theatre

i love theatre with my entire heart, specifically musicals. i'm very passionate about the backstage aspects like set design, costumes, and stage management. here's a list of the musicals i've seen, both on broadway and locally!

newsies - june 30, 2019

at the count basie center for the arts

one of my favorite musicals, and every actor here did an amazing job! my most vivid memory of this performance was during bows, when crutchie's actor waved a pride flag tied to the crutch.

beetlejuice - august 21, 2019

at the winter garden theatre

i believe i saw the full original cast, sadly the cast replacement paper has been lost to time.

what an amazing magical and emotional show!! i'd been a fan of the musical for a while, it was even my special interest! i had so much fun. leslie kritzer signed my playbill at the stage door and i had the chance to give her a poster i'd made for the fanart wall. alex brightman came out with his adorable dog but didn't have the time to sign.

other beetlejuice playbills

i've bought two special playbills online that have alternate art! both were signed by alex brightman, and the first was signed by sophie ann caruso as well. very lucky i got to add these to my playbill collection!

back to the future - november 19, 2023

at the winter garden theatre

george mcfly played by will branner
jennifer parker played by hannah kevitt
3-D played by samuel gerber
kevitt's ensemble roles played by gabi stapula

this was a very unique theatre experience, at least for me. i bought tickets at a discount through my college as part of a trip. i went along with my friend who adores the bttf movies, which i've only seen a few times. because the tickets were so cheap, i wanted to go in completely spoiler-free (at least music-wise— the musical follows very closely to the plot of the first movie) and didn't look at anything related to the show before we went.

it was incredible! the special effects were amazing and the set design was incredible, i cannot convey it in words. the story and songs were great too. there were a few changes from the movie to streamline everything and make it a more "emotional" story, for lack of a better word.

i was very excited for will branner's george, as i'd watched him as max in nerdy prudes must die. his vocals were amazing and every day i wish for a recording of his songs. he played a very good "pathetic wet blanket of a man" and his lisp/stutter was very cute.

unfortunately, the college bus' schedule didn't make time for us to stagedoor, but we were able to sneak a few minutes in before we rushed back. we got our playbills signed by merritt david janes and jj niemann, who were both very kind!