On my birthday weekend, my friends treated me to the long-running Broadway musical, Chicago. Having grown up listening to the soundtrack and watching the movie consistently, I found that the live version had both ups and downs of course, as most live shows do.

As a start, I was blown away by the live band! Now, I’m no musical expert, but my good friend, Melaina, is a musical performance major with a wonderful reputation as a horn player, and she assured me that the it was phenomenal. The trumpet sounded identical to the soundtrack, which is actually a huge compliment, because an album is thought of to be perfected by a sound studio. Another aspect that I enjoyed from the band is its interaction with the cast. The unique placement of the band in the center of the stage showed how important the big band style music is to the show. When a character entered, he or she would gesture or make a witty comment to the conductor. And it didn’t end there. The conductor was given lines in the play! If you’re familiar with Chicago, you know there is a voice that introduces each musical number, and on stage, it wasn’t the same voice every time. I thought this was an interesting decision, because it’s a fun risk that paid off.

One of the main downs for me was the choreography. For a production with such lively and flashy music, costumes, and characters, I was expecting some outstanding dance moves. However, as much as I still enjoyed what was there, none of it really blew me away. I felt that the majority of it was too subtle of movements. It doesn’t go unnoticed though that the stage space was limited due to the band.

Not that it’s my place to say (although one day, it would be great), I feel that the band could have been placed in a different spot on stage, while maintaining the center of attention. This way, there is more space for some eye-catching choreography that will help bring the “BAM” factor that Chicago deserves. A show-stopping number will help guarantee a memorable musical.

Two of my closest friends are big fans of the show South Park. So, as soon as advertisements for Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s new musical, The Book of Mormon, were splayed across every MTA bus, they would not stop talking about it. The musical, which has been playing on Broadway since March of this year, has already won 9 Tony Awards among others. The profanity and blasphemy, all done in catchy numbers and joyful choreography, is very characteristic of both Parker and Stone and is perfectly up their alley. Tickets are nearly impossible to get and my friends and I have been waiting for this winter break to try to get student rush tickets after listening to the soundtrack countless times over the summer.

The story follows two young and rather naive, Mormon missionaries as they travel to an AIDS ridden and God hating tribe in Africa. The young men try and spread the word of God, but the harder their attempts are, the more futile the mission reveals itself to be. Both Parker and Stone love stirring up some religious controversy so they display the ridiculousness of the missionaries and the beliefs they so valiantly preach through songs and dance that mock the validity and conviction of faith in a modern context.

The musical is filled with profanity and crude dialogue, but all in good taste…if that’s possible to claim. The musical obviously is respected judging by how many awards it has won, but the musical is also extremely approachable and not intimidating at all. I’ve attached one of my favorite numbers, All American Prophet, so I could share the hilariousness and genius with all of you. However, viewer discretion is advised.

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First off, I would like to promote Studentrush.org because they asked me to, and I’ve seen some great shows because of them for the most, $5.00. Second, I would like to promote the new musical, Lysistrada Jones, that made its Broadway debut less than a week ago. It was young, fresh, comical, and great entertainment and I recommend it to everyone. What’s different about this musical is that it plays into pop culture, which makes it a great show for a Broadway Show “Virgin” (BSV) to see. I’m looking forward to taking my roommate and her friends, all BSVs, to see this one.

Lysistrada Jones is a musical comedy about Lissie J., a student at Athens University, who gets tired of people losing and giving up around her. So, she gets herself to have the will-power (along with her posse of girlfriends) to stop having sex with their basketball-player boyfriends (who are on a team that hasn’t won in 30 years), in order for them to have the incentive to win a game. It’s a show about determination, student activism, and living life to the fullest. I find it fascinating that this show plays on the Greek classic comedy of Aristophanes, Lysistrada, by adding modern twists and turns that are sure to have you laughing. So, go on, and get yourself a ticket for this musical and you’ll be able to say that you were one of the first to watch a show that may end up being Tony-nominated sometime in the future.

Here’s a review on Lysistrada Jones!

Anybody who has a weakness for heart-melting holiday movies knows the famous Ralphie who wants a BB Gun for Christmas. What many don’t know, however, is that A Christmas Story has been made into a musical! Yes, that’s right, a musical. If that isn’t exciting enough, there’s a possibility that it can make its debut on Broadway. But, because the theater business is so competitive and risky (like Zachary F. mentioned in his blog, “Bonnie and Clyde the Musical… An Epic Failure”) it is still very unclear as to what the future holds for this musical.

Fortunately, A Christmas Story the Musical!, has gotten relatively positive reviews from its five-city tour, and has the appeal of the holiday season, which makes it likely to fall in the footsteps of shows such as “Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas” and “Elf”, which have had seasonal runs on Broadway . I hope that this musical becomes a success and achieves the greater goal, which is to appear on Broadway, because its interesting to see how the charming and classic story can be reinterpreted (the original film, A Christmas Story, was an interpretation of the 1966 book “In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash”) linto another artistic medium. The reviews that the musical pretty much completely followed the storyline of the film, with the emphasis on special famous scenes from the film, makes the show all the more likely to end up on Broadway.

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As college students, we are constantly looking for ways to entertain ourselves, and for those of you who don’t already know, StudentRush.org is a HUGE help.  A few weeks ago, some friends and I received an email for free tickets to an off-Broadway performance called Standing on Ceremony in the Minetta Lane Theatre (although it inevitably cost us five dollars each with reservation fees).  It would consist of a series of plays about gay marriage.

Upon taking our seats, we saw a cute wedding set at the back of the stage, and high in the air were two intertwined rings.  In front of this set, however, were six seats side by side evenly spread across the stage.  Stands were placed in front of the seats, and I was at first confused because surely they would not be reading lines from them… but that’s exactly what they did.  We’ve experienced many different types of performances throughout the semester, but none like this one.  The set behind the six seats and six stands had no purpose in the plays but to be something nice for the audience to look at.  The first set of actors that came out seemed to be staring down at their lines for way too long.  It was noticeably unprofessional and all I was thinking was what did I get myself into here?   I realized, however, that the two characters were looking down at their “vows” which they were arguing over, and so I let the lack of eye contact slide.  From then on, they did not look at their lines nearly as much.

Of nine mini-plays, the one entitled “On Facebook” was the most meaningful to me.  It was the reenactment of a conversation that actually happened on Facebook.  It basically consisted of a debate between different groups of people holding different opinions toward gay marriage.  In the end, the woman against gay marriage shows very little understanding for the homosexual community and is more or less shut up because of her closed mind.  Throughout this play, the actors and actresses were sitting down, and there was barely any movement.  It was real, though.  Their words were meaningful and intense–perhaps that was the point.  Perhaps in this case, words mean a lot more than any action that can be performed on stage.  Perhaps the purpose of these plays were to ask for everyone to stop what they are doing and just listen to each other rather than judge each others actions and make assumptions.

Earlier in the semester I blogged about Spiderman the Musical. I wrote about how expensive and arduous its production was, and how harsh reviews and low sales were crippling the play. The show decided to forgo any plans to perform in a potentially lucrative overseas setting. Finally, the week of Thanksgiving, the show turned a weekly profit. The show costs approximately $1 million dollars a week. Usually it only pulled in around $100,000 to $300,000 dollars a week. Last week though, it pulled in $2,070,195.60 dollars, a box-office record for any show in history. Thats not to say that Spider-Man is out of the woods yet; it cost $75 million dollars to create and produce, another Broadway record. Usually a play costs between $5 million and $15 million dollars to produce. The producers and creators have full confidence that the show is going to recoup its losses in the coming months and years. They are using different strategies to attract an audience. Firstly, they are trying to appeal to tourists and first-time Broadway visitors. They also plan on changing the play every year to re-attract previous viewers. The show is now running smoothly with no more interruptions or injuries, and things are finally looking like Spider-Man will stick around for a bit. This only comes to show that Broadway is like any other form of entertainment: There are ups and downs, and it can either be a stage for success or failure. I found it quite interesting that such a new and novel show idea faced so much trouble, while older more conventional shows like the Lion King continued to make plenty of money. I think it might make more sense to keep these new and unconventional ideas on television, where there is much more of an audience for them (although spiderman on t.v. is hardly a new idea.) The article can be found here. An interview with the main actor of the show can be found here. 

What you are touching right now has a deep, dark secret. While your fingers slide across its smooth, sleek exterior, inside, it holds an ugly truth. I hate to break it to you, but the words you are reading right now are staring at you from a screen that glows with guilt. And Mike Daisey will tell you why.

In his monologue, “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs,” comedian Mike Daisey opens his viewers’ eyes to the behind-the-scenes of Apple’s production methods. Directed by Jean-Michele Gregory, who also happens to be Daisey’s wife, the show first premiered in July at New York’s Public Theater and has been extended to play through December 4th. With his razor-sharp wit, Daisey illuminates how Apple’s late co-founder, Steve Jobs, created the products that shape our lives and make us fall in love with technology. Daisey humorously recounts his love affair with Apple’s products, beginning when his wealthy uncle gave his family an early model Apple computer as a gift. The computer was subsequently given its own room.

I find this particularly funny and relevant as I can recall the day my father brought home the large, cardboard box containing our first computer, the original iMac. I remember staring at its startup screen (which flashed for a good 10 minutes) with awe and excitement. The blue monitor was placed on a desk in the room we now call “The Computer Room.”

But these products come with a price. In his one-man-show, Daisey forces his audience to acknowledge the moral choices they make each time they purchase an iPhone or iPad. You look at your Mac with awe. The power it possesses is incredible. But did you know that these gadgets are the products of considerable human suffering? The show reaches its engrossing peak as Daisey delves into an account of his dangerous trip to China. Here is from where the agony mentioned in the title stems.

According to Daisey, about half of all consumer electronics sold in the world today are produced at a single factory in Shenzhen, China. He describes the town of Shenzhen as looking like “ ‘Blade Runner’ threw up on itself.” Daisey attempted to visit the Foxconn campus, a tightly controlled factory secured by armed guards. Denied entry, he simply rented a car and waited outside to interview the factory’s workers as they were leaving their long day at the factory. He had to wait a very long time.

While the official Chinese workday is 8 hours, at Foxconn, at least 12-hour day is the norm. One worker died after a 34-hour shift. Foxconn made international headlines several years ago when a series of suicides at the plant was revealed. The workers Daisey meets are as young as 13. Due to the labor’s repetitive nature, their hands are often left deformed, rendering them unemployable.

While Daisey does not outwardly blame Mr. Jobs, he does explain how disgracefully negligent Apple has been in taking responsibility for the treatment of workers at the overseas plants that manufacture their products. And Apple is not alone. Other American corporations are at fault, as well.

As New York Time’s journalist Charles Isherwood remarks, “Anyone who sees Mr. Daisey’s show — and anyone with a cellphone and a moral center should — will find it hard to forget the repercussions that our casual purchases can have in the lives of men and women (and children) half a world away.”

After seeing this show, it might be fairly hard to find the “Skip this thought” button in your head. Daisey’s performance is a representation of how art can be used as a vehicle for social awareness.

Charles Isherwood’s article can be found here.

To Visit “The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs” page, and to purchase tickets, click here.

Last week, I was one of the lucky few to participate in the Macaulay Sing! competition in an original musical written and composed by our very own Annmarie Ericco and Mitchell Guido. Though we came in second to Hunter (who had an unbelievable performance by the way), we really put on a great show and had a wonderful time while doing.

There is something to be said about actually participating in the arts, and not just viewing it. It is a completely different experience and you can truly realize how much goes into a show. Everything is done on purpose. The lighting, the positioning, everything. Having been in my first real show, I now appreciate all of the little things that go into a real performance.

Another thing you realize is how much can go wrong without the audience realizing. We had our fair share of mishaps while putting our show on, but nothing that we didn’t bounce back from, almost seamlessly. Even scripted shows like ours require a certain amount of improv ability so that those things could be easily fixed. Luckily we had a great cast who could all think well on their feet.

If you ever have the opportunity to really do a something like this, I highly suggest you take it. There is nothing like making a joke on a stage and getting that swell from laughter from the audience. At the same time, there is nothing like having an intensely emotional scene and hearing the entire audience fall completely silent, investing themselves completely in the emotion of the scene. It was a wonderful experience and one that I hope to have the chance to do again in the future.

Last Thursday, November 17th, after participating in the demonstration, I went to Baruch College to watch a comedy called Sorrows of Stephen by Peter Parnell, directed by Thom Garvey, and performed by Baruch students.

Sorrows of Stephen is about a guy called Stephen who is headstrong, impetuous, and irrepressible to be in love. A bit similar to Don Giovanni, Stephen desires for a relationship with female. Right after his girlfriend Liz broke up with him, he goes out and look for new date. He asks the female driver for a date to opera, but she says she has to work. As he is in the opera, he sends a card to the lady sitting in front of him for a date, but the lady leaves after a while. When he dines at a restaurant later, he meets a hot waitress and ends up sleeping with her. What’s worse, later, he starts pursuing his friend William’s girlfriend Christine. Eventually, Christine decides to marry to William and break up with Stephen.

Overall, I think it is a pretty good show, but with some drawbacks. Marlon J. Suarez, who plays Stephen, is perfectly match to this character; he looks like a nice guy, but with a bit of badness, just as the character. In my opinion, he acts best; he presents his character vividly, showing the character’s shyness and rascality simultaneously. However, I don’t like the way the character Christine is presented because the actress’s voice has high pitch, but she does not control it. So, when she speak emotionally, she is like screaming, which is not agreeable. Also, this play takes places in many location, so they change the setting very frequently, which is distracting. Nevertheless, the setting is excellent; it has real bed and food.

Unlike the Bald Soprano’s absurdity, this play is a normal comedy, which has logical plot. However, I don’t understand that Stephen seems like is pursuing a stable relationship but he never treats a relationship seriously. He breaks up with his girlfriend and begins new date right after that. He seems like does not know what he really wants, but just keeps falling love. Comparing to the Bald Soprano, the play Sorrows of Stephen is more dynamic. The actors clothes and the scene keep changing, but it also makes the audience feel that everything is a bit rush, from the beginning to the end.