Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Chicago

Oh Chicago, what can I say about this show? I guess it's one of those that I appreciate for being a classic, and it is, having reached it's 25 year anniversary and publicizing it's record as the longest running American musical (take that Phantom). Watching that Fossee choreography is always special and some of these songs do feel really nostalgic. That being said, I think what I associate Chicago with the most is the people walking around timesquare trying to get you to see Chicago, or the endless round of celebrities they send through that show trying to keep it relevant. Personally, I'd be interested to see somebody try to do a very new and daring chicago (maybe we modernize it? Maybe we imply that the whole thing was Roxie's fever dream and she never killed nobody? Maybe we do the whole thing in Hungarian except for that one line in Cell Block Tango that's in English?), but I didn't expect there to be much this performance could do that would make me interested in the current show running on Broadway.

I was right. I mean, it was fine. They did fine. Everything is fine. The fossee choreo was very fun, and making half of it just a dance break was a bold move. But of all the performances this year, this one had to be the most "meh" for me. I think it's great that Fossee is still being shown and I'm sure it's kind of special for this cast to be performing in a production that's probably be running for longer than some of them have been alive. I don'n't mind it being on the parade I guess, but all in all, I just can't say I get all the "whoopee."

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Waitress

The Macy's Square performances will always be my favorite, but I do like the CBS performances a good deal, and it's always fun to see the shows performing in their home theaters. Waitress as a show is one of those that, like, is fine, but I can't help but be surprised that it's had the staying power it has. Like, don't get me wrong, the music is kind of catchy and the story is kind of sweet, but it's not really what I would think of a as a long running show that would last 5 years on the boards. One of the ways they've accomplished this no doubt is by putting in big stars like Sara Bareilles, Jeremy Jordan, Todrick Hall and even Al Roker, which makes it feel a little gimicky. But I guess if people are having fun with the show, I won't stop them.

Waitress has done the parade twice before, and I think they even performed this same song on the CBS broadcast the last time they did it so..that's kind of a bummer. I don't think this is a great song choice to be honest, I'd much prefer one of the group numbers, and if you're going to do a quirky love song, give us one of the Oggie/Dawn ones, because that's just more fun as far as I'm concerned. I'm sure this choice is influenced by showcasing their stars and maybe by saving production costs by only bringing in the two of them, but it was still a little dissapointing. I think I'm especially disappointed because I was looking forward to seeing Ciara Renee, Joshua Henry, and Nik Dodani who have all recently joined the cast, but I guess they haven't started yet? Anyway, those dissapointments aside, this was nice. I thought Erich Bergen delivered the song really well (and I'm a bit of a connoisseur for awkward quirkly love songs) so that was pleasant enough I guess. Didn't leave a bad taste in my mouth, but perhaps a bland one.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Six

I've gone up and down in my thoughts of this show. On the one hand, the songs are stellar. The lyrics are insanely clever and the melody's incredibly catchy. There are two skip tracks as far as I'm concered (sorry Anna of Cleaves), but every other number is really a jam! I'm also really invested in this cast as they're full of Broadway debuts and the shutdown happened right on the eve of their opening. I still maintain that it works better as a cruise ship/theme park show than a Broadway musical, but I am glad that it was written and glad it's getting an audience on both sides of the pond.

I mean, yeah, of course they were going to do this song. I'll be honest, I'm a little bored with this medley being the one thing that every cast of this show performs for showcases, but it doesw make the most sense and, to be fair, it's a really good song. These women gave it everything they had and performed like the well oiled machine they are, but I guess I'm a tad bored with it because I'd seen it so many times before. I also think this show works better in the UK than it does on Broadway (nixing the accents was a loss I think, and a lot of this probably means more if people are more familiar with these women), and I think it works even less well on the New York city street. That being said, the costumes continue to be stunning, I thought it was cool they brought the Ladies in Waiting (the band) out there even though I'm relatively certain the music for these performances is pre-recorded, and I thought they did a great job with this number. If anyone hadn't seen it before, this would tell them exactly what the show is.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Moulin Rouge!

I recognize that Moulin Rouge! is a very good show despite the fact that I have trouble getting excited about it. The arrangement of the new songs is clever, the cast is super solid (and I was excited to see Natalie Mendoza in the role) and everyone I know who has seen the show has really enjoyed it. It's a good show, I know it is, but I can't help but feeling kinda "meh" about it most of the time.

This performance was good. I really liked the dancing (a few of the moments were giving the Rockettes a run for their money) and I thought it was a good song choice to showcase the mashups and the energy of the show. Unfortunately, this show's lifeblood is it's spectacle, and when you stripped that away and put them on the streets of New York, I started to get kinda bored. What makes Moulin Rouge! work, as far as I'm concerned, is the color and glitz and glamour and hugeness of it all, so a performance without set pieces in grey-scale costumes did seem like kind of a letdown. There have been performances of this show that have made me want to see the full thing...but I wouldn't necessarily say this was one of them.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: Wicked

So I have a well documented complicated history with Wicked, but I'm now at a place in my life where I can confidently call myself a big fan (if not a super fan). I think it's an important show and just a very darn good show. It was significant in getting me into musical theater and I am greatful for all the people around the world it's continuing to inspire. While I'm a little sad we didn't get another new musical in this slot (I had my fingers crossed for Mrs. Doubtfire), I do think it's good to honor the casts of long running broadway shows and while I know this was only done to promote the upcoming movie, I'm glad they featured the current Broadway cast instead of trying to shoehorn in Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo

This was such a fun performance! Great song choice that features the ensemble and brings a great energy while also capturing the heart of the story, which is the friendship between these two women. I'm not particularly familiar with Jennifer DiNoia and Ginna Claire Mason, the two young ladies in the cast now, but I thought they were both excellent. I know this shouldn't surprise me, but it's always cool to see stuff like this with (relatively) young people in the roles? Maybe it's because I'm thinking of Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth as they are now and not how they were when this opened (2003?) but this cast felt like they actually were college students on a fun spring break trip and that was very fun for me. I was unsettled by the bobble head figures, not going to lie, but aside from that, gold stars all around.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade: NBC 's Annie Live!

Ok, this may be an unpopular opinion, but I'm a big fan of the Live TV musicals. Are they usually good? No, I would say not. Do they compare to actual live theatrical productions (even filmings of actual live theater productions)? Absolutely not. Are they still lots of fun? Almost always! From Sound of Music to RENT I've seen them all and always been really interested to see what works and what doesn't (because they all, even Peter Pan, have something that works) and after RENT did so poorly I was afraid we wouldn't get anymore. I'll be honest, I have absolutely no attachment to Annie as a show and I feel relatively "meh" about most of this cast, but I'm excited for young Celina Smith who seems delightful and I fully intend to have an excellent time watching the show!

This performance was actually pretty sweet. In general I don't approve of doing solos or duets for these things, but I understand when you have a "one night only" event with a cast of movie stars, it's more reasonable. The dancing ensemble did great work, Harry Connick Jr. looks weird bald but his voice is actually a great fit for Warbucks, and of course Ms. Smith killed it! This clip showed me that they're doing good ol' fashioned, normal, not trying to rock any boats, traditional Annie. And you know what? That's fine. It won't be my favorite thing ever, but I liked this performance and so I anticipate liking the broadcast.