Elizabeth and I had the day off today. Next week she will start at BROADWAY, NY – so who knows when we’ll both be off again.
We wanted to see a happy show…something upbeat. Something we knew we would love (and something cheap). We went to Wicked and entered the lottery (I’ve lost track of how many times we’ve entered. But we’ve both already seen it, so we’re ok when we don’t hear our names called.).
As we stood waiting for them to draw names when Elizabeth spotted a familiar face. She told me to call Tim and tell him that Tommy Murphy was standing a few feet away from us. Well, I didn’t know Tommy and Elizabeth wasn’t sure he’d remember her – but evidently he went to school with my brother and with Elizabeth.
I called Tim. Left a message. Two seconds later he called back.
I told Tim we were standing near someone named Tommy Murphy.
Tim reminded Elizabeth that Tommy is a boy who memorizes Georgia Zip Codes and never forgets anyone.
With Tim on the phone we walked in Tommy’s direction and via the wonders of cell phone technology a mini-reunion transpired. Tommy’s friend Jason was introduced and together we all waited to hear the results of the Wicked lottery.
The cell phone was passed around and Tommy caught up with Tim before handing the phone back to me when he turned his attention to Elizabeth and started catching up with her.
I said goodbye to Tim and we listened as all four of us lost the lottery. Together we walked down 8th Avenue and Elizabeth and I talked up other shows that Jason and Tommy could take in while they were in the city.
In exchange for all of our unsolicited Broadway input, Tommy bought Student Rush tickets to the musical revival of Sweet Charity for us. With a Student I.D. he was able to get $25 tickets for both of us. We’d both wanted to see Sweet Charity for weeks but couldn’t afford the tickets. We could get tickets for $55 - but that’s just not in our budget right now. For some shows, if you have a Student I.D., you can get discount tickets the day of the show.
We escorted Tommy and Jason over to the box office of Brooklyn – one of the shows Elizabeth and I recommended. They were able to get Rush tickets there as well, also for $25.
We parted ways with Jason and Tommy and headed to the movies. It was turning into a full day of entertainment for Elizabeth and I. We saw Batman Begins at the movies and really enjoyed it. Elizabeth is just excited to be going to the movies again. She and Nathan went to shows, family gatherings, church, etc. but never really the movies.
We jumped on the train. Changed clothes. Headed back downtown to the theater.
Sweet Charity was wonderful. It was fun to see a dance-heavy musical for a change. There aren’t a lot of those on Broadway anymore and I kind of miss the spirit they invoke.
Christina Applegate was delightful. It has been a hard road for her to make her Broadway debut. She broke her ankle during one of the show’s out-of-town tryouts and it was said she wouldn’t be opening the show when it reached New York. She had fought so hard to land the role – I read somewhere that it had been a grueling auditioning process for her because of a career that is made up of primarily film and television work.
Once she broke her ankle and it looked like the show would open without her the show started losing money in advance sales and the producers decided to suck up their losses and close the show before it reached New York.
Within 24 hours the producers announced the show would stay open on the road and would come to New York. Christina would be out the first few weeks of Previews but she was determined to work twice as hard in therapy and be on stage (and it is rumored that she also became one of the show’s producers – investing a million dollars of her own money to see to it that the show came to be.).
And it did.
She was greeted by a thunderous applause when we saw the show. The whole theater community has really embraced her and is trying to support her for the way she has been so fiercely determined to make the show a reality.
There were many Fosse elements incorporated into the choreography of the show, which was a great tribute to the original production.
It was also great to see Dennis O’Hare again. I’ve seen him in the Broadway shows Take Me Out and Assassins. He is one of those actors who is consistently great. He’s so funny and he envelops the roles he plays with such sincerity. I’m a big fan of his work. I love that physically he is so unassuming yet creatively his work is genius.
