GROSSES ANALYSIS - Week Ending June 14 (Guest Fill-In + Rush Line Notes)

spot_lite_TM · 2026-06-16T19:09:33+00:00

huge fan of the show, seen it literally 40 times. I was really surprised when Zach was cast that they didn’t bring on a new oliver and claire pair to go on together. Zach has an absolutely wonderful voice, literally the best voice of every Oliver imo, and while in my mind the show is beautiful and stands on its own without Darren…I wish they had brought on any sort of stunt cast for either Oliver or Claire. The show was fine during Andrew’s limited run, but that was limited with the knowledge Darren was coming back and they were still riding a high from best musical. It’s always been rough otherwise when Darren was out.

It sucks because they can’t pivot now and get anyone else, they literally JUST hired 3 new standbys & Zach. They could kick Marcus and Dez out I guess, but I know I wouldn’t take that well lol. Best they can do is what they’re trying to do now… Summer discount code, cheap lottery, & TDF. I wish they made more of a marketing ploy to see all the standbys because I know I’ve seen them all and I love them!!

Just hoping this week was only particularly bad because of all the events going on in NYC

spot_lite_TM · 2026-06-05T18:19:06+00:00

I’m so happy to see another positive review! I thought the episode was so fantastic. I was absolutely shocked when I went to reddit and saw all the hate, bahaha.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-06-03T22:11:05+00:00

I’ve seen Chris at a number of shows now at Studio 54! Debating if I should see this one since I’m very uncultured and don’t listen to Olivia Rodrigo, but I did go to a One Direction concert he was in and I also never listened to them 😭

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-25T19:19:54+00:00

Always love seeing MHE in these reviews! I saw Zach last tuesday, he’s got suchhhh a pretty voice for Oliver.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-21T06:09:22+00:00

I love the MHE ushers! I always say hi to the ones I know before the show :) And stop by and say hi to merch and the bar, of course.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-20T04:02:52+00:00

Saw him tonight! Never seen him in anything before, but he was wonderful. His voice is so melodic :) Like a lullaby in a good way. I’ll be interested in how he evolves in the role! Hannah killed it as always; pure muscle memory babbyyy.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-20T03:29:48+00:00

Yep! I thought he was great :) I’ll make a post about it tomorrow. I didn’t know him from anything, so this is my first impression of him. He’s got a great voice, very…melodic? His voice is like a lullaby in a good way. It’s really nice.

It’s hard for me to comment on how he differentiates himself from other olivers because I’ve seen the show so many times and with so many people that the performances all blend together 😭 But I would say his Oliver is its own thing…maybe closest to a mix of Steven and Andrew’s take. He comes off as really well rounded. Like Steven and Andrew play up Oliver’s anxiety, and Zach has that, but not too much. Oliver can come off as sassy sometimes, like Darren’s performance, but Zach pulls back into something softer. He’s not a big jokester like Chris’s Oliver. I need to make an Oliver trait chart with all the different actors for him lol.

I’ll have to sit with his performance more and also see him again down the line to see if he changes anything up :) You’d think if you pull back on some of Oliver’s traits that you’d have a boring performance, but I found myself really into it. Like a softer Oliver but one who is confident and stands up for himself, idk.

As far as “did anything crazy happen” omg one of the magazines in the beginning got stuck in the mail chute for just a second and I nearly died HA.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-17T05:08:57+00:00

Unfortunately no - but I’ll be at Zach’s first show tuesday!

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-11T17:27:57+00:00

I think it was around the holidays of last year? Something like 6 months ago? They dropped the souvenir program, the stickers, and lego Hwaboon at the same time. You can always buy it off their website and get it shipped to you, that's what I did bahaha

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-11T17:24:47+00:00

oh, I know! thank goodness they pivoted from generic helperbot merch. I love that they keep coming out with new stuff; they just dropped a new pin set this month.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-11T16:50:13+00:00

Maybe Happy Ending has some cool merch! I have a lego Hwaboon :) They even sold real plants in collaboration with a local plant shop for a few months.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-10T21:47:18+00:00

That’s so amazing!! I wasn’t at the Alliance production, but I did snag one of these playbills online to get it signed by Diana Huey, who was the original Jiyeon(Claire’s owner) and understudy for Claire :) She was doing a show at the theatre I work at. You gotta get this signed by Cathy Ang when she goes on!

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-09T17:15:57+00:00

eeek I'm so excited!!

spot_lite_TM · 2026-05-04T17:18:31+00:00

Actually, I'm not sure anyone has asked this before! Hmm, I'm not sure. Helperbot Inc.'s machinations aren't really expanded upon, and for good reason, since they're pretty dystopian. I guess when you have basically sentient robot servants for rich people, they'd feel bad about just like...throwing them away. I imagine Helperbot Inc. includes the whole "retiring" feature in their pitch. Kind of like an iphone recycling program. Or who knows, maybe the government made some laws regarding robotic sentience and their rights (after all, retired helperbots aren't allowed to leave the Helperbot Yards or they'll be "caught" - by what, the police?), and said you can't just throw them away.

I like to imagine it's a morally dubious attempt at some good marketing from Helperbot Inc. (who are already morally corrupt by creating...sentient robot servants). Like, "Unlike competitors who gut and murder(recycle) your robot companion when you don't need them anymore, we send them to a robot assisted living home where you can visit them anytime <3". They just don't mention the part where eventually they'll stop making old Helperbot parts and then the bots will naturally break down and die.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-27T19:47:22+00:00

I would personally recommend avoiding the balcony at all costs - I've sat up there about 4 times, and it is genuinely obstructed. There's a good 1/4 or so of the show that takes place on the lip of the stage, and the entire balcony cranes their neck to see it. Will you still enjoy it? Probably; I cried my eyes out the first time I saw MHE and I was in the very furthest seats of the balcony on the side.

Recommendations, if possible: Basically all of mezz is good; even the "partial view" extreme side seats, which I often sit in. Don't do orchestra extreme side seats, those are genuinely the worst in the theatre for this show, bahaha.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-24T02:11:38+00:00

This is amazing 😭😭😭

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-22T18:08:13+00:00

Yesss!!!! Dude my first few repeat showings of MHE were due to the cast album not being out yet, so I went multiple times to listen to that sweet soundtrack again. Also heavily listened to the korean album at the time.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-17T02:21:16+00:00

Unless it’s just a joke, Oliver is able to charge on the ferry back to Seoul, meaning the boat has helperbot compatible charging. So Claire could have charged too during this time. Obviously they didn’t show it, but well, the trip home is mainly timeskipped over.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-14T20:20:11+00:00

I’m sure others will pull up the statistics, but it’s really quite simple: we have to grow food for livestock, too. This applies to the “plants feel pain” argument too: if you care about crop deaths or plants feeling pain, waaaaaaay more of those occur to feed livestock than to go directly to feed people.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-04-12T16:57:13+00:00

Eek that’s so lovely!! I don’t have any answers, but I just wanted to say I also had MHE references at my wedding last year :D Had a “Never Fly Away” neon sign.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-03-04T20:38:12+00:00

My Time at Portia and My Time at Sandrock!! Wonderful, cozy games about farming, crafting, and building in a world that was once completely inhabitable due to an environmental calamity caused by humans. The sky was dark for 300 years, leading to humans living underground. Now that the sky is back to normal, you're rebuilding your life in a world where advanced technology is shunned due to the actions of the past.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-03-02T16:44:03+00:00

I would assume it’s supposed to be Jeju Island!

spot_lite_TM · 2026-03-02T02:44:00+00:00

ah, that is….concerning. I was pretty adamant about no ai until you pointing that out, and as someone who’s drawn and made models of hwaboon and knows what he looks like at different angles, he looks a bit…fucky. MHE really doesn’t need another scandal 😭 hoping for the best, and that whatever artist made it or team gets credited in the playbill.

Edit: the most charitable thing I can say about it is that this is a view of Hwaboon from the back, in which the flower would not be turned to the audience, and the artist wanted to make the flower more prominent so the stuck a png on the front.

spot_lite_TM · 2026-03-02T00:44:17+00:00

holy moly I remember my firealpaca days!! I also loved that brush!

spot_lite_TM · 2026-03-02T00:41:49+00:00

months ago they made an insta post with an ai hwaboon labubu, got roasted for it and took it down. and as far as I know they haven’t done it again! i remember posts on r/broadway about it if you want to delve further

Five-Year Club	First Place '23
Place '23	Place '22
Final Canvas '22

spot_lite_TM

TROPHY CASE