First things first: I hate New York City. Absolutely hate it. It's only redeeming quality, in my opinion, is the Theatre available (and the American Girl store).
When I found out that I would be stuck in NYC for five days, my mission became this: spend as much of this time as possible inside a theatre, and to avoid the subway at all costs.
Mission accomplished!
Between Monday and Thursday, I fit in five shows. Wednesday was a two show day for me, and both shows I saw on my own (this was my first time seeing shows by myself; I'd gone with a friend before, but never totally on my own).
Monday night's show was Mamma Mia. I hadn't seen it for years, but the soundtrack is one of my favourites (I'm neutral when it comes to the movie - don't love it, don't hate it). It was a last minute decision to see this, but we got decent seats. The seats were about the only decent thing about it.
I'm not sure if they were having microphone issues, or just had a terrible team of sound people, but the audio was all over the place. The live singing (aside from Donna, who was overwhelmingly loud) was often overshadowed by the instrumental and the multiple voice recordings. I could hear the backing music more than I could hear the singers. From what I could hear, everyone sounded fine vocally (aside from Sophie's terrible enunciation during Honey Honey), but the major problem was just that - I couldn't hear them!. It was still entertaining, but some definite adjustments need to be made to this show for it to last much longer. I find it very hard to believe that this show has lasted as long as it has with this weak a performance.
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon, which I saw the Tuesday Evening performance of, is a much touted new production, winner of 9 Tony awards. It focuses on two Mormon missionaries, competent Elder Price and overweight, clumsy Elder Cunningham, on their mission trip to Uganda. It’s a satire musical comedy; it makes fun of just about every topic it touches on, including Religion, Ugandan Warlords, Poverty, and Aids. It’s definitely not a show for the politically correct or religiously inclined; the lyrics are disgusting, the visuals are almost as bad, but all in all, The Book of Mormon is hysterically funny show that is well worth seeing.
The Phantom of the Opera
Wednesday was my marathon show day. I spent most of my waking time inside a theatre. The Phantom of the Opera is one of my most favourite shows, and this matinee marked my fourth time seeing it, and first on Broadway. I’ve never seen a Phantom so brilliant as Hugh Panaro; he made the Phantom into a demonic, sarcastic character that I adored (which sounds incredibly disturbing, but I swear I'm not going to go fall in love with a real-life violent psychopath). Canadian Samantha Hill played a child-like and naive Christine; while not as strong as other Christines I have seen, and not portraying Christine as I normally prefer, she did a wonderful job all in all. This production, as opposed to the London Phantom, appears to have been kept fresher with dialogue changes and new blocking additions (which, oddly enough, I noticed when I saw Phantom again in London a month after seeing it on Broadway). The one thing I don't like about Broadway Phantom is it's apparent lack of Stage Door - I would dearly loved to have met Samantha Hill, but after circling around the theatre four times, no Stage Door was to be found, and I gave up and headed to grab dinner before my next show.
Wicked
Wednesday Evening was dedicated to Wicked, another of my favourite show. This performance marked my sixth time seeing it (having seen it in Toronto four times, and once on Broadway). To say the show was brilliant would be an understatement. I had previously seen some of the most well known performers in this show, but I had never been very emotionally attached to the show. Well, I can’t say that anymore. Tiffany Haas (standby) and Wilemijn Verkaik’s portrayals of G(a)linda and Elphaba, two unlikely friends, brought me to tears by the end (this is the first time I’ve ever cried during live theatre, mind). Haas was funny when required, but morphed into the more serious, contemplative Glinda as the show progressed. Verkaik captured Elphaba’s nature better than I’ve ever seen it done before (I wasn’t crazy about her tone, but English is not her first language so I’ll forgive her. Fun Fact: Broadway marks the third language in which Verkaik has played Elphaba!). I also have to mention Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose; finally, a Nessa with some dimension! The major highlight for me, however, was... wait for it... I met G(a)linda! Ok, I met Tiffany Haas, and she wasn’t in costume or anything, but still, that’s one thing I can cross off my bucket list. I was also lucky enough to meet F. Michael Haynie (Boq) and Catherine Charlebois as well. All in all, Wednesday was a very good day!
Matilda
The final show of the trip was Matilda. It hadn’t been playing for long at the time, and was still in previews when I saw it. Matilda was hugely successful in London, winning multiple Oliviers (including Best Actress for the four girls who alternated as Matilda). It’s profiled as a children’s show, but 17-year-old me found it vastly enjoyable (a highlight for me being Bertie Carvel aka Ms Truchbull’s Ribbon routine). The lyrics, when sung by children, were a little hard to understand, and our Matilda (Milly Shapiro) wasn’t a particularly adept actress. However, the visual effects, stunning set, and entertaining adult cast members (special mention to Lesli Margherita as Mrs Wormwood; I saw her as Inez in Zorro the Musical years ago, and she’s just wondeful) made the show a worthwhile visit.
When I found out that I would be stuck in NYC for five days, my mission became this: spend as much of this time as possible inside a theatre, and to avoid the subway at all costs.
Mission accomplished!
Between Monday and Thursday, I fit in five shows. Wednesday was a two show day for me, and both shows I saw on my own (this was my first time seeing shows by myself; I'd gone with a friend before, but never totally on my own).
Mamma Mia
Monday night's show was Mamma Mia. I hadn't seen it for years, but the soundtrack is one of my favourites (I'm neutral when it comes to the movie - don't love it, don't hate it). It was a last minute decision to see this, but we got decent seats. The seats were about the only decent thing about it.I'm not sure if they were having microphone issues, or just had a terrible team of sound people, but the audio was all over the place. The live singing (aside from Donna, who was overwhelmingly loud) was often overshadowed by the instrumental and the multiple voice recordings. I could hear the backing music more than I could hear the singers. From what I could hear, everyone sounded fine vocally (aside from Sophie's terrible enunciation during Honey Honey), but the major problem was just that - I couldn't hear them!. It was still entertaining, but some definite adjustments need to be made to this show for it to last much longer. I find it very hard to believe that this show has lasted as long as it has with this weak a performance.
The Book of Mormon
The Book of Mormon, which I saw the Tuesday Evening performance of, is a much touted new production, winner of 9 Tony awards. It focuses on two Mormon missionaries, competent Elder Price and overweight, clumsy Elder Cunningham, on their mission trip to Uganda. It’s a satire musical comedy; it makes fun of just about every topic it touches on, including Religion, Ugandan Warlords, Poverty, and Aids. It’s definitely not a show for the politically correct or religiously inclined; the lyrics are disgusting, the visuals are almost as bad, but all in all, The Book of Mormon is hysterically funny show that is well worth seeing.The Phantom of the Opera
Wednesday was my marathon show day. I spent most of my waking time inside a theatre. The Phantom of the Opera is one of my most favourite shows, and this matinee marked my fourth time seeing it, and first on Broadway. I’ve never seen a Phantom so brilliant as Hugh Panaro; he made the Phantom into a demonic, sarcastic character that I adored (which sounds incredibly disturbing, but I swear I'm not going to go fall in love with a real-life violent psychopath). Canadian Samantha Hill played a child-like and naive Christine; while not as strong as other Christines I have seen, and not portraying Christine as I normally prefer, she did a wonderful job all in all. This production, as opposed to the London Phantom, appears to have been kept fresher with dialogue changes and new blocking additions (which, oddly enough, I noticed when I saw Phantom again in London a month after seeing it on Broadway). The one thing I don't like about Broadway Phantom is it's apparent lack of Stage Door - I would dearly loved to have met Samantha Hill, but after circling around the theatre four times, no Stage Door was to be found, and I gave up and headed to grab dinner before my next show. 
Wednesday Evening was dedicated to Wicked, another of my favourite show. This performance marked my sixth time seeing it (having seen it in Toronto four times, and once on Broadway). To say the show was brilliant would be an understatement. I had previously seen some of the most well known performers in this show, but I had never been very emotionally attached to the show. Well, I can’t say that anymore. Tiffany Haas (standby) and Wilemijn Verkaik’s portrayals of G(a)linda and Elphaba, two unlikely friends, brought me to tears by the end (this is the first time I’ve ever cried during live theatre, mind). Haas was funny when required, but morphed into the more serious, contemplative Glinda as the show progressed. Verkaik captured Elphaba’s nature better than I’ve ever seen it done before (I wasn’t crazy about her tone, but English is not her first language so I’ll forgive her. Fun Fact: Broadway marks the third language in which Verkaik has played Elphaba!). I also have to mention Catherine Charlebois as Nessarose; finally, a Nessa with some dimension! The major highlight for me, however, was... wait for it... I met G(a)linda! Ok, I met Tiffany Haas, and she wasn’t in costume or anything, but still, that’s one thing I can cross off my bucket list. I was also lucky enough to meet F. Michael Haynie (Boq) and Catherine Charlebois as well. All in all, Wednesday was a very good day!
The final show of the trip was Matilda. It hadn’t been playing for long at the time, and was still in previews when I saw it. Matilda was hugely successful in London, winning multiple Oliviers (including Best Actress for the four girls who alternated as Matilda). It’s profiled as a children’s show, but 17-year-old me found it vastly enjoyable (a highlight for me being Bertie Carvel aka Ms Truchbull’s Ribbon routine). The lyrics, when sung by children, were a little hard to understand, and our Matilda (Milly Shapiro) wasn’t a particularly adept actress. However, the visual effects, stunning set, and entertaining adult cast members (special mention to Lesli Margherita as Mrs Wormwood; I saw her as Inez in Zorro the Musical years ago, and she’s just wondeful) made the show a worthwhile visit.
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