The King and I or Fun Home?

[Cocomoco99]

Posted: 6/7/15 at 11:51pm

I'm going to NYC in July...so far I have tickets for Hamilton, Something Rotten and Hedwig with Darren Criss. I'm looking at adding a 4th show, and after seeing the Tony Awards, I'm stuck between Fun Home and The King and I. Which would you guys pick? I wish I could see both, but there's  only time for one

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 6/7/15 at 11:53pm

Yikes! If only any of us here were you and knew your personal tastes and what you like and what you don't like and what you want to see and what you don't want to see it might make it easier for us group of total strangers to decide what you should do with your time!  

[mattporter17]

Posted: 6/7/15 at 11:54pm

Fun Home absolutely. You want to see that Original iconic cast that won Best Musical, hear that award winning book and score, and see Michael Cerveris, of couse

[RaiseYouUp]

Posted: 6/7/15 at 11:59pm

Personally, I'd say Fun Home. But it depends on what you want. An intimate, fresh new musical or a Broadway standard?

[yourheartcansing]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:01am

Fun Home definitely gets my vote, but to be fair I haven't seen The King and I. However, I did see almost the same combo of shows on my trip a couple weeks ago (minus Hamilton obviously), and I loved the mix of serious/funny of those 3 shows in one trip.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:01am

Doesn't it basically come down to Revival or New and which direction your sensibilities point you? Although your other choices seem split right down that middle so maybe that tells you nothing at all!

 

[nicnyc]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 2:18am

Personally, if I could only see one - I'd pick Fun Home.  Sydney Lucas, Judy Kuhn & Michael Ceveris are all amazing & the show is historic. Have a wonderful trip - I'm sure you'll enjoy Hamilton (also historic and awesome)!

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 2:31am

That's a hard choice. Good luck to you.

[muscle23ftl]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 2:46am

I enjoyed "King" better...but "Gigi"is my favorite.

[Wilmingtom]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 3:16am

Go with Fun Home.  You'll have many opportunities to see productions of K&I through the years.

[dtlajim]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 3:24am

Fun Home is one of the great ones. You'll want to say you saw the original cast in a groundbreaking musical. I really liked King and I, but I was profoundly moved and in tears for most of Fun Home... it's that special.  

Updated On: 6/8/15 at 03:24 AM

[steven22]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:00am

Fun Home 100%. The King and I was enjoyable but I much preferred Fun Home. 

[Keiichi2]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:04am

Very tough choice, as I adored both productions.

But, Fun Home is definitely something you don't usually see on Broadway.  Plus, the music and cast are absolutely fantastic.  So, yeah, the Fun Home gets my vote.

[bjh2114]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:10am

King and I.

[tazber]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 8:17am

FUN HOME!!!!

 

 

[Fantod]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 9:03am

The King and I is a better written show. Period. Do you really think that in 64 years Fun Home will get another production that actually holds up? The King and I will go on forever because it is not just right now good, but it will always be good. Plus, the score is 100 times better. That score is one of the strongest ever written. I will say that the performances all around are better in Fun Home, and the opportunity to see an original cast is exciting. They're both good, and neither one will be a bad evening at the theatre.

[verdigris]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 9:10am

Fun Home, definitely! Such a new and refreshing piece of theatre. Fantastic acting, score and book. Plus the staging in the round is brilliant. 

Updated On: 6/8/15 at 09:10 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:00am

Fantod's right.  There will always always always always be King revivals so you better see Fun Home right now just in case.  Agreed, Fantod!

[Fantod]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:25am

Well if you are only going to see one show, make it the better one.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:28am

All Hail the king

It is obvious.

 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:30am

Which, as you might have heard, is totally subjective.

Maybe in a few decades some young lesbian (or whatever they're calling themselves then) will be amazed you saw the original cast of Fun Home and will want you to tell her (or whatever pronouns they're using then) all about it and that will be the rarely produced show she heard a recording of that changed her life.  

The "they won't last" argument is rarely one to use to talk somebody out of seeing a new show.  

[Monty12112]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 11:31am

Both are great choices but if I had to pick I would choose The King and I. 

[Fantod]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:20pm

A show's lasting impact is a better measure of quality than how someone immediately feels after seeing a show. The original Carmen Jones almost unanimous raves save for one holdout, and the original Brigadoon got across the board raves. And yet, neither show holds up 100% nowadays even when reading the script. How could the critics in 1943 or 1947 know how good a show would be in 70 years? They couldn't. I couldn't know that either. Maybe Fun Home will become the greatest classic ever on Broadway, but for now The King and I is the better show because it was good 60 years ago and it is good today. Of course, as you said, art is subjective. You might hate the score to The King and I, which is totally fine. Keep in mind everything I've said so far in this thread is opinion.

And why would only a lesbian be interested in Fun Home? I think it's certainly better than being worthy of only a target demographic in a few decades. Are only African Americans interested in Lost in the Stars nowadays? Or gay men La Cage Aux Folles? 

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:23pm

"A show's lasting impact is a better measure of quality…"

Be here now, Fantod.  This lasting impact argument is so tired and does nothing but guarantee that people only look back. It sets it up that nothing new is EVER worthy of respect because there is no way of knowing how long it will last. 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/8/15 at 12:40pm

Great post Fantod

I was always under the impression that awards were given out for excellence and not to send messages. My wife & I saw all 4 musical nominees. We rated them as follows:

1. Something Rotten

2. The Visit

3. AAIP

4. Fun Home

We saw Fun but it just did not do it for us. If you go to the theater for flat out entertainment and to forget about the trials & tribulations of life you see Rotten to have a good laugh & just enjoy yourself. The Visit was about seeing a living legend & the last score of a legendary team. AAIP was professional but could not get out of our mind how much better the movie was. Fun was well acted but it did not do it for us. Not everyone has to like every show. I congratulate them on their win

A year from now how will Fun/Rotten be compared box office wise? The Visit is basically dead . AAIP will still be running here & on the road. How will Fun play on the road especially in bigger houses? We congratulate all the winners whether we agree r  with the choices or not. To compare The King & I & Fun home is not really fair or apropos. They are 2 totally different shows . King & I is a classic. I am sorry but Fun does not have that status yet.

A message for score would have been The Visit. It was not their best score but what better way for a legendary composing team to go out would have been  Kander accepting for Him & Ebb. All those nominated will have future chances. The team of K/E will not.