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To anyone who knows me well, it is no secret….. I love musical theater.  I LOOOOOVE musical theater.  I love everything about it.  I even like bad theater!  Even just the process of buying tickets, maybe going to dinner before the show, finding my seats, and, in a small theater, the smell of fresh paint from the sets.  I have a couple of friends who I like to go to the theater with because during intermission and after the performance we’ll analyze the show, the actors performances, what we thought they did well, what the writer was trying to get across and if they were successful at it.  Kinda like a sports fan would pick apart a game.  I do that with a play.

So it kinda makes sense why I love to go to New York.  BROADWAY!!!!!  When I’ve gone to New York in the past, people that don’t know me as well as I thought they did will ask me, “Oh!  Did you see any shows?”  Did I see any shows?  I want to look at them like they just asked the dumbest question that could ever be asked and say, “Why else would anyone go to New York?”  But I don’t because, ONE, that would be very rude, and TWO, I do realize there are other reasons to go to New York.  I will, however, politely tell them which shows I saw and will often tell them the story of the time I was there and saw SIX shows in FIVE days.  Or the time I went to Aruba and stopped through NY “one the way”.  We were there for less than 24 hours and I managed to see two shows AND have lunch with a childhood friend.  We mean business, I tell you.

So I thought, since my love of theater is such a huge part of me, I would bring it here and share it with you, my friends!  I’d love to share some of my favorite musicals or musical moments with you.  And maybe if you see one of those shows come to town, whether at a big or a small theater, you might want to go see it.

My first Theater Thursday focuses on my latest obsession, In the Heights.  I saw it at the Pantages about a month ago and loved it!  I almost saw in in February when I was in NY, but I decided to wait since I knew it was coming here.  And I SO glad I did, since the guy who wrote it and starred in it on Broadway did it here!  Not to mention, Corbin Bleu from High School Musical was playing the lead guy and there’s no way he was as good as the original.

In the Heights won the 2008 Tony for Best Musical and is the story of a little community in Washington Heights, an area in northern Manhattan.  I wasn’t sure about the semi-rap elements of the music at first, but now I love it and Lin Manuel Miranda was such a treat.  The music from the show, with its Latin flair, is meant to reflect the culture of that area.  The dancing was awesome and I loved the messages of the importance of community, finding one’s place and ultimately, discovering home.

It’s playing at Orange County Performing Arts Center through this weekend and there are half price tickets available still through Goldstar.com.

Here is their 2008 Tony performance and a cool video the cast did to make one 10 year old fan’s dream come true.  I love it!