Something Rotten

Something Rotten is no longer playing, unfortunately.

A few comedies you might consider

Book of Mormon (be warned heavy off-color religious commentary!)
School of Rock
Groundhog Day
Kinky Boots
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory

Something Rotten is coming to Dallas in June

Of the top of my head...

Chess
Cats
Starlight Express
Time
Les Miserables
Ms. Saigon
Phantom of the Opera
The Color Purple
Spamalot
The Producers

My favorite of all is Chess. I honestly don't think anything would ever top it for me; I've been listening to the soundtrack regularly for 31 years and know every song by heart.

The worst was Starlight Express. Although impressive technically, the songs were forgettable and the plot was ridiculous. Basically Cats on roller skates, but without good music.

We've been listening to the hamilton soundtrack for several years now. Have not seen the show. The only thing that bothers me is the theme that Hamilton was an immigrant. He wasn't. As a youth he relocated from one British territory to another.

The songs and transitions from "winters Ball" to "helpless" to "satisfied" to "the story of tonight" to "wait for it" make the entire show.

Ticket purchased for Lion King next saturday.

Don't know why it took me this long. Moved up to NY 4 years ago and it's one of my favorite movies of all time. Excited.

Top 10 I've seen in NY in order:

Ragtime
Wicked
Les Miserables
Once
Lion King
Dear Evan Hansen
Phantom of the Opera
Aida
The Drowsy Chaperone
The Producers

Can't believe no one has listed Ragtime yet.

Another good call. Ragtime was fantastic and the cast album is phenomenal. I was lucky enough to see the original cast shortly after it opened and Audra McDonald singing "your daddy's son" was GUTWRENCHING. She is an unbelievable talent.

Ragoo - in the biography LMM based the musical on, being an immigrant to New York was a big part of Hamilton's psyche and status. He was from the islands, whereas Jefferson, Schuyler's, Madison, et al were all American-born. It was a a distinction his contemporaries made as well

Wife and I going in October for early anniversary. Billy Joel @ MSG one night, thinking of Wicked on another night.

I've always bought tix pre-travel when doing Broadway as always stressed about waiting and not getting in and/or not at all. Am I just being old-fashioned as getting good seats while there at TKTS or whatever does work out?

I always buy ahead of time too. But for many of the shows, you can find coupons on www.playbill.com.

And I was at Billy Joel MSG show #11. About time to go to another one.

How was #11? Didn't realize they were numbered. We're there in Oct. Should have cool seats / suite from a corporate partner.

TP Ag '87 said:

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How was #11? Didn't realize they were numbered. We're there in Oct. Should have cool seats / suite from a corporate partner.

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Don't know if they're really number. I'm just a Billy Joel nerd and it was one before 12 - which would have tied his "12 Gardens Live" previous record.

It was great. Love seeing shows at MSG. I live in North Carolina, but head there occasionally for concerts/shows. Fun doing people watching at MSG. Should be a great time. Billy has guest singers almost every show, so you never know who is going to pop up.

Great. Looking forward to it.

And, not to sidetrack this thread, but BJ apparently getting roasted by Liberty DeVito and other former band mates in music doc releasing tomorrow.

Anyone seen Bandstand? And if so, worth seeing?

Saw Lion King this weekend. (One of my favorite movies of all time.)

Loved it. The guy playing Scar was fantastic.

My one complaint would be the kids playing Simba and Nala didn't have great singing voices, but they moved really well.

Saw Lion King as well and ditto. Scar was my favorite and the hyena that was Whoopi in the movie killed it as well.

My only complaint was the transition towards the end of the "Be Prepared" song that really took me out of the play. It was almost jarring how odd it fit in with everything else.

We just got back yesterday from a 7 shows in 4 days trip to NYC. Here's what we saw:

Come From Away - Good show. I won't rush out and see it again but I enjoyed it. The energy and enthusiasm of the cast and the inventive staging carried what I thought was a mediocre book and music. I completely understand why Christopher Ashley got the Tony for Direction. In my opinion this one won't tour long but will make the rounds being produced by regional and community theatres looking for solid shows with large casts. Synopsis for those that want it - set during the events of 9-11 in Newfoundland. A lot of planes got diverted there and it ended up becoming a refugee camp for 5 or 6 days. The show is about those events, the people of the town, the 'refugees' and the relationships that were built. Was about an hour and a half no intermission.

Dolls House 2 - Laurie Metcalf was phenomenal. Definitely deserving of a Tony. The play was actually pretty solid as well. It helps to know Dolls House but isn't a must. Read the Cliff Notes or Wikipedia beforehand and you're more than fine. Chris Cooper was really good. I wasn't sure what to expect from him on stage and thought he more than held his own with Laurie. The other two actresses were quite good. This one was my favorite that we saw from an acting standpoint. They leave the show pretty soon so if you have the chance see it.

Drunk Shakespeare Society
- this one was fun. They are doing the Scottish play right now. Not sure if that's always what they do. Look for cheap tickets though and drink before you go. That will help. It's more of a "aren't we clever" kind of thing than actually telling the story but it made me laugh.

Dear Evan Hansen - I went in trying to temper my expectations on this one given all the hype. I thought we were watching the Beatles for a minute there with the reaction that Ben Platt got the entire time. The teenagers love him. As for the show it is quite good. I understand completely why people are reacting to it the way they are. I think it had a chance to be great to phenomenal and for me it falls a bit short of that. It was a little long and I wasn't completely happy with the ending. I think with some cuts and a few adjustments it might have landed that phenomenal punch. But having said that, it's got really great performances, the music is really strong, and it definitely got me misty eyed in a couple spots. Absolutely worth the price of admission and deserved the Tony awards it got. It deals with issues you wouldn't normally think of right off in a musical and tries to look at them in a contemporary way. I'm not sure how it plays with someone besides Platt in the roll and will be interested to see what it does when his contract runs out if he leaves. But again, absolutely see this if you're headed to NYC.

1984 - new adaptation with Olivia Wilde and Tom Sturridge. My least favorite show of the weekend. I was really looking forward to this one given some of the things I had heard about the production. Visually it was fantastic and some of the effects and staging were really inventive. It was slow as molasses and I wasn't really impressed with the performances of the cast. This one had potential and really fell flat. I would say skip it unless you're really just itching to see one of them on stage.

War Paint - My wife and I had only seen Patti Lupone in concert and performing on the Tony's or recordings. We wanted to see her live. She did not disappoint. The accent she used was a little harsh and took a long time to understand. I wish she had eased up on that a bit but damn can that woman sing and is a great actress. Christine Ebersole was fantastic too. I'm so glad that we got to see them both perform in person. The show was visually stunning. The costumes were phenomenal . The music and book weren't that great but the story was really interesting. I hated that you only got a real scene between the two of them right at the very end of the show. Definitely worth watching if you want to see the two of them. I'm not sure how much longer this one is slated to run.

Sweeney Todd - down at Barrow Street. This show was my favorite of the weekend. We always try and see something at Barrow Street if we can. This production started in England in a pie shop and they've replicated the interior of the pie shop inside the Barrow Street space. This is a minimalist production - 3 musicians accompanying the 8 (I think it was) actors. Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello are the two main characters. Getting to hear them in that small space singing such a great score was really a treat. The entire cast could were phenomenal singers and it was quite beautifully done. They even have an option to show up early and eat a meat pie (or veg pie) before the show. If you've not ever seen this show live, try and see this one. Norm Lewis isn't the greatest actor but his voice is so amazing you easily forgive him that.

Hopefully that helps if anyone is headed to NYC any time in the next few weeks.

I was pleasantly surprised by Legally Blonde. I had not seen the movie when I went and it was a lot better than I was expecting. I liked it better than Wicked, to be honest.

We saw lion king in houston last weekend, and I have to really commend them for bringing the whole production on the road for audiences to experience. "Circle of Life" is truly a marvel, and I love the 2nd act opener as well. "He lives in you" is very moving too.

The show has remarkable staging and some killer numbers, but Scar's songs and the hyena songs just don't land for me. He needs a Javert-like "Stars" number and "be prepared" is a real clunker. Their songs keep that show from becoming more than a sum of the parts to me.

Sorry to hear Clarke95 about "Be Prepared." I've seen Lion King on Broadway and 3 more times in San Antonio. Our Scar has been the star of the show 3 out of 4 times.

The *actor* on the touring show was great. I just personally think those songs are clunkers.

Trying to remember the shows I've seen on Broadway vs Houston...has been a while since we visited NYC. I'll give it a go:

Spamalot - saw before the real opening with the orignal cast - was awesome
Once - as another poster said, it has to be experienced in a small theater. Saw it also in Houston and it wasn't the same
Lion King - great show and puppetry, music is so well done. Just saw in Houston last week and was awesome as well.
Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark - saw before the opening and really enjoyed it
Mary Poppins - best stage setup and changes I've seen, very well done - had original Burt from London, can't remember his name
Producers - pretty sure I saw this in NYC....wasn't Nathan Lane but I do seem to remember it was Matthew Broderick
Curtains - was a great musical and featured Frasier's brother David Hyde Pierce
Tarzan - great acrobatics
Beauty & The Beast - wife's favorite movie, etc
Bullets Over Broadway - was a good show and we got to see Zach Braff in it
Little Mermaid
Mamma Mia - good as always, have seen a couple times in Houston as well
Blue Man Group - off-Broadway but one of my favorite performance groups - I prefer the Vegas theater and have seen the touring shows in Houston as well as the Chicago show...NYC theater is probably my least favorite, too small and cramped
Steel Magnolias - not musical but did see on Broadway. Did have several well known actresses but I'm drawing a blank on who it was

Feel like I'm forgetting a few more. Wife and I have kept our playbills and usually bought a poster of each so I'll have to look through our stuff and add. Seem to remember going to another play that had Denzel Washington in it but can't remember the name.

Seen In Houston and not NYC

Phantom of the Opera - one of my favorites
Wicked - awesome show and great sets
Rent - kinda like it, mainly for the one big song
Cats - eh...didn't get the big deal about it, but I'm sure it was a bigger deal in it's heyday
Sweeney Todd - actually saw a small theater production in Sugarland and it was awesome

Sure I'm forgetting some of these as well

Looking forward to Hamilton in Houston next year. Would like to see in NYC but will just have to see if it's in the cards.

I added Return to Margaritaville

Good show. Music is fun because it is Buffet, but the show itself is just okay.

Saw The King and I thisbpast Saturday. It was okay. The singers were great. The bad pasty was right after intermission where they do this Uncle Toms Cabin skit thing which drug on for way too long and was not good.

Anyhow, I'll give it a 3.

Seeing
Miss Saigon
Book of Mormon

Today.

Probably Phantom and Evan Hanson tomorrow.
Still trying the Lottery for Hamilton through Monday .

cclearman said:

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Seeing
Miss Saigon
Book of Mormon

Today.

Probably Phantom and Evan Hanson tomorrow.
Still trying the Lottery for Hamilton through Monday .

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There is a Houston girl in Dear Evan Hansen

Seeing dear Evan Hansen and Hamilton in December. Let me know how you enjoy them

Phantom
Meteor Shower

Today. Evan was too expensive. Only $500 tix left for tomorrow.

Didn't hit the Hamilton or Evan lottery. Luckily seeing Hamilton in Houston in the spring.


Book of Mormon was pretty hilarious.
Miss Saigon was a good story with a really great set and some great leads.

I just saw Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom.

It is so bad, not only will you hate it, but if you were a fan of Phantom, you'll never want to watch that again either.

I've seen lots of Broadway shows because my 18 year old daughter is a theatre geek. We've seen most of those mentioned already with Hamilton being the best of them all.

We recently saw her most recent obsession which is Be More Chill and we all loved it. This show's history is interesting because it opened in New Jersey in 2015 and closed after maybe 6 weeks. A misfire, or so they thought.

Then the cast album went viral with high school kids and 150 million downloads later (second only to Hamilton), the show opened for a short run off Broadway from August 2018-September 2018 and has sold out every show and gotten good reviews. They just announced the show will be opening on Broadway in March of 2019. Very cool for the cast and well deserved in my opinion. Weird that a 3 year old failed show will get its Broadway debut with a huge built in audience.

The show is about a high school nerd who takes a pill that is really a supercomputer that gives him real time advice in his brain about how to help him be cool. Ergo Be More Chill. It's very clever I thought and every cast member has a "moment".

The cast did a fantastic job and I think the star of the show is George Salazar and this could be a breakout role for him. He's been all over the media singing his showstopper song pumping the show hoping to get it on Broadway. That dream came true this week.

Judging by the teen screams when he is on stage in the show, I think he and the show will do well on Broadway. I highly recommend.

Added a few shows to the OP.

Escape to Margaritaville
The King and I
An American in Paris
Aladdin
School of Rock
Elf
On Your Feet

Shows left in this season...

Les Miserables - Looking forward to seeing it again. The first viewing was from the back of the Orch level. We will be in our normal seats up front so I am excited.

Hamilton - Have yet to see it so, yes! Very excited! Also, the wife and I are turning it into a 3-day weekend, celebrating 20 years of marriage!

Come From Away

Taking 12 year old niece to Hamilton Opening Night in Orlando Jan 22nd
July 28th Harry Potter Cursed Child Sunday Juy 28th was able to get both parts LOL last row of theatre

Houston has Hamilton and Book of Mormon this season. NOLA has those and Come From Away along with Les Mis and honestly is one of the better seasons I have seen from a theater

MSC Opas has Something Rotten for two days in Feb in Aggieland

Saw Les Mis again this past Saturday. Such a great show. Every singer was great and the sets are amazing.