Best experience you've had at a show?

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Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 10:43am

I'm sure there is already a thread on this, but wanted to ask. What's the best experience you've had at a show? Everything counts, so Broadway, Tour, regional, etc.

I'll start.

I've only really begun being a Broadway "fan" last year so the best experience I've ever had at a show was the recent tour of Les Miserables. It was my first time seeing the show, and it absolutely blew me away. I am a massive fan of Jillian Butler, and she was stunning as Cosette. Just was such a perfect show and great cast.

“6 AM. The sky glows. Somewhere a bird chirps. I want to shoot it.” ~ Jonathan Larson, Tick...Tick..BOOM

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 10:51am

Scottsboro Boys. I still think about it.

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 12:30pm

Hands down, my best experience was the recent revival of "HAIR."

It was my very first Broadway show and I was the first name called in the lottery that day. I was seated in the second tier on the left side by the ladder that came up from the stage. During one of the songs, the cast climbed up the ladder and started messing with me and flipping my hoodie up. Then, at the end, I went on stage and sang/danced to "Let The Sunshine In."

My face hurt from smiling so much that day!

"They're eating her and then they're going to eat me. OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!" -Troll 2

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 12:37pm

The Pillowman definitely. My friend and I were second in line for student rush and we ended up sitting in middle orchestra just off the aisle. I look up as a nice looking lady sits down next to me and smiles and then her partner shows up. It's Kevin Kline! And then I realize I'm sitting next to Phoebe Cates! And that's when it hits me that our student rush tickets were in actuality house seats that were going unused.

Plus, the show was awesome and cemented my love for Martin McDonagh.

Waiting for tickets to Hair August 2008

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 12:39pm

From the moment that I walked into the Imperial Theatre last March, the game had been changed for me on so many different levels.

The Great Comet just blew up whatever definition of theatre that I had in my mind.

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 1:09pm

I can’t believe I forgot!

Last year I saw HAMILTON, I was totally unfamiliar with the score wth the exception of a couple songs. I entered the lottery, with the expectation of not winning. I won, and my life was changed. It was amazing in every way and just such a wonderful experience. I saw FALSETTOS the next day, which was my favorite musical at the time and the reason we made the trip. It was wonderful but the whole experience of HAMILTON was one of the best things i have experienced.

“6 AM. The sky glows. Somewhere a bird chirps. I want to shoot it.” ~ Jonathan Larson, Tick...Tick..BOOM

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 1:16pm

Definitely the last performance of the recent revival of The Color Purple. Everything about it was amazing, from singing happy birthday to Cynthia outside the theater (she was waving from a dressing room window), to Hillary Clinton showing up and getting a wild reception, to (of course) an electric performance from a perfect cast of a brilliant production.

Honorable mention to The Lion King, which was my first Broadway show years ago. Sitting on the aisle in the orchestra and having the animals walk by during Circle of Life was magical.

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 1:28pm

Seeing the tears in my daughter's eyes when the first notes played at the beginning of Hamilton

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 1:55pm

Have had a number of them. A few that come to mind are:

A PRAYER FOR OWEN MEANY at the Denver Center. A pleasant surprise and beautifully staged.

CAROLINE OR CHANGE on Broadway. Just brilliant.

Most recently, HELLO DOLLY with Donna Murphy. Have not smiled that much at the theater in a long time.

Also a non performance experience recently at the Friedman when i saw THE CHILDREN. Wonderful staff. Had a bag that I didn't expect to have going in. They took it inside the door and it was waiting for me after the performance. And it was complimentary.

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

#10

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 2:14pm

Not taking into account "Chicago", my best experience at (i.e. during) a Broadway show was "Xanadu" in 2007/8. I had a chance to have an onstage seat. The cast members were close to where I was sitting. I remember Jackie Hoffman saw my name badge...that mentioned BWW. She remarked something to the effect that I can't read all the words...in a funny way of course. Also, it was quite the experience seeing the theatre audience "from" the stage. It was a silly and campy show, but very entertaining. We need a revival of "Xanadu". Cheyenne Jacksons's legs reminded me of California redwoods.

"Noel [Coward] and I were in Paris once. Adjoining rooms, of course. One night, I felt mischievous, so I knocked on Noel's door, and he asked, 'Who is it?' I lowered my voice and said 'Hotel detective. Have you got a gentleman in your room?' He answered, 'Just a minute, I'll ask him.'" (Beatrice Lillie)

#11

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 3:34pm

Two instantly come to mind, both at the Booth:

1) Next to Normal with Marin Mazzie, Jason Danieley, etc. Knew & loved the music & story before seeing the show. Magical night that surpassed any expectations I may have had. Marin was mind blowing. How she gave that much onstage 8 times a week is beyond me. She was insanely good. Perfect night that went by too fast. Unforgettable. Felt so grateful to be there.

2) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf in another cast that knocked it out of the park, led by the utterly amazing Tracy Letts. Pure magic from start to finish. Pulled me in & didn't let go.

#12

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 4:03pm

Hmm...maybe not "best" but two memorable ones that come to mind:

TUCK EVERLASTING: I'm probably the only one who had a best time there! LOL Kidding...I found the show charming. Anyway, what made it best was I was seated next to a stranger, a young woman studying scenic design at NYU-Tisch. I'm a major set design junkie, oogling the sets is often my favorite part of seeing a show. At intermission I grilled her on elements in the show, as well as other recent shows I'd seen to find out how the designers and crew did things. It was a fascinating, educational, and enlightening 20 minutes for me.

PHANTOM: THE VEGAS SPECTACULAR: My friends know I am anal retentive about getting to shows well ahead of curtain so I can relax, read the playbill, and soak in all the pre-show excitement and buzz. My dear friend, Michael, and I had tix to Phantom and, the next evening, O. I got the curtain times reversed -- POTO was 7pm, O was 8pm. Fortuately, we had gotten to POTO early to get tix at Will Call and have a cocktail. At 10 minutes to 7 I found it odd the doors were open and so many patrons were rushing to their seats for an 8pm show. I gasped when I realized my mistake. We were very nearly the last two escorted to our seats and the show began seconds later. I loved the production, but it was memorable because my dear friend would pass away a year later, and it was the last of many musicals we saw together.

#13

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 4:15pm

Seeing Wicked on Broadway when I was a sophomore in high school. That night, I vowed to myself that I'd work in the theatre someday.

#14

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 4:23pm

1) Shuffle Along in June '16, Brian Stokes Mitchell made eye contact with me towards the end while delivering some line about everything turning to dust... it was so cool to have that connection

2) At Great Comet in August: the part in Dust and Ashes where the ensemble is in the mezzanine singing, and when Pierre sees the comet at the end. I. Was. Bawling.

Updated On: 2/7/18 at 04:23 PM

#15

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 4:31pm

I have three:

1.) Echoing upinlights, I thought the whole of Great Comet was a fantastic experience, but that specific moment from onstage/the finale of the show have stuck with me since I first saw it last November. Single-handedly some of the most beautiful moments in a theatre I've ever experienced.

2.) Speaking of "beautiful," the entirety of The Band's Visit comes to mind. Just absolutely stunning in every way and a day has yet to go by since seeing it that some part of the show hasn't played over in my head.

3.) Completely on the flip-side, when I went to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this past August I saw a one-man(ish) show called Hammerhead, and it's quite honestly impossible to describe if you weren't one of the people to see it, just...it was amazing in every way imaginable.

#16

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 4:46pm

I have two special shows in my memories.

1) Bartlett Sher's extraordinary, breathtaking revival of The King and I was something to behold inside the Vivian Beaumont Theater that I felt that magnificent old show felt fresh and new again. It was so good I saw it twice, once with Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe and again when Hoon Lee replaced Ken and both were quite different each time. Not only that amazing 40+ cast and 29 piece orchestra, but Michael Yeargan's sets were very creative and different, Donald Holder's lighting was striking and appropriate, and Catherine Zuber's costumes were beautiful and lovely to look at. This unforgettable revival is something that will be very hard to top if Broadway brings the show back again in the future.

2) To say that the current revival of Hello, Dolly! is wonderful would be an understatement. Everything worked: from Jerry Zaks' direction, Warren Carlyle's masterfully done tribute choreography which not only honored Gower Champion but put his own spin to it, Santo Loquasto's painterly and period beautiful sets and costumes, and even Natasha Katz's lighting was really well done. I saw it with Bette and David and the two had a wonderful chemistry together that was memorable and they were both wonderfully cast in these roles (I still need to see Bernadette and Victor and see how they handle the roles). The supporting cast and ensemble were on point and even the new orchestrations were nicely handled. It really was a memorable night, a night I would never forget.

#17

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 5:46pm

It’s probably because it’s still fresh in my mind, but over the past weekend I saw Ragtime at Northwestern and I don’t think I’ve ever been more goosebump infested in my entire theatre viewing career. Every minute, every note, everything about it just made my heart float.
My professionally. Hello, Dolly with Donna Murphy and Parade at the writers theatre.

My father (AIDS) My sister (AIDS) My uncle and my cousin and her best friend (AIDS, AIDS, AIDS) The gays and the straights And the white and the spades

#18

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 6:03pm

My first Broadway show was Les Miserbles in 1988 and it started my whole musical theatre obsession. After that, I'd have to say Two Gentlemen of Verona (musical) in Central Park starring Norm Lewis, Oscar Isaac, Rosario Dawson and Renee Elyse Goldsberry. It was a gorgeous night with perfect weather and everything about the show exceeded my expectations. It was pure bliss from start to finish. A shame it didn't transfer to Broadway. We could all use a bit of the joy radiating from that show right now.

"What can you expect from a bunch of seitan worshippers?" - Reginald Tresilian

#19

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 6:14pm

I guess that i am living in the past.

Drama -- 1973 production of A Moon For The Misbegotten. Bowled over.

Musical -- The first time I saw Follies in Boston. Complete with 'Oh, Can That Boy Foxtrot' and 'Uptown / Downtown.' Nothing I had experienced to that point prepared me for that show. No subsequent production has ever come close to it. (Although I loved every performance I saw of that original production, that first performance remains emblazoned in the memory bank).

#20

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 7:07pm

HELLO, DOLLY!--all 84 times. It's almost an out-of-body experience for me

"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)

#21

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 7:41pm

Williamstown Festival's production of The Zoo Story with Sam Rockwell and Željko Ivanek Spellbinding and disturbing evening

Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin in Virginia Woolf. Blistering

The current Hello, Dolly. Completely joyous, especially now when some joy is so desperately needed

Stratfford Theatre Festival in Ontario presented a brilliant production of Merchant of Venice, which made it become my favorite Shakespearean play from that point on.

Lincoln Center's production of South Pacific. Who would have thought it could still be such an emotional experience on a number of levels.

and now to throw my credibility to the wind : Gower Champion's dazzling production of Rockabye Hamlet. Incredible staging. I saw it six times and it never failed to thrill me.

Updated On: 2/7/18 at 07:41 PM

#22

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 7:59pm

So many great experiences...

- Hello, Dolly with Bette takes the cake, though. Musical theatre perfection.

- The closing performance of Matilda.

- Marin Mazzie's first performance in The King and I which also marked her return to Broadway after her battle with cancer... When she made her entrance on the boat, the audience went crazy, and you could just see in her eyes how glad she was to be back.

- Cabaret at Studio 54 with Alan Cumming and Michelle Williams. I was seated at a table RIGHT by the stage, and in the final scene between Cliff and Sally, Michelle Williams was sitting on the chest about three feet away from me, and I could see a single tear roll down her cheek as she delivered her last lines.

"There’s nothing quite like the power and the passion of Broadway music. "

#23

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 8:23pm

I was shocked at how great the audience was at 54below for the GHD reunion last Friday. Hardly anyone was on their phones, no one was talking, and it did not turn into a giant sing-along (a real concern, since we all know every word!). The audience appreciation and respect for the cast was at its best. Great job everyone!

#24

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 8:40pm

Brigadoon at New York City Center this November.
Finally seeing Patrick Wilson in a proper musical.
Kelli O'Hara
Stephanie J. Block
Robbie Fairchild
Ross Lekites
..it was perfect.

#25

Best experience you've had at a show?

Posted: 2/7/18 at 8:45pm

Alex Kulak2 said: "SeeingWickedon Broadway when I was a sophomore in high school. That night, I vowed to myself that I'd work in the theatre someday."

In that very same theater, when it was The Uris, I did the same after seeing the original production of Sweeney Todd. I sat I my seat jaw dropped for about 15 minutes until an usher came over and told me i would have to leave! I looked around and realized I was the only person left in the theater. That is actually my number one experience! And I have became a part of the theatre community about 15 years after and still am!

Just give the world Love. - S. Wonder

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