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but if billy elliot had just taken a bit longer to transfer to broadway then we wouldn’t have so many problems

omg but if Billy Elliot had just taken a bit longer to transfer to Broadway then we wouldn’t have so many problems

am I the only one who laughed evilly when they announced Billy Elliot was closing?

I’m really worried that when the Tonys are announced, there’s going to be a Newsies/Once argument which will divide fans like the Next to Normal/Billy Elliot argument

Broadway according to MEEEE

• 1. If you could watch one play or musical for the rest of your life, what would it be?
• Spring Awakening because some things never go out of style
• 2. Who is your favorite movie star that has crossed over to the Broadway stage?
• umm I don’t really know that many…I’ll just say dan rad
• 3. What play or musical has changed your life?
• Spring Awakening (this is going to be a common theme)
• 4. Have you ever been disappointed in seeing a stage performance after watching the film version first? (i.e. the movie was better than the stage production)
• well I saw Hairspray on stage after the movie and I think, although it was good, the stage was not as good as the film. 
• 5. What department of the theatre do you work in? (Techie, Actor, Costume, etc.)
• ACTOR ALL THE WAYYY but I’ve stage managed a couple of shows before 
• 6. What show do you think has the best costuming?
• I think the costumes in Hair are awesome
• 7. Favorite Tony’s speech.
• I have to say Lin-Manuel Miranda, in 2008 for In the Heights
• 8. Favorite Tony’s performance.
• OMG no I love them all…I loved it when Green Day came on in 2010. And Spring Awakening, obviously.
• 9. Have you been to the Tony Awards?
• Yes because I’m Sutton Foster LOL JK no of course I haven’t
• 10. Do you dress up for the theatre or wear casual?
• Depends on the theatre and the show, but I’d never go in slob clothes, nor would I ever go in a ball gown
• 11. Favorite character of all time?
• Too hard…Melchior Gabor is amazing. I also love Diana Goodman. and Elphaba, obviously. Also Arnold Cunningham. But…hmm, I think I may have to say a tie between Johnny ‘Rooster’ Byron and my Melchi.
• 12. Most played song on your iPod?
• Touch Me from SA
• 13. Do you dream of being on Broadway? Why or why not?
• Yes, like, every single day!!!
• 14. What attracted you to the world of theatre?
• because theatre saved my life and it’s never finished and it’s inspiring and beautiful and I just want to stand on a stage every night
• 15. Diva off : Patti LuPone or Bernadette Peters?
• Patti LuPone. Sorry Bernie.
• 16. Would you dress up as a broadway character for halloween? If you have, who did you dress up as?
• Yep, last year I dressed up as Christine from Phantom
• 17. What’s something you’ve learned from musicals?
• everything I know
• 18. Funniest stage production you’ve seen?
• Jerusalem. Hands down.
• 19. Have you ever sat front row for a performance?
• Yes, when I saw Jerusalem I was up at 4am to queue and I got a front row seat after sitting on the street for 6 hours. I cherished the front row every second because I knew it would never happen again.
• 20. If you could replace any show that’s currently on Broadway or West End with any show of your choice, what show would you replace and replace it with?
• close billy elliot FOR EVER and put Next to Normal on. also close legally blonde (west end) and put on In the Heights. also CLOSE MAMMA MIA BECAUSE THAT CRAPASS SHOW HAS BEEN HERE LONG ENOUGH and bring back Spring Awakening
• 21. Favorite musical revival.
• Hair, 2009
• 22. Favorite long running show. (*see google for a complete list of the longest running shows)
• RENT
• 23. Favorite tour/cast.
• I loved the tour cast of Spring Awakening, the first US National Tour, with Kyle and Blake and Christy etc
• 24. Try to list all the shows you’ve seen.
• Oh god…Wicked, Spring Awakening, Jerusalem, Legally Blonde, Joseph, Deathtrap, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, We Will Rock You, Sister Act, Hairspray, As You Like It, Tell Me On A Sunday, Grease…that’s all I can think off the top of my head.
• 25. Favorite onstage pair.
• Jonathan Groff and Lea Michele
• 26. ‘I Believe’ - Spring Awakening or The Book of Mormon?
• Noooo this is too hard…guess I’ll have to say Spring Awakening.
• 27. Roxie Hart or Velma Kelly?
• Velma all the way
• 28. Hairspray - stage performance or 2007 film version?
• Well I’ve seen both and I think the stage version, although perfectly fine, just lacked something which the film has.
  
• 29. Is there a cast recording where you list to the whole thing straight through without skipping a song?
• I can only do it with Spring Awakening
• 30. Who should Christine have been with - the Phantom or Raoul?
• The Phantom. It’s called the Phantom of the Opera, not the Raoul of the Opera, duh
• 31. Do you sometimes think that the reprise is better than the original? Give an example.
• I think Falling Slowly Reprise in Once is better. And Listening to You Reprise in Tommy is better. 
• 32. Angel of Music or Music of the Night?
• Music of the Night
• 33. John Gallagher Jr in American Idiot or Spring Awakening?
• Spring Awakening. He’s awesome in both, but Moritz Stiefel IS Johnny Gallagher, he’s just mesmerising in SA. And I’ve only seen a dodgy quality youtube video and he is one of the best actors in a role I’ve ever seen.
• 34. West Side Story - Jets vs Sharks
• Sharks. I’ve done this show twice, and been a Shark both times so I have a kind of ingrained loyalty to Puerto Rico. Also they have better songs.
• 35. Which song from Wicked is more overexposed - Popular or Defying Gravity?
• Defying Gravity. EVERYONE knows that song and it’s been covered so much.
• 36. Do you find it weird or frustrating that when a musical is made into a film, they rarely use Broadway performers?
• I don’t find it weird, because I understand that the producers want to put famous people in to generate more buzz/publicity/money etc, but it does frustrate me. I’m deeply nervous about the Les Mis film and the casting announcements for the SA film
• 37. Next to Normal - do you think Gabe is the villain of the show? Why or why not?
• he’s neither. Gabe…he’s tricky. You don’t know if he’s real, or part of Diana’s mind. I think he just wants to be loved. And, yeah, he does some flat fucking crazy shit. but at the end of the day, he’s 18, he’s lonely, people can’t see him. He wants attention and love and affection. I am the One Reprise affirms this; I think the way he sings desperately to Dan is heartbreaking, and his shocked, happy, relieved, tearful, ‘Hi Dad’ at the end…he’s not all bad.
• 38. Favorite couple from RENT.
• Collins and Angel
• 39. Are there any Broadway stars from your hometown or state?
• Pahaha no…
• 40. Favorite Disney movie turned into a Broadway stage production.
• erm I don’t really see those sorts of shows

some days, i’m just like: yeah, next to normal totally should have won the tony, any sane person knows that, but there’s no use complaining, nothing can be done about it. then i have other days when i’m like: WHAT THE ACTUAL FUCK WAS WRONG WITH THE WING, IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL AND MOVING AND BILLY ELLIOT IS SHIT IN COMPARISON WHY WOULD YOU GIVE IT TO THAT FLUFF SHOW WHEN NEXT TO NORMAL MAKES YOU PHYSICALLY HURT WITH PAIN BUT THEN IT MAKES YOU LAUGH TOO AND IT’S SWEET AND POIGNANT AND MORE RELATABLE AND IT DOES MORE FOR PEOPLE THAN ANYTHING ELSE AND THERE WERE 6 PEOPLE WHO DID MORE THAN THE WHOLE CAST OF BILLY ELLIOT AND JUST WHAT THE FUCK WHY GOD WHY OMG

seriously though it’s not like billy elliot needed the tony for publicity or whatever, elton john wrote it and everyone had already heard of it, there was shitloads of money being invested into it, it would have sold loads of tickets and had a long run regardless. next to normal not only deserved the tony, it NEEDED the tony, it might still be running right now. it won a fucking pullitzer, billy elliot wasn’t even nominated. also, it’s original, the music is way better and it touches you in a way that billy elliot couldn’t even hope to achieve. billy elliot is good. but that’s all. next to normal is…well i don’t want to ruin it by trying to put it into words. every superlative you can think of multiplied by a million and you’re not even close. ok rant over.

if i was going to NYC tomorrow with no time/money limit:

in this order, probably spread over a few days/weeks:

• see the book of mormon
• see spiderman turn off the dark
• see hair
• see rent (off bway)
• see wicked
• see the phantom of the opera
• see catch me if you can
• see the submission (off bway)
• see priscilla queen of the desert
• see chicago
• see anything goes
• see how to succeed in business without really trying
• see rock of ages
• see jersey boys
• see memphis
• see the addams family
• see billy elliot
• see lion king
• see memphis
• see avenue q (off bway)
• see the motherfucker with the hat
• see jerusalem
• see the normal heart
• go on a little pilgrimage to the nederlander
• visit lincoln centre, the new york theatre workshop and the new york public theatre
• see any of the really good shows again, like the book of mormon, spiderman turn off the dark, hair, rent, wicked etc…
• do all the normal tourist-y stuff like shopping and sightseeing etc…

so if anyone wants to give me a few thousand dollars, im all set :)