I believe the guy playing it now may be newer to the role, as he seems a bit less comfortable with it and the pre show has not been occurring. Not to seme negative about the guy currently playing the role, because honestly he kills it and his voice is fantastic. Once he gets a bit more comfortable with the role and just lets it all loose he will be possibly my favorite so far. The power behind some of the portions he sings is just awesome, since some of the past inn keepers haven't had the best vocal capabilities.
But on the subject of no pre show, wow does it make a difference. I never quite cared about the pre show and sometimes even thought it was a bit silly and tacky, but seeing the show without it is a wild difference. Cold opening on streets of Dublin makes the show feel a bit serious, a bit slow. It takes 5-10 minutes for the crowd to get into it and feel like it's a party. That pre show did wonders to tell the crowd exactly what the tone of this show should be. Again not a knock on the current actor I saw, just assume it's too soon for him to bust out there with a one man comedy routine which I totally get, just hope it comes back in some capacity. Hell, let each actor have their spin on it. Making it less of a scripted experience could be more fun.
But on the subject of no pre show, wow does it make a difference. I never quite cared about the pre show and sometimes even thought it was a bit silly and tacky, but seeing the show without it is a wild difference. Cold opening on streets of Dublin makes the show feel a bit serious, a bit slow. It takes 5-10 minutes for the crowd to get into it and feel like it's a party. That pre show did wonders to tell the crowd exactly what the tone of this show should be. Again not a knock on the current actor I saw, just assume it's too soon for him to bust out there with a one man comedy routine which I totally get, just hope it comes back in some capacity. Hell, let each actor have their spin on it. Making it less of a scripted experience could be more fun.
