After nine weeks in the city, frustration with the box office, and anxiety about even getting a ticket, let alone one at a decent price, I finally found myself at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on Wednesday night to see the much hyped about, Tony Award winning star of the 2012-2013 Broadway season, Kinky Boots. Though I’d had the soundtrack for a while, I’d never really gotten around to listening to the entire thing (very unlike me and, as I’d learn, a huge mistake on my part) due to my newfound love of Pippin and, hence, it’s top place on my iPod for the past few weeks. However, knowing the cast, the story, and the big numbers, I was ecstatic yet a tad nervous that after it had been built up so much, it may not live up to the bar I had mentally set. And boy, was I completely and utterly wrong.
I’m not going to write a review, but Kinky Boots was spectacular. Everything from the book to the costumes to the unbelievably catchy songs to the undeniably talented cast was better than I hoped for, and every Tony it took home was more than well earned. I’m hesitant to say it has been my favorite show of the summer only because I fell in love with Pippin, as well. The two are so different that they are almost impossible to compare side-by-side, let alone pick between the two. Which, of course, for a Broadway fanatic like myself, is an amazing problem to have.
After crossing Kinky Boots and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike off the Broadway bucket list this week (and First Date last week), I sadly think my time in Broadway theatres is over for the summer. Fortunately, I made it to every show I hoped to see (with the exception of Matilda only because I’m seeing it December in London!), unfortunately, I’m dying to see about half of them again (and again and again). If moving to the city after graduation becomes a reality, the one thing I can guarantee that will help calm the nerves and anxiety of moving so far away will be that I can see as many Broadway musicals as often as I want (assuming I don’t go broke, first).
My internship continues to convince me that Broadway.com is where I want to be one day. This past week I continued to work hard and pitch ideas in our daily news meetings, and found myself once again on The Broadway.com show because of it. Getting to research and write about Broadway while co-anchoring on camera with reporters whose content I read and watch on a daily basis has been an absolute dream come true, and has continued to reinforce that my dream job is exactly where I’m interning right now.
The fact that it’s August is in itself very daunting. With August comes back to school, sorority rush, class and schoolwork, and the realization that a ten-week summer I’d been looking forward to, freaking out about and dreaming of for months flew by in the blink of an eye, and as cliché as it sounds, it is extremely bittersweet. In the meantime, however (it’s not over yet!), be on the lookout for a video recap of my incredible summer experience, and (hopefully) keep looking for me on Broadway.com.
-Wendi
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