What was your 1st broadway show experience? it can either be on or off b-way.
When I was 3 years old, i went to see 42nd St. on Broadway. In all the tap numbers, i didn't believe that the taps were actually coming from the tap shoes. I thought it was pre-recorded and played as they danced.
1972. Bob Fosse's PIPPIN at the Imperial Theatre in New York City (W. 45th Street). I was 7 years old and that night began my lifelong fascination of Bob Fosse and his work.
I saw Phantom of the Opera when I was 4 and I was completely mesmerized. To this day I still remember the chandelier, the masquerade, the rooftop scene, and Music of the Night in the Phantom's Lair. I have dreamed of playing the role of Christine Daae every since.
The first musical I ever saw live was a community theatre production of Annie when I was 6. Around that time I remember seeing a kids' stage production of Snow White, but I'm not sure if that was before or after.
The first musical I ever saw on Broadway was the Les Miz revival (yes, I was a late bloomer).
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When I was two my parents took my sister and me to see Beauty and the Beast at the Kennedy Center. I don't remember it at all but my parents said that I started crying when the lights went dark but immediately stopped when the music started. My first time actually seeing something on Broadway was this January when my dad took me to see Wicked for my birthday.
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I remember a tour stop of "Annie" when I was 9 or 10 years old. Actually in NYC though was a weekend with my parents where we saw "LIttle Shop of Horrors" one night and "A Chorus" line the next... So, I guess they were my first off-Broadway and Broadway shows officially.
My first Broadway show was Beauty And The Beast in 2006 with Ashley Brown. She was phenomenal and her voice was fantastic. I was probably 11 or 12 and was in awe with all of the magic and special effects.
My first Broadway show was Beauty and the Beast with the original cast in the summer of 1995. I was five, but I remember most of the experience, especially the first act finale. I viewed a recording of the PBS broadcast of Into the Woods practically every day when I was two. I would dance around the house singing. Good times. When I was six, I saw Phantom and Show Boat (I remember most of the songs and a few of the scenes, and I remember asking my parents about the miscegenation scene at intermission). Updated On: 7/22/10 at 04:59 PM
My first Broadway show was Spamalot. It was the day that it wont the Tony, we met Eric Idle as he was going into the theatre, which was really exciting. Our seats were in the last row of the balcony, so we couldn't see the top half of the stage (chandelier during The Song that Goes Like This, Prince Herbert in his tower). All in all I loved it. Darlene Wilson was on as the Lady of the Lake, sadly, because Sara Ramirez was sick at that time, and Darlene was pretty awful, but it didn't ruin the show completely. At the stage door, the only people who signed were Steve Rosen and Darlene Wilson, although Tim Curry did make an appearance, he had gone out the front door but must have forgotten something so he ran down and into the stage door.
My first PERFORMANCE experience: 2nd Grade, Bye Bye Birdie, I was one of the girls in Put on a Happy Face. The next year I was invited to be a solo dancer in a Christmas Play. And I was hooked.
I didn't SEE my first b'way show until High School, circa 1979. My older sister took me to see Grease. I hated it.
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The Leaf People...presented by Joe Papp who spoke beforehand, welcoming us. It was dismal! Thank God I caught A Chorus Line right after, making me a hopeless, ADDICTED theatre junkie.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
My first Broadway show was the original Les Miz. I was probably 8 or 9 at the time, and I remember being really frustrated that I couldn't follow the plot (chain gangs? prostitutes? dying children?) It was like torture! I have no idea why my folks thought it would be appropriate. Then that same weekend, we saw "The Secret Garden," which was likewise confounding because it is completely different from the book! I was so disappointed. Shortly thereafer we saw the Toronto productions of "Phantom" and "Crazy for You" and liked those MUCH better!
A side note, for reasons I will never understand, growing up, we didn't have much-- but somehow we had a bootleg copy of the "Pippin" telecast (lovingly censored by my dad) and my sister and I could recite it by heart at age 5! That would've been so amazing to have seen it in person!
It was "PAJAMA GAME" with JOHN RAITT ...... I was so little and I hung over the mezz balcony & I was totally hypnotized ..... right then & there ... the LOVE AFFAIR for theatre started !