Let me explain.
About six or seven years ago, I went to see Anything Goes at Rocky Point High School because my cousin was in it. I'd never heard of it prior to that, but I absolutely loved it. Those kids did such an incredible job. I'm definitely not a snob about venues. Whether you're on Broadway or you're in your high school's musical, if you're talented and you put a lot of work into it, and you're enjoying it...It shows.
When I heard Anything Goes was coming to Broadway, I was really excited. I definitely wanted to see it at some point.
In August, I knew I was going to see something on Broadway in October. I narrowed it down to Anything Goes, Catch Me If You Can and Phantom of the Opera. I'd already seen Phantom of the Opera, but I am such a huge fan of Hugh Panaro, I really wanted to go see him in it again. And I'm also a huge fan of Kerry Butler, so I wanted to see Catch Me If You Can...Even though I really had no interest in it. All I knew was that Leonardo DiCaprio was in the movie, and that didn't do much to pique my interest.
I ended up deciding on Catch Me If You Can and ordered tickets for October 15th. A few days later, they announced it would be closing in September. "Will I EVER get to see Kerry Butler in ANYTHING?" I had since looked up the rest of the cast (I had no idea at that point that Aaron Tveit was in it) and listened to the soundtrack, so I was incredibly disappointed, because it seemed SO GOOD. Then I found out that Tom Hanks starred in the film and Steven Spielberg directed it. You can't go wrong with them. I watched it. Loved it. Decided to read the book. This all just added to my overall disappointment in the show closing.
After that, I got a refund and bought tickets for Anything Goes instead. And I was happy with that decision. I had wanted to see that on Broadway to begin with. Colin Donnell was in it. I already knew it had a great soundtrack. When the day finally came to go see it, it was perfect. Talented cast, amazing songs, beautiful costumes, extraordinary choreography...Everything that makes for a perfect Broadway experience.
And I was happy with it. Really.
But since then, I've just felt...Like even though it was perfect, it still wasn't enough. I had seen it before, albeit not on Broadway. And part of me still would have preferred to see Catch Me If You Can. I wanted to see THAT soundtrack and story brought to life on stage. And as grateful as I am to have had the chance to see Anything Goes, I feel like I would have enjoyed Catch Me If You Can more.
It probably doesn't help that all I can compare it to is Phantom of the Opera, and nothing will ever live up to how amazing that was.
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