Day 73-80

So, since I was busy and didn't have internet and couldn't post my video blogs and some of them didn't upload correctly *breath* I'm doing one huge post for my New York trip and am going to focus on the shows that I got to see.

Upright Citizens Brigade
Our first night in NYC we thought we might have time to see a show, but we didn't get to our hostel until it was too late. So we kinda walked around the neighborhood we were staying in and found out that the best improv troupe in NYC was only a few blocks away AND they were having a free show. So, we decided to wait in line and see if we could get in to see it. The place was packed, we had to sit on the floor next to the stage because it was so full. The show was fucking hysterical. It was hosted by this one dude and Horatio Sans from SNL. Horatio wasn't actually that good, most of the no-name people were better than him. But the show was great. We also got to see Jason Sudekis from SNL and other random movies plus that squirrly blonde assistant from 30 Rock. One aspect about the show that I admired was how effortless they made it. You could tell they were having fun and that they were meant to be doing imrpov. The ideas just flowed out of them and they all rolled with the punches. Improv is something I admire because I'm not good at it at all. If I was involved with it more I could probably get better, but I just don't have a quick enough mind to do it.

Next to Normal
This was our first Broadway show we got to see, and the one we were most excited about seeing. I was a little bummed because Alice Ripley was on vacation so we didn't get to see her, but everyone else from the original cast was still there, so that was awesome. And her understudy actually was amazing. The set was three stories of just metal poles and facing. They had this flat type deal for the 2nd story that had an image of the top of the house with eyes on it that went in and out and sideways and everywhere. The show itself was...wow. Let me start off by saying that I never cry at theatre. I think I may have cried once or twice at"The Boys Next Door", but other than that I don't cry at theatre. But for this show, the tears would not stop flowing. I cried at the end of Act I, and pretty much 2/3 of Act II. The story is just so sad and touching, with Diana dealing with her mental illness. Along with that storyline, you have the daughter doing drugs and trying to deal with her fucked up family and the stress of school. It was just such a beautifully touching show. And all the performers were fantastic. They had beautiful voices and their acting was great too. I'll probably being saying that about most of the shows because it's true. And at this level of theatre, it should be true. It's the big leagues, and all of the shows reflected that. This show was definitely the best one we saw all week.

A Little Night Music
I was super stoked to see this show for two reasons: to possibly see Angela Lansbury's last performance on Broadway and to see a legit performance of a Sondheim show. I wasn't disappointed. Everything was top-notch and beautiful. I absolutely adored the music. I've decided that I am a Sondheim fanatic. His music is just beautiful. And all the performances were fantastic. Angela Lansbury is just a god onstage. She has the presence, the voice, the comedic timing...I just worship the ground she walks on. Catherine Zeta Jones played the main female lead, and she was actually really great! When she walks onstage, she just exudes glamor. I can't explain it really. She is so beautiful and elegant and it's something you just can't act. I also was excited to see Leigh Ann Larkin as the part I would love to play: Petra. She is great in the revival of Gyspy with Patti Lupone, and she was great in this too. Her voice is so damn beautiful. I was surprised by the show because it had a happy ending. I don't remember any of Sondheim's other shows having a happy ending, so I was pleasantly surprised. It's nice sometimes for the guy to get the girl. And just this week I downloaded the CD, and I just smile every time I listen to it. To think that I saw these performances live and recreating the scenes in my head is a wonderful experience. And this show reaffirms my love for Sondheim.

Hair
I've always wanted to see a production of Hair every since I watched the movie. I didn't realize how different the two were. Hair the play is very deconstructed and doesn't have a major story line. I was a little worried at first, but my worries disappeared when we started watching the show. It's such an interactive show, which I love. I love breaking the 4th wall and bringing the audience into the show. The actors would come in and out of the audience, touching them and singing directly to them. The feel you get from this show is unlike any other. You just feel that they understand the foundation of what this show is about. And watching them, you want to just let your hair down and become a hippie too. This was probably the top show out of all the ones we saw that I wanted to be in more than anything. I'm not much of a singer, but I think I could be a part of the show. And it's so fun to watch, and it seems like they're having a ball doing it. One of the neat things about the show is after curtain call they having a "dance party" and let anyone in the audience who wants to come on the stage and dance. So of course me and Chasen ran up there and started dancing and we got to sing "Let the Sunshine In". It now ranks up there and one of the coolest moments of my life. We got to dance with the cast and be on a Broadway stage. Awesometown.

The Adams Family
This was the only show that I went in knowing nothing about. It's a brand new show that just transferred from Chicago starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. I really only wanted to go to see Nathan Lane live, and he did not disappoint. Nathan Lane is a peculiar type of actor. He has this kind of shtick that he does for every role, but he molds it to fit the character he is playing. I was worried that his Gomez would be too goofy, but he found a perfect amount of goofiness to the suaveness that Gomez should have. I'm so glad I got to see him live though. He has a great voice and was making me cry from laughing so hard. Everybody in the cast was really great too. They had fantastic voices and embodied the characters so well. The technical aspect of this show was phenomenal, definitely the best of all the shows we saw. They had the family house that was designed off of the cartoon, but it would fold and unfold and transform into so many different places. And they did some puppetry work that made Uncle Fester look like he was flying and totally believable. It was insane. The show itself was a little eh. The storyline and songs were just kind of mediocre. The actors did everything they could to make it work, but it couldn't hide the fact that the show was just ok. Their performances made it more enjoyable, but it probably would have been worse with other actors.


Rock of Ages
I'm not gonna lie, I was a little hesitant about seeing this show. I had read a lot about it and how it was gritty and rowdy and not what typical Broadway people like. Well, I consider myself a typical Broadway lover, so I wasn't so sure how I would like the show. I loved it! It was cheesy and campy but it didn't pretend it wasn't. The show knew what it was and went with it. It was a lot of fun to watch and see how they made 80's songs fit with the show. One actor in particular stood out for me. He played a narrator type character that was also in the show. He was so outrageous and funny and had soooooo much energy, it was crazy! I met him at the stage door, and he was quite and calm as could be. It just goes to show you how some people can truly transform onstage. They also gave us these little lighters that had a light in it that you could press and it would light up like a lighter. It was fun to actually be involved and show the actors they were doing good and wave your lighter. One thing about this show that was neat was that they incorporated their "orchestra" into the show. It was really a guitarist, bassist, and drummer, but they would let them come downstage and rock out and they got to be actually characters in the show. I thought that was neat. Overall, fun show, cheesy, but extremely entertaining.

God of Carnage
This was the only play we got to see, but I am extremely glad we did. It was hysterical. It was also filled with Hollywood and Broadway stars galore. Jeff Daniels is just an incredible actor. He can embody every role he's in and just transform himself. Lucy Lui was also in the cast, but she didn't fair out so well. While watching it, I didn't really like her acting. But as I've had time to process it, I think it fit with the character she was playing. She needs to learn to project, though. The other two I can't remember the names, but they were fantastic as well. The woman who played Jeff Daniel's wife was phenomenal. She had such stage presence and comedic timing that was uncanny. I would pay big bucks to see her act again.

So, thus was my trip. It was the best vacation I've ever had, and something that was on my bucket list. I will definitely be planning a trip like this again. Maybe for honeymoon type deal. But I saw a load of good theatre that will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Day 72

Day 71

Huzzah! I hope Zac appreciates that I am finally caught up. And Eric too. And the occasional Kyle. :)

So, it's the Friday of Spring Break. I'm getting ready for my trip to New York City, with my trusted companion Chasen. I'm so stoked, you can't even imagine. I'm also excited to see "The Complete History of America: Abridged" at LCT tonight!

I'm going to try something new for this week. Instead of having to sit down and type out my blogs, I'm going to record video blogs and post them on here. I figure that will be easier for me to keep up with, and it'll be cool to see me in NYC! So, look for those this upcoming week. And who knows, it might catch on and be a semi-regular thing.

But, I shall say goodbye for the week, typing wise. And let the Broadway theatre week commence!

Day 70

So, I had to read "Mother Courage and her Children" for my theatre history class. Crazy, right? For those who haven't read my blog, I wrote an entry about watching a documentary about Bretch and a production of this with Meryl Streep. So, needless to say, I was super excited about reading the play. And I thoroughly enjoyed it. It's very stylized, so it was sort of hard to connect to. I think it helped that I saw the documentary, because I could see some of the scenes from the documentary as I was reading. It's hard to imagine Mother Courage differently than how Meryl Streep played it. I see her as so rough and tough, and I get the feeling that the original Mother Courage was a little softer.

I would really love to be in this show. I'm interested how Bretch directed his actors to act in the original production. It's not really realism, but it's not all presentational either. I guess it's in between? I would love to learn a different style of acting through being in this show. I also have added another role to my wish list. I want to play Mother Courage. I know it'll be years and years before I ever get the chance to, but I hope I do. It would be a fantastic part :)

Day 69

I found this videos and they are hilarious. I'm posting them because they still have to do with theatre....kind of. And they are hilarious.



and this

Day 68

I was in a directing scene for a friend of mine today. It was sort of last minute. We only rehearsed all the way through a handful of times, so I was a little nervous to say the least. It was a scene from "Baltimore Waltz". I haven't read the play. I wikipedia-ed it to know the general gist of the story, and it was pretty interesting. Although one of the things that was said was that it gained popularity during the late 80's when the AIDS scare was growing. A critic said that the play has lost some of is umph now because AIDS really isn't a death sentence anymore. But anyways...

The character I played was a Doctor who couldn't give a shit about anything anymore. It was fun because it is a serious scene, but I was sort of the comedic relief. I had to spout out these ridiculous sentences with medical mumbo jumbo that made absolutely no sense. It was a bitch to memorize, and even during the performance I couldn't get it. But, thankfully, since the audience, or other characters, aren't supposed to understand what I'm saying, I could make up words and no one would know the wiser. It was also interesting to play this character because it's the first time I've played a character that just didn't care about anyone else. There's a loss of humanity within her, and it was weird having to go in that direction. The little me inside me kept wanting to be more sympathetic towards the other characters, but I couldn't. It was a weird thing.

The scene went very well. I didn't get to stay for the critique, and I wish I could have heard what the other students thought about it. I enjoyed it. I like doing directing scenes because you can always learn something from it and grow as an actor.

Day 67

I miss the modular theatre at ASU. I started thinking about it today, and how awesomely cool that space was. It was the main theatre at the college I went to my freshman year. It's basically a giant room made up entirely of black boxes. The walls are boxes, the floor is boxes, just 4'by4' boxes. And you can arrange it however you want. You want a normal stage on one side, audience on the other? They can do it. You want to create theatre in the round and put the stage in the middle with the audience surrounding? They can do it. You want to create 4 different stages in the corners with the audience situated accordingly? They can do it. It's one of the most versatile spaces you can have, and it allows for so much creativity for a scenic designer.

I wish we could have different scene designs here. I know that we are limited with the spaces we have, but I wish we could do a show and change up everything that is in typical theatre. Like, put the audience onstage and the actors in the audience. I don't know how or with what show, but I'm getting a little tired of the typical theatre setting. I love it when things are different or odd because it wakes you up as a theatre goer. You become more aware of....everything!