August 14, 2009 3 PM at PETA

I wanted to watch this after reading a (lol) Baby Sitters Club book that mentioned “Mack the Knife”. I think Stacey or some other girl sang “Mack the Knife” at a talent show. Later on, I discovered Frank Sinatra. THEN I DISCOVERED THE AMAZINGNESS OF ALAN CUMMING. I knew the song was very popular and was part of ~some musical, but never really bothered to look it up until I saw the Tony performance of Alan Cumming and Cyndi Lauper. I loved it so much and was so disappointed to find out that they never recorded a cast recording.

In short, I wanted to watch The Threepenny Opera because of “The Ballad of the Pimp” and not “Mack the Knife.” And Alan Cumming.

This local production had a Filipino touch, thanks to the costumes, set design and props. It’s a quirky little musical/opera, and definitely not for everyone. I was aghast! when I saw that high school students (and I think grade school students too) were watching the show. Although they were supervised by their teachers, it’s not appropriate for them at all. Suggestive dances and lyrics etcetera. But that’s just my opinion. I think there was one part when they showed a nude painting and the kids were like laughing uncomfortably.

It was very difficult for me to appreciate the musical since I didn’t bother to read up on the summary of the story, and I felt like I was only looking forward to the “Mack the Knife” and “The Ballad of the Pimp” performance. But I have to say that the actors were really good in this. And again, I would like to say that I really love the PETA theater. It’s so cozy and intimate. Although the monobloc chairs are a bit lol-worthy.

July 4, 2009 8 PM
Greenbelt 1 Onstage.


To be updated!!
Performances from July 3 to July 27, 2009.

June 9, 2009 7 PM. August Wilson Theatre.

Our dad’s choice. After two broadway shows with just my sister and I, my dad joined in and said he wanted to watch Jersey Boys. It had music he grew up with, and his friends were recommending it to him. I was also excited to watch this, having seen the Tony performance (what else is new!), but I knew tickets are always sold out.

So we ended up ordering the tickets online. Unfortunately, all we got was crap seats because we bought tickets the day before. There are only two ticket prices, $110 or $67 (I think). Since our dad was paying, and he was the one who really wanted to watch it, we bought the more expensive one for him, orchestra ticket near the front of the stage, the only good seat available online. And the cheaper ones for me and my sister. We weren’t seated together, obviously, and our seats were at the orchestra.. ROW ZZZZ or something like that.

You get what you pay for. The $60 tickets were partial view. Shet. I’ll upload a photo that I took of the stage soon. And I was in the second to the last row in the orchestra side. At least I was in the aisle, though.

Butbutbutbut…I ENJOYED THE MUSICAL. It truly deserved all the Tonys it won. It didn’t matter (much) when I couldn’t see the upper half of the stage, or that incredibly TALL people were in front of me, therefore further obstructing my view, or that I was seated beside strangers. It was fantastic. The transition from dialogue to a full-blown “The Four Seasons” performance was amazing. Not an exaggeration: I felt like I was back in the ’60s, watching this unbelievable band right before my very eyes.

The audience was really enthusiastic. Western audiences, in my humble opinion, are more appreciative. I could see a lot heads bobbing along to the music, bodies shaking in their seats. I could hear ecstatic cries from the audience when a familiar tune starts, like “Sherry”, “My Eyes Adored You” and “Can’t Take My Eyes Off You”. The performers in the show were that good. Taking songs from someone’s childhood or adolescence and turning them into a energetic performance, as if they were the real thing.

Regardless of crappy seats, it was a great experience. Loved it. I definitely want to watch it again. But I’m making sure I get to see the entire stage na. Obvs.

June 6, 2009 8 PM. Richard Rodgers Theatre.

My sister and I were planning to watch Rock of Ages (see Avenue Q post). But since we lined up early at Times Square this time, I saw that they were selling tickets to In the Heights! The catch is, they were only giving out a 30% discount. Since the lines were long, we had time to choose between Rock of Ages and In the Heights. I wanted to watch In the Heights, more than Rock of Ages because I hear it’s a really great musical. And it won the 2008 Tony Awards for Best Musical. Hello?!?

But we bought tickets to the In the Heights because although we’re going to get cheaper tickets to Rock of Ages, we were seated apart. That was the deal breaker. Tickets to In the Heights were expensive (Orchestra tickets at USD 86.50 each, PLUS TAX) but it was worth it. The seats were great.

And of course, the show was AMAZING. The music was absolutely fantastic. It gave me goosebumps, especially during “In the Heights” (of course), “96,000″ and “The Club/The Fireworks”. The dancers added so much energy to the entire musical. There were the inevitable cheesy songs (almost all songs by Benny and Nina LOL), but it was a-ok with me.One thing my sister and I forgot to do was buying the cast recording. Ugh. And I remember an usher going around selling the cast recording. Argh.

There were 4 performers from the main cast who weren’t part of the original line up of the show’s cast. I knew Lin Manuel Miranda wasn’t playing Usnavi anymore, but Shaun Taylor-Corbett was still amazing. And Robin De Jesus! The guy from Camp! Funny! And of course, it’s a given that Olga Merediz, in her Tony-nominated role, was incredible. Pacienca y Fe!

Watching In the Heights was an incredible experience. I absolutely loved it. I would definitely watch it again.

Aaand I think I misplaced my ticket. Tsk.

June 4, 2009 8 PM. John Golden Theatre.

On our first day in New York City, my sister and I ended up watching Avenue Q. Haha. My sister hasn’t seen the musical yet, although she is familiar with the cast recording. She was already working in the US when Avenue Q was first staged in the Philippines back in 2007, so only me and my younger sister was able to watch it.

I couldn’t really add anything new to my previous experience watching Avenue Q, except that the sets are, obviously, more bongga than the local production. Same wonderful energy from the actors/puppets, same hilarious songs and lines.

The reason for us choosing Avenue Q was because we tried the Wicked lottery and ended up losing on our first try. Yes, we give up easily. That’s why I will never win any lottery (cash or show tickets) because the odds are never in my favor. And because I give up easily. Haha. Since the Wicked lottery started at 5:30 PM and names were drawn at 6:00 PM, we only had little time before we rush back to TKTS in Times Square for tickets.

More or less 150 people showed up for the lottery. I think 13 names were called out, so 26 tickets were given out. We were pretty disappointed with the outcome of the lottery. Anyway, since we were in a bad mood, I didn’t want to leave the city that day on such a low note. I ended up buying Avenue Q for us since I know we’ll have a good time. Even if I’ve already seen it.

Since it was already 6:30 by the time we got to TKTS, there were very little broadway shows to choose from. The other option was Rock of Ages. But I heard it’s a hit or miss broadway musical. And we were going back to NYC, so might as well see that next time.

Oh well.