Broadway Returns - Your 2021-2022 Season Recaps

All I will say is… it feels great to be back.

Never take live theatre for granted ever again!

I've been so so grateful for the return of theater/Broadway. Shoutout to all the amazing teams, both behind the curtain and in front of it, who got us to this point. In this season (including returning shows) I saw:

Hadestown: I was at the first show back, and it felt the closest to a religious experience I've ever had. I wept the entire time, from the sheer joy of being back.

Six (twice): So much fun! I had seen it on the West End right before the pandemic, and was really happy to visit it again. Ended up seeing it twice as a friend visited and wanted to see it. Was just as much fun the second time!

American Utopia: I had been sad to miss it the first time around, and was glad to get a second chance to see it. A really unique experience, and a treat to see David Byrne in such fine form.

Thoughts of A Colored Man: My first new play of the season. Really enjoyed it, and found it thought-provoking. Very talented cast.

Caroline or Change: I've been wanting a revival of this for a long time, and it did not disappoint. Sharon Clarke's performance is something I still think about on a daily basis.

Moulin Rouge: Another one I hadn't gotten to see before the pandemic shutdown. An absolute delight, just pure absurd joy.

Phantom of the Opera: Despite living my whole life in New York, I had never seen it. Saw it mostly for Emilie Kouatchou, and she was great.

Company (2): I was at the first preview back, and it was wonderful. The standing ovation for Sondheim is something I will never forget. The entire production worked for me, espically Matt Doyle's Not Getting Married Today. Went back in February and found it even tighter, and felt that Katrina hadr eally grown into the role.

MJ: Saw this on a bit of a whim. It was a fun time, although not my favorite. I don't have the nostalgic connection to MJ the person, so I suspect that is why it didn't work as well for me. Very talented cast though.

American Buffalo: This was the only real dud of the season for me. An all star cast could not save how much I hated this play.

POTUS: I adored this show. It was so freaking funny! A great note to end the season on. Just a comedic blast.

While I was displaced from living in NYC during the pandemic and did not return to living in the city (and never will - that's a chapter of my life that has closed), I did manage one return trip in November and caught 4 shows...

COMPANY - I saw the second preview pre-pandemic and fell head over heels in love with the cast and production. I saw it in November of 2021 and feel even more in love with the show, and it somehow managed to become ever more perfect. As I stated earlier, I left the city and the city live, so the scene where Theo states "there's a time to come to New York, and a time to leave", I felt all the feels.

CAROLINE, OR CHANGE - This show was just not my cup of tea. I was underwhelmed with every aspect of the production from the cast to the set.

HADESTOWN - I took my mom (who had never seen the show before), and she LOVED it. I had seen it twice before, but enjoyed it most this go round.

FLYING OVER SUNSET - Whacky and long, but I really loved this. The cast was so strong, they set was beautiful, and the score has some wonderful little gems.

One of the pluses of not living in the city is living somewhere that gets national tours, so even though I am not seeing everything on Broadway like I used to, I am now getting to see tours again like I did before I lived in the city! I live in a mid-sized town that gets most of the smaller non-union tours, and I am just a two hour drive away from Durham which gets just about everything as fast as tours go. That being said, I saw the following tours...

THE BAND'S VISIT - Very solid touring production. This show has never been, and never will be, one of my favorites, but I have learned to appreciate it more with each viewing (I saw it twice on Broadway). This was also my first show back after the pandemic, so I was just so happy to be back in a theatre again.

TOOTSIE - Such a fan show, and the young cast was so wonderful. The set is one of the worst I have ever seen for a Broadway tour - cheap, cheap, cheap, but other than that, I had a blast! I also saw the show on Broadway, but I enjoyed it more on tour.

AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN - A total cheese fest, but still fun. It was great to hear those old popular songs performed so well. As far as old eighties/nineties movies to stage adaptations go, this far surpassed the likes of Flashdance, Dirty Dancing, and The Bodyguard.

A CHRISTMAS STORY - I had only seen bits and pieces of the film and had never seen the musical, but I had a wonderful time. It was just a really joyous holiday show.

BEAUTIFUL - Another really solid tour with a terrific performance from Sara Shepard whose Carole rivaled Jessie Mueller's. The set was EXTREMELY scaled back from the Broadway production and the ensemble was a hot mess, but still highly enjoyable.

CATS - This touring production needs to be retired. It's tired. The tour was jaundiced and lethargic in every way. It was stale as three week old bread.

HAIRSPRAY - Terrific production quality considering this is non-union. The set looked great, and the cast was highly energetic and having a blast up on that stage. It is impossible not to leave that show on a high note, and I definitely did!

OKLAHOMA! - I loved this production on Broadway, and I, surprisingly, loved it even more on tour. It felt even darker and grittier in a proscenium than it did in the round. The audience around me hated it and were clearly very uncomfortable.

PRETTY WOMAN - This is a guilty pleasure show for me. The score is infectious and fun, and it's just a really fun show. Two understudies were on for Vivian and Edward, and they were both WONDERFUL. Such a great afternoon in the theatre for sure. The almost sold out audience was loving it. I'm glad this show is having a successful tour.

CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY - This is the first time in my life that I left a show before intermission. Absolutely dreadful. The cast looked bored out of their skulls and were not hitting their marks, the set was atrocious. It was far worse than it was on Broadway which I didn't think would be possible going in.

WOW. I didn't realize how many shows I have seen since September until I just rattled them all off! I feel so grateful to have had the chance to see so many shows after 1+ of NOTHING. I think living in NYC I was starting to take going to the theatre and seeing every show for granted. The pandemic shut down definitely reset my appreciation for theatre. I have a trip to the city coming up in May and I will be seeing A Strange Loop, The Music Man, Plaza Suite, Funny Girl, Take Me Out, and Suffs! I am also seeing the My Fair Lady tour next weekend with my mom for Mother's Day... it's good to be back in the theatre!

Wicked (first performance back - magical)

Little Shop of Horrors

Come From Away

Chicken and Biscuits

Freestyle Love Supreme

Dana H.

Waitress (Jennifer Nettles)

Oklahoma! (Tour)

Spring Awakening reunion

Hamilton x3 (Phillip Tour)

Company x2

Slave Play

Christmas Spectacular

The Prom (tour)

Book of Mormon

Paradise Square

Birthday Candles

The Minutes

Hangmen

Sistas: The Musical

Mr. Saturday Night

A Strange Loop

Mrs. Doubtfire

How I Learned to Drive

Over the next week I have Suffs, Into the Woods, Funnt Girl, American Buffalo and Take Me Out.

Pre-shutdown I was much more of a casual theater goer, but at the beginning of 2020 I committed myself to listening to a new cast recording every week and through that and much more I have grown to be a bigger fan over time. All the various Broadway livestreams that happened through quarantine became my way of keeping track of time and just overall getting through.

When Broadway reopened I had the same “it’s back!” reaction as everyone else, but also was SO much bigger of a fan than pre-shutdown and have been keeping in mind that after this year I won’t have as many opportunities to visit Broadway, so this was really a “see everything” year for me. I’ve seen shows I knew I’d love (Company, Little Shop, Moulin Rouge, Six), shows I knew I couldn’t appreciate fully until I saw them live (Hadestown, Caroline or Change), shows that shocked me at how much I loved them (Girl From the North Country, MJ), shows off-Broadway that I wouldn’t have even heard of previously (Regina Comet, The Visitor, Black No More, Space Dogs, Suffs), VERY recently plays for the first time which has opened the whole other side of Broadway up for me (Birthday Candles, POTUS, for colored girls), and so much more (other highlights: Waitress, Assassins, Come From Away). But I’ve really enjoyed everything I’ve seen, it feels wrong leaving stuff out of this list. It’s been so much fun this year to discover all of these shows and in general follow the theater world much closer than I ever have before.

And on a personal level, live theater has come to mean so much to me this year. Going to shows has become what gets me through the days and weeks when I just feel like I can’t. It’s really such a special thing and I’m so glad to have had the opportunities to see so much theater this past year.

Updated On: 4/30/22 at 10:08 PM

So glad live theatre is back! This season I saw:

Slave Play (remount)-November 26, 2021: This was my second time seeing the show, I had initially seen it in December 2019.

Moulin Rouge!-January 4, 2022: My second time seeing this show. I brought a friend as a Christmas gift and had a great time again.

Six-January 6, 2022: Brought my sister as a Christmas present, I initially had tickets for her birthday in June 2020. This was my second time seeing the show. I went to the second preview in February 2020.

Clydes-January 9, 2022: So glad I caught this one before it closed. I really loved it.

Dear Evan Hansen-January 9, 2022: First time seeing this one and I liked it a lot. Idk why it took me so long to see it.

Six-January 21, 2022: Won the lottery with a friend of mine and had to go again. One of my favorites of the season!

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child-February 12, 2022: Went with my sister to see what it was like as one part. I never saw the original production but she had. Overall I liked it even tho it wasn't my favorite.

Birthday Candles-March 18, 2022: My first "First Preview" and it was very enjoyable.

Mr. Saturday Night-April 2, 2022: Not for me unfortunately but it wasn’t a bad show.

For Colored Girls-April 2, 2022: Absolutely adored this production. One of the best of the season.

Chicago-April 16, 2022: My first time seeing Chicago on stage and I saw it with Pamela Anderson. I had a good time and I liked seeing Pam in action.

Company-April 16, 2022: Hands down my favorite show I saw this season. An excellent production of an excellent musical!

How I Learned to Drive-April 28, 2022: A masterclass in acting and writing! Absolutely adored this show.



Shows I have tickets for:

Funny Girl

A Strange Loop

Take Me Out

Such a beautiful thread!

I saw a little over 30 shows this season. (SURPRISING!)

My first back was America Utopia. It was fine, but I saw the HBO film first. Wish I didn’t.

My fav was MJ. (Though Strange Loop is what I’m rooting for the best musical win. Tough, but the right choice.)

Least fav, Mr Saturday Night. (Billy could’ve truly kept that.)

Most surprising is hands down Girl from the North Country. (WHY AREN’T PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT THIS MORE ACTIVELY?!?!) This is my dark horse for awards seasons. A stretch, but I wouldn’t mind if it got some surprise wins. It should’ve won that Grammy. Slap in the face tbh smh

What a fascinating, whirlwind season. Won’t miss the masks and vaxx checks once they are completely gone (or the insane regular testing of the cast and crew, being on pins and needles wondering if your show will happen) but what a CRAZY experience this season has been… lol

Updated On: 5/2/22 at 06:03 AM

OffOnBwayHi said: "Wow! That’s a true accomplishment!"

Thanks! This is the first season that I was able to do it!

Trying to remember them all...

Come From Away

Flying Over Sunset

The Mound Builders

The Lehman Trilogy

Girl From The North Country

Skeleton Crew

Prayer for The French Republic

Macbeth

A Case For The Existence of God In The Universe

Confederates

Hangmen

The Skin of Our Teeth

The Minutes

Caroline, or Change: Such a rich and well-constructed piece of theater. I've said a lot already but it puts so many other shows to shame. Great casting across the board.

Kimberly Akimbo: Bonnie was great. I had a good time. I don't really feel the need to see it when it transfers.

Flying Over Sunset: A grand mess that had its moments but really felt like the typical subscriber house play but with musical numbers.

Intimate Apparel: It made me want to see the play instead. I did like the actor who played George.

Black No More: Imperfect but I enjoyed it more than most shows aside from the mess of Helen's character.

Baby: Really severely dated for me and not well directed in that space. But Julia Murney was good.

Anyone Can Whistle: I'm glad I've finally seen a version of it. I'm not really interested in seeing it again unless there's an overhaul of the book.

Girl from the North Country: I'm glad some people love it but it's style over substance for me and bordering on offensive.

for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf: A worthwhile production with great performances. Though I still dislike the set design.

Paradise Square: Not so bad it's good but not entirely without merit either. I came away from it really admiring the cast. I hope Joaquina gets a better star vehicle.

The Skin of Our Teeth: Beautiful dinosaur puppet. It didn't move me but it was interesting. I probably would have enjoyed it more if I sat out all of act 2 (between the pause and intermission).

Dana H. and How I Learned to Drive have to be the standouts of the season. Holy **** those were effective pieces. Of course, Dana H. is really from 2020, but then again, isn't How I Learned to Drive from 1997?