THEATRE GOSSIP #568: “I Have Some Katharine Cornell Tea” and Other Tepid Takes Edition

So speaking of the Roomate, which of you bitches actually have tickets?

For people who saw Boys in the Band, where was the intermission?

I anyone buying tickets to "Mattress"? What were they thinking opening in August?

R2. Harold's entrance in the midst of chaos. INTERMISSION. Act 2.

[quote]For people who saw Boys in the Band, where was the intermission?

In the lobby.

That production of MATTRESS just looks so cheap. Like bad college theatre. Standards have really slipped on Broadway in recent years.

I've seen Sutton Foster in several shows and her charm escapes me.

[quote]Standards have really slipped on Broadway in recent years.

Where is style? Where is skill? Where is forethought?

Why did OP start this when the last thread was only at 583? She could have at least thrown in 17 Bajours.

Or you could be a giving soul and do it yourself.

[quote]Where is style? Where is skill? Where is forethought?

You're cancelled for being discriminatory, R8. And your little Steve too!

I’m arriving in Ogunquit for a week’s vacation one day after “A Little Night Music” closes. UGH.

R12 have you ever seen A Little Night Music before? A deep regret of mine was that I missed the Bernadette / Elaine revival from 2010/2011.

I’ve never seen the show before. I like Julia Murney, I hope she is good in this role

I did ALNM in college. John Gavin's daughter was Charlotte. She also used to cut my hair.

[quote]John Gavin's daughter was Charlotte

What am I, r14, chopped liver?

[quote]A deep regret of mine was that I missed the Bernadette / Elaine revival from 2010/2011.

That production was too bare bones. When they all go for dinner, they were all seated on the ground, American picnic style.

I saw Catherine Zeta Jones in an early preview of ALNM and thought she was fantastic. She would make a great Mama Rose but it looks like that's not going to happen.

She was rumored for a TV production of Mame that never happened.

R17 Arthur Laurents forbade CZJ as Rose when he was alive, he called her a “second banana” not sure if that continues in his death.

Lord knows I’m forever banned!

[quote]She would make a great Mama Rose but it looks like that's not going to happen.

I'm in talks for Baby June in the Audra revival.

We'll never know how Laurents would feel about a black Rose. Any thoughts?

Who cares?

Has CZJ worked at all onstage since Night Music or in film since she won her Oscar?

She staged her husband’s cancer—that’s a yes. No?

I always thought that CZJ should have received a nomination for “Traffic.”

[quote]Has CZJ worked at all onstage since Night Music or in film since she won her Oscar?

She’s been doing tv lately. Probably an easier schedule. She did a couple of guest starring spots as Morticia in “Wednesday” and she’s a regular in “National Treasure: Edge of History.” She can show up, shoot her bits, collect a paycheck and hope for a residual stream by the time she’s 40.

CZJ has an Oscar and a Tony, so she’s probably working tv in hopes of getting closer to an EGOT.

“Shoot her bits” doesn’t sound quite right.

What about

Zeta!

in

EVITA

R27 she was nominated for a Daytime Emmy for National Treasure…but lost…so the EGOT still beckons

Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dianne Weist are Tuesday night replacements in The Roommate when Patti and Mia get tired of being chauffeured into the city. I can see Patti sticking her head out the window along the Cross Bronx Expressway and yelling, “Get outta the way. I got a show to get to.”

CZJ was on prodigal son(RIP) and she was awful

CZJ was actually really good. That production was a strange missed opportunity. A great Fredrik, Desiree, Carl Magnus, Petra, and Madame Armfeldt. But they were undercut by a strident Anne (daughter of the original), the most unfunny Charlotte I’ve seen, and a deadly grey set that sucked any remaining energy out.

[quote]She can show up, shoot her bits, collect a paycheck and hope for a residual stream by the time she’s 40.

That's a LOOOOONG way off.

CZJ is going through ‘Bama Rush…DZ and ZTA are her top two for Bid Day.

She's barely out of Girl Scouts!

Poor Angela Lansbury. Next to CZJ, it was like Angie was in Whales of August and CZJ was in Thoroughly Modern Millie. CZJ was so young, audience members were left questioning why she and her little sister were hanging around their great-grandmother. Heck, even Fredericka looked ancient next to CZJ.

Demoiselle Zeta-Jones was primed to replace Patti LuPone in Company. She withdrew after hearing Joanne had been married and divorced multiple times. Allegedly, she responded "darling I'm barley old enough to be on my first marriage!", before applying a soupçon of retinol to her youthful visage.

R29, what about

Zeta! as

My Akita

EVITA!

Someone oughta open up a window. "Catherine Zeta-Jones is just an ingenue" jokes are getting a little musty.

There’s a certain type of poster who doesn’t know when to let go of a joke after it’s long ceased being funny

r41 That's most of DL

I'd have preferred CJZ's Joanne to Lupone's.

If Lisa Vanderpump could carry a tune, she would have been IDEAL stunt casting for Joanne

Did anyone see the Ogunquit ALNM? I'm curious how Julia was as Desireé? Also, hot Mike McGowan played Frederick. Having just seen the hot mess of the Lincoln Center version with a 70-year-old Frederick, I wonder how a sexy fifty-ish one worked.

There's a sizzle reel of that Ogunquit Night Music out there if you do a simple search. Some of your questions will be answered.

I love Ogunquit. Such a magical town. Lots of good cock too.

R7 I have heard that nothing is as unwelcome as unasked for criticism.

Saw VERSAILLES in Boston over the weekend. It will be like WAR PAINT and ADDAMS FAMILY. Huge advance because of Cheno, but ultimately disappoints as a show. Don't think it's fixable because she's such an awful, empty character, and there's no getting around that, even with Cheno's star power. Schwartz working in "children of eden" mode, not "wicked".

Did War Paint really have a huge advance? Were people clamoring for Christine Ebersole ?

[quote]Did War Paint really have a huge advance? Were people clamoring for Christine Ebersole ?

Ahem!

Why are the theaters in the US not producing A Face in the Crowd?

Because it hits too close to home…it cuts to the bone. They already see it 24/7 on the teevee.

Queen of Versailles: Isn't it unusual for The Times to review what is essentially a tryout?

What happened to Nina Arianda? She played DL’s own, Vivian Vance, in Being The Ricardos a few years ago but her career seems to be flailing.

Cleo

[quote]Cleo

Cleo's Sondheim Album is the best collection of Sondheim sung perfectly. It doesn't get any better. I have consistently listened to this album since it came out in the 80s. She could have been a Carlotta or a Sally.

There's a lot of great songs on that album, R57. I'm partial to her "No One Is Alone."

Cleo always fucked with the melody. I know, I know, she was a jazz singer but still.

R54 the Queen of Versailles review from the Times actually wasn’t that bad! I was waiting for it to be ripped to shreds like my work typically is.

the Queen of Versailles review from the Times actually wasn’t that bad! I was waiting for it to be ripped to shreds like my work typically is.

the Queen of Versailles review from the Times actually wasn’t that bad! I was waiting for it to be ripped to shreds like my work typically is.

Huh?

How's Boyd Gaines doing these days?

He be olde.

The 10 Indispensable American Musicals (assembled by the 2024 Summer intern).

No Follies is not on the list.

I thought CZJ’s last name was pronounced ZAYTA JONES, not Zeeta rhymes with Evita.

I can't play Evita!

[quote]I thought CZJ’s last name was pronounced ZAYTA JONES, not Zeeta rhymes with Evita.

It’s Zeeta. She’s Welsh, so she doesn’t use the European pronunciation.

CZJ should do Sunset Boulevard the movie.

[quote] It’s Zeeta. She’s Welsh, so she doesn’t use the European pronunciation.

Yes, Wales is in Asia.

R70. Fuck you

Underwhelming reviews for the 2018 Steppenwolf production of "The Roommate."

R73 I have tickets to see the play October 29th. I hope it’s able to hold on until then because I don’t have a way to NY before then, but I have a sneaky suspicion it will close early like the LuPone/ Debra Winger The Anarchist fiasco in 2012.

I’m a Patti stan, but why on earth did she decide to have this dreck be her return to Broadway?

‘Particle Fever’ Musical In Development For Broadway, Based On 2013 God Particle Doc:

[quote]The 10 Indispensable American Musicals (assembled by the 2024 Summer intern).No Follies is not on the list.

Not a bad list mostly, but no way does Ragtime belong on it.

R3, HAIRSPRAY opened in August. It is rare for any show to open in August, whether hits or flops, but it's not unheard of.

What about having it in the title?

r74, I doubt Patti is offered many interesting roles these days, in theatre, film or TV, if for no other reason, her age.

THE ROOMMATE probably seemed to her like an easy piece to rehearse and perform, no music to learn, not a whole lot of people to come into conflict with, etc. She probably doesn't care enough if it'll be a short or a long run at her age. It's a job.

[quote]I’m a Patti stan, but why on earth did she decide to have this dreck be her return to Broadway?

A girl’s gotta eat. Is she a grandma yet?

[quote]Not a bad list mostly, but no way does Ragtime belong on it.

I agree. I enjoyed Ragtime very much but it does not belong on the list. I think it’s probably there because they felt guilty about skipping several decades.

There is nothing from the British mega musicals of the 1980s and without Ragtime, they are skipping the decades of the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s (as Hamilton didn’t appear until 2015).

I think Rent should be on the list to represent the 1990s. Or possibly Falsettos. Both are 1990s productions that dealt with the AIDS crisis.

I think that Hair or Godspell should be on the list to represent improvisational musicals.

A Chorus Line should be on the list because it represents real people putting their specific stories on stage. The raw material of ACL, the stories of how they got on stage in front of us, is what makes the musical interesting.

I would probably put Cats on the list to demonstrate how material from one source can be directly lifted and used to make a musical. Plus, it demonstrates how a power ballad can sell a show. Thousands of people came to see that show specifically to hear Memory belted live in the theater.

I might put Miss Saigon on the list because it puts on the stage a difficult chapter in American history.

Hairspray had hit written all over it in Seattle, r77.

Cleo's Sondheim album was arranged by Jonathan Tunick. He deserves lots of credit for its excellence.

I'm surprised Patti keeps getting work at all. I guess she must have a good reputation on stage because she keeps getting work there but she was considered a real pain and unprofessional when she did Life Goes On. Granted that was decades ago, but she's not exactly a star, as Sondheim cruelly pointed out to her.

[quote]I guess she must have a good reputation on stage because she keeps getting work there but she was considered a real pain and unprofessional when she did Life Goes On.

She was unprofessional in Evita, Anything Goes and Noises Off.

Admits to skipping rehearsals for RSC Les Miserables and missing her cue during a performance.

Trashed her dressing room during Sunset Boulevard.

Has there ever been a musical version of You Can’t Take It With You?

r81

I thought the article was about AMERICAN musicals for the British mega hits wouldn't be on that list

oh no we're rehashing Patti behaviour now for the zillionth time. Like the theatre, the theatre gossip thread may be dead.

R88, for those of us who aren't into our theater gossip, I always thought that actors with bad reputations don't get cast. People don't want to work with you and you're destined to a life doing cabaret shows, even though there is no cabaret anymore. I think since LuPone has a bad reputation and has a history of unprofessional behavior, she'd be persona non grata.

[quote]I thought the article was about AMERICAN musicals for the British mega hits wouldn't be on that list

Oh, you’re right r87. I was interpreting it as any musical that had played Broadway.

But Rent or Falsettos should still be on the list.

[quote]I think since LuPone has a bad reputation and has a history of unprofessional behavior, she'd be persona non grata.

Casting is very interesting.

Elaine Stritch kept returning, even though many knew she had a drink problem which could affect her performance. As well as mental health problems illustrated by the story during Company previews, she froze and ended up sticking her fist in her mouth (as told by Donna McKechnie).

Betty Buckley seems to be persona non grata.

Nathan Lane is always invited back despite being nasty to co-stars and improvising insults to audience members.

Helen Hayes was a cunt

The Stranger Things play is coming to the Marquis.

A musical about Cellino and Barnes. I can’t wait for the one about Dr. Zizmor.

And casting will no doubt be difficult for Marcy Syms in “My daddy owns a department store for cheapies.”

[quote]I would probably put Cats on the list to demonstrate how material from one source can be directly lifted and used to make a musical.

If we're talking in terms of quality rather than long runs, there are MANY musicals that are far better illustrations of that.

FALSETTOS was a very powerful show for many audience members (myself included) because of the subject matter, but in terms of the quality of the writing, it's REALLY not good enough to make any short list of indispensable musicals.

I've been wondering if we'll ever know whether or not Patti ever quit Equity when she said she was going to, and has since rejoined, or whatever else happened. But then it occurred to me that I guess at least we'll find out if she's a current member when THE ROOMMATE begins performances, because there is always that small-print item in every Playbill about how all of the actors and stage managers are members of Equity. So if Patti is no longer a member, I would think there would have to be some note to that affect, maybe with an asterisk next to her name. Don't you think?

[quote]So if Patti is no longer a member, I would think there would have to be some note to that affect, maybe with an asterisk next to her name. Don't you think?

It would be very unwise for Equity to allow a non-union performer on Broadway. Especially in an election year when union voters are being heavily courted by both sides and certain segments of unions have gone on strike to protest AI. My guess is she never actually gave up her membership.

R96, I was going to say the same thing. Finn's scores sound like they were written for a Saturday morning cartoon. He loves that glibly "quirky" sound. Hard to describe, but you know it when you hear it.

While I'm not a fan at all RENT should absolutely have taken Ragtime's spot.

I hate to reply twice in a row, but GIRLS!!!

Unfortunately, Liza probably won't be honest in her autobio. We want to hear all about Studio 54. The performances where she was too drugged up to perform: The Rink, The Act, Victor/Victoria. We want the lows as well as the highs. She's probably too optimistic to dish any real dirt about other performers.

R100. It will be published in Spring 2026? Oh good. I should be finished reading Streisand's by then.

Liza claimed she was unable to attend the premier of the movie Truly Terrific because she was going to be in Paris. Talk about a crock.

During Liza's Victor/Victoria run a friend of mine who knew the show by heart noticed a song was missing in Act 1. He asked the conductor if he was imagining this and the conductor replied, "Miss Minelli asked to shorten the show tonight."

So who is on the official “Do not call list?”

Patti LuPone

Betty Buckley

Tonya Pinkins

Nathan Lane

Raul Esparza

Alice Ripley

Laura Osnes

Sara Porkalob

Sarah Brightman

Karen Olivo

[quote]During Liza's Victor/Victoria run a friend of mine who knew the show by heart noticed a song was missing in Act 1. He asked the conductor if he was imagining this and the conductor replied, "Miss Minelli asked to shorten the show tonight."

Darling Gwen did it. Why can't I?

[quote]It will be published in Spring 2026? Oh good. I should be finished reading Streisand's by then.

I certainly hope it won't end up being published posthumously.

Astonishing Success Of ‘Oh, Mary!’ And ‘The Outsiders’ Swells Broadway Box Office:

Outsiders box office is crazy. I was looking for mid October. Back row of the orchestra is $349 a ticket.

R105, Raul Esparza does not belong on that list. And I'm sure Nathan Lane is too big a star to be on it, despite his infamous personality issues.

I honestly wonder if part of the success of THE OUTSIDERS is due to the fact that several of the cast members are scorching hot, two or three of them in particular.

Well, DUH!!! ^^^

I've done 2 shows with Raul and loved working with him both times. He can be a moody drama queen but really, he's totally fun and very professional. He just cares about the show and his performance. I'd love to work with him again. I wish he'd choose better theater projects.

[quote]I wish he'd choose better theater projects.

What should he have chosen that he didn't, r113?

[quote] Darling Gwen did it. Why can't I?

Verdon?

[quote]r85 [unprofessional] [Patti] Admits to skipping rehearsals for RSC Les Miserables and missing her cue during a performance.

To be fair, can’t this be said of practically any professional performer?

I’d missed my first entrance by age 16.

(I think it only happened one other time over the years, because it’s [italic]terrifying.)

[quote]Darling Gwen did it. Why can't I Verdon?

Yes, during Sweet Charity she routinely cut a song.

When she did Redhead, there were rumors she cut like 7 numbers at one performance.

[quote]"Miss Minelli asked to shorten the show tonight."

Oh, dear.

I love "Ragtime," but I wouldn't argue about replacing it with another R&H show ("Sound of Music," "Carousel," or "South Pacific") or "My Fair Lady.

[quote]Helen Hayes was a cunt

You're probably confusing her with Helen LAWSON.

I want her to give reactions to the other actresses supposedly offered the role of Sally - -

Babs, Faye, Jane, Shirley, Nat, Ursula Andress, Julie Christie, Julie Andrews, Ann-Margret, Anita Gillette, Jill Ireland, Glenda Jackson, Brenda Vaccaro…

^^ oh dear - wrong thread

: (

Maybe Michael Berresse can play Cellini and do a strip number. I always thought Cellino could be a good time in the sack.

hang onto your Cleo Laine cds , Lps.....

a dozen or so of her titles from the RCA catalog are not streaming, available only as used copies on Amazon, ebay, etc.

[quote] It would be very unwise for Equity to allow a non-union performer on Broadway. Especially in an election year when union voters are being heavily courted by both sides and certain segments of unions have gone on strike to protest AI. My guess is she never actually gave up her membership.

I know she said she gave up her membership, r98, but what she probably did was suspend it. It's very easy to reinstate. Joan Jett performed on Broadway without being an AEA member. No idea why that was allowed. It ended up being a disaster, in the end.

[quote]Maybe Michael Berresse can play Cellini and do a strip number. I always thought Cellino could be a good time in the sack.

...and so, I hear, is Berresse, r124. He danced and sang Buddy's Blues at Carnegie Hall's FOLLIES recently, and looks quite well for a man approaching 60.

You can withdraw temporarily from Equity or SAG/AFTRA if you don't wish to keep paying dues wen hyou know that you're not going to be working for a while. When you activate your membership again, you only have to pay your current dues. I did it myself once., Quitting outright would be stupid and pointless, and I very much doubt that's what LuPone did, despite what she may have said.

R120, I can understand why they wouldn't want to put more than one R&H show on the list, and of course the first one is considered the most innovative. But yes, MY FAIR LADY should have been there somewhere.

Thanks, R127. Maybe that's what's happening.

Whoopi Goldberg

*IS*

Hannigan

In.

ANNIE

I thought the Annie tour was non equity.

Patti told me I could quit Equity for four weeks.

It'sh shtrange but it'sh all true. You'll shee!

Wait until you to the part about Baryshnikov. I can shay that without lishping.

I think Ragtime absolutely belongs on the list. It's higher quality in construction and score than either Guys and Dolls or Hamilton. There's an argument to be made that without it there might BE no Hamilton. It is also about problems that have plagued America since at least the early 19th century and which are getting worse, not better as we speak.

Of course, apart from West Side Story it's the only one on the list which is overtly critical of America.

I do agree that A Chorus Line is indispensable and should be up there.

That isn't a lisp, r133.

[quote]I think Ragtime absolutely belongs on the list. It's higher quality in construction and score than either Guys and Dolls or Hamilton.

I'm sure many people would argue with you on this point. As much as I love RAGTIME, I think it's generally conceded that almost every number in the score is a big, rousing anthem, and that's perceived as a structural flaw.

[quote]As much as I love RAGTIME, I think it's generally conceded that almost every number in the score is a big, rousing anthem, and that's perceived as a structural flaw.

Yup. Too many power ballads.

I got tickets for Bernadette Peters at Carnegie Hall. Are any of you dolls going to?

[quote]Are any of you dolls going to?

Only if she does Chico's Girl.

R138 - I mistakenly bought accessible seats (like for wheelchair companions) but I hope they will honor them! ADA law says that once a section is sold out, those seats can be sold to the public and that's exactly what happened. I was on my phone and didn't see the key that said companion seat. Ugh, I feel like a terrible person but I also want to see Bernadette!

‘Ghost Of John McCain’ Sets Off-Broadway Cast Ahead Of Fall Opening; Daughter Meghan Still Hasn’t RSVP’d Invitation:

[quote] Anthony Michal Ray as Donald Trumps Brain

A very, very tiny role.

[quote]looks quite well for a man approaching 60.

Approaching 60? Honey, he arrives at that destination next week.

Re the rare August Broadway opening, in addition to Hairspray, La Cage aux Folles opened in August, 1983.

[quote]R138 I got tickets for Bernadette Peters at Carnegie Hall. Are any of you dolls going too?

No.

La Cage

Why is there an eye in the O? And why does it look like it’s off a dollar bill?

George Hearn was not remotely believable as Zaza. But it was 1983 and the producers may have felt that a burly, deep voiced man dressed like a mother of the bride was easier for audiences to accept. Mandy should have won the Tony that year for his passionate performance in SITPWG.

Except for the barking. That damn barking cost me a fucking Tony!

No, the Tony voters consciously snubbed Sunday. History and perspective have made their position clear.

Whatever you think of the show, it’s an undeniably extraordinary work that is many people’s favorite piece of theater. The finale alone is a source of deeply profound artistic community. Jerry Herman wrote many good things, but nothing on the level of Sunday in the Park with George.

Act 1 of Sunday in the Park with George is excellent. Act 2 is a boring mess. Bernadette’s old lady voice didn’t help much.

[quote]‘Ghost Of John McCain’ Sets Off-Broadway Cast Ahead Of Fall Opening; Daughter Meghan Still Hasn’t RSVP’d Invitation:

My ladyparts are all a-tingle!

[quote] No, the Tony voters consciously snubbed Sunday

When Sunday came out, I remember people regarded it as a bit boring, sort of like the reception to Days Of Wine And Roses. La Cage, on the other hand, was regarded as a joyful event, not to mention that it was the first really popular gay musical.

I remember seeing Sunday in previews, and liking it okay. By the 3rd time I saw it, I found it overwhelming. It took a few times, for me anyway, to understand its greatness.

[quote] Astonishing Success Of ‘Oh, Mary!’ And ‘The Outsiders’ Swells Broadway Box Office

No comment from the people here who insisted Oh Mary! would never work on Broadway?

I also saw Sunday during previews and though I loved many moments of it, I did not love it as a whole, particularly the second act and the ending. (the closing of the first act was almost worth the price of admision alone.) When I saw the video, I thought they had fixed a lot of it, but still didn't buy the ending. The first revival, though not as great as the original production, was the first time that the end worked for me.

I actually preferred MaryAnn Plunkett's Dot especially in Act 2.

The Into the Woods podcast just dropped a nearly 2 hour episode with Donna Murphy. At 45 minutes in, they are just staring to cover her audition for the originals. It’s really a fantastic interview.

How about a revival of Song & Dance?

Wipe that look off your face! You would love to be right!

An accent works wonders/that's why English girls do great in L.A. ... err, NYC.

R157 she mentions getting into a feud with a co-Star in the park production of Into the Woods where a cast member blew up at her and blamed her for production issues. She did gender the cast member (almost by accident) as male. She said when she sees him now “things are fine” but she felt horribly at the time about the tension.

All roads have to lead to Denis O’Hare right? Who else would she have fought with? The other males were Ivan Hernandez, Gideon Glick (both doubtful) and Chip Zien (possible)

Does anyone have the scoop if it is Denis?

Was Gideon Glick as high all the time back then as he is now? The woman he was with at the Jellicle Ball last night announced to an entire section that she was fucked up on shrooms

It was Denis. He was miserable during that production. But then, so were most of the actors.

So was the audience. What a misfire from beginning to end.

[quote]It was Denis. He was miserable during that production. But then, so were most of the actors.

Why was that?

Cause they knew they were in a shitty production. And performing it on an outdoor stage in godawful costumes in 90-degree weather.

[quote]R160 a cast member blew up at her and blamed her for production issues.

Why was he blaming HER? She wasn’t the producer or the director, was she? And it’s unlikely she was sleeping with the composer!

[quote]r162 It was Denis. He was miserable during that production.

Maybe he read this review:

[italic]”And Amy Adams is stuck in a bad marriage to Denis O’Hare’s Baker. O’Hare is so muted and realistic — the Baker-and-spouse are designed to be the most bourgeois, most grounded, most accessible characters in the piece — he comes off downcast, marble-mouthed, and self-regarding, as if fighting his way out of a wet paper bag.”

R166 a lot of the technical issues had to do with her Witch costume in act one with the crutches/arms things she wore and she held up rehearsal trying to work kinks out and apparently he blew up at her.

^^ thank you : )

Truthfully, her reputation is that she’s a pain in the ass, however well-meaning.

Boy, that production in the park stank. And Donna was pretty bad too.

The only things I remember from that production were Amy's bad wig, the Cinderella's short dress getting lengthened because the costume designer hated her legs, and random actress Morgan James getting caught up in a firestorm because she tweeted how much she hated it and was #horrified.

Couldn't read the paywalled review at r167 so could someone remind me who directed that abominable Into the Woods, please? IIRC, it was a bratty Brit, wasn't it?

Timothy Sheader, longtime artistic director of Regent's Park Open Air Theatre in London, R173.

Donna Murphy's dreadful singing in that WOODS for me really puts paid to those rumors about her dubbing Meryl Streep in the film. (And I'm a DM fan.)

I don’t know what “puts paid” means, but r175 is missing basic facts. The Central Park Into the Woods was in summer of 2012, while the movie was released at Christmas in 2014. So, unless you travel through time like Franklin Shepard, your post makes no sense.

Streep revealed singing techniques she had never shown before and they sounded a lot like Murphy in the same role. All parties deny it. Including Murphy in the podcast. Streep is a talented mimic, so maybe she modeled her singing on Murphy’s.

How could you have so entirely missed the very obvious point r175 was making?

The point? That r175 went to Central Park in 2012 and decided that Murphy couldn’t have dubbed Meryl Streep in a movie that had not even started filming?

The point is that Murphy sang terribly in 2012's production and is therefore extremely unlikely to have been anyone's choice to "improve" Streep's vocals in the subsequent WOODS film. Her intonation alone -- never her long suit -- was just awful.

I too was surprised by the strength of Streep's WOODS vocals, but that's not because she had never shown such capacity. (Check out the end of POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE or the opening scene of DEATH BECOMES HER.) Rather, I was pleased to hear her sounding better than she'd sounded in MAMMA MIA!.

As for "puts paid," well, the Internet is your friend.

Modern technology can make anyone's voice sound good these days.

[quote]All parties deny it. Including Murphy in the podcast.

If it was in her contract to not mention it, then she is wise to deny it. I’m not saying Murphy did or didn’t do a dub job, but she’d be foolish to make a star on Streep’s level to look bad.

I sang beautifully in a tv production of South Pacific with my nieces....er.....I mean nurses.

We're getting a Glengarry Glen Ross revival in the spring.

3 B'way GLENGARRY revivals over a 20-year period? And people complain about GYPSY and WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?.

Glengarry is nowhere near a good enough play to warrant so many revivals.

To me, Kieran Culkin seems very odd casting for that role.

Glengarry only works when it’s properly directed. There’s a specific rhythm to the dialogue and if that rhythm isn’t mastered, it’s a fucking slog through the performance for both actors and audiences.

[quote]We're getting a Glengarry Glen Ross revival in the spring.

#BroadwaySoMale. Will they be casting any women or trans? DEI lives matter!

Whatever happened to the all-woman revival of GLENGARRY that was announced a few years ago? That, actually, sounded mildly interesting.

R189, they could call it GLENGARRY GLENN CLOSE.

The fucking Nyborgs!

I am an eldergay. I have never seen, nor could I have ever imagined, the success of "Oh Mary" on Broadway. Next week, it is almost sold out at $424 and $329.... I thought it would do well for a couple of months, then TKTS, and then gone by Labor Day. I am (happily) shocked and I remember laughing when I first saw those prices. I have seen the show (downtown) but I could never imagine people paying these prices. Good for them.

Is “Oh, Mary” headed for a PBS broadcast? I’d rather see that than the Groff/Radcliffe “Merrily”

GLENGARRY GLENN CLOSE VERY SOON!

To go back to the beginning that Prince production of Night Music was so beautiful. Aronson, Klotz and that elegant staging. If people have seen such staging since the days of Bennett and Tune let me know what musicals had staging as good. I'd very much like to know from you other seniors who were going to theater back then.

Tommy Tune worked miracles on My One and Only and Hollywood/Ukraine.

[quote]Tommy Tune worked miracles on My One and Only and Hollywood/Ukraine

And Will Rogers' Follies, Grand Hotel and Nine.

Grand Hotel was criticized as a musical where a bunch of chairs were moved around. But Tommy Tune knew how to make a song work with nothing but talent.

White Dudes for Mamet

Zoom 3pm Eastern

The Roommate will be doing 1pm matinees. Is this something new or do Patti and Mia have an early bird special to get to.

[quote]The Roommate will be doing 1pm matinees.

They’re old ladies. They need their nap time.

[quote]Modern technology can make anyone's voice sound good these days.

If only we'd lived long enough.

Yeah, and what about us? We could actually sing a bit...

R200 that fried chicken won’t broast itself

I prefer the creamed chicken in a basket, r204.

I saw Hollywood/Ukraine back in the day. It was a delight from beginning to end. It cannot be that difficult to revive (barring finding a cast who can sing and dance charmingly in the first half and then believably/hilariously play the Marx Bros. in the second).

[quote]It cannot be that difficult to revive

I think the issue is that there are about 10 different writers and they (or their estates) would want a piece of the profits. And it’s probably a show that can’t bring in enough profit to sustain that many egos.

Plus, there was some scandal over what exactly was Jerry Herman’s contribution to the show. Some say he wrote his songs, others believe he may not have.

Sadly, the "issue" with Hollywood/Ukraine is nobody under 65 would have any interest in seeing it. Or know who the Marx Bros. were.

No, they'd rather see endless revivals of Into the Woods, Bye, Bye, Birdie, Guys & Dolls and 7 other overly familiar titles.

Also, is there a director working today who would understand the show and could make it work??

Hollywood/Ukraine had to be a gigantic flop on the road. I saw it in Seattle around 1981 and there were 19 people in the audience and 12 left at intermission.

R207, what scandal? Herman wrote 3 songs for HOLLYWOOD/UKRAINE at the request of Tommy Tune. Are you thinking of the HELLO, DOLLY!/"Before the Parade Passes By" dust-up?

[Quote] They’re old ladies. They need their nap time.

Are you talking about the stars, or the audience?

Would The Roommate be happening if Patti had done the Broadway version of Bullets Over Broadway? Was she even considered for the show?

[quote]The Roommate will be doing 1pm matinees.

The Concessions staff have it written into their contracts that they can watch The Edge of Night.

R212 she auditioned but Woody told her no. He also turned down Betty Buckley. Marin Mazzie thought she’d finally win the Tony, but she wasn’t even nominated (which was a disgrace)

Speaking of Flo Foster Jenkins, the Meryl movie is on TCM during Meryl Day (Saturday 8/10). It's on between "A dingo ate my baby" and Viola.

[quote] she auditioned but Woody told her no.

I can understand. The character is flamboyant but at times needs to be subtle (“Don’t speak”). Patti and subtlety have never met.

[quote] Marin Mazzie thought she’d finally win the Tony, but she wasn’t even nominated (which was a disgrace)

It was a strange year.

I always loved Marin Mazzie but even she couldn't save that piece of crap called Bullets Over Broadway.

Matinées sold out until 2026 🤷🏻‍♂️

Mandy and Maryann‘s curtain call at r156 is very sweet and touching, with quite a kiss.

I see Maryann’s husband Jay at the gym, all the time.

He’s a very nice guy—Walzian.

[quote]He’s a very nice guy—Walzian

A mensch

How come nobody ever talks about Cynthia Onrubia? She started her Broadway career as a replacement in A Chorus Line when she was like 17.

Cynthia On-WHO-bia?

R223. Cynthia was 15 when she joined ACL. Somebody has an Instagram account devoted to her. I stumbled upon it once.

Cyn’s a g-damn nepo baby. Her mom was in FLOWER DUMB SONG. FLOWER DIM SUM… whatever it is.

The only thing I saw her in was Song & Dance.

The poor white dude’s Baayork Lee…

HOLLYWOOD/UKRAINE was done last year by that Rob Schneider off-Broadway series that has done Baker's Wife, No Strings, etc. H/U is very slight and needs an ace director and a multi-tented cast. This version had neither.

I saw Cynthia in the first touring company of Dancin which starred Vicki Frederick and Sandahl Bergman. When I saw the show again in New York, she was in the show and had started doing her hair like Vicki.

The height of her career?

Vicki's hair was gorgeous and I loved the way she incorporated it into her dancing. Her Music and the Mirror is legendary thanks to unleashing her ponytail in the middle of the dance. I saw her perform Ann's track in Dancin' and she was flawless.

Cynthia with her Vicki hair. She really does look much better this way.

GeneBarryGlennClose is far more clever than anything you cretins have ever come up with.

At this point, I miss Lindsay Mendez

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1937, "The Trial of Dr. Beck" opened at Maxine Elliott's Theatre.

Did anyone notice?

Good god, those Hello, Dolly! costumes are just unbelievably awful. They would be fine for Oklahoma! or fucking Bloomer Girl but that’s it. Talk about cheap looking.

[quote]THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1937, "The Trial of Dr. Beck" opened at Maxine Elliott's Theatre.

Who was Maxine Elliott and how did she get her own theatre?

Lazy much, r239?

[quote]Lazy much, [R239]?

Why should I mess up my manicure when I have you to do things for me?

Which Hello, Dolly! costumes?

It's odd that the NY Times has not reviewed the KC's NINE, no?

Though I'm hearing dreadful things about it, so maybe they're doing them a favor.

R223, people on the Broadway refer to her as “Cynthia I’mRudetoYa”.

She first got her comeuppance when they set up cameras and discovered she was stealing from her cast mates dressing rooms to support her coke habit.

She was knocked down an additional peg when Rob Marshall discovered she was actively trying to sabotage her fellow Associate Choreographer Joey Pizzi during the filming of “Chicago.”

I still see her walking around Hell’s Kitchen. No idea if she’s working anymore. I think the last time I saw her name was attached to the production of “Jerome Robbins Broadway” at the Muny a few years ago.

R243, I’m seeing it this weekend and have heard reports that are all over the map. But I’m mostly going for Pasquale.

R244, I think she was the one who directed and recreated Robbins choreography for the Muny. BTW R223, that's good gossip!

[quote]No idea if she’s working anymore.

She was an Associate Choreographer on the Mendes Cabaret and recreated it for the revival in 2014 and the road company in 2016-2017. Hopefully, she had enough sense to get a piece of the action rather than a straight fee.

[quote]She was knocked down an additional peg when Rob Marshall discovered she was actively trying to sabotage her fellow Associate Choreographer Joey Pizzi during the filming of “Chicago.”

Oh, I hadn't heard that. Can you elaborate?

[quote]HOLLYWOOD/UKRAINE was done last year by that Rob Schneider off-Broadway series

Deuce Bigalow?

Poor Stephanie Mills. Still defending Michael Jackson. I wonder if he and Diana were talking smack about Stephanie during the filming of the movie?

[quote]She was knocked down an additional peg when Rob Marshall discovered she was actively trying to sabotage her fellow Associate Choreographer Joey Pizzi during the filming of “Chicago.”

Joey Pizzi is the nicest guy in show business.

Stephanie actually put this photo off her and Al Greene on her IG account. She looks like Gary Coleman.

Anyone else read this new biography of Elaine May? It's incredibly absorbing and particularly incisive about how plays and films do and do not happen, and how a ridiculously brilliant and ridiculously difficult artist navigated the industry through seven decades ...

I found out recently that Elaine May, Mike Nichols, James Naughton and Swoosie Kurtz did "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf." I can see it all except for Swoosie Kurtz. I don't think she's a Honey. Did anyone see this production?

Who did the wigs?!^

R254, it was supposed to be an astonishing production. It was at Long Wharf in New Haven and closed early because Nichols got pneumonia. It’s covered in his really great biography by Mark Harris.

Who were the rejected Weismann Girls?

They must have dug up a lot of aged performers to consider for FOLLIES - how sad for the ones who were excited to finally strut their stuff at another Broadway audition, and then just had to sit by the phone for months with sinking hearts.

I bet some were ruled out for just being too frail. Others because their abilities had dimmed.

Who was REJECTED?

Chapin mentions a list of possible casting choices in his book, r257. The only one I remember offhand is Jane Wyman.

Why isn't Zach Trump Apologist Williams moving with Death Becomes Her to Broadway?

R257, actors considered for Follies (at least the big roles) "regardless of whether they could sing," included Van Johnson, E.G. Marshall, Peter Lawford, Jim Backus, Howard Keel, Craig Stevens, Jack Albertson, John Raitt, Don Ameche, Ray Middleton, Rhonda Fleming, Joan Bennett, Kitty Carlisle, Barbara Cook, Gloria DeHaven and Jane Wyman.

What about ME?

Later in the book, Chapin mentions folks considered to play Bobby and Joanne in the California engagements/national tour of Company. George Chakiris and Elaine Stritch headlined. Before that, Richard Chamberlain passed and Robert Morse and George Hamilton were talked about. As for Joanne, the possibilities included Kaye Ballard, Janet Blair, Eve Arden, Gisele MacKenzie and Angie Dickinson ("won't").

Well, Janet did end up doing FOLLIES...

[quote]actors considered for Follies (at least the big roles) "regardless of whether they could sing,"

Was Lucille Ball a Sally or a Phyllis?

Vivian Vance would have been a kickass Hattie.

Worst thread ever?

[quote]Worst thread ever?

Not really.

Jane sang an Oscar winning song...

Maybe "Here Comes the Groom" led them to Alexis Smith.

Robert Morse as Bobby in COMPANY has got to be one of the strangest casting ideas I've ever heard. What a relief that it never happened.

[quote]"So that’s why I keep his name alive and continue to post about him [on social media]. Because, you know, they like to forget about you and throw you away. And how can they? He was one of the greatest entertainers in the world.”

What the hell is Stephanie Mills talking about? The sad truth is that Michael Jackson is far from "forgotten" or "thrown away." On the contrary, he and his music still seem to have lots of fans, as witness the undeserved success of the Broadway show MJ.

Who else was up for the part of Zaza, besides George Hearn? I thought it was hilarious that he refused to wear his Zaza drag on the Tonys and did “I Am What I Am” wearing a tuxedo.

‘The Greatest Showman’ Broadway Musical In Development:

Richard Chamberlain played Bobby in one of those horrible Sylvia Kaye Fine specials and he was good. Bernadette gave us a glimpse of what Broadway was going to love in the next several decades.

I think it was the totally right thing to do, r270. He didn't have to deal with the make-up issue when he won and it didn't blow the reveal for people going to see it in the theatre.

Chamberlain apparently loved Company, but in 1971, he wasn't interested in being a replacement. I wonder if he was talked for Bobby prior to Dean Jones.

Well, here's a taste...

[quote]R262 As for Joanne, the possibilities included Kaye Ballard…

For some reason, reading that I thought of Jo Anne Worley by mistake (!!!!!)

Seeing that "Barcelona" clip with Chamberlain and Peters again was fun. I had forgotten that moment when he rushes way ahead of the orchestra without realizing it, then literally stares at the conductor as if the conductor had screwed up :-) I'm surprised they didn't redo the number, but I guess scheduling and finances didn't permit.

Nine at the Kennedy Center was really good, if not overly so. Pasquale sings gloriously and acts well enough. Carmello is her usual hammy greatness. Shereen Ahmed will have a great career, Mastrantonio is wry and on point, and Sasha Hutchings shakes off the ickiness of Oklahoma. Elizabeth Stanley really needs more latitude as an actress than Luisa provides, but she is fine. The little kid had a great, unintelligible voice but was cloying and probably posts on Datalounge.

FYI, the Kindle version of the Mary Rodgers autobio ("Shy") is $1.99 on Amazon now.

Just one item this week: Mia & Patti are appearing on Tuesday's Late Night with Seth Meyers.

On Wednesday they are doing a pop up at the M&M Store in Times Square.

R280 I’m glad they are doing press before the show opens and shit hits the fan between them.

I can see Mia and Patti becoming best buds. Even late-in-life lesbian lovers.

A Dutch stage revival of Saturday Night Fever starts next month. In this clip we get interviews with the ones playing Stephanie (Esmee Dekker) and Tony (Buddy Vedder). Vedder is a popular former soap actor who hosts The Masked Singer. About13 minutes in a member of the ensemble named Koan Van Aken is interviewed and…uhh…he’s impressive. Damn cute, for starters. Shame about the language.

I am personally taken aback by the opening salvo of this INTO THE WOODS review from 1987:

[quote]Like the middle-aged showbiz cynics who return to their haunted youths in 'Follies' and 'Merrily We Roll Along”… Cinderella and company travel into a dark, enchanted wilderness to discover who they are and how they might grow up and overcome the eternal, terrifying plight of being alone.

[italic]Just who does he think he’s talking to ? !

We tried watching a couple of National Theater Live plays on TV tonight, but both were rather difficult to understand due to not great sound and thick British accents. One was called CONSENT and starred Ben Chaplin, Anna Maxwell-Martin and hot ginger Adam James and it seemed interesting, but we just felt like we were missing every 4th word and so we quit. Frustrating! The other play starred thew Olivias Colman and Williams and was even worse.

I've come to the conclusion that those NT plays that are staged in the round like these two make for less satisfying viewings on TV.

R285, I’m not exactly clear on your point or your perspective, but the sophistication of readers, audiences, and critics in 1987 was vastly elevated from what we have now. I disagree with Rich’s review, but he certainly understood the piece and its lineage in the Sondheim canon.

The shows and the critics now are not at this level. Probably because our nation doesn’t really pay much attention to art that asks anything of them. We prefer flashy, uncomplicated, and disposable.

R284, what do you mean by "shame about the language?" I mean, umm, they are Dutch....

I saw Adam James here in NYC in that King Charles play. Damn, he was sexy. According to Wiki he’s a married man. And yes, it’s to a woman.

[Quote] We prefer flashy, uncomplicated, and disposable.

Which of those three are you?

r286 Sounds like a you problem rather than a sound or accent problem

Disposable, like a tampon.

Saw the matinee of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil yesterday. Don’t know if it was the bottle of Prosecco I split with a friend at Petterino’s prior, but I had trouble staying awake during act I. Second act, after taking some Ritalin during intermission, was better.

Ritalin always makes things better, R293. Even shows as dreary as that one sounds.

R280, heard from a source who’s connected to “The Mia & Patti Show” that they’re both having so much trouble memorizing their dialogue that they’ll be wearing earpieces.

Elaine Joyce, where are you when we need you?

R295 seriously? LuPone is usually much more professional than that

[quote]Second act, after taking some Ritalin during intermission, was better.

Memo to producers: Offer Ritalin for sale during intermission.

LINE!

[quote]heard from a source who’s connected to “The Mia & Patti Show” that they’re both having so much trouble memorizing their dialogue that they’ll be wearing earpieces.

No need to worry. Theater pro Marsha Mason is on hand and can play both parts if necessary.

R286: Some of the older productions on National Theatre at Home have terrible sound (if you thought Consent was difficult to hear Chewing Gum is even worse) and are often clunkily directed and edited for the screen. I think in those productions the National was just getting its feet wet in filming for the screen. Everything they film now has excellent sound and direction, even those done in the round (The Effect) or immersively (Midsummer Nights Dream). Whether you like the play or the production or the performances is up to you, of course.

[quote]Elaine Joyce, where are you when we need you?

I'm available.

As someone the same age as Patti, 75 (but younger than Mia!).....sadly, I can tell you, each year brings new unexpected health issues......so I do feel for her. If there are only two actors in the play, then that is indeed a lot of dialogue to learn.

Anyone have a best recommendation for parking in the theatre district?

Is Manhattan Plaza still a good option or is it usually filled up by midday? Don't expect a bargain, just something easy and nearby for a few hours or maybe an overnight. Is Port Authority a better option?

TIA!

r304: there are a couple of NYC parking apps for iPhone that visitors I know have used with success. You can see prices and reserve in advance I think

If it's true that some parking apps allow you to reserve in advance, that sounds like a tremendously helpful feature. But I assume you have to pay extra for it? How much?

Will be interesting to see how well, or not, this goes over. The Broadway show was mostly awful, with one horrible decision after another made in adapting the property to the stage from the movie.

CBS Sunday Morning interviews Carol and Sutton:

Any opinions on a choice between: Sunset Blvd, The Outsiders, Titanique, Mattress, and Our Town? I’m seeing mostly plays on an October visit and want a little balance.

What about the Patti & Mia show?

I would prefer Patti and Mia do a musical version of The Magic Garden. I'd pay to see that.

Our Town isn't a musical r309

How do we think Sam Gold will 'improve' [italic] Romeo + Juliet [/italic] ? Will the two families be Democrats and Republicans? That's my guess.

Really, r312? I don’t think I quite understood that the other four times I saw it! Not necessarily looking for a musical, just balance.

[quote]Any opinions on a choice between: Sunset Blvd, The Outsiders, Titanique, Mattress, and Our Town?

Especially seeing how those shows are all so incredibly different from each other in so many ways, what sort of opinions are you expecting that would be helpful to you? Don't you think you'd do better reading up on each show and production, including the reviews?

[quote] Our Town isn't a musical

Says who?

Mattress is like a cheap summer stock production.

[quote]How do we think Sam Gold will 'improve' Romeo + Juliet ?

Well, some of the just-announced casting might be interpreted as red flags -- for example, the fact that a woman will be playing both Mercutio and "The Friar" (formerly Frian Laurence) and a man will be playing both Capulet and Lady Capulet. And that's just for starters....

[quote]Mattress is like a cheap summer stock production.

In terms of the physical production, that's true enough. But almost every other aspect of the production is great, including the casting.

Except for the overwritten and not very funny book, r319.

R320, upon seeing the show again after the Encores! run, I really wouldn't say the rewrites/additions to the script were all that major, and I do think some of them are quite funny. Just my opinion.

My two favorite productions in the NT live series are Ivo von Hove's (I know, I know) "Hedda Gabler" and the "Twelfth Night" with Tamsin Grieg.

The ending of "Hedda" is a complete miss, but the rest of the production I loved, and Ruth Wilson is astonishing as Hedda.

That NT production of Twelfth Night is the only one I've ever seen that managed to make Sirs Belch and Aguecheek funny instead of just a barrage out long-outdated Elizabethan puns and jokes. Grieg was a terrific Malvolia (especially the letter scene) but was hard done by her costume in the cross-gartered reveal. I wish the actress playing Olivia had been better and that there had been more of Oliver Chris as Orsino (but Orsino isn't in the play as much I always think he is).

Oliver Chris is amazing and hot in everything he does.

GOSSIP does anyone have GOSSIP

[quote]GOSSIP does anyone have GOSSIP

Of course we do, r325. You don't think we're going to share it with you...do you?

Or even any gossip about the Manhattan Plaza parking lot??

Does anyone here have an aardvark?

Park your ass on the E train like everyone else. JHC.

R309 None of the above.

RE gossip - my friend who works at Lincoln Center Theater there says that the successor to Andre Bishop has been chosen. Wouldn't tell me more except that it's a woman.

[quote]GOSSIP does anyone have GOSSIP

R295 just told us that both Patti and Mia are having trouble learning their lines. How much more gossip do you need?

Please don't let it be Lear de Bessonet, r331.

She’s a fucking idiot

Lear's first year of stewardship of the Encores! series was so disastrous that I honestly had the feeling she was going to be fired after that one year. I'm not sure why things improved so greatly after that, but maybe she's no longer really calling the shots?

Maybe she's stayed because TWO of her Encores shows (that she directed) have PROFITABLY moved to Broadway, r335?

And I'm not even a Lear fan....

NYT reviews "Mattress":

Deadline:

So is this the first encores show that has been scaled [italic] down [/italic] for Broadway? The orchestra is smaller but the tickets are more expensive.

How many revivals of this show must we go through?

[quote]How many revivals of this show must we go through?

Isn't this only the second revival, r340?

It would be great if it was Jenny Gersten but that might be too much nepotism.

[quote]looks quite well for a man approaching 60.

[quote]Approaching 60? Honey, he arrives at that destination next week.

You don't say, r143. Would you have preferred if I said Michael Berresse was *rapidly* approaching 60? Regardless, what I said in r127 stands. He's in great shape, and just recently danced a full-out "The Right Girl" at Carnegie Hall.

[quote]Maybe Michael Berresse can play Cellini and do a strip number.

I wish I could find his strip number to Salt n Peppa's "Body Beautiful" from Broadway Bares 1999, r124. It seems to have been scrubbed from the internet.

Here he is, in London, 2001, in his late 30s. When he originally did it on Broadway, he had to sign a waiver absolving the company if he became injured, and early on, his understudies were not allowed to perform the routine, though David Elder did a version of it later.

Apologies, the audio of this clip are a bit off.

Whoops! r343 here. I meant to say:

"What I said at r126 stands" - though I stand by what r127 said also.

:)

[quote]Maybe she's stayed because TWO of her Encores shows (that she directed) have PROFITABLY moved to Broadway, [R335]?

Yes, but those two happened AFTER that disastrous first year. And I'm wondering how much input she really has as a director of the successful shows, or if there's a lot of ghost-directing going on. I spotted some fun things in MATTRESS that I very much doubt were her ideas.

From the Deadline review of ONCE UPON A MATTRESS:

"Mattress has, and always will, feel like a sketch or one-act with one essential song (“Shy”) padded with unnecessary characters and sub-par musical interludes, all designed to forestall the show’s 11 O’Clock number, which in this musical has nothing to do with belting a song."

Well, no. It is true that there's some padding in the show , but it's well written and absolutely necessary to spread out the plot to show-length and delay the climax. But also, when the "padding" includes songs as wonderful as "In a Little While," "Yesterday I Loved You," "Normandy," and "Very Soft Shoes," I for one am not going to complain. P.S. Note that one superfluous song has been cut from this production: "The Minstrel, the Jester, and I" -- partly because the roles of the Jester and the Minstrel have been combined here.

R345 what makes you say that there is a lot of ghost directing going on? Were there rumors about this?

She may have had a bad first year but maybe a new leader deserves some grace when they start out and are getting to know an institution and its audiences. I don't know much about her but she seems well regarded though if she ends up at LCT, I'm not sure her aesthetic matches the LC crowd.

The first year was disastrous, and I was ready to bail until the third show, which was Into the Woods, directed by her. It made up for the two lousy productions that preceded it.

R347, my idea that maybe some ghost directing has been going on was based solely on the awfulness of the first few Encores! shows under Lear's aegis. I don't think INTO THE WOOD told us much about her abilities as a director. I do think MATTRESS is very well directed, but I wonder if some of the funnier comic bits were created by Sutton and Michael Urie and other members of the cast.

The first revival was ripped to shreds by everyone and SJP hasn’t done a musical since.

She got the last laugh though with a billion dollars, 2 Emmys and immortality with Carrie Bradshaw

R350

How accurate is this site?

No net worth site is accurate. No-one knows how successfully - or not - these celebs invest their money except in the rare cases where there's a court case over their money, like with Depp.

Alyssa Milano taking over as Roxie Hart next month. That's an all time low for Chicago.

[quote]The first revival was ripped to shreds by everyone and SJP hasn’t done a musical since.

SJP was badly miscast in that show. It takes a clown, like Carol Burnett, to pull it off. SJP’s tiny voice wasn’t fit to sing “Shy.”

Who could forget SJP scatting rather than vocalizing during "I'm in Love with a Girl Named Fred"?

[quote]Who could forget SJP scatting

That is not something that anyone wants to see. Her private activities are not our interest.

SJP was awful, but not any more awful than the rest of the production. One of the worst things I've ever seen.

Poor SJP. Mattress flopped and she had to take a job in some HBO series.

God those producers of Chicago will stop at NOTHING!

Patti LuPone in Wicked.

In a show like MATTRESS with all that physical schtick, the actors (if they're naturally funny) are always going to bring a lot to the staging. Any director would be foolish not to encourage it and incorporate the good parts into the staging. So, bravo to Lear for knowing how to get the best out of them.

But then you have a director like Tommy Kail who let Sutton (and Annaleigh before her) on SWEENEY run rampant and didn't do any editing.

Or then there's a director kike Jerry Zaks who micro-directs every move/breath his actors make (unless they're the uncontrollable Bette or Hugh) and stifles any fun and spontaneity out of the evening.

R309 Hard to judge since a few of the shows haven’t started yet, but I would cut Titanique from the list if you’ve only got one slot. It’s hysterical but long-running and it’s not like you’re getting the original or a special cast right now. Mattress is fun if you’re looking for something light to balance out heavy plays but is inessential as both a show and production. I thoroughly enjoyed The Outsiders, so my choice would be between that or Sunset Boulevard depending on how much you enjoy the songs in SB.

R309 I saw Sunset in London and Nicole is amazing if you are able to see her. As If We Never Said Goodbye is a thrilling moment

[quote]Mattress is fun if you’re looking for something light to balance out heavy plays but is inessential as both a show and production.

In my opinion, MATTRESS as both the show itself and the current production is far more successful on its own terms that THE OUTSIDERS or SUNSET BOULEVARD are in theirs, so maybe you shouldn't state your own opinion as if it were fact.

When will they finally revive Mame?

It never really worked with that Murder, She Wrote person.

[quote]When will they finally revive Mame?

After Whoop-Up

Why didn't the NY Times review NINE?

[quote]When will they finally revive Mame?

Right after “Let My People Come.”

I listened to the Donna Murphy interview on the Giants in the Sky podcast and loved it. She spends alot of time talking about her career and the episode is about 90 minutes long. I had no idea she was hired to cover Teresa Stratas in Rags but left the show in rehearsal to replace Betty in Drood. It's a great interview.

I didn't know Jerry Zaks was a kike.

OT - yet not worthy of it’s own thread:

Why is Leslie Caron a French native, yet named Leslie? Did her mother love Leslie Howard in Gone with the Wind or something?

I don’t think there’s even a French equivalent for “Leslie.” (Lisette?) Anyway, I watched a bio on her last night, and for the first time her name puzzled me.

r371 - Leslie Claire Margaret Caron's mother was Franco-American.

r372 Like the Spaghetti-Os?

Slightly OT, but all four of the leads of this TV show have done a lot of theater: From an article on the just-greenlit sitcom MID-CENTURY MODERN:

[quote]The series follows three best friends (Lane, Bomer, Graham) — gay gentlemen of a certain age – who, after an unexpected death, decide to spend their golden years living together in Palm Springs where the wealthiest one, Bunny Schneiderman (Lane), lives with his mother, Sybil (Lavin).

Hmmm, While each of those leading men may be of "a certain age," they are each of three quite different "certain ages." Bomer is only 46, and looks much younger than that, so it might be kind of a stretch to think he would have decided to spend his "golden years" with the other two.

Thanks, we already have one boring thread on that show. No need for another.

Which one's going to close first, Water for Elephants, The Notebook or Back to the Future?

Notebook for Elephants!

Leslie's mother was born in Topeka, Kansas, and moved to Paris (speaking no French) in the 1920s. In her memoir, Leslie says she became an American citizen in 2006, "just in time to vote for ... Barack Obama. An immense satisfaction."

Thank you!

The first Little Miss Caron Ballerina of Paris:

Was Leslie Caron the first famous female Leslie? As a child of the 1960s, I went to school with lots of little Leslies.

My mother sat next to her on a plane. It was before I was born. Leslie was married to George Hormel II at the time.

With all my heart I still love the man I killed, r381.

I will never forget my first trip to Paris when my hubby and I were sitting at a charming sidewalk cafe on the Champs-Elysees, our cappuccinos and croissants in hand, listening to the iconic squawks of the taxis as they rolled by, and who should appear but Leslie Caron, a silk chiffon scarf wafting around the collar of her Chanel pantsuit. We knew we had arrived!

[quote]Yes, but those two happened AFTER that disastrous first year.

Not true at all. The first show of Lear’s first season, the awful Tap Dance Kid, was in Feb 2022.

The second show, the abysmal The Life, was in March 2022, and yes, after two huge stinkers in a row, there were “rumors” that Lear would be canned.

But then in May 2022, just two months after The Life stank up the stage, Into the Woods arrived to rave reviews and all was forgiven. In super-quick fashion a move to Broadway was organized, it got raves again, ran for six months and did a very successful tour. Now Mattress is doing four months on Broadway and then heading to LA for the holiday. LA doesn’t get to see Sutton in shows very often, so it’ll probably be a hit there, too.

The tentative plan with Oliver was that it would follow the same path, but the reviews just weren’t quite good enough.

I can't imagine LOVE LIFE or URINETOWN will be big hits, unless they have killer casts (not likely). WILD PARTY has its fans, but it's very much an acquired taste. That would also need a terrific cast.

Has Encores completely moved away from the Golden Oldies musicals? I enjoyed hearing some of the older musicals.

Love Life is 76 years old. That's not old enough for you?

R387 yes, the new thing is for Encores to do cheap staged concerts of award winning beloved musicals with stars!

Barry and Fran set the template

I seem to remember that they've decided not to do Musicals before 1960. But Love Life was from the old regime, postponed because of the pandemic.

R385, thanks for correcting the timeline, but my basic point was the same: Lear's tenure at Encores! started so disastrously that there was talk she would be fired. Then INTO THE WOODS happened, and she was saved. But the irony is that I think her direction had very little to do with the success of that production, though she deserves some credit for very good casting of that show (with one or two exceptions).

[quote]Love Life is 76 years old. That's not old enough for you?

It used to be that Encores did two oldies and one moneymaker. Part of the fun of the oldies was wondering how what we were seeing ever made it to the stage. Some had beautiful music and terrible books.

I would describe the old Encores! balance more as really obscure shows with more popular ones, rather than "oldies" with newer shows.

[quote]Which one's going to close first, Water for Elephants, The Notebook or Back to the Future?

What about Chicago? Does it even make a profit anymore?

R294 certainly not with that Charm-free actress from Who’s the Boss that they just hired!

Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ ‘Purpose’ Heading To Broadway In 2025 With Phylicia Rashad Directing:

In case you missed it.

Chicago has had some of their most profitable non holiday weeks with Jinkx and the Vanderpump woman. I don't think Milano will sell many tickets.

Lear is a terrible director. What worked for both "Woods" and "Mattress" is having incredible casts and then telling them "go be really funny, whatever you want, just do that" and she got lucky. Her editing and changes to "Mattress" are curious at best. If you know the show, you can see she doesn't really understand it, and just has the cast be silly all night (which has its pleasures...) Her HERCULES was a disaster, and Disney dumped her quickly.

LCT is going to Lila. You read it here first.

Thanks, R399. Not having actually worked with Lear, of course none of us can say for sure, but I think your analysis of her talent or lack of same may be spot-on.

[quote]LCT is going to Lila

Kedrova?

[Quote] Some had beautiful music and terrible books

Wasn’t that their founding mission? To do shows worth hearing again, but whose books made them unlikely to get revived.

How did they decide who was sitting closer to Seth?

Gotta say Patti looks great especially next to Mia who seems a little feeble.

Wow, Patti's nose looks gigantic.

Surprising to learn that the Aubrey Plaza story was actually true.

[quote] LCT is going to Lila

[quote]Kedrova?

Lilla Crawford. She played Annie on Broadway. If donations dry up, she’ll stand outside Lincoln Center with a bucket and sing “Tomorrow.”

]quote]Surprising to learn that the Aubrey Plaza story was actually true.

How is Aubrey Plaza compared to Manhattan Plaza?

Is there parking at Aubrey Plaza?

Where does one find this Aubrey Plaza story? Do I have to watch Patti and Mia to hear it?

[quote]Wow, Patti's nose looks gigantic.

To me, her nose actually looks MUCH larger than when she was younger. Which really puzzles me, as I've never heard of an enlarged nose being part of the aging process.

[quote]Surprising to learn that the Aubrey Plaza story was actually true.

Any particular reason why you posted that without explaining what the hell you're referring to?

Those photos are ample evidence as to why she's never had a career in the movies or TV. Her face, like so many Broadway Divas, is best appreciated from the last row of the balcony.

[quote]r413 = she's never had a career in the movies or TV.

There’s cunty and then there’s r413

"You're not a star like Ethel Merman or Mary Martin. The general public has never heard of you."

[quote]Any particular reason why you posted that without explaining what the hell you're referring to?

Oh fuck off, someone posted a link already to the Patti interview

So you think it's okay that people have to go to the interview and find a link to figure out what the hell you're talking about? Anything to justify your stupidity and laziness, I guess.

The preceding posts to mine were all about the interview, if you can't follow context then that's a you problem and you need to fix it rather than expect to be handfed everything.

[quote]Is there parking at Aubrey Plaza?

No, but they do a great brunch.

I dream that someday Encores will do Very Warm for May, or The Cat and The Fiddle.

Every year, at the end of the season, Encores passed out a questionnaire of what the audience wanted to see. Every year, I put “Coco starring Dixie Carter.” It never happened and now Dixie is doing Mame in the Seventh Heaven.

COCO isn't worth doing without a huge budget and dazzling star, The material is thin. Andrea Marcovicci did it for Mufti years ago and didn't measure up.

[quote]The preceding posts to mine were all about the interview, if you can't follow context then that's a you problem and you need to fix it rather than expect to be handfed everything.

But no one referred specifically to "the Aubrey Plaza story," whatever the hell that is. YOU are the one who needs to fix your posting style, but it seems you're one of those people who ABSOLUTLY CANNOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES admit they were wrong about something.

Why can't we have wonderfully evocative titles of Broadway musicals like The Cat and the Fiddle and Very Warm for May anymore?

Ya gotta problem with Urinetown, r425?

Now we need musicals where Idina Menzel teaches us how to care for the planet.

Just saw OH, MARY! and loved it. As does the audience. Raunchy high camp and pure silliness taken to a sublime level reminiscent of (without quite reaching the level of) Charles Ludlam’s Ridiculous Theater. But Cole Escola must be communing with Ludlam somehow because their his spiritual and artistic descendant, more even that Ludlam’s lover Everitt Quinton was.

Hilariously funny and fine performances all around, especially Escola’s. Tickets bought a month ago were $150 each, FYI.

Charles Ludlam, R428? Really? Ludlam's work, even at its silliest, was steeped in theatrical and cinematic history. Escola seems to me to be working from a rather different aesthetic.

[quote]more even that Ludlam’s lover Everitt Quinton was.

That’s not a fair assessment. Not to be mean, but Quinton was more like a hanger-on. He was the Chasten of his day, along for the ride with a highly successful man.

R429, I agree, Escola isn’t quite up there, whereas I thought Ludlam was a genius.

But Escola knows what their about, it’s a well-focused performance that never becomes self-indulgent. There is a laser focus in that infernal gaze. And in the way the play synthesizes a backstairs version of the Lincoln marriage as a gay sex melodrama and trivializes the Civil War and the Lincoln assassination, it creates its own loopy historical universe.

There’s just something dead right about it.

So will “Oh, Mary!” be nominated for (and likely win) the Best Play Tony or will they just give it a Tony for Special Theatrical Event? Not sure how the committee decides those things.

Christ- Tony winner Cole Escola. If that isn't the final nail in the coffin of theater, I don't know what is.

433 Hi Charles Busch! Congrats on getting inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame this year!

Why shouldn't Oh, Mary be nominated for Best Play? Can't see it would win, but it IS a play.

R432, on what basis could OH, MARY! possibly quality as a "special theatrical event?" Because its so gay and campy? I don't think that requires a special category.

Maybe because it’s making a million a week for it’s backers? Stranger things have happened, boys.

R437, are you saying OH, MARY! should be considered a "special theatrical event" rather than a play because.....it's making so much money? Or were you responding to another post in this thread?

If OH MARY wins best play, I'll eat my hat. But I've eaten many hats before.

Imagine spending millions of dollars on a production and having Maya Phillips assigned to review it?

(PS. I'm no fan of Sleep No More or much immersive theater, but c'mon.)

Adam Epstein, Tony-Winning ‘Hairspray’ Producer, Dies at 49:

So in Sam Gold's Romeo and Juliet, a Black woman is playing Mercutio and the Friar, a Black man appears to be playing Capulet [italic] and [/italic] Lady Capulet, a trans performer who now identifies as female will be playing Nurse and Tybalt. No reference to Montagues.

I wonder if Adam ever paid back the bills he left all over town when he fled for LA.

In the “Giants in the Sky” Into the Woods podcast, Donna Murphy talks about having had issues in rehearsal for the Central Park production with one of the actors. She said they’re on ok terms now, but it was stressful for everyone. She was very diplomatic and reasonable in her discussion of what occurred.

Who do we think it is? It must have been someone who had the statue to push back at Donna. Was it Dennis O’Hare?

Donna has a thing about statues being pushed back at her.

Hasn’t this already been discussed and dissected? Yes, it was O’Hare. Read this thread.

Geez, I’m sorry to have wasted your time, R446.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 2002, "Hairspray" opened at the Neil Simon Theatre.

R442. Sounds like a hit!

[quote]I've eaten many hats before

Pics please.

Oh, Mary! has been outgrossing Stereophonic. It deserves multiple Tonys.

r444 see r160 since r446 was snarky without being helpful

[quote] Oh, Mary! has been outgrossing Stereophonic. It deserves multiple Tonys.

Yes, because box office receipts are the harbinger of all artistic merit.

[quote] So in Sam Gold's Romeo and Juliet, a Black woman is playing Mercutio and the Friar, a Black man appears to be playing Capulet and Lady Capulet, a trans performer who now identifies as female will be playing Nurse and Tybalt.

Oh no! However will you survive?

I'm sorry r454 but don't try to start a fight. I carefully expressed no judgment about the casting, just shared the facts. And look at that, you're already chosen to be offended.

More tickets for you, R454.

Water for Elephants announces Grant Gustin's replacement.

He's got kind of a clown mask face, no?

[quote]So in Sam Gold's Romeo and Juliet, a Black woman is playing Mercutio and the Friar, a Black man appears to be playing Capulet and Lady Capulet, a trans performer who now identifies as female will be playing Nurse and Tybalt. No reference to Montagues.

Who is that supposed to appeal to?

R68 why not? She ages from 15 to 33 and is in her twenties for most of the show.

[quote]He's got kind of a clown mask face, no?

No. Here he is as a high school student in his Jimmy Award-winning performance.

Ok, and? That was 14 years ago. Faces change.

I think he's handsome, but the smirk seems a bit awkward.

[quote]Faces change.

Now ya fuckin’ tell me.

The teefs. The TEEFS!

How can the same person being playing Lord and Lady Capulet? Don’t they appear together in the beginning?

Maybe it’s one of those things where the actor will be a woman on the left side and a man on the right side?

Kiss of the Spider Woman starring JLo is doing a research screening tonight at 7 pm at the Regal Battery Park Stadium 11. Age range requirement in the email I got from the research company is only 18-34. No eldergays will be admitted which I guess I understand.

Imagine having to sit through a JLo musical AND getting bedbugs.

18-34 year olds have been clamoring for a Kiss of the Spider Woman movie. It's all anyone's been talking about during Rush Week.

[quote]Age range requirement in the email I got from the research company is only 18-34. No eldergays will be admitted which I guess I understand.

What about those of us who are 60 but look 21?

[quote]Kiss of the Spider Woman starring JLo

As soon as AI is perfected, I’m replacing her with Catherine Zeta-Jones.

[quote]Ok, and? That was 14 years ago. Faces change.

How's this?

How about you accept people have opinions that differ from yours, R472? How about that?

So, it seems we are taking sides regarding the book of Once Upon a Mattress. Are you Pre, or Post-Minstrel?

[quote]How about you accept people have opinions that differ from yours

On DL?

Finally watched that Patti/Mia interview at r397. They certainly made me want to see the show!

And yes, it's where Aubrey Plaza is mentioned.

Kyle Selig? And a posting from Wayman in 3 . . .2 . . .1.

Different strokes, I guess, R431. To me Escola's writing and performance are nothing but self-indulgent.

[quote]R470 What about those of us who are 60 but look 21?

I doubt there is enough seating for all of us in that category. Hence, the restrictions.

[quote]Oh no! However will you survive?

Meanwhile, R454, I'm sure you're masturbating furiously and have already had multiple orgasms over the ridiculous casting of that ROMEO AND JULIET. Well, as they say, different strokes....

Saw the Ogunquit ALNM yesterday. Turner is not exactly the weakest link but she’s easily outshone by the Desiree and Charlotte. We had a good time. Does “The Miller’s Son” always come out of nowhere or was it just this production?

Always comes out of nowhere R481. Second act wake up number. The butler had a similar number called Silly People in the pre Broadway try outs. By the way this is my favorite show of all time and can watch it in any production, anytime anywhere. I don't care if it was chickens and roosters doing it. It is sublime.

[quote]Second act wake up number

Poor Garn...

Did any of the Eldergays catch Elaine in The King & I? God, that sounds... hilarious?

[quote]How about you accept people have opinions that differ from yours, [R472]? How about that?

Please, Kyle Selig is definitely better looking than many stage actors, including that fug Joe Jocke who some DLers were inexplicably going crazy for when he was in SWEENEY TODD earlier this year this.

Those calling Selig unattractive are no doubt radical "woke" leftists who despise beauty and are trying to push ugliness as the "new beautiful" or something.

Only evil people want ugliness and pessimism all the time,

It stuns to imagine, lo, 14 years ago I was barely 19!

Elaine's co-star seems more Dracula than The King.

I've heard that Garn Stephens recording of "The Miller's Song" before, but I had forgotten how exceptionally awful it is. I believe the explanation for her firing has always been that she couldn't handle the rhythms of the song, which is obvious. But on top of that, her singing voice sounds awful even in the slower sections. How did she ever get cast to begin with, and how the hell did she even get through "A Weekend in the Country?"

R485, there's a lot of truth in what you're saying. I also think most or all of the trolls on DL would refrain from posting that guys who look like Kyle Selig are ugly if they weren't allowed to do so anonymously. Agreed?

There have always been trolls on DL who insist attractive guys are ugly and vice versa, trying to link that to politics is just moronic.

I could be wrong about this, but I think when Garn was originally cast in NIGHT MUSIC, Sondheim hadn't written nor even planned to write a song for Petra for Act II. "Silly People" sung by Frid had been planned for that moment in the show when he's discovered having a fling with Petra.

Anyone know what is happening with Maybe Happy Ending? First, a delay of previews by a month and now Sweaty Oracle reports that there is a work stoppage due to vendors not being paid. On BroadwayWorld, someone wrote that a scheduled SiriusXM appearance for Darren Criss this morning was cancelled. None of it bodes well, but curious as to what is going on behind the scenes.

What has Kyle Selig done other than win a high school award and co-star in "Mean Girls." ? Is he a Tik Tok thing? Why would anyone care? What am I missing?

Maybe Happy Ending is not going to have a happy ending...Stay tuned for news today.

Garn, Garn, Garn!

[quote]What has Kyle Selig done other than win a high school award and co-star in "Mean Girls." ? Is he a Tik Tok thing? Why would anyone care? What am I missing?

[quote]I could be wrong about this, but I think when Garn was originally cast in NIGHT MUSIC, Sondheim hadn't written nor even planned to write a song for Petra for Act II. "Silly People" sung by Frid had been planned for that moment in the show when he's discovered having a fling with Petra.

Yes, but what I meant was, Petra presumably always had to sing in "A Weekend in the Country," so why did they hire someone who could barely sing at all? Couldn't they find ANYONE who fit the role in terms of type and acting and could also sing?

Thanks. I forgot that he was almost a Pippin. This doesn't really answer why the Elephant producers think he's a box office name. Must be a tik Tok thing

[quote] Only evil people want ugliness and pessimism all the time,

Oh shut the fuck up, you pearl clutching marm.

I everyone please read and reread r492. [bold] That is theatre gossip. [/bold] Discussing whether or not Kyle Selig make your ancient dickie twitch is not. See the difference?

r497 Cibelli was a go-to “exotic “ for non white roles. He did La Mancha a lot and The king all over the US

SORRY meant r487

Surprised to read that Christopher Renshaw is directing the Louis Armstrong musical on Broadway. I didn't think he'd work again on Broadway after TABOO.

R503, maybe being free from Rosie will allow him to actually direct.

R504, but I'm told he didn't do much directing in THE KING AND I either, and that production turned out pretty well despite rather than because of him. Of course, I have no idea if that's true, not having been present at rehearsals. But also: Do we think Rosie actually interfered with the direction of TABOO?

In Sondheim and Company, Patricia Birch goes into detail about Garn and ALNM. She said after she read the script, she thought "That's Garn." They worked together in "Grease". She auditioned but Birch never told them to hire her but she indeed got the part of Petra. Birch said her acting was fantastic but out of town, Sondheim wrote The Miller's Son and Garn couldn't handle it at all. Len Cariou said that she was getting better gradually and maybe she could have done it but no one was helping her. He also said that she was very earthy and sexy in the role which her replacement was not, although she sang the song well. For Garn, after ALNM, she returned to Grease and to accommodate her, they fired her replacement, Jamie Donnelly who would go on to play Jan in the movie. Donnelly said she was devastated by the firing.

Garn Stephens died Apr 02, 2023

Igelhart is only playing Louis Armstrong 6 shows a week. (The phenomenal James T Lane is doing the other two.

[quote]Cibelli was a go-to “exotic “ for non white roles.

He and Mary Louise Wilson were briefly married in the 1960s. He told her that she loved her bulldog Maybelle more than she loved him, and she told him, "Of course I do."

I suspect when the role of Petra was originally conceived it was a more comical role and less musical. Are her parts of "A Weekend in the Country" really that demanding musically? After all, Garn as Jan sang the classic "Mooning" with Walter Bobbie in GREASE just fine.

Now, that's what I call gossip, R509!

[quote]I suspect when the role of Petra was originally conceived it was a more comical role and less musical. Are her parts of "A Weekend in the Country" really that demanding musically?

Not really very demanding at all, but of course Petra's part in that song does require someone who can sing the correct rhythms and pitches, which from the recorded evidence Garn was unable to do even in the easier sections of "The Miller's Son."

[quote]I've heard that Garn Stephens recording of "The Miller's Song" before, but I had forgotten how exceptionally awful it is. I believe the explanation for her firing has always been that she couldn't handle the rhythms of the song, which is obvious. But on top of that, her singing voice sounds awful even in the slower sections.

But Sondheim always maintained he preferred actors who could sing over singers who could act. And that explains the casting of Elaine Stritch in Company. But that courtesy didn’t seem to extend to everyone.

I agree that with Garn it’s not just about catching the rhythm. But I also wonder how she was directed. If she was directed to play it as a rough scullery maid to differentiate from the upper crust Desiree and Armfeldt, then she’s making a choice and should have been redirected to make the song more beautiful to the listener.

If this is Garn, she wasn’t that great in Grease either. Obviously, the Pink Ladies were written to be tough, but she’s wobbly on some of her notes here.

[quote]I agree that with Garn it’s not just about catching the rhythm. But I also wonder how she was directed. If she was directed to play it as a rough scullery maid to differentiate from the upper crust Desiree and Armfeldt, then she’s making a choice and should have been redirected to make the song more beautiful to the listener.

Sorry, on that recording, her voice just sounds awful and she's frequently off pitch. I really doubt that was an acting choice. And the song is not necessarily supposed to sound "beautiful," but it should be sung with the correct intonation and rhythms.

I saw "A Little Night Music" in previews in Boston. After Garn's rendition of "The Miller's Son," I turned to my friend and said, "She's going to be replaced before this opens in New York." She simply couldn't handle that song. During the uptempo sections, I couldn't understand a word she was singing.

No interview with Beanie, apparently.

[quote]a deleted scene featuring Streisand and Omar Sharif

Just what this film needs...length.

Or girth.

I hope she's ok.

Hopefully, she just needed a bathroom break.

figs?

Actually, raisins might be more likely...

Does anyone know who this actor (or dancer?) is?? This was obviously taken in a dressing room lined with some framed Playbills. He seems to have a great, big personality.

My old flame, r524...

Did he tattoo his lines on his midriff, r524? You know...just in case.

Michael Feinstein has just posted a six paragraph essay about his involvement with Liza and his role in her soon to be written autobiography. DL does not allow to share Facebook so one must go there to see what he wrote, but it is quite a screed and “Rob Shuter” better watch out!

Naturally we had tickets for ALNM this evening and saw Turner’s understudy. She was fine, but we missed Kathleen and hope she is okay!

R528 - have you seen the promo clips of Kathleen's Liaisons? I think you may have dodged a bullet.

[quote]R507 Garn Stephens died Apr 02, 2023

I wish she had given us a one woman show, drawing on her memories: [italic]Garn Yarns

She was also married for a time to hot daddy and John Carpenter staple Tom Atkins.

Yes. I believe they met filming this classy classic -

I remember that Garn Stephens was on the TV series "Phyllis" but I don't remember a thing about her character. And yet I remember her awful singing in "A Little Night Music" vividly.

R525 - lucky you! Could you walk the next day?

[quote]DL does not allow to share Facebook so one must go there to see what he wrote, but it is quite a screed and “Rob Shuter” better watch out!

Maybe you're not aware that you can just copy the text and paste it here. Like this: (Here is part 1)

Rarely do I comment on false press stories, but since I’ve been asked for a comment on an impending one, I shall comment. By way of explanation, please consider the following: There is a —— masquerading as a human named Rob Shuter who has previously written false stories about me and my relationship with Liza. They are such outrageous stories that even as he wrote them I believe he knew they were not true. Why do I believe that? Because I actually know this jerk socially, and when he twice wrote a laughable story about Liza being in love with a Gay married man (me), he never wrote personally to ask me for a comment before the story was printed, and he always quotes unnamed sources saying they are ‘close friends’ of Liza’s but has never quoted a single source on the record because I believe the stories are invented. Anyone who knows her well says the same thing. He has never quoted ANY of her close friends for ANY story: Ben Vereen, Mia Farrow, Joel Grey, Marisa Berenson, Jim Caruso, Billy Stritch, Arlene Lazare, Obba Babatunde and I could go on. Those are people who see or speak to her regularly and know the truth, but the truth gets in the way of a fake story. So they always say “ A close source” etc. How is it that these “close sources” do not know for example that her dogs are no longer alive or other basic info that anyone who is her “close” friend would know? Because they are fake. How does it work that they get away with it? They pay someone to say things that are off the record to fit the story they invent and the cite journalistic confidentiality to protect the false source.

Let me give an example that Liza gave me permission to share.

In 1985, Liza gave a party for me at the Mondrian Hotel and one of the gossip rags wrote a story about how Liza drank and got into a fight that night with Elizabeth Taylor in the ladies room, with Elizabeth supposedly telling Liza that she was drinking herself to death and needed to go to rehab. The truth is that Liza did not have a drop of alcohol that night and had already planned to go to rehab before the party, and I heard her tell the bartender not to give her any alcohol under any circumstance. She even had friends check her drinks before drinking them. Elizabeth was already aware that Liza was going away after the party to deal with her personal issues, for they had spoken about it before the party even happened.

A few nights after the party, a man approached me and said he worked with the National Enquirer and offered me a lot of money to talk about Liza’s condition in detail and talk about the party and her behavior. I told him that there was nothing to talk about and said ‘no’. He came back two more times to offer me more money but I refused. Then this completely false story about the fight was printed from an unnamed eyewitness ‘source’, even though it never happened. And even though it was completely invented, they printed it, and people read these things thinking that if it is in print then it must be true. Since the stories are invented to get attention, and I guess the good news is that people still want to read about Liza and her name means commerce for these rags. Just as when they print the most unflattering photo they can find of her on an outing, saying she is reclusive and hasn’t been seen out “in a year” when in fact they have printed stories with pictures showing her out just a few months earlier. Liza goes out frequently, but I guess if they don’t find where she is to get a bad photo, then that doesn’t count as going out, LOL.

And here is Part 2:

Back to present matters. Now I have been asked by Shuter to comment about a story he is ‘writing’ saying that Liza’s ‘close friends’ (WHO?) are “outraged” (LOL) that I am helping her with her autobiography because they are afraid it will be more about me than her. I asked him to name her “close friends” but haven’t heard a peep back from him. Of course not. Liza asked me to help her with her book and I will do so, and it is only because it was her request that I became involved. She sure doesn’t need me that’s true, but wanted me to help. So I will. She has amazing editors who will assure that it is her story, period.

The irony is, the reason she is even writing her book is so that her voice will be heard to finally and definitively speak about all the bullshit that people like Rob have been writing, so now she can tell her truth. Go Liza!

Love, Michael

r535, thank you for saving us the trouble.

[quote] they are afraid it will be more about me than her.

Yeah, what are the odds?

My understanding about Liza is that her NY friends didn't think she should sell her apt and move to CA and have been suspicious of MF's motives for a while.

R539, none of us can know MF's true motives, but it does seem to me that Liza really needed someone to take care of her at this point in her life, given all of her medical issues etc. I wonder in what ways her New York friends think she would have been better off staying in NYC? Maybe they just miss her and are jealous of MF's relationship with her, but that doesn't mean his motives are bad.

Listen, Liza has someone to care for her and she seems happy. What's the alternative? Moving in with Lorna or Joey?

“Streisand-led Funny Girl Film”???

WTF is that supposed to mean? Is Playbill being written by AI now?

WTF other film of Funny Girl is there????

There should be a special feature on the Criterion Funny Girl disc that allows you to cut from Don’t Rain On My Parade to My Man.

Is Lady Gaga still caring for Liza?

“I got you”

Should we expect the Maybe Happy Ending cancellation early next week?

Just two Broadway items: Sutton Foster on Kelly and Mark this Monday, and Aaron Lazar talks his ALS Tuesday on GMA3.

[quote] Yes. I believe they met filming this classy classic

No, they had been married for a number of years before Halloween III. I don't think it was a terribly pleasant split, either. In the blu-ray commentary for the movie, you can really hear Atkins' distaste for her when discussing her scenes.

From this photo, it looks like she married the west coast sales rep of Dynel Wigs.

At that big Liza Auction, it was revealed that a large portion was going to go to MF's foundation. Who knows what's going on behind the scenes but a lot of the New York friends and employees say they're prevented from seeing her. At the same time, it's certainly easier for her to be in LA than NY so I get that. However, she claimed she was going to Paris only a month ago.

Feinstein sounds unhinged, at best, in that ridiculous rant. I don't think there's any question he's up to no good.

[quote]but a lot of the New York friends and employees say they're prevented from seeing her.

Who, r549?

R551 Her longtime assistant Nicole Guest has said that a few times.

but a lot of the New York friends and employees say they're prevented from seeing her. Who, [R549]?

Her pharmacist.

"Can we go to Shtudio 54 tonight? I think I'm meeting Baryshnikov there. Thanksh."

Liza to her helper earlier today.

Is Obba Babatunde on this thread?

Liza used to show up for matinees of The Act in her Studio 54 clothes from the night before. A few times they ended up canceling the performance because she was 'too ill' to perform. One matinee was cancelled at 2:15 (15 mins past curtain time) and the audience, including me, was left stranded. Very disappointing behavior but she learned from the best.

[quote]Feinstein sounds unhinged, at best, in that ridiculous rant.

In what way?

If anyone is interested in who the guy is in R524's picture, here is some help. The actual name of the image is Tyler.jpg. I'm assuming he's a dancer. I've attached the reverse image of the original photo so you can better see the playbills on the dressing room wall. Of course, they may not be his playbills because he's sharing the dressing room with someone else. Hopefully, better DL sleuths can track this big personality down.

I never miss a Renato Cibelli musical...

I think I've been fucked by Tyler. He's definitely on Grinder.

I never miss a Kathleen Turner musical

People can’t read or choose not to. The article was about indispensable AMERICAN musicals. No Cats, no Miss Saigon.

Also HAIR and GODSPELL weren’t improvised.

The venue at R558 certainly has some eclectic selections. The Book of Will, American Idiot, Peter and the Starcatcher ... all the way down to the ever-popular Tyler Pulls It Out.

The dressing room at R558 looks too nice and too new to be a Broadway dressing room. It is more likely a non-profit theater, perhaps outside of NYC. Those playbills could be photoshopped shows that someone has done somewhere (and had his cast mates sign them).

It looks very much like the dressing rooms at Theatre Under the Stars (TUTS) in Houston.

...TUTS?

Yeah, it's affectionately and locally known as TUTS. Pronounced tuts.

[quote]Pronounced tuts.

I should certainly hope so.

Well, you know, as opposed to T.U.T.S.

Lots of hot chorus boys there over many years.

TUTS FOLLIES!

I actually figured that with the exception of the Playbills on his mirror, those were the venue's, not Tyler's. That's why I was leaning towards it being a college.

[quote]R558 I've attached the reverse image of the original photo so you can better see the playbills on the dressing room wall.

But what does his paragraph of a TATTOO say??

[quote] In what way?

Hi Michael.

You're crazier than Liza.

R572, thanks to your suggestion, I have discovered where this photograph was taken… I did a search on “Seven Guitars” and the logo on the Playbill came up as a poster at University of North Texas in Denton.

Other productions at the college: The Book of Will, Antigone, and Peter and the Starcatcher (per their website), which are all featured on the dressing room wall. And UNT has a strong dance department, hence his dance belt and tights.

That should narrow it down.

“No more calls… we have a winner!”

I loved TUTS, toots.

So now this thread has descended further into trying to dox a guy who took a nude?

[quote]So now this thread has descended further into trying to dox a guy who took a nude?

You new here? Doxxing nude boys is the third activity of DataLounge right after pointless bitchery and discussing 20th century entertainers.

^^And FOLLIES!

Move it along, TUTS.

The young dancer Aydin Eyikan continually posts scorching hot pix of himself all over social media, seeking "validation," to use his own word. Anyone want to validate him?

I just looked at his IG. He must have been taunted endlessly as a young child about being scrawny or girly. He is beyond thirsty in his need for admiration and lust.

All of these whores are just modern versions of Jennifer North.

"Yes, mother. I know I don't have any talent. I know all I have is a body."

TUTS!

Is anyone seeing the final performance of The Wiz today?

Good God, why?

I would validate Aydin's ass any time, any day............. At :50.

Aydin doesn't need validation.

Hot soap hunk John Aprea died a couple of days ago, but his passing was eclipsed by Gena Rowlands, Peter Marshall and Alain Delon. Not really sure if he ever did any legitimate theater but didn't know where else to deposit this sad news.

Or could he sustain a John Aprea is dead to me thread??

Was the Wiz a limited run or a box office dud?

Both.

It's telling that as soon as he didn't get a Tony nomination, Wayne Brady hauled outta there.

Deniece Williams>Schele Williams

Goodness gracious. You DL sleuths really are something! I was only joking. I didn't think anyone would actually identify the dressing room from the photo.

As for doxxing, I'm generally against that. In this case, this guy took a picture in a public and very identifiable space and half in costume. He obviously isn't trying to maintain maximum anonymity. And, damn, why should he?

So is it definitive? He's been determined to be an UNT and not a TUT?

[quote]I would validate Aydin's ass any time, any day.

One of the most beautiful butts I've ever seen. Not surprising, as he's a professional dancer and I believe his current age is around 18 or 19.

[quote]Aydin doesn't need validation.

Neither you nor I may think he needs it, but he himself recently posted that he was looking for it , I guess he figured it was an honest justification for posting more thirst photos :-)

Would "The Move It Along, TUTS Edition" be an acceptable title for the next thread?

Cute! I like it, R596. As an uncommitted delegate, I will commit to giving you a WW.

Done!

Closing this ...

... thread out. BAJOUR!