First Broadway Show You Saw…

[MikeThomas]

The Ritz with Rita Moreno… I was very young!  Until that show, I never knew there was such a thing as a bathhouse.  Life changing!

[Guest]

Annie—elementary school field trip.

[+ WilliamM]

Tovarich with Vivien Leigh.

A musical, even though Ms. Leigh was not exactly a singer.

 

She sang a bit on Ed Sullivan. It is available on YouTube 

[+ purplekow]

Good Evening with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook

[+ azdr0710]

"The Boys In The Band", five years ago in the revival......(unless my parents took me to something when I was a tiny kid, but unlikely)......

lots of theater-goers joking afterwards about the long line for the men's room and no line for the women's room.....

Edited December 7, 2023 by azdr0710

[alrajee]

The Lion King in Las Vegas. I cried at “Endless Night.”

[SouthOfTheBorder]

vague memory of Phantom - maybe I blocked it.  

[+ nycman]

A Chorus Line.

I was very young. My mother’s sexy/cool secretary suggested she take me to see it. It was life changing and I am eternally grateful to her. Even in rural America, they know how to help the little homos find their people. 

Edited December 7, 2023 by nycman
Because we can’t say faggot. Ok, I just realized I could get away with it in the "reason for edit section. Please don’t ban me, it’s funny as fuck!

[+ Cash4Trash]

The Killing of Sister George starring Beryl Reid. 

[Guest]

To be clear, Annie did not change my hard-knock life, but I’m sure the sun will come up tomorrow.

[EZEtoGRU]

1 hour ago, nycman said:

A Chorus Line.

Same for me.  My first trip to NYC without my family.  Late 70's I guess.  I went with some friends.  Loved the show and it's simplicity.

[+ sf westcoaster]

Damn Yankees, staring Gwen Verdon. I think it was 1956 or 57.

[+ WilliamM]

1960

Gypsy

The Sound of Music

 

And a musical with Jackie Gleason 

[Ali Gator]

"Aspects of Love" with Michael Ball and Anne Crumb; May, 1990. My third time going to NYC with my then-boyfriend. We really wanted to see 'Phantom' (the hottest ticket in town) but it was impossible to get tickets.  The ticket agent in the hotel suggested 'AOL' - the new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical which had opened just about a month earlier. We should have seen red flags everywhere when the eighth row orchestra was available. We bought the tickets and we'd never been so bored in our lives. We were ready to leave with everyone else during intermission, but we stayed. Horrible show (though back then, at 29, Ball was eye candy).

 

A year later we tried out chances again with 'Phantom' with no luck. This time the ticket agent in the hotel (different from the year before - this woman was a clone of Joan Rivers, so we trusted her) suggested Tyne Daly who had just returned to 'Gypsy'. She promised we wouldn't be disappointed, so we took another chance. BEST SHOW WE EVER SAW - still the best in my book, and I've seen about 50  shows on Broadway from 1990 - 2019. 

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

Chicago in 2013.  Paige Davis (of Trading Spaces) was subbing in as Roxie and I enjoyed her performance.  And Christine Pedi was the Matron.

I had seen multiple touring musicals, but this was my first show on Broadway.  That week I also saw Nice Work If You Can Get It, Jekyll & Hyde, and Pippin.

[+ Vegas_Millennial]

"Book of Mormon", "Moulin Rouge", and "Company" all in the same week in 2022.  They were all fantastic, but "Company" was my favorite!

I had seen plenty of community theater before (starting with "Gypsy", "Fiddler on the Roof", and "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" when I was in the 3rd Grade), and several touring Broadway shows.  But I never saw anything in a Broadway theater house until 2022.  Such is the drawback of being raised and living on the West Coast.

[pubic_assistance]

"CATS".

Hated it.

Some theater-nerd friends from high school talked me into going. I was so upset that I spent all that money on that crap. (And a crappy over-priced lunch at Beefsteak Charlies). Worst trip to NYC ever.

[+ sync]

Holy cow, I believe it was Mame starring Jane Morgan as Mame and Anne Francine as Vera Charles.  Talk about water under the bridge.

[+ WilliamM]

14 hours ago, WilliamM said:

1960

Gypsy

The Sound of Music

 

And a musical with Jackie Gleason 

Gypsy with Merman and The Sound of Music with Mary Martin

And the Jackie Gleason musical was Take Me Along 

[pubic_assistance]

20 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

We really wanted to see 'Phantom' (the hottest ticket in town) but it was impossible to get tickets. 

Don't assume popularity = quality.

I took my parents to see Phantom. Was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard for two hours. It's an incredibly cheesy musical designed for mass-consumption by middle America people with no taste.

I always admired Andrew Lloyd Weber's talent with Jesus Christ Superstar but Cats and Phantom were not at the same level of genuine creativity.

Clearly, artistic efforts were no longer important to him and he just wanted to mass market and make money at this point in his career.

Edited December 8, 2023 by pubic_assistance
grammar

[+ Charlie]

I don't remember where I saw most shows, so some of the earliest ones I saw probably weren't actually on Broadway, I saw The Boys in the Band  and Hair before they got to Broadway. The first show I saw in New York was probably The Fantasticks, but it wasn't on Broadway. I know I saw Amadeus on Broadway, but I don't remember when.

[+ Axiom2001]

...Boys in the Band on Broadway in New York, City when I was visiting.  I think it was my first time in "The Big Apple."

[Ali Gator]

19 hours ago, pubic_assistance said:

Don't assume popularity = quality.

I took my parents to see Phantom. Was like listening to fingernails on a chalkboard for two hours. It's an incredibly cheesy musical designed for mass-consumption by middle America people with no taste.

I always admired Andrew Lloyd Weber's talent with Jesus Christ Superstar but Cats and Phantom were not at the same level of genuine creativity.

Clearly, artistic efforts were no longer important to him and he just wanted to mass market and make money at this point in his career.

I agree, but at the time we were looking for something entertaining for three hours, as that's a big expectation when going to a Broadway musical. There's nothing worse than sitting in a theater for nearly three hours not being entertained (and that lesson has been proven with the abrupt closures of so many new musicals the past years).

"Aspects" was far from entertaining (whether POTO was quality or not, you can't deny it was entertaining - and why it lasted for 35 years). It was dull and sleep-inducing, which is probably why that half-empty theater emptied even more at intermission.

Tyne Daly in "Gypsy" proved to be quality and entertaining, a rarity. 

Aside from POTO (which I have seen a total of 7X in different venues), "Starlight Express" was surely lacking in quality, yet very entertaining. Same with 'CATS'.  

'Sunset Boulevard' and 'JCS' can go either way with ALW - it all depends on who's the star. 

[pubic_assistance]

5 hours ago, Ali Gator said:

whether POTO was quality or not, you can't deny it was entertaining

To each his own.

Some people find "monster truck rallies" to be entertaining. Watching pick-up-trucks with giant wheels crush other cars. So exciting ! 

No. Sorry. I actually wasn't entertained by PotO.

So many more that I could mention where I actually enjoyed the hour or two.

 

[kenomora]

Wicked, with Julia Murney as Elphaba and Kendra Kassebaum as Galinda.