Over the past five months, I have had the opportunity to watch multiple amazing theater performances. From Broadway productions to operas to a smaller production of a musical I hold very close to my heart, all these shows have given me the opportunity to truly appreciate theater and its wonders. After having watched seven performances of a variety of different productions, I will be giving an honest review of each one including the show itself, the venue, and my experience.

The first performance I watched was “Dear Evan Hansen” at Broadway in Chicago. I went with my two best friends Hayden Clark and Emma Buscemi for Hayden’s birthday in December, and it was an absolutely amazing performance and experience. The James M. Nederlander Theater, where it was performed, is a beautiful theater with a huge, ornately decorated auditorium. We had seats in the left balcony, and although we were a bit far from the stage, we had a view of it in its entirety. Taking place in the modern-day U.S., “Dear Evan Hansen” tells the story of 17-year-old Evan Hansen, a high school outcast, as he deals with the consequences of fabricating a friendship with a classmate who took his own life. Before the show began, the stage was already set up with the set of its first scene: a simple bed and nightstand strewn with Evan’s belongings. Around the stage were large panels spanning the stage floor to the ceiling with projections of social media notifications going off, accompanied by alert notification sounds playing. One of my favorite aspects of this show was how all the sets were on circular platforms, and the platforms would glide on and off stage to change the scenes. The show itself was wonderfully performed, despite the fact that the actor playing Evan was an understudy. Another phenomenal component of the show was the spectacular lighting effects that were used to add emphasis in many of the large numbers such as “You Will Be Found.” Emma, Hayden, and I had an amazing time watching this musical, and I would definitely see it again if it came back to Chicago.

Over a month later, in late January, I went to see “Chicago” at Broadway in Chicago’s CIBC Theater with my mom and grandma. For a little context, RB performed “Chicago” for its 2022 spring musical, and I went to see it with a few friends. I had never heard of the musical before, and I was excited to see it. From the moment the overture started, I was enthralled by the music and everything about it, which is why it soon became my favorite musical. When I found out that it was coming to Broadway in Chicago, I immediately bought tickets to see it. The CIBC Theater is a smaller theater than others, which made it feel just a little cramped, but overall it was a good venue. Our seats were in the center of the mezzanine, slightly to house left, which gave a perfect view of the stage. This show, set in 1920s Chicago, follows wannabe vaudevillian Roxie Hart after she kills her lover and ends up in the Cook County Jail, trying to avoid possible death by hanging while also craving the attention the case has given her. The most unique aspect of this show was the setup of the pit orchestra, which was a multitiered platform in the center of the stage that staggered backwards as it got higher. The entire orchestra was visible because of this, and the show incorporated the structure in the acting by having characters climb up and down it or exit and enter from it. The most notable time this structure is used in the show is when Velma, another main character, makes her first appearance by walking out of it at the beginning of “All That Jazz.” This show was amazingly performed, and although its set was very simple, it worked perfectly for the show since it really doesn’t require an extravagant set. I do feel like it would have been elevated if the set were more complex, but the absence of a complicated set allowed me to focus more on the actors and the singing, which truly enabled me to enjoy the show as much as I could. I would watch this show a hundred times over if I could, and I hope to see it in New York someday.

After watching two musical theater performances, I was more than ready to take a break and watch the opera “Hansel and Gretel” by Humperdinck. The show was at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, and I was accompanied by my grandma, the only other person in my family who shares my love of the opera. I had already seen “The Barber of Seville” at the Lyric when I was in sixth grade to celebrate my twelfth birthday, but I didn’t remember much of what the experience was like, so it was exciting to be at the opera again. Immediately upon entry into the building, the enormous main lobby captivated me. Stairs went up in all directions to upper levels (where we would’ve gone to sit in our upper balcony seats, but we were able to upgrade last minute to main floor seats for only ten dollars) and elegant chandeliers hung from the ceiling. The auditorium was even better with beautifully painted ceilings and an extremely large space. Our seats were only seventeen rows back from the front row, and slightly to the left, which provided an absolutely marvelous view of the stage. It was also very pleasing to see many young kids in the audience since this is a show that they can definitely enjoy. It was good to see parents exposing their children to true art, especially in an age where autotune and incomprehensible jumbles of words deemed “songs” seem to be inescapable. 

“Hansel and Gretel” was adapted into an opera in German by renowned composer Engelbert Humperdinck in 1891. The story is mostly the same with the exception of an added dream sequence the children have while lost in the haunted woods. This opera was one of the most interesting shows I have ever seen and for many reasons. For one, each set looked as if it were a different size, even though everything was happening on the same stage. The set for Act 1 was Hansel and Gretel’s house which amazingly looked as if it were a small room. This effect was most likely created by the walls being slanted in at certain angles to make the room appear smaller than it actually was, which created an amazingly real optical illusion. The second act featured a forest set that was slightly larger than the first set but still utilized the slanting walls to keep it small. Finally, the third act was the evil witch’s kitchen which used normal walls to convey the great size of her evil lair. The fantastical scenes also made this show incredibly fun to watch. The dream sequence in Act 2 included an extremely long dining table and fat waiters with oversized heads bringing out plates of food. A fish man butler tended to Hansel and Gretel as the former put on a new suit and the latter a new dress before sitting down and dining on all the food they could imagine. Although it was all only part of their hunger-driven dream, it was an amazing scene that combined whimsicality with darkness, just like the entire opera did. Another fantastic scene was when the witch sang about her love of eating children in “Witch’s Ride” during the third act. A distressed Gretel unwillingly helped the witch with her baking because of her being under a spell, and Hansel sat helpless and tied up for the witch to cook. In this scene, the witch threw around all types of ingredients, making a gigantic mess. Flour flew through the air, pots flung against the walls, and milk poured everywhere. It was so fun to watch all this chaos ensue considering it is a stage performance. “Witch’s Ride” is my favorite piece in this opera because of its mischievous melody and amusing libretto. Overall, my grandma and I both had a fantastic time watching this opera, and I hope to see more classic stories being turned into shows in the future.

After watching an absolutely amazing opera, it was time to return to musical theater with a classic: “Annie.” I watched this show at Broadway in Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theater with my mom, aunt, and younger cousin. It was my cousin’s first time seeing a professional theater performance, so I was very excited to share this experience with her. It was also exciting to watch this show since I played Oliver Warbucks in my elementary school’s fifth-grade production of “Annie.” The Cadillac Palace Theater has an auditorium smaller than that of the Nederlander, but much larger than the CIBC’s. The Cadillac Palace and the Nederlander are quite comparable, in fact, when it comes to size and look. Our seats were directly in balcony center, so we had a perfect view of the stage from above. This show was so full of life and watching it put smiles on the faces of everyone there. From the orphans having a rough night at the performance’s opening to the rejoicing of “Tomorrow” at the end, every minute was filled with 30s charm. The sets were stunning in each scene, especially the grand staircase that Annie comes down during the last one. The costumes in this performance were what stuck out to me the most, however, because they truly made the show a million times better. Grace’s costume for the party scene was a gorgeous flowy gown that shimmered in the light, so gorgeous that the audience gasped upon her entrance. Annie’s outfits were also amazing throughout the entire show, especially her iconic red and white dress and her city outfit during “NYC.” Another notable aspect of the show was Julia Nicole Hunter’s performance as Grace. Her singing was absolutely amazing with crisp, clear high notes. Her personality as Grace was perfect, and I looked forward to the next scene with her in it. On the other hand, I found Christopher Swan to be quite forgettable as Oliver Warbucks. He wasn’t a bad performer by any means, but he could’ve put more into his character to make him more real and memorable. All the orphan girls melted my heart with their performance and to be honest, I was extremely inspired by them. To make it onto Broadway at such a young age is extraordinary, and their performance showed why they were there, especially in “It’s the Hard Knock Life” with all the intricate choreography. I adored watching this show with my family and it was truly amazing to see a new perspective on the show that I had previously been involved in.

The final opera I watched was Bizet’s “Carmen” at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with my grandma. For this performance, we used a 50 percent off promo code to get seats three rows closer to the stage than Hansel and Gretel and directly in the middle. Although the people seated in front of us were quite tall, we were still able to see the stage in its entirety due to the new staggered seat layout; each seat is between the two in front of it, so your view is left unobstructed by the people in front of you. “Carmen” was written by Georges Bizet in 1875, quickly becoming one of the most famous operas ever. Set in Seville around 1820, it tells the story of Don José, a hopeless soldier, after he is seduced by the fiery gypsy Carmen and does everything he can to make her his. The sets in this production were absolutely gigantic and beautifully made, especially the town square in the first act. From the moment the overture started, I was enamored with the beautiful melodies and harmonies of this opera’s score. I was especially looking forward to “Habanera” and “Toreador Song”, my two favorite numbers from the opera. I was not disappointed at all as they were both performed amazingly, especially J’Nai Bridges as Carmen in “Habanera”. She truly embodied Carmen’s fierce, steadfast character and made it seem as if she was, in fact, Carmen. The opera’s being in French further conveyed its romantic themes and how love can lead to chaotic situations. As for the singing, my grandma and I both agreed that Golda Schultz, the woman playing Micaëla, was the best. Whether she was singing a rich deep note or a powerful high note, her voice never cracked or lost its clarity. Her voice was incredible and gave me goosebumps whenever she sang. This opera was an amazing experience with captivating music, beautiful sets, and complex characters; my grandma and I plan on returning to the opera soon, especially with shows like “West Side Story,” “Cinderella,” and “Aida” coming up soon.

The next show I saw was extremely special to me and all the people who watched it. This year, RB put on “Grease” for its 2023 spring musical, and I had the honor of playing Roger in the Cadillac cast. The production proved to be extremely successful with three of the four nights selling out. While enjoying pizza in the choir room after a long afternoon of strike (the process in which the set is deconstructed, props are put away, costumes are stored, and everything is basically reset once the production has closed), we were told by our director, Ms. Colleen Stahnke, that everyone who was part of our spring musical would be receiving free tickets to Drury Lane Theater’s production of Grease. It turned out that after hearing about our production, Drury Lane reached out to Ms. S and gave everyone that was part of RB’s production free tickets to theirs. We were all beyond ecstatic and felt very special. On the day of the performance, we were informed by Ms. S that Drury Lane would be hosting a talkback for us after the show, which meant we would be able to meet the cast and crew and ask them questions about their performance. Although I had gone to Drury Lane when I was much younger, I had no memory of it, so I was taken aback by the elegance of this venue. Like the Lyric Opera, dazzling chandeliers hung from the ceiling, although this theater was nowhere near as large as the opera. The floor was carpeted, and there was a seating area to the left upon entry with fancy chairs, tables, and couches. To the right was the entrance to the auditorium, which was the smallest of all the shows I had been to. The seats were split into three sections with a middle section and two sections on either side of the middle. Despite our seats being in the farthest left section, we were still able to see the majority of the stage with only the far upstage right portion of the stage being out of view. Since we had already performed this show, we had a unique experience watching it since we knew what they did differently than the script. Although this production differed in many ways from our production and the script, it ended up being an amazing performance that impressed us all. The sets were quite impressive, especially the Burger Palace which was an entire platform with a restaurant on it that moved on and off stage. All the set pieces, in fact, were on platforms that automatically moved on and off the stage for quick and easy scene changes. The entire performance was full of life and every single actor and actress put their all into it. One of the biggest differences between the script and the production was the altering of songs. Many of the songs, such as “Those Magic Changes”, “Hopelessly Devoted To You”, and “Greased Lightning”, were extended or had extra riffs and high notes added. “Those Magic Changes” originally starts with Doody attempting to sing it, but he makes a fool of himself by messing it up horribly. That then transitions to the actual song, which is one of the most fun in the show. Instead, Drury Lane started it with Doody singing it and having characters around him slowly join in, building up to the main melody. The song was also extended and added more high notes to make it more interesting. “Greased Lightning” was also significantly longer than the original because of the added dance break and choreography. “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and “Beauty School Dropout” were undoubtedly the most impressive songs of the show because of the absolutely amazing singing and the additional high notes and riffs that were added. Additionally, the choreography of all the songs made them extremely fun to watch, especially “Mooning”, “Shakin’ at the High School Hop”, and “Born to Hand Jive.” My only criticism was their choice of making Frenchy’s hair blue rather than pink; Frenchy’s pink hair is the most iconic and memorable aspect of her character, so I feel like the blue hair took away slightly from her character. Other than that, everything was amazing and we were all cheering louder than anyone else in the theater. After the show ended, once everyone else left, we went down to the front few rows of seats and got to talk to the cast of the show. Everyone was so friendly and they all seemed just as fun in real life as they were in the show. They answered all our questions in complete honesty and provided priceless insight and advice for working in musical theater. I really appreciated how real they were with their answers because going into a career in performing arts is not always easy, a fact that they were very open about. Getting this real perspective was very helpful and they let us know that no matter what you do, there is not just one way to do it and you have to work hard to get where you want. Overall, this experience will always be one of my favorite memories of high school; I’m extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to watch a spectacular performance and speak with professional actors alongside a group of some of the most amazing people I know, the members of the RB theater department.

The final show I watched was “Into the Woods” with my mom at Broadway in Chicago’s James M. Nederlander Theater, the same theater that I had gone to for “Dear Evan Hansen.” Broadway in Chicago has a monthly special offer where they sell a limited amount of $25 tickets on the 25th of each month. These tickets are only available for select shows and times, resulting in them selling out extremely quickly. Luckily, I was able to get my hands on two tickets for seats on the main floor. They ended up costing much more than $50 total for my mom and I because of all the absurd taxes, but they were still much less expensive than regular price. Although they were all the way in the back and slightly to the left, the view was amazing and everything was perfectly visible. Into the Woods is a very fun, whimsical musical that is set in a fairytale. It combines the stories of many notable tales such as “Little Red Riding Hood”, “Jack and the Beanstalk”, “Cinderella”, and “Rapunzel”. It tells the story of the Baker and his wife, who desperately want a child; Cinderella, who wants to attend the king’s festival; and Jack, who wishes his cow would give milk. After learning that their inability to have a child is due to the curse of the Witch, the Baker and his wife set off on a mission to break it, leading to tangled plotlines and lots of chaos because of other characters on their own journeys for what they want in the woods. All the aspects of this show were amazing; from the set to the singing to the costumes, nothing was lackluster. Prior to the start of the show, the stage had three small chunks of ground suspended from the ceiling with houses on each one, representing each of the principal characters’ homes: Cinderella’s large house on the left, the Baker and his wife’s shop in the middle, and Jack and his mother’s shack on the right. This was a very fun addition to the show because it brought out its whimsicality and fairytale-like vibes. The set was quite simple with the pit orchestra and conductor in the background. Once the principal song “Into the Woods” was completely over and the characters set off for their journeys in the woods, large trees came down from the ceiling and provided  forest scenery. The trees also swayed back and forth and loud booms were heard whenever the Giant took steps. The trees would even occasionally light up, adding to the character of the Giant. The Giant was represented by two large boots being moved across the stage by puppeteers. Puppets were a large aspect of this show, most notably Jack’s cow, Milky White, who was a cow puppet, and the puppets used for Cinderella’s birds. The puppeteer for Milky White did a phenomenal job in giving the wooden puppet life, as the audience was able to think of the character as a real cow. Although the puppeteer’s costume was merely a black outfit, the other costumes were amazing. The Witch started off as an old and ugly hag, but transformed into a beautiful woman in a gorgeous purple dress by the end. The other costumes, such as the Evil Stepmother and Stepsisters’ dresses, the Princes’ suits, and Rapunzel’s dress, were an amazing part of the show and brought so much color to the production. My favorite character was Little Red Riding Hood because of her amazing humor. She perfectly timed all her lines and put her all into the character, making the audience laugh whenever she spoke. Another impressive performance was by the Baker’s Wife, who was an understudy. I was at first disappointed when I had opened the playbill and seen the little white slip notifying audience members that the role of the Baker’s Wife would be played by an understudy, but she did not disappoint at all with her amazing singing and acting skills. Overall, this was one of the best shows on this list and I would definitely recommend it to anyone interested in theater.

Watching these performances has given me the opportunity to learn more about what true talent is and grow as a performer. Live theater truly is one of the purest forms of art, and there’s a reason why it has withstood the test of time. All the amazing shows I’ve watched have given me so many different perspectives on what a performance can look like. From stunning sets to beautiful singing to dazzling costumes, everything was spectacular and I thoroughly enjoyed it all. If you ever have the opportunity to watch a live performance, whether it be theater or anything else, don’t miss out because hard work was put into it so people like you can enjoy it. I plan on watching more performances in the future such as the musical “Beetlejuice” in November for my birthday and the opera “Cinderella” in early 2024, and I can’t wait to share more of my experiences soon.