All tagged Hamilton

Film Review – Does In the Heights Hit the Heights?

When audiences sat down in their seats at Broadway’s Richard Rodgers Theatre in the spring of 2008, many were not quite ready for the electrically-charged piece of musical theatre they were about to witness. The then relatively unknown team of Lin-Manuel Miranda (music and lyrics) and Quiara Alegria Hudes (book) delivered several jolts of adrenaline into the arm of the American musical, infusing the more traditional form of this theatrical storytelling with the contemporary sounds of hip-hop and rap, as well as crafting a bilingual score (English and Spanish) of poignancy and potency. Director Thomas Kail staged the musical with a palpable urgency and an emotional thrust that propelled the show through its climax, and choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler provided movement that seemed to defy gravity and lift the show off the stage floor and into the ether. The musical I am referring to is of course In the Heights which has made its transition from the stage to screen some thirteen-years since it’s Broadway berth, under the direction of Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians).

Broadway Musical Mash-Ups: Combining Two Shows Into One

To start, this article has no intention of being serious. I was just sitting in my car musing about how you could take two Broadway shows and splice them together into one evening of entertainment. This would certainly cut back on my ticket expenditures and double the amount of Broadway musical viewing I can afford each year. So, strap on your sense of humor, get in the mood for corny ridiculousness, and see how I mashed-up Broadway musicals currently running (or set to open) on the Great White Way. 

President's Day – Broadway Musicals that Featured Presidents

Today is President’s Day, an occasion where we as a nation celebrate our Commanders-in-Chief. There is a Pulitzer Prize-winning musical that followed the fictional presidential campaign of the Wintergreen/Throttlebottom ticket, running (and winning) on the platform that “Love Is Sweeping the Country”. On this patriotic day, here is a look at a handful of Broadway musicals that included US Presidents amongst its cast of characters, living up to that Gershwin classic Of Thee I Sing.

Broadway Musical Humor: Ten Broadway Hits That Look Ridiculous on Paper

Spring is close, but not close enough, so we find ourselves getting cabin fever and our cranky meters are dialed up to high. A little levity seems to be what the doctor has ordered, so I thought it might be fun to muse what certain hit musicals would look like on paper (having a little fun with boiling them down to their barest components). This is merely for fun and I hope no one will take offense. In fact, I’m hoping you’ll share some of your own ideas here.  

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