A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

I got in line at 8:00am to rush this show on Wednesday morning, and there were at least 20 people ahead of me in line already. So while the sister and I waited, we sent mom to TKTS. As soon as we made our way into the box office, mom had already gotten tickets at the TKTS booth. So we paid more than we would've if rush was successful, but figured it won the Tony so we'd be getting our money's worth.

This is not my kind of musical. I'm just gonna throw that out there right now. Go back and read other reviews here... you'll get to know what I like and what I don't. It's not that I can't appreciate this style, it's just not what I'm drawn to. I tend to like my plays with more of a slapstick and comedy of errors type feel, and my musicals dark and edgy with heavy music.

Gentleman's Guide was traditional American musical theater. Deserving of the Best Musical Tony Award? Yes. Absolutely.

It was cast perfectly. I couldn't imagine a better group of actors to put on this piece.

Bryce Pinkham has the greatest facial expressions. I've seen him onstage a few times, but the last show I saw him in was Ghost and there he had that evil but unassuming thing going on. So clearly he's pretty darn good at playing the bad guy that comes off like a good guy. He was very funny both to listen to and watch, and wow is he light on his feet.

Jefferson Mays plays an entire family of characters and each character transitions smoothly into the next. Since I knew that Mays had played a role that required him to transform into multiple characters at the drop of a hat before, I had high expectations. They were definitely met.

There's not much to complain about when it comes to the acting or the singing. Just because the music didn't excite me doesn't mean I didn't think it was fantastic. For such a small cast the ensemble numbers were powerful. I spaced out once or twice and there was one song that was just odd and seemed unnecessary even though it was a good song ("Sibella"). There is no huge showstopping number, but there are songs that are more popular than others for sure.

Overall, I had a lot of fun at Gentleman's Guide. There were two times that I absolutely cracked up and fell over in my seat. Anyone who has seen a show with me can tell you I don't outwardly express my feelings very often at shows. A friend told me I was in for a "real treat" with Gentleman's Guide, and I agree. It was a treat. Two and a half hours of good, fun, traditional musical theater.

Goeler Girls Gab

Many of the adults in my life (mostly mom's friends) have been telling me for a long time that I needed to make a YouTube channel all about theater. Apparently I'm interesting and exciting to listen to when it comes to talking about theater.

So today my sister and I bit the bullet and recorded a video with the hopes of more to come in the next few days.

Check out our first video, and let me know if there are any topics you'd be interested in hearing us discuss!

CLICK HERE FOR THE VIDEO!

Review of Gentleman's Guide is in the process of being written, so look for it tomorrow!

Rocky

I'll be the first to admit that I thought this musical was a ridiculous idea, and when I first heard of it moving to Broadway I was crying for the downfall of commercial theater. But then when my mom asked me to find cheap tickets for our little "vacation" to NYC, I ended up throwing caution to the wind and getting tickets to Rocky.

Having never seen any of the movies, I knew very little about the plot. The biggest reason I decided to give the show a shot was Andy Karl, the actor playing Rocky. I've seen him in Jersey Boys and Edwin Drood and I gotta say I'm a huge fan. Also, having read all the interviews and press about how he bulked up and the process he went through to transform himself into Rocky, I was willing to take a chance on the show. Andy Karl just seems like a genuinely nice human being who puts his heart and soul into everything he does, and Rocky is his first time as a leading man.

A friend told me that this production changed the way she thought about theater. I was extremely skeptical. I mean, I saw Spiderman, so I was up on the whole spectacle over content situation. At intermission I was pretty sure there was nothing all that special about Rocky, but then the last twenty minutes of Act II are just mind blowing. Is it theater or is it a real sporting event? That question sounds bizarre and stupid, but let me tell you it's absolutely insane how the space changes and the audience reacts to everything going on. It was most definitely a spectacle, but it had heart.

I'm listening to the cast album while writing this and I have to admit that I'm enjoying the music more now than I did during the show. The lyrics aren't brilliant, neither is the music itself. The book is lacking and I found myself laughing at times just from the absurdity of whatever was being said. I didn't like the big cast numbers, but the solo songs by Rocky and Adrian were to die for and their duet "Happiness" was gorgeous. The lyrics weren't, but their voices were and they just sounded great together.

The performances were solid. Andy absolutely killed it. I couldn't imagine his performance being any more perfect. Really. His voice is flawless. There was not one flubbed note throughout the entire show from anyone actually. And trust me, I notice those things. The voices were spot on and carried beautifully throughout the house.

I don't know how you're supposed to feel about Rocky after seeing the movie, but I wanted to marry him by the end of the musical. Or maybe just hug him. Definitely one of the more sympathetic characters I've seen onstage.

Now, from the way I'm raving on about how great it was you might think I didn't have many issues with the show. Let me assure you I did. Aside from the stupidity of the lyrics, my biggest issue was the ending. The very very last minute of the whole show after the fight is over. It was as if no one could figure out how to end it! Literally it just ended and no one knew if it was over or not. There needed to be one more scene away from the boxing ring with just Rocky and Adrian. As someone who didn't know the story, I was confused by the ending because it went so fast and there was so much happening. And then suddenly it was bows and I felt like I'd missed something.
 
I wasn't going to stage door, I really wasn't. But we ended up walking out of the theater through the doors that lead right to the stage door... so I just had to. And it was worth it because the people who I cared about getting autographs from came out. Oh, and we met and took a picture with Andy... so that was worth the price of the ticket right there.

If you're at all skeptical about seeing this show, just go. Because honestly, Andy Karl's performance is one of the most honest and heartfelt I've seen recently.

Check Back Soon!

Heading to NYC Tuesday for an overnight and *crosses fingers* two shows. I'm seeing Rocky on Tuesday night and whatever I can get tickets for on Wednesday afternoon.

Check back here at the end of the week for thoughts and reviews!

The Tony Awards 2014

I actually went through and took screen shots of my Twitter feed from the whole night. So anyone who is curious about what I was thinking in the moment but doesn't want to scroll through my whole Twitter page just let me know.

I have a lot of thoughts about what happened last night. But, unlike other years, I don't feel like my opinion matters at all because I only saw three shows this entire season. Yeah, I know. Don't worry, I've already cried over that fact many times.

Still, I versed myself on all the shows and had my favorites even if I was unsure who was most deserving based on performance.

The fact that John Tiffany didn't win Best Director and Celia Keenan-Bolger didn't win Best Actress for Glass Menagerie was a crime. And, in my opinion, the two biggest upsets of the night. I was shocked. Go back and read my review of that show -- I stand by the statement that it was the best piece of theater I've seen in this country.

The other upset for me was Kelli O'Hara not winning Best Actress in a Musical for Bridges. I didn't see the show and I'm sure Jessie Mueller is fantastic in Beautiful. BUT based off the soundtrack to Bridges, the award should've gone to Kelli. Even if just to recognize the talent that was on the stage. I've heard a lot of things from people who have seen the show, all about how the story was boring even though the music was incredible. Jason Robert Brown won two Tony's for his work on the show in terms of the music, but no performer won.

Now to the performances and the whole evening in general...

I was so impressed by the cast of Les Miserables. It was just one of those perfect Tony performances. A well known song, good shots of the big players in the cast, and the whole cast together. Overall I thought all the performances were pretty strong. And even the ones I didn't care that much about were entertaining -- like Aladdin. I got why they chose that song -- it showcased the actor who ended up winning the Tony for the role and the costumes and sparkles were enough to get people interested in buying tickets. The only performance I was kind of "eh" about was Rocky just because it wasn't really a song... just more showcasing the fight choreography. And let's be real, we all wanted to hear Andy Karl sing.

I guess I can't really blog about the Tony's without mentioning NPH's performance with Hedwig. It was pretty perfect. Unfortunately the show is impossible to get tickets to and the only tickets available are bazillions of dollars and they do a lottery instead of rush so not even worth it since it's probably impossible to win. For most of us, that performance was the only one we will ever get to see of this production. But it was fun and entertaining and it won lots of awards. I'm not bitter about the fact that I'll never get to see it... I swear I'm not. OKAY I AM. Fine. Whatever.

So that opening number, huh? So disappointing. Ugh. Really though it was not okay. Hugh Jackman did a good job of hosting, but he did not do a good job of making sure his opening number would go down in Tony history like so many of Neil's have. I wanted a performance. Not a show of his athletic ability.

Audra's speech was to die for.
Ramin Karimloo's kids were to die for.
NPH kissing David was to die for.
Idina redeeming herself from the Oscar's and crushing that song was to die for.
Matt Bomer and Zachary Quinto presenting in matching glasses was to die for.
Hartford getting a shout out in Darko's speech was to die for.

Overall a really good night. I had a lot of fun watching. The rap seemed bizarre and out of place while it was happening but upon a second viewing it was fun.

Also, the fact that Sound Designers are no longer being recognized is a horrible thing and I hope the committee rethinks that decision before next year.

Casa Valentina

Okay, first I have to say that I was so impressed with how nice the inside of the theater was. It was my first time at the Samuel Friedman theater, and it was impossible not to notice how clean and fresh everything from the paint on the walls to the chairs were. As someone who cares about that kind of stuff, it was nice to see a space so well taken care of.

I didn't go into this show with any expectations at all. I knew the play was nominated for a few Tony awards, but I hadn't read much about it. Literally I found cheap tickets and was just bought them. The lighting designer does a lot of work at my sister's school so she has worked with him before and we figured it would be fun to see a show he worked on. It's unusual for me to go into a show completely blind. I mean, I guess I wasn't completely blind -- I had seen some of the actors in other shows and obviously I know all about Harvey Fierstein and Joe Mantello. But in terms of what I was going to be sitting through, I had no idea.

It was so good. Honestly, I had such a great time. The story was interesting, exciting, and emotional. The play was just on the right side of political.

For me, it was a lot of fun to see actors I had previously seen in other roles (in musicals) in such a different environment. Most notably Gabriel Ebert.

The ending killed me. Without giving too much away I just have to say that I love a good white death light and it was used perfectly.

Shows where it's obvious the actors feel strongly about the parts they are playing are always going to be the most memorable to me and Casa Valentina was no exception. When you see a lot of theater you get to the point where it becomes obvious when actors are just phoning in their performances. I didn't feel that here at all. Everyone was engaged the whole time and that meant that the stakes were incredibly high. I mean, how could they not be? Everything was on the line for these people. Their careers, their relationships, their relationship with themselves. High stakes makes for great theater, especially when the audience is on the edge of their seats waiting to see what happens. And nothing about the plot was obvious. At intermission I turned to my sister and asked her what she thought was going to happen and she said she had no idea. It's not everyday I find myself struggling to think of possible endings.

I'm pretty sure I've seen less this season on Broadway than any other season in the last nine years (my first Broadway show was 2006). So I'm having a really hard time making my predictions for Sunday night. In any case, I'll be rooting for Casa Valentina.