I bought my ticket on TodayTix and used a code, bringing the price to $37. Not bad. The only issue was that I'm not good with heights and the balcony at the St. James Theatre is pretty damn steep. Needless to say I spent the majority of the show trying not to freak out about the location of my seat. Despite the location of my seat, I had a fantastic time at Something Rotten! and I would highly recommend the show to anyone who is looking for a solid night at the theater.
I saw the show a week after Christian Borle won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical, and the audience was living for his performance. He was fun to watch, as was the rest of the cast. There were a few members of the ensemble that were impossible not to watch during the dances -- Eric Sciotto was a total standout. This was my first time seeing Brian D'Arcy James, Christian Borle, and Heidi Blickenstaff in a show (I missed Borle in Starcatcher by just a few days), and all three are fantastic performers. John Cariani, who I last saw play Dogberry in Much Ado About Nothing at Barrington Stage Company, was adorable and endearing. Really, I don't have anything all that exciting to say about any of the actors because they were all great and there wasn't one casting decision I didn't agree with or would've liked to change.
The show literally stopped a few times because of extended applause. There were two huge numbers that got the audience on their feet for a standing ovation in the middle of the show! It was exciting and crazy and even though it was the final show of a five-show weekend, the cast appeared to be having a great time.
Was the show perfect? No. Brilliant? Eh, it had it's moments. Offensive? Definitely. A lot of fun? Yes.
Something Rotten! wasn't life changing, but I had a really great time. Also, I am loving listening to the cast recording. A musical that has music enjoyable enough to just listen to without watching the action is a hit with me.
Thursday, June 18, 2015
Wednesday, June 10, 2015
2015 Tony Awards
For the last few (at least three) years I have live-Tweeted the Tony Awards. I'm a Broadway fanatic, so it's only fitting that the Tony Awards are the most exciting day of the year for me. This year, however, there was little fanfare. I attended a family wedding on Sunday evening, so for the first time in many years I had to record the Tonys and watch later. I think the situation caused me to feel very mehhhh about the awards this time around. Usually I'm hooting and hollering at the TV and wouldn't dare change the channel for the entire broadcast. This year I fast-forwarded through a lot of the show. It was late, I had to drive back to Jersey at 7:30 am the next morning, and I hadn't seen enough of the nominated shows to feel emotionally involved.
I haven't even gone back to check if any of my predictions were correct because, let's be honest, they're probably not. I really enjoyed the performances, although I don't think Gigi, Finding Neverland, or It Shoulda Been You should've been highlighted. For a year so full of dance-heavy shows, the award for Best Choreography belonged in the broadcast, not during a commercial break. Instead of showcasing shows that will be closing in a few weeks from lack of ticket sales, how about giving Christopher Wheeldon his time in the spotlight. I don't need to go any further into the debate about what awards should be shown because we all know it's already happening, and my opinions on the subject don't matter. I'll leave that to the bigwigs who actually have clout and might be able to enact change.
As for the hosts, I was indifferent. Like the rest of the night, they were enjoyable and had some cute moments. Nothing was shocking. The opening number was not a showstopper like it has been in the last few years. It just wasn't all that special.
None of the winners were surprising, which just meant the whole show was kind of a snooze-fest. Yeah, history was made with Fun Home's wins and Kelli O'Hara finally has a trophy after all this time. Kelli's win was the most exciting moment of the night and her speech was great. I enjoyed the majority of the speeches and each one had its own little quirks. But nothing made me jump up and want to shout with joy. (By the way, finishing the show with Jersey Boys was great. I'll probably catch some flack for saying that, but honestly, I just adore that show and it was so fun to watch.)
Broadway's biggest night is usually mine too. But this year it all just fell flat for me. Again, it was probably because of the way my evening turned out -- Sunday night wasn't the event it usually is for me, and that influenced how I felt about the actual award show.
I haven't even gone back to check if any of my predictions were correct because, let's be honest, they're probably not. I really enjoyed the performances, although I don't think Gigi, Finding Neverland, or It Shoulda Been You should've been highlighted. For a year so full of dance-heavy shows, the award for Best Choreography belonged in the broadcast, not during a commercial break. Instead of showcasing shows that will be closing in a few weeks from lack of ticket sales, how about giving Christopher Wheeldon his time in the spotlight. I don't need to go any further into the debate about what awards should be shown because we all know it's already happening, and my opinions on the subject don't matter. I'll leave that to the bigwigs who actually have clout and might be able to enact change.
As for the hosts, I was indifferent. Like the rest of the night, they were enjoyable and had some cute moments. Nothing was shocking. The opening number was not a showstopper like it has been in the last few years. It just wasn't all that special.
None of the winners were surprising, which just meant the whole show was kind of a snooze-fest. Yeah, history was made with Fun Home's wins and Kelli O'Hara finally has a trophy after all this time. Kelli's win was the most exciting moment of the night and her speech was great. I enjoyed the majority of the speeches and each one had its own little quirks. But nothing made me jump up and want to shout with joy. (By the way, finishing the show with Jersey Boys was great. I'll probably catch some flack for saying that, but honestly, I just adore that show and it was so fun to watch.)
Broadway's biggest night is usually mine too. But this year it all just fell flat for me. Again, it was probably because of the way my evening turned out -- Sunday night wasn't the event it usually is for me, and that influenced how I felt about the actual award show.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
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