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!