Maren's Many Moments

Every time I come to New York, I leave thinking that there is no way a trip could be as wonderful as this.  And each time I return, I find myself mistaken.  I love the energy and pulse of this city.  I love the feeling that I get as I see new shows, whether they blow me away like Come From Away and The Play that Goes Wrong, scare me like Sweeney Todd, make me smile like SpongeBob, or make me think like Once On This Island. Being an attendee and now presenter at BroadwayCon, I find myself very grateful for the opportunity over the last three years to find a space where people like me can find each other, and learn that there are fans all over the place, and we are not alone in our connection to the music and the stories we have found that speaks to our hearts. Watching Once on This Island as my last show before returning to Utah helped me to remember that the love of theatre is only a small but important part of my life.  Seeing the costume design choices, looking a...

Today I experienced the first ever Broadway Industry day, where people who work or wish to work within the theatre industry gathered to talk about how to better increase the fan experience.  One of the main topics was about understanding the difference between fans, and fans who buy tickets.  An often echoed discussion point was that many fans because of time, distance, or money, do not get to attend a Broadway show.  Interesting for me for a few reasons.  One, that is precisely what the panel I am moderating on Saturday is about, making sure to be a vibrant part of the theatrical community where you live, because art and creativity and community can happen anywhere.  Even more important though, is that for years I was that fan who did not buy tickets. When I was 12 I learned about a musical that had just opened on Broadway called the Secret Garden.  I remember we had an awesome music store near my house where you could listen to the cd on headphones befor...

It is rare to be able to say that a show is flawless, and it is even more rare to have two such experiences in one day, so I consider the events of this day to be an extreme anomaly. I attended the matinee production of Come From Away, which was the original cast except for Jenn Colella, which was sad in a way, but her understudy, Julie Reiber was phenomenal, and I have her Jenn talk about being the understudy for Idina Menzel and dealing with a disappointed audience, so I was not about to do the same thing to Jenn's understudy.  It did not matter because this cast was seamless in their presentation.  There is so much I could say, but one thing stood out to me.  This cast was realistic.  The people were talented and beautiful, but the natural beauty you find in your favorite aunt or your coworker that makes you laugh or your friend who brings you food when you are sick.  I have lived in a small town before, and the feeling that every cast member brought into thi...

This week I get on a plane, and head to NYC to be a part of a panel at BroadwayCon. Putting those words on the screen feels all at once surreal, thrilling, and fulfilling.  Ever since I can remember, Musical Theatre has been on some level a part of my life, from singing in my room, to being in a chorus, to helping people prepare for auditions, to bringing my sister dinner as she directs a show.  My current work as a theatre critic has only helped this to grow, and I have learned that there is one spot in this world that I love more than any other, and that is the spot of a chair in the audience of a production. From the moment I walk into a theatrical venue, I am transformed into a different world.  Be it a small community theatre, or a great performance hall, this is the world where art is created and joy happens.  In the great performance halls, I think of those who have dedicated their lives to performing, writing, playing, directing, building, sewing, and making...

I have now spent almost two full days being in the company of theatre critics who have done this for decades, along with newbies like myself.  Some people got their start when a news desk said "we need you to write an entertainment feature, go!"  Some of us, like me, sought out opportunities to be a part of the community. I love theatre.  I have since I was a kid.  And while I am a decent singer, I never really translated well to on stage performance.  Nerves got the best of me.  My voice doesn't match my appearance.  A million other reasons.  So I did back stage stuff, chorus stuff, but really, what it came down to was simply that I enjoy more than anything being in the theatre.  Watching the story unfold.  Watching the actors play their parts.  Connecting and learning and being with others like me and not like me.  Today I saw a quote on the wall at the San Francisco Playhouse that said it perfectly: Making the communi...

I have ventured into San Francisco to participate in the conference for the American Theatre Critics Association #ATCA.   This is my first conference as a new member.  I have also been spending a lot of time hearing about the fact that I graduated from high school 20 years ago.  This causes me to reflect on my senior trip, to New York City, as a young Utahn who really knew very little about the world and even less about art and theatre, though I had well worn CDs and CD jackets of lyrics and felt myself to be an expert of epic proportions.  Of course, now I am older and wiser and see theatre all over, have been to many places all over the country, lived in two of the best theatre meccas in the United States, and can calmly and eloquently give my expert opinion. Ha! If you believed that last part, you have no clue who I really am.  Every time I come to a new place, I feel like that niave yet excited 18 year old who felt like a rebel stepping into a bar to find ...

What follows is completely my opinion.  I am often frustrated with people who describe something as the only way to do things.  Look, I barely function in my own life.  I have no way of ever telling anyone that my way is better than theirs, or that I know more than they do.  However, I have been specifically requested to write about this from a few different people. People want to know how I find out about the activities that I do with my kids.  They also want to know how I have the energy and such to do these things with the kids.  I have even been asked why these things seem to be such a priority for me. Well, after my divorce, I sat my young daughters down.  And they were very young.  However, life would be different now. They would live in two separate houses.  They would experience things different than their friends.  Also, money would be different.  Now, to this day I do not know if what I did was right or wrong, but it s...