One of the great things about NYC is its direct access to theatre. With offerings on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, Adjacent to Broadway, Under Broadway, Step-Brother to Broadway etc. you can find shows of every different style or topic that one could imagine. I’ve sat through enough theatre history classes that I won’t drag down this blog with the origin and history of performance art. Let just say that it has been around pretty much forever and these days, shows are larger and more impressive than ever before.

This past Thursday, Tommy and I attended a preview of the new Broadway show On The Twentieth Century produced by Roundabout Theatre Company and performed at the American Airlines Theatre on 42nd street. For those of you less hip to theatre language, previews are the performances that are full runs of the show in front of paying audiences leading up to opening night, usually lasting just a few weeks. In the case of Spiderman the Musical, they are STILL in previews and the show closed over a year ago.

We arrived at the theatre to pick up our tickets following a quick dinner at our go-to pre-theatre stop Schnippers. As I approached the window, the friendly box office associate listened as I told her my name and responded “Did you get the email that Peter Gallagher will not be performing tonight?” “No,” I replied, suddenly disappointed but not surprised. It had been reported on Playbill.com that he was fighting a bad sinus infection during the week, but he had been slated to return that evening. “That’s too bad,” I said as she slid my tickets under the glass partition while I wondered what had happened to my email notification, as if the knowledge would have given me an alternative option. Well, we would not be seeing Sandy Cohen (little OC reference for you) this evening. I did see him in a special benefit stage reading of All About Eve years before so I knew he would have been amazing. The question now was, would his understudy be?

With 45 minutes before the house would open for seating and 60 minutes before we would actually want to be seated, this was normally the time was we would retreat into one of the 400+ bars in the immediate area for pre-show drinks. Not this time. My Lent challenge had put the kibosh on one of my favorite traditions, but that’s when Tommy had a genius idea: “Why don’t we go over to Dave and Busters for a bit?” YES! Ski-ball? Arcade games? Air hockey?! This guy knows the way to my heart and how to pass the time. Together in 45 minutes, we won a total of 284 tickets and each won a round of Mario Kart. He won at air hockey, but I don’t want to talk about it.

Walking back across the street, I reminisced about my past job at that very theatre years before. When I first moved to NYC, I worked as a bartender for various Broadway theatres and, for the Wednesday matinee, was at American Airlines working as the coatcheck boy and official hearing impaired device hander-outer (Wednesday matinee audience are notorious for being the most difficult and the most deaf).

The usher walked us down to our seats that were in the orchestra and on the left side of the house. Row F, center two seats. Slightly to the side, but still great. I have sat or stood in pretty much every location in Broadway houses all over town and I have yet to be in a bad seat. Front row can be exciting, but back row is just as rewarding. It’s Broadway, take it in no matter where you sit! This time, our seats were so close we could see spots of water damage on the pre-show fly unit that was hiding the stage behind it. Hope they touch those up before opening night! The audience filed in and sat in their assigned seats. Before I had time to read through the entire program as I do for each show I see, the house lights began to dim and the “shut off your cell phones and shut your mouth” announcement came over the speakers.

As the orchestra finished their overture, in came train porters with their tap shoes on. From that point on everything got slightly magical as we boarded the Twentieth Century, a train running from Chicago to NYC which would split, spin, disappear and reappear, serving as the backdrop for most of the show. Tap dancing porters carried luggage for the beautiful dressed train riders (costumes by William Ivey Long) who’s costumes were a mix of bright colors and textures and screamed luxury. I recognized Mark Linn-Baker from my childhood for his role on Perfect Strangers. I wonder if actors ever get tired of being known for their most famous roles. Was that even his most famous role?

I almost couldn’t stand the anticipation as I waited for Miss Chenoweth to enter the stage. It was a good thing I wasn’t holding my breath because it took a good 15 minutes or so for her to come on stage. Running through the audience (which pretty much the entire cast did) there she was! In all her >5ft glory, you can’t take her eyes off her, even when dressed as a lowly piano player. I cannot begin to describe just how amazing Kristen Chenoweth is, not only in this show, but in everything she does. From her comedic timing to those pipes of hers, you can tell from the goosebumps on your skin that you are watching Broadway royalty. The understudy for Peter Gallagher was James Moye, and he did quite a good job filling those shoes. His comedic timing was great, and even though at moments you could see hints that this was not his everyday role, he stately held his own along side Chenoweth and against the ever stage-filling ham, Andy Karl, who, fresh off his lead role as Rocky in (you guessed it) ROCKY, was playing the current love interest to Lily (Chenoweth). Everyone was musically strong, and it was evident after the first act that only a person in tip-top vocal shape could have given their part the power that the score demanded.

Of course as most musicals go, the eventual love story is woven into the fabric of the book (script) that takes you through slapstick comedy scenes as the train symbolically makes its way to New York. In the end, you don’t care who ends up with who, as long as Chenoweth keeps singing, Andy Karl keeps flexing, and James Moye keeps scheming. The supporting ensemble who enters and exits fluidly through the surely tight fit of the train car on stage, comes out with a bang in the full stage dance number “Babette,” which also shows Lighting Designer Donald Holder’s work at its best.

I won’t tell you how it ends, but if you have ever seen a musical comedy before, I’m sure you can guess.

All in all, even with the absence of Peter Gallagher, this show was one that I will remember for quite some time. There are not many shows that I think “I would pay to see this one again” and yet, those were the first words out of my mouth at intermission.

Live for fun, Spread Joy, Go to the Theatre!

Take a look at the promotional video of Peter Gallagher and Kristin Chenoweth singing “I’ve Got It All”. Could they be any more adorable??