TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!

[TGIF]

TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#0

Posted: 1/6/05 at 2:19pm

So yesterday was my first "double header" if you will of the theatre world. At 2 o'clock I entered the St. James theatre to see The Producers and 6 hours later I was in the Golden Theatre getting ready for Avenue Q. Ticket price and seats were great. Ave Q. was free for me; Phanfare was nice enough to give me her extra ticket that she got for her birthday. For a poor college student being able to score a row E ticket in the orchestra is a dream come true! For that I thank you Phanfare! :) I had to pay for The Producers but it was the cheap seats in the balcony so it wasn't too harsh on the wallets.

So I finally was able to see these two hits. It was a long awaited and long overdue trip.

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The Producers

I was very excited to see The Producers. I have heard nothing but good things about this show, and frankly wanted to see what all the hype (and the 12 Tony's) was about. It also was nice to see Hunter Foster in the show before he leaves on the 9th. In the theatre I was flipping through the playbill and started bouncing in my seat when I saw that Richard Kind was playing Max -- that's what you get for not looking up the cast before you go -- but it was a very pleasant surprise. Now I'd like to state that I am not familiar with the score of this show besides "I want to be a Producer" and the chorus for "Springtime for Hitler." From the minute the curtain rose until the final bows I was completely enthralled with the show, the cast, the costumes, and the sets. I now see why it won so much. The score was wonderful but I wasn't blown away by it. I was surprised it won for best score for the Tony, yet I do not remember what its contenders were. Both Hunter and Richard were in top form and was such a treat to see both of them in the show.

During the show I found my self with my hands on my cheeks repeating the words "Oh my god!" or "oh no!" quite frequently. I was laughing, but felt guilty for laughing at the same time. "Springtime for Hitler" started and when the "cast" of the show formed a swastika and started to rotate it was met by a thunderous applause. I was not sure what to do! Do I laugh? Do I applaude? Do I cover my eyes I was told by Phanfare that this was most likely a scene from the movie and the audience was very happy to see it was kept in. I will tell you one thing about the show -- It SCREAMS Mel Brooks. It seems to be a show where you laugh despite yourself. The entire cast was superb. Stand outs were Brooks Ashmanskas as Carmen Ghia, Jonathan Freeman as Roger Debris, and John Treacy Egan as Franz Liebkind .

Also, it was nice to see leading roles that depended more on acting skills then singing. Yes, the actors needed the vocal chops for the role, but that was not the prominent part of the characters. The trend seems to be moving away from it (a la Brooklyn and many other shows), so it was nice to see a show that stressed acting singing and dancing.

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Avenue Q

I entered the theatre on a Broadway high. One, because I just saw a show. But secondly because I was finally able to see Avenue Q. I have the cast recording and am familiar with the songs but refrained from listening to it to the point where I could sing along with the cast. I was told by many people that it was an amazing show, but even more so if you don¡¦t know all the jokes. It certainly paid off. I might sound redundant but the show completely captured me. When I see shows I tend to keep track of it by checking to see what song is coming up next or seeing how many until intermission/finale, unless I know the song list by heart. For both The Producers and Avenue Q, I had no urge or thought what so ever to look in my playbill. My eyes did not leave the stage for one moment. (I later find out that I couldn't keep track with the songs in show due to the fact that there is no song list in the playbill.) This says a lot for me. As a person who¡¦s mind can easily wander despite how good the show is, not doing that once during the show is utterly baffling to me.

After seeing this show I completely understand why it won for Best Musical. It was witty, unique, heartwarming, and sidesplitting all rolled into one show. I was a bit disappointed that I could not see Ann because she left to have her baby, but Ann Sanders makes an excellent addition. She fit right in and blended so well with the rest of the cast. There was not one weak link in the cast. I just wanted to take John home with me and keep him in my pocket -- adorable, and terribly talented. Stephanie was probably the most impressive out of the cast members. The difference between when she is 'Kate' and 'Lucy T. Slut' is incredible. Each is a complete and developed character and in my opinion was just perfection. The rest of the cast was present with the exception of Jennifer Barnhart who was out and Amyee Garcia filled in for her and was quite amusing.

The highlights of the show for me, though hard to single out what they were, have to be the solos for the characters. It allowed the actors to show there stuff and show a bit of their vocal abilities besides the character voices. Purpose, It's a Fine Fine Line, Fantasies do come True, and When You Ruv Someone were all delightful.

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We 'stage doored' both shows and was able to meet the entire cast of Avenue Q (except Natalie Belcon). They were probably the most personable cast I have ever met. I thanked Rick Lyon for staying to sign our playbills in the rain and humbly accepted our thank you's but then thanked us for waiting for them! We were also able to catch Hunter and Richard for The Producers. Being so far up for seating, we couldn't recognize anyone else! Both were very sweet and gracious.

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All in all it was an excellent day in NYC. Last year was filled with a lot of repeats of shows and was sort of a "catch-up" year if you will. Not being able to see shows before that I was only able to see the shows top on my list (a very long list I might add) so now I am finally getting to others I have been waiting for. My New Years Resolution is to see new shows (ones I haven't already seen) and get to experience all Broadway has to offer.


Edit: I copied and pasted this from word and just fixed it all the weird symbols

I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remember and do the same thing every morning...for the rest of my life. - Jonathan Larson. Tick, Tick...BOOM!

Updated On: 1/6/05 at 02:19 PM

[BSoBW2]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#1

Posted: 1/6/05 at 2:48pm

Good reviews...i am nervous about Richard Kind ----- but I am seeing it b/c it's hunter's last performance...

Well, the swastika was in the movie - and you can clap - it's Mel Brooks...if it were some Nazi that did that...that's a different story

Glad you enjoyed...off to hairspray now...

[luvtheEmcee]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#2

Posted: 1/6/05 at 3:18pm

Nice reviews! I'm so glad you liked the shows.

A work of art is an invitation to love.

[TGIF]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#3

Posted: 1/6/05 at 5:41pm

Thanks!

Richard Kind was wonderful in the role. It was the first time I saw the show so I have no one to compare him too, but he was top notch. Not to mention a complete doll at the stage door.

I knew that it was ok to laugh at those things, but for me I was just still utterly shocked.

I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remember and do the same thing every morning...for the rest of my life. - Jonathan Larson. Tick, Tick...BOOM!

[ponine24601]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#4

Posted: 1/6/05 at 6:22pm

yay! thanks for the reviews! i'm glad that you had a great time!

"People asking questions, lost in confusion. Well I tell them there's no problems, only solutions." ~The one and only John Lennon

[millie_dillmount]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#5

Posted: 1/6/05 at 6:39pm

I haven't seen Avenue Q, but I have seen the Producers tour, and I was also "enthralled" with the show. Glad you enjoyed it!

"We like to snark around here. Sometimes we actually talk about theater...but we try not to let that get in our way." - dramamama611

[KChenowethfan]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#6

Posted: 1/6/05 at 7:32pm

I saw Richard perform on his first night because I wanted to catch Hunter in the show. I thought Hunter stole the scenes, but Richard seemed quite comfortable in the role. That show is hilarious- especially as a politics guru. I love the "German Ethel Merman" line.

"Why do you care what people might say? Why try to fit into their design?" (Side Show)

[TGIF]

re: TGIF saw Producers and Avenue Q!#7

Posted: 1/7/05 at 1:30am

The German Ethel Merman line made me laugh too.

Istead of starting another thread with this question I figured I would just bump this one up.

Would you recommend The Producers OCR? The songs were good, but I am not sure how much I will like it on its own.

I want to write music. I want to sit down right now at my piano and write a song that people will listen to and remember and do the same thing every morning...for the rest of my life. - Jonathan Larson. Tick, Tick...BOOM!