Broadway Musicals

[snlee]

I just bought tickets to see Avenue Q in August and I can't wait! I love seeing Broadway musicals. Which shows have you seen? What is your favorite broadway musical?

Here's my list of the ones I've seen and ranked in order. I enjoyed Mamma Mia the most so far. It's really hard to rank them! Those are definitely my top 5 though!

1. Mamma Mia
2. Phantom of the Opera
3. Jersey Boys
4. Les Miserables
5. Chicago
6. 42nd Street
7. Rent
8. Lion King

 

[AsscherGirl]

Avenue Q is great! That was definitely my favorite!

These are mine in preference order that I''ve seen!

1. Avenue Q
2. Rent
3. Chicago
4. Swing
5. Lion King
6. Saturday Night Fever
7. Les Miserable (although I did see this one with my entire family in literally the back row of the theater - I think I would enjoy it more if I could see and understand what is going on!)

I want to see The Producers & Wicked.

 

[KimberlyH]

In no particular order:

The Color Purple
Avenue Q
Wicked
Phantom of the Opera
Rent
Beauty and the Beast

I''m missing a few, my memory is failing me. I don''t have a favorite musical, I loved them all for different reasons. Wicked stands out as being the most meaningful. Avenue Q was fantastically funny.

We have a subscription to our local theatre and see at least one play a month; it''s one of my favorite things to do.

 

[mrssalvo]

the first broadway musical I ever saw was on a trip to NYU when I was a HS junior. We saw Gypsy and I was just amazed and in awe..
in addition to Gypsy I''ve seen..

The sound of Music
Phantom (3 times, I kept being given tickets)
Five Guys Named MO
Lion King
Wicked ( my current fave, I want to go again)

would love to see a lot more though..

 

[Cind11]

Musicals I''ve seen:

Wicked
Hairspray
Mamma Mia
The Lion King
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera
Beauty and the Beast
42nd Street
Dream Girls
Cats

I think my favorite would have to be Phantom of the Opera. I just loved the music. I wasn''t crazy about Hairspray. Maybe the movie will be better...

 

[snlee]

I''ve wanted to see Wicked for awhile! Sounds like it''s a favorite!

 

[matildawong]

oh! This is one of my favorite topics!

No order here, but I''ve seen: Les Miserables
Starlight Express (in London before they changed it up for U.S. audiences)
Evita
Rent
Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
The Who''s Tommy
Movin'' Out
Into the Woods
Wicked
Godspell
Company
Cats
Sweet Charity
Dr. Dolittle with Tommy Tune
Mamma Mia

I may be forgetting something.

My current obsession is Grey Gardens. Oh how I want to see that show and with Christine Ebersole in it if I could.

 

[Cehrabehra]

I saw les miserables in nyc
Annie in SF
Jerry''s Girls (dunno if that was actual broadway but...) in SF

Not a lot... but my favoritest most proud theatre moment was seeing Placido Domingo in tales of hoffman at the SF opera... I had front row grand tier seats and it was the single most amazing thing I''ve seen. I''ve seen COUNTLESS operas (mom and aunt in the industry) but this was the pinacle. My aunt took me to jerry''s girls and annie way back when and I saw les miserables when I was living in ny in the early 90''s, paid for by a rich cousin of mine....

 

[matildawong]

wow! That''s so cool. I love the music in Tales of Hoffman. I''ve spent the last two seasons reviewing the opera here. Placido Domingo!

 

[Kasey3]

I heard that Avenue Q was really good!

Here are mine in order of preference:
1. Legally Blonde
2. Hairspray
3. Wicked
4. Annie Get Your Gun (with Reba)
5. Footloose

I am going to see Beauty and the Beast Wed. so I may have to revise. I just saw Legally Blonde last week and it was great- by far my favorite.

 

[Cehrabehra]

Date: 7/21/2007 2:27:00 PM
Author: matildawong
wow! That's so cool. I love the music in Tales of Hoffman. I've spent the last two seasons reviewing the opera here. Placido Domingo!

tracy dahl sang female lead and I've never heard her before or since but she is my all time favorite - her voice was so pure and light and just enough rich... sometimes the voices are too shrill or too heavy, even in the high notes... she was crisp and delightful. This year I saw flying dutchman (here at the portland opera) and found the leads to be okay, but one of the supporting cast had an amazing voice, looked him up and he's been singing for years for SF opera. I've probably met him LOL My aunt did makeup for the opera for almost 30 years and was president of the hair/makeup union for the bay area for many years. My mom had me but then when I was in high school worked with the opera until her death. My mom and my aunt (my aunt is actually my father's sister) went to study with ingmar bergman in sweeden back in the mid 60's and my aunt stayed in theatre/tv/movies and my mom worked in salons to support me. Anyway, I met so many people, but I hated opera as a kid, was not impressed at all in the music or the performers LOL

 

[AsscherGirl]

Cehra''s post made me realize that not everyone sees Broadway musical in NYC...

I live in NJ, so we are very close. Actually my high school was not allowed to perform productions of any active broadway musicals because there is a rule that a production cannot be shown within 50 miles of NYC (oh yeah, our high school was production of Lion King would have been JUST like the original

).

 

[Picos]

The Nutcracker, the King & I, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Annie

From what I remember, I liked Seven Brides for Seven Brothers the best. (:

 

[Diamond Luver]

I saw Avenue Q in April. It was great.

I saw Mamma Mia last weekend. I loved it! I cannot stop singing Abba songs.

 

[jcrow]

hum. in no particular order, let''s see test my memory...

rent
cats
phantom of the opera
a funny thing happened on the way to the forum
1776
stomp
bring in da funk bring in da noise
the graduate


rockettes xmas show (even though that''s not technically broadway, but nyc)
and lots of cirque de soleil (again not broadway, not even nyc)

and i''m sure there''s some i''m missing.

 

[whatmeworry]

The Producers
Aida
Lion King
Hairspray
Fiddler on the Roof
A Chorus Line
The Mikado (not really a musical)
Beauty and the Beast (high school produced)

I would love to see Spamelot some day.

I loved Chicago when it came out on film.

 

[diamondfan]

I have seen a lot over the years. Chorus Line is my favorite of all time, and I loved Wicked and Chicago too. I frankly loved most things, really enjoyed Jersey Boys and thought Avenue Q was a riot.

I have seen: (in no order)

M Butterfly
Fiddler on the Roof
Spamalot
Jersey Boys
Chorus Line
42nd Street
Phantom of the Opera
Sunset Blvd
Flower Drum Song
Chicago
Miss Saigon
Wicked
Dracula
Deathtrap
Blythe Spirit
Little Shop of Horrors
Beauty and the Beast
Lion King
Wicked
Hairspray
Menopause (off Broadway)
Brighton Beach Memoirs
The Producers
The Odd Couple
Avenue Q
The Cocktail Hour
Rent
I think I saw Tarzan but am drawing a blank...
some other Neil Simon too, cannot seem to recall.

Have not seen Mama Mia but would love to, and heard Mary Poppins is great.

I have also seen things like Music of the Night (Lloyd-Weber, Sarah Brightman, his ex, singing) which are retrospectives.


I know there are some I am forgetting but I am sure they will come to me.


Never saw Cats or Les Mis, I was just not that interested. I have also seen a ton off Broadway too.

 

[Po10472]

I''m going to NYC in November/December for a long weekend and of course as I''ve never been before I want to take in a Broadway show......Any recommendations? Obviously this is dependent on what is on at that time?

 

[woobug02]

Phantom of the Opera
Mama Mia
Hairspray
Lion King
Rent

 

[musey]

Date: 7/23/2007 2:44:57 PM
Author: whatmeworry

The Producers
Aida
Lion King
Hairspray
Fiddler on the Roof
A Chorus Line
The Mikado (not really a musical)
Beauty and the Beast (high school produced)

I was getting concerned about you ladies until I saw whatme's post mentioning Aida!!

It's my 100% all-time favorite, and I can't even COUNT the number of musicals I've seen. I've been in almost 20 (not ON broadway, obvi!) and probably seen at least 3 times that... and Aida is the only one that still moves me every time I listen to the soundtrack.

It may help having seen the original cast

Have you heard that they're making a movie? Rumor has it that Beyoncé will be playing Aida

 

[AmberGretchen]

Hey Po - I would honestly look at who is in it, in addition to the show itself. That really can make or break the show, in my opinion. Get a copy of timeout magazine or look online at their website to see what''s getting really good reviews.

I''m kind of a theater snob, since the first productions I saw were all in England where (in my opinion) the theater is superior to here in the states, especially in San Francisco where I live.

I''ve seen, in no particular order:

Rent (twice - once in London, which was fantastic, and then a less good production, though it did have a lot of the original broadway cast, in SF)
Wicked (in London with Idina Menzel - she was UNBELIEVABLE, really, phenomonally talented)
Cats (London)
Annie Get Your Gun (SF)
Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk (SF)
The Producers (London - so funny!!)
Les Miserables (SF)
Chicago (SF)

I''m sure I''m forgetting some...I grew up watching old movie musicals - I still love to watch them as its like re-living happy bits of my childhood, although unfortunately my DH is not such a fan

I''ve seen a lot of really fantastic non-musical plays in London and Stratford as well - lots of RSC Shakespeare, Pygmalion, a recent new play by Tom Stoppard called Rock and Roll, which was really excellent, Art (with Albert Finney when it first opened - so good!), Iceman Cometh in London with Kevin Spacey (fantastic!), so many others... I''ve only been to the theater in New York a couple of times - once to see Wit, which was deeply depressing (about a woman dying of ovarian cancer), but very well-acted. I''ve also seen a ton of ballet, as I used to be a dancer in high school, and a lot of the people I used to dance with are now in companies, plus my mom has season tickets to SF Ballet, which is fun. I really am so glad that I''ve had the opportunity to experience all the theater I have at such a young age, and I hope that if I ever have kids (unlikely, but maybe godchildren or something...) I can pass on that experience to them, as I think its very enriching and intellectually stimulating.

 

[Madam Bijoux]

I have seen almost all of the musicals, and my all-time favorites (the ones I see whenever there is a production on Broadway or in Philadelphia) are:
West Side Story
Fiddler on the Roof
Oklahoma
Carousel
Wicked
Chicago
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
South Pacific
1776

 

[diamondfan]

Amber, I saw Wicked with Kristen Chenoweth and Idina Menzel, Chicago with Bebe Neuwirth and Marylou Henne. Spamalot with Hank Azaria, Tim Curry and David Hyde Pierce and The Producers/Odd Couple with Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane. I do think it helps, not that understudies are not talented, but...years ago, many years, I saw Dracula with Frank Langella in New York and we were told that the prior night, half the audience walked out when his part was given to the understudy. Not good, but he owned the role to some extent and that is who people came to see. I often do not want to go to the show when the touring company comes because I want to hear the originator, often Tony winning star, in the role. So I have passed up going to things because of it. We just saw Jersey Boys and loved it, but I had no sense of who the stars were so we enjoyed it totally...

 

[mrssalvo]

diamondfan and amber...I''m sooooo jealous of you ladies getting to see Idina in Wicked, and diamondfan, Kristen too? wow oh wow..

My step daughter LOVES wicked. She saw it in chicago but watches the original broadway cast do scenes on youtube. Last fall, I knew Idina was doing the part again in London so I sent a 5x7 photo of her in her witches costume, minus the green make-up. she looks amazing in the pic along with a return envelope and a note telling her about my daughter and how much she loves her and asked if she''d sign the picture and mail it back to me. Well, on Christmas eve my self addressed letter returned along with the picture and the autograph addressed to my daugter and signed by Idina. I was just floored and my daughter cried tears of joy. I have heard Idina is a very nice person to boot...

 

[diamondfan]

I think she is too, she is married to Taye Diggs. I saw Wicked twice and adored it. I had a sub for Chenoweth the first time, she was great, but with Chenoweth AND Menzel, and Joel Grey, well, that was amazing to me. It is such a great show and amazing to shake your preconceptions about good versus not...

 

[OUpearlgirl]

I''m a broadway musical nut! Here are my favorites in order:

1. Phantom of the Opera (My all time FAVORITE. I saw it on my 7th birthday and have never stopped loving it!)
2. Chicago tied with Rent
3. Aida
4. Oklahoma
5. Singin in the Rain
6. A chorus Line
7. Jesus Christ Superstar
8. The Music Man
9. My Fair Lady
10. The 25th Annual Putnum County Spelling Bee

Okay.. so then the list goes on and on and on. When I was a kid we saw 2 or 3 a year. It wasn''t until I was in middle school that I realized not everyone goes to musicals! Haha! Do any of you have the Sirius broadway channel? If so... do you just LOVE Seth Rudetsky?

 

[HappyAnniversary]

I''ve never seen a NYC musical, only when they are on the road and probably not original cast, but my boss gives people in the office his season tickets when he can''t go and I''ve been lucky enough to see:

Les Miserable
Chicago
Sweet Charity with Paige Davis--
she was very good, the tickets said Molly Ringwald, but it was Paige when we got there on all the posters, so I don''t know when the change was. I thought Paige was excellent. AND, as I posted in another thread, my diamond and the pave in the band never sparkled more than under those theater lights!