One vote for Tootsie. I've seen both out of town too. You'll laugh in both shows. In Beetlejuice, it's like oh there's that very familiar character/scene/line from the movie, I know that one, haha, applause! To be fair, for someone who hadn't seen the movie - yes I was living under a rock, it was a nice rock - I found the Day-O scene hilarious. In Tootsie, it's genuinely funny, gut laughing. I still giggle thinking about some of those scenes. I can't
Thank you guys! Also thanks to the other post about Gary + Ain't Too Proud (a 6:30pm Monday performance what?), I double checked Gary's May schedule. Turns out Thursday night performance starts at 7pm! This is perfect! Buying tickets now.
Is this doable? On my next 3-day trip in May to New York, I want to squeeze in Then She Fell in one of the nights. I'll be seeing Hadestown, Gary and Secret Life of Bees. All 3 start at 8PM. TSF starts at 10:30PM. So, Hadestown runs 2.5 hours, it'd be impossible. Bees hasn't announced the running time, if it's like 90 minutes, that would be the best choice. But tickets for TSF go fast, I don't think I can wait until Bees starts previews. From the early report o
I saw both Beetlejuice in DC and Tootsie in Chicago, didn't care for Ain't Too Proud. My vote goes to Tootsie. It's a better written show and genuinely funny. Beetlejuice leans more towards cheap laughs and movie references. It wasn't terrible, but could be better. That said, both shows are going through rewrites. Who knows, maybe they'll manage to fix Beetlejuice somehow.
Having seen both, definitely Alice by Heart. Both shows are flawed, but at least Alice by Heart has very creative staging, and a (slightly) better score. Superhero is one boring ballad after another with no convincing character development. It was the worst experience during my February trip to New York.
I just searched on TOFT, indeed I found some contributed by WAPAVA. I even found a few that TOFT filmed in DC, that WAPAVA doesn't have lol. I guess the advantages of WAPAVA is that you don't need a academic reason to access, and of course depending on where you live, it may be closer.
Thanks for the insight into Chicago Public Library, Ravenclaw. It's a pity we don't have a TOFT for each major theatre area. And thanks, cmorrow. It's good to know that you don't have to come all the way to DC to watch the Sondheim Festival.
A correction to my original post: the Michelle Smith Performing Arts Library at the University of Maryland, normally opens on weekends too. It's just closed this weekend.
Just discovered there's a video archive for theatre in the DC area, called WAPAVA, that has been filming theatre productions since 1993! There are gems like the 2002 Sondheim festival at Kennedy Center (it had Sunday w/ Raul Esparza, Sweeney w/ Brian Stokes Mitchell, Company w/ John Barrowman, Night Music w/ Kristen Bell, Passion w/ Michael Cerveris, Merrily w/ Raul Esparza again), Little Dancer in 2012, The Highest Yellow in 2004 at Signature (an obscure LaChiusa musical starring Marc Ku
Do revivals count? If so, adding the infamous On A Clear Day, and whatever happended to The Apple Tree? Not sure if 110 in the Shade revival was limited engagement, but I wish it had more success, the recording is one of my favorite to this day. Also the most recent Guys & Dolls.
More original productions: The Visit, The Last Ship, Lysistrata Jones, A Catered Affair, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Triumph of Love.
Actually, come to think of it, the series If It Only Even Runs
Women on the Verge, The Wild Party (LaChiusa), Marie Christine, Chronicle of a Death Foretold, The Scottsboro Boys, Steel Pier, Thou Shalt Not, The Frogs, High Fidelity, Urban Cowboy, Lennon, Holler If Ya Hear Me...
I'd love to hear more about the canceled Lauren Ambrose Funny Girl too.
David Ives recently had a new play in DC, and I got to ask him about the Bunuel musical. He said the book is finished, Sondheim has 2/3 of the songs and don't worry "it will surface".
Hadestown Octet Alice by Heart Gary Tootsie Merrily We Roll Along Network The Secret Life of Bees Superhero Lolita, My Love (York)
Ferryman and Mockingbird are not on the list because I've seen them. I saw Moulin Rouge! in Boston, while I enjoyed it, I'm not eager to see it again. I've seen Tootsie in Chicago too, but I'm excited to see what's changed.
Outside of NYC, I've planned and am excited about: The
Just realized the off-broadway musical Renascence is basically Edna St. Vincent Millay's poems set to music. I know Ricky Ian Gordon wrote a show named Only Heaven with Langston Hughes' poems. Not sure if it was ever staged or simply a concept album, but it makes me curious are there any more shows like this?
