Ask Lemmy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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!

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.

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.

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.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert

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

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.

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.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Sherwood at the Oregon Cabernet Theater (Ashland). It was pretty good. Can’t go wrong with dinner and a show there, but they have yet to top their performance of Clue.

Actually, in hindsight, it might have been a show at the Camelot Theater in Talent. That one, whatever it was, ran twice as long as it had any right to.

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.

Cabaret at the end of 2025. It was haunting and beautiful

My wife and I love going to the theater. We have a couple of local playhouses, so therefore options, but still find it difficult to go with any regularity.

I think the last thing we saw was Primary Trust in 2024 (!! I can't believe it's been that long)

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

A local high school production of Seussical the Musical

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

Last thing I saw was either Wicked or Hamilton. I'm not sure which. But if you want to count it, I saw Harry Potter Prisoner of Azkaban with a live orchestra instead of the soundtrack. It was... magical.

It was an amateur production of Shakespeare's As You Like It that a friend and his son were both acting in. It could have been quite stodgy, but the actors made it good fun.

Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat ! A regional high school did a fantastic job with it.

Aida on Freakin' Broadway in NYC. I'm not a theatre type but I was in the area for a few years, and the performance was everything I hoped to see in a real broadway play; but I was a little disappointed to learn people do not dress up - biz-casual at least - to see a show.

Saw Les Miserables last year. Third time seeing it and it's still fantastic.

Lion King on Tour was last one I saw. It was awesome.

Who's afraid of virginia woolf at portland playhouse.

It was incredible, as that play always is. The male lead outperformed the female lead, which i feel is less common than vice versa, but everyone was great.

2025, Saw the Musical: The Unauthorized Parody of Saw

It's a comedy musical with a tiny cast Seeing it live was a hilariously fun night. I highly recommend it for anyone who enjoyed the first couple of Saw movies.

Without spoiling it too much, it expanded on the latent gay tension between the two main characters in the first movie and included several jokes for fans of the series.

My favorite musical is the Sweeny Todd casting with Angela Lansbury. The characters are all perfectly cast, and Angela Lansbury is a treat every time she's on stage.