Back in the day, Kari would come to visit me in NYC and we would do our traditional "five shows in five days." I think we did this at least three times. While I'm sure we will never get to do five shows in a row again (tragic, I know), we did relive some of our old Broadways days with a Broadway weekend! I totally miss broadway! It was so much fun having dinner and seeing a couple shows in the city with Kari.
Gotta love Broadway Selfies
I know I haven't done this in a while, but I figure I would give my two cents about the shows.
Rocky (SPOILER)
Disclaimer: Rocky is my favorite movie of all time so it's only natural for me to LOVE the show! That said....
Story: Have you seen the movie? Well, then you know the story. Yes, they did make some changes, but I don't think they were really that significant to the story (unlike other musicals). I guess the only two changes that bothered me were: One, they gave Apollo Creed three lady groupies. I know his wife wasn't in the first movie, but it bothered me that they didn't show him as married. Two: They also changed it so Gazzo (The loan shark that Rocky works for) is not as supportive. I love in the movie how Gazzo totally cheers on Rocky, but in the play he tells him he's a nobody and will always be nobody even after he fights. I know it's not that big of a deal, but it totally bothered me.
Music: I was a little disappointed by the music. It wasn't bad, and there were several songs that I really liked (Adrian has a powerful number in the second act), but I guess I was hoping for a whole show of Gonna Fly now proportions. Not the case, but maybe my expectations were a little ridiculous. Oh, well.
Set: AMAZING! I don't even know where to start! The fight with Apollo Creed was crazy insane. They moved the boxing ring out over the orchestra seating (moving the people in the first eight rows onto bleachers on the stage), so it was surrounded by the audience. I felt like I was in the movie!
Choreography: LOVE IT! The training scenes were out of control! They did such a great job! The fight at the end was really cool too.
If/Then
Honestly, I went to the show to see Idina Menzel (Some of you may know her as Adele Nazeem) and it was totally worth it!
Story: The story was kind of cool. I don't want to give away too much of the story, but basically it's about a decision that the main character, Elizabeth (played by Idina) makes in the beginning of the show and how it basically creates two different life paths. They show both of the paths in the show. It was really intriguing. FYI, there is a lot of swearing in the show, so if you're sensitive to that don't go.
Set: The set was ok, but nothing compared to Rocky. I was in the Mezz (my favorite place to see a show), however I heard from some people that if you sit in the back of the Orchestra you will miss a lot of the show (they have a two level stage)
Music: I really liked it and Idina did an amazing job, but I didn't walk away remembering any particular song that I LOVED. They were all good, but nothing really stood out to me.
Basically, I'm glad I got to see Idina and I'm glad I got to see the show, but it's the not type of show I would go see again and again.
I LOVE BROADWAY
