What is the highlight of your theatre going experiences? — Page 2

Ok the first Broadway Play I saw was "Last of the Red Hot Lovers" with James Coco, and three wonderful actresses.

The first time I heard a song that really hit me was "One Hallowe'en" which was sung by Penny Fuller. She's truly a great performer.

But the story (and it's true, not BS) was the time Pearl Bailey chased my mother and I outside the Minskoff Theater. It was my b'day and I brought my mom, her friends Helen and Carol (who's b'day it also was) out to eat, and then to see Hello Dolly. Helen nagged us to go wait by the stage door so we joined the group there. My poor mom had retinitus pigmentosa and could barely see. Well out comes Ms Bailey in a fur coat, giant eye lashes and sandals. It seems she had pictures in her hand to sign for fans, and someone tried to grab some. She started screaming really loudly to get back and get off me or something. My mom got upset in the pushing and confusion, grabbed my arm and said "take me to the car". I was pretty young and I screamed at Ms Bailey "Thanks for making a blind woman cry, I hope you're proud of yourself." We started walking down the red carpent between the theater and Ma Bell's? The garage was next door. Next thing I hear Pearl Bailey screaming where's that woman? Of course Helen points and says "she's down there", I told mom that Pearl Bailey was coming after us and my mom pinched my arm hard (very shy lady) and said let's get outta here lol. I said we can't she's coming over to you. She came and took my mom's hand and said "Don't ever let your eyes be a handicap. I died once on the operating table and they brought me back." My mom was near to tears of embarassment, and was never confronted by a famous person. She handed us both a picture of her in a tiara, pre signed "love, Pearl Bailey". I still have them somewhere. She said "I have to go now and get interviewed by Rex Reid (pretty sure it was him).

So that's my broadway story, was kind of me defending my mom as a young person, and then having a star straighten out the situation. I think she told my mom someone was grabbing at her...and "I wasn't yelling at you darling" It's strange but it's true!

Updated On: 9/14/22 at 09:22 PM

1. Cabaret in London with Buckley and Redmayne

2. Yerma with Billie Piper at Park Avenue Armory

3. Suddenly Last Summer with Carla Gugino

4. Three Tall Women with Jackson, Metcalf and Pill

1) The original London production of Sweeney Todd, 1980 - began my love of Broadway and Sondheim (I even helped launch a magazine about him, years later..)

2) My first NYC/Broadway weekend - Spring 1985 - the original Sunday... (Westenberg, Plunkett) and La Cage (Hearn, Van Johnson) back to back... Legendary stuff.

3) Merrily... Arena Stage, 1990... Victor Garber, David Garrison, Marin Mazzie... To me, this version was perfect.

4) Follies at Paper Mill... 1998. The cast. The production. Wow.

5) Ragtime, pre-Broadway, Toronto, 1996... I was not prepared for the greatness...Speechless at intermission.

And many more

I have a few!

- The first time I won the Dear Evan Hansen lottery. It was the first performance after they won the Tony awards and they did a stunning job. This was also my second time seeing them that week due to some other circumstances, but I still remember being in school, looking at my phone in Spanish class and seeing that I had won then asking one of my friends at the time to come with me for that night and racing there. We almost didn't arrive in time for curtain, but we did. We also got to see Jonathan Groff and since I was far younger than I am now, I asked and got a picture with him after the show! It was so much fun, and I remember stagedooring and being so excited to tell everybody how awesome they did.

-The closing night of the Company Revival. This one has been mentioned before, but enough said.

- First preview of Spongebob the musical! The most fun I've ever had at a broadway show, I also saw Michael Lee Brown and told him how amazing his work in Dear Evan Hansen was! It was a pure coincidence we were seated near each other, and it was a fluke I recognized him as well. I miss the wonderful Palace theatre and the joy it held with Spongebob

There are many. That last note in Sweeney Todd when I saw the original cast changed my life.

Second has to be the evening I walked out of the Lyceum theater arm in arm with Donna Mckechnie. She was in seeing the show in preparation for when she was to step into "The Visit". We bumped into each other in the aisle and she grabbed my arm. She didn't let go as we chatted while exiting the theater. We parted ways outside after I told her I would be back to see her. Of course, that never happened but I had those moments to cherish. I was an excited mess inside but kept my cool!

Another was the night I saw "Porgy & Bess" and stood in the rain at the stage door chatting with Audra McDonald until her car came.

Raul in Company. Heather Headley in Aida. Alice in Next to Normal. Patti in Sweeney Todd. Michelle Williams in Blackbird

The original Angels in America production and then the Signature revival.

The original Sunday in the Park with George.

Follies at the National Theatre in London and the Chicago Shakespeare production.

The Light in the Piazza.

Sondheim 80th. Was mid-orchestra center and when all the singers came in singing Sunday, I just heaved tears. The recording does not do that moment justice.

Sondheim celebration shows at the Kennedy Center.

The Tony Kushner festival at The Guthrie in Minneapolis.

I've had many highlights regarding my theatre going experience but I must mention a couple that were special to me: 1) Seeing Jo Anne Worley in summer productions of ANNIE, HELLO, DOLLY! and GYPSY. I had just known her from LAUGH-IN and game shows but she proved to be a wonderful musical comedy performer. 2) Seeing Sandy Dennis in a summer production of THE SUPPORTING CAST, which had a short run on Broadway. She was extremely funny as Sally, a woman who survives on pills and vodka, and had the audience in stitches. I got to meet Ms. Dennis afterwards. She was very nice and accommodated me with an autograph.

Updated On: 5/4/23 at 10:11 AM

Flora The Red Menace- with an 18 year old Liza Minnelli- still one of my all-time favorite shows- and Liza was electric- on fire.

Loved Moulin Rouge --and Kinky Boots with Billy Peter the week he won his Tony- he was phenomenal.

The Iceman Cometh with Denzel Washington blew me away.

Loved Victor/Victoria with Julie Andrews- could not figure out why it was reviled.

Ruined - a play by Lynn Nottage- really affected me.

Some of my highlights:

Seeing the national tour of Les Miserables as a child in 1993. During "Stars", I spent the entire song wondering if the stage somehow had a retractable roof because the night stars looked so real to me. I was too embarrassed to ask anyone because I thought for sure they would say "Of course those are real stars! It's the night sky!" I also remember saying at intermission that I had NO IDEA what was going on in the show but I still loved it.

A year later, seeing the national tour of Phantom of the Opera, still as a kid, and loving the Il Muto scene where they are trying to put on a show and the Phantom keeps interrupting and ruining it (and killing someone). It stretched the possibilities of theater in my mind.

Seeing my very first Broadway show, the Phantom of the Opera, on December 16, 1998. I had purchased the tickets over the phone and the agent said that they were front row which I assumed meant front row center, but they were actually extreme house right. So disappointed when I sat down by I still loved the experience.

The next night I saw Les Miz on Broadway for the first time and I could not believe how people were cheering after "On my Own" like it was a rock concert. That opened the world to Broadway fandom for me and for it to be ok to just love the show you love even if it's not the cool new show.

The re-opening night of Phantom, after waiting 589 days, was a legendary night. In 12 years at my job, I had never taken a personal day, and I finally did so I could be at the reopening night of Phantom. The speeches before, the free swag at our seats, the emotional cheering for the chandelier....it was just what I needed. And to see that beloved set in its perfection 1988 appearance after worrying all year about what happened in London? Wow. And then the after party on 44th St with ALW as DJ? A night I'll never forget.

Another highlight is August Osage County. I had never see a Broadway play before and I was riveted. Went back to see it twice.

Seeing Neil Patrick Harris take a big gulp out of his water bottle and then directly spit it out onto a latecomer's head was the most shocking thing I've ever seen in a theater. I'll never forget that, including how the woman just sat there the rest of the show with someone else's saliva all over her.

Seeing the 1st revival of Les Miz at the Broadhurst. During "On My Own", the guy I was dating at the time took my hand and held it in his during the song because he knew it was my favorite.

Another one was the Special Gifts Theater's production of Grease in Chicago. All of the actors were developmentally challenged. Most of the Pink Ladies were in wheelchairs and were nonverbal. They typed their lines into a speaker on their chairs. It worked soooooo well. The two leads had two assistants on stage with them who held up cue cards with their lines for them and led them around the stage to their marks. It was inclusive theater at its absolute best.

Seeing Book of Mormon in previews. The details of the show were still unknown. I figured they'd make a few snide jokes about Mormons, about religion in general and it'll be good for a laugh. When they started with Hasa dega eeboi I just about slid onto the floor. I could not BELIEVE they were saying those words and singing them in a Lion King-style song! It was insane! and hilarious! And offensive! I loved it!

The new production of Oklahoma! at Circle in the Square. I normally don't like revised shows, but I was astounded at the creativity and freshness of this one. I always loved "Many a New Day" and when they added anger to the song with the girls cutting up the corn and slamming it into the pots.....that was so funny and perfect and unexpected. Yes the new Dream Ballet was horrible but everything else about that show was so great.

What an excellent thread and fun read! A few for me:

- Seeing Come From Away at Ford’s Theater in DC on its first night (Sept 2 2016 iirc). Knew immediately how special this show was and still the fastest standing ovation I’ve ever seen in any show.
- Seeing Angels in America in 1999 in deep, deep rural east Texas. It took major guts for Kilgore College to put on this show and the outcry was insane. National news covered it.
- Sitting immediately next to Neal Patrick Harris during Sweat
- The pure joy watching my wife watch Bette Midler in Hello, Dolly! I hope I one day can make her as happy as she was during that entire show (we have been married 18 years, ha).
- Seeing Sara Bareilles sing She Used To Be Mine in Waitress … might be the greatest vocal performance I’ve ever experienced first-hand.

-The Light in the Piazza

-Kiss Me, Kate (with Mazzie and Stokes)

-A Little Night Music (with Peters and Stritch)

-Hello, Dolly! (with Murphy and Pierce)

-Gypsy (both recent revivals)

-La Fille du Regiment (at the Met)

• Hearing Idina sing “Always Starting Over” for the very first time at the very first preview of IF/THEN’s out-of-town run in the very first musical I ever got to see her perform in in-person
• Lea Michele’s first performance in FUNNY GIRL
• WICKED's invited dress rehearsal before re-opening after the shutdown
• ALLEGIANCE's Opening Night because it was the first Broadway show I was ever a part of with my name in the Playbill
• A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE at St. Ann’s w/ Gillian Anderson