Rating Broadway Shows. My Opinion.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:06pm

*---------------------Bad
**--------------------Ok
***------------------Good
****----------------Very Good
*****---------------Excellent

Barefoot in the Park: Amanda Peet and Patrick Wilson are wonderful in this heartwarming comedy by Neil Simon, about a young couple of newlyweds in the 1960's. ****

Lestat: Elton John's and Tim Rice's new musical has a great score. The songs are catchy. The show its flawed, but not as a bad as critics says. Hugh Panaro(known for his run in The Phantom of The Opera) is really excellent as Lestat. **

Entertaining Mr. Sloane(Off Broadway): Alec Baldwin proves he is a versatile actor in this funny play about a brother and a sister trying to get a young man's attention under any circumstance. **

Hot Feet: This show has excellent dancers in it. If you are a fan of Earth, Wind & Fire and enjoy dancing with a weak plot, this probably is your kind of show. *

Festen: Julianna Margulies(Tv's ER) makes her Broadway debut, but not her theatrical debut. She has great stage presence. This great play about family secrets goes a full circle. Also starring "6 Feet Under" and "Clueless" star Jeremy Sisto as well as, Ali Mc Graw and Michael Hayden. ***

Three Days of Rain: Or should i say "Two Hours of Boredom"? Julia Roberts makes her Broadway debut, "welcome to Broadway!" but she didn't pick the right vehicle. Paul Rudd and Bradley Cooper also star. The almost-plotless play is very long and boring. The entire run is sold out, so don't even bother, cross the street and see a star with real stage presence(Julianna Margulies in Festen.) *

The Wedding Singer: Stephen Lynch makes his Broadway debut in this romantic "feel-good" musical based on the movie. The show is fun and upbeat, and has a great score and dazzling choreography. Laura Benanti sounds as beautiful as always. Amy Spanger and Felicia Finley steal the show. Kevin Cahoon is hilarious and the show overall is just what sometimes we need, pure entertainment! *****

The Light in the Piazza: I revisited this Award winner musical to see Patti Cohenour in the lead role, and it was worth it! she made the charachter more vulnerable and believable than Victoria Clark, who won the Tony Award for this role. Katie Clarke was a little dissappointing, her acting was ok, but her high notes sometimes became painful to hear and made one miss Kelly O'Hara. *****

The Phantom of the Opera: Although not a fan of this long runner musical, I had to see the amazing and talented Jennifer Hope Wills(Wonderful Town, The Woman in White, The Beauty and the Beast), Jennifer reminded me of Sarah Brightman as Christine and the show was very enjoyable. Wills hits all the notes the charachter requires to, but she also is an excellent actress, unlike many other Christines. I now love "Phantom"! thanks for being so friendly and delightful Jennifer! ****

The Drowsy Chaperone: Although Sutton Foster was great in this musical, the show itself was very flawed and the humor wasn't my cup of tea. I didn't laugh once during the entire hour and 45 minute show, that felt like 4 hours. I'd call it "Kiss of the Spider Woman gone bad", the story of the gay man idolizing musicals and divas, but this time unsuccessfully. *

Spelling Bee: This show was very cute. The actors were extremely talented and it was something very different. I wouldn't recommend this to anyone who likes classic musicals, but i had a great time. ****

The Threepenny Opera: Cyndi Lauper made her Broadway debut. But again, she didn't pick the right vehicle to do so. The show, although smart, was painful to watch, until Brian Charles Rooney shows up as Lucy and hits his high notes. But that was just a temporary relief. Alan Cumming is great in this show and the visual aspects are flawless, but still not good enough overall. **

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:11pm

Barefoot **
Lestat *
Entertaining **
Hot Feet ***
Festen ***
Three Days ****
Wedding Singer *
Light in the Piazza *****
Phantom *
Drowsy ***
Spelling Bee *
Threepenny **
Wicked *****
Pajama Game *****
Lennon * (it really only deserves half a star)
In My Life *
Ring of Fire **
Tarzan ****
The Color Purple ****
Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life **
Blonde in the Thunderbird **
Shining City ****
Awake and Sing *
History Boys *
The Woman in White *****
Well *
Sweeney Todd *****

Updated On: 5/8/06 at 03:11 PM

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:18pm

Sloan isn't Broadway.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:21pm

yeah, it's the only Off Bway show i saw, so i didn't want to start another one thread with just 1 show. hehe.

[being.jeremiah]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:24pm

Current Broadway Musicals I've Seen
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee ***
Avenue Q *****
Beauty and the Beast ***
Chicago ****
The Color Purple ***
The Drowsy Chaperone ****
Hairspray ***
Jersey Boys ****
Lestat **
The Light in the Piazza *****
The Lion King ***
Mamma Mia! **
Monty Python's Spamalot ***
The Phantom of the Opera ***
The Producers ***
Rent ***
Sweeney Todd ****
Tarzan ***
The Threepenny Opera ***
Wicked ***

Current Broadway Plays I've Seen
Awake and Sing! ****
Barefoot in the Park **
Bridge & Tunnel ***
Doubt ****
The History Boys *****
Three Days of Rain **

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:25pm

W/o A Trace - you give Hot Feet more stars than Wedding Singer & History Boys? You've got some wack tastes.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:27pm

I'm sorry. I HATED Wedding Singer and History Boys. I realize that Hot Feet is a horrible show with an awful book and disgusting costumes, but I had fun while I was watching it. The dancing was excellent.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:27pm

I was just reviewing what i saw last week. But everything i have seen:


Jersey Boys **
Wicked ***
Pajama Game **
The Color Purple **
Avenue Q **
Chicago ****
DRS *
Mamma Mia ***
Rent *****
Sweeney Todd *
The Producers *
The Beauty and the Beast *
The Lion King *

Updated On: 5/8/06 at 03:27 PM

[paphillyguy]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 3:41pm

I do not see how anyone can rate History Boys a * and the give Festen ***. In my humble opinion, History Boys is a ***** and Festen is a zero.

Too each his own.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:00pm

well...these are just points of view. We can all agree to disagree, just because i didn't like Hot Feet for example and the critics panned it...it doesn't mean everyone has to hate it.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:03pm

clearly, I just didn't get History Boys...had extremely high expectations, went into the theater wanting to LOVE it, and was extremely disappointed.

Festen, on the other hand, was a very well written play that kept me engaged the entire 2 hours.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:04pm

Indeed, Festen was engaging and everything comes a full circle...everything in the play happens for a reason. It was a good play, sad to see this great show will close soon.

Updated On: 5/8/06 at 04:04 PM

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:08pm

Without a Trace, why did you give "Spelling Bee" only one star? Why didn't you like it?

[Lavinia]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:10pm

Muscle,

You gave Lestat more stars than you gave Sweeney Todd? Ummm...wow. That's a first. Why did you rate them that way?

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:17pm

I didn't like Spelling Bee because I found I wasn't laughing at all throughout the entire performance. I did not like the characters, hated the music, still bitter that Dan Fogler beat Matt Morrison, and I just wanted the show to end. The only good part of the show were the sentences.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:17pm

I said it is just an opinion, Sweeney didn't engage me. I knew everyone was going to die, one after the other and i have the cd and the score doesn't do much for me. I didn't enjoy it. Sorry fellows! and im sure many didn't enjoy many shows i did, different strokes for different folks.

[broadway86]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:25pm

Off the top of my head (out of four stars)...

Assassins ***1/2
Avenue Q ****
Barefoot in the Park ***
Beauty and the Beast ***
The Boy from Oz **
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof ***
Chicago ***1/2
Dance of the Vampires *1/2
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels **1/2
Doubt ****
Glengarry Glen Ross ***1/2
Gypsy ***1/2
Hairspray ***
The Lion King ***1/2
Long Day's Journey into Night ****
Nine ***1/2
Our Town ****
The Phantom of the Opera ***1/2
The Pillowman ****
The Producers ***
Rent ***
Spamalot ***
A Streetcar Named Desire **1/2
Sweeney Todd ****
Sweet Charity ***1/2
Three Days of Rain **1/2
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? ****
Wicked ***
Wonderful Town ***

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:29pm

Light in the Piazza ****
Phantom **
Spelling Bee **
Threepenny *****
Wicked ***
Pajama Game ***
Lennon **
In My Life **
The Color Purple ****
The Woman in White **
Sweeney Todd *****

[wonderfulwizard11]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 4:35pm

Show I have seen:

Wicked- ***1/2
DRS- ****
Sweeney Todd- *****

[Lavinia]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:24pm

Sweeney Todd *****
Drowsy Chaperone *****
Wicked ***
Threepenny Opera ****
Spelling Bee ***
DRS ****
Pajama Game **
Wedding Singer * 1/2

[sanda]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:36pm

This is a good idea. I hope there is another thread featuring tour shows.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:40pm

muscle, how can you like Festen buy hate Drowsy? Festen was one of the worst pieces of crap I've seen since In My Life and Lestat. Not one of the actors (save Larry Bryggman) knew what they were doing or why they were there. Yes, it's a brilliantly written play, but certainly not with this cast.

I still say the problem with Three Days of Rain is that everyone is everyone wanted to see The Julia Show, not a heavy ensemble piece.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:42pm

Ugh, I wish "In my Life" would come back. It's such an amazingly awful show.

[Yankeefan007]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:45pm

My List:

Lestat - 0 stars
The Wedding Singer - 4
Festen - 1
Three Days of Rain - 5
The Drowsy Chaperone - 4
Awake and Sing - 2
Well - 0
The Odd Couple - 2
The Pajama Game - 5
The Threepenny Opera - 5
Tarzan - 1
Barefoot in the Park - 2
Doubt - 5
Sweeney Todd - 5
The History Boys - 5
Inishmore - 4
The Color Purple - 4

[Tiny-Toon]

Posted: 5/8/06 at 5:49pm

Shows that are playing now...

Avenue Q
Golden Theatre
****

Awake and Sing!
Belasco Theatre
***


Barefoot in the Park
Cort Theatre
**
Beauty and the Beast
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
**


Bridge & Tunnel
Helen Hayes Theatre
**

Chicago
Ambassador Theatre
***

Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Imperial Theatre
**

Doubt
Walter Kerr Theatre
****


Faith Healer
Booth Theatre
****

Festen
Music Box Theatre
*


Hairspray
Neil Simon Theatre
****

Hot Feet
Hilton Theatre
***


Jersey Boys
August Wilson Theatre
***

Lestat
Palace Theatre
- 0 -


Mamma Mia!
Winter Garden Theatre
*

Monty Python's Spamalot
Shubert Theatre
**

Rent
Nederlander Theatre
***

Shining City
Biltmore Theatre
***


Sweeney Todd
Eugene O'Neill Theatre
****

Tarzan
Richard Rodgers Theatre
***


The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Circle in the Square
**

The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
****


The Color Purple
Broadway Theatre
****

The Drowsy Chaperone
Marquis Theatre
*


The History Boys
Broadhurst Theatre
***

The Lieutenant of Inishmore
Lyceum Theatre
***


The Light in the Piazza
Vivian Beaumont Theatre
****

The Lion King
New Amsterdam Theatre
*


The Odd Couple
Brooks Atkinson Theatre
*

The Pajama Game
American Airlines Theatre
***


The Phantom of the Opera
Majestic Theatre
***

The Producers
St. James Theatre
***


The Threepenny Opera
Studio 54
*

The Wedding Singer
Al Hirschfeld Theatre
****


Three Days of Rain
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
**

Well
Longacre Theatre
*


Wicked
Gershwin Theatre
***