Ask Lemmy

Maybe Chicago. It’s been years: I used to like going once or twice a year and convinced my ex we had to do it for the kids

Edit: or maybe that Billy Joel show

2025, The Book Of Mormon. I'd actually seen it before, but went with some people who hadn't. Hit just as good as the first time I saw it.

About a year ago to go see "An Enemy of the People". Great acting.

this post made me realise i can't remember

time to go to the theatre darlings!

2026. I saw the turn of the screw at the opera.

What Haunting of Bly manor is technically based on

Pretty boring stuff. Wouldn’t recommend

Most Recent: Hamilton.

Favorite: Phantom of the Opera.

Random general love of theatre: Wizard of Oz performed by a group of middle schoolers. They were all really committed to the performance and put on a fun show.

I saw a local college production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson that resulted in some audience members walking out and was adjusted to act as a critique of right-wing populism and Trump.

It's been a minute. The last showing of Hedwig and the Angry Inch with Neil Patrick Harris as the lead.

Not sure if it counts, but I took my daughter to see Shen Yun last week. It's a pretty show and all, but multiple acts had super heavy handed religious elements, which were pretty off putting. One song was about how you should keep to the traditional values and the worst things in the world are atheists and the theory of evolution. Big applause. Can't really recommend, despite the nice costumes and dances.

I've been doing volunteer usher work lately so last one I saw was Blithe Spirit done at the local community college.

Spamalot. I heard some negative things and wasn't that excited to see it. However, it was actually quite good and I had a lot of fun.

Mine was Rocky Horror... Unless you want to count a Steve Martin + Martin Short comedy show. That's kind of like theater, right?

If you twst the definition a bit: 2022, I saw Dream Theater live

Oh, that's not what you meant? Color me shocked...

In that case, 2003, Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera

We saw Wicked for the second time last year. Such a good musical! Went to Keller Auditorium for that one, first viewing was actual Broadway in New York.

Next month we're seeing Phantom of the Opera!

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

That's probably the most Lemmy-approved answer I'm ever going to give to a question here.

Not counting a recent shadow cast Rocky Horror Picture Show, last would be the university production of Antigone my buddy was in like 12 years ago.

My mom was a huge Broadway fan, so I've seen Chicago and Les Mis on Broadway, and Les Mis and Wicked a couple of times locally. My wife and I are going to NYC this fall and we're gonna do a Broadway show since she's never been to one. Haven't decided which one yet, leaning towards Book of Mormon but we'll have to see what's playing while we're there.

About a month ago, I went to a donation-driven community theater improv/Edgar Allen Poe thing.

Patrick Stewart's one man performance of A Christmas Carol, in 1994.

A) This is indeed a thing that happened and absolutely was not some kind of hallucination, and B) obviously I don't go to shows very often, do I?

The last opera I saw was Fellow Travelers by Spears, an 2016 opera based on a novel of the same title about two men who fall in love during the Lavender Scare. It was absolutely heart-rending, just the most tragic love story you could possibly imagine, and the sex scenes were so hot — I don’t think I’d ever seen a fully nude scene at an opera before, even if it was just from behind, and the tenor clearly had spent some time in the gym to prepare. Highly recommend you go see it if you have a chance.

If watching a recorded theatre performance from the comfort of my own sofa counts, then The National Theatre's presentation of The Importance of Being Earnest, which is wonderful.

In terms of seeing a live performance while in the actual theatre then it would be Rocky Horror back in 2019.

Edit: Just remembered that we saw Wicked in London in December 2025, before we saw the movie. That was fun.

I was involved in more than 60 theatrical productions until my health no longer allowed almost a decade ago now. I miss it terribly. Mostly community theatre, but a few professional (i.e. paid) productions. Mostly sound design / running sound/mics, but on stage a dozen or so times, backstage a few times.

The last thing I saw was Come From Away. Kinda cheesy in some ways, but also pretty good show - I'd recommend it. About that Canadian airport that saw a ton of planes land on 9/11 when US airspace was shut down. The local community came together and took care of all the passengers and lifelong friendships were formed. It's sweet. And a bit cheesy. But fun, and emotional moments.

Saw Mary Jane on Broadway a couple years back, staring the phenomenal Rachel McAdams. It was good, it was very sad, and heartwrenching, and McAdams did a phenomenal job. She has a ton of range, hope she returns to the theater sometime.

Marty's one man show.

Does it count when i was doing the music and light? If yes then it was "Die 8 Frauen"

A play called Souvenir, late last year, put on by a local theater company. (Incidentally, their theater is in the building that used to be the gym when I was in college. It looks really nice inside now, and you would never guess that it was the most divey, stanky gym you had ever seen for like 60 years beforehand. I loved that place.)

Anyway, the play was about a famously bad singer who gained fame for how off-pitch she was. It was funny, heartwarming, and very well done. I didn't know it while watching the play, but she was a real person, too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Foster_Jenkins

Last month my nephew's high school performed Bye Bye Birdie. It was good, but not as good as when they performed Les Miserables last year. That was so emotional and moving it was 🔥

Their school does full live orchestra, lighting, sets, costumes, the works.

I work in live theatre, so my perspective is a little skewed. The last one I went to see (instead of working) was The Drowsy Chaperone, a musical within a play.

The concept is that an old (slightly odd, but very welcoming) man is inviting the audience into his house, to listen to an old vinyl broadway recording in his living room. Sort of like a Mr. Rogers Neighborhood episode. As he (and the audience) listens to the record, his imagination blooms and his house transforms into the set for the musical. So the characters in the musical are dancing and singing around his house, while he sits in his armchair (or putters around his room, making tea, serving finger sandwiches, etc) and breaks the fourth wall to add commentary.

It’s a comedy wrapped around a tragedy. The musical is very bright and cheery, but the old man clearly has some eccentricities that begin to show through the cracks as the show progresses. It’s an interesting commentary on the “circus” part of bread and circus, as it explores things like escapism, agoraphobia, and OCD as the man’s happy facade slowly crumbles while the musical progresses (and gets interrupted a few times, which is extremely triggering for him). It becomes clear that he’s only able to maintain his happy public persona for a little while.

As for the last show I actually saw, it was a traditional Indian dance show. I work a lot of those, because traditional Indian dance has a sort of test for their dancers. It’s not a perfect comparison, but many people compare it to a black belt test in karate. Since every dancer has to go through it, there are a lot of them.

The Complete Works of Shakespeare, Abridged. That's the title of the show, I'm dead serious. A cast of three, trying to ram their way through all of Shakespeare's works within two hours. Sonnets included. It's hilarious.

The last live theater performance I saw was "Puss in boots" from Tieck, the last performance I played in. I watched it from the stage.

I'm a performer and my partner's also in the arts, so uhhh, -1 hours

I saw Lizard Boy at Portland Center Stage a couple times last week. Once with a friend who saw six showings in a row, and once with her and my wife soon after. Was quite good.

Come from Away in Toronto. Very uplifting.

Coincidentally, I was taken as a plus-1 to a Broadway musical, "Ragtime", this month. I normally don't go out much for theater, but it was free so I went.

It wasn't bad. The style of music isn't my jam, but it had some fun parts.

Also interesting is the play's message seems to be "the only way you'll get something approaching justice is violence" and I'm not sure if that's the author's intent.

Operation Mincemeat back in March, a few days before the original cast’s last day. It was absolutely incredible

Gosh its been a while since finances have been shit the past few years.... I dont think I've seen anything since before the pandemic... I think it was 2018 we saw Book of Mormon on Broadway when we were staying overnight before going on a cruise. I miss vscations....

Book of Mormon! My first time seeing it and had a great time