New York Theater Recommendations:
There are two musicals and two plays currently on Broadway that I would recommend. As for musicals, if you have not seen it, be sure to catch the amazing "SWEENEY TODD" production before it closes in September. The director's unique and refreshing concept for this revival comes to life with a multi-talented, hard-working cast that plays their own instruments. This show should have received the Best Musical Revival Tony Award in June, but was robbed by the much inferior "Pajama Game."
The other "don't miss" musical on Broadway is "THE DROWSY CHAPERONE," which should have won the Best Musical Tony Award, but lost it to the fun, but inferior, "Jersey Boys." "Chaperone" is one of the wittiest and entertaining new musicals of the past decade. I have seen the show 4 times, and each time I see it, my appreciation for this work grows.
As for plays, I highly recommend "THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE." If you appreciate dark humor, this is the show for you. It is funny, smart and well written. "THE HISTORY BOYS" (playing through October), is also a London import well worth catching, although I enjoyed this show more for the outstanding production than the sometimes facile writing.
Coming this fall to Broadway are two new musical I caught during their off-Broadway runs: "GREY GARDENS" and "SPRING AWAKENING." Though neither are perfect shows (at least not off-Broadway), both have much to offer. The performances of Christine Ebersole and Mary Louise Wilson lift "Gardens" beyond its limitations (which are particuarly evident in a weak first act) as written, and "Spring Awakening" is the freshest and most exciting rock musical since "Rent."
Los Angeles Theater:
I wish there was much to recommend in the Los Angeles area right now, but sadly that is not the case. Hopefully, things will improve in the fall. Do catch the Kander & Ebb musical "CURTAINS" in its pre-Broadway run at the Ahmanson. It is a flawed show, but much of the score is quite nice, and its cast includes many of Broadway's finest musical theater talents. David Hyde Pierce is particularly strong in the lead role, and deserves the standing ovations that I suspect he receives at every performance. Before it leaves town, you should also see "TICK, TICK BOOM" at the Coronet Theater. It is a memorable production of a show that nevertheless plays like a Jonathan Larson (creator of "Rent") song cycle with a patched together book. Despite that, it is an energetic show with a good cast, with an especially winnning performace by Tami Tappan Damiano.
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