My 10 Favorite Broadway Shows of 2018
I think 2018 will go down as a “mixed bag” type of year for Broadway. We saw some extreme lows and not very many highs. We saw panic in the streets of the old guard who were worried that 42nd St was becoming to commercial. At the same time, we saw shows that attracted new audiences to their theatres and others that told stories that deserved much needed attention.
So rather than try to rank what I feel were the “best” shows of 2018, I want to tell you what were my favorites. These were shows that might not have been critic/award darlings, yet made me laugh, cry, ponder and inspired. These are in no particular order and I’m breaking into plays and musicals. Furthermore, these are shows that opened in 2018.
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Bring Back the Beloved Broadway Holiday Musical
‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ Broadway, not a holiday musical was playing, save Ruben & Clay. The tickets were bought at box offices galore, in hopes that audiences would soon beg for more. At least, this has been the case in more recent seasons concerning Broadway musicals focused on the holidays. Think about the catalog of Christmas shows alone that have graced Broadway stages in seasons past: A Christmas Story, Holiday Inn, Elf, How The Grinch Stole Christmas and Irving Berlin’s White Christmas. Now don’t get me wrong; I have nothing against American Idol magnates Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken coming together peacefully over the 2018 holiday season for a little AI reunion, but where are the tried and true Christmas Broadway musicals that we have held so dear in past seasons? The choice to bring back such musicals (all of which were also hit box office smashes in their own right) seems to be almost a no-brainer. So why the lack this year? In fairness, there are possibly two exceptions, neither of which is technically in a Broadway house however: Dr Seuss’ How The Grinch Stole Christmas (starring Tony Award-nominee Gavin Lee in the title role) at the HULU
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10 Reasons Why Film Adaptations of Musicals Tend to Fail
Movie musicals: They have been around for nearly as long as sound has been a part of film. Naturally, many of the most notable of them have been adapted from Broadway musicals, and a good portion of them tend to be commercially successful. However, those of us who are used to seeing the real thing – and even some who aren’t – tend to be disappointed once we see these musicals come to the silver screen.
Why is this?
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Some Thoughts on "Frozen"
As I walked into the theatre, I eyed the swirling pink frosé machine. “No, no,” I mutter to myself. “No need to get college-coed tipsy. I shall review this ice-cold sober.” And wonder of wonders, I actually enjoyed the show!
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Release the DVD!
In the last few years I’ve noticed an explosion of Broadway musicals making their way to the big screen. And not as an adaption the way they tease us with Wicked or In The Heights. I’m talking about filming the Broadway (or West End) production in the theater, live, the way it is meant to be seen. And then releasing it in cinemas for those of us who couldn’t make it to NYC/London in time or who want to relive the magic all over again. Now I’m saying, “release the DVD!” If it’s on film, it could and needs to be released in DVD form. Here’s why.
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Should We Be Casting Live Babies in Broadway Shows?
This isn’t click bait. I’m actually asking this question seriously. I’ve seen plenty of instances of children appearing in Broadway productions but I’ve never heard of a live baby being cast in a show, until now.
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With Les Moonves Gone, the Tonys Can Have an Exit Strategy from CBS
Years ago, then CEO of CBS Les Moonves told NY Post’s Michael Riedel that as long as he’s at CBS, so will the Tony Awards. This quote came at a time when the ratings were in the basement compared to other award shows. However, a statement like that from the guy who ran the network was certainly a sigh of relief.
But now Moonves is gone due to the many accusations of sexual misconduct. Which means that the Tony Awards’ biggest network champion is gone. And the ratings are still in the proverbial toilet.
So what does this mean for the future of the Tonys on CBS?
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The Issue Over Dimming Lights for Marin Mazzie is Why We Need to Stop Dimming Lights
Following the tragic passing of Marin Mazzie; it’s been announced that the “committee” at the Broadway League has decided to have only six theatres dim their lights in her honor.
Besides the fact that they announced the news in an incredibly cold press release, starting it off with the phrase “The Committee of Theatre Owners has decided to dim the lights” is the type of Broadway pretentiousness that makes my stomach turn.
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How Does the Broadway Transfer of "Be More Chill" Impact This Year's Tonys Race?
Just like many of its devoted fans, I had my hopes that if this summer's Off-Broadway run of Be More Chill was successful, we could be seeing a Broadway transfer sooner than later.
Yesterday, our hopes were answered. Be More Chill opens on Broadway in March 2019.
The Off-Broadway run which was met with positive reviews should be able to carry that momentum into their Broadway run. I don't expect them to change much between the productions. Which means that Be More Chill would definitely have to be considered a strong contender for this year's Tony Awards (Take a breath BMC fans), especially when you consider how the rest of the season looks on paper.
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Can We Not Take Pleasure in Shows Closing?
So while every show may not be our cup of tea, let's not display celebration at its demise. We don't have to mourn every show's closing, but we certainly don't have to stomp on its metaphorical grave.
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Shows I'd Love to See Gender-Swapped
Recently Newsies announced that its rights are open for community theaters to perform. What made this announcement even more special was the knowledge that part of the Newsies ensemble could include females. (Someone needs to give me a couple years to have my baby and get back into tapping shape so I can be in that ensemble but I digress.)
In the community theater world, there’s always talk of gender swapping within shows and roles. This is the first major production I’ve heard of which explicitly allows for the inclusion of females into what has been traditionally a male ensemble. I want to look at some other shows and roles that might benefit from a male to female gender swap. Granted this is just a wishlist, knowing that doing anything like this would require permission first.
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Unauthorized Production of "Coco: The Musical" Means Schools Still Don't Understand Copyright or Don't Care
Recently, it was brought to OnStage Blog's attention that, yet again, a foreign school has performed unauthorized material. This seems to be a common occurrence as in the past year we've seen schools perform productions of Hamilton, The Book of Mormon and Bombshell with music from the TV show Smash all without having obtained permission.
What makes these occurrences even worse is that they are often supervised by teachers or adults who should know better. When this happens, they are failing their students and putting their schools at risk of ever obtaining permission for future productions.
The latest example comes from the Polytechnic University of The Philippines(PUP) where their theatre organization, the Molave Theatre Guild, just wrapped production on their musical adaptation of the Pixar film, Coco. Here are some of their promotional materials of the show.
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