Hair continues to be an experience like no other

                I love Hair.  It’s no secret.  I’ve seen it twice before – once on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld, and once on tour at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC.  I can’t get enough of that show.  A number of songs from the cast recording are on my top played songs on my ipod.  My cat is named Frank Mills.  It’s safe to say I’m at least slightly obsessed with Hair.

                Needless to say, I was more than pleased when I found out that the national tour of Hair would be making a stop in North Carolina at the Durham Performing Arts Center.  I bought tickets to see it – twice.  I actually had a third ticket as well, but I had to leave for NYC that day, so the ticket went to a very deserving friend.  I saw it two nights in a row, and it was awesome.  This was one of the times that I was particularly glad that I enjoy going to the theater alone, because I met some awesome people.

                The first night I went, I was sitting near two sets of mother and daughter, who were some of the coolest people I've met at DPAC.  I chatted with them a lot about the show, about favorite songs, about what the experience of this production was like – they hadn’t seen it before, but were very familiar with it through press stuff and the cast recording.  We danced on stage together after the show.  At intermission, I chatted with an Elon musical theater student who grew up in the same area as me, and who is excited about Elon doing Hair next year.  I might even go see it.  I just love being around other theatergoers who are just as passionate about theater as I am, who react to me telling them that I’m about to go to NYC for a week and see seven Broadway shows with awe and envy rather than a diagnosis of insanity.  These are my people.

                The show was just as thrilling as ever, except even more so, because I was sitting right at the bottom of the steps that lead to the stage.  The actors were interacting with me so much, and I loved it!  During “White Boys,” one of the actors came and sat down on the floor right in front of me, leaning against my legs, wrapping his arm around my leg and kissing it.  What other show provides its audience with crazy experiences like that?  But the best part of those experiences is that they add to the authenticity of the show.  They make us, the audience, really become a part of the tribe, an integral piece of the action.  I don’t think if one of the actors in, say, Guys and Dolls, started kissing my leg, I would feel like it added to the show – I would wonder who let this actor stop taking his meds.  But Hair is so unique in the way that the audience is really an active part of the success of the show.  I love it.  One of the actors untied the shoes of the gentleman sitting next to me, and sitting so close, it was like that was part of the show that was just for the few of us who could see it.

                The second night, I was sitting in much the same seat, just on the opposite side of the row, the other side of the stage.  It was equally great.  It turns out that I was sitting next to the mother of one of the cast members.  That was so cool, to see a proud parent witness her child living out a dream.  Oh, and she had these awesome peace sign sandals, of which I am quite jealous.

                Some people I know were a little worried that seeing this production of Hair so many times might spoil the magic of it for me.  In fact, the opposite is true.  It just keeps getting better and better.  For one thing, the show is never the same twice.  There’s always new ad-libbing, new audience members, and something new to discover about the material.  This show is so rich and so deep, that I don’t think I could get to the bottom of it if I were to see it two hundred times.  So, if you haven’t seen it, so.  If you’ve already seen it, revisit it.  It’s like hanging out with an old friend – who happens to do drugs and get naked.

Conducting a social experiment at Avenue Q... sort of

              When it was announced that the national touring company of Avenue Q would be making its way into Durham for a brief, two-show stint at the Durham Performing Arts Center, I knew I had to be there.  I had seen the show once before, with my mom, when the national tour came to the Shakespeare Theatre in Washington DC.  When I bought the ticket this time, it was right before I swore off the balcony forever.  I bought a balcony seat.  I went the first night of the two-night engagement, and I enjoyed it well enough – it’s an amazing show after all.  However, I wanted to be closer.  Being the hopeless musical theater junkie I am, I went home from the satisfactory balcony experience of Avenue Q and immediately booked one of the few remaining seats in the orchestra for the following night’s performance.  I justified the purchase to myself under the guise of a social experiment – I wanted to see if there was a difference in audience reaction to a show like Avenue Q between those in the cheap seats and those in the orchestra.  To be honest, this was a relatively thin cover for the fact that I just wanted to see the show again.

                On my second night at Avenue Q, my seat was in row K of the orchestra, way far too the right of the house.  I was so far right that the tower which holds the TV and speakers was blocking the entire staircase and most of Princeton’s apartment.  However, a kind gentlemen who, I’m assuming, is the house manager or something similar, offered me and another patron who was attending alone, seats in row K right smack dab in the middle of the theater.  Attending the theater alone definitely has its perks.  This seat was so much more enjoyable for me than in the balcony.  Now, I know that some people really like sitting in the balcony, and they prefer that vantage point at the theater.  I’m not trying to hurt the balcony’s feelings – I just don’t care to sit there.  That seat in the middle of row K was utter perfection.  Although, in the interest in sharing pros and cons, I feel the need to mention that the gentleman sitting next to me was far too excited, and his mid-show fist-pumps were a little much.

                And the social experiment?  Turns out, there’s not much of a difference between the cheap seats and the orchestra seats, in terms of audience reaction to Avenue Q.  That just goes to show that funny is funny.  The show is relatable for college students and forty-somethings alike.  My little fake-y experiment just proves what I already figured: Avenue Q rocks.

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. 

The Lion King at DPAC!

            I have been remiss about posting lately, but I have good excuses.  January was a slow theater month for me.  After my Broadway whirlwind at the end of December, I didn’t have any theater tickets at all until January 26^th, which is when I saw The Lion King national tour at the Durham Performing Arts Center.  Also, I’ve been so busy that I’ve been falling asleep before 9 pm most nights – atypical for a theater devotee, I’m sure.

At first, I was skeptical about whether I actually even wanted to see The Lion King.  I think the Disney production credit through me off track, and I was worried it wouldn’t be entertaining for adults.  Logic set in, however.  I thought to myself, if I love Ragtime, and this show beat Ragtime for the 1998 Tony Award for Best Musical, then it has to be beyond amazing.  I’m so glad I listened to logic. 

Anyway, after my recent revelation that I’m totally willing to pay the extra $60 for orchestra-level seats, I managed to get a killer seat for The Lion King, right in the front row, in the center section on the aisle.  It was awesome, and also a little bit scary.  I’m sure I looked quite silly with a giant grin on my face for about the first thirty minutes as I tried to take in the splendor of the show.  When the curtain came up, it seemed like Rafiki was singing right to me.  I could see everything so wonderfully.  I loved every second of it.  Except for the hyenas – they were slightly frightening.

                Sitting in the front row was perfect and completely worth every penny I spent!  There were only one or two occasions when I thought that sitting a little further back would have been beneficial, specifically to see the tableau created by the masterful puppetry, but overall, I wouldn’t have traded that seat for anything.  Simply put, it was phenomenal.

                I keep wanted to compare the quality of The Lion King to other shows I’ve seen, but I really don’t have a basis for comparison because it is such a different kind of musical than anything I’ve seen.  I suppose I could try to compare it to Avenue Q because they both have puppets, or to another musical produced by Disney.  Ultimately, comparisons of this nature are unfair to both parties because what The Lion King offers is truly unique.  I was in awe of the bird puppets flying inches above my head, startled by the giraffes who leaned all the way across the orchestra pit to look me in the eye, dazzled by the wickedness of Scar, touched by the friendship and love of Simba and Nala, and I identified with the quest for belonging.

                I can’t wait to see it again.

Seeing Young Frankenstein with my favorite theater companion

                So, I’ve decided to admit it to myself: I still hate the balcony.  But, what I’ve realized is that I love theater more than I hate the balcony.  It sounds silly, but it’s the truth.  Sure, I’d so much rather be in the front row than the back row; I’d also rather be in the back row than not in the theater at all.

                I promise this is going somewhere.  I sat in the back row again.  I got student rush tickets for a Saturday matinee (of course) of Young Frankenstein at the Durham Performing Arts Center.  My date for the show was my wonderful father, who was in town for a father/daughter extravaganza weekend.  I used my student ID to buy the $12 tickets, and my dad bought the beverages.  My dad was my theater companion throughout my childhood and adolescence, so it was great to be back at the theater, just me and him.

                So, even though we were in the very back row, the show was super.  My father and I both enjoyed it very much.  It turns out that we were the perfect theatergoing team for Young Frankenstein because the show has such an array of pop culture references, we were able to fill each other in.  He would turn to me and whisper “Jimmy Stewart,” and I would turn to him and whisper “Fergie.”  And while it was appropriate for my father and I to attend together, there were some especially young folks in the seats in front of us (parents and two kids, both younger than eight), and I think the subject matter was a little mature for them.  I cringed when Elizabeth says “tits” about 87 times in a row, hoping that the children wouldn’t be scarred for life.  Well, they seemed to handle it fine, and stayed for the entire show (and were quite well-behaved!), but I think I would advise parents not to bring kids younger than middle school to Young Frankenstein.

                I haven’t seen the movie, and was almost entirely unfamiliar with the show.  I knew that “Puttin’ on the Ritz” was in it, but that was the extent of my knowledge.  My dad had seen the movie.   I felt that the show was classic and contemporary, and my dad said that it was a great adaptation of the film.  His quote was “you know the lines, but you still laugh.”  That’s the best kind of humor – when it never gets old.

                I really wish I could have seen the show when it was in New York, but I’m so glad I got the chance to see it here (even from the balcony).  I hope it gets revived sometime on Broadway, because I don’t think it really got the appreciation it deserved the first time around.

                And, I’m working on learning to love the balcony.  I’ll let you know how that goes.

Braving the Balcony for Billy Elliot - Twice!

                I have a confession to make: I despise sitting in the balcony and mezzanine.  I live for orchestra-level seats.  I guess I just like to be as close to the action as possible – I don’t like not being able to see facial expressions.  I know people who prefer balcony seating; they enjoy looking down onto the stage.  I suppose I just have expensive taste, which is particularly unfortunate considering I’m constantly in search of thrifty theater.  My mother once told me something to the effect of, “it would be a lot easier if you weren’t such a snob about it.”  Thanks, mom.  But realistically, she has a point.

                My budget recently forced me to decide between seeing the national tour of Billy Elliot at the Durham Performing Arts Center from the upper balcony or not seeing it at all.  I chose the upper balcony.

                Ever since sitting on stage at Spring Awakening and dancing on stage at Hair, no seat in the house is close enough for me.  I realize that I’m ridiculous.  Yet, sitting in the upper balcony was hardly the nightmare I had feared it would be.  Initially, when I sat down in row L of the balcony, my first thought was “Dear God, I’m going to hate this.  The actors will all look like ants!”  Thankfully, I was wrong.

                In fact, there are actually some benefits to having the “cheap” seats!  (I put “cheap” in quotation marks because my ticket was still $30.)  While there were a few times when I was frustrated that I couldn’t tell which actor was speaking, I found myself actually appreciating the balcony’s vantage point, especially for a show with so much dancing.  I loved watching the numbers with the ballet girls from up high, and I don’t think the profundity and emotional impact of the show (especially the “Angry Dance” and the part with the older Billy) were at all dampened by my distance from the stage.  Even though I couldn’t see the actors’ faces so well, I still bawled during Billy’s response to his mother’s letter.

                Don’t get the wrong idea here – I haven’t changed my ways or anything.  I still would so much rather be in row A than in any tier, mezzanine, or balcony.  But, I’ve opened my eyes to the fact that sitting up high doesn’t suck as much as I thought it would.

                I have another confession to make: I’m a repeat attender.  I like to see certain shows (cough, cough Spring Awakening) again and again.  I’m not sure why, but I think part if it may have to do with where I live.  Not living in or near NYC, I get limited opportunities to see kick-ass Broadway shows, and I don’t have much in the way of options.

                When a national tour comes to town: a) the dates of that engagement are pretty much my only chances to see that production (with the Broadway creative team, etc.), and b) it’s the only thing around – it’s not like in NYC where you could choose from 30 Broadway shows any given day.  I often feel like I have to really make it count.  If I like a show, I’m probably going to see it again.  Thus, I’ve been known to see the same show multiple times in one week.

                Thanks to DPAC’s student rush tickets, I was able to see the show a second time for $22.  Since the touring company of Billy Elliot has five actors who take turns playing Billy, I didn’t want to miss the chance to see another Billy.  It paid off.

                The first Billy I saw was good, but the second one was great!  He’s already been Billy on Broadway, and he was awesome.  Despite the fact that there were 98 stairs (I counted!) between the orchestra level and my seat in the very last row of the 2,800-seat venue, I was blown away.

                I don’t want to be negative about the first Billy I saw (and I’m not going to name names), but his cockney accent needed work (though it was clear he’d been working hard on it – keep it up!), and his singing was good but not great.  I don’t like saying bad things about anyone, especially young performers, especially since this “not as good” Billy was a squillion times more talented than I’ll ever be.  It’s just that Billy #2 was a little more seasoned as a performer, and it was noticeable.  To make a long story short, going back was quite worthwhile.  Except for the teenage boy and his mom next to me, who made plenty of comments quite loudly.