New York Philharmonic

2 1/2 hours. That's how long Handel's Messiah runs. Yup. It was beautiful. But long.

The girl next to me thought it was long too. She kept updating Facebook. The women behind me also thought it was long. They kept talking and after the Hallelujah chorus, they left.

I would've liked it more had it been 45 minutes shorter.

We had great seats (somewhere in the first alphabet) before row U. I guess seats here are not so important because the acoustics are so good and we're not watching anything in particular.

The Philharmonic seems to be something Aaron prefers more than I do.

NYC Ballet Nutcracker

The Nutcracker is something that always comes at Christmas. I remember loving the music as a kid. We went to see this production with my cousin and her beau. He had never seen a ballet and Aaron didn't like ABT's version a couple years back. We weren't starting off good. Lo and behold, what a great production. Balanchine's choreography was so much better than ABT. The snowflake waltz was magnificent. SO much fake snow was on the stage. I know many people don't think about how hard it is for the ballerinas. The kids were great, though we should always remember that the Nutcracker is heavily for kids. The first act is almost ALL children's choreography. 

 These seats were an experiment. We sat in the 4th ring. We were WAY up there. We could see, but you couldn't really see any facial expressions. Lucky for us, ballet acting is always over the top.  I always forget to bring my opera glasses. I don't think I'd buy seats up there again. Aaron even mentioned that the 5th ring (side seats) would be better because they're closer and they are lower in the theater than our seats were.

I appreciated that NYC Ballet had Clara (or Marie as she was listed in the playbill) not be on pointe. If she's on pointe, it means she's around 15 years old and honestly, the love for a doll at that age is just not accepted in our society. It is much more endearing and believable from a little 10 year old girl.

Glengarry Glen Ross

I wanted to not love this show. There's not a single female role in it and from what I've read, there's only one minor walk on role for women in the film. But alas, the show is a great show. Entertaining, powerful, humorous. I can't wait to see the movie since Al Pacino switched roles, taking on the older big shot role this time. In the film, he was the hot shot that ran the place. Pacino was pretty good though at times, his timing was pretty much begging the audience to applaud him more like a clap whore. Bobby Cannavale really stole the show. I hope he gets a tony nomination for this role. Unfortunately, it's a limited Broadway engagement which means that the voters will not get another chance to see it. Also, ticket prices have been outrageous (Ive heard they're going for over $200, but luckily,  I got them for $110 on stubhub!)

 We had GREAT seats, second row mezz, center section right on the aisle. The only bad part about these seats was the Pacino fanatic sitting in front of us who hadn't showered in days, was the size of a boulder, and had crack for days. Everytime he stood up we got a whiff of him greasy locks and ominous crevice.

I can't say enough about this show that's great. I'm sorry that it's going to close so soon. Previous to this show, we've seen Bonnie and Clyde, The Motherfucker with the Hat, and A Chorus Line here.

Cyrano De Bergerac

I got free tickets from a friend to see Cyrano the day before it closed. I never knew that this play is what Roxanne is based off of. I went in literally knowing nothing about the story. It was a little slow, taking nearly an hour to get to anything good about the show. Cyrano is a poet and is in love with his cousin Roxanne. However, a young boy named Christian also loves Roxanne and he's gorgeous. Cyrano, afraid that he looks awful because of his enormous nose, woos Roxanne while playing as Christian so that at least one of them can have happiness.

 We sat in the rear of the orchestra and the seats were perfect. I notice that whenever I see a show at the American Airlines theater, I'm one of the youngest patrons in attendance. Roundabout should work on that.

Douglas Hodge was great and Clemence Poesy was fun to watch on stage. It's nice to know that Harry Potter isn't the only thing she can do.

A Christmas Story

 Wow, what a fun Christmas show. It's been a while since I've seen something new on Broadway that made me want to see it again! First off, the children's chorus in this ensemble is out of this world, including a 9 year old tapper that may very well be the greatest tapper I've ever seen.

All the comedy (minus the Little Orphan Annie) from the movie is thrown in for your enjoyment. The kid who played Ralphie was stellar. 

 I found the parents to be great as well. The "old man" really got those father moments where as a kid, you would've thought your dad would really kill you! The show had all the pizzazz of being a tourist trap but it wasn't 42nd Street.

I got a rush ticket to sit in the rear mezz row D. It was a little far back but the show was so BIG that you can sit father back and still see everything.

Chaplin

I went with my friend Todd to see Chaplin tonight. I'd been trying to see it for a while now but people kept bailing, or I'd suggest it to someone else and they'd groan with a "meh, I'm not that interested in seeing that." The show is an interesting one, literally a bio of Charlie Chaplin. You learn about his childhood (so sad) and how he came to be the funny tramp that we all know him as now. Rob McClure was a genius in the movements of Chaplin and carried the show, but none of the characters were particularly likable, not even Charlie himself. 

 The music was really bad. Okay, in act 2 there were 1 or 2 songs that I enjoyed, but nothing that I could hum for you. One aspect that I liked was everyone was wearing black and white clothing, had white makeup on, and an occasional "cigarette burn" from a film would be projected over the performers to make it appear as if we were watching a film. Todd definitely liked it more than myself. I'm not sure if this one will be open at Tonys time but McClure will probably muster up a nomination.

I sat in the rear orchestra and my seat was perfect. Joey Grey was in the audience that night as well.

Book of Mormon

 If you can't already tell, I really enjoy this show. I'd have to if I've already been 4 times, no? This time around, I bought my tickets MONTHS in advance. I took my husband and his friends who are big South Park fans. Both Josh Gad and Andrew Rannells are gone at this point, and I could tell that the show is a little less funny, but someone seeing the show for the first time wouldn't know the difference. Rory O'Malley was still great and everytime I see "Turn It Off," it gets better.

I don't really have much to say about the show because I've already said it 3 times before. I did sit in the front mezz and the seats were the best by definition but I always feel really far back from the stage when sitting in the mezz at this theater.

Spiderman Turn Off The Dark

 Wow, I needed an entire week to get the bad taste out of my mouth from this show. It shouldn't have ever been an idea for a show. Aaron and I actually laughed to each other during the show because it was THAT ridiculous! With a budget of 60 Million and with collaborators like Bono and The Edge, you would think that they could've done SOMETHING with the story. The show started out OK. I'm not saying it was even like Rock of Ages (which I hated as well). YOu can see where Julie Taymor barely touched this production. The production team fired her and got rid of most of her artistic ideas for a broader audience and ended up with crap.

 See, right about now, the show was still good. It was all about Arachne weaving a tapestry. There were 7 aerialists swinging on silks to make an awesome design. I was thoroughly enjoying the vision....Then enter this!

Card board cut outs. Okay, they're not card board. But they could've been. Rather than have the actors go on stage, they would bring out these weird pieces to "further the story." Yeah, no! Not buying it. I don't even know if an 8 year old boy would fully enjoy this show. It was disjointed and weird. The illusion of Peter Parker being Spiderman was shot as well, since they actually showed a Spiderman on stage at the same time that Reeve Carney was on stage. Also, the flying aspect that everyone was excited for was so boring. We were under the mezzanine so we couldn't see where he was landing on the balcony, but I don't think the extra fly time would've saved it for me.

Oh yeah, there were weird minions in comic book type masks. The show couldn't figure out if it was in the 60's or modern times, a comic book, or simply mocking one, and what vocal style it was supposed to be. Mary Jane was boring and Peter sounded like he had to shit for every song (pretty much just sounded like a bad Bono) I get that you want to sound like Bono, but I would've bought the character more had he started the show with a  "wimpy" voice and then gotten this awesome rock voice after the spider bite.

We sat in YY which was pretty good. We didn't miss anything except for when Peter swung above the mezzanine. Do not go see this show. I hate feeling like I wasted time and that's exactly what will happen if you see this show.

Grace

 Paul Rudd has come back to Broadway. We decided to check him out seeing as we see nearly all his films. We didn't even know the premise of the show. It's basically about bible toting freaks who move to a new city and have to make friends. (Well, that's a VERY broad explanation but I don't want to give anything away) The writing wasn't great to be honest. Aaron didn't like the female character. But we did really like Rudd's acting. He was solid.

 We sat in row C of the mezz which was a nice change. I'm always seated in the house left orchestra here so I got to see it was up high. The seats weren't too terribly comfortable (it could stand a remodel job) but they were roomier than some other theaters.

There was a great monologue done by an actor where he was getting customer service on a phone which was hysterical and everyone in the audience could relate to. Ed Asner also stars in it and we didn't know until after the show ended that he is the voice from Up!

Peter and the Starcatcher

 Sigh, I just love this show. So inventive. Even if you're not a Peter Pan fan, you can at least admire the imagination going on stage during this show. I took my husband and cousin (Aaron HATES Peter Pan with a passion and it literally took me all summer to get him to agree to come) for some fun theater. Even he had to agree that the prop-age on stage was amazing. Sometimes the props were in fact people and not things. This is my first time seeing the show after having read the book and it was nice to know exactly who the characters were this time. The first 20 minutes go by so fast, not to mention there are no microphones, the funny accents, and out of towner theater goers who insist on talking over the dialogue.

 The opener of act 2 (Starstuff Mermaid song) was so much easier to watch after reading the book. For some reason, the first time I saw the show, I just thought it was a fun mermaid number that the pirates decided to put on, not actual mermaids. Yeah, don't ask me why I thought that...

The only cast member that was different this time around was Black Stache, but he didn't disappoint. My cousin was laughing hysterically over all his antics, and the Smee continued to compliment his partner. Aaron pointed out that Peter is quite a boring part in this show, and that the writing just begs for you to side with Black Stache!

Bring It On

Wow, what a fun show. And what talent. I was really pleasantly surprised seeing this show. I really thought it was going to disappoint, but glad I took a chance. Not only does Bring it On give a fresh new story, but the stunts are incredible. You can tell that half of the cast are professional gymnasts and cheerleaders, while the other half are dancers who sing. There are no singers who move well. Even the one fat chick can pop and lock like no one else. The first 4 songs were "meh" at best. I was really concerned, thinking I had wasted $35 on rush tickets. But as soon as the urban characters showed up, the music got better. I also feel like as soon as Campbell moved to Jackson High School, the tone of the musical loosened up. Don't take yourself too seriously when you're a cheerleading musical.

I could not believe how high these girls were flying and managing to sing. My friend Teddy Toye is cast in this show as a swing and lucky for me, he was actually performing the day I went. I didn't really like the lead's voice, but she did a great job of not only singing her heart out, but also stepping up to the plate for some stunts. It's a huge cast!

 I got box seats and the sight lines were a little bad. At intermission I saw there were seats in the orchestra so I moved and scored.....3rd row, center section. They were almost too close. I've seen MANY shows in this theater and the sides are really bad. Previously, I've seen Leap of Faith, American Idiot, Gypsy, and The Producers here. So yeah, I've been in this theater AT LEAST 10 times.

Ghost

What a disappointment. I wanted to like this show going in, but it was just bad. The lyrics were so trite, the screens were distracting, and the choreography was probably the worst we've ever seen for an ensemble. Ensemble dance parts were SO bad that we found ourselves chuckling. The ensemble was pretty much unnecessary. We felt like the production team spent the whole budget on special effects (San walking through walls and moving things without touching them was very cool) so there was only enough money to use cheap clip art for the backgrounds.

During the love scene, they actually showed a short movie that included some close ups of Sam's butt. It made me feel very uncomfortable as an audience member. I was also shocked at how bad some of the actors were being on stage. The understudy playing the bad guy actually broke character during a freak out scene to pick up a prop that dropped, completely out of character. The actors playing Sam, Oda Mae, and Molly were great. It's too bad they couldn't save the show. 

 Both times I've ever been in this theater, I've been seated in the rear mezz. I need to sit closer. This theater was meant for HUGE productions like Beauty and the Beast.

Les Miserables

 Our second show in London was Les Miserables because Aaron hadn't seen it since he was a child and I hadn't seen it since 2006. Okay, 6 years isn't that long, but I love this show. The London cast was great. Aaron was confused as to why Jean Val Jean's songs are so high. I have no answer for it except that it was written that way. I hated the Cosette. She sounded like a balloon that was deflating with a flattened neck. Other than her, it was great. This was probably the best Gavroche I've ever seen.

One thing I really didn't like was when Javert killed himself. Rather than jumping into fog, he was on the ground and the bridge piece flew UP to look like he jumped.

Matilda

 What a sweet ingenious choice for a musical. Matilda is one of my favorite books from my adolescence. So when I heard it was being made into a musical, I had to get tickets. Oh, and go to London to see it because I am NOT waiting a whole year to see it in NYC. The music was great, though listening to it without the visual is harder. In London, they don't give you playbills (you have to pay 5 pounds to get one) so I don't actually know who was performing. I quite regret not buying one now. The Matilda that night was great, and we found out later that Matilda's boyfriend was sitting next to us. The Trunchbull character was great because it's cast list Edna in Hairspray, by a man.

We actually saw part of the set fall off and nearly hit Matilda and Miss Honey. Everyone in the cast really worked hard. Aaron and myself found that the large children's cast songs were the best. 

Clybourne Park

 What an amazing piece of theater. I was really worried about this one. We've been burned by a lot of plays this last year. This was nominated for best new play so we figured it couldn't be that bad. It's pretty much a side story/sequel to A Raisin in the Sun. It really interested us because it dealt with gentrification of a neighborhood, something that is happening in our neighborhood. The actors were great. In fact, one of the actors won a tony for his performance. And how could he not?! The cast is comprised of 7 actors who play 2 different roles, 1 in the first act, the other in the 2nd. Some of the actors play similar attitudes throughout, but man, this one actor was a complete 180.

I even really liked the set design. I'm not sure how they made this house in the first act look nasty and covered in grafitti, but they did a seamless job.

We had excellent seats (thanks TDF) in row F of the orchestra in house left. We didn't miss a thing.

Jesus Christ Superstar

I have been putting off seeing Rock Musicals/Operas because the music is just meh for me. I'm not huge into rock to begin with, so making a show ONLY music for 2 1/2 hours is rough for me. I've never liked the music of JCS, but lo and behold, I now like it due to this cast. Were they perfect? Definitely not. The cast didn't look happy to be working. They were only nominated for 2 tonys, one being best revival and the other for their Judas. Both Judas and Jesus were great. Mary was nice, but her voice I found to be very held back. Maybe she was holding off for a different night?

 We sat in row M of the orchestra off stage right, but didn't miss anything. The concept of the show was great, using lots of lights like the Dow. It felt very much like a rock concert. And a very powerful moment of the show was when Jesus got whipped repeatedly, counted 40 times by Pontius Pilot.

Previous to this show, we have seen Chinglish and La Cage Aux Folles here.

Nice Work if You Can Get It

How on earth did this get nominated for best musical?! I don't get it. Sure, it was cute, but BEST?! This is far from best in my opinion. First off, it's an old soul musical. Even though it's filled with Gershwin's songs, it's a new story....but hey, wait a minute, I feel like I've watched it before....that's because it's a kooky show of mistaken identities, lies, and quick costume changes. I shouldn't bag on it though, as it was entertaining. I didn't leave at intermission. Kelli O'Hara was wonderful and the guy who played Cookie was great. I didn't even know he was nominated until intermission, but I knew he was the best.

I feel as though Matthew might have been the weak link here. He's a crowd pleaser. Everyone wants to see Ferris Buehler on stage....and you'll get him, that's for sure....because Matthew isn't really acting. 

The chorus girls might have also been a weak link for me. The jokes were just too corny and not delivered with an oomph. My grandparents would've loved it though, so I guess I'm not the target audience.

I sat WAY far back....row E of the rear mezz. At intermission, I moved up to front row of the rear mezz....still pretty far back, but a little closer. Previous to this show, I've seen August Osage County, The Boy From Oz, Billy Elliot, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels...(my first "date" with my now husband!)