Broadway musicals

Which Broadway show would you recommend ?

  • Aladdin

    Votes: 12 12.5%
  • Anastasia

    Votes: 5 5.2%
  • Cats

    Votes: 10 10.4%
  • Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

    Votes: 4 4.2%
  • Hamilton

    Votes: 40 41.7%
  • Miss Saigon

    Votes: 21 21.9%
  • The Book of Mormon

    Votes: 35 36.5%
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    Votes: 29 30.2%
  • Wicked

    Votes: 33 34.4%
  • Other

    Votes: 24 25.0%

  • Total voters
    96

MacMadame

Doing all the things
Messages
58,289
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?
 

paskatefan

Well-Known Member
Messages
8,202
"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.
 
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Wyliefan

Ubering juniors against my will
Messages
43,990
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

Simply looking
Messages
30,934
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

Needs a nap
Messages
30,012
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. :shuffle: )

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

AITA
Messages
4,935
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

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,652

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

Simply looking
Messages
30,934
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

Well-Known Member
Messages
4,652
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

Simply looking
Messages
30,934
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

Simply looking
Messages
30,934
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

Well-Known Member
Messages
41,020
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.

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.

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

Simply looking
Messages
30,934
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

Well-Known Member
Messages
10,751
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!
 

Theatregirl1122

Needs a nap
Messages
30,012
This week I went to see Parade, Kimberly Akimbo, and Here Lies Love.

I thought Parade was excellent, both the cast and staging. (I think the people next to me didn't know how it ended, which is maybe not something I'd advise...) It's obviously a difficult musical to watch, but I think it does it's job well.

Kimberly Akimbo, I had some friends who loved it and some who said it was good but not great, so I wasn't sure if I was looking forward to it, but I thought it was fantastic. It wasn't anything like what I expected it to be. It was so much fun, and very moving in places, and the cast was brilliant. We saw an understudy for the role of Seth. I think it was his first time on and he was excellent.

Here Lies Love I expected to be great after the reviews from the Public pre-pandemic and honestly? It's a no for me. The music is fun. The staging is very interesting (Alex Timbers has honestly directed it to death). But the script just doesn't hold up. It's a sung through musical, but the songs don't really carry the plot forward and the whole thing feels like they aren't really trying to make you understand or invest in the story? The only thing that really explains the plot is the projections which give information about what is happening. I think it's definitely a problem that you need to be able to read a TV screen in order to understand the story at all. And I did know what was happening, but there was nothing to make me as an audience member connect to it? I felt like a history book tried to throw a dance party.
 

screech

Well-Known Member
Messages
7,409
Earlier this week, Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells announced on Instagram that they're reuniting on Broadway this October, 12 years after they starred together in Book of Mormon. It's actually Josh's first Broadway show since Book of Mormon. They'll be starring in "Gutenberg". Per the official site:
It’s the story of two best pals named Bud and Doug who put on a show together because they just love each other so damn much. It’s art imitating life imitating art! And it’s the funniest thing to come to Broadway since 1448! (Which is the year the printing press was invented by Johannes Gutenberg, who is the subject of the musical that Bud and Doug write, but that’s not important right now.)
 

Theatregirl1122

Needs a nap
Messages
30,012
I definitely should have googled the To Kill a Mockingbird play before I went. That was one of the single most unpleasant 3 hours I've ever been trapped in a theatre. Now that I've read a whole bunch of backstory and comments from Aaron Sorokin, I understand why. :lol:
 

caseyedwards

Well-Known Member
Messages
21,802
Almost no moments in the play reflected what actually happened in the book.

In typical Aaron Sorokin fashion, it felt like he thought he could write a better To Kill A Mockingbird than Harper Lee.

Here’s an article where he defends his choices (after being sued by Harper Lee’s estate): https://www.vulture.com/2018/11/aaron-sorkin-to-kill-a-mockingbird.html
He’s such a liar. Where to kill a mockingbird has been banned it has been banned by liberals for having a white savior
 

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