I drove to Dallas on Valentine’s Day to see the touring production of The Bridges of Madison County. I’ve been obsessed with the cast recording since it was released, and if it had run just two weeks longer I could have seen it on Broadway. When I heard the tour was coming to Texas, I was thrilled and didn’t even care if it meant driving 350+ miles between cities! Then this weekend I flew to Nashville to visit my sister and check out her new apartment… and see the touring production again. Because I decided I just couldn’t pass up the chance while I had it.
“But Martha, you’re Catholic. How can The Bridges of Madison County be one of your favorite musicals?”
Let me explain. Or at least try to.
(Disclaimer: I noticed the book at a book fair at work recently, picked it up, skimmed the back cover, and flipped through a few pages. It seemed like a completely different story and I have no desire to read the whole thing. I have not seen the movie either.)
It starts with the light
I don’t normally pay much attention to technical aspects, but I repeatedly found myself drawn to the lighting of this production. It was breathtaking and fit every scene perfectly. It also heightened my awareness of how important a theme light is. One of the main characters is a photographer, and the word “light” appears frequently in the lyrics (which I’ve pretty much memorized by now, thanks to my obsession with the cast recording), but it goes deeper than that.
Light is how we see. Not enough light? It’s dark and we can’t see anything. Too much light? We’re blinded and the effect is the same. It’s a balance.
I am looking for the light
This musical sheds light on so many things:
Tiny details and various contributing factors make it impossible to know someone else’s whole story.
The decisions and actions of one person affect everyone around them, whether or not they fully realize it at the time.
Love is always better.
But just like you can’t see light unless you open your eyes, you won’t truly see anything unless you’re willing to open yourself up to it.
The tornado of his eyes shining bright, finding light
It also goes back to one of the reasons I love theatre. You may be exposed to situations you’re not familiar with or characters making choices you definitely do not agree with. But you’re still able to understand why the characters made the choices they did. You can understand even if you don’t agree. And it can change the way you see.
The shadow in her light
Plus, Jason Robert Brown’s music is magical. Pure and simple.
I love this picture. Not because it’s a particularly great picture, but because of the people in it. Backstage at the River City Twirl & Dance annual recital (or dress rehearsal maybe), June 1997. Me, my sister, and my heroes Brandi and Jessi.
Brandi, Monica (my sister), Martha (me), Jessi
(Yes, the one I named my American Girl after. I debated for the longest time, but I think I went with Brandy (and spelled her name wrong, oops…) because of the darker hair. In later years I actually identified more with Jessi, but that may have been a “yay we’re both tall with long hair” thing.)
One particular detail from this recital that I will always remember: it was only my second year in clogging. The “big girls” (as I always referred to the River City Stars) had two clogging dances a few numbers apart, and their second one was the number right after mine so they waited backstage. Part of our spacing had us facing different directions for one section of the dance – the two girls in the middle faced back then front, the two girls on the ends faced front then back, and the other two girls faced in then out. Facing in, I was looking at my best friend in the class. Facing out, I was looking offstage… directly at my heroes.
I was never in class with them (I was five years younger) and I can’t even remember now when I first met them. But for whatever reason, they caught my attention and I wanted to be just like them. And whenever they noticed me, I felt super special!
There were other girls in that age group, but I think part of the reason Brandi and Jessi meant so much to me is that they stayed the longest. They both joined the River City Stars performing group (which I desperately wanted to be part of) in the 1995-1996 year. Brandi left after the 1997 recital, and Jessi left after the 1998 recital. Jessi was also the 1996 Miss River City (basically what I wanted most in the whole world).
A lot can be said with a few journal excerpts…
Right after the recital in sixth grade, which I consider my “break-out” year (June 1999):
I’m so happy!!! Jessi came to the recital!!! I’m almost as tall as her!!! She came in the dressing room before the recital. Jill ran over to her and hugged her, and I was close behind. Monica came over and Jill left. I said, “I grew, Jessi,” and she replied, “Yes, you did!!” … When it was time to go back for America, we were talking about how Jessi always used to “keep order” while we waited and how there wasn’t “order” at the rehearsal. Jessi said, “Oh, I’m coming. There’ll be order.” We talked a lot while we waited. Brenna and Daniela were being rowdy, so Jessi was yelling, “Order!!” at them. Right before we went out, Jessi said, “5, 6, 7, 8,” like she always used to. … When we got home, mom told me that she told Jessi about what Mrs. Willman had told me and Viana, and that hopefully I’d be a River City Star next year, and Jessi said, “Oh, she will. She’s doing great.” I almost cried when mom told me that!!! It makes me feel so good that Jessi, who I admire so much, would say that about me!!!
Following the recital junior year of high school, which included performing my solo after being named Miss River City the previous year (June 2004):
I need someone to look up to. I need my Brandi and Jessi back. But wait – that’s ME now. Which is insane in itself.
And my last month at home before leaving for freshman year of college (August 2005):
I think, now more than ever, I need my Brandi and Jessi. But that’s me to a lot of people. Which is awesome, but I need someone too! Someone to really admire and look up to and be able to go to for help and advice.
So Brandi and Jessi, if you ever read this, thank you for leaving such an impression on a young dancer that the phrase “my Brandi and Jessi” will always mean “role model” to her. Even 20 years later.
As promised, here’s my BroadwayCon post. In an attempt to keep it a semi-reasonable length, I will try to focus on my reactions to things rather than just what happened. (And there’s a bunch of stuff on YouTube anyway…)
Since sharing the stage in a handful of local productions (including two working together as dance captains) and seeing nine touring musicals together over the past four years, I’d wanted to take a trip to New York with this beautiful girl for a while. This was the perfect excuse to make it happen. And boy did it exceed all my expectations! (A full schedule of our adventures is included at the end of the post.)
PANELS
I thought it was super cool that there were panels scheduled for most of our Broadway shows: Fun Home on Saturday, Hamilton and The King and I on Friday, Something Rotten! on Sunday, and Spring Awakening on Friday. The only missing shows were the ones we saw on Sunday (Aladdin and Finding Neverland)!
The Fun Home panel didn’t really feel like a big deal to me, probably because I met the entire cast after I saw the show on Tuesday. But it was still fascinating to hear Lisa Kron talk about how “Ring of Keys” was written and absolutely hilarious to see Joel Perez run onstage dressed as Small Alison, hop in Michael Cerveris’ (“Daddy’s”) lap, and sing a few lines of it!
So many amazing stories from everyone at the Hamilton panel! I was glad Chris Jackson was there since he was out for the performance I saw on Wednesday afternoon. I felt really bad for whoever was doing the captions that appeared on the huge screens in the ballroom though… Trying to type fast enough to keep up with what everyone is saying provides ample opportunities for typos, but this one was especially unfortunate: “rapping” with just one “p”. And it happened multiple times before they fixed it. But the panel’s highlight was definitely seeing Lin-Manuel Miranda freestyle to Phillipa Soo’s beatboxing, especially his zinger at the end that made me laugh so hard I could barely breathe:
But yo we gotta hip hop cuz that’s you and me
And when you type it on the teleprompter don’t drop a “p”
I was really interested in the panel with director Bart Sher, choreographer Chris Gattelli, and scenic/lighting/sound designers after seeing The King and I on Wednesday night. Among other things, it was fascinating to hear them talk about how they’re adjusting the thrust staging on Broadway to proscenium staging for the tour. Chris also mentioned that Kelli doesn’t consider herself a dancer even though she moves really well, and any day I get to find out more about Kelli is a good one.
They were running behind schedule on Sunday, so the Something Rotten! panel had just started by the time it was supposed to be over. Unfortunately, that meant we only got to see like ten minutes of it before we had to leave for the matinee of Aladdin. But those ten minutes were highly entertaining and included Christian Borle joking about how easy it is to play Shakespeare as a narcissist because he’s like that in real life.
The Spring Awakening panel was our very first stop after check-in on Friday. The hall outside the room was super crowded before the panel, and all of a sudden I looked at the person next to me and it was Krysta Rodriguez! She and the other panelists (I also recognized Andy Mientus and Spencer Liff) passed us on their way into the room, holding hands so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd, and they were gone before most people even realized they were there. Being mere inches away from one of my favorites (I’ve sung “Pulled” and “Safer” in voice lessons) was a fabulous way to kick off the weekend! The panel itself was well worth it too, even though we had to stand by the wall because we couldn’t find seats, and got us super excited about seeing Spring Awakening the following night! Of course, that was before the blizzard hit… While I was hugely disappointed we wouldn’t get to see this production after all, I was also immensely relieved we didn’t have to go outside again!
There were panels for other shows too. The Rent reunion panel included stories from original cast and creative members about how they became involved with the show that changed their lives (back before “stagedooring” was a verb!), but the best part was when Daphne Rubin-Vega spontaneously face timed Jesse L. Martin onstage! His reaction to a room full of thousands of cheering Broadway fans was just priceless. The most entertaining part of the Fiddler on the Roof panel was either hearing how Melanie Moore tells the guys in “L’Chaim” to perform the slow motion improv part of the song or finding out Samantha and Alexandra’s dressing room has its own Instagram account. There was also a DISASTER! panel as a preview of coming attractions. It was interesting hearing them talk about the show, but my favorite moments were seeing Faith Prince and Seth Rudetsky sing “Suddenly Seymour” and Kerry Butler sing “Magic” (especially since I’d just seen a bunch of friends in a community production of Xanadu the week before)!
We went to a couple of non-show-specific panels too (although I don’t remember much because the room they were in had no air circulation and got way too hot and stuffy). I’m a member of My Broadway Body, so I wanted to go to the “Theatre-Adjacent” panel to see Mark Fisher. He seemed surprised when a few of us cheered when he mentioned it! I’m glad I got to talk to him briefly afterwards. Up next was the “Broadway’s Choreographers” panel. When Chris Gattelli and Kathleen Marshall were asked whose growth they were most proud of, it made me super happy to hear Chris say Kelli, specifically mentioning her work in South Pacific. And later he said his favorite dance is “Seize the Day” and I was like, “Hey, I learned that from you yesterday…”
WORKSHOPS
Besides having awesome panels, BroadwayCon also offered a variety of master classes and workshops that required video applications. I don’t know how, but I got picked for both the intermediate AND advanced dance workshops! So Friday evening, I headed off to the intermediate workshop with Newsies choreographer Chris Gattelli. I was NOT expecting cast members to be there! We learned part of the dance break of “Seize the Day” that had actually been their audition combo. The cast members were scattered throughout the participants, and somehow I managed to end up in the back corner where a bunch of them were hanging out. I even recognized a few from when my sister and I saw the show on Broadway. I DANCED WITH NEWSIES! Definitely one of the coolest things I’ve ever done.
The advanced workshop with Hamilton associate choreographer and dance captain Stephanie Klemons was scheduled for Saturday morning, but it was cancelled because she couldn’t make it. Silly blizzard. But oh my goodness I’m glad I got to see the hilarity at the BroadwayCon Feud instead! Hosted by Jenn Colella with two teams: Susan Blackwell, Rob McClure, Lesli Margherita, and two fans vs. Jonathan Groff, Ryann Redmond, and three fans. The contestants were preparing for the first question when Susan interrupted Jenn’s explanation of the rules with, “Wait a second! When’s the making out?” Then later when it was Jonathan’s turn, Jenn kissed him too, commenting, “I’m gay but I’m not stupid!” I almost lost it when the lady competing against Jonathan (who Lesli purposely traded places with because of that) stepped up and kissed him too!
AUTOGRAPH/PHOTOBOOTH
Lesli Margherita Photobooth
Autograph and Photobooth Sessions were done by online lottery. I got tickets for a photo with Lesli Margherita and autographs with Kait Kerrigan and Brian Lowdermilk (my most recent songwriter obsession) which I was super excited about. Unfortunately, Kait and Brian weren’t able to make it. Silly blizzard. Oh well. We still got to have our picture taken with Queen Lesli! It was highly entertaining just watching the poses she came up with and wonderfully obvious how much fun she was having. I have no idea what we ended up doing, but it was nice to meet her again (I’d met her at the stage door when I saw Matilda a couple years ago) and I think the picture turned out okay.
SPECIAL EVENTS
I’d heard they were writing a “mini-musical” for the opening but didn’t really know what to expect. Oh my goodness. Rewritten lyrics like “Good Morning, BroadwayCon” and “The Con Where It Happens”, the video with Anthony Rapp and Idina Menzel and James Snyder and LaChanze that was edited to look like a Google Hangout, balcony commentary from Avenue Q‘s Rod and Nicky, stars everywhere, confetti cannons all over the place (that they apparently didn’t tell the hotel about! haha), and that original song at the end! It all seemed so surreal. Like, “Wait a minute, I’m really here?” So when it got to the lines “Up till now, Shubert Alley was a dream from afar / But open your eyes, look around – here you are,” I got chills and there were tears in my eyes. Yes. Here I am.
The closing ceremony wasn’t anywhere near as elaborate as the opening, but it did involve Lesli “accidentally” setting off a confetti cannon. And it concluded with all of us singing “Seasons of Love” and “BroadwayCon’s the Place For You”, which was pretty much the perfect way to wrap everything up and tie it all together.
CONCERT / PERFORMANCE
For the BroadwayCon Jukebox on Friday night, we got to vote on what people would sing through the BroadwayCon app! I wasn’t very good at voting for the winning song though. Kerry Butler kicked things off with “You’re the One That I Want”, which I’m pretty sure only won because they said Stark Sands would come out and sing it with her (I know that’s why I voted for it!). Ryann Redmond added moments of comedy to Adele’s “Hello”. The only thought in my head after Lena Hall’s performance of “Origin of Love” was, “That’s why she won the Tony.” But I was most excited to see Stark Sands… His performance of “I’ll Be” (one of my favorite songs when it was released in the late 1990s) was a fabulous way to wrap up day one of BroadwayCon.
Krysta Rodriguez
Quite a few people were originally supposed to be at the BroadwayCon Cabaret on Saturday night, but naturally that changed with the weather. Silly blizzard. Krysta Rodriguez, however, was DETERMINED to be there! She was joined by songwriter Joe Iconis at the piano and Smash show runner Joshua Safran, and the cabaret basically became a one-woman-show with tidbits about Smash thrown in. I was thrilled to discover that “Reach for Me” was actually written for her! I was also impressed with her performance of “Vanilla Ice Cream” (She Loves Me), because I didn’t know she had that beautiful soprano range! She sang so many things from various lists of my favorites: “Broadway, Here I Come” (Smash), “Reach for Me” (Smash), “Safer” (First Date), “Pulled” (Addams Family), “Breathe” (In the Heights). It seemed fitting to end the night with “Blue Wind”, complete with signs. If we couldn’t see the whole production of Spring Awakening, at least we got to see her do that. And based on this experience, I love Krysta a little bit more now.
We arrived Sunday morning in the middle of the BroadwayCon Variety Hour. I was still half-asleep so everything blurred itself together in my head. Of course, that probably made Lesli’s performance of various songs from Gypsy (using the overture, because that’s the sheet music they had) even more hilarious. We’d seen people walking around in costumes all weekend so it was neat seeing a bunch of them onstage for the Cosplay Fashion Show, including the Side Show twins! I don’t think the girl dressed as King George was up there though. I’m pretty sure Lesli’s story about playing the Little Mermaid for one night was part of this too – the main thing I remember about it is, “We only have seashells, not D-shells!”
BLIZZARD
View from hotel Saturday morning
It had just barely started snowing when we walked back to our hotel around 11:00 Friday night. We knew there was a lot more coming, but we still weren’t prepared for the BLIZZARD we had to walk through to get to day two of BroadwayCon! Thank God we were only a couple of blocks away. It was insane. Trudging down sidewalks and across streets filled with snow, all while fighting to see through the tiny frozen white things being blown into our eyes (my glasses gave me limited protection but not enough to really help much), struggling to keep our balance. When we finally reached the safety of the con hotel, our coats and hats and scarves were covered in snow. But we made it!
Since that silly little blizzard was keeping people stranded, they added a bunch of additional Saturday programming at the last minute to make up for the fact that a lot of us were missing out on Broadway shows we’d been looking forward to. The first addition was letting attendees send in links to YouTube karaoke videos for a chance to sing them on the MainStage. Oh my goodness so many insanely talented teenagers! Someone dressed as a Heather sang “Dead Girl Walking” which is actually the first song from Heathers I’ve heard, even though I have the cast recording. Other songs included “Good Morning, Baltimore”, “A Way Back to Then”, “Let’s Hear It for the Boy” (another Heather), and “When You’re Good to Mama” (I think the only non-teenager, who borrowed a fur stole from the twins dressed as Daisy and Violet from Side Show).
Next they talked about how they rewrote the lyrics and stuff for the opening ceremony. I particularly enjoyed hearing the original voicemail of “The Con Where It Happens” being rapped over the Hamilton cast recording. That was followed by Avenue Q&A. Rob McClure had us all in stitches with his one man version of Sweeney Todd, including jumping on and off a chair when switching between characters and making me afraid he’d fall over!
But by far, the best additional programming was The BroadwayCon Blizzard Party Line! We had no idea what to expect. They just told us it started at 8:00 but to get there by 7:50 because there was going to be a huge surprise right at the beginning that we wouldn’t want to miss. They arranged a couple of couches on the stage and brought out Playbill’s Blake Ross, Michael Riedel, and BroadwayCon founders Anthony Rapp, Melissa Anelli, and Stephanie Dornhelm. And then… they just pulled out their phones and started calling people. The “huge surprise” at 8:00? Idina Menzel. Other callers included Audra McDonald, Norm Lewis, Patti LuPone, Betty Buckley, Harvey Fierstein, Laura Benanti, and Joel Grey. Some people knew what was going on, but some calls were completely unplanned! I especially enjoyed the video chats with Darren Criss and Jeremy Jordan, both of whom were supposed to be at the con but couldn’t get there because of the blizzard. Of course, the whole thing was made even more amusing thanks to the onstage glasses of wine. Tipsy Anthony Rapp is so freaking adorable!
Thankfully, by the time we left Saturday night, it had stopped snowing. The walk back to our hotel was much easier, and we kept stopping to take pictures! Because what else would you expect Texas girls to do with that much snow?
Snow covered car
Snow
Snow
Snow in the streets
MY SCHEDULE
Friday
1:00pm Deaf West, East (Katie Boeck, Alex Boniello, Daniel N. Durant, Sandra Mae Frank, T.J. Kearney, Spencer Liff, Austin P. McKenzie, Andy Mientus, Krysta Rodriguez)
2:00pm Something Wonderful: A Look Behind The King and I (Christopher Gattelli, Donald Holder, Scott Lehrer, Bartlett Sher, Michael Yeargan, Catherine Zuber)
3:30pm The BroadwayCon 2016 Opening
5:00pm History is Happening In Manhattan: The Hamilton Panel (Daveed Diggs, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Jonathan Groff, Christopher Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Leslie Odom, Jr., Okieriete Onaodowan, Phillipa Soo)
7:30pm 10,514,880 Minutes: How Do You Measure 20 Years of Rent? (Wilson Jermaine Heredia, Rodney Hicks, Cynthia O’Neal, James C. Nicola, Anthony Rapp, Daphne Rubin-Vega, Bernie Telsey, Fredi Walker-Browne, Tim Weil, Marlies Yearby)
9:30pm The BroadwayCon Jukebox (Kerry Butler, Jenn Colella, Lena Hall, Anthony Rapp, Ryann Redmond, Stark Sands, Alysha Umphress)
Saturday
10:00am The BroadwayCon Feud
11:00am To Us and Our Good Fortune: The Fiddler on the Roof Panel (Michael C. Bernardi, Jessica Hecht, Adam Kantor, Samantha Massell, Jeffrey Schecter, Alexandra Silber)
11:40am Welcome to Our House on Maple Avenue: The Fun Home Panel (Michael Cerveris, Lisa Kron, Judy Kuhn, Joel Perez, Emily Skeggs)
2:00pm Theatre-Adjacent: Working in the Theatre While Working Outside the Theatre (Mark Fisher, Justin “Squigs” Robertson, Brisa Trinchero)
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.
Hamilton
Finding Neverland
Something Rotten!
The King and I
Meeting Kelli O’Hara!
BroadwayCon
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.
Due to a combination of circumstances including studying for the P.E. exam and having surgery, it’s been a year since I opened a show. Which probably explains why I was even more excited than usual for opening night of Beauty and the Beast on Friday. And then, at the end of the show, something happened that made this one of my favorite opening nights.
The finale blocking starts with just Belle and the (former) Beast onstage. Then the rest of us enter while we’re singing.
Tale as old as time, song as old as rhyme, Beauty and the Beast
As I entered singing those words and saw a crowd full of friends and family applauding and rising to their feet (standing ovation before the curtain call!), I suddenly found tears in my eyes and could barely keep singing. And a storm of thoughts started racing themselves through my mind:
“What is happening? I must have lost the story somewhere between the notes and steps. Now I remember. It doesn’t matter if the tale is as old as time or if it’s happened a million times before. It’s still beautiful in the moment. So just be present in it. Even if the moment is not-so-beautiful, I’m in it for a reason. So stay present in it anyway. And this moment is why I do theatre. There is so much love in the room right now from everyone onstage, backstage, and in the audience. We’re creating magic and I get to be part of it. Thank You, God, for letting me be here in this moment and for giving us reminders like this that You are always with us. I’ll remember this moment for the rest of my life.”
Okay, I articulated those thoughts a little more after the fact, but it still captures the general gist of what sped through my mind during the last few minutes of the performance. And based on conversations in the dressing room, I know I wasn’t the only one who teared up. There was definitely something special happening. Pure magic.
So at least for opening night, that moment beat out getting shot in the arm with the confetti cannon at the end of “Be Our Guest” for my favorite part of the show.
I listened to the cast recording of Hamilton for the first time today.
Ummm. WOW.
It felt like listening to history. Both the history of this country told by the musical and the new history the musical itself is creating.
I’ve been hearing hype about this show for months, even before it came to Broadway. Performances are selling out months in advance and tickets are ridiculously expensive, unless you want to try your luck at the nearly-impossible-to-win lottery. Bearing this in mind… I was maybe a minute into the first song when I already knew I have to see this when I’m in New York in January and I don’t care how much I pay for tickets.
Lin-Manuel Miranda (wrote book, music, lyrics AND stars as Alexander Hamilton) is a genius.
Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now
The thought also struck me that this blog is an attempt to tell my own story.
And I can’t wrap my head around any other specific thoughts at the moment because I’m currently listening to the album for the third time today on Spotify. Do yourself a favor and listen to it too. Then take some quality time to think about what you just heard.
Superstar Idina Menzel gave a fabulous concert on her world tour stop in Austin, TX last night. I was especially thrilled to see her sing “Always Starting Over” again. When I saw If/Then‘s final preview on Broadway a year and a half ago – the first time I ever heard the song – it already connected with me to such an extent that I’d never cried that much in a theatre, and it still gets to me every time I listen to it. Now I’ll try to explain why.
Am I always starting over in a brand new story?
Am I always back at one after all I’ve done?
I can’t count the number of times I’ve felt like this during my 8+ year battle with depression. You think you’re finally doing okay when suddenly something smacks you across the face, often for no reason at all. And then you’re back at zero, convinced none of your efforts have accomplished anything.
And I won’t regret the lives I didn’t lead
Sometimes I wonder how my life could be different now. For example, what might have happened if I’d gotten into theatre sooner. But then I think of everything else I was involved in growing up – dance classes, choir, Camp Fire, colorguard, etc. – and I know I would’ve missed out on so many of those things if I’d been a theatre kid (I barely had any free time as it was). And I wouldn’t trade those memories for anything.
We can leave life for tomorrow or grieve all that we thought we’d do
Or make each moment new
“I’ll do it later.” “I’m too busy/tired/distracted.” “I thought I’d have reached this milestone by now.” These keep repeating in my head, and I forget just how much power I have over my own life. Yes, there are lots of things beyond my control, but how I choose to spend my time is not one of them. And I need to keep reminding myself that. I’m in this particular moment for a reason, even if I don’t know what it is.
All that might happen is here somehow
Imagine the possibilities! Or, as Idina also sang last night, “Our future is unlimited.”
All that’s ahead and all that’s behind
It’s all in the moment I make up my mind
And open my heart
And start
SO JUST DO IT, MARTHA!!!
We are always starting over. And while that can be incredibly frustrating at times, it’s ultimately something beautiful. Not sure how successful my explanation was, but hopefully it’ll give a few people something to think about. Or listen to the song and get inspired.
Last night, after receiving 6 nominations over the past 10 years, my favorite Broadway actress finally won her first Tony Award. So this post is dedicated to the incomparable Kelli O’Hara.
I love what I do. And I don’t need this, but now that I have it I’ve got some things to say.
I first discovered Kelli when I borrowed the OBC recording of The Light in the Piazza from a friend my freshman year at Vandy. As soon as I heard “The Beauty Is” in that haunting soprano voice, I knew she was special. In fact, that song left such an impression that I chose to sing it at my first vocal recital when I started taking voice lessons six years later.
I gradually collected more recordings of Kelli – the revival of The Pajama Game, Sweet Smell of Success, the revival of South Pacific – and became increasingly impressed with her versatility and talent. Then when I planned a trip to New York with my sister for my 26th birthday and Nice Work If You Can Get It was running, I knew I just had to see her.
Fast-forward past the drama of postponing the trip due to Hurricane Sandy and my sister and I are wandering around a frozen Central Park three months after my birthday, and I can hardly contain my excitement because I’m going to see KELLI O’HARA in a few hours!
Nice Work was everything I’d hoped it would be and more. Great music, amazing dancing, a few tears, laughing so hard I couldn’t breathe… and Kelli. She was magical, shining so brightly she lit up the whole theatre every second she was onstage. Unfortunately, I did not get the chance to meet her at the stage door (she didn’t come out after the Wednesday matinee we saw, or after the Saturday night performance when I came back to the stage door after seeing a different Broadway show just because I wanted to meet her).
Then last year, I bought the OBC recording of The Bridges of Madison County the day it was released. Oh my goodness. I have never heard anything so heartbreakingly beautiful. She brought me to tears on the very first listen, and the album quickly became one of the most played in my collection. If anything else was needed to firmly cement my love and respect for Ms. Kelli O’Hara, this was it. I was devastated when she didn’t win the Tony for the role of Francesca, but I was happy Jessie Mueller won if it couldn’t be her.
And finally, last night… on the edge of my seat, praying that they’d actually say Kelli’s name this time… I will happily admit that I squealed and cried when it was announced! And then of course, she gives us all a master class in how to make an acceptance speech, underlining so many of the reasons I love her, complete with a “Shuffle off to Buffalo” exit!
…and I’ll be back! Maybe not up here, but I’ll be on the theatre stage!
I’m still not sure exactly why I love her as much as I do. Maybe it’s because I’m mainly a soprano with a “belt” that’s more of a mix, and she’s one of the few leading ladies I’ve found with that type of voice surrounded by a sea of hardcore Broadway belters. Maybe it’s because she reminds me of myself in other ways. Maybe it’s just some unknown magical quality. Whatever it is though, over the past few years she has officially become my Broadway role model, and I hope someday I’ll be able to thank her for sharing her gifts with me and the rest of the world.
As promised, here’s my BroadwayCon post. In an attempt to keep it a semi-reasonable length, I will try to focus on my reactions to things rather than just what happened. (And there’s a bunch of stuff on 
A Shift In The Light 