Freeman5: I absolutely love the score, so it sounds like there's an element of personal preference here. As far as what I found moving about the show, for me it comes down to breaking down the "love story" mold.
**SPOILERS**
In so many cases, the story isn't over until someone finds "true love". Someone independent is considered to be kidding themselves, and happiness and fulfillment are contingent upon falling in love and having someone fall in love with you. Hedwig shows the darker side of relying on this equation. She is miserable and makes others miserable until she realizes that 'what she has to work with' is actually a heck of a lot, and anyone who can't appreciate that isn't worth her commitment. And she is most empowered when she in turn empowers Yitzhak to be everything he wants to be.
Obviously, that's not what everyone gets out of the show, nor do I think people who disagree are misinterpreting. But that message, accompanied by a score that I really can't get enough of and delivered by performers who are deeply resonating with me, is why I keep going back.
I don't know if this has been discussed previously, and probably a long shot - but does anyone know what songs are played during the :30min between doors and curtain?
I Shazam'd a couple but didnt get them all.
The only two I got were:
Matt Duncan - Idle Hands Television - Marquee Moon
Hedwig is #1 on Entertainment Weekly's "Must List!" It's great to see any Broadway show get this kind of recognition. I'm so glad we have tickets for our upcoming trip!
dschnookie, I've been Shazaam'ing them, too! I love that Marquee Moon song now, I think partially because I started to recognize it as the last song before the band comes out.
Unrelated - has anyone done SRO since opening? Is it a madhouse?
"I would like to ask in all sincerity for those of you who love Hedwig and think it is a thougth provoking piece of theatre, how so?"
Extending what center said: the musical's central theme is the necessity of someone to create their own identity, outside of societal constructs like gender or the need to find true love. That is why so many queer people have embraced Hedwig since its debut. It shatters the idea of gender against which so many chafe. It says the rules aren't rules at all. Be a man, be a woman, be both, be neither, every answer is right if it's the one you choose.
I'm not sure what about the photo of NPH at his opening bow makes you groan.
"...everyone finally shut up, and the audience could enjoy the beginning of the Anatevka Pogram in peace."
I apologize for only knowing the film, but I doubt anyone has done so much with a $1 million budget in well over half-a-century!
No, I don't entirely understand everything the piece is saying, and I admit that would normally annoy me. But with HEDWIG, I find the ambiguity and complexities of the ending speak to the piece's profundity.
I guess I just think anyone who has the balls to set Plato to music only needs the one, angry inch.
I believe there is a lot about the story that is ambiguous and that there isn't just one meaning to it. Like the ending, which is interpreted in different ways by different people, the basic message of the piece can be interpreted personally.
For me, the lyrics to Midnight Radio kind of sums it up.
Just got back from the show. It was great. NPH did an excellent job-his singing was right on. So was Lena and the band. I teared up once during Origin of Love because it brought me back to the Jane.
I'm glad I went, but I don't think I'll be going again. Completely sold out! Yay for them!
No, the first half of the video will be them saying what they think the show is and what they've heard, and the second half will be them after the show sharing their thoughts.
This is different then a two-act play where we would also get their thoughts at intermission.
No, they told part of the plot before the show and more of the plot after the show. They're just such empty vessels. The video is sheeeyit. They have no business calling that a review.
That video was more like what you see on tv, when they stop some old couple from out of town on their way out and they rave about the show. Not a review.
why all the hate on these 2 guys? They've been doing these videos for a coupla yrs now...I think they're just a coupla dudes who enjoy Bway and thought up a cute siskel and ebert type schtick, what with those twin eyeglasses and bow ties. At least they're not pretentious like the "serious" reviewers. I met them once outside a show and they were really very sweet.
I wouldn't say I hate them, but did you watch the video?
I didn't, but since you asked, I just clicked on it, knowing it would be full of the usual weirdness, including gems like:
- "Doogie Schnauzer" - One mentions NPH, the other says "Who?! I never heard of him..." - "The plot may be complicated, but it it's not exactly important." - "It's basically the Neil Patrick Harris variety hour." - Lena is "all manned up and grossified" - "I don't remember the film being funny at all." - "I thought it was going to be a boring concert." - "This ain't your grandma's Broadway, but bring that broad anyway."
Then they put up a pull quote at the end, quoting themselves, with a quote they never even said during the video...
I dunno, their videos just don't do anything for me, heh. Initially, I just didn't understand why half of the video is always them sorting out what they think the show is in advance, but since it is all put together afterward, who cares now, by the time the video is posted they already saw the show, so just review that?