The Final Count Down

It’s the final countdown to Rocky the Musical’s closing. But don’t worry, there are still a few weeks left to see it!

The show is based on the 1976 Best Picture Academy Award winning movie, Rocky, starring Sylvester Stallone. Rocky is the story of a boxer who is struggling to make a name for himself in the world of boxing. When he is offered an opportunity to fight against the Heavyweight Champion, Apollo Creed, everything begins to change.

Andy Karl fits the title role of perfectly! Even the Tony committee took notice, nominating him for best male lead in a musical. Rocky’s creative team did a wonderful job bringing the show to Broadway, and won the Tony for Best Scenic Design – kudos to Chirstopher Barrca!

Rush tickets are now available, although when Rocky first opened on Broadway there was a daily lottery two hours before the show.

As soon as I heard there was a lottery I was on my way to theater – I was dying to see the show, especially having seen the pre-show back in November. I went to the lottery the second day the show was open and there must have been at least a hundred people trying to win tickets. Somehow I managed to win using the biggest trade secret of Broadway – luck and determination.

Rocky is currently playing in the Winter Garden Theater on Broadway between 50th and 51st street. Although I have never seen the movie, back in November, Broadway.com was running a pre-show with Andy Karl and Margo Seibert performing some of the show’s musical numbers. As soon as I heard the music I fell in love and started my own personal countdown to the opening date.

When I walked into the theater the usher told me I needed to check my coat because I was sitting in the “Golden Circle.” Now, I obviously didn’t know what that was, but figured that anything golden is usually a pretty special (golden ticket, golden egg, golden goose), I knew I had a reason to be excited.

The lottery seats happened to be the two front rows, center stage. An amazing view and I thoroughly enjoyed being able to sit so close, especially in this theater where the front row seats are not partial view, and you can see the stage easily. Another plus, there was plenty of legroom!

Rocky is a show about beating the odds and never giving up. There’s an amazing number sung by Adrian (Margo Seibert) called “I’m Done.” She was fabulous and Broadway is super lucky they’ve finally got her. Another song I really liked, “My Nose Ain’t Broken Yet,” sung by Rocky (Andy Karl), had me laughing in my seat. I can honestly say I enjoyed every second of the show.

Now the set. – It is unbelievable! Remember that Golden Circle I was I told you about? At one point during the show a boxing ring is lifted up over the crowd and placed onto the stage. Except rather than just being an independent set, the ring coming on the stage makes the audience a part of the set! The Golden Circle is the first eight rows of seats that move up onto the stage so that the theater-goers in those seats actually watch the climactic match on the stage with the cast. I have to say that this was probably one of my top five experiences when seeing a Broadway show.

Unfortunately, not that long after the show premiered they stopped giving out Golden Circle seats through the lottery and started selling them at a premium ticket price.  Even now with the show in its final run, those seats are still booked solid!

I highly, highly recommend Rocky the Musical. I think it’s a huge shame that it’s ending as I can say with absolute certainty that it is one of the best shows I have ever seen – twice! You should definitely try and catch it while it’s still on Broadway, you won’t regret it.