Shows I'm glad I took a chance on...

The Band's Visit... grabbed tix last minute, Somehow hypnotic and silly. Went home floating.

The Bridges of Madison County... I know, miss Kelly O'Hara in anything? Really? But the book/movie held little interest. The musical? Saw that twice.

And you.?

I second Bright Star, a very underrated show.

MCW1227 said: "I second Bright Star, a veryunderrated show."

Bright Star for me too. One of my favorite experiences.

Also, Tina. Wasn't sure if I was interested, but had a great time.

I originally wasn't up to seeing The Prom when trying to choose something at the Lincoln Center TKTS boards early last year. However, it was the dead of winter, and "newer" musical options were few and far for a local theatergoer like me who once attended a small handful of shows a year. I decided to take a chance on it, and what did I receive? A fun story with a clever score, 2.5 hours of laughs, and to top it off, my most meaningful conversation with a music director. Oh, and Catherine Zeta-Jones and Michael Douglas were there that day, no big deal.

A preview of SpongeBob also fits this bill, though my family and I were offered the tickets. Yes, I was one of many that were skeptical about this show's potential, and it took me quite a while after I saw it to fully realize I enjoyed it. I didn't really get into the cartoon as a child, and I wasn't expecting too much, but I was proven wrong by the end of the first number. One of the greatest, most pleasant surprises of my young theatergoing career.

Nice Work If You Can Get It and Sister Act

Of all the shows I saw just to see, the one that I still remember vividly being blown away with was the original 2004 Broadway production of CAROLINE, OR CHANGE.

I remember watching Tonya's performance of "Lot's Wife" on the Tony Awards and dismissing it. About a month later while planning another NYC extended weekend, which I did every other month back then (I now live in NYC), I saw that CAROLINE, OR CHANGE was closing the week I would be there. Not wanting to miss seeing a flop show, I bought a ticket -- completely oblivious to the show's plot and score, aside from "Lot's Wife." The moment the orchestra struck the first chords and that Afro-beat kicked in after Tonya's stage entrance humming, my jaw dropped. I think I had my mouth open the entire first act. The music, the performances, the story -- I was blown away. To this day, this is one of the best theatrical experiences I ever had and on a musical I solely went in blind and only to check off my list of flop shows I've seen.

The Prom - saw it the week after its opening and didn't really know anything about it. I actually thought it may have been similar to the off off off bway show several years ago called Awesome 80s Prom. Didn't have any expectations but absolutely loved it. I laughed and cried and had a great time.



In & Of Itself - At first I only heard it was a magic show and thus didn't prioritize it but wow I was blown away! I ended up seeing it 5 more times during its off-bway run with different friends. Still mind-boggling and can't wait to see its filmed version on Hulu in the future.



Brigadoon - This was the City Center production back in 2017. I saw cheap last minute tickets on stubhub and sooooo glad I got to see Kelli O'Hara, Patrick Wilson, and Stephanie J Block perform all together! Christopher Wheeldon's choreography was a sight to see as well. So glad I took a chance and saw this!

Hadestown. I saw it in previews, knew almost nothing about it, and it turned out to be one of the best things I've ever seen.

Arcadia. I was in Manhattan for work, had one night unexpectedly free, and not much time to pick out anything. I'm so glad I ended up at Arcadia. I was literally in tears at the end because it was over.

Julie Yard: "Somehow hypnotic and silly."

I worship this synopsis and am starting a religion around it. Where can I Venmo my tithing?

Holy crap. "Julie Yard." I just got that. You're my new pope.