"Beetlejuice" - 04.23.19/01.07.20

Show/Venue: Beetlejuice at the Winter Garden Theatre

Date: Tuesday, April 23rd, 2019 @ 7pm & Tuesday, January 7th, 2020 @ 7pm

Starring: Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Leslie Kritzer, Rob McClure & Adam Dannheisser, Kelvin Moon Loh, Dana Steingold

Website: https://beetlejuicebroadway.com/

After the less than exciting 2018-2019 Broadway season, I was ready for the new shows of 2019-2020 to start! While I’d heard a bit about Beetlejuice from it’s out of town tryout in DC, I couldn’t remember much about the movie other than Winona Ryder as Lydia. Luckily, at the “First Look” new show preview at BroadwayCon, Sophia Anne Caruso came out to sing “Dead Mom” from the show. (Yes, this could have been a trigger for me - since my Mom passed in 2017, but the song is pretty beautiful!) This was enough to pique my interest and I got a ticket while sitting in the audience.

Even for “a show about death,” the book, music & lyrics are so entertaining - you can’t help but escape to the Netherworld with Beetlejuice & Co. for a few hours. In fact, when friends would come and ask me what show to see, I would quickly recommend this one!

It was bit disheartening that the Shubert Organization was going to move Beetlejuice from the Winter Garden Theatre to “make way” for The Music Man in the Fall of 2019. The decision was all based off a slow week of sales in May of 2019, many months before Beetlejuice started to recoup post-Halloween and the Holiday season of 2019. Fans across all across the nation and world banded together to try and save Beetlejuice and to suggest another Shubert Theatre that The Music Man could go into or where Beetlejuice could be re-mounted. Then the COVID-19 virus took over Manhattan, at first shutting down all Broadway theaters until April 12 and today the order was extended until June 7th; effectively ending the run of the show.

I was lucky enough to see the show in previews in April of 2019 and return back for a second viewing in January 2020 (after Rob McClure had departed to star in Mrs. Doubtfire, with David Josefsberg replacing him as Adam Maitland). I was also excited to see Leslie Kritzer’s comedic genius after seeing her in The Robber Bridegroom and Gigantic a few years prior and Alex Brightman, since he was so great in The School of Rock!

While I won’t get to see the show again, here’s my recap and thoughts on the show.

If you saw the cast perform on The Today Show, the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade or on the Tony Awards, then you’re familiar with the opening number at a funeral! Of course, Beetlejuice (Alex Brightman) quickly appears to tell the audience that this show is (“The Whole ‘Being Dead’ Thing”), in fact, about death. His comedic timing, “Beetlejuice voice” and clever lyrics by Eddie Perfect draw the audience in from the first few minutes. We quickly learn that the funeral is for Emily Deetz, the mother of a young girl, Lydia (Sophia Anne Caruso) and wife of Charles (Adam Dannheisser).

Leaving the funeral scene, we are introduced to the Maitlands, Adam (Rob McClure - April 2019 & David Josefsberg - January 2020) and Barbara (Kerry Butler) who are carefully tending to their home full of antiques and unique valuable items (“Ready Set, Not Yet”). They’ve spent so much time tending to these inanimate objects and other life goals, but they wonder if they should have had children. As our “guide” for the evening, Beetlejuice narrates and lets us know about the rules of ghosts and being dead. The audience learns that if you die in your own house, you can haunt it! Which sets us up for the gag when Barbara & Adam fall through a hole in their floor to their deaths.

Shortly after the Maitlands depart, we see Lydia & Charles moving to a new home (the former home of the Maitlands) with Delia (brilliantly played by Leslie Kritzer), who was hired to tend to Lydia and act as her life coach. We learn a little about Delia’s kookiness and her own guru, Otho - to appear later in the show, with his motto that every “sucks” has a “yes” - making “Sucks-Yes!” This new home will be the model home for a new development that Charles is going to find an investor for. He seems to care very little for Lydia’s grief and instructs Delia to help her. Lydia can’t understand how her Dad moved past her Mom’s death so quickly and how she can get him to grieve and acknowledge his feelings (“Dead Mom”).

In the attic of the house, Barbara & Adam finally figure out that they have died and Beetlejuice reveals himself to them. He tells the Maitlands that they need to scare the Deetzes away, so they can have their house back (“Fright of Their Lives”). However, there’s a catch: only a living person can bring Beetlejuice back to life to help them scare the family away! To do so, the living person must say his name 3 times in a row & here’s where Lydia comes in!

After avoiding Delia’s advice (“No Reason”) & finding out that Delia is actually engaged to her Dad, Lydia flees to the attic and finds the ghosts of the Maitlands. Lydia wants to leave the house as much as the Maitlands want their home back, so they agree to work together to get the family out. Not being able to cope with the possibility of having a step-Mom so soon, Lydia runs to the roof to jump, where she encounters Beetlejuice. She’s not scared of him, but sensing an opportunity - he tries to convince Lydia to bring him back to life (“Say My Name”). He doesn’t succeed, but reveals that any ghost can possess a human and so Barbara & Adam are enlisted to scare Charles, Delia and their investors.

During the big business dinner, Adam & Barbara work to possess the guests; there’s a talking roasted pig, levitation and each character singing part of “Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)” as they are being possessed, but no matter what the Maitland’s try to do, the guests aren’t scared. It’s then that Lydia realizes that she needs to bring Beetlejuice to life! Act One finishes with Beetlejuice coming back to life, the investors being intrigued by a haunted house and everyone running from the home.

At the top of Act Two, a girl scout (Dana Steingold) approaches the home - selling cookies, but with one fatal flaw, a congenital heart condition. Of course, that’s the gag - Beetlejuice loves hearing people scream (“That Beautiful Sound”) and brings out clones of himself to spook any visitor approaching the house - census worker, a neighbor offering pie and a pizza delivery guy. After successfully scaring everyone from the home, Beetlejuice shares a copy of the book, Handbook for the Recently Deceased, with Lydia - but as a living person, she can’t open it. Thinking that the book contains the secret of how she can reunite with her Mom - she seeks out Barbara & Adam for help. With Lydia gone, Beetlejuice reveals that he wants to live outside of this home and needs to find a way to convince Lydia to be his wife! Once she’s his wife, he can wander wherever he wants.

In the attic, the Maitlands help Lydia open the book and realize that they should have gone to the Netherworld - but are too scared to do the right thing (“Barbara 2.0”). They soon realize that they have to be braver; their inability to take chances is what got them here in the first place.

Back downstairs, Charles & Delia have returned with Delia’s guru, Otho (Kelvin Moon Loh, in a camp-tastic role), to save Lydia from the demons! Otho tells her that he has a device that can trap demon souls - but instead, Beetlejuice appears to convince Lydia that a passage from the Handbook will bring back her Mom; only to have it perform an exorcism on Barbara! He only stops once Lydia agrees to marry him and opens a door to the Netherworld - getting ready to send Adam & Barbara through, but Lydia runs through the portal with Charles right behind her.

Once in the Netherworld, Lydia and Charles encounter Miss Argentina (again, Leslie Kritzer in a brilliant dual role), with a story of caution from her passing and other residents of down below (“What I Know Now”). Just then Juno (Jill Abramovitz), the Director of Customs & Processing, appears and finds out that Lydia & Charles are living humans and a chase ensues. Lydia runs and runs, looking for her Mom and sings an emotional ballad (“Home” - which actually made me cry both times I saw the show) as Charles finds and brings her back to their home on earth.

Lydia plans with the Maitlands to marry Beetlejuice (“Creepy Old Guy”), but only so she can bring him back to life to kill him again. This would make him “recently deceased” and he would go back to the Netherworld. Suddenly, Juno appears and it’s revealed that she is Beetlejuice’s Mom! Juno throws Beetlejuice out of the house and is preparing to take Lydia away, when Beetlejuice appears riding a giant sandworm that eats Juno!

As Beetlejuice heads to the Netherworld, the Deetzes, Maitlands and Delia agree that they can share the house (“Jump in the Line”) and the cast comes on the stage in a big encore/sing-a-long! Funny how a “show about death” can put a smile on your face on the way out of the theatre!

Musical Numbers

Act One:

Prologue: Invisible

The Whole “Being Dead” Thing

Ready Set, Not Yet

The Whole “Being Dead” Thing, Part 2

Dead Mom

Fright of Their Lives

Ready Set - Reprise

No Reason

Invisible (Reprise) / On the Roof

Say My Name

Day-O (The Banana Boat Song)

Act Two:

Girl Scout

That Beautiful Sound

Barbara 2.0

What I Know Now

Home

Creepy Old Guy

Jump in the Line

"Usual Girls" - 12.22.18

Show/Venue: Usual Girls at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center // Black Box Theatre

Date: Saturday, December 22nd, 2018 @ 1:30pm

Starring: Midori Francis, Abby Corrigan, Jennifer Lee, Ryann Redmond, Nicole Rodenburg

Website: https://www.roundabouttheatre.org/Shows-Events/Usual-Girls.aspx

One of the best parts of about living in NYC for me, is the accessibility to important works of theatre. Usual Girls at the Roundabout Underground became one of those pieces that the theatre community was quickly buzzing about. Ming Peiffer wrote a stunning and thought-provoking piece about a Korean-American girl growing up in the Midwest (Ohio) and dealing with adolescence & racism in the 80’s and 90’s. Based on this description alone, I knew I would relate to this show.

I had the opportunity to see Midori Francis (Kyeoung) in The Wolves at Lincoln Center last year, so I was anxious to see her in this work. The play opens up with the girls in early elementary school, where they’re playing a game of “hot lava,” jumping from block to block while not touching the ground. Soon the conversation shifts to the adult magazines that Kyeoung found in her father’s room. The other girls can’t believe that her father knowingly shares these “dirty magazines” wit her and doesn’t have a problem. Another girl, Lindsay (Nicole Rodenburg), mentioned that she saw her brother & his girlfriend having sex and got cussed out by him. Then a young classmate, a boy named Rory (Raviv Ullman), appears and threatens to tell their teacher that they were swearing and talking about sex about unless Lindsay kisses him. When Lindsay refuses, Kyeoung offers to, but Rory calls her names and says he doesn’t want her because of the way she looks. The taunting goes back and forth and Lindsay starts to kiss Rory before Kyeong runs across the playground and pushes him, giving him a bloody nose.

The theatre goes dark and 90’s girl pop music plays and when the lights come back up Anna (Abby Corrigan) and Kyeoung are in a basement making out with their stuffed toys and wondering what a real kiss feels like. The play turns sexual as the girls hump their toys, but they don’t really understand what they are doing; they are only mimicking what they have seen their older siblings and parents do. Anna wonders why they only play “boyfriends” with their toys, but not “girlfriends.” Kyeoung decides that they can play “girlfriends” and Kyeoung’s Dad (Karl Kenzler) comes into the basement to find Anna on top of Kyeoung, grinding her hips and saying “I love you, I love you, I love you…” And then more blackness.

Now the girls are pre-teens/teenagers and at a slumber party. They can’t believe that Sasha (Sofia Black-D’Elia) has already grown public hair and want to see. Sasha reluctantly shows them and reveals that she also bought her first bra and has her period. The other girls are full of questions, wanting to know what everything is like and how her mom actually lets her shave her legs! (They all gather round Sasha to feel her smooth shins.) Suddenly, a group of teenage boys come up to the basement window and start knocking and pounding on the glass. Some taunting starts and the boys moon the girls; who then take turns mooning them back. The boys start to encourage the girls to let them into the slumber party and with some hesitation, they finally let the boys in. In a matter of moments, the boys are all over the girls and in the dimly lit set, you can assume that some of these boys are going past first or second base. As the lights come up, the girls are in various states of disarray before all the lights go out and the set changes again.

We next see Kyeoung dressed in her volleyball uniform, as she waits for her Dad to pick her up. Rory approaches and comments on how short and tight her shorts are. Kyeoung is confused as to why he keeps talking to her; he’s never been nice to her and has always caused her grief. Rory feins that he’s doing her a favor as Lindsay (now becoming the IT girl at school), is spreading rumors about Keyoung giving a schoolmate a blow job. We’re not really sure of what’s actually true, but we know that Lindsay isn’t innocent in the situation. A few older girls approach Kyeoung after Rory has left and interrogate her about this rumor. Of course, Kyeoung defends herself and as her father finally appears, although visibly drunk. He quickly sees these other girls as his daughter’s friends, not realizing that his presence is making things worse for Kyeoung. As Kyeoung stuggles to get her intoxicated father to the car, he stumbles while trying to make friends with this group of girls. While struggling to walk, he reveals some dark things about Kyeoung’s life at home (how her mother left and remarried, his relationship with his daughter & how she was a mistake) and one of the girls starts to sympathize with her.

The story shifts slightly into a memory play, as an older version of Kyeoung (Jennifer Lim, Chinglish), recalls some of the incidents of her adolscence. She comes out onto a playground and remembers some of her struggles growing up. She then sees her younger self in the bathroom, wanting to shave off her pubic hair; a way to make her more desirable to boys. Older Kyeoung interacts with her younger self to really try and question why she wants to do this.

Moving foward to the college years, Kyeoung and her sorority sisters travel to the city. In a nightclub’s restroom, the girls refresh and snort some coke. Kyeoung then runs into her childhood friend, Anna, and they catch up on their lives. Anna laments about the sorry state of dating that girls have to struggle with. Yet Kyeoung can’t help but ask Anna over and over again about why they didn’t stay friends all those years ago. Anna, not thinking clearly, brushes off her questions and snorts more cocaine before they go back to the dance floor.

In another scene, Older Kyeoung remembers a late night where she was assaulted. Her younger self comes home and just wants to take a shower. Older Kyeoung tries to enocourage her to go to the police and not take a shower, but her protest doesn’t work. After a powerful struggle between the two, younger Kyeoung gets into the bathtub as her older self remembers what happens that night; how she was drunk, how the boy got on top of her, how she didn’t scream “no” and how he walked her home and got her a cup of coffee afterwards.

Older Kyeoung comes forward, addressing that night and some of the other experiences she has had with men; mostly dark and upsetting. She closed with the statement: “It just keeps happening.”

In the lobby of the Black Box Theatre // Roundabout Undergroud there’s a display of power women. Naturally, I was drawn to the poster about Margaret Cho and all she did for the Asian-American experience in popular culture.

After the show came down, I wanted to sit in the theatre to think about the work I had just seen. Roundabout Underground gave each audience member a program that talks about Ming Peiffer’s work, the ideas addressed in the play and some interviews with the actors. I was fascinated to read that the play started as a commentary on slimy CEO of American Apparel, Dov Charney, and how he used overtly sexualized photos of young girls to market his clothing brand to consumers.

Obviously, I identified with many themes in this play, but the tone and even the shock of some of the racist comments thrown at Kyeoung, were easily identifiable for me. (You could hear the audience’s intake of breath when Rory asked a young Kyeoung if her vagina was sideways, like he heard all Asian women’s were.)

While not a play that could show on a larger stage, the intimate setting and story were a perfect fit for Roundabout Underground.

"Mean Girls" - 04.17.18/05.04.18

Show/Venue: Mean Girls at The August Wilson Theatre

Date: Tuesday, April 17th, 2018 @ 7pm & Friday, May 4th, 2018 @ 8pm

Starring: Taylor Louderman, Ashley Park, Kate Rockwell, Erika Henningsen, Barrett Wilbert Reed, Grey Henson, Kerry Butler, Kyle Selig, Cheech Manohar

Website: https://meangirlsonbroadway.com

If you were a teenager or in your early 20's in 2004, then you must know the movie Mean Girls! Written by Tina Fey of Saturday Night Live and 30 Rock fame, the movie focused on a teenage girl, Cady Heron (Lindsay Lohan), moving from Africa with her family to suburban Chicago-land to attend high school. The movie introduced many quotable phrases into the American vernacular and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who didn't get the references of "On Wednesdays, we wear pink" or the significance of something being "fetch."

Naturally, with any beloved cultural phenomenon, I was a little hesitant to see how the creative team could make a musical out of this movie. However, as soon as the casting was announced to the out of town tryout in D.C., I was in for the ride! Stacked with Broadway veterans and loads of newbies, what could Tina Fey, Jeff Richmond, Casey Nicolaw and Nell Benjamin bring to the Great White Way?

Even though I first saw the show on a Tuesday, the spirit of wearing pink on Wednesdays was all over the theatre. A few weeks earlier, I'd found a t-shirt that said "Today's Outfit Is Pink" at Zara and I knew I needed it for the show! Paired with a Who What Wear bomber jacket from Target, I was ready to go! The energy in the theatre was INSANE! You could feel the excitement and anticipation all over as everyone anxious waited to see one of their favorite movies on the stage.

Upon first viewing, I have to say that Damian, Gretchen and Janis were my favorite parts of the show. I loved the costume choices made for Damian, including an Alyssa Edwards t-shirt and all of the musical theatre references! And I almost lost my mind watching Ashley Park's brilliant portrayal of Gretchen Wieners! As a Korean-American girl, I love that there was no explanation about Gretchen's ethnicity or reference to it. I also greatly appreciated Barrett's portrayal as Janis, whose costume choices I most identified with. Barrett had the only song that was an "ear worm" for me when I left the theatre, "I'd Rather Be Me," when she stands up for herself in the gymnasium scene, towards the end of Act Two. Otherwise, I had a hard time keeping most of the other songs in my head over the next few days.

During my second time viewing the show (I went back with a few girlfriends on a Friday), I found new favorite moments:

• Watching the development of Taylor's Regina and realizing why she got a Tony Nomination for this role. After first seeing her in Bring It On, then on Peter Pan Live! and finally, as Lauren in Kinky Boots, I could see why she was cast for this iconic role and how she really played up her blonde wigs and altered her voice to embody the Queen Bee to a T!
• Even if Karen Smith isn't the brightest crayon in the box, Kate Rockwell brought brilliance and on point comedic timing to play up Karen's dimness. Her big number, "Sexy," let's her play to her strengths and even ads a nod to the OG movie, with "I'm a sexy mouse, duh!" It's her nuances and subtle winks that really play toward the audience and lets everyone in on the joke!
• Then triple threat of Kerry Butler as Mrs. Heron/Mrs. George/Ms. Norbury. From playing a dowdy Mrs. Heron to the Tina Fey/Ms. Norbury role and earning well deserved laughs as Mrs. George with some sly puppetry, as her pet dog who can't help but nurse on her over-sized breasts! She even gets the chance to duet with Gretchen in a reprise of "What's Wrong With Me?" in Act Two.
• And I can't forget the show stopping dance & choreography from Casey Nicolaw! We get a brilliant tap number from Damian at the top of Act Two, lunch room trays used as percussion and a big Act One closer featuring Gretchen!
• I did leave humming more tunes this time, but also having seen "Apex Predator" performed on The Today Show and "Stupid With Love" on Erika's Broadway.com Vlog, more and more songs from this show are seeping into my musical theatre conscious!

If you're not familiar with the story, let me offer my best recap of the show with a little commentary along the way.

The show opens with Janis Sarkisian (Barrett Wilbert Weed, Heathers, BARE) and Damien Hubbard (Grey Henson, The Book of Mormon), telling the audience how Cady Heron (Erika Henningsen, Les Miserables) came to North Shore High and how it led to Regina George (Taylor Louderman, Bring It On, Kinky Boots) getting hit by a bus ("A Cautionary Tale"). (But nobody died!)

We see Cady in Africa, where she has been living with her parents and studying animals in the wild ("It Roars"). We quickly find out that her parents' funding has dried up and they must move to the US, suburban Chicago, specifically and how Cady will get to attend a real high school and get "socialized."

Upon her arrival, Janis & Damian teach Cady about the social hierarchy of high school ("Where Do You Belong?"), complete with a musical theatre nerd tribute (with lunch tray percussion)! Just as they finish making their rounds through the cafeteria, in roll "The Plastics," led by Regina and her two minions, Gretchen Wieners (Ashley Park, Sunday in the Park with George, King & I, KPOP!) and Karen Smith (Kate Rockwell, Bring It On, Rock of Ages). Here, we learn that Regina is a "massive deal," of Gretchen's eager to please attitude and Karen's lack of smarts ("Meet the Plastics"). Somehow, Cady draws the attention of Regina and suddenly, she finds herself with an invitation to sit at the popular lunch table for the next whole week!? What's a new girl to do? Janis & Damian convince her to be their girl on "the inside" and to report back with all the ridiculous things that The Plastics say and do.

In a clever classroom montage scene, the cast comes out in desks with rotating wheels, as they turn 90 degrees, different teachers and classes emerge; ending with Cady's AP Calculus and the first acknowledgment of her soon-to-be crush, Aaron Samuels (Kyle Selig, Joan of Arc: Into the Fire, The Book of Mormon, October Sky). We learn that Cady loves math, since there is always a right answer. Growing up in Africa, she was quick to fall in love; with a fellow kid from the neighboring village, with a Peace Corps volunteer ("Stupid With Love"), so she knew math would never let her down. Cady isn't afraid to show off her skills in AP Calc, so she almost gets recruited to the Matheletes and her teacher, Ms. Norbury (Kerry Butler in 1 of her 3 roles, Disaster!, Catch Me If You Can, Xanadu), seems ecstatic to finally have a girl who's talented at math.

After school, Regina decides to take Cady to the mall; she's wearing socks with sandals, after all. Watching how everyone reacts to Regina's presence, Cady quickly recognizes this social order as with the animals she grew up around ("Apex Predator"). Gretchen is quick to try and prove her loyalty to Regina, but yet, she wants to win Cady over. Trying to find a common interest, she turns to boys and finds out that Cady has a crush on Aaron, none other than Regina's ex-boyfriend!

Back at Regina's house, we meet Mrs. George (Kerry Butler, again), the "cool mom" who tries to insert herself into her daughter's & friend's lives by showing them their old "burn book," or where they used to post photos of random students and write mean & funny things about them in the book. Suddenly, Cady sees a photo of Janis with the comment "space dyke," next to it. Confused by why her friend would be in this book, Regina only offers that she was unable to have more than 6 people at her birthday and Janis took it the wrong way. Before Cady can question it, Regina takes Karen into her bathroom to work on her eyebrows and leaves Gretchen & Cady on the other side. Gretchen begins to panic; what did she do wrong to have Regina exclude her ("What's Wrong With Me?"), how can she stay present in Regina's social circle. 

As Cady's friendship & crush with Aaron builds, he invites her to a friend's Halloween party. At the party, Karen says how much she loves Halloween, because it's the one time of the year when you can be someone else ("Sexy") and how she wishes it could be Halloween every day! Cady arrives at the party, but not in a sexy costume like all the other girls, but as a zombie bride. Regina can't believe that Cady showed up at this party uninvited, only to find out that Aaron invited her and that Cady has a crush on him (oops, Gretchen)! Regina can't let Cady be with someone that once was hers, so she of course goes to Aaron to win him back ("Someone Gets Hurt"). It's here that Cady starts to see the real side of Regina and The Plastics.

Rushing to Janis & Damian, Cady explains what happened at the party and they devise a scheme to bring The Plastics down ("Revenge Party"). They'll figure out a way to go after Regina's hot body, get Gretchen to break down and collapse the hierarchy of the school's cliques. Back at the school cafeteria, Regina huffs about being on an "all carb" diet, so Cady provides her with some Kalteen bars (which were used to help kids in Africa gain weight) and over time, Regina's body & butt grows and grows; until her costume for the Holiday Talent Show no longer fits! Then, during the Talent Show, Regina's skirt falls off and social media explodes with funny commentary on the size of Regina's ass, how she stepped on Gretchen's face to get off the stage, how Karen pretended to be asleep, but Cady was the one who kept going...suddenly, Cady is popular!

In the cafeteria, Regina waddles in wearing sweatpants and a matching track jacket. Gretchen doesn't know what to do, it's not Friday, so Regina shouldn't be able to sit at their table...she timidly calls this out to Regina. Since "sweatpants are the only things that fit" her right now, Regina tells Gretchen the rules were all made up and they don't matter. Gretchen starts to break down and Cady steps in; Regina can't sit with them and she's not who she once used to be ("Fearless").

At the top of Act Two, we see Cady, who has transformed into a Plastic; new hairstyle, short skirts, cell phone in hand and now nominated for the Spring Fling Queen!? Janis & Damian are having a hoot about the whole overthrowing of Regina, but they're also realizing that their friend, Cady, may be in over her head ("Stop" - cue the big tap dance number). Janis mentions that her art show is quickly approaching and will Cady be coming? Cady realizes that it's the same weekend that she is supposed to go out of town with her parents and won't be able to attend; Janis is sad, but seems to understand. 

Now that Cady has become the Queen Bee, Gretchen and Karen consistently look to her for what they should do. Cady casually mentions that she's going out of town with her parents that weekend and they convince her to get out of the trip, so they can throw a little party and invite Aaron, but of course, not Regina.

In the meantime, Regina is working out, trying to lose the weight she put on and caused her ultimate humiliation. While trying to win her over, Mrs. George, finds a Kalteen bar and tells Regina that they are used to help people gain weight; not lose it. Regina screams and storms out of the room.

As Cady gets ready for the party, she preps food & drinks for 8 people, unknowing that Gretchen & Karen have invited the whole school ("Whose House Is This?"). By the time Aaron shows up, Cady is drunk and can't seem to contain her stream of consciousness when talking to him. She reveals that she pretended to be bad at math, so he would like her and he begins to see how much Cady has turned into Regina and leaves ("More Is Better").

Cady chases after Aaron, only to run into Janis & Damian, who post-art show, saw all the party photos on social media and were riding by her house. Janis & Damian call Cady out on her awful behavior, which she tries to blame on them. Suddenly, Cady realizes her true friends and her crush have abandoned her.

Regina, now back in fighting shape, plants a photo of herself in the Burn Book and writes "fugly cow" over it. She then takes the book to the school's principal, Mr. Duvall (Rick Younger, RENT), who is astonished that someone would have written all those awful comments about their fellow students and vows to find who's behind it. Regina kindly offers the idea that only Cady, Gretchen and Karen are not in the book and the girls are brought into his office. Regina has photocopied pages from the Burn Book and tosses them all over the hallway ("World Burn") starting fights all over the school. 

It's here that Mr. Duvall calls all the girls to the gymnasium, so they can sort out this problem. Led by Ms. Norbury, she leads an exercise to prove that girls all say mean things behind each other's backs and they have to learn how to coexist peacefully. She leads them in a trust fall exercise, where when it's Janis' turn, Regina is quick to bring up her dreams of "diving into a pile of girls." Janis is quick to call out Regina and her fake-ness ("I'd Rather Be Me"), while winning over the girls.

As Cady and Regina get into a fight infront of the school, Regina is hit by a school bus and ends up in the hospital and wearing a spinal halo. Cady begins to see her social status fall apart; did she put Regina infront of the bus? Did Regina walk infront of it? Do her parents still trust her? 

Cady then decides she should confess to having a part in the "burn book" and she receives a three week suspension. In order to bring up her AP Calculus grade, Cady finally teams up with the Matheletes and Kevin Gnapoor (Cheech Manohar in his Broadway Debut!), Cady begins to come into her own ("Fearless (reprise)"). With the support of Ms. Norbury and her fellow Matheletes, they rally to head off to compete ("Do This Thing"). At the State Championship, the Matheletes find themselves in a tie for the title and each team sends their female members into the sudden death round. While the other team's girl throws insults at Cady, she realizes that no one wins from bringing other girls down. Cady ends up winning the sudden death question and the North Shore Lions are the State Champs! (The limit does not exist!)

After the competition, they head back to the school for Spring Fling! Cady sneaks back into the school with help from Aaron and runs into Regina in the bathroom. They make amends and head into the gym; where surprise, Cady wins the Queen title and uses this as an opportunity to apologize for her behavior ("I See Stars"). Cady helps reunite the original Plastics and patches up her friendship with Janis & Damian. And, yes, she gets Aaron by staying true to her real self!

Musical Numbers:
Act 1:

A Cautionary Tale

It Roars

Where Do You Belong?

Meet the Plastics

Stupid With Love

Apex Predator

What's Wrong With Me?

Sexy

Someone Gets Hurt

Revenge Party

Fearless

Act 2:

Stop

Whose House Is This?

More Is Better

World Burn

I'd Rather Be Me

Fearless (reprise)

Do This Thing

I See Stars

"Bandstand" - 05.11.17/08.20.17

Show/Venue: Bandstand at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre

Date: Thursday, May 11th, 2017 @ 7:00pm & Sunday, August 20th, 2017 @ 2:00pm

Starring: Laura Osnes, Corey Cott, Joe Carroll, Max Clayton, Ryan Kasprzak, Morgan Marcell

Website: http://bandstandbroadway.com/

 

Since moving to New York City, I’ve learned so much more about theatre and my small obsession from seeing Regional & Touring productions as a kid, has really blossomed. As a pretty big “Fansie” of Newsies, I came to know about the Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, NJ and how they’re helping create some of the best new musicals that come to Broadway. It was in 2015, that a little production called Bandstand, caught my attention. First of all, Laura Osnes (Cinderella, Grease) and Corey Cott (Newsies, Gigi), and Andy Blankenbuehler (Hamilton, So You Think You Can Dance), were attached to the project, which was enough to get me interested. Second of all, there were a few others of my favorite Broadway ensemble members involved, so I was especially excited to hear that it would be transferring to Broadway.

Due to this Broadway transfer, I knew I wanted to see the show early in the Tony Awards Season and with my new job, I was able to get a discounted ticket in May to see the show. At the top of the show, we see various soldiers in the battlefields, but the focus is on Donny Novitski (Corey Cott), as he moves downstage and upstage throughout the battle. Slowly, the men return home from the battle and Donny returns home to Cleveland, Ohio (“Just Like It Was Before”). Like many other veterans, Donny struggles with adjusting back to “normal life” and needs to find a way to cope. Luckily, he was a piano prodigy as a teen and finds that music is a way to save his mind from wandering into dark places. While struggling to find a venue to perform in Donny hears about a bandstand contest where NBC will select a band from each State and they will perform for a chance to be featured in a movie. This contest will be the way Donny can make a living and survive in the world, post-military life. The contest will be a featured as a Tribute to the Troops, so Donny is the perfect candidate but how can he start to put together a band?

Through a network of veterans (“I Know a Guy”), Donny finds his band, each a member of various branches of the military. They have all turned towards their music to escape their own personal demons; some drink, some find solace in obsessive compulsiveness, some busy themselves with teaching. The band is made up of Jimmy Campbell (James Nathan Campbell) on sax & clarinet, Davy Zlatic (Brandon J. Ellis) on string bass, Nick Radel (Alex Bender) on trumpet, Wayne Wright (Geoff Packard) on trombone and Johnny Simpson (Joe Carroll, Cinderella) on drums. After a few rehearsals, Donny knows that the guys have a great sound and Donny takes on vocals, but something is still missing (“Ain’t We Proud”).

In between rehearsals, Donny knows that he needs to check in on Julia, the widow of his best friend from combat, “Rubber.” Donny goes to Julia’s house to introduce himself and over an awkward dinner with her and her mother, we learn that Rubber’s nickname came from his surname, Trojan, and that Julia, is a wonderful singer (“Who I Was”) and still longing for closure on her husband’s death. She’s tired of everyone in town treating her with pity, because she’s a “Gold Star Wife.”

Once Julia’s mom has told Donny that Julia is a great singer, Donny thinks he may have found the answer to his band’s vocalist problems. One catch: Julia doesn’t like singing in public, only in church. Never deterred, Donny heads to church to see Julia sing. With a little bit of persuasion, Donny convinces Julia to come and sing with the band (“First Steps First”). They also make an adjustment to the band’s name, from the Donny Novitski Band to the Donny Nova Band. They come up with some great original songs (“Breathe” and “You Deserve It”), but they still need more ideas. It’s then that Julia shows Donny some poems that she has been writing, since losing her husband, which will become some of their best numbers.

The band easily wins the Ohio contest, but they learn that they must pay for their own fare to New York City for the final rounds (“Love Will Come and Find Me Again”). They go into overdrive and start playing any gig that they can book, hoping to earn enough money to get them train tickets and lodging in NYC.

The second act begins with a swinging number (“Nobody”), which was featured on the Tony Awards and showcases some of Andy Blankenbuehler’s best work. The band finds new energy through their gigs and by saying “You know who tells me no? Nobody!” We see a little bit of each of the band member’s personal struggles, but with the momentum from winning the Ohio contest, it’s easy to see that the band is hitting their stride (“The Boys are Back”).

Cleveland starts to rally (“I Got a Theory”) and they are able to raise the money from all the venues that have been hosting their gigs. In fact, it’s enough money to send everyone to New York City on a First Class train! As Julia and Donny grow closer, she asks him again about how her husband passed away. Donny finally relents and explains that he was responsible for Rubber’s death under friendly fire, as a live grenade rolled back into the bunker where they were hiding out. Donny made it out, but Rubber was not so lucky.

Julia abruptly leaves the band and retreats to her home. It’s there that her mother encourages her to keep singing (“Everything Happens”), as it’s what her husband would have wanted her to do. After all, Julia needs an identity that is not just a “Gold Star Wife” and she can’t let the boys in the band down. While the band worries about what to do without her, Julia shows up and brings a new poem as a peace offering to the band. This poem becomes “Welcome Home” and describes each of the Donny Nova Band member’s struggles in their return to civilian life – Donny – insomnia, Jimmy – focusing on law school, Davy - alcoholism, Nick – prisoner of war, Wayne - OCD and Johnny – amnesia. The song is powerful, emotional and helps everyone identify with their own struggles, but they know this version could never be performed in public. They adjust the song into a newer version, a love song between a woman and her love returning from the war.

Equipped with new songs and renewed motivation to win the contest, Cleveland gathers to send the band off to NYC. Fresh off the train and in NYC, the band does out to explore the city before getting their chance to audition (“A Band in New York City”). After spending all day in the city, Donny escorts Julia back to her hotel room and it’s here that they start to acknowledge that they have feelings for one another (“This Is Life”).

When the band arrives at the studio, they learn that only the top 10 bands will get to perform on the actual NBC Broadcast. Even though the executives seem to write them off, as soon as they hear “Love Will Come and Find Me Again,” the band makes it into the final cut! As everyone prepares to be on the telecast, Jimmy barges into the rehearsal studio. He’s been up all night reviewing the contract with NBC and saw that if they perform “Love Will Come and Find Me Again” on the broadcast that the studio will own all the rights to the song! In a last-minute swap, they decide that Julia will sing their original version of “Welcome Home,” with all the tragedies that veterans face when they come back from war. They know that NBC will never take the risk of actually producing and promoting this version of the song.

A year later, we see that the Donny Nova Band did not win the competition, so they aren’t featured in the movie, but that’s a blessing. As the leave the theatre, having watched the competition winner’s in the movie, they are approached by many teenage girl fans and their families. Fortunately, enough people saw them on the NBC broadcast that they have developed a significant following and are able to tour the US without any limitations from a network contract.

Although some of the songs did not stay in my head, the show left an impression on me. Shortly after I saw the show, I met a Navy officer during Fleet Week in NYC. You might say that my experience was not unlike what you might see in a Lifetime movie or some romantic comedy; but it certainly altered my perspective of the military. That, coupled, with my Mom’s passing during the following week, made me ache to see this show again.

In the second showing, some of the stories resonated even more and I found myself breaking into tears during certain numbers. I appreciated the choreography more. I listened to the wonderful sounds of Laura Osnes’ voice, more intently. I empathized with the characters more. Overall, I was glad I got to see this show a few times and wish that it could have had a longer life on Broadway. I hope that there will be a touring production and that more people will get to experience this powerful story.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

Just Like It Was Before

Donny Novitski

I Know a Guy

Ain’t We Proud

Who I Was

Just Like It Was Before (Reprise)

First Steps First

Breathe

You Deserve It

Love Will Come and Find Me Again

Right This Way

Act Two:

Entr’acte

Nobody

I Got a Theory

Everything Happens

Welcome Home

A Band in New York City

This Is Life

Welcome Home

Finale

"Dear Evan Hansen" - 11.16.16/05.25.17

Show/Venue: Dear Evan Hansen at The Music Box Theatre

Date: Wednesday, November 16th, 2016 @ 8pm & Thursday, May 25th, 2017 @ 7pm

Starring: Ben Platt, Michael Park, Rachel Bay Jones, Jennifer Laura Thompson, Laura Dreyfuss, Mike Faist, Kristolyn Lloyd, Will Roland

Website: http://dearevanhansen.com/

I have a difficult time explaining the brilliance of Dear Evan Hansen to my non-theatre friends; the plot is a tough one, but the music is astonishing and the acting is superb, so let me see if I can capture it for you. I started my experience at Evan Hansen, after seeing the show in previews last year, but felt that I could only really write about the emotions after seeing it a second time. This time, I came fully equipped with a pack of tissues and knew that ugly crying would be in order at some point.

In between my two experiences at the show, the cast album has come out, Pasek & Paul have won an Oscar for La La Land and the show has received numerous Tony Award Nominations, including a well-deserved Best Actor nod for Ben Platt.

The show follows anxious teenager, Evan Hansen (Ben Platt, Pitch Perfect, The Book of Mormon), composing a letter to himself, per his therapist’s prescription. His single mom, Heidi (Rachel Bay Jones, Pippin), is encouraging him on his first day of school and that it’s going to be a “good day,” perhaps a “good year,” for them both. Evan is hesitant, as we can feel his anxiety and nervousness, about having to talk to people and be social. Heidi suggests that he can make friends by having his classmates sign the cast on his left arm, which he broke over the summer from falling out of a tree. Heidi emphasizes how proud she is of Evan, which only seems to add to the distance between them. Heidi heads off to work as a nurse’s aide, but reminds Evan she won’t be home that night, since she must attend school. Evan only nods, as it seems he is used to being left at home alone often.

As they struggle to connect, the audience is introduced to the Murphy family: Cynthia (Jennifer Laura Thompson, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Urinetown), Larry (Michael Park, Tuck Everlasting), Zoe (Laura Dreyfuss, Once, “Glee”) and Connor (Mike Faist, Newsies), who are also struggling to relate to one another. The mother’s mutual struggle with their own families is revealed (“Anybody Have a Map?”).

Evan walks into his first day of school and runs into Alana (Kristolyn Lloyd, in her Broadway Debut), an overachieving student, who asks Evan how his summer was, but is quick to speak over him and prove that she had an even busier summer. Evan seems exhausted from this conversation, when he runs into his only friend, Jared (Will Roland, also in his Broadway Debut), who is quick to point out that they are only “family friends,” and he only speaks to Evan, so his parents will continue to pay for his car insurance. Neither of these friends take Evan up on his offer to sign his cast, then as he turns away, Connor rushes into school and pushes Evan to the ground. Seeing Evan get bullied, Zoe, Evan’s longtime crush & Connor’s sister, runs over to check on him. He insists that he is fine, but wonders if he will always feel this alone and invisible (“Waving Through a Window”).

At the of the school day, Evan is in the computer lab, printing out one of his “Dear Evan Hansen” letters for therapy. It’s then that he notices that Connor is also in the computer lab and has found his letter in the printer. Connor offers to sign Evan’s cast, so that they can both feel like they have a friend. Grabbing Evan’s arm, Connor writes “CONNOR” in large letter across the length of Evan’s cast, almost branding him.  Still holding Evan’s letter, Connor begins to read it; noticing that it mentions Zoe and Evan’s feelings for her. Connor takes this as an insult to him and runs out of the lab, taking the letter with him.

Over the next few days, Evan sees no sign of Connor at school and begins to delve deeper into his anxieties. What if Connor uses this letter against him? What if he shares it with the whole school and everyone finds out about his feelings for Zoe? One day, Evan finds himself called into his school Principal’s Office, where he meets Cynthia and Larry Murphy, Connor’s parents. Evan is confused as to why he is there, but Cynthia realizes that she must explain that Connor is no longer with them; he has taken his own life. As Evan starts to absorb this information, Cynthia produces Evan’s therapy letter, which she and Larry believe is Connor’s suicide note. They believe that Evan was/is Connor’s only friend and invite him over to their house for dinner to learn more about their relationship.

Not knowing what he’s gotten into, Evan confides in Jared, who mocks him and knows that he is an awful liar. Jared advises Evan that he shouldn’t try to make up a story, but to just nod in agreement to whatever the family tells or asks of him. Of course, at dinner time, Evan begins to fall apart and makes up a vast story about how he & Connor were friends, best friends (“For Forever”). He tells the family about their adventures, visiting the abandoned apple orchard and the feelings that they would share. Zoe and Larry are skeptical about the whole situation, but Cynthia is clinging onto hope that her son had a friend and some good in his life. In his desperation, Evan tells the Murphy’s that he and Connor had a secret e-mail correspondence and he can share with them their relationship.

As Evan is explaining this to Jared, Jared laughs and is convinced that Evan will never get away with this lie. However, he decides to help Evan make all the fake e-mails, egging Evan on that it sounds like he & Connor had a secret gay relationship (“Sincerely, Me”). It’s here that Connor comes back on stage to sing his “e-mails” to Evan, as Jared types out what they were writing back and forth to each other.

Back at the Hansen’s home, Heidi tries to find a way to relate to her son. She knows that college is impending and that they will not have the money to send Evan to college. She produces a bunch of scholarship applications and promises that they will go through them the next week on “taco Tuesday,” she’ll skip work and spend some time with him. This seems to brighten Evan’s mood, as Heidi leaves him, again.

After working with Jared, Evan brings a stack of e-mails between himself and Connor over to the Murphy’s house at dinnertime. Cynthia is emotional, trying to understand that her troubled son had a friend. Larry is disappointed that Connor never appreciated what they did for him; therapy, rehab, etc. Zoe can’t seem to believe that Connor was ever nice, as he was always awful to her and threatening to kill her (“Requiem”).

After Zoe notices her name in Connor’s suicide note, she asks Evan if there were other things she didn’t know about her brother. Evan tries to conceal his own feelings for Zoe through Connor’s view, but struggles (“If I Could Tell Her”) and his adorations comes out when he leans in and kisses her and she tells him to leave.

Barely a week or two after Connor’s suicide, Evan notices that people at school are starting to forget about Connor, and thus, will forget about Evan. He decides to act and found “The Connor Project” to remember Connor and to help raise money for other troubled teens. Alana and Jared join Evan in the endeavor and get the Murphy’s to help fund the project (“Disappear”).

At the all-school assembly and launch of “The Connor Project,” Evan must give a speech about his friendship with Connor. Evan fumbles with his note cards, shuffling them back to the first, dropping one on the ground and falling onto the stage. He slowly regains his composure and goes on to deliver an inspiring speech about his friendship with Connor (“You Will Be Found”). Evan’s speech goes viral and Zoe slowly starts to realize the impact that Evan has had on Connor and she kisses him.

In the aftermath of Evan’s viral video, Alana and Jared decide to start a Kickstarter campaign to raise money in Connor’s honor. This money will be used to reopen the apple orchard where Evan and Connor used to hang out (but not really). However, Evan starts to spend more and more time with Zoe, thus spending less and less time with “The Connor Project” and his mother. By hanging out with Zoe and the Murphy’s, it’s like he’s found the family that he has always wanted to be a part of. Connor reappears to Jared, proving to Evan that by distancing him from “The Connor Project,” he might be losing his new-found friends, too (“Sincerely, Me [Reprise]”).

When Evan gets home, Heidi confronts him about his relationship with Connor. She tells Evan that she has seen his video about Connor and “The Connor Project” and can’t seem to understand why he wouldn’t share this information with her and how he denied knowing Connor when she asked him about it the first time, weeks ago. Evan then throws Heidi’s constant absences in her face and flees to the Murphy’s house. Once there, he finds Larry in the garage, and they go through a box of old sports memorabilia, looking for things to auction off for “The Connor Project” and the Kickstarter campaign. While going through the box, Larry finds a baseball glove that he’d given to Connor, but was never used. Larry starts to teach Evan about how to properly care for the glove and comes to terms with Connor’s death (“To Break in a Glove”).

A few days later, Zoe finally gets the chance to see Evan’s house and they’re talking in his room. Evan mentioned that they have the whole house to themselves, as Heidi is rarely around; which Zoe seems startled by. Evan begins to talk more about his relationship with Connor, when Zoe interrupts him; she wants the chance to just be with him and not talk about her brother (“Only Us”).

As Jared struggles to stay connected to “The Connor Project,” he points out to Evan that Connor’s death was the greatest thing to happen to Evan, as it increased his popularity. Evan tries to deny it, but deep down he knows that what Jared is saying is true. Evan escapes by hanging out with Zoe and heading to the Murphy’s house for dinner, only to discover that his mom is already there. After hearing that the Hansen’s don’t have the money to send Evan to college, Zoe intervenes and the Murphy’s offer the money that they had saved for Connor’s college education to Evan and Heidi. Shocked that not only did she not know that Evan was spending so much time at the Murphy’s, but that he has shared their money problems with them, Heidi storms out of their house, declining their invitation for dinner.

Back at the Hansen’s home, Heidi and Evan fight. Heidi is upset that her financial struggles have been shared with strangers and Evan blames his mother for never being around, the real reason he’s been spending more and more time at the Murphy’s; they’re the family he has never had. Shortly after, Alana has found several discrepancies in Evan and Connor’s e-mails and she starts to wonder if they were really friends. Evan starts to think that everything is falling apart and he goes to Jared for help, but as Evan left Jared alone before, even he won’t come to the rescue. The three of them lament about how Evan has changed and only been looking out for himself (“Good for You”).

Evan’s guilt starts to mount and Connor reappears, trying to encourage him to keep up the lie. After all, the lie is the only thing keeping Evan popular at school and a source of relief to the Murphy’s, and keeping Zoe with Evan. Evan tries to quiet Connor’s voice in his head, but he’s nearing his breaking point and really wants to come clean about the whole situation.

Desperate to stay in the lie, Evan goes to Alana, who remains cautious about the whole story. In a last-ditch attempt, Evan says that he can prove his friendship with Connor and produces Connor’s suicide note (a.k.a. Evan’s therapy letter). Alana is shocked by the letter and says this is just what “The Connor Project” needs to gain more momentum! They can post the letter online and people will go nuts for it and the money for their Kickstarter campaign will start pouring in. Evan immediately objects to posting the letter, knowing the full truth, but he can’t stop Alana. She posts the letter online and suddenly the Murphy family is thrust into the spotlight. All sorts of bullies come out and start attacking the family for not preventing Connor’s suicide.

Evan arrives at the Murphy’s house to find them all fighting with each other about the bullies, Connor, their family; everything. Becoming more and more agitated with all the yelling, Evan bursts out and confesses that he never knew Connor (“Words Fail”). The family cannot believe what they are hearing from this boy that they trusted and Evan runs out of their house and back to his own.

As soon as he arrives at home, Heidi is waiting for him. She has seen the letter posted online and knew immediately that it was one of Evan’s therapy letters and that something darker was going on with him, something darker than she could ever have known. It’s here that Evan alludes to the fact that he didn’t fall out of a tree last summer, he threw himself off the branch on purpose. To comfort her son, Heidi recalls the day that Evan’s dad left (“So Big/So Small”). It broke her heart when Evan saw the U-HAUL truck come and take his dad away, but when he asked if “is there another truck coming to our driveway? A truck that will take Mommy away?” was when Heidi knew that she would never and could never abandon her son.

Another year passes and Zoe is in the apple orchard, reopened and named in Connor’s honor. It’s here that Evan meets her and they catch up on the last year. The Murphy’s never exposed Evan’s lie, but they haven’t stayed in touch at all. Zoe tells Evan that even if his story was made up, everyone needed that story; it helped bring her family back together. Zoe leaves the orchard and Evan composes another “Dear Evan Hansen” letter, ending on it being a “good day.”

Since seeing the show in November, and then, seeing it again in May, I noticed a few changes; but that could have been since my own experience viewing the show had changed. Going into my first viewing, I had only a basic idea of what the show was about, I only knew “Waving Through a Window,” and knew that Ben Platt was earning rave reviews for his performance. I knew that I was going to get emotional, but I had to focus my attention on catching all the plot points and trying to understand all the lyrics in the context of the story. For my second viewing, I could sit back and enjoy everyone’s performances. Armed with all the songs and lyrics from the cast album, I knew what to anticipate in the story and really sat back to just observe and absorb the show.

During the second showing, I could easily see why all my theatre friends have been going on and on about Ben Platt’s performance. The nervous ticks, the sweaty brow, the ability to cry and to ugly cry, at that. Everyone keeps saying that they can’t understand how he can go through this performance 8 times a week, and he’s been doing it for years! I wonder how he can shed the skin of Evan when he gets home and how he doesn’t carry some of that anxiety with him, wherever he goes.

Laura Dreyfuss’ voice was even more raspy and beautiful than I could remember. I didn’t get to see her in Once and can’t remember her for the life of me on “Glee,” but the quality and tone of her voice, certainly made an impression on me. At the end of “Requiem,” my heart broke for Zoe and how no one could understand how she really didn’t love Connor.

The comedic relief comes from Jared and Connor. Will Roland is perfect in his own nerdy moments, but plays to Evan’s weaknesses and neurosis; highlighted in “Sincerely, Me” and later in “Good for You.” Mike Faist certainly knew how to shed his Newsies persona, to become the troubled Connor and gets a few funny moments, as he comes back to haunt Evan. Mike gets the chance to show off his vocals, which were a little lost in the large ensemble of Newsies.

As Larry, Michael Park, had a few awkward moments the first time I saw the show. I didn’t understand his character and why he was so stand-offish. Having seen him in Tuck Everlasting, where I loved him as Angus Tuck, I expected a similar reaction in this show, but it wasn’t the same type of role. One of my friends pointed out that his song, “The Wheel,” in Tuck Everlasting was slightly like his character’s arc in this show and “To Break in a Glove” helped complete that. I’m still hoping he’ll do a mash-up of the two songs, someday!

The other highlight for me, besides Ben Platt, was Rachel Bay Jones. I saw her years ago in Pippin, but I didn’t care for that role. I did love the raspy, rocker-edge tone in her voice, but something about her character didn’t connect with me. Oh boy, did she prove me wrong in this show! From “Good for You” to “So Big/So Small,” Heidi had me wrapped up around her little finger. I completely empathized with her pain as a single mom and how she needed to protect Evan. I loved watching her Broadway.com “Show People” interview with Paul Wontorek and learning about her past in the theatre and what kept her away from the stage before making her return in Pippin. She became so relatable to me and I really latched onto her character for this second showing.

Dear Evan Hansen, is truly a work of art, but one that takes a lot out of you emotionally. My second time seeing the show was for my friend, Katie’s birthday and both of us were wiping away tears when the curtain call happened. It’s one that I could see over and over, but it would exhaust me. Perhaps when the cast changes over, I’ll make my way back, but for now, I’m easily satisfied with my two experiences.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

Anybody Have a Map?

Waving Through a Window

For Forever

Sincerely, Me

Requiem

If I Could Tell Her

Disappear

You Will Be Found

Act Two:

Sincerely, Me (Reprise)

To Break in a Glove

Only Us

Good for You

You Will Be Found (Reprise)

Words Fail

So Big/So Small

Finale

"Cats" - 09.27.16

Show/Venue: Cats at the Neil Simon Theatre

Date: Tuesday, September 27th, 2016 @ 7pm

Starring: Tyler Hanes, Aaron J. Albano, Leona Lewis, Eloise Kropp, Ricky Ubeda, Jess LeProtto, Daniel Gaymon

Website: http://www.catsthemusical.com

The first time I saw Cats was in a touring production that came through The Lied Center in Lincoln, Nebraska. I enjoyed the show, but was a little ambivalent about seeing the show on Broadway. Well, once I saw the enthusiasm that my friend, Zach, had about wanting to see the show; I knew I had to go with him. I knew that the creative team was keeping true to the original 80’s hit, but I was interested to see how much they would keep the same. (I vividly remember an episode of Reading Rainbow where Levar Burton visited the set of the show and even got to put on the legendary cat makeup, wig and ears!)

We got some Mezzanine seats and arrived at the theatre to see it had been transformed into the junkyard so familiar with any fan of the show. The audience was full of Asian tourists for some reason and we settled in for the Jellicle Ball.

It was hard to determine the various actors and actresses under so much makeup, but I was thankful for the format of the show; since each song is an introduction to each of the characters. Right away Zach spotted Aaron J. Albano and I found Eloise Kropp. I kept searching for some of my other favorite dancers: Ricky Ubeda and Jess LeProtto of So You Think You Can Dance fame and Daniel Gaymon from Travis Wall’s Shaping Sound Dance Troupe.

There’s not much plot to describe besides the naming and introduction of the cats. I really liked watching Eloise Kropp (Dames at Sea) show off her astonishing tap dance skills as Jennyanydots in “The Old Gumbie Cat” and she even got a sparkling jacket, which I don’t remember from the original production. However, my favorite number in Act One was “The Rum Tum Tugger,” which really gave Tyler Hanes a chance to show off and play to the crowd. In a thoughtful update, he jumps into the Orchestra seating and takes a selfie with an audience member, which is then posted onto Instagram.

“Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer” was another fun number featuring Jess LeProtto (On the Town, Newsies) and Shonica Gooden (Hamilton, Bring It On), who got to play this pair of mischievous cats with a playful attitude and penchant for stealing. Mostly, it was a chance to show off their superior dance skills in a nicely choreographed duet.

I was also anxious to see and hear Leona Lewis as Grizabella. (Especially after the much-heated debate between Andrew Lloyd Webber and Nicole Scherzinger, when she decided to be a judge on the UK version of The X-Factor instead of joining the Broadway show.) I can say one thing, Leona Lewis has a beautiful voice, but acting is not her strong suit. The grit of Grizabella was missing. Even throughout her performance of “Memory,” I didn’t feel sorry for Griz; which is the point of the song.

I left my seat for intermission and was surprised to see audience members on the stage when I returned to my seat. In another update to the show, audience members could come up on stage and take a photo with Old Deuteronomy (Quentin Earl Darrington, Ragtime); selfie sticks non-withstanding.

Again, I can’t remember much of the beginning of Act Two, but I loved it when Ricky Ubeda (On the Town, Shaping Sound) finally got to shine in “Magical Mister Mistoffelees!” Taking a cue from the Rockettes, Mistoffelees enters in a black blazer that lights up with rainbow LED lights throughout his performance. (Ok, how do I get one of those for Pride weekend?) The number, updated by Andy Blankenbuehler, gave Ricky the chance to shine and really show off his technique.

Another notable number was when Daniel Gaymon came out as Macavity (“Macavity, The Mystery Cat”) and showed of his long lines and leaps. I got to see him last year as a part of Shaping Sound and was surprised to see him in the show. I don’t know why, but it amuses me when so many former dancers show up on Broadway with impressive vocal abilities; guess I should misjudge their triple threat abilities.

Overall, the costuming was kept the same: leotards with legwarmers and dance-belt like tails. It felt very 80’s, but I was still entertained. Would I go back again? That’s yet to be determined, but if you haven’t seen this show, it’s worth going to. You might be confused by the plot or lack thereof, (I heard a woman in line for the bathroom say “Is there a plot? Is it just a bunch of cats?” which I had to chuckle at), but at least you’ll be amused.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats

The Name of Cats

Invitation to the Jellicle Ball

The Old Gumbie Cat

The Rum Tum Tugger

Entry of Grizabella

Bustopher Jones: The Cat About Town

Mungojerrie and Rumpelteazer

Old Deuteronomy

Song of the Jellicles and the Jellicle Ball

Memory

Act Two:

Introduction to Act II/The Moments of Happiness

Gus the Theatre Cat

The Awefull Battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles

Skimbleshanks the Railway Cat

Macavity, The Mystery Cat

Magical Mister Mistoffelees

Memory

Journey to the Heaviside Layer

The Ad-dressing of Cats

Finale

"American Psycho" - 05.31.16

Show/Venue: American Psycho at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Date: Tuesday, May 31st, 2016 @ 7pm

Starring: Benjamin Walker, Jennifer Damiano, Alice Ripley, Theo Stockman, Heléne Yorke

Website: http://americanpsychothemusical.com/

I know very little about American Psycho the movie or the book, in fact, I had to read the summary on Wikipedia before going to see this show, just so I would get the gist of the plot. However, I did know that I with a stellar cast and Duncan Sheik behind the music, I was in for a great night! Yes, I decided to go only after the show announced that they would be closing in the first week of June.

As I took my seat in the Mezzanine, I noticed a lot of empty seats, but the set was amazing. A very clean, white room in perspective; so the back of the room faded into the back of the stage, the audience was set to be introduced to Patrick Bateman (Benjamin Walker, Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson) and his “ripped body.” Mr. Bateman appears in only tiny white briefs and explains his morning routine (“Opening [Morning Routine]”). Through some tongue-in-cheek dialogue, Patrick describes some high end items that would have been the top of the line in the 1980’s, including his Sony Walkman.

As Patrick heads into work, the sides of the set revolve into his office at Pierce & Pierce banking (“Selling Out”). He is greeted by his secretary, Jean (Jennifer Damiano, Next to Normal), and she performs “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”, a cover of the Tears for Fears song. Patrick wants to know more about the big Fisher account, which all of Patrick’s co-workers have been talking about. Jean has no information on the account, but reminds Patrick about his lunch date with his co-workers, Timothy Price (Theo Stockman, American Idiot), Craig McDermott (Alex Michael Stoll, If/Then, West Side Story), Luis Carruthers (Jordan Dean, Mamma Mia!) and David Van Patten (Dave Thomas Brown, Bridges of Madison County 1st Nat’l Tour and Patrick Bateman understudy).

As the men talk about their tailored suits and the next hot restaurant to dine at, Paul Owen (Drew Moerlein in his Broadway debut) appears and lets is be known that he has landed the Fisher account and a reservation at the hottest restaurant in NYC, Dorsia. In an attempt to save face, Patrick and his co-workers flaunt their business cards, only to again, be one-upped by Paul (“Cards”). In some of the most brilliant staging and choreography, the men jump onto LED lit tables and streams of air pumped onto the stage makes it appear as if their business cards are levitating & spinning. The song cleverly brings together the status symbols on their business cards; card stock, color and font. (I even noticed that the Stage Door to the Schoenfeld was done over to look like Patrick Bateman’s business card.)

Then as if to add insult to injury, Paul mistakes Patrick for another banker, Marcus Halberstam and mocks Patrick Bateman. To prove a point, Patrick then invites Paul to his upcoming birthday party, being thrown by Patrick’s girlfriend, Evelyn Williams (Heléne Yorke, Bullets Over Broadway) and her best friend, Courtney Lawrence (Morgan Weed in her Broadway debut); who also happens to be Luis’ girlfriend. As Evelyn laments about her odd numbered dinner party, Courtney and their girlfriends wax on about what to wear to the party and name drop several designers, including Manolo Blahnik, Isaac Mizrahi and Bill Blass (“You Are What You Wear”).  However, to appease Evelyn, Patrick invites Jean to the party, so there will be an even number of guests.

Evelyn is annoyed as Patrick & Tim arrive fashionably late to the party. The guests are dull by Patrick’s standards and he ends his birthday party by stabbing his birthday cake with a giant knife. After the party, Patrick & Tim head out to Tunnel to indulge in coke & women (“True Faith”/”Killing Time”). As Patrick leaves the club, he realizes how empty his own life is and promises to never go out to the clubs again. The cast then performs a haunting version of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight”) while Patrick offers a homeless man money, before making fun of him and stabbing him to death.

Later on at the gym, the guys objectify their female instructor, while complimenting each other on their own physical appearances (“Hardbody”). After the gym, we learn that Patrick is having an affair with Courtney; but she wants to end their “friends with benefits” situation as she feels guilty for Evelyn and Luis. Angry at Courtney, Patrick goes back to the gym, where he encounters Luis and tries to strangle him. Luis thinks that Patrick has developed feelings for him and comes onto him, as Patrick leaves the gym, extremely put off by Luis’ actions.

Patrick and Evelyn are attending a Broadway performance of Les Miserables, where during the show’s intermission Evelyn brings up the idea of marriage (“If We Get Married”). Patrick can’t imagine getting married and after the show heads out to the Meatpacking District, where he picks up two hookers and decides to tell them that his name is Paul Owen. A threesome ensues, BDSM and all (“Not a Common Man”), as Patrick starts to give into his own dark thoughts.

Flash forward to Christmas Eve at Pierce & Pierce, as Patrick is telling Jean about Les Miserables and discussing their plans for the holidays. After work, Patrick heads to Evelyn’s over the top Christmas party with his mother (Alice Ripley, Next to Normal, Side Show), whom Evelyn is sure hates her. At the party, Patrick goes on a drug & alcohol in order to be numb to the whole situation (“Mistletoe Alert”). It’s then that Paul Owen arrives at the party and Patrick begins to fill with rage, as Paul has everything he wants. He invites Paul over to his apartment, as Paul still thinks he is Marcus, and they dance to “Hip to Be Square.” Patrick slips something into Paul’s drink and Patrick begins a speech about Huey Lewis & the News, he then proceeds to murder Paul with an ax. (If you’re anything like me and nervous at the thought of blood, the murder scene is done in such a creative way, as a film comes down over the stage and as Patrick hacks away at Paul, splatters of red appear on the film. During intermission, you can watch the crew clean up the blood and restore Patrick’s apartment to the blindingly white room it once was.)

Coming up on Act II, Patrick takes Paul’s body to another building that he owns & disposes of it. Then he enters Paul’s apartment and sets up a voicemail, stating that Paul is traveling to London for a few weeks to work on the Fisher account (“Clean”). As the months go on, Patrick goes a rampage, killing many others (“Killing Spree”). (During this performance, the cast appears in various white outfits as Patrick goes about murdering everyone around him. Patrick tries to admit his murders to his friends, but they just think he’s joking.)

After not having seen her son in months, Mrs. Bateman shows up at Pierce & Pierce, wanting to have lunch with Patrick. As Patrick desperately tries to have Jean cancel the luncheon, Jean offers to come along to lunch, as it might do Patrick some good to actually speak with his mother. During their lunch, Mrs. Bateman tells Jean all sorts of cute stories about Patrick when he was younger (“Nice Thought”) and Jean’s crush on Patrick only deepens.

Back at Pierce & Pierce, a detective, Donald Kimball (Keith Randolph Smith, Fences), is in Patrick’s office, wanting to know anything about Paul Owen’s recent disappearance. Thinking that Kimball is onto him, Patrick avoids most of the questions and feigns concern for the well-being of Paul. As his anxiety grows, Patrick begs Evelyn to take a break from the city, so they plan an escape to the Hamptons. However, away from the city, Patrick’s paranoia only worsens, as Evelyn thrives in the Hamptons culture (“At the End of an Island”). It’s then that Patrick finally decides to marry Evelyn, just as soon as they can get back to NYC. Once he’s back in the city, Patrick continues his killing spree, inviting the prostitutes from months ago to Paul’s apartment, where he murders both of them (“I Am Back”) and begins to accept his own demons.

While shopping at Barneys, Patrick runs into Luis and remembering their encounter at the gym, Luis tries to convince Patrick that they should leave their girlfriends and run away together. As Patrick feels his control on his own life slipping away, he asks Jean out to dinner, where she picks Dorsia and it only reminds Patrick that he can’t seem to get a table there, but Paul could. As she gets ready for her dinner date, Jean thinks about what it is that makes her adore Patrick so much (“A Girl Before”). After dinner, Jean and Patrick hang out at his apartment and talk about her ambitions. Patrick intends to kill Jean that night, but she tells him that she has feeling for him and he shouts at her until she leaves. Left alone with his increasingly dangerous thoughts, Patrick calls Detective Kimball and confesses to murdering Paul and numbers others (“Clean Requiem”).

Evelyn has arranged to have her & Patrick’s engagement party at Tunnel and the stage lights up in amazing neon colors and the cast emerges in spectacular 80’s club outfits (“Don’t You Want Me”, a brilliant cover of The Human League’s song). While grabbing a drink at the bar, Patrick notices Detective Kimball and inquires if he received his voicemail. The detective thinks it was all a brilliant joke and laughs off Patrick’s confession. Kimball states that Paul is alive and well, he even met with him in London. Doubting his own memory, Patrick goes to Paul’s apartment expecting it to be full of his murder victims, but finds it untouched and immaculate. Patrick realizes that he will never aspire to the level of Paul and accepts his fate, marrying Evelyn (“This Is Not an Exit”).

If I had even a small regret about not seeing Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, it multiplied after seeing Benjamin Walker’s performance as Patrick Bateman. Compelling and sexy, it was easy to empathize with this character, even if he is a psychopath! I guess that will be one of the next cast albums on my Amazon Wish List this Christmas.

Another bonus to seeing American Psycho was the reunion of Jenn Damiano & Alice Ripley, who famously played mother & daughter in Next to Normal, which was one of the first Broadway shows I saw after moving to NYC. Alice Ripley didn’t really get a chance to shine, as she played several roles (Svetlana, Mrs. Bateman, Mrs. Wolfe). However, she did get some pretty big applause in her first scene where she enters as Svetlana, going to dry clean the blood out of one of Patrick’s shirts. Jenn showed maturity from her previous Tony award nominated role in Next to Normal, and vulnerability as Jean. I was excited to get to chat with her in person, as she happened to be shopping in my store, shortly after I saw the show.

The other standouts for me were Theo Stockman, who I loved in American Idiot, and was deliciously snarky and slimy as Timothy Price. Then there was Jason Hite in his Broadway Debut, as Patrick’s brother, Sean, but I first developed a Broadway crush on him, when I saw him in the New World Stage’s production of Bare, where he played Jason.

I’m a little disappointed that there won’t be a cast album for the American production, but the London recording is still great! It even has a cut track, “Oh Sri Lanka,” and the original song order from that production. What really motivated me to finally write up this review was attending the 54 Below showcase of “American Psycho Sings Duncan Sheik,” where some of the cast members performed numbers from this show, Spring Awakening and other Duncan Sheik songs. Even if Benjamin Walker wasn’t at this showcase, Dave Thomas Brown, who understudied the role, got a chance to be Patrick and really got the chance to show off his skills. But the highlight of the night for me was the boys singing “Cards,” closely followed by Alice Ripley performing “Barely Breathing,” the song that all non-theatre lovers should know Duncan from.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

Opening (Morning Routine)

Selling Out

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Cards

You Are What You Wear

True Faith

Killing Time

In the Air Tonight

Hardbody

You Are What You Wear (Reprise)

If We Get Married

Not a Common Man

Mistletoe Alert

Hip to Be Square

Act Two:

Killing Spree

Nice Thought

At the End of an Island

I Am Back

You Are What You Wear (Reprise)

A Girl Before

Clean Requiem

Don’t You Want Me

This Is Not an End

"Waitress" - 05.10.16

Show/Venue: Waitress at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre

Date: Tuesday, May 10th, 2016 @ 7:30pm

Starring: Jessie Mueller, Keala Settle, Kimiko Glenn, Nick Codero, Drew Gehling, Christopher Fitzgerald

Website: http://waitressthemusical.com

I remember watching the movie “Waitress,” starring Keri Russell years ago and could vaguely remember the plot; girl in small town, abusive husband, gets pregnant, but bakes amazing pies. Somehow, I kept thinking about the Sarah Michelle Gellar movie, “Simply Irresistible,” but cheesy this show was not. At BroadwayCon in January, I was lucky enough to get a seat at the panel for Waitress with Diane Paulus - Director, Sara Bareilles – Composer/Lyricist and Jessie Nelson – Writer, as they discussed how the musical came to be with Blake Ross, the Editor in Chief of Playbill Magazine. What an experience to be around a group of talented women making this story come to life on the Broadway stage! The audience was even treated to a performance of “She Used To Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles, that didn’t leave a dry eye in the house!

I was fortunate enough to get tickets to see Waitress shortly after their Opening Night and before the Tony Awards. So, I wrangled up my friend, Meghan from work and we caught a Tuesday night show. There was an air of excitement outside of the theatre, as many theatre & Sara Bareilles fans were lining up to go inside. Once we walked into the lobby, we were greeted with the sweet smells of pie, which was baking in an oven just inside the theater. After a quick stop to the merchandise booth, where I got a Waitress pie pin, Meghan and I found our seats and quickly got to Snapchatting our experience; mostly to use the Waitress geofilter.

The show opened with a little song from Sara, reminding the audience to turn off their cell phones, then the stage came alive and Jessie Mueller (Tony Winner for Beautiful, Nice Work If You Can Get It) entered as Jenna. If you’ve listened to Sara’s version of the songs, then Jessie’s voice comes as a pleasant variation on “What’s Inside.” That familiar “sugar, butter, flour” floats through the air with a slight Southern drawl and sets up the story inside Joe’s Diner for the story that will unfold over the next two plus hours.

As the chords to “Opening Up” play, we’re introduced to all the characters in Joe’s Diner; Cal (Eric Anderson, Kinky Boots, Rocky, The Last Ship), Jenna’s boss, Becky (the brilliant Keala Settle, Les Miserables, Hands on a Hardbody, Priscilla Queen of the Desert), and Dawn (Kimiko Glenn, who you might know from Orange Is The New Black, where she plays Brook Soso, and in her Broadway debut), as her two fellow waitresses. Together, they introduce Jenna’s new pie of the day and the girls get the diner open and ready for customers. While lamenting over the same daily routines, they prep pies and setup the tables, while the ensemble dances around them, all through some amazing prop work; fake pies and all.

Towards the end of the number, Jenna is unable to focus on her customers – including the diner’s cantankerous owner Joe (Dakin Matthews, The Audience, Rocky), because she’s nauseous. As she runs to the bathroom, Becky and Dawn come to her rescue and persuade her to take a pregnancy test, but to focus on “The Negative.” In a matter of minutes, Jenna finds out that she is pregnant as Cal bellows for his employees to get back to work. As soon as Jenna gets back into the diner, her abusive and abrasive husband, Earl (Nick Codero, Bullets Over Broadway, Brooklynite) comes barging in. After causing a ruckus, Earl leaves and Jenna finds solace in crafting and creating her pies; while trying to figure out what to do with her life (“What Baking Can Do”). This number was originally a song called “Door Number Three” from Sara’s album and the original production in Boston, but the familiar melodies have been kept for this number and we see Jenna use her passion for baking and memories of her mother to make her miserable life just a bit better, funny how creating something can help.

In a sort of day dream, Jenna then imagines herself being surrounded by other pregnant women while she waits at the OB-GYN office and they welcome her to “Club Knocked Up.” Inside the doctor’s office, Jenna is waiting to confirm her pregnancy with her doctor’s favorite pie, when a new, handsome, young male doctor enters. She’s confused, as this was not who she was expecting to see in her vulnerable state. He introduces himself as Dr. Pomatter (Drew Gehling, Jersey Boys) and that he’s the new doctor in town. Flustered and attracted to the new doctor, Jenna leaves abruptly and abandons the pie, even though Dr. Pomatter doesn’t eat sugar. However, after Jenna leaves his office he can’t resist the smell and the impression she’s left on him; he takes a big bite of the pie and is smitten.

Back at the diner, Becky and Dawn give Jenna a baby book, so she can write down all the memories she’s going to make with her baby. Jenna still isn’t sure how she feels about becoming a mother and instead, redirects their conversation to Dawn’s challenges entering the world of online dating. It’s here that Kimiko gets the chance to shine in “When He Sees Me,” as she expresses her fears of the dating world and what she could run into. During this number, she floats through all the tables of customers expressing her fears; such as how he eats Oreos or if he could be colorblind. This number featured some more great work by the ensemble as they play off of and react to Dawn’s ridiculous excuses to why she can’t date or fall for a guy.

After work, Jenna is waiting for the bus when Dr. Pomatter shows up. It’s here that he confesses that he ate the pie she left at the office and they chat. They may have very different lives, but there’s something brewing between them, as they wait on the bus stop bench.

Finally at home, Jenna is fearful of Earl, who has been drinking alone at home and has been fired from his job. Jenna says something that aggravates him and as he raises his hand to her, when she finally blurts out that she’s pregnant and his demeanor changes instantly. Earl takes this opportunity to remind Jenna of how in love they were when they were younger and sings to her (“You Will Still Be Mine”).

Another day at the diner, but this day Dawn has finally received a message on her dating profile! She doesn’t know what to do, as no guy has ever paid attention to her in this way. She asks Jenna to make her a special pie to bring with her on her date. As Jenna is baking she begins to day dream and wonder what her life would be like away from Earl with her baby (“A Soft Place to Land”). She remembers that Joe told her about a pie baking contest in a town not that far away and imagines what she could do if she won the prize money.

Jenna is woken up from her day dream, as Ogie (Christopher Fitzgerald, Tony Nominated for this role, Wicked OBC), Dawn’s love interest enters and declares his love for her. In the brilliant “Never Ever Getting Rid Of Me” Ogie shows Dawn just how right they are for each other and how he will never leave her side and be everything to her. Each of them have their own quirks, among them Civil War reenactment, but they really are a great fit for each other.

Inspired by Dawn & Ogie’s love, Jenna goes to meet Dr. Pomatter. Their attraction is undeniable and even though they know what they’re doing is wrong (“Bad Idea”), they toy with each other’s feelings and kiss in the end of Act One.

At the top of Act Two, Jenna catches Becky in the diner kitchen making out with Cal. She cannot believe her own eyes and is quick to judge and point her finger at Becky. Keala gets her chance to shine as she sings “I Didn’t Plan It” and explains to Jenna about what a hypocrite she’s being; Becky’s husband is disabled and Cal gives her something that she can’t get physically at home. Becky still loves her husband, but she still needs someone to take care of her, as she takes care of him. She even points out how Jenna is behaving with Dr. Pomatter and her own issues with Earl, as the two argue.

As Jenna falls back into Dr. Pomatter’s arms, the audience sees that each waitress is engaged in their own passionate relationship; Jenna and the doctor, Becky and Cal, and Dawn and Ogie (“Bad Idea (Reprise)”). Their relationship progresses, but Jenna knows she should try and end their affair; yet she’s drawn to Dr. Pomatter even more. She speaks to her baby, sharing her hopes, wishes and dreams for her daughter (“You Matter to Me”).

Even though Jenna’s personal life might be in turmoil, Dawn & Ogie are celebrating their love and getting married at the diner. After the sweet ceremony, Ogie finds a way to profess his love to Dawn through puns and his own oddball style, thus “I Love You Like A Table.” As her friends encourage her creativity to enter the pie contest, Joe dances with Jenna and gives her some advice (“Take It from an Old Man”).

Returning home from the celebration, Jenna finds that Earl has found that she has been hiding all her tips, in order to make it to the pie contest. Earl erupts in a rage, how could his wife be hiding money from him, when he lost his job!? In a desperate attempt to save herself and the baby, Jenna tells him that she was hiding the money to buy a new crib for the baby. Suddenly, Earl’s demeanor changes and he stumbles off to bed, leaving Jenna alone.

Lamenting over her situation and how her escape has now been thwarted, Jenna talks to her baby again (“Dear Baby”) and paces around her living room while singing about what her life used to be and wondering how she got here in life. This song, “She Used To Be Mine,” easily is the most beautiful song of the show.

Jenna is finally ready to have her baby and in the “Contraction Ballet,” the audience sees her home turn into the hospital as her friends and Dr. Pomatter gather for the arrival of her child. As the nurse hands over her daughter, Jenna decides to name her Lulu. As Jenna realizes that her life has only changed for the better (“Everything Changes”), she tells Earl that she doesn’t love him and is going to leave him. As she prepares to leave the hospital, she finds out that Joe has passed away, leaving her the diner for her own use. Jenna realizes that she may not make it to the pie contest, but she can make something wonderful out of the diner and change her life for the better.

Back at the diner, the scene changes as the waitresses and Cal start prepping the diner to open (“Opening Up (Reprise)”). The sign changes from “Joe’s Diner” to “Lulu’s Pie Diner” and a toddler Lulu (Claire & McKenna Keane) runs onto the stage and into her mother’s arms.

I was fully prepared to cry more at the show, but there were so many great visual cues, maybe I didn’t get as emotionally invested as when I was listening to Sara Bareilles at BroadwayCon. I had such a great time watching this story come to life, especially after the buzz from the original showing in Boston and the panel from BroadwayCon. I was very impressed by Kimiko Glenn’s singing and ability to go through all the emotions of Dawn in the show. I also love that she’s an Asian-American actress cast in a colorblind role! We need to see more Asians on stage as “normal” Americans!

What can I say about Jessie Mueller? I thought she was great in Nice Work If You Can Get It, where she replaced Kelli O’Hara and easily out performed Matthew Broderick, and then I fell for her again as Carole King in Beautiful. Something about the quality of her voice brought so many new colors to the role of Jenna vs. Sara on her album.

Since I saw the show just after the Tony nominations, I was really surprised that I had not been to a show with Christopher Fitzgerald in it! What a fun experience to see one of the original cast members from Wicked in his Tony nominated role! He brought just the right amount of quirk and fun to Ogie, including an impressive leap over the back of a chair and dancing on a table!

As Earl, Nick Codero, could easily be one of those actors that you dislike, which only means he’s doing his job well! Luckily, I have seen him perform in a few other shows, Bullets Over Broadway, where he was a clever gangster, and in one of my favorite Off-Broadway shows, Brooklynite, where he played yet another villain-esque character who was trying to get the secret to getting real superpowers!

As for the other cast members, Keala Settle was one of my favorite actors when I saw the unfortunate musical that was Hands on a Hardbody, a few years ago. That woman can belt! She’s a perfect fit for the role of Becky; just the right amount of sass and bravado! I wish I would have seen her as the Mistress of the House in Les Miserables last year. Overall, a great night of theatre and I can’t Waitress to go see this show again!

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

What’s Inside

Opening Up

The Negative

What Baking Can Do

Club Knocked Up

When He Sees Me

It Only Takes a Taste

You Will Still Be Mine

A Soft Place to Land

Never Ever Getting Rid of Me

Bad Idea

Act Two:

I Didn’t Plan It

Bad Idea (Reprise)

You Matter to Me

I Love You Like a Table

Take It From an Old Man

She Used to Be Mine

Everything Changes

Opening Up (Finale)

"Tuck Everlasting" - 05.04.16

Show/Venue: Tuck Everlasting at the Broadhurst Theatre

Date: Wednesday, May 4th, 2016 @ 2pm

Starring: Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Carolee Carmello, Robert Lenzi, Sarah Charles Lewis, Michael Park, Terrence Mann, Neil Haskell

Website: http://www.tuckeverlastingmusical.com/

Is it strange that I never read Tuck Everlasting or watched the movie before I went to see the musical? Maybe? But as an Andrew Keenan-Bolger fan, I was anxious to see it, especially after hearing so many good things about the show after it’s out of town tryout in Atlanta. AKB also mentioned at BroadwayCon that Jesse was easily one of his favorite roles that he’s played to date. However, my friends had given me some mixed reviews; saying it would “do well regionally” and that it wasn’t as grand as they had expected, but I went into the show with an open mind.

Through TodayTix, I was able to get a fourth row, center seat; which was great for all the dances and larger production numbers. Since it was a Wednesday matinee, the theatre was crowded with school children, lending to the excitement and noise level in the theatre. As the show started, the audience gets introduced to the Tuck family; Mae (Carolee Carmello, reprising her role from the Atlanta production), Angus (Michael Park, also from the original), Miles (Robert Lenzi, originating the role on Broadway) and Jesse (Andrew Keenan-Bolger, also from the original). The Tuck family found their way into the woods of Treegap, where they found a spring and drank from it. Little did they know that the spring would stop their aging process and they could never die (“Live Like This”).

Moving ahead several years, we see the Foster family; 11-year-old Winnie (Sarah Charles Lewis, in her Broadway debut), Mrs. Foster/Mother (Valerie Wright) and Nana (Pippa Pearthree), in mourning dress, after the passing of Winnie’s father and Mrs. Foster’s husband. It has been over a year since his passing and Winnie is excited to go to the fair, which is passing through Treegap and for a chance to get out of her gloomy clothing. After a short argument with her mother, Winnie laments about always being the good girl (“Good Girl Winnie Foster”) and runs into a Man in a Yellow Suit (Terrence Mann, Pippin) who works with the fair. He performs a few magic tricks, showing Winnie that he can accurately guess her age by looking into her eyes (“Join the Parade”) and tries to convince her to come to the fair. It’s then that Winnie’s demeanor changes and she follows her pet toad into the woods around her property (“Good Girl Winnie Foster (Reprise)”).

As she runs into the woods, she sees Jesse; who is back in town to reunite with his family after being apart for 10 years. Jesse fears that Winnie has seen him drink from the spring, but distracts here with a tale of imagination and tree climbing (“Top of the World”). During this scene, I was thankful for my seat as the tree reveals a sort of bridge and swing, while Jesse & Winnie climb through the branches and leaves. Shortly thereafter, Miles appears and Jesse reveals Winnie. Fearing that Winnie knows too much about the spring, Miles throws a blanket over her head and carries her back to the Tuck home.

Back at the Foster home, Constable Joe (Fred Applegate) and his apprentice, Hugo (Michael Wartella) are gathering information from Mother and Nana about Winnie’s disappearance. Hugo cannot wait to be a real detective, but seems a big nervous (“Hugo’s First Case”). Constable Joe dismisses Hugo in front of the Fosters, but soon everyone will see how observant Hugo really is.

Back at the Tuck home, Jesse & Miles bring Winnie to Mae and Angus who have to figure out how to explain their family’s secret to Winnie. Immediately, Jesse wants to have Winnie stay with them, so he can have a playmate & companion, he may be 102-years-old, but he still acts like a 17-year-old. The Tuck family explains to Winnie about the spring (“Story of the Tucks”). They also explain why they can only reunite every 10 years, so no one grow suspicious of their ability to never age. As Mae finds something for Winnie to wear, they sift through trunks in the attic and Mae finds the dress that Angus proposed to her in. In a beautiful dance number, Mae recalls how her husband used to be so in love with her and how he used to look at her with passion; certainly this isn’t the case anymore.

As Winnie is about to go to sleep, Jesse wakes her up; he wants them to have another adventure. He convinces her to sneak out of the house, so they can go to the fair. However, they get caught on their way out by Angus. He almost forbids them from going, but after hearing about the loss of Winnie’s father, he decides to let them go out and have some fun.

Jesse & Winnie arrive at the fair and have a wonderful time; playing games, eating cotton candy and running around the fairgrounds (“Join the Parade (Reprise)” and “Partner in Crime”). In the elaborate dance number, Jesse & Winnie play with the other fair workers, as Jesse begins to fall for Winnie; if only she were a bit older. As the fair winds down, the Man in the Yellow Suit reappears with the only game left; the age guessing both. Winnie begs Jesse to stay away, but Jesse just wants to play. As the Man in the Yellow Suit stares into Jesse’s eyes, he’s reminded of a story that his grandmother used to tell him; one about a family that never ages. At first he guesses Jesse is 17, but after another stare, realizes that he is indeed 102-years-old! Jesse & Winnie flee the fairgrounds and escape to the top of a silo.

As the two of them sit on the silo, Jesse proposes that Winnie should drink the water from the spring in 6 years, so then she will be 17, like him (“Seventeen”). The Man in the Yellow Suit is lurking in the shadows and hears of Jesse’s plan and learns that he has finally found the family he has been searching for. He then heads to the Foster home to tell them that he has found Winnie, but has a business deal for them.

The Man in the Yellow Suit realizes that he can trade Winnie in for ownership of the woods on the Foster’s property, the same woods that house the spring the Tuck family has been drinking from for decades. He will then bottle the water from the spring and sell it for a profit; stay young forever and be rich! (“Everything’s Golden”)

Back at the house, Jesse reveals his plan to have Winnie drink from the spring in 6 years (“Seventeen (Reprise)”) and the rest of the Tuck family agree that this is another one of Jesse’s stupid ideas. Miles appears and sees that Winnie is dressed in the clothing that used to belong to his son, Thomas. In a scene that brought tears to my eyes, Miles tells Winnie the story of Thomas and his wife. Before the Tuck family knew about the magical powers of the spring water, Miles got married and had a child. By the time the family learned that they couldn’t age, Miles’ wife was convinced that he was possessed, took Thomas and left Miles alone (“Time”).

Back at the Foster home, the Man in the Yellow Suit is convincing Mother and Nana to sign over the woods on their property to him (“Everything’s Golden (Reprise)”), when Constable Joe and Hugo appear. They know there is something suspicious about the Man in the Yellow Suit and start questioning him, with Hugo noticing all the odd details; Mother holding paperwork for a “business transaction,” that the Man cannot elaborate on. As the Man in the Yellow Suit leaves, Constable Joe and Hugo talk over the odd situation (“You Can’t Trust a Man”).

After Winnie learned about Thomas, Angus takes a moment to talk with her. Angus explains to Winnie why aging is important (“The Wheel”) and tries to convince her that she does not need to drink the spring water. Seeing Angus as a fatherly figure, she starts to think if it’s really worth spending forever with Jesse. Maybe she should experience life and grow up?

The Man in the Yellow Suit has left the Foster’s home and is on the way to the spring in the woods. It’s here that he runs into Jesse, gathering water from the spring to give to Winnie. The Man tries to stab Jesse, but realizes he cannot die. Shortly thereafter, the entire Tuck family appears and confronts the Man. The Man tries to grab the vial of water from Jesse, but he tosses it to Miles. The Man then grabs Winnie, puts a gun to her head and makes her his hostage. Mae then uses the butt of Angus’ shotgun and hits the Man over the head, knocking him unconscious and effectively, killing him. Winnie is free, but Constable Joe and Hugo arrive and see the Man in the Yellow Suit’s body. They are going to charge Mae to death by hanging; which we all know won’t work, when Winnie steps up to say she did it and acted in self-defense. Constable Joe knows he cannot charge a child and encourages the Tuck family to leave Treegap and never come back.

Hugo offers to return Winnie home, as Jesse reminds Winnie to wait 6 years for him. When Winnie returns home, she cannot decide what to do with the water from the spring. Does she want to grow up and have a rich, fulfilled life or should she stay 17 forever and be with Jesse? (“Everlasting”) Suddenly, Winnie’s toad reappears, as Hugo almost flattens him with his foot. It’s then that Winnie knows what to do; she pours the water onto her toad, giving him eternal life.

In the finale (“The Wheel (Reprise)”), we see Winnie begin to grow up; she turns 17, she starts dating Hugo, they get married, they have a child (Neil Haskell, So You Think You Can Dance, Bring It On, Hamilton), her child grows up, her Nana passes, her mother passes, Hugo passes through a gorgeous and beautiful ballet.

Overall, I had a great time at the show. I enjoyed the story, even if I was a little creeped out at 30-year-old Andrew Keenan-Bolger trying to look 17 and tell a real 11-year-old to “wait for him.” I was very touched by the finale ballet, watching Winnie be played by Sarah Charles Lewis, Deanna Doyle and Jennifer Smith (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder) at various ages and by Robert Lenzi’s solo, “Time.”

It was great being so close to the stage, since I’ve been a fan of Neil Haskell since his appearance on SYTYCD and have seen him in several other Broadway shows. I was impressed watching him dance and the hard-working members of the ensemble, as they went through their multitude of costume changes. The big dance number in “Partner in Crime” was my favorite of the show; watching them leap, tap and twirl around the stage.

I even stayed around at the Stage Door to speak with AKB and Robert. I didn’t get a chance to see Carolee Carmello or Sarah Charles Lewis, but the energy at the door was great, despite the rain. I’m not sure how much longer the show will stay on Broadway, but I hope to go back at another time to see it again and I can’t wait to get a copy of the cast recording when it comes out.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

Live Like This

Good Girl Winnie Foster

Join the Parade

Good Girl Winnie Foster (Reprise)

Top of the World

Hugo’s First Case

Story of the Tucks

My Most Beautiful Day

Join the Parade (Reprise)

Partner in Crime

Seventeen

Act Two:

Everything’s Golden

Seventeen (Reprise)

Time

Everything’s Golden (Reprise)

You Can’t Trust a Man

The Wheel

Story of the Man in the Yellow Suit

Everlasting

The Wheel (Reprise)

"Allegiance" - 10.17.15

Show/Venue: Allegiance at the Longacre Theatre

Date: Saturday, October 17th, 2015 @ 2pm

Starring: George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung, Katie Rose Clarke, Michael K. Lee

Website: http://allegiancemusical.com/

After months of waiting, I was finally able to see one of my Broadway crushes, Telly Leung, in Allegiance. I had been following the show’s journey from the Old World Stages to Broadway and was hoping that he would stay attached to the show when it transferred to the Great White Way. And I lucked out! I was able to get a ticket to see the show in Previews (thanks, TodayTix) and got a front-row balcony seat for the Saturday matinee.

The show tells the story of the Kimura family, who are sent to an Internment Camp during World War II in the United States, as all Japanese-Americans were required to after the Japanese Government bombed Pearl Harbor. I found this story especially poignant, since in the American educational system, we were rarely taught about the “darker” side of the American Government during the war. I only found out about the Internment Camps, as I became fascinated by the story of Sadako Sasaki and the Thousand Paper Cranes in Elementary School. I started reading everything I could find about this subject, which was hard for my small library in Lincoln, Nebraska. This was when I first learned about the stables and barracks that Japanese-Americans were kept in during World War II.

The show opens in the early 00’s, as Sam Kimura (George Takei), is remembering his life, after his sister has passed away. Through a flasthback, we see him as a young man, played by Telly Leung (Rent, Godspell), his sister, Kei, played by the brilliant Lea Salonga (Miss Saigon, the singing voice of Jasmine in Aladdin and Mulan in Mulan) and their father, Tatsuo Kimora, played by Christopheren Nomura; enjoying the summer sunshine with their friendsfamilies.

Not too long after, their whole lives change as the Japanese Government bombs Pearl Harbor and the United States Governments sends all citizens of Japanese ancestry to various camps across the Nation. The Kimura’s are then forced to sell their farmland to a white neighbor for only $2,000 and take only what they can carry to the camp. Sammy immediately wants to enlist in the military with his friends, but they are informed that they cannot, due to their Nationality. As they arrive at the camp, they realize that they will be forced to live in old horse shelters, barns and barracks; giving up their freedom to comply with the “threat” of their allegiance to Japan vs. America.

Then the Kimura family finds themselves, including their elderly grandfather, Ojii-Chan, also played by Takei, in the Wyoming countryside, feeling imprisoned in their own Country for “their own good.” Once in the camp, everyone struggles to live their day to day lives with so many restrictions. Ojii-Chan reminds them of an old Japanese phrase, “Gaman,” meaning to have “endurance with dignity;” the Japanese will not be remembered for defiance, but for their ability to cooperate and show their loyalty to America. This song becomes the saying that will help everyone get through their tough times in the camp.

As the families settle into their barracks, there’s a cute moment where Ojii-Chan wants to hang up his wind chimes. An American soldier then warns him about putting up “Jap” things in his barrack and he takes them down. Sammy hangs up an American flag to show their loyalty to America, but when the soldier leaves, Ojii-Chan hangs up the wind chimes underneath the flag, in a small act of defiance.

Feeling much like criminals, the Japanese families are provided with little food and supplies. When Ojii-Chan gets a cough, Sammy & Kei go to the camp’s nurse to try and get some medicine. They notice that the soldiers are able to get relief, but not the prisoners. As Sammy chats with the Nurse, Hannah, played by Katie Rose Clarke (Wicked), he finds an ally and she sneaks him some cough syrup for his ailing grandfather.

In the number for “Get in the Game,” (barring any High School Musical references) the families play a game of baseball to compare their experience to what happens in a good game of America’s favorite past-time. As time passes in the camp, Kei begins to reexamine her life and how she has helped to raise her brother, Sammy, and he has so much ambition, but she has no direction in her life. She meets a young man, Frankie Suzuki (Michael K. Lee), who becomes of interest to her and becomes her confidant in the camp. It’s here that Lea Salonga gets to shine in the number, “Higher,” and I could feel the goosebumps as she hit the chords that reminded me of her voice while listening to Aladdin and Mulan throughout my childhood.

Shortly thereafter, the head of the Japanese Americans Citizens League (JACL), Mike Masaoka, played by Greg Watanabe, announces that there will be a “loyalty questionnaire” given to all individuals in the camps. Most of the questions are harmless, almost like census data, but one asks each person to show their allegiance to America or Japan. Those who mark their allegiance with America are kept in the camp or released, but those who mark their allegiance to Japan are sent to a much harsher camp; which is what happens to Kei & Sammy’s father, Tatsuo. In a tender moment, Kei struggles with what to mark on her questionnaire and Ojii-Chan folds his questionnaire into a paper flower for Kei to wear.

Masaoka continues to fight for the Japanese-Americans’ right to join the military to help show their allegiance and to fight the enemy in the war. The American Government agrees that they can serve in an “Asian Only” battalion and Sammy finally gets his wish to join. Sammy sees this as an opportunity to prove that he is an American, but the JACL has other plans. While they want to show their loyalty, their men are mostly sent into a suicide mission overseas. Back in Wyoming, Frankie opposes the draft for the Japanese-Americans and suffers for his opinions.

While Sammy is overseas, Hannah follows his journey through the news and keeps an eye out for Kei and Sammy’s family, as she promised him. She wants desperately to show Mr. Kimura that his son is doing their country proud, by fighting and leading troops into battle. While Frankie is locked up in a higher security cell for expression his dissention to the war, Kei learns that she is pregnant.

The remainder of the show goes between the camp in Wyoming, Tatsuo’s prison and Sammy overseas. As the war ends with the Americans bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki with Atomic bombs, Sammy returns home. It’s here that he finds out about Frankie and Kei’s relationship and their baby. Infuriated that Kei did not tell him about anything while he was away, they argue and he leaves, separating himself from his family, until we see him again at the end of the show.

As not to spoil some of the twists in Act Two, I won’t reveal what really led me to cry, but something about the whole Asian-American experience really pulled at my heartstrings. Growing up in the Midwest, where I was the only Asian kid in school until Middle School, really made me a bit defensive to other kids’ comments and how they would ask me things like “why are your eyes so small?” Then the fact that this part of American History was not taught to me in school, only signaled to me that my culture’s experiences in History were not important. I could empathize easily with the plight of the characters in Allegiance.

The show concludes with Sammy as an old man, played again by Takei, as he returns home to find out that his father has saved the LIFE Magazine with his portrait on the cover. It’s here that Sammy realizes his father was proud of him, after all. Even if they did not get the chance to ever express it in person.

At the end of the show, I left with another Broadway crush, Michael K. Lee, whose performance as Frankie really drew me in. Between Telly Leung’s performance, I wanted to side with him and fight for the Japanese-American’s right to fight in the war, but I also agreed with Frankie, how could someone want to support a country that imprisoned them? I also enjoyed seeing Katie Rose Clarke, who I had seen in Wicked a few years ago, and her performance role as Nurse Hannah, really showed how some people had to walk the fine line between treating the Japanese-Americans as prisoners and being regular Americans. She brought subtle emotions through in a way, so different that Glinda; where I mostly felt annoyed by her character in that show.

And of course, as a “Fansie” (fan of Newsies), I was excited to see Aaron J. Albano in the ensemble, after seeing him in Newsies, Here Lives Love and The King & I. Since he plays various roles in the ensemble, he did not have many featured roles, but got a chance to act along with Telly in several scenes.

Watching Christopheren Nomura and George Takei, was at some times like watching my Dad tell a story. As he immigrated to the United States when he was only 18-years-old, to Midwest, it was interesting to see how some of his own experiences mirrored what the Japanese-Americans had to go through; prejudice, racism, discrimination, even though he came to the U.S. almost 20 years after World War II.

Normally, I’m not one to “Stage Door” and wait for autographs, but I wanted to see Telly and of course, Lea Salonga! I was able to get signatures from both of them, Katie Rose Clarke and Christopheren Nomura, but I couldn’t catch Michael K. Lee over all the Filipino ladies shoving their way in front of me. The ladies went nuts when Lea came out, since she has been such an inspirational figure for them and recently appeared on the Philippines version of The Voice. I was able to speak to Telly for a bit, and mention that I had met him before at the Godspell Cast Album signing at Barnes & Noble a few years ago. (He thanked me for my support!)

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

San Francisco, California – 2001

Prologue

Salinas, California – 1941

Wishes on the Wind

Do Not Fight the Storm

Heart Mountain Relocation Center, Wyoming/Washington, DC – 1942

Gaman

What Makes a Man

I Oughta Go

Get in the Game

Should I

Allegiance

Ishi Kara Ishi

Paradise

Higher

With You

Our Time Now

Act Two:

Pisa, Italy/Heart Mountain/Tule Lake/Vosges Mountains, France – 1944

Resist

Allegiance (Reprise)

This Is Not Over

Higher/Resist (Reprise)

Stronger Than Before

With You (Reprise)

Heart Mountain, Wyoming/Washington, DC/San Francisco, California – 1945

Nothing in Our Way

Ietsuita

442 Victory Swing

Higher/Ishi Kara Ishi (Reprise)

How Can You Go?

San Francisco, California – 2001

What Makes a Man/Wishes on the Wind (Reprise)

"Hamilton" - 07.29.15

Show/Venue: Hamilton at the Richard Rodgers Theatre

Date: Wednesday, July 29th, 2015 @ 2pm

Starring: Lin-Manuel Miranda/Javier Munoz, Leslie Odom Jr., Phillippa Soo, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, Okieriete Onaodowan, Anthony Ramos, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Jonathan Groff

Website: http://www.hamiltonbroadway.com

When I first moved to New York City in 2009, one of the first shows that I saw on Broadway was Lin-Manuel Miranda’s brilliant, Tony-Award winning In the Heights and I was blown away by the cultural references and his ability to tell a vibrant story through rap and hip-hop. Then, I saw Bring It On: The Musical, which also had Lin-Manuel’s influence with smart lyrics and contemporary references that came fast and slick. Sadly, I wasn’t ahead of the game with his latest work, Hamilton. Try as I might, there were no tickets available at The Public Theatre, but the buzz surrounding his work and the show was so high, that has soon as it was announced the show would transfer to Broadway, I was on the hunt for tickets on Ticketmaster. I chose my favorite time for a show, a Wednesday matinee, during previews and consumed everything I could about the show in the coming months.

Yes, I took the day off of work to attend the show and as I arrived the energy in the Richard Rodgers Theatre was electric. The story of one of America’s founding fathers told through a mostly African-American and Hispanic cast. (A brilliant move in colorblind casting, which is still sad that in 2015 this is something we have to applaud.) The usual weekday matinee consisted of older, mostly white people and boy, would they be in for a ride over the next few hours.

All my friends know that I’m an emotional theatre-goer, so I knew I would be on a ride as soon as Leslie Odom Jr. (Aaron Burr) appeared on stage. As Burr, he begins to lay the foundation of Alexander Hamilton’s story and how he was “The ten dollar founding father without a father.” I didn’t get the opportunity to see Lin-Manuel in the role of Hamilton, as he was sitting out a few performances during previews to tweak the show. However, his standby, Javier Munoz (also his standby during his run of In The Heights), was on for the role of Alexander Hamilton. I was immediately engrossed.

By the second song, “My Shot,” I already had chills. “Just like my country, I’m young, scrappy and hungry and I’m not throwing away my shot,” Hamilton raps and I realized it was going to be a great two and a half hours. But as I started to dance in my seat, the man sitting next to me took out his cell phone and started to scroll through his e-mails! I semi-aggressively grabbed his arm and told him to put his phone away. How important were those e-mails that he needed to check them less than fifteen minutes into the show? At least he was polite about it and didn’t glance or take out his phone at all during the rest of the show.

The Schuyler sisters; Angelica (Renee Elise Goldsberry), Eliza (Phillipa Soo) and Peggy (Jasmine Cephas Jones) are brilliantly played and you might notice the slight nod to another famous female R&B trio. The girls are the only children of Philip Schuyler, a prominent politician in New York. Their introduction shows them sneaking out of their parent’s home to go out on the town, with Peggy showing a bit of guilt for leaving against their parents’ wishes. They get one of the best phrases in the show as they sing of “the greatest city in the world,” which has replaced the usual theme that hums through my idle brain; the theme to the old Nicktoon, Doug.

As one of the ensemble members, Thayne Jasperson (one of my favorite dancers from So You Think You Can Dance, Newsies, Matilda), introduces a proclamation from King George (Jonathan Groff) and establishes the strained relationship between the new America and England. In the next scene, Groff has the audience in his hands, playing the King as aloof and in a fun, poppy influenced number called “You’ll Be Back,” where he taunts the American revolutionaries for leaving him.

With a war looming Hamilton and his friends launch into “Right Hand Man” with influences of Jay Z and other modern rappers. This leads into the introduction of Eliza and Angelica Schuyler as love interests for Hamilton and how he weaves his life into their family in “Helpless,” which is brilliantly staged on the turntable on stage, as the ensemble and leads weave their way in and out of each other. Time elapses and Hamilton wins the love of Eliza, promises to give his life to her and they get married. The audience gets to see a bit of jealousy in Angelica, as she realizes her feelings for Hamilton and how she will not be able to rise above her station if they marry (“Satisfied”). She sees how her sister, Eliza, is smitten by Hamilton and finds a way to introduce them. Angelica is brilliantly performed by Renee Elise Goldsberry and we see her story of how she, Hamilton and Eliza met through a reversed story, including some amazing reverb, more turntable work and an INSANE rap thrown by Goldsberry that had me fan-girling at the stage door with her after the show and goosebumps up and down my arms.

Manuel expertly shows the parallel lives of Burr and Hamilton and how these two men, one who’s life ended in tragedy; were not very different at all. Burr always seemed to be just a bit behind Hamilton in reaching their same life goals. They share stories of being orphans, working in the New World, love of women who are out of their reach; expressed beautifully in “Wait for It” by Odom Jr. as he lays out how Hamilton is “changing the game.”

Hamilton wants desperately to fight in the war, but George Washington (Christopher Jackson, In the Heights, Holler If Ya Hear Me) does not want him in the field and instead, he promotes Christopher Lee. Hamilton still longs to get into battle, so his friend John Laurens (Anthony Ramos) goes into the battlefield for him and they run through the “Ten Duel Commandments,” with the same siren beat I quickly recognized from the Pussycat Dolls’ “When I Grow Up,” is that odd? As the debate continues about the duel, then Miranda brilliant plays in a “meet him inside” sample from DMX’s “Party Up (In Here)” and Hamilton finally retreats and heads home.

Once he makes it back home, Hamilton learns that Eliza is pregnant and his tune about fighting in the war shifts. Soo beautifully illustrates like what it was like to live in NYC then and now, her haunting phrase of “look around, look around,” that consistently follows me when I’m walking through the city. Miranda has done an outstanding job of showing Eliza’s story in American history, which was probably passed over in most U.S. textbooks.

I quickly became a fan of Marquis de Lafayette (Daveed Diggs) during his rap in “History Has Its Eyes on You.” His rhymes come so fast and slick; yet explain exactly the camaraderie between himself, Hamilton and their friends during this time of change. As the men prepare for “Yorktown,” Hamilton’s friends spread across the country to take on the British, with Hercules Mulligan (Okieriete Onaodowan) explaining how he acted as a spy for the American’s advantage, with more stunning raps from “The Mighty Oak,” as he’s known.

As Act One comes to a close, the battle of Yorktown winds down, King George reappears and Groff gets another chance to shine taunting the Americans and saying “don’t come crawling back to me. You’re on your own!” (But seriously, don’t tell me you don’t have “oceans rise, empires fall” stuck in your head or at least the “da da da da” right now.)

Then a tender moment with Burr, as he sings to his newborn daughter in “Dear Theodosia,” showcasing Odom Jr’s chops, which were never really shown to their full potential on SMASH, where I became a casual fan; and how she’ll “blow us all away, someday.” This scene is juxtaposed with Hamilton singing to his newborn son, Philip, and how his “father wasn’t around, [but he’ll] be around for you,” and is echoed by Burr. So much optimism shown through the eyes of Hamilton and Burr, as they become fathers for the first time.

In the next scene, Hamilton & Burr both end up back in New York City, where they have become lawyers. Burr can’t believe that Hamilton is besting him again, “why do you assume you’re the smartest in the room” in “Non-Stop.” This song is also a nod to Hamilton’s insane amount of writing and how he had so much that he needed to express; in fact he proposes a new form of government to Burr and how to take on the U.S. Constitution. Hamilton believes that his essays can help to amend the Constitution and make their government better.

We also see Angelica leaving Hamilton for another man, but their interaction still shows that something else might be there. As Hamilton writes 51 out of 85 essays, “writing like [he’s] running out of time” which will become The Federalist Papers, after his other partners drop out. Washington then appoints Hamilton to lead the U.S. Treasury and Eliza begs him to stay, Angelica leaves and the world waits to see what Hamilton will do with his shot.

Act Two opens with some of the leads turning into new roles, as Lafayette becomes Thomas Jefferson (Diggs), Hercules Mulligan becomes James Madison (Onaodowan) and John Laurens becomes Hamilton’s son, Philip (Ramos). And if you weren’t already impressed with Daveed Diggs, you will be now. As Thomas Jefferson, coming back from France, he asks everyone “What’d I Miss” in a rousing number, as he is introduced to Hamilton. Jefferson isn’t quite sure what to think about Hamilton and if he’s a friend or a foe.

The two meet in a Cabinet meeting that’s presented as a rap battle, cordless microphones and all, and its here that we see they share opposite views on how the country should be run. The battle sets up Act Two and the Jefferson vs. Hamilton rivalry and where Burr fits into the story, and these “cabinet meetings” easily became one of my favorite parts of the show.

Washington then challenges Hamilton to fix their problem, as we see Eliza with a young Philip Hamilton, learning the piano. Hamilton writes a letter to Eliza’s sister, Angelica, lamenting why they are “an ocean away,” and how perhaps, in another place they could have been together. As Eliza beckons, a young Philip shows his father how he’s written a poem/rap for his father. It’s here that Eliza encourages Hamilton to leave the city and to get away from all the government conflict; as she wants to raise their family upstate. On the other hand, Angelica is encouraging Hamilton to challenge the government and notices that with the change in placement of one comma Hamilton has addressed her as “My Dearest, Angelica,” just before she arrives to visit her sister and brother-in-law; how will their relationship evolve?

Hamilton expresses that he cannot head upstate with the sisters, as he needs to get his plan to Congress. As he is overworked and alone, he meets Maria Reynolds and they begin a sordid affair in “Say No to This.” Soon Maria’s husband finds out about their affair and extorts Hamilton to stay quiet about the affair. At the close of the song, Lin-Manuel pays tribute to one of my favorite musicals, The Last Five Years, with a line from “Nobody Needs to Know” and chills went up and down my arms. I looked around to see if anyone else noticed the nod to Jason Robert Brown, but most likely, the rest of the audience were not huge Jeremy Jordan and Anna Kendrick fans, like me.

As an agreement between Jefferson and Hamilton takes place, Burr laments that “no one else was in the room where it happens,” how are they to know what was agreed upon and what they have in store? As great changes in the government ensue, Eliza’s father, Philip Schuyler loses his Senate seat to Aaron Burr and his frenemy relationship with Hamilton grows and another rap battle ensues. Jefferson tells Washington that Hamilton is not good for the Nation, as he wants to challenge the European Nations. Hamilton doesn’t want to start a war and Washington agrees that America is too young to start another war. It’s here that Jefferson says “it must be nice to have Washington on your side,” as Hamilton is clearly the teacher’s pet. Jefferson realizes that to take on Hamilton, he will have to resign from the cabinet and that’s not something that Washington was expecting.

As Washington decides to resign from the Presidency, King George wonders how John Adams could be the next President and how someone could “step down” from running the country. The King knows Adams and observes that he will not be able to run the country, but how he’ll love to watch Adams turn America into a giant mess with Jefferson as his Vice-President. Another amusing and crowd-winning performance from Groff, devilish laughter, winks to the crowd and all.

Under the Adams Administration, Hamilton realizes that he doesn’t hold the same power that he did in Washington’s Administration. Hamilton writes and writes about his distaste for what Jefferson is doing with the country. Jefferson realizes that Hamilton must be taken down and they find records of Hamilton’s checks to James Reynolds, Maria’s husband, hoping to extort him for treason. However, they are surprised to learn that Hamilton only paid Reynolds to cover up his affair and wasn’t moving around government funds. Hamilton implores the men to keep everything a secret, but being paranoid that he cannot trust them, he decides to write “The Reynolds Pamphlet” and expose himself before someone else can. With the news being public, Jefferson declares that Hamilton “never gonna be President now.” Angelica appears and Hamilton believes that she is here to support him, but in a change of events, she sides with Eliza and is there for her sister’s support.

As Philip Hamilton graduates college, he’s taunted by a classmate, George, about his father’s honor and challenges him to a duel. Hamilton coaches Philip to shoot his pistol into the sky, in a reprise of “Ten Duel Commandments”, but the classmate doesn’t wait until the count of 10 and fatally wounds Philip. As Hamilton and Eliza rush to Philip’s side, they patch up their relationship as their son dies. It’s Soo’s blood curdling scream that sent tears streaming down my eyes, through the loss of her only son; thank god, I brought plenty of Kleenex.

It’s then that Hamilton & Eliza move uptown to a quieter life. As the next election nears, Adams is out and Jefferson finds himself running against Burr. Surprisingly, Burr has been openly campaigning and winning over voters by not taking a strong stance against any issue, but by being charming. Jefferson realizes that he may need an endorsement from Hamilton to win the election. Able to gain this endorsement and win the election, Jefferson is elected and Burr is surprised to learn that Jefferson doesn’t want Burr as his Vice-President.

With another opportunity taken from him, Burr begins to realize a pattern in his life. Who has been there through everything and taken all of his opportunities, no other than Alexander Hamilton. Burr challenges Hamilton to a duel in New Jersey, ironically in the same place that Hamilton’s son, Philip’s duel took place.

In the early morning, Hamilton and Burr arrive in Weehawken, New Jersey to prepare for the duel. As the men and their allies arrive, Burr’s anger towards Hamilton grows and at the count of ten, he fires. As the bullet (Ariana DeBose, So You Think You Can Dance, Bring It On, Motown) approaches, Hamilton fires towards the sky and is hit by Burr’s bullet in the chest. Hamilton is taken back to New York City, where Eliza and Angelica await and are by his side as he passes.  Then Burr realizes the consequences of being Hamilton’s killer and how “the world was wide enough” for them both, Burr wanted to be remembered for his achievements, but will only now be known for killing Hamilton.

Jefferson and others realize what an asset Hamilton was for America in “Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story.” Eliza goes on a mission to learn more about her late husband, who he fought with, what he wrote and how they can bring everything he accomplished to the world. She then goes on to raises money for the Washington Monument, challenges slavery and helps to build the first private orphanage in New York City. Over the next decades, she will raise many children and see how Hamilton influenced her life’s passion and story. Even before the curtain call began, the audience was on their feet applauding the performance and this amazing, life-changing work of art.

By the end of the show, I realized how little about American history that I actually knew. Where was all this information in my late 90’s high school history class? If only Mr. Brestel had taught us through rap & hip-hop, maybe I would have scored higher on my AP History Exam. In fact, I’m a bit ashamed that I only knew who Aaron Burr was because of the “Got Milk?” ad about the history buff who can’t answer a trivia question, because of all the cookies in his mouth; if only he’d had a glass of milk! (You should Google Leslie Odom Jr.’s brilliant parody of this video, if you haven’t seen it already.)

As NPR released the “First Listen” of the soundtrack earlier this week, I’ve been listening to the whole show on repeat all week. I can’t wait to go back again and might need to save up some money to try and get a ticket for February 2016.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

1.       Alexander Hamilton

2.       Aaron Burr, Sir

3.       My Shot

4.       The Story of Tonight

5.       The Schuyler Sisters

6.       Farmer Refuted

7.       You’ll Be Back

8.       Right Hand Man

9.       A Winter’s Ball

10.   Helpless

11.   Satisfied

12.   The Story of Tonight (Reprise)

13.   Wait for It

14.   Stay Alive

15.   Ten Duel Commandments

16.   Meet Me Inside

17.   That Would Be Enough

18.   Guns and Ships

19.   History Has Its Eyes on You

20.   Yorktown (The World Turned Upside Down)

21.   What Comes Next?

22.   Dear Theodosia

23.   Non-Stop

Act Two:

1.       What’d I Miss

2.       Cabinet Battle #1

3.       Take a Break

4.       Say No to This

5.       The Room Where It Happens

6.       Schuler Defeated

7.       Cabinet Battle #2

8.       Washington on Your Side

9.       One Last Time

10.   I Know Him

11.   The Adams Administration

12.   We Know

13.   Hurricane

14.   The Reynolds Pamphlet

15.   Burn

16.   Blow Us All Away

17.   Stay Alive (Reprise)

18.   It’s Quiet Uptown

19.   The Election of 1800

20.   Your Obedient Servant

21.   Best of Wives and Best of Women

22.   The World Was Wide Enough

23.   Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Tells Your Story

"Finding Neverland" - 05.13.15

Show/Venue: Finding Neverland at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre

Date: Wednesday, May 13th, 2015 @ 2pm

Starring: Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer, Laura Michelle Kelly

Website: http://www.findingneverlandthemusical.com

Even though Finding Neverland was almost shut out of the Tony Award nominations, I was still excited to see the show. As a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance, I couldn’t wait to see Melanie Moore, (the season 8 winner) and the choreography of Mia Michaels in this production. And as any musical theatre nerd who loved Glee, I knew it would be great to see Matthew Morrison (Mr. Schuester) in the role of J.M. Barrie.

Having never seen the movie, I had brief knowledge about the plot of the show, but knew it revolved around J.M. Barrie and how he came up with the idea for Peter Pan. Also starring Kelsey Grammer (Fraiser, Cheers, La Cage Aux Follies) as Charles Frohman, Barrie’s director and investor, the show was loaded with star power and the theatre was filled with a mix of young and old for this Wednesday matinee.

Before Barrie wrote Peter Pan, he had just opened up a new play, which critics were not enthusiastic about, but no one would tell him the truth, (“If the World Turned Upside Down”). Barrie struggled with finding inspiration and substance for a new play and his overbearing, society wife, Mary (played brilliantly by Teal Wicks), wasn’t helping his situation. Mary was stressed that so many people from London were there to see Barrie’s work and he wasn’t paying them any attention, (“All of London Is Here Tonight”).

The next day, Barrie spends some time in a local park, where he meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (the spectacular Laura Michelle Kelly), a recent widow with four young sons. Barrie is inspired by their imaginations “Believe” and their stories of pirates, (“Pirates of Kensington”) and plays with the boys, who long for some sort of male role model, since their father had passed away, (“Believe”). Barrie finds a kindred spirit in Peter, who is an aspiring writer and is so taken by the family that he invites them to his home for a fancy dinner, in celebration of his latest work. This new arrives much to Mary’s chagrin and Barrie starts to develop feelings and a much frowned upon relationship with Sylvia, (“The Dinner Party” and the very entertaining “We Own the Night”).

After the party, Mary is deeply embarrassed by Barrie’s behavior, acting like a child and letting his imagination run free in front of so many important people. Barrie retreats from his wife and continues to find more inspiration in the imaginations of the Llewelyn Davies children. It’s after the party that Sylvia’s mother warns her about how the community is viewing her relationship with Mr. Barrie and how she must take care of herself, alluding to some sort of sickness that Sylvia has been dealing with, and leaving Sylvia alone outside of her home, (“Sylvia’s Lullaby,” a stunning ballad performed by Kelly).

Barrie and Sylvia start to talk about the concept of Neverland, where you can go and never have to grow up. In the next few scenes, Barrie’s imagination runs free, [in the “Circus of Your Mind” the ensemble lights up with an intricate dance number, reminiscent of a group SYTYCD routine by Mia Michaels in Season 4 (“The Dance,” https://youtu.be/djsTqP-0CdY)] as he starts to develop more new ideas for his next work. We then see Frohman challenging Barrie to come up with a new idea and that he needs new material for the actors right away; which leads to Frohman’s transformation into Captain Hook, (“Live by the Hook”).

In the stunning Act One closer (as performed on the 2015 Tony Awards), “Stronger” showcases Morrison’s singing and performance chops, something he rarely got to do live on Glee and shows why the producers may have cast him in this role over Jeremy Jordan (who played Barrie in the out of town tryout and will always be one of my favorite Broadway crushes). Here, Barrie, with a cast of pirates, shows how this struggle has made him stronger and how he will move forward in work and life, culminating in a large production number with a plank, a bench (one of Michaels’ favorite props) and several rope ladders. I left Act One with chills and couldn’t wait to see how “Peter Pan” was going to develop in Act Two.

At the start of Act Two, Frohman’s actors are struggling to understand Barrie’s work and what this story about the boy who never grew up really has to say. Barrie and Sylvia’s relationship continues to develop, (“What You Mean to Me”), as Barrie’s home life with Mary falls apart. In the meantime, Peter is working hard to write his own play to share with Barrie, with his siblings as the actors. Following their first performance, Sylvia’s condition worsens and Barrie has a heartfelt talk with Peter, (“When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground”), and what is going on with his mother.

Finally, Barrie’s Peter Pan is ready for its opening night, but Sylvia is in no condition to attend. The actors head off to Opening Night without her and the show is a huge success. There’s even a nod to Grammer’s television days as one of the actors asks him if they “say ‘cheers!’ where [he’s] from!” At the conclusion of the performance, the cast brings the show to Sylvia’s home, so she and her children can enjoy the work that their lives and imaginations have inspired. The energy is electric as everyone is celebrating this new work, but in the next moment, Sylvia passes.

In this tender moment, Kelly becomes engulfed in glitter and disappears, just one of those special, magical theatre moments that I can’t quite figure out, but that’s the beauty of live entertainment. Then the family reassembles after Sylvia’s passing, with Sylvia’s mother, Barrie and the boys. They will co-parent the boys and help them keep their imaginations just a lively as ever.

I left the theatre feeling rejuvenated about what you can accomplish in life with just a bit of imagination and immediately wanting to see the show again. There were so many great nuances in the production that left me baffled as to how this show didn’t receive a Best Musical nomination or even a nod for Matthew Morrison, (because Ken Wantanabe in The King & I was certainly not as powerful as Morrison), but I guess that’s up to the Tony Award voters to figure out.

I enjoyed watching Melanie Moore dance in the ensemble and bring Tinkerbell back to life, as much as I loved watching her dance with Marko Germar on SYTYCD. Her ability to draw in the audience and express emotion through her movement is always so impactful. In fact, she stopped into my work the day before I saw the show and I immediately went to help her, without fan-girling too much, and to talk about what a spectacular dancer I think she is.

The ensemble of this cast is also remarkable, as they play various roles of the Barrie household’s servant/wait staff (and have some great comedic moments), pirates in the imagination of Barrie, citizens of the city during “Believe” and even the acting troupe, each of them finds a unique was to relate to the audience, even in the overwhelming space of the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, which I didn’t feel from the ensemble of Motown, which I also saw there.

I was really moved by the music, written by Gary Barlow, of the British boy band, Take That, and disappointed that the Original Broadway Cast album was almost overshadowed by the concept album, where the songs from the show were “reimagined” by a bunch of pop stars. Don’t get me wrong, I love some Nick Jonas, but his version of “Believe” and Kiesza’s version of “Stronger” can’t compare to Matthew Morrison’s version of either. At least I have the newly announced OBC recording to look forward to, so I can cry my eyes out when Laura Michelle Kelly sings.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

1.       If the World Turned Upside Down

2.       All of London Is Here Tonight

3.       The Pirates of Kensington

4.       Believe

5.       The Dinner Party

6.       We Own the Night

7.       All That Matters

8.       The Pirates of Kensington (Reprise)

9.       Sylvia’s Lullaby

10.   Neverland

11.   Circus of Your Mind

12.   Live by the Hook

13.   Stronger

Act Two:

1.       The World Is Upside Down

2.       What You Mean to Me

3.       Play

4.       We’re All Made of Stars

5.       When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground

6.       Something About This Night

7.       Neverland (Reprise)

8.       Finale

"Something Rotten!" - 05.05.15

Show/Venue: Something Rotten!: A Very New Musical at the St. James Theatre

Date: Tuesday, March 5th, 2015 @ 7pm

Starring: Brian D’Arcy James, Christian Borle, John Cariani, Heidi Blickenstaff

Website: http://www.rottenbroadway.com

Honestly, the advertisements for Something Rotten!, really don’t tell the viewer anything about the show and how hilarious it is! The premise is that the Bottom Brothers, Nick (Brian D’Arcy James, SMASH, Shrek, Next to Normal) and Nigel (John Cariani, Fiddler on the Roof) are writers who are tired of being constantly overshadowed by Shakespeare (Christian Borle, SMASH, Peter and the Starcatcher, Legally Blonde) during the Renaissance. Nick is the brains of their operation and Nigel is the writer/composer.

Nick expresses his distaste for Shakespeare (“God, I Hate Shakespeare”), while Nigel idolizes him and even writes his own prose. The opening number really sets up the plot for the rivalry between Nick & Shakespeare and Nick & Nigel as the Bottom Brothers try to come up with a great new play. Shortly thereafter, Nick finds out that his wife, Bea (Heidi Blickenstaff, The Addams Family, The Little Mermaid), wants to go to work and help Nick earn money for the family (“Right Hand Man”), but Nick protests his wife being “the man” and going to work for them; he should be the one supporting them.

As the brothers disagree on their next course of action, Nick takes matters into his own hands. He “borrows” from his family savings and visits a soothsayer to try and find out what Shakespeare’s next big hit will be. In the brilliant number, “A Musical!,” the soothsayer, who happens to be named Nostradamus (Brad Oscar, Big Fish, Spamalot), describes that the next big thing in theatre will be a musical! Nostradamus makes references towards many famous musicals through dance, lyrics and concepts; which is this wonderful crowd pleasing number in the show. Nick stands by trying to believe that people would actually want to see a show where people spontaneously burst into song and dance; who would want to see a show about singing and dancing cats?

Nick goes back to his troupe and tries to develop a musical around the plague, called “The Black Death” and has not convinced anyone that this is a concept that will help them gain popularity over Shakespeare. In the meantime, Nick finds out that Bea has been pretending to be a man to find work to provide money for their family and is pregnant. This only gives him more motivation to provide for his family and really come up with a great concept, as “The Black Death” isn’t going to work.

Nigel thinks that he & Nick should continue with their own writing and takes a moment to distance himself from his brother. At this time, he runs into Portia (Kate Reinders, Wicked, Gypsy), the daughter of a Puritan priest, Brother Jeremiah (Brooks Ashmanskas, Bullets Over Broadway), who denounces the theatre and the works of Shakespeare and the Bottom Brothers. Portia secretly finds Shakespeare dreamy and falls quickly for Nigel, as he recites his own poetry to her in the park (“I Love the Way”).

In a nod to Shakespeare in the Park, a crowd gathers to see the famous Bard in a great rock and roll influenced number, “Will Power” which plays up Shakespeare’s celebrity. Realizing that even Nigel is in awe of Shakespeare, Nick visits Nostradamus again to find out more about what Shakespeare could be up to. It’s revealed that Shakespeare’s biggest hit will be a play about…omelets. Nostradamus also has a vision that Shakespeare’s hit will be about a Danish, but leaving out the part about a Prince. Connecting Danish with the omelet theme, Nick believes he has all the information he needs and sets out to create a musical about eggs and breakfast.

What follows is the Act One Finale, an entertaining tap dance number to “This Bottoms’ Gonna Be on Top,” as Nick and Will have a face-off, full of name-dropping jabs and wonderful taps & slides. It’s here that Borle & D’Arcy James go above and beyond to one up each other and show off their killer tapping skills, which I never realized they had. (I guess that there wasn’t really a great plot line for them to show off these skills on SMASH.)

Act Two opens with a reprise of “Welcome to the Renaissance” and Shakespeare lamenting about how it’s “Hard to Be the Bard” in a hilarious song about his fame and fortune and featuring Borle in some pretty tight leather pants. Some great nods to paparazzi and the celebrity life in the 1500’s are mentioned in this number, with Will’s own back-up singers & dancers. It’s during this number that Shakespeare learns that the Bottom Brothers are coming up with a new idea for a play and that Nick has set out to “best” him. Shakespeare decides he will disguise himself as a fan, Toby Belch, and go to audition for Nick’s new play.

Across town, Nick and his troupe are working on a song, “It’s Eggs!” while everyone remains skeptical about the subject of eggs and the concept of the musical. Toby makes his appearance and the troupe gladly welcomes him into the fold. He is then shocked to find out that his next big play will be about eggs!?

In the meantime, Nigel has a secret meeting with Portia, where he shares a poem about his love for her (“We See the Light”). Through his expression, Portia realizes her love for Nigel and encourages him to keep writing and to get inspired to create something great for his next work. It’s through Nigel’s newly inspired writing that Nick and Brother Jeremiah will change their opinions of him & Portia as a couple and accept them for who they are.

Still skeptical about “Omelette: The Musical”, Nigel goes to Nick to inform him that he has been working on another play. During the brothers’ fight, Toby tries to use their arguments to his advantage and steal some of Nigel’s work (“To Thine Own Self”).

The troupe then goes onto opening night of Omelette: The Musical! There are subtle nods to Hamlet throughout; as if Shakespeare really did get some of his best work from Nigel Bottom’s writing (even “to be or not to be” is included). The troupe is struggling to make the musical seem coherent and not really ridiculous, when Shakespeare reveals himself to the crowd and they are stunned! Then Shakespeare decides to sue the Bottom Brothers and takes them to court.

During the proceedings, Nick is sentenced to be beheaded, when Bea, disguised as a lawyer comes to the defense of her husband. Bea makes a deal with Shakespeare to have her family exiled to America, where they can find many new opportunities (“Finale”) and bring the concept of musicals to the New World.

Overall, I was glad that I started off my Tony Award season with this show. The songs were very clever and there were plenty of musical references for all theatre fans to appreciate. I found myself laughing at some of the more obscure references to musicals and shows, but I think that most people will love the campiness and shtick in the show. With 10 Tony Nominations, the show is sure to clean up at the Awards on Sunday! And this Broadway fan girl hopes that Christian Borle walks away with another win, as I would gladly be one of his fans, shrieking at him in the park during “Will Power!”

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

1.       Welcome to the Renaissance

2.       God, I Hate Shakespeare

3.       Right Hand Man

4.       God, I Hate Shakespeare (Reprise)

5.       A Musical

6.       The Black Death

7.       I Love the Way

8.       Will Power

9.       Bottom’s Gonna Be on Top

Act Two:

1.       Welcome to the Renaissance (Reprise)

2.       Hard to Be the Bard

3.       It’s Eggs!

4.       We See the Light

5.       To Thine Own Self

6.       Right Hand Man (Reprise)

7.       Something Rotten!

8.       Make an Omelette

9.       To Thine Own Self (Reprise)

10.    Finale

"Fun Home" - 05.06.15

Show/Venue: Fun Home at Circle in the Square

Date: Wednesday, March 6th, 2015 @ 2pm

Starring: Beth Malone, Michael Cerveris, Judy Kuhn, Sydney Lucas, Emily Skeggs

Website: http://www.funhomebroadway.com

Sometime last year, my friend, Michelle, told me about Fun Home when it was showing at the Public Theatre. I looked up the plot online and thought “a show about a funeral home and a girl’s relationship with her late father? How could that be a decent show?” I quickly regretted my decision to not see this show and was really excited to find out that it was being developed for a Broadway run. I subsequently bought Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel, Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic and devoured the material on the L train to and from work in a span of two days.

With 12 Tony Award nominations, the updated musical of Fun Home, is leading the pack and almost all of the lead actors and actresses have received recognition for their work in this show. Playing at the Circle in the Square Theatre, the audience gets an amazing view of show and the setup almost encourages them to see the show a few times, as every seat offers a difference perspective of the show.

Alison is played at various ages and stages of her life, which helps to establish her relationship with her father and how her own coming out awoke her to his own inner demons as a closeted gay man. The show opens with Small Alison (Sydney Lucas) as she begs her father to come and play “airplane” with her, but he would rather go through a bunch of antiques found in a neighbor’s garage (IT ALL COMES BACK). Alison’s father, Bruce (Michael Cerveris), takes a fine attention to detail and shows his daughter the finer things in life through Irish damask linen and polished silver, while she would rather play and have some human contact with her father.

The show transitions back and forth between present day Alison (Beth Malone), who is drawing her graphic novel, while narrating the story. She takes out a similar silver kettle to help her remember her childhood and for ideas of what to illustrate in her book. Going back to Small Alison, Bruce has learned that an important guest from the local historical society will be coming to their home. The Bechdel family has been living in a house that their father has painstakingly worked to restore and preserve and has become well-known in their small community of Beech Creek, PA. Their mother, Helen (Judy Kuhn), encourages the children to help her clean up the house and do what “he wants” to make everything just so for their important guest (WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE ON MAPLE AVENUE).

Then going to Middle Alison (Emily Skeggs), who has just started college at Oberlin and is still drawing, despite her father’s wishes, we start to see how her life is developing. It’s in college that Alison begins to realize that she might be gay. She finds some books that help her understand what she’s feeling and she gets the courage to attend meetings of her school’s Gay Union. It’s here that Joan (Roberta Colindrez), spots her and they start to form a friendship.

Back to Alison’s childhood, as Small Alison and her two brothers, Christian (Oscar Williams) and John (Zell Steele Morrow), have found creative ways to play in their old home, which is also the local funeral home (i.e. “Fun Home”) and when Bruce finds them playing in a display casket, he gets upset. This doesn’t seem to rattle the children, as they jump around and play, which turns into their own song and dance number/commercial for the Bechdel Fun Home (COME TO THE FUN HOME).

We start to see some of Bruce’s indiscretions, as Helen plays the piano (HELEN’S ETUDE), Bruce invites one of his former students, Roy (Joel Perez), into another room for a drink. Bruce and Roy flirt with one another, both wanting more, but also with a twinge of knowing what they want to do is “wrong.” At college, Middle Alison expresses her feelings through letters to her parents and how things are going for her while away at college. She deliberately hides her newest revelation for the time being.

Then there’s a glimpse into Small Alison’s world as she struggles with her father’s wishes to wear a dress and how she wants to wear jeans and a t-shirt. The back and forth between the two, as Alison points out Bruce is wearing a pink shirt and it’s “a girl color” and he bullies her into not being “the only girl there not wearing a dress” (PARTY DRESS).

Back to Middle Alison as she explains to Joan how she realized that she was gay. Joan asks Alison questions about how she came out, which she does to for the first time to Joan. Joan encourages Alison to come out to her parents and she does, by writing them a letter. Alison and Joan kiss, which leads to Alison’s first lesbian experience and inspires her to “leap out of the closet” (CHANGING MY MAJOR).

Over the next few scenes, we see more of Alison’s relationship with her father. Small Alison is working on a project of all the places that her family has been. She shows her dad a drawing including their home, places that he has visited, where other family members are and a few other creative illustrations. Bruce reacts with frustration, as he wants to show her the “right” way to draw the surrounding nature scenes, including how to properly shade the drawing for depth. They get into a yelling match, as Helen tries to encourage Bruce to just let Alison be a child and draw however she wants (MAPS). Alison then sings about drawing her childhood and a map of where she grew up and how it relates to her current development of her graphic novel.

In Middle Alison’s flashback, she writes her parents another letter. She hasn’t heard from them since she came out and wonders what they are thinking about her. Which leads into Small Alison watching television, as Bruce enters and snaps off the TV show, saying she should read a book instead of wasting her time with the television. All Alison wants is to have a normal, fun family, like the one that she sees on the TV and not the one she is stuck with, as her parents are fighting, again. Then Roy, Middle Alison and Joan appear in costumes similar to the ones worn by the Osmond Family on TV and they sing just like on the show (RAINCOAT OF LOVE).

Then, Small Alison, Christian and John with their father on a trip to New York City, where he leaves in the middle of the night to “get a newspaper” and Alison realizes that he was probably out cruising in the city. How could she have been so blind to what was going on? Bruce tries to make an exit, but is caught by Small Alison and he then offers to sing to her, so she can sleep (PONY GIRL).

Middle Alison gets a letter from her father, where he first addresses his stressful time at work, with long hours at the funeral home. Alison’s coming out is almost mentioned as an afterthought, as he thinks she’s going through her “experimental” phase and alludes to his own discretions. Bruce then tells Alison that her mother is taking the news harder than expected. Alison realizes that maybe she and her father are not alike at all; he can’t seem to open up his mind to understand his gay daughter.

Next, Small Alison is at the local diner with her father, when she sees a butch female for the first time and strangely identifies with her (the brilliant, RING OF KEYS). She describes seeing this woman with her “swagger,” dressed in men’s clothing and so sure of who she is; she was everything Small Alison wanted to be and couldn’t be. Perhaps this is when she starts to realize that it’s ok to be different and not like all the other girls at school.

Finally, Middle Alison hears from her parents. Through this interaction, her mother reveals that Bruce has been having gay relationships for years. The realization that she might be more like her father than she ever thought sends Alison into a tailspin. Joan is there to support Alison, as the audience gets a snapshot into how her family’s life is imploding at home. Bruce seems to be falling apart with Alison’s revelation and things that he cannot control.

Middle Alison brings Joan back to her home to meet her parents. Joan goes off to rest in the house and Alison is left along with her mother. It’s during this time that Helen tells her daughter more about Bruce’s relationships (the beautiful, DAYS AND DAYS). Helen reveals Bruce’s relationships with a lover in Europe, underage boys; giving them alcohol, having to see a psychiatrist and avoiding jail time.

Middle Alison becomes present day Alison, as she goes for a drive with her father, where she tries to work up the courage to discuss what they now have in common (TELEPHONE WIRE). Bruce brings up the idea of going to a “seedy club,” where no doubt, he has been several times, but he’s forgotten that his daughter isn’t old enough to go. Alison tries to find the right opportunity to talk to him; to ask all the questions that she wants to, but it hangs over her like a storm cloud. Bruce goes off into his own thoughts, as he remembers a boy from college that he “messed around” with. In this moment, Alison shares her thoughts too, but he doesn’t hear them, they were just wishes and thoughts. The drive with her father is over before she gets the chance to ask and this was the last time she really interacted with her dad.

A few weeks later, Bruce is killed when he is hit by a truck near another old house that he is restoring. It is ruled as an accident, but Alison is wonders if it was a suicide. After all, she was able to live her life out and accepted, while it wasn’t something that Bruce could do (EDGES OF THE WORLD).

The story ends with Alison struggling to find the right caption for her book and what to say in the end. She remembers working with her father in the house, teaching at the high school, working in the yard, and playing “airplane.” All three Alison’s remember parts of the story (FLYING AWAY) and their relationship with Bruce.

The shows and staging at Circle in the Square are always wonderful, as the production team has to consider every aspect of the show, when played in the round. Some of the lighting cues were a nod to the basis of the story being Bechdel’s graphic novel, as squares of neon light were projected onto the stage; Bruce and Alison told their stories as if they were in panels of the novel. The orchestra is fully visible during the show and the actors enter from various walkways around the stage; even using the stairways that the audience enters through to come onto the stage. Due to this careful staging, you really feel like you are a part of the show and even watching the other audience members react, becomes a part of your experience. I noticed that after a particular scene touched me, that I was looking directly across at other audience members to see if they were having a similar reaction.

I really enjoyed Sydney Lucas’ performance as Small Alison and the scene stealing Zell Steele Morrow as her younger brother, John, during “Come to the Fun Home.” Lucas does a great job portraying young Alison’s struggle with her own sexual identity, even when she didn’t know it fully at the time. The way she talks about wanting to wear “boy shirts and pants” along with the refusal to wear her barrette and how she longs for a crewcut, all add subtle cues to her inner struggle and relationship with her father.

As Middle Alison, Emily Skeggs does a wonderful job of portraying Alison’s awkward phase and how her relationship with Joan really encouraged her to come out to her parents. Skeggs shows a more vulnerable side of Alison, how her realization that she and her father were more alike that she could ever know and the burden of thinking her own coming out story could have been the thing that ended her father’s life.

As Bruce and Helen, Michael Cerveris and Judy Kuhn, have earned well-deserved Tony Nominations for their roles. Cerveris is on point through all of the OCD-tendencies of Bruce and how his own insecurities have lead him to fight with Alison to wear a dress and to color inside the lines for her school project. Kuhn gives a wonderfully nuanced performance as Helen struggles with Alison’s homosexuality and reveals her husband’s secrets to her only daughter through a passionate and touching ballad, “Days and Days,” which only made me wish I had brought a pack of Kleenex to the show.

As present day Alison, Beth Malone, gives an astonishing performance as the story’s narrator. Malone is on stage for the entire show and gives the audience “captions” for her graphic novel, as the story flashes back to her childhood and college days, establishing the plot and diving into the father-daughter relationship thread that weaves throughout the story. Malone gets a wonderful song, “Telephone Wire,” as she remembers trying to talk about being gay with her father and it quickly became one of my favorite songs in the show. Although no resolution is reached between Alison and her father, Malone does a great job of taking the audience along on Alison’s journey.

“Fun Home” will easily be my favorite musical of the 2015-2016 Broadway Season. I can’t wait to come back and see it again and experience the show from another different perspective. It will also be interesting to see how the show evolves as the younger cast members will eventually age out of their respective roles. I’m not sure how an actress could follow Lucas’ performance, who has been in the show since the Public Theatre staging, but no matter what Lucas can know she was a part of something special and has already established a great career for herself. So, if you’re looking for a moving, beautiful and passionate show to see this season, definitely make Fun Home your first choice.

Musical Numbers:

1.       IT ALL COMES BACK (OPENING)

2.       “Sometimes my father appeared to enjoy having children…”

3.       WELCOME TO OUR HOUSE ON MAPLE AVENUE

4.       NOT TOO BAD

5.       “Just had a good talk with Dad..”

6.       COME TO THE FUN HOME

7.       HELENE’S ETUDE

8.       “Thanks for the care package…”

9.       PARTY DRESS

10.   CHANGING MY MAJOR

11.   “I leapt out of the closet…”

12.   MAPS

13.   “Read a book…”

14.   RAINCOAT OF LOVE

15.   “Clueless in New York…”

16.   PONY GIRL

17.   “A flair for the dramatic…”

18.   RING OF KEYS

19.   “Let me introduce you to my gay dad…”

20.   “Shortly after we were married…”

21.   DAYS AND DAYS

22.   “You ready to go for that drive?...”

23.   TELEPHONE WIRE

24.   “It was great to have you home…”

25.   EDGES OF THE WORLD

26.   “This is what I have of you…”

27.   FLYING AWAY (FINALE)

"The King & I" - 04.24.15

Show/Venue: The King & I at the Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center Theater

Date: Friday, April 24th, 2015 @ 8pm

Starring: Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe, Ruthie Ann Miles, Ashley Park, Conrad Ricamora, Cole Horibe

Website: http://www.lct.org/shows/king-and-i/

Whenever my Dad comes to visit me in NYC, we go to see a Broadway show. This time I let him choose from the list of shows I had wanted to see, so he picked out The King & I. I don’t know how I had never seen this show in any earlier incarnation, so I had to look up the plot lines and history on Wikipedia. However, Dad was already familiar with the show from seeing a version on TV several years ago. For once, he was really excited about seeing the show vs. Once, where he fell asleep before Steve Kazee even started singing, and even agreed to getting a little bit dressed up to attend.

Some of the tunes were familiar (“Getting to Know You,” “Shall We Dance?”), but I had gotten to know them out of context of this show. Mostly, I was excited to see Kelli O’Hara perform in any capacity, since she is extraordinary and always a delight to watch. I was also excited to see Conrad Ricamora again & to finally see Ruthie Ann Miles in person, as I had only seen Jaygee Macapugay in Here Lies Love.

Written by Rodgers & Hammerstein, the show follows Anna Leonowens (Kelli O’Hara; Bridges of Madison  County, Nice Work if You Can Get It, South Pacific), a British woman who is hired by the Siamese King (Ken Watanabe, The Last Samuari) to help teach the Royal Children. She comes to Siam with her young son, Louis (Jake Lucas of Newsies fame) and with a healthy bit of fear; How will she fit in? What will the children be like? How will they adjust to Siam?

Upon arrival, Anna is unlike any woman that the King has met; she is strong-willed and spends a bit of Act One telling the King that she needs him to uphold his part of their contract. In this contract, the King promised Anna that she would have her own house, adjacent to the Palace, but he has kept her under his watchful eye in the Palace for months.

Anna is introduced to Lady Thiang (Ruthie Ann Miles), the King’s “first wife,” and they learn how to work together for the good of all the Royal Children & the King’s many wives. In “The March of the Siamese Children,” each of the Royal Children and their respective mothers are introduced to Anna and she is delighted to get to know each of them.

As a peace offering from Burma, a young man, Lun Tha (Conrad Ricamora, Here Lies Love, How to Get Away With Murder), with business in Siam, brings a young woman, Tuptim (Ashley Park, Mamma Mia!) to be one of the King’s slaves and potential wives. Sadly, Tuptim is in love with Lun Tha and must hide her true feelings  from the King. However, the King can already sense her detachment and cannot understand why a girl would not want to live in the Palace and be loved by him.

Anna starts to educate the Royal Children and the King’s many wives. She teaches them of things like the world being round and how snow and ice are formed. Tuptiim also reveals that she knows English and is writing a play based on Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which further isolates her from the King. The King does not approve of how much Tuptim knows and how she is strong-willed with a mind of her own, much like Anna. As Anna continues her education of the Royal Children and their Mothers, the King starts to realize how much he does not know, as he educates his oldest son, Chualongkorn (Jon Viktor Corpuz, in his LCT/Broadway Debut). The King explains that sometimes even as the King, you cannot know everything, but it is important to never show this to your subjects.

As the political state of Siam begins to change and the King is described as a “barbarian” in the English news, Anna does her best to restore the goodwill between Siam and England. She helps arrange a visit from Sir Edward Ramsey (Edward Baker-Duly, Peter and the Starcatcher), who is also one of her old friends. During this meeting, Tuptim will present her play of “The Small House of Uncle Thomas” and then plan her escape from Siam with Lun Tha. Before the performance, the King sees Anna dancing with Sir Edward and becomes a bit jealous. He then requests that Anna dances with him like she did with Sir Edward. It’s during this dance that their love for one another begins to show.

After the performance of Tuptim’s play, the Royal Guards learn that Tuptim has escaped from their watch and they go on a hunt to find her and her lover, Lun Tha. Tuptim is found and brought to the Palace for punishment, to which Anna quickly rushes to Tuptim’s defense. After seeing the King’s display of abuse towards Tuptim, she decides that she & Louis must leave Siam, the King and his family for good. Tuptim then learns that Lun Tha has been killed and expresses that she has nothing else to live for, but the Kingdom has not heard the last from her.

Shortly thereafter, the King’s health starts to deteriorate and he calls his son to his room, as he is the next in line for the throne. As Anna and Louis are preparing to leave, she learns of his sickness and quickly leaves her departing ship to be at the King’s side. Once she is at the Palace, the King requests that Prince Chulalongkorn explain how he would rule Siam when he is King. Much to the King’s surprise, Chulalongkorn  proclaims that there will be no more bowing to the King, women will not be as subserviant and other more modern principles. Lady Thiang beams with pride at her son’s proclamations, as new politics will start in Siam. Anna takes down these notes from the Prince, as the King slowly passes.

As always, Kelli O’Hara was stellar in the role of Anna. After seeing her in The Bridges of Madison County, last year, I was very impressed with her ability to create an authentic English accent, after portraying an Irish woman in the fields of Iowa in Bridges. She fell into the role with ease and was completely believable in every moment of her performance.

After the show had started, I kept my eyes peeled for Conrad Ricamora. When I saw Here Lies Love at the Public Theatre on New Year’s Eve, he immediately became one of my Broadway crushes. (I even binge watched all the available episodes of How to Get Away With Murder, just to see him and subsequently got hooked on the show.) He gets his first song in the middle of Act One, “We Kiss in a Shadow,” with Ashley Park and the goosebumps started. The passion in his voice filled the theatre and you could feel their pain, as their forbidden love is declared in secrecy from the King and the Palace. Even though they both get their chances to shine in this duet, Ashley Park’s voice in “My Lord and Master” was crystal clear and wonderful, as she sings about the King and how she must be enslaved to him.

I was slightly disappointed in Ken Watanabe’s LCT and Broadway debut as the King. Although he wasn’t as bad as Russell Crowe in the movie version of Les Miserables, his voice was not up to the caliber I thought a Broadway actor should be; but at least he was an Asian actor in the role of the King (as many King’s in previous productions had been played by white actors). I had a hard time understanding some of his lines, which could have been to his own accent, his affected accent in his role and the fact that he does not have Broadway vocal training. His vocal performance was not quite cringe worthy, but it didn’t blow me away. He did have chemistry with Kelli O’Hara, but it was still difficult to believe his love for Anna, based on his diction and enunciation throughout his performance.

My next fangirl moment came during Tuptim’s play with Cole Horibe playing Buddha in the story. I first became a fan of Cole, because of his sister, Cara, who was in the Fanny Pak crew on America’s Best Dance Crew and then when I saw his own dancing in Season 9 of So You Think You Can Dance, where he combined his own martial arts skills with modern and hip-hop influenced dance; (you bet I voted for him every week on SYTYCD!). Then, a few years ago, I saw him in the Signature Theatre’s production of Kung Fu, where he played Bruce Lee, and although I wasn’t impressed with his faux Chinese accent, I did enjoy his performance. Here, he does not have any solos, but it was still a pleasure to watch his dancing and to see a familiar face on the stage.

I may have never seen Ruthie Ann Miles as Imelda Marcos in Here Lies Love, but I felt like I knew her from listening to her voice on the cast recording so much. As I Tweeted my excitement for the show, she replied to me and expressed that she hoped I would stop by the Stage Door after the show. I kept imagining her as Imelda, even as she was clearly Lady Thiang. Ruthie Ann was excellent in this role, showing poise and balance as the “first wife,” through keeping Tuptim and Lun Tha’s romance a secret from her husband and raising her son to be the next King of Siam.

Another bright spot was the performance of all the children and how they interacted with Kelli O’Hara. They were adorable and even made me tear up a little when they gathered around Anna to express their love and to beg her not to leave the Palace. Additionally, the vivid and extravagant costumes, especially Anna’s dresses, added so much to the production. I’m not much of a “dress girl,” but I definitely felt like putting on a ball gown after watching the way O’Hara moved around in her hoop skirts!

The movement and choreography by Christopher Gattelli in the show was superb! I may be a bit biased though, as I loved his work in Newsies and I could see his influence in some of the larger group dance numbers. My only disappointment was that there was not as much ballet in the portion of Tuptim’s play, which was an iconic dance number from some of the previous productions.

I was also impressed by the prop work, as the beginning of the show starts with Anna and Louis’ arrival on a boat that takes up the whole stage. Before the opening number, the audience is able to see the Orchestra in their pit, below the stage. As the first number starts, the boat comes out over the pit, with the stage completely covering the Orchestra and the people of Siam enter to welcome Anna. Additionally, the nuances of the King’s Palace and the moving set pieces were a joy to watch and see how each scene was changed through the use of fabric to create various natural elements.

After the show, I convinced my Dad to stand at the Stage Door with me, even though it was almost 11pm and he’d been up since 5am, traveling and exploring the city with me all day. I patiently waited at the Stage Door with some other fans and watched as the various cast members emerged. Some scuttled out quickly after the show, so I missed an opportunity to speak to Ashley Park. However, as soon as Conrad emerged, I called out his name and got an autograph and a sort of stealthy photo, as he signed another fan’s Playbill. Eventually, Ruthie Ann emerged, so as I went to say hello, Dad grabbed a photo of her signing my Playbill and she thanked me for coming as I gushed about Here Lies Love to her and thanked her for replying to my Tweet. Overall, I was happy with my experience, but I kind of wish Ken Watanabe would have been stronger in the role of the King.

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

1.       Overture

2.       I Whistle a Happy Tune

3.       My Lord and Master

4.       Hello, Young Lovers

5.       The March of Siamese Children

6.       A Puzzlement

7.       The Royal Bangkok Academy

8.       Getting to Know You

9.       We Kiss in a Shadow

10.   A Puzzlement (Reprise)

11.   Shall I Tell You What I Think of You?

12.   Something Wonderful

13.   Finale Act I

Act Two:

1.       Western People Funny

2.       I Have Dreamed

3.       Hello, Young Lovers (Reprise)

4.       The Small House of Uncle Thomas (Ballet)

5.       Song of the King

6.       Shall We Dance?

7.       I Whistle a Happy Tune (Reprise) 

"It Shoulda Been You" - 03.25.15

Show/Venue: It Shoulda Been You at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre

Date: Wednesday, March 25th, 2015 @ 2pm

Starring: Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, Lisa Howard, Sierra Boggess, David Burtka, Josh Grisetti

Website: http://www.itshouldabeenyou.com

When my co-worker, Christina, won free tickets to see It Shoulda Been You in previews, she asked if I would want to go; and with this cast and David Hyde Pierce’s Broadway Directorial Debut, how could I say no!? The show is opening tonight on Broadway, so I wanted to post my review of the preview that we saw, but without giving away any of the great surprises that the show has to offer.

A strong cast, Tyne Daly (“Cagney and Lacey,” Gypsy), Harriet Harris (“Desperate Housewives,” Cinderella, Thoroughly Modern Millie), Lisa Howard (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, 9 to 5, South Pacific), Sierra Boggess (The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid), David Burtka (Gypsy, “How I Met Your Mother” and Neil Patrick Harris’ husband) and Josh Grisetti (RENT) comprise the leads and the various members of a family being blended together. Even when I got the mailer about the show, I was intrigued by the cast and wanted to go see the show.

Performed without an intermission in previews, the show opens on Howard, who plays the Bride’s sister, Jenny (“I Never Wanted This”). She’s getting ready for Rebecca’s (Boggess) wedding to Brian (Burtka) and helping her mother (Daly) will all sorts of last minute issues. The wedding planner, Albert (hilariously played by Edward Hibbert), helps Jenny deal with her mother and her many changes in requests; do they keep the panini station or cancel it?

Rebecca and Brian enter after a morning jog and Jenny does her best to keep him from the sight of her mother. As everyone leaves to get prepared for the wedding, Rebecca and Jenny have a great sisterly moment (“Perfect”). As Rebecca leaves to go meet their mother, her Maid of Honor, Annie (Montego Glover from Memphis, The Color Purple) and her soon to be Mother-in-Law, Jenny starts to panic. In her panic, she  accidentally calls Marty Kaufman (Grisetti), who’s an old family friend, but also Rebecca’s ex. Grisetti in his Broadway debut role, answers Jenny’s call from one of the box seats in the theatre and then makes an amusing and winded entrance into the hotel/stage to try and stop Rebecca from getting married to Brian (“It Shoulda Been You”).  After this number, it seems like Marty is not the only one thinking that Rebecca should not marry Brian, as her whole family express their concerns.

Then we’re introduced to some of Brian’s family, as he has a lovely song & dance number with his father, George (Michael X. Martin from The Bridges of Madison County, Nice Work If You Can Get It), about growing up and how he should have been a more attentive parent. Any doubts I had about Burtka as a performer, were dispelled here, as he holds his own with Martin and dances his way into the audience’s heart, taps and all.

Daly gets a featured number as she sings about her family in “Nice,” which rolls into a number where Albert sings about all he has seen as an experienced wedding planner to his staff in “Albert’s Turn.” Then we finally meet Brian’s alcoholic mother, Georgette (Harris), who laments about how her efforts to discourage her son away from marriage and to turn him gay have not worked (“Where Did I Go Wrong”).

At what I would believe could be the end of Act One, Howard gets a show stopping number “Beautiful,” as she tells the story of growing up in the shadow of her more traditionally pretty sister and how no one ever calls her beautiful. Jenny shows how her mother’s overbearing personality has begun to take its toll on her emotionally, as she shows a vulnerable side, while getting ready to put on her bridesmaid’s dress.

Finally, the wedding ceremony takes place (“A Perfect Ending”) and the families head to the banquet hall for the reception. Here, the Best Man, Greg, (Nick Spangler from The Book of Mormon, Cinderella) and Annie serenade their best friends with “Love You Till the Day” which is equal parts hilarious and over the top in tribute to Rebecca & Brian.

What follows the wedding and banquet is a series of twists & surprises that really engages the audience and adds to their enjoyment of the whole show. Yes, there’s a happy ending, but not without a few shocks to each side of the Howard and Steinberg families.

Overall, I had a great time at the show. Even without a huge production, as the whole show takes place at the hotel, the small changes that are made in each scene really transport the audience to various places in the hotel; rooms, hallways, banquet halls, bathrooms, etc. The costume team has done a great job with the dresses and suits for all of the actors, which really make some of the surprises even  better.

Once the show opens, I hope to see it again and maybe in a box seat, so I can be next to Grisetti for his big entrance!

Musical Numbers:

1.       I Never Wanted This

2.       This Day (Opening)

3.       Perfect

4.       It Shoulda Been You

5.       Who

6.       Back in the Day

7.       Nice

8.       Albert’s Turn

9.       Where Did I Go Wrong

10.   Beautiful

11.   A Perfect Ending

12.   Love You Till the Day

13.   Jenny’s Blues

14.   Whatever

15.   A Little Bit Less Than

16.   What They Never Tell You

17.   Perfect/Whatever (Reprise)

18.   That’s Family

19.   Finale

"Gigi" - 03.21.15

Show/Venue: Gigi at the Neil Simon Theatre

Date: Saturday, March 21st, 2015 @ 8pm

Starring: Vanessa Hudgens, Corey Cott, Victoria Clark

Website: http://www.gigionbroadway.com

Sometimes in the city, your plans fall through; so what’s better to do than to go see a show. Ever since seeing Corey Cott in Newsies, he quickly became one of my Broadway crushes, so I had been waiting to see him in Gigi. Additionally, my 2007-2008 self, in all my High School Musical fandom, was interested in seeing Vanessa Hudgens in her Broadway debut as Gigi. The TKTS Booth in Times Square always saves the day, when I want to see a last minute show and they didn’t disappoint this time; I got second row, center for the third preview show.

I had not seen the movie with Audrey Hepburn, so I sadly had to use Wikipedia to learn about the story of the show. The Neil Simon was a packed house, with a lot of HSM fans sitting around me, eagerly buzzing about Vanessa and their expectations for her performance.

The premise of Gigi, is about a young girl, Gigi (Vanessa Hudgens), growing up in Paris under the eye of her grandmother, Mamita (Victoria Clark). Mamita also has a friendship with the city’s most desired young man, Gaston (Corey Cott). In the opening of the show, Gaston is given advice by his own grandfather, Honore Lachaille (Howard McGillin), to love being in love and not to settle for one woman, because there is no need (“It’s a Bore).

We are then taken to Aunt Alicia (Dee Hoty)’s apartment, where Gigi is learning proper Parisian etiquette, which the young girl does not have the taste for. From Alicia, Gigi is instructed on the finer things in life, like jewelry and how to pour a proper cup of tea. Gigi’s patience wanes and she laments about her life in Paris and not understanding their customs (“The Parisians”).

The audience then sees that Gaston has fallen for Liane d’Exelmans (Steffanie Leigh), even with Gigi in tow. They arrive at Liane’s “singing lesson,” where it’s clear that something more is going on with Liane and her instructor. The newspapers are a buzz of Gaston’s relationship with Liane (“The Gossips”), which is more than he can take. Gaston decides to head out to Maxim’s, an exclusive nightclub, to help make his troubles disappear. To his surprise, Liane is already there with her singing instructor, which basically ends his relationship with Liane (“She Is Not Thinking Of Me”).

When Aunt Alicia and Mamita learn of Gaston’s new bachelorhood, they setup a plan to have him court Gigi. Alicia will continue Gigi’s etiquette lessons, while making sure that Gaston notices the changes in this young girl. In the meantime, Mamita and Honore reconnect and the audience learns of their love, from when they were young (“I Remember It Well”).

Back at Mamita’s apartment, Mamita, Gaston and Gigi have a little celebration and Gigi tries champagne for the first time. This leads in to the Act One Finale of “The Night They Invented Champagne,” which is a big dance number that was a lot of fun to watch, including the can-can influences and when all the female dancers leaped into splits right at the front of the stage!

When the show resumes in Act two, they are at the beach in Trouville, and Gigi is experiencing all the fun that Gaston’s money has to offer, while they enjoy a life of leisure (“I Never Want to Go Home Again”). Then, back in Paris, Aunt Alicia is plotting how to make sure that Gaston will fall for Gigi. She and Mamita begin to work on a new look for Gigi, which leaves Gaston stunned and he insults Gigi’s new dress, before realizing that he’s fallen for her and that’s really what threw him off his guard (“Gigi”).

Once Gaston has realized his feelings for Gigi, he creates a sort of pre-nup with Aunt Alicia and Mamita (“The Contract”), which is a funny number involving lawyers and Aunt Alicia securing a very rich fortune for young Gigi. However, this plan backfires, as Gigi does not want to be courted just like all of Gaston’s previous women. Gaston then works to win Gigi back and they figure out a way to be together (“In This Wide, Wide World”).

Overall, I was very impressed with Vanessa Hudgens acting and performance. All of the things that may have been annoying about her in High School Musical (the overacting, her giggle), those things worked well for her character in the show. She really made the transition from young Gigi to the young woman that Gaston falls for with ease.

But my hands down favorite part of the show was Corey Cott’s performance. Right before “The Night They Invented Champagne,” he broke character after breaking a champagne glass on stage, and he was still adorable! As soon as the glass broke, he looked directly into the audience and said “Previews!” Which everyone laughed about and the other actors quickly recovered and brought him a new “glass” to drink out of.

There was a couple next to me who were seeing Corey perform for the first time and when he was done singing “Gigi,” the woman kept exclaiming “his voice!” and she gave him a standing ovation during the curtain call, so I was not the only fan in the audience. It was easy to see why this show made the quick leap to the Broadway stage after just starting a run in Washington DC at the Kennedy Center. And I would easily recommend it to friends to go and see.

Musical Numbers:

Act One

1.       Opening

2.       It’s a Bore

3.       The Parisians

4.       A Toujours

5.       The Parisians (Reprise)

6.       The Gossips

7.       She Is Not Thinking Of Me

8.       Thank Heaven for Little Girls

9.       Paris Is Paris Again

10.   I Remember It Well

11.   The Night They Invented Champagne

Act Two

1.       I Never Want to Go Home Again

2.       Thank Heaven for Little Girls (Reprise)

3.       Gigi

4.       The Contract

5.       I’m Glad I’m Not Young Anymore

6.       The Letter

7.       Say a Prayer

8.       The Gossips (Reprise)

9.       In This Wide, Wide World

"Brooklynite" - 03.12.15

Show/Venue: Brooklynite at The Vineyard Theatre

Date: Thursday, March 12th, 2015 @ 8pm

Starring: Matt Doyle, Nick Cordero, Anna Harada, Nicolette Robinson

Website: http://www.vineyardtheatre.org/brooklynite/

Inspired By: http://www.superherosupplies.com/

I almost felt like every time I was walking through the Union Square subway station that the TMA was telling me to go see Brooklynite. I kept seeing the ads on the new interactive maps at 17th street. I know I had to get a ticket quickly, since the show had only been extended through March 29th. Little did I know how creative and brilliant this show was going to be. With a book by Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening, Hedwig & the Angry Inch, American Idiot) and Peter Lerman (Modern Family), I knew that the show was going to be good.

 I found it hard to believe that I’d never seen Matt Doyle in a Broadway show until this night! (I originally started following him since he was dating Ryan Steele and I was deep in my Newsies fandom. Then I became a fan of him in his own right; through Book of Mormon and his friendship with Beth Behrs from 2 Broke Girls.) Brooklynite would be my first time seeing him live and was also another opportunity to see Ann Harada, who originated the role of Christmas Eve in Avenue Q and who is one of my Asian-American theatre role models.

Brooklynite is the story of Trey Swieskowski (Doyle), whose parents were lost in a robbery of their hardware store in Brooklyn. This is a futuristic version of Brooklyn, where after the “Gowanus Asteroid” fell it created six superheroes that protect the borough from everyday crimes. The six superheroes have various powers and have been saving Brooklyn for the past ten years. Trey longs to be a superhero, because maybe then he could have saved his parents, and wants to join the Legion of Victory. The Legion is made up of Astrolass (Nicolette Robinson, Hart of Dixie), Kid Comet (Gerard Canonico, Spring Awakening OBC, American Idiot, Bare: The Musical), El Fuego (Andrew Call, American Idiot, Rock of Ages), Blue Nixie (Grace McLean, Sleep No More), Avenging Angelo (Nick Cordero, Bullets Over Broadway) and Captain Clear (voiced by Max Chernin).

Ann Harada plays several roles, but mainly as Professor Whitman at Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, where she instruct several science students, Marcus (Max Chernin), Sunil (Nick Choski), Paula (Carla Duren, Hairspray), Herbert, (John-Michael Lyles, who looked so familiar to me and I can’t figure out why) and Mallory (Remy Zaken, Spring Awakening OBC), in hopes of winning a big science grant and gaining fame. When Trey bursts into her laboratory to try and get his proposal for Brooklynite in the running for this grant, Professor Whitman will have none of it. Determined as ever Trey finds a way to get Professor Whitman’s signature and enters the grant competition.

We learn that Astrolass is growing tired of being a superhero and when she finds about Trey’s proposal and how it will create the ability to turn himself into a superhero, she assumes a human disguise (Astrid) and a job at a research foundation to fast-track Trey’s proposal and research. Through their interaction, Astrolass/Astrid and Trey have several flirtatious interactions, as he quickly realizes her true identity, but wants to come off as a cool guy.

After Astrolass has decided to leave the Legion, the remaining members struggle to find a new leader. El Fuego & Blue Nixie try to fight off their attraction to each other; Kid Comet tries to take over the rest of the Brooklyn territory to keep all of the citizens safe, along with Captain Clear. But it’s Avenging Angelo who begins to feel left out, he has the weakest superpowers (finding empty parking spaces), and leaves the Legion to start his own new superhero group as Venge. As Act One closes, Venge has found out that Trey successfully recreated Brooklynite and enlists the students of Professor Whitman to help him steal the Brooklynite and use it to gain better superpowers.

As Act Two opens, Trey is dejected as he has lost the Brooklynite and in the process, the stone has absorbed all of Astrolass’ powers, giving her what she dreamed of, normality. Determined to regain power of the Brooklynite, Astrolass and the remaining Legion members devise a plan to try and get the stone back from Venge.

The Legion conveniently reminds Astrolass of Venge/Angelo’s crush on her and how she can use her womanly ways to try and regain the stone and learn of his plot (superhero clichés state that all good villains must divulge their plots at some points in their storyline). Venge then learns of the Legion’s plan and takes Astrolass as his prisoner and has his team of students build him an orb, which he needs so he can absorb all the powers of the Brooklynite.

Trey appears to save Astrolass with help from the Legion and comes up with a way to convince Venge to let him get into the orb together. However, when the explosion hits, the powers are dispersed to all of the students, outside of the orb, leaving Trey & Venge powerless.

In the near future, Trey turns his parents’ shop into a Superhero Supply store (The Brooklyn Superhero Supply Store: http://www.superherosupplies.com/ - which inspired this show), and wins his girl. Trey is content helping supply materials to all of Brooklyn’s new superheroes and does so with Astrolass along his side.

I was awed by the number of OBC members from Spring Awakening in the show, but with their connection to Michael Mayer, I’m sure it was easy to recruit & cast them. There was an air of familiarity to me with almost the whole cast, since I saw American Idiot several times and I had the privilege of seeing Nick Codero in his Tony Nominated role in Bullets Over Broadway last year. Even the supporting players, like Carla Duren, John-Michael Lyles, Max Chernin, Remy Zaken and Nick Chokski had their great moments to shine. Each of them had a reoccurring gag or prop that helped them relate to the audience and kept the story moving (Poor Herbert!).

I also enjoyed the choreography/movement in the show and recognized some of Steven Hoggett’s work from other shows of his that I have seen, like The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time, The Last Ship, The Glass Menagerie, Rocky, American Idiot and Peter and the Starcatcher. There were no “big musical numbers,” but the movement was subtle and moving to perfectly fit with Lerman’s score and Mayer’s story.

I have hopes that this show will get a Broadway debut in the near future, perhaps at New World Stages? Until then, I only wish I lived closer to Seattle, since Matt Doyle will be there for the next few months performing in Jasper in Deadland, but I’m sure he’ll be back to the Great White Way soon and further cement by Broadway crush. Just another reason for me to see more shows!

Musical Numbers:

Act One:

1.       Hardware Store Math

2.       Cape Action Suite

3.       Key to the City

4.       Lab Fugue

5.       The Science of Flight

6.       Tantrum

7.       They Meet

8.       Little White Lie

9.       The Plan

10.   Hello, Brooklynite

Act Two:

1.       Brooklyn Without Superheroes

2.       Strength In Numbers

3.       Z Over X

4.       I Am Not The Hero

5.       Hey There, Venge

6.       Let’s Be A Crime-Fighting Team

7.       WWAD?

8.       Showdown

9.       The Rescue Waltz

"Here Lies Love" - 12.31.14

Show/Venue: Here Lies Love at the Public Theatre

Date: Wednesday, December 31st, 2014 @ 5pm

Starring: Jaygee Macapugay, Jose Llana, Conrad Ricamora, Melody Butiu

Website: http://herelieslove.com

Why did I wait so long to see Here Lies Love? There’s no simple answer to this question. In a desperate attempt to see so many shows that are closing the first weekend of January, I booked a ticket to the New Year’s Eve show. Like most Americans, I mostly knew of Imelda Marcos due to her vast collection of shoes and her stance in pop culture trivia. I knew Fatboy Slim, thanks to his hits in the late 90’s and early 2000’s, but sadly, did not know much about David Byrne or the concept album that started this musical. The combination of their talents provided an amazing soundtrack to the show and made some of the darker material seem like a dance party.

The staging and direction of this show by Alex Timbers, who brilliantly oversaw the staging of Rocky that I enjoyed earlier in the year, was familiar and still revolutionary. LuEsther Hall in the Public Theatre had been transformed into Club Millennium, surrounded in neon lights, rotating graphics of Imelda and the Marcos family. Throughout the club, crew members dressed in hot pink jumpsuits, which the audience would depend on during the show.

Attending this show alone made the beginning of the experience a bit intimidating, but as the house DJ informed us, we would be moving with the interchangeable stage pieces and most likely would lose friends in the club, I relaxed. The DJ helped get the party started by cueing up a dance beat, as we followed the hot pink jumpsuits and learned how the stage pieces would move throughout the show and we would become part of the action. Then the show began and cast members raced out onto the various stages. (Right away, I noticed a familiar face, as Aaron J. Albano (Newsies), was in the ensemble.)

The show opens with a video about the Philippines and the Filipino obsession with American culture, in the number “American Troglodyte.” Then Imelda (Jaycee Macapugay) appears and the close relationship of her maid, Estrella (Melody Butiu), is established. Growing up poor in Tacloban, she learns to love the beauty of her country and becomes somewhat of a local celebrity singer (“Here Lies Love”) and beauty pageant queen, being dubbed the “Rose of Tacloban.”

The audience is then introduced to Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino, Jr., who is Imelda’s first love, and the audience welcomed with lots of cheering. In an award-winning role, Conrad Ricamora (How To Get Away With Murder), brings out all of Ninoy’s charisma and political ambitions in the up-tempo, dance number “Child of the Philippines.” We see Imelda & Ninoy’s relationship blossom through song and dance (“Opposite Attraction” and “The Rose of Tacloban”), but they eventually break up because she was “too tall.”

Shortly after, Imelda meets Ferdinand Marcos (“A Perfect Hand”/”Sugartime Baby”), when he spots her working in a shop and woos her. Their fast courtship is depicted in the song “Eleven Days,” as the country begins to see their relationship as a source of National Pride and compares them to JFK and Jackie. Imelda quickly improves her status by marrying Marcos and learning how to be a woman in the public eye (“Walk Like a Woman”/”Don’t You Agree?/Pretty Face”). She begins to forget her roots and lose a bit of herself. Her former maid and close friend, Estrella, sings about seeing her in a parade and how Imelda hardly noticed her in “When She Passed By.”

Quickly, enticed by the riches that Marcos brings her, Imelda travels to the United States and is introduced into the riches of art collecting and quickly begins to amass material goods (“Dancing Together”). In the meantime, the Filipino population is struggling to make ends meet. Aquino becomes a political rival to Marcos, as he starts to expose the Nation to the Marcos’ extravagant spending and showing everyone that they do not care for the people of their own country (“The Fabulous One”). In fact, when Marcos’ political term is about to end and he cannot be re-elected, he declares Marital Law and Order 1081 is enacted (“Riots and Bombs”/”Order 1081”). Marcos is then caught cheating on Imelda (“Men Will Do Anything”) and is stricken with Lupus. Imelda decides to take things into her own hands and to appeal to her country (“Star and Slave”/”Poor Me”/”Please Don’t”).

Aquino works to unite the Filipinos against the Marcos’, which lands him in prison for seven years. Due to illness, Imelda helps him & his family seek exile in the United States (“Seven Years”). However, as conditions worsen in the Philippines, Aquino risks his life to return home (“Gate 37”). When his plane lands, he is assassinated while walking down the staircase with a bullet to the head. His assassination helps stir the creation and movement of the People Power Revolution to overturn the Marcos’ government. Aquino’s mother speaks about Ninoy’s childhood in an appeal to the crowds in a beautiful number, “Just Ask the Flowers,” as she speaks of how he wanted to be a drummer and lead people. She realizes that his wish has been fulfilled in the movement of the People Power Revolution.

As the country stats the revolution, Imelda cannot seem to understand why her country has abandoned her (“Why Don’t You Love Me?”), as she eventually leaves the Philippines. The show closes with a song, “God Draws Straight,” featuring the words from the People Power Revolution and their peaceful protests. Members of the ensemble play various instruments as the DJ now speaks the words of the movement.

The curtain call brings the cast back together with a refrain of “Here Lies Love” and the story comes back full circle with Imelda remembering her days back in her small town. I also have to mention the brilliant job of the costume designer, Clint Ramos, as all of the character’s costumes were eye-catching, but not distracting from the story. They were completely influenced by traditional Filipino dress of the time, but seemed modern in the same breath.

I left the show feeling uplifted, wanted to know more about the history behind the people in the story and immediately wanted to see the show again. If you can, the show is still playing in London and I would highly recommend going. If only I’d listened to those posters in the Subway sooner, I would have been able to see this more than once.

Musical Numbers:

1.       American Troglodyte

2.       Here Lies Love

3.       Child of the Philippines

4.       Opposite Attraction

5.       The Rose of Tacloban

6.       A Perfect Hand

7.       Eleven Days

8.       When She Passed By

9.       Sugartime Baby

10.   Walk Like a Woman

11.   Don’t You Agree?/Pretty Face

12.   Dancing Together

13.   The Fabulous One

14.   Men Will Do Anything

15.   Star and Slave

16.   Poor Me

17.   Please Don’t

18.   Solano Avenue

19.   Riots and Bombs

20.   Order 1081

21.   Seven Years

22.   Gate 37

23.   Just Ask the Flowers

24.   Why Don’t You Love Me?

25.   God Draws Straight

26.   Here Lies Love (Curtain Call)

"It's Only A Play" - 10.15.14

Show/Venue: It’s Only a Play at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre

Date: Wednesday, October 15th, 2014 @ 2pm

Starring: F. Murray Abraham, Matthew Broderick, Stockard Channing, Rupert Grint, Nathan Lane, Megan Mullally and introducing Micah Stock.

Website: http://itsonlyaplay.com

When I first heard that “Ron Weasley” was coming to Broadway, I knew I had to go. When I first got into the Harry Potter series and movies, Rupert Grint’s portrayal of Ron, won me over and he quickly became my favorite character of the series. So, on Wednesday, October 15th, he was the main reason I wanted to take in a matinee showing of It’s Only a Play at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre in the heart of Times Square and the Theatre District. Thankfully, I was able to score a first row seat in the Balcony, so I had a great view of the stage with very little obstruction.

Going into the show, I knew very little other than the show was a limited run and there were many other celebrity names in the show. The premise of the show is about the cast and production team of another play, waiting to hear the reviews after their Opening Night. All of the events take place in the producer, Julia Budder’s (Megan Mullally) swanky NYC home. The characters move in and out of her grand bedroom, with some scenes involving large French doors that swing open and closed to reveal the next cast member or a rowdy party scene going down in the apartment “downstairs.”

Gus P. Head (Micah Stock) is the first cast member on stage, as he plays a budding actor, freshly moved to the city. In his Broadway debut, Stock plays Gus as an over-eager young man waiting for his big break, by checking coats and waiting on all the various guests. His naivety brings many laughs to the theatre crowd, as he doesn’t recognize the stars as they enter and helps give the audience an introduction to each of them and their character’s backstory.

As the door opens each time, the audience waits to see who the next character will be. James Wicker (Nathan Lane) received the loudest applause during his entrance at my show, with various hoots and hollers as each cast members comes through the large white doors. Lane is on the stage the majority of the show and does his job as the play’s narrator. He explains how he was going to be in this play, written by his best friend Peter Austin (Matthew Broderick), but decided to opt out, due to his busy schedule with a CSI-like successful television show.

As other characters enter, Virginia Noyes (Stockard Channing) – a fresh out of rehab aging-star, Mullally, Frank Finger (Rupert Grint) – as the young, wunderkind director from England and Ira Drew (F. Murray Abraham) – as a theatre critic, with history with the other characters; the story starts to develop.

Channing does a wonderful job of playing the over-the-top diva with a drinking problem. Her character is aided by a cane and giant fur coat, which she throws over the ornate chaise lounge in center stage with ease. She educates Gus and James on her life in the business and waits for the reviews of her first performance, post-rehab. Showing shades of her beloved Grease character, Rizzo, Channing camps it up with perhaps a nod to Lindsay Lohan’s may trips to rehab and chances to rehabilitate her career.

Mullally is mostly a glorified version of Karen Walker, her beloved character from Will & Grace, but with a blonde wig and a fitted white dress with gold. High energy & almost giddy, Mullally is the only other character on the stage almost as much as Lane. She does her job to move the plot line along, as we learn how she became involved in the production and her relationship with Wicker. Stock carries a lot of the comedic relief with his one-liners as he enters and exits the room to bring in and take out the coats of the various party goers. (A continuing gag of various themed coats runs throughout the show, as Head must bring in the coats and jackets for various Broadway shoes, like The Lion King and Aladdin.)

Grint finally enters well into the First Act, as the beleaguered director of the play. He’s had so many hits, that all he wants is a flop, so the expectations for him can be lowered. He’s hardly recognizable as most fans would have known him, if not for his red hair and British accent. Dressed in a shiny, patterned teal suit and runny eye-makeup, he looks exhausted and spends part of the show, hidden underneath a large black blanket in the corner of the stage. His character, through the high expectations of his career, has also picked up a bit of kleptomania, and many jokes are thrown around with what he has picked up from Julia’s home and shoved into his pockets.

When Matthew Broderick finally enters, the audience begins to realize what Peter has at stake in this production. There is a sort of reunion on stage, as he becomes acquainted with each character, but it’s the anticipation of the play within a play’s review that drives the show. Broderick shows elements of humor that endeared him to many as Ferris Bueller many years ago. He plays nervous very well and carries the cast into the end of the First Act, as the New York Times review finally arrives via Mullally’s iPhone.

Most of the Second Act revolves around reading the New York Times review and how each character reacts to their negative or positive critique, including Abraham as another theatre critic. Each story line for the characters resolves throughout the Times review and we learn if each of them receives the news that they are hoping for. But sorry, no spoilers here!

As a larger fan of musicals, I found that my attention wained during parts of the play, but it was Lane that helped keep my attention. The play has been updated for the current year and several amusing pop culture references were thrown in for a laugh. (I guess I should note that I was probably the youngest crowd member by about 15-20 years during this show.) Partway into the First Act, the audience learns that the play is on the verge of being a flop, although no one wants to tell Peter, most certainly not his best friend, who actually turned down the play, because of how awful it is.

The cast does a lovely job of playing off one another, but I kept waiting for the big song and dance number! At one point, towards the end of Act One, the woman sitting next to me had dozed off to sleep. I enjoyed the show, getting the opportunity to see some of my favorite actors live on stage, but would I pay over $170 to see it again, no thanks. You’ll find me at another showing of Kinky Boots for that price.

Overall, my desire to see “Ron” was satisfied. I liked seeing Rupert in his Broadway debut, but I was almost hoping for him to have an American accent or take on something a bit more challenging, as I feel that Daniel Radcliffe did in How to Succeed… and The Cripple of Inishman. I wish that his role also allowed him to display some of the comedic side, which endeared him to so many Harry Potter fans. I’m anxious to see what other Broadway roles he might take on in the future.

Just after I wrote this article, it was announced that the show would be extended into 2015 with Martin Short taking over for Nathan Lane in the role of James Wicker. Prices for tickets have also continued to skyrocket.