Archive for broadway
March 28, 2008 at 6:41 pm · Filed under dance, musical theater, broadway, MATTHEW
After a few months away from the cultural landscape of New York (while I was home in Montana) I’ve made my return to the city by devouring as much as possible. In the past two weeks alone, I’ve gone to four Broadway shows and am pleased to report that dance is thriving on Broadway.
Of the four shows I saw (In the Heights, Cry Baby, Young Frankenstein, and Rent), three are new this season and two in particular are worth high praise. First and foremost is the fantastic new musical “In the Heights.” Set up towards the top of the subway map in NYC’s Washington Heights, the musical is a joyous merging of Latin, Hip-Hop, and Broadway sensibilities.
There are many things to praise in the show, including the stellar cast (full of Broadway newcomers), and the music, which practically blows the roof off of the theater number after number. However, the thing that really blew me away was the choreography. Andy Blankenbuehler has given Broadway what it has so desperately needed over the past few years: character driven choreography that honors Broadway pizzazz but transplants it to the 21st century. From the moment the lights go down, the dancers (with six pack abs to rival Janet Jackson’s) immerse themselves in different styles to thrilling results. I can’t recommend this show highly enough. Check out my full review here.
[kml_flashembed movie="http://www.youtube.com/v/EAKTjmltvDo" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]
(One of the biggest dance numbers from
In the Heights, called “96,000.”)
Last night I had the chance to catch a preview of the new musical “Cry Baby.” Adapted from the John Waters movie of the same name, it attempts to capitalize on the success of “Hairspray,” to mixed results.
The overwhelming thought I had while watching (from the front row) was “it’s cute.” The songs are mostly successful mergers of 50’s rock (the show is set in 1950’s Baltimore) with a healthy dose of John Waters’ twisted mind in the lyrics. Even though the show didn’t win me over entirely, there was no denying Rob Ashford’s fantastic choreography.
I knew that my friends Lisa Gajda and Nick Blaemire’s presence in the chorus signaled a dance heavy show, but I had no idea just how prevalent the dancing would be. In true John Waters fashion, it’s sexually charged, humorous choreography, but most of all it is technically demanding.
My first thought during one of the large dance numbers was that it was EVIL. Doing eight shows a week is hard enough, but with that choreography it must be hell on their bodies. At the same time, it must be so much fun to dance.
Ashford pulls out all the Broadway stops (even doing an entire tap number with license plates as taps on the boys’ feet at one point) and I was happy to see Broadway choreography that was both entertaining and challenging; I often feel like the audience gets one or the other.
Despite my reservations with parts of each show, I couldn’t be more pleased to return to New York and see dance thriving on the Broadway stage.
(Hanging out with my friend Nick afterward, who is not only making his Broadway debut in “Cry Baby,” but the show he wrote the music for “Glory Days,” is opening on Broadway next month! WHAT?! Blog interview coming soon!)
Recent Posts by matthew
September 15, 2007 at 7:57 pm · Filed under dance, theatre, matt murphy, teacher, broadway, MATTHEW, matthew murphy, broadway dance center
A fire has been lit inside Judy Rice, and I can warn you that it’s only getting started. When I sat down for lunch with Ms. Rice the other day, I saw a woman who was transformed. You see, Rice was one of my very first ballet teachers, so I’ve known her for quite some time. She used to come to Montana every summer when I was just a young boy who could barely plie and thought that a battement was a creature that lived in the mountains by my house. It goes without saying that Judy played a key role in my passion and development with ballet from the start.
In a strange turn of events, my best friend ended up at the University of Michigan where Judy has held a post on the dance faculty for the past 17 years. Suddenly I had more reason than ever to journey to Ann Arbor and even though my nights were spent with friends, my days were spent under the watchful eye of this incredible teacher. Now in an even more exciting turn of events, Judy Rice has arrived in New York City to take a job on the faculty at Broadway Dance Center.
Words cannot even begin to express what an exciting event this is for the dance and theater community. Rice has a passion that is unrivaled in her teaching and an eye like a hawk. She claims she’s been likened to Jaws, that famous shark who creeps around in the water to attack one minute and go under the next. Yet nothing about Rice’s teaching habits ever seem ferocious. From the moment you meet her, you can tell she cares personally for every student in class. Some teachers struggle giving individual attention without neglecting the rest of class but Rice excels in giving each and every dancer personal attention that seems like private coaching. Her years of teaching experience across the US, highly successful video and CD series “Behind Barres,” and training in National Ballet of Canada followed by a career with Joffrey are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to her immense talent.
Part of what sets Rice’s class apart, from my viewpoint, is the incredible mix of students that it encompasses. Not only will you find Broadway professionals (she’s responsible for training Tony Nominee Gavin Creel, among MANY other hotshots) but you will find professional dancers and others who haven’t danced in years. One thing that her class never lacks is a sense of invigorating energy and fun. Armed with a witty sense of humor and her ever watchful eyes, she has everyone laughing yet never doing anything but their hardest work. This is such an incredible attribute and part of what has always drawn me to Judy. Some teachers intimidate dancers to the point of submission but Judy only provokes a work ethic that you may not even know exists before you set foot into her room.
I, for one, couldn’t be happier that she is here. One thing that can be especially difficult with dancing professionally is the difference in personal attention from that which you receive during school. Just because you have a contract under your belt doesn’t mean that suddenly the work stops. In fact, personal attention should only multiply but due to the insane schedules of company life, it is nearly impossible to replicate that schooling you were once accustomed to. Every dancer has a certain teacher who they gravitate to and finding someone you feel comfortable with is a deeply personal and sometimes difficult task full of hits and misses. However, I feel 100% confident recommending that everyone go and try Judy Rice’s class at Broadway Dance Center. As soon as I’m healthy I will be there in a heartbeat. Rice’s class has a way of changing you, as my friends will attest to. After I returned home from my first Michigan trip in 2005, they all noticed that I had a newfound excitement for dancing. Perhaps I was mistaken when I said a fire had been lit within her, because Judy is simply on fire and she’s busy lighting the fire within everyone else. The city obviously agrees with her and I can’t wait to see what the next year holds in store.
Judy Teaches M/W/F @ 10:30am and T/Thu @ 9am.
Check out Broadway Dance Center for more info.
Recent Posts by matthew
September 15, 2007 at 8:45 am · Filed under tour, travel, vacation, SANDI, snow, camelot, california, broadway, alaska
Not that I’ve been missed! So many wonderful contributors have so much interesting stuff to post.
I’m all done with Camelot.Though I have had enough of playing a tambourine on a rock, the tour continues, Starring Lou Diamond Phillips and many of my good friends from the last leg, so if it comes to your city, go see!
I’m trying to get back into real life after spending so much of the last two years on tour. I miss my Camelot friends so much. I took a quick trip to Los Angeles this weekend to see the beautiful and very talented Rachel York debut her cabaret. Rachel was our beautiful Guenevere. Monica, Rachel and I were a terrible trio on tour. (and shouldn’t my name somehow be Phoebe?)
Here’s me, Monica and Rachel after her show!She was amazing.
Right after the tour my Auntie and I took an amazing vacation to Vancouver and took a 7 day cruise to Alaska. It was unbelievable. And I took hundreds of pictures, but I’ll spare you. Here are a few highlights.
The marina from the Stanley park seawall in Vancouver.
We took a helicopter and walked on a glacier. Here’s a tiny leaf frozen in the beautiful blue ice
Calving glacier in Glacier bay. We got so close, and it was one of the most amazing days.
One more glacier bay picture. I highly recommend a trip to Alaska- I want to go back and explore more. This was dream trip for my Auntie (surrogate mom) and myself.
And now… Back to the grind! Went to a few auditions and there were 300 girls there! Help! 
Recent Posts by sandi degeorge
September 6, 2007 at 3:49 pm · Filed under backstage, dance, lincoln center, video, DAVID, 890 broadway, japan, city, nyc, dancebloggers, paris, abt, broadway, blogging, american ballet theatre, MATTHEW, matthew murphy
I’ve been sitting at my computer for a few tense hours minutes trying to think of a way to introduce myself on The Winger. Even though I’ve been blogging on my own site for a while now, for some reason I was struck with a bit of writers block when it came time to post here. I’d like to take a minute to thank Kristin for letting me join her growing global family (and even out the Lincoln Center scales a LITTLE.) You see, it was because of Kristin’s website that I began taking blogging seriously. David had mentioned it to me when he became interested and other than a few random (and slightly pathetic) MySpace blogs about my feelings, I hadn’t spent much time blogging before I came across this lovely site.
So after a few minutes of writers block, it hit me that I still hadn’t responded to a fellow blogger’s (Winger regular Tonya) tag to share 8 Interesting Facts About Myself. “Interesting” is a quite generic and loose word which almost automatically makes my facts look boring, but I’ll give it a try. Perhaps it will give readers a chance to get to know me (as if “Ranting Details” isn’t personal enough) before I start blogging up a storm here!
1. I am extremely proud of my Montana upbringing.
There are very few dancers that hail from Big Sky country, and even though I was born in New York City, I still consider myself a Montanan at heart. I spent my formative years there before heading off to High School at NCSA and made life long friends that I miss more with each passing day. On top of genuinely nice people, crazy wildlife (we would often have bears walking through my neighborhood), and INCREDIBLE scenery, how often do you get to see a sunset like this?!
2. The only other place I can see myself living soon is Paris.
After visiting Europe for the first time in February (fellow Winger Evan even visited our class), I immediately decided I would live in Paris at some point in my life. The architecture is incredible, the art is overwhelming and the croissants…well, I could live on them (in fact I did which is perhaps why I got mono.)
3. I’m also oddly obsessed with Japan.
My first trip out of the country was with ABT when we went to Japan a few summers ago and it was life changing. Much of Japan feels like being in the heart of Times Square except in “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.” Everything is so overwhelming, from the mobs of people to the neon lights. I ended up having a rather Asian themed apartment and have a “wall of crap” that contains MANY Japanese toys. One of my favorite posters is an old Japanese movie poster I bought right by these incredible lotus lily pads (?) pictured below. I will always have a special place in my heart for Japan and will never forget wandering around completely lost in the winding streets. We also had an infamous night at a club called GasPanic on our last night in Tokyo, where we didn’t get back to the hotel until 5am. The subways shut down at midnight and don’t open until 5am so we just kept exploring. Too many memories to share in one post.
4. I am constantly in awe of my family.
Being in a family of artists can be difficult at times but I realize I would NEVER be where I am without my family. My father was an actor, my mother a dancer and they both teach now. My sister is also an INCREDIBLE tap dancer (pictured with me below.) All of them push me to reach for more in my art and look beyond the regular and for that I’m eternally thankful.
5. I’m a TOTAL musical theater dork.
Perhaps the most embarrassing fact about me, but true nonetheless. Instead of Sesame Street, I listened to Sondheim as a child and would kill to have dinner with him. One of my favorite things to do in the city is go see shows and prove to people that musical theater isn’t always fluffy nonsense (although a lot of times it is and what’s wrong with that?!) Fortunately, some of my best friends go to school at University of Michigan for Musical Theater so I will get to watch them on stage soon. The picture below is with two of my closest friends, Michael Lowney and Jessica Hershberg who you will see on a Broadway stage in the near future. Perhaps we are acting out a 21st century version of “The Telephone Hour” from Bye, Bye, Birdie?
6. I almost didn’t join ABT.
When I was at NCSA I was offered a contract with Studio Company during my sophomore year but before that I was rather convinced that I would try to go to City Ballet. Melissa Hayden represented that side of my training while Warren Conover took the ABT side, so I loved parts of both companies. The way things fell into place, I ended up at 890 and my jaw dropped to the floor. I still have moments when I have to pinch myself when I look around the room at who is dancing.
(One of my favorite pictures ever with Craig Salstein, Jeff Golladay, and Marcelo Gomes.)
(Me with fellow Winger and best friend extraordinaire, David Hallberg. This is turning into “The many hairstyles of Matt Murphy.” I’ll refrain from the bowl cut I sported my whole adolescence.)
(At the end of the night after my first gala with fellow dancers in 2004.)
7. I can’t drive.
Ugh, I took my first lesson (with Nick and my sister Carson) this past weekend and it was comedic to say the least. Being a dancer prohibited me from ever having time to learn! The following video might scare you…
8. I wrote the screenplay for “American Beauty,” and won an Oscar for it.
Okay, so I lied. I was running out of “interesting” things about myself. It’s one of my favorite movies though…I guess that’s a fact.
Now who do I get to tag? Perhaps I’ll share the love with 8 fellow Wingers? Chosen at random, since I don’t know many of you! Let’s see if everyone can join in and we can get to the know the dancers that much more!
David, Kristin, Cathy, Susan, Carla, Benny, David B., and Candice.
Recent Posts by matthew
July 15, 2007 at 6:44 am · Filed under backstage, travel, washington dc, friends, theatre, cities, SANDI, musical theater, performing, broadway
Posted by Sandi DeGeorge
We’re outside as well!
I can totally identify with the NYCB dancers’ experience at Saratoga as we are performing Camelot at Wolftrap center for the performing arts outside of Washington D.C. Here Rachel soundchecks.
This is my second time performing in an outdoor venue in a huge musical. We did Dr. Dolittle last summer at Kansas City Starlight. What do these two venues have in common? It’s HOT!
BUT, that said, it’s amazingly fun and cool to think your performance is just kinda going off into the universe. Today was the first time I did a matinee in daylight. That is so weird. It really made me appreciate lighting design! How the lights really help the audience focus- and how we are so used to blackouts to transition. So strange to just enter and exit new scenes in full light. The Audiences here have been so wonderful. We also got a tour of the capital building courtesy of Senator Sam Brownback of Kansas- whom one of our cast members met on the plane.
I had no idea that there were frescoes in the U.S. Capital building!And a handpainted italian marble floor worth about $50 Million!
Monica, Rachel and I (am I on Friends? ) took a walk to the Lincoln memorial after a show- so beautiful.
We also rented a canoe and went rowing on the Potomac.. FUN!
Next stop is Pittsburgh- and our closing!!! I won’t be re-joining the tour when it starts again in September. Back to the grind in NY for me! I will miss my tour friends so much. Unlike NYCB, I don’t know if I’ll ever get to work with these people again. And almost our entire cast is based out of LA, with me in NY.
Recent Posts by sandi degeorge
Recent Posts by sandi degeorge
May 27, 2007 at 7:19 am · Filed under SUSAN, SANDI, broadway
Rhymes with Camelot! (For Sandi. 
Thought of you when I saw this.)
Recent Posts by susan kim
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