What a weekend

First off, I want to give readers fair warning - there is going to be a fair amount of theater geeking-out in this post, if you're so inclined to not read further, no problem. Alright, you've been warned.

I spent the weekend in NYC with the family which was fun. Saturday we walked all over the city, walked through central park, went shopping on Canal St, and had dinner at Sea in Williamsburg. Sunday we ended up at the Museum of Natural History which was kinda meh - the Rose Center was amazing, but the rest of the museum was just kinda blah. I was also thoroughly disappointed that the climate change exhibit that I'd heard so much about required an additional charge that wasn't listed when we bought the tickets. Whatever. After the AMNH, the family left and I was on my own for the rest of the afternoon.

I had a ticket to the matinee of Next to Normal, a show that I knew nothing about, except that it had pretty good buzz from it's off-Broadway and D.C. I also knew that I did NOT like it's marketing/advertising. I went in not knowing what to expect, and came out having had a religious experience. I know, a little over dramatic, but seriously, Next to Normal was one of the most unbelievable things I've ever seen. Basic premise: Mom has schizophrenia and her family struggles to cope; drugs, suicide, depression and heartbreak ensue. It was one of the most thought-provoking, difficult and depressing shows I've ever seen, and I loved every minute of it. Everything about the show was incredible, starting with the performances. It's a small cast (6 characters) and each one of them gives a revelatory performance; Alice Ripley (who plays the mother) gives new meaning to "tour-de-force", her performance as Diana is one of the most fantastic things I've ever seen; she has the Best Actress Tony award locked up. The rest of the cast also gives stellar performances and blow the roof off the Booth Theater with an amazing contemporary score by Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt. Michael Greif directs his cast with ease around Mark Wendland's great 3 level set, beautifully lit by Kevin Adams. The last 20 or so minutes were heartbreaking, I could hear people crying around me in the theater, I also was almost in tears. Moving doesn't even begin to describe this show. I think that I can honestly say that it's the best new musical (note NEW) I've seen in a long, long, LONG time. I also think it could give Billy Elliot a serious run for its money in several Tony races, not to mention Best Musical, which Billy had presumed sewn up before it started a single preview at the Imperial. Don't get me wrong, Billy Elliot was excellent, and I enjoyed it immensely, but it's nothing like Next to Normal. It's a difficult show to sit through yes, but it is an extremely satisfying evening of theater. Beg, borrow or steal to get tickets, and if you need some one to go with, give me a call, I'll go again. I even pre-ordered the CD that comes out in April. You must see this show.

I also saw the revival of Hair Sunday night, which also was good. While I didn't love it, I liked it quite a bit. The energy and enthusiasm that the cast put forward was wonderful, and it was a really fun atmosphere. There was a lot of audience participation, "the tribe" handed out flowers, fliers to go to the "be-in", and performed in the aisles and on the chairs. I wasn't too familiar with Hair either, so the nudity scene, though brief, threw me...they're burning their draft cards one minute and the next minute no one has any clothes on...well ok then! Two minor and one major issue; the minors were sometimes there was TOO much going on at one time and I didn't really know where to look, and there is a 20 minute hallucination scene in Act II that went on a little too long. The major issue? The character of Berger. I didn't really like him nor sympathize with him. I don't really know if it was the actor or the role, but to me, that was the weakest link in the entire production. This revival of a "classic" musical was MUCH more satisfying than West Side Story, and I would be thrilled if it won the Tony for Best Revival of a Musical, because it truly is (well, I haven't seen Guys and Dolls yet, I have tickets for the end of April) the best revival of the year.

I would say that yesterday made up for the last trip to New York which was pretty much a downer, about 10 times over. Seriously. See Next to Normal.

Got tickets to U2 in Foxboro in September, so this has been an all around great 24 hours. I bought 4 tickets, wanna go?