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The Broadway Experience Tuesday, September 30, 2008  What was I to learn about the Broadway strip in New York City? Well, number one, it was not just a strip, it was a neighborhood! Forty-second street to finally, fifty-eighth street, was as far as the group decided to go. The scavenger hunt was a maze; every billboard had a meaning, but not any given word was an answer to our riddle. A couple of times the group was misguided, but through it all, the excursion opened up understanding about Broadway.Before my trip to New York City, I would not believe my mind was capable of expansion. Block after block, there was another theater, another show in production, and another answer to the question. In comparison to all of New York, the Broadway neighborhood is roughly very small, but the number of people walking on the sidewalks was simply unbelievable. People who loved theater, officers who miraculously knew most of the answers to the questions, and people who were just newcomers, one of which was me, came to see the Broadway life. I am a foreigner to the Broadway community, but not a stranger to New York City. The smell of New York was the same, cigarette smoke in the air, sewer stench rising from the ground, and the aroma of gasoline from buses and cars. I knew exactly that this part of New York would not change from the last time I had visited the state.The humid weather served as the opponent of the day. Worries of rain drops were always in the back of my head, but the umbrella was not far from usage. Step after step, answer after answer, and the dripping sweat down my face, when would we be finished with this scavenger hunt? Every corner there was information to be found, a new production to know about, a restaurant/pub to visit. Was there even a block just for nothing? Each street in the Broadway neighborhood had significance and each building told its own history. I was amazed of how the neighborhood became to be, from one theater to over dozens of theaters that feature hit productions. I was personally honored, simply to be in Broadway’s presence, a historical place, where acting was praised and where people who love acting can come together. Certainly the scavenger hunt broadened my understanding of Broadway. I realized that Broadway could write its own history book.After walking the streets in New York City, the whole group came together to watch a production that won an abundant number of Tony Awards, In the Heights. Personally, I was very excited to see my first Broadway production; I could not wait to get into the theater. The musical started and my eyes peered wide open, not wanting to blink. Every second and every act was breath-taking, from the vibrant colors that painted the theater to the choreographed moves that brought life to the characters; I was gripped from the beginning of the story to the end.My experience at New York City will be unforgettable, especially the viewing of my first Broadway show. Although, my feet grew numb, my knees began to feel weak, and my body was physically exhausted by the end of my journey, I pulled forward something that was filed in the back of my brain: the immense love for Broadway. Anne Anne Joseph / 1 comments |
About the Adventure What theatrical elements combine to make a professional production in our nation’s theatre capital critically and/or commercially successful? Do you agree with the New York theatre critics’ picks for best plays, players, and playwrights of 2008? Throughout the fall semester we'll attend productions in New York City and share our critique of the newest musicals on the Great White Way, let you know what we think about Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe's performance in Equus, and explore the theatre behind-the scenes at Little Italy's San Gennaro Festival and the Lower East Side Tenement Musuem. We'll blog about our experiences with you here before you'll have the opportunity to read some of our more formal reviews in the Comenian. We look forward to your response to our critiques and hope that you'll join us in New York City this fall. Blog Archives
· September 2008 |