After sitting down to dinner with my parents, and talking about the future of Broadway, (after the latest disaster with another actor getting hurt in Spiderman ), it occurred to me that Broadway is in trouble and the only way to save Broadway is to force Disney out. We need to push the safe shows-the shows that are not “new”, but just copies of something else-out and encourage people to take a risk when it comes to choosing a show. Writers need to write again. Directors need to find their creativity again and not just reproduce something that is already a sensation in a different medium. Today, the shows that are going up are just competing to be another giant spectacle like the Disney shows are. What we really need is more creativity. We need a young Sondheim, a new Larson, another Lyn Manuel Miranda. We need to start supporting the play-writers, the lyricists and the composers! Anyone who saw Next to Normal understands the difference.

Show’s should not be built from a stencil. They should to be built by hand, from the ground up. Something new. Something creative. Broadway Theater goers (mainly tourists) should try to take a risk and see something that they can’t see at home, the way they can sit down on their couch and watch The Little Mermaid or Mary Poppins. When it comes to theater, people have the opportunity to step outside their comfort zone and pick a show that is unique, creative, challenging and thought provoking – just because it’s different doesn’t mean it won’t be entertaining. Broadway is Special! It used to be that when you walked down 42nd street you weren’t just hit with the lights, you were also hit with something new, something bold, something that had meaning behind it. Today, the only thing that’s new are the Obama condoms they hand out on the streets… and I’m not even sure they are new.

A perfect example of this is Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. It was smart and witty, it was an historical story but had great relevance to the political discussions of today. They pushed the boundaries, and it wasn’t completely successful but at least it was unique, thought provoking, funny and entertaining. No one had ever heard of it, and because it was new and unknown and it was something that was outside of people’s comfort zones, seats didn’t fill and it closed.

The issue all seems to lead back to Disney and their shows, when they first made their appearance-with Beauty and the Beast-they made the show a giant spectacle, like a movie on stage and today, the “new” shows are just trying to live up to that grande performance. We can go to the movies for that!

Last weekend I saw a show called Momentum at the New Victory Theater on 42nd St., a theater devoted to the family theater experience. The show was put on by the Israeli troupe called Mayumana. They are a group of talented artists from all over the world. Some come from a background in dance, others from percussion, gymnastics, and music. And even though they all come from different backgrounds, they come together to learn and teach each other their personal styles. Then when they put on the show they work off each other together as well as allow everyone their time to shine in their own personal area of expertise. So in the end, the show has a little bit of everything. The show is all about movement. It is mainly dance, but it also has a lot of percussion (using odd things like boxes), as well as other real instruments and even some singing.

My favorite number was (I think) the second one. In the number there was this clock, and when the performers put the clock over their hearts it would play some type of beat or tune and it was different for each person. It represented to me the music in your soul. And what was most interesting was that each person had a different style of dance to go along with their own personal beat. Then later I realized that the dances they were doing seemed to relate to where the performers came from. So for instance, one girl from Spain had a very latin tune and was doing a sort of merengue. I really found this particular number to be absolutely wonderful.

I also really liked how they had audience partici-say it-pation. (Sorry, I’ve got Rocky Horror on the brain) and how they used a lot of interesting technology. In the very beginning before the show started they were taking pictures of the audience and video taping audience members beat boxing, and then later they had the pictures and the video clips in the show.

However, the show did have a one downfall, in my opinion. After a while the show became a little repetitive. They kept ending back up in these giant squares that were in like a 3X3 formation. And though it was cool to watch them inside the first time, after that it just became a little boring.

But besides that, I found the show to be creative and fun and I couldn’t take my eyes off the stage. This was actually my second Mayumana show, and now I can’t wait for my third. This really is a great show for families, however not young, young children, and I totally recommend it as a holiday show. They have 3 traveling troupes, so they may be coming to a city near you.

Now head over to Critics’ Corner for an interview with one of the performers.

We’ve been hearing it since we were little, Stand Up to Bullies. But do we? No, we don’t. Instead, we turn our backs, walk away, and leave the victim stranded, helpless, hopeless. Lately the media has been covering the tragic stories of those victims who have found no other way to cope, but to take their own lives. It’s infuriating to think that a) kids feel like they have no other option and b) that our society allows this to happen; that the witnesses, (and there are always witnesses) don’t get involved. We, as a society, seem to usually take the easier road in this situation-to stand passively to the side or even worse, to take the side of the tormentor and join in. We all know what we are supposed to do but so few of us actually use that knowledge.

Personally, I’ve been bullied. It was witnessed, and no one came to my defense, not even the adults who also witnessed it and to whom I went to tell. Can you please explain that to me? I understand that people are afraid to get involved, or they don’t want to acknowledge what’s really going on, but it’s time to stop being afraid. Stand Up – Get Involved – Say Something – Do Something – Tell Someone, if they don’t listen, tell someone else. We can easily prevent the next “bullycide”. And for any bully reading this: get over the fact that people are different-differences make the world interesting. What are you afraid of?

The Who. Led Zeppelin. The Beatles. Pink Floyd. All amazing bands! But on the radio, do we hear them? No, we only hear the overplayed pop music of today. What ever happened to the music that had soul behind it, the music that was written by the musicians, the music that is “what you see is what you get”, not altered by computers?

Today, in my opinion, music is over-produced and sounds like the arrangements are designed by computers, and for the most part-ripped off of the good ol’ rock tunes of our parent’s generation. Only now, it’s rearranged so our generation thinks it’s brand new!…It’s not. Even Lady Gaga, who is really talented in an artistic way, is still all about the video and not just about the music, and she really is just the next generation of Madonna… I will admit that there are exceptions found in the indie music scene. But, the indie music scene is hard to find. When you do, it’s worth the effort. That’s where the soulful music of today is. Personally I’m still looking-recently I found an artist named Angel Taylor, and she’s amazing, you can truly hear the passion in her voice (and those of you who know me, know that passion for what you’re doing is HUGE to me).

Truthfully, I find that the pop of our generation is like the disco of our parent’s.The Muzac of today- compared to The Music of yesterday. I just wish that our generation would wake up and hear the true drum beat. The true soul of music really comes from those who work for it, not from pre-packaged, manufactured “musical acts”.

Now, don’t even get me started about the radio… the only thing that you can ever find is the over played pop stuff, never the interesting indie. People say that it was video that killed the radio star, it’s true and guess what? -Electronics killed the rock and roll star.

If you guys follow any indie artists you think we should listen to…let us know, I’m really trying to learn more. Leave a comment about them below.