Boy, it looks like the holiday theater season is off with a bang here in New York! There are crowds everywhere! It was freezing out and the TKTS line was still super long! And when we went to buy tickets at the box office for Woman in White, we got the last two orchestra seats! Very good seats mind you, row E, 16 and 18.

One of the three reasons I really wanted to see the show was because Richard Todd Adams is in the ensemble and u/s for Sir Percival Glyde (the really nasty villan). This is his Broadway debut and it must be so cool for him to see his name in the program and on the poster outside the theater. Congrats Rick! He is also listed in the program as "The Con Man" and he does a great job as a decrepit Londoner with straggly hair who gives bad advice to Marian Halcombe.

The second reason was to see Maria Friedman who plays Maria Halcombe.

She originated the role in the West End and has a list of credentials a mile long (an unprecedented three Olivier Awards). But for me, it was viewing the Donny Osmond's Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat DVD a thousand times with the kids where I first got to appreciate Maria's talents. She played the narrator and boy could she belt out those high notes! She really has a great voice, and such a strong, captivating stage presence. And the girl can act. I'd see her again in a heartbeat.

The third reason was to see the projections by William Dudley (he did set, costume and video design). Wow. Ever. Cool. It's like watching live theater IMAX! The scenes change so seamlessly and you really get a sense of the setting. It's very cool the way the doors in the curved walls (upon which the visuals are projected) line up with projected doors. We're so used to seeing movies, that you are immediately drawn into the visuals as being the real background. At first I thought they were just going to use projections but as the show went on, more and more set pieces and props popped up. But I kinda liked it best when there weren't any sets, just the projections. There is a scene at the end where the special effects actually got applause, and then a bit of laughter...like the audience felt a little sheepish for applauding SFX!

Boy, could I ever see this technique being used for Plane Crazy! I want 3D projections so everyone wears glasses while they watch and you see the airplane landing right on top of you!

Now it's on to Sweeney Todd and Jersey Boys...(if I can get a ticket!)

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