Finding Neverland

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The 2015-16 musical Finding Neverland is an exceptional one that doesn’t get nearly enough praise for its quality. The film of the same name is not quite the same as this musical, though I’m sure the inspiration comes from it. Scott Frankel and Michael Korie’s score is beautiful and different than any other show I can think of, using many different genres of songs to create one amazing cast recording!

The musical is the story of J.M. Barrie, the actual playwright of Peter Pan, as he struggles to find inspiration. He doesn’t seem himself, but then he meets Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, a widow who has four sons. One son, Peter, tends to sit out of the fun his brothers have, still reeling from his father’s death. Barrie sees this and he and Peter form a strong bond, leading Barrie to explore children’s theatre. Eventually, the playwright, with the help of Sylvia, the boys, and theacting troupe, produces his play, and in the process has helped Peter to have fun once again.

The three songs I would recommend the most out of this musical are “All That Matters,” “When Your Feet Don’t Touch the Ground,” and “All of London Is Here Tonight.” Listening to these three songs will give you an idea of the style of the show’s music, which I personally love. “All That Matters” is a solo for Sylvia, beautifully sung by Laura Michelle Kelly, that showcases the intermediate numbers of the show that fluctuate between ballads and upbeat songs. “When Your Feet Don’t Touch The Ground” is the eleven o’clock number of the show, a duet between Barrie and Peter, which is musicaly and lyrically impressive, being the most ballad-like song in the show. “All of London Is Here Tonight” is the opening number of the musical, but isn’t a typical opening number. It has an interesting and unique orchestral sound that shows the musical genius of the writers.

In short, this show is one that I highly recommend to any theatre fan! The songs, story, and cast of this musical fit together perfectly, which is another reason to love it. Plus, just about everyone knows Peter Pan, which makes the plot of the show more receivable to all audiences. What do you think of Finding Neverland?

Theatre Bucket List Part 2

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I’ve posted about my dream roles already. This time, I’m going to be listing the songs I want to perform- not necessarily in a show, but somehow. This list continues to grow and grow, but here’s what I have for now:

Beginning with solo songs- 
1. What I Did For Love, A Chorus Line (and hopefully I'll get to cross off this one soon!)
2. The Wizard and I, Wicked
3. I'm Not That Girl, Wicked (it's low for me, but whatever)
4. Everlasting, Tuck Everlasting
5. Breathe, In the Heights 
6. No One Else, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812
7. Omar Sharif, The Band's Visit (speaking of which, RIP TBV as of Sunday) (also this would be whitewashing but it's just one song, right?)
8. Love Will Come and Find Me Again, Bandstand
9. All That Matters, Finding Neverland
10. Hiding in Your Hands, deleted song from Dear Evan Hansen
11. I Love Play Rehearsal, Be More Chill

On to duets-
1. In a Crowd of Thousands, Anastasia
2. Something to Believe In, Newsies
3. Superboy and the Invisible Girl, Next to Normal
4. Partner in Crime, Tuck Everlasting
5. Found/Tonight (also hopefully soon for this one yay!!)
6. When You're Home, In the Heights
(There are more but these are the most important ones)

Other-
1. The I Love You Song, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
2. Greene Street, The Jonathan Larson Project
3. Quartet at the Ballet, Anastasia

Honorable Mention:
Journey to the Past from Anastasia, which I already got to perform once and I'm so grateful I could!
Also Requiem from Dear Evan Hansen, because I still want to do the whole song, but I used part of it for an audition once.

What are your "dream songs?" Or favorite performances you've had? Tell me a story about a song in the comments!

Movie Musicals

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Most people have a very strong opinion on movie musicals- usually that opinion is either that they are amazing or terrible. I don’t know which side I lean more towards, but I too have opinions on movie musicals. I also totally LOVE certain movie musicals, and I’m also going to talk about those! First of all, I’m thankful movie musicals exist because access to shows isn’t exactly easy to come by. While I am fortunate to have tickets to a nearby playhouse that receives national tours, I know that many can’t have the same experience. This is why movie adaptations of both older and new musicals are a good thing.

That being said, some musicals are better left onstage and ONLY onstage. Don’t come for me, but one example of a movie musical that wasn’t what it should’ve been was Phantom of the Opera (2004). Many movie musicals attempt to use big star-studded casts, but in reality, they would be better off with trained Broadway actors and actresses. Gerard Butler’s singing left much to be desired, and not many of the cast members had exceptionally memorable voices.

Older classic movie musicals seem to do a better job at this. They also have more impressive sets and costumes, strangely enough. These movies, such as The King and I and Fiddler on the Roof, are not at all as drawn out as a lot of the more recent adaptations. Original movie musicals are a completely different story, like The Greatest Showman, which was a huge success and deserved it, too!

With all that being said, I’m going to give my recommendations for some really good movie musicals! Firstly, A Star Is Born (2018) was wonderful! I have never seen the original version of this one, but the most recent remake was absolutely phenomenal! Songs like “I’ll Never Love Again” and “Shallow” display the raw emotion in Lady Gaga’s voice as Ally, and Bradley Cooper’s portrayal of such a deep and complicated character is impressive! Highly recommend this movie for basically anyone!

Hairspray (2007) is another one of my favorites! While this movie is a bit different from the Broadway musical, having certain songs added and/or cut, it’s a lot of fun and definitely a wild ride! Like I mentioned before, this one has a lot of big names in the cast, but unlike others, it doesn’t take away from the quality because most of them do an exceptional job performing their characters!

Side Note: I’m so excited for the In the Heights movie coming out next year, especially because Anthony Ramos is starring! What’s your favorite movie musical?

Excitement!!!

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So while it’s also a sad time for Broadway as multiple fantastic shows are closing, it’s also an exciting time! Here are some things that are happening/happened recently that are super exciting!

Ben Platt’s new album, “Sing to Me Instead,” is SO GOOD! I’m so happy that one of our favorite stars is branching out even further. Particular favorites are “Grow as We Go” and “Temporary Love,” but every single song is amazing! Ben is so talented.

Be More Chill is in its Broadway debut and it’s doing well! It’s being received fairly positively and the clips released look amazing! The score in that show is so unique, I wasn’t too sure how it would be reviewed, but I’m so glad that it’s going strong.

The Kennedy Center is reviving Next to Normal! N2N is a beautiful show that didn’t last too long on Broadway and has become an underrated favorite among Broadway fans. It’s also going to star Rachel Bay Jones, most colloquially known for originating Heidi Hansen in Dear Evan Hansen, as Diana Goodman, a mother who suffers from multiple mental illnesses.

The Broadway revival of The Music Man! Set to star Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, who are both legendary, this revival is sure to be a hit. I’m extremely interested to see both Hugh and Sutton onstage together, because I’m a fan of both of them!

James Corden is returning to host the 2019 Tonys! I was impressed by his hosting in 2016, and I loved Sara Bareilles and Josh Groban last year. I’m glad James Corden is coming back this year, because the Tony Awards are so huge and we need someone with personality to match!

Shows opening elsewhere! Waitress opened in London recently, starring Katharine McPhee as Jenna! (Also, Jeremy Jordan is joining the Broadway company of Waitress as Dr. Pomatter and I’m living for it.) Dear Evan Hansen opened in Toronto this past week as well!

What else is happening on Broadway that you find exciting? Let me know!

My Goodbye to Anastasia

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“How can I desert you? How to tell you why? Coachmen- hold the horses, stay, I pray you. Let me have a moment, let me say goodbye…” I’m still in shock that this beautiful masterpiece of a musical is taking its final bow on Broadway today. It deserves so much more than what it got, and it means a lot to me personally. Join me on a “Journey to the Past” as we leave one final message to everyone involved.

From the first moment I listened to the Original Broadway Cast Recording (OBCR) of Anastasia, I was in love. In love with Christy Altomare, with Derek Klena, with the orchestra, with the haunting harmonies- all of it. “My Petersburg” was stuck in my head for WEEKS on end after listening to it a few times. I immediately started researching everything I could about the show. I internet-stalked the stars to learn all I could about them. (Side note: still completely in love with Christy and Derek.)

Another reason that Anastasia holds a special place in my heart is that it was part of a memorable night for me. I was given the opportunity to sing a solo if I wanted, and it had to be from a musical, which obviously wasn’t a problem for me. I decided that I was going to sing “Journey to the Past.” I wasn’t sure if it was going to go well, but I practiced and practiced and got even more attached to the song. I performed and it went so well, even though the final rehearsal didn’t go as planned at all. That was the first time I had ever sung a solo in front of an audience. That night gave me such an emotional connection to the song and Anastasia as a whole.

The songs and story of Anastasia are so immersive that once you listen to it, you want to play it on repeat for days straight and find bootlegs clips from the show and watch all of Christy Altomare’s famous Instagram live videos. You got either excited or depressed when a cast member left/joined the company. You decide that Anya and Dmitry have probably the best love story ever and you wish for your own “In a Crowd of Thousands.” You become obsessed with everything about the show and now you’re sitting in denial that such an amazing piece of art could ever leave the stage.

And now, as the curtain closes on this wonderful gift to us all, the Fanastasias gather to say thank you to everyone who made it exist. Thank you to the cast and crew and producers and writers and composers and pit orchestra and the Broadhurst Theater and to Anastasia herself, who may not have really survived the killing of the Romanovs, but will forever live in the hearts of those who know the musical that preserves her memory. Wherever the road may lead you, may you have immense success and feel the love and support from your devoted fans. We’ll bless our homeland till we die. ❤

My Definitive Dream Roles

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Allllllllll the dream roles!!!

So, first off, I will only be using my *realistic* dream roles, because we all know we have those ones we can’t play (cough cough any of the newsies cough cough) because of gender or other limitations. (I’m not going to go and play a character who HAS to be Asian because I’m not Asian and I don’t like whitewashing, so those are out too.)

  • Zoe Murphy in Dear Evan Hansen
  • Katherine Plumber in Newsies
  • Christine Canigula in Be More Chill (I know Stephanie Hsu is Asian, but it doesn’t seem important to the character…)
  • Cosette/Eponine/Fantine in Les Mis (I can’t choose!)
  • Olive Ostrovsky in 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
  • Eliza Schuyler-Hamilton in Hamilton (Even though LMM only wants people of color… oh well)
  • Anya in Anastasia
  • Elphaba in Wicked
  • Oddly enough, I’d love to be Meg Giry in Phantom! Or of course Christine
  • Julia Trojan in Bandstand
  • Sophie in Mamma Mia (Even though I was just in Mamma Mia)
  • Girl in Once
  • Jenna/Dawn in Waitress
  • Trina in Falsettos
  • Sylvia in Finding Neverland
  • Winnie Foster in Tuck Everlasting
  • Diana in A Chorus Line just to sing What I Did For Love and get the gold costumes for the finale

I have more, but they aren’t really dream roles- these are the ones I consider dream roles, the rest are more of an, “Oh yeah, that would be fun.” I also know I’m going to revisit this soon and think to myself, “How could you forget x,y,z?” But that’s okay, I’ll just add it in the comments. What’s your number one dream role? And have you ever gotten the chance to play one of your dream roles? Fangirl with me in the comments!