First Class Broadway
So I'm sitting here in the Concorde room which is the very posh part of the First Class Lounge of BA at JFK in New York and thinking to myself "it's not bad". There may be a big snowstorm outside, but I've just spent a week with an actor colleague and a consultant delivering a show on presentation technique to lawyers in Washington and then New York.
One ninety minute show delivered on four out of the nine days we were away, so not a bad workload. In New York, the huge conference room stretched from Wall Street at one end to Broadway at the other, so for the few minutes I worked that end of the room, I could be said to have played Broadway. Hopefully over 500 lawyers are now better presenters and I was lucky enough to spend five days in one of my favourite cities, New York.
When in NYC I always try and make a theatre visit. Richard was over here a great deal during the last ten years for various shows, and we spent a lot of nights in Broadway theatres. Mercifully we never had to pay full price. I'm not sure who can afford $327 for a premium ticket, but certainly not us. If we were not guests, then we would have queued up at TKTS in Times Square to get a half price ticket for a show.
As neither of my colleagues I was working with on this job had ever been to the theatre on Broadway, I took the opportunity to treat them to a Sunday matinee and supper at Joe Allens afterwards. The thought to me of heading into the theatre at 12 noon on a Sunday is an anathema, but I'm glad that Broadway performers do as there is something very cosy about a Sunday matinee for the audience. Apart from the fact that they are nearly always full, it's a great time to see a show. The few times I've seen shows on Sundays in London have been quite magical.
We saw a preview of "On the Twentieth Century" with Kristin Chenoweth, a screwball comedy of a musical set aboard a trans America train in the nineteen thirties. Given that we had made two train journeys ourselves from NYC to Washington and back, it was good to see train travel in America depicted as a glamorous experience. Our reality told us differently. Never thought I'd long for an East Midlands train.
The show was great. Huge energy, one leading understudy in place who did a brilliant job, and a hugely enthusiastic audience cheering and ovating at every possible moment. It was hard not to get swept along.
There is a great "Look at me" attitude to Broadway performers. It gives an energy to the work. I'm not sure how it plays in reality. I think we English as actors have a more "Look at us" attitude, certainly in plays, but here the look at me, look at me look at me mentality applied to everyone...and it worked. Every chorus girl moved as though she knew the eyes of the audience were on her and only her. Every tap dancing porter moved and worked as though only his spotlight was on. No small parts as they say, only small actors, and you won't find any small actors on Broadway.
Not even when playing to rooms of lawyers.
One ninety minute show delivered on four out of the nine days we were away, so not a bad workload. In New York, the huge conference room stretched from Wall Street at one end to Broadway at the other, so for the few minutes I worked that end of the room, I could be said to have played Broadway. Hopefully over 500 lawyers are now better presenters and I was lucky enough to spend five days in one of my favourite cities, New York.
When in NYC I always try and make a theatre visit. Richard was over here a great deal during the last ten years for various shows, and we spent a lot of nights in Broadway theatres. Mercifully we never had to pay full price. I'm not sure who can afford $327 for a premium ticket, but certainly not us. If we were not guests, then we would have queued up at TKTS in Times Square to get a half price ticket for a show.
As neither of my colleagues I was working with on this job had ever been to the theatre on Broadway, I took the opportunity to treat them to a Sunday matinee and supper at Joe Allens afterwards. The thought to me of heading into the theatre at 12 noon on a Sunday is an anathema, but I'm glad that Broadway performers do as there is something very cosy about a Sunday matinee for the audience. Apart from the fact that they are nearly always full, it's a great time to see a show. The few times I've seen shows on Sundays in London have been quite magical.
We saw a preview of "On the Twentieth Century" with Kristin Chenoweth, a screwball comedy of a musical set aboard a trans America train in the nineteen thirties. Given that we had made two train journeys ourselves from NYC to Washington and back, it was good to see train travel in America depicted as a glamorous experience. Our reality told us differently. Never thought I'd long for an East Midlands train.
The show was great. Huge energy, one leading understudy in place who did a brilliant job, and a hugely enthusiastic audience cheering and ovating at every possible moment. It was hard not to get swept along.
There is a great "Look at me" attitude to Broadway performers. It gives an energy to the work. I'm not sure how it plays in reality. I think we English as actors have a more "Look at us" attitude, certainly in plays, but here the look at me, look at me look at me mentality applied to everyone...and it worked. Every chorus girl moved as though she knew the eyes of the audience were on her and only her. Every tap dancing porter moved and worked as though only his spotlight was on. No small parts as they say, only small actors, and you won't find any small actors on Broadway.
Not even when playing to rooms of lawyers.
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