My NYC theatre report
 

Seven great shows in 5 days: <BR>The Tale of the Allergist's Wife: If Linda Lavin doesn't get the Tony for this one, there is no justice on Broadway. A remarkable performance and an unbelievably good script from Charles Busch, whom I always knew was funny, but never knew was a truly gifted playwright. <BR>Dinner with Friends: No wonder it won the Pulitzer. A truly great well crafted script and superbly acted by a talented cast. <BR>The Dinner Party: Henry Winkler and the rest of the cast are all surprisingly good and the play is very witty. But why does Neil Simon write a play for American actors, set it in Paris, and give everyone French names, when there is nothing French about it? Was he overly affected by Art? Maybe that's why this play also lasts 90 minutes and has no intermission. <BR>Betrayal: Who says Harold Pinter can't be entertaining. Superb script with more "said" in the extended pauses than is spoken in most plays. My only objection was that we were in the 6th row of the mezzanine and it really is too intimate a play for such a large venue. While the cast was excellent, including Julliet Binoche, the real star of this one was the script. <BR>I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change: Not only is it a charming musical revue with really catchy songs and lyrics, it is probably the funniest musical I've ever seen. <BR>The Full Monty: what a wonderful fun evening. So glad they followed the movie so closely, only moving it from England to Buffalo. Could anyone not enjoy this show? <BR>Naked Boys Singing: Just what the title says. Not to be done in Peoria, but just about perfect in the West Village. The dramatic cantata for which the lyrics were all the possible names of the male sex organ was a real show stopper! <BR>Can't wait to go back in May -- especially for The Producers and Follies!

Thanks for the report! We're off to see The Dinner Party and Dinner With Friends next week.

Thank you Patrick!

Patrick -- you're my kind of theatregoer. I once saw 5 plays in one weekend (Fri, Sat, & Sun evening, and Sat. & Sunday matinees). That's the way I like to do NYC. I'm off to see "Dinner with Friends" the week before New Year's so I'm glad you enjoyed it. Did you eat in any restaurants you would recommend?

Again, thanks for reporting back with your impressions, Patrick. I'll keep them in mind when I make some theater plans for a couple of months from now.

I think my record was 9 shows in 5 days once. You can only do it over Thanksgiving with the extra matinees on Thursday. We flew in Wednesday morning and saw 2 each on Wed, Thurs, Sat, and Sun. Only one on Friday though. Again this summer we will visit the Shaw Festival at Niagra-on-the-Lake, The Stratford (Ontario) Festival, and the Oregan Shakespeare Festival. Each of those stops is filled with 8 shows in 4 days. Although the three stops are broken up, we will be doing 24 plays in 12 days. As a former theatre major, theatre instructor, actor, director, set designer, etc. you can truly say that I have a theatre addiction (actually even a little more severe than my travel addiction.)

I've only done three in two days at Oregon Shakespeare, but I'd have happily added a fourth if I could--great company. I have friends and family who regularly do marathon weekends there. In Ashland, I recommend the Ashland Bakery Cafe for breakfast or lunch; a casual little place with really good food and within a couple of blocks of the theaters. The tiny city park behind the public fountains with the vile mineral water has a pond with swans and is a lovely place to sit. Are you familiar with/planning to visit the Britt Music Festival in Jacksonville nearby? I don't know if they have their schedule for next summer yet, but you could check www.brittfest.org and see if they're doing anything that appeals to you when you'll be in the area. Great series of outdoor classical, jazz, dance, etc. concerts. Jacksonville's about 20 miles from Ashland. Forgive me if you know all this already :-).

Okay, Patrick, here's the start of a recommended list for your next trip to go along with The Producers and Follies): <BR>*Contact (if you haven't already) <BR>*Proof <BR>*Fully Committed

Howard: Yes, already saw Contact, and I'm one of the few who were somewhat disappointed in it. Yes, there is some great dancing, but recorded music for a Broadway show? And although I love Karen Ziemba, that whole second sequence got so monotonous that after about 15 minutes, it even started irritating me. I actually thought the first one was the most fun, despite the fact that there was very little actual "dance" to it. And even the "Girl in the Yellow Dress" seemed like a 20 minute piece that got dragged out to an hour. Don't get me wrong, I didn't think the show was horrible, in fact, I think it was overall quite good and innovative. But the best muscial on Broadway of the year? Give me a break. Of course, so was Titanic the year before, so go figure. <BR>I thought we were seeing Fully Committed next week in San Francisco, but apparently it closed there, so will add it to my list for May in New York. Not sure that Proof will still be around -- at least they aren't booking that far in advance right now.

Will be interesting to see who is in Follies...we saw it pre-Broadway here in Boston with Dorothy Collins and Yvonne DeCarlo to name a few..It is rarely done on stage...I do't know why.. We are musical theatre buffs and went to London a few years ago andthe first evening saw Jolson, the next day we saw Miss Saigon at a matinee and in the evening saw Phantom..which I am now I think Andrew Lloyyd Weber is a fraud and convinced is the most overrated show.. A few years ago we saw Ragtime in New York with the original cast and I must admit it is one of the finest musicals of our time.. Then nextyear saw Lion King...what a spectacular.. I may not remember the music but the costumes and the experience which is what theatre should be was unforgettable.. Anything by Sondheim including Assasains (what was he thinking of) wouldmake him one of the top musical composers of this century. We have some great theatre in Boston and rep. that we get to go to often, but I must get back to New York!!

Sorry, Patrick, I don't agree with you about Contact! We thought it was brilliant. Hey, I hated Annie! <BR>Parrot Mom, I too saw Follies for the first time in Boston way back then! And, I share your enthusiasm for the show. We saw an revival of it a couple years ago in the Paper Mill Playhouse in NJ. It starred, among others, Ann Miller (!) singing I'm Still Here. <BR>The cast of the NY revival for 2001 includes Blythe Danner (Gwynneth Paltrow's mother), Judith Ivey, Gregory Harris, Treat Williams, Polly Bergen, Betty Garrett and Marge Champion.

I'm another one who crams as many shows as possible into a few days. I haven't seen The Tale of the Allergist's Wife yet, but Mary Louise Parker in Proof is magnificent and sure to be a top contender for Tony. It's nice to know there are several Tony-worthy performances in new plays. <BR>I loved Contact but realize it might not be to everyone's liking. <BR>I would really like to see Follies especially to see the wonderful Blythe Danner--she has been a favorite of mine since long before anyone knew she had a daughter.

I saw 6 shows over Thanksgiving week and must admit that I liked Contact the best. Dirty Blonde is about Mae West and well worth seeing as well.

Hi Howard...trying to remember back how far..and I can remember (I'm a senior)..seeing Julie Andrews and Richard Burton in Camelot..and I think I did see Leonard Nimoy at the Peabody Playhouse in Cambridge as a child..Seeing Hair..right after it was banned and reopened in Boston and the audience on their chairs cheering (saw it a second time..no reaction)..Danny Kaye at the Colonial...Mandy Patankin before Chicago Hope andhearing him tell the story about a friend who died of AIDS and then sang Danny Boy to a house in tears....seeing La Cage au Follies..before Broadway in a Loge seat (Arts Boston) and crying at the last scene and song..The Best of Times..Oh yes...saw a Tommy Tune play that was so horrific that he came out and apologized to the audience..who had stood up in shock.. it went on to become a smash on Broadway.. If your in Boston the Lyric Theatre is a gem as is the Merrimac in Lowell where we just saw A Walk in the Woods.. Saw Maryann Plunkett in a walk on role in a small theatre in Cambridge and saw somebody who had that "IT".. that said..I'm going to be a star..and she is.. I am going to take that advice from the first posting and check out the non-musicals coming though.. Thanks for this great thread..it maynot be travel.. BTW I'm listening this moment to WERS radio playng every Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. playing musical theatre...it's wonderful.. They are about to play the music from The Full Monty

Oh, Parrot Mom, you have returned the favor and brought back many fond memories to me. That Tommy Tune show you are talking about, I believe, is "My One and Only," which by the time it got to NY was delightful! We saw it twice! <BR>My early theatrical memories were in New Haven where I grew up on the Shubert Theater. Just about every major show tried out there in those days. I remember standing as a child at the stage door and getting Ezio Pinza's autograph after a performance of "South Pacific." Then, I recall seeing the world premiere performance of a perfect "The King and I" even on opening night. And, finally, I remember falling in love with a beautiful Anne Jeffreys who invited a young me backstage for a chat.