Rochester, NY: RBTL '07-'08 Broadway Series Announced...

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 7:58am

Shows coming to Rochester this year:

Cirque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy (Nov. 13-1
White Christmas (Dec. 11-16)
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Jan. 22-27)
Avenue Q (March 4-9)
Wicked (May 28-June 15)

Looks like a good season!
Link to Democrat & Chronicle article

[Dancin Thru Life]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 11:13am

Looks Good, CRAZY!

We got Camelot and Drowsy in addition to those.

We had "CIRQUE:Jungle" as the opening to our series this year when the "GRINCH" wasn't ready to open on time before they moved to Broadway. I hated it.

I always feel a little "ripped off" when they toss in shows like "Cirque" or the old "classics" and call it a part of the package. More likely because they are cheap to produce.

Once you get by "CIRQUE", though, it looks like a great year!
ENJOY!

:)

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 11:54am

Talking about a show schedule for Rochester makes me think back to 1961 when the Broadway production of GYPSY with Ethel Merman and Jack Klugman opened their 6th month tour at the Auditorium Theatre in Rochester. At the time I was a student at the University of Rochester and I ushered at the Auditorium so that I could get to see GYPSY. Before the audience started coming in Jack Klugman came out on stage and said, "Boy, what a barn this theatre is!" Also, during the show some scenery got stuck and the pit conductor shouted instructions to the stagehands.Is the Auditorium Theatre still the venue for shows?

[erinrebecca]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 12:27pm

Yes, the Aud is still the venue in Rochester. And yes, it's still a barn. :)

[Taryn]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 1:00pm

Huzzah for being a UR student! That's actually a very exciting season. Much better than last season.

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 1:24pm

Yeah, to be honest 'Cirque...' is really the only one I couldn't care less about. That sort of acrobatic-dance stuff just doesn't really do it for me... I pay my money to see musical theatre! If it wasn't part of the series package I certainly wouldn't be going!

They have put alot of $$$ into the theatre as of late (Necessary upgrades to get Lion King to come in a year ago), but I've no doubt the facilities are probably still pretty antiquated in comparison to other touring houses around the country. It is really nice to have a place locally to see some of the shows I don't get around to seeing since I'm only able to make it to NYC once a year or so.

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 4:42pm

What upgrade did they have to do for the Lion King? A center aisle?

[thenewmoon]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 5:49pm

Dear Lord, thank you for getting me out of that hellhole and onto the coast. I have seen many a show in the "barn" with its oh-so-creative name (yes, it really is called The Auditorium Theatre, always thought that redundant)...ah, Miss Saigon in the very back row of the balcony, which might as well have been Saigon.

A side note re that Gypsy tour: one of my grandma's favorite stories is seeing Merman in that, and how she didn't need no stickin' microphone to project LOUD all the way to the back of the balcony (although, how Grandma could've known that, sitting in the orchestra...oh well. It's a good story).

[karen24]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 10:09pm

Well, I'm moving to Rochester (from the suburbs of NYC) at the end of June, so I'm glad to hear I'll at least be able to get some sort of theater fix in between trips to NY! And actually, I've not yet seen "Spelling Bee" or "Wicked," so those would be two I'd be interested in going to--although I am a little worried, hearing that the Auditorium Theater is a "barn", that "Spelling Bee" might get lost in it. Hm.
Can anyone tell me a bit about these touring shows--are they Equity performers?
Karen

[CrazyMutha29]

Posted: 3/28/07 at 11:56pm

Karen, to be honest, I would guess 'Spelling Bee' gets lost in most touring theatre's it plays... It's meant for small theatres but that doesn't exactly make a touring production financially viable.

In general touring shows are cast with equity performers unless it's a non-equity tour (ie- The current Rent tour).

Rentboy, I'm not sure exactly what upgrades were made for Lion King, but I think most were in the backstage area.

Newmoon, thanks for the kind words about my town... :-P

Really, it may not be the greatest facility around, but to hear you people talk of your 'fond' memories you'd think the place is a sh*thole which is nowhere near the truth. In just the past decade they've really put alot of money in to that facility making it both asthetically and functionally better than it was when I was there falling in love with musical theatre as a teen. And really, that's what it's all about... Providing people an opportunity to see a caliber and quality of show that they normally wouldn't get to see otherwise!

[Bdwy24]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 6:35am

The Auditorium theatre exactly reminds me of a high school auditorium. I cant believe how small the backstage area is. i dont have a CLUE how they did The Lion King. There is no crossover on stage level. you have to go down stairs to get to the other side of the theatre. CRAZY small.

Karen24- You are also only 1 hour away from Buffalo which will have The Drowsy Chaperone and Camelot and Cats (lol). Rumor has it High School Musical as well.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 3/29/07 at 7:21am

I saw many shows at the Auditorium in the 50s and 60s, the most interesting being a tour of OKLAHOMA! with Florence Henderson as Laurey and Barbara Cook as Ado Annie before either of them had made much of a mark on Broadway. In addition to the big musicals, the Auditorium booked small shows like "The Moon is Blue" and even the provervial sex comedies like "Maid in the Ozarks" and "Pajama Tops." The other theatre in downtown Rochester at the time was the Eastman Theatre and I also saw a few interesting theatre pieces there, including an evening of the Agnes DeMille ballets from Broadway shows.