Seeing DEAR EVAN HANSEN!!!

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<<<SPOILERS MAY BE AFOOT>>> On Friday, June 14th, I got to experience something incredible while sitting in Connor Palace at Playhouse Square in Cleveland. I got to see Dear Evan Hansen’s national tour! Dear Evan Hansen is arguably my number one favorite musical 3 days out of the week. (By that I mean that my favorite changes on the daily, but DEH is probably my all-time favorite.) And not only did I see the show, but I got to see Ben Levi Ross as Evan! (Ben if you ever find this, I love you way too much and I’m so sad I missed you at the stage door.) This show was nothing short of a masterpiece, with no exaggerations whatsoever.

One thing that stands out to me about the live staging of the show is the concept for the set. With a lot of musicals, the sets are extravagant and eye-catching, such as the barricade of Les Mis or the interchangeable parts of Hamilton. And other sets have intense detailing, like the Time Dragon Clock and gearwork on the proscenium of Wicked. DEH shies away from that tradition and aims for a set that keeps the focus on the action. The actual set pieces are very minimalistic and only present if necessary- no excess at all. The backdrop of the entire show, save for the orchard scene at the end, is made up of mobile screens that act as smartphone projections and show Evan’s self-addressed letters. I like this idea, because in all honesty, the plot of the show is so intense that you can’t be distracted for even a second.

On a different note, this show is REAL emotional. You wouldn’t expect to be tearing up at multiple scenes from the first act, but it’s true, I did. The first scene that had me on the verge of tears was “For Forever.” The fact that Cynthia Murphy was so moved by Evan’s lie just hit me hard for some reason. After that, I was pretty okay. Then “You Will Be Found” hit me. This song I don’t want to give too much away about because it’s just something you have to see for yourself. Let’s just say that from about halfway through Act II on, I was a goner. Pasek and Paul really hurt my heart putting “Words Fail” next to “So Big/So Small.” But kudos to everyone involved for making audiences feel so much.

I stagedoored at this show again! I don’t have much to say about it because it was all very fast and there were a whole lot of people there, but everyone was very sweet once again! I’m still so upset that I came too late to see Ben but I guess it’s fine… I don’t know what else to say about seeing Dear Evan Hansen other than it’s for certain the best show I’ve seen yet. Next I’m seeing Come From Away, so I’m pretty excited!

Just Some Random Updates + Things I’m Excited About!

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There’s a lot going on in both the Broadway world and my own theatre world so I’m going to give updates on my own life for once. Sorry it’s a little bit boring, but oh well…

Firstly, I don’t think I ever said this here- I’m in Peter Pan right now! Every summer I am in a musical, and it’s the most fun ever! I’m playing Liza, the maid, and also a Lost Boy, a character that I named “Ace” but is reading the part of “Nibs.” And I’m totally excited to perform it, especially because so many of my close and long-time friends are in the company as well!

Also, I have the opportunity to participate in a Vocal Performance Camp this week! (Well, I’m probably there when this posts. I’m writing this on Sunday but posting on Wednesday haha) We get to learn all types of things like musical theatre vocal training as well as classical and opera, and stage makeup classes, audition techniques, and a masterclass!

I SEE DEAR EVAN HANSEN ON FRIDAY OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH OH MY GOSH I’M WAY TOO EXCITED FOR THIS BUT HOW CAN YOU NOT BE? IT’S DEAR EVAN HANSEN WITH BEN LEVI ROSS.

So, um, yeah, that’s my life right now. Thanks for reading this far, I know this is different from my typical post. And as always, don’t forget to like, comment, and follow as I try to expand this blog!

Friendships in Musicals- Rated out of 10

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First of all, Happy Tony Day! I’m excited to see how this year’s show unfolds. And speaking of “holidays,” yesterday was National Best Friends’ Day, so I thought I would talk about a few of my favorite friendships in musicals and just for fun give them “ratings.” Without further ado, here are the Broadway besties!

Number One: Elphaba and G(a)linda. What better way to start out this list than with maybe the most famous pairing? Elphie and Glinda meet in college, and it’s hate at first sight. For a long time, it’s hard for them to get used to each other, but as the story goes on, they become some of the best friends the world’s ever known. I think people could really learn a lot from their story, so I give them a 10/10.

Number Two: The Schuyler Sisters. Angelica, Eliza, and Peggy are not only a power trio of sisters, but also best friends, especially Angelica and Eliza. They represent ultimate platonic love, particularly when Angelica sacrifices her love for Hamilton so Eliza can be with him. I wish we got more of Peggy’s story, because she was just as much of a queen. 9/10 because we need more Peggy.

Number Three: Evan Hansen and Jared Kleinman. The typical high school boys who spend their free time doing not-typical things. Unless you think backdating emails you wrote claiming to be someone else because you need to prove you were friends with a dead kid you weren’t friends with in the first place is something typical. This friendship goes downhill fast when Evan is consumed by the lie, and Jared walks away from him. 6/10 for toxicity on both parts.

Number Four: Jeremy Heere and Michael Mell. This friendship is one that as soon as you witnessed it, you knew it would last throughout the whole show. Until Jeremy started ignoring Michael to be cooler, which caused Michael to feel hurt and eventually have an anxiety attack at a party. Nonetheless, Michael helps Jeremy out in the end, saving the day. 8/10 because it’s so one-sided. Poor Michael.

Number Five: the Barricade Boys. Barricade Day was just a few days ago, so I had to include them. They are the definition of loyalty- willing to die for each other, and unfortunately, most of them did. They spent all their time together, having as much fun as one could have during the June Rebellion. 10/10 I wish I had a squad like that.

Honorable Mentions: Winnie and Jesse, Tuck Everlasting
the Six, Six
Jack and Crutchie, Newsies
Dmitry and Vlad, Anastasia
The Fates, Hadestown

Who are your favorite Broadway best friends? Let me know!

P.S. I’m seeing Dear Evan Hansen on Friday, so expect a post about it next week!

Unpopular Opinions: Bella’s Broadway Blog Edition

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Let’s see just how many follows/unfollows this gets me…

Hey guys! Today I thought I would share my own unpopular and/or controversial opinions about Broadway. Feel free to let me know your stance on anything you want in the comments! (I just realized how much I sound like a YouTuber in this post. Oops.)

  1. I’m on Team Cosette. Not saying Eponine deserved to die, because I like her character as well, but in the grand scheme of Les Mis, Cosette did nothing to deserve her punishments as a child and I’m happy she got a better life later on.
  2. I love bootlegs. There, I said it. Arrest me. Bootlegs honestly give me life and I know they aren’t the safest, but when you find a good one, it’s the best feeling to see it hasn’t been taken down yet. Bless bootleggers.
  3. In POTO, both the Phantom and Raoul are awful. Most people automatically jump onto the Team Raoul bandwagon, but he seems like a controlling and overprotective jerk who has no regard for women’s choices to me. If I had to choose, I’d choose Team Phantom, to be honest, because he only acted the way he did because nobody ever showed him compassion. But that still doesn’t justify murder. They’re both equally bad.
  4. I like the new Be More Chill recording. I’ve seen a lot of hate, mostly in comments on Instagram, regarding the OBCR. Things like “Jason Tam ruined the role of the Squip,” and “Tiffany Mann must be tired from carrying the entire show on her back.” But honestly? I like the new sound. Will Roland is so talented, a great choice for Jeremy, and Jason Tam’s Squip KILLS me every time. He’s hilarious with that stoner-slash-frat-boy voice.
  5. Hamilton, while still a great piece of theatre, is overrated. A lot of people get into Hamilton and stay there, not exploring the great selection of other masterpieces out there, which causes what would be smash hits to close prematurely. Again, this isn’t saying I don’t like Hamilton, because I do, but the spotlight needs shifted after so long.
  6. I loved Rent Live. Like Be More Chill, I have seen a lot of backlash about how it wasn’t truly live. But what’s the difference, really? There was an audience the night before, so it technically was live, so what does it matter if the television audience sees it a day later? That’s like saying Cast Recordings aren’t legit because they aren’t live. The cast did amazing either way.
  7. My two least favorite musicals are Love Never Dies and Cats. Sorry, but they are, in my opinion, terrible. We’d all be fine without their existence.
  8. Oh, and the stage production of Grease is better than the movie, for one reason and one reason only- “It’s Raining On Prom Night.” As much as I’d miss “Hopelessly Devoted to You,” it’s outranked by Sandy’s song from the stage show.

What’s your least favorite musical? Let me know in the comments! And share your opinions, but be respectful please. Hate isn’t tolerated on this blog. And as always, feel free to leave me a suggestion on what I should write about next!

Six the Musical

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I’m sure you’ve seen it on social media- it’s seemingly everywhere. “Welcome to the show, the histo-remix.” This unexpected musical sensation, Six, which modernizes a group of ladies you’d never think to make a musical about- the ex-wives of King Henry VIII. “Divorced. Beheaded. Died. Divorced. Beheaded. Survived,” the six ‘queens’ open the show. Each of the women tells their story in their respective songs, as the audience learns “how they got unfriended,” as the show would say. Here’s my opinion on this wild show.

Concept/Idea: The concept for this musical is really unique and bold, and one of the aspects I like the most. It’s kinda crazy that someone even HAD the idea in the first place to take a bunch of forgotten women from centuries ago and give them technology and attitudes. But it worked out in their favor, really, because my first impression of the six girls was that they are straight-up queens. And I also love how it’s almost in the form of a concert.

Characters/Cast: Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn, Jane Seymour, Anna of Cleves, Katherine Howard, Catherine Parr. They are the Six. And I love them. I don’t know much about the actresses who play them, just that they are each differently talented. I only got into this show a few days ago, so I’m still learning more about it, sorry…

The Songs: This is where I’m going to get backlash, but I’m going to be honest. It’s good, but it’s not that spectacular. I can see why it has such a big following, because the songs are catchy feminist anthems, especially songs like “Don’t Lose Ur Head” and “Get Down.” I’m not saying I don’t like the songs, it’s just that they aren’t that special. But everyone has their opinions, you do you, that’s just me.

What do you think of Six? And also, what musical do you want me to “review” next? On an unrelated note, I read the book that inspired Be More Chill, and it’s so different. I hardly think of the two as joined entities, they’re completely separate to me. Still a great book though, I would definitely recommend! (I’m also a bookworm in addition to a Broadway superfangirl.)

Spelling Bee Things

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You might have come to this post thinking I’m going to talk about the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Well, sorry, but today’s post isn’t going to be my typical musical fangirl session. Tonight, you might know, but you might not, is the final segment of the 92nd Scripps National Spelling Bee. You’re probably thinking, what on earth does this have to do with Broadway, Bella? This is a Broadway blog! The answer is absolutely nothing- this I was lucky enough last year to have competed among over 500 of the best spellers in the country (and some other countries, too) and tie for 42nd place, which I consider my greatest achievement. Not only that, but I met one of my best friends there. (If you ever see this, Alex, you’re the best! Can we tell Alex how amazing she is in the comments?)

Honestly, I don’t know where this post was going. I just wanted to express my gratitude to everyone that helped me make it this far. I’m too old to compete now, but I wish the best of luck to everyone who competes in the future and tonight. (I’m writing this a few days in advance, so I’ll update you on the competitor from my county in the comments when I find out.) It just goes to show you that anyone can do anything they work hard enough for.

I did miss it this year, not having multiple-hour long study sessions nearly every free night I had, not freaking out about the outcome. But it’s really developed my lingual skills- now I’m pretty much able to decipher any word by it’s language of origin, because like anything else, common roots have common patterns. It’s also helped me to learn to accept that sometimes it comes down to luck. Thank you, Spelling Bee, for teaching me things that still impact my life and will until the day I die.

Sorry again if you came here for a musical post. I just felt it needed to be said. Love you guys and thank you for the constant support! What’s one event that will always impact you?