I Think I Skip 2018

You know there is other theatre besides Broadway, right?

Bet the OP thinks there is only ruins and zombies past 42nd street.

Yes but I think Frozen has potential. I wish Bob was designing the sets . And someone else was directing. And I wish someone like Christopher Wheeldon. I also wish the the whole musical; looked better.


At least Pretty Women is made with Jerry Mitchell at the helm
ps. Any news on any changes

Updated On: 1/10/18 at 10:35 PM

New Musicals like Hamilton are rare but seriously unless Disney is going to do major changes for Frozen or unless Mean Girls is revolutionary are we not dumbing down Broadway?

Updated On: 1/10/18 at 10:47 PM

Maztuski said: "New Musicals like Hamilton are rare but seriously unless Disney is going to do major changes for Frozen or unless Mean Girls is revolutionary are we not dumbing down Broadway?"

There have been plenty of “dumb” musicals on Broadway since the beginning. It’s nothing new. Broadway may be more brand-related than ever before, but Broadway still seems to find a way to produce original works (DEH, Come From Away, Hamilton, The Band’s Visit - yes I know that last one is based on a movie but it’s hardly based on a brand or “dumb&rdquo. I will say I don’t really want to see any of the shows the OP listed. But who knows? Maybe some good reviews and word-of-mouth could change my mind. I mean I’m now considering seeing Spongebob when I’m in NYC for two nights next month. I never woulda thunk it. Lol

I also feel there aren't many new musicals that interest me this year, including revivals. I also have the same feeling for West End.

Of course it's just personal taste.

Yeah, I get it. I totally hate having fun as well.







Guess it's your loss.

I have to admit that I agree with the OP. I don't remember the last time I had so little interest ion seeing most of the musicals scheduled to open as well as most of the plays. I just don't care about seeing a Jimmy Buffet musical, a GoGo Firls musical, a Donna Summer musical. The Cher one could be fun if it is well-done, but that is a long way off.

My tri-annual trip to NYC has 8 slots and I have only filled four of them, with MFL, 3 Tall Women, The Band's Visit and Frozen (have to admit that I decided to buy the tickets only because I figured it was going to be a blockbuster, and that we might as well see it). I cannot get excited about anything else. (Note: I didn't make the cut for Harry Potter tickets; and, although this will clearly be a blockbuster and is highly acclaimed in London, I can't say that I have any strong desire to see it, although I would have gotten tix if I could).

I would be more excited about Angels if I hadn't seen the recent Off-Broadway revival. As much as I love Millenium, Perestroika is tough to get through for me, i.e., I admit to getting pretty bored in it; have no interest in Iceman (that is a play that I like to read much more than see, per another topic on the board). Will wait for reviews on Mean Girls, based on reviews of the score from DC. Thought Children of the Lesser God was pretty uninteresting the first time...not sure that it warrants a revival. I am on the fence re Carousel,although I imagine I will breakdown soon on that. (I think Carousel is 2/3 a great musical and 1/3 filler, and am underwhelmed that Jack O'Brian is at the helm, although that could be a big mistake).

Will probably end up seeing Dolly. Unlike Dollypop, who has seen it 83 times, I have probably seen it 15 - 18 times and really want to see BP; my wife, who has probably only seen it 6 - 8 times is 'all-Dollied ou't and indicated, after seeing Bette (who she loved in the role much more than I did), that I should not get tickets for any time in the foreseeable future, since she is 'all-Dollied out'. I usually wait until the last minute to purchase for performances where we split up.

So, that still leaves 3 slots; I know I will get excited with some late announcements, but I am guessing that the last three could very well be repeats...unless I am forgetting something. The thing at the Broadway may turn out to be fun, but it is not theatre; it happens to be playing in a theater. Probably end up seeing Boys in the Band, again not excited...it was entertaining 40 plus years ago, because it was groundbreaking, not because it was a verity good play; but the cast is good.

Guess I am in a curmudgeon-ish mood; but I just don't think it is very exciting when the show that I am most excited about is a revival of MFL, which I have seen in a total of 4 times in 2 different productions in the last 4 years (and loved all three).

I can check off MEAN GIRLS on my list since I caught the final performance at the National in DC. Of course they can work on it by the time it opens in NY but I doubt I'd want to see it again. The music and choreography were repetitive and the story line thin for a 2 hour plus show. Had it had a better score, I might 've enjoyed it a lot more.

Like the OP, this is one season I have little interest in. Revivals of old classics like MY FAIR LADY and CAROUSEL just don't appeal to me but I imagine there's a whole new generation out there who've never seen these shows. And since I'm not a fan of juke box musicals, there's two more upcoming shows that I won't be seeing. Well, there's always 2019!

So instead of producing shows that many non traditional theater goers might have interest in and possibly introduce new people to the medium we should let the theaters stay dark, let the actors, ushers, musicians, stage hands be unemployed?

in addition, why can’t a show like Margaritaville be enjoyable? Why can’t Head over Heels succeed with the the work Riedel spoke about in his article?

And lastly, I saw Jerry Springer in London and at Carnegie Hall and who knows it could maybe transfer. There is your new show.

I'm in the same situation. Normally we do an annual visit in the spring with the family and take in 3-4 shows (I admit - we like musicals) but this year we just haven't had the one or two that we are aching to see - probably tops on my list is Spongebob but enthusiasm seems to be waning. We are probably going to take a break this year and see what next year holds.

Phantom of London said: "I say the cream always rises to the top."



That is a highly reductive and limited point of view. Many brilliant Off-Broadway shows - with excellent ticket sales, reviews, word of mouth, awards buzz, or some combination thereof - do not transfer to Broadway for a wide variety of reasons, one the largest being that not every brilliant show is marketable enough to pick up producers interested in a transfer. And by YOUR OWN logic, the shows that ARE coming Broadway do not look like they will be of high quality. So how can you argue that the cream is rising to the top in this season?



"But the cost of staying in New York is so expensive, so makes it prohibitive to see experimental theatre."



First of all, experimental theatre is usually much cheaper than Broadway and Off-Broadway venues, so there's that.

Second of all, not everything that is Off-Broadway is experimental. In fact, the kind of theatre that appears in most of the venues I mentioned is not experimental at all. My comment about experimental theatre above related more to the underground, off-off-Broadway scene, where that sort of theatre is more common. My point was that you DON'T have to go down that extreme road in order to see high-quality theatre in places other than Broadway.

As I said above, I can understand why you wouldn't want to venture into unknown territory when you have a limited amount of time in NY. I myself used to take theatre trips to NY before I lived here, and those trips only seldom included Off-Broadway, but that was because there were always so many Broadway shows that I was dying to see. But obviously, the same is not true for you in this case. If you're complaining that the "known territory," as it were, is not satisfactory to you - why wouldn't you take a risk and see something off-Broadway? If you're going dismiss the Broadway shows as low-brow fluff, and dismiss the Off-Broadway shows as "experimental" and not worth your time, you are only making it harder for yourself.

Updated On: 1/11/18 at 09:40 PM