Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Redwood

Not quite our standard "Broadway Parade performance," but it was a Broadway cast performing a song from the show so I think it counts. People have been talking about Redwood for years. Idina Menzel has been a part of it from the very beginning (she's credited as one of the writers) and while that's most of what anybody talks about when they talk about the show, I think it has a lot of potentential even outside of her attachment. It's an original show that isn't based off anything, and it's got a solid creative team, with writer director Tina Landau, music supervisor extraordinare Tom Kitt, and a relative newcomer to Broadway, composer Kate Diaz. I'm cautiously optimistic that this show could be really good, so I was excited to see the performance, even if it's just on a float.

So I'll be honest, I think this song is pretty good. I liked the melody, it had some solid lyrics, Idina gave a great performance, all of that was excellent. My one issue is maybe the orchestration? It sounded very "produced," very "hip hop," which would generally be fine, but it felt like a weird choice for a song about getting into nature to get away from the rush of our increasingly tehnologicial world. I wouldn't be surprised if in the show, the song starts more acoustic and they just kind of cut to the moment where the song built and that made it look more jarring than it needed to, which I guess is fair, but for here it didn't quite work. Nonetheless, I'm still looking forward to the show, and this did make me care more about the bronx zoo float than I ever have in the past, so maybe that's a win?

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: The Outsiders

For being a movie (and book) adaptation, I actually do enjoy The Outsiders pretty well. I think it's got great music, a dynamic cast, a compelling story (the show did actually make me read/listen to the book), and some of the most exciting fight choreography I've ever seen. So I'm pumped for them to get a parade performance and looking forward to their energetic performance!

This probably was my favorite performance yet. I like the number (Tulsa 1967) and while the opening bit with Brody Grant was a little low energy (I don't know what the crowd behind him was threatened with, but they looked terrified), but once the rest of the cast got there, I thought it was great! I was impressed that at least one of the guys still tried the "running on the tire" stunt in the rain, and I thought all of the dancing continued to be super impressive, especially with the environmental concerns. The transiation into the finale was a little jarring and I think unnecessary, but I guess I can't fault them too much for wanting to squeeze "Stay Gold" in there. I also appreciate that Ana Gasteyer made the joke about them performing in the rain on Broadway, that was a good touch. I think this is our last pre-parade performance :( but not a bad one to end on. Happy Parade everyone!

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Death Becomes Her

I have to say, people have been excited for this show for a while but it's never really captured my attention a ton. Yesterday I started listening to the sounds of the soundtrack they released, and the music was kind of fun, but I still do think it might not be for me. That being said, it is the only real new show to perform this year, so I was excited to see it on the list. This is my first chance to really see something from this show, so I was excited to be drawn in.

This song was an interesting choice. I think shows like this that are so built around their star power might have a disadvantage when it comes to parade performances, because they don't really feature the kind of high energy ensemble numbers that are usually best for parade performances. Having Jennifer Simard and Megan Hilty do the introduction was a good choice, and the song they chose did feature a nice ensemble, even if I wouldn't necessarily call it "high energy." This one didn't work as well in the rain, but this cast didn't miss a beat. They stayed focused and looking slick as ever as they hit their marks and stared deeply into the camera lenses. Michelle Williams also did a good enough job (although the lip syncing wasn't the best) and those costumes were definitely wonderful. I think this performance still didn't necessarily turn me into a devout fan, but I think it might have done a good job at reaching it's target audience, so I'll give it props for that. All in all, 3.5 of 5 stars.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Hell's Kitchen

I feel relatively "meh" about Hell's Kitchen myself. I think it's a good enough show for what it is. I'm just not a huge fan of Jukebox musicals and the soundtrack here doesn't really do a ton for me, but I think it has good stuff. I like the energy of the show and I do think the costume/scenic design/choreography is pretty fun. Nonetheless, I can't say I came into this show with super specific or high hopes.

The songs they chose make sense. The opening number is a great energy to start with, and ending with Empire State of Mind is also a must I suppose. I thought the cast did great. Honestly, dancing in the rain kind of added to the gritty New York feel, so while I feel bad for the cast, they worked it. It also kind of looked like they might have been singing live somewhat? If that's the case, that's pretty cool. Only critique is I don't know that I needed them to keep cutting away to the crowd, that seemed kind of unnecessary and distracting, but camera choices aside, I think the show itself did a good job and I had a good time watching.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Back to the Future

I don't have super strong feelings about this show. I listened to the London soundtrack an enjoyed a few of the new numbers (most everything George does in the show is excellent, most everything Dr. Scott does is not so great), but feel mostly mediocre about the show. I will say, the folks I know who have seen it say it's pretty fun, mostly because of the production value and the nostalgia (to quote my sister, "It's a great show for dads") which doesn't necessarily always lend itself to a parade performance, but I was still excited. Partially because I do enjoy Roger Bart and I'm proud of Casey Likes (a Jimmy Award kid) for his second Broadway lead in somewhat disappointing jukebox adjacent musicals.

For one thing, they really kept us waiting for this one. Instead of stacking all the performances at the beginning, they really strung this one along, but it finally came. I was banking on them doing Power of Love (their goto), but instead they did a medley of songs to feature their two stars, which is good...unfortunately, I don't really care for either of the songs. "It Works" has never been as funny as it wants to be for me and "Back In Time" does still kind of belong as credits music in my opinion. The show also does loose a little without all the scenic and lighting effects, so this might not be the best showcase of what they do, but they seemed to be having a good time, so I guess that's an ok way to end this year's parade.

The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Shucked

I think Shucked is very fun. I enjoy the silly shows, I like how clever the jokes are, and there are moments that are legitimately heartfelt. I know this show is closing soon, which is fair, but kind of sad. For that reason, I'm a little suprised that it's performing, but not dissapointed. I really hope this show gets a solid end of its run and I'm excited to see all the regional productions that are coming, and I'm excited that they got to perform here!

I'll be honest, I was a little worried when floats and bands started crossing before the Broadway performances were done. I was stressed that I had heard it wrong or maybe we weren't atually going to get Shucked. But then, when I heard that music while seeing "The JGG" behind them, I got super excited! And truly, that opening was inspired. If any show was going to sell out and be a comercial, this is a great show to do it. I loved the original jokes/lyrics at the beginning (It's no Beetlejuice, but it's a astart), I liked the medley of song choices, I like the topical food related content, across the board, this is my favorite performance yet. Good work team.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: How to Dance in Ohio

I AM SO PSYCHED FOR THIS SHOW!!! Evertyhing I've heard about it is amazing. I love the music, the message, the story, everything about this show is perfect. I've been gobbling up every piece of media about this show to come out and so I was really excited for this performance

I'll be honest, I was nervous at the beginning. While I do enjoy "Getting Ready for the Dance" I really wanted to see the kids. That being said, the Macy's joke was a good one, and so I'll forgive it. The finale is a song I haven't heard yet, but it does reprise Building Momentum which is a VERY GOOD song (streaming on spotify and YouTube now). While the dance break was a little underwhelming, I think it did a good song of showcasing these excellent characters and performers, which is what the show is about, so I think that's a fine thing for this performance to be about. This show has a lot of heart and I think that came through in this performance. I'm just so exited for these kids making their broadway debut and so excited for this show to be put out into the world.