How does one evolve into a musical theatre enthusiast and a person who lives for documenting Broadway musicals and writing about them? I'm sure that, for each of us, there is a different story, but I also bet there are a lot of similarities that link our journeys. I thought it would be fun to share how I got to be where I am in my obsession with musicals and I am hopeful you will comment below are share your stories as well.
Last week, while I was enjoying some time off, I decided to take a little sojourn to Pennsylvania. I gathered a few old theatre friends from my college days to accompany me, musical theatre folk who love to blast a showtune in the car and sing along. Knowing that they would expect me to be the DJ for this outing, I assembled a playlist full of the perfect songs for this kind of thing. I find the best songs for a road trip fall into one of three categories...
Do you need a jolt of Broadway musical energy, something that crackles and pops while simultaneously gliding on joyous melody? Do you pine for a musical score that summons the old-style musical, evoking nostalgia for song and dance? Do you long for a show that is both fresh and familiar, the antithesis of the “sturm und drang” of most contemporary musicals? If so, then do I have a treat to recommend to you. The Original Cast Recording of the new Broadway musical Bandstand is guaranteed to deliver all of what I have suggested and more, making the case for a healthy run for this “;ittle musical that could.”
So… the 71st Annual Tony Awards have come and gone and I have to say, I generally found it to be a tedious evening. Nothing used to get me more excited than tuning in each year to the Tony Awards and being blown away by some amazing performances. Somewhere around the time when the awards ceremony left the intimacy of a Broadway theatre and instead began being held at larger venues such as Radio Music Hall did it lose something for me. Ah, yes, I suppose I am showing my age by saying this, but there was a time when the awards actually felt intimate. For reasons of space and economy, it was decided somewhere along the way that barns were the better place to celebrate theatre. This still remains an unfortunate shift in my book as I long for the days when musicals like Big River, Grand Hotel, Me and My Girl, The Secret Garden, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, City of Angels, Once on this Island, and Jelly’s Last Jam charmed me on a stage that didn’t dwarf their efforts. The Broadway of today looks very different than the one I remember of the 80s and early 90s, so I suppose nostalgia can cloud one’s judgment, but this Tony Awards in particular left me feeling very disconnected.
