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.