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#51

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/23/10 at 12:06pm

Newintown, it would really be interesting to hear your reaction to the new cast. I saw the show with both casts, and the new cast is a revelation. Look at how many others in this thread rate it among the year's highlights. Thanks for the reply.

CZJ at opening night party for A Little Night Music, Dec 13, 2009.

#52

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/23/10 at 2:35pm

Broadway:
American Idiot
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Memphis
Promises, Promises

Regional/Tour:
Dreamgirls (Ahmanson in LA)
South Pacific (Ahmanson in LA)
Next to Normal (Ahmanson in LA)
Leap of Faith (Ahmanson in LA)
Rent (Hollywood Bowl)

"I wish the stage were as narrow as the wire of a tightrope dancer, so that no incompetent would dare step upon it." Goethe

#53

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/23/10 at 6:55pm

These are the ten performances I saw this year that stood out to me the most, listed in alphabetical order.

Kristin Chenoweth - Promises, Promises
Katie Rose Clarke - Wicked
Meghann Fahy - next to normal
Katie Finneran - Promises, Promises
Mandy Gonzalez - Wicked
Sean Hayes - Promises, Promises
Marin Mazzie - nexy to normal
Bernadette Peters - A Little Night Music
Alice Ripley - next to normal
Elaine Stritch - A Little Night Music

The top two for me were Ms. Mazzie and Ms. Peters.

#54

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/23/10 at 9:16pm

I saw four shows in July.

The Addams family - terrible.

Promises, Promises - great except for Kristin(miscast)

La Cage - really funny! Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge were phenomenal and Kelsey was so gracious at the stage door!

A Little Night Music - The highlight of the year! Elaine Strich was amazing and Bernadette took my breath away way. I finally understood Send In The Clowns with Bernadette's interpretation.

"Look I made a hat... where there never was a hat." "Think of how I adore you, think of how much you love me. If I were perfect for you, wouldn't you tire of me?" "Somebody, crowd me with love. Somebody, force me to care. Somebody, make me come through, I'll always be there, as frightened as you, to help us survive. Being alive. Being alive. Being alive!" "There are worse things than staring at the water as you're posing for a picture after sleeping on the ferry after getting up at seven to come over to an island in the middle of a river half an hour from the city on a Sunday!"

#55

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 1:14am

2010 theatre for me:
Time Stands Still – January 17
Billy Elliot – January 23
In the Heights – February 21
A View From the Bridge – March 6
Next to Normal (Jessica Phillips as Diana) – March 21
Anyone Can Whistle – April 10
A Little Night Music (Catherine Zeta Jones / Karen Murphy) – April 17
Sondheim on Sondheim – May 2
A Little Night Music (Jayne Patterson / Angela Lansbury) – May 30
God of Carnage – forgot, I’ll have to find my ticket stub
The Tony Awards – June 13
Promises, Promises + Broadway Barks – July 10
In the Heights – August 1
Million Dollar Quartet – August 28
Avenue Q – September 18
Rock of Ages + Flea Market – September 26
Next to Normal (new family, my final time) – October 23
A Little Night Music (Bernadette Peter / Elaine Stritch) – October 27 mat
American Idiot – October 27 eve
The Phantom of the Opera – November 6
Time Stands Still – November 16
The Pee Wee Herman Show – November 27
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown – December 22

Total: 22 (17 not counting repeats)
12 musicals, 4 plays
2 off-Broadway, the rest on Broadway

#56

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 4:42am

ALthough I live out west, I came into New York multiple times this year and was able to see 36 productions. Here are my Top 10 of 2010 Lists (in alphabetical order):

TOP 10 FAVORITE NEW PRODUCTIONS OF 2010:
American Idiot
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Fences
The Merchant of Venice
Next Fall
Red
The Scottsboro Boys
Sondheim on Sondheim
Time Stands Still
A View From the Bridge

TOP 10 FAVORITE INDIVIDUAL PERFORMANCES OF 2010:
Laura Benanti in Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Viola Davis in Fences
Katie Finneran in Promises, Promises
James Earl Jones in Driving Miss Daisy
Alfred Molina in Red
Al Pacino in The Merchant of Venice
Eddie Redmayne in Red
Mark Rylance in La Bete
Liev Schreiber in A View From the Bridge
Denzel Washington in Fences

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENTS OF 2010:
The Addams Family
A Free Man of Color
The Glass Menagerie

For the record, since everyone is listing them, here are the New York productions I saw in 2010---

BROADWAY PLAYS:
Next Fall
Collected Stories
Fences
Lend Me a Tenor
Red
The Pitmen Painters
Brief Encounter
Lombardi
La Bete
The Importance of Being Earnest
Time Stands Still
Driving Miss Daisy
The Merchant of Venice
A Free Man of Color

BROADWAY MUSICALS:
Promises, Promises
American Idiot (twice)
The Addams Family
South Pacific
In the Heights (3rd time)
Come Fly Away
Everyday Rapture
Sondheim on Sondheim
La Cage aux Folles
Next to Normal (3rd time)
The Scottsboro Boys
Elf
Chicago (2nd time)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

OFF-BROADWAY PRODUCTIONS:
The Glass Menagerie
The Burnt Part Boys
The Screwtape Letters
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
Freud's Last Session

OTHER:
The Tony Awards

*FYI, I actually saw A View From the Bridge in 2009 in previews, but since it didn't open until 2010, I included it in my Best of 2010 lists. Similarly, I did not consider The Importance of Being Earnest in those lists since I saw it in previews and it will not open until 2011.

#57

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 11:01am

Broadway:
Hair
Next to Normal

I loved them both. In Toronto, I also saw Rock of Ages and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. I can't wait for Priscilla to premiere in NYC in the new year. You guys are in for a treat.

#58

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 4:33pm

As a college student living in Virginia, I only get to visit once or twice a year. I saw seven shows in NY this year.

Broadway:
Next to Normal - July 19 (first performance of Marin, Jason, Meghann)
Lend Me A Tenor - July 20
The Addams Family - July 21
Million Dollar Quartet - July 21
Promises, Promises - July 22
The Lion King - July 23
Time Stands Still - September 25

National Tour:
Legally Blonde - October 27 (non-Equity)

Community Theatre:
Greater Tuna - March 26
Social Security - April 10
Don't Dress for Dinner - May 22
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) - June 12
Alice in Wonderland - July 3
Annie, Jr. - July 9
Hamlet - July 25
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - September 11
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof - September 17 (different theatre)

College:
The Fantasticks - March 27
Is He Dead? - April 22, April 23
Dog Sees God - May 2
Hairspray - October 9
Hecuba - October 10
The Secret Garden - October 14
The Good Woman of Setzuan - October 23
A Christmas Carol - December 10

High School:
Peter Pan - March 6
The Foreigner - April 17
Dracula - October 15
The Wedding Singer - October 16
Lend Me A Tenor - December 9

Was In:
Thoroughly Modern Millie (as Millie) (College Production) - February 25-28
Into the Woods (as Florinda) (Community Theatre) - May 7-15
Originals: A New Musical (Community Theatre) - July 15-18
Urinetown (as Hope) (Community Theatre) - November 5-20

Top 4 NY Shows:
Next to Normal
Lend Me A Tenor
Promises, Promises
Time Stands Still

Top 4 Non-NY Shows:
Complete....Shakespeare
Hamlet
Is He Dead?
Peter Pan

Starting off 2011 by rehearsals and performances of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (as Mary), auditioning at SETC and seeing "Catch Me If You Can," "Anything Goes," and "The Book of Mormon" during my Spring Break.

Updated On: 12/25/10 at 04:33 PM

#59

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 8:29pm

Will you all circle me with rocks and stone me to death if I admit that the Bway event I most enjoyed over the past 6 months was ELLING?

Okay, I confess, ELLING is the only show I saw. Wait, no, I did also see PeePee, with the miscast cast, and the over-rated Katie Finneran, and the shoe-horned-in-songs that never belonged there in the first place.

And I saw ElaineandBernadette in ALNM, and I don't care what anyone says, Stritch was a revelation, and Peters a profound disappointment, except for her one nice song. Beautiful show - still Sondheim's best, a pox on FOLLIES! - but an awful, awful production.

As for ELLING: I was forced to buy two tickets for a friend, I had to stand for 90 minutes in bitter cold NYC wintry weather at TKTS, I couldn't afford to go to a stupid Swedish play, or whatever the hell it was, I was about to dump my friend forever the minute the show was over, and then: shazzam! I kind of liked it. Much to my absolute surprise. The play had no interest in women, and it's a good thing they cast Jennifer Coolidge, who is so sublime that she makes an impression even when playing non-entities. But Dennis O'Hare and Brendan Fraser were both excellent. Excellent, I say!

Oh, right, and I saw - once again very much against my will - BELLS ARE RINGING, which. I. Loathed. Someone explain to me why Kelli O'Hara is so beloved. She has no comic timing and no charisma.

I haven't felt lately like there's much NYC theater out there that I can't live without. I've sort of been wishing I lived in Chicago, so I could go see VIRGINIA WOOLF and a bunch of other stuff.

#60

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 9:01pm

I'm sure I am leaving many off of this list...

FEBRUARY

27 - REGIONAL1: THE FULL MONTY (NC Theatre)

MARCH

2 - TOUR1: SPRING AWAKENING

APRIL

10 - REGIONAL2: R&H'S CINDERELLA
15 - COLLEGE1: SOUTH PACIFIC
18 - REGIONAL3: ETHEL WATERS - HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW (Triad Stage)
27 - EVENT1: 24th ANNUAL EASTER BONNET COMPETITION
27 - BWAY1: LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
28 - BWAY2: EVERYDAY RAPTURE

JUNE

30 - REGIONAL4: THE GREAT AMERICAN TRAILER PARK MUSICAL (Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy)

JULY

24 - REGIONAL5: ALIEN CHILD (T. Schreiber Studio)
31 - OFFBWAY1: THE WINTER'S TALE

AUGUST

21 - BWAY3: NEXT TO NORMAL
24 - OFFBWAY2: ME, MYSELF & I
25 - OFFBWAY3: ABRAHAM LINCOLN'S BIG GAY DANCE PARTY

SEPTEMBER

5 - BWAY4: IN THE HEIGHTS
7 - OFFBWAY4: IT MUST BE HIM
9 - OFFBWAY5: THE REVIVAL
12 - BWAY5: IN THE HEIGHTS
14 - BWAY6: WICKED
16 - OFFBWAY6: ANGELS IN AMERICA - PART TWO: PERETROIKA (First Preview)
18 - BWAY7: BRIEF ENCOUNTER
24 - BWAY8: NEXT TO NORMAL
26 - BWAY9: NEXT TO NORMAL

OCTOBER

1 - BWAY10: THE PITMEN PAINTERS
2 - BWAY11: MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION
8 - BWAY12: A LIFE IN THE THEATRE
9 - BWAY13: BLOODY BLOODY ANDREW JACKSON
12 - BWAY14: LA BETE
13 - BWAY15: PROMISES, PROMISES
15 - BWAY16: LOMBARDI
17 - EVENT2: BROADWAY ORIGINALS CONCERT
17 - EVENT3: SWAN LAKE
18 - EVENT4: THE NORMAL HEART - A STAGED READING BENEFITING THE ACTOR'S FUND
20 - OFFBWAY7: BLUE MAN GROUP
23 - OFFBWAY8: WINGS
23 - BWAY17: A FREE MAN OF COLOR (First Preview)
24 - OFFBWAY9: SPIRIT CONTROL
24 - BWAY18: AMERICAN IDIOT
25 - BWAY19: COLIN QUINN - LONG STORY SHORT
26 - BWAY20: RAIN - A TRIBUTE TO THE BEATLES (Opening Night)
31 - BWAY21: NEXT TO NORMAL

NOVEMBER

2 - BWAY22: WICKED
3 - BWAY23: MEMPHIS
5 - EVENT5: NY COMEDY FESTIVAL (ROSIE O'DONNELL)
6 - BWAY24: ELF
7 - BWAY25: THE PEE-WEE HERMAN SHOW
8 - BWAY26: NEXT TO NORMAL
14 - BWAY27: ELLING
15 - BWAY28: NEXT TO NORMAL
18 - BWAY29: A FREE MAN OF COLOR
20 - REGIONAL6: [TITLE OF SHOW] (George St. Playhouse)
22 - BWAY30: BRIEF ENCOUNTER
28 - BWAY31: SPIDER-MAN - TURN OFF THE DARK
29 - BWAY32: ROCK OF AGES

DECEMBER

1 - BWAY33: WEST SIDE STORY
2 - REGIONAL7: WINTUK
8 - BWAY34: THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS
14 - BWAY35: A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC
16 - BWAY36: WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN
18 - BWAY37: THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST
29 - BWAY38: SPIDER-MAN - TURN OFF THE DARK

"The Spectacle has, indeed, an emotional attraction of its own, but, of all the parts, it is the least artistic, and connected least with the art of poetry. For the power of Tragedy, we may be sure, is felt even apart from representation and actors. Besides, the production of spectacular effects depends more on the art of the stage machinist than on that of the poet."
--Aristotle

#61

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 9:09pm

Had a great theater filled year, especially being as far away from the city as I am.

Spring Awakening (tour)
Jersey Boys (tour)
In the Heights (3rd time seeing the show, winner of Be In the Heights Contest)
Next to Normal (3rd time seeing show, first night with Marin and Jason, Met Tom and Brian!)
A Little Night Music (Bernadette and Elaine)
Billy Elliot
Promises, Promises
Memphis
Lend Me a Tenor
La Cage
Our Town (Helen Hunt's Last Performance, met her and David Cromer afterwards)
Freud's Last Session
La Cage (second time)
A Little Night Music (second time)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (local production)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
Time Stands Still
Merchant of Venice
Scottsboro Boys (great finish to my year of Broadway, really hoping it returns)

So that's 2010. Starting off 2011 early with a Patti LuPone concert in the next few weeks.

*Update* Was able to get two rush tickets to the Young Frankenstein tour yesterday, so that was my official last performance of 2010

Updated On: 12/31/10 at 09:09 PM

#62

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 9:31pm

I feel like a horrible theater fan...this past year I have not seen nearly as many shows as I normally do/would like to
Most are regional/community shows since the nearest touring city is Rochester and not a lot of shows came through this year :/
WICKED (2x)
In The Heights
Seussical
Scrooge
A Christmas Carol (non musical)
Fences
RENT
Les Miserable
How I Got My Drivers License
Into the Woods
The Wizard of Oz
and a few other high school shows...if ya cant get professional productions they still do the trick...
and played one of my dream roles...
The Secret Garden - Archibald
and did a lot of learning about the making's of a musical with
a few local readings/workshops

"Life in theater is give and take...but you need to be ready to give more then you take..."

Updated On: 12/24/10 at 09:31 PM

#63

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 9:48pm

33 on off, off off
Worked a couple of award shows
and ushered a few things as well.

'Take me out tonight where's there's music and there's people and they're young and alive.'

#64

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 9:51pm

Only one NY production this year -- WEST SIDE STORY. Loved the dancing, hated the physical production. Performances were meh, but it was interesting to see it performed bilingually.

About all we get in this part of the world, aside from the usual community, university and school shows, are really awful touring productions (the BILLY ELLIOT that was in Raleigh this fall was unbelievably dreadful). But arguably my favourite show of the year was, believe it or not, an hour-long contest production of THREE BAGS FULL done by a high school in Georgia. Quick, smart, brilliantly staged -- gives me real hope for the future of this art form.

http://docandraider.com

#65

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/24/10 at 10:13pm

Counting a show that is booked for next week, I will have seen 68 plays this year. The full list is below in my signature. In summary:

NYC Broadway: 39
NYC Off-Broadway: 12 (including one Encore!)
Other venues: 17

Highlights:
Disclaimer: What I consider highlights is subject to change, as tastes change over time. These are more off the top of my head, without a lot of deep thought:
Yank!
Come Fly Away
Jersey Boys (second time seeing this)
Red
La Cage aux Folles
The Producers (yes, it was in a barn but I just love this play!)
Mauritius
The Scottsboro Boys
Bells Are Ringing
The Merchant of Venice

An ealier poster asked this: "Good golly, how do you guys remember all this stuff? "
My answer: I keep a spreadsheet of my theatergoing.

#66

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/25/10 at 12:08am

JMPlayer: I like the spreadsheet idea, I keep a list and just recently started using my iCal to keep track of the dates.

#67

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/25/10 at 1:36am

Foe what it's worth, here are amended counts from my prior post: I didn't factor in the Las Vegas show that I saw. I always considered those to be in a separate category. Including them, amended counts for 2010 are:

NYC Broadway: 39
NYC Off-Broadway: 12 (including one Encore!)
Las Vegas shows: 4
Other venues: 17
TOTAL: 72

#68

Your Year In Theatre - 2010

Posted: 12/28/10 at 1:53am

In New York:
God Of Carnage
Rock Of Ages
In The Heights
Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson
The Addams Family
Chicago
Avenue Q

Best of the year: Avenue Q, God Of Carnage, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson

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