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New York, NY: It's funny -- as much as I love live music performances (concerts), I just have never gotten into musical theatre. There's something about watching characters in a movie or a play discussing something... then, out of the blue, break into song... which makes my skin crawl. Maybe it's because of the unbelievable factor of it all (seriously? you had to just SING about how happy/sad you are instead of just TALK about it?). Or maybe it's because every line is SO overacted and SO over-projected (again, this talking thing might be a good alternative to singing every emotion and thought you have).
That's not to say that my mother didn't give it her best shot. I do have fond memories of watching "Funny Girl" with her, curled up on her lap, feeling her whole body shake as she laughed when Babs asked, "What are you going to do? Shoot da schwans? 'Deesh lovlies?" But other than the personal connection with M (& Babs), I simply can't seem to get into it.
However, when you're in New York - specifically with someone who loves theatre - you go, and hope that perhaps your preconceived notions of musicals will change. And in this case, I was able to experience three different shows to see if I could be proven wrong.
Ghost: The Musical
A recreation of the 1990 movie, "Ghost," turned out to be the exact thing that I loathe about musicals: random singing. Since I knew the story line, I understood what was happening and what was about to come, but instead of Molly talking about how much she missed Sam, she sang about it. The saving grace was the Oda Mae Brown character (played in the musical by the fabulous Sharon D. Clarke and in the movie by Whoopi Goldberg) and the special effects of the show, making you believe you were watching a 3D movie without the funny glasses.
Peter and the Starcatchers
Recommended by a friend, this was the prequel to Peter Pan. This was more of a play with songs than a full-on musical, so I could handle the sporadic musical numbers thrown in for good measure. However, the British accents were so quick that I missed a few of the laugh-out-loud references that built the story line. But I was impressed with their creative nature to turn the single set into multiple backdrops and the handful of actors that played different characters.
Once: The Musical
Here's where it all makes sense. The story is about an Irish musician and a Czech immigrant who share a love of music. She inspires him to write and perform his music and so he does -- which makes the singing throughout the musical be appropriate. And more importantly, Once, the movie, is one of my favorites and hearing "Falling Slowly" performed live brought me back to another place in my life where hope was something I was rediscovering again.
Perhaps I'll never be a true lover of musical theatre, but this week has shown me that if you keep trying, maybe one will inspire you enough to return and try it again.
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Ghost: The Musical
Peter and the Starcatchers
Once: The Musical