This past week, I attended the AACT conference in NYC - the American Association of Community Theatre has their conference in the Big Apple every four years and I have been fortunate to attend past conferences and see Broadway shows. Therefore, I thought that I would share my thoughts on the five shows that I attended this past week.
My first show was an unplanned visit to see SPIDERMAN: TURN OFF THE DARK on Wednesday afternoon. My morning Executive Committee meeting ended by 1 p.m., and I had another meeting at 5 p.m. so I thought I could sneak in a show and SPIDERMAN had a 1:30 p.m. matinee on Wednesdays. Most people have read many things about the show - the long previews, the change of directors, and the lawsuits - and the show feels like too many people have been involved in the production. The show has an extremely weak script and the music is generally bland and uninteresting. However, there are many interesting visuals and the flying of Spiderman - as well as the final fight scene over the audience - is exciting and fun. As a fan of theatre, I was extremely pleased to see so many non-traditional theatre audience members attending the show. Thus, even if it's not the best show in the world, it's still bringing new people to Broadway and introducing them to theatre.
My second show was WICKED on Thursday evening. I should mention that my visit included my wife (Lisa) and son (Zach) and that it was Zach's first visit to NYC. WICKED was his choice, and we had good seats for the show. My reaction the first time I saw the show was mixed so I was interested to see it again. I really enjoyed the first act - the leads were solid and the performances and music worked really well and Zach was enjoying the show. I was very interested at intermission to see that Broadway has embraced food and drink in the auditorium - however, all drinks are sold in special sippy-cups with the show logo. However, the second act is a let down and ultimately the weakness of the show. There are some great songs and moments in Act I, but Act II fails in comparison.
My third show was WARHORSE, which was attended by most of the AACT group on Friday night at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center. This was my favorite show for many reasons. Prior to our trip, Zach read the book of WARHORSE to us outloud, so we had some idea of the original story. The theatrical presentation and puppetry was amazing, and we also had a talk back with the cast and stage manager after the show that allowed us to ask questions. It is an emotional and magical performance, and I would recommend seeing it.
We saw two shows on Saturday - MARY POPPINS in the afternoon and NEWSIES at night. MARY POPPINS was a lot of fun because I managed to get us front row tickets back in February for the matinee performance. It was great to see how the show worked from right up front - I had seen the show before but it was brand new to Lisa and Zach. The Disney corporation does a great job of maintaining the quality of their shows - the show did not feel tired or bored despite having been performed on Broadway for many years and being a summer Saturday afternoon performance. It was great fun, and I look forward to the day when community theatres can present this show even if we can not dance on the proscenium or fly Mary Poppins into the rafters.
Finally, we were thrilled to sit in the front row of the balcony for NEWSIES, the big hit on Broadway right now. The show is full of energy both onstage and in the audience. The audience was hyped to see the show, and gave several long ovations after musical numbers. The performances are energetic and the dancing is wonderful and amazing. However, I would call the show very good but not great - the music is solid but ultimately forgettable. In the end, I think that the show could have a great run and - like SPIDERMAN - continue to attract new people to Broadway and the world of theatre.
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