When I started going to the theatre...- Page 7

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 10:52am

It was back in the early 90s where an orchestra or front mezz seat cost $65. 

I did rush back when I was college student in the early 2000s but nowadays normally do digital lottery or discount code tix or TKTS for a show; and if I really liked it, would then pay full price for a great seat in center orch or front row center mezz a few months later.

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 11:41am

I love these back in the day posts....

 

when I started going to the theatre there were no black people.... And if there WERE they had their own water fountain to drink out of, and were only permitted to sit in the balcony. 

 

Ohhhhh those were the days...

Ohh

[lightguy06222]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 11:42am

Double post. 

#sarcasm 

Updated On: 5/15/16 at 11:42 AM

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 11:53am

Cue the eyeroll. Amazing an innocuous conversation immediately has race injected into it. Am I surprised? Not at all.

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 3:43pm

"but there were also shows who never made it to Broadway after out-of-town tryouts?"
 

There were quite a few of those, when there was such a thing as out-of-town tryouts. It was always a disappointment when something you were looking forward to seeing never made it to New York, eg. Judy Holliday in Laurette, Elaine Stritch in Time of the Barracudas, Barbara Bel Geddes in The Porcelain Year, Geraldine Page in The Umbrella. Some musicals that closed out of town or during N.Y. previews were later given recordings, eg. Breakfast at Tiffany's; Prettybelle; Mata Hari. Their scores proved light years superior to the much heralded critics' darlings that win awards and fawning praise today.

[jo]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 8:03pm

There were some strong hits  at that time.  Some have been revived decades later.  How did the revivals stand up to the original productions?

 

I remember how impressed I was with the original staging of Man La Mancha and Kiley's portrayal.  Many years later , I saw the revival with Brian Stokes Mitchell.  The staging was more elaborate and Stokes sings beautifully, but that revival cannot stand up to the power of the simple staging of the original and the power of Kiley's performance.

 

That was also the time of the flourishing of Neil Simon's pen. I remember Barefoot in the Park and The Odd Couple which really set off their strong lineup of well-received comedies.  I did not see the revival of Barefoot but I remember being disappointed with the revival of The Odd Couple with Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick ( mainly because Matthew was not  really a funny Felix). I remember seeing a few other Simon comedies but I recall that the one revival/transfer I enjoyed the most was in London of Prisoner of Second Avenue with that fantastic actor Richard Dreyfuss.

 

I remember seeing other shows like Mame, The Apple Tree, The Happy Time, Cactus Flower,  I Do, I Do, etc...but they are just faint memories now.  I don't think there have been any revivals...And does anyone remember when Ingrid Bergman performed on stage in a period play based in the South ( sorry, I can't remember the title now)  - I think I was too awestruck ( as I was seated on the front row- not by design - but that was the ticket I got) that I forgot the title. I am also not too sure now, but wasn't the lead actor Arthur Hill? 

I was too young to see original stagings of Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals - but we have enjoyed revivals and film adaptations in the years that followed.    I remember seeing the first revival of South Pacific at Lincoln Center ( with Florence Henderson) and then many decades later seeing the recent second revival. The music is beautifully rendered by the live orchestra, but I am biased towards the film adaptation. I never saw Oklahoma! on stage   until I had a chance to see it in London in the Jackman RNT version. King and I - I saw a revival in London with Elaine Paige but it lacked the charisma of the Yul Brynner performance ( I only saw his film portrayal, not the Broadway staging). 

 

Les Miserables was from the 80's -  I caught the tail-end of the first year of the original Broadway staging ( although Colm had already left, but I did catch Tony-winning Michael Maguire's Enjolras) and it triggered such an emotional reaction.   Even the rotating stage was part of the show's stars... I had seen several other stagings in various venues ( including London and Paris) of the original production...Years later -- Mackintosh kept streamlining the original staging -- that when I saw the last revision, I was left dry-eyed.  Was it too much familiarity with the show ...or has the film adaptation brought a new insight into the musicalization of Hugo's monumental work and which has left me much more impressed with that form of storytelling ?

 

I don't think this is a mere exercise in nostalgia, because some of these shows  have enjoyed successful revivals. That is especially true for some straight plays. And quite a few had seen very successful film transfers ( Virginia Woolf, Odd Couple, Barefoot in the Park, etc).

 

 

 
 

Updated On: 5/15/16 at 08:03 PM

[After Eight]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 9:57pm

Jo,

The director of the Barefoot in the Park revival really bungled that delightful play. It's an example of why sometimes it's better for some of these plays not to be revived --- better for audiences, and better for the plays themselves. If one can't do a play justice, then let it lie in peace.

 

"I remember seeing other shows like Mame, The Apple Tree, The Happy Time, Cactus Flower,  I Do, I Do, etc...but they are just faint memories now."

Mame was revived on Broadway with Angela Lansbury; The Apple Tree with Kristen Chenoweth. The others have been revived off and off-off Broadway.

 

Ingrid Bergaman starred with Colleen Dewhurst and Arthur Hill in Eugene O'Neill's More Stately Mansions.

I guess my favorite revivals were the two of Hello, Dolly! with Carol Channing.

[jo]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 10:28pm

AfterEight --

 

How can I forget seeing Hello, Dolly and Funny Girl?  I missed the legendary Carol Channing portrayal and  I only caught Hello,Dolly towards the end of its original run.  I remember that in that performance Betty Gable lost her voice while singing but she continued to mouth the words - a real trouper! We were all so affected by her effort that we couldn't stop clapping for a long time. Funny Girl - I also caught the tailend of the original staging.  Now, they have come full circle again.  Isn't Bette Middler reviving the tale of Dolly Levi? And London is now staging a revival of Funny Girl  (which may or may not come to Broadway). I can't remember now if I ever saw the original production of Fiddler in the Roof... or it was one of the many revivals it has enjoyed. 

 

The very first play/show I had seen in America ( I don't live there) was Anton Chekov's The Cherry Orchard at the famed Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, as part of a student  orientation on American culture . Not exactly a lively show which would have made me love the theatre right away.  But it was memorable enough for me to start thinking what a different experience it was to see a live professional performance of first class literary material, compared to seeing it just on the screen or reading the original source. 

 

Updated On: 5/15/16 at 10:28 PM

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/15/16 at 11:29pm

Actors/Actresses did not wear microphones and had to project like Merman - lol.