I've seen Rent twice but it doesn't age well - it's very of the early 90s and the characters are mostly self involved and pretentious. Maureen is one of the worst people ever on stage and I think it's why I've never been a huge Idina Menzel fan. The girl characters are terrible. That said, Seasons of Love is a gorgeous number.

Clarke95 said:

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I've seen Rent twice but it doesn't age well - it's very of the early 90s and the characters are mostly self involved and pretentious. Maureen is one of the worst people ever on stage and I think it's why I've never been a huge Idina Menzel fan. The girl characters are terrible. That said, Seasons of Love is a gorgeous number.

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Just watch La Boheme and be better for it.

My list, in order, with an * for the ones I've seen on Broadway...
Wicked* (seen 3x, all time fave )
Finding Neverland* (saw original cast, surprisingly hasn't been mentioned yet, great great music)
Phantom
Chicago
Gentlemen's Guide to Love & Murder* (hilarious)
Grease
Man of Lamancha
Kind and I
Music Man
Legally Blonde (wife wanted to see it)

I like the buzz about Hamilton, but cannot see it.

I can barely stand "rap music" in any form.

I listened to snippets from the soundtrack, and definitely "noped" out of there.

I fully acknowledge I am an outlier here, but that is one I will never see.

Finding Neverland - I will see it in a couple months.

Bodyguard is next up. Will see it in two weeks

Grease - I have seen it a couple times in local, small productions. Did not list it because it wasn't an official Broadway tour. Classic with fun music makes it a good see.

Legally Blonde - I have seen this. Forgot where and when. I guess I should add it to the list. Reading everyone's replies has reminded me of shows I have seen but failed/forgot to list.

If you've only heard snippets of the soundtrack, you're not getting the true impression of Hamilton. I thought the same thing going into it - that it was all hip hop and rap. It's not - LMM borrows heavily from traditional musicals. "Room where it happens" is a straight up Cole Porter number, and the Schuyler sister numbers are inspired by Destinys child or Dream Girls. There are also some real belt out traditional musical show stoppers too.

There is a ton of hip hop influence obviously, but I loved the construction of the cabinet arguments as rap battles.

I often describe the show as the world's greatest AP American History project.

If in NYC go see Dear Evan Hansen. You can thank me later.

Clarke95 said:

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I often describe the show as the world's greatest AP American History project.

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That does not help sell it.

Like I said, Hamilton is just not for me.

Exactly. Benny isn't a villain for asking you freeloaders to pay the rent.

Hamilton won't be for everyone. But it's not just rap/hip-hop is all I'm saying.

DallasAggie89 said:

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If in NYC go see Dear Evan Hansen. You can thank me later.

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Music all orchestrated and arranged by the same guy that worked with LMM on Hamilton, FYI.

Am I the only one who saw Lizzie when it was at TUTS?

It's a rock musical based on Lizzie Borden and it is sooooo good. I was rocking out to the soundtrack for weeks after.

SeattleAgJr said:

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I like the buzz about Hamilton, but cannot see it.

I can barely stand "rap music" in any form.

I listened to snippets from the soundtrack, and definitely "noped" out of there.

I fully acknowledge I am an outlier here, but that is one I will never see.

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I'm with you. There is nothing about it that makes me want to go see it.

One of the shows i want to see besides Hamilton if we go back to NYC again soon is Come From Away...heard really good things about it and the opening up of a canadian town during 9/11

I don't listen to rap or hip-hop and the Hamilton album is an all time best work of music for me.
but different strokes for different folks...

I listened to the whole album and I was kinda meh about it. It was good, not life changing for me.

if it matters: I like rap and I like musicals.

Oh, and I costume designed for Urinetown and it was amazing and life changing.

Just saw Wicked yesterday in London (yes during the terrorist attack) and the show was AMAZING. Better than anything I've seen on broadway and definitely worth going if you are in London.

I've seen Phantom, Lion King, Beauty and the Beast, and Cats. I enjoyed every show.

Only Phantom has been on Broadway.

I used to live in the NYC area and my wife and I have had season tickets to Broadway in Houston since we moved back. I've spent more money on shows than I care to count... I'd agree with just about every rating OP gave to shows.

Pippin and Matilda are the only good ones I haven't seen mentioned so far.

My top 5 if you forced me to chose...

• Les Miserables
• Wicked
• Jersey Boys
• Once - This has to be seen in a small, intimate setting. The Hobby Center did not do it justice.
• Newsies - I loved the movie growing up so there may be some nostalgia involved with this one.

Looking forward to Finding Neverland and Somthing Rotten up next with Hamliton coming next season.

AggieDan04 said:

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• Once - This has to be seen in a small, intimate setting. The Hobby Center did not do it justice.

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I agree. I got to see Once in NYC. I forgot the name of the theater but it was small. They do a great job of including the audience. Before the show starts, they do a lot of Irish singing where people can go on stage and sing with them. A very cool part was when everyone is hanging out and the main character just up and starts signing. They then tell you to leave the stage and that is the beginning of the show. Very fun and the music is fabulous.

Love the list. I will put a vote in for Spelling Bee. I have seen it three times. Hillarious. Also Noises Off.

Was able to see Bodyguard Saturday night.

We retrieved they playbill and the dreaded slip of paper fell out!
Not only did we not get Deborah Cox, we didn't get the second string either, for the role of Rachel Maron. The young lady who stepped in, however, did a fantastic job.

Great show with all familiar music from Whitney's career. Yes, there are songs from outside the movie soundtrack.

Had several humorous points and the first 3 seconds are a "moment". Something you will talk about for many years...unforgettable.

Anyhow, great show, and I would recommend it. I would rate it a 4.

Tomorrow is finally here for my wife and I. Hamilton 2pm then Waitress w/ Sara Bareilles at 8. Excited

Holy crap, that's an awesome day to look forward to. Enjoy!

Original cast for Hamilton?

Most of the original cast is gone now. Not even sure if any originals remain, actually.

Yeah not sure if any original remain but still ready to see it tomorrow. Any suggestions for place to eat between shows I have about 2 hours so staying in area.

When you walk out of the theater, if you just walk west, there are restaurants everywhere. 8th and 9th Ave between like 42nd and 48th and then some of the cross streets like in the mid 40s, between 8th and 9th, tons of stuff there.

The quick 24 hour trip was well worth it. The cast of Hamilton was great especially James Monroe Iglehart "The genie from Aladdin" as Thomas Jefferson and Lafayette. After the show we went to Juniors Cheesecake which had an hour wait but my wife snagged two seats at the bar so we had no wait. Waitress with Sara Bareilles was excellent as well and the crowd energy made it even better. These were views from my seats.

[url=https://flic.kr/p/ULoy8j][/url]


[url=https://flic.kr/p/UPZmUt][/url]

[url=https://flic.kr/p/UPZmTg][/url]

So jealous! That's awesome.

Got to see Finding Neverland last night. I updated the OP.

I was surprised at how good it was. I knew two of the songs from listening to various musical albums. I doubt many people know the story of how Barrie came up with the idea of Peter Pan, so the show was not only good but provided some pretty interesting historical info.

The show has 4 children. I am sometimes turned off when there are multiple children in a show. However, these four were very good. They had a quartet at one point and it was one of the best songs.


Overall, I give it a 4 and very watchable. I highly recommend it if it comes to a theater in your area.

Recommendations for a comedy in NYC? (Early June, so something currently showing)