#26 (+ Frost/Nixon!)

Well, I left at 9:10 on Saturday morning. Twenty minutes later than I wanted to, but okay. Stopped at Wawa in Wescosville, waited in the line, gas for $2.52/gallon. We shall revisit this gas station before the day is done. I got to NYC at about 12:30 and stopped at the Manhattan Mall for the bathroom. Nothing like holding it in for twenty minutes leaning on a pole in the midst of an overcrowded train, let me tell you. XD

Made it up to 44th Street around one, stood there talking a bit in the sun, and since Jessica said she got a cheapass seat for Frost/Nixon, I decided to go along. What the hell, I'd meant to see it anyway, right? So I got the last row of the mezzanine for $36.50, but since the mezzanine wasn't what you call full, I got to move down to the front row of the rear mezzanine. XD The show was about two hours long, maybe a little less, so no intermission. It was amusing and engaging and I liked it. Given that the subject matter is something I knew nothing about, not having experienced Nixon for myself -- I was born during the Reagan administration -- I was pleasantly surprised. Frank Langella is excellent.

Having some trouble finding shows I want to see. I mean, most of the shows fall into one of the following categories:
-Les Mis
-Seen it, don't care to see it again.
-Don't care to see it at all.
-Closed or soon closing.
The only exceptions I can think of now are Curtains, Spring Awakening, and Jersey Boys. And, uh, Spring Awakening I might be avoiding for a while just 'cause its fans are so utterly insane and scary.

Frost/Nixon only being two hours long, we were able to stand outside the Broadhurst in the hot sun for about forty-five minutes before Les Mis even ended, so we baked and talked about random stuff. We said hello to a few people, I squeed about my front-row seat because yeah, I'm spastic about that stuff. And and and we saw ROB. :D Rob is taller than I remember, haha. It had been exactly three months since I saw him last (last time I saw him was April 7, his last weekend in the first go-round), and he remembers me! (Okay, to be fair, it might be partially because I was there with Jessica) He gave us both hugs. ♥ Saying something like, "Ew, but I'm all sweaty and stuff," and Jessica just said, "that's okay, we are too!" Oh, Rob. I am glad he's back in the cast. Not glad about the reason he's back in the cast, but Rob is just awesome, so it doesn't make everything suck completely.

Lulu called at some point during this and said she'd meet us around 5:30, perhaps a little later. So we stood around and waited. And killed time by listening to Aaron. ♥ We had dinner at Galaxy Diner, and talked about fanfiction, and magically made the window next to our table open and close untouched. Plenty of fun times. XD

And of course now you want to hear about the show. :D

I had Orchestra Row A, Seat 2. This is on house right; for those of you who have been in the Broadhurst, on orchestra level on the sides there are exactly two seats in the front row, directly in front of the stage. I sat right in front of the platform where Nehal and Haviland get their thing on in Lovely Ladies. Oh, man. I LOVE FRONT ROW. Seriously, like I said afterwards, I have not had that much fun at LM since Aaron's last weekend, which, coincidentally, was the last time I had front row. *g* This might have even been more fun due to the amount of different folks doing really awesome/amusing stuff, but Aaron makes everything better just by being there, so yeah. Also, pre-show, it sounded as though there was quite the hack game going on, since there was lots of hooting and noise from behind the curtain. *g*

Notes by performer:

Alex - Less spitty than usual although still pretty impressive at times. *g*

Rob - Oh my god. Where to even begin. He doesn't have sideburns so he's like the youngest Javert ever. XD He has a good voice -- not to match either of the Bens, but very good. It's the way he acts the part that totally wins. If Rob had a voice like either of the Bens I'd be the happiest Javert fangirl ever. He does the thing with the baton. ♥ The way he ties his tricolour sash. ♥ STARS. ♥ AND THE BARRICADE SCENE. OMG. Those little "You idiot, how could you miss!" faces at the sniper! *ded* And that stupid little scene with Valjean after the First Attack, oh yay. I heart Rob's Javert and I wanna see more. Can't wait to see him again.

Lea - She's a good actress, but the fact that her performance is almost exactly the same every time I see her prevents me from calling her great. Sorry Lea. Nice voice, good acting, but you're boring me.

Megan - Oh, I'm finally enjoying Eponine. I never have before. Celia didn't do it for me and I wanted to spork Mandy. And I don't remember the girls I saw in Hershey or Toronto that well. I've never been an Eponine fan.

Adam - I only cringed once at his awful "eeee" tonight, and that was during Drink With Me. Either he's improving or I'm just getting used to that horrible noise he makes. ;) He is so entertaining during DWM, his "wtf" actions during "I am agog..."etc. are awesome. "The man's a court jester!" he said after "It's better than an opera!" Also, I know Adam's trying to be all emotional in the Finale but I just think he looked constipated. I mean. Sorry, Adam, but .... yeah. XD Is it bad of me to say I'd rather see Dan more often?

Ali - Is so cute and pretty and sweet, I just can't complain, but she suffers from same-thing-every-night syndrome too.

Max - Damn. Just... damn. (Did I say that last time, too?) He's... really damn good. And wow does he look good, too. I really like. No one compares to Aaron but Max has gotten so much better in the last two months. I am honestly very, very pleased with his performance, especially last night's. His "Look Down" was never as convincing as Aaron's, but the rest of the show he's been nailing night after night. I approve wholeheartedly. ALSO. He was bent over on the barricade after Gavroche's Death. Not quite as dramatically as Aaron, but there was definite bendage and a view of his rear end. Oh yes. Oh, and no, I will never be capable of discussing Max's Enjolras without bringing up Aaron. Aaron is the standard to which every subsequent Enjolras shall be compared. ♥

Ann - There are nights when I actively cannot stand her. There are nights when I'm just sort of meh about her. Saturday was the latter. I'd like to see an understudy Madame again. Haha.

Other!Chip - It's so nice to have a Thenardier who doesn't suck. I don't think he flubbed any lines, either! Yay. He just looks so Thenardier-ish, I love him. :D

Michael Minarik - YAY. YAY. YAY. I miss Drew -- but only during Master of the House, because he was so amusing, small parts of Red and Black because he was so effective at molesting Adam, and Bring Him Home because of the longing looks he used to shoot at Aaron (and Max too). Michael, however, just... wins. He has a nice voice, he's not over the top gay, he doesn't hump Jeff Kready (Jeff must be really glad), he is SO ADORABLE with Gavroche, I could hear him trying to tell him he wasn't going to fight while he was helping him tie the little red flag. and WAVED THE LITTLE RED FLAG AROUND!. And carrying Gavroche off the stage, not just dragging him. And again with the flag after Gavroche's death scene, awww. He needs to work on his death, because he just sort of sits down on the barricade, but I HEART. The kicker was Drink With Me when Max grabs him and he's all, "but that's not what I meant!" with the kicked-puppy look, and just before Max walks away again, "I'm sorry!" ♥! I am so looking forward to seeing him some more. Also, my front row seat often afforded me a view of his ass. He's got a nice one. *g* Oh, and as the innkeeper, he messed up and said, "We're god-fearing people...thanks be to God." awwww.

Jeremy Hays - Did I mention last time that I don't miss Blake Ginther and I want Jeremy to stay? He's such an awesome Feuilly. He is really effective in DYHTPS and I don't think he cracked on the A in "We'll be there!" either. He sounds really good and he looks really good. ♥

Nehal Joshi - Oh, my, what to say. Most hilarious member of the cast, hands down. Bored prison guard in the prologue, very pleased sailor in Lovely Ladies (inches from my face that night, oh man. XD), CHICKEN DANCE and "I love bosoms!" and "Did he lose a tooth?!" (at Michael) in Master of the House, and his Lesgles plays well off of Grantaire in Red and Black. And Saturday night, I finally got to watch him in Beggars at the Feast. KILLED ME DEAD. Oh, Nehal. Slashiness with Chip. Win all around. And he waved at me during curtain call! Nehal has way too much fun during that show, and it's just awesome. I hope he never leaves. XD (Okay, at least not before I get to see him as Enjolras. 26 times and still haven't! :P)

Dan Bogart - I want to see him more as Marius. Except then I'd have to see Trafton as Bamatabois and Combeferre and The Traveler, and, well, Dan just pwns them all so masterfully. No one can beat Dan's facial expressions, ever. So emotive. His WTF faces in Master of the House kill me, his Bamatabois is so deliciously evil it makes me cackle, and his Combeferre is SO DAMN ADORABLE. I love that boy. And and and and he had the guitar during Drink With Me, which... YAY! ♥ Also, I kinda feel sorry for him during Dog Eat Dog, being hauled around like that. XD

Chip - I do not think I have ever been at a show and he wasn't there. His Bishop is a little too... intense for my liking, but honestly I'm not complaining, y'know. He waved at curtain call, too. His queer in Beggars at the Feast is utterly win, especially playing off of Nehal's awesomeness. ♥ And his drunken acting, hahaha, such win. :D

Ben Crawford: It seems really weird to see him as Brujon and not as Courfeyrac. Not that I don't like Don's Courfeyrac, I just... liked Ben's more. And while Ben has the body type for Brujon, I just connected him with Courfeyrac for the longest time. It's just that I have to get used to it, haha. His Foreman is totally the best, though. I heart his voice. And I wish he didn't have to have such a fierce mane of beard. He'd look better with just the 'burns, I swear. I will be very, very happy to see him as Javert again, though, if Rob has to take any time off.

Don Brewer - Is a really cute Courfeyrac. *g*. Also: "I wanna kill that bastard," as he's dragging Rob off the stage. Hahahahaaa. Pity he doesn't really get many lines, I wish I could hear more of him.

Kevin - Awww, Kevin, he's cute. *g* I enjoyed how he followed Ann around during Beggars at the Feast trying to keep her from stealing the silverware. And... yeah, he's just cute in general. :D

Christy Faber - Haviland was out so Christy was the Factory Girl. I liked her, but I'm just used to Haviland. *shrugs*

Kaylie Rubinaccio - Like I said last week, it is unfathomable to me that any Young Cosette could be worse than Carly, but Kaylie managed it. Ow, my eardrums. >__<

Zach Rand - This production has great Gavroches. Probably for the best, since the girls aren't terribly great. I still like Brian more than Zach, but Zach's pretty damn good either way.

...that's everyone, isn't it? I never have any comment on the female cast members, sorry. I likes my boys. :D

Curtain call was a blast. Jessica and I screamed for everyone and some of the boys waved at us. *g* Front row is so much fun, I love it. I'm going to have to call Telecharge one day and tell them to find me another front row seat. :D

And stage door. Oh dear GOD after the show just... wow. XD

As with the show -- notes by performer. Just to make it easier to remember it all.
Between shows, after the matinee... Mike Evariste ran into me on the way back with his food and apologised. We spent a few minutes trying to decide whether that was a 'voluntary' a la the Guilty Ones or not. I mean, it was an accident, but I didn't talk to him. *g* Crazy SA fans gave us lots of laughter. It's always vaguely amusing to watch people leave and come back a few minutes later with food.

Lea - Still haven't talked to her, but I distinctly heard her say to a fan, "It's getting late, I should get home..." Poor woman.

Rob - Said hi to Rob again, and talked to him about our upcoming schedule. Next week I'm at work and Jessica's in Sacramento, following week is the Aaron concert, and then after that we're back up in NYC again. XD He told us to say hello to people for him.

Michael Minarik - He was one of the last people we talked to, 'cause he had family there too. I stopped him so I could tell him that I adored him as Grantaire, and he took a few minutes, recognised Jessica, and then I got to introduce myself to Michael. :D We told him how much we love him as Grantaire, and he said something like, "Wow, it's great that I could impress you guys since you've been so many times...how many has it been?" XD Me, I'll hit 30 by the end of the month -- 28 revival and 2 tour. That just sounds wrong, doesn't it?

Max - I tried to tell Max good things. I have avoided this before because I was afraid I'd mention Aaron which would only turn out badly, because as mentioned before no one is as good as Aaron and... yeah, no one wants to be told they're not as good as someone else. I was getting really tired and I don't think I worded it well, but I hope I got across to Max that I am really enjoying his performance these days. He doesn't hang around much -- presumably because he's tired. *g* After the matinee we didn't see him at all and I'm guessing he snuck away very early while we were talking to someone and ran home for his nap, because around 7:25 he came back with his iPod on. XD I heart that boy, he's just adorable.

Dan - was with family, but he noticed us and waved so we chatted a bit about how much fun front row is. I can't say anything else about it. Front row is just a lot of fun, even if you can't take naps during the boring solo numbers anymore. XD I heart that boy.

Nehal - Nehal has taken the place of Aaron at the stage door in the capacity of entertainment. Jessica and I told him just how entertaining he is and how much we love it, and I asked him about the thing he has with Chip, because Chip walked over around that time. And Chip just says, "No, I'm his uncle!" Nehal goes, "Yeah, I'm the best man at the wedding." Oh, much love. Much love. And and and I got a photo! :D I heart that boy, oh yes I do. ♥

And I said hello to Ali, Adam, Ben Crawford, and a couple other folks. Jessica chatted with Jeremy Hays and got other!Chip to sign her insert of Into the Woods and stuff. I haven't been around as long, people don't know me too well. xD

Lulu also picked up a cute Asian boy at the show, haha.


After the stage door we walked over to Starbucks, and then Lulu left with Jessica and I walked back to the PATH station.

On the way home... well, it was horrid, I almost fell asleep more times than I can count, but obviously I made it. I've, uh, already bought D15 for 20 July. *sigh* Oh well, this way I can see something other than LM for the matinee on the 28th and still reach 30 performances that day. *g* And that will be a poll question regarding just what to see for matinee in due time, I'm sure.

...also, I just realised something disturbing: Rob Hunt reminds me of John the analyst at work. (Or should that be the other way around?) O_o

Photos from the day:
Me and Nehal Joshi.
Gas price in Wescosville