Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The Angelica company’s take on the Hamilton Beyoncé dance challenge:

[Silver Raven]

Annaleigh Ashford with special guest Jake Gyllenhall Friday on PBS.

[Rinaldo]

I hadn't seen his name attached before, but when the promos said she would be including "Move On" from Sunday in the Park with George, I knew it would have to be with Jake G.

[aradia22]

People have been buzzing about this so I watched the video when it came up in my suggestions. I'm one of those people who love the Tudors but even if I didn't... it's like a bad Hamilton knockoff? I want to like it but the singing is mediocre (they're not even dancing that much so that's not an excuse) and the songwriting is barely above average.

[Spartan Girl]

Hamilton was worth waiting for and then some! My mom and I loved it! Everyone was great, but the actors that played Jefferson and King George were hilarious -- especially their dancing during "Never Gonna Be President Now." 

I had no idea Peggy Schuyler doubles as the infamous Mariah Reynolds too. So in a way, Hamilton hooks up with all three of the sisters, LOL. Although I have to say that i might be in the minority that isn't into the pseudo triangle withth Eliza, Angelica, and Hamilton. You don't flirt with your sister's husband/wife's sister behind her back, sheesh.

The actress playing Eliza did a great job with "Burn", she was really raw. And of course "It's Quiet Uptown" really got to me after a particularly emotional week (fuck you, Game of Thrones).

[aradia22]

Quote

Lincoln Center Theater (under the direction of André Bishop) has announced that its award-winning production of Lerner & Loewe's My Fair Lady, directed by Bartlett Sher, will ends its long run at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on Sunday, July 7. The production, which won the 2018 Drama Desk, Outer Critics and Drama League Awards for Best Musical Revival, will have played a total of 548 performances (39 previews and 509 performances).

Not surprising given how often it was on TDF/TKTS but still sad. It's so good now!

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Breaking-MY-FAIR-LADY-Will-Play-Final-Broadway-Performance-This-Summer-20190515

Edited May 16, 2019 by aradia22

[SomeTameGazelle]

2 hours ago, aradia22 said:

People have been buzzing about this so I watched the video when it came up in my suggestions. I'm one of those people who love the Tudors but even if I didn't... it's like a bad Hamilton knockoff? I want to like it but the singing is mediocre (they're not even dancing that much so that's not an excuse) and the songwriting is barely above average.

The six Spice Wives of Henry VIII.

[aradia22]

Excerpts from Vulture review of Tootsie. Haven't seen the show yet but still loving having a competent female theater critic. More, please.

Spoiler

While Tootsie is a vast improvement on the same formula — David Yazbek’s razzmatazzy score and witty, pattery lyrics are its crowning delight, exuberant and actually memorable — it’s also two and a half hours of just failing to read the room. Under Scott Ellis’s big-lick-y direction, the show reads like an old-school Broadway extravaganza full of 2019 flag-waving. It’s got call-outs and teaching moments galore, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s still the story of an egotistical dude who puts on a young Betty White wig and somehow becomes World’s Best Feminist. 

[...] Yes, the hero’s a jerk. Yes, we know he’s going to learn his lesson. But do we really want to dedicate our time to his lengthy, self-centered learning process — especially, in Tootsie, when the hero gets to spend so much of that process enjoying the spotlight? Despite its razzle-dazzle, Tootsie feels empty at the center. It’s all but impossible to sympathize with the lead, and it’s hard to be that interested in the woman he falls for. Cooper is doing her best with Julie, but the role essentially adheres to the 2019 version of the heroine formula: nice, smart, stands up for herself, gets some emotional solos, but doesn’t have that much actual juicy idiosyncratic character going on. 

[...] Correction: By that point, thanks to Dorothy’s constant tweaking, the show-within-a-show is well on its way to being called Juliet’s Nurse, and Julie has happily ceded star status to her gutsy castmate. In the peppy “I Like What She’s Doing,” the meta-musical’s company responds excitedly to the sweeping adjustments Dorothy’s bringing to their production, which run the gamut from an aesthetic overhaul (“Forget the Renaissance. I’m thinking all new costumes — ’50’s! Fellini! Fabulous!”) to having the brawny, brainless male lead (John Behlmann) fall for the Nurse instead of for Juliet. (He ends up falling for Dorothy offstage too.) It’s all funny and fluffy enough, but underneath the comedy is an unacknowledged reality that’s downright dismal. The idea that mouthy, willful Michael would somehow be more listened to after putting on a dress feels demonstrably ludicrous. And when he finally gets around to his great awakening, the moment seems practiced and unearned. Dorothy, Michael tells Jeff, would “voice her opinion, then be called ‘hysterical.’ She had to be assertive, but not bitchy, compassionate, but not ‘emotional,’ feminine, but never misleading, while somehow handling insecure jerks … and arrogant schmucks.” Yes, those are real things women deal with, but we haven’t really watched Michael process them. His victories have been glamorous and his struggles mostly farcical (the only person to call him hysterical is the director, who’s played as a cartoon villain with no one on his side). Michael’s learning because that’s what the show says he has to do at the end, but we didn’t really come to Tootsie to see him learn. We came to see him wear a dress.

[...] Sour center or not, Tootsie’s got bushels of exceptional talent toiling away on it, and these serious chops go a long way toward buoying up the show. I just can’t help wishing that we’d all start spending fewer resources on dragging the past, kick-lining and screaming, into the present. Though it’s got a rich, sharp score, some zingy quips, and some excellent performances, Tootsie as a piece of storytelling is inadvertently summed up by Michael’s agent, Stan (Michael McGrath), when he delivers this exhortation late in the play: “Michael, the world is changing and we have to change with it. Be a he, be a she, be a they, use whatever bathroom you want, and don’t let anybody tell you you can’t.” Stan’s an old white guy in a pin-striped suit, and though it sounds like he’s saying all the right words, there’s still something off in the tone. It’s a little flip, a little fast, a little, “Yeah yeah yeah, I get it already.” But he doesn’t, not really. And neither does Tootsie.

Edited May 16, 2019 by aradia22

[ElectricBoogaloo]

3 hours ago, Spartan Girl said:

Hamilton was worth waiting for and then some! My mom and I loved it! Everyone was great, but the actors that played Jefferson and King George were hilarious -- especially their dancing during "Never Gonna Be President Now." 

I had no idea Peggy Schuyler doubles as the infamous Mariah Reynolds too. So in a way, Hamilton hooks up with all three of the sisters, LOL. Although I have to say that i might be in the minority that isn't into the pseudo triangle withth Eliza, Angelica, and Hamilton. You don't flirt with your sister's husband/wife's sister behind her back, sheesh.

The actress playing Eliza did a great job with "Burn", she was really raw. And of course "It's Quiet Uptown" really got to me after a particularly emotional week (fuck you, Game of Thrones).

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Which cast did you see?

It's Quiet Uptown always makes me cry, obviously because it's a sad song about pain, loss, and forgiveness, but sometimes because I start thinking about this story about Oskar Eustis, the artistic director of the Public Theater whose 16 year old son died by suicide while Hamilton was being developed at the Public, and it makes me cry even more:

Quote

An MP3 arrived by email, hours after Jack’s death. It came from Lin-Manuel Miranda, a new arrival to the Public fold.

It was a demo recording of “It’s Quiet Uptown,” the song from “Hamilton” describing Alexander Hamilton, and his wife, Eliza, as they grieve the death of their 19-year-old son, Philip:

There are moments that the words don’t reach
There is suffering too terrible to name
You hold your child as tight as you can
And push away the unimaginable
The moments when you’re in so deep
It feels easier to just swim down.

“There is nothing you can say,” Mr. Miranda recalled thinking. “And yet, I had a song about this. So I wrote to him saying, ‘If this is useful, then lean on it, and, if not, delete this email.’”

Mr. Eustis and his wife found it useful. “Every line of ‘Quiet Uptown’ feels like it’s exactly correct to my experience,” Mr. Eustis said. “It was the only music we listened to for a long time, and we listened to it every day, and it became a key thing for the two of us.”

[ElectricBoogaloo]

5 hours ago, aradia22 said:

People have been buzzing about this so I watched the video when it came up in my suggestions. I'm one of those people who love the Tudors but even if I didn't... it's like a bad Hamilton knockoff? I want to like it but the singing is mediocre (they're not even dancing that much so that's not an excuse) and the songwriting is barely above average.

Same here. I want to like it in theory, but they're making it so hard. The concept is fine but the execution is firmly average in all aspects (the lyrics, the choreography, the costumes). And man, whoever is playing Anne Boleyn is just straight up BAD.

3 hours ago, SomeTameGazelle said:

The six Spice Wives of Henry VIII.

Ha, exactly!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2019 Stars in the Alley:

Maitlands 2.0 from Beetlejuice

The Smartphone Hour (Rich Set a Fire) from Be More Chill

You Happened from The Prom

What's Gonna Happen from Tootsie

Always True to You in My Fashion from Kiss Me, Kate

When the Chips Are Down from Hadestown

Only Us from Dear Evan Hansen

I Got You from The Cher Show

The Wizard and I from Wicked

I'd Rather Be Me from Mean Girls

[Spartan Girl]

9 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Glad to hear you enjoyed it! Which cast did you see?

Hannah Cruz was Eliza, Edred Utomi was Hamilton.

Edited May 16, 2019 by Spartan Girl

[aradia22]

@ElectricBoogaloo Thanks for posting the videos. Glad they sent someone out to shoot it professionally.

RE: Be More Chill

In the daylight with little to not makeup they look WAY too old to be high school students. Flashy lead vocal but bad song. No desire to see this show.

RE: The Prom

Some of them can pass but again, most of them looking way too old. Also, meh on this song. I'm like 60% on seeing this because some people love it but I'm not enthusiastic. If I miss it, I won't feel bad. Most of the time, I forget it's running.

RE: Tootsie

It's okay. Not as good as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but okay. I'm torn given the Sara Holdren review which is how I felt about the idea of the show before seeing/hearing anything. But you, David Yazbek. I'm like 80% on seeing it. I really want to see Waitress again with Jeremy and Shoshana and then I'll probably see Tootsie at some point unless I get distracted with Oklahoma!, Hadestown, and the shows from the next season.

RE: The Cher Show

Michaela doesn't look or sound like Cher to me. But it's fine. I'd be going for Stephanie and the costumes anyway. 90% on seeing this at some point to just have a fun time. It's impressive how much power Jarrod can put behind the top of his range so effortlessly. I don't mind a showy tenor but this is nice too.

RE: Beetlejuice

God bless Kerry. That song seems so difficult to sing. That is, it feels like dialogue that's resisting being musicalized. And it doesn't help that Rob is talking while she's singing. The cast of this show is so likable and adorable but the songs seem so bad. I'm like 60% on this one. Maybe if I'm really bored? They're singing the crap out of such a bad song.

RE: Kiss Me Kate

Loved Alex being roped in for the beginning of the song. Stephanie sings it well but it's all belting and no heart. No idea why people thought she'd get a Tony nom.

[aradia22]

Casting is all over the place. I like a lot of the cast but I have no interest in the show. 

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Helen-Hunt-Christopher-Jackson-Javier-Muoz-and-More-Lead-Encores-WORKING-A-MUSICAL-20190516

[ElectricBoogaloo]

1 hour ago, aradia22 said:

Glad they sent someone out to shoot it professionally.

Any time I don't have to watch a shaky/blurry video with people's heads obstructing the view, I want to high five someone!

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Santino-Fontana-Rachel-Bay-Jones-Beth-Malone-and-More-Lead-Transport-Groups-SWEET-CHARITY-in-Concert-20190517

Tickets are not too expensive, relatively speaking, for a fundraising concert. But it's Charity's show and none of this is screaming out as perfect casting (and based on past concerts, different actors will sing one character's songs). I like Bonnie Milligan, Rachel Bay Jones, Beth Malone, etc. but this feels like a very random 54 Below show. There is that big orchestra. I don't know. Probably a pass. Hopefully they record it all again. Who will they give "Too Many Tomorrows" to? I'm guessing Santino but maybe Paolo. Yeah, it's not great when I'm speculating more about Vittorio than Charity.

[Irlandesa]

On 5/16/2019 at 2:54 PM, aradia22 said:

RE: Tootsie

It's okay. Not as good as Dirty Rotten Scoundrels but okay. I'm torn given the Sara Holdren review which is how I felt about the idea of the show before seeing/hearing anything.

I'd be curious what you think of it if you ever go.  Before I saw it, it did give me pause that the creative team behind it was all men.  And the original movie wasn't a favorite of mine. It was okay but not one I rewatch.  But since it was probably one of the few opportunities, if not the only opportunity, for me to see Santino Fontana on stage, I decided to make the trek to Chicago. 

Overall, all the questions/issues Sara Holdren brought up in her review weren't really issues for me.  Do I want to spend 2 1/2 hours with an unlikable lead?  If a show is this funny?  Yep. 

She's right in that the show only basically acknowledges some of the issues with the premise and doesn't dive deep into them. It's certainly not revolutionary.  I was a little surprised to see her mention that Yazbek's score was a highlight. The score is basically serviceable.  The song Sarah Stiles sings in the clip above is probably one of the show's highlights, although I'd argue it plays better in context than it does there.  There are a probably a few other songs that I'd like if I listened to them more but the singing talent carried the day more than the music. 

The book is the real star (outside of the people on stage) in that you could remove all the music and still have a show worth seeing because it cares about the comedy part of a musical comedy.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 5/16/2019 at 12:54 PM, aradia22 said:

RE: Kiss Me Kate

Loved Alex being roped in for the beginning of the song. Stephanie sings it well but it's all belting and no heart.

I agree. I am not opposed to belters but this is one of my least favorite renditions of this song. For a non-belty version, I prefer Ella Fitzgerald:

I used to love watching Nancy Anderson's performance:

[bosawks]

Happy birthday to Judy Kuhn!

My personal gateway to the drug known as musical theatre.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Maggie Siff discusses Curse of the Starving Class:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Julie White & Kristine Nielsen discuss Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hamilton news! The Chicago production is closing on January 5, 2020, and the first Australian production will open in Sydney in February 2021.

Some info about the Chicago production:

Quote

By the time it plays its final show, the hit musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda will have played 1,365 performances over 171 weeks, or a little over three years and three months. Its first Chicago performance was on Sept. 27, 2016, and, by January, some 2.8 million people will likely have seen the musical at the CIBC Theatre.

Seller declined to discuss precise financial figures, as is his policy, but he did not contest a reporter’s back-of-an-envelope calculation that the Chicago production, which has a weekly gross potential of about $2.1 million and has sold out most of its performances, will have grossed close to $350 million in Chicago, making it far and away the most financially successful theatrical show in the history of the city. Indeed, Seller said, those figures also should eclipse any Broadway show in New York during this period, excepting the New York production of “Hamilton.”

By any historical standards, this first “Hamilton” production after Broadway has enjoyed an extraordinarily long and lucrative run. Since the 1,800-seat CIBC Theatre is far larger than the show’s home in New York, the 1,300-seat Richard Rodgers Theatre, more people have seen the show in Chicago than in New York, although the Broadway production typically has commanded a higher average ticket price. “Hamilton” also will not be the longest-running show of its kind in Chicago history: between 2005 and 2009, “Wicked” played in Chicago at what was then the Oriental Theatre for several months longer.

Seller, though, is dealing with a different phenomenon. Even though he acknowledged that “Hamilton” could run at a profit in Chicago for another year at least, he said he does not want to have to discount any tickets or tolerate empty seats at Wednesday matinees. As previously reported by the Tribune, touring productions of the show are slated to play in cities as close to Chicago as Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., eroding what is known in the commercial theater industry as Chicago’s zone of clearance. Discounting ticket prices in Chicago threatens the value of seats in other cities, especially in New York, where good weekend seats routinely command prices north of $500. And national demand for the show remains sky-high, especially in cities that have not been exposed to the production.

The Chicago production was not built to tour and will close, not move. That said, its cast members, including Miguel Cervantes, who likely will have played the lead role in Chicago for the entire run, now will be available for one of the other touring productions. In the coming months and years, “Hamilton” is likely to concentrate its expansion more on international markets, such as continental Europe and Australia, although one of its North American tours eventually will return to Chicago.

Edited May 22, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[aradia22]

Quote

Seller, though, is dealing with a different phenomenon. Even though he acknowledged that “Hamilton” could run at a profit in Chicago for another year at least, he said he does not want to have to discount any tickets or tolerate empty seats at Wednesday matinees. As previously reported by the Tribune, touring productions of the show are slated to play in cities as close to Chicago as Milwaukee and Madison, Wis., eroding what is known in the commercial theater industry as Chicago’s zone of clearance. Discounting ticket prices in Chicago threatens the value of seats in other cities, especially in New York, where good weekend seats routinely command prices north of $500. And national demand for the show remains sky-high, especially in cities that have not been exposed to the production.

This is the interesting part to me. They don't need to close but they would rather close than have to discount or have empty seats and possibly take a hit to the brand of Hamilton.

[aradia22]

Quote

For one night only on Monday, July 8th, Cleveland Musical Theatre in partnership with Rent The Runway, The Black Tux & MAC Cosmetics will present Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine's Into The Woods in concert at New York City's historic Town Hall.

This special event will feature a cast entirely of Broadway stars with ties to Ohio, including Tony Award winner Alice Ripley (Next To Normal) as The Witch, Tony Award nominee Tony Yazbeck (On The Town) as The Baker, Kate Shindle (Fun Home) as The Baker's Wife, and Betsy Wolfe (Waitress) as Cinderella.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Alice-Ripley-Tony-Yazbeck-Kate-Shindle-and-Betsy-Wolfe-Will-Lead-INTO-THE-WOODS-At-Town-Hall-20190522

I would not cast Alice Ripley as the witch or Betsy Wolfe as Cinderella. Vocally they're both a little too harsh for those parts to me. 

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/VIDEO-Watch-Samantha-Massell-and-Jimmy-Brewer-Sing-From-THE-FLAMINGO-KID-20190523

Thoughts? The cast is strong. The song is fine. I don't want to judge too harshly. It's a little contemporary musical theater and a lot of pastiche but it's not totally clicking. I mean, it's no Little Shop of Horrors. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Into the Woods at the Hollywood Bowl

The Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine musical, also starring Patina Miller, will be presented July 26–28.

Joining the previously announced Pippin Tony winner Patina Miller as the Witch, Gaten Matarazzo (Netflix's Stranger Things) as Jack, and Shanice Williams (NBC’s The Wiz Live!) as Little Red Riding Hood will be Tony winner Sutton Foster (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Anything Goes) as The Baker's Wife, Skylar Astin (Spring Awakening, Pitch Perfect) as The Baker, Tony nominee Hailey Kilgore (Once On This Island) as Rapunzel, Sierra Boggess (The Phantom of the Opera, The Little Mermaid) as Cinderella, Chris Carmack (Grey's Anatomy, The O.C.) as Rapunzel's Prince, Tony winner Anthony Crivello (Kiss of the Spider Woman) as Mysterious Man, and Cheyenne Jackson (Xanadu, 30 Rock) as Cinderella's Prince/The Wolf.

[aradia22]

Quote

Added to the annual summer readings festival is the new musical Galileo, featuring a book by two-time Emmy Award winner Danny Strong, music & lyrics by Michael Weiner and Zoe Sarnak, and direction by Tony Award winner Michael Mayer. The Galileo cast will include four-time Tony Award nominee Raúl Esparza (Company), Michael Esper (FX's "Trust"), Solea Pfeiffer(Hamilton), and Colton Ryan (Alice By Heart). 

The Notebook. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, music and lyrics by IngridMichaelson with book by Bekah Brunstetter, and direction by Michael Greif

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Vassar-Announces-Initial-Casting-for-Powerhouse-Season-Raul-Esparza-Colton-Ryan-and-More-20190531

The projects don't interest me but I support Zoe Sarnak and Ingrid Michaelson working on new musicals.

[aradia22]

I saw Shoshana Bean and Jeremy Jordan in Waitress last night. Noah Galvin is still Ogie. 

It was worth seeing for me but I don't think it's must see if you've seen Waitress before. Shoshana sings almost as well as Sara Bareilles does. Unlike Jessie Mueller, I think her voice has the pop versatility to navigate all the quirks of the music but obviously it fits Sara's voice the best. I know Shoshana wanted to sing the songs as written but for me, I could feel her holding back. I wish there were more powerhouse moments and more runs. She plays Jenna in a very straightforward way and I wanted a little more of Shoshana AS Jenna if that makes sense. Similarly, her performance is very standard. Jessie was the weakest of the Jennas I've seen. By that I mean, she was more nervous and anxious and beaten down. Sara was the toughest. She felt like a sassy waitress. Shoshana is in the middle. Her feelings are on the inside but unlike Sara, you don't see a tough outer shell. She gives off the happiest, most maternal vibe. Her performance doesn't really have as many levels. 

Jeremy was great. Very funny. I think he made Dr. Pomatter's awkwardness seem the most natural. He landed all the comedic bits really well. He sounded fantastic, too, though his twang comes out a little when he sings which didn't quite work when he's supposed to be the one from Connecticut. But that's a nitpick. I don't think they had a ton of chemistry so in quieter moments like "You Matter to Me" that was a letdown. They were fine but those moments were more about singing than acting.

I still LOVE Christopher Fitzgerald in this part but Noah Galvin was okay. Chris' Ogie is more of a dancer. Noah's is an indifferent dancer but he makes up for it with the singing and he adds in his own quirks. He does look young and it changes the character but I think they mostly make it work with him and Caitlin. Her styling ages her down and his ages him up. 

The Earl is not very good right now. He's fine and sings well but he's not much of a presence. Will Swenson is still my favorite. 

[DisneyBoy]

So this is really old news but I just found out about it...apparently during the first Broadway preview of Jekyll and Hyde back in the day, Linda Eder was ill and could not belt out any of her big songs, requiring her understudy to sing in the wings while Eder mimed. Her understudy? None other than Emily Skinner, of Sideshow fame!

How weird is that? Their voices sound nothing alike, and as you can see in this video from that preview, Linda did sing a few bits here and there and spoke as well. She has a very distinctive delivery, very Streisand-esque, and Emily doesn't sound anything like her...

If you jump to the 22:10 mark, the lip synching starts for "In His Eyes"...and then continues partway through in "Dangerous Game".

Apparently Emily hadn't been given the chance to fully rehearse the part, necessitating this last-minute mashup performance.

Curiously, Linda sounds in good voice when she starts "Game". Wonder what the audience's reaction was to all this?

Edited June 1, 2019 by DisneyBoy

[Irlandesa]

Scott Feinberg talks to Santino Fontana about his whole career and Tootsie. 

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/awards-chatter-podcast-santino-fontana-tootsie-1215075

If you're interested mainly in the Tootsie talk, it starts at at 35:40 and pretty much goes to the end.

[SomeTameGazelle]

Drama Desk Awards were yesterday. 

[Silver Raven]

Sacramento Music Circus has announced its casting for the upcoming summer season. I'm most excited about Lesli Margherita as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls.  Bruce Villanch will be starring in The Drowsy Chaperone, and Adrianna Hicks will be Dorothy in The Wiz.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

2 hours ago, Silver Raven said:

Sacramento Music Circus has announced its casting for the upcoming summer season. I'm most excited about Lesli Margherita as Adelaide in Guys and Dolls.  Bruce Villanch will be starring in The Drowsy Chaperone, and Adrianna Hicks will be Dorothy in The Wiz.

Awww, I have a soft spot for all three of those shows! What a fun season!

[aradia22]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Billy Porter talks about his Tony gown (it’s made from the red curtain used in Kinky Boots)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

In case you missed it - Tony performances!
(under the cut only because there are a lot of videos)

Spoiler

Opening number:

Singing in the bathroom:

Oklahoma!

The Cher Show:

Ain't Too Proud (winner of best choreography):

Tootsie:

Beetlejuice:

The Prom:

Choir Boy:

Hadestown:

Kiss Me, Kate:

Cynthia Erivo performs "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" for the in memoriam segment:

Edited June 10, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Tony acceptance speeches under the cut (not all of them have been officially posted yet, but this is what was available on CBS and the Tony Awards youtube channels so far):

Spoiler

Celia Keenan-Bolger - Best Featured Actress In A Play

Elaine May - Best Leading Actress In A Play

Bertie Carvel - Best Featured Actor In A Play

Bryan Cranston - Best Leading Actor In A Play

Ali Stroker - Best Featured Actress In A Musical

Stephanie J. Block - Best Leading Actress In A Musical

André De Shields - Best Featured Actor In A Musical

Santino Fontana - Best Leading Actor In A Musical

Rachel Chavkin - Best Direction Of A Musical

Sam Mendes - Best Direction Of A Play

Anaïs Mitchell - Best Score

Oklahoma! - Best Revival Of A Musical

The Boys In The Band - Best Revival Of A Play

Hadestown - Best Musical

The Ferryman - Best Play

Judith Light - the Isabelle Stevenson Award

Lifetime Achievement - Terrence McNally

Lifetime Achievement - Harold Wheeler

Lifetime Achievement Award - Rosemary Harris

Special Tony for Marin Mazzie

 

Edited June 10, 2019 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

More acceptance speeches under the cut!

Spoiler

Madeline Michel - Excellence in Theatre Education Award

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley - Regional Tony Award

Bob Mackie - Best Costume Design of a Musical

Rob Howell - Best Costume Design of a Play

Rachel Hauck - Best Scenic Design of a Musical

Rob Howell - Best Scenic Design of a Play

Robert Horn - Best Book of a Musical

Michael Chorney and Todd Sickafoose - Best Orchestrations

Nevin Steinberg and Jessica Paz - Best Sound Design of a Musical

Fitz Patton - Best Sound Design of a Play

Sergio Trujillo - Best Choreography

Bradley King - Best Lighting Design of a Musical

Neil Austin - Best Lighting Design of a Play (not posted yet)

[Silver Raven]

Has anybody seen the Circle in the Square production of Oklahoma!?  It's getting a lot of hate online.

The show is on the Sacramento Music Circus schedule for this summer, but I don't know if it's going to be the modern take on it that has everybody in an uproar.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Billy Porter crushes Broadway karaoke during a commercial break at the Tony Awards:

[aradia22]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Amber Grey and Patrick Page discuss Hadestown:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Brandon Uranowitz discusses Burn This:

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Michael James Scott discusses returning to Aladdin:

[Spartan Girl]

Man, I REALLY want to see Hadestown now, even though the ending sucks. I don't think

Orpheus should be blamed for what happens when in this version Eurydice pretty much CHOSE to go there, and its kind of understandable that Orpheus would cave into temptation and check to make sure she was following. Since, you know, she LEFT him the first time. Just sating..

[aradia22]

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After its hit runs at The Public Theater, The Old Vic London, and in the West End, Girl from the North Country will come to Broadway, beginning performances on Friday, February 7 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street) with the opening night set for Thursday, March 5.

So this is happening. Technically another jukebox musical though like Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge it's in the Mamma Mia camp and not in the Tina bio-musical camp. Are we going to get any musicals with original scores next season?

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/GIRL-FROM-THE-NORTH-COUNTRY-Comes-to-Broadways-Belasco-Theatre-in-February-2020-20190618

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Rialto-Chatter-Jeremy-O-Harris-SLAVE-PLAY-To-Play-Broadway-This-Fall-20190620

So this is happening. Another sold out NYTW transfer after Hadestown. I read some reviews when it was at NYTW. I couldn't tell if it sounded bold and provocative or just like the edgelord shock tactics of a novice playwright. I don't know how this will do. I mean, I could never have predicted What the Constitution Means to Me doing so well back when it was papering before its transfer. 

[aradia22]

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The group is set to begin at Broadway's Booth Theatre on September 13th, 2019 with performances through January 5th, 2020.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/FREESTYLE-LOVE-SUPREME-To-Land-On-Broadway-This-Fall-20190618

Um... OK, I guess? This is longer than any of those concert things. It's closer to the limited run of a play with a celebrity. I have no clue how this will sell. I'm mildly encouraged that the seeming absence of great work (as of now) for next season is opening the door for people taking some wild swings.

[aradia22]

http://www.playbill.com/article/pbs-great-performances-will-film-shakespeare-in-the-parks-much-ado-about-nothing-starring-danielle-brooks-chuck-cooper

Yay! Totally wasn't up for seeing this one in person. Happy to still be able to see it.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Fathom Events is showing Kinky Boots in theaters this week (Tuesday and Saturday) - find a theater near you here!