Broadway 2 A Day: 2007-2009 (In the Heights, Billy Elliot, Next to Normal, 9 to 5)

Happy November! I can't believe how simultaneously slow and fast this year has been. I hope everyone had a fun and festive Halloween and is excited for the coziness of Thanksgiving and Christmas, the best days of the year in my opinion. 

We are squarely in the mid to late-2000s of this challenge and so it is my time to shine. So many of these shows hold a special place in my heart and I'm excited to continue to share them with you. Let's get started. 

• The Little Mermaid
• Have I heard of it before? Of course
• Did I enjoy it? I did, Disney does a great musical
• Synopsis: Beautiful mermaid Ariel should be a happy girl -- she lives in an enchanted undersea country, her father is a King, and she has the most beautiful singing voice. But she is a passionate, headstrong teenager, and wants what she cannot have -- to live on land. When she falls in love with a handsome human prince, Ariel is more determined than ever to gain a pair of legs. But her only option is to defy her furious father and bargain with Ursula the Sea Witch, giving her voice as the price of entry onto dry land. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Poor Unfortunate Souls (I love a villain song!)
• Passing Strange
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? This was kind of in one ear and out the other for me
• Synopsis: Rock musician Stew makes a powerful debut as playwright and narrator, telling the story of a nameless Youth who is on a quest to find “the real.” On the way, this young, African-American, middle-class man discovers what a bohemian life really involves, “passing” through the worlds of sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’roll -- and all the ups and downs in between. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Keys (It's Alright)
• In the Heights
• Have I heard of it before? Of course, this is the show that made Lin-Manuel Miranda a star
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, I think this show is better than Hamilton and I'm not afraid to say it
• Synopsis: Over the course of In the Heights, we encounter the many colorful residents of Washington Heights -- a New York City neighborhood on the brink of change. Usnavi, a first-generation Dominican-American corner bodega owner, and his friends and family are dealing with the pressures of rising rents and closing neighborhood businesses. As one family struggles to figure out how to pay for an Ivy League tuition for their brilliant and hard-working daughter, a young woman is trying to put a down payment on a new apartment, and Usnavi himself is trying to get back to the Dominican Republic to reconnect with his roots after the death of his parents. In Washington Heights, community is everything, and we see how each of these individuals struggles to survive and how these same individuals come together as a community to mourn their losses and rejoice in their triumphs. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: It Won't Be Long Now
• Glory Days
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? Not really, the music felt very surface-level to me
• Synopsis: Glory Days is a musical with music and lyrics by Nick Blaemire and a book by James Gardiner about four high school friends reuniting a year after graduation. The musical opened at the Signature Theatre in 2008 and was then produced on Broadway in 2008 but closed after one regular performance. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Open Road
• A Catered Affair 
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Some of the music was pretty but seems forgettable to me
• Synopsis: Jane and Ralph decide to marry in a simple City Hall ceremony. But Jane's mother, bereaved from her son's death in the Korean War, envisions a lavish affair and strains family relationships and finances to plan the wedding she has always wanted. (Playbill)
• Favorite song: One White Dress
• Cry-Baby
• Have I heard of it before? Yes! This is a fun and ridiculous show. 
• Did I enjoy it? Yes
• Synopsis: The delinquent Drapes and the squeaky-clean Squares can’t see eye to eye on anything. But when Drapes leader Cry-Baby and Square member Allison meet at the Anti-Polio Picnic and discover that they are both orphans, their star-crossed love story begins to blossom. Allison longs to shake off her Square identity and join Cry-Baby’s rock n’ roll lifestyle. As Allison gets a bad girl makeover, king of the Squares Baldwin hatches a plan to get rid of the Drapes gang and win Allison back. When Cry-Baby whisks Allison away to Turkey Point and asks “Girl, Can I Kiss You With Tongue?”, Baldwin and the Squares frame Cry-Baby for arson and he is carted off to prison. Cry-Baby must fight to clear the Drapes’ name and get back to Allison before she gets trapped in a Square life forever. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Screw Loose
• title of show
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I'm a big fan of Susan Blackwell's Broadway.com interviews and this show comes up often
• Did I enjoy it? It's pretty ridiculous but I like how it pokes fun at musical tropes in a different way
• Synopsis: Jeff and Hunter, two self-confessed nobodies in New York, make a pact: They will write an original musical and submit it to a festival. The only catch? The deadline is in three weeks! They gather their two actress friends, Susan and Heidi, and their accompanist and music director, Larry, on the keys. With the full team assembled, Jeff and Hunter hit another roadblock-- what should they write about? Jeff and Hunter decide to follow the old adage, “write what you know,” and set off on a unique musical adventure: writing a musical about writing a musical. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Nine People's Favorite Thing
• 13
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I'm a big fan of Jason Robert Brown's music. This was also pop superstar Ariana Grande's Broadway debut.
• Did I enjoy it? I did, but it's not going in the regular rotation - too much tween/teen angst 
• Synopsis: Evan Goldman is about to turn thirteen, and he can’t wait. His life seems full of possibilities -- that is, until his parents get divorced, and he is forced to move with his mom from big-city New York to podunk Appleton, Indiana. If Evan can’t get the coolest kids to come to his bar mitzvah, how is he going to survive the school year, not to mention, the rest of his life? (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: It Can't Be True
• Billy Elliot
• Have I heard of it before? This is truly a classic in the world of contemporary musical theatre
• Did I enjoy it? Yes
• Synopsis: Billy Elliot tells the story of a young boy from a coal mining village in northeast England who transcends class and circumstance to become a ballet star. The musical is set against the backdrop of the 1984-5 miners strike, which tragically affects the whole village. Billy is looked after by his father, brother, and grandfather, after his mother’s death a few years earlier. They are not well off and have no experience with, or tolerance for, the arts. His dad and brother are totally against the idea of him learning to dance but Billy finds himself drawn towards the ballet world. As a result, Billy is forced to take his boxing lesson money and use it secretly for dance lessons from local dance teacher Mrs. Wilkinson. She quickly notices that Billy is a prodigy and takes him under her wing. Soon, despite his family’s resistance, Mrs. Wilkinson manages to get Billy an audition with The Royal Ballet School in London. The village learns to overcome their ill-founded prejudices and, along with Billy’s father, come around to support Billy's dream to become a dancer as Billy defies the odds and is finally accepted into The Royal Ballet School. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Electricity 
• White Christmas
• Have I heard of it before? Of course, I love the movie and it made sense to do a Broadway production
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, especially now that it's time for Christmas music again (Nov 1st)
• Synopsis: Soldiers Bob Wallace and Phil Davis served under General Henry Waverley in World War Two and, ten years later, they are still working together in a popular song and dance duo, Wallace and Davis. When they meet the singing sisters, Betty and Judy Haynes, Phil becomes enamored with the beautiful Judy, while Bob is more reserved about his feelings for Betty. The two men follow the sisters up to their seasonal engagement at The Columbia Inn in Vermont. They discover the inn is owned by General Waverley but, unbeknownst to him, the inn is struggling to survive. With the help of Martha, the concierge, and the General’s granddaughter, Susan, Bob, Phil, Betty and Judy decide to put on a big show to draw in business. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Love, You Didn't Do Right By Me
• Shrek The Musical
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, and although I am a big fan of Shrek as a movie, I don't love it as a musical
• Did I enjoy it? It's got some good songs but it's never going to be a favorite for me
• Synopsis: hrek the Musical is a one-of-a-kind, hilarious fairy tale in which curses are reversed, monsters get the girls, donkeys and dragons find love, and princesses are beautiful in all shapes and sizes. Grumpy, gruff, green ogre Shrek lives alone in his swamp. The world is fearful and mocking of him, and he is more than happy to leave the world to itself, in turn. Suddenly, his hermit existence is thrown open, when a group of homeless fairy tale characters — Pinocchio, the Gingerbread Man, the Three Little Pigs, and more — burst upon his swamp, seeking refuge from the persecution of the cruel, vertically-challenged Lord Farquaad. Shrek seeks out Farquaad, who offers him a deal: if Shrek rescues the Princess Fiona (whom Farquaad wishes to marry for her crown), then Farquaad will ensure the return of Shrek’s swamp by returning the fairy tale creatures to their homes. In a desperate attempt to regain his swamp’s hermetic piece, Shrek enters the world for the first time in his life. He travels to Princess Fiona’s prison, rescues her from a fire-breathing dragon, and then – scariest of all – is forced to get to know the princess as he tries to bring her back to evil Farquaad To the determinedly unsocial ogre’s dismay, Fiona is very different from what he expected a princess to be. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Know It's Today (another former audition song of mine :) )
• Rock of Ages
• Have I heard of it before? Yes I freaking love this show
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, this is one of the rare shows where I feel like the movie is better though
• Synopsis: It is 1987, and the fabled West Hollywood club the Bourbon Room is the seedy, sordid, vibrant heart of the Sunset Strip. The music venue has seen better days, but as run by chilled-out former rock impresario Dennis Dupree, and tended to by Dennis’s mischievous assistant Lonny, it is the essence of rock and roll. When bright-eyed young hopeful Sherrie Christian, a small-town girl who wants to make it as an actress, arrives in town, she bumps into Drew, a Bourbon Room busboy with dreams of rock and roll stardom. Love-struck Drew convinces Dennis to hire Sherrie, and the stage seems set for their romance. But when the Mayor of West Hollywood, persuaded by a couple of scheming German real estate developers, announces his intention to demolish the Bourbon Room and the entire gritty Sunset Strip, the stakes are raised. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Harden My Heart / Shadows of the Night
• Next to Normal
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, this is one of my favorite musicals of all time.
• Did I enjoy it? I always do, but I need a few business days to recover after listening. 
• Synopsis: Next to Normal is the story of Diana Goodman and her family. Traumatized by the death of her infant son from an undiagnosed intestinal obstruction, Diana has lived with bipolar depressive disorder and delusional episodes for the past seventeen years. The illness has affected everyone in her life, and has nearly torn her family apart on several occasions. With subject matter rendered achingly recognizable by Brian Yorkey, and a dynamic, energetic pop-rock score by Tom Kitt, Next to Normal is a show that enables a small group of actors to showcase powerhouse vocals while exploring pressing contemporary issues of trauma, loss, mental health treatment, and the meaning of family. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Miss the Mountains 
• 9 to 5
• Have I heard of it before? Of course, 9 to 5 is a classic, feminist story
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, the music is fun and the cast is great
• Synopsis: Office satire about three female secretaries who decide to get revenge on their tyrannical, sexist boss by abducting him and running the business themselves. The trio, one of whom has been passed over for promotion because she is a woman, spend a night together having drug-induced fantasies of killing the slave-driving chauvinist. One of them panics the following day when she suspects she really has poisoned the tyrant. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Get Out And Stay Out