The Broadway show thread where we discuss all things Broadway

[JenM]

Unfortunately I was in the balcony when I saw NPH last August and could not even see the front row so missed the car wash... but I lived it a bit vicariously. My dear friend got the car wash and his partner got the the "glasses wash". He didn't want to clean his lenses but couldn't walk around with NPH spittle in his view...

I could just barely see NPH’s car wash from the balcony when I saw it, but I saw him kiss the guy in the front row - and he also planted his face in a woman’s chest on the other side of the aisle. When we were leaving, we ran into the guy who got the kiss, he still had the makeup smeared across his face.

Michael did the glasses wash too, to the same guy who got the car wash. And he said, “I’ve now licked everything you’ve seen!” He also laid down across the first few seats in the second row.

When I saw Andrew Rannells, we had house seats in the second row center. My friend caught the “shroud of Hedwig”. We cheered so loud that that he turned to us and said, “OK, settle down.”

Also in the second row, I was sitting behind the guy he spit on. The guy got most of it square in the face, but some of it splashed on my hand - which wasn’t bad, since the girl next to me got some of it in her mouth!

Michael’s ad-libs about the ghost in the box seats were funny, too. He kept checking back to see if they’d seen anything, and after the second time she said she didn’t, he asked her, “Can I ask you, when was the last time you really felt something??” It was awesome.

 

[elphaba91]

Congratulations! Fruma Sarah is a hysterical part! My sister stole the show on that role! Have a blast!!

I think PP might've been talking about Grandma Tzeitel who is in the start of the Dream sequence ('a blessing on your head, mazel tov mazel tov, to see a daughter wed', etc.). They're both awesome parts though!

 

[SingingMom]

I think PP might've been talking about Grandma Tzeitel who is in the start of the Dream sequence ('a blessing on your head, mazel tov mazel tov, to see a daughter wed', etc.). They're both awesome parts though!

Ha! Read that too quickly! Of course! Fruma Sarah is dead wife's ghost! Lol. I've seen the show too many times to make that mistake!

 

[4forMe]

I am traveling to New York next month to see If/Then. For those of you that have seen the show, which seats do you think would be better - 15th row center orchestra or 2nd row center front mezzanine? I have no idea of the layout or size of the theatre.

Also, has anyone seen The Gentleman's Guide to Murder? That is the other show I'm interested in seeing.

We are staying at the Marriott Marquis. Any suggestions on restaurants (not pricey) before we go to the show?

 

[SingingMom]

I am traveling to New York next month to see If/Then. For those of you that have seen the show, which seats do you think would be better - 15th row center orchestra or 2nd row center front mezzanine? I have no idea of the layout or size of the theatre. Also, has anyone seen The Gentleman's Guide to Murder? That is the other show I'm interested in seeing. We are staying at the Marriott Marquis. Any suggestions on restaurants (not pricey) before we go to the show?

If/Then theatre is on the smaller side. If the center orchestra is not "obstructive view" (sometimes the mezz ceiling blocks) I prefer orchestra. But since that is a smaller theatre, front mezz might be fine. We haven't seen Gentleman's Guide yet (waiting for a friend to join the cast soon) but have heard rave reviews from friends. They all loved it.

NYC restaurants are mostly "pricey". ;-) Across the street from the Marquis is Juniors. Diner/coffee shop style. Lots of chains in the area and a few pubs aren't too overly expensive.

Our favorites are Bond 45, Bryant Park Grill, Sardi's, Brasserie Cognac, Thalia, City Lobster. The Marriott Marquis has a nice bar/restaurant on the 8th floor and The View on the top floor. Have fun!!

 

[Newsies]

I saw Wicked and Aladdin this weekend! I got to take a weekend of masterclasses with the Broadway Student Summit, which was fantastic. The classes were professional, fun, and engaging. One of the highlights was meeting John Cariani, who wrote my most recent straight-play experience (Almost, Maine), and was a lot of fun to meet and talk to. Another highlight was getting to work with the cast of Aladdin, but let me get to that as I go along


Wicked- Wicked seriously defies gravity. It exceeded the expectations I had been building since 4th grade. The score for Wicked is AMAZING and Kara Lindsay is the perfect Glinda. My one and only complaint for Wicked is that it runs SUPER long. The total running time is 2 hours and 50 minutes. That's NUTS- but the book is good, so I can't complain much.

Having not seen the show before, I was indifferent to my Fiyero (Matt Shingledecker). He had a nice enough voice but he didn't strike me as hard as Kara and Caroline Bowman (Elphie) did. Caroline was amazing. Some of the notes that are supposed to be sung in the soprano-y range fell a little flat, but other than that, she had an INSANE belt and did a good job of portraying Elphie, she especially captured her confidence and defiance to bias and ignorance. Wicked gets a 10/10 in my book!

Aladdin- As perfect as Wicked was, I have to say that ALADDIN is now currently my favorite show on Broadway. I was taking Aladdin-based classes that weekend, so I met James Monroe-Iglehart (The Genie) beforehand and he said he would improv a cartwheel in for us for us during the show. If you haven't seen Aladdin, he gets a lot of opportunities to adlib in the show and he went "THIS IS FOR THE KIDS IN THE BACK ROW!" and did a cartwheel. That's Broadway magic for you other than that specific moment, there are so many awe-striking moments in Aladdin that it's hard to keep track of it all. There are so many show-stopping numbers, but I have to say my favorite with Friend Like Me. It's just a giant spectacle full of glamour and glitz and the kinds of tricks you can only find on Broadway. People appear out of nowhere and things appear out of thin air.

I was really worried about seeing the Genie on stage. A lot of what made the Genie "THE Genie" in Aladdin was the fact that animators and Robin Williams worked together to make him this wise-cracking and shape-shifting, dynamic figure. Obviously, James can't shape-shift on stage and nobody can simply be Robin Williams. What I found out by talking to James that morning was that the musical version of the Genie is a lot different than the movie version because it's modeled after what the Genie was originally supposed to be- an old time jazz/blues singer not unlike Cab Calloway. James did a FANTASTIC job making the character his own. He commanded the stage every time he was on it and was dynamic, talented, and charismatic. If you haven't seen Aladdin yet, PLEASE see it before he leaves. He really completes this show.

Other than James, who stole the show, Adam Jacobs as Aladdin and Don Darryl Rivera as Iago gave some incredible performances. Rivera had me cracking up the ENTIRE show. Courtney Reed was also phenomenal- she really made Jasmine her own character. Adam Jacobs' Aladdin is more charming and three-dimensional on stage- he does a really good job of portraying the vulnerable and hopeful parts of Aladdin that we don't get to see in the movie. Plus, he's super dreamy I got to ask him a question during the Q&A I was lucky enough to attend afterwards and he's honestly the most sweet and adorable man on Broadway.

 

[aprilgail2]

Aladdin- As perfect as Wicked was, I have to say that ALADDIN is now currently my favorite show on Broadway. I was taking Aladdin-based classes that weekend, so I met James Monroe-Iglehart (The Genie) beforehand and he said he would improv a cartwheel in for us for us during the show. If you haven't seen Aladdin, he gets a lot of opportunities to adlib in the show and he went "THIS IS FOR THE KIDS IN THE BACK ROW!" and did a cartwheel. That's Broadway magic for you other than that specific moment, there are so many awe-striking moments in Aladdin that it's hard to keep track of it all. There are so many show-stopping numbers, but I have to say my favorite with Friend Like Me. It's just a giant spectacle full of glamour and glitz and the kinds of tricks you can only find on Broadway. People appear out of nowhere and things appear out of thin air.

.

How did you find the seating there- I had a friend go and by the time the show ended she could not even move her leg due to the small amount of legroom in the rows and another friends husband after 30 minutes had to go wait in the lobby because his knees were killing him from being cramped in the seats. I felt that way in Les Mis- we had front row orchestra and my knees were killing me from being cramped into like 6 inches of space between the seat and the wall- the knees of the guy behind me kept hitting me in the head and he finally said "im so sorry but there are no place for my knees to go" I told him it was fine as long as he didn't mind my head resting on his legs so that is how I spent the second act- with my head resting on this guys legs.

 

[SingingMom]

Newsies- so happy you had a great experience!!!!! I'd love to see Kara again, but can't imagine sitting through WICKED a third time! Lol

JMI is a tremendous actor - he really was Genie, without making you constantly think of Robin Williams. He is very engaging, onstage and off.

I sobbed when Adam Jacobs sang Proud of Your Boy. So gorgeous!

 

[Newsies]

How did you find the seating there- I had a friend go and by the time the show ended she could not even move her leg due to the small amount of legroom in the rows and another friends husband after 30 minutes had to go wait in the lobby because his knees were killing him from being cramped in the seats. I felt that way in Les Mis- we had front row orchestra and my knees were killing me from being cramped into like 6 inches of space between the seat and the wall- the knees of the guy behind me kept hitting me in the head and he finally said "im so sorry but there are no place for my knees to go" I told him it was fine as long as he didn't mind my head resting on his legs so that is how I spent the second act- with my head resting on this guys legs.

The seating in the Amsterdam is pretty rough. I was legitimately in the second to last row in the middle of the balcony orchestra, and I had ample room for my legs, but the tall guy in front of me certainly didn't help my cause. Luckily, Aladdin is a relatively short show, so I was able to live through it

 

[Newsies]

Newsies- so happy you had a great experience!!!!! I'd love to see Kara again, but can't imagine sitting through WICKED a third time! Lol

JMI is a tremendous actor - he really was Genie, without making you constantly think of Robin Williams. He is very engaging, onstage and off.

I sobbed when Adam Jacobs sang Proud of Your Boy. So gorgeous!

Honestly... I don't know if I'd be able to sit through Wicked a SECOND time it was so long!!! Maybe I'd see it once more for the music and atmosphere, but not another 8:00 performance.

That's just what I was thinking. He really does a phenomenal job of taking the role of the Genie and making it his own.

SAME! I'm now the biggest Adam Jacobs fan, it's not even funny. I guess I have a thing for Disney on Broadway's leading men

 

[littleorangebird]

I saw Kara Lindsay as Glinda on the Wicked Second National tour a couple moths ago, which was my first time seeing Wicked live. Kara is hands down my favorite Glinda, she is absolutely hilarious and her songs are gorgeous. The whole second national tour cast is so strong all around and is probably my favorite cast ever of the show, and I wish Laurel Harris (Elphaba) and Lee Slobotkin (Boq), would have come to Broadway with the many members of 2NT that transferred.

Also, Liana Hunt (who played Katherine in Newsies) is now playing Nessarose in the 2NT cast, and I'm very upset that she just joined now because I really want to see her! (I hope she eventually is transferred to the Broadway production so there will be two former Katherine Plumbers in the same production)

 

[Iowajes]

I need advice on shows for my upcoming trip in April (when sadly If/Then will be closed).

I went to NYC last fall and saw If/Then, It's Only a Play, and Kinky Boots. I'm looking for 2-3 shows to see on this trip.

I would really like to see Wicked or Book of Mormon, but I'm having so much trouble with the prices. For reference, I spent $100 on tickets to the first two shows (If/Then I had phenomenal seats, found a discount; IOAP I sat in the very back row, but justified it as being a cast worth paying for, Kinky Boots I did $35 lottery.)

If I'm reading the website right, the worst tickets available for Book of Mormon are almost $200? Wicked the last row is about $100.

Is it worth it to go see these major shows, and sit in way far back seats- or do you recommend getting better seats to shows that don't sell as well and have discounts available.

For the record, I will be working so I can't do TKTS, I need to buy online. And this trip I likely won't be able to lottery anything since I am working downtown and don't know that I could get to a theatre by the time they draw them.


And if anyone has Monday suggestions when most of broadway is dark, I'd appreciate that too!

 

[littleorangebird]

I need advice on shows for my upcoming trip in April (when sadly If/Then will be closed).

I went to NYC last fall and saw If/Then, It's Only a Play, and Kinky Boots. I'm looking for 2-3 shows to see on this trip.

I would really like to see Wicked or Book of Mormon, but I'm having so much trouble with the prices. For reference, I spent $100 on tickets to the first two shows (If/Then I had phenomenal seats, found a discount; IOAP I sat in the very back row, but justified it as being a cast worth paying for, Kinky Boots I did $35 lottery.)

If I'm reading the website right, the worst tickets available for Book of Mormon are almost $200? Wicked the last row is about $100.

Is it worth it to go see these major shows, and sit in way far back seats- or do you recommend getting better seats to shows that don't sell as well and have discounts available.

For the record, I will be working so I can't do TKTS, I need to buy online. And this trip I likely won't be able to lottery anything since I am working downtown and don't know that I could get to a theatre by the time they draw them.


And if anyone has Monday suggestions when most of broadway is dark, I'd appreciate that too!

I would recommend to go with the cheaper shows. The cheaper seats at Wicked and Book of Mormon are probably not that great. If you aren't already, sign up to be a member on Playbill.com. It's completely free and you get discounts for shows.

Two of my favorite currently running shows are A Gentlemen's Guide to Love and Murder (2014 Best Musical Winner) and Matilda, both which I am going to see this spring/summer. They both have pretty good ticket prices and have discounted tickets right now.

 

[JenM]

I sat in the second-to-last row of the mezzanine for The Book of Mormon, and it was fine. I don’t know how available those seats are, since that show is still a tough ticket, but I’d recommend it if you really want to see it (and it’s worth it).

Just watch out for the very last row of the mezzanine. It’s only 2 seats, but they’re so close to the seats in front of them that the people sitting there had to sit sideways to watch the show.

I’d definitely recommend Matilda as well. Aladdin is a lot of fun. Gentleman’s Guide is supposed to be amazing. Hedwig isn’t selling tickets that far out yet, but word is that it will be continuing into the spring.

Broadwaybox.com is also a good discount site. There’s also an app called TodayTix that’s pretty good too. The person meets you at the theater with the tickets before the show, but it’s totally legit and they can usually get any discounts that are available and you don’t have to deal with the TKTS line.

 

[crazymama]

So who here is wishing they could attend Broadwaycon January 2016?? I just found out about it but, alas, cannot go. I bet it will be a blast. Someone here has to go and report back to us!!!

 

[EvilQueenLiz]

Broadwaycon January 2016?

I am SO excited about this! I'm already thinking about my Cosplay! LOL!

 

[crazymama]

I am SO excited about this! I'm already thinking about my Cosplay! LOL!

Oh man.... the possibilities are endless!!!! I wonder who the panelists are going to be???

 

[JenM]

I got to see If/Then again today. My parents were supposed to go, but my dad got a cold so I got to take his ticket at the last minute and go with my mom.

Loved the show the second time (my mom loved it too), and we got an extra bonus: James Snyder played a trick on Idina after the *** song that made her laugh so bad that they had to stop the show to pull themselves together.

When he popped up from under the covers in the bedroom, he wasn’t wearing a shirt. And she couldn’t stop laughing while they were doing their scene. Finally she just stopped and said to the audience, “He’s playing a trick on me! He usually wears his shirt!!!!” And she just had her head in her hands trying to stop laughing, apologized and said “Obviously I’m not professional enough to continue this...”

And he said, “Well, it’s my birthday. This is my birthday suit!” She said, “This is what you do on your birthday? What do I get on MY birthday??”

So he gets his shirt back on (and he looked just fine without it), and they were trying to pull themselves together to get back into the show, and Idina just said, “So how much did you all pay for these tickets??”

FINALLY they got back into it, and at the end of their song that closes that scene, Idina started to lift up her shirt like she was going to flash him.

It was crazy. But so funny. I’m sure there are stodgier theater folk that will complain that it was unprofessional, but the audience was loving it and we thought it was hilarious. They’re closing in a few weeks anyway, so let them enjoy it.

 

[SingingMom]

I got to see If/Then again today. My parents were supposed to go, but my dad got a cold so I got to take his ticket at the last minute and go with my mom.

Loved the show the second time (my mom loved it too), and we got an extra bonus: James Snyder played a trick on Idina after the *** song that made her laugh so bad that they had to stop the show to pull themselves together.

When he popped up from under the covers in the bedroom, he wasn’t wearing a shirt. And she couldn’t stop laughing while they were doing their scene. Finally she just stopped and said to the audience, “He’s playing a trick on me! He usually wears his shirt!!!!” And she just had her head in her hands trying to stop laughing, apologized and said “Obviously I’m not professional enough to continue this...”

And he said, “Well, it’s my birthday. This is my birthday suit!” She said, “This is what you do on your birthday? What do I get on MY birthday??”

So he gets his shirt back on (and he looked just fine without it), and they were trying to pull themselves together to get back into the show, and Idina just said, “So how much did you all pay for these tickets??”

FINALLY they got back into it, and at the end of their song that closes that scene, Idina started to lift up her shirt like she was going to flash him.

It was crazy. But so funny. I’m sure there are stodgier theater folk that will complain that it was unprofessional, but the audience was loving it and we thought it was hilarious. They’re closing in a few weeks anyway, so let them enjoy it.

That's great! They are real people. It's nice when you get a glimpse of that! Gotta love "live" theatre!

 

[crazymama]

I got to see If/Then again today. My parents were supposed to go, but my dad got a cold so I got to take his ticket at the last minute and go with my mom.

Loved the show the second time (my mom loved it too), and we got an extra bonus: James Snyder played a trick on Idina after the *** song that made her laugh so bad that they had to stop the show to pull themselves together.

When he popped up from under the covers in the bedroom, he wasn’t wearing a shirt. And she couldn’t stop laughing while they were doing their scene. Finally she just stopped and said to the audience, “He’s playing a trick on me! He usually wears his shirt!!!!” And she just had her head in her hands trying to stop laughing, apologized and said “Obviously I’m not professional enough to continue this...”

And he said, “Well, it’s my birthday. This is my birthday suit!” She said, “This is what you do on your birthday? What do I get on MY birthday??”

So he gets his shirt back on (and he looked just fine without it), and they were trying to pull themselves together to get back into the show, and Idina just said, “So how much did you all pay for these tickets??”

FINALLY they got back into it, and at the end of their song that closes that scene, Idina started to lift up her shirt like she was going to flash him.

It was crazy. But so funny. I’m sure there are stodgier theater folk that will complain that it was unprofessional, but the audience was loving it and we thought it was hilarious. They’re closing in a few weeks anyway, so let them enjoy it.

When we saw If/Then last August the rotate stopped working. Idina poked her head out of the window of the set and told the audience that she may as well take this opportunity to go pee as she never gets a chance to go in the first act. It was so funny! She's quite a kidder. We got to meet James Snyder a couple of days later and he was saying that she's hilarious to work with.