Post by Sally on Jan 27, 2007 23:03:44 GMT 11
*unless I counted days wrong, which is very likely.
Just going to breeze through some very brief mentions of the shows I saw while away
1. Wicked, London, 22 Dec - terrible seat way back in the dress circle, which was good because I almost dozed off a few times so a cheap seat was preferable
2. Wicked, London, 23 Dec (matinee) - ah. Awake now!
3. Wicked, London, 23 Dec (evening) - THE best of the three, the entire cast was on fire. And Helen Dallimore totally owns Glinda. I feel I can say that with some shred of authority, having now seen six different actresses in the role. The woman was ON.
4. Wicked, Chicago, 26 Dec - odd, because the changes made to the London production haven’t yet been implemented in Chicago, and really, they need to be. The Chicago Glinda is also the giggliest little thing ever, she was adorable!
Then, I got to New York...
5. Wicked, 27 Dec - this was a fluke, a semi lottery win so I ended up in the front row. Thankfully, the “London changes” were in here!
6. The Wedding Singer, 28 Dec - I had no interest in seeing this show until its closing notice was posted (for new years’ eve) and then suddenly it became a must-see. I’ve never seen the film, but the musical was wonderful - a lot of cheesy fun!
7. Suddenly, Last Summer, 30 Dec (matinee) - a straight play for a change, with a powerhouse performance from Carla Gugino that left me exhausted, I kid you not.
8. The Drowsy Chaperon, 30 Dec (evening) - oh my god, WE NEED THIS SHOW HERE PRONTO. An absolute joy to watch, the way it’s put together is remarkably clever, and the cast were brilliant. Straight away I knew I had to see it again.
9. Company, 31 Dec - interesting staging, but all up, not one of my favourites.
10. Spring Awakening, 1 Jan (matinee) - I knew nothing about this show and was pretty much seeing it because “it was there”. Loved it! One of those “if you liked Rent, you’d like this” types - very rock-opera, with a very serious storyline.
11. Perfect Crime, 1 Jan (evening) - another straight play, chosen because there were about three things on the tkts board (half price tickets) for that evening, and then the one I wanted to see sold out so I had to make a hasty decision before I got to the head of the queue! Worth it, though. A very clever murder-mystery, and for your fact of the day, the woman in it had been in it since it opened in 1987, and only missed four performances. Ever.
12. Wicked, 2 Jan - same as Dec 27th, although this one was intended
13. The Apple Tree, 3 Jan (matinee) - tied with The Drowsy Chaperone for my other favourite show. Three short one-act plays, more or less depicting three different couples, that all tie together perfectly but also can be viewed entirely on their own.
14. Chicago, 3 Jan (evening) - with Bebe Neuwirth as Roxie, and we were third row centre, and I think I died a little. We walked around for about an hour afterwards in a total state of “ohmygodohmygodohmygod...”
15. The Fantasticks, 4 Jan - sweet show, not a favourite. Gorgeous cast, but at times the show felt a little loose.
16. The Drowsy Chaperone, 5 Jan - braved the tkts queue! This time, had two understudies on, which made it all the more fun as yay, comparisons!
17. Wicked, Providence (first national tour), 6 Jan - took the bus three hours to Rhode Island because why not? It was the “old” version of the show again, but it didn’t throw me this time because the tour is slightly different in any case. Had the most amazing Elphaba as well.
18. Grey Gardens (Broadway again), 13 Jan (matinee) - I think I decided to see this about a half hour beforehand?
Loved it though! The first act was quite frothy, very High Society, but then the spiral downwards in the second act was terrifying. Christine Ebersole is a powerhouse beyond belief and though I knew NOTHING of the actual story (that of Edith Bouvier Beale), I was still able to thoroughly enjoy myself and now have a huge desire to hit the libraries.
19. Wicked, 13 Jan (evening) - they had an almost complete cast change over on January 9th! Of all the times I have seen Wicked, this performance was THE best. And I’d spent the entire night on a bus from Montreal so I was expecting to zombie through it again, but not a chance. At interval, I was actually left stunned, muttering “oh my god” under my breath. It was like seeing the show for the first time.
20. Hairspray, 14 Jan (matinee) - a friend who works at the show tipped me off to try lotto on Sundays...which I did, with three other girls from my hostel, and two of us won! So there were our four front-row tickets ;D Absolutely loved the show. It’s bright and cheerful and hilarious but also has a very serious undertone to it so it’s never entirely cheesy.
21. Forbidden Broadway, 14 Jan (evening) - four actors spoofing other shows, tons of fun. A quick favourite? William Barfee spelling High Fidelity with exaggerated foot movements: F-L-O-P. (“That is correct.”)
22. Avenue Q, 15 Jan - almost injured myself from laughing so hard. Wonderfully clever, you can seriously forget there are people there - it’s all about the puppets.
23. Wicked, 16 Jan - yes, again.
24. Mary Poppins, 17 Jan (matinee) - so bright and colourful and fun!!!! We squealed like little girls at the end. A truly gorgeous show - SO much spectacle! The sets were utterly amazing and the huge ensemble numbers, like Jolly Holiday, seriously left me just staring, mouth agape.
25. The Apple Tree, 17 Jan (evening) - so glad both people I was in NY with wanted to see this one because it was definitely another that needed to be seen more than once
26. Wicked, 18 Jan - dude, Julia Murney was Elphaba. Three times was me showing restraint.
27. Kristin Chenoweth at the Met, 19 Jan - so utterly glorious to see someone having so much fun on the stage! A wonderful farewell to the city
28. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Appleton (first national tour), 21 Jan - definitely worth the stop over on my way to the west coast, although so sad to see a theatre that was barely a third full, if that. Very much a laugh-out-loud show.
29. Legally Blonde, San Francisco, 23 Jan - my brilliant timing, this was the first preview of the San Fran try-out, the first night the cast had an audience! And the show was remarkably tight. There’s one song that needs to go, or be entirely rewritten, and two others that could use a bit of tweaking, but overall, the show is already extremely solid. I sincerely hope they have a hit on their hands. It actually works seamlessly as a musical, it’s very well written (apart from that one song that, reading other reviews, no one seems to like!) and pokes such wonderful fun at itself. Dearly would love to see it again someday!
30. Jersey Boys, San Francisco (first national tour), 24 Jan - funnily enough, this one I wasn’t keen on. Apart from the music - I grew up listening to the Four Seasons (until I went to high school and AM radio was beaten out of me). The story though...just didn’t grab me. Act 1 seemed overlong, and then act 2 felt disjointed.
Just going to breeze through some very brief mentions of the shows I saw while away
1. Wicked, London, 22 Dec - terrible seat way back in the dress circle, which was good because I almost dozed off a few times so a cheap seat was preferable
2. Wicked, London, 23 Dec (matinee) - ah. Awake now!
3. Wicked, London, 23 Dec (evening) - THE best of the three, the entire cast was on fire. And Helen Dallimore totally owns Glinda. I feel I can say that with some shred of authority, having now seen six different actresses in the role. The woman was ON.
4. Wicked, Chicago, 26 Dec - odd, because the changes made to the London production haven’t yet been implemented in Chicago, and really, they need to be. The Chicago Glinda is also the giggliest little thing ever, she was adorable!
Then, I got to New York...
5. Wicked, 27 Dec - this was a fluke, a semi lottery win so I ended up in the front row. Thankfully, the “London changes” were in here!
6. The Wedding Singer, 28 Dec - I had no interest in seeing this show until its closing notice was posted (for new years’ eve) and then suddenly it became a must-see. I’ve never seen the film, but the musical was wonderful - a lot of cheesy fun!
7. Suddenly, Last Summer, 30 Dec (matinee) - a straight play for a change, with a powerhouse performance from Carla Gugino that left me exhausted, I kid you not.
8. The Drowsy Chaperon, 30 Dec (evening) - oh my god, WE NEED THIS SHOW HERE PRONTO. An absolute joy to watch, the way it’s put together is remarkably clever, and the cast were brilliant. Straight away I knew I had to see it again.
9. Company, 31 Dec - interesting staging, but all up, not one of my favourites.
10. Spring Awakening, 1 Jan (matinee) - I knew nothing about this show and was pretty much seeing it because “it was there”. Loved it! One of those “if you liked Rent, you’d like this” types - very rock-opera, with a very serious storyline.
11. Perfect Crime, 1 Jan (evening) - another straight play, chosen because there were about three things on the tkts board (half price tickets) for that evening, and then the one I wanted to see sold out so I had to make a hasty decision before I got to the head of the queue! Worth it, though. A very clever murder-mystery, and for your fact of the day, the woman in it had been in it since it opened in 1987, and only missed four performances. Ever.
12. Wicked, 2 Jan - same as Dec 27th, although this one was intended
13. The Apple Tree, 3 Jan (matinee) - tied with The Drowsy Chaperone for my other favourite show. Three short one-act plays, more or less depicting three different couples, that all tie together perfectly but also can be viewed entirely on their own.
14. Chicago, 3 Jan (evening) - with Bebe Neuwirth as Roxie, and we were third row centre, and I think I died a little. We walked around for about an hour afterwards in a total state of “ohmygodohmygodohmygod...”
15. The Fantasticks, 4 Jan - sweet show, not a favourite. Gorgeous cast, but at times the show felt a little loose.
16. The Drowsy Chaperone, 5 Jan - braved the tkts queue! This time, had two understudies on, which made it all the more fun as yay, comparisons!
17. Wicked, Providence (first national tour), 6 Jan - took the bus three hours to Rhode Island because why not? It was the “old” version of the show again, but it didn’t throw me this time because the tour is slightly different in any case. Had the most amazing Elphaba as well.
18. Grey Gardens (Broadway again), 13 Jan (matinee) - I think I decided to see this about a half hour beforehand?
Loved it though! The first act was quite frothy, very High Society, but then the spiral downwards in the second act was terrifying. Christine Ebersole is a powerhouse beyond belief and though I knew NOTHING of the actual story (that of Edith Bouvier Beale), I was still able to thoroughly enjoy myself and now have a huge desire to hit the libraries.19. Wicked, 13 Jan (evening) - they had an almost complete cast change over on January 9th! Of all the times I have seen Wicked, this performance was THE best. And I’d spent the entire night on a bus from Montreal so I was expecting to zombie through it again, but not a chance. At interval, I was actually left stunned, muttering “oh my god” under my breath. It was like seeing the show for the first time.
20. Hairspray, 14 Jan (matinee) - a friend who works at the show tipped me off to try lotto on Sundays...which I did, with three other girls from my hostel, and two of us won! So there were our four front-row tickets ;D Absolutely loved the show. It’s bright and cheerful and hilarious but also has a very serious undertone to it so it’s never entirely cheesy.
21. Forbidden Broadway, 14 Jan (evening) - four actors spoofing other shows, tons of fun. A quick favourite? William Barfee spelling High Fidelity with exaggerated foot movements: F-L-O-P. (“That is correct.”)
22. Avenue Q, 15 Jan - almost injured myself from laughing so hard. Wonderfully clever, you can seriously forget there are people there - it’s all about the puppets.
23. Wicked, 16 Jan - yes, again.
24. Mary Poppins, 17 Jan (matinee) - so bright and colourful and fun!!!! We squealed like little girls at the end. A truly gorgeous show - SO much spectacle! The sets were utterly amazing and the huge ensemble numbers, like Jolly Holiday, seriously left me just staring, mouth agape.
25. The Apple Tree, 17 Jan (evening) - so glad both people I was in NY with wanted to see this one because it was definitely another that needed to be seen more than once
26. Wicked, 18 Jan - dude, Julia Murney was Elphaba. Three times was me showing restraint.
27. Kristin Chenoweth at the Met, 19 Jan - so utterly glorious to see someone having so much fun on the stage! A wonderful farewell to the city
28. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Appleton (first national tour), 21 Jan - definitely worth the stop over on my way to the west coast, although so sad to see a theatre that was barely a third full, if that. Very much a laugh-out-loud show.
29. Legally Blonde, San Francisco, 23 Jan - my brilliant timing, this was the first preview of the San Fran try-out, the first night the cast had an audience! And the show was remarkably tight. There’s one song that needs to go, or be entirely rewritten, and two others that could use a bit of tweaking, but overall, the show is already extremely solid. I sincerely hope they have a hit on their hands. It actually works seamlessly as a musical, it’s very well written (apart from that one song that, reading other reviews, no one seems to like!) and pokes such wonderful fun at itself. Dearly would love to see it again someday!
30. Jersey Boys, San Francisco (first national tour), 24 Jan - funnily enough, this one I wasn’t keen on. Apart from the music - I grew up listening to the Four Seasons (until I went to high school and AM radio was beaten out of me). The story though...just didn’t grab me. Act 1 seemed overlong, and then act 2 felt disjointed.
