I just saw A Gentleman's Guide to Love and murder in previews....think of it as The Book of Mormon for my generation. Well crafted fun musical and I discovered that people around me hadn't seen Kind Hearts and Coronets.

Get your tickets while it is still in previews. Happy Marathon Day tomorrow.

Saw Twelfth Night a couple weeks ago. It reaffirmed that Mark Rylance is a comic genius, but the whole production was brilliant

Saw Big Fish yesterday. Overwhelmingly amazing staging. Some great big production numbers, and a whole lot of heart in the second act. Not a memorable score or book overall, however.

Thanks NeoPatrick

lantana, here is a short review of Richard III from a Broadway message board posted by someone whose opinions I usually value.
I would have seen Richard III if there was ever a Wednesday matinee, but there isn't. And it would be hard to top Kevin Spacey's brilliant Richard III I saw two years ago in London.

"i found this, overall, the weaker of the two plays. Whereas I adored Twelfth Night and all in it, i found Richard III more uneven and less gratifying. Mark Rylance, who delivered what has become of my favorite performances ever as Olivia, is a very *funny* Richard, but ultimately it's a performance that, for me, can easily be pointed to by detractors. I felt that that the constant humor and overall festive atmosphere undercut the play terribly, and that it did lack a certain "tragic" feeling. I also felt that the ensemble, who each shined so wonderfully in Twelfth Night, all felt secondary to Rylance- it also does not help that their characters are not as individualized as they are in Twelfth Night. For me, Samuel Barnett alone stood out. The rest were overwhelmed by Rylance.

This is not to say I did not enjoy the production. But it was a letdown following the nigh-perfect other production it's coupled with."

Thank you so much, NeoPatrick. I appreciate this information/warning. I'll try not to be (too) discouraged :)

I walked by Duffy Square around 3 this sfternoon just as TKTS was about to open and was surprised to see just
about every Broadway show--except for The Book of Mormon, The Lion King and Wicked--available. Yes, even this season's three biggest hits--Kinky Boots, Matilda and Motown--were available, some with a 50% discount!

What a great week to be in NYC!
Still amazed that Wicked is still a sell-out after 10 years on Broadway, with continual national tours and several host cities to long productions. ((l)) it.

I too noticed yesterday how many shows are half price right now. I suspect closer to Thanksgiving and Christmas that may change, but even a couple of shows I was sure would sell out (Twelfth Night and The Glass Menagerie among them) are easily gotten at TKTS at half price right now.

And a reminder for those looking for plays rather than musicals, there is a separate line at TKTS for "plays only" that usually involves NO or LITTLE wait at all.

Saw the latest production The Glass Menagerie today, and I strongly urge all to get tickets. It's a brilliant production, with four outstanding performances. We expected Cherry Jones to give her usual outstanding performance, but we found that the other three were equally as good.

Did anyone watch the PBS presentation of Sondheim's Company over the weekend? We thought this Company company (!)--including Neal Patrick Harris, Patti Lupone and bunch other name performers--did am outstanding job.

So, between the two shows, we had a pretty goo theatrical weekend!

Howard, I saw Company at a movie theater when it first came out a couple of years ago. It was one of those "Fathom Events" things.

And a bit of sad news: the musical Big Fish has posted a closing notice, so it's going to be gone by the end of the year. Those traveling in January and beyond can cross it off their lists.

Missed Company this weekend, as we were too busy seeing Tosca in HD Live from the MET -- sensational.

But did anyone see the recent Merrily We Roll Along on Fanthom Events?-- that's the one I really wanted to see but too late on a "school night" and nearly an hour from our home for the nearest showing.

Hmm. What happened? I was going to comment on Doug's mention of the closing of Big Fish -- but looked above and can't find the review of it I was sure I posted a couple weeks ago. Did I really not post it here?

We saw Big Fish and enjoyed it. There are some huge theatrical numbers, fantastic sets and costumes, but sadly not a real "memorable tune" among them. It had some real pathos at the end but took so long to get there.
Still I am sad that such a big musical isn't getting more of a chance than just a couple months run. I found it way better than some of the other much longer running shows, but admittedly I'm not much for the jukebox musicals which seems to be dominating right now.

And as I mentioned on another thread, last week I saw Little Miss Sunshine, one of the most anticipated Off-Broadway musicals of the season. But again, while it was fun and often funny, it just lacked any musical number that really rocked us. In fact, most of the numbers seemed so non-melodic they reminded me of acting exercises where actors are asked to improvise singing their lines. It really seemed like the tunes were being made up as they went along. That could have been fine, except why did they cast such amazing singers for the roles and then not let them actually SING great songs?

Patrick, you never commented on your reaction to Buyer & Cellar. I'm wondering whether that means you didn't like it, hm?

Well, I wouldn't say I didn't like it. I thought Michael Uhrie was simply brilliant and charming all at the same time. And for the first 45 minutes or so I thought it was terribly funny, but after the very funny story about buying the doll was over, the show seemed to go nowhere. I didn't get the whole point of the James Brolin thing or the ice cream thing -- it just wasn't funny or seemingly important, as well as most of the other stuff. I sure didn't care about the main character having to choose between Barbra and his boyfriend -- we had no reason to identify with the boyfriend anyway as he just seemed like a "bitch". I totally missed the point of the entire rather long sequence about The Mirror has Two Faces. Maybe if I had seen that film it would have been funny, but I didn't and it wasn't. I just felt the hour and 40 minutes was about twice as long as it needed to be for what was essentially a "single joke". After we understood Barbra's infatuation with the buying and the role play thing which had been accomplished about midway through, what else was there?

I realize that some are just loving this show, although the small theatre was only about 2/3 full and most of those were apparently well discounted tickets. On the way out, mostly I heard people saying things like "yea, it was cute". I guess that's about how I felt about it. Although admittedly it made me want to see Michael Uhrie play something else. He is really talented.

Sorry you didn't like it more than that, Patrick, especially since I had strongly encouraged you to see it. Oh well, you can't win 'em all. My wife and I (and several posters on the forum) are among those "just loving the show."

I agree with Neo as I usually do. While Michael Urie is
a good talent & my reason for seeing this show, the best scene was the doll scene. This past Saturday's performance was totally full w/folks laughing just when a person's name was mentioned. While entertaining it did pall after a bit.

One nice thing was my friend was sick so stuck w/2 tix. But
they offered to let me use the other ticket after this closes
on Jan. 5 which does not happen on Broadway.

A Gentleman's Guide got great reviews. I told you to see it early!

Yes, Sue, and thanks to your previous favorable comments which was the final "convincer," we got tickets and will going over Thanksgiving weekend. And, adding to the pleasure, we got discount tickets at a great price!

OH, yes, I see Gentlemen's Guide this Wednesday. Glad I bought a discount front row mezzanine seat last week. Those reviews may mean an end to the discounts soon. But any more, who knows?

I failed to post regarding seeing Mary Louise Parker in The Snow Geese last week.

This is a play based (rather strongly so) on Chekhov's The Sea Gull. But it is placed in New York State in 1917. I never thought it would be possible to make The Sea Gull slower and more "boring" than the original, but they managed. As one review mentioned, at the end of the first act, projections of geese flying away fill the the theatre and they are the lucky ones -- they get to leave.

Seriously,there was some very fine acting, but it could have been called The Snow Turkey rather than The Snow Geese in my humble opinion.