The Great White Way
Anyone who has known me for a long time has known that I’ve always been a theatre geek, with musical theatre having a particularly strong place in my heart. It’s probably surprising to to hear, then, that this past weekend was my first time visiting New York City, and therefore my first experience with actual Broadway theatre. While the main purpose of the trip was to reunite with some friends that I haven’t seen in many years (and I am happy to report that I spent a great deal of time with them reminiscing and catching up), the Broadway scene was definitely in the forefront of my mind as my friends and I planned our itinerary for the week. So, every night from Thursday, August 15 to Sunday, August 18, we did at least one activity revolving around Broadway and the world of theatre. Each was certainly memorable (with one event we saw even making national news), and I was able to fulfill many of my lifelong dreams in the process. So, here’s a quick recap of each night’s events, and few reviews of them for anyone who may be interested in seeing these shows or taking a Broadway tour in the future.
The Foxwoods Theatre before the Thursday night performance.
Thursday, August 15 – Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark
That newsworthy event I mentioned? This was it. We were only able to watch the first half of the show, because immediately at the start of the second act, this show that has plagued with incidents since the very beginning saw another actor fall, this time a dancer. I won’t dwell on the specifics of the incident, and if you’re really interested to know what really happened, my friend who saw the show with me and I had a perfect view of the fairly horrific accident, so we can give details if you ask. Here’s what I am willing to say on a public platform: obviously, the show isn’t perfect. But we were able to see the entire first act incident free, and it was a very fun show to watch, even with its flaws. That being said, clearly the cast, crew, and even the Foxwoods managing staff have been through a lot with this show. As it was announced that the show was canceled, several of the ushers and Foxwoods staff were bombarded with people asking questions and/or complaining. The staff at that theatre has been well trained, and my friend and I took the time to acknowledge two of them on our way out to express our gratitude with their professionalism, with one of them even seemingly on the verge of tears. My thoughts go out to the young actor who was injured. He was doing an amazing job up until the accident, and I truly hope this performance doesn’t stop him from performing again. And again, congratulations to the Foxwoods Theatre staff and the Spider-Man cast and crew for handling a horrible accident with grace and dignity.
Allie from Inside Broadway Tours
Friday, August 16 – Inside Broadway Tour
Onto some lighter fare now. Friday evening, after visiting the 9/11 Memorial and the Statue of Liberty, we took a 4:00 tour of the Broadway circuit through a company called Inside Broadway Tours. Anyone who is a Theatre history buff, or even just a history buff in general, this is about as good of a tour as you can get. From what I understand, the tour normally costs around $35 per person, but if you use a New York Pass while in the city, the tour is included with the purchase of the pass. Our tour guide that evening was Allie Pares (hope I’m spelling your name right, Allie), a recent graduate of Northwestern University who wrote her senior thesis on Divas, and she was absolutely charming. As a former tour guide, it was pretty impressive to see how Allie moved throughout the city with a group of around 20 people in the middle of a crowded Friday night in Times Square and Hell’s Kitchen. Not only did Ms. Pares give us the history of some of the bigger shows to come to Broadway, but she gave a great recap of some of the events that helped lead to the creation of the Theatre district, the history that happened in the city of New York while big shows were premiering or in production, the famous faces and names who helped build and rebuild some of the theatres, and of course a complete history of all those Krapp theatres to feature legendary shows. She even let my friend and me be a part of the tour as we told our story about what had happened the night before with Spider-Man. If you have the honor of being shown around by Allie for this tour, you will be in for a treat. She catered the tour to her audience, kept to her script without ever sounding phony or overly rehearsed, and was just delightful to listen to for two hours. So, Allie, if you read this, you were amazing. Allie’s mangers, if you read this, give her a raise. And any producers in NYC who may be casting a show with a petite blonde girl, look her up. This is definitely worth the time and money if you’re in NYC.
A spot-on review.
Saturday, August 17 – Once
I had been looking forward to seeing this show for a long time, and it certainly did not disappoint. In fact, I think my expectations were even somehow too low. Playing at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre on 45th St., Once is based on the musical movie of the same name, and it delivers in every aspect. It is, in fact, now my favorite musical. A few highlights about my night seeing Once: as recommended by a good friend, my friends and I arrived at the theatre early so we could go on stage before the show started. You see, as soon as the doors open for this show, the bar that serves as the main set of the stage is opened to the public as an actual bar. Slowly, the ensemble began to come out and play music while in character (as I walked off stage, I told Anne L. Nathan who played Baruska “Great job”, and she responded by looking at me strangely and saying “Thank you” as if she was actually Czech). If you see this show, you definitely need to arrive early to experience this, because not only will you be on a real Broadway stage, but it’s a fun experience to see the actors perform up close to some wildly fun Irish and Czech music. Another highlight was seeing Arthur Darvill (of which I am a huge fan being a Doctor Who convert a few years back) and Joanna Christie perform in the two lead roles. Their voices and performances were mesmerizing (as was the entire cast, but they clearly stood out). Once is a truly unique show with the ensemble serving as actors and orchestra, and the production is incredibly fun while still being elegant and emotional. It is no exaggeration to say that I was in tears by the third song of the production, and my friends and I were sobbing by the end. I plan on seeing this again when it comes to the Fox Theatre in St. Louis April next year, and any and every theatre fan who reads this needs to take the time to see it when it comes through their town. Your life will be better for it.
Chilling with Zachary Levi. No biggie.
Sunday, August 18 – First Date The Musical
And while Once my be my new favorite production, there is only one thing that can top a great show, and that’s a nerd icon dancing to Robin Thicke. But before I get to that, let’s talk about First Date. Having officially opened on August 8th at the Longacre Theatre, this 90 minute one-act musical is less than two weeks old, and I truly hope it plays for a very, very long time. Headlined by Zachary Levi from Chuck (or, as the girls I was with knew him as, Flynn Rider from Tangled) and Krysta Rodriguez from Smash, the show is about a blind date between an uptight and nervous guy and a free spirited and free willed girl, played by Levi and Rodriguez respectively. Along the way, both perform a series of major first date snafus, including jumping into talking about religion way too early, the awkward silence that follows a bad joke, and of course the dreaded mention of past relationships. The cast in total has seven people, with every actor besides Levi and Rodriguez playing several different roles, and sometimes even different characters within the same song. The first 45 minutes was about as much fun as I’ve ever had during a musical, and the songs and performances were funny and witty. There were a few moment in the middle that dragged a little, but the final 20 minutes picked things right back up with a funny, satisfying and happy conclusion. The performances were pretty universally amazing, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see either Krysta Rodriguez or Zachary Levi get a Tony nomination next year, as they really carried the show and were likable and realistic all throughout. If you see it in the next few weeks, tickets are still really cheap (we paid $35 dollars and saw a pretty great view of the stage), but even if prices go up a little, it’s still well worth the price.
So, about that dancing. After the show, the entire cast came out through the stage door to sign autographs and take pictures. And I mean literally the entire cast. I have a playbill signed by each of the original cast members, and it may be my favorite thing I own now. A few of the supporting actors came out to some big applause, but Zachary Levi wouldn’t make that small of an entrance. Instead, right before he opened the door, he got his jukebox playlist in order and started blaring Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” as he danced out to an adoring crowd. He then proceeded to sign literally every autograph of any person who wanted him to sign it, including people well in the back who I had to help pass playbills up to him. After he signed all those autographs, he then helped form another line to take a picture with any and every person who wanted to take one with him. Not only that, he actually had conversations and talked with his fans. In my few years on this Earth, I have come across a few celebrities in events such as this. I can say that Zachary Levi (with Krysta Rodriguez helping support his dance party) really was there for the fans, and he wanted to make it an experience for us. He seemed like truly one of the nicest guys. As I went up to take my picture, he called me big guy, and somehow in my picture with him, he seemed as though he was more excited to see me than I was to see him. I can assure you this could not have been the case, being a Chuck fan since the beginning, but it was nice to feel like he wanted to see me as much as we all wanted to meet him. So, anyone who is in NYC, go see First Date, either with your friends, on a date, with family, or by yourself. We need to be encouraging this type of celebrity behavior. Bravo, Mr. Levi, and thank you for helping end my Broadway weekend on the highest note it possibly could have. Here’s the official website. Get yourself a ticket. Now.
Have any questions about these shows of the Inside Broadway Tour? Send me an e-mail, shoot me a tweet, or leave a comment below!
Tag After the Credits 