Before we left Houston we planned on seeing at least one, maybe two shows. We ended up seeing five. Five shows in 4 days. What’s even more interesting is each show was of a different varietal of theater. Theatre is like alcohol. It can be the singular common factor between different types of theatre. Like beer, wine, and liquor, theatre can be fermented from many fruits. On this trip we saw an opera, a musical, a dramatic thriller, a comedy, and an off Broadway musical. I liked some more than others and for the sake of memory I would like to record my impressions of each below:
Thursday: La Traviatta, Metropolitan Opera at the Lincoln Center.
• Venue: By far the largest venue I have ever been in. With Orchestra, Box, Grand Tier, Mezzanine, Upper Mezanine and Family Circle levels this building is almost an arena. Yet, the sound in the house is crisp and close. You could hear the actor’s foot falls as they moved across the stage. The stage has a high proscenium arch that acknowledges the grand dimensions of the building. From the lobby to the coat check room this place is built to amplify the elegance that is grand opera. The lobby features crisscrossing stair ways that take you from the lobby level (which leads to the box seats, the orchestra level requires that you step down) to the highest seats. The famous “star burst” chandeliers had recently been re-hung with new crystals. The carpet was so thick it felt as if I were wading through it. My only complaint was the subtitle devices. Instead of placing the words on a screen at the top of the proscenium arch they were on displays on the backs of the seats. This meant you had to shift focus to read the words. It gave me a headache.
• The Show: Flawlessly executed. The Met does Opera in a way that could only happen in a city like New York where arts is just ingrained in the culture. The sets were large, complex, lavish and numerous. 4 set pieces across 3 acts. The show opens in a Parisian townhome, the second act takes place in a country house and then moves to a ball back in the city. This requires a scene change during the show which was accomplished in minutes. The third act takes place back in the Paris house, only this time it begins in an upstairs bedroom. Violetta is sick in bed she hears news that her lover is coming to see her for the usual opera reasons. He’s been given a letter that shows she didn’t mean all those hurtful things she said to him at the big party the night before. She leaps from her bed and heads downstairs (leaping from your bed and heading downstairs takes about 9 minutes of singing in an Opera). On stage the second floor is all you see, it goes from stage level to the top of the proscenium arch. As Violletta walks to the stair case the set begins to move upwards. The second floor disappears above the stage and below it we see the first floor. It’s enormous and expensive and Opera. I really enjoyed this entire show and would say The Met is a must stop place for any Opera lover.
Friday: Young Frankenstein, Hilton Theater in Times Square
• Venue: Standard old theater. Medium sized lobby, the house was smaller than our houses in Houston and the lighting and sound was bolted on to the walls hiding the beautiful artwork that was once very important.
• The Show: Terrible. This Mel Brooks attempt at another hit after the raving success of The Producers was pure crap. The story is sacrificed for smoltzy showtunes and jokes that seem to be wedged into already weak dialouge. The funniest part of the show was the song “Puttin’ on the Ritz” which, again, didn’t really fit. This thing is a tourist trap and Mel Brooks should get some help or a new musical maker if he plans on doing “Blazing Saddles” next.
Saturday: Equus, Broadhurst Theater on 44th and Broadway.
• Venue: It’s like someone took a theater and shrunk it, seats and all. We had seats at the front of the mezzanine which gave us a great view of the stage. The seats were small which was distracting at times.
• The Show: The play starred the guy who plays Harry Potter, his non-wizard uncle, and a bunch of other British notables. The story is one of a 17 year old boy who, for no apparent reason, uses a hoof pick to blind six horses in a stable that he works at on the weekends. The boy, played by Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter) is sent to a psychiatric hospital and is put under the care of a psychiatrist played by Richard Griffiths (History Boys, Harry Potter’s Uncle who he lives with over the summer breaks.) The show goes into territory that a lot of people would find uncomfortable. Essentially, the young boy creates his own sort of religion out of mixed messages from his parents that involves a god named Equus who lives in every horse. Equus talks to him through the horses and part of worship is to ride the horse forcing it and the god inside to submit. After attempting intercourse with a female stable worker he feels as if Equus is condemning him through the eyes of the horses so he blinds them all. This psychological thriller is beautifully written. I love how the boys problems are not spelled out, but rather alluded to. The show is well written, amazingly acted and not for everyone.
Sunday: Boeing Boeing, Longacre Theater on 48th and Broadway.
• Venue: Similar to the Broadhurst
• The Show: A slow starting, but fast building romantic comedy about an American bachelor living in Paris who has 3 air hostesses as fiancées. They each work different schedules so they are never there at the same time, until…Well you get the gist. This play is hilarious. I laughed so much I want to see it again in hopes of catching the parts that I missed because I was laughing so hard. It’s energy carries it forward as a dramatic play in much the same way as “Noises Off” for anyone who is familiar with that show.
Sunday: Alter Boyz, New World Theater, Stage 4 on 48th and 8th (off B’way)
• Venue: Black box.
• The Show: This cute Christian spin on Boy Bands is cute and full of stereotypes. Some mild laughs and a pretty predictable story. If this were a movie I would have rented it.
All in all we had a great time and I’m ready to be home. So, I’m going to get packing. Next trip is Nashville in two week.
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