Just Got Back From Broadway in Bryant Park Week 1 (Mamma Mia, BatB, Bee, Heights)

I was actually a bit disappointed. Mamma Mia did the same set as they did last year, and it was fine. Carolee sounded great singing "Winner Takes All." BatB was okay too...it was my third time seeing them in Bryant Park. Usually they do "If I Could Love Her" but didn't this year. Anneliese (sp?) did "A Change in Me." She has a great voice, but I am not sure if I like her as Belle...I'll see her July 21st if she is in. I was especially disappointed with Spelling Bee. Some of the bits were funny, but I wish they did a couple of more songs. I ended up leaving before In the Heights because I had to get back to work. Here is a song list:

Mamma Mia:
"Lay All Your Love on Me"
"The Winner Takes All"
"Mamma Mia"/"Dancing Queen" Medley

Beauty and the Beast:
"Me"
"A Change in Me"
"Beauty and the Beast"

Spelling Bee:
"I Speak Six Languages"
"Good-bye Song"


P.S. I saw someone sitting behind me had what looked like a DVD of the Hairspray movie...! I wasn't sure if it was a promo or (gasp!) an illegal copy of the movie. Does anyone know if they were giving out anything about the Hairspray movie.

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Updated On: 7/12/07 at 02:11 PM

Wait, what's "Winner Takes All"?

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I missed Mamma Mia's first song, if their first song was "Lay All Your Love on Me." I walked into the park just as they were singing it. And it was around 12:40. So they were probably about 5 minutes late.

EDIT: "Winner Takes it All" is a song from Mamma Mia. I might've accidently copied it below Spelling Bee's section on the post.

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Updated On: 7/12/07 at 02:17 PM

"Pick some new damn songs! The shows do the same set every year, generally with half the same cast."

I agree! Didn't Beauty and the Beast do "Be Our Guest" one year? Of course that was the year I missed it.

Don't get me wrong, I love sitting outside and watching the performances, but it'd be nice if they varied some of the songs each year.

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Predictions:

Chicago will do Class, the number with the fans, and When You're Good To Momma.

Fantasticks will do Soon Its Gonna Rain, Try To Remember, and either Plant a Radish or Never Say No.

Hairspray will do You Can't Stop The Beat, Momma I'm A Big Girl, and (to show off the Beav), Timeless to Me.

We'll see I'm right.

I must say, the #1 reason why I like going: the swag.

Aside from all the show fans and pamphlets, I've picked up some pretty good collectable freebies through the years:

Disney tattoos (that collect dust in my drawer)
Green Wicked sunblock and lip balm
lots of different pins (I know I used to have a bunch of Lennon ones)
and, on a rare occasion, sampler CDs.

Did they have free stuff today, other than fans?

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I went today and it was good, but they needed to turn up the mics or something. It was hard to hear and I wasn't far away. I couldn't really hear the first song in Mamma Mia or the first song in BATB. "A Change in me" was ok, but I had to listen hard. And the I couldn't hear much of the talking in Spelling Bee. In the Heights was mostly ok, some parts were hard to hear, but I could hear most of it.

I didn't think it was that bad. Spelling Bee was a bit disappointing, though. I took a lot of pictures and some video, which I'll post when I upload them. (WE're allowed to post video of this, correct?)

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This was my first time seeing the series and I thought it was fun. It wasn't amazing, but a good experience. In the Heights definitely had the best set - this cast has a lot of talent. I wish I lived in New York so I could see all the shows' performances.

Oh, and Dancingthru I was with the group of girls around the In the Heights cast members who took your picture with Robin. Small world!

I found "Mamma Mia" and "Beauty & the Beast" the best of the 4 by far.

I (mostly) enjoyed seeing Spelling Bee at the Circle in the Square Theater, but as other people said, the concert version in the park just didn't do it justice.

And I'm sorry to say, the songs from In the Heights just didn't do it for me. I loved Rent and Spring Awakening, but hated the songs from In the Heights. Quite a few people were seen leaving the lawn during the songs from In the Heights - perhaps due to the extreme heat (no shade on the lawn) or perhaps they didn't particularly care for the songs either.