Broadway musicals

[MacMadame]

I was interested in Jagged Little Pill because of Alanis but could not get Mr. Mac to go see it with me. What's it about?

 

[Kasey]

Going to see "Come from away" tonight, in the "Broadway comes to Reno" series. Been looking forward to it, as a Facebook friend has seen it multiple times and loves it.

 

[Sarah]

@Kasey come from away is one of my favorites. Seen it twice (most recently in February). I hope you enjoy.

We saw Six on tour in Philly on Sunday and loved it. Just energy. Loved too the different body types on stage.

 

[paskatefan]

"Come From Away" is my favorite of the relatively recent Broadway musicals. We saw it on Broadway once & on the National Tour (when it came to Philly). Next week we were going to see "Six" on the National Tour. Looking forward to it.

 

[screech]

Going to see "Come from away" tonight, in the "Broadway comes to Reno" series. Been looking forward to it, as a Facebook friend has seen it multiple times and loves it.

Come From Away was a show that I almost felt obligated to see as a Canadian. However I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[MacMadame]

Come From Away was a show that I almost felt obligated to see as a Canadian. However I thoroughly enjoyed it!

I had heard so much about it that I was afraid it wouldn't live up to the hype. But I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[peibeck]

"The Phantom of the Opera" played its final performance tonight of its original Broadway run (a record13,891shows). But you can own a piece of its history while also donating to charities: https://www.charitybuzz.com/support/phantom

 

[Wyliefan]

Phantom has been on Broadway since I was 12! It feels surreal to think of it not there. Even if they do eventually reopen in a pared-down version, as rumor suggests, it won't be the same.

 

[peibeck]

It will be odd for "Phantom" to not be on Broadway but I'm sure the Majestic Theater is in dire need of some rehab. A 35 year tenant surely means almost every seat/cushion/carpet is needing replaced.

This week "Wicked" surpassed "Cats" to become the 4th longest running show in Broadway history.

 

[Theatregirl1122]

I was interested in Jagged Little Pill because of Alanis but could not get Mr. Mac to go see it with me. What's it about?

It's about if a set of writers absorbed every single Very Special Episode of every tv show at the same time and then vomited them back out with complete incoherance. But tried to fix it with good singers singing a great album dropped in.

(I saw it on Broadway pre-pandemic and was completely blown away by how bad the writing was. )

I have a lot of love for many of the people who worked on Tootsie and for David Yazbeck, but Tootsie was a musical that simply could not work and there was no saving it, even by trying way too hard, which they did.

 

[Yehudi]

I saw Bad Cinderella and, yeah, it was pretty bad. The songs were mostly meh, the humor felt mostly flat, and the main characters were pretty unlikeable. Cinderella leaned in too heavily on the “Not like other girls” trope and the Prince was like Dan Humphrey’s dumber, more annoyingly self-righteous cousin.

 

[emason]

It will be odd for "Phantom" to not be on Broadway but I'm sure the Majestic Theater is in dire need of some rehab. A 35 year tenant surely means almost every seat/cushion/carpet is needing replaced.

This week "Wicked" surpassed "Cats" to become the 4th longest running show in Broadway history.

The Majestic needs a lot of rehab. It needs walker/wheelchair accessible bathrooms, especially on the orchestra level. It desperately needs hand railings to help you to your seat on the mezzanine level. It needs an elevator from the orchestra level to the mezzanine. It’s not just the seats and carpeting. It needs 35 years’ worth of upgrades. That’s only front of house; backstage needs a major overhaul also I would imagine.

 

[peibeck]

The Majestic needs a lot of rehab. It needs walker/wheelchair accessible bathrooms, especially on the orchestra level. It desperately needs hand railings to help you to your seat on the mezzanine level. It needs an elevator from the orchestra level to the mezzanine. It’s not just the seats and carpeting. It needs 35 years’ worth of upgrades. That’s only front of house; backstage needs a major overhaul also I would imagine.

The New Amsterdam (which Disney bought and rehabbed) is the only historic theater I've ever heard of where they actually added a front of house elevator. And I don't know if it was ever even a "legit" theater before they bought it. (I think it may have just been a movie theater, but I'm not 100% sure).

Many (most) Broadway theaters don't have accessible restrooms, and with space restrictions and sound issues, on top of NY historic preservation regs, I am positive that's how almost all the historic theaters have avoided costly renovation like elevators. Off the top of my head, I can't think of one historic Broadway house where there are bathrooms on the orchestra level at all.

 

[emason]

What Broadway theaters have and what they need are 2 different things. I was detailing what I think they need, and considering the millions and the time budgeted for the renovations, I think some of what I mentioned is possible. I don’t think the theater has landmark status, but I may be wrong on that.

 

[peibeck]

The Majestic has had Landmark status since 1987.

I'm not arguing accessibility is vital, just that I don't foresee massive renovations like adding elevators.

 

[peibeck]

I'm halfway through my NY Broadway trip and will drop a few notes on what I've seen so far:

Started on Tuesday with "Prima Facie" with Jodie Comer (of "Killing Eve" fame), a one woman play about a lawyer who defends rapists, then ends up being assaulted herself. Very likely she will win Best Actress Tony for her efforts, and she was very affecting. I thought the script was uneven and at times a bit too polemic, but there was no denying the acting on display. It's just announced it will extend its run for 2 weeks (to July 2nd).

Wednesday matinee was the "Sweeney Todd" revival, but star Josh Groban was out. The understudy was good and the show is quite effective. I know this show is not to everyone's tastes, but I love the score, and the cast and full 26 piece orchestra (a rarity to be so large anymore on B'way) sounded amazing. This is probably the most choreographed "Sweeney" ever, some of which was brilliant and some of which was an epic fail for me though.

Wednesday night, as a palate cleanser saw "Shucked," a new musical (which garnered 12 Drama Desk nominations yesterday) and it was a lot of fun. The story is silly and campy, the score is country meets Broadway, but the cast serves up corn like it's caviar. Literally this is one of the best ensembles I've seen on stage in decades.
https://youtu.be/RHuDodgiDIQ Alex Newell's Act One anthem that got a standing ovation in the middle of Act One!

Last night was the Lincoln Center revival of "Camelot," and while the set and costumes were lovely, the show (especially the first act) were a dreadful bore. Even the actors seemed to be in third gear. After the stellar, dynamic and high energy casts of "Sweeney" and "Shucked," this turgid affair was like being stuck in a mud pit. The rewritten show is literally nothing but exposition in Act One, so at least the second act (which I almost didn't stay for as Act One nearly had me nodding off) had some action. There's a 30 piece orchestra (!!!) for this, and the show sounds lovely and most of the singing is strong, but the new script drags the whole affair down, sadly.

 

[VGThuy]

I'm not surprised that Aaron Sorkin overwrote the book. Camelot already has had so many issues with its book since its original inception and Lerner/Loewe were re-working it even past opening night.

I can see the Tony Award for Best Actress in a play being between Jodie Comer for Prima Facie and Jessica Chastain for A Doll's House. Both of them received raves, and both are providing vastly different performances. I'll put spoiler tags below just to be safe.

Spoiler

Prima Facie has Comer very physical as she moves around that stage in a one-woman show where she has to provide voices to multiple characters in her character's point-of-view and has to tackle a third act that is in many ways different from the previous two.

Spoiler

Chastain tackles one of the most known and influential classics of all time, but in an almost, unprecedented cold-modern reading that actually works. Her Nora does not have the same fluttery, youthful type of energy we're used seeing but instead is a bit harsher and knowing. Unlike Comer who is very physical in Prima Facie, Chastain remains mostly seated throughout the show, and even during Nora's famous dance in the final act. Chastain also never moves from that stage, even as the audience is making their way to their seats before the show starts, Chastain is seated, center-stage, sort of looking down and not paying attention to the audience until the lights dim and the show starts.

 

[peibeck]

We saw the tour of "Jesus Christ Superstar" tonight, and both my friend and I hated it. The obvious choices to make the villains gay tropes (S&M costuming for the Jerusalem leaders) and turning Herrod, literally, into a drag queen.... Girl, my blood was boiling.

Don't get me going on the awful, awkward choreography or the leads ability to actually ACT rather than just sing the score.... MESS!!!

 

[Cachoo]

I'm halfway through my NY Broadway trip and will drop a few notes on what I've seen so far:

Started on Tuesday with "Prima Facie" with Jodie Comer (of "Killing Eve" fame), a one woman play about a lawyer who defends rapists, then ends up being assaulted herself. Very likely she will win Best Actress Tony for her efforts, and she was very affecting. I thought the script was uneven and at times a bit too polemic, but there was no denying the acting on display. It's just announced it will extend its run for 2 weeks (to July 2nd).

Wednesday matinee was the "Sweeney Todd" revival, but star Josh Groban was out. The understudy was good and the show is quite effective. I know this show is not to everyone's tastes, but I love the score, and the cast and full 26 piece orchestra (a rarity to be so large anymore on B'way) sounded amazing. This is probably the most choreographed "Sweeney" ever, some of which was brilliant and some of which was an epic fail for me though.

Wednesday night, as a palate cleanser saw "Shucked," a new musical (which garnered 12 Drama Desk nominations yesterday) and it was a lot of fun. The story is silly and campy, the score is country meets Broadway, but the cast serves up corn like it's caviar. Literally this is one of the best ensembles I've seen on stage in decades.
https://youtu.be/RHuDodgiDIQ Alex Newell's Act One anthem that got a standing ovation in the middle of Act One!

Last night was the Lincoln Center revival of "Camelot," and while the set and costumes were lovely, the show (especially the first act) were a dreadful bore. Even the actors seemed to be in third gear. After the stellar, dynamic and high energy casts of "Sweeney" and "Shucked," this turgid affair was like being stuck in a mud pit. The rewritten show is literally nothing but exposition in Act One, so at least the second act (which I almost didn't stay for as Act One nearly had me nodding off) had some action. There's a 30 piece orchestra (!!!) for this, and the show sounds lovely and most of the singing is strong, but the new script drags the whole affair down, sadly.

Bravo Alex Newell!