Good morning, and welcome to Broadway News’ Broadway Review by Brittani Samuel — our overview of reactions, recommendations and information tied to last night’s Broadway opening of “Melissa Etheridge: My Window.”
THE RUNDOWN
Hippocrates taught us that “life is short, but art is long.” Famed singer-songwriter Melissa Etheridge ran with that aphorism to craft her autobiographical and (nearly) solo show, “Melissa Etheridge: My Window.” At just under three hours, Etheridge grants herself the time to trapeze through more than her fair share of crucial life moments. Performances of her bluesy rock songs like “I Want to Come Over” and “Like the Way I Do” intersplice the straightforward narrative chunks, resulting in a quasi-contextualization of Etheridge’s discography. Melissa Etheridge’s voice is as divine as ever — aching, gravelly and emotional. She soars to a nirvanic space when she sings but stumbles when she speaks. For younger people and those unfamiliar with Etheridge’s legacy, the long-winded weeds of this (albeit awesome) woman’s life may not be particularly interesting. However, in a time when many of us suffer under the pressure of a microwave society obsessed with instant gratification, it’s a rare and affirming thing to watch someone older recite the detours, surprises, triumphs and failures of this beautiful gift of life. Perhaps, what Etheridge is really trying to remind us is that it’s not so short after all.
