Welcome to Watching the Stage

One of my goals for the start of this year, was to take advantage of the fact that I live within spitting distance of New York City. I am happy to say that I have been keeping to that goal.

And my favorite reason to go into New York is to see a stage show.

It doesn't matter if it's on or off Broadway, I've been having a lot of fun going to different plays and performances around the city, though I haven't gotten tickets to see Hamilton yet.

There are all types of stage performances. Musicals, dramas, comedies, classics like Shakespeare and the Greek tragedies, operas, and ballets. Each is unique in how they tell stories and convey emotions.

My current favorite play is Come From Away which is about how a small town in Canada took in about 3,000 people during 9/11 when all airplanes were grounded. The music is amazing and the stories are inspiring as well as heart breaking. What's really cool is that all the characters portrayed are based on the actual people who experienced the event.

What's really cool is how the set is designed. There's a rotating stage with fake trees, chairs, a "bar", and beautifully painted backdrop that reminded me of painted drift wood art. The band plays on stage, instead of in a pit and adds to the atmosphere. I hear there's a movie in the works, but no matter how well done the movie is, I don't feel it will have the same feeling as the play.

I'm not sure how to explain this feeling, but there is a big difference seeing a stage play and watching a movie based on that play. Plays rely on suggestion and imagination. When the lights go down and a single spotlight illuminates a solitary character on stage to give a soliloquy, it doesn't have the same effect as a character looking into a camera or giving a voice over to tell the audience what they're thinking.

Don't get me wrong, there are some plays that made the jump onto the big screen with success. West Side Story, Sound of Music, Hairspray, and especially The Rocky Horror Picture Show are all awesome movies (though I admit that I haven't seen them on stage). I even enjoy the 2004 Phantom of the Opera.

However, movies are a different medium from plays. Often scenes are squashed together or cut to make room for run time. Depending on the writers and directors, things can change drastically between stage to screen. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does change the experience.

To see "Phantom of the Opera" on stage is an entirely different experience. There's a reason it's one of the longest running shows on Broadway. The sets are a amazing, the effects are stunning, and to see the actors on stage is magic. I like the "Phantom of the Opera" movie. I love the Broadway show.

And there are a lot of plays in New York. New ones open every year, and there are even a few shorter runs with famous actors and actresses.

This is from the movie.

A few years ago, I saw The Front Page starring Nathan Lane and John Goodman. Yesterday, I saw Hillary and Clinton with Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow. Both Adam Driver and Danieli Radcliff have recently been in shows that I nearly brought tickets for, while my mom was disappointing that we weren't able to see Jeff Daniels in To Kill a Mockingbird (tickets were about the same price as Hamilton when I finally started looking).

It's cool to see these actors in movies and TV shows. It's stunning to watch them preform live and on stage. Nathan Lane in particular is one of my favorite actors to watch on stage. His stage presence is captivating.

I do wish it wasn't super expensive to see plays though, especially in New York. There are ways to find cheaper tickets, but it's tough and the timing doesn't always work out. There are raffles and buy-same-day tickets, but they are hard to get.

If going to New York is a tough option, then check out what the local high schools or college are putting on. When I was still in high school and college, I'd go to the plays my school put on. I loved seeing Little Shop of Horrors and Thoroughly Modern Millie with my friends.

Some schools even put their performances on YouTube, which is how I saw the "Very Potter Musicals" (not "Cursed Child") and "Once Upon a Mattress".

And don't discount the film adaptations. I know I earlier said that the experiences are different (and they are), but that doesn't mean that that's a bad thing. The Harry Potter movies are very different from the books, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying them. There are tons of movies from the 30s and 40s which were originally plays (see my post on The Front Page for a great adaptation example).`

One of my favorite play adaptations is Angels in America. You can find the whole mini-series on Amazon Prime right now (and possibly HBO GO). It's about the AIDs epidemic in the 1980s. HBO put together a 6 part miniseries back in the early 2000s and if you haven't seen it, I totally recommend it. It is a play (both parts) that I hope to eventually see on stage, but for now, I'm happy re-watching the miniseries when I have the time.

Do you guys have any favorite plays or stage performances?

Until next week.

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