the time, and then you get some power….I would have liked to see him really revel in it.
The true gem of this show is the writing, hands down. I believe it was the first time Stan Zimmerman and Christian McLaughlin worked together—and this needs to be a very long relationship. The jokes these guys came up with were sheer genius. I truly felt I was in a studio audience during the heyday of the Sitcom.
Stan also directed the show, and was so good at it, I can’t even think of anything to comment on—the mark of a truly wonderful director!
The women were true vessels of talent, and their delivery was beautiful—but the words themselves…so clever, so spot on and so pushing the envelope—-it was truly theatre magic. I want this to be a TV show, hands down. A strong female ensemble cast, with characters as rich as these, is something I want to watch over and over again over eight seasons!
The show was brilliant, and I want it to stay around for a LONG time, and I want to bring all my friends to see it. So fun.
