Yeah there I said it. Equus was better, and not because Dan Rad wasn’t naked in HOW TO SUCCEED. To be honest, I think it was the actual plot that got me. As interesting as it was to see main character Finch climb his way to the top, it didn’t strike me as very intriguing. As far as story lines go, it was okay, nothing exciting. (And I really tried not to compare to LA CAGE, which I just saw the other night. Business men vs. drag queens? There really isn’t a competition.) On the other hand, EQUUS made me think. I think it was just a better written play overall than HOW TO SUCCEED.
But nonetheless, I had a fabulous time with my best friend Caitlin who I hadn’t seen in months!!! Dan Rad was equally charming in his American accent, but I really missed his British one. Seeing him prance around on stage was really fun though we all know Dan really isn’t a dancer. Broadway/theater singing is a lot different from American Idol and I was quite impressed with his performance. Dancing trumps singing but it was overall a pretty good musical debut.
No autographs, no pictures. Caitlin and I weren’t expecting any since it was a matinee and as a general rule, Dan does not exit the stage door in between performances. We learned the hard way during my Equus #2 showing.
On a side note, HOW TO SUCCEED raised $13,000 for Broadway Cares when they auctioned off the bowtie Dan wore during the performance. Yes, someone dished out that much money. IT WAS INSANE.