MarqueePolitics is turning two this month, and this blogger is turning the big 27. With these milestones on the horizon, it got me thinking.
I’m often asked about my favorite performances, and to identify which ones made the biggest impact on me. With my birthday right around the corner, I thought that this would be an appropriate time to reflect on the performances that have never quite left me.
Phantom/Miss. Saigon/Cats
“Let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start.”
All it took was: a crashing chandelier, helicopter landing and dancing cats. These were first shows I ever saw (ages 3, 6, 7). Their combination of: high emotions, grand spectacle and memorable pop scores sent my young imagination soaring. I often call them the holy trinity of musicals, because it was these three shows that introduced me to the great love of my life, the theater.
Evita – 1979 Original Broadway Cast Recording
I had an epiphany in high school, and it was the first time I ever listened to the original Broadway cast recording of Evita.
The rock opera’s themes of politics, revolution and media manipulation hooked this young politico at age 16. Evita was further electrified by Patti LuPone’s fierce portrayal as Argentina’s First Lady and her ambition to succeed at all costs. Despite having the album for the 11 years, not a week goes by when LuPone and the original Broadway cast of Evita can been heard from my apartment, giving this show a touch of star quality!
Elaine Stritch at Liberty – 2002 Broadway Production
Rare, intense, humorous, honest and a triumph of the human soul.
I was lucky enough to attend the last Broadway matinee performance of this show. From that Sunday afternoon, I learned that human’s can triumph over any adversity as long as we don’t stop fighting. Accompanied by a songbook of classic Broadway hits, Stritch walked the audience thru her: fights with alcoholism, struggles with love, triumphs working with Noel Coward and Stephen Sondheim, and life’s journey from being raised in Detroit to having her name adorn Broadway marquees.
Great actors leave it all out on the stage and Stritch set the bar for generations to come.
Company – 2006 Broadway Revival
Company, more than any other show, changed my perspective on life.
My parents split when I was very young, and what understanding of marriage I had came from television. Because of that, I never understood the emotional complexity involved when two people enter into a relationship, and what I did know was very one-sided. Company threw cold-water on that idea, teaching me that relationships are about sharing your life with somebody, not just some-body. Theater is often a reflection of life through art, and its through art that we learn so much about ourselves as individuals.
The Audience
The one constant in all these productions is the audience, and I’ve been lucky to have always had a supporting audience of my own. While I won’t use their names, I want recognize the friends and family who have encouraged my love of the theater: My parents who introduced me to the musical at age 3, grandparents who were always game to see a show on Broadway – even if they didn’t quite “get it”, Chief of Staff, and dear friends living across the country in: New York, Pittsburgh, Rockville, San Diego, Seattle and Washington, DC. All of which I owe a debt a gratitude for indulging in my life’s great passion!
The cast albums to all shows mentioned above are available on amazon.com.
Furthermore, video productions of: Cats, Company, Elaine Stritch at Liberty and Phantom may also be found at amazon.com.
Marquee Politics 