Headed to Broadway, Ready for My Close-Up

Onstage audience members are just feet from the dancing, roller-skating and drama of "Xanadu." (By Seth Wenig -- Associated Press)

"Do we really have to dance?" I asked.

"Well. . . ." She wanted to say yes, but smiled instead. "Here are your glow sticks."

* * *

Onstage seats are available occasionally for Broadway plays; last year's Broadway production of "Inherit the Wind" had them, and so did the London production of "Equus." They're cheaper than regular seats (I paid a little more than $40 for my "Xanadu" ticket, while tickets for the orchestra and mezzanine go for more than $110), mostly because of the many rules one has to put up with. Then again, onstage seating also doesn't provide the most optimum viewing experience in certain respects.

For instance, for all the virtues of seeing "Spring Awakening" onstage -- being engulfed by a full-cast musical number, noticing the remarkable details of the set, getting a more interesting peek at the show's more-graphic content -- it failed tremendously during the play's quieter, more emotional scenes, when the actors' faces and spirits were turned outward from the stage. Imagine watching the pottery scene in the movie "Ghost" and seeing just the back of Patrick Swayze's head the whole time.

And some onstage audience members might not want to see all the backstage mechanics of a production: actors waiting for their cues offstage, backdrops and set pieces hanging in the rafters before they're revealed in the story. They can compromise the suspension of disbelief that most audience members demand.

But, luckily, "Xanadu's" smaller stage and more rambunctious verve -- along with its utter disregard for really "important" moments -- made it the perfect production for onstage viewing. The show certainly became a more sensory experience. When the performers roller-skated down the ramps, I felt the light tumult of the wheels beneath my feet; when the evil muse Melpomene (Mary Testa) belted out the ELO classic "Evil Woman," I heard the song through the speakers, but I felt the life force unleashed from very large lungs just 10 feet away.

In "Xanadu," performers might approach onstage audience members and sing directly to them, sneaking up from behind and putting their hands on a shoulder or two. Again, that may or may not be a good thing for some audience members, but seeing the developing horror in a friend's face as a performer inches closer can be a priceless experience.

Alas, Steve was ultimately spared; the actress ended up singling out someone two seats away from him. Steve soon settled down and ended up having a blast; he even stood up and waved his glow stick during the big finale.

I stood up, too, but managed to lose my glow stick somewhere deep in my back pocket -- much to the disappointment of the usher standing next to me.

Tommy Nguyen last wrote for Travel on Cartagena, Colombia.