THEATRE HISTORY

Broadway – It’s Good for your Soul

Did you ever have one of those days? You know the one; the coffee spills in your lap before you get to work, the babysitter calls out sick and the cat throws up on the carpet. Are you picturing it now? I’ll admit that there are some days that just can’t be salvaged, but on many a day you could pop in a Broadway CD and it will take you back to that very moment you first experienced that show. The next thing you know you are belting out your most beloved show tune at the top of your lungs, dancing around the house or replaying the dialogue to your favorite love scene. Theater has a way of staying with you especially when you experience a good production.

Think about the time you saw your very first show. Can you remember? Of course you can because it probably made you feel good! Envision the atmosphere as a whole; the stage, the surroundings, the costumes, the lighting, the orchestra and the story. If a production is done right you are ensconced from the moment the curtain goes up until it falls. You are literally mesmerized from the time the first note is played. Do you remember how you felt the first time you saw the chain gang in the opening scene of Les Miserable or the revolving stage used throughout the performance. Breathtaking is the only way to describe the emotions felt when Jean Val Jean sings “Bring Him Home.” At the very moment the chandelier comes crashing to the floor in The Phantom of the Opera the audience is drawn in. And when the Phantom sings “The Music of the Night” you are convinced that there is someone other than a monster behind that mask. The drama, the feelings and the emotions stay with you forever if you let them.

A production doesn’t always have to be tragic to move you to tears. It can also be so outrageously funny that you find yourself laughing and crying at the same time. Take for example The Producers and Spamalot both hysterically funny shows that deliver dialogue with just the right amount of comedic timing. This can also be a bit inconvenient at times since you are laughing so hard you miss the next line, but a seasoned performer will usually wait for the laughter to subside before delivering the next line. The nice thing about live theater is the pleasant surprises. For instance, you may go to see a show that you didn’t necessarily expect to be humorous, but much to your delight you find that there are many lines or a certain character devoted to comic relief. This is certainly the case with Wicked. You don’t go in expecting Glinda the Good Witch to play the ditzy blonde, but some of her dialogue is quite amusing. Yes, theater can often give us many the opportunities to smile, and don’t we wish we had more of those?

Broadway can also be a place to reconnect with the past. There are several shows out there that a child can find extremely amusing and these are usually the shows that the adults tend to want to see again and again. Reliving your childhood in those few hours can be magical. Mary Poppins is one of those productions. Probably because we are all familiar with the books and the movie and the songs are such classics. It’s such a feel good experience to see these songs and characters brought to life on the stage. Many of us hold this story close to our hearts and to watch it unfold live in front of our eyes is truly an amazing an inspirational occurrence

Yes, the theater can be many things to many people, but much rides on the actor playing the role. As wonderful as the whole experience is it can only come to life by talented performers. The productions ensemble is often credited with making or breaking a show. But, when the casting is dead on so is the performance. It is so uplifting to watch these people pour their hearts and souls into a show and all for the benefit of the audience. These actors do this day in and day out and have to “bring it” each and every time. Knowing that how can one not be in awe? So, the next time you are having one of those days think of that special performance; the one that no other can rival. You’ll feel better even if just for a little while.

About the Author

Al is the webmaster of a Broadway Tickets resource guide with news and reviews of all New York theater shows with Broadway tickets

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Comic Opera $90.81 Comic opera, or light opera, denotes a sung dramatic work of a light or comic nature, usually with a happy ending. Forms of comic opera first developed in late 17th century Italy. By the 1730s, a new operatic genre, opera buffa, emerged as an alternative to opera seria. It quickly made its way to France, where it became opra bouffon, and eventually, in the following century, French operetta, with Jacques Offenbach as its most accomplished practitioner. Both the Italian and French forms were major artistic exports to other parts of Europe. Many countries developed their own genres of comic opera, incorporating the Italian and French models along with their own musical traditions. Examples include Viennese operetta, German singspiel, Spanish zarzuela, Russian comic opera, English ballad opera, and Savoy Opera. Author: Miller, Frederic P./ Vandome, Agnes F./ McBrewster, John Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 112 Publication Date: 2010/01/11 Language: English Dimensions: 5.98 x 9.01 x 0.26 inches

The Curse of Pontignac. a Comic Opera. [In Verse.] $25.29 Title: The Curse of Pontignac. A comic opera. In verse.]Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the worlds largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Coghill, John Joscelyn; 1895.]. 8 . 11781.i.11. Author: Coghill, John Joscelyn Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 140 Publication Date: 2011/02/16 Language: English Dimensions: 7.44 x 9.69 x 0.30 inches

Rosina, a Comic Opera … the Tenth Edition. $22.95 Title: Rosina, a comic opera … The tenth edition.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the worlds largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Brooke, Frances; 1786. 46 p.; 8 . 643.g.6.(5.) Author: Brooke, Frances Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 54 Publication Date: 2011/03/15 Language: English Dimensions: 7.44 x 9.69 x 0.11 inches

Rock Hard Woman: A Comic Book Opera. $115.71 Rock Hard Woman is a fifteenminute chamber opera with dramatic and musical timing based on mechanisms used by comic book authors to control the pace of the reader, including panel size, language, and plot development. Written for baritone voice, the works plot concerns a demented sculptor and his statue, played by a dancer, and addresses all the comedy, hardship, miscommunication and confusion of a relationship. The piece lasts about the time it takes to read a comic book, and the fastpaced action and immediate surge of plot from the beginning is similar to reading an issue from a comic book series where characters have already been developed. The libretto, by author Linda Hauser, is based on Pygmalion, a tale from the Roman poet Ovid (43 BC 17 AD). Sections are translated into Middle English to represent the sculptors dementia. Author: Riebli, Nathan Christopher Colin Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 76 Publication Date: 2011/09/01 Language: English Dimensions: 9.69 x 7.44 x 0.16 inches

The Duenna; A Comic Opera in Three Acts $41.98 Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hardtofind books with something of interest for everyone Author: Sheridan, Richard Brinsley/ Sheringham, George/ Playfair, Nigel Binding Type: Hardcover Number of Pages: 186 Publication Date: 2010/09/10 Language: English Dimensions: 8.50 x 11.02 x 0.50 inches

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John of Paris, a Comic Opera in Two Acts. $22.95 Title: John of Paris, a comic opera in two acts.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the worlds largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Pocock, Isaac; 1814. 8 . 11775.g.1.(1.) Author: Pocock, Isaac Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 60 Publication Date: 2011/02/15 Language: English Dimensions: 7.44 x 9.69 x 0.12 inches

Youth, Love and Folly, a Comic Opera, Etc. $22.95 Title: Youth, Love Folly, a comic opera, etc.Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the worlds largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC.The POETRY DRAMA collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The books reflect the complex and changing role of literature in society, ranging from Bardic poetry to Victorian verse. Containing many classic works from important dramatists and poets, this collection has something for every lover of the stage and verse. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Dimond, William; 1805. 54 p.; 8 . 11779.g.33. Author: Dimond, William Binding Type: Paperback Number of Pages: 68 Publication Date: 2011/02/15 Language: English Dimensions: 7.44 x 9.69 x 0.14 inches