Broadway Productions

[pianoplayer88]

Has anyone seen any broadway productions? Which ones? Has anyone seen Wicked? If you have what is your favorite song from it? What about Phantom of the Opera?

[cmg]

Has anyone seen any broadway productions? Which ones? Has anyone seen Wicked? If you have what is your favorite song from it? What about Phantom of the Opera?

"Wicked" is tired, painfully strident and only suitable for 16-year-old girls.  If you qualify, by all means get a ticket. 

The "real Broadway" is actually ailing.  Original works, musically speaking, don't really get on stage anymore.  Maybe "Spring Awakening" if you fancy that retro-rock-crap style of composition that the musical "Rent" spawned.  But, actually "Rent" was out-dated before it was written:  It's just "Hair," a musical from 1968 retro-fitted with 1990's junk music and updated with references to AIDS to make it resonate with Puccini's 19th-century masterpiece "La Boheme" for those who don't know any better.  "Light in the Piazza" was the last truly original musical of any substance produced in New York in years.  It closed months ago, unfortunately.  "Mamma Mia," of course, continues to humiliate New Yorkers, but tourists love this ABBA crap.  It wlll play forever, despite the movie's appearance.  You could easily get a ticket for this.  Everyone in NYC has an actor friend who's played a role in this debacle.  We've heard them b*tch about it for months on end, even as they took the big Broadway check to the bank.  No artistic payback, you see.  But the pay is terrific.   

Andrew Lloyd-Weber.  Let's see.  I think even the British regard anything by Andrew Lloyd-Weber as an embarrassment by now, but I could be wrong.  Andrew Lloyd-Weber is that British "lite" composer who has stolen from Puccini and made himself rich.  I wouldn't pay money to hear any of his trash, personally.  My advice is to buy his soundtracks on CD before you spring for plane fare and hotel and a $100 plus ticket to hear his work.  You'll be glad you saved the money.

So, what's left on Broadway?  Well, two truly great revivals, naturally.  "Gypsy" with Patti Lupone.  A night at the theater that's actually worth the ticket price.  And  the Lincoln Center revival of "South Pacific."  Be warned:  tickets are very hard to get and you'll have to spend a lot through brokers to get a seat.

Theatrically speaking, "August: Osage County" is as great as theater gets and tickets are obtainable.  It's not a musical and it's not commercial theater, so tourists avoid it.  Still, you won't see greater theater anywhere on earth than this 3 1/2 hour stage production imported from Chicago.  There's a production of "The Seagull" flying our way from Britain, currently in previews, that could be done cheaply.  Check the NY Times.  It does look promising. 

Also, you missed a great off-Broadway production of a staged version of the first chapter (every word intact) of Faulkner's "The Sound and the Fury' that was pretty much shot through with genius.  About a dozen of NY's best stage actors (totally unknown to the rest of the world) brought this great novel to life.  The production goes on a world tour in two months.  If you're European or Australian, check you local papers for the touring company.   

[pianoplayer88]

I have not seen Wicked, yet I will continue to long for a ticket. I realize the musical is a little stupid but that's what makes it so funny. Obviously you don't appreciate Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. I don't care what you say about it, a friend of mine and
I are planning on performing this musical and you can scoff at it all you want.
As for Andrew Lloyd Webber, I am a huge fan of his music and you just criticized a great artist.
As for the rest of the musicals, never heard of them.

Does anyone LIKE broadway productions?

[cmg]

I have not seen Wicked, yet I will continue to long for a ticket. I realize the musical is a little stupid but that's what makes it so funny. Obviously you don't appreciate Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel. I don't care what you say about it, a friend of mine and
I are planning on performing this musical and you can scoff at it all you want.
As for Andrew Lloyd Webber, I am a huge fan of his music and you just criticized a great artist.
As for the rest of the musicals, never heard of them.

Does anyone LIKE broadway productions?

Ah, I didn't look at your profile before I responded.  You are LESS than 16.  You are 14.  Totally explains some of your ignorance. 

And I do mean "ignorance."  Anyone of any age who begins a thread about Broadway productions and admits to never having heard of "Gypsy,"  "South Pacific,"  "Spring Awakening," "Rent," "Hair," "Light in the Piazza," etc. is not just ignorant but amazingly arrogant for only being 14.  All of these shows are landmark productions and have won major awards and critical acclaim.  If you're this clueless, why did you begin this thread? 

As for Kristin Chenoweth, I can only quote Peter G. Davis (ever hear of him?  I doubt it) of "New York Magazine," who described her completely irritating voice as sounding "like a factory whistle."  I couldn't agree more.  If you think she's the summit of vocal production, you better take up the Kazoo before it's too late.

And if you think Lloyd Weber is a "great artist," you should check on that lobotomy you got and demand a refund.

It's no crime being 14 and having opinions, but your complete lack of education and pomposity about your ignorance is offensive.  Find a teacher, learn something and get back to us later.

Please educate yourself (at least a little) before you come onto a public forum.

[pianoplayer88]

Look, that may be your opinion and that's fine. But now you're criticizing me? You don't even know me...How would you know I'm immature (referring to your other post) when you don't know how I act or what my personality is. I don't know how old you are but I'm sure you've been through a lot more in life and has learned more things. I'm only in 10th grade...I know I still have a lot to learn but you could at least be a little nicer about it. I am open to other ideas for broadway productions, I just recently got into it. So I haven't heard about too many and anyways I don't get too much of a chance to go to a real broadway production.

Oh, and referring to my music abilities, how would you know when you haven't heard me sing or play?


And I apologize for any ignorance I showed on your half. I swear it wasn't intentional.

[mike_lang]

I've seen and played for a number of musicals, mostly in Chicago and in Bloomington, Indiana, where I attend school (actually, Giorgio Tozzi was on our faculty until a year or two ago).

I think my favorite, though it belongs to the "new school," is Songs for a New World.  It is not a true musical, but it is certainly musical theatre, consisting of a series of well-set cabaret songs acted by a cast of four plus a small band.

As for older, more traditional musical theatre, one of my favorites is She Loves Me, which I just saw a few weeks ago in the IU Opera Theatre.  It was a quasi-nostalgic experience, since I have played so many of the songs from that show on so many different occasions throughout my life...

I have to agree with cmg on the scene right now though...there isn't a whole lot out there right now that is truly excellent.

[quantum]

I guess then I am a tourist since I love ABBA crap and do to some extent enjoy ALW.  Where does one go for quality lobotomies these days?

Guilty as charged... and proud of it.