Spring Awakening

Investing in Broadway and an exciting and risky business.  I am hoping my latest investment will attract a new audience to the theater and at the same time entertain existing ones.  I always look for something artistic, entertaining, and unique.  This show is about children who aren't heard.  Bringing the deaf actors from Deaf West Theater Company into the picture ads an a layer of emotion and depth that previously did not exist.

I hope I am correct.  Here are what others are saying on Opening Night:

New York Times

Associated Press

Washington Post

NBC New York

am New York

Talkin' Broadway

DC Theater Scene

Newsday

Hollywood Reporter

USA Today

New York Magazine

TheaterMania

Variety

Entertainment Weekly

New York Daily News

New York Post

Time Out New York

Huffington Post

BroadwayWorld

Out.com 

First Date

This the tale of two reviews.  First Date was amusing.  First Date was cute.  First Date was everything a delightful, off-Broadway show for $40 a ticket should be.   Trouble is, it's on Broadway.  Tickets are up there at $100/ticket for a mere 90 minutes if you're not savvy enough to find a discount.  While it's cute, it's not all-that.  

Don't get me wrong, I giggled and even laughed out loud a few times, but the material seemed amateurish.  The music was upbeat, but not very memorable.  Tourist-formulaic come to mind.  Funny; Short enough to hold their attention; Hip enough to be cool.  The acting was OK, but it just seemed like a good off-Broadway show.  

Zachary Levy was adorable and dreamy.  Krista Rodriguez was her cold-hearted SMASH self.  These are the characters they played.  This is who they always seem to play.  Kristoffer Cusick (Reggie) stole the show with his Bailout Song - repeatedly.

I left with a smile wondering if it will last and if the tourists will keep rolling in.  Probably so.  That Zachary Levy is adorable.  No way he's really single.

The Addams Family

In The Heights

A fresh, new musical chock-full of rhythm, heart, and Latin soul. Lin-Manuel Miranda conceived this musical in 2005 while still in college and worked dogged days and nights to bring his dream to the Broadway stage. Young, fresh talent is exactly what Broadway needs more of.

So what's different about this show? A whole lot and not so much at all is the answer. At it's core - it's a traditional musical in structure and content - Man has a dream, falls in love, struggles to overcome adversity, bittersweet triumph results and he gets the girl. There are two leading couples, one set of parents, one grandmother, a chorus of friends and neighbors, and a whole lot of dancing. So what's, different? It's 100% Latino. It takes place today on a corner in Washington Heights (hence the title). It's about modern immigrant struggles - non-stop and in-your-face. West Side Story may have been the first - but Lin-Manuel Miranda has brought a contemporary twist to the presentation that seems to draw in the adults as well as throngs of young kids.

The recipe for success: A dash of rap and a heaping spoonful of Latin rhythm and dance give this show a constant true-to- life feeling of Washington Heights. Everyone can relate to the little bodega on the corner and the larger than life figures that inhabit the neighborhood near the A-train at 181st Street. Add a pinch of cross-cultural (read, intra-Latino prejudice) family drama and a splash of economic hardship to the picture and you have a potent cocktail the audience consumes with delight.

Part of the success here is the audience's willingness to cheer the underdog, the new guy, a presentation of a new culture on stage - upbeat Latin flair layered into a traditional musical structure. Virtually a total cast of authentic and talented Latinos of all types dominate the stage from grandmother to kids. Of special note - Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia) and Eliseo Roman (Piragua Guy) - two characters who completely surprise and entertain. The elders on the stage, Priscilla Lopez (Camila) and Carlos Gomez (Kevin) bring the struggle of the "old ways" into the picture. Robin De Jesus (Sonny) brings a sketch of today's youth and a dash of comedy to the story. Christopher Jackson (Benny) and Karyn Rodriguez (Vanessa) draw you into the heat of their youthful attraction while Lin-Manuel Miranda (Usnavi) and Karyn Rodriguez (Vanessa) struggle to find their love for each other.

When this show transferred to Broadway this season - a few eyebrows were raised. It was not a sellout off-Broadway. Was the musical score too homogeneously Latin ? Could it make it in a big, mainstream theater? I, myself, didn't think it would last. But after seeing it, I find myself in the unenviable position of eating crow. In The Heights proves itself as a stunningly contemporary and powerful presentation with a fresh young cast who put a new Latin spin on the age old problems of life.

Spring Awakening

Brace yourselves - This one is gonna be a hit! Broadway finally has a new, edgy Rock n' Roll musical that will stick. Grammy award winning Duncan Sheik wrote all the music - a fact that many a theater-goer might even pick up on even without reading the Playbill. And let's not forget this story must have been a true shocker when written in 1891 by Frank Wedekind who is considered one of the founders of modern drama and a real pioneer of the concept of expressionism in the theatre.

The musical today so cleverly juxtaposes the Wedekind dialogue of teenage coming of age in the 1890's with Sheik's biting and angst filled Rock n' Roll lyrics. The resulting message is clear and ageless - kids through all ages have the same problems - - suicide, abuse, growing up gay, sex, abortion, not fitting in, and of course, parental influence. All that really changes is the calendar and the costume.

The actors in this production have a deep connection to the subject matter. Most all of them are actually between 16 and 21 and have grown up with this production over the past 6 years as it made its way to Broadway from the Atlantic Theater Company off-Broadway. The talent is raw, true, and natural. It's not a bunch of 30 year old actors on stage pretending to be kids. It makes all the difference. You feel for these kids and connect with their emotions.

For many of the actors, this is their Broadway debut. While there is a true lead actor and actress (Jonathan Groff as Melchoir and Lea Michele as Wendla) - it's the ensemble that makes this one pop! We get to see the boys belt out their talents right from the beginning in "The Bitch of Living" and the entire ensemble rock the house in "Totally Fucked". It would really be a treat to see John Gallagher, Jr. (Moritz) walk up on stage next July at Radio City Music Hall to collect his Tony for Best Supporting Actor in a Musical.

With an "open" stage and steps down to the first row in the audience the actors seem to flow right into your world on several occasions. There's also 4 rows of bleacher style seating on stage on each side. Be prepared if you sit there. The cast sits among you when they are not performing; they burst into song and jump to their feet and stand on the chairs when you least expect your neighbor to be doing so! The Band is also placed upstage and in a rare move joins the cast and takes a formal bow with the cast - emphasizing their importance to the show's delivery. Each of them also has an individual mention in the playbill. Just as the show is about juxtaposition - so must the lighting be. Kevin Adams, lighting designer, takes the stage from monologue to dialogue to solo and melancholy ballads to foot stomping rock and roll and back all over again flawlessly.

These kids earned the standing ovation they got... and then some! Run, don't walk.