Another vote for the original production of A Chorus Line, though I admit that I'd be torn between the original cast and that special performance they did when they became the longest running show in Broadway history and had current and former cast members sharing the stage.
I would love to see all of the Sondheim/Prince collaborations, but since we're limited to 3 tickets, I'm going to go with the show that has a permanent spot in my top 3 favorites of all time, A Little Night Music.
For the third one I would say the original production of The Glass Menagerie. Laurette Taylor's performance as Amanda is consistently ranked as one of the best ever by any American actress, and is pretty much lost to the pages of time and memory.
1. The original production of Evita with Patti Lupone. I want the time machine to have a feature where I can ask it to bring me to whichever particular performance of hers I would find to be the most thrilling and go to that one.
2. The original Broadway cast of West Side Story. It's one of my favorite shows to see and hear live, and I have an obsession with the fact there is no real footage of Chita Rivera doing the choreography in the original Broadway run. I would KILL to see it.
3. I need to see Ethel Merman in something, and as much as I'd love to go to Gypsy, I think I'd choose the first performance of Girl Crazy. I can't even imagine what it must have been like to be in that audience the first time she belted out I Got Rhythm.
HONORABLE MENTIONS: Funny Girl w/Streisand, Dreamgirls OBC, and A Chorus Line OBC.
1. The Elephant Man starring David Bowie 2. Sweeney Todd OBC 3. Next to Normal OBC
Honorable Mentions: Lazarus at NYTW, Much Ado About Nothing with David Tennant and Catherine Tate, and Hedwig & The Angry Inch with JCM (original off-broadway run).
Brando never did Streetcar on stage with Vivien Leigh. Jessica Tandy was his Blanche. Vivien did star in the London production of the play (directed by Olivier) before doing the film, but not with Brando.
Since I am lucky enough to have seen many of the productions listed above, I would go back further in time to see South Pacific, original Carousel, and OBC of Glass Menagerie.
jetcmh said: "Since I am lucky enough to have seen many of the productions listed above, I would go back further in time to see South Pacific, original Carousel, and OBC of Glass Menagerie."
Yes! Looking through these lists make me feel old. I think the oldest one I've seen was Sandy Duncan in Peter Pan.
Interesting seeing how many original Broadway casts/productions people are listing I have seen and several times (DREAMGIRLS, SWEENEY TODD, EVITA, etc.). Also, many on people's lists survive in excellent bootlegs so they CAN be seen, so to speak. The ones on my list are shows that weren't archived (Lincoln Center didn't start till the early 70s) so they only survive in people's memories and their abridged Original Broadway Cast Recordings.
God, I feel so old reading these lists, as I was fortunate enough to have seen so many of the productions listed. I am surprised that no one thus far has mentioned the legendary production of A Moon for the Misbegotten with Colleen Dewhurst and Jason Robards. It remains the single best production of a drama that I have ever seen.
Mine would be (all on opening nights...why not get the extra fun of people dressed to the nines, that much more event, etc.):
1. Bells are Ringing with Judy Holliday. First and foremost, I would have loved to see Holliday live in this. Ironically, even though I am pretty sure that I would love the production, I imagine that I would be bored in the beatnik and the Midas Touch numbers. But to see Just In Time, The Party's Over, I'm Going Back.
2. The Philadelphia Story with Katharine Hepburn.
3. My Fair Lady. Plus, I'd get the Mark Hellinger in all its glory.
Cheating...If I could go back and re-see three shows that I have already seen, it'd probably be:
1. Mame with Angela Lansbury, Beatrice Arthur and Jane Connell. The first time I saw Mame remains my single favorite performance in the theatre ever. While I have always loved the show, seeing that cast is the reason why. Since I was only 16 at he time, I always saw matinees (unless I went on the rare occasion with my parents). So, I'd want it to be an evening performance as well.
2. Nicholas Nickelby. Just such an incredible, once in a lifetime experience.
2. Either the original productional cast of Follies or the Jose Quintero production of A Moon For The Misbegotten.
and oooh I like someone's point about there being no time limits, I want to see the original production of Oedipus Rex, back in ancient greece. Love greek theatre.