Broadway | On The Town

I am so excited to tell all of you about On The Town, as this was truly a one-of-a-kind Broadway experience for me. On The Town officially opened on October 16, but I rushed to the theatre during previews because one of my best childhood friends is in the show. I couldn't wait to see her perform, and it was a dream come true! We met as dancers growing up, and it was surreal to see her onstage in a classic musical. Thus, despite me being a bit biased about the show, I still wanted to share my thoughts on On The Town!

On The Town is now playing at the Lyric Theatre (formally the Foxwoods Theatre), and is revival of the classic musical that first performed on Broadway in 1944. The story follows three sailors who dock in New York City and have just twenty-four hours before they take off again. What plays out is a funny and romantic tale that takes the audience around New York in the span of two and a half hours.

I saw the show in previews, and as my friend explained, changes were being made on a daily basis. At the time, the show did feel a bit disjointed, but it was overall a joy to watch. Leonard Bernstein's score is recognizable and cheerful, and the well-known New York, New York! was stuck in my head for days. The entire cast was excellent, and I really appreciated the dancing. The strong dance numbers were not only entertaining, but they gave me the opportunity to see my friend onstage for most of the show! I should also mention that the set and costumes are amazing. I loved the bright colors and how seamlessly the stage was transformed in each new scene. I never knew what was going to happen next!

I do want to make a quick note in this review based off of my personal experience as an audience member. I attended a Saturday matinee, and the majority of the audience was made up of senior citizens who presumably wanted to view a favorite show of theirs. Yet unfortunately the crowd around me made some comments (in the middle of the performance, mind you) that need to be addressed. If you buy a ticket to On The Town expecting the movie starring Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, try to keep an open mind. The actors in the broadway show are incredible, and deserve to be respected in their own right. It's unfair to compare them to the greats of the past, and downright rude to comment "They're not as good," or "It's definitely not the same," both things I overheard from my neighbors in the middle of the show. Please, if you go see On The Town, keep your comparisons to yourself and don't spoil the performance by adding your own soundtrack.

Last but not least, I want to mention the Stage Door, which is located on 43rd Street. The actors did come out and sign autographs, and barricades were set up. I didn't get my Playbill signed this time around because I was getting a behind the scenes tour with my friend! I think that was definitely worth foregoing the autographs. Plus, there is always next time.

Overall, On The Town was a lovely experience. It's a show that's perfect for families, as younger audiences members will not catch on to the cheeky jokes that adults will love. I was luckily able to score an amazing seat in the orchestra thanks to the $20 lottery system (all details on that in THIS blog post). In fact, now that the show is officially open I plan on going again at some point in the future. I think that proves that On The Town was a great show, and I highly recommend it! Please let me know in the comments your thoughts on On The Town!

TodayTix App Brings the First Mobile Lottery to Audiences of On The Town!

If you've been an OpenLetter2NYC reader for a while, you'll know that I never attend a Broadway show at full price. Whether I wait in line for rush tickets, score a discount seat on the web, or enter the ticket lottery, I'm always on the hunt for the most affordable seats. I've been stalking the On The Town website recently, as one of my childhood friends is in the show and I just had to see her onstage as soon as possible. Imagine my surprise when I saw that On The Town is offering the first mobile lottery in Broadway history!

The TodayTix app makes entering the On The Town lottery super easy. All I had to do was download the app for free in the App Store on my iPhone (also available on Google Play and Amazon) and enter the lottery directly from my phone! Each day, I simply enter the On The Town lottery for free, and a few hours before the show I'm notified via email whether or not I scored tickets. For someone who lives in Downtown Manhattan, this app is absolutely perfect – I can enter the lottery no matter where in the city I am, and I don't have to wait in any lines at the theatre. Talk about convenient!

TodayTix is also a great app even if you're not looking to see On The Town (which you should, by the way!). The app allows you to get discounted tickets for many other Broadway shows, and is currently offering free tickets to the preview performances at The Public this season. There is no reason to stand in line out in the elements when you can buy discount tickets directly on your phone. With the time (and money) you save, you can enjoy New York City and pick up your tickets at the box office come showtime!

I also want to mention the great customer service I experienced with TodayTix. This past Saturday I entered the On The Town lottery, and figured I didn't win when showtime was getting close. Then my phone rang, and it was TodayTix! The original lottery winner cancelled, so they called and offered the ticket to me! I was so excited! I headed to the Lyric Theatre, handed my $20 in cash to the box office, and enjoyed the show from my orchestra seat. It was awesome!

I will have a full review of On The Town up on my blog once the show officially opens in October. For now, I definitely recommend that you take advantage of the TodayTix app. If you sign-up for TodayTix, please use my referral code, as you and I will both get $20 off our next ticket purchases through the app. Simply click HERE to be directed to the TodayTix website. I hope to see more Broadway shows using this app for their lottery systems soon!

Broadway | If/Then with Idina Menzel

This past weekend I had the opportunity to see the new Broadway musical If/Then starring Idina Menzel. My friend and I entered the lottery, and though we lost out for $30 tickets we were able to get $50 seats in the front mezzanine. I knew nothing about the show, but thought anything with Idina and fellow RENT alum Anthony Rapp would be amazing. Luckily, I was quite right.

If/Then is truly a new musical. Idina is our protagonist, Elizabeth, and the show follows her life as she moves back to New York after leaving her first marriage. Elizabeth meets up with two friends, Lucas and Kate, who each invite her to join them on separate adventures. Instead of choosing just one path, If/Then shows Elizabeth's life from two points of view – we get Beth, who chooses to join Lucas at his protest, and Liz, who decides to hang out with Kate. The musical evolves into these two story lines, and the audience gets to see how each choice in Elizabeth's life, whether seemingly big or small, plays an important role in her destiny.

If you're confused by my If/Then summary, that's okay. I was definitely confused when the show first started, but slowly began to see the separate lives that Beth and Liz lead. While the show is certainly funny at parts, be aware that If/Then deals with serious topics (I highly recommend you bring tissues). The story is absolutely beautiful, and I say it is truly a new musical because it represents our society as it is today. The choices that Elizabeth must make, and the people she interacts with, are the people of 21st century America. For example, this is the first Broadway show I've seen that portrays homosexual couples as normal, everyday people, and not as over-the-top drag queens (not to bash those that do – you all know I loved Priscilla). I'm very impressed with If/Then being able to change the status quo of Broadway while using familiar Broadway faces to get the message across.

My Stage Door experience for If/Then was unfortunately a bit of a downer. Despite the beautiful weather we'd been experiencing, it was pouring rain when we exited the theatre. Many thanks to Anthony, James, and Jason, who still signed our Playbills in the rain. I know Idina does come out to sign autographs at the show, but we weren't so lucky. As with any Stage Door experience, hope for good weather!

Overall, if you're in New York, then you should see If/Then. The cast is brilliant, and it was such a privilege to hear Idina sing live. Keep in mind that this show is recommended for ages 12 and up, as it deals with some adult themes and the F-word makes several appearances. More information about the ticket lottery and If/Then can be found on the show's official website HERE. It is currently playing at the Richard Rodgers Theatre.

Pre-order the Original Broadway Case Recording on Amazon HERE.

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Broadway | Newsies

I only lasted a few days back in NYC before heading to a Broadway show! I don’t plan on going every weekend like I did during my internship. One, I will have a much heavier workload, but I also need to be more frugal this time around. Last time I didn’t know if I would ever be returning to NYC, so I lived more in the moment. Now that I’ll be here for the long haul, I have to be more practical with my spending. But since this was my first weekend back and I’m stuck at home without any Internet or cable, I decided to treat myself. After a quick search on one of my favorite websites BradwayInformer.com using the Internet at gold old McDonalds, I decided that this was the day I would win the Newsies lottery! Boo. I didn’t win. Luckily, Newsies is one of the most popular shows on Broadway right now and has sell-out performances. That means they offer Standing Room Only (SRO) tickets for just $30. Yes, that is what it sounds like. With SRO tickets you must stand for the entire performance. At first I was pretty bummed, but it actually wasn’t all that bad. I got to stand right behind the orchestra seats that people pay a ton of money for. There was even a half wall with numbered areas. That means I got my own little space to lean on. This comes in handy for certain parts of the show. Even though I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be in SRO seats (or stands? Bad, I know), I was super excited to be seeing Newsies. I adore the movie, and I even went through this phase in high school where I listened to the soundtrack on repeat. I had heard from multiple friends that Newsies was amazing, and it definitely is! Of course, there are a few key differences between the show and the film, but I really didn’t mind them. The rewrite worked perfectly, and I enjoyed the new characters. I don’t want to say too much and ruin anything, but the news writer in this version is a young woman! Makes for some interesting twists and turns. All in all I thought Newsies was fabulous! The music is so catchy, the dancing is phenomenal (including a tap number!), and the cast is just awesome. The young men that perform in this show do an amazing job. You can tell they are having a great time as performers. They are full of smiles, and that just made me as an audience member have an even better time. There were a few spots that I found to be a bit slow, but they picked up again soon enough. My one complaint with SRO was that there were points in the show where I couldn’t see all of the action. The Newsies set is comprised of moving staircases, and when actors are on the top level, their heads get chopped off from view some of the time. If you’re lucky, you may be able to lean down on the ledge in front of you to get a better view. Being short like me really came in handy! At the end of the show I did go to the stage door to get autographs from the cast. You will want to exit the theater as soon as possible, as the barricades get filled up quickly. Just follow the exit signs that light up after the show. This stage door was very organized, and the actors came out rather quickly. I do have to say that part of it may be that these actors do not have to take off crazy costumes or makeup. Whatever the case may be, guys started coming out after about ten minutes, including the three lead males: Jack, Davey, & Les. None of the “older” actors or the lead female Katherine came out, but I was happy enough with the guys. They were all very gracious and posed for photos with anyone who asked. No need to bring your own Sharpie this time, as everyone had his own. I definitely suggest seeing Newsies! To enter the lottery, go to the theatre two and a half hours before the performance. Names are drawn a half hour after that, and tickets are $30 cash only and with a valid photo ID. SRO tickets are also $30 cash only. Look for the small sign that reads “Standing Room Line Forms Here.” You can enter the lottery while you are standing in line. The staff is very helpful and will repeat things if you cannot hear them from the line. Currently the show offers 28 lottery seats and 24 SRO tickets if the show is sold out. I can’t verify if this is true, but other Newsies fans that were standing in line with me told me SRO is actually a better view than lottery seats, which were on the outer edges of the orchestra. Truth be told, standing wasn’t bad at all and the view was better than many rush/lottery seats I’ve had. For $30, I am not complaining! Make sure to head over to the Nederlander Theatre to catch Newsies when you can!

Broadway | Priscila Queen of the Desert

During my stay in New York City last spring, I attended a CD signing for the soundtrack release of Priscilla Queen of the Desert. (Learn more about that event HERE). Ever since then I've been dying to see the show. While walking through Times Square with my friend Lisa last weekend, I saw the Palace Theatre and had a great idea. It was about 5 minutes of 6:00PM on a Friday night, and if any of you are big broadway fans you know that means we had literally 5 minutes to enter the lottery at Priscilla. Lisa and I entered our names and about 20 minutes later we were holding in our hands front row tickets to see one of the biggest shows currently playing on broadway. We couldn't believe our luck! Not only had Lisa never been to a broadway show before, but this was the first time she had ever entered a lottery. We were definitely meant to have those tickets!

As 8:00PM rolled around, Lisa and I sat anxiously in our seats with our newly purchased pink boas. When the lights went down, the magic of Priscilla began. The story revolves around three drag queens that take a road trip from Sydney, Australia to Alice Springs so that Tick, played by Will Swenson, can meet his son for the first time. Their journey west is sometimes rough-- their bus breaks down, they get lost, and they're even tormented for being gay. Yet the serious moments of the show only compliment the rest of the lively and upbeat music and dancing. If you enjoy disco and eighties music, this show is for you! From Girls Just Want to Have Fun to Like a Prayer, you will definitely be dancing in your seat. I know we were!

Priscilla also features some amazing costumes. They're brightly colored and change throughout the entire show! I would love to have the Barbie jacket that Nick Adams wears. And speaking of Nick Adams, the cast of this production is one of the most talented I've seen. Tony Sheldon, Will, and Nick are such a wonderful team. It also doesn't help that all of the boys in the cast are extremely good looking. If you're not drooling simply by looking at Mr. Adams, there are plenty of other lovelies for you to stare at! By the end of Priscilla, our cheeks hurt from smiling so much, our voices were sore from cheering, and our hands a bit tired from clapping so hard. What was left for us to do besides run to the stage door?!

For those of you that haven't been to this theater before, the stage door is located to your right once you exit from the left side of the theater. Barricades will be set up. This was definitely the best organized stage door I've ever experienced! The security people had a bag of black sharpies for the stars of the show so you don't have to worry about bringing one. Also, the performers were out the door signing and taking pictures within 10-15 minutes! I would say that Iusually have to wait a half-hour before anyone comes out. Considering all of the make-up and fancy costumes this cast is getting out of, I was really surprised when they came out so soon. 

 

All of the stars were so nice and gracious. Tony Sheldon told me he liked my sparkly pink nail polish, one of the chorus boys asked us how the lottery seats were, and one of the divas, Ellyn Marsh, even recognized us from the front row! Apparently our big smiles and wide eyes let the actors know how much fun we were having. Of course, I had to snap a photo with the gorgeous Nick Adams and a few of the other performers. They were all so great both onstage and off!

If you're looking for a fun broadway show to go to, make sure to get tickets to Priscilla! The lottery begins 2.5 hours before each performance, and they stop taking names 2 hours before, as that's when the lottery takes place. You must have $40 cash only for each ticket. Although the seats are partial view, I would not have traded my front row ticket for anything! The amount of action you miss is minimal, and being up close is always exciting. Besides, the closer you sit the more likely it is that you'll catch a ping pong ball! Believe me, you do not want to miss Priscilla Queen of the Desert!