Spring Awakening

After the Drowsy Chaperone, I met up with my companion (he had taken his client to the show, so they sat far away from me), and we went to the Village to do some more shopping and then walked to Tribeca to have dinner at Blau Gans. It was totally worth the walk. It's kind of out of the way, but anyone in the New York area who likes German food needs to make the trip. It is an excellent restaurant, and yet another fantastic meal on the trip. We then took the subway back to Times Square and walked to the Eugene O'Neill theatre for Spring Awakening, the show that caused the most disagreement on our trip. Having seen Sweeney Todd from the balcony of the theatre last year, I knew that we would have a more advantageous view from up there for this show, so I purposely bought balcony tickets. I was hoping for a nice view of Jonathan Groff's naked behind (and possibly his fronts, I've heard rumors that it can be seen from certain angles although I'm not sure how, it certainly seemed to me like they were keeping it more secure than Area 51), but alas, we were on the wrong side and I got a better view of Lea Michele's breasteses, which was not what I wanted to see at all. Now, I knew what to expect. I've enjoyed the cast recording from the day it was released and knew what the story was about. I was expecting more of a concrete story rather than the episodic/vignette style it turned out to be, and even though I knew about the cast sitting off to the side, I was still expecting something more in the way of sets. However, I was fine with how it all turned out and enjoyed it. My companion did not. About halfway through he whispered to me "Do you like this?" and he complained non-stop through intermission. His main contention was that all it needed was a heroin addict and a transvestite and it would hit all the hot button issues just as trendily as Rent, a show neither of us like. I can see the comparison to Rent, but Spring Awakening is enough of a show in it's own right and has a much better story and way better music to boot. He ended up liking the second act better and was able to grudgingly admit afterwards that it was an ok show, but he still couldn't figure out why I liked it so much. It certainly caused the most discussion after any of the shows we saw, but I am still firm in my opinion of it. It was joyful, energetic, and very timely. It was a great end to the stretch of shows I got to enjoy. So, it was back to the hotel for the night and off to Laguardia the next morning. We were able to make it there on time and catch our flight without any of the drama we had getting there, and made it back home in time for Grease. . . I will most likely be going back in May, and I can't wait, especially since I'll have better weather and can walk around more. Next time I will hopefully catch Deuce, Chorus Line, and 110 in the Shade, and we'll see what else comes along. Maybe I'll finally get to see an opera at the Met, or hopefully Xanadu will at least be in previews (I think they're shooting for a June opening to avoid this year's sure to be competitive Tony's, but the previews start before the eligibility cut off), or some big star will be in an old favorite. I can't wait. Until then, I've got Vegas in two more weeks to look forward to.