Broadway Banter 2014: Starting off with book recommendation
 

Time for a new thread. And, I'm starting it off recommending a must-read for theater affectionados. It's called Song of Spider-Man by Glen Berger. It's a most interesting and detailed saga of the much publicized trouble-laden trip of the show through its long, long, long developmental and preview stage to its opening. The writer is the co-author of the show.
I never saw the show and found it interesting (or is the word "fascinating"?).. I can imagine that those of you who did see the show would enjoy it even more.

Well, I'll start the rest of this thread by saying that I mentioned before how much I LOVED After Midnight when I saw it with Fantasia. This weekend I saw it again, this time with k.d.lang. Wow. The two guest stars sing the same four songs but there is not a shred of comparison between them -- they couldn't be more different. But both work, and I'd be hard pressed to say which one is better. I think overall I did enjoy k.d.'s a lot because it was such a contrast to the rest of the show -- not simply because she is the only white performer, but because her style is so completely different from any other performer in the show and so "unexpected".

In any case, I think this is perhaps the best "juke-box" musical ever -- one with no original songs, but rather classics and no real story or plot either.

The NYC Fringe festival did a parody of the saga of Julie and Spiderman that was wonderful. I didn't have to go to see the real thing. Two theatre books that I would recommend are The Jets and the Sharks - Our Story and Our Musicals Ourselves. I won't be able to go on Sunday (funeral) but if you can make it way uptown go see Rita Moreno introduce West Side Story (with Spanish Subtitles) here (post has a link to the Jets and the Sharks)

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/expl...f-culture.html

This post is older but has useful book and essay links.
http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/expl...he-mosque.html

Patrick, your comments only add to my yearning to see After Midnight......just waiting for the snow and cold weather to go away!

Adding to Sue's and my list of recommended reading are these two:

1. Backstage Pass to Broadway: True Tales from a Theatrical Press Agent, by Susan L. Schulman. This is a delightful paperback in which the author recounts her experiences with a host of celebrity performers. A real fun read.

2. Anything Goes: A History of American Musical Theater, by Ethan Mordden. A most interesting history of the musical theater dating back to its American origins. I especially loved the discussions shows that I've seen over the years.

And speaking of juke box musicals, let me say Beautiful is just that! I always thought of Carole King as a sort of dull female Barry Manilow (and I don't mean that in a good way). But I had no idea about all those dynamite songs she wrote in the 60s and 70s. The show is not unlike Jersey Boys, but a lot better put together in my opinion. Beautiful is breaking records at the Stephen Sondheim.

You all are making me want to get back to NYC to see some shows. We go a few times a year but my son has not been doing well so we have not been since last May. These days my husband and I can not be away from home at the same time.

Beautiful and After Midnight both sound interesting. And I am looking for some new reads so will be checking out the books recommended above.

Neo, was this last weekend your anniversary weekend in they city?

Yes., emd, which reminds me. I'll go do a trip report now.

And so I did, but failed to mark it as a trip report. Just click on my name if you want to find it.

A small group of us are visiting NY in May and are interested in seeing A Raisin in the Sun at the Barrymore Theatre. Anyone had seats in the rear mezzanine there?

It's not that large a theater, so you should be okay.

ksera, many people sit in the rear mezzanine of many shows (and Howard is right that this isn't a really large theatre) and are perfectly happy. For me, with a non musical that depends on acting which includes things like facial expression -- I feel I miss too much. From that distance could I see an actor make a "knowing glance" to another actor? Or raise an eyebrow at something someone else says to indicate that he doesn't agree? No way. But the if you're not into the intricate subtleties of acting, you'll certainly be fine.

I'm not sure what else might be available or if it is a matter of cost, but frankly for a more intimate show like Raisin in the Sun, I'd rather be down in one of the front rows even at the extreme side where I can really see faces than up in the back of the mezzanine, but that may just be me.

Great feedback. Thank you! I hadn't thought about that level of facial expressions. Broadwaybox has rear mezzanine discount seats, so it was a matter of cost. The play itself is the one we all agree to see while we're there. I will likely reconsider the seat selection and fork out the extra money.

While Patrick has certainly made some good points about those seats, at the same time, don't feel that the seats are lousy. I can say from experience that there have been times when I've thoroughly enjoyed "small shows" from the rear mezzanine of a small theater. And, hey, with the price of theater tickets today, I welcome any discounts offered!

I'm so disappointed. I was supposed to be there this week. I decided to cancel, for what I thought was a good reason, but turned out I should have gone anyway. :-(

Back to good stuff - this popped up on my news feed today.

Wish I had been there to see k d in person -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnHyS...sxhjsKGs9uiECA

yep, starrs, she is GREAT! But the show stopper for her is her rendition of the Cab Calloway number Zaz Zuh Zaz.

Neo, I am glad you enjoyed Beautiful. We saw it in its trial run in San Francisco and loved it. The actress playing Carole King is so talented and I, too, was surprised how many songs Carole had written. I hope she show does well on Broadway.

Wow, thanks for that starrs. My share of it on the other side of the world! Looks fabulous.

ksera, I just got an email for discounts for A Raisin in the Sun. Did you book yet? If not, go to Broadwayoffers.com (which is Telecharge, the official booking for the show. Enter promo code RSNDRLNDR2 and pick your seats. Discounts extend through May!

Are there any other shows those in the know have really enjoyed recently? We will be there towards the end of April and are hoping to see a few shows. Thanks!

Musicals? Plays? Comedy? Drama? Things you like? Things you've already seen?

We enjoy plays and musicals, tend to prefer drama but a good comedy would be enjoyable. For example, we loved August Osage County, Doubt and the 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee when we saw them a few years ago.

Of what I see listed on broadway.com "popular shows" we have seen Book of Mormon, Beautiful, Lion King and Jersey Boys and enjoyed them all. I have seen Wicked and Phantom. We will be seeing Once in San Francisco.

Thanks for any suggestions!

I just watched about 15 minutes of rehearsal clips from Bullets Over Broadway. I predict a great big hit .

Mothers and Sons stars the wonderful Tyne Daly. About a sort of homophobic mother who lost her son to AIDS years before and goes to visit her son's former lover and his husband and their young son.

I'm excited about Atlantic Theatres new production of The Threepenny Opera, opening this month -- limited run.

Neo, good suggestions. Thanks!

Was heading into the city yesterday and thought I'd go to TKTS, but knew it would be so cold in that line, so before I left home I went online and found a fifth row orchestra seat at discount to Bridges of Madison County, so grabbed it! I'm sure glad I did.

OK. What did I think? Well the music is simply overwhelming. The songs are gorgeous -- one after another, and more varied than I thought they would be. The lyrics are beautiful -- absolute poetry in most cases and they do a far better job of "telling the story" and "conveying emotion" than the rather lame book in my view. The most amazing thing -- I don't know when I have ever before heard and understood every single word of every single song on Broadway --the sound is simply perfect, even with the huge sounding orchestra. Comparisons to Light in the Piazza are easily understood as I felt much the same about that show. Both would almost be better in concert versions -- the book and staging seem rather secondary. The show elevates to the feel of opera, but then these silly scenes kind of spoil the effect. Maybe that's just me. Kelli O'Hara and Steven Pasquale sing spectacularly. She really may have the best voice on Broadway. Their duets (and there are a number of them) were beutiful, powerful and emotional, but sadly I wanted "hot, steamy passion" in their scenes and I got more "simple infatuation". She really did seem too young for the role, her supposed Italian accent kind of comes and goes, and her supposedly 16 year old son is an actor in his twenties obnoxiously trying to play it like is maybe 12. But I'm thrilled I saw it.

Oh, for a brief sample of the music, click on the trailer here:

http://bridgesofmadisoncountymusical...FZTm7AodZhQAmg

Yesterday I went into the city. I was headed to tickets to buy a ticket to Outside Mullingar which is "always" half price there, but alas for some reason there was no matinee of it yesterday! With not a lot left to see that I haven't already seen, I opted for a Forbidden Broadway ticket.

What incredible fun, as always, but it's been a few years since I've seen it. They were REALLY up to date. A segment with Fran Drescher as the "step nanny" in Cinderella that was hysterically funny; a whole segment on Aladdin -- "A Disneyed World"; Rocky, the musical; and even a timely reference to John Travolta's butchering of Idina Menzel's name.

Stepping away from Broadway, they did a riotous send up of Audra MacDonald as a nun singing her advice to "Ask any actress" (think Climb Every Mountain" to a bewildered dirndl dressed Carrie Underwood (Carrie Underwhelm or Carrie Underpitch) who is just stunned with "this acting thing is so hard!".

But the best part of all is that with the return of Les Miserables to Broadway, they brought back all the wonderful Les Mis send-ups they have become so famous for -- including some new ones.

My only complaint was that it was only 85 minutes total and that included a 15 minute intermission! It left me wanting lots more!

For anyone who loves musical theater, RUN, don't walk, to see the Elaine Stritch docu "Shoot Me." http://elainestritchshootme.com/
it's just FABulous!

mclaurie, thanks for this link. It is starting today in a few places in So. Cal. I am going to make sure my DD and I go see it.

I hope you love it as much as I did.

Hi, I was hoping to get some input on how to spend this Monday Night, 3-24-14. My husband and I are headed to NYC for a long weekend. We have tickets for "After Midnight" on Saturday and "If/Then" on Sunday. Saw a comment about "Forbidden Broadway", but coming from Northern MN, we aren't very current when it comes to many of the plays that they take aim at. We're both in our mid 50's and are open to any suggestions.
Thanks,
Bruce

Not a lot or shows play on Mondays.

Currently they are:
Chicago
Les Miserables
Mama Mia
Newsies
Phantom of the Opera
Realistic Joneses
Rock of Ages
Rocky

Of those, Newsies seems a good musical choice if you haven't seen it.

I have mixed feelings about your seeing Forbidden Broadway which I love. Most of it you'd fully appreciate, but I'll admit that when I saw it a few weeks ago, the mostly tour group audience seemed kind of quiet and dumbfounded by a lot of it as I sat laughing my head off. I guess some of it might go "over your head", although I have no doubt you'd still enjoy it. For example, you don't need to have seen the current Cinderella to laugh like crazy at Fran Drescheer being the "step-nanny". And if you know anything about the recent Sound of Music on TV, you'd love the send up of Carrie Underwhelming (also referred to as Carrie Underpitch) asking advice from Audra MacDonald as a nun for acting advice and being instructed to "Ask any Actress" to the tune of Climb Every Mountain. It's funny stuff without having even seen the productions.

The Realistic Joneses (which I'll see in two weeks) should be a lot of fun -- an unusual play, not a musical, with a cast of Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall (Dexter), Tracy Letts, and Marisa Tomei.

Time machine - Idina Menzel just before RENT opens -
http://www.theatermania.com/new-york...ngi_68039.html

I am considering seeing After Midnight. Anyone seen it and have comments?

We saw After Midnight last week. I'll be writing about in in my trip report.

For some reason, it reminded me a bit of a 60s TV variety show.

There was no story to speak of. The premise was that it was Harlem at night in the 1930's.

The singing and dancing were very good.

People compared it to being at a night club and that is pretty apt.

I saw After Midnight twice and it is as traveler2005 describes. I LOVED it, as it's very classy, great dancing and music, a fantastic big orchestra on stage, and the time just flies by -- just over and hour and a half, no intermission. They add a guest star. I saw Phantasia first and she was just wonderful with her three numbers (very "Nell Carter" like). Then I saw k.d.Lang do the same three numbers -- totally differently -- and loved it just as much. Toni Braxton guested and didn't get very good buzz, but now it is Vanessa Williams.

I saw Hedwig and the Angry Inch last weekend and loved it. I'm a big rock concert goer though so appreciated the loud rock peformance (warning to those who don't) but Neil Patrick Harris blew me away with what is essentially a monologue. Incredible. His performance was other worldly and I cannot believe he's mastered 6 inch stilettos so quickly! There were some German history references that may go over some heads and some pop culture that may also do the same, but it was precisely the mix I enjoy, funny poignant, dramatic and seriously good music. Anxiously awaiting the soundtrack....

Also just bought tix for Cabaret in July. I saw the 1998 cast and when I saw Alan Cumming is reprising his role, no way was I going to miss that.

Has anyone seen 50 Shades?

Yesterday I saw Of Mice and Men. I know they say it stars James Franco (easily recognized) and Chris Dowd. Chris Dowd's name is on the board and in the Playbill. But the guy on stage doesn't look at all like Chris Dowd, he doesn't sound like Chris Dowd, and he has absolutely no physical or vocal characteristics of Chris Dowd. It is an AMAZING performance. The entire production is very good.
Incidentally it was standing room only at matinee, and the house was filled with hundreds of high school students, presumably on "field trips". They sat in awe and silence --a perfect audience.

Let me add my rave of After Midnight to all those who've previously lauded the show. We thought it great, from start to finish. Vanessa Williams fit right in with her four songs. And, she looked she was really enjoying herself, which made us enjoy her all the more. Of all the glorious things about the show, we were most impressed with the dancing, which was incredible. We saw it today, and we are already planning a return trip. An interesting sidelight: Our discount tickets were located in the second row of the orchestra. Usually, I don't like to sit that close, especially for a musical, but I felt that maybe for this show, the location would be okay. And, it was more than okay. We felt being so close to the action actually enhanced our enjoyment of the show. So, if you're planning to see the show, I recommend getting seats as close to the as possible! It was, indeed, one of our most enjoyable theatrical experiences in a long time!

We also saw Act One a couple weeks ago, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Excellent performances. It's based on Moss Hart's highly praised autobiography and showed especially please theater lovers.

Next on our list next month is The Realistic Jones, which got some outstanding reviews. It stars Toni Collette, Michael C. Hall, Tracy Lotts and Marisa Tomei

PS: Our closeup tickets for After Midnight were in the center. I'm not sure if side section seats would creation the same results.