Archives for October 4, 2012

The first preview of Satchmo at the Waldorf in New Haven went smoothly and satisfyingly. Yes, there were a couple of glitches, but nothing you would have noticed if you weren’t already familiar with the show, and at the end the entire audience leaped to its feet and cheered wholeheartedly.
We have another six preview performances left before next Wednesday’s press opening. No doubt we’ll do a certain amount of tweaking between now and then–that’s how it works–but I’m feeling good today.
I have a couple of shows to see in New York, so I won’t be in New Haven again until Saturday afternoon. If you catch Satchmo in my absence, let me know how it went!

Here’s my list of recommended Broadway, off-Broadway, and out-of-town shows, updated weekly. In all cases, I gave these shows favorable reviews (if sometimes qualifiedly so) in The Wall Street Journal when they opened. For more information, click on the title.

BROADWAY:

• Bring It On (musical, G, closes Jan. 20, reviewed here)

• Evita (musical, PG-13, reviewed here)

• Once (musical, G/PG-13, nearly all performances sold out last week, reviewed here)

OFF BROADWAY:

• Avenue Q (musical, R, adult subject matter and one show-stopping scene of puppet-on-puppet sex, reviewed here)

• The Fantasticks (musical, G, suitable for children capable of enjoying a love story, reviewed here)

• Tribes (drama, PG-13, closes Jan. 6, reviewed here)

IN NIAGARA-ON-THE-LAKE, ONTARIO:

• Misalliance (serious comedy, G/PG-13, far too talky for children, closes Oct. 27, reviewed here)

• Present Laughter (comedy, PG-13, closes Oct. 28, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON IN SPRING GREEN, WISC.:

• Skylight (drama, PG-13, adult subject matter, closes Oct. 20, reviewed here)

CLOSING SOON OFF BROADWAY:

• Lovers (drama, PG-13, closes Oct. 20, reviewed here)

“He was handsome in a way that didn’t mean anything. He had the empty, regular face that you can find in college courses called Economics 10B or Political Science 101, or the sort of face you see on young leading men in the second feature of moving-picture double bills.”
Dorothy Baker, Young Man With a Horn