Broadway

[gilana]

So apparently a few more details on the meeting with Eliza are in order... First off, the show was great. It started out looking like just the joke of a Buddhist pot-head Linus, a germophobe Pig-Pen, Sally trying on identity after identity -- but instead of leaving it at that, you got glimpses into each character that were sad and funny and done with love. Anyway, after the show, I noticed a crowd of people standing outside a door marked "Stage Door". I joined the crowd, and after what felt like a long time on a freezing night, the actors started tricking out. I would have liked to speak to America Ferrera, but she seemed to be in a hurry and rushed off without giving autographs. Eliza was the last one out, but she seemed happy to see the crowd waiting for her, and patiently signed autographs and posed for pictures (sorry, I didn't get one). I waited until the crowd thinned and asked her to sign my Playbill, mentioning that I was in from Boston (she's also from Boston) and had come to see the show mostly because of her, and had been impressed with how much more it was than I had expected. She seemed pleased, and mentioned that her mother was in from Boston and in the audience that night. I asked her if she was enoying stage acting, and she said she really enjoyed the adrenaline rush. So there you have it, sports fans.

Tonight I went to see Sweeney Todd, starring Michael Cerveris and Patty Lupone. It's an interesting production; minimal set, only a few props that serve many purposes, and the cast also plays all the instruments (Patty Lupone on tuba!), and are all onstage for the entire show. They also did some interesting staging with people standing at different levels (such as on a ladder or a table) or having a conversation while one person was way downstage of the other, both facing forward.) At first I was distracted by the staging -- but just as I was starting to regret not being able to turn off my brain, I noticed that I was cringing and biting my thumb at the action on stage. So my brain may have been doing one thing, but I was reacting very strongly on another level as well. I got more caught up in it after that -- it's a fabulous cast, with incredible voices (both singing and speaking) and very talented instrumentalists, and they brought an energy and intensity that made it possible to believe the story on a visceral level without special effects or any attempt to be realistic. I don't give standing ovations lightly, but by the time Manoel Felciano (Tobias) came out I was on my feet, and I stood and clapped and yelled through the four bows the cast took.

Comments

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

This sounds exactly like the production I saw in London, but with a different cast.

[gilana]

I think the program mentioned that. What did you think of it?

[spwebdesign.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed it thoroughly. But then, it was also the first time I had seen or heard Sweeney Todd, so I didn't realize this production was in any way unusual.

[muffyjo]

What delicious adventures! Liza! And I heard about Sweeny Todd on NPR the other day. It sounds like an amazing production. Patty Lupone is simply amazing. I saw her years ago in Evita and despite Madonna's rendition on film, I still see Patty Lupone in the part. She owned it. And I've seen her in other productions since, she's simply an amazing performer.

And how amazing to take what was once a 50 person cast/orchestra piece and whittle it down to...what was it...7 people? Doing all of it? And to STILL get the plot/action/entertainment in.

Thank you for sharing, what will you be doing next! Enquiring minds want to know!

[gilana]

Just took a tour of the New Amsterdam theater, where the Lion King is playing. I've got to tell you, standing on a Broadway stage looking out at aaaaallllll those seats -- T@F is pretty much my size, pole and all. But I envy their backstage area.

[rebmommy.livejournal.com]

Sounds like so much fun! Thanks for sharing your adventures with us. Isn't it fun to watch plays with an actor's experience and sensibility? You can appreciate the production in a new way.

[gilana]

It really is! It does make it harder to just get caught up in the story, but I can appreciate it on much deeper levels now, too.