Rock of Ages and Phantom of the Opera

I spent Tuesday and Wednesday in the city. This is how it all started.

Every time I'm in Times Square, I go straight to George M. I can't even think of Broadway without this man coming to mind, he's a huge part of its history. Hence the nickname "the man who owned Broadway."

Here's another picture of the George M. Cohan statue with the new (kind of new, anyway) Phantom of the Opera billboard in the background.

Tuesday started off with dinner at Ellen's Stardust Diner. It's the first time I've ever been there and not enjoyed it. Here's a tip, don't show up with only one other person. Essentially, what happens is you end up eating with a bunch of other parties of two. Everyone is right on top of each other and that is definitely not something I enjoy. It made it hard to concentrate on the waiters and waitresses singing because all I could think about is how I was pretty much sharing a table with strangers. The tables are not connected, but they're tiny and right next to each other. On one side of the table is a long booth/bench type of seat, and on the other side are chairs. You practically have to climb OVER the table to get to the booth seat because there is no room in between them, unless you pull the table out into the aisle.

I made a point of getting a better picture of Parsons this time. 

As a huge fan of Project Runway, I felt this was necessary.

I have this obsession with the billboards and lights in Times Square. It makes me feel like a tourist even though I'm not. There's just nothing like it and I'm always in awe of it all.

So when I see a billboard for something I love, of course I have to stop and take pictures of it. How can I possibly ignore Anything Goes?

On to the point of my outing to the city on Tuesday. I went to see Rock of Ages.

I am not a fan of 80's music by any means. With the exception of Journey, I don't care for many 80's bands. I do, however, love live theatre. It's always amazing to see all the work that goes into it. Rock of Ages did not disappoint me. It was actually a lot of fun.

The audience got very involved in the show. They were clapping along to the songs, almost like it was a concert. The lighting was incredible, probably the best I've seen in any Broadway production. That actually made it feel like a concert, as well...As did the people going back and forth to their seats with drinks. It was Tequila Tuesday and there was a bar right behind the last row. The problem with having a bar IN the theatre is that some people have a bit too much to drink. And then they get loud. And someone has to escort them out. Yes, that actually happened.

As for the show itself, it almost seemed like (for the first act, at least) they wrote a list of songs they wanted to use and then added a sentence or two between every few songs so that there would be some sort of dialogue. Like an afterthought because they had to.

Some of the humor was crass...I wasn't offended, but I don't find that sort of thing amusing, either. My favorite comedians were Abbott and Costello, I was raised watching their films and they were always very clean. I'm more of a fan of that type of comedy, I don't think you have to be dirty to be funny.

Rock of Ages breaks the fourth wall quite a bit. Most of the time, it didn't bother me. However, when Lonny handed Drew a playbill for the show, that took the joke too far.

 

The cast is really talented. I was pleasantly surprised. Dan Domenech, Jeremy Woodard and Emily Padgett all have great voices and I would love to see them in other shows in the future. Cody Scott Lancaster is the standout as Franz. And then...There's Josephine Rose Roberts who plays Regina. I actually had to look in the playbill because she reminded me so much of Diana Degarmo when she was playing Penny in Hairspray. (That's a good thing. I loved Diana in that role. And that's really saying something because I rarely ever think anyone is a good replacement for Kerry Butler.)

The finale song is the best part of the entire show. I don't want to ruin it for anyone who hasn't seen it, but it was so upbeat and the perfect way to end it.

If you're looking for something fun to see on Broadway, Rock of Ages is probably a good choice.

And now, having seen it, I have to wonder WHY Tom Cruise was cast as Stacee Jaxx in the movie. He's too old. I doubt he has the voice for it, judging by Jeremy Woodard's performance. Hollywood destroys musicals. 

Moving onto Wednesday.

Look what I found in the Hard Rock Cafe.

 

Luckily, there was an hour wait there so we went to dinner at Planet Hollywood instead. The first thing I noticed was this.

I love Jimmy Stewart, in case you didn't know.

That paled in comparison to what I saw next though.

 

THAT IS JAMES CAGNEY'S SUIT IN YANKEE DOODLE DANDY. James Cagney is my favorite actor. Yankee Doodle Dandy is my favorite movie. He plays George M. Cohan in it. It was one of those moments where I was awe-struck because...He wore that. That's as close as I will ever get to that incredibly talented man. He won an Oscar for his performance in that movie. (Well-deserved, mind you.) I never expect to stumble across anything related to James Cagney, so I was really happy to see his suit in Planet Hollywood.

After dinner, we went to Starbucks. I got a Cinnamon Dolce Frappuccino. There are tables in the middle of Times Square outside of Starbucks, and I've never taken the time to sit there before. I always walk through Times Square, and I've taken enough pictures of everything, but I never stop and take the time to really LOOK around and take it all in. It was beautiful. The weather was perfect, the sky was clear, and everything was illuminated.

 

You know I took pictures outside the Majestic. It doesn't matter that I already HAVE pictures of it, I constantly have to take new ones.

 

Inside, I took a picture of the stage. I actually took about ten pictures of the stage, but they all looked terrible. I'm going to blame it on the lighting.

 

The Overture will forever be my favorite part of Phantom of the Opera. When the orchestra is booming, the chandelier is coming to life and the theatre is going back in time and becoming pristine and beautiful once again. It sets the tone for the entire show and it's an experience that you just can't get from watching a video of it.

The cast, it goes without saying, was wonderful. As was the show itself. I think everyone knows how I feel about Phantom of the Opera, it's my favorite musical. The costumes are gorgeous, the songs are lovely, I don't need to elaborate on this subject again.

I will say for the 7,000th time that Hugh Panaro was perfect as the Phantom. He was just as perfect as the first time I saw him, in fact. The rest of the cast did very well, too. And Trista Moldovan nailed the Final Lair sequence. For me, that was her shining moment.

Speaking of the Final Lair. I had a huge, satisfied grin plastered on my face during that number. Words cannot even begin to describe how happy I was to see Phantom of the Opera again without having to look at those stairs they used in Phantom 25. "Christine, Christine...Let me see her..." Oh come on, Raoul. She's right there, there's no gate to stop you. But there WAS last night, and I've never been so happy to see it before in my life.

There was something I noticed at the end of the Final Lair, though. It seemed like Christine hesitated to leave the Phantom after she returned his ring. I could have imagined it because of Phantom 25. I hope it wasn't intentional.

Afterwards, I went to the back door (it's around the block) to wait and see if Hugh would come out since he didn't last time. He did not. The only cast member who did was Trista, and she was very nice.

 

On the way back to Penn Station, right near the door I waited at for an hour before anyone came and told everyone that Hugh would not be coming out (I don't blame Hugh, I'm sure he was tired or had plans and that's completely understandable), I found a sign at the theatre where Kerry Butler's new show is going to be. I didn't have time to take a picture of it though because I had to [practically] run to catch my train.

Overall, it was a fun, tiring two days.