through my headphones

I am an avid theater fan, but do not (much to my disappointment) live near Broadway or the West End. Because of this, I am not able to see all of the shows I would like. And so, I've compiled a list of my favorites of the shows I've seen... and haven't seen.

Shows I've Seen:

The Crucible

This straight play is written by Aurthur Miller, the playwright of Death of a Salesman and once-husband of Marilyn Monroe. Inspired by Communist hunts and transformed to the Salem witch trials, The Crucible is completely heart-wrenching. It was also made into a film with Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder.

Chaplin

I was able to see this wonderful musical while it was on Broadway, which was a wonderful experience in itself. The show itself, however, managed to outshine the location. It featured lovely actors and actresses like Rob McLure (Chaplin) and Jenn Colella (Hedda Hopper). It shows a slightly adapted version of Chaplin's life, detailing his insane mother, film career, marital struggles, and his exile from America after Communist accusations. It's quite similar to the Chaplin film, in which the actor is portrayed by Robert Downey, Jr.

A Midsummer Night's Dream

This poetic tale is weaved by the one and only William Shakespeare, and has to be included. It's one of his better known plays, and has been played many different ways. The version I saw included a segment about a boy dreaming, probably in the early nineteen hundreds- making the text of the play legitimately a dream. The dialogue is witty and funny, and the cast I saw acted the script so well every word of it was completely understandable despite the "stigma" of Shakespeare. The 1999 film version has great actors such as Christian Bale (Demetrius), Stanley Tucci (Puck), and Michelle Pfeiffer (Titania).


Shows I Haven't Seen:

Love Never Dies

This is Andrew Lloyd Webber's sequel to The Phantom of the Opera, in which Christine, husband Raoul, and son Gustave travel to America. It involves Coney Island, reappearances of certain characters, and quite a lot of drama. And all of this, I've only gleaned from the musical score- which is just as amazing and intricate as Phantom's.

The Addams Family Musical

It's the traditional ghoulish and grim humor one might except of the Addams family, but in a musical. Wednesday has just come of age, and after that, everything begins to happen. She has invited a boy and his family to dinner- a semi-normal family from Ohio. I've been able to watch much of it online, and with an original cast containing Nathan Lane (Gomez) and Bebe Neuwirth (Morticia), it's absolutely hilarious.

It Had Prepared Me For So Many Things

Heather Vogel Frederick's The Mother Daughter Book Club series contained many lovely novel recommendations. I was thrilled when they read Jane Eyre, one of my favorites. Because of the series, I read Jean Webster's Daddy-Long-Legs, a wonderful story written entirely in letters. And even though the series has ended (and I have grown out of it), the books the girls read have stayed with me.

These books, however, steered me terribly wrong on one matter. It gave scathing reviews to The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, a book they had had to read in school. They thought it was much too flowery and wordy, and even their mothers didn't like it. However, I am reading The Scarlet Letter now. And while it is verbose, it is beautiful. The words are exactly the ones Hawthorne wanted, and it shows. Besides that, it is suspenseful. My questions, while not quite halfway through, are abundant. I am intrigued. 

(If you don't know anything about The Scarlet Letter, you might want to skip this paragraph.) Hawthorne makes the reader wonder: Who is Pearl's father? Why won't Hester say anything? Why is her husband so creepy? Why is he trying to learn all of deepest, darkest secrets of the young pastor? Why did Puritans automatically assume witchcraft and devilry was involved in everything they didn't understand?

In short, The Scarlet Letter is worth a recommendation. It's brilliantly crafted, a work of art. Hawthorne is a master writer, seemingly telling a story within the novel. Things like, "if accounts are to be believed" are included, so to almost make it seem like he's writing a history. Though it is a novel, it certainly seems like something that the Puritans could have been capable of doing. And, when put in perspective to Arthur Miller's The Crucible (which was based on fact), The Scarlet Letter seems even more plausible.