Happy New Year, everyone! I’m just stopping in on my computer as I am watching television celebrations. Yes, you would think that since I’m just half an hour out of NYC I would be seeing the ball drop, but no. I have never been in for New Year’s Eve, and probably won’t for a while. Too crowded, too cold.
So instead, I’m at home, with a massive headache, zoning out to the tv and hanging out with my sister.
Hope you are enjoying the night, and have a great 2009!!!!!
~Mel <3
Remember a couple of weeks ago when I told you all about how much I hate the economy? Well, here’s a list of shows that are closing on January 4th- some are the result of the economic times, and some are not. (Those that aren’t were limited engagements to start off with in the New York theatres.)
All of the shows in this list are closing on January 4th, so see them while you can! (google them for ticket information, or click here for student rush and standing room only info) ::
Liza’s at the Palace…! (on Broadway at the Palace Theatre)
Hairspray (on Broadway at the Neil Simon Theatre)
Boeing-Boeing (on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre)
Dividing the Estate (on Broadway at the Booth Theatre)
Young Frankenstein (on Broadway at the Hilton Theatre)
13 (on Broadway at the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre)
Grease (on Broadway at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre)
Irving Berlin’s White Christmas (on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre)
Slava’s Snow Show (on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre)
Saturn Returns (Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater)
The Atheist (Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre)
Rock of Ages (Off-Broadway at New World Stages)
Information credited to Playbill.com
~Mel <3
Saturdays are wonderful days, full of nothing much to do. Well, most of the time. Yesterday I spent my Saturday in New York City, walking around, seeing shows, and having dinner with my Dad and sister (a rarity in and of itself).
My sister and I drove into the city with our Dad, around 11 am for his work call. Jess (my sister) and I walked down to 44th street at got student rush tickets for the Gypsy matinee- only 27 bucks, how awesome is that? We ate, hung out in Virgin for a bit, and then saw the show. Patti LuPone is, by the way, amazing. The show was great, as were the seats we were able to get. Seriously,if you want to see the show and you’re still in school (or look like you could be) go get the tickets! Do it! The show is awesome, and definetly worth seeing before it closes in January.
Dinner was next, at a nice little pizza place on… Broadway, I think it is? I can’t really remember. But it’s a nice place, reasonably priced, with good food.
The next show we saw was Shrek, for their 8pm show. We sat at the very back of the orchestra seeting- and actually the seats weren’t that bad. Nothing was cut out of view because of it. The show was HYSTERICAL. It will make you laugh, and cry in turns. Brian D’Arcy James does a fantastic job as Shrek, with a great voice and equally good acting. Sutton Foster- amazing. All there is to say. Her energy is never-ending, and she plays a whole range of emotions within the show, with all of them coming across flawlessly. But without a doubt, Lord Farquaad is given the best material musically. Christopher Sieber steals the show. He has a huge voice, and his work on his knees to pull off the short effect is really funny. This is another show that’s worth seeing. 
Let’s see, what else to say…
Tips for a visit to the NYC theatre district
- When you’re walking from place to place, it might be a good idea to not walk on Broadway unless it is absolutely necessary. It is full of tourists (no offense) who like to walk really slowly, taking up the whole sidewalk. If that’s okay with you and you have tine to kil, then great. But otherwise, try to stict to 8th Avenue, which runs parallel to Broadway. It doesn’t get as crowded, but the pace is alot faster, since it’s frequented by locals and people who work in the area. BE PREPARED TO WALK FAST!
- Theatre doors open half an hour before the show, but that doesn’t mean that you need to be there at that time. Arriving at the door between 25 and 20 minutes before curtain time can save you alot of time wwaiting in line outside to get past the ticket check.
- If you’re seeing a show, don’t try to record it. The actors on stage CAN see you, believe it or not, and they WILL report you. So just don’t do it.
- Go to the bathroom before the show. Waiting to go until intermission will result in you waiting in extremely long lines….
- Keep track of your time if you go to eat before a show- you don’t want to be running multiple blocks to get to the theatre on time!
- You don’t have to dress up to see theatre now a days, but it’s always fun if you do, and no one can blame you for over-dressing! So have fun with it- wear whatever you want, BUT!!! Don’t go too casual. Showing p to a Broadway show in sweats or ratty, torn jeans is just flat-out disrespectful. (Note:: This doesn’t mean no jeans- it just means that if you’re going to wear jeans, make them ones in nice condition.)
That’s all for now. Tips on auditions and callbacks in schools are coming up- cuz mine are this week! Wish me broken limbs!
~ Mel
USAToday.com- 3.5/4 stars
“[The score]… doesn’t feature any songs you’re likely to be humming 20 years from now… Shrek… is nonetheless a triumph of comic imagination with a heart as big and warm as Santa’s. It is the most ingeniously wacky, transcendently tasteless Broadway musical since The Producers, and more family-friendly…”
“… librettist-lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire, composer Jeanine Tesori, and director Jason Moore… have gotten it very wrong with Shrek the Musical, now at the Broadway Theater… The show’s biggest problem is that it is full of too many additional lumbering segments… Not to mention that… [things] the movie only hinted at are now made clear, such as a belching-and-flatulence contest between Shrek and Fiona that looks back to Irving Berlin’s “Anything You Can Do (I Can D Better)”, but lowers it to grade-school bathroom-humor level.”
“… in… “I Think I Got You Beat,” Shrek the ogre and Fiona the princess find a chemistry that’s more than merely gaseous… a show that has been trying way too hard to entrance us suddenly relaxes into goofy, genuine charm… “Shrek,” for the record, is not bad. The maiden Broadway venture of DreamWorks Theatricals… in association with Neal Street Productions… is definitely a cut above… “Tarzan” and “Little Mermaid[.]” “Shrek” has the virtues of a comprehensible plot and identifiable characters… the show isn’t the eyesore that Disney’s fish story is… The pop-cultural jokes… seem to linger and grow old. And morals about inner beauty and self-esteem… stick in the throat when amplified into power ballads… Fiona’s big showstopper[,]… “Morning Person,” is the one number in “Shrek” that gets everything right… “Morning Person”… has bona-fide wit… That the number works as well as it does has a lot to do with there being real human warmth (heck, make that fire) at its center… Shrek falls in love with her… when Mr. James responds to her, you realize that [he's] a winning character (not to mention a very fine actor and singer)…”
“… “Shrek the Musical” certainly has things to like, even if it’s sometimes ungainly… Sutton Foster… brings an authentic sweetness and spunk to Princess Fiona… When she’s onstage… the production comes close to achieving liftoff. But… it stays earthbound – fine, not great… It never soars, but the songs are pleasant and fit the story… In a smart move, Lindsay-Abaire… invented histories for Shrek and Fiona that set up the jaunty duet “I Think I Got You Beat”… I didn’t love the beefing up of a subplot about storybook characters… director Jason Moore… needed to do some pruning. D’Arcy James is lovable… He and Foster have a warm chemistry… Choreographer Josh Prince impresses in his Broadway debut, especially when Farquaad leads the ensemble in “What’s Up Duloc?”… the lavish sets and costumes by Tim Hatley take you [into the world of Shrek] in suitably cartoonish, Technicolor style.”
Shrek facts, from MyDailyNews.com:
90 Minutes needed to transform Brian d’Arcy James into the olive-green ogre.
9,500 Sequins and jewels on Princess Fiona’s wedding gown
1,200 How many pounds a chaos-causing dragon in the show weighs. And Oprah thinks she’s got issues with the scale.
121 Costumes created for the show
900 Hours needed to fit the cast of
31 in all those getups
200 Liters of liquid CO2 used for smoke effects. Hey, a lava pit outside the princess’ prison has gotta be scary.
72 Wigs worn during each performance
30 Seconds that actors who play Peter Pan and Big Bad Wolf get to change to play guardsmen. Velcro, anyone?
55 Inches in the height of pint-sized nasty Lord Farquaad. Get shorty, indeed…
45,000 Number of pounds that the set’s central turntable weighs. It’s automated. Whew!
Some other reviews that I am too tired to place here:
Bloomberg.com- Basic Message? The show is great except for the music- everything but that is memorable.
Reuters.com- Basic Message? Good show, especially for kids. Won’t bore the adults. Not as successful as The Lion King, but not as bad as The Little Mermaid.
Want more? Google it!
~Mel <3
