Broadway

Beth and I have managed to see five Broadway shows so far this year. Happily I can recommend all of them:
- Curtains
- Gypsy
- The Seafarer
- Sunday in the Park with George
- November

If you know Patti LuPone at all, go see Gypsy. I know her mostly from a few movies and the cast recording of Evita from the 70s. I can't believe she can still sing as amazingly as she does. She received a five-minute standing ovation after one of the songs in the show. Just blew us all away.

If you know David Mamet at all, go see November. It's a great play and classic Mamet dialogue. I love Nathan Lane in it and even four months later I am still amazed by all of the layers of plot Mamet is able to pile on top of one another. I love everything Mamet writes and I'm going to see [the movie] Redbelt as soon as possible.

If you think all musicals are the same, go see Sunday in the Park with George. Most musicals have an amazing musical experience -- and this Sondheim play certainly delivers in that regard -- but this show is an amazing visual experience as well. I came into this show knowing nothing about it, and came away just amazed by the experience. I guess it shouldn't be surprising that a play about the composition of a painting would be visual in nature!

Curtains is hilarious and will be loved by anyone who likes David Hyde Pierce as much as we do. The Seafarer is an Irish play that had an amazing collection of actors, demonstrating an impressive range of drunken acting and uses for the f-word (including my new favorite use). Unfortunately, the show is closed now.

I think this may be a good post to plug my friend Jonathan who is currently in the Broadway production of Avenue Q. We went to see Jonathan play the lead roles of Princeton/Rod last year... we loved the show, but mostly I just came away thinking "my friend is a freakin' rock star". There was a point in the musical where Jonathan came down the aisle close to the audience and these teenage girls surrounding us went nuts over him... really? Jonathan? If you have a chance to see Ave Q, go see it. And if you have a chance to see Jonathan in the lead roles, you're in for a treat!

One of our favorite musicals is Rent, which we saw at least 10 times from the $20 seats while we were Columbia students. Rent is closing this year, so we're planning to go see it one last time. If anyone else is planning a farewell visit to Rent, let us know and we'll join you.