Coming to NYC next weekend DAY 3 - HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO and WAITING FOR GODOT — Page 2

bear88 said: "I did seePoor Little Redneckswith a different cast in San Francisco earlier this year. I didn’t enjoy it as much asVietgone(Poor Little Rednecksis a sequel, although you don’t have to see the first play to understand this one) but my expectations may have been too high because I liked Vietgonea lot. It’s flawed but worth seeing."

Now that makes me wish I had seen Vietgone at the Guthrie last year. Shoot. Still interested in seeing it! Or maybe Hell's Kitchen if I can manage to swing a ticket for it.

Poor Little Rednecks is definitely not for everyone. Some people left during intermission. There is a lot of rapping that IMHO wasn’t very good.

Bottom of his/her list.



muscle23ftl said: ""10. Six - I personally dislike this a lot despite the praise it gets"

you are recommending shows you don't even like? "

Another update: I've narrowed my tentative schedule down a bit:

Friday afternoon: This is still up in the air, of course depending on prices, availability, how tired I'm feeling after my flight, etc. Shucked!, Gutenberg!, Some Like it Hot, and Purlie Victorious are the ones I'm most likely to seek out.

Friday evening: Kimberly Akimbo almost certainly.

Saturday afternoon: Here We Are (I've actually bought this ticket, so it's more or less locked in)

Saturday evening: Here Lies Love or Purlie Victorious

Sunday afternoon: How to Dance in Ohio

Sunday evening: Waiting for Godot

Of course, this is all subject to change. I could easily see something like Harmony or Sweeney Todd sneaking in one of those slots if a good deal shows up. And if I somehow manage to snag a ticket to Hell's Kitchen that would probably take priority over just about any other show.

SHUCKED !!!

I think you have the right idea for Friday afternoon: something light. Of the shows you are considering that day, I have only seen Shucked, which is a cute, original musical with some fine performances and a whole lot of jokes that will make you chuckle or groan. My wife really enjoyed it.

You are seeing a lot of small shows, which makes me think you should consider something splashy to add a little variety. Of the shows you mentioned, Here Lies Love is a flawed musical but it’s big and flashy and unique. People have given the Sweeney Todd revival a lot of grief but it’s a respectful revival that has wonderful moments and some impressive performances. It will probably be a long while before there’s another Broadway revival of Sweeney Todd with a full orchestra.

Have a fine day of theater!

I know you mentioned Merrily We Roll Along initially, don’t know if you are still considering it. Prices are high, but in the mid-200s for your still-to-be-determined opening. There are usually a few non-lottery tickets available at those prices. It’s a lot, but this production of Merrily is excellent.

You may have picked a Saturday night show already, or don’t want to pay that much. I’m just tossing out extra suggestions just in case.

Purlie!

Leslie is terrific, but Kara Young's performance is a revelation! I can't imagine her not getting in her 3rd Tony nom.

Here We Are: The theatre nerd in me couldn't let visit New York without seeing the final Sondheim show. What this show gives us in an absurdist musical comedy that satirizes the rich without reducing them to caricature or offering easy answers. It is a real gift and tribute to Sondheim that his final show ended up having an ideal team - the all-star cast under the direction of Joe Mantello bring the characters in David Ives' book to life with enthusiasm to spare. The songs have an energy and rhythm that are distinctly Sondheim, and while they individually may not be as distinctive so much as fit into the story as a whole, they definitely express the mood of the piece well. Also, if I hadn't already heard of the lack of songs I the second act, I'm not sure I would have necessarily noticed - there's enough music early on, and when it disappears as the characters fall into despair as they're unable to leave the embassy it feels... right. Maybe I would have appreciated one final closing number to bring everything full circle, but overall this does feel like a completely realized work. The set design and use of The Shed was excellent -there were a couple of moments involving the set itself that I had never seen happen in a live show before - and generated spontaneous applause from the audience. Also, after the show Bobby Cannavale and David Hyde Pierce were standing in the lobby taking donations for Broadway Cares. Their cheerfulness and enthusiasm when thanking the audience members for attending had a Community Theatre vibe that I found incredibly charming.

For most of the day, I was still debating over what to see this evening - it was basically a coin flip, but by the time I had to buy my ticket Here Lies Love was sold out on TodayTix so I saw Purlie Victorious (which honestly I had already been leaning towards by that point anyway). A few different things stood out to me about this show - one, even though this is a show obviously intended as a star vehicle for Leslie Odom Jr from the ground up, both he and the overall show are incredibly generous to the supporting cast - Odom's confidence as a performer allows him to stand back and let his wonderfully talented costars steal scenes while he supplies the dramatic throughline. Another was that while the show is obviously a very funny comedy, it's one that has at its heart a real righteous anger - Purlie might be a con artist, might be a shameless liar, but his thirst for justice is completely sincere. Kenny Leon's direction creates a real sense of place and community among the characters, which makes Kara Young's outsider character all the funnier. When she has to pose as Purlie's educated relative based only on what Purlie has told her, Young plays it as the world's worst Pygmalion gambit and it's absolutely hilarious. Everyone in the cast is firing on all cylinders, from Heather Alice Simms as Purlie's sister-in-law who knows exactly how to cut through his BS to Jay O. Sanders as the boisterous Cap'n Cotchipee, who is as self-involved as he is incapable of self-reflection, to Willa Bost, who was filling in for the role of Idella tonight and did so with so much confidence that you'd think she was a regular cast member.

Updated On: 11/25/23 at 10:55 PM

I was too tired last night to write up a summary of the shows I saw, so here goes:

How to Dance in Ohio is a classic crowdpleaser. Literally, in fact - the audience I saw it with Sunday afternoon was eating it up, laughing, gasping, and applauding throughout. This is a show that wears its heart on its sleeve, and while I can see how it might rub some the wrong way (utter sincerity sometimes comes across as disingenuous) I couldn't help but love it. Does it break any new ground musically? No - the songs, while catchy and well-performed have a sound that basically embodies "contemporary musical theatre" - but they all serve the characters and overall show beautifully. This is one of those stories that is universal in its specificity - even people who aren't on the autism spectrum could relate the the characters who enter young adulthood and find themselves worrying that they won't be able to find a place in the world. There's also a wonderful song where the parents sing about how they're still learning and often have to make things up as they go along - a good coming-of-age story should also give parents a fair shake, and that serves the purpose well. The young cast, too, is excellent. In an ensemble like this with no real main character it's important that everyone has a distinct personality, and all of the actors make sure you know exactly who they are and what their purpose is. You don't often see musicals where the characters feel like actual people you might encounter in day-to-day life... even bio-musicals tend to mostly be made about outside personalities. That makes How to Dance in Ohio special. The book has its issues - having seen and really enjoyed the documentary, the whole third act conflict that is then resolved for the final number was basically made up out of whole cloth, and I'm really curious how the therapist from the Doc thinks about his portrayal here. That said, I do like how that fictionalization is used to make a greater point about how people with autism are seen by others and how they should be able to make decisions and live their lives how they want. The show definitely makes a few stumbles getting to where it's going, but I do appreciate that they went there.

Waiting for Godot at the Theatre for a New Audience was my first exposure to Beckett, and having my first Estragon and Vladimir played by the great Michael Shannon and Paul Sparks definitely helped me get into this notoriously bizarre play. The two of them play off of each other wonderfully, Sparks with the enthusiasm of a puppy alongside occasional bouts of despair and depression, while Shannon lands each deadpan one-liner with expert timing. The two are just as gifted physical performers as well, with Sparks running from one side of the stage to the other and Shannon sometimes finding himself tumbling and rolling across the ground - embodying the restlessness of two men who know they're waiting for something but don't know why. Then there's Ajay Naidu as Pozzo, sometimes charismatic and sinister and at other times pathetic and pitiful. Jeff Biehl as Lucky nails the famous nonsensical monologue while also giving equal care to the character as a mute. The material still comes across as fairly opaque to me (a common personal response to absurdism) but I don't think I could have asked for a better entry point than this.