Welcome to the fifth edition of the My Odd Hobby series! As usual, this one isn't at the posted coordinates.
This one may look a little different than the others so far...
The Puzzle:
I have always loved music from a very young age, as many of us have. My parents encouraged me to take piano lessons and I enjoyed it so much, I ended up taking 8 years of lessons! Throughout this time, I gained a great appreciation for music, especally for older genres such as ragtime, jazz, and the like. I didn't go to many music performances, however, this all changed after my parents took me to see my first musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee back at the Grand Rapids Civic Theatre. I loved spelling bees as a kid, so this was a perfect intro into the musical realm. Then came some of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musicals such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, and Phantom of the Opera. The latter was awesome to see in person, the set design was terrific and really captured the drama and intrigue between the characters and settings.
Then, Hamilton came in and shook me and changed my idea of what a musical could be. The idea of writing a musical about the founding fathers but using music inspired by more modern genres of music like hip-hop and rap was so novel, and the musical received tons of attention. Evita was similar in its unusual (for the time) use of rock music and basis in history. After that, I saw Wicked and its re-imagining of the story of The Wizard of Oz, which I very much enjoyed.
Sometimes, however, I prefer musicals with more "grounded" settings. Stephen Sondheim's Company was one of the first to do this, as the famous composer once said himself, "Broadway theater has been for many years supported by upper-middle-class people with upper-middle-class problems. These people really want to escape that world when they go to the theatre, and then here we are with Company talking about how we're going to bring it right back in their faces". Newer musicals such as Next to Normal or Lin-Manuel Miranda's (who also composed Hamilton) In the Heights feature down-to-earth protagonists who are just looking to make a better life for themselves and others. In a similar vein, the musical Come From Away is a true story of how the residents of Gander, Newfoundland pitched in to help a sudden, unexpected influx of passengers who were forced to land there after the 9/11 attacks. Then, of course, there's the popular musical RENT, which famously covers many touchy topics in its representation of urban life.
Now, when it comes to a favorite musical, it's a difficult decision because of the different types of musicals out there. Perhaps my favorite comedy musical is one that hasn't even made it to Broadway and was, in fact, first performed here in the state of Michigan! A Very Potter Musical is a show that was put on by students at the University of Michigan and spoofs the popular Harry Potter franchise. As for non-comedy musicals, I have to say it's the relatively recent Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell. It's a retelling of two major Greek myths, specifically the tragedy of Orpheus and Eurydice intertwined with the story of Hades and Persephone, with an awesome sung-through jazz soundtrack. One I haven't seen but really would like to see is The Lightning Thief musical, based on the series by Rick Riordan. I highly enjoyed the book series as a kid and would love to see a musical adaptation of it. So many musicals, so little time...
Did you miss the puzzle already?
The Cache:
The hide is very simple and shouldn't be an issue, although muggles may be at specific times. Use caution and good luck!
Congrats to MikeyMac on the very quick FTF!