blondewave

This past Thursday, I had the honor of seeing a myriad of Madonna’s grace the stage at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. I caught the Drowned World tour here back in 2001, but truth be told, I was so hungover from a friend’s Madonna party the night before that I really didn’t get to enjoy it.  

Two decades later (and in way better seats), I finally got to pay my respects to the queen in all her glory. There was a collective sense of good energy and vibes throughout the venue. Any place filled with Madonna fans is a place I want to be, truly the safest of spaces.

Over the course of the two plus hours that she played, I witnessed: a scrappy young New York hustler, an advocate, a provocateur, a nurturing mother, a dancing queen, a singer-songwriter, a legend. The show is divided thematically into seven acts, all of which comprise the story of her life. And what a story to tell. 

She begins the show with Nothing Really Matters, perfectly encapsulating her journey and philosophy – nothing really matters, love is all we need. Watching her ascend out of the rotating stage was like witnessing a goddess rise up and rise above. 

Early Madonna is celebrated through the accompanying footage on the screens as we were transported back to late 70s and early 80s gritty New York City. Here we were treated to a run of: Everybody, Into the Groove, Causing a Commotion, and Burning Up. One of my favorite details in the show is when she was playing her younger self, trying to gain entry into a nightclub and host Bob the Drag Queen said, “didn’t I see you at Dunkin Donuts last week?” to which she replied, “yeah, so what? I need a job, I need to work.” You get the sense that that scrappiness has never left her, no matter how much success she’s experienced. 

The end of Holiday featured a cool mix of Chic’s I Want Your Love, accompanied by precise dynamic choreography. She laments the last utterances of ‘holiday’ as her dancers fall away, until there is just one, whom she ceremoniously covers with her black cape. 

Moments later, we hear the undeniable sweeping beginning of  Live to Tell. As she sings the achingly fitting line ‘I was not ready for the fall’ screens project images of her first roommate Martin, her dance teacher from Michigan, and artist Keith Haring. All those whose lives were swiftly cut short by the AIDS crisis. The images get smaller and smaller filling up the screens, bringing to mind the memorial quilt. It was a profoundly moving moment, and you could feel the collective solemnity in the crowd. 

Like a Prayer was one of the standouts for me – she performed the 7” remix edition from 2022’s Finally Enough Love. The extended chorus always sends chills down my spine, and this coupled with the dancers hanging upside down – pure art. Madonna is an artist in every sense of the word. Watching this number, especially, was theater. 

Even though it was a grand scale production, it felt immersive, but perhaps that was because we were so familiar with her expansive body of work. One of the main highlights of the show was how interactive Madonna was with the audience. She has an endearing humor, humility and accessibility to her.

Right before the final act, a lengthy set of clips played, outlining all of the controversies that followed her throughout her career. At the end of it, you hear her say something that sums up her legacy exquisitely: “I think the most controversial thing that I’ve done is to stick around.”