Heading Down South with Triad Stage's Steel Magnolias

                Now that I’ve seen a few plays at Triad Stage in Greensboro, there are a few things I’ve come to expect, and I’ve yet to be disappointed.  This past weekend, I saw Steel Magnolias at Triad.  I have to admit, I was a little iffy about this one before I saw it.  I personally disdain anything in the “tearjerker” genre – I cry at Hallmark commercials.  No one needs to see me weep in public.  I like dark stuff, but not sappy.  I’ll admit – I was worried.  I won’t make you suffer until the end to find out that I did enjoy the production.  I even challenged myself to not cry.  I will, however, make you wait until the end to find out if I rose to my own challenge.

                One of the things I’ve come to expect from Triad Stage is killer set design.  I love their sets.  Especially with the way they have their seating is arranged, the set design is key.  I loved how it immediately felt like a carport-turned-salon, the moment I walked in.  I really appreciated the tiniest details, like that the “grass” was brown where people would have been walking on it up to the door.  They really thought of all the tiny details that make a set seem real.

                Another thing I’ve come to expect is the use of real, working sets and props.  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: it really does make a difference when water comes out of the sink, there’s actual coffee in the coffee pot, and real sugar in those packets.  It sounds trivial, but, trust me, it’s important.

                My season tickets are for the Sunday matinees which include the InSight talkbacks.  I’ve found this to be critically important to my theatergoing experience at triad.  I love the people they bring in to do the talkbacks, and my appreciation for each work grows exponentially from attending.  This time was, of course, no exception.  I enjoyed the production, but the talkback helped me understand it on another level.  I really miss my college English courses, just sitting around and talking about theory and different works, and these talkbacks are my “college fix.”  It is so beneficial for an audience to be able to reflect on what they’ve just seen, and to listen to the reflections of others – both from scholars and fellow audience members.

                I’m not a native southerner, and I’m not your typical twenty-five year old woman.  I have no plans for marriage, and having children (at least in the next ten years or so) is the exact opposite of what I want in my life.  Perhaps because of this, I had some trouble relating to Shelby, the character in the show closest to my age.  I found myself relating more to the other characters in the show, the salon ladies, maybe because they remind me of my mother.  Somewhere around intermission, I realized that there are many more ways to relate to a show than based on the age of the characters, and that it was okay for me to relate to Ouiser more than Shelby.  Once freed from this struggle, I was able to relax a little bit more, and realize that the show, while technically about Shelby, is really about these women who care about her.

                So, did I cry?  Only a little.  I was able to keep myself from outright weeping.  Thank goodness for that, otherwise the box office would be getting a lot of complaints about audience behavior – I’m a loud crier.  I did shed a few tears, however.  I was most touched by Ouiser and her reaction to tragedy.  Did I meet my own challenge?  You decide.

A(nother) world premiere musical at Virginia's Signature Theatre

                So, even though I live in Raleigh and I love North Carolina to pieces, I am and will always be a Washingtonian.  I was born and raised in Arlington, VA – I love DC, and my parents still live there, so I make a habit of visiting as often as possible.  One of my main reasons for visiting is that DC’s theater scene is crazy awesome.  My personal favorite is the Signature Theatre in Arlington, which does plenty of Sondheim and even more original work.

It’s no secret that I see a lot of theater.  My “Broadway” playlist on my ipod is well over 1,200 songs and growing.  I love it all.  Yet, seeing new work is always a special thrill for me – I don’t already own the original cast recording, I don’t already know all the lyrics, I’m not already familiar with the plot, and I don’t know how it’s going to end.  It’s a different experience from a lot of the shows I see.

                Signature puts on a lot of new material, and I love it.  I saw Sycamore Trees there a while ago, which was the world premiere of a new Ricky Ian Gordon musical.  So, for my birthday, my parents took me to see the world premiere of the brand new musical And the Curtain Rises by Michael Slade, Joseph Thalken, and Mark Campbell.

                My past positive experience with new work was echoed at And the Curtain Rises.  I very much enjoyed the thrill of seeing a plot, entirely new to me, unfold musically.  I especially enjoyed the second act.  I felt it moved very smoothly – perhaps because I was more familiar with the context by then, or perhaps because it actually was more smooth, I really can’t tell.  I’m now enamored with the idea of a musical about the birth of the musical.  I must admit, a hot shirtless man every now and then really didn’t hurt their cause either.  I found the subject matter interesting and the story fitting.

                Ultimately, I find myself glad that it was the Signature at the helm of this premiere.  They know how to premiere works.  They know how to handle new material.  I fear that had I seen this production anywhere else, I may have been disappointed.  I’m not sure the show is quite Broadway-ready, but it was enjoyable and worthwhile, thanks to the capable (and Tony-winning ) Signature.

Seeing Shrek the Musical with the next generation of Broadway superfans

I used to be a nanny, and the oldest kid I took care of is now a kindergartener, and he and I used to listen to the original Broadway cast recording of Shrek the Musical in the car all the time.  He’d even make us do parts – he’d say, “Okay, now I’ll sing Shrek and you sing Fiona.”  It was such fun.  He knew all the words – he was five years old and he knew words like “asunder” because of Shrek the Musical.  Even having never actually seen a musical, he would put on his own musicals for me, or make me star in them.  I told him all about Broadway.  I got him a Broadway kids CD for Christmas.  He even once told me “I’m going to be on Broadway some day.  If you’re still alive then, you’re invited.  You can sit in whatever seat you want.”  Despite the assumption that I might no longer be alive, I was touched by the sentiment.

When I saw that Shrek the Musical was coming to DPAC, I knew we had to be there.  I asked his mom if it was okay, and I took him to see it.  It was such a cool experience getting to take a kid to his first real musical.  He loved it all.  When we got inside the theater, he said “I didn’t know it was going to be this big!”  He enjoyed learning about how you behave at such a special event as live theater.  We talked about how even though we know all the words, we aren’t allowed to sing along during the show.  I noticed during “I Know It’s Today,” that he was mouthing the words along with young Fiona.  He bought (with money he had saved up) Shrek ears and a Shrek whoopee cushion.  If you ever get the chance to take a kid (it doesn’t even have to be your kid) to the theater, do it!  It was such an amazing experience for me and him.  And I know that that Monday in kindergarten, he was telling all of his friends about Shrek the Musical – and for good reason!

In my opinion, Shrek the Musical has it all.  You may think this is strange coming from someone who has seen Spring Awakening seven times, but I really think it’s true.  Shrek the Musical is funny, it’s touching, and best of all, it works hard to make it worthwhile for everyone in the audience.  They knew they were going to get the kid crowd – they made it kid-funny (which is very different from adult-funny).  They knew they would be getting parents – it has that kind of double-layered humor which adults love and kids don’t know what they’re missing.  They knew they would get musical theater fans, and even musical theater aficionados who were skeptical of the likes of Shrek on Broadway – they included some great musical theater references: The Lion King, Wicked, and the old standby, Les MIserables, and won people over the old-fashioned way: great music, and a quality book, and excellent performers.  Every reason a person could have for buying a ticket to the show was met with a well-crafted response.  I will continue to recommend Shrek the Musical to all the kids, adults, and fellow musical theater junkies in my life. 

Broadway Royalty, Here in Raleigh - Idina Menzel and the NC Symphony

                 A few weeks ago, my friend Brandon asked me if I wanted to go with him to see Idina Menzel in concert with the North Carolina Symphony here in Raleigh.  Clearly, I said yes.  I saw Idina at Wolf Trap last summer in concert with Marvin Hamlisch and the National Symphony Orchestra.  She was so good there, and the Meymandi Concert Hall in Raleigh is a much more intimate venue than Wolf Trap, so I knew it would be awesome.  I saw Amadeus there recently, so I knew it was the ideal location for a symphony performance.  Plus, Idina is pretty much Broadway royalty – everybody who knows anything about musical theater knows Idina Menzel.

                I think I should mention before I go any further that, while I am certainly a big fan of Idina Menzel, I don’t think anyone is as enthusiastic of a fan as Brandon.  Our seats were in the mezzanine, and we had a really good view in a great venue.  Brandon started freaking out pre-show, and I’m pretty sure that he didn’t stop until hours afterward.  I admit, we were both pretty stoked to see her, and to know that she was in the building.  Highlights included “Poker Face,” joining in as they whole symphony hall sang “No Day But Today,” and hearing a snippet of “Over the Moon.”  She even sang “In Cyberland, we only drink…” and turned her microphone to the audience for us to complete the line.  I’m pretty sure the two of us were the loudest ones, yelling “DIET COKE!”

                What I love the most about seeing Idina Menzel in concert is that you get a mix of amazing music and great stories.  The audience really feels like they get to know her as a performer and a person.  Her anecdotes about her family are great, and I love that she opens a window into her life.  She also knows what the fans want to hear.  She sings stuff that she’s chosen and keeps the fans happy.  She knows that if she didn’t sing something from Rent and “Defying Gravity,” the crowd would be disappointed.  But she also throws in some unexpected gems – from The Wild Party, Cole Porter (mashed-up with The Police… who knew?), and Finian’s Rainbow.

                Idina was so gracious, and came out and signed autographs after the show (by the way, she’s taller than I thought she’d be).  She couldn’t take pictures, which was understandable, since she had to get up early the next day and it was already late.  It was so cool of her to even come out the stage door at all, something performers aren’t actually obligated to do.  I was a little concerned by some fans who I think got overwhelmed with excitement and were desperate for pictures – it’s easy to forget that even Broadway royalty need sleep, and probably don’t like camera flashes going off in their face all the time.  However, Idina was so gracious, and I really appreciated that she signed my program.  She even came prepared with her own sharpies – both black and silver!

                So, now I’ve seen Idina Menzel live twice.  My conclusion is that any time she comes to a venue near me in the future, I’m so there.  I love the shows she puts on, and seeing her live is such an amazing treat for Broadway addicts like myself.