Concerts

Anthony Rapp at Queens Theatre in the Park

So, Saturday night. It took us two hours to get from our apartment in Joisey to a park in Queens. Two. Hours. It had something to do with the Pope’s trip to Yonkers. Thanks, Pope Benedict. You made us late for Anthony Rapp. While some may say it’s okay that we only missed one song, it was embarrassing to be one of the few rushing into the theatre after the show had started, and noticed by the man on stage. “Welcome, latecomers” indeed!

I saw Rent on Broadway twice during Anthony’s return to the cast (along with fellow original cast member Adam Pascal). I was glad to have had the opportunity because both of them are amazing. For those who have only seen the movie, do yourself a favor and see the stage version at least once. Jonathan Larson’s story is worth the ticket price.

Having seen the original Mark and Roger, I have no need to keep going back to the show. I would never presume to call myself a Renthead, because unless you were around in the beginning, I don’t think you can truly deem yourself one. Unless Neil Patrick Harris comes to Broadway (he was awesome in Cabaret, by the way), I have no need to see anyone else in those roles.

In any case, Mark is the character I most relate to, and in the past year I’ve come to really admire Anthony, having read his book and purchased his album. (Also, I admit it, I have a tiny crush on him.) I was psyched to find out he was performing with his band, Albinokid, so L and I got tickets.

We had third row seats which someone had taken, so we sat behind them in the small theatre. The show was great, as Anthony did a lot of songs from Look Around as well as some covers and songs from the shows he’s been in. I loved his cover of Snow Patrol’s “Chasing Cars”, and hearing the songs he wrote about his mother and her fight with cancer, such as “Visits to You”, was great. While I enjoy the studio album, I think the songs sound even better live. He ended the show with “Seasons of Love”, and the older lady in front of us was grooving and clapping. I was amused.

Since the venue was so small and the line wasn’t long (nowhere near the Nederlander mob last summer), we waited for an autograph. I told him how to spell my name and one of his bandmates interrupted to say goodbye to him. I didn’t know what I would say if there weren’t an interruption, so I just thanked him and made my way towards the exit. This is probably better than any of an infinite number of idiotic things that could’ve come forth from my mouth, such as “Sorry we were late, traffic’s a bitch!” or “I love you!”

So, let’s sum up. There’s a song on Anthony’s album called “Lesson #1″. “To tell the truth is lesson number one.” Do you know what Lesson #2 is? When the Pope’s in town, give yourself another hour’s travel time for traffic.

I still don’t know which song we missed. I hope it wasn’t “Miss World”. His cover of that rocks!

Tags: Albinokid, Anthony Rapp, Broadway, concert, Jonathan Larson, music, Queens, Rent

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