Your Theatre Year In Review 2018- Page 2

[reginula]

Posted: 12/22/18 at 7:42pm

I love this!

How many shows have you seen this year? 5 in Broadway (I don't even live in the US : My Fair Lady, Mean Girls, The Band's Visit, Waitress, Anastasia. I also saw Ghost Quartet in Seattle and the Mexican productions of Les Mis, Hello Dolly! and The Last 5 Years.

Show you liked/loved the most? My Fair Lady. I just adore everything about it. Tied with Ghost Quartet.

Show you liked least/hated most? The Mexican production of Hello Dolly!. It needs A LOT of work.

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? Mean Girls. I thought it was going to be an ok show, but I was amazed. It moved me and as someone who grew up with the movie, I loved how they translated a lot of things.

Favorite male performance? Harry Hadden-Paton in My Fair Lady

Favorite female performance? Nicolette Robinson in Waitress

Favorite New Song "I'd Rather Be Me" from Mean Girls. (Unless you count music from revivals, then "I've Grown Accustomed to her Face" with its current arrangements)* This is just music released this year, right?

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Hadestown, and I'm still praying for a Company transfer

[theaterlyfe19]

Posted: 12/22/18 at 8:50pm

How many shows have you seen this year?
58


Show you liked/loved the most?

The Ferryman, Heathers (UK), The Play That Goes Wrong, My Fair Lady, Once On This Island (it's impossible for me to choose one), Waitress


Show you liked least/hated most?

I was not a fan of Oklahoma!

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?
I was surprised that I was not a fan of The Band's Visit after the rave reviews it got.


Favorite male performance?
Quentin Earl Darrington and Norm Lewis in Once On This Island


Favorite female performance?
Nicolette Robinson in Waitress, Jessica Vosk in Wicked


Favorite New Song
Monster from Frozen


What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?

Alice By Heart

[Wallman2]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 12:17am

I saw 40 productions in New York, plays and musicals.

Shows that I liked the most were:  The Boys in the Band, The Band's Visit, Lifespan of a Fact, My Fair Lady.

Shows that I liked the least were:  Oklahoma, The New One. Saint Joan, Bernhardt/Hamlet, Apologia

I was truly surprised by how funny and smart The Lifespan of a Fact was; I also think Daniel Radcliffe gave one of the best performances of the season.  That ensemble and The Boys in the Band, for my money, were the best ensembles of the season.  I was snookered in the second act of The Nap- you had to stay with that one but it was fun.  And I thought Lobby Hero was a worthwhile evening in the theatre, very well done.

And I was surprised how stale Harry Potter seemed.  I had seen it in London and loved it.

Favorite male performance:   Daniel Racliffe and I hope at long last he gets a Tony nomination;  Bryan Cranston in the disappointing "Network" (that production throws everything at you and little of it really pays off); James McArdcle so excellent in "Angels in America"; Lucas Hedges in "The Waverly Gallery:

Favorite female performance:  Kerry Washington, a revelation in the powerful "American Son";  Glenda Jackson and Laurie Metcalf so brilliant in "Three Tall Women";  Elaine May's marvelous return to Broadway in the depressing and well done "The Waverly Gallery";  Cherry Jones as thoughtful yet feisty editor in "The Lifespan of a Fact"

"Answer Me" from "The Band's Visit" has genuine staying power

"Company" and the all-female "Glengarry Glen Ross"

[annang]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 1:25am

How many shows have you seen this year? 128, with 7 more to go before the end of the year. 

Show you liked/loved the most? In the Heights at the Kennedy Center. Angels in America. Moulin Rouge. Actually. The Story of the Gun. Girlfriend. Gem of the Ocean. 

Show you liked least/hated most? Network. To Kill a Mockingbird. An Inspector Calls. An Act of God. Native Gardens. 

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? The Jonathan Larson Project (good). Beetlejuice (bad).

Favorite male performance? Brendan Urie In Hamlet. Anthony Ramos and J. Quinton Johnson in In the Heights. Aaron Tveit In Moulin Rouge. 

Favorite female performance? Rebecca Naomi Jones in Oklahoma. Hayley Kilgore in Once on this Island. Natascia Diaz in Passion.

Favorite New Song I can’t stop listening to the Shaina Taub Twelfth Night musical. Also, while they’re not technically new songs, the Girl from the North Country renditions of Dylan. 

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Moulin Rouge. Hadestown. The Music Man at the Kennedy Center. Kiss My Aztec. Working at Encores. The new Anna Deveare Smith play next summer no matter what it turns out to be. 

[Markie27]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 1:52am

How many shows have you seen this year? 65

Play you liked/loved the most?   Angels in America, Torch Song,  The Boys In The Band

Musical you liked/loved the most?   Oklahoma!

Show you liked least/hated most?   Skintight 

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?  St. Ann’s Warehouse productions for me really rivaled that of many broadway shows this past year with three magnificent works : People Places and Things, Oklahoma!, and The Jungle.  

I was also pleasantly surprised on how wonderful and accessible Hunter Project’s production of Uncle Vanya was.  


Favorite male performance? Andrew Garfield, Nathan Lane and James McArdle for Angels in America

Favorite female performance? Denise Gough in People Places & Things and Billie Piper in Yerma

Favorite New Song?  Unfortunately there are not much songs that I like from the new musicals that I have watched this past year.  But I guess if I should pick the best it would be “Answer Me” from The Band’s Visit.  If I can include revivals then I have to say that I love love love Jessie Mueller’s “If I Loved You” from Carousel 

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? While there is no  announcement yet, I am so excited to see The Inheritance.  And I know this is just wishful thinking but I would really really love for another London Show to transfer here in New York - Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake.  I have watched it before some 10 years ago in San Francisco but I hope this revival crosses the pond.  I miss it so much.

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 1:59am

How many shows have you seen this year?
16 (with one to go so may have to edit)

Show you liked/loved the most?

Miles For Mary, Bobby Clearly, The Band's Vist (saw it twice), The Prom, The Children, ... Cursed Child


Show you liked least/hated most?
The Truth About Santa

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?
This Ain't No Disco (A big disappointment)

Favorite male performance?
Anthony Boyle (Cursed Child)


Favorite female performance?
Constance Shulman (Bobby Clearly)


Favorite New Song

Answer Me (The Band's Visit)


What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?

Daddy

 

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 3:54am

How many shows have you seen this year?
48

Show you liked/loved the most? 
SpongeBob, Once on this Island, Come From Away

Show you liked least/hated most?
Waitress, Beautiful, Wicked Frozen

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? 
I was disappointed at how much I didn't care for Waitress after meeting so many fans of the show. Dear Evan Hansen also felt surprisingly distant to me (saw the touring production).

I actually really enjoyed Carousel--it was my first experience with the piece, but I didn't have super high hopes going in based on the buzz around it and turned out to be pleasantly surprised.  Even after having listened to the cast recording, Come From Away just blew me away more than I ever could have expected.

Favorite male performance? 
Ethan Slater in SpongeBob, Joshua Henry in Carousel, Adam Jacobs in the Aladdin tour, Ben Levi Ross in the Dear Evan Hansen tour, Jefferson Mays in A Christmas Carol (regional)

Favorite female performance? 
Solea Pfeiffer in Songs for a New World, Taylor Louderman in Mean Girls, Samantha Barks in Pretty Woman, Katrina Lenk in Band's Visit, Beth Leavel in Prom


Favorite New Song?
Monster from Frozen, the whole cast recording of Once on This Island, My Petersburg from Anastasia

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?
Tootsie, Moulin Rouge

 

[mailhandler777]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 8:06am

How many shows have you seen this year?
No clue

Show you liked/loved the most?
Jagged Little Pill,Frozen

Show you liked least/hated most?
Liked least would be Getting The Band Back Together

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?
Days of Rage. I'm not a play person but I loved this so much I saw it 3 times

Favorite male performance?
J. Alphonse Nicholson in Days of Rage

Favorite female performance?
Lauren Patten and Elizabeth Stanley in Jagged Little Pill. Caissie Levy and Patti Murin in Frozen

Favorite New Song?
Monster from Frozen

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?
Not announced yet - Jagged Little Pill

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 8:54am

Because I don’t live in NYC most of what I saw has already been around for a year or more, and doesn’t really fit into what most of you are reporting in “new theater”. But since this is about 2018, and not necessarily about “new”...

In 2018 I only saw 15 productions (which is actually a good year for me ), including one show that I repeated: 11 shows that I saw were National Tours, and 4 were on Broadway.

Show you liked/loved the most?

“Wicked”, although “Hello, Dolly!” is the only one I repeated, seeing it 4 times (twice on Broadway, twice on tour). Also really enjoyed the new tour of “Fiddler on the Roof”.

 

Show you liked least/hated most?

If I had to pick one, it would be “Rent” on its 20th Anniversary Tour. I was fine enough, just wasn’t my favorite of the year. Next least enjoyable would have been “My Fair Lady” at the Lincoln Center. It just didn’t rock my world like I thought it would.

 

Favorite male performance?

Loved Gavin Creel, but damn, Charlie Stemp in “Hello, Dolly!”. Period. Loved this guy. Next would be his successor in the tour, Jess LeProtto.

 

Favorite female performance?

Although I loved Katrina Lenk in “The Band’s Visit”, the performances from the female combination of Ginna Claire Mason and Mary Kate Morrisey in the “Wicked” tour were unmatched.

 

Favorite New Song

Although these aren’t brand NEW new, some were new to me as it was the first time I’d heard them while seeing the show on National Tour in 2018, or are a favorite from a show I saw this year (just because):

“She Use To Be Mine” - “Waitress”

“On The Street Where You Live - “My Fair Lady”

“Beneath A Moonless Sky” - “Love Never Dies”

“Put On Your Sunday Clothes” - “Hello, Dolly!”

“Tradition” - “Fiddler on the Roof”

 

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?

“Moulin Rouge” hands down. Still hoping to make it to NYC to celebrate my 60th birthday with this one.

Updated On: 12/23/18 at 08:54 AM

[jbird5]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 10:22am

How many shows?

Way too many.

Shows liked most?

Usual Girls, Harry Potter Part 1, TKAM

Shows liked least?

Completeness in Philadelphia, Harry Potter Part 2

Surprises

Beauty and the Beast at Muhlenberg College.

Favorite Male Performance

Jeff Daniels and nearly everyone in TKAM, Bryan Cranston, Bobby Canavale, Kong, Sullivan Jones

Favorite Female Performance

Midoriw Francis, Kat McPhee, CKB, Carrie Mulligan, Joanna A Jones

New Song

Discovering Joe Iconis back catalogue

Looking forward to?

Alice by Heart, Nantucket Sleigh Ride

[YvanEhtNioj]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 1:11pm

How many shows have you seen this year?
Lost count :/

Show you liked/loved the most?
Mean Girls
Once On This Island
Afterglow

Show you liked least/hated most?
King Kong
Bernheart/Hamlet

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?
Summer - I had a really really great time!

Favorite New Song?
Sexy

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?
Moulin Rouge
Beetlejuice
Tina

[wish i were here2]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 9:52pm

How many shows have you seen this year?
27

Show you liked/loved the most?
Angels in America, The Boys in the Band, Thoroughly Modern Millie (Reunion Concert)

Show you liked least/hated most?
Clueless

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?
Good - Girl from the North Country, Oklahoma!
Bad - Be More Chill, Carousel, Clueless 

Favorite male performance?
Andrew Garfield in Angels in America

Favorite female performance?
Honestly, I still think of Sutton Foster in the Throughly Modern Millie Reunion Concert

Favorite New Song
The Girl from the North Country London Cast Recording has been on repeat recently. 

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?
This season - Hadestown, Kiss Me Kate, and revisiting Oklahoma! 
Next season - Moulin Rouge and Company (if it's for sure coming in)

[antonijan]

Posted: 12/23/18 at 10:38pm

Here is my SF Theatre Broadway Top 40!

I'll answer the questions/survey when I gather some energy.

 

Updated On: 12/23/18 at 10:38 PM

[uncageg]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 12:32am

Impossible2 said: "Dollypop said: "I saw HELLO, DOLLY! 20 times since last January. Starting to see other shows since August 25th but NOTHING compares."

Jesus I struggled REAL HARD to make it through it once..."

 

Saw it over a year ago.

Hands down one of the most thrilling evenings of theater I have experienced. I saw Donna Murphy.

 

[BenElliott]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 12:54am

Show you liked/loved the most?

The Band's Visit, Angels in America, Hello, Dolly! (Bernadette Peters), Oklahoma!, Once on This Island.


Show you liked least/hated most?

Carousel.  It's one of my favorite musicals and it starred some of my favorite performers and included some of my favorite creatives.  Somehow it turned into a hot mess.

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?

Good- The Waverly Gallery.  I went in with no expectations and I was blown away by an absolutely beautiful play that deeply resonated with me.

Bad- Carousel.  The Ferryman.  It's unfair of me to say that I thought The Ferryman was bad.  It's a very enjoyable play, but I still had serious issues with pacing and writing.  I was expecting something on the level of an Albee, Williams, or Miller classic and it did not deliver.  Three Tall Women.  At 18, I think I may just be too young to fully understand and grasp the impact of this piece.  I knew I was seeing something special, but I also knew that I wasn't seeing it at the right moment in my life.  My Fair Lady.  I was disappointed by this production.  It just felt very low stakes and somewhat tired.  When I returned to see it with Laura, I felt that it had improved and I walked away obsessed with Laura's performance.

Favorite male performance?

Andrew Garfield- Angels in America, Nathan Lane- Angels in America, Tony Shalhoub- The Band's Visit

Favorite female performance?

Elaine May- The Waverly Gallery, Katrina Lenk- The Band's Visit, Laura Benanti- My Fair Lady, Bernadette Peters- Hello, Dolly!

Favorite New Song

Omar Sharif and Answer Me from The Band's Visit

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?

Plays- Gary and Hillary and Clinton

Musicals- Hadestown and Oklahoma! (Looved it off broadway)

 

[youwillbefound2]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 1:39am

How many shows have you seen this year?

5 on Broadway
3 Off-Off Broadway/National Tour

Show you liked/loved the most?

The Jungle, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Band's Visit

Show you liked least/hated most?

Anastasia (I didn't hate it, but it was the one I liked least.)

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?

Anastasia because it was a little underwhelming, The Jungle because it exceeded expectations.

Favorite male performance?

Jeff Daniels in To Kill a Mockingbird
Alex Newell in Once On This Island

Favorite female performance?

Laura Donnelly in The Ferryman

Katrina Lenk in The Band's Visit
Celia Keenan-Bolger in To Kill a Mockingbird

Favorite New Song

Something Different from The Band's Visit

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?

Hadestown!

Updated On: 12/24/18 at 01:39 AM

[AC126748]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 9:26am

How many shows have you seen this year? 223 (in NYC, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Delaware, Washington, Boston, Williamstown and Chicago)

Show you liked/loved the most? Lewiston/Clarkston, Girl from the North Country, Three Tall Women

Show you liked least/hated most? Carousel, The Waverly Gallery, Long Day's Journey into Night (BAM)

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? The Ferryman (not a fan of Jez Butterworth's previous plays, but I loved it)

Favorite male performance? Bryan Cranston, Network

Favorite female performance? Glenda Jackson, Three Tall Women

Favorite New Song? "Stillness" from Lempicka

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? King Lear

Updated On: 12/24/18 at 09:26 AM

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 9:39am

^ ^ ^ 223?!?!? WOW! Very impressive. :)

[herstarcuffedjeans]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 10:18am

How many shows have you seen this year? 48.
Show you liked/loved the most? Mean Girls, Once on this Island, The Prom.
Show you liked least/hated most? SpongeBob, Pretty Woman, Anastasia.
Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? I did not expect to like Mean Girls as much as I did, and I definitely did not expect to be in love with the understudies in Mean Girls as much as I am.
Favorite male performance? Brooks Ashmanskas in The Prom.
Favorite female performance? Katrina Lenk in The Band's Visit.
Favorite New Song? "Answer Me" from The Band's Visit.
What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Beetlejuice, Hadestown, Be More Chill.

[Broadway61004]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 12:04pm

How many shows have you seen this year? I've lost track, I'm afraid....

Play you liked/loved the most?  Hangmen (not McDonagh's greatest script, but a fantastic ensemble and great overall production)

Musical you liked/loved the most? My Fair Lady.

Show you liked least/hated most?  Frozen (but to be fair, I was expecting to hate it, and that show's target audiences probably love it)

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?  Good: Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope at City Center, mainly because while I knew the themes would still be relevant, seeing that a show that was so specifically crafted for that time period still resonated as much as it did today.  Also, the quality of Jerry Springer: The Opera's production at the New Group. Bad: Travesties (ultimately okay, but it seemed to take the cast about 45 minutes to really "get it" both from a content and rhythm standpoint)

Favorite male performance? Harry Hadden-Patton, My Fair Lady.

Favorite female performance? Elaine May, The Waverly Gallery (also, Joan Allen).

Favorite New Song?  None, really?  But I mostly saw all revivals and plays this year (so I'll give an honorary mention to "Answer Me" from Band's Visit, which I saw late last year)

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? The Ferryman (already here, but seeing it in January); King Lear as well.

[macnyc]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 11:12pm

How many shows have you seen this year? 71

Show you liked/loved the most? The Homecoming Queen; My Fair Lady; Three Tall Women; Our Lady of 121st St.; Harry Potter; Conflict (Mint Theater); Fiddler on the Roof (in Yiddish); Uncle Vanya (Hunter College); Oklahoma! (St. Ann's); School Girls; The Other Josh Cohen; All Is Calm (Sheen Center); A Chorus Line (City Center)

Show you liked least/hated most? The Low Road; Paradise Blue; Fire in Dreamland (Public); The Nap; plus some others, but I feel bad calling out small, Off Broadway shows and passion projects

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)? How disappointed I was in This Ain't No Disco. I was hoping for something with the genius of Hedwig.

Favorite male performance? Edmund Donovan in Lewiston/Clarkston (the Clarkston half). All the performances were unbelievably good, but he stood out even in that company; Paul Sparks in At Home/At the Zoo (Signature); Sydney James Harcourt in Girl From the North Country (he was magnetic)

Favorite female performance? Lauren Ambrose in My Fair Lady; Anika Noni Rose in Carmen Jones; Mare Winningham in Girl From the North Country; Kate Wetherhead in The Other Josh Cohen

Favorite New Song Slow Train Coming/License to Kill from Girl From the North Country; Imogen Heap's score for Harry Potter

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Tootsie; Superhero (2nd Stage); Kiss Me, Kate; I'm hoping that Barber Shop Chronicles makes it to NYC

Updated On: 12/24/18 at 11:12 PM

[scarlet721]

Posted: 12/24/18 at 11:29pm

How many shows have you seen this year? approximately 45

Show you liked/loved the most? The Prom,  Desperate Measures, Twelfth Night at TFANA

Show you liked least/hated most? The Band's Visit, King Kong, Bernhard/Hamlet

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?   Bad: Bernhardt/Hamlet.  I really expected more Hamlet in it.  Children of a Lesser G-d.   Good: Grand Hotel. I expected to be bored but was riveted.

Favorite male performance?  Christian Borle in Me and My Girl, James Snyder in Grand Hotel 

Favorite female performance?  Taylor Louderman in Mean Girls, Beth Leavel's understudy in The Prom

Favorite New Song Apex Predator from Mean Girls, 

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Tootsie;  Beetlejuice, King Lear

 

[DiscoCrows]

Posted: 12/26/18 at 1:08am

This thread is making me so sad that I missed Angels, I wasn't able to make it up to NYC this year. That being said, I still need to watch the Nat. Theatre proshot of it, so I guess I have that to look forward to hahah!

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 12/26/18 at 1:30am

I have seen 16 shows this year.

Show you liked/loved the most: Angels In America, Harry Potter, My Fair Lady

Show you liked least/hated most: The Lifespan of A Fact, return trip to Chicago 

Show that surprised you the most (good or bad): Network was surprisingly meh. Torch Song was surprisingly incredible!!

Favorite male performance? Nathan Lane in Angels in America.

Favorite female performance? Katrina Lenk in The Band's Visit

Favorite New Song? Omar Sharif-The Band's Visit

What announced show are you most looking forward to next year?- Gary, Tootsie, Hadestown

Updated On: 12/26/18 at 01:30 AM

[ethan231h]

Posted: 12/26/18 at 1:39am

How many shows have you seen this year? 21

Play you liked/loved the most? Angels In America, Torch Song

Musical you liked/loved the most? The Prom, Oklahoma!


Show you liked least/hated most? Anastasia, Natural Shocks


Show that surprised you the most (good or bad)?   I didn't expect to fall in love with both The Prom, and Oklahoma!, and well I did. 

Favorite male performance?  Andrew Garfield in Angels, Michael Urie in Torch Song, Ethan Slater in Spongebob, Brooks Ashmanskas in The Prom.

Favorite female performance?  Beth Leavel in The Prom, Rebecca Naomi Jones in Oklahoma!, Donna Murphy in Hello Dolly, Katrina Lenk in The Bands Visit, (Not sure if this counts but I still saw this in 2018 so.....Rachel Bay Jones in Dear Evan Hansen)


Favorite New Song: "Unruly Heart" from The Prom, "Answer Me" from The Bands Visit.


What announced show are you most looking forward to next year? Oklahoma!, Hadestown, Hillary and Clinton. 

Updated On: 12/26/18 at 01:39 AM