I've been back from the US for 3 days now, and whilst I'm still pretty jet lagged (I did not appreciate the 4.30 am wake up call this morning), my brain is slowly growing less foggy.
I was asked to write a blog post about my thoughts on Broadway and the shows I saw there, and thought this was as good as time as any- in the time where I can now form coherent sentences, and the shows are still pretty fresh in my mind.
We saw five shows on Broadway- The Phantom of the Opera, Dear Evan Hansen, Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Wicked.
I'm going to do a quick run down on my thoughts of each, and some general thoughts on the US Broadway experience. So, here goes:
General:
First things first- this isn't my photo of Times Square above.
Only because I'm writing this at work on my lunch break (I tend to hit a wall at about 1-2 pm, and getting anything productive done after that is a struggle), and all my photos are on my camera at home.
Anyway, my first thought on seeing Times Square was WOW. And honestly, that didn't go away the entire week we were there (except maybe Saturday night when it was even more insane than usual with people around, but that was brief).
Having all the theatre at our fingertips all the time was a dream come true. It is the sole reason I'm still thinking "man, I want to live in New York" (the rest of me, is like... 'nah, I'm good')
Theatres:
The theatres in NY are gorgeous, and historic. But there are some odd layouts. It's a little disarming to walk pretty much right off the street into the theatre.
We loved how intimate all the theatres are- not all the theatres in Australia are this intimate. But we also found that the audio levels seemed lower than usual... it wasn't noticeable in all the shows, but especially in one or two shows, particularly the vocals seemed quieter than the orchestra.
Here, the audio is part of the immersive experience and seems to surround you. We were expecting the same thing here, and didn't get it.
Stage Door:
We only attempted stage door once on Broadway- for Anastasia. For Phantom, we didn't know of anyone; Evan Hansen, we knew we wouldn't get close enough to so much as see Ben Platt so didn't bother; and after Anastasia, we didn't want to repeat the experience for Charlie or Wicked.
We knew stage door would be busier than back in Australia, but it was just too much. Everyone was pushing, and in everyone's faces, and I just couldn't deal with it. I was getting crabby with the pushing, and SD is not supposed to be a crabby experience.
We did get to see most of the cast, but I was feeling overwhelmed, tired and a little sick, so we left before the end.
One more thing....
Is it a general Broadway thing, or did we just get really unlucky to have people talking near us at every single show??? (Actually, I think except DEA. And I don't remember Phantom. But definitely Wicked, Charlie, and Anastasia)
We had people right behind us, who felt it was completely ok to whisper to one another throughout the entire show.
I'm a pretty polite person. But honestly, shut up. Do Not Talk During Shows. Conversation is for intermission. I came a long way, and waited a long time to get to Broadway and see these shows- every time I have to turn around to glare at you takes me out of the show and annoys me a little bit more.
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| This has been a PSA |
OK, on to the shows.
Shows:
The Phantom of the Opera:
To be honest, this is the show I remember the least clearly beyond how amazingly tired I was. I hadn't quite adjusted to the time difference yet, and we'd pretty much been going to bed around 8-9 pm, and Phantom didn't start until 8.
I'd seen the live DVD version with Sierra Boggess multiple times, and I've seen the Gerald Butler movie (which I did not hate as much as everyone else appears to), but we were really looking forward to seeing it live- the last time it was in Australia was like 2008(?) so I missed it.
And it was good, I really enjoyed it. I found the chandelier falling a little anti climatic in reality, which was disappointing, but I loved the sets and staging. Our Meg also wasn't as strong as I'd seen/heard elsewhere.
I just really wish I'd been more awake (side note- why do theatres in the US only sell alcohol and water??? The only theatre we were at with other beverages available was the Gershwin. I really needed a sugar hit, guys).
Dear Evan Hansen:
Phew. Where to start? First of all, wearing makeup was a mistake.
DEA was... everything I wanted it to be. I've been listening to the music on repeat for months, I've seen half a bootleg and read the script (I am not good at waiting for things or surprises), but it was still more than I expected.
Ben Platt was amazing. Let's just establish that, say "well, duh" and move on.
We had the understudy for Connor, who was great and the rest of the cast was excellent.
I cried so much in this show. I need it to come to Australia, like ASAP.
One thing though was the character of Alana. When I read the script, I knew I'd have issues with part of her story. But it's one thing to read it and another to see it.
I won't elaborate on this, for those who haven't seen it and don't appreciate spoilers like I do. But if you do want to know more, tweet at me.
But as I told Kelly back in February, when I rang her at like 8 am and demanded we go see this on our trip, this show is so important (even if my mother only believes me now that Reese Witherspoon saw the show and said the same thing. Don't ask). I'm so glad I got to see it.
Anastasia:
I adore the 1997 movie, let's just get that straight. I own the soundtrack, I've watched it a million times, I love it.
This is the movie that got me interested in Russian history.
I know there's always complaints about it not being historically accurate, but I've always approached historical movies like you do Wikipedia. Use it as a jumping off point to get a basic overview of the topic and to find accurate sources and educate yourself about the topic.
Because of the movie, I studied Russian history in high school and have always read it about it.
That being said, the musical had everything you love about the movie, some great new songs, and does a much better job of working an accurate depiction of Russian history into the show.
It's visually stunning- the costumes are gorgeous, and the sets are wonderful. The one slow bit for me was the Lily/Vlad subplot. Like, I always skip those songs on the soundtrack. It's a bit of filler, and it's amusing but Caroline O'Conner (who plays Lily) is Australian. I've seen her in 2 other shows back in Oz, and she's played pretty much the same kind of character.
But I got to have a quick chat with her about Australia at SD, which was the best part of SD.
Now, the producers have already said they plan to bring the show to Australia eventually, and I will absolutely go see it again when it does- multiple times.
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory:
This show was a last minute addition to our list.
We did a walking tour of Broadway over the weekend, and our guide did a good job of talking the show up, I guess! We were also impressed by how the outside of the theatre was done up to immerse you in Wonka land from the moment you approach, so we wanted to see how that carried across to the rest of the theatre.
To our disappointment, it mostly doesn't. But they had some cool merch and a giant golden ticket to take photos with.
The musical uses some music from the Gene Wilder movie from 1971 ("Candyman", "Pure Imagination", etc). But most of the songs they created for the musical aren't that memorable. I can only think of two of the top of my head, and only one I really liked.
The Oompa- Loompas were amusing, we'd wondered how they'd be done. It was pretty much like Lord Farquaad in Shrek the musical, if that helps anyone.
It was a fun show, and the sets and special effects were great, and Christian Borle is an excellent Wonka. But the music wasn't great.
I definitely liked it better than the last Dahl adapted musical I saw (Matilda- for reasons I won't get into here), but it wasn't my favourite. If it came to Australia, I might go see it again- but would probably depend on the cast.
Wicked:
Oh, my love <3
This was my 30th time seeing Wicked.
And my first time since August 2010 (my second show) getting to see the full production as intended- with a trapdoor in NOMTW and NGD, for example. Every time after that was the tour production, so no trap door.
I did not realise how much I miss the trap door.
Jackie Burns was an amazing Elphaba, and we actually had the understudy Glinda (yep, not standby. Understudy) who was excellent, but also perhaps one of the calmest Glinda's I've seen. Fun Fact: This is also the first time I've seen a Glinda who wasn't the lead.
I came very close to having a breakdown after the show while we were leaving the theatre. I did not want to leave. I honestly debated just living in the Gershwin, like a Phantom of the Opera deal, but far less creepy. It would work, right?
I'm seeing my third community theatre production of Wicked next month, so there is that to look forward to, but it's really hard leaving Wicked behind. And the Gershwin, although not as old or fancy, is probably my favourite of the ones we attended.
That or the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre where Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was. Just in terms of layout.
In terms of interior decor and design, probably my fave was the Broadhurst where Anastasia was. We both felt it was the perfect theatre for the show.
To sum up:
I had a lot of people say to me "you won't be able to watch theatre here [in Australia] after Broadway" and that is definitely not true.
My sister (who did NY a few years ago and saw Aladdin on Broadway) said "oh, it's better on Broadway" (despite not seeing the Australian production), and I can't see that being true.
The atmosphere of Broadway is amazing, yes. But the quality is just as good as here in Australia, which makes me even more proud of our theatre industry here.
I think the only time we had a moment where we honestly didn't know who could do the role as well as we saw in the US, was Ben Platt as Evan Hansen. We couldn't think of an Australian equivalent, but it is a younger role, and by the time the show comes here, who knows who'll be around for the role?
Will I go back to Broadway if I ever get the chance? Hell yes.
