Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

aradia22 · May 8, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Still feeling kind of tired so I will save my Doctor Zhivago review until I can think clearly.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

The new Broadway comedy An Act of God, starring Jim Parsons in the role of God, begins performances May 7 at Studio 54. The new Broadway comedy has an exclusive mobile lottery partnership with TodayTix, and a strictly limited number of $37 mobile lottery tickets will be available via the TodayTix app for entry on the day of each performance (May 7-27 only).

Closed for Renovations (CANCELLATIONS)

As was reported in a past TNR, beginning May 7, six performances of On the Town are canceled because Univision is utilizing the Lyric Theater for its upfront presentations to potential advertisers and the TV industry press.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

The Goodspeed Musicals production of Theory of Relativity, a new musical from the writers of The Story of My Life, plays the Connecticut venue May 7-31 at The Norma Terris Theatre.
Off-Broadway's New York Theatre Workshop has announced the final two productions of its 2015-16 season. They will present the New York premiere of a play called Red Speedo by Lucas Hnath followed by the world premiere of Hadestown by singer-songwriter Anais Mitchell. Dubbed as a "folk opera," the piece will follow Orpheus' mythical quest to overcome Hades and reclaim his true love, Eurydice. "Inspired by traditions of classic American folk music and vintage New Orleans jazz.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Casting has been announced for Marcy Lovitch's Office Politics, which is set to begin performances June 5 at the June Havoc Theatre, 312 West 36th Street. In Office Politics, press notes state, "when a white male co-worker makes an off-the-cuff racially insensitive remark to his boss’s black female assistant, what seems like a harmless joke snowballs, suddenly catapulting the ad sales office of a women's magazine into turmoil."

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

Broadway's Future Songbook Series — presented by Arts and Artists at St. Paul — will conclude its season May 18 in the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. The free evening will spotlight the songs of composer/lyricist Anna K. Jacobs. Interpreting Jacobs' songs will be Anthony Rapp, Adam Kaplan, Alyse Alan Louis, Katie Thompson, Bruce Warren, Christiana Cole, Britney Coleman, Kerri George, Sam Heldt, Melody Madarasz, Lauren Marcus, Aaron Phillips and Hana Slevin.
Christopher Jackson and Shoshana Bean will join Jason Robert Brown for his May 15 concert at SubCulture.
Broadway Does Country, featuring a host of Broadway favorites, will be presented May 31 at 10 PM at 54 Below. Vocalists will include Tony winner Beth Leavel, Bret Shuford, Laura Osnes, Leslie Becker, Cody Williams, Clifton Samuels, Justin Bowen , Joshua Dixon, Erica Aubrey, Ryah Nixon, Erin Mackey, Chris Harrod, Natalie Douglas, Kathleen Monteleone, Melissa Vanpelt and Adam Roberts.
Current lineup of the Broadway Concert series at Provincetown Theater

We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)

Idina Menzel will headline select stops on the If/Then national tour. The Frozen star will reprise her Tony-nominated performance as Elizabeth (Liz/Beth) for the Denver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego, Tempe and Costa Mesa stops. Additional casting for the tour will be announced at a later date. The tour will kick off on October 13 at the Denver Center for the Performing Arts.
A U.S. national tour of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time will launch in October 2016.
The Fiasco Theater production of Into the Woods will launch a national tour in the 2016-17 season.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

world premiere of Hoagy Carmichael's Stardust Road, beginning performances at London's St. James Theatre Oct. 27 prior to an official opening Oct. 30, for a run through Nov. 21.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

CBS has given a full-season order for the new series "Supergirl," according to Variety.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

The Federal Highway Administration has now issued a statement countering CBS-TV report: "FHWA has been working with the New York State DOT and the New York City DOT for nearly a year to correct this unintentional consequence of extending the National Highway System (NHS). At no time has FHWA asked NYCDOT to remove the billboards from Times Square or threatened to withhold federal funds. FHWA and NYSDOT have discussed the possibility of removing the NHS designation from specific roadways, and FHWA stands ready to act if we receive that request from the state."
Second Stage Theatre has announced it will kick off its new season with the New York premiere of Matt Gould and Griffin Matthews' new musical Invisible Thread, previously titled Witness Uganda, with Tony winner Diane Paulus returning to direct. The season will continue with another Off-Broadway premiere, Lydia R. Diamond's Smart People, directed by fellow Tony winner Kenny Leon.
The Actors' Equity Foundation 2015 Clarence Derwent Award for most promising female and male performers on the New York metropolitan scene have been presented to Phillipa Soo, star of Broadway-bound hit Hamilton and Josh Grisetti, currently making his Broadway debut in It Shoulda Been You.
Manhattan Theatre Club has announced that Tony winner Jane Krakowski will host their annual Spring Gala on May 18. The benefit event will feature performances from Broadway musicals Beautiful, Finding Neverland, Gigi, It Shoulda Been You, On The Town, Something Rotten! and The Visit.

Edited May 8, 2015 by aradia22

aradia22 · May 8, 2015

Galavant was renewed. God damn it. I'll probably be recapping again.

ebk57 · May 9, 2015

Galavant was renewed. God damn it. I'll probably be recapping again.

Huh. I guess I should watch the first season then...

Julia · May 9, 2015

Galavant was renewed. God damn it. I'll probably be recapping again.

God damn it, it's renewed, or god damn it, you'll probably be recapping? Is this a bad thing? I think I'm missing backstory.

aradia22 · May 9, 2015

LOL. God damn it I didn't enjoy the show very much and I didn't enjoy recapping it very much and I'll probably watch this second season and I may have to recap it.

By the way, there was no TNR last night because I went to see Doctor Zhivago for the second time. This is the first time I've ever seen the same production more than once. I loved it again. I will be at Zorba tonight but I swear I will review Zhivago soon.

aradia22 · May 9, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Playing catch up from yesterday. Today's TNR may or may not be posted tonight depending on how late I get back from Zorba.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

Masterworks Theater Company presents Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie beginning May 8 at the 47th Street Theatre.
Performances begin May 8 for the world-premiere production of the musical biography Marley at Center Stage, the State Theater of Maryland.

I Wanna Be a Producer (IN THE WORKS)

The University of Texas at Austin Department of Theatre and Dance will present a free workshop performance of the newly developed musical Helldrivers of Daytona — from composer Berton Averre, writer Mark Saltzman and lyricist Rob Meurer — June 20 at the B. Iden Payne Theatre.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine (RUMORS)

Mel Brooks told the U.K.'s Daily Mail that he has plans to re-imagine his stage musical Young Frankenstein for the West End.
Skylight playwright David Hare told the New York Post that his next play will be set in Connecticut and is a "psychological thriller."

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Alfie Boe will succeed Ramin Karimloo as Jean Valjean in the Broadway revival of Les Misérables.
Terrence Mann will direct Connecticut Repertory Theatre's Les Misérables and star in the production as Inspector Javert. Performances begin May 28. Appearing opposite Mann will be David Harris as Jean Valjean. Also starring are Ariana DeBose as Eponine, Philip Hoffman as Thenardier and Liz Larsen as Madame Thenardier.
Casting has been announced for the North Shore Music Theatre's Dreamgirls, which will play the Massachusetts venue June 2-14 with an official opening June 3. The cast will be headed by Breanna Bartley (Michelle), Britney Coleman (Deena Jones), Grasan Kingsberry (Curtis Taylor, Jr.), JC Montgomery (Marty), Bryonha Marie Parham (Effie Melody White), Destinee Rea (Lorrell Robinson), Eric LaJuan Summers (James "Thunder" Early) and Noah J Ricketts (C.C. White).

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

Musical Director Brian Nash, whose projects include Silence! The Musical and Beaches, celebrates the release of his debut solo album "Forever/After" with a concert at Broadway supper club 54 Below on May 8.
The University of Oklahoma Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre Class of 2015 will star in a concert version of Neil Bartram and Brian Hill's The Theory of Relativity May 12 at 54 Below.
Cast members from the recent revival of Side Show, including Erin Davie, Emily Padgett, Matthew Hydzik and David St. Louis, will reunite for two concerts at 54 Below.

It's Only a Play (PLAYS)

The Flea Theater will present the New York premiere of The Theatre @ Boston Court's production of Samuel Beckett's Happy Days. Andrei Belgrader directs the production, which previously played critically acclaimed runs in Boston and Los Angeles. Previews will begin Off-Broadway June 20 with an official opening June 29.
James Lecesne's solo play The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, which recently played a limited engagement at Dixon Place, will have a commercial run Off-Broadway.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

The first post-Broadway production of Rock of Ages will be presented at the Gateway Playhouse in Long Island beginning May 20.
An intimate revival of Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's Titanic, featuring opera tenor Ben Heppner in the role of Isidor Straus, will play Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre beginning May 19.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Following the General Election in the U.K., playwright Peter Morgan has updated his script for the London production of The Audience, which concerns the weekly meetings between Queen Elizabeth II and her Prime Ministers. On the day HMQ invites David Cameron to form a new Government, this updated scene — between The Queen and David Cameron, played by Kristin Scott Thomas and Mark Dexter, respectively — will be performed for the first time at the evening performance.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

ABC has ordered a second season of the musical series "Galavant," according to Deadline.com. A premiere date for the second season has yet to be announced.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

Jennifer Ashley Tepper will be joined by Jay Armstrong Johnson, Amanda Green, and Jim Walton at the Tony Awards Pop-Up Shop May 21. They will read excerpts from Tepper's "The Untold Stories of Broadway, Volume 2." The Tony Awards and Dress Circle Publishing present the event, which will be held from 5:30-6:30 PM. The Tony Awards Pop-Up Shop is located at the Paramount Hotel and is open daily to visitors. (I still need to get Volume 1 from the library.)
Doctor Zhivago costume designer Paul Tazewell takes readers through the snow-filled world of Russian revolution and romance in an exclusive tour of the inspirations and designs for the new Broadway musical. (I loved the costumes. AH! I really will give you my thoughts soon.)
Mosaic Theater Company of D.C, headed by Ari Roth, has announced the lineup for its inaugural season.
Bette Midler celebrates her newest solo recording — "It's the Girls," which arrived Nov. 4, 2014 – with an international concert tour that launches May 8. (This was tricky. I didn't know whether it would go under albums, tours, or concerts so I just threw it in Everything Else.)

Milburn Stone · May 9, 2015

LOL. God damn it I didn't enjoy the show very much and I didn't enjoy recapping it very much and I'll probably watch this second season and I may have to recap it.

Since you didn't enjoy the show and didn't enjoy recapping, may I make a modest suggestion and propose that you don't recap it?

aradia22 · May 9, 2015

In reply to Milburn, because I have a masochistic streak/because I have trouble leaving things unfinished (see the Completionists Anonymous thread). I do leave a ton of things unfinished but it weighs on me. Also, because I don't run the site. I'll see what the guy in charge has to say. It'll also depend on if there are any other shows I want to cover that air at the same time.

Theatre News Roundup

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville starts its run tonight at the American Repertory Theater. After a flood of biblical proportions there are only two people left on earth. In an effort to communicate, they discover a common language through song and dance. In this way, together they chronicle the rise and fall and hopeful rise again of humankind through diverse music ranging from Rodgers and Hammerstein to R.E.M. Directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, the show was collaboratively conceived by Paul Ford, Taylor Mac, Mandy Patinkin, and Susan Stroman. It stars Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac. Performances will run through May 31.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Rob McClure has been cast in the Muny's summer productions of INTO THE WOODS and BEAUTY AND THE BEAST. In the former, he will be portraying the Baker alongside the previously announced Heather Headley as the Witch and Erin Dilly as the Baker's Wife. McClure will then take on the role of Lumiere in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, with Kate Rockwell as Belle and Nicholas Rodriguez as the Beast.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

The New York premiere of Topher Payne's Perfect Arrangement will be the fourth and final production of Primary Stages' 2015-16 season. Performances will run from September-November at the Duke on 42nd Street. Perfect Arrangement is a comedy set in the age of the Red Scare where the Martindales and the Baxters have manufactured a life as peppy as a sitcom, right down to the corny jokes and occasional product placement. However, the worlds of I Love Lucy and Edward R. Murrow clash when a coworker at the U.S. State Department discovers their deepest secret.
In honor of Memorial Day, the Kennedy Center will present two performances of If All the Sky Were Paper in the Terrace Theater on May 21 and 22. Written by best-selling author Andrew Carroll and directed by John Benitz, the drama explores the American wartime experience, taking content from actual letters penned by troops and their loved ones.
Zeitgeist Stage Company's production of The Submission is set to begin tonight at Boston Center for the Arts. In the play, Shaleeha G'ntamobi has found success. Her play, about an alcoholic African-American and her cardsharp son in the projects, has been accepted by the prestigious Humana Festival. Unfortunately, Shaleeha is a fiction created in the hopes of boosting the plays chances for success. She is nothing more than a pseudonym made up for Danny, a young, gay, white playwright. In an attempt to save face and the play, Danny hires Emilie, an African-American actress, to masquerade as his alter ego.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

The new Lincoln Center Theater production of The King and I will receive a cast recording on the Decca Broadway/Universal Music Classics label, to be released digitally June 2 and in stores June 9.

They Mean Chicago, Illinois (CHICAGO NEWS)

Our New Girl begins performances tonight at the Profiles Theatre. The psychological drama focuses on Hazel, a modern mother living in an immaculate London home. Beneath the surface, however, not everything is as good as it looks. Her plastic surgeon husband has left again on a charitable mission to Haiti, and Hazel is left alone pregnant, trying to save both a failing business and a troubled son. When a professional nanny arrives unannounced at her door, Hazel finds the seemingly perfect stranger looming over the household with an agenda of her own. Performances will run through June 28. (It sounds like a Lifetime movie. Who writes these promo materials?)

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

I’m Still Here, Elaine Page's Royal Albert Hall farewell (to touring) concert from October, will hit cinemas in the U.S. and Canada on May 12.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

Josh Gad, Zachary Quinto and Debra Messing are among the stars who will test their knowledge on next week's CELEBRITY JEOPARDY!. (Excited. I love Jeopardy.)

aradia22 · May 10, 2015

Back from Zorba. I don't have a ton to say. Marin Mazzie and Santino Fontana sang well. John Turturo started off kind of rough but I got used to it. Zoe Wanamaker started off kind of weak but again I got used to it. Elizabeth A. Davis as the widow was weirdly bad. Like, there was nothing to her performance that made it so they couldn't have plucked another brunette out of the ensemble who was a better singer. It wasn't a bad night out but it wasn't a great experience or a great show. This time the framing device of The Leader did not work as with past Kander and Ebb musicals. It didn't have a real motivation. It works in Chicago beautifully. It works in Cabaret. It does not work here. There's no theme of performing. Sometimes people can hear The Leader and sometimes they can't. Is she the spirit of their desires? I don't know. It's hard to argue that you should cut the part because some pretty music goes with it but... eh. The story didn't move me. It's full of bland folksy wisdom without a story to back it up. It reminded me of those chick flicks where the woman goes to another part of the world and learns some earthy, ethnic wisdom. The romance between Niko and the widow is not compelling at all. I liked it more by the end but not as much while I was watching it. By the end I could see the darkness I like in Chicago and Cabaret. And by the end I could see the compassion they had for the female characters. However, during the show it definitely was more driven by the male characters and they were not interesting. Overall watching the show. it just feels like they didn't have something to say. Sure, Zorba spouted life lessons but I just didn't get the sense that Kander and Ebb really believed them. Maybe if John Turturro had given a tour de force performance he could have pulled it off but I found him rather bland in terms of acting. Eh. It's one of those "I got out of the house" nights.

Rinaldo · May 10, 2015

I won't say much about Zorba. I remember when Zorba the Greek was the hot movie everybody had to see (after being a hot novel); I saw it and remember nothing of it beyond Anthony Quinn Acting Earthy and voicing that 60s message (which I didn't buy even then) that certain choices constitute "living," and everything else is not -- a philosophy I buy only from the mouth of Auntie Mame, and then only for the sake of the fun it elicits.

Zorba is, I would say, a bad musical. Sometimes Kander and Ebb hit the bullseye and create an immortal classic (twice, for sure) and other times they leave me with almost nothing. In this case the dubious story (its "live!" message enhanced by a suicide, a murder, and a death from lassitude) is told through cheap imitation-"Greek" music that we're supposed to be either impressed or exhilarated, and I wasn't.

At least we had three really fine acting performances at the center: John Turturro, Santino Fontana, and Zoe Wanamaker. All credit to all three of them (indeed to the whole cast) for committing themselves so fully to it all. Fontana in particular is a top-level actor who also sings very well; he should have done an Encores! before now, and I hope he gets a better one in the future.

Not a gratifying conclusion to a season that otherwise had two top level-contributions, Lady, Be Good! and Paint Your Wagon. Fortunately both are scheduled to be recorded; if there were any justice (but we know there isn't) the latter would have been videoed as well. On to next season.

aradia22 · May 10, 2015

In this case the dubious story (its "live!" message enhanced by a suicide, a murder, and a death from lassitude) is told through cheap imitation-"Greek" music that we're supposed to be either impressed or exhilarated, and I wasn't.

It felt like a different kind of story for them. I don't really believe that irreverence and darkness is easier than earnestness and joy but maybe it was for Kander and Ebb. This wasn't as much like Oklahoma as Paint Your Wagon and yet the vague similarities felt mishandled. That is, the structure of having your central romantic couple and your quirky secondary couple. I don't think they cared about developing the relationship between either couple as much as they should have though they wrote some nice songs for both. The romantic rival pining with unrequited love is a nonentity. You don't care about what's driving him. You don't care when he dies. And it really just serves to drive the plot later in a way that was completely unnecessary, making both the suicide and murder effectively plot points and motivations for another character. I think that's where that hollow feeling comes from.

I will say that I liked the imitation Greek music. It gives the score a pleasant jaunty quality. Listening to Chicago and Cabaret they seem quite close to me. Zorba feels like more of a departure except for a number or two like Happy Birthday. This is a show that I think would be very pleasant as a cast album but that I have no desire to see again on stage.

aradia22 · May 10, 2015

I debated whether or not to go but in the end I went to that Carnegie Hall concert because it's not everyday you get a $7 Parquet seat at Carnegie Hall. It was an enjoyable afternoon. Varied. There were a bunch of different choirs this time. The first one was... not very good. Let's just leave it at that. The second one did Vivaldi's Gloria which brought me back to high school. We were better. ;) But they had their moments. It seemed to take them a while to warm up. The next choir was very good. Probably my favorite. The conductor/choir director chose some nice pieces for his group, very pretty haunting almost flute-like sounds coming from the sopranos/mezzos and the guys didn't sound bad either. There were two weird songs though that kind of lost my interest. Also I don't know why they insisted on clapping songs when the group clearly could not clap in time/muster up the enthusiasm to do so. The next group was also good. Like the last group they went off book. I just happened to prefer the group before them. Then there was a weird mix of multiple choirs that they called the national choir (but that couldn't be right because not enough schools were represented). They were also good. But again... why clapping? I'm glad I took a chance on it though it seemed like much of the audience was parents and relatives there was a lot of talent on the stage.

aradia22 · May 10, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Happy Mother's Day

The Party’s Over (CLOSINGS)

The Broadway premiere of the new musical Doctor Zhivago, starring Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett, Tom Hewitt and Paul Nolan, plays its final performance May 10 at the Broadway Theatre. (Very sad. I'm really hoping they release the cast album. This is the show I'm going to ride for... for years. It's probably going to get annoying.)

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

The Muny announced several principal cast members for the seven shows of its 97th season, which opens on June 15 with My Fair Lady. Full casts and companies will be announced throughout May.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

54 Celebrates Julie Wilson May 14th at 7:00 PM
Songs of Cy Coleman, Starring Randy Graff, Cady Huffman, & Lillias White May 15th, 16th, & 20th at 7:00 PM

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

2016 Encores line up announced. Cabin in the Sky will run February 10-14, 2016. 1776 will run March 30-April 3, 2016. Do I Hear a Waltz? will run May 11-15, 2016. (Cabin in the Sky sounds kind of interesting but I'm not sold. I'm not sure if I'd enjoy 1776. I think I need some casting news. I talked about listening to the cast album of Do I Hear a Waltz pages back. I think that's the one I definitely want to see.)

Charlie Baker · May 10, 2015

I've had Do I Hear A Waltz on my Encores wish list for years--so that's the must for me. But I would certainly be very curious about Cabin in the Sky.

I wasn't going to see Zorba, but I had a last minute chance to go with a friend to today's matinee, so I did. It's probably not top notch Kander and Ebb, and it's definitely of its era, but I did enjoy the score, and I think Turturro's and Wanamaker's performances were very strong. I do wonder how much the story suffered from whatever condensing of the book was done here. I love Marin Mazzie, even if she wasn't great casting for the role. I see that role in the show, and some of how the ensemble was used in this, as a throwback to classic Greek drama with chorus and chorus leader. And of course that heritage is generally not one of happy stories. Glad I saw this.

Rinaldo · May 11, 2015

1776 is the one I've been dreading since the series started. It has always headed up my imaginary "Encores season from hell," and now we're going to get it. It has the most mortifyingly amateurish embarrassing music and lyrics ever perpetrated on a theatrical public. Peter Stone's book isn't bad, but everyone's IQ drops 100 points when they start to sing. I'm going to start doping myself up right now so I can sit through it 10 months from now.

Do I Hear a Waltz doesn't thrill me, but I won't mind seeing it once, for the record. Rodgers was operating on 25% power by this point, and some bad creative decisions were made. But it's all right, and it could allow for some fun casting.

I'm very much looking forward to Cabin in the Sky. It's kind of legendary, and never done any more. Great Vernon Duke / John Latouche songs.

Milburn Stone · May 11, 2015

1776 is the one I've been dreading since the series started....It has the most mortifyingly amateurish embarrassing music and lyrics ever perpetrated on a theatrical public.

I agree. It's surprising how many people like it.

I like Rodgers' music for Waltz, and I even like it better than his music for the "lesser" Rodgers & Hammerstein scores Allegro, Pipe Dream, Me and Juliet, and Flower Drum Song. Those scores have highlights but I find them dreary overall. In contrast, I can listen to the cast album of Waltz and enjoy it all the way through. I think his level of invention in that score is fairly high--I think he was inspired by the collaboration with Sondheim, despite that they didn't get along--and has been somewhat unfairly regarded mainly because Sondheim has badmouthed it. It's a darn sight better overall than the scores that came after for Two by Two, I Remember Mama and Rex.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Milburn Stone

Rinaldo · May 11, 2015

I agree that Rodgers's score is better than the ones that came after it, but I find it worse than all the ones that preceded it (except maybe Pipe Dream). I thought so on first hearing, long before I ever heard of any trouble in its writing. Somehow the music keeps completing itself partway through a song, then stumbling on to fill the necessary measures. Even in the scores you listed, or in No Strings, there will be the occasional pleasurable surprise in a harmonic or melodic move to take us somewhere surprising yet satisfying. And his really great scores are full of such moves. The one Do I Hear a Waltz? song that has some of that is "We're Gonna Be All Right," and even that suffers without the intended lyrics and the additional music that were all cut at Rodgers's behest. Maybe they'll be restored at Encores.

I also have specific analytical problems with the title song. The way the first phrase ends up flatfootedly on the home note (tonic), an example of what I mentioned above, is especially harmful in this case because it doesn't "ask a question" the way the lyric does. (I don't have a comprehensive rule for what musical motions ask a question, but I'll maintain that this one doesn't.) Also, though this falls into the dubious category of telling the professionals how to do their job, the musical arrangement misses the boat in a big way here: after waiting through an act and half for Leona to "hear a waltz," this is the moment for a magical instrumental effect, an oom-pah-pah that grabs our attention as it materializes and comes closer. Instead, just a utilitarian vamp-till-ready 1-2-3 in strings till she's ready to sing.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Rinaldo

Charlie Baker · May 11, 2015

I'm not as down on 1776 as the other esteemed gentlemen here are, but I don't feel the need to see it at Encores. Also, related to my always present wondering about book condensing in the series: the book is the strongest element of the show. How much could be successfully cut or telescoped? The show runs a full three hours with intermission, IIRC, and that seems a tad long for Encores.

Rinaldo · May 11, 2015

Some of their shows have run that long, but not many in recent years. (One that did was, if I remember right, Little Me -- one of the first that Jack Viertel adapted, and I suspect he was still getting the hang of streamlining enough.) But they might make a point of retaining more book for 1776 as Peter Stone's book is generally acknowledged to be its strength (and I admire it too).

I'm well aware, by the way, that mine is a minority opinion about this show. I suppose that makes me all the more obnoxiously vocal about it. (You know, when you're convinced you're right but the rest of the world disagrees....)

aradia22 · May 12, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Sorry I'm getting to this a little late again. I was watching Funny Lady. Thoughts on the TCM board.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

Kansas City Repertory Theatre will conclude its 50th anniversary with a developmental production of Stillwater, a new musical that will blend rock, pop and alt-country. The project features book and lyrics by Nathan Tysen, behind the Broadway-bound Tuck Everlasting and the anticipated Amelie adaptation premiering this fall.
A staged reading of the new musical Freedom's Song will be presented June 9 at 9 PM at the Tada Theatre on 28th and Broadway in Manhattan. Written by Alison Holman and Caleb Collins, the reading is part of The Emerging Artists Theatre’s New Works Festival.
Broadway producer Kevin McCollum told ABC News that he plans to develop stage musical adaptations of "The Devil Wears Prada" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Complete casting has been announced for the new Broadway musical Amazing Grace, which played a sold-out world premiere in Chicago and will arrive on Broadway June 25 at the Nederlander Theatre (208 West 41st Street). Tony nominee Tom Hewitt, who will play Captain Newton, joins previously announced stars Tony Award nominee Josh Young, Erin Mackey, Tony Award winner Chuck Cooper, Chris Hoch, Stanley Bahorek, Harriett D. Foy, Laiona Michelle, Rachael Ferrera and Elizabeth Ward Land. (Hewitt just got out of Doctor Zhivago. I could have told you this as someone asked him about it at the stage door on Friday.)

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

Colin Donnell, Bryce Pinkham, Patti Murin and Julia Murney are among the performers who will bring the popular Instagram/Twitter trend of #tbt to the stage of 54 Below May 28 with #tbtLIVE Throwback Thursday: The Concert. "From summer camp to college, and everything in between, this one night only event features Broadway stars reprising performances from the days when they were just broadway babies. Embarrassing photos and videos included."
Cast members from the rock musical The Toxic Avenger will reunite this summer in concert at 54 Below.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

Beginning this September, the Public Theater will kick off its 60th anniversary season. The season will kick off with a free Public Works musical adaptation of Homer's The Odyssey, conceived and directed by Public Works director Lear deBessonet, with music, lyrics and book by Todd Almond (Iow@). The community event, staged on the Delacorte stage in Central Park, will run for four nights only Sept. 4-7. Michael John LaChiusa will premiere First Daughter Suite, the follow-up to his popular First Lady Suite. Helmed by Kirsten Sanderson, initial casting includes Rachel Bay Jones, Theresa McCarthy, Betsy Morgan, Isabel Santiago, Carly Tamer, Mary Testa and Barbara Walsh. Stew and Rodewald, the creative team behind the the acclaimed Passing Strange, will return to The Public next May with a new musical directed by Joanna Settle, titled The Total Bent. It is billed as a story about the "passions that divide a father and son as they make their music and make their choice between salvation and selling out."

They Mean Chicago, Illinois (CHICAGO NEWS)

Shoshana Bean and Whitney Bashor will co-star in the pre-Broadway engagement of Beaches, the new musical based on the 1985 novel by Iris Rainer Dart, which begins this summer in Chicago. (I have no interest in Beaches but Shoshanna was my Elphaba and while I enjoy her pop albums it would be nice to see her on Broadway again.)

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Matt Cardle will join the cast of London's Memphis the Musical beginning July 6 in the role of DJ Huey Calhoun. (Well I don't like him and I don't like that part so it all works out.)
Grand Hotel — the 1989 Tony-winning musical — is to be revived at London's Southwark Playhouse, beginning performances July 31, prior to an official opening Aug. 5, for a run through Sept. 5.
Casting has been announced for the world-premiere run of Damon Albarn's new musical wonder.land, beginning performances June 29 prior to an official opening July 2 at Manchester's Palace Theatre, where it will run as part of the Manchester International Festival through July 12. Inspired by Lewis Carroll's "Alice in Wonderland" and featuring music by Albarn and book and lyrics by Moira Buffini

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

NBC will debut a new live television production of the hit Broadway musical The Wiz Dec. 3. Stephanie Mills will play Aunt Em in the TV production.
The Merry Widow with Renee Fleming and Kelli O'Hara will air on PBS stations around the country June 19 at 9 PM ET as part of "Great Performances at the Met." In New York WNET/13 will repeat the program June 21 at 12:30 PM; check local listings. (I posted my thoughts some pages back.)
NBC has confirmed it will go ahead with a movie based on Dolly Parton's life; entitled "Coat of Many Colors," (I can only hope it'll be better than the Lifetime movies they've been churning out lately.)
Scream Queens description: "Wallace University is rocked by a string of murders. Kappa House, the most sought-after sorority for pledges, is ruled with an iron fist (in a pink glove) by its Queen Bitch, Chanel Oberlin (Emma Roberts). But when anti-Kappa Dean Munsch (Jamie Lee Curtis) decrees that sorority pledging must be open to all students, and not just the school’s silver-spooned elite, all hell is about to break loose, as a devil-clad killer begins wreaking havoc, claiming one victim, one episode at a time. Part black comedy, part slasher flick, 'Scream Queens' is a modern take on the classic whodunit, in which every character has a motive for murder…or could easily be the next blood-soaked casualty." (The prospect of gore and horror movie tropes is still keeping me away but I kind of like the idea of a whodunnit as long as they don't stretch it out for forever like other shows... many shows... I could name.)
The 15th season of American Idol, which will begin in January 2016, will be its last. (Not really theatre related except for the fact that it was the big break for quite a few people who went on to be involved in theatre and theatre-related projects.)

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

Stars in the Alley, a free outdoor concert presented by The Broadway League, has announced the line-up of participating Broadway shows. The partcipating musicals will include Aladdin, An American in Paris, Beautiful - The Carol King Musical, Chicago, Finding Neverland, Fun Home, Gigi, It Shoulda Been You, Kinky Boots, Les Miserables, The Lion King, Matilda the Musical, Mamma Mia!, On the Town, On the Twentieth Century, The Phantom of the Opera, Someting Rotten! The Visit and Wicked. Additional appearances from following Broadway plays will also feature: Airline Highway, The Audience, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, A Gentlemen's Guide to Love & Murder, Hand to God, It's Only a Play and Wolf Hall Parts One & Two,
Don't Tell Mama will present its first annual Mama's Next BIG Act!, a 12-week competition that mixes styles and genres, this summer. The contest's winner will receive a fully produced show and more. Beginning June 9 at 9:30 PM and running for 12 consecutive weeks every Tuesday through Aug. 25, Mama's Next BIG Act! will invite solo, duo and group acts in the following categories: music, magic, drag, burlesque and variety.
Insight from some of the cast of The King and I on this revival production. I continue to fail to see how O'Hara brought any of that research to her portrayal of Anna which struck me as bland. This interview does explain the strength of Ruthie Ann Miles' performance and the imbalanced power of Tuptim in the show. Basically, it's all Scher's fault.
"This is not a love story about Anna and the King, like it's been done in the past," said O'Hara

aradia22 · May 13, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: The Visit tomorrow maybe? We'll see. Allergies are hitting me. Listening to Flora the Red Menace for the first time.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

The world premiere of Emily Schwend's ghostly drama The Other Thing begins previews May 12 at Second Stage Theatre as part of its Uptown Series presented at the company's McGinn/Cazale Theatre.

Closed for Renovations (CANCELLATIONS)

Lisa D’Amour's Airline Highway will play its final performance June 7, one week earlier than expected, producers announced May 12.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Brenda Braxton will star in the new musical Invisible Life the Musical, based on E. Lynn Harris' best-selling novel "Invisible Life," beginning June 25 at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Braxton will star as Mama Tyler alongside Frenchie Davis as JJ, Vivian Reed as Aunt Susan, Milton Craig Nealy as Coach Tyler, Ann McCormack as Candance, Gregory Williams as Raymond Tyler Jr., Brianna Horne as Sela and Terry Lavell as Kyle.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

Sting will perform songs from The Last Ship May 19 at The Heath at The McKittrick Hotel (542 West 27th Street), home of Sleep No More. The 7 PM and 10 PM concerts will benefit The Actors Fund.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

Broadway Records releases the newest solo recording from Marin Mazzie May 12.
A recording of Tokio Confidential, a new musical with words and music by Eric Schorr that had its Off-Broadway world premiere in 2012, is released by Broadway Records on CD and digitally May 12.

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

Peter Morgan's The Audience, starring Helen Mirren and directed by Stephen Daldry, along with an exclusive Q&A, comes to select U.S. cinemas on Thursday, June 25 at 7 p.m. local time.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

Kelli O'Hara and children from the Tony-nominated revival of The King and I performed "Getting To Know You" on "Live! With Kelly and Michael" May 12.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

Off-Broadway's The New Group has announced three productions for its 2015-16 season. The company's new season will kick off with Philip Ridley's Mercury Fur. Ridley offers a society ravaged by war gangs and a hallucinogenic-drug epidemic. The story follows teenage brothers Elliot and Darren, who throw parties for rich clients, allowing them to live our their darkest fantasies in the shadows of abandoned buildings. Previews will begin in August. In November, Cynthia Nixon will direct the world premiere of Mark Gerrard's Steve. The play centers on Steven, a failed Broadway chorus boy turned stay-at-home dad who finds himself, on his birthday, full of anxiety. The season will also feature Sam Shepard's Buried Child, starring Oscar nominees Ed Harris and Amy Madigan.
A New York Supreme Court justice ruled in favor of embattled Broadway producer Ben Sprecher May 12, finding publicist Marc Thibodeau in breach of contract for sending anonymous emails that scared off a potential investor on the Broadway musical Rebecca.
Two Tony-winning Broadway favorites will be part of the 2015 National Puerto Rican Day Parade. Rita Moreno will serve as the Parade's Grand Marshal. Lin-Manuel Miranda will receive the "Nuestro Orgullo" (Our Pride) Award for his "inspiring contribution to the American stage."

aradia22 · May 13, 2015

So I'm having an issue. My ticket for The Wild Party at New York City Center is on July 17. The bird and the bee (who apparently haven't played New York for 6 years) are also having a concert that night. For the moment tickets for the latter are still on sale at a very affordable price.

aradia22 · May 13, 2015

God damn it. So I finally won the On the Town lottery but I didn't check the app in time.

aradia22 · May 14, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Stressed about the bird and the bee/The Wild Party situation. Grumpy about the On the Town lottery... and the pimple on my forehead. I did start watching Younger and it's very cute.

Closed for Renovations (CANCELLATIONS)

Emily Schwend's ghostly drama The Other Thing, which began previews May 12 at Second Stage Theatre's uptown theatre, has canceled tonight's performance due to a fire.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

Tuck Everlasting, a new musical based on Natalie Babbitt's best-selling 1975 novel of the same name, will open on Broadway April 17, 2016, at a Shubert theatre to be announced. If you're curious here are some videos.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

Too Legit to Quit 4: Gender Bender Edition will be presented May 31 at 9:30 PM at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City. The concert, the fourth in the Too Legit to Quit series, will explore classic music theatre, "where the guys play the dolls and the dolls play the guys."
Lauren Worsham will offer a new solo show titled From Corsets to Combat Boots June 24 at 54 Below.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

The Drama Desk-nominated Off-Broadway production Fly By Night: A New Musical, which played at Playwrights Horizons last spring, is set to release an original cast recording June 9.

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

Nicole Kidman is in talks to co-star in "How To Talk To Girls At Parties," the new film from Hedwig and the Angry Inch star and co-creator, John Cameron Mitchell, according to Variety. The Tony winner and Golden Globe nominee is director and co-writer on the new project. Kidman reunites with Mitchell, who directed the star in the 2010 Oscar-nominated film "Rabbit Hole." She joins Ruth Wilson (Constellations), Matt Lucas ("Bridesmaids") and Elle Fanning ("Maleficient"). Based on a short story by "Coraline" writer Neil Gaiman, "How To Talk To Girls At Parties" tells the story of an alien who breaks away from her group while touring the universe. According to Variety, it will be in the spirit of Romeo and Juliet, but the feuding families will be replaced with aliens and punks.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

CBS will develop the new drama series "Limitless," based on the film starring Bradley Cooper, who is also attached as executive producer for the project. Cooper will reportedly recur on the show, reprising his character from the film, Eddie Mora. The show will center on Brian Finch, who, similar to Cooper's character in the movie, discovers the brain-boosting drug NZT. He is manipulated by the FBI into using his incredible abilities to solve difficult cases. (Ugh. It's the same basic formula of brilliant but flawed man solves crimes.)

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

On the Town, which has been dark since May 7, resumes performances May 13 at 2 PM and 8 PM at the Lyric Theater.
Five productions will comprise the summer season at Theatre Raleigh, which is under the artistic direction of Broadway actress Lauren Kennedy: Pump Boys and Dinettes, A Few Good Men, Dreamgirls, Sleuth, and Carousel
The 10th Anniversary celebration of The Shubert Foundation/Music Theatre International arts education program, Broadway Junior, will take place May 19 at 10:30 AM at Broadway's Imperial Theatre. Hedwig and the Angry Inch star Darren Criss will host.
The fifth annual Student Theatre Arts Festival, hosted by 2015 Tony Award nominee Andy Karl will be held May 18 at Broadway's American Airlines Theatre.

ebk57 · May 14, 2015

Sorry if I missed this, but is your ticket to The Wild Party part of a subscription? Maybe you can exchange it. Maybe you can exchange it anyway...can't hurt to ask.

Too bad about On the Town. I hope you try again. It's wonderful.

Rick Kitchen · May 14, 2015

AKB and Jeremy Jordan are too old for "Tuck".

Milburn Stone · May 14, 2015

I agree that Rodgers's score is better than the ones that came after it, but I find it worse than all the ones that preceded it (except maybe Pipe Dream). I thought so on first hearing, long before I ever heard of any trouble in its writing. Somehow the music keeps completing itself partway through a song, then stumbling on to fill the necessary measures. Even in the scores you listed, or in No Strings, there will be the occasional pleasurable surprise in a harmonic or melodic move to take us somewhere surprising yet satisfying. And his really great scores are full of such moves. The one Do I Hear a Waltz? song that has some of that is "We're Gonna Be All Right," and even that suffers without the intended lyrics and the additional music that were all cut at Rodgers's behest. Maybe they'll be restored at Encores.

Rinaldo, I have way too much respect for your opinion to argue with you, but I'll just say the show has songs other than "We're Gonna Be All Right" that have struck me as brilliant from first hearing and still do. They tend (for whatever reason) to be the songs that were written for Signora Fiora (Carol Bruce) or in which she plays an important part. Namely "This Week Americans" and "Moon in My Window." The latter, deceptively simple song, I think I could put on endless repeat and never tire of. The "B" section in particular knocks me out, and narrowing it down even further, that last tied whole note in the "B" section, which sits over its harmony hauntingly.

Though Rodgers apparently came to loathe Sondheim, I think Sondheim's lyrics made a difference in Rodgers' music, i.e., Rodgers wrote a little differently than he might because of the wit and invention in Sondheim's words (even if the music came first)--in much the same way Jule Styne wrote differently in his collaboration with Sondheim even if the music came first.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Milburn Stone

Sara2009 · May 14, 2015

AKB and Jeremy Jordan are too old for "Tuck".

I don't think Jeremy Jordan is in it.

aradia22 · May 15, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: I feel like The Wild Party could be good or I'd just try to sell the ticket. I don't think I can exchange it, unless someone just wants to exchange because it's only a right mezzanine seat. Thinking about The Visit again for tomorrow but it'll depend on how I'm feeling as allergies have hit me hard again. My left eye is feeling particularly dry and twitchy. On the plus side, I do have a voice lesson tomorrow.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

Step By Step – The Entire Broadway Rebecca Scandal (So Far)
The world premiere of Bridges: a new musical will be seen at California's Berkeley Playhouse in February 2016.
Bridges, which has book and lyrics by Cheryl L. Davis and music by Douglas J. Cohen/ Performances are scheduled for Feb. 11–March 6, 2016. The new musical "tackles the growing pains of a multiracial family across generations. The story takes place during the winter of 1965 in Selma, Alabama and the fall of 2008 in Oakland, California – two historical seasons of activism in the ongoing struggle for equality and justice in America," according to press notes.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Buzz is swirling that Taye Diggs may return to the stage as the next actor to take on the transgender East German rocker Hedwig, in the hit revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. (Other than JCM coming back, this is the first thing to get me interested in Hedwig in a while.)
The Muny has announced the complete cast for its production of Irving Berlin's Holiday Inn, which will play the St. Louis venue July 6-12.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

The Broadway at Birdland Concert Series will continue June 15 at 7 PM with a concert version of the new musical Merman's Apprentice. Merman's Apprentice is a new musical fable with book and lyrics by Stephen Cole and music by David Evans. Klea Blackhurst will appear as Ethel Merman, with Anita Gillette, Richard Kind as David Merrick, Elizabeth Teeter as Muriel, Adam Grupper, Eddie Korbich and Brian Charles Rooney. "The Golden Age of Musical Theatre is drawing to an end, although twelve-year-old Muriel Plakenstein doesn't know that. So she runs away from home to become a Broadway star, and meets the Queen of Broadway Ethel Merman, who takes her to a Hello, Dolly! rehearsal where they sing together. When legendary producer David Merrick hears the kid, he decides to star Muriel in the first all-child cast of Dolly! Naturally, Merman takes her under wing to teach her the ropes of being a star...making little Muriel Plakenstein Merman's Apprentice."

A Musical (MUSICALS)

New Jersey's Two River Theater will present A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with an all-male troupe of actors led by Christopher Fitzgerald as Pseudolus. The Sondheim, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart musical will play the Rechnitz Theater Nov. 14-Dec. 13.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

Signature Theatre has announced a second extension for the world premiere of The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, written and directed by Athol Fugard. It will now play through June 14, following previews that began April 21.
Elevator Repair Service's production The Sound and the Fury, which returns Off-Broadway following an acclaimed premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in 2008, begins performances May 14. The show will officially open May 21, and following a recently announced extension, will now run through June 27.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

PS Classics will release a new studio cast recording of the new Vernon Duke musical Misia, which will be released June 16. Misia includes over 20 never-before-heard Duke melodies, a number of his less-well-known classical compositions and one full-length Duke ballet originally written for the Ballet Russes.

We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)

Deborah Cox will headline a U.S. national tour of The Bodyguard. Directed by Thea Sharrock, who directed its West End bow (starring Heather Headley), the tour will launch in fall 2016.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

A new production of High Society, with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Arthur Kopt based on the 1956 film of the same name, opens at London's Old Vic Theatre May 14, following previews that began April 30.
The U.K.'s ITV has commissioned a new adaptation of J.M. Barrie's "Peter Pan," starring Stanley Tucci as Captain Hook. The new two-hour drama, titled "Peter & Wendy" is also set to feature pop star Paloma Faith as Tinker Bell and Laura Fraser as Mrs. Darling. (This is... interesting. Though I maintain there are too many Peter Pan things going on right now.)

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

An all-star lineup has been announced for the "National Memorial Day Concert," which will be broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol May 24 beginning at 8 PM ET on PBS; check local listings.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

Fuerza Bruta has announced a mobile lottery partnership with TodayTix beginning May 15. The move will allow members to enter a lottery for $20 tickets to performances. (Has anyone ever seen this?)
Lin-Manuel Miranda will join John Kander for a special post-show talkback May 20 at the Lyceum Theatre. The talkback will follow the 7 PM performance of The Visit.
Victoria Clark will help kickoff the 30th Annual AIDS Walk New York May 17. She will be part of the opening ceremony, which begins at 9 AM on the stage next to Sheep Meadow. Clark is scheduled to perform "You'll Never Walk Alone."
Sarah Brightman has postponed her 10-day trip on the Russian Soyuz craft that was scheduled for a Sept. 1 departure.

aradia22 · May 15, 2015

So I am finally ready to talk about Doctor Zhivago. First I will start with all the distractions the first time I saw the show. I knew I liked it because in spite of all the minor annoyances I still left having had a good time with a smile on my face.

First of all, I totally got the seat that was right behind the infamous Zhivago table. I was able to move to the right by one seat so the view wasn't too obscured but it wasn't great. I definitely feel like whatever meaning was derived from having the table onstage throughout the show was outweighed by the inconvenience for the audience. Moving to the right put me next to a man who ate and drank throughout the show. I don't know what he was eating but from the smell I'd guess peanut m&m's. Never has a snack been more distracting to me and I'm counting the coffee at Cabaret (and I hate the smell of coffee). You are not meant to sit that close to another person when they are eating something that pungent... while trying to pay attention to a play. During at least one, maybe two, of the dramatic songs in the show someone behind me could not stifle their coughing. It was endless. There was also whispering from a row or two behind me throughout the show.

aradia22 · May 15, 2015

From the beginning I got a sense of the epic nature of the show. I'd characterize the costumes as closest to the Victorian era. It begins with the funeral of Yuri's father so the ensemble is in all black and there are many wealthy characters so you heavy furs and wool. I thought the little boy playing Yuri was decent for a child actor. His manner of speaking was very affected though. It wasn't really British. Also, there was a part where Yuri and Tonia were laughing that was very forced but other than that the acting from the child actors wasn't bad. I feel like the Tonia/Yuri relationship isn't completely successful in the musical. That is, it's both underdeveloped and too developed so the affair with Lara doesn't feel justified. Tonia is portrayed as the one who convinces Yuri to let the Gromeko family take him in. She is his young playmate and knows him well enough to give him a book for him to write his poems in, sowing the seed of her encouraging his artistic inclinations. She is upset with him when he runs off to tend to the student revolutionaries the night before their wedding but there's no real discord there. He spots Lara for the first time but I didn't get the sense he was dissatisfied with his choice to marry Tonia. He is intrigued by Lara after she tries to shoot Komarovsky but when it's time for him to go off to war, he comforts her with a pretty song and he pours his heart out to her in his letters. Lara really comes into his life at the hospital so I guess you could argue that the distance between them drew him away from Tonia and closer to Lara. But you can see how this feels rather selfish without any sense that he's unhappy with Tonia. Then he gets back from the war and they seem kind of disconnected. He doesn't really understand the changes at first while the Gromeko family has been living under them for a while up in the attic, struggling to feed themselves. I will add at this point that the performance of the actress playing adult Tonia was very flat... possibly intentionally so. I feel like she was doing everything to suppress any natural expressiveness. I only caught it in small moments when she wasn't the focus of a scene and occasionally during the duet with Lara and Watch the Moon. Even then she was very subdued. She continues in a rather quiet, subservient way until for seemingly no reason she starts shouting at Yuri when they're living the cottage. She tells him that he has to go write his poetry and sends him to the library... basically shoving him into Lara's arms. I guess it follows from her supporting his writing from the beginning but it seems out of character and a 'moving the plot along' action more than anything else.

OK, now let's talk about Lara. Young Lara is fine. I thought the same actress played young Lara and Lara and Yuri's daughter but I can't be sure without checking the playbill. There is one awkward bit where she hugs a dress form and says something like "you're my only friend." They plant the Komarovsky affair seeds early with a creepy line where he tells her to pull up her stocking because it's distracting. I think Kelli Barrett is a beautiful singer. She has a lovely but strong soprano. However, I found her much too American as Laura. It wasn't an issue with accents, which I got over. Everyone in this production is British or American. No one is Russian. However, Laura is American in spirit. I've been trying to figure out who to compare her to. It's more than even Nellie Forbush. The closest thing I can come up to now is maybe Ariel in The Little Mermaid. She's a distinctly American personality, spirited and willful in a particularly American way. Also, she stays away from crazy eyes but there's something off about her acting. It's overacting without being too excessive. I think the biggest problem though is she feels like she's in another show. But still, I would never say she deserved an acting nomination for this performance even putting that issue aside. Also, yes the line Komarovsky utters about her crying out with passion is super awks. I'd say the book is the weakest part of the production. It's effective in that it tells the story as quickly as it can but almost all attempts at eloquence come off awkward and clunky.

Paul Nolan was fantastic as Pasha/Strelnikov. He's also VERY American but unlike Barrett, his acting was strong and his singing was even better. Granted, he has an easier time of it with a flashy role. He starts as an idealistic revolutionary but he's also terribly witty and irreverent. He doesn't need emotional depths at first. It's all presentational... like Berger in Hair. He's passionate and fiery and clever and funny. You completely understand why he's the leader of their little group of students. I thought he also did a good job of staying in the moment in the next scene with Lara tells him about Komarovsky. It's pretty much all reactive acting but he's engaged without pulling focus. Because it's reactive I think this was where I got the greatest interiority from him. As a soldier there's still not too much depth there. Still, he galvanized me with Blood on the Snow. It's also just a good song. When he reappears as Pasha/Strelnikov things get a little trickier as we get into thematic concerns that are communicated in a kind of clunky, obvious way. All the stuff about purifying Lara and his vendetta against the former ruling class. It's the kind of thing that maybe you should have to work a little harder to pick up on? He's a little frightening but I don't know if it was the leather jacket or the dialogue they gave him but he wasn't as intimidating as he could have been. When he comes back in his last scene he's at his weakest but I think that's because there's so much dialogue. When he goes outside and yells Lara's name before shooting himself (I noticed that he shot himself the second time I saw the show) it's over the top to say the least.

The young soldier sings well in a Les Mis/Jose Llana kind of way. Just wanted to give him a shout out. The nurse who takes the lead on Somewhere My Love also sang beautifully. No weak links singing-wise in this production.

Now to Yuri and the love story. Tam Mutu sings gorgeously and I have no idea how he can sing that powerfully singing that much of the score so many times a week. That said, I did get what some reviewers said about him being a little wooden. His strongest moments were in songs like Who Is She and Ashes and Tears... that is, solo numbers. Then I really saw the life in his eyes. He had spirit. However, I didn't buy the romance between him and Lara for the most part. If they wanted to carry that weakness in the story they really had to do it through the acting and I didn't feel it. Instead, that strength in the solo numbers and the weakness in justifying the affair (both explaining why he cheated on Tonia and why he was so compelled to be with Lara) made him come across as a rather selfish character. It was that stereotypical Bildungsroman of a self-involved character finding himself, making selfish choices. I liked Tam. I didn't like Yuri that much. He was a rather bad husband and father. I don't know if that was in the book or it just came across with the abbreviated nature of the story here but it seemed like he loved Tonia at one point and then just ended up being very neglectful, caught up in his own issues and then in his passion for Lara. He was away at war when his son was born and didn't help to raise in. In one of their only interactions in the show he yells at him. He's very concerned with not leaving a legacy of shame as a Zhivago and having his son respect him but then he still engages in the affair and at the end of the show the play itself doesn't seem that concerned with his son remembering Yuri as he doesn't even go to his father's funeral. It's all about Lara and her daughter.

Music. I didn't really get the sense that this was a pop score. Maybe for a few songs but not in general. I felt hints of Les Mis and Jekyl and Hyde and Phantom but less in the music and more in the earnestness. This is not a show that operates with irony or at a remove. (Well, minus Pasha's number.) It's not even that romanticized or elegant. These are people singing their feelings at you... loudly. I enjoyed it greatly. There are strong ensemble numbers, some duets, lots of solos. I felt very swept up into all of it.

Staging/Projections. I know there were some complaints about the sparseness of the set. It didn't bother me because there was so much story to tell. The stage is definitely filled more with people than set pieces. I didn't mind as the costumes were fantastic. There were a few things built to communicate a house and the trenches and the hospital and such. There's this sort of metal plank that they use for a lot of the war scenes. It revolves and characters interact with it, moving around it, sitting on top of it. I found this quite effective and contributed to the sense of momentum and motion. I would say the least effective piece is the backdrop for the Kruger estate where Lara and Yuri stay. It does look kind of cheap and oddly stylized. It wasn't a big issue for me though. The big staging issue was the use of projections. There was one time I really liked it which is when Yuri has sent Lara off with Komarovsky and then he begins to write and they project script (it's not clearly legible) over the stage. It's an effective way of giving that moment energy (kind of like the issue of how do you make someone typing at a computer interesting in a movie). There are moments when they project (what I assume are) historical photos of children and soldiers. Those are mildly effective but odd. They detract from the story being told. The worst projections I remember are a window with a projection of rain drops hitting the window (just unnecessary and excessive) and the projections of Lara's face. I think there's one when Yuri goes out and thinks he sees her everywhere, they communicate this ensemble members dressed in her trademark blue cloak, and then there's also a projection of her on the back curtain. It's too obvious. Still, worse is during the scene with Pasha and Lara in the bedroom where there's just a projection of her on the curtain. WHY?

Sound and Effects. In my first seat off to the left of the stage (from the audience side) I'd say I was shot at 3 times in maybe 10-20 minutes. I ended up having fun with it. Two nights later in my other seat people weren't shooting at me as much but the gunshots and explosions were still jarring. They weren't as bad as people described though. I was amused. I will admit that I did mentally cross my fingers that no disgruntled crew member had put real ammunition in any of the weapons. When the students have a party to send Pasha off to war, there's a sort of dance battle where one character ends up vomiting in his hat. The second night I was in a position where I saw him put something in his mouth right before he had to do the bit. There's a good amount of blood and gore in the show. However they did the blood it worked for the most part and Zhivago was very quick about patching people up. I didn't feel so hot about the gore. That stuff never bothers me but... eh. I just don't think it added much. The young soldier had a stomach wound in one part where you could sort of see intestines (?) and there was another soldier later who had a dramatic head wound. I thought the hanging scene was very effective. A woman I sat near the second night told me it was accomplished with harnesses. The rope trick in Chicago is cute and all but it takes you aback when they don't just cut the lights and the bodies actually hang. There's one more effect in the show when Zhivago is trying to get the woman they think is a spy to talk. I was close enough the second night to see how they did it. She wears something around her neck. It looks like a prosthetic and it's very obvious if you're close enough. She cuts into it when she pretends to cut her throat.

I feel like I could talk about this show for hours but I will stop there.

aradia22 · May 16, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: I didn't wake up early enough for the rush for The Visit and I didn't feel like waiting around for the Gigi rush today. My voice lesson was amazing today. I love my teacher. Lessons are so expensive but worth it.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Chicago will welcome the return of Latin-American star Marco Zunino in the role of Billy Flynn, for performances June 1 through 14 only. Zunino previously played the role on Broadway in 2012.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

DMI Records has released the cast recording of the Broadway revival of Gigi, which opened April 8 at the Neil Simon Theatre, on iTunes. The CD is slated for release in June.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Lee Hall, writer of the book of the musical Billy Elliot, is to adapt Alan Warner's cult novel "The Sopranos" for the stage, where it will be called Our Ladies of Perpetual Succour and receive its world premiere at Edinburgh's Traverse Theatre as part of the Edinburgh Fringe, beginning performances Aug. 18 prior to an official opening Aug. 19. It revolves around six girls on the cusp of change. Love, lust, pregnancy and death all spiral out of control in a single day.
Hampstead Theatre has announced the premieres of two plays: Simon Russell Beale is to star as Georgian celebrity Samuel Foote in Ian Kelly's Mr Foote's Other Leg and Roger Allam is to star in David Hare's The Moderate Soprano about the man who built Glyndebourne Opera House.

I Want to Go to Hollywood (MOVIE NEWS)

Kenneth Branagh's Macbeth will be filmed by Martin Scorsese. The Daily Mail reports that Scorsese hopes to film a documentary about Branagh's production by reuniting the original cast and filming performances over the course of a few weeks at Leavesden in Hertfordshire.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

Not a story but I watched all the trailers from upfronts. I'm kind of sold on Supergirl. Not that I think it will be amazing but it seems charming enough and there are just so many actors I like in it.
FX has announced further casting for its upcoming miniseries "American Crime Story: The People V O.J. Simpson," according to the New York Post and EW. Billy Magnussen has been tapped to play Simpson's houseguest Kato Kaelin alongside Steven Pasquale who will play LAPD cop Mark Fuhrman. They join the previously announced cast of Cuba Gooding Jr. playing Simpson, David Schwimmer, John Travolta, Courtney B. Vance, Sarah Paulson, Jordana Brewster and Selma Blair.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

The 1977 Best Musical Tony Award for the Martin Charnin-Charles Strouse-Thomas Meehan hit Annie sold at auction May 13 for $38,697 according to Boston-based RR Auction.

aradia22 · May 16, 2015

Something I forgot to add about Zhivago. I thought about it after the second performance. I think I'd read something or watched something about fate/destiny. I wonder if there's an element of that from the novel that didn't translate that well to the musical. It's certainly not an unusual concept. Dickens loved coincidences. Many cultures believe in fate and destiny. Maybe if that's part of your culture then having Lara and Yuri find each other again and again would strengthen the feeling they should belong together but I feel like in this rather American production that didn't come across and instead I needed to feel the love story in the performances.

aradia22 · May 16, 2015

Couldn't find any stories for the TNR tonight so I'm taking the day off.

aradia22 · May 17, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: AMAZING NEWS, you guys! Someone very generously sent me their ticket for The Wild Party and I was able to get a ticket for the bird and the bee so I can see both! YAY! (Yes, the caps lock was necessary.)

No transition. I have a ticket for Ever After at Papermill and some videos have come out of rehearsal. I'm not sure whether I should cave and watch them or wait and go into the performance blind.

Yes, there's only one story today. I'm sure we'll get an influx of stories soon but this weekend is very quiet.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

Signature Theatre's revival of A.R. Gurney's What I Did Last Summer has its official opening May 17. Performances are set to run through June 7.

shoregirl · May 18, 2015

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/05/18/taye-diggs-replace-darren-criss-hedwig-and-angry-inch

Taye Diggs next Hedwig

aradia22 · May 19, 2015

Theatre News Roundup

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

The Flick officially opens Off-Broadway at the Barrow Street Theatre May 18.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

Producer Paul Adams and Emerging Artists Theatre will present a developmental workshop of the new musical Mean, featuring songs from P!nk's catalogue, May 30 in New York. Mean, according to press notes, "tells the story of Jinx, an up and coming rock star in Hollywood, using some of P!nk's biggest hits as its soundtrack."

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Taye Diggs will return to Broadway to star in the title role in the Tony-winning revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Beginning July 22, Diggs will play a limited 12-week engagement. He will succeed Darren Criss, who is currently starring in the musical through July 19.
Goodspeed Musicals has announced casting for its upcoming production of La Cage aux Folles, which will begin previews June 26 prior to an official opening July 15.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

54 Below will celebrate the upcoming release of the cast recording of John & Jen, which was recently revived Off-Broadway by the Keen Company. Composer Andrew Lippa and the show's stars, Kate Baldwin and Conor Ryan, will head to the cabaret for this one-night-only event June 6.
The cast of Honeymoon in Vegas will reunite in concert June 8 at SubCulture, as part of Brown's year-long residency. Brown told the audience at his May 15 SubCulture concert that 41 members of the production will join him for his June engagement.
54 Sings Lady Gaga July 27 at 54 Below. Currently scheduled to sing the work of the Grammy-winning artist are Donna Vivino, Lesli Margherita, Drew Gasparini, Ben Fankhauser, Katrina Rose Dideriksen, Jason SweetTooth Williams, Julia Mattison, Daniel Quadrino, Marissa O’Donnell, Angela Polk, Katie Ladner, Daniel Everidge, Grace McLean, Tal Yardeni and Elyssa Renee Ramirez.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

Off-Broadway's Classic Stage Company has announced that it will extend performances of Doctor Faustus with Chris Noth. Beginning previews June 2, the show will now play through July 12.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

The Gigi revival album is available on Spotify
Ghostlight Records will record the original cast album of Off-Broadway's Clinton the Musical, which began previews March 25.

We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)

Bernadette Peters has announced a list of concert dates through May 2016.

aradia22 · May 20, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Listening to the Gigi revival album. Vanessa Hudgens has the same thin baby voice thing going on that bothered me when I watched High School Musical. Corey Cott's not really wowing me either. I don't know what the people on BWW who loved it were hearing that I'm not. There's some charm to the music but it's hard to fight through those vocals to see it. Not sure what I'll be doing tomorrow. Maybe just running errands.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

Manhattan Theatre Club stages the world premiere of Heisenberg, a new play by Simon Stephens, which begins previews May 19 starring Mary-Louise Parker and Denis Arndt.
Amanda Seyfried makes her Off-Broadway debut opposite Thomas Sadoski in the world premiere of Neil LaBute's The Way We Get By, officially opening May 19 at Second Stage Theatre.
Theater Row's Clurman Theater Off-Broadway presents the world premiere of Nancy Harrow's jazz musical For the Last Time, set in 1950's New Orleans and inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel "The Marble Faun," beginning May 19.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

The two-actor musical Daddy Long Legs — by Paul Gordon and John Caird — will open this fall at the Davenport Theatre Off-Broadway. Performances are scheduled to begin Sept. 10, with an official opening night set for Sept. 27. The limited engagement will run through Jan. 10, 2016. The production will star Megan McGinnis.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

An open call will be held in New York City June 6 for the leading role of Dorothy in NBC's upcoming live presentation of The Wiz. Telsey & Company are holding the open call, which will begin at 10 AM ET and continue through 2 PM at 311 W. 43rd St., 10th floor. Sign in begins at 9 AM. The description for the role of Dorothy reads: "Female, African American, must be 18 years-of-age or older. Must have an extraordinary voice that can still tell a story, and maturity with a youthful energy."
Aaron Lazar, Ana Gasteyer and Dan Fogler will join the previously announced Jonathan Groff in the New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center series revival of William Finn's A New Brain June 24-27.
Complete casting has been announced for The Marriott Theatre's upcoming production of City of Angels, which will play the Lincolnshire, IL, venue June 10-Aug. 2 with an official opening June 17.

I Heard It Through the Grapevine (RUMORS)

While no dates have been announced, the official website for Love Never Dies states that a U.S. national tour is planned.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

Ruthless! The Musical, originally staged in New York 22 years ago, will return Off-Broadway beginning June 25 at St. Luke’s Theatre. With book and lyrics by Joel Paley and music by Marvin Laird, this new 90-minute production will officially open July 13. Paley will direct with musical supervision by Laird.
An intimate revival of Maury Yeston and Peter Stone's musical Titanic begins performances May 19 at Toronto's Princess of Wales Theatre.
The York Theatre Company's production of the new musical Cagney begins previews May 19 prior to an official opening May 28 at The York Theatre Company at Saint Peter's.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

Theatre for a New Audience has announced it will extend its engagement of Fiasco Theater's The Two Gentlemen of Verona for a second time. The revival of William Shakespeare's comedy opened April 30 and will now continue through June 20 in downtown Brooklyn.

One Song Glory (ALBUMS)

The two-CD cast recording of the Roundabout's revival of On the Twentieth Century is released May 19.
PS Classics updated Broadway cast album release of the Fun Home is released in stores and online May 19.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Bradley Cooper is making his West End debut in the title role of Bernard Pomerance's The Elephant Man at London's Theatre Royal, Haymarket, beginning performances May 19 for a run through Aug. 8.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

A new block of tickets for the Broadway musical An American in Paris goes on sale today. MasterCard cardholders receive exclusive access to these tickets through May 31. The general public can begin purchasing these tickets June 1. Tickets are now on sale through April 3, 2016.

Rick Kitchen · May 21, 2015

Why does the actress who plays Dorothy have to be 18 or older? The character is younger than that. I would have liked to have seen Quvenzhane Wallis in the role.

Rinaldo · May 21, 2015

Because if she's younger she needs a teacher and caretaker on hand at all times, and her available time for rehearsal is limited. It's just way way easier to cast someone older.

Rick Kitchen · May 21, 2015

That was no problem for the kids playing the Von Trapp kids.

aradia22 · May 21, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: I did very little today. I watched a lot of Jeopardy. ;)

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

The MCC Theater production of Permission officially opens May 20 following previews that began April 29.
Rajiv Joseph's play Guards at the Taj begins performances May 20 at the Atlantic Theater Company Off-Broadway.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

Industry readings of Dust & Shadow, a musical adaptation of Lyndsay Faye's novel pitting Sherlock Holmes against Jack the Ripper in 19th-century London, were held May 18-19 at Pearl Studios in New York City. Tony nominee Bryce Pinkham starred.
A stage musical based on the life of Elton John called Rocketman is in the works, according to London's Daily Mail. The musical will utilize John's vast catalog of songs for its score.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

Lesli Margherita will play her final performance as Mrs. Wormwood in Matilda — a role she created on Broadway — Sept. 6, according to a production spokesperson. Her replacement will be announced at a later time.
Complete casting has been announced for the Muny's upcoming production of the Tony-winning musical Hairspray, which will play the St. Louis, MO venue June 23-30. (I'm most interested in Ryann Redmond as Tracy.)
Casting is now complete for New York City Center's Encores! Off-Center production of the Alan Menken-Howard Ashman musical Little Shop of Horrors this July. Newly announced for the limited engagement are Eddie Cooper as the Voice of Audrey II and Joe Grifasi as Mushnik.
Signature Theatre has announced that due to a recent car-related incident and subsequent injury, Kevin Mambo will replace Sahr Ngaujah in the world premiere of The Painted Rocks at Revolver Creek, written and directed by Athol Fugard.

Brush Up Your Shakespeare (SHAKESPEARE)

Chicago Shakespeare in the Parks has announced it will present Shakespeare's Greatest Hits this summer, an original touring production that will visit 17 Chicago park districts throughout the city. The event will bring the Bard's most memorable characters and scenes to life in a medley that blends contemporary music with the classic tales.

Come to the Cabaret (CABARETS/CONCERTS/ETC)

The nine original cast members of the hit Broadway musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee will reunite for a special one-night-only ten-year anniversary concert July 6 at 7:30 PM at Town Hall Theatre in New York. The evening will benefit the Fund’s Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative and is being held in memory of Andrea “Spook” Testani Gordon, the production stage manager of the original Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, who passed away Nov. 30, 2014, following a battle with cancer. Benefit tickets, priced $50, $100, $150, $250, and $500 are available at Ticketmaster.com.
Bobby Steggert will sing the title role in The Sorrows of Young Werther — James Melo's "theatrical concert" adaptation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s groundbreaking 1774 novella — which is being presented by the Ensemble for the Romantic Century at Symphony Space in Manhattan June 3-4.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

Gingold Theatrical Group’s Project Shaw will continue June 22 at 7 PM with a reading of Shaw’s Fanny's First Play, featuring Emily Skeggs.
upcoming summer production of Three Days to See, a play based on the words of American author Helen Keller. The Off-Broadway show is set to feature Broadway actors Barbara Walsh, Theresa McCarthy, Patrick Boll and Marc de la Cruz.
Bucks County Playhouse has announced that real-life married couple Keir Dullea and Mia Dillon will star as the leading couple in its staging of On Golden Pond by Ernest Thompson.

We Open in Venice, We Next Play Verona (TOURS)

Tony-nominated director Sam Gold will stage the Fun Home, which will go out during the 2016-2017 season, according to a production spokesperson. The creative team of Something Rotten! will reconvene to mount their tour in January 2017, according to the show's publicist.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Full casting has been announced for the summer production of Jerry Herman and Michael Stewart's 1974 Broadway musical Mack & Mabel at Chichester Festival Theatre. It is scheduled to start previews July 13 prior to an official opening July 21 for a run through Sept. 5, followed by a UK and Ireland tour.   Joining the previously announced Michael Ball and Rebecca LaChance in the title roles of Jonathan Church's production are Anna-Jane Casey, Jack Edwards, Alex Giannini, Mark Inscoe and Timothy Quinlan.

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

All seven shows nominated for Best Musical and Best Revival of a Musical are scheduled to perform excerpts on the 2015 Tony's broadcast. Three musicals that were not nominated in either of those categories will also perform numbers: Vanessa Hudgens and the cast of Gigi; Matthew Morrison, Kelsey Grammer and the cast of Finding Neverland; and Tyne Daly, along with the cast of It Shoulda Been You.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced its full 2015 line-up, which will feature almost two dozen productions of new musicals from July 7-27. There are some interesting ideas. It's hard to form opinions without hearing the music. Just from these story descriptions Summer Valley Fair, Daughter of the Waves, Scarlet, Are You There Morgan Freeman?, The Last Time We Were Here, Wendy's Shadow, and Where All the Rivers Go To Sleep are the ones that sound interesting to me.
Barbra Streisand is planning to publish a new memoir in 2017, according to a report in The New York Times.
Manhattan School of Music will be the first-ever independent music conservatory in New York to offer a musical theatre degree program.

Rinaldo · May 21, 2015

That was no problem for the kids playing the Von Trapp kids.

They aren't in every scene.

aradia22 · May 21, 2015

A few extra stories that didn't make it into the TNR.

Katie Rose Clarke will appear in the upcoming Great White Way production of Allegiance. Clarke takes on the role of Hannah, which was originally played by Allie Trimm in the Old Globe production in 2012.
Tony Danza will makes his Café Carlyle debut June 16 through June 27 with Tony Danza: Standards and Stories.
Here's the trailer for Crazy Ex-Girlfriend. The cw wasn't part of the network trailers I watched from upfronts so I missed it. It looks kind of cute. It's a musical along the lines of Galavant not Glee, Smash, or Empire. But it has a rom-com vibe like Younger. And on the cw it won't need fantastic ratings to be a success. I'm totally watching this.

JustaPerson · May 21, 2015

oh my god...santino is playing aaron miller again. lol and it looks like he'll have all the same struggles until the end. Plus the coworker is from Submissions Only as well.

aradia22 · May 22, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Debating whether or not to see Wolf Hall.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

Elevator Repair Service's production The Sound and the Fury, which has returned Off-Broadway following an acclaimed premiere at New York Theatre Workshop in 2008, officially opens May 21. Previews began at the Public Theater May 14.
The world premiere of Emily Schwend's ghostly drama The Other Thing officially opens May 21 following previews that began May 12.
The Paper Mill Playhouse world-premiere musical Ever After begins previews at the New Jersey venue May 21 prior to an official opening May 31 at 7 PM for a limited engagement through June 21.

Closed for Renovations (CANCELLATIONS)

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that the May 21 scheduled first preview of Significant Other has been canceled due to a cast member falling ill during tech rehearsal. The show is now scheduled to begin previews May 22.
It will be Sutton Foster, rather than Audra McDonald, who will join the Boston Pops for evenings at Symphony Hall June 2-3.

I Wanna Be A Producer (IN THE WORKS)

The American Music Theatre Project (AMTP) at Northwestern University will workshop and present a staged reading of the new musical from Michael Kooman and Christopher Dimond. Titled The Enlightenment of Percival von Schmootz, the show is a Dark Ages-set satirical comedy about one man's search for enlightenment.
Cirque du Soleil Theatrical and For The Record have joined forces for a new musical evening that will spotlight the works of Tony Award nominee Baz Luhrmann. For The Record: BAZ, which will play Las Vegas' Mandalay Bay, will feature moments from such Luhrmann films as "Moulin Rouge," "The Great Gatsby" and "Romeo + Juliet."
Students at the University of Florida (UF) School of Theatre + Dance will workshop Volleygirls, a new musical that took home Best of Fest and Best Ensemble Performance honors at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2013. Presentations of the musical will be held June 11-14.
The Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (MASS MoCA) will host a residency for the creative team of Cinderella: The Real True Story at its campus in North Adams, MA, May 29-June 6. Composer/lyricist/bookwriter Holly Gewandter. The ten-day residency will culminate in a presentation open to the public June 6. In Gewandter’s reimagining of the romantic fable, Cinderella "goes to the ball disguised as a man, and the Princess falls in love with her.

I Hope I Get It (CASTING)

David Hyde Pierce and Debra Monk will co-star in a one-night-only presentation of A.R. Gurney's Love Letters June 3 at the George Street Playhouse in New Jersey.
Chicago's Kokandy Productions has announced the casting for its upcoming summer show, Loving Repeating, composer Stephen Flaherty and director-adaptor Frank Galati's musical about the world of famed American writer Gertrude Stein. The cast will feature Caron Buinis as Gertrude Stein, Amanda Giles as Young Gertrude and Emily Goldberg as Alice B. Toklas with an ensemble including Sarah Hayes, Andrew Lund, Jake Morrissy, Maisie Rose, Stephanie Stockstill and George Toles.

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

Scott Rudin will produce a Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Crucible in 2016. According to an Actors' Equity casting notice, rehearsals will begin in January 2016 with a first preview currently scheduled for Feb. 29. The production will play a limited engagement through July 17. (As we've reviewed, I hate The Crucible.)
Woodie King, Jr.'s New Federal Theatre will stage the final play by Amiri Baraka, The Most Dangerous Man In America (W. E. B. Du Bois), at the Castillo Theater Off-Broadway this spring. Directed by King, Jr., performances are scheduled for May 28-June 28, with an opening night set for June 11. Baraka's final play follows W.E.B. DuBois, co-founder of the NAACP, a scholar and political activist who was indicted in 1951 by the U.S. government at the age of 82 for being "an agent of foreign power." The story moves back and forth between the opinions of the Harlem community, witnesses' testimony and courtroom battles. Real-life footage of historical events and speeches will also be part of the production.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

The Visit lead producer Tom Kirdahy has announced that the new musical will offer all balcony tickets for $19.75 effective now until the Tony Awards ceremony June 7. Tickets are available at the Lyceum Theatre Box Office (149 West 45th Street, NYC) or on telechargeoffers.com using the code TVTALK520.
To celebrate the real-life Fleet Week, starting May 21, On the Town is offering a special military discount code: OTTUSO, that can be used when ordering tickets. The $44 dress circle price comes with an upgrade to orchestra for anyone who shows up in uniform, according to production spokesperson Matt Ross. The discount is good for both active military and veterans. Ross said that military in the house will get a shout-out at the top of Act II.
The Brooklyn Academy of Music has announced its 2015 Next Wave Festival line-up, featuring 32 theatre, dance, music, opera and performance art productions from around the globe. (Anything sound good to any of you?)

aradia22 · May 23, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: Still haven't seen a show. Excited for Eurovision finals tomorrow.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

The Off-Broadway premiere of Bruce Norris' The Qualms, about a swingers party, begins previews May 22 at Playwright Horizons.
Significant Other begins performances May 22 at Roundabout Theatre Company's Off-Broadway theatre, the Laura Pels.

A Musical (MUSICALS)

StarKid Productions, creators of the musical parodies A Very Potter Musical, Twisted: The Untold Story of a Royal Vizier and more, will present The Trail To Oregon! beginning May 26 at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City. The new musical comedy, which premiered last summer in Chicago and was uploaded to StarKid's YouTube channel in February, will be presented May 26-30 at 8 PM and May 29-31 at 2 PM.
The fifth annual Rhinebeck Writers Retreat has announced the 17 writers slated to develop eight new musicals; selected from over 90 musicals

It’s Only a Play (PLAYS)

365 Women A Year: A Playwriting Project will present New York City Group #3, an evening of staged readings of ten new short plays about some famous and infamous women in history, May 26 at 7 PM at The Lambs in New York City. Attendees can expect to enjoy plays based on the lives of Stella Adler, Alicia Alonso, Hannah Arendt, Judy Chu, Fannie Lou Hamer, Bett Hemings, Sarah Kane, Madame Mao (Jiang Qing), May Sarton and the Empress Dowagers Ci’an and Cixi. The Lambs is located at 3 West 51st Street, 5th floor. The event is free, although seating is limited. Email 365nycwomen@gmail.com.
Something Rotten star Heidi Blickenstaff and Hand to God's Marc Kudisch will be part of a private reading of a new play called Triumph by Benjamin David Hoffman, to be directed by Andy Sandberg, May 28. The story centers on a couple that suffers the loss of their 15-year-old daughter to pneumonia. Instead of treating the easily curable condition, the parents chose to pray for her. The death reflects the higher death rate of children under the age of two in this small sect of a few thousand people.
A new work written and directed by David Rhodes, titled Consent, is set to begin performances Off-Broadway June 2. The play follows the life of former NFL player Ron, who has recently come out as gay and finds himself in a risky new relationship with a young law student.

A Foggy Day in London Town (UK NEWS)

Jodie Prenger, who won the role of Nancy in the most recent London production of Oliver! through the BBC reality casting competition "I'd Do Anything," will star in a U.K. tour of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Don Black's one-woman song cycle Tell Me on a Sunday in 2016.
George Stiles and Anthony Drewe's The 3 Little Pigs, a musical twist on the classic fairytale, will play daytime performances at the West End's Palace Theatre, beginning daytime Aug. 5 for a run through Sept. 6.

Stop! Wait! What?! (EVERYTHING ELSE)

Bernadette Peters will narrate a new collection of Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight's classic "Eloise" stories — "Eloise," "Eloise in Paris" and "Eloise in Moscow" — for Simon & Schuster Audio. The collection, which will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the very first "Eloise" publication, will be available in special book and CD combinations as well as an audiobook-only collection Oct. 27.

aradia22 · May 24, 2015

Theatre News Roundup: I spent almost 5 hours watching Eurovision today. Congrats to Sweden even though I wasn't rooting for them. My pick, Spain, finished way at the bottom. Belgium, Latvia, and Slovenia placed respectably. Russia which I was kind of fond of put up a fight until the second half of countries voted. I'm in a pop music mood so I'm listening to Britney Spears' Circus album.

Another Op’nin, Another Show (OPENINGS)

Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3 production of Preludes, the new musical by Dave Malloy, developed with and directed by Rachel Chavkin, begins performances May 23. The world premiere features Tony winners Nikki M. James and Gabriel Ebert. (My ticket is for June 26. I'll report back afterwards of course.)

Closed for Renovations (CANCELLATIONS)

Roger Rees, who stars as Anton Schell in The Visit, will be out "for a number of performances," Playbill.com has learned. Rees has been out of the musical in recent days, and a press representative for the musical told Playbill.com that he "has not left The Visit," but that "Tom [Nelis] will be

Let Me Be Your Star (TV NEWS)

The pilot featuring Megan Hilty did not get picked up.

aradia22 · May 24, 2015

The "National Memorial Day Concert" is broadcast live from the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol May 24 beginning at 8 PM ET on PBS; check local listings.

Charlie Baker · May 25, 2015

Florence Birdwell, who taught both Kristin Chenoweth and Kelli O'Hara, and others, in Oklahoma, is the subject of this NY TImes article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/26/theater/for-kristin-chenoweth-and-kelli-ohara-a-fearsome-fairy-godmother.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&smid=nytimesarts

Sign In

Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Top Posters In This Topic

Popular Days

Popular Posts

aradia22

aradia22

Bethany

Posted Images

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment