Honeymoon in Vegas

I'm so glad we saw this show, and the night before opening night at that. Starring Tony Danza, it's the newest Jason Robert Brown musical, based on a movie from the 90's. Very comical and over the top, the plot is a little ridiculous, but hey, isn't breaking out into song on the street weird too? It's about Jack and Betsy, who love each other and have been dating for 5 years. Jack is afraid to get married but takes Betsy to Vegas anyway in the hope that they'll tie the knot. They run into a high roller named Tommy (Danza) who thinks that Betsy looks like his dead wife and instantly falls in love. Yes, far fetched and ridiculous. But the music was great, the lyrics were witty, and Rob McClure and Brynn O'Malley were phenomenal. Aaron even mentioned that he believed that both were in love.

We had excellent seats (row CC of the mezzanine) and we could see EVERYTHING. The seats were a bit tight (the woman next to me went shopping beforehand and tried to make me feel bad for wanting all my leg room to myself) The last time I saw something in this theater was Newsies and I hated my seat based on the sight lines being blocked by the monitor. 

 At one point there are 7 Elvises on stage, if that gives you an idea of how ridiculous the show is. But it has fans. One woman in front of us talked to her friend about how she'd already seen the show 3 times (it was still in previews, mind you).

 The poker game scene was hilarious and so well done, well done Rob McClure. I actually said an audible "OH NO" even though I knew what the outcome was going to be. The airport song was HILARIOUS. And I found many of the melancholy songs to be so creative with the lyrics that they were anything BUT melancholic.

Side Show

I went with Voon and his friend Robbie to see Side Show on the closing weekend. It was a very emotional show (so I was told both before AND after seeing it) though I didn't feel it. The music felt weird to me, meaning any song that isn't regularly played on the broadway sirius channel was unmemorable. I know that there's a cult following on this show, but I don't think I'll be joining its ranks anytime soon. The costuming was gorgeous but overall, the show was slow. 

 Very quickly, it is about a pair of conjoined twins Daisy (left) and Violet (right) who couldn't be more different from each other while being stuck together. It's the 30's so complications with surgeries are a main reason why they don't ever get the snip. They meet and pair of men who want to put them in vaudeville, make them sing and dance, and earn acclaim. All while maintaining their differences. They even have a fight (nearly fist fight) and it looked funny as they were stuck together at the hip.

 There's even some romance.....awkward.

We had great tickets (row C of the mezzanine) off to house left. The best part of the night was going backstage. Voon knew someone who knew Henry Kreiger, the creator of the music. Even though I wasn't in love with some of his work, overall, it was fantastic that he got to go to broadway for a second time with it. We met some cast members, took pictures, and even got some lindy shots with the theater in the background!