Nicole schreibt...

So here I was on Broadway again, in theory an event that should have me bouncing off the walls with excitement but in practice a rather low-key affair as the main event of the whole US trip wasn't happening and there was very little on Broadway to actually get me excited. One of my major bugbears with Broadway in recent years has been the fact that I would usually end up seeing the same shows in London again for much lower prices after all with only a few singular experiences to stand out such as seeing the original cast of Hamilton with Lin-Manuel Miranda himself on Broadway or catching the odd show that doesn't make it across the pond such as Finding Neverland. With this in mind, I resolved to choose my shows more carefully now, usually based on wanting to see certain American performers who are unlikely to turn up in the West End (again). Leaving my beloved Bats and a certain blonde boy aside for now, this was one of the factors that drove me towards my first pick for the trip, a musical adaptation of Tim Burton's movie Beetlejuice (the man himself and his unique style, which I love, being the second). Among its stars is Sophia Anne Caruso, who had so impressed me at a mere 16 year old in London's Lazarus a while ago opposite fellow American Michael C. Hall and I was happy to see her again, along with Broadway royalty like Kerry Butler and Rob McClure as the recently deceased Maitlands, Leslie Kritzer and Adam Dannheiser as the very much living Deetz, who move into their house, and last but most certainly not least Alex Brightman as poltergeist Beetlejuice. The movie's book had been adapted by Scott Brown, with music by unknown Aussie Eddie Perfect and direction by Alex Timbers and the musical manages the feat to be its own creation and not just a sloppy 1:1-adaptation of the movie. In that, the Maitlands took centre stage, dealing with the problem of being dead but unable to move into the Afterlife and focusing their energy (with little success) on driving the Deetz family out of "their" house with the help of Beetlejuice. The musical now puts young Lydia Deetz, a teenage goth girl and the only living person who can actually see the ghostly Maitlands, centre stage and gives Sophia the best song "Dead Mom" to sing. Beetlejuice himself, not seen until fairly late in the movie, is on stage straightaway, acting as some sort of particularly crazy narrator. Lydia's big solo aside, the music is pretty unremarkable, but to my relief it was at least more classic Broadway than the kind of noisy tuneless pop music that's so popular in musical theatre at the moment. And the design by David Korins is fizzing with much fun and creativity, there's literally never a dull moment in the show. Initially the massive overacting by Ladies Kritzer and Butler grated on me, but they soon shaped up and overall the cast was fantastic. I don't get the beef some have with Alex Brightman, who carried the show very well - if he's crude and silly, it's just how the part is meant to be. If broad American sitcom humour or crude jokes aren't your thing, chances are Beetlejuice won't be your show. But I personally had a great time and didn't regret paying the eye-watering full price for perfect seats in the central section of the front stalls. I doubt it will come to London, but if it did, I would absolutely go and see it again. If only my second outing had been half as good at least. While I love having a free bed in leafy green suburbia, it also means a long slog to Times Square and my plan to get into Manhattan early to queue for a $42 rush ticket for Pretty Woman was foiled by jetlag, fatigue and plain old laziness. Instead I wound up queuing at TKTS in Times Square later which yielded me another fab seat, this one in Row C of the centre stalls for $93. While I'm pretty sure this one will transfer (and probably bring British leading lady Samantha Barks along), I was basically here for dashing Andy Karl, who probably will not. I had ironically seen him twice in his early stage career - in Legally Blonde on Broadway and 9 to 5 in Los Angeles, but missed out seeing him in his two biggest parts so far in Rocky and Groundhog Day, so this opportunity was as good as any and I had quite enjoyed the cast album with music by 90's rocker Bryan Adams. Sadly what arrived on stage was the exact opposite of the creative Beetlejuice: A lame unspiried carbon copy of the movie that missed every chance to move away from the more questionable dated aspects of the story in which rich guy Edward buys sassy prostitute Vivian for some nights and learns to live life again. They could have given Vivian so much more agenda, but instead she remains pretty much mired in cliches from the bland opening song "Anywhere but here" to the cringingly awful "You are beautiful" number in which she goes shopping, because hey, that's what makes a girl happy, right? I also really could have done without the awful moment, where Vivian lies down on stage, facing the audience, giving the first rows a good look down her cleavage. That kind of thing is as unnecessary as the tired old chorus numbers featuring scantily clad hookers. It's really Edward's tale and show, giving Andy Karl the chance to sing some great Bryan Adams ballads like "Freedom" and "You and I" and generally looking very suave and dashing. But between the uncomfortable portrayal of Vivian and the godawfully cheap lame sets that seemed to consist of two-dimensional cardboard cut-outs and made me want to set those constantly appearing palm trees on fire, I can't help thinking that this was a major dud I could have saved my money on. Perhaps the fact that Stage Entertainment with their never-ending bad decisions is a major producer, should have been warning enough. Oh well. Now I can only hope they won't cast someone I want to see badly in London. With the lack of enticing Broadway shows, the moment was as good as any to finally visit the legendary Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center, especially since my local friend was keen on going (fun fact: I've been wanting to see an opera at London's Royal Opera House for at least ten years now and never get around to it because there are always too many musicals to see!). We were lucky as the Met was doing Verdi's grand old weepy La Traviata this week, which made it extra amusing for me since La Traviata is featured in Pretty Woman as well. So here we were at Lincoln Center with a starry cast comprised of Anita Hartig as Violetta, Stephen Costello as Alfredo and none less than Placido Domingo as Giorgio (who still got it despite being way over 80 by now!). It was a gorgeous production too, with no deconstructed Regietheater nonsense in sight. And if you are looking for a musical theatre angle, well it was directed by Michael Mayer (of Spring Awakening and Hedwig fame) and the costumes were designed by Susan Hilferty, who created the by now iconic costumes of Wicked, traces of which could easily be found in La Traviata). So at least a lame afternoon was followed by a fabulous evening, making more than up for it. My last trip into Manhattan on the next day led me not to Broadway but down 42nd Street to the small Off-Broadway venue Stage 42, which was playing host to one of the most remarkable revivals in recent years: Fiddler on the Roof performed in Yiddish, the language Tevje and everyone in Anatevka would actually have spoken. That it came with subtitles was one of the main draws for me, along with the fact that I've only seen Fiddler once many years ago in London and that it had a matinee on Thursdays, giving me the chance for a dinner with my friend's landlady back in suburbia followed by an early night in. I'm also fascinated by Yiddish, which is so close to German and has left words in the German language still being used today. So here I was in a small new venue and as soon as the show got underway I just got aware of the vast gulf between those true Broadway classics and today's (with a few exceptions) far inferior writing. Songs like "Sunrise Sunrise" (or rather "Tog-ayn Tog-oys") and Hodl's beautifully sung "Far from the home I love" moved me to tears with their universal appeal, just as the story of milkman Tevje trying to adjust to changing times itself is simply timeless. There's little to be said about the near-perfect cast led by Steven Skybell as Tevje and a surprise appearance by Jackie Hoffman (last seen in "Feud" on TV) as matchmaker Yente. There was an additional layer to it all, when the citizens of Anatevka finally packed up to leave home behind, sitting in a theatre amid Jewish New Yorkers, many of whom would be looking at people much like their own ancestors who were driven out of Europe. So while perhaps an unusual choice far from the bright lights of Broadway, I'm very glad I had chosen this rather than another big spectacle. It wasn't over yet. Since we had no reason to be in Philadelphia early now (and cancelling the trip was no option either as I had booked a flight out of Philly), we decided to do a detour into suburban New Jersey. The Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn has achieved quite some fame as a place for Broadway try-outs and shows that despite artistic value didn't make it to Broadway, so it seemed like an interesting place to check out en route to Philly. On tap was the East Coast premiere of Benny & Joon, indeed yet another movie adaptation. The original movie of 1993 had starred dreamboat Aidan Quinn as Benny, who takes care of his mentally unstable sister Joon (Mary Stuart Masterson) who in turn befriends outsider and weirdo Sam, a typical part for the young Johnny Depp. The musical with music by Nolan Gasser and an adapted book by Kirsten Guenther remains slight with a cast of only eight and minimal stage sets, making me think that this would belong Off-Broadway rather than a big Broadway house at crazy prices. It was still very charming though, with a bunch of lovely songs and an impressive physical performance by Bryce Pinkham channelling Buster Keaton as Sam. Hannah Elless was a wonderful strong-voiced Joon and Claybourne Elder as Benny a truly dashing leading man I shall have to keep an eye on. If I had anything to nitpick, it's the fact that while Depp and Masterson were about the same age, playing teenage outsiders to perfection, Pinkham was way older than Elless, giving it all a slightly creepy whiff. Nonetheless, both the show and the place were certainly worth the detour before heading on to my final destination, the City of Brotherly Love. As always, travel stuff is getting its own separate page if you want to read more.