I attended a performance of the hit Broadway musical, Kinky Boots, in Rudder Auditorium on Texas A&M campus on the night of Wednesday, September 27, 2017. The show ran from 7:30pm to about 10:30pm, including a twenty-minute intermission between two acts. This was a unique opportunity, given that the production was done by the current professional touring cast of the musical, who usually only comes to major cities like Dallas, Austin, or Houston during a national tour. As stated in the program distributed to audience members, many of the cast members have previously performed on Broadway itself, as well as have been a part of touring productions of other Broadway shows. When Kinky Boots was still on Broadway, it was nominated for an impressive thirteen TONY awards, of which it won six, including the coveted Best Musical award. The show’s score was written by the famous Cyndi Lauper, which brought a fun and upbeat element to the production. …show more content…
On a fateful trip into London, he meets Lola, a drag queen. Through a lot of singing, dancing, and dialogue, Charlie soon realizes that he could potentially save the family business if they catered specifically to the needs of drag queens by creating women’s shoes that support the weight of a grown man. The primary message of the show is acceptance of all people, regardless of lifestyle choices, attitudes, identities, or points of view. The show was generally upbeat in nature, as a reflection of the positive, celebratory nature of this theme. Many of the costumes and sets were quite flashy with lots of sequins and bright colors, which made sense given that much of the show revolved around drag queen culture. The show also featured lots of catchy songs and elaborate dance numbers, as is customary for Broadway
Clothing that is worn by the actors during the play can be a reflection of the characters personalities. Nick, Lucy, Lewis and Julie all seem to be in normal clothing, reflecting the fact they are relatively normal, and don’t show signs of extreme ‘Madness.’ Ruth wears simple, old, and neat clothes that reflect her OCD, and the colours and patterns that Roy wears reflect his crazy and upbeat personality. Meanwhile, Henry wears business-like outfits that you would expect to see a lawyer wear. This helps to inf...
Osiris Khepera in 'Bootcandy,' running through April 15 at Windy City Playhouse. Courtesy of Michael Brosilow
Many of the costumes are designed to highlight the characters and the way they live. For example, Bernadette wears long flowing clothes, usually white or cream. ‘She’ is an older ‘women’ and dresses to look like one with flowing skirts and tops with her hair done up simply. Felicia is more of a stereotypical gay; ‘she’ has a more feminine figure and wears tight clothes when in drag. Felicia looks more masculine out of costume, wearing, stereotypically, a singlet and baggy pants.
Of course, you'd never have time to ponder this question while in the midst of
The sound design and choreography intensified the overall musical. They created the time, place, and mood through rhythm and great energy. The actors had wireless, behind the ear mikes, that attached to the mike pack which amplified the sound, making it very clear. I could easily understand what they were talking about or singing.
On a Wednesday night I saw Texas State Theatre and Dance Department's performance of A Chorus Line. The main plot of the musical entails the audition of 17 dancers for several Broadway roles on the chorus line. However, during their auditions the director Zach asks for personal stories of each dancer's life. Though the plot of this musical is seemingly simple in its twist on the traditional audition, it explores themes that reveal the human experience, the search for individuality, and the sense of self.
...wed this particular component to make differences to such challenges from one dance to the next. This was possible due to Fagan’s approach to choreography that are different compared to another choreography that was designed to other Disney films turned musicals i.e. Beauty and the Beast and Little Mermaid. These two notable musicals have taken the stages of Broadway by storm. However, there is an ingredient missing to those shows that Taymor was able to capture from beginning to end with the Lion King. The Lion King musical gave the critics an idea how actors are moving across the stage, embodying the human and animal aspects of all characters from an animated element. It was a risky challenge that Fagan took by radically going from the negative into the positive using dance and movement vocabulary to balance structure and pacing of the highly successful musical.
On March 31 I had the pleasure of seeing Hello Dolly at Mandeville High School. As a talented theater student at the school, I take the shows that are put on very seriously. Being involved in the show, helping make set pieces, and working box office brings light to me as an individual, every little helping hand counts. I want to make sure that my school represents theater in the best way possible. With this production put on, I am proud to say that I am a theater student in Mandeville High.
As in all genres, the musicals have had its share of failures. Some worthy dramas have been pressed into service and musicalized and sometimes butchered in the process, and audiences have had to watch a fine play diluted into a mediocre musical. But the successes have been many and spectacular and they have left a long lasting effect on the American art and culture.
...ked throughout the concert. The pacing of the selections seemed appropriate. No piece sounded like the one before it. There was a great variety of songs played. There were songs played that were written by famous jazz composers and songs played that were written by some of the performers themselves. This added to the excitement of the show.
Rent. To most people it is associated with an apartment, house, or another object. This word rarely conjures pleasant memories, but more often annoyance and stress. However, when someone mentions rent to me, my mind races to some of the most memorable experiences in my life.
by various cast members and Sha Na Na , a group who performed many of
I see Charlie attempting desperately to act out of character. Adept at business he has shown ability, humility and perseverance. However, he seems to be out of touch with the manifested feelings of others his path has crossed.
In the film Luhrman uses costume and makeup to portray characters’ personalities. Such as Shirley Hastings. Shirley’s costume and makeup shows the audience a great deal about her personality. Shirley always wears pink, puts ‘over the top’ makeup on and wears a lot of jewellery. This tells the audience that she is ‘over the top’ and maybe insecure about herself or her past. Liz Holt is another character whose personality could not have been portrayed if it wasn’t for the costume and makeup used. Liz is a drama queen and exaggerates everything including her costume and makeup. She nearly always wears yellow and also exaggerates her makeup with bright colours even when she’s not dancing. Luhrman also used costume and makeup to show the development of one of the main characters, Fran. At the start of the film, Fran is introduced with acne, glasses and baggy clothes, which shows the audience that she is not comfortable with herself and not confident. But when Fran starts dancing she slowly becomes more confident and her costume and makeup changes. Fr...
The musical selections and songs that were sung told a story and narrated the almost the entire film, as is expected in...