Critique my husband's list of shows he's interested in seeing!

[irishgator1]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 7:55am

My husband and I (early 40s) will be heading up to NYC over Memorial Day and want to catch some shows.  We have tickets to She Loves Me on the Friday before MD and have Saturday evening open to see something else.  Since I chose SLM, he gets to pick too.

He sent me the following list: The King and I; Fully Committed; Fun Home; Finding Neverland; and Tuck Everlasting. He said if he had to choose, his top pick would be The King and I.

He doesn't like "depressing" shows and tends to not like what I like.  We saw Dear Evan Hansen in DC and he loved that.  Are there any other shows I should send to him for consideration or comments on what he's interested in? I'm easy to please in terms of what I see and we both just like to be entertained.

Also- should we wait for the half price ticket booth or bite the bullet and pay full price in order to ensure decent seats? My husband is tall and prefers the aisle (I'm short and sitting closer is usually better for me). Thanks!

Updated On: 5/6/16 at 07:55 AM

[TheGingerBreadMan]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:14am

My top picks would be King & I or Fun Home. However, since your husband doesn't enjoy "depressing" shows, Fun Home may not be the best option. (It's not necessarily an extremely sad show, but at least for me, it was a tearfest. There's a lot of emotion packed into those couple of hours.)

I would buy tickets in advance since he has seating preferences. 

[Hairspray0901]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:23am

Something Rotten! It's anything but depressing. Should be able to find a discount on theatermania.com and I think if you go then you'll get to see Brian D'arcy James since he leaves on Sunday the 29th! :)

[gypsy101]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:33am

fun home was not fun for my boyfriend who has depression and anxiety issues, I guess the plot hit too close to home for him. I wouldn't recommend it to someone who doesn't like dark material, no matter how beautiful the show is (I thought it was phenomenal).

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:43am

King & I, Something Rotten and Bright Star. (You may tear up at Bright Star but not sad tears!)

[aaaaaa15]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:54am

Well I'd recommend Fun Home to someone that loves Dear Evan Hansen but not to someone that hates depressing shows. He didn't find Dear Evan Hansen too depressing?

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:58am

King and I is not exactly light and breezy.  (But it is wonderful.)

 

something rotten is a hoot.

[Corey38]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 8:59am

I'm going to recommend Fun Home as well. It was pretty emotional, but I absolutely loved it! Also Something Rotten, it was all happy and totally hilarious, and it's pretty rare for a musical not to have even one sad moment, but this one doesn't. Another favorite of mine is the Book of Mormon, it's the funniest show I've seen, and isn't very sad at all. Also be warned: Tuck Everlasting might not be open when you guys go. People are predicting that it might be closing before the Tonys. 

[irishgator1]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 9:06am

Thanks for your replies!

I hesitated in writing "depressing" as I can't quite figure out what it is that he doesn't like. So, no, he didn't find Dear Evan Hansen depressing, but didn't like Miss Saigon (politics aside), Dogfight, The Last 5 Years, Next to Normal, and Allegiance (though that could've been because we were expecting greater things from that show).  He's not a particular fan of Les Mis either.  So...I really can't figure out what his deal is, other than that he tells me those shows are all "depressing."

PS- should I not take him to Falsettos in the fall??

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 9:16am

Yeah, keep him away from "Falsettos".

[gypsy101]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 9:24am

sounds like he doesn't like sad and sappy musicals

[Valentina3]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 10:13am

Does not like "sappy" takes out King And I in my opinion. But the current cast is truly amazing from the reviews I have heard, still waiting to see them myself.

And I know it's not on your list, but should be - The Color Purple. It's depressing in a "more glorious than anything you've ever seen" way; my boyfriend hates depressing shows and never cries, but not only was he crying halfway through the 11'o clock number, he hasn't shut up talking about the show 4 months after seeing it.

Something Rotten is a hoot indeed. And I feel like they're lousy with their lottery tickets. I won 3 days in a row (I only went on the last day, but ended up using the lottery tickets as gifts for my broke "in grad school" friends). I think Fully Committed is the best option after The King & I from your list. JTF is just mindblowing.

Just please don't bother with Tuck and Finding Neverland. Tuck will definitely not last May on Bway, and Finding Neverland is having trouble finding audience right now.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 10:27am

uncageg said: "King & I, Something Rotten and Bright Star. (You may tear up at Bright Star but not sad tears!)

 

"

I was going to give the exact same list based on your description. For King and I he could check out the movie to see if he likes the show generally. (I haven't seen the movie actually.) Something Rotten you could find the Tony appearance on YouTube and Bright Star has had some appearances and videos out that you could check out to see if he's interested. 

 

Aside from Dear Evan Hansen, what shows has he liked?  I think it's kind of hard to tell just from dislikes. 

[irishgator1]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 10:47am

ChiTheaterFan- I *think* he's seen the King and I movie, but will double check to see if he's familiar with the story.

His likes- Chicago, Hairspray, Phantom of the Opera, Urinetown, and Wicked. And oddly enough, he really liked James and the Giant Peach when we took our kids to see it at a local kids' theater company! He thought it was really well done.

I guess I should probably qualify his dislikes by saying I think perhaps he might've been neutral on some of them, but did not walk away particularly impressed.  The one he really hated was Miss Saigon, so I think that's his baseline of hatred.

Again, neither of us is a sophisticated theater goer (so out of my league on this board!), but we definitely like being entertained. If it tells you anything about me- I saw Bullets Over Broadway last week in Chicago and I enjoyed it!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 10:55am

Rotten and King & I. Both should be on TKTS line

[dramamama611]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 10:59am

The more you say, the more I think Something Rotten is the right choice.   Silly, upbeat, theatrical.

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 11:01am

I think you'd both really enjoy Something Rotten based on that. King and I is also a good option. I don't think you can go wrong with either. 

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 12:38pm

I would definitely go with The King and I.

[neonlightsxo]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 12:55pm

He doesn't like depressing shows but he liked Dear Evan Hansen?????

Go with King and I. You can probably get it on TKTS. Updated On: 5/6/16 at 12:55 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 1:04pm

Definitely not Fun Home.  I wanted to slash my wrists after seeing it.

The King and I is a great revival with one of the greatest scores ever.  Something Rotten is NEW and enormous fun.  Both will result in a very enjoyable evening.

it doesn't say where you live.  If you live in an area that gets touring shows, I would opt for TKAI now...it won't be quite the same on tour, since it won't benefit from the Beaumont stage.  SR will likely be identical on the road.  Also, in NYC, you will get to see Marin Mazzie, who is bound to be terrific...haven't seen her yet.  While the performers in SR. are wonderful, I think the roles could be played equally as well by a lot of talented people.

[irishgator1]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 1:48pm

Jarethan said: "Definitely not Fun Home.  I wanted to slash my wrists after seeing it.

The King and I is a great revival with one of the greatest scores ever.  Something Rotten is NEW and enormous fun.  Both will result in a very enjoyable evening.

it doesn't say where you live.  If you live in an area that gets touring shows, I would opt for TKAI now...it won't be quite the same on tour, since it won't benefit from the Beaumont stage.  SR will likely be identical on the road.  Also, in NYC, you will get to see Marin Mazzie, who is bound to be terrific...haven't seen her yet.  While the performers in SR. are wonderful, I think the roles could be played equally as well by a lot of talented people.

Thanks, Jarethan! We live in the DC area, so great point about touring shows.  I wish we could carve out some more time Sat and Sun to see additional shows, but have family obligations...

 

"

 

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 1:50pm

Re Fun

 

I hear you Jarethan

[roadmixer]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 2:17pm

I would add KINKY BOOTS to the list of 'fun' musicals if you haven't seen it.

[yankeefan7]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 6:08pm

"Finding Neverland" will have not closed yet and like others I would recommend "Something Rotten"

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/6/16 at 6:51pm

You can't go wrong with The King and I.

And if you really want to stay away from depressing shows, I'd say Bright Star or Tuck Everlasting. Both are flawed but I left feeling really happy. And it shouldn't be difficult to avoid paying full price. I'd lean a little more towards Bright Star only because I think Tuck works better for younger audiences. But Tuck has a great set that based on his other likes, might appeal.