THEATRE GOSSIP #545: The "Merrily We Roll Along, Roll Along" Edition

Bullies

Shouldn't this thread start with 600 and go backwards?

Bullying? Which show is Helen Lawson in?

Helen Lawson IS Monday night Norma.

Why has there never been a Connie Francis jukebox musical?

So much there . . . succesful recording career, serious romance with Bobby Darin, overbearing, tyrannical father, multiple marriages, brother murdered by the mob, her 1974 rape, etc.

[quote]Why has there never been a Connie Francis jukebox musical?

Or a Stevie Wonder jukebox musical. His song catalog is huge compared to some of the other people who've had one.

Stevie Wonder has control over all his masters, so maybe he just doesn't want a jukebox musical.

Or a George Santos jukebox musical?

[quote] Why has there never been a Connie Francis jukebox musical?

I'd settle for a Connie Francis thread title. Anything to spare us from the repeated banality.

I'd rather see a Connie Stevens musical.

You got omething against Connie Francis??

[quote] I'd settle for a Connie Francis thread title. Anything to spare us from the repeated banality.

Apparently wit isn’t historically accurate

Using Merrily We Roll Aling in the thread title at this late date just feels desperate.

I don't give a shit what the thread title is.

[quote]Using Merrily We Roll Aling in the thread title at this late date just feels desperate.

Then you should have thought of one and posted it before this one. Otherwise, your post is useless.

Contrary to your skewed belief, not everyone is sitting here poised at the ready to create a new Theatre Gossip thread the minute the old one fills up. I'm pretty sure nothing going on is so urgent that we can't wait for something at least halfway decent.

And this wasn't it.

Kinda like your post, eh?

Not really, no.

You must be exhausting to be around, r16.

[quote] Nobody likes a complainer

Really? Then you're in the wrong fucking thread, sweetheart, because I'm just the tip of the iceberg.

[quote]So much there . . . successful recording career, serious romance with Bobby Darin, overbearing, tyrannical father, multiple marriages, brother murdered by the mob, her 1974 rape, etc.

And all of this in a jukebox musical! That does sound like a fun night out.

[quote] So much there . . . succesful recording career, serious romance with Bobby Darin, overbearing, tyrannical father, multiple marriages, brother murdered by the mob, her 1974 rape, etc.

Don't forget the commercials hawking her hits collections.

[quote] her 1974 rape, etc.

I was molested. Where's MY jukebox musical?

You can use Mama's and Liza's stuff to fill in the gaps.

Julie Benko IS Connie Francis!

Today’s performance of Danny and the Deep. Blue Sea has been canceled

The blind item has to be about Harmony but it’s crazy that anyone in that cast is a bully

Harmony? Who would be a bully in fucking Harmony?

Julie Benko milkshake duck would be hilarious

According to Ben Rimalower’s Instagram story, Lindsay was out of Merrily again.

Is Lindsay the new Audra?

Well, she definitely looks like she loves her Chipotle!

Saw SPAIN last night. How the fuck do these incomprehensibly awful plays get produced by major theaters like 2nd Stage?? I could not follow a word of it.

I felt sorry for the actors. Especially, Andrew Burnap, who I'd love to hug.

So Lindsay only showed up for the perf with the OBC alum for the press

[quote]I'd settle for a Connie Francis thread title. Anything to spare us from the repeated banality.

What we really need is something to spare us from your continued anality.

[quote]Contrary to your skewed belief, not everyone is sitting here poised at the ready to create a new Theatre Gossip thread the minute the old one fills up. I'm pretty sure nothing going on is so urgent that we can't wait for something at least halfway decent. And this wasn't it.

For the second time in a row, a thread got very close to 600 posts with no one having started a new one. So, in both cases, I quickly thought of a thread title and posted and new thread, thinking that the necessity for a brilliantly witty title is not as important as starting a new thread in a timely manner. In return, I've been insulted for my doing so by various sociopaths, like this one. I guess that's the price one pays for frequenting DL.

[quote]Then you should have thought of one and posted it before this one. Otherwise, your post is useless.

Thanks, R15. I started this thread for people like you, not bitches like R9, R13, and R16.

[quote]The blind item has to be about Harmony but it’s crazy that anyone in that cast is a bully

Assuming, of course, that the item is true at all.

When will be the first revival of Seth Rudetsky is Disaster?

Saw Here We Are last night, Act I was great fun and fabulously chic. Very interested to see what the music looks like on paper, to my ear there were a lot of cluster chords and very colorful chord changes. I didn't hear many pedal points, unusual for Sondheim.

Rachel Bay Jones had a sweet almost song in Act II, it's like they threw in a sketch Sondheim had just started writing. Disregarding the lack of music, Act II's book also felt unfinished. It almost grapples with some interesting postmodern ideas, but Ives didn't seem quite up to the task.

Anyway, time to swallow poison, there's nothing left to live for.

One post didn't get me into the Thread Watcher. Let's try another one.

And yes, I tried clicking the eye icon to no avail.

r38 Try scrolling to the top or bottom of the page and then clicking on it

Next time, r39. Thanks! My 2nd post worked.

[quote] For the second time in a row, a thread got very close to 600 posts with no one having started a new one. So, in both cases, I quickly thought of a thread title and posted and new thread, thinking that the necessity for a brilliantly witty title is not as important as starting a new thread in a timely manner. In return, I've been insulted for my doing so by various sociopaths, like this one. I guess that's the price one pays for frequenting DL.

I'm asking this seriously- if you hadn't rushed to the scene to make a new thread before the old one "expired" exactly what did you think would happen? DL would implode? The world would end? There would be a revival of The Wedding Singer? What was so urgent that you had to make sure we didn't go without a thread for an hour or so... "Carry On!" Wow, bearking news indeed.

Jeez. I don't give a shit what the title is. All I want is someone to actually put a link in the old thread for the new one so I don't have to go searching for it.

Anyone who bitches about the title should be forced to give an alternative title and show us all how it's meant to be done.

Or from the next thread just drop anything after the thread number and make them seethe.

Do shut up, r41.

[quote] I guess that's the price one pays for frequenting DL.

If you understand this, why do you always have to make it worse?

Choose not to engage.

Bitching about the thread title and extended "No, YOU shut up!" back-and-forths always makes me think of Sondheim's "Bang!" It's just tedious, making it all too clear that some folks really don't have anything to say and seem hellbent on delaying that inevitable reveal.

Feeding the trolls makes you a troll

[quote]I'm asking this seriously- if you hadn't rushed to the scene to make a new thread before the old one "expired" exactly what did you think would happen? DL would implode?

No, I started the new thread sooner rather than later so that people who had something to say didn't have to wait.

[quote]Jeez. I don't give a shit what the title is. All I want is someone to actually put a link in the old thread for the new one so I don't have to go searching for it.

Mea culpa there. I will keep this in mind if I start another thread.

Don't feed the plants!

Since Nicole Scherzinger is unquestionably a sure thing, who do we think will be cast in the other roles when SUNSET BLVD. inevitably crosses the pond in the near future?

Lempicka or Suffs? The Pirate Queen or Teddy & Alice? Scandalous or Quilters?

This thread title is an [italic]embarrassment!

And we're ashamed of you.

Is it too late for Lempicka and Suffs! to change their titles?

I’ve seen the off-Broadway “Stereophonic” twice at Playwrights Horizons, think it’s completely unique and wonderful and don’t understand why more people don’t know about it despite the great reviews and word of mouth.

Does anyone here know if it is headed to Broadway or London at some point?

More people aren't aware of STEREOPHONIC because relatively little attention is given to Off-Broadway shows unless big stars are involved or the show is especially notable for some other reason (like HELL'S KITCHEN). This one s such a big hit that I think a move to Broadway is likely, although from what I hear, certain aspects of the show may work against that -- such as the facts that it's apparently hyper-realistic with a lot of pauses, and a full three hours in length.

If Sunset does cross the pond for a limited run they may bring the brit leads with them except for Betty who's committed to Hadestown. Glennie brought her Joe, Max and Betty over and none of them were all that special.

I think it would be a mistake to move Stereophonic to Broadway, but I do wish it would/could transfer to a commercial Off-Broadway run. I think it would actually do better there.

[quote] Is it too late for Lempicka and Suffs! to change their titles?

No. Sadly, just this thread.

Is it too late for R59 to change his underwear?

P.S. I agree that SUFFS is an awful title, but I don't think LEMPICKA is so bad.

A hit title is the title of a hit!

Whoop-Up

I was working at Tower Records in the Soundtracks/Vocals dept as a 16 yr old gayling, new to the city when Whoop-Up was released on CD. It was my first ever exposure to rabid eldergay theater queens.

And now I am one.

RIP Sheila Smith. Bet she had some fabulous stories to tell. FOLLIES!

Only in spirit, Sheila...

Speaking of Jamie Lloyd, did anyone see his take on Chekhov's The Seagull last year? (I saw it on National Theatre at Home.) Plywood walls, some plastic chairs, minimal movement from the cast. I thought I was going to hate it, but it turned out to be oddly hypnotic. Kudos to Indira Varma as Arkadina for bringing some verve, and Tom Rhys Harries for just being dreamy.

Jamie Lloyd is what Sam Gold thinks he is.

[quote]Kudos to Indira Varma as Arkadina for bringing some verve

Janis Paige-level verve?

[quote]r66 Speaking of Jamie Lloyd, did anyone see his take on Chekhov's The Seagull last year?

Not unless it starred Cloris Leachman as Arkadina, no.

r63, welcome to the club!

Loved Stereophonic so much.

r67 for the WIN

Broadway legend Miss Carol Lawrence

I have no interest in seeing STEREOPHONIC as the subject matter (recording a rock album) is not exactly in my wheelhouse, but I'm thrilled for playwright David Adjmi wo is such a sweet smart guy and got such a raw deal on that Sean Hayes/Oscar Levant scandal.

Here's a scoop (at least I don't think it's public knowledge yet) : Andy Blankenbeuhler will be directing/choreographing a new revival of NINE for the Kennedy Center this summer. Calling Oscar Isaac!

I only ever saw Sheila Smith in supporting roles on Broadway, as Deedee in FOLLIES and as Sweet Sue in SUGAR but she was always amazing and a stand-out in those small roles. RIP lovely lady.

She must have gone on as Phyllis at some point, r76.

I'm sure she did and I bet she was terrific. But I didn't see her play the role.

I don't think Alexis Smith ever missed a performance. She and Betty Bacall were warhorses. You just don't find that kind of work ethic today.

FOLLIES! VEGAS is officially announced for a short run in April… only six performances, but a 26-piece orchestra according to a Fb post by Nicholas King (who is playing Young Ben with his boyfriend Seth Sikes as Young Buddy). Will Rita Rudner play Hattie? Let the casting parade begin.

Sorry...*this* ain't FOLLIES.

Frederica von Stade!

Ted Chapin is now performing in Follies? Okay.

Never look back, Ted.

Sondheim shows are weird like that, you do one and you're grandfathered in to future productions and tributes until you drop dead.

[quote]R80 FOLLIES! VEGAS is officially announced for a short run in April

We [italic]demand [/italic]an open call for all paying DL members in good standing!

WE’RE the ones who keep these revivals RUNNING!

Holy crap, that Follies website is the height of amateurish. But I love the idea of Follies being set in a crumbling Las Vegas casino and show palace.

… featuring DLers!

“Number 197, step forward. Have you ever performed ‘Follies’ before?”

“A million times! In the shower!”

Looking closer at the logo “design” for FOLLIES! VEGAS it looks more like FOLLIEZ… perhaps that is all too apropos.

Is it true that "Here We Arre" is moving to Broadway?

Wayne Newton IS Dimitri Weissman!

Steve and Ghost Eydie as The (non-tap dancing) Whitmans!!

[quote]Steve and Ghost Eydie as The (non-tap dancing) Whitmans!!

They will be recreating their freewheeling patio number.

Can't they find something for Zombie Celeste Holm?

I really enjoyed Here We Are, but I would hate to see it get eaten up in a half-full Broadway house. It would, however, be nice if Ives and Mantello could rewrite the “Department of Homeland Security” soldier and colonel since DHS is not part of the armed forces.

[quote]I have no interest in seeing STEREOPHONIC as the subject matter (recording a rock album) is not exactly in my wheelhouse, but I'm thrilled for playwright David Adjmi wo is such a sweet smart guy and got such a raw deal on that Sean Hayes/Oscar Levant scandal.

And then, to rub salt into the wound, Hayes won an undeserved Tony Award for his performance. Too bad karma didn't bite him in the ass -- quite the opposite.

Are we sure that's really Celeste Holm in that audio clip of MAME at R95? Because if so, she sounds absolutely nothing like the way she sounds on her cast albums. Is it possible the clip is mislabeled?

That's Celeste, r98.

If HERE WE AE does move to Broadway, that would be a tremendous mistake. I really don't think the general audience that attends Broadway musicals will cotton to theatre of the absurd, nor will they be pleased by a musical that stops being a musical about 10 minutes into Act II.

all fo you Sondheim queens who just have to see "Follies!" hade better get your seats right away, because the place seats 650 and was made as a live music venue, not a theater.

^sorry for the misspellings. I was so excited at the prospect of the show being held in a concert venue, not a theater. And, I'm stoned.

The Broadway transfer of HELL'S KITCHEN has just been announced. Opening at the Shubert in April.

I saw Sean Hayes in the Oscar Levant show, I thought he was terrific

Hell's Kitchen announced for The Shubert.

Hopefully without spoiling anything in Here We Are, Tracie Bennett’s final moment was on point. I felt like it was Sondheim himself speaking. I would have loved an epic song or two, but their absence said just as much.

[quote]Tracie Bennett’s final moment was on point

Did she say "I know, I'll sing 'em all and we'll say *all* night!"?

No. She said I’ve had a good life.

Best Theater of 2023:

r74

I thought Stereophonic was quite good…

but…

he did not get a raw deal on the Levant show. He was simply let go. Happens all the time.

Didn't Hayes and his producer hold onto the option for Adjmi's Levant play after it was clear they had no intention of producing it, preventing him from shopping it elsewhere? That's showbiz! (And a bit of a raw deal.)

[quote]I saw Sean Hayes in the Oscar Levant show, I thought he was terrific.

On the one hand, he created a character unlike any other he has ever played before, and totally unlike himself in terms of speech, body language, etc. Unfortunately, that character bore very little resemblance to Oscar Levant, as you will find if you check out video clips of the man on YouTube. But Sean did play the Rhapsody very well.

Re Hells Kitchen

[Quote] the musical’s lead producer will be AKW Productions, which is a company Keys owns and describes as “focused on creating diverse, real, authentic and genuine stories in film, television, theater and music.”

Real, authentic [italic] and [/italic] genuine??!

I've resisted STEREOPHONIC because that music genre is of no interest to me. But I'm told by friends that I would love it even so.

Re Follies Las Vegas - I like the suggestion of Wayne Newton as Dimitri Weissman, but my vote is for him to play Carlotta.

I really hope Patti LuPone plays Sally.

1) non-equity

2) dry air

3) loose slots

Merrily is extending through July 7.

Appropriate is extending three more weeks (which was likely already built in and is just being dangled because of soft sales to make it look more popular than it is).

The League of Live Stream has announced they will be streaming three performances of of the off-Broadway play Scene Partners starring Dianne Wiest during its final week.

Tickets for the stream are $60 plus a $9 "convenience fee."

WTeverlastingF??? I can buy a hard ticket for it on TDF for less than that. I live in LA and would love to see it, but that's just greedy as fuck.

OMG! George Santos sent Shoshana Bean a good luck video for her Christmas show at the Apollo. She just posted it on her Instagram Stories.

The levels of crazy after all that's happened this week and he's sending videos to Shoshana. He's also telling people that he has a cameo in the Wicked movie.

They originally wanted George for Elphaba, but they couldn't find any way to get him to fly without NASA's assistance.

[quote]Appropriate is extending three more weeks (which was likely already built in and is just being dangled because of soft sales to make it look more popular than it is).

One of the oldest tricks in the P.R. book, and so glaringly obvious.

Spamalot grossed about the same as Shucked last week, but with a lower average ticket price ($82). In fact, How to Dance in Ohio was the only other show with a lower avg ticket price. Uh oh.

Even Hellen Keller knew that How to Dance in Ohio was going to be a huge flop.

Do you think Purlie Victorious will make it to February 4th?

I've been meaning to try for Purlie on the lottery, anyone recommend it?

New Sweeney poster

R125: Hell to the no. It's the same, old boring white people bad narrative and the lead female actress was saying is so annoying and I couldn't understand what she was saying half the time. With its poor box office numbers, I'm surprised it's lasted this long.

[quote]Appropriate is extending three more weeks (which was likely already built in and is just being dangled because of soft sales to make it look more popular than it is).

It sounds dreadful:

[quote]Appropriate follows the dysfunctional Lafayette family as they return to a decaying plantation mansion in Arkansas to battle over their recently deceased father's inheritance. Soon after uncovering a relic buried deep in the recess of their family's past, decades of resentment burst through centuries of historical sin in this biting comedic drama from Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.

Who is the audience for this?

I've also noticed that the entire cast is white, so why is it okay for a black playwright to write about a white family, but it's suddenly taboo the other way around?

[quote]So why is it okay for a black playwright to write about a white family, but it's suddenly taboo the other way around?

I think you know the answer to that question as well as the rest of us.

[Quote] the lead female actress was saying is so annoying and I couldn't understand what she was saying half the time

But what you are saying is perfectly easy to understand

[quote]It's the same, old boring white people bad narrative

Actually, there are only two white characters in PURLIE VICTORIOUS, and while one of them is an awful racist, the other one -- his son -- is definitely not, and in fact ends up functioning pretty much as a "white savior" for the black characters.

Would Ossie Davis write awhite savior into one of his own please?

plays

Some many plays about the coloreds…

Well, R132, as I said, the character of Charlie in PURLIE VICTORIOUS can be seen that way, because he's the one who does something that ensures Purlie will get ownership of the church he so desperately wants.

I saw Appropriate at the Donmar Warehouse in London pre-pandemic, with a matinee Donmar crowd - who found the thing that happens at the end of the first act to be riotously hilarious.

R128, can you really imagine a white person writing Appropriate?

I love that it is a traditional three act drama--with the best second act curtain of all time.

A FB acquaintance of mine posted just now that it was the first time in all his years of theater-going that he ever saw an actor get seriously hurt onstage but then he never mentioned which show, in spite of a couple of friends asking. Anyone hear anything?

Well, maybe by the time I come back here I'll have the answer.

It's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, probably at the matinee. I was at the evening performance and the house didn't appear to be open until about showtime (goddamn, it was cold out tonight). Before the show, the director came out and mentioned someone was seriously injured, but they loved the show so much and wanted to bring it to everyone that they were going to perform the show in a modified state.

It was a bit of a what the fuck moment for me since he gave no context as to who was injured or what the changes would be. Christopher Abbott was sitting onstage as we filed in, slumped back with bloody makeup and looking hung over, with a pair of crutches next to him as we filed in - it just looked like part of the show, so when the show began proper we were left wondering how much of what we were seeing was part of the show vs. him being hurt. I kept grimacing when he moved around, thinking he might be in pain. It was bizarre.

I really couldn't get into the play. A tedious screaming match. Some nice lighting. I guess I missed out on some weird dance number in the middle of it.

Danny was cancelled on Sunday because Abbott was injured the night before. Apparently there are understudies so not sure why his didn't go on.

[quote] with the best second act curtain of all time.

New Dolly Parton jukebox

[Quote] This lively and touching new musical tells the story of a diehard fan whose fantasy version of international icon Dolly Parton gets him through trying times. With her wit, humour and charm, Dolly teaches him a whole lot about life, love and how to pull yourself up by your bootstraps... even if your bootstraps don't have rhinestones! This is one musical that is sure to make you smile.

That's one that has been making the rounds. It was produced in Delaware last year.

That sounds execrable.

NOBODY wants to see someone else play Dolly Parton.

The person they have playing her these days is bad enough.

Yuck. How trashy.

I’m so glad I ditched my equity card!

[quote]NOBODY wants to see someone else play Dolly Parton.

Kitara Ravache IS Dolly Parton!

Alright gang my April trip to New York is booked here are my plans!

Monday April 8: Patti LuPone at Carnegie Hall

Tuesday April 9: Cabaret

Wednesday April 10 Matinee: Sweeney Todd

Wednesday April 10. Merrily We Roll Along

Thursday April 11: Ibsen’s Ghost- the new Charles Busch play.

So. How much did you pay? I am holding out on Cabaret, but know I will give in.

That Las Vegas production of follies sounds like a real stinker. I’m really surprised that Ted Chapin has agreed to be a part of it. And why no Brent Barrett? He and his hubby live in Las Vegas. Maybe it’s too cheesy for him.

No production of "Follies!" is a stinker, because, to us, every performance is a re-enactment of the Last Supper'

Las Vegas is actually a haven for elderly chorus boys, second only to Palm Springs. I'm sure Casting had a lot to choose from.

R151 I did not get one of the tables so my tickets were under $200 for Cabaret. Same with Merrily. I was in the second row for the NYTW run so I didn’t care to be up in the mezzanine on this viewing.

Lucie Arnaz should fly in for “I’m Still Here”

Is Chapin playing Dmitri Weissman? His bio makes him sound a bit desperate to have a job.

[Quote] No production of "Follies!" is a stinker, because, to us, every performance is a re-enactment of the Last Supper'. —Sondheim-ites

🥱

Chapin should play Weissmann. I mean, who else could he play that doesn't have to sing or dance? Or barely act?

[quote] I mean, who else could he play that doesn't have to sing or dance?

The waiter Phyllis puts the move on.

How lazy and unprofessional is it that the website for the Vegas FOLLIES lists all of the cast members, with their photos, but doesn't say what roles they're playing? How do you spell "amateurish?"

I just borrowed Idina Menzel's Christmas album from the library, and on it she does a pretty rousing version of We Need a Little Christmas, so how about her for a Mame revival?

I sent a Polaroid to the Vegas Follies people.

Still haven’t heard back, but fingers crossed!

“Starring Michelle Johnson, Randal Keith, Ruby Lewis, Sam Holder, and special appearances by Pete Barbutti, Ted Chapin, Patrick Hogan, Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton-Holmes, Nicholas King, Kate Kinhan, Merald "Bubba" Knight, Jenny Malcolm, Michelle Marshall, Skye Dee Miles, Tim Molineux, Katy Monroe, Denise Rose, Seth Sikes, Gabriella Versace, Frederica von Stade, Linda Woodson, with an introduction by the incomparable Rich Little!“

Rich Little???

R164 I hope that's the same Michelle Johnson from the ACL movie and,,,,,,,SHOWGIRLS!

I don’t Idina is good casting for Mame….however if she does play Mame….then Billy Porter *MUST* play Vera

The man in the moon is a lady, indeed!

They said on that Follies website that they are not going to have the same cast every night, so I think that there may be multiple Weissmans, et al.

And no, different Michelle Johnson.

Have you all seen the poster for The Color Purple film musical? It's horrible. I definitely think this will flop.

R186 PorkChop for Matinee Vera.

R168 Oh, dear. That looks very photo shopped and clean. CP should look kinda dirty.

And how the fuck are they gonna give Taraji Henson first billing and stick Fantasia at the end with an "and?" Should be the other way around. Shug doesn't even show up til halfway into the story.

[quote]I just borrowed Idina Menzel's Christmas album from the library, and on it she does a pretty rousing version of We Need a Little Christmas, so how about her for a Mame revival?

More important than who would play Mame: Who will rework the musty old book, the biggest impediment to reviving that show?

Underwhelming indeed, r168. Very *3* GIRLS *3*.

Both Color Purple and Mean Girls have sent out trailers that hide the fact the films are musicals

I don’t understand this marketing strategy. I realize that straight boys think watching a musical will unpenis them, but they’ll find out sooner or later and still not see the movie. And it makes us theater queens suspicious of the quality of the movie.

Lea DeLaria IS Ito!

Too bad Ito does not have a song, because Lea DeLaria can really sing

Lea DeLaria played Vera opposite Andrea McArdle as Mame. Yes, that really happened.

Speaking Lea Delaria, has that production of Night of the Iguana started performances yet?

No, but Beowulf posted a mock-up of the set.

Oh I love this so.

Saw opening night of Boop! tonight here in Chicago.

Immensely talented lead trapped in a fucking mess of a show.

Faith Prince is utterly wasted.

Show ran close to 3 hours.

Need to cut a subplot where Betty foils the mayoral run of a nefarious waste management official. (I’m not joking - that’s the actual storyline.)

A couple of good songs.

I saw a screening of Color Purple tonight. Taraji P. and Danielle were stand outs. I have mixed thoughts on the movie, didn't bring me to tears like the original movie or seeing it on Broadway did. SPOILER: They added "Sisters" for Taraji to sing.

[quote]R181 Saw opening night of Boop! tonight here in Chicago… fucking mess of a show.

Broadway don’t go for Boop an’ dope.

If they change one letter and hire ME, the show will be a hit!

My kiss in on your lips, gays!

R177 Lea DeLaria was in that production and she was on stage, but she wasn’t playing Vera Charles.

[quote]No, but Beowulf posted a mock-up of the set.

That Beowulf is one disarming man.

Barbra sings "Where's That Rainbow" on an early album. One of my favorite of her recordings.

Boop opened last night. When do we get reviews?

[quote]BIG BROADWAY MUSICAL

[quote]I thoroughly enjoyed myself last night at the first preview of BOOP the musical. The casting is wonderful all around (as much a I loved seeing Faith Prince perform in person, her character could be but cut and nothing would be lost). The costumes are amazing. The set may rely too much on projections but the costume budget made up for it. It has big Broadway numbers including some amazing tap work. The book may still need a little bit of work but if you are looking for a big Broadway musical you will not be disappointed.

A DLer probably wrote this one:

[quote]The music was forgettable, the lyrics insufferable and the plot was indecipherable. Aside from those things: Great Show…Not. It seems the play could not figure out if it was 1. A love story 2. A political/satirical romp … or 3. A Wizard of Oz knock-off Boop is a play that doesn’t know itself.

[quote]I don’t understand this marketing strategy. I realize that straight boys think watching a musical will unpenis them, but they’ll find out sooner or later and still not see the movie. And it makes us theater queens suspicious of the quality of the movie.

I'm with you. I mean, I too understand the "logic" behind creating a trailer that hides the fact that the movie is a musical, but when you think about it for a moment, that "logic" is nonsensical.

Crazy.

Stevie Wonder doesn't want a jukebox musical because he couldn't see it.

[quote]Lea DeLaria as Vera Charles

The man in the moon is a bulldyke!

Why must one be able to make a better title if they don’t like one? Ok, every time you hate a movie, I’ll say “why don’t you make your own movie!” See how stupid that is?

As for HWA not appealing to masses because it’s absurd, the Nathan Lane GODOT was a hit for Roundabout.

[quote]Why must one be able to make a better title if they don’t like one? Ok, every time you hate a movie, I’ll say “why don’t you make your own movie!” See how stupid that is?

Right, because those two things are exactly the same.

Joe Locke as Toby in Sweeney.

HERE WE ARE is a hit because there are enough Sondheim and general theatre nerds around who (understandably) want to see Sondheim's final show and performed with a first class cast.

But HWA could never sustain an open run beyond a few months longer than The Shed run.

[quote]As for HWA not appealing to masses because it’s absurd, the Nathan Lane GODOT was a hit for Roundabout.

Do you really think those audiences came for the play rather than for the cast, which also included John Goodman, John Glover, and Bill Irwin? Also, that production had a very limited run of two and a half months.

Of course, HWA does have some fair-size names in it (DHP, Cannavale, et. al), but I would say not quite big enough to sell lots of tickets on their names alone. If that show does come to Broadway, it would be best for a limited run, maybe by one of the not-for-profits, rather than for a commercial run.

R198, exactly.

GODOT is a recognized classic. HWA is a curiosity.

I saw Here We Are. Husband took me with a strict rule To accept it on it’s own history. (Not complete; I like - don’t love Sondheim; Broadway musicals aren’t my fav thing) I liked the humor & the girl. Songs were fine. So: anyone on the fence - see it. It really is the end of an era (until they bring Road show or what ever it is to the masses.)

Will Suffs be a flop?

Audiences won't be able to get enoughs of Suffs!

That new Tobias has his eye on the musical version of Dumbo, I hear.

[quote]It really is the end of an era (until they bring Road show or what ever it is to the masses.

You're probably joking, but that show will never be "brought to the masses" by being produced on Broadway or made into a movie or presented on TV.

[quote] Husband took me with a strict rule To accept it on it’s own history.

Too bad your husband isn't as strict about grammar

R205. Tell him to get in line

R208 I was there first.

The Chicago Boop reviews don’t seem to acknowledge that Mitchell is dumber than a box of hair.

I’m tired of being bullied by Boop!

I think Chicago is cursed as an out of town tryout.

Ludacris has joined the producing team of How to Dance in Ohio.

THAT'LL pack 'em in!

Ohio will be gone in January.

r214 As long as it's before the election.

Don't forget about me, R212!

I second the great, the incomparable, Pamelyn Ferdin.

Oh dear. Wrong thread : (

Pamelyn Ferdin for matinee Boop

She would LOVE it!

AND she has comic strip experience from voicing Lucy van Pelt!

Also - not to be all Scrooge like — but why is Equity allowing this Tobias casting? There’s no American performer who could play the part? This kid Joe Locke is going to sell tickets? What are the exchanges currently on the West End?

Oh settle down, r221. It may be that we owed British Equity an exchange.

[quote]until they bring Road show or what ever it is to the masses.

It's been done, more than once. The masses didn't want it.

Is Groban in charge of casting the replacement cast and he's determined to ensure it crashes and burns after he leaves?

R224 I think they are banking on tween girls wanting to see the boy from Heartstopper.

The bad thing is it’s the OTHER boy that the tweens want

R223 not on broadway. No one wants drag musicals & it still happens. No one wants Pacific Overtures & it keeps happening. Road show will happen. It’s not that I don’t agree with you…. Spamalot anyone? A girl version of 1776? Another slutty version of Cabaret?

[quote]Also - not to be all Scrooge like — but why is Equity allowing this Tobias casting? There’s no American performer who could play the part? This kid Joe Locke is going to sell tickets? What are the exchanges currently on the West End?

These exchanges happen all the time, in both directions. I'm amazed you don't know that.

[quote]What are the exchanges currently on the West End?

There doesn’t have to be an exact match at the same time. They add up the weeks, and it could be that we owed them several weeks. When Kathleen Rowe McAllen, who was mostly an unknown at the time, went in as Fantine in the London Les Mis, her employment was paying off weeks that the Brits owed us. (Of course, that’s what led to her getting Aspects of Love).

[quote]It’s not that I don’t agree with you…. Spamalot anyone? A girl version of 1776? Another slutty version of Cabaret?

Won't some daring producer stage an all-nude version of "70 Girls, 70?"

who keeps fucking with this thread - I can't add it to my watched, and have to search every time - and it starts with Reply #1?!

Hey, *I* want a deluxe revival of Pacific Overtures! (There hasn't been a revival of PO, deluxe or otherwise, in years.)

[quote]Who keeps fucking with this thread - I can't add it to my watched, and have to search every time - and it starts with Reply #1?!

I'm guessing maybe that's because you have the OP blocked. Namely, me.

So you're saying R230 has impeccable taste, then?

R231, Classic Stage did it in 2017 with George Takei. It was quite good! They cut my favorite tho, "Chrysanthemum Tea."

But I'm with you--I'd love another revival.

I wonder about FORUM, so odd it hasn't come back in a big starry revival.

[quote]I wonder about FORUM, so odd it hasn't come back in a big starry revival.

It was supposed to be revived on Broadway some years back, with James Corden. I think the plans were pretty far along, but then Corden got his late-night TV gig. I wonder if he might ever revisit the FORUM project.

ROAD SHOW will never see many revivals, in NY or elsewhere. I teach in the drama dept. of one of the better theater schools and student directors are always doing Sondheim shows for their thesis projects, including even PASSION, but never ROAD SHOW. And I say that knowing that in the future HERE WE ARE will often be revived by student directors and other young directors wanting to "crack" it. But not ROAD SHOW. It's just too dry and boring.

FORUM is considered too problematic now - the women are either shrews or virginal ditzes! Producers would be willing to risk it for a big star like Corden but not just to do a revival with a lesser theater star. Or they'd have to wokefy it and have Sarah Porkchop play Pseudolus and have the virgins be all transbois.

[quote]FORUM is considered too problematic now

Yes, NOW, but things change.

After all, TOMORROW is another day.

[quote]r230 Who keeps fucking with this thread - I can't add it to my watched, and have to search every time - and it starts with Reply #1?!

[quote]r232 I'm guessing maybe that's because you have the OP blocked. Namely, me.

[quote]R233 So you're saying [R230] has impeccable taste, then?

All I ask is someone preempt OP making another blandly idiotic thread title next time.

I believe we can all agree this is vital.

If a show is considered 'problematic' please don't revive it with alterations especially if the original creators are dead and have no say in any changes. Leave it alone and produce new woke works.

R235 he asked for a starry revival, not a fatfuck Britshit revival.

r239 Well go on then, tell us what the next thread title should be.

My Magic 8ball says it’s too soon to tell.

Just don’t let OP do it, as it will reek of failure.

Right, because topicality is always important for the Theatre Gossip threads. In other words, you've got nothing

Oh my fucking god. We are on post 200 something on this thread and STILL talking about the thread title?

^^ but to add insult to injury, OP inflicted the lame thread title BEFORE this one on us, too.

And that hurts.

I am Sweeney Todd.

Any fans of Cole Escola here?

And now, in the category of Shows You Must See Based Only on the Description: Cole Escola is making their off-Broadway debut in Oh, Mary! Written by the actor and comedian, it’s centered on Mary Todd Lincoln in the weeks leading up to Honest Abe’s assassination. Escola, of course, will play Mary Todd. Are you not sold yet? Oh, Mary! will be directed by Sam Pinkleton (Here We Are), which brings exactly the prestige that a show examining “the forgotten life and dreams of Mrs. Lincoln through the lens of an idiot” deserves. Oh, Mary! begins previews at the Lucille Lortel Theater on January 26, before opening on February 8 for a limited eight-week run. Get ready, because the wiggiest production of the season is coming our way.

I love Cole Escola and am excited to see the play.

Nope. No fans.

For the last 2 thread titles, you mean

Uncola for me.

I don't know or care about Cole Escola but I'm happy that the Lortel Theatre is being used again for commercial runs.

Are we seeing a slight uptick in the number of off-Broadway productions?

[quote]FORUM is considered too problematic now - the women are either shrews or virginal ditzes!

Assuming you are not joking, this may be the stupidest comment I've read on DL in quite a while -- and that's saying something. ALL of the characters in FORUM, including the men, are very broad comic caricatures, and just about the only one who's portrayed in a mostly positive light is Pseudolus, and maybe also Hero although he's pretty dim in some respects.

Also, most of the female characters in FORUM are courtesans.

R253 No. Don’t you read The Times?!

Dismiss WISE GUYS/BOUNCE/ROAD SHOW all you like -- there are at least 3 first-rate songs that appear in each version of the score, and much else to enjoy besides.

I would argue with your description of those songs as first rate, but even if you feel that way, the fact is that none of those versions of the show work at all.

Three good songs out of twenty-ish isn't exactly a ringing endorsement.

Tell us about it, Harold Rome @r259!

FORUM has too much objectification of the courtesans—ie whores. Doesn't bother me, but there would be howls of protest over the drooling dirty old men in Everybody Ought to Have a Maid. Too bad. It's one of my favorite musicals.

Sorry... I'm loving this curtain call... it's so out there.

[Quote] Classic Stage did it in 2017 with George Takei. It was quite good! They cut my favorite tho, "Chrysanthemum Tea."

The current Menier production also cuts that song. Somebody involved in it is quoted somewhere explaining why, but I got bored unstop reading.

[quote]FORUM has too much objectification of the courtesans—ie whores. Doesn't bother me, but there would be howls of protest over the drooling dirty old men in Everybody Ought to Have a Maid. Too bad. It's one of my favorite musicals.

FORUM is a knockabout, old-style musical comedy partly based on classic vaudeville and burlesque tropes. Even in the original production, the courtesans are portrayed as being very much in control of the situation -- which I know is not realistic, but neither is anything else in the show. I think your prediction of "howls of protest" is kind of ridiculous.

That CSC PACIFIC OVERTURES was an odd production. There was a framing device of a young woman looking around in a museum and imagining the story, I think that concept disappeared after 20 minutes or so. I also remember the ushers very aggressively telling everyone it would be a 90 minute one act and Chrysanthemum Tea would not be performed. Ann Harada and Thom Sesma were terrific though.

After the show I had a nice chat with George Takei, he called Sondheim a "musical theatre magician," and I didn't feel like the gayest person in the room for once in my life.

[quote] Even in the original production, the courtesans are portrayed as being very much in control of the situation -- which I know is not realistic, but neither is anything else in the show. I think your prediction of "howls of protest" is kind of ridiculous.

You underestimate the power of the SJWs on social media to make this show seem like a strike against all womanhood, a prime example of male toxicity, which sees women being objectified for their looks and salacious costumes. Of course, they would have never seen the show nor understand the vaudeville aspects, but the SJWs and MAGAts only exist to find things to "offend" them and then make a big fuss about how they are offended. It's the only reason they exist.

[quote]but the SJWs and MAGAts only exist to find things to "offend" them and then make a big fuss about how they are offended

While you just make up stuff to be offended about. A few loons on social media have no power at all.

[quote]A few loons on social media have no power at all.

I'm not R266, but then why has Broadway been bending over backwards for them the past several years?

Chrysanthemum Tea is my favorite song in Pacific Overtures. Is it cut because it’s one of the few humorous songs n the show?

If some or all of the courtesans are trans POC, the show will be instantly remedied. It’s magic!

Musical Theatre Magic?

There's one explanation of cutting "Tea" that says it is based on a fictional situation: there was never a Shogun murdered by his own mother. And in subsequent productions the creators wanted to be as accurate as possible about the history. Sondheim doesn't address this in his Collected Lyrics, so not sure how he felt about its omission.

Thanks, R272. That's interesting. I'd be surprised if no one asked Sondheim why the number began to be cut from productions and if he never answered, but I realize we don't all have immediate access to everything he ever said or wrote.

Following recent Broadway trends, " Forum" could be changed into a more contemporary Message Musical. Take a page from " Company" and do a complete gender reversal, emphasizing female empowerment. All of leads would be black women( except Hysterium who would be white male playing a eunuch). Miles Gloriosa could be Jada, an Amazon, returning from her glorious fight against toxic white masculinity. All of the courtesans will be played by handsome young white men, dressed only in thongs. A hit.

A hit? Like 1776?

I'm watching a PBS special celebrating 50 years of Broadway hosted by Sutton Foster. What a snooze. Andre deShields, Chits and Donna McKechnie showed us how it's really done but the rest were just so bland with the exception of Sara Barrellis and Max Clayton who really stood out among the ensemble. Sutton Foster's rendition of Being Alive belonged in the Miss Universe pageant. How boring.

Being Alive? that's from before 50 years! Humph!

[Quote] why has Broadway been bending over backwards for them the past several years?

good question. Tootsie thinks it was crashed by bad buzz about its being offensive, rather than its being bad. Maybe press and marketing people are treating it like more of a crisis than it is.

It's your opinion that TOOTSIE was "bad." Although I would say the score was mediocre at best, I'd also say it was one of the funniest musicals in recent memory, and I thought the writers adapted the source material very well in regard to current "woke" standards without making the story ridiciculous.

Well, I'm glad somebody liked it....

Fair, r279. But then why did it flop so hard. Do you think it was political?

[quote] Although I would say the score was mediocre at best, I'd also say it was one of the funniest musicals in recent memory, and I thought the writers adapted the source material very well in regard to current "woke" standards without making the story ridiciculous.

Can't agree with you there. It was a horrible mish mash of a new scenario and plot differences combined with whole sections of the film script wedged in to give the audience lines they remembered and laughed at 40 years ago. The new stuff wasn't the least bit funny (though I wholly agreed that if they were setting it in present day, they could not do a soap). And setting the story in present day made zero sense because everyone could tell it was a cross-dressing man. And in 2019, we're all used to seeing MTFs, FTMs, Stefonees, and all combinations. We don't even blink an eye if we see a 6 ft tall guy in full drag, and moreover, we KNOW it's a guy. There's no way anyone would have been fooled by Michael in 2019, and no way anyone would have mentioned him being (whatever they thought he was, trans, crossdresser, loon, etc.) or held it against him. And if they chose to cast him, they would have absolutely made it part of the show (they were rehearsing).

The reason Tootsie the movie worked so well (besides the fact that it was acted, written and directed flawlessly) is because in 1982, most people had no experience with a man trying to pass as a woman. yes, there were female impersonators and drag queens, but no one who was out there trying to pass themselves off as a woman (that was known and seen by the general public) so it was easier to take it at face value that Dorothy Michaels was a real woman.

By 1995, when To Wong Foo was released, the bubble had been popped. I didn't believe for a minute that the people in that hick town didn't realize that those were drag queens. Drag had become mainstream at that point, there was a ton of tabloid television , and people in a town like that were more likely to watch crap like Jerry Springer, Ricki, Jenny Jones, et al, and see those types of people. Sure, maybe one or two of the older townspeople would be confused, but that would be the minority. And that's why that film didn't work. (Plus the fact that is was NOT acted, written or directed flawlessly.)

[quote]Well, I'm glad somebody liked it....

No, you don't, you're just taking another opportunity to be sarcastic. TOOTSIE won Tony Awards for Best Performance by an Actor in a Musical AND for Best Book of a Musical, so obviously not everyone shares your taste.

[quote]It was a horrible mish mash of a new scenario and plot differences combined with whole sections of the film script wedged in to give the audience lines they remembered and laughed at 40 years ago. The new stuff wasn't the least bit funny

I disagree. See above. Also, you make some good points in your post, but I guess it all comes down to how far an individual audience member is willing to suspend disbelief. I for one could not suspend it far enough to make SOME LIKE IT HOT work for me, but I had no problem doing so with TOOTSIE. And actually, the funniest lines and moments I remember from the show WERE new, rather than having been taken from the screenplay of the movie.

😬

No one could have cut “Chrysanthemum Tea” without Sondheim’s permission. What’s the song from Assassins that someone wanted to cut, and wrote a very well thought out reasoning why, and Sondheim basically said “If you don’t want to do that song, don’t do the show.”

[quote]No one could have cut “Chrysanthemum Tea” without Sondheim’s permission.

I realize that, I'm just wondering if he ever made a statement on why he allowed it to be cut.

I'm the one who got that song cut because it was LITERAL VIOLENCE!

It’s “Something Just Broke,” r285. It never really works because we don’t care about random people reacting to assassinations.

Wasn’t there an all-male version of Forum performed somewhere a few years ago?

Yes directed by Jessica Akimbo Stone starring her husband Chris Spamalot Fitzgerald

[Quote] missed another brilliant comic song, “Chrysanthemum Tea,” that was cut from the show, according to Weidman’s program note, because “its wit relies on a tone and style which had more to do with the familiar tropes of mid-century American musical comedy than it did with the tone we were attempting to maintain for Japan before Perry’s arrival.”

Let's get real on TOOTSIE. Total flop. Flopped on Broadway, flopped on tour. No London production -- where even DOUBTFIRE and PRETTY WOMAN worked. It won awards in a weak season, and remember seeing a full page ad featuring Carol Burnett in a bizarre move to sell tickets. The writer was the same who wrote SHUCKED, and it was basically the same thing -- puns and jokes all night, no real characters or interesting scenes. The score was all over the place, and you could tell Yazbeck wasn't into it at all, coming on the heels of BANDS VISIT. No one liked TOOTSIE. It was mostly endured.

Peter Marks has been an institutional hack for years.

Peter Marks is the Washington Post Theater critic but he lives in New York. What does that tell you?

R292, That “total flop” won me a Tony.

So what, r295? Two Gentlemen of Verona beat FOLLIES.

That Stone/Fitzgerald all-make FORUM was also going to transfer to the Roundabout until Todd Haimes insisted Stone had to recast Fitzgerald with a star name and she refused.

"Something Just Broke" moves me every time I hear it.

Jessica Stone is also directing Water for Elephants.

Water for Elephants is bringing Sara Gettlefinger back to Broadway and that's a good thing. Love her.

Sondheim himself says in Finishing the Hat that Chrysanthemum Tea was "the most extreme liberty we took with the actuality of events... It was essentially a Jewish mother song." After Please Hello, it's my favorite song in the show, and I'd hate it to be cut. It's funny, you learn a bit about Japanese religious/mystical beliefs and politics and then, when you haven't been paying attention, the shogun drops dead and eek! you realize who did it.

Santino, honey, Hinton Battle has three Tonys and most of the planet couldn't pick him out of a lineup.

R264, I'm not saying I agree with those thoughts. I love the show. I just know that every producer is running scared of offending the mobs and I've heard producers say that Forum is problematic because of the portrayal of women. As someone else above pointed out, it lampoons everyone but men do not ever protest if they are portrayed as sex-starved servants or meatheads but women will take offense at objectification. (Look what they did to both the leads in New York, New York and Some Like It Hot - completely bland but strong female characters.) Both Forum and The Producers have been bandied about as vehicles for James Corden but even The Producers is deemed "problematic." As Mike Birbiglia once said when explaining that yes, comedy might offend: "Jokes have to be about SOMETHING."

[quote]It’s “Something Just Broke,” [R285]. It never really works because we don’t care about random people reacting to assassinations.

Obviously, the audience is meant to relate to these unknown, common people reacting to the assassination of a President as a devastating event, in the way that millions of people reacted to the JFK assassination.

R301, it's interesting that Sondheim wrote that he'd hate for "Chrysanthemum Tea" to be cut, but then allowed just that to happen for the CSC production.

[quote]That Stone/Fitzgerald all-make FORUM was also going to transfer to the Roundabout until Todd Haimes insisted Stone had to recast Fitzgerald with a star name and she refused.

Good for her for standing up to his star-fucker casting policies.

[quote]No one liked TOOTSIE.

Ah!!!!! Thanks for setting the record straight!!!!! (You dick.)

[quote]it's interesting that Sondheim wrote that he'd hate for "Chrysanthemum Tea" to be cut, but then allowed just that to happen for the CSC production.

I think you need to look at where the quotation marks were in r301's post.

Stockard Channing is on the 2nd ep of season two of Julia. She has officially turned herself into Madame

R307, you really do have the entire cast of "Joe's Apartment" stuck up your ass.

[quote]I think you need to look at where the quotation marks were in [R301]'s post.

Oops, sorry, my mistake. Thanks.

[quote]You really do have the entire cast of "Joe's Apartment" stuck up your ass.

OF the two of us, I'm sure you're the only one who knows that feeling. And knows is VERY well.

I was DRAGGED to Cabaret in London last week. I'd seen the promo clips and TV performances and figured that what appeared to be a very heavy-handed approach wasn't for me. But, I'm eating crow, y'all, because I absolutely LOVED it. Unlike Imelda in Gypsy -- dreadful on camera, dreadful in the theatre -- this really IS one of those shows that doesn't translate well to TV at all. But, in the theatre, it was absolutely captivating. I'm definitely seeing this again after it opens on Broadway.

Good for you, R 313, but I saw it two weeks ago in London and found it heavy going — unrelievedly bleak and no fun at all. Jake Shears was good, snaky and sinuous as the emcee and the actors who played the landlady and her gentleman caller Schmidt were good. Alas, the Sally was a fat, dreary cow and the Cliff was a nebbish. No show biz razzle dazzle except here and there with the chorus, but the whole affair seemed glum, was visually ugly and left me depressed.

And yeah, I know it’s about the rise of the Nazis but it’s still supposed to be show business, it’s still a musical. And while there are high hopes for it NY (where a fortune is being spent to turn a theater into a facsimile of a night club) I found myself wondering if it will flounder because of its utter joylessness.

Thanks for the pull quote, r314.

UTTER JOYLESSNESS!

Interesting, R314. I certainly wouldn't try to convince you otherwise, but I didn't find the show totally bleak and joyless and I found it to have plenty of showbiz dazzle. It's definitely heavy and the darkness is definitely emphasized, but I was hooked throughout and I did not expect to be. For some reason, British theatres don't give you programs/playbills, so I don't know who the cast was that I saw, but the Emcee was not played by Jake Shears at our performance and I'm not sure if it was the regular Sally either. Whoever they were, they were both excellent. The landlady and her gentleman caller (as you refer to them) WERE superb. Yeah, I agree, I wasn't totally bought-in on the nebbish actor playing Cliff. I think this will do very well in NY.

[quote]For some reason, British theatres don't give you programs/playbills,

You have to buy one.

Yeah, but aren't those souvenir programs? They wouldn't be updated with slips showing which understudies or standbys are on at that particular performance the way Broadway shows do it, right?

No there would be a sign in the entrance for your fat ass to read.

r318's fat ass can read?

I just watched the new Meredith Willson documentary on PBS (narrated by Sutton Foster!) He had a very interesting career, most of which is forgotten outside of "Music Man" and "Molly Brown." Is "Here's Love" ever revived? (I'm pretty sure "1491" never would be.)

Except at the Kit Kat Club, with the reconfiguration of the theatre, it's all about creating an ambience of going down through dark winding hallways into a 20s style German speakeasy and a placard with cast and understudies would go against all that.

But, r313, thanks for confirming all I said about this brilliant revival several threads ago. It's true, the photos and clips can be very off-putting in their extreme images, yet once you're cozily seated in that atmospheric space and watching the actual production, it's all shockingly captivating and entertaining. And ultimately very poignant. I never expected to love it as much as I did (and I saw the Prince production several times).

Schultz not Scmitt, you Palestinian philistine.

I saw the London production . My Sally was Maude Apatow and she was great. While I happened to love the shock ending of the concentration camp outfit of the Mendes version, I enjoyed this production as well.

[quote]I was DRAGGED to Cabaret in London last week. I'd seen the promo clips and TV performances and figured that what appeared to be a very heavy-handed approach wasn't for me. But, I'm eating crow, y'all, because I absolutely LOVED it.

Can you explain why you ended up loving in live performance "what appeared to be a very heavy-handed approach" in video clips? If the staging or characterizations or overall vulgarity of the show seemed too much in clips, why would any of that change in the theater? Is it just because of context? Because you have some distance from it in the theater? Or....are you possibly just a shill?

R321. I have a friend who is currently in a community theatre production in Oregon of “Here’s Live,” retitled “Miracle on 34th Street”

Here’s Love, that is. Why does autocorrect ALWAYS change “love” to “live”?

R325. Well, duh, you answered your own question. Watch the 1956 film of “The Bad Seed.” Same principals (Kelly, who en a Tony, Heckart, McCormick, Jones). It’s still powerful, but lazy director Mervyn LeToy didn’t work to scale their work for the screen. It isn’t that clay science.

We called it "Here's Dreck" when we did it at the Muny.

R328, I don't know what "clay science" is, but there was no need for you to be nasty in your response. Anyway, in my opinion, when people make video commercials for live shows, they should take all of that into account.

Does anyone have any recommendations for Cabaret seating? I might pay for the table seats, but really question the value. But even front mezz is $450 or $300.

I, too, would like to know more about this "clay science"

r331, Based on my London experience, I would not pay the extra for table seating at CABARET. I guess I was lucky but I scored same day front mezz seats from the Leicester Square 1/2 price ticket booth for much less than 100 pounds. This was back in March of 2023 and, of course, the show had been running quite awhile. Can't remember the name of the actor who played the Emcee but Aimee Lou Wood (from "Sex Education") played Sally. A great night in the theatre!

Some of the best theatre simply has to be experienced live and in person, r325. There's no logic or science involved. But if you go in wanting to hate it, you probably will. Your tragedy.

Here's Love is something of a turkey. I saw its pre-Broadway tryout in Detroit. A couple of good songs and some of the worst ever written for the theater: Arm in Arm, My State, and especially She Hadda Go Back (belongs in the toi toi).

[quote]Here’s Love, that is. Why does autocorrect ALWAYS change “love” to “live”?

Thank goodness you're not covering tennis for a newspaper.

[Quote] We called it "Here's Dreck" when we did it at the Muny.

Raises an interesting question I have for any performers here. How bad is it when you’re in a show that you know is not good? Do you come to Lovett? Does the quality of the material get dwarfed by your happiness in performing? Or do you want to kill yourself every day?

Love it not Lovett.

So I started working with clay.

[quote]Some of the best theatre simply has to be experienced live and in person, [R325]. There's no logic or science involved. But if you go in wanting to hate it, you probably will. Your tragedy.

Hardly a tragedy, Miss Drama Queen.

Gee, what a novel idea to create a club setting! Why didn’t we think of that?

You always have to buy programmes in the UK.

Do they ask you to spell it like that before they sell you one?

Cheap bastards!

The Brits, that is.

It's been years since I've seen a show in London, but don't they provide you with some sort of very basic program(me) for free, and then you have the option to buy the souvenir program(me)? Or maybe they used to do it that way, but no longer?

Put me in the "I didn't like it" column for this production of Cabaret. I'm over the "how far can we push the decadence" idea for the show, and I was offended by the idea that being there in the theater for the "party" made me complicit in the Third Reich. It all felt read grad school thesis to me. Performances were fine.

I typed rocket science, but apparently Automated knows better!

Boop announced for 2010 Broadway

Appropriate appears to be a hit for Second Stage. Mezzanine tickets are $149 and orchestra seats are $190. No discounts available anywhere that I can find.

R236. Sondheim’s dead - they’ll do it. Now that Roll along is a hit there will be a theatre person that will want to save it. I wrote that no one wants Pacific but it keeps coming back. It always flops. (Even Sondheim said this about Pacific [and Follies]} It, too , will return. What I’d like to ask you is - forgetting Sondheim - what other talents/ shows do your students like? Do they ever go early - Princess theatre stuff? Are they ok with all the movies to musical trend? It could be a great thread

r349, I actually teach in a well-known theater school that doesn't have a major in musical theater so musicals are rarely chosen by student directors because the musical talent isn't there in abundance.

But when they do choose to do a musical, it's almost always been by Sondheim - Sunday in the Park, Into the Woods and the lesser produced "problematic" ones like Anyone Can Whistle, Passion, Pacific Overtures and Merrily. The one exception I remember was a director's thesis of Jelly's Last jam (without too much choreography IIRC). They will embrace a challenge like Here We Are in coming years. But again, no one has so far and I'd be surprised if anyone takes on Road Show (just too boring!).

I saw a production of ROAD SHOW at Chicago Shakes that I thought was quite good. It was upstairs in their small space.

[quote]Now that Roll along is a hit there will be a theatre person that will want to save it.

Roll Along has continued to be attempted because of its score. Road Show's score has never reached that level of affection.

R349, PACIFIC OVERTURES is a masterpiece in comparison to ROAD SHOW (and I would say in its own right). The main problem with ROAD SHOW is not the score, although it's certainly one of Sondheim's weakest, but the fact that the central characters and the story are so uninteresting.

Pacific Overtures was recently produced by Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. It was a critical and box office success. People not only understand the show now, but they actually enjoy it. It’s not 1976.

[quote]For some reason, British theatres don't give you programs/playbills,

The West End is cheap in every sense of the word.

[quote] I actually teach in a well-known theater school that doesn't have a major in musical theater so musicals are rarely chosen by student directors because the musical talent isn't there in abundance. But when they do choose to do a musical, it's almost always been by Sondheim

I'm a bit confused. Are the shows chosen because Sondheim's offerings require little to no musical talent, or are you saying that the show selection has been foolish because Sondheim's music is too difficult. I think you're trying to compliment your program and how they accept a challenge, but how successful have they been with little musical talent?

Did anyone know producer Luigi Caiola who died suddenly last week?

It made me very sad to read about his death. He was a sweet guy, a gay dad and a lifelong NYC/Chelsea resident. I'm guessing his sudden passing was from rolling the dice once too often with a specific drug, of course I don't actually know.

[quote]Pacific Overtures was recently produced by Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. It was a critical and box office success. People not only understand the show now, but they actually enjoy it. It’s not 1976.

Saw this production on a business trip to DC. It was EXCELLENT.

[quote]I'm a bit confused. Are the shows chosen because Sondheim's offerings require little to no musical talent, or are you saying that the show selection has been foolish because Sondheim's music is too difficult.

I thought the implication by R236/R250 was that Sondheim is easier to perform, because it's just talk-singing for the most part. His music is pretty sing-songy.

*R350

[quote]People not only understand the show now, but they actually enjoy it. It’s not 1976.

Saw the show in 1976. Understood it quite well and thought it was one of the most enjoyable and impressive productions I ever experienced.

sorry, I missed the discussion, was there a reason cited for the cutting of Chrysanthemum Tea? It was included in the recent Signature (DC) production. A production which I believe John Weidman consulted on, too.

[quote] But again, no one has so far and I'd be surprised if anyone takes on Road Show (just too boring!).

Are they even offering the performance rights to “Road Show”?

[quote]I thought the implication by [R236]/[R250] was that Sondheim is easier to perform, because it's just talk-singing for the most part. His music is pretty sing-songy.

If that was the implication, it's beyond idiotic.

r356, the various student directors over the years (and I'm talking over 35 years) chose those Sondheim shows because they were fascinated by them as directors and wanted the challenge, knowing the specific musical talents (and weaknesses) within the student casting pool.

The results, of course, varied wildly from project to project (as did the talent within the project) but I could say that about directors' thesis projects of straight plays, too. It's a school so it's not been uncommon to OCCASIONALLY pair up a director, actor or designer with a project with which they're not necessarily completely comfortable as a learning experience.

[quote] Appropriate appears to be a hit for Second Stage. Mezzanine tickets are $149 and orchestra seats are $190. No discounts available anywhere that I can find.

They said the same thing about Grand Horizons.

So, R365, basically the Sondheim shows were not very good, but a fine learning experience for the students.

Just tell us the name of your damn school…or at least a zip code or county.

….No one likes a coy gay

Nobody likes a nosy Nellie, r368.

Even more, no one likes a lame blind post —where’s the harm in more specific info? Worried about a theater queen looking for revenge? 🫣👻

I love you, R338

Waiting for reviews of How to Flop in Ohio

It looks like Here We Are is flopping hard. This is for next Saturday night

Hell's Kitchen evening performance canceled tonight

Adam Feldman cannot be serious in giving 4 out of 5 stars to How to Dance in Ohio.

R361-I was there at the second preview and during intermission, those queens were just clutching pearls left, right, and center.

The reason for the cutting of Chrysanthemum Tea has been discused earlier in the thread. It has do with its ahistorical relation to the rest of the story.

Deadline reviews "How to Dance in Ohio":

NYT:

Oh FANK you, Jesse. You fixeded our musical!

^ asshole ^

Ohio brought all the real-life characters onstage for tonight’s curtain call

R382 Gods, imaging having to manage all that autism backstage.

Nobody is allowed to attend a Broadway musical without being put through a mandatory virtue protocol...for $300.

Buzzy Boop

1) Adam Feldman is a Harvard grad and yet an idiot. (Also a terrible cabaret singer, which should disqualify him from being a reviewer).

2) That Ohio musical is pure dross. Young writers, young director, young producers, everyone virtue-signaling and exuding niceness. Musicals don’t work that way; someone needs to be the commandant.

I think it was impossible for critics to give OHIO a downright pan.

[quote]I realize we don't all have immediate access to everything [Sondheim] ever said or wrote.

A few more years of these threads, plus a decent search engine in DL, and we will.

I assumed the theatre school teacher above meant that students and directors of straight theatre don't see much call for their talents in most musicals, but Sondheim's require excellent acting and admit of innovative approaches, so they give non-musical students plenty of space to play in. I saw the best Assassins of my life at NIDA, which didn't teach musical theatre back then. It was all in the freshness of the choices the actors made. (They could carry a tune and two or three could really sing, but mostly it was the way they acted both the dialogue and songs.)

I did a play reading with one of the Ohio actors who, autistic or not, was a total cunt and very vocal about how old white producers are ruining Broadway. Gee, I wonder who's signing their checks for this flop.

Where did this young director of How to Dance in Ohio come from? Sammi Cannold? Who are her people?

r388, your assumptions are correct. Thanks!

r390 Sammi Cannold is on the spectrum I believe. Her people are a marginalized community. This show has given a lot of neurodivergent people an opportunity to work in a Broadway show. Whether the show can find a commercial audience has yet to be seen .

[quote]The Limelight church will be getting some new spotlights.

[quote]Broadway producer Hunter Arnold, director Michael Arden, and film distributor Roadside Attractions have teamed up to transform the historic venue into a legitimate theater. “We believe that this is the most beautiful building in Manhattan, and what we would like to do is create a very kind of cultural institution ... where we can present high-quality entertainment,” stated Scott Moore, the marketing director at Arnold’s production company.

[quote]According to the blueprints, the new theater will have a circular stage with about 320 seats spread across two levels. The 21,000-square foot space will also offer four bars for theatergoers, and dressing rooms for the performers will be built on the third floor of the building.

[quote]Marvel Architects, which renovated the Lyric Theatre for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and turned an old tobacco warehouse in Brooklyn into the St. Ann’s Warehouse theater, has signed on to oversee the project.

Sammi Cannold is a nepo baby. Her mother is Broadway producer Dori Berinstein and her father, Mitchell, is a film producer.

Dori Berinstein is a class A cunt. Not a bad filmmaker, though.

Couldn't they build more seats instead of [italic]four[/italic] bars?

At least make one a dispensary for the stoners.

Dolls! I was snubbed for a Golden Globe this morning for Beau is Afraid! Should I reenlist for an Equity Card since Hollywood fucked me over again as usual?

Looks like THE COLOR PURPLE film won't get the awards sweep they hoped for...Anyone seen it yet?

[quote] I did a play reading with one of the Ohio actors who, autistic or not, was a total cunt and very vocal about how old white producers are ruining Broadway. Gee, I wonder who's signing their checks for this flop.

Which one? Names, people. This is a [italic] gossip [/italic] board.

So, they finally announced who will play Queen Aggravain in Sutton's MATTRESS and it's Harriet Harris.

Gee, I wonder how she'll play it.

[quote]This show has given a lot of neurodivergent people an opportunity to work in a Broadway show.

Why on earth is that of any value?

As Charles Laughton says to Tyrone Power in "Witness for the Prosecution" regarding his eggbeater, "Is that at all desirable?"

I would think that part of the problem with Ohio's box office is would-be ticket buyers reading that the show features a lot of young neurodivergent actors making their Broadway debuts and simultaneously thinking "That's wonderful!" and "I'm not paying $200 to see that."

It's similar to Here Lies Love overly touting the fact that they had the first all-Filipino cast on Broadway. It's cool and laudable, but that alone doesn't inspire most people to fork over a couple hundred dollars.

in both cases r402 mentions, they haven't said much else about either show.

Broadway would do well to rediscover relatable stories and a melody before it kills itself off.

[quote]R402 ….would-be ticket buyers reading that the show features a lot of young neurodivergent actors making their Broadway debuts…

There will be a lot of creepy Stage Door Johnies who are into the disabled swarming that theater.

Those kids will need escorts! (And I mean to their housing!)

I love this clip they just released of one of the musical numbers from How to Dance in Ohio!

Not a great capture but I love her performance. Great vocals and I actually like the funny faces she makes. Pure joy.

The set for FG looks like a below average high school production.

[quote]I assumed the theatre school teacher above meant that students and directors of straight theatre don't see much call for their talents in most musicals, but Sondheim's require excellent acting and admit of innovative approaches, so they give non-musical students plenty of space to play in. I saw the best Assassins of my life at NIDA, which didn't teach musical theatre back then. It was all in the freshness of the choices the actors made. (They could carry a tune and two or three could really sing, but mostly it was the way they acted both the dialogue and songs.)

There are lots of non-Sondheim musicals that require excellent acting and "admit of innovative approaches," so I don't understand your point. And all of Sondheim's scores are complex and challenging enough to sing that they require performers with more musical talent than the ability to "carry a tune."

Whoever filmed that—your no Kramer or Jerry at the theater!

You’re

R409, either you are being intentionally obtuse or you just don’t understand much. Or you are an opera singer. Sondheim preferred actors over singers and was quite vocal about it. His shows’ original casts were full of exactly the type described in this thread. Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, John McMartin, Patricia Elliott, Elaine Stritch, Zero Mostel. The list goes on.

Sondheim's music isn't hard to sing save for the patter songs and tongue twisters.

Just have a look at the original casts of FORUM, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, COMPANY, ASSASSINS and HERE WE ARE and you'll be reading long lists of non-singers,all cast by Mr. S himself.

[quote]His shows’ original casts were full of exactly the type described in this thread. Glynis Johns, Angela Lansbury, Len Cariou, John McMartin, Patricia Elliott, Elaine Stritch, Zero Mostel.

Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou were not non-singers and don't belong on your list.

R415, I didn’t say they were non-singers. Lansbury and Cariou were both actors first. Lansbury even said she was the type who was dubbed in movies. But whatever. There are plenty more to add because Sondheim didn’t want the singing to overshadow the story.

Exactly, r415.

r416, yes Angie was an actress first...but she had first class Broadway pipes. I think Sondheim said what he said because he had encountered too many singers who couldn't act.

That Fanny in r407 is better than Lea IMHO. She didn't owe every bit of phrasing to Babs. As for the cameraman, I think he was being blown while he was recording.

[quote]As for the cameraman, I think he was being blown while he was recording.

I took it more as an epileptic seizure.

I just got an email survey from one of my regional theaters about which plays/musicals they should consider for future seasons. This was the list of "recent/current" musicals:

School of Rock

Dirty Dancing

Frozen A Fish Called Wanda (?)

Escape to Margaritaville

Anastasia

Summer: The Donna Summer Musical

Ain't Too Proud

Beetlejuice

Charlie & the Chocolate Factory

The Cher Show

Come From Away

Dear Evan Hansen

Mean Girls

Kinky Boots

Pretty Woman

Tootsie

Waitress

Groundhog Day

Hadestown

Addams Family

Legally Blonde

9 to 5

I saw several of these marginal-to-poor shows in NY (Charlie, Groundhog, School) and can't imagine they were ever considered successful enough to warrant a production "in the regions."

Tell him you'd like to see A Frozen Fish Called Wanda.

r405 They'd have to work hard to out-creep the weird guys who used to hang around the stage door of Billy Elliot, at least in the West End.

Yes R407, that Fanny Brice in the 2 National Tour has great chops!

How's the tour doing?

Wait. Is that clip mislabeled or have there already been two national tours of this Funny Girl production??

R425. Mislabeled. It's the first and, so far, only tour. But I'm sure a non equity tour will follow after this one closes.

Again, anybody know how it's doing?

Maybe that theater's list was "Shows that never should have ever been produced"?

Funny Girl controversy.

The tour's Nicky Arnstein isn't Jewish either. Who fucking cares!

Mrs. Maisel wasn't Jewish either and everyone thought she was "amazing"!

[quote]The tour's Nicky Arnstein isn't Jewish either

Neither was the movie's.

“You thought Cairo was upset? You should have heard my Aunt Rose”

The comments on that poor girl’s IG are astonishing. “HOW DARE YOU TAKE A JEWISH ROLE IN A PLAY THAT IS ABOUT BEING JEWISH” for example…I have zero interest in this show but demands that she resign the role are laughable. Has everyone just lost their minds…?

R420, several shows on that list ran long enough on Broadway that it's not at all surprising they would be produced regionally, including Beetlejuice, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen, Kinky Boots, Waitress, and Hadestown. And though The Addams Family was a terrible show on Broadway, it was apparently/supposedly improved greatly for the tour(s) through rewriting, plus of course the title has tremendous recognition value.

The Addams Family has generally been the most produced musical in the country since it closed on Broadway. Everyone seems to love it. Regardless of the critical drubbing, audiences seem to thoroughly enjoy it.

R435, Didn’t Elaine Stritch say to Nathan Lane after attending a performance of The Addams Family, “They had better be paying you plenty”?

If she didn't, she should have.

[quote]Maybe that theater's list was "Shows that never should have ever been produced"?

Their other list of "classic musicals" included "Sister Act" (along with the usual suspects like "Gypsy" and "My Fair Lady.") I guess that's what passes for "classic" these days.

The last question in the survey was "what other shows would you like us to consider?" Being a good Datalounger, I of course listed "Follies." I was tempted to throw in "Oh! Calcutta" just for fun.

The tour Nicky isn’t a Jew but he is a gay man…so that helps.

Julie Benko has a black understudy in Harmony. No one would dare criticize that casting decision.

[quote]The Addams Family has generally been the most produced musical in the country since it closed on Broadway. Everyone seems to love it. Regardless of the critical drubbing, audiences seem to thoroughly enjoy it.

Again, the show was heavily revised for the tour post-Broadway. There have even been articles about it. The show people are enjoying on tour is apparently very different from the Broadway version, which was deservedly drubbed.

Though I liked Victoria Clark I hated Kimberly Akimbo. Does that make me a bad person? The music sucked and the kids were terrible. Her white trash family was gross.

[quote]The tour Nicky isn’t a Jew but he is a gay man…so that helps.

Huh? That makes no sense, unless one can trade in some gay points for some Jewish points?

Oy! I'm triggered.

R442, I feel the same way. I really wanted to like it but I thought the kids were not very good and the whole thing was a tad too precious for me.

In two months, Aaron and Sutton will be the toast of Broadway.

R446 I can sense it, too.

The same feeling I had after Lea replaced Beanie in the FUNNY GIRL revival two years ago, but DL was positive that she had no fans and the show would close shortly thereafter.

Sorry. It was last year. I'm already thinking in 2024 terms. haha

R446 Or they'll just be toast

I think all of the kids in KIMBERLY AKIMBO are great, and Justin Cooley's performance in particular has been praised by almost everyone -- except some people posting here, whose taste is very questionable to say the least.

R420 Beetlejuice!

[quote]The last question in the survey was "what other shows would you like us to consider?" Being a good Datalounger, I of course listed "Follies." I was tempted to throw in "Oh! Calcutta" just for fun.

A good Datalounger would have included Bajour.

R450, that may be true. I never enjoy watching kids on stage, to be honest. Just my personal preference. I thought Vickie Clark was lovely and worth seeing but I didn't love the show.

About the shows on tour, it's very different to fill a theater, maybe even on subscription, for 3-4 weeks than to hit on Broadway. Most shows can find enough interest for a limited 3-4 week run. Except Harmony and Ohio

Has anyone seen Stereophonic? It was on TDF but now the website says it's sold out through the rest of its run. Wonder if it'll move...

I thought Stereophonic was fine, but did not love it the way some critics have. Packed very little wallop to me.

Thanks, R454. I was going to make that point as well. And it's easier to fill a road house for three or four weeks if the title of the show has a huge amount of brand recognition, like THE ADDAMS FAMILY, even if the show is no good. Because even if the audiences on the road are sensitive to the fact that a show is no good, the runs in those places are usually not long enough for word-of-mouth to be a factor.

[quote]The same feeling I had after Lea replaced Beanie in the FUNNY GIRL revival two years ago, but DL was positive that she had no fans and the show would close shortly thereafter.

Naturally the opposite is true. Everyone here was eager to see her in the role and felt she'd succeed.

Funny Girl and Company are doing mostly 1-2 week runs so they should be doing fine. FG is obviously a scaled down production. Even the cast looks smaller. Both shows are on hiatus until after the holidays.

AUBREY PLAZA AND CHRISTOPHER ABBOTT WILL NOT PERFORM IN DANNY AND THE DEEP BLUE SEA DECEMBER 12 - 14.

BECAUSE OF THIS, WE ARE AUTOMATICALLY PROCESSING REFUNDS FOR ALL PURCHASES.

I saw the shitty Ohio musical. The lead kid is cute. If it had been titled HOW TO EAT ASS IN OHIO, I might’ve gotten onboard…

R460. The male understudy was on over the weekend. Not sure if Plaza played opposite him. Abbott must still be injured.

Ohio at $308,990 last week—the lowest-grossing show on Broadway by a wide margin.

How To Dance in Ohio should have been a project at a non-profit. Broadway doesn't go for booze and autism.

[quote]Broadway doesn't go for ... autism.

Sometimes it does, as David Byrne's American Utopia was a huge hit.

when they report average ticket price (like $44 for Ohio) do they average in press comps?

What in hell were the producers of Ohio thinking? No stars, difficult concept, creators with no track record. Paging Max Bialystok.

The lead producer of "Ohio" has the last name of Rudin. Is he related to the exiled King?

I loved Kimberly Akimbo too, R450. It's a hit, it won the Tony - why are people here still questioning its legitimacy?

👆🏼Apparently they saw it.

The kids in Kimberly Akimbo resembled no kids that I've ever seen. They are some theatre professional's idea of how kids in those days behaved. Totally fake in the way that only Broadway Theater can be.

Karen Ziemba performing a panty-less cartwheel always brings in the crowds! Have they thought of that?

I posted this in another thread...

I went to see the Broadway show MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, and in Act 1, the main character, Franklin Sheppard, wears DeSantis Cha Cha heels. I wasn't sure if this was because the character was an asshole or if the actor, Jonathan Groff, chose them to 'elevate' his character. Well, in Act 2, when they've gone back to a nicer time, the character does NOT wear the lifts. That's when I realized that this was just another of the amazing subtle touches that enhance how we learn, "How did you get there from here, Mr. Shephard?" Wonderful show.

[quote]I loved Kimberly Akimbo too, [R450]. It's a hit, it won the Tony - why are people here still questioning its legitimacy?

I don't think they're questioning the show's legitimacy, they're just expressing that they don't like it. And of course they're entitled to that opinion, however much you or I or anyone else may disagree.

[quote]The kids in Kimberly Akimbo resembled no kids that I've ever seen. They are some theatre professional's idea of how kids in those days behaved. Totally fake in the way that only Broadway Theater can be.

They are a heightened reality version of teens in 1999, just as almost all characters in almost all shows are heightened reality, so your criticism seems pointless to me. You probably also felt that the characters of Kimberly's parents and her aunt were unrealistic, thereby again missing the point.

Do you prefer the portrayal of teens in Bye Bye Birdie? In Grease?

Jeebus, potential producers of Funny Thing/Forum are afraid to do it because of SJW ire? It’s a fucking farce, not a documentary! Just do it and own it! With a great cast and production you can laugh all the way to the bank. (I’d also like to see someone stage Titus Andronicus and own that, too. But the trigger warnings would be longer than the playbill.)

[quote]Jeebus, potential producers of Funny Thing/Forum are afraid to do it because of SJW ire?

Why are you saying that as though it's fact, when actually it was just the speculation of a DLer?

A FORUM revival needs a big star to lead it. And, obviously, someone that "gets" the old comic style. Not so easy to find any more. That's what's keeping it from Broadway.

And who the fuck would direct it at this point?

THE ADDAMS FAMILY was indeed "deservedly drubbed" on Broadway, R441, and heavily revised thereafter, but the fact remains that it was a hit on Broadway even without the revisions.

Unexpectedly going to be in NY in mid-Jan for a business trip. Going to extend into a long weekend and catch some theatre. Got tickets for Here We Are. Would only go for Merrily if I find non-premium prices (seems unlikely.) any recommendations of productions to catch -- especially limited runs or runs likely to end soon? Otherwise, unlikely to be back before mid-Spring. Would like to get one non-musical play in, if there's anything worth seeing.

[Quote] the fact remains that it was a hit on Broadway even without the revisions.

Get your facts straight. It sort of kind of did ok while Nathan and Bebe were in it, slipping significantly after reality replaced the initial excitement , and then struggling with Roger Rees and Brooke Shields. I imagine it lost most all its money on Broadway and then caught up in stock amateur school and international

No one cares R481

Correct, R482. Nowadays, a new musical that runs 722 performances on Broadway is considered a soft hit at best. And that's without factoring in whether or not the show recouped its initial investment, which is very doubtful.

Was I a hit?!

Has ATC shuttered after all these years?

No r485, they just changed their URL

Is mlop still among us?

As much as one could say she ever was, r488.

Saw MERRILY tonight. Truly one of the best shows I've seen in a long time. Interestingly, the four people sitting next to me got up and left at intermission and never came back. Before leaving, the young lady asked me how I liked the show, I told her very much, and she said she did also but her husband was "having a very hard time" sitting through it. I told her perhaps he's just not a musical theater person, to which she replied "No, I guess not," and then they left. (I suppose that also explains why, during the emotional scene near the end of Act 1, she and her party burst into a very noticeable fit of laughter.) Anyway, all that aside, I thought the entire production was excellent.

Broadway Box Office Cheery For Holidays But Not As Jolly As Last Year; ‘Appropriate’ With Sarah Paulson Near Sell-Out:

R490, something about your anecdote makes me profoundly sad.

It just goes to show that shows only sell with stars. Sarah Paulson is no better actress now than she was when she did Glass Menagerie in 2005. But only after American Horror Story can she sell out a theatre.

[quote]Jeebus, potential producers of Funny Thing/Forum are afraid to do it because of SJW ire?

You must not be familiar with the cowering Broadway producers are doing in the face of SJW, BLM, and trans social media mavens. They are now determining what will be shown and what won't.

Max Bialystock should come back. It's a hell of a lot easier now to develop a surefire flop than it used to be.

Weird interview with Douglas Sills on the Into the Woods podcast, where he awkwardly tells a story of Sondheim maybe hitting on him in his dressing room and then shunning him.

I am here r488 as was Chita and then Shubert alley to see again.

Fake mlop troll, you have been away far too long.

And r484 these are not the grosses of a success even in those days. They kept it running into the ground

r493 it’s called fame. It’s not the enemy

R496 yes it was very off. He stopped himself and said “maybe I shouldn’t tell it” then he did tell it and then it kinda didn’t make sense. Something about a mirror and a crude remark. And then he said he was banned from Sondheim work the rest of his life

I read it as Sondheim mocking Sills’ vanity and grandiosity. If so, it seems like a mean spirited but mostly accurate dig. Sills really laid it all out there, from talking about dealing with homophobia from gay casting directors to ruminating on whether he should have been Javert or Valjean (the correct answer is neither)..

[quote]and a crude remark

Was it on a postered wall?

I think it’s hilarious that Ben Rimalower started the whole fucking podcast to talk to TWO people.

1) Betty Buckley, original witch fired after the workshop

2) Bernadette Peters

And here we are 39 week later with episodes dedicated to the National tour Rapunzal Prince and he still hasn’t talked to the two people he and his audience really want.

Yeah, you'd think he'd have received the message by now.

Who are the best musical theater writers churned out by BMI and/or graduate MFA programs in the last 20 years?

Bernadette has a polite excuse. She’s in London starring in a show.

Betty is choosing to visit Dollar General to peruse cat toys over talking with Ben.

Friends saw Purlie Victorious today and loved it. A cellphone went off during one of Purlie’s sermons, and Leslie Odom stopped, gave the section a severe stink eye, backed up a couple of sentences and carried on. School groups in the house and a talkback for them after. Good — gotta get people interested in theater when they’re young. That’s how you get new audiences (eventually).

The sound on Ben's podcast sucks. It's so easy to have a nice and cheap microphone these days. I had to turn it off when I couldn't hear the 2nd assistant stage manager from the 3rd workshop's interview.

I asked if I should see Purlie on this thread, and I got a big thumbs down, but I went anyway and thought it was great. I like seeing black shows written and performed from a black perspective, rather than being force-fed something like Some like it Hot.

For non-Sondheim fans, "Merrily" can be a slog. I took two friends not that much into musical theater and they did not enjoy it. It's an intense, complicated show, not for the Moulin crowd...

Has Hell's Kitchen found a second act yet?

The Sills interview truly was odd and yet quite revealing and interesting, although the constant extremely long dramatic pauses made me check to see if it had clicked off several times - the pause preceding replying to the Sondheim story was at least 10 seconds long. He really has had a strange career… but, now that Sondheim can’t black-ball (blue-ball?) him, is he more a Ben or a Buddy?

Ben

Has Ben R ever heard of editing?

My problem with “Merrily” was with the set, which is dark and ugly, forcing everyone to make awkward entrances and exits.

Also thought the supporting cast to a man and woman was completely mediocre. Otherwise, good show, though I thought the recent sex change “Company” revival was a much better production.

Didn't Douglas Sills get fired from the original SPAMALOT during rehearsals?

Agreed with your first two points, R516. But also, I think the show is badly directed in some respects, and the performance of the woman playing Gussie is a ridiculous, over-the-top caricature (presumably, that's partly due to bad direction).

Also, Doug Sills was hardly a "kid" when he did Night Music at the Kennedy Center and had that experience with SS. He was at least 40. Sexual harassment? How could he call it that? He seems to have a very selective memory about his career in many ways.

Is Gussie cast with a black actress giving a head wagging "Oh NO YOU DI'INT!" performance of extreme sassiness?

That would be so novel.

R509 - yes! I'm hardly an audiophile and I noticed the terrible sound right away. It's a very unpleasant listen. I understand this is probably a small, indie podcast production, but I have friends who self-produce podcasts with much better sound, so I'm not sure there's much of an excuse in this day and age.

How did Sills know he was banned from all Sondheim shows? Did someone tell him that, or did he just not get cast and is trying to save face?

Re MERRILY, are we supposed to believe that Gussie really is a superstar? Because the second act opener makes her seem an annoying amateur?

I thought Sills was saying he was banned from even auditioning for Sondheim's shows.

I found those long pregnant pauses fascinating in the interview. Glad they were kept in as they helped create an image of Sills.

Doug Sills was hilarious in that Little Night Music.

[quote]Is Gussie cast with a black actress giving a head wagging "Oh NO YOU DI'INT!" performance of extreme sassiness?

Contacting my agent ....

Sills should be cast in a Mack and Mabel revival.

He played it at Encores, r527.

Reprise, r528...

Both, r529

Merrily was not but then Jonathan Groff. Leave Sondheim alone so that he always - Barbra Cook at the stage door.

The TIMES just can't stop writing about Sondheim...

I found Sills very disappointing in Encores' Mack & Mabel. It's a tricky role because Mack can be such a cold distant and character but in Sills' performance he was even more remote and wholly unbelievable as Mabel's love interest. But the that whole production was sorely lacking.

The problem with Merrily is not that it is told backwards, the problem, at least with this production, is TOO MUCH GUSSIE. I couldn't wait for her to get off the stage.

[quote] How did Sills know he was banned from all Sondheim shows? Did someone tell him that, or did he just not get cast and is trying to save face?

He and Mary Testa and Kim Kriswell were eating at KFC and comparing notes.

Sills suddenly appeared in Pimpernel and seemed to be the tall handsome leading man we so missed. Then he turned out not to be. He was weak in that terrible Zaks-misdirected Little Shop too along with everyone else except Rob Bartlett

[quote]Sills suddenly appeared in Pimpernel and seemed to be the tall handsome leading man we so missed. Then he turned out not to be.

Perfectly put, r536. He was so dashing in it. Too bad the show sucked.

I've worked with Sammi Cannold twice, though in readings, not full productions. She was great! Very smart, able director. Stayed out of the way and knew when she needed to.

[quote]Is Gussie cast with a black actress giving a head wagging "Oh NO YOU DI'INT!" performance of extreme sassiness?

No, the performance is not stereotypical in that way, but it's extremely unpleasant because it's so over-the-top bitchy that the character doesn't seem like a real human being at all. As someone else above wrote, every time she came on stage, I couldn't wait for her to exit.

Just by the sheer fact that her name is Gussie tells you she's not going to be a good time.

The character is literally written to be disliked, as it is in the original stage directions. I get why people are annoyed, but the lines always make me laugh. Given the reverse chronology, her diminishment (star to secretary) over the evening in contrast to Joe’s ascent (bum to producer) is a sad visual statement.

[quote]The TIMES just can't stop writing about Sondheim...

Well, he IS the father of artistic flops, unlike today's unartistic flops.

While we're on the subject.

[quote]The character is literally written to be disliked, as it is in the original stage directions.

I know, but when it comes to Gussie, I vastly prefer the original script of MERRILY, in which she is a far smaller role.

[quote]I get why people are annoyed, but the lines always make me laugh.

Okay, but that's where we differ. Aside from how much I hated the performance of the actress who's playing the role now, I don't find the lines funny at all.

Carol wanted to pop in and shake this thread up a little.

Well, she can pop right back out now.

I love the Carol Lawrence troll almost as much as I love the Jerome Kern troll!

Radcliffe's really been working out; his body is solid. Groff....not so much.

Is Lindsay Mendez back in Merrily?

Mendez will be back in when the Tony voters start coming otherwise she likes to stay away .

The only actress whom I've ever seen make Gussie work was Emily Skinner, in the glorious 2002 production at the Kennedy Center. But then everything about that MERRILY was wonderful. I'm excited to see the current show in a few weeks, but I'll be surprised if it surpasses that one.

I wish I were a young chorus girl, first descending on New York.

I’d change my name to Gussie Merrily.

I'd be South American sensation Ana Conda.

[quote]The only actress whom I've ever seen make Gussie work was Emily Skinner, in the glorious 2002 production at the Kennedy Center. But then everything about that MERRILY was wonderful. I'm excited to see the current show in a few weeks, but I'll be surprised if it surpasses that one.

It does not. I would say the three leads in this production are roughly equal in quality to those of the Kennedy Center production, but as you noted, Emily Skinner was vastly superior to the new Gussie, and the KC production was far better designed and directed.

I’d be hot Latino Ana Lonly.

Emily Skinner as Gussie is perfect casting: vulgar and loud.

Emily...

Mary is actually a terrible role.

Basically once Gussie and Beth are introduced Mary has very little to play except her paper-thin role and drinking problem, which they've given to her so she has something to play and be miserable about like the other characters.

I saw the original and the Encores productions and I couldn't believe what a third-rate leading role Mary has become. Now you're saying Ms. Mendez, already lucky to even be in the show- checking off the not-white, not-thin, not-pretty boxes Broadway must check off, you'd think the least she could do is show up like a professional!

I agree about the role, R558, though I bet Bernadette could have made it hum at the right age.

I can never understand why Mary is always cast as overweight or in some other way physically unattractive. I think it lends piquancy to her plight regarding Frank if she is every bit as pretty as Beth, and she's smarter and funnier than Beth, but she just can't make him choose her. By all means pad her to look bloated in the first scenes where her drinking is out of hand, but not after that.

Frank has a penchant for choosing friends and partners who are of use to him. Mary helps write the revue, but that "Thanks, I don't perform except at dinner!" announces that she's not going to be integral to Frank's career. You could play it that that's the moment where she really loses him, before he sets eyes on Beth.

I really enjoyed the Fiasco production and how Mary got thinner as the show progressed, as if she was drinking and eating her feelings.

What r557 demonstrates in that clip is how could Mr. Esparaza could be.

Was Ann Morrison fat or heavy or overweight?

Agree with the posters above about Skinner as Gussie, There was still a warmth (Skinner always has warmth, unlike Esparza, who never does--or when he tries it's fake) and a little wistful, rather than bitter, self-deprecation. At least as I remember it.

Also Shor was excellent as Mary.

Let's take time to look back and remember. Do you remember the reunion of the original WSS cast after 50 yrs during the Gypsy of the Year show? Chita was still dancing with a fire.

R551 Hate to tell you, this new production does not measure up to the Kennedy Center production. It was still interesting, but to me that was the definitive version.

Though I think Raul Esparza gave a perfect, shattering performance at the KC, I still preferred the Broadway version. The chemistry of the trio and Grofff’s ability to turn Frank into a genuinely likable, charismatic person offset the production’s other flaws.

Plus, it was nice to see the show so well received. There was an almost anguished reaction from the audience at the end when Frank said Mary was the woman he would marry or when Charley gives him the advice about writing that Frank parrots later on. The show still feels unusual, but it also feels like a hit.

As long as it has gams and a freewheeling patio number, it should do fine.

R549, I saw the show on Tuesday night and Mendez was in.

I read a horrible horrible horrible review of that Stranger Things stage experience.

I got a message in my feed that Stereophonic was making an "exciting announcement". Extend, or transfer?

To cut costs, they're hiring Sara Porkalob and changing the name to "Monaural."

Sara Porkalob's unemployment insurance checks must be running out about now.

I guess this is the official start date of her "Never to be heard from again" era!

[quote]R558, your post is so stupid and nasty that it probably shouldn't be dignified by a reply, but....

Whether you look at the show chronologically or reverse-chronologically, it's ridiculous to say that Mary is a "terrible" role with nothing to play "after Beth and Gussie are introduced," if only because she has all those great songs throughout, including her parts in "Our Time" and "Opening Doors" at one end of before/after and "Like It Was," at the other end..

I sure hope you're not an agent or casting director -- or a writer.

Are there any good plays (not musicals) playing NY right now?

Has Gussie Moran commented yet?

Who names their kid Gussie?

A question about the Guttenberg lottery, I've tried all week but no success, do they actually award tickets through this method?

It’s a nickname for Gertrude

Gutenberg is a nickname for Gertrude?

[quote]It’s a nickname for Gertrude

Wrong, r579, it's a nickname for Augusta.

I stand corrected.

Pauline Betz

The KC production of Merrily is absolute perfection. Raul Esparza is the definitive Charlie and Miriam Shor was an excellent Mary. I liked Elizabeth Stanley as Gussie in the Encores production but she was eerily similar to Emily Skinner's take on the role.

In the KC production was Gussie still a small role, smaller than it is now?

Yes it was r584. And same with the Encores production.

So, why do you suppose Maria Friedman (and presumably Sondheim) felt that the role needed expanding? And who did the new writing?

r586 the role is expanded in this newest version ? I don't believe it is?

R581, I never understood how Peggy became a nickname for Margaret.

r588 I was curious and found this article :

[quote]Who names their kid Gussie?

My parents.

The version onstage now and at the Kennedy Center and at Encores is the 1985 version, with minor edits here and there. Gussie is more prominent in the revised version, but it’s mostly because she has more singing. She has always had a large supporting role, even if the recordings don’t seem to reflect that.

Please someone anyone make a new thread and r13 won’t criticize it. Post a link before the Bajour nonsense starts.

Fuck that, we can all wait for r16 to create a new thread with a fucking hilarious title

R593, I could call the new thread "The" and it would be more clever than this POS.

We're waiting, r594.

Good. Keep waiting. Maybe that'll teach you to come up with something clever instead of rushing to put up a new thread no one is clamoring for.

Has anyone else listened to DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES yet? I think Guettel indulges a bit too much in writing Stravinskified showtunes (that's the most apt description I can think of). The song "There I Go," sung by Kelli O'Hara, is lovely though.

Unmerrily we roll along to 546

r596 Dumb fuck, I'm not OP. Just someone proving you're full of shit and incapable of coming up with the kind of thread titles you demand from others. Thanks for proving it.

Cool story, R599.

*