B-

Hoo-rah!

  • Epic in scope in a manner usually reserved for musical theater
  • I love the connection between the ripped sketchbook page and the giant projection screen that helps tell the story
  • I like the idea of showing World War I through the eyes of a horse and the reminder that they are these truly beautiful, noble, obedient creatures who will work until they die of exhaustion.
  • Music always helps… and it did for this too
  • Despite the size of the stage and some very large and impressive set pieces, some sets were created in very simple and elegant ways that I liked (e.g. sticks held by actors that form different kinds of fences)
  • Doesn’t shy away from the horrors of war, including death, shell shock, starvation…
  • I like how long Albert and Joey are kept apart… I liked following Joey’s story more than Albert’s.
  • Good puppetry

Blech…

  • puppetry was amazing in London…so that felt disappointing in that I talked it up so much for my friends I went with.  Sometimes the horses here would move in ways I simply know horses do not.
  • pretty one-dimensional characters
  • really distractingly bad accents. It made a big difference in the London production that the Brits were played by Brits and the Germans were played by Germans.
  • I just don’t care about Albert; he’s too over-the-top sentimental for me.