How to See "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" With Really Trying

Have you ever rushed?

Not the super duper un-fun kind.

The slightly tiring, but oh-so-incredibly worth it kind.

Rushing is when you wait in line at the box office of a Broadway show, the morning of the show, for a chance to get partial-view tickets at an extremely discounted price. This past Saturday, me and my three closest friends all “rushed” to see “How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” on Broadway and it was so much fun and so magickal.  Here is the timeline of our little adventure:

Friday

9:00 p.m. – I and my fellow PA’er arrive in NJ

11:30 – I and my partners-in-crime go to sleep

Saturday

4:30 a.m. – Wake up

5:17 – Run (literally) to catch, and nearly miss our train (Mr. Conductor, thank you for not actually leaving without us, but there was no need to be that rude)

6:30 – Arrive in The Big Apple

6:45 – Get in line for tickets at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre Box Office...behind a group of girls who sprinted past us to get in line ahead of us

6:47 – Contemplate our chances for actually getting tickets when the box office opens at 10:00 a.m., considering we are the 70^th people in line

7:00 – Learn that the people at the front of the line have been camping out since midnight

7:01 – Contemplate how these people who have been camping out since midnight managed to stay warm/safe

7:05 – Contemplate whether or not The Gentlemen’s Club next to the theatre lost some business overnight as a result of the long line of young girls standing in front of it

7:10 – COFFEE

7:55 – Watch as small children are dropped off in Range Rovers and Mercedes for their classes at the Broadway Dance Center, the door of which my popsicle-friends and I are blocking

8:00 – Lose feeling in toes despite two pairs of fuzzy socks

8:30 – Lose feeling in fingers despite wearing two pairs of gloves

9:00 – Glare at all the well-slept individuals who are being dropped off to join their friends in line ahead of us

9:30 – Shiver n’ Shake!

9:58 – Realize that we are now at the middle of a line that extends the entire block from 8^th to 9^th Avenue and is at LEAST 150 people in length

10:00 – Begin to move ahead in line

10:04 – Panic...we did not want to have put ourselves through all that for nothing!

10:06 – Glare at the sprinting, line-cheating girls in front of us as they hold up the line to take pictures
10:15 - Have a minor heart-attack as the box office announces that the matinee showing is sold-out
10:16 - Continue to have heart palpitations as we watch the last 10 people in front of us get tickets
10:19 - Huge moment of relief, catharsis, and excitement as the sprinting-girls tell us to go in front of them because they can only see the matinee, which puts us at...
10:20 - We reach the box office window and officially secure four tickets (originally $145 each) for $30 each
10:21 - I literally skip for joy down the street
10:25 to 12:00 - Thaw
12:00 p.m. to 7:20 - Frolic around Times Square to keep warm and in order to avoid giving in to sleepiness
7:25 - Gawk at line to get into the theatre that wraps around the building and gawk at the OTHER line that wraps around the other side of the building of people waiting at the stage door in preparation for the end of the show
7:35 - Gawk at our incredible seats.

SEE?

7:45 - "Did somebody say Draco Malfoyyyy?"

8:00 to 10:30 - Watch an incredible show with an outstanding leading man, continue to be in awe that we are close enough to see the sweat and bruises of the actors, be slightly embarrassed for my generation as girls practice inappropriate theatre-etiquette throughout the performance, and smile and laugh the entire time

10:45 - Get practically crushed to death by the mass of people outside theatre waiting outside for the star of the show to make an appearance

10:46 - Decide to call it a night rather than confront the mob of die-hard fangirls

12:06 - Deliriously board a train while  we all still exclaim over how great and funny both the show and it's star were

1:35 - 21 hours later, with stiff and sore muscles, heavy eyes, tangled hair, and happy happy happy hearts we (finally) go to sleep

Sorry that was so long, but it was a very very long day.

You are probably wondering why me and my friends would put ourselves through that and why so many people put themselves through an even longer ordeal than we did.

Well, I'm just guessing here, it may have had a little something to do with this:

Who knew Beau Bridges was so popular with the younger crowds?!

If you did not hear, Darren Criss of Glee and A Very Potter Musical fame took over for Daniel Radcliff as J. Pierpont Finch, the lead role in "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying", for a three-week run from January 3 to January 22. 

And the Gleeks and Starkids came out in full-force to show their support.

My friends and I are all theatre geeks and have been talking for a long time about going into the city and "rushing" a show, and as we are also Gleeks and Starkids (we also saw the stupendous Lauren Lopez...Draco Malfoy from AVPM!), Darren Criss's short run was just the kick in the pants we needed to finally go through with our plans.

And as cold and exhausted and sore as we were, we genuinely enjoyed every minute of the day. There is certainly something to be said about sitting in the cold, on a New York City sidewalk, for hours with your friends. It's something I think you can really only do when you are young. Plus, it felt special to get to see someone we admire in a live performance, that will only ever take place for a short period of time. And let me tell you, it was definitely a once-in-a-lifetime performance. Darren Criss's enthusiasm, humor, charisma, quirkiness (I still maintain that he is my kindred spirit in awkwardness) and exceptional talent were perfect for the role. The rest of the cast, Beau Bridges, Rose Hemingway, and Christopher J. Hanke were also absolutely wonderful. Darren Criss, or not, it was a great show!

The experience was something my friends and I will most certainly repeat, although next time I don't think we will have to get up quite as early to fight off any fangirls. It was a special day with my dear friends that I will always remember.

I think a Broadway show is something that everyone should experience at one time another (that may just be the drama nerd in me talking, but give it just one try), and the option of "rushing" makes it an affordable (and memorable) option for everyone!

A Very StarKid Post

About a year and a half ago I learned that there was a Harry Potter musical, called A Very Potter Musical, which had become a YouTube sensation. Um, a Harry Potter musical? I thought that only ever took place in my dreams?! But, *cough* I didn’t have enough time *cough*, I waited until the end of the summer in between summer studying and school to start watching it, and I instantly fell in love. Thus, another StarKid was born.

A Very Potter Musical is not your ordinary “boy is orphaned, boy lives under the stairs, boy learns he is a wizard and has to defeat the most powerful evil wizard of all time” story. This musical is bursting at the seams with humor, pop culture references, sarcasm, and geekdom (did I make that up?) galore.

Joey Richter as Ron, Darren Criss as Harry, and Bonnie Gruesen as Hermione in AVPM 

Harry is a total “bro”, Dumbledore has no problem being open about his sexuality (just ask Snape), and Draco rolls around on the floor with ambitions of going to Mars in a rocketship to attend Pigfarts. While watching, I burst out laughing so many times that my mom kept coming to check on me to make sure I was okay. You will never look at the Potter characters the same way again (anytime I watch one of the Harry Potter films, I am so darn disappointed that Draco isn’t rolling on the floor!).

Lauren Lopez as Draco Malfoy in AVPM

And if you couldn’t tell by the amount of humor and wit that is in the writing, then the songs will most certainly prove to you that these kids are damn talented! A Very Potter Musical was the brain child of a group of friends (one of whom is Darren Criss of Glee), now known as the theater company Team StarKid, during their senior year at the University of Michigan. If there is anything that can shame me into stop using “not having enough time” as an excuse for things, it is these guys. Writing words, music, and lyrics, building sets, rehearsing, and performing an entire musical on their own during, literally, their last few weeks of college? Way to make the rest of us look bad guys! Not only that, but Team Starkid continues to write and perform original shows and scores, including, A Very Potter Sequel (prequel to A Very Potter Musical), Me and My Dick, and, most recently, Starship (“Damn that G.L.E.E.! They’re always making twisted abominations of everything!”).



Team StarKid, based in Chicago, is able to continue to put on shows, primarily, as a result of the huge fan base that has grown as a result of AVPM, and which is affectionately known as “StarKids”. Honestly, I don’t think the fans would LET these guys stop writing shows even if they wanted to! Tickets for shows and events literally sell out in minutes, and Team StarKid merchandise can barely be kept in stock (although I managed to snag myself a pair of totally awesome blue StarKid sunglasses!).

I am also happy to say that I have made some small contributions to this fandom by insisting that all of my friends watch AVPM until they have now become as infatuated as I am. Proof of point: my friends and I spent the majority of our spring break at the beach quoting AVPM and rolling around talking about rocketships (and for those of you who may not know us that well…we were sober). In fact, there may, or may not, be a video of me rolling on the floor one morning in my pajamas asking for a rocketship. You will never know for sure. But, despite this success of corrupting my friends, I will not rest until I bring everyone I know down with me. And if you are reading this, that now includes you.

Joseph Walker as Prof. Umbridge in a A Very Potter Sequel

So go watch the shows on YouTube, listen to the songs on iTunes or Bandcamp, or check out their supermegafoxyawesomehot (had to throw that in somewhere) merchandise.

But if you are still unconvinced that Team StarKid is totally awesome, then take a look at all of the talent that this group has to offer in addition to their production company. Darren Criss, who plays Harry Potter and wrote the entire scores for AVPS and Starship, is the most publicly-visible member due to his shot to Glee-fame, but in addition to his Glee role, he is one swoon-worthy musician (and my kindred spirit in awkwardness). Joe Moses (an extremely loveable, yet creepy, Snape) performs one-man comedy shows in New York. Nick and Matt Lang, the chief writers for Team StarKid recently illustrated The Bully Book. Then, there is also Lauren Lopez (a.k.a. my hero), Joey Richter, Joe Walker, Dylan Saunders, and so many others, all who never cease to astonish me with their vocal and acting abilities. Sometimes I wonder if the Galactic League of Extraterrestrial Exploration discovered these guys on Talented-Beyond-Measure Planet (that’s only a few light-years away from Farm Planet) and brought them to Earth to spread the delight.

If you were completely lost by that last sentence, then go watch this.

Guess what? Now that I have some free time, I plan on watching all of the StarKid productions all over again!

If you haven’t heard from me in awhile, I either died of laughter, or I FINALLY found a rocketship and went away to Pigfarts.