To See a Preview Or Not: That Is the Question

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 10:48am

If I lived in New York City, I know I'd love to attend previews to watch shows evolve up to opening night and then see the show again. But, alas, I don't. I'll be visiting New York in a few weeks and am debating whether to see Kinky Boots or Matilda or Breakfast at Tiffany's or any other show then in previews. Alternatively, I could go to Once, a show I'm lukewarm about seeing, and see the other shows on later trips. I'd appreciate any advice based on the currently previewing shows closeness to being a finished product, I guess. I'm not interested in paying full price for something that still needs a lot of work. Help, please.

[After Eight]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 10:58am

Amalia,

There are no guarantees with respect to what changes occur during previews. Cinderella made quite a few.

In general, the closer the preview date is to opening, the less likely significant changes will be made.

I try to go to early previews. If I return, I often find that the changes have been minimal, and that I really got the basic essence of the show when I first saw it.

And then, in the case of a musical, sometimes you will get to hear a cut song that is better than those that remain. That's what happened with Titanic.

Hope this is of help.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 11:03am

I'm going to assume that Matilda will not be going through very many changes, as it has already been running quite successfully for over a year now in London. Kinky Boots also had a pretty successful run in Chicago. So though it has been reported that there are changes being made for Broadway it appears to be more a case of polishing something to really make it shine, as opposed to trying to fix something that is broken and hope that it works.

I haven't heard much about Breakfast at Tiffany's, so I have no thoughts on that one (though it's not a title that really interests me that much to begin with to be honest).

Also, there are discounts on BroadwayBox for both Kinky Boots and Breakfast at Tiffany's (Matilda had one before but that seems to be off the table now).

[Wynbish]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 11:03am

And there's no guarantee that one or two of the three will be available on your later trip. For each show, you may want to ponder if you'd be fine skipping a preview and getting no other chance to see it.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 11:07am

Amalia-

I love going to previews and I don't think you should worry about seeing any of those shows in previews. After Eight is right: usually changes that are made insignificant; a line is added here, a joke that falls flat is removed there.

Even if you got to see something like 13 when it was two acts instead of an intermissionless 100 minutes that might be more fun to experience. You could say you got to see something few did. (Well I guess if anyone saw ANY version of 13 they could say they saw something few saw, ha.)

Kinky Boots and Matilda are too tech heavy for the creative team to make many substantial changes. The worst thing that might happen at either show could be a technical mishap (like what happened at Billy Elliot all the time during early previews.)

If you want to see Breakfast at Tiffany's don't wait until a later trip as it may not be playing 6 months from now.

[rhdery]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 12:37pm

I am struggling with this myself as I would like to see everything all the time, but due to budget limitations I usually wait because I can't afford to see shows multiple times. I am trying my best to be patient.

Once is well-worth seeing, though, and I would strongly advise giving it a chance.

[Amalia Balash]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 1:15pm

Thanks for all the responses and giving me even more to think about! The chance to see numbers that never ultimately make it into the show is the most tempting aspect of previews for me and why sometimes I curse not living in New York. And the risk of not getting to see a show on a later trip is definitely worth taking into account. My guess is that risk is higher with Kinky Boots than with Matilda and highest with Breakfast at Tiffanys.

Maybe I should let the discounting and ticket gods decide.

[WhatIWasBorn2Do]

Posted: 3/4/13 at 1:27pm

I saw the 4th Annie Preview in October and then again in January, and the changes were minimal. Like Wizzer said, the most changes they seem to make is fixing lines/flat jokes. I also saw Cinderella half way through previews, which was late enough that, according to this board, they didnt make any more changes. If anything, I'm quite excited to see Matilda on Thursday! It shall be an adventure!