Off-Broadway productions are more personal

This past weekend, I took a little trip up to my favorite place on the face of this earth: New York City. And there, I did the thing that I always do whenever I go to the Big Apple. I went to the theatre. Therefore, in lieu of F(l)o Show this week, I decided to write a guest column instead so that I could sing the praises of Broadway.

Actually, that’s not quite accurate. I will be singing the praises of off-Broadway theatre.

Off-Broadway theatre is defined as a theatrical production in NYC with a seating capacity between 100 and 499. In addition, it must not be located between 40th to 54th St. and 6th to 8th Ave (AKA the traditional Broadway area).

I’ll admit that I hadn’t paid much attention to Off-Broadway before. Every time I’ve been to NYC in the past, I’ve seen things like Next to Normal, Billy Elliot, or Anything Goes, all of which were located in the heart of the Theatre District. This time, I avoided all Broadway shows for two Off-Broadway spectacles: Falling and Bare.

I will admit upfront that my reasons for seeing these shows were not because I wanted to be brave and venture away from the familiar lights of Broadway. I saw Falling because I’d wanted to see Julia Murney live since I was a high school junior, and she happened to be one of the main characters in this play about the effect autism has on an entire family. And I saw Bare because it’s been my favorite musical since around the same time and because I sobbed hysterically throughout most of Act II the first time I saw it.

Both shows exceeded my expectations, but not in the way you might think. Neither had the flying witches of Wicked or the hilariously offensive humor of The Book of Mormon, but they both did something which is rare in bigger productions: Both shows managed to connect with the audience and make the story personal.

Part of that had to do with the size of the theatre. I knew that the theatre would be small, but I was taken aback when I entered the theatre for Falling. We have lecture halls here that are bigger than that theatre. The audience  for Bare was a little bigger, but still small compared to Broadway theatres. In such a small space, every little thing an actor does can be seen clearly, so they must work doubly hard to portray every facial expression and mannerism in a realistic manner, and this was accomplished by all the actors I saw in both shows.

All the performers in Falling blew me away (Julia Murney did not disappoint!), and once again, I cried in Act II of Bare despite them having drastically edited the entire show since the last time I saw it. And that’s what I now love about Off-Broadway. That connection that can only be accomplished by the most talented actors is often much more evident in an Off-Broadway production. That’s not to say that Broadway actors aren’t talented — come on, they’re on Broadway — but the intimacy is hidden amid lights and smoke.

So the next time you get a chance to go to NYC, go to Phantom of the Opera and The Lion King. But also take some time to get acquainted with the personal nature of Off-Broadway. You might just find a hidden gem.