BROADWAY SECRETS: Wherein we confess our controversial opinions — Page 20

I think the House Manager Woman at the Imperial is Hot and I am not a woman! Go figure! She is wonderfully nasty to people and I love it!

"This isn't technically about Broadway itself, but:
While I understand that Phillypinto legitimately annoys many people, the hair-trigger reaction to every little thing he says has gotten way out of hand. At this point, the dozens of daily anti-Philly posts are far, far more intrusive than his posts are."

Thank you. I agree. I don't understand why the folks he annoys don't just block him. It's like a bunch of schoolyard bullies. Give it a rest.

Updated On: 8/4/15 at 03:51 PM

I think Heights is better than Hamilton...

I look forward to London transfers.

I guess, since several people have mentioned some of these, these may not be all that "controversial" but...

* Standing ovations are mostly meaningless these days, especially the recent spate of mid-show ovations. This latest phenomenon reeks of doing what needs to be done to seem "in the know" and current.

* I don't give a sh** what you wear to the theatre, as long as you don't smell.

* Your "job" as a paying customer is to sit down, be respectful of the performers and the rest of the audience, and stay off your f'ing phone. If anything in your life is so pressing or life-changing important that it hinges on a phone call or e-mail that may come during the 3 hours you are at a show, then you really need to reconsider your priorities and NOT be at a show.

* I loved Finding Neverland, and can't wait to see it again.

* Shows that have a lot of unrealized potential make me sad... Amazing Grace is a great, current example.

* I am so tired of hearing how every show is "flawed" and every score is "derivative." So what? There is little in life - worth thinking about, anyway - that is perfect. Why aren't all these arm chair critics writing, directing or performing perfect shows that they clearly know how to create?

I feel like sharing a few more...

1. Anjelica Huston's character alone made Smash worth watching.

2. Stephen Schwartz's work on film soundtracks blows away his Broadway scores. (That's NOT to say I am not a fan of his musical theatre work, but I do think his film lyrics border on the brilliant.)

3. I enjoyed the recorded Broadway production of Jekyll and Hyde. Coleen Sexton is dynamite as Lucy, and David Hasselhoff (while laughable as Henry) was just creepy enough to make for a believable Edward.

4. Speaking of the musical theatre Edward, I think Bat Boy should be made into a movie. With the right director and a kick-butt cast, I think it could become something we've never seen before from the Hollywood musical.

5. Finally, I love Patina Miller but I still don't quite get why her arms have their own fanbase (I am not kidding).

"This isn't technically about Broadway itself, but:
While I understand that Phillypinto legitimately annoys many people, the hair-trigger reaction to every little thing he says has gotten way out of hand. At this point, the dozens of daily anti-Philly posts are far, far more intrusive than his posts are."

YES!!!! :)

"I think Wicked is terribly overrated. The songs/characters outside of Elphie and Glinda are painful."

Conversely, I think that Wicked, in its immense commercial success, is terribly underrated. People go for the spectacle of it and fail to soak up its brilliance.

I hate Neil Patrick Harris acting and singing

I loved Dr Zhivago

Matthew Morrison ruined Finding Neverland

I love everything about Wildhorn

I dont think Ramin Karimloo is the best singer on earth

I totally loved

Saturday Night Fever & Footloose.

I also really enjoyed Thou Shalt Not.

I think Into the Woods is incredibly irritating, especially the opening number ("I want to go to the festival! The festival!" STFU about the damn festival!).

I don't think Sweeney Todd is any good, either.

I hate when productions of Jesus Christ Superstar add a resurrection at the end, thereby changing the entire meaning of the show.

I think jointly nominating the three boys from Billy Elliot cheapened the Tonys (so, anyone who played that role would have won a Tony?). But not as much as nominating all of the Von Trapp children (including the two boys) jointly for Best Featured Actress (WTF?).

Asking people for autographs is a bizarre practice that I'll never understand.

Beth Malone deserved to win the Tony this year, and a part of me thinks it's unfair that a main reason Kelli O'Hara likely won was to "make up" for her past nominations that didn't end in wins; Tony wins should be for the performance you're nominated for that season, not for your past work.


Darren Criss was a great Hedwig, and I'm saying that as someone who can't stand Glee and is generally not a Darren Criss "fangirl."


I still don't understand the ruthless hate that Finding Neverland is getting. The show has many crowd-pleasing elements, and yet people are still baffled as to how it's selling tickets.


Sarah Brightman wasn't the best Christine vocally, but if we were to bring the Sarah from the 80's to the present day, she could still sing the Phantom score in circles around Sierra Boggess.

I thoroughly enjoyed the revisal of FLOWER DRUM SONG and have had a mad crush on Telly Leung ever since. I can't wait to see ALLEGIANCE.