Hey guys! Today I’m going to be talking about all of the Broadway and Touring shows that I’ve seen over the years! Fair warning: The first one that I saw (Wicked) was three years ago now, so some of the reviews will be fairly short and vague.
Wicked (Touring)- August 27th, 2014
This was the summer that I really started to get into Broadway, so as soon as I heard that Wicked was going to be coming to my city, I asked for tickets for my 17th birthday. Kara Lindsay (!!!!!) was on as Glinda, and Laurel Harris was on as Elphaba. Since this was my first Broadway/Touring show, I had no idea what to expect. I had listened to the cast recording a few times, and that was it. I knew that it was one of the biggest Broadway shows of all time, so it had to be good, right? Let’s just say, I was blown away. I was mesmerized. I literally only remember crying from happiness during Defying Gravity because I was so thankful that I was able to see this magical show live, crying during “For Good” and then crying again when Elphaba came through that trap door. That’s it. I was so submerged in the world of Oz, and I am forever thankful that this was my first Broadway/Touring experience. The set and the costumes completely blew me away, I had never seen something so grand before.
The Book of Mormon (Touring)- March 19th, 2015
By this point in my on-going Broadway obsession, whatever show was touring in my city, I wanted to go. I dragged my whole family along to see the Book of Mormon, and it was a hit! Everybody loved it, including me. From the second that I listened to the cast recording, You and Me (But Mostly Me) gave me chills. For some reason, I loved that song more than any other song I had ever heard. Maybe it was the harmonies, or the power of Andrew Rannells’ voice, I don’t know. I still can’t get enough of it. Again, I don’t remember much because I was so awe-struck by the magic of Broadway, but a few moments have stayed with me for the past year and a half. I remember laughing until I was crying and I couldn’t breathe on numerous occasions. That show is gut-splitting hilarious. At times vulgar and offensive, but so, so funny. I cried during You and Me. My parents looked at me like I was crazy. Like, “This mormon dude is singing about how his partner is basically useless and he’s the best thing since sliced bread, and our daughter is sitting here crying.”. But I didn’t care. This was MY SONG AND I WAS HEARING IT BEING SUNG LIVE. It was such a special moment for me. During Tomorrow is a Latter Day, two of the mormons were singing and hugged each other and one of the must of hit the other guy’s mic because for a split second he was ten times louder than everyone else and you can just see them laughing at the back of the stage, it was really funny. For some strange reason, I love it when little things like that go wrong during a show. It makes me remember that these are such insanely talented people, but things still go wrong for them too.
Jersey Boys (Touring)- May 26th, 2015
This was my Father’s Day gift to my Dad, since he loved The Book of Mormon so much. He actually ended up enjoying the show more than I did! I hesitate to say that I didn’t like it- it was a well-produced and enjoyable show, but I didn’t enjoy it as much as Wicked or The Book of Mormon. I didn’t know anything about the Four Seasons and we were in the rear mezzanine so all the characters looked the same, so I was very confused throughout the show. Matthew Dailey, Keith Hines, Hayden Milanes and Drew Seeley were the Jersey Boys, and they were all immensely talented. Again (this is the last sucky show discussion I promise), I don’t remember much. The music was catchy and the set was really neat (very Newsies-esque, which is an easy point in my books because NEWSIES). There really wasn’t anything wrong with the show, it just simply wasn’t my cup of tea.
Matilda (Broadway)- August 19th, 2015
Matilda has been one of my top three favourite shows for years, so as soon as I found out I was going to New York, I knew that I wanted Matilda to be my first Broadway show. I was not disappointed! Mattea Conforti was on as Matilda that night, and I could not imagine a better girl to play her! Out of all the Matildas I’ve seen clips or heard recordings of, she was one of the best. When I picture Matilda, she fits all the qualifications- she’s tiny (like, really tiny. She’s four feet tall), spunky and is a great triple threat. She had only been in the show for about a month at the time, so she was comfortable and knew what she was doing onstage, but she was still natural. Mattea’s Matilda reminded me of Oona Laurence’s- one of my favourite Matildas- she wasn’t mad about her life like Mimi Ryder or sad and dark like Milly Shapiro, the only word I can think of to use to describe her is real. She was angry with her dad when he tricked the Russians, annoyed at the stupidity of her mom and destroyed when Mr. Wormwood ripped her book. She absolutely hated the Trunchbull- her “Big, fat bully” was incredible, the audience must have been stunned by the force in her voice because the theatre grew completely silent. Her stories were well done, at one point when she imitated the Trunchbull, her hair got stuck in her bobby pins and was sticking straight out, but her and Karen Aldridge (Mrs. Phelps) didn’t miss a beat. It was really cute, and they both handled it well. For me, Mattea’s highlights were “Naughty ” (especially the karate section, it really showcased her dance background) and her acting in the scenes surrounding “My House”. She was full of so many emotions- confused as to why Ms. Honey would just accept this as her life, angry that Ms. Honey wouldn’t do anything to change her story (yes, I meant to do that) and upset that Ms. Honey lives like this. It really shows how much Matilda cares for Ms. Honey. Even though Matilda has this horrible life, she’s devastated that Ms. Honey’s life is spent in a shed. The best was once she realized that she had been telling Ms. Honey’s life, she couldn’t believe it, she was freaking out and then once she realized it was Ms. Trunchbull who killed the acrobat, Mattea was full on screaming at Alison Luff (Ms. Honey).
Christopher Sieber as Ms. Trunchbull was incredible. I believe that he is the best Trunchbull. He had the audience in the palm of his hand from the moment he stepped on stage. I think the thing that makes him so great is all the little things he does, and his comedic timing is impeccable. When Ms. Honey says she got carried away at the end of Bruce, his “It’s okay Jenny, we all get carried away sometimes. Even me.” had the audience roaring. Another great moment of his was once the class Chokey was revealed and the Trunchbull says “I’ve been busy”, but hands down Christopher’s best moment was “The Smell of Rebellion”. The audience was laughing so much that I actually missed a big chunk of the song. I think what makes Christopher’s Trunchbull so hilarious is how rock-solid cold she is on the inside and how masculine she looks, but her actions are feminine. It’s as if she has to remind herself to do something girly once in a while to remind people that she is a girl. The little twirls or poses she does do not look natural at all, and are hilarious looking coming from somebody so masculine and dead looking. It’s hard to explain, but it had me cracking up every time Christopher was on stage.
Perhaps the most heartwarming part of the whole show was Ms. Honey and Matilda’s relationship. It’s obvious that Alison Luff and Mattea Conforti have a close relationship offstage. There were so many little moments throughout the show between them that made me smile, especially in My House. Ms. Honey and Matilda have a special moment during My House when Ms. Honey sings “By this lamp I can read, and I am set free”, and this moment between Alison and Mattea absolutely melted my heart. They both looked at each other and shared the sweetest smile. I find that a lot of Alison’s Ms. Honey is built off of her love for Matilda (and all of the students, for that matter), which makes her so lovable and relatable. Jill Pace’s is largely built off of her abuse from Ms. Trunchbull and her terror of this woman, and Lauren Ward’s was a mixture of the two. Of course Alison’s Ms. Honey has some of the aftermath of the Truncuhbull’s abuse in her interpretation, but I find that once Matilda comes into the picture, a lot of it washes away. One scene of Alison Luff that really stood out for me that never usually does was Bruce. I’ve never really noticed Ms. Honey in this scene before, mainly because I’m watching the kids dancing, however this time Alison really drew my attention. For the first part of the song she was cowered over in the corner, so devastated that this was happening to Bruce, but knowing that there was nothing that she could do. However, once she realized that he was going to do it, she got the biggest smile on her face. I love it when Ms. Honey shows her love for all the kids, not just Matilda, and Alison Luff does just that, paying special attention to each of the kids at some point during the show.
I was so relieved (and excited) that I got to see Lesli Margherita, Matt Harrington and Karen Aldridge before they left. Let’s be real here, Lesli is amazing at every performance. I was simply too in awe of the fact that I was seeing my idol perform live, so I really don’t have anything to say other than she was fabulous. Her and Matt are probably my favourite Wormwood couple, they just work so well together and are hilarious, especially Matt. Clay Thomson never failed to crack a joke when he was on as Michael. There really isn’t much to say about his performance, because Michael is a fairly straight forward role. He was amazing. I love Clay. Grace Capeless had the audience in the palm of her hand as Lavender, everyone loved her. She always has so much energy in every scene and performance she’s in, which I think is crucial for Lavender. I was really happy that Heather Tepe was on as Tommy, I love it when she’s on as a child, especially a boy. I just think it adds an interesting twist to the children’s ensemble. She blends in so well with the kids, and makes a very believable boy.
Overall, I would say that the highlights of the show for me were the adorable (and fiercely talented) Mattea, the incredibly clever “School Song”, and the nostalgically beautiful “When I Grow Up”.
After the show I met Clay Thompson (whom I was too nervous and starstruck to ask for a picture because he was the first actor I had ever met at the stage door), Matt Harrington and Lesli Margherita. I was so nervous when I saw Lesli come out. I had brought her a pink pen in the shape of a dog and a note, and she actually took the time to stop and read it right there in front of me. I went to take a selfie with her but she saw that I was shaking too much to take it myself, so she got one of the people standing beside me to take it. She was so sweet, and it was one of the best moments of my life. Unfortunately they were the only three actors to come out the stage door (with the exception of a couple of ensemble members and Grace Capeless, who only came out to meet a friend waiting for her). Matilda was such an amazing show, and I am forever grateful that this was my first Broadway show.
Fun Home (Broadway)- August 20th, 2016
Because Fun Home had recently won the Tony for Best Musical and Circle in the Square is a small theatre, I decided to buy my tickets online beforehand. I expected to be able to get something in the middle of the theatre, but no- the first ticket option to come up was in the second row. Somehow I justified paying $200 for this ticket (I actually went to this show by myself) by convincing myself it was a High School Graduation/18th Birthday present to myself. It was so worth it, especially because the show was in the round. While being in such a small theatre and having people all around you makes the show feel intimate, being in the second row and being only steps away from the action makes it feel like you’re a part of the story. For such an emotionally draining show like Fun Home, I couldn’t imagine better staging for it. It makes the show feel so much more natural, because the actors are able to stand wherever and however they find fitting- they don’t need to worry about turning out to face the audience, because the audience is everywhere. I never found that I was missing out on something because the show was in the round. Even though there were times a certain actor’s back was facing me, it was never for a long period of time, and there was always somebody facing towards me, so I had someone to look at. It was also really interesting to watch the actor’s stage business when the action wasn’t on them. Because people can see on every side of them, they couldn’t hide anything, and no details could be overlooked. I even caught Beth Malone eating something out of one of those squeeze packs that little kids will eat apple sauce or something out of during one of Middle Alison’s scenes!
I was lucky enough to see nearly the entire original Broadway cast (Nicole Van Giessen was on for Judy Kuhn), although I would have been happy to see Gabriella Pizzolo on, just because I think she’s absolutely adorable. First off, Sydney Lucas. That girl is something special. From the moment she sang “Daddy daddy come here, I need you!” she had the audience in the palm of her hand. I actually got goosebumps when she came on stage. Her acting is so raw and natural, you can see that she just takes in every word that the people around her are saying, which is something that I’ve rarely seen in actors who are decades older than her. Sydney’s ability to portray a character handling such complex emotions so believable and real blows my mind. There were times when I would have to force myself to look at the other actors on stage, because I was in so in awe of Sydney’s acting and singing. I only remember bits and pieces of “Ring of Keys” because I was having a Ring of Keys moment seeing Sydney perform “Ring of Keys”. She blew my mind over and over again every time she stepped on stage. I will forever be grateful that I got to experience her live. Although I don’t know much about Alison Bechdel, Beth Malone embodied her so well. The way that she presented herself and her demeanour worked so well compared to Alison’s narration in the graphic novel. Beth’s ability to tear the audience’s hearts into shreds while staying true to the character and depicting Alison’s complicated opinion on her father’s death still amazes me. She could make the entire audience start to cry within seconds without saying anything too emotional or depicting a lot of emotion at all, something that I think is very important when playing a character like Alison. Like all of the actors in the company, she was very real. I could imagine seeing Beth Malone as Alison just walking down the street in Beach Creek. Emily Skeggs as Medium Al was adorable. Although I’m the same age (almost) as Medium Al is in the show, Emily made her so cute, like I just wanted to go up on the stage and give her a hug. Her awkwardness was so relatable and real, I could honestly see myself doing some of the same things that she did. “Changing My Major” has this effect of making the audience feel warm and fuzzy inside, Emily just portrays Al of having so much joy and excitement in that moment, it’s really heart warming. Emily portrays Al’s complicated relationship with Bruce very well, I’m sure that lots of people with similar relationships with their parents feel the same way, and can relate to Al and Bruce. Michael Cerveris as Bruce Bechdel was incredible- it was so interesting to watch him portray such a complex character. Bruce was so emotionally damaged and simply exhausted from pretending to be someone he wasn’t, and it definitely reflected on his relationship with his family. It was evident that he loved them, but he just didn’t know how to express that he cared. Michael’s acting was so raw, it was so interesting to watch. “Edges of the World” was intense. You could tell that Bruce was on the edge (sorry for another pun, bad timing, I know), you could just feel an eeriness that something bad was coming. It was almost a little uncomfortable to watch, but incredible. Nicole Van Giessen was on as Helen, I always love seeing understudies perform. She was incredible, especially considering that her first time performing as Helen had only been two days before. Nicole played Helen as tired- tired of trying to make her marriage work through all of her husband’s baggage, and tired from raising three kids. On the other hand, she was very loving. She clearly loved her children, and she loved Bruce even more. “Days and Days” was heartbreaking and beautiful. Those are the only words that I could use to describe hearing that song live. I don’t have much to say about the rest of the cast, other than Roberta Colindrez’s comedic timing provided much needed comedic relief during the show, and Joel Perez’s different characters were all very unique. Of course, Zell Steele Morrow and Oscar Williams were adorable as always.
Unfortunately Sydney had to leave to pick her brother up from his show right afterwards so she couldn’t stage door, but everyone else did! I had brought some of the cast some maple candy (maple candy, Maple Avenue, get it?) which made Zell really excited and talkative. After he had signed everyone else’s Playbills he came back and talked to me for a few minutes, he’s so adorable! Afterwards I was talking with his mom and found out that his sister Madeline had been in the original cast of Matilda which was interesting. Zell had decided he wanted to save the rest of his candy for Madeline but I had extra so I gave it to him to give her. His eyes opened so widely and he thanked me multiple times, he’s such an adorable boy! Next out was Oscar, I gave him the candy and we had a good conversation about the maple syrup in Vermont (where he’s from). Emily Skeggs was the sweetest person ever, and we were wearing the same bracelet so that was cool. Beth Malone was really friendly, she took the time to really talk to every person that was there. Nicole walked out of the door and said “I’m sorry if you were disappointed that Judy wasn’t here tonight!” and everyone applauded for her. She was almost relieved that we didn’t boo her or something. She was so sweet and excited that she had gone on, it was great to talk to her about her experience of being the understudy. Michael Cerveris was SO humble. Like, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone so humble. He was so nice, and he was the only one that I didn’t feel nervous meeting. He was so friendly and welcoming to everyone there.
Something Rotten (Broadway)- August 21st, 2015
This show is right up there with the Book of Mormon comedy-wise, although it was a lot more appropriate and less insulting. The majority of my comments about this show are going to be related to how funny it was, because nearly the whole show was comedic. That’s Something Rotten’s thing, is that it’s consistently funny throughout practically the whole show. I went in only knowing that the show was about tw2o writers who attempt to write the first musical ever, which was a nice change because all of the other shows I had seen up to that point I knew inside and out. The plot was very easy to follow, and the songs drew me in from the moment the first note of “Welcome to the Renaissance” was played. I enjoyed the show more than my family because I understood (nearly) all of the musical references, but they were laughing just as much as I was. I was fortunate enough to see the entire original cast, who were all spectacular.
Brian D’Arcy James stole the show, everything about his performance was spectacular- his singing was beautiful, and his acting had the audience laughing constantly. I was very excited to see John Cariani, who had written Almost, Maine which was the first big show that I did in high school. His comedic timing was impeccable. Nearly every time he opened his mouth, it was followed by laughter, especially his one liners. Brian and John worked so well together, Brian’s larger than life characterization and John’s more natural (I’m using that very loosely, because he was fairly animated as well, but nothing compared to Brian D’Arcy James) were very interesting to watch on stage. Heidi Blickenstaff. That woman’s voice. I can’t. Her voice is so powerful, which goes perfectly with her feminist, “I can do anything you can do”, “I’m not going to sit back like all the other women and let my man do everything for me” character. She was also hilarious, but in a different way than Brian and John. She was so fierce and strong, which for some odd reason the audience found comedic. I think it was because it’s not very often that women in the Renaissance era wanted to one-up their husbands and go get their boys some meet (“Right Hand Man” reference anyone?). I really enjoyed how in one scene she would be telling Brian D’Arcy James off and yelling at him for not letting her help out when he needs it, but then the next scene she would be the sweet, obedient wife that you would find in the Renaissance era. It was a very interesting contrast. The role of William Shakespeare was MADE for Christian Borle. Like, I know that William Shakespeare was most likely not like how he’s written in the show, but for some reason, it works so well. Christian was hilarious (I’ve used that word so much that you’re probably sick of it by now, but it’s the only way to sum up how I feel about this show), but he was also so believable, like I could totally picture William Shakespeare having a breakdown and then cracking a pun two seconds later when he realized somebody had seen it (or only half seen it lol).
“A Musical” was by far the highlight of the show for me, and I think it’s safe to say that everyone who was in the St. James theatre that night would agree with me. You guys, I have not hear applause after a song like that in my entire life. Once the song ended, the audience clapped and cheered for a solid minute (maybe even a minute and a half). No joke. I even saw a few of the actors crack a bit of a smile in their final pose, and some of them even looked a little bit uncomfortable, like “When is this going to end? How long are we going to have to stand like this for?”, but every single person in that cast was enjoying it. It was almost magical, I’ve never experienced anything like that before, I would even go as far as comparing it to a Hamilton applause. For the entire rest of the trip, my family and friends didn’t stop singing it, it was an instant hit for us.
The costumes were beautifully crafted. Even the ones that Brian D’Arcy James and John Cariani wore that were supposed to look like old rags were nice, but the ensemble’s were by far the best. They were all very extravagant and aesthetically pleasing, especially the ones for “A Musical”. There were so many colours and sparkles, I still have dreams about them.
The one thing that I would complain about my experience at Something Rotten would be the seating. First off, the rows are so close together that it’s nearly impossible to walk by someone, even when they stand up to let you by. I couldn’t even cross my legs, the seat in front of me was so close. Second, the seats are right in front of each other. In most theatres the your seat will most likely be in between the two in front of you, but not in the St. James theatre. I could barely see a big portion of the stage because of the person in front of me, which unfortunately really tainted the experience for me. Aside from that though, Something Rotten was a very entertaining and funny show.
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time (Broadway)- August 22nd, 2015
This book is one of my favourites, so I was very excited to see it adapted to the stage. I was not disappointed! For me, there were three things about the show that really stood out: the acting, the set/lighting and THE PUPPY. Alex Sharp’s acting was incredible. Breathtaking. Unbelievable (but completely believable). Compelling. I really can’t think of enough good words to use to describe his acting. I was awestruck by him the entire show. It blows my mind that he was able to portray such a complicated character with so much emotion while still keeping the innocence of a boy with Autism. After the show a man actually looked at me and said “Wow, that man showed us all what having Autism is really like”, and I couldn’t agree with him more. Ian Barford and Enid Graham made me both hate their characters and love their characters during the show, their intensity kept the audience on the edge of their seats. The entire cast was incredibly strong and all played major roles in the show, even if they didn’t have a lot to say.
The set and lighting were the most compelling thing that I have ever witnessed. Honestly, I would pay hundreds of dollars just to watch the lighting and the set be used, with no actors on stage. Whether it was in the London metro system or inside Christopher’s head, it was easy to tell exactly where the scene was taking place, without many (or any) set changes at all. The lighting was captivating and so, so unique, it really transported me to another world. The choreography was very abstract, but again, you always knew what was going on and what was being portrayed.
Lastly, the puppy. The dog who played Sandy was this little tiny golden retriever who couldn’t be older than a few months, and I actually had tears in my eyes because of how completely adorable this puppy was. I literally wanted to run on stage in the middle of the scene and just hug it. It was the cutest thing ever. Just thinking about it still makes me want to scream, and it’s been nearly a year since I’ve seen the show. Completely adorable.
Lion King (Touring)- July 19th, 2016
This was the first Broadway/Touring show that I had seen in nearly a year, so you bet that I was excited to see the Lion King. I knew about the movie (obviously) and had seen the “Circle of Life” 360 video on YouTube, but other than that, I didn’t know a whole lot about the show.
I was sitting in the orchestra, so you can imagine how surprised I was when I looked to my right during the first song and saw an enormous elephant sauntering down the aisle right beside me! Seeing all of the animals walking so closely was magical. I was fully aware that they were simply people underneath the costumes, but they were so lifelike that it was hard to believe. Young Simba was played by Julian Rivera-Summerville and Young Nala was played by Imani Pullum, and they were a power team. Julian was an incredible actor, and he carried the entire first act on his shoulders incredibly well. Although he’s so small, he always had a big presence on stage and he was really entertaining. After he (attempts) to roar for the first time there was a young kid (no older than three) who roared when it was dead silent. This resulted in the entire theatre erupting in laughter, but Julian was completely unfazed, it was very professional for someone his age. During bows after the entire company had bowed together and the curtain was starting to come down he Dabbed, which I found hilarious. It’s nice to be reminded that these kids are still kids. Young Simba and Young Nala’s scenes were always high energy- it almost seemed like they were trying to outdo each other. They were a lot of fun to watch onstage together. Patrick R. Brown as Scar had the audience in the palm of his hands the entire show. I had a really love-hate relationship with him. He was HILARIOUS, but at the same time, he was Scar- you have no choice but to hate him. His comedic timing reminded me a lot of Christopher Sieber’s in Matilda. Aaron Nelson as Simba really carried the show well during the second act- his singing was incredible, and his dancing was very nimble and cat like. He portrayed the confusion, frustration and loneliness of Simba really well. Nia Holloway as Nala was strong. That’s the best word that I can describe her as, which is perfect for Nala.
The costumes were by far the highlight of the show for me- they were beautiful, they were colourful, they were frightening, but more than anything, they were life-like. Although they weren’t mascot costumes or anything, they were believable. It was obvious what animal was what, but it was also obvious that there were people underneath them, which I thought was really interesting. Also, the harmonies. My goodness. I got chills multiple times just from hearing some of the harmonies. They are beautiful. The show was touching, hilarious (especially when Zazu started singing “Let It Go” to Scar. I don’t think I have ever heard an audience laugh that much) and very, very nostalgic.
And there you have it, a little (okay, really, really long) discussion of all of the Broadway/Touring shows that I’ve seen! If you’ve stuck through all the way until now (props to you), let me know what shows you’ve seen in the comments!
sarahvandale 