Hi!
I was also at the matinee (4th ring, Row H, BTW). I'd agree that there was something missing in Wheeldon's piece, but still I thought Kisselgoff gave it a very bum rap in her review today.
People around me seemed to really like the ballet, and IMHO, Wheeldon's attention to detail was one the its real stregths.
For instance-the (real) pianist wearily dragging her music bag (a PBS Ch. 13 bag of course!) in as she walked to the piano; Damian and the crossword puzzle (a while back, when she had an online diary on the NYCB webpage, Helene Alexepoulous mentioned Damian doing the NYTimes crossword); the hideous pink costumes, Seth Orza's "slurpy-sized" cup, which was left behing and eventually finished off by one of the crew.
Among the high points: getting to watch Damian Woetzel do some warm-up barre work-not something one normally gets to see. Forgive me if I was drooling watching those muscles in plies ) Seth Orza's backwards baseball hat-wearing corps members was a hoot! His practice outfit of a t-shirt and cut-off cargopants remind me very much of what many of my male friends wear.
I was not bothered by the female dancer getting hurt-it was clearly intended to be a comical farce. And in another example of detail Damian crunched the insta-ice pack before applying it to the injured foot. It's one of those little things that could be glossed over, but makes it all the more real and comedic at the same time.
The other 3 ballets were also a pleasure to watch. I was disappointed not to see Nikolaj Hubbe in Zakouski, and hope it doesn't mean he is hurt again. Millipied did a fine job, though to my inexperienced eye, he and Margaret Tracey seemed just a tad off at times.
I'd seen Ash before, and no particular comments, other than wondering which of the couples in purple were the Stafford siblings...?
The corps in La Valse, IMHO, was a bit sloppy, but the principal roles were well danced. I especially liked Stephen Hanna and Phillip Neal. There was an obvious, though essentially harmless glitch at the end when the corps women lined up incorrectly for their bows-two rows of 4 on one side and rows of 3 and 5 on the other side. Some miscommmunication I guess )
Anyway, I'm glad I made the day trip all the way from PA to see the new Wheeldon piece. I think it has the potential to grow as the cast gets more comfortable with the roles and fleshes them out!
Kate