American Sign Language and American Authors: An Unlikely Pairing

Sometimes my small worlds collide and it's a beautiful thing.  Case in point, the new video for American Authors' latest single, "Pride."  While the single and initial music video came out a few months ago, a second video for the song was released this past Friday, featuring Sandra Mae Frank, who most recently played Wendla Bergman in Deaf West's production of Spring Awakening on Broadway.  I came across the video while doing my regular Youtube search of "deaf west spring awakening", not wanting to miss any new video/update/interview about the production or cast.  And discovering this video yesterday really did make my day.  I was so incredibly happy to see Sandra and ASL being the main feature of a mainstream music video.

As you all know if you've been a regular to this blog, I recently fell in love again with Spring Awakening, particularly this current Deaf West production.  The Broadway revival sadly closed a few months ago, but before that happened, it seems like someone associated with American Authors heard about this talented actress and created a second music video concept to go with the new single.

Hopefully this doesn't mean that Sandra will be unable to reprise her rose as Wendla in the national tour of Deaf West's production of Spring Awakening in 2017.  But in the meantime, I'm so happy that she and the deaf community are getting recognition in the mainstream music world.

Currently listening to watching: "Pride" American Authors

History is Happening in Manhattan (NYC Trip Part 4)

Saving the best for last.  I was incredibly grateful to a friend of mine for having bought me tickets to see Hamilton while I was up in NYC.  Over the past five years or so, I've posted about In the Heights and Lin-Manuel Miranda, who is a complete inspiration to me and has the mind of a lyrical genius, more than a few times.  Hamilton has essentially become the next big thing on Broadway, everyone from President Obama and his family to the late Alan Rickman to Beyonce and Jay-Z have seen the show.  I've been following Lin for years now and I'm so glad that the first seeing him perform was in this game-changing show.

While walking around during BroadwayCon, I spotted Alex Lacamoire, the music director of Heights and Hamilton, and like the fangirl I am, stood shocked for a minute, them asked him for a picture.

Stage door'ing the Richard Rodgers Theater!

Betsy Struxness, swing.

Chris Jackson, George Washington.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, genius.  Oh wait, I mean Alexander Hamilton.

Creeper picture of Jonathan Groff while I was waiting in line to get into the theater.

Seeing the show, my view.

Wonderfully talented actors and dancers.  It was a shame that I wasn't able to see or meet Seth Stewart, who played Graffiti Pete in Heights.

As hyped as this show is at the moment, everyone and their mother seems to be selling their souls for tickets to this show, my personal opinion is that it was absolutely worth it.  And I doubt you'll find many people who say otherwise.  It was an absolutely incredible show and performance, the performers were at the top of their game, and I might've cried...three times.  Nothing much came as a surprise to me, I've listened to the cast album for months now.  But it was seeing it come to life, and the emotion that the actors put into their performance, and maybe just the overwhelming realization that I was one of the special few who was actually seeing Hamilton, that made the experience what it was.

Currently listening to: "History Has Its Eyes on You" Hamilton OBC

Snowed in at BroadwayCon (NYC Trip Part 2)

Here's the second part of my NYC trip posts, continuing with BroadwayCon.  Saturday was the only full day of programming, starting in the morning and going until around 1am that night.  This already-full day was made even more hectic by the "state of emergency" the mayor declared that afternoon.  With blizzard-like conditions and almost a foot of snow on the ground, a couple thousand BroadwayCon attendees were stuck at the Hilton.

Cons: last-minute cancellations and panel changes due to guests being unable to get into the city, or to the hotel.  Pros: the wonderful people of BroadwayCon organized a few "snowed in" programming events to keep the crowd from getting some massive cabin fever.

Ben Cameron and Anthony Rapp.

One of the blizzard panels they organized essentially turned into the organizers calling (and Skyping) some crazy big names in Broadway and chatting with them.  Some of the people called were: Idina Menzel, Joel Grey, Audra McDonald, Darren Criss, Patti Lupone, and shown, Jeremy Jordan!  He had to cancel last-minute due to flight complications.  It was extremely impromptu, but such a nice gesture on the organizers' part.

My favorite blizzard programming change was the BroadwayCon Cabaret that turned into a Krysta Rodriguez cabaret, with Ben Rauhala and Joe Iconis.  She sang songs shows she'd be in (First Date, Spring Awakening, In the Heights, The Addams Family, Smash) and some songs with Joe Iconis.  She's definitely in the new slew of younger Broadway actors coming onto the scene and she is so incredibly deserving of all her success.  Needless to say, incredible cabaret.

Other tidbits from the con.

Learning some choreography from the opener of "A Chorus Line"...you know the one.

BroadwayCon museum! Original Mimi costumes from Rent, lent by Daphne-Rubin Vega.

Kristin Chenoweth's "Something Rotten" dress she wore at last year's Tony Awards.

Miniature of the Hamilton set.

Sunday, the last half day of the con, included a few other panels and one last walk around the merchant's area.  All in all, I think the first-ever BroadwayCon was a success and I hope it continues to just get better in the future.  Jonas couldn't "stop the beat" that weekend.

Currently listening to: "Safer" Krysta Rodriguez (First Date OBC)

Stargazing at BroadwayCon (NYC Trip Part 1)

Like I alluded to in my last post, I just came back from a musical theater fan's ideal vacation.  The first ever BroadwayCon took place in NYC January 22-24, headed by Anthony Rapp.  This was meant for aspiring actors, but also just fans of Broadway.  Anthony Rapp and a few others organized panels, workshops, and performances to take us attendees into the ins and outs of the business and to get a chance to hear/meet some amazing actors.

While these pictures aren't editorial, I wanted to share a few of the panels we went to.

The Phantom of the Opera panel that was added at the last minute, featuring the record-breaking Howard McGillin and Sandra Joseph and members of the PotO crew.  This spectacular and timeless show became my and my sister's first Broadway show (we ended up seeing it that following Monday).

Spring Awakening revival done by Deaf West.  All puns aside, these actors made me fall in love with Spring Awakening all over again, and I spent the next two days trying to see this heartwrenchingly beautiful show before it closed that Sunday.  Special thanks to Spencer Liff for incorporating ASL and movement into the choreography, and all the actors for making it so special.  "Not a revival, but a reincarnation" is really the truth.

The much anticipated Hamilton panel.  Needless to say, the biggest actors in the biggest show on Broadway right now.  Lin-Manuel Miranda has been an incredible source of inspiration for me for years now and hearing him speak (and inevitably rap) was pretty amazing.  The story of Hamilton and how it went from an idea to the biggest thing in NYC right now is pretty great.

20th Anniversary of Rent reunion, with many members of the original cast, in addition to other guests.  Endless thanks to Anthony Rapp for continuing to be so dedicated to Jonathan Larson's memory and to Rent.  Did I cry?  Maybe.  Also, personally witnessing Daphne Rubin-Vega Facetime Jesse L. Martin was hilarious and wonderful at the same time.

The first day of BroadwayCon was hectic, tiring, but so worth it.  Being around so many other theater fans was so incredibly draining, but being able to be in "the room where it happened" was pretty irreplaceable.

Currently listening to: "Brother" Austin McKenzie cover (if you watch no more Youtube videos today, please end with this one.  I'll even embed it in this post for convenience.)

A Gentleman's Guide to the Theatre

My timing has never been the most prompt with this blog.  My sister and I recently came back after a week's vacation in NYC with a friend from college.  Before I can in good conscience post those photos, I wanted to post about a sibling outing from a few weeks ago.  My sister, brother, and I went to the Kennedy Center to see the national tour of A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder, the 2014 Tony Award Winner for Best New Musical..and one of my brother's favorite shows.

It was an incredible show and performance.  I will continue to stand by my opinion that GGLAM 100% deserved the Tony Award for Best New Musical.  It's a story and sound that seems to have been missing from Broadway and I'm saddened to see it leave the Great White Way earlier this month.

We may have been in the absolute last row of the theater.

Phoebe D'ysquith's dress.

 The closest I'll ever get to holding a Tony Award.

Being a responsible adult in the workforce, it seems I've got to budget for a live show now and again.

Currently listening to: "The Last One You'd Expect" A Gentleman's Guide to Love & Murder OBC Recording

"When You're Home"

This past Sunday, I had a major fangirl moment.  It's not a secret that my favorite musical is In the Heights and my favorite composer is the brilliant Lin-Manuel Miranda.  So when I found out that a production of Heights was playing at a local theatre, I just had to go.  The verdict?

Amazing.  Absolutely incredible, especially for a community production.  The cast really did a great job bringing the life and culture of the Washington Heights barrio to the stage.  It was an indescribable feeling, being able to see a show that I've essentially memorized back and forth.

Some of the standout performances, in my opinion, were:
- Andres Alejandro Ponce (Usnavi).  It's not easy to play a role that Lin-Manuel Miranda so carefully crafted and is very much a representation of him.
- Chelsea Crane (Vanessa).  A classical vocalist and music teacher, I would recommend her to anyone.  Her voice fit perfectly with Vanessa's songs and that couldn't have been an easy task.
- Janice Rivera (Camila). A somewhat minor character, I felt like I was watching and hearing Priscilla Lopez herself.  "Enough" was exceptional.
- Tahara Robinson, Jacqueline Salvador, Janice Rivera, Christy Fischer (Daniela, Carla, Vanessa, Nina).  I've never been the biggest fan of "No Me Diga", but their performance brought a life to the song that I've never heard before.

Currently listening to: "First Impressions" First Date OBC

Night at the Theatre: Diner

There's really nothing like live theatre.  And I was reminded of that fact last Thursday night, when a friend and I went to see Diner, a new musical playing at the Signature Theatre.  Based off of the film of the same name, it's a story about six guys reuniting for the wedding of one of them.  Seeing so many big-name Broadway actors in such a small and intimate setting was pretty mind-blowing.  And the Signature Theatre definitely earned its Tony Award; it is such a cool theatre and I'm definitely going to need to go to more shows there.

I snuck a quick picture with Adam Kantor before the show.  Can you say fangirling?  Having listened to him on Rent and The Last Five Years (that one on repeat), it was absolutely incredible to meet him and see him live.

We also got a picture with a few of the leading men after the show.  From left to right: Derek Klena (ahhh, Dogfight...another great musical), Josh Grisetti, Bryan Fenkhart

Not a review, but the show was a whole lot of fun; the 50s era music and aesthetic was great, the actors were great, and the staging was a clever use of the small space.  The show is sold out for the rest of its run and I'm incredibly interested to see where the show goes from there.  I, at least, would love there to be a cast album.  The songs were incredibly catchy and I'd love to hear the stars sing them again.

Currently listening to: "Some Kinda Time" Dogfight musical

Christmas on the Great White Way

Sadly, this post is not chronicling my time in NYC for Christmas.  There are no plans for a Broadway visit in the near future, but I'm not counting anything out.  This post was sparked by the release of a super cute music video for "I Got All I Need (This Christmas)" by Klendez, the dynamic duo that is Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena.

I tried to round up a few other holiday songs by our Broadway favorites.  Enjoy and let me know which of your favorites I've missed!

"I Got All I Need (This Christmas)" Lindsay Mendez and Derek Klena

"Baby It's Cold Outside" Matthew Morrison and Kelli O'Hara

White Christmas" Idina Menzel

Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone!

2013 Tony Awards

I love Broadway.  And musical theatre.  And recognizing works of art.  So needless to say, I was on cloud nine watching the Tony Awards last night.  I love how for one night, Broadway essentially shuts down to put on this amazing show and ceremony that recognizes and showcases Broadway for millions of viewers.

The performances were amazing.  My favorites were the opener and closer (lyrics written by Lin-Manuel Miranda) and Once (sung by my favorite Doctor Who "companion", Rory)

Some memorable moments and just personal favorites.

Megan Hilty, who performed in a number about the closing of television series.

Lin and his wife, Vanessa.

Neil Patrick Harris, who hosted for the 4th year, and the dog from Annie.

A performance from Matilda the Musical

Kinky Boots, music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper, a big winner last night.

Motown the Musical, loved the music and performance.

An amazing performance from Phantom of the Opera, for its 25th anniversary.

And the familiar faces, "characters" from still-running Broadway shows introduced the performances:

Jersey Boys

The Newsies

Watching the Tony Awards just reminds me how much I need to, in the words of NPH, "go see a Broadway show."  Performing live eight times a week, combining acting, singing, and dancing...ahhh, it's just one of my favorite art forms.

Currently listening to:

Happy October!

How is it already the first of October?

Aside from the craziness of two exams, two lab reports, a problem set, a programming project, and a short oral presentation due this week, I'm definitely not as stressed out as I probably should be.

But I found the below picture on tumblr and just had to put it here.  My favorites: 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, and 20.

 

I've also gone to my happy place; I'm listening to a giant playlist of Broadway musicals.  It's full of amazing songs and voices that I've forgotten about.

Currently listening to: "And Then There Were None" Spring Awakening OBC

Looking good for 236.

Happy birthday, America!

While I spent most of my Fourth of July at work, I swung by a 4th of July event on the other side of campus.  Living in a colonial city, I would've loved to have been able to spend the day in Colonial Williamsburg and the re-enactors.  There was even a dramatic reading of the Declaration earlier today.  Of course, I would expect nothing less.  There's a fireworks display later tonight, so that should be fun.

And tomorrow, drumroll please, is my visit back home!  I look forward to seeing my family, my belated birthday present from my sister, and my Modcloth package!  Hopefully, I'll also be able to buy a new camera.  Nothing too spectacular, just a new one so I can leave my current one at home.

  

After work, I put on a red top from Ross, some jeans turned shorts, and my trusty old Vans.

I'm thinking of wearing this top to the concert later this month.

I even tried to celebrate Independence Day through my food.  There's nothing like fresh fruit during the summer.

Currently listening to: "Goodbye" Aaron Tveit (from the musical, Catch Me If You Can, which I'm quickly becoming obsessed with)