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I remarked to Jeff last night at dinner that I felt we hadn’t seen as many shows this Tony season as in years past, which lead me to realize I haven’t blogged about the theatre in forever. High School Matt, listening to the original cast recording of some Sondheim show for the umpteenth time, would be very irked at what a jaded New Yorker Middle-Aged Matt has become, taking for granted all the great shows I see on a regular basis.

So, for the record, here’s what I saw this past year (by category and in order of enjoyment):

Broadway Musicals

Next to Normal – Dark, disturbing, and delightful. The cast recording has been on repeat ever since.
The Story of My Life – Like Glory Days last season, this is a flop I’ll treasure having seen. Hopefully the enjoyable recording will lead to a life in regional theatre.
Title of Show – Jeff and I loved the off-Broadway production and watched all the online videos. Attending the first preview is a night I’ll never forget.
13 – We caught this early in previews before it was condensed to one-act and the more un-P.C. humor was removed. This is the show I wish had been around when I was 13. It’s a crime it was completely shut out of the Tony nominations.
Hair – Easily the best revival of the season.
Hairspray! – We caught one of the final performances when Harvey Fierstein returned to close the show.
Spring Awakening – I missed the Off-Broadway run because I was unimpressed by the Lincoln Center concert version, but I loved it when it moved to Broadway and we revisited it shortly before closing thanks to some comp tickets.
Rock of Ages – It gave Jeff a headache, but I thought it was a hoot.
Billy Elliott – totally overhyped and yet will probably beat out Next to Normal for the Tony.
Pal Joey – we caught one of understudy Matthew Risch’s first performance right after he replaced Christian Hoff in previews.
Shrek, the Musical – Only slightly more competent than one of those cheesy theme-park musicals.
West Side Story – I’ve never been more aware of what a museum piece WSS is, even with the misguided attempts to make it relevant.
9 to 5 – Completely unnecessary — it managed to make sexy Andy Karl boring.
A Tale of Two Cities – Snore.
Guys & Dolls – A production really has to suck for me to rate the instantly forgettable Tale of Two Cities higher. I’ve always thought that G&D is one of those foolproof shows you can’t fuck up, and then Des McAnuff came along to prove me wrong.

Broadway Plays

The Norman Conquests: Living Together & Table Manners – Hysterical. Jeff and I didn’t think we were up to seeing all three in one day, so we still need to schedule Round and Round the Garden
reasons to be pretty
Blithe Spirit – We should have gone to a later performance because Angela Lansbury didn’t have her sea legs yet at the first preview.
Equus – Daniel Radcliffe wasn’t half bad, but Richard Griffiths was miscast.
The American Plan
33 Variations
Speed-the-Plow – we caught this in previews with Jeremy Piven (pre-“mercury poisoning”) and had no desire to revisit it with his three successors.
To Be Or Not To Be
The Philanthropist – Seriously, Matthew Broderick needs a new shtick.

Off-Broadway Plays & Musicals

The Hired Man – Resulted in yet another great cast recording.
Road Show – Wise Guys / Gold / Bounce finally made it to New York and hopefully Sondheim now has the show out of his system and will start something new. I kind of enjoyed it, even it it didn’t leave much of an impression. I was probably too distracted by Sondheim sitting in the row behind me. Afterwards, he ducked out a side door and one of the ushers chased after him yelling that nobody could exit that way.
Romantic Poetry – Another flopperoo made memorable by sitting behind composer Henry Krieger, who we briefly chatted with at intermission.
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them
Things to Ruin – Joe Iconis is a composer to watch. Fortunately we caught this before the great Zipper Theatre shut down and cut short the run.
Prayer For My Enemy
What’s That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling
Damn Yankees – Unfortunately, Encores couldn’t pull off another Gypsy in their second summer show. Hopefully The Wiz will be better this summer.

Other

Ute Lemper: Pirate Jenny Comes Back – I can’t stand the seating at Joe’s Pub, but I’d gladly go back to see the amazing Ute Lemper again.
Garden of Earthly Delights – I’m not a huge dance fan, but I enjoyed the intriguing score by Marat/Sade composer Richard Peaslee.

So, counting Broadway and Off-Broadway productions (and throwing in some cabaret and dance), I saw 36 performances this year, which turns about to be about par with years past. In all, since moving to New York, I’ve seen 206 theatrical (or theatre-“ish”) performances.

Season	Broadway Musicals	Off-Broadway Musicals	Broadway Plays	Off-Broadway Musicals	Other (Dance, Cabaret, etc)	Total
2003-2004	11	13	2	4	4	34
2004-2005	14	10	4	2	7	37
2005-2006	9	12	5	3	2	31
2006-2007	13	9	7	4	2	35
2007-2008	13	6	10	4	0	33
2008-2009	15	5	10	4	2	36
Totals	75	55	38	21	17	206

6 comments |

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10 Apr 2009

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