Musical Theatre Mondays

The past few weeks I've been feeling creatively blocked. Maybe you've noticed from my dwindling word count in the last few posts? Any outlet I turned to for enrichment left me feeling discouraged. The completed piece didn't turn out how I'd hoped it would or I'd see/hear someone else's execution that was so much better. I was thinking about all of this and feeling a little sorry for myself sitting at my desk on Friday when "Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George began to play. I was only about a minute into the song when I started feeling choked up, but I didn't know why until I looked up the lyrics. [DOT] Are you working on something new? [GEORGE] No [DOT] That is not like you, George [GEORGE] I've nothing to say [DOT] You have many things [GEORGE] Well, nothing that's not been said [DOT] Said by you, though George ... [DOT] Stop worrying if your vision is new Let others make that decision

Today seemed like a day in desperate need of an anthem. I am a huge fan of Tina Fey AND movies from my high school years being turned into musicals so this is twofer. I'm anxiously waiting this OBC (Original Broadway Cast Recording) that drops digitally on May 18 , but here's a sample that everyone should have memorized before then. 'Cause sometimes what's meant to break you makes you brave 

I really love the idea of musicals being cathartic. I love it so much that it's crossed over into most of my non-musical music choices as well. I got a bad rap in college for only listening to "sad" music, but I stand by my argument that it is some of the best written/composed and often performed music. So of course when I stumbled upon Louis Peitzman's Buzzfeed post here , I knew I had to write about my own list of songs that never fail to make me cry. These are in no particular order because like a mom I don't have a favorite. Ten Songs That Never Fail to Make Me Cry 1. "Everything I Know" - In The Heights This song never really got to me until I saw this show live last summer. Seeing a show live always adds to the chance that I'll cry when I hear it again. 2. "Enough" - In The Heights This song is interesting because it's one single line that gets me every time. "For months you lied to us, what did we do t

I used to be incredibly terrified of rejection. I found that if I tried out for a musical and wasn't cast, I couldn't go see that show because it made me feel sad or jealous. What if I saw the director or the people who made it? What if they made fun of me? What if the spotlight found me in the audience and the entire audience pointed and laughed at my failure? These may have been irrational fears, but they were paralyzing. Luckily I've grown a little wiser and w ith every audition, my skin has gotten a little thicker. I've yet to be publicly mocked for bombing an audition and I've been able to enjoy seeing the shows I didn't get cast in. So whether you plan to go to your 500th audition or whether you're going in for your first - I figured I'd drop some of my learned knowledge. It's the neighborly thing to do. So what do you do when you find out that you didn't land the part? Be sad. Really. It's okay. I've talked to friends who part

I was a little too distracted last week to write a blog post because I spent a few days in New York City for work, but that means I come bearing news of Broadway! I saw Waitress at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre and it was all the good adjectives and then some. I've only been to one other Broadway musical ( Rent when I was 17) so I was just happy for the chance to see anything - let alone a show that I've been obsessively listening to since the Original Broadway Cast (OBC) recording came out. Waitress (music & lyrics by Sara Bareilles, book by Jessie Nelson) is based off of the Keri Russell film of the same name. It's the story of Jenna, a waitress at Joe's Diner who uses pie baking to cope with the ups and downs of her life. Stuck in an abusive marriage, newly pregnant and desperate to leave, she finds strength from her coworkers, Dawn and Becky, and her male OB, Dr. Pomatter. The cast was incredible . Stephanie Torns as Jenna was perfection. She was charming