cavo's corner

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Five…

First off, please let me apologize for my delinquency in not writing about this sooner. It’s been over two months since @TGH3RD and I saw Catch Me if You Can, the musical. This summer has been a particularly lazy one for me when it comes to this blog. I simply haven’t found the time to pay it adequate attention, what with work, buying a home and my lengthy calendar of seemingly unending social engagements. In any event, I digress… it could be worse. 

Based on the movie, which was based on the novel, which was based on the true story of Frank Abagnale Jr., the lastest addition to the franchise: Catch Me if You Can, the musical was the first original musical (other than a Juke Box Musical, or a musical based on pop music) that I have seen in a long time. It chronicles the (mis)adventures of one of America’s most notorious con-artists during one of my favorite periods, the 1960s.  

I had always wanted to see the movie version of Catch Me if You Can, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks, although I’m terrible at getting to the movies. @TGH3RD rented it for me the week prior to seeing the musical, and thank goodness he did. I would have been lost! I can see those who are not familiar with the story becoming easily confused, as key plot elements are glazed over. But, after all, it was a musical.

The set was very cool — I mean, there was a plane on stage! The lighting design and the costumes were also phenomenally executed. The only thing that didn’t really stand out for me was the music. There were a few show-stoppers, and the signature song, “Live in Living Color,” was very good — it had classic musical elements — but everything else was unfortunately forgettable. 

This production received four nominations at for the 2011 Tony Awards. The award for “Best Perfomrance by a Leading Actor in a Musical” was awarded to Norbert Leo Butz for his portrayal of Detective Carl Hanratty. He also won a 2011 Drama Desk Award  for the role. 

Real theater aficionados like @AleksandrJohn didn’t like the show at all. He thought it was too “fluffy.” But that’s what theatre is all about in my book — a diversion! I thought it was a cute show, and I’m sure it will have a healthy run. 

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Four…

When one of my vendors offered me tickets to see Baby It’s You, I said “sure, why not?!” So, last Friday, @TGH3RD and I had a great Lenten dinner at the Oyster Bar in Grand Central Station before we headed off to the show.

The show, which is in previews until it opens on April 27th, follows the story of Florence Greenberg, the first woman to head a record label and the rise to fame of the girl group The Shirelles. Atypical for a Jukebox-Musical, “Baby It’s You” actually had a plot. Even more, the plot actually touched upon some very real issues like: women in the workplace and interracial relationships. 

We were definitely the youngest in the audience, but by the end of the show, everyone was on their feet singing and dancing. It was a very fun show!

✭Matinée Wednesday: Round Thirty-Three…

There is a reason that The Phantom of the Opera has been running on Broadway since 1988 — that reason being, the show is absolutely phenomenal. When I was little, my parents went to see the show. They bought the original soundtrack and it lived in our car for years to come. I knew ever word to every song of the wonderful score by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. But for whatever reason, I never had the motivation to go and see the how myself. Then finally, I did. 

A vendor that I work with offered me tickets to see the show on a very special day, that day being my 25th birthday. On the eighth day of the ninth month in the year of our Lord, two thousand and ten, some of my favorite people on this planet celebrated my day of birth with dinner and drinks at the iconic 21 Club. From there, we went to see the show.

Originally starring Sarah Brightman, the plot almost mirrored the real-life love story of Webber and Brightman… let’s face it, he’s nothing special to look at. Webber and Brightman were married for six years before divorcing. Musical genius cultivating the abilities of a natural talent? Seems familiar.  

Anyway, the musical tells the tragic story of a love triangle. Christine Daaé, the heroin, is torn between her musical tutor, the repugnant Phantom, and her childhood love, the handsome Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny. As most love triangles do, this one ends in a showdown… with ambiguous results. Christine and Raoul end up together, but the Phantom vanishes into thin air (literally).

One of the best musicals that I’ve seen, Phantom has it all — wonderful music, colorful sets, exquisite costumes and a story that isn’t strung together with nonsensical dialogue. It is of no wonder that a sequel, Love Never Dies, is currently running on the West End, and scheduled for Broadway in 2011.