Gigi

OMG I love Gigi! I love the music, the story, the costumes! I got tickets with TDF for me and my friend Voon. I wasn't super excited to see Vanessa Hudgens because I don't really care about her and know her to be a movie star. But the urge to see the story line that I love so much was too strong. 

The costumes were AMAZING! I loved all the colors, blues and reds! Vanessa was a bit stiff as Gigi the child. She really came into the character at the end of act 1. It was a bit long to wait for that. The show itself was also a bit long. The second act had a couple of songs that I felt were unnecessary. The best actors were Corey Cott (Gaston) and Victoria Clark! Victoria Clark is a given as she is broadway royalty. For Corey Cott, I'd never seen him perform before, but he was so convincing that I leaned over to Voon and said that he'll get a tony nom for this performance. It can't be easy acting against someone who isn't giving it all back. 

 The scenes at Maxime's were always really fun to watch. The choreography was enjoyable. In the first act, Gaston went to a series of balls, all different themes. The transitions for each ball were very exciting to watch. The choreo changed its feeling with each ball as well.

Act 1 ending was fun! "Night they Invented Champagne!" 

 And of course, the big reveal for her ballgown got applause. I did feel like they loved each other, but Gaston's journey was much more exciting to watch. It's hard to give Vanessa a fair trial as no one can compare to Leslie Caron's stellar performance on screen. In fact, I think I may have to watch the movie now.

 We had great seats (Row U center section of orchestra) but they were obstructed only by the overhang. I don't think we actually missed ANYTHING, but I always like to see the top of the marquee.

Into the Woods

I have been dying to see this live. I fell in love with the story when I was a teenager (what a great time to come upon Sondheim) and had even auditioned for a local production when I was in the 11th grade (I didn't get cast as Little Red so I didn't take it), and then there's a lot of ITW mania after the movie came out earlier this year. With all the mainstream attention, I was a little worried that the story would be destroyed, the show would lose its gall, or some other theater catastrophe!

Upon entering the space, it felt very intimate. No curtain. The actors came onstage 5 minutes before they started. They broke the 4th wall. They jumped off the stage to say hi to their friends. We were not in an ordinary theater setting. The show has been stripped. No longer is there an entire orchestra. No, now it's a singular piano with occasional bassoon, cello, guitar, pretty much anything else that anyone in the cast could already play. 

We had great seats (row K off to the right). I'm starting to love this theater space as it is so small. I see everything and feel included!

 Actors were doubling characters, so depending on who was free to play the giant, that's who would take on the role. The actress who played Little Red also played Rapunzel, her different costumes being a red cape or a knitted wig. At times, it felt like "hipster Into the Woods". I really enjoyed the stepsisters, who were played by the two actors who played the Princes. They would stand behind a curtain rod to symbolize dresses. Very imaginative. It reminded me of seeing Peter and the Starcatcher only more chaotic. Aaron did mention that he was glad that he saw the movie before going because he would've been lost without previously knowing a little bit. He did say that he didn't like the 2nd act (bummer) because it was so contrasting from act 1 (that's the point, sweetie!) I enjoyed it.

Hedwig and the Angry Inch

 I'm so happy that I returned to see this show a second time. I enjoyed myself the time before but left the theater with many questions, and while some questions STILL remain unanswered, I felt like I watched an entirely different show. Seeing John Cameron Mitchell play Hedwig as opposed to Michael C Hall was like night and day. Before, I had see Hedwig very angry, hostile, unloving towards her husband (still played by Lena Hall who was on her second to last performance before leaving). John was the original Hedwig from the film. His diction was so clear. Even the hardest of rock songs were understandable.

John had a spill on the street a while back which put him in a knee brace and sneakers as opposed to Hedwig's memorable heels. It was interesting to see her strut the stage in converse, but she did it well. She even made Ytsik put a crate under her foot anytime she sat anywhere. Way to run with what you've got. 

 We sat in the balcony which was a whole section above where I sat last time. We had row E which was second to last. Not too bad....as soon as the show started we moved down to row B, and it felt no different from the first row of the mezzanine. The best part of seeing the show on a Friday is that curtain time was at 10 PM, making it feel more like a concert. All the other theatergoers were super fans.

Here's the iconic sneakers. We waited outside to get autographs. We got autographed sugar daddy suckers and Lena signed everyone's playbills.

Aladdin

God this show was terrible, and I got my ticket for FREE! I wish I could get the time back. Let me explain:

My friend Diane and I went to the lottery today to try to win. Our dumb luck; we never win anything. The guys behind us were lucky enough to win. I overheard one of the them tell us "We already have tickets in the balcony..." As soon as the names were all called and we were ticketless, I turned to him and said "were you planning on selling the tickets?" to which he replied "we were going to give them to you." There was no catch. They honestly wanted to give them to us. We were overjoyed. Living in NYC so long does make you bitter and you begin to think that  no one is nice anymore. WRONG! (He's from San Antonio, so maybe that explains it) The seats were in the balcony but we didn't care. I figured that fly space would be used heavily in this show so it was going to be big. 

The acting was terrible. There's no other way around it. Jasmine's lines sounded like lines and like she was repeating something she did every day. Aladdin was ok, but his role was overall cheesy. Genie was so over the top. It was very apparent that the writers did not care about any role except Genie and wouldn't you know, it was the only damned thing about the show that was nominated for anything. Iago was turned into a short, scary sounding, annoying Oompa Loompa. We were excited to see Jonathan Freeman (Original Jafar in the movie) play Jafar but wouldn't you know, he was out tonight! Just our luck! As for Abu, he was butchered into 3 smaller roles and they were all Aladdin's friends. They all had 2 dimensional personalities; the boss when Aladdin wasn't around, the Nebbish lover, and the fat one obsessed with food. BORING BORING SNORE!

 Since it's a disney show, they used all the disney tricks. Kick line, tap dancing when unnecessary, and confetti guns at the end of a lackluster song. It was very sad that a show all about magic had virtually none in it. The best part of the whole show was the orchestra. They sounded flawless, though some of the arrangements sounded too "Broadway" and not enough "Aladdin".

 I did appreciate the people who imagined up some of the props. For the most part, nothing really excited me. I think even 10 year old Stina wouldn't be impressed. The tapping was some of the worst tapping I've ever seen on Broadway. There's never a reason to have 10 maxi fords in one number. Diane commented that the regular choreography was also sloppy and just plain bad. One of the chorus girls was pregnant. We could tell from the balcony! The flying carpet technology was neat because I honestly couldn't figure it out. I'm guessing it was a hovercraft that was directed from offstage. I didn't see any wires or arms. Right before they sang "A Whole New World" Aladdin jumped on the carpet and then broke the 4th wall to tell the audience that they were experiencing "technical difficulties", then took a 3 minute break, and when they came back Jasmine asked "Is it safe?" and some random audience member made the biggest laugh, which made the actors break character in laughter.

We sat 3rd row of the balcony and we were far away but we didn't care. Show was not good.

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time

It's so refreshing to see inventive new theater pieces on Broadway. We have a bad habit of seeing only musicals (my fault, my profession) We took Jaime to see it since If/Then was SUCH a bust. It's based on a novel (I have read the first page and it's pretty much identical to what was put on the stage so I will be wanting to read it) A young man with Autism starts the show holding a dog that has been killed with a "garden fork" sticking straight up, much like this photo. Very shocking way to start a play. The play is all about how he interacts with people around him and his attempt to solve the mystery of who killed the dog Wellington. 

The play uses video screens and projections (such a trend right now) to show how bright lights or loud noises affect Christopher. Everyone in the cast was superb. The lighting designer will get nominated for a tony for sure! This play was AMAZING! When Christopher was going door to door, the lighting was etched out on the floor to show where each house's plot started and where it also ended. 

 After seeing the play, I felt like it was a way to see into the eyes of someone who is autistic. Granted, I'll never know for sure what it's like, but even the simplest things like getting a hug or changing your clothes were labored.

 I bought tickets the day before for the 3rd to last row in the mezzanine. While we could've sat closer, the show was somewhat big so sitting that far back was fine. We definitely thought that sitting under the mezzanine would have been a bad idea.

If/ Then

God this was AWFUL! I don't think I've ever spent more time during a show looking at the playbill to see how far the end was. This was a rare time where the second act was better than the first....and part of that could have been because it was shorter. Aaron and myself took Jaime and at intermission we were RAGGING on the show. Pretty much, Idina Menzel's character makes choices and has fate HAPPEN to her, and depending on which direction she goes, not only determines how HER life is changed but also the lives of others. In one story line, her friend was bi sexual. In the second life story, he was gay....so her choices affect his sexuality?! Makes no sense. 

 Nothing about the story was compelling to me. I can't even believe that people LIKE this show?! Anthony Rapp was SO fucking annoying. I hated the music, the lyrics....what did I like about it?! The set....the mirrored ceiling which I assume was supposed to be a metaphor for Liz/Beth's life choices. In one life, she had a great job, but no love life, while in the other life, she had an amazing love with children but didn't have work. How stupid that she can't have both!

 We had great seats (row G house left) and for once I didn't give a shit if we were sitting super close or far away. I honestly wanted it to be over. I didn't feel love connections between people on stage, and the story line dipped in places and took turns that were more than just a little off track....they derailed. Aaron did say that the 11 o'clock number was worth it to see the show, but I'm less forgiving. The show should be good all the way through.

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.