Ginger on Broadway

“And there was music playing, catching a nation in its prime, beggar and millionaire, everyone everywhere, moving to the ragtime.”  The first word that comes to mind when discussing this musical is “powerful.” This show is powerful in its scope, musical stylings, voices, performances, and story.  Ragtime is hailed as one of the greatest musicals of all time. I was supposed to see it on Broadway when I was sixteen, but sadly, the show closed the week before the trip. 15 years later, a revival was staged at New York City Center, which I also missed. This is a difficult show for community and school theaters to do, so it felt like the universe was telling me “you’ll never see Ragtime. Get over it.” Imagine my excitement when the New York City Center revival announced a transfer to the famous Lincoln Center Theater with most of the original NYCC cast.  I was not sure what to expect from this show. I knew that it was a story of immigrants, racism, and an examination of class d...

  Let them eat cake! No, seriously….let them eat cake, if only it were available to buy with an EBT card. I don’t usually get political in my reviews, or at all, but in analyzing this musical and the drama surrounding it, how could I not? When news broke that the original Broadway Glinda and acclaimed soprano Kristin Chenoweth was reuniting with composer Steven Schwartz and partnering with director Michael Arden on a new original musical, I thought they had a mega hit on their hands, or at least something decent, given Arden’s recent track record. Then, news broke that the musical was actually an adaptation of the controversial documentary “The Queen of Versailles.” This is the story of the CEO of a timeshare company, his trophy wife, their desire to build the biggest home in America modeled after the Palace of Versailles, and their fall from grace during the stock market crash, which caused their financial status to fall from billionaires to millionaires. In a time where many are ...

  On July 12th I took my seat at a cabaret table in the front row of Broadway’s Circle In The Square, unaware of the magical moment that was about to take place during the evening performance of Just in Time, my favorite show currently on Broadway. I’d dressed the part of an attendee at a classy 1950s Coppacabbana style supperclub, and even got my hair and makeup done. For those unfamiliar with the show, Just in Time tells the story of Bobby Darin, a singer from the 1950’s and 60’s. Bobby Darin was known for his primal passion for performing and connecting with his audiences. There are stories of how Darin would go into the aisles and hug audience members, dance with them, kiss a pretty girl on the cheek or hand, serenade couples, etc. It’s been said that Darin knew how to make someone feel like the only person in a room, and you left a Darin show feeling like he was your friend Jonathan Groff, one of Broadway’s most extraordinary talents (and my longtime crush), plays Darin with a...