You Too Can Be On Broadway!

by Jonathon Morgan on

Earlier this week I wrote about Broadway’s surprising focus on plays for the upcoming season — but there’s one musical that is a must-see for every tourist with stars in their eyes.

For $31.50 you can buy a ticket at the new rock musical, Spring Awakening, that puts you in the middle of the action — on stage with the performers.

According to Jo Piazza of the New York Daily News, who recently experienced the production for himself, “Members of the cast sit in chairs right next to you and during the show, they stomp and sing inches away from your face. It’s enough to make even the most karaoke-impaired person want to reach over, grab a microphone and wail on one of the songs by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater.”

Tempting as it may be, disrupting the show with your own impromptu performance is strongly, strongly discouraged — both before the performance, and again at intermission. In fact, just to further minimize interruptions, the theatre makes you remove all personal belongings (coats, hats, phones, purses) and keep them in a locker for the duration of the show.

That being said, it’s sure to be a memorable experience for anyone drawn to the stage. Make sure to book your tickets well in advance though — as, with only 26 seats available, they can be fairly tough to come by.

Theatre Lovers In For An Interesting Spring On Broadway

by Jonathon Morgan on

Spring is traditionally a busy time on Broadway, but this year, the United States’ most revered commercial theatre institution is offering something a little different. Instead of focusing solely on new musicals — long the mainstay of big-budget New York theatre — it seems that this season it’s plays generating all the excitement.

Starting in May, the more discerning live performance connoisseur can chose from revivals starring the likes of Kevin Spacey, Christopher Plummer, Brian Dennehy and Liev Schreiber. According to Howard Sherman, executive director of the American Theatre Wing, “After many years of hearing that plays on Broadway are a dying breed, the combination of star-driven productions, British imports, and the touring success of Twelve Angry Men, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and Doubt, is demonstrating that there is an appetite, and a commercially viable model, for dramatic theater.”

I was a theatre major in college, so I’m a big dork when it comes to stuff like this. My pick of the season is the revival of Eric Bogosian’s Talk Radio. The script is hysterical, and, by all accounts, Bogosian was fantastic as the central character when the show first ran in 1987. Now, with Liev Schreiber in the lead, it can only get more awesome.

Whether you’re a theatre-lover or not, New York is a great Spring destination, as it’s gorgeous that time of year. It’s not too hot, not too cold, and all the people seem so tired of being cold, lonely, and stuck in their apartments that they’re friendlier than you might expect.