The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[crazymama]

Okay everyone... just a gentle reminder for tomorrow... "TONY TONY TONY!!!"
(Yes... I love The Producers!)

 

[rszdtrvl]

My DH and DS 17 and DS 14 are there tonight. (Road trip from B.C... wahoo!!) How the heck did you find $27 tickets? Their's were $85 each. Did I miss something?
I hope they are as enthused as you are... I have a feeling they will love it too !!!!

We got the 3rd Mezzanine seats. We were in row T. I bought them directly from the Paramount website the week they were released.

I purposely bought the cheap seats because I knew that was the only way I could convince DH to go.

Be sure they don't leave after the curtain goes down!

 

[crazymama]

My DH and DS 17 and DS 14 are there tonight. (Road trip from B.C... wahoo!!) How the heck did you find $27 tickets? Their's were $85 each. Did I miss something?
I hope they are as enthused as you are... I have a feeling they will love it too !!!!

Heard from DH last night... same verdict... AMAZING!!!! Wish DD and I had gone but this was the annual "guys trip." DD and I do a lot together with her dance (ie New York this fall) so the guys have a dedicated weekend together. Helps alleviate some of my guilt too

Glad they loved it... knew that they would!

Looking forward to seeing "Book of Mormon" next January in Seattle!!!!

 

[froggy5657]

Yesterday we went to see Peter and the Starcatcher. It was wonderful! There were so many creative elements that made it very worthwhile and funny. It was very theatrical, so if you aren't into that you may not enjoy it, but I'd highly recommend it!

 

[eliza61]

***sighs*** I guess nothing special in this post. I went on line yesterday to maybe treat my sons and their 2 cousins to the theater.

$130 bucks a ticket!! I was thinking of taking them to see Newsies or Phantom.

Wow I thought phantom would be a lot cheaper, heck it's been on broadway for forever.

just a bit depressing.

 

[ugadog99]

I am so excited-almost Tony time!! We're having a themed dinner, although it will be just me for the first hour. (younger DD is now director's assistant for Seussical at the community theatre and auditions are tonight) So....our themed dinner is deli subs, chips/dip, pickles and...wait for it....

Coca Cola Cake!! Yeah,yeah, it should probably be apple something, but since my younger DD and I don't like apples, we picked Coca Cola cake.
For the time being our "Broadway" fix comes in the form of trips to Atlanta for touring shows. So.....it's a combo NYC/ATL dinner! Oh...and I'll get to "watch" with my older DD, who is doing the WDWCP now, because she's off tonight!

I'll start a thread on the Community board just for Tony chatter. Come join me!
Can't wait.........

 

[keypooh90]

I am so excited-almost Tony time!! We're having a themed dinner, although it will be just me for the first hour. (younger DD is now director's assistant for Seussical at the community theatre and auditions are tonight) So....our themed dinner is deli subs, chips/dip, pickles and...wait for it....

Coca Cola Cake!! Yeah,yeah, it should probably be apple something, but since my younger DD and I don't like apples, we picked Coca Cola cake.
For the time being our "Broadway" fix comes in the form of trips to Atlanta for touring shows. So.....it's a combo NYC/ATL dinner! Oh...and I'll get to "watch" with my older DD, who is doing the WDWCP now, because she's off tonight!

I'll start a thread on the Community board just for Tony chatter. Come join me!
Can't wait.........

Can't wait to "watch" with you!!!

 

[crazymama]

Has anybody out there seen "Once" yet? 8 Tony's... impressive. I am intrigued as I know nothing about it.

 

[Kimberle]

Has anybody out there seen "Once" yet? 8 Tony's... impressive. I am intrigued as I know nothing about it.

I wonder too. I found the song they performed at the Tony's incredibly boring. Generally, shows showcase one of their best songs.

 

[cornflake]

I wonder too. I found the song they performed at the Tony's incredibly boring. Generally, shows showcase one of their best songs.

I saw a different number from the show performed a while ago and found it not only boring but actually offputting. Like the music/song just didn't appeal to me at all (which is a personal thing I realize). It was based on that that I'd decided I didn't want to see it. Last night's number only added to that, same type of deal.

 

[donac]

Did any think that the Evita number was not the best choice either. I was watching with ds and his gf, who performed in Evita. Both thought that the number was not the best.

 

[JenM]

I wonder too. I found the song they performed at the Tony's incredibly boring. Generally, shows showcase one of their best songs.

The show's best-known song is "Falling Slowly", which won the Oscar for the movie version of Once, but I think they were trying to showcase one of the other songs. I loved that song on the movie soundtrack (which is all mostly Irish folk/rock) and I thought it was one of the better performances last night.

I have yet to hear a bad thing about the show, and I loved the movie, so I'm definitely going to be checking it out soon.

 

[elgerber]

Did any think that the Evita number was not the best choice either. I was watching with ds and his gf, who performed in Evita. Both thought that the number was not the best.

Yeah I said to dd the only reason they are doing this song is so they can showcase Ricky Martin. Yuck

 

[JenM]

Yeah I said to dd the only reason they are doing this song is so they can showcase Ricky Martin. Yuck

Who is no Mandy Patinkin. When he sang that song? Awesomeness.

I keep hearing that Elena Rogers has fried her voice out already, maybe that's why we didn't hear too much from her?

 

[Imzadi]

Did any think that the Evita number was not the best choice either. I was watching with ds and his gf, who performed in Evita. Both thought that the number was not the best.

They did that same number on The View, a couple weeks ago. I didn't think it was that spectacular. I noticed they made a point last nite of pointing out the actress playing Evita is an authentic Argentinian actress. From what little I've heard by her, she's no Patti Lupone, which could be why they don't use a song she sings in more. It might show they hadn't hired the best singer, but one who fit their criteria to pick a true Hispanic actress/singer instead, so Ricky Martin wasn't the only Hispanic star of the show.

I wonder too. I found the song they performed at the Tony's incredibly boring. Generally, shows showcase one of their best songs.

Jesus Christ Superstar did their FINALE number. I know most of us here (who'd see the show) pretty much know the ending of what happened to Jesus, but I don't want to SEE the ending until I see the show.

If they wanted to showcase Judas and his fabulous voice, they should have done, "Heaven On Their Minds."

However, seeing Judas can really sing, I am on the fence again about seeing the show. Someone recently mentioned how expensive the shows are now. I remember paying $35 to see Phantom, front mezzanine, and $65 to see Les Miz, orchestra center.

I've seen JC Superstar in various productions 4 times. It is one of my favorite Broadway musicals of all time. On the one hand, I feel I should save my money to see a new show I haven't seen before. But, seeing & hearing Judas last nite, I think how fabulous it would be to hear the songs live again. If Jesus can sing just as well as Judas, it would be worth skipping something else to see a show I know I love.

 

[JenM]

Jesus Christ Superstar did their FINALE number. I know most of us here (who'd see the show) pretty much know the ending of what happened to Jesus, but I don't want to SEE the ending until I see the show.

"Superstar" is the most popular song in the show, though.

However, seeing Judas can really sing, I am on the fence again about seeing the show. Someone recently mentioned how expensive the shows are now. I remember paying $35 to see Phantom, front mezzanine, and $65 to see Les Miz, orchestra center.

I remember that too. I paid $50 to see Les Miz in the second row orchestra once.

I've seen JC Superstar in various productions 4 times. It is one of my favorite Broadway musicals of all time. On the one hand, I feel I should save my money to see a new show I haven't seen before. But, seeing & hearing Judas last nite, I think how fabulous it would be to hear the songs live again. If Jesus can sing just as well as Judas, it would be worth skipping something else to see a show I know I love.

I would love to see JCS again too, it's a great show. But there's so many other shows I want to see first...Once, Harvey, One Man Two Guvnors, The Best Man, Sister Act, Porgy & Bess...so many shows!!!!

 

[Imzadi]

"Superstar" is the most popular song in the show, though.

Yeah, it's not like someone is going to be sitting in front of the TV thinking, "Which show is this from?"

But, there are much more dramatic songs from the show which also highlight Judas, (who was nominated.) There is the one song where he & Jesus go at each other.

I remember that too. I paid $50 to see Les Miz in the second row orchestra once.

The $65 was for the fourth time I saw the show. I remember it because I took my best friend. She had never seen a Broadway show before and thought that price was a lot.

Those were the days when you could see a show four times and the total amount is equivalent to ONE ticket now. In a way, Broadway theatre has become for the elite & rich. I hate that.

As the PP said, why IS Phantom almost the same price as a new show out? The only new technology they might have is a new radio control for the boat. But, other than that, the rent for the theatre and for the pay for stagehands hasn't gone up to the level to charge that much.

I would love to see JCS again too, it's a great show. But there's so many other shows I want to see first...Once, Harvey, One Man Two Guvnors, The Best Man, Sister Act, Porgy & Bess...so many shows!!!!

Exactly!

 

[JenM]

Yeah, it's not like someone is going to be sitting in front of the TV thinking, "Which show is this from?"

But, there are much more dramatic songs from the show which also highlight Judas, (who was nominated.) There is the one song where he & Jesus go at each other.

There are - "Heaven on Their Minds" and "Everything's All Right" are good ones, and "Gethsemane" (which Jesus sings) is amazing. I guess they just went with the most recognizable one.

The $65 was for the fourth time I saw the show. I remember it because I took my best friend. She had never seen a Broadway show before and thought that price was a lot.

Now that's what you'll pay for half-price tickets at TKTS. If you're lucky.

Those were the days when you could see a show four times and the total amount is equivalent to ONE ticket now. In a way, Broadway theatre has become for the elite & rich. I hate that.

It drives me insane. I miss so many shows because the tickets are so expensive now. It's the premium seats. Ever since those came into play, it drove up the prices of the rest of the decent seats.

And people are dumb enough to pay it. What's funny is that the theaters are usually fairly small, so having those upper mezzanine seats aren't too bad. I was in the $70 seats for Book of Mormon last summer - which were fine - and we were looking down at the people who paid upwards of $400 in the front few rows thinking, "Suckers."

As the PP said, why IS Phantom almost the same price as a new show out? The only new technology they might have is a new radio control for the boat. But, other than that, the rent for the theatre and for the pay for stagehands hasn't gone up to the level to charge that much.

Again, people are dumb enough to pay some of those prices. I was at the Marriott watching a group of tourists paying $235 apiece for Phantom tickets...when they could have just walked across the street to TKTS and gotten them for under $100.

I get that they have weekly operating costs, and if the other shows are going to charge $140 for orchestra seats, they're not going to be left out of that party...but it still stinks.

I heard the premium seats for Annie on the AMEX presale that just started are going for $243 each. For Annie?!?! I'll save the money and wait for Matitlda to get here next year from London (heard that was amazing).

I've also heard that the lottery seats for Newsies are terrible. Apparently the tickets are nearly all partial-view. That drives me nuts too. First of all, when Rent played at that theater the lottery seats were in the front two rows - which are great seats at that theater. It meant that the people who couldn't afford to get in, who were mostly kids, got to sit in the best seats in the house.

Newsies made it to Broadway because of these kids who obsessed over this movie for 20 years - a movie that tanked when it first opened. Disney certainly could have broken down and let them have better lottery seats than the ones they're giving them.

 

[LBIJim]

The $65 was for the fourth time I saw the show. I remember it because I took my best friend. She had never seen a Broadway show before and thought that price was a lot.

Those were the days when you could see a show four times and the total amount is equivalent to ONE ticket now. In a way, Broadway theatre has become for the elite & rich. I hate that.

As the PP said, why IS Phantom almost the same price as a new show out? The only new technology they might have is a new radio control for the boat. But, other than that, the rent for the theatre and for the pay for stagehands hasn't gone up to the level to charge that much.




::

I suppose it's because many people are still willing to pay top prices for Phantom even 20+ years after it opened.

Most musicals charge the same even though there are obviously wide discrepancies in production costs. I saw Phantom and Chicago on the same day back in 1997. Phantom has a large cast, lots of fancy costumes, sets, props, and the chandelier. Chicago has a smaller cast, one basic set, minimal props, and I think the characters wore the same costumes throughout the whole show. Yet they both cost about $70 at the time. I loved Chicago, but I remember thinking "how can they charge the same as Phantom?"

My first Broadway show was Sweeny Todd in 1980. I think it cost about $25 which I thought was outrageously expensive at the time.

Other than Neil Patrick Harris, I thought the Tonys were pretty underwhelming.

Jim

 

[minijeanie]

Yeah I said to dd the only reason they are doing this song is so they can showcase Ricky Martin. Yuck

I seen Evita on Broadway with Patti Lupone.. Unbelievable!
For me I could never see a revival of that show. Nothing will compare