Questions on 'Contact' musical
 

My wife has a birthday next month, and I've been contemplating buying two tickets as a birthday present. Has anyone seen this show? I would greatly appreciate sharing your opinions.<BR>Many thanks.

Oh my goodness, it's fabulous! She'll love it (and you for taking her)!

Contact is an experience - don't miss it. You've chosen well.

Yes! A fantastic show!

I'll be the dissenter here.By way of comparison,I'm a thirtysomething New Yorker who attends about 5-10 shows a year. I was very underwhelmed by Contact. It was not 'bad', just disappointing. The show consists of three dance skits, one quite short, the second a bit longer, the third showcase piece about 40 minutes.<BR>The taped, (not live) music was fun but the whole show especially the second act about a woman stuck with a disagreeable husband in an Italian restaurant (in the 1950's) seemed like a skit from the Carol Burnett show (or one of Gilda Radner's skits on Saturday Night Live where she is an imaginative little girl, or a mousy adult who gets up and dances suddenly) performed by a very talented group of dancers. Although I bought these tickets for a discounted rate of about $50, I left feeling a little cheated. Depending on how much you plan to spend, and how often you get to see a Broadway show, I would recommend something with a little more "umph" to it.<BR>

<BR>We saw it last weekend and agree with the preceeding post. There are much better shows on Broadway now. One is the Allergists Wife, which was very funny. Most days tickets are available at the box office or Tix so you can decide after getting to NY.

It was a good show.3 acts, I like the last one best.I believe it won a Tony Award?

Loved it!

I don't regret going, but the only act I liked was the third. The theatre was great, at Lincoln Center. I do agree that there are better plays out there. I don't know which have tickets available with good seats though.

Jack, the comments go to show the obvious: You can't please everyone! I loved this and JimH didn't. He liked Tale of the Allergist's Wife and I didn't!<BR>Anyway, if you decide on Contact, keepm in mind that the sightlines are great anywhere in the theater. There really aren't any bad seats.

I recently saw Contact and enjoyed it. However, I was not that impressed during the first two dance acts, but I loved the third dance act. You don't mention if you have seen other musicals and plays ... if not, there are so many others that are excellent. If so, and you are looking for something a bit different I would recomend this, as long as you like watching dancing. The three story lines are essentially told through dance. <BR><BR>Have you thought about Cabaret or Chicago? I've heard great things about these ... I've seen both in other places, but have not seen the NY shows but people seem to love them. (I think it would be great to see Cabaret in the old Studio 54 ... I've heard that the audience sits at tables like you were at a nightclub watching the show.)

I'll add another"not so great" to the discussion. Jack, tell us something about you and your wife--age range, what shows you've seen before and liked or disliked

I saw Contact twice - with the original cast and then last summer with the new cast. Loved it the first time. Wasn't so thrilled the second time. The cast wasn't nearly as good. But, it is hard to top Karen Ziemba. If you didn't see the original cast, and you have nothing to compare it too, go for it. But if you want other musical suggestions: 42nd St and Thoroughly Modern Millie are both great choices.

Thanks to all for your responses.

it is awful

We go to the theatre quite often and I found Contact disappointing and the story lines depressing. <BR><BR>If you haven't seen it already, I would suggest Phantom of the Opera. It has everything. Beautiful music, costumes,scenery, and staging.

FINALLY, some people aren't just echoing the usual "wow, this is the greatest". Of course everything is subjective, and that's why people ask, but I was convinced that people on Fodor's think all Broadway shows are automatically fantastic. Some are, some aren't, and IMHO Contact is in the second category.

I was also wondering about "Contact" for my trip to New York next month and now I'm even more confused.Does anyone else have more info to help me decide?

I recommend "42nd Street" or "Throughly Modern Millie." However, tickets to "Millie" might be harder get, since it just won a "Tony" last night. They are both upbeat fun shows, perfect for a birthday celebration. If tickets to those shows are not available, "Chicago" is another fun show.

check out hitshowclub.com and playbill.com for discount tickets. Both these sites require you to register, but it's free. contact is usually available at a discount. If your wife likes dance, it's worth it, if you are looking for more of a traditional musical, you may want to consider something else.

We went a week ago and were very underwhelmed. My BIL raved about it, so we went on his recommendation. What a disappointment. It was just OK. It wasn't the kind of show that made you say "wow, was that great". In fact, after the second act and intermission, we were seriously considering leaving, that's how bad those first 2 acts were. Since we paid $ 90 we decided to stay and hoped it would improve. It did. Like the others said the last act had more dancers, better music, better choreagraphy and more oomph. It was definitely not worth $200 for the 2 of us to see it though. <BR><BR>Give me an old, Bob Fosse dazzler any day.