Lea Salonga 'Backstory' 11/04/2009
Mich
http://showbizandstyle.inquirer.net/entertainment/entertainment/view/20091104-234255/When-Broadway-enthralls-inspires
BACKSTORY
Backstory : When Broadway enthralls, inspires
By Lea Salonga
Philippine Daily Inquirer
Posted date: November 04, 2009
TORONTO—A story I tried write earlier—but couldn’t, because of other
goings-on while on tour—is this one about Broadway shows I’ve seen
this year.
In May, I got to watched “Rock of Ages” and “Next to Normal” and, just
a few weeks ago, “Hair,” “Billy Elliot” and “South Pacific.”
I went into each one hopeful and with great anticipation, and left
enthralled and inspired.
They couldn’t be more different from one other. “Billy Elliot,” based
on the successful film of the same title, written by Lee Hall and
directed by Stephen Daldry, tells of a young boy who struggles for his
right to express himself in dance (ballet). “Next to Normal” is about
a housewife with a bipolar disorder. “Rock of Ages” is a rock ‘n’ roll
love story between a struggling musician and a small town girl, set to
1980s hair band anthems. “Hair” and “South Pacific” are tried-and-true
classics, each a Tony Award winner for Best Revival (“Hair” this year,
“South Pacific” last year).
There is one thing that these shows have in common, though: A
struggle, a fight, some sort of back-and-forth between forces. The
outcome isn’t always as interesting as the journey getting there.
I wanna rock!
“American Idol” alumnus Constantine Maroulis stars in “Rock of Ages,”
a new musical offering. Side note: They serve drinks during the show
and distribute fake LED lighters, which lend themselves to a genuine
rocking atmosphere. Add to that, scantily clad stripper girls, men
with righteous mullets and crazy facial hair, and plenty of 1980s
music by bands like Journey, Poison, Whitesnake, among others.
The struggle? Besides the audience trying to stay sober, I’d rather
not elaborate and let you see the show for itself. I hear it’s going
to make its way to our shores at some point in the future. Trust me,
it’s one solid night of fun, fun, fun!
Oy, dancin’ boy!
All I knew of “Billy Elliot” was from its official website, YouTube
clips of TV performances by numerous Billys from London, New York and
Australia, and a few documentaries on the search for the talented
young men that would be taking on this huge role. The night I watched,
young Alex Ko replaced Kiril Kulish, one of the original Tony Award-
winning Billys.
The show (music by Elton John, lyrics by Lee Hall, direction by
Stephen Daldry) is set in a working class English town during the
miners’ strike of the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was prime
minister. Billy is the younger of two sons; the elder has followed in
his coal-miner father’s footsteps. Billy discovers ballet—and a talent
and passion for dance—when he arrives too late for a boxing lesson one
day. He struggles against his father, who is decidedly against
dancing, and societal constraints (ballet is identified with
homosexual men).
At the show’s touching conclusion, Billy’s family and the entire town
rallies behind him, supporting him on his road to the Royal Ballet
School.
The choreography is amazingly clever, and the performances by the
adults are uniformly affecting. However, I reserve most of my praise
for the children in the show: The Ballet Girls (especially the young
lady who plays Debbie, the ballet teacher’s daughter), Michael
(imagine a cross-dressing song and tap dancing dynamo, played by
Trevor Braun), and Billy (I have never seen a performance like this).
Alex in only his second performance as Billy, was incredible.
Let the sunshine in!
I was very young when my cousins sang “The Age of Aquarius” at a
family party. The music has stuck with me since. I found myself
singing along with the cast of “Hair” when I saw the show. Turned out
that I was familiar with quite a few of the other songs from this
musical, among them “Let the Sunshine In,” “Easy to be Hard,” and
“Good Morning, Starshine.”
With all that’s been happening in America, there’s no better time for
this musical to make its return to Broadway. It may be set in the ’60s
when many young people were protesting the Vietnam war, but it’s still
timely. In fact, on the night that I watched, a huge Equality March
banner was hung across the stage. And the Oct. 11 matinee performance
was canceled, so that the cast could participate in a march in
Washington, DC.
I’m in favor of every person on this planet being treated equally, and
they should be able to marry whomever they want. Every single person
who marched on Oct. 11 felt exactly that same way, and I feel very
proud to have gone to the “Hair” performance when that banner made its
appearance at the end of the show.
Every performer was charming, earthy and real. Make sure to add this
show to your list when you visit the city.
(Next week, “Next to Normal” and “South Pacific”—shows with female
heroes who both triumph over their struggles.)
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