Best new (rush) shows for Dad and 3 Teens???

[Malatenj]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 7:54pm

Need some help. Visiting in June with theater-addicted kids. Fifth visit in 7 years. Have seen a dozen shows including Wicked, Phantom, How to Succeed, Kinky Boots, Pippen, Beautiful, Curious Incident and Hamilton (scored major points for that one). Kids are 19 (boy) and 16 & 14 (girls), and they are wanting to see more plays.  Also, with limited budget, we can do four RUSH plays - unless we find some coupon seats under 40 or 50. 

Here is our short list. Can everyone give me a top 4-5 in this group?  Thanks. 

Eclipsed, Humans, Crucible (not rush), Bright Star, Color Purple, King and I, Fun Home (not new but would still like to see). 

[pupscotch]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 8:18pm

The Humans, The King & I, The Color Purple, Eclipsed, and Bright Star.

[@z5]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 8:21pm

Look in to Something Rotten and On Your Feet as well.

[Malatenj]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 8:27pm

Oops. Forgot to mention we also saw Something Rotten last Summer. And Les Mis. 

[ZellMorrowsPledge]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 8:32pm

Alright while you're in the city do NOT miss Fun Home and The Color Purple. Do NOT miss out on these shows. Also The Humans and Crucible are brilliant. My overall list for your group would be Fun Home, The Color Purple, The Humans, The Crucible, and Matilda since the Broadway production is magical and will be closing in a few months

[uncageg]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 8:44pm

Matilda isn't closing until January 2017.

I suggest Bright Star. I know you said new, but if you haven't seen Avenue Q, they do front row rush tix for under $30.00.

Updated On: 5/23/16 at 08:44 PM

[jomilo21]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 11:20pm

Fun Home and Color Purple are great but borderline possibly not appropriate for your 14 and maybe 16 year old depending on you of course... 

I would definitely go for Matilda if you haven't seen that yet or School of Rock... Both are tons of fun. 

[pupscotch]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 11:25pm

jomilo21 said: "Fun Home and Color Purple are great but borderline possibly not appropriate for your 14 and maybe 16 year old depending on you of course... 

I would definitely go for Matilda if you haven't seen that yet or School of Rock... Both are tons of fun. 

 

"

I don't know what 14 and 16 year olds you know, but none of the ones I know had any problem with either of those shows. They do have some gay scenes, if you are very conservative or anything, but there isn't much in there that's really that inappropriate (if you took them to Hamilton, these shows are quite alright).

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 11:27pm

Of that list, I would highly recommend The Crucible and Fun Home. Eclipsed is fantastic and I preferred it to The Humans (which is also great) but difficult to watch and it may be a bit much for your younger daughter, though obviously that's up to you and her. 

I would definitely look into Matilda if you haven't seen it yet, and She Loves Me is also wonderful. 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 11:41pm

Don't take them to see The Humans. They will not enjoy it.

Fun Home is great and having finally read the graphic novel, I think the show is actually more appropriate for younger audiences, at least compared to the book, which I know gets read in schools. So it should be fine. And I think they'd enjoy it.

Bright Star is a fun time but it depends if they like country or bluegrass at all and what kind of theatregoers they are. Savvy and cynical teenagers are not going to enjoy the clunkyness of the plot and what happens at the end of Act 1.

The Color Purple is incredible but their interest might depend on what genre of music they like. Also, the rush is crazy. You will have to wake up very early for your tickets (like between 6 or 7 unless the line has gotten better after Jennifer's departure) and at least two of you will have to be in line.

I think they would enjoy The King and I if they've never seen it and you could get student tickets for them.

I haven't seen The Crucible but I know a lot of young people are excited about it. Are they fans of anyone in the show?

[TerrenceIsTheMann]

Posted: 5/23/16 at 11:55pm

I'm a 19 year old guy, and the play to see is The Crucible. It's really cool, and has some interesting names in it like Saoirse Ronan and Ben Whishaw. Id also recommend Long Day's Journey Into Night, but it's a bit long, so ask if they are fans of American Horror Story bc if they are, theyll want to see that. Other than that, I recommend Fun Home, Color Purple, and She Loves Me. 

[TFMH18]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 11:28am

Bright Star!

[Wick3]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 1:22pm

Malatenj said: "Need some help. Visiting in June with theater-addicted kids. Fifth visit in 7 years. Have seen a dozen shows including Wicked, Phantom, How to Succeed, Kinky Boots, Pippen, Beautiful, Curious Incident and Hamilton (scored major points for that one). Kids are 19 (boy) and 16 & 14 (girls), and they are wanting to see more plays.  Also, with limited budget, we can do four RUSH plays - unless we find some coupon seats under 40 or 50. 

Here is our short list. Can everyone give me a top 4-5 in this group?  Thanks. 

Eclipsed, Humans, Crucible (not rush), Bright Star, Color Purple, King and I, Fun Home (not new but would still like to see). "

Eclipsed has student rush and is eye=opening for me as I never knew much about Liberia other than ebola. I'd also add Color Purple and King & I. King and I has Linctix and student rush I believe but I forget. Either way, enjoy your visit here! 

[The Other One]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 1:30pm

"Id also recommend Long Day's Journey Into Night, but it's a bit long, so ask if they are fans of American Horror Story bc if they are, theyll want to see that."

 

My favorite post on any theater chat board ever.  

[Jshan05]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 1:34pm

Fun Home, The King and I, and The Color Purple are not to be missed!

[ChiTheaterFan]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 2:11pm

My list would be Bright Star, the Color Purple, Fun Home, and Eclipsed. I'm not sure Bright Star would necessarily appeal to all teenagers but I adored it, and I'm sure I would've adored it at that age. You can listen to the cast recording online for free if you want to get a sense of the music. http://www.npr.org/2016/04/21/474678104/first-listen-original-broadway-cast-recording-bright-star

[Broadway_Boy]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 5:54pm

Fun Home and Color Purple are musts!  The King and I is also fantatstic.  Do not go to Eclipsed or The Humans when you are on limited time and both could possibly not be enjoyable to your teens.  Take them to Curious Incident if they want to see a play.   I have not seen Crucible or Bright Star yet, but I think the ones I mentioned should be higher on your list.  

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 6:38pm

Correct me if I'm wrong but I think cheap tickets for both Fun Home and Color Purple are hard to come by, esp for 4 people. I don't know what the tdf situation is like as I don't qualify, but other than that... Like some people have pointed out, you would probably have to line up for the Color Purple rush very early, and Fun Home only has the online lottery and Standing Room.

 

I would suggest She Loves Me over King and I for a classic show. Two of your kids can sign up for HipTix (free program at Roundabout Theatre Company) and get 2 tickets for $25 each, so all 4 of you are covered and you're set in advance.

If you wanted to do King and I all of you could sign up for LincTix (free program from Lincoln Center) and get 1 ticket each for $30 or somewhere around that

 

I also second the many mentions of Matilda. They have a general rush now, so that should be doable. Another option for a fun kid show is School of Rock, but I think the rush is a bit harder and I personally prefer Matilda.

 

I  also loved Bright Star, although I'm not entirely sure it's a teenager kinda show. It is beautiful though and since it's already on your list I don't wanna discourage you. Rush should be doable as well.

 

I'm not help with the plays as I haven't seen any of the ones on your list.

[Malatenj]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 9:35pm

You all are rocking this post. Thanks so much for all the info and opinions. Please keep them coming. This is really helping us narrow our choices. After I get our list down to 4 or 5, I will post a message asking for rush strategies. And as far as our rush practice, my theater-addicted kids are quite the troopers. I've gotten them up and in rush lines between 6 and 7am on multiple occasions - not the most pleasant thing for them (us) on a vacation, but it's been so worth it. 

[perfectlymarvelous]

Posted: 5/24/16 at 9:40pm

Hiptix and LincTix aren't going to help you guys out, unfortunately...your son would qualify for Hiptix but that only gets you 2 tickets, and you have to be 21-35 for LincTix. 

Fun Home has been on TDF pretty regularly the past few months, and you would be able to get 4 tickets that way. The membership is $30/year but even if you only get tickets for Fun Home through it, it would pay for itself (and you may be able to get tickets to more than one of the shows on your list through TDF, I've seen nearly every show you mentioned up there recently). 

[_IrisTInkerbell]

Posted: 5/25/16 at 4:23am

Oh dang, I didn't realize HipTix had a lower age limit as well. She Loves Me also has rush though, so you could still see it that way. You'd just have to get there in the morning.