The Christians

I don't think it's any surprise that I enjoy plays and musicals of a religious nature. So when I first heard about The Christians at Playwright's Horizons I bought a ticket on the assumption that it was going to be my kind of thing. I judged a book by the cover, I guess you could say.

The Christians is indeed a play of a religious nature. But I should've done some research before walking into the theater. I should've had some idea of the piece, it's history, and maybe learned a little about the playwright. This wasn't the kind of show you could just walk into without knowing the playwright's (Lucas Hnath) background, and a bit about other shows he's written. I wish I had known what I know now about him when I arrived at the theater.

I'm about to go on a little rant. Do not read further if you're sensitive re: religion because it's not going to be pleasant.

I was infuriated by The Christians. Not because of the physical production or the acting - honestly I didn't care about most of that. The words spoken made me angry. I absolutely believe religion is the root of all evil. It pisses me off. It makes me furious that a woman can marry a man and be in his religious shadow for 22 years (this is part of the play, not just a hypothetical situation), without expressing her own beliefs because she loves him and is willing to play her part of preacher's wife. Marriages in my family have been torn apart by religion. Whatever religious beliefs I might've held as a kid were completely destroyed when I watched members of my family go through the whole "my beliefs are too strong to be married to you because you're not religious enough" situation. I try so hard to be accepting and to understand how people find healing power in God or whatever, but I can't imagine believing in something I cannot put my hands on. Religion is intangible, God is intangible, and I can't understand how you can put all your faith in something intangible. I've been preached at in churches so many times in my life (at weddings, funerals, etc.) - told that I'm going to hell because I don't believe in whatever is being spewed at me. It makes me feel physically sick. There were moments during The Christians where my stomach turned over.

What I appreciated about The Christians is how incredibly divisive it is. Out of the thousands of people who will see the show during its run, every patron's own personal experience with religion will determine how they feel upon walking out of the theater. Me? I felt reaffirmed in my Atheist beliefs. I felt unsettled. Also, how does anyone have the time and attention and head-space to deal with the voice of God? I can't even deal with my own voice inside my head telling me what to do, think, feel.

The production was fine. I wasn't a huge fan of the use of microphones, which I'm told is a production element Lucas Hnath uses frequently. It made sense, made me feel like I was in a megachurch, during the sermons. But no one has a private conversation in their bedroom using a microphone. And if we're talking about God hearing what's going on? Well, pretty sure you don't need a microphone for God to hear you, right? Isn't that the point? The acting was good - again it was perfect for the play because Preacher Paul could've stepped out of any church. I liked the music and the choir. It was funny at times and moving at others.

I'm so incredibly firm on my beliefs (or lack there of I guess), that it was difficult for me to feel anything for the characters... except the wife. All those years ago the preacher's wife married a man believing she would spend the rest of her life with him, that they would grow old together and be connected through their religion. Little did she know he was keeping secrets - he had radical beliefs buried deep down that he wasn't sharing. The wife is left with a choice, stay and be miserable or leave. She leaves, THANK GOODNESS, but not before expressing her utter devotion and love to the man who destroyed her life.

It's impossible for a play like The Christians not to offend, to mean different things to different people, and I'm a perfect example of that. This is the first time where my personal struggles and beliefs have gotten so in the way that I wasn't able to be objective about a piece of theater. I take full responsibility for how I felt about the show -- it's not a fault of the show.

I waited to post this until a few weeks after I saw the show, trying to figure out if my thoughts would change or I would have a moment of brilliance where it all became clear to me. But that didn't happen. So this post is what you get. And I'm sorry if I offended anyone during my anti-religious rant.

The Legend of Georgia McBride

The word "legend" in the title of this play says it all. It's a fairy-tale really, where the princess is a broken (and broke) man with a baby on the way and a job as an Elvis impersonator that sends him home with nothing in his pockets but disappointment. But guess what? There's a happy ending. A sappy, happy, heart-warming ending. Not my favorite kind of ending, but it worked here.

The Legend of Georgia McBride was the most spectacular drag show I've ever been to.

Now, I haven't witnessed many drag queens perform -- unlike my mother and sister who spent every night in Miami Beach last March at the same drag club. But I'm pretty confident in my ability to recognize good drag when I see it, and let me tell you the drag show I saw onstage at the Lucille Lortel Theatre tonight? Well, it was just great. And a really great drag show would've been a fun way to spend an evening, but Georgia McBride provided a narrative as well! It wasn't the most brilliant narrative I've seen play out onstage, but who cares? I wasn't there to have my mind blown. I was there to have a good time.

Honestly, I'm not sure when the last time I laughed so hard at a show was. The jokes were spot on. The costumes were pretty darn impressive. It was one of the most joyous evenings I've had at the theater in a long time. Also, the show was an hour and forty minutes with no intermission and started at 7:00 pm. The play was over by 8:45 pm, and the talk-back with the cast and crew was over by 9:15 pm. I wish every night at the theater was timed like that.

My interest in the show was piqued after I found out Matthew Lopez was the playwright. Last winter (spring maybe?) I saw Reverberation at Hartford Stage and was just blown away. To be quite honest, I had high expectations walking into Georgia McBride because I loved the last Lopez piece I saw so much. My expectations weren't exactly met, but it didn't matter. There's just no way to compare. Two completely different shows, both great in their own right.

I was happy to see all five actors stay for the talk-back because I always enjoy seeing them interact with each other as real people and not characters. The choreographer, director, and one of MCC's Artistic Directors were also in attendance. The questions asked by audience members were not earth shattering by any means, but the cast had some good answers to stupidly asked questions. To me that shows the actors understand the meaning behind what they're saying and doing onstage. Many of them had been with the production for years in various iterations and it was obvious they were all very invested in the piece.

Two of the five performers were stunning in every way -- Dave Thomas Brown (Casey) and Matt McGrath (Tracy). Brown made a gorgeous woman, and his transformation into a remarkable drag queen was exciting to watch. McGrath was just made to play the role of a drag mother and stole the scene time and time again. There was something about the character of Jo (Casey's wife) that just didn't sit right with me. She wasn't as believable as the others. As a character Jo was well written, but I had issues with the Afton Williamson's delivery of lines.

My biggest problem with the entire production? SPOILER ALERT. The freaking babies at the end. It was enough for Jo to come out without the baby bump, we didn't need to see the twin babies (one in pink and one in blue) too. I get that it tied together the theme of family (which, as the actors discussed in the talkback, was extremely important), but for me it killed any sense of realism because they were SO OBVIOUSLY dolls. But let's be real, unless we start casting out of maternity wings, this is how babies will be represented onstage.

All in all? I liked it. It didn't blow my mind. But I laughed... a lot. And I got to spend a night with friends -- both of which loved the show. Do you realize how unusual it is to see a show with two extremely critical theater-going friends and all three of you walk out at the end smiling? Let me be the first to tell, it's rare. So hats off to the cast and crew of The Legend of Georgia McBride for taking away my resting bitch-face for the evening!

Spring Awakening

This was a preview performance on September 15th at 8:00 pm.
I sat in the front mezz/row B/seat 21.
The ticket was $51 on TDF (that's including fees).

* I'm going on the assumption that people reading this post have an idea of what Deaf West does, and at least a basic knowledge of how this revival of Spring Awakening is performed.

I have a lot of thoughts regarding Deaf West's production of Spring Awakening. Let me first say that until last night I had never seen a production of SA onstage. I knew all the music and I knew the basic plot, but I'd never actually seen the show before. The original cast recording has never been my favorite -- there are a few songs I really love, but I've never really been blown away by what I was listening to when I put the recording on.

In terms of artistic value? This production was unreal. Stunningly gorgeous in the technical and visual sense. But I had serious issues with the book of the musical. And when I say serious I mean a lot of the dialogue is laugh inducing. The stupidity of the dialogue was made more obvious through the voice-overs. Let me just say that the "voice of" part was so much more than just a voice-over, but that's the best way to describe in words what was happening. The "voice of" part was kind of an alter ego, one that could verbally express what the character was signing. They acted as a beautiful kind of support system, which was interesting.

I wanted so badly to be obsessed with this production because it's definitely my kind of musical. Did I get chills? Yes. But overall, the show just doesn't hit me in the solar plexus -- which is my gauge for whether or not I can truly say I love a show.

Honestly? I think SA wants to be deep. It wants to prove a point. It wants to say something about the human condition, about growing up, about navigating young adulthood. But it falls short. I want more. The book is poorly written, and thus the importance of what's happening doesn't come through.

One of my biggest issues was the freaking moving staircase. That set piece is so overused lately. I'm pretty sure Michael Arden climbed a staircase just like that one every single night during his run at Papermill in Hunchback last spring. American Idiot? Moving staircase. The 2012 revival of Jesus Christ Superstar? Moving staircase. Oh and I haven't seen Hamilton yet, but I've been told there's a moving staircase... get the picture? It's used a lot these days. So nothing new happening there.

I am totally obsessed with the idea of seeing newbies onstage. The majority of the cast was making their Broadway debuts. I'd seen 5 of the cast members onstage before. That's it. And that was refreshing. Were some of the actors green? Yeah. Did it matter? No. It's not a show that requires precision and perfection in all things -- pitch, for example. 

I can't stop thinking about the show. It was well worth the money I paid. It didn't make me cry, but it made me think. It made me think about what makes a perfect musical, and how a musical that really didn't need a revival could be transformed to be worth being on Broadway again. So go see it and form your own opinions. I'm not part of the SA fan club, but I am a part of the Michael Arden fan club. Let me tell you, that guy knows how to make meaningful directing decisions. Very impressed with the production as a whole. It's the show itself that I don't connect with.