I did some searches in this forum and didn’t see a dedicated Broadway thread. So I figured I’d start my own. My wife go to NYC pretty regularly to see shows. We love ‘em. Last weekend we saw Wicked (first time for me! I kept missing it) and the new production of Sweeney Todd with Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford. That was incredible. One of the best shows I’ve ever seen. Anyone else hear a big theater (musical or otherwise) fan?
I have only been to one Broadway play and that was Tommy. I was into Off and Off Off Broadway when I lived in NJ and must have had a ticket for a play somewhere every month or more. I also had season tickets to the George Street Playhouse at Rutgers and Joe Papp Public theater in NYC for a year.
I have a massive Broadway music collection. Love Broadway soundtracks from good productions. Fantastic songs and the recordings are always live so they sound fabulous. Nothing like a live performance well recorded. Probably Broadway shows are the best live recordings for popular music for that reason.. Audiophile. The orchestration on the original West Side Story is just great to hear. Love all the classics, especially. "Recent" recording that were addictive for me was the "Cabaret" production with Alan Cummings. Excellent recording and super fun show. Give me Sondheim! Gershwin! Hammerstein! What can you say? But I never realized until recently that song "One Night in Bangkok" is from the Broadway show "Chess" - which otherwise was blah. Ha!
I'd say in the years we were together my husband and I saw hundreds of shows both Broadway and way off Broadway. Hard to pick favorites, but anything by Sondheim, some glorious one-offs like Fun Home, Hand Of God, Dear Evan Hansen, Angels In America, A Strange Loop, any of the Encore! presentations of older shows like Fiorello or Superman, Ferryman, Falsettos, Bandstand.... our kitchen cabinets are covered in magnets from shows so it's impossible to list all of 'em.
We caught A Strange Loop last year, it really blew us away. That soundtrack was one of my favorite releases of the year. I’d put that in my top 10 shows easily
Never been to Broadway and probably won't ever go, but me and Mrs. Fame do enjoy the theater. It's probably the one thing we miss about Pittsburgh, which had a pretty strong theater scene. Makes sense because Carnegie Mellon and Point Park University are two great schools for theater/performing arts.
I'm going to see my first "Broadway show". Just got tix to see Tommy at the Goodman Theatre (Chicago) in June!
Top ten for sure. Moving, the songs were wonderful, and it was hysterically funny. Absolutely deserved the Pulitzer.
I probably should’ve used a more generic term in the subject; my wife and I also see a lot of local south NJ/Philly productions as well!
We don’t get into the city to see shows often but we have always loved Broadway. Just saw The Collaboration with Paul Bettany and Jeremy Pope in February. Great acting! Wonderful theater.
With the recommendation above I ordered 2 tickets for me and the wife to see a matinee of Sweeney Todd in May! Josh Groban is the draw for me.
He’s very very good. So is Annaleigh Ashford. It’s a real spectacle with the full orchestra and two-level stage design. We really loved it. I think you will too!
I truly enjoy musicals/plays. I Have season tickets to all the major theatre’s in Los Angeles and been going since the late 80’s. I see an average of about 15 or so a year. Unfortunately the majority are touring shows, but the Mark Taper does put on originals, which in fact just last weekend saw the revival of Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992.
We rarely see shows in SF, but in the years imm. following 9/11, we vacationed in NYC several times and packed in as many shows as time/budget allowed. My wife's objective from a young age was a career on Broadway as a character actor. She received a scholarship to Pasadena Playhouse when graduating from high school, however (unfortunately for her, but luckily for me) was unable to relocate and pursue her goal. Theatre was her LIFE. If we came into big bucks now, we'd want to visit several times a year, based almost entirely on theatre schedules, since we both love it. Highlights: The Sweet Smell of Success, w/ John Lithgow The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, w/ Valerie Harper, Tony Roberts and Michelle Lee Nine, w/ Antonio Banderas and Chita Rivera. DAMN - Banderas can SING! Long Day's Journey into Night, w/ Philip Seymour Hoffman. He was intense. Lost Highway - a very enjoyable (but obviously tragic) Hank Williams bio. The Exonerated (from the Innocence Project), w/ John Spencer. The group of actors (I think Mary-Louise Parker was in it, as well) simply read aloud trial transcripts. Very chilling. Proof, w/ Jennifer Jason-Leigh Noises Off, w/ Matthew Broderick One Bomb: Salome, w/ Al Pacino and Marisa Tomei. Pacino ruined that one, as he channeled Mel Brooks impersonating King Herod. 2nd Best Broadway/NYC moment: While dining at a splurge restaurant just prior to New Years, my wife noticed Matthew Broderick and two friends one table away. (We overheard him say, "Sarah was at a fund raiser that evening.") Since we had tickets for "Noises Off" on Jan. 2nd, my wife felt it was necessary to verify something. She approached the table, introduced herself and inquired of the actor .. wife: "You don't have any wild plans for New Years Eve, do you?" Broderick: [unsure of her motives] "Not really .. " wife: "Good. We have expensive tickets for Noises Off on the 2nd and wanted to make sure you will be in top form." Broderick: "I'll be certain to celebrate in moderation."
We went to see Fat Ham yesterday afternoon. Totally loved it. It’s a reworking of Hamlet at a BBQ in the American south. There’s a truly excellent musical moment but other than that it’s a play. Thumbs up
I love live theater, and have seen all manner of things in all kinds of places - Shakespeare on the Saskatchewan, musicals in high schools, original productions here in Portland (a nice one about the Orioles and the white lady who managed them that just needed a little editing), my brother has written the words for a couple of as yet unproduced musicals. BUT, actual Broadway shows are grotesquely expensive and I dislike Sondheim and Lloyd-Weber and a lot of the rest of what I've seen of recent Anglo-American theater. So, mixed bag. Good live theater has an immediacy that's just riveting like nothing else.
I would be but I’m on the west coast. Last great plays I saw there were Spamalot and Glengary Glenross with an all star cast I’m lauding Liev Schriber, Alan Alda. It was great. Long time ago.
We’ve done pretty well with discount offers on the same day of certain shows. Full price tickets for most big shows are out of our price range, but if we go up to NYC with a list of a few shows we’d like to check out, we can usually do alright
I've only been to NYC once in my life, and recently at that. Just walking around the city was an amazing experience.
I would really love to see this -- I think Josh and Annaleigh are both excellent in their own right so I imagine combined they must be pretty spectacular.
I went to several Broadway shows when I lived in proximity to NYC for awhile nearly 40 years ago. I doubt I'd see as many shows today, ticket prices are ridiculous now.
Same here, when I lived up there I saw my fair share. But I agree the ticket prices (like many things now) would keep me away.
My wife and I were frequent flyers to NYC for a while and went to see quite a few Broadway plays. She was very good at making the ticket purchase process less painful by waiting in line for rush tickets at greatly reduced prices and last minute Stubhub purchases. We also enjoyed attending free TV show tapings such as Letterman and later Colbert. Never won the lottery for Springsteen tickets and refused to pay the outrageous money grab retail price. Most all the shows we saw were very good - Kinky Boots and Bette Midler in Hello Dolly were highlights. The best was David Byrne in American Utopia - very non traditional Broadway show though. Not likely to return to NYC again as airfare, hotel rooms, food, and the new Broadway digital lottery system has made it much harder to get discounted tix to high demand shows. My guess is they are mostly going to brokers now as it is so painless to enter them - no early morning lines in the heat or cold. Village Vanguard remains the best deal (and venue) in town.
