# Notable stage shows you've seen **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** theater-stage-dance\ **Created:** [September 24, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330 "2026-09-24T01:04:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![caligulathegod](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caligulathegod/32/9685_2.png) [@caligulathegod](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caligulathegod)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/1 "2026-09-24T01:04:01Z")
The comedians and comedy shows you’ve seen thread made me think of some other shows I’ve seen that were notable for who was in them. I didn’t see the original productions, of course, but I did get to see touring productions with these stars. Cabaret with Joel Grey (also saw a production with Lea Thompson as Sally Bowles) Camelot with Richard Harris Jesus Christ Superstar with Ted Neeley and Carl Anderson (Dennis DeYoung was supposed to be Herod, but I caught the understudy). Saw a second production with Carl Anderson where Sebastian Bach was supposed to be Jesus, but caught his understudy. Fiddler on the Roof with Topol Mark Twain Tonight with Hal Holbrook Michael Crawford performing the songs of Andrew Lloyd Webber (in addition to Phantom songs, he sang Gethsemone from Jesus Christ Superstar and other ALW tunes. Saw tons of other shows with various touring or local productions but those were the interesting ones that I thought might inspire a thread. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/2 "2026-09-24T01:11:41Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Cabaret with Joel Grey (also saw a production with Lea Thompson as Sally Bowles) I saw it with Molly Ringwald as Sally (and John Stamos as the Emcee). Others: King Lear with Christopher Plummer King Lear again with Ian McKellen (whom, thanks to which, I can now say I’ve seen nude) Lucky Guy with Tom Hanks Guys and Dolls with Nathan Lane A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Nathan Lane Waiting for Godot with Bill Irwin, Nathan Lane, and John Goodman The Guys (a 9/11-themed two-hander) with Bill Murray and Sigourney Weaver All In (a semi-staged reading of New Yorker-style humor pieces) with John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen, and Chloe Fineman ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.winston_oboogie/32/2945_2.png) [@Dr.Winston\_OBoogie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Winston_OBoogie)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/3 "2026-09-24T01:21:36Z")
> [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Guys and Dolls with Nathan Lane > > A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Nathan Lane I saw The Producers with Nathan Lane in their pre-Broadway run in Chicago. ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/4 "2026-09-24T01:27:42Z")
Al Pacino as Richard III. I don’t think he was well-known at the time. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/5 "2026-09-24T01:33:47Z")
I cannot remember many specifics, and especially not the actors involved, but I’ve enjoyed some great Shakespeare productions in Stratford, Ontario, obviously named after the English city but having a world-renowned Shakespearean theatre. I’ve probably been to more than one Broadway play but I particularly remember _The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas_! Many years ago, though! ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/6 "2026-09-24T01:38:40Z")
Road company **Dracula** with Raul Julia as the Count. Road company **Annie**. **J C Superstar** with Neeley and Carl Anderson. **Grease** in the round at a dinner theater; starred Mary Page Keller as Sandy. Road company **Beatlemania** which I thought was quite good at the time. Now, not so much. **Penn & Teller** came to town back in the mid-‘80s; the theater was small, almost intimate, and the show was dynamite (not literally, but with them you never know). ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/7 "2026-09-24T01:41:09Z")
Just remembered another one: Wallace Shawn in his own play _The Designated Mourner_, directed by Andre Gregory (of _My Dinner with Andre_ fame). It was in a black-box theater small enough that Gregory was there to shake hands with every single audience member on their way in. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I’ve enjoyed some great Shakespeare productions in Stratford, Ontario That’s where I saw Plummer as Lear. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/8 "2026-09-24T01:47:16Z")
The original _The Who’s Tommy_ at the La Jolla Playhouse. I’ve also seen a few local productions, the best of which was by San Jose’s Children’s Musical Theater (the band was excellent and appropriately, quite loud). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/9 "2026-09-24T02:00:02Z")
_Spamalot_ with the original Broadway cast minus Tim Curry who was off that night. Still had Sara Ramirez, David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria. _The Producers_ with the original Broadway cast. They had gone through the original run and been replaced but all came back a couple of years later. _1776_ with Brent Spiner as John Adams. _The Full Monty_ with Patrick Wilson in the lead. This July I saw the Les Miz “Stadium Spectacular” with an amazing cast. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/10 "2026-09-24T02:03:21Z")
Oh and _Old Friends_ with Lea Solonga and Bernadette Peters along with a whole bunch of other Broadway royalty. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/11 "2026-09-24T02:06:11Z")
I’ve seen a lot of plays and musicals here in Chicago, but three were particularly notable: _Victor/Victoria_ with Julie Andrews, Tony Roberts, and Michael Nouri. _The Addams Family_ with Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_ with Donny Osmond. The first two were “tryout” performances before the shows went on to Broadway. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/12 "2026-09-24T02:18:28Z")
1976 Broadway revival of _Fiddler on the Roof_ with Zero Mostel. 2026 Broadway production of _Operation Mincement_ with Julia Knitel et al. Gracious, I’m old. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/13 "2026-09-24T02:25:43Z")
My Fair Lady - at the tail end of its first run on Broadway Ring Round the Moon - with Michael York at the Ahmanson in LA Road productions of Spamalot and Jersey Boys in Vegas Dozens of productions by The Troubies, an LA improv group that mutilates, abuses and spindles Shakespeare Countless other productions in both the US and the UK ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/14 "2026-09-24T02:27:07Z")
“The Hollow Crown” With Glenda Jackson, Ian Richardson, Donald Sutherland and Derek Jacobi ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/15 "2026-09-24T02:35:02Z")
The Producers in the initial Broadway run. Mathew Broderick was off that night. ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 2:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/16 "2026-09-24T02:54:43Z")
> [@caligulathegod](#): > > Fiddler on the Roof with Topol Ditto! > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > All In (a semi-staged reading of New Yorker-style humor pieces) with John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen, and Chloe Fineman I’m so envious! They were stories by Simon Rich. I heard one of the segments on _This American Life_. It was on Episode 851, “Try a Little Tenderness,” from January 10, 2025, and the segment was _Act One: “The Big Nap”_. I nearly had to pull my car off the road I was laughing so hard! Here it is: > **[The Big Nap - This American Life](https://www.thisamericanlife.org/851/try-a-little-tenderness/act-one-19)** > > A hardened PI works the toughest case of his very young life. (18 minutes) > > ALL IN: COMEDY ABOUT LOVE was written by Simon Rich and starred John Mulaney, Richard Kind, Fred Armisen, and Chloe Fineman. I’ve seen Driving Miss Daisy with Julie Harris, Brock Peters, and Stephen Root. Patrick Stewart doing a one-man-show of A Christmas Carol. Barefoot in the Park with Richard Thomas, Bess Armstrong, Barbara Barrie, Hans Conried, and James Cromwell. I’ve seen many many more, but not with big names. A few months ago I saw a production of Ain’t Misbehaving that was better than the filmed Broadway version with the original cast. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/17 "2026-09-24T03:06:04Z")
Midwestern born and raised, I had to rely on road shows. > [@caligulathegod](#): > > Camelot with Richard Harris It wasn’t Harris’ best night. His voice was hoarse, but he recovered it literally “for one brief shining moment” at the end. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > Guys and Dolls with Nathan Lane The night I was there, Lane wasn’t. A spirited effort by the understudy, though. I did manage to see Mary Martin and Carol Channing together in a play called [Legends!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legends!) that played all across the U.S., but never made it to Broadway. Martin was 73 and Channing was 65, so there were no song and dance numbers - it was pretty much a straight play. What I remember most was a little moment of comic stage business Martin did with a twinkle and a grin that showed me how appealing she must have been in a musical when she was in her prime. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/18 "2026-09-24T03:41:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Dozens of productions by The Troubies, an LA improv group that mutilates, abuses and spindles Shakespeare I went to a few productions in Seattle by a theater troupe called Greek Active. Mid-'90s, low budget, they did most of their shows in the back room of a bar. In their version of “Romeo and Juliet”, the Montagus and Capulets were rival lesbian softball teams. The troupe was founded by, and some of their shows were directed by Dan Savage before he rose to national prominence. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/19 "2026-09-24T03:49:47Z")
> [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](#): > > Road company **Beatlemania** which I thought was quite good at the time. Now, not so much. Been thinking they should change it up a little and maybe wear nothing under chaps and rebrand themselves as Beatlemoonia. > [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](#): > > It was in a black-box theater small enough that Gregory was there to shake hands with every single audience member on their way in. Which is one of the coolest things I’ve heard in some time. The only two plays I saw I was admittedly dragged to. When I was five ('69) the family trotted ourselves out to see _Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat_ and then a date insisted we go see Grease sometime in the early 80s. One time mum tried to drag me to the high school across the street to check out _Jesus Christ Superstar_. I was like - why would I wanna see any more religious crap? Turns out, years later, mum recalling it had Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Martin Short, Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas. I was like - aw _MAN_. The production had been still a couple years before SCTV came out. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [September 24, 2026, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330/20 "2026-09-24T04:18:48Z")
I don’t know if these quite fit the definition of stage shows, but I’ve been to talks by Chuck Yeager, Stephen Hawking, and Buckminster Fuller. Yeager used to do a talk at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum every year in October, near the anniversary of his first supersonic flight. I happened to go in 1997, the 50th anniversary. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/notable-stage-shows-youve-seen/1033330.md?page=2)