She Loves Me

I've been waiting a very long time to see this show. Every girl at my college sang songs from this show because it is super charming, lesser known than the Rogers and Hammerstein shows, and it made Barbara Cook into a legend and household name.  I took Aaron and had to convince him by saying that it is the story that You've Got Mail is based on (not a lie).

 The sets were gorgeous and the orchestra was great. I hated how everyone was talking during the overture in the audience....hey people, I paid to hear the music, not you.  It's set in 1930's Budapest, but all the actors and characters are white which I found silly to be even be in Budapest then. But they wrote it in the 50's.

 I was most excited to see Laura Benanti perform on the stage. She's broadway royalty at this point for me. She was costarred by Zachary Levi, the voice of Flynn Rider, and also the lead in First Date (maybe he shouldn't mention that). They had good chemistry. Though Aaron nudged me in the middle of act 2 to tell me that she was outshining him (DUH) He was very lax and almost didn't appear to give a damn until his epiphany song "She Loves Me". Laura totally commanded every moment she was on stage.

Other noteworthy performances were by Jane Krakowski whom which I've never seen live, but adored. She was playing Ilona, the role I'd want to play. Her romantic lead was played by Gavin Creel whom I first saw in Thoroughly Modern Millie playing Jimmy.....he won a tony for that, and that was over 13 years ago! It was amazing to see him doing his thing on stage again! Also, the costuming was DROOL WORTHY! Not only was the female costuming divine, the mens' belt backed jackets and suits were insane!

The weak link in the cast was Mr. Levi, but he wasn't bad. He was just outshined by all his costars.

We had decent seats (thanks to hip tix) but unfortunately, there was a GIANT sitting in front of us, making it so Aaron couldn't see half the stage all at once. We sat house left in row M. I'd see it again.

Noises Off!

 I've always loved this show. I first saw it in 2002 starring Patti Lupone as Dotty, but didn't love her in it. This time around, I'm much older, wiser, and have been around the block a couple of times so all the stage jokes are that much more funny. I took Aaron and we had great seats (thanks hiptix) The cast had Andrea Martin who I know mostly from My Big Fat Greek Wedding (I'll make lamb) but Aaron knows her most from Pippin as the Grandma who sang from a freakin' trapeze. Is there anything that woman can't do?! Also, Megan Hilty was playing Brooke so I was excited to see her acting chops live. There were many understudies tonight though....

 As I said, our seats were great. The sight lines were wonderful (in fact we only missed the demi floor bathroom door which barely anything is done there)and we sat in row M of the orchestra all the way to the end house left....It was easy to escape for the bathroom.

 My favorite parts are the first act and the second act. The third becomes so stressful for me as an actor. We saw it closing week so unfortunately I can't tell more people about it. Very well done!

Fiddler on the Roof

 Danny Bernstein returned to Broadway playing Tevye, one of the most tony award winning roles ever! So naturally, I had to see this. He's one of my favorite performers ever! I bought tickets as part of the Broadway week promotion, and we sat in the first row of the rear mezz for $50 a piece! You cannot beat that!

I'd seen Fiddler the last time it was on Broadway with Alfred Molina in the lead role. This was much different. The show started with a bare stage and a man dressed in current period. So the scene was already a change. The first couple of minutes were tedious. The Yente was probably one of the worst I've ever seen (her lines were so slow and like she was trying too hard for those laughs that were not coming) and Matchmaker Matchmaker made me want to slit my wrists. I was very concerned at this point. How can you have a bad Matchmaker song?! Eventually the show DID become magical. But I was still extremely disappointed in all the daughters. There are HOW many girls in NYC looking for work and these are the actresses you settled on?! 

The thing that probably made me cry the most was the choreography during To Life! It was a mixture of the Jewish men in town and the Russian soldiers' dancing. It was so different, yet mixed so well. I couldn't even explain how beautiful it was. 

Our seats were excellent and I'd totally sit there again for a big show. If it was a smaller show/story, I'd go for closer to the front.

Allegiance

 I bought tickets to see this new musical with my husband, and 2 best friends. We are all into 1930-40's fashion and knew that this show would be filled to the brim with some amazing prints, shoes, etc. Also, we are all pro swing dancers and knew that there would be some swing (though we already went in with low expectations on that end)Based on the childhood of George Takei of Star Trek fan, it's the story about a family that gets put into an internment camp during the Second World War. It's a story that not even our history books spend much time on as it's an embarrassing time in our country where racism took the helm. It also feels very familiar with the current events of Donald Trump saying we should not let ANY Muslims into our country (disgusting that people should utter something so racist and moronic)

I wanted to love this show. I wanted it to make me feel, and for me to leave the theater singing the songs. While I felt like I could cry a number of times (very strong imagery and directing choices), the music often brought me out of it. The writing of certain scenes were disjointed. For instance, the subject matter is very heavy, and most scenes would involve a heavy topic, and then Takei would say a funny laugh line to end the scene. It was very formulaic. The music wasn't memorable, safe for a few numbers. The dancing made me cringe and not just the lindy hop. I found the basic choreography to be disjointed and unwarranted. It was trying to be something it wasn't. But I am glad I saw the show. It is important to support new pieces of theater, to support new stories being told, and I left the theater knowing more than I had before going in. 

 We had the most amazing seats (row 3 center orchestra), so pretty much the actors could SPIT on us if they chose. Seeing Lea Salonga this close was so special. She truly is a theater gem.

The fashion was so good and we found ourselves drooling throughout. A lot of the shoes were Remix Shoes (I spotted the Aviators), and many of the prints were authentic on the dresses. If they ever sell them, I WANT IT ALL!

Dames at Sea

I bought the cheapest tickets EVER for Dames at Sea, a show I've been dying to see as I've only ever done it. The promo for the previews was $19.33 per ticket, the year in which the show takes place. I knew all the songs, and knew that Randy Skinner's choreography and direction would inspire me AND frustrate me as I couldn't dance in my seat. 

Most of the actors were dancers first which makes sense. The show is a BEAST for tappers. I enjoyed how silly and campy it was. It's been a while since I'v laughed over BAD lines. I believed the silly romance between Dick and Ruby who had met for one day, but didn't necessarily believe the love between Lucky and Joan. The best by far was Mona! She was phenom and I'm sure she'll be nominated for a tony.

 We sat in row M in the middle section! I mean, for $20 I cannot believe how much show I got. When we got up to leave, Randy Skinner was sitting 2 rows behind us taking notes! OMFG!

The end tap number (Star Tar) was by far the best tap I've ever seen in a tap show. It was so clean and confident!

The King and I

 WOW! I am SO glad I saw this show. After seeing the production in Paris, I wasn't sure if it was the show itself or that particular production that was tired. It was the latter. The costuming, acting, singing, orchestrations, sets....it was ALL amazing! Seeing Kelli O'hara perform in her Tony award winning performance was magic. I was also excited because a girl I went to school with (Minami) was on as a swing. My other friend, Ashley who plays Tuptim, was out....sad!

Seeing Ruthie Ann Miles play Lady Thiang was probably one of the best moments of theater for me in my life. No lie! I've never connected with that character and when you see the movie or another production, you may write her off. Ruth's potrayal was so deep and developed. My friend Diane nudged me and said that I NEED to play this role. It has now become a dream role for me.

Kelli was delightful and it's amazing to hear her sing the songs. It's effortless. The King was played by Jose Llana, who I thought had a lot of great moments, but the two of them didn't really have sexual tension. I would see the show again in a heartbeat! The orchestra was nearly 30 pieces large!

We sat in the front row on house right. I could hear the french horns using their spit valve! There were many times where the actors were past my seat so I was seeing the back of someone's head, but I got my seat for $30! You cannot beat that!

Hamilton

This is THE hottest show on broadway right now (move over, Book of Mormon). When I heard that my father in law wanted to see this one, I wasted no time and tried to find tickets. (The box office is swarmed with old people, btw) We had to purchase tickets via stub hub and there was a huge markup. Le sigh. 

It was worth it though. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about. A musical about Alexander Hamilton that is told mostly through rap?! Are you kidding me?! It actually kicked ass. Not only was my Alexander Hamilton knowledge in short supply before attending, but my Aaron Burr knowledge was even less. He's gone down in history solely as the man who killed AH in that oh so famous duel. 

 Everyone was a powerhouse. The leads had pipes (though Lin-Manuel is not much of a singer) and Lin-Manuel has such a presence. It's really inspiring to see him perform his own work (I wouldn't have it any other way) Jonathan Groff was a huge sleeper for me. He had 1 song that he sang 3 times with different lyrics, and he barely moved, but his moments were SO good. I want to get the cast recording just so I can hear everyone's lyrics again (rap goes by fast). I also really enjoyed the choreography. Since it has an urban feel, all the chorus has to be great at hip hop as well as musical theater.

We sat in the rear mezz (3rd row) to the right. I could see everything fine. I would've liked to sit closer, but I wasn't going to pay over $200 for that. 

 One of my fave scenes (which happened twice) was a rap battle with AH vs Thomas Jefferson. It was literally a cabinet meeting/rap battle. I learned a lot as well as thoroughly enjoyed myself. Even my father in law liked it, though he said that the scenes with the women singers were the best and he didn't love the rapping.