Broadway 2 A Day: 2008-2011 (Addams Family, American Idiot, Book of Mormon, Catch Me If You Can)

Howdy howdy - we are in the second to last month of this challenge and I truly cannot believe it. I am listening to shows from 2011 and I started this with shows from 1950. Strange the passage of time. There's a lot of great shows ahead and we're heading into the holiday season so spirits are high. Let's dive in. 

• The Story of my Life
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? Absolutely not, this was truly awful
• Synopsis: The Story of My Life is a musical with music and lyrics by Neil Bartram, and a book by Brian Hill. The show follows two childhood friends from age six to 35 and has only two characters. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: The Butterfly
• The Addams Family
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? Yes this is a fun show
• Synopsis: The Addamses have lived by their unique values for hundreds of years and Gomez and Morticia, the patriarch and matriarch of the clan, would be only too happy to continue living that way. Their dark, macabre, beloved daughter Wednesday, however, is now an eighteen-year-old young woman who is ready for a life of her own. She has fallen in love with Lucas Beineke, a sweet, smart boy from a normal, respectable Ohio family — the most un-Addams sounding person one could be! And to make matters worse, she has invited the Beinekes to their home for dinner. In one fateful, hilarious night, secrets are disclosed, relationships are tested, and the Addams family must face up to the one horrible thing they’ve managed to avoid for generations: change. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Crazier Than You
• Memphis
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I would like to see it live eventually
• Did I enjoy it? Yeah there are some really great songs in here
• Synopsis: Memphis is the story of Huey Calhoun (loosely based on real-life 1950s disc jockey Dewey Phillips) and his mission to bring blues and soul music to a white southern audience. In a time of segregation, Huey optimistically believes that music can transcend race, and with him on his journey is aspiring singer Felicia Farrell. The two fall in love, but must contend with social barriers, a prejudiced mother, and an overprotective brother. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Memphis Lives in Me
• Fela!
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? Music was not really my taste if I'm being honest
• Synopsis: Fela! takes place around 1977, at the height of Fela Kuti's influence as a composer and performer in Nigeria. Kuti was an originator of the Afrobeat sound, and the musical opens with him addressing the audience from a concert at his club, the Afrika Shrine in Nigeria's largest city, Lagos. Kuti indicates that the Afrika Shrine had become a hugely popular venue, and a gathering place for youth opposed to Nigeria's military dictatorship. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Water No Get Enemy
• Million Dollar Quartet
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? It was fine, a bit boring
• Synopsis: On December 4, 1956, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley all found themselves at Sun Records in Memphis, Tennessee, and proceeded to record a legendary jam album. A Tony® Award Winning musical, Million Dollar Quartet recounts that single night with the meaningful and humorous story of five men’s journeys through the music business. A venerable rock concert where audiences relive the glory days of early rock and roll, the score features major hits performed live onstage by legendary characters. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Walk The Line
• American Idiot
• Have I heard of it before? Yes I love this show
• Did I enjoy it? It's great music, especially when I'm feeling angsty 
• Synopsis: American Idiot follows a young anti-hero, Johnny, the self-proclaimed “Jesus of Suburbia”, and his two buddies, Will and Tunny, as they attempt to break out of their mind-numbing, aimless suburban existence. After escaping to the city, Johnny finds himself embroiled in a passionate affair with a stunning and unpredictable young woman, and an even more passionate affair with hard drugs.Tunny finds a sense of purpose by enlisting in the Army, but is wounded in the line of duty, both physically and emotionally. Meanwhile, Will, who decided to remain in the suburbs with his newly pregnant girlfriend, becomes moored to his couch, hopeless and stuck. Each of the men struggles to find the balance between rage and love -- a conflict that defines their generation. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Too Much Too Soon
• Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I love this show!
• Did I enjoy it? Yes this show is so gritty and feels like it was written by high college students - but in a good way I promise
• Synopsis: Mirroring the current populist landscape, we trace Jackson’s life from rural, impoverished Tennessee upbringing, to early successes against British blowhards, Spanish sissies, and those pesky Native Americans, deep into political rabble-rousing, and eventually, to the American presidency. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I'm Not That Guy
• Everyday Rapture
• Have I heard of it before? Yes but I never really got into it
• Did I enjoy it? The vocals are top-tier but the songs didn't really stick with me
• Synopsis: Everyday Rapture is a musical with a book written by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan and music by various composers. It ran Off-Broadway in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2010. The musical is a loose autobiography of Scott herself, showing her travels from her half-Mennonite Kansas childhood to a life in show business. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Up the Ladder to the Roof
• Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
• Have I heard of it before? Yeah this show has a star-studded cast of powerhouse women so you know I love it
• Did I enjoy it? Yes this score is very funny and engaging
• Synopsis: Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a musical with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane. Based on the Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), the musical tells the tale of a group of women in late 20th-century Madrid whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion. (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: Model Behavior
• Elf
• Have I heard of it before? Of course I've seen the movie 100 times
• Did I enjoy it? I think this musical is made specifically for tourists in NYC in December but it's not awful
• Synopsis: In this heart-warming musical, Santa narrates the story of Buddy, an apparently oversized elf who has been raised in the North Pole. During the lead-up to Christmas, Buddy overhears the other elves discussing how he is really a human but hasn’t realized. He is devastated and Santa must reveal to his wannabe elf that baby Buddy mistakenly crawled into Santa's bag of gifts on Christmas Eve many years ago and was transported to the North Pole on Santa’s return home. With Santa's blessing, Buddy decides to travel to New York City to find his real father (who is on the naughty list). Shocked that his own father could be on the naughty list, he is further astounded that his half-brother doesn't believe in Santa. How can this be? Buddy decides to change the outlook and behavior of his new family and bring the true meaning of Christmas back into New York City. Along the way, he discovers friendship, romance, and his true identity. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Christmastown
• Priscilla, Queen of the Desert
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, what kind of member of the LGBTQ+ community would I be if I hadn't
• Did I enjoy it? Yes this score is super fun
• Synopsis: Based on the 1994 popular movie of the same name, Priscilla Queen of the Desert follows the journey of two drag queens, Tick and Adam, and a transgender woman, Bernadette, as they travel across Australia in their bus, named Priscilla. Tick has been asked to perform at a hotel in Alice Springs by his estranged wife, Marion. Taking Adam and Bernadette along with him, the trio drive from Sydney to the remote resort town in the middle of the desert. Tick tells his companions that the trip is a favor to his wife, from whom he is separated, but does not reveal that he also has an 8-year-old son he does not know, but who now wants to meet his father. As they head west, Tick, Adam, and Bernadette learn to accept and support each other, whilst encountering a number of strange and colorful characters. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: We Belong
• The Book of Mormon
• Have I heard of it before? This show is incredibly offensive but a blast, especially live
• Did I enjoy it? It is full of toe-tappers that's a fact
• Synopsis: The hit Broadway musical The Book of Mormon, written by “South Park”’s Trey Stone and Matt Smith and Frozen’s Robert Lopez, is a irreverent, hysterical, and surprisingly sweet send-up of religion, culture shock, and classic musical theatre. In The Book of Mormon, two very different young LDS missionaries-- the talented, eager Elder Price and the nerdy, pathologically lying Elder Cunningham-- are paired together and sent to Uganda to perform their two-year mission. To the missionaries’ disappointment, the local population seems to be more focused on the poverty, famine, AIDS epidemic, and the despotic warlord in their midst than religion. It’s going to be a fight for salvation. While Elder Price combats his own expectations and doubts, Elder Cunningham battles his inability to remember scripture or tell the truth, fellow missionary Elder McKinley crushes his homosexual urges, and the beautiful Ugandan Nabalungi fights to keep her hopes and dreams alive in the midst of great terror and uncertainty. It will take a little inventiveness, a lot of teamwork, and perhaps an ex-communication or two for the Elders to succeed in their mission. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: All-American Prophet 
• Catch Me If You Can
• Have I heard of it before? I love this movie and the musical is so fun
• Did I enjoy it? Every song in this show is a winner and it made Aaron Tveit a star
• Synopsis: Based on the unbelievable true story of one of the most famous con artists in history, Frank Abagnale Jr., Catch Me If You Can is a rousing musical set in the 1960s. We begin as Frank is captured by Agent Carl Hanratty, after years of pursuit. Frank, however, thinks the audience deserves to hear his version of the truth, and narrates his life as a hip, dance-heavy variety television show. We see Frank, as a teenager, run away from his unhappy home to live a life of great adventure, conning people by assuming a multitude of identities: airplane pilot, doctor, and lawyer, to name a few. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Someone Else's Skin
• Wonderland
• Have I heard of it before? Nope
• Did I enjoy it? Yeah this was better than I expected and fun to listen to
• Synopsis: Wonderland: A New Alice, formerly called Wonderland: Alice's New Musical Adventure, is a musical with a book by Jack Murphy and Gregory Boyd, lyrics by Murphy, and music by Frank Wildhorn. The story, a contemporary version of the novels Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and Through the Looking-Glass (1871) by Lewis Carroll, is set in New York City and focuses on writer Alice Cornwinkle and her 10-year-old daughter Chloe. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: I Will Prevail 
• Sondheim on Sondheim
• Have I heard of it before? Anything Sondheim does - I'm there
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, I always like hearing Sondheim's best songs in new contexts
• Synopsis: Sondheim on Sondheim is a musical revue consisting of music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim for his many shows. It is conceived and directed by James Lapine. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Losing My Mind/Not While I'm Around
• Sister Act
• Have I heard of it before? Of course - I love the movies and this show is super high energy and fun
• Did I enjoy it? Yes
• Synopsis: Deloris Van Cartier is an aspiring singer in Philadelphia, where she is auditioning to perform at her gangster boyfriend's nightclub. Deloris believes that Curtis is going to introduce her to a big producer, but is upset when he tells her she is not ready. Hurt and rejected, Deloris decides to break up with him, but when she goes to find him she accidentally sees him kill one of his cronies. Deloris runs to the police, who place her in hiding at a convent until Curtis is brought to trial. At first, Deloris feels as though it will be the worst thing in the world, chafing against the constraints of convent life and an immovable Reverend Mother, but once she is introduced to the struggling choir at the convent, everything changes. She finds that many of the nuns at the convent are not that different from her, and that they are quite fun to be around. They help give her a bigger purpose in her life, showing her genuine love and affection that was missing prior to her arrival at the convent. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: The Life I Never Led