Next to Normal 16 June 2011: Palace Theatre at Playhouse Square, Cleveland, Ohio
We were fortunate enough to have my oldest son, Mikee, up to visit with us last week. He is a huge fan of the theatre and all that goes with that world. And his favorite musical not so coincidentally was playing at the Palace Theatre the same week – Next to Normal.
Tracy and I had never seen the production and didn't know what to expect beyond it being a musical dealing with the very serious issue if mental illness. I think it's safe to say we were both blown away.
The show traces the emotional journey of a family trying to deal with a wife and mother who suffers from bipolar disorder (Diana, played by Kent State University grad Alice Ripley). Of the characters, my favorites were the husband/father (Dan) and the daughter (Natalie). The husband because I could relate to him – not because my wife or our family has been touched by this sickness, but because the struggle he endured trying to be that rock and maintain some kind of normal family structure is something with which I could identify.
The daughter was a heartbreaking character, treading delicately between scared girl and complete bitch. This balance was never more exposed than when you realized just how scared Natalie is – selfishly and honestly – at the realization that she could turn out just like her mom.
Among the various “Broadway Buzz” events Playhouse Square offers is Thursday night post-show chats with the cast. Immediately following the performance, we made our way down to the main floor for the dialog with the Emma Hunton (“Natalie”), Caitlin Kinnunen (understudy for “Natalie”), Pearl Sun (standby for “Diana”), Preston Sadleir (“Henry”), Bryan Perri (Musical Director), and Rachel Zack (Stage Manager). It was an interesting half-hour Q&A that theatre major Mikee ate up.
Next to Normal is not "feel good" theatre, having more in common with Spring Awakening and Rent than Mamma Mia! or Chicago. Not every Broadway musical is or needs to be a Mel Brooks or Disney adaptation. There is a place for this kind of serious and deeply sensitive art, and when done right it can hit every emotionally raw nerve while still being entertaining and satisfying.
Midday yesterday I tweeted that it was "Pretty much a perfect day so far."
Tracy and I took the day off work to hang out with the kiddo and my oldest son, Mikee, who's been visiting this week.
We went out for a late breakfast at First Watch, and while there Tracy and I ordered tickets to take my father-in-law to go see Tony Bennett this Fall.
Then it was off to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, where we spent a few hours of the gorgeous day marveling at the Blue Heron rookery and hiking the Ledges, the Octagon, and Brandywine Falls. Refreshingly cool under the canopy of trees and among rock formations that were moved into place by glaciers hundreds of thousands of years ago, we couldn’t have asked for better weather.
Country Maid Ice Cream was all that we needed for lunch – kid’s-sized chocolate peanut butter scoop in a cake cone, thankyouverymuch!
We made a couple of stops on the way back to the house, and I snuck in a quick nap while everyone was getting cleaned up for dinner and the evening.
Then it was fabulous sushi at House of Hunan on the square in Medina that was accidentally but perfectly timed with getting to the theater in time for the 6:40 screening of Super 8.
After the movie, the boys discovered the Star Wars marathon on Spike, while Tracy wrapped some Father's Day gifts, and I began capturing my thoughts on seeing Next to Normal the night before and Super 8 that night.
Yesterday felt like a whole weekend in one day, but never rushed or over-planned. We rolled with each other and the weather and were rewarded with a perfect day. They can't all be, but yesterday was.
The last photo I recently uncovered from the series is the Olde Dixie Fried Chicken restaurant sign. From what I can tell, the restaurant is still around. And from street level, it appears the sign has been fully restored.
It’s easy to see from a quick Google Maps search that the building that once housed Arnold Paint & Wallpaper still exists, but the sign is gone, the façade’s been painted, and the space looks empty. That’s too bad.
In our basement cleaning, I uncovered more of the vintage Orlando sign pictures I snapped back in 1998. The ones I originally blogged about two years ago (found here, here, here, and here) were the ones I had framed and on display at various times in our homes over the years. These few that I recently found are the cast-offs that didn’t click for me, but I figured they deserve an audience here.
First up is the Mills & Nebraska Lumber sign. Originally located at the corner of (you guessed it) Mills Avenue and Nebraska Street, from what I can tell on Google Maps, it looks like the whole place has been razed, but here’s a picture of the sign from 13 years ago.
I’ve had the Limousines’ Get Sharp in heavy rotation since picking it up at the show a week ago. I’m digging on the whole album, but one track in particular, “Flaskaboozendancingshoes”, is unstoppable.
I find myself listening to that track more than the others. It’ll finish, and I’ll touch replay before I even realize what I’m doing. So I finally had to sit up and pay attention to the song, listen actively and try to figure out its appeal for me. And I think I finally got to the bottom of it. I don’t know if anyone else would ever join the dots in the same way I did, but the reason I love this song is because there are echoes of the Cure’s “A Few Hour After This...”
In the simplest terms, like that Cure b-side that I hold in the highest regard, “Flaskaboozendancingshoes” is all at once musically sweeping and lyrically playful. Multi-instrumentalist Giovanni Giusti employs lush horns and chiming keyboards giving the song an aural fullness. It’s as if every nook and cranny of the song’s three minutes and 18 seconds is overflowing with a rich beauty that wraps itself around your brain.
Songwriter Eric Victorino’s tongue-in-cheek lyrics counter the music perfectly. The singer allows his imagination to run away from him as he projects where a club hookup might lead years down the road, from moving to the suburbs and giving their future kids “hippie names,” to “shitty sex in separate beds” and restraining orders.
There’s an innocence to the way the story builds and subtly spirals, until our hero realizes what’s happening and overcorrects, eventually finding the perfect balance between the potential of the relationship and the need to be in the moment. Ultimately deciding “I’ll just be me and you be you, two perfect strangers being sneaky with a flask of booze,” he tells her “I’ve got a stack of records, you just bring your dancing shoes.”
“Flaskaboozendancingshoes” is a near-perfect quirky pop song, resonating with my ‘80s nostalgia while bopping along with decidedly new millennial sensibilities.
Neon Trees 27 May 2011: House of Blues, Cleveland, Ohio
Tracy emailed me while I was on the road last week about the Neon Trees show at the House of Blues. She usually goes to her "new alternative" shows with her friend Betsy, but Betsy was unavailable and the tickets were only $8, so I offered to go with her. I figured after being out of town for a few days I couldn't beat that price for an evening out with my wife and the chance to hear some new music.
The last few shows we've been to at the House of Blues have been general admission, including the balcony seating. I don't know if that is their policy across the board now, but it's great. We arrived after eight, and the first opening act, Eastern Conference Champions, were already playing. The trio finished out their short set with all three of them drumming like mad when vocalist/keyboardist Josh Ostrander and bassist Melissa Dougherty joined Greg Lyons on his kit for an all-drum finale.
After a short break, the second of the three bands I'd never previously heard took the stage – The Limousines. Just by virtue of being two guys and a synthesizer, they immediately endeared themselves to me. Although they live somewhere between '80s synthpop giants like Erasure and Pet Shop Boys, and new millennia electronica superstars Daft Punk, they are worthy of that mantle by merging it all and spitting it back out as indietronica.
Live, there is a healthy dose of '90s Prodigy energy in the mix as well. While songwriter and vocalist Eric Victorino treads expected but not unwelcome frontman territory, it’s great to see multi-instrumentalist Giovanni Giusti break the stoic Vince Clark/Chris Lowe mold and rock out on stage among his computers and keyboards and iPads and drums! The duo push pop music to its logical next step with catchy-as-hell, incisive tracks like the “Internet Killed the Video Star” and “Very Busy People” singles. Hip-swayingly ironic without being fake, “Internet” announces “The kids are disco dancing; they’re tired of rock and roll. Don’t bother telling them that drum machine ain’t got no soul.” “Very Busy People” is a blissfully self-aware Millennium Generation anthem about ending up “numb from playing video games,” empty pizza boxes, and Donnie Darko. Other highlights of the set were “Dancing at Her Funeral”, “Flaskaboozendancingshoes” (perhaps my favorite of the night), and “Wildfires,” all off their 2010 debut Get Sharp.
Discovering the Limousines made the entire night worthwhile, and inevitably meant I was going to be let down by Neon Trees no matter what they did to try and win me over. While I appreciate Neon Trees’ message and understand why my wife digs them, they just weren’t my cuppa. But it was easy to sit back and enjoy the clearly devoted fanbase’s enthusiasm, including my wife’s need to dance.
One of the nice things about shows at the House of Blues is that more often than not the bands will be out in the lobby after their sets and after the show to meet fans and hang out. It was great to meet Eric and Giovanni from the Limousines and talk with them a little bit about their influences and thank them for a great show. Neon Trees were also out after the show, and Tracy wanted to meet them, so we waited in line for the opportunity to have them sign her ticket. There was a moment while Tracy was meeting the band that really struck me – it seemed to embody the coolness of the Neon Trees’ lead singer, Tyler Glenn. I was just hanging back behind Tracy while she was meeting the band. Not being a fan of the music or having any idea who the members of the band were, I simply didn’t have anything to say to them. But Tyler noticed me and, probably assuming I was a star-struck fan who didn’t know how to break the ice, reached out his hand to shake mine, thanked me for coming and hoped I’d had a good time. Although a bit of mistaken identity, I thought that was a really cool thing for him to do. And if I actually was that tongue-tied fan he assumed I was, his simple gesture would have made my night. Instead, he earned my respect.
On the whole, it was $16 well-spent… I discovered three new bands, one of which really got me excited. I got to chat with the various bands, hang out with my wife, and revel in her enjoyment. I call that a good night.
We were fortunate enough to have my oldest son, Mikee, up to visit with us last week. He is a huge fan of the theatre and all that goes with that world. And his favorite musical not so coincidentally was playing at the Palace Theatre the same week – Next to Normal.
Posts
