Hamilton

Saw Hamilton last weekend.  Loved it.   Seeing the show definitely made the soundtrack more interesting.    It absolutely lives up to the hype.   It has references to both pop culture rap and musicals within the show.  I especially enjoy the leitmotifs employed for each character.   Even the part doubling has a good set of meanings to it.   If you have the opportunity, please go see it.

Disney's Aladdin the Musical

Las Saturday, I got to see Disney's Aladdin musical on tour at Playhouse Square.   That was truly fun and I loved it more than the movie.    Abu is gone, and is replaced by Aladdin's 3 friends.  Iago is still there, but he's now a human.  The show was expanded by Alan Menkin originally for non-professional companies (high schools).   But it was so excellent that it was made part of the Disney stage family.

The magic carpet is an amazing illusion.  Also, the Genie steals the show.  4th wall breaking, pop culture referencing, and massively fun.   He's worth the price of the ticket.   Go see this show if you have the chance.

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee

On Sunday I saw the Cleveland Playhouse Production of the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.   I really enjoyed it a ton!   I left the theater with a sappy grin on my face.  I'd watch it again!   This production featured amazing choreography and the magnificent talents of Ali Stroker.  She was the first Broadway actress to perform on Broadway in a wheelchair.   Her Olive is bright, and inquisitive.   You just have to admire her.  Go see this show!

Rent

Last Saturday, I saw Rent for the first time live since the 90s.  I own the DVD of the closing performance on Broadway and I have seen the movie version.  I know the lyrics by heart.   Seeing it live does heighten the emotional impact.   I found myself crying from "Without You" in the second act on.   

Interesting tidbit, near the end of act one, the police sing a jarring line "I'm dreaming of a white Christmas."  This time the word right was inserted after white.   Good nod to current events.

Love Never Dies

Yesterday, we saw the sequel to the Phantom of the Opera, Love Never Dies.  I didn't have high expectations for another Andrew Lloyd Weber musical, but I was pleasantly surprised. 

The show takes place 10 years after the events in the Paris Opera House.   The Phantom has fled to Coney Island and sponsors the side shows there.  Christine and Raoul have a strained marriage, raising her son in considerable debt.   They come to New York to have Christine perform and earn some money (setup by Oscar Hammerstein), but the Phantom outbids Hammerstein and becomes the sponsoring patron.   Love triangles and plot twists.  It's interesting.  I do like the musical revisiting of themes from the original show.

I also must caution my readers that this is another example of a poor relationship.   Stalking and threats are never acceptable in a healthy relationship.   

The hope is that this touring show will lead to a run on Broadway.  I liked it more than I thought I would.

Get On Your Feet

Last Saturday we went to see Get On Your Feet, the story of Gloria and Emilio Estefan.  That was really good and much more emotional than I was expecting.   I cried during act two.  It was amazing to see Cuban music come to our country in this inspiring American Immigrant story. 

Waitress

Yesterday, Steve and I saw Waitress at Playhouse Square.  It was truly a feminist musical and a lot of fun.   We laughed a lot.   Jenna is a waitress married to abusive husband.  She works at Joe's Diner and makes pies.  She finds out early on that she's pregnant and knowingly makes some bad decisions.  And you can't fault her for them!  She rescues herself!

This show was quite clever with their marketing.  They scented the lobby with apple pie and sold tiny pies in jars.   Brilliant!  Quite effective.  We ended up buying pie later at dinner, but it's certainly a good idea.  Go see it!

The Hunchback of Notre Dame

We saw the Hunchback of Notre Dame at Great Lakes Theater this past Thursday.   I hadn't seen the movie until the week before.  I really enjoyed this production.   They made the ending closer to the book.   It was nicely un-Disney-like to remove the happy ending.   The music was lovely, lots of Latin.   Also, it is implied that the talking gargoyles may be part of Quasimodo's mind rather than the magical dancing characters seen in the animated film.   This is playing until November 4th, and I highly recommend it.

City of Angels

Got back from City of Angels at the Beck Center.  Interesting musical, the last of all our subscriptions for the season.   The story alternates between the detective story from an author (Stine) and the author's life as he writes his book into a screen play.  He has a micromanaging producer and this leads to conflict and metatheater situations.    Not my favorite genre, but a decent show.

An American in Paris

I wanted to like An American in Paris.  But I didn't.   I haven't seen the movie, so I came in to it with a fresh set of eyes.   I love George Gershwin's music.   This show was a great disappointment to me.

There are three Americans in this show, and I only liked the female, Ms. Davenport, the secondary love interest.   The two guys were former soldiers who decided to live in Paris after World War 2, as an artist and musician.  They fall in love with a French girl, who is poorly developed as a character but a fantastic ballet dancer.  She is already in a relationship with another guy, so we have this love triangle going on from the beginning.

I found the Americans' inability to say no to the pursuit of a relationship a real turnoff.   The staging, costumes, ballet, and projections are all wonderful.  The plot and relationships leave something to be desired.   If I was to produce this show, I'd make it a straight out ballet and cut all of the dialogue.

Something Rotten

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of seeing Something Rotten.  We saw it on the final weekend, which is very unusual for us, but we had scheduling conflicts that couldn't be moved.   This is a really fun, original story for any fan of the Broadway musical genre.   Basically, two Brothers in during the Renaissance are writers in direct competition with William Shakespeare (who is portrayed as the David Bowie of his day).  With the gleanings of a soothsayer, they decide to write a musical, centuries before the genre is supposed its debut.  

The fifth number, A Musical,  garners multiple ovations in the middle of the first act.  Check out the link to see all the allusions to Broadway shows.  

The music is classic 1930's Broadway with lots of incongruous, campy, slapstick humor.  If it comes to your city, go see it!

Freaky Friday the Musical

I have seen all three versions of the Freaky Friday movie franchise.   Although the characters were different in all versions, the premise is the same: a mother and daughter switch bodies and experience one another's lives.   I was quite happy with the musical at Cleveland Playhouse last night.  This show has not been to Broadway yet, but I imagine it will once it earns a following.   CPH has even extended its run by an entire week.  Go see it!

The King and I

I saw the King and I this past Sunday at Playhouse Square.   Gorgeous costumes and nice use of the set.  The cast was actually mostly Asians.   All excellent in execution.  I guess I'm just not a Rogers and Hammerstein fan.  I loved Cinderella because of the new book and modernity injected into it.  This was classic.   And I definitely prefer newer shows with more up tempo plots.   I didn't hate it.  It was just not my style.

Bring it On the Musical

We went to the Beck Center to see Bring it On the Musical this past Sunday.  I cringed when it started because all of the sportsball.   I was afraid of it being vapid.   Honestly, it's a wonderful musical with music and lyrics by Lin Manuel Miranda of Hamilton fame.   It bears only a superficial resemblance to the movie in uniform colors and title.  With only one plot point I find objectionable, I give it an B+.  

Into the Woods

I had the pleasure of seeing Into the Woods yesterday as performed by Fiasco Theater on tour.   Let me first say, that I adore the work of Stephen Sondheim.  Since I first saw the show back in college, I have been a big fan.  My high school did it the following year.  And of course I needed to own the original production on video starring Bernadette Peters.   This is the first time I've seen the show on tour by a professional company, and what they did was amazing!  

They managed to take a huge show with a large cast and orchestra, and scale it down to only about a dozen or so actors on stage.  It was accomplished by having all actors play various musical instruments and quite a few actors play multiple parts.  I know you think it's crazy, but it really works to showcase the brilliance of Sondheim's lyrics and music.  The singer is not fighting against a massive orchestra and the sheer genius of the words are laid bare.   I wasn't sure if I was going to be into it, but it totally worked!

Also, the set was minimal with everyday props such as hats and cloaks to distinguish the characters from on another.  This is a picture of Rapunzel and her cleverly knitted hair cap.  The actress was also Little Red Riding Hood.   It even worked when characters died.  You saw the actors really transform from one part to another.  The simplicity of the set and props made you fully get drawn in by the story and music.   It was magical.

Notice the bright pink hats.  These gentlemen portrayed Cinderella's stepsisters as well as the Princes.   Also, the one guy was Milky White.  This show features the best acting of a humanoid cow I have ever seen!  The cow was probably my favorite character.    Please go see this!   It's in town until the end of this month.

Disney's The Little Mermaid

We got back from a seafood dinner after seeing the Little Mermaid at the Beck Center.  Ok, I admit that dinner was slightly morbid.  But they were singing about delicious fish!

Seriously though, I had low expectations for the show and was happily surprised.   It wasn't all kiddie stuff, which was nice.  They brought back the concept of Ursula as Ariel's aunt (which was cut from the movie) and of course the ending was changed for staging purposes.   The actress who plays Ariel gets to sing her thoughts in the second act though her character is mute.  Also, watching her expression as the fish is served at dinner is hilarious!

Finding Neverland

Hi world!  It's been a while.  Been really busy.  Last week we went to see Finding Neverland.   That was neat.   It's about the inspirations behind J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan.   Of course, some parts of the story were modified to make them more palatable to a Broadway audience, but that's to be expected.  
It was a bit of a slow starter for me.  Very early 1900s Victorian-ish beginnings.  Things got much better when Captain Hook appeared on stage.   Definitely worth seeing.

Ruthless

 Today we saw Ruthless at the Beck Center.  This is my type of dark, musical comedy.   It's about a young girl who really wants the starring roll in the school musical.  Really, really wants it.   And the chaos that ensues.   Go see it!

Fun Home

Yesterday afternoon, we got to see Fun Home, the Tony Award winning musical.  It started its national tour this past week in Cleveland.   The story is a true one, Alison Bechdel's coming of age tale, from a young 10 year old growing up in a funeral home, to a 17 year old college student at Oberlin, to her 43 year old self as a lesbian comic writer.

The story is non-linear.  We jump around in time through Alison's past.   We learn the biggest part of the story is her father's suicide as a closeted gay man.   Then it's all about watching the events unfold.

I really loved this musical.  The way that it's put together is so intricate.  It just works.   It's 90 minutes without an intermission.   Please bring tissues.  It's worth it.

Billy Elliot the Musical

Just got back from Billy Elliot at the Beck Center.   Wonderful show, amazing talent.  The young man playing the title character shows such phenomenal dance skills.   A ton of poise!

This musical is based a true story about a kid with talent for ballet, but whose family is embroiled in the Irish coal miner strike of the 1980s.   His dad wanted him to take boxing lessons, but young Billy accidently finds himself in ballet class, and extrodinary at it.  I really think you should go see it.

Also, thus ends my theater reviews for the season.   All the tickets have been used and thoroughly enjoyed.   Starting in the fall, I will have 21 shows to write about.   I don't even know if people read my blog, but that's the schedule.   Later!