Theatre Etiquette, Part 2: A Night on the Town

 “It’s poo-LONK!”

I was attending a singalong featuring works of French composers Gabriel Fauré and Francis Jean Marcel Poulenc. Between movements, the host recounted the lives and inspirations of the two composers. I don’t remember what he said about them. They passed out sheet music when we arrived. We sight read Fauré’s Requiem, and I can’t remember which of Poulenc’s works we learned. Remembering the occasion, I had to think hard to remember that much, because the main thing I remember about the occasion was a person behind me. Every time the host mispronounced Poulenc’s name (he pronounced it “poo-lenk”), the person behind me corrected him under their breath. They likely assumed nobody could hear them, but it overshadowed the memory of the evening for me. I could hear the mutters loud and clear, and it drove me bonkers. Partly because I have the same habit, and that was when I realized the effect it has to people around me. That day I determined I would stop doing that. (I have had varying degrees of success acting on that resolution, but I’m working on it!)

I have had other incidents where people around me have distracted from the performance, but that is one of the more memorable ones. Perhaps you have stories of people’s cell phones lighting up the theatre, or maybe your amazing brother belting out “Evermore” during the credits of the recent movie remake of Beauty and the Beast so loudly that it sounded like Josh Groban was his backup singer. Perhaps you were in the theatre when Patti LuPone confiscated an audience member’s cell phone.

A couple weeks ago, I went over etiquette for people putting on a show. Now it’s time for etiquette for the audience.

Before the Show

• Arrive early. Entering late can be disruptive, and you’ll miss part of the show. If seats aren’t assigned, this can also help you to get a good seat.
• If something comes up and you can’t make it to the show, let the theatre know so they can reassign your seat. The person who gets your ticket will thank you. (I got a ticket to Come from Away at the last minute once because someone did this. I have no idea if that person is reading this, but if it’s you, thank you!)
• Do your research. If a show is of an adult nature, do not bring children. This can also save you from seeing shows that you may find surprisingly offensive. It can also save you from seeing a show with strobe lights if you’re sensitive to them.

Phones and Cameras

• Turn your cell phone completely off, or at least silence it and put it in airplane mode. Phones ringing during the show can be disruptive both for the audience and the actors. The same holds true for bright lights in the audience. If your phone is on during the performance (silenced and in airplane mode, I hope!), don’t check it during the show.
• Don’t take pictures during the performance.
• Don’t video the show or any part of it (unless you are invited to do so by someone onstage).
• If you look at your phone before or after the show, it’s best to dim your screen so it doesn’t blind people, especially if the theatre lights are somewhat dim. On most smartphones, this can be accomplished by swiping down from the top and adjusting the slider to the left.
• If you absolutely must have your phone on during the show (for example, if you are in the medical field and need to be on call), you may want to speak to an usher for guidance, as different theatres have varying policies on that. If you must take a call, at least exit the theatre and take it in the lobby. (If that is the case, you may want to request an aisle seat so you don’t have to squeeze past people.)
• While it is difficult to read your program in the dark, don’t use your phone or a flashlight to read it during the show.

Other Noises

• Avoid correcting pronunciation or other mistakes under your breath. You might be surprised how far your voice carries. (See above.)
• If you know how the show ends, avoid mentioning spoilers.
• Don’t talk during the show. This includes excited comments when someone you know walks onstage, wondering what just happened, less-than-complimentary comments on a performer you dislike, loudly deciding you dislike the hairstyle of the person in front of you, etc. Save the RiffTrax for Mystery Science Theater 3000.
• Get plenty of rest before the show, as your fellow audience members don’t need to be treated to snores.
• Do not recite or sing along, unless you are at a rock concert or you are invited to sing along. People came to hear the people onstage sing and act, not you.
• Laugh and clap at appropriate times. If you feel the need to laugh during a scene that would make most people cry, at least try to keep it quiet so it doesn’t ruin others’ experience.

Consideration of Others

• Don’t wear tall hats or beehive hairstyles, as it can obstruct the view of people behind you.
• If you must use perfume or cologne, please use it in moderation, as strong smells can dampen others’ experience.
• Keep your feet off the backs of the seats ahead of you, and avoid hitting them with your knees or anything else.
• Once the show starts, do not stand up unless there’s an emergency, or a standing ovation is warranted during the bows.
• Try to keep bathroom trips to before the show, during intermission, or after the show.
• Don’t use laser pointers. In fact, don’t bring them to the show.
• If you see an outlet on the stage, do not go up and try to charge your phone. (Unlikely this will happen, but I did read an article once about it happening!)

Dress

• Dress appropriately. Different theatres have different policies on this, so you may want to call ahead if in doubt. This also varies depending on what you are going to see. A high school production would be a much more casual occasion than, say, an opera.

Food

• Check your theatre’s policy before bringing outside food in. Most theatres don’t allow it.
• Avoid opening candy wrappers during the show, or eating said candy while holding the wrapper.
• Avoid crunchy food, such as chips. People around you don’t need to hear *crunch crunch crunch* when they’re trying to listen to the show. (They can also be crumbly and make a mess.)
• Avoid greasy or messy food, including soda (pop, Coke, soft drinks, whatever you call it where you live) that can spill and make for a sticky floor. If your hands are messy from eating greasy food before the show, wash them before entering the theatre.

After the Show

• Avoid booing a person’s performance, unless they played a villain and their character’s personality warrants it. In that case, boo the character, not the performance.
• If you aren’t planning on keeping your program or Playbill, give it to an usher. This cuts down on clutter, and if it’s in good enough condition, they can reuse it. (This can also cut down on costs for the theatre.)
• Take your trash with you. The people who have to clean up after the show will thank you.
• After leaving the theatre, avoid discussing spoilers, as passersby may be planning to see the next show and don’t need to know yet how the show ends. You can always discuss that in the car or at home when you know everyone around has seen it.

Stage Door

• If you do stage door, be patient as the actors often have to remove makeup and costumes before meeting people.
• Respect the actors and fellow people in line at the stage door.
• If the actor you were hoping to meet doesn’t come out, don’t take it personally. Perhaps they had a particularly exhausting performance and need to rest up for the next one.
• Don’t crowd the actors.
• Don’t spend too much time with an actor, as others are also waiting to talk to them. Pay attention to any restrictions on signatures and pictures.
• You may want to check with the theatre ahead of time whether they have a policy on gifts for the actors. While it is thoughtful and may mean a lot to the actor, they sometimes get mountains of gifts and then don’t know what to do with them.
• Basically, as much as you may admire them, remember the actors are human and need to be treated as such. (That’s sometimes easy to forget when someone is particularly talented.)

To sum up, all of this can be consolidated into two words: Be respectful!

Enjoy the show, and do what you can to help others enjoy it!

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I wrote this in October 2019 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online.

Theatre Etiquette, Part 1: Putting on the Ritz!

“Hello?”

RING RING!!

This is what happens when the person doing the sound effects is so enthralled with the stellar acting in John Olive’s The Voice of the Prairie that he forgets he is supposed to trigger the sound cue for the telephone, causing the actors to have to ad lib until they finally answer the silent phone because the show must go on. It is only then that the sound guy jumps and presses the button to make the phone ring. After the character has answered the phone. Embarrassing? Absolutely! If you haven’t guessed, that sound guy was me. For actors, crew members and everyone else putting on a show, it pays to remember your cues!

When putting on a show, it is important to follow some guidelines that will help to create a memorable experience for the people who will be paying to see your show. I thought it might be useful to include some of those here to help future productions. Some of these may seem obvious to some, but not to others.

Directors and Producers

• Congratulations! You have chosen a show to put on! Have you secured the rights? Be sure to review the contract carefully and abide by the terms. Shows have been cancelled by the rights holders in the past because people didn’t read the terms and didn’t know the laws well enough.
• Don’t make changes to the script without permission from the playwright or rights holders. This includes cutting songs, removing swear words, rearranging scenes, and any other changes you might want to make. Depending on your situation (for example, a school putting on a play that includes swear words in the script), there may be good reason to make minor tweaks, but it is essential to get permission before doing so. The artist wrote it the way they did for a reason, and they need a say in any tweaks in the script. If you don’t want to seek permission, or if the permission is denied and it is important enough to you, you may do better to choose a different show. Arranging videos of the performances also falls under this area. If you want to the show recorded, be sure you have permission from the copyright owners first (and pay any additional royalties if they require that for recording it). This also sometimes includes when you are allowed to announce the show you are doing.
• Respect your cast and crew. They are here to bring your vision (and the playwright’s vision) to the stage. As you know, blocking involves telling actors where to step, how to move, etc. Sound and light cues need to come in a precise part of the show and spot on the stage. You need to be able to give more precise instructions than you would in other situations, but it is important that the cast and crew not feel micromanaged. There is a balance between encouraging actors’ creative juices and overregulating and over-criticizing. When you give stage notes, be sure you aren’t coming across as upset that they did something wrong, or that they are in trouble. The more respectful you are to the actors and crew members, the more they will respect you and be willing to take direction.
• Though rehearsals can run late for various reasons, be conscious of the time and needs of your cast and crew. If rehearsal runs too late, it can affect other parts of their lives, and they (and you) may have trouble staying awake the following day! Tiredness can also lead to tempers flaring. 
• Take into account dietary needs of everyone in the show. Since it is common to have food at rehearsals and cast parties, it would be a shame for someone to have to leave the show because they accidentally ate something they were allergic to. (For that matter, avoid having messy food backstage during the run of the show. For example, banana peels on a dark floor backstage could be a recipe for disaster.)

Cast and Crew

• Remember that theatrical communities are often tight-knit, and theatre groups communicate with each other. Don’t get blacklisted with one company, as other companies may find out and blacklist you as well. You may never be told, but you may suddenly find yourself having a lot of difficulty being cast in a show. (Of course, there are plenty of other reasons you might have trouble being cast, but that is an important one.) 
• Let your creative juices flow, but don’t take it personally when your director tells you to change something in the way you portray your character.
• Listen to and do what your director and stage manager tell you. Even if you don’t like a stage direction, be willing to make changes in the way you portray a character if told to do so. Inability to take directions is a surefire way of being blacklisted, and even dismissed from a show on occasion.
• Be careful how you talk to and about others in the production. Badmouthing others is another way to be blacklisted.
• Remember your cues. This may mean marking up your script with reminders. (If the script doesn’t belong to you, be sure to use pencil!) After my mistake I mentioned earlier, I made notes in my script every page for several pages back, “Phone coming in ten pages”… “Phone coming in nine pages”… etc. I also highlighted and circled the sound cue. (My script belonged to me.) Whatever works for you so that you remember, be sure you do that.
• Memorize your lines. There are various techniques for doing this, and it might behoove you to talk to more experienced actors, or your director, if that is an issue. It can be embarrassing when you are standing onstage and you forget your lines. At that point, you don’t have the option of saying, “Line?” I speak from experience.
• Do not give stage notes or suggestions to fellow actors. That is the job of the director and stage manager. If you have ideas to improve someone’s performance (or correct an error you notice), by all means talk to the stage manager about it. But do not talk to the actor in question. That said, you will want to keep the suggestions to the stage manager in moderation, because you also don’t want to be a pest. You want others to see you as helpful, not arrogant.
• Maintain a certain amount of humility. It is good to be proud of your talent, but you don’t want to come across like Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera, looking down on others in the production and treating them as less than you.
• If you see another person’s prop backstage, do not touch it. Props are where they are so they will be handy when the actor who needs it can take it onstage. If a person’s prop isn’t on the prop table at the moment they need it, that could cause serious issues onstage.
• Don’t take your props, costumes or makeup home during the run of the show. If you forget to bring it to a performance, you may be out of luck. They need to stay at the theatre so they are there when you need them.
• Turn off your phones, or at least put them in airplane mode and make sure they are silenced. Let’s just say your show is set in ancient Greece. Unless archaeologists discover something heretofore unknown, the ancient Greeks did not have cell phones, and it would ruin the ambiance for a phone to start ringing backstage. (Well, I wouldn’t put some shenanigans past Apollo, but that’s another matter.) Even in shows set in modern times, a phone at the wrong time can disrupt a show.
• Keep talk backstage to a minimum and as quiet as possible. The audience should not be able to hear it, and depending on the theatre where you are performing, you might be surprised how much the audience can hear. In fact, as a general rule of thumb, if it is typically mentioned in the pre-show instructions to the audience (turn off your phones, don’t talk during the show, don’t open candy wrappers during the show, no filming or photography, etc.), follow those directions backstage as well. This is also important because actors need to be able to hear what is going on onstage, so they don’t miss their cues.
• If you make a mistake onstage, just go with it. Making it look like you intended to do that is an important skill to master. Wincing or breaking character is worse than making the mistake in the first place, and if you recover right, the audience may never know you did anything wrong. (When you get offstage, you may want to make a note in your script or take other measures to avoid that mistake in future performances.) If a fellow actor makes a mistake that affects someone else, cover for them. But stay in character!
• Remember the fourth wall. You can’t see it, but there is an imaginary wall that separates you from the audience. Unless the script calls for it (such as for certain parts of Into the Woods, Jersey Boys and others), it looks far less convincing when you try to make eye contact with the audience. For the duration of the show, your world is onstage. That said, avoid having your back to the audience, unless the script and/or your director calls for it.
• If you have a matinee and evening show in the same day, avoid leaving the theatre or taking unnecessary risks between performances. If the unexpected were to happen (such as a car accident or the like), that could negatively affect the rest of the run, and it wouldn’t be pleasant for you.
• If you do stage door or are otherwise able to greet audience members after the show, follow your director’s instructions. Some directors allow the actors to leave the stage and greet their friends, family and fans right away. Others require actors to change and remove makeup before doing so. Since this varies between theatre groups, you will want to clarify that with your director if they don’t mention it before the show.
• While pranks can be fun during the final performance, make sure they aren’t noticeable to the audience. They paid to see the same show you’ve done throughout the run, with the same quality. If your director tells you not to do pranks the final performance, don’t do them!
• To quote J.K. Rowling, #KeeptheSecrets. Promoting your production is great, but don’t give spoilers to people who aren’t involved, as that can affect how people seeing it for the first time appreciate the show.
• Under no circumstances should you say the name of the Scottish Play (unless you are performing said play) or tell anyone “Good luck” in the theatre! It would be a shame to have to delay a show because you had to go outside, spin around 3 times, spit, curse, and then have to knock on the theatre door to be allowed back in! Best to avoid the “M” word and tell everyone to break a leg instead. Theatre superstitions are very important!

Most important: Enjoy yourself! Pulling off a show successfully is an exhilarating feeling and something to be intensely proud of. It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it.

Break a leg!

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I wrote this in September 2019 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online.

A Look Back, 2016-2018 (give or take)

December 2018

As 2018 comes to a close (already?!), I thought it would be nice to look back on the musicals I have seen in the past couple years. Looking at the list, nearly all of them are based on, or at least inspired by, real events. Some were live onstage, while several of them were on Fathom Events in movie theaters.

In no particular order, these are the shows that stand out in my memory.

Here Lies Love

This musical by David Byrne and Fatboy Slim tells the story of Imelda Marcos, former first lady of the Philippines. Having grown up in the Philippines in the 80s and early 90s, there were parts of this show that I remember experiencing.

A friend got me a ticket, and I wasn’t sure what to think about the “standing room” tickets that we got. I was particularly surprised to notice in the lobby that the “standing room” tickets were the most expensive at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. Having not seen a show at that venue in the past (also where Come from Away performed its pre-Broadway shows, which I missed), I was not quite sure what to expect. I was told we would be onstage, and that people would be directing us where to go as the actors performed. This confused me, as I wasn’t sure if we might be blocking the audience from seeing the show. As we entered the theatre, they handed out glow-in-the-dark earplugs, warning us that it would be very loud and we would need them. We were ushered into a fairly small rectangular room with a large disco ball in the middle hanging over a long table spanning nearly the width of the room. Spotlights were everywhere, and there was a family portrait of the Marcoses projected on one wall. At first I thought we would go from there into the theatre. Then I realized this room was the stage. The seats are on balconies above the stage, looking down on it.

As the show started, the disco ball rose up to the ceiling, and the DJ introduced the show from his raised box in one corner of the stage. On the opposite end of the stage, a woman said, “Excuse me” and brushed past me as she climbed the steps to that part of the stage to join the young Imelda, already onstage. A tropical downpour was projected on the wall behind the actresses as we got to know Imelda and her childhood friend Estrella on the eastern Philippine island of Leyte. As the story progressed, we saw her growing relationship with Ninoy Aquino, who was more interested in politics while she was interested in fashion. She joined a beauty pageant and became the “Rose of Tacloban.” Tacloban is the capital of the island province of Leyte. I was fascinated with the quick costume changes during that song that they didn’t even try to hide, as she went from one beautiful Philippine dress to another, with stagehands donning new costumes on her. Eventually, her relationship with Ninoy was interrupted when she met a certain Ferdinand Marcos, and dated and married him in short order. On their honeymoon, they danced on the beach, or in our case, what I initially thought was a long table when entering the theatre. This was also the first time I have seen someone dancing in tsinelas (flipflops). I was fascinated by the interesting footwear, and was then fascinated that I had to stop and think of the English word for it.

As the story continued, we learned about their turbulent marriage and the political rivalry that grew between Marcos and Aquino. Marcos would eventually declare martial law [side note: the period of martial law was when we moved to the Philippines], and Aquino’s outspoken opposition to it got him arrested and imprisoned. (A wheeled stairway was turned backwards and became his cell.) Imelda visited him in prison and encouraged him to move to America to escape all of this. He and his family moved, but he couldn’t stay away. In an emotional farewell on the tarmac in the US, he sang good bye to his wife Corazon and son Ninoy III, and climbed the stairs. The staircase that had been his prison cell was now the stairway to the plane, and then the stairs off the plane in Manila at what would eventually become known as Ninoy Aquino International Airport. As he started to descend the stairs, there was a loud bang, flash, and he slumped over as the lights went dark. His mother Aurora Aquino sang a mournful song, dressed in black and carrying a black umbrella, as the mourners crossed the stage. His assassination in 1983 played a major part in the people rising up in the bloodless 1986 People Power Revolution to elect a new president, Corazon Aquino, and force the Marcos family into exile in Hawaii. Imelda mournfully wondered why the Philippine people no longer loved her, and her estranged friend Estrella wondered the same thing about Imelda.

With the Marcos family gone, the DJ came down to the stage and sang the final song, accompanied on his guitar. The company then returned to close the show.

Throughout the show, the stagehands, wearing glow-in-the-dark pink and holding glowsticks, directed those of us in the onstage audience around the stage as stages, tables, and other set pieces rotated and were otherwise moved. By the end of the show, most of the stage and “long table” had moved to one end of the stage. For Aurora Aquino’s song, she and fellow mourners were on a part of stage that was slowly transported from one end to the other as the song continued. After that, the performance was on the bare floor on the end of the stage that no longer had raised stage pieces. Throughout, the action was all around us and we had to turn around and move to take it all in. The news media was represented by reporters and cameramen, and as the cameramen filmed, their cameras projected the footage on the wall. Throughout, people were identified by their name on the walls, similar to how they would be identified in a news report. The years and locations were similarly projected on the walls.

It was a powerful show, and the staging was unlike anything I have experienced elsewhere. Thus far, it has played in New York, London and Seattle, and last I heard they were hoping it will make it to Broadway. I hope it does. In some ways it reminded me of Miss Saigon and Evita, and was more powerful for me because I remember some of the events in the last few minutes of the show. In 1986, we got a vacation from school during the People Power Revolution because it was too dangerous for us to be out.

Miss Saigon

This show is more familiar to the Broadway community, so I will not go into the plot as much as I did with Here Lies Love. It was inspired by several sources: primarily, a heartbreaking photo of a Vietnamese woman at the airport saying good bye to her child to give them a better life. It is also inspired by Pierre Loti’s novel Madame Crysanthème and the opera that book inspired, Giacomo Puccini’s Madama Butterfly. I saw the London cast as filmed for Fathom Events to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the musical. It tells the story of Christopher Scott, an American marine stationed in Vietnam at the end of the war, and his relationship with Kim, a Vietnamese teenager who fled an attack on her village and found a less than desirable job in the big city. Chris and Kim spend an eventful night together, and just like that, Saigon falls and he is forced to leave without her. Three years later, Kim finds herself in Bangkok trying to provide for her young son Tam and absolutely certain that Chris will come back for her and their son. Chris, meanwhile, convinced he would never see Kim again, has remarried and is building a life with his new wife Ellen. Ellen is bewildered by Chris’s nightmares, and they are further shocked when they learn that Kim is still alive, and that Chris has a son. Chris and Ellen go to Bangkok, and though a series of unfortunate circumstances, it falls to Ellen to tell Kim that Chris has now remarried. Kim wants to send her son to America with his father, but Ellen feels it would be better for the child to be with his mother. Kim takes decisive measures to ensure that, by her sacrifice, Tam will have a better life in America.

There was an intermission between acts (the first time I have experienced this at a movie theater), and then a second intermission after the second act. After that, they showed the 25th Anniversary celebration. The original cast (as many as could come) were there, and Lea Salonga (the original Kim) sang a duet with the current “Gigi” of “The Movie in My Mind.” Lea also did a duet with Simon Bowman (original Chris). The composers were there as well.

While for the most part I loved the show, I find it sad that the song “Her or Me”, which then morphed into “Now that I’ve Seen Her”, was cut in favor of a completely different song called “Maybe.” The tune was nothing like its predecessors, and it felt out of place, tacked on to a masterpiece. I would have preferred that they keep the powerful “Now that I’ve Seen Her.”

This is an emotional and powerful show, and having grown up in Asia, it also resonated with me with the Asian elements. I have not been to Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City, but I have been to Bangkok (though not the parts of Bangkok portrayed in the musical). Before moving on to the West End and Broadway, Lea Salonga was popular in the Philippines, so I grew up hearing her. Though I do not recommend this show for children, it is very powerful and moving. My eyes were watering at times watching it.

Allegiance

This has played on Fathom Events in movie theaters several times. I highly recommend it, as it is very educational, and it is about a part of our history that was not taught at length in school. While almost all the characters are fictional, it is inspired by George Takei’s memories of being in a Japanese internment camp during World War 2. The way they were treated was shameful, and I believe everyone needs to watch this to make sure we do not repeat this dark part of our history. It is an inspirational story of never giving up on family and treating all humans with dignity. It teaches the Japanese concept of gaman (我慢), or holding up in tough times in a patient and dignified manner. George Takei, Lea Salonga, Telly Leung and the rest of the cast shone.

The show was followed by a documentary about the internment camps. There’s so much we weren’t taught, so much we need to know. The next time this airs, please do yourself a favor and go see it.

Puffs

This is a parody of the Harry Potter story, following the saga through the events of all seven books from the perspective of the Puffs. (The houses are renamed, probably to avoid copyright issues. They are the Snakes, the Braves, the Smarts and the Puffs.) Wayne lives in the US and is surprised to get an owl telling him that he has been accepted at Hogwarts in the UK. He had no idea his parents, who he never knew, were British. It skims over the highlights of the seven books, as the Puffs are constantly outshone and outdone, but they do their best to make their contributions despite being underappreciated. While this is not Harry Potter canon, I think I will leave the plot description at that, as it is important to #keepthesecrets with all things Harry Potter.

This play was filmed off-Broadway, and I saw it on Fathom Events in a movie theater. It is a fun show, particularly enjoyable for fans of the books that inspired it. I’m not sure how well people who do not know the story would understand what is going on, but I’m sure they would still enjoy it. The cast is small, with most actors playing multiple roles. It’s similar to Come from Away in that respect (though that’s probably the only similarity). The stage is also surprisingly small, considering the sweeping scope of the story. In a way, that kind of highlights how the Puffs are small and underappreciated (underrated?), but their value is much greater than it appears.

Newsies

Disney came out with their movie about the 1899 New York newsboy strike while I was in high school. My freshman year in high school we did a Disney revue and performed “King of New York.” So I was excited years later when they did a Broadway version, and was further excited when I found out they were filming a stage production with the combined touring cast and members of the original Broadway cast. This was an opportunity I could not pass up.

As with all Disney’s Broadway shows based on movies, they added songs and plot elements. For example, the characters of Denton and Sarah (Davey and Les’ sister) were combined into Katherine, daughter of Pulitzer. Medda Larkin, the “Swedish Nightingale” in the movie, was decidedly not Swedish in the Broadway version, but just as amazing. One of my favorite moments in the movie is where they sing near the beginning, “When you’ve got a hundred voices ringing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?”, and then that changes later on to “When you’ve got a million voices ringing, who can hear a lousy whistle blow?” A stage production can’t replicate the large crowds they can have in a movie, so that didn’t have the same effect on me; however, what did give me similar chills was the new song “Brooklyn’s Here.” Up to that point, the newsies’ attempts to gather support from other groups depended on the response from Spot Conlon and his group of Brooklyn newsies. Once they respond in support, the other boroughs join in. This is a powerful story of what can be accomplished by a unified effort. I also liked the way the Broadway version incorporated Teddy Roosevelt better than the movie.

Ragtime

Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre did a revival of Ahrens & Flaherty's musical Ragtime, based on a novel and movie of the same title. I have always found it moving, and it was amazing to see live. The plot is very powerful, dealing with racism, immigration, and other social issues around the turn of the 19th-20th Centuries. The performances were excellent, and I was very impressed with the simple yet elegant and functional sets and the way they reused props. For example, the piano doubled as the car. The "Two Ships Passing" were rolling staircases rolling in opposite directions across the stage. They left a lot to the imagination, but were very clear about what the objects were meant to represent.

Something Rotten

This is the show that taught me that it might not be wise to listen to a cast recording of a musical comedy for the first time in the car while driving down the freeway. I tend to shut my eyes when I laugh hard. Yeah, not a good idea while driving. I managed to keep my eyes open, but it was a challenge. “A Musical” was the song that did me in.

So of course, the theatre being a much safer place to be doubled over laughing, I jumped at the opportunity to see the show when it came to Seattle! It was absolutely worth it. The rivalry between Shakespeare and the Bottom Brothers was like no other. Throw in Nostradamus and an attempt at stealing an idea Shakespeare will have in the future, and you get an omelet! The nods to other musicals and constant parodies and puns made for an evening of hilarity. Adam Pascal was brilliant as Shakespeare. I highly recommend this show if you get the opportunity.

Hamilton

I was initially skeptical of this show. I am not a fan of hip hop and rap, and I also have an aversion to an excess of swearing. I learned early on that this show has both. When I first tried listening to the cast recording a couple years ago, I turned it off during the first track because it just wasn’t my kind of music.

More recently, I decided to give it another chance due to its popularity, and I made myself listen to the entire (rather long) cast recording. I found out that, once you get past the style and the swearing, it is actually a powerful, moving show. So when I learned it was coming to Seattle, I was much more excited about it than I had been in the past. But I didn’t have much hope of seeing it due to the very expensive price tag. My brother’s employer came to the rescue, as they paid for a group of their employees to go see it, with the possibility of bringing a guest. Since I have an awesome brother, I got to go see it! (My coworkers were jealous.)

The show follows the life of Alexander Hamilton, from his early political life, to his death in a duel with Aaron Burr, sometime after his son’s similar death. It follows his romance and marriage to Eliza Schuyler, with twists and turns along the way, as well as his contributions to American politics and history. It is a powerful musical, and I highly recommend it. (“Immigrants: We get the job done!”) I would love to see it again. (King George was probably right. I’ll be back. Da da da da da da da da da da-ya da!) I would also say it is worth it just to see Lafayette rapping in a strong French accent.

Crowns

Taproot Theatre, one of Seattle’s premiere community theatre groups, put on the lesser-known musical Crowns, which is about the African American experience in the South. Yolanda, a city girl from Brooklyn, visits, and six women (and one man) tell her their stories with the hats (or crowns) they wear to church and elsewhere. It is a joyful and moving celebration of the human spirit, and Yolanda is slowly changed over the course of the show. I recommend it.

Come from Away

I have gone into detail on the plot and songs of this show in previous blogs, so here I will focus more on my experience, most of which happened after my post in August. Interviewing the people who inspired the show gave me a new perspective on the tragedy that I remember, and the way others responded to it around the world. I now count several of them among my friends.

Our Bible study group from my church decided to go to the show during its run, as there are many lessons in the show that express a biblical view of how to welcome strangers with open arms (that far too many of my fellow Christians seem to have forgotten, but that’s another matter). Our group leader is a subscriber at the 5th Avenue Theatre, and bought tickets for us, that we were going to need to pay back. However, she asked that we wait to pay her back because an anonymous donor had offered to cover part of the cost. She was blown away when said donor ended up paying the ENTIRE cost for our group to see it! I still don’t know who paid for us to see it, but if you’re reading this, thank you!!

Top: With Diane Davis;
Middle: with Kevin Tuerff;
Bottom: Hannah, Beulah and Bonnie. 

Having interviewed several of the people involved over the internet, I wanted to meet them in person. Kevin Tuerff invited me to a special screening of the HBO Canada documentary You Are Here: A Come From Away Story. He said I could invite a guest, so my brother came with me. It was a deeply moving documentary, and I am looking forward to it being available for US and international audiences. The experience was even more powerful sitting down the row from Kevin Jung, right behind Janice Goudie, Brian Mosher, Beulah Cooper and Hannah O’Rourke. Kevin Tuerff was a couple rows ahead of me. Before the show, I walked up to Nick and Diane Marson and introduced myself and thanked them for the interview. They then introduced me to Bonnie Harris, who was there with her sister. Afterwards, Beulah Cooper gave me a hug. I was amused that Oz Fudge was wearing an “STFD” t-shirt, as that’s his line in the show. I got to speak with Kevin Tuerff, who recognized me, and I took a picture of Bonnie, Beulah and Hannah. The only people not able to make it were Diane Davis and Claude Elliott, who had a conflict in Newfoundland, and Beverley Bass had to leave Seattle that morning, so couldn’t make it to the showing. The director and producer of the documentary were there. Sankoff and Hein were also there, but I didn’t get to meet them.

The Seattle Public Library hosted an event in which a representative from the 5th Avenue spoke about his research and knowledge of the show and its background. He explained how Come from Away is only the third of a very small subset of musicals, one based on interviews. It is not based on any book, movie or anything else. All research by the composers was done by means of interviews at the 10th anniversary celebration in 2011. They compiled many hours of recordings that they used to build a 100-minute musical. (The other musicals based on interviews are A Chorus Line and Working.) Chelsea LeValley, who workshopped the part of Beverley Bass before the show went to Broadway, sang “Me and the Sky.” Two Seattleites who were stranded in Newfoundland after 9/11 then shared about their experiences. One landed in Gander, and the other in St. John’s. Both were welcomed warmly. One difference was that while they allowed passengers to take their carry-ons off the planes in Gander, they did not allow that in St. John’s. So the passengers there had to make do with even less. One of them remembered that before they were allowed to land, planes were circling, waiting for direction where to land. As far up and as far down as she could see out her window, she could see planes circling, like a tornado of planes. But everyone made it down safely.

Our group from church went to see the show a few days later. Before the show, I attended a pre-show talk telling more of the background. We learned about how Sankoff and Hein met and got married. Their first argument was about whether or not music could change the world. They were Canadians living in New York when 9/11 hit, and that night they gathered around their piano with international friends and sang. It was very traumatic, but music and friendship brought them through it.

The show was everything and more I had dreamed it was. It was deeply moving, and I just had to go again. It just so happened that my previous birthday, my family told me we would go as a family to a show, and I was supposed to name the show. Knowing it was coming and that I would want to see it more than once, I requested Come from Away. So the week following the first showing, I saw it again with my family. I was surprised when Caleb at the merchandise booth recognized me and asked if it was my second or third time. My family was equally moved by the show.

Between showings, I had to go downtown to renew my car tabs. The man at the counter at the Department of Licensing saw my Come from Away shirt and asked me about it. He really wanted to see it, but he said his partner had been in New York at the time, and it was still too raw for him. He told me that his partner recalled being inside while everything outside turned black with the ashes from the fires and the rubble, and every once in a while, pieces of paper would hit the windows and blow away. 

Partway through the run in Seattle, I found out that Diane Davis was coming, having missed the opening. While the first two times I saw it were planned, this one was not. She told me ahead of time which shows she would attend, and I decided to try to see one of those shows. It was Canada Night. I arrived at the box office and asked if they had rush tickets, but the show was sold out. They told me to wait and see if any seats opened up. So I waited outside the theatre while someone dressed in RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) regalia welcomed guests into the theatre. Just before the show was due to start, I returned to the box office, and a seat had opened up! It was even relatively close to the stage. The first time I was in the balcony, and the second time I was in the back of the orchestra level below the balcony overhang. This time I was in row K. It was close enough see the actors’ expressions. After the show, they had a talk-back with Canadian dignitaries, the person who commissioned the show, and others, including Diane Davis. I moved closer to the stage, and when Diane saw me, she mouthed, “Steven?” After the talk-back, Diane gave me a big hug and told me it was nice to see a familiar face. 

It was the experience of a lifetime. As my brother so eloquently put it, “So when are we going to Newfoundland?”

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cod to kiss. I don’t know when, but that must happen.

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These are the shows I have seen in the past couple years. What is next? Thanks to my brother's employer, he is attending Dear Evan Hansen next month, and he invited me to come too! I can’t wait! I’m currently listening to the audiobook in preparation. (Well, not as I type, but I listen to it when I get the chance.

2018 has been an amazing year. It’s hard to believe it is almost over! I look forward to future adventures in theatre in 2019 and beyond, and I hope everyone has an amazing New Year!

Steven Sauke is a Broadway enthusiast who took all the pictures above, attended all the shows featured in the past couple years, and can get long winded at times.

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This is a reblog of a post I wrote for the All Things Broadway blog at the end of 2018 looking back on the past couple years of shows. When I submitted it, I titled it "A Look Back." The editor changed the title to "My Personal Year in Review", which wasn't quite accurate as it covered at least two years, possibly more. I present it here with its original title, with a little added for clarification. After it was published on that blog, I remembered I had also attended Ragtime. I have added that here.

Bonus!

Dear Evan Hansen

January presents some interesting weather challenges. The evening we were scheduled to see Dear Evan Hansen was opening night. We had dinner downtown and proceeded to the theatre, where we found a sign on the door explaining that due to weather in the mountain passes east of Seattle, the truck carrying the set was delayed and they would not be able to move forward to that evening's performance. So it was another week or so before we got a chance to see it. It was intense and powerful. I was very impressed with the sets, the performances, and the fact that I didn't realize until the near the end there were only 8 people in the cast. It got me thinking about how I treat those around me. My full review is here.

Writing Your Very Own Rodgers & Hammerstein Musical

September 3, 2018

Several years ago, I watched a monologue by Anna Russell giving detailed instructions on writing your very own Gilbert & Sullivan operetta. She had much of the plot worked out for hers, detailing the exploits of the lovely maid Pneumonia. There was a patter song and a contralto involved. She observed that most of Gilbert & Sullivan’s operettas were basically the same, with all the same elements.

It got me thinking… Rodgers & Hammerstein were another classic pair of composers. They also had similarities in style and story elements in all or most of their musicals. A few years ago (more recently than when I watched Anna Russell), I wrote some tips on writing your own Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. Unfortunately, I don’t know where I put it, but I remember enough that I think I can recreate it from memory (all alone in the moonlight… oh wait, wrong composer).

First of all, the music. Your Rodgers & Hammerstein musical must have the same style as every other Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. It can have varieties in instruments (for example, The King & I uses a Thai-sounding style, and The Sound of Music involves yodeling), but the songs from one musical to another must sound like they could easily be from the same musical. 

The plot. Your Rodgers & Hammerstein musical must involve a somewhat controversial plot. South Pacific addresses interracial relationships (more controversial at the time than it is now), racism and a “good” character who had to flee for his life because he killed a man. Flower Drum Song involves a mail-order bride. Oklahoma! sees a main character taking a hallucinogen, and also involves abuse and a fight to the death. Carousel also addresses abuse, adding murder and stealing to the mix. The King & I involves slavery, a harem, and violent punishment (although Tuptim being whipped was less violent than the real story, in which she fled the palace, posed as a monk, and was subsequently beheaded). The Sound of Music involves Nazis.

The vocabulary. There are certain words that must be used in your Rodgers & Hammerstein musical:

Cockeyed. This can mean crooked, askew or absurd.

Examples:
“They call me a cockeyed optimist.” (South Pacific)
“While somersaulting at a cockeyed angle, we make a cockeyed circle round the sun.” (The Sound of Music)

Dope. This is the older definition of the word, as in a silly or stupid person.

Examples:
“I’m stuck like a dope with a thing called hope.” (South Pacific)
“I sit around and mope, pretending I am wonderful and knowing I’m a dope.” (State Fair)
“The gentleman is a dope!” (Allegro)
“The world is full of zanies and fools who don't believe in sensible rules, who don't believe what sensible people say, and because those daft and dewy-eyed dopes keep building up impossible hopes, impossible things are happening every day!” (Cinderella)

Gay. Again, this is an older definition of the word, as in happy or fun.

Examples:
“I feel so gay in a melancholy way that it might as well be spring.” (State Fair)
“Younger than springtime am I. Gayer than laughter am I.” (South Pacific)
“The games they played were bright and gay and loud! They used to shout, ‘Red Rover! Red Rover, please come over!’” (Flower Drum Song)

Louise. It is important for a character to be named Louise or a variant on that. Julie Bigelow names their daughter Louise in Carousel. Anna’s son in The King & I was Louis. When writing The Sound of Music, none of the children’s names were anywhere similar. We can’t have that! The solution was to change the names of all seven children so that one of them could be named Luisa. (I’m more inclined to believe that their names were changed because the real “Luisa” was named Maria, and that could lead to confusion in the storytelling. It caused enough confusion when she died a couple years ago, and a lot of people thought it was a different Maria von Trapp who died. I’m not sure why they changed the names, but that’s my theory.)

The haunting plea. In South Pacific, Bloody Mary decides that Lt. Joe Cable would make a great husband for her daughter Liat, and thus expounds on the virtues of her island “Bali Ha’i” to him. The tune is slow and haunting. In The King & I, Lady Thiang realizes that Anna is the only person who can help the King in his current predicament, but as Anna is currently angry with the King, Lady Thiang sings a haunting ballad about how the King can be infuriating at times, but sometimes he can do “Something Wonderful.”

The advice. In The King & I, Anna advises Louis to “Whistle a Happy Tune” when he is afraid. In The Sound of Music, Maria reveals her strategy in a similar situation is to think about “My Favorite Things.”

The lovers. Their song(s) must start with one lover singing a verse. Then the other lover must repeat back almost verbatim what the first lover sang. Certain adjustments are all right. For example, “You are sixteen going on seventeen” in the first verse becomes “I am sixteen going on seventeen” for the second verse. Sometimes the verses are almost completely identical. For example, “I Have Dreamed” and “We Kiss in a Shadow” from The King & I, “Do I Love You Because You’re Wonderful?” and “Ten Minutes Ago” from Cinderella. The Sound of Music mixes this one up a bit with the song “How Can Love Survive,” as the duet is about the lovers, but only one of the lovers in question is actually singing. Interestingly, that love does not survive, as the Captain later realizes that the Baroness is far too willing to compromise on important matters. Flower Drum Song flips the formula, in which two characters try to convince the other: “Don’t Marry Me!”

Denial. In Oklahoma!, Curly and Laurey give each other advice on how to behave, as they aren’t willing to admit publicly that they’re dating. They worry that “People Will Say We’re in Love,” so they decide to pretend they are not. In Carousel, Billy and Julie (played by the same actors as the previous couple in the classic movies) aren’t willing to admit to each other, let alone publicly, that they’re in love, so they tell each other what they would do “If I Loved You.” It just so happens that what they sing about doing is exactly what they are doing. They end up not verbalizing their love for each other until it’s too late. (“Make Believe” from Show Boat also fits in this category, and that musical was by Oscar Hammerstein, though he composed it with Jerome Kern rather than Richard Rodgers.)

The breakup. At least one of the lovers decides they can’t go forward in this relationship. After learning of his children by a Polynesian woman in South Pacific, Nellie decides she cannot get past that and resolves to “Wash that Man Right Out of My Hair.” Emile quickly manages to help her get over her racist attitude, and that resolution falls flat. In The Sound of Music, Maria counsels Liesl what to do when she realizes that Rolf doesn’t love her as much as she thought, in “Sixteen Going on Seventeen (Reprise).” (Again, Show Boat fits into this category, as Gaylord Ravenal leaves and Magnolia must raise their daughter on her own. He eventually returns, but their daughter has grown up by then.) The breakup sometimes leads to the women singing about their frustrations with men and marriage. “Give It to ’Em Good, Carrie!”, “Stonecutters Cut It on Stone”, “Many a New Day”. These songs often don’t work to convince her to foreswear her love. Either the lovers get back together, or they never stopped loving each other in the first place and were just in denial or pretending.

The soliloquy. A character should ponder their options, as they have a difficult choice ahead of them. In his “Lonely Room” in Oklahoma!, Jud Fry considers how to proceed in his relationship with Laurey and resulting rivalry with Curly, having just been taunted and threatened by Curly. Jud’s decision ultimately leads to his death. In Carousel, Billy Bigelow walks along the beach singing his “Soliloquy” dreaming about his child and pondering how he is going to provide for him or her. Again, his decision ends up resulting in his death. On the other hand, the “Twin Soliloquys” in South Pacific combine the love song and soliloquy. Nellie and Emile are pondering their options related to their budding romance. They sing nearly verbatim what the other person sings, but they are pondering these things to themselves rather than singing to each other. Unlike the lone soliloquys mentioned above, their decisions do not end up in their deaths. Another variation is near the beginning of the musical, as the character sings a soliloquy about their current situation, such as “In My Own Little Corner” from Cinderella and “It Might as Well Be Spring” from State Fair.

The ballet. Carousel, Oklahoma! and Flower Drum Song have dreamy ballets. The one in Oklahoma! is particularly important to the plot, as it helps Laurey realize the extent of the danger she is in from Jud’s abuse.

Careful, awkward wording. A character is put in an awkward situation where they must word their requests very carefully. In South Pacific, Nellie is set the task of asking Emile why he killed a man. This is a red flag in the mission the US army has in mind for him, and they need to be sure he is trustworthy. But for Nellie, who has feelings for Emile, she doesn’t want to damage their relationship, and she can’t reveal why she is asking. In The King & I, Anna must give the King advice without seeming to. She resorts to “guessing” what the King is going to do, thus preventing an international incident. In Cinderella, the title character tells her stepfamily about the “Lovely Night” she just had at the ball, but can’t reveal that she was actually there. So she acts like she’s dreaming about how it would have been had she gone.

Singing about the location of the musical. Oklahoma! has an enthusiastic song about the virtues of their territory that will soon be “a brand new state!” State Fair has a similarly enthusiastic song about “All I Owe Ioway.” In both of these examples, they spell out the name of their state/territory in the song. When State Fair was revamped and reset in Texas, “All I Owe Ioway” was replaced with “The Little Things in Texas.” The similar tribute in The Sound of Music doesn’t mention Austria by name, but “Edelweiss” does ask to “bless my homeland forever.” Flower Drum Song gets very specific with its song about “Grant Avenue, San Francisco, California, USA!”

The smaller story within the story. Characters tell a story. Sometimes they reenact it. Tuptim composes a play called Small House of Uncle Thomas, based on the classic novel Uncle Tom’s Cabin, in The King & I. Maria and the children sing the story of “The Lonely Goatherd” (using marionettes in the movie, but not in the stage version) in The Sound of Music. We learn (very briefly) about “Fan Tan Fanny” in Flower Drum Song.

The big dance. This is different from the ballet. It is much more enthusiastic, and is accompanied by a song sung partially or entirely by the full company. I’m talking “The Farmer and the Cowman” (Oklahoma!) “It’s a Grand Night for Singing” (State Fair), and others

The finale. No matter the subject matter, the title of the song must be “Finale Ultimo.” While not necessary, it is a good idea to have the audience incredibly moved at this point. They could be grieving a lost main character. Maybe the wedding was just that powerful. It could be any variety of reasons.

I hope this gets your creative juices going, and I look forward to seeing everyone’s Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals on Broadway someday!

Steven Sauke grew up watching Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals. He has performed in two of them.

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This is a reblog of a post I wrote in 2018 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online.

The Magic of Carol

February 2019

Credit: CBS Photo Archive, 1965

Steven Sauke

Last month, we lost a legend, and the lights of Broadway and Hollywood got a little dimmer. Carol Channing was one of the most beloved of Broadway greats.

She had me at “Raspberries!”

I don’t recall when exactly I found out about her, but I learned about the movie Thoroughly Modern Millie in the ’90s. I was excited to see a movie musical starring Julie Andrews, who I grew up watching in The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins. Carol Channing’s portrayal of Muzzy van Hossmere was the stuff of legends. From her completely random first word in the movie (“Raspberries!”) in that very distinctive voice, seated in a biplane and holding a bottle of wine, I knew I was going to love her. Her willingness to try anything was truly inspirational and hilarious. She had instructors for dancing, piloting (in a musical set 15 years before Amelia Earhart’s legendary flight, and 64 years before Beverley Bass became the first female captain on American Airlines), playing multiple instruments, being shot from a cannon, weaponizing song and dance, giving important life tips, and so much more. Her low notes (in the musical, anyway) could shatter glass.

Then came the Broadway version. I fell in love with the musical anew with the new casts and songs. I believe that was my introduction to Sutton Foster, and I have been a fan of her ever since. When the show came through Seattle in its national tour, they had a promotional event at the Bon Marché (right around the time it was purchased by Macy’s), and it was perfectly timed during my lunch break. I got to meet and get autographs from Darcie Roberts (Millie) and Pamela Isaacs (Muzzy). Each of them sang a song from the show (“Gimme, Gimme” and “Only in New York”, respectively, if I remember right). I recall Pamela being particularly friendly and asking me questions. When she found out I loved the movie, she informed me, “I play Carol Channing.” Not Muzzy. Carol Channing.

I didn’t get the pleasure of meeting Carol, but I know someone who did, and we will be hearing from him later in this blog. In fact, he came up with its title. I have asked some of my fellow bloggers to share their memories and impressions, and they have graciously agreed.

Kelly Ostazeski

I never expected to love Hello, Dolly! as much as I do, so naturally I respect Carol Channing as the original, legendary Dolly Gallagher Levi. She set the standard for the rest of the Dollys that followed. Even though I never saw her perform the role live, I can hear her in the score, no matter who sings the role. Her voice is unmistakable. 

My main memory of Ms. Channing, however, comes from the animated Don Bluth film Thumbelina, where she voiced Mrs. Fieldmouse, and urged Thumbelina to "Marry the Mole" through song. I also enjoyed her performance as Muzzy in the Julie Andrews film Thoroughly Modern Millie. It's kind of fate (and amazing) that two of my favorite stage musicals (Dolly and Millie) have a connection to Carol Channing. 

Rest in peace, Ms. Channing. Your legendary performances will live on forever. 

Michael Kape

“So, I’m sure you know Carol Channing is coming to town in Hello, Dolly!” my editor at Southern Voice said to me. “Since you’re our resident theatre person, how would you like to interview her before the show?”

I threatened Devin with bodily harm if he gave that assignment to anyone else. Fortunately, since I was also the newspaper’s lead feature writer at the time (only because I could churn out a full-length story in an hour), I landed the gig.

Interviewing the legendary Carol Channing. Seeing her in Hello, Dolly! Thanks to my other theatre post in town as the critic for WABE-FM (which meant running up the aisle at the Fox Theatre, jumping in my car, and writing the review in my head for broadcast the next morning).

I mean, like, what more could you ask for than this?

The thing is, it was much more than I expected—both the interview and the show.

I had seen others in the role of Dolly Gallagher Levi, and they had acquitted themselves well. But why was her performance the one people clamored to see, I asked her.

“Well,” she said in that unmistakable growl, “I guess I’ve become identified with Dolly, which is not a bad thing. But maybe I had one small advantage over the other ladies—who were all fine. See, when we were working on Dolly on the road, [Producer] David Merrick called in Thornton Wilder to consult, since he had written the original plays The Merchant of Yonkers and The Matchmaker [the bases for Dolly]. He created Dolly Gallagher Levi.

“Thornton was such a dear. He gave Michael [Stewart, the book writer] and I tremendous insight into Dolly. It really helped me a lot.”

At the time of our interview, Carol was a sprightly 72 years old. And Dolly is a tough role for an actress of any age. Yet here she was, doing eight a week. How?

“It’s simple, Michael,” she told me, “I sleep 20 hours a day and I keep to a strict diet. That’s my secret; don’t tell anyone. I sleep. Get up. Go to the theatre. Do Dolly. Take my final bow. Then go back to sleep. A girl’s gotta keep her energy up, you know.”

We talked at length about the covert anarchy in Dolly, something most people miss. “Oh, that’s Thornton. Such a dear man but very complex.” Yeah, that’s true if you think about his body of work.

Still, there was Carol Channing on a stage performing the role of a lifetime, and it was unlike anything I’d ever seen. Onstage she wasn’t 72; she was maybe 30—tops. She was funny, touching, energetic, precise, magnificent in her red dress—and magical. That’s the only word I think can adequately describe her performance. Seeing her perform Dolly Gallagher Levi was one of those rare theatre moments you cherish.

After all, she was Miss Carol Channing. Goodbye, Dolly. It was nice to have you here where you belonged. The world has lost something very special.

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I would like to thank Kelly Ostazeski and Michael Kape for their contributions to this post. We wrote it in February 2019 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online. Both have given me their permission to include their contributions here.

All I Really Need to Know I Learned on Broadway

Way back in the dark ages of the 20th Century, in 1986 to be precise, a new musical came out called The Phantom of the Opera. There were others, but that was the most popular new one that year. In the world of books, Robert Fulghum published his classic All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. It detailed lessons we all learned in kindergarten that formed us as people. Some were simple, and others were more profound. Since then, I have seen parodies crop up over the years.

I thought it might be helpful to do a Broadway version. So, without further ado, I give you... All I Really Need to Know I Learned on Broadway.

 

Photo by Steven Sauke, September 2022

1. "Any dream will do."
2. "The difference between a cow and a bean is a bean can begin an adventure."
3. "You will be found."
4. "Because I knew you, I have been changed for good."
5. "Because we come from everywhere, we all come from away."
6. "To love another person is to see the face of God."
7. "It's such a fine line between a good man and a bad."
8. "No more talk of darkness. Forget these wide-eyed fears. I'm here. Nothing can harm you."
9. "Love in your heart wasn't put there to stay. Love isn't love 'til you give it away."
10. "The slotted spoon can't hold much milk."
11. "The things that I prize, like the stars in the skies, are all free!"
12. "Nothing's gonna harm you, not while I'm around."
13. "Every year on September 11th, I close my office and give each employee $100 to do random acts of kindness."
14. "Everything today is thoroughly modern. Check your personality."
15. "Nothing's wrong with being 50, unless you're acting 20!"
16. "The slotted spoon can catch the potato."
17. "Don't wait until wrinkles and lines pop out all over my brow! Show me now!"
18. "They were great men, with huge flaws, and you know what — those flaws almost made them greater."
19. "Come on in, the door's open!"
20. "What you've got to do is finish what you've begun. I don't know just how, but it's not over 'til you've won."
21. "Green Mountain Dew activates you. Red shuts you off."
22. "Old Man River, he just keeps rolling along."
23. "I loved you then, and I love you still!"
24. "There's no business like show business."
25. "Careful the things you say. Children will listen."
26. "Give my regards to Broadway!"
27. "Life is fraughtless when you're thoughtless."
28. "First you gotta read 'em. Then you gotta heed 'em. You never know when you're gonna need 'em."
29. "A cat is not a dog."
30. "You'll never walk alone."

*dramatic chord* 

        "Et cetera!"
*more dramatic chord* 

                "Et cetera!"
*even more dramatic chord* 

                        "ET CETERA!"

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I wrote this in September 2018 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online; thus the reblog here.

The Showtunes of Christmas

This time of year, Christmas carols are everywhere you go! In the stores, in restaurants, at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, everywhere! Most of them are actually Christmas carols, but some people seem to have the idea that if it’s Broadway, it must be Christmas. In the spirit of the season, I thought it would be helpful to come up with some suggestions for those wanting to record their very own Broadway Christmas album.

There are many important considerations when selecting songs to include in your Broadway Christmas album. First of all, it is very important to make sure to procure the rights to perform any showtunes. You should also consider your vocal range, as some songs just aren’t for everyone. For the purposes of this blog, I will just focus on the songs themselves, presenting appropriate and inappropriate songs for your consideration.

When selecting your songs, I propose asking some important questions:

1. Is it a showtune? We know not all musicals are Broadway, but for the sake of inclusiveness, I will not differentiate between Broadway, off-Broadway, off-off-off Broadway, or that musical you just decided to write that will hopefully someday be Broadway! If it’s a showtune, great!
2. Is it a Christmas song? If the majority of the song is about Christmas or winter, great! But this is one area where many Christmas albums miss the mark. More on that later. All the songs I will suggest are showtunes. But not all are Christmas songs. In my opinion, only Christmas showtunes should be included in your Broadway Christmas album. 

So without further ado, here we go.

IS IT CHRISTMAS? YES!

We Need a Little Christmas. From Mame.

This is an obvious, delightful choice. It is also timely in these turbulent times. It reminds us of the joys of Christmas and how it can help in difficult times.

Counting Down to Christmas. From A Christmas Story.

It’s a fun reminder of the childlike joy of anticipation as we look forward to the exciting time of family, gifts, giving, and the occasional Red Ryder Carbine Action BB Gun under the tree. (Try not to poke an eye out!) Another great choice from that musical would be “Somewhere Hovering over Indiana.”

Merry Almost Christmas. From A Year with Frog and Toad.

This is another fun song about the anticipation of Christmas. It isn’t very often that you are serenaded by amphibians and birds singing Broadway (well, unless you regularly watch A Year with Frog and Toad, and you’d have my full support if so)!

White Christmas. From Holiday Inn and White Christmas.

Irving Berlin tended to recycle his songs from one musical to another. This is one of several songs that are in both aforementioned musicals, and it is another delightful reminder of the joy of the season.

Snow. From White Christmas.

Like the song “White Christmas,” this reminds us of the joy of the season, though it doesn’t mention Christmas specifically.

From White Christmas, 1954

Almost anything from A Christmas Carol.

That said, “Jolly, Rich and Fat” and “Dancing on Your Grave” may be a little odd out of context.

A Christmas Song. From Elf.

This is a happy reminder of the magic of the season, and reminds us of Buddy’s mantra that “the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear.” Actually, almost any song from Elf would be great.

It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. From Here’s Love.

Show of hands how many people knew this was a showtune? It is from Meredith Willson’s musical based on Miracle on 34th Street. It’s a Christmas classic.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. From Meet Me in St. Louis.

This is another Christmas classic that not everyone knows is a showtune. It would be a great song to include!

Christmas Is My Favorite Time of Year. From Catch Me if You Can.

Even notorious fugitives from the law need to remember the joy of the season!

Christmas Time is Here. From A Charlie Brown Christmas.

This is another Christmas classic. It isn’t technically Broadway, but Charlie Brown has been on Broadway in You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown, and A Charlie Brown Christmas is a show with songs. So in my opinion, it counts.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside. From Neptune’s Daughter.

Is it Christmas? Yes. Do I recommend using it in 2018? No. Enough said.

STARTING TO TRANSITION…

Happy Holiday. From Holiday Inn.

This is typically associated with Christmas, but in the context of the musical, it was actually a New Year song.

This Time Next Year. From Sunset Boulevard.

This is decidedly not Christmas, but it is New Year, which is a week later. This might be a nice choice as the final song on your album.

IS IT CHRISTMAS? NO!

My Favorite Things. From The Sound of Music.

My theory is that this is commonly included in Christmas albums because it could be misinterpreted as a Christmas wish list, and it includes fleeting mentions of “brown paper packages tied up with strings” and “snowflakes that stay on my nose and eyelashes.” But the song is not about any holiday, or even a specific season. It’s about thinking happy thoughts when you’re scared, thus distracting your mind from your surroundings. Rodgers & Hammerstein wrote “I Whistle a Happy Tune” for The King & I with a similar aim, but you don’t often hear that song on Christmas albums. It’s also possible that “My Favorite Things” is often included because networks tend to play The Sound of Music on TV around Christmas time.

You’ll Never Walk Alone. From Carousel.

This is even more baffling. It is an optimistic song, and it falls into a similar category (and by the same composers) as the previous song with its themes of bearing up through tough times with hope. It’s a beautiful song and would be a great addition to your other showtune album that isn’t seasonal or holiday-related, but please do not include it in your Christmas album.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

I hope you find this helpful and instructive. I always feel it is best for a Christmas album to have Christmas music, and not generic non-holiday-related songs. There are many other Christmas showtunes I didn’t mention. Also, New Years songs might be nice for the end of the album. If you wanted to spice it up further, you could look for showtunes related to Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Ramadan and other winter holidays as well.

Best wishes in your Christmas showtune endeavors, and to quote a song from A Christmas Carol (which takes the words straight out of Charles Dickens’ masterpiece), “God bless us, every one!”

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This is a reblog of a post that I wrote at Christmas 2018 for the All Things Broadway blog, which is no longer online.

My Grown-Up Christmas List

I started this blog several years ago, in part to post thoughts on Christmas carols. It's been a while since I've actually posted some, so I thought this might be a good time to do some more.

I find it interesting that my opinion on certain songs and other subjects can change over the course of my life. Take for example "My Grown-Up Christmas List." When I was young, I found the song rather perplexing, and I didn't like it. Though I was never particularly one who actually believed in Santa Claus (though I love the idea, and St. Nicholas was a real person...but that's another subject), I have always loved the magic and wonder of Christmas. One of my favorite parts growing up, in addition to the family time and decorations and everything else, was opening presents on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. Part of the excitement was what was waiting for me under the tree - both the anticipation and the joy of opening them. So to listen to a song that lists a bunch of wishes that aren't physical and can't be unwrapped around the tree just didn't appeal to me so much. Of course, I've never had an issue with the concepts mentioned, but to consider them Christmas gifts just seemed odd.

But the older I get, the more I realize how much we need all these things:

No more lives torn apart 

That wars would never start

And time would heal all hearts

And everyone would have a friend

And right would always win

And love would never end

This is my grown-up Christmas list.

Graphic from clipartmax.com

I was born in the late '70s, during the Cold War, shortly after the Vietnam War ended. Growing up in the Philippines in the '80s and early '90s, we went through the turbulence of the assassination of Ninoy Aquino, Ferdinand Marcos' martial law, the People Power Revolution, and multiple coup attempts, during which time it was sometimes dangerous for us to be out in public due to the color of our skin. In 1986, we watched in horror on TV as the Challenger exploded shortly after takeoff. The Berlin Wall fell and protesters were mown down by tanks in Tiananmen Square in 1989. We gathered at school in the early '90s to watch CNN reports on Operation Desert Storm, in which some alumni of our school were fighting. Coming back to the US in 1991, we watched on Channel One in class as they reported on the "Soviet Disunion" as the USSR crumbled into multiple nations. In 1995, a classmate mentioned they heard the Federal Building in Oklahoma City had been bombed, and all lesson plans went out the window as our teacher turned on the news and we watched in horror as a massive chunk of the building was gone and suffering people were everywhere. Shortly after getting up on September 11, 2001, I learned the World Trade Center had been hit and we watched in horror on TV as the second tower was hit. Nearly two years ago, our own nation was rocked by a violent coup attempt that brought back terrible memories from the Philippines in the '80s. We are still going through a horrible pandemic that has claimed millions of lives. Even among the living, it has torn apart families and friends as political differences and conspiracy theories have caused more than just physical death. Ukraine has been defending itself for nearly a year now as Russia continues its unprovoked war. Discrimination and violence against minorities continue unabated, as we hear of shootings almost daily, many of them due to racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia, antisemitism, political differences, conspiracy theories, and more. Families at our southern border have been ripped apart in the name of "national security," when what they needed was love and support. The list goes on. Earthquakes, tornadoes, typhoons, hurricanes, and more national disasters have hit around the world. So many lives have been torn apart by war, natural disasters, disease, politics and more.

The older I get, the more "My Grown-Up Christmas List" becomes my plea and prayer for the world. 

As children we believe

The grandest sight to see

Was something lovely wrapped beneath the tree

But Heaven only knows

That packages and bows

Can never heal a hurting human soul

That right there is the story of my life. So many people are hurting. While I still love opening and giving presents at Christmas, I long more than ever for an end to the conflicts, wars, pain, disasters, and more. I long for peace on countless fronts.

Peace would be a much greater Christmas gift than anything that can be wrapped and put under a tree.

The song was written by David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner and has been performed by Natalie Cole, Amy Grant, Kelly Clarkson and others. What was once a perplexing song has become one of the most meaningful and timely songs I've heard, and it has been going through my head a lot lately with everything that has been going on. It has become the cry of my heart for everyone to come together, to give and receive love, to open our hearts to the millions of people around us who are suffering.

The Sun Sets on Wireless Advocates

Friday, March 31, 2017. I had finished a day of work, and was proud of my accomplishments of the day. I was in a long-term contract position at a medical supplies company, and my performance was better that week than it had ever been. So it was a bit of a shock when I got out to my car and listened to my voicemail. It was my agency alerting me that my contract had ended. No warning, just "Today was your last day." The agency was as surprised as I was, as the feedback from the company they had received had always been positive. There were tears.

Fast-forward a couple weeks. My agency found a temporary position at a company called Wireless Advocates, which managed wireless kiosks in Costco and on military bases. I had done a short-term job there back in 2011, so it was a return of sorts. It was set to last 3-4 weeks, as they needed some help processing orders. April 2017 became May, which became June, and so on... To make a long story short, after multiple extensions to the 3-4-week job, during which time I was trained on more responsibilities than what was originally included in my job description, my manager offered me a permanent position. It was my first permanent job after years of temping. In one previous job, I was told they would have hired me permanent, but that company had recently been acquired, and due to the uncertainty of the merger process, they couldn't promise that it would be long term. (In fact, I worked in three departments as departments relocated to other states.) In my position that I lost in 2017, they even considered me for a permanent position.

So it was that in January 2018, I began a permanent position at the national headquarters of Wireless Advocates in Seattle, working with the most amazing manager I have ever worked with. Our team has been like a family. Through ups and downs and challenges over the years, my manager and team have always been there. We have supported each other, and I have often wondered what I did to be on such an amazing team, where I could get help from anyone, and offer help back when they needed it. I have thrived in this position in ways that have surprised me. I have loved working with customers and associates around the country. In March of 2020, as we were realizing more and more the massive ramifications of the COVID pandemic, our office transitioned to working from home. The new arrangements provided new challenges, but our team maintained regular contact and remained as cohesive as ever. Working from home has also been a surprising blessing as I have been caring for my parents over the past few years. We lost my dad to a stroke last December, just over a year ago, and I have continued to care for my mom since then. It has been nice to be able to be able to assist when they need help during breaks and lunches. When I was done with my work day, I was already home, so didn't need to take time for the commute home. I have loved being able to give my all to my job, while also being available for family when they need help. During this time, I have also learned that I have ADHD, which has been a big help in managing challenges I have faced all my life, but only in the past few years have I started putting it together and gotten checked for it. (It also explains some challenges that I encountered in my previous job, and it would have been useful to know at that time.) My manager has done an amazing job of working with this knowledge, leveraging my strengths and working with my weaknesses. This has challenged me to work harder to be the best I can be.

Enter another shock. Yesterday we learned that the company is closing down. Wireless kiosks around the country are closed, and we at the national headquarters will be here for two more months. This is the second time I have been at a company that has shut down (the previous time was due to the company being acquired by a competitor). I truly feel for all my associates around the country who are now searching for a job. Despite the difficulty of the circumstances, particularly this time of the year, I have been deeply impressed with our management, and our team is becoming even more cohesive as our time at the company comes to an end. Though we at headquarters have a job for a couple months yet, we are starting to search now. During my spare time, I have been working on updating my resume.

I don't know what is on the horizon, but in my experience, shocking endings have led to new beginnings that I never would have predicted. In retrospect, as difficult as it was to lose my previous job, I realize that if I had not lost it right then, I would not have been available at just the right time for this "3-4 week" position that ended up turning into a permanent position working for and with the most amazing manager and team of my career thus far. If it were not for the horrible blow our nation and the world received at the beginning of 2020, we would not have started working from home, and I would not have been as available to help my parents as they have needed more assistance, while still being able to do as much as I have for a job that I love. Of course, that is not to minimize the heavy losses we have all sustained over the past few years. These have been difficult and devastating times for everyone.

My friend Jason Kotecki is an artist and motivational speaker. He had a syndicated cartoon in the newspapers a few years ago called Kim & Jason, with characters loosely based on his wife Kim and himself as children, in addition to other family members. Since 2000, they have waged a campaign to fight the menace of adultitis, that villain that robs people of their sense of child-like wonder and curiosity as they get older. I highly recommend checking them out at escapeadulthood.com. One thing Jason likes to ask is, "Now that this has happened, what does it make possible?" They have had their own set of challenges that at the time were horrifying (you can read about some of them here, here, here, here and here.) His challenge has been a massive help to me in this time of uncertainty and as I reflect back on difficult times that have ended up leading to surprising silver linings.

I don't know what the future holds, but I trust God to lead me, and I look forward to whatever is on the horizon.

I took this picture in 2019 from the roof of our building. At the time I didn't consider how much of an encouragement it would be, but a sunset is a beautiful thing. It symbolizes an end, but as the last rays of the sun paint a colorful canvas on the sky, we know that a new day is coming and the sun will rise again.

I took the following pictures last year of sunrise over Lake Michigan in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. (I call the first one Crouching Sunrise, Hidden Raccoon. Extra credit if you can find the raccoon!) Will the proverbial sunrise that follows the sunset of Wireless Advocates look something like this? Only time will tell, but I look forward to finding out!

To my colleagues around the country, it has truly been an honor and pleasure working with you. I wish you the best as you search for your sunrise. I know whatever companies you work for next will have acquired some amazing new talent that will help them thrive!