Musical Theatre Mondays

I've been in callback land this week which means I usually obsess and listen to the same show over and over again. So I thought it was high time to write about one of the funnest Golden Age musicals - The Music Man . If you are just coming out of a 60 years long coma - here's a quick synopsis. Harold Hill is a con man who convinces a bunch of naive Iowans that he will save their young folk from the sin of pool by putting together a marching band. Conveniently he sells instruments and preaches the effectiveness of "The Think System" where you don't have to play the notes, but simply think of them. Of course he plans to leave town with the money from the instruments before the band can really take shape, but instead he falls for Marian Paroo, the town's librarian. He gets caught in his huge lie, but it all works out in the end - as most musicals of this time period are wont to do. It's just fun and has some of the best characters:  A fast talking con man

Last night I had one of the best theatre experiences in my whole life - I saw Bright Star at Pioneer Theatre Company in Salt Lake City. Through a special arrangement with Center Theatre Group and the original Broadway production, Pioneer Theatre is the third city since the show left Broadway to be able to host the touring company. The same company that includes many members of the original Broadway cast and the INCREDIBLE Carmen Cusack. Bright Star (music, book & story by Steve Martin and music, lyrics & story by Edie Brickell) follows the story of Billy Cane as he's just returned home from WWII and "waiting for his life to begin." Billy heads to Asheville, North Carolina in hopes of becoming a published writer at The Asheville Southern Journal. This is where he meets Alice Murphy, a shrewd editor who, against normal protocol and because of a clever lie, agrees to take a look at Billy's stories. It's here that we begin to follow Alice's story to

In an article by The Washington Post titled "In some musicals of yore, female characters deserve better," journalist Peter Marks discusses just that: older musicals and their treatment of women characters. These shows, in the wake of things like the #metoo and Time's Up movements, can leave those of us watching it now feeling uncomfortable or angry. How can this art form, that is often used as a way of discussing hard to talk about issues, betray us by bringing some harmful ideas and ugly words right to the mouths of these beloved characters? Is there a difference when shows use misogyny as a character flaw to be corrected? This week, as I was thinking about this article and what I wanted to say about it,  Seven Brides for Seven Brothers  kept coming to mind. I kept feeling like this show was somehow exempt from being labeled misogynistic because Adam and his brothers change their ways by the end of the show! They learn to respect their brides and become the gentl

When I decided to get back into theatre after a 10 year break, I had no idea where to start or what to do. I had never done community theatre and never had to choose my own audition song (oh the days of high school theatre where they had you sing from the show, I miss thee!). I was really scared and I remember scouring the internet for any tips and tricks on auditioning that I could find. Now I'm not saying that I'm a pro. I still talk to anyone I can about tips for a better/smoother audition experience and I still get SO nervous, but in case there are any people out there feeling too "washed up" or too scared to try out OR if it's your first time trying out (WELCOME!) - I'm here to be your cheerleader. You can do it! And here's some tips on how: First, find a show you want to be in and sign up! There a ton of ways to find shows and it all depends upon your area, but Backstage can usually give you some good ideas of where to start. If you

Vulture, in June 2017, did what I previously thought personally impossible: Ranked their favorite Broadway musical songs from the last 40 years. You can see their full list here and listen to it below, but there are a few I wanted to talk about (either because I agree or I don't) and a few that didn't make it that would've made my personal list. First thing to address is that the writer of this Vulture article is a huge Sondheim fan - as I find most musical theatre aficionados are, but I'm going to tell you something shocking:  I don't know Sondheim that well. I'm slowly making my way through the Sondheim hits so I can agree with most of the choices, but they sure do love  Merrily We Roll Along  and I don't really know that show. Second thing to address is that I desperately need a little bit of diversity injected into the shows that I listen to regularly. You'll see what I mean in my top 10 list below. They are all pretty new shows from a handful o