Broadway - Play /musical advice
 

In previous years, I have gotten all my ideas for which shows to see from Fodor's, so I am hoping you can help me this year too.

We hope to be there in July. We enjoy musicals, but we also enjoy plays. This time NYC is just a detour on the way to Cape Cod so we will only have time for 1 or maybe 2 shows.

I thought it might help if I listed plays I've seen and whether I liked them.

Mamma Mia! - Las Vegas – liked a lot
Movin' Out – NYC – OK
Avenue Q – Las Vegas- liked
Wicked – Chicago – had trouble hearing
Monty Python's Spamalot – Las Vegas – not wild about
Jersey Boys – Las Vegas – really really liked
Mary Poppins –Indianapolis- loved sets- disappointed in changes from classic movie
In the Heights – NYC - really liked
Billy Elliot the Musical – NYC - loved
Rock of Ages – Indianapolis - not wild about
Memphis –NYC - really liked
Million Dollar Quartet - NYC – felt it was slow until the end
Anything Goes NYC. liked
How to Succeed. Nyc. Just ok to me
War Horse. Nyc. Really liked
After the Rainbow NYC. Really liked
Priscilla - NYC - Just ok.
Book of Mormon - Chicago - did not like
Pippen - NYC - Liked
Once - NYC - Loved
Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike - NYC - Loved
Peter and the Starcatchers - NYC - Liked

2014
Beautiful - NYC - Loved - saw again in Chicago in 2015 and liked it just as much
Forbidden Broadway - NYC - liked
Bullets over Broadway - NYC - liked
After Midnight - NYC - liked
Kinky Boots - NYC - loved
Mothers and Sons - NYC - liked

2015
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - NYC - liked the staging - the play was OK
It Shoulda Been You - NYC - thought it was fun
20th Century - NYC - just OK
Fun Home - NYC - liked

An American in Paris
Beautiful! [especially if you grew up in Carole King era]
Something Rotten - you'd really appreciate it since you have seen a lot of shows.

I am impressed that you did not like Book of Mormon. I didn't either.

The only classic musical you list is Anything Goes, which you liked. Therefore, I recommend:

She Loves Me
Fiddler on the Roof

These are two great shows, and the current productions have received very good reviews. Both have great stories and music. I believe you might get tickets at a good price for them at broadwayabox.com

HTtY

PS Since you didn't like Spamalot, I doubt you would like Something Rotten.

I'm having a hard time getting a handle on this. While I loved Something Rotten, if you didn't like Spamalot, I'd suspect this wouldn't be your cup of tea.

I suspect you'd really like On Your Feet, probably An American in Paris,

No point in seeing Beautiful for a third time. You might think Waitress slow.

She Loves Me, but it ends early July.

Shuffle Along? The Color Purple?

I honestly can't think of a non musical for you.

opps, missed the 2x Beautiful.

I think Spamalot isn't quite the same as Something Rotten. The innuendos etc in Something Rotten really have a more direct connection to Broadway plays. But this is just my 2 cents.

I think you'd love On Your Feet!

Yes I agree Something Rotten is different from Spamalot, but they are very much the same sort of style -- more "silly" than anything else and making jokes of putting modern references in archaic times. I loved them both, but my guess is MOST people who didn't care for one probably wouldn't love the other. Frankly watching Something Rotten it would be VERY EASY to think 'this must have been written and produced by the same people as Spamalot'. I'd say they are a lot more "alike" than they are "different".

There's a lovely revival of The King and I at the Vivian Beaumont Theater at Lincoln Center.

Thanks for the tips.

I don't think I can handle Fiddler on the Roof. I've seen it locally and know that Sunrise, Sunset puts me over the edge. I'm too sentimental.

Just looked at the website for On Your Feet! That looks like a good possibility.

She Loves Me looks like fun. Shuffle Along too. I am iffy on Something Rotten. The Color Purple would be good for a more serious play.

I'm seeing Shuffle Along at the end of May--very excited! I'll try to remember to post my two cents.

She Loves Me is a delightful smaller musical -- not a lot of chorus or "big" numbers, but a wonderful score and a super book with a spectacular cast. I think of all the shows we're talking about here -- it's definitely my favorite.

Shuffle Along has amazing songs and even more amazing choreography. The story seemed a little disjointed as it's mostly about how the original Shuffle Along was made (in the 1920's) and about the writers and stars of it. Audra MacDonald is spectacular as always and it's a super production, book aside.

I'm not usually a big fan of "jukebox musicals", but I found myself really enjoying On Your Feet. Just a fun show.

Thanks for the capsule review, Neo! Your view seems to dovetail with the other reviews I have read.

NewbE - what did you think of Shuffle Along?

I'm not sure yet whether we will have time for 2 or for 3 shows. She Loves Me, Shuffle Along, and On Your Fee are on my short list.

Any thoughts about Waitress or Bright Star?

I just saw that Jessie Mueller is in Waitress. That is a selling point for me - we loved her in Beautiful.

Side point - After seeing Beautiful on Broadway, we saw it again with friends in Chicago. Jessie's sister played Carole King in the Chicago performance. She was really good too.

Bright Star has already closed. I would choose Shuffle Along. I've seen She Loves Me, which closes on July 24 (same date as Shuffle Along), and it's very good, so I don't think you'd be disappointed.

On Your Feet doesn't interest me, but it's very popular and everyone I know who has seen it loves it. It's good if you are a fan.

We loved Shuffle Along! It's all tap, and with Savion Glover's choreography, it's pretty spectacular. Audra MacDonald and Billy Porter deliver amazing performances.

The story drags a bit in the second half, but picks back up for the end, and overall we were thrilled.

New question - I was just checking Broadway Box, travelzoo, and TKTS to see if discounts might be available on these shows.

TKTS shows most of them at 50% but when I look further into their app, it says that their availability on TKTS is "never" (or "rarely" for one of them).

Do you suppose there are only tickets available since this is a holiday week and maybe people aren't going to shows very much?

Ah, I just read that Shuffle Along is closing on July 24th. How heartbreaking!

Actually every time I've looked recently at the TKTS site, I've been amazed how many shows they have available at 50%.

50% is pretty amazing.

I think my top choices right now are Waitress, Shuffle Along and On Your Feet. I checked She Loves Me for the dates we might go and it doesn't look like it has any availability. We might run into that with Shuffle Along too since it is so close to the end of its run.

I also am thinking about trying to squeeze in a 4 PM Friday Rockettes show. We have never seen them in NY although we did see them once in Branson. The current show sounds fun and there is a special on travelzoo.