“Romeo and Juliet” (the Richard Rodgers Theater)-While it
was still in previews, I was fortunate enough to get a front row seat to William
Shakespeare’s timeless tragedy “Romeo and Juliet”. This well-done
revival stars Condola Rashad (Broadway’s “Stick Fly”) and Orlando Bloom (“Troy”, “Lord of the Rings”) as the central
pair of the story. Orlando Bloom’s Romeo of the house of Montague is a romantic
who needs an emotional boost after being turned down. Mercutio (Christian
Camargo)-a scene stealer in his own right- and Benvolio (Conrad Kemp) drag him
to a party being held by the Capulet family to lift his spirits. At this party,
Romeo sees Juliet (Condola Rashad) and the newly acquainted pair arrange to meet again soon. Friar
Laurence (Brent Carver) hears about Juliet from Romeo and intervenes to assist the
two lovers in hopes the rival families could unite through this union. Obstacles stand in the way of this goal, and
signals get crossed. By the end, the image of the stage of the two families
leaves an impression. *"Romeo and Juliet" opened
September 19th, 2013 and is a limited engagement that is running for
13 weeks only*
“First Date” (the Longacre Theater)-The lone musical I saw
in September, it is a new show that delighted the audience. Zachary Levi (NBC
series “Chuck”; Disney’s “Tangled”) is hilarious as Aaron, a man with emotional
baggage set-up on a blind date by a friend. Krysta Rodriguez (Broadway’s “the
Addams Family”) is charming as Casey, the woman he meets. The bar/restaurant is
the scene for an amusing real-time 90 minute date where the two face their
issues literally on stage as the role of friends, family, and exes appear
throughout the evening. People pop-up to offer advice (“The Girl for You”), or
hinder the progress of the couple (“Allison’s Theme”, “That’s Why You Love
Me”). Despite these mental distractions, Casey and Aaron help each other deal
with their fears in order to move past them (“Safer” “In Love With You”). By
the end of the night, you will feel the way Aaron and Casey do: that you have
found “Something That Will Last” in your Broadway memories.*"First Date" opened
August 8th, 2013 and is not a limited engagement*
“The Glass Menagerie”- In this Tennessee Williams play, Zachary
Quinto (“Star Trek” reboot; TV show “Heroes”) is entrancing as Tom Wingfield,
the teller of the tale as well as a character in it. Tom guides the audience
into memories he has of his mother Amanda (Cherry Jones) and his shy sister
Laura (Celia Kennan-Bolger). Cherry Jones (Broadway’s “Doubt”; NBC series “Awake”)
creates a portrait of a woman who reminisces about her life of attending dances
and choosing a telephone company worker “who fell in love with long distance”;
she wishes success and a caller for her daughter Laura and worries about her
son Tom’s nightly trips to the movies. Portraying Laura, Celia Keenan-Bolger (Broadway’s
“Peter and the Starcatcher”) gives a good performance as a shy girl with a
slight defect and an “inferiority complex” whose preoccupation with her glass
animals makes her unique. Into this journey of the mind, Tom introduces a
gentleman caller (Brian J. James from SyFy channel’s “Stargate: Universe”) that
comes to dinner and breaks the illusion by his presence in the apartment.
Sitting in the audience at this show, I was sad to see the memory play fade back
to Tom’s realization that he left behind a person whose presence haunts him. As
the light disappears around him, it leaves behind a visual sure to remain with
anyone who sees this show.*"The Glass Menagerie" opened September 26th, 2013 is
a 17-week limited engagement*
It has been a great month to be a fan of Broadway. I recommend visiting TKTS Booth or the theaters
for tickets to experience the power of live performances.
Sources for this blog: the Playbills for “Romeo and Juliet”,
“First Date”, and “The Glass Menagerie”, Playbill.com; “The Glass Menagerie”
official website: http://theglassmenageriebroadway.com/
*Photos were taken by me and are my property
