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1. Michael Scott is played by a woman.
I never thought Michael Scott's humor could be pulled off by anyone other than a middle-aged man, but Sarah Mackenzie Baron pulls it off so well. The humor is almost less offensive because it is being said by a woman, but not quite. It still has that edge that Michael brings to the show.
2. The quick changes
The number of costume changes some of these actors and actresses have to make is INSANE, and especially given how quickly they have to make them. Whoever is in charge of the quick-changes, props to you because I was blown away with how quickly Oscar could replace Kelly, or Meredith could replace Kevin (yes, that really happens, the person playing Meredith really does play Kevin too).
3. The costumes and wings
The costumes fit so well with the characters and what they wear in the show, and the wigs are pretty great too. The costume department did a great job with outfitting the cast with appropriate costumes, and the wig department did a great job of making do with some (I'm assuming) rather cheap wigs and quick changes to and from said wigs.
4. The band
The band is usually one of the highlights of any show I see, and this was no different. I didn't think The Office theme song could be a beautiful ballad, but the band achieved that. Another plus is that the bass player doubled as Stanley- how great is that!?
5. "The Office" references
"The Office! A Musical Parody" would be nothing without all of the references it makes to the show. From Kevin's chili to Josh Groban being Andy's brother and more, there are- according to my very scientific calculations- at least a bajillion references big and small in the show. As someone who's seen The Office 3 times through now, I very much appreciated the attention to detail and addition of even the smallest references.
6. The theater references
As a theatre nerd, I totally geeked out when I heard all of the theatre references in the show. One of the songs nudges at "My Shot" from Hamilton, another parodies "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity, another the theme from "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt" as Erin enters. The references to popular musical rep just made the whole show even more enjoyable to a self-professed theatre geek like me.
7. The set design
From Dwight's desk to the reception desk, the attention to detail in the set design was just astounding. The set really did make you feel like you were watching the show. Even the conference room had the same look as in the show, painted on the opposite sides of the flats used for the background in the main working area. They even had the poles of the theatre decorated to look like the vending machines, complete with Dwight's stuff from that one prank Jim pulled on him in Season Two. The set design and detail were just incredible.
8. The lighting design
I don't know much about lighting, but I know that whoever designed the lights for this show did a stellar job. I especially appreciate the different color lights, such as how the lights above the stage turned yellow/orange when the Hamilton spoof came in, how they lit up with the colors of the Italian flag as Karen Filippelli entered, how they turned green when a spoof of Rainbow Connection started. The lighting design was just so clever and enhanced the musical and plot points so effectively.
9. The audience
You could tell that almost everyone in the audience was a huge Office fan, and even those who may not have gotten all of the references were still enjoying themselves. Theatre wouldn't be the same without the audience, and this audience was particularly great. Maybe it was the small venue, but it seemed like everyone there was just having a fantastic time and were all just there to enjoy a show they all had in common. I've never heard an audience laugh so much, nor get so excited over the smallest little things like miniscule references in the dialogue.
10. EVERYTHING
I could go on and on about this show and what I liked about it, but I'll stop here. Everyone on the team, in the band, in the cast, just everyone involved did such a mind-blowing job at turning this well-loved show into a well-loved musical. If you're a fan of The Office, this is definitely a show you need to see.
