life is a cabaret

i am in love with broadway. at 7 years old i went to my first play. it was an open air theater production of oliver with my mom and her aunt. soon after that i went to the mayfield dinner theater in edmonton to see oliver again. i was envious of oliver (played by a girl) who got to sing and dance on stage. i wanted to be her! that and the desserts made for a glorious night. at 10 years old i was visiting my family in nb when my aunts introduced me to les miserables. the music got me hooked right away. lucky for me the play came soon after. i collected newspaper clippings obsessively (that i still have today) on anything and everything les mis (even compiling a scrapbook). that and singing endlessly in my room to young cosette's castle on a cloud, i am surprised my parents didn't commit me. i have always said that i would love to live my life as a musical...well i have seen many and this year managed to see three in a week when i went to new york.

the idea that i can choose a play/musical like picking a movie thrills me. AND here i had it at my fingertips. it was lovely. i was previously obsessed with wicked. i had read the book by gregory maguire before the play had even been thought up. so when it came down to choosing what to see when we were in nyc, that was my number one pick. i must say, it was an amazing pick. i have a couple of rankings of musicals and this is one of my favourites. the costumes, theatricality, music, the sets...it had it all! :)

the second, jeaninne and i picked together. we had both seen the movie when it had first come out. obviously we knew the plot but had no idea how great the musical really was. billy elliot, had so much humor and made me cry on numerous occasions. i still cannot get over how well those boys can dance and sing. amazing!

last was an impulse choice. our last day in ny we thought we would catch a show of whatever was available. la cage aux folles aka the birdcage was the winner. this was a jeaninne pick that i eagerly followed. it was similar and then not so similar to the movie. quite funny and i found myself wondering why can't i have legs like those showgirls. damn! an added bonus for us was frasier aka kelsey grammer was in it. too funny.

i loved the whole musical experience. in truth, i left wanting to see so many more shows. i already bought the soundtrack to rock of ages, american idiot looked really cool, and i would have LOVED to see kristin chenoweth in promises, promises. another reason to go back! :)

love