FINALLY...NYC here i come...and went...MY FINAL THOUGHTS! — Page 2
#27
Posted: 10/8/15 at 5:56pm
I would agree with others in that Finding Neverland is not your best choice. There are so many other, better shows. I'd suggest shows like Curious Incident, AAIP, or Kinky Boots (this would be a good time to see KB as Billy Porter is leaving on november 20th)
#28
Posted: 10/23/15 at 1:08pm
well 2 weeks until i hit the GREAT WHITE WAY!...and i discovered that AVENUE Q is playing just a couple of blocks away from my hotel so i most likely will be seeing that on a Monday night of all nights...:)!
#29
Posted: 10/25/15 at 5:16am
my vote would be for spring awakening - this production is why we all love theater. its a must see
#30
Posted: 10/25/15 at 6:58am
I would vote for Kinky Boots. I loved Something Rotten as well as Beautiful. I did not particularly like AAIP. I found it rather dull. I have not seen this production of Spring Awakening but hated the original. I'm with you on no desire to see Fun Home. It is difficult to predict which shows will appeal to people as each person's taste is so different.
#31
Posted: 11/4/15 at 7:20pm
well just over one week till I make my trip to BROADWAY...I have great second row center MEZZ for BOOK OF MORMAN on Tuesday night, and 1st row LODGE for KING & I Thursday night...and surprise surprise I still have money to burn...on 2 shows on Wednesday,,.,I am taking an old dear friend to see SOMETHING ROTTEN, and we will hit a matinee of hopefully KING CHARLES III, or another show what ever TKTS has to offer...:)
Needless to say I am more than excited for my trip and I hear the weather wont be awful...my pal Bobby sings at MARIE CRISIS, so we are going there Tuesday after BOM...see you there!
#32
Posted: 11/4/15 at 7:21pm
I know you think you're not interested in Fun Home, but man, YOU of all people should see Fun Home.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#33
Posted: 11/4/15 at 7:52pm
I call FUN HOME unmissable. Going back in December.
"I'm a comedian, but in my spare time, things bother me." Garry Shandling
#34
Posted: 11/4/15 at 8:00pm
well it seems the biggest response on this thread for must see Broadway shows goes to FUN HOME...and conversely, FINDING NEVERLAND, got the most "DON'T SEE" responses...about FUN HOME as I previously stated it reminds me of FALSETTOLAND...which I may come back to see in 2016!...
(if FUN HOME is available at TKTS then I just might go)
#35
Posted: 11/4/15 at 8:46pm
It'll probably be on the board and believe me, it's not particularly like Falsettos (which I personally loathed and never want to experience ever again but I am odd man out on that topic) but like that Falsettos, there is also an odd man out in Fun Home.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#36
Posted: 11/7/15 at 8:30am
See Les Mis! Some people don't like the new production but it is wonderful! I saw it when Ramin Karimloo was on and now I'm hoping to catch Alfie Boe in it sometime this season. And you definitely will find it on the TKTS board. Plus you could use the TodayTix app for another possible discount and use my code RSDSI for $10 off. Plus if you use my code I get $10 and you will be helping me get closer to seeing Les mis again! :)
#37
Posted: 11/14/15 at 8:58am
FINALLY....first off let me give my respects to all the citizens of the CITY OF LIGHTS...we are all one today!
just got back from NYC and here are my impressions of the 5 shows i saw...
AVENUE Q...off broadway...really fun small musical but how did this ever win the BEST MUSICAL TONY from WICKED?...
BOOK OF MORMON...i would have really liked to see JOSH GAD in the role of Elder Cunningham...but still thought it was one of the funniest shows i have ever seen...and so gay!...:)
SOMETHING ROTTEN...was over all the most enjoyable show i saw all week...it was great to see the leads Christian Borle and Brian D'Arcy James in the show and wow what life the chorus brought to this show...great costumes and sets and fun songs and dialogue...a pure delight in every sense...the audience was literally cheering after every number...and once again more gay than i would have thought...which made me laugh even more....gays and jews are or were the target audience of Broadway...:)
AN AMERICAN IN PARIS...very sophisticated show...GREAT SCENIC DESIGN..but was disappointed with the Ballet at the end of the show...except for the pas de deux, in the middle of the ballet which was sublime...Robert Fairchild was everything i had heard about...
THE KING AND I...i have waited decades to finally see this live on stage and the emotional power of this show took hold from the opening to the emotionally charged ending...i think i was tearing up from the start...what an opening by the way with the boat arriving on stage..i sat in the first row Lodge because of posts i had read on BROADWAYWORLD.COM...and i was not disappointed...the emotional and sexual tension between KELLI and her costar, the brilliant Hoon Lee filled the theatre...and once again the sets and lighting were brilliant...
one final note...granted i have not been to a Broadway show in over 10 years but man the scenic design and the lighting have made leaps and bounds from years ago...this all helps to make the shows more visual...i was truly impressed...in every case i got my money's worth!
Updated On: 11/14/15 at 08:58 AM
#38
Posted: 11/14/15 at 11:51am
broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "AVENUE Q...off broadway...really fun small musical but how did this ever win the BEST MUSICAL TONY from WICKED?..."
Cuz it's better?! 
#39
Posted: 11/14/15 at 1:58pm
Good to read you had an enjoyable trip back to NYC, BroadwayBaby.
The story of Avenue Q winning The Tony for Best Musical over Wicked is a famous one which caused The League of Broadway Producers to limit gifts to Tony voters. As you know, The Tony Awards are presented by The League of Broadway Producers to, well, it's own members. They are a marketing tool about making money for, well, its' own members. It is much better to call it an "Award Show" rather than "A Commercial for New Broadway Shows Presented by the Owners of The Shows".
In the case of Avenue Q and Wicked- The Producers of Avenue Q held a luncheon and invited all of the out of town voters who own theatesr or are presenters on the road. He explained to them that Wicked was a big hit and would sell out their theater whether it won the coveted Best Musical Award or not- BUT- if they would all vote for his show for Best Musical, Avenue Q, they would be able to sell out their theater out a second time since many theater goers and theater party organizers will always go and see whichever show won Best Musical. It made sense since there would be a very small audience for the small show Avenue Q on the road if it did not win Bet Musical, so they voted for it.
Unfortunately, when it came time for a tour the producer did double cross the people who made him a success and signed an exclusive deal in Las Vegas, thus infuriating the very people who made the show Best Musical and were waiting for their return on it. The Vegas production was a huge bust since Avenue Q certainly could not compete with the Cirque Shows on the strip and, eventually, Avenue Q toured.
The production you saw in NYC last week has an orchestra of three and Equity Actors on an Off-Broadway contract whom are being paid about the same as people waiting on tables across the street. The Broadway production of Avenue Q was much higher quality with a larger orchestra and Broadway Production Contracts.
Updated On: 11/14/15 at 01:58 PM
#40
Posted: 11/14/15 at 2:15pm
I'm glad you had a great time BroadwayBaby. I agree with you 100% about the new revival of THE KING AND I which I got to see Ken Watanabe before he left which was amazing. There's just something about Bartlett Sher and revivals that seems to be a perfect match, his design crew especially know what they are doing and they make some very smart and quite brilliant choices. For example in the first scene of THE KING AND I we see a big boat that glides on the stage and it's quite a sight to see in person, then we have Anna and Louis meet the Kralahome on the docks of Bangkok where the background and sets are quite detailed, then we go into the palace for the rest of the show and Michael Yeargan's concept of the simple, but detailed palace blocking the view of the city and possibly the world making Anna's begging for a house OUTSIDE the palace making Yeargan's design choice a smart one that strengthens the story.
I'm hoping for a different sort of brilliance with Sher's upcoming FIDDLER ON THE ROOF where a strong coup de théâtre happens. His production of THE KING AND I, in my opinion, where full of them.
#41
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:21pm
^^^This. And I can't wait to see what the choreographer does with the musical's numbers. He sounds like an innovative, yet true-to-the-culture artist. Eager to see what he does with the choreography.
#42
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:26pm
I agree with you, out of all those shows, Something Rotten was also the most enjoyable for me.
"People have their opinions and that doesn't mean that their opinions are wrong or right. I just take it with a grain of salt because opinions are like as*holes, everyone has one".
-Felicia Finley-
#43
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:32pm
I agree theaterguy12. I think Hofesh Shechter is a perfect fit to do something traditional and innovative with Jerome Robbins original choreography that can create the same excitement and wonder that Christopher Gattelli did with the choreography in THE KING AND I.
I swear if there's a future Broadway revival of FOLLIES with Bartlett Sher, his talented crew (Michael Yeargan, Catherine Zuber, and Donald Holder) and Christopher Wheeldon, I think I'm going to be in excitement and joy overload.
#44
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:37pm
Great to read that you had such a good time! Sounds like our trips overlapped.
(I know everyone has different tastes, but Fun Home and American in Paris were both the highlights for me really--but where the Hell are these comparisons between Fun Home and Falsettos coming from? Is it just because a character comes out in both??)
#45
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:40pm
theatreguy12 said: "^^^This. And I can't wait to see what the choreographer does with the musical's numbers. He sounds like an innovative, yet true-to-the-culture artist. Eager to see what he does with the choreography.
"
This is prob best for a different thread--but how much of Robbins' choreography can be changed? I always thought that very little could which is why in the past when they've had rather different stagings of Fiddler (or, say, Mendes' Gypsy,) they still had to use Robbins' choreography. The FIddler credits still give a "based on choreography by Robbins" credit, I see.
#46
Posted: 11/14/15 at 3:48pm
I guess I'm just going to have to check out TKAI, Musical Master. I was in the city over spring and it was up and running, but I took a pass. Only because I've seen the show numerous times, and I just couldn't imagine what they could do to it that hasn't been done before.
It's a great show, don't get me wrong. And I love the music.
But there were others I wanted to see, including On the Twentieth Century (which I loved, and STILL think Chenoweth deserved a Tony for the complexity of that role….but don't want to hijack the thread to THAT discussion again so I'll leave it there).
When I return to NY in the near future I definitely want to catch TKAI because I want to see the grand staging everyone is talking about. And I sure hope Kelli is in the role that evening. The part of Anna always seemed the kind of role that anyone with a great voice and some good acting chops could handle with little or no effort. Hearing the raves KO is getting for the show though….I must see!
#47
Posted: 11/14/15 at 6:10pm
haterobics said: "broadwaybabywannabe2 said: "AVENUE Q...off broadway...really fun small musical but how did this ever win the BEST MUSICAL TONY from WICKED?...".
Cuz it's better?! "
i guess it is a matter of opinion...:)
Updated On: 11/14/15 at 06:10 PM
#48
Posted: 11/14/15 at 6:59pm
"The production you saw in NYC last week has an orchestra of three and Equity Actors on an Off-Broadway contract whom are being paid about the same as people waiting on tables across the street."
What is the point in your above statement?
"The Broadway production of Avenue Q was much higher quality with a larger orchestra and Broadway Production Contracts."
Disagree wholeheartedly. The show at New World is the same caliber of that on broadway. And in many patrons' opinions, the set works better on the smaller stage.
Didn't like Wicked at all, loved Avenue Q.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
#49
Posted: 11/14/15 at 7:09pm
I love Wicked seen it 6x on Broadway and on tour. Finally saw Avenue Q last year and left at intermission as I do for shows I don't like (and feel like I won't like the second act any better) Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
#50
Posted: 11/14/15 at 7:15pm
" Different strokes for different folks I suppose."
Oh, for sure. That goes without saying. You're in a very small minority though, since the show is still running after six years at New World. That plus, how many on Broadway? Ah, yes, it opened in 2003. Twelve years and running.
<-----I'M TOTES ROLLING MY EYES
Updated On: 11/14/15 at 07:15 PM
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