What is the BEST Show You Have Seen on Broadway — Page 2

Ooof. So many come to mind...

August: Osage County (Estelle Parsons, Amy Morton)

The Ferryman (original cast)

Cabaret (Alan Cumming, Emma Stone)

Blithe Spirit (Angela Lansbury)

Merrily We Roll Along (Groff, Radcliffe, Mendez)

The Inheritance (Burnap, Soller)

Doubt (Jones, O'Byrne)

The Pillowman (Crudup, Goldblum)

Hello Dolly (Midler, Hyde-Pierce)

Angels in America (Garfield, Lane)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Turner, Irwin)

Nine (Banderas, Masterson)

Chicago (Neuwirth, Ziemba)



Barely scratched the surface, but that's a few that I can still remember vividly.

Hard to remember, but the ones that spring to mind right now (in no particular order)...

MUSICALS

Matilda

Billy Elliot

Hello, Dolly! (2017 Better Midler revival)

Company (2020 revival)

Cabaret (2014 revival with Michelle Williams and Alan Cumming)

The Phantom of the Opera

The Book of Mormon

Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812

PLAYS

King Charles III

The Inheritance

Seeing so much love for Hello Dolly and Matilda! God how did I forget those? Both unbelievable modern productions that represent what's so great and enduring about theatre.

I saw mention of Groundhog Day! What a brilliant musical and an equally brilliant production! I think everybody basically knows it's really great, which is awesome, but it's just never been all that financially viable, especially over here, which sucks because it's one of the great musicals of the 2010's. Tim Minchin is so smart in his lyrics and compositions, the one thing that holds him back from greater success is his somewhat alienating incredibly wordy phrases. Some people like that, like me, but even I think he gets overambitious with some lines and takes away from the incredible heart at the core of his writing. But nevermind that, point is I adore Tim Minchin's musicals and think Groundhog Day is certainly one of the best shows recently on Broadway.

Plays: Angels In America (Garfield /Lane), The Ferryman, Doubt with Cherry Jones.

Not Broadway but honorable mention: The Jungle

Musicals: Cabaret (Mendes revival), Pippin (Paulus revival), Dear Evan Hansen OBC, Once on this Island revival

Some that come to mind:

Anything Goes with Sutton and Joel

Hello, Dolly with Donna Murphy

Significant Other

Deaf West Spring Awakening

Began attending shows around 2012 and have 135 or so under our belts now but recency bias is here.

The final performance of Come From Away was incredibly special. We saw the 3rd performance of CFA at Ford’s Theatre in DC and opening night on Broadway, so that bookend was joyous and fun.

Seeing Hello, Dolly! with Bette. Seeing my wife more excited for anything in her life and everyone else was thrilling. And then that show with its sets and colors and costumes just blew it all way. Epic stuff.

God of Carnage might be the most fun experience at a play ever, too, with the original cast I knew little about the play itself but was excited about the cats I was in awe of the entire show and wish I could watch it again

Not Broadway but seeing Ferryman in the West End needs a mention as well. Live animals, a fire, a cast of seemingly 45 people .. what’s not to love?

Hamilton at the Public deserves mention too.

Fun Home

I am from CA and am a newer adult (21), so have spent some of my disposable income on a handful of trips to see theatre in the city. My first trip to the city was when I was 12 and we saw Matilda and Side Show. Both so great and I'll remember them forever because they were my first. Auntie loved Side Show

As an adult, How I Learned to Drive from the front row on my 30 Under 30 ticket was frightening. I hadn't seen a production so perfectly acted before. Everyone came out swinging whether that audience was ready or not. Rocked my spirit.

Seeing Judy Kuhn do her thing in Assassins was also bucket list level for me. Same for Victoria Clark in Akimbo. As well as Celia K-B in Mockingbird.

Hamilton - 2016 (original cast with Javier Munoz in the title role - there’s plenty of revisionism and reassessments of this musical since then, some of which I agree with, but it was groundbreaking and thrilling theater)

Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 - 2017 (not for everyone; for me, magical, fun and beautiful)

Merrily We Roll Along - 2023 (might be some recency bias with this one, but it was a terrific production that incorporated all the smart changes made over the years and was wonderfully cast)

My honorable mention is Six Degrees of Separation, which I saw back in 1990 and was my first Broadway show. I am not sure how well it’s aged (haven’t seen it since) but the performances - especially by Stockard Channing - made me realize what a thrill elite acting can be.

Musicals:

• "Ragtime" (original)
• "Hello, Dolly!" with Bernadette
• "Big River" (original)
• "A Funny Thing Happened..." (Nathan Lane revival)
• "Finding Neverland"
• "A Little Night Music" (with Bernadette and Elaine Stritch)
• "Light in the Piazza"
• "Next To Normal" with Jessica Phillips
• "Pippin" (2013 revival)
• "Matilda"

Plays:

• "Master Class" (original)
• "Deathtrap" (original)
• "Noises Off" (original)

Updated On: 5/25/24 at 10:56 AM

Musical: OBC of A Chorus Line, Great Comet, Hadestown (in Previews), Wicked (3 weeks after it opened.)

Musical Revival: Hello Dolly! W/ Bette Midler and Pippin

Play: The Ferryman

there were three favorites...

The Original "Follies"

"Lenny"

"Love! Valour! Compassion!

plus special place in my heart for "Applause" and "The Diary of Anne Frank"...."The Ritz" and original "Promises, Promises"

Updated On: 5/27/24 at 07:52 PM

mtcond said: "I post rarely, but I can't resist the opportunity to bask in some positive memories.

Best Play: "August: Osage County" with Estelle Parsons and Amy Morton was a thrilling night. I happened to be there with an audience that was especially plugged into the play, so the communal experience (not always great with cell phones, talking, and eating) was terrific. It was a BCEFA fund-raising evening, and the actor who gave the speech also commented on it, something along the lines of "The actors should be paying you tonight! You people are a treat." A memorable evening and a great play.

Best Play (tie): "The Normal Heart" (2011) with Joe Mantello, Ellen Barkin, and John Benjamin Hickey, directed by Joel Grey. I was thunderstruck by the performances and by the play, which I had heard about but never read or experienced. It's a cliche to say I couldn't leave my seat at the end, but I wasn't the only one. I'd never seen a significant portion of the audience need to sit back down after the curtain call to compose themselves before leaving. I saw it twice and this happened both times. If I remember correctly, the final image of AIDS victims' names covering the back wall of the stage remained in place after the curtain call, which didn't let us walk blithely back to Times Square.

Best Musical: "Hello, Dolly!" with Bette Midler. As mentioned by many above, a magical combination of actors, designers, musicians, and material. Joyous and open-hearted."

Yes!! My experience with August also had an extremely tuned in and captivated audience. Wasn't sure if this was the norm for this show, but it genuinely felt like the entire audience was having the exact same experience. I wish I could go back in time and see that exact performance and collection of actors again.