This is a kinda dumb post bc there’s only 3 more performances including this evening but I just wanted to put in a good word for The Public Theater’s Mobile Unit.

Along with Romeo + Juliet and next month’s The Winter’s Tale at Shakespeare In The Park, The Public Theater has a small Shakespeare play every year that tours across all 5 boroughs of New York City for a month, performed outdoors with free admission. This year it was As You Like It, and I went to the show last night in Brooklyn’s Sunset Park.

It was an absolute delight! After a brief technical difficulty at the start where the mics got cut off, the show went without a hitch and I was so impressed with the energy all of the performers brought to the play. It had a cute gimmick where actors would play multiple characters: at the court they would be someone mean and in the forest they’d play someone much nicer. The best example is Kai Thomani Tshikosi who plays a massive, intimidating wrestler at the court but later plays the still massive yet tender, amorous Silvius in the forest.

There is also Jonathan Gabriel Mousset who plays Orlando’s older brother Oliver at the court but then plays Amiens, the Arden Forest minstrel (and later Oliver again). When the play transitions from the court to the forest about 30 minutes in, the audience is greeted to the new scene by the forest folk with a song called ‘Under The Greenwood Tree’ led by Amiens on guitar. This was just the loveliest tune… I’m still humming it to myself and I hope a video exists of it somewhere. COME HITHER! COME HITHER! What an absolute banger. I know Shakespeare wrote the original words but I guess the song is different for every As You Like It production so whoever arranged this version deserves a medal. Mousset is listed as music director of this show so perhaps he’s the genius.

As for the rest, Zia Lawrence is radiant playing Rosalind- I mean Ganymede, Jose Gamo is outstanding as Orlando (the slow motion wrestling bit at the beginning had me hollering), Peter McNally was brilliant as the court fool Touchstone, Jessica Ko was hilarious when playing any of her 3 roles, and the most memorable performance was given by Zoë Goslin as the melancholy Jacques, no doubt in part to her hypnotizing rendition of the classic ‘All The World’s A Stage’ monologue and for delivering the best line of the entire play: “I can suck melancholy out of a song as a weasel sucks eggs!”

The company as a whole deserves a round of applause for being entertaining enough for little kids. This was a very family friendly production, and while a few of them didn’t last the whole ~100 minutes I was very impressed that most of the youth in attendance were sitting attentively watching the entire thing. That is a very impressive accomplishment for a Shakespeare production and a testament to the effort the entire cast and crew put into this show.

There is another performance in Sunset Park in about 3 hours from the time I post this, and then 2 more this weekend in Prospect Park at 6:30. Even if you’re not familiar with Shakespeare, I would be surprised if you watched this show and left disappointed.

Long live The Public Theater! 🎭

I’d like to congratulate everyone who won the ticket lottery for the Tony Awards tomorrow, and I also must apologize for never posting this recap until now. I started typing this almost a year ago to the day and just forgot about it in my drafts. Seeing the posts about people winning the lottery for the Tonys brought back warm memories from attending last year's ceremony and made me realize that I did not keep the promise I made a bunch of people on this subreddit: I never actually made this post. Since after today the 78th Annual Tony Awards will be completely irrelevant, I’m taking my last opportunity to post about my experience. To those who are attending this year, you’re in for a real treat, although it MIGHT not be exactly what you expect. I have a feeling people will not take nearly as long as me to post about attending this year's awards. I'm curious to see how their experiences compare to mine.

Despite having seen 22 out of the 24 productions nominated at this year’s ceremony (only having missed Punch and Little Bear Ridge Road), I won’t be attending the Tony Awards this year and I did not enter the lottery despite seeing the ads. Over most of last season I completed the journey of attending all 41 Broadway theaters within 1 calendar year, so it was fitting to attend the Tony Awards at the end of that escapade. Also, I simply didn’t enjoy this season like I enjoyed last season, not even close to be honest, so I'm not nearly as invested in this year's awards. I also simply had no desire to spend $500 again. As you’ll soon read, that does not mean that I regret winning the lottery ticket last year one bit. Finally, without further ado, here's my recap.

PROLOGUE (Part 0: The Intro)

I want to start this recap off by thanking everyone for reacting with such joy at my good fortune. This was a very special occasion for me not only because I enjoyed this season so much, but because I actually saw all 29 productions that received a nomination! In fact, I saw 38 out of the 42 total eligibile plays and musicals, missing just 1 original play (All In: Comedy About Love), 1 original musical (Tammy Faye), 1 play revival (Home), and 1 musical revival (Once Upon A Mattress, the only one I somewhat regret missing purely bc of best girl Sutton Foster).

Needless to say I was locked in for the entire ceremony and very invested in who was going to win each and every award, and I got to watch it all from Row A of the 1st Mezzanine! I was also motivated by having spent $500 on the ticket alone and over $200 on renting a tuxedo I didn’t actually need (more on that later). I made my prediction of each category after I saw my 29th and final production, and that was before I even knew I was going to the ceremony. It brings me joy to say that not only were most of my picks accurate, 20 out of 26 to be exact, but each of the shows and performers I was cheering for the most won an award. In fact, all 5 of what I consider to be my top 5 shows from this season of Broadway won multiple awards: The Picture of Dorian Gray, Maybe Happy Ending, Purpose, Sunset Blvd, and Oh, Mary! (in no particular order btw, I’d have to reallllllllly think about that one).

Long story short: I left Radio City in an extremely good mood and it made me happy I spent $700 (ticket + tuxedo) on something I could have simply watched at home. It was a real bucket list type experience and I’m very happy I did it at least once in my life. I’m happy to share my experience with you all since so many asked about it. I’m sorry it took so long. To be honest, there really isn't that much to write about the actual ceremony. I’ll go though my personal experience with Radio City and the ceremony itself before going through my reaction to the results of the awards, but first I want to paint a picture of where I was at when I received this massive stroke of luck.

PRE-TONYS ITINERARY (Part 1: The Pre-Fixe)

On June 5 I finally successfully got a standing room ticket for Just In Time (after 2 failed attempts) which was such a blast and the final Tony nominated production I needed to see before the ceremony, but it involved waking up around 5AM. After I got home, by then half asleep, I saw something but I don't remember exactly where I saw it. It was a link to what claimed to be a lottery for $500 tickets to the Tony Awards. Upon initial glance, the form did not seem official. It didn't feel right, but I filled out the sketchy looking Tony lottery form which I never thought would actually lead to anything, other than my bank account probably being robbed. It was genuinely stupid on multiple levels to fill this form out. I was agreeing to have someone take $500 from me in exchange for what was supposedly a ticket to the Tony Awards... IF I was even selected, and IF this form was actually from the official Tony Awards. The form absolutely did not look legit, but I still filled it out. I'm very happy I did, because it was indeed legit.

On June 6 I went to The Counterfeit Opera starring Damon Dunno, the first show of the summer at Little Island (RIP).

On June 7 I woke up to find out I was going to the Tony Awards, and when I arrived at the will call I saw the ticket stub said ‘black tie only’ so I walked to the nearest tailor and rented a $200 tuxedo for the next 3 days. I was out $500, and then $700 but up on cloud 9 I didn't care! There was a debate over whether my original outfit would be acceptable for the dress code, and I'll come to that later. After getting fitted, I then took the tux with me north on the train, went and saw the second half of The Queen Of Spades (the penultimate performance of last season at the Met, I missed the first half while getting the tuxedo) which I already had tickets to before any of this insanity happened, and then went home to watch the live stream of the penultimate performance of Good Night & Good Luck live on CNN which got me super hyped up for the Tonys the next day, which I now knew I would be attending!

I still had one more thing planned with a friend the next morning, and it was a big one: rushing the matinee of Sunset Blvd on Tony Sunday, David Thaxton’s final performance. We'd been planning it for months. I never thought I'd be going to the Tonys afterward. This is a true testament to my stamina: I went to bed right after the George Clooney live stream, woke up about 5:15AM, rode 45 minutes on the Q train and arrived at the rush line for Sunset Blvd at 6:15 (first in line, no less). While waiting, we saw Nicole Scherzinger and a bunch of the cast + crew arrive at the St James and then leave presumably to get breakfast, which was a nice treat. After retrieving the tickets at 10AM I went all the way back to Brooklyn, put on the tuxedo, went all the way back to the St James Theater and made it in time for the 1pm curtain with time to spare. Needless to say I was rather overdressed. My friend and I got to sit on the left orchestra aisle as Tom Francis walked right past us at the start of Act 2, so before the Tonys even began I already was having an amazing day. Experiencing Nicole Scherzinger's As If We Never Said Goodbye is good enough just one time, but I was going to experience it twice in the same day!

After I got out of that lights out performance, I walked all dressed up into the Times Square McDonalds and got the pre-fixe theater menu in the form of the $6 McDouble value meal. Real gourmet stuff.

The doors were scheduled to open at 4:30 and I made it inside Radio City by 5PM (with a couple happy gummies hidden in my inside pocket 🥳). That is where part 1 of this post ends and part 2 begins. I just wanted to give you an idea of where I was at mentally and physically before I even attended this thing. This day had begun at 5AM, and that was after rushing Just In Time bright and early on Thursday, going to another show on Friday, and running around Manhattan getting ready for the Tonys while seeing an opera on Saturday. I’m amazed I was even conscious at this point, but I remember feeling way too wired to feel how exhausted I must have been. It didn't hit me until the train ride home later that evening.

A CEREMONY IN 2 ACTS (Part 2: The 78th Annual Tony Awards @ Radio City Music Hall)

One thing I should have known that I didn’t really grasp until I was inside was: once you enter Radio City for the Tony Awards... you don’t leave. There’s no reason to, and I don't know what I was expecting. When you attend the Tony’s you don’t go and watch the red carpet. I mean, you CAN, but obviously that’s not inside Radio City. So upon entering at 5:00 I was in there until I walked out around 11:15. In fact, other than to buy a poster and a drink during a commercial break, I didn’t go back down from the second floor for 6 hours. By the way, the merch sells out quickly. Thankfully all I wanted was a poster, but that was all that was left by the time I got to the merch about halfway through the show.

By 6pm the first floor is an absolute MAD HOUSE. It was impossible to even judge people's outfits from up high after a certain point so instead I asked a couple people to get some photos of me which I will treasure for the rest of my life. There’s hardly any room to move around down on the main floor so I accepted early on I wasn’t gonna run into anyone famous, and this really wasn’t the time for any of that. At opening night of Last Five Years and Floyd Collins I ran into people like Darren Criss, Sydney Lemmon, Reeve Carney and Eva Noblezada. I thought there were going to be moments like this but most of the time those celebrities are up at the front of the orchestra or on stage. This wasn’t a problem at all as especially once Act 2 began I was more or less glued to my seat, deeply invested in every award category. That brings me to the division of the show: act 1 and act 2.

This part is mostly known full well by anyone who is invested in the show, but act 1, as I understand it, wasn't on TV. It was streamed, and was basically a quick run-through of the awards I guess people didn't care about. That includes people attending the show apparently. I remember being surprised that when the awards officially began, the house looked about 3/4 full! Everyone hadn't completely taken their seats until the start of act 2. I personally cared about every single category, and there were some I found especially important that were 'relegated' to act 1, not only all the design awards but stuff like Best Score and Best Book of a musical. This bit was mostly hosted by Darren Criss which I enjoyed not only because I was pulling for him to win later that evening, but because he also 'broke character' as a host whenever Maybe Happy Ending won an award. That's the type of thing that people watching live in the house saw that people at home wouldn't have... but that brings me to the primary thing I have to say, as someone who attended the Tonys, to people who watched the ceremony at home:

You missed virtually nothing except for the in-person experience itself, just a couple jokes from Cynthia Errivo while the cameras weren't rolling, absolute chaos on the orchestra level during the commercial breaks, and a guy barking out instructions to the audience over said commercial breaks.

That's truly all I can think of that people at home missed. We watched almost the exact same show, except when it went to commercial break those watching on TV saw the ads while myself and the live audience up in the mezzanine watched as people got up to buy drinks and snacks while seat fillers... filled those seats, while a guy on a megaphone told the audience how long the commercials would run and then asked everyone to applaud about 5 seconds before the ceremony went live again. It's obvious and redundant, but the major difference between attending the Tony Awards and watching the Tony Awards is being inside Radio City while it's happening.

In terms of my own experience, I was seated in the first row of the first mezzanine. One of the best seats in the house! I mean, how lucky can one be? I understand this still cost $500 but people paid hundreds more than that to sit in the back corner of the third mezzanine up on top. If they even sold seats in my section for general admission I feel like they must have been somewhere around $2,000.

I know I say you didn’t miss much if you were watching on TV, but I will point out the obvious: you are in the same room with all the giants from all the biggest musicals as they perform their biggest songs. Audra McDonald singing Rose’s Turn, Nicole Scherzinger doing As If We Never Said Good Bye, Jonathan Groff slaying Mack The Knife, Megan Hilty’s For The Gaze, the Mincemeat crew doing Born To Lead, Oprah and Ben Stiller both presenting awards, of course Cynthia Errivo parodying Dreamgirls, Sara Bareilles coming out for the In Memorium, Harvey Feuerstein accepting his lifetime achievement award before giving the best speech of the entire evening, and believe it or not what ended up being my favorite performance from the nominees of the whole ceremony (from a show I did not care for): Jeremy Jordan singing The Call from Floyd Collins. This reminds me something I know countless people agreed with: what a massive wasted and missed opportunity to have Jasmine Amy Rogers belt out Something To Shout About from Boop! That would have made my 10 out of 10 experience an 11 out of 10. What were they thinking???

There is nothing I have ever experienced like being in the room where all of this is happening. The big highlight of the evening was the Hamilton reunion which was simply impeccable. What was interesting was that the ushers did not care about people taking pictures or videoing up in the mezzanine for almost the entire show, at least not that I could tell… EXCEPT for this part. This was the only part of the ceremony where they came down and made sure everyone who had pulled their phones out stopped recording. That’s the only time I remember the ushers making their presence known, and believe me there was plenty of phone usage throughout the evening. I know because lots of people were commenting on my post who were also attending 😇

Mingling with people close by was also a wild experience. I met a couple in the row behind me who had flown in from Georgia for the weekend, entered the lottery on a whim, and won. They had to run around town to find formal attire in time for the show, were not familiar with anything currently on Broadway, and didn't have a dog in any fight when I asked them who they wanted to win. They were just there for the experience. At the tuxedo rental shop I ended up at, there was a couple who had flown in from Wales on vacation who had won and had to buy formal attire because, naturally, they hadn't brought any with them!

The big surprise for me was all the seats to my left were empty for the entirety of the ceremony. It didn't seem like they were too off to the side where the view would be bad, and it seemed like virtually every other seat in the first mezz was occupied, so I'm not sure what the deal was with my row. To my right (and in general surrounding me) were a group of mostly young women who looked to be in their early to late 20s. I spoke to the one to my right and asked her if she also won the lottery. She said no, she was there for work. Interesting... I asked her what she did for work. She motioned to those same 20-somethings sitting in front of her and me and said "I'm here for them." I asked her who they were and she said one word.

"Influencers."

That was the end of that. She wasn't elaborating so I figured I wouldn't ask her to. I guess I got sat with the influencers! 👀

There’s really not much else to say about my experience because what I watched was 95% what you all watched on TV. At this point there’s nothing more than go over to my reaction to the results of the awards.

EPILOGUE: WAS IT WORTH IT? (Part 3: Why Am I Almost Broke?)

It was not a strictly speaking intelligent decision to drop $500 on this ticket and then $200 on a tuxedo rental, but I don't think anyone will be surprised when I say I have less than zero regrets. You can stay home and watch the same show for free, but needless the say it’s not the same as being there in person. The one thing is that, despite the 'black tie only' designation on the ticket, I could absolutely have gone to this in a blazer and dockers or dress pants. The email had said 'formal attire' which is not quite black tie, but by my estimate as long as you looked remotely formal nobody would have noticed. There were people in button downs and khakis for goodness sake. That being said, I don't regret renting the tuxedo at all. If you're gonna look fancy as possible for anything, it might as well be the Tony Awards, and I got some great photos all dressed up. Shout out to Abe's Formal Men's Wear in Manhattan for the same day service!

As I mentioned before, I picked 20 out of 26 awards correctly and I was overjoyed that all of my favorite productions won multiple awards. I wish that Death Becomes Her took home at least one more award, but the only category I recall disagreeing with was Michael Arden winning Best Director over Jamie Lloyd… not that I was mad about it. Initially I was mad that Purpose won Best Play over Oh Mary, but retrospectively I agree it was the right choice. I know people were gutted that Dead Outlaw, Gypsy, and Betty Boop were not recognized like they deserved, and I was personally surprised that Buena Vista Social Club took home 4 awards while they all got 0, but Maybe Happy Ending basically sweeping the awards was merited and I was very happy that Dorian Gray + Oh Mary were both recognized for being absolute masterpieces.

Is the experience worth $500 ($700)? Writing this retrospectively, I can tell you that I was hurting from this terrible financial decision for about a month but I got back on track with just a bit of budgeting. I just hope the people who paid $500 can actually afford it because one thing it's not worth is going into debt for.

While I’m sure there are some people who would disagree, I would say yes resoundingly it was worth it and I’m certain most who frequent this subreddit would agree. It’s an experience I will remember and treasure for the rest of my life, and I’m so happy for the people who won tickets for this year's ceremony because I have no doubt that the same is going to be true for all of them.

About a month ago I posted about my spring break bender during which I saw a dozen plays and musicals in about as many days. By the end of April, I added half a dozen more to the list including a couple operas. It's funny how opinions change in retrospect: I originally said my favorite play of the bunch was Proof but looking back it's probably Death Of A Salesman, although I cannot support it winning Best Revival over Oedipus.

Cats: The Jellicle Ball

The first performance of the month is one of two to get a perfect rating from me. I sat all the way to the left of the 2nd row mezzanine, which was listed as partial view and pretty cheap as a result. Not only was it an excellent view, but a couple times one of the ensemble dancers came out right in front of us and gave a new meaning to 'front row seat'. I'm not sure which ensemble member this specifically was, but they were infectious, as was the rest of the show. There was also a moment where Gus the Theatre Cat came out right in front of us for a quick audience interaction. I'll be honest: I dislike the musical Cats, but I love what they turned it into with this. I even enjoyed Ragtime as a production more, but the creativity of what they turned this into makes it my personal choice for Best Revival at the Tonys and leaves me no choice but to award it full marks.

10 stars out of 10

The Adding Machine

It is scary that this play was written 100 years ago. It's like the playwright Elmer Rice had a crystal ball and could see what was coming. The play is merely about a person who loses their job because they are replaced by a machine. How eerily relevant to automation in the 21st century. I can happily cross seeing Jennifer Tilly live on stage off my bucket list. She opens the play with a monologue that's a good 15-20 minutes and it was almost worth the price of admission. Unfortunately her character vanishes from Act 2, but her absence was made up for by Michael Cyril Creighton who very impressively portrays several characters in a scene at one point. I think this was only the second or third preview and they made sure to tell the audience that the actors might call for lines. The only one who did was Daphne Rubin-Vega maybe 3 or 4 times, and I actually appreciated that. I'd never seen that before in a live performance. A major thing I didn't know going in was that Daphne was cast in a male role. I don't really get why they did that, but it was a very memorable aspect of the show. I'm not sure if it worked, but I'm all for an experiment like that. The show used Radiohead songs throughout which at first I found distracting but I grew to appreciate. Very interesting play, although it dragged a bit especially in the second half. I'm happy I went.

7 stars out of 10

The Lost Boys

Although I do believe that if this opened during last season it would not be nearly as popular as it is now, I do not understand the Schmigadoon hype and I still do think this is the winner of Best New Musical at this year's Tonys.

Front Row of the balcony for $53. I know people have cautioned against the balcony but I thought it was a great seat. The music isn't outstanding, but it is very good. The staging and lighting is creative, and I was obsessed with Ali Louis Bourzgui's performance as David, the leader of the vampire gang. Definitely the standout of the cast, and I thought he would win the Best Featured Actor award until I saw Layton Williams in Titanique. I appreciated Ali very much as Orpheus as well so I'd be happy if he won. I thought it was a little tacky having the vampires holding the instruments as if they were playing the music, but the most impressive element of the show is how the vampires "fly" around the stage. The Palace is huge, and the vampires scale 50 feet of distance in seconds. However, I do worry about someone getting injured if something goes wrong. I don't particularly enjoy the film, but even though this musical is based off of that it feels brand new and I think everyone appreciates when producers try to do something new on stage. I only hope the fandom can keep their pheromones in check...

8 stars out of 10

Fallen Angels

This is laugh until you're out of breath type of stuff. Kelli O'Hara and Rose Byrne really did both deserve Tony nominations. The scene that makes up most of the play, where the two lead characters get progressively drunker and start to fight over their old boyfriend, is expertly done by the two of them. Aasif Mandvi was a nice surprise, and the icing on the cake was finding out how much of a giant Christopher Fitzgerald is at the stage door. The dude has been all over Broadway. Tracee Chimo also gave a very memorable performance as Saunders the maid. It was very interesting to watch a play written in such a different time period. I mean, back when this was written it was obviously a very big deal that a woman would have had a romantic relationship with someone before being married. The men were horrified by the very thought of it, although I'm sure they would never have held the same standard for themselves!

I wish this was running for longer, but it is thankfully getting a pro-shot. The question is how long before we get to see it?

9 stars out of 10

Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York)

I had put off seeing this one for months, but low and behold the lottery was won and I got to experience it from the second row. I gotta be honest, I enjoyed the music, I enjoyed the story, but I'm just not on the bandwagon for this one. The whole thing just felt a bit 'meh' overall which is common for this year's circuit of new musicals. Christiani Pitts was excellent and I have to give a big shout out to Austin Colburn who I think went on for Sam Tutty as Dougal for the very first time on this evening, and played the character in such a lovable way. Even with just 2 performers and a set that remains the same through the entire show, it feels almost as full as a much bigger musical. That being said, the performances and even a couple expertly placed plot twists weren't enough to captivate me. I enjoyed it well enough, but I still back The Lost Boys for Best New Musical.

7 stars out of 10

Becky Shaw

This is the one. Out of all the shows I saw in April, this is the one that just didn't click for me, and I don't understand the hype its been getting. The hype I DO understand is the Tony buzz for Alden Ehrenreich. I am not on the Christopher Abbott bandwagon after witnessing Alden's standout performance in this. If it weren't for him, I don't know if I would have found this play redeemable. I just don't understand almost anything that any of the characters do in this play. There's this super bizarre quasi-incestuous relationship between an adopted brother and sister, but eventually the sister ends up with a guy who she has ZERO chemistry with and they set the brother up with this woman, Becky Shaw, who doesn't show up until at least halfway though the first act. At first you think she has her head on her shoulders but not long into Act 2 it's clear she's some kind of ticking time bomb but Lauren Patton's character spends most of the second act trying to get her adoptive brother to get back with Becky Shaw. I think it's because Becky threatens the marriage, and I can't tell if the woman wants her adoptive brother to get with her so her husband doesn't suspect their past affair or so he gets matched up with someone despite obviously being a lifetime bachelor (I'm not sure why he even agrees to the blind date in the first place) or so she keeps her own husband from getting with Becky... perhaps it's all 3, but it doesn't make sense since Becky appears to be creating problems in all of their lives. For goodness sake, by the end Patrick Ball's character is afraid to leave her alone because he doesn't know what she'll do to herself. At this point I have no clue why she's still there and still, at the very end, she's STILL THERE. The titular character who enjoys no character development and less time on stage than 3 of the other characters in the play.

I didn't get it, but shout out to Linda Emond for an outstanding supporting performance.

6 stars out of 10

Just In Time starring Matthew Morrison

I planned virtually this entire Spring Break bender in advance, and paid I think $87 for what admittedly was a great seat, but of all the shows this is the one I paid the most for and it's the only one I regret. There were enough empty seats that I'm certain I could have got a $40 rush ticket. That being said, I'm no worse for wear. In some ways, Matthew Morrison was better suited to the role of Bobby Darin than Jonathan Groff but he just doesn't have that same infectious performer aura that Groff exhibits effortlessly. I am not a big fan of this musical and highly doubt I will be returning, but I did for some reason enjoy Glee when I was much younger and I just wanted to see Matthew Morrison live on Broadway. He did not disappoint, and it was great to see him have a quick dance with Heather Morris at the start of the show. What a throwback! I'm honestly surprised this show has lasted long as it has even with the stunt casting, a biopic about Bobby Darin of all people, and now it's continuing to run strong with Jeremy Jordan. I never would have guessed it.

7 stars out of 10

Burnout Paradise

WOW. Move over Blue Man Group, Astor Theater has taken in the next big thing. This is absolutely the odd show out of this month, but I just have to echo the sentiment other people have expressed on this subreddit: what these performers are able to pull off over about an hour would be unbelievable if not witnessed for yourself. They cook a full meal, prepare an application, ballet dance, make basketball shots, and dozens of other things ALL while running on treadmills. There are abundant opportunities for audience participation but I was happy to sit back, relax, and watch the mayhem. At this performance, they just barely didn't complete all of their items on the agenda because one checkbox on the application wasn't ticked so it wasn't submitted before the time ran out. Apparently they use it as motivation to improve for the next time, which was the SAME DAY. This was a matinee, and it was hard to believe they were going to perform it again later that evening.

9 out of 10 experience, 10 out of 10 for the effort

The Fear Of 13

As annoying as I find Adrien Brody as a person, he is one of my favorite actors and it was a real treat seeing him perform live on stage. I can’t be too surprised he wasn’t nominated for the Tony given the supreme quality of the plays this season, but he was outstanding. This play was too depressing for my taste, and it dragged toward the end. Tessa Thompson’s character felt like more of a supporting role than what was advertised. Part of me wants to watch the film to see how much was altered, but I don’t really want to experience any of that again. It just kept getting worse, and worse, and worse… but we can be happy that guy’s story got told. The acapella songs were both a nice touch and out of place at the same time. They still were the most memorable bit of the show for me.

One light moment in all the darkness: they put a sticker over our phone cameras, the ushers made multiple announcements including when bringing you to your seats to turn off phones, and there’s even a security guard monologue at the beginning of the play where he shouts at the audience to turn off phones. The very second he finished, someone’s phone went off. You could hear the audience half groaning and half laughing. It really was comical.

7 stars out of 10

Proof

The thing about this one for me was I didn't know anything about it going in other than it was something to do with math, so I was gobsmacked by the twist that happens in the first 10 minutes. This is why I don’t research anything I go and see in this city. That and getting the digital rush ticket about an hour and a half before the curtain set me up for a positive experience.

Don Cheadle gave a great performance and I personally thought Ayo Edebiri deserved a nomination. I don’t get why people thought Kara Young was so great in comparison, but she was excellent as well. I think the play does an excellent job of making you question what’s real since the nature of the mental illness the characters are dealing with makes them unreliable as a narrator. I also thought it was cool how you could sometimes see through the house and sometimes you couldn't. It's very far from the best play this season but I'm genuinely astonished it didn't receive a single nomination.

8 stars out of 10

Death Of A Salesman

My Dad came down for this one, as it's his favorite play. I don't actually care too deeply for it. "Greatest American play"?? Is August Wilson a joke to you??? That being said, this production deserves the hype it's getting. I never thought my first time experiencing Nathan Lane live would be in a drama, let alone as Willy Loman, but that's what happened and I'm better for it. That being said, the most memorable performance was Laurie Metcalf. I was all in on Betsy Aidem's candidacy for Best Featured Actress until I saw this play. There's just no way Laurie Metcalf doesn't win the Tony. I cannot support this winning Best Revival over Oedipus but the evidence indicates that's what's going to happen. You love to see the car make an appearance on stage. I don't really get the hype for Christopher Abbott's performance, and I found it a bizarre choice to make Happy (both older and younger) physically bigger than Biff, the would-be football star. Powerful acting at its finest, but I know I'm not alone in saying this play is just too long.

What in the world was the accent Jonathan Cake was doing as Willy's brother Ben???

9 stars out of 10

The Outsiders

I finally won the lottery for this and finally convinced my mom to come with. Unfortunately it was ruined by the 'Razorbacks' who made sure to tell everyone around them they were from Arkansas, kept bumping the back of my seat turning it into a massage chair, talking throughout the performance, and acting flabbergasted when people turned around to tell them to shut up. It almost boiled over at the start of The Rumble, the part people had been waiting for, and again they were audibly talking. The guy next to me turned around and told them to stop talking and thankfully they did, through the end of 'Stay Gold' but I guess being told off struck a nerve because when the finale started they started talking AGAIN and the guy next to me turned around to tell them to shut it and the booze must have gotten to them (at least the woman) because she started angrily talking back at the guy, telling him her boyfriend was gonna beat him up (lmao) and yelled in his ear multiple expletives right as Ponyboy was handing someone a copy of the book in the front row. Amazingly, the cast kept in character even though they definitely could see and hear the commotion that was happening. I had half a mind to join the guy next to me but as much as I admire his efforts I know it just would have made everything worse. The funny part was after all the smack they talked, threatening to fight the guy, by the end of the curtain call the Razorbacks had fled.

Thankfully the experience was not ruined for my mom, who agreed with me that Josh Strobl, the understudy for Ponyboy, gave a tremendous performance. This was the third time I'd seen the musical and second time I'd seen Josh go on, and I genuinely enjoyed his performance more than Brody Grant. She did not enjoy the gravel in the face nearly as much as me. I'm happy this show has run for over 2 years and appears to still be going strong with a mostly new cast. It holds a very special place in my heart.

8 stars out of 10

La Boheme at The Met

When people ask me what's the best thing they can see while they're in New York City, I know they're talking about Broadway, but I always tell them my number 1 recommendation is The Metropolitan Opera, no matter what they're performing, and this is probably the single most iconic thing you can see there. I feel like they do La Boheme every season, at least since I've lived here, in fact it is the most performed opera ever at The Met. Somehow I hadn't ever seen it here... I almost didn't go, and I'm so glad I did. TDF ticket put me toward the back of the orchestra which gave a great view of the stage. There is an amazing set change they pull off in just under 5 minutes in the middle of Act 1 that got a well deserved applause from the audience. To be honest, 2 intermissions made it go by faster! I'm a sucker for opera so take my perfect rating with a grain of salt, but this was about as perfect as it gets around these parts.

10 stars out of 10

Innocence at The Met

The next morning I went straight back to The Met for a very depressing yet innovative opera about the aftermath of a school shooting. The set was very clever, constantly rotating as the show went in and out of different timelines both leading up to the massacre and a wedding that takes place many years after. Some of the music and choreography was very avant garde in the best way. As depressing as it was, the whole thing felt fresh and I think it's a very good sign for the future of opera... and boy was there ever an epic plot twist at the very end. I'm still shook. I remember it started a good 10 minutes late for some reason. It was 1 act in about 100 minutes which made it drag just a little bit but that's opera for you. Not often you get in and out of there in less than 2 hours.

9 stars out of 10

What We Did Before Our Moth Days

This actually went on for over 3 hours with 2 intermissions, and it truly is 4 characters talking to the audience the whole time except for one part toward the end where 2 of them converse (and drink wine) with each other. It was such a treat to see John Early on stage. Hope Davis + Josh Hamilton are both actors I know from multiple things over the years, but the performance with the most range came from Maria Dizzia, who was the 1 of the 4 whom I didn't know. Unfortunately she was the only one not to emerge afterward to sign my playbill. There was something about the female characters I found more believable that the male characters. There was something about the men that didn’t align with the things they were saying. John Early’s character in particular didn’t come off as the degenerate he ended up being, and it seemed like Josh Hamilton’s character was stuck between being a stand up guy and a very bad person… although the character himself had trouble deciding which of those was true. Most of the acting didn't display much range which is why I was caught off guard by Maria Dizzia when she finds out her husband is having an affair and she starts losing it. All in all this felt excessively long but since I got the $45 rush I'm not mad about it. I enjoyed Wallace Shawn’s 2 hour monologue ‘The Fever’ more to be honest.

7 stars out of 10

What Happened Was...

We stuck around the village and somehow got into Minetta Tavern for what ended up being a lovely dinner. This takes place entirely in a woman's apartment, and one-setting plays actually tend to be my favorites. It was great to see Corey Stoll from Appropriate again, but the more memorable performance definitely comes from Cecily Strong. As the story progresses, the man finds out the woman wants to write children's books and he convinces her to read him something. Over the next ten minutes, she reads him a story ALLEGEDLY meant for children, and the way Cecily reads this story alone is worthy of some Lucille Lortel or Drama Desk type award. What they do with the lighting in this part is also expert, props to the director. Corey Stoll's character exhibited a naivety that actually upset me by the end, and I think that was deliberate.

9 stars out of 10

After the play I went back to the Greenwich House Theater where I found Wallace Shawn signing autographs, and I got him to sign the Moth Days playbill!

Oh, Mary!

I have now seen this play 11 times, and all I'm gonna say about that. John Cameron Mitchell was not my favorite Mary by any means but I appreciated the physical humor he brought to the role. I really was there to see Simu Liu's closing performance which did not disappoint, and I have to say I'm going to miss John Andrew Morrison as President Lincoln.

8 stars out of 10

Joe Turner's Come & Gone (Opening Night)

This is the most underrated thing on Broadway this season and the play I was most looking forward to other than Bug, but just be warned I will worship anything and everything by August Wilson. I was in the right place at the right time to score an opening night ticket all the way at the back of the mezz, but the Barrymore isn't that big. Cedric the Entertainer was a bizarre casting choice to me knowing how August Wilson usually writes his plays, but this was actually more of a comedy than his other plays in the Pittsburgh cycle. Taraji P Henson was excellent and I had no idea she could sing like that... if you know you know. It was such a treat to see Joshua Boone back on Broadway, unrecognizable from his role as Dallas from The Outsiders. It's hard to believe, even in this tremendous season of plays, that he wasn't nominated for Best Featured Actor but I'm happy they gave a nod to Ruben Santiago-Hudson, an August Wilson hall of famer, who deserves it to say the least.

YOU SHINING LIKE NEW MONEY! Now I just have to read or see 'Jitney' and I'll have experienced the entire Pittsburgh Cycle in some form.

9 stars out of 10

There, I said it. I’ve now seen all 4 of the nominees and if I were on the committee I would hands down vote for Titanique. I will die on this hill.

In what has to be the weakest season for Broadway musicals in many years (a season in which apparently the frontrunner is a parody of musicals), my favorite is the one with not a single original song in it. But it’s the only one everyone has written off for the Tony award… and the funny thing is I don’t think I’ve ever actually enjoyed a jukebox musical before.

I was all up on the bandwagon for Ali Louis Bourzgui for Best Featured Actor until last night when I witnessed Layton Williams make a Broadway debut for the ages. If you know, you know. 💃

SHALL WE GO FOR IT?

At Death Becomes Her on Tuesday I witnessed a first in terms of usher response to an obnoxious audience member.

Those empty seats in the picture were not empty at the start of the show. All of them were filled. This was taken at intermission after everyone around the 2 people in the photo, particularly the relentlessly glittering TRASHED drunk person on the aisle, had to suffer through her talking out loud through much of the first act and loudly insulting multiple people who told her to be quiet. I was quite a few rows away but could hear a lot of it.

At intermission, the people around her collectively voted this person off the island. An usher came and asked her to leave, but she wouldn’t budge. She kept saying (yelling) “I DIDNT DO ANYTHING, I DIDNT SAY NOTHING TO NOBODY, IT WAS THEM, etc.” 🤣 The funny part was her friend was looking at her the whole time like 😳🧐😕 It looked like the usher was calling for backup and I was wondering if she was gonna be escorted out, but the solution was something I’ve never seen before.

Since there were so many open seats in the front mezz, they took everyone who didn’t want to sit near the woman and found them seats down there. I’m happy that the people who suffered got better seats for the second act and I think it’s so fkn funny she got isolated! Not that she gave a damn. I feel like people might call out the ushers for not removing her but I’m actually gonna shout out the ushers for finding a simple solution while compensating the victims of this story.

The icing on the cake was: about halfway through act 2 she gets up, somehow makes it down the stairs, stumbles and almost faceplants, and leaves. Her friend stayed to the end surrounded by empty seats. The gold, glittering, loud, lush woman did not return… either because she was not allowed to by the ushers or because she was not able to climb back up the stairs. I’m not sure which.

Anyway, I wanted to post about this because it feels like there’s so many stories this season about terrible audience members on Broadway and this event definitely belongs in the lore.

What a stacked season for plays, both new and revivals! I noticed as the reviews were coming in that plays which received at least 1 negative review seemed to be the exception. Interestingly, Giant and Death of A Salesman (which seem to be getting the most Tony buzz up there with Oedipus) didn’t make the slideshow because Giant received 1 negative review and Death Of A Salesman received 2. Congratulations to Liberation for receiving 18 unanimously positive reviews!!

I’ve seen every play from the slideshow except The Balusters + Little Bear Ridge Road, and my favorites were Bug & Oedipus. Can’t decide a winner between the 2. What was your favorite?? The only musical from this season to receive 0 negative reviews was Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Even Ragtime got 1!

After looking into it, the single negative reviews for Giant + Ragtime and 1 of the 2 negative reviews for Death Of A Salesman all came from Robert Hofler of The Wrap! What’s his deal? Does he get paid to hate on outstanding theater?? Anyway he’s the reason that Giant, which looks like the favorite to win Best Play at the Tonys, is not a part of this slideshow.

Screencaps taken from didtheylikeit.com

Because people don’t know how to act!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Cynthia-Erivo-Stops-DRACULA-Mid-Show-After-Spotting-Audience-Member-Filming-20260428?fbclid=IwY2xjawRdxRNleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZA80MDk5NjI2MjMwODU2MDkAAR6RqJlRLwDya60wyLCb\_-VqRm1HIZuVsUyjhAUJjZq-gdfg6NSy2TZXZ-2tgA\_aem\_hpyjuZp0PbUjPQq9hcZdzg