10/22/24: Tammy Faye
What: The Broadway transfer of the West End musical about Tammy Faye Bakker, with songs by Elton John and Jake Shears.
And? I was so deeply bored. Katie Brayben was great though.
10/23/24: Maybe Happy Ending
What: The English translation of a hit Korean musical. Set in a future time in Seoul, two "retired" obsolete generations of Helperbots (sentient androids) go on a road trip to seek one of their former owners.
And? I adored it. What an absolute darling treat of a show, genuinely funny and heartwarming. It examines not only our willingness to dispose of technology for the newest and fastest, but also how one who has been discarded can both live and die with dignity. Ably directed by Michael Arden (ugh I love him) with an electric and sleek scenic design by Dane Laffrey (and wonderfully vivid video and projection design by George Reeve), the show is light and color and a softer side of sci-fi. As the two leads, Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen do wonderful work: Criss has fully commitment to the stilted physicality of his older model droid, whereas Shen, while much closer to passing for human, still maintains the precision of an artificial being.
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| Helen J. Shin and Darren Criss as Claire and Oliver. Photo by Matthew Murphy. |
10/25/24: Jason Robert Brown at Carnegie Hall
What: Jason Robert Brown makes his solo concert Carnegie Hall debut ... with a lot of special guests.
And? What can I say? With a lineup including Raúl Esparza, I couldn't resist. Most of it was music I already knew from Mr. Brown's career, but there were also a few numbers from upcoming projects. Every performer was a highlight, and it was sweet to see the composer's daughters, together with his wife Georgia Stitt (who was also conducting the orchestra) join him on a song I remember from one of his pandemic concerts. Also, in this particularly fraught year, it was lovely to see someone so unapologetically Jewish onstage talk about that part of his identity.
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| Photo by Amy Nieporent. |
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