The Real Thing

The Real Thing tells A tale about marriages and infidelity.

the reason I've been eager to watch the show is because Cynthia Nixon is in it.
Yeah, Ewan McGregor and Maggie Gyllenhaal too, with all the stars power, the show have been sold out since the start of previews. I barely got mine bout 1 hour before they sold out again for the day.
Everyone knows Cynthia Nixon as Miranda of Sex and the City.
but long before that she is a Broadway baby. and she is the only person that have play in 2 different role in 2 different running show at the same time. one of the show was The Real Thing. and this year, she return to Broadway to be in the same familiar show but in the role that's once portray by Glenn Close (Another fave live stage actress)
The Real thing is a comedy love story.
the humor is in the songs and dialog. to bring light into the reason to infidelity and broken or rekindled marriage.

Love Letters ia a gem in the mud

Love letters is never set to be the big Broadway show that'd attract the largest crowd. Let's face it. 2 of the biggest stars sitting on stage basically table reading the story without dance nor music?
But it is just that that makes the whole thing worth watching. There's often too many distraction on big shows. This small intimate indulgence is just the right stuff to calm all those down n let u really enjoy that little thing call reading a play.
N u can't come any better than Carol Burnett signature humor n Brian Dennehy calm discontents. ( well mayb some Martin Sheen and Anjelica Huston after the new year could rival them) Talk about being moved, or pull on ur laughing stroke with just one line. U know Carol n u know u r in for some jaw stretching.  N if u think for one moment that they'd b the only stars there, u'd b wrong. They would draw the most famous crowd to Broadway  ever, Larry David, old Hollywood n Broadway all came out in doves on this chilly afternoon only weekend show. Yeah just to hear 2 folks do a table read.

On the Town, the best revival of the saeson.

Watching one of the best revival of the season is uplifting n mesmerizing. On The Town is about as 21st century Broadway Musical theater As it gets. While the songs, costume, backdrop are still very 50's, even there's little changes to the book. But it's very modern how the story is presented. First the show begin with the huge rendition of Star Spangled Banner by the whole audiences as the orchestra because the open curtain is the flag. Magically enhancement with a talented baritone seated behind me.
Then the show start with the old ship yard backdrop, turning to some abstract subway ride. Then came the cab ride with the most elaborate animated background on Giant LED. Afterwards ballet choreographed specially for the revival. Not for forget the big New York New York number in its full  Broadway glory. Every piece n puzzle of the show is moving well, fitting well, n complete representation of the old n the new. On The Town is always the quintessential New York Broadway show. N now it's brush with a modern rainbow of sophistication.
quite surprisingly there's no a cough or sneezes in the crowd this time.
and to try to bring the audience into the scene, there's a lot of situation that the ensemble would come into the audience n i mean really come into them including the rear mezzanine.

Pippin

I am familiar with Pippin.
roughly, I know it's a show that involve a lot of circus act.
but not Quite Cirque du Soliel.
it is after all a Broadway Musical first, so the book more important.

Yet if you think about it. after Spider-man, there isn't many show that really do stunt.
Mind you it is a live show so every single stunt is done over and over again for 8 times a week.

It is a coming of age story of a prince named Pippin. Told in a circus Act.

The set is great, the choreography and the synchronization of all the sets and scene are amazing and tech is difficult.

and I have the privilege to watch the last show of most of the player before they goes on the national tour and of course the first show that Priscilla Lopez as Berthe.

What interesting about such show is that when you watch the show and people react to it.
Pippin is a peculiar and strange show to watch. because the Narration and the Choreography are far away from any conventional Broadway musical. some are surprise, some are expecting it to be some Cirque Du Soleil show. and in the show I watched I got this couple of Chinese who have no idea what they are in for. They dun really understand the world and all the flying and cage simply through them off completely. but they'll survive. just will still be scratching their head for days after that.

If u want something with a little bit of flair and excitement. this is a good surprise for anyone that watches musical.

Kinky Boots

To me, Kinky Boots is always a movie first.
I fell in love with the movie well before I saw it as Musical or on Broadway.
And it is now the first show I watched on Broadway.
 And Chiwetel Ejiofor is my Lola.
But seriously with Cyndi Lauper creating the score. who could be better.
of course it's a Broadway show that goes on to winning both score and best musical and to be fair I am bias when I saw Harvey Fierstein when I was buying my ticket.
well, needless to say, it is a great show.
whatever u want in a musical u got it. Music, Drama, Comedy, great sets and some fiery Drag Queens.

It's a story of a young man inheriting the shoe factory that's dying from his dead father and on the chance meeting a drag queen and decided to change it into a factory that makes boots for Drag Queen, hence Kinky Boots.

Maroon ain't Red. Red means Sexy.

so there u have it the best musical of 2013.

It's Only a Play

It's like having coffee every morning.  Every year, everyone who loves Broadway would go to this one show. Where it'd star one of the best Actor in the business, Nathan Lane. It's a Habit.

So this year, it's a Play called "It's Only a Play"

I can't really tell you what the show is all about but that it is exactly what the title have suggested and you'll get the usually and always loving-it Nathan Lane + Matthew Broderick humor.
the set is in the apartment of a producer, the after party for a play's premiere. Trust me, it's funnier that The Producers and they dun even sing and dance.

It is not a new play, as it has been done several times before, just that this time the Broadway Revival have given it a try with some of the biggest name.

Besides them, this will be Rupert Grint (from Harry Potter) Broadway Debut, along side the ever so funny Megan Mullally, the Brilliant Mess of Stockard Channing and F. Murray Abraham. (I always find myself trying to say "Sir F. Murray Abraham" every time I write his name. He just got that Shakespearean Vibe. Probably from all the Shakespeare he's done.)

Need me say more? this's bout as many awards winning actors/actresses you can cramp in one room.

and the show is introducing one of the brightest Newcomer Micah Stock. Micah is virtually unknown but he held his own in the Play and did fantasticly  (nope this is not a typo, I'm just creating words cos "fantastically" just doesn't make sense to me. yeah, I'm one of those people. Hey it's bout Broadway, I can create what I want. Ever heard Abso-Blomming-lutely in Spring?). Anyway, returning to Micah, you'll find him, both humorous in his comedic timing as well as startle-ly method.

Anyhow, it is Only a Play after all.

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime

The Curious Incident of The Dog in the Nighttime, is the first Broadway Poster I saw when I reach New York.
I was curious, about a show that's still in tech rehearsal at the time at the then closed-for-rehearsal Ethel Barrymore Theater.
so for 2 months I'd walk pass this giant blue poster of the show every time I go to other shows in the area and wonder what it'd be.
 Of course for most teenager who aren't stuck with Harry Potter for the past decade at some point would have come across this small unassuming book in your bookstore at some point.
And at this point the London Play of the show is pretty well known.
the story is about Christopher, who may or may not have Asperger Syndrome, but he is a genius in Math and at some scale of Autism. One day a Dog die in the neighborhood and he decided to investigate it. and in that he discover a bigger secret and with it brings the drama back to his own home.
the Play is set as such that it's a narration from a story Christopher writes by her teacher and acted out by several player/bystander.
What's amazing about the show is, in order to bring the audience into the mind of Christopher and yet still act out the several complex scene the producer have taken the minimalist Tech Approach to create the scene. you'd see a few of the props all over the stage yet there's no huge set pieces. what you have is 3 gigantic led Screen and projection to the floor that will transform into the world of Christopher Mind. This is how you are pull into this world of how Christopher mind sees the world...
Simple, Focus, often crowded with noise, and ever confuse and changing.
I must say the set design is Brilliant. there's so many moving pieces that it's simple amazing, it's how-many-rabbit-you-can-pull-out-of-the-hat kinda amazing.
This is not your everyday just dialog kinda play, it is like a ballet or dance without all the dancing kinda Play.

So, there is Choreography and you'd be in awe and invigorating to watch the whole act come to live with the moving set.

Here's a link for a snippet of the current Broadway Production, starring Alex Sharp, which in my opinion. one of the most brilliant Actor on Broadway right now.

http://www.broadway.com/videos/155682/video-watch-alex-sharp-solve-the-thrilling-case-of-the-curious-incident-of-the-dog-in-the-night-time/

New York City, Broadway, Museum, Art and Liberty!

Since I'm in New York I can't escape from all the Art Stuff here.

this will be a joint post with the Brother site Junk-Y-Art.

for the months to come there will be plenty of Broadway and happenings and shows. some may have been out dated but I'll still post them just for the fun of it.

so here's the line up.... not exactly in that order. So I hope you'll enjoy.

Pippin
Kinky Boots
King Lear
Les Miserable
Phantom of the Opera
Cabaret
If/Then
This is our youth
The Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder
It's only a Play
The Curious Case of a Dog in Nighttime

Cirque Du Soleil - Varekai
Tim Realbuto - Wunderkind
Jay Brannan
Von Smith
Broadway Spotted at 54 Below

US Open
Rio World Cup
4th July Fireworks

Alice in Wonderland
Fall Gala
Tschaikovsky

People's Climate March
New York Fashion Week
Get on up Premiere at Harlem Apollo Theater
AMNH
Met Museum
The Cloisters
Guggenheim Museum
MoMa
Coney Island
911 Memorial Museum
Liberty Island
Ellis Island
Grand Central Station
Penn Station
Central Park
Chinatown
Little Italy
Bronx Zoo
Astoria Park
Brooklyn Bridge Park
Brooklyn Bridge
Manhattan Bridge
The Highline
Columbia University
Chelsea Market
Hudson River Park
South Port
Bryant Park - New York Library
Time Square - Broadway
Governor's Island AIDS Quilt
Montouk
United Nation
Riverside Park
Wall Street
St Peter’s Church
St Patrick’s Catedral
Church of Notre Dame
Trinity Church