Broadway 2 A Day: 1985 - 1989 (Edwin Drood, Les Mis, Into the Woods, Phantom, Carrie)

Hi friends! I have officially listened to (or skipped through) an absurd amount of cast recordings (238) and this challenge is living up to its name at the moment!

I have been very busy with work, traveling, trying to maintain a social life, trying to focus on my mental health with therapy and ample time to rest - and I often feel like I don't have enough time in the day to do it all, especially this blog. But - I have come this far and I think it will be worth it in the end to have this comprehensive record of how I felt about these shows. 

Things are really picking up now in the 80s and we have a lot of hits, so let's dive in!

• The Mystery of Edwin Drood
• Have I heard of it before? Yes but only knew a couple songs
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, I would definitely go see this.
• Synopsis: The Mystery of Edwin Drood is a hilarious, interactive whodunit mystery musical that allows the audience to enter the action and become the ultimate detectives. The show is based on Charles Dickens’ unfinished novel of the same name. In small town of Chesterham, England, the young and charming Edwin Drood has been mysteriously murdered. But by whom? His leering romantic rival, John Jasper? The infamous purveyor of opium and vice, Princess Puffer? The mysterious Landless twins, newly arrived from Ceylon? Or someone else even more dastardly and villainous? Dickens passed away before he was able to reveal the culprit. Rupert Holmes’ award-winning musical solves this predicament by asking the audience to choose which character is the killer by putting it to a vote. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: The Writing on the Wall (Stephanie J. Block version)
• Me and My Girl
• Have I heard of it before? Sounds familiar, but no
• Did I enjoy it? It was a little boring, but a couple funny moments
• Synopsis: The show revolves around an unapologetically unrefined cockney gentleman named Bill who learns that he is the 14th heir to the Earl of Hareford. However, he will only receive his inheritance if Sir John and the Duchess approve of him. The Duchess feels that with a little grooming, Bill will be suitable to inherit the title – and the money. However, she insists that Bill break up with his cockney girlfriend, Sally. Bill refuses to accept the title if cannot keep Sally as his girl. Eventually, Sally is groomed to become more lady-like. Thus, Bill is allowed to inherit the title and keep his girl. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Thinking of No-One But Me
• Rags
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? It was okay, but it's no Ragtime 
• Synopsis: Rebecca Hershkowitz and her young son David arrive on the shores of America in 1910, hoping to find a better life than the one they left behind in Russia. However, New York City is not as welcoming to Jewish immigrants as Rebecca was hoping. A single mother in search of new opportunities, Rebecca finds a community of Jewish immigrants and other social outsiders who come together to find a sense of community in their new home. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Children of the Wind
• Smile
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? It was okay, this is the first show that really feels like the modern Jason Robert Brown-type music where every song is also almost speaking
• Synopsis: Smile chronicles the backstage troubles of the fictional 1985 California Young American Miss beauty pageant held in Santa Rosa, California. The main characters include Robin Gibson and Doria Hudson, two contestants who befriend and help each other throughout the week; Brenda DiCarlo Freelander, an ex-Young American Miss second-runner-up coordinating the pageant; and Brenda's husband Big Bob, an RV salesman trying to help her through the week. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Disneyland
• Stepping Out
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Nothing inherently wrong with it but I couldn't get into it
• Synopsis: Stepping Out is a warm and very funny play about the lives of a group of women (and one man) attending a weekly tap-dance class in a dingy North London church hall. As the play progresses, the class's dancing improves to such an extent that by the climax, a grand charity show performance, they have been transformed into triumphant tappers, worthy of any chorus line. (Guide to Musical Theatre)
• Favorite song: Quite
• The Mikado
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? No, I can't do anymore Gilbert and Sullivan
• Synopsis: As with many of Gilbert and Sullivan’s productions, the show satirizes aspects of Victorian Britain’s politics and aristocracy; in The Mikado, however, the duo cleverly cloaked these criticisms behind a charming story set not in Britain, but in exotic Japan. Nanki-Poo, the son of the Mikado (the Japanese emperor), has fled in disguise to avoid marrying a much older suitor, and to find and marry his own beloved, the beautiful Yum-Yum. Yum-Yum, however, is the ward of Ko-Ko, the lord high executioner, and has become betrothed to him against her will. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Overture
• Les Miserables
• Have I heard of it before? This show has been a staple in my life since I was a kid. I've been lucky to see it live as well. Don't ask me about the movie.
• Did I enjoy it? Always do
• Synopsis: One of the world’s most iconic and longest-running musicals, Les Misérables tells the story of Jean Valjean, a former convict who spends a lifetime seeking redemption. Set against the backdrop of 19th-century France and the aftermath of the French Revolution, this timeless story of intertwined destinies reveals the power of compassion and the quiet evil of indifference to human suffering. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Stars
• Starlight Express
• Have I heard of it before? Unfortunately. 
• Did I enjoy it? No. If you thought Cats was weird, good old Andy Webber also decided to sexualize trains for an entire musical. Yes, trains. Cats was only 5 years before this.
• Synopsis: A child’s train set magically comes to life while he sleeps and the various engines compete to become the “Fastest engine in the World!” The underdog, Rusty the Steam train, dreams of becoming the champion but he is belittled by Greaseball, an arrogant diesel train, and Electra, the new electric engine. Encouraged by Poppa, an aging steam train, he turns to the legend of the “Starlight Express” and begs for her help. With her assistance, Rusty realizes that he already has the power to win deep inside himself. He ultimately defeats his archrivals Greaseball and Electra, winning the heart of the lovely first class coach, Pearl, who is waiting for her dream train. Performed entirely on roller skates, Starlight Express is a visual and aural explosion of the senses. (Stage Agent)
• "Favorite" song: There's Me (just for Jane Krakowski)
• Late Nite Comic
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? This had some funny moments throughout but it only ran for 17 performances...
• Synopsis: A standup comic and an aspiring dancer have an on-again, off-again romance through their careers' ups and downs. (Playbill)
• Favorite song: Gabrielle (first Brian D'Arcy James feature!)
• Into the Woods
• Have I heard of it before? This was the first musical I was in and it became my whole personality for a few months. I played the Baker's Wife and I was awful, but I had fun. 
• Did I enjoy it? I really do think the music and lyrics in this show are top-tier. 
• Synopsis: The story follows The Baker and his wife who wish to have a child, Cinderella who wishes to go the King’s Festival, and Jack who wishes his cow would give some milk. When the Baker and his wife are visited by the neighborhood witch, who reveals to them that she placed a curse on their family, the two set off on a journey into the woods to reverse the curse. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Your Fault / Last Midnight
• Phantom of the Opera
• Have I heard of it before? Big fan of both the movie (controversial) and the stage version which I can brag and say I've seen in both Pittsburgh and NYC
• Did I enjoy it? Yeah the music slaps
• Synopsis: The Phantom of the Opera is a thrilling and romantic account of the legendary Phantom, a musical genius who dwells deep beneath a majestic opera house in Paris. Shunned by society for his horrible facial deformity, he takes a promising young soprano, Christine, under his wing and grooms her for operatic fame, all the while falling deeply in love with her. As Christine grows ever more successful, and a handsome young man from her past begins to successfully court her, the Phantom descends into a jealous rage and terrorizes the opera company with increasingly dangerous threats. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Phantom of the Opera
• Sarafina!
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? As interesting and important as the plot is, I couldn't get into this one
• Synopsis: The plot centers on students involved in the Soweto Riots, in opposition to apartheid. The story is told from the point of view of an ambitious school girl actress-activist named Sarafina. She feels shame at her mother's acceptance of her role as domestic servant in a white household in apartheid South Africa, and inspires her peers to rise up in protest, especially after her inspirational teacher, Mary Masembuko is imprisoned. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Sarafina!
• Gospel at Colonus
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? Hard no, but I didn't enjoy the Greek version of Oedipus either
• Synopsis: The Gospel at Colonus is an African-American musical version of Sophocles's tragedy, Oedipus at Colonus. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Live Where You Can
• Chess
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, there are some great female solos in this show
• Did I enjoy it? Yes!
• Synopsis: Chess is used as a metaphor for romantic rivalries and the US-Soviet rivalry during the Cold War. The main characters form a love triangle: the ill-mannered American Grandmaster, the intense Russian champion who plans on defecting to the West, and the Hungarian-American female chess second, who arrives at the International Championships with the American but falls in love with the Russian. From Bangkok to Budapest, the players, lovers, politicians, and spies all struggle to get the upper hand. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Know Him So Well
• Carrie
• Have I heard of it before? Y'all heard of Stephen King..yeah it's that Carrie
• Did I enjoy it? There are a couple goods songs and it paved the way for shows like Heathers but overall it is pretty dark and depressing
• Synopsis: In this revamped, contemporary version of the famous (and infamous) 1988 production, Carrie: The Musical follows a young woman with telekinetic powers. An outcast at school, where she is bullied viciously for her differences, Carrie is also lost at home, with a fervently religious mother whose love traps her in its maw. When PE teacher Miss Gardner, kind classmate Sue Snell, and boyfriend Tommy Ross reach out to try and help Carrie, it seems that for once, Carrie might have a shot at being accepted. But Chris Hargensen, the class’s most vicious bully, has other ideas. Pushed to the brink, Carrie’s powers threaten to overwhelm her, and devour everyone around her in flame. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Do Me A Favor?