...Broadway Shows...

The other night Alison and I saw Wicked in Boston, it was the 3rd time I have seen Wicked, and it was the 3rd time I saw it in Boston. I think I don't mind seeing it again and again because each time I do a new song strikes me as a real moment in the show - and that could be driven primarily by the characters and the way the actors and actresses sing each song. Not sure exactly, but the first time I saw it, it was obviously 'Defying Gravity' that stood out - given it probably is one of the most powerful songs from the last 10 years of Broadway, but I'll get to that later.

This time around it was 'As Long As You're Mine', no idea why. I listen to it now and I am not particularly moved by it, but I think it was just a moment where there wasn't a lot of action on the stage, and being in the 2nd row it was exciting to see 2 people act on stage, close up. It is a good song, but I can 100% guarantee that it won't be my favorite song.

This is not the point of why I am writing this. I am writing this because it struck me on my ride home from work tonight that out of all of the males in the universe that I am either friends with, or even know on any level, I can't think of anyone who knows, or cares more, about Broadway than me. That isn't a statement about how much I know in regards to Broadway, I know a minuscule amount - and I do care about the shows and the actors, and plays, etc...but not as much as someone who really cares - like Alison, for example.

Here is, in chronological order, the 10 most important events for me in regards to seeing Broadway style shows:

1. Early 80's - My mom was in a show - Sweet Charity, maybe, which was performed by the local theater group my family was a part of. And I remember specifically being very confused by her makeup, the new person she had become, and I remember not liking it. It wasn't her, it was her character, but it wasn't my Mom, and it struck me as odd. I was intrigued by this whole process as she continued to be in other plays, including Hannah & Her Sisters, which I was older for and understood she was acting, but still didn't like that she had to cry and be upset in the play. This whole process - me understanding what acting was, and watching people be a part of it, honestly scared me a little bit. I can't explain it, but I was intrigued, from afar.

2. Mid 80's - Seeing Annie somewhere in Boston with my parents. I don't remember a single thing about the show itself, or even really caring about the show after it was over. But what I do remember is that everything felt so big, so exciting and so energetic. People had tickets and entered a theater like a movie theatre, but they were buzzing - it wasn't like a movie, people were dressed nicer and the stairs were steeper and it was just large. I remember being impressed, which was a better feeling than being intimidated, like I explained above.

3. 1991 - I saw Cats in London with my parents, and without question it was literally one of the most depressing and disappointing things I have ever seen. Cats was all the rage, and I was definitely supposed to love this show, and I think it was literally impossible to love this show. I remember thinking, "This is Broadway, and people love Broadway, this is awful, how can this all make sense?" Now I am older, I still am baffled by the fact that Cats was a big deal, it was fairly horrible from what I can tell.

4. 1994 - I saw Tommy in Boston with Mike Baird, Rebecca Alukonis and Melissa St. Croix, and it was completely moving. There are a few things that stand out from this. First, I missed Drew Bledsoe's 45 completions in 70 attempts performance v. the Vikings during this show, but I recall weighing that against the show and recognizing that it wasn't a big deal to me. I was not upset.

I also remember from the opening with "Sparks", the whole show was LOUD! It was energetic, it was phenomenal. This was also my first major exposure to The Who, so I don't know which was more important, but I left this thinking, "I could see more of this kind of thing". I didn't, for a long, long time, actually - but at the same time, the experience of being at a musical and being invested was thrilling to me.

5. 1997 - Riverdance came to Boston and while this isn't a Broadway show, necessarily, at the time with the limited exposure I had to the theater, this counted. It was important to me because I felt like I was regressing towards my mean - I was seeing enough on the positive and negative side of things, and I was starting to formulate an opinion. I think that Riverdance was critical to not only my theater appreciation, but also in my honing of my bull&hit gauge. And this show was 100% BS. Flatley later admitted he pumped in sound, b/c, after all, how could the actors make all that noise organically, he asked? Good question - that's why we were all intrigued, Oz... I feel venom towards this guy, and I had no desire to go to a show for a long time after this.

6. 2004 - My theater life changed significantly when I met Alison and was able to have access to shows, geographically, b/c Alison's parents lived so close to the city. I hadn't yet seen a show on Broadway, and the notion was exciting to me, even though the idea of seeing a show wasn't that exciting for the show's sake. I had listened to the Tommy soundtrack until the disc was cracked, literally. But beyond that, I wasn't driven to go anywhere to see a show.

In 2004 Alison took me to see Avenue Q on Broadway, and it worked. I was hooked. Pretty much instantly. The quality of a Broadway show, from the performers to the sets, to the theaters, all of it hooked me. But seeing Avenue Q is one thing, that's easy, its funny and light, but what about some real, hard-hitting Broadway. Would that work on me? Yes, it would.

7. 2007 - I was lucky enough to see a first run of Mary Poppins on Broadway, whose stage, set, scenery, singing and spectacle officially turned me into someone who 100% loved Broadway. I love it. I love the music and the way the songs drag you from one segment to the other. I love how you never know what the next scene will "sound" like - you don't get that out of movies. Unless you're talking about revolutionary and groundbreaking film making, you have to live through the feeling, no matter what.

Don't get me wrong, I love movies, obviously, but Mary Poppins was the first time I can remember being in a theater, and aside from Tommy's audio power, I felt in awe. I felt small, and I felt like I was watching something real happen in front of me - a coordination of a great deal of time & effort, and I appreciated it.

8. 2008 - Like any other person who had a friend or a relative, I had heard of Rent by 2008. The movie came out in 2006, and I knew a vague idea of the plot - these lazy screwball drugbags had AIDS and blamed the world for it - that's what I thought at least, and I'm not sure I'm too wrong about it now.

More literally, in the summer of '06 I was staying at a boutique hotel literally right next door to Rent, and at about 10.15 or so, I noticed that if I listened I could hear the sound of the show next door - the cheering, clapping and shouting. It pains me to know I had a free night in NYC and I was feet, within earshot, of the show and didn't see it. We all have regrets.

But I had steered clear of it - it was an intimidating thing at this point - a show everyone knew and loved, and if I really wanted to be embrace the Broadway community, I felt a great sense of pressure to know and love this show as well. In 2008 when the show closed, a decision was made to show the last performance in movie theaters, with some editing. I decided this was the right time to see it - on my home turf a movie theater a few miles down the road.

Up to this point, I think it's safe to say I hadn't been as moved by a collection of music for a relatively short span of time, with the only exceptions being Sgt. Pepper, Abbey Road, STP's Purple and Radiohead's OK Computer. The performance didn't have the original cast, and it just was on the screen, but I absolutely felt like I was there, and while I don't feel as strongly about it now as I did then, I could see how this really gripped an entire generation and moved people to love Rent. These songs are completely etched into my head at this point, and I know I'll listen to them for the rest of my life.

Since this film, I saw Rent live on stage in Boston and I saw a local production in Newton as well - I'm very much looking forward to seeing it in a rebirth in 20 or 30 years as well.

9. 2009 - If Rent gave license to the world to write a Broadway production that not only aimed for youth, but also for non-white youth, and aimed for an audience it wasn't going to attract in mid-town Manhattan on an 8x a week basis, In The Heights was a show that took firm grasp of that invitation and RSVP'd with force.

There are 4 to 6 songs in this that I consider masterpieces - perfect songs, but also amazing elements to a very rich story of friendship and meaning and place in time, importance in history. Thinking locally and effecting the people closest to you - these kinds of values are so magnificent and no show I have ever seen took such a stranglehold of your emotions like In The Heights has done for me. I saw it on Broadway with a good portion of the Original Cast, including the lead, who is the lifeblood of the show.

The finale song, actually the final 3, as well as the 2 songs leading to Intermission are powerful, emotional songs that tell such a complete story - totally remarkable. In the Heights is my favorite show I've ever seen - it'll be a movie someday and I hope people see it, but it's the kind of show that literally makes you want to be a better person and care more, with completely beautiful music.

10. 2010 - "You get everyone addicted to your coffee, and off you go," is a line from In The Heights - during one of the emotional finale songs, and it sort of sums up how I feel about Broadway and musicals at this point. I am not shutting the door on possibilities of good songs, and powerful stories. Next To Normal was a tremendous show, but it had a soft 2nd act, and I am sure I'll love Fela and Memphis when I see them, and that kind of looking forward is great, but I also look back.

Wicked opened the same year as Avenue Q, and while I don't regret seeing Avenue Q within it's first 12 months, I am pained by the fact that Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel were on stage for Wicked, and I didn't even come close to seeing it. It wasn't even on my radar. I don't have regret like this with anything else in my life. I cared about sports so early that I didn't miss anything I could logically see - but the powerhouse performances by IM and KC are something I can only see glimpses of on Youtube (which I can't stand) and in documentaries.

Seeing Wicked now is like watching the NFL with the replacement players - the real power and emotion and music comes from the original cast. That being said, I saw the performance the other night and it made me hopeful that not only is the musical alive and well, but it can work in Boston, and if the songs are right, it can work anywhere.

I am of the opinion that the performers in Manhattan's musical are the most talented people in the world in terms of music. I wish those people were the heroes in terms of talent. I can't stress enough - you need to find a way, the dime, the time, everything, to see a show you think you'll like in New York.

They put it all on the line 8 times a week and go out there, live, and sing to the best of their abilities which are great.

I don't know what it is about me, as a 33 year old Male, that makes me so interested and passionate about Broadway and what it has to offer, but I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world. I guess I sacrifice things, but I am not sure what? There is always room for entertainment in my life, and I am glad Broadway is taking up a large %.