REVIEW: 80's Re-Lived at PRiMA Theatre

PRiMA's production of 80's Re-Lived was an entertaining cabaret/concert style performance filled with tons of energy, talent and neon. The second I entered the Chameleon Club in Lancaster, PA (where the performance was being held), I felt like I had been transported back to the 1980s. From the gigantic Rubik's cube on the stage to the ushers with big hair and bright clothes, the entire atmosphere screamed 80s party.

When the show started, the talent of this group of performers was immediately obvious. Every single member of the cast was a natural born performer. They filled the club with powerful voices, infectious energy, and pure talent. All the voices blended beautifully to provide quality duets and group numbers, covering hit after hit from Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny" to Bon Jovi's "Livin' on a Prayer" and everything in between.

I was amazed at how many songs they fit into just a little over an hour of performing. In fact, one of the things I loved about this production was that the performers only sang a part of most of the songs, rather than the entire song. This allowed for them to fit even more 80s favorites into the show. (And the parts they did sing were the parts everyone loves to sing along to anyway!) The transitions from one song to the next were seamless, and there were some very creative and well-done mash-ups included.

Props were minimal, but weren't missed since the outfits and venue were enough to set the mood for the evening. The gigantic Rubik's cube on the side of the stage was the main prop, and in staying true to the 80s there was also a brief appearance by a trapper-keeper. The smaller venue allowed for the cast to sing their way through the aisle, making the audience feel even more a part of the show.  

This was my first introduction to PRiMA, and I'm so glad that I discovered them. I first heard of this Lancaster-based group a year or two ago, and after seeing this production, I'm regretting waiting until now to check them out! They've been around since 2010, and their production history includes a unique blend of performances that fit right in with my personal theatre taste, including a Tim Rice cabaret, a Billy Joel cabaret, Chess, and one of my all-time favorite musicals, Aida.

While 80's Re-Lived has finished its run, PRiMA has some great shows planned for the upcoming months. Jason Robert Brown will be taking the stage on June 22 for a master class and concert (yes, THE Jason Robert Brown!). And later this year they will be offering a "Guilty Pleasures" cabaret, a "Rockin' Rodgers and Hammerstein" cabaret, and "Oz in Concert." For more information, please visit the PRiMA website.

Everything I Need To Know I Learned From A Broadway Contest

When I entered NewYork.com's Ultimate Broadway Fan contest, I honestly didn't expect to ever hear anything about the contest again. Sure I hoped I would win - that's why I entered! I mean, the prize included round trip transportation to NYC, a two-nights stay at the Crowne Plaza hotel, chauffeur service to/from the hotel, and dinner at NYY Steak. Oh, and did I mention tickets to the Tony Awards rehearsal?! So what did I have to lose?

But come one, I was one of thousands of people who submitted a photo portraying why they are Broadway's biggest fan, so really what were my chances?

Actually, it turns out that my chances were better than I expected. When the first round of the contest ended, I was notified that I was one of 30 finalists to go on to the next round of the contest!

When I found out I was a finalist to win this Broadway lover's dream prize, you can bet I was prepared to go to war. I mean, tickets to the Tony Awards rehearsal were enough to get me on board... The rest was just icing on the cake.

So go to war is what I did. For 10 days straight, I put everything I had into this contest, working 24 hours a day, neglecting my family and house, and persistently annoying all of my friends, all to try to win a contest. (Who does that?) It was an extremely exhausting 10 days, which I'm glad are now over.

(Bonus points if you can name the musicals that these photos are from!)

Sadly, all I had just wasn't enough. It basically came down to a popularity contest, and, well, I've never really been the popular kid. Ultimately I think I came in 4th place, which if you think about it really isn't too shabby out of thousands of entrants.

Now that the contest has ended, I've spent some time reflecting on my experience. Here's what I've learned:

1. I have amazing friends and family. Ok, so I pretty much knew this already, but this contest only reinforced this fact. I had friends and family voting every hour of every day. I had a friend voting in the middle of the night while feeding her baby. I had a friend set her alarm to remind her to vote every hour. I had a friend vote from a stepper at the gym. And I had friends sharing my photo like crazy! Hey, just because I'm not Ms. Popular, doesn't mean I don't have great friends.

2. People can be surprising. In a good way. Some of the people who were the most supportive of me were people who I really don't see much. Friends from high school. Parents of friends from high school. People I haven't talked to (other than Facebook) in years. People I've only met a few times. I was amazed at the support that showed up in the most unexpected places.

3. I really AM Broadway's biggest fan. Again, this is another one that I already knew. But the amount of time, energy and resources I used on this contest has left me with no question of this fact. I'm just not Broadway's most popular fan.

4. I am never entering another contest like this again. Ever! (So any friends who may have blocked me during this contest, feel free to unblock me so that you can go back to seeing my other awesome posts about what I ate for breakfast or what one of my kids shoved up his nose. I guarantee there will be no more begging for votes!) Some day I will make it to see the Tony Awards and/or the rehearsal. It's definitely a bucket list item. Maybe I'll win the lottery. Maybe I'll win another kind of contest. But a contest like this just isn't going to be the way for me to get there.

Now that this contest is behind me (us), I can rest easy knowing I did everything I could and tried my best. Lots of contestants gave up in the first few days after one contestant took a substantial lead early in the contest. Others obviously stopped trying about half way through when previously mentioned contestant took an even bigger lead. But I kept on going. I put every ounce of energy into this contest, clinging to the hope that somehow enough people would get on board and I would have a huge comeback. There were a few times when I thought I stood a chance. But I just didn't have the connections and amount of social media followers that the winner has.

And let's not forget one of the best things to come out of this contest. I'm happy to have had the chance to partner with the American Cancer Society's Making Strides Against Breast Cancer. I hope that you will consider joining a team to walk or making a contribution of your own. The true fighters are the people fighting monsters like cancer...not the ones fighting to win a contest.

For anyone still reading who helped me by voting, sharing the link/photo, tweeting, contacting people you thought could help, or just encouraging me, thank you just isn't enough. I really have no words to express my gratitude for all the support I received during this contest. I feel like I've let a lot of people down by not winning, as I know there were a lot of people rooting for me, and even several people who invested almost as much time as I did into this contest. I'm sorry I couldn't pull off the win, and I truly appreciate every single person who helped me get as far as I did. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you!

Help Send Me to the Tony Awards!

Please vote for my photo to  help me win a trip to the Tony Awards rehearsal!

If voting by phone: http://bit.ly/SendKimToTheTonys

If voting by computer: www.newyork.com/ultimatefancontest

And then click "VOTE" for this photo:

 

Thank you for your help! Read on for more of the story... :)

Last week I was doing a quick email check. I was prepared for my usual ritual of deleting about 50 spam emails and catching up on one or two emails from friends and family. But as soon as I logged in to my account, my eyes were immediately drawn to one particular email. It wasn't from any of my friends. It wasn't from any of my family members. It wasn't even spam.

It was from the team at NewYork.com. This email wasn't just any email. This was an email congratulating me on being a finalist for the "Ultimate Broadway Fan Contest," which I entered a few weeks ago!

Now, you might be thinking that this doesn't really sound like a big deal. It's just a silly contest, right? Wrong!

The winner of this contest will receive a two-night stay at the Crown Plaza Hotel in Times Square, a free dinner for two provided by NYY Steak, and roundtrip airfare for two (complete with limo transportation to and from the airport/hotel, provided by ExecuCar). Oh, and did I mention it includes two tickets to the Tony Awards Rehearsal, provided by the Broadway League? Yes, you read that right... Tickets to see the rehearsal for THE TONY AWARDS!!!!

So that's why I freaked out just a little bit when I found out I am a finalist to win this prize package. Ok, maybe I freaked out a lot. Ok fine, I did a ridiculously embarrassing happy dance and screamed like a 12-year-old girl at a One Direction concert.

Anyone who wanted to enter the contest had to submit a photo stating why they are Broadway's Biggest Fan. Here's what I submitted:

Yes, I used my kids. No, I don't feel guilty about it.

My photo was one of 30 selected as a finalist. But now the hard part starts. It's basically a popularity contest at this point, with the photos displayed for voting at www.newyork.com/ultimatefancontest. Whichever photo receives the most votes by 5pm EST on Friday, May 16 will be the winning photo. And that person will get to go to the rehearsal for the Tony Awards, along with all the other perks mentioned above!

So I have to resort to begging here. Please vote for my photo! Please? I'm completely batting my eyelashes at you and giving you my dazzling smile right now. Is it working?

You can vote once an hour for the entire duration of the contest, so please vote as often as you can. This would absolutely be the experience of a lifetime for an extreme Broadway enthusiast like myself!

Over the next 10 days, I plan to have no shame. I'll be on my hands and knees begging for votes. Just think how happy these two little boys will be if their mommy got to go to the Tony Awards rehearsal! (Yes, I'm using my kids again. No, I still don't feel guilty about it.)

Thank you in advance for your support and helping me over the next week and a half!!!

REVIEW: Flashdance - The Musical (Tour)

Flashdance - The Musical is a show that bursts with energy the second it starts. It's a tactfully sexy production filled with fast-paced music and dancing that are sure not to bore the audience.

The story is set in Pittsburgh and follows Alex Owens, who works at Hurley's Steel Mill during the day and dances at a bar at night. She dreams of being a professional performer one day, and hopes to score an audition with the prestigious Shipley Dance Academy. Nick Hurley, her boss at the steel factory, has hopes of his own as he sets his sites on dating Alex.

I should admit here that I've never actually seen the movie (I know, I know...but I was only three when it came out!). But I like that I went in to the show without a predefined image of what the performance should be. Honestly, I didn't get much of an 80s feel from the show other than the few 80s songs (like "I Love Rock 'N' Roll") that were thrown in to the score of mostly original musical numbers. From research, I can say that there are some key differences between the movie and the stage version, so audience members should not expect to see the movie version of Flashdance hashed out word-for-word on stage. Don't fret though - the water scene is still included and successfully adds yet another sexy and unique element to the show.

Sydney Morton, who plays Alex Owens, gave a solid performance. She had everything needed to pull of this challenging role: a powerful voice that nailed every note with confidence; precise and energetic dancing; and stellar acting skills that made it seem she was born to play this role.

Corey Mach plays the role of Nick Hurley, and he scored a home run in this performance. In fact, he was the best male performer I've seen in a while, providing quality acting combined with a voice that I could have listened to all night.

While both Sydney and Corey have talented voices on their own, one of my favorite parts of the musical was listening to them sing together.

Most of the supporting cast also brings a good deal of talent to the production. Ginna Claire Mason (who plays Gloria) is a skilled actress with a voice to match. (I'd love to see her play the role of Glinda in Wicked some day - I think she'd be perfect for it!) Another talented addition to the cast is David R. Gordon, who plays the role of Jimmy. I was pleasantly surprised to hear yet another solid male vocal performance in his solo, "Where I Belong."

The impressive set (which takes seven trucks to transport!) seamlessly switches from a steel mill to a bar to a dance studio to a house. And the lighting effectively adds more energy to the already energetic show.

If you're looking for a deep, thought-provoking, emotional performance, this probably isn't what you're looking for. But if your goal is a fun night out at a show filled with high-energy music, dancing and talent, then you'll hit the jackpot with this production. Even with a running time of about two and a half hours (including a 20 minute intermission), I didn't want the show to end. I left at 10pm, ready to go out on the town instead of home to bed!

All-in-all this was another not-to-be missed tour, and I give it 9 out of 10 standing ovations!

Flashdance will be playing at The Hershey Theatre through Sunday, May 4. Tickets start at $28. Visit the Hershey Theatre website for more information.

If you're not in the Central PA area, make sure to check out the Flashdance - The Musical website to see where they're headed!