Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[Browncoat]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

I think theatres need to start the show by announcing that the show is NOT a concert and audience members cannot sing or film or have their phones on during the performance.

And follow through by escorting offenders to the exit.

[PRgal]

16 minutes ago, Browncoat said:

And follow through by escorting offenders to the exit.

Though I recall that at the Lion King, they announced that phones will "scare the animals" (LOL!!!)

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/J-Harrison-Ghee-Out-of-SOME-LIKE-IT-HOT-for-At-Least-6-Weeks-to-Undergo-Surgery-20230830

Quote

J. Harrison Ghee has revealed in an Instagram story that they will be out of Some Like It Hot for at least six weeks in order to undergo surgery. 

In the Instagram story, Ghee stated, "I'm okay, I will be okay, I am so at peace and grateful for this moment of restoration, of healing to come. And I hope that you will continue to support the incredible cast of Some Like It Hot at the Shubert Theatre." 

DeMarius Copes will be taking over the role of Jerry/Daphne for Ghee. 

 

[Luckylyn]

It’s so rude to the performers to be disruptive during the show.  It’s also unfair for the audience who are paying to see professionals having to endure amateurs creating distractions so people don’t get to fully enjoy the performance.  For some paying for a ticket means getting to enjoy the live show free of audience disruptions which is my preference.  But for others paying for a ticket means they can sing along uninvited.

I know some shows started having singalong days where audience participation is encouraged.  This would provide options for people who want to be vocal during the show and also provide days where the audience has to be quiet so people can make choices about what show experience they want.

[Quof]

Cue the "But I can't go on Tuesdays for the sing-alongs, not fair.  So I'm going to treat Wednesday's show as a sing-along." 

Edited August 31, 2023 by Quof

[Spartan Girl]

16 hours ago, PRgal said:

Though I recall that at the Lion King, they announced that phones will "scare the animals" (LOL!!!)

That was clever. They did something similar with Beetlejuice saying that offenders would be dragged to hell or something like that lol.

[Scarlett45]

On 8/16/2023 at 11:00 PM, aradia22 said:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/New-Jason-Robert-BrownTaylor-Mac-Musical-MIDNIGHT-IN-THE-GARDEN-OF-GOOD-AND-EVIL-to-Premiere-at-Goodman-Theatre-20230816

Usually like JRB's scores (minus Honeymoon in Vegas, etc.) The only Taylor Mac show I've seen is Gary (which I hated aside from seeing Nathan Lane on stage). 

Strong cast for the reading. Curious to see who goes to Chicago.

I want to take my Mom to see this! I think she would love it. 
 

Audra MacDonald is going to be in Chicago at the Lyric Opera for one night only Friday Oct 6, but I have other financial commitments. Bummer. 
 

I am going to see Beetlejuice with my friend Nov 7th. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

On 4/11/2023 at 7:54 PM, ebk57 said:

I recommend Company, Girl From the North Country and Hadestown if you want to see a few shows, but skip the entire season subscription. 

Got an offer yesterday for 2 or 3 show subscriptions and picked these 3! 

[ebk57]

8 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Got an offer yesterday for 2 or 3 show subscriptions and picked these 3! 

Hope you enjoy them!  Looking forward to your thoughts. 

We're seeing Girl From the North Country in December and Company in March at the Kennedy Center.

[DisneyBoy]

If anyone has the English lyrics for the new translation of Rebecca currently running in the West End, I'd love to read the new lyrics to the title song.

 

No spoilers otherwise though - still haven't seen the show :)

[aradia22]

I'm waiting on Here Lies Love until my parents can go with me. Hopefully it'll still be open late October. I might try to see Hadestown now while I'm not busy. 

I'm debating whether or not to see I Can Get It For You Wholesale at CSC. Strong cast. $35 preview tickets if you're under 35. But the story doesn't appeal to me and I don't imagine the songs will either. Walk on Through depends on how far into December I might still be in the city. I think I I have to rule out Buena Vista Social Club unless my plans radically change and I don't leave until around Christmas. Unfortunately I have to miss another Michael R. Jackson show because I'm just not going to be around in February. Too bath, Teeth sounds cool. 

Suffs and Lempicka have announced so that changes my budgeting. Right now of the shows I don't have tickets for yet, I want to see The Notebook, Merrily We Roll Along, The Lonely Few, Suffs, and Lempicka. Everything else is negotiable.

[wknt3]

On 8/31/2023 at 11:29 AM, Spartan Girl said:

That was clever. They did something similar with Beetlejuice saying that offenders would be dragged to hell or something like that lol.

Given the news the last couple of weeks it seems like they needed to add some more to the warning...

[EtheltoTillie]

I'm definitely wanting to see Merrily We Roll Along.  My friend went to the off-Broadway show last year.  It seems largely sold out for the new run, but I have a connection to house seats. In the meantime I recommend watching the documentary about the original production.  I rented it the other day.  So interesting!  It's called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened.  Produced by Lonny Price, one of the original cast members. Interviews with Jason Alexander and many of the other cast members.  Lots of original era footage of rehearsals and so on. 

Edited September 27, 2023 by EtheltoTillie

[ebk57]

5 hours ago, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm definitely wanting to see Merrily We Roll Along.  My friend went to the off-Broadway show last year.  It seems largely sold out for the new run, but I have a connection to house seats. In the meantime I recommend watching the documentary about the original production.  I rented it the other day.  So interesting!  It's called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened.  Produced by Lonny Price, one of the original cast members. Interviews with Jason Alexander and many of the other cast members.  Lots of original era footage of rehearsals and so on. 

We're seeing it in January and I'm really looking forward to it!  I saw the original production in previews (they were still using the paper swimming pool) and even though I'm sure the show will never work, I absolutely love the score and the old friends theme touches me deeply.  I've seen a few productions since the original and it's too bad the book is unfixable.  Doesn't stop me from buying tickets each time!

The documentary is wonderful. 

[EtheltoTillie]

7 hours ago, ebk57 said:

We're seeing it in January and I'm really looking forward to it!  I saw the original production in previews (they were still using the paper swimming pool) and even though I'm sure the show will never work, I absolutely love the score and the old friends theme touches me deeply.  I've seen a few productions since the original and it's too bad the book is unfixable.  Doesn't stop me from buying tickets each time!

The documentary is wonderful. 

Wow that’s amazing you saw the original.  I have never seen any version so I don’t know about the book problems. I know the reverse timeline is supposedly problematic, but I think Betrayal was successful with that structure. 

[aradia22]

https://playbill.com/article/some-like-it-hot-announces-broadway-closing-date

Quote

Some Like It Hot has set a closing date for its Broadway run. The final performance of the musical, based on the 1959 film written and directed by Billy Wilder, will be December 30. At closing, it will have played 483 performances. 

The show officially opened December 11, 2022 at the Shubert Theatre after previews beginning November 1. Nominated for 13 Tony Awards for 2022, the musical took home four trophies: Casey Nicholaw for Best Choreography, Charlie Rosen and Bryan Carter for Best Orchestrations, Gregg Barnes for Best Costumes in a Musical, and J. Harrison Ghee for Best Lead Actor in a Musical. Ghee made history alongside Alex Newell (who won Best Featured Actor in a Musical for Shucked), becoming the first openly non-binary performers to win the top Broadway honor.

A national tour will launch in September 2024 and a West End production will follow in 2025.

 

[SusieQ]

On 9/27/2023 at 4:07 PM, EtheltoTillie said:

I'm definitely wanting to see Merrily We Roll Along.  My friend went to the off-Broadway show last year.  It seems largely sold out for the new run, but I have a connection to house seats. In the meantime I recommend watching the documentary about the original production.  I rented it the other day.  So interesting!  It's called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Happened.  Produced by Lonny Price, one of the original cast members. Interviews with Jason Alexander and many of the other cast members.  Lots of original era footage of rehearsals and so on. 

I've got tickets for the end of November and I'm super excited.

[ebk57]

On 9/28/2023 at 5:45 AM, EtheltoTillie said:

Wow that’s amazing you saw the original.  I have never seen any version so I don’t know about the book problems. I know the reverse timeline is supposedly problematic, but I think Betrayal was successful with that structure. 

From what I remember, I also think Betrayal worked.  The thing with Merrily is the book isn't really great and the characters aren't really likeable.  Not that a character has to be likeable to work, but it does have to be well written.  Something about the book doesn't hang together, but for me, the score totally makes up for it and I'll see the show any time I can. 

I have a friend with connections at the NYTW and he tried to get me house seats when it was there.  Well, actually, he did get me house seats, but after I'd already figured it was impossible so I'd gotten tickets to something else.  And we had a friend traveling with us and he could only get 2, so I had to turn them down.  It killed me, but at least I get to see it now.  I hope you can see it. 

 

Speaking of house seats, I have a friend who worked for Disney Theatrical and when Lion King first opened, we joked about me calling her on Saturday morning for house seats Saturday night...and then we laughed and laughed.  We'd arrived in town Thursday and she called me Friday to ask what I was doing Saturday night... and yeah, we saw Lion King from the center front mezz.  An breathtakingly theatrical show, even though it's not actually very good. 

[Spartan Girl]

Saw the national tour of To Kill A Mockingbird. Richard Thomas aka John Boy was great as Atticus. Is it me or does his voice sometimes sound like Tom Hanks? Anyway, whether you love or hate Aaron Sorkin, he did a pretty good job with the script. The original novel, in hindsight, tries to make it seem like all the racist white people should still be pitied because they’re poor and going through hard times, but Sorkin’s script makes it clear that it’s still no excuse, so I liked that.

[aradia22]

I don't know if this will interest anyone but I saw my first show of the fall. It was the 92Y tribute to Howard Ashman. I enjoyed it for what it was, but it was also a bit of a disappointment. It ran under 80 minutes with no intermission (I turn my phone off so I can't give a more exact time). It was advertised with Christian Borle's name but he did not narrate or perform. His directing was completely behind the scenes. So the most notable names for the evening were John Cariani and Manu Narayan. Heather Ayers was the other adult. Nadina Hassan and Khadija Sankoh appeared fresh out of college. 

It was like a good cruise ship performance (I think cruise ship performers are terrible) or like a more intimate show at a Disney theme park (since they often call in Broadway talent). The script found some nice little moments but I guess I expected more humor from Christian Borle and it was missing the magic of lyrics & lyricists which is hearing from the actual composer or lyricist or a close collaborator or someone who has intimately studied their work. It felt a little like a pleasant but not terribly informed youtube video essay. There are definitely better shows I could have rushed for almost $40. I still cried but Howard Ashman/Disney stuff is a weakness of mine.

There were some familiar songs that were highlights like Poor Unfortunate Souls, Proud of Your Boy, and Mean Green Mother From Outer Space. Overall, though, it was a bit lackluster with the Disney songs and Suddenly Seymour. No major insights into Howard's life or work and the actors just sort of presented together, but they did spent a good chunk of time on the deep cuts from Smile and Babe and there was one song from Rosewater that was performed in a really lovely way. It always makes me sad thinking of what Howard would have done artistically if his life hadn't been cut short. He was at the height of his powers. Who else might he have collaborated with? In the non-Disney work there's a thread of cynicism that only really works well in Little Shop of Horrors. The time he was working was definitely not my favorite period of musical theater. I hear more Maltby and Shire and Marvin Hamlisch than Kander and Ebb and Sondheim. Partially it's the sound of the time. It's the mix of the proto-contemporary musical theater sound and the vaguely folksy saccharine mush of 70s music. (And I like the Carpenters.) Partially I think it's that these adult stories concern quiet characters with complex issues but Howard really thrived on simple stories with passionate, earnest characters. To me, that's what ties Little Shop and the Disney stuff together. And then the cynicism and commentary is kind of layered on top. Also, why is there a song for the beauty pageant photographer? It was an okay night out but the train ride back with all the Halloween costumed characters was not fun. Why are the subways so hot at the end of October?

[aradia22]

I went to Lea Michele's solo debut at Carnegie Hall last night. More thoughts to come... maybe? No setlist in the program so I think it was up in the air for a while but I can work to recall the setlist if that interests anyone. I wouldn't call it uneven exactly, but it felt like a bit of a marathon so while she was fine throughout, there were definitely moments she seemed to be saving her voice for and places where she really shone. Also, maybe it's just me but I felt like her upper register was a little shaky and she seemed more comfortable in her mezzo belting range. While she was holding back a bit, the vocals were still fairly flawless. I do think she was slightly overamplified but that's been a problem at Carnegie Hall before. Jonathan Groff was an expected but very welcome guest. I wasn't thrilled when Darren Criss appeared but he held his own. Unlike in the past concert I saw where he was replacing someone and sang songs that were way beyond him, they picked songs that were not big challenges and he held his own. No outfit changes. I have some feelings about the patter that I might dig into more. In a way, it was a performance of gratitude and (not entirely sincere) humility. No real acknowledgement of wrongdoing, but that wasn't obligated on a big night for her, but it did seem... like a carefully spun narrative. That said, she's more charismatic than I expected as a performer and surprisingly funny. I can see how she would have done okay in Funny Girl. It's definitely practiced, but it's not as awkward as she was when she was playing Rachel Berry trying to be funny as Fanny Brice. It was the likable, amusing patter you'd expect from a competent cabaret performer. She did manage to make it feel surprisingly intimate even in a bigger venue. The crowd was a little rowdy (nothing crazy) but you had to forgive people cheering, talking a bit, and the guy behind me humming a little. 

[Ancaster]

Last night I was lucky enough to see Alan Cumming and Ari Shapiro (NPR correspondent and frequent Pink Martini guest singer) in their lovely little show Och and Oy: A Considered Cabaret.  It was at Ari's beautiful new hometown theatre and so there was a definite "home court advantage" with references to his local high school, downtown LQBTQ+++ clubs, etc.*  There was a lot more "talk" than in a regular cabaret and they have a great rapport and well-balanced singing voices.  Alan Cumming is definitely more at ease with the stagecraft side of things, but it was a fun show, with a bit of politics thrown in, and a good crowd.

*  Funny story: Alan Cumming's driver for one of his first big shows is now the director of the theatre we were at!

[Scarlett45]

Beetlejuice opened in Chicago-was fun but not something I’d see again. It was funny and meta but really rested on the film. 

It was better than The Adams Family & Tootsie which were both disappointing but not by much.

The actor who played Beetlejuice could NOT sing at all, he just skreeched. The strongest actor was the woman who played Delia, she looked so much like a young Catherine O’Hara and she was so funny!

I’d just watch the film again next October, but the show rested on the nostalgia of the movie. 

[aradia22]

Saw Here Lies Love tonight. I might have more thoughts in the coming days but I wanted to get some thoughts down right now while it's fresh in my mind. First of all, I thought it was a great show for a $35 rush ticket and I would recommend it. I wanted to be in the standing area (orchestra) but the mezz was not bad. I do have binoculars but they actually made smart use of the screens to make up for the audience's distance from the actors. They also make smart use of levels. It reminded me of both KPOP and Great Comet. 

I was highly impressed with the talent of the entire cast, especially on a two-show day. Conrad was out but his understudy (Aaron Alcaraz) was fantastic (and I imagine is the superior vocalist) but Arielle Jacobs really impressed me as Imelda. I've heard some criticisms of how she wasn't able to bridge the gaps in the narrative and the transition from country girl to dictator's wife but I don't lay the blame at her feet. For what the show asks of her, she fully commits and gives a fantastic performance. They really make use of her Disney princess energy and there's a slyness to her as her personal mythologizing is counteracted by Estrella. A lot of Evita comparisons but I thought it was smart to not simply have a "Che" in Ninoy but also bring back Estrella as a recurring voice. And Why Don't You Love Me felt much more impactful than a Don't Cry For Me Argentina. I do think it goes for a Cabaret indictment of the audience move but it's also very forgiving because it encourages audience participation throughout. You can also just... choose not to participate when it asks you to stand up and clap for other problematic leaders. I did miss a few words here and there but not much. I liked the use of screens and platforms, locating the cast in different areas of the theater though I think walking around in the orchestra could get tiresome. 

I understand that they didn't want to be Evita (with an all-male creative team) but I do think they were a little too sympathetic and facile with the storytelling. The emphasis on love at the beginning makes it seem like Imelda was just broken-hearted when Ninoy broke up with her for being too tall and was desperate to please her husband and then became addicted to pills and girl bossed too close to the sun. It's better than the entirely calculating and mercenary version of Eva Peron but it does try a little too hard to sand off the rough edges and make her more sympathetic. I wasn't deeply offended, but I can understand the criticism.

Costuming was solid. Not standout but there were moments and I appreciated the quick changes and the things the clothes were communicating. Choreography was distinctly... fine. Serviceable. 

Maybe I should have led with this, but I felt like I met the show where it was. I felt this way about KPOP too but even more so about Here Lies Love. I think a lot of criticisms are coming from people who wanted the show to be something else rather than accepting what it is. I knew it was going to be 90 minutes (I think it actually ran a little longer but I'm never entirely clear when shows start because I turn off my phone and don't wear a watch.) From very early on, I interpreted the show as an exploration of propaganda. It feels like a mix between a historical pageant and a political rally. While I referenced a bunch of other shows, it's not trying to be a traditional musical. There are some more traditional musical theater style numbers. But most of the time, it feels like it's directly speaking to the audience, persuading, entertaining, cajoling, instructing, etc. Asking for more depth in character relationships or book scenes is missing what the show is. And while there are things they could have hammered harder, I can read quickly so I didn't miss anything on the screens. And I liked that they were more subtle. They could have just had Ninoy yelling at her like her Che. But they slid in Estrella during key moments to counteract even her interpretation of events. I feel like if you thought the show was telling you a story, you missed the point. This felt like a jumble of competing narratives and in the way it was communicated with that heavy sense of propaganda in the air, I really enjoyed going on that journey. Also, a bunch of the songs were catchy and the cast sang the hell out of them. 

[choclatechip45]

I saw Shucked today. I enjoyed it. The jokes are corny. Alex Newell's voice is amazing!

[Spartan Girl]

On 11/26/2023 at 11:42 PM, choclatechip45 said:

I saw Shucked today. I enjoyed it. The jokes are corny. Alex Newell's voice is amazing!

It’s going to be at my theater next season and I can’t wait to see what the hype is all about!

[Spartan Girl]

Well, I saw the touring production of Hairspray today. Unfortunately technical difficulties kept interrupting Act . Apparently a CO2 canister broke in one of the props broke spilling oil on the floor and they had to clean and treat it…so we maybe got halfway through the act before they announced they had to take a 30 minute intermission and then skip to act 2! We didn’t get to see “Welcome to the 60s”!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

First time anything like this has happened to a show I’ve gone to. Still, the cast made the best of it: Edna came out and gave the audience a recap of everything we didn’t get to see in act 1. And unfortunately the rest of the show went without incident. A lot of people left, but that just made it easier to get out of the theater lol.

[PRgal]

I have found that The Sound of Music always makes me happy (it's airing on the 17th!!), and recently, my dad taught my son Do-Re-Mi.  My son isn't really a singer, but I really appreciated that he learned it so quickly!  Next up?  I'm going to teach him either So Long, Farewell or The Lonely Goatherd.  Speaking of the Sound of Music, I found a 2012 Austrian cast recording on Apple Music this morning!  It's on my playlist now.  The 2012 production was the first time it ever opened in Salzburg, according to this Guardian article.  

[ebk57]

6 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Well, I saw the touring production of Hairspray today. Unfortunately technical difficulties kept interrupting Act . Apparently a CO2 canister broke in one of the props broke spilling oil on the floor and they had to clean and treat it…so we maybe got halfway through the act before they announced they had to take a 30 minute intermission and then skip to act 2! We didn’t get to see “Welcome to the 60s”!!!! 😭😭😭😭😭

First time anything like this has happened to a show I’ve gone to. Still, the cast made the best of it: Edna came out and gave the audience a recap of everything we didn’t get to see in act 1. And unfortunately the rest of the show went without incident. A lot of people left, but that just made it easier to get out of the theater lol.

The magic of live theater!  That's why I love it.

 

We went to see Swept Away yesterday.  It's a new musical using songs by the Avett Brothers about a shipwreck and the aftermath.  Quite powerful, the cast was excellent and the songs worked so well in the show you'd think they were written specifically for it.  I hope it transfers to Broadway in the new year and is successful. 

[MicheleinPhilly]

Saw the touring production of Company yesterday. I wish that I had read a synopsis beforehand because I was thinking, "These songs are fantastic, but this script is a mess!" Had I known beforehand that it was a series of vignettes and it didn't really have a linear plot, I think I would have appreciated it more in the moment. 

But overall I really did enjoy it. It's very funny and the music, as expected, is wonderful. 

Standouts for me were Britney Coleman as Bobbie, Judy McLane as Joanne, and Matt Rodin as Jamie. 

[ebk57]

9 hours ago, MicheleinPhilly said:

Saw the touring production of Company yesterday. I wish that I had read a synopsis beforehand because I was thinking, "These songs are fantastic, but this script is a mess!" Had I known beforehand that it was a series of vignettes and it didn't really have a linear plot, I think I would have appreciated it more in the moment. 

But overall I really did enjoy it. It's very funny and the music, as expected, is wonderful. 

Standouts for me were Britney Coleman as Bobbie, Judy McLane as Joanne, and Matt Rodin as Jamie. 

We're seeing this in March.  I love the show and am looking forward to it, even while wondering if the gender change will actually work.  

[SomeTameGazelle]

The Toronto production of Great Comet is in previews but both their Pierre (Evan Buliung) and his understudy (Andrew Penner) are out due to illness so they have had to continue with Ben Carlson playing Pierre on book. I don't know what this means for opening night which is supposed to be Wednesday. I hope for Evan's sake he will be well enough to open but by all accounts Ben has been doing a great job under the circumstances.

The show is sold out through January 6 but is on until Jan 21.

 

[aradia22]

The Notebook, Water For Elephants, The Who's Tommy, The Outsiders, Lempicka, Suffs, Hell's Kitchen, The Wiz, Cabaret, The Heart of Rock and Roll...

This is too many shows. There's no way I'm seeing all of these shows. I'll be lucky to manage The Notebook, Lempicka, and Suffs.

[ebk57]

We'll be making a rare early spring visit because I must see the new Paula Vogel play with Jessica Lange.  And while we're there, we're also seeing Uncle Vanya and Doubt.  And maybe something else. 

It will be different being there when it's not freezing in January or sweltering in August.  Or maybe it won't be that different because who know how the weather will be. 

[choclatechip45]

I saw Purlie Victorious tonight. It was excellent. 100 minutes flew by. I won't be surprised if Leslie Odom Jr. gets his second Tony. 

[PRgal]

Sunset Boulevard is being revived on Broadway and Nicole Scherzinger is playing Norma.  Goodness, this makes me feel old!!!  She's only a year older than me!  I guess that's reality - Both Patti LuPone and Glenn Close were around the same age when they were in the show.  

[aradia22]

Jesus Christ... this is too many shows

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Roundabouts-2024-2025-Season-Will-Include-New-Orleans-Style-PIRATES-OF-PENZANCE-with-Ramin-Karimloo-and-David-Hyde-Pierce-YELLOW-FACE-Starring-Daniel-Dae-Kim-and-More-20240109

Thankfully this season does not start until September 2024. Pirates of Penzance is not scheduled until April 2025.

[Browncoat]

Astonishingly, my small, rural area is getting the traveling Book of Mormon.  Even more astonishingly, it is nearly sold out!  I suspect there will be quite a few people who are greatly offended (they were by Avenue Q, and made the actors wear clothes for Hair).

I can't wait.  I saw Book of Mormon on Broadway several years ago, and enjoyed the hell out of it.

[PRgal]

Les Miserables is coming back to Toronto for a limited run in March!  It's the current North American tour.  Anyone seen it recently? 

[annzeepark914]

4 hours ago, PRgal said:

Les Miserables is coming back to Toronto for a limited run in March!  It's the current North American tour.  Anyone seen it recently? 

I saw it in the 80's & remember the audience applauding the changing fortification from one scene into the next. It was the only time I've ever experienced such admiration for a set design. 

[aradia22]

Hooray!

Quote

 

The world premiere production of Here We Are, the new musical from David Ives and Stephen Sondheim, will release an original cast recording. The album was recorded earlier this week at Power Station at BerkleeNYC and will be released by Concord Theatricals Recordings in spring 2024. The production is currently playing at The Shed’s Griffin Theater (545 W 30thSt) through Sunday, January 21st.

[...] Now playing through January 21, Here We Are is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, and features Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos.

 The understudies for Here We Are are Adante Carter, Lindsay Nicole Chambers, Bradley Dean, Mehry Eslaminia, Adam Harrington, and Bligh Voth.

 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Video-Final-Stephen-Sondheim-Musical-HERE-WE-ARE-to-Release-Cast-Recording-This-Spring-20240110

[PRgal]

19 hours ago, annzeepark914 said:

I saw it in the 80's & remember the audience applauding the changing fortification from one scene into the next. It was the only time I've ever experienced such admiration for a set design. 

I've seen it too many times to count, but I don't ever recall the audience clapping after set changes.  Probably because it had already been in (and out of) Toronto for years by the time I saw it in '93.  

[ebk57]

On 1/10/2024 at 8:01 PM, PRgal said:

Les Miserables is coming back to Toronto for a limited run in March!  It's the current North American tour.  Anyone seen it recently? 

I saw it sometime in the last 10 years.  I love the show (watching it, not working it), but it really did lose something without the turntable.  I don't know if the current tour is back to using the turntable, but if not... the show is still good, but it was sorta lacking.

[PRgal]

35 minutes ago, ebk57 said:

I saw it sometime in the last 10 years.  I love the show (watching it, not working it), but it really did lose something without the turntable.  I don't know if the current tour is back to using the turntable, but if not... the show is still good, but it was sorta lacking.

Loved the turntable and how they showed what happened after the final battle scene (while instrumental version of “Bring Him Home” is playing). It remains stuck in my head.  

[Quof]

I have never seen Les Mis - despite being a big Broadway goer - but I will never set foot in a Mirvish theatre, even if the tickets were free.  

[P2C2E]

I'm headed to New York in early February. Any recommendations for shows? I'm big into musicals but up for anything on or off Broadway.

[ebk57]

Shows I have seen and enjoyed:  Hadestown, Hamilton, Six, Spamalot.  Show I saw and enjoyed most of it, even though the book will never work - Merrily We Roll Along.   Show that is opening in early February that I'm seeing in April - Doubt (with Tyne Daly and Liev Schrieber).   I don't know who will be in Sweeney Todd while you're there, but you may want to see that, too.  We saw Groban and Ashford, but they're out now and I don't know when Tveit and Foster are coming on.  It will be cheaper before they do...and probably better, too.

Looking forward to hearing what you think about whatever you decide to see.

Edited January 21 by ebk57
I should proofread before posting

[Spartan Girl]

Saw the 25th anniversary tour of Mamma Mia. Say what you want about the plot, but it’s still a fun show!

[MicheleinPhilly]

Katerina McCrimmon as Fanny Brice in the National Tour of Funny Girl 

To purchase or not to purchase? 🤔