>>>>. Nine Shows in Six Days? <<<<<

Having not been to NYC isince last January, it was time to get caught up. What is remarkable is that usually one or two shows I see are not that great and I would not recommend them. There was no such thing this trip. I would recommend seeing all of these.

GUTENBERG - Andrew Rannells and Josh Gad are hilarious in this zany irreverent outrageous musical comedy. Non-stop humor. Amazing performance by a two-man cast playing dozens of roles. Rannells and Gad were as good a team as they were in Book of Mormon. Hard to imagine how the book for this show could have been written to perfectly fit these two. The writers also wrote the excellent and funny musical adaptation of the Beetlejuice movie.

SHUCKED - Good grief. How can you have an entire show about corn? They did it and the corn (one-liners every few seconds) poured out of the fields. I can’t tell your how many times I shook my head in disbelief at the lines. Strong, strong cast. Great music with a country flavor. Incredible choreography. And even a touching love story – well at least a love quadrangle. And what a bunch of characters. Loved them all. Really enjoyed this show. Must admit I was skeptical of how much of a plot there could be about corn. There was. Great book, great songs. Don’t miss this one.

WALK ON THROUGH – The incredibly talented Gavin Creel shares paintings from the Metropolitan Museum of Art and tells a story of the impact they had life and what the paintings have revealed to him. So many paintings with so much to tell. Walk on Through (the museum) also tells us to walk on through life. Great original music and songs from Gavin and his team. And Gavin’s energy in this show is electric. Yes, Walk on Through!

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG – What great leads. And yes, Danielle Radcliff can sing. Show is filled with Sondheim tunes in a way that only Sondheim could do. Many songs with many singers overlapping and telling the story. The show is selling out even with inflated ticket prices. The leads are part of that, and a Sondheim show is part of that, and probably familiarity with the songs. But I can understand why the show failed when it first opened. And led to the split of Sondheim and Harold Prince. The story begins at the end and then makes seven transitions back in time. Unless you are a little prepared for that, it would be very confusing and audience seeing it when it first opened were likely confused. But it is well done in this production and is a brilliant vehicle for telling a story. The ending number, “Our Time,” brings it all together. Perhaps a slight tear here for this song.

SWEENEY TODD – I thought I was going to this show to see Josh Groban. I soon realized that I may have been going to see Annalee Ashford as well. She is pretty zany in this show. She has made Miss Lovett into a very funny lady. The audience loved her antics. Josh Groban, of course, is great, but a little more melancholy than evil in the Sweeney role. Absolutely worth seeing. Who wouldn’t want to see a show about a murderous barber? Great cast.

SPAMLOT – Excellent revival. King Arthur was on as a substitute for only his fourth time, and Lady of the Lake for her first time. They were excellent. The direction/choreography by Josh Rhodes was brilliant. We sat with him and the casting director for the second half of the matinee. The entire cast was delightful. This is a show you cannot miss in this revival!! And since I didn’t have another show for a couple of hours, we watched the original “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.”

APPROPRIATE - Thanks to Bob Garrett for this recommendation. Sarah Paulson leads an excellent cast in a heartbreaking family drama. Powerful performances covering discomforting issues the family faces as they close down their father’s house in the deep South. Painful discoveries tear apart the siblings and their families. Exceptionally well written play. See it soon.

&JULIET – Shakespeare’s wife decides that Juliet should not have died in her husband’s play, so she rewrites the play for him, and Juliet lives. Then he rewrites it, then she rewrites it again.... You get the drift. The result is a witty, lively production that is non-stop. Cast is outstanding. Juliet shines!! (UMMT Grad)

HELL’S KITCHEN – A semi-autobiographical musical about Alicia Keyes growing up in the Hell’s Kitchen neighborhood of New York City. Great performances by the leads and a great overall story. The Public Theater performance will move to Broadway early next year. Got to see good friend, Shoshana Bean, who plays Alicia’s white mother and as always, nails those high note riffs.