Venus in Fur

This show has been getting a lot of buzz around town. Newspapers and magazines alike are claiming that it's the sexiest show of the season (even Vogue, though why would I care what Vogue says about a broadway show?!) I am a huge fan of Nina Arianda, she being an alum of AMDA and even went to school there at the same time I was attending. I am also a humungous David Ives fan, having performed one of his short plays in high school (edited for content of course, but funny nonetheless). This play just didn't scream anything to me. Sure it was funny. It was also sexy. But was it the sexiest or the funniest? Hardly. I felt that Ives has written so much better stuff and Arianda shone more in Born Yesterday. I am sure she'll get some sort of nomination for this performance, however. I thought Hugh Dancy was fine. I don't have much of a history of him....so yeah. Would I send someone to this show? Maybe. Is it awful? No. Aaron was quoted "This is what Spring Awakening would have been without any music."

We were in row G in the mezz. The theater is really small so it's one of the more intimate settings for theater. (It's also the last theater I needed for "theater bingo". I have been in EVERY SINGLE theater on broadway at some point in my life!) They have a balcony, so maybe it's less intimate feeling up there. This theater is in a DIRE need of a renovation though. The minute you walk into the lobby, you see the old moldings, pictures hanging of actors long gone, etc. The seats were SO uncomfortable. Oh, and they might be the most uncoordinated and clueless ushers I've seen in some time.
The play is nice and short and has a couple of surprises, but it's not a MUST see. Well, if you like Nina Arianda in leather and lingerie, it IS a must see.

Sister Act

This show was enjoyable. A great one to catch on a Saturday matinee. I had been skeptical about this one too. For ages. But after many friends telling me "It's so good" or "it's a great time, you'll be dancing the whole time", I thought, "why not?" And it was pretty fun. I was smiling most of the show which is nice since I was in the front row. I wanted to dance with them (and I could've as the dances were not hard at all). Patina Miller sang her heart out (except for one song where me and my friend could definitely tell that she was lip synching). I found the best part of the show was the ensemble, aka the 10-15 nuns that don't really have any lines. They were fierce with their harmonies and jesus, these girls were mixing SO high. That, and the 4 villains. They were funny as shit!

My seat was in the front row pretty much almost dead center. You can't beat the seat for the price of $25! I couldn't even really miss anything. No excuses not to get these seats as opposed to full price.I've never seen so many sequined habits before! There wasn't any tap dancing which made me a little sad, but this show is totally a singing show, not a dancing one. And the script was very funny, having witty moments in every scene.

Priscilla Queen of the Desert

OMG I absolutely love this show! It's like a bachelorette party every night! Everyone in the cast is flawless, especially Nick Adams who plays Felicia. Not an ounce of fat on him. I sat in the balcony (nosebleed section...thanks tdf) and could still see each and every contour of his tight thighs! Jesus! Nick Adams is reason enough to see the show! Haha, can you tell that I have a gaybee crush?!

The balcony was only half full, the boxes not even used. I don't know if it means that my show is doomed or not worry about it since it was only a Monday night in the middle of winter. I was row E, center section. I can honestly say now that it's probably best to sit in the mezzanine where you get the best seats. You can see the divas hanging from the ceiling, Nick Adams doing his lip sync on top of the bus, and you can see everything that happens on the floor. (There are about 4 jokes in all that happen on the floor)

How can you not love the costumes in this show?! Would I send anyone to it? Probably. It's seriously a good time. All the songs are crazy fun. You just want to dance in your chair (don't, as you might spill your third glass of wine) or sing along (don't, because you might disturb those around you) but you can pretend you're doing both. In my opinion, it's appropriate for anyone. There isn't any male on male kissing or even bedroom events. If I had a child, I might even take them to see it to show that there are all types of people in this world; gay, straight, transgendered, drag queens, etc.The main mantra of the show is to be who you and be proud of that person. I think that's a universal message that anyone can enjoy, especially when you get to listen to Madonna hits!

Million Dollar Quartet

Once again, I find myself at New World Stages, the off Broadway mecca for plays and musicals alike. We're here to finally see Million Dollar Quartet, the once Broadway musical about 4 legends; Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Presley, and Johnny Cash. It was very entertaining, the actors all played their instruments, and our seats were dynamite! We were in row C center section.The show is based on a real event. This made it much more interesting for me, though I still prefer Jersey Boys! My favorite part of the show was when the actors made THIS EXACT pose and you could hear the actual audio from the men.
I'd recommend it to anyone who loves 50's music, any/all of the men featured in the show, or if you're over the age of 55. I swear to god, most of the people in the theater were older than my parents and were singing along to every song. (A little annoying might I add, as I never go to the theater to hear Tone Deaf Todd sitting behind me)

Chinglish

A couple of nights ago, we saw Chinglish, a new play about translations and how they can often be turned into whole different phrases. I imagine it's very close to my father's experiences while on business in China. It was very entertaining, most of the show actually being in Mandarin with English subtitles. Very early on in the play, you see how Chinese translations are VERY different from English counterpoints.

We sat in the orchestra....row H off to the right. The seats were PERFECT. I had no trouble seeing any of the actors' faces. The set was AMAZING! It revolved, having 2 sides that switched. The pieces fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

It's closing already (one week left) and definitely has its weak points, but I think someone like my dad would like it. It was also nice to see so many Asians at the theater....(you get the same audience at Miss Saigon)

Relatively Speaking

A nice change up for us was to see 1 act plays on broadway, and how nice of the theater gods to place 3 under one roof in one night of theater. The night was very fun, Woody Allen's show being our favorite. The first one was actually not that memorable in my opinion.
This theater is TINY, and not just in the capacity sense. The seats are small. So small, that you are uncomfortable. You're practically ON TOP of your neighbor. I don't see them renovating and changing the seats anytime soon as I think they're getting more money with the crampiness.Both of these plays were ridiculously funny!

The Mountaintop

Wow, what a piece of theater! 2 greats on 1 stage! Angela Bassett will receive a tony nomination for best female in a lead role for sure! (If she doesn't, I will be SHOCKED!) Samuel L. Jackson was good as well, but he was playing Martin Luther King Jr., no easy feat. It's a limited run, so there isn't much more time to see it.
This theater is GREAT for seeing shows. It's super intimate and small. We sat in row E in the orchestra all the way against the wall. Though it MIGHT be considered partial view (we couldn't see stage left which they rarely stood in) they were GREAT seats! We were literally 20 feet away from the actors. You could see every facial expression. I don't think I'll ever dislike seeing a show in this theater. Previously, we've seen Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and God of Carnage here. For BBAJ, they really transformed the theater so that it was covered in red christmas lights and even had a horse hanging upside down from the ceiling....Aaron was a little shocked that this was the same theater.
I will say that this was one of my least have theater experiences as of late. Not because of the theater or the performers, but because of the audiences members sitting next to me. They showed up late, talked, texted, and even answered the phone TWICE! My blood was boiling! I missed some important plot points and Aaron had to explain it later.