Category Archives: Broadway

This weekend marks the resurrection of a former tradition, and I’m taking my Mom to New York to see ‘Kinky Boots’ and ‘Pippin’. (Okay, she’s providing the hotel and train tix – because Broadway musicals are expensive!) I’m looking forward to it, as it’s been a while since I had some one-on-one time with my Mom. I’m also psyched about these shows, as ‘Kinky Boots’ just won the Tony Award for Best Musical and ‘Pippin’ just won for Best Revival of a Musical. (I picked these a few weeks ago on a hunch. I wish I’d played the lottery instead.)

Last week in Boston I purchased the ‘Kinky Boots’ soundtrack for the ride home, and whether it was the way music on a Sunday morning ride sounds more moving, or my malleable mood, I listened from beginning to end and teared up in more than a few spots from the melody and words. ‘Soul of a Man’ and ‘Not My Father’s Son’ alone should wring emotion from the driest emotional wells. (It turns out I have a reserve after all.)

I know less about ‘Pippin’, but it’s gotten very good reviews, and visually it looks stunning. Give me a circus theme and I’m generally a happy boy. The fact that the music was written by the same gentleman who wrote ‘Wicked’ also bodes well (Stephen Schwartz).

In the spring of 1997 I took my Mom to see three of the Tony-nominated musicals that year – ‘Steel Pier’, ‘Jekyll & Hyde’ and ‘Titanic’. It was a tradition for at least two or three years to take in a Broadway show together. (For the record, I enjoyed them all – and ‘Steel Pier’ marked the Broadway debut of Kristin Chenoweth and her scene-stealing coloratura.) In many respects, I have my Mom to thank for my love of musical theater. From ‘Peter Pan’ to ‘Into the Woods’ to ‘Jerome Robbins’ Broadway’, some of my most prominent childhood memories involve seeing shows with her.

This year, I’m resurrecting the ritual by taking her to see ‘Kinky Boots’ and ‘Pippin’ next month. And for anyone raising an eyebrow at me attending a show entitled ‘Kinky Boots’ with my mother, let me assure you it will be all right: I’ve seen more full-frontal male nudity on the Broadway stage with my Mom than just about anyone else, no lie. (From ‘Six Degrees of Separation to ‘Love! Valour! Compassion!’ and an Oscar Wilde play or two…)