tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056238063013699574.post976283385681177198..comments2024-03-06T06:53:01.863-05:00Comments on JK's TheatreScene: Ask Jeff: A Really Good QuestionJKhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04782634274496834578noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056238063013699574.post-26122116821699062492011-01-29T18:52:00.571-05:002011-01-29T18:52:00.571-05:00Good question, Jeff. And good answer. The show I...Good question, Jeff. And good answer. The show I've seen the most number of times is In the Heights- closing night was my 21st visit. Why? It brought me so much sheer joy. I loved every bit of it. Some of those trips were to share it with family and good friends. Some were to see specific cast changes or understudies go on. Many were just because I wanted to. Because I could. Because I love having the chance to notice the little details I didn't pick up at first or appreciate little variations in the casts' performances. I'm fortunate in that I didn't have to choose between seeing ITH a million times and seeing other things too. I see a lot of different things, on Broadway, off Broadway, locally. ITH is the most fun I have ever had in a theater, and I already miss the show tremendously.<br />I recently saw Les Mis for the 10th time (though that's over the course of 18 years, unlike ITH, which wasn't quite a year and a half). That's an all-time favorite (ironically though I've never seen it on Broadway). I always discover something new in it.<br />Like you, I saw Next to Normal several times. It's not a show I could handle seeing with the frequency I visited Heights, but it's been a show I've felt compelled to see more than once. In fact, after the first time i saw it, at Arena Stage, the only thing I knew for sure in the jumble of emotions and thoughts coursing through me was that I needed to see it again. I wasn't done with it. It wasn't done with me. Two years later, and it's still not done with me, nor I it. I still don't have all the right words to describe what N2N is for me, what it's given me, but I have some of them. And I'm grateful for that. Grateful for it.<br />Wicked is another I've seen a bunch of times, and that's mostly been about sharing it with others. After first seeing it with my sister, a year later I took my mother, I took my father, I took my best friend. My most recent trips were because I wanted to see Mandy Gonzalez as Elphaba (it took two tries because the first time she was out- at Lin Manuel Miranda's wedding). And now I'm good with Wicked for quite a while.<br />There are a bunch more shows/plays I've seen 2 or 3 times. But for me, ITH and N2N were unique in the force with which they hit me and blew me away. There will probably not be another show I feel compelled to see so many times any time soon. But I guess anything is possible.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9056238063013699574.post-62740154161993431392011-01-28T23:22:00.793-05:002011-01-28T23:22:00.793-05:00I have not had the opportunity to see any show twi...I have not had the opportunity to see any show twice, due to my schedule and where shows tour; however there are shows that I would love to see again. When I studied in London I saw Hairspray, Avenue Q, and Wicked! Of all the shows I have seen I would never give up the chance to see Wicked or Hairspray again. (Wicked will be in D.C. this Summer so...making plans!)<br /><br />The reason why? It's not only that the shows are great, but everytime you see them you notice something you didn't before or as the cast changes the intensity or feeling of a song may change. For example, I have the soundtrack of Hairspray with the original cast and the movie cast (w/John Travolta), I've heard the original movie version (w/Ricki Lake), and first saw the musical with the London cast. My favorite song is "I Know Where I've Been." Each time I hear Motormouth Maybelle sing that song!...Whether it's Mary Bond Davis, Queen Latifah, Ruth Brown, or Johnnie Fiori it send chills down my spine and gives me goose bumps. It moves me every time! It never gets old and it will never get old. Plus, as a Maryland native it's always fun to see a show based on a city you know so much about and can relate to. <br /><br />Wicked was an experience I never want to forget. It was an extraordinary take on a classic story that you grow up with and all I can say is that it was AMAZING! As with this show, as the cast changes or as it tours you may take something different away each time cause of the change in costumes, set design, or the actors. <br /><br />So, seeing a show more that once is not only fun, but a new experience or like the first time each time. You may leave having found a new meaning to a song for you. Yes, it may pull at your budget, but just being in the audience is enough. You don't have to be front row in center just to enjoy!<br /><br />(*I have a feeling Lombardi will be added to my list of favorites that I will want to see again.)KayeTeahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06760708199313068907noreply@blogger.com