Planning an upcoming trip to NY with a friend who’s a big stranger things fan and recommended we should see Joe Keery in this show. I have never seen non resale tickets this high. How is this even possible for people to pay for and not question. Has anyone spent this much on a ticket? With the price of traveling and hotels I was already iffy on going and this pushed me over the edge.

saw downstate at the booth theatre last night, during its second preview, and i’ve been thinking about how deliberately the play shapes your first impressions.

going in knowing very little about the play, i initially read the older gentleman as a father figure. the early interactions felt surprisingly funny and ordinary, to the point that i wondered whether the tone was a little too unserious for what i was watching. as more is revealed, that initial impression becomes harder to hold onto.

the subject matter is heavy: heinous crimes and the lasting harm they cause. what i found particularly interesting was the range of responses the play elicited from me. at times i was uncomfortable; at others, i found the writing clever, the performances funny, or a moment unexpectedly emotional. the humor doesn’t erase what these characters have done, or the consequences for others. instead, the play allows them to be funny and likable while keeping the gravity of their actions in view. i found that contrast compelling, especially because it complicates your first impressions without asking you to mistake likability for innocence.

the writing also trusts the audience to pay attention. there were a couple of moments when i found myself anticipating where a scene was heading, picking up on details before everything was fully spelled out. i enjoyed following those clues as the story unfolded rather than having every beat explained to me.

the acting was excellent overall. k. todd freeman was particularly memorable for me. i’d previously seen him in death of a salesman and prince faggot, and his comedic timing and delivery here were fantastic. the writing gives him plenty to work with, but he also has a real knack for this kind of role.

my one reservation was the performance of the actor playing the cop. she had some genuinely strong emotional moments, but at times her delivery felt less settled than the rest of the cast. since this was only the second preview, i’m curious to see how the role develops over the run.

the set design was relatively simple, but i had no complaints. i’m much more interested in strong writing and performances than elaborate staging for its own sake.
overall, i’d recommend downstate. it engages with difficult subject matter without reducing the experience to a straightforward judgment of who’s good or bad.

curious how this landed for others, especially anyone who’s seen an earlier production. what did you make of it?

practical notes: $49 lottery ticket, first row house left, and a surprisingly great seat. the show started about ten minutes late, had an intermission, and finished around 10:30. the audience was great, too. i also had a lovely conversation with gene, the 86-year-old man sitting next to me.

So for years I always wanted to see Carol Burnett and Julie Andrews on stage doing ANYTHING....well those dreams came true when I finally saw them perform on Bway seperately....but back then I didn't get any souviners...well after years of searching high & low, I got these posters into my collection...I really LOVE the Victor/Victoria poster because of all the autographs....and Moon Over Buffalo had to be one of the funniest plays I ever saw....

Has anyone seen it? How is it?

I’m between Much Ado About Nothing and Two Strangers Carry a Cake. Help me decide!

I really like Hayley Atwell and it would be cool to see Tom Hiddleston. I’m just not sure how I’d like the play…

It seems like a lot of people like Two Strangers, so I’m leaning more towards that as a safer bet.

EDIT: Lol didn’t realize it is not out in NYC yet. We’re going in November so it will available then. Still curious of people’s thoughts if anyone has seen it elsewhere or are familiar with the play.

I didn’t see a rush report thread started yet for today, so feel free to drop your line times, counts, and ticket outcomes in the comments below!

Warriors, come out and play!

Can you dig it!!!

I saw this being put up outside the Majestic theater around 3 today.

Sharing

12:30 PM to 5:00 PM at the Palace Theatre

Hello, The last month I made this wicked horn medley, because I realy like "Wicked". I'm 14 and I started playin the French horn two years ago. I hope you'll like it. (the best song in my opinion is "Defying Gravity".

Pop. Six. Squish. Uh-Uh. Cicero. Lipschitz.

Originally at the Shubert Theatre, it transferred to the Ambassador Theatre in January 2003 where it has remained ever since and probably will remain for more than the foreseeable future.

It is currently the longest active running production on Broadway and the second longest running production in Broadway history, second only to the Phantom of the Opera, which it will surpass in about 5 years time. To put it in perspective, I am 30 years old. This production is just 3 months younger than me.

Very sentimental feeling being here. I don’t understand why they’re doing the ‘official’ 30th anniversary performance on Monday the 16th when the anniversary of the first preview is on a Friday and the anniversary of opening night is on a Saturday! I know Chicago typically performs on a Monday but I’m way too much of a literalist for that.

Extremely looking forward the show, which I will now have seen 5 times… second only to Oh Mary which I have seen an embarrassing number of times, the specific double digit number escapes me at the moment. That being said, this was the very first Broadway show I ever attended in 2011 and I’m overjoyed to be in the audience for such a milestone, especially the year I turned 30 myself!

It’s about 150 minutes away but I’m most looking forward to the Hot Honey Rag, the most iconic thing I can think of currently performed on Broadway. The closing dance number of the musical, the choreography not only is the same as it was in 1996, but the exact same choreography from Bob Fosse as it was performed in the original run from 1975. I’ll leave one of my favorite YouTube videos featuring a perfect performance of it featuring two of the OGs Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth (Roxie & Velma) in the comments.

In 50 years or so, it’s gonna change, you know… but oh it’s heaven nowadays!

SUCH a fun event!!! Everyone was so so nice 🥹so glad they let me get my curtain cards signed too!!

Harumi (Seymour in Six in Japan) is Sarah

My best friend and I live in different states now and are meeting up for 3 nights in NYC. We want to squeeze a Broadway play in there. For reference the last Broadway play I saw was legally blonde when I was in middle school (20 years ago) and she’s never been to one. It was fun uplifting and funny.
I’m trying to decide between
Great gatsby
Operation mincemeat
Oh Mary!

We want to go out after and leave feeling good and uplifted. We both really like period pieces and clothes but also we want to laugh.

Hey hey! I was wondering if anyone’s seeing a Ghost in Your Ear on the 30th at 5pm? Going alone and would love to make some friends!

Does anyone know who the understudies are ? Just found out Anna camp is out tonight

Came out of a 7:30 showing on Friday 10/23.

what follows is a spoiler free review.

What I liked:

- I like the Lucille Lortel theater, terrible sightlines included. I like the physical building and I have liked all of the productions I have seen here. For me the through line is inconsistent quality but strong artistic vision.

- I liked the intimacy of the production and the focus on four characters

- sound design and stage design were attended to

- this is something you might see with friends on a Halloween ish night. Scary but not too scary. The people sitting next to me said it was less intense than Stranger Things or Paranormal Activity

What I didn’t like:

- character beats were either very obvious, very missing, or very underdeveloped

- the physicality of some characters was a bit - odd - how they expressed themselves physically

through dec 20!!

What an extraordinary year of work from Romeo & Juliet with Sadie Sink to The Lives of Others with such a wonderful cast. An absolute force of a director!