Performances in 2023

31 Jan 2024

If I’m being honest, the majority of the reason I’m making this post is so I have an excuse to gush about Hadestown. But once I started thinking about it, 2023 was a real return to form for me for seeing musicals, theater shows, and concerts. So let’s talk about what I managed to experience this year.

Hadestown

I first heard about Hadestown through the excellent Strong Songs podcast. Similar to Kirk’s breakdown of Hamilton’s “Satisfied”, the podcast introduced the musical themes and walked through a key moment of the performance. And the music was… not what I’d expect. The musical opens with a trombone groove; this is not normal. I was very intrigued, but at the time we were in the middle of a pandemic and seeing the show was not an option. As life resumed, the show made its way to Seattle… last year. I saw Hadestown then, loved it, and I saw it again this year. Yep, I liked it that much.

As a kid I was a big Greek mythology nerd. I remember my grandparents using me as a resource to finish their crossword puzzles. So a musical about the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice is thematically in my wheelhouse. Combine that with good music… yes please. It’s also inherently a story about a musician, and this adaptation makes it about writing a song, so the musical trappings are an excellent fit. And the performance leans into that. There’s no pit here; the band is on stage. The actors themselves contribute to the music as well, with Orpheus playing his “lyre” and the fates stalking the stage with violin and accordion.

Last year when I saw this performance, it moved me. It was the first time going to see something in a big theater in years. Seeing it with my family was really special, and really emotional. When considering seeing it a second time (not something I’d generally do)… I thought maybe the impact was just due to that specific moment in time? Well, after bringing more loved ones along and seeing it a second time… nope. This musical still absolutely cuts me deep. I cannot recommend it strongly enough.

Six

I knew nothing about this show going in, other than the title. It’s nice to have no expectations sometimes. Well it turns out it’s about the six wives of Henry the VIII, largely known for their fate in marriage with him (divorced, beheaded, died, divorced, beheaded, and survived). If I hadn’t seen that Tudors show years ago, I would have been lost.

The structure of the show is a competition among the wives for who had it worse, a real expression of their sister wound. Each one is a pop diva, and belts out one persuasive song that tells their story. Here’s the thing… compared to something like Hadestown, this isn’t the music that I’m going to take home with me. These jams are not my jams. But that’s a personal preference, not a judgement of the execution. The performers were talented and varied, the storytelling within the songs was clever.

I like how the tenor of the show changed in the latter half. At some point they realize they’re all cutting each other down and defining themselves by their relationship to one (problematic) man. And they put that down and pull together.

But to me there’s one song that defines this musical, and that’s All You Wanna Do. The song starts out playfully and flirty and ends worn-down, feeling violated, and over it. All within the same song structure; the progression is in the performance. It’s powerful.

Death Cab for Cutie / Postal Service

This tour was for two bands, unified under their shared singer Ben Gibbard. It was a linear performance of two iconic albums from 20 years ago: Death Cab for Cutie’s Transatlanticism, and Postal Service’s Give Up. These are both albums that have a strong pull on me… and clearly everyone else in the audience. In general, I’m not a fan of people singing along, unless that’s the vibe. In this case, that was that vibe. The crowd wasn’t singing along to their latest crush of a newly released album… this was a battle-tested and established long-term relationship. It was moving for everyone, including the band. Not only had the band created these songs in Seattle not far from where we were, this specific night was the exact 20 year anniversary of Transatlanticism’s release date. Gibbard was visibly moved. It was a special show.

Moulin Rouge

This musical adapts the Baz Luhrmann movie. It’s probably been 20 years since I’ve seen the original film, but it left a pretty strong imprint on me and this stage performance lined up with my memory of it. But woah… it’s a bit much. When they kicked of the performance with “CAN CAN CAN!” I squirmed in my chair against the assault on my eyeballs and my ear holes. Spectacle, indeed. Minimalist, this is not. Other than being perhaps overly stimulating at times, my main complaint is that the performance leaned a bit too hard into its gimmick. Which is a rapid remixing of teasers from modern songs as a way for the characters to communicate emotion. It’s there in the original film, but here it’s turned up to eleven. No, thirteen. This is probably best captured by Elephant Love Medley, which in the movie was 10 songs in 4 minutes but in the musical is 19 songs in 5 minutes. It’s more, but definitely not better. Do you want musical whiplash? I personally tired of the gimmick before the end. Overall, it’s a performance with great vibrant costumes and sets, but I wouldn’t strongly recommend it.

The Empire Strips Back

This was billed as a burlesque show. I’ve seen plenty of burlesque in Seattle. This show sparked significant debate in our group about whether it met the definition. What are the essential components of burlesque female empowerment versus just something that’s a classy stripper show? In the spectrum from celebratory fun to creepy, this show trended towards the wrong pole. Why? I started with a bit of “you know it when you see it”, but lots of discussion helped me put my finger on some reasons why.

The performers weren’t introduced or named. No silly burlesque moniker, no persistent identity, no cheering for them. They were treated like sexy interchangeable cogs, with a suspiciously heterogenous body type. Additionally, perhaps leaning into the wrong aspects of the subject matter, a lot of them were literally masked (helmeted)… providing a faceless anonymity. This upped the creep factor and dehumanization. It was getting really awkward until the first Han and Chewie number, which relieved some of the tension from such a sustained male gaze. Those two scoundrels were essential relief, because overall there’s a queerness and fluidity to burlesque that was sorely missing from this show.

There were some amazing moments too. There was nothing sexy about the emperor riding the death star, and it was glorious. The Jabba “Biggie” number was hilarious. There were some amazing sets and lighting tricks (like dancing by saber light). And the dancers were certainly all very talented. But if you’ve become used to the feeling of sex positivity from Seattle’s quirky burlesque scene, you’re not going to see that from this show. Be warned.