Shows, shows, shows!

Happy Tuesday! (Yep, I'm slacking again...)

Scout's honor, I have a great reason for slacking, but we'll get to that later.

So, it's been three and a half months since I moved here. It seems like it's been longer because I'm so comfortable with my life. I know what to expect on a daily basis and the things I don't expect don't seem that bad and I can handle them like a pro. Wow, I'm AWESOME! Anyways, in that time, I did get to see a few shows, but not all that frequently. The first show I saw was 9 to 5 at the beginning of September to celebrate my One-Month-iversary, then Altar Boyz, West Side Story, and Brighton Beach Memoirs. So, four shows in we'll say three months, that's pretty normal for a theatre person in New York. This past week, however, I got lucky with having A LOT of friends wanting to see shows. After God of Carnage on Monday, I saw Jude Law in Hamlet, the new musical Next to Normal, and the 80's rock musical Rock of Ages.

Here's my thoughts:

Thursday, November 12

Hamlet by William Shakespeare (you knew that, though...)

Starring Jude Law

In attendance: myself and Andrew (that Andrew that got me into my current living situation)

Ever since my few weeks of intense Shakespeare study in 7th grade, I've been fascinated by the Bard and got into reading his plays in my free time. There are still several I have not read (and as wikipedia has just taught me, several I've never even heard of: The Two Noble Kinsmen???). However, Hamlet has always been my absolute favorite. It's so much more than a tragic story of a Danish prince that's upset about his father's death and his mother's betrayal. It's a complex, psychological thriller. I've seen pretty much every single film version, thanks to my Shakespeare & Film class at Miami, but never a stage version. There's really nothing like hearing Billy Shakes words live with 1,000 other people. The production itself, transferred from London's Donmar Warehouse, is fairly minimalist in its sets: for the most part, the whole thing takes place with the same walls and two doors upstage center that open to reveal another brick wall and some brilliant lighting. There are several famous lines delivered in this plays, but it honestly felt like the first time I was hearing them. Jude Law is probably too old to be playing Hamlet, but he plays the role so freaking well and I can't wait to see him give a Tony acceptance speech. The man is brilliant with each line. You honestly feel like you're seeing the creation of psychosis on stage with each flick of his hand or snap of his head. Truly, the man embodies this character from head to toe and as deeply inside his soul as I've ever seen any actor embody a role. To be honest, the production doesn't need much set because they would be wasting there money since you can't keep your eyes of Jude as he weaves this tale. There are several moments when he directly addresses the audience and he draws several laughs even while we're all crying. I do want to say that the artistic direction of this show did a fantastic job accenting certain scenes with colors that showcase the emotion of that particular event. Even the presentation of color was often elaborate and dramatic. For example, when newly elected king Claudius is first introduced on stage, an enormous blue silk curtain drops heavily from the rafters and pounds the stage, then a red carpet rolls down the stage. For the famous bedroom scene where Hamlet confronts his mother about her flaws, a delicate, light yellowish beige, curtain drops to the front of the stage that ever so lightly veils the scene being played behind it. Later, it is torn from the ceiling to wrap a dead body. Just brilliantly executed. Honestly, if you're in NYC before December 6, get tickets to this show.

Friday, November 13

Next to Normal

Starring Tony Winner Alice Ripley, Tony Nominees J. Robert Spencer & Jennifer Damiano, and Tony Should-Have-Been-Nominee Aaron Tveit

In attendance: myself, KTD, and Emily

You know how sometimes you see something that you are sure you know, but you're still taken aback by everything? That is exactly how this show played out for me. Everything happened exactly as it has played out since I bought the cast recording back in the spring, but I was still in tears a number of times throughout the show. The basic plot concerns a mother with bipolar disorder and how her family deals with it. The mother (Diana) is played by Alice Ripley, who earns every bit of praise she has received for this role. Her condition is delicate and complicated, aggravating and disheartening, but overall uplifting. Her husband Dan is played by J. Robert Spencer, a man formally only knows her singing the bass line of each song in Jersey Boys, however shows off here that he can SING. He may not have the best voice in the world, but his compliments Alice's voice so precisely that it further proves the chemistry between the two. Dan spends most of the show being supportive and understanding, trying to hold his family together in the face of some pretty intense obstacles. Jennifer Damiano plays their teenage daughter Natalie. She meets a classmate named Henry and falls for him, he in turn introduces her to pot. Their relationship faces some pretty difficult tests, but somehow they always come back to each other--basically, because Henry is persistent and truly loves Natalie despite all her attempts to rid her life of him. Some of the most touching moments in the show concern Natalie and I admire this young actress for her commitment to each moment of her performance, which is probably what earned her that Tony nomination. Aaron Tveit has become something of a Broadway Next-Big-Thing since he plays Fiyero in Wicked a few years ago. He recently just came back to the cast after playing the Leonardo DiCaprio role in the world premiere of the new musical version of Catch Me If You Can in Seattle. Honestly, I was expecting to not really like this guy all that much, but I can't deny that his voice is pretty flawless. It actually makes me sick to hear how good he is. When I first heard the recording, I thought, "Well, they've definitely done some tweaking to this..." Turns out, not so much. He sounds just as good, if not better, live. I can't say too much about the plot without giving too much away that should be experienced in the theatre. I was so happy to have finally seen this show and I cannot wait to see it again and again and again...

Monday, November 16

Rock of Ages

Starring Constantine Maroulis (of American Idol fame), Tony Nominee Kerry Butler, and Tony Should-Have-Been Nominee Mitchell Jarvis

OK, so this wasn't the best show I've ever seen, but it was definitely the most fun I've ever had in a theatre. Maybe it was the beer we were served in our seats... Seriously, this was like going to a rock concert and I loved every minute of it. The production company completely takes over the Brooks Atkinson Theatre with huge billboards showcasing the many scenes of the Sunset Strip where the show takes place. As far as the performers go, the only true standouts were Mitchell Jarvis as Lonny the narrator of the show, and Tom Lenk as Franz, the spoiled son of a German developer out to level the strip and put up a strip mall. Honestly, I was pretty disappointed in Constantine any time he was "acting". As far as his singing, he did a great job. But damn, the guy probably couldn't act his way out of a speeding ticket. Mitchell Jarvis is like an in-shape Jack Black on crack...which I'm pretty sure is just normal Jack Black, let's be honest. Anywho, it's 80's rock, it's beer in a theatre, and it's loads of fun from beginning to end. They even provide souvenir lighters to wave during the moments when you wave a lighter. Check it out, kids!

This is where the slacking comes in. Yesterday was spent with my good friend Amanda. Today is her birthday, so HAPPY BIRTHDAY, AL-AMAAANDA! Our day o' fun consisting of sushi for lunch (mmmm, sushi...), baking cookies, dinner at Chophouse, drinks, and Rock of Ages. After that, we met up with some other friends and went to a bar that serves hot dogs with each drink. My kind of place, let me tell ya. Anyway, I didn't get home until late and was pretty exhausted/coming off a nice buzz. So, here's my blog post, 24 hours late. My bad.

Life outside of that has been pretty normal. You can see how the city is gearing up for the holidays: the lights are going up in the outer boroughs, the windows at Macy's are slowly changing to holiday-themed scenes, and the candy in stores is turning to familiar shades of red and green. It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas... except for the shorts and t-shirts that spring up every now and then thanks to some gloriously warm days. Now, all we need is snow!

Happy Adventures!