I got to New York City a few times a year (lucky me!) to get last minute tickets to however many shows I can in whatever time I have. I’ve been doing this a long time and have seen dozens of Broadway and off-Broadway shows. Last week, I made a journey there, where I caught three wonderful shows.
- Oh, Hello. I have seen a lot of funny things, both on Broadway and off. But this? This took the cake. I adore John Mulaney and his random sense of humor, so Oh, Hello did not disappoint. He and Nick Kroll (also brilliant) played a couple of creepy old men, former SUNY Yonkers professors (go zebras!). This show was filled with physical humor, one-liners, and Broadway jokes. My face was sore for a whole 48 hours after, I laughed so much.
- Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812. I’ve been hearing about this show and how wonderful it is for years now. It’s finally on Broadway, and after a three-hour wait in a freezing cold rush line, I managed to score some box seats. Though very different than Oh, Hello, this show left me smiling too. The music was catchy, the energy was infectious, and the cast (including the one and only Josh Groban) was brilliant all around. I really need to get this cast album.
- Falsettos. I love William Finn and his buggy little tunes that get stuck in your mind for days. On top of that, this revival stars some of my all-time favorite Broadway people (Christian Borle, HELLO, I’ve loved him since Spamalot). I had to see it. Well, after making that decision, I realized that this wasn’t the happiest of musicals, and it proved that. It’s full of quirky characters and catchy songs and an interesting look at life. It gave me a good cry, which I needed this week, and the cast was really phenomenal.
Have you seen anything good lately?
