So this is where you all are!

[Javi]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 11:51am

Hi, guys! I've been gone for over two months, travelling to London, New York and several other places. Three weeks in glorious Manhattan! Ahhhh, what a treat. So many shows that I got to see, with so many talented performers. I see several Broadway.com regulars are now here. A big hug to them and a friendly hello to those I haven't met yet on this message board.

Javi

[sharon1]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 11:56am

Hi there and welcome

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 12:14pm

Welcome Javi!

[DofB5]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 1:50pm

Hello and welcome! Happy posting!

D

[ChrisLovesShows]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 3:58pm

Javi! I promise, just yesterday I was thinking about posting "Where's Javi?" But then I remebered--Javi is like Fresca: Sometimes he goes away but he always comes back! Just read your post on Broadway.com. You must have had an incredible time. Welcome back.

[CaTheatreGirl]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 5:46pm

Welcome back, Javi! Glad you found us. So, what shows did you see in NY? I was there in May for three weeks, too, and saw a bunch of shows!

[sabrelady]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 5:48pm

Hi Javi! U don't remember me but i usta read your posts with interest. Hope your travels went well!

[Dollypop]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 6:40pm

Welcome Javi!

"It's so nice to have you here where you belong!"

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 7:08pm

Javi, so glad to hear from you. Glad you came over to this board because I appreciate your comments.

Your trip report was great. Thanks for sharing it!

[Broadwaylady]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 7:08pm

Hi guy. I remember someone asking if you knew of this site and I said you were away for a few weeks. So how did you like all the shows? Glad you are with us again.

[jo]

Posted: 7/13/03 at 7:59pm

Hello from another Broadway.com refugee :)

jo

[Javi]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 3:28am

Thanks, guys! It's so nice to be back and seeing the familiar names - Broadwaylady, Dollypop, ChrisLovesShows, Gothampc, Sabrelady, Jo, CaTheatreGirl and I'm sure I'll get to know all the other people soon.

Chris, I know we were meant to try and meet up but then there was all this drama with a tour that I was going on which got cancelled and we had to change our schedules around. But I intend to go back to Broadway next June. I have enough frequent flyer points for a flight to New York! Yay! So we should definitely meet up. Do you have a post somewhere with the shows you saw?

CaTheatreGirl, which shows did you see? And what was your favourite? I'd like to also know if any of them stunk he he he.

And for anyone planning on going to NY, I definitely recommend using priceline.com for your hotel bookings. Great hotels in great locations and for very reasonable rates.

A few of you have asked for a list of shows I saw, so instead of typing it all again, I just pasted what I put up on broadway.com. :)

Shows that I saw were:

1. Sexual Perversity in Chicago (London) - with Matthew Perry, Minnie Driver and Hank Azaria. I actually enjoyed it, even though it's really very short. It runs for just roughly an hour. Hank Azaria was very funny. Minnie Driver is very much underused. I kept thinking that her role was going to be much larger in Act 2. Surprise, surprise - there was no Act 2.

2. Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat (London) - with Stephen Gately from Boyzone. AWFUL! AWFUL! AWFUL! Only went because several friends wanted to see it. Stephen Gately's acting and singing gave me nightmares for weeks.

3. Nine (Broadway) - my first night in New York and I get to see this wonderful show. I loved it. It was my favourite of all the shows I saw. Antonio was terrific. I would have loved it if he had won the Tony. Mary Stuart Masterson was also great. I adored Jane Krakowski and was so happy that she got a Tony. The seats in this theatre are painful. So uncomfortable.

4. Zanna, Don't - unfortunately, Jai Rodriguez was off the night that I went, but it was a fun show.

5. Urban Cowboy - I didn't enjoy this very much. I'm glad I got cheap tickets for it. It closed a few days later.

6. Gypsy - OK, I can't tell you how much I was looking forward to seeing this show. This is the one show that I have never seen on stage because it hasn't been mounted here in Australia for decades. I managed to get a really good seat by pre-booking, thanks to my friend's Gold Visa. I loved the show and even got to catch one of the garter belts that one of the Hollywood Blondes throws to the audience. The three strippers were totally hilarious. I enjoyed Tammy Blanchard's performance. Unfortunately, as much as it pains me to say this, Bernadette Peters wasn't very good. She was having problems singing throughout the night and she seemed out of character most of the time, as if she was worried about not hitting the notes...and she didn't hit most of them. I love Bernadette, but it was painful watching her perform because she seemed to be struggling. But the show is teffific.

7. The Producers - when I was last in NY in Sept 2001, I couldn't get tickets because Matthew and Nathan were on. I finally got to see it. I thought it was a lot of fun...but now I really believe 'The Full Monty' was robbed of a few Tonys that year.

8. Take Me Out - great play with some really good acting and some good bodies. Glad it won the Tony for Best Play.

9. The Play What I Wrote - I had front row seats and was concerned all the way through that the spit from the two main actors was going to hit me. I have never seen so much flying spit. Liam Neeson was the special guest. A very funny night. Silly, but I was in stitches.

10. Hairspray - good fun show. Still think Harvey shouldn't have won the Tony. I must admit, though, that I spent quite a lot of time perving on Joshua Bergasse, one of the swings.

11. Thoroughly Modern Millie - I was expecting more from this. It never reached the heights I was hoping for. Again, a pleasant enough experience, but its greatness is very much exaggerated. I'm not sure if she was having an off night, but I still don't understand the praise that Harriet Harris gets for this role. Nobody was laughing at any of her lines and it was really uncomfortable. I thought Sutton was good but nothing extraordinary. I know I'm going to get attacked for saying that, oh, well.

12. The New Boy (off-Broadway) - um...it was OK. Very uneven production.

13. Intrigue with Faye - I enjoyed this play and I thought Benjamin Bratt and Julianna Margulies were really good.

14. The Look of Love - I managed to get a discounted ticket. I guess this is more of a revue of Bacharach and David songs instead of a musical but I like their songs and enjoyed the performances. A nice show for a matinee, but nothing substantial. Rachelle Rak wasn't performing, though, and I was looking forward to seeing her having enjoyed her Broadway Bares performance as Wonder Woman last year. Nice to see Liz Callaway on stage.

15. Cabaret - Oh, how I wish I had seen Neil Patrick Harris after all the great reviews I had read about his performance. Jon Secada was so-so, but I did enjoy Deborah Gibson. Mariette Hartley was also good, but Tom Bosley was not. I had seen Cabaret last time I was in New York in 2001 with Brooke Shields and on that night Michael O'Donnell played Cliff. This time around, he was just playing Bobby...but I thought he was really good as Cliff. And he's pretty cute too.

16. Life x 3 - I wasn't expecting much from this show because I had read some mixed reviews, but I really enjoyed it. I laughed a lot and it seems like the audience really loved it too. Although there was one man who kept laughing at things that weren't funny (or not THAT funny) and he drove me insane. All the actors - Helen Hunt, John Turturro, Brent Spiner and Linda Edmond - were all wonderful.

17. Last Sunday in June - I also read some mixed reviews for this, but I loved it. It was a very good audience and they laughed at everything.

18. Urinetown - the first act didn't do much for me, but I enjoyed the show more and more as it went on.

19. Broadway Bares - so much fun. I am so glad I was able to finally go and see this in person. I stood at the end of one of the runways and one of the cute dancers during one of the numbers gave me his shell necklace. I had so much fun during rotation and I got to meet the actress who played Mazeppa in Gypsy and I got to tell her how much I enjoyed her performance in Gypsy and she gave me a big kiss on the lips.

20. Cher at Madison Square Garden - Cher songs and lots of costume changes. I was a very happy boy.

Oh, well, I guess that's all. I don't think I left anything out. I will now have to start saving for another trip to New York next year. Too bad New York is so far from Australia where I live.

Javi

[Broadwaylady]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:31am

God Javi, great reviews and I had to agree on alot of what you said except for Harriet Harris. I saw it twice with her and thought she was hysterical. I also loved Nine, Gypsy, LaBoheme, too bad you missed that and Movin Out, Hairspray, (Antonio should have gotten the Tony). Man of LaMancha was also great but with all the shows you had to squeeze in, you had to miss a few. I was sad Flower Drum closed that I also enjoyed as well as Enchanted April. But, there is always next year.

[Javi]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 11:58am

BroadwayLady, I did have tickets to Flower Drum Song but of course that closed before I arrived in NY, so I had a free night and so that's when I saw 'The Play What I Wrote'. Too bad because I did want to see Lea and say hi.

I saw 'Man of La Mancha' here in Sydney last year with Anthony Warlow and was so bored that I didn't think I could watch it again he he he.

Harriet Harris - it could have been an off night for her or a bad audience. I just didn't click with her. I love her in her other roles, so I was surprised.

Javi

[CJR]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 12:52pm

Welcome Javi! Good to see you!

CJR (formerly VelmaKelly on the broadway.com boards)

Posted: 7/14/03 at 5:45pm

hey Javi -- next time you come, why don't you just stay? We could some more intelligent conversation on this or any board. Besides, what (or who?) is keeping you in Australia?

[Javi]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 8:20pm

Hey, CJR, you'll always be VelmaKelly to me. :) Did someone else steal your name here?

Tommyboy, if I stayed in New York, I'd probably go broke watching a show every night. There's no who keeping me in Australia but if Joshua Bergasse invites me to New York, I'd pack my bags in a second. :)

Javi

[CJR]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 8:36pm

Yeah, I got here and registered and some guy (who hasn't even posted since I got here) already had my name and I became VelmaKelly2. I wasn't digging being '2nd Best' so I re-registered with my nickname, CJR :) :)

[Gothampc]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:18pm

I wish we Americans had more vacation time. I'd love to go to Australia for some sightseeing.

[AReinkingfan]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:25pm

Perhaps you might remember moi from Broadway.com?

I would have loved the chance to have seen Rachelle Rak in "The Look Of Love", as I adored her in "Fosse", but alas, it closed before I got to NYC. Sigh.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:30pm

Javi,
About Hairspray.... Yes, Joshua Bergasse is quite a cutie, but what about the ever adoarble Todd Michel Smith (IQ) and the criminally cute Adam Fleming (Sketch, u/s Link Larkin)???? OK, OK, so I admit to having a thing for Adam Fleming... but just lok at him. How can you not just want to kiss those lips!

[AReinkingfan]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:32pm

I just found out recently that my sister is dating Joshua's step brother! Small world.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:33pm

HA! Have you met Josh yet??? Total sweetheart.


John Hill isn't too bad either.

[AReinkingfan]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 9:36pm

Actually, I had never heard of the guy until my sister made a comment about him. (She and boyfriend are in Michigan.)

[BrdwyThtr]

Posted: 7/14/03 at 10:11pm

Joshua is VERY cute!