# Theatre productions you have seen recently **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 15, 2007, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845 "2007-07-15T10:00:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Mr\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9dc877/32.png) [@Mr\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/1 "2007-07-15T10:00:07Z")
Seen any good theatre recently? Or any bad theatre for that matter! **In Celebration** London £15 Apparently, Orlando Bloom’s theatre debut (according to the playbook). It detailed the 40th wedding anniversary of a Northern England coal miner and his wife. Their 3 sons came up to visit and various family troubles come out. I have to say ( And I LOVE Orli) that he wasn’t really that great. His accent was all over the place and he seemed almost “Keanu” wooden. Still, I didn’t mind staring at him for 2 hrs. **Lord of the Rings: The Musical** London £10 Visually it was spectacular. The hobbits catching fireflies, the Nazgul, Shelob, the Orcs - all just amazing! the The songs were sort of take 'em or leave 'em though. I was very lucky to get cheap £10 preview tix as they are going for several times that now. **Les Miserable** London £20 All I can remember is how cramped the seats were. Production was ok but nothing marvelous. **Avenue Q** London £20 Blindingly hilarious. I was pissing myself and the songs are really catchy. It was in a relatively small theatre as well so even our “cheap” seats had great views. Must see if they have a cast cd. I’m seeing The Lion King in 2 weeks so I’ll let you know how it goes. ---
**Author:** ![Cunctator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/43a26b/32.png) [@Cunctator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cunctator)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2007, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/2 "2007-07-15T22:14:58Z")
I saw **The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee** recently. It was good fun. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/3 "2007-07-16T03:00:42Z")
Last week, Montana Shakespeare in the Parks’ production of Shaw’s _Heartbreak House_. And the week before that, same company, _The Merry Wives of Windsor_. _Windsor_ was the better of the two, but it clearly wasn’t one of the Bard’s best. The combination of casting, costumes, and makeup was absolutely inspired, though: Falstaff and Quickly couldn’t possibly have looked more exactly like they should have. Both were free, with lawn seating. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/4 "2007-07-16T03:47:59Z")
We just spent the week in Vegas. Didn’t see any theatrical shows, but if we count other staged productions: **Penn and Teller** - All sorts of fun. **El Perro Fumando** got pulled onto stage to participate in the first trick of the night, and we kept talking about various tricks for days afterward. The only down side was Penn’s proselytizing, which dragged some of the tricks down with their context. **Second City** at the Flamingo - Not too bad. I wasn’t super impressed, but there were plenty of truly funny moments, skits that were truly excellent. Not enough improv incorporated into the show, but the bit that was there was pretty well integrated. It would qualify as a consistently good week of SNL skits. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/5 "2007-07-16T12:28:37Z")
**Curtains** on Broadway with David Hyde Pierce, who won a Tony for the role. After seeing DHP dance, I am in love. He has been added to my very short list of celebrities I would do (along with Wayne Brady and Hugh Laurie). ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/6 "2007-07-16T13:06:36Z")
Sadly, it has been too many years since I have been to the theatre. I think the last thing that I saw was Les Mis. That must have been 7 years ago. We do have local theatre and I used to love to go, but I just haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![Eureka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/74df32/32.png) [@Eureka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eureka)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/7 "2007-07-16T13:26:41Z")
**The Tempest** by Shakespeare. $5 in the park, bring your own dinner and chair/blanket. It was performed by a troupe of traveling players (The National Players?). It was great fun. Shakespeare in the park is greatly enhanced by starting at 7 (rather than waiting until dark), simple but distinctive costumes, and being able to sit near the stage. Almost no set, limited props, but fun. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/8 "2007-07-16T13:56:49Z")
I saw _The Year of Magical Thinking_ Tuesday, and _Eurydice_ the Friday before that. Magical Thinking had some strong points, and Vanessa Redgrave was good, but it was pretty clear the whole thing worked better as a book (my girlfriend has read it and agreed). Eurydice was imaginitively staged and powerful, although sometimes it was a bit clunky. ---
**Author:** ![Rayne\_Man](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/df705f/32.png) [@Rayne\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rayne_Man)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/9 "2007-07-16T14:29:45Z")
A few weeks ago I saw an excellent production of\* Mrs Warren’s Profession\* at the Nottingham Playhouse. ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2007, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/theatre-productions-you-have-seen-recently/411845/10 "2007-07-16T14:55:33Z")
Jersey Boys- Eh… it was a fun show. I don’t get why people LOVE the show as much as they do.