I was invited to a preview of the new Broadway musical Head Over Heels and went to check it out.
This high-profile production features a transgender woman actor in a principal role for the first time on a Broadway musical. Only in New York could a show lean so boldly into breaking barriers around gender and still keep audiences laughing. Here is my report.
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About Head Over Heels
The show playfully centers love across the LGBT spectrum lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender relationships unfolding against a royal backdrop. While it touches on identity with sincerity, the tone is broadly comedic and welcoming. The production plays at the Hudson Theatre, Broadway’s oldest operating house.
For a plot outline and highlights, see the detail page below.
Now playing at the hudson theatre
Hudson Theatre
That February, the Hudson presented its first musical in roughly half a century, drawing significant attention. Now at 114 years since opening in 2018, it blends historic charm with modern comfort.
Address: 141 W 44th St, New York, NY 10036
More on the theater below.
What to explore at the hudson before the show
Since chances to visit Broadway’s oldest house are rare, I brought a short checklist of must-see features and snapped photos to share before the curtain rose.
The biggest bar on Broadway
I stopped by 15 minutes before curtain. Even with four or five people in line, the long counter kept things moving and I got my drink quickly.
Stained glass by Louis Comfort Tiffany
Artist Eric Pape later restored the panels, keeping a white-and-green palette that preserves the theater’s vintage elegance. Once you know it is Tiffany, it is hard not to take a photo.
Our seats this time
If your ticket says ORCHC C 110:
Row N, seat 110
This is a prime, dead-center spot in the middle of the orchestra.
In a smaller house like the Hudson, sightlines are solid from the rear orchestra, mezzanine, and sides as well.
The stage is not especially low, so the first few rows may require a slight upward gaze. If you want the most intense close-up energy, consider seats near the front.
Official Head Over Heels merchandise
Be sure to check out the merch inside the theater. Although the Hudson isn’t huge, there are sales counters in the front lobby and toward the rear of the orchestra level.
The selection was still small, so I hope it’ll expand in the future. You can also browse items on the official site before heading to the theater.
What I thought after seeing head over heels
As a new preview, I went in with almost no information. The cast isn’t overly large, the leading roles are packed with personality, and I never lost track of who was who. The pacing is brisk, so it held my attention throughout.
If you want big laughs, watch these three
The baseline is straightforward comedy, so there are plenty of laughs. Some jokes are very American in flavor and may fly by, but there are many visual gags that land no matter what. Here are three characters I recommend focusing on.
He bursts on speaking a made-up language, gets a big laugh, then is banished for falling for the king’s daughter. To get close to her again, he dons a blond wig and disguises himself as a medieval lady knight. It was hilarious!
There is a showstopper where he alternates, in poses to music, between a feminine allure for the king and a masculine allure for the queen. It got the biggest laughs of the night.
Pamela, the older sister, loves to lecture about romance despite little real experience, while Philoclea, the younger sister, is earnest and effortlessly charming.
Their dynamic recalls a sketch-comedy duo. The shepherds entanglement with them swings between laughs and heart, and you’ll find yourself invested in where the sisters are headed.
A sweet-and-salty comedy musical
If it were only jokes, it would feel like a sketch show, but every principal gets a spotlight scene that shows off both character and voice. The shifts between comedy and vocals are sharp in the best way like craving something sweet after salty: you get two kinds of pleasure in one sitting, and it flies by.
Both sisters sing, of course. Pamela belts with fearless power that fills the room, while Philocleas pure tone pulls you in. On songs together, they feel like different people than in their comic bits, and the contrast is thrilling.
It is fair to say everyone feels perfectly cast. I left thinking the casting team nailed it. Set aside a rich two hours and twenty minutes for this one.
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