After
a meal like I had at Locanda Verde (see previous blog) where does one go? Well
if you are me you go to see Wendy Williams. Yep that Wendy Williams, former
radio host, television talk show star, bestselling author, and now a Broadway
actress. She is playing Matron Mama Morton in Chicago the musical on Broadway
for several weeks this summer. So if you know what’s good for you, you will get
there before her last show on August 11th.
This
is how Wendy told her audience the big news.
Wendy
Williams and I go way back. So far back in fact that I have no idea of a time
when I wasn’t aware of her. She was a disc jockey (anyone under thirty may have
to look that up) on my go to radio station Hot 97. I remember it like it was
yesterday although it was like fifteen years ago, which is depressing. More so
is that back in my day we listened to the radio and the cool thing to do was to
keep blank cassette tapes in your c.d./tape stereo anxiously waiting for the
song you requested to play so that you could hit “play/record” and capture it
on the tape to replay at your will. By the time an entire mixed tape was made
you had something to be proud of.
As
for Wendy she spent many more years on radio and then eventually in 2008 moved
over to her now wildly successful talk show. She has written six books and is a
New York Times bestselling author. She has competed on pop culture hit “Dancing
with the Stars”. She is mostly beloved by her fans because she talks directly
to them and they are one entire family- her success has been based off of it.
Besides her brutal honesty about any hot celebrity topic she is talking about
she has never backed away from discussing the good, the bad, and the ugly about
her life. She has had hard times and wants to help as many people as she can.
Her way of communication is as funny as it is truthful. You never ever know
what you are going to hear and that is the best part. This is why viewers flock
to her show, to sit in the audience, and to watch it on TV. I hope to be a part
of her audience one of these days in the fall.
When
I learned she was going to be in Chicago the musical I was instantly amused but
not instantly drawn to buy a ticket but this news stayed on my mind for a
while. I told everyone I knew that would be interested, tweeted about it, and
debated going to see it. The main hang-up for me was that I had already seen
the show and it didn’t go well. It was one of the very few musicals I didn’t
like, actually it was more than dislike; I fell asleep! Even though it sounded
good to me when I read the description: “What becomes a legend most? For a
couple of Jazz Age entertainers, it's all about fame, fortune - and murder.”
See all sounds good, doesn’t it?
Well
not so much. I went when I was in college so that was about ten years ago give
or take a year. I would have to go through my playbill collection to find the
ticket and honestly for this show I didn’t have the mindset.
What I despise most about this play has nothing to do with the performance I had seen but rather my pride. It made me break my hard and fast rule- that plays and movies should not switch genres!! In this instance and only in this instance has a play been turned into a movie and the movie was better!! It still burns me. Normally I believe everything should stay in its own lane and if you run out of material you are not to pick an idea from another mode of entertainment and ruin it. Things are created in certain forms for a reason. But here, with “Chicago” in the movie they were able to do things that were not possible and I don’t mean with the sets. The story lines were so much clearer that I actually understood what was happening and this is what prepared me for when I went back to see it with Mrs. Williams.
My decision boiled down to
this: I have to meet Wendy Williams. She has such a big personality, funny, and
sweet, I bet she is awesome to meet at a stage door and I am a stage door
expert (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/03/for-those-who-want-to-learn-to-stalk.html). She needed to be a celebrity that I have met.
I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed so I sucked up the
fact that I didn’t care for the show, found my coupon (http://thequeenoff-ckingeverything.blogspot.com/2011/03/for-love-of-theater-and-what-it-means.html),
and got my date to see Wendy.
Now that I had a delicious brunch
behind me I was eager to get to the theater and see my girl. The timing had
worked out perfectly so I got there just in time to take a few photos and get
to my seat. The crowd was packed with tourists, Wendy fans, and Broadway devotees
alike. My seats were in the balcony (even with a coupon I wasn’t paying top
dollar for a show I knew I didn’t like) so I had my escape plan all set. I knew
what the last song would be so I would get up then to walk down, I would get to
see Wendy would take her final bow as I stood in the back and then I would be
the first person outside so I would definitely get her autograph and photo. I
was not missing out. But more on that in a minute, for now let’s talk shop
first.
As I knew what was going
to happen I was anxious for the show to begin as soon as I got there. It had
been some time since I had seen the show so some of the specific details were
fuzzy. I had seen the movie last even though that had been some years ago as
well. When the orchestra swelled and that grand first number began I watched carefully.
I had braced myself. There were many things I still had problems with in the
storyline that I with that I which the director or producer would fix. Certain
things are not made clear or do not make sense unless you have seen it before
or the movie, which clears such confusion. I hate when I have to stand by my
previous disappointments.
However, there were two
new bright spots in this performance, before I ever saw Wendy Williams. They
were Amy Spanger as Roxie Hart and
Alexander Gemignani as Billy Flynn. I do not know who portrayed these
characters the last time I saw this show but I do know it didn’t leave a
positive impression. But these two I could not take my eyes off of. This Roxie
was native yet cunning, adorable yet gorgeous. Billy was manipulative, brass,
charming, and adored all at once. They were perfectly cast and I hope for the
play’s sake they are in it for the long hall.
As for the music in
“Chicago” it is really great; very catchy, fun, and easy to sing along to. I
have always loved that. It just so happens that my most favorite song is sung
by Mama Morton. In the movie that part is played by Queen Latifah and it is
does brilliantly. But when Wendy sang it, it was a whole other thing. It is the
introduction of the character and is a significant song for it outlines her entire
role in the show.
Here is the ending chorus
of the song that Wendy shared with “her people” on her show after her very
first performance on Broadway.
I loved this!! It was awesome and the crowd went just as wild when
I was there! Having her play this part, bringing not only her energy but the
energy she shares with an audience to this role was thrilling. I have to say it
held my interest in the show the entire time which I hadn’t anticipated
considering she has a relatively minor role. I loved that she was having fun
with the role and not taking herself too seriously. We all know she isn’t a
classically trained actress and there was no need for her to try to be. She
pulled off these incredibly difficult songs with relative ease keeping them in
her natural tone and not trying to belt them out as someone else could have.
The
show went on for two and half more hours. Then it was my time to go. I waited
to hear the clapping and I was the first one through the front doors. I went to
the stage door. Many people appeared to be leaving. It was a Sunday afternoon,
normally there are no other shows but this show had a second performance. As
crowds started to gather I worried that no one may come out to sign because
they would have to be back inside to prepare for the next show so soon. Then I
noticed that near the front door of the theater, opposite of the stage door
where I was standing, people were screaming. After making a mad dash over there
and shoving anyone who was in my way, I caught Wendy just in time. She had come
out of another exit and her security guard was trying to get her through the
crowd into her car. She was so polite as everyone jumped in front of her,
screaming her name and that they loved her, yet she remained calm and loving.
She signed and posed with and for people as many as she could. By the time I
got there I had just enough time to tell her what a big fan I have always been
and that I loved seeing her here. She was so sweet and signed my playbill and I
got these photos of me talking to her. I was elated. I felt like she was one of
“my people” now.
In
preparation for this blog I did some background research on Wendy Williams and
learned a few interesting things about her. This is my most favorite:
So
that’s how she’s doin’.
For Chicago:
For Wendy Williams:
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