Best of the Decade: The Best Musicals of the Past

Now that my top musicals of the 21st Century have been posted, let me answer a question that several of you have asked me:  What were my favorite musicals of past decades?

Even though I didn't really start attending live theatre regularly until 1983, several 1970's musicals had their influence on me, so I'll start there.  I'll give you my 3 favorites for each decade.

The 1970's:

Honorable Mention: Applause

3.  Company

2.  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

1.  A Chorus Line

The 1980's

Honorable Mention: La Cage aux Folles

3.  Evita

2.  Grand Hotel: The Musical

1.  The Mystery of Edwin Drood

Here is a video made for the song "Don't Quit While You're Ahead" featuring the Original Broadway Cast and writer Rupert Holmes.  Love the 80's beat!  And Betty, Cleo and Howard look amazing!! (Thanks, Kevin D. for bringing this treat to my attention.)  RIP George Rose, a gentleman and a great actor.




The 1990's

Honorable Mention: Sunset Boulevard, Titanic and Side Show

3.  RENT

2.  Blood Brothers

1.  Kiss of the Spider Woman

What were yours?  Please write in and share!

Jeff

Best of the Decade: The Best New Musicals #1

If you have followed this blog at all since I started it almost a year ago, the musical I selected as the best new musical of the first decade of the 21st Century should come as absolutely no surprise. I have been raving about/obsessing over it for at least that long.

At Second Stage and at Arena Stage

What is perhaps the sweetest part of all of this is that I was kind of, but not too, interested in the show when it debuted (in this version at least) Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre, but then took it off my radar after the reviews mentioned the self-aware, ironic, funny tone the show had taken. At that point, I was sick of  so many shows like that. But then, in a daring move, the show got re-worked and was given another full production at Washington, DC's Arena Stage. A couple of cast changes, a re-worked tone and rave reviews got it moved to the big time.

On Broadway

I still didn't know all that much about the show beyond the fact that I had loved the show's star since I saw her debut as Mrs. Walker in The Who's Tommy, and later in Side Show. And, frankly, I was still smarting over the Booth Theatre's previous tenant's (The Story of My Life) short run and critical dismissal. Still, as many of you know, I try very hard to see all of the new musicals, and so this show got on the list, even as I went into it with no expectations or much knowledge. What I came out with is one of the top five lifetime experiences in my more than 25 years of theatre-going. And even more amazing, that gift just gets better and better!  At one point, the show was known as Feeling Electric, and that is exactly how I feel after every performance of it I see!

1.  next to normal
Book by Brian Yorkey
Music by Tom Kitt
Lyrics by Brian Yorkey
Musical Staging by Sergio Trujillo
Direction by Michael Greif
 
Statistically Speaking:
First Preview: March 27, 2009
Opening Night: April 15, 2009
Closing Night: Still running
21 previews, 568 performances as of August 26, 2009 at the Booth Theatre
 

• The Original Broadway Cast consisted of: Adam Chanler-Berat (Henry), Jennifer Damiano (Natalie), Louis Hobson (Dr. Fine/Dr. Madden), Alice Ripley (Diana), J. Robert Spencer (Dan) and Aaron Tveit (Gabe).  Understudies were Michael Berry, Meghann Fahy, Jessica Phillips and Tim Young.

Brian D'Arcy James as Dan Goodman

• The Original Off-Broadway Cast was pretty much the same, except Asa Somers played the roles now played by Louis Hobson, and Brian D'Arcy James played the role now played by J. Robert Spencer.  Interestingly, Mr. Somers rejoined the company as an understudy for a time, and Mr. James replaced Mr. Spencer.  Mr. Berry's wife, Sarah Uriarte Berry also joined the company as an understudy for the role of Diana while Ms. Ripley took vacation and Ms. Phillips took the role.

The New Cast Takes a Bow

The New Cast Gets "the Door Treatment"

• Recently, there was a significant cast change, big enough to garner re-reviews by the major media.  Again they were raves for the most part.  The current cast consists of : Mr. Chanler-Berat, Jason Danieley (Dan), Meghann Fahy (Natalie), Mr. Hobson, Kyle Dean Massey (Gabe - he also took over for Mr. Tveit during the latter's leave to do Catch Me If You Can), and Marin Mazzie (Diana).  The understudies are: Mr. Berry, Brian Crumb, MacKenzie Mauzey, and Ms. Phillips.
• The 6 member band also at one point included Ms. Ripley's husband, Shannon Ford.

 
next to normal was honored with 11 2009 Tony Award nominations.  It won 3.
 

• The Tony winners were: Alice Ripley - Best Actress in a Musical, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey - Best Original Score, and Tom Kitt and Michael Starobin - Best Orchestrations.  The nominees included: J. Robert Spencer - Best Actor in a Musical; Jennifer Damiano - Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Michael Greif - Best Direction of a Musical; Mark Wendland - Best Scenic Design of a Musical; Kevin Adams - Best Lighting Design of a Musical; and Brian Ronan - Best Sound Design of a Musical.
• Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt were awarded the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, making next to normal only the 9th musical so honored.  The most recent, RENT, was also directed by Michael Greif.

next to normal at the 2009 Tonys:

Aaron sings, Alice, Tom and Brian win!

 
My Favorite "normal" Moments:

• The "mini - Overture":  There is something thrilling about the soft tinkling of the first notes as the lights begin to dim, and then that electric guitar boom of a note as we rock out and are plunged into complete darkness, only to get soft musically again...

• "Who's Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I":  Sure it sets up the tone of comedy-drama, and it really establishes the Dan/Diana relationship as it currently stands.  But I love the song - the swing, that catchy beat, the great counterpoint/round, and especially the vocal arrangements that make the 4 "voices" sound like so much more.
• "I Miss the Mountains":  Our first "alone time" with Diana, and it really defines how we will feel and how much/comfort/discomfort we'll have in later, similar moments.

• "You Don't Know/I Am the One": I could always tell this sequence was meant to be one of those big moments in the show, but I never felt fully satisfied until I saw Marin, Jason and Kyle Dean do it.  Perfection on all levels.

• "Superboy and the Invisible Girl": Catchy, lyrically interesting, meaningful way beyond the words.  Probably one of my all-time favorite single Broadway show tunes.  All-time.
• "I'm Alive":  OK, I'll be blunt.  Both actors who have played Gabe are hot to look at.  Bad boys who do dangerous things are appealing.  Belt + danger + cute = great theatre moment! 

The New Cast

• "Make Up Your Mind/Catch Me I'm Falling":  I love this number in the same way that I love "Psychopharmacologist", only not funny.  At all.
• The End of Act One:  After all of the cacophony, it is the quiet moments that really stick.

• "Wish I Were Here":  A great rock moment to start the second half...
• "How Could I Ever Forget?/"It's Gonna Be Good (Reprise)": Let the tears begin.  When the final pieces of the Gabe puzzle come frighteningly clear, there isn't a dry eye in the place, and the argument here has always been gut-wrenching and brilliantly played.
• "Why Stay?/A Promise": The "there's no turning back" moment, wonderfully executed and nicely low key even when you least expect it.
• "Maybe (Next to Normal)": Is it because we finally know for sure what the title of the show means?  Or is it because it is nice to see an un-crazy moment so full of truth - making up without either side giving in?

• "Hey #3/Perfect for You (Reprise)":  Happy tears and I get them every time.  The vastly underrated Adam Chanler-Berat, turns and sees Natalie at the dance, and his smile/relief/love comes pouring out in one look.  I live to have someone look at me with that much love.

• "Light": A rousing, tidying up of loose ends, without being too tidy or too final.  The staging is simple, but huge.  Remember, there are only 6 cast members, but there is an epic feel to the exact moment they are all over the set, then run down the steps and join in a line and advance on the audience.  We are one, despite differences, issues, individual needs; family is the light.

The Original Broadway Cast

Since the Opening:

• The Original Broadway Cast Recording has become a best seller.
• next to normal became the first musical to do a Twitter performance.
• The show has its own YouTube page where fans submit video of themselves singing their favorite n2n songs, and they are put together in "mash ups" hosted by the show's writers.
• Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey held a contest for ideas about a song that isn't in the show that depicts a moment or relationship mentioned but not portrayed in the actual show.  It is called "Something I Can't See" and it is a song for Gabe and Dr. Madden.
• Alice Ripley continues to do her solo act in NYC.  She will also headline the National Tour of next to normal.
• J. Robert Spencer tours with his Jersey Boys buddies in concerts around the country.
• Louis Hobson became a father during the run - of twins!
• Aaron Tveit is co-starring in the upcoming Broadway musical, Catch Me If You Can.

• Jennifer Damiano and Adam Chanler-Berat developed an act and performed at Joe's Pub.
• The entire company has performed at various charity events.
• Tom Kitt orchestrated and arranged Green Day's American Idiot, which is currently playing at the St. James Theatre.
• Both Kitt and Brian Yorkey continue to work on several projects, both together and apart.  Yorkey directs shows on the West Coast, and is working on the book to Catch Me If You Can, with Terrence McNally.
• Jessica Phillips will be leaving the show shortly to take on her next project, co-starring in Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.  I can't wait to see her!
• Meghann Fahy continues to do double duty.  During the day, she has a recurring role on One Life to Live.

• Kyle Dean Massey was in the Broadway photo shoot for the Broadway Issue of Out magazine.
• No word on a film version yet, but I suggest Betty Buckley as Diana's mother in a cameo.

Final Thoughts... 

There are so many reasons to love next to normal.  The songs are catchy, perfect for each moment and rich in texture and meaning.  The lyrics are thoughtful, clever and most of all, honest.  It is a show that perfectly blends all of the technical aspects of theatre - the set, lights and costumes all contribute to the meaning.  The staging is tight, focused and endlessly interesting.  It is the best in years because it doesn't back down, it makes you think, it makes you feel.  It is easy to relate to, even if you have no one in your life like these people.  And it is fat-free - there is not a single note, lyric, word, pause, lighting cue, movement that is wasted.  Every single part contributes to the whole.  And while it may make you uncomfortable or take you to a dark place, you come out of it moved and alive.  Not a bad thing, at all.

Best of the Decade: The Best Musicals #2

There's a moment you know that what you are seeing live in front of you is going to have a profound effect on you personally.  Theatre is great for that; many a theatrical moment has changed the way I've looked at things, felt things, saw differing points of view, but the really profound moments are rare.  Rarer still are those times when you are at a new show and you just know that theatre as you previously knew it has changed.  Only five times in over a quarter century of theatre going have I felt that "life changing feeling": my first Broadway show, Mame, the very first time I saw A Chorus Line, the very first time I saw Cats, and twice in this first decade of the 21st century, which bodes well, I think for the future of musical theatre.  They are my number 1 and 2 Best Musicals of the Decade, which only seems right.

Off-Broadway: The Venue and the Artwork

The moment I knew this show (at number 2) was life-changing was at a late in the run performance of the show off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theatre Company, in a space that had once been a church in the Chelsea area of Manhattan.  The show, of course, is Spring Awakening.  The Moment: At intermission, when I literally could not move from my seat.  My mind was reeling; my senses were firing at full levels.  I still wasn't 100% sure that what I was seeing was real.  All I know was that I felt the most bizarre and strong connection to a group of teenage types, all from 19th century Germany.  I could see myself in each and everyone of those characters - the confusion, the desperation, the ignorance, the bliss, the joy, the bitterness, and the ecstasy of developing sexuality.  I was Melchior, Wendla, Ilse, Ernst, Hanschen and, probably most like Moritz. 

Of course, the real treasures came in act two, and the overwhelming pain and sadness.  I wept at the end of the show like I hadn't wept anywhere else, save for a funeral.  I mourned the loss of young lives so unnecessarily taken; I was angry at the adults and the ignorance and the moral self-righteousness that caused it to turn out the way it did.  I have to admit that as a teenager, it would have been wonderful to have had Spring Awakening, and as an adult, I vowed that I would try always to remember these kids and everyone like them before I speak, judge, counsel any of them that happen into my life.

2.  Spring Awakening
Book by Steven Sater
Music by Duncan Sheik
Lyrics by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater
Choreography by Bill T. Jones
Direction by Michael Mayer

Statistically Speaking:
First Preview: November 16, 2006
Opening Night: December 10, 2006
Closing Night: January 18, 2009
28 previews, 859 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre

There were 17 cast members : Skylar Astin, Gerard Canonico, Lilli Cooper, Jennifer Damiano, Christine Estabrook, John Gallagher. Jr., Gideon Glick, Jonathan Groff, Robert Hager, Brian Charles Johnson, Lea Michele, Lauren Pritchard, Krysta Rodriguez, Stephen Spinella, Phoebe Strole, Jonathan B. Wright, and  Remy Zaken.  There were also two swings.

The Original Broadway Cast also made up the Off-Broadway Cast, with the exception of the two adult roles, which were then played by Frank Wood and Mary McCann.  The Broadway production also added "Ensemble" roles, sung by actors placed amongst the onstage seating for the show.  The original ensemble singers were: Gerard Canonico, Jennifer Damiano, Robert Hager and Krysta Rodriguez. 

The off-Broadway production with

Mary McCann and Frank Woods as the Adults

Between the Off-Broadway and Broadway runs of the show, the most significant changes made were a slight song order change and the replacement of "There Once Was a Pirate" with "The Guilty Ones" at the top of Act Two.

Over the course of its run **, there were:

• 2 Wendlas: Lea Michele and Alexandra Socha
• 3 Melchiors: Jonthan Groff, Kyle Riabko and Hunter Parrish
• 3 Moritzs: John Gallagher, Jr., Blake Bashoff and Gerard Canonico

(** - not including understudies or swings)

The Replacements: Blake Bashoff

and Kyle Riabko

(They also starred in the 1st National Tour.) 

Among the other replacements were Matt Doyle - Hanschen (Bye Bye Birdie, bare), Kate Burton - The Adult Women (Hedda Gabler, The Elephant Man, TV's Grey's Anatomy), and Jenna Ushkowitz - Ensemble/Understudy (TV's Glee).

• Spring Awakening nominated for 11 2007 Tony Awards and won 8: Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical (Steven Sater), Best Score of a Musical (Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater), Best Featured Actor in a Musical (John Gallagher, Jr.), Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones), Best Direction (Michael Mayer), Best Lighting of a Musical (Kevin Adams) and Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik).  The nominees were Best Actor in a Musical (Jonathan Groff), Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Christine Jones), and Best Costume Design of a Musical (Susan Hilferty).
• The show was also honored with 9 Drama Desk Award nominations, winning 4, including Best Musical.
• Jonathan Groff won a Theatre World Award for his performance.

Kevin Adams' Tony-winning Lighting Design

My favorite "Awakening" moments:

• The Theatre: Walking into the Eugene O'Neill Theatre the first time, wondering how they would have to change the blocking to accommodate a Broadway stage and not the intimacy of the church space of the Atlantic Theatre Company.  Wasn't I shocked (and pleasantly surprised) that Christine Jones and Kevin Adams painstakingly recreated the environment of the original space in re-designing the sets and lighting for Broadway.
• The Silence:  The cast would file on stage to cheers and applause.  Lea Michele would step up on her chair and the lights would dim.  We became instantly silent and into the show.

The Original Cast: "The Bitch of Living"

The 1st National Tour: "My Junk"

• "The Bitch of Living"/"My Junk":  Never before has masturbation been so succinctly and accurately described.  And neither has the all-consuming rush of teenage love.  (Any guy or girl who tells you differently is not being honest.)
• "Touch Me":  Not so much because of the truth in the song, of which there is plenty, but because of the gorgeous vocal arrangements and performance of the song.

Original Cast

• "The Word of Your Body": Not since "The Line" pose in A Chorus Line has a single image been so identified with a show and has had the ability to sum up the entirety of it with that single image.
• "I Believe": Passion, lust, needing... and the urgency of peer pressure all rolled into two young lovers on a strung up platform surrounded by a cast of characters singing in stunning harmony and rounds.  A jarring juxtaposition and a shocking end to act one.

Original Cast

• "I Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind": The stark staging - especially that neither actor ever looked at the other, leaving how it might have looked up to the viewer - matched the stark reality of what was happening to these two misguided and misunderstood young adults.

The 1st National Tour

• "Totally Fucked":  The joy of reckless abandon of youth jumping and dancing and cursing against the very adult truth of the song's lyrics is funny and sobering.  And they managed to work it into their Tony Awards number!

Off-Broadway

• "Those You've Known":  I wept at the waste of two lives and the ruination of a third.  I thrilled to the chilling theatricality of the staging.
• "The Song of Purple Summer":  Who cares if you don't really totally get what everything means in the lyrics?  The song is full of beautiful imagery, it is staged simply, and it is sung gloriously.  The perfect ending.
• Seeing the show from onstage:  Glad I had seen it from the front first, but watching these people work from their point of view was worth 5 times what they charged, at least.  And Skylar Astin smells very good...

Since Spring Awakening opened:

• The Cast Recording won the Grammy for Best Show Album.
• There was a very successful First National Tour, and a non-Equity tour is going around the country now.
• The London productions was nearly unanimously praised but had a short run.  Nonetheless, months after it closed, it won the Olivier for Best Musical.

Artwork from the London Production

• There have been dozens of worldwide productions in as many languages.
• A film is in the final planning stages, with casting to begin soon.

Artwork from the Brazilian Production: 

Can you imagine ads like this on Broadway?

• The show was among the very first to exploit all online/social media, including email blasts to newsletter subscribers, which gave advance notice of tickets specials and onstage seating opportunities.

The Original Cast in the Media Blitz

• Lea Michele has been nominated for an Emmy for her role in Glee.  Jonathan Groff  and  Jenna Ushkowitz are both in the popular TV show as well.
• Groff also originated the role of Claude in the revival of Hair, and is preparing to make his London debut in a revival of Deathtrap.
• John Gallagher, Jr. heads the cast of the Michael Mayer-directed American Idiot.  The cast also includes Gerard Canonico and Brian Charles Johnson.
• Jennifer Damiano has been Tony nominated for her performance in next to normal and will be Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming mega-musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark.  Gideon Glick is also in the cast.
• Krysta Rodriguez has since appeared in A Chorus Line and currently stars as Wednesday in The Addams Family.
• Jonathan B. Wright co-starred in the film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, while Skylar Astin and Phoebe Strole co-starred in the film Hamlet 2.

Hunter Parrish and Alexandra Socha (left)

Kyle Riabko and Christy Altomare

• Kyle Riabko starred in the National Tour and went on to replace Gavin Creel in Hair.
• Hunter Parrish continues to co-star in the Showtime series Weeds.
• Alexandra Socha co-starred in the critically acclaimed revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs.

Forbidden Broadway and TV's 90210

• Spring Awakening  was the centerpiece of Forbidden Broadway: Rude Awakening.
• Spring Awakening was the school musical which figured heavily into the plot of the first season of the CW's 90210.

The Evolution of the Window Card:

TOP: The Original Broadway Windowcard

MIDDLE FOUR: From the Tonys to Closing

BOTTOM: The Non-Equity Tour

Sources: Websites for Atlantic Theatre Company, http://www.imdb.com/, http://www.ibdb.com/, Wikipedia

Production Photos: Joan Marcus

Other Photos: Vanity Fair, The Spring Awakening site, The Tony Awards site.

Comments?  You know what to do: Here, email at Yahoo.com, Tweet me, Formspring me!

Jeff