NEW YORK! Concrete jungle where I saw Dear Evan Hansen and cried a lot! Seriously, if you have a ticket to Dear Evan Hansen, DO NOT LOSE IT! I saw it with three standbys performing and it was still absolute perfection. Sure, it wasn't Ben Platt, but I am still so so happy that I got to witness the magic that is that show. The scenery and scene changes used so much technology, but it is a metaphor for how much technology influences our thinking and our daily lives. It was never a distraction, but an enhancement. The story was never lost because the performers were excellent (and mostly because it was Rachel Bay Jones, Laura Dreyfuss, Michael Park, Kristolyn Lloyd, and Jennifer Laura Thompson). Rachel Bay Jones had me ugly crying as soon as she started singing "So Big/So Small" and I was so glad because it's the only song in existence to make me sob!
Everything about that performance was satisfying: the singing, the acting, my seat, and the fact that one of the standbys is also from Kentucky (Colton Ryan). I got to meet him at the stage door after the show and make that connection. It made my dreams of doing what he's doing real and valid. Kentucky represent! Overall, Dear Evan Hansen was a dream come true...now let's see when I get be IN it.
After Evan, I saw five more shows. Do not ask me why, it just happened! After the Wednesday matinee of DEH, I had a nosebleed seat to see Bette Midler, David Hyde Pierce, Gavin Creel, Kate Walsh, and company in Hello, Dolly! That was a fun show. It was definitely more of a classical musical with the dialogue, song, and three-minute-dance-number formula, but still very entertaining.
The next day, I attended my first real professional Equity audition for a theatre company based in Wisconsin. I am not sure if I will get the job, but it was a goal of mine to even audition in the first place, and I did really well for the first time. I was pleased. The following evening, I had a standing room ticket for Beautiful: the Carole King Musical, which was AMAZING! The music, of course, was beautiful (hehe), but seeing Chilina Kennedy and Kara Lindsay perform live and meeting them afterwards was a dream!
The show-going continued Saturday night with a rush ticket for Waitress, which I HAD to see. Betsy Wolfe had been sick, but came back for the performance I saw...and she killed it. It was probably my second favorite show because I am in love with the soundtrack and I also work in a restaurant, so I relate.
Sunday was another two show day for me. I splurged a bit more and saw Charlie and the Chocolate Factory starring Christian Borle (whose Willy Wonka is epic!) that afternoon and then I had a "why not" moment and decided that my last show would be Wicked (for the fifth time). Man, it was so awesome being in the Gershwin Theater for the first time, and I have no ragrets. I spent SO MUCH MONEY, but it was worth it. This was my early birthday vacation to myself.
Even though auditions and Broadway was a main highlight, I was really happy to see three of my long time friends, even two I had not seen in over five years. It definitely helped because I knew I wasn't alone, and it wasn't too hard to meet up when we could. With one of my best friends from high school, especially, it was special spending the last night with her eating dinner and delicious ice cream from the Big Gay Ice Cream Shop (where Jason Robert Brown was literally two feet away from me...he vaguely confirmed via Twitter that night). It was the perfect ending to a perfect trip (minus the fact that I got an annoying rash on my legs, but it's mostly gone now).
Once I got home and got settled back into the Kentucky life, I turned 24...and I was still dealing with the rash and lost my voice on that special day. So, my birthday didn't actually feel like it was my birthday, but it was still a great day. I was productive with cleaning out my childhood closet and sorting my life before attending my first Elf rehearsal (and pretending to sing). At least Olive Garden with my parents was a hit and I got free dessert courtesy of a fellow Spotlight friend. My evening ended with a cute performance of Cinderella at the Spotlight Acting School.
Everything is mostly normal now. I am back at work and saving my money back to where it was, my voice is back and I should be in full singing mode by the next rehearsal, and my annoying rash is fading...and I'm still listening to Dear Evan Hansen and I really want to see it again! Oh well! At least I have Elf to look forward to, as well as another professional audition for a company in Lexington. So, the excitement continues.
