The Theatre Enthusiast

photo by Joan Marcus As soon as I caught my first glimpse of the neon signs hanging above the entrance of the Vivian Beaumont Theatre, my face broke into a huge grin. I had been there just two months prior to see My Fair Lady  on Broadway, and I was so excited that I was back for a second round. I power-walked to the box office to pick up my ticket. On my way, I snuck a glance at the understudy board. It was completely empty. This was a good thing for me because the first time I saw the show, there were several fabulous understudies on and this time I got to see different actors in those roles. After getting my ticket I bid goodbye to my parents, whose seats were in the balcony, and I made my way to my seat in the third row of the orchestra. I sat impatiently for the next twenty minutes, flipping through my Playbill and eavesdropping on the group behind me trying to guess the synopsis of Come From Away ("It's probably about a couple who goes to a Sandals resor...

photo by Joan Marcus "I just won The Cher Show lottery," my mom whisper-shouted on the train en route to New York City, staring at her phone in shock. "Who wants the second ticket?" "I'll go with you," my dad said immediately from the row behind us. That left me on my own in the city to see whatever show I wanted. "If they're still available once we get there, I'm going to try and see Mean Girls ," I said. "This is the perfect time to go!" My mom and I had seen the pre-Broadway tryout run of Mean Girls at the National Theatre in Washington, DC back in 2017, and I have been wanting to see it on Broadway to identify changes between the two runs. Once we arrived in the city I successfully obtained my ticket in a matter of minutes at TKTS. About two hours later, I dropped my parents off at the Neil Simon Theatre and then practically sprinted across the street to the August Wilson Theatre to see the most fetch show on Broadwa...

At face value, the stage door of a theatre is the official entrance and exit for actors, crew, musicians, etc. However, the stage door has become more than that for theatre fans everywhere. At the conclusion of a performance, fans gather outside the stage door to wait for cast members willing to sign autographs and take selfies. The act of "stage dooring" is a fun pastime for the modern theatre fan. I've been stage dooring shows for many years and have had the pleasure of meeting some really wonderful Broadway performers I admire. To kick off my new Top 10 series, I've decided to compile a list of who I think are the nicest Broadway actors I've met at the stage door (in no particular order): ALEX BRIGHTMAN   I first became an Alex Brightman fan after he blew me away in School of Rock . I wasn't able to meet him after the show, but many months later I found myself back to see the show for a second time. Between the two times I sa...

photo by Jeremy Daniel I could not have been more excited when I learned that Finding Neverland would finally be launching a national tour. I saw the show twice on Broadway starring Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammar, and Laura Michelle Kelly, and I completely fell in love with the breathtaking yet underrated musical. At long last, the tour reached the National Theatre in Washington, DC, and I was so excited to score cheap tickets! I had some concerns about seeing Finding Neverland this time around. Despite the glowing reviews from my friends who had seen it earlier in the week, the Washington Post completely slammed the production. The Post's review mainly blamed the tour's shortcomings on being a non-equity tour. In summary, an actor who is non-equity has not yet worked their way into the Actor's Equity Association (the actor's union, in laymen's terms). Non-equity actors are not protected by the AEA regulations, and therefore are not obligated to be paid a ...

On the weekend of February 22nd, I took advantage of my President's Day floating holiday from work and traveled to New York City with my family to catch four Broadway shows. I intend to post my reviews over the next couple weeks for each show we saw. Our final show of the trip was the highly anticipated but highly disappointing Be More Chill. I am so sorry, you guys. I really was excited to see this show and then come on here and write a glowing review. Unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to do that with a clear conscience. As much as it pains me to say it, I would like to recommend any self-proclaimed #Squips (the name Be More Chill  fans have given themselves) to close this page and continue to celebrate and support the show that you clearly love a lot more than I do. After spending four hours sitting on the sidewalk outside the Lyceum Theatre on a rainy Sunday morning, I scored rush tickets to Be More Chill . I was ecstatic.  The buzz coming off the s...

photo by Jan Versweyveld On the weekend of February 22nd, I took advantage of my President's Day floating holiday from work and traveled to New York City with my family to catch four Broadway shows. I intend to post my reviews over the next couple weeks for each show we saw. Next up to review is Network . We took our seats in the balcony of the theatre, and before our butts even hit our seats there was already so much to look at. I immediately spotted Bryan Cranston far upstage right getting his makeup done. There were people doing yoga center stage. On stage left, in our blind spots, the audience members who paid premium prices for stage seating were enjoying their complimentary food and drink. On the screens located all through the theatre, a giant countdown to the start of the show was ticking down. Immediately we were swept up into the world of the play, and I knew with great certainty that we were about to see something incredibly unique. Once the countdown h...

photo by Joan Marcus On the weekend of February 22nd, I took advantage of my President's Day floating holiday from work and traveled to New York City with my family to catch four Broadway shows. I intend to post my reviews over the next couple weeks for each show we saw. The second show we saw was The Ferryman , a new play taking Broadway by storm. I first found out about The Ferryman when my mom and I were visiting New York City in January of this year. As we were walking to our hotel, we walked past the marquee and studied it briefly. "What's The Ferryman ?" "I dunno... new play I guess?" "Huh, I guess we should look into it." "Yeah." The next day I was waiting in a rush line for another show and chatting with the girl sitting behind me in line. She had just seen The Ferryman and told me it was a must-see! She told me it was a long show but the acting was superb and there was a real baby in the cast! Okay, an actual infant c...

On the weekend of February 22nd, I took advantage of my President's Day floating holiday from work and traveled to New York City with my family to catch four Broadway shows. I intend to post my reviews over the next couple weeks for each show we saw. First up is the Broadway revival of Kiss Me, Kate! Roundabout Theatre Company's latest production has been highly-anticipated (at least by me) for many months, and I was extremely excited that we were able to score tickets during the show's second week of previews. For those unfamiliar with the term, previews are regular performances with a paying audience, but are prior to the official opening night. During previews, the cast and creative team can gauge audience response and figure out any changes that need to be made to costumes, choreography, staging, etc. Once opening night arrives, the show is considered "frozen" and no more changes can be made. Anyway, back to Kiss Me, Kate! This production is full of imm...