Cats

I finally got to see the Jellicle Ball in person! It was magnificent! Aaron thoroughly enjoyed it as well. Still days later he talked about the show and I was able to put the Cast recording on and he didn't protest. I thoroughly enjoyed seeing this live and it brought back a lot of memories. 

 

The show is the same no matter when you see it so it is hard for me to find modern pictures. It's so 80's looking, I love it. The only complaint I had had nothing to do with the show but rather the audience. Do not bring children to Cats. It's confusing and they will be bored. They are rude, and you are an asshole if you make others have to deal with your snotty ass kids.

We had great seats in the mezzanine, right on the aisle, row F. It was broadway week so it was 2 for 1. I'd totally do it again for that price.

The Front Page

On a whim, we decided to check out the Front Page on broadway. I had passed the theater a million times because of work, and seen the names on the marquee, so I knew they were relying on good writing and star power. I convinced Aaron to purchase some tickets via TKTS, and we were given great seats right on the aisle in the orchestra. 

 The whole cast was very tight, but I found the female roles to be lacking in dimension. The men were seen as funny, and in control, while the women were so flat that I was happy when they exited, which is sad because I usually love Sherie Rene Scott. Nathan Lane of course was the main pull for me. I've now seen him in multiple productions and he never ceases to amaze me. We were disappointed that John Goodman had called out that night. Oh well.

We had great seats right on the aisle and I couldn't have asked for a better night of live straight theater.

Les Liaisons Dangereuses

Wow, what a sexy show. I went into the theater not knowing much other than Liev Schreiber was in it, and this story is what Cruel Intentions was based on. Knowing that movie made all the difference. I went to see this with my husband, and my two uncles and I was the only one who really knew what was going on. 

 The story isn't simple, but the main undertone is that the rich and bored social elites in Paris are using sex as a weapon for fun to humiliate others for a laugh. The acting was quite good, though I didn't believe the love between Le Vicomte de Valmont and Madame de Tourvel. The Vicomte was literally going around "grabbing women by the pussy" which was very unsettling, but also very steamy. You could hear the uncomfortableness throughout the audience.

 The costuming was divine and the lead, La Marquise de Merteuil wore the most amazing hats, dresses, and shoes. She was definitely the most evil. The play ended in a way that leads me to believe that the worst is yet to come for her. The play is also based off a novel that came out in 17th century France, which is absolutely scandalous to think they were doing this at that time.

I sat in row C of the mezzanine at the Booth theater and they were spectacular seats! I'd recommend this to someone who wants to see classic broadway theater. It was a little hard to pay attention a times, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. It got mixed reviews and I didn't agree with them.

Waitress

This was the second time I got to see this show, and I brought my friend from high school who had never seen a Bway show. I knew this one would be a good choice for her. It's witty, smart, funny, pulls at your heart strings, and the music is amazing.

 Since seeing it last time, most of the cast has changed. Jessie Meuller and Christopher Fitzgerald were both out (damn it) so they had understudies on, and the secondary cast has also gone through a change, so it really felt like a whole different show for me. One of the things that didn't work that well for me was that Becky has now been cast as a black lady, and I thought she was amazing, but there are a few beats on stage where the character Joe "shoos" her off, and says "I don't want YOU" and it felt way more racist than the last time when it was a hispanic woman. Made me feel uncomfortable.

We loved seeing the show, and my friend LOVED "It Only Takes a Taste." 

 The understudy for Jessie Meuller actually came from the ensemble and plays the doctor's wife every night, so I was able to explain to my friend about "tracks" and seeing who in the ensemble would cover the leads. We loved it and had great seats in the 4th to last row in the orchestra on the side. We missed maybe 1 entrance, but nothing huge.

Something Rotten

I bought tickets for Aaron and myself to see Something Rotten because we've been wanting to see a comedy, and I had loved it the first time I saw it. The cast has changed (Brian Darcy James and Christian Borle have left) but it was still entertaining as ever.  I got my tickets through TDF and when we arrived, the box office couldn't find my tickets. I was able to show them my confirmation email so they gave us two random tickets, which were dead center in the second to last row in the orchestra. They were perfect seats.

 Brad Oscar is the only real original cast member still remaining and he commands the stage whenever he is there. "A Musical" was a huge crowd favorite, and Aaron enjoyed it thoroughly. I didn't care too much for the romantic stories; they felt stale and forced.

 The dance numbers were of course what I remember the most about the show. Specifically, the tap dancing. Some people complain that not everyone is wearing tap shoes, but I don't care because I can tell that everyone is still doing the steps. The costuming always makes me gag too, as it's so colorful and beautiful!

 And of course, I loved the story line. What a silly story, to have Shakespeare be the equivalent of a rock star with back up dancers!

Again, we had amazing seats. I would have loved to have sat closer.

School of Rock

What a fun night of theater! We went to TKTS today and got these seats to enjoy ourselves. We loved the movie and hadn't seen it in a long time, and our main concern with the show was that the lead might try too hard to be "Jack Black" instead of "Dewey!"

The most impressive thing about his performance was that he made the character of Dewey his own. I enjoyed watching him reacting with the kids and I saw a change in his character, going from deadbeat to someone that cared deeply for the kids. And the kids! They were so talented. They all sang extremely well, and played their own instruments. That fact alone would be enough for me to send people to see this show. They weren't annoying kids like on a disney channel show.

The show was full of high energy! And the songs were fun to tap your toes to. I even saved some of the songs to my spotify playlist. 

We had seats in the orchestra off to the side on house right, and we didn't really miss anything. The theater is extremely wide and shallow, so the sight lines have potential to be bad. I would definitely not buy tickets all the way on the ends. I sat in O32 and would not want to sit closer to the edge.

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.