THEATRE GOSSIP #344-the “Norm Lewis Isn’t Charming” Edition

Okay, I'll start. Have we any admirers of the British musical hereabouts?

I don't mean the mega-musicals like Evita and Les Mis that everyone knows about, but the unobtrusive ones like The Boy Friend and Salad Days. The charm shows.

Did any of our formidable eldergays see the Broadway Boy Friend with DL fave Julie Andrews? Did anyone see homoerotic Valmouth? Robert and Elizabeth? Belle? Passion Flower Hotel?

We never seem to talk about these shows. How about a word or two?

Manholes erupted? Let me guess, their names were Nick Adams and Max Von Essen.

Is Norm Lewis really not charming? That's too bad.

What's too bad is that, having had the interesting idea of making Harold Hill African-American, the KC couldn't come up with someone better to play the part ... rinse and repeat about Sweeney Todd

OK, I'll play! I want to see productions of MAGGIE MAY, R&E, SALAD DAYS, even TWANG! And maybe even BLITZ. And bring back PICKWICK while you're at it.

I love SPEND SPEND SPEND!

And Norm Lewis is very charming, but not in the way that's needed for something like Music Man.

There you go. What r6 said.

I’ve always yearned for Broadway productions of Mardi Gras and Liza of Lambeth.

We've had a lot of shitty theater thread titles lately, and this one is certainly following in that tradition.

This one stinks on a different level.

Yes it does, R10, and yet it's the title I knew we would end up with after the previous thread ended on such a sour note.

In the 1950s and 1960s a Broadway star like Beth Leavel would have warmed her way into America's hearts on NYC-based TV variety hours like The Garry Moore Show, much as Carol Burnett and Dorothy Loudon did on a weekly basis.

Today there's really no outlet for such a performer, is there?

"Salad Days" is simple and charming, but clearly of its time. Too modest a show for a Broadway revival, but it could work in a small theater, provided its innocence isn't played for camp.

"I Sit in the Sun," from the OCR of "Salad Days."

Hey, at least I got the number correctly! And spelled “theatre” in the proper manner. Don’t that count for something? Kuh-vetch, kuh-vetch, kuh-vetch.

No, OP, it don't count for something. Your title is insulting and gratuitous.

Insulting to whom? Norm Lewis?

No, insulting to Mitzi Gaynor, Rose.

No, R12 and it's a shame. The four adult leads of THE PROM have something like 9-14 Broadway credits each and are generally well liked and respected. There was a time when actors like that would've been more than capable of selling a show.

Meanwhile, it's a bummer to see half-baked talent like Ben Platt use theatre (and nepotism) as a stepping stone to music and film/TV careers.

"Dear Evan Hansen" was Platt's stepping stone to eventually ending up in a bad Netflix series.

I remember being so impressed with his performance when DEH previewed in Washington. And I think it was impressive, but he is still the most tiresome performer I've seen in a long time.

I love Salad Days too.

The Prom definitely should be selling better.

I think that the way TV is falling apart as a culture shaping venue is implicated in the way broadway must sell itself to survive today. Shows need to be virally memworthy among teens or part of the movie industry's publicity department to get the required buzz to sell tickets.

The Prom is a piece of shit, buoyed by top notch performers in embarrassing roles.

I saw The Prom on Friday night. It’s rare that you see a Broadway show on the weekend with many empty seats, but the entire periphery of the orchestra was unsold.

I resisted seeing it because it looked juvenile and because I hated Something Rotten, sorta enjoyed Mean Girls, and thought Drowsy Chaperone was ok. The tickets cost a little more than My Fair Lady with Benanti, which only had a few empty seats.

It was ok, consistently missing the oppprtunity to be really entertaining or really smart. Good cast, but they felt shoehorned into the show. The lackluster title, generic physical production, and terrible marketing is not doing any favors to the box office. Far better shows have done worse on Broadway, so I don’t feel much pity for this show.

[quote]And Norm Lewis is very charming, but not in the way that's needed for something like Music Man.

How is he with corn husks?

"Shows need to be virally memworthy among teens"

Really:? If we're going to hand over the reins of culture to children, then it's all over for us a society. May as well just stay at home in our underwear watching the latest atrocity on TV while scarfing down pizza.

Norm plays for our team, right?

That most British of musicals!

Jussie Smollett IS Harold Hill in The MAGA Man!

r25's assessment of The Prom couldn't be more discerning.

[quote]I remember being so impressed with his performance when DEH previewed in Washington. And I think it was impressive, but he is still the most tiresome performer I've seen in a long time.

That sure sounds like a contradiction. Care to explain a little further? Do you mean that he was simultaneously impressive and tiresome in DEH? Or do you mean that he was impressive in DEH but has been tiresome in other things? P.S. It seems to me that the word "tiresome" is being overused a lot lately on DL.

[quote]I resisted seeing it because it looked juvenile and because I hated Something Rotten, sorta enjoyed Mean Girls, and thought Drowsy Chaperone was ok.

Those shows have only one or two elements in common with THE PROM, but they have the creative team in different combos with different people.

[quote]It was ok, consistently missing the oppprtunity to be really entertaining or really smart. Good cast, but they felt shoehorned into the show. The lackluster title, generic physical production, and terrible marketing is not doing any favors to the box office.

I sadly agree about the marketing, the title, and I guess also the physical production, but I think it's still a tremendously entertaining show and very smart. Also, I don't know what you mean about the cast feeling shoehorned into the show.

Norm is over 50, a handsome musical theater performer and has never been married.

.... and a founding member of the BBDC.

I wish Bonnie Langford was on the cast album of Gone With The Wind and not that tone-deaf dwarf Celina Frediani.

Craig Bierko, who also played Harold Hill, has a similar description.

What Drowsy Chaperone, Something Rotten, Mean Girls and The Prom have in common is the Casey Nicholaw aesthetic, which has become very TIRESOME.

Book of Mormon and Aladdin do as well but are both somewhat overwhelmed by stronger aesthetics.

He really needs to take about 10 years off.

Doesn’t Beth Leavel fall into the same category as a Carmen Cusak or that Carolee Carmelo woman? Solid but lacking individuality or real star power?

I can’t imagine anyone of the golden age writ8ng anything for any of them.

I don't think the death of TV as a marketing option for Broadway stars and Broadway shows is a function of handing over things to children -- TV has been falling apart for decades now and has finally achieved the exact importance and esteem as AM radio after years of relentlessly pursuing the AMradio market and content. That wasn't handing anything over to children it was about pursuing the aging baby boomer until every other demographic streams content and only checks on TV for the occasional shock of seeing another dumb blonde making excuses for Donald Trump.

TV killed itself as a medium so the TV ready Broadway stars no longer have an option to get out and sell the show with their chat show skills. You've got to have a movie or kids uploading themselves singing your song on youtube to break out.

With respect to DEH, r32, I meant both: I was impressed with Ben Platt's performance in that it was very high energy, and nearly unrelenting, and he was clearly engaging (most of) the audience. So to the extent I didn't enjoy his performance (which is a different matter), it was because of the relentlessness of it. Heavy emoting, a lot of facial tics. I didn't like his voice, particularly; it was at that time a true "Broadway kid belt." I grew tired of him long before the show was over, and chalked it up to the nature of the role. To some degree it was, I guess, but when I try to watch his YouTube videos I have the same response.

I wasn't suggesting full-scale productions of SALAD DAYS, PICKWICK, etc. I'd settle for a good convert version of each.

I saw Platt in DEH shortly after the opening, and thought he was terrific. Curiously, though, after the curtain calls, the cast stayed onstage to auction off the autographed cast Platt had worn to benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and though Platt at first made the announcement, it was clear to see he was still behaving like his role in the play, all stops and starts and twitches. The guy playing his friend took over the auction, while Platt receded back.

So, though I appreciated Platt’s work in the piece, I came away thinking he’s really a one-trick wonder.

I have a feeling Platt’s Netflix series will bomb.

Platt sang DEH beautifully, but acted it horribly. He is a rancid actor. And now that he's firmly planted up his own ass, his singing has suffered for it.

What about Divorce Me, Darling?

Norm Lewis is just so bland. Great voice, but meh. Mueller seems ideally cast and has a lovely soprano. Pardon me since I'm not a musical person, but is she singing it differently than the other women who have played it, because her voice sounds lower and less shrill than most other sopranos? She's hitting those high notes, but in such a pleasant way. It reminds me of Christine Andreas who also managed to not sound as shrill as most sopranos.

Norm Lewis kinda reminds me of when opera stars try musical theatre. They can hit the notes, but they rarely have much charisma or acting ability. Remember that big dull dud playing Sweeney opposite Emma Thompson in that concert of Sweeney Todd? The minute I was told he was an opera star, his stilted performance made perfect sense. He was awful!

Was it Bryn Terfel, r47. I thought that was a horrible production, and he was particularly awful.

Look for Jussie Smollett as Billy Flynn in Chicago on Broadway this summer.

Sorry, it’s Velma or nothing for our client.

PS: I was in no way involved in you know what.

But those opera voices are so much better than the shrieking musical theatre voices which made me billions

[quote]I wasn't suggesting full-scale productions of SALAD DAYS, PICKWICK, etc. I'd settle for a good convert version of each.

A good concert version of Pickwick is impossible because it has such a third rate score.

I don't like Andreas' vibrato, r46.

No one (including Barbara Cook) sang the role more beautifully than Rebecca Luker.

Hold the presses...Kevin Spacey and Jussie Smollett will play Elmer and Rocky in a role reversal production of Chicago starting in September to help kick off the fall season, two weeks before previews begin for that Sondheim travesty.

Has anyone seen Lionel Bart's Lock Up Your Daughters or heard the score? How is it? Was it a hit, modest success or flop?

But Craig Bierko is fucking and living with Frances Ruffelle.

This OP should be prevented from ever OP-ing again, by physical force if necessary.

Eric McCormack was the best of the Harold Hills in the Luker revival. He sang it well without trying to ape Preston, he was handsome, and he had charm and energy to spare.

Onna White's choreography to Charles Strouse's music, filmed by George Sidney. Heaven. There was a lot to enjoy in that film but a lot that was very wrong as a representation of the stage show.

What a sweet interview with Ann-Margret at r59. Thanks for posting.

I never realized that the title song number used at the beginning and end of the film were a 6 month old afterthought of George Sidney's, not even paid for initially by the studio. I wonder if the film would have had the impact on A-M's career had those moments not been included in the film?

What I'll never get about the Birdie film was the casting of Jesse Pearson (who??) as Birdie, especially when Hollywood was crawling with sexier heartthrob rock 'n' roll bad boys. Has that casting ever been explained?

Fuck you, R60. Speaking of physical violence I’m fairly certain you have an eminently punchable face.

Those opening and closing Bye Bye Birdie shots were supposed to have been superimposed over a background of newspapers headlining Birdie's drafting and the pandemonium. But after Sidney and the producers saw the rough footage of Ann Margaret against the bluescreen, they left it as it was because she was so terrific.

^ Er, Ann-Margret, of course, I'm so embarrassed. But the story's true they didn't bother to spend the money for the background effect after seeing her footage.

There are some delicious songs in LOCK UP YOUR DAUGHTERS.

If Chita had absolutely no connection to this number.....if there had never BEEN a Chita.....how would you rate Janet's dancing?

When Maureen Stapleton played Dick Van Dyke's mother Mae in Bye Bye Birdie, she was 38 and only six months older than he was.

The famous story is that at the wrap party when they were all toasting each other, she said "I guess I'm the only person in the room who doesn't want to fuck Ann-Margret."

Eric McCormack was always mocked for being so fat on his television show. Brooks and he are the same size.

Bye Bye Birrr-heee...

I guess the "d" was hard to sing, but god that is painful.

Maggie Smith is returning to the London stage after more than a decade, I wonder if octogenarian Glenda Jackson having such stage success after a long gap inspired her ? She had said ,after having cancer, she didn't have the stamina for live theatre, but here she is in a one woman show. I wonder how her memory for lines is? Will she use the Lansbury earpiece? I hear she is already being tricky and only signed on at the 11th hour after disagreements with the management. It's bound to be a sold out run, she was one of few guaranteed sell outs when she appeared regularly and her rarity and recent Potter/Downton fame will make that even more so. I imagine a Broadway run will be at her disposal.

Did Ann-Margret sleep with Richard Rodgers the year before Birdie to get the lead in the State Fair remake? God knows he was famous for demanding the casting couch for leads in his major projects. Ask Florence Henderson, Cloris Leachman, Shirley Jones or Martha Wright among many others about that.

Miss Maureen Stapleton cuts the rug at 14:40....

So the fool who didn't get the most obvious jokes in Will & Grace is still with us.

"Bye Bye Birrr-heee... "

Not at all, she sings "Ber-TIE," like "Burlington Bertie from Bow," which drives me insane.

I just had a banana with Lady Diana.

[quote]So the fool who didn't get the most obvious jokes in Will & Grace is still with us.

The jokes weren’t funny then and they have aged like a slice of low-fat cheese served on crackers made with Olestra.

But i feel so gay

In a melancholy way....

The previews are back! Yay!

Norm is....not very bright.

"Personality test"

Norm is...not very straight.

R57: Lock Up Your Daughters was a huge hit, with a clever book and a very tuneful score that matches the period setting. I know people who hate that antiquing style of songwriting, but I also know a few people who played their LP of the Daughters cast album so much that the sound deteriorated.

It's probably on YouTube if you want to sample it, but it did come out on CD. There was also a cute little EP studio cast.

^^^I meant Lock Up Your Daughters was a big hit in London, where it was revived several times.

It was a flop in the U.S., closing during tryouts.

Great group of girls.....

I think the Maggie Smith news is exciting. I don't see what would possess her to want to come to Broadway, however.

[quote]Not at all, she sings "Ber-TIE," like "Burlington Bertie from Bow,"

No, the previous poster was closer. "Bye Bye Bird-hie"

Since it wouldn't be a DL Broadway thread without mentioning it...has anyone heard anything about the new cast of Follies at the National Theatre? Didn't they start previews? Any changes besides the cast (like a new Loveland)?

[quote] But i feel so gay In a melancholy way.... —That it might as well be Spring....

Damn right. That Byington bitch was a champion carpet muncher.

[quote]The famous story is that at the wrap party when they were all toasting each other, she said "I guess I'm the only person in the room who doesn't want to fuck Ann-Margret."

Was Paul Lynde out sick?

[quote]Norm Lewis kinda reminds me of when opera stars try musical theatre. They can hit the notes, but they rarely have much charisma or acting ability.

Fuck you, buddy.

[quote]Eric McCormack was always mocked for being so fat on his television show. Brooks and he are the same size.

In what lifetime was Brooks ever the same size as Eric McCormack?

And the "fat" jokes don't work at all anymore on Will & Grace. McCormack has gotten incredibly slender, and Sean Hayes has gained a noticeable amount of weight. The other night they had McCormack getting on the scale and saying "Oh, darn, I've lost another three pounds" while Jack & Grace rolled their eyes.

I'm not a fan of Ben Platt, but THE POLITICIAN is Ryan Murphy's first show of his $300 million Netflix deal. It co-stars Jessica Lange and Gwyneth Paltrow. It's a musical. Anyone claiming Murphy will fuck this up clearly doesn't realize how much is on the line and how much Netflix wants this to be a hit. It's already renewed for Season 2. I can't imagine how much money Netflix will throw into promoting it, so the chances of it not being a hit are minuscule.

Norm and LaChanze will probably get married soon.

"The other night they had McCormack getting on the scale and saying "Oh, darn, I've lost another three pounds" while Jack & Grace rolled their eyes."

People still actually watch network television?

"It's a musical"

I dread to ask: who's writing the "score?"

Really? The Politician is a musical? Is that why Babs turned it down?

I can see Glenda Jackson doing that one woman show about Hitler’s secretary on Broadway next season and receiving her third Tony in a row before calling it quits. Scottie, baby, make it happen.

funny thing about Rosie/Chita:

every iteration of Birdie screws up Rosie. We've had Janet Leigh (who they really made look like Chita, even though she's not latina), Ann Reinking (danced well, but couldn't sing and not latina), Vanessa Williams (was gorgeous, but not a broadway belter type voice and not latina), and Gina Gershon (not a great singer or dancer and again, not latina). Why can't anyone seem to get this casting right except for Gower Champion?

As for Chita, yes it must suck to watch other people put on your costumes and do your roles, but from Rita Moreno and Karen Olivo in West Side Story to a pretty good CZJ in Chicago, to everyone else who played Aurora after her, the skill level and quality of the dancing really diminished. Watching these other women flail where she soared must be satisfying to her, no?

R103, it's well documented that Rosie in BIRDIE was only made Latina to begin with because Chita was cast. I believe before that they were actually planning to make her Polish, in which case Albert's mother would have told a lot of Polish jokes about her. The point being there's no important reason for the character to be Latina as long as you cut "Spanish Rose" and those insults Albert's mother flings at her.

[quote]And the "fat" jokes don't work at all anymore on Will & Grace. McCormack has gotten incredibly slender, and Sean Hayes has gained a noticeable amount of weight. The other night they had McCormack getting on the scale and saying "Oh, darn, I've lost another three pounds" while Jack & Grace rolled their eyes.

This show is an embarrassment to the gay community. Even [italic]Gimme A Break![/italic] stopped doing fat jokes when Nell lost weight. Any more weight on him and he’ll be the male Chrissy Metz.

Any more weight on who, r105?

Sean.

[quote]In what lifetime was Brooks ever the same size as Eric McCormack?

When he did the workshop of Flaubert's Latest. He was originally a dancer.

I saw Blondel in London. Completely forgettable other than the monks.

Norm Lewis is an absolutely wonderful guy, solid and always open in rehearsals but he cannot act and doesn’t usually digest the script well, he memorizes it, but never “acts” it. He was just awful in Phantom, an embarrassment.

That's just silly, R54. Listen to Cook's "If You Don't My Saying So" and then listen to Luker's. The latter is lifeless, without charcter, and generally as flat as piss on a plate.

R25 is smart. A rarity here.

Norm Lewis is a minor league operatic voice that could never make it in opera that is put in roles on Broadway he would never normally get because there are zero legit male voices that would even bother with Broadway these days. I avoid everything he does like the plague. He’s a triple bore, can’t act, can’t sing, can’t dance.

He can barely hit the higher notes in the Music Man clips online--scooping and shouting--and that's not exactly a difficult score for Harold Hill.

But onstage, Luker was luminous.

[quote]But onstage, Luker was luminous.

I thought Luker was her usual bland self. And Cook won a Tony for the role. Luker didn’t.

This montage of Diana: The Musucal went viral yesterday. I can’t believe it hasn’t been posted here yet. Christopher Guest must buy the rights for his next mockumentary, with Catherine O’Hara as Camilla:

Luker truly surprised me onstage. Her voice, which seemed bland on recordings, shimmered and resonated in ways I had not expected. Her acting was charming and effortless, much moreso than Bierko’s flashier (but a little shallow) performance.

I don’t know how someone could compare two performances separated by 43 years. How nuanced is the memory of a hypothetical 22 year old and how objective is the judgment of a 65 year old, who is making the comparison at 85! Even just comparing recordings is a problem, since 1957’s audio technology can’t be compared to 2000’s.

I love Barbara Cook, but that didn’t mean i couldn’t admire Luker without having to choose which one was “better.”

That cannot be the La Jolla Diana, can it??

Where is that from?

Whether someone won a Tony or not means nothing.

Who played Joan, r109?

Can't remember if it was this thread or the other one but someone posted a clip about the behind the scenes story of the By Bye Birdie film and it was stated that Rita Moreno was first offered the role of Rosie but turned it down as she was trying to get untyped as a Latina spitfire.

Can that be true? Coming off her Oscar win for WSS, her casting would have been a no-brainer but I've never heard this story before.

Local gairl......

The clips are from songwriter Karen Sokolof Javitch and writer Elaine Jabenis “Princess Diana the Musical”.

It’s from a community theater production. That montage is way funnier than the stuff on YouTube, which is from another production.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Don’t expect to see that show on the Fox fall line-up at this rate, at least not with him still on it.

I want to see a live telecast of Take Me Out now.

This youtube page isn’t mine. It has many rarely seen performances from good old shows. Hopefully it gets more viewers from here. Lee A is a name behind it. She has has done great work finding these videos. Enjoy!

Mary Martin as Dolly

R130 Sorry, Lee is he, not she.

Broadway.com reporting that Renee Fleming will star in the London premiere of The Light in the Piazza. Isn't it general consensus that RF isn't much of an actress?

That's a real shame. Margaret is a wonderful role, but it requires an actress--a good one. Fleming will ruin it. I know she's not a DL favorite, but I will never forget Vicky Clark in that role.

I guess Guettel has no veto power on matters like this?

Chita Rivera in a 1963 screen test for a film of Carnival that fell through. Gower Champion would have directed and much of the test is Champion interviewing her.

Morrow has more charm in those 8 minutes than Cusak had in two hours plus.

Gavin Creel will be Harold Hill. You heard it here first.

Susan Stroman is on the Behind The Curtain broadcast! I wonder if she accepts any blame for the last 20 years of disasters.

...I meant podcast...

R34, please 'splain BBDC, Lucy.

[quote]Broadway.com reporting that Renee Fleming will star in the London premiere of The Light in the Piazza. Isn't it general consensus that RF isn't much of an actress?

She’s playing it in LA too, but at the opera house and only for six performances.

ugh.

Correction, 7 performances

This coming October

Good lord, Gavin Creel has zero charm and charisma. He's totally wrong for Harold Hill. And once the townspeople get a load of his body odor, he'll be run out of town on a rail and the whole show will be over in 15 minutes.

Brooks is odd in that he has skinny dancer legs and then everything above the waist is just... an expanse.

Speaking of, apparently he's generating a bit of a buzz for himself for being bitchy to fans at the Prom stage door. There's a faction of the most obsessive stans who actively dislike him.

Come from Away has opened in London. And going by this I sense it won’t run past the summer.

Gavin Creel only has charm. He’s no actor.

The Guardian is a solid paper -- but their reviews tend to be a bit off.

Haven't seen the London production but that review coincides with my feelings about the Broadway production.

Come From Oy Vey. Always was a turd.

You're entitled to your opinion, R151. But I'm guessing you never saw it.

I’m guessing Neil Patrick Harris will be Harold Hill.

All of you are forgetting Norm Lewis' greatest talent. He has the finest ass on Broadway.

Could Butz (sorry; free associating from r154's post) or Burstein do Harold Hill?

I think Harold Hill needs to be, if not handsome, at least fairly good-looking. Remember all the girls he's "taken it away from" in every town. Butz and Burstein, well, no.

Could the Music Man sell on Danny Burstein? Or even Gavin Creel (I say that as a fan)?

Neil Patrick Harris seems (exhaustingly) more likely to create buzz and sell tickets.

Butz is too working class. Harold Hill needs a bit of finesse.

If The Music Man moves to Broadway from the Kennedy Center without Norm Lewis, there will be wails and accusations like no one has heard from Cynthia Errivo and others.

If it's another producer,/creative team, Harold Hill will be played by a movie star.....not unlike Robert Preston in 1959.

Well, I don't really object to NPH and I have to concede that Butz and Burstein aren't ideal. If there's going to be a flap about not casting Norm, maybe they can look for a more suitable AA?

I do hope they can bring Jessie Mueller in as Marian. She really was close to perfect last week.

Every major song and dance man of the era turned down The Music Man -- Gene Kelly, Danny Kaye, Dan Daily, etc., etc., etc. Preston was a B list film star at the time. He played the leads in B films and best friend or villain in A pictures. It was The Music Man (in 1957, not 1959) that made him a major star. Willson and DaCosta went with him because he auditioned best of the few people who were interested and they got very lucky.

But I wonder why those other stars turned down The Music Man (thank god they did)?

Chris Sieber as Harold Hill.

Raul Esparza would make a very fine Harold Hill. He's already sort of kind of done him, in Leap of Faith, shite that it was.

Lea DeLaria as Harold Hill.

Only one casting option for Harold Hill at this point: Jussie Smollett.

You heard it here first.

I also thought Luker was luminous in The Music Man. I read an interview with her at the time, and she had a great sense of humor about the fact that she was quite a bit older than all the Harold Hills, including Bierko. She said something to the effect, when Robert Sean Leonard came in, that "Harold Hill keeps getting younger! Each time another one takes over, they give me a different wig to try to make me look younger next to him."

[quote]Lea DeLaria as Harold Hill.

God no, but she'd be perfect as the Wells Fargo Wagon.

THE MUSIC MAN is a bucket list dream of NPH so I have no doubt he’d jump at the opportunity.

I thought she was wonderful too, r168. There's an ease about her performances, and her voice is lovely and unforced.

[quote]If The Music Man moves to Broadway from the Kennedy Center

Someone on the last thread said the KC Music Man would not be moving because there is a big Broadway revival planned, so that presumably means a different creative team/producers. It's been planned for a while, I know the rights became restricted for some big cities a couple of years ago in anticipation of the revival.

I love Norm’s voice. As a young Gayling I wrote him a fan letter and he sent me back a long very nice response along with a signed cd, seems like a great guy.

Norm’s got a big dick but a small amount of talent.

The idea of NPH as Harold Hill makes me cringe. He'll be even worse than Ferris Bueller. Would have no use for Seth McFarland either.

Raul won't take it if Rosie transfers. Too much bad blood over Taboo.

Well, NPH as Harold Hill is just something that was thrown out here on DL. There's been absolutely NO mention of it anywhere else.

Dear r172: If the rights for The Music Man were indeed "restricted for some big cities" by an imminent Broadway production, don't you think it's just a little odd that they allowed The Kennedy Center to do it?

I worked on a regional production of MM where she was Marian and it was 15 years before the Broadway revival, r168.

I read somewhere that Olivier considered Preston the finest American actor of Shakespeare of his era.

Robert Preston created the role of King Henry II in The Lion in Winter when it premiered on Broadway in 1966. Christopher Walken played the gay French King and James Rado (who wrote Hair) played Richard the Lionheart ( and Philip's lover). Rosemary Harris played Eleanor of Aquitaine.

It was a big flop and only ran some 90 performances.

I don't want to see Raul in this (Rosie, either, although she was fine at the KC)--he's humorless.

Totally agree about Raul, who I love. He's far too intense for Harold Hill. He'd come off as nasty.

its Hugh Jackman

r141 see r174

R184, bingo.

For what it’s worth, Come From Away got mostly raves in London. I will never understand the appeal of this show.

[quote] I also thought Luker was luminous in The Music Man. I read an interview with her at the time, and she had a great sense of humor about the fact that she was quite a bit older than all the Harold Hills, including Bierko. She said something to the effect, when Robert Sean Leonard came in, that "Harold Hill keeps getting younger! Each time another one takes over, they give me a different wig to try to make me look younger next to him."

That story makes no sense. Luker was 38/39 during The Music Man. Bierko is only three years younger than her. McCormack is a year older than Bierko. Maybe it made sense for Robert Dean Leonard who is 8 years younger than Luker, but she was more than evenly matched before him.

One of the actors in Alan Cumming's new play, "Daddy," refers to himself in his Playbill bio as "they." For someone who goes to the theater on a regular basis, this was the first time I had ever seen such a thing. Has anyone else begun to notice this cropping up a lot in other Playbill bios?

Robert Preston was 16 years older than Shirley Jones.

Which actor is it, R189, so I can avoid THEM on purpose.

"He's already sort of kind of done him, in Leap of Faith, shite that it was."

So true. Leap of Faith IS The Music Man....but without the complications of plot, observant details of small town life, finely honed characterizations and innovative score (though I've always had a soft spot for Long Past Dreamin', as incorrectly spotted in the show as it is).

[quote]Robert Preston was 16 years older than Shirley Jones.

Such inappropriate casting.

R186 Scott Rudin the behemoth’s next behemoth

R191, Tommy Dorfman. He -- excuse me, they -- play one of the friends of the artist who's in a relationship with Cumming's character.

They sound insufferable.

Jessie Mueller was wonderful as Marian. I’d love to see her in the role again.

Oh yeah, Tommy Dorfman is Nico Torotorella-lite.

In every way.

what other roles could Chita have done? She auditioned for Lola replacement in Damn Yankees, was turned down for Pajama Game, and would have been great in either. In her youth, Louise in Gypsy? Is Rosemary in How to Succeed a bit too close Birdie's Rosie? Would her witch-y vibe lend itself to Miss Hannigan or Into The Woods well? She could never have sung Evita consistently, but how about Grizabella? If Glenn Close could sustain Sunset, Chita should have been able to as well. Would she have been able to sing Abuela in In The Heights in 2008?

it's frustrating looking at her resume and seeing shows like Merlin, Bajour, and Jerry's Girls knowing how great she was at her best.

Lin-Manuel Miranda as Harold Hill.

Emily Blunt as Harold Hill

Scott Rudin is producing Music Man with Hugh Jackman.

Rosie should transfer for the Jackman production but idk about Mueller ... I realize it's a minority opinion, but she seemed too contemporary upper west side as Marian

Chita SUNSET BLVD? Well, nothing could be worse than Glenn. Patti was brilliant in the original... as I shall be in the film.

R188, it doesn't need to make sense. It was a quip for an interview. She needed to be interesting, not factual.

I heard that Victoria Clark did a brilliant, near-perfect audition for the Bierko MM, but that she was considered too plain for Marian.

She probably did, and she probably was. A shame; I don't see why (a) Marian can't be plain; and (b) Vicky can't be tarted up a little bit.

[quote]That story makes no sense. Luker was 38/39 during The Music Man. Bierko is only three years younger than her.

You'd have to ask Rebecca Luker - she's the one who said it. Perhaps, if she did indeed play Marian 15 years earlier, she was feeling a bit "old" for the role, given that she was just shy of 40 when it opened (and turned 40 during the second year). Cook was 30, and Shirley Jones 26. Meg Bussert, the Marian in the short-lived Dick Van Dyke revival, was also 30. McCormack was the oldest Hill, and he was two years younger than Luker. Craig Bierko was three and a half years younger than Luker, and Robert Sean Leonard was 9 years younger. (He's about to turn 50 now, and a few weeks later Luker turns 59).

[quote]A shame; I don't see why (a) Marian can't be plain; and (b) Vicky can't be tarted up a little bit.

Because (c), you have to want to work with the bitch first.

If Hugh Jackman plays Hill, then I hope they get Lorraine Bracco to reprise his wife Karen

What does that even mean, r210?

[quote]don't you think it's just a little odd that they allowed The Kennedy Center to do it?

Not if DC wasn't one of the restricted cities - "some" doesn't mean "all."

The only two I specifically know were Boston and Los Angeles, because I know two different producers who wanted to do it in 2018, and were turned down for the reason given.

Donald Trump as Harold Hill.

Melania as Marian

DJTJ as Winthrop

Tiffany is Amaryllis.

Ivana Trump as Mrs. Paroo. (Can't wait to hear what Ivana and Melania do with/to "If You Don't Mind My Saying So." !!!!!)

Mitch McConnell and Kellyanne Conway as the Mayor and Mrs. Shinn.

Ivanka and Eric and Zaneeta Shinn and Tommy Djilas.

Chuck Grassley for Charley Cowell.

Bill and Hillary for Marcellus Washburn and Ethel Toffelmeyer the Pianola Girl.

MUSIC MAN begins with a rap song. A new production is perfect for re-interpretation. Anybody?

Bite your tongue, r214.

SO I guess Mame and Follies have given way to The Music Man for casting guesses based on no reality at all.

As soon as HAIR opened in 1967, MAME became entirely unnecessary. In terms of any relevancy, Stonewall finished the damned thing off in 1969.

It never ever needs to be produced again. Never.

I'd much rather see a great revival of A Little Night Music than another Music Man. I'm guessing it will be LCT/Sher's next musical.

Give me a break, R217. [italic]Mame[/italic] has a much stronger score than [italic]Hair[/italic], which is musical baby food by comparison. You're just prejudiced against Jews and gay people.

[quote]Such inappropriate casting. —Rex Harrison, 21 years older than Audrey Hepburn

And 27 years older than the woman who stole an Oscar from her after not winning a Tony.

I think Jackman will make a pretty good Harold Hill.

R219, that's the stupidest thing I've ever read. That's the stupidest thing anyone has ever read.

The Kennedy Center concert shows have zero plans for life beyond the initial run

How many generations is it going to take to undo the damage the Baby Boomers have done to music and by proxy to musical theatre?

If he wasn't a creepy pedo in real life, Spacey would make a great Harold Hill. Alas, that career is over.

We know it won't be Seth MacFarlane. He's painfully awkward in anything live-action. Hell, I've seen better acting from Helen Reddy and Olivia Newton-John.

Hugh should request Kate Baldwin as Marian and Isabel Keating as Mrs Paroo. Are you reading this Scott?

Not only is R219/R222 a bigot, but he's an idiot projecting his own stupidity and bigotry onto others.

Rock is schlock and rap is crap. None of that vulgar barbarianism belongs on Broadway.

Jerry Herman had multiple hits. The [italic]Hair[/italic] creators were one-hit wonders and that show would likely be forgotten without the far superior 1979 movie version to put the songs into the framework of a coherent plot.

[italic]Mame[/italic] and [italic]Dolly[/italic] forever! Schlock rock and crap rap never!

Kennedy Center may have secured the rights because the production was billed as a Concert Version with with only a few performances.

[quote]Not if DC wasn't one of the restricted cities - "some" doesn't mean "all."

Exclusively what and restricted to whom?

R223 is right. The Kennedy Center is only doing these concerts because it's cheaper than doing full productions while still allowing them to sell well based on having bigger "name" performers. They're in the middle of an expansion project and seem to be programming more in less expensive areas than in the past (in all of their programs). They are not currently producing anything with an eye to Broadway, though I suppose someone else could either offer to move these productions or be inspired in casting choices based on them.

[quote]Exclusively what and restricted to whom? —Mame Dennis Burnside

People who can afford the overinflated rent.

The Music Man is only the 3rd of these Kennedy Center concerts so it can't be judged what the intent is. And they already don't look like concerts....they look like high-profile fully designed productions. You can be sure one of the next ones will get picked up for a Broadway run. If it happened at Encores there's no reason it wont at The Kennedy Center. Their producer Jeffrey Finn is a Broadway guy.

I just find it highly suspicious that crazy egomaniac Scott Rudin would have allowed The Kennedy Center the rights if he owns them and is planning a Broadway revival any time soon.

[quote]Their producer Jeffrey Finn is a Broadway guy.

He produced Kathie Lee's musical. So clearly he can get ANYTHING on Broadway.

Harold Hill might be one of the few roles Jackman could probably pull off without having to sing too much. I really don't like his singing voice at all. I mean, he hits the notes, but it's just thoroughly unpleasant and so nasal. I've also never thought he was a terribly good actor, but he's attractive and charming, so this might be a good fit.

I believe the KC brought Finn on in order to beef up just this kind of vehicle--a kind of ersatz Encores. He's off to a good start; MM sold out and added a couple of extra performances. This expansion project is a major big deal. The physical plant of the KC is more than doubling, from the look of it.

Little Charlie Stemp *is* Harold Hill in The Music Man. Playing for 2 weeks only at The Duplex. Get your tickets now!!!

[quote] what other roles could Chita have done?

Gypsies, Italians and Black Jews.

Chita could play any role that Angela Lansbury turned down. For example, The Visit.

r62 - How DARE you compare Robert Preston to an ape!!??!!

Mack and Mabel with Jussie Smollett and Tamar Braxton!

Chita could have done Mama Rose. Granted, this clip looks underrehearsed and is part of some sort of variety show, so she's not fully in character and would need a great director, but she would have been an interesting Rose.

"I'd much rather see a great revival of A Little Night Music than another Music Man. I'm guessing it will be LCT/Sher's next musical. "

Pleasepleaseplease, from your mouth to God's ear, or whoever runs the Beaumont. I would make a special trip to NY to see that.

To see which? ALNM or MM?

ALNM, although I wouldn't mind a good production of MM. What about Billy Magnussen as Prof. Hill? Just spitballing.

lord i hate to bring up the F-word but she looks better than Imelda or at least makes sense for the character I think

What about Brian D'Arcy James for Harold Hill?

R249 I sorta love how skinny and wispy she looks. Makes Sally seem much more fragile. Imelda was petite in stature, but there was always these strength to her that's not right for Sally.

Billy Magnussen is white hot right now between leading his own TV series (Tell Me A Story), playing a new character in the Aladdin reboot and starring in The Sopranos movie. I don’t know if he will return to the stage at this point in time. Give him 10 years and he would be perfect for the role. He’d be an interesting Ben OR Buddy in F as well btw.

If they did A Little Night Music with Sher, wouldn't Laura Benanti be wonderful Charlotte? I wish they could lure someone like Cate Blanchett to play Desiree.

Benanti would be a perfect Charlotte. Sher would probably want to give Desiree to Kelli, though. A shame about Marin; she would have been a terrific Desiree.

Kelli's too bland for Desiree. She'd put everyone to sleep.

[quote]lord i hate to bring up the F-word but she looks better than Imelda or at least makes sense for the character I think

But they put her in the same damn green outfit. Sally has a line that says, "I should have worn green." Ya are, Blanche, ya are.

Yes, but Sher would want her anyway.

The thing about ALNM is that Desiree and Madame Armfeldt both have to have that European sophistication. Their characters fall apart without that.

Is it possible that there's no one in the current generation of singing actors who can take on ALNM? I'm having trouble thinking of a cast.

Lorraine Bracco famously played Karen Hill in GOODFELLAS. R210 was making a joke. R211 is too busy masturbating while listening to THE ROTHSCHILDS to notice anything outside of musical theatre.

"I don't see why (a) Marian can't be plain"

Because it would be a cliché? Like casting a homely actress as Fosca.

We've said it here before: Katrina Lenk for Desiree. (Is Charlotte too small a role for Benanti, who I'm sure would be excellent regardless?)

Laura Benanti is a WHOO--RE!

I sure love me some Joanna Riding. Wish she had done it from the beginning. (She is also the best Anne in ALNM I've ever seen... and I saw the original.)

We need another one-night benefit of LNM so Jackman and Benanti can play Carl-Magnus and Charlotte

Karen Ziemba *is* Madame Armfeldt.

[quote]If they did A Little Night Music with Sher, wouldn't Laura Benanti be wonderful Charlotte?

I initially read this as "If they did A Little Night Music with Cher . . . "

And Judi Dench as Mme Armfeldt

Desiree usually works best with a true star who can sing a little, be sophisticated, heartbreaking (in Send in the Clowns), and rather hilarious. With today's crop of Broadway stars, Benanti is the only one who'd make a smashing Desiree, but she's still a bit too young for the role at the moment and would need to be Charlotte if a revival happens within the next 10 years.

I can see Cate Blanchett or Tilda Swinton being marvelous in the role. It's not a tough sing whatsoever and just about anyone could sing it. Vanessa Redgrave played Mme. Armfelt in a reading with her daughter, Natasha, as Desiree and they were both excellent in the roles. I believe that was the cast that was originally going to be in a full scale revival, but Natasha passed away shortly before it was going into production and Zeta-Jones and Lansbury stepped in. I wonder if Vanessa would ever want to play the role or if it would remind her too much of what could have been with her daughter. If she hasn't alienated everyone on Broadway with her comments about Lauren Ambrose, Diana Rigg would be a brilliant Mme. Armfelt as well.

Imelda Staunton as Desiree! We need an even angrier and scarier version of Send in the Clowns.

A scary Send in the Clowns you say? But that's been done. And brilliantly.

Isn't it a bit too soon to wish for another ALNM?

Oh I don't know. It might be nice to see one again with furniture.

Diana Rigg has previously spoken about her desire to do Madame Armfeldt and said she would do it anytime Sondheim asked her. Of course, she was the best part of the misbegotten film (as Charlotte).

I saw Karen Ziemba as Desiree, Emily Skinner as Charlotte and Dana Ivey as Mme Armfeldt at ACT in San Francisco a few years ago. They were all pretty good but just too American. Skinner played Charlotte like Sally Adams (The Countess with the Mostes').

I didn't know Rigg wanted to play Armfeldt. She'd be excellent. And she would have been a stunning Desiree herself in the 80's. Wasn't she supposed to do that BBC concert version and then had to drop out and they got that comic genius, Betty Buckley, to step in? Who the fuck thought that was appropriate casting? Hell, probably the same person who thought she'd be right for Rose and Dolly. Bitch. Ain't. Funny. At all.

Suzanne Somers IS Desiree

Carol Burnett has Liasions!

At this point in time, Desiree needs real star casting like Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet or Rachel Weisz.

I predict we'll be seeing less of Kelli O'Hara starring in classic revivals after Kiss Me Kate.

[quote]what other roles could Chita have done?

Don't forget Linda Low

I don't think it's ever too soon for another ALNM.

Angela didn't turn down The Visit. She signed on and was heavily involved in preproduction and early rehearsals. Then her husband had a massive heart attack and almost died. He required round the clock care and she dropped out to help care for him. Eventually he did die without ever really recovering. They were married for decades and totally devoted to each other. She wrote a heartbreaking letter to the production team explaining why she felt she had to leave and although everyone was devastated no one held it against her.

The problem was they lost most of their financing without her and it took 10 years of regional productions and production hell to finally get to New York.

I'd cast Zach Levi in The Music Man. He's got that playful streak the character needs. And he's cute.

So who're the pricks who reported the channel R130 linked to? Linked here and within a day it's shut down for copyright claims. I bet it's the same poster who once claimed someone was trying to steal set designs because they took a photo of the stage before a show began.

Angie dodged a bullet by not doing THE FUCKING VISIT. I’m sure if she wanted to do it in the 10+ intervening years between workshop/readings and Broadway she would have, but she didn’t. It sucked.

ZLevi is an excellent choice for Harold Hill, R283.

R284 Aurora Spiderwoman I bet

Levi is an asshole.

[quote]Angie dodged a bullet by not doing THE FUCKING VISIT. I’m sure if she wanted to do it in the 10+ intervening years between workshop/readings and Broadway she would have, but she didn’t. It sucked. —Chits

I wanted to do it just to keep my Equity insurance.

[quote]Angie dodged a bullet by not doing THE FUCKING VISIT. I’m sure if she wanted to do it in the 10+ intervening years between workshop/readings and Broadway she would have, but she didn’t. It sucked. —Chits

It was offered to me, but I decided to stay as a Chicago standby.

R288 Zachary Levi?

Word from The Kennedy Center is that Norm came in totally underprepared which threw everyone. They had to put teleprompters in, and he still couldn't get it. He was paraphrasing all over the place, and everyone was covering for him. One night the teleprompter went out and it was even more chaotic. He even had to start a number over, he got so lost.

Good lord. Usually the word on Norm, no matter what colleagues think about his acting skills, is that he's always prepared and comes in ready to work. He was okay in that regard the night I was there; he just wasn't remotely suited for the role.

Not to be a bitch, but it is the height of irresponsible and unprofessional to not know your shit, especially with a classic show that everyone knows inside and out. Inexcusable. The only excuse I can think of is if his manager or agent didn't clarify with the production team that he was supposed to be off-book and that it actually was a concert version and not a semi-staged full performance. Is no one carrying around a script? In CHESS, Raul did at certain points, I believe.

I agree completely, and this behavior seems inconsistent with what people generally know about Norm. So maybe there was an issue.

I didn't see anyone with a script or pages.

If you look at the clips from the Scarlett Pimpernel concert, Norm is the only one using a book.

Rap is a German invention anyway, and even then it was a cop-out for lazy str8 guys who can't sing.

Yep. He's the only one.

I heard Equity was going after The Kennedy Center for their "concerts."

Actor's unions are why I don't blame Nell Carter or Pearl Bailey for ever voting Republican.

R300 how do you mean?

Have you ever tried getting into SAG-AFTRA or Actor's Equity. It's harder than it looks. And even getting in is no guarantee of employment. Isn't that what a union is supposed to do?

Equity is to protect actors who are employed. Its purpose is not now and never has been to get actors work.

So it's racketeering to keep new talent from muscling their way in.

That's one way of putting it.

Meanwhile at 802....

The unions are why we won't ever get to see a lot of the original cast videotapes of many shows at Lincoln Center. They'll keep them tied up for years and years to make public releases unprofitable.

R79 Speaking of one of Julie Andrews' favorites songs, "Burlington Bertie", puts me to mind of how when she sings in "I Could Have Danced All Night" she sings "and still have BEG for more" instead of "begged". Maybe it was too hard for her or disrupted the vocal line she was going for.

I liked it better on [italic]The Muppet Show[/italic].

Andy Karl as Harold Hill

Orfeh as Eulalie McKechnie Shinn

Norm has a learning disability—-between his legs

[quote] Chita could play any role that Angela Lansbury turned down. For example, The Visit.

Chita IS Nurse Ratched in CUCKOO'S NEST!: THE MUSICAL

Oh, we got trouble!

R307 So in a matter of posts you've gone from not knowing what unions do to knowing they're keeping video recordings in a vault? Forgive my cynicism. Since I'm sure you did your research in that hour, why don't you explain exactly how and why they're keeping them tied up?

I know a lot of actors who are SAG-Eligible, but choose not to join simply because they can make more money as an actor taking non-union student/low budget films and they can't afford or don't want to pay dues. It's especially helpful if you're a regional actor not in LA or NYC. I know some who work fairly decently, but have about 10-20 non-union credits to their 2-55 SAG credits.

I know one semi-famous horror scream queen and she swears by this lifestyle. All these young, up and coming non-union horror filmmakers can pay her a thousand bucks for a few days work and use her established name to bring publicity to their film and she can dart off to another low budget horror set a few days later and do the same thing. I swear, she's the busiest person I know and racks up more credits that most actresses over 50 in SAG do every year. I wouldn't be surprised if she made more money, too.

[quote] The unions are why we won't ever get to see a lot of the original cast videotapes of many shows at Lincoln Center. They'll keep them tied up for years and years to make public releases unprofitable.

WTF are you talking about? Those tapes were never meant to be released commercially, so no one is keeping them from anyone. They exist as archival material and nothing more.

R303 when AEA stops treating its membership policy like an exclusive country club, it’ll have more members and thus more bargaining power to protect employed actors. Until then, we’ll have thousands of talented actors who can’t even get seen for AEA projects taking non-union work and giving the union less power. It’s shooting itself in the foot by making itself so difficult to join.

Anyone see The Scarlet Pimpernel in concert? I didn't but wondering why Tony Yazbeck is the only actor dressed in period costume? He looks fairly ridiculous next to everyone else.

And how was the concert?

R319 = been trying for 20 years to join AEA

It's not that hard, particularly if you work in a city where you earn AEA points when you work with a company that has regular AEA contracts. Almost every city outside NYC has regional and smaller companies that qualify (ie, that have a quota for how many contracts they need to use per show, and can use non-AEA for the rest. The non-AEAs either sign up as a membership candidate (earning one point per week of rehearsal and performance), or as a local jobber (don't earn the points). After 50 points, you have to join the union.

[quote] how when she sings in "I Could Have Danced All Night" she sings "and still have BEG for more" instead of "begged".

You need to get the wax cleaned out of your ears, r308. I just listened to the song on both the OBC and the OLC, and she clearly is singing "begged" with the "d" both times.

It sounds like "begg" with two "g"s like she's not singing the "d", same as Ann-Margret singing "Bye bye bir-hee".

Harry Hadden-Paton as Harold Hill.

That may be what it sounds like to you but she’s definitely singing “begged” complete with the ending “d.” And Ann-Margret definitely sings the “d” as well. “Bird-hie.” Someone earlier in the thread (or the last one) thought she was singing Bert-ie, with no h and a t instead of d, but it’s Bird-hie

[quote]Harry Hadden-Paton

What a horrible name! People should go back to using stage names.

Jake stops show mid-performance at Public to get water for coughing audience member:

R321 more like 7 years, and believe me, I know how EMC weeks work and I resent the fact that they’re so much easier to get outside of NYC. But nobody moves FURTHER away from Broadway to pursue a career in theatre; that’s counterintuitive. NYC is so over saturated with nonunion actors now that even getting seen at one of the very few open calls in NY for these theatres requires arriving at 5am, and at the EPAs and ECCS (Equity-run auditions) can virtually never get seen because of all of the Equity members and (at EPAs) EMCs waltzing in ahead of them. The system made sense when it was put in place but needs to be adapted for our current population. A very simple solution would be giving EMC points for Equity showcases/readings/etc (which I’ve done several of), but alas, people who happened to do “Oliver” at an Equity theatre where they grew up are being seen ahead of me regardless of skill set and appropriateness for the show.

[quote]WTF are you talking about? Those tapes were never meant to be released commercially, so no one is keeping them from anyone. They exist as archival material and nothing more

And they make it as difficult to see as possible when they should be doing the exact opposite. Those tapes are valuable historic documents; they should be available to anyone who wants to see them. Why should an average Joe like me be deprived of an opportunity to see the original cast of, say, [italic]Annie[/italic] by virtue of not being born until a few months after it closed? I can’t go back to 1977 and buy a ticket. The cast album only contains the songs. All the movies took various degrees of liberties with it. The revivals managed to screw it up without changing the libretto. What did the original cast have that subsequent ones didn’t?

Saw Santino do Harold Hill in that concert for the Transport Group (seen in the clip above). He was great, but I suggest waiting 10 years or so, since for me Hill has to have some years on him to make the show as touching as it should be.

[quote]What did the original cast have that subsequent ones didn’t?

I guess you just had to be there.

[quote] And they make it as difficult to see as possible when they should be doing the exact opposite. Those tapes are valuable historic documents; they should be available to anyone who wants to see them. Why should an average Joe like me be deprived of an opportunity to see the original cast of, say, Annie by virtue of not being born until a few months after it closed? I can’t go back to 1977 and buy a ticket. The cast album only contains the songs. All the movies took various degrees of liberties with it. The revivals managed to screw it up without changing the libretto. What did the original cast have that subsequent ones didn’t?

Ummm, no they don't. Give them a plausible reason and they'll let you watch it. They don't run you through a security check. I'm there all the time (though I really do have a legit reason for the research I'm doing) but I know lots of people who come in and say things like- I'm writing a paper on so-and-so or I'm doing a regional production of xyz and I'd like to watch it. They don't require exhibits.

R295 - Norm was the only cast member reading from a script for TMM at KC. He knew the songs, didn't know the speaking lines.

What makes it even worse is that he was announced as the lead LAST YEAR when they did their Broadway announcement in May.

Everyone else was solid and knew their shit. The University of Maryland marching band coming out to play in the aisles as an encore was cute.

Unfortunately, having an Equity card can be a curse. Both HAIR and A CHORUS LINE gave Equity Cards to a lot of non-Equity actors who we shocked to find out after the shows closed that they really did not have what it takes to compete with Equity actors. The problem isn't Equity. The problem is people who come to NYC straight out of high school, take a couple classes at HB studios, and think they are ready for an Equity production.

R328, you are like Stella Dallas. You know the problem and you know the solution; you simply, stubbornly, refuse to do what you need to do. Move out of NYC and get some regional theater work under your belt.

Is BE MORE CHILL as terrible as it looks?

Lousy reviews for Fiasco's "Merrily....."

No Harold Hill could be smoother than Barack Obama. He's not employed at the moment............. go for it.

Be More Chill does, indeed, look terrible. However, I am not the audience for it, not being a screamy tween theater nerd. (When I was that age, I had to be satisfied with OBC recordings and soundtracks of shows that my parents liked. I memorized them all, of course.) If Be More Chill introduces more kids to theater, great, I'm all for that. That said, I wouldn't see it if you gave me a free ticket center orchestra, and I'd walk around the block to avoid the theater itself.

Is Be More Chill even worse than the execrable Title of Show?

Zosia Mamet for Desiree in ALNM! Sublime!

Andy Randells for Henrik in ALNM!

Well, I'd guess Rannells could hit that high note in "...for GOD'S sake!" So few can.

....Thinking about the $200 I'll save by not seeing the DL cast perform ALNM.

DL Fave Rosie O’Donnell *IS* Desiree

"...far more dangerous than all that, I think, is the constant and continuing cry, ‘We must attract the youth! Will the young people like it?’ Well, the theatre is not for the young, nor is it for the old. It’s not even for everybody. It’s for people who like the theatre, whatever their age. The people who go to be transported or amused or uplifted or enchanted on the highest possible level—the level that has made the theatre survive the ages."

R334 in an ideal world, I would totally move elsewhere and then come back once I have my card, but due to several factors I can’t afford to do that. And again, moving out of the theatre center of the world to pursue a career in theatre is ridiculous so just frankly SHOULDN’T be an “ideal world” option. And I blame the union and oversaturation for that.

[QUOTE]And again, moving out of the theatre center of the world to pursue a career in theatre is ridiculous

Why is it ridiculous? New York is the capital of theatre for the United States. You think you have some god-given right to just jump right in at the top? No, you need to work your way up.

Seems you have totally unrealistic ideas of how your career was going to go. Are you that Melissa girl from the NYT real estate section?

R347 because NYC is where the vast majority of theatre and auditions take place. I’d be going from a place where I can theoretically go to an audition every day to a place where there would be maybe one audition a month. Not to mention that I’m FROM here and my entire life is here. Everyone has their own unique situation. And yes, my expectations used to be unrealistic when I saw several friends go straight from HS and college to Broadway, but that changed after I started actively pursuing it and saw how the industry actually was. But there’s no reason to continue discussing this- we don’t know each other and you’re perceiving me as a lot more entitled than I am. I’ll drop it... please continue with actual gossip.

Speaking of auditions....

R348 Are you a dancer? Because a lot of Equity auditions for dancers who sing, as opposed to singers who dance, aren't always that crowded, since you really have to be able to dance. You might be seen more readily at one of those; the singer calls are usually very crowded though. You might also think of taking the Bolt Bus or something like that which is cheap to go to Philadelphia or Boston for auditions there, where there aren't as many actors as NYC, and presumably where you might be seen. I got "eligible" status when Equity used to do that years ago from going to a Philadelphia call. I got that job, but unfortunately ended up working with a bunch of anti-Semite Born Again Christians in South Jersey! I got through that ("and I'm here!") --- "Follies" quote :) I got my Equity card later on though. Anyway, some suggestions -- as an Equity member, I do remember how hard it was to get that card. Good luck.

I'm guessing that someone is just not as good as he thinks he is. Time to get a real job and do theatre as a hobby.

Oh, there's a lot of competition, but you have to train to a certain standard. Then again, there are certain members of Equity who shouldn't be near to a stage than the second balcony of the theater. I've heard some really bad auditions from people who must have gotten their cards as kids, through nepotism or other kind of favoritism or because they did some part acceptably for someone in a position to give them their card. But you do hear a lot of wonderful performers at the Equity calls, too, and you're competing with folks who have Broadway credits, tours, opera credits, regionals, etc. It also depends on your type too. I tell people who aren't in the business that it's a lottery with talent. Every time you audition or do a mailing it's kind of like lotto. No one said it would be easy, unfortunately.

New York is the center of New York!!!

The other 49 states don’t care about NYC theater.

Go look at what plays regional theatres produce and get back to us, R354.

Pro tip: at least Half of them are shows originating in NYC.

The NY theatre world is just local theater with more shows

Groff signs on to CAA, leaving Untitled behind. But why? If he cannot get roles with Untitled, what makes him think CAA will strike gold?

R357, the article does not make sense. It says her has signed with CAA but is still represented by Untitled.

*he*

Untitled is a management company, CAA is an agency. Manager and agent. Don’t expect any insider gossip on this thread anymore. The people posting here are know-nothing beginners. Once hoping a time, there were established pros dishing real insights. I wonder where they went... maybe they scattered when they realized the anodyne sexless over-enthusiastic Puerto Rican poodle Lin Manuel and the likes of doughy entitled Ben Platt were the most intriguing Broadway had to offer anymore.

"Once hoping a time," the also knew how to proof-read their posts.

"Once hoping a time," they also knew how to proof-read their posts.

I’m sure Rose M will have many thoughts

R362, at least autocorrect is easier to overlook than posting twice

R360, to be honest, I only posted to make sure that there had not been any posts for 8 hours. It really is an indication of how bad these threads have fallen that there is so little activity.

Been Platt looks the same now as he did in high school.

The quality of the gossip and info in the theatre threads has definitely slipped with the lack of quality on Broadway. And what's even more worrisome, the decline in the quality of professional criticism in New York.

I was encouraged to recently read Brantley's take-down of Ivo von Hoe (finally!) and Green's less-than-stellar review of the amateurish and ugly Merrily at The Roundabout. It's a beginning....

[quote] The people posting here are know-nothing beginners

and yet at the same time posting medieval clips

[quote]And what's even more worrisome, the decline in the quality of professional criticism in New York.

How do you mean? That modern-day critics are afraid to be too critical and walk on eggshells?

Once you realize that 80% of the posts are from Matt the Loon filling up the threads that be usually starts (or spamming the ones he doesn’t by incessantly moaning about how terrible the title is), you lose the desire to contribute as much

Also, there’s not much going on currently

R368 I actually like that. I'm relatively new to musical theater and have been reading the thread off and on since last October. I like to learn about the history of Broadway and past shows.

When will Salazar come back to 'Be More Chill"? Audiences are showing his understudy more love than they ever showed him.

^Is that why Salazar didn’t post his Broadway.com video?

Medieval clips, r368? Frankly, I wouldn't have had to.....

[quote] Is BE MORE CHILL as terrible as it looks?

Anyone who uses the word "chill" as an adjective instead of a verb is why grease fires were invented.

R370, this is for you.

Could Raul come back to Broadway in The Music Man?

Oh, I don't think Raul's right for this at all. He's pretty humorless.

I read somewhere that Dane Cook is trying to make a comeback. I saw him in the Hollywood Bowl's "The Producers" and he stole the show. I wonder if he'd make a decent Harold Hill?

[quote]I saw him in the Hollywood Bowl's "The Producers" and he stole the show.

Who did he play?

I'm guessing Ulla.

I saw Raul in that play with the extremely long title and CSC - he was in top form, and very funny.

good--then let's cast him as HH.

How about a Broadway production of "Einstein On The Beach"? The tourists would love it!

r380 Franz Liebkind. (Richard Kind and Jesse Tyler Ferguson were the leads.)

Anyone else hearing that Sutton will be doing the London company transfer?

Oh, I don't want to hear that.

Sutton makes sense, but I don't care much for her. She's the luckiest chorus girl in the world.

[quote]Anyone else hearing that Sutton will be doing the London company transfer?

Over my dead body

I don't think Sutton has the edge for this role. (Of course, I haven't seen Whatsername, ad maybe she doesn't have an edge either).

There's a small backlash developing on ATC as people finally get up the nerve to say they don't think this new version of Company is an improvement.

I am a Sutton fan, but I think she’s almost certainly too “aw shucks, guys! Like me! Like me!” for Bobby. I know her plate’s full but Laura Benanti is the only broadway name I’d be excited to see in the part.

[quote]There's a small backlash developing on ATC

I think we have achieved the apex of triviality.

[quote]I don't think Sutton has the edge for this role. (Of course, I haven't seen Whatsername, ad maybe she doesn't have an edge either).

I don't think the role necessarily requires edge. There needs to be a bit of vulnerability in the character in order to get to the point of Being Alive. The edge comes in characters like Joanne and Marta.

Mark Bramble is dead. I did not realize how young he was.

Was he partners with Michael Stewart at one point? And did Michael Stewart die of AIDS related causes?

[quote]Donations in his memory can be made to The Actors Fund to be used for The Lillian Booth Actors Home.

The Lillian Booth Actors Home sounds so quaint. Like there's an old lady serving up soup to decrepit actors and mopping their fevered brows.

Harold Hill is a con man but Raul has too much darkness

Besides why are we pitching, it's Hugh

Raul can be funny, but he doesn't have much warmth--I think that's the problem.

I also miss the way the theatre threads used to be. There was actual gossip--really juicy stuff. Did people get scared off?

Why would Hugh go from his own arena tour to a Broadway revival, especially given he already has a Tony. Besides, if he is going to do a run on Broadway, it's obviously going to be in the inevitable stage version of the Greatest Showman

Isn't Dane Cook dating a 19 year-old? Can't imagine anyone wanting to touch that with a 50-foot pole.

That can't be Danny Burstein in that picture? Since when is Alfred Doolittle done in blackface?

Gee, it might have been nice to actually hear the MFL actors sing or speak.

R401 Do you not understand how videos work?

Have we discussed "Bathtubs Over Broadway?" It's a documentary about industrial films -- mostly musicals. Features such notables as David Letterman, Chita Rivera, and Martin Short. Has anyone seen it? Recommended?

Yes, r405. It's fun. Not sure it's streaming anywhere, though, because I've looked for it.

Here's the trailer.

Thanks, r405 & r407. Wow. Never knew these existed.

I remember reading about these industrial shows years ago--the biggest one, in the 50s, was the Milliken Breakfast Show (textiles, I think), which was regularly directed and performed by people who became household names, or in some cases already were. I think the pay was extremely good.

Baz Bamigboye tweeted today that Jennifer Saunders will be playing Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit at the Theatre Royal Bath starting in May. It will probably move to London. I love Saunders but I’d rather see Staunton.

Are you kidding me? Saunders sounds like she'd be a hoot as Arcati. Staunton would scream every line and play it as a shrew. When did that become her shtick, because I really used to love her as an actress, but the past few shows she's done have her playing the same damn note during every second of the show.

Saw “Cher Show” tonight. I’ve never understood Stephanie J. Blocks supposed charm (starting with the god-awful “Pirate Queen”) but she really knocked it out of the park.

And it’s the first jukebox musical I have liked. It didn’t take itself so damn seriously.

Matt the Loon usually isn’t the one complaining about the awful titles, because half of them are his. He does get pussy with threads he didn’t start, but is it really unwarranted? Almost all the titles suck, although his are the worst.

Maybe the next thread should just be an entire thread of thread titles.

R414 hasn’t been laid this century.

[quote]Besides why are we pitching, it's Hugh

That is a rumor completely created and repeated on DL. There’s no truth to it whatsoever.

R416 = Matt the Loon. Hi, Mister Pajaro! How is Salinas?

Nathan Lane is Harold Hill.

Hugh as HH comes from industry insiders, not speculation.

My partner bought tickets to the tour of An Inspector Calls, which is nice, but why a revival of the Stephen Daltry production now? It seems like an odd production to revive. I saw it on Broadway and really enjoyed it, but I can't imagine anyone thinking that we needed a revival of it .

Where's Faith Prince?

R419 Harold Hill has to be charming and likeable with an energy that is irresistible. He can't drain people with a snarky bitter attitude.

Faith Prince as Harold Hill.

[quote]He can't drain people with a snarky bitter attitude.

That’s another reason why Seth MacFarlane will always be a wannabe.

[quote]Matt the Loon does get pussy

I absolutely refuse to believe that statement.

Sorry to hear about Mark Bramble. BARNUM was the second show I ever saw in New York and 42ND STREET was the third (ONE NIGHT STAND, a Jule Styne flop was the first) and I thoroughly enjoyed them both.

Hard to believe he wrote those shows when he was only 29. Like anyone involved in theatre, he had his share of flops (THE GRAND TOUR was excruciatingly bad, in my opinion, and THE THREE MUSKETEERS lasted 9 performances) but for me anyway, those two shows were joyous.

BTW: Robin Wagner, set designer for both 42ND STREET and ONE NIGHT STAND, is still alive at 88

I guess Leap of Faith was Raul's Music Man. And we know how that went.

[quote] My partner bought tickets to the tour of An Inspector Calls, which is nice, but why a revival of the Stephen Daltry production now? It seems like an odd production to revive. I saw it on Broadway and really enjoyed it, but I can't imagine anyone thinking that we needed a revival of it .

I saw it in LA a couple of weeks ago, and actually, not only does the play hold up, but I would say the moral about class distinctions is pretty timely.

It's not a great production, though. The younger actors are quite good, but the older actors are really terrible, just amateur hour (except for the mute housekeeper, who's a hoot!)

I can't imagine worst casting for Harold Hill than Nathan Lane.

This thread is why hate speech should be a capital crime.

r429, I just looked it up online. Oddly, it appears to be an English tour. I don't think there is an American (or Equity member) in the cast (OK, I assume they pick up the child actors in each town in which they play.) After it plays Boston, all of the tour dates are in the UK.

Those musical industrials were mentioned by A Chorus Line members like Donna McKechnie and Priscilla Lopez. They used to be good for actors who were in between Broadway gigs because they could get them up quickly and they had a limited time period that they were performed. So it was quick money for a short amount of work time.

Do any Broadway performers ever talk about performing in shows that were connected to the 1964 World's Fair?

WEHT Cynthia Onrubia? She started on Broadway when she was a teenager, but never really became a Broadway star.

I saw Company in London this week. It was really, really great. I don’t recall reading on here, however, even a heads up about Richard Fleeshman, who is built like an A&F model, in tight blue briefs for an extended scene. WOWZA!

The audience went crazy for the show - particularly Patti and I’m Not Getting Married. Rosalie Craig was fantastic.

Caroline or Change, on the other hand, was just good. It’s such an unusual story that I’m actually amazed it ever made Broadway or the West End. It’s not an audience pleaser either. Even Sharon Jones’ big number received only respectful applause.

Industrials were performed in the mornings so a performer could be in a Broadway show simultaneously.

[quote]Caroline or Change, on the other hand, was just good. It’s such an unusual story that I’m actually amazed it ever made Broadway or the West End. It’s not an audience pleaser either. Even Sharon Jones’ big number received only respectful applause.

The Brits are big on screaming black women. That's why it took Dreamgirls so long to premiere over there.

R438, did you mean "aren't" ?

Cynthia "Show-Shutter" Erivo is from over there though.

Such a catchy tune.....

[quote]The Brits are big on screaming black women.

That should be Brits are NOT big on screaming black women.

Caroline is such a chore.

Music Man with Hugh Jackman is absolutely happening. You read it here first.

I don't understand what anyone sees in Hugh Jackman, either from a talent perspective or a looks perspective.

Jackman is very charismatic on stage. I hope this MM rumor is true; I think he's just right for the role--and I hope they get Jessie Mueller for Marian. I won't even squawk if they cast Rosie as the mother.

Would Hugh do a full season worth of performances?

Cynthia Errivo will cry racism if they bring Jessie and Rosie and not Norm. She'll storm the offices of Rudin herself...or just rile everyone up on Twitter to do it for her.

Hugh has shown to be more than capable of the usual 8 shows a week before. It's not like he's gearing up to play Wolverine in something anytime soon, so I don't see why he wouldn't commit to a healthy run. If the production is any good, it could run like Dolly for a little while and bring in some new names for some of the lead roles.

Hugh has often said ge loves MM, having memorized the opening number at any early age. It would be a smash if he does it.

They're throwing us off the real scent. Rudin is producing a revival of Gypsy with Hugh as Rose. I hear he looks stunning in a finger waved wig.

^^ [Crickets chirping.] ^^

Rudin had no choice once Laura Linney dropped out, r451.

I'm still here!

There is no rumor about Jackman doing TMM except in this thread. It’s all the fevered fantasy of a deranged DL show queen.

R455 Yes we all know this as he will be touring the world singing his smash hit pop songs

While I agree that Raul is too dark and humorless for Harold Hill, the role does require someone sly and dangerous. Hugh is too goody-goody two shoes.

R431 what hate speech?

^^Someone apparently hurt the Loon's feelings. ^^

Who in the fuck would pay $100 for this?

R460 what is that? I can't tell.

All-Black Music Man: Jamie Foxx as Harold Hill; Anika Noni Rose as Marian; Loretta Devine as Mrs. Paroo (she’s Black Irish!); Jenifer Lewis as Eulalie Shinn; Wayne Brady as Marcellus; Steve Harvey as Mayor Shinn.

R462 what about Winthrop, Tommy, and Zaneeta?

And Shangela, Bob the Drag Queen and Latrice Royale as the Pickalittle Ladies

And Boyz to Men as the School Board

Would Rudin cast Jessie Mueller after Carousel was such a flop?

I remember listening when there were Border's stores which had headphones to Jackman in some selection from the London "Oklahoma!" and thought he was no threat at all to really good singers like Gordon MacRae and Alfred Drake. When I saw the tv version, I thought he acts well enough, he's a good-looking guy and moves well, but he's still not as effective as MacRae in the movie. He moved very well in "The Boy from Oz", but vocally he sounds both throaty and nasal at times, which really showed up when he did Jean Valjean in "Les Miz". He'd be fine in something not too vocally hard, perhaps like "Barnum"; I mean Jim Dale is fine in the uptempos but was kind of a chore to get through in the ballads like "The Colors of My Life". Jackman is good-looking, but weirdly doesn't, at least to me, radiate sex appeal that you would think he would.

The production may have been a flop, r466 (I liked it, except for Renee Fleming), but Jessie Mueller was really, really good.

Is Rudin staging West Side Story just to fuck with Spielberg? If so might be only the second time I've found him likeable.

R424 That would be making a mountain out of a Harold Hill.

I saw Jackman in Oklahoma, r467. I'll readily agree that as a singer he was no Alfred Drake, but my god, the charisma. He just lit up the stage.

r455 you're totally wrong

Mueller’s been brilliant in everything I’ve ever seen her in and I don’t know who would be a bigger draw than her. The part of Marian (unless they transpose it) doesn’t really serve a Hollywood actress gamely trying her hand at musical theatre. You need an exceptional legit soprano - and the only other age- appropriate theatre “names” would be O’Hara and Benanti, and I would argue that Mueller would be as much of a marquee name now as either of them.

I agree, Mueller's a major talent.

A couple (more, probably) years ago Mueller played Carrie to Kelli's Julie in Carousel and she was perfection in that role.

R471 He may have lit up the stage, but you have to listen to him sing. He's a good actor and yes, he moved very well in "Boy From Oz", but again, can't he be in something with less singing, like, oh, "Fiorello!"

"Hazel Flagg" won Thomas Mitchell a Best Actor Tony in a Musical for a role that had no singing, too. Maybe Hugh could do that?

[quote] can't he be in something with less singing, like, oh, "Fiorello!"

Yes, because Hugh Jackman is a dead ringer for Fiorello La Guardia.

Just trying to name musicals with minimal singing requirements from its male stars, although apparently to his own ears and ego (or his handlers), he's been programmed to think that he's like the contemporary equivalent of John Raitt, but he's not; Hugh really doesn't sing that well.

"Jessie Mueller was really, really good."

No, she really, really wasn't.

sez you, r479

Mueller always comes off as cold to me. Heard she can be a piece of work backstage as well.

Who is writing all the checks to keep The Prom running? There's a LOT of producers on that list...

At this point, I have to assume The Prom and King Kong are going to hang around until Tony nominations time. Which do we think will earn the nominations day closing notice honor?

[quote]what hate speech?

Someone said the Loon likes pussy. If that’s not hate speech, I don’t know what is.

Not The Prom, r483, because it’s going to do well in nominations. Not necessarily any wins, though, so it might post the week after the show.

KIng King, R483. THE PROM should pick up a decent number of nominations and will stay open at least through the actual awards ceremony. HADESTOWN and TOOTSIE seem like their only real competition as far as critical success goes.

Raul Esparza got FAT.

Raul has always tended to chubbiness.

At 36 (as of last week), Jessie Mueller is also noticeably younger than 39 year old (40 this summer) Laura Benanti and 43 year old Kelli O’Hara.

"King Kong" is horrible. I don't know how it's held on this long.

sorry, r489; what is your point?

R491 Benanti and O'Hara are hags.

They look pretty good for hags, sweetie.

The Washington Post wants to know: "Are jukebox musicals dumbing down Broadway or just giving us what we want?"

I believe the answer would be......

R427, Mark Bramble didn't write those by himself. He collaborated with the very experienced Michael Stewart who, though he had his flops, wrote the books of HELLO, DOLLY! as well as CARNIVAL! and BYE, BYE, BIRDIE.

I wish people would stop dying. It's making me very uncomfortable.

Jessie Mueller always looks so depressed in every role she plays. She really needs to do a rollicking comedy to broaden her appeal.

[quote]There is no rumor about Jackman doing TMM except in this thread.

Hugh Jackman is playing Thoroughly Modern Millie?!? Talk about non-traditional casting.

[quote]There is no rumor about Jackman doing TMM except in this thread.

The Moose Murders?

Well Willy decides to become Millie and you've got a rollicking musical comedy about a M to F transsexual in the Roaring Twenties.

Hugh as you love him/her!

There won't be any problem with those beads.

King Kong for Best Musical.

I don't really understand the logic of The Prom holding on for Tony nominations. First of all, I don't think there will be that many. But most importantly, it's doubtful they'll win any so what's the point of wasting more of the investors' money?

Will the rights to the show sell better with some nominations but no wins attached?

I still can't get over that it's called The Prom. It sounds like a working title.

R503, as of right this second they are the best-reviewed new musical of the season. Why would they close when they don't yet know if they have any competition come awards time?

Hadestown has good buzz, Tootsie too (to a lesser extent), but weird things happen with critics all the time. Tony voters have a lot of goodwill toward the four leads in the Prom. If the producers want to keep throwing money at it to give it a shot and keep a lot of talented people employed for a while, where's the harm?

At the end of the day it'll tour and do well in high schools and regional theatres.

Mueller is excellent, but I remember the minute she came onto the scene, everyone wanted her to play Fanny Brice and I can't understand it. Could she sing the role? Sure, but has she ever even shown one iota of humor in anything? She always seems to have this buttoned up, Mormon sister wife thing going on. What's with people wanting to cast Fanny with any woman who can belt, forgetting that it's called Funny Girl, not Belting Girl. If they were going to do that, they'd have already done that shitshow with Lea Michele.

Well, they cast what's her name in London, and she couldn't belt and wasn't funny either.

The could have called the show "The Proms" and set it at the Albert Hall in London.

Jessie Mueller was very funny in " Drood" though nowadays she might not be cast because Cynthia Erivo or her ilk would call it out for being blackface or something like that.

[quote]Faith Prince as Harold Hill.

Or Faith Hill as Harold Prince.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

Harold Hill isn't a particularly demanding singing role...after all, it was written to suit a non-singer. Jackman can easily handle that score.

It IS an exhausting role; Harold is seldom offstage.

I do love that Diana has a song called “Fuck You Dress”!

I would say it's an enormously taxing musical role. Every time he's on which is often he has to have to energy of a steam locomotive and have the ability to spit out all that patter with the clarity and speed of lightening.

R511, why does Hewitt's boxer shorts still have the crease marks as if the just came out of the package? Does wardrobe iron them into little a little square every day?

Any real word out of La Jolla about Diana? Meaning, non-Daily Mail.

Yeah, the Brits are going to take offense no matter what, especially when Americans take on British history and historical figures. So the backlash from them is not surprising.

"...as of right this second they are the best-reviewed new musical of the season. Why would they close when they don't yet know if they have any competition come awards time?"

Ladies and gentlemen, this is why the Broadway musical is dying or dead. The Prom is a piece of shit and it's the best reviewed musical of the year. And to think that America is going to flock to a show that portrays everyone not a New Yorker as backwards and homophobic, only to be rescued by enlightened New Yorkers is only in the minds of theater queens, who know nothing outside New York.

Raul Esparza can’t sing. Nasally high screeching is ear splitting.

Raul Esparza was amazing in Company. If that’s “not singing”, I can’t imagine what’s good singing.

Raul Esparza as Harold Hill! Lens Dunham as Marian Paroo! Kim Catrall as Eulalie McKechnie Shinn! Andy Randalls as Winthrop Paroo!

Jeez, I thought Esparza was just terrible in Company. Overselling every song. Humorless.

R459 is an example of why we need draconian hate speech laws with mandatory capital punishment for violators.

Checks and Balances, the company that handles payroll for ~70% of Broadway shows, got hacked with ransomware. This week has been a TOTAL SHITSHOW: there's going to be a lot of people who don't get their checks on time this week.

[quote]Raul Esparza can’t sing.

The "[Fill in the blank with name of accomplished singer} can't sing" troll is one of the most tiresome trolls in the theater threads.

[quote]Jessie Mueller was very funny in " Drood" though nowadays she might not be cast because Cynthia Erivo or her ilk would call it out for being blackface or something like that.

She also had some very funny moments as Carrie in the Philharmonic's CAROUSEL (though I realize it's not the same kind of humor as in FUNNY GIRL).

[quote]Ladies and gentlemen, this is why the Broadway musical is dying or dead. The Prom is a piece of shit and it's the best reviewed musical of the year. And to think that America is going to flock to a show that portrays everyone not a New Yorker as backwards and homophobic, only to be rescued by enlightened New Yorkers is only in the minds of theater queens, who know nothing outside New York.

1) The show is not a piece of shit, it's clever and funny and full of heart; 2) what actually happens in the show is a lot more interesting and complicated than what you describe, and it t does NOT portray all people from the midwest as homophobic or all people from New York as "enlightened"; 3) you are an idiot.

How would Hugh Jackman be as Henry Higgins? It's another sort of non-singing role.

I think he'd have possibilities as HH, but at this point I'm completely fixated on his highly anticipated turn as HH (er, the MM HH)

Jackman would indeed be brilliant in THE MUSIC MAN. He's got all the charm, energy, and charisma necessary for the role. He can even do a flawless American accent. It's a GREAT idea.

I’ll say it again. Esparza can’t sing.

R518, have you actually seen The Prom? The premise you describe is what the show intentionally subverts. Throughout the show the New Yorkers are painted in a foolish light for being narcissists who assume the worst about "everyone not a New Yorker" and the Midwesterners are gradually shown in a more complex, sympathetic light. The New Yorkers don't "save" anyone; their efforts are misguided and ignorant just as much as the closeted lesbian's mother's efforts are. That's... the whole point of the show. And it's extremely obvious.

Why stop now, r530. Say it in foreign languages Say it with music.

Slightly OT, but I don't know where else to put it: Stanley Donen has died.

Heard you the first time, R530.

Raul can sing but his voice is more suited to scores like CHESS, ROCKY HORROR, TABOO.

Donen was 94.

Then I guess it's bloody well about time.

[quote]R459 is an example of why we need draconian hate speech laws with mandatory capital punishment for violators.

So, both a loon and a precious snowflake. What a way to go through life.

Esparza ne peut pas chanter.

r539 Wouldn't "no puede cantar" be more appropriate for someone named "Esparza?"

Does Raul even speak Spanish?

[quote]Jessie Mueller was very funny in " Drood" though nowadays she might not be cast because Cynthia Erivo or her ilk would call it out for being blackface or something like that.

Could you elaborate on the blackface? I'm not familiar with the show.

Mueller played Helena Landless who hails from Ceylon, I think. Was she Sri Lankan? Or Indian? There were jokes about her geographically unplaceable accent which was quite exaggerated. Andy Karl played her brother and was equally fantastic.

But as she was actually playing a British music hall actress playing Helena, I wouldn’t think there would be a problem. But who am I kidding? There would be a problem.

And that DROOD revival was just 6-7 years ago.

The hate for Erivo is completely out of proportion to any interest or loyalty to The Great Comet. Get a grip on yourself. Racism isn't nearly as impressive as you seem to think it is. You are being a repetitive bore.

Does anyone know the name of the actor playing James Hewitt in the Diana musical at La Jolla?

I've googled all over the place, but every article names the other principals only.

R545 Honey, you sound like you are actually describing Cynthia, that tiresome cunt

She managed to get herself hated by the majority of posters on both DL and ONTD, that's quite the achievement.

Why do they hate her at ONTD?

[quote]Does Raul even speak Spanish?

Habla español con fluidez

Do you think Raul Esparza has ever farted on stage?

Elaine is guaranteed the Tony Now

She deserves it anyway. Sad for her--they seem to have had a good and stable relationship.

R549 It began with the backlash over her playing Harriet Tubman so they dug through her social media and found she's close to someone who describes herself as an "African elitist" and who's made snobby jokes about African Americans. This was compounded by Cynthia retweeting someone who said African Americans were just jealous of other Africans in America. This site is awfully formatted and uses a slideshow, but if you do want more information they have it all.

There's another thread going right now about smoking on the indoors (the OP is lamenting that he can't do it anymore). Someone mentioned about how there's no more smoking in movie theaters, which made me think about the smoking that happens onstage in the theater. So how do most of you feel about that?

I think I posted in here about my experience recently going to see Lynn Nottage's new play, "Meet Vera Stark." Now to be fair, you're warned ahead of time about there being smoking in the play, but good Lord, being in the second row, I felt like I was going to choke to death before the second act was over. After so long I didn't care about what was going on with the story anymore, I just wanted to get out of there and breathe fresh air. The actors just kept lighting up cigarette after cigarette and all I could think was, why is that necessary? We get it, the characters smoke, but enough already. Again, they tell you upfront, so they can't be faulted for it, but it was just so ridiculously over the top.

Has anyone else ever had an experience like this with smoking by the actors in a show? Were you close enough to the stage that you were affected by it?

R552 Elaine who?

R556 Stritch, Rose, she will win a Tony from Heaven

Heaven? Funny.

Elaine May. I had to look it up, too, r556. Didn't know that she was with Stanley Donen.

I always prefer it when actors just use prop cigarettes, or in this day and age, e-cigs that look like the real thing. Nothing takes me out of a story faster than the reek of those herbal things. Noxious.

Esparza is Cuban - growing up, his first language was Spanish. He's bilingual.

Can’t wait to see Melissa McCarthy play a version of Stritch in Documemtary Now’s spoof of the Company cast album recording session.

R561 Has that got a screening date yet>?

I just saw a regional production of "A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder." I'm curious as to why this show -- which was reasonably successful and won the Tony -- never made it to London.

R563 Bloody good question. It rarely is performed much anywhere around the world, as presume amateur rights are available now. It is a great show

R561, I don’t think so but it will be soon.

I’ve seen ads for three different regional/community theatre productions of Gentleman’s Guide, so it is being done here and there.

The Stritch character is being played by Paula Pell in Documentary Now, not Melissa McCarthy.

Gentlemen's Guide is very faux-British. The few Brits I know who saw it shrugged at best, saying it was an ineffective imitation.

R563, A Gentleman's Guide plagiarizes from the the British film Kind Hearts and Coronets. The writers won the legal case in the USA, in spite of the fact they actually used the title King Hearts and Coronets at one point (totally crappy ruling). My understanding is that the legal ruling *only* applies to the USA. The copyright of the film still holds in the UK and elsewhere.

The Brits just hate whenever Americans attempt to dramatize British culture, period. They'll always have a love/hate relationship with Americans. That's why I could never be friends with a Brit. I'll never know if they truly like me or if they're talking smack behind my back or being passive-aggressive

to r562 et al, the Company spoof is set to air on IFC on February 20. And it's Paula Pell, not Melissa McCarthy, doing the Stritch send-up.

The shame is that Steven Lutvak has written soulful, beautiful music that is unlike anything in Gentleman’s Guide. The better of his two CDs was issued to raise funds for the lawsuit.

He needs to create new work. It’s as though Sondheim ha spent his entire career on Bounce/Road Show while the rest of his work was performed only in New York cabaret.

The US producer for Gentleman’s Guide is sitting on the rights and won’t let anyone produce it on the West End.

The Company spoof actually airs on the 27th. Here's John Mulaney talking about it on Seth Meyers...

...and Richard Kind performing a song from it.

OK but why have we never gotten NEWSIES here in London?

Because there is a god in heaven and he’s looking out for you.

Did they have newsies in England?

They didn't actually have singing cats, either, as far as I know

We were in Paris, not London.

A week too late, I just found out cutie Telly Leung's last performance in ALADDIN was last Sunday. Oh well, I did get to see him once, but it would've been nice to see him again. After almost 2 years in the role I wonder if he just wanted to move on, or if Disney gave him the heave-ho

I'm guessing it was choice. Two years seems quite long enough. Maybe he has something new coming up.

I guess the youtube clip troll is gearing up to finish off this thread. At least it will happen during the day and someone coherent can create the next THEATRE GOSSIP #345 edition

Can we at least make this a tasteful attack on LMM at the Oscars or something?

Alan Cumming posted on Insta that he's sick and was sad about missing last night's performance of DADDY. Was the performance cancelled? I don't think they have understudies.

Yes, it was cancelled.

[quote]Can we at least make this a tasteful attack on LMM at the Oscars or something?

Sure, because DL attacks on LMM aren't tiresome in the least.

Ain't Too Proud and King Lear start previews on Thursday. Is anyone going?

[quote] The hate for Erivo is completely out of proportion to any interest or loyalty to The Great Comet. Get a grip on yourself. Racism isn't nearly as impressive as you seem to think it is. You are being a repetitive bore.

People don't hate Erivo because they're racist. People hate Erivo because she's a cunt.

I like to think of her as a racist cunt.

With Ain't Too Proud it will be interesting to see if Broadway can embrace yet another unnecessary juke box musical.

Ervio's formulation that a play that replaces a white actor with a black one can never again cast a white actor was just bizarre. Especially when aimed at a production that was as close to color-blind as Broadway has seen.

Today's performances of DADDY have been cancelled. Cumming has a bad case of the flu and a few other cast members are under the weather as well.

Are there anymore jukebox musicals in the works? We've got Ain't Too Proud, then Tina. Head Over Heels was a jukebox book musical. Cher and Beautiful are jukebox bio-musicals.

For that matter, how many more movie-into-musicals are planned? We've got Tootsie and Beetlejuice left for this season.

When Glenn Close was forced to miss a performance of the Sunset Blvd revival she posted an apology online to anyone who came to the show specifically to see her. Ervio stuck her nose in and said Close did not owe anyone an apology for missing a performance. Of course Ervio missed many performances of The Color Purple so she could train and run marathons. She's a moron.

D'oh! Forgot Moulin Rouge. Uh ... bajour!

Closing this thread ...

THE RINK!