Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[JustaPerson]

Honestly, I just don't quite get the appeal of that show.

Apparently during previews, the audience would cheer and clap whenever Fosca had a breakdown and at one point someone yelled "Die Fosca! Die!" ala Elaine Benes. So I guess they didn't get it, either lol

[mehtotheworld]

I need to find that ballet somewhere out of context, because I know it's a beautiful piece of dance but the show itself is just not for me (and I feel comfortable saying this here because I'm only throwing shade at people who are no longer alive :) ) and by that point in the evening I was just like UGH not ANOTHER fucking dream ballet! Just get on with the actual story! I have the utmost respect for OTT as a product of its time and I love a lot of the score, but I just can't get into it in 2015. Of course the same can be said of almost any revival, certainly The King and I, which has a ton of issues owing to when it was made! And let's not forget On The 20th Century, which also got a ton of love -- this was just a really strong category. And those are three very different pieces and three very different productions with different sensibilities.

I love a good fucking dream ballet! That's another thing that drives me crazy, I thought the On the Town dream ballet was just gorgeous and affecting. The dream ballet in An American in Paris (which I compare against On the Town more than any other, to the point of basically ignoring the other musicals in their respective categories) was the exact opposite. I could never get swept away in the music. The dancing on stage kind of just annoyed me as opposed to complementing or even highlighting the music, and the singing was just blah. Overall, the show was just blah to me. I feel kind of bad for shitting on the show. I'd love someone with a different view on AAIP to come in and tell me I'm being ridiculous (okay, I pretty much know I'm being ridiculous).

 

I'd never seen On the Town before last year, not even the movie (which I understand to differ from the show, especially with respect to the songs), but I didn't get anything stale from it or anything that would seem like it couldn't make it in 2015. I just thought it was sweet and funny and occasionally zany, which I can appreciate. Choreography was great, the singing was on point, and the actors were brilliant. And again, that beautiful dream ballet! The one thing I didn't like as much was the set design at certain points. I just loved it more than any other show I've seen recently. I'm still puzzled as to how it just didn't have the buzz AAIP or The King and I got, though I suppose The King and I is more understandable (Lincoln Center, Kelli O'Hara, R&H, etc.).

 

All this Fosca talk reminded me of this: 

[adam807]

The thing for me -- and again, product of its time, yadda yadda -- is that that ballet stops the story cold, as opposed to the dream ballets of, say, Oklahoma or Carousel, which are full of character and plot development despite not "really" happening. As for buzz, I think that's just a function of OTT having opened in the fall. But don't cry for them. They looked great on the telecast, they're going on tour, they'll be fine.

 

Don't get me started on the set. Really, don't.

 

As for Fosca, the commentary on the DVD of the original Broadway cast is AMAZING. Really illuminating about why the creators think the show does and doesn't work, some good backstage tidbits, and surprisingly funny. Donna Murphy tells a story about going to see another production years later ("You're so brave!" says Marin Mazzie) and at one point when Fosca pops up late in the show, "Even I thought 'Not THIS bitch again!'"

[Milburn Stone]

As for Fosca, the commentary on the DVD of the original Broadway cast is AMAZING. Really illuminating about why the creators think the show does and doesn't work, some good backstage tidbits, and surprisingly funny. Donna Murphy tells a story about going to see another production years later ("You're so brave!" says Marin Mazzie) and at one point when Fosca pops up late in the show, "Even I thought 'Not THIS bitch again!'"

 

That is a great story! Thank you for sharing it.

 

And also, somehow I never knew there was a DVD of Passion with commentary. That commentary, and your enthusiastic recommendation of it, are why I'm going to get the DVD now. Thanks for that also.

[Rinaldo]

The thing for me -- and again, product of its time, yadda yadda -- is that that ballet stops the story cold, as opposed to the dream ballets of, say, Oklahoma or Carousel, which are full of character and plot development despite not "really" happening. 

It shows the last stage in Gabey's silly (but endearing) idealization of "Miss Turnstiles" as this unapproachable sophisticated figure (in the "playground of the rich" which Mme Dilly sarcastically told him Coney Island was), when in fact she's a regular person like him, making a buck however she can. This was the first production I've seen in which this ballet made sense and had an intelligible purpose; it needs helpful direction and design. (I could also nitpick that there are no dream ballets in Carousel -- Louise growing up and being ostracized really does happen -- but it's a vision for Billy in almost-heaven, so maybe it's borderline.)

 

And I'm not unsympathetic to the "another dream ballet?" sinking feeling: There are certainly musicals with pointless dream or fantasy ballets, though mostly they're shows that don't get revived. As so often, the lesser titles copied the wrong thing from the masterworks. Among the classics, The Pajama Game has the "Jealousy Ballet" and Bye Bye Birdie has "How To Kill a Man"; both are so superfluous, they're generally deleted whenever those shows are revived. (Birdie does need a better justification for Rosie to suddenly snap and turn against Albert, but the ballet doesn't provide it; it was there basically because Chita was playing the role and needed something in Act I.) 

As for buzz, I think that's just a function of OTT having opened in the fall. But don't cry for them. They looked great on the telecast, they're going on tour, they'll be fine.

Well, actors will be employed, so there's that. (I'm skeptical that the tour will provide the full-size orchestra that's one of the show's big assets; I predict that they'll travel with 6 rather than 30.) And I must admit that, with their weekly payroll and the size of the theater, I'd predicted that they'd close by January if not before. I'm very happy to have been mistaken, but their producers must really be willing to lose buckets of $$ every week. Still, how can Yazbeck be overlooked? He's basically combining three roles: Gabey as written, the tenor soloist in the "Lonely Town" chorale (up to a high A, deliver me), and "Dream Gabey" who was always a separate performer (like Dream Laurey and Dream Curly). But then I thought he was the one who should have won Featured Actor for the most recent Gypsy revival (he wasn't even nominated). I hope he gets another good role soon.

Edited June 16, 2015 by Rinaldo

[aradia22]

I know some of you don't like me sharing things that are too personal but I had to tell you this story. Some of you may know I work in a doctor's office. Today I had to hold a patient's baby in my arms while she was being seen and I think I discovered a new fan of The Visit. Or at least "You, You, You." I hummed what I could remember of it to him and whenever I stopped he would scrunch up his face and prepare to cry. As soon as I started again, he calmed down and went back to sleep. Who says babies don't like musical theatre?

[aradia22]

For the time being the daily Theatre News Roundups will be moving to my blog. You can find a link on my profile here on previously. 

 

The In Development section is interesting today. The cast for Hollywood Romance sounds great. The plot does not. I'm intrigued by the idea of a Mata Hari musical but not by the creatives.

 

I'm staying away from the Preludes reviews until I see the show.

[adam807]

It shows the last stage in Gabey's silly (but endearing) idealization of "Miss Turnstiles" as this unapproachable sophisticated figure...

 

Well, actors will be employed, so there's that. (I'm skeptical that the tour will provide the full-size orchestra that's one of the show's big assets; I predict that they'll travel with 6 rather than 30.)

 

Still, how can Yazbeck be overlooked?

 

I know, but ENOUGH ALREADY. It's like 17 hours into the show. :)

 

They've said they're using the full orchestra on tour. Doesn't mean they will, but they've said it. Tours typically pick up local musicians, so they can do that without actually traveling with all 30.

 

HE WASN'T OVERLOOKED! He was nominated! Someone else just won.

[Milburn Stone]

I know, but ENOUGH ALREADY. It's like 17 hours into the show. :)

 

FWIW, I'm usually bored by dream ballets, even the classic ones that are revered in shows that are oft-revived, like the one in Oklahoma! and the non-dream dream ballet (maybe it could better be called "the interior monologue ballet") in Carousel--yet found the one in the current On the Town compelling.

[aradia22]

I just got the email from New York City Center and I didn't want you to miss out so I'm posting now in addition to later in the TNR on my blog. Megan Hilty will be starring in a concert of Annie Get Your Gun Oct 27 at 6:30 pm. 

[Rinaldo]

They've said they're using the full orchestra on tour. Doesn't mean they will, but they've said it. Tours typically pick up local musicians, so they can do that without actually traveling with all 30.

Can you point me toward a place where the touring orchestra size has been mentioned? I've searched, and found only the same press release duplicated on all the theater sites. In any case, as you say, what they say in advance and what really happens can be two different things. South Pacific (the Lincoln Center production) was supposedly going to use the full  orchestration on tour, but that lasted maybe one stop before it thinned out.

 

I do know that tours don't literally travel with all instrumentalists: most typically they'll have 3 or 4 who move with them (concertmaster, first trumpet, drummer, maybe one woodwind or possibly in this case harp, though that creates its own where-do-we-stash-it-in-the-plane/bus/whatever nightmare) and pick up the rest locally. But the real week-to-week expense is in that number of paychecks, whether local personnel or not, when it would be so easy to halve the number and (incredible as this seems to me) few in the audience notice or care.

 

I think it was clear in context what I meant by "overlooked" -- bypassed for the award. I saw Michael Cerveris in Fun Home last month and he was very good, admirable even, but not to my mind on Yazbeck's level. (And yes, I know that all of this is a subjective matter of personal reaction; I'm speaking up for my own, as we all do.)

[Rinaldo]

I just got the email from New York City Center and I didn't want you to miss out so I'm posting now in addition to later in the TNR on my blog. Megan Hilty will be starring in a concert of Annie Get Your Gun Oct 27 at 6:30 pm. 

This is one of those benefit galas for City Center. The reception before and dinner after will cost you $500 to $5,000 (or more if you'd like to buy a table), but they're selling tickets for just the show too. No word yet as to whether this is a reconstructed score of the version Merman did in the 40s, the post-1965 revised edition, or the more recent Peters/McEntire revisal.

Edited June 17, 2015 by Rinaldo

[aradia22]

Comments from today's TNR (which is now up): Having just seen her in The Visit but not being able to pick out her voice too much I think the actress is reasonably close to Anya physically. I wonder what age she's supposed to be though because they seem to be casting older with her and some of the others. I'm worried that they cast someone (I see as) more famous for the romantic rival role than Dmitri, at least for the reading. 

 

I grabbed my ticket for Annie Get Your Gun almost immediately. I love the music and it's a role Megan Hilty could shine in. I disliked her through a lot of the first season of Smash because I think she had to hold back what made her voice special in order to try (and fail) at sounding like Marilyn.

[DisneyBoy]

Apparently during previews, the audience would cheer and clap whenever Fosca had a breakdown and at one point someone yelled "Die Fosca! Die!" ala Elaine Benes. So I guess they didn't get it, either lol

 

 

Ha! That's hilarious :) Also: who is Elaine Benes?

 

As for Fosca, the commentary on the DVD of the original Broadway cast is AMAZING. Really illuminating about why the creators think the show does and doesn't work, some good backstage tidbits, and surprisingly funny. Donna Murphy tells a story about going to see another production years later ("You're so brave!" says Marin Mazzie) and at one point when Fosca pops up late in the show, "Even I thought 'Not THIS bitch again!'"

 

 

ROTFL - seriously? I've got to watch me the commentary track now. I mean, I'm not sure how much I'll get out of it, since I've only seen the show once and haven't revisited it since (this was like two years or more ago), but hearing Donna talk about Fosca being a bitch is basically worth the price of admission, no?

 

Good luck with the roundup on the blog Aradia!

[Rinaldo]

Elaine Benes is the character played by Julia Louis-Dreyfus on Seinfeld.

 

A friend of mine was one of the helpers involved with setting up the commentary session for the Passion DVD: making sure all the participants showed up and were comfortable, and so on. If I remember right, drinks were provided, so maybe enough had been imbibed to lower everyone's inhibitions just a bit.

[DisneyBoy]

Whoops!  *forehead slap* Never was a big Seinfeld fan.

 

Ha - sounds like a booze thing :) But a great thing too :)

Edited June 17, 2015 by DisneyBoy

[adam807]

Can you point me toward a place where the touring orchestra size has been mentioned? I've searched, and found only the same press release duplicated on all the theater sites.

 

I think it was clear in context what I meant by "overlooked" -- bypassed for the award. I saw Michael Cerveris in Fun Home last month and he was very good, admirable even, but not to my mind on Yazbeck's level. (And yes, I know that all of this is a subjective matter of personal reaction; I'm speaking up for my own, as we all do.)

 

They gave a presentation at the Broadway League Road Conference (which I was at) at which they said they were keeping the cast and orchestra size for the tour. This is, of course, what you say when you're trying to sell your tour, which is what that event is for, but there you go. Also Yazbeck is doing the tour so you'll get to see him on the road. 

 

I shan't elaborate further on my opinions on the Best Actor nominees in a public forum. :) :) :)

[Rinaldo]

Yes, we've kind of wrung that one dry anyway.

 

But many thanks for the report from the BLRC; that's new information for which I'm grateful. I'll be interested to hear announcements of further casting when they make them.

[aradia22]

 

Good luck with the roundup on the blog Aradia!

Thank you! Feel free to come over. I'll still be posting here because this thread is my baby but probably a little less.

[JustaPerson]

Ha! I was referring of course, to Elaine's hatred of The English Patient particularly when she begged the characters to "JUST DIE!" XD

 

Edited June 18, 2015 by JustaPerson

[Wilson Cat]

Anyway, in my head, it's not so much The King and I winning over On the Town, it's An American in Paris. Winning the choreography Tony, getting more press, winning at the box office, and even getting prettier merch. I saw AAIP and was completely underwhelmed. Anyone else seen it that can weigh in? I feel like Tony Yazbeck would have killed as lead, but I'm hardly objective...

 

I saw On The Town at the end of a 4 night 4 show Broadway Blitz last month, and walked out trying to put in order those shows in terms of LOVE.  It was difficult to make a choice, as all the shows I saw were lovely in their own right.  Something Rotten is crazy fun, and Christian Borle killed as the arrogant shit-head of a William Shakespeare.  "A Musical" brought the  crowd to its feet midway through the first half.  Next up was Fun Home, absolutely deserving of its awards, including Best Musical.   But OTT was my personal favorite.  Who could be better than Tony Yazbeck in that role?  And it was Joshua Bergasse's beautiful, floating, amazing choreography that sent me over the top.  I loved the Coney Island dream sequence ballet. I didn't see AAIP....so sorry, cannot compare. But the guy sitting next to me at Rotten had seen it the night before and said, "It was good....it was fine." Exact words. Brief aside:  I tripped on a chunk of crappy pavement on 42nd Street & 6th Avenue and broke my wrist on the way to the show that night.  And with a damned broken scaphoid bone I still went back to my hotel room down in The Village and twittered that Joshua Bergasse is the king and should win the Tony for the magic of OTT.  I'm still pissed off that he didn't (and still typing with a stupid purple cast from my elbow to my finger tips.)

Edited June 18, 2015 by Wilson Cat

[DisneyBoy]

Yeesh - I hope your wrist has healed :( No joking matter, that!

 

Forgive my stupidity but what is "A Musical"?

 

While we're talking about Chita (or is it just me?) I found some crazy old footage of her manically dancing about in Chicago. She looks like a sped-up cartoon! Lady sure is something', ain't she?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ohzf2t4Hhe8

[aradia22]

Thoughts from today's TNR (which features some thoughts on the San Francisco Opera production of Show Boat): 

I have no interest in a Secondhand Lions musical but there are some names in the cast for the reading that peaked my interest (Jason Daniely, Paul Alexander Nolan, James Naughton).

Sad that I probably won't get to see Ken Watanabe again but I would consider going back for Jose Llana as the king.

Two mentions of Justin Guarini today. I know we have some fans on the board.

I still have no interest in seeing It Shoulda Been You but I might track down the album when they release it.

Edited June 19, 2015 by aradia22

[aradia22]

Reminder: Great Performances at the Met The Merry Widow airing tonight http://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/schedule-met/

[DeepPoet117]

Forgive my stupidity but what is "A Musical"?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7lRudTq7Hs

[Kris223]

Wilson Cat, totally jealous of your Broadway blitz. Hope your wrist heals fast.

[aradia22]

Today's TNR is up. I was 2 years old when it happened but still that Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan musical sounds interesting. I wonder how serious/campy it is. Still keeping an eye on Amelie and hoping it gets to Broadway. Not too much exciting stuff today.

[aradia22]

I decided to dive into the NYMF shows that put up media. Songs for the Fallen has a good hook but nothing about that video appealed to me. The songs for the Nancy/Tonya musical don't actually sound that good. The songs for Single Wide sound promising. A country ballad, a Motown girl group song, and a Billy Joel-style piano ballad. Held Momentarily has a cute premise. I wish I liked the music more. I like the folk/country/rock/pop vibe of Deep Love. I'm not sure about what I'm getting from the actual story from that video but I might take a chance on it. There's something very slick and bouncy about Pope! An Epic Musical.

[aradia22]

Not enough stories for a TNR today. Read about Norma in Opera News. They didn't really sell the story. It sounds like Medea with more war...? I'm intrigued by the apparent difficulty of the role though. Any recordings I should check out? Preferably on Spotify...

[Charlie Baker]

Did anyone else catch The Merry Widow?  It might have been at least partially due to the playing it big that an opera house seemed to call for, coupled with the closeness of the cameras, but the dialogue and humor mostly seemed to fall flat to me.  The music was well presented and performed.  I've had a crush on Renee Fleming for years, so I'm always glad to see her, and I think Kelli O'Hara also did well.  The scene change to Maxim's was neat.  It was worth watching, overall.

[Rinaldo]

Yes, The Merry Widow, well produced in a suitable venue, can be zippy and fun. But this (I saw it at the movies) was indeed ponderous, and I would have expected Susan Stroman's professionalism to give it the right spin and not let it be so leaden. Alas, no. It was overextended, too: the overture and waltz at the beginning isn't in Lehar's score, and Fleming's aria just before the finale was an interpolation from another Lehar operetta -- very harmful to pace, that one, bringing everything to a halt just as we can tell we're headed for the denouement. I like Fleming, but I don't think Hanna works well as the vehicle for near-retirement opera divas that it has become of late: it doesn't fit the story (she married young and was immediately widowed, so what have they been doing all this time?), and Fleming's "money note" at the end of Vilja (the floated high B) was a moment more of muscled determination than of shimmering magic. I agree that Kelli O'Hara acquitted herself very well; she gave it the right spirit and pace, even if she was working in a vacuum in that respect.

[aradia22]

Back from Ever After at Papermill. Review to come on blog. Generally... mixed quality on the music but very faithful to the movie and a fun time. Not ready for Broadway but the cast was very talented.

[Wilson Cat]

Went to the Seattle Men's Chorus concert last night.  They did an entire concert of QUEEN, with a wonderful young Frederick Hagreen playing the role of Freddie Mercury.  The SMC is truly a local treasure if not a National one.  They just announced their 2015-16 Season with an "Everything Broadway" concert in early April. It is here, with this group, that I was introduced to a local girl named Megan Hilty, their guest artist for the Christmas 2011 concert.  She was wildly excited about an upcoming NBC Series called SMASH, to begin early in the New Year of 2012.  And no matter what we all ended up thinking of that train wreck (and like a train wreck, who could ignore it?!?  I hate watched it for the entire two seasons, and have been Team Ivy ever since.  Still cannot stand Katharine McPhee.)  The most fun last night was Bohemian Rhapsody, of course, because The Chorus pulled out all the stops.  They are flamboyant, and over the top, but always entertain.  There were some excellent soloists throughout the evening, and an electric guitar solo in "Another One Bites the Dust" that was sublime.

[aradia22]

Went back to listening to Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 while writing tonight's TNR (up now). Still pretty awful. What do we think about the possibility of a Bombshell musical?

[DisneyBoy]

I watched the PASSION  commentary track and deeply enjoyed the frankness. Jere seems like a humble guy (was that his biggest role?) and his wife apparently calls Giorgio a slut. Ha!

 

I can't imagine Bombshell working because I can't believe any woman could hit that last note in Don't Forget Me eight times a week.  Poor Hilty struggled during the concert and had to mix it instead of belt it.

[Rinaldo]

Jere [shea] seems like a humble guy (was that his biggest role?) 

Yes. Not long after Passion (I did catch him doing a brief bit on Law & Order) he moved to Boston and moved away from acting to some extent. When I checked my info just now, I was surprised to find that he does have an active website (not perfectly coded -- some links lead to error pages, though other routes to the same pages work fine). I surmise that any acting or musical performing he does now is local to New England (his last IMDb credit is 1998, and there weren't many before it), he may do some acting teaching, and his real work is in fundraising for nonprofits.

[aradia22]

Today's TNR is up. Lots of casting news today. The casting for Misery almost makes me want to see it. The cast for the one night Shaw play is fantastic but I don't know anything about the material and I'm trying to spend less on theatre. Jason Tam fan, can you get to Connecticut? Who is Michele Lee? Do I need to listen to Seesaw after I finally get through Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812? Has anyone seen any of the previous stagings of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune? (By the way, if you're reading the TNR's, remember to click "read more" so you can read the whole thing.)

 

I can't imagine Bombshell working because I can't believe any woman could hit that last note in Don't Forget Me eight times a week.  Poor Hilty struggled during the concert and had to mix it instead of belt it.

I'm not sure if any one song is too vocally demanding but singing all of the Marilyn songs if they don't cut anything would be. I also think that there's no way they can put it together as a coherent, well-paced show with all the songs they have at the moment. It might also be my anti-Will Chase bias but I don't see the DiMaggio numbers working in the show. 

[aradia22]

TNR is up. Some very interesting names for the Prince of Egypt reading. Set the date for that Jason Robert Robert/Christiane Noll/Hugh Panaro live stream. I think I'll be out that night.

[aradia22]

Today's Double Stuffed TNR is up. Thoughts... No one on BWW wants to see Amazing Grace. This might be a show I have to see sooner rather than later. Clueless jukebox musical? I'm not that attached to the movie... so whatever. Kelsey Grammer replaced by Anthony Warlow in Finding Neverland this summer. Howard McGillin in Grey Gardens with Rachel York and Betty Buckley? GOD, why is so hard to get to Sag Harbor by train??? Songbird could be good but I'm not paying $70 for a ticket and my student ID will have expired by then. If anyone's interested in the show, that Act of God giveaway is a good push to get you to see it.

[DisneyBoy]

I was 2 years old when it happened but still that Tonya Harding/Nancy Kerrigan musical sounds interesting. I wonder how serious/campy it is.

 

Um....ew.  Just...ew. Too soon. I don't get how we could possibly be trying to encourage kids to focus on the positive and be their best selves and not bully, and then be like "Oh wait - two celebrities beat on each other? Great - DRAMA! Let's make a musical/Lifetime movie/television show". The music would have to be incredible to overcome the bad taste in my mouth.

 

Wilson Cat, totally jealous of your Broadway blitz. Hope your wrist heals fast.

 

Ditto and ditto.

 

...he may do some acting teaching, and his real work is in fundraising for nonprofits.

 

Good for him. Love it when actors give back and transition to other things.

 

So...I just heard selections from the 1984 table read of Carrie and found it really really fascinating. You can hear what works in the show and what doesn't, but you can also almost picture the investors going "Hmmm - maybe" and having no clue what kinds of havoc the set design, costumes, lights, choreography and direction were going to play with the material. And the woman playing Margaret White was terrific! Much more Betty Buckley than Barbara Cook.

[aradia22]

TNR is up. Preludes was interesting. I'm having trouble remembering it today. If I ever start writing reviews, I'll include something about it. The cast is very nice and very talented though. There were nice moments. Just not quite a good show...

[aradia22]

I think of most of my childhood love of musicals being shaped by Disney movies (Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Stephen Schwartz) and Rodgers and Hammerstein but I never realized how much of Schoolhouse Rock was written by Lynn Ahrens.

[Rick Kitchen]

The current production at Music Circus Sacramento (which I didn't get a ticket for) is Big River, starring:

Ben Fankhauser - http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=491586

Phillip Boykin - http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=490542

William Parry (who was in the My Fair Lady that I just saw) - http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=74035

Jeff Skowron - http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=69685

Jennifer Leigh Warren - http://ibdb.com/person.php?id=76582

 

The next production is Bye Bye Birdie

[aradia22]

TNR is up. Thoughts...

I tend to see shows when they're closing but I didn't see Gigi and I won't be seeing It Shoulda Been You.

Gotta Dance has a great cast. Not excited about My Paris. It's a bland title, too. A James Bond musical?

Was sort of looking forward to seeing Ciara Renee in The Wild Party but I have no real opinions on the cast since I've never even listened to the score all the way through.

I might wait on The Visit. If it doesn't end up Spotify I might buy it and go to the CD signing.

Why does the Stephen Sondheim Society need a kickstarter campaign?

Excited for the Jimmy Awards videos to drop on youtube. 

Lots of charitable events for those so inclined. 

[aradia22]

TNR is up. Thoughts...

I didn't see Spring Awakening the first time so I'd consider seeing this rumored revival.

I wonder if Shakespeare in Love will make it to Broadway. I think it's a Harvey Weinstein property so it's not out of the question.

[aradia22]

TNR is up. There are no words (at least right now) to describe Little Shop of Horrors last night. I hope some of you were there. I hope videos surface (I mean, professional press ones). It was magical. For anyone who thinks I don't enjoy theatre, A, you're wrong, and B, I had so much fun last night.

[ratgirlagogo]

 

For anyone who thinks I don't enjoy theatre, A, you're wrong, and B, I had so much fun last night.

Glad to hear it, hon.  Sometimes I have wondered too.  Looking forward to reading your words, once you find them.

[Charlie Baker]

This morning on NY1's On Stage show, Mary Louise Wilson, now in On the 20th Century, was talking about her new memoir, My First Hundred Years in Show Business.  I wasn't aware of this book and it certainly looks right up my alley and probably that of other theater types too.  She's had a very long career, and her life sounds pretty colorful. 

 

http://www.amazon.com/First-Hundred-Years-Show-Business/dp/1468310852/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1436018427&sr=1-1&keywords=mary+louise+wilson

[Rick Kitchen]

Seth Rudetsky has a new Young Adult book out, The Rise and Fall of a Theater Geek

[aradia22]

Back from Wolf Hall and Bring Up the Bodies. Definitely agree that part 1 was stronger but it was a good way to spend $60, about 5 hours and 30 minutes, and my Fourth of July holiday. Still on the hiatus so thoughts to come on the blog eventually.