Blithe Spirit

There are some things in life that, if given the opportunity, you simply have to do. Seeing Angela Lansbury on a Broadway stage is one of them. Thus, rushing the revival of Noel Coward's Blithe Spirit, starring Mrs. Potts herself, was a no-brainer.

The Blithe Spirit student rush is a tricky one to maneuver, in that discounted tickets go on sale two hours prior to curtain. If the rush begins when the box office opens, I know to show up two hours prior. No problem. But in the case of Blithe, do you show up right at 6 p.m.? Do you come 15 minutes before? Or do you wait all damn day at the front of the line? It's difficult to judge how many people will show up for rush, and when. Well, I loves me some discounted tickets, but I'm sure as hell not going to create an all day vigil at the head of a one-person line.

The fall of 'Spring' rush

It's not often that one gets to travel back in time, but thanks to Google (what can't it do?) I have done just that, and re-witnessed one of the great eras in Broadway rush history.

During a short bout of procrastination, I was fooling around on Google Maps, using the "street view" function. Since it's way too cold to take an actual walk through Times Square, I thought it'd be pleasant to go for a virtual stroll instead. While I was "there," I was looking for clues to discover around what time the photography of the area was taken. Warner Bros. owns the billboard space that hangs above 7th Ave and W 47th St., and that space always advertises the company's current major release. Low and behold, it was The Brave One, which was released in September 2007. My mind immediately jumped to Spring Awakening, which recently (and sadly) closed on Broadway. I thought, Wouldn't it be nice to see the old marquee once again?

I decided to "walk" over to the Eugene O'Neil Theatre on 49th St. Once I "arrived," what did I find there but... the student rush line!! Which means the photographs were taken in the morning, since rush tickets went on sale when the box office opened.

It was nostaligc to see the Spring Awakening student rush line, since I'd rushed the show 11 times (seen the show 18 times though). Spring Awakening's rush policy was not only one of the best offered (tickets were always available, and ususally in the first few rows, extreme right and left), but it was also one of the most popular.

It's also special to see the original posters, featuring original stars John Gallagher Jr., Jonathan Groff, and Lea Michele (before they were later replaced by Blake Bashoff, Kyle Riabko, and Alexandra Socha).

Thus concludes today's lesson in Broadway rush history.