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!)

Porgy and Bess

Check! Finally say Audra McDonald perform! She's one of the greats! What I worried about most in this production is that whomever she was set against, they wouldn't measure up! But Norm Lewis did a great job. So good that Aaron said he's going to win the Tony for best male in a lead role! We'll see how that goes. We don't really see a lot of opera, so this was a change of pace!

 The vocals were very powerful, like a baptist church! Everyone on stage was hard at work. The dance scenes (though not many) were very entertaining.

 We sat row E in the mezzanine and while we could've been closer to see Audra better, we still had excellent seats. The last shows I saw here were Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo and In the Heights!

Peter and the Starcatcher

 Wow, what an amazing show. Such creativity! Everyone on stage pulled their own weight! It's nominated for 10 tonys this year! Great job, PatSC! I went with Todd and he won lottery tickets ($27) to sit in the orchestra row L! They were off to the side, but really we didn't miss a thing! This show made me laugh out loud, ooh and aah over what "junk" they were using to build the scene, and cry over what was happening in their world. I sure hope it wins best play. It's like nothing else on Broadway right how.

 As I said, we sat in row L, house left. It was great! I'd definitely try to win lottery again as the deal you're making it unbeatable!

Christian Borle is in this as Black Stache, later known as Captain Hook....(not even in this show might I add) and he was FABULOUS! I think he has a great chance of winning. Seriously, all around great performances!