Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[methodwriter85]

All of that may be true -- is true. But it doesn't account for the (as already described) mind-boggling extent of its success. It had multiple touring companies in addition to the ones running in NYC and London, and every engagement sold out instantly. Something in it genuinely appealed to audiences on an unprecedented scale, and I sure don't know what.

 

I saw a touring production of Cats, and I HATED it. Hated it. Absolutely, unequivocally hated it. I like "Memories" and that's it.

[aradia22]

Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail last night. Interesting to see a show conducted by James Levine after the announcement. No real difference, which is to say, as competent as usual. I liked the Konstanze, Blondchen, and Pedrillo and most if not all of their songs. Pedrillo was a particularly good actor, at least compared to the others. I found my attention wandering a bit because the score was so repetitive. Like, I got it, you don't have to repeat everything three times. Konstanze and Belmonte's duet towards the end also seemed to go on and on and on and I began to get annoyed with the simple (somewhat ugly) set.

Dido and Aeneas tonight at NY City Center. The Christian Siriano gowns were mostly very pretty though not much of a stretch for him and not always the best costuming choices, especially taken together. The music was pleasant... I expected straight opera and thought it was a bit more operetta-ish. Victoria Clark was fun. I liked the chorus. There was a lot of movement but for the most part it worked (lots of falling down choreography). Kelli O'Hara sounded gorgeous. I'd compare it most closely to how she sounds on the recording of The Bridges of Madison County. Which made me kick myself again for missing that show. My biggest issue was that even though the show was under an hour 30 (which was very surprising to me never having seen any production of Dido and Aeneas before) I could not understand about 40% of the lyrics. Consonants. They are important. I found myself wishing there were supertitles.

[aradia22]

I saw the revival of The Color Purple tonight. It was INCREDIBLE. I cried so much. I have to think back but right now I'm tentatively calling this as my favorite musical of the season. I cried SO MUCH.

I will gush about the show later but for now I must vent about the girl sitting next to me. I've certainly sat next to people who were more disruptive but I think this is the rudest person I've ever sat near. The show started a few minutes late and she still arrived late. Not that late, but a little into the opening. I noticed her moving around and looking at down a lot and then the light came on. She was texting. She lowered the brightness a bit but kept texting away. I leaned over to please ask her to stop and she said "Why? What's bothering you about it?" I shouldn't have to answer that because it's just a rule in the theatre but I said "the brightness." So she said "I'll lower the brightness but I don't have to stop texting." Ex-squeeze me? YES. Yes, you do have to stop texting. But with the brightness down it wasn't too disruptive. I could ignore her. And though she texted throughout the first act, she did put her phone away at times. During those times she leaned over to speak to the woman next to her. Again, it was relatively quiet compared to my past experiences but COME ON NOW. Why did you come see the show? She was also wearing a BIG hat which wasn't a problem for me but couldn't have been fun for the person behind her. And she dug around in her purse a few times. I hadn't planned to talk to an usher at intermission but if I'd wanted to, I couldn't have because she disappeared from the moment the lights went down and then came back to her seat late. AGAIN. And she continued texting. And talking.

And I still loved the show and she didn't ruin it for me but again, what is wrong with you? Why would you go to the theatre and spend most of your time disengaged?

[aradia22]

Darlings, we really are going to have to figure out a TNR replacement or risk hearing about things like the live audio broadcast of this gorgeous looking production of The King and I in Chicago. Here's your article with the info about the audio broadcast happening TONIGHT. And if any of you see the show in person, please report back.

[aradia22]

After a ridiculous amount of preamble, The King and I audio broadcast is finally starting!

[Rick Kitchen]

The cast of Hamilton does an homage to Sweeney Todd

 

[DisneyBoy]

On 26/04/2016 at 4:10 AM, methodwriter85 said:

 

I saw a touring production of Cats, and I HATED it. Hated it. Absolutely, unequivocally hated it. I like "Memories" and that's it.

I've only ever seen the taped version with Elaine Paige but yeah....other than Memory, I don't know what people see in this show.

[Charlie Baker]

Vulture has an oral history of Rent on its twentieth anniversary:

http://www.vulture.com/2016/04/rent-oral-history-c-v-r.html

[aradia22]

I finally got a chance to see Shear Madness. It was cute. Better than Sex Tips... A lot of the jokes were so current they must have been written recently but it was a lot of one-liners and references being fired off but many of them weren't fully realized jokes so they weren't that funny. But collectively all the mildly amusing bits made for a fun night. It feels perfect for people who love to talk during a show... or people who aren't that into "the theatre" but still want to see people have fun on stage. Lynne Wintersteller deserves a show that can better utilize her talents. The other actors weren't bad. Just... competent. I recognized the other actress from Women Without Men. I don't really feel the need to see it again beyond being mildly curious about how they would play a different murderer.

[DisneyBoy]

I just watched the original 1964 broadcast of Once Upon A Mattress and really liked it. Elliot Gould's Jester dance felt like filler, but the rest was cute. Carol Burnett was terrific and had quite the voice.

Checking out the Tracey Ullman remake has been a chore, though. The costumes are all over the place, poor Burnett isn't able to wring a single giggle out of any of the jokes and Ullman feels like she's forcing everything. Morrison is smarmy as hell as the Knight whose gotten Lady Larkin pregnant, but then, Zooey D seems utterly uncomfortable opposite him. The charm isn't there, except for Dennis O'Hare, who is really good as Prince Dauntless. Yet strangely the NYTimes review said it was better than the Whitney Cinderella remake. Hun.

Are any of you Mattress fans?

[Rinaldo]

I'm not a giant <i>Mattress</I> fan, but it's a cute little thing and I like it. All three TV versions have been huge rewrites (in different ways each time), but I still prefer the first one. Carol Burnett really hasn't been approached as Fred, in my opinion. I like the staging in this version too.

The most recent one was originally planned to star Marissa Jaret Winokur as Winifred. Then, at a rather late point, she withdrew and they went with Ullman. I don't think she would have been any better in the role, but in any case the whole thing was badly conceived and performed, unfortunately. I don't know what that NY Times review was thinking: the third R&H Cinderella certainly had its faults, but there were at least a handful of scenes that worked.

[aradia22]

I really like the Mattress score... mainly the newer one with SJP and Jane Krakowski. I've never seen it on stage since the only one I knew about recently was the one with Jackie Hoffman I wasn't interested in.

[aradia22]

I decided to join Show Score. The character limit makes it a bit like twitter for reviews but you can follow me here. "Theatre Cat" if the link doesn't work. I'll still be posting thoughts here and hopefully writing reviews on the blog at some point but it's another way to keep up with my thoughts on all the shows I'm seeing. Validate me, please! I appreciate the follows.

[aradia22]

Tonight I saw Evening 1910. The show was a little over an hour long, maybe an hour 15. Boo. Booooo. Some of the singers had promise though they all had that same generic contemporary musical theatre sound. Not like Jason Robert Brown... more like Glee with autotune. Like a same flatness. They were often singing with very little accompaniment or underscoring though. It's just that very generic kind of singing, pleasant but with no personality. The performances were dull but they didn't have much to play. It's mostly sung through which made it confusing. Not in a... this show is so smart I need to think about it way but in a... well, if mainly abstract folk pop songs and you don't change their costumes too much or have character voices or do a great job of clarifying the location or defining characters then I can't be clear on what's going on and why I should care. And I didn't care. I felt a lot of emotions during this show. First I was a little sad (but not surprised at the lack of diversity). But, you know, it's 1910. Most Chinese and Japanese immigrants would be coming in from the west coast. The Great Migration of African Americans was just starting. I could buy it if with this small cast, you didn't reflect that diverse of a city, especially since it largely wouldn't be integrated. But they didn't even bother with accents or dialogue or anything but the vaguest music cues and only snippets a handful of times that even hinted at Irish or Jewish/Yiddish music. Seriously, we can't throw in some more overt references to Irish, Jewish, and Italian immigrants. This show was entirely nonspecific and completely bloodless. None of the suffering was really suffering. There were dancehall girls, factory girls, men roaming around. None of it really reflected class issues or labor issues or gender issues.... Which brings me to one of this show's massive problems. WHY? Why was this written? It's completely pointless. It's not trying to say anything. It's not telling a compelling story about it's fake characters. It's not reflecting the times with much accuracy. Another big thing that bothered me is there's a Mark (from Rent) character with a camera. His big conflict is choosing the wealthy girl or the dancehall girl/factory girl. But it's not compelling because these stories are barely sketched out with you kind of understanding what's going on because of all the cliches. But it's not like you feel like camera guy and factory girl have this deep connection that could blossom into true love and he's rejecting it for money and success. And speaking of that... the big villain of the piece is the wealthy girl's brother, George Spencer. Except he's not that much of a villain. He wants to compete with the man in Menlo Park (yeah, Edison, got it *eyeroll* this was like the least research you could possibly do to write a historical musical) and establish a venue where people can watch solo film projections... unclear. He reflects the hand of progress sweeping away the dancehall sleaze... except, no, because they keep singing their songs after he supposedly appears and kicks them out? And then he's bad because he is determined to protect his sister's fortune and he's miserly, right? That's why when camera guy shows up and she's clearly attracted to him, Spencer decides he's going to get camera guy to marry her come hell or high water. Even though camera guy appears to be an immigrant who just arrived in NY and probably is poor. So obviously in the age of Edith Wharton and Henry James a wealthy society type would force a poor immigrant to marry his heiress sister. What the hell? Did no one think this through at all? I haven't even gotten to the music. It was bad. I mean, I've heard worse. *cough Speakeasy cough* But this was still pretty bad. It's OK if you close your eyes and ignore the play and ignore the words. Then it just sounds like a bit of everything else mashed together. Some Daddy Long Legs, some Doctor Zhivago, some Sara Bareilles, some Norah Jones, some Once, etc. But it's so goddamned repetitive. Again, the show was an hour 15 maybe. There was the "roll away" refrain that kept coming back as a transition. Which made no sense because WHAT WAS ROLLING? They started on a ship. It would have been slightly better if the lyric was at least "row away" as a reflection of the immigrants leaving their homes and being nostalgic. But no, it was roll away. What was rolling? The Model T Fords that were just built and never mentioned in a city where people seemed to walk around willy nilly? Trains? The subway system was also never mentioned. In addition to nonsense lyrics, don't get me started on fireflies... there were actual nonsense lyrics. Just nonsense syllables. "La la la" "Da da da" "Ooo" Seriously? It's an hour. You can't write lyrics for an hour of music? Don't write a musical then. There were also countless false rhymes. And when things did rhyme, they were pathetic. The writer rhymed "ways" with "way" with "away." I did not go to this show tired. I think it set a record for the number of times I've yawned in an hour.

[Rick Kitchen]

Barrett Foa doing a one-man New Jersey community theater production of "One Day More".  This is hilarious.

 

[aradia22]

Happy Monday

DAMN

[aradia22]

"Six-time Tony Award-winning actress startled Broadway May 10 with the news that she is taking a leave from the just-opened Shuffle Along Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, because she is going to have a baby.

It's being billed as a “temporary maternity leave” that will begin July 24. McDonald was already scheduled to take a leave from the show this summer to recreate her performance in Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill in London, but that production has now been canceled. Her return date was not specified.

Grammy Award-winning singer Rhiannon Giddens will replace her in Shuffle Along's lead female role of Lottie Gee. In addition, it was announced that the show's choreographer, master tap dancer Savion Glover, will also join the cast, but his role was not immediately announced. The official statement reads, ”Savion Glover...will also step into the show, as envisioned by the director and book writer, George C. Wolfe.”

[Quof]

Quote

because she is going to have a baby.

I knew that bosom was about to burst out of her dress when I saw the show a few weeks ago (for the record, I found the show disappointing and am surprised by the Tony love.)

[aradia22]

I've generally been good about updating on Show Score. Sometimes I have a bit more to say but I'm not giving up on full blog reviews. Still, sometimes I just have a few extra thoughts.

I know there are some Younger fans here. I saw Crude tonight. Nico is good and the main reason the play is worth seeing. It's a fine show. Not enough of anything. More cliches in place of complexity. For example, his character is a socially conscious documentarian + oil company legacy from Texas + college frat bro who casually does drugs and goes to strip clubs + advertising whiz (but not really because that part was kind of weak). That isn't an "I contain multitudes" kind of thing, at least not as portrayed here. That's the writer having too many ideas and not being able to commit to the ones that work. The play's like that. It puts some (not revolutionary) ideas about oil spills and corporations and the environment out there but doesn't seem to know what it's own main argument is and doesn't really give its characters passion either. The wife was not quite a shrew, which I was thankful for, but she was annoying despite having a reasonable argument. I think both the actress and the writing were a little at fault. I mean, as annoying and artificial as she was, I mostly recognized her as a real person. I just didn't get why they would have been married. She would be kind of terrible and he would blow up at her (not threatening or aggressive, he'd just yell to cut into her stream of BS) and she would get offended and leave. I don't just support female characters blindly. He wasn't wrong in those interactions. The actor cast as the drug dealer seemed old for the part. The bro friend got some of the jokes that worked better but he could have been better. Again, Nico's really the reason to see this if you're going to see it. Off stage dog for emotional stakes that didn't really work. The drug use/sexual content/language would only offend someone offended by the any of those things in general. It was very minor. Very safe/non-threatening.

Edited May 11, 2016 by aradia22

[aradia22]

"New York City Center's Tony-honored Encores! series, led by Artistic Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Berman, begins its 24th season with Roger Miller's 1985 retelling of Mark Twain's classic novel, Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; followed by Cole Porter's 1930 Prohibition romp The New Yorkers, and The Golden Apple, John Latouche and Jerome Moross' 1954 reinvention of the Greek epic poems The Iliad and The Odyssey into an all-American fable."

I almost forgot about the other big headline today. Thoughts? I was meh on the Big River album. I guess I'm most interested in The Golden Apple even though I don't know those two shows. It'll depend on casting. Really, I just wish someone would do all the shows I missed... Allegro, Lady in the Dark, Call Me Madam, Pal Joey, One Touch of Venus, The Boys From Syracuse, Do Re Mi, Carnival, The Pajama Game, No Strings, Can-Can, Purlie, Kismet, 70 Girls 70, Follies, No No Nanette, Applause, Anyone Can Whistle, Bells Are Ringing, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Pipe Dream, The Most Happy Fella...

[LADreamr]

Never mind.  

Edited May 15, 2016 by LADreamr

[Rinaldo]

The Encores! announcement is exciting, if probably accidentally a week early (generally they avoid announcing the next season until the present season is over (which it will be after this weekend; but the mailings went out to subscribers, after which there's no putting a lid on it).

The Golden Apple has been on subscribers' wish lists (including mine, but I also saw it mentioned first in any article dealing with the subject) practically since the series started. It truly is a masterwork, a 1900ish American retelling of the Homer epics that's music from start to end (no recitative, it's all in song forms). Perhaps the PS Classics full-length recording (its first ever) helped give them the courage to schedule it, since otherwise Encores! would have experienced great pressure to make a recording of their own. Something that's all-music also presents rehearsal problems for their one-week prep schedule, but after The Most Happy Fella they've proved they can handle that.

The New Yorkers is a real surprise: unknown even to scholars like me (there's no recording, and maybe a dozen other Porter titles might have seemed more likely). As we get closer to the season, they'll no doubt tell us what level of reconstruction and restoration is required, but I bet it's a lot -- some of these 1930s scores by great writers like Cole Porter survive in surprisingly fragmentary state.

Big River is very likely the "easy, relatively cheap" title that's needed to balance the season's expenses. But it can be a very enjoyable evening of theater; I remember the 2003 Deaf West production warmly. So this looks like a great season (and they owed me one, after putting me through 1776).

[Rinaldo]

Also, in Encores! news: Their recording of the wonderful Paint Your Wagon production from a year ago is now announced for a May 27 release, and available for pre-order. This was one of the very best things they've ever done, and a much-needed reminder of a great near-forgotten score, so I'm delighted.

Edited May 11, 2016 by Rinaldo

[aradia22]

I am home from Do I Hear A Waltz. I'm so glad Encores did this show so I could finally see it. I remember liking the movie Summertime for the most part but also having issues with it. I might have to revisit it. Anyway, I think they did a good job bringing the show back to life but this is the kind of show that needs more than the Encores 1-2 week turnover. What I mean is, it's not a light and fluffy show that just needs to be dusted off and it's not a show like Zorba that's darker and more complicated. It's in a complicated middle ground and I feel like they didn't have the time to fully understand that in the staging, directing, performances and so it was just kind of middling. A good middling. Everyone sounded good. The fun parts were fun. But the emotional parts and the depth that is there didn't resonate because they didn't really play it. Maybe it was because they just did Zorba, but I felt like as good as Karen Ziemba was she was just on the surface. I wanted her to have more of a Kander and Ebb bitterness and bite. I would love for someone to really try and resurrect this show, though I know it's highly unlikely because it's far from a guaranteed commercial hit. The beginning was a little rough because it seemed like there were a lot of songs (good out of context) but little connective tissue and as cute as they were, for example, we didn't really need a song about how flying sucks. And we jumped into "Someone Like You" awfully quickly. I feel like we needed more of a reason to be invested in their relationship. At least seeing their first meeting. Wasn't that in the movie? Anyway... the romantic songs were beautiful but I didn't really buy the romance. The argument rang false to me. Why is the only choice between ravioli and beefsteak? They painted it like she had no options and I don't know if that makes more sense in the 1960's or if the casting was off or what but it didn't work for me. It's not like she was Fosca from Passion. Really? It was like take this self-admitted poor, not handsome, married with many children, doesn't even say he loves you or seem that into you man because otherwise you'll die alone without love. It seemed contrived. If she went home she would have other chances for an affair. I think that was the problem. Either they have so much chemistry and she's denying their love, which works (e.g. something more like Nellie in South Pacific when she's like, I can't deal with your children) OR it's just like a physical relationship and she has to let go of love to enjoy this thing in the moment. You could feel a push-pull between a more adult, serious, cynical story and the fun comedic numbers and typical romance. "We're Gonna Be Alright" was confusing. It was like a number from a Sondheim revue was just dropped in and it wasn't being played properly in the context of this show. Which got the argument very muddled about why adultery was OK. And the way he rejects her at the end? What the hell? I wasn't offended by the sexism because it just felt like very muddled writing overall. The choreography was not great. And it doesn't seem like Melissa Errico is a dancer. But I liked the costumes. And again, that music is gorgeous. I wish someone could figure out a way to make this show work. Even without that strong vision of how to make it work, these songs worked so well in a way they didn't just on the album.

[Rinaldo]

Back from my last Encores! weekend of the spring:

Matinee: She Loves Me. The show is perfection. The production is not. Very pretty, several good cast elements, but the delivery was cranked up to max almost all the time, as if director Scott Ellis doesn't trust the material to work without his "help." Almost all musical tempos were several clicks too fast, beyond any possible speed of thought or communication. Nearly everything played broadly and coarsely with obvious & unhelpful tricks and gags. Over- (and tastelessly) choreographed. Some of the cast could have been much better had restraint and character integrity been encouraged: Nicholas Barasch, Jane Krakowski (she would need a musical coach/disciplinarian as well), possibly Gavin Creel (though I wonder if he really doesn't have the needed spark of danger in him). Superb were Tom McGowan, Byron Jennings, and especially Zachary Levi. Triple bravo to ZL. His rendition of the title song was one of the most complete pieces of musical acting I've seen in a long time. Summing up: The charm of the piece still comes through, and someone who's never seen the show could see this and "get it," but it could have been much more.

Evening: Do I Hear a Waltz? Almost an opposite case, a musical of second or third rank put across rather well most of the time. A story that was fragile in the first place and that doesn't cry out for music to express it, adapted without inspiration. Melissa Errico was... "fine" without making Leona really come to understandable life (which is maybe an unachievable task). The ever-invaluable Karen Ziemba made an impression beyond the size of her smallish role as the pensione proprietress. Others were neither here nor there, but Richard Troxell was inspired casting as Renato. His operatically experienced tenor was just the thing to show us the point of all his songs, and he was clearly an audience favorite. The orchestra under Rob Berman's direction was, as always, a great joy to hear.

Edited May 16, 2016 by Rinaldo

[aradia22]

YES. Oh my God, Sutton Foster is doing Sweet Charity. NO, it's only running for 2 months (?) off-Broadway and right now they're only selling subscriptions. I don't want to pay $135 (not including fees) for 3 other shows I'm not interested in. I don't have that kind of money to burn right now.

[Rick Kitchen]

Pray for me. I'm going downtown Sunday to see the matinee of "Motown: The Musical".  The program starts at 2 PM.  But Sunday is also the finale of the AMGEN Tour of California bicycle race, which is running just past the theater.  All of the streets will be blocked off around the theater, and the parking structures in the area will probably be filled with people coming downtown to watch the race.  I may have to park a long distance away and walk in.

[Rick Kitchen]

Lin-Manuel Miranda fanboying out as Patti Lupone sings at #Ham4Ham

 

[Milburn Stone]

Saw the Lyric Opera of Chicago's production of The King and I last night. The orchestra of 37 under David Chase, and Kate Baldwin, were perfection. Everything else came near enough to it.

[aradia22]

I don't remember if we've discussed it here before but what is the general consensus here on entrance applause? I hate it and I won't engage in it. I'm trying to get lost in the world of the show and accept the actors as the characters they're portraying. Entrance applause highlights the falsehood after the curtain rises and makes it that much harder to suspend your disbelief and get into the show. I hate that it's becoming a thing. Who is making it a thing?

[Milburn Stone]

I agree with you in theory about entrance applause. But there are many instances in which either the playwright or the director has engineered the first appearance of a star actor to produce applause. In other instances it's clear the playwright and/or director have very much arranged not to have this happen. In either circumstance, the audience usually "gets" the instruction and complies, applauding or withholding applause as wanted.

The problem with not giving entrance applause when it is being asked for is that this instantly sets up an atmosphere that the show or the star is "laying an egg." It's like the audience is saying, "We know you're milking our applause, and guess what? You're not going to get it." It can be hard for a show to regain its footing after the implicit hostility of that communication.

As for entrance applause "becoming" a thing, it's been a thing ever since I began going to the theater as a child in the late fifties, and I assume it was a thing before that.

Edited May 20, 2016 by Milburn Stone

[Rinaldo]

1 hour ago, Milburn Stone said:

As for entrance applause "becoming" a thing, it's been a thing ever since I began going to the theater as a child in the late fifties, and I assume it was a thing before that.

I agree with Milburn Stone's wise words on the subject in general, and the above paragraph in particular. In theatrical histories, one reads of the great stars, from John Barrymore to Lunt & Fontanne, invariably securing a "hand" on their entrance. It belongs to a certain kind of theater, and I find it welcome there. It's part of the fun at Encores!, where we are seeing a specially selected, often all-star, cast brought together for a short run, and we in the audience are giving each familiar face a brief welcome. (I felt rather bad for Richard Troxell in Do I Hear a Waltz? last week, because after entrance welcome for Melissa Errico [welcome back to the series after a 20-year absence], Karen Ziemba [affection for the soloist who has probably done more Encores than any other], and Claybourne Elder [superior genetic engineering maybe?], he received none because the audience didn't know him.)

As for spoiling suspension of belief, it's no more destructive at an entrance than at any other time. Involvement is a mysterious thing: really we're constantly taking ourselves in and out of a show, by our own volition or external factors, and it doesn't seem to negate the "reality" for us. 

The only time I mind applause is when it covers music I won't get a chance to hear again, and even then I've learned to be philosophical about it. 

Edited May 20, 2016 by Rinaldo

[Rick Kitchen]

Surprisingly, I got to the theater today with minimal traffic.  I was truly shocked.

And Motown: The Musical was wonderful.  Chock-full of music - they did some or all of 50 Motown songs.  The singing was great, the little boy who did Michael Jackson was awesome.  The acting left a lot to be desired, but the singing was great.

 

Berry Gordy - Chester Gregory - http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Chester-Gregory/

Diana Ross - Allison Semmes - http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Allison-Semmes/

Smokey Robinson - Jesse Nager - http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Jesse-Nager/

Marvin Gaye - Rodney Earl Jackson, Jr. - http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Rodney-Earl-Jackson/

Michael Jackson -  Leon Outlaw, Jr. - http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Leon-Outlaw%2BJr./

 

Chester Gregory and Allison Semmes had great voices.  Martina Sykes, in a very small role as Mary Wells, killed it.  http://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Martina-Sykes/

In the scene where Diana Ross is doing her Las Vegas premiere, the actress came down to the front of the stage and asked people to come down and sing with her.  Then she had the audience hold each other's hands and sing along with "Reach Out and Touch" Somebody's Hand".

Edited May 23, 2016 by Rick Kitchen

[DisneyBoy]

Watched the TV broadcast of Ain't Misbehavin' and was really surprised. Didn't have a clue what it was about going in and wasn't used to such a cabaret-style structure, but enjoyed it. The show didn't suck me in until the second half really, but what a cast. Nell Carter was so unique, wasn't she? The Black & Blue number was terrific. Was that the original cast?

[DisneyBoy]

Quote

I agree with Milburn Stone's wise words on the subject in general, and the above paragraph in particular. In theatrical histories, one reads of the great stars, from John Barrymore to Lunt & Fontanne, invariably securing a "hand" on their entrance. It belongs to a certain kind of theater, and I find it welcome there. It's part of the fun at Encores!, where we are seeing a specially selected, often all-star, cast brought together for a short run, and we in the audience are giving each familiar face a brief welcome. (I felt rather bad for Richard Troxell in Do I Hear a Waltz? last week, because after entrance welcome for Melissa Errico [welcome back to the series after a 20-year absence], Karen Ziemba [affection for the soloist who has probably done more Encores than any other], and Claybourne Elder [superior genetic engineering maybe?], he received none because the audience didn't know him.)

The recent Follies revival was interesting in that regard because all of the leading and supporting ladies got a moment during the Beautiful Girls number to get some love from the audience, whether they were big names or not.

[Rinaldo]

Yes, that moment happens in every Follies production, to give us a chance to applaud everyone equally mid-number. Although if Sally and Phyllis are cast with stars, they will already have had their individual hands at their first entrance (you can bet that the arrival of Bernadette Peters on a stage doesn't go unremarked).

[Milburn Stone]

As another entrance-applause data point, sometimes the "ask" can be ambiguous. I saw two (magnificent) performances of the Lyric Opera of Chicago's The King and I last week, and at neither one was Kate Baldwin's entrance as Anna applauded. The staging didn't seem to call for it--I was in sync with the rest of the audience on that, despite my adoration of Kate Baldwin. But in the WFMT broadcast of the opening night (which I've just recently heard), the audience does applaud her entrance. Go figure.

For the record, Baldwin gave the best sung and acted portrayal of Anna that I've ever seen or heard, either in the theater, on film, or on recordings. The audience was properly unstinting in its appreciation of her on both occasions I attended. They just didn't think her entrance was asking for applause.

[DisneyBoy]

3 hours ago, Rinaldo said:

Yes, that moment happens in every Follies production, to give us a chance to applaud everyone equally mid-number. Although if Sally and Phyllis are cast with stars, they will already have had their individual hands at their first entrance (you can bet that the arrival of Bernadette Peters on a stage doesn't go unremarked).

True...but I heard some people didn't know to applaud for Elaine Paige during her entrance. I guess the US audience didn't automatically know her...

I try to give everyone some love personally.

[aradia22]

I guess I'm in the camp where I'm fine with entrance applause if it feels warranted (as you've said, if it's built into the show as a moment) but generally, I'll stick with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson on this one.

Quote

"It can be very distracting," says Tyson. Jones, seated beside her, agrees: "I wish there was a way for actors to kill it."

"I think the ideal is you walk onstage and they're so rapt by what's happening to you that they don't think of you as an actor. They get lost themselves. That's home free, right there," Jones said. "That's what we all want. Forget the entrance applause, please."

[Rinaldo]

28 minutes ago, DisneyBoy said:

True...but I heard some people didn't know to applaud for Elaine Paige during her entrance. I guess the US audience didn't automatically know her...

There's that... and also that Carlotta isn't a true principal in the story the way the others are (she has no internal journey to make; she's really a supporting cameo like the others, except the role was built up a bit when they unexpectedly secured Yvonne De Carlo in the original production). 

[ebk57]

10 hours ago, DisneyBoy said:

Watched the TV broadcast of Ain't Misbehavin' and was really surprised. Didn't have a clue what it was about going in and wasn't used to such a cabaret-style structure, but enjoyed it. The show didn't suck me in until the second half really, but what a cast. Nell Carter was so unique, wasn't she? The Black & Blue number was terrific. Was that the original cast?

I'm not sure that I've seen the TV broadcast, but we had the show at our theatre for a while.  I love it.  And I'd forgotten how much I love it until I heard a number on the XM Broadway channel a couple of months ago, at which time I realized that the only copy of the OBC I had was on vinyl.  That has been rectified and I've been listening often.  Have I mentioned how much I love the show?

[aradia22]

Went to another lovely evening at 92Y. Learned a lot. I always enjoy a Ted Chapin talk. The performances were mixed. It was a small cast and I don't think all the songs played to everyone's strengths. Special scoop... Betsy Wolfe has been cast in the Falsettos revival.

[aradia22]

By the way, I realized I forgot to check back in after Fun Home. It was my second time seeing the show. I went back for Rebecca Luker. Gabriella was Small Alison and Lauren was Medium Alison. And the older brother had changed. Other than that, I think the cast was the same. I cried a lot the first time, particularly at the end of the show. This time my eyes were dry the whole time. I think part of it was that I already knew what was going to happen. I went in completely fresh the first time, not even listening to the cast album. I do also think Sydney Lucas and Emily Skeggs were a big part of why the original show worked so well. But I'd also started reading the graphic novel (I've finished it now) at that point and the slippage between the truth and what was more dramatically compelling lost me a little. Rebecca Luker was lovely though. Judy Kuhn plays the character as more openly weary and distant from her children. Luker retained a warmth towards the kids and gave off the impression of being a normal mom. Everything was under the surface until her beautiful rendition of Days and Days. Even her Days and Days was very smooth and beautifully sung whereas I feel like Kuhn has more of a break in her voice. Two different but equally valid character portrayals. 

[aradia22]

Seriously, guys. Open to TNR replacement suggestions. I've taken on a recapping assignment so I'm probably going to be out for at least a good 8-10 weeks.

Mostly for @Rinaldo, Paint Your Wagon album preview.

[Rick Kitchen]

@aradia22, what is Encores!  Is it considered off-Broadway?

 

Tuck Everlasting is closing on Sunday after only 28 preview performances and 39 regular performances.

[Rinaldo]

I'm your source for Encores!, Rich Kitchen. I've been going since it started, and have missed only 2 shows in their 24 seasons (once due to a blizzard, the other to health issues). It's off-Broadway in the sense that their productions are not eligible for Tony awards, but not what is usually meant by the term off-Broadway. Their productions rehearse for a week or a bit more, and get seven performances from Wednesday through Sunday, and then they're done. (For this reason, they're often able to snag big names between other engagements, or on a short-term leave from a long run.) They are partially staged (the degree varies between productions; the series began as "staged concerts" but has evolved) with a full orchestra on stage. It's about the only place one can hear the full original orchestration for classic musicals, and one of the original ideas was to allow that experience. In general, they aim for titles that haven't been seen in New York recently (sometimes not at all since the original production); the degree of obscurity varies, and I would say they try to balance titles within a season so that both experimental long-shots and reliable audience-pleasers are available. 

I could go on all day. I could probably list every title they've done, in order, since they started, but I wouldn't inflict that on anyone. :) What else can I tell you?

Edited May 25, 2016 by Rinaldo

[aradia22]

@Rick Kitchen I'm not the authority. Geographically, it's a block from Carnegie Hall but close enough to The Broadway Theatre and Roundabout's Studio 54 that you could see it as Broadway by that definition (vs. stuff that's downtown near Washington Square or Union Square). They generally feature Broadway actors. But yes, as Rinaldo states, they have very short runs and aren't really competitive with the full-fledged musicals a few blocks away. And as a venue, the MTC productions at NY City Center are all considered off-Broadway (someone correct me if I'm wrong on that).

It's a shame about Tuck. They seem like a particularly nice cast of actors and I do think there's some worthwhile stuff there. A handful (maybe 5) decent to good songs, a beautiful set... It just couldn't find an audience. It's not Doctor Zhivago for me, by any means, but it's always sad when a show has such a short run.

Saw Blackbird today. I can't imagine being happy paying full price for that. Sure, there were worthwhile moments but Michelle Williams (the stronger of the pair) by no means gave a consistently good performance throughout the show. She was real rough in the beginning (partially the fault of the writing) and kept using a weird voice throughout. In the beginning it was like a sing-songy drawl (but neither of those things, more like a flat affect as though she was imitating a Lauren Baccall or Bette Davis... but badly). When she was shouting there was also a weird voice but then it seemed like she was having trouble projecting without lowering her voice.

Side note: the Belasco is a very pretty theatre. I'm not a huge fan of how dimly lit it is (a bunch of people had trouble finding their seats, also because a couple on the side kept taking people's seats and having to move when the ticket holders showed up) but it has a romanticism about it like a library where you go smoke cigars and drink scotch. I liked the Tiffany reminiscent lighting fixtures though all the baubles from them seemed a little tacky/dated. I'd googled "Belasco Theatre" when Hedwig was playing and gotten it confused with the LA one so I was little disappointed the ceiling wasn't as impressive as I thought it was going to be. It'd be interesting to see a bigger show in there since Blackbird cuts off the top half of the stage.

[Rick Kitchen]

Thanks, @Rinaldo. I was just wondering because I saw Justin Guarini discussing his upcoming work in Paint Your Wagon, and was wondering.

[Rinaldo]

Where did you see that? Is it a video online? The recording is "upcoming" (to be released in 2 days), but the show itself took place a little over a year ago. I wrote about it here at the time, and my co-subscriber to the series wrote about it most eloquently here. It was truly one of the most memorable productions they've ever done, and the trio of leading men -- Keith Carradine ("Wanderin' Star"), Justin Guarini ("I Talk to the Trees"), and Nathaniel Hackmann ("They Call the Wind Maria") -- was to die for. The recording should be marvelous.

OK, I can't stop myself. In the course of their 23 seasons, these are the items that were A+ for me -- unforgettable music-theatrical experiences by any standard: Out of This World, Chicago, The Boys from Syracuse, St. Louis Woman, Ziegfeld Follies of 1936, Wonderful Town, Carnival, The New Moon, Pardon My English, A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Follies, No No Nanette, Music in the Air, Finian's Rainbow, Bells Are Ringing, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, The Most Happy Fella, and Paint Your Wagon. I underline the titles from this list that they recorded in some form (sometimes a subsequent Broadway transfer; and they also recorded other titles that weren't as outstanding for me).

[Rick Kitchen]

Here's the video, @Rinaldo