Broadway Banter

FR sounds great, and this thread is too!
This is going to become my "To Do" list for spring. Thanks!

Thanks for the review CPG. There's some great music in the show (When the Idle Poor Become the Idle Rich, When I'm not near the girl I love, Old Devil Moon, That Great Come and Get It Day, If this isn't love, How are Things in Glocca Morra, ...) I've never seen the show despite knowing most of the music. There is a discount on broadwaybox.

As I posted, I saw a preview of "Memphis" and loved it. The critics didn't all agree with me, but word of mouth has been good. Most people I know who've seen it either liked it or loved it. Dancing, costumes and set in Memphis is terrific and I also loved the music. I thought the 2 leads could have been stronger but it doesn't negate the enjoyment of the show.

I just saw Lion King on Broadway on Sunday night. OMG - it was brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks for your review! We have tickets for the Saturday matinee and are really looking forward to it.

Thanks so much for the review. This thread is an excellent idea. I want to see Finian's Rainbow too..sounds like just the thing.

mclaurie - I am very impressed that you knew all those songs! Before going the only thing I knew was 'Glocca Morra,' but I did recognize some while during the performance. I really enjoyed all the music.

btw, because of 'Glocca Morra,' I always assumed the play was set in Ireland. I was surprised that it takes place in the south.

dtph - the Lion KIng is so incredibly creative. I loved it too.

I saw In The Heights last visit. My favorite musical so far. August Osage County was on the previous trip, and it topped my list. Amazing show. I could watch it again. All 3 hours! My 19 year old was with me and its her favorite as well. Funny, smart, heartbreaking. Great diaglogue. Great acting.

Austin - I want to see 'Superior Donuts' by Tracy Letts. I don't think it will be as a good as 'August Osage Country,' but it's supposed to be very good with a strong cast.

"But permanent sunshine can confidently be predicted for the vicinity of the St. James Theater where the joyous revival of "Finian's Rainbow" opened on Thursday night. Here is where you should head this fall to warm your soul amid the diversions of that ever-great and ever-endangered American art form, musical comedy."

Here it is, hot off the press:

http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/theater/reviews/30finian.html?scp=2&sq=finian&st=cse

I bought tix yesterday to see it again, this time with dh.

I read that NYT rave (including the fact that the sets were pretty minimal) and thought you could have written it. Off to see about tickets! (PS friends I sent to Memphis saw it last night and LOVED it).

A couple of months ago I attended a presentation at Barnes and Noble re Finian's and discussion of the upcoming opening of the show. Presenting were a few relatives of Burton Lane (composer) and Yip Harburg (lyricist and book) - Lane's wife and Harburg's son among them. They told about the creation of the original - and we had some of the songs performed by a couple of very good singers. Whetted my appetite to see the show (and did buy tickets as soon as they became available - and they were at a bargain discount). Harburg was a very interesting individual. Very progressive and left politically and racial relations were a big theme for him. Remember this was still the mid 40's - so he was way out in front on this issue. He did get in lots of trouble later due to his political beliefs - blacklist stuff. Interesting to me was this Jewish guy - brought up on the lower east side in the early days of the 20th century (he and Irving Berlin) - and he writes a fable story about the Irish.

That is very interesting. He was an early civil rights supporter. But it's really about the immigrant experience that those lower east siders knew so well. And prior to the Jews on the LES were the Irish. Most of the synagogues (before Eldridge St was built) were formerly churches. One immigrant group moves on and another moves in - same today.

And if Berlin could write 'White Christmas,' anything is possible.

Will keep monitoring this site. Broadway has to be my favorite thing on the planet. Only regret is that I can't go often enough. Living vicariously on the thread.

rncheryl me too! It always MY biggest treat, besides London's West End shows. I love theater too. First time we saw the Secret Garden in NYC, my DD and I cried.

Enjoyed "Hair" in August. Also, "Altar Boyz" (off-Broadway) was worth seeing.

Excellent thread, Centralparkgirl. My wife and I are going to be in NY this coming weekend, and were looking at going out for music rather than a show. But now you got me thinkin!

Saw South Pacific and Waiting for Godot this summer, both were excellent. We really loved the theater at Lincoln Center.

azzure, we've wanted to see Altar Boyz for some time, glad to here you liked it.

Hope you enjoy it...a family friend (Travis Nesbitt) is in it. The whole cast is great.

Yesterday dh and I went to the matinee of 'God of Carnage' and it was wonderful. I had missed seeing it earlier and when the run was extended, immediately bought tickets. And I'm so glad I did. I had seen another play by Yasmina Reza, 'Art,' and even though Alan Alda was in it, I didn't love it. This is beautifully written and the cast - together - is amazing. They're only in it for another two weeks and then a new cast is taking over with Jimmy Smits, Christine Lahti, Annie Potts and Ken Stott on 11/17. Whether that ensemble will have the same magic, time will tell.

I saw "Billy Elliot" 2 weeks ago. I nearly walked out during intermission. I was so bored! I am no prude but I cannot believe how many times the "F bomb" was said!

I loved "In the Heights" but my husband hated it.

I absolutely loved "Wicked" but I know so many people who did not like it.

Everyone

Saw "Hamlet" last night. Very good production. Jude Law excellent. But..it is Shakespeare uncut. Over at 11:15pm. Some people there not expecting the real thing and were unhappy with the length of the play. Go to see it for the play not just for Jude.

This has been a busy theater week for me. I saw 'Nightingale,' the one woman play with Lynn Redgrave which I enjoyed very much. She is an amazing actress and I think this was the first time I've seen her on stage. She also wrote the script and she is talented as a writer as well.

I enjoyed 'Royal Family,' but think it may not be for everyone. It's an old fashioned revival complete with three acts - quite long. The cast was very good and it was a treat to see Rosemary Harris.

Tonight we saw 'A Steady Rain' with Hugh Jackman (gorgeous) and Daniel Craig. I also enjoyed this very much although it's not the most memorable piece of drama. After the play was another interesting 'performance.' The actors did the usual bit about Broadway Cares (AIDS charity.) Then they opened their shirts and revealed white t-shirts which they promised to sign for the highest bidder. We witnessed the 'auction' and it was amazing. The final bid was for $11,000 and in the end, two bidders agreed to pay $11,000 each for one t-shirt signed by both. They were also invited backstage. The rest of us poor folk went home!

Oh CPG, were you with your husband? I assume yes, and if he weren't there, I suppose you would have been the highest bidder? Wow, Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig... When are you seeing Jude Law?! You're making us folks who live in the rest of the country jealous... we never get stars like that here.

yk - yes, I was with my husband; otherwise I would have had my hand up probably bidding 12K! I'm seeing Jude Law on Tuesday. Big movie stars don't always translate to good stage actors - Julia Roberts is a good example - a dud in 'Three Days of Rain.' Are you still visiting in Feb?

yes, I was with my husband; otherwise I would have had my hand up probably bidding 12K!

I KNEW it! Enjoy Hamlet on Tuesday.

great thread! bookmarking.

You are all inspiring me to plan a trip to NYC for my husband's birthday in April.

Top of the list......drum roll....

The Addams Family! With Bebe Neuwirth & Nathan Lane.

LOVE Nathan Lane...saw him in The Producers, The Odd Couple and Butley. You will not be disappointed, I'm sure! My mom wants a trip and show for Christmas/birthday and I'd love to try for that! Thanks for the hint!

amyb - I love Nathan Lane too, but it has to be the right vehicle for him. We saw him in 'The Frogs' and it wasn't very good - felt the same way about 'The Odd Couple,' but in the late 80's, we saw him in 'A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.' It's was a Kids Night on B'way event and he was out of control - hysterical - ad libbing (sp?) to the kids in the audience (although most of it went over their heads) and of course 'The Producers' was brilliant. Bebe Neuwirth is a great performer too.

What a piece of work is Jude (couldn't resist the pun!). I saw 'Hamlet' last night and it was one of the best Shakespearean performances that I've ever seen (Christopher Plummer as King Lear was fantastic several years back). Forget Jude Law the celebrity. His Hamlet was so meaningful, so real and absolutely seething! You could really feel the anguish. Even the many famous lines that have almost become cliches were delivered beautifully. The time flew (I do like Shakespeare), but I'm glad our performance started at 7pm. We were out at 10:15. For Shakespeare lovers, this is a must.

The Addams Family is now a musical coming to Broadway?

I have to this this!

So glad you liked it Centralparkgirl! I think he's much better in Hamlet than any movie I've seen him in (and <coughcough> I've seen them all!) It did fly by, didn't it?

amyb - yes it did. And I loved 'The Talented Mr. Ripley.'

Leiv Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson are going to be in Arthur Miller's 'A View from the Bridge.' - sounds promising.

I saw that about View From the Bridge, but for some reason on Telecharge the other day, it was not available for online sale and groups only on the phone? I wasn't sure what the story was on that.

I want to see God of Carnage with the new cast (Jimmy Smits...sigh!) and my Mom wants to see A Little Night Music with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury so maybe I can try and work all three into a long weekend....

It seems that if you use an American Express card, tickets for View from the Bridge are available through Playbill.com.

I believe you need a gold Amex card and it's through telecharge, but there is a link from playbill.com

The telecharge.com page notes

"Tickets are on sale to American Express Cardmembers only."

I have not tried to go through the entire process to purchase tickets but, at least on the initial page, it does not mention gold...

kmbp - you're correct. I have a gold card and sometimes I get offers for presales for gold cards only. I looked, but didn't really 'read!'

Tomorrow, I'm seeing 'Bye Bye Birdie.' I am so sorry that I bought these tickets. I've heard nothing but bad stuff about it.

'Bye Bye Birdie' was as expected - wonderful music, terrible production - save your money and definitely avoid!

Saw "Memphis" last night. It is a must see. Great everything! Loved it!!! Put on your NYC visit lists.

I've heard that many people enjoyed 'Memphis.' I'm not sure why it doesn't call to me. Can someone tell me what they really enjoyed about the production? Thanks.

Wonderful songs, fab, amazing dancing, the lead female singer was outstanding, the lead male was quite a character, but believable, also well portrayed the racial barriers during the 50"s. The NYT gave not good review, but I, we (lots of friends) think NYT missed the boat. Cannot see how this could have got anything but very good review. Only possible problem is that this era has gotten someother theatrical exploration in recent years. We enjoyed this more than anyother show in several years. Some of the people who loved it are opera fans and seldom like popular music shows. Now we want to get tickets for our kids.

If someone tells mw they want to see only one show and asks which one it should be, my immediate answer is Billy Elliot! It's one of the best to come along in a long, long timke!

I saw Anna Devere Smith in "Let Me Down Easy" last month when I was in New York. For those of you who don't know her, she's a one-woman show doing over 20 different characters, all powerful and believeable. This play is about health, aging, and dying. Very strong and compelling and not in the least depressing. I also enjoyed the Irish Repertory Theater in Chelsea.

Wishful drinking with Carrie Fischer was amazing.she was so real.I did not expect to like this but I thought it was great.
Loved Wicked,Lion King,August Osage County(closed),Jersey Boys,In the Height's(Iliked my husband loved it.),Spring Awakening.Recently saw Bye Bye Birdie and it was terrible,Cast and crew were not great and it was not worth seeing)John Stamos a nd Gina Girschon should not be in those rolls.Funny if The Adams family gets good reviews I would like to see that.

I also enjoyed 'Wishful Drinking' tonight. Carrie Fischer is funny and a talented writer. It certainly isn't a traditional play, but more like stand-up comedy that's clever and poignant.

Just back from my NYC trip. Loved Finian's Rainbow. it was an old fashioned mucical with an extremely talented cast. Saw "Hair"...thought it was ok. I felt that the voices were not that great, and the second half just meandered around, and was disjointed. I LOVED the 39 Steps! What complete hoot! It was similar to the The Unabridged works of Shakespeare in London. We were going to see Race(with Rchard Thomas and James Spader) which opened Monday (16) night, but I was feeling a bit peaked, so we did not do it. I could have gone twice a day, everyday,because DH likes theater, but does not LOVE ii, like I do!

BTW, centralparkgirl, the lead who played Woody on FR, was just about the most gorgeous hunk of man with a the most wonderful voice....made me shiver.

Judyrem - so glad you liked FR shivers and all! My seats were so cheap that I saw it again on Sunday, but this time with dh. Cheyenne Jackson is the hunk. He does have a beautiful voice and a real leading man presence. I think we will see more and more of him on B'way in the future. I can't wait to buy the CD when it comes out which is something I rarely do. I hummed 'Old Devil Moon' on the way home!

Me too! I don't understand why it(Old devils moon) was not more of a hit! I love it, and Cheyenne too!

Judy, I may be dating myself, but you can rest assured that Old Devil Moon was a big hit when the show first opened.

LOL, thanks Howard! I am so glad it was, it is a great song, it is timeless!

Hey HowardR, glad to see you here. I have read so many of your reviews, along w/patrick and mcclaurie and others in the last 5-6 yrs before Ive headed to NYC. Always on spot for me.

BTW, I did a review on this forum of Memphis when I saw it during previews in late Sept. If you search for "Memphis" it will come up I think. Not perfect (what is?), but very enjoyable with very good music and production.

I am taking my husband and daughter (17 yrs old, and her best friend) to NYC for long weekend Dec 11-14. Hubby and I will see "God of Carnage" w/the new cast on Fri. night, while the girls see "Hair." Sat. night the girls see Altar Boyz. I have debated seeing Finian's Rainbow w/hubby on Sat. night since it has gotten good reviews on here and elsewhere (and I got an email for 33% off tickets), but i think we will just do a dinner alone and some alone birthday time while the girls are out...unless you all tell me I am crazy to miss FR at that discount...

Will be going back to NYC in April for the Tribeca TOAST Art Walk- our favorite spring activity. Will be checking back here for theater to see then.

Fabulous thread !

I was about a block off Broadway last night hearing Mahler's 7th totally by fortuitous accident.

I called a friend to see if he wanted to run down to the Winter Garden (in the World Financial Center) to see one of my favorite seasonal exhibits (which is closing on Sunday) CANstruction - the architecture firms make fabulous structures with canned food - admission is a can of food and all the food goes to foodbanks at the end of the exhibit. Anyway, he asked me where I was and told me to meet him at Carnegie Hall because he had an extra ticket.

BACK to this thread. As you read through, and any time you attend a performance of any kind in the 5 boroughs, realize how many people are doing the same thing at the same time in performance spaces (Broadway, Off Broadway, Off off Broadway, music, dance, lecture, poetry, other, etc) in this amazing city of ours.

So true, SueNYC. It's like eye candy! Ironically, I just started a new position and where is my office located? Times Square! It does make going to the theater easy during the week.

i would LOVe to be able to say that Centralparkgirl...

Sue, we heard the Mahler 7 last night, too! We're longtime Philadelphia Orchestra subscribers--I'm not ashamed to say I've subscribed continuously for 47 years, first in Philly and, for the last 23 years, at Carnegie Hall.

Exciting performance by the Philly (my "hometown band"), though I'm still not very impressed with Eschenbach.

What was even stranger was I had been to the Philharmonic on Tuesday (the only thing my union has done for me is make me eligible for TDF tickets).

Xian Zhang was conducting. While I understand why Alan Gilbert was made principal conductor in theory (I've never seen him conduct). The one time I saw Zhang before I thought she was amazing even if she looks like she's twelve so I wanted to see her again before she disappeared from NYC for bigger and better things.

Concert was great but Garrick Ohlsson's piano blocked my view of her conducting. She's about half his size!

AND, before I met a friend, I went to the Performing Arts library exhibit of the 50th anniversary of the beginning of building Lincoln Center. You MUST see this. Stop in next time you are there.

How long is the 50th anniv exhibit going to stay around for? I won't be in NYC until mid-Jan, and I'd love to see it!

This is killing me as I want to get to NewYork SOOOOO much!

But I have to chuckle at the idea of the people who think Hamlet is too long. I suppose when people go to see a star (and to be able to tell their friends not "we saw Hamlet" but "we saw Jude Law", they are disappointed when one of the greatest plays ever written takes up too much of their valuable time.

I'm fascinated about the revival of Finian's Rainbow which has rarely been done even by amateur groups in the past few decades because it is often considered so "politically incorrect" about the racism. I'm curious how the show has been rewritten or adapted to remove that issue. I honestly can't say what the issue has been, but so often I've heard the play just comes off as being racist itself these days. I haven't seen it in something like 40 years, so I really have very little memory of the issues -- but vividly remember the score which as McLaurie says is just brimming with great songs.

Sorry YK only til Jan 6th

http://www.nypl.org/research/calendar/exhib/lpa/celistlpa.cfm

Re: Hamlet - I saw a really short version during the Public Theater's 1st season downtown (same time Hair opened) - Hamlet did the To Be or Not To Be speech dressed as a Puerto Rican Street cleaner. I had remembered it as being played by a young Raul Julia but I discovered I was wrong. It was a young Jed Bartlett aka Ramon Estevez aka Martin Sheen.

How much time is needed to see the Lincoln Center exhibit?

I have no idea if Finian's Rainbow's script was rewritten, but the racism issue is dealt with head on and at times from a black point of view. Initially, I was taken aback and wondered where they were going with it. By play's end, I thought it was handled beautifully and for a play set in the early 40's and written by a Jewish immigrant, it was way ahead of its time. For instance, one minor black character is a college student - down south - which is not a typical character that you'd expect. He is treated in a racist way - sort of tongue in cheek - and then he reacts in a way that makes the audience laugh in support of him. There's quite a bit of the unexpected - at least for me it was unexpected. I enjoyed everything about it (except that ugly set).

As much time as you can give it. I only had about 20 minutes this time. It deserves more - especially with all the videos.

I may be off base, but I think the issue about "politically incorrect" was that the racist senator is "punished" by being turned into a black person. The issue was that "being black is a punishment". Is that what I'm remembering?

Yes. Being black was the worst thing that could possibly happen to him. Interestingly, the sharecroppers who live and work together harmoniously were black and white. To me, there were a lot of things handled differently than you would expect in a play of this vintage.

And all the evil people are white - the sheriff, tax collector, senator, etc. They're bad to blacks and whites.

Whoa....I've not see the revival and am not an expert on the show, but I believe the intent of turning the senator into a black person was not meant to be a racist act (i.e., anti-black), but the opposite, i.e., to show him what it was like to be black at that time in order to reform him.

Howard, I know that was the "intent", but I've heard more than once from theatre people in a couple of theatres -- including directors explaining why the show just "doesn't work today", that the way it was written, audience members often didn't take it that way. And I do recall incidents of community theatres getting a lot of bad press for doing that show. I also recall years ago in Ohio, our group cancelling the show from our schedule when all the black actors we had refused to audition for it saying it was highly insulting to them. I think it was even the use of "black face" which was considered forbidden just like in minstrel shows that caused the problem.
Don't forget the same thing happened with Flower Drum Song which was considered very insulting to Asians until it was re-written and re-styled a few years ago for a new revival. Of course it wasn't meant to be racist, but most audience members were seeing the old version as being racist or certainly very politically incorrect. And remember Annie Get Your Gun taking out the "I'm an Indian Too" number which was never meant to be racist but over the years came to be considered very offensive.

Ah. I just paused to google and look what I found. This explains it much better than I just have:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/18/theater/18heal.htm

Good article, Neo. I was not all uncomfortable with the race issue. It was a very good production IMO. CPG said she did not care for the set. I think it was no worse than the set from Hair. It may have been a bit sparse.

Patrick, thanks for posting that interesting article.

So I guess the "new" version uses a black actor to replace the white one rather than putting the white one in blackface. That's a major change. And the "servant shuffle" scene is changed to make it clear the servant is NOT a low class guy, but a college educated one. Apparently a few other changes in the shortening of the script have softened some of the other politically incorrect issues.

But I'm somewhat stunned that the set by John Lee Beatty would be anything but brilliant!!!

As a side note, as of today, looks like I'm heading to New York for a month -- mid January to mid February, so look out as I catch up on what's happening theatre wise in NYC!!!

GREAT NEO! We must have another GTG while you are here!!!

You staying at the same apartment complex?

Yes. Worldwide Plaza -- Jan. 17 to Feb. 17. The owner had a cancellation and I got the apartment for half price. Too good to pass up. But I don't see us sitting in the plaza with balloons in FEBRUARY!!!

Well Thalia would certainly work for you!!! Wouldn't
even have to wear a coat.

emd, while you're trying to decide whether to see Finian's Rainbow, you should double check whether that discount is even good for a Sat. night performance. Very often they're not.

I saw Broadway Unplugged at Town Hall this past week. One of the performers was Terri White from Finian's Rainbow. She brought down the house. Amazing story about her here
http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2009/11/16/2009-11-16_broadway_star_once_slept_in_washington_square_park__until_cop_gave_her_a_break.html

mclaurie - my first post in this thread has a link to a similar article in the Times from Oct about Terri White - quite a story. Did she do "Necessity" at Town Hall? It really is poignant when you know her background. What a turnaround! Truly amazing.

I saw "Wishful Drinking" today-Carrie Fisher's one-woman show. LOVED IT!!!! She's hilarious and it was both funny and poignant.

How embarrassing that I forgot that you'd already posted that (another senior moment). She didn't do "Necessity" and I can't remember at this moment what she did do. I'll get back to you.

mclaurie, the playbill discount is good for Sat. night. $85 each ticket, Right orchestra row N, 10 seats in from aisle.

The story about Terri White is very inspiring. CentralParkGirl and Judyrem enjoyed it.

What say you, should we go? Is it really good, and most importantly (since we are ssing a drama God of Carnage on Fri. night already) is the music really good?

emd3 - since everyone's taste is different and I don't know you and you're visiting for a short time, I hate to push. But, as you can read above, I really enjoyed it and loved the music. As I said earlier, I plan to buy the cd. And the whole cast is good. When the ensemble sings, they sing! 'God Of Carnage,' btw, has some funny moments; it's not straight, heavy drama and it's so well-crafted. Have a great time!

emd, I haven't seen Finian's Rainbow yet but as I said up top, I love the music (but it's not everyone's cup of tea). I'm just amazed at how many people (theater goers I know) aren't interested in this show despite the rave reviews--perhaps an explanation of why the discount is good for a Sat. night. In all fairness, some of them saw it in the Encores series last year and feel they've already seen it but many just think "eh." I think whether to go has more to do with what your husband thinks and what nice dinner or quiet time you might be giving up together if you don't go.

CPG, Terri White was a surprise guest that night (not listed on the program) and sang a song dedicated to her Mother (I think she said taken from a poem). Anyway, I bawled my eyes out through the whole thing having recently lost my Mother and just blocked it last night. It was heart wrenching.

Just fyi, the name of the song she sang was Mama A Rainbow from the failed show "Minnie's Boys." Read lyrics at your own risk. http://www.carlinamerica.com/titles/titles.cgi?MODULE=LYRICS&ID=579&terms=1970

mclaurie - all I can say is, for anyone celebrating Thanksgiving without their mothers (or anyone else beloved, for that matter), warm, happy memories are everything!

Has anyone seen God of Carnage with the new cast? I can't find reviews online, although they've been with the new cast for a week or so now.

It hasn't been reviewed yet.

I'M SO EXCITED I CAN'T STAND IT!!!!

Opening night - Promises, Promises - Kristin Chenowith and Sean Hayes

Row L, smack dam in the middle!

Got the email last night, bought the Amex pre-sale tix this morning!

YAY!

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^JEALOUS!

I adore Kristin Chenoweth! Lucky you!

I saw the Lincoln Center production, "In the Next Room or the Vibrator Play" this week. It was entertaining with an unusual story (to say the least) and a good cast. I wouldn't recommend it to someone visiting who will see a play or two. But if you're an avid and frequent theater goer and can buy discounted seats, it is worth seeing. I found the end unexpected and satisfying (no pun intended).

Anyone seen Hair? Fela?

It was announced yesterday that Al Pacino will play Shylock in 'The Merchant of Venice' next summer in Shakespeare in the Park. I'm wondering if I should camp out on the ticket line beginning in April!

Saw 'Superior Donuts' tonight - enjoyed it, some really good lines and acting, but not the quality of Letts' 'Augustsage County.' The young actor, Jon Michael Hill, was especially good.

I saw August Osage County at the Kennedy Center in D.C. last wk. Estelle Parsons was the only Broadway cast member in this production. It was one of the top 5 dramas I have seen in my theater life, on Broadway or anywhere else. Estelle Parsons was magnificent.

On the way to NYC this weekend to see the new cast in God of Carnage, and the teens will see Hair. Should be a good weekend!

I agree, Centralparkgirl, with your assessment of 'Superior Donuts.' Having seen 'August: Osage County,' I was really looking forward to this one, but it seemed lacking in complexity and character development. We left thinking there wasn't enough to it to make an afternoon of theater.

Has anyone seen 'Circle Mirror Transformation' at Playwrights' Horizon? It's returning after a limited run and a few weeks' hiatus.

I'm laughing at the unintended icon in my last post! Now how did that happen?

emd3 - Estelle Parsons is a great actress. I have never seen her on stage, but loved her the very first time I saw her in 'Bonnie and Clyde.' The actress who originated the role and won a Tony did not want to be in NY too long and left. Her performance was great too.

kmbp - I had read the review first and didn't have any expectation that it would be as good as Osage. It must be hard to be a Pulitzer winner knowing that everything is compared to that first play.

CPG: Those icons have happened to me too. Generally, most of them are done by using a colon followed by some other symbol or letter. I suspect you used the colon after August and then it combined with the O of Osage.
I'll try the same here

Yep. You just can't do a colon followed by an O

If you hit the "Preview" button before posting your message, you can check if you've posted unintended emoticons.

NP - that is so weird.

Usually I hit preview, but I guess I felt 'confident' this time - haha. No relevance here, but I love the semi colon. Very few people use it. Did Shakespeare use the semi colon? (Just turning it into a theater question!)

Does the emoticon show up in a preview? I thought it didn't.
Let's see

So does anyone know when the new Phantom sequel is to open?
This preview looks like such fun -- The Phantom of the Oprah.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=weSnXwUYlPk

I saw "God of Carnage" last Friday. Not having seen the old cast, I can't compare, but thought that this bunch was good but not great. It was hard to catch everything that Ken Stott said--we were all going "What did he say, what did he say," for much of the play. I'm sorry he didn't speak a little more slowly for the American audience. Also thought the end of the play was a little too SNLish, but in general we (10 of us in the group) all really enjoyed it.

Has anyone seen "A Little Night Music?" We're Sondheim fans and are wondering if these are worth full priced tickets when we visit in a couple of weeks. No discounts and I don't think it's showing up on TKTS (on preview now and opens on 12/13).

Here's a sample. I think it all looks and sounds great (reduced orchestrations aside), but Angela Lansbury blows me away with her subtle brilliance.

http://www.broadway.com/videos/show/little-night-music/show-clips-a-little-night-music/

I love this thread! Music and musical theater has been my life. Kailani, we just saw "The Addams Family" in Chicago - pre-Broadway. I think you are going to like it. It needed some tweaking which I trust will make it even more enjoyable when it gets to NY.

Am considering "Billy Elliot" in Chicago this summer, as well as "Shrek", but can't decide between the two. We can only pick one, as they aren't playing concurrently. One reviewer here loved Billy Elliot and one hated it.

I'd had the privilege of becoming friends with the singer/actor Eric Kunze since I met him after "Whistle Down the Wind". Have been living vicariously through him, traveling all over the country to see him in everything he's done ever since. It makes the performance even more special to have someone you know in the cast. What fun that has been! Can't wait til he gets back to New York someday.

Keep posting everyone, can't wait to read more!

Nena - I have tix to see "A Little Night Music" in two weeks. I bought the tix for another opportunity to see Angela Lansbury. I saw her last year in "Blithe Spirit." How many more chances will there be? Same thing about seeing Rosemary Harris recently in the "Royal Family." A friend of mine just saw ALNM in previews. FWIW, even though I don't always agree with my friend about theater, I trust her when she just told me that CZJ is the weak link. Will she get better by opening night? I doubt it, but as I said, I really want to see AL again.

NP - will look at your link tomorrow.

Just got home from seeing "Love, Loss and What I Wore." I thoroughly enjoyed it. The audience was 99% women. Oprah's pal Gayle King sat behind us. The cast is rotating. Tonight was Rhea Perlman (terrific), Rita Wilson, Kristin Chenoweth, Capathia Jenkins, Lucy DeVito (Rhea and Danny's daughter I think). Actually, the entire cast was great. Kristin and Rita could not only bring you to tears, but tear up themselves as well. I sat in the first row and had a good look. Rita has beautiful jewelry and Kristin should lay off the botox a little. This is really one of those things written for women. Men can enjoy it, but not relate to it like women. It covers all the agonies from girlhood on.

Cant wait to see Love, Loss. Hope it goes on the road someday! Love Kristin especially, but the whole case sounds great.

Centralparkgirl - My son, the theater buff, is also concerned that CZJ will be the weak link. We saw Angela Lansbury in "Blithe Spirit," too. She was amazing.

Neopatrick - Thanks for the link.

I'll go ahead and buy tickets.

CPG -- My very first trip to NYC in 1966 including seeing School for Scandal at the old APA company. It starred Will Geer (Grandpa on the Waltons), HELEN HAYES, and the beautiful Rosemary Harris. It was memorable. I wish I could see Ms. Harris in Royal Family but it will be long closed when I get there in Jan.

On the video I love CZJ in the show. She has a sensuality that is so right for the role in my book, and I find the bit of Send in the Clowns so filled with the right feelings. But she is not "huge" on stage and hope she is able to become bigger and bigger by the time I see it. I'm reminded when I saw Juliette Binoche on Broadway in Betrayal. She just couldn't project vocally or character-wise in the huge theatre. It was such a disappointment after loving her in films.

Want to see HAIR on Broadway - any ideas for budget air/hotel/tickets - coming from florida?

wildbird, where in Florida? I just completely broke tradition for me by NOT booking American for my Jan./Feb. trip. But $69 each way non stop on Jet Blue from Ft. Myers to JFK was too good to pass up.

Tickets to Hair, order in advance using discount codes from Theatremania or Playbill.com.

Hotels. Budget? That's the hard part. I was looking at booking a Queen Deluxe at the Paramount right in the theatre district for $159 in February. I thought that was great, but now I'm going for a month because an apartment I've rented before became available. Those Paramount rooms can be small -- but their Queen Deluxe ones aren't that small and it's really a pretty nice hotel.

When are you going?

Maggi, the choice between Billy Elliot and Shrek is a no-brainer. See Billy Elliot!

Helen Hayes.............wish I could have seen her on stage! Remember her in the movie, 'The Children's Hour?'

NP - my guess is that you would love the play, 'The Royal Family' as well as the production. It's not for everybody.

I know the play itself well, have seen it several times, most recently a couple years ago at the Oregon "Shakespeare" Festival. You're right it isn't for everyone -- lots of "inside" theatre jokes, for one thing.

And three acts, for another! Many people are turned off by that. Imagine, two intermissions!

Confess I didn't read every single word in this thread, but do not think there has been a vote cast for Next To Normal. OMG Alice Ripley! The entire cast. the music, set, story, direction. Well, it's pretty heavy. And funny. But mostly heavy and maybe not for anyone too close to bipolar or depression disorders. Having said that, it was just fabulous. I can't get the music or story out of my head, and even though my nano is on Shuffle, it must read my mind and play Next To Normal 3 songs out of every 7. This is one of the most different and bravest plays I've seen on Broadway in ages. See it while Alice Ripley stays in the lead. Just see it.

I'm usually very easy to please, but I was terribly disappointed in "Next to Normal." While I agree that it was different, and definitely ambitious, we couldn't wait for it to be over. Based on the OP's comments, I wish we'd gotten tickets for Finian's Rainbow!

Next to Normal seems to be one of those love it or hate it musicals with not a lot in between. It has an almost cult like following on the Broadway.com boards, interspersed with people who think it's the worst thing they ever saw.

I saw 'Next to Normal' when it first opened and although I thought the cast was very good and I actually enjoyed it, it was one of those musicals where one song sounded like the others to me. I confess that when you're familiar with the music, it may make a difference and soxgirl has obviously become familiar with it and really likes it. But when I left 'Finian's Rainbow' and 'South Pacific,' I was singing for days. Years ago we saw 'Anything Goes' and I was ready to dance in the street on the way home. 'Next to Normal' didn't do that to me musically. I might have mentioned that I want to buy the cd for 'Finian's Rainbow' - haven't felt that way in ages.

Thanks Howard! I've read some of your opinions in the past and I think we have the same taste. It never ceases to amaze me how, as Patrick mentioned, how some people can love something and yet others hate the same thing with a vengence.

" some people can love something and yet others hate the same thing with a vengence."

It happens all the time; it's just another art form that either appeals to you or not. And when it really moves you, something special has happened.

CPG, I agree that certain shows grow on you the better you know them and others you like right off the bat. I've found that out seeing the same show day after day when I go to see Eric Kunze perform. Each subsequent night I am catching more and more nuances and by the end of the run I'm totally sold. Evita was that way for me. Some musicals are more lyric driven and it helps to be familiar with the lyrics before seeing the show.

In fairness to Next to Normal and other new musicals, it is obviously much easier to remember what you just heard when you see a revival such as South Pacific, since the music is already familiar to you.
Thanks for the kind words, Maggi.

I understand what you're saying Howard, but honestly, don't you think the original audiences went out of the first performances of South Pacific humming those tunes a lot more than any audiences go out of Next to Normal humming them?

One main difference is South Pacific was as much ABOUT the music as it was about the story and songs were written more to be memorable or show stopping than the songs in a show like Next to Normal. I don't think the writers of NtoN have any pretenses about any of their songs becoming classics that will stand on their own for generations. Rogers and Hammerstein actually did.

They are vastly different types of shows. It's hard to get "There is Nothing Like a Dame" or "Some Enchanted Evening" OUT of your head even the first time you might hear them. Not so with "Who Is Crazy/My Psychopharmacologist and I".

"Memphis" really good, amazing talent, fun music. I wish more people would see it. I still get discount offers everyday, so the show is not soldout.

Loved "Next to Normal," but couldn't exactly remember the music like I did with "South Pacific." I wish I could convince my crowd to see "Finian's Rainbow." Bought tickets for "A Little Night Music" (nearly sold out and now tickets are showing up at ebay) and "Wishful Drinking." Still battling with family members whether to see "In the Next Room or vibrator play" or "Race."

Any opinions on "In the Next Room..." or "Race?"

Nena - see my post above about 'In the Next Room.'

Howard - I couldn't hum or remember ANY music from NtN, Spring Awakening or Passing Strange for example. The first time I saw Man of LaMancha I remembered the music. It's not only familiarity, but the type of music imo.

CPK, I can't remember any music from Spring Awakening or Passing strange either, but every time I get stuck in traffic with a whole lot of loud noise and horn blowing, I'm instantly transported to the music of Passing Strange. LOL

But I liked Passing Strange; it's just that for me the music is not memorable - that sums it up. Is it generational? Us, the music? Gershwin is memorable, but Stew is not. Hmmmmm.

Patrick, I pretty much agree with you, but my point is that, of course, anyone seeing South Pacific TODAY will certainly know the music even before he/she steps into the theater! From that point of view, the comparison with any new show isn't fair. And believe me, I am NOT a particular fan of Next to Normal. But, fair is fair.

Oh, I can't believe I did that. I was trying so hard to "make a funny" that I said Passing Strange when I meant Spring Awakening. I rather enjoyed Passing Strange as well, with a real variety of types of music. It was Spring Awakening that seemed like so much noise and screaming!

Just goes to show you, as many have said....as much as I did not like the show, Spring Awakening, I loved the music. I'm the one who loves Next to Normal. Yet, on our way home from seeing NtoN, not one of us could remember one tune. I agree, they're not either memorable, or perhaps, singable. Though, what's wrong with "My psychopharmacologist and I" Spring Awakening and NtoN have very different harmonies and chord structures than South Pacific, for example. They are more strident, more minor-key, more, painful, really. Now, even though I'm reading what you're saying, I have no desire to see Finian's Rainbow. Maybe it's cause of my age. I remember when the original came out. I didn't like the music then, and don't expect to like it now. I hope to see A Little Night Music (I am not a New Yorker) but wonder if I'll be able to get tix when I visit next.Here in Boston, we have a radio show every weekend, "Standing Room Only." (And, even though I'm from Boston, I hope I can continue) There is one song they love to play-"A Weekend in the Country." I know it's from "A Little Night Music" but I have no idea what the song is about and have always wanted to see this show to find out!

"There is one song they love to play-"A Weekend in the Country." I know it's from "A Little Night Music" but I have no idea what the song is about."

OK Sixgirl, here's a spoiler. Are you ready? The song is about a weekend in the country.

Oh come on, Neo. There are at least 3 unidentifiable buy interchangeble-sounding female voices, 2 different male voices-they don't want to go, they do want to go, "oh no!" "do we have to?-some do want to accept the invitation in spite of considering it an insult. what gives hehe

<< I have no desire to see Finian's Rainbow. Maybe it's cause of my age. I remember when the original came out. I didn't like the music then, and don't expect to like it now.>>

soxgirl - the original was in 1947. Almost 63 years later, you might like the music! Since you must have been very young then, maybe your tastes have changed.

I stand corrected. I was referring to the 1968 film version, as I was a negative age in '47! Films are not plays, and I hear your suggestion. Okay, my mind is open.

An open mind is a good thing (I keep reminding myself!).

CPG, did you ever see "Superior Donuts"? I'm seeing it this week.

I hadn't heard of that - sounds interesting. Thanks for the review!

mclaurie, CPG mentioned she saw Superior Donuts in this post from Dec 8: http://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/broadway-banter.cfm#comment-6101722

yk - thanks.

mclaurie - let's hear what you think after you see it.

Next up - 'Rag Time' on Sunday

I saw God of Carnage w/the new cast on Fri. night, 12/11. It was ok, just ok. I was hoping to really enjoy Christine Lahti but with her, Annie Potts, and Jimmy Smits, well, I knew they were acting every minute- they never slipped into the role. Ken Stott, who originated the role og Michel on London's West End, was great, totally became Michel and was very entertaining. But one actor out of 4 can't carry the ball in this drama for me.

The 3 sixteen yr old girls LOVED Hair ! One of them said she cried at one point during the play. They totally got it re the culture of the time, the war, etc. They also liked Altar Boyz, said it was like going to a concert, but Hair blew them away.

BTW, here is an interesting article about "talk backs" after Broadway plays. I attended one after seeing Oleanna in October. Apparently this is becoming a trend.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/10/theater/10talkback.html

emd3 - I know exactly what you mean when you can 'see' the acting. It's a shame because the first cast was so good together.

Did anyone read the review today for 'A Little Night Music?'
It wasn't stellar, but not a bad review either and of course, Angela Lansbury got accolades. I'm still looking forward to it.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/12/14/theater/reviews/14little.html?scp=1&sq=a%20little%20night%20music&st=cse

cpg, someone just sent me an email today about the presale.
I'm considering it...

starrs - presale of what?

Great thread!

I just started planning a NYC theater weekend for the end of March and bought tickets for Promises Promises. With all the raves about Finian's Rainbow that will be my next ticket purchase.

cpg, I'm losing my mind. Someone sent two emails yesterday. One was a presale of Harvey Fierstein in Fiddler here and the other was the BBC review of Night Music. Yesterday was a sick day and I muddled the two in my mind.

Here's the review - http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8411963.stm

LCI - Don't pay full price for Finian - it's been discounted all along and should be for then too.

starrs - Harvey could be a good Tevye if he doesn't get overly campy. It's a wonderful show with great music. You should see it.

Thanks, cpg. Topol was supposed to be in it, and I planned to go. Now it's HF and I'm still deciding...

I LOVE Fiddler and the music. Will probably go.

<<One main difference is South Pacific was as much ABOUT the music as it was about the story and songs were written more to be memorable or show stopping than the songs in a show like Next to Normal.>>

This is a really interesting thought. I completely agree. But it's also interesting that this thought is used as a selling point of sorts for SP, but I see it as a selling point for NtoN! I find myself drawn to musicals where the music is a part of the story, rather than the story stopping for the music. Don't get me wrong -- I love a great big song and dance number as much as the next person, but sometimes I do find they can take me out of the moment of the story.

Little disclaimer: I haven't seen NtoN yet! It hasn't come to London and I haven't been to NY. But I love the music. I also came to love Spring Awakening the same way: first through the music and then by seeing it on stage. I wonder if experiencing it that way changes my impressions.

I'm rethinking what I said. I did see him last year in 'A Catered Affair' and I didn't care for his performance, but I didn't love the play either so maybe that had something to do with it. Topol would have been a better choice and I agree, the music is so good.

Re South Pacific
I've ALWAYS loved the musical, and adored Mitzi Gaynor. I didn't expect to enjoy the revivial as much as I did but adored the show at Lincoln Center this year. The tour is coming to town and I have tickets...but I'm giving them away. The show was SO good at Lincoln Center I just don't want to see it again so soon and be disappointed. Our musical director loves the show and I'd rather her enjoy it when it's here than go and not enjoy it as much at what I just saw. Now, that's a first for me

cpg...

Thanks for the heads-up on discount tickets, that's usually the way I go when visiting NYC, in my last 3 visits I don't think I've ever paid full price!

BTW, when we were in NYC last Fri-Sun they were passing out flyers on the street re discount tickets for Finian's Rainbow those nights, so they were still trying to fill seats at the last minute.

One more thing about God of Carnage. You know the saying, "You can never be too rich or too thin." Well, I disagree, you can be too thin, and it is called Christine Lahti. She is now a waif, just reed skinny, like her bones are going to break if she falls over the coffee table on the set. I couldn't watch her act without thinking this. My husband leaned towards me about 5 min. into the play and said, "Man, that woman is incredibly skinny, is she sick?"

I am not sure why she is so thin now, she used to not be that extremely thin. We both found it very distracting to try and watch her act in her current body. I've never thought this or had such a distraction about any other actor or actress I've seen act onstage; that is how extreme it was.

http://tinyurl.com/ycqx8el

I absolutely ADORED "Superior Donuts." I think it's a tragedy this show hasn't gotten more good word of mouth. It closes on Jan. 3. so anyone who's not seen it should run to get tickets! And if you didn't like August Osage (as I didn't) and worry that you won't like this, think again. Where August Osage was populated with despicable characters you'd never want to know who were beyond redemption, Superior Donuts is filled with a motley crew of ordinary folks you get to know, root for and care about. This is a feel good play with wonderful subtle acting--the kind you're not aware of. Michael McKean in the leading role is outstanding. Go. Discounts are available all over-at the TKTS booth, http://www.broadwaybox.com/shows/superior_donuts_nyc_tickets.aspx etc.

McLaurie...

I was glad to see you say you didn't care for August Osage...I thought I was the only person who didn't care for that show! Unfotunately I'm not in the NYC area and won't be able to get to Superior Donuts before it closes. I'll be in NYC in March, but no chance of seeing it then...oh well.

Most straight plays on Broadway today like 'Superior Donuts' do not have longevity because the average Broadway goer/visitor/tourist, IMO, wants to see 'Mama Mia' and the like. Unless of course there is a very big name appearing in the play. This is sad and that's why there are discount tix for those plays most of the time. Even a wonderful musical like 'Finian's Rainbow' with a great review will have discount tix because it doesn't have the glitz and bells and whistles of plays like 'Billy Elliot' or 'Wicked' for example. So many people miss out on very good theater simply because it's not an extravaganza.

Link to WSJ's critic Terry Teachout's "Year in Review in Theatre": http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304574595973007231140.html

From the first paragraph, I qoute:
But no matter how good the script or strong the production may be, it's now all but impossible to keep a straight play open on Broadway for more than a limited run without a name-above-the-title movie or TV actor in the cast—and neither Bill Pullman nor Julia Stiles, the stars of "Oleanna," was big enough to fill the bill.

CPG, are you related to Terry Teachout?

He didn't like A litte Night Music. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304574596302043091572.html

That comment is interesting regarding Oleanna. I was in NYC and saw Oleanna w/Stiles and Pullman in the fall. I am not so sure it was not having a bigger name that closed that show. It is an odd play, written at the time of Anita Hill/Clarence Thomas hearings, and Mamet's script for the female lead, Carol (Stiles here) was so strange IMO. If Carol is his "most fully realized female character" then I am not interested in seeing his other female roles. She was bumbling and couldn't understand concepts and precepts, and was very wooden. At first I was just really disappointed in Stiles. But the more I've thought about it and read about Mamet, I think it was the script, not Stiles.

I was on 43rd St. last weekend to attend God of Carnage and saw that Oleanna had closed as I walked by that theater. I was not at all surprised. There are just too many other good things to see, and I was really glad I had gotten a deeply discounted preview ticket to see Oleanna.

yk - I didn't read your link yet and I will, but I must confess, I AM TERRY TEACHOUT! Sssssshhhh!

emd3 - I didn't see Oleanna, but the review that I had read criticized the tempo of the play. The reviewer saw the original and said that Mamet's lines are meant to be said fast and that was not the case in this production. And that it had an impact on the whole production as well as the fact (as you mentioned) that at the time of the original, the whole Hill/Thomas thing was very hot.

That makes sense to me, CPG. I hope Stiles gets another chance at Broadway; I'd like to see her in something else. Pullman will survive.

We saw 'Ragtime' this afternoon and I thought it was wonderful. Although I saw the original production and the movie, there were some details of the plot that I had forgotten; I must be getting old!!! The cast was very good including some leads who were making their B'way debuts. The first act is a little long, but I still find the story riveting and very moving especially in Act II. I recommend this play!

I think Howard was there today too. What did you think?

CPW, we enjoyed Ragtime, but were a little disappointed in the production. We weren't crazy about the minimalism look of the production. In fairness, we couldn't get the talented trio from the original--Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marin Mazzie and Audra McDonald--out of our frame of reference. And, none of the three in this revival came close. We thought that the actor playing Tateh was the best thing in the show, better than the original.
Still, in spite of our reservations, if you haven't seen the show before, we still strongly recommend it. The music still soars. In fairness, I'll add that the audience loved the show. (This is our fourth time, going back to the 1998 original.)

Howard - I was prepared from the review for a 'smaller' production than the original so the set did not disappoint. I really enjoyed Coalhouse (Quentin Earl Darrington), Mother (Christiane Noll) as well as Tateh (Robert Petkoff). To me the story is so compelling that one of these days I should read the novel. I think that will be one of my 2010 resolutions.

As far as the audience, there were people in the orchestra who started cheering as the lights dimmed. I just don't get the 'let's applaud them for lifting the curtain' mentality.

We too chuckled over some of audience's responses. Not meaning to sound snobbish, we felt that many were inexperienced theatergoers.
As for the minimalistic set, we were aware that it would be thus. Still, we didn't think it was nearly as successful as recent revivals of Sweeney Todd and Company, which also utilized "smaller can be effective" (my words) sets.
Again, we did enjoy it and recommend it.....we were just a little disappointed, as we are so fond of the show.
And, yes, you should read the book. It's excellent. But, avoid the movie which was not very good.

I liked the movie too - saw it ages ago - But, nothing, imo, is ever as good as a great book. Except 'Gone With the Wind' whose movie was pretty true to the book.

I just got tickets to see A View from the Bridge. Any ideas what to expect? I like Arthur Miller but not seen this one before. I read the summary and it looked good. Any thoughts?

What do you mean, "Any ideas what to expect?" It's one of Miller's better plays, not his absolute best. That would be Death of a Salesman and/or The Crucible. Still, a worthy endeaver. It's definitely not a joyful experience, but rather, a tragic tale. Leiv Schreiber is a proven Broadway commonity. Scarlet Johanssen is not (but she sells tickets!). Anything else?

Thanks all! Just got discounted Ragtime tickets for the holiday week (12/27)! Looking forward to it!

maria, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Ignore my quest for perfection!

Thanks HowardR!

maria_so I also have tix for 'A View from the Bridge.' I expect from every play I attend a great performance! Let's hope we both get that.

Well I'll add a couple cents to this post. I saw 5 shows with my trip a couple weeks ago. I enjoyed them all.

The priority was Hair for my friend. It was great, music was superb with great acting. Finian's Rainbow's set was ugly as noted above. But the show was very well done, again with great music and excellent acting. Next to Normal was also excellent- accurate factors re Mental Illness, which I was impressed with (worked for 23 years in Mental Health), great music and storyline. In the Heights, I won at the lottery, excellent mix of actors and superb musical talents. Race, there opening night, lots of "furs" in the audiance. Thought provoking, well thought out set, very good acting. A lot of thrown around profanity, which got a little old.

All were purchased at a discount at TKTS, except the lottery direct at the theater.

I REALLY LIKED "A Little Night Music" which I saw this afternoon. I had no real knowledge of the play before hand, couldn't possibly compare it to another production, but still wasn't expecting to like it a lot. Surprise! I liked the story and the cast, but the amazing thing was the lyrics. This is one play that not only can you understand them, they are so clever and wonderful. Angela Lansbury is absolute perfection. And as far as the criticism that CZJ plays it over the top, well...they all did. Her voice is not fantastic, but so what! The rest of the cast had great delivery, expressions and good voices. It was thoroughly enjoyable despite Act I being too long. But this will not be frequented by the masses imo. I think CZJ is scheduled to miss some performances down the road, so inquire before purchasing.

Today's NY Times reports that Ragtime is closing on Sunday.

I read that too. What a shame and what a tough business the theater is. Also read that the 'Addams Family' is having some issues out of town.

I already had my ticket for Ragtime when I learned of its closing. So disappointing! Since Brief Encounter extended its run, I grabbed a ticket for it to fill Ragtime's slot. A friend saw it and was swept away. I can't wait!

The producers of Ragtime have just added another week to its run through January 10.

Howard, I just got the email tonight telling me about Ragtime's extra week. I am now the owner of two tickets for two shows on the same night! Time to do some serious thinking about whom to call tomorrow concerning a refund. What a dilemma...

Hey, clanwilson, you may be making history as the first person to ever own tickets for two shows on the same night because one of them extended its run! Keep posted on how the situation plays out!
Incidentally, the producers of Ragtime said they extended the show for a week, because there was a big fluu\rry of ticket buying after the announcement about he January 3 closing was made.
On the closing front, another announcement: Finian's Rainbow shutters on January 17.

Drat. I really wanted to see Finian's Rainbow. I arrive ON the 17th.

Update on Ragtime/Brief Encounter Dilemma:

St. Ann's Warehouse could not refund for my Brief Encounter ticket, which I expected. However, I was offered another night, so that I could still see Ragtime. Unfortunately, that wasn't a possibility since I already had tickets for other shows. (Four in three days!)

After being on the phone about 30 minutes, yikes, Ticketmaster did refund my Ragtime ticket since it was at fault for telling me the show was cancelled in the first place. Brief Encounter, here I come!

Ah, there still is goodness and fair play in the world!
Still, it's too bad you couldn't fit Ragtime in.

Listen...you can hear Doris Day singing, "Que Sera Sera." I'll just have to catch Ragtime when it rolls around again in a decade or two!

It's a shame about 'Finian's Rainbow' too. It's too traditional to survive in these lean times. And their radio ads didn't help themselves one bit - Had I not seen the show and loved it, the ads would not have convinced me to go - they were pretty lame. Any bets on who's biting the bullet next?

And 'Bye Bye Birdie' still lives on - go figure!

"It's too traditional to survive in these lean times."

You mean like the smash hit South Pacific? That's about as traditional as they come as far as musicals go. What's the difference? For one thing South Pacific got pretty much rave reviews all around and was a really well done revival. While I didn't see Finian's Rainbow, the reviews were very mixed and little made it sound like anything near the quality of that South Pacific revival.

No. I wasn't comparing it to SP. They're not the same for a number of reasons. What I meant, and I've said it a number of times, is that so many B'way goers want to see productions like Billy Elliot (complete with trapeze), Mama Mia, Jersey Boys (both pop music, more revue than play), etc. The FR review in the NY Times was spot on and excellent. We know that an excellent review does not necessarily guarantee a long run. While you're mentioning SP, I feel that most Lincoln Center Theater productions (performed at LC) don't get the same theater going crowd as Times Square. Yes, of course there is overlap, but you get fewer out of NY visitors there and in general, more avid theater goers attend their productions. You find less applause for a mere curtain rising, etc. I attend there often enough to have this opinion.

cpg, your theory isn't totally valid, since studies have shown that out-of-towners comprise the majority of Broadway theatergoers. Thus, South Pacific would have a smaller base from which to draw than Finian's Rainbow!

PS: Of course, the failure of Finian's Rainbow could also be traced to the simple fact that a lot of theater regulars (like me) just weren't attracted to the show.

This just in...I received an email from Ticketmaster this morning saying that there's a musical coming across the pond this Spring called ENRON.

Yeah it's about the ENRON disaster!!

For those of you who don't know, TDF Off Off (house under 100 seats) Broadway are available to anyone. You can buy them in advance (sets of 4 - 36 dollars) and they send you a quarterly newsletter about shows but the newsletter is online if you click the note in red that says it's online.

http://tdf.org/TDF_ServicePage.aspx?id=102&%20do=v

Interesting theater in interesting neighborhoods.

CPG, no I didn't mean that you were comparing the two shows, I just meant that your concept of "too traditional" just doesn't hold water. The reasons a show fail or succeed are really complex, but generally speaking the old "it didn't find its audience" is perhaps the best one. Howard is right, that after the usual Lincoln Center subscribers have seen a show at LC, its success depends on word of mouth and general interest from the tourists and general public. One might say that the name of South Pacific is a bigger draw than the name of Finian's Rainbow -- but I meant it's hardly fair to say the reason Finian's failed is because "it's too traditional".

And incidentally, I have not yet seen South Pacific. It had been running quite a while when I was last in New York, but I could NOT get tickets at all and there were NO discounts. That is in direct contrast to Finian's Rainbow which ran on discounts and partial audiences from the beginning. One cannot attribute the success of South Pacific to being at the Lincoln Center and drawing from a different audience base -- especially after running for a year or more!

<< One cannot attribute the success of South Pacific to being at the Lincoln Center and drawing from a different audience base -- especially after running for a year or more!>>

Never said this and never meant this. I've seen enough 'dogs' at LC to know. Perhaps I should have started a new paragraph when talking about SP. (no more stream of consciousness for me!) When NP mentioned SP, I just threw in my opinion; it was an aside. I just feel that, on the whole, it is a different audience. SP would be successful if it played in Macy's!

Howard - I don't follow your last sentence of the 7:24 post. Please explain.

I'm starting 2010 in the fog!

Oh god help me. I just went to NYC and theater there in early Dec. and following this thread is making me want to go back already. April come quickly, please. I have a gift cert. for two nights at DeNiro's Greenwich hotel and am using it then. But I need theater and a good bistro meal and a walk through Chelsea right now.

I'm not Howard, but I'm sure he was responding to your comment about Lincoln Center having a different audience base than mainstream Broadway. Following that idea, it would be logical then to assume that that "artsy local base" for Lincoln Center would be a fraction of the huge base of tourists coming to NYC to see theatre -- therefore using that different base idea, SP would have a very limited base to draw from compared to the huge base of mainstream Broadway. So clearly the success of SP draws from tourists much more than the Lincoln Center crowd. As you just said, there are dogs too at Lincoln Center and they don't become huge held over hits -- so the audience base there should not have anything at all to do with making SP a huge long running hit. Does that lift a little of the fog?

I didn't mean to make a big deal about SP. I was only using a single example to say that I don't believe "being too traditional" has anything to do with Finian's Rainbow closing.

Don't you think that many theatergoers (whether tourist, New Jersey, the boroughs or local) want to see things that are either extravaganzas, have a big name starring in it, already familiar, or pop related? I see this all the time and imo, this is a big base, one that supports some mediocre to average theater. You are not the average theatergoer; hence, I think that you would have liked FR, the Royal Family, Superior Donuts, and others that I can't think of right now.

Thanks Patrick for supplying the accurate response to CPG's question.
While you are right, CPG, is saying that the masses (my word) certainly do support some mediocre to average theater. But, they also support some damned good theater like West Side Story, Hair, South Pacific and Billy Elliot!
The more I think about the failure of Finian's Rainbow to draw an audience, the more I'm convinced it was simply a case of most people just not being attracted to its story line and message. Good music can only go so far in bringing in an audience!
Serious drama is another matter. The lack of support for it by the overwhelming majority of theater attendees is a rather sad situation. It's almost tragic that having a big-name star or two is just about mandatory for a straight play to succeed.
Tomorrow's NY Times arts section has two very interesting articles--one about the status of musicals and the other about the use of big-name stars in straight plays.

So why did you decide to pass on FR?

That's easy to answer....There were other shows that we would rather see. And, since we don't have an unlimited budget for the theater, we tend to make careful choices. Do I feel bad about missing Finian's Rainbow? Not really. The way I see it, any year when we can see productions of Waiting for Godot, West Side Story, Billy Elliot and even a less-than-perfect Ragtime is good year!

Finian's Rainbow is one of the shows I'll be seeing this week. I'll try to post a trip report when I get back.

Howard - I understand; despite recommendations, I don't have a desire to see Memphis or Fela.

clanwilson - hope you enjoy it.

I have a different question. Those of you who follow the discount codes -- in the past I've found varying discounts from Playbill.com, theatremania, and Broadway Box and used to check all of them to see who had the best discount for any given show on any given night. But every show I've checked for my upcoming trip all those sites have exactly the same discounts for exactly the same nights. Has anyone found that NOT to be true -- a better discount from one source as opposed to another?

(Yes, I do know that TKTS for last minute can be even better, but I'm talking about the regular advance purchase codes.)

A friend of mine uses Plum Benefits, but I've never used them. It's worth a check. There's also theateroffers.com (not sure if I've spelled theater correctly - check both ways - er and re.)

While I've found that the three websites usually have the same offers, though on occasion there has been a variance. I think it's interesting, Patrick, that your research shows absolutely no variances.

'Sondheim on Sondheim' with Barbara Cook, et al.
Presale tix available today at the Roundabout.

Wishful Drinking is closing on Jan. 17...

I haven't gone yet, but I'm told that Liv Schreiber's performance in 'A View from the Bridge' is amazing. Has anyone seen a preview?

I certainly plan to see that, but it should be noted that most people are also saying Scarlett Johansson's performance in that same play is dismal.

I must honestly say that neither of the above 2 reports should come as much of a surprise!

My friend who saw it said, 'Scarlett was very natural and believable....especially as someone's fantasy.' One person's view. Since it doesn't open until 1/24, who are 'most people?' Do you know a lot of people who've seen the preview? I'm seeing it next month. I've seen Liv Schreiber a couple of times and have liked his performances a lot.

I should also add that she's not one of my favorites in film.

About Scarlett:

In today's WSJ, there's an article that says, "It's in previews now; chatter about her performance on theater message boards has been largely positive so far, identifying Ms. Johansson as a solid member of the cast."

Ooh, I want to go see Barbara Cook!

We saw The Addams Family in Chicago, and all five of us enjoyed it.

Now I want to go to NYC to see Tommy Tune in "Steps in Time", his biographical show--he's my favorite perfomer--and Barbara Cook in "Sondheim on Sondheim". Plus a couple of dramas. I checked the flights, and they're cheap--the tempation may be too much for me.

Hey abram, come go see Barbara Cook with me!

starrs - I figured you would have done the presale the first day like 'Promises, Promises.'

I didn't SEE it until today

You asked "who are most people" since the show hasn't opened yet. The "most people" I was talking about are primarily theatre professionals and regulars who post on BroadwayWorld.com and who see everything. Not that their opinions are any more important, but they tend to be less swayed by who a person is and more by actual performance.

Here's a link to the WSJ article that CPG mentioned - it's the 2010 Broadway Preview: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703436504574640761105283426.html

It lists new shows and the *star* powers include:
Scarlett Johansson (A view from the bridge)
Laura Linney (Time Stands Still)
Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth (Addams Family)
Kelsey Grammer (LA CAGE AUX FOLLES)
Christopher Walken (A behanding in Spokane)
Denzel Washington (Fences)

I saw Denzel Washington in 'Julius Caesar.' I think I'll wait for a review before buying a ticket to see him again.

And Valerie Harper will be in "Looped."

I'd love to see Christopher Plummer or Ian McKellan or Frank Langella in anything! One can always hope!

I goofed. Yesterday I got discount tickets on broadwaybox.com for Love, Loss and What I Wore. Got them for $59 instead of $75. Then today I checked Goldstar.com just to see what else is going on the NYC this coming weekend while I am there. Guess what, Goldstar.com has tickets to that show the same night, this Friday, for $37.50. Ouch. With goldstar.com you get seats assigned when you get there, but this venue is so small and intaimate, it doesn't really matter, I woudl have gladly taken the additional discount. Also several other Broadway and off-Bway discoutns on goldstar.com that are much better than the other theater discount sites I checked.

Check goldstar.com before you book on another site for a NYC show.

emd3 - thanks for the info. I know it's aggravating, but enjoy the show! I'd like to know which cast you see.

CPG, Michelle Lee and Diana Ross' daughter (can't think of her name right now), among others, are in it now...

I just got an email about the revival of The Miracle Worker opening on Broadway March 3. Abigail Breslin will play Helen Keller, Allison Pill will play Annie Sullivan, and Jennifer Morrison (Cameron on "House") will play Helen's mother.

I hope this is good. I really like Abigail Breslin and I wonder if she can translate to the stage. I am very tempted to get discounted tickets for the previews (start Feb 12) and Amtrak up to see it.

The 50th anniversary of the opening of the play on Broadway was this past Oct. It was such a powerful play, and then film. I read a good interview w/Patty Duke and Anne Bancroft done for that 50th anniversary:
http://www.officialpattyduke.com/MW.htm

HAs nayone been to Circle in the Square Theater? That is where Miracel Worker will play. I have decided to go in Feb during previews, but I have no idea how this stage works. It looks like a theater in the round, but is the stage static? Where to sit?

They change the seating at Circle in the Square depending on production. For Spelling Bee it was kind of three quarter round. I saw a show called Life X 3, which was in the round there, but the stage actually rotated for each of the three scenes 1/3 turn, which was unique. But my general experience has been that there are no bad seats there and you're always relatively close to the action.

I think the casting of Abigail Breslin is interesting. Generally people know her and love her because of her outgoing personality in Little Miss Sunshine. But there can't be even a trace of that kind of personality in Helen Keller, so it seems as if she does a "great job of acting", people might be disappointed as they won't see the actress they think they love.

emd3, I share your pain. I bought a ticket last week for $75 for the new John Lithgow play, Mr. and Mrs. Fitch, assuming there would be no discounts on this limited off Broadway run, and literally as the confirmation email arrived with my tickets I also got an email offering a discount code for that production at $49! Oh well, you lose some, you win some.

I'm glad to hear Patrick's comment (no bad seats!) since we just got tickets for March. It will be interesting to see how Abigail Breslin does in this role, but we're bringing my two nieces (15 and 13) and it should be a great show for them (along with us, hopefully).

is the Addams Family Musical to scary for a 5 year old?

I know little about the actual production of The Addams Family, but I wouldn't think of taking a 5-year-older to this show or most (if not all) other shows foir that matter. It's asking a lot to ask a child of that age to sit that long through any show!
As for The Addams Family specifically, I can't see a child of that age having the least bit of undestanding of what's going on.

I saw the Addams Family in Chicago and I wouldn't recommend it for a five year old. Not scary necessarily, but lots innuendo and inside jokes that wouldn't interest a child at all.

I don't know the show but I was VERY irritated by the mom that brought a 5yo to see Wicked. The kid was bored and wiggly and created constant distractions for those around her.

Following is a portion of my trip report that is applicable to this thread:

I got lots of advice when I posted asking for suggestions of shows to see in NYC. The truth was that there weren’t any “must-sees” as far we were concerned. In past years, I’ve waited hours in line for the “Wicked” lottery, and woke at dawn to snag standing room for “The Lion King,” “Phantom,” and “The Producers” when they were new. There wasn't anything I felt that way about this time.

Our hotel was only a few minutes from the Times Square TKTS booth and we were shocked that first night to find almost no line (at around 5 PM)—and to see discounts for lots of shows that we’d thought would be sold out (such as “Mama Mia” and “Billy Elliott.” “Billy Elliott” was not high on my list, but I was so surprised to see it at 20% off @ TKTS that a few minutes later I’d bought tickets. FYI, the only time there was ever moere than a 5 or 10 minute wait was when the booth first opened. By 6 PM, you could just walk up and buy tickets.

Billy Elliott:
From all the awards and personal reviews I’ve heard I’m guessing no one else has every uttered these words … but neither of us liked it much. It was “okay”—but we were disappointed after all the hype. The “Billy” we saw (they rotate three different young actors; we saw Liam Redhead) was a good dancer and an okay actor—but he simply couldn’t sing on pitch—in fact, not even close. It was painful and every time he started another song, all I could think was, “Oh, no.”

I’m sure this is terribly politically incorrect, but I was distracted by the fact that the actor portraying Billy was either black or bi-racial—and his parents were not. I know that part of theater is about transcending the confines of reality--but I wouldn’t cast a white, Hispanic, or Asian person in “Raisin in the Sun” or “Porgy and Bess” and expect audiences not to notice. Maybe if the kid had been incredible, I wouldn’t have cared. But that wasn’t a big issue for me. I suspect that even with a great “Billy”—who could actually sing— I still wouldn’t have loved the show.

I loved every moment that the character “Michael” (Billy’s friend) was on stage. He was fantastic—a super singer and showman—and I couldn’t help wishing that “Billy” was at the same level. The pas de deux and a few other isolated numbers were terrific, but I thought the first ten or fifteen minutes were awful—and that most everything else was only “good” at best. I found the curtain calls among the most entertaining parts—and that’s not a good sign. IMHO, not even close to being in the same league as “Wicked.”

Next night: “Wishful Drinking,” Carrie Fisher’s one-woman show. I can’t rave enough. Brilliant; hilarious; touching; and exceptionally written, conceived, and performed. It was one of the most memorable and enjoyable Broadway shows I’ve ever seen. Sadly, it’ll be closing January 17th (after 4 months). Thank you, thank you, thank you to those who suggested it.

“West Side Story”: Very enjoyable, but here’s the problem we both had …
The Jets are dressed and coiffed circa 2010—yet their language and finger snapping is pure 1957. It was distracting—and even ridiculous—to see guys who looked as if they would fit perfectly into today’s world, saying “Daddy-O,” and some of the other pure ‘50s beatnik expressions. Frankly, we were both shocked that no one on the production team noticed this. The actor playing Tony had a voice that was absolutely glorious—although his acting was a little stiff—and he looked like he was probably about five years older than his character. “Anita” was phenomenal and “Maria” was quite good. LOVED the 2nd act—but can’t give it an unabashed thumbs up because nothing the Jets did quite worked for me. I think I expected a grittier, updated “WSS” but because of the lyrics and dialog I think it needs to be approached strictly as a period piece—set in 1957—or drastically rewritten (which I wouldn’t want). FYI, the highly touted Spanish dialog worked fine—but didn’t particularly add anything for me.

“Newsical: the Musical”: Fun sketches and musical numbers poking fun of everything newsworthy. It had some brilliant, hilarious moments, and consistently wonderful performances. The send ups of Joan Rivers, Liza Minelli, Susan Boyle, Sarah Palin, and the Balloon Boy were fantastic. But the material was mostly “good”—but not great. It’s a revue; like a cabaret performance—and it was an entertaining night out—but not a “must-see.”

Had a fantastic trip!

Songdoc, of all your comments, I'm most confused by the one about West Side Story. I have no idea how old you are, but do you have any idea what haircuts were like in the mid to late 1950's? I've seen enough pictures of the current production to say they look just like we all did when in high school, except some of the guys have a bit longer hair than most of us did -- making them the kind of rebels that appear in West Side Story. Some also have what we called "butch cuts" or even flat tops. Elvis Presley in 1957 was considered a "rebel" because he had such long hair for that perios, yet a few cast members have haircuts very much like his.

Then you say you expected a grittier updated version but you think it needs to be set in 1957. I think you're confused, because I have yet to hear anyone else suggest that it isn't set in 1957. Am I missing something here?

I'm not following either, Neo.

I don't know what production photos you saw -- or when they were taken -- but while there was one flat-top haircut, most of the Jets sported hair that looked more like West Hollywood or Chelsea circa 2010 than anything from the fifties. There was nothing remotely resembling the haircuts from the Elvis era, "Grease," or "Happy Days." DP had the exact same comment -- and we were both around in the fifties--and on the East Coast.

I am NOT suggesting it wasn't set in 1957. Of course it was--as I believe it needs to be. I'm saying that the problem was that the Jets' appearance seemed like 2010 -- and that wasn't consistent with the beatnik dialog.

Their scenes and especially the rumbles seemed very stylized--and I was EXPECTING a grittier, more realistic version from what I had read about the production in Arthur Laurents' wonderful book.

Responding to songrdoc:
I guess it's different strokes for different folks.
We found Billy Elliot utterly brilliant. True, we saw a different Billy, but I would hardly categorize the first 10-15 minutes as "awful." In fact, we were smtten from the start.
As for West Side Story, perhaps we were sitting further back in the theater than you and weren't ddistracting by the hair styles. Or perhaps it was simply because Robbins' choreogreaphy is so electrifying, we really weren't looking that carefully or frequently at their hair! And as far as it not being gritty enough, well, I can't see how the attack on Anita could be any grittier! And sytlized? Of course, West Side Story is stylized! It's supposed to be.
Well, at least, we agree on Wishful Drinking.

Well, here's one for starters, since you mention the chorus. But realize that I'm also saying 1957 WAS NOT all long hair like Elvis, definitely not. There was no single hairstyle for guys in the mid 50s.

http://www.lectrosonics.com/PressReleases/cyt/West_Side_Story1.jpg

here's another:

http://www.artsjournal.com/aboutlastnight/West1span.jpg

Sorry, I just don't get the hair comment. I think you have a very different idea of how every teenager wore his hair in 1957 than I do.

Now if you had said the chorus boys look far too old to be averaging 16 or 17 -- well, that's quite another story!

I remember my junior high which had two factions: the greasers and the soches (sp?). I, of course, was a soch, on the honor roll, choir, band, student council. I watched with fascination the greasers indoctrinating their girlfriends into the gang by all the guys punching them in the arm. Well, it was junior high... Looking back now, they seemed more like 20 years old than 14 or 15. (Maybe they were -haha). Kids today just seem younger than we were, or maybe it's just because I am so much older!

When they were casting this current incarnation of WSS I remember reading they were looking for "he-man, macho types" for the guys. My friend who is in theater said, "Good luck finding he-man, macho types who can do Jerome Robbins choreography", lol.

Maggi, you bring up another point -- indirectly. West Side Story IS about two factions. The Jets haircuts seem to be a little more diverse (particularly more short ones) and less "Grease" like, while the Sharks -- the Puerto Rican gang -- have more guys with longer, wavy, greased hair. Makes sense to me.

In any case, I'm still trying to figure out how something so trivial as "exact representation of appropriate hairstyles" could have that big a part in the the enjoyment or disappointment of a stage play. We all know theatre is a lot of accepted conventions. Would someone focus on saying, "the scene under the bridge didn't really look like a real bridge to me" and that spoiled it for me?

Right. Hairstyles, costuming and stage design aside, the theme of WSS is timeless. I never get tired of seeing it. The recent staging of it in Stratford, Canada was brilliant. They actually did a fairly traditional version, which (for Stratford) is unusual. I have seen many shows there where they really push the envelope in terms of unconventional costuming and stage design. It really keeps you on your toes.

We saw "Looped" in DC with Valerie Harper and I think she did a wonderful job. Is it still going in NYC?

The two main assets of West Side Story are its dancing and its music. Both are well served in the current production. That's what this show is all about. Hair? That's another show, isn't it?

Oh, Maggi, speaking of Stratford -- I saw a production of West Side Story there a few years ago. AWFUL. I'm somewhat open to "color blind" casting, but when the show is about Puerto Ricans and Americans, how could they cast an Asian girl as Maria? That was pretty hard to ignore. And the tiny little very effeminate Tony made the whole audience laugh a lot. Boy did THAT production not work.

TDudette, Looped is scheduled to begin previews on Feb. 19 (drat -- two days after I leave) at the Lyceum Theatre -- Broadway.

<< Hair? That's another show, isn't it? >> Funny, Howard!

I saw 'Present Laughter' last night. Victor Garber was very good and the set is gorgeous, but I didn't enjoy it as much as 'Royal Family.' It's not as sharp, imo. Maybe I prefer Yiddish Deco to British Deco.

Patrick, that's hilarious. Glad I missed that version. But seriously, their most recent production was right up there with Broadway. I saw it twice and, as a musician, I like to think of myself as being discerning

"Maybe I prefer Yiddish Deco to British Deco."

CPG, I'm really confused. The Royal Family is about the Barrymore's, who are renamed the Cavendish's in Royal Family. What is the reference to "Yiddish"? Are you suggesting they did the recent revival with some sort of heavy Jewish or Yiddish overtones?

No, not at all. I was kidding about the playwrights: Kaufman/Ferber vs. Coward.

OK, guess that goes over my head. I never thought of Kaufman and/or Ferber as writing at all Yiddish -- just "American".

I was only KIDDING!

Hey, CPG, do you have a short list ready for me in April?

OK guys, due to your recommendations (and the fact that someone I know well who is only a few yrs older than me died suddenly this week) I got discount orchestra tickets to see Wishful Drinking this weekend. So it will be Wishful Drinking and Love, Loss, and What I Wore. I was going to limit myself to one show this weekend for budget reasons, but figure I have really wanted to see Wishful Drinking and I can't justify those theater regrets in the scheme of life, and I will already be in NYC.

Looking forward to some good restaurant deals from restaurant.com, and going to see Madeline Albright's pin collection at the Museum of Arts and Design on Thurs. night when admission is whatever you want to donate. I love NY.

The hair was NOT a huge problem for me--just something I noticed. As I said in the original post, I enjoyed the production very much--and LOVED the 2nd act. Sorry to have mentioned it. All I know is that for me, for whatever reasons, the Jets' scenes were the weakest link in a very strong production.

Howard's right that the main assets are the music & dancing/choreography. No complaints in those departments. That music is truly extraordinary.

Bernstein, Sondheim and Robbins - What a combination!

starrs - did your dates change?

Thanks, NeoPatrick. Tallulah and her sister had a place where I grew in Maryland. Vivien Vance used to visit them. One day bought I don't know how many pairs of shoes at the local shoe store and everyone was agog!

emd3 - sounds like you're in for a poignant weekend - enjoy yourself!

The restaurant at the top of MAD opened recently. Haven't eaten there but I did get to see the view and decor. It's wonderful and open late every evening.

SueNYC, I was just looking at the menu of Robert yesterday (@ MAD), and thinking that I may stop by there for lunch next week!

Saw Present Laughter also Central Park Girl & agree that
the set was really nice & Garber very good...I'm not crazy
for Coward but those that are will probably enjoy this immensely.
The theatre was half emtpy tho. Do folks not know about Garber I wonder?

Hi Rhea - it's gotten loads of press, but it's still in previews. The orchestra was filled the night I was there. Cynthia Nixon sat in front of me. It will take a great review and some luck for it to be playing by the summer, imo!

Present Laughter like most Roundabout Productions is a limited run. It is only contracted and scheduled to run for two months -- until March 21 -- so no doubt it will NOT be playing my summer! Lips Together, Teeth Apart is already scheduled to take its place at the American Airlines Theatre.

Did anybody see Spring Awakening? I have on the stage seating tickets for this in a few months. I know the themes of the show are serious. I've never had these types of tickets. Can anyone tell me what to expect?

In my humble opinion. . . Be prepared for a lot of noise, a lot of yelling and screaming, and a lot of jumping up and down on chairs in place of choreography. It was called "cutting edge" for the provocative and new idea being expressed -- that teens like to have sex and their parents don't approve. Gee. We never knew that before?

Patrick, thanks for the reply. Hmmmmm...I'll be bringing my 21 year old niece, who sings and loves the stage. I thought it would be a unique experience for her.

Maggi, forgive my sarcasm above. I'm sure your niece will love it. I actually enjoyed seeing it, I mainly remember being in mild shock because I couldn't figure out what all the Hoopla was about it -- being "new and cutting edge" -- sort or like a reworked Rent set in another time to me.

Where are you seeing this by the way? I'm curious if the tours have "softened" some of the more graphic stuff.

It'll be in Detroit at the end of April. I'll have no way to compare, but there was an interesting Playbill article about being part of the onstage ensemble as an audience member.
http://tiny.cc/1adK0
I'll probably write about it after we attend.

Hello - anyone a Martin McDonagh fan? We just got tickets for A Behanding in Spokane opening next month. My sister has seen a few of his Broadway shows and always enjoys them. I saw The Cripple of Inishmaan off Broadway last year and it was great. I'm really looking forward to it.

Dohlice, yes I love his plays, but they are clearly not for everyone as they are VERY dark humor and often bloody as well. The Lieutenant of Inishmore reached new heights of blood and gore on stage and the cat skinning scenes left some audience members pale and weak!
I'm hoping to see one of the first two previews of this play before I leave New York next month. I've heard nothing about it, and hope to keep it that way so I can be surprised by whatever he offers up this time.

His "humor" definitely isn't for everyone, but the Cripple was actually quite funny. Of course the end...

We're going to a matinee on the 27th so I think you'll see it before me. Have you seen the cast? I think it's going to be a fantastic fit!

Neo, sorry to hear about your splurge on Mr/Mrs. Fitch, wish I had known, 2nd Stage is my one theatre membership (really enjoy their productions) and I can always get "guest" tickets, something to keep in mind for the future. Safe travels to NY! I think you're bringing some "warm" weather with you

Oops. I was on the Lincoln Center half price booth thread and posted this information that I meant to go here, so I'm pasting it here as well:
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I'm just back from getting tickets to 9 shows -- all from box offices. The worst? The discount codes for A View from the Bridge are all ONLY good for the last four rows of the mezzanine. I did not buy one. I don't think I could see Ms. Johannson emote from that far back (and only hope I could from close up). LOL I'm curious if they will be having that show at TKTS -- with better seats than they are offering for discount codes.

A Little Night Music -- the one show I knew I'd have to pay full price for, I spent about 20 minutes holding up a line trying for decent seats and finally getting a front row mezzanine one -- but at extreme end for a couple weeks from now on a Tuesday. I thought sure they'd be able to come up with a good single sometime, but he couldn't seem to find any -- only way under the balcony in the rear of orchestra, etc. I could have planned to go back daily and try for a single cancellation, but I just felt like getting my tickets out of the way.

Speaking of Martin McDonagh - I loved 'The Pillowman' - very strange with Billy Crudup and Jeff Goldblum.

A Little Night Music - Amex presale, 4th row - just sayin'

SO looking forward to this trip!

OMG, Wishful Drinking was so funny, so real, so perfectly what I needed! I loved loved loved it. So glad I got a ticket for that based on this thread. Esp. since I was too sick to go see Love, Loss, and What I Wore the next night. Missing Love, Loss would have been an even bigger bummer if I had not seen Wishful Drinking. So a big thanks to all of you who recommended it!

A month til Miracle Worker and perhaps another play that valentines weekend in mid-Feb. Hmmm, what else to see...

This thread is a wonderful ray of warmth in this dreary (both weather and personally) winter.

emd3 - so glad you enjoyed it. What a pedigree she has! Hysterical.

My small contribution to this thread:

I just saw South Pacific this evening @ Lincoln Center. Hmmm... what to say? I enjoyed it, but even though it's been around for half a century and this is a revival, I've never heard any of the songs before. Talk about my lack of exposure! In fact, I had no idea what the musical is about until I read it on wiki this afternoon before I left for the theatre!

I thought Paulo Szot was fantastic - not surprising I guess since he is an opera singer. Laura Osnes was great too. I'm lukewarm about Andrew Samonsky.

The production was fine. I guess I expected something even more spectacular given it was by Bartlett Sher and I really love his production of Barber of Seville @ the Met a few years ago.

Anyway, it was fine for $20, but I'm not sure if I would pay $75+ for it. I haven't seen a musical for at least a few years; and musical really isn't my thing (I enjoy it; but I don't love it).

yk, are you seriously saying you've never heard Some Enchanted Evening before? Or Younger than Springtime?

"and musical really isn't my thing...."
That's obvious! What else can one say?

Patrick, yes, I'm serious! Tho I was humming "Some Enchanted Evening" as I was leaving the theatre last night. And now that I'm writing about it, it's back in my head again.

And what impresses me most about South Pacific, is that it kept me engaged and interested the entire time despite its length, esp Act I at 1hr40mins. I don't think I looked at my watch once during the performance.

For the record, yk, it's not surprising that South Pacific kept you "engaged and interested despite its length," considering the fact that the show is considered one of the greatest of all time.

Well I shed some major tears today during South Pacific. Wow is that a great revival.

Hey, by the way. Is anyone interested in buying my ticket (a single) for God of Carnage next Wednesday evening (the 27th)at 8? It's only 90 minutes so over at 9:30. I got a discount seat for $66.50 which I'd like to get, and it is a good one. Fourth Row on the aisle of the side section (Seat D-1). I always love those seats as you look "across" the aisle with no heads in front of you.
I have a friend arriving that night, so would rather not go then if I can sell my ticket. Of course there is always Craigslist if no one here is interested.

yk - thank you for your honest impressions about your experience seeing 'South Pacific.' I've read a number of your posts and am always impressed with your many travels to search out and experience art, architecture, etc. and especially for your great passion for opera. And your open attitude - it's a such a good thing!

Today's story about the Seaport TKTS booth. I went this morning and gave up waiting for the daily email about what they have. Got there at 11 hoping to get a single to A View From the Bridge for tomorrow's matinee. They seem to have been having them nearly every performance. Well, no luck -- not today. There was nothing else I'm not already seeing or don't care about seeing except for the production of Emperor Jones at the Soho Playhouse, which I DO want to see.

But here was the catch. I noticed this morning I was down to my last $20 bill and noted that I needed to go to an ATM, but since TKTS takes credit cards, thought I'd do it later. Well, here was a news flash for me. TKTS only takes cash for a few shows and Emperor Jones happens to be one of them. So I got to the window and asked how much they were -- $36.50. I had exactly $36.75 in cash, so bought my ticket and walked away with a quarter left! LOL

Saw 'Zero Hour' this afternoon. This off B'way production is moving downtown shortly and I recommend it. It's a one man show about a fictional interview with the NY Times and Zero Mostel. Act II was especially fascinating when he focuses on the McCarthy era and being blacklisted. I'm a NYC Ballet subscriber for 30+ years and I've always known about Jerome Robbins' history, but this put it in a new light. What a shameful time in US history. This play, btw, has a lot of humor too.

Neo, you and I may have walked past each other at the TKTS booth. I was there Friday morning at 11:00, too, and I also was surprised to see someone pay with a credit card. It was really nice that there was no line.

We got tickets for West Side Story.

yk, I thought Paul Szot was great in South Pacific too. I'm pretty sure it was Laura Osnes we saw as Nellie last summer, and while she's very talented, I thought her voice sounded a little mousey next to Paul Szot's Emille.

Neopatrick & I saw Misalliance yesterday at their last
performance....Too bad for the viewing audience as it was
Shaw at his best!!

I don't know if anyone has already posted this, but Corbin Bleu is going to be Usnavi in In The Heights for a few months. Hmm...don't know how to feel about that.

Thanks for the info from those above.

FYI - 'A View from the Bridge' got a very good review today.
I am really looking forward to seeing it!

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/01/25/theater/reviews/25view.html?ref=theater

Someone was worried about seating for A Little Night Music. It's a ridiculously small (i.e., shallow) theater. It doesn't really much matter where you sit if you're in the orchestra, though I probably wouldn't want to sit way on the end. I was in Row P - Right and had an excellent view (and this was almost at the back of the orchestra). I suspect the same is true for Mezzanine seats.

The theater also really packs in a lot of seats and has unfortunately placed both the bar and a little gift bar right in front of the stairs leading up to the men's room. It was scary crowded.

I must say that I thought Catherine Zeta Jones was pretty good ... a few weak points in the cast, but by and large a good group of actors and singers. But the stage itself is far too small for this production, which felt exceedingly cramped, especially when they were trying to waltz and do "A Weekend in the Country".

Doug, a good point. My biggest objection of some seats in the orchestra is that as soon as you are under the mezzanine, the sound seems less clear and it seems more claustrophobic. I always check what row the mezzanine hangs over and try to avoid anything more than a row or two behind that. Of course, for most musicals and in most theatres, I still think you can't beat the front row of the mezzanine -- where I'll be (smack in the middle, in fact) for Next to Normal tonight.

This thread is great! My husband and I will be in NY for 3 nights in early October. Is there a website I can check out for a list of upcoming shows as the date gets closer? Any tips on getting good seats (pre-sale dates, etc)? How do I know how long a show runs?

I like Playbill.com for information besides an occasional discount. After you go to the site, click on Broadway on the left. You will see a current list of plays plus some that haven't opened yet. When you click on the name of a play on that list, you will see more info including preview date, opening date and closing date if it's a limited run, synopsis, cast, running time, etc. New plays are always being added to the list. The site also has articles and announcements about theater in NY.

I should also mention that even though a play may get good reviews and be listed as open-ended, ticket sales usually dictate when a play will close and that is subject to change.

Saw the dreadful first night preview of "Mr. & Mrs. Fitch" with John Lithgow. I could watch him read the phonebook but not in this sophormic play. Apart from Mr. Lithgow & the divine set (this is the NYC apt. we all wanted with double height ceilings and sloping huge window), you would have thought you'd wandered into a high school production of some student written play. The verbal banter is silly, self-conscious & often unintelligible. Mr. & Mrs. Fitch--a Cole Porter/Linda kind of couple write a gossip column. When the real gossip becomes too boring & expected, they invent some. Meant to be a commentary on our gossip obsessed world, it just doesn't work. I can't see how they can fix this play.

Oh, mclaurie, you just made me SO NOT look forward to this Sunday night! Maybe this is why Mr. and Mrs. Fitch was canceled from its expected premier last summer?

On another note. I loved the new Sam Shepard play, Ages of the Moon last week. Stephen Rea is simply wonderful in this two character play. They said it was 90 minutes, but it was more like 70. A very short evening of theatre, and I've never thought Sam Shepard to be so funny. There is a running gag with a ceiling fan that is hysterical and ends with a bang! However the couple next to me thought the whole pay was "dumb", so once again it's all a matter of personal taste I guess.

I'll be curious to hear what you think. If I'd gone by myself, I might think it was just me. But my friend who joined me also thought the same and we walked out chatting with a man who'd overheard our comments and he also thought it was terrible. The delay last year was supposedly due to scheduling conflicts. I wish I'd gotten tickets to "Time Stands Still" which was my other choice but the seats weren't very good. I want to see Victor Garber in "Present Laughter" too.

Oh Oh. I tried to get tix last night (full price) for 'Mr and Mrs Fitch' but couldn't figure out a date. I was going to buy them today based on a friend's opinion. Now I'm not so sure. The last time I saw John Lithgow, it was disappointing - not his performance, but the autobiographical subject matter.

'Ages of the Moon' got a nice review today.

Anybody see 'The Pride' yet? I have tix in a few weeks.

Well if anyone has see The Pride yet, they were an early bird. Last night was the very first preview performance. I'm seeing in in two weeks I think.

CPG, are you referring to Retreat from Moscow, by any chance? It sure was a "talky" show, but I thought great performances by both Lithgow and Eileen Atkins and Ben Chaplin as well.

I can't remember the name; he's done short running things for LCT. This one was about his grandmother and her favorite literature. Not too engaging.

It was called 'Stories by Heart' and he read family favorites (nothing to do with his grandmother and not a real play).

Saw 'Happy Now?' last night. I enjoyed it, but felt it was too long (or I was just very tired). The cast was very good and some of the dialogue as well, but didn't love the ending. I would still recommend this.

I loved the new Sam Shepard play, Ages of the Moon

Oh darn. I was originally going to see this but waited for the Behanding instead. It was just too much $ to see both so close together right after Christmas. But I am glad you enjoyed it.

I'm anxiously awaiting the second preview performance of A Behanding in Spokane on my final night in NYC. Dohlice, given the choice between the two (and not having seen either), I'm sure I'd choose Behanding as well.

Has anyone seen 'Venus in Fur' yet? I heard it's very good and quite hot!

Well my take on Mr. and Mrs. Fitch was quite different. Like the previous plays by the same playwright, As Bees in Honey Drwon, and The Little Dog Laughed, I thought it was delightfully witty. No, it's not a lot of importance being discussed, and the characters are quite shallow. To me it's not unlike a modern Noel Coward play, very witty conversation between a couple of shallow and theatrical characters, but certainly no problems of the world are going to be solved.

Neo - I was told that the play is full of literary references. If one hasn't read all the referenced material, does it impact the enjoyment of the play?

So are you saying you liked it, NP? And could you understand what they were saying?

Sure I could understand it. It was filled with lots of pretentious drivel -- very quick battle of wits between them as to who could come up with the cleverest allusions -- mostly literary, some theatrical. I don't consider myself very literary, but most of those were pretty classic, so while I suppose a few went over my head, they still were clearly pretty funny. I may have picked up a few more of the theatrical ones than some, as I did find myself letting out a rather singular laugh a couple times, but for the most part the whole audience was roaring at them.
I'd love to sit down with a script and find some of them that simply went too quick to catch, though. But even when the references escaped me -- the humor of their battle of wits was still very clear and funny.

I really did think it was very much like watching a modern version of Noel Coward or Oscar Wilde -- a battle of wits between pretentious people -- but at least here there weren't many vague dated ones.

And I think things like his starting the novel with "a" and saying, "good. An article". Then her saying "no, darling, a novel -- not an article". Then he says, "It's like working with a retarted person. No. Darling -- an article, those tiny words one uses like a and the". Really pretty funny stuff especially with both their excellent delivery and reaction.

And political -- like the line something like "Silly people to the forefront -- at least that's the word from Alaska" met with a huge roar from the crowd.

A lot of funny stuff.

<< I'd love to sit down with a script and find some of them that simply went too quick to catch, though. >>

I know exactly what you mean. That's the joy of reading a great book and rereading and savoring the language.

Hi theater-loving Fodorites!
Wanted to plug the show I saw this weekend -- "Clybourne Park" at Playwright's Horizon. A wonderful experience -- great actors, amazing characters and dialogue, and really uncomfortable and (somewhat shaming) humor. I loved this play, and I hope one of you gets to go and tell me what you think! There's a discount below -- don't know if it really works since I didn't take advantage -- but it looks legit.

Clybourne Park, a 21st century spin on Lorraine Hansberry’s classic A Raisin in the Sun by Bruce Norris. Order by Feb. 21 with the code CPGR to get tickets for performances on Jan. 29-Feb. 14 for $40 (reg. $65) or $50 (reg. $65) for Feb. 16-March 7. To order visit at www.playwrightshorizons.org. or call Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily)

Wish I could've spent more time in NY this past weekend to catch more!

ChgoGal - thanks for the review. I'm going to try to catch it.

ChgoGal. Thanks. I had read about this and then it slipped off my list. I just used your code and got a $40 seat (well $45 since it was warmer to do it online than to trek down to the theatre in the cold to get one without the service charge) for this Saturday.
But for those going in pairs, you can enter the code HOUSE and get half price tickets -- $32.50 each -- or two for $65!

I think it's interesting that much of the production team including the director are from Steppenwolf in Chicago, but they are premiering the show in NYC and NOT at Steppenwolf in Chicago. I'd love to know the story behind that.

Lots of Off Broadway tix are half price (including single tix) at http://www.nycgo.com/?event=view.onthehouse&cid=oth_obl

Just got tix for 'Clyburne Park' and 'Venus in Fur.'

Great, Centralparkgirl and NeoPatrick! Can't wait to hear what you think. (Yikes... now I feel a little responsible for you both having a good time.)

Actually, this summer, Steppenwolf is producing the world-premiere of ANOTHER Bruce Norris play called, "A Parallelogram." The guy's been busy.

No pressure, ChgoGal. I was considering it anyway and your post decided it for me. And for the price, why not? We're in row A btw; I hope they won't be spitting in my face!

Good -- thanks for letting me off the hook. Row A should be very comfortable. No nudity so you won't have to worry about too much flesh jiggling in your face. There's lots of uncomfortable humor, though, so you may or may not feel self-conscious about laughing (or not) in front of all the folks behind you who may be ashamed or offended or annoyed. Oh well, right?

ChgoGal, your "jiggling" comment reminded me about sitting in the front row of Naked Boys Singing. Talk about "jiggling"!!!

'A View from the Bridge' - thoroughly enjoyed it. Liev Schreiber and Jessica Hecht gave wonderful performances. The entire cast was strong.

NeoPatrick - You are one intrepid theater-goer! I wonder if front-row at "Naked Boys" is "good-naked" or "bad-naked"?

ChgoGal, thanks for the Clybourne Park recommendation. I saw it yesterday and it is a very interesting and well done play. I'd love to know the point, however of the soldier son subplot. Any attempts to make that symbolic of the other "change" referred to in the play and pointed out by the mother in the final lines, just escape me. And since the play ends on that theme, I was really just at a bit of a loss there.

ChgoGal - if there's any twist or revelation at the end, don't reveal it here. I haven't seen it yet!

No real spoilers here -- I promise.
Yes, NeoPatrick. I felt the same way. I think I would have been satisfied with the play ending before that scene. But then, I always think I can end plays better than the playwright.
Weren't the actors just great?! And his characters are amazing! I was cringing as I recognized a little of myself and my friends in the second act.
Well... hope to hear of any upcoming shows you (and anyone else sees) in the next month or two. Plan to be back in NYC in March.

Just came from seeing The Pride. Wow. Four incredible performances and a breathtakingly thought-provoking play. But it's going to take me a while to absorb what it all meant. It makes Clybourne Park seem as basic as Sesame Street!

I saw The Miracle Worker on Sat. night. It was the 2nd night of previews. It was very interesting. The acting was somewhat muted, IMO all of the acting could have been more intense. Abigail Breslin was very convincing as an emotionally wrecked blind and deaf child- she certainly shed her usual sweet persona in this one. I think Alison Pill, who played Annie Sullivan, has a lot of potential in this role if she can settle into it.

However, I was very disappointed in Jennifor Morrison as Helen's mother. I like her from House, but in this role in the play she had the same reserved presence that she had as Cameron on House and it does not work. I would have liked a lot more real emotion from her, but i do not know if she has it to give. Mathew Modine played the father, and I thought he was pretty good, but he was hindered because most of his scenes were w/Morrison, the mother. His scenes alone w/Annie Sullivan were very good.

My favorite character was Helen's half brother, James, played by Tobias Segal. He acted his part in a dramatic fashion that I think befits this play. I wish the other actors were as emotive.

A fascinating feature of this play was the round stage, and the stage as part of the play. All the furniture and props descend from the ceiling on wires for each scene and for parts of scenes. Very cool, although it takes some getting used to and might bother some viewers to have the props flying up and down. The actors must have markings on the floor as at times furniture and props would descend right next to them, and if they had been an inch off to one side they would have been hit.

I am interested in what others here think of this play so please post if you see it. I am not sure the critics will like unless it picks up in intensity before it opens and the reviews come out.

Oh, one more thing. Abigail Breslin came out into the lobby after the play and was very available to sign programs and have pictures taken with her. She stayed until the last program was signed and the last picture was taken- no one got turned away. She is a lovely young lady now. But no other actors came out (there is no stage door at this theater, the actors have to leave thru the lobby if they want to greet the fans). I was ticked that none of the others came out. Is that normal during previews?

My last night in NYC and I saved the best for last. A Behanding in Spokane tonight. I don't know if Martin McDonagh wrote this role for Christopher Walken, but he OWNS it. I laughed till I hurt. This is a very dark comedy about a man who has spent 47 years searching for his hand. That's all I'll say.

Some interesting posts here. I loved Pillowman and might have to give a Behanding a try. Last night I saw "Venus in Fur" and it was very different. The acting was terrific, quite intense at times. The play jumps in and out of the dialogue of an audition in dizzying speed. It left lots to contemplate at the end. After the performance, the two actors and playwright came out to take 20 minutes of questions. This was a treat to learn how the play was written and developed, how the real auditions played out, etc. The play's been extended twice and who knows what's next?

Patrick, how was Sam Rockwell in Behanding? I want to see that play, it sounds very funny.

He was very bizarre. He plays the "receptionist" in this flea bag hotel and he has the mid point monologue in front of the curtain.
The language is the most "brutal" of any of his plays, so be forewarned. There are about 100 Mother-f******* in the span of about 2 minutes, but they are very funny. And there is some of the most politically incorrect racial stuff you'll ever see -- again all for the effect of humor.

NP - Do you think some young men in their 20's who liked 'Pillowman' would enjoy it?

Thank you Patrick!! I'm going next week and I can't wait. The language shouldn't bother me too much, I was born and raised in Brooklyn. People use that language ordering breakfast.

OH, yea, CPG. I think they'd love it a lot more. It's actually a lot less "thought provoking" and way less deep than Pillowman. It's really kind of a dark but funny piece of "fluff".

Dohlice, speaking of breakfast, did you see the short run musical called Eat Your F*****G Cornflakes?

No, but I just almost lost my lunch laughing!

NP - I just bought tix and am really looking forward to a good, dark laugh when I go with my sons when they're in NY next month. They were both excited to hear it was by the same playwright as 'The Pillowman.'

Tonight I saw "Equivocation," a sort of violent Shakespeare in Love, only this time the Bard is not in love, but forced to write a play about Guy Fawkes et al. The cast was very good, but this play within a play production was too long and at times complicated - at least for my tired brain tonight.

Yes. I saw Equivocation last week. This was a huge hit at Oregon festival this summer, but I just don't think it played that well in this production.

I thought some of the dialogue was really interesting especially the parts about equivocation, but there was just too much all around and at times it was confusing. The king was a hoot.

I recently went to see The Cradle Will Rock - Off Off Broadway - Powerful show that needs to be moved up a notch to Off Broadway - I wrote about it on my blog here:

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/explorenyc/2010/02/the-cradle-will-rock-off-off-broadway-until-march-14-2010.html

ChgoGal - thanks for the rec for 'Clybourne Park.' I enjoyed it very much - wonderful cast and writing. Do you or NP remember what the blonde lawyer's (in Act 2) connection was to the house? It's flown out of my head already.

wasn't she the daughter of the deaf woman from Act I? Or do I have that wrong?

I can't remember!!!! The other woman was the niece of the housekeeper from Act 1, right?

Yes. and the daughter of the deaf woman was either the blonde lawyer or the pregnant woman buying the house (played by the same actress who played the deaf woman). I wondered if she really was pregnant since she was pregnant as both roles.

The blonde lawyer was definitely related to someone from Act 1. It's funny that you wonder about the pregnant character. My husband wondered about the same thing. My impression was that it was just the part, but who knows?

Well if she was just acting she did a great pregnant woman -- actually two of them. But clearly both characters were written to be pregnant, and it seemed funny that the same actress played BOTH pregnant characters.

But now that I think of it, it doesn't seem likely that either the Act II house buyer or the blond attorney would be the daughter of the pregnant woman in Act I. Neither of those two female characters was 50 in Act II. But I do recall someone's comment about their mother or someone else being deaf -- so clearly someone was connected to that woman.

Read this - a very nice review!

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/02/22/theater/reviews/22clybourne.html?scp=1&sq=clybourne&st=cse

I sat in Row A and I'm no expert on all pregnant women, but I thought it was a pillow. She just seemed 'too light.' Anyway, she was good.

D's drill team is going to NYC for a few days. They get to take a hip hop class from one of the members of the In the Heights cast. How cool is that?

Hi Centralparkgirl,
The blonde lawyer was the daughter of Betsy Lindner -- the deaf pregnant woman in Act 1.
Glad you enjoyed the play! I find myself retelling jokes and funny moments from the play to my friends. We were just laughing about "Neapolitan" after discussing a Bolognese Polenta Cake. (From Bologna. Of course. Right. I think I knew that.)

Ah, I did get it right. But apparently she was not the daughter born from the Act I pregnancy. Surely that attorney was not 50 years old!

In the review above, I suddenly realized what I had missed -- that Karl Lindner was the actual character who appears in A Raisin in the Sun to try to talk the family out of moving to Clybourne Park --- then appears in this play to try to talk the sellers out of selling to the family in A Raisin in the Sun. I failed to realize the two plays were actually linked together that closely.

ChgoGal - we will never think of Naples the same way after listening to her!

<< Ah, I did get it right. But apparently she was not the daughter born from the Act I pregnancy. Surely that attorney was not 50 years old!>>

But she had to be. Who else was she related to in Act I? But that would make Karl her father. Something doesn't add up.

I have a friend seeing it soon. I will try to find out.

<< I failed to realize the two plays were actually linked together that closely.>>

Me too. That whole connection is so interesting and Karl was some piece of work!

Well, Karl and and the deaf wife could have had more children, so maybe she was born like 10 years later. She could have been 40, I'd say. But yes her "modern" bigotry related to her father I'd say.

Saw 'Miracle Worker' last night. I really enjoyed the staging - in the round - with sets that rise above the stage on wires. I thought Abigail Breslin was terrific as Helen. I never saw the original - I would highly recommend this - it was quite moving.

I saw A Behanding in Spokane on Saturday and it was fantastic - very, very funny. I like Sam Rockwell as the "receptionist". I agree that no one but Christopher Walken could have played that part! I didn't read it but my friend told me there was an interview with him in the Times last week. Apparently the character was originally supposed to be younger and they were looking for 'a young Christopher Walken'. Then they said oh, lets just see if he'll do it. Luckily he said yes. What a show!

Dohlice - I read the article - see link below - it was interesting to understand a little of what makes him tick. I'm seeing it in a few weeks - looking forward to it after getting psyched here.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/21/theater/21walken.html?scp=1&sq=behanding%20in%20spokane&st=cse

Thanks for the Behanding reviews and article links. I got my 19 yr old son and his friend tickets for next week (spring break in NYC) and I am also going to take the Boltbus (love it, $30 RT from DC to NYC) up for one night to see it. Those bus fares and the theater discounts (and hotel points) make it affordable to go up overnight to see a play.

Thanks for posting that - great story. I had no idea he was so humble. I'm still laughing about some things in the play. I could go back right now and see it again.

Does anyone have tickets to see RED, the show about Mark Rothko? Previews open next week.

I see that it'll be on in April when I'm heading to NYC for a long weekend. Does anyone know if discount tickets are available for this show?

[Off topic: Do any of you have trouble opening this long thread? Every time I click on this thread, my computer freezes up for several seconds. Do you think it'll be too disruptive if CPG starts a "Broadway Banter Part II" thread? Just a thought.]

Start one yourself!

Both broadwaybox.com and playbill.com have very good discount offers (thru April 18) for Red.

HowardR, thanks for those links. Unfortunately, we won't be in NYC until the week after April 18. From your experience, do you think discounts will become available later for show dates beyond April 18?

Probably, yk. Even if the show gets rave reviews, there's still a good chance that there'll be a new discount offer. However, it might not be posted until shortly before you arrive. So, keep checking as the date gets closer.

I LOVE this thread and check it all the time; it is becoming a classic. But I agree it is getting long and hard to load, and some of the shows mentioned above are closing. Maybe we should start a seasonal thread that changes a few times a yr, like "Spring 2010 Broadway banter,", then Summer, Fall, Winter...or Spring/Summer, then Fall/Winter? What do you all think? CPG?

and BTW, wouldn't it be fun to have a GTG w/this group? Lots of shows to chat about. I am so psyched about seeing Behanding in Spokane next wk, the anticipation is killing me.