Nicole schreibt...

Yes, after barely a year I was back on Broadway! New York was the logical entry port to the USA anyway, so it made sense to stop for a weekend and catch up on the latest shows. Ironically, two of them had already folded by the time I arrived - the play "Journey's End" starring the gorgeous Hugh Dancy and the latest Boublil/Schoenberg musical "The Pirate Queen" based on the story of one of my favourite historical characters, the Irish pirate Grania O'Malley. Though having listened to the CD by now I think I should be glad that I missed this horribly dumbed-down mushy love story that didn't do the historical Grania any justice. Anyway, luckily there's always enough choice on Broadway to pass a great weekend. The trip got off on a shaky start as I found myself stranded at a subway station in Washington Heights on the tip of Manhattan at 11pm tired as hell and with a big suitcase, thinking I'd make a fabulous target for the shadier characters lurking around the area. But it was another example of stupid tourist prejudice for when I asked for help in finding a cab to take me across the Hudson to New Jersey, the scruffy guys at the grocery store at the subway station proved totally sweet and helped me find a Hispanic cab driver (who spoke very little English) with a GPS who could take me. Having finally arrived at my friend's place in Englewood around midnight (which was 6am German time after all!) I just dropped into bed and slept. On Saturday morning we took the bus into Manhattan and after some browsing around the Times Square shops went for the matinee of "Legally Blonde" the musical based on the film of the same name. While I hadn't been a huge fan of the movie, I did like its cheerfulness and message, but I also knew that it had been carried mostly by Reese Whitherspoon's energetic performance (who, unlike so many stick-thin Hollywood blondes came across as really loveable and warm). I had prepared myself for some light-weight fun and that's what I got - but just how much fun, I had no idea. Many may turn up their noses at this show, but I enjoyed myself from first to last minute for its sheer camp fun and outstanding performances all around, especially by Laura Bell Bundy who carried the musical just as well as Reese Witherspoon had carried the movie. The music was good, the lyrics were smart and most of all I enjoyed that here was finally a show that didn't live in the past but dealt with our modern life here and now. And watching the hundreds of teen and tween females filing out of the theatre later I couldn't help thinking that to get a new generation into a theatre can't be a bad thing altogether. Unfortunately the combination of Legally Blonde's feelgood fun and the gorgeous weather did quite some damage to the evening show's experience: Spring Awakening, winner of this year's Tony for best new musical and most hyped show on Broadway at the moment. I had fallen in love with the CD from day one and often played it at home to a point where I could sing along to all the songs and I had also read the play on which it is based, Frank Wedekind's Frühlingserwachen about the agonies of sexual awakening in the repressed atmosphere of small-town Germany in the late 19th century. The musical combines the 19th century setting of the play with modern rock music, which works surprisingly well, but on this lovely day and feeling so happy myself, I somehow wasn't in the mood for two hours of dark German teenage angst. The cast - the same young people I had already admired on the CD - was excellent though and I think the show would work even better in a small off-Broadway theatre since it doesn't need any stage sets or big props. All the same I was really glad I was able to see this show live, especially with the original Broadway cast (not to mention that I was lucky enough to run into the show's gorgeous young leading man Jonathan Groff when I picked up my ticket before the show and got his autograph. Whee!). After the rather hasty closure of Pirate Queen, I had been at a loss of what to see on Sunday matinee but not seeing a show at all on Sunday once I was in New York seemed a stupid thing to do, too. So when I received a special offer for the last Kander/Ebb musical "Curtains" in my mailbox, I decided to give it a go, seizing the chance to finally see David Hyde Pierce live on stage after narrowly missing him in "Spamalot" the year before. But ironically whenever I feel lukewarm about a show or a movie and aren't really dying to see it, I usually walk away from it disappointed and Curtains was no exception. Sure, it was great in many ways - a fun detective caper story with witty one-liners, great songs and choreography and an outstanding performance by the entire cast. But somehow it had all been done several times before and seemed like a relict from the golden age of Broadway with setting, costumes, choreography and even jokes lovingly antiquated. Rounding off the day with another cheesecake at Junior's on 45th Street we returned to New Jersey fairly easy and on Monday morning I travelled onwards to Pittsburgh for the rest of my USA-trip...