
Last year I saw 75 shows, not a bad showing. This year I saw 65. Sadly, 69 had been the lowest count thus far, so now I’ve hit a new low. I’m accepting that my show count should be in the 60s and 70s, though, so 65 is still in keeping with what I expect, especially when I missed a ton of shows I’d wanted to see this past fall.
I saw a good number of these shows for free and paid a discount rate for most of the others. Last year I saw multiple shows multiple times, but this year the only show I saw for a second time was the Hello, Dolly revival, this time with Bernadette Peters (the first time was with Donna Murphy the previous year). I also performed in 6 of them: The Pops holiday concert twice, the Pops Broadway program: “Song and Dance,” Everybody’s Theater Company’s New Works Spring Forth, Russell’s piano concert, and then my own cabaret at the Duplex. 3 shows were concerts/workshops of my own work: A Story No One Knows at NYTB and the two workshops of Days of Rage. 3 shows (as opposed to last year’s 9) were connected to articles I wrote for Culturadar.com and Musical Theater Today. 1 show was an autism-friendly performance for people with autism. 2 were in Philly, 1 was in San Diego, 1 was in Peterborough, NH, and 2 were in New Jersey.
I used to do a star rating system, but since I know people involved in many of these shows, I’ve done away with that and just highlighted my favorites. After the favorites is the HUGE list of everything I saw. Then, I have listed some fun panels, exhibits, and events I also attended this year.
Top 10 Favorites (in no order, I swear):
Angels in America Parts 1 and 2
Spongebob Square Pants
Dance Nation
Salty Brine: I’m a lot Like You
Hello, Dolly!
The Skin of Our Teeth
Don’t Bother Me I Can’t Cope
Fiddler on the Roof
Scum
What the Constituion Means to Me
Runners Up (Also in no order):
Passing Strange
Once on this Island
The Bridge of San Luis Rey
One Thousand and One Nights and One Day
The El Salomons at Union Hall
School Girls, Or The African Mean Girls Play
The Band’s Visit
Straight White Men
Head Over Heels
The Big List:
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