I just saw Hamlet last night on Broadway in NYC. Final show with Jude Law in the lead role. Terrific performance.
As one of the oldest of the Elders in this joint, I go back a long ways--
When I was high school in the 1960s I had the opportunity to see a couple good shows:
1962- Helen Hayes and Maurice Evans in SHAKESPEARE REVISITED, A PROGRAM FOR TWO PLAYERS
1964-Edward Woodward, Tammy Grimes, and the great Bea Lilly in HIGH SPIRITS (on Broadway)
Then came a flurry of theatre attending:
1974- Vincent Price in OLIVER!
1978- Myrna Loy in RELATIVELY SPEAKING
1979- Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones in BLOSSOM TIME (they had been in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA many years before!)
1980- Cesar Romero in A DASH OF SPIRITS
1981- John Carradine in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
1981 again- Don Ameche in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
and then a long spell until
2001- Ann-Margret in BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS
The 1990s/2000s, instead of going to shows, I guess I've been going to conventions instead!
- Rent (twice)
- The Graduate (Morgan Fairchild)
- A Winter's Tale
- The Marriage Counselor
- Turnadot (Opera, a birthday present to my wife)
- Dreamgirls
- Little Orphan Annie
These are off the top of my head. They are some others that are escaping me at the moment, some that I do not remember the names as well.
Just one..but I will never forget it. 1776, with the original cast, for my 20th birthday!
"Sit Down, John! Sit Down, John!....FOR GAWD'S SAKE, JOHN...SIDDOWN!!!!"
Elisabeth :)
Loads-
Grew up in the '60s & my parents dragged me (kicking & screaming)
to all kinds of Broadway shows, dinner theater & the Shakespere theater in
Stratford, Ct.
as well as symphonies & other classical music concerts.
Kicking & screaming then-
Grateful as hell now~ ;)
As for professional theatre, over the years I've seen: The Magic Show, Pirates of Penzance, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Cats, A Chorus Line, and Les Miserables. Besides that, I've seen a bunch of college and high school productions of many others. A lot of those are equally good, and certainly more affordable.
CATS
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
MISS SAIGON
EVITA
THE MUSIC MAN
ELVIS-THE LEGEND LIVES w/ Rick Saucedo & The Jordanaires
MY FAIR LADY w/Rex Harrison
THE KING AND I w/ Yul Brenner
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
LEND ME A TENOR w/ John Astin
ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT-EDGAR ALLAN POE w/ John Astin
ANNIE
SWEENEY TODD w/ Angela Lansbury and George Hearn
GUYS AND DOLLS w/ Ray Rayner
THE MUNSTERS AT THE SHRINE CIRCUS W/ Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (in Italian!)
BEATLEMANIA!
BOZO'S CIRCUS AT CHICAGOFEST (from backstage)
THE LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS
THE BJ AND DIRTY DRAGON STAGE SHOW
DISNEY ON ICE (several versions)
THE LITTLE MERMAID (Disney)
THE LION KING (Disney)
...and soon...
THE ADDAMS FAMILY w/ Nathan Lane
Quote from: typhooforme on December 07, 2009, 11:03:01 AM
As one of the oldest of the Elders in this joint, I go back a long ways--
When I was high school in the 1960s I had the opportunity to see a couple good shows:
1962- Helen Hayes and Maurice Evans in SHAKESPEARE REVISITED, A PROGRAM FOR TWO PLAYERS
1964-Edward Woodward, Tammy Grimes, and the great Bea Lilly in HIGH SPIRITS (on Broadway)
Then came a flurry of theatre attending:
1974- Vincent Price in OLIVER!
1978- Myrna Loy in RELATIVELY SPEAKING
1979- Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones in BLOSSOM TIME (they had been in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA many years before!)
1980- Cesar Romero in A DASH OF SPIRITS
1981- John Carradine in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
1981 again- Don Ameche in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
and then a long spell until
2001- Ann-Margret in BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS
The 1990s/2000s, instead of going to shows, I guess I've been going to conventions instead!
Good golly, Bobbo, that's like a list of treasures. Price in
Oliver!, Carradine in
Barefoot, Ameche in
How To Succeed... and seeing the First Lady of The American Stage herself WITH Dr. Zaius ( ;D ), serious theatre-goin' there.
I got to discuss Ann-Margret's run in
Best Little... with Ms. Ann-Margret herself, when she was in town performing with Andy Williams for the 2004 summer show (she'd do it again in Spring of 2008). One of the coolest people, and exactly Ariel from
Grumpy Old Men. Sweet, sincere, and full of energy.
I've seen so many concerts and theatrical whatchamadoohickies in my life I couldn't really name them all.
Barnum with Jim Dale and Glenn Close has to be a standout, as well as
Wicked at the Apollo Victoria in London. John Astin as Scrooge in
A Christmas Carol at Ford's Theatre in D.C. in was pretty wonderful too!
Not a lot of live theater for me -- but when I was very young, my parents took me with them to see Ginger Rogers in a touring company of HELLO DOLLY. I have a vague memory of it....
As a teen I saw the touring company of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR.
Later I saw some Chicago theater productions -- the comic booky show, WARP -- and Lynda Barry's THE GOOD TIMES ARE KILLING ME. The Barry show was remarkable.
Also saw Pee-Wee Herman's solo live show (not to be confused with the Groundlings production that ended up on HBO). And many shows at Second City in Chicago -- once in Toronto. Have seen a few comedy/improv and "Fringe Festival" shows here in Minneapolis.
Have seen plenty of plays/musicals on film/video -- so it seems like I've seen a lot more theater than I actually have....
John Astin as Poe
Les Miz 3 times
Phantom of the Opera x 2
Cats
Little shops of horrors (original cast)
Rocky horror in London
Lord of the Rings musical in toronto
Street car named Desire with Alec Baldwin
Jersey Boys
Blue man group Many times.
Quote from: Scary Terry on December 07, 2009, 05:14:47 PM
Also saw Pee-Wee Herman's solo live show (not to be confused with the Groundlings production that ended up on HBO). And many shows at Second City in Chicago -- once in Toronto. Have seen a few comedy/improv and "Fringe Festival" shows here in Minneapolis.
I saw that, too, Terry...I must have seen the 'Groundlings' version, though...it was a traveling Pee Wee's Playhouse (but much more adult than the TV version), but it was before anybody really knew who Pee Wee Herman was. We called him 'the hamburger guy', from Cheech and Chong.
I have seen two stage performances and both were excellant.
joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat and diversions and delights w/vincent price
Big Swan, the Vinnie "D&D" is a play I am very sorry I never got to see--he felt it was the best thing he'd done in the latter half of his life. You're a lucky guy to have seen that!
Quote from: typhooforme on December 07, 2009, 11:03:01 AM
As one of the oldest of the Elders in this joint, I go back a long ways--
When I was high school in the 1960s I had the opportunity to see a couple good shows:
1962- Helen Hayes and Maurice Evans in SHAKESPEARE REVISITED, A PROGRAM FOR TWO PLAYERS
1964-Edward Woodward, Tammy Grimes, and the great Bea Lilly in HIGH SPIRITS (on Broadway)
Then came a flurry of theatre attending:
1974- Vincent Price in OLIVER!
1978- Myrna Loy in RELATIVELY SPEAKING
1979- Kitty Carlisle and Allan Jones in BLOSSOM TIME (they had been in A NIGHT AT THE OPERA many years before!)
1980- Cesar Romero in A DASH OF SPIRITS
1981- John Carradine in BAREFOOT IN THE PARK
1981 again- Don Ameche in HOW TO SUCCEED IN BUSINESS WITHOUT REALLY TRYING
and then a long spell until
2001- Ann-Margret in BEST LITTLE WHOREHOUSE IN TEXAS
The 1990s/2000s, instead of going to shows, I guess I've been going to conventions instead!
Terrific list, Robert.
Other than Hamlet this past Sunday, I've seen The Little Mermaid on Broadway, The Wedding Singer on Broadway and Inherit the Wind with Brian Dennehey and Christopher Plummer on Broadway (our seats were on stage behind the actors in the jurors box).
I saw Evita at the Paper Mill Playhouse. Great experience. I took a group of members from the NJ Association for the Deaf/ Blind and we got there early. My friends got to go backstage and feel all of the props and costumes before the show and when the play was going on, I was tactile signing the story to a woman and I could tell her what the stage looked like and what the actors were wearing from the things she 'felt' earlier. Really great job by the Paper Mill Playhouse to make that happen.
I saw a terrible show in Chicago---about Pedicabs... a one-man performance. Him and a pedicab up on stage. We were SO bored we entertained the thought of moving the masking tape marks so that the guy would drive the thing off the stage >:D
The family went to see Mary Poppins on Broadway 2 Sundays ago. I think it was the Broadhurst Theatre. Great trickery used for the special effects on stage.
My mom and 5 year old loved it. The 18 month old was home with the in-laws.
I was in London this past fall (on my birthday actually) and I saw a West End production of Othello. It starred Lenny Henry as Othello.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377901/ (http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0377901/)
It's been awhile but:
Bowie in The Elephant Man ( twice, Chi & NYC)
Vincent Price & Michelle Lee in Damn Yankees
Carol Lawrence in Sweet Charity
Shirley Jones in Sound of Music
David Cassidy & Nicolette Larsen in Jesus Christ Superstar
Joanne Werley (sp?) in Gypsy
Tim Conway & Tom Poston in The Odd Couple
Way back when I was still in middle school I saw a college production of Edgar Allen Poe tales, the only one I can recall for sure that they did was The Tell Tale Heart. At the time it had a profound impact on me I remember it being very well done (& acted) for such a small production.
Wizard of Oz~probably the only play I've seen with anyone of note, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) played the wizard
Disney's Beauty & The Beast
A Christmas Carol
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Spring Awakening
Quote from: zombiehorror on February 07, 2010, 07:22:31 PM
Way back when I was still in middle school I saw a college production of Edgar Allen Poe tales, the only one I can recall for sure that they did was The Tell Tale Heart. At the time it had a profound impact on me I remember it being very well done (& acted) for such a small production.
Wizard of Oz~probably the only play I've seen with anyone of note, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) played the wizard
Disney's Beauty & The Beast
A Christmas Carol
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Spring Awakening
The Poe stuff sounds great.
The only horror-themed stage play I've seen was the traveling version of DRACULA starring Martin Landau in the role Frank Langella perfected on Broadway. I think it was 1985. I thought Landau was great in it but our local (Peoria, IL) newspaper panned his performance. Wonder what they thought of his Lugosi performance decades later?
Looking at the program from 30+ yrs ago when saw Shirley Jones in Sound of Music, the show also featured a young Sara Jessica Parker as one of the Von Trapp children.
We're kind of lucky in here in Louisville because Actor's Theater has been doing different productions of "Dracula" seasonally for many years. It has become the Fall equivalent of "A Christmas Carol."
Quote from: Radioactive Rod Whitenack on February 20, 2010, 08:14:04 PM
We're kind of lucky in here in Louisville because Actor's Theater has been doing different productions of "Dracula" seasonally for many years. It has become the Fall equivalent of "A Christmas Carol."
KIND OF lucky? That sounds great, Rod.
Quote from: typhooforme on December 07, 2009, 08:40:13 PM
Big Swan, the Vinnie "D&D" is a play I am very sorry I never got to see--he felt it was the best thing he'd done in the latter half of his life. You're a lucky guy to have seen that!
Quote from: Big Swan on December 07, 2009, 08:26:07 PM
I have seen two stage performances and both were excellant.
joseph and the amazing technicolor dreamcoat and diversions and delights w/vincent price
My Mom got to see "Diversions And Delights" with V.P. back in 1977 (I believe). I was just asking her about it the other day. Lucky!
Shameless promotion: I'm in Grand Hotel: the Musical (in St. Louis, MO) and it's set to go up in April. I'm really excited and telling everyone how great it's going to be. I'm playing Greta Garbo's role in the movie ver.
Other than that I just saw William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" a couple nights ago. Very well done, great comedy schtick throughout. Really had the audience laughing.
Quote from: DollFace on February 23, 2010, 12:40:26 AM
Shameless promotion: I'm in Grand Hotel: the Musical (in St. Louis, MO) and it's set to go up in April. I'm really excited and telling everyone how great it's going to be. I'm playing Greta Garbo's role in the movie ver.
Other than that I just saw William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" a couple nights ago. Very well done, great comedy schtick throughout. Really had the audience laughing.
That's great. Maybe you could share some pics of the production here when it's done. I'm sure the board would love to see them.
Man you fellow board members have seen some wonderful shows. I have only see at a Dinner Theater staring Grease. No stars probably pulled some people of of the audience to help out.
Quote from: zombiehorror on February 07, 2010, 07:22:31 PM
Way back when I was still in middle school I saw a college production of Edgar Allen Poe tales, the only one I can recall for sure that they did was The Tell Tale Heart. At the time it had a profound impact on me I remember it being very well done (& acted) for such a small production.
Wizard of Oz~probably the only play I've seen with anyone of note, Bob Keeshan (Captain Kangaroo) played the wizard
Disney's Beauty & The Beast
A Christmas Carol
Phantom of the Opera
Les Miserables
Spring Awakening
Add Young Frankenstein to my list~A great show you could really tell the actors were having a lot of fun with the material. Seemed to be a bunch of ad libbing and just general tomfoolery on stage, I probably could have seen this again the next day and gotten a completely different show.
My sister is a set designer based in London and I'm ashamed to say I've only seen one of her shows, it was her first production and believe it or not the play was Frankenstein. Although I've only seen one I have been backstage on a few which was fantastic. I'm going to stay with her in the summer and will make a point of seeing another then.
My father is shall we say a little 'old fashioned' and recently he saw a production my sister designed about two gay lovers. There was apparently lots of kissing and as he put it 'naked cavorting' on stage and when I asked him what he thought of it he said he was 'aghast.' >:D
Took my 6 year old to the Paper Mill Playhouse to see Peter Pan. We had a wonderful time!
Quote from: DollFace on February 23, 2010, 12:40:26 AM
Shameless promotion: I'm in Grand Hotel: the Musical (in St. Louis, MO) and it's set to go up in April. I'm really excited and telling everyone how great it's going to be. I'm playing Greta Garbo's role in the movie ver.
Other than that I just saw William Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" a couple nights ago. Very well done, great comedy schtick throughout. Really had the audience laughing.
You gotta keep us apprised of the play's progress and shoot us some pics DollFace!
Quote from: long live kong on May 24, 2010, 12:17:33 PM
My sister is a set designer based in London and I'm ashamed to say I've only seen one of her shows, it was her first production and believe it or not the play was Frankenstein. Although I've only seen one I have been backstage on a few which was fantastic. I'm going to stay with her in the summer and will make a point of seeing another then.
My father is shall we say a little 'old fashioned' and recently he saw a production my sister designed about two gay lovers. There was apparently lots of kissing and as he put it 'naked cavorting' on stage and when I asked him what he thought of it he said he was 'aghast.' >:D
I'm completely opposed to cavorting. I can put up with a little bit of light frolicking,possibly even an occasional romp, but absolutely NO cavorting. That's where I draw the line. ;)
Did see "Woman in Black" in Covant Gardens, London in 1996.
I have tickets for LA final Peformance run of "Phantom of the Opera" in September, ok big surprise
Ok, going out on a limb here....and took my wife to see Bjorn Again....an ABBA Tribute Band....not Theatre, but was a stage performance.
OG
Quote from: Scatter on June 09, 2010, 09:55:08 PM
I'm completely opposed to cavorting. I can put up with a little bit of light frolicking,possibly even an occasional romp, but absolutely NO cavorting. That's where I draw the line. ;)
Ha Ha Ha!! I like it. ;D
Quote from: Opera Ghost on June 10, 2010, 10:49:44 AM
Did see "Woman in Black" in Covant Gardens, London in 1996.
I have tickets for LA final Peformance run of "Phantom of the Opera" in September, ok big surprise
Ok, going out on a limb here....and took my wife to see Bjorn Again....an ABBA Tribute Band....not Theatre, but was a stage performance.
OG
An ABBA Tribute band Gracie?? Man, you really LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE you wife.
Quote from: Scatter on June 10, 2010, 11:51:49 AM
An ABBA Tribute band Gracie?? Man, you really LOOOOOOOOOOOOVE you wife.
LOL....it's worse than that. I actually like ABBA too.
I have extremely wide and varied taste in music, which outside of Shania & Faith, does not include Country.
Quote from: Opera Ghost on June 10, 2010, 12:42:07 PM
LOL....it's worse than that. I actually like ABBA too.
I have extremely wide and varied taste in music, which outside of Shania & Faith, does not include Country.
Hey, my toe has been known to tap occasionally to an ABBA tune. But I can't picture myself buying an album or going to see ABBA-Lite.
However, I HAVE seen an Elvis impersonator. Back when I was about 12. My mom took me because I'm a huge Elvis fan, and frankly the guy was awesome! Not the fat, cheezy, fake Elvis voice guys you see so much. Dude had some pipes.
Another topic I been meaning to post about!
As an early Christmas present my wife took me to see Evil Dead the Musical back in October!! I knew it was coming to town but had completely forgotten about it, though she ruined the surprise because she wasn't sure if I wanted the "Splatter Zone". She called me up one day and asked; "Would you rather be clean or dirty?", that is a hard question to answer if you don't know the context so I told her clean of course...She proceeded to tell me it was for something she was taking me to; "Monster Trucks, Motocross, Jello Wrestling?!?! The possibilities were endless....Well it took me 'til the next day to figure out what she was up to so I told her we could sit in the "Splatter Zone" but she had already bought the tickets. Oh well, no splatter that night but the local theater troupe, Stray Dog, that performed the show did an excellent job! It was an entertaining and interesting show, especially given the fact that Stray Dog performs in Tower Grove Abby.
Quote from: Unknown Primate on February 22, 2010, 10:10:32 PM
My Mom got to see "Diversions And Delights" with V.P. back in 1977 (I believe). I was just asking her about it the other day. Lucky!
My mom took me to see this as well. A one man show, with Price portraying Oscar Wilde.
Quote from: Monster Bob on December 07, 2009, 03:11:02 PM
CATS
PHANTOM OF THE OPERA
MISS SAIGON
EVITA
THE MUSIC MAN
ELVIS-THE LEGEND LIVES w/ Rick Saucedo & The Jordanaires
MY FAIR LADY w/Rex Harrison
THE KING AND I w/ Yul Brenner
THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE
LEND ME A TENOR w/ John Astin
ONCE UPON A MIDNIGHT-EDGAR ALLAN POE w/ John Astin
ANNIE
SWEENEY TODD w/ Angela Lansbury and George Hearn
GUYS AND DOLLS w/ Ray Rayner
THE MUNSTERS AT THE SHRINE CIRCUS W/ Al Lewis, Butch Patrick, and Pat Priest
THE BARBER OF SEVILLE (in Italian!)
BEATLEMANIA!
BOZO'S CIRCUS AT CHICAGOFEST (from backstage)
THE LITTLE SHOPPE OF HORRORS
THE BJ AND DIRTY DRAGON STAGE SHOW
DISNEY ON ICE (several versions)
THE LITTLE MERMAID (Disney)
THE LION KING (Disney)
...and soon...
THE ADDAMS FAMILY w/ Nathan Lane
Add BILLY ELLIOT to the list
also Jonathan "Barnabas" Frid doing a one man show of horror poetry and readings.
On a recent trip to NY, the Mrs. and I saw MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET and really enjoyed it. Tried to get ADDAMS FAMILY tix but it was sold out the night we wanted to go. We were too early for Pee-Wee -- darn it all. Too early for Spider-Man, too -- but maybe that was a lucky break, considering.
This year, I saw WICKED. Loved it. Great experience.
I took my dad to see SHREK for his birthday. He loves those films, and he enjoyed the stage production.
I saw two of Dollface's shows. They were great and she was great in them.
Riverdance
Phantom of the Opera, (*at*) 12x
Wicked
Mamma Mia
Fiddler on the Roof
Just caught The Book of Mormon last Tuesday!
Can't remember what year it was but I saw Gary Sandy in Grease.
Once Upon A Midnight starring John Astin as Edgar Allen Poe
I have been very lucky. I have seen virtually every Broadway show since 2000.
I used to have the actors sign my Playbills after but I stopped after we moved last year to our new place.
You can see a few pix here:
http://www.timeout.com/newyork/style-design/apartment-tour-curator-of-curiosities (http://www.timeout.com/newyork/style-design/apartment-tour-curator-of-curiosities)
Broadway can actually be very affordable if you are a bit daring, utilize TKTS, and keep an open mind.
That said, I hated Spiderman and was so outspoken on tv that when I went to buy an item during a charity event they refused me.
http://cnn.com/video/?/video/showbiz/2010/12/24/bts.spiderman.show.reax.cnn (http://cnn.com/video/?/video/showbiz/2010/12/24/bts.spiderman.show.reax.cnn)
Let's see...my parents took me to tons of kiddie plays at The Paper Mill Playhouse in Kilburn, NJ. My first Broadway show was "The Wiz" in '73 or '74. I saw Langella in "Dracula," twice. I saw four different productions of "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" - original cast with Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury; 2nd cast with George Hearn and Dorothy Loudon; touring cast with Lansbury and Hearn; and a Paper Mill Playhouse revival with Hearn. I saw the Broadway revival of "Arsenic and Old Lace" with Tony Roberts, Abe Viggoda, Jean Stapleton, Polly Holiday, and William Hockey. I saw "The Phantom of the Opera" with Michael Crawford (Sarah Brightman was already gone, though). I saw a production of Ted Tiller's "Count Dracula" starring Carpet Grainger at the PMP, as well as a production of "Showboat." Saw my college's productions of "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" and "Little Shop of Horrors."
Quote from: Scatter on June 10, 2010, 03:06:55 PM
Hey, my toe has been known to tap occasionally to an ABBA tune. But I can't picture myself buying an album or going to see ABBA-Lite.
However, I HAVE seen an Elvis impersonator. Back when I was about 12. My mom took me because I'm a huge Elvis fan, and frankly the guy was awesome! Not the fat, cheezy, fake Elvis voice guys you see so much. Dude had some pipes.
Adding to the List....we saw "Spank! The 50 Shades parody" after valentines day, and are seeing "Jekyll & Hyde" tonight at the Pantages.
Good news for POTO fans....A revised traveling show is set to go on tour, so Phantom will be back in Theatre once again. LM will be ecstatic, as is Mrs OG
Blue Man Group a few years ago
Entertaining :)
I've also seen Blue Man group a few times in the past. Also my gf a the time took me to Spider-man Live about ten years ago for my birthday. ;D
I saw the 20th anniversary of Jesus Chirst, Superstar on stage. I saw Barefoot in the Park put on by the local group, so local that my brother played the part of Victor Velasco! I saw Sheena Easton on stage in 81. And I have seen both Redd Foxx and Rodney Dangerfield.
Not in any type of order .....
Fiddler on the Roof .. ;D
Radio City Rockettes
Irving Berlin's White Christmas
Peter Pan
George Bernard Shaw's Caesar & Cleopatra
The Tempest
The Nutcracker Suite
Jesus Christ Superstar with the original cast 1971
Diversions and Delights, starring Vincent Price as Oscar Wilde
Once Upon A Midnight starring John Astin as Edgar Allen Poe on Halloween Night, met John afterwards he autographed my poster & spoke for some time with a couple of us about Poe , Addams Family , Brisco County , etc
We've recently seen We Will Rock You, Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II and last night The Addams Family.
Kinky Boots