The Color Purple vs She Loves Me and Fully Committed vs Blackbird

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 8:54pm

Hey, I'm going to be coming over to NYC from London next week (2nd-7th June) and already have tickets to see A Streetcar Named Desire and Long Day's Journey Into Night on Friday and Saturday night. That leaves me the option of seeing a Sunday afternoon show as well as a Monday evening show.

Although I do much prefer plays, I feel I definitely ought to see a musical while I'm in NY and have narrowed it down to between The Color Purple and She Loves Me. I'm trying to achieve a balance between all of the shows I see and I'm worried that TCP might be an overload of heaviness after the previous two nights' theatre. Which would lead me to She Loves Me. I adore Jane Krakowski from 30 Rock and Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt so would obviously love to see her. However I saw the West End production of Guys and Dolls last week and found it really hard to stomach the old-musical vibe. Is SLM more accessible than GAD? Or would I be a fool for missing TCP while Cynthia is in it?

I have a similar problem for Monday night. Obviously my choice of show is restricted and have again narrowed it down to Fully Committed or Blackbird. As I mentioned, I really want a variation in tone between my different shows so perhaps the intensity of Blackbird might be too much. Then again the five-star reviews are very attractive, not to mention the star power of Jeff Daniels and Michelle Williams. I really enjoyed Skylight - Blackbird sounds similar to that? Equally though Fully Committed sounds incredibly tempting, I've watched Modern Family for years and think a feel-good comedy would be a perfect final night of my trip.

As you can see I'm incredibly torn over these options and would love some of your advice. Feel free though to suggest something different altogether - I'm open-minded! Wish I was staying a couple of nights more to catch all of these shows. And am I right in thinking to leave Saturday afternoon free from a matinee before the onslaught of Lange in the evening?! Thank you all in advance. X

Updated On: 5/27/16 at 08:54 PM

[HSky]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 10:33pm

I saw Blackbird with a friend the day after he saw Fully Committed. He preferred Blackbird. 

[playbill-love]

Posted: 5/27/16 at 11:02pm

Of the four I have only seem Blackbird so I can't make a comparison, but I would highly, highly recommend it. It is deeply upsetting and disturbing, and I wouldn't really say that I enjoyed it, but it was excellent and one of the best things I have seen in a long time. Michelle Williams fully, completely breaks down on stage and I don't know how she gives the performance she gives every night. I would recommend not spoiling yourself on the ending if you are at all considering seeing it.

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 9:18am

While I really enjoyed She Loves Me, it fits the mold of the old school musical you have in mind (I'm guessing), and I would recommend Color Purple over She Loves me. Not by a huge margin. Krakowski and company are so great. To beat a dead horse, though, it'd be such a shame to miss Cynthia Erivo. I still remember the chills I felt when Erivo belted out "sing out" in I'm Here. She takes you on such an incredible journey from beginning to end. It was similar to how I felt after seeing the 11 o'clock numbers of LuPone in Gypsy or Tonya Pinkins in Caroline or Change. 

 

I didn't see Fully Committed, but Blackbird is worth catching too! I agree, using the word "enjoy" for this play is strange because of the nature of the subject, but the performances are so intense and nuanced. It's moving to see how the play affects Williams and Daniels at the curtain call. My initial reaction at the end of the play was "that was weird", but my brother and I ended up getting into a heated debate on the subject matter afterward at dinner. I also chose to see Blackbird based off its Monday showing, but it ended up being quite a night at the theatre!

Updated On: 5/28/16 at 09:18 AM

[bwayphreak234]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 9:31am

While I liked Fully Committed just fine, I would definitely go with Blackbird if you are picking between those two. I LOVED Blackbird. As for The Color Purple and She Loves Me - you really can't go wrong with either one.

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:26pm

Oh wow, probably my favourite musical moment of all time is Rose's Turn - I'm guessing comparisons to that don't come lightly! Blackbird is sounding more and more appealing, anyone want to make the case for Fully Committed? Thank you all for your contributions so far.

[BroadwayConcierge]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:29pm

She Loves Me and The Color Purple are both major musical highlights of the season, but I have to give the edge to Purple, particularly with Ms. Erivo and Ms. Headley together right now. You'd be missing out on something truly legendary if you didn't catch them while you're in town.

[BroadwayNYC2]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 1:51pm

Blackbird is not to be missed. I'm still thinking of it and trying to stomach what I saw. You can't go wrong with The Color Purple or She Loves Me (I'd go with She Loves Me).

[Pippin]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 2:14pm

Another Vote for Blackbird - It is fantastic, and While It's basically 50/50 between She Loves Me and The Color Purple, The Color Purple gets the edge for Erivo's not to be missed performance. 

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 2:52pm

Thank you all. Seems The Color Purple is a must-see. However as I'm landing in JFK around 3pm on Thursday I may be able to catch a show on the Thursday evening if everything is on time. So just to be extra controversial - how about She Loves Me vs Blackbird vs Fully Committed? I'm very naughty I know 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 4:46pm

Go see The Color Purple.

Dissenting vote, Blackbird is a muddled play that doesn't say anything and this production seems similarly unsure of itself. It starts weak and then Michelle Williams gets some compelling material in the middle. I don't get the hype.

[little_sally]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 6:24pm

The Color Purple and Blackbird!

[E. riley]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 7:39pm

Blackbird and She loves me (especially if you love Jane K). 

 

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 7:50pm

The Color Purple in match-up 1, but the second match-up is (for me) between a gratingly broad show and an exploitative, not-very-well written one. 

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 8:27pm

Scarywarhol said: "The Color Purple in match-up 1, but the second match-up is (for me) between a gratingly broad show and an exploitative, not-very-well written one. 

 

"

Ugh, is the broadness really that problematic? I guess I'm probably feeling quite sentimental towards JTF because Modern Family has literally covered all of my teenage years so naturally would love to see him. However I saw a play in London a couple of months ago called The Painkiller with Kenneth Branagh if anyone has any experience of it? I think it's more farcical than Fully Committed is supposed to be but while everyone else in the audience was in hysterics at Ken's funny voices, tripping over and falling trousers, the 90 minutes of the play felt 80 too long for me.

And though Blackbird does sound very powerful, will its bleakness be too much after experiencing the glorious misery of Streetcar and Long Day's Journey? I am supposed to *enjoy* this trip after all haha.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 8:38pm

I should hasten to say that many people love both the plays.

 

But if you're looking for a break from bleak straight plays during the trip, I would not see Blackbird. I felt physically nauseous during the play, which I didn't feel even at something as deeply disturbing as The Pillowman (but I also liked that play much more).

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 9:14pm

Thank you all for hinting at the rape-element of Blackbird. I genuinely had no idea. My interpretation of the poster was that it would be much more romantically-charged and in the vein of Skylight (younger woman, older man (like we haven't seen that before) who had an affair years ago meet again and discuss their passions). I mean, what were the producers thinking not making this the centrepiece of the marketing - nothing lights up Broadway more than sexual abuse!

 

Edit: Excuse the sarcasm - I am British of course!

Updated On: 5/28/16 at 09:14 PM

[playbill-love]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 9:19pm

It is a really, really good show. Not everything on Broadway has to be happy, family friendly, or even fun.

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 9:46pm

playbill-love said: "It is a really, really good show. Not everything on Broadway has to be happy, family friendly, or even fun.

 

"

Of course, of course. I understand. I'm just incredibly surprised at how grim it's seeming to be. Loving Jeff Daniels' career turnaround by the way but is this maybe too bleak for the last night of my trip? Then again I am a big boy and can find Dumb and Dumber ready for my flight home the next day lol. Just to complicate things even further, I'm right to rule out The Crucible altogether, yes?

[@z5]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:46pm

Color Purple and Blackbird...my 2 favorite shows running now.

[C4b2a3b]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 10:50pm

It sounds like you're a big Jane K fan, so maybe I would pick She Loves Me over Blackbird. SLM would definitely leave a much sweeter taste for the end of your trip! I would rather see Blackbird or SLM over Crucible, not because it was bad by any stretch. It was very well done with strong performances, but maybe my expectations for Crucible were too high after View From the Bridge. 

 

Did the Humans or Eclipsed make your list at all?

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 11:00pm

If you are interested in serious and artistically mature plays, have you looked at what's happening downtown at all? I know it's hard when oh are far away and Broadway is so present online! There is really exciting stuff happening like Skeleton Crew at the Atlantic and  Indecent at the Vineyard 

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 5/28/16 at 11:39pm

" And though Blackbird does sound very powerful, will its bleakness be too much after experiencing the glorious misery of Streetcar and Long Day's Journey? I am supposed to *enjoy* this trip after all haha. "

I mean, it is a short play and personally I felt nothing so I wouldn't necessary rule it out for being bleak or tense or depressing. It was more boring than any of those things. It just didn't work well for me, only in small moments, so it was easy to detach from it.

Scarywarhol has a good point about not just sticking to Broadway plays.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 5/29/16 at 12:21am

Went to the theater 4 times this past weekend - The Color Purple was amongst those 4.

One of the most exhilarating evenings of theater, ever.  Also, throughly enjoyed She Loves Me - and thought after HATING On The Town that perhaps an old school musical wasn't my cup of tea.  I was wrong.  She Loves Me was like a little sweet confection 

[Callum_brown1]

Posted: 5/29/16 at 6:53am

Sounds as if TCP and SLM are kind of guaranteed successes, with the plays being more hit and miss on what people think about them. I don't think She Loves Me is playing on Monday 6th so will have to see it on the day I arrive. Although I do love Jane K, I see she's billed as 'and Jane Krakowski' - is her role big enough to be the basis for seeing the show? I'm sure I'll enjoy the show either way but, you know, it is Jenna Maroney after all!

For other plays, I did consider Eclipsed because of Lupita but the reviews weren't that extraordinary from what I saw? Off-Broadway I wouldn't normally mind, but it is my first visit to NYC alone and there seems to be a lot of mainstream shows that I'd like to see on Broadway.