Why you should watch a broadway play (or really, any kind of play)

I saw the broadway play Wicked several months ago. It was my first time watching a broadway play and let me tell you, the experience was wonderful. Wicked is a retelling of the story of Dorothy and the Wizard from the point of view of the Wicked Witch of the West. The songs were wonderful, the performance excellent and the writing tight.

Seriously, I think everyone should watch a play, broadway or off broadway. Theatre is a unique art form. Unlike the movies, actors and the production staff, get a chance to perform the play live in front of a live audience on a regular basis. This live performance aspect sets a whole new dynamic. For one, it shows how much work goes into producing that play. Every performance is an opportunity to make a mistake. Something might go wrong any moment so the actors have to really know their every line and the staff must be alert the whole time. I've seen a play or two that weren't so impressive but still, I can't help appreciate all the hard work that goes into it.

Also, theatre people don't get the kind of money that big budget movies do. And so you know that most people involve in a project are really there for the love of the art. I think that it wouldn't hurt to support this folks who are keeping such a wonderful art form a live.




It can change you. Or the more fancy word for it, it can be cathartic. There is something about the experience of watching plays that changes you. Because the action is so alive, so right in fron of you, the impact is stronger and more felt. I guess it has something to do with seeing the action unravel right in the flesh that one is able to connect more easily with characters and their stories.

As an art form, theatre allows for more freedom and experimentation that's often conducive to involving the audience in the story, in making them care about each character and what they're going through. In Wicked, the witch can move so close to the stage that we get to see every emotion, every tear, every movement. And of course, it's most effective when stories are deftly written, as it is so with Wicked.

So, go now and watch a play.

Below are the pictures of when I watched Wicked with Nikko and Claudia, friends from the Philippines and Brazil.

Here's Claudia.



We weren't allowed to take pictures. But since it hasn't started yet...



Map of the Emerald City.











This is the afternoon show and yet it was fully packed.



Final bow.



Look at the details in those costumes!



















Outside it started to snow a little. It was almost magical:)



Nikko and I then went to Queens to meet some Filipinos.




View from Roosevelt Island.



Goodnight everyone!