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healingmirthThe Tony Awards are being broadcast tomorrow night. Neil Patrick Harris is hosting. I am hoping that it will be epic.
And in related news that I only just now realized was related: The Norman Conquests.
So, a couple weekends ago, my mother and I went to go see The Norman Conquests on Broadway, which is in a limited run that's currently scheduled to end in July. (for anyone in the New York area or who might know such things, the theater is next door to Wicked)
I'll spare you my attempts to explain the premise of the plays, and just refer you to wikipedia. Suffice it to say that there are six cast members. Four of them are nominated for Tony awards. Sadly, one of the two who aren't is Ben Miles (of Coupling fame), who plays Tom, but it's understandable - Tom's easily the quietest character on stage, but I adored his performance.
There are some video clips up on their website [http://www.normanconquestsonbroadway.com/media.html]. Scene 1 from Living Together features Tom, Annie, and Norman, and some horribly strong homemade wine. Scene 6 from Round and Round the Garden is my favorite Tom clip up there, but I think a lot of the nuance in the dialog would be lost if you haven't seen the plays. It's a great example of Jessica's shouty performance though. I'd love to know whether that was intentional for her slightly gauche character, or her lack of experience with the room, because it was annoying as all get-out.
While the Trilogy is always put on in the same order on the days they do all three, it really doesn't matter which you've seen first, and the "last" one doesn't necessarily resolve anything. (You can still find tickets to the whole trilogy for as early as next weekend! You should tell your friends!) I think, in terms of being an audience member, I liked seeing the whole Trilogy better than I would have liked seeing the individual plays because nearly everyone in the audience knew the same bits of plot, and so we were all in on the same jokes.
I spent much of the second play, which was sadly short on Tom, and in my opinion the mopiest and angstiest of the three, watching a man who was sitting in the front row on the opposite side of the theater, who reminded me of nothing so much as this guy (Bruiser from Ocean's Eleven)
except dressed in a tank top and shorts and sneakers, with white athletic socks pulled up.
The vast majority of audience members were people my mother's age or older, who were old enough to have seen the play in its initial run as adults, or the televised version in the late 1970s, so this guy looked more than a little out of place. After putting far too much thought into it, I realized at intermission that he was there with his date/boyfriend/partner/husband/whatever - who was, himself, quite distinct from the rest of the crowd, but not so much in the "I could snap your spine like a twig" way. I don't really have anything to say about him being there except for a general "hooray, New York!" I wish more people who look like they don't belong did things. I know I'm nervous to show up places where I think I won't look like I fit, and I have to wonder if it's easier to be socially brave if you've got 300 pounds of muscle on your side.
And in related news that I only just now realized was related: The Norman Conquests.
So, a couple weekends ago, my mother and I went to go see The Norman Conquests on Broadway, which is in a limited run that's currently scheduled to end in July. (for anyone in the New York area or who might know such things, the theater is next door to Wicked)
I'll spare you my attempts to explain the premise of the plays, and just refer you to wikipedia. Suffice it to say that there are six cast members. Four of them are nominated for Tony awards. Sadly, one of the two who aren't is Ben Miles (of Coupling fame), who plays Tom, but it's understandable - Tom's easily the quietest character on stage, but I adored his performance.
There are some video clips up on their website [http://www.normanconquestsonbroadway.com/media.html]. Scene 1 from Living Together features Tom, Annie, and Norman, and some horribly strong homemade wine. Scene 6 from Round and Round the Garden is my favorite Tom clip up there, but I think a lot of the nuance in the dialog would be lost if you haven't seen the plays. It's a great example of Jessica's shouty performance though. I'd love to know whether that was intentional for her slightly gauche character, or her lack of experience with the room, because it was annoying as all get-out.
While the Trilogy is always put on in the same order on the days they do all three, it really doesn't matter which you've seen first, and the "last" one doesn't necessarily resolve anything. (You can still find tickets to the whole trilogy for as early as next weekend! You should tell your friends!) I think, in terms of being an audience member, I liked seeing the whole Trilogy better than I would have liked seeing the individual plays because nearly everyone in the audience knew the same bits of plot, and so we were all in on the same jokes.
I spent much of the second play, which was sadly short on Tom, and in my opinion the mopiest and angstiest of the three, watching a man who was sitting in the front row on the opposite side of the theater, who reminded me of nothing so much as this guy (Bruiser from Ocean's Eleven)
except dressed in a tank top and shorts and sneakers, with white athletic socks pulled up.
The vast majority of audience members were people my mother's age or older, who were old enough to have seen the play in its initial run as adults, or the televised version in the late 1970s, so this guy looked more than a little out of place. After putting far too much thought into it, I realized at intermission that he was there with his date/boyfriend/partner/husband/whatever - who was, himself, quite distinct from the rest of the crowd, but not so much in the "I could snap your spine like a twig" way. I don't really have anything to say about him being there except for a general "hooray, New York!" I wish more people who look like they don't belong did things. I know I'm nervous to show up places where I think I won't look like I fit, and I have to wonder if it's easier to be socially brave if you've got 300 pounds of muscle on your side.
