Hey there, one person who reads this blog. How are you?
So recently, Neil Patrick Harris hosted the 2011 Tony Awards. I love the Tonys for many reasons, the primary one being that it turns me on to so many great new shows. I've previously expressed my love for Legally Blonde the Musical, in which Laura Bell Bundy takes Elle to a new level (such a shame that MTV exploited it and turned it into a sinking ship), but now I want to showcase some of my other recent addictions.
The first show is In the Heights from the 2010 Tony's, winning several awards including Best Musical. The best things about this show are 1) the director, star, and writer are all the same guy (Lin-Manuel Miranda). WOW 2) The music is fresh and is a total departure from what you would expect to hear on Broadway with its Latin vibe 3) The choreography is different too, mixing classic Broadway styles with club dancing and Latin dance. The plot is basically about a struggling town in NYC called Washington Heights. It doesn't necessarily have a happy ending but the plot is resolved and the songs are great. Not many Broadway shows that embrace minority cultures get off the ground, and this is truly the first of its kind on the great White Way (always wondered if that was a racial reference). Both Corbin Bleu (that guy with the 'fro from Disney Channel and High School Musical) and Jordin Sparks (American Idol winner) have played the lead characters at points in their careers. In the Original Broadway Cast is Robin de Jesus, who I personally ADORE from his work in the La Cage aux Folles 2010 revival and the movie Camp (I definitely recommend it, has eerie similarities to Camp Rock, but its rated "R").
In the video, check the amazing applause Lin-Manuel gets. I love how he goes right from his director hat with Whoopi to being a performer. Love that idea.
Show #2 is Anything Goes. This madcap comedy (well, it seems that way from what I read) takes from one of my favorite eras, especially clothing wise. It's not ultra-conservative, but it is still so glamorous and not a bit trashy. If I could be a costume designer, I would want to design for a show like this. The clip I saw from the Tony awards caught my eye for a couple reasons: First of all, it's one of the "cleaner" shows that were up on the stage. Good old fashioned fun with no twists of AIDS or pregnancy or crime, just a little bit of mob boss humor, but nothing extreme. Secondly, Sutton Foster demanded attention as the lead of Reno Sweeney in this particular titular number. This talented young lady also played Princess Fiona in Shrek the Musical's original Broadway Cast, and picked up her first Tony as Millie Dillmount in Thoroughly Modern Millie (her second Tony being for Anything Goes). This role was also portrayed by greats such as Patti LuPone, so I think Sutton Foster filled in the big shoes very well. Finally, one thing that was paramount in my liking of this show is the dancing. There is some magnetic quality about tap dancing, and this number used it to the max. On the note of costuming, I really appreciated how the shoes were made for the outfit and then tap equipment was fitted to them, instead of their gorgeous outfits being ruined by bulky black, conventional tap shows. And kudos to the dancers for tapping in whatever stilettos they were given to work with. The general feel of this show is just extremely fun and also appears to be pretty feasible at the high school level.
Third stop on the musical theatre train is in honor of Mr. Potter-- Daniel Radcliffe, that is. I already have a soft spot for How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying because my brother was in the Jr. version in middle school, but Mr. Radcliffe just made me fall in love all over again. I was thoroughly impressed by his American accent, especially since I was so used to associating that face with a little Oliver Twist-esque voice. I was also really astounded by his singing and dancing capabilities. I guess it always pleases me to see when an actor pegged as a "one role man" turns out to have a lot more in the treasure chest than anyone suspected. Watch out, Harry's not done with us yet :)
Oh and PS he's really short, I had no idea.
This next entry is not actually a show, but is what I considered to be one of the better musical number of the evening. Neil Patrick Harris designed a gut busting opening number for his host-man-ship of the Tony Awards this past year, "Boradway's Not Just For Gays Anymore". I was ROFL'ing for sure. Despite how hilarious it was, it was actually a sad reality as to how depserate Broadway is for tickets to be sold. With teens toting cameras into shows and posting it scene by scene on Youtube (rumor has it Spring Awakening is easy to find, I refuse of course), Broadway is dying quickly. Producers of shows know its only smart to expect a two year run if even that. The truth of the matter is, nothing beats live performance; but when those brilliant minds behind 3D TVs and Pay-Per-View and Hulu and yes-- Glee get together, they can slowly convince America and the world that you can get that experience at home in Iowa for cheaper, faster, and better. You can wear your PJs and eat messy food and still hear someone with a great voice (or so your TV has led you to believe). It's truly heartbreaking. If I were closer, I would be spending all of my babysitting money to get one glimpse of any of these shows. It's horrifying to think that there are people who LIVE IN NEW YORK and still won't get up off their butts to go witness magic much greater than anything you can watch from your couch.
Neil Patrick Harris does a "rap-up" at the end of the awards (written during the last few minutes of the show by the ever talented Lin-Manuel Miranda), and the last line sums it all up perfectly:
"And theater thrives because we live to give it, so to speak
This ain’t reality TV, this is eight shows a week
Every chorus member that you saw tonight tappin’
Had to make miracles happen
For a chance to see you clappin’
And applauding in the audience. What’s next? Who knows?
Anything goes. Now go see a mother f***in' Broadway show."
The opening number and rap are both below:
This next entry is a little smaller: I just wanted to give a shout out to the crazy, insane, awesome people who designed the costumes for Priscilla Queen of the Desert. It's a jukebox musical from Australia where most of the characters are lip-syncing drag queens, but the costumes catapult it from flamboyant musical to transsexual FANTASY. For the Tony's, even though they weren't nominated in the major category, they invited the ORGINAL Weathergirl Martha Wash to sing "It's Raining Men" while the drag queens paraded around. The costumes just blew it out of the water.WOW
Okay, my FINAL entry is probably the hardest to explain as to why I am hopelessly in love. Written by the creators of South Park in unison with the creator of Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon is probably the raunchiest, most offensive piece of musical theatre to hit Broadway in a while. But I'm apparently not the only one who didn't mind. Picking up the Best Musical trophy at five different Theatre ceremonies (including the Tony's and the Drama Desk awards), this play parodies Mormonism as it follows two young missionaries on their journey to war-torn Uganda, where they attempt to convert the downtrodden people. Filled with amazing talent, this show just pops with a flavor of teenage hijinks and unadulterated fun. Both of the lead actors are fairly new to the Broadway arena, which is exciting as they can only grow and succeed from here. It never paints the Mormons as bad people, just hopelessly naive as they dive headlong into a faith that they may have never stopped to actually consider themselves. I have listened to the entire soundtrack of this musical, and my personal favorite is still this one I saw as part of the Tony performance (although "Hasa Diga Ebowai" comes in close second), called "I Believe". I will be singing this a LOT.
Well, I think that's enough for tonight. I apologize if reading this post becomes a multi-day endeavor.
I love everyone who read this through <3
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