The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[MinnieFan]

BTW, Minniefan -- I don't know if you saw the postings about a Q&A Stephen Sondheim did last weekend, but he was asked out of all the auditions he's seen, which have been the most memorable and one of them was Victor Garber's for Sweeney Todd. Sondheim said Garber made them all weep.

I wasn't aware of the Q & A - must have been interesting.

Victor Garber still has a beautiful voice, 30 years after Sweeney Todd. He's one of my all time favorites.

 

[DVC Kathy]

:i'm definitely a musical person...my faves are Wicked, Avenue Q, Les Miz, West Side Story, Rent, and Legally Blonde.
i know, i know, about that last one. But seriously, it's done EXTREMELY well, and if you have really studied theater and musicals, you pick up on all the little inside jokes and technical stuff that make it really translate well into a show. For example, the addition of the "Greek Chorus" is just BRILLIANT!

i gotta say though...Cats is AWFUL! The music is okay as a standalone, and the dancing is fantastic, but i enjoy plot lines, hahah.

I saw the touring production of Legally Blonde in Philadelphia in early December, and thought it was wonderful. Fun tunes, very witty. I've been listening to the cast album a lot recently. I would definitely see it again, given the chance.

I'm partial to Sondheim, but my favorite musical has to be Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, if only because I saw it with the original cast, including John Lithgow, Norbert Leo Butz, Sherie Rene Scott, and Joanne Gleason.

Love Wicked. I've seen it twice in Philly and once in New York. Really enjoyed Avenue Q, The Drowsy Chaperone, Godspell, Bye Bye Birdie (with Tommy Tune), Mamma Mia (and thought I was going to hate it). I love the music to Big River, but have never seen it. I think my favorite Rogers & Hammerstein musical is South Pacific. Not really into the high sopranos - or the belters for that matter.

I'm not big on Andrew Lloyd Webber either. I have to agree with you about Cats. Saw it once from way in the back. Saw it again about ten years later from the orchestra. The change in viewpoint was interesting, but seeing it again was a mistake.

Don't remember many of the straight plays I've seen. I saw Steel Magnolias on Broadway. Amazing cast, but it didn't do anything for me. Too close to the movie, I guess.

I did have the pleasure of seeing the Odd Couple in Philly with Jack Klugman and Tony Randall.

This is a dangerous thread.

Kathy

 

[Karamia]

The last one I saw was Wicked. Absolutely great!

What about off Broadway? When I was in N.Y. a loooonnnnggg time ago I saw The Fantastiks. It was great, too. It was this small little theatre, made you feel like you were a part of it all.

My new fave, I wish I would have been able to see...
Grey Gardens. I like Christine Ebersole and I love this song....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-P-Bvn8qGo

Thank you for reminding me of this! I saw this with Christine Ebersole and it was fantastic! A very sad, true story.

 

[NLK]

I really loved Fame Becomes Me with Martin Short. It was so funny! In the middle of the show he would bring up star who was in the audience to interview. You never knew who would be there. The cast was 5 people total. Very funny.
I hated Blood Brothers. Ugh! What a long night. I know a lot of you enjoyed it.
I also hated Aspects of Love. But the song Love Changes Everything is wonderful.
RagTime had the best opening number. Just great. And the song On the Wheels of a Dream. What a moving song.
42nd st opening number, amazing.
The Pirate Queen was good. It didn't have a very long run.
Jane Eyre was great! It didn't have a very long run either. The star had breast cancer and she still went on with her perfomances.
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang was cute. I liked the songs and how they made the car fly was great. I liked it more than Tarzan and Beauty and the Beast. I saw it in London where it had run for 5 years or so. It didn't do well here.

 

[DVCLiz]

Can I ask which hotel you stayed at and if you were
satisfied. Looking for a reasonable place to stay for
our anniversary trip this spring.

Sure, Sharon - we stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and it was fabulous!!! It's the one with the glass elevators. We were on the 44th floor with a "Times Square" view - which I had not requested but chose after we checked in (it was $20 more per night but I thought it would be fun to see that view - not something I would pay extra for next time but nice on this trip!) and our rate was $289 per night. I don't know what the rates are like in the spring - this was a "holiday" weekend but I felt like it was less than it might be later on when the weather gets warmer.

It's such a great location, especially close to the theaters, etc. We liked the restaurant and the lounge/bar was nice one evening when we got in late. We had a great dinner on 45th near the Broadway intersection - a little Italian restaurant, and Virgil's Barbecue is famous and just a few doors down. We have eaten there before and liked it. We also had a great dinner at Ruby Foo's - Asian, just a few blocks up Broadway and an easy walk to and from the hotel.

We had a great trip!!

 

[LoraJ]

You didn't miss much. I truly believe that you have to be a cat lover to appreciate this one. I guess the beauty in it is watching the actors communicate the essence of a cat in their movements and mannerisms. Being considerably less than a cat lover, yuck, all this beauty was wasted on me.

Well I am allergic to cats anyway.

I need to find some sort of album to put my playbills in. I think they advertise one in Playbill, but I think it is pricey. I have an old one and I hate it. Ihave a stack of about 40 of them just sitting on a shelf.

I enjoy looking through old ones forgetting the big stars I saw on stage.

 

[slytherinbratz]

I would love to see Hairspray, Equus and Mamma Mia on Broadway. I was in NYC in October and got a glimpse of Daniel Radcliffe as he was going into the theater. I also met the young lady via a family member that is suppose to play Sophie in Mamma Mia pretty soon.

 

[sharonW]

I would love to see Hairspray, Equus and Mamma Mia on Broadway. I was in NYC in October and got a glimpse of Daniel Radcliffe as he was going into the theater. I also met the young lady via a family member that is suppose to play Sophie in Mamma Mia pretty soon.

Sadly Hairspray has ended..great show! Mama Mia is fantastic,
we're seeing it again in April. Hum, another new Sophie?? Carrie
Anderson was replace only a few months ago by a new actress.
Always turnovers going on apparently.

 

[sharonW]

Sure, Sharon - we stayed at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and it was fabulous!!! It's the one with the glass elevators. We were on the 44th floor with a "Times Square" view - which I had not requested but chose after we checked in (it was $20 more per night but I thought it would be fun to see that view - not something I would pay extra for next time but nice on this trip!) and our rate was $289 per night. I don't know what the rates are like in the spring - this was a "holiday" weekend but I felt like it was less than it might be later on when the weather gets warmer.

It's such a great location, especially close to the theaters, etc. We liked the restaurant and the lounge/bar was nice one evening when we got in late. We had a great dinner on 45th near the Broadway intersection - a little Italian restaurant, and Virgil's Barbecue is famous and just a few doors down. We have eaten there before and liked it. We also had a great dinner at Ruby Foo's - Asian, just a few blocks up Broadway and an easy walk to and from the hotel.

We had a great trip!!

Thanks for the info! Marriott Marquis sounds fabulous, $289 not to awful
bad. Did you book directly from the hotel?? Nyc is wonderful isn't it?? The
broadway shows are amazing, can't get enough of them!! My absolute
favorite right now is Jersey Boys. Glad you experienced a great trip!!!

 

[mouseears4life]

Lion King
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Miss Saigon
42nd Street
Oklahoma
Zeigfeld-A Night at the Follies
Grand Hotel
Cats
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

I've seen several more but those are my favorites. I'd love to see Grease, Beauty and the Beast, Titanic, and a few others.

I really really wish they'd put some of these out on dvd. I think it would open up the world of musical theatre to alot of people who can't afford to go see these shows.

 

[NLK]

Oklahoma was a great classic. My favorite part was that I met Chita Rivera!
She was so nice. And Antonio Banderas and Melanie Griffith were sitting next to her. I didn't met them but he is very short.
Black and Blue and Bring in the Noise Bring in the Funk had the Best Dancing in any show I've seen!

 

[merlib]

My all time favorite broadway show is Spamalot. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard in my life. Sadly, the show just finished its run on Broadway on the 11th of January. My dd and I had the experience of seeing it for the (insert # here) and had a great time seeing all of the performers we had seen on stage, sitting in the audience.

The other broadway shows I've seen are Les Miz (loved the music), Chorus Line - liked that one too, Phantom of the Opera - eh on that one, Lion King - great choreography, Mamma Mia (just okay), and last, Music Man.

To those who say Broadway is too expensive -- you are right, but if you check on Broadway.com and sign up for their newsletter you will get emails for discounts. Many of the shows I've seen have been at a discounted price.

Merlib
OKW '93

 

[luvtogo12]

AGREE!! I have seen it 5 times and still have
not had enough!!!!

5 times, Sharon? I am so jealous!!

 

[sharonW]

5 times, Sharon? I am so jealous!!

I know, crazy isn't it??? ....and I still haven't had
enough!!!! You think 5 is bad though, some of the
folks on the JB blog have seen it way way more
then 5 times, one gal 23 times and others even
more then that!!!!! This show rocks!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I loves me some Wicked!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CQj5jzrtIY

I think my favorite of all time, though, is Sunset Blvd.

 

[Karamia]

I can't believe I never saw Cats. I don't know how that happened.

The music in Cats was worth every dime. For anyone who has ever lost a loved one, Memory is so gorgeous, but heart wrenching.

 

[Camicar]

Victor Garber still has a beautiful voice, 30 years after Sweeney Todd. He's one of my all time favorites.

Did you hear he's returning to Broadway this fall? He'll star in Present Laughter, directed by Nicholas Martin (who directed VG in the same play last year at the Huntington in Boston).

 

[sharonW]

Michael Jacksons THRILLER coming
to Broadway! Interesting!

 

[Linzybrooke]

I just had to share...I got to meet Angela Lansbury this weekend at a theatre conference. She is the sweetest, cutest woman in the world! She is about to play Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit on Broadway! Also in the production are Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole and Jayne Atkinson. I would looove to get to go see that one!

 

[sharonW]

I just had to share...I got to meet Angela Lansbury this weekend at a theatre conference. She is the sweetest, cutest woman in the world! She is about to play Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit on Broadway! Also in the production are Rupert Everett, Christine Ebersole and Jayne Atkinson. I would looove to get to go see that one!

!!!!