This week was just wonderful. I came to New York expecting to watch maybe 4 shows. Never did I expect myself to actually watch 7. Ok, what can I say, I got carried away. I love musical theatre and I packed in as much musicals as I could this week. I doubt if I can ever top this trip. This is a record for me. The most number of shows that I've seen in a week used to be 4.
I watched Spring Awakening, Monty Python's Spamalot, Mary Poppins, Hairspray, Grey Gardens, The Apple Tree and Company. That's pretty much a show each night. My reviews can be found below this entry if you're interested in knowing what I thought about the shows.
Out of the 7 shows, I only paid full price for 1 of them. I got 5 off TKTS (half priced) and won the lottery for 1 of them. All the shows I went to see were shows that I have never seen before. So, I actually did pretty well...
My favorite musical for this trip has got to be Spring Awakening. Mary Poppins is a close second although for the set, Mary Poppins beats every other show that I have seen-- EVER! The most beautiful theatre that I was in this week is the New Amsterdam Theatre on 44th street. It has been restored to its full glory by Disney and it's just so beautiful inside. The decor is very intricate.
Btw, if you click on the title of the blog for the musical, those are linked to the website of the show itself. In case you haven't figured that one out yet.
It's been a whirlwind week. I got to see some of my friends. A shocker, eh? You'd wonder where I found the time since I was working during the day and I was at the theatre at night. I was even able to go downtown on this trip to go eat at Hopkee with my friends. My normal route is usually bounded by 42nd Street to 54th Street and 2nd Avenue to 9th Avenue.
I'm so ready to go home. NY is just too cold for me. I always come here when the weather sucks -- it's either FREEZING or steaming hot. I'm done freezing my butt for this week (the temps at the beginnning of my trip was below 0 if you take the wind chill factor into consideration). I'm sooooooo tired and I miss Arvin and Jack. I'm at the airport waiting for my flight back to SF. Got my box of Dunkin Donuts (there's no DD in California and the boy wants them) and Junior's Cheesecake (the best cheesecake in NYC!).
Till next blog... Don't know when that's gonna happen. I seem to have more to write about when I travel...
Monday, February 12, 2007
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Company
Day 7 of my musical theatre marathon... I really wanted to watch this show. I love Sondheim's music and wanted to add more of his work to the list of musicals that I've seen. This was also highly recommended by one of my friends who loves musical theatre like me.
I really didn't know much about this show. All I knew is Raul Esparza was in it and the show was directed by John Doyle -- the same guy who directed Sweeney Todd, another Sondheim musical that I saw last year.
I loved the story and the score. I'm looking forward to getting the cast album for this show. The orchestrations were wonderful. Sondheim's musicals are known to be very difficult to sing. Raul Esperza ripped through the score especially in the last song of the show entitled "Being Alive". I absolutely loved it. He has the markings of getting nominated or even possibly winning the Tonys this year.
As for the staging of the show, I'm not really too thrilled about it. I'm not a big fan of John Doyle's style which is having the performers double as the musicians. It's difficult to connect with the chracters when you see them marching around acting and holding instruments at the same time. Sure it's unique and some may call it revolutionary however, I still prefer the "traditional" staging wherein the performers act and sing and the playing of instruments are left to the orchestra. The set is minimalistic. No moving parts. The lighting is absolutely gorgeous. To get the best effect of the show, the mezzanine seats are actually the best seats for a John Doyle production.
I think this show is worth seeing. I enjoyed it.
I really didn't know much about this show. All I knew is Raul Esparza was in it and the show was directed by John Doyle -- the same guy who directed Sweeney Todd, another Sondheim musical that I saw last year.
I loved the story and the score. I'm looking forward to getting the cast album for this show. The orchestrations were wonderful. Sondheim's musicals are known to be very difficult to sing. Raul Esperza ripped through the score especially in the last song of the show entitled "Being Alive". I absolutely loved it. He has the markings of getting nominated or even possibly winning the Tonys this year.
As for the staging of the show, I'm not really too thrilled about it. I'm not a big fan of John Doyle's style which is having the performers double as the musicians. It's difficult to connect with the chracters when you see them marching around acting and holding instruments at the same time. Sure it's unique and some may call it revolutionary however, I still prefer the "traditional" staging wherein the performers act and sing and the playing of instruments are left to the orchestra. The set is minimalistic. No moving parts. The lighting is absolutely gorgeous. To get the best effect of the show, the mezzanine seats are actually the best seats for a John Doyle production.
I think this show is worth seeing. I enjoyed it.
Saturday, February 10, 2007
The Apple Tree
Day six of my musical theatre marathon. I was supposed to meet up with a friend for dinner. We had to change our plans so I was left with no plans by 6 PM tonight. Off I went to TKTS. I was planning on watching Company however the only remaining seats were partial view seats so I decided on watching The Apple Tree instead.
I've heard mixed reviews about this show and didn't really know what to expect. At the beginning of my trip, I was thinking that the only reason why I would actually go and watch this show is to see Kristin Chenowith perform on stage. She's the original Glinda for Wicked and deemed as one of the musical theatre superstars of this generation.
They really should just rename the show as The Kristin Chenoweth show. She totally stole the show. She has one of the most amazing voices that I have heard in musical theatre. Very good actress and excellent comedic timing. Her co-performers were wonderful as well.
There's nothing sophosticated about the set. It was pretty plain. Nothing in the set really had the wow factor in it. So what really carried the show were the performances of the 3 leads. It's a funny show. Music is quite good. It's divided into 3 different parts -- different stories for each part. The first part was set in the Garden of Eden. The second part was about the justice system -- the lady or the lion and the 3rd part was about Passionella the Chimney sweep.
The show was at Studio 54 on 54th Street. The theatre looks a little bit run down now. It probably looked a lot better when it was a club.
I've heard mixed reviews about this show and didn't really know what to expect. At the beginning of my trip, I was thinking that the only reason why I would actually go and watch this show is to see Kristin Chenowith perform on stage. She's the original Glinda for Wicked and deemed as one of the musical theatre superstars of this generation.
They really should just rename the show as The Kristin Chenoweth show. She totally stole the show. She has one of the most amazing voices that I have heard in musical theatre. Very good actress and excellent comedic timing. Her co-performers were wonderful as well.
There's nothing sophosticated about the set. It was pretty plain. Nothing in the set really had the wow factor in it. So what really carried the show were the performances of the 3 leads. It's a funny show. Music is quite good. It's divided into 3 different parts -- different stories for each part. The first part was set in the Garden of Eden. The second part was about the justice system -- the lady or the lion and the 3rd part was about Passionella the Chimney sweep.
The show was at Studio 54 on 54th Street. The theatre looks a little bit run down now. It probably looked a lot better when it was a club.
Friday, February 09, 2007
Grey Gardens
Since my friends and I didn't win the Wicked lottery tonight, off I went to TKTS to just wing it and see what shows were available. Yes, I tried the lottery again. I've lost count of how many times I've tried and I have never won the Wicked lottery yet. One of these days, I will win! I can feel it! ;)
I decided to go watch Grey Gardens since I've heard people talk about Christine Ebersole's performance in the show. I had very little knowledge of the show and what it was all about. Anyways, I took the leap and decided to watch it tonight.
It's about the disfuctional relationship between a mother and a daughter living in Grey Gardens who were pretty much loons. The musical is based on a documentary of the same title.
The Act I was a little bit slow for me. A lot of the character building was happening in this part of the show so it kind of dragged a little bit. Act II was definitely so much better compared to Act I. I enjoyed Act II a lot more than the first act.
Christine Ebersole is magnificent in her role. I can see why people are saying that she is a front runner for the best actress award at the Tonys. Her acting and singing is wonderful. I definitely loved her performance.
The score is pretty decent however there are not a lot of hummable songs in the show. It's worth seeing at least once even just to see Christine Ebersole perform.
I sat right next to a very nice lady and was talking to her before the show and during intermission. She's also been trying to squeeze as much theatre as she could on her trip here in the Big Apple. I had several CD samplers that a friend of mine gave me so I gave her 2 of them and she was quite happy about it. Yep, I recommended that she watch Wicked.... hehehe....
I decided to go watch Grey Gardens since I've heard people talk about Christine Ebersole's performance in the show. I had very little knowledge of the show and what it was all about. Anyways, I took the leap and decided to watch it tonight.
It's about the disfuctional relationship between a mother and a daughter living in Grey Gardens who were pretty much loons. The musical is based on a documentary of the same title.
The Act I was a little bit slow for me. A lot of the character building was happening in this part of the show so it kind of dragged a little bit. Act II was definitely so much better compared to Act I. I enjoyed Act II a lot more than the first act.
Christine Ebersole is magnificent in her role. I can see why people are saying that she is a front runner for the best actress award at the Tonys. Her acting and singing is wonderful. I definitely loved her performance.
The score is pretty decent however there are not a lot of hummable songs in the show. It's worth seeing at least once even just to see Christine Ebersole perform.
I sat right next to a very nice lady and was talking to her before the show and during intermission. She's also been trying to squeeze as much theatre as she could on her trip here in the Big Apple. I had several CD samplers that a friend of mine gave me so I gave her 2 of them and she was quite happy about it. Yep, I recommended that she watch Wicked.... hehehe....
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Mary Poppins
I saw the most amazing set that I have ever seen on stage! It's in Mary Poppins the musical currently playing at the New Amsterdam Theatre on 42nd Street. It was just wonderful. All the set transformations were seamless regrdless of how big the set was. It's the most beautiful set that I have ever seen in a Broadway musical.
The show had a lot of magic in it. The effects that they have done in the show were very impressive. The endless bag was present. Mary Poppins took out a lot of stuff from her bag! She slid up the banister. Bert walked up one wall on stage, dancing upside down on the ceiling and down the other wall in Steps in Time. Mary Poppins flew several times during the show which was wonderful to see but the best part for me was seeing Mary Poppins flying away at the end of the show. It was just amazing!!! I've never seen anything like it on live theatre.
Wonderful performances tonight by the cast. The "Banks" kids were very cute. The best perfomance for me was by Gavin Lee who played the part of Bert. He's brilliant in the role. Each time he was on stage, you just can't help but focus on him. Ashley Brown was wonderful as Mary Poppins. She sounded great, good onstage presence and she's a good actress. Although, I felt that there was something missing in her performance. I can't put my finger on what's missing. I knew that she was playing the role of Mary Poppins however, it did not feel like she was Mary Poppins for me. I kind of had a hard time connecting with her character. Nonetheless, I still thought she did pretty well.
A co-worker of mine went with me tonight. Our seats were wonderful! We were on the 10th row of the orchestra, right at the center. The sight lines were great from where we were sitting. This is the only show so far this trip that I actually paid full price. I wished it was at TKTS however, I don't see it happening for a while.
Mary Poppins is definitely worth watching. It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Just a spoonful of sugar... ;)
The show had a lot of magic in it. The effects that they have done in the show were very impressive. The endless bag was present. Mary Poppins took out a lot of stuff from her bag! She slid up the banister. Bert walked up one wall on stage, dancing upside down on the ceiling and down the other wall in Steps in Time. Mary Poppins flew several times during the show which was wonderful to see but the best part for me was seeing Mary Poppins flying away at the end of the show. It was just amazing!!! I've never seen anything like it on live theatre.
Wonderful performances tonight by the cast. The "Banks" kids were very cute. The best perfomance for me was by Gavin Lee who played the part of Bert. He's brilliant in the role. Each time he was on stage, you just can't help but focus on him. Ashley Brown was wonderful as Mary Poppins. She sounded great, good onstage presence and she's a good actress. Although, I felt that there was something missing in her performance. I can't put my finger on what's missing. I knew that she was playing the role of Mary Poppins however, it did not feel like she was Mary Poppins for me. I kind of had a hard time connecting with her character. Nonetheless, I still thought she did pretty well.
A co-worker of mine went with me tonight. Our seats were wonderful! We were on the 10th row of the orchestra, right at the center. The sight lines were great from where we were sitting. This is the only show so far this trip that I actually paid full price. I wished it was at TKTS however, I don't see it happening for a while.
Mary Poppins is definitely worth watching. It's supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!
Just a spoonful of sugar... ;)
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Hairspray
I've been feeling tired and sleepy almost all day today. I was telling a friend that if I went and watched Les Miserables tonight, I would be sleeping in the theater and probably even snoring. I needed to go watch an upbeat musical. Yeah, I could've probably gone back to my hotel room and went to bed but that's no fun and I'm in New York city. So, off I went to the Neil Simon Theatre on 52nd Street.
Hairspray has a lottery on the day of performance. The start taking names 3 hours before the curtain rises and pick the winners 30 minutes later. I got to the Neil Simon 5 minutes before they drew out the names. Luckily enough, there were enough tickets for everyone who put their names in the lottery so we all won!
I was at the front row. Sight lines weren't that great because the stage is kind of high so you're pretty much looking up most of the time however, can't beat getting front row seats for $25!
The music was quite good. Not that memorable but there were definitely hummable songs. The performers were wonderful. It was a cutesy feel good musical and it kept me awake.
The big plus for me was seeing Diana DeGarmo from American Idol. She didn't really have any big solo numbers in the show but when she sang, she CAN sing! She definitely hit a lot of money notes tonight.
Hairspray has a lottery on the day of performance. The start taking names 3 hours before the curtain rises and pick the winners 30 minutes later. I got to the Neil Simon 5 minutes before they drew out the names. Luckily enough, there were enough tickets for everyone who put their names in the lottery so we all won!
I was at the front row. Sight lines weren't that great because the stage is kind of high so you're pretty much looking up most of the time however, can't beat getting front row seats for $25!
The music was quite good. Not that memorable but there were definitely hummable songs. The performers were wonderful. It was a cutesy feel good musical and it kept me awake.
The big plus for me was seeing Diana DeGarmo from American Idol. She didn't really have any big solo numbers in the show but when she sang, she CAN sing! She definitely hit a lot of money notes tonight.
Tuesday, February 06, 2007
Monty Python's Spamalot
Tonight's show was Monty Python's Spamalot. I wasn't really planning on watching this show on this trip. However, it was at TKTS when I went there after work. This is a popular show on Broadway and in my past trips, tickets for this show has been kind of hard to come by so when I saw it on the TKTS board at 50% off, naturally, I decided to watch it.
I had a wonderful seat. It was dead center on the first row of the Mezzanine. There were no heads blocking my view at all. I would call them god seats! The stage was close enough to see the facial expression of the performers. Gotta love going to shows alone. I always, always manage to get really good seats (yeah, I forgot to mention that at SA last night, I was sitting on the 4th row. Close enough to see the facial expressions and far enough to not have spit landing on me but yeah, I was seeing spit flying all over the place!).
Spamalot is an enjoyable show. Lots of laughs -- lots of good jokes. It is a silly show. I was laughing during the show. However, after the show, I kind of felt a little bit disappointed and wished that I had picked something else. The performers were good. However, I love musicals that have good musical scores. Spamalot came up short in this area for me. I don't really feel compelled to go buy the soundtrack. There was one hummable song in the entire score -- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. I thought it had more of a variety show feel to it than theatre. They're opening up in Las Vegas and I can see that it probably would appeal to people visiting there.
Well, at least I know what it's all about. If I had to rank it on the list of musicals that I've seen, it'll be towards the bottom. Not really my type of musical and seeing it once is enough for me. It left me wanting more -- a LOT more than it could offer.
I had a wonderful seat. It was dead center on the first row of the Mezzanine. There were no heads blocking my view at all. I would call them god seats! The stage was close enough to see the facial expression of the performers. Gotta love going to shows alone. I always, always manage to get really good seats (yeah, I forgot to mention that at SA last night, I was sitting on the 4th row. Close enough to see the facial expressions and far enough to not have spit landing on me but yeah, I was seeing spit flying all over the place!).
Spamalot is an enjoyable show. Lots of laughs -- lots of good jokes. It is a silly show. I was laughing during the show. However, after the show, I kind of felt a little bit disappointed and wished that I had picked something else. The performers were good. However, I love musicals that have good musical scores. Spamalot came up short in this area for me. I don't really feel compelled to go buy the soundtrack. There was one hummable song in the entire score -- Always Look on the Bright Side of Life. I thought it had more of a variety show feel to it than theatre. They're opening up in Las Vegas and I can see that it probably would appeal to people visiting there.
Well, at least I know what it's all about. If I had to rank it on the list of musicals that I've seen, it'll be towards the bottom. Not really my type of musical and seeing it once is enough for me. It left me wanting more -- a LOT more than it could offer.
Spring Awakening
I love Spring Awakening!
I went to watch it last night. I had very high expectations for this show since I'm familiar with the songs and love the sound track (I bought the soundtrack when it came out since it had good reviews plus I wasn't too sure if I could make a trip to NY before it closes). It was very interesting hearing the songs in the context of the story. I really knew nothing about the story.
The show did not disappoint. From the moment Lea Michele stepped on stage, the show had my attention. The cast was wonderful -- especially Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher and Lea Michele. The cast in this show is very young but very talented and each of them deserved to be on Broadway.
The set was very minimalistic. Pretty much there was no special effects that would distract your attention from the story. The story kind of lacked some type of cohesiveness. There were several concurrent tracks based on the characters of the show. It pretty much was about teen angst and growing up in an era where free thinking was being frowned upon. SA was very different from the typical musicals wherein the characters would be having a conversation and then all of a sudden, they would bust out into a song and a dance. The songs were more of the inner monologues of the characters and what they thought about the situation at hand. It had a little bit of similarity with Dead Poets Society. Notable songs for me were the following: B*itch of a Living, My Junk, Totally F*ucked, Left Behind.
Check out the "Bitch of a Living" video below from the show.
More clips and sample music on the SA myspace page.
It might not be the kind of musical that you would take a prude to. There is onstage nudity however it was done very tastefully and pretty much in the context of the story.
I went to watch it last night. I had very high expectations for this show since I'm familiar with the songs and love the sound track (I bought the soundtrack when it came out since it had good reviews plus I wasn't too sure if I could make a trip to NY before it closes). It was very interesting hearing the songs in the context of the story. I really knew nothing about the story.
The show did not disappoint. From the moment Lea Michele stepped on stage, the show had my attention. The cast was wonderful -- especially Jonathan Groff, John Gallagher and Lea Michele. The cast in this show is very young but very talented and each of them deserved to be on Broadway.
The set was very minimalistic. Pretty much there was no special effects that would distract your attention from the story. The story kind of lacked some type of cohesiveness. There were several concurrent tracks based on the characters of the show. It pretty much was about teen angst and growing up in an era where free thinking was being frowned upon. SA was very different from the typical musicals wherein the characters would be having a conversation and then all of a sudden, they would bust out into a song and a dance. The songs were more of the inner monologues of the characters and what they thought about the situation at hand. It had a little bit of similarity with Dead Poets Society. Notable songs for me were the following: B*itch of a Living, My Junk, Totally F*ucked, Left Behind.
Check out the "Bitch of a Living" video below from the show.
More clips and sample music on the SA myspace page.
It might not be the kind of musical that you would take a prude to. There is onstage nudity however it was done very tastefully and pretty much in the context of the story.
Sunday, February 04, 2007
First Trip of the Year
I'm at the San Francisco International Airport waiting for my flight. It's my first trip of the year and who knows how many more trips I'll be taking again this year. Last year was pretty crazy for me.
I'm off to the Big Apple for 9 days. I'm pretty excited since there are a lot of shows that have recently opened. My mom was asking me last night if I was going to go see any shows. I told her it's a given. I never go to New York without watching any show. I'll probably watch 4-5 shows. I haven't decided which ones to see. I'm probably going to skip Wicked during this trip (shocking, eh?) since I have tickets to see it on my birthday in LA with Arvin anyways.
I'm off to the Big Apple for 9 days. I'm pretty excited since there are a lot of shows that have recently opened. My mom was asking me last night if I was going to go see any shows. I told her it's a given. I never go to New York without watching any show. I'll probably watch 4-5 shows. I haven't decided which ones to see. I'm probably going to skip Wicked during this trip (shocking, eh?) since I have tickets to see it on my birthday in LA with Arvin anyways.
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