In March JV and I were fortunate enough to attend three Broadway plays. Attending one is rare for us, so seeing three in one month is highly unusual. Two sets of our tickets were from Christmas. My mom bought Jared tickets to see Fish In the Dark, and I bought him tickets to see The Book of Mormon. Well one ticket; I kept the other for myself, ;-). It is so tricky to find Christmas gifts for JV, so when he expressed interests in seeing these two plays, we jumped on it.
The first of the three shows we saw was The Book of Mormon, at the Eugene O'Neil Theater. The Book of Mormon opened in March 2011, and took Broadway by storm. It has been hailed by many popular figures as one of the funniest plays ever, and it fits the description. It is a musical, and the musical numbers are everything you expect from a play with a satirical bend. They are comical (one of the earliest sense depicts the newly graduated Mormon elders/missionaries practicing their door-to-door efforts), jazzy (at one point sparkly vests and tap shoes adorn the Mormon missionaries stationed in Africa), and in your face (one from the villagers in Africa questions God's fairness towards people in a very crass manner, and another highlighting the confusion the missionaries face during their post is quite dark.) While I felt it went a bit far, it is very funny, and I would encourage anyone with a sense of humor to get two tickets. Be warned, it's a hot play, and the tickets are pretty expensive. We followed The Book of Mormon with a late dinner at Ruby Foo's on 49th Street, which I have passed for years and always wanted to try. It was good, but I'd venture to say you could find more authentic dim sum in Chinatown.
Fish In The Dark has taken Broadway by storm, largely because it is written by Larry David (of Seinfeld and Curb Your Enthusiasm fame) who is also playing the lead role, with Rita Wilson playing his wife. Bronx native Rosie Perez also has a prominent role, and it was nice to see here in a that was a bit more serious (though she does have some great comedic moments too, and nails them.) Following the death of the family's elderly father, Norman Drexel, played by Larry David, is forced to endure high jinks and family drama, that often follows a death or other life changing moments. If you know of Larry David's comedy-style and attitude on life you can imagine how comical Fish In the Dark is. It was sort of like a live version of Curb Your Enthusiasm. It is sold out, but if you can snag a ticket, I recommend you do. A few other notes on the night: the Cort Theater is very old, and pretty small, so while our seats (first row of the mezzanine) were great in terms of taking in the play, they were also pretty tight to sit in. Also, if you are ever seeing a show there, a note on the bathrooms - they seem to be the original ones, small and very few, so the lines are long. Dinner before the show was cheap eats at Le Pain Quotidien. Oh, and I think we may have seen Jim Cramer follow the play; JV wasn't sure, but I'm convinced it was.
And in a bit of last minute planning, we went to see Finding Neverland at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater (which is huge) with Phil and his girlfriend Meredith, one Sunday afternoon, in late March. It stars Matthew Morrison of Glee fame, as well as Kelsey Grammar, and follows the Finding Neverland movie/story pretty closely. It was very well done, with personal and emotional scene and numbers that about his life, highlighting how he developed Peter Pan, as well as uplifting musical numbers on the role J.M. Barrie played in the life of the Davies family. It was still in previews so there were a few kinks being worked out, and my only complaint would be that is was on the longer side. However, after the edgy Fish In The Dark and The Book of Mormon, it was a nice change of pace to see a more mainstream play. Another quick note: many parents might be inclined to take their young children to this play, and while I do believe it will entertain them, they might not be as engaged as other plays like Beauty and the Beast or Lion King have done. There are a few darker numbers and the play truly is about the development of Peter Pan, not a different version of it. (We followed Finding Neverland with dinner downtown at Hundred Acres, which was great. It was nice to spend time chatting with Phil and Meredith who we had not seen in a while.)
Broadway is one of the great gems of New York City, be sure to experience it!