A Tierlist of Every Broadway Show I Saw in 2023

collected a lot of playbills this year!!
Happy holidays everyone! Sam here, very excited to wrap up this year with a roundup of every show I had the chance to see this year. I feel so so lucky that I was able to have so many lovely theatre experiences.
Enjoy!
- Sam & Ryan
Link to the vlog where we surprised some fans at their show! • Surprising Our Fans At...
Instagram:
Ryan - @ mccarya
Samantha - @ Samantha_Fekete
@samandryan
Sam's Book, Nightstand Notes: a.co/d/4Wf31uW
We're Sam & Ryan! Samantha Fekete is a content creator/production manager who works full time at Spellbound Inc. Ryan McCartan is an actor who you may recognize as Diggie from Disney Channel's Liv and Maddie, JD from Heathers the Musical, Hans from Frozen on Broadway, and more! We create content to entertain and inform. Subscribe to take a deep dive into out content! If you subscribe, you officially become Daddy, a part of the best fan base out there.

[@Hello_1176]

12:51 Jordan’s face watching you record is priceless😂

[@AkariIto]

I am extremely interested in hearing you and Ryan talk about theatre audience culture. Your discussions are always really intelligent and insightful, I love them! Also I'm really curious about stories of these so yes please, please make a video about this!!

[@rebekahc3073]

These tier list videos are top tier!

[@ConnorN22]

ba dum chhhh 🥁

[@thefilmwatcher1216]

Hadestown is a fantastic experience. I saw it last year with the original Orpheus, Eurydice, and Hades(Patrick Page is a powerhouse) and Lillias White and Jewelle Blackman as Hermes and Persephone. The sets, the orchestra, the chorus, the costumes, and the performances were all phenomenal. It's an incredible show. I've heard bits of Phillip Boykin as Hades and he sounds incredible. I need to find some recordings with the current cast.

[@baylay1062]

I recently got to see it with Betty Who, Solea Pfeiffer, and Jordan Fisher. Unfortunately Lillias and Phillip were out, but it was an AMAZING performance. It's such a beautiful show and the story was told so beautifully.

[@thefilmwatcher1216]

@@baylay1062 That's awesome.

[@bels3873]

You and Ryan could just rant for 20 minutes about theatre etiquette, and I'd happily watch it. I had a mom with a young (4 or 5ish) kid kicked out of Matilda for talking/singing/acting like a demon. I feel bad, but ffs, parent your children.

[@bwaygal4905]

EXCELLENT. Sad, but if you can't behave appropriately you are not welcome to stay and ruin it for the rest of the audience! Glad to hear that there is at least one venue that will take this step.

[@CoralMilitere]

I feel you on the audiences, i ushered for Sound of Music this month and they literally put "the hills may be alive with the sound of music but please refrain from speaking, singing or taking photos during the show"

[@gayslaybestie9317]

I saw Hadestown on tour in February and on Broadway in August, and I feel like I had a similar experience to you! the tour cast WAS amazing, no doubt, but the Broadway version was just....like yes I did cry! Yes I've seen the show and read the myth before! Yes I WAS in fact shocked because that's what this show does to you!! I had the privilege of seeing Eva Noblezada and Reeve Carney as Orpheus and Eurydice (no of course that wasn't most of my motivation...or course not....) and their acting and their chemistry is UNIMAGINABLE. I'm sure Solea and Jordan are amazing, I've heard wonderful things about them, but the cast I saw (both of the previously mentioned as well as Lillias White as Hermes, Jewelle Blackman as Persephone, and Tom Hewitt as Hades) just made for an absolutely ethereal experience. They also all happened to be the kindest and most friendly cast I've ever met, with some of them staying to sign playbills and chat with the fans until completely cleared out. Absolutely magical show, ♾/10, please go see it (on tour or on Broadway, the experiences are very similar) it is SO WORTH IT.

[@Mudkip0408]

2:28 oh my god yes!!! I feel this deeeep, my favourite musical is Six and I have seen it 30 times this year, and I can't even think about the number of times I heard people singing because the show is a "concert style" they think that they can get away with singing 🙄

[@addywhite8072]

Six came to my city and my mom got me tickets for christmas!!! IT WAS SO AMAZING! I had a group of three ladies next to me and when i tell you that one of them was a FAN GIRL so much so that she memorized some of the lines that ARENT IN THE ALBUM!!! So she was over there singing the songs plus the added lines that I hadn’t heard before 😐… she thankfully stopped after a while and the show was so amazing that it didn’t really matter but i really just need people to know that even though it’s a “concert” ITS NOT A CONCERTTTT!! so i feel you 100%

[@jer9grant]

The way you were front and center at Hadestown on Broadway 😂

[@miriamcq]

Happy New Year Sam and Ryan!! Too bad you had that awful experience in Wicked. For us newbies in this theatre community, could you do a 101 survival guide for how to be a good audience member? I mean, dos, dont's, things you are definitely allowed or not allowed to do (I feel like I'm invading an artist's space when I ask them for a picture, or that they get really pissed off ), is it better to ask for a picture or an autograph, etc. Thank you so much!!!

[@robwilliamson5082]

While not a live theatre experience, I saw the Into The Woods movie opening weekend and at the beginning of Last Midnight the woman in front of me, straight up shouted, “oh my god, she’s stealing the baby!”

[@katiecashman922]

Please Please PLEASE make the video on theatre etiquette as it needs to be brought to light more, I am so interested to hear more about this from you guys ❤❤❤

[@emsydacat9707]

Please talk about theater culture! As an actor and prop builder myself, I've seen some wild things when it comes to audiences...

[@portiasimendinger4617]

I saw moulin rouge at my city's tour stop, and while no one around me sang along, every time the multitude of people recognized a song, they laughed. This happened almost every time a song came on, including when characters are going through heart breaking moments. Just bursts of laughter. It was like a group ick for me, never experienced that before. It's not like moulin rouge is new either!

[@mirazenker1203]

This year I got the chance to go to London and see my first ever live high production show. I saw Newsies, a musical that I LOVE and I had such an amazing time 🤩 But of course there was someone next to me why was on their phone and talking for most of the show 🥲 I need that video about audiences, I think that would be interesting (also I love to rant about this)

[@YogiGospel]

You guys should react to amazing theatre moments and people sustaining for their life compilations!

[@elvenfangirl817]

Yes!!! Make an commentary on audience etiquette video!!! A question for it might be: What is an appropriate amount of audience interaction on the subject of cheers and laughter and booing and that sort?

[@DovelieEdits]

I love it when you guys put out videos! 💜

[@turnipcrazy4602]

Thank you so much for the little snippet of your talk on how theater etiquette should be, because I agree. A bad audience can really sour a show sometimes. Like when I saw the touring production of Moulin Rouge, there's a section is actual like call and response sections, but the audience were mostly not there for it. I've also had a kind of negative start to a show because people were arguing about seating for the first 15-20 minutes of the show. I also saw a production of Cinderella where this kid would yell at Cinderella to leave the ball because they thought it was midnight, that one I found adorable.

[@HeatherChandler-up5ug]

Omg I absolutely love these tier videos! Using this to now choose my next show to see!

[@lilytaylor4760]

This video reminds me of when I saw Steel Magnolias at a local theater. I didn’t know what it was about but my uncle was directing it and it’s my mom’s favorite movie so we were in the FRONT. Anyway I was sobbing super hard into my mom’s shoulder because I didn’t want to distract the cast because the theater was so small I was literally 5 feet away from them.

[@taylorold6435]

yes do a theater ettiquette psa lolol id be so pissed

[@Mallory_Anderson]

When I went to wicked there was a little girl behind me that kicked my chair the whole time and was screaming at the top of her lungs. She was like 5/6 and I asked her parents to control her and they just rolled their eyes and laughed. Some people should not be allowed to go to ANY productions.

[@user-fv5bg6pq1x]

Omg the tour cast of hades town was my intro to hadestown and I loved it so much

[@kwoot07]

I would LOVE a video on theatre etiquette. It’s pretty easy -in theory, apparently- to understand it, but when shows like SIX enjoy an energetic audience, I get curious as to what that exactly means. Like, I want to deliver that within respectful bounds, you know?

[@manicdoodles775]

Love ur vids! Tier lists are awesome

[@renyrivera4365]

I love you guys so much

[@CarlaHuman-gx3tr]

I saw some of the show posts on your instagram! You are soo lucky to see as many shows as you got to

[@mwmheps]

Love this! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

[@mwmheps]

Ps would definitely be happy to see you talk about audience response! My worst audience was at Moulin Rouge in the west end on a Monday night, really shockingly drunk and etiquetteless crowd lol (people on their phones, talking, singing, arriving super super late etc) it was strange to witness.

[@Brodway.musical.nerd.._]

I just love solo mother videos 🥹

[@Olivia-of3dj]

These vids always make my day and I love this channel I am obsessed with anything musical theater I also am the lead in my school musical and I love it my whole room is Broadway themed ❤

[@maddyartman2627]

So glad I got to see Ryan in West Side Story this year! Highlight of my and my best friends summer for sure

[@harrisonblum3075]

since every night is a new celebrity as the producer when you went to see guntenberg who was the guest producer...

[@kristakiefer9860]

is it just me or did jordan say “thank you for being here” into the camera ??

[@graciehadlich]

Every time I see a musical in my town, the workers I talk to who are cleaning the theatre after the show have said HOW GREAT &Juliet is. I neeeed to see it ❤

[@camillevoyage9727]

I’m seeing hadestown in London next Thursday ❤❤❤❤

[@abigailmunoz8536]

OMG you saw Jordan fisher in HADESTOWN and front row too!!😢❤

[@Reeheeheeraider]

We’re doing the prom it’s really good I think

[@Danielt1999]

I saw Legally Blonde and Beetlejuice this year both were amazing. And I have tickets for Hadestown next year. For touring shows this is a lot for me between anxiety, money, and NC not getting many shows anyways.

[@kendralewis8023]

I love your channel ❤❤

[@kentketola1921]

I loved working on Rocky horror because of the audience participation.

[@daltonstanley3855]

I recently saw hadestown and omg. It was amazing! It was my 3rd Broadway show, and again AMAZING!

[@jessicalyme6505]

I just recently saw Book of Mormon on tour and while I enjoyed it, I spent the majority of the show feeling like I needed subtitles. My mom and sister felt the same way. It was an odd experience.

[@leiblack2944]

0:00 - 0:45 intro 0:46 - 1:51 steel magnolias 1:52 - 4:49 &Julia 4:50 - 5:50 Book of Mormon 5:51 - 5:52 Into the Woods-Tour 5:53 - 7:35 West Side Story 7:36 - 8:04 Hadestown - Tour 8:05 - 10:48 Wicked 10:49 - 11:10 short question for the audience 11:11 - 13:24 Hadestown 13:25 - 14:39 Lone Star 14:40 - 16:25 Gutenberg the Musical

[@Lauren_aa21]

Saw Chicago last week which was my first ever broadway show - it was genuinely a spiritual experience and the best show I’ve ever seen in terms of costumes, direction, choreo and general vibes but it was quite different compared to the west end (I’m from London). I’ve never heard anyone sing in a show before (but maybe I’ve just been lucky at home), but what was insane was that there was a guy catcalling the actor playing Roxy throughout the entire show. Very different audience experience generally - even with the amount of clapping and audience engagement and stuff ahaha we’re quite quiet at home!

[@zamorvex]

if u get the chance i highly recomend the show bloodbrothers. its really good. its quite dark kinda like miss sigon but hits in the feels just as hard.

[@pepperminttree]

itw tour was amazing. i wasnt a fan of the minimal set but the cast was top tier

[@bels3873]

I had to pause the vid to say, I love your nails!

[@bychloebell]

Yes to the video on audience experiences. I’ve had quite a lot of bad ones this year. It’s also why I can’t stand going to the cinema anymore

[@Nonnac11]

I think Ryan would make a very good Elder Price!

[@Alex_Hue]

On the tier list subject, maybe you guys could make a video about a tier list of how bad theatre etiquette is, like maybe subscribers submit stories and you guys rank them on how bad of theatre etiquette that was, I hope I’m making sense?

[@EvelotlTheCatsalotl]

Wowie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@ponyboyandharrylover]

I think the video on audiences would be interesting/ you need to involve maybe some of your broadway friends and their audience stories from being on stag with bad audience members/ mishaps involving audience members

[@ManiacalLyricist]

How are people allowed to be this pretty? Holy crap!

[@pigemn]

please make a video about theater audiences lol

[@wikaa1206]

oh i thought peter pan goes wrong was also in 2023 where would you have put that? interested!!!

[@sophielem59]

Of course I would be interested in a video about the audiences! If I have questions? I don't know... Oh yes, I have one! So I'm from France, and here musical theatre is not very very popular, there's a production of West Side Story with a cast that if full of non french people in Paris, and I live for that culture to become something bigger, but except very popular or old musicals, there's nothing new. So I've never experienced a live musical theatre show and I have a question about what you were saying: isn't it possible to have a message to the audience at the beginning? Like when the cinemas are putting a message to turn off your phone, but here with "please don't talk or sing at the same time than the cast, it's a live performance and it could bother the performers and the audience" ? Maybe it already exists but it could be a way to make the bad experiences a little better of people are reminded to not do things?

[@user-wn4qd1oc4p]

What about pantom of the opera 🤔

[@ramskin64]

Why that middle one slanted?

[@emmaleeann99]

the first time i went to new york i was able to see six, dear evan hansen, the cursed child, and wicked! all were phenomenal, but the audience at wicked was horrible, there was a drunk lady actively TAKING SHOTS right by me and an entire row of dance team in front who would not stop talking, singing, videoing, ect. the show was incredible but the audience was so infuriating

[@glossbones]

What about Peter Pan Goes Wrong? 😅

[@samandryan]

oh my gosh UR RIGHT

[@samandryan]

A Tier

[@glossbones]

Haha, thank you! 👏

[@susanpolastaples9688]

Audience culture yes. But didn't you see Wicked before? What about a vlog on AUDIENCE BEHAVIOR FOR DUMMIES?

[@haidynjaymes]

Omg I’m so early

[@bwaygal4905]

Well, I'm watching this 3 months later, but in response to your question re: theater ETIQUETTE!!!... Yes, please! I, too, am appalled by poor audience behavior and I feel your pain, and your need to rant. I would love to see a video with both you and Ryan discussing this! Unfortunately, it will be the old "preaching to the choir" situation but I love to hear some ranting and venting about things I feel strongly about too. Is there a way to start an actual educational movement for all the truly dumbass (SOUP?) audience members out there?

[@thetisming]

i was so scared that you would say you hated & Juliet because people not liking it can literally shift my entire opinion of them. yeah im autistic if you couldnt tell from this whole comment

[@duane_f]

Yes, do an audience behavior video with Ryan. Unfortunately, the people who need to watch it the most probably won't. But it can't hurt. I'm sure you are aware that movie audience behavior has become even worse, so your video might be seen by some of those inconsiderate people.