Where in the World?

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 2:18pm

Just thinking of all the cities around the globe where I have enjoyed live performances (plays, musicals, concerts, dance, opera, etc).  Here's my list (as best I remember).  Would you please share your list, perhaps with special memories?

Salt Lake City; Dallas; San Diego; Los Angeles; Las Vegas; New York City; Glasgow; Edinburgh; London; Paris

Updated On: 8/15/21 at 02:18 PM

[bway0]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 2:39pm

Almost every show I’ve seen in NYC.
But I’ve seen a few tours!

Philly: Wicked in 2006

Philly: Phantom of the Opera in 2014

Hershey, PA: Once On This Island 2019

In 2019 I was at a conference in Charleston, SC and was planning on seeing Cinderella the one night it was in town. Unfortunately the conference ran long that day and I wasn’t able to attend.

Edit: My undergrad university was planning a 10 day West End trip with like 8 or 9 shows and backstage theatre tours. Unfortunately, we didn’t meet the minimum for the trip to go. It goes every 4 years and as a graduate I can go.. so we’ll try again next time it’s offered. 

Updated On: 8/15/21 at 02:39 PM

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 3:52pm

Aside from Broadway...

Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, Providence, London, Paris, Berlin, Dublin, Toronto and maybe a few more.

Updated On: 8/15/21 at 03:52 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 4:21pm

US: Mainly NYC, Bay Area, and LA (and a couple surrounding areas). Plus Boston, Hartford, and Ashland. 

ABROAD: Mostly London, and the nearby Stratford. Plus Paris, Berlin, Prague, Athens, Oslo, Tokyo, Kyoto 

One day I hope to do a big European theatre tour, where I squeeze in as classic playwrights' works in their native countries. I've already seen Shakespeare in England, Ibsen in Norway, and Lessing in Germany. I'd like to see Chekhov in Russia, Brecht in Germany, Moliere in France, Strindberg in Sweden, and so on and so forth. 

In a perfect world, I would love to see theatre in as many countries in the world as possible, including those in South America, Southeast Asia, Africa, etc. But that's an even more lofty goal than the Europe thing. 

[stoptheworld38]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 5:36pm

Ithaca, NY (my hometown) - mostly school, community, regional stuff

Burlington, VT (my college town/where I live currently) - a few shows from the local community theatre group (where I was actually volunteering pre-pandemic and will be again when the show resumed operations) plus several national tours. So far I’ve seen Pippin, Something Rotten!, Sound of Music, Beautiful, Waitress, and Finding Neverland.

NYC/Broadway - West Side Story (2009 revival), Wicked, Once On This Island, The Band’s Visit, and I’m seeing Hadestown next month

Rochester, NY - Come From Away national tour

Toronto - Sound of Music, Lion King, Come From Away

So far Toronto is the only place I’ve seen theatre outside of the US, but I really want to take a trip to the West End one of these days...

[ggersten]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 7:26pm

Besides, NYC - Missouri (St. Louis and St. Louis County), Illinois (Chicago, Bloomington, Peoria, Danville, Champaign-Urbana); California (San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Oakland, Berkeley); Massachusetts (Boston); Minnesota (Minneapolis); North Carolina (Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Charlotte); South Carolina (Charleston); Canada (Niagra On The Lake, Stratford); UK (London, Oxford, Edinburgh); Czech Republic (Prague)

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 07:26 PM

[Plannietink08]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 9:53pm

ggersten said: "Besides, NYC - Missouri (St. Louis and St. Louis County), Illinois (Chicago, Bloomington, Peoria, Danville, Champaign-Urbana); California (San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Santa Cruz, Oakland, Berkeley); Massachusetts (Boston); Minnesota (Minneapolis); Canada (Niagra On The Lake, Stratford); UK (London, Oxford, Edinburgh); Czech Republic (Prague)"

Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, London, Sydney, Melbourne. 

[Alex Kulak2]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 9:53pm

I've seen community theatre all over, but professional:

Chicago, Joliet, Glencoe, St. Louis, Bloomington-Normal, and NYC.

[lachri5]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 11:27pm

Mostly New York & Washington DC

Then Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Hartford, Baltimore, Shanghai, Beijing, Hong Kong, Macau, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Sydney

Updated On: 8/15/21 at 11:27 PM

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 11:28pm

is Carmen Sandiego? 
 
If we’re talking about Broadway across America Equity Tours: Chicago, LA, Detroit, Grand Rapids, Boston,  Milwaukee, Cleveland, Austin, Denver, SLC, Tampa. Many, many more for LORT regional theaters.

International: London, Paris, Rome, Verona, Edinburg, Berlin, Amsterdam, Wellington NZ.

Updated On: 8/17/21 at 11:28 PM

[JBroadway]

Posted: 8/15/21 at 11:59pm

I'd be curious to know what theatre people saw in these non-European countries. FosseTharp, what did you see in Wellington? lachri5 - what shows did you see in those Asian cities, and what were your experiences like? Do you mind if I ask if you spend a lot of time in Asia, or if this was on a big trip? Just curious. I have literally zero knowledge about what theatre might be like in Macau, for example. 

When I was in Japan, I saw some traditional Kabuki while in Tokyo, and I saw some traditional Noh theatre when I was in Kyoto. I enjoyed the Kabuki quite a bit more than the Noh, as its a much more accessible art form. Plus with the Kabuki, the venue alone is one of the most impressive I've ever seen. 

Also, one of the nice things about seeing theatre in NY and London is that there are plenty of opportunities to see theatre FROM other countries, without traveling there. I've seen theatre from Brazil, China, Japan, France, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Greece, Netherlands, and more - all in NY and/or London. Gotta love BAM, St. Ann's, The Barbican, etc. 

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 11:59 PM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 1:08am

Other than the U.S. (all over the SF Bay Area/South Bay/Sacramento, plus LA, Chicago, St. Louis, various parts of the tri-state area) and the UK, I got to see the first Australian production of Spring Awakening in Sydney back in 2010. I hadn't really planned that, but it happened to be there when I was. It was oddly steampunk and overly choreographed, but entertaining. (I've also seen Jersey Boys, Born Yesterday, and The Book of Mormon in Melbourne.)

[Esther2]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 1:11am

Since I live between DC and Baltimore, most of the theatre I've seen has been in DC/Baltimore and NYC.  I've also seen shows in Boston, Providence, Philly, Atlanta, Charleston (SC), Chicago, Santa Fe, Tucson, Los Angeles and San Francisco. And possibly other cities that I've entirely put out of my mind. 

Across the Pond, London and Amsterdam.  My brother and I were in Amsterdam and decided to see "Sweet Charity" because, why not.  As "Hey Big Spender" was beginning, I wondered how the actual line "hey big spender" would sound in Dutch.  Surprise - it sounded exactly like "hey big spender" - it was the only English used in the entire production.  Which for some weird reason, still makes me smile 30 years later. 

[Martijn-j]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 3:08am

I'm Dutch, so I've seen most shows here in the Netherlands, specifically in Amsterdam. I've also seen lots of shows in London, three shows in Antwerp, one in Dublin and a very weird ABBA tribute show in Berlin. 

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 11:05am

Here in San Diego, "Hair" opened last night at our Old Globe Festival Theatre, an outdoor venue.  No reviews yet, but by popular demand the musical has extended for one week into October.  We see it in September, more than half a century since we first enjoyed the original London production.  

Theatre is thriving again in California's beautiful second-largest city!

[FosseTharp]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 6:33pm

@JBroadway, I saw A LOT of Performance Art pieces at The Performance Arcade. The Brain Child of the innovative and brilliant Sam Trubridge. It’s a free Live Arts Event on the Waterfront with art from multiple genres from around the world every year. It really is a remarkable little known secret.
https://www.theperformancearcade.com/

Also, I can’t believe I excluded Toronto and Stratford from my initial list. As well as Spoleto, Italy, where I Saw multiple performances at La MaMa Spoleto on top of creating lot’s of Art at La MaMa International.

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 06:33 PM

[veronicamae]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 7:18pm

What a nice thread!

I've been lucky enough to travel all over the US to see various concerts. With my circle of friends and me, it's become less about going to see a particular concert and more about using the show as a catalyst to take a trip together and go someplace we've never been and has led to great memories like a LIMOUSINE picking us up after a concert in San Francisco when we couldn't figure out how to get a taxi (it was 2010 and finding a phone number without a phone book in a new city was still a little challenging). We could have been murdered, but the driver did not murder us. Instead, he showed us photos of himself with Oprah, whom he once chauffered.

[lachri5]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 8:15pm

JBroadway said: "I'd be curious to know what theatre people saw in these non-European countries. FosseTharp, what did you see in Wellington? lachri5 - what shows did you see in those Asian cities, and what wereyour experiences like? Do you mind if I ask if you spend a lot of time in Asia, or if this was on a big trip? Just curious. I have literally zero knowledge about what theatre might be like in Macau, for example.

When I was in Japan, I saw some traditional Kabuki while in Tokyo, and I saw some traditional Noh theatre when I was in Kyoto. I enjoyed the Kabuki quite a bit more than the Noh, as its a much more accessible art form. Plus with the Kabuki, the venue alone is one of the most impressive I've ever seen."

The most interesting production I saw in Asia is probably the Japanese version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, where they changed the setting to Edo period in ancient Japan: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sUkHhPCi4xI . I also enjoyed Spamalot, A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder, La Cage aux Folles among others in Japanese. The show I saw in Macau was an international tour of The Addams Family. I was visiting Hong Kong and saw Avenue Q in Cantonese (loved it), and Addams Family just happened to be touring in Macau (it was ok, like a non-equity production). An original Cantonese musical in Hong Kong based on The Good Person of Szechwan was also very memorable. 

Before I moved to the US, it was a short trip to Japan from Shanghai, where I lived for 10+ years. Since I moved over here, I usually try to stop by Japan (I love the food and culture) when I visit home. I have not seen a kabuki or a noh show yet. For some reason, the noh masks creep me out. When I was in China, there were not as many to see back then. Occasional international tours (e.g. Phantom, Cats, Mamma Mia, Wicked, Elisabeth, Ghost, Body Guard), some translated productions (Mamma Mia, Cats, War Horse, Avenue Q, How to Succeed, Into the Woods, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast), some original shows. My absolute favorite is the Shanghai production of Sleep No More. Granted it's not a musical or a play, but it was so well done, I saw it way too many times than I'd like to admit.

I only saw one show in Seoul, during an overnight stay between 2 connecting flights, which is Frank Wildhorn's Mata Hari. But I don't speak Korean, it was hard for me to understand what was happening.

Updated On: 8/16/21 at 08:15 PM

[Highland Guy]

Posted: 8/16/21 at 8:38pm

In 1989, while living in Dallas, my husband and I looked forward to attending one of Dame Joan Sutherland's "Farewell Concerts" at the Fair Park Music Hall.  I believe it was actually a performance of "The Merry Widow".  What we didn't know until we drove onto the property was that the Rolling Stones were performing at the same time at the Cotton Bowl in Fair Park.  In short, it was impossible to find parking, and reluctantly we had to return home.

A few months later, Sutherland gave what I believe was her final "Farewell Concert" at the Sydney Opera House.  What a glorious voice!