Favorite Broadway EXPERIENCE

[LyTeMyCanDyI]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:17pm

I've met Adam Pascal and Idina Menzel, my two favorite stars of all time, but that will never top the second time I saw Miss Saigon. I went with my mom and grandma for my grandma's 80th birthday. At the end of the show, my grandma couldn't get up from her chair because she was crying so hard and because she loved the show so much. Afterwards, we got autographs and then went home, listening to the soundtrack the whole way home. It was my favorite Broasdway moment because I, having already seen the show and fallen in love with it, got to share my favorite thing with my favorite woman and when I saw how moved she was, I felt so special because it was something I loved too and now we could share it. A few months later, it became even more special, because my Grandma passed away and that was out last really good memory together.

What was yours?

[kangaroo]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:21pm

I just had the most amazing cast for AIDA when I saw it. Adam had just come back, and it was an amazing show... I was blown away! Afterwards we got to meet everyone, and I about died when Adam came out. I thought that he had such an amazing voice. Deborah Cox was Aida, and I love her as a singer... but now also as a Broadway performer. I forgot she was Deborah... and afterwards when I met her, she was so sweet. I got pictures with both of them.

Also, after a production of the Boy From Oz, I got a chance to see Hugh Jackman in person! He signed my BFO poster and I was completely starstruck. I actually did get some great shots of him, and he was so sweet to everyone. I even had Aussies in front of me, and we became immediate friends.

Aah, the power of Broadway. ~Kangaroo

[CJR]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:25pm

God, I have so many over the years.... Seeing a good friend up onstage is always thrilling... but two of my favorites have to be the opening night of Hollywood Arms and then seeing two of my best friends play Roxie and Velma opposite each other.

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:26pm

Bringing my mom to see BARE, is definitely up there.

Second, to every single (15) time that I saw TABOO. The whole experience made me feel so inspired and renewed each and every time.

[momtobwwannabee]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:28pm

I have daughter who like most young girls is enthralled with BPeters. When she was 8, she met her after AGYG and then on the walk to hotel, said, "When I am in a Broadway show, I won't have to worry about learning to drive, because I'll have a driver with big black car like Ms. Peters!" On next NY trip, she asked who would she get to raise her children when she was in a show.
I share that because I just love the dreams Broadway fosters in young hearts. (And no, I do not want her to read that book that speaks of how difficult life can be when trying to get into the business! It is a dream not to shatter.)

[marincrazy11]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:28pm

meeting Donna Murphy after the brilliance that was Wonderful Town

[luvtheEmcee]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:30pm

Okay, if I had to pick one, this is what I'd pick:

Seeing Adam Pascal and Daphne Rubin-Vega on stage together at the Kean concert in October, but more specifically seeing Adam sing Glory. Since the first time I saw RENT, I've grown a lot, learned a lot, and come to appreciate much more what the show is and means. So, getting to see two of the orignals together was huge for me - it wasn't something I ever, ever thought I'd get to see, and I did. Adam's Glory was the first song from Rent that they did, and it came so suddenly. That morning I remember thinking "nah, he's not gonna do it. He NEVER does Glory." The intro was sort of in disguise, but as soon as the words "One song..." left his mouth, I started to cry. It's strange, because I never really considered myself to be a RentHead or anything, but the show does mean a lot to me, and Adam is my, well, he's Adam. If I never, ever thought I'd see something close to an OBC reunion, the chances of thinking I'd ever get to see Adam sing Glory were even smaller, and I just couldn't believe what I was experiencing. That's something I don't think I'm ever going to forget. It still gives me chills just to think about it... that's one of those moments that stays with you.

[chinkie azn jai]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:31pm

meeting all but one of the avenue Q cast. Meeting the Original cast (minus Hunter and the original voice of audrey II) of the revival of LSOH was pretty cool too because they were all so nice.

[luvWICKED416]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:33pm

Kangaroo.... how can you talk about your fav. Aida cast and not mention Amneris!? I'm dissapointed...

[BroadwayDiva]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:35pm

*nods in agreement with Emcee*

Adam singing "Glory" at Kean, then LMC with Daphne was one of the most amazing experiences I've ever had. RENT was the first show I actually fell in love with- sure, I've had favorites over the years, but RENT was special because it brought me into the world of Broadway. The first song I ever heard from RENT was 'Glory', and the first song I fell in love with was LMC, so when Adam and Daphne, original cast members and (obviously) the amazing voices on that recording, sang those songs, I felt so wowed by it, that I really don't think there's anything that can top that. It was such a wonderful thing...

[kangaroo]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:36pm

sorry... sorry...
Actually, she was really sweet. I was sorta squished as we were waiting outside, and I took a picture with her, and she asked everyone to move aside a little so we could take the picture. She was really sweet.

[luvWICKED416]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:36pm

That's better... Thanks Kangaroo!

[Britt0913]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:38pm

I would have to say that the most fulfilling experience for me was seeing THE NORMAL HEART at the Public Theatre this past season. I chose that because the play has a very special meaning to me because of the subject matter. I can't even describe how I felt about the show and the effect it had on me.

If I had to pick a Broadway moment, though, it would have to be...seeing Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune in October of 2002. When I saw this show for my 16th birthday, there was one moment at the end of the first act and I thought to myself, "I wanna do that!". Definitely one of my fave experiences.

[Chrysanthemum62001]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:49pm

I'm gonna have to go with two, actually.

The first time I saw Cabaret I was so excited. I had been looking forward to this for some time and I have to say there is NOTHING like seeing that show for the first time. Honestly, I think that show is single handedly responsible for corrupting me. I was shocked every other second, and I already knew about most of the jokes. Two things still stand out in my mind. The first happens at the VERY beginning when a certain ensemble member who happens to play the violin walked out on stage and sat down on the steps. My conversation with the three strangers I was sitting with came to a complete hault, and my jaw dropped to the table. The man IS a work of art (just don't let it go to your head)!

And of course, the next one is the last time I saw Cabaret. Oh, I am such a dork... but to this day I still have a hard time believing it actually happened. Getting to talk to Susan Egan in her dressing room, and then walking out the stage door afterwords with everybody outside looking to see if I was someone of importance.

[Corine2]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 10:52pm

The highlight of my life:
Interviewing Michael Musto
Interviewing Gerard Alessandrini and the cast of Forbidden Broadway live.
Interviewing The Cast of Avenue Q, in front of a live audience.
All three tie and all were very meaningful to me.
I do need to thank Michael Musto for being my first and favorite interview.
I also need to thank Jeff Marx, John Tartaglia, Gerard Alessandrini, John Freedson, Ellen and Stephanie D'Abruzzo for making it happen.

Updated On: 11/20/04 at 10:52 PM

[Bwaychick84]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 11:21pm

I went to see one of my coreographers, Frank Root, in 42nd Street while Shirley Jones was in it. After the show Frank gave me, my sister, and my mom a backstage tour which was cool enough... I got to do a time step on stage! =P But then, on our way out, Frank knocked on Shirley Jones' dressing room and we all got to go in!!! I just love her from all the classic movies she's been in, I was absoutely star struck. I don't even remember what I said, but I'm sure it was something silly like "I love you're work" or "you're great" or something along those lines. Needless to say, after we left the theater, my mom, sister, and I were so ecstatic for the entire train ride home to Connecticut. It was an AWESOME experience!

[FabalaCohen]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 11:53pm

Normally, I'm forced to leave and not go to the stage door (I think my mother is oblivious to the fact that we could meet the actors after the show), so I don't have a who I met story (yet).

HOWEVER. Getting the chance to Rent after a year of listening to the OBCR was absolutely thrilling. My heart actually started to pound during the introduction to La Vie Boheme.

The other plus side is that I defended Rent in the local paper after some guy said the show was comparable to "a good junior high school production." Absolutely the greatest moment of my life so far- seeing my name in print next to a picture of Jaime Lee.

[millie_dillmount]

Posted: 11/15/04 at 11:55pm

Isn't just being at a show an experience within itself?

[munkustrap178]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:05am

Additions:

Getting to go backstage for TITANIC when I was younger with my family.

Being at Antonio Banderas' last performance of NINE. The best.

[#1Elphie]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:09am

Seeing The Producers with MB and NL for the first time was pretty cool for me. My mom and I did cancellation line together and waited for 6 hours. It was fun, though; we got to bond and got to talk to the people around us in line. At one point I left to go buy some food, and when I got back, my mom had gotten the tickets while I had been gone. Seeing the show was my birthday present, it was right before my birthday. So my mom got the people who were still in line to sing Happy Birthday when I came back. It was pretty cool. And the show was absolutely amazing to me; we had awesome seats, and it was just so much fun. I swallowed my gum I laughed so hard. I'll never forget it.
Seeing Wicked on Cheno's second-to-last day was also a great experience. It was so emotional.
And, of course, seeing Adam and Daphne in concert at Kean and particularly hearing Adam sing Glory. I never imagined I would get to see that.

[Jon]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 12:24am

Having my beloved Karen Ziemba wink at me at the end of Act 1 of CRAZY FOR YOU. It's the end of "I Got Rhythm" and the cast strikes a final pose, which they hold as the curtain slowly falls, smiling and looking straight ahead as the audience applauds and cheers. I was sitting in the second row on the aisle, stage left side. As the curtain reached the point about ten feet from the floor, Karen turned her head to the left, looked straight at me, and winked. Now, I had seen her before the show, and told her where I was going to be sitting, and I was wearing a bright green sweater, so I was easy to spot. After the show she confirmed that yes, she was winking at me.

[AmaraCaledonia]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 1:43am

I've met a lot of people on Broadway (Idina, Kristin, Hugh Jackman, Nathan Lane, Mathew Broderick, Cast of Avenue Q, and more...) but I think the best thing that ever happened was when my sister and dad were in New York seeing Avenue Q. I hadn't gotten to go because I was performing that night and on top of that, I was so amazingly sick. So I was at home, trying to get my voice back and not die, when my cell phone rings. So I pick it up and it's my dad who's just gotten out of Q. He tells me to hold on for a second, that someone wanted to talk to me...and it was Stephanie. She was soooo sweet (as she always is). We talked for a bit, then John Tartaglia got on the phone...and he went through the whole conversation in Character (as Rod, my favourite). It was so friggin' amazing. I cried afterwards XD

[PennyLou]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 8:28am

My whole Hairspray experience.. relationships I have built, things I have learned about shows and how they change, grow, reinvent them selves just but the change of a person or to. It's amazing how one character can be played so many different ways even if they are only slightly different they are different none the less. I have spent a LOT of my own money on this show and other shows (and now other shows to see former Hairspray folk in new things) and I don't regret any of it. It made me happy to watch he show and I can clearly recall all the times I have seen it. I know I'm just a teenager going throw a faze like the rest of the teenagers in this would but I feel I will look back on this faze and still be happy I went throw it... This is the stuff dreams are made from!

[BlueEyedKate]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 9:41am

I think there are certain moments where you see a play, and there's that one moment where something in the play, whether it be a line, a character's movement or reaction, or a song lyric that moves you to the very core of your existence. More often than not, I find those moments predicated on your own individual circumstances...but for me, one of the most memorable ones is when I saw RENT when I was going through a really rough time in my life - I had seen the play numerous times before, but something about seeing that play that night changed me. RENT will never be the same after that moment.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 11/16/04 at 9:46am

There are too many in-show experiences to count... BUT! I have to say that my favorite experience in a Broadway house was dancing in the aisles with one of my good friends at the end of Taboo. Good times... :)

PS. this is not to say the show wasn't great as well...