Some macro observations about the show changes between 4/8 and 4/15 below. It’s become harder to make micro observations because the show changes constantly. Huge props to the cast & crew for essentially learning a new show everyday, I don’t know how they do it. This preview period is pretty insane.
There is a marked shift in the beginning of Act 1 between Michael and his family. He’s written now to be more dismissive and distant from them. Some changes are removing his “precious cargo” line in No More Monsters and replacing it with “just get in the car”, and Lucy trying to get the family to bond and Michael resisting. There is also an emphasis on Michael being the “man of the house” and how he didn’t ask for that or want it. There is one line from 4/13 that was cut from 4/15, where Michael and Lucy begin to have a fight and Lucy says “I am still your mother, you can’t talk to me like that” and Michael replies “I’m sorry, I thought I was supposed to be the man of the house”. I hope they put that back in because haha OUCH.
Murder Capital of the World feels like it’s in a good place. They removed the lines from “We need a medieval choir” to “Or are you a squire?”, which is fine imo since those were a little clunky. They also put back the “The undead love the murder capital of the world” verse. I think this song should be locked as it is.
Star and Michael’s scene right before Hurt a Little is much more flirty. Now when the strength test guy brings up Star being Michael’s girlfriend, Michael is the one that says “she’s not my girlfriend” and Star says “not yet”. Hehe.
Going back to the first point, the breakfast scene has added some important context. Sam now explicitly says that he got along fine with their dad. The audio from 4/13 includes a line right after that doesn’t appear in 4/15: “it was you who always got into fights with him”. I love angst so I think they should include it. Michael also doesn’t threaten to show Sam the bruise anymore, I assume because they’re trying to bury the lede and save the reveal for when David shows it.
4/15 has replaced Be Kind Rewind with Skip to the Good Part.
Some more Star backstory revealed right before Now, Forever. She doesn’t know her dad and has issues with her mom but doesn’t elaborate.
David now says “we both have fathers who don’t deserve us” to Michael right before My Heart With You. This, coupled with Star’s line about her parents actually makes me like this song more. I feel like there is a stronger emotional foundation to the found family theme.
Michael no longer asks Star “you want me to drink blood?”, he just does it after she tells him to. Kinda crazy that he’s that down for it.
During Secret Comes Out, Sam now reads a passage from the comic about how vampires can have flashbacks and hallucinations right before Michael hallucinates his dad. I feel likeeee this is approaching “second screen” writing and it’s a little hand-holdy, especially for theater. It’s obvious that the dad is a hallucination as soon as he disappears. It also makes the song feel more cramped. This happens again in You Belong to Me and it makes me hmmm.
Small change but there’s a more theatrical instrumentation at the beginning of My Brother is A. I think it’s fun and makes the beginning of Act 2 feel more like a “moment”. The rest of this song is unchanged so I suspect it’s locked or getting locked soon.
Belong to Someone (Reprise) has new lyrics and includes Michael now.
The pre-War David/Star scene seems to have found a happy medium, taking lines from all its different versions. Though there’s still no explicit mention of her struggling with addiction, it’s hinted at.
Mom's Boyfriend is A remains unchanged from a week ago, so I fear we are never getting spaghetti with clams back. It still ends with “we’re gonna nail the head vampire”. I mourn the longer version of this song so much, RIP clams.
There’s a bit more stuff regarding Lucy and Michael’s relationship near the end of Act 2. Lucy mentions “you used to tell me everything”, so it’s clearer now that they used to be close. And while the song “Michael” remains untouched, it is performed with way more emotion now. This moment is still imperfect but with the Act 1 changes I think it hits much harder.
The final battle between David and Michael is completely different, as lots of people have mentioned. It’s a huge visual change too so I won’t get too into the details but, to me, it’s a double-edged sword. It’s way more spooky and atmospheric and is probably the most horror-oriented moment of the show now, and I’m glad Michael and David get a bit more dialogue (Michael saying “you’re alone now David, it’s just you” HAHA I LOVE PAIN). But it is sooo anti-climactic, I am begging for some flight choreography back in here. Also, since there’s no singing in this portion anymore, it sort of makes The Reckoning…not a song? It’s just Max’s portion now. I wonder if it will get extended.
Max calls David his “boy” and not his “son” anymore. What did he mean by this 🤨 But on 4/13, he says “my boy, my David” which makes my brain want to vibrate out of my skull.
Some bigger Michael and Lucy emotions right before If We Make it Through the Night. They both sound really apologetic for how they acted/didn’t act. I’m feeling the family dynamic a bit more.
My overall impression is that they’re trying to heighten emotion and audience reaction across the board. The directon feels “bigger”. I think they’re capitalizing on spectacle, which is a smart move. Sometimes I feel like they throw in lines to get a reaction and see what sticks lol. We’re also at the point in previews where, if a section or song hasn’t been changed in a week or longer, it’s probably locked, and I’d say that covers most of the show (yay!).