A Broadway Weekend - Part I: The Shows

Every four months or so, my daughter and I go to NYC for our Broadway fix. About half the time my wife and son decide to join us. Truth be told, mother and son don’t love theatre quite as much as father and daughter. So sometimes we all join in each others’ favorite activities; other times we save money and split up.

This past weekend was the father / daughter weekend theatre trip. This blog entry is dedicated to the four terrific shows we saw together and loved. Coming next: Part II: NYC on a Budget. Now, on to the shows.

Our first show was the brand new musical Curtains, the last show to be written by musical theatre icons John Kander and Fred Ebb, the composer / lyricist team also responsible for Cabaret, Chicago, Zorba, Kiss of the Spider Woman, The Happy Time, Woman of the Year, Flora the Red Menace, The Rink, The Act, and 70 Girls 70. This murder mystery comedy musical was originally created with book writer Peter Stone. After Peter Stone and Fred Ebb died, Rupert Holmes (of The Mystery of Edwin Drood fame) stepped in to finish the book and add additional lyrics.

The results are terrific. Both my daughter and I are glad we saw Curtains first, because it aspires to entertain, nothing more. And entertain it does. It was funny, tuneful, colorful and lively, with lots of clever plot twists and style. The book, score, cast, direction, choreography and design were all first rate. We laughed and tapped our feet and had a jolly old time.

Creating an endearing Boston homicide detective with a not-so-secret passion for musical comedy, David Hyde Pierce leaves Niles from Frasier far behind. When a talent-less and difficult leading lady is murdered during the pre-Broadway tryouts of a new musical, there are plenty of people who had good reason to have done her in. So the detective steps in to find the killer, and while so doing, lets loose with his inspired suggestions on how to turn the tarnished try-out musical into a Broadway-worthy gem. A fun time was had by all.

Our second musical was Grey Gardens, a new adaptation of a classic 70s documentary about two truly bizarre relatives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis. I found Act I, set in the 50s, to be an intriguing iteration of the poor-little-rich-girl story. But I felt somewhat voyeuristic in Act II, set approximately 20 years later. The show seems to indict society for ridiculing, ostracizing and laughing at those who have been set adrift by mental fragility and fate. At the same time, the show seems to prompt us to ridicule and laugh. I had a hard time feeling comfortable with the perspective.

My daughter had no such problems. She was fascinated by the entire show start to finish. We both agreed that we loved it, that it made us think and gave us lots to talk about. We both agreed that Christine Ebersole (she’ll probably win her second Tony) and the understudy for Mary Louise Wilson were terrific. We were both really glad we went.

Our third show was Spring Awakening, and we both LOVED it. Some people had told me that one or both of us might be embarrassed by the sexual content, but we weren’t. Based on the German masterpiece by Wedekind that I read 35 years ago in college, Spring has the distance and eloquence of a classic, while at the same time benefiting from the thrill of immediacy provided by the terrific score, the youthful cast and the amazing choreography. I’m the last one anyone will ever accuse of being hip, but I’ll dare to say that Spring felt very hip to me—and by hip, I don’t mean fashionable, I mean intelligent in a very 2007 context.

The acting, directing, choreography, book, music, lyrics and design are all brilliant, but none of them are showy. Instead of offending or embarrassing us, the overall tone of the show seemed tasteful to us both. Yes, there are instances of brief nudity, strong language, sexual content, and simulated sexual activity. But the show is about the dignity of man, and about how we can rob our children of their innocence by subjecting them to our own arbitrary and often mistaken moralities. Again, we had LOTS to talk about afterward, and what could be better than parents and children having opportunities to talk (without any creepiness) about adolescent sexual awakening? I’m being serious—it was very healthy.

Last, but not least, we saw The Color Purple, and it was the perfect show to end our trip. Yes, we both understood how critics could pick the show apart. An epic story with tremendous resonance is crowded into an evening’s entertainment. But it didn’t matter. We followed every moment of the decades-long story with no confusion. And in the end, this was the show that made me cry. Whereas Spring Awakening appealed tremendously to heart and intellect, Purple appealed to heart and soul. The soaring music, the inspired performances, the sheer size of the production and its themes—all these things combined to make us care. There was also a strong faith context that I found very appealing. In the end, when love validates everything, I was reaching for my handkerchief.

The interesting thing is that, after reading the reviews, I wouldn’t have gone to The Color Purple if my new London/Paris friends, Ron and Les, hadn’t told me how much they loved the show. Now I’m so glad we went. Of the four, Purple is the one that I think would be most successful at Barksdale.

So, we saw four very different shows and loved them all, for different reasons. Thank goodness we’re not burdened by the responsibilities of a critic. We can still immerse ourselves in shows, and love them without feeling like we have to find fault or instruct others on what they should or shouldn’t like.

I have no idea whether you’ll like each of these shows or not. But I’m happy to share our opinions, and I encourage you to get up to NYC for your own theatre weekend if and when you have the chance.