1. The reviews pre-Broadway were strong, and the reviews I've read have been positive.
2. It is on the books for next year...word from Seattle this summer was positive
3. No, but I can't stand the thing from Will and Grace
4. I saw it here in Chicago in Jan., and it was pretty painful (especially the second act). I know they have "fixed" it, but that takes a lot of fixing.
5. Two cast members have dropped in the last few months (including Alan Cumming today). It isn't happening anytime soon
6. Yes, but I don't know which category (I'm assuming you mean for the Tonys)
2009-2010 Broadway Season
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FilmFan720
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HarryGoldfarb
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Random questions:
1. Does anyone know how American Idiot is being received? The cast looks good (Gallagher Jr.) and the production team comes from Spring Awakening (Tony winners Tom Hulce as producer and director Michael Mayer). American Idiot was one of my favorite albums back in 2004 but I found the idea of turning it into a musical quite disturbing and corny...
2. What happened to Catch me if you can starring Aaron Tveit? It was expected to be transferred to Broadway but as far as I know it hasn´t happened yet...
3. Has anyone seen the revival of Promises, Promises starring Chenoweth and Hayes?
4. Is The Adams Family so abominable as some people is saying?
5. Does anyone know what happened to Spider Man: Turn off the Dark? Julie Taymor is directing, the music is by Bono and The Edge, and Eiko Ishioka is in charge of the costumes... but it seems that the opening date is always on hold. The whole idea seems weird but I´d like to know what comes out of this...
6. Is Cheyenne Jackson elegible for Finian´s Rainbow? Considering Magilla´s comment on his vocal (which I enjoyed in Xanadu) it would be nice after his failure to gain one two years ago...
Edited By HarryGoldfarb on 1271818721
1. Does anyone know how American Idiot is being received? The cast looks good (Gallagher Jr.) and the production team comes from Spring Awakening (Tony winners Tom Hulce as producer and director Michael Mayer). American Idiot was one of my favorite albums back in 2004 but I found the idea of turning it into a musical quite disturbing and corny...
2. What happened to Catch me if you can starring Aaron Tveit? It was expected to be transferred to Broadway but as far as I know it hasn´t happened yet...
3. Has anyone seen the revival of Promises, Promises starring Chenoweth and Hayes?
4. Is The Adams Family so abominable as some people is saying?
5. Does anyone know what happened to Spider Man: Turn off the Dark? Julie Taymor is directing, the music is by Bono and The Edge, and Eiko Ishioka is in charge of the costumes... but it seems that the opening date is always on hold. The whole idea seems weird but I´d like to know what comes out of this...
6. Is Cheyenne Jackson elegible for Finian´s Rainbow? Considering Magilla´s comment on his vocal (which I enjoyed in Xanadu) it would be nice after his failure to gain one two years ago...
Edited By HarryGoldfarb on 1271818721
"If you place an object in a museum, does that make this object a piece of art?" - The Square (2017)
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anonymous1980
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I always thought Kelsey Grammer was a pro-gay Republican a la Dick Cheney since he has worked alongside gay men a lot.Damien wrote:Almost every one I know is boycotting this show because Kelsey Grammar is anti-gay marriage and is also the spokesperson for commercials from some wacko right wing fringe group.
Almost every one I know is boycotting this show because Kelsey Grammar is anti-gay marriage and is also the spokesperson for commercials from some wacko right wing fringe group.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
NY Times
April 19, 2010
THEATER REVIEW | 'LA CAGE AUX FOLLES'
Squint, and the World Is Beautiful
By BEN BRANTLEY
Their plumage is wilting, their wigs are askew, and their bustiers keep slipping south to reveal unmistakably masculine chests. Yet the ladies of the chorus from “La Cage aux Folles” have never looked more appealing than they do in the warm, winning production that opened Sunday night at the Longacre Theater.
Terry Johnson’s inspired revival of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s musical, starring a happily mismatched Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge (in a bravura Broadway debut), delivers the unexpected lesson that in theater, shabby can be not just chic but redemptive. This deliberately disheveled show, incubated at the tiny hit-spawning Menier Chocolate Factory in London, is a far cry from the high-gloss original production of 1983 or the glamorous, soulless revival that opened less than six years ago.
The Riviera nightclub of the title run by Georges (Mr. Grammer) and the setting for a popular racy transvestite revue starring his partner, Albin (Mr. Hodge) looks as if it could do with a coat of paint and perhaps a delousing. Georges, whose dapper evening jacket is definitely not bespoke, has a worn-down, worn-out appearance. And no matter how much rouge and mascara Albin applies, the dumpy, jowly chanteuse he becomes onstage will never resemble the screen siren of his mind’s eye.
As for the Cagelles, the revue’s scrappy six-member corps de ballet (pared down by half from their last Broadway incarnation), let’s just say that even the most myopic club patron isn’t going to mistake them for real live girls. “We are what we are, and what we are is an illusion,” they sing in gravelly chorus in their opening number. But the deception being peddled so adroitly here isn’t one of mistaken sexual identity.
What makes this version work transforming a less-than-great musical into greatly affecting entertainment is its insistence on the saving graces of the characters’ illusions about themselves and, by extension, the illusions of the production in which they appear. As presented here “La Cage” is (you should pardon the expression) a fairy tale, a sweet, corny story that asks us to take people (the good-hearted ones, anyway) at their own valuation.
Try to see it their way, the show suggests; squint hard, and life at this dump will appear, for a second, beautiful. The old-fashioned, feel-good musical (which “La Cage” defiantly is, for better or worse) has always demanded such leaps of faith from its audience. Mr. Johnson’s interpretation coaxes a parallel between the willful make-believe happening onstage and our willingness to subscribe to it. The show’s very plot, we come to realize, is the triumph of musical-theater logic over reality.
That plot, described baldly, is still hard to swallow without gagging, as are some of Mr. Herman’s saccharine-crusted numbers. Adapted from Jean Poiret’s play, the basis for the popular 1978 French film (which Mike Nichols successfully remade in English as “The Birdcage” in 1996), “La Cage” could easily be titled “Jean-Michel Has Two Daddies.”
The sitcom setup is that the rather priggish Jean-Michel (A. J. Shively), sired by Georges (via a one-night stand with a chorus girl) and brought up by Georges and Albin, does not want to bring his fiancée home to mother. Anne (Elena Shaddow), his betrothed, is the daughter of M. Dindon (Fred Applegate), an ultra-right-wing politician who espouses, above all, traditional family values. The anxious Jean-Michel demands that Albin disappear on the night that the Dindons (rounded out by Veanne Cox as the repressed mother) come to dinner.
The ensuing turmoil and resolution can be summed up in the declaration: “Family values? I’ll show you family values!” (You’ve heard that before, right? You certainly have if you’ve been to the new “Addams Family” musical, which lamentably recycles the same idea.) The sentiments are laudable, but the expression of them (despite the French setting) is as apple-pie-sticky as those of an Andy Hardy movie.
I can’t say that Mr. Fierstein’s by-the-numbers book goes out of its way to make this medicinal sugar go down more easily. As written, the characters are either adorably cute or abrasively cartoonish, and often both. The show still takes at least 10 minutes too many to arrive at its predetermined conclusion. Yet I don’t think you’ll become restless at this production.
That’s partly because of the stylish yin and yang of its stars. Mr. Grammer (yes, the one from “Cheers” and “Frasier”) and Mr. Hodge (a multifaceted veteran of the London stage), play it straight and bent, respectively, in equally disarming ways. Albin has always been a natural-born showstopper. But Mr. Hodge, who originated the part in the London revival, brings a fluttery hyperintensity to the role that recharges it.
His Albin has absorbed a host of influences, including Edith Piaf, Marilyn Monroe and, especially, the female impersonators of the British music hall. And he has combined these disparate elements into a jittery defense system that is on (and I mean on) at all times.
You don’t realize how much pain and anger have gone into this self-construction until you hear him do “I Am What I Am,” the show’s signature anthem, at the end of the first act. Mr. Hodge breathes fire here, his hitherto scratchy, campy voice growing into a white-hot blaze. It is and who’d a thunk it? the most electric interpretation of a song on Broadway right now.
Mr. Grammer provides the ideal counterpoint to this hysterical creature, in a cool, modest performance that has its own sneaky charm. That his singing voice is correspondingly quiet, with no muscle-flexing baritone bravado, makes Georges’s over-ripe sentimental ballads (“Look Over There,” “Song on the Sand”) palatable and even touching in their unaffected sincerity.
The rapport between him and Mr. Hodge, grounded in the peppery give and take of a vaudeville team, reminds us that there’s a necessary dash of showbiz to marriage. Like many couples, Georges and Albin have created their own private mise-en-scène and extended it to embrace a theatrical family that includes an over-the-top butler cum maid (Robin de Jesús, from “In the Heights”) and the vain restaurateur next door (Christine Andreas).
The design team Tim Shortall (sets), Matthew Wright (costumes), Nick Richings (lighting), Jonathan Deans (sound) and Richard Mawbey (wigs and makeup) have brought this insular world to physical life with wonderful seediness And the athletic production numbers, choreographed to embrace manly clunkiness by Lynne Page, are a tacky delight, especially that slipshod beach-ball number.
In another context these down-at-heel people who live on their illusions might be pathetic. But don’t worry. This is not “La Cage” as “The Iceman Cometh.” Even tripping over themselves, the Cagelles exude the raw pleasure of people being exactly who they want to be. That’s showbiz, folks. And when Albin leads the company in a beaming version of “The Best of Times,” a song that usually gives me hives, you’re likely to feel that a cramped, decrepit nightclub has become the coziest sanctuary in the world.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play “La Cage Aux Folles” by Jean Poiret; directed by Terry Johnson; choreographed by Lynne Page; musical supervision, orchestrations and dance arrangements by Jason Carr; sets by Tim Shortall; costumes by Matthew Wright; lighting by Nick Richings; sound by Jonathan Deans; wig and makeup design by Richard Mawbey; associate choreographer, Nicholas Cunningham; technical supervisors, Arthur Siccardi and Patrick Sullivan; production stage manager, Kristen Harris; associate producers, Carlos Arana and Robert Driemeyer; musical direction by Todd Ellison; musical coordinator, John Miller; British general management, Diane Benjamin, Pam Skinner and Tom Siracusa; general manager, B. J. Holt; executive producer, Alecia Parker. A Menier Chocolate Factory Production, presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Barry and Fran Weissler and Edwin W. Schloss, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise the Roof 4, Richard Winkler/Bensinger Taylor/Laudenslager Bergère, Arlene Scanlan/John O’Boyle, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Allen Spivak, Jerry Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions and Nederlander Presentations, Inc./ Harvey Weinstein. At the Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, Manhattan; (212) 239-6200. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes.
WITH: Kelsey Grammer (Georges), Douglas Hodge (Albin), Fred Applegate (M. Dindon/M. Renaud), Veanne Cox (Mme. Dindon/Mme. Renaud), Chris Hoch (Francis), Elena Shaddow (Anne), A. J. Shively (Jean-Michel), Christine Andreas (Jacqueline) and Robin de Jesús (Jacob).
April 19, 2010
THEATER REVIEW | 'LA CAGE AUX FOLLES'
Squint, and the World Is Beautiful
By BEN BRANTLEY
Their plumage is wilting, their wigs are askew, and their bustiers keep slipping south to reveal unmistakably masculine chests. Yet the ladies of the chorus from “La Cage aux Folles” have never looked more appealing than they do in the warm, winning production that opened Sunday night at the Longacre Theater.
Terry Johnson’s inspired revival of Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein’s musical, starring a happily mismatched Kelsey Grammer and Douglas Hodge (in a bravura Broadway debut), delivers the unexpected lesson that in theater, shabby can be not just chic but redemptive. This deliberately disheveled show, incubated at the tiny hit-spawning Menier Chocolate Factory in London, is a far cry from the high-gloss original production of 1983 or the glamorous, soulless revival that opened less than six years ago.
The Riviera nightclub of the title run by Georges (Mr. Grammer) and the setting for a popular racy transvestite revue starring his partner, Albin (Mr. Hodge) looks as if it could do with a coat of paint and perhaps a delousing. Georges, whose dapper evening jacket is definitely not bespoke, has a worn-down, worn-out appearance. And no matter how much rouge and mascara Albin applies, the dumpy, jowly chanteuse he becomes onstage will never resemble the screen siren of his mind’s eye.
As for the Cagelles, the revue’s scrappy six-member corps de ballet (pared down by half from their last Broadway incarnation), let’s just say that even the most myopic club patron isn’t going to mistake them for real live girls. “We are what we are, and what we are is an illusion,” they sing in gravelly chorus in their opening number. But the deception being peddled so adroitly here isn’t one of mistaken sexual identity.
What makes this version work transforming a less-than-great musical into greatly affecting entertainment is its insistence on the saving graces of the characters’ illusions about themselves and, by extension, the illusions of the production in which they appear. As presented here “La Cage” is (you should pardon the expression) a fairy tale, a sweet, corny story that asks us to take people (the good-hearted ones, anyway) at their own valuation.
Try to see it their way, the show suggests; squint hard, and life at this dump will appear, for a second, beautiful. The old-fashioned, feel-good musical (which “La Cage” defiantly is, for better or worse) has always demanded such leaps of faith from its audience. Mr. Johnson’s interpretation coaxes a parallel between the willful make-believe happening onstage and our willingness to subscribe to it. The show’s very plot, we come to realize, is the triumph of musical-theater logic over reality.
That plot, described baldly, is still hard to swallow without gagging, as are some of Mr. Herman’s saccharine-crusted numbers. Adapted from Jean Poiret’s play, the basis for the popular 1978 French film (which Mike Nichols successfully remade in English as “The Birdcage” in 1996), “La Cage” could easily be titled “Jean-Michel Has Two Daddies.”
The sitcom setup is that the rather priggish Jean-Michel (A. J. Shively), sired by Georges (via a one-night stand with a chorus girl) and brought up by Georges and Albin, does not want to bring his fiancée home to mother. Anne (Elena Shaddow), his betrothed, is the daughter of M. Dindon (Fred Applegate), an ultra-right-wing politician who espouses, above all, traditional family values. The anxious Jean-Michel demands that Albin disappear on the night that the Dindons (rounded out by Veanne Cox as the repressed mother) come to dinner.
The ensuing turmoil and resolution can be summed up in the declaration: “Family values? I’ll show you family values!” (You’ve heard that before, right? You certainly have if you’ve been to the new “Addams Family” musical, which lamentably recycles the same idea.) The sentiments are laudable, but the expression of them (despite the French setting) is as apple-pie-sticky as those of an Andy Hardy movie.
I can’t say that Mr. Fierstein’s by-the-numbers book goes out of its way to make this medicinal sugar go down more easily. As written, the characters are either adorably cute or abrasively cartoonish, and often both. The show still takes at least 10 minutes too many to arrive at its predetermined conclusion. Yet I don’t think you’ll become restless at this production.
That’s partly because of the stylish yin and yang of its stars. Mr. Grammer (yes, the one from “Cheers” and “Frasier”) and Mr. Hodge (a multifaceted veteran of the London stage), play it straight and bent, respectively, in equally disarming ways. Albin has always been a natural-born showstopper. But Mr. Hodge, who originated the part in the London revival, brings a fluttery hyperintensity to the role that recharges it.
His Albin has absorbed a host of influences, including Edith Piaf, Marilyn Monroe and, especially, the female impersonators of the British music hall. And he has combined these disparate elements into a jittery defense system that is on (and I mean on) at all times.
You don’t realize how much pain and anger have gone into this self-construction until you hear him do “I Am What I Am,” the show’s signature anthem, at the end of the first act. Mr. Hodge breathes fire here, his hitherto scratchy, campy voice growing into a white-hot blaze. It is and who’d a thunk it? the most electric interpretation of a song on Broadway right now.
Mr. Grammer provides the ideal counterpoint to this hysterical creature, in a cool, modest performance that has its own sneaky charm. That his singing voice is correspondingly quiet, with no muscle-flexing baritone bravado, makes Georges’s over-ripe sentimental ballads (“Look Over There,” “Song on the Sand”) palatable and even touching in their unaffected sincerity.
The rapport between him and Mr. Hodge, grounded in the peppery give and take of a vaudeville team, reminds us that there’s a necessary dash of showbiz to marriage. Like many couples, Georges and Albin have created their own private mise-en-scène and extended it to embrace a theatrical family that includes an over-the-top butler cum maid (Robin de Jesús, from “In the Heights”) and the vain restaurateur next door (Christine Andreas).
The design team Tim Shortall (sets), Matthew Wright (costumes), Nick Richings (lighting), Jonathan Deans (sound) and Richard Mawbey (wigs and makeup) have brought this insular world to physical life with wonderful seediness And the athletic production numbers, choreographed to embrace manly clunkiness by Lynne Page, are a tacky delight, especially that slipshod beach-ball number.
In another context these down-at-heel people who live on their illusions might be pathetic. But don’t worry. This is not “La Cage” as “The Iceman Cometh.” Even tripping over themselves, the Cagelles exude the raw pleasure of people being exactly who they want to be. That’s showbiz, folks. And when Albin leads the company in a beaming version of “The Best of Times,” a song that usually gives me hives, you’re likely to feel that a cramped, decrepit nightclub has become the coziest sanctuary in the world.
LA CAGE AUX FOLLES
Music and lyrics by Jerry Herman; book by Harvey Fierstein, based on the play “La Cage Aux Folles” by Jean Poiret; directed by Terry Johnson; choreographed by Lynne Page; musical supervision, orchestrations and dance arrangements by Jason Carr; sets by Tim Shortall; costumes by Matthew Wright; lighting by Nick Richings; sound by Jonathan Deans; wig and makeup design by Richard Mawbey; associate choreographer, Nicholas Cunningham; technical supervisors, Arthur Siccardi and Patrick Sullivan; production stage manager, Kristen Harris; associate producers, Carlos Arana and Robert Driemeyer; musical direction by Todd Ellison; musical coordinator, John Miller; British general management, Diane Benjamin, Pam Skinner and Tom Siracusa; general manager, B. J. Holt; executive producer, Alecia Parker. A Menier Chocolate Factory Production, presented by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Barry and Fran Weissler and Edwin W. Schloss, Bob Bartner/Norman Tulchin, Broadway Across America, Matthew Mitchell, Raise the Roof 4, Richard Winkler/Bensinger Taylor/Laudenslager Bergère, Arlene Scanlan/John O’Boyle, Independent Presenters Network, Olympus Theatricals, Allen Spivak, Jerry Frankel/Bat-Barry Productions and Nederlander Presentations, Inc./ Harvey Weinstein. At the Longacre Theater, 220 West 48th Street, Manhattan; (212) 239-6200. Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes.
WITH: Kelsey Grammer (Georges), Douglas Hodge (Albin), Fred Applegate (M. Dindon/M. Renaud), Veanne Cox (Mme. Dindon/Mme. Renaud), Chris Hoch (Francis), Elena Shaddow (Anne), A. J. Shively (Jean-Michel), Christine Andreas (Jacqueline) and Robin de Jesús (Jacob).
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Cinemanolis
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South Pacific 5/10
I am with Damien on this one. A very average production. Nothing noteworthy at all.
Little Night Music 7/10
I loved this one, when i saw it in London a year ago. I liked it in NY too. Catharine Zeta Jones was very good but Angela Lansbury was better.
God of Carnage 7/10
The play was intetesting, and the cast made the most of it. Well, most of the cast. Janet McTeer, Jeff Daniels and Dylan Baker were all wonderful and Lucy Liu was plain awful. There is a huge gap between her and the other 3 actors.
A Behanding at Spokane 6/10
I love Martin McDonaugh's plays... but not this one. This is average at best. Sam Rockwell comes off best, Anthony Mackie was good too. Christopher Walken was... Christopher Walken. I never liked him as an actor. He always seems to play the same kind of roles. Here he plays his usual persona, in a role probably written specifically for him. And i could hardly hear him (and i was sitting in the 8 row of the orchestra).
The Pride 7/10
A good first play about gay relationships. The chemistry between Ben Whishaw and Hugh Dancy was excellent. The former was particularly good.
A View from the Bridge 6/10
It's always nice to see a revival of this great play by Arthur Miller. However everything about this production was predictable. Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson were good.
Lend Me a Tenor 3/10
This was a total mess. To be fair i saw it's 3rd preview which means it is bound to get better, but still an unpleasant surprise. Tony Shalhoub was bad and Anthony La Paglia was just OK.
Next Fall 6/10
Rises some interesting topics but fails to elevate the material.
La Boheme 7/10
I am no opera lover or expert but this Metropolitan Opera production directed by Franco Zeffirelli was very appealing for me since it was very impressive.Wonderful art direction and sets and good performances (as far as i could tell).
P.S. Thanks Damien for the links. There were really usefull.
Edited By Cinemanolis on 1269483539
I am with Damien on this one. A very average production. Nothing noteworthy at all.
Little Night Music 7/10
I loved this one, when i saw it in London a year ago. I liked it in NY too. Catharine Zeta Jones was very good but Angela Lansbury was better.
God of Carnage 7/10
The play was intetesting, and the cast made the most of it. Well, most of the cast. Janet McTeer, Jeff Daniels and Dylan Baker were all wonderful and Lucy Liu was plain awful. There is a huge gap between her and the other 3 actors.
A Behanding at Spokane 6/10
I love Martin McDonaugh's plays... but not this one. This is average at best. Sam Rockwell comes off best, Anthony Mackie was good too. Christopher Walken was... Christopher Walken. I never liked him as an actor. He always seems to play the same kind of roles. Here he plays his usual persona, in a role probably written specifically for him. And i could hardly hear him (and i was sitting in the 8 row of the orchestra).
The Pride 7/10
A good first play about gay relationships. The chemistry between Ben Whishaw and Hugh Dancy was excellent. The former was particularly good.
A View from the Bridge 6/10
It's always nice to see a revival of this great play by Arthur Miller. However everything about this production was predictable. Liev Schreiber and Scarlett Johansson were good.
Lend Me a Tenor 3/10
This was a total mess. To be fair i saw it's 3rd preview which means it is bound to get better, but still an unpleasant surprise. Tony Shalhoub was bad and Anthony La Paglia was just OK.
Next Fall 6/10
Rises some interesting topics but fails to elevate the material.
La Boheme 7/10
I am no opera lover or expert but this Metropolitan Opera production directed by Franco Zeffirelli was very appealing for me since it was very impressive.Wonderful art direction and sets and good performances (as far as i could tell).
P.S. Thanks Damien for the links. There were really usefull.
Edited By Cinemanolis on 1269483539
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Cinemanolis
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Mister Tee
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For what it's worth, I saw Time Stands Still and found it disappointing. Touches on some issues, but almost in a random way; in the end, it's a simple detiorating-relationship story, dressed up with political observations. Linney is of course good, as are Silverstone and Bogosian, but D'Arcy James is fairly weak in an important role.
Cinemanolis, are you aware of the theatre websites through which you can get discount tickets for most shows?
www.playbill.com
www.broadwaybox.com
www.theatermania.com
The Addams Family has a new director, and has been undergoing re-writes, but the Broadway grapevine says it's still a terrible mess. And Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth hate each other and aren't speaking -- never a good sign.
Everyone I know was underwhelmed by South Pacifi. Except for a newlywed who saw it with her husband after her honeymoon and sobbed, "It's soooo romantic!"
Next To Normal has a good score, but the show itself essentially doesn't go anywhere. It starts at Point A and ends at Point A.
I'm not sure when you'll be here, but a 3rd cast is coming into God Of Carnage. Jeff Daniels from the original cast is returning but, interesting, he'll be playing James Gandolfini's role. The estimable Dylan Baker takes his old role, and the wondrous Janet McTeer plays Daniels's wife, the role which won Marcia Gay Harden the Tony. Lucy Liu is Baker's wife (Hope Davis in the original).
You can't go wrong with Martin McDonagh. By the way it's a BeHANDing, not BeHEADing -- something I only realized after walking past the theatre at least a dozen times.
www.playbill.com
www.broadwaybox.com
www.theatermania.com
The Addams Family has a new director, and has been undergoing re-writes, but the Broadway grapevine says it's still a terrible mess. And Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth hate each other and aren't speaking -- never a good sign.
Everyone I know was underwhelmed by South Pacifi. Except for a newlywed who saw it with her husband after her honeymoon and sobbed, "It's soooo romantic!"
Next To Normal has a good score, but the show itself essentially doesn't go anywhere. It starts at Point A and ends at Point A.
I'm not sure when you'll be here, but a 3rd cast is coming into God Of Carnage. Jeff Daniels from the original cast is returning but, interesting, he'll be playing James Gandolfini's role. The estimable Dylan Baker takes his old role, and the wondrous Janet McTeer plays Daniels's wife, the role which won Marcia Gay Harden the Tony. Lucy Liu is Baker's wife (Hope Davis in the original).
You can't go wrong with Martin McDonagh. By the way it's a BeHANDing, not BeHEADing -- something I only realized after walking past the theatre at least a dozen times.
"Y'know, that's one of the things I like about Mitt Romney. He's been consistent since he changed his mind." -- Christine O'Donnell
Ummm... Okay, my recommendations are based solely on what I've read/heard, as I've never actually seen any of these shows (on Broadway. I've seen one in a local production)Cinemanolis wrote:I'll be in New York for 12 days, and i'm planning to see 5-6 shows.
I've already booked tickets for
A Little Night Musical
A View from the Bridge
and unfortunately "La Boheme" at the Met is sold out.
I'm also considering
Time Stands Still
A Behading at Spokane
The Addams Family
God of Carnage
Lend Me a Tenor
Red
Pride
South Pacific
In the Heights
Next to Normal
Any recommendations from this list, or any others?
Skip God of Carnage. It's a really overrated play. While I suspect it plays better than it reads
Lend Me a Tenor is quite a good theatre farce, in the same vein as Noises Off. Not as good, but if it's a good production, it's worth seeing (the one I saw).
Everyone not named Damien raved about South Pacific, though it has book issues.
Love the cast recordings of In the Heights and Next to Normal.
Red is quite good, but I think I'm a little more reserved in my praise than the London criitcs were.
The Pride is very good, and I think I liked it more than the London/NY critics.
Martin McDonagh is the best playwright of his generation and I'm definitely looking forward to A Behanding in Spokane.
Don't know much about Time Stands Still.
So, of the list, I'd go with The Pride, A Behanding in Spokane and one of the musicals that isn't The Addams Family.
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FilmFan720
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I saw The Addams Family here in Chicago in a pre-Broadway run and it was a complete mess (and not very funny). I know they are working on it and it may come together, but as of now I wouldn't recommend it...unless you really want the chance to see Nathan Lane on stage (in a good, but not great, performance)
"Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good."
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Cinemanolis
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- Location: Greece
I'll be in New York for 12 days, and i'm planning to see 5-6 shows.
I've already booked tickets for
A Little Night Musical
A View from the Bridge
and unfortunately "La Boheme" at the Met is sold out.
I'm also considering
Time Stands Still
A Behading at Spokane
The Addams Family
God of Carnage
Lend Me a Tenor
Red
Pride
South Pacific
In the Heights
Next to Normal
Any recommendations from this list, or any others?
Edited By Cinemanolis on 1267563979
I've already booked tickets for
A Little Night Musical
A View from the Bridge
and unfortunately "La Boheme" at the Met is sold out.
I'm also considering
Time Stands Still
A Behading at Spokane
The Addams Family
God of Carnage
Lend Me a Tenor
Red
Pride
South Pacific
In the Heights
Next to Normal
Any recommendations from this list, or any others?
Edited By Cinemanolis on 1267563979