THEATRE GOSSIP #519: The Not Even Ready for a Workshop....Who Approved This? Edition

Previous thread:

OP, I really appreciate your using "Who Approved This?" in the thread title, for two reasons: (1) I think it's genuinely funny, and (2) it's sure to explode the head of the psycho in the previous thread who insulted the poster who introduced the phrase and berated me for finding it amusing.

Will Bad Cinderella make it until Memorial Day?

I'm not gonna comment on Erivo's looks or nose ring but isn't she at least 10 years too old to play Elphaba?

R4 Twenty.....

[quote]Cynthia Erivo Joins Producing Team for ‘Fat Ham’ Ahead of Broadway Opening Night

Isn't she currently shooting "Wicked" in London? How much "producing" can she do with show in New York?

She can write a check from anywhere.

I don't know for a fact but I don't think any of these "celeb" "producers" are ponying up $$. They're just lending their names for publicity and endorsement.

To go with the title...was this supposed to make the show look appealing? Because...no.

I prefer white boys. Skin as smooth as milk...

-[quote]Will Bad Cinderella make it until Memorial Day?

It'll be lucky to make it to Ash Wednesday.

Bad Cinderella will be lucky to make it to April Fools

Couldn't Cynthia bail out Room?????

Cynthia Nixon could bail out room

For the record, Cynthia E is 36 years old (though many of us assume she's older).

Ariana , her co-star, is 29 (though many of us assume she's a good deal younger).

So they're not a completely inappropriate match for these roles. So much depends on their chemistry together onscreen.

I think Erivo is a dynamic, exciting performer onstage.... but I'm not sure high-def film/TV is really her friend.

She will be in green makeup. Shell be fine.

In regards to Lucas Hedges, did he finally break it off with Tommy Dorfman? I'm assuming Tommy kept his equipment when he transitioned.

Ok, which one of you bitches did this

Well...shit.

LOVE at the Park Ave Armory has a lovely moment where a pensioner loses the contents of her bowels right on the stage for all to see, in case you want to relive Hillary's experience in solidarity.

[quote] LOVE at the Park Ave Armory has a lovely moment where a pensioner loses the contents of her bowels right on the stage for all to see,

Jane Horrocks pissed on stage every night in Macbeth.

If the shitting was an accident, how did the turds escape the shitter's clothing? Was it a woman in a loose skirt not wearing undies?

[quote]The source wildly speculated, “There is someone who is either s–tting in the aisle, or surreptitiously dumping defecation that they smuggled into the theater.”

Seeing as how it defies the imagination that anyone could actually take a shit in the aisles without being noticed, I'm going to guess it's the latter scenario.

Is it someone leaving turds to further sabotage SLIH's underwhelming performances and skidding box office?

“ I could eat a bowl of alphabet soup and shit out better lyrics.”

Erivo is not made for film. She just looks sullen no matter what she does.

"I could eat a can of Kodak and puke a better movie."

The shitter made their mark the day I saw SLIH. I thought it was just a vivid comment on the show.

Has everyone got their tickets for SHEN YUN?

SHEN YUN has been going on for years, yet " Follies!" has been dead for the same amount time.

The difference is that SHEN YUN is profitable.

I'm betting Shen Yun will see bigger audiences than SLIH.

The shitter at Some Like It Hot is like something from a John Waters movie. I'm imagining someone taking several dumps, bagging them up, and leaving them at a different show and getting off on it. I hope we have a serial shitter.

Perhaps Michael R. Jackson is the shitter.

His shit ends up on the stage.

[quote]She will be in green makeup. Shell be fine.

Cultural appropriation!!!

Wizard of Oz came first.

Were they green in the book?

[quote] SHEN YUN has been going on for years, yet " Follies!" has been dead for the same amount time.

Shen Yun is political propaganda that’s subsidized. It doesn’t have to fill seats to keep running.

Has anyone seen Shen Yun? I'm so sick of the TV commercials.

Usher looking at aisle dump: "Who approved this?"

[quote]Usher looking at aisle dump:

No one told me Michael Riedel was coming tonight.

SCHUCKED!

SHAT!

POOPED!

CICERO!

LIPSHITZ!

[quote] Poop! Beanie! Doody!

It really is true that the elderly become like infants again.

The had it comin'.

How exactly does Erivo's name do anything for Fat Ham? She's not a star. Further to that, how have any of the shows who have attached celeb names as producers to their flop shows really done anything to capitalize on those names? A Strange Loop had more celebs attached to it than The Love Boat and none of them did a fucking thing to help get it attention. So what's the point, outside of a press release, if the stunt producers are neither investing or promoting?

[quote]A Strange Loop had more celebs attached to it than The Love Boat and none of them did a fucking thing to help get it attention.

They should've gotten Charo!

Was there corn in the poop?

Asking for a friend.

I hope the real producers of Fat Ham try to get Mandy Patinkin to come in for a few weeks to replace the lead.

It amazes me that people who clearly left grade school many, many years ago continue to find poop jokes the height of hilarity.

R54

Eat My Shit.

Sweeney '05

Speaking of shitshows, I am dreading seeing White Girl in Danger on Saturday night.

R57.... we need to hear more opinions! Do not miss the pre-show or the intermission show.....

[quote] A Strange Loop had more celebs attached to it than The Love Boat and none of them did a fucking thing to help get it attention.

I don't think it helped the show but JHud talked about it on interviews. I believe some of the others did too. How on earth would you actually [italic] know [/italic] none of them did anything? Did you see or read every appearance they all made?

According to the iobdb White Girl in Danger is only going to run from 4/11 to 4/12 once it opens. Is this some kind of stunt?

The Doyle "Sweeney" was absolute shit. An embarrassment for the excellent cast.

I have just seen the Broadway Theatre renovation for HLL and it looks impressive but ... is there an audience for that show? I remember it being successful at the Public but not a sell-out, and I did not have any problems getting tickets for the two performances I attended. Does someone need a huge tax write-off? And who is playing the lead?

‘Phantom of the Opera’ Hits Highest Grossing Week In 35 Years:

If Here Lies Love bombs on Broadway maybe they can bring in Hytner’s immersive Guys and Dolls, which is getting raves.

What's this about a female lead in a new London production of How To Succeed.......

SHUCKED didn't break $500,000 for 7 performances. Sic Transit Gloria Shundi.

Let the river run, r65...

I went to the box office for Prima Facie tickets yesterday with what I assumed was a discount mailer. I passed it to the box office and was offered 2 seats in the side mezzanine. The cost? $338. I told her to keep her tickets. Happy I saw the filmed version but if those are the cheapest tickets for rear of the orchestra and upstairs, I now have no doubt it will show up on TDF.

R65 She is playing the Rudy Vallee part.

R68 I found it very obvious, And Comer very drama school.

Prima Facie will be a smash. I couldn't get a ticket in London when I was there. Even standing room was gone. Comer has a loyal audience.

I think it’s hilarious that gay men would kill at the chance to play female leads in all the big shows

Follies, Cabaret, Mame ect but they would NEVER get the chance to do such a thing in legit theatre and yet women can play the leads in

Pippin, Company, 1776, How to Succeed…ect and it always has rave reviews.

This is a double standard.

R72 Hasn't a man being playing Madame Morrible for years?

Actually, not sure if they have gender swapped Biggley, or she is playing the character as a man.

R71-The ticket prices are ridiculous. It won't be a sell-out here by any means. Even it is here for only 8 weeks. (which I find hard to believe).

[Quote] The difference is that SHEN YUN is profitable.

Cult members tend to perform for free

Phantom’s box office is doing well because ticket prices have been jacked up for the end of the run

A day late, but an interesting read.

The movie for Room was just meh. I was stunned that she won an Oscar for that role.

No one wants to see it on stage

R72 "1776" recent revival did not, for the most part, get rave reviews. Quite the contrary. But sure, it is a double standard otherwise. I think some shows might work with males playing female roles, not even in drag, but with minimal rewriting.

[quote] I think some shows might work with males playing female roles, not even in drag, but with minimal rewriting.

I wish you luck trying to get that show on.

Any word on a DEAR WORLD recording? I saw it last Friday and it would be a shame not to capture those orchestrations and vocal performances (Murphy, Harada, and Burns in particular--plus Samantha Williams' big number). Not much for the men to do in this show, but Chris Fitzgerald and Brooks Ashmanskas were great fun.

If they didn’t release a recording of MY glorious turn when I played the role in London, then they sure as shit ain’t releasing a cd of Donna “flat” Murphy

I think the Jerry Herman estate would have to fund a recording. They can certainly afford it, but do they care?

Sure would love to see Encores do Mame with Donna Murphy and the full, original orchestrations. Plus luxury casting for Vera and Gooch.

"Mame" hasn't aged well at all, R84. That was true even of the Kennedy Center production I saw back in 2006, with Christine Baranski, Harriet Harris as Vera and Emily Skinner as Gooch. I suspect it would seem even mustier 17 years later. The KC production had hopes for Broadway that were quickly dashed.

R85, while I agree that MAME has dated in ways that HELLO, DOLLY! (for example) hasn't, I wouldn't offer that KC revival as proof of its non-viability. Everyone in it was misdirected (wasn't that Eric Schaeffer?), with normally surefire talents like the three stars you named utterly failing to score. (It's the only time that I've seen Emily Skinner live when she hasn't more or less walked away with the show she's in.)

Gooch shouldn't walk away with MAME. And has been discussed, Christine's a Vera. And it certainly wasn't the role for Miss Ebersole at Paper Mill.

It was Eric Schaeffer, R86, and I agree that he was a terrible director, a hack who could always be counted on to make some jaw-droppingly awful choices.

Danny DeVito Sets Fall Broadway Return With Daughter Lucy In Theresa Rebeck Play ‘I Need That’:

Enough with Theresa Rebeck already. How does she manage to get so many shitty plays produced?

Jack O'Brien with scarf, or shawl??

R90, I agree that her plays never really seem to be that great but yet she still keeps getting produced. Perhaps they do really well at the box office?

Omg, r88. I saw Follies on closing night at the Kennedy Center and Regina was still missing lyrics.

Schaeffer’s mean-girl-as-sexual-predator routine brought him down, but critics never saw through his amateurish direction. He had a great eye for talent and design, but could really miss the mark.

SHUCKED will be live broadcast on the CW network some Thursday night in July......I bet.

I'm not saying that Gooch *should* walk away with MAME. But Skinner's performance in the part gave no hint whatever of the showstopping talent I'd previously witnessed in DINNER AT EIGHT and THE FULL MONTY and the KC MERRILY -- all ensemble shows. And I blame Schaeffer for that.

Jacks looks ready to play Vera in a revival of "Mame."

I thought Bad Cinderella was generally quite entertaining if bizarre, with some gorgeous songs (and gorgeous guys) and generally VERY gay (in a Sean Cody way), but ABC/Disney apparently wasn’t cool with the actual costumes so we got this instead… I can’t imagine this will sell any tickets. But maybe I’m wrong?

We had these exact same postings about "Emily Skinner walking away with every show buy Mame" "Everyone misdirected" etc in previous threads.

That said, Mame seems perfect for Encores. It is a show that everyone knows is unrevivable right now, but they still want to hear the score.

Why is MAME considered 'dated' by some of you?

Seriously, r99? How do think “You make our cotton easy to pick, Mame” or “Your skin is Dixie satin, there's rebel in your manner and your speech” is going to be received in 2023? The title song alone makes the show almost unrevivable.

[quote] Why is MAME considered 'dated' by some of you?

Because the title song reads like a KKK manifesto.

The whole plantation's hummin' since you brought Dixie back to Dixieland.

You make our cotton easy to pick, Mame

You give my old mint julep a kick, Mame

You make the old magnolia tree blossom at the mention of your name.

You've made us feel alive again, you've given us the drive again

to make the South revive again, Mame.

No production of Mame can ever equal the UK production that apparently decided to perform it in the theater’s lobby.

Wouldn't Dl's collective head just explode if Encores! hired Billy Porter to oversea/direct it's production/revisal of Mame?

Now come on guys, dish what you think Mx Porter would do to the show. Cast himself as Mame to start?

R100/R101 but those are the reflections of the Southern characters, who would have rejoiced and said things like that in that period.

Yeah r104. Why don't you just get the money together and mount your production.

Alex Newell *is* Gooch.

Skinner was HORRIBLE in Dinner at Eight.

[quote]but those are the reflections of the Southern characters, who would have rejoiced and said things like that in that period.

While that may be true, we live in times where people have no perspective.

The movie Song of the South has been kept in the vault for years because certain members of society have a knee jerk reaction to it. Disney just closed down the ride that was based on that movie because they became woke.

Saw Coast Starlight last night. That's another intermissionless hour and a half that felt like 3 hours that I'll never get back. But there is a hunky guy in it named Rhys Coirbo whose biceps in his tank top gave me something to focus on for awhile.

We've been through this a thousand times already but I really wish Encores would do MAME just to put the show to rest and show everyone that it's simply not very clever any more. Besides all the Southern issues, Vera's bitchy drunkenness, Gooch's unwed pregnancy, Ito's fawning accent, the Upsons' anti-Semitism, not to mention Mame's once-shockingly liberal ideals.....well, none of it seems very outrageous in 2023.

‘Smash’ Musical Plans to Come to Broadway in the 2024-2025 Season:

If Mame is going to be destroyed with PC updates and revisions then leave it the fuck alone.

[quote]I went to the box office for Prima Facie tickets yesterday with what I assumed was a discount mailer. I passed it to the box office and was offered 2 seats in the side mezzanine. The cost? $338.

Wow, R68. As you know, it's an Australian play, and I saw it in Australia before it went to London. I still have the online confirmation for my Row E Stalls (Orchestra) seat -- I paid $AUD62.00 for a single ticket. That's $US41.45! Sheridan Harbridge was better than Jodie Comer, too -- I later saw the latter on NT-Live.

Mame is truly the perfect show for Encores to do. I assume Jerry Herman prevented Encores from doing his shows because he hoped they'd get major Bway productions instead. Finally, he left them do Mack & Mabel, which showed the book just wasn't redeemable. It's the same with Dear World. Sadly, Mame may show that too.

That said, I was shocked when I saw the Lincoln Center revival of South Pacific--I had thought that wasn't revival but it was magnificent.

Considering how progressive, liberal, and outrageous meme is supposed to be, Vera being a drag queen isn’t a terrible idea. I mean, Bea Arthur got us halfway there. But meme could absolutely have a drag queen friend and get a part in their show. I don’t remember: is that man in the moon show supposed to be on Broadway? That would have to be changed.

That has nothing to do with the white supremacy, confederacy issues that just may be unsolvable right now.

I am not a fan of Chastain but she is very good in ADH. I was very surprised by her performance. I also loved the production and the adaptation, and I was afraid I might hate it. Lloyd's Cyrano was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life and that was the reason why I bought a ticket on the right side of the house. It is still incredible that he went with his coup de théâtre when 1/3 or more of the audience cannot see it. Talk about ego.

R110 I think all of that could work as satire, particularly the title number.

Why not restage the show like that instead of an earnest production?

WOMAN OF THE YEAR revival!

Who's going?

So much of Kander and Ebb's output is second tier. Woman of the Year is one of them

[quote] So much of Kander and Ebb's output is second tier.

Hold our beers.

But... that cast!

The problem in MAME is not so much that all those Southerners suddenly fall in love with Mame and start singing those cliche-ridden, offensive lyrics. All of that's supposed to be ironically funny, and apparently, it was to a lot of people back in the day. The problem is that there is no conversation between Mame and Beau where she tells : "I love you, but I hope you know that, after we leave this place and get married, I never want to see these racist yahoos again."

Another huge problem, as I've said before, is that the whole plot of Gooch as an unwed mother is now viewed as completely unacceptable and the opposite of "funny." Gooch makes it clear that she had no intention of getting pregnant, and she pretty much states that it happened while she was drunk, indicating a lack of consent. Now she's going to be a single mother, stuck with a baby she did not want. And even though she is incredibly lucky to have a super-rick friend like Mame to take care of her and her baby, still her life has changed tremendously, and not all for the better. And THIS is meant to make us laugh uproariously throughout the latter part of the show.

R122 Wokesters are humorless puritans.

Jesus Christ, can we just let the SMASH thing go already? It was a flop tv show. And as we've seen from SLIH, no one cares about Shaiman and Whitman's obsession of old show business styles.

Shaiman, Wittman and Stroman.....a meeting of hacks.

Agree, r110, except that none of those story lines seemed outrageous in 1966.

They should just do Auntie Mame. That still works.

Gotta love a theatre company dedicated to reviving forgotten musicals that actually revives forgotten musicals. Their Seesaw was delightful and I'm definitely buying a ticket to this.

I've never heard of that theater company. Are their revivals on par with York's or better or worse?

[quote] And THIS is meant to make us laugh uproariously throughout the latter part of the show.

What make it funny is she's a straight-laced frump. One drink and she's a ho

If you want something to be offended by in MAME, what about the nude school Patrick attends?

[quote][R110] I think all of that could work as satire, particularly the title number.

Satire is what closes on Saturday night, r117.

DL needs more Mame memes.

Saw SHUCKED. My boyfriend wanted to leave at intermission. They try to bury the HEE HAW roots, but they spring up eventually, and the whole thing is so slight it feels like old fashioned television entertainment. It was the sort of the same problem TOOTSIE had, and I couldn't understand why that got the Tony for book, and its the same guy. It's all about THE JOKES, and THEYJUSTKEEPCOMING...And THE JOKES overshadow everything, and you eventually feel assaulted. The characters are non-existent, and the plot unnecessary. (Last time I had this feeling was at that Jimmy Buffet thing.). If it's no longer Hee-Haw, it's now "Laugh In." And when someone starts to sing, you just don't care. The songs are fine, but they're radio songs and instantly forgettable. I suppose if you really want something that doesn't have a brain in its head, its satisfying, and there were people around me laughing all night, so who knows?

As Ethel Merman said to Harvey Fierstein after she saw "Torch Song Trilogy", "I thought it was a piece of shit, but everybody around me was laughing, so what the fuck do I know"?

Merman watching Shucked would be more like: JE-SUS!!!!!"

R129. Better. Much better.

The Spotlight NO STRINGS was pretty good. Their BAKER'S WIFE and CLASS ACT were lousy.

I suspect that Lear “Queen of Woke” DeBessonet will not allow Mame anywhere near Encores.

Unless she lets Billy Porter rewrite the book and star.

One very interesting thing about the movie AUNTIE MAME is that Ralph Devine, the head of the nudist school, is played by Henry Brandon, there playing around his real age, but who had also played, years earlier, in his 20s, with a lot of makeup, old Barnaby in the Laurel and Hardy "March of the Wooden Soldiers" aka "Babes In Toyland".

What Dear World proved last week was Encores needs to do The Grand Tour. Talk about a forgotten musical. Some beautiful stuff in that score.

Billy Porter got some terrible reviews and backlash for what his direction did to "Tap Dance Kid", among other things, casting a non-heavy girl in a role written for a weight-challenged girl (or whatever the acceptable terminology is for it now -- it keeps changing).

Did anyone fine the amplification for "Dear World" was muddled in the first couple of numbers? It got better by the time of the first number on the OCR, but it was hard for a while to tell who was talking/singing. Also Murphy was fine using the book, but I found her voice wasn't quite as good in going for some vocal climaxes as the girl who played Nina, who really sold her number for what it's worth. Andrea Burns was fun, though Ann Harada really went for the gusto. Brooks was kind of Brooks, with not so great material, and Christopher Fitzgerald had flair with some pretty lousy material in his second song.

"find" that is

Saw CAMELOT last night. So much good stuff and so much head-scratching stuff. Think the reviews will be all over the map. But worth seeing for those songs and the original orchestrations!

How is sexy Johnny Behlmann in SHUCKED? Any nude scene? Shirtless scenes? He's the only thing that could get me into that theater. Maybe.

Didn't they keep trying to improve the original "Camelot" with rewriting after the reviews came out? It's always been a problematic show -- a wonderful score surrounded by some good scenes, but some very boring scenes as you wait for another great musical number

[quote]Murphy was fine using the book, but I found her voice wasn't quite as good in going for some vocal climaxes as the girl who played Nina, who really sold her number for what it's worth.

I agree that the woman who played Nina did a fine job with the song, but I thought she was physically miscast and her acting was not very good at all. Hard to believe someone better wasn't available for the part.

Worth noting J2 will also be doing Sugar and The Goodbye Girl this season. Maybe Elaine Joyce Simon can play Sweet Sue. Make that Sour Sue.

R148 I thought the Julian was kind of miscast opposite her, with an adequate singing voice and too laidback in his acting.

I believe that some other director ruined Tap Dance Kid at Encores and cast a slim girl to play a role that calls for a fat one, thereby making her song about being fat nonsensical. Billy Porter did a hatchet job on The Life, draining it of any fun or humor.

Sound was clear as a bell Sunday afternoon.

[quote] Billy Porter did a hatchet job on The Life, draining it of any fun or humor.

In all fairness, there isn’t much fun or humor in The Life. I saw the original Broadway production. Sweet Charity it ain’t.

But The Life was never the travesty Billy turned it into.

Does anyone else think ever think of Lee Roy Creams when they see Lee Roy's name?

[quote] One very interesting thing about the movie AUNTIE MAME is that Ralph Devine, the head of the nudist school, is played by Henry Brandon, there playing around his real age, but who had also played, years earlier, in his 20s, with a lot of makeup, old Barnaby in the Laurel and Hardy "March of the Wooden Soldiers" aka "Babes In Toyland".

Very interesting? Really?

[quote]I thought the Julian was kind of miscast opposite her, with an adequate singing voice and too laidback in his acting.

Yes. Any thoughts on why these two were cast when, presumably, there were lots of other available performers who were better suited for the roles?

So weird that both Sondheim and ALW's birthday is/was March 22.

One so talented, and one.....well, he tried.

I thought it was interesting R156. And I'm not R140.

Encores has had its share of duds over the years, including DuBarry Was a Lady with an at-sea Robert Morse, 70 Girls 70 with an inept Olympia Dukakis, and a Kismet that was dull as dishwater. I've seen every Encores show, and The Life was the absolute worst one. I suspect that the revisal of Thoroughly Modern Millie that got pulled from the schedule might have been equally bad, but at least that had the original creators tinkering with it. Hopefully, Lear's idea of "redoing" or "refreshing" (or whatever mission statement she made) flawed shows has gone away. Her Into the Woods was very good, and Dear World was a fine return to form for Encores.

[quote]Does anyone else think ever think of Lee Roy Creams when they see Lee Roy's name?

I never did, because his actual name is already a double entendre.

"House of Flowers" was pretty bad, too with a humorless Tonya Pinkins taking on Pearl Bailey's role. Dreadful book, and the great score was as well served as it should have been.

was "not" as well served

Both Tap Dance Kid and The Life were terrible, but I actually walked out of The Life. (And I kind of enjoyed the original.) Other dreadful Encores shows that come to mind: Irma La Douce, I Married an Angel and yes, House of Flowers.

Don’t they use a song from Smash in the score of Some Like it Hot? Will Smash give up their song, or will the same song be in both shows, or will SLIH give up the song?

Or have given up the ghost by that point…?

Inquiring minds want to know.

[R147]: It seems the book of “Camelot” has been undergoing changes since the original production. I was lucky to see a touring company in Pittsburgh in November of 1963, the week after JFK’s assassination. I was 14. I thoroughly enjoyed it, even though it starred a plump Kathryn Grayson, playing opposite the younger Arthur understudy, whose interest in her seemed to be adoption.

But, it had essentially the original staging and book, which had a heavy infusion of magic, as did the original T.H.White book it was based on. Nimue still seduces Merlin away near the beginning, and, in Act II Mordred bribes the witch Morgan LeFay to magically waylay Arthur in her enchanted forest overnight, to enable Mordred to catch Lancelot and Guinevere together. There’s even a dance number, called “The Enchantment,” with Arthur encircled by people masked as fantasy creatures.

I even saw a school production of “Camelot” in 1967, at Andover prep school, that still had these scenes.

But, when the movie version opened that fall, only Merlin still was present, though his teaching was more psychological. Gone was Morgan LeFay, replaced by Merlin helping Arthur reliving his childhood, when he had believed himself becoming various forest animals. Pretty pat and colorless.

I even saw a frail Richard Burton in the 1980 Broadway revival. More retrieved childhood. Poor Burton looked out of place, but I have to say he was magnificent.

I understand the magic’s gone from this latest revival. Too bad. Were I to rewrite it it, I’d add more magic. It’s a mythical, magical story, invigorated by elements beyond our ken, that elevate this tale of romance and tragedy into legend.

At least we will always have the magic in that lovely score.

Lea out of both shows today. WTF is going on. She's been out alot with both scheduled and unscheduled absences.

Oops. Lea's kid is in the hospital. Never mind. R167 aka cold hearted asshole

[quote]One very interesting thing about the movie AUNTIE MAME is that Ralph Devine, the head of the nudist school, is played by Henry Brandon, there playing around his real age, but who had also played, years earlier, in his 20s, with a lot of makeup, old Barnaby in the Laurel and Hardy "March of the Wooden Soldiers" aka "Babes In Toyland".

The head of the school is Acacius Page, not Ralph Devine. At least in the movie of "Auntie Mame."

[quote]Jimmy Buffet

Oh, dear. Neither he nor Warren is a Golden Corral.

[quote]She's been out alot

Groan.

I love this site.

[quote]It seems the book of “Camelot” has been undergoing changes since the original production.

It would be more accurate to say that the book and score of CAMELOT have been undergoing major changes since before the original production opened. Apparently, there were a LOT of changes that took place between the time the show opened in Toronto and later opened on Broadway, aside from all of the changes and cuts that took place AFTER the Broadway opening.

The non-magical Morgan le Fey in this production provides the biggest WTF scene.

[quote]The non-magical Morgan le Fey in this production provides the biggest WTF scene.

Freewheeling patio number?

If only...

Surprise anal?

She flashes her panties?

Jeff Whitty spills THE TEA....He's still fighting over "Head Over Heals..."

Whitty's still on that?

Whitty's still on something...

I love Lee Roy Reams. Great stories. And great, great dancer.

Jeff Whitty is back on meth, it seems.

Has there been a musical version of A Doll's House? I can't remember.

It would be a great project for Jeanine Tesori wherein NONE of the numbers would sound like they were from Russia OR the 19th century.

Yes, 1982's flopparoonie, A Doll's Life

"A Doll's Life" was a sequel, and there have been operas based on the original play.

Ugh, hopefully Wes Tay Tay will play the new murder victim who was killed after he sharted during post-Chipotle sex.

Whoops. You are correct, R186. I can see the tag line now (thanks, Ken Mandelbaum), "What happened AFTER Nora slammed the door in A Doll's House?

I am both pleased and heartfully sorry that I was too young to have been going to Broadway shows back then.

[quote]What Dear World proved last week was Encores needs to do The Grand Tour.

And they should do it with Chris Fitzgerald in the Joel Grey role.

[quote]I am both pleased and heartfully sorry that I was too young to have been going to Broadway shows back then.

Not-so-humble-brag.

No, it wasn't meant like that, R190, it was meant more that I am grateful I missed the first decade of the AIDS crisis, not being old enough to have had sex until it was drilled into my head to be careful and use condoms. Otherwise, I dearly wish I had been born 10 or so years earlier. I feel like I missed most of everything I would have identified with. I got in just under the wire and was able to enjoy the tail end of the 1980s in NYC as a teenager.

I actually really enjoyed A Doll's Life. If you ignored the pretentiousness and just accepted it as a musicalized romance novel, it was fun, beautiful to look at, and I loved most of the music.

Comden and Green were no Henrik Ibsen. Put together!

So apparently, there is a joint Japanese-British production of Pacific Overtures, now playing in Japan and next season playing in London. I wonder if either that production or the Signature (DC) production will come to NY.

Ooh papatoonie, Jeff Whitty is a loony!

Buzzetti is a prick so maybe Whitty isn’t all wrong

[quote]Has there been a musical version of A Doll's House? I can't remember. It would be a great project for Jeanine Tesori wherein NONE of the numbers would sound like they were from Russia OR the 19th century.

I'm surprised that I'm apparently the first person to correct you by pointing out that A Doll's House is not set in Russia, but in Norway.

[quote]I am not a fan of Chastain but she is very good in ADH. I was very surprised by her performance. I also loved the production and the adaptation, and I was afraid I might hate it. Lloyd's Cyrano was one of the best things I have ever seen in my life and that was the reason why I bought a ticket on the right side of the house. It is still incredible that he went with his coup de théâtre when 1/3 or more of the audience cannot see it. Talk about ego.

What's the big deal, she walks out an exit door?

R198 And half the house cannot see it.

I want to believe Jeff because I almost always take the side of the writer, but I have heard too many stories about what a nightmare he is (and have friends who have worked with him on both Ave Q and HOH - none mentioned in his saga- and they had very little to say about him that didn't start with "Trainwreck"). I believe most of what he's saying, but I also have a feeling they had to go behind his back because he was unstable and unreliable.

It still sucks and I do feel for him. But I would not want to work with him.

R200 Thank you, Robert Lopez.

He's just very unreliable due to drug use. And it's a shame because he does have talent. And he's a Tony winner and an Oscar nominee, so that ought to make him much more employable than he is.

I just saw this on his website:

From: John Buzzetti To: Jeff Whitty, All

Yeah and we all lost a lot of time and energy and money because of your stupid fucking ideas of Ed and osf. You were ON DRUGS the whole time. The show was NOT good! It's a great script that is seriously overwritten and produced with all the wrong collaborators. take a look at reality. If it was as good as you think it was we would have a Broadway theatre and producers and gogos excited. They're not.

Bye girl. I'm out. and so is Mayer if I have anything to say about it.

I saw Bad Cinderella tonite. Every single person involved with this abomination should be publicly flogged in the town square. I will consider clemency for Carolee, but no promises.

Worse thing I’ve seen in decades.

Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, what did you think of the play?

Bad Cinderella and Diana should be performed in Rep with eachother on how poor musical theatre can really ruin the art form.

Writing yet another Cinderella musical in an era that considers the original Cinderella story hopelessly sexist and dated was a piss-poor idea to begin with.

Speaking of HEAD OVER HEELS...where is Ed Sylvanus Iskandar these days?

R206, indeed. I'm sure that was a huge part of the problem, Plus, of course, the fact that whatever talent ALW had shriveled up into a turd many years ago.

R200, Diary of a Mad Playwright Part II!

R209 I would read that!

Jeff Whitty sounds really unhinged. Do we really believe that people were breaking into his house, stealing his iPhone, spying on him, etc …… all over a Go-Go’s musical?!

Some fool kid with FOUR NAMES has just been cast in the ensemble of a Broadway show. I can't remember any actor ever having more than three, and I would have said "Next!" just for that reason alone.

You wouldn’t hire someone just because they have four names?

Shallow, that's what you are r212. You're shallow.

Shoshana Bean discusses overcoming self doubt....Are you kidding me with this crap...

Both sets for INTO THE WOODS and PARADE were absolutely perfect. This guy is full of shit. People go to the theater to connect with people.

Sara Gettelfinger is back on the boards

Yay Sara!!!!!! So talented and lovely.

At Sweeney last night. It is just okay. Groban sings very well but he is not menacing enough and AA needs to dial it down a little bit. She eats not only pies but the whole darn scenery. I thought she was so annoying... The production feels like an expensive regional theatre production that can double as lesmiz if needed. The audience went berserk, though, after each number and at the end.

Not sure of the legality here but could Jeff Whitty be sued for sharing those full emails between his lawyers, the Go-Go’s, etc online?

No, I don't think so. They were sent to him and were his "property."

Except... there was a big deal made in that gigantic saga of his about him being forced to sign an NDA. He did not show any of the NDA, but I would think he likely broke it somehow with all the specific details he laid out.

That website was a longer read than some books. When I had been reading for some 90 minutes, I got to a page entitled "Intermission" and I yelled, "INTERMISSION!?!?" But damned if I didn't finish the entire fucking thing. Long, but compelling and crazy.

The whole saga is riveting. Even before the emails get nasty, Jeff’s way of speaking to everyone and his attitude is so petulant. He really doesn’t ever at any time seem open to collaboration with Mayer or like being told that his original show wasn’t 100% a masterpiece.

Jeff Whitty struck GOLD with Avenue Q. Never to be repeated.

But do we actually think people were hired to spy and harass him?

Jeff Whitty has been through hell with these people. What could he possibly have to lose at this point? He's lost everything else. I know Jeff. Yes, he's had substance abuse issues in the past, but he's been clean a long time now. This isn't just paranoia on his part. These people have threatened and harassed him. They deserve to be outed and condemned for what they've done. Unfortunately, in this business, they'll get away with it and Jeff will suffer even more.

MARY!

There's no business like show business.

I'm still trying to figure out how they did the ice skating in Kimberly Akimbo. That was impressive.

I'm still trying to figure out why a falling chandelier moving at the speed of a dead sloth is terrifying.

To be fair, r230, the audience has already been assaulted by Andrew Lloyd Webber for 90 minutes by the time the chandelier drops.

That chandelier drops so slowly it could be a member of the Parade of Wooden Soldiers at the Radio City Christmas show

I can't believe he included the video...

Anyone who can expose Michael Mayer as the fraud hack (hack fraud?) he is, is OK by me.

[quote]That chandelier drops so slowly it could be a member of the Parade of Wooden Soldiers at the Radio City Christmas show

I've always thought it fitting that the big, world-famous, climactic "special effect" in this show is a total fraud, because that pretty much describes ALW as well.

so is Sweeney going to be a critic-proof smash like Music Man because of Groban? Bad reviews and sold out houses and outrageous prices?

Calling it now- Jordan Donica is gonna take the Featured Actor Tony this year.

I'm so sorry I missed him in My Fair Lady and was stuck with gay from space Christian Dante White (though I am glad I got to see Laura Benanti and Danny Burstein instead of Ambrose and Butz).

Jesus. They just released the sitzprobe of "New York, New York", beginning previews tomorrow night. While I love hearing a classic brassy score as much anyone, WTF were they thinking hiring that drab, emotionless Colton Ryan as the show's star? Bizarre enunciation, pitch-y and zero connection to what he's singing. That affectedness might have worked for DEH, but it just seems anachronistic here. He came off this way in the rehearsal video a couple weeks ago too. The rest of the cast appears to still be doing their senior BFA showcase.

R236 Probably. I was there last night. Set, Lighting and Costume designs looked like undergraduate senior projects. Annaleigh Ashford is wretched. Steven Hoggett's unnecessary and putrid choreography during The Ballad (and subsequent reprises) reminded me of Facade from Jeykll & Hyde. Thomas Kail is a hack and this production is a miserable inept slog. I felt bad for Groban- I think he did his best but the talent and training just aren't there.

The kids in the audience were screaming at every star entrance only to whip out the cellphones for an instagram post 2 minutes later. The morbidly obese queen behind me declared it to be a "Production for the Ages". It will run as long as Groban wants it to.

Donica was out of Camelot last night.

I would have rushed the box office and demanded my money back

Donica was also out of the matinee yesterday, which opened house 20 minutes late and started 15 minutes late. His understudy fared well but paying these inflated prices to see understudies in previews is infuriating.

wretched

putrid

miserable inept slog

I wonder if Philipa signed on to the revival before or after her song “I Loved You Once In Silence” was given away to another cast member?

The copyright to emails are owned by the author not the recipient.

Donica...whatever happened to period-appropriate hair? Ditto Colton Ryan.

And what does Whitty have to gain by writing this long essay and creating a website all about this show that happened 5 years ago?

I was also going to ask about Donica's hair. Not that it needs to be shorter or straightened, of course. But can't it, at least, be braided as it is in the ads instead of the explosive pony tail? It just looks so undealt with.

Am I just an old fart for thinking like this?

[quote]Donica was also out of the matinee yesterday, which opened house 20 minutes late and started 15 minutes late.

Was there any reason given for the delay?

[quote]I wonder if Philipa signed on to the revival before or after her song “I Loved You Once In Silence” was given away to another cast member?

Who is now singing "I Loved You Once in Silence?" Was it given to Lancelot to give him more to do? When you think about it, the only singing he has in the original is the two solos, "C'est Moi" and "If Ever I Would Leave You."

Robert Goulet was not known until CAMELOT. The two stars were Richard Burton and Julie Andrews. In Act Two, Guenevere has only the duet "What Do the Simple Folk Do?" now since "I Loved You Once in Silence" has been given to Lancelot.

Whitty is completely crazy. He was at his best dancing at the Slide. I know his attorney, who is impeccable and entirely above reproach. Jeff, your work was bad, you’re unprofessional and a drug addict, they were trying to save your ass and u fucked it up. And how did you blow thru all the Ave Q royalties? Idiot.

I'd bet against Donica and the Tony. He looks great but is pretty much a stick in an underwritten role. Pretty yes, with a golden voice, but don't think that's enough given competition from the great kid in KA, maybe Gaten in ST, Kevin de Aguila in SLIH, and maybe till now unseen guys from NYNY and HERE. LIES LOVE. Didn't see PARADE? Any contenders there?

Director Casey Nicholaw stepping in as Spats in SLIH this weekend. Hurray and get your tix before they're all gone!!!!!

The odd thing about PARADE's supporting actors is there are actually lots of them, including Howard McGillin, Paul Alexander Nolan, Jay Armstrong Johnson, Sean Allan Krill and Manoel Felciano, but none of those performances are really given great material to work with, in spite of their solos, and made me, at least, wish the story would just get back to Ben Platt's Leo Frank. The one exception might be the young Black actor (sorry, whose name escapes me as he was new to me) who gets one big solo in which he raises the roof. But I'm not sure it's enough stage time to win a Tony.

I may not give Jordan Donica a Tony award, but I would give him a blowjob!

Sorry, R252, none of those people are strong enough to take the Tony. Obviously I can't comment about anyone from NY NY, but we've seen enough material from that to know it's going to be DOA for everyone. People have won by impressing audiences with much less than what Donica is given to do. Marilyn Cooper won a Tony for singing half a song.

Marilyn Cooper was fabulous and deserving of a Tony and it didn't hurt that she was much loved by everyone in the Broadway community. Hell even those bitches Betty and Rocky loved her.

I would argue that Phyllis Hyman deserved the award over Cooper. I've seen both performances and Hyman was clearly the bigger talent. But you're right, Cooper got it for career and one of the only bearable songs in the otherwise awful Woman of the Year. The voters probably gave it to her to thank her for not making the evening a total loss.

They’ve taken away I Loved You Once in Silence from Guinevere? That’s crazy!

First BAD CINDERELLA review is devastating without resorting to using the show's title to bludgeon it. That's classy...Wonder if the others will be able to resist.

I love how there's a link to BUY TICKETS at the bottom of that scathing review.

Elders, tell me about the original play VANITIES. It was a well-regarded hit back in the day, wasn't it?

There's a new musical version in previews but despite some valiant effort, it's just wretched. And it's mostly the book, which was adapted by the playwright himself.

How did it work off-Bway? Anyone see it? Has the material just dated really poorly?

I saw it in Chicago with Elizabeth Ashley, Lesley Ann Warren and Barbara Sharma, r262. I remember it being slight and it's the only time I saw Ashley on stage so she's my biggest memory of it.

Like "Heidi Chronicles", VANITIES hit the boomer generation right it needed it, and it was a solid hit, and like "Nonsense," theaters around the country made bank on it with the heavy female audiences. It predated "The Big Chill" and whatever other boomer nostalgia nonsense that rolled out in the 70s and 80s.

[quote]The one exception might be the young Black actor (sorry, whose name escapes me as he was new to me) who gets one big solo in which he raises the roof.

Alex Grayson. He has an amazing voice and a kick-ass body, which happily is revealed when he opens his shirt. Thank you, Michael Arden! And thanks for also showing off that hot piece Charlie Webb in the opening scene. Who'da thought a show like PARADE could have such lovely eye candy?!

But Heidi was Broadway and Vanities solidly off.

R262 was a hit, but it was not well regarded. It was seen as an effective, smart commercial comedy. No one ever thought it was deathless drama.

R252, Here Lies Love isn't eligible for this year's Tonys (unless I missed an announcement that it's opening by April 27).

Some critics have suggested Michael Weller's 1979 play "Loose Ends," (which also starred Kevin Kline) as another "once idealistic boomers grappling with material success" work that may have inspired "The Big Chill."

R264: I believe Nonsense should be Nunsense

Bad Cinderella is the worst thing I’ve ever seen on a NY stage. Including the Tourette’s musical, the Shroud of Turin musical and The Knife.

Oof.

How was Jordan Fisher in the new Sweeney?

Green certainly doesn't hold back in the NYT review

-----

First: Bring earplugs.

Not just because the songs in “Bad Cinderella,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that opened on Thursday at the Imperial Theater, are so crushingly loud. The dialogue, too, would benefit from inaudibility.

For that matter, bring eye plugs: The sets and costumes are as loud as the songs. If there were such a thing as soul plugs, I’d recommend them as well.

That’s because “Bad Cinderella” is not the clever, high-spirited revamp you might have expected, casting contemporary fairy dust on the classic story of love and slippers. It has none of the grit of the Grimm tale, the sweetness of the Disney movie or the grace (let alone the melodic delight) of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical. Instead, it’s surprisingly vulgar, sexed-up and dumbed-down: a parade of hustling women in bustiers and shirtless pec-rippling hunks.

Finally, a Cinderella for streetwalkers and gym rats!

Michael Weller also wrote MOON CHILDREN. So blame him for all of it.

I'm glad Emerald Fennell is getting terrible reviews for her Bad Cinderella book. Promising Young Woman was such a garbage dump of a movie, poorly directed, shot and written, and her getting multiple Oscar nominations for it, and even a win, was a travesty.

Everyone else got it wrong and only you were able to see through the charade. Such a talent. How many movies and shows have you created in your insightful brilliance?

Actually three features and a series, thanks for asking.

A lot of people thought Promising Young Woman was shit so it was hardly "everyone else" who was on on board with that garbage.

I’m sure rapists were not fans nor rapist apologists.

It was yet another story about a woman being murdered by men. You don't have to be a rapist apologist to have found it gross and not nearly as empowering, enlightening, or worthwhile as it purported to be.

[quote] Elders, tell me about the original play VANITIES. It was a well-regarded hit back in the day, wasn't it? There's a new musical version in previews but despite some valiant effort, it's just wretched. And it's mostly the book, which was adapted by the playwright himself.

Is this a *new* musical version or a reworking of the one that already exists?

Has Raul Esparza ever played Sweeney Todd? He’d be amazing

I saw an interview with Vanities playwright who said there was tons of drama in the Chicago production. Lesley Ann flew to London to test for the Superman film and missed opening night. Ashley was not amused and wanted to kill her. He also said Ashley was way too old for the part. Still it was a great cast and I wish I had seen it.

[Quote] I would argue that Phyllis Hyman deserved the award over Cooper.

I agree about Hyman and the Tony. That once in a lifetime voice alone should have gotten her the award

Michael Weller also wrote the screenplay for the film adaptation of Hair. Blame him for everything.

has anyone talked about the doggy door that barely poops the books into the bakehouse- and that the Beadle literally has to actively push himself through even though he's dead?

All those hydraulics and platforms, and all the rip-offs of the original, and they had to change [italic] that [/italic] ? The door limply swings (barely) open from the bottom, instead of dropping open from the top.

Raul is far too old to play Sweeney now. Mercifully.

Raul Esparza is 52. Is that "far too old" for a role Cariou and Groban both played in their early 40s?

I hear Life Of Pi sent over a basket of tiger poop as an opening night gift to Bad Cinderella.

One only needs to possibly have a 16 or 17-year-old daughter

I hadn't realized that the new VANITIES musical was a revisal of an earlier version or that they'd recorded it, R281.

That's not a bad little song at the link. I liked some of the score, which was not the problem. Every one of the actresses is miscast, but they work hard.

It's the book, which called to mind Chanel's quote about her arch-rival, Christian Dior: "Look how ridiculous these women are, wearing clothes by a man who doesn't know women, never had one, and dreams of being one.”

Meanwhile.

Every current choreographer needs to see and study Dancin’.

Every current book writer needs to see and study Sweeney Todd

Get schooled, you hacks and poseurs.

No disrespect, really.... but sometimes dying early is the best possible career move for musical theatre writers.

^^

[Italic] Course of Study: [/italic]

Economy.

Humor.

Structure.

Detail.

Character.

Advanced Economy.

Compare and Cintrast: Humor and Vulgarity.

It's like the opening of a really boring SUNDAY IN THE PARK, R294!

Why isn't Stark Sands a bigger star?

Friedman had a big dick but only a medium talent.

A successful combination in almost any age r297.

R292. The original Dancin', yes. The revival? No.

Hard disagree r299. You’re conflating the production and the moves. Cilento’s structure and staging are far from great. However the surviving original choreo present in the show is still stunning- and light years beyond anything we see from the current crop of choreographers.

[quote]Why isn't Stark Sands a bigger star?

Maybe if he had shown his ass more, he would be. Deliciousness starts at 1:16.

Poor Michael Friedman. An early, tragic death, and now Mary Testa records his work. He did nothing to deserve all that.

[quote] has anyone talked about the doggy door that barely poops the books into the bakehouse- and that the Beadle literally has to actively push himself through even though he's dead?... All those hydraulics and platforms, and all the rip-offs of the original, and they had to change that ? The door limply swings (barely) open from the bottom, instead of dropping open from the top.

What the fuck are you babbling about?

[quote]Raul Esparza is 52. Is that "far too old" for a role Cariou and Groban both played in their early 40s?

Raul is an actor, he'll act younger.

Queer...

I feel bad for Carolee Carmelo. She has dedicated herself to Broadway for 40 years and is ALWAYS in a flop.

I’m sure just once she would love to be in a hit.

The Countess and the Cunt. Which one better fits " Bad Cinderella"?

There is no fucking way the fake Countess is only 57.

when will they post the closing notice?

Carolee was in the Off-Broadway Sweeney Todd that I think was a hit. She was wonderful. My second favorite Mrs. Lovett after Lansbury.

She's had at least 57 sets of fake tits by now, R 308

R310, bitch!

Was Falsettos considered a hit?

Dorothy Loudon hardly had any hit shows but we still love her. Carolee is in that same category of performer.

I saw Lestat opening night and got to attend the afterparty (I’m a nobody but the company I worked for at the time was connected to the show and I lucked out that way.)

The ONLY thing I remember about that (terrible) show was noticing that Carolee Carmelo was a standout. I went up to her at the afterparty to tell her she was great in the show (then I hurried away like the shy person I am in those situations.) She was very nice.

She’s replaced in a couple of hits, like that Sweeney Todd and Mamma Mia on Broadway possibility, and you. at least Addams family ran long enough for her to leave and be replaced but every new project she’s in seems terrible

But the one she *did* have, r314, was major.

It's not like Dolores Gray had a major hit.

Noises Off was a huge hit.

R285 Michael Weller's script for Hair the movie was a helluva lot better than the book for the musical. Hair always had terrific songs but the stupidest book that aged poorly.

As for Sweeney....well, the classic Sweeneys (Len Cariou and George Hearn) were 40something character actors back in the day who projected older than they were. Since the twinky 'forever young' look took over, the mature look has gone out of style. Raul is only 52 and looks pretty much the same age as Len and George did back in the day, it's actually terrific casting and would be a huge improvement over perpetual nerd/twit Oshkosh B'Josh Groban.

It was a big hit, r319, not a huge one. But yes, I was thinking musicals. It was a very funny and she was wonderful in it.

bad reviews for Groban is like kicking a puppy

Michael Weller also wrote the screenplay for Ragtime.

The musical of Ragtime has a much better book than the screenplay of Ragtime, which basically eliminated two-thirds of the story to focus on the Coalhouse story.

[quote]Why isn't Stark Sands a bigger star?

Because his name sounds like a mobile home community in the desert.

While it's true Loudon had several big flop Broadway shows, she made up for it all with ANNIE and NOISES OFF (which was indeed a huge hit). And she was highly praised for BALLROOM, which though a financial flop, was still a big new fabulous and well-regarded Michael Bennett musical. And she was also one of the stars of JERRY'S GIRLS, which may not have been a big hit but was not the embarrassment that most of poor Carolee's shows have been in this past decade.

[quote]NOISES OFF (which was indeed a huge hit)

It was a hit that ran for 15 months, r326, that's not *huge*.

For a non-musical to run more than one season on Broadway is a pretty big hit.

Same Time, Next Year was a "pretty big" hit, r328. It ran 3 1/2 years.

A pretty big clit?

Intermission at NYNY.

And..., r331?

That must have come as a relief.

Raul would be a great Sweeney. Raul has the exact quality Groban lacks — intensity.

NYNY, I think it is pretty mediocre. Susan Stroman needs to retire. It is looooooong and boring.

quoting a poster's recap/review of NEW YORK NEW YORK from ATC:

A very mixed bag. It is worth the price of a ticket to hear Uzele's scorching rendition of the title song at the end of three very long hours? It might. She is great. The rest of the evening is tedious. One of my friends was thinking about leaving at intermission. There are too many stories: the trumpet player, the violinist and her teacher with the dead son, the latino guy and domestic violence, the cleaning lady at the MET who becomes an overnight sensation Opera singer (a WTF moment if there ever was one), a club, a music producer.....

It is also a pastiche from lots of musicals that we have seen. Many references to On The Town, WSS, lots of Hollywood Classic Movies, and many dance interludes (now it snows, dance with shovels, now it rains, dance with umbrellas). The best musical numbers are in the first act: a tap dance number with Construction workers up in the air (Steel Pier, anyone), and one with all the gang outside the restaurant. The songs, except for the famous two, are completely forgettable, borderline bad.

The cast is great and there is a nice staging surprise at the end. The audience went nuts. The lightning and the sound were excellent. I do not think there would be any sightlines issues.

"Annie" finally made Dorothy Loudon a big Broadway star. As someone else mentioned, she was excellent in "Ballroom", which while a flop, was one of the Broadway shows MIchael Bennett did. "Noises Off" was a big hit, and by this time Dorothy made some hilarious Tony Award appearances, among other televised appearances. Plus she took over in "Sweeney Todd" for Angela, which was also a hit. Those were very significant credits.

Nobody is downplaying Loudon's resume, r337. But it wouldn't be as full had it not included Annie.

Yes, Dorothy had quite a few Broadway flops before "Annie", though she usually got some of the best notices in those shows. Plus, she was known for replacing Carol Burnett on Gary Moore's tv show. But "Annie" really made her a Broadway star, with a well-deserved Tony Award as well. That opened her up to many new opportunities since she was now a big name on Broadway.

"Musicals ‘strangling’ the West End: Sir David Hare, the playwright, has likened the shows to an invasive plant."

archived London Times article at link

from the article at link:

“David Hare is responsible for one of the greatest musical disasters in history,” Lloyd Webber said, referring to Hare’s 1987 musical The Knife. “[He] is probably saying this because he mainly wants to bury his own contribution to musical theatre.”

Oh, gurrrrrl. SNAP!

"The Knife" not only was terrible, but having to look at Mandy Patinkin in drag while singing was even worse. Interesting, but his "Evita" co-star Bob Gunton looked and acted great as a woman in the Georgia Brown musical flop "Roza".

In some productions of Vanities, notably in Detroit, the cast would sit at their vanities when the house opened, topless, in just their pantyhose, etc. or at least in various stages of undress. This became a thing.

so we've pretty conclusively determined that r314 was off

[quote] Dorothy Loudon hardly had any hit shows but we still love her. Carolee is in that same category of performer.

Loudon ais not comparable to Carmello. My guess is we barely remember historic performers who would be. What that says about Carmello's legacy is what it is. Sorry, CC!

Who has the better legacy? Carolee Carmello or Donna Murphy?

Anyone with a Tony has a better legacy than someone without one

[quote] Anyone with a Tony has a better legacy than someone without one

Julie Andrews doesn’t have a Tony.

[bold] BOOM! [/bold] You got me, insufferable pedant.

Many have been egregiously overlooked. But not Debbie Gravitte.

Did Carolee dump Greg or was it the other way around.

Wouldn't mind hearing more (or anything) about Gregg. Always found him handsome.

Carolee was fucking some biker.

Gregg is incredibly dull.

NEW YORK NEW YORK is sounding like a messy, overcomplicated book and a really mediocre score from online murmurings.

I wonder if they explored using some better songs from the Kander & Ebb catalogue. Might have helped.

Carolee has always been a standout performer. She should be a Bway star by now.

Susan Stroman SUCKS as a director. Everything she touches just SUCKS. She removes the life out of each show.

Why does she still get hired???

Stro and friends chatter about NYNY.

The MET museum "sequences" morphing into the Opera sequence is one of the strangest plots developments I have ever seen on a stage.

[quote] Susan Stroman SUCKS as a director. Everything she touches just SUCKS. She removes the life out of each show. Why does she still get hired???

She’s a known entity. Nobody putting out Broadway investments is going to hire an unknown, especially when the script and diversity casting are unknown factors.

Carolee is a sturdy, reliable performer but doesn't have "it." You need "it." And a look.

So will the critics drink the Sondheim kool-aid and praise this average SWEENEY, or will they be honest? I'm voting the former. The body isn't cold yet.

R360. Same with Julia Murney, Judy McClane, Karen Mason and Stephanie Block. Competent but no star quality.

[quote] Carolee has always been a standout performer. She should be a Bway star by now.

Does she make the wrong choices, or hasn't she been offered them? Has she always been on the list after Donna Murphy or others, but they end up taking the part? What roles could she have done in the past 25 years that would have made he difference for her career?

Did somebody call?Imelda

Wow, this is a truly terrible review of Bad Cinderella in the Times:

[quote]First: Bring earplugs.

Not just because the songs in “Bad Cinderella,” the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical that opened on Thursday at the Imperial Theater, are so crushingly loud. The dialogue, too, would benefit from inaudibility.

For that matter, bring eye plugs: The sets and costumes are as loud as the songs. If there were such a thing as soul plugs, I’d recommend them as well.

^i messed up the formatting. All of that is from the review.

I can't wait to hear what Jesse makes of Shucked. She wouldn't know silly if it bit her on the ass.

[Quote] She’s a known entity. Nobody putting out Broadway investments is going to hire an unknown, especially when the script and diversity casting are unknown factors.

Don’t investors know that nearly everything Stro touches becomes a flop. The Producers was her one big exception and that was because of Nathan Lane

Has Carolee done any Encores? She’d be great there

This thread could use some happy feet...

stro is already announced for Smash

[Quote] stro is already announced for Smash

Well, that’s a definite flop now

So will Smash be a stage version of the TV series about the creation of Bombshell or Bombshell, the Marilyn musical.

SMASH is anything but a smash.

[quote]Carolee is a sturdy, reliable performer but doesn't have "it." You need "it." And a look.

And a sound.

The criticism about there being too many unnecessary and boring characters and plotlines in NYNY is something that would have been so clear and easy to see in the libretto and all those workshops. Besides showing what a bad director Stro is for not knowing how to edit all that out before rehearsals and budgeting even began, it also shows how spineless and clueless the producers are.

I think it’s pretty obvious the only thing that would save SMASH on Broadway would be for Karen Ziemba to play any number of choice parts!

Ashley Park IS Norma Jean!

But keep your blouse on, KaZ!

Sad news.

Poor Andrew. I can’t imagine the pain of burying a child.

This sure hasn't been his year.

Article

r373, like the TV show, the musical will be about the making of the Marilyn musical, not just the Marilyn musical itself.

[quote]The stage adaptation will also see its characters trying to create Bombshell, but the production says it will “also depart liberally from the series.”

What about the song from smash that is now in some like it hot?

[quote] It's unclear if "Let's Be Bad," written for Smash but now interpolated into the Broadway score of Shaiman and Wittman's Some Like It Hot, will be included—though the duo left room for that possibility speaking to us about it last year.

Smash or Crash?

Gash.

(Gone In A) Flash.

Trash.

Corned Beef Hash.

Man, this thread has ground to a halt. NY, NY is receiving lots of mixed reports so far. The BWW types always tend to fangirl out (you need look back at the first posters at SLIH to see how that consensus rapidly shifted) while the ATC kids are largely critical.

SHUCKED looks like it could upset Kimberly Akimbo at Tony time. Camelot is also on the receiving end of a lot of mixed reviews. Some love the quippy Sorkin updates, while others lament the lack of magic (also: no round table!)

It seems Broadway could use the London Guys & Dolls to remind everyone how to put on a fun, innovative, splashy musical comedy!

Mary Testa will be in Encores Oliver

As long as Deborah Messing is not in SMASH, it might stand a chance.

In the late 90s, around the time of the original PARADE, there was a newspaper article about this new era of 'POMO' MUSICALS. The author was identifying what he perceived as a wave of post-modern Broadway and off-Broadway fare and predicting its success or future. In the article, he dubbed Carolee Carmello as "the queen of POMO Musicals." I remember this because I met Carolee a few months later and asked if she had read the story. She hadn't but was delighted with her queenly title. So I found the story and gave it to her as a gift. She liked the story.

I've used every Googlish trick I know to find the article, but with no success. So please feel free to continue the search - it was a good story.

Radcliffe’s Franklin Shepard, Inc.

Is Radcliffe supposed to be good there, because he's really trying hard with little results.

I think he's great.

He's racing to keep up with the song. Musical theater should look effortless. This does not.

Rufus! Jerry Herman!!

Radcliffe is not helped by the direction.

R392 You don't want to hear her 11 o'clock number, "Abortion Bloat?"

A word to the wise — don't name your musical Smash or Bombshell.

He’s acting so hard he loses his watch at the end

Groff is the first Frank I’ve seen who knows how to play this. Watch how his face darkens while he doesn’t do anything

Groff is *not* aging well.

r401 - Or *Bad* anything.

Thanks for posting that, r394. Radcliffe seems fine but you just saved me a lot of money because I’ve seen all I was curious to see.

Rhapsody in Turquoise

Radcliffe's acting fine, voice reasonable, much better than Lin-Manuel, for sure. Groff's reacting very good indeed.

David Hernandez is in the latest NYC incarnation of "Naked Boys Singing". He was tossed from "American Idol" eons ago for having been, horrors, a stripper, and now has an Equity contract doing exactly that, while singing.

Many of us wondered how much LMM contributed to the NYNY score. Interesting post from BWW:

[quote]There are a few songs that are clearly LMM/LMM+Kander - Cheering for me Now, Pure Gold, Music Money Love, etc (sorry don't know the actual song titles, just remembering from the show). I got really lucky and bought a ticket on Wednesday that was a released House Seat it turned out, which put me two spots from John Kander and his team (who signed my playbil, probably the most exciting Broadway moment I've ever had as someone who doesn't ask anyone for signatures!)... and it seemed from their discussion and the quesitons I asked them it was an overall collaboration between Kander and LMM inspired by Ebb and many pieces from the K&E catalogue, to which LMM would never ever take credit beyond "additional lyrics by" out of respect for Fred Ebb. It definitely drew on things people already knew, I think someone listed a few of those songs earlier, alongside on-stage references to things like In the Heights w/ the shaved ice man in scene 2. I think the score was fantastic and showcased 3 Broadway legends well, the exception being the slow Colton Ryan song on an execution basis (voice just didn't seem to fit the song.

Groff upstages Radcliffe in that clip by doing nothing and I say this as a Radcliffe fan. Might have to see this for Groff.

Just saw a headline that Radcliffe is expecting his first child. Congrats!

Stroman never makes the difficult choices necessary to create a hit. She’s happy to cut book, but once she’s staged a big glitzy number, it ain’t going anywhere. One thing you can always say about a Stroman show, it isn’t too short.

Since the show is in previews, you can expect her to make dozens of 2 second cuts, vainly hoping they’ll add up to 20 minutes.

I actually got to see MWRA because of the cancellation line and everyone was good, but Lindsay Mendez was really something in Mary Flynn role. I admit when she was cast, I rolled my eyes, but she was really as good as her cheerleaders say. I also thought the girl who played Beth was quite good. I was less in love with the girl who played Gussie.

I saw MERRILY downtown and Groff is fantastic, worth seeing the show to see him. Radcliffe disappeared on the stage, for me. Just disappeared.

And Friedman had the biggest cock I ever, ever sucked. And that's saying something, cuz I've sucked a lot of 'em! May he rest in peace, dear sweet man.

Just saw THE THANKSGIVING PLAY--first preview on Bway. I predict this will be one of the more polarizing events of the current season.

The play satirizes "performative wokeness" and white liberal PC culture. It's also about making theatre. The audience was filled with insider types who guffawed at the jokes about acting technique, devised playmaking, L.A. showbiz, etc. They seemed to be eating it up.

I mostly hated it. I found it labored and strenuously unfunny. And infatuated with its own cleverness.

Also re: THANKSGIVING PLAY. Katie Finneran may be a critic's darling and a 2-time TONY winner, but she is shrill and one-note and really over the top here. I cannot bear her speaking voice.

At least they had the good sense to give Scott Foley a brief shirtless scene.

Radcliffe is perfectly good in that clip, but I do agree that Groff somehow steals the scene without saying a single word. I've never been a huge fan of his, but that impressed me.

Stroman doesn’t understand how to build climaxes. Everyone just goes crazy from the beginning.

Saw NYNY tonight. What you're reading is true. It's a big mess, and there's a lot that's average/sloggish/subpar, but occasionally there are moments of genuine fun. The central problem is clear. It's a story written in the 40s, that uses music from the 60s and 70s, and its sensibility and politics are 2023. It's a confusing mess from the downbeat, and the book is the poster child for telling, not showing. The opening number steals from Guys and Dolls, and the closing steals from Thoroughly Modern Millie. The central love story is ridiculously written, and you don't engage in any real way. This is the Stroman of "Young Frankenstein" and "Steel Pier" and "Thou Shalt Not." The sets are too many, and often HUGE, and you can see her trying manage the intense traffic. The big tap dance in Act One never goes over the top. Cast is appealing and will get better over the next few weeks. Even though her material is average, the woman in the Liza part is a star. She's the best thing in the show. DL fav Emily Skinner also manages to create something real in all the nonsense. The penultimate moment of act 2 is one of the dumbest things I've ever seen on stage. And in total whiplash, it's followed by the title song which is kind of sensational. Finally the audience gets to be the wedding/bar Mitzvah party they've been aching to be all night. Overall, it's the mid-level Stroman with Kander & Ebb jukebox, and the book writer downs them all. It actually reminded me of seeing The Rink (from which they take a song or two). Lots of Broadway energy and gloss, but its empty, and adds up to humdrum.

Poor ALW. That's awful news.

On another note, have they said who will perform for the charity gala Phantom show/party?

RE: The slow descent of the chandelier in Phantom, that's because of NY rules. In Vegas, the darn thing plummeted straight downwards so quickly, you'd have peed yourself.

Check it out:

[quote]Smash

[quote]Corned Beef Hash.

Bangers and Mash.

I like Daniel Radcliffe, but Raul Esparza did it a lot better at the Kennedy Center in 2002.

Thanks for the candid report, R419 -- what were your thoughts on Colton Ryan? I, for the life of me, cannot understand his appeal or X factor from any of the footage showcased so far. Even his voice sounds oddly Kermit-y? Maybe a great match for a contemporary pop musical, but a 40s piece?

r394’s clip is like most Sondheim. Look at me I’m so clever. Are you all getting how clever I am at wordplay? Forgot to write a tune.

Pshaw

Are there any brand new musicals which will last for many years? If not, dos this mean that producers will merely stage revivals and jukebox pablum for the foreseeable future?

r411

where did you see that?

Too soon to tell, r427. The current theatre economy is really weird and some new shows are too young. When it opened Wicked sure didn’t look like a blockbuster. And whoever could have predicted Jersey Boys

r411. I believe it's on that internet thing.

r419, what was meant upthread about your reference to Thoroughly Modern Millie at the end of NYNY? I don't mind any spoilers and would welcome them.

TIA!

r425

You seem dim.

R423, video clips don’t always capture how a live performance actually worked in person. That video comes pretty close. It’s almost exactly as I remember it. I have never seen an audience react more explosively than they did with Esparza after that number.

[quote]A word to the wise — don't name your musical Smash or Bombshell.

Or "Bad Cinderella."

Esparza's performance completely comes through in that clip and if you watch it, you can see exactly why Radcliffe is so bad- he's not giving a performance, he's too busy racing to keep up with the orchestra, remember his lines and keep his American accent. Who has time to actually perform when you can't do any of those other three things effortlessly?

Radcliffe has never impressed me onstage. I'm not a big Groff fan (but I will say that I think he's talented and that his talent has grown as his career has progressed) but this show is lucky they got Groff because I don't think Radcliffe alone would have sold tickets.

[quote]Just saw a headline that Radcliffe is expecting his first child. Congrats!

Is he showing yet?

R411 who is the father?

R421 thanks! That was fun!

Me after [italic] Sweeney Todd [/italic] : “Who approved this?“

Irene is DONE to me...

Wow. Radcliffe's Franklin Shepard, Inc. really moved me. I could've cried watching it. You really feel the loss of that relationship.

Groff seemed kind of stymied. He should really be simmering to a boil by the end of it, not just sitting there looking perplexed. It hurts because it's true.

Merrily's first scene should be Radcliffe's Charlie dying of cancer in a hospital room with a few family members rushing around him saying they've made contact with Frank and he's on his way. But Charlie dies and Frank never shows up. Then a family member confides, Frank refused to come and see him. Next scene.

[quote] Groff seemed kind of stymied. He should really be simmering to a boil by the end of it, not just sitting there looking perplexed. It hurts because it's true.

Says you. Many actors choose to make Frank "simmer." Groff's thoughtfulness, apparent confusion and darkening seems righter. Otherwise, they're both trying to boil over at once.

[quote] Merrily's first scene should be Radcliffe's Charlie dying of cancer in a hospital room with a few family members rushing around him saying they've made contact with Frank and he's on his way. But Charlie dies and Frank never shows up. Then a family member confides, Frank refused to come and see him. Next scene.

No.

Re [italic] Sweeney. [/italic] What say you, DL (except r441, whose opinion I don't care about) -- Is Thomas Rail any good, or just got beyond lucky with [italic] Hamilton [/italic] ?

R397

R395

Okay, this made me laugh.

R444/R445 contributing mightily to the thread.

(And I sincerely hope she knows who he is and is just cool and nonjudgmental, not that this is something that would embarrass her.)

R399

How can I unblock R399? I was scrolling through the thread which was going kind of slow and accidentally blocked them?

I looked under Ignored and clicked the “X” on the last poster/thread that was blocked but it didn’t bring them back.

Don't worry, R450. You aren't missing much..

Thank God r441 hasn’t been asked to fix Merrily. His perfect opening is hoary and dreadful.

[quote]Just saw a headline that Radcliffe is expecting his first child. Congrats!

He's pregnant?

Oh, unclench, R452, you're more likely to have an anal orgasm that way.

Nobody said perfect. Just musing aloud, as plenty of people do here, about a pitch black opening (no pun or reference to your hole intended).

Relax.

[quote]His perfect opening

Pics please.

They're out there, R455.

[quote]They're out there

Pics please.

Those in this thread who insist that Radcliffe's performance of "Franklin Shepard, Inc." is really bad are losing their argument through exaggeration.

In my opinion, it's true that Radcliffe's performance isn't as good as that of some of those who have come before him, including Lonny Price and Raul Esparza. I do notice that it seems to be more of an effort for Radcliffe to keep up with the fast-paced lyrics, which may be partly due to a tempo that's perhaps just a bit too fast. Also, it seems to me that he doesn't have as many emotional transitions during the song -- from sarcasm to anger to sadness, etc. -- as the other guys do, and he sometimes seems to disconnect emotionally just a bit in the spaces between one line and another.

But all of that said, I still think he's quite good overall, and if I had never seen or heard the song done better, I probably would be less critical of the flaws in his performance.

[quote] But all of that said, I still think he's quite good overall, and if I had never seen or heard the song done better, I probably would be less critical of the flaws in his performance.

I'd never heard or seen the song done ever before this morning and still recognized it as pure shit, so there goes your argument.

Speaking of Merrily, happy birthday to the sweet and lovely Jonathan Groff, who turns 38 today.

He’s fantastic as Franklin Shepard. Here’s hoping this role is his big Tonys moment.

R459, I stated that I -- as in ME, MYSELF, and I -- would probably be less critical of Radcliffe's performance of the song if I hadn't seen and heard others do it better. I was not referring to your hysterically over-exaggerated reaction.

im sure its been discussed up there or in some other thread--but its a bad sign, when the title songs hook is the same as "In My Own Little Corner"

Huh. I knew Erin Maya Darke when she was a casting director. Good for her!

R462, Webber claims its use is an intentional homage to R&H's Cinderella.

Can Jinx Monsoon just go away already--you would think from the press she was Angela Fckin' Lansbury returned from the dead

They kept it very secret that they were interpolating a bunch of Kander & Ebb songs from other shows of theirs into the "score" of NYNY--might as well just do "And the World Goes Round" the revue. (not to mention "Funny Lady"-insert Joan Cusack joke here. )Maybe during previews they'll work in "Where do the Elephants Go" and "Colored Lights"

You fags don't know a good thing when you hear it. Broadway could use a rip-roaring smash hit musical like MAME and I"M the dame to do it!!

I would much rather see a great revival of 70 Girls 70 than NYNY. And yes, they'd be wise to steal a few songs from it.

[quote]im sure its been discussed up there or in some other thread--but its a bad sign, when the title songs hook is the same as "In My Own Little Corner"

Actually, although the rhythm of the notes in the title phrases of both songs is exactly the same, the pitches are very different. As opposed to dozens of other Andrew Lloyd Webber melodies that are FAR closer to previously composed music by other composers in terms of both the rhythms AND the pitches.

How many original songs does a score have to include to qualify for a Best Score Tony?

Which songs from The Rink are included?

Did any of you elder queens see Michael Crawford in BILLY, the John Barry musical that was a smash in London? I recently came across the score (and some footage of Crawford hamming it up) and it's totally delightful.

I'm surprised it never transferred the pond given the talents involved. Was it too British? It got excellent reviews and ran nearly 1000 performances in the West End. Always funny when those British hits never attempt a NY opening!

Sounds twee af.

Is Paul Mescal a Frank or a Charley?

He's a Sally

Mescal is a Frank.

R465 hopefully soon! so they can announce me as their next stunt cast

Paul Mescal is THE Frank in the movie version. He replaced the first guy who got me-too’d. But I can’t imagine that’s going to keep filming. It’s already lost ground to the new cast,

The role of Franklin Shepard is always cursed to be recast.

Original Broadway cast: Jim Weissenbach fired during previews, Jim Walton takes over

2022 off-Broadway/2023 Broadway cast: According to multiple reports, Andrew Garfield initially signed on to play Franklin but then pulled out. Jonathan Groff was then offered the role.

2040 Linklater film: Blake Jenner beats his wife and gets fired, Paul Mescal replaces

M3GAN to make her Broadway debut as Roxie Hart. April 1-May 15

Regarding the current Sweeney, did nobody realize the irony of laughing about actors "always arriving overdone" amid such an indulgent (and LONG; every damn laugh's getting milked outta this one) staging-performance of "A Little Priest"?

[quote] Paul Mescal is THE Frank in the movie version.

Oh my God! I thought you were joking. I didn’t hear about that replacement. He’s not right for Frank!

I'll be shocked if that movie ever gets finished. Or resumes shooting.

By the time they finish the movie it will be about where their paths ending up instead of the characters'. Very meta.

Richard Linklater is 62 years old, and production has another 28 years to go..

[quote]The role of Franklin Shepard is always cursed to be recast.

Well, far from "always." But your point is interesting even with only those three examples.

[quote]Richard Linklater is 62 years old, and production has another 28 years to go..

Don't exaggerate. The movie is scheduled to film over a roughly 20 year period, which is problematic enough.

I never miss a Linklater musical.

…and somehow the least actually funny “Priest” I’ve ever seen, r481, and I’ve seen a lot (too many).

When AA was on the floor, going in circles during "Priest" I was at a loss for words while the whole theatre seemed to love it.

I sort of want Sweeney to not get good reviews because it’s not very good and because Jeffrey Seller is an very arrogant putz with an annoying laugh

I listened to the SLIH OBC recording. It's certainly peppy.

𝓕𝓞𝓛𝓛𝓘𝓔𝓢

Hateful

[quote] When AA was on the floor, going in circles during "Priest" I was at a loss for words

I'm confused. Can you explain this in more detail because right now I'm picturing her doing Curly from the Three Stooges and going "WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!"

At the price of things these days, a 15% discount is nada.

[quote]When AA was on the floor, going in circles during "Priest" I was at a loss for words while the whole theatre seemed to love it.

I thought the fire-baton routine was reaching.

I feel bad for Patti LuPone. First she did Anything Goes and lost the Tony, only to watch Sutton get rave reviews and win the Tony. Now she did Sweeney and lost the Tony, only to watch Annaleigh get rave reviews and will probably win the Tony.

That’s gotta sting

Jesse Green raves and ends with this:

“I hope the current producers likewise find ways to monetize Kail’s production”

WTF

Did you read the preceding paragraph, r498? You clearly just jumped to the final line of the review.

Deadline:

He looks so...young...and earnest.

This is the first post in the comments section of the Deadline review:

[quote]And here it is. The official frontrunner for the 2023 Tony Award for Best Musical Revival. Josh Groban, your Tony Award for Best Actor awaits.

These SWEENEY reviews make me not want to see it. They confirm all my fears: a Sweeney with no bite and a way over the top Mrs. Lovett. Pass.

r491, and yet "Let's Be Bad" remains painfully slow.

Too bad for you, r503. It's unforgettable.

[quote] and earnest

And that's not important?

[472] Yes, I was lucky enough to see Billy when it was in the West End. My strongest memory of the evening, however, was of the three women in the show: Gay Soper (who came out of Godspell, I think, to do Billy), Diana Quick (who later went on to appear as Julia Flyte in the Brideshead Revisted), and....ta dah....Elaine Paige. Crawford was fine, nothing special. It was so incredibly burdened with the dialect of the region where it was set ("I'm sort of a Shane of the West Riding") that it would have taken extensive rewriting to make it understandable to American audiences.

Also, I'm not sure American audiences would have the frame of reference of the film, Billy Liar, which starred Tom Courtny. There was been a stage adaptation with Albert Finney as Billy, which ran for a season in the West End.

That being said, I remember enjoying it. The music as servicable, but nothing to write home about.

[Quote] I'm picturing her doing Curly from the Three Stooges and going "WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP WHOOP!

That is exactly right, minus the whoops

Elaine...

Sorry, r499, I did read the whole thing, however “clearly“ you think I didn’t. It is still a bizarre statement, especially with what they’re charging, and part of Green’s incessant sucking at the cock of all things Hamilton.

This is gonna be a dogfight: Sweeney v Into The Woods v Camelot v Parade. Let the games begin!

Really, R497? Miss LuPone has THREE Tonys now (only one of them deserved, to my mind). Isn't it time to hang up the lamentations about how wronged she's been by the Tony Awards? Christ almighty.

(MARY!!)

[quote] I feel bad for Patti LuPone. First she did Anything Goes and lost the Tony, only to watch Sutton get rave reviews and win the Tony. Now she did Sweeney and lost the Tony, only to watch Annaleigh get rave reviews and will probably win the Tony.

We tend to reward performances where we can understand what the performer is saying......

[quote]These SWEENEY reviews make me not want to see it. They confirm all my fears: a Sweeney with no bite and a way over the top Mrs. Lovett. Pass.

Yes, we can hear (and smell) you passing.....gas.

R49, Ashford is doing this, stolen from Homer Simpson:

...that should be R494

Yes, that's the Curly Shuffle

for those who have seen NYNY, did they redo the lyrics of I'm One of the Smart Ones? the lyrics about Natives don't pass muster these days, but should have been an easy enough fix

It seems critics enjoyed Sweeney a lot more than posters on here and the theatre boards. Even the kids at BroadwayWorld's messageboard have been quite critical of the production.

Here's a roundup of the reviews...

[quote]I feel bad for Patti LuPone. First she did Anything Goes and lost the Tony, only to watch Sutton get rave reviews and win the Tony. Now she did Sweeney and lost the Tony, only to watch Annaleigh get rave reviews and will probably win the Tony. That’s gotta sting

We couldn't understand a word she was singing..........

R515 OMG does she really do that in the show? It probably looks more absurd when a woman does it with a full skirt. 😂

R520, meet r513

What about the whistle?

It happens once , meekly, during city on fire

Anyone can whistle, R523.

Anyone planning on attending tonight?

From the Daily Beast review of SWEENEY TODD:

[quote]In moments, Ashford’s and other voices disappear into the cavernous backdrop of the Lunt-Fontanne stage, and this, while not her fault reveals the show has an acoustic issue. This critic was fortunate to be near the stage, but still felt, especially at the beginning of the show, a lot of sound was either being lost or not being strongly enough conveyed into the theater.

[quote]Mimi Lien’s two-tiered design aims to bring to murky life the tangle of dark streets and smoking chimneys of 19th century London, and we sort of feel the roiling, corruption-streaked city Todd sings of with such disdain, but—beyond the fiery orange of the pie shop furnace—not enough. The staging feels also feels recessive; ingenious in some ways—especially in act two when we realize the full use of the towering stair/oil derrick looking contraption on the right hand side—but also lumbering, looming, and fussy. The characters can feel lost on stage at moments when they should feel central and pronounced. The scenes can feel too arranged rather than seamlessly flowing.

[quote]Is the sound being swallowed back there, or being lost in the space between stage and audience? Whatever, if a character is talking softly, the audience is struggling to hear them.

This is one of several reviews I've read that mention issues with the sound amplification, so there must be a real problem there. But the comments in the last two sentences above are strange, because in the era of body mics, there should be no reason for the sets to swallow up the sound, and no problem in achieving sufficient volume and full intelligibility.

Could it be her voice disappears because she can’t project?!?

so nice that the same people have hit after hit, success after success, money followed by more money-

They should be punished r529?

Should I give money to flops and failures?

I am very surprised about the ST reviews. It is great, and perfectly polished but it is not the perfect revival that they make it out to be.

I tend to pay more attention to Helen Shaw's reviews, now in the New Yorker, than I do Jesse Green's, or any of the other hacks at The Times. She'll probably have the clearest truthful critique of Sweeney Todd.

I admire Shaw's writing very much, but "truthful"? She's the only champion of truth in a craft that is all about subjectivity?

Patti was deserving of a Tony for AG. Sutton was not.

[quote]I am very surprised about the ST reviews. It is great, and perfectly polished but it is not the perfect revival that they make it out to be.

I don't think I read a single review that claimed this production is "perfect." Almost all of them found some fault with the show, with various critics feeling that Groban was underacting, and/or Ashford was overacting, and/or the choreography was intrusive, and/or the sound design was problematic, etc.

[quote]I admire Shaw's writing very much, but "truthful"? She's the only champion of truth in a craft that is all about subjectivity?

Thank you. That was quite an odd statement by R532.

Perhaps "honest" would be a better word than "truthful".

I'm not the poster who used the word "truthful" but perhaps what was meant was that Shaw doesn't seem to be second-guessing what she's "supposed to feel" from outside pressures and simply speaks her truth.

Yesterday, Nathan Lane stopped the show to harangue a couple in the front row who were daring to eat peanuts. "Don't you think you can go for an hour and forty-five without sustenance? Please! I am BEGGING you to help me get through this fucking play!”.

And then he ended the BCEFA curtain speech with "And now you can eat whatever you want” for good measure.

I remember the sound design for the original Broadway production of Sweeney Todd being problematic, which I think was due to the technology of the time, the set design and the expansiveness of the Uris/Gershwin Theatre. Sound seemed to rattle around under the glass roof of that set and come out somewhere you didn't expect it. In larger scenes, it was occasionally difficult to pinpoint who was singing. Seeing the show when it was new and trying to process it all on first hearing, it was quite overwhelming. But the staging and performances absolutely registered nonetheless. The Lunt, with its terrible mid century redesign and overly long auditorium doesn't allow a lot of natural sound to get through ... it's a dead space. But some great sound designers have conquered difficult theatres - in particular, Kai Harada's designs for On the Town at the Lyric and Follies at the Marquis made those shows sound about as natural as possible in completely inhospitable theatres.

R515, that was an ode to John Travolta in "Grease" but without Cha Cha, it's not as effective.

[quote]Perhaps "honest" would be a better word than "truthful"

No, because it implies that the other critics write dishonest reviews, which is both a ridiculously broad statement and a huge insult.

[quote]I'm not the poster who used the word "truthful" but perhaps what was meant was that Shaw doesn't seem to be second-guessing what she's "supposed to feel" from outside pressures and simply speaks her truth.

Are you really comfortable with the blanket statement that all or most critics other than one, Helen Shaw, are subject to "outside pressures" and do not "speak their truth?"

Which is worse? Audience members for eating in the front row or an actor stopping a performance because he's annoyed?

^ the former…obviously.

[quote] Miss LuPone has THREE Tonys now (only one of them deserved, to my mind).

She absolutely deserved the TONYs for Evita and Gypsy. She was good in Company but the role is small.

She totally deserved it for Anything Goes--she was brilliantly slick and sang the hell out of the score. The OBC is a classic at this point.

R542, Audience members eating in the front row are far worse.

I’d consider Nathan’s stopping the show to chew them out a plus, not a minus.

Nah, an actor stopping the show is far worse, because it affects everyone in the theater watching.

Someone eating in the front row may be annoying to only a few people there.

He wasn't annoyed they were eating peanuts, he was annoyed they were putting the cracked shells on stage.

I really do not understand the praise for ST. It is good, but far from perfect. Critics really do not matter anymore, they are just paid, afraid to lose their jobs if they are being too critical.

[540] Actually Cha Cha appears in NYNY a couple of times.....

[quote]Yesterday, Nathan Lane stopped the show to harangue a couple in the front row who were daring to eat peanuts. "Don't you think you can go for an hour and forty-five without sustenance? Please! I am BEGGING you to help me get through this fucking play!”.

Forever the charmer, that one.

Nathan is just generally pissed off he's in a truly lousy play, and will next have to suffer the indignity of appearing in a theatre called The Shed.

[quote]I really do not understand the praise for ST.

Of course you don't. This is DL.

No one forced Nathan into the show. If by now an actor can't tell how bad a Sharr White play is, then they have no one to blame but themselves.

r551, So Nathan is a certainty for the last Sondheim musical??

I think that what was unanimous about this ST was that the work itself is truly a great work of art. No one disputed that.

Speaking of the upcoming Sondheim show, which, according to Cameron Mackintosh, was only 50 percent of so finished, just WHO has been brought on board to finish the other half?

[r556] certainly not Bernadette Peters, who was attached for the reading but will be in London during the Shed run.

Who knows, r556? That's why I wonder how SS himself would feel about all of this. He was so meticulous about his work that the idea of someone finishing it or even polishing it might give him the heebie-jeebies. And we all know that he often wrote his best work late in the process.

R549 if you just put an R in front of that number you get a link! Like magic!

R559 it didn’t work

Omg!!! It DID work! You just taught this old dog a new trick - Thank you!!! ^

r561 if you did not pee a little with excitement, you are probably not an “old dog” by DL theater thread standards

The r doesn't have to be upper case, r561.

R415 speaks the truth about The Thanksgiving Play. There's a funny show in there, but there are problems in the writing.

First, it's too long. A play like this should be about 85-90 minutes. It will lose a few minutes with the actors getting more secure so they can go faster. Still, cuts could be made. It's the least enjoyable when it's hitting us over the head with its point seriously, and more enjoyable when it's making that same point, but comically. The crowd can see where it's going, and when it gets there (and doesn't surprise you with how it got there) it's laborious.

Second, past the initial idea, it just lurches from thing to thing. There's nothing really creating pressure or a ticking clock to accelerate the action. You can feel the playwright laboring to get us to the next section that will both fill time and check something else off the list of what is being said.

Third, the final point of the play, with the little trick with the set to underline it, turns out to be not that profound in terms of takeaway, and not clever or sweet enough to compensate.

The cast is heroic, and the audience gave them an ovation. They're all great and it's worth seeing just for them. R416, Katie F. is doing what she has to do to keep the play in motion and energized and make it make emotional sense. She's a consistently excellent actor who elevates her material.

But a play with this play's idea could be a smash that went on to be one of those perennials that's done everywhere in all kinds of theatres for years to come. This one isn't there yet, but one must wish them well as everyone is so talented. The TCG-American Theatre type of regional theatres will be all over this one.

It played out here in Los Angeles I want to say 3 years ago and landed with a thud.

This is the only Thanksgiving play I like...

Check out the ticket prices for Merrily when it moves to Broadway in the Fall. No way am I paying $400+ for an orchestra seat ($107 for the last row of the balcony). Hope the class action lawsuit against Ticketmaster impacts this dynamic pricing nightmare that has now invaded Broadway. Outrageous.

Then I shall be sitting in the last row.

Ridiculous prices. They're gonna have a hard time selling that out.

R569. Most of September and October is already sold out....

I meant for 18 weeks. I'm sure they will do well initially, but I just don't think there are enough people to warrant those sorts of prices for that long. It's Merrily, for Christ's sake. It's a terrible show.

If by some chance they do, then they ought to crown Groff the new king of Broadway because it will be because of him and nothing else.

They actually raised the prices during the pre-sale. I bought seats ($40 fee per ticket) at 10.30. The adjacent seats were $60 more by noon. The show and this production are particularly important to me, so I bought them. But this is not sustainable.

[quote]He wasn't annoyed they were eating peanuts, he was annoyed they were putting the cracked shells on stage.

Is that true, or are you joking? Because if they were just eating peanuts during the show and he screamed at them for that, he should be horse whipped -- and he should also have screamed not at those people but at the management, which sells all kinds of munchies at the concession stands.

[quote]If by some chance they do, then they ought to crown Groff the new king of Broadway because it will be because of him and nothing else.

Like everyone else, I love Groff, and I do think he sells tickets. But even if you really hate Daniel Radcliffe as a performer, you make yourself look stupid if you insist that he doesn't sell tons of tickets as well. Not to mention that, of course, the Sondheim name also sells lots and lots of tickets, especially in the wake of his death.

We need a little something with oomph....

[quote] Like everyone else, I love Groff, and I do think he sells tickets. But even if you really hate Daniel Radcliffe as a performer, you make yourself look stupid if you insist that he doesn't sell tons of tickets as well. Not to mention that, of course, the Sondheim name also sells lots and lots of tickets, especially in the wake of his death.

I don't hate Radcliffe as a performer, I'm basing it on fact. Sondheim's name is going to sell exactly as many tickets as it's going to sell no matter who is in the show, and that's not very many. Look at Into the Woods, which burned off audience interest way faster than they expected. Let's also look at Sondheim's track record which is that most of his shows closed at a loss, either original or revival.

Let's also look at Radcliffe's time on Broadway. He's had one show that made money. Everything else he's done closed at a loss. He doesn't sell anywhere near the number of tickets you think he does. Equus was a disappointment, The McDonagh was an out and out flop that they couldn't give tickets away to, and Lifespan of a Fact couldn't even sell out with a subscriber base. How To Succeed was a marginal hit, but if you are going to credit Sondheim for bringing people in, then you have to credit this title for doing just as much. The show is beloved and wound up running nearly 6 months after Radcliffe left it.

Let's look at Groff, who has pretty much been at the forefront of several stage hits in NYC. Were they all because of his name? No. But he's one of the few performers right now who can sell tickets if he's in the show. He's got a gigantic fan base from Spring Awakening and Hamilton and they will follow him nearly anywhere.

So if you want to put those three factors up against each other, evidence points to Groff, not Sondheim and surely not Radcliffe.

“…who has pretty much been at the forefront of several stage hits in NYC”

I’m calling your bullshit…you are wrong as to both SA and Hamilton. He was not the forefront of either.

Really? Because he was the actual lead in Spring Awakening and built up a big fan base from that show. And he got Tony nominations for both. And I fucking said they were not all because of his name (meaning he didn't make them hits).

Why bother to post anything if you're not going to think before you reply? You're in such a rush to vomit out a response when you have nothing to say.

My partner just bought us tickets to Sweeney.

I’m a huge S Todd fan and I’ve seen so many productions—I am, however, over new productions. I sort of wished I could skip this one.

Oh well

If I was in NY I would happily go with your partner

R579, you need to check your jaded privilege. Those tickets are probably more than $500 each if they are orchestra. If you love Sweeney, why not let someone else see it? Life is too short to let yourself get this sour.

The Sweeney Todd tickets were $770 for two orchestra tickets. Yes, it’s ridiculous. And next we’ll have to sell our house to see Merrily We Roll Along

This production wouldn't have happened *without* Radcliffe, r576

Why can't the combo of Groff and Radcliffe be credited? Why either or?

He was not the lead—there was no lead. There were three primary characters and a dozen others. In Hamilton, he’s on stage for, what—five minutes.

I loved that silly Martin Short show FAME BECOMES ME! Thanks for posting the link to that fabulous song with Capathia Jenkins, Brooks Ashmanskas and Mary Birdsong (WEHT?), r575.

Ah yes—Tony nominations are the determinate for carrying a show. Sure, Jan. We both know nominations in the acting categories are based on billing. As to the actual production, you know—the art itself, there were three equally important characters and the three actors, collectively “carried” the show.

Stop being a pedant show queen—TIA

Someone with a good title should start a new thread.

R507 -- thanks so much for your remembrances/impressions of BILLY in the West End. I totally forgot a young Elaine Paige was in that. It makes sense that it's perhaps too intrinsically British for American audiences (including the source material/film upon which it's based).

R586 -- I'm with you too. I remember buying an orchestra seat during a NY preview of FAME BECOMES ME as I was always a huge Marty Short fan. I went in with zero expectations and laughed my ass off. It was sketch comedy pastiche (I mean it was Shaiman and Wittman so no surprise there!) but it was a hysterical, tuneful night out. It was refreshing to see performers across the board who were GENUINELY funny and knew how to play that style. Birdsong, Nicole Parker and Brooks rose every bit to Short's level.

I just paid $313 for an orchestra center seat to SWEENEY. Said I wasn't going to do it but did it anyway. Dumb, yes, but that's the power of theater I guess.

You could do a lot worse with your money. A lot.

[quote]Someone with a good title should start a new thread.

I'm the Duke of Earl. Is that a good enough title?

Paid $282 each for three tickets row M center orchestra for Merrily during the presale ($23 of that being the service charge—-for each ticket not the whole order.). The next day, same exact seats were raised $35 and more per ticket…around Christmas time the same seat is over $100 more.

Criminal, I tells ya!!

[quote]Let's also look at Radcliffe's time on Broadway. He's had one show that made money. Everything else he's done closed at a loss. He doesn't sell anywhere near the number of tickets you think he does. Equus was a disappointment, The McDonagh was an out and out flop that they couldn't give tickets away to, and Lifespan of a Fact couldn't even sell out with a subscriber base.

Radcliffe's role in EQUUS was absolutely NOT the kind of role that his HARRY POTTER fans wanted to see him in. In fact, it was almost the polar opposite. He didn't do that show for them, Same with the McDonagh play. As for LIFESPAN OF A FACT, when I attended I was seated near a very large high school of group, all of whom had come to see the show specifically because Radcliffe was in it -- and I know that because they were talking about it before the show started.

Sorry, but you don't really know what you're talking about, and you seem to have a great deal of trouble interpreting what is "fact" and what isn't.

[quote] My partner just bought us tickets to Sweeney. I’m a huge S Todd fan and I’ve seen so many productions—I am, however, over new productions. I sort of wished I could skip this one.

You're such a "huge fan" of the show that you've seen "so many" productions and presumably enjoyed at least some of them.....but now you've suddenly decided that you're "over" new productions....but you bought tickets for this one anyway?

You seem a bit confused.

[quote]Why can't the combo of Groff and Radcliffe be credited? Why either or?

Because, for some strange reason, some people feel they have to "choose sides" in a case like this. It's one of the worst and most puzzling aspects of human nature, particularly prevalent among those who are lacking in intelligence and emotional maturity.

New thread

BAJOUR!

BUH

BYE

*Rue*