So I've returned from another theater-focused visit to New York, albeit one somewhat constrained by my budget these days. As usual this time of year, the main reason for the trip was BC/EFA's Easter Bonnet Competition. But I managed to see three other shows while there, all Broadway and all discounted.
First up last was a matinee last Saturday of Rock of Ages. This was the utterly silly venture of the trip. I had 20 minutes to make a choice at TKTS and get to the theater, and strangely enough this one was on Charles Isherwood's short list of recommendations for the week. So I grabbed a ticket.
It's a jukebox musical based on the big-hair bands of the 80s with a loose plot about a Sunset Strip club being threatened by big nasty German real estate developers, with a cheesy little love story about a wannabe rocker who sweeps the floors and an innocent milk-fed midwestern girl who shows up and gets a job as a waitress. The crowd on a hot Saturday afternoon looked like one you'd find at a monster truck rally, reinforced by vendors selling beer in the aisles. And they handed you a trinket with your Playbill: a little vinyl toy shaped like a Bic lighter with an LED that lit up with a squeeze, so the audience could contribute that much more to the arena rock atmosphere. With all that, it was a fun couple of hours. Probably a whole more fun if you were a fan of the music when it first came out: Styx, Starship, REO Speedwagon, Foreigner, Poison, Whitesnake, Asia, Journey, etc. And one of the guitarists in the house band has legitimate credentials: Joel Hoekstra plays in Night Ranger.
The show that completely knocked me for a loop was Sunday's matinee: Next to Normal. I had invited a friend to join me at the Easter Bonnet, and she offered to buy tickets to a musical in return. I chose this one. It's a mostly-rock musical about a family in crisis. I don't want to spoil it for anyone who might see it, but you can find a synopsis of the plot in its Wikipedia entry. But the general theme is the effect of mental illness on a family. The mother, Diana, has suffered from bipolar disorder (AKA manic depression) and hallucinations for years and it has taken its toll on the family. Her illness comes to a crisis in the course of the show's story. Her husband Dan and their children Gabe and Natalie all deal with the impact in their own ways, told almost entirely in song - there's very little spoken dialogue. It's extremely engaging and emotionally moving. This is the only musical that has ever brought me to tears.
The cast is simply stunning. Diana is played by Alice Ripley, who not only sings her heart out but portrays the mania, depression, and total confusion of the character beautifully. J. Robert Spencer, one of the original cast members of Jersey Boys, plays Dan with all the pain and loss of a loving spouse caught in this situation. The older teen, Gabe, is performed well by Aaron Tveit, previously of Wicked and Hairspray. And Jennifer Damiano, who debuted on Broadway at the age of 15 in Spring Awakening, is better than ever as Natalie.
This musical has been under development for something like 11 years since composer Tom Kitt and lyricist/librettist Brian Yorkey first started working on it in a workshop. Staged readings were done as long ago as 2002 (with Norbert Leo Butz in the role of Dan). It had an off-Broadway run last year which received mixed reviews (with Brian D'Arcy James as Dan), directed by Michael Greif, who also directed the original productions of Rent and Grey Gardens. They took the show to the Washington, D.C., area for some significant rework, with D'Arcy James leaving to take on the title role in Shrek. The revised version is what moved up to Broadway in April. From all reports it is much improved. All I can say is it is astounding, original, and one of the best things I've seen on stage.
(Tom Kitt, incidentally, did the music for another show I really liked, the musical adaptation of High Fidelity. I still listen to the cast recording of that one regularly. Unfortunately, a petulant Ben Brantley killed it off shortly after it opened.)
The third show was a straight play, a very black comedy called God of Carnage. A single act of 90 minutes, it tells the story of two upper middle class couples brought together when one couple's son hits the son of the other couple with a stick and knocks out a couple of teeth. What starts out as a polite discussion of consequences turns into a farce with all four of the adults declaring war, a bout ot projectile vomiting, and general mayhem. It featured an all-star cast: Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, and James Gandolfini. It was a hoot, but not up to the level of the previous show.
As for the Easter Bonnet, it was the usual massive collection of talent and raised $3.4 million for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. The opening production number ended with a surprise appearance by Liza Minnelli. Very sad - her voice is totally shot and she could barely croak out New York, New York. Nonetheless, she milked the crowd for what seemed like an endless time, and it was clearly her kind of audience. Once again I got seats immediately behind the judges, and what a coincidence it was who they were. Immediately in front of me and my friend were Brian D'Arcy James, Alice Ripley, Laura Benanti (who I'd seen in the Gypsy revival last fall), and Marsha Mason. Immediately in front of them were the four cast members of God of Carnage! The eight of them were the judges.
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