Your 2022 Broadway & Beyond Recaps

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:05pm

Feel free to share anything from your favorite productions, performances, designs, moments, and more from any Broadway, off-Broadway, touring, or regional productions you were able to see in 2022!

We had our first full-season back from the pandemic, dozens of shows reopened in New York, the Tonys and award season, and theatres around the country started to pick things back up with new missions and theatrical experiences. 

Feel free to share any links to regional or community theatres, as well, to help spread the word about theatre going on in your neck of the woods!

This is an effort to share about positive/uplifting/encouraging stories about 2022 theatre!

[josibroadwayfan2]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:17pm

Saw 18 different Broadway shows this year (so far)!  Hamilton, Come from Away, The Music Man, and Kimberly Akimbo were my favorites.

Updated On: 12/8/22 at 08:17 PM

[amiyagi]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:52pm

Two new theatre horizons this year for me - travelled to London twice and saw 25 shows between both trips (thank you TodayTix!) and ventured off-Broadway for the first time. I have to admit I enjoyed the off-Broadway shows more than the Broadway ones! Little Shop, Suffs, Into the Woods and The Bedwetter vs The Music Man, Six, A Strange Loop and Beetlejuice. Looking forward to seeing and supporting some more off-Broadway productions!

[ACL2006]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:55pm

Was so thankful for Broadway to reopen in Sept. 2021. I ended up seeing multiple shows beginning in February of 2022. Company(3x), Come From Away(4x), Hadestown, Tina, Beetlejuice, with tickets to see Some Like It Hot, A Beautiful Noise & Ohio State Murders. Might sneak in to see Mike Birgilia's show this weekend.

[Fordham2015]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:56pm

Among musicals, Company reigned supreme thanks to Katrina and Patti.

For plays, my top three:
-The Minutes, with sharp writing and a tremendous ensemble cast
-The Piano Lesson, a great introduction to a new (to me) August Wilson play
-Death of a Salesman, my favorite play given new life by Wendell Pierce, Sharon D Clarke, and Andre De Shields. Miranda Cromwell's reimagining of Ben was particularly inspired.

[akhoya87]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 8:58pm

The most theatre I've watched in my life - 60+ times this year!  (Lots of repeats, though.)

Favorite Musical:  Into the Woods
Favorite Play:  English

Broadway shows (times watched):  

Six (5)
KPOP (4)
Company (3)
Funny Girl (3)
Into the Woods (3)
A Strange Loop (2)
Beetlejuice (2)
Leopoldstadt (2)
Paradise Square (2)
1776 (1)
Birthday Candles (1)
Clyde's (1)
Come From Away (1)
MJ (1)
Mr. Saturday Night (1)
Music Man (1)
Old Man and the Pool (1)
POTUS (1)
The Minutes (1)

Off Broadway/Regional:

1776 (ART) (1)
Black No More (1)
Beautiful Noise (ART) (1)
Chess (1) (upcoming)
Confederates (1)
Corsicana (1)
English (1)
Fat Ham (1)
Guys and Dolls (Kennedy Center) (1)
Into the Woods (NYCC) (1)
Into the Woods (Signature DC) (1)
Life After (1)
Mean Girls (Tour) (1)
Merrily We Roll Along (1) (upcoming)
Once Upon a (Korean) Time (1)
Only Gold (1)
Prayer for the French Republic (1)
Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe (1)
She Loves Me (Signature DC) (1)
Space Dogs (1)
The Notebook (1)

West End/Off-West End:

Cabaret (3)
&Juliet (1)
Glass Menagerie (1)
Heathers (1)
The Seagull (1)
Wicked (1)

[stoptheworld38]

Posted: 12/8/22 at 10:39pm

Shorter list in comparison to many of the above replies but I’m nonetheless very grateful to have seen some great stuff. (Definitely more stuff than the previous couple years&hellip 

My highlights were (in order of when I saw them) Matilda, Company, Come From Away, and Into the Woods. Company and CFA were both Broadway and Matilda and ITW were at my community theatre where I volunteer. Matilda was the first show I worked on and it ended up being postponed 2 years cause of the pandemic so it was really special and the performances and talent of the cast completely blew me away. I also got to work downstairs for one show on call for costume repairs by the dressing rooms and it’s the same theatre in my town that gets Broadway tours so it was really exciting.

Company I LOVED so much. One of the most innovating productions I’ve seen. It was my second time seeing Katrina Lenk in a show following The Band’s Visit in 2019. Her Being Alive SENT ME. And Matt Doyle…don’t even get me started there. 
 

It was my third time seeing Come From Away live but first on Broadway. As soon as they announced Jenn Colella was returning and then the closing announcement soon after I knew it was a no-brainer I had to go and with it being my favorite musical ever, I’m needless to say so glad I did. I’m still in absolute denial that it’s closed but so grateful I got to go. 
 

Into the Woods was with the same company as Matilda - it was my 4th time seeing a production of the show and by far my favorite - I saw it 3 times in one weekend. Cast was outstanding and sets and costumes were extraordinary. (I worked on the latter so I might be a bit biased&hellip Also got to share the experience of working on it with my mom which was fun :) 

 

Coming up to finish off the year, Phantom of the Opera next week!! 

 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 12/9/22 at 9:21am

Very thankful that this season exposed me to Sondheim. Between Into the Woods, Company and Merrily, I received an education and loved every minute. 

Leopoldstadt was also a highlight.

Seeing Rent on tour after working on a production in high school was a complete highlight and one I will not forget. 

The final performance of Come From Away-not an experience I will be forgetting either. 

Paradise Square became a favorite and deserved so much better. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 12/9/22 at 9:33am

I have had such a great year of theatre-going! I made it to NYC twice and even went to Chicago for the first time to see The Devil Wears Prada and Lady Gaga's Chromatica tour.

I also saw some great touring productions - the Oklahoma! tour is probably the highlight of the tours I saw.

The highlights for my Broadway outings would have to be Into the Woods, Funny Girl (with Lea Michele), and & Juliet.

So grateful that Broadway is back in full swing, and I even more grateful that I will be relocating permanently to the city in 2023 after having to relocate out of state during the pandemic.

 

Updated On: 12/9/22 at 09:33 AM

[inception]

Posted: 12/9/22 at 10:00am

This year I traveled to NYC at the peak of the summer heat and survived, after going at X-mas or during the autumn in the past.   Crossed Coney Island and the Bushwick Collective off the bucket list.

The best things in life are free, and during that trip that was certainly the case with the Classic Theatre of Harlem's production of Twelfth Nightt being the best show I saw.  It definitely outshone the productions of Romeo & Juliet, A Midsummer Night's Dream, & the Tempest I saw locally & at the Utah Shakespeare Festival later in the summer. 

After that, in NY I had the good fortune to be abe to see both Into The Woods & Company & also see each twice.

I saw two Andrew Lloyd Webber shows this year.  I made the serendipitous decision to get tickets for Phantom in NY not realizing that it would be my last chance to see it. Later in the year I saw an over-the-top production of Joseph in Utah which can only be described as Mormons on Meth.  It was worth every penny, as was seeing Katy Perry's psychedelic extravaganza at the huge new Resorts World casino in Las Vegas.

Closer to home, my first foray back into a theatre was seeing Hamilton on tour in the Spring. Later in the year I enjoyed a very good summer stock production of Something Rotten.  And in late fall, the University of BC's Opera program overcame losing guest star Sondra Radvanovsky to illness and put on a very fine Tosca, flying in Rhoslyn Jones of the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.  I also took a quick weekend trip down to see Seattle Opera's excellent Tristan and Isolde.

Compared to NYC, both Seattle & Las Vegas look like cities that have barely survived, with endless camps of homeless.  Walking down the Strip during the middle of the day you gave to step over comatose addicts laid out like corpses.  While I was in Las Vegas a madman slaughtered two girls on the street in front of one of the most expensive resorts on the Strip with a butcher knife.  I'm not in a hurry to go back there.

But, I do anticipate a March trip back to NYC, and later in June a trip down to San Francisco & Northern California for the first time since 1998. 

While I wait for the new year, next week I will be seeing a well reviewed local production of The Sound of Music.

All in all, on travel to & shopping in the USA this year, I think I was able to keep my spending down to about $10,000.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 12/9/22 at 11:25pm

48 shows and counting, some multiple times

Favorite musicals: Into the Woods (both at CC and STJ), Company, Between The Lines, The Music Man

Favorite plays: Leopoldstadt, The Kite Runner, Plaza Suite, The Piano Lesson

Favorite experiences: Final shows of Jonathan Freeman and Lindsay Pearce, Seeing Beanie, Julie, and Lea in Funny Girl, Seeing Max Clayton as Harold Hill, Visiting The Kennedy Center for 2 different shows, Attending Wicked Day, Seeing Aaron Tveit in Moulin Rouge, Seeing Billy Crystal in Mr. Saturday Night

 

[lachri5]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 12:07am

I've seen 77 shows so far this year, and 4 more to go, which includes Merrily that could break into my top 10. But at the moment:

• 1. Oratorio for Living Things
• 2. Parade (Encores)
• 3. Between Riverside and Crazy
• 4. MJ
• 5. Into the Woods (Broadway, Sara was out sick)
• 6. Guys and Dolls (Washington DC)
• 7. The Music Man
• 8. Fat Ham
• 9. Dead Outlaw (54 Below)
• 10. The Hang

Honorary mentions:
You Will Get Sick, Downstate, Love the Struggle (Joe's Pub), The Hot Wing King (Washington DC), Suffs, Into the Woods (Arlington VA), How I Learned to Drive, A.D. 16 (Olney MD), Cyrano de Bergerac (BAM), Take Me Out, Anyone Can Whistle (Carnegie Hall), Lautrec at the Saint James (Olney MD), The Skin of Our Teeth, English, Our Town (Washington DC), Between the Lines, The Butcher Boy, Life After (Chicago), Grace (Washington DC), Ain't No Mo' (Washington DC), Heroes of the Fourth Turning (Washington DC), The Piano Lesson, 1776

I saw A Strange Loop (DC), Kimberly Akimbo (Off-Bway) last year, and they were on my list last year. I have not seen a few big shows this season yet, like Leopoldstadt, Some Like It Hot, Topdog/Underdog.

Updated On: 12/10/22 at 12:07 AM

[Michelle Birnbaum]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 1:08pm

I saw Company, Into the Woods, Take Me Out, Some Like it Hot, and Kimberly Akimbo.  They all were enjoyable.

[The8re phan]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 1:49pm

My top 3 for 2022 --

3) Andre DeShields final performance in Hadestown

2) the final performance of Company on July 31st particularly Patti's last "Ladies Who Lunch"

1) Into the Woods

[gibsons2]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 2:35pm

I saw 44 shows this year, including one regional and Funny Girl that I saw twice.

My top shows:

Suffs, Plaza Suite, Funny Girl with Lea, Ain't no mo', Cost of Living, Kimberly Akimbo, Some Like It Hot, Leopoldstadt, Paradise Square, 1776, How I Learned To Drive, The piano lesson

Honorable mentions: A Strange Loop, MJ, revisiting Aladdin for the first time in many years, Topdog/Underdog

I also have a list of shows I wish I didn't spend any money and time on, but I'll keep it to myself. 

Updated On: 12/10/22 at 02:35 PM

[Peppa222]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 2:44pm

I moved away from NYC to the other side of the country years ago for work. I used never to miss a show in a season. I finally got to return for a few days this summer and was deeply moved by A Strange Loop. Everything I missed about NYC theatre in a nutshell. It's some of the best ensemble work I've seen in a show. 

[JudyDenmark]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 3:43pm

Definitely just dipping a toe in, getting back to my older days of seeing almost everything, but I'm really happy with a lot of what I've seen this year. (Alphabetical, not in order of preference:)

& Juliet
Company
Into the Woods
Kimberly Akimbo
Mr. Saturday Night
Only Gold @MCC
POTUS
Some Like It Hot
A Strange Loop
Take Me Out

My favorites were Some Like It Hot, Kimberly Akimbo, and POTUS!

Biggest (pleasant) surprises were Take Me Out, which I went to for Jesse Tyler Ferguson (and, ok, admittedly a little of the shock value), but came away so impressed by the playwriting itself, as well as the production and the acting... and Only Gold, which I really had no expectations about, but find myself still thinking about some of that fab dancing and wish I could rewatch some of it that went by really quickly. 

& Juliet was so much more entertaining than I expected it to be, and I got chills multiple times. Shoutout to u/s Rachel Webb who totally killed it! 

I'm admittedly not usually the hugest Sondheim fan (I know, you can cancel me), so didn't expect to enjoy Company as much as I did - but also didn't expect to ugly-cry through the second half of it as a single 40-year-old woman. "Alone is alone not alive" is a little harsh! Haha

Only one on the list that I wasn't crazy about was Mr. Saturday Night which just wasn't my cup of tea humor-wise. But glad that the older crowd around me was absolutely roaring with laughter.

Looking forward to the spring and seeing Dancin' (!!), Sweeney, Shucked, probably NY NY, and a few plays TBD based on buzz. Probably more... the bug is starting to bite again for sure. 

Happy Holidays! 

[Voter]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 3:57pm

Took a look at my notes and here's what I saw in order from least favorable personal experience to absolute favorites:

 

The Little Prince

Girl From The North Country

The Minutes

Harry Potter Cursed Child

Paradise Square

Funny Girl (with Julie Benko, pre-Lea Michele)

Chicago (Pamela Anderson debut)

Beetlejuice

Hadestown (Sayo Oni's Orpheus Debut)

Some Like It Hot (previews)

Topdog/Underdog

Phantom Of The Opera

Take Me Out (2ST)

Leopoldstat 

A Strange Loop

SIX 

POTUS

Into The Woods (Original Revival Cast, First Preview)

for colored girls 

How I Learned To Drive

MJ

KPOP (2nd Preview, front row seats)

 

I had an absolute BLAST at KPOP with my friend jamming in the front row... sure the book needed work and probably an out of town, but I loved everything about the energy of the performers and the music itself. MJ is a show I will say was worth every penny of a full priced ticket. How I Learned To Drive was another highlight. I left at intermission during The Little Prince and went to Schnipper's with my friend to get chicken fingers instead. If I wasn't with a friend I would've left at Girl From The North Country too! I also lost about 3-4 shows I would've seen due to being sick.

 

Non-Broadway Highlights:

Parade at NYCC

Merrily We Roll Along at NYTW

Updated On: 12/10/22 at 03:57 PM

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 12/10/22 at 5:05pm

I love that POTUS has made so many peoples highlights lists! Remember when it was first announced and people were essentially rolling their eyes? I'm so glad it did so well. 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 8:24am

FINALLY saw &Juliet...

Most fun I have ever had at a theater-aside from the person who would not stop taking photos, recording, and would not stop even when told by the theater staff to stop. It was so incredibly obnoxious. 

Aside from that...I love everything about it. No Notes. Amazing performances all around, especially Betsy Wolfe. She will at least snag a nomination. 

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 9:05am

I went to the theater 162 times (so far) this year. My favorites have been 
 

- Almost Famous (Broadway)

- Crazy For You (Chichester)

- The Doctor (West End)

- Epiphany (Lincoln Center)

- Into the Woods (Broadway)

- Jack Absolute Flies Again (West End)

- Kimberly Akimbo (Broadway)

- Parade (City Center)

- Prima Facie (West End)

- Some Like It Hot (Broadway)

- You Will Get Sick (Roundabout)


Strangely though, the one performance that’s sticking with me more than any other is Debra Messing in “Birthday Candles”. She really gave one of the most beautiful performances I’ve ever seen. 
 

EDIT - I saw “Downstate” tonight and that pretty much wipes out most of this list. 

Updated On: 12/16/22 at 09:05 AM

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 10:00am

Managed 2 trips to NYC, 1 night in London, shows in Pittsburgh, Atlanta and LA where I live. Here’s my top shows:

A MAN OF NO IMPORTANCE

COMPANY 

FUNNY GIRL w Julie Benko

FUNNY GIRL w Lea and especially Tovah

MY FAIR LADY (Nat Tour with Shereen in LA)

DROWSY CHAPERONE (Pittsburgh tour w Donna Machechnie)

GODSPELL (Pittsburgh)

 

Pretty good shows:

THE MUSIC MAN

INTO THE WOODS

LEOPOLDSTADT

AMERICAN BUFFALO

THE LIFE OF PI (West End)

JAGGED LUTTLE PILL (Nat tour in LA)

ANASTASIA (2nd Nat tour— sans turntable)

 

Bortom of the stack:

SIX

ALMOST FAMOUS

 

 

 

Updated On: 12/15/22 at 10:00 AM

[Marianne2]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 11:20am

While I am happy to be able to see shows again, I'm still frustrated how the public transportation to the city is still bad from my area. Because of that, I haven't been seeing shows as often. 

My list in order of favorites to least:

1. Into the Woods- both City Center & Broadway 

2. Company

3. Six

4. POTUS

5. A Strange Loop

6. The Music Man

7. Dear Evan Hansen

8. Funny Girl

9. Radio City Christmas Spectacular 

Edit- Now updated with the rest of the shows I saw. I find it fascinating how something that brought me such joy at 12-years-old is something I would only sit through again if I brought my nephew. 

 

 

 

Updated On: 12/31/22 at 11:20 AM

[forfivemoreminutes]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 4:58pm

I've seen 153 shows this year (with many duplicates, ha ha). So grateful for theatre's return after the pandemic! Some highlights were:

1. Downstate - one of the most thought-provoking plays I've seen in my life and a show that has been on my mind ever since I saw it. I'd love it if there was a pro-shot of this, because I have several friends I'd love to share it with/discuss it with. I'm hoping it gets produced again soon!

2. Guys and Dolls at the Kennedy Center

3. Into the Woods with Sara Bareilles and Philippa Soo - my first time seeing a professional production of this show live!

4. Chess in Concert

5. Merrily We Roll Along at NYTW

6. Fiddler in Yiddish 

7. The Toronto production of Indecent - SUCH a powerful show and clearly the cast were very passionate about the material

8. Cost of Living - another incredibly thought-provoking show that challenges a lot of beliefs I had about disability and power 

9. Frozen on tour in Pittsburgh - I had an absolutely perfect seat, and I didn't expect to like Frozen very much, because Disney, but I thought the production was absolutely incredible! I loved the new songs they've added that weren't in the movie (especially Monster and A Little Bit of You), and I love the focus on the sisters' past trauma and how that trauma has impacted them. I cried a LOT during the show, which I did not expect!

10. Fun Home at the Paramount Theatre near Chicago - I cried a lot at this one too. The cast was phenomenal and the show itself is sublime.

11. &Juliet in Toronto - saw this six times with rush tickets and had a blast every single time.

12. The last show of the OBC for Six - so much excitement and joy in that theatre! 

13. The last show of Waitress in Cleveland with Stephanie Torns as Jenna

14. Sharon Catherine Brown's last show as Caroline in Caroline, or Change

15. Trouble in Mind - such a relevant play even though it was written in the 50s

Next year I'm most looking forward to seeing Angels in America for the first time live at Arena Stage in DC, Hercules at the Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ, The Wild Party at the Eagle Theatre in NJ, White Girl in Danger, the Fiddler on the Roof tour, RENT at Stratford next summer, and Gypsy at the Shaw Festival next summer. 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 12/15/22 at 6:40pm

I saw several shows this year (most of them on Broadway) and started playing lottery and digital rush for others, but my true highlight of 2022 was getting to reach out to friends / acquaintances all across the industry, while meeting many more sweet people along the way.