Archives for the month of: June, 2012

TKTS Booth

June 20, 2012 //
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One of the biggest complaints about those who want to see Broadway shows is the cost of a ticket. The people who are doing this complaining obviously don’t know about the myriad of ways to get discounted tickets to Broadway and off-Broadway shows!

One of the biggest and most popular ways to get discounted tickets is by visiting a TKTS booth. TKTS is program run by TDF (Theatre Development Fund). They have three booths set up all over New York City where you can go to get highly discounted tickets to the hottest Broadway shows.

The locations are: Time Square, South Street Seaport, and Downtown Brooklyn. The most crowded of these is definitely Times Square. This booth is located under the big red steps in the middle of Father Duffy Square on Broadway and 47th street. You can stop by this booth Monday through Sunday to pick up tickets for evening shows. On days where there are matinees you can be there when the windows open at 10 am.

Here’s a tip. Don’t go to the Times Square TKTS booth. Don’t even try unless you’re going to get there at 6am and set up camp. While they often have big shows there, you’re going to be aggravated trying to get them. Here’s my insider New Yorker secret. The Downtown Brooklyn booth is the nicest, most pleasant to deal with, and easily accessible by public transportation. (Yes, even for out of towners.)

If you want to know more about TKTS, the hours for all of their booths, and to download their nifty iPhone app (which you should totally do, it’s free and easy to use) check out this page.

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Harvey at Studio 54

June 15, 2012 //
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I grew up in a town that was a little weird. Outside the courthouse we didn’t have a statue of the Liberty Bell or George Washington. There wasn’t even a cannon. What we did have was a larger than life bronze statue of Jimmy Stewart. He was born in Indiana, PA and aside from being the self proclaimed Christmas tree capital of the world, that was pretty much our only claim to fame.

While I’ve never seen It’s a Wonderful Life (don’t judge, I just never saw it. I’m not against it or anything. It’s kind of a weird anomaly that I’ve made it this far in my life without seeing it) I have seen many of Jimmy Stewart’s other movies. Yes, that includes American Tail: Fivel Goes West and The Last Gangster. But by far, my favorite movie of Mr. Stewart’s, and possibly one of my top five favorite movies of all time, was Harvey.

I always had an affinity for the show and when I did it in college as a stage play I fell even more in love. I could listen to to Jimmy Stewart read the phone book but when he says: “Years ago, my mother used to say to me, she’d say ‘In this world, Elwood, you can be oh so so smart, or oh so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart… I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” it was like an aural orgasm.

When I heard rumors of a Broadway launch of the show a few years ago I only cringed for a moment. I had no idea who was going to play my beloved Elwood but they had better pick the right person…and boy did they.

I’m a huge Jim Parsons fan. I had the biggest fangirl moment of my life when he appeared in the latest Muppet movie. A scene with Jim Parsons, Jason Segel, puppets, and singing? I swooned. He’s a brilliant actor, anyone who has ever seen him on stage or screen can attest to that. And his voice even has a little affectation that makes it slightly Stewart esque…that small back of the palate gurgle that made Stewart iconic.

Harvey opened yesterday at Studio 54 in New York City to a rave review in The Times. A Broadway run is perfection for this time tested and beloved tale of a man and his gigantic 6-foot tall invisible white rabbit best friend.

Sorry, Six feet three and a half inches. Now let’s stick to the facts.

You can find more about the show and buy tickets (and purchase one for your favorite Theatre blogger…that would be me) at http://www.roundabouttheatre.org/. In a time where big musicals like Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess and Jesus Christ Superstar seem to be reigning supreme it is a great joy to see a straight play like Harvey getting such fantastic attention.

 

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The 2012 Tony Awards Recap

June 11, 2012 //
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This years Tony Awards gave us plenty of entertainment. It starts out with a musical number spoof of Book of Mormon trying to sell the Holy Book to the Tony presenters, each slamming the door in their face. In fact it’s pretty appropriate because this year had quite a number of Jesus musicals. Then Neil Patrick Harris takes over singing about how life would suck less if life was like a musical.

This year the performances jam-packed the stage and the lesser awards seemed to take second place to the spotlight. The full list of  big performances of the night were Newsies, Jesus Christ Superstar, Follies, Ghost, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Porgy and Bess, Once, Evita, Godspell, and Hairspray. Out of those performance, which for the most part were good, you get a few glimmering exciting moments.

Here are the more interesting parts: the Newsies performance was the typical “wow ‘em out of the park with typical Disney professionalism.” You get a bunch of high kicks, back flips, and newspaper throwing. Ghost started out with the enchanting “Unchained Melody” and quickly ruined it with a hot mess and poorly arranged self-indulgent bit of modern theater songwriting. With Evita, Ricky Martin carried the entire number while Elena Roger awkwardly stepped around in her obviously fake bleach blonde hair. And even Ricky had to restrain shaking his “bon bon” so he could stay on pitch. And of course, we had to get the shameless plug for the company funding the event– Royal Cruises with Live “on cruise” performance from Hairspray.

While Newsies seemed like a shoe-in for the bigger awards, Once actually took home eight awards, including the “Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical” and “Best Musical” awards. However, Alan Menkin and Jack Feldman did win Best Original Score for their work on Newsies. The other big winner was Peter and the Starcatcher with 5 awards.

For all the other nuances, performances, NPH’s mischief, and winners please watch the full Tony broadcast here.

 

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Reading: John Morogiello’s “Absolute Amy” NYC

June 5, 2012 //
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One of the great things about living in New York City is the opportunity to see new theatre in workshops, readings, and first runs. This is what I did last night. The Abingdon Theatre Company specializes in brand new works from American playwrights.  Last night, they held a reading of “Absolute Amy” a new play from John Morogiello, a playwright based in Maryland.

Morogiello’s plays are very much like watching a hilarious English comedy series in the heyday of Monty Python mixed with the brilliant vocabulary and quick wit of Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw. Morogiello’s shows are fast paced, intellectual, and a veritable pantheon of phraseology. Last night’s reading of “Absolute Amy” was no exception.

The story of a seemingly air-headed girl who is about to marry a man who was in the Iraq war unfolds in the living room of her parents home only days before her wedding. An old friend, who happens to be a priest, comes in and sets the whole world of this family on it’s ear.

The characters of the parents were completely relate-able as southern Republicans concerned for their daughter’s happiness, well-being, and wealth even for an audience filled with New York liberals. The future husband, Scott, is a little dopey, a little lovable, and a little sad. It’s Cody, the intellectual priest and friend of Amy, that is the catalyst of all of the events that unfold through the play.

The eponymous Amy undergoes such a drastic change in her philosophical makeup during the show that it’s like a riptide forcing the audience to make a strong decision on the topic at hand: torture and war.

While it can be a little verbose for the casual theatre goer, Morogiello mixes comedy and hard thinking with a firm but even hand. Even to the last scene of the play you don’t know how it’s going to end. The suspense follows the audience out of the theatre and all the way home making them question themselves and their world views.

If you ever get the chance to see any of John Morogiello’s brilliantly worded plays, I highly recommend that you do so! I for one can’t wait to see the next show!

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