Monday, April 26, 2010

Four

Four

Over the past week, I've enjoyed four milestones, not only as a theatre blogger, but also as a theatre lover.

On the first score, Saturday found me "celebrating" the fourth anniversary for Steve On Broadway (SOB). The day was spent doing one of the things I love to do most: seeing a show. In fact, I was in the audience for two markedly different Great White Way productions (Red and Come Fly Away).

But I also observed my anniversary day enjoying the cameraderie of fellow bloggers/friends Patrick Lee (Just Shows To Go You), Linda Buchwald (Pataphysical Science), Leonard Jacobs (The Clyde Fitch Report) and Andrew and Phil (West End Whingers), along with non-blogging friends Bill and Ken and new friend Baz Bamigboye.

(And all of that came on the heels of wine and/or coffee-infused moments of pleasure earlier in the week with Roger Calderon (Daddycatcher's Realm), Kevin Daly (Theatre Aficionado At Large), Kari Geltemeyer (lit-wit), Jonathan Mandel (New York Theater), Sarah Roberts (Adventures In The Endless Pursuit Of Entertainment), Gabriel Shanks (Modern Fabulousity) and last but certainly by no means least Jan Simpson (Broadway & Me). It was a week to savor, and is serving to inspire me to write yet again.)

My second milestone hit last Wednesday. Doing what I always do after each Rialto performance, I dutifully logged the Broadway shows I had seen that day into my ever-expanding list, only to discover that my Wednesday matinee of Million Dollar Quartet marked the 200th time I had set foot in a Broadway theatre for a show. (Since I've been known to revisit some of my favorite plays and musicals, this was not my 200th production -- it was only my 184th.) I'm not sure how that compares with your theatregoing habits, but over my span of nearly 25 years attending Main Stem performances, I think the folks at the Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing would likely deem my attendance above average, and since the inception of Steve On Broadway (SOB), my near perfect attendance would be way above average. Given that I still pay for every ticket, it also means I've plunked down a tidy sum through the years. But I don't regret a single penny.

My third milestone occurred just yesterday when I took in the evening performance of Everyday Rapture at the American Airlines Theatre. In seeing Sherie Renee Scott's semi-autobiographical musical, I now lay claim to having seen each and every one of the 38 new shows that opened on Broadway during the 2009-10 Theatrical Season. That string includes such short-lived productions as Brighton Beach Memoirs, The Miracle Worker, All About Me and Looped.

Finally, my fourth milestone is one that's served as further inspiration for writing Steve On Broadway (SOB) yet again. I was proud to be among three theatre bloggers participating in a Q&A with Alicia Silverstone, who was recently on Broadway in Time Stands Still. Having the opportunity to pose questions to this underestimated actress marked my first time formally interviewing any thespian. I'm hoping it won't be my last. (I'll write more in the days to come on our conversation with Silverstone, but in the meantime, here's another post from one of my blogger colleagues.)

So for the one or two readers who are still out there, thanks for returning to Steve On Broadway (SOB) and sharing in my four milestones with me. It's great to be back.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

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Wednesday, September 16, 2009

8,999 Plus One Donut Hole

8,999 Plus One Donut Hole

Tonight marks Broadway history as Andrew Lloyd Webber's iconic The Phantom Of The Opera celebrates its 9,000th performance on Broadway. The production opened at Rialto's Majestic Theatre on January 26, 1988.

Even though I've seen The Phantom Of The Opera twice (three times if I count my 2007 visit to Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular), I've never seen it on Broadway. Is that heresy?

I first saw what is now the Great White Way's longest running show in London in 1988, as well as during its 1998 Los Angeles run when I was provided a free ticket.

As I've said before, I've never truly understood the lasting appeal of The Phantom Of The Opera. Some have said that it has essentially become a tourist attraction, while I view it as the very first entry level Broadway or West End show for the tens of millions who have seen one incarnation or another.

So in order to say I saw the show before it hits that magic 9,000 number tonight, as well as to finally scratch the last Broadway theatre off my list of venues I've never visited, I'm taking in today's matinee, which happens to be its 8,999th performance.

And as POTO fans gather for the evening's milestone performance, I'll be just a block away ... toasting the very first preview of Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts. While this latest import from Chicago's Steppenwolf most certainly won't go the distance of 9,000 performance, something tells me that it will be a whole lot more satisfying.

UPDATE (9.17.09): Imagine my surprise at yesterday's matinee for The Phantom Of The Opera when it was announced immediately prior to the performance that this would mark the 9,000th record setting milestone. I had read elsewhere, earlier, that #9,000 would occur that same evening.

Immediately after yesterday's matinee, countless television cameras and still photographers filled the aisles to capture the celebration as Andrew Lloyd Webber, Harold Prince and Gillian Lynne all appeared on stage to join in the festivities, with each delivering remarks. For his part, Webber announced that the sequel, Phantom: Love Never Dies will debut in London next spring and land on the Great White Way in November 2010.

Now that the dust has settled on yesterday's momentous occasion, I did some additional research. According to the Internet Broadway Database (IBDB), The Phantom Of The Opera had played 8,995 performances as of this last Sunday. Although the show is one of the few Broadway shows with a Monday performance, that one added to Tuesday's and the two on Wednesday only add up to 8,999, so my title of this piece is inaccurate as well.

Webber's Really Useful Productions indicates that the actual 9,000th performance comes this evening, but for some reason, the powers that be decided to celebrate at Wednesday's matinee.

So even though I got the photo opp yesterday, if you're seeing The Phantom Of The Opera at the Majestic on Thursday, September 17, you truly have the bragging rights to #9,000!

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

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