"The Book of Mormon - The Musical"

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I should tell you all up front that I am not a religious person - in all honesty I find organized religion distasteful, and very different from "having faith." (I am very much a woman of provable facts, if I can see it, I'll believe it but I tend to brush off the other stuff.) However, I know many people derive comfort from their religions, and in spite of our claims of differentiation, religion has a stranglehold on half of the political system of our state here in America, so I find it invariably refreshing when the arts, ranging from museum exhibits, to books, art shows to plays, take a good-natured jab at the institution. Which was precisely the case with Trey Parker and Matt Stone's Broadway debut, "The Book of Mormon - The Musical"

Best known as being the creators of South Park, Parker and Stone have made a strong foray into the world of musical theater. With a storyline strong in its subversive subject matter - there were good highlights made about exposure to all cultures, reality of facts of life versus the idealized mental state of being a believer in a higher power. There was also a lot of use of the word "fuck" which, I took to have been intended be added subversion, but which really just came across as humdrum and overbearingly low-brow. Moreover, however, this is a strong musical, with a decent book, and a wonderful cast.

To call out only a few members of this cast seems almost unfair because the entire ensemble made for a memorable evening. Still, I would be remiss to at least not highlight the leads. Andrew Rannell's "Elder Price" was a knockout - strong vocally, he also fleshed out a character that truly had an arc throughout the show and came out stronger for his experiences. Josh Gad's "Elder Cunningham" was a bit one-dimensional, especially next to his fellow lead, but provided comic relief in a broad characterization of a social outcast trying desperately to fit in. Nikki M. James' "Nabulungi" was magnificent - played with an earnestness and culminating in strength derived a slap-in-the-face dose of reality, she provided a focus for hope in the storyline, and her characteristically power-house vocals made for chills during her solo numbers.

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Scott Pask's set design was wonderful - versatile and beautifully detailed, it made for a magnificent backdrop and aided immensely in bringing the storyline to life. Ann Roth's costumes were exactly what they needed to be for their lead characters, and branched out considerably into the flamboyant, and the hysterical as the scenes allowed. The lighting design by Brain MacDevitt was equally mesmerizing, effective when called for, and transporting into peace, panic and isolation as the characters continued on in their journey. Brian Ronan's sound design was equally transporting, and all four individuals' work in the "Scary Mormon Hell Dream" sequence came together to create a truly fantastic scene - one of which they should all be proud!

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In all, you would do well to go see this show. Following in the footsteps of "Avenue Q" this show will most certainly be a contender during Tony's season, its soundtrack will have you humming long after you've left the theater, and the cast is truly a sight to behold, as well as to hear.

"The Book of Mormon - The Musical" plays at the Eugene O'Neill Theater, 230 W 49th Street. Call the box office or buy tickets here.

Friday at last!

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And another short post - complete with a theater tease - to end this week as I promised it would. I attended the Opening Night of "Anything Goes" last night, including the after-party, and I just have to state that my most heart-happy part of the whole affair was acknowledging the fact that this cast gave their heart and soul to the preview performance I saw, just as much as to this opening night performance. That respect for the material, each other, and their audiences, is what makes me love theater in a way no other art form has ever held my adoration. A truly fantastic evening, to be sure. As ever, more will come next week, which will essentially exist as "April 4-8, The Redux" in its postings. May you all have fabulous weekends; I fully intend to catch up on sleep while my houseguest visits others for a bit, throwing in some wine tasting and a walkabout for good measure. Happy Friday, all!

And then it was Thursday...

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All right, I give up - this is going to be a week solid full of hardly-there posts. I have a dear friend from college staying with me - first trip to New York! - and as he is a theater junkie much like myself, his vacation has turned into a staycation for me as we've been seeing theater galore. Due to this, however, I've been coming to work each morning slightly too-tired, and coupled with the fact that our workload in general has been unusually frantic the past few weeks, I have simply had no energy for anything outside of that work which needs doing. Thus, here is a thought from Picasso I hope you find uplifting, a promise that sooner rather than later I will regale you with yet another theater tale, this time about Roundabout's production of "The Importance of Being Earnest," and my own earnest wish that you all have a wonderful Thursday! Another short post will be coming your way tomorrow.

Madness

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Sorry for this short, rather sporadic post. Work is madness, and I just don't have time to post what I'd like to post, which is a diatribe of my thoughts on "The Book of Mormon - The Musical". But I'll get to it as soon as I can, and in the meantime, I hope this Wednesday treats everyone swimmingly! This piccy is simply because I'd much rather be that girl today.

Calm

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I'm feeling rather calm this morning. Although it has nothing to do with reading "Vogue". But calm has been a foreign state of being for the past few weeks, if not months. Today it may be a combination of resignation (mixed signals in dating are so frustrating...and, I fear, disappointing in the end...), a rested psyche (a good night's sleep cures so many ills), and the saturated solitude that today's cloud cover contains (the threat of rain is by its nature cozy), but I am just feeling in a moment of now. I hope it lasts a little while, there's never any telling how a work day will shape up. Still, I hope you all have the same sort of calmness in your Tuesday, and that you are able to appreciate it in full!

[Insert Clever Post Here]

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I'm tired guys. It was a long weekend of finalizing the packing and good-byes of a houseguests' international move, and today is gloomy and cold, and I am tired. I have another friend coming into town on Tuesday, and no I'm not sure how it is that I've ended up so tightly booked with houseguests these past couple months. I guess everyone hears Spring and New York City, and wants to take a trip. Kudos to my roommate for stoically handling the hotel I've turned her apartment into. Regardless, the whimsy of this picture was intended to lift my spirits a bit and send me off to make it through the day. I hope you all do the same, and New Yorker's, you kids stay dry out there today!

Thankful

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Not only did writing all that out yesterday help me to get my mind off the embarrassment and into the zone of working hard as-is, but it reminded me just how cathartic getting things out of my head is. I also was pleasantly surprised, once all the negativity was literally spilled out onto a page, that I felt lighter, more able to focus, more whole. I felt like myself again. And the day picked up from there. My boss and I fell back into comfortable conversation, a very important transition for me as I am so overly-sensitive that I take criticism of work or performance to be a reflection of how a person feels about me as a person rather than as an employee or coworker. (Obviously, the two are very, very rarely one and the same. But such is how my neurotic head works.) Then I came home to a lovely card and a sweet, thoughtful gift from a California friends' parents just sending love and hellos. It reminded me of just how lucky I am to have, not only a family that is completely supportive of me and all I do, and a sister I consider a friend first and foremost, but also friends and loved ones that have become my family and who continue to show their love and generosity even since I've moved so far away. I am lucky in so many ways, and it all sort of struck me last night, and squeezed my little heart until I couldn't breath for a moment, how grateful I am for the life I have. Funny how a day that started off to angst-y with residual distaste from the day before could end so incredibly positively. Really is a testament to the power of working through things, yes, but also striving to look on the bright side of things.Even the snow that is falling outside of the windows, on this first day of April, can't bring down my spirits today. I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and I'll see you on Monday!