Encore! The Wiz-Should we go?

We will be in NYC during the week including 6/12 %26amp; 6/13.We have read about Encore!Series productions. We are wondering if seeing The Wiz at NY City Center is a good show to take our teenagers to while in NYC.I see that the opening date is 6/18.If we see the show on 6/13, will it be somewhat of a ';practice run'; for the cast?How is the City Center?Any help/input would be greatly appreciated!

Encore! The Wiz-Should we go?

They%26#39;re only doing 24 performances. I%26#39;m not a big fan of that musical, but Encores! is a wonderful series. Their last big summer series was Gypsy, which then moved to Broadway. I%26#39;m a subscriber to their regular series, which showcases ';forgotten'; musicals. They only do five performances of each show, so there is very limited rehearsal time, and they perform with open script books.

City Center is enormous! I think the only larger theater is Radio City. If you can get good seats, it could be wonderful. If you%26#39;re looking at seats in the balcony, I%26#39;d skip it. I only saw one show from up there, and the view was pretty awful.

I%26#39;ve never seen the rest of the cast, but LaChanza, who%26#39;s playing Glinda, is incredible.

Encore! The Wiz-Should we go?

That%26#39;s LaChanze, not LaChanza!

Here%26#39;s a rehearsal clip:

broadway.com/Broadway-com-VIDEO-ON-DEMAND-In鈥?/a>

I saw the original production of %26#39;The Wiz%26#39; when I was a teenager - twice. I loved it and still have very fond memories of it. I am seriously considering going to the Encores production; I think there is a good chance that your teenagers will like it - with the caveat that Outoftheinkwell gave you (I hope I remembered your name correctly - I wish they had a feature on here that let you see the last few posts).

You should understand - in case this wasn%26#39;t made clear in anything you read - that the Encore productions are short runs and ARE NOT full-scale productions. There%26#39;s no scenery, very little in the way of props and costumes, although there is a full orchestra (on stage). The focus is on the production itself. I saw %26#39;Applause%26#39; last summer and I thought it was wonderful, even with Christine Ebersol recovering from the flu!

Before I received your responses, I purchased tickets. They are mezzanine seats. Now I%26#39;m worried. I would really like for my teens to have a good experience.16 year old%26#39;s only theater experience was Wicked and she LOVED it! The tickets were not that expensive, so wondering if we should go to The Wiz on Saturday evening or try to find another option?Seeking advice!

In case there has been some misunderstanding... These are more than a ';readers%26#39; theatre'; staging and no less ';dressed up'; than the current Broadway production of Chicago; the performers are not in street clothes; the choreography %26amp; dancing is typically excellent; and, as has already been noted, there is a full orchestra, which is quite rare nowadays. In other words, you definitely won%26#39;t feel like you%26#39;re at a junior high school talent night.

E.g., Finian%26#39;s Rainbow -- the last production of the 2008-09 short (5 performances) runs (The Wiz%26#39;s summer run is appreciably longer) -- did indeed have costumes, changes of scenery (although the sets were not jaw-dropping ones), and only 1 of the actors (Jim Norton) had his script book in hand.

Here%26#39;s my thought: I think it would be fun for her to see yet another musical theatre variation on The Wizard of Oz. If your daughter is active in theatre, I think this is a fine choice because she will appreciate one of the marvelous aspects of the Encores! productions: how wonderfully it all comes together on such short notice.

If she herself has not been involved in theatre or doesn%26#39;t have interest in pursuing that, you%26#39;re probably better off going to another show.

BTW, those mezzanine seats should be fine.

It%26#39;s the gallery sections where one can feel like you%26#39;re in ';nosebleed territory';, primarily because those high-up rows are raked (inclined) so sharply. Still, center seats of row A of the front gallery are the best I%26#39;ve been able to get (the competition for a series subscription is fierce), and unlike outoftheinkwell, I%26#39;ve not been disgruntled there.