Help me pick shows

[Avery Berlin]

Posted: 11/9/18 at 11:56pm

Hello everyone,

It looks like I may be going to New York in January for my birthday and I'm very excited.  I'm trying to decide what shows I want to see while I'm there, and it looks like I'll have time for 4.  These are the ones that I'm thinking about:

Musicals:

King Kong

Pretty Woman

My Fair Lady

The Cher Show

Plays: 

To Kill a Mockingbird

The Ferryman

American Son

 

I'm having trouble narrowing my options down and I need help.  Can you all help me decide?  Just a little insight into what I like: I have only ever seen one play, The Play That Goes Wrong, and I left halfway through (it was on tour, not broadway) because I got bored.  I guess you can say that I really have never seen any plays then because I only saw half of this one.  Because of this, I want to hopefully go to see at least one play (don't know which one, though).  On the other hand, I absolutely love musicals.  When I went to NYC in June, I saw 7 shows, including Dear Evan Hansen (which I absolutely love, it was my second time seeing it on broadway), Mean Girls (loved), Phantom (I had already seen it on tour and I wanted to see it on broadway, I enjoyed it), Frozen (surprisingly, really loved), Carousel (liked, but not my favorite), The Band's Visit (didn't love this one, surprisingly enough), and last but not least, Once on this Island (also loved).  If you all have any other recommendations that aren't listed in my possible shows/already seen shows list please let me know!  I have seen many shows on tour (ex. Waitress, Wicked, etc.) that I didn't list.  I'm looking for some new things to see. TIA! (sorry this was so long).

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 12:01am

My Fair Lady and The Ferryman are not to be missed. 

[robskynyc]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 12:02am

BroadwayConcierge said: "My Fair LadyandThe Ferrymanare not to be missed."

agreed. and as someone who just saw the cher show- dont miss it either!

[uncageg]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 12:38am

See what you are most interested in no matter what othes say about the shows.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 1:30pm

Based on what you’ve enjoyed in the past, within your choices I’d suggest:

Pretty Woman (not something I’d necessarily want to see, but I’d say you appear to like more modern musicals and this would appear to have the most in common with Mean Girls, which you loved)

The Cher Show (I didn’t really enjoy My Fair Lady and you didn’t love Carousel - another revival - so not sure I could recommend it for you. And King Kong appears to be a dud so this seems to be only other musical worth recommending from your list)

Play:

Hard to know what you’ll like here. All of these deal with difficult topics:

American Son (has received mixed reviews although a positive review from New York Times. Even if you don’t love it, it’s only 90 minutes plus the star power of Kerry Washington so probably a good entryway into plays for you)

The Ferryman or To Kill a Mockingbird (hard to know what to recommend here. Mockingbird is still in previews but buzz seems to be leaning positive while The Ferryman has received positive reviews and most of the buzz seems to agree although some believe it is overhyped. Also, I haven’t seen either, but The Ferryman takes place in Ireland so if you have trouble with 3+ hours of Irish accents, you might keep that in mind. I do think The Ferryman is a front runner to win the Tony for Best Play [although Network is also a possible contender] if that matters to you. Mockingbird runs about 2 hours and 15 minutes. I mention running times because you mentioned getting bored during TPTGW [which I skipped as it didn’t appeal to me] although it is possible you’d enjoy a longer more serious play than a shorter farce but running times might help you decide. If neither of these descriptions appeal to you then I would say see another one of the musicals on your list - either a great ape puppet surrounded by a subpar show or a talented cast in a revival of a classic musical that might just finally come to life with a new actress playing Eliza)

 

Updated On: 11/10/18 at 01:30 PM

[haterobics]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 1:40pm

Hmm, if you're new to plays, I wonder if you are a Harry Potter fan? If so, that will go down easy, but take two slots. However, two Harry Potters, My Fair Lady, and Cher seems like a nice time.

[HumanHeart]

Posted: 11/10/18 at 3:03pm

I agree, My Fair Lady and The Ferryman are not to be missed.