Well, here they are, in no particular order. Some of these are far from high art, but I love shows that take risks and swing big. Sometimes making a connection with the audience is the goal, and sometimes just having fun is the goal.
** Super-special thank you to my editors (and theater buddies) Ken, Nathan and non-Internet Clark Burnett. **
Dragon Mama (Diversionary Theatre – San Diego, CA)
Sara Porkalob, who had just come from a starring role in 1776 on Broadway, tells the real life story of her mother in a highly moving and funny one-person show. Porkalob plays many characters and gives each so much attention to detail. Her chameleon-level ability to shift acting styles is like nothing I’ve seen.
(More on the bearlikesbroadway Instagram: http://tinyurl.com/3safwd5t)
Hell’s Kitchen (Public Theater – New York City, NY)
Hell’s Kitchen is a semi-autobiographical musical about young Alicia Keys featuring original and existing music by Keys. It wound up being a surprise hit for us; what a great show. The music blends perfectly with the story, and though it is autobiographical, it only tells a small coming-of-age story that takes place before she was famous. HK is transferring to Broadway, and I think it’s going to be a big hit.
Merrily We Roll Along (Hudson Theatre – New York City, NY)
I had to include Merrily in this list. It’s a near perfect show and production. I wasn’t really surprised by it, but I was very entertained. I will say I was more entertained by Jonathan Groff than I thought I would be.
(I wrote more about this show here https://bearlikesbroadway.com/i-saw-merrily-we-roll-along-review/)
Ride the Cyclone (Chance Theater – Anaheim, CA)
My friend Ken suggested this show out of the blue, and we took a chance on it. Ride the Cyclone is a wild horror/comedy/art/drama about a group of young adults that die on a roller coaster but are given the chance to possibly live if they redeem themselves. Each character gets their own Cats-style “here’s-my-song” moment.
It was a low-ish budget show in a small theater, but they did such a great job with it. We want to go back to Chance Theater soon. I think they recently did a production of Rent, and they have a production of Hedwig and the Angry Inch coming up.
A few months later, I happened to visit Coney Island in New York, and I saw The Cyclone, the namesake of the musical. Fun!
(Non-internet Clark Burnett wrote about this show and added a link here: https://bearlikesbroadway.com/ride-the-cyclone-the-musical-gets-its-california-premiere/)
Sunday in the Park with George (Pasadena Playhouse – Pasadena, CA)
Because of Sondheim’s recent passing, and a slew of Sondheim productions, I wound up seeing two productions of Sunday in the Park with George twice in a very short period of time. Both were nice, but Pasadena Playhouse’s production, directed by Sarna Lapine (Fun Fact: James Lapine’s niece), was particularly lovely.
The Outsiders (La Jolla Playhouse – La Jolla, CA)
A La Jolla Playhouse show heading to Broadway! I had a few notes for the show, but this was one of the most Broadway-ready shows I have seen in San Diego that has transferred. It’s an entertaining show with some decent musical themes and a very exciting fight scene in the rain.
(I wrote about this show here https://bearlikesbroadway.com/the-outsiders-world-premier-at-la-jolla-playhouse/)
Camelot (Lincoln Center Theater – New York City, NY)
The Lincoln Center Theater stage is huge, and this show made great use of projections on the giant backdrop. I also loved Phillipa Soo as Guenevere. Aaron Sorkin’s book was fine and that was part of the appeal of this production, but I don’t think the show won people over, for some reason.
(I wrote about this show here https://bearlikesbroadway.com/camelot-lincoln-center-review/)
Evil Dead: The Musical (Tenth Ave Arts Center – San Diego, CA)
The music for Evil Dead: The Musical is silly, but it gets bonus points for being original. The reason to go to Evil Dead the musical is to be spattered with blood throughout the show. We were in the second row, in the “splash zone”, so I knew we would get wet, but we had no idea. It was wild.
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (Lunt-Fontanne Theatre – New York City, NY)
I enjoyed this production, starring Josh Groban and especially Annaleigh Ashford, but the real value of this production was it renewed my love of Sweeney Todd. In ramping up to see this production, I listened repeatedly to the original cast recording and I tracked down the PBS video featuring Angela Lansbury. This got me started on a Murder She Wrote binge, but that’s a different story.
Shucked (Nederlander Theatre – New York City, NY)
When I saw Come From Away the first time, it was so good; I feel like I never want to see it again. I just want to hold on to that moment forever. That’s kind of how I feel about Shucked. I was in the front row, and I laughed like an asshole. I had so much fun. When I see the tour some day, at a more local theater, I will probably have a good time, but it won’t be the same. But when I saw it in New York, in March of 2023, I was there for it.
(I wrote about this show here https://bearlikesbroadway.com/i-saw-shucked-review/)
Honorable Mentions:
70, Girls, 70 (The Group Rep – Hollywood, CA) – It’s just fabulous that someone did this Kander and Ebb cult classic about old folks. After the show, we sang Happy Birthday to one of the cast members who had just turned 91.
Pippin (North Coast Repertory Theatre – Solana Beach, CA) – I love Pippin, and clearly this cast did, too. Fun, little theater that I had not been to before.
Sumo (La Jolla Playhouse – La Jolla, CA) – A play about Sumo wrestlers. Sadly, it’s not a musical. I thought it was very cool and different, especially for something at La Jolla Playhouse.