Perfect time to head to NYC
In the last few days, I have had three friends suddenly jump out and organise a trip to New York. Before I knew they had gone. It doesn’t take much to work out why people are suddenly jumping on planes to the theatre capital – the dollar.
In the last few days, I have had three friends suddenly jump out and organise a trip to New York. Before I knew they had gone. It doesn’t take much to work out why people are suddenly jumping on planes to the theatre capital – the dollar.
As our dollar sits around parity with the greenback, it is a great opportunity before the silly Christmas season when prices go sky high, to make the most of some cheap air fares in this month and go to the big apple.
If you are thinking of heading over, I thought I’d devote the column today to some of the juicy morels in theatre land, which would seem to be the most likely reason for travelling to the great white way for most of the readers of this site.
Two former off Broadway musicals are the talking point of Broadway at the moment. Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and The Scottsborough Boys. Both shows are now on Broadway, the former a rock musical about an American president has been getting strong reviews. The music is emo rock and more than a little confronting, but the show sounds wildly theatrical. Thelatter is one of the last shows written by Kander and Ebb before Fred Ebb died. Directed by Susan Stroman, it is a viciously satirical look at a very evil time in American history when a number of african Americans were falsely accused of rape.
This tale is framed into a black and minstrel style show, also a reminder of the ghastly racist elements of these type of shows (they used to be very popular in Australia, I remember seeing them regularly pop up at the old Tivoli Theatre in Sydney). The show has had mixed reviews this week from critics, but the score by these two masters and the staging andperformances sound like they make it a must-see.
A brand new musical now playing is Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, based on the Almodavar film ofn the same name. A top line cast lead by Patti Lu Pone make this sound like one of the big break through musical hits of the northern autumn.
The sold out London hit La Bete, is now the toast of Broadway! The showdown between high and low brow is on in Broadway’s newest smash comedy about two radically-different playwrights and the princess who pits them against each other. With once-in-a-lifetime performances from Mark Rylance, David Hyde Pierce, and Joanna Lumley.
Al Pacino leads an acclaimed cast in The Merchant of Venice and there is also a new Donald Marguiles play Time Stands Still starring Laura Linney, Eric Bogosian and Brian Darcy James.
Probably the pairing I would be most excited to see would be Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch in the revival of A Little Night Music:. When I was in NYC earlier this year, I was positively uninspired to see Catherine Zeta Jones play the lead in this Sondheim classic, but Ms Peters and Ms Stritch pairing off 8 shows a week till early January sounds like a must to me.
The revival of La Cage Aux Folles that walked home with a bag load of Tonys this year is still playing with Douglas Hodge in his Tony award winning performance. Then there are only a few weeks left to see Kristin Chenoweth in Promises Promises with Sean Hayes. I saw this one this year and loved Hayes, but found Chenoweth utterly miscast. This hasnt stopped the show being a hit, but clever producers realise once their stars leave, so will the audience (the show is only moderately entertaining in itself and is a real star vehicle).
Broadway is always a buzz and there is also a strong cabaret scene, the New York Cabaret Convention has just closed, but almost any night there will be something worth seeing at either Dont Tell Mamas, the Metropolitan Room or Feinstens. The latter will feature a season by David Campbell in late November.
My advice? Grab a seat while there are still plenty and see a few shows before the Christmas crowds make the city a nightmare for a few weeks over Xmas.