Broadway Bucket List Item Achieved: 2 Shows, 1 Day

Over the weekend, my friend and I hopped a bus to New York. I've gotta say, one of the biggest perks of Baltimore living is it's proximity to so many cities. In about 3 hours, we were on the ground and on our way to Lincoln Center Theater to see Bartlett Sher's latest revival...My Fair Lady!

The show is still in previews, but we both had a great time. The sets and costumes were stunning and we enjoyed most of the cast. I'm always happy to watch a classic show such as this one.

Update: I won a discount lottery and got to see My Fair Lady a second time in October 2018...this time with Laura Benanti as Eliza. It was perfection!

Pro tip: If you're under age 35, sign up for LincTix.
You can get a ticket to any LCT production for only $35... and check out our seats!

Afterwards we stretched our legs in Central Park before grabbing a quick dinner and parting ways while I headed to the Imperial Theatre to cross off one of my Broadway Bucket list items: two shows in one day!

I saw another revival in previews, Rodgers & Hammerstein's Carousel. I've seen the movie many times and have seen video of other productions, but I've never actually seen a live production of Carousel before, so I was especially excited.

The story of Carousel is controversial, but it has some of the most beautiful music in my opinion. There was no lack of talent in the cast, though I do feel some things could be better done before opening, particularly in Act I. (I'm withholding more thorough reviews since neither show is technically open and both are fairly well-known)

On a side note, I have realized I loathe the Imperial. This was my second show there (the first being Les Mis in 2016 with Aleshea), and both times I was frustrated by the lack of capacity for guests. The Imperial is a smaller theatre with smaller, crammed seats (I was in the front row and had no more room than anyone else). Worse, they have only one set of small bathrooms that can't serve the entire audience in a 15-minute intermission even with attendants hustling their hardest (Carousel currently runs at nearly 3 hours, so that break is needed). I was able to get a decent place in line, but as I waited for my soda refill, staff came and snapped at waiting patrons that they had to skip the line or not be allowed to be re-seated for Act II. While I'm not a huge fan of late seating, I ran into these same problems at Les Mis and feel like these problems must be the norm for every show and perhaps intermission at a theatre that can't handle all of it's guests should be extended a few minutes or another solution found.

Overall, the day was full, but one I enjoyed. Both shows were classics I love and the weather was kind to us. This is definitely an approach I'd be happy to take again as there are always so many shows I want to see on Broadway but so little time. I'm already eyeing deals for what shows I might want to see next!

Have you ever seen two Broadway shows in a day? Share your experience in the comments!