So I’m in a new Broadway show, Head Over Heels, and I’ll be referencing it a lot over coming months. So I figured I might as well write a missive on it. (And have something to which in-depth readers can click.)
I don’t know how better to describe this show other than to say: punk Shakespeare set to the music of the Go-Go’s.
I know: whaaaat?
Just trust me.
And “just trust me” is NOT how to sell a Broadway show.
Even the most naïve of tourists would be smart to avoid a show whose unofficial slogan could be “I don’t know how to describe it. It’s insightful and heart-warming and thought-provoking and very 2018 and touching and surprising and, well…just trust me. You’ll love it.”
But that’s how it goes.
It’s hard to sell a show that requires so many near-disclaimers.
But I’m confident we will make it. Because this show is good. Really good.
Just trust me.
The show incorporates several themes of love, acceptance, gender, sexuality, politics, climate change, patriarchy, standards of beauty, and art.
We have legendary Broadway actors, bombshell newcomers, a famous trans woman playing a non-binary character…I know. Lots to unpack, right? Every single one of these characters and themes are integral to the show, yet the show isn’t really about them, particularly the gender and sexuality themes.
Many naysayers or critics-of-snowflakes might role their eyes about a show incorporating gay themes.
Or other curmudgeonly critics might roll their eyes at the presentation of a character self-identifying as “they”, like when the NYTimes’ Ben Brantley had to issue an apology for being so dismissive of non-binary folks. But why beat that dead horse with more clickbait?
But if you don’t feel like being bludgeoned with a 2018 woke agenda, fear not – these are just circumstantial themes, not what the show is about.
The point of the show is…well…an artistic and escapist romp amidst/among/around all these themes, simultaneously.
Yet, it’s not frivolous.
But also not mortally dirge-like.
Though not at all preachy.
Still, it’s important.
It’s what a Broadway show should be but rarely is: a thought-provoking entertainment experience with kick-ass choreography and fabulous costumes.
Just trust me.
(Oh, and as for me? Glad you asked. I’m a standby for the two, well…old guys. A standby is an actor who jumps on if their “cover” is out of the show. So my stage presence is dependent on laryngitis or twisted ankles. But I sing backstage during every performance as a “booth” singer.)
