Broadway Banter: Time for a one...including a TKTS update
 

Nine months and 130+responses on the last one mean it's time for a new Broadway Banter.
Another good reason is that I want to pass along a rave for One Man/Two Guvnors. "Funny" is putting it mildly. It''s zany, insane...and very clever, with a star--namely, James Corden--who deserves a Tony for his performance. The show is great fun.
We also saw The Best Man this weekend (only because Once was sold out!) and enjoyed it and recommend it.
As for the TKTS update: This weekend was the first time we had gotten tickets there is a long time. We were delighted to see that the lines move much faster than in the old days. And, if you're looking for tickets to a non-musical, there's almost no wait even at peak times. Eveb the longer lines for musical shows moved fast.
The bargains are still there. Most shows offered have either 50% or 40% discounts. Note that you now pay a $4 per ticket "service charge" and a $5 fee for the total transaction. Still. The prices are cheaper than those on the discount offers available on playbill.com and broadwaybox.com.
A further suggestion for the most effective and time-saving "use" of TKTS opportunities: For an evening performance, stop by the Times Square facility after 5. There rarely, if ever, is a line at that time. The same holds for a 1 p.m. visit for matinee performances.

I also enjoyed the Best Man and Porgy and Bess is a must See and while February House at the Public is probably not for everyone, the music is so perfect for the characters and the time. And Double Feature at NYC Ballet was really fun.

Saw Once and Nice Work if you can get it a few weeks ago. Talk about opposites! I enjoyed both- Nice Work is as corny and old fashioned as it gets. Kelli O'Hara was a delight, Matthew Broderick less so but I Enjoyed his performance by the time it was over. Maybe it was just my audience (saw it at a matinee, I was among the youngest there...) but we all laughed at all the bad jokes and hokey setups. Really not trying to make back handed compliments - you just need to enjoy the kind of plot that relies on mistaken identities and uptight characters getting their comeuppance!

For a very different show, try Once. Arrived early and went onstage to stand at the "bar" while the characters came out and played pre-show. Loved the music and the choreography/movement that included scene changes with actors picking up furtniture and twirling offstage. Really interesting. Loved Steve Kazee. The audience response at the end was a very genuine instant standing ovation -something that seems rare!

Seems like yesterday that half price tickets at the TKTS booth were $30-$40

and it wasnt that many yesterdays or years. . .

What were just a few years ago =$65-$85 tickets are now. . .

We really enjoyed Best Man! We went for Angela Lansbury and she didn't disappoint.

Lookin_Glass, I had the same "culture shock" about the TKTS prices, since this was my first visit there in a few years. SBut then reality sank in when I remembered what the full prices are for shows today.

Another vote for Best Man. The Lyons was excellent as Linda
Lavin's timing brings alot to her lines. Did not enjoy
Common Pursuit.

crossing fingers that Best Man will be extended

For those wanting to see non-musicals, you've plenty of opportunities for easily obtaining tickets at TKTS without waiting very long. It's been a long time since I remember so many good shows available close to curtain time, even on weekends. Here are the non-musical shows I've seen listed there close to curtain time:

Clybourne Park
One Man/Two Guvnors
Other Desert Cities
Peter and the Starcatcher
The Best Man
The Lyons
War Horse

And even if there is a line earlier, it's never that long for non-musicals. Thus, my advice is go the TKTS route for these shows rather than spending more on the discount offers. (PS: Sometimes, the last minute tickets available at TKTS are better than those you get with a discount offer!)

anyone seen Harvey yet?

Those who read my posts about going night after night to enter The Book of Mormon ticket lottery -- and then waiting in line for four hours to buy standing room tickets will appreciate this.

This week my partner and I BOTH received notifications that we have each won two tickets to a special June 6th fan performance of BOM. The names were drawn from those who entered -- and lost -- the nightly ticket lottery.

There were hundreds of people entered every day -- so there must have been thousands of people in that drawing. What were the chances that we'd BOTH win???

Now for the bad news ... June 6th we'll be on a plane to Kauai--and the tickets must be picked up the day of the performance with a photo ID. There's no way we can go -- and no way to give them to our friends in NYC. AGGHHH!

Well, the happy ending is that at least we got to see the show (albeit standing) -- and we LOVED every minute of it.

Oooooh! What a good news/bad news story! But, hey, your reason for not being able to pick the tickets and see the show ain't too bad, eh?

Good news, starrs, The Best Man has been extended to September 9.

<red>YAY!!!! Thank you for the update, HowardR!
<black>I am VERY excited!

Recently saw Once, Best Man and One Man Two Governors, also highly recommend all three. You can't go wrong with any of these.

Okay, trying to figure out my 5 shows for August. Thanks for the recommendations on the earlier thread.

At the top of my list - The Best Man*, War Horse*, Anything Goes, and Nice Work.
* = HowardR's recommendation to use the TKTS non-musical shorter line.

For my 5th show, I'm considering Potted Potter, Peter*, The Lyons*, One Man*, Godspell and Once.

All of the above have BroadwayBox discounts. I'd love to see Book of Mormon or Wicked (again), but don't want to pay full price for those.

Closing before I get there = Clybourne Park, The Columnist, Other Desert Cities and Venus in Fur.


Has anyone seen the Harry Potter parody, "Potted Potter" = off Broadway. The reviews look good.

starrs: The Lyons was fine. Nothing that hasn't been done before. It starts as a dark comedy but ends as a dark cloud. Nice Work is corny but delightful! I'm going back to see Best Man and would love to see One Man.

Have a great visit. We'll be in the city in September.

starrs: Potted Potter feels like a children's show--geared towards an under 12 audience (and kids pack the audience.) It's slapstick and not super funny. I was surprised that the reviews were so good.

Really, I would see Once. The music was beautiful and the leads are just superb. I was surprisingly moved by the show.

If you're in the mood for a straight play, Peter and the Starcatcher is clever and terrifically acted.

I like The Lyons a lot, and Linda Lavin is a wonder, though I tend to be a huge fan of intense family dramas. But it isn't particularly innovative, just funny. Godspell is cute and sweet, but nothing amazing.

Enjoy your trip!

If you really do want to see Once, I'd buy the tickets in the next week. Once it wins Best Musical at the Tonys there won't be any discounted seats anymore. And it's often selling out even now.

starrs, ou are lucky in that you're coming during a period when there is a lot to see on Broadway. For your final two, I'd go with One Man, Two Govnors and Peter and the Starcatcher.
Keep in mind in getting tickets for the non-musicals that the theaters are smaller, which means you can have decent sight lines from almost any parts of the theaters.

How does Once compare to the movie? It was one of my favorites when it came out.

I liked the movie but saw it after it had been pretty hyped so was expecting more than what it was. The musical on the other hand was better than I expected - maybe it is just the "intimacy" of theatre that got to me, but I really felt for the main characters and shed a tear or two. It seemed much more about the dreaams of youth, things turning out differently than you think-and still being okay with it. Very bittersweet. And I'll say again I really enjoyed the very different movement/dance aspect. Maybe I was expecting a more "river dance" thing-which it wasn't and that was a good thing.

We saw February House, Double Feature and The Lyons. Actually left February House at intermission. Great performances but absolutely no plot. Double Feature and The Lyons were great.

Starrs, War Horse, Peter and the Starcatcher and Anything Goes (!) we're among the offerings at TKTS yesterday. Some of the others you mentioned may also have been available, those are the ones I remember. Also Jersey Boys.

Whoo hoo! Just saw this in the Chicago Tribune.

In October, "GRACE" will be on Broadway with the extraordinary Michael Shannon. Keep this show on your radar if you like dramatic plays (rather than musicals). I missed this b/c it was staged in a suburb of Chicago and couldn't be bothered to get up to Skokie, but I'll likely come to NYC for this one.
Kate Arrington and Michael Shannon are fantastic. Here's the link to the article:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...3497310.column

Also, posted about 'TJ and DAve' tonight (monday night) at the Barrow street Theatre. Great show if you can catch them and if they're not sold out. (They sell out in Chicago almost every Wed.)
http://barrowstreettheatre.com/index.asp

starrs - We had free tickets for Potted Potter. It was torture!!! Somehow I was hoping for a very small cast doing something clever like the 39 Steps. Not clever, not funny. Don't waste your time.

Thanks for the advice. I won't. ;)

I just came across this wonderful set of video clips on the Playbill website. It's a series of award-winning performances from previous Tony shows, including excerpts from Kiss of the Spider Woman, Evita, Hairspray, The Boy from Oz, Les Miserables, Dreamgirls and others. My two favorites are Jennifer Hudson's incredible redition of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going" from Dreamgirls and Hugh Jackman's performance of "Not the Boy Next Door" from The Boy from Oz.
To view them, log on playbill.com and then scan down "Latest Newz" to the item called "THE SCREENING ROOM: Tony Award-Winning Performances (Video)."

TKTS question - are the same tickets available at all site (aside from matinees not being sold at Times Square). i.e. are they selling from the same pool of 'virtual tickets' or are there different seats available at each location?

thanks :-)

Since all tickets are done electronically, I assume they'd all come from the same pool of tickets. Following that line of thought, it would seem to make no difference which TKTS outlet you went to.

HowardR is correct. I remember a time when TKTS actually had "real" tickets that had been preprinted and bound together with a rubber band. I used to love going to the booth at the World Trade Center since hardly anyone went there and you could often get much better seats. No more. Now everything is released by the theaters electronically, and the same tickets are in the pool and available to any purchaser regardless of which outlet they go to.

The only difference (and it can be an important one) is that you can buy matinee tickets the day before at the Seaport and in Booklyn. You can't get matinee tickets the day before in Times Square, and to be honest, I don't know why. Probably just the ticket lines. When they were real paper tickets, this made sense, but since they are electronic, you're just getting an earlier shot by not going to Times Square. But the lines at the Seaport can be pretty long, and there's very little shade, so keep that in mind.

February ouse was about a real time and place and the extraordinary artists who lived in the house. Not much plot? perhaps but the music was superb. Short line for Shakespeare in the Park today. Will report back tomorrow. We'll see how the weather holds.

What is a short line for Shakespeare in the Park, Sue? I heard those were 5 hours long on a good day. True?

a question for all those who saw One Man Two Guvnors: were you familiar with Commedia del'arte beforehand? My understanding is that it is based on that and knowing about it enhances the experience. I know little about it, but my D saw it after having studied it, and loved it, but I'm wondering if I'll feel the same? I have to assume that one doesn't need this knowledge, otherwise it wouldn't have much of an audience, but I thought I'd ask here anyway.

No, you don't need a strong background in Commedia del arte to enjoy One Man, Two Guvnors. Just go expecting to laugh a lot!!!
I am familiar with the technique, but I really don't think that it was necessary for me to enjoy the show as much as I did. My wife had no previous knowledge of it and enjoyed the show as much as I did!

Short was I arrived just before 1 and the line was maybe a block or so long -- well before where it can turn to go across the north end of the great lawn. Early preview on a weather iffy day that turned out quite nice .I don't have to try this again until August but there is other fun free Shakespeare to be had...

http://thestarryeye.typepad.com/expl...e-2012-is.html

I remember the real tickets too - and always went to the booth at the WTC. Late on the night of 9/10 I was planning a trip to NYC and I closed the laptop I thought "I'll just get tickets at the WTC". My last thought before I went to sleep. Such a surreal feeling the next morning.

Well now I have a quandry. Just found out that the War Horse tour is coming to my city. I didn't see the movie because I wanted to see the play (and the puppets) first. So, new question - see it at Lincoln Center or on the road? That would open up a slot for another "only on Broadway" show during my Broadway week. Input?

Once just won a Tony for Best Director.

Well the tonys are all about figuring out which ones I can miss.