Broadway 2 A Day: 2016 - 2018 (Anastasia, Band's Visit, Spongebob and more)

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays! I am soooo close to the end of this challenge. I've had fun with it but I am ready to take a break and just listen to my favorite musicals for my own enjoyment and nothing else. I've got about two more blogs' worth of shows after this post so stay tuned. Then early in the new year, I will do a "best of" wrap-up. Thanks for reading all year, let's dive in.

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, but I'd rather just watch the Gene Wilder movie
• Synopsis: When young Charlie wins a golden ticket to the mysterious Wonka Chocolate Factory, it's the chance of a lifetime to feast on the sweets and chocolates that have always been right under his nose but unaffordable for the Bucket family. Could it also be his family’s route out of poverty? Along with the other winners--Veruca Salt, Violet Beauregarde, Mike Teavee, and Augustus Gloop--Charlie is swept inside of the mysterious factory with his Grandpa Joe. Inside, the winners encounter a magical world full of amazement, innovation, sugary treats, and, of course, Oompa-Loompas. But as the winners begin to let their greed and selfish nature's get the better of them, it seems that everything is not as sweet as it seems. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Pure Imagination / Grandpa Joe (Reprise)
• Cirque du Soleil Paramour
• Have I heard of it before? No
• Did I enjoy it? Not really, how can you enjoy Cirque du Soleil without watching the tricks?
• Synopsis: Paramour was Cirque du Soleil's first resident musical theatre show at the Lyric Theatre on Broadway, New York City. Paramour was themed to the "Golden age of Hollywood" and followed the life of "a poet who is forced to choose between love and art." (Wikipedia)
• Favorite song: The Hollywood Wiz
• Anastasia
• Have I heard of it before? Yes! This is one of my favorite childhood movies and I was so excited they made a stage version. I saw it on tour and it was wonderful.
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, and there are so many great female solos in this show
• Synopsis: Set amidst the turmoil of the Russian revolution with the Bolshevik regime on the rise, Anya, an amnesiac orphan stranded in what was once the Russian capital, St. Petersburg, is on a quest to rediscover her past which she believes lies in Paris. Joined by a dashing conman, Dmitry, and an ex-aristocrat, Vlad Popov, who want to use Anya to bamboozle the only remaining Romanov, Dowager Empress Marie into believing that Anya is the lost Anastasia, she escapes to Paris with a determined Soviet officer on their heels. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: In My Dreams
• Bandstand
• Have I heard of it before? Yes but I never listened to the score
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, the music is great and the plot is very emotional
• Synopsis: It is 1945, World War Two has ended and America’s soldiers return home to a grand welcome. But what happens after that is a trickier field to navigate. Private Donny Novitski returns home, burdened with the grief and guilt of losing his best friend, Michael. He is determined to rebuild his life and pick up his music career where he left off. However, after several years away, he has been replaced by younger men playing piano in Cleveland’s hottest clubs. When NBC announces a national competition to find the next best swing band, Donny quickly hatches a plan. He recruits a group of musical veterans—each wrestling their own demons—and they form a swing band the like of which America has never seen. They are soon joined by Julia Trojan, Michael’s widow and a talented singer. She, too, is wrestling with her grief, but she and Donny soon form a talented song writing duo. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Welcome Home
• Prince of Broadway
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, I remember when this show was in development Broadway.com was advertising it to me daily
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, I don't usually like revues but I like all the songs in this one
• Synopsis:  Harold Prince is a legend in the American theatre—the acclaimed director and producer behind a long list of America’s most iconic musicals and the winner of a staggering, record-breaking 21 Tony Awards. Now, he's bringing together six decades of magical moments in a new musical event, Prince of Broadway. This thrilling night of theatre includes hits from such celebrated musicals as West Side Story, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, Evita, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, The Phantom of the Opera and more, in an unforgettable tribute to an unmatched Broadway career. (Playbill)
• Favorite song: You've Got Possibilities 
• In Transit
• Have I heard of it before? Never
• Did I enjoy it? Noooo
• Synopsis: In Transit is a love song to New York City, an a cappella romp through the subway stations and the places connected by the trains. Street performer Boxman welcomes the audience and explains that the average commute is one hour--so passengers spend two hours every day, in between destinations. And as he says, “If you’re not there, and you’re not here, then where are you?” This question in mind, Boxman navigates and narrates the lives of New York City commuters. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Deep Beneath the City
• The Band's Visit
• Have I heard of it before? Yes, but I only knew one song
• Did I enjoy it? The music is beautiful but it's not a top-tier show for me
• Synopsis: It is 1996, and through an error in pronunciation, the Alexandria Ceremonial Police Orchestra is stranded in the isolated desert town of Bet Havitka, Israel (rather than the city Petah Tikva, their actual destination). Without knowing the language and with very little money, the band members - led by conductor Tewfiq Zakaria - are welcomed by the locals, including cafe owner Dina and her two employees, Papi and Itzik. During this one night in a sleepy town where nothing much changes, the Egyptian band members and their Israeli hosts communicate in English (their only common language) and find their mutual love of music, whether traditional Middle Eastern ballads or American jazz and Chet Baker. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: Omar Sharif
• Summer: The Donna Summer Musical
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? Yes, I like a dance party as much as the next person
• Synopsis: This vibrant musical charts the incomparable life of Donna Summer—the undisputed Queen of Disco. Features more than 20 of Summer’s classic hits and electric dancing, all in tribute to the voice of a generation. (Playbill)
• Favorite song: Hot Stuff
• SpongeBob SquarePants
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? I was avoiding this show for a long time...there are moments of Spongebob as a TV show that I genuinely think are funny... but I will never touch this show again
• Synopsis: SpongeBob SquarePants is the musical adaptation of Nickelodeon’s long-running animated children’s sitcom of the same name. We find ourselves in the undersea city of Bikini Bottom, inhabited by happy-go-lucky and ever-optimistic yellow sea sponge SpongeBob SquarePants and his equally quirky circle of friends and neighbors. SpongeBob’s pleasant existence is abruptly interrupted when it is discovered that Mt. Humongous, a nearby volcano, will erupt within the next 48 hours and completely obliterate Bikini Bottom. SpongeBob, trying to prove to himself and the world that he is not “just a simple sponge,” resolves to save the day when everybody else has given up all hope. (Stage Agent)
• Favorite song: (Just a) Simple Sponge 
• Escape to Margaritaville
• Have I heard of it before? Yes
• Did I enjoy it? Not really, I don't know why anyone would go to see a Broadway show and choose to see this
• Synopsis: A part-time bartender, part-time singer and full-time charmer thinks he’s got life all figured out until a beautiful career-minded tourist steals his heart and makes him question everything. (Playbill)
• Favorite song: Cheeseburger in Paradise