Broadway baby

I have a confession to make. I've been having a little flirtation with Broadway. It's harmless, really, nothing to be worried about—I'm just rediscovering that little piece of my heart I left with musical theater oh so many years ago.

It started because I've been studying Sweeney Todd, listening to a recording whenever I'm out and about (some of the more intense passages end up causing me to walk extremely fast). Amazingly enough, I still have most of the show memorized from my musical theater nerd days. Then I went to watch a bit of Evita rehearsal and ended up staying for hours (and I'm going back tonight) just because it was such fun, and such a change from what I usually do. Then I saw Once on Sunday, and now I'm hooked. I've been listening to various cast recordings (turns out I have FOURTEEN musicals on my computer—maybe my Broadway nerd days are not as far behind me as I thought). I'm scanning Broadway listings daily, and I'm wishing I had brought dance shoes to New York so I could take a class. I have traveled to the tourist-infested hell that is Times Square ON PURPOSE more in the past week than I usually do in the course of two months. I don't know what's going on.

Feeling Broadway-obsessed yourself? May I recommend the following:

Show Business:  The Road to Broadway follows four shows that opened in the 2003–4 season, from rehearsals all the way through the Tony Awards.




Every Little Step is about A Chorus Line, both the original production and the audition process for the 2006 revival. It's completely fascinating.




And though tomorrow night I'll go back to my true love (in the form of my 14th Don Giovanni performance of the season), tonight I'll travel to Times Square once again to be a tourist in a Broadway theater.

I guess you never forget your first love.