Hamilton – RCAH Student Blogs

My Favorite Theatre Moments of 2019

Yep, it’s true—2019 is almost over and I can’t believe it. As always, this year has flown by. I have recently seen theatre critics releasing articles about their favorite shows of 2019, and I decided I wanted to do the same thing, but with a twist. I didn’t feel as if simply showcasing my favorite shows would be conclusive enough of 2019. This year, I got to visit New York City three times, see dozens of shows on Broadway and off, and I started my first job in the theatre industry. This list includes my favorite theatre moments (shows, experiences, events, and encounters) of 2019.

Attending the Tony Awards And Seeing History Be Made

If you’ve been reading my blog since this summer, you already know that I attended the Tony Awards, but I couldn’t sum up my favorite 2019 theatre moments and not mention it. The Tony Awards are always my favorite day of the year, but this year I was fortunate enough to attend them in person for the first time. It was surreal. I got to get dressed up, go to Radio City Music Hall, and be surrounded by the best of Broadway’s performers and creatives. There, Hadestown made history by being the first musical with an all-female creative team to win Best Musical, and Ali Stroker made history as the first actress in a wheelchair to win a Tony. It felt like I was living in a dream, but it’s a moment that I will remember and cherish forever.

Attending the Tony Awards

Meeting Lin-Manuel Miranda

If you’ve known me for a while, you would know that Lin-Manuel Miranda has been my theatre god for the past four years. He transformed theatre forever by creating Hamilton, and since then he has used his success to make the arts accessible to all people (i.e. bringing Hamilton to Puerto Rico and raising $2 million for arts programs there). He is a legend and a true gift to our world.

In November, I was attending Little Shop of Horrors Off-Broadway with my mom, and at intermission, we overheard someone say that Lin was in the lobby. We bolted out of our chairs and rushed to meet him. I can happily report that he is as great in person as I had hoped. I got the chance to thank him for his contributions to the arts, and despite the fact that I’m sure he gets bombarded by fans every day, he was so gracious. Meeting him was a moment I’ve dreamed of for years. I believe our world is unworthy of someone as good as him.

Sadly I didn’t get a picture with Lin—but he took this photo with Jonathan Groff the day I met him

Seeing In the Heights And Meeting Its Movie’s Stars

Before there was Hamilton, there was In the Heights—Lin-Manuel Miranda’s (no, I will never stop talking about him) first Broadway show. During 2019, In the Heights was one of my most listened-to cast albums, and its score has become one of my all-time favorites. In June, my mom and I located where they were filming the movie version in Inwood, New York, and we got to meet the movie’s stars and director and watch some of their filming.

In July, I saw that a professional theatre in Saugatuck was putting on a production of it, and my mom and I knew that we had to go. It was amazing to finally see Lin’s music come to life on stage. I should also note that I ended up being extremely sick on the day I saw In the Heights (seriously, I probably should have gone to the ER because I couldn’t breathe) but the show was so absorbing that I refused to leave. That’s how you know it’s an amazing show.

Meeting Anthony Ramos and Melissa Barrera, the stars of In the Heights

I Stopped Overlooking Off-Broadway Shows

For years now, my life has been completely devoted to researching and seeing Broadway shows. I did, and still do, consider Broadway to be one of the best things that exists in the world. However, 2019 was the year that I realized other great NYC theatre exists—particularly Off-Broadway. Officially, Off-Broadway means that it’s a show taking place in New York City theater with 99-499 seats (Broadway is 500+). In 2019, I attended some amazing Off-Broadway shows (including Little Shop of Horrors, The Wrong Man, The Secret Life of Bees) that rivaled the Broadway shows I saw. I’ve found that Off-Broadway as just as good as, if not better than, Broadway. Often times, Off-Broadway shows feature Broadway actors, but in smaller and more intimate spaces. In 2020, my goal is to give more Off-Broadway and even more remote theatre a try. Just because it’s not Broadway doesn’t mean that it can’t still be life-changing.

Seeing Little Shop of Horrors off-Broadway

Discovering a New Musical That Made Me Feel Seen

I was lucky enough to see Be More Chill on Broadway twice this year, first in March and then again in June when I brought my mom back with me. The first time I saw it, I was not emotionally prepared for the impact it had on me. I loved its quirky characters and catchy score, but most of all I loved George Salzar’s performance of “Michael in the Bathroom” in the show’s second act. It was a moment where I was completely absorbed by the show and the rest of the world was drowned out. I felt like Michael Mell was speaking directly to me, and it provided some healing that I’ve needed for years now. Be More Chill (unfairly) received many negative reviews, and it closed early, but it will forever remain in my heart and as a favorite on my Broadway playlist. It made me feel validated and heard, and it was the musical that had the most formative impact on my life in 2019.

Seeing Be More Chill.

I Started Working in My Dream Industry

When I entered Michigan State in the fall of 2017, I expected I would graduate in five years as an elementary education major. Although I think I would have been fine in this career, my life’s passion of theatre could not be denied. At the end of freshman year, I dropped my education major and have since been avidly working towards my goal of working in professional side of the theatre industry after college. In January, I was hired to be Wharton Center’s Marketing and Communications Intern for their Broadway series. Since then, I have been working with Wharton Center’s marketing department on every Broadway show. I’ve already learned so much, and it makes me confident that when I graduate in a year and a half, I will be fully prepared to enter the professional theatre industry. It’s been amazing to put my Broadway knowledge to use and to learn how to market to a specific community. Above all, I love that my job allows me to share the thing I love most, theatre, with others.

Interviewing Julie Jordan of Come From Away—an opportunity I got from working at Wharton Center

2019 has undoubtedly been one of the best years of my life thus far—both personally and professionally. My knowledge and experience of the theatre is blossoming every day, and I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had this year. 2019 is going to be a tough year to beat, but I’m optimistic that 2020 is going to hold even more amazing theatrical opportunities.

My Seven Favorite Theatregoing Experiences

I am a firm believer in the powers of theatre. I believe theatre is capable of much more than entertainment—it can provide you an escape, lead you to ask questions, and force you to see the world from a different perspective. Playbill’s website has a series where they have Broadway performers share their favorite theatregoing experiences. I’ve had multiple theatre experiences that played major roles in fostering my love of the arts and that I truly consider to be life changing, so I figured I would share them with you. These are my favorite theatregoing experiences of all time:

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

I bought the script for this show at Target on a whim last summer, and I ended up devouring the entire thing in two days. Although I had only read one Harry Potter book at the time, I found the script to be utterly thrilling and heartwarming. I knew I had to see it performed on stage, and I got to see Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on Broadway last November. The show is a spectacle that uses mind-blowing special effects to create the magic of Harry Potter. To this day, I don’t know how they do some of the magic. The show is performed in two parts, each at three hours long, so it is not a brief piece of theatre. Even so, the play whizzes by. The story is like a moving train: you hop on and brace yourself for the wild journey ahead.

Ramin Karimloo in Les Misérables

Les Misérables was one of the first musicals I ever saw on Broadway, and it left me absolutely blown away. I found it to be stunning and heartbreaking. I cried (literally) six times. Although I loved the entire production, the standout for me was Ramin Karimloo as Jean Valjean. He has a gorgeous baritone voice, and he possesses a warmth onstage that made it so easy to feel attached to him and cheer him on through the show’s trials and triumphs.

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

The Great Comet was the first immersive, experimental piece of theatre I had seen, and it completely changed my idea of what theatre can be. The show transformed every inch of Broadway’s Imperial Theatre into a 19th-century Russian supper club. With the renovation, they added seats to the stage, which is where I got to sit. I had Broadway actors performing on all sides of me. In addition, the performers interacted with me and the other audience members onstage. The actors sat at our table, gave us pierogies, and hand delivered us love letters. It was incredible to witness such a beautiful piece of theatre while being right at the center of the action.

Jessie Mueller in Waitress

I completely fell in love with Waitress, which is an emotional piece of theatre that is equally charming and funny. I was most moved by Jessie Mueller as Jenna. Jessie Mueller is a unicorn on stage—seriously, she is one of a kind. Her voice has such a rich and unique tone and watching her feels magical because of how present she remains throughout the entire show. Even when she wasn’t speaking, I loved watching her reactions to the other characters onstage. Something about her is so vulnerable and honest. It’s impossible not to root for her.

Jessica Vosk in Wicked

This is the only show on this list that I saw on its national tour rather than on Broadway. When I saw Jessica Vosk as Elphaba, it was my fifth time seeing Wicked. I was just looking forward to basking in one of my favorite musicals all over again, but as soon as Jessica began singing “The Wizard and I,” I was floored. I got chills throughout my entire body. Every time she sang, I was mesmerized by her. Her voice is stunning, and she pulled off riffs that I’ve never heard any other Elphaba manage to do before. She embodies the definition of a star, and I was not at all surprised that she moved to the Broadway company a year later.

Hamilton

I’ve already written an entire blog post about this experience, but seeing Hamilton on Broadway changed my life. I saw it at the end of one of the most difficult periods of my life, and it made me feel grateful to be alive. It is unmatched in its originality and the strides it has made for people of color. I’m thankful that we are alive at a time where you can see such boundary-breaking, genius work living and breathing on Broadway.

Dear Evan Hansen

I first saw Dear Evan Hansen in previews back in 2016, and while I loved it, it wasn’t until I saw the show for a second time in 2018 that it truly made me feel changed. Dear Evan Hansen made me feel validated and heard. I found myself able to connect with it because the show draws on the universal feeling of loneliness, something that everyone has experienced at some point in their life. To me, it perfectly verbalizes the feelings of being an outsider and not fitting in. I sat in the front row and sobbed so hard that the person next to me turned to ask if I was okay. With seeing the show a second time, I also got to pay attention to some more complex details, such as the similarities between Evan and Connor, as well as the universal experiences that link every character in the show to every person in the audience. It is a heartbreaking and healing piece of theatre that I recommend to any person that has a pulse.

Cami and her friend, Abby