Category: Musical

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Avenue Q

Avenue Q… still hilarious, raw, rude, upbeat, funny, and sooooo special after so many years.

15 years and 6,538 performances to be exact. Tonight was initially going to be the closing performance of this Tony Award Best Musical at the New World Stages, but that didn’t happen. The show will now run through May 26th.

Go see this wonderful production while you still can!

Several of themes: adulthood, the internet (is for porn), everyone is a little racists, homosexuality, sex on stage, etc. are just as offending and as funny as I had remembered them. In today’s polarized and hyper-sensitive political climate, I wasn’t sure how I (or the audience) would have enjoyed the rough treatment of the topics, but I came out loving every minute of the show.

The puppetry is phenomenal. The energy on stage is incredible. Every character from Princeton and Kate Monster down to the Bad Idea Bears each added just the perfect touch to the overall narrative.

Bravos to the entire cast: Grace Choi, Matt Dengler, Jamie Glickman, Jason Jacoby, Nick Kohn, Veronica J. Kuehn, and Lacretta. Thank you for giving us another amazing and memorable evening.

Now let me massage my cheeks, cuz they’re sore from laughing too much.

Finally, Broadway trivia… I knew Avenue Q won the Tony Award for Best Musical, but I didn’t know until this week that Avenue Q beat Wicked for the award. Whaaaaaat. Wow!!!

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Beetlejuice

Beetlejuice was spectacular!!! ❤️

The show started with a bang and did not slow down for a single moment.

For a musical about death, it’s got so much life and courage, humor and laughters, kinship and friendship. Sure, people died. But I bet you’ll be clapping, cheering, and feeling good about the deaths. Such is the power of a good Tim Burton story.

The entire cast was fabulous from the leads Alex Brightman, Sophia Anne Caruso, Kerry Butler, Rob McClure, Adam Dannheisser, Leslie Kritzer to the ensemble.

The stage, lighting, and costume designs were amazing, and painted a vivid environment full of contrasts and craziness… to match this absurd but absolutely fascinating show. Bravos!

#beetlejuicebway #beetlejuice #betelgeuse

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Kinky Boots

The 2,507th and final performance of Kinky Boots on Broadway.

Absolutely incredible energy in the house this afternoon. Standing ovation for just about every song after the intermission. An appearance by Cyndi Lauper herself at the curtain bow. Of course, the fabulous cast and heartwarming story of love and acceptance as always.

Glad to catch this show one more time. You’ll be missed, Kinky Boots!

#kinkyboots

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Pretty Woman, the Musical

Love Pretty Woman the Musical!

Samantha Barks was the perfect Vivian Ward. I had thought it’d be impossible to reinvent the role of Julia Roberts from the original movie, but Samantha gave the character an even more captivating personality. She was charming, lovable, playful at times, graceful when the occasion called for it, and yet retained the same allure of the original pretty woman. Bravos!

Andy Karl was amazing as Edward Lewis. I love the chemistry between the two leads. The attraction felt so natural, so genuine.

Also, major shoutouts to Eric Anderson as Happy Man and Mr. Thompson, whose roles gave the story so much extra excitement.

On the other hand, reflecting on the original movie from thirty years ago and what’s happening today…

As much as I loooove how Samantha brought out the most wonderful version of Vivian Ward that I could possibly think of, we still do live in a society where…

(1) Women are often valued for their beauty, style, grace, and smile. The movie/this musical reinforces that.

(2) Thirty years ago, Edward Lewis made his riches through ruthless financial schemes without “building anything” and without “making anything.”

Thirty years later, hedge fund managers are still ripping apart news rooms, hospitals, depressing working-class wages, while making $billions per day themselves. Meanwhile, the United States has lost much of its manufacturing capabilities, sending the country into a political crisis. So really, aside for paying $3,000 for a hooker’s time, what have the Edward Lewises contributed to the society, to their country, to their fellow citizens?

What have *WE* learnt in the past thirty years?

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Alice by Heart

Alice by Heart: Preview tonight at the MCC Theater.

Looooooove the choreography by Rick and Jeff of Kuperman Brothers. I would go back and see the show again just for the movements. WOW!! ❤️

Every single scene is filled continuous movements large and small… from “Chillin’ the Regrets” where the entire cast came together to become a caterpillar… to simple arm gestures that conveyed the affection between Alice and the White Rabbit in their duets.

The choreographies seamlessly incorporated the stage design, all kinds of props, creative costuming… as well as the vertical space. The cast told their stories on ladders, sang while climbing up and down poles, were continuously lifted over each other, and pulled through and under each other.

Gorgeous movements filled the 90+ minute show: Giving the characters an extra dimension to express their emotions. Setting the scene of a mysterious wonderland where caterpillars, birds, flamingos, turtles, lobsters, the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, and the Red Queen’s trial came to life.

By creating a whole new world through bodies and everyday objects, the choreographies allowed the audience to go inside of Alice… and see what she sees.

I also love the chemistry between the two leads Molly Gordon as Alice and Colton Ryan as Alfred. They showed us love, care, friendship, innocence, moments of happiness, and grief all at once.

I really enjoyed the script (the writing started nine years ago!) that overlaid the story of Alice and Alfred on top of Alice in Wonderland. The juxtapose aded yet another layer of mystery to the wonderland.

Finally, the multi-talented ensemble was absolutely amazing. Bravos to Mia DiLena, Zachary Downer, Noah Galvin, Zach Infante, Andrew Kober, Grace McLean, Nkeki Obi-Melekwe, Catherine Ricafort, Heath Saunders, and Wesley Taylor. Thank you for giving us a wonderful show!

#alicebyheartmcc

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DanceBreak

Had a blast seeing all the great work and talented dancers at DanceBreak yesterday.

Each of the six choreographers were tasked with creating two musical numbers, with no more than 10 dancers and in under 12 hours of rehearsal times. It’s incredible to see what they were able to accomplish.

Some of my favorites…

“I’ve just seen a face” by Paul McGill. Love the cloudy dreamy feel of the piece that’s filled with technical movements and lifts.

“You can call me Al” also by Paul McGill.

“Buenos Aires” by Avihai Haham is filled with energy.

“And so it begins” by Stacey Tookey about the auditioning. As Stacey describes it, you go through every audition three times: On the way there, at the audience, and on the way back.

“Run” by Marc Kimelman about belonging and connecting.

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Merrily We Roll Along

Merrily We Roll Along by Roundabout Theatre Company

Love the show!!

A story about friendships. The promises, hopes, and camaraderie of a budding friendship… but also its unraveling, unrequited love between friends, and the eventual loss of the friendship.

I especially like the script and the unique decision to tell the story backwards in time.

Superb acting by the cast brought the show to life… including several key but difficult scenes when the characters were distressed, drunk, emotional, if not all at once.

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Happy Closing, Head Over Heels

Head Over Heels ❤️❤️❤️

Never seen a house more electrified. The energy on and off stage is absolutely insane tonight.

Thank you Head Over Heels for a fabulous run of dance, music, and theatre. I’m glad to see the show one more time, but am also so sad to see you go. Happy closing. All the best on your next adventures!

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The Cher Show

Great to learn about Cher’s real-life story. The ensemble OWNED the stage whenever they came out, even though there’s dancing only in select scenes. The final number based on the song, Believe, was one big dance party.

Surprise of the night: I’ve heard so much of the name Cher and know of the song Believe. However, I didn’t recognize any of the remaining songs, TV programs, movies, or Hollywood figures mentioned in the musical. Perhaps it’s a generation gap?

Overall, the script is a long series of rapid-fire mini scenes. Many of the songs were cut off in less a minute, which makes it (1) hard to appreciate the music especially when almost all the songs were foreign to me and (2) hard to develop an emotional response to the narrative when the plot moved so fast.

I think the audience enjoyed the show. Many were singing along, and cheering when specific personalities came into the story.

Put differently: I absolutely love Beautiful, a similar style of musical based on the real-life story of Carole King. I love the story and I love the music. A few friends who have never been exposed to Carole King’s work, however, mentioned to me that they felt lost watching Beautiful. Perhaps I now understand how they felt?