This past Wednesday, Broadway’s Annual Stars in the Alley (produced by The Broadway League, sponsored by United Airlines) took place in Shubert Alley which I was thrilled to be able to attend! This free outdoor concert event leading up to the Tony Awards was rain or shine and thankfully, there was no rain in sight even though rain was indeed in the forecast. Even better, Stars in the Alley began a few minutes earlier than scheduled and ended early as well! Talk about a timely event!
I arrived with Sarah (who every now and then posts books reviews on the blog) an hour early as the Broadway lineup conducted dress rehearsal, fans already in the crowd eager for the show to begin. Brandy was on stage as I headed to my seat (the press area was seated directly in front of the area open to the public.
Aladdin’s Tony Award-winning Genie, James Monroes Iglehart was the Social Media Correspondent for the day’s events. He actually instagrammed this photo that I found myself in (Second row on the right in the black)! Stars in the Alley host, Darren Criss (Hedwig in the 2014 Tony Award®-winning Best Musical Revival, Hedwig and the Angry Inch) also tweeted a photo (see below) that I found myself in as well and yeah… you can say I’m one really happy gal!
Photo Credit: Darren Criss
Commissioner Cynthia López, Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment says that Stars in the Alley is the perfect way to celebrate Broadway’s lasting impact to New York City. Broadway and our local theatrical community contribute nearly $12 billion to the City’s economy and support 87,000 jobs. Indeed it is and what a pleasure it was being able to witness that celebration.
Over 20 new shows and long-running favorites, including many of this year’s 2015 Tony Award nominated plays and musicals were represented on the stage, all accompanied by a 12-piece live orchestra. The orchestra was absolutely amazing. What a show! Everyone did a fantastic job and before I go on, I must say that I am just so moved every time I’m sitting among this community because I am just so proud to be apart of a community that embraces diversity on the stage. Thank you so much to all of the casting directors who see past the exterior and acknowledge the talents in front of them. You make this community such a better place.
So, Matilda opened the concert with an exciting performance of “When I Grow Up.” Standout performances for me included the very entertaining “New York, New York” performed by Tony Yazbeck, Jay Armstrong Johnson, and Cory Lingner from On the Town, “I Was the Only One” by Jason Danieley from The Visit, “The Circle of Life” by Gugwana Dlamini from The Lion King, “Own My Own” by Brennyn Lark from Les Misérables, “All That Matters” by Laura Michelle Kelly from Finding Neverland, and “The Wizard and I” by Lilli Cooper from Wicked. Clearly, I’m missing out big time on seeing Finding Neverland. Also, I’m super proud of Lilli being in Wicked as I saw her in Spring Awakening years ago and it’s just so wonderful to see her in another one of my absolute favorites that is also so beloved by so many.
It was especially exciting to finally be able to see some of Broadway’s standouts in the flesh including but not limited to Sierra Boggess as well as Tony Award nominees Christian Borle (Something Rotten!) and Andy Karl (On the Twentieth Century) among many other Tony noms. I had the pleasure of seeing both Borle and Karl in Legally Blonde on Broadway many times years ago and am so happy to see all that they continue to accomplish. Vanessa Hudgens who makes her Broadway debut with Gigi made a special appearance and as a longtime High School Musical fangirl, I was beside myself. She didn’t sing but there was so much talent singing already, I didn’t mind. Every performance was dynamite and every special appearance was appreciated.
And yes, my Grey’s Anatomy heart skipped a beat when T.R. Knight came on stage. If you want to see Knight in It’s Only A Play, get your tickets asap because it closes on June 7th. Mamma Mia closed out this year’s Stars in the Alley which was a fun and fitting way to end as it’s the last time that show will be in Stars in the Alley until a revival I suppose. Basically, there are a ton of fantastic new musicals you need to see before they win all of the Tonys and it’s impossible to get tickets for awhile… and there are a ton of older musicals closing that you need to see before their very last shows. Lottery, Rush, whatever you have to do to see these shows, do it. You’ll be so glad you did!
Mini Something Rotten! Review:
Sarah and I actually decided to go see Something Rotten! the next night. It was absolutely fantastic. This is the first musical in a long, long time that I went to going in blind. I knew absolutely nothing about the musical other than the fact that there were a few actors in the show that I was familiar with. Other than that, I knew nothing and wow, how refreshing is that? Can we just take a second to acknowledge the talent that is Heidi Blickenstaff? Collective sigh for that talent that she is.
I kid you not, Something Rotten! had me on the edge of my seat the entire time. The only time my attention faded was during intermission. Something Rotten! is laugh out loud funny for the whole (adult) family. It’s so smart, it’s so clever, it’s such a sweet and funny nod to musicals and turns Shakespeare on its head in a way I’ve never seen before. It’s so inventive, so whimsical, and easily one of my favorite new musicals. So let there be no doubt in your mind on whether or not you should see this because the answer is…you should!