At This Theatre: The Eugene O'Neill

Over the years, I've been fortunate to have seen a variety of shows at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. With a play, new and revival musicals over the past 40 years of seeing shows there, "variety" is the best way to describe it. Fortunately for the venue, it's had a giant hit show there for the last 15 years; unfortunately, that means it has been that long since I've returned after seeing an early post-opening performance.

At This Theatre:

The Eugene O'Neill

This historic theater began life almost 101 years ago as the Forrest Theatre, and in 1945 was renamed the Coronet. Then, in 1959, it was renamed for playwright Eugene O'Neill. Over the years, dozens of shows have come and gone, starting with a musical called Mayflowers. In 1934, after years of short runs, the play Tobacco Road opened and stayed put until 1941; to this day, it is still one of Broadway's longest running shows. The 40s saw several original productions of Arthur Miller plays, including the very first Best Play Tony winner, All My Sons. As the Eugene O'Neill, the theater opened with a short-lived William Inge play, A Loss of Roses. Today, we'd have said the venue was cursed in the next several years of flop after flop. 

Then in the early 60s, luck seemed to change with back to back decent runs of Herb Gardner's A Thousand Clowns, and the now-classic musical, She Loves Me. Then the theater could have been renamed the Neil Simon, when it played host to a string of his plays, including the debut of The Odd Couple, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The Good Doctor, California Suite and Chapter Two, among others. In 1983, the Eugene O'Neill was host to one of Broadway's most storied flops, the one-night failure, Moose Murders. The mid-80s brought another change of fortunes, with the long-running Best Musical, Big River, which is where I came in!

NUMBER OF SHOWS WE'VE SEEN THERE: 7

Big River, M. Butterfly, Grease! (1994), The Full Monty, Sweeney Todd (2005), Spring Awakening, The Book of Mormon

5 FAVORITE SHOWS WE'VE SEEN THERE:

Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1985)

Though the show opened in 1985, I didn't get to it until just over 40 years ago in 1986. What luck! A newcomer to the Broadway scene named Marin Mazzie made her debut as Mary Jane Wilkes. She was, of course, amazing. The whole show was pretty amazing, actually. One of my favorite stories of all time was made even more exciting and beautiful with the score by Roger Miller, and Des McAnuff's directorial debut (both Tony Award winners for their efforts). It remains, all these years later, one of my fondest Broadway memories.

M. Butterfly (1988)

Still one of the most stunning pieces of theater I've ever seen, this play of high drama, romance, espionage and sexual intrigue, was a sensation that earned every accolade it received. When I saw it, B.D. Wong was still mesmerizing as Song Liling, and John Rubenstein was a marvel as the duped Rene Gallimard. I remember sitting there, mouth agape throughout the play, dazzled not only by the brilliance of playwright David Henry Hwang, the music of Puccini, and the smart direction of John Dexter. The gorgeous scenic and costume designs of Eiko Ishioka and Andy Phillips' artful lighting design brought the whole thing together. Wong, Hwang and Dexter were all awarded 1988 Tony Awards for this thrilling piece of art.

The Full Monty (2001)

This was the show that made me fall in love with the musical talents of David Yazbek, who made his Broadway debut with this fun and affirming show with a book by the great Terrence McNally. This is also the show that brought the likes of Patrick Wilson, Jason Danieley and Romain Fruge to my attention, and gave me the chance to see such legends as Annie Golden, Kathleen Freeman and Andre de Shields in action. It was also the show that began my admiration of that barefoot conducting wonder that is Kimberly Grigsby. This show was my favorite of that season by a mile, even if The Producers took all of its thunder. I can't wait for the upcoming revival.

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2005)

Needless to say, this Sondheim masterpiece is an all-time favorite of mine, and this unique John Doyle staging made it a must-see. Add in the great Michael Cerveris and Patti LuPone as Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett and I couldn't get tickets fast enough. I don't think I'll ever forget the high comedy of Ms. LuPone prancing around playing the tuba, and the terrifying understatement of her pouring out buckets of blood as the body count rose. A complete departure from previous more lavish stagings, this minimalist approach somehow added to the thrills.

Spring Awakening (2007)

I first saw this modern masterpiece in its off-Broadway incarnation, and was both thrilled and dubious about it moving to Broadway. I loved it from the first seconds all the way through its tragic conclusion. Part of its charm, I thought, was the intimate, rustic venue at the Atlantic Theatre. Still, I had to see it again, and was happily surprised to see the nearly exact replica of the set on the O'Neill stage. My concerns vanished immediately when the show started and the young cast bounded on stage to begin. Literal books have been written about this show and its company, so I don't think I can add much. Suffice it to say, I saw this production several times over its Broadway run and several times in later years. I still love it so very much.

At This Theatre: The New Amsterdam

At This Theatre:

The New Amsterdam

  

Currently in what might be called its "Disney Era," the New Amsterdam Theatre has been entertaining theater-goers on 42nd Street since it first opened in 1903. Over the years, just like the street it lives on, the space has undergone many changes, including a dark period of decay. Most obviously, its famous facade that has included its iconic art deco with clock marquee since the 1930s, didn't always look like that. 
As you can see from the far right photo above, the entrance looked quite different!

Some 123 years ago, this stunning house opened with a revival of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, and over the century was home to a wide variety of plays, operettas and musicals. Among them were productions of Ivan the Terrible (4 or 5 times!), Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (5 or 6 times), Beau Brummell (many, many times). The huge stage space was perfect for its most famous era, when it played host to 13 editions of the Ziegfeld Follies. It survived the Great Depression, but ceased operations as a legitimate theater in 1937, and didn't reopen until Disney refurbished it to its former state of grandeur and opened with a 1997 concert version of the Tim Rice-Alan Menken musical, King David. It never materialized a fully produced show, but both writers would find much success there with The Lion King and Aladdin, respectively. Other than some one night only concerts of classic musicals, since 1997, the stage has been home only to Disney Broadway productions. I feel very fortunate to have seen all three.

SHOWS WE'VE SEEN THERE: 3

The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Aladdin

    

The Lion King Whole books have been written about this spectacular musical; I'm not sure what I can add to the discourse. But I will say that I sat through most of it with my mouth agape. The theatricality of each panoramic scene was stunning, and thrilling as each unfolded in a unique way. Director Julie Taymor's vision brought the African plains to vivid life, and brought the father-son dynamic to touching levels. But all the charm and delight of the Disney film upon which is based.

 

Mary Poppins Like The Lion King before it, Mary Poppins kept much of the charm of the beloved film, while expanding upon it, and bringing all of it to life in ways that theater can and a movie can not. I will never forget watching Mary take flight and exit over the audience. The dance lover in me thrilled to Gavin Lee's Bert tap dancing literally upside down on the proscenium, and the technician in me marveled at the three story Victorian home that rose up from the stage. It was breathtaking.

 

Aladdin Thanks to a continued long run, I have not been back to the New Amsterdam since we saw an early preview of this show in more than a decade! But it is a hard one to forget. From the cavalcade of costumes and pageantry of "Prince Ali," to the show-stopping "Friend Like Me," stage magic rules the production. But it is true Disney Magic that brought the flying carpet to life in "A Whole New World." I am sure both Howard Ashman and Robin Williams would be pleased that their legacy lives on.

At This Theatre: The St. James: 2012-2025

  At This Theatre:

The St. James: 2012-2025

Opening 99 years ago as Erlanger's Theatre, the house played host to the George M. Cohan show, The Merry Malones, and then played host to the popular style of the day, the operetta. All of the big ones played there, including The Chocolate Soldier, The Merry Widow, Naughty Marietta and the entire Gilbert and Sullivan catalog.  

In 1932, the venue was renamed the St. James Theatre, and has since played host to some of Broadway's biggest plays and musicals. Among the more famous titles that have run at this 44th Street theater are the original productions of Pal Joey, Oklahoma!, The King and I, The Pajama Game, Flower Drum Song, Hello, Dolly!, Two Gentlemen of Verona, and On the Twentieth Century.

Last week, we talked about the shows we saw there between 1987 and 2011, found HERE. Today, we cover the 11 shows we've seen there since then. Soon, when we see Titanique. it'll be an even dozen, and 22 different productions total!

Number of Shows We Saw There (2012-2025): 11

Leap of Faith, Bring It On, Bullets Over Broadway, Side Show, Something Rotten!, Frozen, Into the Woods, New York, New York, Illinoise, Sunset Blvd., The Queen of Versailles

  

   

   

5 Favorite Shows We Saw There (2012-2025):

Something Rotten! (2015): They had me at the fantastic logo, but I stayed for the satire of Shakespearean excess, social commentary of all things Elizabethan, and the unlikely reverence for the modern Broadway musical. The script was smart, the score was full of fun toe-tappers and a great production number in "A Musical." I'm sure the cast - including Brian D'Arcy James, Christian Borle and my favorite, Heidi Blickenstaff - was having as much fun as the audience!

Frozen (2018): I loved the film version of this piece so much, and even though the stage version wasn't everything I had hoped it would be, I still loved seeing what they did with it. I found the puppetry of both Olaf and Sven to be charming and clever, and I was excited to see a new talent in Jelani Alladin as Kristoff. But it was the inspired casting of Patti Murin as Anna (I've been a fan of hers since Lysistrata Jones) and my beloved Caissie Levy as Elsa, who delivered a goose bump-inducing rendition of "Let It Go." A little more Disney magic would have put this right to the top, but a shirtless Timothy Hughes was a worthy substitute!

Into the Woods (2022): Who knew that a minimalist version of this Sondheim classic could possibly be the best version to date? Tight direction and a truly all-star cast really made this revival something special. Not a weak link in the company, the biggest surprise for me was just how great of an actress Sara Bareilles is. And, of course, what turned out to be a last chance to the singular talents of the late, great Gavin Creel made this an extra valuable experience. Can't forget the udder-ly charming star turn of Milky White, either!

Illinoise (2024): Brilliant. Truly brilliant. Going into it, I had some familiarity with the music Sufjan Stevens thanks to the film Call Me By Your Name, as well as the dance talents of Ricky Ubeda and Ben Cook, both of whom I'd seen in other shows, plus Gaby Diaz from So You Think You Can Dance. Still, nothing prepared me for the emotional thrill ride that Illinoise was. I laughed, I cried, I held my breath for nearly two hours, for fear I'd miss a single second. I wish I could see it again.

Sunset Blvd. (2024): I loved the original production so much, I was kind of dreading this revival. Within seconds of the curtain rising, I was completely lost in the crazy world of a new Norma Desmond, Joe Gillis and a Hollywood of indeterminate time. It was utterly mesmerizing and thrilling in ways that were not even possible with the original. The famous walk of the second act overture/"Sunset Boulevard" sequence is ten minutes of magic I will never forget. And of course, there were the electrifying performances of the entire company, while introducing us the the enormous talents of Nicole Scherzinger, Tom Francis and David Thaxton. And then there were two of the best understudies/future stars I've ever seen, Sydney Jones and new West End star, Diego Andres Rodriguez.

The other productions we saw that didn't make our top five were all noteworthy for several reasons including the opportunity to see new talents and established stars, designers and other creatives. Even shows that we really didn't like had plenty to admire. For example, while I thought the revival of Side Show paled in comparison to the original, I was just grateful to see it back on Broadway at all. And it was nice to see that the authors were still working to make it better. I was a little surprised that Leap of Faith didn't last a little longer, but we were pleased to see Raul Esparza, always a favorite, who hasn't been seen on Broadway since (Galileo will mark his return next season!), but that show also introduced us to a guy named Leslie Odom. Jr.! Easily my least favorite show that I saw there was Bullets Over Broadway, but in retrospect I am so glad I saw it, because I had one last chance to see the late Marin Mazzie and Nick Cordero, bot taken from us far too soon. Bring It On was a ton of fun, with four young actors making their Broadway debuts, and all of whom are among our favorites: Adrienne Warren, Jason Gotay, Taylor Louderman and Ariana DeBose!