Stars on Broadway

In the past few weeks, Chris and I saw a couple of plays on Broadway with star studded casts - The Columnist and The Best Man.  Both were terrific plays!  Strangely enough one of the candidates in The Best Man alluded to The Columnist himself.  We thought that was pretty funny.

I'll start with my thoughts on The Columnist since we saw that one first.  Neither of us really knew what to expect exactly going into the show, but it turned out to be very enjoyable.  We had a general idea about the setting and main theme of the play, but neither of us had read much about it in advance.  We were both well aware that John Lithgow was the star.  In fact, this was probably the main reason we decided to go see it.  I am so glad that we did though.  There were only six characters in the play that was set in the 1960's just prior and just after the Kennedy administration. The Columnist is Mr. Joseph Alsop and we found out afterward that the play was pretty closely based on the actual life of this writer.  I particularly liked the set rotations. The acting was very good and there were a few little twists and turns along the way to keep it interesting.  It is extending for a few more months so go check it out if you have a chance.  You won't be disappointed!

Mr. Lithgow signing after the show.  I got my first play bill autograph!!

A couple of weekends later we went to see The Best Man.

Not only was the show fantastic, but it was packed full of big names - James Earl Jones, Erik McCormack, Kerry Butler, Candice Bergen, Angela Lansbury, and John Larroquette.  There are some very fine actor/actresses on that list!  The show was very entertaining.  We got several great laughs out of it.  James Earl Jones plays a former President who is set to announce who he is supporting at the 1960 nominating convention in Philadelphia.  He visits the hotel rooms of both the Secretary William Russell (Larroquette) and Senator Joseph Cantwell (McCormack) for a chat prior to announcing who he will support.  Bergen and Butler play the respective wives of the two candidates and do so very well.  Lansbury plays Mrs. Sue Ellen Gamadge, a long standing spokeswoman for women near and far.  She was a hoot!  The twists and turns in this one leaving you hanging to the very end to see who is in fact The Best Man.  This one has also been extended so you have a few more months to check it out as well.

Not only are they great actors/actresses, but they are also very nice people.  They signed after the show as well.  I got both the candidates and their wives to sign my play bill with the exception of John Larroquette.  He was nursing a broken finger and wasn't able to sign that evening.  That was a bummer :(   Here are some pics from after the show...

Totally cool.  After signing, he just walked right out on the street like Mr. Normal Guy

Boo for a broken finger and no signing :(

She did a great job in the show.  Minus the WAY too heavy southern accent :)

Angela Lansbury sneakily exited from a different door to avoid the crowd.  Boo for that, but yay for getting a picture of her little grey head in her getaway car.  Haha!!  Was disappointed she didn't mingle with the crowd.

Seemed like a very happy lady!

He is the definition of awesome.  So very personable.  He is THE BEST MAN in my opinion!!

 If you are able to make it out to either show, ENJOY!!  Would love to hear your thoughts...

Andrea :)