2024 was the year I discovered I had been missing out on a whole huge world of entertainment by ignoring Broadway shows, and also by being absolutely clueless that Off and Off Off Broadway even existed in New York City.
I had to cancel a lot of travel in 2024 due to health issues (I am fine) and instead of doing my normal traveling on the anniversary of my mother’s death, I instead, decided to do something she found exotic. She thought that going into “the city” and seeing a show and staying in a hotel was super fancy fun. So I did that. I chose shows I knew she would have wanted to see. Brooklyn Laundry, with Cecily Strong since my mother loved Saturday Night Live. She loved Seinfeld and Friends so I went to those parody shows. Of course she would have loved to see The Outsiders. And 7 Year Disappear with Cynthia Nixon. And then I just kept going. Diving deeper into all the things I never knew existed. And there began a life where instead of watching television on my couch, I was out watching anywhere from 1-10 live shows a week in a theater.
I had to compile this list by going back and looking at my wall calendar that I packed to bring on my Las Vegas trip so I could finish it. This year, I am keeping the list in real time.
My favorites were:
Fatherland: This was based on a true story about a son who turned in his father into the FBI for his involvement in the January 6 ressurection. All the dialogue was taken from the court transcripts.
Odd Man Out: This show is about a blind man telling his life story. It takes place in absolute darknesss. You are escorted to your seat which is supposed to be on a plane. You cannot see anything at all. I had no idea if there was someone next to me, or how far away the actors were. I knew I was in the front row because the person escorting me mentioned that. I remember being scared someone would trip over me.
People of the Book: This is one of many shows I saw that I had never heard of and stumbled upon on accident. A random Monday night, nothing better to do than go to a show. The story line was just fantastic.
I have memberships to TDF and Club Free Time. TDF has different levels of discounted tickets. I am only elligible for Off Off Broadway shows and went to a ton of these through that. Club Free Time is the greatest. I saw so many shows I never would have known existed if not for them.