Matilda

Yesterday morning we got to the Shubert at 7:50am and were 7th and 8th in line for rush tickets. People ahead of us had been there for a long time -- they had blankets and looked like they'd camped out. Around 9:55, I spotted a friend that worked down the street and we started talking and said that she didn't think Matilda was doing rush today and then found the proof on Twitter. At that point we had waited so long that we just decided to get tickets. It's the last show on the list of shows we HAD to see, so we bought seats in the box. The people that had been camped out were FURIOUS when they got up to the window in the box office. But people don't understand that the box office has nothing to do with what the production decides on in terms of rush policies.

I went into this show completely blind. I've never seen the movie or read the book. And because of my insane dislike of children, everyone kind of assumed I wouldn't like it. But OH MY GOODNESS the show was incredible.

From the set to the lighting to the sound effects, the production itself was interesting and exciting to watch. The music was a little inconsistent -- a few showstoppers, but no song knocked me off my feet. The story is cute and I found myself being able to relate to different characters here and there.

There was not one performance that I wasn't pleased with. All actors were great and, even though it was obvious we were being told a story (and a story-within-a-story at times), I did not find the acting too presentational. The breaking of the fourth wall once or twice was done artfully and adorably because the kid was so cute.

The show, still in previews, just needs a little bit of tech work -- a few mic issues here and there. I was sitting in one of the boxes, and it was fun because I could see in the wings, and at one point some actors come up into the boxes and sing.

Honestly, I don't have too much to say about the show. It was spectacular and a spectacle. I just had a great time watching it and would gladly sit through it again.

The North Pool

Here's an example of a show getting a really bad and unfair review in the New York Times. The word "disappointing" was used in the first paragraph in the review, but I don't think that word belongs anywhere near this play.

The North Pool was 85 minutes of pure intensity, and I was into the story the whole time.

I appreciated the detail in the set -- the computer was turned on and spreadsheets could be seen onscreen, the folders held papers that looked like they would be in folders in a high school vice principal's office, and the two characters were wearing ID tags with pictures and info that looked real. It seemed that no detail was overlooked and the creative team truly wanted to present the most realistic piece of theater they could. And they did.

Overall I think this play has a strong script and was well cast. The topic is interesting and is easy to relate to even if you've never actually been in the position that the actors find themselves in.

My biggest issue with Really Really was that at the end the two characters who are involved in the rape situation did not acknowledge each other during the curtain call. At the end of an intense piece of theater, I am grateful when actors break out of being an actor and pat each other on the back, or do something that shows it was all just a play. This didn't happen in Really Really and I think it really needed to. It did happen in The North Pool and it was absolute perfection. I felt like I could walk out of the theater knowing that it was just a play. I don't need the illusion that it's real to follow me out because I know it's not. So, whether or not that was the director's choice or the actor's, I was very appreciative of the pat on the back and handshake the actors shared during curtain call.

Kinky Boots

This season there has been a serious lack of new musicals on Broadway -- or at least it certainly seems that way. I didn't know what to expect going into this show. Honestly, I wasn't expecting much. But it was fabulous and I want to see it again and I want everyone I know to go see it.

There were things that still needed to be worked on -- it was obvious the show was still in previews. A few mic problems here and there, a few awkward transitions, and the book could use a little help, but the audience definitely enjoyed every minute of the show.

It's just so funny. SO funny. I laughed so hard I was crying. Everyone in the audience was laughing. The woman behind me was guffawing nonstop.

The show takes place in Northampton, England and I wonder how it would be received by a British audience. There were jokes that no doubt went over an American audience's head.

Okay. So the reason I wanted to see this show was because Stark Sands is in it, and he was the one  cast member of American Idiot that I saw all three times I saw it on Broadway. He did not disappoint. At all. His voice was perfect. His British accent was surprisingly perfect (except when he sang, but the whole cast had that issue). His character is annoying, yes, but it's all worth it in the end when he comes out wearing the boots. In Act 2, he sings a power ballad that he just positively nailed. It was actually very funny because he was pulling out the moves he used in American Idiot. Seriously, watch any clip of him performing in AI and then compare that to what he does onstage during this song, and it's like watching Tunny (his AI character) perform in front of a show factory in England. Classic. I was dying. I have no idea if anyone else in the audience had any clue, but for me it was pretty great.

Then there's Billy Porter who just knocked it out of the park. I'm sure he'll be getting a standing ovation for at least one of his songs on opening night. His voice was so interesting but beautiful and worked well with the music and the costumes he got to wear were EPIC.

And Annaleigh Ashford, who I saw in Dogfight Off-Broadway twice last summer, killed it. She has one song, but everyone was talking about it during intermission. She was phenomenal.

There wasn't much for the supporting cast in terms of singing, but the "Angels" (Porter's character's team of drag queens) rocked it... and left us all wondering whether they were female or male. The program credits them as men, but I won't believe that until I see the dance belts...

The costumes were incredible. The lighting was surprisingly interesting and dynamic.

I don't care what you think you know about this show or what preconceived notions you may have... it's really really good, and SO MUCH FUN.

Cinderella

Well this was fun. Literally just a fun night at the theater.

It was just so pretty to look at -- from the costumes to the sets and the lights.

I was sitting all the way on the side (rush seats) and could see backstage in the wings pretty much the entire time. I don't find this particularly distracting because I love being able to watch what's happening, but never before have I been in a theater where the lack of curtains to hide backstage was so apparent. At one point I watched while the Fairy Godmother was harnessed up for a flying sequence and it wasn't hidden at all. So while I don't normally find this distracting, it was a little bit.

They rewrote some of the story and I thought it all worked very well. The reworking seemed to be well-received and I think the political storyline was funny and current. I also appreciated that, although the majority of the audience was children, there were jokes that were for adults.

Laura Osnes was the perfect Cinderella. I didn't know what to expect from Santino Fontana, but he was my favorite. He was silly and adorable and charismatic and it didn't feel like watching Prince Charming, but rather just a young guy that was a little lost and needed someone to help him find his way.

Some of the songs are so fabulous. I like when a musical has memorable music that I walk out humming.

Songs For a New World

More Jason Robert Brown! And this is my absolute FAVORITE. Where with Last Five Years I don't love every song, I LOVE EVERY SONG in Songs For a New World so much.

It was an interesting night. At 6:40ish we got to XL Cabaret and waited on line went to the box office but instead of getting tickets we were just checked off a list. After a series of ushers checked my name off the list, we went inside the venue and were told that the standing room section was just anywhere in the carpeted area. Around 7:15 the first announcement that they were holding for technical difficulties happened. At 7:30 there was another announcement that they were still having trouble. Then the director, Jeff Calhoun, got onstage and started telling jokes. He brought up each performer one by one and took questions from the audience. The four performers were gracious about answering a few questions and trying to keep everyone happy and excited. It was amazing. It's like you hear about this kind of stuff happening, but you're never there when it does... and FINALLY I was there. So great. Also, the audience was mostly industry people so that was fun so look around and try to spot people I recognized. They'd added another show at 9:00 since the first one sold out, and that show didn't end up starting until after 10:30 because of the situation!

The show finally started a little after 8. And it was worth the hour and a half I spent standing and waiting. It would've been worth five hours of standing and waiting. It was that good. So unbelievable.

The greatest thing about standing for this show was that there were so few people standing we could move around and see everything. Also, the performers moved throughout the space, standing on tables and singing while moving through the audience. This was fun to watch, but even more fun to experience... they would wait by the stairs between songs and I would turn and Michael James Scott would be standing two inches away from me preparing to go on. Dying. Fan-girling.

Nick Adams has one of my favorite voices in the industry right now. He's so magical. So that was fun. But I don't know when the last time I heard four people sound this good singing together. It was insane. My favorite things in a room all at once -- people belting their faces off, theater industry people, and Songs For a New World.

The perfect evening.

The Last Five Years

I didn't go into this expecting a really great narrative. For me, this show is just a concert with two really great singers. And that's what it was. I think if you wanted a real musical with a strong plot, you will be thoroughly disappointed.

Adam Kantor and Betsy Woolfe did not have great chemistry but their voices are out of this world. So separately they were amazing, but the few moments they came together onstage were severely lacking in intensity.

I'm not in love with all the music in this show. I think there are a few songs that are out of this world amazing and then others that are just "eh" -- like a few songs are great to listen to for fun, but then some that you wouldn't turn to for kicks and giggles (at least not me). But when sung through in 90 minutes, everything works because you can pick up on the little riffs that repeat throughout.

The set was FABULOUS, and the staging was fun.

Second Stage is a great venue and perfect for this kind of show. It didn't hurt that Jason Robert Brown was sitting two rows in front of me... #starstruck.

Really Really

Everyone needs to see this show.

Okay, so first I need to say that the audience was not what I was expecting. I thought the draw for this show was Zosia Mamet from "Girls" and therefore the audience would be made up of young people. It wasn't. It was a Saturday matinee, so old people were expected, but in general the entire audience was a lot older than I thought it would be.

In London I saw a lot of theater that was shocking and very explicit and gritty and sexual. Theater over there (well, stuff that's not West End) is much more uncensored than it is here. To say I was excited when I walked into the theater and saw the set and felt like I was back in London seeing a fringe show is an understatement. The best thing shows I saw in London were in theaters that felt like the Lucille Lortel with sets that looked like that of Really Really.

This show felt very British in terms of production value. The lighting design and execution was phenomenal and the set and set changes were out of this world. It was great. So so good.

I completely understand why this show did not get good reviews. Unless you're living in the same kind of world that the characters are living in, it would be super hard to relate to. Fortunately for me (and the friend I saw the show with), we are at the point in our lives where there was a something we could relate to in every character. The whole atmosphere was so college and so edgy and just insane. I love it. The play itself was very interesting and there were surprises at every corner.

I can't enough good things about this show, or rather I can't think of anything I didn't like... at all.

Really Really left me wanting to crawl out of my skin and shaking with discomfort for hours after.

Hands on a Hardbody

So this show was about Texas. Literally the plot was about keeping your hands on a truck in order to win a contest.

The show had some very strong moments and some wonderful music, but there were moments when I had a hard time believing the show was taking itself seriously. Like the song "If I Had a Truck"... I couldn't stop laughing at the lyrics. It seemed like it was meant to be funny, but the characters all had such depressing story lines that I was confused about how I was supposed to feel as an audience member.

Everyone always talks about shows being "ensemble shows" but there are few shows I've seen that I would actually give that label. This was one. Yeah, there were the well-known actors who might have been given a little more stage time than others, but overall it was equally balanced and everyone got a song. I felt like I knew everyone's voices by the end, which is rare.

The cast was good. It was funny to see Keith Carradine singing and dancing onstage... he's from "Dexter" so I'd seen him on TV, but didn't know he was a stage actor. Hunter Foster has a great voice and the part was perfect for him even though he was the least likable character in the show. Allison Case is charismatic and adorable but her voice wasn't as strong as I wanted it to be -- I remember liking her voice more in Hair. Jay Armstrong Johnson was really good. His voice is strong and he was just pleasant to watch, but I could feel his discomfort with the stunts (climbing on top of the truck and doing all sorts of flips). David Larsen was basically playing the same character he played in American Idiot but he sang the second best song in the show and boy, can he sing. The two best performances belonged to Jon Rua and Keala Steele -- the strongest voices by far.

It was pretty obvious the show was still in previews. I could tell some of the choreography wasn't completely set and it just didn't seem perfectly polished.

Not my favorite thing I've ever seen before, but I'm glad I saw it and it was an interesting and fun show even if it made you feel like a bad person for being American... because all I really walked away with was the belief that America is a super depressing place.