It got me thinking about television commercials for Broadway. As anyone who has ever tried to record a live performance knows, it’s very difficult to capture that “once in a lifetime” experience on screen. The beauty of live theatre is that you, the audience member, are the camera. You can point your lens at wherever you want and look at whomever or whatever you want.
Therefore, I’ve decided to share with you some of my favorite television commercials for Broadway.
Why a peak behind the curtain makes a better audience. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
I had the pleasure to see the final dress rehearsal of On Your Toes at Encores! this week. It’s the final show of their season, and it was a great way to end a wonderful year.
While I have an undying love for Rodgers and Hart, I was not very familiar with On Your Toes. I knew nothing about the plot, and the only songs I knew from it were “Quiet Night” (which I knew from performing the TENOR part in concert in college) and “Glad To Be Unhappy” (which I knew from The Mamas & The Papas).
What’s really phenomenal about On Your Toes is the sheer amount of dancing in it. It opens with a vaudeville tap routine and there are TWO full on ballets in it. In fact, I’m pretty sure this was the first point where Richard Rodgers began composing ballet pieces for his musicals (see Oklahoma and Carousel in case you have no idea what I mean). And I’m talking PROPER ballet, people. George Balanchine choreographed “Slaughter on Tenth Avenue” and they were actually able to get the original choreography for this production!
This isn't Balanchine's choreography. It's Gene Kelly's choreography. And it's Vera-Ellen and Gene Kelly dancing in Words & Music. So... you're welcome.
The best part about seeing the final dress rehearsal is that it’s just that... a rehearsal. And between creation, rehearsing, and final presentation, rehearsal is definitely the most fun part. Most of the time when you are invited to a final dress rehearsal, it is a performance. It’s a chance for the creative team to perform the show for an audience, take notes, and tweak anything that needs to be tweaked before the paying customers begin attending. Before the show begins, the director, producer, or someone of similar prestige comes out to welcome everyone and remind them that this is, in fact, a rehearsal. And because it is a rehearsal, there is a possibility that they may have to stop. But usually that’s just a formality and show goes on. Possibly there are a few hiccups, but nothing that will stop the show.
That didn’t happen here. I’m still not exactly sure what happened, but they had to stop the show just as the dance break for the titular song was getting into full swing. It is a dance off between the hoofers at the University and the corps de ballet at the Russian Ballet. And when they paused and swept up the stage and we heard “We’ll take it from the dance break”, the dancers reset, the music began, and the audience erupted into applause. Once they finished the number, the applause went on so long that the next scene had to hold a full minute to let the applause die down.
It was my birthday yesterday. It was a big one. And here's why I did nothing. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
I have to tip my hat to fellow Crazytown citizen, Melissa. She had a great post on birthdays that just so happened to publish on my birthday. She had a lot of great tips, and I especially love the idea of doing whatever you want. But here's the thing: I hate birthdays.
Well, not all birthdays - just mine. Maybe it started in high school when all my friends hung out on my birthday without me. Or when I got into a fight with my best friend on my 25th birthday that ended our friendship. Whatever it is, bad things seem to happen on the day of my birth. And I usually end the night feeling like Martha Plimpton's character, Monica, at the beginning of 200 Cigarettes.
I will try to not work on my birthday, but then I just feel this overwhelming pressure to be happy. As if because it is this one day, suddenly glee should be omnipresent. Because it is a day that's "all about me" I should be doing things I like. But I'm far too much of a people pleaser to actually relax into the joy. And I seem to spend the whole day trying to make the happy happen. In the end, I'm exhausted and I just want to be done with it.
Finding the funny when it's needed the most. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
It's been a weird week, folks. In between the super busy post-opening, pre-Tony buzz at work and celebrating a bigbirthday next week, I'm pooped.
Plus, as one of the many people "of Boston", I am still figuring out how to comprehend the events that occurred on Marathon Monday. Going to Emerson College and walking down Boylston Street every day for four years, it was pretty surreal to see these streets I knew so well look utterly decimated. Not only was it terrible to see the explosions on the news over and over again, but to see the streets of Back Bay desolate in the aftermath was quite eerie.
Greg wrote about this quite eloquently last week, both in song and prose. We could all use another listen.
Which brings me to the below video. I don't know what else to say or do, but this video made me cry and laugh. It reminded me how finding the positive, while corny and cliched, is of the utmost importance.
Like many other victims of the bombings, there is a website set up for Celeste and Sydney to help with their medical funds. I can't wait to see Celeste run in the marathon next year.
What else is there to do except pick up, live life, laugh often, and sing a song for Boston?
For Boston, for Boston, we sing our proud refrain...
RACHEL JAMESis a native New Yorker and theatre baby. Her plays have been produced by The 52nd Street Project and Starfish Theatreworks. She currently makes a living as a Broadway treasurer. EMAIL HER | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR
Shameless plug time: I have really talented friends. And a bunch of them are working on a show together. You should go! By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
We choose our own lives. I have to remind myself of this constantly, especially when navigating through professional artistic endeavors. I chose to do this for a living. And with that choice you find that you begin to make certain sacrifices for your happiness and your artistic life so that you can reach the next level. Or just so you can pay rent that month. When you’re a professional artist, you don’t always love every job you do. But you tell yourself it’s worth it for the jobs you do love.
But what if we started pursuing stuff not to get ahead, not to reach the next rung on the ladder, but for fun? Remember fun?
It’s very easy to get lost in the maze of success in being a professional artist. And one can get so lost that you forget why you did this in the first place. Because you loved it. Because creating and exploring your artistic abilities was enjoyable and brought you pleasure. You didn’t HAVE to go to a show, you WANTED to go to a show. You didn’t HAVE to meet a deadline or sing in a showcase or take a class, you WANTED to do all those things.
I burst into tears during this number when I saw the show. I think everyone feels this way at some point.
I was reminded of the pure pleasure of making art while talking to my friend, Nikki. For the uninitiated, Nikki Rothenberg is a director extraordinaire and the world’s foremost expert on all pop culture knowledge related to the 1990’s. She is currently directing a production of Once On This Island for Brooklyn Players Community Musical Theater. That’s right, folks... community theater in New York City. It is a thing and it is awesome. Working in New York theatre, you sometimes forget that not everyone wants to do it professionally. Sometimes people do theatre because they love to do theatre. Sometimes people want to try something new. These and other reasons are why it’s important to support our local community productions. Because this is how we pass on the story. This is how we continue the fun.
Also involved in the production is the ridiculously talented Akilah Williams. How talented?
Once On This Island will also feature the amazing sound design prowess of Crazytown’s own Gregory Jacobs-Roseman. I honestly can’t wait to see how many ways Greg has figured out to produce thunder.
This is what I found when I googled "How to produce thunder." Hope this helps! *Scurry off into a corner while Greg does actual designing of sound*
Once On This Island is playing April 27th and May 4th, two shows each day. You can purchase tickets here, and I really suggest you do. I think it’s time we all had a little fun.
RACHEL JAMESis a native New Yorker and theatre baby. Her plays have been produced by The 52nd Street Project and Starfish Theatreworks. She currently makes a living as a Broadway treasurer. EMAIL HER | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR
Hi. My name is Rachel. And I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer/um...uh...yeah...)
“So... give me your elevator speech”
“I’m sorry?”
“Your elevator speech. You know... if we were in an elevator together, and the doors were opening soon, how would you describe yourself.”
This happened once to a friend of mine. She was in line for the one bathroom at a crowded bar, and this guy behind her decided to chat her up with this line. He went first (of course), and proceeded to tell my friend about growing up in Ohio, going to a Big Ten school, and coming to New York to work in finance. Just then, the bathroom door flew open, and my friend took the opportunity to run inside as quickly as possible and lock the door.
When she left a few minutes later, the guy was there, smiling. She snickered, rolled her eyes, and came back to our table to tell us the “only in New York” story about the obnoxious finance guy with the obnoxious pick up line. Our table heartily agreed that this guy was a tool, and we proceeded to consume our pitcher of beer as we discussed the various disasters that plagued our overeducated, underemployed, artistic lives.
I, however, have a secret confession: I admire that guy. He clearly was trying to sell something that my cynical, jaded friend was not buying, but he knew what he was selling. He had his elevator speech. He could succinctly explain who he was. He was prepared for the “What do you do?” portion of the conversation that befalls adults in New York like nowhere else. And for that simplicity, I envy him.
Here is one version of simple. It's almost better in French.
I honestly don’t know how this is in other parts of the world. But the two places I’ve lived as an adult (New York and Los Angeles) are cities filled with non-natives who moved there to pursue the jobs they wanted. Their careers are so ingrained in their identities that they probably would not be where they are today (geographically speaking) if not for their passion moving them (literally). So of course the first question after “What’s your name?” is “What do you do?” And that drives me absolutely batty.
What exactly is an “Emergent Service Worker” anyway? By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
We don’t talk about class much in America. We talk about class mobility. We talk about “The American Dream” - growing up poor and working hard to get rich. Politicians talk about the “disappearing middle class” and how s/he will fix it when s/he is elected. But in everyday conversations and interactions, this tends to be a topic we avoid.
I think a big reason we don’t talk about class in America is because it is so intrinsically linked with race, and that is still a topic of unease in our society. So we close our eyes and cover our ears and perpetuate the ideal that any kid can grow up to be President! But I digress.
This week, sociologists in the UK released the results of the Great British Class Survey. Now, I understand the American and British class systems are different. We tend to ignore ours while they have Downton Abbey.And for that I am forever grateful. But an interesting result came from this survey. Instead of the usual upper, middle, and working-class structures, they found that there are in fact seven classes that people could fall into. The reasoning behind this is that they did not just look at a person’s income and background. They also looked at a person’s social and cultural capital. So, in other words, it’s not just how much you make, but how you spend it. It also put into effect the capital that you can’t really buy: time.
You thought I was going to write "love", didn't you? And now I've posted this video of that preconceived notion. You're welcome.
As I previously stated, the American and British systems are different and cannot be judged on equal footing. But internet quizzes are fun. So I took a modified version of the survey, which is a four part questionnaire on the BBC website, and I was tagged as an Emergent Service Worker.
Trust me folks - I didn’t think I’d be writing about Much Ado About Nothing twice in one month, either. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
One of the perks of my job is that I get to see a lot of theatre. This week, after working a 7 o’clock curtain, I raced through the throngs of spring break tourists in Times Square to get to The Duke On 42nd Street for the 8 o'clock curtain of Much Ado About Nothing.
My inner monologue anytime I'm forced to walk through Times Square
I am so glad I did! What a fantastic escape from the stress of the City and the elongated winter we’ve been experiencing. This new production from Theatre for a New Audience is wonderful! I laughed so hard that my face hurt. And I cried pretty hard, too.
I previously spoke on Crazytown about my love for this play. And specifically about my love for the character of Beatrice. Well, I’m happy to say that Maggie Siff does not disappoint. She is droll and sarcastic while keeping the bite that makes the Beatrice/Benedick pairing so phenomenal.
Plus, she was fantastic as Rachel Menken on Mad Men and is one of the first people Don confides with about Dick Whitman. New season starts April 7th!
Also, it was the first time I’ve seen Hero with some backbone.Michelle Beck did a wonderful job in portraying the pain, anger, and confusion of Hero’s plight, while not appearing weak or forced. That is a remarkable accomplishment, especially in this role.
But the real star of this production is Jonathan Cake as Benedick. This role is such an actor’s dream - loads of humor and heart while being both the hero AND the fool. And Cake plays it with such charm and cheek that you don’t know whether to slap him or kiss him.
"When I said I would die a bachelor, I did not think I should live till I were married."
But it looks like someone forgot to tell Mother Nature. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
Is anyone else totally over winter?
I don’t mean to be so dreadfully dull as to talk about the weather, but honestly people! This past week, daylight savings time began and the vernal equinox occurred. Both of these events make me happy for two reasons:
More daylight! I might actually see the sun when I leave work!
On the vernal equinox, you can stand an egg on its end. Because everything on The West Wing is true.
However, with all of these milestones, spring has not arrived on the east coast. It has been cold and snowy, which is not irregular for March. But after the few balmy days we got in February, you look forward to more afternoons at Blockheads.
To the uninitiated, Blockheads is an NYC chain with mediocre (but cheap!) margaritas and even more mediocre (not so cheap) Mexican food. However, they have lovely outdoor seating behind New World Stages, so they are the ideal Hell’s Kitchen location for the post-work/pre-show drink fest.
The worst part about this change of seasons in this melancholic feeling I can’t seem to shake. Honestly, I have no push to do pretty much anything. I want to write more, but I have nothing that allures me. I’m trying to experience new things, but money and time are holding me back. I’m hoping that a bit more sunlight can illuminate my sense of wonder.
Because working on Broadway is just as glamorous as it sounds. By Rachel James (Treasurer/Writer)
Working as a treasurer is filled with amusing stories. You learn some useful things and deal with a lot of... interesting people. Usually I keep most of these stories to myself, being the discretionary worker that I am. However, sometimes something so crazy, weird, ridiculous, and illogical happens that I must share it with the world.
Two ladies enter the lobby. They race towards the doors of the theatre to find them locked. They spot the box office window and make their plea.
LADY #1: How do we get to the piercing parlor?
TREASURER: I’m sorry?
LADY #1: The sign out front says “Exquisite and piercing.” How do we get to the piercing parlor?
TREASURER: What are you talking about?
LADY #1: The blue sign out front that says “Exquisite and piercing.” There’s a piercing parlor here, right?
TREASURER: No. “Exquisite and piercing” is a review of our last show.
LADY #1 sighs heavily and exits.
LADY #2: Well, do you know of a piercing place around here?
End of scene.
RACHEL JAMESis a native New Yorker and theatre baby. Her plays have been produced by The 52nd Street Project and Starfish Theatreworks. She currently makes a living as a Broadway treasurer. EMAIL HER | FACEBOOK | TWITTER | OTHER POSTS BY THIS AUTHOR
