Due to another trip that involves cross-country travel, I am contemplating a quick stop in New York City to catch this at the tail end of next month. But I'm stuck with a Friday or Saturday night, so that limits my options considerably. From the sound of it, the sides are bad, the rear mezzanine is bad. Is that overstating it? The people pleased with their seats are close to the center or are in a prime mezzanine spot.
Are there cheaper seats, on the side or further back in th
If we make a New York City trip next year, this feels like the sort of show I'll only be able to sell by mentioning the stars. Remember Carmen Cusack, who you liked in Bright Star? Remember Harry Hadden-Paton, who you liked in My Fair Lady? Well, they're in a show with a score by the guy who did the score to Next to Normal and it sounds really... interesting. And it's an original show! (My wife didn't care for Sunday in the Park With George<
It's certainly possible that a renamed SHN would be more likely to bring in popular shows that usually run in nearby cities (Wicked, which is playing in San Jose this week, for example). But I'm just guessing. They are more likely to program as they have been doing, when first-tier Broadway tours are on their West Coast swing along with longtime favorites to fill out the season. The only benefit for SHN of Harry Potter occupying the Curran for a long while is th
Sho-Tunes-R-Us said: My expectations were met 10x over. Absolutely insane from beginning to end and totally camptastic. Hope to go again Wednesday night. Also had a photo taken with Danielle Steers and spoke to Bradley Dean for about five minutes. When I told him my background as a fan of the show (and a first-timer) he asked for my card and told me to go to the stage door post-performance on Wednesday for a special treat. Fingers, toes, eyes and nose crossed for some extra spe
This seems like the best outcome for SF Bay Area residents like me, although the impact won't show right away because of Harry Potter taking over the Curran for the next few years.
Carole Shorenstein Hays seems like a different sort of person, but she's done a nice job on the Curran, which is easily the best of the three theaters that house touring Broadway shows (and as Kitsune mentions, the one most appropriate for intimate shows).
Tootsie isn't the best musical out there, and its sitcom style is a bit dated, but there's really nothing wrong with it unless the man-in-dress plotline will bother you. Plus, it's an easy ticket to get at a discount, and the theater is comfortable (if a bit sterile). The score is, with one exception, forgettable, but I didn't sit there watching the show thinking how awful it was. It's a conventional show with a talented cast and some pretty funny jokes.
My feelings about the play, which I saw Tuesday night during the first night of its weeklong stop in San Francisco, were a bit more mixed than some of you. Too many jokes played out too long or too repeatedly for my taste, and I think it would have worked better as a tighter one-act show. (There may have been practical reasons they didn't do it that way.) It's just a matter of personal taste. But there were definitely some hilarious segments, and Ned Noyes is brilliant
dmwnc1959, you have seen Hello, Dolly a lot more than I have, but your review brought back fond memories of seeing the tour earlier this year. It's a genuinely joyous show, old-fashioned in all the best ways, and wonderfully performed. My wife and I would probably fall in the category of theatergoers initially uncertain about whether to see it, despite all of the praise for the Broadway revival, but we had a wonderful time. When the show gets around to the title song, t
Pose2 said: "Audiences don't see shows because of Tony acting awards. They'll see stars. They don't care about awards, except Best Musical (and this year, Best Play).
Don't speak for anyone else other than yourself. That's fundamentally untrue anyways, many people go to shows to see the person who the Tony for acting."
The Tootsie producers can't sell a show starring a well-reviewed, Tony-winning Best Actor per
Audiences don't see shows because of Tony acting awards. They'll see stars. They don't care about awards, except Best Musical (and this year, Best Play).
I liked Tootsie well enough as a first-night-in-New-York musical comedy when I was glad we made it in time to see a show at all. It was enjoyable in the moment. But for those who haven't seen the show, that Tony performance illustrates its problem: It feels like an old show. The jokes&
I finally glanced at the grosses and was reminded of something obvious. There are lot of very successful, long-running shows on Broadway. Some of these shows are getting boosts as the summer tourist season winds down, so they ought to be doing well, but the usual suspects just keep roaring along. Of the newer musicals, Hadestown, Ain't Too Proud, and Moulin Rouge! are all major hits. To Kill a Mockingbird is a smash hit play, and What the Const
Maybe I'm underestimating the impact of the Tony performance, but my gut reaction is that VintageSnarker is right - and that Beetlejuice is likely to appeal to families on summer vacations more. (Also, the people buying the tickets would be familiar with the movie.) Tootsie is an old-fashioned show based on a movie that doesn't get talked about as much today (even though it was a big hit in 1982), and was relying on an older audience.
Reading Prince's obituaries is a striking experience because unlike many of you, I hadn't focused on how many major musicals he was involved in as a producer or director. I only have seen two Harold Prince-directed shows (Phantom and the Showboat tour) but I've seen an awful lot of his musicals as revivals or in local productions without always realizing his connection. I didn't know She Loves Me (saw the first revival on my honeymoon
This piece is so unpersuasive that if I didn't recall how much I disliked Miss Saigon, it almost wants me to give the show another chance. This was early in my days of seeing Broadway shows in person, and it didn't encourage me.
GavestonPS, you haven't met my youngest daughter. She's a bit embarrassed now at her insistence that we see Wicked on Broadway even though we'd seen it on tour. But she really wanted to see it, almost as much as the OBC of Hamilton. And I didn't really mind, even though we missed some other shows that were playing in the spring of 2016. Rachel Tucker was Elphaba, and she was really good.
I think Moulin Rouge! skeptics are overthinking thi
Miles2Go2 said: "I agree the piecemeal way they released the songs may have been a part of the marketing strategy, but if didn’t really captivate me. Listening to it now from the beginning (I’m 4 songs in) and I’m loving it. It sounds great. I’m even more excited to see it on September 27th now. I’m going to have to make myself not listen too much to this between now and then so as to not rob myself of all sense of discovery when I finally see it.&q
I'm curious about what people thought of the Moby Dick performance, but I'll revisit this whole confusing theater situation one more time.
I haven't chatted with Dave Malloy, as we're not pals, but I'm a little leery of making too much of vague comments he made to anyone a year and a half ago. I'm not saying anyone is wrong; I'm just cautious.
What we know (I think):
- The Public Theater and Berkeley Rep were developing the show.
I just rewatched the film on Netflix for the first time in many years. As near as I can tell, the movie's creators (including director Bob Fosse) made the probably smart choice to make a film that didn't feel like a musical at all, with the only songs being those performed at the club and "Tomorrow Belongs to Me" at the beer garden. Given the failures of musical-to-film adaptations at the time, including Fosse's own Sweet Charity, you can hardly blame them.
I wonder if the change in leadership at the Berkeley Rep made a difference (Tony Taccone departing), or if it was just a money thing. If Moby Dick is still going to be five hours, that's a bit daunting. (Taccone did stage Angels in America last year, but that's not a musical, is done in two parts, and is Angels in America.)
Anyway, bad news for me on not seeing it on the West Coast in the forseeable future. I'm
