Posted: 6/15/16 at 2:39pm
Of course She Loves Me will still be better live than on a TV screen. If you really want to see it I would still it. If you don't really mind between She Loves Me and Waitress, then go see Waitress and just watch the stream, so you can see all 3.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 3:06pm
Original question: 1)She Loves Me 2)Waitress 3)Shuffle Along
Second question: I love and adore Audra but I think Waitress without Jessie would suffer more than Shuffle without Audra.
Third question: Definitely recommend School of Rock over Fiddler. Fiddler was a big disappointment for me. I saw Fiddler about 2 years ago in Canada at Stratford and it absolutely crushed this Broadway Fiddler. Don't worry about if Alex is in the show or not, I saw it with both him and his understudy and I think I preferred the understudy. He had a TON of insane energy .... and whether you consider it a good or bad thing, I don't know, but the understudy really looked and sounded like Jack Black.
Updated On: 6/15/16 at 03:06 PM
Posted: 6/15/16 at 3:26pm
Absolutely agree with the other posters that She Loves Me is the "must see" of these three. As far as old school classic musicals go, this production is perfection. Of the other two, I'd really recommend Shuffle Along. The choreography is fantastic and Billy Porter's Act II solo alone is worth the price of admission. There are some script and directing issues here and there - but the positives far outweigh them, in my opinion.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 3:43pm
I had already bought tickets for Shuffle Along, so I'm seeing that Sat matinee and Hamilton Sat night. Since SLM and Waitress don't do Sun night shows, I can only pick one of them. I guess my dilemma is, do I watch SLM on the livestream so I can go see Waitress and see all four shows, or is SLM THAT good that I should still see it in person and wait to see Waitress?
Also, re: SOR, I've never watched the movie and wasn't that impressed with their tonys performance. I'm a little wary that it skews really young (particularly because when I saw Matilda it was just kind of okay for me) so I was leaning towards Fiddler at first. But now after seeing all the responses I'm worried it won't be good as well even though I tend to like the classics (one of my all time favs is Phantom). How is SOR compared to Matilda?
Posted: 6/15/16 at 3:48pm
pmsept said: "I guess my dilemma is, do I watch SLM on the livestream so I can go see Waitress and see all four shows"
That's what I would do. It's a hard call because I loved both She Loves Me and Waitress but since you have a chance to get the most bang for your buck why not watch the SLM stream and go see Waitress.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 3:59pm
I liked Matilda much more than SoR, but I also liked Matilda much more in London than on Broadway for some reason (I can't really put my finger on what it was, maybe it was just that "my" set of kids on Bway wasn't as good as who I saw in London?)... Anyway, I love the music of Matilda and thought SoR was just okay. The story of SoR was and cute, Matilda I think is fabulous.
But I don't think that means you won't like SoR because you didn't love Matilda, you could like it better for all the same reasons I preferred Matilda, you know?
Fiddler flatlined for me, I just can't get as excited about the show as many other people do. Honestly, I wouldn't pick either out of everything that is playing right now.
This might not be the exact same schedule for the weekend you're going, but it seems many shows have Sunday evening shows: http://www.playbill.com/article/weekly-schedule-of-current-broadway-shows-com-142774
I don't know what you've already seen but American in Paris, Beautiful, Finding Neverland, Something, Color Purple ect. all seem to have Sun eveing performances. If you like classics you might enjoy American in Paris? Beautiful is also quite gorgeous, and Something Rotten is hilarious. Color Purple just won the Tony. Those would all be good choices.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 4:09pm
_IrisTinkerbell thanks for the input! Honestly, those two aren't my first choice either. Unfortunately since I'm trying to see if on July 3rd, the only shows I can find playing that night is Beautiful, SOR, and Fiddler (yay 4th of July! lol). I didn't consider Beautiful at first since I thought I would be able to catch it at the Pantages, but it looks like I won't be able to after all so now that's certainly an option as well.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 4:12pm
Oh, I didn't think about 4th of July weekend... yea, that changes up the schedules. I really enjoyed Beautiful and if you can't see the tour I would personally recommend it over SoR and Fiddler.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 6:26pm
Welcome to the board. All three are good choices.
She Loves Me was very good and a definite between the three. Choosing ons of the other two...
I loved Waitress. I think the score is just wonderful, and I love Jesse Mueller. The whole cast was wonderful. I also loved the movie.
Shuffle Along would be my third choice of the three. Not tgat it isn't good, just ranking them. Lots of good performances, interesting story. The dance pieces were great, but the story was a little jumbled for me. If you are going to see Audra, just know tgat she is pregnant. At the performance I attended, her understudy went on for the second act. It was a little jarring, the understudy wad g one, but different enough tgat it was an adjustment. And, my mind went a little off thinking she was having some physical difficulty and hoping a was okay with her (I am lucky, have seen all her Broadway performances and never had an understudy - I think she is a little sporadic that way).
If you already got Shuffle over Waitress, don't worry as you will get a good night of theater either way. I just liked the lightness and the music of Waitress more. But, I am sure there are other opinions that put Shuffle above Waitress (which was a little sitcoms-mish but fit my mood).
And, I loved School of Rock (unexpected) and saw Beautiful pre-Broadway in SF. Loved it and Jesse was obviously in that as well.
Posted: 6/15/16 at 11:13pm
Do you guys think I would be able to make it on time to the 6pm show of SOR if I go straight from a 3pm Shuffle Along show? (They just emailed saying that Audra won't be in for the Sat matinee and is letting us exchange tickets) It says the runtime for SOR is 2 hours and 40 minutes.... I'm a little worried but would also love to see Audra
Posted: 6/15/16 at 11:20pm
pmsept - That is so funny! I am thinking the same thing. I exchanged my tix for Shuffle a couple of hours ago because of Audra being out, but am worried about the time to get to School of Rock and if I will be starving by the time it is done. :)
Posted: 6/15/16 at 11:41pm
I'm also going the weekend before July 4th and have a similar schedule: She Loves Me (Sat 2pm), Shuffle Along (Sat 8pm), and Hamilton (Sun 3pm). One option we are considering for Sunday evening if you're up for something a little different is 54 Below is doing a Tribute to Prince. I've been there once before and loved the atmosphere and the cast (just posted on their website) looks pretty good.
For Shuffle, I did not get an email from Telecharge, so wondering if Audra is still scheduled for the evening show.
Updated On: 6/15/16 at 11:41 PM
Posted: 6/15/16 at 11:49pm
No, she is still doing the eve performance. This is from the email:
June, 2016
Dear Telecharge Customer,
You are receiving this email because you have ordered tickets for SHUFFLE ALONG at the Music Box Theatre for a Wednesday or Saturday matinee performance between June 18 and July 23, 2016. Please be aware that Audra McDonald will not appear at the following performances:
Saturdays at 2pm
June 18, 25
July 2, 9, 16, 23
Wednesdays at 2pm
June 22, 29
July 6, 13, 20
I am not really interested in the Prince thing. I am going to 54 Below on 7/4 to see 1776. I have been there several times and always enjoyed it.
Updated On: 6/15/16 at 11:49 PM
Posted: 6/16/16 at 12:01am
iamjwk said: "pmsept - That is so funny! I am thinking the same thing. I exchanged my tix for Shuffle a couple of hours ago because of Audra being out, but am worried about the time to get to School of Rock and if I will be starving by the time it is done. :)"
We are going to be SO HUNGRY! But Audra will be worth it haha. But yeah, I'm more worried about getting there on time (especially since I know I WILL have to use the bathroom in between too lol). Did you already get your tix to SoR? I'm planning to get rush tickets for it so hopefully that'll work out. If not, my back up is Fiddler.
Posted: 6/16/16 at 12:02am
Waitress..especially given the fact that She Loves Me will be live streamed soon.
Posted: 6/16/16 at 12:53am
I wouldn't count on Audra being in it on either day because of her pregnancy. I went last Saturday evening and she was out and she was really starting to show on the Tony's.
The understudy was really good and besides, there is so much star power on that stage you shouldn't miss it. The dancing alone is awesome.
Waitress is a fun show but the weaker of the 3
I'd vote SLM in person. It's not to be missed!
Posted: 6/16/16 at 1:17am
I don't have my ticket for SOR yet. Will probably see you in the rush line!
Posted: 6/16/16 at 1:11pm
PThespian said: "Not that it's a huge difference, but the running time for SOR is actually 2:30."
Ah my bad! I meant the running time for Shuffle Along is listed at 2:40. Thanks for the info PThespian! I'll just have to dash out of SA!
