Do You Remember Your First Time?- Page 2

[A0326T]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 8:46am

I was 19. They're Playing Our Song. ... 

[Messytheatregirl]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 10:37am

Can't recall the first professional performance, but my first Broadway experience was when I saw Rent in 2005 with my mom, dad, and sister when I was 11 years old. I'll never forget my first Broadway experience (and that my parents let my sister and I see it!)

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 10:45am

I remember my first time it was in the back of....OH WAIT.

Yeah, um, it was the Spring of 1982. Drama class field trip. DREAMGIRLS. Imperial Theater. Original Cast.

[ggersten]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 12:01pm

1969 - My Fair Lady - Dorothy Chandler Pavilion/Los Angeles Civic Light Opera starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Third row center.  

There might have been a prior show from the free seats at The Muny or Loretta Hilton Repertory in St. Louis, but reviewing the list of shows doesn't ring any bells.  But, there were always original broadway cast recordings to listen to - due to my mother and grandparents.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 12:19pm

ggersten said: "1969 - My Fair Lady - Dorothy Chandler Pavilion/Los Angeles Civic Light Opera starring Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. Third row center.  

There might have been a prior show from the free seats at The Muny or Loretta Hilton Repertory in St. Louis, but reviewing the list of shows doesn't ring any bells.  But, there were always original broadway cast recordings to listen to - due to my mother and grandparents.

 

Who played Eliza?

 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:07pm

First Bway show was FIDDLER in '67 when I was 11. The show was on its 3rd Tevye (Harry Goz). For my Bar Mitzvah 2 years later I saw the national tour of MAN OF LA MANCHA (with Bob Wright) and disappointed my Dad no end when I told him the La Mancha score spoke to me more than Fiddler's. (Decades into adulthood, I've now reversed that opinion.)

But the real game changer for me was my 3rd Bway show, the OBC of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC on New Year's Eve in '73. Glynis Johns singing "Send in the Clowns" before anyone knew the song-- that was the memory of pure bliss that wedded me to musical theater for life.

Updated On: 6/30/17 at 02:07 PM

[poisonivy2]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:13pm

First show was when I was 12. A field trip to see Guys and Dolls with Nathan Lane, Faith Prince, Peter Gallagher. Ah, what fond memories ...

[Ceej]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:15pm

Mine was "The Magic Show" with Doug Henning in late 1974 or early 1975. We lived about 30 miles outside the city and would spend at least one weekend a month going to shows including the original casts of "A Chorus Line," "The Wiz," "Annie," one of the Yul Brynner "King & I" revivals and so much more.

[bwayandstuff]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:24pm

For my 4th birthday in 1998, my parents took me to see Peter Pan with Cathy Rigby. I don't remember much but I remember her flying over the audience and it was amazing. That is what started me down a slippery slope lol

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:36pm

First Bway show was FIDDLER in '67 when I was 11. The show was on its 3rd Tevye (Harry Goz).

Then you saw Bette Midler either in the ensemble or she could have already been promoted to Tseitel by then.  She was in the Broadway production from 1966 to 1968.  

[amaklo]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:51pm

First stage production was Danny Kaye in a one-man show near our home in Pawtucket, Rhode Island in the late 1950s. I was about 6. I remember the fuss about being allowed to go, and the pretty dress I got to wear, more than anything about his performance. :)

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 2:51pm

"Then you saw Bette Midler either in the ensemble or she could have already been promoted to Tseitel by then.  She was in the Broadway production from 1966 to 1968.  "

Funnily enough, I guess you're right. Sadly she made no distinct impression on my 11-year-old mind, so I guess she must have aced the mop-sliding choreography in "Matchmaker" without a hitch.

Updated On: 6/30/17 at 02:51 PM

[wexy]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 3:03pm

1986- Robert DeNiro , Burt Young and Ralph Macchio "Cuba And His Teddy Bear."

 

[Marianne2]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 3:11pm

First professional show I remember seeing is the Christmas Spectacular at Radio City Music Hall in 1996. This was a 6th grade class trip. 

Broadway was in 2007 with Mamma Mia.  I saw Carolee Carmello as Donna.

[caseyd]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 3:58pm

I want to say it was like 2005ish, I was about 12 and my parents took me to see the touring production of Hairspray. I DID NOT want to go. I thought it was dumb, I didn't understand the concept of musicals or theater for that matter. All I remember is just not wanting to go and being embarrassed, but I also remember being in complete awe when the show actually started. Again, I didn't understand the concept of theater? so at intermission I thought it was over lmao. I remember on our way home my dad told me Hairspray was based off the movie (this was before the remake) and the next day he took me to the store and bought it for me. From that day on I was HOOKED on musical theater. I never got into performing or anything like that, but my love for it is so strong. As corny as it sounds, if my parents hadn't dragged me to that show I have no idea how different my interests would be. 

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 4:07pm

It was a regional production of either South Pacific or Pajama Game, circa 1975.  I saw both right around the same time, but I don't remember which was first.

[jtishere]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 4:19pm

I was enamored with movie musicals and Broadway scores from a young age but I didn't get to experience live professional theatre until spring 1994. Our high school band teacher took us to the Saenger Theatre in New Orleans to see the national tour of The Phantom of the Opera. I was in heaven, right down to the Diet Coke I got to order at the bar as I held my souvenir program with the red tassels. I remember coming home to a surprise - my dad had bought me the Phantom highlights album that day to have when I got home. 

My first show to see on Broadway was May 2009 at the Shubert - Angela Lansbury, Christine Ebersole and Rupert Everett in Blithe Spirit, a whole new level of heaven. 

[Morales2]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 5:34pm

My first professional theatre experience was 85/86 and it was a national tour of A Chorus Line.  I found out years later that this was the tour that Donna Mckechnie was in.  I got to see the original Cassie.  The first broadway production was in Feb of 88 and it was the original production of Les Mis about a year into the run. I saw Randy Graff, the original Fantine.  An addiction was born.

[thebookofwhizzer]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 7:25pm

I don't remember how old I was but i know it was 2008, i was very young (shows that i'm still very young) but it was the national tour of The Lion King at the Kennedy Center. I had been obsessed with the movie (and when i say obsessed I mean obsessed) and i begged my parents to take me. My first Broadway show in NY was Mary Poppins with Laura Michelle Kelly, Christian Borle and Rebbeca Luker. Magical!!

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 7:31pm

I don't remember how old I was but i know it was 2008, i was very young (shows that i'm still very young)

So you're still too young to do the math to figure out how old you were in 2008?  

[Broadway Joe]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 7:45pm

Mine was the civil war, my mom got us tickets at the seaport tkts booth. I don't remember much about it but I'm sure I have the playbill somewhere. I didn't start seeing shows on a regular basis until 2010 though even though I've lived here all my life. 

[rodrigo_ca]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 7:56pm

Couldn't forget it even if I tried. It was 2009, I was just in my first year of high school and I was devastated I wasn't gonna see the Brazilian revival of Beauty and the Beast, so I asked my mom to call my sister's godmother and ask her to get me at least the souvenir programme (she works in the same street of the theatre, it wasn't hard for her at all). The lady refuses and tell my mom she's gonna take me there to watch it and buy it myself. The next weekend, she took me, my sisters and her niece to watch it. We sat at the very last row of the balcony, but it sure was unforgettable. She even paid for the whole thing. Bless her heart.

Eventually I grew up and learned to go to the city by myself, but I can't ever forget that afternoon. (And yes, I did get the souvenir programme after all :p)

Updated On: 6/30/17 at 07:56 PM

[Fan123]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 8:24pm

I think the first professional show I saw was also Beauty and the Beast, in Australia as a kid. I don't think I initiated it; my mother took me along. I remember that there were some underwhelming blown-up publicity photos around the theatre foyer, including one of the stage interpretation of Lumiere, that made me a bit apprehensive about the whole enterprise. (Not sure if it was this photo, but it was similar in vibe, including the manic facial expression!) I enjoyed myself, but didn't fall in love after my first time - no innuendo intended. 'Be Our Guest' was underwhelming compared to the movie; but seeing the transformation accomplished live was amazing.
I'm pretty sure I saw Hugh Jackman as Gaston, although he wasn't on my (or perhaps anyone's) radar as a 'name' at that time. Enjoyed his performance, although I remember thinking that his smile seemed too good-natured for a villain like Gaston. I also remember thinking that they could have cast a slightly 'bigger' actor given those lyrics about Gaston's physical size.

[PurpleSummerHathaway]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 10:01pm

The first professional show I ever saw was a regional production of Annie when I was 5 years old. I remember being totally enthralled by it all, and just sitting there thinking "I want to do that!" Though I had already been enrolled in dance class for 3 and 1/2 years and was in weekly acting and piano classes (thanks tiger parents), so I had gotten exposure to the arts, that sticks in my mind a lot. My first Broadway show was a year later, and that was Lion King. I'm pretty sure I fell asleep, but I recall asking my grandma if she could buy me one of the puppets they used onstage, so I guess I must have liked it in some way. I have been going to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival since I was a newborn, so obviously that had an impact on me, but perhaps the theater memory that sticks out the most in my mind is seeing Matilda in the West End when I was 9. I LOVED that show so much, and that actually inspired me to get back in to theater after a couple of years of non-stop sports. So though certainly not my first time, that was the real pivotal moment in my love of theater. 

[bwayrose7]

Posted: 6/30/17 at 10:12pm

The first professional production I saw was done by a local theatre that performed specifically shows for children. It was an adaptation of The Wind in the Willows, I believe, and I was about four. My parents took me to a lot of shows like that when I was younger, as well as some local "regular" theatre as I got older. My first "Broadway" show was when I was thirteen and saw a national tour of Hairspray. I remember how much I loved sitting right there instead of in front of a screen, and being able to react and everything in the moment (also, the children's company had then and does to this day have a policy of talkbacks after every single show, which was pretty cool), and it's been part of me ever since!