I took my fourth trip to New York City last week for the first ever BroadwayCon and various Broadway musicals. In this post, I will attempt to capture some of my thoughts and favorite moments.
Tuesday evening. Fun Home honestly didn’t feel like Broadway, thanks to the small theatre and staging in the round, but it felt right for the show. “Ring of Keys” and “Telephone Wire” were at the top of my list of favorite songs, as expected, but I was surprised how much “Edges of the World” struck me too. Like I suddenly understood Bruce perfectly. Not to mention making it super clear why Michael Cerveris won the Tony! Bonus: I met the entire cast at the stage door.
Do you feel my heart saying hi?
Wednesday afternoon. Simply put, Hamilton is one of the most incredible things I’ve ever seen. It pulled me in from the first notes and did not let go, just like the first time I listened to the cast recording. (Side note: the cast recording does an exceptional job of capturing the show, almost like they knew how scarce tickets would be and wanted to give people the chance to experience the show as fully as possible without actually seeing it.) I had to keep reminding myself to breathe. The entire cast was phenomenal, but the experience of witnessing genius Lin-Manuel Miranda in a role he wrote is beyond description. Jonathan Groff as King George was way more hilarious than I was expecting. Bonus: I ended up next to Jonathan’s Aunt Cookie in the bathroom line during intermission and again at the stage door after the show (where she recognized me) and she showed me pictures on her phone!
Renee Elise Goldsberry, Phillipa Soo, and Jasmine Cephas-Jones as the Schuyler sisters made me tear up a little with, “History is happening in Manhattan and we just happen to be in the greatest city in the world!” The first moment to sneak attack me with chills and tears was sung masterfully by the ensemble and Leslie Odom, Jr. as Aaron Burr: “Life doesn’t discriminate between the sinners and the saints, it takes and it takes and it takes and we keep living anyway, we rise and we fall and we break and we make our mistakes, and if there’s a reason I’m still alive when so many have died, then I’m willin’ to wait for it…” But “It’s Quiet Uptown” joins “What I Did For Love” (A Chorus Line, my first Broadway show) as the only songs to hit me so hard I actually had to bite down on my finger to stop myself from losing control completely. “There are moments that the words don’t reach. There’s a grace too powerful to name.” “Forgiveness. Can you imagine?”
Really, there were only two bad things about the show:
- The seats in the Richard Rodgers (at least in the back of the orchestra where I was) were so close together I would have felt claustrophobic without the magic onstage taking me into another world.
- There wasn’t enough time between the end of the show and the curtain call. I wanted to applaud properly, but I wasn’t ready to break the spell yet.
Since it was a Wednesday matinee and they had another show that night, only three people came out afterwards. But I’m so glad Phillipa Soo was one of them. Her performance as Eliza Hamilton was surprising, spell-binding, and the reason I needed more time before the curtain call.
How lucky we are to be alive right now
Wednesday evening. Kelli O’Hara is the reason I saw The King and I. But the moment I entered the theatre (Vivian Beaumont at Lincoln Center) I was struck by its beauty and shocked by how close my seat was to the stage. The audience surrounded the orchestra, and I enjoyed watching them play the overture. I was definitely not expecting the stage floor to slide out over the orchestra pit afterwards, or the massive ship that then appeared on the now-much-bigger stage! The set design for the whole show was just breathtaking. And even though the stage was huge, the thrust design and the placement of actor entrances/exits somehow made me feel like I was part of the show.
The children were adorable. Hoon Lee gave a wonderful performance as the King, capturing both serious and humorous moments. Ruthie Ann Miles gave me chills as Lady Thiang and left me in no doubt as to why she won the Tony. And then, in a class of her own: the incomparable Kelli O’Hara, radiating pure magic every single second she was onstage. Sometimes in scenes between Anna and the King or Anna and Lady Thiang, the person speaking had their back to me but I could see Kelli’s face as Anna listened. Watching her reactions was fascinating, but it was more than that. She made me feel everything she felt. She was always completely present in the moment. And being as close as five feet away while she was singing is something I will never forget.
Not sure why it happened in Act 2 and not Act 1, but one line in the reprise of “Hello, Young Lovers” hit me: “You fly down the street on the chance that you’ll meet, and you meet, not really by chance…” My thoughts: “I didn’t meet Kelli three years ago because it wasn’t time yet. If I meet her tonight, it’s supposed to happen. If I don’t, God still knows what He’s doing.”
I joined a very small group at the stage door after the show. Every time the door opened my heart jumped a little, but more often than not it was kids or orchestra members. A few people stopped to sign autographs, including Ruthie Ann Miles and both of the leading kids. Then… Kelli opened the door. My heart started racing and I felt tears in my eyes, though somehow I managed to keep myself from crying. I have no idea what I actually said to her, but I hope I got some measure of my gratitude across (I tweeted her the next day in case I hadn’t). I don’t think I’ve reacted that way to meeting anyone since my sister and I met Hanson for the first time in 2007 after they’d been our favorite band for ten years! I asked for a picture and she said to make sure I was happy with it, and while I checked she moved down the line to other fans. The picture had felt awkward due to positioning and height differences, and it looked like it felt, so I moved down to meet her again at the end of the line. We took another picture that turned out much better, I thanked her again, and she left. I stayed at the stage door alone a few more minutes in an attempt to stop shaking before I walked back to the hotel. Bonus: Who needs a bonus? I MET KELLI O’HARA!
And you meet, not really by chance
Thursday evening. Something Rotten! basically felt like a love letter to every musical ever. Add another one to my list of favorites! I couldn’t believe how many references they crammed into so little time. I also didn’t realize how much tap was in the show! (Or, as Abby put it, “I didn’t realize this was a tapsical!”) Of course, my favorite bit was the tap battle between Christian Borle as Shakespeare and Brian d’Arcy James as Nick Bottom during the act one finale. So freaking brilliant! This is one show you can’t help but leave feeling happy. All that laughter was great for burning calories, too. Plus this particular performance wasn’t sold out, so the ushers moved a bunch of people. We were still in the mezzanine but about ten rows closer than we would’ve been. That was a nice surprise!
The stage door was crowded, much colder, and challenging because I had to pass two playbills over people’s heads to get signed (with the result that a few people only signed one of them), but we stuck around for a while anyway. Bonus: In three days, I met all four reigning Best Actor/Actress in a Musical Tony winners!
There’s nothing as amazing as a musical
Friday through Sunday. BroadwayCon was surreal and I can’t quite believe I was actually there. I think it’s best left for its own post. For now I’ll just leave a little teaser: the original song written for the opening ceremony!
Up till now, Shubert Alley was a dream from afar
But open your eyes, look around – here you are
Sunday afternoon. Aladdin was a last-minute addition to our plans. I’d heard mixed reviews from theatre friends, and I wasn’t sure how I felt about the gags like Genie pulling a Statue of Liberty out of his pocket instead of the lamp, but as the show went on it pulled me in more. The colors were beautiful and vivid, I loved Adam Jacobs and Courtney Reed’s voices as Aladdin and Jasmine, amazing set design with so many things coming up from the stage (very curious to see how that will translate to the tour…), plus wonderful choreography. By the time “Friend Like Me” rolled around, we were convinced that the entire show would’ve been worth it just for that number. Plus Genie mentioned BroadwayCon and gave a shout-out to his “kids in the back row,” and we happened to be sitting in the very last row of the theatre. Then “A Whole New World” was just plain awesome. It was dark, there were stars everywhere, and the carpet flew all over the stage yet remained completely steady. I’d love to go on that magic carpet ride! Only three people came out the stage door, but those people were Aladdin, Jasmine, and Tony-winning Genie James Monroe Iglehart. Bonus: We got to tell Genie we were his kids in the back row.
I can’t go back to where I used to be
Sunday evening. We were lucky enough to see Matthew Morrison’s final performance of Finding Neverland. I knew we were experiencing something special when I was already in tears seconds after the show started. My mind was completely blown by intermission. And by the end of the show I’m not sure how I was still functioning. What a perfect way to wrap up the trip. HOW WAS IT NOT NOMINATED FOR ANY TONYS?
A few moments that made me cry or took my breath away:
- Immediately after the lights went down, Tinkerbell flew from the mezzanine to the stage (more than just a light; we couldn’t figure out how they did it) where SYTYCD winner Amy Yakima as Peter Pan caught her and danced around the stage laughing
- Laura Michelle Kelly as Sylvia Llewelyn Davies singing “All That Matters,” especially, “And I know that some may not understand, but he’s guiding me safely to shore. Not afraid anymore,” and, “The singing in my heart is all that matters.”
- The Llewelyn Davies children jumping on their beds having a pillow fight when everything turned into slow motion and suddenly they’re flying (with the support of other cast members)
- Matthew Morrison as J.M. Barrie singing, “We can sail away tonight on a sea of pure moonlight. We can navigate the stars to bring us back home.”
- Kelsey Grammer as Charles Frohman shaking his cane at J.M. Barrie and yelling about the ridiculousness of his new play and the fact that it doesn’t even have a villain, while the shadow of the cane handle on the curtain behind them gradually grew larger and turned into a hook
- The flashes of light and accompanying booms (Bass? Drums? Both?) toward the end of “Stronger” that sent chills right through my heart
- The heartbreakingly beautiful duet “When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground” between J.M. Barrie and Peter Llewelyn Davies
- “Neverland (Reprise)” when they perform Peter Pan for Sylvia and the children, especially, “Peter shows Wendy how to fly,” “Just a little faith and both your feet leave the ground,” and the whole audience clapping because we all believe in fairies
- The GLITTER TORNADO that came out of nowhere and smacked me across the face with magical perfection and wonder
Bonus: Since it was Matthew Morrison’s final performance, director Diane Paulus and composers Gary Barlow and Eliot Kennedy came onstage for farewell speeches after the curtain call. We thought about waiting at the stage door afterwards, but it was so crowded we couldn’t get anywhere near it. I think we were still both in Neverland at that point anyway.
All at once you come alive and feel connected
A Shift In The Light 