Musical Theatre Mondays

In May, I was lucky enough to attend two shows on the West End and they were both awesome. The first show I saw was Hamilton (I find it endlessly funny that I had to travel to another country to get affordable tickets) and let me tell you before you worry like I did: It lives up to the hype. I know everyone and their mother (including mine) has probably gotten to see Hamilton so pardon me if this is old news, but I fell in love with the show all over again. The set is genius (you can see it in the picture behind me and Mr. Musical Theatre Monday). The different stair cases that can move and attach at different points, the turntables that are used at just the right moments, and the beautiful lighting that brings it all to life. I tend to like more simple sets - those that are kind of deconstructed so you're dealing with simple, moveable pieces that can live in any world rather than clunky, period appropriate furniture. This is the epitome of that. It also set a nice neutr...

L to R: Me, Sister K, Mom, Sister A I’ve benefitted from being raised by a great mother and I'm very lucky to live close to her and still have her to call and get advice from. I also have two older sisters and even though they are now mothers themselves - I like to think I got to benefit from their wisdom first. So, in honor of all different types of "mothers" in the world, I wanted to look at some of my favorite mother figures from musicals. Marmee from Little Women is my favorite traditional mother figure from a musical. She is warm and brave. Marmee, like my mom, is a mother to all girls. Girls with different personalities. Girls who fight, but love each other fiercely. Also like my mom, Marmee has an endless supply of strength. She has to handle worrying about a husband at war, concern about the health of her daughters, but she is still able to stay strong for her family when tragedy strikes. The song "Here Alone" really emphasizes the struggles she...

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...