Advice Regarding My Upcoming Trip- Page 2

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 7:28pm

Well, Oklahoma! and Tootsie switched places. I was able to use Broadway Box discount code to get $49 ticket for Oklahoma! on Wednesday night although by time they added fees and I accidentally selected home delivery of my ticket, it came to $70.25.

So now I’ll see Tootsie Friday night as my final show. I may prepurchase my ticket for that one if they extend the discount code for it past September 1. It’s the only show on my itinerary that I don’t have my ticket purchased for yet.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:11pm

I’m chiming in late but sounds like you have an amazing trip planned. I’m glad you found the time to see Tootsie. I’ve seen it twice already and am already eager to see it again.

I would suggest trying the digital lottery for Tootsie as well. If you lose, you could always do TKTS. Looking forward to reading your trip report.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 7/29/19 at 10:16pm

Thanks. The lottery is always an option though I’m not sure about some of the seats that you get. I’ll probably either end up pre-purchasing with a discount code or do TKTS.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/3/19 at 6:20pm

I bought my ticket for Tootsie for my final show of my trip. Orchestra Row M Seat 13 for $99 + fees which I thought was a pretty good value.

If it closes, I have other replacement shows in mind.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 8/8/19 at 1:12am

I’m also glad my friend and I (she’s joining me for first two nights of my trip) bought our tickets for Hadestown and Moulin Rouge! when we did back in May. Our Hadestown mezzanine seats that were $129.50 + fees each are now $249 + fees. Our Moulin Rouge! mezzanine seats that were $179.50 + fees each are now $259 + fees.

Updated On: 8/8/19 at 01:12 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/28/19 at 2:50am

Saw Hadestown tonight. I’ll try to keep this brief as I’ve been up 22 hours after travel day from hell (pretty fitting given our show of choice).

I really, really liked this. I’d actually love to see this again. Made a point of only listening to the full cast recording once so I wasn’t overly familiar with the plot twists. I think that was still a sound strategy, but I did have trouble sometimes understanding early on exactly what was going on since I didn’t always decipher the lyrics.

We had the full original principal cast except Khaila Wilcoxson was in as Eurydice. Wasn’t sure how I felt about her performance until her version of Flowers blew me away. All the people you expect to be spectacular were. Especially Amber Gray, but also Patrick Page and Andre De Shields. But who totally surpassed my expectations was Reeve Carney who bought a vulnerability and naïveté to Orpheus that I found heartbreaking. Also, I can totally confirm that Timothy Hughes (worker) is total man candy.

Because of my horrid travel day, we had to move dinner reservations (Chez Josephine) til after the show, but we did stage door and Reeve, Khaila, a couple of the fates, plus Timothy Hughes came out. possibly more came out but we had to leave to make our reservation. I had them sign my window card which I will cherish. Stagedoor wasn’t crazy. I was able to talk to the performers as they signed which was nice. It was also a great, enthusiastic audience and I didn’t hear one phone go off!

As far as merchandise, at Intermission I only wanted window card and magnet, but decided to wait until after Act 2. By ending, I ended up buying window card, magnet, flask, plus tin mug. They also had a guy handing out the flowers at stage door. My friend also brought me a sticker. 

Overall, a great beginning to my trip.

Sorry for any typos. I am tired AF and my eyes are blurry.

Updated On: 10/14/19 at 02:50 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/29/19 at 11:44am

OK I’ll post here about my shows yesterday as well as in the separate threads for each show.

Saw To Kill A Mockingbird at the Saturday matinee and then Moulin Rouge! Last night.

Still crawling out from under the stupor of my hangover of my Broadway overdose from yesterday so I’ll try to keep this short and sweet.

To Kill A Mockingbird - great production! Lots of humor to help with darker moments. That was an unexpected and welcome surprise. We had full cast. No standbys/understudies. Great performances across the board but my favorites were Celia Keenan-Bolger and Gideon Glick. Loved the set as well. Couple times the incidental music made it difficult to hear some dialogue. We sat Mezzanine Row E - seats 2 & 4. Great view, horrible legroom, grateful for my aisle seat. While I have a few minor quibbles with the production, I overall loved it. Loved the set as well. No one came out to stagedoor. That’s kind of expected for Saturday matinees I would imagine. Although they set up the barricades then eventually told us no one was coming out. I bought the program, mug, and magnet. I tried on the Trayvon hoodie but it didn’t look good on me so did not purchase Also, if you go and want a cocktail, go to lowest level lobby and get in Kristin’s line and ask for the Kristin Special (named by me). I think it included Pineapple rum and OJ. Yummy!

Moulin Rouge! - wow. I wasn’t prepared to love this as much as I did. Of course, the set and what they’ve done with the theater itself is amazing. Also, loved the guy in the thong during pre-show. He almost made me forget tall hot guy Timothy Hughes from Hadestown the night before. I also liked the incidental music they have playing during the preshow. I know some people have found it annoying. Songs that didn’t really connect with me on the cast recording totally connected with me in the theater when I understood them in the context of the show. I also found Aaron and Karen to have chemistry which was a nice surprise after all the grumblings on here. Aaron’s voice is so beautiful. Karen’s is SO POWERFUL!!! Danny Burstein is EVERYTHING. Give that man his Tony now!!! I full on sobbed (first time with trip) during Your Song and at the death scene. A lot of that with Your Song has to do with my history with that song if you recall an earlier post of mine in the MR thread. I also, didn’t find the mashup encore jarring at end as it’s pretty clear it’s the actors performing for us, not the characters. Maybe it’s my The Bohemian Writer cocktail (with absinthe) in first act and my Sparkling Diamond cocktail in Act 2, but I think this has a shot not only at aTony nomination for best musical, but maybe a win. I know it’s got a lot of competition coming next year so we’ll see. I just don’t know that it’s outside the realm of possibility. I also know that some of my buy-in comes from my goodwill carryover from the movie as well as the transcendent power of pop (at least for me) that helped me survive a pretty unhappy childhood. 

As far as merchandise, I went crazy. I kept adding things to my pile. I bought the program, the coffee mug the latte mug, the bangle, the magnet, the window card, The heart shaped keychain. 

As far as stage door, Aaron came out and a couple of the ensemble members. Funny moment- my friend accidentally handed Aaron her To Kill A Mockingbird playbill and he just nicely said “I’m not in this. Good show though.”  and they had a good chuckle before she handed him the right playbill.  

So far, all three shows this trip have blown me away with their set and lighting design.

Updated On: 10/7/19 at 11:44 AM

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 9/29/19 at 12:37pm

Glad you’re enjoying your shows miles! Certainly made great choices

[inception]

Posted: 9/29/19 at 4:45pm

Grest to read your thoughts! Keep it up!
I've been listening to both MR & Hades recordings non-stop & won't see them for another 12 weeks.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 9/29/19 at 11:50pm

Saw Sea Wall/A Life for my matinee today followed by seeing Ben Platt At Radio City Music Hall.

Sea Wall/A Life - I definitely see why they paired these two one-acts together. Besides sharing similar themes, there are also some similarities in things that come up in both stories. And in the way the stories are told. Having said that, A Life resonated more with me than Sea Wall. That has nothing to do with Sturrdge’s performance. It was stellar. Sea Wall is just underwritten. A Life is the better written of the two and Gyllenhaal gives a bravura performance. I sobbed at least a couple times during it. I only bought the magnet.

I’ve been meaning to mention audience behavior in each show and I haven’t really done a good job of keeping up with that in my posts. The audience at the show was pretty disappointing. People taking flash photography during Sturrdge’s piece. Lady next to me refusing to turn her phone all the way off even though at this show, the ushers assertively tell your to turn it all the way off. She still refused despite me offering to help her do it and ladies next to me shaming her. Then when intermission was ending one lady in the orchestra (I was in front row of mezzanine) refused to get off the phone until act two actually started and I saw some people in the orchestra pull out their phones during the second act. I’m pretty sure I heard a phone once or twice too. Speaking of my seat - great view, not great legroom. Common theme this trip. 

Ben Platt - ran over to Radio City Music Hall as I need to be there as soon as possible for the meet and greet that I got as part of my VIP ticket. When I got there, I found out that Ben was running behind and instead of him coming out at 5:15, he came out around six or so. Due to vocal rest he only did two quick Q&A‘s then we were rushed through pics with him. I’m not complaining. Glad I’ll have a pic with him. It was still a good experience but I don’t feel the desire to ever need to do that again. Our VIP gifts were a stocking cap and a signed poster as well as our VIP lanyard and a VIP ticket. I also bought a concert shirt since I figured he wouldn’t really want me wearing a Madonna tee in our pic. Lol.

As far as the concert, he put on a hell of a great show! Looking forward to see the Netflix special. Great audience. Beanie came out and spoke to the audience a few minutes before he performed. 

Oh Em Gee. I almost buried the lead. Judith Light was in the audience and when I was coming down the aisle to my seat (I was front row Orchestra to right behind the PIT seats) she was standing up at her seat and we made eye contact and I smiled and she smiled back. Andrew Barth Feldman was also in attendance and I guess people were lining up to get a pic with him. He was gracious l, reportedly, but I’m sure he’d like to be able to enjoy a night out.

Regarding Broadway audiences, Hadestown has been the best. Moulin Rouge also had a good audience although at one point Danny Burstein made a comment about a phone while still in character and there was some whispering. The laughing at the shock of a new song didn’t bother me as it seemed to mostly only happen on upbeat songs where the show encourages that behavior. TKAM had the worst audience - phones going off, people checking their phones, several people with candy wrappers (sold at bar), whispering.

Updated On: 10/7/19 at 11:50 PM

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 9/30/19 at 7:24pm

Love reading all your reviews! Do you bring an empty bag for all your new merch? :) I'm always scared to buy anything more than a magnet or shirt when I'm on the road and seeing a show.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 1:30am

RWPrincess said: "Love reading all your reviews! Do you bring an empty bag for all your new merch? :) I'm always scared to buy anything more than a magnet or shirt when I'm on the road and seeing a show."

Because I fly with Delta often, I get three checked bags for free and I flew out with three bags but they were mostly full although they were under my weight allowance since I’m allowed up to 70 pounds per bag so hopefully I’ll be OK on the way home as a lot of my stuff is squishable. I also did some retail therapy on Fifth Avenue on Monday and will do some more today plus hitting the merch stand hard at the Madonna concert Tuesday and Thursday. Only other window card I’ll likely get is Okkahoma! 

Updated On: 10/7/19 at 01:30 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 1:31am

Was there Monday night for Little Shop of Horrors. Great production! I don’t think I’ve actually seen the movie since it was in theaters so I was a little foggy on some of the details which made some of the events in the shows surprising which was a good thing. Lots of laughs. Everyone was great, but the standouts for me were Groff and Blanchard. Somehow they toned down Groff’s handsomeness (I guess it was the hat and glasses) and he totally embodied Seymour. Blanchard brought a vulnerability to her character. She acted it very well. I don’t have clear recollections of Greene’s singing, but I thought she did a lovely job with the songs. She brought vulnerability to the songs. Based on earlier reports, I think they must’ve lowered the songs because she didn’t seem to be straining to hit notes. Great puppetry as well.

I bought the magnet and window card. Very responsive audience. No cell phones going off or crinkling candy wrappers.

Stagedoor: most everyone came out except for a couple of the urchins. All of them signed my window card. I’d hoped I’d get to speak to Jonathan Groff at stagedoor and planned out the briefest way to say what I wanted to say.

So after the rest of the cast came out, he came out last. I was a few people back at the end of the barricades, but by time he got to us, people who’d met him left so I was able to get to the front and talk to him and tell him how much the HBO show Looking had meant to me and I started tearing up (I’m a “Patrick”; what are you?) and so he hugged me and then we talked a little. I told him how I’d missed seeing him in Hamilton because he was filming the Looking finale movie when I saw it. And I even told him about my failed attempt to get Looking renewed by having our fan club send glasses (because the show was called Looking; I know, lame) to HBO and I got so enamored I forgot to ask if I can have a picture with him but luckily he had stopped to do something with someone else and when I approached him and apologized for bothering him again, he said don’t be sorry and put his arm around me and we took a picture together. He also complimented my jacket.

What a great day it has been.

Updated On: 10/7/19 at 01:31 AM

[Javi]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 3:11am

So happy you got to meet Jonathan. He seems super lovely!

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 5:13am

Such a wonderful trip you’re having so far!!! Thank you for sharing all of your show experiences here and on other threads. Four more days, is it? Enjoy the Madonna concert tonight. What other Broadway activities are on the schedule for the rest of the week? Oklahoma and Tootsie? Anything else....Beetlejuice, hint hint :)

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 8:44am

Jonathan is a very gracious, super kind guy. When I started tearing up and my voice broke when discussing Looking, he was the one that initiated the hug. He also is even more incredibly handsome in person than he is on television which is only enhanced by his kindness and not seeming to know how good looking he is.

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 8:46am

dmwnc1959 said: "Such a wonderful trip you’re having so far!!! Thank you for sharing all of your show experiences here and on other threads. Four more days, is it? Enjoy the Madonna concert tonight. What other Broadway activities are on the schedule for the rest of the week? Oklahoma and Tootsie? Anything else....Beetlejuice, hint hint :)"

Yes, today plus 3 more days. It’s been a great trip! Tonight is Madonna. Tomorrow is Betrayal/Oklahoma!  Thursday is Madonna again (front row!). Friday is Tootsie. 

[Mike Barrett]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 9:45am

Still you and Idina, I love hearing these reports however! 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 10:34am

To each their own, but some things are better left unsaid.

[dmwnc1959]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 12:09pm

inception said: "Ugg.. maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't find him attractive at all. If that pic showed up as some random couple on Grindr, I'd be like that kid is lucky to have such a hot sugar daddy.”

 

Well, he’s certainly a hell of a lot better looking than I am. lol  And if I had that face, I’d be very, VERY happy. 

[schubox]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 12:38pm

Didn't want to reply to the long message but totally agree about the Moulin Rouge house music. I really dug it. Enjoyed the reviews, glad you had fun.

[RWPrincess]

Posted: 10/1/19 at 3:17pm

Miles2Go2 said: "RWPrincess said: "Love reading all your reviews! Do you bring an empty bag for all your new merch? :) I'm always scared to buy anything more than a magnet or shirt when I'm on the road and seeing a show."

Because I fly with Delta often, I get three checked bags for free and I flew out with three bags but they were mostly full although they were under my weightallowance since I’m allowed up to 70 pounds per bag so hopefully I’ll be OK on the way home as a lot of my stuff is squishable.I also did some retail therapy on Figth Avenue on Mondayand will do some more today plus hitting the merch stand hard at the Madonna concert Tuesday and Thursday. Only other window card I’ll likely get is Okkahoma!"

That makes sense about the extra bags. Glad you're finding ample shopping time too. Enjoy Madonna!

 

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/3/19 at 12:36am

Okay so Tuesday night was my first of two Madonna concerts. Visit my report on the off topic thread for my impressions - I loved it!

Today was a two show day. Matinee of Betrayal followed by evening performance of Oklahoma!

Started day with one of my favorite brunch spots - Philip Marie in the West Village. They have the best omelets and drinks.

Headed over to Jacobs Theatre for Betrayal. I actually had an extreme side mezzanine front row partial view $25 seat, but checked with box office and for $24 was moved to Row M9 left orchestra. Great view. Only at one point when Ashton and Cox were performing a scene was Hiddleston far left and I could only see half of him. Lots of sporadic empty seats in back half of orchestra.

As far as the production itself, all three gave stellar performances. I’d say Hiddleston gave my favorite performance. I just felt like the play itself isn’t maybe as profound as Pinter thought it was or maybe I missed it. Also, I didn’t detect all this crying, snot running others have mentioned. Maybe because I accidentally left binoculars in my hotel room. Still a very good day at the theater. Much humor was mined out of such a dark subject. I will say at one point I discovered a solitary tear angling down my left cheek. They don’t stagedoor matinees which was fine as it’s hard for me to stagedoor after a depressing play. I bought a magnet before the play began and a Hiddle Me This cocktail. Yummy! I did mention to bartender that when the usher welcomed me with “Welcome to Betrayal”, it reminded me of something Stefan on SNL would say about some new bar. The bartender said that would now be stuck in his head and I said you’re welcome. Oh and about the audience, besides a little candy wrapper noise in my section, two separate cell phones went off to the spontaneous verbal disgust of people in our section myself included. I swear it’s almost a given that if you see a quiet play cell phones are going to go off no matter how much they warn them.

Went to Joe Allen. I know their menu is limited right now so I can’t judge it based on what it usually is like. It was okay. The beet salad that my server recommended was phenomenal though. That’s saying something since I hate beets. I had a cheeseburger and it was good, and certainly nothing earth shattering but good. I didn’t have room for dessert.

Headed over to CITS. Maybe one of these days I’ll remember that my map always takes me to the wrong place when I get directions to Circle in the Square. Anyway finally found it with some assistance. Before the show I bought the program and then they had a deal where you can get the magnet, mug and keychain all for $20 so I did that. I thought about the window card but held off. I’ve already bought 4 window cards this trip and I’m running out of wall space as it is.

Regarding Oklahoma!, I first have to say I don’t think I’ve ever seen the movie. And I’ve only seen one stage production that was done locally every summer at an outside theater venue outside of Tulsa. And that’s probably been 20 years ago so my memories of it are pretty vague. All of that is to say that I wasn’t overly wedded to what I thought the show has been or should be. I thought it’s a really brave production and I even liked the dream ballet once I understood what it was which was when it was over. I thought everyone gave stellar performances and I was lucky that all the principle cast were in. I was so glad to see Ali Stroker again after seeing her in Spring Awakening. But...

I found both shows really easy to admire immensely, but not easy to necessarily “love” if that makes sense. Oklahoma! was great on so many fronts. It’s hard to believe this was ever considered a feel good musical. The dark themes are there and explored extremely well.

I will admit I’m a little down in the dumps and I’m not sure if it’s because my trip is nearing its end (always hard to say goodbye to NYC) or because I saw two depressing shows today. Either way, that may have affected my enjoyment of both shows a bit. I’m not sure. Maybe it’s because I missed the chili and cornbread. As soon as intermission began I ran to the bathroom and I was the second one in there so got in and out quickly. That was one of the advantages of being seated in K110 (which also afforded good views). But the disadvantage was by the time I got back the line for chili was really long and they ran out of chili or they just quit serving before I even got close to getting chili. I suppose in retrospect I should’ve stood in line for chili and then going to the bathroom but I wanted to make sure that my bladder took precedence.  Not gonna lie. I was pretty bummed even though I wasn’t hungry. I just wanted to have the full experience. There’s a chance I wouldn’t have liked the chili anyway since I’m from Oklahoma which is a place that prides itself on having really good chili although I know people said this chili is good. I also have been operating on three hours asleep after the Madonna concert the night before and so I’m sure that’s affecting my mood as well. I had some trouble staying awake during act one of Oklahoma! Due to being tired and the show being depressing, I did not stagedoor afterwards. Took the subway back to my hotel in Brooklyn and I’m getting ready to pass out here in a minute and try to get a good night’s sleep.

I know it’s been mentioned that some of the people don’t get that the ending of Oklahoma in this production is not joyous and I’m not sure how anybody would not get that but as I looked around I saw older women singing along or mouthing the words in a very joyous manner at the end. 

I’m glad I have an opportunity to to see Madonna again tomorrow from the front row and then Tootsie on Friday night which will be a feel good musical to end my trip.

Updated On: 10/7/19 at 12:36 AM

[Miles2Go2]

Posted: 10/3/19 at 1:06am

Also, didn’t hear any phones go off during Oklahoma! They get pretty stern warnings at the beginning of each act but I haven’t seen that work much with other shows. They said one of the actors would stop the show if they saw somebody using their phone and ask them to stop using their phones. There were also a lot of empty seats in the higher rows.

[uncageg]

Posted: 10/3/19 at 1:16am

Enjoy Tootsie! I thought it was hysterical.