What plays and shows have you seen?

[Greg]

Julia wrote: "Greg,

And anyone else interested, "Allegiance" the George Takei musical is going to be in movie theaters again on December 7, 2017 through Fathom Entertainment. I highly recommend it.

This summer..."

Several of those sound excellent Julia! Noura especially sounds intriguing.

I'll definitely look out for"Allegiance" on the 7th.

[Julia]

Hi Greg,

You should see it on December 7, in a movie theater, but you can also see it live at East West Players next spring! Thanks for the links.

[Greg]

Julia wrote: "Hi Greg,

You should see it on December 7, in a movie theater, but you can also see it live at East West Players next spring! Thanks for the links."

Oh wow, that's fantastic! East West Players does great work - I've seen several of their shows at the David Henry Hwang Theater. I'll definitely get tickets! Thanks so much for the tip!

[Michael]

Thanks, Julia and Greg! Great to know about Allegiance.

[Greg]

Just got of "Big Night" - some great comic and dramatic performances by Kecia Lewis, Luke Macfarlane, and Wendie Malick. MacFarlane is just adorable as well. But I wasn't crazy about the writing of the play itself. Had some great moments but not one I'd enthusiastically recommend.

[Bill, Moderator]

Greg wrote: "With all the crazy work hours, I've been forcing myself to take some sanity breaks with some theater. So far, it's helping me sustain morale. :)

Last week, Ron & I went to see Matthew Bourne's The Red Shoes..."

I don't suppose this is the same as the exquisite 1948 movie The Red Shoes?

[Bill, Moderator]

Julia wrote: "... I have been for the last three weeks in rehearsals for a community theater production of The Music Man: A Musical Comedy. I've never done theater for 40+ years, but I've never done a musical before!
r..."

I've seen the play and movie a number of times, including the movie premier. This is so much fun. I love it. What part will you play; do you know?

[Greg]

Bill wrote: "Greg wrote: "With all the crazy work hours, I've been forcing myself to take some sanity breaks with some theater. So far, it's helping me sustain morale. :)

Last week, Ron & I went to see Matthew..."

Yes Bill! It's based on the movie! :)

[Bill, Moderator]

Greg wrote: "...Last week, Ron & I went to see Matthew..."

Yes Bill! It's based on the movie! :) "

I'd love to see that! How was the music?

[Greg]

Bill wrote: "Greg wrote: "...Last week, Ron & I went to see Matthew..."

Yes Bill! It's based on the movie! :) "

I'd love to see that! How was the music?"

It was great! - they used a bunch of Bernard Hermann and other period scores.

[Nicolas]

I saw The inheritance at the Young Vic theatre in London.

If you believe the critics (all 4 and 5 stars) it's a sort of cross between Angels in America (because of it's themes and length) and a Netflix boxset (because of it's structure and writing).

It's based on EM Forster's Howards End but set in (very) contemporary New York. It's one of the best bits of theatre I've ever seen and in my view so much better than Angels.

*controversial view alert*
Where Angels is turgid and ponderous, The inheritance is nibble and fresh. It's witty and the pared-down direction is just fantastic.

Catch if you can!

[Julia]

Months and months ago Bill asked:

I've seen the play and movie (Music Man) number of times, including the movie premier. This is so much fun. I love it. What part will you play; do you know?

I had a small part as one of the Pick a Little Talk a Little Ladies, Mrs. Squires.

[Rayne]

So just a week ago I got to see Angels in America: Millennium Approaches at the Berkeley Rep. Aaaah! So good! It was also the first contemporary play I’ve seen in professional production. Gives me all the gender feels I normally get around content that features gay men, but so worth it! I see Part two on Tuesday, I’m sure it will be equally mind blowing.

[Greg]

Marc wrote: "Love this thread. I see a lot of theater around Southern Cali, and if I like something I'll go multiple times.

Girlfriend at Kirk Douglas Theater was good. The Signature Theater in Arlington, VA. ..."

I loved Girlfriend at the Kirk Douglas Theater too Marc - such a sweet-hearted musical play. I saw it more than once. The two main guys were great, and the all-female band was fantastic too!

I hadn't seen anything in a while, but last week I went to "Humans" at the Ahmanson. It was so affecting and at times, very funny too.

[Greg]

Nicolas wrote: "I saw The inheritance at the Young Vic theatre in London.

If you believe the critics (all 4 and 5 stars) it's a sort of cross between Angels in America (because of it's themes and length) and a N..."

This sounds good Nicolas!

[Greg]

I went to see The Humans by playwright Stephen Karam at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles last week. It was at times hilarious and at other times extraordinarily moving. I definitely recommend it to anyone in the area! Most of the cast is the original Broadway cast - the performances are fantastic!

[Eugene]

The most recent play that I've seen was a production of Macbeth at the Folger. It was more engaging than any other production of that play that I'd seen.

[Michael]

I just got back from Ashland's Oregon Shakespeare Festival and saw a an LGBT production of Oklahoma! The Rodgers estate gave permission for this 75th anniversary production. Curly and Laurie were women; Will Parker and Ado Andy were the comic relief. The chorusincluded gender fluid characters and performers of different races. It was wonderful! The audience stands up for it every night.

[K.S.]

The Pirates of the Penzance done by the Lamplighters in Mountain View, CA was loads of fun...it was given a feminist and a f/f twist without altering any of the songs. Ruth ended up with the oldest sister at the end. Plus there's a great moment where the Major General dances in his sleep with the Pirate King, Frederic, and several of the pirates. :)

[Jonathan]

Nicolas wrote: "I saw The inheritance at the Young Vic theatre in London.

If you believe the critics (all 4 and 5 stars) it's a sort of cross between Angels in America (because of it's themes and length) and a N..."

Saw The Inheritance late last year, at its West End transfer. Superb theatre. Incredible amount of hype for it. Does it reach it? Hmm, *almost*. Such a delight to see such a strong cast cover gay material in this way.

[Katie.dorny]

I last watched the Cinderella ballet for Christmas and I loved it

[T.J.]

I love the theatre, and I've seen loads, including The Lion King, Chicago, The Rocky Horror Picture Show (a classic!), Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, War Horse (incredible!), Calamity Jane (loved it!), The Full Monty... I could go on...

[Martin]

I go back to the Stone Age and have lived in New York City all of my life. So, I have seen more shows and plays than I can remember. My first exposure to Broadway musicals was the original production of My Fair Lady. Among the other shows I saw in that decade were A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Zero Mostel, (and many years later, the revival with Nathan Lane), How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying with Robert Morse and Rudy Vallee, Fiddler on the Roof, Cabaret, (and the revival later with Alan Cumming), Funny Girl and The Producers.

. I saw Shakespeare's Julius Caesar at the alas now defunct Shakespeare Festival in Stratford CT.

In later years, in no particular order: Equus, Amadeus, The Sunshine Boys, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Oklahoma! with Patrick Wilson, The Ice Man Cometh with Kevin Spacey and Tony Danza, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Threepenny Opera, Rosenkranz and Guildenstern are Dead, The Glass Menagerie with Cherry Jones and Zachary Quinto, Les Miserables, Cats, Tartuffe, Kiss Me Kate, Anything Goes and others of which I have forgotten the names.

Off-Broadway and Off-Off-Broadway: Romeo and Juliet, How I Learned to Drive, Marlowe’s Edward II with Brian Charles Rooney as Piers Galveston, (He was amazing as Lucy Brown in Threepenny Opera), At the Ritz, a one-man bravura performance portraying five wildly different characters in each decade from the Sixties to the Present in the evolution of a gay bar, Rupert Everett as Oscar Wilde, South Pacific, Twelfth Night. Much Ado About Nothing, As You Like It, The Tempest, King Lear, Hamlet, Taming of the Shrew, The Merchant of Venice, Two Gentlemen of Verona and Macbeth.

[Eugene]

I just watched a Metropolitan Opera performance of Massenet's Manon on TV. I got a little teary-eyed at the end; stab me already. Also, Michael Fabiano (the Chevalier des Grieux) isn't hard on the eyes.

[John]

Kind of surprised not to have seen a reference to the play "Take Me Out" which I saw in Seattle years ago. Wiki summary below...


Much of the play is set in the locker room of a professional baseball team, and as such has an all-male cast that explores themes of homophobia, racism, class, and masculinity in sports.

The play's main character, Darren Lemming, is a popular and successful mixed-race baseball player at the peak of his career when he decides to come out. Several of his teammates react strongly (some supportive and accepting, and some not), and the drama plays out over the course of a baseball season with tragic consequences.

[Eugene]

John wrote: "Kind of surprised not to have seen a reference to the play "Take Me Out" which I saw in Seattle years ago. Wiki summary below...

We saw that years ago in DC.

[Jacob]

This year I went and saw;
Aladdin(musical)(7/10)
To Kill A Mockingbird(play)(11/10)
Wicked(musical)(7.5/10)