THEATRE GOSSIP #544: The "Boop-Boop-a-Doop" Edition

BOOP BOMBS!

Are you unpopular? Do you boop out of parties?

Shouldn’t Cloris Leachman have made her way into this thread title? Seriously.

Immersive American Psycho musical coming to Brooklyn 2025

No tighty whities, no sale.

PREVIOUS THREAD

[quote]BOOP BOMBS!

SUFFS HUFFS AND PUFFS!

[italic]Surprise, bitches!

I'd forgotten about that, r8.

Jeez, that production had 54 people in it.

Isn’t that unusual?

[quote]Shouldn’t Cloris Leachman have made her way into this thread title? Seriously.

Some posters had pointed out that Cloris was covered quite extensively in the last thread, so when I started this one, I didn't think she should be in the title. I'm sorry/not sorry if that disappoints you.

R11. I agree. We've had sufficient of Clitoris.

BOOP POOPS!

Did that Gardens of Anuncia get some good reviews? It seems so dreary.

I think the reviews were gently mixed. No real pans that I read, but no raves either. Hard to see it thriving, especially with no stars. I thought it was quite dreary.

It’s strange to me that they used to do plays (in three acts!) with such ditheringly inconsequential plots.

Cloris’ 1951 LO AND BEHOLD!

——————

Lo and Behold, a comedy-fantasy, tells the story of Milo Alcott, a Nobel Prize winner who has lived for years on a meager unpalatable diet to favor an ailing heart. This lack of much heart has made the philosophy of his books coldly cynical. After signing a will that leaves a third of his estate to his young doctor, a third to perpetuate his house as a sanctuary for his spirit, and the final third to the Harvard Law School to ensue that the terms of his odd testament will be carried out, he eats a sumptuous meal and dies happily. Instead of the solitude he expected, he is beset by the spirits of an Indian girl, pushed off of a cliff by her lover, a Southern Belle, with a disturbing drawl as well as a phony liberal attitude, and a frustrated composer. Then the pretty cook, a former model who prepared the fatal dishes, returns to the house and is mistaken for his illegitimate daughter. He eventually finds peace by furthering a romance between the doctor and the young girl.

——————

P.S. Its playwright John Patrick died with a plastic bag over his head.

Cloris on Joan Collins to Joan Rivers.

I feel like Elaine Stritch made Parthy a good role and it needn’t go back to before

[Quote] Jeez, that production had 54 people in it. Isn’t that unusual?

Not when you have two sets of books!! 🤪

Stritchy IS Parthy

Is that Garth Drabinsky‘a real hair?

Cloris looks like she made the song work in a way that Stritch didn't. It really felt out of left field when she did it.

[quote] Some posters had pointed out that Cloris was covered quite extensively in the last thread, so when I started this one, I didn't think she should be in the title. I'm sorry/not sorry if that disappoints you.

Perhaps you should leave the starting of new threads to those who can handle it better, dear. It doesn't seem for you.

Phyllis! Phyllis! It sure isn't you...

'94

[quote]o when I started this one, I didn't think she should be in the title.

That was your first mistake, asshole OP>

[quote]Perhaps you should leave the starting of new threads to those who can handle it better, dear. It doesn't seem for you.

Perhaps you should go douche with Drano.

Doris Roberts was a cunt.

Well....thank you for sharing...I guess.

Girls, girls, you're both ...aw, fuck it.

First it was Eileen Brennan, now Cloris. Are we honing in on the cast of LAST PICTURE SHOW one by one? Is Ellen Burstyn next?

[R31]: Better stick with the male cast members, from the youthful Jeff Bridges and Timothy Bottoms to the more seasoned Ben Johnson, who also won an Oscar for his work.

Since neither Jeff Bridges nor Timothy Bottoms nor Ben Johnson are known for their theater work, maybe we should focus on something else. (Although I do see that Bottoms was a replacement in the original Broadway production of FIFTH OF JULY, which I had forgotten.)

Briefing says folks are planning a La La Land musical

I just bought a house, and the two eldergays who had owned it previously left me a Follies poster above the toilet in one of the bathrooms.

Truly, this is a “top that, bitches” post if I do say so myself

Variable pricing is evil

Even though The New York Times said "you have no second act so the show isn't finished" and the rest of the reviews were mixed at best, "Hell's Kitchen" is moving to the Shubert this Spring because its Alicia's money and she wants a show on Broadway. This is one of those cases where no one will tell the star the truth. Ah, Broadway.

R37, but it's not ALL her money, is it?

Broadway rhythm everybody dance!

Ellen McRae '57

Which production of FOLLIES, R35?

Anyone else not getting the Title header on this thread? No header, no little eyeball to make it a watched thread. Sigh... Computers...

Do you have OP blocked, r42?

OP doesn’t understand the fundamental reason for certain thread titles. This one absolutely should have included Cloris BECAUSE she was so extensively discussed in the previous thread. OP is worse than Hitler for not only refusing to do what was expected but also coming up with a lame excuse as to why he/she/them/they didn’t do what was expected. Dumbass.

Oh god, let’s not zero in on Cybill.

.^^ re:

[quote] Since neither Jeff Bridges nor Timothy Bottoms nor Ben Johnson are known for their theater work, maybe we should focus on something else. (Although I do see that Bottoms was a replacement in the original Broadway production of FIFTH OF JULY, which I had forgotten.)

Cloris sings some in this

[quote]R40 Ellen McRae '57

There’s a cast member in that production named Sally Gracie.

I presume her specialty was light comedy.

Sally Gracie was married to Rod Steiger.

Sally Gracie IS [italic]Medea!

Has anyone discussed the new version of Cats? The ad I saw looked interesting.

She also did this 1965 comic parody of The Group recording called The Bunch. The other girls: Linda Lavin, Renee Taylor, Mary Louise Wilson and Diane Kagan.

Here's her Broadway credits:

But, Seriously... (Feb 27, 1969 - Mar 01, 1969)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Helen Arnold]

*

Venus at Large (Apr 12, 1962 - Apr 14, 1962)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Betty Stone]

*

Fair Game (Nov 02, 1957 - May 10, 1958)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Arlene]

*

Major Barbara (Oct 30, 1956 - May 18, 1957)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Rummy Mitchens]

*

Goodbye Again (Apr 24, 1956 - Apr 28, 1956)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Julia Wilson]

*

Dinosaur Wharf (Nov 08, 1951 - Nov 10, 1951)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Woman]

*

At War With the Army (Mar 08, 1949 - Jul 16, 1949)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Helen Palmer]

*

Six O'Clock Theatre (Apr 11, 1948 - Apr 18, 1948)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Ellen Belle]

*

Victory Belles (Oct 26, 1943 - Jan 22, 1944)

Performer: Sally Gracie [Miss Kathlene Stirling]

*

Let Freedom Sing (Oct 05, 1942 - Oct 11, 1942)

Performer: Sally Gracie

This is thread #544. I wonder what was covered in thread #1? And what year that was?

If anyone can link thread #1 I bet we'd have a field day!

Actors are narcissists. There's no real difference in personality between Tom Cruise and Donald Trump.

[quote]Actors are narcissists. There's no real difference in personality between Tom Cruise and Donald Trump.

Is there a difference between Donald Trump and Julie Andrews?

From Thread #1:

[Quote] Has anyone else seen the new show FOLLIES and can explain to me who Lucy and Jessie are? I’m wondering if they were characters cut in previews. HELP!

Everyone knows that Lucy and Jessie were Lucille Ball and Jessie Royce Landis. Their feud was legendary! They both wanted what the other one had.

R58, Actually, they were Lucille Bremer and Jessica Tandy.

It was all about George M. Cohan and which chorus boys were screwing which underground conductors in the newly opened Times Square station in 1901

There was also a lot of griping about that much maligned flop, MISS LIBERTY.

[italic]”The role of Maisie Doll is most certainly NOT underwritten! And Mary McCarty’s the dame who can prove it.”

Mary McCarty!

This terrible thread title has absolutely ruined Thanksgiving for me this year.

Perhaps that was OP’s intent.

Has anyone seen Boop! yet? How is Ricky Schroeder in it? He’s so talented!

So ENEMY is in the round. What a CONCEPT, Sam Gold!

You guys, Eric Ulloa thinks we should all love Biden!

You guys, Eric Ulloa got some Microsoft Word Certificates from Vegas!

R64. I loved Ricky Schroeder in The Champ!

Who the fuck is Eric Ulloa?

Only a few more week left for THE MOUSETRAP to open on Broadway! I'm so excited.

In that photo of Cloris as Nellie Forbush, who the hell cut her hair? Frankie from The Member of the Wedding?

Thanks for the haircut!

Did anyone catch this past Sunday's episode of "The Simpsons"? There was a clear rip-off of "Henry Ford" from "Ragtime" with new lyrics referring to Monty Burns, but no credit was given to Stephen Flaherty for the music.

KelliSutton

The medley at R74 was what it was, but they closed act one with a beautiful duet arrangement of "Fable" from The Light in the Piazza. They also sang a lovely duet arrangement of "Answer Me" from The Band's Visit. I wish they'd released either of those rather than the 90s medley.

Yes, r73. I think The Simpsons still delivers.

I was hoping they would do a medley of each singing the songs the other are known for. That would have been more fun than the 90s.

[quote]Did anyone catch this past Sunday's episode of "The Simpsons"? There was a clear rip-off of "Henry Ford" from "Ragtime" with new lyrics referring to Monty Burns, but no credit was given to Stephen Flaherty for the music.

Are you sure there was no credit for Flaherty during the final credits? Because I just watched the clip and that was clearly the exact melody of "Henry Ford" and pretty much the exact arrangement from the show. Has THE SIMPSONS not given credit for parody songs in the past?

[quote]I was hoping they would do a medley of each singing the songs the other are known for. That would have been more fun than the 90s.

The problem is that only one of them would have been able to sing the other's songs, if you know what I mean....

You don't have to give credit for a parody because you don't have to license the song.

To those bitching at me for my thread title: Someone in the previous thread had suggested that Cloris be mentioned in the title of this thread, but someone else replied that would not be a good idea, as she had been discussed so extensively in the previous thread. That made sense to me, so I chose something else. Meanwhile, the thread had gotten VERY close to 600 posts, and someone who was not able to start new threads begged someone else to do it, so I did. Sorry if you don't like my title, but honestly, even if you think it's horrendous, I don't see why that really matters. It's just a title, and the content of the posts in the thread is far more important.

[quote]You don't have to give credit for a parody because you don't have to license the song.

I don't believe that's correct. I believe you have to pay to license the song as if you were performing it straight, but then you are free to write parody lyrics.

No, R82, parody is considered fair use, and fair use means you don't have to license.

Now, did the Simpsons license anyway to keep good relationships? That I don't know. And I could see them doing that. However, you can use material as a parody without licensing it.

I think you're wrong, R83. There are a lot of gray areas in parody laws, but I don't think you can use pre-existing music exactly as written without paying a fee to use it. I will see if I can get a definitive answer on this from someone who knows.

What makes you think I don't know? Because I disagree with you? I actually happen to be a documentary filmmaker and am very well versed in fair use practices and have used them myself.

But do what you like.

[quote]There are a lot of gray areas in parody laws, but I don't think you can use pre-existing music exactly as written without paying a fee to use it.

I remember that "The Carol Burnett Show" would sometimes perform songs that were clearly meant to echo older well-known songs, but not only would the lyrics be different, the melody would also be altered enough to avoid licensing issues, while remaining reminiscent of the original.

r84 is OP, r85. He's the one who insists on being contrarian and a know-it-all.

An OP should never explain and never defend, R81.

Which Broadway musicals will make the best showing at the Macy's parade tomorrow? Will any see their box office soar?

I miss Cloris.

Thank God she isn’t here to see how she was snubbed by this thread title.

How did ABC ever insure Cloris when she did “Dancing with the Stars” at 82?

Cloris never got this much attention when she was alive.

Cloris won an Oscar, a Golden Globe and 8 Emmys (with 22 nominations). That’s certainly a lot of attention during her lifetime.

Brilliance at 13:00.

Theater royalty and " Cabaret" star, Dame Judi reveals a little TMI.

Does anyone here actually work in general management and knows what a Thanksgiving Parade performance costs? Is it 100% the shows' cost like the Tonys?

What was that horrid performance I just saw on the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade? A lot of teens and 20.’Somethings singing and dancing, including a few non-binary performers. It really looked ghastly.

Most likely & Juliet.

The lead in &Juliet has a great voice, actually—the rest was dreck.

The Ohio show—well ‘bough said.

Josh and Andrew: your flop sweat was showing….dripping all over your notecards.

*’nough said about that.

Where are the stars of today? Everyone is awful!

A friend saw Boop in Chicago last night. Here is his report:

I was expecting a train wreck and it isn’t. The production. Is good. A few beautifully staged numbers. The lead and Faith Prince are good. The cast is huge. I had to look up Ricky Schroeder in the Playbill. He’s in the ensemble. No special role. What is not good is the script. A story that is hard to follow. And between the big production numbers the audience gets bored.

I think BOOP may be one of those shows that comes along that no one expected anything from and become a big hit. Feels like its escapism is perfect for the moment.

Good!

Until the DL decides to attack (again) the non traditional casting…

BOOP is gonna go down about as well as Some Like it Hot did.

R105 Hi Marc Shaiman! Everyone hates you and Scott Whitman. Welcome to DL!

[quote]BOOP is gonna go down about as well as Some Like it Hot did.

Don't be so sure.

Sorry if I’m late to the party, but is this a musical about Betty Boop? I wonder what the plot is.

[quote]I wonder what the plot is.

It sounds like they're still working that out.

No reports on the Macy's Parade numbers??

I slept through it.

[quote]No reports on the Macy's Parade numbers?? I slept through it.

And you were much better off. The parade has certainly deteriorated into an advertisement for every movie, tv show, and Broadway crap that it can possibly fit into the time allotted. Bad lip syncing and forgettable choreography turned the show entirely into a promotion ( more than usual), bordering on offensive.

Today on That Girl:

Don, Sandy, Harry And Snoopie

[quote]Actress Cloris Leachman as Don's soon-to-be-wed sister. Ann: Marlo Thomas. Don: Ted Bessell. Harry: Mark Roberts.

Out of all the Broadway performances I saw on TV this morning, I would only pay money to see & Juliet. The rest looked awful, including Spamalot.

It's sad to read Porter bitching about playing the Teen Angel in the last thread. To this day, I always considered his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" to be the best individual performance I've ever seen on Broadway. I liked that it was over the top. I loved the high singing. I loved the glitter and the flirtatiousness. He should keep his mouth shut about it, IMHO. Let US decide if what you did was good. Why ruin it for us who liked it? "Let others make that decision. They usually do." How depressing.

Regarding Jason Alexander being the only MWRA "star" who went on to win a Tony. Not true. Tonya Pinkins also went on to win a Tony.

100% agree with poster in last thread that Jasmine Amy Rogers (Betty Boop in BOOP!) is going to be a star.

SLIH Macy's

SLIH was from last yr, but &Julet was from today. SLIH comes off much more professional.

*

R115-But who gives a shit?

[quote] It's sad to read Porter bitching about playing the Teen Angel in the last thread. To this day, I always considered his performance of "Beauty School Dropout" to be the best individual performance I've ever seen on Broadway.

So it was just the one show you ever saw on Broadway then?

Since she could sing, why did Cloris never do “The Dorothy Squires Story” on Broadway?

Or at least as a TV movie.

R122 what's that woman's problem? I've never understood why people are in to her.

I'm going to be a party pooper and ask if a Macy's parade performance has ever really helped or hurt a Broadway show. Has there ever been an instance where somebody said "Doing the Macy's parade helped grow our audience."?

If Rogers had played Sugar in SLIH, it may have been a hit.

[quote]R123 what's that woman's problem? I've never understood why people are into her.

I’d never heard of her till someone posted that video here. She may be the campiest, most overwrought thing I’ve ever seen.

I think she’s primarily an English phenomenon … ?

I don't care, r124. It preserves some numbers we wouldn't have otherwise, like Sandy's Ugg-a-Wug and...

Understandable, R127. I know it was repeated on the Tonys, but I also love the parade version of "We'll Take a Glass Together."

I'm glad we have it, r128. By the time the Tonys rolled around, it wasn't David Carroll.

That's right! I just smacked my head in realization. See, Macy's performances are important for archive purposes, if nothing else. I should do a deep dive, though, and learn if at least once upon a time, there were post-parade bumps a la post-Ed Sullivan Show and post-new commercial bumps.

Who the fuck is Dorothy Squires?

A chantoozy, r131.

More like a chanscreechy.

Idina & Kristin

[quote]I'm going to be a party pooper and ask if a Macy's parade performance has ever really helped or hurt a Broadway show. Has there ever been an instance where somebody said "Doing the Macy's parade helped grow our audience."?

I have no figures on this, but I would guess not, as my personal opinion is that numbers from Broadway shows very rarely if ever come across well at the parade due to the conditions -- the need for lip-syncing, etc.

Broadway Macy's performances are good as sources of entertainment as you can amuse yourself laughing at the bad lip-syncing. This year was particularly egregious.

The bored crowd in the background. Forbidden Broadway had the right idea of demanding a black drape background

R131, She was Mrs. Roger Moore for 15 years.

An Elaine Stritch version of “My Way” would really be something.

[Quote] I think BOOP may be one of those shows that comes along that no one expected anything from and become a big hit. Feels like its escapism is perfect for the moment.

Shill

Oh ye of little faith, Debbie D. @ r140.

What happened to Josh and Andrew? They had a few bits then seemed to drop out.

They were there merely to publicize their show; nothing else. So, they were like everyone else, other than the balloon holders and bands - human commercials.

R97 = Gloria Upson.

Live footage of Andrew Rannells at the parade

No it isn't.

The Grand Hotel clip never ceases to make me happy.

The Jeter one? Same.

^No, the Garbo one, Rose.

Change your bloody tampon, R149. The stench is overwhelming us.

Change to decaf, r150. The caffeine is making you mean.

I'll drink to that!

Gorgeous Boyd. *sigh*

GH clip makes me sad about the really lame state of choreography and musical staging on Broadway

Gershwin, Rodgers, Bernstein, Sondheim, [italic] Tesori [/italic] ? Balls.

I live in a flyover state and at last night's dinner all the relatives were asking me about all the shows on the parade. The ratings are huge, so it sets up your tour nicely. Of course, they were most curious trying to figure out wtf SHUCKED was about. Well, that and the high school dance thing that looked like a real middle school dance.

[quote]Gorgeous Boyd. *sigh*

Cue the troll hinting at his mysterious illness.

I'm more concerned about the mysterious illness befalling the person who called him gorgeous. He's plain bordering on homely.

Anyone going to Appropriate's first preview on Wednesday?

Let me save all three of you the trouble. It stinks!

How do you know already

r161=Jay Sherman

[quote]How do you know already

On DL, anything not written by the sainted Sondheim stinks.

[quote] How do you know already

Because I've seen it. It's not a new play. It was at Signature 9 years ago. It's a terrible play.

How to Dance in Ohio: an earnest, feel good family fare with seven autistic actors as leads. Watch out for Liam Pearce, talk, handsome with a good voice.

The Off-Broadway production of APPROPRIATE at Signature featured a nude scene by hottie Mike Faist, and his naked butt in that was like a work of art ;-)

r164 is Mary Testa

Mike Faist and Lucas Hedges in " Brokeback Mountain."

What is crazy to me is Mary Testa said even before their fight, she didn’t worship Sondheim and yet she loved William Finn and Michael John, whose music was informed by Sondheim.

I think it was sour grapes

[quote] Mary Testa

Cunt.

Finn and Michael John gave her work. SS didn't.

[quote]What is crazy to me is Mary Testa said even before their fight, she didn’t worship Sondheim and yet she loved William Finn and Michael John, whose music was informed by Sondheim.

I'm a fan of LaChiusa, especially his later stuff, but compared to Sondheim, Finn is a relative no-talent. Even most of his better songs have something really wrong with them, either musically or lyrically.

Not unlike many on DL, Mary Testa trumpets her disdain for Sondheim to show how cool she is -- not led astray by the raving mob, or something like that. (Such people always remind me of music-major undergrads who sniff, "I don't really like Mozart.")

Rosie O’Donnell makes no secret that she dislikes Sondheim.

A friend stagedoored Raul Esparza at Company and asked him if Rosie had been to see the show yet.

His response was, “No, Rosie hates Sondheim”.

See, now that one might be sour grapes. Didn't Rosie audition for Merrily We Roll Along?

I like some Sondheim, namely INTO THE WOODS and SWEENEY TODD.

Seen the revivals and other regional/community productions, even high school.

COMPANY and SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE were just okay, IMO.

I hated PASSION with a passion.

I don't think I've seen anything else.

I love A Little Night Music and I hope we get a lush production at Lincoln Center sometime soon. This time Bernadette can play Madam Armfeldt.

Rosie changed her tune on Sondheim and when he died posted about how he was the brilliant voice of the theatre. She then saw Merrily and the Pasenda Sunday in the Park

R179 She already has.

Was the Pasenda any good?

Her later pasadena was so much better, r182.

Mary often says she considered herself a rock singer, but ended up in the theater because that's where she found work.

Mary is a complete and total bitch and a cunt.

[quote] Mary often says she considered herself a rock singer, but ended up in the theater because that's where she found work.

Mary probably considers herself not shrill, too

Jerry Mitchell posted a clip of Boop on his IG page and man, does it look like sub-Kathleen Marshall choreography. Rote tap number that could have been performed by the people in Liza Minnelli's class from the film Steppin' Out.

Sweet baby Jesus...

[quote]Mary often says she considered herself a rock singer, but ended up in the theater because that's where she found work.

MARY!

The photo of Mike Faist in his briefs is a turn-on. Nice bulge.

Jesus Mike faist looks like dirty bathwater.

How does such a thing get on film, r188?

That was truly awful.

R192, Carroll Baker has a melodic speaking voice, but she cannot carry a tune.

R188. Thank you for posting. I knew Baker did a stock tour of Blondes but I had no idea footage of her singing actually existed. Anyway, she's a wonderful actress and still with us!

R194, You call that singing?

Not enough vibrato!

[quote]How does such a thing get on film, R188? That was truly awful.

As I recall, Carroll Baker was doing a summer stock tour of "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" at the time, and that was enough to get her booked on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Here's the dull tap clip I forgot to post from Boop. Sorry.

I'll wait to judge until I see the entire number, r198.

[quote]r188 she makes Natalie Wood sound like Barbara Cook

I think she generally sounds okay. I mean, for an Actors Studio method actress. But she doesn’t have the right effervescence for musical comedy.

She did start out as a chorus girl in a nightclub act.

[quote] I'll wait to judge until I see the entire number, [R198].

Honey, if THAT's what they're using as PR, then you've seen the entire number.

[quote]I mean, for an Actors Studio method actress

Yeah, that really helps with the singin', dancin' Lorelei Lee.

They aren't going to shoot their wad for a promo, r201.

Of course they aren't, R203.

Serino Coyne: I know, let's just show something dull and uninspiring. Why give it away? The tickets are only $600. Let the customers wonder how much better the real show might be as they buy their tickets!

[quote]I'll wait to judge until I see the entire number

This is DL!!! We never wait to judge. We don't even wait to actually see the shows we're judging!

And you could be right, r204. I'm still not going to judge the entire show from such a *brief* clip.

Good for you, R206. On your way to the theater, be sure to buy a box of candy from one of those adorable moppets on the subway They're for a good cause, you know.

Maybe this is just me but I think HAMILTON really changed what audiences want/expect to see in Broadway musicals now, especially younger (under 40) audiences and BOOP and SLIH just seem like relics of the past, no matter how well they're put together. And I haven't seen BOOP yet, I'm just going off the production photos and little videos I've seen so far.

These musicals want to be loved too desperately, if that makes sense. And the "wokeness" for want of a better word in these creations only exacerbate the issues, they don't really make the shows seem more with it. As much as people say they want feel-good musicals in these uncertain times, they really don't.

.....

Thanks, r197, for interpreting my poorly phrased question. I'd no idea Carol Baker did summer stock, in fact, I admit that I know very little about her.

Lots of good performers are only fair singers. Rivera/Verdon/Reinkien (I know I'm spelling that wrong) come to mind. Dancers who can sell a song. Then there are actors who essentially act them, even though they may need to talk speak. It's imperfect, but they make it work.

The clip you provided, while much appreciated, was painful.

It's hard to imagine why any one who sings/moves as poorly as Carol Baker in that clip got hired at all for musical roles. She didn't even seem sensual or even sexy. I don't see any up to her sides.

Maybe I just don't know enough about her. I see a rabbit hole in my immediate future.

In spite of her Actors Studio background, Carroll Baker was never much of an actress or even much of an interesting presence onscreen. She wasn't even particularly sexy. Just a pretty blonde.

[quote]And the "wokeness" for want of a better word

What about BOOP seems "woke" to you, r208?

I have a strong memory of the Carpetbaggers / Harlow mid 60's build up.

Her timing stunk....Easy Rider was around the corner and the blonde blondeshell was kaput.

she has discussed her strange career in interviews on Youtube.

If a major actor did a Kazan film, is that usually the peak of their career?........I never really thought about it.

r212, turning Betty Boop, a flagrantly sexy and sexual cartoon character, into a social justice warrior.

[quote]For almost a century, Betty Boop has won hearts and inspired fans around the world with her trademark looks, voice, and style. Now, in BOOP!, Betty’s dream of an ordinary day off from the super-celebrity in her black-and-white world leads to an extraordinary adventure of color, music, and love in New York City—one that reminds her and the world, “You are capable of amazing things.” Boop-oop-a-doop!

Doesn't sound "woke" to me, r214. By the way, she was sexy *not* sexual.

R213, Joseph E. Levine was determined to make her the next Marilyn Monroe.

R211, Have you ever seen “Baby Doll”?

I miss Summer Stock. It was a great tradition.

Bad as she was, Carroll's singing was still better than Carol's.

The problem with Tracie Bennett as Judy Garland is that she sings it really well. At that point (toward the end) that the play covers, Judy wasn’t singing well at all. Renée Zellweger actually did it better as far as how Garland was singing then. And Renée did a much better approximation of Judy’s speaking voice, too.

Hardly, r219. You may not like Channing's sound, but she was musically adept. She had a character voice which limited her, but she was fortunate to snag two roles where it worked in her favor.

r215, a simple wiki search on Betty Boop's sexual proclivities will tell you she originally ".....was unique among female cartoon characters because she represented a sexual woman.....in a fully defined woman's form."

She was a caricature of a Jazz Age flapper, in a very tight extremely short strapless bright red dress with a single prominent stocking garter as her only accessory, often placed in sexual situations, mild as they might seem now or even back then. Though it all had to be toned down somewhat because of the Hays Code in the early 1930s.

As for being a SJW in the new musical, as I understand it, part of the plot has her fighting against corruption in city politics.

As I said initially, I haven't seen the show and I hope it's wonderful. I just fear it is out of step with what today's audiences are eager and willing to pay big bucks. I may very well be proved wrong.

[quote]was unique among female cartoon characters because she represented a sexual woman

Again, she was sexy not sexual.

R220 Piss eye lady sung it exactly as Judy sung the songs at Carnegie Hall, which is not how she sounded at this time.,

Carol Channing was a vastly overrated performer.

Nonsense. Guess you never saw her live.

R226, Unfortunately, I did. She had limited talent, could not carry a tune and her cuteness shtick was obnoxious.

Yeah, r227, but a Broadway legend she ended up being.

[quote]Lots of good performers are only fair singers. Rivera/Verdon/Reinkien (I know I'm spelling that wrong) come to mind. Dancers who can sell a song.

You should not lump those three people together in terms of vocal/singing ability. Verdon and Reinking could sing well enough when they were very young, but their voices deteriorated very badly in middle age, for whatever reasons, whereas Chita was an excellent singer with a really good voice until old age set in.

And Donna McKechnie sang the role of Sally brilliantly in the Paper Mill FOLLIES.

Reinking was the worst singer imaginable. Only she could have killed her entire career with one performance.

I saw Channing in late-days Hello, Dolly! and she was sensational.

There are reasons why these women have careers only in the theater. That's okay because it's essentially a theatrical tradition.

[quote]Chita was an excellent singer with a really good voice until old age set in.

Yeah....we are just going to have to agree to disagree on that one, r229. Even she made fun of her voice going back to West Side Story days. There's an entire scene about it in CR: A Dancer's Life.

Love me some Chip Zien but it looks here like replacing Jeter wasn’t his best fit. What had been effortless became nothing but effort.

She was offered “The Three Faces of Eve” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” while under contract to Warner Bros., but they wouldn’t loan her out.

Sometimes the window for great roles is small.

^^ re: Carroll Baker. Not Betty Boop.

Correct, R235. I saw Jeter right after he won the Tony and he was magnificent. A year later, I was working at the theater and got to go in and watch the show several times. I still loved it but Chip Zien was a poor excuse for Jeter. And I like Chip Zien.

Though the show did not suffer much in spectacle after the original leads left, none of the replacements were able to capture the magic of the original cast. Especially egregious was Zina Bethune who replaced Liliane. Bethune was horrific. Rex Smith did a nice job with the Count (he was no David Carroll but he much improved on Brent Barrett). Lynnette Perry was a decent enough replacement for Krakowski. I never got to see Cyd Charisse because I got a better gig in another show.

And David Carroll should have gotten that Tony instead of James Naughton.

Poor David Carroll. To be on the crusp of Broadway stardom only to die so young.

“on the crusp”

Oh, dear.

And then, Lynette Perry married Kevin McCollum, and is heir to Rent and in the Heights and Avenue Q and Six

R232 I did, too--on the tour in 94 in Chicago. The singing range was even more limited, but she still was superb in the role. Much warmer and funnier than Midler, whose performance I nonetheless enjoyed. But Channing, even at that age, landed all the comedy and then made you mist up with her Ephraim monologue. And more energy than I had in my thirties, let alone now.

I liked John Schneider as the Baron. I wasn't expecting much from the Dukes guy but he was very good.

I think Rivera had a powerful and characterful voice. It certainly was in a different class from Verdon's and Reinking's. There were limitations to Chita's vocal abilities--she may be at her strongest in "Bye Bye Birdie," but she's quite fine in "West Side Story" in a role not meant to be operatic, except perhaps in some parts of the Quintet and some phrases in "A Boy Like That." Her work in the OBC of "The Rink" is great--and the role is not meant to sound like Beverly Sills. By the time of "Spider Woman" and "The Visit," it appeared Kander and Ebb were writing for an instrument all knew was diminishing, but I'd still rather listen to her than Sutton Foster, Kelli O'Hara, and the others, whose musicianship outstrips Rivera's, but who just don't bring much "fire and music" to the table, IMO. Rivera seemed to me much like Mary Martin, in that Martin's vocal range became increasingly limited as time went on (was she a smoker?), but she found ways of using what she had--even though her Maria VT is menopausal, the singing may show her voice at its strongest and most secure--even better than some of the notes (which can be shaky) in "South Pacific." And I still prefer her vocally uneven Nellie to O'Hara's. Nothing against O'Hara--she is a fine performer in her own lane, as is Foster (I loved her in "Chaperone," though not so much in other things). The one whose voice and acting seemed to me unsurpassable was Mairin Mazzie, alas. Rivera was, along with Verdon, the most exciting dancer, but she could outsing Verdon even early in their respective careers (and Martin was actually a quite decent dancer--remember she began by teaching dance at her studio before she abandoned Larry Hagman to his grandparents and ran off to Broadway, Hollywood (briefly), Dick Halliday, R&H--and Janet. Will we ever get a less timid biography of Martin? Maybe there really isn't that much to tell, beyond what has been told. She may be that not-unusual creature--wonderful onstage (and the scene from "Our Town" we have from the TV special shows great depth of feeling) and not much going on intellectually or psychologically off-stage.

R211 I actually think Baker was remarkably strong and moving in a brief performance as Jack Nicholson's estranged wife in "Ironweed," one of the most depressing films ever made, but one I somehow love. She is also a great contrast to Streep's character--touching and occasionally funny as Streep's Helen is, the fact that Nicholson is reduced to her, when the Baker character clearly still feels compassion for him, is tragic.

My favorite Carroll Baker performance is in Something Wild which is probably one of the strangest movies ever made.

R246, “Star 80” as Dorothy Stratten’s mother.

So founder of Broadway Briefing is out. He sold to John Gore a couple of years ago, and today they're announcing his departure. Anyone here know what happened? Golden parachute? Conflict? Happily taking the money and running? Good for him.

[quote]Yeah....we are just going to have to agree to disagree on that one, [R229]. Even she made fun of her voice going back to West Side Story days. There's an entire scene about it in CR: A Dancer's Life.

We can agree to disagree, if you REALLY want to stick to your opinion. Chita's singing is excellent on all of her cast albums, especially the earlier ones. Of course, she never had a "legit" sound, but it was a strong, supple, Broadway voice, and she could sing ballads and up-tunes equally well.

P.S. I don't recall Chita ever "making fun of" her voice. She has said repeatedly that, at least at the beginning of her career, she never thought of herself as a singer but only as a dancer. But that's not the same thing.

Please listen to again to the whole song at the link and explain for us if you can what's wanting about Chita's performance of it.

I'll take Chita's voice over Carol Lawrence's any old day of the week.

Everyone keeps saying that Merrily will have one final extension. Do we know when tickets will be released because I have a trip to NYC the second week of April planned. I saw it at NYTW but I like the idea of seeing it on Broadway as well.

So far my shows are Patti LuPone at Carnegie Hall, Cabaret and Sweeney Todd with Sutton and Aaron.

[quote] We can agree to disagree, if you REALLY want to stick to your opinion.

It's you again. Your template is your tell. First, a comment about the person you're picking a repetitive fight with, then you making YOUR point with caps. You're boring and toxic. Bye.

Not planning to see anything more contemporary, R251? That's okay, neither does anyone else.

[quote]We can agree to disagree, if you REALLY want to stick to your opinion.

What an odd and combative way to frame a friendly discussion, r249, with you assuming that I am unwilling to change my opinion.

In this case, we really aren't far apart on Ms Rivera and her many talents. Chita can surely sell a song. I simply don't agree with the characterization of her as an "excellent singer". Call it semantics, if you like.

My feelings about Chita align quite closely with r244's. "A powerful and characterful voice [with] limitations". I don't think she is a bad singer, just not an "excellent" one.

[quote]P.S. I don't recall Chita ever "making fun of" her voice. She has said repeatedly that, at least at the beginning of her career, she never thought of herself as a singer but only as a dancer. But that's not the same thing.

Of course it's not the same thing, just as "Chita is an excellent singer" is not the same thing as "Chita is excellent on all of her cast albums". I agree with the latter, but not the former. YMMV.

Whether you remember it or not, Chita was quite often self-deprecating regarding her voice, always in a humorous fashion. I have worked with her on 3 shows and at least as many benefits. Her making reference to her singing in a gently mocking way was commonplace, and as I said, if you hunt down the bootleg of CR: A Dancer's Life, there is an entire scene of her doing just that.

Now, since I think r252 may be onto something, I'll be moving on from this discussion.

Thanks for that link at r235, r252. No one could fill Jeter's shoes, but that was ...sad.

Gee, why isn't anyone defending Ann Reinking's singing?

Chita's is a character voice more than anything. No one wants to hear her sing standards. Although I think she did an album of them.or two

r248 The sale was announced on December 14 2021, so given it's almost exactly two years to the day (once you include notice period, unused leave, etc) it sounds to me like the sale had an agreement he'd continue to work for two years before quitting.

Reinking really only sounds strong (to me) on Goodtime Charley

R258. You beat me to it. She sounded great live in the theatre, too. In Sweet Charity and Chicago she was channeling Gwen vocally and she failed.

I'm not sure if she had a dependable vocal instrument. I believe one of her concerns in bringing the CHICAGO revival to Broadway was losing her voice. I wonder if the show would have been more successful with Betty Lynn. You can certainly hear her singing those songs.

[quote]R242 Channing was superb in the role. Much warmer and funnier than Midler

But warmer and funnier than our little Betty Lynn??

So how much was lost on "Here Lies Love"?

When "Prison Dancer" hits Broadway, all HLL losses will be recouped.

Are the HLL producers financially responsible for restoring the Broadway Theatre to it's previous configuration? That's got be hundreds of thousand dollars right there.

[quote] Are the HLL producers financially responsible for restoring the Broadway Theatre to it's previous configuration? That's got be hundreds of thousand dollars right there.

Maybe not if the London GUYS AND DOLLS takes the Broadway...

But if that happens, r265, I wonder how the next transformation of the theater will be financed.

There's also a rumor on ATC that BOOP will have to take the Broadway Theatre because it seems to be the only Shubert-owned theater that will be available this spring (since the Alicia Keys show seems to be guaranteed the Shubert Theatre).

Goodtime Charley was my favorite Reinking performance and she did very little dancing. Her acting and singing were strong and she was gorgeous. The score for that show is it's strongest asset but the book was flat and the beautiful set took up too much of the stage. Oh well.

Does that mean Sunset Boulevard is taking the Majestic?

Mike Faist is known to be well hung. Also kind of insufferable.

R269 Does he like cock?

r269 More details? On both sentences.

But, r269...is he insufferably well hung?

R251-Merrily will extend until the night before the Tony awards. Watch and see.

I think Chita sounds quite good here.

[quote]I think Chita sounds quite good here.

From October 4, 1960? The musical "She Loves Me" didn't open until 1963. Was it an existing song written earlier by Bock and Harnick?

Chita was only 27 in that clip. She looked easily twice that.

R275, I think the uploader just got the date wrong.

I agree with R244 about Marin Mazzie. On the Broadway stage there have been strong voices and distinctive voices, but hers was just absolutely beautiful, like birds or bells. A similar quality to Beverly Sills', though what they were using them for was different, of course. And she was a good actress as well.

[quote]Of course it's not the same thing, just as "Chita is an excellent singer" is not the same thing as "Chita is excellent on all of her cast albums". I agree with the latter, but not the former. YMMV.

She was an excellent singer of the kind of songs she sang. Her voice was good enough to deliver those songs with full effectiveness. I never claimed she was an excellent singer of light opera or legit roles like Nettie Fowler in CAROUSEL. So maybe we are just disagreeing about semantics.

Yes, R252. Goodbye to the person who refers to me as "toxic" just because I disagree with his opinion about the quality of Chita Rivera's voice and singing. For everyone else in this thread, here is a link to one of Chita's solo albums complete on YouTube, so you all can make your own informed judgment on this matter.

It's not your opinion which makes you toxic, it's your personality.

R281, it's amazing that my use of all caps in the sentence "we can agree to disagree if you REALLY want to stick to your opinion" triggered you to the point that you felt it necessary to label my personality as "toxic." I'm tempted to speculate on what this reveals about your own personality, but it's so obvious that there's no need to do so.

You just spend too much time here. There’s something rancid in your fridge; we can smell it from here.

Get out of my fridge, R283. And while you're at it, stop reacting like a six-year-old.

Jesus christ, I kept telling myself "don't post that clip of Chita, it will summon the all caps asshole." Clearly I should have listened to my gut.

Am not.

R263 they should change the title of that Canadian Filipino prison musical.

_Thriller_ is already associated with Michael Jackson, so people will think it's linked to the MJ musical.

r282 You seem to be under the impression that multiple people have formed the opinion that you're toxic based on a single post of yours. You couldn't be more wrong. We're basing it on your post history. And the amazing thing is that you're so predictable that none of us even need to actually check your post history to be sure it's you. We can just guess from the condescending tone and the belief that anyone who has a differing opinion from you must be uneducated and needs to be corrected (which is hilarious, given how you exposed yourself in the previous thread as being such a limited thinker that you don't think Shakespeare should be performed in modern dress). Also, your shitty thread title.

R287 The headline at the link is confusing: the musical is called "Prison Dancer" not "Thriller." I'm not sure "Prison Dancer" is the greatest title either...

Incidentally, is Alicia Key's musical still called HELL'S KITCHEN?

That just makes me think of that chef reality show with Gordon Ramsey, which is still ongoing.

Carroll Baker wasn’t just a Lorelei Lee also-ran in summer stock! She was in three Broadway plays.

She had a bit as a stenographer in ESCAPADE (1953), then made her real mark as the ingenue in ALL SUMMER LONG (1954). Later she briefly went back on stage in a Garson Kanin bomb called COME ON STRONG with Van Johnson.

Chita Rivera singing “He Loves Me” is from The Garry Moore Show, season 6 episode 26, March 31, 1964 - a year after She Loves Me opened.

PLEASE DON'T FEED THE TROLLS!

[quote]Incidentally, is Alicia Key's musical

Oh, dear.

Jokes on you, R294. The apostrophe is absolutely essential. Learn your rules before you continue to make a fool of yourself.

r295 Oh, really? Has the woman changed her name to Alicia KEY? I think not.

Fare thee well, Wasp Woman!

Poor Sean Young. Those illegal immigrants she was so concerned about in that pro- Trump interview she gave, clearly ruined the box office for her.

[quote]R274, just an innocent theater queen

Darling, you're about as innocent as Donald Trump, OJ, and Harvey Weinstein put together.

[quote]We can just guess from the condescending tone and the belief that anyone who has a differing opinion from you must be uneducated and needs to be corrected

Depends on the post. I'm sticking with my opinion that anyone refers to Chita Rivera in her prime as not a good singer is in fact ignorant and/or has bad taste, based on the recorded evidence, and therefore should be schooled and corrected if possible. In contrast, if we were debating who gave the best-ever performance as Rose in GYPSY, I would never try to "correct" anyone's opinion, because in this case it's so subjective.

Chita would be a great Betty Boop.

GREAT GATSBY is taking the Broadway.

Yet, r300, aren't you the poster who tried to "correct" anyone's opinion who'd seen and enjoyed the Eddie Redmayne CABARET even though you hadn't seen the production?

If that wasn't you, my apologies.

[quote] GREAT GATSBY is taking the Broadway.

Which Great Gatsby?

Papermill Great Gatsby

[quote]Aren't you the poster who tried to "correct" anyone's opinion who'd seen and enjoyed the Eddie Redmayne CABARET even though you hadn't seen the production?

"Correct" is your word, not mine. I gave my opinion of the Redmayne CABARET based on having seen videos and photos and listening to the cast recording, and if I argued with people who disagreed, that's not the same as "correcting" them. I also conceded that it's impossible to fully judge a production or a performance without seeing it in full, preferably live -- but that doesn't mean one can't criticize what one has seen and heard via video clips, photos, and audio recordings.

Seems you people have no trouble disagreeing with and arguing with various opinions, but when others do it, you charge them with trying to "correct" the people they disagree with. As for me, I only "correct" people when they give non-factual information.

I’m always amused by how Chita sings the word “now” as “nah-oo.” Exactly how she learned to sing it in voice lessons, obviously.

[quote]I’m always amused by how Chita sings the word “now” as “nah-oo.”

I don't know what this amuses you, because that 's exactly the right way to sing that word on a held note. If a singer were to go to the "oo" half of the diphthong too soon, that would sound weird.

^ WHY this amuses you

[quote] I gave my opinion of the Redmayne CABARET based on having seen videos and photos and listening to the cast recording, and if I argued with people who disagreed, that's not the same as "correcting" them.

Yeah, but you're just such an asshole about it. About everything.

Here's one for the historians ... has there ever been a period where there will be less plays on Broadway? I could be off and assuming that everything opens or stays open, 30 of the 41 venues will have a musical in them.

[quote] less plays

Fewer plays

Mea culpa.

[quote]Yeah, but you're just such an asshole about it. About everything.

So writes the person who insults me with a word like "asshole" when I had used no equally offensive wording in my previous posts. Until now:

Right back at you, and let's hope we never meet in person. Of course the irony is we may have already done so without knowing it.....

Couldn’t they get Cat Stevens to sing “Morning Has Broken”?

A Betty Boop musical sounds utterly dismal. She doesn’t have a story anyone associates with her.

At least Little Orphan Annie had the Daddy Warbucks situation.

^Oops, sorry.

I wonder if Chita Rivera was ever counseled to become a stripper, billed as Chita Riviera.

[quote]I wonder if Chita Rivera was ever counseled to become a stripper, billed as Chita Riviera.

Why?

I wonder why we've stopped referring to her as Chits Rivera.

I don't understand it either.

When I saw the original Chicago, some old lady behind me was reading her Playbill out loud and pronounced her name "Chiquita Riviera."

Has Chita Rivera ever been photographed drinking Chivas Regal?

[quote]R319 Why?

Because it’s a great name, and she was a dancer with big tits.

Chita Riviera would be boffo box-office in burlesque.

Let's post pix of what we think r314 looks like

But who is taller: Chits or AKB?

r324 - Oh.

Great numbers all around last week—two notable exceptions being Harmony, which dropped to $522k, and How to Dance in Ohio, which dropped to $255k.

Here Lies Love ended with its best week ever, hitting $970k. It never cracked a million dollars in weekly gross.

Merrily topped $2 million for the first time.

Harmony had press and critics in but I can't believe it's long for this world even with Mr Producers Perspective himself producing.

Merrily top ticket at $649. Why can't it be like it was? I want it the way that it was.

Were these two ever a couple?

Yes, r331.

Chits wasn't the only dancer to record an album of standards.

Don't forget...

R331, Who hasn’t Andrew Rannells fucked?

LIke being fucked by Howdy Doody

That high ticket price is also even without DL fave Lindsay Mendez who has been OOO for over two weeks!

Has Lindsay really been out of the show that long? What's up with that? and what does "OOO" mean?

OOO means Out of Office But what's up with that?

Oh, I thought OOO meant Lindsay got on the scale and it turned over.

Is Ohio fully capitalized yet?

R336, Don’t knock it.

Isn't Mendez shooting the new Ryan Murphy crime series? Her casting was announced weeks ago.

[quote]A Betty Boop musical sounds utterly dismal. She doesn’t have a story anyone associates with her.

[quote]At least Little Orphan Annie had the Daddy Warbucks situation.

Betty Boop had a cartoon pup named Bimbo as a love interest.

[quote]Isn't Mendez shooting the new Ryan Murphy crime series? Her casting was announced weeks ago.

If that's true, what have we come to where one of the three major stars of Broadway's biggest hit would take off for two weeks shortly after the opening to go film a TV series -- or for any reason other than a very serious illness?

Perhaps Mendez was contracted for the series last year before Merrily's schedule was firmly in place, before the writer's and actors strikes delayed everything and threw show biz into chaos.....and is suddenly being called upon to honor her contract? I doubt she's happy to be missing the fun and good cheer of a huge hit Broadway musical.

Well, I imagine the Broadhurst and Barrymore will be open this spring ...

[quote]That high ticket price is also even without DL fave Lindsay Mendez who has been OOO for over two weeks!

So, I guess this proves without a doubt that Lindsay's name does not sell tickets.

There was an argument about that a thread or two back.

[quote]At least Little Orphan Annie had the Daddy Warbucks situation.

The musical tells the story of how she got there, r316. You do know that the only characters from the comic strip are Annie, Warbucks and Sandy...don't you?

People will pay a lot of money to hear Harry Potter sing.

[quote]Betty Boop had a cartoon pup named Bimbo as a love interest.

My Aunt Babe had a dog named Bimbo.

How much peanut butter did she go through, r351?

Hasn't THE NOTERBOOK announced it will open on Broadway in the spring, directed by Michael Greif? And isn't he also directing HELL'S KITCHEN? Can he do both this spring on Broadway?

[Quote] So, I guess this proves without a doubt that Lindsay's name does not sell tickets.

Most of the people in the theater already had their tickets and they were seeing two stars out of three. Who’s gonna ask for their money back in that case during a holiday week especially?

*

[quote]Hasn't THE NOTERBOOK announced it will open on Broadway in the spring, directed by Michael Greif? And isn't he also directing HELL'S KITCHEN? Can he do both this spring on Broadway?

Maybe he can do both, but not well.

[r350] are we calling what Harry Potter is doing singing?

And is that new musical of DEATH BECOMES HER aiming for a spring opening on Broadway? Or out of town? Or are they just having a workshop this winter?

You can call it anything you want, r357, but the majority of audience members would call it singing.

MERRILY is really *the thing* right now. I'm starting to think it'll sweep at the Tonys. Groff certainly deserves it, and he's never won. If Mendez is put in featured she prob wins. She also deserves it.

Daniel is the weakest of the trio, but it's hard to see them denying him. He's got the movie-star-does-theater thing going for him. And he's a lovely actor, if in a bit over his head this time.

[r359] oh when I pay hundreds of dollars for a ticket I guess I expect something more pleasant sounding than the Radcliffe warble.

Daniel will be snubbed because the Tony nominating committee hates movie stars. Has he ever been nominated?

Again, r361, you're entitled to your opinion.

How nice of you r363

Just trying to be civilized.

[quote] You can call it anything you want, [R357], but the majority of audience members would call it singing.

The majority of audience members also stand and applaud like lunatics for shit like Tootsie and Shucked, so there goes that defense.

If "Merrily" sweeps the Tony noms, Daniel might get in, though of course winning will not be guaranteed.

I think Jonathan will win, however.

[quote]Hasn't THE NOTERBOOK announced it will open on Broadway in the spring, directed by Michael Greif? And isn't he also directing HELL'S KITCHEN? Can he do both this spring on Broadway?

Jeff Calhoun simultaneously directed both BONNIE & CLYDE and NEWSIES during the 2011-2012 Broadway season.

The former closed after one month but was Tony-nominated for Best Score and Best Actress in a Musical (Laura Osnes).

The latter received 8 nominations, including Best Musical and one for Calhoun's direction. Also, Jeremy Jordan starred in both and was nominated for Best Actor in a Musical.

In the end, it won for Best Score and Best Choreography.

[quote[The former closed after one month but was Tony-nominated for Best Score and Best Actress in a Musical (Laura Osnes).

Now forever known as WHET Laura Osnes.

[quote] —Is she still singing in a rodeo?

She’s the belle of Branson, Mo!

Why is Lindsay Mendez missing two weeks of performances this early in the run?

R371 She has a wedding to attend.

I don’t think things are good with Lindsay. Someone on Broadway world said she has missed over 23 performances so far and it’s a limited run as it is.

She is in the middle of a nasty divorce where her ex husband allegedly threatened to kill her. I don’t think if her absences continue, the show will extend.

[quote]She’s the belle of Branson, Mo!

Who you callin' a 'mo?

We haven’t heard the last from Laura Osnes.

Broadway loves a comeback.

Frances Sternhagen has passed away at 93. Her son posted on Instagram. A distinguished Tony winning stage career but will always be best known as Bunny MacDougal.

[quote]Most of the people in the theater already had their tickets and they were seeing two stars out of three. Who’s gonna ask for their money back in that case during a holiday week especially?

Everyone comes to see the two men; no one, except her relatives, comes to see Mendez, so the audience would come even if she were replaced by theater lover Lauren Boebert.

Kitara Revache IS MARY!

R376, The original Ethel Thayer.

Taylor Trensch replacing AKB for a while in that off Broadway Dracula thing that closes a few days after AKB comes back.

Osnes will never come back to Broadway. It;s one thing to be kicked out for being unvaccinated. But she badmouthed people after she left.

R381, Ted Chapin adores her, she’ll be back someday.

Chaka Khan is set to attend a staged reading of ‘I’m Every Woman - The Chaka Khan Musical’ on Friday, December 1 in London

R382, maybe you're joking, but Ted Chapin is no longer as powerful as he was a few years ago.

To most of DL, Ted is a hotshot up-and-comer

R376. She was wonderful in the Cherry Jones revival of “The Heiress” and deservedly won a featured actress Tony for it.

[quote]Osnes will never come back to Broadway. It;s one thing to be kicked out for being unvaccinated. But she badmouthed people after she left.

[quote][R382], maybe you're joking, but Ted Chapin is no longer as powerful as he was a few years ago.

Things change all the time in the entertainment industry.

Those who were once personas non grata are sometimes welcomes back with open arms years/decades later.

Hell, Lea Michele only had to wait two years after being canceled in 2020 and what she did is arguably worse than anything Osnes ever did.

What matters most is who is in power, calling the shots.

The world isn't always going to be like it is now.

It was very different a decade ago and will be different again in ten years from now.

*welcomed back, not welcomes back

I expect Kitara to make a guest appearance in CHICAGO, followed by Dancing with the Stars and a guest judge spot on RuPaul's Drag Race.

The problem will Laura Osnes is she represented a type that musical theatre still needs. She plays the Cinderella/Nellie/Julie Jordan type. There wasn’t that many after her.

What are they going to do? Sarah Porkalob as Eliza Doolittle?

Had Feldstein been a success, we would still be asking,: WHET Lea?"

Frances with Marian Seldes, Elizabeth Wilson, and Susan Sullivan in 2008.

RIP

[quote]Sarah Porkalob as Eliza Doolittle?

All I want is 3/4 of a room somewhere ...

[quote]Hell, Lea Michele only had to wait two years after being canceled in 2020 and what she did is arguably worse than anything Osnes ever did.

Thank you! At least I never befouled anyone's WIG!

Would've been funnier if you'd said "75%"

George Santos IS Amos Hart!

No, R395, "75 percent" would have been more obvious, but "3/4" was funnier (because it's less obvious).

R396. More like Matron Mama Morton

More like the Hunyak.

I saw the Merrily with Lindsay's understudy and she was not good. The singing wasn't great and the acting was very amateurish. It still didn't prevent me from loving the show but I wondered why there weren't better people covering these roles. My partner thought maybe it had something to do with transferring the show from off-Broadway, where the talent pool is sometimes less experienced. Not sure if the entire cast transferred or not. Anyone know?

R400 Hi! I’m Lindsay’s understudy. Thank you for the review. I’m trying.

[quote]r400 I saw the Merrily with Lindsay's understudy and she was not good… I wondered why there weren't better people covering these roles.

A Julie Benko comes along but one in a lifetime.

[quote]I’m trying.

Yes, r401...very.

R402, Indeed.

I'm just catching up on this thread after being away for Thanksgiving...

The mention of Sally Gracie upthread brought back some beautiful memories from the '70s. I worked on an excellent off-Broadway play called NAOMI COURT. The director, Ira Cirker, had directed soap operas for years, so he drew the actors from his stable of talented favorites. Among them was Sally Gracie. She was wonderful in the show but was even nicer offstage. She was an absolute professional who didn't take herself too seriously and had lots of stories about folks she had worked with in the past. She had a unique voice that reminded me of Dody Goodman. She was a joy.

It was at NAOMI COURT that I met and became friends with Brad Davis. He stole the show playing a gay hustler who terrorizes an older man (soap veteran Jordan Charney) who picks him up. They both gave riveting performances with an ending that rivaled Bloody Bloody Norma Desmond. I've posted on DL about my friendship with Brad, that lasted until he died: a troubled man and a great actor.

Wow! Billy Boy, was Naomi Court performed at Manhattan Theatre Club even before Lynne Meadow became their Artistic Director? I worked there in their early days, too though a few years later, still at that Bohemian club on East 73rd St, and they would do something like 20 shows, revivals and new plays and foreign plays. That was quite a time.

I love that Leiter blog. I have learned about so many obscure theater pieces from the '70s that I'm not fascinated with.

[quote]I saw the Merrily with Lindsay's understudy and she was not good. The singing wasn't great and the acting was very amateurish. It still didn't prevent me from loving the show but I wondered why there weren't better people covering these roles. My partner thought maybe it had something to do with transferring the show from off-Broadway, where the talent pool is sometimes less experienced.

Your partner's guess is a very weird one, especially in view of the fact that this production's transfer to Broadway was obviously in the cards from the beginning.

I had a pair of plaid pants like those.

Josh Groban out tonite and tomorrow night.

Jesus Christ does no one work anymore?

The new kids on the block should heed Ethel's advice.

I didn't know that about Lindsay's divorce. Sorry to read that.

[quote]We haven’t heard the last from Laura Osnes. Broadway loves a comeback.

Broadway doesn't go for anti-vaxxers and bad-mouthers.

Ted Chapin is very supportive of young talent, but if they fail or embarrass him, he's outta there. Laura's big, noisy hoof was especially embarrassing for TC because everyone remembers that he was an early supporter of hers.

Can Laura Osnes do a cartwheel?

She can. but it's not freewheeling.

Worm Lindsay Mendez speaks so lovingly of her husband Phillip in her Tony speech. What on earth could have happened to turn their relationship so rancorous?

R418 She said no.

R418, good question. Perhaps he's threatened by her success?

... or maybe the success went to her head and she was the one who changed.

This casting notice is...interesting. Some highlights:

[quote]We have Auditioned over 1500 singer/actresses for our leading lady. We have auditioned unknowns, huge Broadway stars and even movie/pop stars and not found the perfect girl who can find the place within her to open and sing from her heart and soul and hit low alto notes and high soprano notes and make the producers cry.

[quote]If you are auditioning for the lead, I highly recommend you sing the song Never Enough from Greatest Showman. If you can't sing that song and blow people away, you won't get this part.

[quote]We are in the process of a $150 million dollar raise. Broadway shows cost 25 million and the most expensive ever Spiderman cost 70 million. Do not waste our time.

[quote]If you get this part, you will become the biggest star in the world.

Sounds like it's going to be a nice experience for all, R422.

That sounds like it was written by George Santos!

R422, I'm amazed that Playbill would publish a "casting notice" like that, which sounds like a scam. Then again, some very weird things have happened at Playbill recently.

[quote]If you get this part, you will become the biggest star in the world.

Yeah, like we ever heard of anyone on Broadway who didn't make a movie.

Someone told me the other day that some of the people in The Gilded Age can sing. Did you know?

Is this the show with the shady casting notice?

It's been taken down, but it was listed by "Undead Valley, Inc"—so I'm assuming it is some musical titled Undead Valley.

R428, I'm not surprised it was taken down, I'm only surprised it was posted in the first place. But as I said, very strange things going on at Playbill, probably all stemming from the fact that the head honcho there is a real piece of work.

R427, that article about PRINCE OF EGYPS is from 2015. What was your purpose in posting it?

[quote]What was your purpose in posting it?

I'm not R427, but the casting noticed mentioned at the top that both Norm Lewis and Aaron Lazar were attached to the project in some capacity—which may or may not have been true.

Thanks, R431, but again, that PRINCE OF EGYPT presentation was in 2015, and aside from everything else, there is near-zero chance that Lewis and Lazar would AGAIN be doing PRINCE OF EGYPT in 2024.

“If you get this role you will be the biggest star in the world!”

Colton Ryan would like a word with you!

Since someone was asking . . .

The voice of Loren Allred. Incidentally, the best thing in that movie.

One of the greatest lip syncs of all time. I really thought Rebecca Ferguson was singing.

Is the movie worth watching?

Not really.

They're definitely getting nervous over at Purlie Victorious. The YouTube ad for it keeps popping up every five seconds. Moreover, it only made $474K last week.

I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

David Stone must be using that Wicked money to keep Kimberly Akimbo going.

Someone upthread commented about Mike Faist being difficult/unpleasant to work with. Can you elaborate?

[quote]They're definitely getting nervous over at Purlie Victorious.

GETTING nervous? My understanding is that the show has been selling poorly from the beginning.

But why isn't it on TDF?

It's on the lottery for $40

Apparently, the war over Chita’s singing has sent this thread into death throes.

Cloris Leachman could sing.

I am confused about the whole Lindsay Mendez situation - she's been posting on IG about a new love since Jan 2020 - someone she met on ALL RISE. I honestly thought her kid was the new guy's because of the timing. Hmmm.

The guy who posted the casting call on IG also worked out that one of the people behind this show is some guy named Justin Ligeri who has an interesting history, including murder for hire...

...and after posting that, Ligeri DMed him with this not-at-all unhinged message

Both Lindsay and Daniel will be in the featured Tony categories

[quote]Cloris Leachman could sing.

Cloris's sister Claiborne Cary was also an actress and singer. I saw Claiborne in a summer stock tour of "No No, Nanette," in which she played the Helen Gallagher role. Nanette was played by DL icon Bonnie Franklin (post-"Applause"). Nanette Fabray played the Ruby Keeler part.

Was that the night Lincoln was shot?

Was that the night Claiborne was slapped?

[quote]Apparently, the war over Chita’s singing has sent this thread into death throes.

But this amazing, fascinating, scintillating contribution of yours is sure to turn it around immediately.

Okay so if Mary Flynn is a supporting role than who is the leading lady of Merrily We Roll Along?

You know the term gets shifted during awards time, r456.

Tell me about it, R457.

First of all, R456, it's possible for a show to have a leading male role but not a leading female role, or vice versa. But also, see R457.

Folks, please read the signature on R456's post before you start schoolmarming him.

Musicals don't have to have a leading lady, R456. That implies the kind of show that is rarely written any more, where you had a clear leading man, leading lady and supporting characters of both genders. Now we're flat-chat having any genders.

The central conflict in Merrily is between Frank and Charley. Mary's issues are unerupted conflict because she doesn't touch Frank's life enough to need to have it out with him, and in any case, it's her own problem that she is prepared to let all her personal ambitions collapse purely because she can't marry Frank. Frank has made no promise to Mary. But he has made a promise to Charley, and when he breaks it he brings down Charley's career and at the same time fails to face up honestly to having chosen to trash his own youthful ambitions. That's where the guts of the drama reside. Charley has a real claim against Frank's overweening self-centredness, but Mary hasn't because you can't make someone love you.

Or don't R461

Boop looks like this year’s SLIH. Old-fashioned razzamatazz, colorful, fun dancing. Boop herself is clearly a star in the making. But so far, we haven’t heard any songs with a catchy melody. SLIH had better songs.

[quote]Was that the night Lincoln was shot?

Or was it the night they brought old Dixie [Carter] down?

Or was it?

It was the night before Christmas...

'Twas

oops

[quote] Mary's issues are unerupted conflict because she doesn't touch Frank's life enough to need to have it out with him

And yet she has a long speech in the opening scene drunkenly telling him off and storming out of his life.

The poster who insists Alicia Key’s is correct is hilarious. So sure of himself. The correct spelling is Keys’.

Does anyone under the age of 60 even know who Betty Boop is?

What difference does it make, R471? Most people old enough to have been around when Betty Boop was popular in the 1930s are probably dead. Her image has been used a lot over the years, but this musical is not going to succeed or fail based on how many people "remember" Betty Boop.

Sounds like Lindsay’s husband needs to see a doctor. Obviously, he has a good side since she married him but the whole “I’m ok and then think of murder suicide” is just the mental illness talking. It’s not him. Not saying they should stay together but he can get better. I’m bipolar and I counsel bipolar people. I get it.

How would you describe the popularity of the original Betty Boop to young people who've never heard of her?

r465 Speaking of which, what ever happened to the musical about Minsky's? I saw it in LA a few years back and it wasn't bad.

How would you describe Little Orphan Annie's popularity to young people in 1977, r474?

[quote]How would you describe the popularity of the original Betty Boop to young people who've never heard of her?

She as your great grandfather's version of Only Fans.

Hardly, r477.

[quote]Does anyone under the age of 60 even know who Betty Boop is?

Did anyone under the age of 60 even know who Alexander Hamilton was in 2015?

I was a teenager in 1977 and I knew who Little Orphan Annie was. Asking about the appeal of Betty Boop in this day and age is a completely legitimate question.

r476, In 1977 I would have described Little Orphan Annie as kind of a scruffy version of a Shirley Temple Depression Era character. Temple's films were still widely seen on TV and she remained an iconic figure to kids who weren't even born at the height of her 1930s fame (like me). I think ANNIE the musical very much played off the love for that kind of character and story, including audiences (like me) who'd never followed the Little Orphan Annie comic strip.

I don't know how I'd describe the character of Betty Boop to anyone today to get them interested in seeing a musical about her. Are you a Boop or BOOP! fan? How would you describe the character or sell the musical to mass audiences today? You never answered my original question.

Boop boop de dop.

Thanks to all you posters who are discussing BOOP!. I'm the poster who started this thread, and I chose that subject for the thread title because I thought the show might be coming up for comment a lot more often. Of course, I was criticized and insulted for my title by some of the bitches who frequent these threads, but it turns out I was right. So thanks again :-)

Which one of you bitches did this?

Even though Annie was supposedly based on Little Orphan Annie, they basically did rip off a couple of Shirley Temple movies for the plot. It's Curly Top with a couple of others thrown in.

I would doubt anybody involved with Boop thinks its appeal, success or failure will have anything to do with the history of the property. Do you all really think you are smarter than [italic] . everyone [/italic] else?

Oh look! A scaled-down production! What a concept.

"Evita" rebooted as "Chicago"?

[quote]R472 this musical is not going to succeed or fail based on how many people "remember" Betty Boop.

Then why are they centering it on her at all? It’s not like she even brings a plot with her.

But WHY? WHY? WHY???

Because they are, Blanche.

R489, I share your confusion on this point. Will be interesting to see what happens.

Some people are easily confused.

[quote] Thanks to all you posters who are discussing BOOP!. I'm the poster who started this thread, and I chose that subject for the thread title because I thought the show might be coming up for comment a lot more often. Of course, I was criticized and insulted for my title by some of the bitches who frequent these threads, but it turns out I was right. So thanks again :-)

And after all that, you're still an annoying cunt.

Betty was a sexy, optimistic naif who got into all sorts of cartoon predicaments. They can go anywhere they want with it.

I hope they go to another choreographer.

Betty’s a midget whore.

I want her depiction removed from the stage.

In London for a spell. Saw closing night of Private Lives. Patricia Hodge was fantastic (and much more energetic and youthful than you'd expect for her age.) Nigel Havers was very good, though, I felt, not quite up to Hodge's level. A breezy and frequently hilarious evening. The first act set felt a little cheap to me. The second act's interior Paris apartment set was much stronger.

Noises Off with Felicity Kendall was god awful. I think I may have seen this play once before when I was in middle school. It has not aged well. A very tired farce and mostly dreadful performances. The one saving grace of the production is when -- spoiler -- Alexander Hanson briefly disrobes to reveal surprisingly sexy, muscular thighs and a thick, juicy ass. I wonder if Bernadette tapped that during their Night Music run.

Hoping to squeeze in Cabaret or Guys & Dolls before we leave, though, frankly, more excited about seeing ABBA: Voyage.

Re Betty Boop musical: They should include this song and Rudy Vallee somehow:

Her name was Kitty

From Kansas City

Sure was a pity

She wasn't pretty

She wasn't hard to see

She weighed 243

I hope she doesn't get much fatter

But if she does, that doesn't matter...

She's so dumb, I think she is my doom

She thinks that no man's land is an old maid's room!

I prefer Betty with Cab.

Enjoy ABBA: Voyage, R497. It’s both bonkers and extraordinary.

R497: are you posting from 30 years ago? Isn’t Patricia Hodge at 77 a bit long in tooth for Amanda?

Has anyone peeped the AKB and Seth Rudetsky fuck vid?

[quote]Seth Rudetsky fuck vid

My eyes are melting at the concept!

[quote]My eyes are melting at the concept!

Pics please.

Desperate OP (R483) be damned. This thread should have had a Cloris Leachman adjacent title. Betty Boop is a loser, now and forever.

So is Cloris, r505. And she’s DEAD.

R506, I could tell you stories about Cloris.

I remember when that episode aired R412, how shocked I was to hear someone say "fucking" on broadcast televsion.

Cloris Leachman was a vile person. She got what she deserved.

Amanda and Elyot are meant to be 30.

I know this will get me flamed on this board, but I think the primary reason SLIH failed was its score. It's relentless, and even when you listen to the opening number its wane attempts at wit and wordplay are tiresome. Whitman's lyrics spend the night screaming "look how smart I am!" instead of serving character. The other tough challenge is that the show (whatever propaganda they want to spread about being new and progressive) is actually an old fashioned farce, and they didn't look to master Sondheim for those lessons. The songs in FORUM are very short, specific and clear in intention. SLIH"s score is all over the place, and the leading lady's big ballad about loving going to the movies is just asinine. But no one really had the courage to call them out on it. But is there one song from that show that anyone sings outside of it?

So Patricia Hodge is 47 years too old for the part.

Of course, wasn’t Joan Collins nearly 60 when she did that awful tour of it? And Liz Taylor was early 50s. But still … 77!

R511, I didn’t like SLIH, but there were a few decent songs, namely “You Coulda Knocked Me Over With a Feather” and “At the Old Majestic Nickel Matinee.” The problem was that the production was so relentless that no song was allowed to really stand out because they only trusted the flashier material. Honeymoon in Vegas had a similar problem.

Relentless-ism is a Casey Nicholaw trademark.

[quote]listen to the opening number its wane attempts at wit

I think you mean “wan” attempts at wit. The lyrics’ wit was waning by the end of the show because they were so wan.

I personally like “anemic” there.

But the two we’ve heard so far from Boop are worse.

I listened to the cast recording on Spotify and enjoyed it very much but it didn't make me run out and buy a ticket.

Nobody alive can write lyrics. There, I said it.

They either don’t rhyme (how passé!), don’t scan, or are so prosaic (JRB, I’m talking to you) that there’s no pleasure in listening.

PS “You could’ve knocked me over with a feather” is [italic] already [/italic] a cliche, so we’re bored before we begin. Even “the sun’ll come out tomorrow “ was more interesting…let alone “send in the clowns,” “everything’s coming up roses,” “people will say we’re in love,” “you’re the top,” or even—god help me—“the room where it happened.”

The songs aren’t great or distinctive, but the score is not the reason it flopped. I mean, who could not be intimidated by the legacy of brilliance including “unpack the luggage, la la la” or “Keep away from *her/Send for Chino/This is not the *Mar*/ia we know”?

Wittman's lyrics demonstrate "look how smart I am"? Since when?

And you R493, are obviously embarrassed and infuriated by the fact that the thread I titled "The 'Boop-Boop-a-Doop' Edition" has, in fact, turned out to contain multiple posts about BOOP! Go stew in your own bile and please don't post again unless you have something to offer other than insults.

Datalounge theater queens, did we at some point make a rule that whatever the thread title is, we have to talk about its topic?

And that credit is given to said thread starter if people actually talk about it?

Yeah, I didn't think so.

R511, I agree with you about the SLIH score. But I think an even greater reason for the show's failure is the fact that it tried to be so aggressively "woke" in a farce set in 1933, which was quite an idiotic concept to begin with.

[quote]Datalounge theater queens, did we at some point make a rule that whatever the thread title is, we have to talk about its topic?

No, straw man, but I think it's nice when that happens. And, as far as I know, neither do we have a rule that a new thread title HAS TO reflect the content of the previous thread, which is what the queens who keep whining that Cloris Leachman should have been in the title of this thread seem to be insisting.

Oh it’s the caps-for-petulance troll.

It is a truth, seldom acknowledged, how rare a good musical theatre lyric is.

I also think the SLIH lyrics were a big issue. Musically, it's accomplished pastiche with sensational orchestrations. But the songs basically state their purpose in their titles and then just kill time for 4-5 minutes until the point we've already figured out is driven home. There's nothing in the word play that delights and surprises you the way, say, a Cole Porter comedy lyric does. So the show stops and what is meant to be a fast-paced farce just stays in first gear.

The other thing is that there is a sexual energy to the film that goes missing in the new musical. I think in a desire as to not offend anyone, the new SLIH just flattens that out, to the point that the couplings have no heat. You just believe them because there's no plot otherwise. Sugar, the character, is glum and morose. Osgood is more camp than Daphne. Any tension that needs to be resolved in the plotting just has zero stakes. Even changing sexy Miami to bland San Diego defuses the sexiness.

I you want bad lyrics, head over to the Winter Garden for Back to the Future

Or anything by Eddie Perfect who’s never found two words that rhyme ever

[quote] I you want bad lyrics, head over to the Winter Garden for Back to the Future

Are the lyrics worse than the dancing chorus of sluts and incels?

[quote]Nobody alive can write lyrics. There, I said it.

Excuse me, but here are the opening lyrics from my smash musical theater hit, " New York Rock." This will make you change your mind.

All day long, I felt like

Smashing my face in a clear glass window

But instead, I went out

And smashed up a phone box 'round the corner

Listen. It's genius!

[quote]Datalounge theater queens, did we at some point make a rule that whatever the thread title is, we have to talk about its topic?

But then, how could we possibly work Sondheim into every discussion?

[quote] But then, how could we possibly work Sondheim into every discussion?

We don’t. Trying to would just be a folly.

Never look back, r534.

Suffs-Suffs-that's e–Nuffs!

Maybe I haven't been looking hard enough, but has Some Like It Hot released any photo of Borle in drag? Was the costuming that good that it had to be kept a secret?

I have suffs-ficient

[quote]Was the costuming that good that it had to be kept a secret?

Or...that bad?

[quote]Or...that bad?

His wig was especially bad.

Whaddya know, Shogun! Thank you, Aurora.

r537 they didn’t want to get into the Mrs Doubtfire / Tootsie brouhaha about straight men is drag. So a story about two guys dressing up as women talked about everything but. Lose lose.

I'm not sure I ever knew there was a musical version of Shogun, a story that doesn't easily, to me, lend itself to being set to music. There's a new limited-series version coming to FX in February (if you're watching the latest season of Fargo you've seen the ads). I loved the book back in the day, although it took me several tries to get into it. But friends kept saying it was so good, and around page 150 the plot took off like a rocket. Great literature? No, but a great story (and lots of it). Did anyone here see the musical? IT would be like adapting The Lord of the Rings.

It was a notorious financial flop, r543.

I saw SHOGUN. It was beautiful but a big bore. All ultimately very forgettable except for that time a piece of scenery came crashing down and almost killed hottie leading man Philp Casnoff during a preview.

I saw SHOGUN in previews. I remember nothing from it - except that it was a complete snoozefest.

That opening and the earthquake looked rousing...if not freewheeling.

Back to the Future the musical isn't a musical -- it's a theme park show/ride on Broadway.

Speaking of musicals set in Japan, here's my annual plea for Pacific Overtures at the Beaumont with a full orchestra and glorious designs.

[quote]they didn’t want to get into the Mrs Doubtfire / Tootsie brouhaha about straight men is drag. So a story about two guys dressing up as women talked about everything but. Lose lose.

If they had to bend over backward to avoid the main plot point that made the movie such a great success, maybe it should have occurred to them that 2023 was not the ideal time to making a musical out of it. But, then, that also should have occurred to the creators of "Tootsie" and "Mrs. Doubtfire."

Jolly Theatrical Season...

who is this??

ENTERTAINMENT LAWYER 12/01 **13**

This just opened Broadway show which opened to mixed reviews has a lead who is scared to go to work each day because they are bullied and harassed by two other cast members who are best friends with the director.

R552. Is there wig shitting involved? Asking for a friend.

Is one of the actors Sydney Chaplin?

[quote]R511 the primary reason SLIH failed was its score.

Cloris could have saved it. Obviously.

I saw SHOGUN the Musical, and while I don't remember much, there was one incredible effect: the warriors riding horses out of the fog/mist in slow motion directly toward the audience. Does anyone else remember that moment?

With effects like that, why would the show flop?

R552, unless "just" is meant to include "since the season began," I think we're narrowed to either Harmony or Spamalot.

Could also be I Need That.

In a twist, Danny and Lucy DeVito are in opposite camps.

Yes, r556, I saw it too. The big selling point was the Earthquake effect, but it was the scene you described that was the one I remember. Stunning. One of the great Coup de theatres.

And neither SPAMALOT nor HARMONY really has a lead.

Though Frankie & Johnny is running off-Broadway, I could well imagine Aubrey Plaza bullying everyone backstage.

R559-Read the post again. The key pronoun is "they".

I remember Shogun running at the Marquis. I had little to no desire to see it, and the run was only 2 months. It wasn't until I read about it a year later in Not Since Carrie that I wished I had seen it based on the description of all the set pieces in the book.

"They" - does this mean the bullied person is trans? Is there a trans actor in Harmony or Spamalot?

Or the blond tone is just being PC or avoiding specifying to keep it mysterious

r553 give it a rest

There's only two shows it could be- Spamalot or Harmony, and I would say Spamalot opened to good reviews. Harmony was definitely mixed.

For your consideration as a title ... THEATRE GOSSIP #545: The "Discord at Harmony?" Edition

The Curve Evita looks interesting, but clearly SUNSET BLVD. (caps/abbreviation included) has the market cornered in the West End (and, one assumes, Broadway very soon) as far as that “look” goes. The said, the Magaldi is hot in his black wifebeater. Is “You Must Love Me” included in this production? I would assume so, but one never knows… the new SUNSET BLVD. cut two big chorus songs and a number of lyrics were revised, so it would be interesting to know. Honestly, I wish “The Lady’s Got Potential” was used in a stage production - as it was in the film - since it gives some excitement for Che with a big rock song which he does not otherwise have besides in the opening and a bit of “A New Argentina”.

During previews of the current London "Sunset," Norma's first solo, "Surrender," was reduced from its original brief length to just two lines, probably because there was no chimp corpse on stage to sing it to.

I guess Nicole couldn't sing it to herself.

Why did they cut out the chimp?

Doesn't that emphasize Norma's loneliness?

The chimp is there but you don't see it. Instead, Joe simply informs the audience of the presence of a chimp corpse. This production has virtually no sets, and, in keeping with the movie theme, everyone wears some combination of black and white. Throughout, Nicole wears a black slip and is barefoot.

Sorry, but if you're going to ask me to pay $400 a ticket, I want a fucking chimp. I can imagine one for free.

That’s a shame that “Surrender” is cut. It’s my favorite melody in ALW’s overwrought score for the show. The lyrics aren’t bad either, unlike most of the rest. Betty Buckley recorded a lovely “Surrender” with the original orchestrations. I think they may have been the same backing tracks that Glenn used.

[quote] That’s a shame that “Surrender” is cut. It’s my favorite melody in ALW’s overwrought score for the show.

It's OK, because he uses the melody another half a dozen times throughout the score.

I saw the London Sunset recently, and "Surrender" is in its usual spot, but for just one verse, if I remember correctly. It's not two lines.

[quote]It's OK, because he uses the melody another half a dozen times throughout the score.

It's called a motif.

[quote] It's called a motif.

With normal composers, sure. With ALW, it's "how do I get through Act 2 while only writing three new songs?"

To its credit though, I think the complete austerity (and occasional insanity) of Jamie Lloyd's production forces increased scrutiny on the book and score, and it holds up pretty well.

HARMONY doesn't have a lead? I would have paid good money to get Chip Zien off the stage for 5 minutes.

“They” in the clue is just a way to avoid identifying whether it is a man or a woman. If you read this guy’s blind items, he uses they all the time. It does not indicate trans or non-binary.

Is it DL fave Julie Benko? Hard to believe she would be bullied by Chip Zien of all people

[Quote] two other cast members who are best friends with the director.

It feels like this is the way to crack this…

There’s really very few Broadway show that just opened

Merrilee, Gutenberg, I need that, harmony, and spambot. That take us back to October I’m at a loss

Could it be Purlie from the end of September? The Shark is closed

Merrilee?

Sierra has done two shows with Carlyle but it’s hard to picture she and Chip ganging up on Julie.

Maybe that is why Lindsay has been out so much?

Although merrily certainly didn’t get mixed reviews

The blind item is dated December 1 and says the show "just opened" and to "mixed reviews." Merrily got raves. Gutenberg only has a cast of two. Spamalot's reception was mostly positive (8 positive, 2 mixed, 1 negative per the website Did They Like It). I think that leaves you with Harmony and I Need That as the only options.

Maybe the DeVitos are bullying the third member of the cast? Although that 3rd member whose name I can't even remember wouldn't be described as the lead.

The item says 'a' lead not 'the' lead.

Or is there a technicality error and they mean Here We Are. Mantello is know. To be divisive with cast members

Sarah Paulson is giving a fierce performance in Appropriate. All of the cast is very good, and the audience loved it last night.

Good to hear

I could easily imagine Denis O'Hare and Tracie Bennett bullying David Hyde Pierce.

Is everyone afraid to come up with the next thread title now? Speaking of bullying.....

Calling Cloris fans …

How about The “You’re Entitled to Your Opinion But As I Have Said Before. I STILL Think…” Edition.

" Merrily We Roll Along, Roll Along....."

So which theater will the Sunset Blvd want so their Joe and can leave and walk the streets on camera?