Patty & Emily are Women of Will

A few weeks ago, we attended Tina Packer’s exploration of the women of Shakespeare, “Women of Will.” It was an interesting and challenging night at the theatre. Considering we spend most of our time talking about quick changes and glitter, we really had to stop, listen, and pay attention.

Tina, along with Nigel Gore, examines Shakespeare’s ladies throughout five phases of his writing. She looks at them through the lens of a scholar and also a modern woman. The night we went, it was an overview of all five phases. If you’re really hardcore, she’ll be doing an expanded five-part version in the spring.

And though we haven’t studied Shakespeare since high school, the ideas she discusses are ones we wrestle with in our love of musical theatre. Sometimes it’s hard to reconcile our modern ideas with why Kristin Chenoweth as Fran felt she couldn’t be happy without a man in “Promises, Promises.” Whenever we leave a show that leads to a DISCUSSION, it is never a bad thing. And Tina Packer has created a show that IS a discussion.

So, now we want you to get in on the conversation! We’re giving away two tickets to Women of Will, and this contest is subjective! Tweet to us today (2/23) who your favorite Shakespeare lady is and why with the hashtag #pattyandemilyWoW. We’ll choose a winner from those entries!

If you don’t win, check out www.women-of-will.com for tickets and info!

Emerging: An Evening With Jay Kuo

Hey Shmazettes! I (Emily) had the great pleasure of attending Jay Kuo’s concert on Monday night at The Lambs Club. The evening was a mix of songs from his catalogue, leading up to several songs from Allegiance. First off, The Lambs Club is suuuuper nice and swanky and has a great old New York atmosphere. I don’t know what their regularly scheduled events are, but I would love to attend something else there. The prices weren’t too bad either: the cover charge was $30 and there was no minimum; the menu was a bit pricy for my taste. Honestly, when I first got there I felt a little underdressed and out of place, but George Takei was there so I knew everyone was welcome!

All the songs we heard were great, and it definitely made me curious to check out Kuo’s other shows. I’ve been following the progression of Allegiance for a while and was very happy to finally hear a few songs live. Lea Salonga sang the shiiiiiit out of the 11:00 number ‘Higher.’

Check out this video of her singing ‘Higher’ during her American Song Book concert at Lincoln Center.

We can’t wait to see Allegiance on Broadway! In the mean time to hold yourself over listen to lots of Lea Salonga and scour YouTube for as much Jay Kuo as you can find. I know I will be!

Also keep up with the show by following Kuo and the show (I can rhyme! I’m going to write musical theatre!) on Twitter!
Jay Kuo @NYCjayjay
Allegiance @AllegianceBway

I’m going to assume you already follow Lea Salonga and George Takei, but if for some crazy reason you’re not….

Lea @MsLeaSalonga
George @GeorgeTakei