Memories of '09

Looking back, 2009 has been a great year for me. One of the highlights was spending two months in London - and thus, two months of all the West End theater I could fit in. To wrap it up, I thought I'd make a quick list of some of my favorite theater-related memories of the year.

I've made two lists - one Wicked, and one general theater. Otherwise my Wicked moments might have taken over!

Wicked in 2009

5. Sabrina Carter as Elphaba - My last time seeing Wicked in London turned out to be her first full performance, and I loved seeing her make the role her own. She's definitely my favorite of London's current Elphies, and I hope she's bumped up to standby in 2010.

4. Kendra Kassebaum as Glinda - I went to San Francisco intending to see Wicked once, but loved her so much I went back the next night. She really puts so much depth into Glinda, and she stole the show for me.

3. Meeting Stephen Schwartz - Originally he was scheduled to perform at my school in 2008, but it was postponed. So when it finally happened in 2009, I couldn't be happier.

2. Wicked's final performance in LA - The atmosphere of the audience was amazing, and the performances that night were among the best I've seen.

1. Kerry Ellis: Cast Change and Great British Songbook - My first, and favorite, Elphaba. I wasn't really upset that she was leaving, but just thrilled that I could see her one more time. And her performance at the GBS certainly leaves me very excited to see what's in her future.

General Theater in 2009

5. Romeo and Juliet at the Globe - So I was about 20 minutes late due to bus confusion and traffic. And we were groundlings, standing the whole time. And then it started to rain. But still, seeing Romeo and Juliet at the Globe is pretty legit.

4. Forbidden Broadway x 2 - Once in Malibu, and once in London. Hilarious both times, but quite interesting to note the changes between the two. (The second being slightly modified for a West End audience.)

3. Sister Act - Not really a groundbreaking show, but lots of fun, with some fantastic singers.

2. Scott Alan at LA's M Bar - Great performances, and lots of laughter. Read this entry for more details.

1. West End Live - A whole day of free musical performances? Count me in!

Tell me, what were some of your favorite theater memories from the past year?

Attend the Tale of Sweeney Todd

Long time no blog! I'm wrapping up my final semester of college, which has resulted in too many papers and projects, and not enough time to write a new entry.

On November 14, my job as an usher at my school's theater finally paid off when I got to watch our student production of Sweeney Todd for free. I had to stand the whole time, and it's not like tickets were expensive to start with (only $10 for students), but I was excited to watch it just the same.

My school is very conservative, and that's generally been reflected in the fall musical. My freshman year it was Damn Yankees, and last year it was Thoroughly Modern Millie. (I'm not sure what it was the year in-between, as I was in London at the time, but I'm sure it was a show in the same vein.) So it was quite a surprise when it was announced that Sweeney would be the show this year.

I don't have the time to go into too many details right now, but I loved the show. Great sets, a talented cast, and funnier than I'd expected. I had the pleasure of seeing it again the following afternoon, this time as an actual audience member, and was glad for the opportunity to catch some of the lines I'd missed the first time around (as I'd escorted late arrivals to their seats).

Then over Thanksgiving break I watched the 2007 movie version, to compare. It was interesting to see the adaption, but I still strongly prefer what I saw on stage. I'm not sure how much of this is due to our specific cast, and how much comes from general differences between the musical and the movie, but I found our Sweeney to be much more understandable and our Mrs. Lovett to be much more personable than their counterparts in the film.

I was also highly disappointed that one of my favorite songs, "Kiss Me," was cut from the movie. Not only is it entertaining (It was a gate! It's the gate! We don't have a gate!), but it allows for further development of Johanna. I loved her in the musical, but didn't care for her much in the movie.

I now have 25 pages of a novel to write, and one week to complete it in. So long, farewell, and I'll blog again once finals are over.