long time lurker here, and I’ll be making a trip to NYC September 16-21st, and was wondering about show recommendations. Right now My Fair Lady, Phantom, and the Xanadu reunion. I’ve considered Wicked and Mormon, having seen them on the road, they’re shows i adore and it would be exciting to see them in their Broadway homes.
Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, and Anastasia are coming to my town in the upcoming touring season
So what do y’all recommend? I know it’ll be slower given quite a few shows will/may be closing up shop by the time i get there.
Also open to suggestions for gay nightlife/non theatre activities
All the shows you’ve listed are excellent (with exception of Anastasia which I haven’t seen so can’t vouch for and MFL which didn’t wow me).
As you note most of these shows are touring or will soon. I’m hearing the current Hamilton tour casts are better than some of the current Broadway principals so you might save that for seeing on tour. Plus it’ll be cheaper on tour. My favorite show! I’m seeing it again in two weeks in Chicago.
I had no idea about the Xanadu reunion. So exciting!
So my recommendations would be Dear Evan Hansen, The Band’s Visit, and surprisingly Spongebob (my favorite musical of my June trip; it’s not deep, but it was fun, has great performances, very good set design, a fun score, and a fun, tuneful score and accomplishes what it sets out to do).
I love Wicked too. I saw it twice on its first tour through Oklahoma years ago and would like to experience it on Broadway too, but it always gets shuffled off my list to make room for new shows I’ve never seen. So it’s a good choice. I hear mostly good things about it’s current cast, too.
I had wanted to re-experience The Book of Mormon on Broadway, but I saw the touring production this year and had such a great, fun time again that I don’t think I’ll want to pay broadway prices to see it on Broadway soon.
In a nutshell, I say devote your September trip to mostly shows that are novel to you and/or may lose something on tour. That’s why I recommend Spongebob and The Band’s Visit although for different reasons.
Spongebob is just an unexpected fun time. I’m not sure how the stage design and cast will be once on tour. If you go, try to see it with Ethan Slater. He is awesome.
The Band’s Visit is such an intimate show that I worry it will be swallowed up in the cavernous confines of most touring performance arts centers. Plus, Lenk’s Tony-winning performance is sumptuous. Try to get an orchestra seat.
I also think DEH is one worth seeing on Broadway. I hope to re-experience it and TBV next time I’m in NYC. Some of the cast is changing soon, but they have done an overall great job casting solid cast replacements so far. Plus, it too is an intimate show and I think it benefits from not being in a huge performing arts center.
I also am jealous of your opportunity to see the Xanadu reunion. I’ve never seen the stage musical, but I was a huge Olivia Newton-John fan a gazillion years ago and actually loved the movie until I got older and realized it was not good. Lol. It still remains a guilty pleasure
So, The Band’s Visit, Dear Evan Hansen, Spongebob, the Xanadu reunion, plus possibly Wicked.
Looking forward to hearing what you decide on. I’d recommend securing tickets ahead of time for everything except Spongebob which is routinely listed at TKTS or easy to win the lottery/rush for.
I’ll be seeing OOTI next week (and over the moon! It helps having family close to the city) but based on grosses idk if they’ll still be running in September.
I plan on taking my mom to Waitress when the tour comes around
and i’ve been in love with OOTI for years, having listened to the cast recording and seen it regionally. And with this revival, it’s a solid show with a talented cast and an imaginative vision at the helm
Come From Away, you can’t really go wrong with it. Dear Evan Hansen is excellent. For Spongebob/TBV, it depends on what other shows you have liked. See TBV for preformences, as the direction frankly sucks and it doesn’t have much of a plot, and Spongebob is a fun musical. Landau directed the heck out of it and it’s a pleasant surprise, but it’s not angels or Hamilton.
Personally, I wasn’t a fan of CFA (I actually fell asleep during it). It’s probably my least favorite of the 50 or so NYC productions I’ve seen. While CFA and TBV traffic in similar themes, CFA tends to be more over the top while TBV is more nuanced. So I guess you have to ask yourself which type of experience suits you best.
Miles2Go2 said: "Personally, I wasn’t a fan of CFA (I actually fell asleep during it). It’s probably my least favorite of the 50 or so NYC productions I’ve seen. While CFA and TBV traffic in similar themes, CFA tends to be more over the top while TBV is more nuanced. So I guess you have to ask yourself which type of experience suits you best. "
You seem to be one of very few who did not enjoy come from away. You mistake the slow pace of TBV for nuance. Come From Away is a far better production and I recommend it to everyone. I’m sorry you were tired during the show.
Different shows reasonate with different people. It’s true that most people love CFA. I did not. It’s also true that lots of people love TBV. You did not. The OP must simply ask herself which type of show she is more likely to enjoy. She may very well decide to see neither which is fine.
