BroadwayGirlNYC: Going Back

This week, I went to see two Broadway shows, neither of which I had been to in over five years: Jersey Boys and The Lion King.  My last visit to Jersey Boys was in 2005 with the original cast; and it has been over a decade since I last saw The Lion King (in 1999!). 

I can't believe I waited so long to go back to these two BRILLIANT shows.  I'm suddenly reminded that it isn't just the new and edgy musicals that I have to keep on my radar.  Revisiting these new "classics" is just as much fun for a BroadwayGirl like me.

Jersey Boys used to be the toughest ticket in town, but last Wednesday I bought a Student Rush ticket (second row orchestra) for $27 just an hour before curtain.  My ticket was stamped "partial view," but I didn't mind.  As soon as the first notes hit my ears, I was happy.  Did I miss John Lloyd Young and J. Robert Spencer?  Sure.  But I thought of them only for a moment when the Boys first appeared.  Then I just got lost in the set and the staging and especially the music.  I had to keep myself from singing out loud, and then in Act 2 I found myself shedding real tears.  I was so glad to be back!

Speaking of tears, I had them in my eyes during the opening number of The Lion King on Sunday, just as I did the first time I saw it back in the 90s.  Had I forgotten how gorgeous Julie Taymor's design is in this show?  I must have, or I wouldn't have stayed away so long!  There is nothing I don't love about The Lion King.  From the sets and costumes to the music, from the comic moments (especially Timon and Pumba) to the heart-swelling reminder that lost loved ones are still with us, I love it all.  I smiled hugely at the vast range of people surrounding me in the audience.  There were small children with their parents, young couples on dates, and stereotypical "old matinee ladies," all enjoying the show.  There are elements of The Lion King that appeal to everyone - which has to be why it has been running so long, and it is still so well attended and beloved.

There are currently 24 shows running on Broadway, and I've seen them all (a fact that never fails to make me stop what I'm doing and marvel at my fortune!).  However, even though I go to an average one or two Broadway shows a week, I've gotten in the habit of returning to my favorites over and over.  Meanwhile, there are many productions I haven't seen in over a year, and a couple that I haven't seen in far longer than that!  My last trip to Mamma Mia! was in 2002, and believe it or not I haven't been to The Phantom of the Opera since Michael Crawford played the lead.   (Twenty years without seeing Phantom?!  How does that even make sense for a girl like me?!) 

I'm vowing here and now not to let another five (or twelve!) years go by before my next visits to Jersey Boys and The Lion King.  (Though hint, Lion King: offering discount tickets every once in a while sure would make that an easier promise to make!)  And even though they often inspire pooh-poohs from some of my contemporary Broadway die-hards, I'm going to go back to see Mamma Mia! and The Phantom of the Opera again soon, too.  It wouldn't surprise me at all to realize that I should have come back years ago. 

I encourage you, too, to return to the shows that have been on Broadway for years.  Since they've been around so long, it might be easy to forget about them - or at least to think they'll always be there to see later.  But, if you love Broadway as much as I do, it can't hurt to see as many different shows as possible.  My experiences this week proved that at least two long-running shows remain as fresh and enjoyable as ever. So, don't wait!  Go back!!