starrs, get a plan and get to nyc to see Wit. Tix has great half price seats, the peoply behund us (3rd row) got theirs on Sat at Tix. Edson should keep writing, imo.

nd aCynthia Nixon should get a Tony nod, imo. I can't get her Wit face out of my mind, it is haunting me.

neo, glad to know someone else had same difficulty in those seats. Lincoln Center is so beautiful and so high quality, wtf were they thinking w/that seating? And getting entrance to the orchestra seats was like the old style cattle call on Southwest Airlines, everyone crowding in to get through two ticket takers, what a cluster.

starrs, I love this quote from one of the photo captions in the story in your link, regarding why she is teaching 6th grade social studies now:


“The presence of fictional characters in your head, especially ones who talk, is extremely preoccupying,” she said. “And the nonfictional characters in my life are abundant.”

BTW, since this is a theater crowd...

Last night we ate at E&E Grill House across from Eugene O'Neill thater (Book of Mormon, but we didn.t see it). We have never enjoyed a theater district meal as much as this one.

The space is very nice lots of nonbanquette, non-crowded table seating. Liked themusic playing (Beatles, Beach Boys, Creedance, but quiet music), and the fireplace. Place is modern feel and food is GOOD. Creative apps (we would go back just for the buffalo tartare appetizer w/bone marrow mayo, omg, and the smoked salmon is house-cured w/a lemon dill sauce).

My filet was extremely tender and flavorful, and I got the blue butter sauce, mmm. Entrees w/one accompaniment, sauteed fresh spinach was very good. Nice wine list w/several mod. priced wines. Ridge zin was suggested by the general manager(who spent lot of time w/us) and was great. Warm homemade little bisquits w/honey butter. Lamb chops w/au jus sauce and mushrooms was to die for, husband gnawed the bones, don't tell anyone, lol. Other menu items: lots of steaks, salmon, diver scallps, a ravioli dish that chages by the day, w/housemade pasta, etc. Great service.

Thumbs way up on this one. Not a typical theater district meal experience.

Any thoughts on Magic/Bird?

Any chance The Best Man will be extended later than July 1?

Okay, I'd love some input. If I were to pick 4 to 5 shows (preferably discounted), what would you recommend for August?

#1 - War Horse
#2 - The Best Man - (if it's extended) because of the cast
#3 - Magic/Bird - for a friend who's a sports nut
#4 - Anything Goes - it would be great to see Joel Grey. I like Stephanie J. Block, but would have loved to see Sutton Foster
<b>#5 - which from Priscilla, Godspell, or Sister Act?</b>
Would have loved to see Alan Rickman in Seminar or The Columnist. Venus in Fire is a maybe.
:-( Just can't pay Book of Mormon prices

Here's my (slim) contribution to this thread:


CLYBOURNE PARK=terrific play

Seeing THE LYONS Friday and will report back





ps. Friend who goes to many shows told us that Magic/Bird was awful

Starrs, definitely put Other Desert Cities at the top of your list. It is theater at its best.

I saw War Horse last November and really enjoyed it. The puppetry is amazing and I was much more moved by the play than the movie. That said, the storyline is a little predictable so it is not great drama, but I was really glad that I saw it.

A few comments for those who are looking for something other than the mainstream musicals:

Yesterday I saw the most amazing performance by Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland in Over the Rainbow. More music than expected along with a simply breathtaking performance. Do I smell a Tony?

Last week I saw One Man, Two Guvnors -- the very very funny adaptation of the classic comedy A Servant of Two Masters brought to the 1960s. I had tried to get tickets to the production in London last year without success. This is a very funny play!

Agree with those above about Other Desert Cities. It is wonderful theatre. I was disappointed that Stockard Channing was out for vacation when I saw it, but never mind. It is the play and the full ensemble cast that make it good theatre.

I haven't seen the current production of Clybourne Park, but I saw it a couple years ago in its first off-Broadway production (much of that original cast remains intact). It becomes more interesting if you know A Raisin in the Sun -- as this play picks up with where that play leaves off, but that isn't necessary either.

Two fun comedies coming up -- Harvey starring Jim Parsons from Big Bang Theory. This age old comedy holds up really well -- I saw a terrific production at the Shaw Festival just two years ago. While Jim Parkins seems a very young choice -- it prevents the weird story of a man believing his best friend is a 6 foot rabbit from seemingly being a sad story about Alzheimers or other dementia. I'm looking forward to seeing this production.

And Don't Dress for Dinner is one of the funniest farces I've ever seen (London a number of years ago, and several other productions since). I haven't heard much yet about this production by Roundabout, but it HAS to be very funny.

Starrs - for # 5 consider Venus in Fur, End of the Rainbow, or Other Desert Cities. I have seen Jeff Goldblum on Broadway. I would definitely give him a try if you want to see Seminar, but I think the other three recommendations are better. If not the Best Man, consider Clybourne Park or the Lyons.

Yesterday, I saw The Lyons. Watching Linda Lavin is like watching a master class on comedy acting. Her delivery, manners, and timing couldn't be better. But I'm not sure it's a play for everyone. It's a very dark comedy about a dysfunctional family. The second scene is a seemingly out of place and disjointed two character scene between the gay son and another man which would make many people very uncomfortable. It jolts you out of the comedy pretty dramatically.

Neo-my dad just mentioned Harvey to me for my 9 year old son. Good idea or bad???
Dont know what to take him to see in June. I've seen a lot of the traditional shows and would rather spend my $ on something we both haven't seen.
What about spiderman?

I think Harvey is a great choice. Quite harmless and non-controversial as opposed to most of the new shows. I'm assuming he knows Big Bang Theory? Really should be a fun show.

I've not seen Spiderman, doubt that I will, but generally think it might be akin to seeing a Cirque Soleil Show without all that artistic class. Most non theatre goers are really impressed with the flying and effects.

Any other non Disney kid friendly shows??

Based on the dozen reviews of Don't Dress for Dinner which opened last night, I'll withdraw my recommendation for it. Only one review was fairly positive. Unlike its sister play, Boeing,Boeing, which was brilliantly acted and directed, it sounds like this very funny play misses the mark on all accounts. Roundabout Theatre seems to be making a habit of bringing back old plays and then doing mediocre to bad productions of them -- I can only hope Harvey might be an exception.

Thanks for the input. Maybe it would be better to let HR, CPG and NP create my list of 5 for me. Y'all know what I like. :-) War Horse is at the top of my list. I want to see the puppet horses in person - and before I see the movie. I'd like a "Broadway Experience" show for the night my friend will be there - and I'm thinking that will be Anything Goes. I'm game to see anything/everything good on the other 3 nights. I do need them to be discounted tix - no Book of Mormon for me at this time. I'd also like to see things that probably won't make it around to my city via national tour - things I'll probably only be able to see on Broadway. <sigh> I'm so happy to have this "problem" to figure out. How I've missed the city! :-)

starrs - I can't do five for you - sorry - you're just going to have to see some double features :)

In no particular order:

War Horse
Anything Goes
Venus in Fur
Other Desert Cities
End of the Rainbow
Best Man (haven't seen it yet)
Peter and the Starcatcher

The Lyons
Clybourne Park

Such a dilemma!

Best Man is at the top of my list but it's scheduled to close before I'm there in August. I'm VERY disappointed about that. :-(

Thanks for the list CPG. I'll work from that. How can one go wrong with those choices!

On my recent trip to NYC I had only ONE thing I absolutely had to do: see The Book of Mormon. For four consecutive nights we arrived 4:45PM for BOM lottery; approx 300 entries; didn’t win.

Strolled over to TKTS around 5:15PM each evening. There was never more than a five minute wait, and there was a wide variety of show choices at 40 – 50% percent off. FYI, the lines were enormous when TKTS opened. I used to wait in those lines; now I show up after 5PM – and wait 5 minutes -- after losing the BOM lottery ;-).

Got 40% off for War Horse. Astounding puppetry. Liked the show very much—but I think my expectations were too high after it won “Best Play” and multiple Tonys. Parts felt slow. But we both certainly enjoyed—and were glad we saw it—primarily because of the superb puppetry and theatricality, which we felt out-shined the script

Next night: “Peter and the Star Catcher.” It was NOT our cup of tea. It was certainly well done; had some marvelous performances; some very clever one-liners and puns … but I found myself wondering “why.” Why spend millions of dollars to mount this story—the prequel to Peter Pan? The show was quite stylized, a bit high-brow at times, and would break from its setting and time period to interject lines about Starbucks and other present cultural phenomena. It was not intended for children (who I think would hate it)—yet the story was essentially an adult telling of a children’s fantasy. 

I enjoyed the ending and was quite moved by it—but it was not a favorite, nor something I could recommend. FYI, we LOVED “Wicked” which is essentially the same concept—a prequel to a famous children’s story. But that worked infinitely better for us. I know “Peter” got rave reviews. It’ll be interesting to see how it fares on the big stage.



We’d decided on “The End of the Rainbow” for night #3 – a drama with music depicting the last few weeks in Judy Garland’s life. EXCELLENT. I’d guarantee Tracie Bennett will win a Tony nod for her portrayal of Judy. Very intense portrayal of her drug addiction and insecurities—and amazing vocal recreations of some of Garland’s biggest songs. It was a big crowd pleaser and I predict a hit. Interesting that it's billed as "a drama with music." So, I'm guessing that means Tracie Bennett won't be eligible for "Best Actress in a Musical" and will compete against Cynthia Nixon. Doesn't quite seem fair...

Since we had bombed out with the BOM lottery we decided to stand in line for Standing Room tix on our final night. We arrived a little before 2 PM and were #8 in the line. That meant we’d be guaranteed a spot. Yippee. FYI, the person in the front of the line had brought a chair and arrived at 11AM. No one else arrived for another hour after us. The last slots went to people who arrived between 3:30 and 4PM – but that could change any day. 



Standing in line was actually fun. There were some interesting folks, and our friend hung out with us part of the time. Then I sat on the ground and did some work on my laptop. We periodically took breaks to p/u coffee and hit the restrooms. The time flew by and at 5PM there was the lottery … which we once again did NOT win. (I guess we used up all of our luck when we won the "Wicked" lottery during Idina Menzel's final week of performances.)

At 6 PM we were able to buy reserved, rear orchestra standing spots.

When I reached the box office they told me there was a premium orchestra cancelation. Yippee!!! I could buy two tix in the first three rows … for a mere $954 (for the pair). Um, er … we paid our $27 each for standing room ;-).

So … was it worth waiting in line and standing? I LOVED the show more than I can say. It lived up to every bit of the hype and more. I’ve NEVER laughed that hard at any show nor felt entertained to the max every minute. Believe me, it was more than worth 4 hours of standing in line—and standing for the show.



Now I’ll chime in about Spiderman … we saw it a few days before its official opening. Saw it for two reasons: 1) to have bragging rights to say that I was one of the few who saw the biggest, most expensive, disastrous flop in B’way history; and 2) curiosity.

Much to our surprise ... we liked it! Found it thoroughly entertaining—and NOT only the flying sequences (which were fantastic). The music and performances were good—and at times even better than that. It was engaging and very enjoyable--maybe because our only expectations were that it would be awful.

Now … am I putting it in a class with “Wicked,” “Book of Mormon,” "Les Miz," or anything by Sondheim (who tops my list)? Of course not. I’m not saying it was “brilliant” theater, but I would not write it off.

That’s my 2 cents!