I watched a lot of Broadway short-scene performances in Tony Awards (since it's the only way to get to know Broadway show).
And I fall in love with Newsies Broadway Musical since I watched the 66th Tony Awards in 2012.
Aku yang masih SMA dan aktif di klub teater saat itu, seketika jatuh cinta pada cerita, lagu, setting, dan koreografi Newsies yang tampil 1 scene di acara Tony Awards (and they won the awards for best choreography and best original score!).
Sejak saat itu aku menggali banyak tentang Newsies, mulai dari aktor-aktrisnya, sutradara, koreografer, music director, dan video-video tentang Newsies yang bisa aku tonton di youtube (cause watching the full show on Broadway seems impossible).
Watching a musical show is always an emotional experience for me.
It was a good feeling just to watch some backstage videos, or some little parts of the show.
Until their very last day on Broadway, I clearly never got the chance to watch their show. But that video on youtube is enough to make me obsessed with them. And I never try to find out how the story goes. It simply because there's still hope inside me that one day I could see this show, the full show.
Until one day, years after I saw that Tony Awards, I found this movie version of Newsies Broadway Musical live show.
Deg-degan.
Cuma mau nonton kayak gini di layar laptop aja aku deg-degan.
Aku tutup pintu dan jendela kamar, mematikan handphone, memasang speaker, dan mulai menyaksikan filmnya.
Newsies was my first Broadway show........ on screen (still looking forward to my first off-screen show 😁).
And it was beautiful and amazing.
Sebagai anak yang sedikit banyak tau bagaimana proses menciptakan sebuah pertunjukan teater, dan sebagai anak yang sedikit banyak tau bagaimana emosionalnya memainkan peran di atas panggung, it was a great feeling.
Like I said before, watching a musical show is always an emotional experience for me.
Aku tercengang,
Sesekali ikut bernyanyi,
Beberapa kali tertawa,
Dan menangis.
Bukan karena cerita yang sedih. Bukan.
Aku menangis saat emosi yang tergurat di wajah para pemain itu sampai padaku, tau rasanya dada yang penuh sesak oleh emosi di atas panggung.
Aku menangis saat pertunjukan begitu indah dan sempurna, aku menangis karena terlalu emosional, bahkan hanya dari layar laptop saja.
Aku ikut bertepuk tangan saat semua audience beranjak dari kursinya dan memberikan tepuk tangan mereka yang paling meriah, like I was one of them right there.
It was another great experience of watching musical, even if it's on screen.
Thank you Newsies,
After a long time of not feeling it,
You remind me to that famous quote of life,
That the things I'm doing right now is necessary to sustain life,
But love, beauty, music, things that fill my heart, things that I feel when I saw the show, these are what we stay alive for.
Thank you Newsies,
You bring the spirit and the happiness in me.
