Friday, April 1, 2022

Broadway is back baby! Spring into Broadway with Paradise Square Musical!

Paradise Square - New Musical on Broadway!


Not since Les Misérables has Broadway been able to take somber subjects, turn them into a Musical and left me leaving the theater actually feeling *uplifted*.

Broadway is back and if you think New York in 1863 as the Civil War rages on, couldn't be more boring - you couldn't be more wrong!

*SYNOPSIS*

Free Black Americans and Irish Immigrants live and love together in the unlikliest of neighborhoods - the dangerous streets and crumbling tenement houses of Lower Manhattan's notorious Five Points slum. The amalgamation between the communities took its most exuberant form with raucous dance contests on the floors of the neighborhood bars and dance halls. It is here in the Five Points where tap dancing was born. But this racial equilibrium would come to a sharp and brutal end when President Lincoln's need to institute the first Federal Draft to support the Union Army would incite the deadly NY Draft Riots of July 1863.

Within this galvanizing story of racial harmony undone by a country at war with itself, we meet the denizens of a local saloon called Paradise Square. These characters include the indomitable Black woman who owns it; her Irish-Catholic sister-in-law and her Black minister husband; a conflicted newly arrived Irish immigrant; a fearless freedom seeker; an anti-abolitionist political boss; and a penniless songwriter trying to capture it all. They have conflicting notions of what it means to be an American while living through one of the most tumultuous eras in our country's history.

With visceral and nuanced staging and choreography that captures the pulsating energy when Black and Irish cultures meet and set to a contemporary score that reimagines early American song, Paradise Square depicts an overlooked true-life moment when hope and possibility shone bright. 

*Official Trailer*


Below: "Someone to Love" from Paradise Square


 

  

Above: "Welcome Home" sung by Joaquina Kalukango

Review:

The Omicron surge had postponed it's release, it was in previews since March 15th and will open this Sunday, April 3rd. I got to see it last week and I consider it an early birthday present to me! 

Literally every cast member *BRINGS IT* but let me warn you right now that Joaquina Kalukango brings down the house and sent a full house to their feet! Her voice is so good my mom literally said a prayer of protection over it! The Tony Awards just needs to give Paradise Square it's award right now and give Joaquina her award now too!

This is a definite *TICKET* - get your tickets before all performances sell out and you are waiting months to get in. Remember summer is swiftly approaching and tourists will be snatching up those seats when they come to visit NYC.

*RUSH/LOTTERY*

A limited number of general rush tickets are available for each performance, subject to availability. General rush seats are $32 each and will be available when the Box Office opens for that day's performance(s). Digital lottery tickets are $32 each (plus $4 service charge per ticket) and limited to (2) tickets per person, subject to availability. Lotteries close at 3:00 PM the day before the performance. Press on the link that reads Digital Lottery - when you get there, click on a social network, social toaster will verify it and then a form will appear and you complete it to enter the Digital Lottery - remember to fill out your name EXACTLY as it reads on your photo ID - this is important if you win so you can claim your tickets. On the day of the performance have your ID at the ready, your proof of vaccination and a mask (they do have some available if you forget yours, but I always say have your own, just in case).

Just in case I don't post again before my birthday this Sunday, April 4th - I want to post a reminder that it is not too late to support my application for Sephora Squad - I would totally consider it a birthday present if you fill this out: 


Did you want to treat me to a coffee for my birthday? 

Readers Sound Off: What broadway performance are you most looking forward to catching? (is there one that is still postponed that you wanted you to see?)

˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•● Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ●•●•٠·˙
FTC Disclosure: I attended Paradise Square during previews, no monetary compensation has been received. All opinions are 100% my own! I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.