I wasn’t planning on going back to BroadwayCon this year. But literally the first face I saw when I clicked on “Special Guests” was Kelli O’Hara. So not only did I change my mind, I bought a Gold Pass. (More than double the price, but perks include three guaranteed autograph and photobooth sessions. If I might have the chance to meet Kelli again, I’m not going to leave it up to the lottery system!)
When the schedule of autograph and photobooth sessions was first released, she was not included. But then one morning in Jamaica I checked my email when I woke up and found: “The Audience Rewards Autograph and Photograph Area schedule is now complete! … Just yesterday we added sessions with Kelli O’Hara, Carolee Carmello, and Joel Grey!” Commence squealing with delight and hoping I didn’t wake my roommate up! (I didn’t.)
So I was all set to meet Kelli again. YAY! As far as I was concerned, anything else that happened on the trip would be a bonus.
And three Broadway shows is a fantastic bonus! Especially when two of them are the most-talked-about new shows on Broadway! (This post is about those three shows. BroadwayCon will be in the next post.)
Wednesday. Great Comet was certainly a unique experience. I knew it would be, considering the theatre layout all but eliminates the barrier between performers and audience. As the show began unfolding, I sat there thinking, “I’m not sure if I like this…” Maybe it was the unusual music, or the intense use of strobe lights, or how the characters kept narrating for themselves in both first and third person. Or all of the above?
Then Denée Benton as Natasha sang “No One Else” and lamps descended from the ceiling all over the theatre like stars and I was enchanted. And then Josh Groban as Pierre sang “Dust and Ashes” and the lyrics pierced my soul. When the ensemble lined up across the mezzanine to join in, I was completely swept away. Am I ready to wake up?
SCENE: IMPERIAL THEATRE STAGE DOOR
(A small crowd has gathered following a performance of Great Comet. Cheers resound as star JOSH GROBAN emerges. MARTHA has been a fan for 15 years and has never met him.)
MARTHA: Thank you so much, you were incredible! “Dust and Ashes” made me cry.
JOSH (genuine and humorously self-depracating): I’m sorry!
MARTHA: No, in a good way!
JOSH: Oh, okay.
(JOSH smiles at MARTHA. She goes weak and dies a little inside.)
Thursday. The main reason I bought a ticket to Waitress was to see Jessie Mueller sing “She Used To Be Mine.” And oh boy did it live up to expectations. (I didn’t cry, but I don’t think I breathed either.) What I did NOT expect was how hilarious Christopher Fitzgerald was as Ogie! We’re talking fits of hysterical laughter here.
Audience Rewards set up some exclusive post-show Q&A sessions around BroadwayCon, and one of them just happened to be for this performance! So I got to attend a Q&A with Caitlin Houlahan, who played Dawn. I also got to tell her afterwards that I recognized her because I’d seen the tour of Bridges of Madison County in two different cities.
This was the only show that I went into knowing any of the music. The other song besides “She Used To Be Mine” that I was most looking forward to was Dawn’s “When He Sees Me.” Because some of those lyrics are basically straight out of my own head but buried so deep I didn’t know they were there.
What if he opens up a door and I can’t close it? What happens then?
Sunday. I’d been looking forward to Dear Evan Hansen ever since they promoted it at BroadwayCon last year. (Plus it’s Pasek and Paul. Dogfight is some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard.) My anticipation only grew when the Hamilton panelists were asked what current Broadway show they most wanted to see and almost everyone said this one!
The first thing that struck me was the scrolling social media integrated into the set design. There were times it got so overwhelming I had to physically look away. (Maybe that’s something we all need to do. Stop “connecting” and start connecting!)
Knowing only a basic plot summary, I went in fully expecting to cry. And I did. The key change in “Waving Through a Window.” A delayed reaction more than halfway through “You Will Be Found” that sent me into intermission still sobbing. A gasp at the realization of how Evan broke his arm. Evan’s speech in the finale (that I really wanted to be on the cast recording but am kind of glad it’s not because it might give things away) that pulled all my triggers so I was still crying by the time I joined the crowd at the stage door. And lots more, but those are the moments that stood out the most.
I am so thankful that the cast recording was released yesterday. Please listen to it! The whole album is just under an hour long, but if you only have time for one or two songs, start with “You Will Be Found” or “Waving Through a Window.” That will say more than I ever could.
Maybe there’s a reason to believe you’ll be okay
A Shift In The Light 