`
Travelin' Cousins
  • Home
  • About
    • Our Story
    • Media Kit
    • Write for Us
    • Press >
      • October 2018 Press
    • Contact
  • The Daily Scoop
  • Travel Articles
    • Travel Adventures Articles
    • Throwback Thursdays >
      • Elisa's Throwback China Trip Adventure
    • Foodie Fridays
    • Travelin' The NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
    • Walt Disney World Wednesdays
  • Things To Do
    • Entertainment Reviews
    • New York Area
    • Southern California Area
  • Where to Stay and Things to Do
  • Where to Dine Vegan
  • Fun Fact & Travel Trivia Articles
    • Fun Facts List Directory
  • Tanya's Photo Gallery
    • Pictures from Auschwitz/Birkenau - WARNING: Mature Content/Depressing Images
  • Elisa's Photo Gallery
  • Travel Tips
    • Know Before ya Go

The latest in reviews for Broadway plays, tours and live shows.​

SHOWTIME

Vanessa Hudgens is a Darling in Gigi!

5/25/2015

0 Comments

 
Picture
Thank heaven's for little girls and Vanessa Hudgens! This young talent is adorable, lively and fills the stage with her youthful energy and her strong and captivating singing voice soars throughout the Neil Simon Theatre. 

She proved to be a darling in this classic French love story based on the novella by the same name written by Colette.

If you are old enough or just a lover of classic musicals, you may remember the 1958 musical by the same name which brought to fame such songs as "Thank Heaven's for Little Girls" and "I Remember it Well" - the coming of age story of a young girl in the enchanted world of La Belle Epoque Paris.

Picture
While the story is set at the turn of the 20th century, the theme of "l"amour" is timeless!

With three kids in tow, to see this delightful new Broadway production, my perspective about this show is for adults and kids alike.  


Upon hearing that Gigi was coming to Broadway, my decision to bring my kids was twofold - Vanessa Hudgens' fame and popularity and the fact that this tale is set in Paris, a city my children adored visiting.
 
The story, set in an innocent and highly romantic era, required several explanations during the show to my daughter about early 20th century dating protocol which was a rather foreign concept to an eight year old.

Lucky enough to have secured first row center mezzanine seats, the view was stupendous and the music and delight on stage captivated all three kids!  No boosters, no head tilting - just a straight on view for us all! 


PictureView of Stage from our 1st Row Mezzanine Seats
The sets were simple and elegant yet ornate enough to fully transform the stage at the Neil Simon Theatre into early 1900's Paris streets.  Adorned with steel beams and stairways and a cleverly designed floor that alternated from outdoor streets, the Moulin Rouge dance floor and period interiors,  there was no mistaken, this was gay Paris (accent please!)

Picture
The voices resonated through the theatre with each song and a cast that was superb which includes Corey Cott (Newsies), Tony Award® winner Victoria Clark (Light in the Piazza) and Tony nominees Dee Hoty (Mamma Mia) and Howard McGillin (Phantom of the Opera).    

My daughters (8 and 11) and nephew (12) expressed boredom through a number of the ballads sung as I guess there was a lapse in the visual stimulation and upbeat melody.  However, they did get the wit and humor in the dialog, bringing laughter and smiles.


Make no mistake,  I found it all enthralling! Kudos to Director Eric D. Schaeffer (Follies, Million Dollar Quartet) and writer Heidi Thomas (Call the Midwife, Cranford, Upstairs Downstairs) for a phenomenal stage production, which debuted at Washington D.C's Kennedy Center till mid February 2015 before heading to the Broadway stage on March 19, 2015 for previews and officially opening on April 8th. 

In spite of sporadic moments of "boredom" for the kids, they left this musical happy and excited to hit the stage door to get up close and personal to the cast.

Playbills, and camera phones in hand, they positioned themselves strategically to garner the perfect view to meet and greet and snag autographs and photos. 

Unfortunately, this part of the day was disappointing to say the least. Unlike the countless shows we've seen before, the cast was not as engaging as they exited.  Walking right passed fans lined up along the fence surrounding the stage door.  

In fact, Ms. Hudgens did not even exit as an announcement was made that she does not leave the theatre between performances on days with two shows. Big let down and bummer for the kids - especially Kelsey, my 8 year old.  We were encouraged, however, to send playbills, which she would happily sign and return.

Do not miss this show - and yes, bring the kiddies!!

-Elisa
For Your Reference
Gigi on Broadway
Neil Simon Theatre
250 W 52nd Street
New York, NY 10019

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Elisa

    Elisa is co-founder of Travelin' Cousins travel blog along with her cousin "Travelin' Tanya." She lives on Long Island, New York with her two daughters and her dog Punkin. An entrepreneur whose professional career has included a variety of businesses in the toy, licensing and direct marketing businesses, she is now a blogger and freelance writer. Since her teen years, she has traveled extensively throughout the United States, Europe and Asia and continues to travel these days throughout the world with her daughters and cousin Tanya. Her other passions include cooking, dining, the theatre and shopping.
    ​

    Tanya

    Picture
    Tanya is a free sprit who resides in Southern California with the only family that she has outside of NY (you can take a girl out of the city, but you’ll never take the city out of this girl). Her housemates include her mom, her 2 sisters, her brother, her sister’s boyfriend, her niece, her 2 kids and her ex! Yup...all under one roof! Her professional career and background was in film (writing, production and acting). Currently she is a stay at home mom - who is hardly ever at home, and who’s passions are: everything travel related, food (both cooking and eating), photography, skiing and of course, shopping!

    Archives

    July 2017
    October 2015
    September 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014

    Categories

    All
    Big Apple Circus
    Broadway
    Dulles Virginia
    Hawaii
    Hollywood Bowl
    Lincoln Center
    Mamma Mia
    Maui
    NY
    Old Lahaina Luau
    Queens

    RSS Feed

The Scoop Blog
Travel Adventure Articles
Travelin' the NYC Outer Boroughs with Elisa
Walt Disney World Wednesdays
Travel Resource Guide
Vegan Dining Guide

​


   
                                                      
Fun Fact and Travel Trivia Articles
Elisa and Tanya's Favorites
Travel Tips - Know Before You Go
​
About
​Contact Us 
​Media Kit 
​
(c) Travelin' Cousins 2020 All Rights Reserved