January Trip Recommendations

Yes, another one of these threads. Bare with me! I really value BWW members' opinions and your recommendations have yet to fail me.

I'll be coming to NY from Toronto on January 4-8. This trip is three years in the making so I'm really stoked to catch some shows. I have time to see 5 or 6, mainly relying on rush and lotteries. I have my musical choices locked in: A Strange Loop, Kimberly Akimbo, and Little Shop of Horrors.

I would like to catch a couple of plays, but am also open to another musical. I'm eyeing Leopoldstadt, The Piano Lesson, Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders, and Death of a Salesman. I'm bummed that Ain't No Mo' is no longer an option, I think I would've enjoyed it. Which two would you see? Are there any other shows that should be on my radar? I feel a bit out of the loop. Thank you for your help!

I should've mentioned that I caught & Juliet in Toronto and didn't love it.

Musical-wise, I second Funny Girl and maybe throw in another Off-Broadway show. Perhaps try your luck at lottery for the final performances of Merrily We Roll Along before it hits Broadway in the fall?

Updated On: 12/28/22 at 06:22 PM

Another Canadian here :) Coincidentally, we'll be there at the same time! I plan on seeing Leopoldstadt and Ohio State Murders. If you meet the age limits you can do LincTix for OSM but it should be easy to rush too since it's selling so poorly.

If you're open to another musical, maybe Into the Woods? It's great but still relatively easy to get rush tickets. I'm excited for Funny Girl but it's $$$.

Updated On: 12/28/22 at 06:44 PM

Fellow Canadian here - hi! I would recommend seeing Downstate at Playwright Horizons if you can - it's hands-down the best out of the 20+ shows I saw on my most recent NYC trip, and I doubt it will be produced in Canada anytime soon (sadly). I would also recommend Leopoldstadt, although if you're someone who doesn't like seeing shows multiple times, it may be relevant that Mirvish is planning to bring Leopoldstadt to Toronto over the next couple of years, so you may prefer to prioritize shows that aren't likely to come here.

Merrily is definitely worth seeing if you get lucky with the CheapTix lottery or if you want to stand in the cancellation line (which is what I did - I'd say it was worth it, but it also wasn't super cold when I went, so January weather may impact your decision). Merrily is also being produced at Crow's Theatre in Toronto next April and transferring to Broadway next season, so you'll probably have another opportunity to catch it if you don't feel like standing in the cancellation line and you don't get lucky with the lottery.

I also loved Into the Woods, and you'll be in for a treat if you end up seeing it with Joaquina as the witch. They have rush and lottery and are usually at the TKTS for 50% off, so you're likely to be able to find affordable tickets. Although it's also worth noting that Into the Woods is touring starting in early 2023 and they're doing their previews in Buffalo, so if you don't mind a two-hour day trip, you might want to catch one of their performances there instead of using an NYC show slot for it.

If you're looking for another musical and don't want to see Into the Woods, I'd probably recommend seeing Some Like It Hot. I really enjoyed it and found it was a very "fun" musical, in contrast to, say, A Strange Loop, which is a "serious" musical (but well worth seeing) - it might balance out the other musicals you've selected, and I doubt it will come to Toronto anytime soon. Similarly, if you can get a ticket to Funny Girl, I'd recommend that as well.

I wouldn't recommend prioritizing Beetlejuice on this trip - it's coming to Buffalo in March if you want to take a day trip to see it, and I expect it will come to Toronto within the next few seasons, whereas I'm not sure SLIH or FG will tour.

Of the plays you've mentioned, I think Ohio State Murders is the one least likely to be produced in or near Toronto, so you might want to see that one. There were some things I liked about it and some things I didn't, but I think it's an important story being told and it's well worth seeing.

I personally didn't enjoy The Piano Lesson very much. The production itself was top notch, but I think the play as written has a lot of flaws, and I found it quite long and the dialects hard to understand (particularly with Boy Willie doing a LOT of shouting). I also think The Piano Lesson has been produced and is likely to be produced again at either Stratford or the Shaw Festival, and I don't think there's anything so special about the current Broadway production that you'd be missing out seeing it in Canada instead.

Death of a Salesman I also found long, but again that's mostly to do with the material itself rather than the production. This is another play that's regularly produced in Canada, but I do think there's something special about the Broadway production (particularly Wendell Pierce and Sharon D. Clarke), and I think it's extra powerful making the family Black, so if you're a fan of the play and want to see a particularly good production of it, I think this could be on your list. It's also regularly available at a discount, so it shouldn't be hard to get a ticket.

Topdog/Underdog was quite good, and I'm not sure when we'll see it again in Canada, since it was presented at the Shaw Festival in 2011 (to positive reviews). I didn't find it "life-changing" (as I felt about Downstate, for example, or Cost of Living earlier in the season), but I found it interesting and the ending was very intense.

Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your trip!

forfivemoreminutes said: "Fellow Canadian here - hi! I would recommend seeing Downstate at Playwright Horizons if you can - it's hands-down the best out of the 20+ shows I saw on my most recent NYC trip, and I doubt it will be produced in Canada anytime soon (sadly). I would also recommend Leopoldstadt, although if you're someone who doesn't like seeing shows multiple times, it may be relevant that Mirvish is planning to bring Leopoldstadt to Toronto over the next couple of years, so you may prefer to prioritize shows that aren't likely to come here.

Merrily is definitely worth seeing if you get lucky with the CheapTix lottery or if you want to stand in the cancellation line (which is what I did - I'd say it was worth it, but it also wasn't super cold when I went, so January weather may impact your decision). Merrily is also being produced at Crow's Theatre in Toronto next April and transferring to Broadway next season, so you'll probably have another opportunity to catch it if you don't feel like standing in the cancellation line and you don't get lucky with the lottery.

I also loved Into the Woods, and you'll be in for a treat if you end up seeing it with Joaquina as the witch. They have rush and lottery and are usually at the TKTS for 50% off, so you're likely to be able to find affordable tickets. Although it's also worth noting that Into the Woods is touring starting in early 2023 and they're doing their previews in Buffalo, so if you don't mind a two-hour day trip, you might want to catch one of their performances there instead of using an NYC show slot for it.

If you're looking for another musical and don't want to see Into the Woods, I'd probably recommend seeing Some Like It Hot. I really enjoyed it and found it was a very "fun" musical, in contrast to, say, A Strange Loop, which is a "serious" musical (but well worth seeing) - it might balance out the other musicals you've selected, and I doubt it will come to Toronto anytime soon. Similarly, if you can get a ticket to Funny Girl, I'd recommend that as well.

I wouldn't recommend prioritizing Beetlejuice on this trip - it's coming to Buffalo in March if you want to take a day trip to see it, and I expect it will come to Toronto within the next few seasons, whereas I'm not sure SLIH or FG will tour.

Of the plays you've mentioned, I think Ohio State Murders is the one least likely to be produced in or near Toronto, so you might want to see that one. There were some things I liked about it and some things I didn't, but I think it's an important story being told and it's well worth seeing.

I personally didn't enjoy The Piano Lesson very much. The production itself was top notch, but I think the play as written has a lot of flaws, and I found it quite long and the dialects hard to understand (particularly with Boy Willie doing a LOT of shouting). I also think The Piano Lesson has been produced and is likely to be produced again at either Stratford or the Shaw Festival, and I don't think there's anything so special about the current Broadway production that you'd be missing out seeing it in Canada instead.

Death of a Salesman I also found long, but again that's mostly to do with the material itself rather than the production. This is another play that's regularly produced in Canada, but I do think there's something special about the Broadway production (particularly Wendell Pierce and Sharon D. Clarke), and I think it's extra powerful making the family Black, so if you're a fan of the play and want to see a particularly good production of it, I think this could be on your list. It's also regularly available at a discount, so it shouldn't be hard to get a ticket.

Topdog/Underdog was quite good, and I'm not sure when we'll see it again in Canada, since it was presented at the Shaw Festival in 2011 (to positive reviews). I didn't find it "life-changing" (as I felt about Downstate, for example, or Cost of Living earlier in the season), but I found it interesting and the ending was very intense.

Hope this helps, and I hope you enjoy your trip!"

Thanks so much for your thoughtful response! This is very helpful. It looks like I can get a $10 student ticket for Downstate so I'll definitely add it to my list.

Updated On: 12/28/22 at 09:41 PM

Leopoldstadt and Into The Woods is closing on 1/8 - its definitely worth seeing before it's gone - its going on tour but not to Canada.