Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 3/25/2019 at 8:35 AM, bosawks said:

sometimes you just have to do rear mezz and resign yourself to squinting for three hours.

I used to be a squinter (I have terrible eyesight too!) but one year Mr. EB got me a pair of opera glasses for Christmas and I was like OMG NOW I CAN SEE EVERY RHINESTONE ON THAT COSTUME!

[theatremouse]

On 3/28/2019 at 2:26 PM, aradia22 said:

I was rewatching the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade performance of Summer recently. It seems like it would have been at least equally as fun as On Your Feet.

I would not use the word "fun" to describe Summer. The original cast all have AMAZING voices, so I can appreciate that much, but that show did not work.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Casting has been announced for Kiss My Aztec, John Leguizamo’s follow up to Latin History for Morons. The show will run May 28-July 14 and then move to the La Jolla Playhouse September 3-October 13.

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Leading the company will be Joél Pérez (Fun Home) as Pepe, Chad Carstarphen (In the Heights) as El Jaguar Negro/Reymundo, Richard R. Henry (The Hunchback of Notre Dame) as Pierre Pierrot, Zachary Infante (Alice By Heart) as Fernando/Sebastian, Yani Marin (Wicked) as Colombina, Jesús E. Martínez (In the Name of Salome) as Captain Soldier, Maria-Christina Oliveras (Amélie) as Tolima, Desiree Rodriguez (Tricks the Devil Taught Me) as Pilar and Al Rodrigo (Blood Wedding) as Rodrigo, with Angelica Beliard and Katherine "KC" Dela Cruz comprising the ensemble.

With a book by Leguizamo and Tony Taccone, music by Benjamin Velez and lyrics by Leguizamo, Velez and David Kamp, Kiss My Aztec! features a fusion of bolero, hip hop, merengue and rap, celebrating, elevating and commemorating Latinx culture. Taccone will direct the musical, based on a screenplay by Leguizamo and Stephen Chbosky.

The production will feature music supervision by David Gardos, choreography by Maija García and orchestrations by Simon Hale, with scenic and costume design by Clint Ramos, lighting design by Alexander V. Nichols and sound design by Jessica Paz.

 

Aaron Sorkin’s To Kill a Mockingbird will tour in 2020

The tour will begin in DC in August 2020. 

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Produced by Scott Rudin and directed by Bartlett Sher, the world premiere production of To Kill a Mockingbird continues to break record after record at the box office, including its recent single-week record for the highest grossing American play in Broadway history. Since performances began on November 1, 2018, Mockingbird has not played to an empty seat, with 100% capacity (or greater) for every performance.

 

Every few years, there’s an announcement that a new Guys and Dolls movie is coming, so I take this with a grain of salt but there’s supposedly another Guys and Dolls movie on the way.

Edited March 31, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[aradia22]

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I would not use the word "fun" to describe Summer. The original cast all have AMAZING voices, so I can appreciate that much, but that show did not work.

I said "equally as fun." So the level of fun depends on how fun I found On Your Feet. I think I probably would have enjoyed LaChanze and some bits of the production numbers but it would have been a disappointment as a real show with a narrative.

By the way... check in on Hatef**k. I took my Muslim American friend. She thought it was dreadful and stereotypical and offensive. On the second viewing I found it a much safer and less challenging play than I had initially seen it as being. I'm not sure if it was something to the actors performances, the distance (I sat farther back in the theater), the ability to recontextualize (the female character didn't seem as strange to me because I understood her character with the knowledge of the whole play rather than a series of odd revelations and histrionic behavior), or the lack of immediacy (this was my second time hearing the script and my recall is pretty good so I didn't get the same impact). On my second viewing, I just saw it as a pretty straightforward play that used the conventional theatrical tricks and pacing to bring up Muslim American identity issues with some flaws of pacing and characterization but a generally coherent structure and some well-written jokes and quips. However, after talking to my friend, I can see how with the lack of good representation, it can be hurtful/offensive/harmful to see theater that flattens marginalized people into over the top stereotypes like that. I'm used to seeing theater use exaggerated characters and circumstances as mouthpieces for the debate the playwright wants to stage but if that's one of the only depictions of a member of less-represented community, it can be reductive and harmful. It raised a question in my mind of whether theater made by and for communities of color should look like the theatrical tradition we're used to that has been primarily created by white creatives for white audiences.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Daveed Diggs, Thomas Sadoski & Suzan-Lori Parks discuss White Noise

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ben Platt discusses his debut album:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Andrew Rannells discusses his memoir:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Joel Grey & Steven Skybell on the Yiddish version of Fiddler on the Roof

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Derrin Baskin discusses Ain't Too Proud

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Brian d'Arcy James discusses The Ferryman

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Isabelle Huppert & Justice Smith discuss The Mother

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Genevieve Angelson discusses her play The Cake and her tv show Flack

[aradia22]

I checked on The Secret Life of Bees out of curiosity although it's a ways off (Back25 goes on sale 2 weeks before performances start) and almost all of the preview performances are entirely sold out! Many of the regular performances are well sold but not all of them. After the first few dates there's decent availability given the size of the theater. 

I really want to see this but around $100 is a lot to bet given my general opinion of Duncan Sheik's work. I'm torn between getting a ticket sooner and maybe hating it or waiting for hopefully positive word of mouth to spread and then kicking myself for not getting a ticket. I find it particularly weird that previews have sold so well. 

Argh. This theater gave me The Band's Visit. But it also produced This Ain't No Disco and These Paper Bullets. That's why Back25 is usually a safe bet. For $25, these experiments don't have to be as successful to still warrant the ticket cost and the night out. Sigh...

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Five genies reunited for Aladdin's fifth anniversary:

[Spartan Girl]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Five genies reunited for Aladdin's fifth anniversary:

Love this.  Juwann was the Genie I saw last year, and he was brilliant.  I hope he gets upped to a lead Genie soon.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Chris McCarrell, Kristin Stokes & Jorrel Javier discuss The Lightning Thief: The Percy Jackson Musical

[aradia22]

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Stars in Concert was filmed over three nights at The Appel Room at Jazz at Lincoln Center. All three concerts will air nationwide on PBS in hour-long episodes on consecutive Fridays in May, starting with Cynthia Erivo on Friday, May 10, followed by Annaleigh Ashford, with special guest Jake Gyllenhaal, on Friday, May 17, and concluding with Megan Hilty, with special guests Shoshana Bean and Eden Espinosa, on Friday, May 24. Each episode will also be available on the PBS app for 14 days following the premiere date.

In addition, three of last year's inaugural concerts will re-air on PBS immediately following those mentioned above. Andrew Rannell's 2018 special will air immediately following Ms. Erivo on the May 10, Leslie Odom Jr. after Ms. Ashford on the May 17, and Sutton Foster's concert will conclude the series following Ms. Hilty on the May 24.

VERY excited. I still haven't watched last year's specials. I've been saving them up. 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/PBS-to-Air-Cynthia-Erivo-Annaleigh-Ashford-and-Megan-Hiltys-Lincoln-Center-Concerts-20190409

[aradia22]

Report from Kiss Me, Kate! tonight. I'm putting it in spoilers in case you don't want my opinion to sway you before you see the show for yourself.

Spoiler

My primary thought from tonight is we do not deserve the glorious angel goddess that is Kelli O'Hara. She is the reason to see this production. My favorite version of Kiss Me, Kate is still the Rachel York/Brent Barrett version they filmed and there were times when I preferred Rachel's interpretation of a song or a line reading but still, in vocals and acting Kelli was so far beyond the rest of the company. Her songs were just magical compared to everything else. I think her "So in Love" suffered in the context of the show. It was a fine rendition but it didn't hold weight because her scenes with Will Chase didn't have enough emotion. He didn't give her much to play off of so her performance was mostly self-contained. 

I wouldn't see this for the costumes and some of them looked cheap or like basic pattern-making 101 but there were some standouts. I basically loved most of what they put Kelli in (the white and red versions of her pleated dressing gown, her black and white 1940's outfits in Act 2, and her wedding dress as Katherine were all great. I also liked the "Tom, Dick, or Harry" costumes for the men. There was a bit of Gregg Barnes-style whimsy though every other time the costumer tried clashing colors or patterns it flopped. 

Warren Carlyle choreographed. There were some nice moments in the choreography. I don't recall past productions or the movie well enough to remember if there were a lot of direct references but it had its moments. But if always was a touch too tentative. Weirdly "Too Darn Hot" was a little dull to me, like the ensemble didn't have enough direction and then at the end they were all dancing but I was a little over it by that point. But "Bianca" which I usually find boring had a ton of energy because Corbin was free to be totally corny. He's really giving classical musical theater leading man in this show but Bill is such a nothing part that it doesn't land as well as even his Holiday Inn character even though he's doing so much work. "Tom, Dick, or Harry" was fine. It's a good number but it could have been better. They also went over the top emphasizing the dick joke. I feel like a lot of the direction did not trust the audience to get the Cole Porter witticisms and so where they could play things broadly, they did like it like it was panto. There are so many laugh lines in the lyrics that didn't land. This is my favorite Cole Porter musical. It should NOT be this hard to make it work. It felt like very high school, basic direction at times. 

Stephanie Styles was totally fine as Lois/Bianca. She played it in a straightforward way like how everyone who isn't Ellen Greene tries to copy her Audrey. Nancy Anderson was so much more natural. Stephanie managed the character voice fine and with "Always True to You..." they gave her a lot of choreo and she let loose with a fine belt. But there's a difference between doing a fine job and bringing real acting chops to a sex pot part. Actresses like Jane Krakowski give parts like this more life. 

So... Will Chase. He's still... not a very emotive actor. His "choices" for this part seemed to be doing something of a "character" voice to make up for the fact that he's not a baritone and also shouting. Lots of shouting. He played it like Shakespeare in Something Rotten complete with guyliner. Vocally, I think his best moment was "Were Thine That Special Face" where even though he sounded like a tenor pushing down to sound like he has a deeper, more resonant voice (though I swear they've changed the keys for him) this was the song where he sounded the best and he also got some classic tenor range high notes at the end to show off. 

The vocals were very rough at first. I think the ensemble is uneven. Maybe not everyone is as good a singer as they are a dancer or vice versa. But throughout the show, the sound design seemed off. Or, I don't know. I think it was some combination of bad sound design, malfunctioning or improperly calibrated microphones, and the singers not being properly directed about how to sing certain lines. There were just odd moments when a word or phrase would be very loud for no reason and then it would pull back. 

For anyone concerned about changes to the script or direction, I didn't notice much. If anything, I feel like they didn't know how to land the jokes. Yes, "I've Come to Wive It..." is misogynistic and "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" is bawdy. But they're tolerable if you play them in the right spirit. It's like My Fair Lady. It's okay if the over the top jerk sings an over the top jerk song if the show realizes he's a jerk. Kelli plays "I Hate Men" in a more classy, restrained way compared to Rachel's bawdy, comic performance. Lily hits Fred a lot but the scene doesn't end with the spanking but just him kicking her in the butt and then carrying her off. In the dressing room after the general comes to "rescue" her, the book draws a clear parallel between Petruchio and the general with Fred and the gangsters quoting lines from the show. I can't remember if that's always in the book. And when Lily returns, Kelli is in her full magical, benevolent Anna Leonowens mode so it feels like she holds the power and is never really cowed by Fred. The final song is about love and I think they may have cut any lines about wives being subject to their husbands or de-emphasized them because it felt like something was missing. 

If that was too long or you didn't read it, I'd say the show needs stronger direction and is lacking in sound design but it's worth it for Kelli and there are some good moments here and there. It had the feel of an Encores show... like a little cheap and like the director didn't have enough time to present a strong vision of the material or the book but there were high points depending on how the musical numbers were played.

[aradia22]

My favorite video of all the ones posted by the various companies. It reminded me that there was a bit in Kiss Me Kate that felt sloppy. If you're going to do something like Fosse or any other choreographer, you need to understand why you're doing it. There's a small degree of difference between looking silly and having it all make perfect sense. It has to be sexy and sharp with the timing on point and total commitment and intention. 

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Get-A-Look-At-More-Photos-From-MARIE-DANCING-STILL-Opens-Tonight-20190405

Bring this to me!!!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 minute ago, aradia22 said:

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Flash-Get-A-Look-At-More-Photos-From-MARIE-DANCING-STILL-Opens-Tonight-20190405

Bring this to me!!!

My friend lives in Seattle so I read a review of this show last week and had the same reaction. Tiler Peck + Degas = I would definitely go see this (even though the review I read said the show needs a lot of work)!

[aradia22]

@ElectricBoogaloo I'm a little sad Rebecca Luker is no longer attached (though that could change) but I remember loving Louise Pitre in Mamma Mia (even if that was a million years ago). Also, Terrence Mann!

The one song I heard from the show in concert was not great. But Ahrens and Flaherty can get me to see almost anything. Except Rocky. 😉

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Avett Brothers Musical SWEPT AWAY to Premiere at Berkeley Rep in June 2020

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The band joins forces with Tony Award-winning stage and screen writer John Logan (Red, Broadway's Moulin Rouge!, Skyfall, Gladiator) and Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (American Idiot, Spring Awakening, Hedwig and the Angry Inch), who blew the roof off Berkeley Rep in 2009 with Green Day's American Idiot. Swept Away will feature music arrangements and orchestrations by Chris Miller and Brian Usifer.

Swept Away is set in 1888, off the coast of New Bedford, MA. When a violent storm sinks their whaling ship, the four surviving souls - a young man in search of adventure, his older brother who has sworn to protect him, a captain at the end of a long career at sea, and a worldly first mate who has fallen from grace - each face a reckoning: How far will I go to stay alive? And can I live with the consequences?

[aradia22]

RE: Swept Away

So... no female characters? Thank you, next.

OK, more seriously I think Michael Mayer's last credit is Head Over Heels and John Logan's last credit is Superhero at Second Stage so the creative team isn't that interesting to me either. And I have no idea who the Avett Brothers are.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 minute ago, aradia22 said:

I have no idea who the Avett Brothers are.

Ha, I only know who they are because several of my friends are OBSESSED with them. Despite that, I've still never listened to their music. But the BroadwayWorld article describes them thusly:

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Multiple Grammy-Award nominees The Avett Brothers, hailed as "America's biggest roots band" by Rolling Stone, bring their signature blend of folk and rock 'n' roll attitude to the theatrical stage in this new musical inspired by their 2004 album Mignonette and their vast body of music.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Honestly, I'm more interested in seeing the new Culture Clash show (which will also be part of Berkeley Rep's 19-20 season). It drives me crazy when theater groups announce their season but then say "and X number of shows to be announced!" SF Ballet does that every year too. If you want me to spend $1000+ for two season subscriptions, the least you could do is tell me everything I'm going to see first.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

New promo for Moulin Rouge!

[aradia22]

@ElectricBoogaloo

For some reason Tveit sticks out to me. I'm not even that familiar with him as an actor (that is, I don't find him any more recognizable and difficult to see as being in character) so I think it's something about what he's doing as an actor. But Karen Olivo looks great and what I'm getting of the production values is getting me HYPED. I still keep forgetting this is coming in the summer and isn't part of this theater/Tony season. 

I will admit I'm biased about Karen Olivo after watching the Miscast clips this year.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

@aradia22 my cousin saw Moulin Rouge while it was in Boston last summer and said it was great. The sets look amazing. 

[theatremouse]

19 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 It drives me crazy when theater groups announce their season but then say "and X number of shows to be announced!" SF Ballet does that every year too. If you want me to spend $1000+ for two season subscriptions, the least you could do is tell me everything I'm going to see first.

I don't like it either but it's not like they're intentionally holding back. They don't have the contracts done yet, but if they waited longer on selling the subscriptions they'd be fucked. So they have to start renewals whether they know all the shows or not.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I don't renew until I know all the shows for a season so sometimes I wait months before deciding whether to renew for a season versus buying individual tickets. I am a season subscriber for multiple companies but sorry, I'm not going to fork over that much money if I don't know what I'll be seeing. Some years that means I just buy tickets to individual shows. Some years that means I end up buying a subscription waaaaaaaay after the new season is announced (like months later, sometimes after the new season starts).

As much as I love the theater and supporting the arts, I only have so much to spend per year so I'm going to make sure I at least make an informed choice for that much money. There are too many good things to see for me to waste money on a season subscription with multiple "to be announced" shows.

At least with SF Ballet, it's usually only one or two rep pieces out of the entire season (meaning one rep program will have three pieces and one will be "new work by _______ TBA"). But leaving up to three shows as unknown for a season that's only six to eight shows? I know other people will gladly renew their annual subscriptions under those circumstances but I'm not one of those people.

[aradia22]

What annoys me is like the NY Pops at Carnegie Hall. They always sell you on what sound like pretty good concerts with starry casting. And inevitably someone drops out. And I get that life happens and a lot of these actors are in demand and need to take jobs where they can so their first priority is not a random concert. But when it's a pattern, maybe that shouldn't be the selling point. Maybe you should work on having more interesting programs instead of just getting big name talent. 

I'd contrast this with 92Y. I might still be subscribed if they hadn't raised their ticket prices. Also, you can't buy the under 35 tickets as a subscription anymore so I'd just be buying individual tickets at the same time for no reason since there's usually available in the last month/few weeks before each concert. But they announce pretty interesting shows and they put real work into planning something engaging. And then they announce the talent when they have things locked down. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Oof, yeah. Having one person drop out of a show is an unfortunate incident. Having it happen repeatedly is a very bad pattern. And I totally agree - shit happens and actors need to take jobs where they can get them, but if NY Pops has this happen regularly then maybe they need to consider other programming options.

I love being a subscriber because most companies make it so easy to exchange tickets for better seats or different nights, but to me it's not worth spending my money until I have enough information to make an informed choice about whether to commit to a whole season. There were some seasons when I decided to attend only two or three shows that I really wanted to see (versus getting a season subscription and seeing 3-5 more shows that I wasn't really interested in).

I know some people rationalize the cost of a season subscription because there's a discount when you subscribe (although for the record, sometimes the discount for season subscribers isn't really that great), but if I'm not interested in 3/4 of the shows, I'd rather pay face value and only see the shows I REALLY want to see. Sometimes if I only see a few shows, I can take the extra money that I would have spend if I'd bought the season subscription and get really awesome seats to a show that I know I'll love.

[aradia22]

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Oof, yeah. Having one person drop out of a show is an unfortunate incident. Having it happen repeatedly is a very bad pattern. And I totally agree - shit happens and actors need to take jobs where they can get them, but if NY Pops has this happen regularly then maybe they need to consider other programming options.

Off the top of my head... I saw a concert this year that was supposed to have Ashley Park but she had to drop out (possibly for a TV show) so they got Laura Osnes. It mostly worked because Ashley has a stronger voice but the program had a lot of Disney princess type songs so Laura didn't have to stretch herself much. Her "When You Believe" from The Prince of Egypt was the only WTF moment but she did as well as she could. 

Another past concert replaced either Jeremy Jordan or Adam Kantor with Darren Criss. NO. Oh God, that was a dreadful night. It was basically all acoustic-style wispy piano or guitar covers because Darren has a weak voice and the songs were all big numbers like stuff from The Last 5 Years and Bridges of Madison County. 

And another one replaced Steven Pasquale with Will Chase. Steven is charismatic and one of the best baritones working in theater right now. And Will generally has the stage presence of a piece of cardboard and he's a tenor. You can imagine...

There have been other drop outs but these are the ones that stand out.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

4 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

Another past concert replaced either Jeremy Jordan or Adam Kantor with Darren Criss. NO. Oh God, that was a dreadful night. It was basically all acoustic-style wispy piano or guitar covers because Darren has a weak voice and the songs were all big numbers like stuff from The Last 5 Years and Bridges of Madison County. 

And another one replaced Steven Pasquale with Will Chase. Steven is charismatic and one of the best baritones working in theater right now. And Will generally has the stage presence of a piece of cardboard and he's a tenor. You can imagine...

As much as I was fine with Darren on Glee, I had to laugh at these descriptions because Darren is definitely not the strongest singer. I was disappointed when he was cast as Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid with Sara Bareilles a few years ago and he lived down to my expectations.

Definitely agree with you on Steven Pasquale vs Will Chase. I can't imagine how disappointed I would have been to get excited to see SP and then end up with WC.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

And speaking of The Little Mermaid, I totally forgot to post about this when I got the email notification a few weeks ago!

The Little Mermaid live to film concert experience

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DISNEY'S THE LITTLE MERMAID will be given new life for two special evenings under the sea at the Hollywood (Fish)Bowl. Coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the classic Disney film, the production features an all-star cast of performers including Lea Michele (as Ariel), Harvey Fierstein (as Ursula), Cheech Marin (as Chef Louis), Peter Gallagher (as King Triton), Leo Gallo (as Prince Eric), Ken Page (as Sebastian) and special guest Alan Menken, who will perform the songs from the Oscar® and Grammy® -winning score as the film plays on the Bowl's movie screen accompanied by a full, live orchestra. 

Celebrated songs from THE LITTLE MERMAID will be performed live on stage by the incredible cast, accompanied by orchestra with fan-favorite musical numbers including "Under the Sea," "Kiss the Girl," "Poor Unfortunate Souls" and "Part of Your World." To expand on the musical experience, a number of songs from Broadway's The Little Mermaid will be incorporated into the evening. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Gideon Glick & Celia Keenan-Bolger discuss To Kill a Mockingbird:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Jarrod Spector discusses The Cher Show:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Samantha Barks discusses Pretty Woman:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Sarah Stiles discusses Tootsie:

[Silver Raven]

Casey Cott, Christian Borle and Mandy Gonzalez to star in The Who's Tommy at the Kennedy Center in Washington.

Edited April 11, 2019 by Silver Raven

[unicorn23]

Oh man, I keep forgetting to post here about seeing Sara's last show (her third "last show" haha) on Waitress and then the last show of Anastasia.

First off, this was the third time I've seen Sara's supposedly last show ever as Jenna on Waitress and I'm fully expecting her to go back on as Jenna once she finishes touring for her new album (or even before). The woman just can't stay away from the Brooks Atkinson Theatre!

Anyway, this was definitely the best performance I've seen of hers (I've seen her in it three times before) because she seemed so comfortable onstage and that might have been due to the fact that she adores Gavin Creel. Great, great chemistry between those two and I had to stop myself from bawling during the "Thanks for taking me to the moon moon-pie" moment. What a sweet scene.

The long-standing ovations she received after What Baking Can Do and She Used To Be Mine were such amazing moments and she was on the verge of tears during the latter. Sara can do no wrong in my eyes and I'm just so proud of her and of this show. May it run for as long as possible.

And now, Anastasia. Oh my goodness. This was my fourth time seeing the show and seeing a musical's last show ever is nothing like I've ever experienced before. The audience was full of Fanastasias which was AWESOME. We were all cheering whenever a cast member or ensemble member would walk onto the stage for the first time. It felt like being in a rock concert.

Everyone was a mess, audience and cast members alike, with all the tears throughout the show. The biggest tearjerker moment was definitely during Stay, I Pray You where everyone is singing goodbye to Russia. Most of the cast are onstage and you could see tears from everyone and of course this caused the audience to cry even more. There were a lot of sniffles near where I was sitting!

The best moment was, without a doubt, Journey To The Past. Even before Christy sang the last note, everyone stood up and started cheering and clapping. We were so loud that I don't think we heard Christy's epic last note at all which was kind of disappointing because I would have loved to have heard her do that for the last time. She held that note for a LONG time. I'm just glad it was intermission after that because I was literally bawling my eyes out. The guy next to me even bought a box of tissues which he passed around to everyone near us, hahaha.

Stage door was INSANE afterwards. The entire sidewalk was so packed that fans were spilling onto the street that cars were honking and police had to come and direct traffic. I waited close to three hours for a chance to meet Christy (again), tell her she's amazing, and get a hug from her this time.

Apparently, three hours was nothing because Christy was there for five hours because she wanted to sign and meet every single person out there. Seriously, no one on Broadway is more deserving of being called the nicest and sweetest person to her fans. I will follow whatever she does from now on because she deserves all the love. What a total sweetheart.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Speaking of Waitress and Sara Bareilles, Sara was the musical guest on SNL over the weekend and she sang “She Used to Be Mine” as part of a skit about Theresa May (with Kit Harrington as Winston Churchill). I didn’t find the skit funny, but I always enjoy hearing this song.

I posted the original video of Adrian singing this back in November, but I just saw that he posted another one of the same performance that was taken from the audience. In this one you can see the cast’s reactions which I love! Drew Gehling crying and then jumping up and down just made me love him even more  

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In the Heights movie info:

Lin-Manuel Miranda took to Twitter to announce the leads for the highly anticipated film adaptation of In The Heights! Anthony Ramos will star as Usnavi, Melissa Barerra as Vanessa, Corey Hawkins as Benny, and Leslie Grace as Nina. Earlier today it was announced that Jimmy Smits is in talks to play Nina's father, Kevin.

In the Heights will hit theaters on June 26, 2020, released by Warner Bros., who picked up the movie last month after a heated bidding war following the rights' release from The Weinstein Co. The film's script will be written by Quiara Alegría Hudes. Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians) will direct the movie-musical. Anthony Bregman, Mara Jacobs and Scott Sanders are set to produce.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tony Award Administration Committee Rules On BE MORE CHILL, KING KONG, KISS ME KATE, Plus New Rules for Plays

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Brooklyn Nine Nine's Stephanie Beatriz joins the movie cast of In the Heights

She will play Carla.

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Additionally, it's been reported that Olga Merediz is in talks to reprise her role as Abuela Claudia. She was Tony Award-nominated for her performance.

Actor Rhenzy Feliz is in talks for the role of Sonny, Usnavi's cousin, and Daphne Rubin-Vega may be playing salon owner Daniela!

[ratgirlagogo]

1 hour ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Tony Award Administration Committee Rules On BE MORE CHILL, KING KONG, KISS ME KATE, Plus New Rules for Plays

If you could enlighten a theater dimwit - I read the linked article and I still didn't understand what needed to be determined about the eligibility of the shows in question.

[aradia22]

@ratgirlagogo It's not necessarily that there's a question (though sometimes things are up for debate). But it always gets a bit of press when the Tony Committee makes a ruling on what category someone can be nominated for. It's no big surprise with the actors from King Kong (they're two of I think three named characters not counting the puppet) or Jeremy Pope (he's the main character of Choir Boy and on the poster). But sometimes with shows that are more evenly divided or that have very tiny parts there's more of a question. Something like Natasha Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 or Come From Away.

The new rule for Best Revival of a Play/Musical is pretty straightforward. If the revivals were previously off-Broadway and the playwrights/composers are still alive, they can still be eligible for revival awards. And for composers/writers who have won before for the same play off-Broadway, if they're eligible again under the new revival rules, they can be nominated if the committee decides they did enough work to alter the play for Broadway.

[Rinaldo]

2 hours ago, ratgirlagogo said:

If you could enlighten a theater dimwit - I read the linked article and I still didn't understand what needed to be determined about the eligibility of the shows in question.

Expanding what @aradia22 said: As the article says, the committee meets periodically through a season to rule on eligibility situations -- mostly because of requests submitted by the productions themselves.

For performers, the default standard is that they're eligible in the Leading role if their names are printed above the title in the opening-night Playbill, and in the Featured category if their names appear below the title. If all concerned are content with that in a particular case, then that's how they are categorized automatically, with no deliberation or press release. But if they want a different category, the production submits paperwork to that effect, and the Tony committee either approves that new classification (which, in practice, they generally do) or doesn't.

For example, in one of the present cases: In Kiss Me, Kate, Corbin Bleu has star billing above the title along with Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase (for whatever reason -- he asked for it in his contract, or the producers thought his name would be a draw, or whatever). But for awards purposes, it would be better if he weren't competing with Will Chase in the same acting category; he might have a good shot of winning as a Featured actor. So they requested that he be considered as such, and the committee has agreed.

Some productions bill everybody below the title, if the cast is considered an ensemble of equal roles. But for awards purposes, if there's one role that might be considered more important, the producers will sometimes request that the actor be eligible in the Leading category (again, as a way to avoid internal competition and make a win more likely). 

In the non-acting categories here, one can guess that there were oddities of how someone's contribution was described on the Playbill, that are here being clarified or redefined for purposes of award eligibility (maybe someone's work is printed as "additional scenic design by...", that sort of thing). 

The new rules about revivals are different: They're out of the ordinary, and are part of a long-standing dilemma about how to handle revivals, in which the new determinations are further refinements (or confusions, according to one's viewpoint).

[aradia22]

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For example, in one of the present cases: In Kiss Me, Kate, Corbin Bleu has star billing above the title along with Kelli O'Hara and Will Chase (for whatever reason -- he asked for it in his contract, or the producers thought his name would be a draw, or whatever).

I feel like he was supposed to be a draw. I don't know how many people he brought to Holiday Inn or how loved his Broadway.com vlog was but I vaguely recall him getting entrance applause when Will Chase didn't. Though his entrance applause was a smattering compared to the roar of Kelli's entrance applause. (I still hate entrance applause.) 

I think Bill is too much of a nothing part for him to be nominated. He works very hard during the show but he hasn't found anything to make that part sparkle. It's just his natural charisma and dealing with demanding choreography pretty effortlessly. I think his tapping was "better" in Holiday Inn. Here he seems a little bit of a heavy tapper. But he does do some showy tricks like tapping on the ceiling (in a way) but I think as odd as this season has been, he would be lucky to get a nomination. It's possible. But to me a win is out of the question. Surely there's a featured actor in another show giving a real performance and not just gamely popping up for dance numbers. When I think of recent stand out dance-heavy performances I think Danny Gardner in Dames at Sea or Robbie Fairchild in Brigadoon. I assume Tony Yazbeck was good in Gypsy but I didn't see it. 

@Rinaldo I'm curious to hear your thoughts on Kiss Me, Kate. Are you planning to see it?