"Hamilton" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway

"Look around, look around, how lucky we are to be alive right now!" Fans of the American musical are very lucky to be alive right now. Lin-Manuel Miranda is the future of music-theater, and the future is now. Hamilton is a quintessentially American piece of art: musical theater is an American art form, Alexander Hamilton's story, from orphan immigrant to founding father, is a quintessentially American story, the score is a modern American rap/hip-hop/pop/musical theater style, and the cast is a beautifully diverse representation of this country. Lin-Manuel has taken this part of American history that most of us have forgotten and created something so immediate, compelling, epic, human, and utterly modern. In short, Hamilton is everything musical theater should be.

It's rare that one person writes the book, music, and lyrics of a musical; most are written by pairs or teams of artists. It's even more rare that that person also stars in their creation. Who does that?! Lin-Manuel Miranda, that's who. Hamilton is his singular, cohesive, brilliant creation. And even though his excellent understudy Javier Muñoz filled in for him in the title role in the matinee on a two-show day that I saw, I still feel like I saw Lin-Manuel Miranda because this show is him. That's not to say he didn't have help - director Thomas Kail to keep the huge train that is the show on track, Andy Blankenbeuhler's sharp and modern and super cool choreography, Paul Tazewell's stunning period costumes with a modern twist, David Korins' design of a relatively simple but versatile and kinetic set, and of course, this amazing cast that brings Lin-Manuel's vision to vivid life.

Daveed Diggs as Thomas Jefferson with the cast

I love theater that makes me want to rush home and read more about the topic, and this show makes founding father Alexander Hamilton seem like the most fascinating person I never knew (history class was a looooong time ago). From George Washington's right-hand man during the Revolution, to Secretary of the Treasury, to author of the Federalist Papers, to a family man caught in a love triangle with two sisters, to the center of America's first political sex scandal, to death in a dramatic duel. But even thought this is a historical piece, the themes of politics, family, legacy, and striving to make this country better against opposition are extremely relevant to every time period, especially today.

The Hamilton cast recording was released recently and I was torn about whether to get it and listen to it, or wait and see the show first. I chose the latter, and now I cannot wait to download the album and listen to it obsessively. There are just so many words, and no matter how closely you pay attention (and you have to pay attention), you cannot catch them all on first viewing/listening. In fact, my stats friends at 538.com counted - Hamilton contains 3-4 times as many words as other musicals. That's insane. And brilliant. But it's not just the words, there are some great melodies too, that haven't left my head yet and likely won't for a long time.

Aaron Burr with the Schuyler sisters
(Leslie Odom, Jr., Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones,
and Renée Elise Goldsberry)

As I mentioned, I did not have the pleasure of seeing Lin-Manuel in the title role, but Javier Muñoz soon made me forget I was watching an understudy as he completely made this complex, layered role his own and seamlessly fit in with the huge and amazing cast. Highlights include Phillipa Soo as Alexander's wife Eliza; Renee Elise Goldsberry as her sister Angelica, Alexander's close confidante (the best love triangles are those in which there is love in all directions, as there is here, creating some achingly beautiful moments for all three); Leslie Odom, Jr. as rival Aaron Burr, who functioned as a sort of narrator; Daveed Diggs as a cool and funky Jefferson; and last but not least, Andrew Rannells, who is an absolute hoot as King George, the spurned lover of America who has rejected him (if you have to replace Jonathan Groff, Andrew Rannells is the only way to go).

In summary, everything you've heard about Hamilton is true. It lives up to the hype, and so much more. I was expecting to laugh and be wowed, but I was not expecting to be moved to tears. This is a show that's both big and epic, and also intensely intimate and emotional. It'll make you laugh, think, cry, and feel every emotion under the sun. This is what musical theater can do, and this is a prime example of why musical theater is my favorite thing in the world. Thank you Lin-Manuel Miranda.

(Note: The only way to get tickets is to buy them well in advance from the show's website. This is one of those shows that is never going to have discounts available. So just do it, it's worth every penny.)


Read more of my Broadway reviews here.

"If/Then" at Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway

Original RENT cast members Idina Menzel and Anthony Rapp reunite in a new original musical on Broadway? I'm in! Written by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, the creators of the brilliant musical Next to Normal, If/Then stars Idina as a woman who moves back to NYC after a divorce to start a new life with old friends and new. The Sliding Doors-esque plot follows her on two different paths, each resulting from a different choice made on her first day in the city. Two different realities unfold, both filled with love and heartbreak. It's a more traditional musical than Next to Normal and doesn't come close to the same brilliance (but what could, I don't envy them having to follow the success of their Pulitzer Prize winner), but it's entertaining with a well-constructed story, thought-provoking themes of chance and fate, and a score I want to listen to again. It's so refreshing to see a new original musical when so much of Broadway is revivals, jukebox musicals, and movie adaptations (I saw six musicals during my week in NYC and this was the only new original musical), and an absolute joy to see a woman at the top of her craft.

Elizabeth is a city planner who has spent the last twelve years in Phoenix in an unhappy marriage. The two divergent paths find her teaching, marrying a soldier, and starting a family in one (where she's called Liz) and forging a successful career redesigning NYC, flirting with her married boss, and getting involved with her bisexual ex-boyfriend in the other (known as Beth). While the story elements are less than original (surprise pregnancy, husband going off to war), at least they're arranged in a clever and unique way. And it's an interesting thought - how different your life would be if you had made one small choice differently (as Moritz Stiefel says - all I had to do was say yes). In the end I'm not sure which reality wins out, but Elizabeth is a woman who is going to come out on top with a little help from her beautifully diverse group of friends.

The story seamlessly flows back and forth between the two realities, sometimes within the same scene, with little confusion. A quick wardrobe change and her friends calling her by two different nicknames helps. The set is incredibly technical, with stairs and balconies moving in and around, creating many different spaces in NYC, which functions as another character in the story. I really enjoyed the modern pop/rock/musical theater score, mixing poignant ballads with funny up tempo numbers, and am looking forward to the cast recording being released this summer.

Idina Menzel and Anthony Rapp reunite in If/Then

It's no accident Idina was part of two of the biggest musical theater phenomenon of the past twenty years - RENT and Wicked. She is a true one-of-a-kind talent and deserves to be famous for more than having her name grotesquely mispronounced. My theater buddy and I were sitting in the very last row of the theater (having snagged the last two tickets on our last available night) and I'm certain Idina's voice would have easily reached us without the aid of amplification. Her voice is a force of nature, and lucky for us, she chooses to use it "For Good." It's particularly lovely to see her reunited with her RENT co-star Anthony Rapp almost twenty years later, who is charming and funny as her best friend/ex-boyfriend, and gets a few great songs of his own.

While I unfortunately can't say that If/Then is a fantastic new musical (it's a little too precious and movie-of-the-week), it is a good one, with compelling characters, a catchy score, and a fantastic cast led by Idina the Great. It's definitely worth checking out on your next trip to NYC.

Idina Menzel quickly and efficiently signed every
Playbill she could get her hands on

"The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess" at the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway

The new production of the Gerswhins' Porgy and Bess is one of those classic epic musical theater experiences, like I haven’t had since seeing South Pacific at Lincoln Center four years ago. The kind of show where from the opening bars of the orchestra to the last curtain call, you know this is something special, this is the real deal. A new and exciting interpretation of a classic piece of music-theater history that is still so resonant it feels fresh and new.

Everything about this production is top-notch – the gorgeous music by George Gershwin, the staging and choreography, the sparse but effective set (with working water pump!), and the cast. Oh the cast! Audra McDonald has long been one of my favorites, mostly because of the Ragtime soundtrack (not to mention her role on the pretty good TV show with the really good cast, Private Practice). She’s a four-time Tony winner, and will no doubt be nominated for her performance as Bess when the nominees are announced on May 1. So raw and real, tough and vulnerable. Not to mention her incredible voice singing these amazing (and difficult) songs. Matching her in excellence is the heretofore unknown to me Norm Lewis as Porgy. His body is painfully contorted, but his voice is easy and beautiful, and his presence strong. Surrounding the two main characters is a strong cast of supporting characters and ensemble. Joshua Henry (a Tony nominee for Scottsboro Boys, which played at the Guthrie before its Broadway run), brings his gorgeous voice and charismatic presence to the role of the doomed Jake. NaTasha Yvette Williams is great as the mother figure Myriah. David Allen Grier (who's more well known for his movie and TV roles, but is also a trained and experienced theater actor) is the comic relief as the smartly dressed drug dealer called Sporting Life, but he also has the musical and dramatic chops needed.

I'm not very familliar with the original opera Porgy and Bess, first produced in 1935, so I can’t talk about how this production reworked and reinterpreted the original. I hear they’ve tried bring more depth to the characters, to change what some saw as a racist portrayal of African American life. But I only know what I saw, which is wonderful. I was so unfamiliar with the story that when the show began with another actress singing the classic song “Summertime,” I thought we were seeing an understudy for Bess. Fortunately I was wrong, and Audra made her entrance a little bit later to my great relief. Bess and her man Crown are in the “bad” crowd of Catfish Row, SC – involved in drugs, violence, gambling. When Crown kills a man, he skips town, and agrees that Bess should find a “temporary” man to live with (I guess a woman living alone is out of the question). Porgy is available and willing, so he takes her in. He's beloved by the community, but they think he can never “keep” a woman because he’s a “cripple”    (his foot is turned completely in at a 90 degree angle and his whole body leans, but don’t worry, Norm told us he works with both a chiropractor and a physical therapist to prevent permanent damage to his body). For some reason Porgy loves Bess completely and unconditionally, and is the only person who can see the good in her. It’s a confidence and stability she’s never known, and it teaches her to begin to believe in herself. Until her past comes back to haunt her, and she falls back into old ways. The town turns on her, but Porgy refuses to give up on his Bess. I was frustrated at the open ending, but as Norm said when we met him after the show, it’s an ending of hope, and I have to believe that these two damaged people find each other again.



with Norm Lewis (Porgy)

The music is, of course, divine. The score includes several songs familiar to anyone who’s grown up in Western culture – in addition to “Summertime,” there’s “I Got Plenty of Nothin,” and “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” As much as I enjoy seeing a modern band on stage, I geek out over a full and luscious pit orchestra, as this is. The choreography is so evocative of the time and place, not too smooth and polished but organic to the people and the situation, from the carefree picnic scene to the tense fight scenes. The costumes are simple but also help to explain who these people are, with Bess changing from a form fitting red dress to a soft floral dress as she becomes an accepted part of the community.  Diane Paulus seems to have a knack for directing classic pieces of music-theater history and bringing them to modern audiences; she also directed the 2010 revival of HAIR that I loved so much.
  

with the great Audra McDonald (Bess)

It’s a tough year for revival of a musical, with the fabulous production of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies last fall. But there’s something about this piece that’s so all-around satisfying, it’ll be hard to beat.