Archive for July, 2008
On Broadway
Well, obviously I didn’t have any time to write while I was in New York City. I think it would be nice to go on a vacation where I could relax and do nothing…someday. But, of course you don’t go to New York for that! So, I made the most of my time there. I attended a conference in New Jersey for the 4th of July weekend, and then last Sunday, my uncle and I took the train over to Manhatten to spend a few days there. I’ve previously been to New York around Christmas, 2006, with a couple of my sisters. But this was my uncle’s first time in the Big Apple.
Right off the bat, we went over to see Times Square, which literally never sleeps. One of the nights, we were in Times Square around 1 AM, and stores were still open! It’s crazy for this Peoria boy, since I’m used to everything shutting down at 11.
The next day, our first full day in New York, we headed up to Central Park, which is huge and very beautiful. We ended up walking through about half of it, noticing different areas where movies have been shot (…Enchanted…hey, it was a great musical!). The place is huge, and it’s pretty neat to see this oasis of nature and greenery surrounded by towering skyscrapers in the distance.
Next day, my uncle and I went on the Statue of Liberty ferry and hit Liberty Island and Ellis Island. For those of you visiting New York soon or sometime in the future, it’s pretty much an all day event. You have to get there early (which we didn’t do), wait in line for an hour (which we did do), and then wait in lines for the ferries (to Liberty and then Ellis Islands). It was great though, and very fun to be there around the 4th of July.
That night we saw Lion King, which was AMAZING. It’s a huge spectacle with intricate costumes and masks, puppetry, amazing sets and lighting, great choreography, and of course, blow-you-away vocals. It definitely has been on Broadway for 10 years for a reason. For more information on the show, check out:
The next day, my uncle had to get back to Peoria, so I hung out with our Kathy from Singing in the Rain (Laura Miller), who recently moved out to New York. She showed me around more of the city, and we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge, which was quite a trek, but well worth it!
That night, we stood in line for cancellation tickets, and (drum roll, please)…got in to see South Pacific! That was the big musical I wanted to see on Broadway. We had grown up watching the classic musicals like that one, so it was awesome to see it done live, on Broadway. It was a little more racy than the movie, but the classic story and music were there in all their glory. And let me just say that Paulo Szot (who plays Emile de Becque) was phenomenal in the role. “This Once Was Mine” just ripped your heart out, and he received a good 20 seconds of applause after that song. Boy, was it great!
Click here to check out my New York Album.
Now, back to catching up on life and work after being gone for a little over a week…
2 commentsSouth Pacific Wins 2008 Best Revival Tony
A couple of weeks ago, the 2008 Tony Award ceremony took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. This is the big awards night for Broadway, like the Academy Awards for movies, and unfortunately, I missed it! But, thanks to the internet, you can always catch up on things after the fact. And when I looked it up the next day, I was really happy that the revival of South Pacific had won 7 Tony awards:
- Best Revival of a Musical
- Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical
- Best Director of a Musical
- Best Scenic Design of a Musical
- Best Costume Design of a Musical
- Best Lighting Design of a Musical
- Best Sound Design of a Musical
Click here to see a full list of the 2008 Tony Award Winners.
South Pacific first opened in the spring of 1949, the third great Rodgers and Hammerstein musical produced. And, it was pretty controversial when it came out. Tackling issues like race, war, and love in a post-war era, it was denounced in the early 50’s by the Georgia Legislature. However, it’s themes of love, sacrifice, and even optimism make for an awesome drama. And, of course, there’s the Rogers and Hammerstein music, which I think is phenomenal, especially in this show.
So, on April 3rd of this year, the revival of South Pacific opened on Broadway. I’ve found some great links for those of you who are interested in this revival. Click on the links below to find out more about the show, and even see a clip of one of the TV performances promoting the show:
- 2008 Tony Awards South Pacific Performance
- Newsweek Article about the revival and history of South Pacific
- Playbill article about the South Pacific Revival
One of the many things I really like about South Pacific (especially being revived right now) is that it is a classic show doing really well (it’s sold out), and it has some great bass parts. There aren’t many good bass roles in current Broadway shows, but South Pacific has 2 leading parts - the Frenchman & Stewpot. And the the Frenchman, played by Paulo Szot in the revival, has a great bass voice in the older classical bass tradition of Howard Keel and Rossano Brazzi (who played Emile de Becque in the movie).
I’m actually heading to New Jersey and New York City this next week. We already have tickets for the Lion King, which I’m really excited to finally see, and I really want to see South Pacific. So, I’ll see if I can actually get in since it’s supposedly sold out. Hopefully I’ll be able to post some pictures and write about the trip while out there.
No comments