Inception's December 2023 Broadway trip

[inception]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 8:00am

Edited the title of this thread Wednesday Dec 20 as the joke got old fast. It was:

I posted a negative review of Kimberly Akimbo and was poisoned

The two were not, I repeat: NOT related.

But that sums up my last trip to NYC this past March.

Now, I fly in to New York tomorrow.

 I will try to be more careful about what I eat, but I suppose you never know nowadays.  For example, all the poor people who died recently from eating cantaloupe of all things.  You can't even trust fruit any longer.

Almost everything about the trip is set. I've been booking the shows I will see throughout the year.  Merrily is the show I paid the most to see this trip, but I don't think I am more excited to see it than any others.

More than anything I just want to get away from work so badly!  Two thirds of the building is already gone for the holidays. Yesterday I sat in the office just scrolling through funny gifs to find funny responses to post.

For this trip, I'm going into most of what I'm seeing with lowered expectations as most have received mixed reviews on the forum: Merrily, Gutenberg, Here We Are, Harmony, I Need That, Gardens of Anuncia, Hell's Kitchen, & Tannhauser at the Met. 

I had debated dropping seeing I Need That, based upon response here.  But then I decided that good or bad I may never again get the chance to see Danny Devito live.  Plus I already spent the money.

Other parts of my trip have been up in the air.  I changed my hotel reservation last week when I got a good last minute rate.

One of my co-workers did a last minute trip to NYC last weekend - they flew in standby as their partner works for an airline.   They said it was warmer in the city than it it is here; so I don't even know what clothes to pack.

I've never really visited Hudson Yards, so the day I see Here We Are I have penciled in some sight seeing there. 

Outside of shows I am thinking about going to see the Manet/Degas exhibit at the Met Museum one morning, and have read that it has been busy.  The Neu Gallerie is also on my maybe list for this trip as they have a special exhibition of Max Beckman paintings. 

Updated On: 12/21/23 at 08:00 AM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 8:06am

I've never really visited Hudson Yards, so the day I see Here We Are I have penciled in some sight seeing there.

You ARE aware that Hudson Yards is just a mall with shops and restaurants?  Aside from the huge landmark structure (permanently closed for walking on it), there’s zero to do there or see unless you’re meeting friends for dinner or plan on doing some mall shopping.  

[TheQuibbler]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 1:59pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "I've never really visited Hudson Yards, so the day I see Here We Are I have penciled in some sight seeing there.

You ARE aware that Hudson Yards is just a mall with shops and restaurants? Aside from the huge landmark structure (permanently closed for walking on it), there’s zero to do there or see unless you’re meeting friends for dinner or plan on doing some mall shopping. "

You ARE aware that some people come to New York for that very reason: shopping and restaurants. 

It’s also connected to the High Line which is lovely piece of sightseeing. 

[OhHiii]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 2:04pm

People being snotty to someone trying to figure out things to do. BWW, you're a gem.

One thing that's worthwhile in Hudson Yards is The Edge observation deck. It's easily better than Empire State Building and Top of the Rock.

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 2:24pm

BrodyFosse123 said: "I've never really visited Hudson Yards, so the day I see Here We Are I have penciled in some sight seeing there.

You ARE aware that Hudson Yards is just a mall with shops and restaurants? Aside from the huge landmark structure (permanently closed for walking on it), there’s zero to do there or see unless you’re meeting friends for dinner or plan on doing some mall shopping."

 

I personally despise Hudson Yards, but I despise your snotty attitude and constant misinformation a lot more. One could easily spend an hour or two in the mall alone, not to mention checking out The Edge, the High Line, the Vessel, and the Shed itself, which has an area to buy books and there's a bar as well. Little Spain is an impressive sight although I cannot recommend the food. And while you can no longer climb the Vessel the ground level is open to the public to explore.

Updated On: 12/19/23 at 02:24 PM

[BrodyFosse123]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 2:40pm

I personally despise Hudson Yards, but I despise your snotty attitude and constant misinformation a lot more.

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 2:58pm

inception said: "Outside of shows I am thinking about going to see the Manet/Degas exhibit at the Met Museum one morning, and have read that it has been busy. The Neu Gallerie is also on my maybe list for this trip as they have a special exhibition of Max Beckman paintings."

I didn't have time beyond the exhibits I went to see so I didn't bother with the virtual queue for Manet/Degas but I'll say I went on a Friday (extended hours) and there was no line up the steps and barely a line to get tickets. It might get more crowded as it gets closer to January but I don't think things are crazy yet. Also, I quite enjoyed the Matisse/Derain exhibit if you're already going to be there.

 

[bear88]

Posted: 12/19/23 at 3:04pm

If I was a native, I wouldn’t like Hudson Yards and its strange opulence. But as a tourist, walking on the High Line and checking out an unfamiliar part of Manhattan that has plenty of places to eat made for a fine if unusual afternoon/early evening. And The Shed itself is worth checking out before the escalator ride up to the theater.

[inception]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:32am

I edited the thread title just now, as the joke got old quickly.

After a long travel day I Need That was just fine.  It was short, & it had some laughs.  I'm glad I stuck with it.

The other thing I did after arriving late afternoon, was finally have a Shake Shack burger.  I thought it just tasted of grease. We have a few chains on the West Coast which are much better in my opinion.  I think even Five Guys do a better burger.

[bear88]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 12:56am

I’m glad you enjoyed I Need That. I have come to the conclusion that seeing a light comedy on one’s first night in New York City, especially if you are arriving that day after a long flight, is my preference. Sometimes that’s affected by what is available, of course.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 10:23am

I don't  get the Shake Shack love, either.  Blech.  (I do like their very expensive shakes though!)

 

[inception]

Posted: 12/21/23 at 11:56pm

Walked past the Met Museum just before 10 & decided I didn't want to get in the huge lines. Walked over to the Neu, but they don't open until 11. Did some window shopping on Madison Ave, and ended up also some real shopping. Saw two very interesting free exhibits I recommend to art lovers.  At the Gagosian "Lee Miller & Friends" with photographs by and works by people she was friends with including Man Ray, Picasso, and Jiseph Cornel among others.

Galerie Gmurzynska has a showing of works by German artist Christian Atersee.  Many from the early 70's that feel very contemporary.   A very exciting discovery. 

I had hoped to see the Tracy Emin show at White Cube, but they are already closed for the holidays,  re-opening in January.

After 11 I made in back to the Neu Gallerie and the Max Beckman show was really worth seeing.  The info card for one portrait if young girl he did in the 20's noted that 20 years later she died in a concentration camp.  This really felt in theme with Harmony which I would be seeing shortly.

I enjoyed Harmony. But, in the first act I thought they leaned into too many dumb jokes. It felt corny.  For me the show improved as it went along.  I liked the production numbers, the costumes, and I also liked the set.  Late in the second act when Sierra Bogges reads from the Book of Ruth and goes into the song "Where You Go" the tears were just running down my face. 

Definitely the show ends stronger than it starts.  But unfortunately there are other Broadway shows, films, and books that have told stories from that era in a more compelling way.

I had just under two & a half hours until my next show at 7.  I managed to cross some of my other shopping off my list & get to my hotel & drop off bags before....Gutenberg!

Like Natasha Lyonne says in those Old Navy commercials playing non-stop: "Wowsa!"  Within minutes I had a grin on my face that wouldn't go away.  My cheeks hurt from how wide I was smiling & how much I was laughing. 

At intermission two very bitter queens walked by me and one said, " I don't understand how this got to Broadway?  I mean they are both very talented...but their talents are just wasted on this" And bitter queen 2 replied, " I know! And for some reason the audience all just loves it." Yes biatch, because it is frigging funny!  

I hope they got both got tit by a hruck.

I've still got more to see in the next couple days, but this might have been the highlight already.

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The producers were Neal Patric Harris & David Burtka!!

  Afterwards, I walked over to see the Dior display at Saks, had some mediocre dinner at Havana Central, then went back & got in a huge line at Krispy Kreme.  I don't know why when I started my day avoiding the line at the Met?

[inception]

Posted: 12/22/23 at 6:58pm

Thanks for the heads up above that Hudson Yards is just a mall.  The name makes it sound like more. I did go up to the Edge as I've never done it before.  It was a perfect morning with sunny, clear views.  I also walked some of the Highline.  I last did that in 2014.

Here We Are: *chef's kiss*  A perfect show. Period.

Then on the train I stood between 2 groups of New Yorkers complaining about it. The Israelites complained about Mannah, and New Yorkers complain about Sondheim, and now we will get no more of either.

FML...scratch that, F your L's (not you personally of course. I mean those windbags on the train.)

[inception]

Posted: 12/23/23 at 10:29am

Saw Merrily last night and was relieved that entire cast was in. They all elevate this production, compared to the cast from the UK filmed version, but I still don't like the book of this show.  If it were me, I'd cut the whole book & just have a concert of the songs.

But, it was very interesting to hear reactions from audience members who aren't familiar with the show & don't already know any of the big reveals in the plot.  At certain points it felt like the whole audience was going "Ohhhh!" & "Ahhhhh!" or "Uh oh!"

 

 

[bear88]

Posted: 12/24/23 at 4:34am

Sondheim’s songs benefit from context. ‘Not A Day Goes By’ has been performed many times as a pretty, stand-alone song in concert. But in the musical, it’s first performed as an angry retort and then takes on extra, bittersweet shadings when we hear it again - including Mary’s part.

I have regarded Merrily We Roll Along as a flawed but fascinating work too but I didn’t think about that once when seeing this revival - the first time I saw it in person. My wife, who had never seen the musical at all and is the Sondheim skeptic in the family, was very impressed with it even without being blown away by the score - except for the overture. I thought it worked marvelously from start to finish as a sort of memory play. Sometimes, the musical sophistication of Sondheim’s motifs go over my head, but Merrily is pretty easy to follow in its revised version. Frank echoes Gussie both lyrically and musically in a way that is revealing about both characters and makes it harder to pigeonhole them. The musical unfolds slowly and character is revealed through song.

I’m glad you enjoyed Here We Are. 

[inception]

Posted: 12/24/23 at 8:44am

Thanks for the comments bear.  Yes I get how without the context the songs mean less. It is a lot to chew on.

Here is less to chew on: Hell's Kitchen

This is a sumptuous show full of hit songs, sung beautifully with lots of exciting dancing.  The set is all Michael Greif scaffolding as predicted, but the use of projections works well to provide a sleek New York of sexy skyscrapers. You won't want to sit too close when you see this on Broadway in order to take in all the exciting choreography and the full stage pictures.  This a song & DANCE show! The ensemble is putting in the werk!  The costumes are all Fubu & Fila & Hilfigrrrrrr - taking me right back to my 20's in the mid-90's. It is a thrilling theme park ride of New York City - like something you might find in Las Vegas.  The show places you right in the action, so much so that you forget the desert is right behind you. 

I could really feel how they took LMM's In the Heights as somewhat of a template. In that show Usnavi narrates his life for the audience. In similar fashion here, main character Ali is onstage for 90% of the show telling us her story. Ali is always riding the elevator from her apartment down to the lobby, and then from the lobby back up to her apartment. We meet people of the apartment.  Some of the characters are tissue thin, but the gravity of the actors portraying them makes the feel full bodied in the moment.  The entire cast is exquisite,  but this is really a show of moments and surfaces.  We go up & down the elevator with Ali, but she never goes to the basement.  Nothing gets really deep, or really feels really real.
But in the moments when the cast is hitting the notes and the dancers are popping & locking it is a thrill.  Like a theme park ride in Las Vegas, I would get back in line for another go.
It was a blast.  But I also know it isn't the real thing

[inception]

Posted: 12/24/23 at 4:59pm

The Gardens of Anuncia gives us the flip side of the coin from Hell's Kitchen.  It is another story of a single mother raising a daughter during difficult times. In 90 minutes on a bare stage you see a garden, - smelling the vegetation & the soil - as well as traveling back in time to Beunos Aires. The score lives and breathes with honest and earned emotions.
Nearing the end of the run now, Priscilla Lopez commands the stage & Mary Testa is force to be reckoned with. ( Eden Espinosa was out today.)
A truly gorgeous show.

[inception]

Posted: 12/27/23 at 9:54am

I just want to write a brief wrap up.  I flew home on the 25th.  It was a long trip as I flew Westjet using some Delta credit I had & neither airline has direct flights between Vancouver & New York.  From the time I picked up my bags in mid-town to driving into my building's parkade was about 12 hours.  Gross.

The whole trip went smoothly.  I managed to spend under $500 on shopping,  but did have to pay for extra checked baggage on the trip home.

I was really happy with all the shows I saw.  I think only Harmony was really weak.  I enjoyed I Need That which got pans here - I guess I've got tourist tastes.

The best show I saw was Here We Are.  I had recently watched The Avenging Angel so knew what I was getting into.   I appreciated the changes which made it a more charming re-telling.  I see it almost as a companion piece to Into The Woods - a sort of Communist fable.  I think it is easily the best new musical since Hamilton.

I did make it to the Met Museum on Sunday, but waited until 11am when the line from opening had dwindled.  The special exhibit was still busy,  but in other galleries I was alone with a security guard. 

I'm not a big foodie, & NY diners are a novelty as we have nothing comparable so I always try to visit a few of my favorites.  But definitely the best meal I had was at a place I first visited in 2022 - Pasta Eater near Union Square.  Wonderful Italian.

I don't know what 2024 has in store, but I have penciled in a trip back to NY for next November.  I'll try to shut up on here until that gets closer.

 

Updated On: 12/27/23 at 09:54 AM