The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[rebeccam31]

I just left privacy and what an interesting show! Very different, I really enjoyed it!

@wilkeliza i hope you feel better soon, so sorry you missed the show.

I would like to have seen this, but our travel schedule just didn't allow. It intrigues me. I'm glad you enjoyed it.

 

[rebeccam31]

That's amazing, itsn't it? I've probably seen well over 200 shows on B/way. They only time I saw a standing O during the performance was for Newsies. It was on Easter Sunday shortly after the show opened. Even the cast was amazed....

That's funny. The standing ovation I saw for James Monroe Iglehart was on Easter Sunday, too! Though I think he pretty regularly gets/got one for "Friend Like Me." I saw Newsies on that same New York trip.

 

[L&Lfan]

Just wanna give my 2 cents that standing ovations have become almost de rigueur at the curtain calls of ANY live performance whether on Broadway down to your local high school. I have been to more Broadway shows than I can count over the last 35 years and for the life of me, I can't recall ANY performance that didn't get a standing ovation at the end. Therefore I think SOs have pretty much lost their significance that this particular performance was EXCEPTIONAL. Any thoughts?

 

[rebeccam31]

Just wanna give my 2 cents that standing ovations have become almost de rigueur at the curtain calls of ANY live performance whether on Broadway down to your local high school. I have been to more Broadway shows than I can count over the last 35 years and for the life of me, I can't recall ANY performance that didn't get a standing ovation at the end. Therefore I think SOs have pretty much lost their significance that this particular performance was EXCEPTIONAL. Any thoughts?

I would absolutely agree that that is true for ending standing ovations (I mean...Tuck Everlasting got one...). Mid-show ones are still rare, at least in my experience .

 

[elgerber]

Just wanna give my 2 cents that standing ovations have become almost de rigueur at the curtain calls of ANY live performance whether on Broadway down to your local high school. I have been to more Broadway shows than I can count over the last 35 years and for the life of me, I can't recall ANY performance that didn't get a standing ovation at the end. Therefore I think SOs have pretty much lost their significance that this particular performance was EXCEPTIONAL. Any thoughts?

I have not found that around here. Especially at the community/high school level. And even sometimes at the professional level. I do think they should happen at the end of every performance, my daughter has been in many production, and the casts pour their hearts into them and I think they should be rewarded.
Now during a production, that is truly an amazing thing!

 

[wilkeliza]

Just wanna give my 2 cents that standing ovations have become almost de rigueur at the curtain calls of ANY live performance whether on Broadway down to your local high school. I have been to more Broadway shows than I can count over the last 35 years and for the life of me, I can't recall ANY performance that didn't get a standing ovation at the end. Therefore I think SOs have pretty much lost their significance that this particular performance was EXCEPTIONAL. Any thoughts?

I agree. There are times that I have sat in my seat and felt like I was being defiant or didn't see they same show as everyone around me. I think because Broadway is so expensive people feel like they have to justify that cost by making something better than it was. Now before the last note is even sung people spring to their feet and clap like they are on production. I am much more moved where there is silence for a moment after the ending of a show (Normal Heart) or when it is a comedy hearing someone laugh so hard you can tell they are crying or real deep experiences like that. I also kind of despise the pieces that pander for the standing ovation (I'm looking at you On Your Feet). If a standing ovation is warranted it should come naturally from the audience. Of course when I go see regional and touring productions the few times I'm at a show outside of NYC it amazes me teh sheer number of people who leave during the last act to get out of the parking garage early. These are the same types who leave a baseball game at the top of the 9th or a football game when there is 15 minutes left on the clock. Instead of focusing on the experience they are having they are more worried about everything else thus defeating the purpose of the theater.

 

[rebeccam31]

I have not found that around here. Especially at the community/high school level. And even sometimes at the professional level. I do think they should happen at the end of every performance, my daughter has been in many production, and the casts pour their hearts into them and I think they should be rewarded.
Now during a production, that is truly an amazing thing!

Where is "around here" for you? Our high schools generally always get standing ovations (and I have no problem with that--recognition for kid doing theater is just fine with me!). We also have a summer stock theater nearby, and that is more mixed. Not every performance gets a standing ovation for sure.

 

[BrdwayBoy]

I finally got around to seeing Finding Neverland last night and unfortunately I can't say that I enjoyed it. I thought the cast (Tony Yazbeck, Laura Michelle Kelly and Carolee Carmello) were great, and I thought the production LOOKED great... but what awful writing. There were times where I actually had no idea what was supposed to be happening. And the music... SO much of it sounded the same. And even though the melodies were pretty cool, I kept thinking "Is this still the same song?" I'm sorry that this was such a misfire.

 

[SingingMom]

I finally got around to seeing Finding Neverland last night and unfortunately I can't say that I enjoyed it. I thought the cast (Tony Yazbeck, Laura Michelle Kelly and Carolee Carmello) were great, and I thought the production LOOKED great... but what awful writing. There were times where I actually had no idea what was supposed to be happening. And the music... SO much of it sounded the same. And even though the melodies were pretty cool, I kept thinking "Is this still the same song?" I'm sorry that this was such a misfire.

DD flew up to Cambridge to see Jeremy Jordan in it and loved it - but I think that's because it was Jeremy. We have followed his career from the start. Laura Michelle Kelly is a darling, but I had no desire to see it once Jeremy wasn't cast on Broadway.

 

[rebeccam31]

DD flew up to Cambridge to see Jeremy Jordan in it and loved it - but I think that's because it was Jeremy. We have followed his career from the start. Laura Michelle Kelly is a darling, but I had no desire to see it once Jeremy wasn't cast on Broadway.

I have seen a fair number of people who really liked the show in Cambridge vs Broadway. I had no particular interest in it anyway, but it seems the Cambridge iteration was better received. I read that the beginning is being significantly retooled for the tour. The tour is the opener for our touring season, so though I wouldn't have gone out of my way to see it, I guess I will.

 

[tasha99]

Has anyone seen The Great Comet of 1812? I just got an email to buy tickets (moving to Broadway, but looks like an off Broadway show that got buzz).

Also, Sleep No More? Looks like an interactive Macbeth.

I have a family trip to NYC in September and we have tickets to Hamilton, Something Rotten, and Fiddler on the Roof. I'm staying after the trip--trying to get work in the NYC area so I can stay a while. So looking for things to see in the fall/winter.

 

[rebeccam31]

Has anyone seen The Great Comet of 1812? I just got an email to buy tickets (moving to Broadway, but looks like an off Broadway show that got buzz).

Also, Sleep No More? Looks like an interactive Macbeth.

I have a family trip to NYC in September and we have tickets to Hamilton, Something Rotten, and Fiddler on the Roof. I'm staying after the trip--trying to get work in the NYC area so I can stay a while. So looking for things to see in the fall/winter.

I did not get to see Great Comet off Broadway, but I'm interested. I have a friend who is a HUGE Josh Groban fan, so we'll likely come up to see it in March sometime. I'm looking forward to it.

 

[tasha99]

Well, I decided to buy tickets.

 

[wilkeliza]

Has anyone seen The Great Comet of 1812? I just got an email to buy tickets (moving to Broadway, but looks like an off Broadway show that got buzz).

Also, Sleep No More? Looks like an interactive Macbeth.

I have a family trip to NYC in September and we have tickets to Hamilton, Something Rotten, and Fiddler on the Roof. I'm staying after the trip--trying to get work in the NYC area so I can stay a while. So looking for things to see in the fall/winter.

I've see Sleep No More 3 or 4 times now. I really enjoy it. If you buy tickets I would suggest getting an earlier entry becasue they do not sweep between entry times so the earlier you are in the longer you can stay and the more story lines you can follow. It is very active and across several floors of a warehouse so I would suggest it for teens or higher and wear tennis shoes.

 

[Chaitali]

Has anyone seen The Great Comet of 1812? I just got an email to buy tickets (moving to Broadway, but looks like an off Broadway show that got buzz).

Also, Sleep No More? Looks like an interactive Macbeth.

I have a family trip to NYC in September and we have tickets to Hamilton, Something Rotten, and Fiddler on the Roof. I'm staying after the trip--trying to get work in the NYC area so I can stay a while. So looking for things to see in the fall/winter.

How funny, I have a trip to NYC in January and we're thinking of The Great Comet and Sleep No More as well. We have tickets to see Hamilton that weekend as well but figured we make a whole theater weekend out of it. Let us know what you think of those shows after you see them

 

[NJlauren]

Caught Fun Home tonight, really happy I saw it before it closed. I hadn't seen it before, and I enjoyed it even if I found it slightly emotional for a Tuesday evening.

 

[superme80]

Just back from seeing Hunchback of Notre Dame at Music Circus in Sacramento. My life is complete. I have seen Mark Jacoby on stage!!!!!

 

[L&Lfan]

I'm reading a bio of Lorenz Hart and I've really been in a Rodgers and Hart mood. Listening to Boys from Syracuse, Too Many Girls, On Your Toes and Babes in Arms.

 

[superme80]

I'm reading a bio of Lorenz Hart and I've really been in a Rodgers and Hart mood. Listening to Boys from Syracuse, Too Many Girls, On Your Toes and Babes in Arms.

I love Babes in Arms!

 

[Deb in IA]

Well, I decided to buy tickets.

Let us know what you think!

We just saw Josh Groban on stage in Chicago. He is finishing up his "Pure Imagination" tour, then heading to Broadway. He gave a plug for "Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812". He also sang "Ashes and Dust" - it was great!
I think the hardest thing for him will be to make the audience "see" his character, Pierre, instead of "Josh with a beard and glasses".