This morning, the Los Angeles Times published the announcement of the 2010-2011 Broadway/LA (a/k/a the Pantages) schedule. It is the usual mix of national tours and retreads. So what will I look into ticketing? Here’s my opinion:
- Sept 23-Oct 17, 2010, “Phantom of the Opera”. (farewell engagement of the current tour). If only it were the farewell tour. Not interested.
- Nov 30-Dec 19, 2010, “West Side Story” (national tour). This is the tour of the recent bilingual production. I’ve seen West Side Story numerous times, most recently at Cabrillo. Erin might be interested, but as for me: Not interested.
- Jan 5-Jan 23, 2011, “Hair” (national tour). This is the national tour of the new Broadway version. We saw the Reprise version quite a few years ago, and about three years ago we saw a truly excellent production from CSUN. Given that they haven’t reimagined things, I’m not sure it is worth the ticket price. Not interested.
- Jan 11-Feb 20, 2011, “Traces” (@ the Ricardo Montalban). A circus-inspired show from Canada, created by the Montreal company Les 7 doigts de la main. Not interested.
- Feb 1-Feb 6, 2011, “Spring Awakening”. Saw it at the Ahmanson, in a very good production. Why see it again, at Broadway/LA prices? Not interested.
- Feb 15-Feb 25, 2011, “Rock of Ages” (national tour). This was recently on Broadway, and the music is quite good (‘80s rock, with songs by Journey, Bon Jovi, Pat Benatar and more). Plan to ticket.
- Mar 9-Mar 20, 2011, “TBA”. Hmmm, I could swear I’ve seen this before on the Pasadena Playhouse schedule :-). It all depends on the show, but Unlikely.
- Apr 12-Apr 17, 2011, “Rain – A Tribute To The Beatles”. This seems to come back every couple of years, like a bad piece fruitcake. Not interested.
- Apr 26-May 8, 2011, “Burn the Floor”. This is a tribute to Latin and ballroom dancing, featuring 20 dancers from around the world performing various styles, including the Viennese Waltz, the Jive and the Paso Doble. Karen and Erin have expressed a desire to go to more dance shows. Maybe ticket.
- Jul 12-Aug 7, 2011, “Shrek: The Musical” (national tour). I’m interested in this — it has a good creative team, and I like the music (by Jeanine Tesori). I’m not sure if the dates will work, depending on vacations. Plan to ticket
In general, I’m not a big fan of shows at the Pantages. The theatre itself has poor sight lines, and their tickets are overpriced. They don’t provide a program like HotTix, and they rarely provide half-price tickets (at least that I’ve seen). When they do, it is usually for mid-week performances, which are difficult to fit into my schedule. If anyone knows a good approach to discount Pantages tickets, I’d love to know about it.
