Looking Back/Looking Ahead

So since the summer I have seen quite a few theatre performances. 6 in total. Since the holiday season tends to get hectic for my family and I I figured I would post a reflection now of the shows I've seen and look foward to shows I look foward to seeing or working on.

Before I went on vacation to Italy I saw Carosuel at Lakes Region Summer Theatre with my boyfriend Matt. I was very impressed by the show and was suprised at how much I enjoyed seeing as how I fell asleep during the movie version. I also went to the Barn Playhouse to go see the junior intern production of Tea For Three based on my mother's children's book What A Pest. It was a really awesome and cute show and I really enjoyed it especially the song in the beginng that had West Side Story-like cherography in it. I do not have the program handy so I can't look up the title of the song. In September when I went up to Henniker to celebrate my birthday I saw the Open Door Theatre Production of Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare. I am a big fan of Shakespeare and this play was very lighthearted and funny. It was hard to pick a favorite part.. it was all so good. On Halloween weekend I went to Henniker again to see the CTE Production of Kennedy's Children by Robert Patrick directed by Emma Laing. I didn't think I would like it at first but I ended up really liking it a lot. It was very powerful and thought provoking. My high school theatre department's fall show Broadway Babylon was hillarious. I haven't laughed so hard in awhile. This was an a-la carte murder mystery in which a Broadway star gets murdered. It was fun to be part of an interactive murder mystery. Finally I saw High School Musical at Interlakes Theatre in Meredith with my boyfriend and his cousin Jackie. This was another case in which I underestimated the stage version because I didn't like the film version. I didn't think I was going to like play as much as I did but I ended up really enjoying it. My favorite songs were Breaking Free, Getcha Head In The Game and naturally We're All In This Together. A couple of entries down there is a sample review I wrote of HSM feel free to read it and tell me what you think. It's proabably too late to send it in to the newspaper in Meredith.
Now it's time to look to the future.. what does 2009 hold for such the avid theatre goer that I am?
After the Christmas holidays I will be doing publicity work for my town's community production of Peter Pan which will be performed the first week in April at Souhegan High School in Amherst. I don't know times yet. Peter Pan has always been one of my favorite movies... I could never decide if I liked the version with Mary Martin or the Disney version of it better. I am also hoping to do tech work for the upcoming production of Godspell at the theatre i am doing publicity for in Nashua. Show dates for that show are Feb 5-15th. Godspell is one of my favorite musicals ever. The soundtrack is top rated on my ipod with my favorite song being Day by Day followed by Bless The Lord. This year my high school's musical is Gilbert and Sullivan'[s Pirates of Penzannce. I haven't heard of this play before so I look foward to seeing it. Other shows that are going to be performed at the theatre i am interning at are Jungle Book Kids in March and RENT in May. I saw RENT last year on Broadway in New York and I was blown away by it. I definitley plan on seeing it when Peacock Players does it.

I sometimes wish I had a lot of money so I could go to New York and see like four or five different Broadway Shows all in the same trip. There are so many shows I want to see.
Billy Elliot
Shrek
The 39 Steps (it's being transferred to another theatre)
9 to 5
Mamma Mia
Jersey Boys
West Side Story (when it opens in March)
Pinkalicious (offbroadway show that my friend Colleen from the Barn Playhouse is in)

I am also in the process of deciding wheather I want to go see shows at the Barn Playhouse or Interlakes Theatre this summer. It's kind of a hard decision because they both have really goood line ups.
NLBP is doing for Junior Interns: Really Rosie, Captain Bree and Her Lady Pirates, High School Musical,Pocahontas for Mainstage: Straw Hat Revue, She Loves Me, Art,Leading Ladies, South Pacific, Anything Goes ,The Producers, The Fantastiks,SUDS
Interlakes Theatre is doing: Man of La Mancha, Grease,Forever Plaid, I Love You You're Perfect Now Change and CATS.

Good variety of shows in both line ups. The Barn Playhouse has a better variety of shows I haven't heard of or seen previously. Interlakes Theatre also has a good variety though except for Man of La Mancha and Forever Plaid I've seen most of those shows done by other theatres. I wouldn't mind seeing Grease again because that is one of my favorite plays ever. I saw I Love You You're Perfect Now Change @ the Arundel Barn Playhouse in Maine about 6 summers ago when I was on vacation with my family. I enjoyed that play a lot too. However I refuse to ever see CATS again. I've seen it at three other theatres including NLBP and I have never been the hugest fan of that play. The musical score has it's good points including Memory which I have always really loved. The play itself has no real plot to it and it really bores me. Out of the three performances I have seen of it I liked the one the Barn Playhouse did because the director gave it a plot line that made at least a little bit of sense. I have a love/hate relationship with Andrew Llyod Webber musicals. While I like the music in them most of the time I find the plots really boring... though other than CATS the only other ALW play I've seen is Phantom of The Opera which I saw on a choir compettion field trip my freshman year in high school. Didn't care much for the play but love the music especially Think of Me. I think out of all the shows the Barn Playhouse is doing the shows I look the most foward to seeing are South Pacific, Anything Goes and The Fantastiks.


So much to look foward to in the upcoming year theatre wise. Also the student directed and mainstage performances at my colllege as well as thier annual movement concert the week before graduation.

Viva La Vie Boheme!
Janine