I
paid only USD622 (~PHP29,250) for my roundtrip Air China ticket: New York –
Manila – New York via Beijing. The plan was to be a no-show for the return
flight because I really had no intention of going back to the Americas yet, despite
my first trip to New York being too short and uneventful. To make things worse,
I did not even see a single play or musical, which is supposed to be a
non-negotiable for any New York or London trip because I am a huge theater fan.
And then October came, and I decided to just fly anyway.
At first I was thinking of going sightseeing again: meet Lady Liberty upclose, go camwhoring on the Brooklyn Bridge. You know, touristy shit. The alternative was to arrive without an itinerary, which is what eventually happened. After days of searching for a legit online website selling Broadway tickets, I finally stumbled upon Todaytix, which is awesome and has made my life more convenient. Instead of pickup or delivery, a representative of theirs will be waiting for you in front of the theater before the show starts.
Cats
is one of the longest running musicals in the history of contemporary theater.
Its appeal seems to stem from its rather convoluted premise made palatable to a
general audience, especially the younger ones, by virtue of colorful song and
dance numbers. Because of its layered theme, both adults and children can enjoy
it, and is recommended as a worthwhile family affair.
Matilda
caters more to children in the sense that most of the performers are of the
same age range, and the song lyrics are rather simplified for a younger crowd
to appreciate. As an older member of the audience, what you will enjoy more are
the quips and rather unconventional views of Miss Trunchbull regarding child
rearing, as well as the very ironic position she holds in that school in spite
of her mindset.
All
in all, The Humans works because it has a statement to make about family in
general, an argument that regardless how dysfunctional everyone is, blood is
blood. Fights are unavoidable and misunderstandings are bound to be plenty, but
at the end of the day, sticking with each other is still the best option
because no one will understand you more than they will. Most of the time you
just need to give each other space and everything will be fine. Or maybe not.
An American in Paris is like reverse Miss Saigon, but a way happier version. There
really is this certain kind of appeal when it comes to romance set during a
regime change, when people are torn between staying and leaving in an effort to
move on with their lives. Blame it on the immediacy of the situation? Here, the
guy chooses to stay, which is perhaps why a shot at happiness is a luxury they
can afford, as opposed to a tale of one being left behind and both ending up defeated
and thousands of miles apart.
Vietgone
is a musical, sort of. BUT wait, there’s more... They don’t sing. THEY RAP.
When Ikeda emerges onstage and begins rapping about her new American life, I
had to pause for a moment to process what I was hearing. For a while there I
was, like, OH NO THEY DID NOT. When she starts dropping one too many
“Motherfuckers” and “Shit” in her lyrics, my brain finally caught up. This is
the shit. It is innovative in a way because not so many musicals subscribe to
this kind of music for storytelling purposes.
Something Rotten has more than one highlight, with memorable scenes abound. There’s the
tap dance showdown between Nick and Shakespeare, Nick and Nostradamus’ “A
Musical”, and of course, Omelette: The Musical itself which is probably the
most entertaining part of the show as it definitely brought the house down.
These are just the musical numbers. Add the hysterical dialogue and you are in
for a really entertaining theater experience.
Plot
flexibility is key to Shear Madness’ success, as each of the four suspects are
given a legit MO to make it believable that they can commit such a murder. The
circumstances also provide a lot of clues, which can lead to the truth or just
be summarily dismissed later on as red herrings. If you are the curious type of
theater enthusiast, you will surely pay attention to those hints to make the
experience more satisfying. This is “America’s favorite comedy whodunit” after
all.
Over
all, the daily routine was basically work work work work work in the morning
and the afternoon, then head straight to Broadway in the evening to de-stress. And
then I’d hang around and just chill on top of the red steps at Times Square for
half an hour or so before heading back home to Brooklyn. It was so chill, peace
of mind at its finest. At the back of my head I thought, “I can get used to
this!” But winter is coming, and rent in New York is expensive AF. I’ll definitely
do this again, though. Miss Saigon lands on Broadway in March 2017. I’m so not
going to miss that.
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