The Broadway Ferret

I think the best way to close out the year is to list all the Broadway and off-Broadway shows closing in January (as of this posting).  If you’re currently in NYC and want to see something other than a giant lighted tree (and I’m sure that there are a few people who come here just for that) or just anything for that matter, then I suggest seeing the following shows before they close for good.  Or until their revivals come around.  I have reviewed most if not all shows but if you’re looking for more info on them, check out my links.  Have a Happy New Year!

Closing Dec. 28

What’s That Smell?: The Music of Jacob Sterling

Closing Dec. 30

The Radio City Christmas Spectacular

Closing Jan 4

Grease

Young Frankenstein

Boeing Boeing

Saturn Returns

Liza’s at the Palace…

Slava’s Snowshow

13

White Christmas

Rock of Ages (transferring to Broadway)

Hairspray

Closing Jan 11

All My Sons

Gypsy

Home

Spamalot

Streamers

Closing Jan 18

Spring Awakening

Information collected from Broadway.com

Image from www.culturevulture.com

Rating: 5 out of 5 masks

No, I’m not writing reviews to shows once they announce closing.  If I haven’t written a review yet for a certain show and they just announced their closing, then I choose to write about it.  And judging from the rumor mill more of these show closing reviews will come.  Now on to the review.

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This past Sunday was the Broadway on Broadway concert.  It’s a free concert showcasing musical numbers from shows that are currently on and coming to Broadway.  Each show performed one musical number with most of current cast and sometimes in costume.  The event was hosted by Drew Lachey who also performed with the cast of Spamalot for “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”.

The stage itself was located on the island that had the NYPD station, between 42nd and 43rd Street.  It was broadcast on various screens in the area, but strangely enough, not on MTV’s 44 1/2 screen.  I think it should have been included considering the size of the crowd and how far away the stage was at that point.

While every musical was represented, the plays were mentioned as well by John Leguizamo, who’s in the upcoming American Buffalo.  It was good to give the plays a shout out, especially when John Leguizamo added his opinion and insight into each of them.  I thought that made it more interesting than just reading the list of plays and it made the audience stick around a little.

Some of the show’s performances were done in costume, some not so much.  The ones that were in full costume were Spamalot, White Christmas, and [title of show].  It was kinda obvious that considering the location of the show, Spamalot would afford to take their costumes out of the theatre for one number.  And [title of show] had normal everyday outfits as costumes, so it wasn’t much of a stretch.

I had gotten to the event kind of late, but one of my favorite performances was from the upcoming White Christmas.  First of all, the performance was done in costume.  Thick “It’s gonna snow” winter costumes.  Second and most important, there was real snow blowing on them and throughout the audience.  I’m not kidding, I caught one of the flakes and it felt like water. 

Throughout the event, the were people handing out flyers advertising various shows currently on Broadway.  Some of them came in handy, especially the fans from Disney on Broadway, considering how sunny and hot it was getting.  The security for the area was, in my opinion, more than adequate.  There was no bag check that I was aware of, but they were making sure that people entered the area from a certain point only or stayed at a hotel in the area.

The concert was two hours long and ended with the quintessential song “New York” and confetti blasted from the rooftops in the area.  It was almost like New Year’s Eve, but during the day, warmer and more low-key.