To PineappleGirl. The only Wed. matinee is Wicked? You must be mistaken. Every show on and off Broadway has matinees on Wednesday. Mary Poppins, South Pacific and Mama Mia all have matinees and would be perfectly appropriate. These are all usually discounted on the left column of broadwaybox.com so you can even buy in advance and avoid wasting time in lines only to be disappointed that what you wanted isn't available.

More importantly, I have no idea what "going casual" has to do with not going to the theater at night. People don't dress up any more (unfortunately) and you can wear the same thing to an evening performance that you would to a matinee. Leave the cut off and t shirts at home though.

There are also plenty of off Broadway shows that would be appropriate.

I totally missed that "going casual so we can't do an evening performance" but yes, that makes no sense at all. Unless you only have cut off shorts and dirty shirts, there is NO reason not to go to theatre at night. Coats and ties or dressy dresses are certainly not required and (sadly) are almost out of place.

So, I am thinking Looped and A Little Night of Music for our April four-day stay. With an 8:00p.m. show (A Little Night..), what would you suggest as far as an early dinner or a super late lunch and an after-show light meal? Also, I see that Behanding in Spokane is liked. Would three shows in four days be too much? Probably depends on an individual..
BTW - mcl, we are going with The Elysee. It just really appeals to us. Thank you for this suggestion.
NeoPatrick - for our trip two years ago, we pretty much followed your and escargot's restaurant recommends. Should I start a new thread on that or can you, dear people, throw in a few good ones in the area. Is Roberto Passon still good?
Many thanks!

anna, I think the intent of this thread was to discuss shows, not provide dining advice. Why not start a new thread? Btw, if you love theater, there is no such thing as too many shows. ;)

I saw The Glass Menagerie on Friday, and it was really superb. I'm not a really big Tennessee Williams fan production-wise because I think his plays tend to read well and play horribly (I remember a particularly ill-famed production of Streetcar a few years ago with Natasha Richardson). But this was great. Judith Ivey was remarkable.

I've also seen Next Fall. Very funny, very sad. It was a great show.

And this afternoon I saw The Pride with excellent performances by Ben Wishaw and Hugh Dancy. Unfortunately, it's closing today.

I see the new production of La Cage Aux Folles in a couple of weeks.

There are a lot of great shows right now for all kinds of people ... especially if you can pry yourself away from Phantom, Wicked, and Jersey Boys.

Sorry to report that we saw Sondheim on Sondheim this afternoon and it was a big, big disappointment. We really didn't like the show's concept of showing so many large-screen clips of Sondheim talking. We would have much preferred less talk and a lot more singing by the outstanding cast. Also the flow wasn't organized in any logical pattern, and we question the overall selection the songs to be performed. Another downer was that Barbara Cook, one of our all-time favorites, was not used to her best advantage. However, her rendition of Send in the Clowns made up for a lot of the bad vibes! Vanessa Williams was outstanding.
All in all, a big disappointment, as we are big fans of his.

<< especially if you can pry yourself away from Phantom, Wicked, and Jersey Boys.>>

AMEN!

I saw 'Behanding' this week and although I enjoyed it, I was slightly disappointed. I think perhaps it didn't live up to all that I had heard about it. But, Christopher Walken's performance is wonderful!

'The Miracle Worker' is closing - not a big surprise.

Howard - I heard that the performance was three hours; I don't think my husband will be too happy. We have tix soon.

cpg, it's actually 2 3/4 hours long.

Howard, I have yet to hear from anyone who really liked the song selection. People say there are so many songs that weren't used in shows basically because they just weren't that good.

Guess everone knows that "Lips Together..due to Meg
Mullaley pulling out will not open. Waiting for credit on
extra ticket I bought for friend.
Not for everyone, but I laughed for a solid 45 minutes
at "The Irish Curse".

Exactly, Patrick! That was the type of comment my wife and I made after the rendition of some of the songs that were cut from shows. What made it all the more frustrating was the realization that most of his best songs were not included. We're starting to think that the Studio 54 Theater is a jinx! The only show we've seen there recently that we liked was Waiting for Godot. And, overall, we've not had many good experiences with Roundabout Theater Productions in the past few years.

We saw a couple of shows this weekend.

Promises, Promises - I'm a huge Kristen Chenoweth fan so this was a given. Excited to see it on first night of previews. We bought tix early and had great seats - Row L, center stage. She was as delightful as expected, but this really isn't a great vehicle for her. Glad they added "Say a Little Prayer for You" because it gave her more of a chance to show her stuff. Sean hayes ("Jack, just Jack!") was great in his role. This is his Broadway debut and he was wonderful - but then again, the part was perfect for him. Loved the staging and especially the choreography and the chair/coat rack number. Good show all around. I'm just wondering how well it's going to do when Kristen and Sean move on. Katie Finneran was great in the opening number of Act 2. Waited at stage door and got Katie's, Tony Goldwyn's and Kristen's autographs (Sean bailed on the line early) and Kristen was just a delight. I told her I adored her...and then corrected myself and said "Well, EVERYONE adores you!". She laughed and said "Not everyONE". She was just delightful as she went down the line on both sides. No wonder "everyone" loves her. :-)

We also went to see A Little Night Music - yes, because of Angela Lansbury. I'm glad I saw Angela Lansbury from three rows from the stage, but we were less than thrilled with the show. The first act really dragged and several around us were fighting sleep on a Sunday afternoon. Catherine Zeta Jones did a better job than I expected - and she IS absolutely lovely. The second act was better but I would not go back to see the show again.

Mixed feelings on both shows this weekend, although we MUCh preferred Promises to Night Music.

A bit of a tangent, but our hosts gave us tickets to the Radio City Music hall backstage tour and we REALLY enjoyed it. Seeing the backside/ underneath of the stage was fascinating, especially the then state of the art hydraulics used to create the three part stage. The entire tour was interesting and our guide Shannon did a great job. ((y)) ((y))

Is anyone going to see <u>Lend me a Tenor</u> soon, which opens this weekend?

Loved Sondheim on Sondheim. Loved it!

Am thrilled that I got to see Barbara Cook on Broadway - and she was wonderful. I really enjoyed Vanessa Williams too. Beautiful voice, great enunciation. She's a stunner and can't believe this mother of four ended up in a teddy during one number. I've very impressed :-) Tom Wopat and the rest of the cast were very good. I loved the format and am SO glad I decided to see it. It may be my favorite show this week. Great seat (front row mezzanine) with a Broadway Box discount

Liked "Love, Loss and What I Word". Very funny. I bought the itty bitty book when it came out and it translated well to the stage. I was expecting Fran Drescher and Didi Conn, but the cast changed. Shirley Knight was luminous. Melissa Joan hart was cute as a button. Lucy De Vito was hilarious! I'd go see her again in anything. I didn't know Jayne houdyshell at all but she was great as was Judy Gold. The show was light, fun froth. The tix were 1/2 price at TKTS and I'm very glad I went.

'Red' got a nice review.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/02/ur...&sq=red&st=cse

yk - I've been looking for tix for 'Tenor,' but not yet.

starrs - glad to hear someone liked 'Sondheim.'

Ooops, Starrs, once again we disagree about the overall production, though I do concur with your sentiments about Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams. There just was too much talk by Sondheim on video and not enough, by far, of singing by the two ladies.

I saw Lend Me a Tenor last weekend and LOVED it.

Tony Shalhoub was wonderful, Anthony LaPaglia was great as the Italian opera singer...has a good voice too. And Justin Bartha, who I knew nothing about, was very good.

The show was very funny, I'd got see it a second time! We saw a Saturday matinee and the house was packed.

PS: Viewing the Sondheim show was like watched a PBS special.
One thing I'm sure we agree on, Starrs, was the very funny Ethel Merman anecdote he told! (Sorry, forks, it can't be repeated on Fodors!)

Ooops, that should be "Sorry FOLKS"!

LOL, howardR! here's 10 bucks!

I liked hearing Sondheim talk and hearing the backstories. I almost didn't buy tickets because I read forks didn't like the format. I finally decided to do so - mainly to see Miss Barbara Cook. My mom went to high school with her and I've heard about "my friend Barbara" all my life. I'm SO glad I saw her AND the show.

I bought tix for Promises, Promises on the day pre-sale tix went onsale. Great seats. Full price. Kristen Chenoweth was the big draw for me. I liked the play, but it really isn't a vehicle for Kristen. They added "Say a Little Prayer" so she'd have more to sing.

I guess my point is, it would have been nice to hear Barbara Cook and/or Kristen Chenoweth sing more, but I enjoyed the format on Sondheim on Sondheim enough to think I liked SoS more than PP.

<i>Funny aside. I fell asleep last night watching "The April Fools" with Jack Lemmon and Catherine Deneuve and listening to "Say a Little Prayer" and the David/Bacharach soundtrack. It felt like I was in a surreal world...apartment in NYC, Jack Lemmon, Say a Little Prayer but hearing Kristen...

It was nice to see Catherine Deneuve. :-)

CPG, I just read the review on RED on nytimes. INterestingly, Terry Teachout from the WSJ doesn't like it as much: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...105208812.html (scroll to the bottom half)

Now I wonder if RED might be too heavy & cerebral for me; and perhaps I'd like something lighter/funnier like Lend me a Tenor.

Well, I guess I'll think about this for a little bit and also see which appeals more to DH. The advantage of Lend me a Tenor is that there are discount tickets available for the date we'll be in NYC.

yk, I would think it would be an easy decision for your husband, as the two shows are so different, with Lend Me a Tenor being a textbook farce and Red, in your words, "heavy & cerebral."
starrs, we too are huge, huge fans of Barbara Cook and have seen her many times. Thus, a good part of our disappointment was that her participation in this show was far less than our previous experiences with seeing her. Our best "Barbara Cook experience" has to be the day we were lucky enough to attend a master class she was offering, as she gave guidance to three young singers. It was an overwhelming experience and so clearly demonstrated why we love her so much.
As for the Sondheim show, we just wish there were more "Send in the Clown"-type moments.

yk - Maybe you should consider 'Looped.'

Saw 'The Glass Menagerie' this week. Judith Ivey's performance is amazing. I very much enjoyed this production although Act I was a bit too long (what else is new?). NY Times review below.

http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/03/2...nagerie&st=cse

HowardR, I joined a FB group and this was posted today -
http://www.nypl.org/audiovideo/maste...s-barbara-cook

What is an FB group? I watched part of the video. I'll do the rest when I have more time. The best part of seeing her at work in a master class is that you really get to see what makes her so great. Her words to the young singers reflect her personality and how she feels every song she sings. Thanks for posting the site.

Sorry. Facebook.

Okay, HowardR, you want non-stop music? 2 dozen hits in 90 minutes? here ya go -
http://www.playbill.com/news/article...nning-March-13

LOVED Million Dollar Quartet!

Everyone is good but Lance Guest as Johnny Cash is great. I have a crush. Levi Kreis is amazing on the piano as Jerry Lee Lewis. Hunter Foster ties it together as Sam Phillips. I wasn't as impressed with Elvis or Carl Perkins. But, the show gets ((y))((y)) in my book!

"On Dec. 4, 1956," press notes state, "an auspicious twist of fate brought Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Elvis Presley together. The place was Sun Records' storefront studio in Memphis. The man who made it happen was Sam Phillips, the 'Father of Rock 'n' Roll,' who discovered them all. The four legends-to-be united for the only time in their careers for an impromptu recording that has come to be known as one of the greatest rock jam sessions of all time. . . . Million Dollar Quartet captures the infectious spirit, freewheeling excitement and thrilling sounds of a singular moment when four of the music industry's most extraordinary talents, all in their creative prime, came together for one of the most memorable nights in music history."

starrs, I saw Million Dollar Quartet twice in the past two years in Chicago -- with the current foursome in their roles.
I LOVED the guy playing Elvis -- because it was the early Elvis -- so quiet, so shy, and I think very good without being the usual Elvis impersonator. I loved all four of them. The only guy I wasn't crazy about was the guy who has now been replaced with Hunter Foster -- which I'm sure is much better.

But both times I saw it, it played in smaller houses and pretty much open/arena style. I'm not sure if it will play as well in a proscenium format.

I see that Looped will be closing very soon.

Yes, yk, I think Sat or Sunday is the last performance.

I saw 'When the Rain Stops Falling' over the weekend. I needed a flow chart (which was in the playbill) to keep the cast straight. Not everyone was confused, but I was.

HowardR, the Facebook group posted this today.
For you, http://www.facebook.com/home.php?
:-)

Neo, it played well in the Nederlander. I'm not sure if this makes sense, but they didn't try to "fill up" the stage (the rest of the stage = building exteriors). The set for Sun Records was off to the side a bit and other than "outside" conversation when they stepped out for a smoke, all the action happened in that small area. I was sitting close so it worked for me. I think it would work for others sitting further back the large theatre. hunter Foster was fine and I think the girl was different from the Chicago cast. The quartet was great! Really enjoyed the show completely.

Saw Red last night - I would say this is one of Broadway's really great shows. Talk about it being "heavy" - just not so. Incisive insights into Rothko's art and personality. A great drama - this is an opportunity to see what Broadway can do when it is at its best. And the acoustics in this theater are superb - every line of dialogue easily heard - and we were sitting in the first row of the mezzanine.
Re - Lend Me a Tenor. I saw the original production a number of years ago. It was nothing special then - and I suspect the same is true today. What surprised me was bringing this mediocre farce back as a revival. I thought revivals tend to be really great shows worthy of being seen again. Stuff like a Tennessee Williams, South Pacific, et al.

The Times reviewer really panned--and I do mean "panned"--The Addams Family today.

"Re - Lend Me a Tenor. I saw the original production a number of years ago. It was nothing special then - and I suspect the same is true today. What surprised me was bringing this mediocre farce back as a revival."

jroth, I think I hear you, but there are very few people who LIKE farce who would call Lend Me a Tenor a "mediocre" one. I strongly suspect modern farce is not your thing. And no revival of this show no matter how "great" would thrill you -- as you even say it was nothing special when you saw the original -- so of course it would be silly for you to go see the revival. Many others LOVED the original, and I'm getting the impression that many more LOVE the revival -- but of course they have to really like modern farce. I've heard the same things many times about productions of Noises Off -- some people hate it and others love it, regardless of the production. The bottom line is there are people who love modern farce and there are many who don't really appreciate it. Your comment about "really great shows worthy of being seen again" seems to clearly discredit farce as NOT being a worthy form of theatre. And of course that's your prerogative.

I saw Noises Off a few years ago on Broadway. I had mixed feelings about it, although I laughed a lot and enjoyed seeing Peter Gallagher on stage. I'm not a huge fan of farce either.
I just checked to see who else was in the cast. I know Patti LuPone had moved on, but I wonder if TR Knight was there then and if <i>that's </i>why Katie Finneran looked familiar.

I have a theater buff friend who loves farce and loved 'Lend Me a Tenor.' I am not a huge fan of farce and might go if I find really cheap seats. I did enjoy 'Boeing Boeing.' I thought it was done well.

Saw 'I Never Sang for My Father' last night. I hadn't seen Keir Dullea in an eternity. I never saw the original production. The end was powerful. I liked, but didn't love the play. I wanted to jump on stage and strangle the father! The cast was good and I enjoyed Marsha Mason.

I saw an early preview of La Cages aux Folles on Wednesday night. It's pretty good ... certainly a crowd-pleaser. Strangely, I felt the weak link was the star, Kelsey Grammer as Georges, who didn't sing as well as I had hoped. Perhaps he'll get a little more comfortable with his performance as the show gets closer to opening. There were also some unfortunate mic problems with Douglas Hodge's Albin, and sound-design was the second weak link. His voice was garbled and sounded odd during the whole show, which is one reason I really hate all the microphones. The show is on a fairly small scale but still works, and the chorus is really great. I was in the front mezzanine and had excellent sight lines. I actually prefer that location for a busy show like this because it helps you keep the entire stage in view.

Yep, Doug -- my favorite seats for most musicals -- front row mezzanine.
I saw "this" production in London last year and thought it was excellent -- certainly way better than the big revival a couple years ago at the Marquis. Of course, Kelsy Grammar wasn't in it in London.

Doug - glad to hear that it's pretty good.

I have tix next month and after I bought them, I got an invitation to an important family event that conflicted with the performance. Believe it or not, Telecharge changed them for me for a later date. That experience has restored my very dismal view of customer service. They were terrific.