The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[Dawnlight]

I saw Newsies in Boston a couple of days ago and was very unimpressed. I'd rate it 5/10. I thought the dancing was the best aspect of the show, but even that seemed lackluster. The staging was okay, but not unique or varied; I understand that the setting makes it somewhat limited in scope, but thought it could have been done better. The actors seemed to swallow their words a lot; not sure if it was due to trying to mimic a New York accent or not, but the end result made it difficult to understand what was being said. I didn't enjoy the music so much, nor the costuming.

It's definitely not a show I'd see again or recommend to anyone.

 

[TianaPrincess]

I love Musical and really anything to do with The Arts. I hope to get accepted into The Tisch School Of The Performing Arts at NYU after I graduate from High School next year. My favorite musical is The Color Purple, but I love a lot of musicals.

 

[SingingMom]

I saw Newsies in Boston a couple of days ago and was very unimpressed. I'd rate it 5/10. I thought the dancing was the best aspect of the show, but even that seemed lackluster. The staging was okay, but not unique or varied; I understand that the setting makes it somewhat limited in scope, but thought it could have been done better. The actors seemed to swallow their words a lot; not sure if it was due to trying to mimic a New York accent or not, but the end result made it difficult to understand what was being said. I didn't enjoy the music so much, nor the costuming.

It's definitely not a show I'd see again or recommend to anyone.

Sorry you didn't enjoy it! We saw the premier at Paper Mill Playhouse, and then numerous times on Broadway, with the original cast. No one plays Jack Kelly like Jeremy Jordan! Believe me, if you ever hear him sing "Santa Fe" live, you'll feel differently. ;-)

 

[aprilgail]

I saw Newsies in Boston a couple of days ago and was very unimpressed. I'd rate it 5/10. I thought the dancing was the best aspect of the show, but even that seemed lackluster. The staging was okay, but not unique or varied; I understand that the setting makes it somewhat limited in scope, but thought it could have been done better. The actors seemed to swallow their words a lot; not sure if it was due to trying to mimic a New York accent or not, but the end result made it difficult to understand what was being said. I didn't enjoy the music so much, nor the costuming.

It's definitely not a show I'd see again or recommend to anyone.

I agree, that show did nothing for me- it was ok, but sure wouldn't see it more than once.

 

[Newsies]

Sorry you didn't enjoy it! We saw the premier at Paper Mill Playhouse, and then numerous times on Broadway, with the original cast. No one plays Jack Kelly like Jeremy Jordan! Believe me, if you ever hear him sing "Santa Fe" live, you'll feel differently. ;-)

HERE, HERE!

 

[TwoCortWort]

I was able to make it out to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying yesterday, after being diagnosed with Shingles 2 weeks ago, I didn't think I would get out for it. We had to change our plans from the weekend before to 7/5, luckily the theater was very understanding and upgraded our seats free of charge, just charged us $4 to transfer the tickets to a new date. This was at a regional theater in the NC mountains, up in Flat Rock. I have been wanting to see this one since 2011, Daniel Radcliffe was in the Broadway cast and so it was impossible to get tickets, but this cast most of them had Broadway credits. The guy who played Finche was in Newsies even and he truly was amazing! Really enjoyed the show and glad I checked it off my bucket list finally. I knew the girl who played Rosemary, so it was great to see her back onstage. I am seeing Gypsy at the same theater next month, excited for that one too. Also have made plans to see Matilda in February....new show trips are coming together for the next season.

 

[TwoCortWort]

I saw Newsies in Boston a couple of days ago and was very unimpressed. I'd rate it 5/10. I thought the dancing was the best aspect of the show, but even that seemed lackluster. The staging was okay, but not unique or varied; I understand that the setting makes it somewhat limited in scope, but thought it could have been done better. The actors seemed to swallow their words a lot; not sure if it was due to trying to mimic a New York accent or not, but the end result made it difficult to understand what was being said. I didn't enjoy the music so much, nor the costuming.

It's definitely not a show I'd see again or recommend to anyone.

A friend of mine saw it in Boston last week, and wasn't a fan of the touring cast. She saw it on Broadway and liked it better.

 

[Newsies]

I was able to make it out to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying yesterday, after being diagnosed with Shingles 2 weeks ago, I didn't think I would get out for it. We had to change our plans from the weekend before to 7/5, luckily the theater was very understanding and upgraded our seats free of charge, just charged us $4 to transfer the tickets to a new date. This was at a regional theater in the NC mountains, up in Flat Rock. I have been wanting to see this one since 2011, Daniel Radcliffe was in the Broadway cast and so it was impossible to get tickets, but this cast most of them had Broadway credits. The guy who played Finche was in Newsies even and he truly was amazing! Really enjoyed the show and glad I checked it off my bucket list finally. I knew the girl who played Rosemary, so it was great to see her back onstage. I am seeing Gypsy at the same theater next month, excited for that one too. Also have made plans to see Matilda in February....new show trips are coming together for the next season.

You saw Adam Kaplan's H2$? That's AWESOME! He's such a sweetheart! So proud of him! Did you get to speak to him afterwards?

 

[TwoCortWort]

You saw Adam Kaplan's H2$? That's AWESOME! He's such a sweetheart! So proud of him! Did you get to speak to him afterwards?

Yes I did! he was amazing!!! I didn't get to talk to him after, it was pouring down rain for one thing and they had a talk back going on with a group of school kids that were there. We didn't wait around the 30 minutes to see them all come out, I talked to the girl I knew that was in the show after that was it. The rain dampened the standing out there.

 

[Newsies]

Yes I did! he was amazing!!! I didn't get to talk to him after, it was pouring down rain for one thing and they had a talk back going on with a group of school kids that were there. We didn't wait around the 30 minutes to see them all come out, I talked to the girl I knew that was in the show after that was it. The rain dampened the standing out there.

I understand. Many a-time have I had rain dampen my stagedoor experience!

 

[TwoCortWort]

I understand. Many a-time have I had rain dampen my stagedoor experience!

I likely would've skipped the door if I didn't know the girl that played Rosemary. She came out and talked to us about 10 minutes, we at least got to stand up on the covered deck after she invited us up. It was my first time to see her in 4 years, and the whole cast was amazing! Lots of equity members in the cast. One thing about this theater, they bring in Broadway veterans to perform at this small theater, there are two in this area, one is theater in the round which made Cats an amazing experience in that format. I also met the girl that played Smitty (her name is actually the same as mine) and funny part some of the cast (ensemble) were directly traffic and we asked one where the stage door was exactly and she was like "Wow I didn't expect that one!"

 

[JenM]

Has anyone seen Fun House? My DD and her best friend really want to go see it but I really want to go see Finding Neverland (especially since they were both in their high school production of Peter Pan last November - my DD as Tiger Lilly & her friend as Wendy).

Do you mean Fun Home? I saw it a few weeks ago, and it was amazing. It’s not a big spectacle show like Wicked or something, it’s about a woman who’s trying to draw her late father, and reliving old memories that play out on stage with her as a child, and when she was in college. It’s a true story - it’s based on Alison Bechdel’s graphic novel about her own family.

It’s sad (“Fun Home” is actually short for “Funeral Home”, which was the family business and what they called it for short), but it’s really beautifully done and the performances are outstanding.

 

[JenM]

Btw, if you're going to a Broadway show, don't do this:

HAND TO GOD Audience Member Attempts to Charge Cell Phone On Stage

http://www.broadwayworld.com/articl...tempts-to-Charge-Cell-Phone-On-Stage-20150706

Seriously??

 

[leebee]

I was able to make it out to see How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying yesterday, after being diagnosed with Shingles 2 weeks ago, I didn't think I would get out for it. We had to change our plans from the weekend before to 7/5, luckily the theater was very understanding and upgraded our seats free of charge, just charged us $4 to transfer the tickets to a new date. This was at a regional theater in the NC mountains, up in Flat Rock. I have been wanting to see this one since 2011, Daniel Radcliffe was in the Broadway cast and so it was impossible to get tickets, but this cast most of them had Broadway credits. The guy who played Finche was in Newsies even and he truly was amazing! Really enjoyed the show and glad I checked it off my bucket list finally. I knew the girl who played Rosemary, so it was great to see her back onstage. I am seeing Gypsy at the same theater next month, excited for that one too. Also have made plans to see Matilda in February....new show trips are coming together for the next season.

We got rush tickets to see this in 2011; we were in line by 9:20am and sales started at 10am. DD was thrilled to be sitting close enough to Daniel Radcliffe that she could see him sweat! The show was good- and Radcliffe was quite good in his role, although if he hadn't been famous for being "Harry Potter" I am not sure he'd have earned the lead. John Larroquette, who played J.B. Biggley in this production, was FABULOUS, and we thought he actually carried the show. After the show, Larroquette came right out and took off, and Radcliffe never appeared (we waited around for about 90 minutes to see if he'd some out). However, all the dancers came out and talked with DD quite a bit. She is a dancer (which is why we were in NYC) so this was almost as exciting for her- she was at a training program that several of the show's dancers had taken so they were comparing notes and choreography in the street. LOTS of fun!

 

[elgerber]

We got rush tickets to see this in 2011; we were in line by 9:20am and sales started at 10am. DD was thrilled to be sitting close enough to Daniel Radcliffe that she could see him sweat! The show was good- and Radcliffe was quite good in his role, although if he hadn't been famous for being "Harry Potter" I am not sure he'd have earned the lead. John Larroquette, who played J.B. Biggley in this production, was FABULOUS, and we thought he actually carried the show. After the show, Larroquette came right out and took off, and Radcliffe never appeared (we waited around for about 90 minutes to see if he'd some out). However, all the dancers came out and talked with DD quite a bit. She is a dancer (which is why we were in NYC) so this was almost as exciting for her- she was at a training program that several of the show's dancers had taken so they were comparing notes and choreography in the street. LOTS of fun!

We saw Radcliffe in Cripple last summer, and we were close enough to practically see nose hairs LOL. I thought it rude when the audience erupted when he first entered the stage (not that I wasn't star struck also), but he was truly amazing in that show!!!

 

[TwoCortWort]

We got rush tickets to see this in 2011; we were in line by 9:20am and sales started at 10am. DD was thrilled to be sitting close enough to Daniel Radcliffe that she could see him sweat! The show was good- and Radcliffe was quite good in his role, although if he hadn't been famous for being "Harry Potter" I am not sure he'd have earned the lead. John Larroquette, who played J.B. Biggley in this production, was FABULOUS, and we thought he actually carried the show. After the show, Larroquette came right out and took off, and Radcliffe never appeared (we waited around for about 90 minutes to see if he'd some out). However, all the dancers came out and talked with DD quite a bit. She is a dancer (which is why we were in NYC) so this was almost as exciting for her- she was at a training program that several of the show's dancers had taken so they were comparing notes and choreography in the street. LOTS of fun!

We didn't know about the rush tickets back then. We did go by the stage door even before the show was over and there were tons of people out there already. I was like "Oh forget it!" Plus it was about to storm buckets of water, haha. I always say the ensemble makes up the show, there are the leads yes, but without the ensemble there really isn't a show to watch onstage.

 

[TwoCortWort]

Btw, if you're going to a Broadway show, don't do this:

HAND TO GOD Audience Member Attempts to Charge Cell Phone On Stage

http://www.broadwayworld.com/articl...tempts-to-Charge-Cell-Phone-On-Stage-20150706

Seriously??

When I saw this, there was a pre-show announcement on Sunday at "How to Succeed" and it was "How to Succed at being a swell audience" And I am like they needed to have this for that show. LOL How stupid can some one be? The guy behind me fell asleep during the show and some one else got a phone call, didn't have their phone off and answered the phone also.

 

[JenM]

When I saw this, there was a pre-show announcement on Sunday at "How to Succeed" and it was "How to Succed at being a swell audience" And I am like they needed to have this for that show. LOL How stupid can some one be? The guy behind me fell asleep during the show and some one else got a phone call, didn't have their phone off and answered the phone also.

When I saw The River, with Hugh Jackman, they had an understudy come on stage before the show started to ask everyone to take out their phones and make sure they were off, reminding everyone that the play was only 90 minutes and they'd be able to turn them back on soon.

Someone's phone went off anyway...

 

[SingingMom]

We saw "Amazing Grace" on Broadway this past weekend. Excellent show! We were in the front row and were totally caught up in the beauty and raw emotion. Josh Young has an angel's voice. I just love it! The entire cast was wonderful and the staging was tremendous. There was only one character that I disliked - I think he was portrayed a little too much like a baffoon , so it came off too comical instead of sinister. But the rest was really "amazing"!

Had a great time conversing with the cast at the stage door. They were all very pleased to hear our reactions - one shook my husband's hand and my favorite was the actress playing "Nana" , gabpve him a kiss on the cheek! Lol

If you have a chance, go see it. Very emotional and touching! Next week we see " Something Rotten" and the following week the Broadway Princesses at 54 Below! Then DD goes off to WDW for her internship! She says she needs her NYC fix before she heads south!!

 

[crazymama]

Well I have been absent from this thread for a bit.... but just wanted to check in to say that we opened our production of "Catch Me If You Can" this week! So exciting and I am thrilled to report that the audiences are eating it up! The last production this theatre company did was "August Osage County" so this big brassy dance show could not be more polar opposite lol! People are loving our Frank Jr (he is amazing!) as well as our Hanratty. Brenda's Fly Fly Away has them practically on their feet every night. My Carol Strong has been taken in a bit of a different direction than either the movie or the Broadway version and I get pretty drunk during the dinner scene which makes for a fun song "Our Family Tree." Me thinks I am getting a bit typecast... apparently I do drunk well. Hmmmm....?