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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 17, 2018 13:54:44 GMT
Thought you might like a quick theatre report.
Here for the weekend courtesy of some very cheap flight deals from BA. It’s also a good time of year for saving money on hotels.
The early Black Friday deals are already in the shops, along with a lot of Christmas music.
The downside of this time of year? Snow. The flight was delayed about an hour after landing trying to get across the tarmac and waiting to be towed to the stand.
Terminal 7 at JFK (the BA terminal) is also not fast for immigration. There were huge queues. Thankfully I have Global Entry so bypassed all of that (well worth it if you visit regularly).
The flight itself was pleasant. Finally watched Mamma Mia 2 (enjoyable plane fodder). Also saw the black and white original of Sunset Boulevard, which was a great film and worth watching. The musical is very true to it, even including the dialogue.
Reports of five shows to follow, which is all I could fit around days I have to be at work.
BTW after everything grinding to a halt, the snow was pretty much gone the next day. It’s still very cold, but pleasant with it.
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 17, 2018 14:07:42 GMT
King Kong - Broadway Theatre
Friday evening’s viewing.
This will be a massive flop and close soon, so go if you have the chance,
It’s visually spectacular.
There’s a massive puppet ape operating by 10 puppeteers. It even has someone doing a live voice for it (shown on a monitor at the end).
The whole back of the stage is covered with projections. The stage is heavily sloped and various parts lift, for instance to form a ship.
The scenes with King Kong are dramatic and scary.
The problem? Once you’ve seen King Kong, there’s little left. Behind the visuals, there’s little plot and this seems incredibly old fashioned. Nothing memorable in the form of songs,
I was in the Mezzazine, central about half way back. There were plenty of empty seats including four clear rows a few rows in front (not good for a Friday night). I was trapped in and couldn’t move to them.
Little leg room and the seats aren’t staggered. I had a tall guy in front of me and lost the entire centre of the stage. Decent me was a family who kept talking (I think in Spanish). The mother even put her phone torch on to read the programme (did stop after a good stare). And lots of seat kicking.
Thankfully the person in front moved for the second half, so I could see most of the stage. People still kept leaning forward, so I missed the front. And I could see plenty of people struggling.
From a taking in King Kong perspective, upstairs is good, but for an enjoyable view, don’t sit here. Thankfully it was exceptionally cheap for NYC.
For gun haters, these are waved around all the time, but thankfully never fired. Nearly all the gun shots are instead simulated by lighting.
I see this as Spider-Man (which I did see and enjoyed) level failure. Glad I went as I can’t see any way this would transfer. Maybe the Union Theatre version in a few years time with a woman in a gorilla suit?
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3,067 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 17, 2018 22:53:12 GMT
Torch Song - Helen Hayes Theatre
I haven’t seen this in its previous incarnation (three plays running four hours). This compresses it into one three act play, although still ran three hours with one interval. That’s long enough.
This is rather good. Sharply written and witty. I’m sure it’s also been improved with the trim.
It follows a drag queen and his acquaintances in three years over the 1970s and 1980s, with twists along the way. Michael Urie is perfectly cast in the main role and rarely leaves the stage. The crowd loved Mercedes Ruehl, although I only remember her from a few episodes of Frasier. And Michael Hsu Rosen looked rather good in his brief experience, mostly just wearing tight underwear.
I gambled with the mystery seating from TodayTix, which turned out to be third row in the Stalls, right against the side wall. A tight fit for legroom although I did have an excellent close view of 90% of the stage so missed little. And I could hear everyone.
There are a lot of very strong recent plays tackling gay relationships and this does show its age in parts. And the third act (entire second half) could be trimmed a bit more. But still glad I got the chance to see this.
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 18, 2018 5:58:10 GMT
Mean Girls - August Wilson Theatre
Modern and enjoyable.
Basically, Heathers on Steroids.
In both good and bad ways.
If you’ve ever been irritated by a Heathers audience, you’d hate Saturday night at Mean Girls. The same female audience, texting, talking, taking photos, social media, lots of people getting up (presumably to use the bathroom) and the ushers seemingly unaware. And I’m sure there were lots of regulars despite the ticket prices.
I was back row Mezzazine, Distant, but perfect view and a wall behind. Cramped seats. Three girls next to me arrived 10 minutes late, drinks and merchandise in hand, talked, continually on phones. About half way through they all wanted out and I saw them repositioning in spare seats at the front. At the interval they were back (probably couldn’t get away with their bad behaviour in the more visible seats).
It was pretty full, just odd gaps where I presume scalpers got left with unsold seats.
I said it was Heathers and much of the plot is similar (at least up until the obvious Heathers plot twist, which I won’t state in case it’s a spoiler). And there’s a huge overlap with every other recent teen musical.
The difference is there’s more money here. A large ensemble and the sets taking the form of those projected backdrops which are all the rage right now (and which save time from scene changes). I did notice that they’d chosen people for the male ensemble who were no taller than the females, which I’m sure is deliberate.
I imagine this would do well in London, although not with the Broadway ticket prices (this is up there at Dear Evan Hansen type pricing levels). There are catchy songs, a self-discovery plot, a gay male friend, just enough dancing and all the other things that make these teen female Aimee shows work.
Massive queues at the stage door for autographs, blocking the street. This definitely has a fan base.
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3,067 posts
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 18, 2018 23:04:09 GMT
A Chorus Line - New York City Centre
Sunday matinee. Enjoyable. It’s like every other production of A Chorus Line really.
I was up in mid Balcony. I think this is the highest up I’ve ever been in a theatre. Wide seats and good legroom, raised up from the previous row, so the only challenge is people leaning forward.
This was a loud audience. Lots of clapping and cheering, often at random points mid song. Pretty much no chance of hearing the finale. Also had an annoying foot tapper near me who did her best not to tap in time with the music.
No interval for this one, which worked well.
Very enjoyable. I’d have liked to be nearer the front but this is hideously expensive (and there was a long queue for returns just prior to the start of the show). A few bits could have done with more polish, some of the sound mixing made it difficult to make out the words and the spotlighting wasn’t perfect. But this has a short run so I understand why it is as it is.
Until I read it in the programme, I had no idea this was considered the Hamilton of the 1970s and credited for saving Broadway. To me, it comes across very much as a product of its time. Nothing that is particularly shocking now. Will be interesting to see if we’re talking about Hamilton revivals like this one in another 40 years.
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Post by raider80 on Nov 19, 2018 4:15:27 GMT
Mean Girls - August Wilson Theatre Modern and enjoyable. Basically, Heathers on Steroids. In both good and bad ways. If you’ve ever been irritated by a Heathers audience, you’d hate Saturday night at Mean Girls. The same female audience, texting, talking, taking photos, social media, lots of people getting up (presumably to use the bathroom) and the ushers seemingly unaware. And I’m sure there were lots of regulars despite the ticket prices. I was back row Mezzazine, Distant, but perfect view and a wall behind. Cramped seats. Three girls next to me arrived 10 minutes late, drinks and merchandise in hand, talked, continually on phones. About half way through they all wanted out and I saw them repositioning in spare seats at the front. At the interval they were back (probably couldn’t get away with their bad behaviour in the more visible seats). It was pretty full, just odd gaps where I presume scalpers got left with unsold seats. I said it was Heathers and much of the plot is similar (at least up until the obvious Heathers plot twist, which I won’t state in case it’s a spoiler). And there’s a huge overlap with every other recent teen musical. The difference is there’s more money here. A large ensemble and the sets taking the form of those projected backdrops which are all the rage right now (and which save time from scene changes). I did notice that they’d chosen people for the male ensemble who were no taller than the females, which I’m sure is deliberate. I imagine this would do well in London, although not with the Broadway ticket prices (this is up there at Dear Evan Hansen type pricing levels). There are catchy songs, a self-discovery plot, a gay male friend, just enough dancing and all the other things that make these teen female Aimee shows work. Massive queues at the stage door for autographs, blocking the street. This definitely has a fan base. Did you get a full cast the night you went? On social media it always looks like a Plastic or Cady has an understudy on. Stage dooring has gotten so bad that most of the cast doesn't come out and the fans treat the ensamble terribly if they come out because they aren't "stars". I'm sorry you had a bad experience audience wise, the young folks think the show is only for them and they don't care if their actions make the show less enjoyable. Plus, I think the ushers have given up trying to police. Your right, this show will be Heathers on Steroids and we all know Carrie Hope Fletcher is already lobbying for to be cast. |
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Post by poster J on Nov 19, 2018 12:48:01 GMT
From the sounds of that last post I'm glad I'm avoiding Mean Girls! I really like the film but I think an experience like that would just ruin it for me.
To a certain extent it does feel like a Broadway audience thing though - I saw The Band's Visit yesterday and I thought there was a lot of inappropriate laughter in places. Yes, it is funny, but not everything in it is, some of it is actually quite serious. And the idiot next to me was filming the curtain call - I was so tempted to overbalance and fall into her.
Fantastic show though, easy to see why it won so many Tonys, and Katrina Lenk is just wonderful.
In contrast there was a very respectful audience at Once on This Island. I grabbed a last minute ticket from TKTS (I couldn't be bothered waiting around to do the lottery as there really isn't much to write home about in the area around Circle in the Square) and am so glad I did, what a clever use of space and choreography, and a fantastic talented cast. Such a shame it isn't selling well, though they did manage to almost fill the theatre even if a lot of people will have had discounted tickets. Only the second time ever I've had to walk on the "stage" to get to my seat (I sat onstage for Lady Day), and they even brought flowers out for the goat for its birthday. Great fun.
To Kill a Mockingbird for me tonight - slightly apprehensive as I love the book and don't want it to be ruined, but I've heard good things.
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 19, 2018 18:24:29 GMT
Did you get a full cast the night you went? On social media it always looks like a Plastic or Cady has an understudy on. Pretty much. The covers were Nikhil Sabo on as Kevin Gnapoor and Patrick Garr on as Martin Jitla (normally known as Marvan Jitla). There’s a whole separate cast sheet printed out and included in the programme, including the date and time, which is different. |
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Post by Deleted on Nov 19, 2018 18:33:28 GMT
To Kill a Mockingbird for me tonight - slightly apprehensive as I love the book and don't want it to be ruined, but I've heard good things. Mockingbird is excellent if you accept the memory play framing. Those who fight it seem to be frustrated with the experience. |
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Post by Dr Tom on Nov 19, 2018 18:37:15 GMT
Avenue Q - New World Stages
Final show of the trip before I head home, the Sunday evening performance. Like the first show of the weekend, this also featured a puppet at the top of the Empire State Building.
I saw this only a few months ago but the cast change took place recently and almost all the principles were new. The Stagelight (their version of Playbill) wasn’t completely up to date though.
Nick Kohn, as Brian, is still with the show doing the role he’s done for years, so he must have a stake in the company.
Jason Jocobie is also still there as Nicky, although the understudy was on this night.
I say a “new” cast, but several are returners, but this still seemed to freshen things up. I noticed a few different visual gags and there’s a new joke on the monster school sign.
I had a perfect fifth row centre seat thanks to TDF. The place wasn’t full but not too bad for a Sunday.
I also the fun of a young Asian American guy sat next to me who got chatting. He was an Accountancy major at his first ever “play”. Part of his graduation requirements was he had to take a theatre course, including reviewing a play and performing in a talent contest.
He was a native New Yorker who’d already decided this would be his lifetime first and last theatre trip. His friend had told him he’d enjoy this show and got him the ticket.
I watched him sink in his seat during Gay, then even further during Racist.
Don’t know if they are still friends.
During the interval he said he’d enjoyed it and how he had no idea the set would be so elaborate. Didn’t get the chance to talk at the end as he slipped out very quickly.
But I am easily amused!
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Post by poster J on Nov 20, 2018 4:58:43 GMT
To Kill a Mockingbird for me tonight - slightly apprehensive as I love the book and don't want it to be ruined, but I've heard good things. Mockingbird is excellent if you accept the memory play framing. Those who fight it seem to be frustrated with the experience. The narration didn't bother me for the most part, but I thought it was slightly over-narrated, which made it slightly too long and a bit unbalanced (Act 2 seemed rushed in comparison to the very long first act). The worst though was the scene changes, they took forever! Aside from those minor niggles, it's very good - Daniels is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. It's a shame some characters don't get as much time as they do in the book, but I understand the choices that were made. One of the most uncomfortable theatres I've ever been in though - the legroom in the balcony is so non-existent there is hardly any room to get a bag onto the floor under the seat! |
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Post by raider80 on Nov 20, 2018 5:09:29 GMT
Mockingbird is excellent if you accept the memory play framing. Those who fight it seem to be frustrated with the experience. The narration didn't bother me for the most part, but I thought it was slightly over-narrated, which made it slightly too long and a bit unbalanced (Act 2 seemed rushed in comparison to the very long first act). The worst though was the scene changes, they took forever! Aside from those minor niggles, it's very good - Daniels is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. It's a shame some characters don't get as much time as they do in the book, but I understand the choices that were made. One of the most uncomfortable theatres I've ever been in though - the legroom in the balcony is so non-existent there is hardly any room to get a bag onto the floor under the seat! The Shubert is one of those houses that almost no seat is comfortable in my experience. Does Bridges create a new Atticus or is he doing a Gregory Peck impression? My fear is if I see the show I will be comparing Bridges and Peck the whole time instead of enjoying the show. |
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Post by poster J on Nov 20, 2018 23:29:12 GMT
The narration didn't bother me for the most part, but I thought it was slightly over-narrated, which made it slightly too long and a bit unbalanced (Act 2 seemed rushed in comparison to the very long first act). The worst though was the scene changes, they took forever! Aside from those minor niggles, it's very good - Daniels is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. It's a shame some characters don't get as much time as they do in the book, but I understand the choices that were made. One of the most uncomfortable theatres I've ever been in though - the legroom in the balcony is so non-existent there is hardly any room to get a bag onto the floor under the seat! The Shubert is one of those houses that almost no seat is comfortable in my experience. Does Bridges create a new Atticus or is he doing a Gregory Peck impression? My fear is if I see the show I will be comparing Bridges and Peck the whole time instead of enjoying the show. I deliberately didn't re-watch the film before I saw this, so how much of a Peck impression it is I can't honestly recall - a bit I think, but not overly so. Certain parts are definitely new. |
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Post by joeinnewyork on Nov 22, 2018 18:11:47 GMT
Mockingbird is excellent if you accept the memory play framing. Those who fight it seem to be frustrated with the experience. The narration didn't bother me for the most part, but I thought it was slightly over-narrated, which made it slightly too long and a bit unbalanced (Act 2 seemed rushed in comparison to the very long first act). The worst though was the scene changes, they took forever! Aside from those minor niggles, it's very good - Daniels is excellent, as are the rest of the cast. It's a shame some characters don't get as much time as they do in the book, but I understand the choices that were made. One of the most uncomfortable theatres I've ever been in though - the legroom in the balcony is so non-existent there is hardly any room to get a bag onto the floor under the seat! Broadway theater seating can indeed be cramped, even for short and skinny me. Two (admittedly oldish) articles that tell part of the story: www.nytimes.com/2004/10/08/theater/you-can-buy-a-seat-but-can-you-fit-in-it.htmlnypost.com/2015/06/07/broadway-theaters-cram-seats-together-to-boost-profits/ |
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Post by joeinnewyork on Nov 23, 2018 15:41:41 GMT
A Chorus Line - New York City Centre Sunday matinee. Enjoyable. It’s like every other production of A Chorus Line really. I was up in mid Balcony. I think this is the highest up I’ve ever been in a theatre. Wide seats and good legroom, raised up from the previous row, so the only challenge is people leaning forward. This was a loud audience. Lots of clapping and cheering, often at random points mid song. Pretty much no chance of hearing the finale. Also had an annoying foot tapper near me who did her best not to tap in time with the music. No interval for this one, which worked well. Very enjoyable. I’d have liked to be nearer the front but this is hideously expensive (and there was a long queue for returns just prior to the start of the show). A few bits could have done with more polish, some of the sound mixing made it difficult to make out the words and the spotlighting wasn’t perfect. But this has a short run so I understand why it is as it is. Until I read it in the programme, I had no idea this was considered the Hamilton of the 1970s and credited for saving Broadway. To me, it comes across very much as a product of its time. Nothing that is particularly shocking now. Will be interesting to see if we’re talking about Hamilton revivals like this one in another 40 years. I saw the original production, still with - I believe - the opening night cast, definitely still with Donna McKechnie. I didn't really "get" the show then, and I still don't. True, the framework is ingenious and allows for continuous action and uninterrupted momentum. I remember Martin Gottfried, the New York Post drama critic at the time, comparing it favorably in this regard to "My Fair Lady," which had a Broadway revival with Ian Richardson and George Rose during the first year of "A Chorus Line"'s run: Gottfried wrote that "On the Street Where You Live" was obviously - to Gottfried - inserted to be sung in front of a backdrop during the set change between the Ascot scene and the embassy ball, whereas a "concept musical" like "A Chorus Line" had no need for such devices. (I'm citing this not because I agree with Gottfried, but to give an example of just how major an artistic breakthrough "A Chorus Line" was felt to be by American critics back then.) The problem for me is that "A Chorus Line"'s much vaunted structure, in which each of the auditioning dancers tells his/her story one by one, seems to me to yield a series of vignettes rather than a show with much of a through-line or character development. It's interesting that the City Center program credited "A Chorus Line" with "saving Broadway." Yes, it was a huge hit and, needless to say, won the Best Musical Tony, beating out "Chicago" (!) and "Pacific Overtures" (!) but the usual saw is that what ultimately saved Broadway from its (and New York City's) disastrous late 1970s were the Andrew Lloyd Webber musicals. |
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