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Anyway, I was surprised how good James Franco was. He has a stage presence that is unmistakable. None of his facial smirks, or weird surfer cadence, just a nice performance. It was very good.
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Having said that however, Chris O'Dowd stole the show as Lenny. He played him not as a caricature and he was amazing. Their chemistry is great together.
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I never read the book - and seeing the show, I can't say I am sorry. It is, for lack of a better word, a bit of a downer. I mean it starts with dead mouse (no big spoiler there) so you know it is going to end up badly.
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It's not subtle. I suppose the book is much better, I mean it is a great classic.
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One of the times you realize how much of a famous actor he is was at the curtain call. After the curtain call, they tried to whip up money for Broadway Cares. Now, like all shows, they sold signed posters and Playbills. But then James Franco auctioned off a chance to meet the entire cast and take pictures. They starred with $300, which I thought was a bit rich, but they quickly went up to $1,000. At $1,000, they stopped and offered to let anyone that donated $1,000 to come stay and meet the cast and take pictures.
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It was pretty damn cool.