Posted: 8/28/16 at 12:37pm
I also think A Night in the Ukraine is hilarious.
"Your angelic face I regard as the face of a saint ... Bernard!"
Posted: 8/28/16 at 2:56pm
Based on individual productions, I would go for:
-- The Producers with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick. At one point, I had just taken an m&m when something ridiculous happened...I laughed so hard, I hit the person in front of me in the head with the m&m...and the person felt it.
-- A Funny Thing with Phil Silvers. I think Comedy Tonight lasted 45 seconds, he sang it so fast. Absolutely hilarious.
-- Mame. Not the out and out farce that the others were, but -- with Lansbury, Arthur and Connell in the lead roles -- I don't recall laughing as much as I did, particulArly in Act 2.
-- A Gentleman's Guide. It will be interesting to see how time treats this show. Even though it won the Tony and ran two years, I think it was under appreciated
-- Kinky Boots. Laughed as much the fourth time in a barn in Tampa as from great seats in NYC two weeks after it opened.
Somehow, I have not seen Spelling Bee; I think How to Succeed and Little Me are either overrated or dated; I hated Avenue Q; I felt that Something Rotten relied too much on theatre knowledge... I saw it once with people who were not avid theatre goers, and half the humor went over their heads (although I loved it); and I just don't enjoy the corny humor of Guys and Dolls...kill me.
I would give honorable mention to Hello Dolly, High Spirits, Spamalot (although I have preferred smaller productions to the Broadway version), and Acts 2 and 3 of The Apple Tree.
Posted: 8/28/16 at 3:26pm
The laughs in BOM don't really come from the profane/inappropriate words like the aforementioned "maggots in my scrotum". The laughs come from the painful, too-real satire that viciously cuts through every curse word. On the surface, it may seem like you're laughing because they said *unt and *uck, but then one stops and realizes that the laughs came as a response to being faced with the impossible issues of female genital mutilation and villages dealing with widespread, disease, lack of functioning government services, famine, and war. Hilarious!
Posted: 8/28/16 at 4:54pm
Of the ones I have seen:
Book of Mormon
The Producers
Avenue Q
The Full Monty
Updated On: 8/28/16 at 04:54 PM
Posted: 8/28/16 at 5:07pm
Agree w everything said about Forum. It was my 1st choice . I'd pick Urinetown as my 2nd. It is part of the musical theater tradition even as it lampoons it. ( social satire apart)
i love Guys andd Dolls too.
Posted: 8/28/16 at 10:49pm
If it counts, A Very Potter Musical/Sequel are honestly the funniest things I've ever seen, out of musicals, tv shows, ect, nothing has made me laugh more than that.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 1:02am
Somehow I've missed a bunch of the ones listed. Of what I've seen:
BoM
The Producers
Bullets over B'way
Something Rotten
Menopause the Musical
The Pirates of Penzance
Forbidden Bway
The spoof of Cole Porter type shows with the bootleggers
Victor Victoria
Posted: 8/29/16 at 1:59am
Some Great ones mentioned. I would add BATBOY to the list.
edit: and RUTHLESS
Updated On: 8/29/16 at 01:59 AM
Posted: 8/29/16 at 5:01am
- Avenue Q - I saw it again recently and it was just as funny as it was the first time. Whereas I found BOM hilarious the first time I heard the cast recording, I then didn't find it as funny when I actually saw it. I'm totally avoiding the recording at the moment in preparation for the Melbourne production next year!
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum - undoubtedly my funniest moment in the theatre was having Geoffrey Rush dry hump my mother. Enough said.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 9:44am
Totally agree re: BATBOY.
SPELLING BEE is the most laughs for me but I've never laughed harder than at BATBOY.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 10:27am
I have seen numerous musicals that literally made me laugh out loud several times, but the single funniest show I've seen, play or musical, has to be the Broadway production of Urinetown. The first act finale alone is probably the most ingenious number I've ever seen on stage.
Runner-up would have to be Forever Plaid, which I've seen 8 times. Funny, touching and irresistibly charming.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 10:33pm
I was thinking back on less remembered shows that made me laugh a lot. I was reminded of I Love My Wife, which was hysterically funny. I suspect it would be very dated at this point, as the entire premise of the show was about two couples wife swapping, but I have rarely laughed as much as I did during that show.
It won the Tony for direction in the year of Annie, because Gene Saks got mined every laugh possible. And Lenny Baker won a Tony for one of the funniest stage performances I have ever seen. He had the entire theatre in hysterics just folding his pants as he prepared for the big event. What a shame that he died from a rare cancer before turning 30.
Several of these posts also reminded me how much I laughed during Urinetown, The Full Monty, and Me and My Girl.
I am surprised that no-one has mentioned City of Angels, a show that I personally hated -- the conceit wore thin very fast -- but which was touted as a comic gem when it opened and won all its awards.
Finally, I have to create a 'special mention' for Chicago. Any show that has Class, Cell Block Tango, When You're Good to Mama, and Razzle Dazzle has to be mentioned, even if it is more known for its direction and choreography.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 10:41pm
Book of Mormon and Spamalot would be my choices. I think they're the most comedic through and through. There have been some other great shows named here, but I think these two surpass the rest...if you're just looking to laugh. Some of the others offer laughter and more...
Posted: 8/29/16 at 10:50pm
I have never laughed as hard at a musical than I did during THE BOOK OF MORMON.
Posted: 8/29/16 at 11:08pm
This has been such a fun thread to read! In thinking back on shows I've seen over the years, I guess my top five funniest musicals would be (in no particular order):
City of Angels
The Producers
Spamalot
Book of Mormon
Something Rotten
And reading everyone's comments, I can't believe I have never yet seen a production of Urinetown!! I must remedy that soon!
Posted: 8/29/16 at 11:33pm
While I agree that The Producers was probably the funniest show I have seen, I would give second place to Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.. DRS was an under appreciated gem, far superior to Spamalot.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 12:00pm
I'd like to add "On the Town" to the list. Camden and Green's book and lyrics are one quotable funny line after another (like their movie revision of "Auntie Mame"
.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 12:08pm
JBroadway said: "Another vote for Spelling Bee, here! Simply genius. I'd also like to throw out:
--Avenue Q (also genius)
--The Book of Mormon (I'm pretty tired of it now, but when the jokes were fresh, they were really excellent!)
--Gentleman's Guide (funny in a different way - more clever and witty than outright hilarious)
--Spamalot (gotta love that Jew song)
--Xanadu (laughed myself silly!)
--[title of show] (not as funny as the others on the list, but still very funny)
I'd also like give a shoutout to One Man, Two Guvnors - a play with music. I've literally never laughed harder in the theatre in my entire life. So funny!
Xanadu. Urinetown. Batboy.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 12:39pm
Assassins (darkly comedic)
Posted: 8/30/16 at 1:03pm
I often forget how hilarious Company is. I just rewatched the Doyle production and while I didn't care for the use of instruments in this particular production (loved it in Sweeney) it's absolutely hysterical.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 5:37pm
icecreambenjamin said: "I often forget how hilarious Company is. I just rewatched the Doyle production and while I didn't care for the use of instruments in this particular production (loved it in Sweeney) it's absolutely hysterical.
I have always felt that the weakness of Company was its book. It's humor always seem forced to me, and the book seem dated on opening night. The tired jokes about pot smoking and karate and fear of getting married were just too easy. George Furth was a hack...didn't he duo the book for Merrily?
Posted: 8/30/16 at 6:40pm
Jarethan said: "icecreambenjamin said: "I often forget how hilarious Company is. I just rewatched the Doyle production and while I didn't care for the use of instruments in this particular production (loved it in Sweeney) it's absolutely hysterical.
I have always felt that the weakness of Company was its book. It's humor always seem forced to me, and the book seem dated on opening night. The tired jokes about pot smoking and karate and fear of getting married were just too easy. George Furth was a hack...didn't he duo the book for Merrily?
I have never understood this opinion. The show is about people of that era, so yes it's "dated." I would argue that Company has become a period piece now the same way that South Pacific and A Chorus Line (both shows that were very much products of their time) have. The script is non-linear and the jokes are about the late 60's-early 70's and I think that the show is more enjoyable when you embrace that.
Posted: 8/30/16 at 6:51pm
Another vote for Drowsy, Full Monty, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels here. Drowsy's book is an absolute riot, and the lyrics to both of Yazbeck's scores for the latter two are frequently laugh out loud funny. Great, great shows.
And totally agreed, Spelling Bee is so consistently funny, it's actually quite remarkable.
