Goodbye to a Mediocre Season....

[lupone76]

I've seen most of the major shows this season and haven't loved any of them. The biggest disappointment has been the first ever revival of Evita, which should have been an event and it was far from it. Thanks to extreemely poor casting. Here's to a hopefully much better 2012-2013 Broadway season.

[North2009]

Being in Minneapolis, and having not seen any of the shows, though have read quite a bit about each over the past year - I would agree with you. Pretty lackluster season. Wonder what surprises next season will bring.

[henrikegerman]

A good season for plays, though.

[bwayphreak234]

Bring on Matilda!!!

[TheLadyoftheWood]

@North2009 how do you qualify to comment on the fact that the shows this season are mediocre when you haven't seen ANY OF THEM! Reading about a show is totally different from seeing it live. I have read about the original version of Mame and it put me to sleep. I saw it performed live and loved it. Wth??? People these days. Your comment is almost like telling someone that their friend is a nasty b***h but you have never talked to them, you've only read their Facebook page and talked to people about them.

[broadwaydevil]

I don't know how anyone could call this season mediocre. A bunch of people say every season's mediocre every year and of course not everyone's going to agree on everything but I think this is one of the stronger years, overall, in a while.

New Musical: I thought Once was brilliant and one of the best new musicals I've seen maybe since Next to Normal, Bonnie & Clyde was good, Newsies decent and everything else ran from awful to ok. This was probably the weakest category of the season and I think many who only get excited about new musicals are basing their opinion about the whole season off this fact alone. (I'd put this in a tie with last season for new musicals.)

Revival of a Musical: Follies was incredible, I loved Porgy and Bess, Evita was mediocre, JCS was watchable, and Godspell was awful. Overall, I think this was the strongest season for musical revivals since 2008.

New Play: Peter and the Starcatcher - brilliant, Other Desert Cities - loved, One Man, Two Guvnors - loved, The Lyons - very good, Venus in Fur - very good, Clybourne Park - good. Overall, best season for new plays in as long as I can remember.

Revival of a Play: Death of a Salesman - brilliant, The Best Man - brilliant, Master Class - very good, A Streetcar Named Desire - rough production. Overall, very strong.


In summary, I am highly skeptical of anyone who can call this season mediocre or awful as I've read some posters say on here.

[WhizzerMarvin TrinaJasonMendel]

broadwaydevil- I agree that this season has seen many strong plays on Broadway, but everyone of your "New Plays" aren't "new", except One Man, Two Guvnors, and that's why this season feels just like an extension of last season. Peter, Other Desert Cities, Lyons, Venus in Fur and Clybourne Park (plus don't forget Once, although I realize it played in the same calendar year) have been seen off-Broadway over the past couple of years. It was hard to get excited for the season when nothing felt new, even when it was good.

[HeyMrMusic]

This season gave us Once, on of the best musicals to open in the 21st century. So I'm not complaining too much. Peter and the Starcatcher was also brilliant. Follies! There's at least one contender from each awards race that actually deserves to win. Better than some other years. And there were enough Best Actress contenders to fill out the category this year, and a great lineup it is! Last year's category was just a little sad.

[broadwaydevil]

Whizzer - you're absolutely right. I don't live in the city anymore and rarely see Off-Broadway (my resolution next year is to see more Off-Broadway, I know I'm missing out!) so everything felt new to me with the exception of Peter and the Starcatcher which I saw at NYTW and on Broadway where it was just as magical. The Broadway season, as it is, includes anything that opened on Broadway regardless of whether or not it transferred from somewhere else in New York and in the future, that's how this season will be remembered.

[HeyMrMusic]

I missed all of the Off-Broadway incarnations, so it definitely feels new to me!

[yankeefan7]

lupone76 - it would be interesting to me to have you and others rate the last bunch of Broadway seasons to the best of your memory. Would be fun to see the opinions and how some seasons stack up against other seasons.