It has been the craziest two days.
I met with Ian Axness yesterday and we chatted in Washington Square Park and walked around NYU. This guy does the coolest stuff EVER! Performance art, teaching, accompanying…lots of “weird” projects that seem artistically and financially rewarding. I observed a rehearsal of a project he is working on with some of NYU’s Abu Dhabi campus students. Every year, they devise a musical to advertise/explain a wellness hotline for students dealing with depression, stress, and other difficulties that college can bring on. These students are doing AMAZING work. Their director profoundly impressed me in the way she let the performers have artistic room for “What if I did x?” while also keeping everyone on track and getting fantastic results. Ian improvised or played pre-existing grooves based on these student-written songs. This was one of the coolest experiences of my research so far, and I look forward to staying in touch with Ian. I filled page after page with observations from this very unique process. I would love to do this kind of work some day. The title of this post comes from something Ian said to me in the park- that even shows that merely delight its audience have profound artistic merit and immediacy. This is something I firmly believe in about musical theatre.
Then, I observed Will Van Dyke conduct Kinky Boots! He is the key 2 player regularly, and often conducts while the music director is out checking up on the touring company. I followed the key 2 book and he answered tons of my certainly annoying questions. The score is AMAZING! Stephen Oremus is an absolute genius at arranging and orchestrating. It was a blast following along on the very intricate, two-piano keyboard 2 book. One piano was for organ, and the other was for general Mainstage sounds that changed throughout the show. He often played both keyboards at once, and the parts were certainly not easy on their own either. This orchestra was far roomier than Amazing Grace. It was interesting how each player has headphones with a click track in the mix (a metronome keeping time for on-stage cues and so that everyone stays together) along with the power to control their own mix. In the headphones they provided for me, I could solo certain instruments, turn down others, and play around with every instrument’s level (even the drummer who is on the 5th floor of the building!) It was also interesting watching Will navigate playing the keyboard 1 part and conducting. He regularly switched from traditional conducting to keyboard conducting, two very distinct skill sets. I was thoroughly impressed and excited by the entire Kinky Boots observation.
Today, I saw two Broadway shows from the house. I rushed the Fun Home matinee with my friend Lesley (originally a friend of a friend from Notre Dame!) and didn’t even have any understudies. The show was everything I hoped it would be and more. I have been daydreaming about seeing this show since the first time I listened to the score back in the spring. Then, I saw An American in Paris tonight. By coincidence, my friends Alex and Mahek were sitting right behind me! We knew we were going to the same show, but had no idea our seats were so close. Overall, it was an impressive production with a gorgeous sounding pit. The Gershwin music sounded fresh while still in his signature style and their sound FILLED the space.
Tomorrow, I am giving myself a day off before heading to Boston to visit my friend Courtney! We are going to try and rush Waitress, the new Sara Bareilles musical starring Jessie Mueller. Hopefully we’ll get to see it! Then on Sunday night, I am sitting in on Book of Mormon to watch Ian Weinberger conduct.