Christmas in NYC: Happy/Crazy/Crowded/Angry Time

Christmas time in NYC is both my favorite and most loathed time of
the year.  It's hard not to love all the things that pop up in the city only during this time of year - outdoor christmas shopping booths that take over Bryant Park and Union Square like tent cities full of people tempting you to spend all your money, ice skating, Santa Con, decorations and of course the giant ass Christmas tree - every year I say I want to go see these things and every year I get mad at the crazy crowds that surround them.  But I think it's New Yorker tradition to celebrate the holidays by complaining as much as you can about tourists taking over the streets... Christmas just wouldn't be the same without all the anger.

Life during this time of year just seems to be on permanent fast-forward.  My biggest problem is that in the midst of all of the craziness this time of year is also filled with a whole bunch of awesome broadway charity concerts and broadway shows that either open only for this time of year or stay open to bring in some cash from the Christmas crowd and then schedule their closing date for early January right after the rush is over.  Of course I want to see all of them!  So if you're asking yourself right now, "what's her point?" Basically I'm just ranting to let you guys know that my life is super busy right now but I'm seeing lots of great theater and will try to keep you updated as often as I can.  (I know I still haven't posted my Assassins review but it's coming!!) Expect a big string of reviews after Christmas when things die down!

Now for those of you who are interested in catching the shows that will be closing soon here's a list:

Closing Sunday 12/16:

Murder Ballad - Seeing this tonight, I'll update everyone on how it is! It's by Jonathon Larson (the writer of Rent) so I had to make sure to see it.

The Anarchist -  Really wanted to see Patti Lupone in this but it looks like I probably won't have time.  For anyone with student IDs, the woman at the box office told me they are selling student rush tickets (1 per ID) on the day of the show.

Closing Sunday 12/30:

A Christmas Story - This looks intriguing, I love the movie but the show could ruin it. They have a general rush (2 per person) when the box office opens, so that could be a cheap way to check it out.

A Civil War Christmas - This is New York Theatre Workshop's Christmas show and I've heard great things about it. Hopefully I have time to check it out. NYTW has a bunch of discount deals including student rush that you can check out here

Bring It On The Musical - I already saw this and was hesitant but actually really enjoyed it. It was funny and some of the songs were pretty catchy. I'll post a full review soon. Anyway they have a general rush (2 per person) so I highly recommend you check it out if you can!

Closing Sunday 1/6:

Elf - This show seems to come back every year during Christmas and has no discounts so unless you're obsessed with the movie, I'd say skip it.

Grace - This limited run is Paul Rudd's Broadway debut.  I'm planning on trying to see it, unfortunately there are no discounts but it may be worth buying tickets to see Paul Rudd live.

Chaplin - A Broadway musical about a silent movie actor doesn't sound like the most exciting piece of theater to me but I'm going to try to reserve my judgement and see it before it closes. It has a general rush (2 per person).

War Horse - Good thing I wrote this blog post because it reminded me that I really want to see this play before it closes!  It has student rush (1 per person) and LincTix deals.

Assassins Benefit Concert Reading TONIGHT!

I'm beyond excited that tonight I'll be seeing Roundabout Theatre's one-night-only benefit concert reading of Assassins!!!  I've always wanted to see this show and now the original cast (including my favorite Neil Patrick Harris) is coming back for one night.

I'll admit I spent way way too much money on these tickets, but hey if I don't spend money on something like this that only comes along once in a lifetime then there's no point in saving it, right?

The original cast that will return for tonight's show includes:

Michael Cerveris (John Wilkes Booth)
Becky Ann Baker (Sara Jane Moore)
James Barbour (Leon Czolgosz)
Mario Cantone (Samuel Byck)
Mary Catherine Garrison (Lynette “Squeaky” Fromme)
Alexander Gemignani (John Hinckley)
Neil Patrick Harris (Balladeer/Lee Harvey Oswald)
Marc Kudisch (Proprietor)
Jeffrey Kuhn (Giuseppe Zangara)
Denis O’Hare (Charles Guiteau)

Stay tuned for my review of the event tomorrow!

"George & Martha: Sad Sad Sad" - Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe?

This week I had my first encounter with the well-known play "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe," and what an encounter it was.  Not sure what to expect, but knowing the show is a classic that I must see, I got last minute tickets to the show after work.  The show was one of the most suspenseful and intense plays I've seen.  Throughout the three-hour play the audience is in a constant state of discomfort as the honest truth of the relationship between the characters is revealed and an anxious feeling in the pit of your stomach telling you something bigger is coming grows and grows as the tension builds.  You can't help but feel emotionally drained at the end of the play.  

Not to say that the play is void of humor, on the contrary, mixed in with the brutal verbal battle and heart ache is a lot of hilarious moments.  The playwright, Edward Albee, has really created something unique by telling the story of a drunken night of marital discord by combining tragedy, comedy and creepy uneasiness.

To me strong emotions are the backbone of any good piece of theater and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe" definitely provides more than enough.

Tracy Letts as George, Amy Morton as Martha and Madison Dirks as Nick

Tracy Letts, as the lead male role George is completely amazing.  Mr. Letts' expertise at alternating between vicious, loud and aggressive to an old husband who seems to have endless funny one liners to being a battered victim to being a calm and in control mental manipulator is mesmerizing to watch.  George is the leader of the tension you feel throughout the play and it is he who at the end seems to have been the master of the night all along.

Amy Morton, as the lead female role Martha gives a talented and intriguing performance as well.  Throughout the play you can't decide if she is a bitch that you should hate or a wounded woman that you should feel sorry for.  Ms. Morton does a great job at subtly revealing her internal grief from a life she wanted but never had amid her merciless  and aggressive outbursts.

In the midst of all of the attacks and pain there is a weird feeling of a dependent and deep love that despite everything thrives between George and Martha.

Carrie Coon as Honey

Madison Dirks as Nick and Carrie Coon as Honey round out the strong cast of the show as the audience of George and Martha's battle.  Each is less memorable than Letts or Morton but still gives a strong performance as their more subdued characters.  I particularly loved Coon's portrayal of the drunken Honey, especially her interpretive dance!

"Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe" was without a doubt money well spent.  I now see why it is so popular and think it is a show all theater lovers should try to see at least once.  The revival by Steppenwolf Theatre Company now playing at the Booth Theater on West 45th street is scheduled to close on February 24.  The theater was almost packed when I saw it on a Thursday so I would try to get tickets sooner rather than later if you want to catch it before it closes.

If you have a current student ID the show has student rush tickets available for $37 on a first-come, first-serve basis.

I'm back

I know it's been a while since I've updated this blog.  The last few months have been very busy to say the least.  To give a little update I'm now a Hoboken resident.  I know I know... ewww New Jersey.  But it's clean, has a lot to do and is only a 15 minute Path ride from the city so I'm enjoying myself.  That is it was only a 15 minute Path ride from the city, Sandy did a good job of destroying the Hoboken station and shutting it down for the last month or so but hopefully it will be up and running again soon!

Anyway, I'm back and ready to dedicate time to make this blog a valuable and fun place for people to come for Broadway information, show reviews (from me of course), updates on openings/closings and advice for cheap tickets and discounts.

Please feel free to leave comments along the way on any of my posts, let me know if there is a certain topic you want to hear about, if you agree/disagree with my reviews or if you just have a random comment.  I want this blog to be fun.  I know there is no shortage of Broadway show reviews from all of the major newspapers so I want this to be a different perspective.  Broadway from the view of a 24 year old theater lover, on a budget, trying to make it in the city.

The Newsies on Broadway!!

I haven't been this excited to see a show since Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal went back to Rent in 2007!  As a dedicated Newsies fan who has watched the movie more times than I can ever count this is a dream come true!  I have to confess that I still own and watch my VHS version of the movie that I got about 15 years ago, it's been eaten by the VCR many times and if you stop it in the middle it won't start again, but I just don't have the heart to throw it out lol.

The Newsies started previews in The Nederlander Theater (same theater Rent was in for 12 years) on Thursday March 15.  I bought tickets on Friday the 16th and was surprised to see that every Friday and Saturday for the 3 month run had already sold out (except a few single seats)!  So I quickly bought the best seats I could find for the Sunday April 15 show.

Lucky for anyone who hasn't gotten tickets yet the show announced today that they will ALREADY be extending the 3 month engagement by over 2 months!  It will now run until August 19.  I would recommend you buy tickets ASAP to make sure you get them, although  I'm predicting it's going to be another Anything Goes and extend its run multiple times, but you never know for sure.

Newsies lottery on preview opening night

If you're feeling lucky, The Newsies also has a lottery for $30 that's pulled 2 hours before each performance.  As someone who buys almost all my tickets through lotteries and rushes I was hoping the Newsies' lottery would at least be empty for the first few weeks so that I have a chance of winning.... but the gigantic crowd on Thursday (first preview) totally squashed that idea.  I'm still planning on trying as often as I can but I'm glad I bought tickets to make sure I don't miss this!

Stay tuned for my review of the show on April 15, hopefully it lives up to the movie and blows me away!  In the mean time enjoy the clip below of my favorite Newsies song... this will have to hold me over for the next couple weeks.

"Without a hurt the heart is hollow" - The Fantasticks

One of my favorite things about working in midtown Manhattan is anytime I have a broadway craving after work I can walk a few blocks to the theaters and usually always find last minute tickets to something.  Yesterday when I got this craving I decided to finally check out the off-broadway show, The Fantasticks. I'm a little bit ashamed that it took me this long to go see the world's longest running musical, but unfortunately the big lights of the broadway theaters surrounding the small Snapple Theater tend to superficially outshine it most days.  However, that's definitely all it is, is a superficial outshine.  The Fantasticks originally opened at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village in May 1960, a revival of the show opened at the Snapple Theater Center in June 2008.

The poetic beginning to the show sets the mood perfectly:

Let's go back beyond the smart of you 

Back to the special childlike part of you 

Back where your dreams are fancy free...

I absolutely loved The Fantasticks! The show doesn't depend on big spectacle through large cast dance numbers, special effects and scenery.  It's a small cast, on a small simple set, telling a genuine story full of romance, humor and real life lessons that leave you thinking about the show long after you've left.  Seeing The Fantasticks was like going back in time... I didn't feel like I was seeing the typical 2012 NYC theater production, it felt more like a traveling classic play that sucks in the audience and consumes them simply by having a good story, poetic script, music and quality actors to deliver the whole thing with passion.

I have to say that I was impressed by the entire cast, however my favorite of the night (and probably every other girl's in the audience) was Edward Watts as the narrator and heartthrob bandit El Gallo.  He has one of those old fashioned strong broadway voices that I can't resist.

Edward Watts as El Gallo

Also starring in the show was Aaron Carter, I guess trying to grow up and try new things after his teeny bobber days.  I was never a fan of Aaron Carter, but I went into the show with an open mind.  I was not blown away but I thought he did a good job.  I find that most of the time when celebrities are brought into any broadway show they lack that "bring you to the edge of your seat" voice that in my opinion is the best part of seeing a show. But if Aaron Carter will bring people to the show who otherwise would never have seen it I'm all for it.

Juliette Trafton as Luisa & Aaron Carter as Matt

If you're a theater fan I would recommend The Fantasticks as a MUST SEE!  If you're a tourist who is looking to see a lavish production as a treat on your vacation this is probably not for you.  I'll leave you with the ending poem that delivers the central theme to the show, that pain must be felt before real love can ever be, it has been in my head ever since:

There is a curious paradox that no one can explain. 

Who understands the secret of the reaping of the grain? 

Who understands why Spring is born out of Winter's laboring pain? 

Or why we all must die a bit before we grow again. 

I do not know the answer. 

I merely know it's true. 

I hurt them for that reason and myself a little bit too.