Rants

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These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

Posted 02 November 2004

I went to New York during the Republican National Convention, ironically to take in some shows. I know, gay man, musical theatre, it's a cliché, but the current crop of Broadway shows really is great.

Except for the fact that my hotel was ridiculously expensive -- even by New York standards (the rate would be comical if the charge wasn't still on my credit card) -- it turns out that the convention was a great time for doing theatre. You see, all the delegates were busy with the convention, so they weren't going to the theatre. All the protesters were too busy protesting to go to the theatre. All the locals were staying home to avoid the chaos. I was able to walk up to the box offices and get great discounts on fabulous seats.

Unfortunately, the one show I really wanted to catch, Avenue Q, I missed. I only had three days in town. My friends tell me it's the best thing on Broadway, and it has my new theme song in it: "The Internet Is for Porn." I've got the cast album and I love it, and they're mounting a new production in Las Vegas, so I'm hoping to actually catch the show there if I don't get back to New York before it closes.

The other show I was really looking forward to, Wicked, I planned ahead and bought tickets in advance, which was good because they were sold out for the entire week. I loved this show. For those who don't know, it's based on the book by Gregory Maguire, and it follows the life and times of the Wicked Witch of the West. I've never read the book, but I loved the show. I'm told that fans of the book are generally disappointed with the show. The cast album is a little hard to follow (it's a bit slim on liner notes) but I think it's the best score Stephen Schwartz has composed to date.

I also caught Hairspray (which I missed it in L.A.) with Michael McKean in the drag role. Talk about fun. It's based on the John Waters film, but focuses much more on the love story and the fight for integration. Probably the most fun I've had in a theatre in a long time.

And speaking of fun, I caught an Off-Broadway show at the York called The Musical of Musicals (The Musical). It's basically a spoof of the top Broadway composers, done by telling the "same story" five times, each time in the style of another composer. If you're a fan of the genre, it's hysterical. The cast album is great, again for fans of the genre...

And speaking of cast albums, the last show I caught also doesn't have one yet... it was the new production of Stephen Sondheim's new version of The Frogs. Nathan Lane was out the night we saw it, but his understudy was great. Not a flawless show, but fun nonetheless.

So that was it. Four shows in three days. It was dizzying, it was fun, it was expensive, and I can't wait to do it again. If any of you wacky Manhattanites want to loan me an apartment next time, I'm sure I'll be able to get out there more often. And, hell, if it's nice enough, I'll probably even bring back photos. :)