"Blog-way": Confessions of a Musical Theatre Nerd

Let's face it, I couldn't possibly have a Broadway blog without talking about Hamilton . With the borderline insane craze of Lin-Manuel Miranda's hit musical about Alexander Hamilton, I couldn't "throw away my shot" to give my own Free Thoughts on the Proceedings of the Continental Congress original Broadway album. I'm a history nerd. A big history nerd. In eighth grade, we watched the HBO miniseries John Adams , and I loved it. I watch period dramas, and then I look up the history behind the period dramas. Like I said, a history nerd. So when Broadway opened a musical about history, it was like my two favorite things, music and history, had gotten married. I fell in love with the songs instantly, and by the end of three hours, I found myself asking, "Why am I choked up over the Founding Fathers?" Notable Songs: Alexander Hamilton - In a stunning intro to a stunning musical, Miranda sets the stage for the rest of the musical. It gives a ...

When I was little, perhaps eight or nine years old, my dad made for my mom a compilation of her favorite old songs. I grew up with that mixtape playing in the car over and over, on repeat. One of the songs was the title song from The Phantom of the Opera. I remember the chill running down my spine when the familiar "Duuuuuun dun dun dun dun duuuuuun" blasted out of the stereo system (if you've seen the show, you'll know exactly what I'm referring to; if you don't, then listen the song and you'll find out). I would sing along every time, and at the end of the song, I would try to hit that insane E6 Sarah Brightman hits. Frankly, I don't know if I sang that note or screamed it, but either way, I think it matched most some of the time. Last winter, I was fortunate enough to see the show on Broadway. It was an impulse trip, but it was beyond worth it. Starring James Barbour and Rachel Zatcoff, the show completely blew me away. The entire cast was brill...