There's nothing like a show on Broadway...

...nothing like a Broadway show!! (Or an off Broadway show anyway.)

I went to see the musical RENT this weekend with Jon and his cousin Liz and one of her high school friends. It was a terrific show! First of all we had amazing seats in the 8th row left of center (courtesy of Liz's refusal to sit past the 20th row - those drama geeks! ;P). We could see all the fun set details and most importantly we could see expressions on the performers faces! It was also very cool because the two main characters (Mark and Roger) were played by the original Broadway actors who are also the guys who played in the movie!

For those of you that are familiar with RENT you know that it is a great story that is very funny and extremely touching. It has a very "human" aspect and I think that everyone can relate to it is one way or another. I have to give mad props to the actors because they were phenomenal! All of them did a wonderful job and the energy and passion between them was amazing. I also must confess that I cried. Not just boo-hoo *tear, but tears streaming down my cheeks for many minutes while I am holding my breath so as not to make sobbing noises and give myself away. (yes, I am weak...fail) But I just couldn't help it. It got to me. =*) Well done everyone. You are beautiful.

I also have to say that I am very grateful to have a boyfriend who enjoys theatre too, especially musicals. In fact he has seen many more plays and musicals than I have. RENT is one of his favorites and he first introduced me to the movie a few years ago. I may have his father to thank for that. He is the funniest guy! He is big into sports, loves going golfing (he lives on a golf course!) and yet you will find him sitting on the sofa watching The Sound of Music. The man has a musical collection! He is great!

Living in Idaho I saw alot of great college theatre productions but there weren't many "mainstream" shows that came through town. If you wanted to see a show you had to drive 3 hours to SLC so it just didn't happen alot. I was very excited when I moved to Phoenix because I was finally going to get to go out and experience some cultural arts while I was in a city so thriving with opportunities.

But even after living here going on 7 years, I hadn't really gotten out much yet. The first few years I was going to school and was tight on money and spending $60 on a show ticket just wasn't something I could afford. So now that I finally have a real job that pays more than crackers, I can indulge a little bit here and there.

I went to my first off-broadway show last year when Jon took me to see Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. It was a fantastic show! The set was very minimal without many props, and it was very interpretive. But the performers were amazing! They all played instruments and did the music for the entire show. Each cast member could play 2 or 3 different instruments and it was crazy to watch because they would dance around and one character would come out of the scene and take over an instrument from another character as they entered the next scene. They swapped instruments around so fluidly that they would never miss a beat. It was amazing to watch and you had to give the performers kudos for their superb timing and talent. I was hooked!

After that I saw Chicago, The Lion King, RENT and we have Wicked tickets for the show in July. The Producers and Avenue Q (squeeee!) are coming to town as well and we are hoping to get tickets for those too. Yay!

Last year was the year of the concert, so I guess this year is the year of the Theatre. =D See you at the Theatre!