#not to say i don't have my favorite replacements but i also love the OBC

[graciehart]

12 & 26? <3

hello there new friend! <3

12. Favorite musical that's no longer on Broadway

There are so many I wish were on Broadway still, but my favorite of those is probably Waitress 😭

26. Favorite OBC cast of a musical

Wicked OBC has my whole heart. Kristin and Idina both have such distinctly weird voices that sound like they were meant to go together. Norbert Leo Butz (with Idina) has to be the reason why I listen to "As Long As You're Mine" over and over even though I almost never like the song when I see it live. Acting choices are SO GOOD (Idina's Elphie is so soft and it really makes my heart ache). Ugh.

send me musical asks!

[thatsuhboldchoice]

okay as promised more into the woods feelings

first i just want to say the sheer ENERGY of the crowd

like everyone got at least a minute of entrance applause

maybe it's just been a while since i've seen a broadway show or been in a truly full house on weekend evening performances but every show i saw there was just an absolute outpouring of love and with standing ovations at all of them

maybe i just went to popular shows but also i think maybe people are just so happy broadway is back and want to show it

i want to congratulate the producers on this show for realizing they could just STACK this cast

it's an ensemble show where everyone and i mean everyone gets something juicy and goes on a journey

also it's fav show of so many theatre folks and everyone wants a chance to sing sondheim

that said i do think it's origins as an encore performance limited it

because it did feel caught between trying to be a throw back to the obc

(which i think for myself and many cast members and many audience members we all have in our BONES like i have watched that vhs how many times)

and trying to be it's own thing

and as lovely and nostalgic as those moments were

the place where it SHINED were where the cast or director found something new

all of the puppetry and set were the stand outs because those were inventive and creative in the way that into the wood asks you to be!!

and also demonstrates what for me is key to producing into the woods

which is to realize that in addition to a healthy disrespect for the fourth wall, the seams of the production should absolutely show

and the bare bone aspect of the staging totally captured that

but i wished they could have taken the space to push it even further and done a proper revival?

i get that they were riding the high from encores and that time was of the essence in continuing that momentum

but like one of the places that felt quite fresh was anything with the princes

(which as much as i love agony okay i do think it's low hanging fruit)

but STILL they delivered something that felt different truly at its core than the obc

little red felt different

cinderella had her moments (esp at the end with the prince krysta rodriguez yelled!!!)

sjb's aforementioned moments in the woods

heck everyone found something that gave me chills and was unexpected but i couldn't help but feel they were brief moments in larger structure that was already set in a show that very much resembled the obc

WHICH AGAIN makes sense given the origins of this production and the fact that almost everyone was a replacement so even more limited rehearsal

but i want to know what sjb's and seb's baker and baker's wife entire arc could've looked like if they'd had a full rehearsal process to find it, you know?

again again not the intent of this production but it's what i can't help thinking

that said mad shout out to gavin creel who i don't really know but did not realize was that goddamn funny

like he would just stand on stage and already i'd be laughing

also i loved that sjb had moments when you could tell she had this massive belting voice just at her fingertips but since that wasn't the vibe of the show she didn't really use it

but i just still hear it in there

also i know that one day i should mature past having into the woods as one of my favorites musicals but i'm sorry i can't...it's rewatchability score is too high and it engages too directly with the themes i'm most interested in

[tick-tick-moo]

❤️ 💜 😭 🏳️‍🌈 🎼 🎲

Thank you for asking, Bee!

❤️ What is your current favorite musical?

Hmm Heights. Currently hyperfixating on Encanto but OBC Broadway Cast Recording/Performance of In The Heights doesn't look like it's gonna be dethroned anytime soon😆

💜 The musical that you keep going back and getting hyperfixated on?

Ooooh I have phases with quite a few. So far it seems to be seasons between Phantom, Hamilton, Les Mis, and a new musical that becomes the only thing I listen to for two weeks(rn it's Encanto). I can rely on getting hyperfixated on Hamilton for a solid few months though.

😭 A musical that makes you bawl every time?

Hm I cry a lot. Bawling, nothing held back, tears streaming down my face? Les Miserable. It's the most consistently sad musical I can think of. (Heights normally gets me crying by the end of the opening number, though, and then I'm just a sniffling mess for the rest of the experience, but those are for totally different reasons)

🏳️‍🌈 Favorite musical with gay/lgbtq+ representation?

Uuhhhh I'm actually not sure about this one. I'm still relatively new to musicals, still got all sorts of stuff to listen to(I mean, the best answer I can come up for this is the version of Heights that included Nina's brother, Lincoln, who was also in love with Benny). Any recommendations?

🎼 A song that ALWAYS gets stuck in your head every time you hear it?

Ooh I got a list for you for this one(my thoughts just take turns being replaced by the lyrics of the following songs):

We Don't Talk About Bruno, Non-Stop, 96,000, One Day More, Burn For You, Room Where It Happens, Swimming, Therapy, (and now for the non musical theater one) It's My Life, I'm Not Okay (I Promise), How Far We've Come, and Patria Y Vida.

🎲 Free space to rant about anything musical related :)

Okay so Dolores's part in We Don't Talk About Bruno is just to perfect, the quick and hushed tone BUT ADDITIONALLY the music itself is just so her, with this drum and constant low maraca-sounding thing that just adds to the whole vibe. The way you can tell each character from the music. Plus Bruno has this flute noise that plays when they say his name (outside of when they're saying the title of the song). anD ALL THESE MUSICAL ASPECTS COME TOGETHER AT THE END, the instrumental is just OUT of this world!!!!

Okay and the fact that they are all different melodies and beat but on the same, as LMM said, musical landscape and they manage to harmonize with each other???? Like??? WHO THINKS OF THAT!? HE WROTE THIS IN A WEEK, AND CAME UP WITH THE FIRST (full demo and everything) PIANO BITS IN LITERAL SECONDS!

And he started out as a sophomore writing a musical about his neighborhood, just wanting to write something that he would want to be in. The musical in question grew from a story of a love triangle told through 20 min musical with two songs to one of, arguably, the most influential and revolutionary musicals that, not just Broadway, but all of musical theater has ever seen. Fascinating.

hehe this got long but uh thank you for asking