Theatre Talk: In Our Own Little Corner

[Spartan Girl]

I’m glad they fired her ass. She of all people ought to understand how important it is for shows to open safely, and yet she’s willing to jeopardize that for her so-called beliefs?! Selfish!

Edited August 14, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[PRgal]

2 hours ago, Lady Whistleup said:

She's part of the C3 church. Raised extremely conservatively. 

The theatre world isn't exactly for those who were raised "extremely conservatively" if you know what I mean.

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, PRgal said:

The theatre world isn't exactly for those who were raised "extremely conservatively" if you know what I mean.

The show biz world has quite a few people raised extremely conservatively, as strange as that sounds. We think of theatre as a safe haven for LGBT people but I do know theater people who say that there's a lot of homophobia, especially for gay male actors to "act straight." With Osnes who got her start young as a child singer I could see how she got acting gigs without ever changing her beliefs. 

I must say though that singing is probably THE most dangerous activity in a pandemic world and it boggles my mind that a singer is not taking precautions.

[aradia22]

I watched the Lincoln Center stream of The Wolves. I'm glad I finally got to see the play everyone was buzzing about. I think it was very good and I don't regret watching it but I don't know if I would have been totally blown away seeing it in person. There were good performances but while it felt like a play, it also didn't feel like a play. Like it felt demanding on the actresses to cover so much time and there were specific moments 

Spoiler

the rushed allusion to bulimia, the goalie's almost interpretative dance/warm up to represent her game-related anxiety

where I felt like it was trying to do too much and maybe would have been better as a TV show or movie with things like cuts and natural time jumps. Two of the girls were jerks more than the others. I get why but it didn't make it the easiest to watch. And I also think that kind of Mean Girls stuff is out of date. Like, I don't think that's the way teenagers are insensitive or lightly bully each other these days but maybe I just have a liberal bias. Honestly, I do think 

Spoiler

the one character dying

came out of nowhere and didn't strengthen the play that much. But aside from those complaints, I do think there was a lot of good there and it captured a lot of truth about being a teenage girl that isn't often reflected well in storytelling.

[bosawks]

On 8/13/2021 at 2:59 PM, aradia22 said:

Laura Osnes fired and replaced by Sierra Boggess for not getting covid-19 vaccine

OH MY GOD

Do you think we should tell her Bonnie was just a part and "Dyin' Ain't So Bad" is just a song and not life advice?

[aradia22]

Quote

The third show in the series, Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's beloved musical Into the Woods, directed by Lear deBessonet will feature Grammy Award-winner Sara Bareilles as the Baker's Wife, Christian Borle as the Baker, Heather Headley as the Witch, and Ashley Park as Cinderella. The special two-week run, from May 4 - 15, ushers in a new annual tradition at Encores! celebrating an iconic American musical.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Sara-Bareilles-Christian-Borle-Ashley-Park-Dul-Hill-More-Announced-for-2022-Encores-Season-20210816

[aradia22]

Everyone was great but God, I love Sara Bareilles and Brian Stokes Mitchell and LaChanze

 

Edited August 16, 2021 by aradia22

[aradia22]

Laura Osnes has responded.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSqFFW5s91R/?utm_medium=copy_link

Highlights: "I have not yet gotten the vaccine." 🙄

"This negative test option was never extended to me." 

"My case is personal. I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning, and our future." This is her excuse.

"I say this for myself and so many others, who are concerned about their rights, reputations, and livelihoods being on the line." Wow, so brave 🙄

[PRgal]

3 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Laura Osnes has responded.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSqFFW5s91R/?utm_medium=copy_link

Highlights: "I have not yet gotten the vaccine." 🙄

"This negative test option was never extended to me." 

"My case is personal. I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning, and our future." This is her excuse.

"I say this for myself and so many others, who are concerned about their rights, reputations, and livelihoods being on the line." Wow, so brave 🙄

Her rights weren’t being violated.  It’s like smoking.  Suck all the nicotine you want, but you can’t do it indoors anymore.  And back when you can, restaurants had smoking and non-smoking sections 

[Spartan Girl]

3 hours ago, aradia22 said:

"My case is personal. I stand by the decision my husband and I, with input from our physician, have made for ourselves, our family planning, and our future." This is her excuse.

 

*sigh* The shot has no affect on fertility, Laura, they’ve already confirmed that. 🙄🙄🙄🙄

And of course she plays the victim like her rights were being violated, and that’s worse than people dying.

I am so beyond sick of this.

Edited August 17, 2021 by Spartan Girl

[JustHereForFood]

12 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Everyone was great but God, I love Sara Bareilles and Brian Stokes Mitchell and LaChanze

 

I like this video, but what is Andy Cohen doing there?

[dbklmt]

17 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Everyone was great but God, I love Sara Bareilles and Brian Stokes Mitchell and LaChanze

 

One of my friends sent this to me yesterday and I absolutely LOVED it, one of the best music videos that I've seen in a long time.  It's been on repeat for me for over a day.  Thanks ARADIA22 for posting it here!

[aradia22]

Quote

The Museum of Broadway, the first permanent museum dedicated to the history and legacy of New York’s theater industry, will open next summer in Times Square following a delay caused by the Covid pandemic shutdown.

To be located at 145 West 45th Street in Manhattan, the museum is designed as an interactive and immersive experience, with sections showcasing Broadway history, behind-the-scenes elements and “game-changing” shows that redefined Broadway.

Founded by entrepreneur and four-time Tony Award nominated producer Julie Boardman, and Diane Nicoletti, founder of Rubik Marketing, the Museum of Broadway had been scheduled to open last year, but the pandemic necessitated postponement.

Curious what this will be like. I'm busy right now but I'm going to do my best to try to see that Showstoppers exhibit in September.

https://deadline.com/2021/08/museum-of-broadway-opening-summer-2022-1234815548/

[aradia22]

https://twitter.com/thealexnewell/status/1427507991553749011/photo/1

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSrKttILbcM/

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSj3ViJIApn/?utm_medium=copy_link

Alex Newell, Javier Munoz, and Eden Espinosa responding to Laura Osnes

[PRgal]

I like singing along with cast recordings (who doesn’t?).  Sometimes, I find myself going overboard with favourites like The Sound of Music (especially the movie recording) and then realize that I’m way too old to be Maria.  I’m around the same age as the…baroness.  😱 (Eleanor Parker was 43ish when the movie premiered.  I turn 42 in a few weeks)

[aradia22]

Quote

Director Bartlett Sher (Broadway’s To Kill a Mockingbird), writer JT Rogers (HBO Max’s upcoming Tokyo Vice), and producer Cambra Overend – the team behind HBO’s Emmy-nominated film adaptation of Rogers’ play Oslo – have launched SRO Productions to develop and present new works for the stage, television and film, with projects already in development that will reunite the trio with some of their best-known collaborators.

Works already in various stages of early development or planning for the new company: a TV series adaptation of Rogers’ 2010 play Blood and Gifts, a series adaptation of Robert Caro’s classic 1974 biography The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, a “large musical theater project” with producer Marc Platt, and a stage musical with Sher’s To Kill a Mockingbird writer Aaron Sorkin.

SRO declined to provide more specifics about the stage productions at this early point in their development. In addition to developing and presenting new works, SRO will present revivals of classic plays and musicals.

https://deadline.com/2021/08/oslo-bartlett-sher-jt-rogers-cambra-overend-sro-productions-1234817084/

[aradia22]

Pros: I do love Erin Morley. It's based on a Sarah Ruhl play and I've always been curious to see her work. I love Greek mythology.

Cons: It looks like a semi-modern production from the costumes/sets. I hate most English language operas, especially because the Met doesn't provide supertitles. I do not like a tenor villain... at least it's not a countertenor.

Maybe I'll just see Hadestown instead.

[aradia22]

Quote

Drama Desk nominee, Christy Altomare, Broadway's original Anastasia, will join the fall 2021 cast of Disney Princess - The Concert. According to a show rep, this production will follow Disney Concerts' COVID-19 safety policy, requiring cast and touring crew to be fully vaccinated, and will adhere to all local health protocols at each tour stop in an effort to maintain a safe concert experience for patrons, local crews, and the entire touring company. Ms. Altomare replaces previously announced Laura Osnes.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Christy-Altomare-Will-Step-In-For-Laura-Osnes-On-DISNEY-PRINCESS-THE-CONCERT-Tour-20210820

Good. Christy has a better voice. (Sing out, Louise!) And while you can't know someone from stage door interactions or video clips, she seems like a real sweetie. If nothing else, she has the public demeanor to effortlessly play the part of a Disney princess. Also, she's not anti-vaxx. ;)

[ebk57]

21 hours ago, aradia22 said:

Maybe I'll just see Hadestown instead.

Do that. 

[aradia22]

Screaming! 🤣

[aradia22]

 

[aradia22]

Quote

Concord Originals has partnered with Daniel Dae Kim’s 3AD and Janet Yang Productions to re-imagine Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Tony Award-winning musical Flower Drum Song for screen. The 1961 feature adaptation of the 1958 Broadway production of the same name received five Academy Award nominations and was the first major Hollywood feature film that featured a majority Asian/Asian American cast. The show returned to Broadway in 2002, with a revised book by David Henry Hwang. Dilley is producing the project for Concord Originals, alongside Kim and John Cheng for 3AD and Janet Yang.

James Shigeta is beautiful in the movie. Lea Salonga sounds wonderful on the album. Other than that, I've always found this one incredibly cringe. We shall see... Daniel Dae Kim gives me some hope. 

https://variety.com/2021/tv/news/flower-drum-song-robert-johnson-concord-originals-1235035139/

[aradia22]

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/The-Public-Theaters-MERRY-WIVES-to-be-Filmed-for-PBS-GREAT-PERFORMANCES-20210823

HOORAY!!!

[aradia22]

Quote

The show is based on a true story, that of the Comedian Harmonists, a group of six young men in 1920s Germany who “took the world by storm” — as the show description says — with their music and comedy, until the inclusion of Jewish singers in the act put them in the path of a much bigger storm brewing.

“Harmony” will be presented by the National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF) in the Edmond J. Safra Hall Theatre at the Museum of Jewish Heritage. Previews start March 23 of next year, with regular performances beginning April 13 and running through May 8. Tony winner Warren Carlyle will direct.

Barry Manilow musical coming to New York (not Broadway).

https://variety.com/2021/music/news/barry-manilow-harmony-musical-new-york-premiere-1235047222/

[PRgal]

For those who're in Toronto and its surrounding area:  Mirvish Productions recently announced their upcoming season!  I'm not sure if I'm ready to go back to the theatre just yet (even though they'll require all 12+ attendees to be fully vaxxed), but the shows look very exciting - Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is coming, as is Jesus Christ Superstar.   Hamilton and Come From Away are coming back!

 

[WinnieWinkle]

5 hours ago, PRgal said:

as is Jesus Christ Superstar

If I can overcome my feelings about going to a theatre right now then I'd definitely want to see this!  

[aradia22]

Quote

One argument defending this is that theatre should not “be political,” or “politically correct,” and that the role should just go to “the best person.” To this, I ask you – why do you believe that the best person is never Black?

For example, it would be ridiculous to assume that no qualified Black actor has ever walked through the door at an Equity call for the role of Elphaba. It has been on Broadway and has toured the country for seventeen years. Even if, by some wildly absurd chance, no Black actress was the best fit for the role – that is also a problem that we, as an industry, are responsible for. Why do qualified Black actresses not get appointments for these calls? Why do their agents not send them? Why do they not go? Perhaps it is the fact that we have shown them they are not welcome – that they do not “type” for Elphaba. This is not only applicable to Wicked.

Quote

Others argue that there are already a lot of Black roles in the musical theatre canon. For example, shows like Ragtime and Hairspray offer a multitude of roles for Black people. They address very real, painful experiences faced by the Black community. It is crucial for us to recognize this suffering and continue to tell those stories.

However, these should not be the only roles where Black actors are welcome. Why do we only allow Black people to perform when they are performing their trauma? Why are they only welcome in stories when they are forced to live through the hate and discrimination directed toward their community again and again? This is already something that they are living through every day. It is inescapable.

Theatre is a way for people to process pain and communicate social justice – but it is also a way of healing and joy. We welcome black people into the arts community when they exist to educate white people about systemic racism – but we slam the door in their face when they ask to belt “Defying Gravity” or be a princess. It is not the Black community’s responsibility to continue to play out this violence and trauma (through the lens of a white person, no less), with no other options. While these stories are valuable contributions to the theatre canon, they are not the sole purpose that Black artists exist.

https://www.onstageblog.com/editorials/2020/12/19/why-the-green-girl-is-never-black-racism-in-casting

Honestly, non-white Elphaba makes the most sense of the many musical theater roles that could have colorblind/color-conscious casting. Also, reminder that the Wicked concert will be aired on PBS at 9pm on Sunday.

[aradia22]

This may be a hot take but I do think there are musical roles that should only be played by white actors. Glinda/Galinda, Elle Woods, Regina George, Heather Chandler, Patrick Bateman, Melchior Gabor, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Daddy Warbucks, Raoul in Phantom, Nellie Forbush, Sandy in Grease, J. Pierpont Finch, Henry Higgins, etc. YMMV on each of them but I think their privilege and whiteness are intrinsic to their characters. Non-traditional casting in these roles isn't bad but you lose a component of the storytelling.

[aradia22]

I've started buying tickets again. I bought two cheap tickets ($22 balcony seat for Jessica Vosk at Carnegie Hall, $30 for Caroline, or Change using Hiptix) in case I don't feel comfortable going. Roundabout is sticking to no exchanges and no refunds.

I also bought a $35 for Flying Over Sunset today and I really wish more people would follow Lincoln Center's policies. I know every place is not a non-profit but Roundabout is so they don't have that excuse. I really did feel more confident with this ticket exchange/refund flexibility.

Quote

BUY WITH CONFIDENCE

Buy tickets now for any performance through March 6, 2022, and you can either refund or exchange your tickets into any other date until two hours before the performance. You may exchange an order up to three times and refund once per show per month.

I still don't feel great about being in a theater so none of my tickets are until November and I'm definitely keeping an eye on the news and covid cases and assessing the risk as things change. I'm also going to be paying attention to the word of mouth when people start seeing Hadestown, Waitress, and Six again in September and Tina and Girl from the North Country in October.

[aradia22]

Out of curiosity, I looked up what the Metropolitan Opera had to say. Definitely going further than other theater companies.

Quote

Ensuring Your Safety

The Met has made a number of changes to make sure the opera house is as safe and welcoming as possible when we reopen. As health and safety conditions and recommendations change we will update our policies accordingly and keep our audiences informed.

During the closure period, we have completed work to confirm that our air systems comply with city, state, and national Covid safety standards. All HVAC systems have been evaluated by professional engineers to verify compliance with Covid safety guidelines.

All bathrooms have been fitted with touchless fixtures.

We have updated the entrance to the Met with four automatic doors.

We have enhanced our cleaning procedures and will offer hand sanitizer throughout the Met.

We will be offering e-tickets/contactless entry options.

All ticket buyers will be sent a pre-performance email with specific health and safety protocols relating to the performance they are attending.

Ticket Flexibility

In recognition of the great uncertainty created by the current health situation, we have reviewed our ticket policies to make sure we are as flexible and accommodating as possible in the event you are unable to attend a performance. The 2021–22 ticket policy has been updated to include flexible exchanges for all ticket buyers, including single-ticket buyers. If you are unable to attend a performance for any reason, you will be eligible for a complimentary exchange into a future performance. Exchanges may be requested up until the performance curtain time, and ticket buyers will be asked to pay the difference in price should the replacement performance ticket price exceed that of the original ticket.

 

[Spartan Girl]

We just got our tickets today. All our seats look good. Masks are going to be required in the theater building, but I don’t know about vaccination requirements yet though the campus it’s located on mandated it. Plus our shows don’t start until December—Hadestown!

[Spartan Girl]

Watching the Wicked concert and it’s pretty good so far. I’m wondering if they’re going to make a casting announcement for the movie at the end: Amber Riley and Stephanie Hsu did so great with their numbers that they ought to be auditions. Although last time I heard Hailey Kilgore might be a contender too. 

[aradia22]

The editing is a little chaotic but I think they did a good job of showing off some popular shows/old chestnuts to entice people, displaying the returning shows, and trying to showcase more racially diverse shows/performers to make Broadway feel inclusive. I don't think it sold the returning shows so much as the general idea of coming back to Broadway as they didn't get much attention... except Hamilton. 

[Jane Tuesday]

This just came across my Facebook feed, and I thought I'd share.  Especially exciting for those of us who don't live in NYC (or any "real" city) to see all these great shows.

Win a trip to see Hamilton anywhere in the world in 2022!

It's a fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.  You can make a donation, buy merchandise, or just fill out a form with no purchase.

In addition to the big prize, there will be weekly winners.  TBD, but LMM mentions in the video NYC movie premieres, NYC trips, etc.

[aradia22]

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTXqpFZl9qT/

Jessie J is 33. A little too old for Elphaba in the Wicked movie. But... is she though?

Edited September 5, 2021 by aradia22

[aradia22]

Oh boy...

 

[aradia22]

Quote

Stephen Chbosky’s cinematic adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen,” whereby a 27-year-old Ben Platt reprises his role as the teenage titular character is a total misfire. It’s an emotionally manipulative, overlong dirge composed of cloying songs, lackluster vocal performances, and even worse writing.  

The Benj Pasek and Justin Paul penned songs, such as "Only Us," "Requiem," "Sincerely, Me" etc. are a ramshackled assemblage of garish arrangements and even worse lyrics that ring with the artificial tinge of a plastic lollipop. Likewise, there’s no amount of suspension that’ll lift anyone to the disbelief of Platt being a teenager. His very build and frame, especially his jutted winged shoulders, is that of a grown man. The one added benefit he brings is his malleable voice, a vehicle with the ability to discover pockets of hard-fought warmth where only cold suspicion exists. 

Compounding the frustration elicited by “Dear Evan Hansen” is how often the costuming, the set design, and other small details like props reveal the film’s seams. T-shirts and sweaters are hewn closer to Pratt’s body to make him look younger, but they do the opposite. The bland homes of both Evan and Zoe aren’t at all lived-in, displaying very little character beyond a department store commercial. When Evan looks at his yearbook to see Connor’s favorite books, heady titles like Kurt Vonnegut’s Cat’s Cradle appear. But Connor looks no more than 10 years old in the picture. Rather the reading list is composed of the stereotypical titles associated with suicidal teens. At every turn, “Dear Evan Hansen” takes the lower, easier route. Each time it does a disservice to the misunderstood group with which it falsely claims empathy. 

With “Dear Evan Hansen,” Chbosky aims to identify with those struggling with mental health challenges, but he and the source material only possess a superficial understanding of such travails. The worst scene (among many bad ones) is when Evan gets the recording of Connor singing during a group therapy session, sending it to everyone he knows. Who videotapes a group therapy session? Who then sends that footage? It’s blatant emotional manipulation on the part of the film. Chbosky's film concerns itself solely with pulling at heartstrings, and then stamping them into the saccharine ground. “Dear Evan Hansen” is a terrible, misbegotten musical with too little self-awareness to care how out of tune it sounds.

https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/dear-evan-hansen-movie-review-2021

This review goes IN. When the reviewer is mad at the props, you know...

[aradia22]

Quote

On the matter of Platt’s advanced age, the filmmakers have employed a few key tricks. The first is to absolutely slather his face in pancake makeup, the better to conceal his decrepit 20-something wrinkles. This might have worked had director Stephen Chbosky set most of the film in dark alleyways or shot Platt from very far away. But no. The movie takes place almost exclusively under bright fluorescent lights, and its opening scenes feature the actor’s face in extreme close-ups that show off every inch of his miraculously poreless skin.

To obscure the lines that appear on his forehead whenever Evan Hansen looks concerned, which is always, hair and makeup have given Platt a curly, bang-heavy hairstyle last seen on Howie Mandel in the ’80s*. This was not the only occasion I suspected the film’s craftspeople were enacting a subtle revenge on their leading man. The costume department frequently dresses him in a manner reminiscent of iconic SNL sketches where adults play children, from Jonah Hill’s Benihana 6-year-old to Molly Shannon’s Mary Katherine Gallagher. In flashbacks, Evan sports a boxy blue button-up that, combined with the wig, makes him a dead ringer for Julia Sweeney’s Pat, which only heightens the sense that the entire movie is taking place in Studio 8H.

Physically, Platt has been instructed to mimic a high schooler by slouching a lot. This does not make him look like a teenager; it makes him look like an adult trying very hard to look like a teenager. In the ’90s, films like Cruel Intentions and She’s All That got away with casting actors in their late 20s as teens because they owned it; no one was trying to make viewers believe Paul Walker or Ryan Phillippe was an actual minor. But it also worked because the characters were swaggering alphas. Here, having a grown man play a diffident introvert makes him read not as vulnerable, but as shifty and evasive. Call it the Michael Jackson paradox.

*This article originally claimed that Ben Platt’s Dear Evan Hansen haircut was a wig. It is, astoundingly, his own hair.

Saving these so I don't have to deal with the paywall later. Brutal.

https://www.vulture.com/2021/09/dear-evan-hansen-movie-how-old-does-ben-platt-look.html

[aradia22]

Quote

Platt is the only original cast member to reprise his role for the film, a fact that has sent some eyes rolling in part because Platt’s invaluable Broadway co-star Rachel Bay Jones also won a Tony for her troubles, yet has been swapped out for the Oscar-winning Moore. It doesn’t seem fair. Platt is also quite visibly in his late 20s, a far cry from the shivering, barely adolescent pipsqueak Evan is supposed to be. Chbosky and the hair, makeup, and lighting teams can’t do much to cover up that fact, rendering the film’s central character as an interloper oddity from some other-world. Evan Hansen is himself an interloper in his way, but the off-ness of Platt’s presence in the film way overstates the case.

The real trouble of Platt’s performance, though, is that he doesn’t dial down for the camera. He maintains nearly all of his stage work’s highly articulated tics—Evan’s hunched gait and wiggling hands, his stammered speech patterns—which played fine from many yards back in a theater, but are too mannered on film. He sticks out among his more screen-seasoned cast mates, as if his Broadway performance was simply video captured and, through CGI magic, bizarrely aged up and digitally inserted into everyone else’s littler, humbler movie.

Spoiler

Where Dever, Pino, Adams, and Moore really do their heaviest lifting is in trying to extract thematic value out of Dear Evan Hansen’s tortured plot, which concerns a vile cruelty that frames Evan as more of a Thomas Ripley figure than just your average depressed kid who gets in over his head. A tragic misunderstanding leads Connor’s family to think that he and Evan were the best of friends, a mistruth that Evan at first perpetuates tentatively and then wholeheartedly. Especially as it brings Connor’s sister Zoe (played by Dever) ever closer. Evan has long had a crush on Zoe, who warms to Evan as he spins tales about how much Connor—a difficult, violent presence in her life—secretly loved his sister and yearned to be a better brother.

This dawning relationship, which the film frames as sweet and romantic (albeit briefly), brings up some thorny and pertinent questions of consent. Evan’s is a terrible violation, and yet the stage show and now the movie do little to properly contextualize that. Still, Dever finds admirable shading within the movie’s insistence that Zoe not be too mad at Evan when all is revealed. She’s such an intuitive, resourceful actor that she can’t help but wrestle some redemption out of this imbalanced material. Adams also manages a complex kind of desolation and grownup empathy, a weary and heartbroken smile in her final scene illustrating an ocean of conflicted feeling.

Quote

Evan Hansen need not be a lovable, nor even likable, character. But as the wet-eyed center of this bulldozer of a show, so engineered as an emotional wringer that would sell lots of original cast recordings (and now soundtracks), he is inevitably valorized, let to stroll off into the golden sun with the audience applauding after him, while a whole family is still devastated. This is a problem of tone, really, and of the ear-wormy, artisanal sugar of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul’s music, which dutifully gives the lead soaring, poptimistic ballads he doesn’t deserve.

The better version of Dear Evan Hansen would use its grim story as the means to explore the false cheer and heavily synthetic inspiration content of so much contemporary online life. (In a public expression of his faux grief, Evan does, of course, go viral.) It would see the galling emptiness of the sentiment expressed in the musical’s defining song, "You Will Be Found," a placating promise that everyone in dire mental crisis need only lie in wait for their savior to emerge from somewhere. It would critique the culture that not only made Evan Hansen, but that made Dear Evan Hansen, too.

The film had the opportunity to really edit and rethink those matters. But it only does so here and there, in little bits, mostly by further expanding on Evan’s mental health and that, vaguely, of his peers. (Stenberg’s Type A classmate, Alana, gets a new song about just that.) As was true of the stage production, the Dear Evan Hansen film wants to have it both ways, to see the awful lie at the center of Evan’s message of hope and to still have it play as hopeful. In an ideal world, the parents or guardians of the many young people who will no doubt thrill to this occasionally winning and often crassly manipulative film would have a productive chat with their charges afterward, explaining that not everything is as easy and forgivable as it is on stage—or, now, in the movies.

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2021/09/09/dear-evan-hansen-review-ben-platt-toronto

[aradia22]

Wicked in Concert thoughts...

tl;dr I liked Isaac Powell, Stephanie Hsu, Alex Newell, Ali Stroker, and Gavin Creel. There were some other good moments but mostly it seemed misguided and confusingly directed. The Halloween anniversary special was much better in comparison. This felt less like a celebration of Wicked and more like a PBS concert to fundraise.

Spoiler

 

I had to watch on my laptop because I'm having issues with my TV. This also means I couldn't record it. 🙁

Weird choice to show the peeling paint on the ceiling

Overture sounded thin

Could barely see Idina's eyes with those bangs

I don't know how much of this was coming from the actors and how much was scripted by V but it didn't sound earnest. V's style of monologuing is... tough to sit through. The whole vision behind this with the interview segments... it didn't work for me. It had none of the magic of the Halloween anniversary special they aired a few years ago.

What Is This Feeling? - Gabrielle Ruiz and Amber Riley Fine. Not well acted. Didn't seem like they had much rehearsal. Not much depth to the vocals. Very much a surface-level concert performance.

The Wizard and I - Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno They were playing it a little children's theater, especially Rita, but this one was better. The camera angles were making me think it was partially a direction problem. Rita made a lot of direct eye contact while DeBose barely seemed aware of where the camera was. Also, DeBose doesn't have the best vocals compared to most Elphabas. Her voice wasn't big but she nailed Idina's buzzy nasality. While she didn't sing it effortlessly, I have to give her credit for being more versatile than I'd thought. She isn't just a dancer who sings.

Trotting out those terrible Out of Oz clips was embarrassing. It has POWERFUL Broadway stars should not sing pop music/self-indulgent 54 Below show energy and still they insist on shoving it in our faces.

Dancing Through Life - I don't even like this song but Isaac Powell's performance was the first one that felt fully realized. He made those dumb lyrics seem as natural as possible. He refused to let the bad direction bring him down. Totally sold on him as the movie Fiyero.

I'm Not That Girl - Stephanie Hsu Wild that Mrs. Maisel is apparently her big credit now. Solid vocal but I appreciated the performance more. This is a totally earnest song and she committed. God, these lyrics are awful.

Popular - Alex Newell Not my favorite version of Popular ever but a very good one. I think you can tell who the theater kids who really loved Wicked are from these performances. Again this direction... you have all the spotlights and you choose to have him face upstage so he's backlit? WHY??? The arrangement wasn't too out there but he put his spin on it in some fun ways. 

Wonderful - Mario Cantone Um... okay. I actually don't think the slightly camp cabaret gestures were that out of place but he had dead eyes. The direction was also demented and I don't think it was due to covid given how the other actors were all over the orchestra. Why would anyone in the Wicked demo be deeply interested in organ music? It got worse towards the end the more than organ drowned him out.

I Couldn't Be Happier - Cynthia Erivo It was edited crazily with her superimposed over footage of the orchestra and I didn't get the same energy I got from Newell and Powell and Hsu but Cynthia's a good actress and she acted the song.

Defying Gravity - Amber Riley A pretty but very light vocal rendition. I don't know why she closed her eyes for so much of the song. If I'm being charitable, she picked her moments as there were some nice choices here and there.

As Long As You're Mine - Ali Stroker and Gavin Creel Inexplicable direction to both look at the camera and then make eye contact during a love song. I appreciated that Gavin was locked in on her the whole time. Lovely vocals though. Sometimes Ali goes too hard but she was perfect here. Gavin's not a Fiyero but it's not a question that his vocals were going to be good. The man's voice is magic. Zero romantic chemistry but they looked like they were having so much fun and it was one of the best vocal performances of the show.

No Good Deed - Jennifer Nettles Didn't like the arrangement but get this woman back on Broadway. She seemed really disconnected from the lyrics but the voice...

I'm Not That Girl - Gabrielle Ruiz Confusing, but ok. The drop down to the "girl" low note is crazy every time.

For Good - Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel Lol, that they just used old footage. 

 

 

[argrow]

Loved every minute of Come From Away on AppleTV+. It was shot so beautifully and really captured the show perfectly. Not a fan of them editing out the 'fucks', but I ugly cried as much from watching on screen as I had when I saw the show live.

Edited September 12, 2021 by argrow

[theatremouse]

Yeah, I've heard from a few people (who've been watching lots of recorded live theater during the pandemic) that Come From Away was the most satisfying to watch. Not sure why, and it didn't seem to be about the show itself necessarily, just that something about this recording gave the closest energy to being in a theater, much more so than everything else has so far.

[aradia22]

Quote

On Friday, April 8, 2022, BEETLEJUICE will play its first performance since March 11, 2020, this time haunting Broadway's Marriott Marquis Theatre (210 west 46th Street).

We're living in a cursed timeline.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BEETLEJUICE-Will-Re-Open-on-Broadway-in-Spring-2022-20210913

[shoregirl]

#Ham4Ham with the casts of Hamilton, Wicked and The Lion King in honor of the three shoes reopening today.

[aradia22]

I actually don't love all the choices she makes here but I kind of want to see Wicked again. It'll fade. Lindsay Mendez and Jessica Vosk couldn't get me to go. But the mailer was very tempting.

[Dr.OO7]

Emilie Koautchou has been cast as Broadway's first African-American Christine!

"At certain performances". I take it that means she's the alternate rather than the main, but it's still a huge milestone. I'm trying to find out specifically what days she'll be performing so that I can be certain to get the correct ticket.

[ancslove]

Interesting that Broadway's following West End there.  Although there's usually a lot of crossover between Broadway and West End in castings of both Phantom and Les Mis, and maybe Broadway wanted their first black Christine to be American. (i.e. before Lucy St. Louis makes her inevitable journey across the pond)

[Dr.OO7]

20 hours ago, ancslove said:

Interesting that Broadway's following West End there.  Although there's usually a lot of crossover between Broadway and West End in castings of both Phantom and Les Mis, and maybe Broadway wanted their first black Christine to be American. (i.e. before Lucy St. Louis makes her inevitable journey across the pond)

What I'm really looking forward to is the day that both (or all three) lead roles are played by POC.

[PRgal]

On 8/28/2021 at 9:46 AM, aradia22 said:

This may be a hot take but I do think there are musical roles that should only be played by white actors. Glinda/Galinda, Elle Woods, Regina George, Heather Chandler, Patrick Bateman, Melchior Gabor, Johanna in Sweeney Todd, Daddy Warbucks, Raoul in Phantom, Nellie Forbush, Sandy in Grease, J. Pierpont Finch, Henry Higgins, etc. YMMV on each of them but I think their privilege and whiteness are intrinsic to their characters. Non-traditional casting in these roles isn't bad but you lose a component of the storytelling.

There was a predominantly Asian cast of My Fair Lady at (I think) Stanford a few years ago.  It was not only an Asian theatre group at the school, but also because there were some western educated people from various parts of (East) Asia at that time.  The production of My Fair Lady I saw in New York a few years ago featured a Black Freddy (his mom was also Black).  I believe the current touring production (which is the same production as the one I saw in New York) also features Black Eynsford-Hills. 

As for Sandy from Grease, Ma-Anne Dionisio (a former Kim from Miss Saigon) played Sandy in a production I saw about 20 years ago.  

[aradia22]

Quote

The musical arrives with Tony winner Garth H. Drabinsky attached as producer. Drabinsky, whose Livent Inc. brought shows like The Kiss of the Spider Woman, Ragtime, and Parade to Broadway, was convicted and sentenced to prison for fraud and forgery in 2009 and was released on parole in 2013.

This might be the most chaotic bio I've seen dropped into a Broadway announcement article.

Anyway... Paradise Square is coming to Broadway.

Quote

Casting and performance dates have been announced for the Broadway run of Paradise Square, which will open on Broadway on Sunday, March 20, 2022 at The Shubert Organization's Barrymore Theatre.

New York City. 1863. The Civil War raged on. An extraordinary thing occurred amid the dangerous streets and crumbling tenement houses of the Five Points, the notorious 19th-century Lower Manhattan slum. For many years, Irish immigrants escaping the devastation of the Great Famine settled alongside free-born Black Americans and those who escaped slavery, arriving by means of the Underground Railroad. The Irish, relegated at that time to the lowest rung of America's social status, received a sympathetic welcome from their Black neighbors (who enjoyed only slightly better treatment in the burgeoning industrial-era city). The two communities co-existed, intermarried, raised families, and shared their cultures in this unlikeliest of neighborhoods.

The amalgamation between the communities took its most exuberant form with raucous dance contests on the floors of the neighborhood bars and dance halls. It is here in the Five Points where tap dancing was born, as Irish step dancing joyously competed with Black American Juba. But this racial equilibrium would come to a sharp and brutal end when President Lincoln's need to institute the first Federal Draft to support the Union Army would incite the deadly NY Draft Riots of July 1863.

Within this galvanizing story of racial harmony undone by a country at war with itself, we meet the denizens of a local saloon called Paradise Square: Nelly Freeman (Joaquina Kalukango), the indomitable Black woman who owns it; Annie O'Brien (Chilina Kennedy), her Irish-Catholic sister-in-law and her Black minister husband, Rev. Samuel Jacob Lewis (Nathaniel Stampley); Owen Duignan (A.J. Shively), a conflicted newly arrived Irish immigrant; Washington Henry (Sidney Dupont), a fearless freedom seeker; Frederic Tiggens (John Dossett), an anti-abolitionist political boss, and Milton Moore (Jacob Fishel), a penniless songwriter trying to capture it all. They have conflicting notions of what it means to be an American while living through one of the most tumultuous eras in our country's history.

https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Joaquina-Kalukango-Will-Star-in-PARADISE-SQUARE-Opening-on-Broadway-March-20-20210607