Broadway musicals

[Sarah]

Parade started previews on Broadway tonight and antisemitic protesters were protesting or chanting at the audience outside the theatre… seriously I have no words.

 

[peibeck]

Going to NYC in late April and seeing 7 shows in 5 days. but also

I'll be catching 2 plays, 3 revivals, and 2 new musicals. I'm seeing "Prima Facie," "Sweeney Todd," "Shucked," "Camelot," "Dancin'," "Kimberly Akimbo," and "Life of Pi."

"New York, New York" and "& Juliet" were on my list, but didn't work out with seats or timing. Guessing I stand a good chance of catching them on tour.

If anyone else enjoys plays, I saw "Goodnight, Oscar" in Chicago last year before it starts its B'way limited run, and it's really, really good. I was skeptical when I heard about Sean Hayes in the lead role, but he was incredible, mesmerizing, a true star turn.

 

[VGThuy]

Parade started previews on Broadway tonight and antisemitic protesters were protesting or chanting at the audience outside the theatre… seriously I have no words.

I am so angry; I am shaking. This is disgusting on so many levels.

 

[Kasey]

I've never been much of a musicals person, but I got the season ticket for "Broadway comes to Reno" this year to try something new. Three shows in, there hasn't been a bad one in the bunch, although my favorite so far has been "Ain't too proud" because I grew up listening to my mom and dad's Motown music. Wow, there are a lot of highly talented people around!

 

[emason]

One of my closest friends and I first went to Phantom in 1988, the year it opened on Broadway. On and off during the following years we’ve seen it together another 3 times plus a time or 2 when out-of-town visitors wanted to go. I have also seen it once in London. Last night the friend and I went again; there was no way we would not go one more time once the closing notice was posted.

It was fabulous; one of strongest casts we’ve seen in years. This is the first Christine we’ve seen who wasn’t a total victim; she had spunk and was taking control of her life. It was a really interesting interpretation. Emilie Kouatchou is a Black actress making her Bway debut in this role.

Phantom was played by Laird Macintosh, one of the covers for the role. He was thinner, more lithe than other Phantoms I’ve seen and he was outstanding. He could really move about the stage and brought such depth and interpretation to the role. Up close and personal you can really see what a physically demanding role this is.

We see splurged on expensive tickets and we were 4 rows from the stage. If I had stood up when the chandelier began to rise, I could have touched it - we were that close. We also got a really good look at the costumes being that close; I was almost blinded by the sparkle in the Il Muto scene, there was so much metallic thread in the outfits.

I could go on and on, but you get the idea: it was a wonderful, thrilling night and the audience was terrific. We loved every single second of the experience.

 

[peibeck]

I've met Howard McGillin, who has played the Phantom longer than anyone else on Broadway, multiple times and he's a tall string bean. Hard to imagine an even skinnier actor in the part. (He's currently in the production of "Parade" people have been discussing.)

The first time I saw "Phantom" was the first performance after it had won the Tony for Best Musical, which also happened to be Patti Cohenhour's first performance as Christine. Not sure how many times I've seen the full show. When I lived in NYC one of my work gigs was bartending in Broadway theaters and I did several short stints at the Majestic where "Phantom" was playing.

 

[4skating]

Going to NYC in late April and seeing 7 shows in 5 days. but also

I'll be catching 2 plays, 3 revivals, and 2 new musicals. I'm seeing "Prima Facie," "Sweeney Todd," "Shucked," "Camelot," "Dancin'," "Kimberly Akimbo," and "Life of Pi."

"New York, New York" and "& Juliet" were on my list, but didn't work out with seats or timing. Guessing I stand a good chance of catching them on tour.

If anyone else enjoys plays, I saw "Goodnight, Oscar" in Chicago last year before it starts its B'way limited run, and it's really, really good. I was skeptical when I heard about Sean Hayes in the lead role, but he was incredible, mesmerizing, a true star turn.

That looks like a fabulous few days of theater. I wasn't aware of the "Camelot" but now I'm just envious of you getting to see it. I watched a Youtube video of Philippa Soo and her Arthur (name escapes me but he looks really young) and it was enjoyable. But whoa...Lancelot! Jordan Donica has a fabulous operatic voice but I'm sure he'll match well with PS.

"If Ever I Would Leave You"

 

[peibeck]

@4skating I just learned that Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing," "A Few Good Men," the recent adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird") has re-written the book for the new Lincoln Center revival of "Camelot."

Also I'm very perturbed that Telecharge changed my seats (from the second row to... the 16th!!!) for "Life of Pi." Apparently they claim it's due to either the set extending into the auditorium or the seat is now "limited view" due to scene design issues they were unaware of when I purchased my ticket. Considering my seat was on the aisle near center orchestra that seems extremely unusual. Of course the $200+ ticket price didn't change despite my being bumped back 14 rows.

And early word of mouth on the revival of Bob Fosse's "Dancin' " is apparently which is very discouraging as I was super hyped to see it. Apparently they've changed multiple things from the original production Fosse created and word is some of the dancers aren't up to the choreography.

 

[paskatefan]

@4skating I just learned that Aaron Sorkin ("The West Wing," "A Few Good Men," the recent adaptation of "To Kill a Mockingbird") has re-written the book for the new Lincoln Center revival of "Camelot."

I am very interested in what this revival of "Camelot" will be like. It is my favorite musical of all time (I adore the original Broadway cast recording of it with Richard Burton, Julie Andrews, & Robert Goulet). I refuse to watch the movie version of it again (nothing against Richard Harris, but Vanessa Redgrave can't sing, and I want "my" Julie in the role).

 

[mattiecat13]

So happy Funny Girl was extended to early September. I’m taking my niece to NYC in July and we’ll be able to see it. But the ticket prices!

 

[Wyliefan]

I'm very fond of Camelot. But my hopes sank when I saw that Sorkin was involved. The material requires a delicate touch; Sorkin is among the most hamfisted of writers.

 

[VALuvsMKwan]

I'm very fond of Camelot. But my hopes sank when I saw that Sorkin was involved. The material requires a delicate touch; Sorkin is among the most hamfisted of writers.

"You can't handle the sword!!!!!"

 

[peibeck]

I'm very fond of Camelot. But my hopes sank when I saw that Sorkin was involved. The material requires a delicate touch; Sorkin is among the most hamfisted of writers.

It's been probably over a decade since I've seen a production of the show, so I doubt I'll remember what has drastically changed. The last time I saw it was the tour with Michael York, who was like 70 and far, far too old to be playing Arthur.

I believe previews start this week, so word will probably be out soon on how it's been updated.

 

[Wyliefan]

Arthur is so often played by an older man. I give this production credit at least for casting a young Arthur. (He's so young he's even younger than his son, Mordred! )

But I'll be haunting BroadwayWorld to see what people are saying, for sure.

 

[VGThuy]

I expect a lot of walking and talking... emphasis on the talking. "Talk talk talk talk talk talk." I also won't expect any subtext about how Camelot is a parallel to the failed American experiment... it'll be in the text and shouted out loud by Mordred or whomever. Imagine the "Lusty Month of May" being symbolic of today's social media-influencer, instant gratification culture.

 

[screech]

Mirvish just revealed the shows that will be playing in Toronto in the 2023-2024 season, and it looks like a great line up. I'll definitely be seeing 'Six', and maybe '42nd Street,' 'Aladdin', and/or 'Les Miserables'.
Though I am kind of surprised - didn't Jagged Little Pill just play in Toronto?

 

[Theatregirl1122]

Mirvish just revealed the shows that will be playing in Toronto in the 2023-2024 season, and it looks like a great line up. I'll definitely be seeing 'Six', and maybe '42nd Street,' 'Aladdin', and/or 'Les Miserables'.
Though I am kind of surprised - didn't Jagged Little Pill just play in Toronto?

Man, if the hunger for Jagged Little Pill is that strong, I'm shocked.

 

[Wyliefan]

Because I'm in the mood for a hot take ... I wonder what the difference is between Roald Dahl's publishers rewriting him, and Sorkin rewriting Lerner's book for Camelot.

 

[MacMadame]

Because I'm in the mood for a hot take ... I wonder what the difference is between Roald Dahl's publishers rewriting him, and Sorkin rewriting Lerner's book for Camelot.

One is being done in a way that people reading the books won't necessarily know it is happening and the other is being done totally in the open with full credit to Sorkin for his changes.

 

[Orm Irian]

Because I'm in the mood for a hot take ... I wonder what the difference is between Roald Dahl's publishers rewriting him, and Sorkin rewriting Lerner's book for Camelot.

Well, in addition to the fact that stage plays are always directed, and that inherently means making adaptations and changes to the script for reasons that range from fitting the production to the performance space and resources (e.g., size of orchestra) available to making sure their audience gets the point, there's a long tradition of writers revising and updating the books of musicals both to make them more accessible to modern audiences and to make them more structured and enjoyable - see everything from Stephen Fry (I think it was) completely revamping the script of Me and My Girl so that it wasn't 50% reliant on stock gags from known performers, to various companies' updatings of G&S lyrics to make the satire contemporary. This seems to be pretty much in the latter tradition.

 

[paskatefan]

Well, in addition to the fact that stage plays are always directed, and that inherently means making adaptations and changes to the script for reasons that range from fitting the production to the performance space and resources (e.g., size of orchestra) available to making sure their audience gets the point, there's a long tradition of writers revising and updating the books of musicals both to make them more accessible to modern audiences and to make them more structured and enjoyable - see everything from Stephen Fry (I think it was) completely revamping the script of Me and My Girl so that it wasn't 50% reliant on stock gags from known performers, to various companies' updatings of G&S lyrics to make the satire contemporary. This seems to be pretty much in the latter tradition.

Well, I hope that TPTB don't destroy the essence of the original Camelot the way the current revival of "Oklahoma" turned out. "Oklahoma" is one of my favorite musicals (confession - I'm a diehard Lerner & Loewe/Rodgers & Hammerstein fan), but the current national tour version of it is cringeworthy, especially the way the dream sequence was done (a dancer wearing a t-shirt saying "Dream, Baby Dream" & dancing to loud, blaring heavy metal sounding music). I'm not surprised that so many people walked out during the intermission (the dream sequence began the 2nd half of the show). My husband & I were tempted to walk out but we stayed for the rest of the show, extremely disappointed in how the revival was handled. We saw a revival of it @ least 10 years ago that was fabulous. The current one, IMHO, is an abomination. It breaks my heart to see a well loved musical like "Oklahoma" get butchered this way.

 

[peibeck]

@paskatefan Apparently one of the changes in the new "Camelot" is that Lancelot now sings "I Loved You Once in Silence."

And Sher/Sorkin have taken all the magic mythology out of the story. Merlin is not a wizard so much as Arthur's political advisor, for example.

That being said, the early word of mouth is quite favorable from the first two previews.

 

[gkelly]

So no Morgan le Fay?

 

[VGThuy]

Since we're on the subject:

 

[Wyliefan]

So no Morgan le Fay?

A BroadwayWorld poster reports that she's now a scientist instead of a sorceress.

 

[VGThuy]

A BroadwayWorld poster reports that she's now a scientist instead of a sorceress.

These sorts of changes are "old-hat" for Broadway now, but it's pretty daring for Bartlett Sher, who is known for being really faithful to the look and spirit of the original productions but, with subtlety and through direction and emphasizing certain acting choices, manages to find new angles in the story/scenes to bring in new perspectives and different meanings or added depth (think Lady Thiang in The King and I, a role that is usually overshadowed but ended up being a highlight in his production). These changes I'm hearing for Camelot are surprising for a Sher production, but maybe he's tired of being known as the "safe and traditional with a modern sensibility" director.

 

[peibeck]

Well the book of the original production of "Camelot" wasn't all that favorable in the eyes of the critics even 50+ years ago, it was lauded mostly for its score and performances.

And in other news, "Parade" had to cancel its performance tonight, where a lot of the NY press (including the Times) were supposed to be in attendance to review the show. Apparently technical gremlins caused the cancelation (which had a matinee today with so such problems). The audience had been seated and the curtain delayed 15-20 minutes before they announced the show would NOT go on. Talk about raining on someone's "Parade."

 

[VGThuy]

Well the book of the original production of "Camelot" wasn't all that favorable in the eyes of the critics even 50+ years ago, it was lauded mostly for its score and performances.

And in other news, "Parade" had to cancel its performance tonight, where a lot of the NY press (including the Times) were supposed to be in attendance to review the show. Apparently technical gremlins caused the cancelation (which had a matinee today with so such problems). The audience had been seated and the curtain delayed 15-20 minutes before they announced the show would NOT go on. Talk about raining on someone's "Parade."

Yeah, I was going to say that a lot of Broadway die hards have told me that even Julie Andrews doesn’t seem that fond of Camelot but did it as a favor for Lerner and Lowe. But it does have a legacy and its fans. I think it’s one of those shows where people feel freer to play around with since the book gave Lerner so many issues and people still felt he didn’t quite stick the landing on that one.

 

[taf2002]

I saw the trailer to Some Like it Hot broadway musical today. It looked fantastic. I told DH we need to go to New York while the original cast is there. It's very inclusive - the cast was picked by ability not race, like The Bridgertons. I think everyone was selected for their beauty & talent. There is one black & one white men as Josephine & Daphne & Sugar is black. I didn't see the white man dressed as a woman but the black man is gorgeous that way.

As for POTO, I love the music but when we saw it DH & I left at 1st intermission. In fact most of the books of ALW musicals are not very good IMO.

 

[peibeck]

Man, if the hunger for Jagged Little Pill is that strong, I'm shocked.

The tour is coming to the Fox in St. Louis, where I have season tickets, next year and they didn't even offer it in the subscription. (You can get it as an extra, or swap out one show in the regular series for one of the shows that aren't in the subscription.) I honestly have zero interest in it and haven't heard much about the show that made it sound good, although I do like Alanis' album.

The tour of "Funny Girl" is on our subscription and is the show I'd most likely swap out (maybe for return engagements of either "Come From Away" or "Aladdin") unless they get a star name in the lead that piques my interest (i.e. not Lea Michele).

We just saw the tour of "Tootsie" tonight. Great book, the supporting cast was amazing, but the score and both leads were.... underwhelming to me.