I saw 17 shows in 4 trips to NYC in 2015 and my best shows (that opened in 2014-2015): Hamilton, On the 20th Century (I saw 3x, counted only one of 17), Something Rotten, The Last Ship, Amazing Grace, Altar Boyz reunion concert at 54 below
Also liked these shows that opened in prior years: Les Miz, Wicked, Mamma Mia, Beautiful, Alladin, Matilda
1) The King and I 2) Fiddler on the Roof 3) King Charles III 4) Hand To God 5) An American In Paris 6) On The Town 7) A View From The Bridge Spring Awakening 9) The Bandstand 10) Fun Home
WORST: Sylvia, Les Miserables, Hedwig with Taye Diggs
"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "
Among my best: Hamilton, Hedwig with John Cameron Mitchell, The King and I, Fiddler on the Roof, Something Rotten!, On the Town, Fun Home, Curious Incident, The Audience, Honeymoon in Vegas
The worst: It Shoulda Been You, Finding Neverland, On the Twentieth Century, Hedwig with Taye Diggs
I hate to say best to worst but here are my favorite to least favorite roughly (although many within the first two categories are interchangeable)
Loved: Hamilton Hedwig Hand to God The Herd (Steppenwolf) Color Purple On the Town Fun Home Something Rotten The King and I Spring Awakening The tempest (Chicago shakes) Sylvia Fiddler Finding Neverland
Liked: It Shoulda Been You Honeymoon in Vegas School of Rock King Charles III Fish in the Dark On the Twentieth Century Skylight Curious Incident Constellations Gentleman's Guide Act of God On Your Feet Dames at sea
Misery Therese Raquin Lazarus
Meh:
bad Jews (theater wit) disgraced (goodman) Amelie (Berkeley rep)
Did not like: View From the Bridge Marie Antoinette (Steppenwolf) If/Then Feathers and teeth (goodman)
Curious Incident (didn't get to see it until 2015)
Finding Neverland: I know it isn't perfect but I love it. I think the score is much maligned
The Audience
Something Rotten
Kinky Boots: saw it a third time in Boston and a fourth time in Tampa...loved it as much as the first time
Waitress...It is hard to believe that Jessie Mueller probably doesn't have a chance at the Tony, since here performance was ever better than in Beautiful.
An American in Paris
On The Town
LEAST FAVORITE:
Wolf Hall -- What a ----ing bore
Fun House -- I hated this show, which is really interesting considering that I like the CD, which is virtually the entire show. I was disappointed with the staging, based on the reviews, and I really did not like Cerveris' performance, which was also not a leading role, per the Tonys.
Newsies (in Tampa) -- worse than on Broadway, because you also had to deal with the huge theatre as well. How is it possible to be in the 10th row of the orchestra and feel like you are in another state...seems to be a common characteristic of these touring barns
I'll only include shows that I saw for the first time in 2015. I approached this list thinking if someone asked me to see one of these shows again, which would I be most enthusiastic about?
Jarethan said: I was disappointed with the staging, based on the reviews, and I really did not like Cerveris' performance, which was also not a leading role, per the Tonys.
Of course it's a leading role. The whole show is about his character and his daughter's relationship with him.
Jarethan said: "Have not yet seen Hamilton and can't get to View.
FAVORITE:
King Charles III -- incredible, in a word
Curious Incident (didn't get to see it until 2015)
Finding Neverland: I know it isn't perfect but I love it. I think the score is much maligned
The Audience
Something Rotten
Kinky Boots: saw it a third time in Boston and a fourth time in Tampa...loved it as much as the first time
Waitress...It is hard to believe that Jessie Mueller probably doesn't have a chance at the Tony, since here performance was ever better than in Beautiful.
An American in Paris
On The Town
LEAST FAVORITE:
Wolf Hall -- What a ----ing bore
Fun House -- I hated this show, which is really interesting considering that I like the CD, which is virtually the entire show. I was disappointed with the staging, based on the reviews, and I really did not like Cerveris' performance, which was also not a leading role, per the Tonys.
Newsies (in Tampa) -- worse than on Broadway, because you also had to deal with the huge theatre as well. How is it possible to be in the 10th row of the orchestra and feel like you are in another state...seems to be a common characteristic of these touring barns
"
Fun HOUSE?
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hork said: "Jarethan said: I was disappointed with the staging, based on the reviews, and I really did not like Cerveris' performance, which was also not a leading role, per the Tonys.
Of course it's a leading role. The whole show is about his character and his daughter's relationship with him.
To me, the whole show is about the daughter and the impact that he had on her, in life and in death. I am going to get yelled at for this, but I also expect the Tony winner for lead in a musical to have a little more singing than he had. It was an ensemble show and everyone should have been considered featured IMO.
The underlying issue is that people have different tastes and react differently to shows and I just did not like this. In response to another comment, Sam Gold may have a Tony, but over the years lots of people / shows have won and didn't really deserve to. I saw zero special about his direction, whereas I loved the choices made by Christopher Wheeldon and Bartlett Sher, and even Casey Nickolaw and Diane Paulus.
1. Hamilton (Off Broadway was better because all that energy was in a smaller space. On Broadway I was in Rear Mezz and it didn't feel the same. Seeing a Javier performance from the orchestra next)
The best are Hamilton, Spring Awakening and the amazing Little Shop of Horrors Encores show. The worst without question is Finding Neverland. I also really didn't care for the Fiddler on the Roof revival.
1. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time -- I caught one of Sharp's last performances and was blown away. A+
2. Hamilton -- I bought a cancellation ticket for the first Friday preview and loved it. There were certainly a few moments that bored me but it definitely deserves the hype. Renee Elise Goldsberry is a revelation. A
3. Little Shop of Horrors (Encores) -- What a night. So incredibly special. I'd love to see Jake Gyllenhaal return to Broadway. Ellen Greene was lovely as well. A
4. King Charles III -- Exceptional cast. The show dragged a bit at points but I still really enjoyed it. A-
5. If/Then -- Admittedly I liked this show more than most on this board but I couldn't resist going back a week before it closed. Idina gave it her all and was masterful. It was so special seeing this show first in DC (a few times) and then on Broadway (a few times). I hope it gets more appreciation as time passes. B+
6. Fun Home -- A very special piece with a great cast. I won't deny that I was slightly disappointed, perhaps because I went in with such high expectations. B
7. Something Rotten -- Simply put, this is a lazy attempt at being the next Book of Mormon. The cast is great and some of the songs are catchy but overall I felt like nothing really happened. It's fun but nothing particularly special. C+
Spring Awakening (without Camryn Manheim) - While a lot of my friends got very into the original production I was just kind of ambient toward it. This production however bowled me over. ASL was the magic missing piece. I see in this production what they saw in the first and I'm not sure I'll want to see it again without the ASL component.
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (with Darren Criss and Rebecca Naomi Jones) - They both brought so much to it and made those characters their own. And vocally they were a powerhouse pairing.
Fun Home (with Sydney) - I didn't really have the greatest seat. The Telecharge website didn't display the seating correctly so I ended up in the corner behind the band instead of along one of the sides as intended. The sound wasn't very clear there (especially when more than one person was singing at once) so I had to really concentrate on not missing anything instead of just losing myself in the show. But it was still fantastic.
It;s interesting to see what person loves and one person hates. I'm sure my list is going to be controversial.
I'll start with the worst: Lazarus, The midquided and deadly dull new Fiddler on the Roof, a dull King and I with a king that I did not understand one word he said, School of Rock (like the movie better) On Your Feet, Allegro,
The Best
On the 20th Century!
Sylvia
Dames at Sea
and my perennial favorites Book of Mormon, Wicked and Beautiful