Monday, March 14, 2011

There's no such thing as too much Spring Awakening!


                I’m going to apologize in advance for how long this blog post is.  I have a lot to say.  Bear with me, it’ll be worth it.  It’s pretty evident that I love Spring Awakening.  It’s my favorite musical.  I saw the first national tour four times: twice (from house seats) in Durham, and twice (from on-stage seats) in Greenville, SC.  I can’t ever seem to get over how awesome it is.  So, I bought myself an on-stage seat for each of the three performances of the second national tour’s gig here in Raleigh.  So awesome!
                I was unsure of what to expect, exactly, in terms of how things would be different, since the second national tour is non-equity.  I know that traditionally, sets and lighting are scaled down for non-equity tours, due to the fact that they do much shorter engagements, often lasting only one performance, and need to be able to take apart and rebuilt the set very often.  I once saw a non-equity tour of Hairspray and the set was practically non-existent!  Luckily, Spring Awakening doesn’t have a particularly involved set – however, the complex lighting is crucial to the design.  There were only a few things which were different.  They kept all the brilliant lighting.  The side walls became imaginary walls with lights and pictures midair, and one row of stage seating was removed.  The stage didn’t move, and there was no elevated hayloft.  The back wall was the same, and the set had the same feel as the first national tour.  I feel that nothing essential was compromised in terms of the set – especially since all the lighting was still present.  The only thing I truly missed was the fog for “Those You’ve Known.”  I don’t see why they couldn’t travel with a few fog machines.  Oh, well.  The show was amazing – fog or no fog.
                I was quite disheartened by the low attendance at all three performances.  The house was barely even half full on Saturday night, and that was the largest audience of the three performances.  It’s clear that live theater is a tough sell, especially for performances which aren’t part of someone’s season tickets.  It also appears that people are still unwilling to step outside their comfort zones – and I’m most disheartened by the fact that people will leave Spring Awakening during intermission.  It’s not a cultural experience unless you experience all of it – and you miss out on a lot by missing Act II.  This being said, I do have to mention that Spring Awakening is not a show for everybody.  For example, I don’t think it was appropriate that there was a four-year-old girl in the audience.  I saw her sitting there the entire show – inappropriate!  For the price her mom paid for the ticket, she could have easily paid for a babysitter!  No small child needs to see simulated sex or hear a musical number called “Totally Fucked.”  So, in summary: go see Spring Awakening, but leave the little ones at home.
Despite the low attendance, I was quite encouraged by the enthusiasm of the small crowd.  The audience at all three performances was excited, energized, and engaged (excepting, of course, those who mistakenly chose to leave at intermission).  There was plenty of cheering, applauding, and head-bobbing – and a standing ovation every time.  Those who were there truly appreciated and enjoyed the show.   On stage, the energy was palpable.  I couldn’t help but nod along, tap my feet, and get really into the musical numbers. 
In addition, there was a tight core group of stage-sitters, and we all got to know each other pretty well over the course of three performances.  What I love about Spring Awakening is that I knew beforehand that I wouldn’t be the only person with stage seats for all three Raleigh performances.  This show creates such a loyal, dedicated following.  Sitting on stage was such a blast – I loved it so much!  It’s the coolest way to experience such an amazing show.  The experience was made that much better by Paris, the adult women understudy and assistant company manager, who was in charge of on-stage seating.  She was, in a word, awesome.  If you’re with the production company, give Paris a raise – the fans demand it!  She helped get us and the crowd pumped up and reminded us that it’s up to us to create the energy for the show.
Having seen the show several times before, I took the opportunity of sitting on stage to glance out into the audience every so often.  I’m glad I did.  On Saturday night, I couldn’t help but watch an older gentleman (probably in his sixties) who was so into the show.  I first noticed him during “Left Behind.”  I couldn’t help noticing the fact that he was practically sobbing.  He was clearly very affected by (SPOILER ALERT!) Moritz’s death.  And then, throughout the rest of the show, I couldn’t help but peek over at him.  He absolutely loved ”Totally Fucked,” he was grinning ear to ear during “Song of Purple Summer,” and he was giving perhaps the most enthusiastic standing ovation of all during the curtain call.  I’m so glad I got this window into someone’s Spring Awakening journey.
My friend Caleb and his boyfriend Sean came up from Savannah, GA to see the show on Friday night.  Caleb had never seen Spring Awakening before!  I love getting to see how much Spring Awakening virgins love the show, but I will admit that it was very hard for Sean and me to not give away important details beforehand.  I am overjoyed to report that not only did it blow his mind, but his world was rocked so hard that he got tickets for both Saturday performances as well!  I told him he would love it, and I was right, of course.
Spring Awakening has such a reputation for fan loyalty and cast gratitude.  The three of us were at the stage door after each performance, just to chat with the cast and tell them how much their performances meant to us.  The sheer amount of talent in this non-equity cast blew my mind.  They were such an amazing group of talented young performers.  Caleb and Sean kept talking about how great they were.  I’m not exaggerating here: the talent of this cast as a whole was Broadway-caliber.  They brought their own new quirks to these roles, and did such a good job.  I loved all the little things they did – the girls nodding in unison as they tried to convince Wendla to attend Greta Brandenburg’s wedding, the boys’ on-beat glances at one another when Melchior stands up to Herr Sonnenstitch.  They were so genuinely nice at the stage door, and it was so cool to talk to them about the show.  I could tell that they were truly grateful to be in such a groundbreaking piece of musical theater.
I had been vacantly pondering getting a Spring Awakening tattoo for some time now.  I have other tattoos, but none which are musical theater related.  However, between the Saturday matinee and evening show, Caleb, Sean, and I walked past a tattoo parlor in downtown Raleigh, and I decided to go for it.  I’m so glad I did – it really sums up the meaning of the show, and how I want to incorporate those lessons into my life.  After the evening performance, I was able to show it to some of the cast members, which I thought was pretty neat.  I guess I’m now committed to being a theater nerd for life!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Filling big shoes: The national tour of In the Heights


                Okay, I admit it: my obsession with theater has gotten serious.  I told my mom I was only seeing In the Heights on tour at the Durham Performing Arts Center twice, so she wouldn’t remind me about being responsible about saving my money.  I saw it three times.  Don’t tell her.  I was in the front row twice, and the other time I was in the second row.  But it was so worth it.  I also spent a sizable amount on merchandise.  I don’t regret any of it.  I loved it.  I got to see one of my very favorite musicals three times (for a total of four), and I got to talk to some truly awesome theater fans.
                To be honest, I was hesitant at first to even see the national tour.  I just saw it on Broadway in December, and Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, and other original cast members were there.  It was so amazing and I was worried that with this entirely different cast, I wouldn’t love it as much.  But the second I heard “lights up,” all that worry melted.  I was instantly immersed in that world, and I loved every second of it.  It was a testament to the material itself – as long as there are quality actors, it will be amazing!  I mean, clearly it was amazing enough for me to buy tickets to two more performances.  The actors had some big shoes to fill – I mean, it’s tough to take on a role which was originated by the super-talented Lin-Manuel Miranda.  I must say, Joseph Morales and the other actors filled those big shoes wonderfully!  I didn’t find myself missing those actors I had seen in New York at all.
                In addition to the amazing talent on stage, I met some really cool people in the audience.  At the Wednesday performance, my first of the week, I was sitting next to an older couple who were a little nervous about whether or not they would like the show.  However, they told me that their grandson goes to Wesleyan University (alma mater of Mr. Miranda himself), and he had seen the show in New York and insisted that they see it as well.  I told them that it was one of my three favorite musicals, which is saying something because I see a lot of shows.  I told them it would be different than musicals they’d seen before, but that In the Heights is high-quality, Tony Award-winning theater.  After that, they seemed prepared to see it.  I’m happy to report that they really enjoyed it!  On Sunday night, I met up with a gentleman who has season tickets at DPAC, had seen the show on Wednesday, and just had to see it again.  There were two ladies there who really love theater, and were eager to hear my opinions on In the Heights, especially about seeing it on tour and in New York.
                My favorite people I met were an older couple sitting behind me.  They were a Cuban-American couple who gave me new insight into the show.  Since they are fluent speakers of both English and Spanish, they wanted to know how the show was for someone who doesn’t speak Spanish.   I told them that I grew up in an area which had a sizeable Spanish-speaking population, and I had picked up enough to generally understand the Spanish in the show.  They said they loved being able to understand the whole thing.  I had already known that the actors take care to pronounce things using the specific accents of their characters’ regions, but I learned something new.  This couple told me that even the music itself fits the characters’ countries – like when Abuela Claudia sings, the music sounds Cuban.  When Daniela sings, the music sounds Puerto Rican.  I don’t know the difference between Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican music, but it was so cool to hear, from people who know, about the music in the show reflecting the different characters’ national heritages.  I have even more respect for the genius of Lin-Manuel Miranda.
                I think that now it’s safe to say that I will never, ever, ever get tired of In the Heights.