Trip Advice

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 3:03pm

Hi guys,

My friend and I are working on plans for a trip that takes place a year from now. We want to set up a payment schedule to help spread out costs. The only reason we are coming is to see shows, so we have made room for 12. 

These are the shows we are looking at for consideration: Tuck Everlasting, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Shuffle Along, Cats, Hello Dolly, Miss Saigon, Singin in the Rain, The Wiz, Naked Boys Singing, Fun Home, Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812, and Hamilton.

Will most of these either be open, or still be running a year from now?

If not, these are the shows on our "back up" list: Bright Star, Waitress, On Your Feet, Falsettos, The Bandstand, The Color Purple, Gotta Dance, Groundhog Day, The King and I, Something Rotten, The Present, My Fair Lady, Gypsy.

We love all things Broadway, so we are open to anything. What shows are must sees, and which ones should we scratch off the list? Are they any shows I've left off? Thanks in advance for any help! 

[@z5]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 3:31pm

There is absolutely no way Bright Star will be still be going a year from now.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 3:48pm

Shows running now probably won't/may not be running a year from now: Bright Star, King and I, Something Rotten, Fun Home

You have a lot of shows on your list that aren't confirmed to come in, or don't have dates yet, so you may have to hold off. Why is Naked Boys Singing on your list with a bunch of Broadway shows?

You should get your Hamilton tickets as soon as they go on sale. Like, go on Ticketmaster the moment the sale opens.

[JPeterman]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 3:55pm

Great list.  Of the shows you mentioned that I have seen, are already on Broadway and which may possibly still be open at the time of your trip, I would recommend (in order):  Hamilton, Color Purple, King and I, Fun Home and Something Rotten.  The Color Purple was extraordinary.  I had never seen it before, and I did not anticipate that it would be something I would particularly like, but it was great and I highly recommend it.

Here are a few shows that you did not mention that I am looking forward to which may be open by the time of your trip in 2017: Amelie, Holiday Inn, Confederacy of Dunces, and Farinelli and the King.  I am most looking forward to Farinelli.  I hope your trip works out well for you.

Updated On: 3/17/16 at 03:55 PM

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 6:27pm

Great info so far...thanks! I will for sure make some room for The Color Purple on my schedule. The reason it wasn't on my main list was because I saw the original production of that show...how different is this show? 

NBS is on my list only because it's on Saturdays at 6...its just one more show that we can go see while waiting for one of the bigger shows. 

I'm checking daily for Hamilton ticket info...I CANT miss it! 

As far as some more specific questions I have...what are the chances that Tuck Everlasting will last a year? Will Audra still be in Shuffle Along at that point? What are the chance that Nicole will reprise her role in Cats? Miss Saigon, Charlie, and Singin in the Rain -  all say "Spring of 2017" - Is it typical that Spring openings happen by mid-march? Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - Is it likely that Josh will stick around until that time? Gypsy - I've heard some rumblings that this is making it to NYC soon...is that accurate?

Sorry for all the random Q's - but yall are helping me more than you know!! 

[MarkBearSF]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 8:08pm

I understand your enthusiasm. Best not to lock anything down just yet - except for Hamilton, the minute it goes on sale. (and if you have [or a friend has] an Amex - jump on the presale! ...and you may want to apply for one, if it's an option) Well, also jump on Bette's Hello Dolly.

Aside from that, things change. Some of the shows you list haven't started previews, so who knows? Other shows, not on the radar can come in. An off-broadway show could be amazing. There might be a special appearance or concert. 

As for "Shuffle On" - indeed a good question who will be starring next Spring. I heard that Audra will extend her contract to compensate for her London absence. She may be in - but will Billy or Stokes? Who knows. What will happen to it, Tuck Everlasting, or Bright Star? Who knows. (Like others, I suspect Bright Star will be closed by then).

[KCW]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 8:09pm

I LOVED Natasha Pierre ant the Great Comet of 1812, but that is another show for you to get tickets for fairly early for, onstage seating improves the experience alot. I think Audra will still be there due to that she will most likely get the Tony and will have a 1 year contract. As said before, Bright Star already has dismal sales and it would take some form of a miracle to make it go to 2017. I dont see why Nicole Scherzinger would reprise her role, but stranger things have happened. Spring 2017 means it is in Spring 2017, all depends on availability. I have no idea about Groban, celebrities have odd schedules. No ideas about Gypsy.

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 3/17/16 at 11:33pm

Yes, I will be borrowing a friends AMEX to get the presale for Hamilton. As far as Hello Dolly goes...when would yall expect tickets for that to be released? I'm hoping to make it to the first preview. 

Planning a trip like this has me so stressed out! I just don't want to miss anything!

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 12:48am

If they're open (I don't know all the opening dates), I wouldn't worry about Cats, Hello Dolly, Miss Saigon, and Hamilton still being open a year from now. It's a difficult call at this point with everything else. There are too many variables.

As for must-sees I vote for Fun Home and Hamilton. I haven't seen them but Shuffle Along, The Wiz, and Natasha Pierre would be the other ones on my list.

Tuck Everlasting can't really count on name talent or name recognition though it has them in some circles. I think it depends on what the material is like and whether it gets good word of mouth and catches on with families and younger audiences. It's not the easy sell of Matilda or School of Rock or Aladdin.

Nicole being in Cats is one of the only reasons I'd go see Cats. The for sure way you could rule her out is seeing if she's signed up for one of the many reality shows she pops up on.

I don't see Gypsy coming in but you never know.

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 7:31am

So, aside from Hamilton and Hello Dolly - I should just wait it out? At what point in time are the majority of Spring shows announced by? 

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 9:25am

Yes, aside from Hamilton and Dolly, you'll have to wait. We don't have dates for any of the other shows you mentioned and without dates, you can't buy tickets. No way to know when they'll be announced.

As far as some more specific questions I have...what are the chances that Tuck Everlasting will last a year? Will Audra still be in Shuffle Along at that point? What are the chance that Nicole will reprise her role in Cats? Miss Saigon, Charlie, and Singin in the Rain -  all say "Spring of 2017" - Is it typical that Spring openings happen by mid-march? Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - Is it likely that Josh will stick around until that time? Gypsy - I've heard some rumblings that this is making it to NYC soon...is that accurate?

Too early to tell about Tuck yet.

Josh will still be in Natasha Pierre probably. The rest of the things are early to tell.

Gypsy probably not coming.

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 3/18/16 at 11:54am

Thanks for all the help...I'm sure I'll be back here as more shows are announced for even more help on choosing! 

If anyone has any other tips I'm all ears!

[barbraboy19902]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 11:23pm

Ok...just checking back in for some more help...

I have 9 show slots to fill...

These are the shows that I am FOR SURE seeing and that I know will be open when I go:

Hello Dolly, Hamilton, Aladdin, School of Rock, The Great Comet.

These are the shows that I THINK will be open, and that I would like to see:

Dear Evan Hanson and Singin' in the Rain.

These are the shows that I would REALLY like to see, but have no idea if they will be around when I go from March 17 to 23 of next year:

The Wiz, The Present, Photograph 51, Miss Saigon, Sunset Boulevard, Gypsy, Spongebob.

Anyone have info on which of these shows I should plan on seeing? Or any info on if these shows will be around? Any recommendations are greatly appreciated! 

[Mike66]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 11:41pm

A few words of advice and a few Broadway truths:

"Spring 2017" means (almost always) right before the Tony deadline -- which is around April 22.  Even though the season runs from September to May, in recent years a wildly disproportionate number open in the last few weeks of April.

No one knows what will be open then.  OK, Hamilton will be open.  But if you look back to your first post and the things people said were "sure" to happen -- well, that's what a lot of people thought.  I think right now, Bright Star might just survive.  A month ago I would have laughed if someone said that.  Stuff closes for lots of reasons.  Sometimes "we" don't understand what the "real" reason may be.  See:  Psycho, American.

The NY Times, this website, the New Yorker, all are constantly running updates on what's opening/closing/changing casts (and sometimes even changing theatres). 

Go to the Producers websites and sign up for their alerts/newsletters -- Nederlander/ Jujumycn/Shubert/ Manhattan Theatre Club/Roundabout/Lincoln Center/ The Public

They all have websites devoted to helping you send them money.  They WANT you to know when tickets go on sale for all of their productions.

Get your tickets for Hamilton asap.  But don't think that Hamilton Rules apply to ANY other show.  Only this once do the normal laws of nature not apply on the Great White Way.

Good luck

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 4:44am

I understand that you want to spread out costs, but most of the shows that will begin performances in the spring won't release their timeline and put tickets on sale until very late in the year or even the beginning of next year. The exception are big block-boster shows like Dolly. Like someone else has said, many might not begin previews until mid to late March so that they have their Opening Night in the last week before the cut-off. That week typcially sees one Opening Night every day. But even shows that say they will start previews just in time for you to see them might push back their first preview a few days just before they are about to start. I feel like 1-2 shows do that every year. Another thing you might want to take into consideration is the shows weekly schedule. Especially during previews some shows have different schedules (no matinees, but a Sunday or Monday evening show instead, for example). So it's good not to book too many shows until you have a good overview of what you can see on what does. And I expect a bunch of shows to still be announced for either this season, or be perhaps pushed back to the next because of theater availability. It's hard to say what shows will last through the two low selling periods Sep-Nov and Jan-Feb. That however will determine how many new shows will come in, and when. Some spring shows might even jump in very last minute if a theater opens up.

The bottom line is, it's VERY hard to plan a Broadway trip this far in advance, With the exception of Hamilton I think a good time to book your shows might be around December. 

 

In terms of spreading out your costs, instead of trying to buy tickets very early on, why don't you transfer something into a savings account every month? That way you put it aside and to save instead of spend, and then have it available when you need to make a lot of bookings at once. And hotels and flights can be booked a lot longer in advance.

 

Also, make a list/spread sheet to collect the info that's already out there to keep organised. I will mostly likely not be back during this season, so I haven't been paying close attention what shows announced dates ect,, but some have or will shortly, and it'll be easier to make a list of your options with details, instead of trying to keep it in your head. Playbill has a useful overview of upcoming shows, and they are pretty good at updating that list when new details are announced (like their preview, Opening Night and closing dates): click