Finally, a role of her own

I so was thrilled when I read this sentence in Ben Brantley's New York Times review of the musical Fela!, which opened on Broadway last night:

"Saycon Sengbloh shimmers as the seductress who introduces Fela to Marx and the American black-power movement."

She shimmers!

Now that I've been going to Broadway shows for a few years, it's great to see actors and actresses whose performances I loved work their way up the food chain.

I can remember as clearly as if it happened yesterday walking up to the Broadway Theatre with Steve on Broadway on the day we finally met after months of e-mailing. It was July 22, 2007, and we going to see The Color Purple with Fantasia, who'd gotten great reviews.

Unfortunately, Fantasia was out that day. I was a bit disappointed until Steve found out that Saycon Sengbloh would be playing the role of Celie. He told me he'd seen her in Wicked and she was terrific.

Well, Steve was right. I was so moved by her performance in The Color Purple. In May, I saw Sengbloh in Hair. And next month, I'll be in the audience at Fela!

(In this New York Daily News story, she talks about how she's known her Fela! costar Sahr Ngaujah since they were teenagers in Atlanta.)

Until now Sengbloh, who made her Broadway debut in Aida in 2003, has never done what I imagine every Broadway performer dreams of doing - create a role.

Congratulations, Saycon. As Celie would say, you are definitely here.

Theatre that's not for a 10 year old

Now I know why children end up at musicals that are way long for their attention span and way too mature to hold their interest.

I got an e-mail a few days ago from BosTix, which offers reduced-price tickets to Boston-area arts events, about the national tour of The Color Purple. The show begins its two-week stand at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center tonight.

I was surprised that BosTix was advertising the musical as "appropriate for ages 10 and up." So I checked out the tour's Web site and found this advisory: "The Color Purple may be inappropriate for children 10 and under."

Maybe I'm out of touch with the maturity level of kids these days but I think 10 or 11 is way too young to see this show. It deals with some pretty somber themes - including child abuse, domestic violence and incest.

I enjoyed The Color Purple when I saw it on Broadway and I think it would be fine for a high school student - but not a 10-year-old. Plus, I just can't see it holding the attention of a child that young for 2 1/2 hours.

There are so many musicals that are much more appropriate for kids in that age range, and they'd enjoy them a whole lot more. I would rather have a child's introduction to the theatre be something that will amaze and enthrall them.

So if you really want to see The Color Purple, my advice is to get a babysitter and leave the 10-year-olds at home. The Lion King is coming to Boston in February. Wait and take them to that instead. I guarantee you they'll have a better time.

Cast of Hair grows longer

Another day, another snowstorm. I might as well be living in Syracuse again, the city that once proudly proclaimed "We're snow king!" Okay, it's not quite that bad. But I do need some good news to cheer me up and keep me thinking about spring.

The producers of Hair have been announcing new cast members for the Broadway revival every day this week. I have to admit that I've never heard of most of them but today's list includes a familiar name: Saycon Sengbloh. I saw Sengbloh as Celie in The Color Purple, when she went on as an understudy for Fantasia. It can't be easy to go on stage in place of a performer you know most people have come to see, but I thought she was wonderful. Her transformation over the course of the musical was absorbing to watch and so moving.

She'll be reprising her role from this summer's production of Hair in Central Park, an event that I could kick myself for missing. She'll play Abraham Lincoln, be part of the White Boys Trio and a member of the tribe.

All of Sengbloh's Broadway credits thus far have replacement or understudy or standby next to them. So I'm glad this gracious and talented actress will be part of a Broadway show's original cast for the first time. (Okay, I know it's a revival, but you know what I mean!)

I'm already excited about Hair because I love the songs and I love the 1960s but this is another reason to look forward to a trip to Broadway in the spring. The musical begins previews March 6 at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre and opens March 31.

Taking my shows on the road

I've been eagerly anticipating the announcement of next season's shows at the Providence Performing Arts Center. I knew it would be my first chance to see on tour some of the musicals I've loved on Broadway, and be able to compare the two. But of all the musicals in all the world why oh why does it have to be Legally Blonde that opens its national tour in Providence in September?

I saw Legally Blonde on MTV last fall and I was underwhelmed. I liked the catchy opening number: "Omigod You Guys," but the rest of it I thought was nothing special. Reese Witherspoon's personality was a large part of what made the 2001 movie work for me, and while Laura Bell Bundy was good, I didn't find her nearly as perky, witty and engaging.

Plus, I'd read about the offensive nature of the "is he gay or European?" courtroom scene and when I finally saw it, well it was cringe-worthy. (You know, before Broadway lyricists or Jay Leno start making gay people the butt of their jokes, I wish they'd substitute blacks or Jews or any other group of people and see whether it's still funny.)

Ok, lets see what's up next: Grease. Well, it is coming in early December, and if I don't have anything else to do that Sunday afternoon, I'll consider going. Or maybe not. The lukewarm to negative reviews of the current Broadway revival haven't inspired me to see it, even if it is playing to 98 percent capacity at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre. I've seen the movie, and that's probably enough.

But don't shed any tears for me yet - things are looking up in early 2009 when Fiddler on the Roof, A Chorus Line, Spring Awakening and The Color Purple will stop by in February, March, April and May. I love the music and the stories of all four shows and I definitely recommend them.

In fact, A Chorus Line was the first Broadway musical I ever saw on stage. It was in Boston, probably in the fall of 1977, although I'm a little hazy on the date. A few months ago, I listened to the Broadway cast CD for the first time in a long time, and I'd forgotten how genuinely moving it was to hear these dancers tell their stories and talk about their dreams. I'm really looking forward to seeing the show again.

And I will actually get to see Fiddler on stage in English with Chaim Topol as Tevye, the same actor I saw in the role in Tel Aviv in Hebrew in 1998. I'll be able to say that I've seen an actor play the same role in two different countries, in two different languages on two different continents in two different centuries. How cool is that!

It's fitting that The Color Purple is coming right afterward. Ever since I saw it last summer I've thought about how it compares with Fiddler. Both are stories of close-knit, deeply religious communities that endure oppression and must face a hostile outside world. It's the kind of musical that can be difficult to watch at times - it deals unflinchingly with issues of domestic violence and racism. But the story of an unloved and abused girl's transformation to a self-confident, successful woman is such a heartfelt journey. I'd encourage everyone to see it.

And Spring Awakening, wow! I love the rock 'n' roll score, the imaginative staging of numbers like "The Bitch of Living." The story, about teenage anxiety and burgeoning sexuality in 19th century Germany, was a little predictable, but I have to tell you, I was crying at the end. Its youthful cast demonstrated incredible energy. This is the one show I can say that I saw with it's original Broadway cast. I'll be waiting to see if I feel the same way about it on tour. I wonder whether they'll have on-stage seating?

Other shows that I'm looking forward to next season include a musical version of the sitcom Happy Days, in January, and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, in March. I loved the 1968 movie of CCBB as a kid. The stage version was launched in London in 2002 and opened on Broadway in 2005, where it only played for 285 performances. And I know Happy Days so well from the television show that aired from 1974 to 1984. The musical, with songs by Paul Williams, had a run last fall at New Jersey's Papermill Playhouse.

One I'll always remember

As my friend Steve was first to confirm this morning, The Color Purple is ending its Broadway run on Feb. 24. For me, it's kind of sad news. This is the first closing that's hit me personally. Sometimes a show is memorable because of the circumstances in which you see it, and that's certainly true in this case.

The Color Purple was the first show that Steve and I saw together - the Broadway Theatre, on Broadway, with Steve on Broadway. What a great combination! And I still can't believe that even though we bought our tickets weeks apart, we somehow ended up sitting right next to each other. It was fate, or the unseen hand of Oprah, or a little of both. Either way, we were meant to see that show, on that night in July, together.

I remember watching The Late Show with David Letterman the night he had Oprah as a guest. At the end of the show, on Dec. 1, 2005, he escorted her next door, to the Broadway Theatre, for the opening night of the The Color Purple. I never dreamed that someday I'd be in the audience at The Late Show, have my own escort to the Broadway Theatre, and thanks to Steve, my very own opening night Playbill.

Even though I missed out on seeing Fantasia that evening, I saw a wonderful understudy take on the role of Celie, Saycon Sengbloh. Best of all, that was the day I found my brother. How often do you leave the theater with a new sibling? Not often, I bet. It was the perfect ending to a perfect day. Thank-you Steve!

Apart from the personal connection, I think that The Color Purple is a powerful, moving work. It's got a very compelling main character in Celie. You watch this poor black girl, abused, insecure and unloved, grow into a confident, mature, successful woman. In the song "I'm Here," when Celie sings "I'm thankful for loving who I really am," you realize what a monumental journey you've just been on with her.

It also reminds me a little of Fiddler on the Roof for its portrayal of a close-knit community united by faith in the face of a hostile, bigoted world. And I admire playwright Marsha Norman, who adapted the book from Alice Walker's novel, for not soft-pedaling racism or sexism or domestic abuse.

Some scenes can be very difficult to watch. I had an especially hard time when Celie goes to jail to visit Sofia, played by NaTasha Yvette Williams, who's been beaten and imprisoned for punching the mayor, after refusing to go to work as his wife's maid.

I was struck by sentence in the liner notes for the Broadway cast recording: "Music is the best way we have to express our joy as human beings." Despite some very serious themes, The Color Purple is an uplifting work. The music and lyrics, by Brenda Russell, Allee Willis and Stephen Bray, are about joy and survival in the face of often terrible circumstances.

When Steve and I got to the theater, we saw a long line of people waiting to get their money back because Fantasia was out. I wish they would have stayed. I don't think The Color Purple needs a star. While I'm sad that the show is ending its Broadway run, I hope that it'll have a successful life on tour, and attract a diverse audience. It's not just an African-American story or a story that will only resonate with women. I think it's simply a great story.

Broadway, a blog and a brother

"I've heard it said that people come into our lives for a reason."

Sometimes, you just instantly connect with a song. I started to cry as soon as I heard that line from "For Good." I knew that there was one reason why I was sitting in a theater early in 2007 watching "Wicked" on tour and planning my first trip to Broadway - because one particular blogger had come into my life.

A few months before, I'd found Steve on Broadway while searching for information about "A Moon for the Misbegotten." (Regular readers of SOB will recognize those eyes!) Steve posted an item on the upcoming Broadway production and I sent him an e-mail asking a few questions. I told Steve that Kevin Spacey was one of my favorite actors, and I really wanted to see him in that play. "I'm delighted you found me," he wrote back.

Steve has never stopped being delighted to hear from me, whether it's through comments on his blog or numerous, sometimes lengthy, e-mails. Whenever I need to talk, and whatever I need to talk about, he's always there to listen and click on the reply button.

Like many bloggers, Steve writes about a topic that's not connected with what he does for a living. But he brings great skill, insight, dedication, enthusiasm and wit to the job, whether he's writing about his love for the theater, his love for this country and commitment to freedom of speech, or about the love of his life.

Steve on Broadway's comments section has been an outlet for my writing even when, as a novice theatergoer, I didn't have much to say. I've caught his enthusiasm for the unique power and emotion of a live performance, whether it's on Broadway, a local production or a national tour. Now, I have quite a bit to say!

Without Steve, this blog wouldn't exist. No matter how many times I told him I wasn't interested in starting one, he never stopped encouraging me, because he knew how much I loved to write. When I told him I'd finally decided to take the plunge, he even came up with the name, Gratuitous Violins. After I turned down his first half-dozen or so suggestions, most people would have given up and told me to find my own blog name. But not Steve.

When I started reading his blog, I'd never been to New York City for longer than an overnight stay, and I'd never seen a show on Broadway. Now, I can't get enough of the city. This fall, I'm planning my third trip there in six months. I've been in a Broadway audience 13 times, with more to come! One of those times was an unforgettable evening at "The Color Purple" with Steve by my side. We bought our tickets months apart, but fate was incredibly kind, and our seats ended up being right next to each other. Personally, I like to think it was the unseen hand of Oprah at work!

I've learned a lot about the theater over the past year, not just from Steve on Broadway, but from all the blogs on his list of daily reads. They each have their own distinctive voice and way of doing things. Some are just about the theater, and others delve into a variety of topics. I enjoy them all, and I'm glad to be among them. As Lt. Frank Cioffi, played by the talented and gracious David Hyde Pierce, says in "Curtains," it's an honor.

So Steve, thank-you for letting me borrow a song that I know holds a special place in your life. You've become my theater guide, my blogging mentor, my loyal friend, and best of all, my brother. And I am happy and fortunate and very proud to be your sister. Thank-you for welcoming me into your life. I'm here for good.