Coming Soon...

February will be an experiment, an entire month fitting through the entire month, February will be Love. Broadway songs I love, Broadway shows I love, Broadway love songs. Now that January is over and a new month begins I finally wanted to try an entire theme. See you in February but first...

Broadway Songs for a Good Workout

When I get the time to go to the gym, I like to bring theater with me, here are some Broadway hits that will make your workout shine

My Shot (L) - Hamilton

You Can't Stop the Beat (L)- Hairspray 

Don't Rain On My Parade- Funny Girl

Screech In - Come From Away

Live in Living Color- Catch Me if You Can

Freak Flag- Shrek the Musical

When Your'e Home- In the Heights

Waving Through a Window- Dear Evan Hansen

Whipped into Shape- Legally Blonde

Hero is my Middle Name- Spongebob Squarepants the Musical

One Day More- Les Miserables

Seize the Day(L), Once and For All ( L), King of New York- Newsies

these songs are bound to  change up your routine

Stage Vs Screen: Les Miserables

Welcome to the first edition of a new series of posts, We love musicals, we love movies and sometimes there are adaptations of our favorite shows, yet is it like our argument with books, where one is just always superior or can film outclass the stage. I decided to put that to the test with my first and favorite musical, after seeing a touring production I decided to also give the film a revisit and see which was superior, should someone pay for a ticket or just watch the movie instead.

I'm comparing the stage version which I have seen three times, with the 2012 movie. in 3 categories. , Set Design, The Musical Performances/Acting, and Story. Story is for how well the plot is conveyed as well as  what was added, or subtracted, from this adaptation and if it made it better or worse.  Lets begin with my first and favorite musical Les Miserables , I was beyond excited for the movie, I had watched the 10th and 25th anniversary concerts as well as seen a touring cast twice before seeing the movie, did I enjoy it and does it hold up? lets find out by the end of the day.

The Story: 

For those of you who have not looked into one of the longest running Broadway Smashes, this show follows ex convict Jean Valjean as he is release from being in prison for nineteen years, after not being able to find a life outside of prison due to being judged and his reputation following him, he steals gold and silver from a friendly priest, the priest covers for him and allows him to use what he stole to start a new life, Valjean breaks parole and escapes town, with Javert a policeman from his prison, giving pursuit. And that is the prologue, there are many plots in this show and a lot of characters, there is romance,  a revolution, the chase between Valjean and Javert mentioned just a moment ago, some comic relief, Valjean trying to live a normal life, and many more, and this show is a drama, it will not hold back on the heavy moments alongside the inspiring ones. So which one tells the story better.

The show is three hours long, it tells the main and other various plot lines very well, though long, the story is very gripping, if you are disinterested in one of the plots it will be over before you know it, but if you if you may not get to spend as much time with your favorite characters as you think.

The movie has to cut a few things to fit the length of a movie, such as a few plot lines and a few songs, they also move a few events around such as " I Dreamed a Dream" after Fantine hits rock bottom instead of just after she gets fired. Yet the movie adds some an original song, instead of keeping things at good enough.

Though the movie version is shorter, I would say the stage version gets a point for this round for giving the audience the full experience, it tells the multiple plots well and doesn't cut things.

Set Design:

The sets in the show are amazing, large set pieces such as the barricade and the buildings really bring you  into 18th century Paris, the buildings, the bridges , the street lamps it really is amazing.

The movie is the same, large sweeping sets and great lighting, doing a great job to set the mood and have a great atmosphere as well.  so is this round a tie? I'm afraid not, the point goes to the stage version due to the camera work of the film, the sets may be amazing but this movie focuses on close ups so often that you can barely enjoy the awesome sets.

The Acting/Music:

Since i have seen the show three times, I will base my opinion of the production I saw late last year. The acting in the production was amazing, there was not a weak performance, the cast was smaller then usual but from the extras to the leads, they were amazing, so amazing that the applause after the show lasted for at least five minutes and it was well earned. If you have an opportunity to see Les Mis see it. whether it is a touring cast, a civic theater, or a DVD anniversary production, it is one of the best shows to hit Broadway.

The movie is hit and miss , some of the actors hit it out of the park such as Hugh Jackman as Valjean and Samantha Banks as Eponine, and Anne Hathaway who got an Oscar for her performance, but for every stand out performance there is a weak one, and for those who  have seen the film they know exactly the ones.

The movie did add a new song that was nice but it didn't necessarily have too, Les Mis has some of the best songs in theater history that have been performed over the years such as " Do You Hear The People Sing" and " Bring Him Home". Some songs in the movie are performed very well but overall the point goes to the stage version.

Final Thoughts

Score: Film:0 , Stage: 3.

In this case I believe the film outclasses the stage version, I recommend looking up a filmed anniversary concert or seeing it in person if you can, Watch the movie if you want to see another interpretation of this amazing musical, but maybe you will enjoy parts of the movie more then the stage version.

Thank you for reading, and have an amazing day 

Historical Figures That Could Have Awesome Musicals

As i was listening to  "Hamilton" again I remembered on of the reasons why I loved the show was that it told a story that was unknown to many, but not a lot of people love it and consider him their favorite founding father, for good reason. History being my favorite subject had me thinking, what events and people could be in awesome plays or musicals.

Shakespeare- though we have a great and fun adaptation in "Something Rotten", it would be cool to see a show about Shakespeare writing his shows and trying to live his life, also it would be a big inspiration to upcoming playwrights 

Walt Disney-  A story of joy and imagination, but maybe also would show things we don't know about him, it could be a feel good fun story.

Mozart- we have a lot of shows based on musicians coming and that is a topic for another day, but with shows like " Beautiful the Carole King Musical" arising in popularity maybe it would be cool to learn more about such a talented  artist and his very interesting life

Amelia Earhart- A story about rising above what others think of you and following your dreams, though with a sad ending her story would be informative and give people more facts about a very well known story 

Rosa Parks and The Civil Rights Movement- a story that could inspire as well as be a great drama

Maya Angelou- A spoken word show about an amazing poet, whose words inspire people to this day.

You may have noticed a common theme, a lot of these stories such as  Hamilton" or " Come From Away", don't just entertain, they encourage chasing your dreams by showing people who had the courage to do so. 

Top 5 Opening Songs (Reprise)

A new year means a new beginning, so why not look at the opening songs of some of our favorite shows, again. As time has continue to move on i looked back at my top ten opening numbers list and decided to add some more, here are some more songs that are a prefect welcome after the overture


5.  Prologue- Into the Woods: A great way to show off the expansive cast and get the plot moving, with an upbeat score and a colorful cast you really feel engrossed in this fairy tale world


4. Live in Living Color- Catch Me if You Can: A fun song that will have you dancing and singing along, very fun way to begin this fun yet true story, based on the film

3. Comedy Tonight- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Forum- this song is amazing, using the full cast in a song that is removed from the main plot but sets the mood so well

2. Carrying the Banner - Newsies- this song is so full of energy, with amazing choreography, you will be on the edge of your seat by the end of this song, the score is amazing, bringing you into this amazing story

1. There's No Business Like Show Business- Annie Get Your Gun- a great classic song, with such an upbeat and engrossing score that if someone asks why you love theater you point them to this song, it is nothing shot of phenomenal

heres to new beginning, until next time, ave a great day.

Broadway on a Budget

Sometimes we love Musicals, we long for the stage but our wallets disagree, yet we want to add some new shows to our playlists. Here are a few ideas how to enjoy some Theater within your means.

. Plan ahead- If you follow your local venues on social media, you may find a show you are interested in coming soon, five months may be far away but saving and planning. even putting away five dollars a week or any sort of financial plan could help you secure a ticket, and if you save far enough in advance, you could even buy a souvenir or better seats even.

. Listen to Soundtracks/ Watch Videos-  You may not be able to spend a weekend in New York, but you can listen to the entire soundtrack in a weekend and decide if it will be worth seeing on tour, and watch all the videos you can, interviews, behind the scenes and previews of live performances, it may become a new favorite and make the day you do see it even more special.

. See a Show at Your Local Civic Theater/ Old High school- It may not be a touring cast but it could very well be people you know or a show you enjoy, and you never know who could have put their heart into a performance that will blow you away, I recently saw a production of Annie and it was really good and really fun, if I only wanted to see Broadway level performances I would have really missed out

. Volunteer at a Civic Theater or Try out for a Show- Maybe you would have an amazing time and discover a new favorite show by being in it, meeting new people and creating memories, either in cast or crew you may really enjoy yourself

. Enter A Lotto/Rush Lines- if you live by a major theater you could always enter the lotto and see if you can buy cheaper tickets, or see if there are any last minute tickets that pop up due to someone not being able to attend, or standing room lines. there are a few alternatives in this category.

Look For Live Productions on T.V or DVD-  some local channels are doing live productions now, Streaming services and T.V channels services such as Broadway HD, Netflix, and PBS have plays and musicals as well. Your local library, movie store, or book store may also have a selection of live Broadway shows and concerts on DVD to watch such as one of my personal favorites, the Les Miserable 25th anniversary concert, look it up it's amazing and has one of the best Javert performances I have ever seen.

or

Watch the Movie Adaption- this one speaks for itself and depending on the situation may be cheaper or more easy to access

I hope some of my tips helped, and feel free to share yours in the comments, I'm always open to suggestions.

2018 New Year, New Blog

With my first post of the new year being released I wanted to give an update on the changes going on in this blog.

1. Some Older Posts are being "Redone"- In other words I am deleting a few of my older posts to put more work, research, and different choices for lists or reviews with a more thought out opinion.

2. New Posts/Rebooted Posts.: This means trying new things, I have a few ideas for some really fun posts, as well as refining some of the ideas I had when I started

3. an official twitter account and other cool things

so 2018 is going to be a great year for this blog and I hope you join me.

Judging a Show By Its Cast Album : Spongebob Sqaurepants The Musical

Ever since I was a small child, I loved Spongebob, i spent hours watching and if you mention certain episodes from the first few seasons I could quote them directly, so when I began reading reports of a Spongebob musical hitting Broadway, I was surprised to say the least. Broadway does love putting music to movies and other licenses that were never made for this format, but Spongebob? A cartoon, I wondered how they could pull off the costumes and sets, let alone the music. After seeing it perform in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, I decided to look up behind the scenes, look up some official images, read the synopsis, and listen to the soundtrack. This is my series Judging A Book By It's Album Cover, where even if I can't see a show, I will research it as much as I can, especially listening to the cast recording and reviewing it. Many people are like myself either don't live in New York, can not travel to New York while a show is playing, and rely on either the  civic theater, a touring cast, or watch videos and listen to the cast album. So on with the show, is this worth seeing/checking out , or was this best left in a pineapple under the sea.

The plot follows the citizens of Bikini Bottom as they deal with a volcano erupting in two days that will destroy the city and wipe out all life as they know it, as Spongebob, Patrick, and Sandy try to climb the volcano and drop a device that will stop the eruption, the town goes into absolute chaos. And that is simplifying things, this show has about five different plot lines, from an evil plan , to a concert being put on, people clinging on to their old lives until the end, and the main plot with the main characters, the multiple plots remind me of Sesussical yet from reading to synopsis, there are plots that really don't add anything to the main story and are used to just remind the audience that they used characters from the show, where as in Sesussical all the characters are simple due to being from one and done stories in children book, this show has characters doing  out of character things,  that people who are fans of the show will pick up , there is one plot line that has to do with patchy the pirate , spongebobs number one fan, that is really clever even though it has nothing to do with the main story, but it takes place  before the show, right after intermission, and at the end that is really great, not intrusive but pretty funny.

Moving on one thing I can say is very good and I will not be surprised if this show wins a tony award in this category is the design. This must have not been an easy feat but the cast and the sets are great, bright and colorful, from the images and videos I have seen, they have captured the look and feel of the show.

And finally what we mostly have to judge the show on without seeing it, the soundtrack. It has high points and low points, as stated earlier there are times you wish the main trio had one or two more songs instead of the side characters that add nothing to the over arcing story. There are some tunes that are great when they land, others are pretty forgettable. The show could have more then one plot and be fun, but some characters only get one song, and that makes you wonder if they really needed that one song to begin with. There is a song right before act 1 ends that comes right out of nowhere for the excuse of having a big group number, that not only leads to an out of character moment but leads to another song to resolve the unnecessary conflict that is also not as good. But that being said, not every is like that, the opening is great, the song right before intermission, is big, grand , and uses the large cast well,  and some of the songs are pretty fun. Here are a few songs I can recommend for those interest into looking into the soundtrack.

. Bikini Bottom Day
.Just a Simple Sponge
. Hero is my Middle Name
. Tomorrow is
. Best Day Ever
.Just A Simple Sponge

This show if you are interested is great for children even as a first show, the bright colors, fun songs, and inventive sets will grab their attention. there is no language or dirty jokes for those with really young children, this may be a way to see if they will like musicals.

Overall this show is somewhere in the middle for me, there are parts I enjoy and parts I could not care about, but I do feel that the good outweighs the bad surprisingly, if i were to rate it I would say a 3 and a half out of 5 and I personally want to see it. But form your own opinion, maybe give the soundtrack a listen. But until next time, Have a Great Day.

Sources for this Review
Play Bill.com Coverage and Videos
Wikipedia - plot synopsis
Spongebob Squarepants the Musical Soundtrack
Official Cast Release Photos