THEATRE GOSSIP #575: The “Miss Norma Regrets” Edition

Old thread:

Sorry. I was 100 posts early. Ignore. 😟

You'd think being so early you would have come up with a better thread title...

It's certainly better than the last one.

Speaking of LuPone, I wonder what’s running through Patti’s head over the controversy surrounding Nicole Scherzinger?

LuPone is hardcore anti-Trump.

Patti's probably having a good week in the cackling spite department.

Audra's singing Mama Rose like Callas.

More like Rise Stevens, r7.

Risë!

Everybody rise!

It's not so bad she sounds like a dead singer.

But it's the kind of trilling vibrato I had hoped she'd tamp down. It doesn't sounds like the Lawrence Welk Show does Gypsy.

In the other thread people were taking about Death Becomes Her.

DL fave Paul Ford recently went and gave his review.

He trashed the sound and Megan Hilty.

He offered faint praise for Simard.

[quote]DL fave Paul Ford recently went and gave his review.

Isn't he dead?

I get the hate for Ariana Grande and the one with all the shit in her nose but the Wicked haters have to accept that the film is still going to be a hit.

Deadline gives a positive review to A Wonderful World.

Variety is also positive.

ATC is a pan.

So's the Times.

Paul Ford wrote on Instagram that Gypsy is his favorite musical soon to be ruined by Audra. He certainly doesn't hold back.

If Paul Ford's not a Datalounger, I'll eat my hat!

Maybe we'll be surprised, and Jennifer Simard will be taking that 2025 Tony home.

There was a wonderful one man play (with no music IIRC) about Louis Armstrong that starred John Douglas Thompson that played Westside Arts about 15 years ago.

R20. Hi Paul!

Paul Ford is one of the most obnoxious people I've ever fucked.

Maybe Audra's vibrating Rose will put Nicole and her trucker's cap back in contention. Sort of a battle between one you don't want to hear and one you don't want to listen to.

You people who are criticizing Audra's singing as Rose don't really know what you're talking about. The problem isn't Audra's vibrato, it's the timbre of her voice, which sounds very soprano-ish except when she's outright belting in a lower register.

Whoopi on The View today re: Nicole Scherzinger-“It was just a HAT!”

She’s such a fucking idiot,

But was it a hat-hat?

Does anyone still wear a hat?

There never was a hat.

*Where* there never was a hat.

Can someone link the Paul Ford review for Death Becomes Her? I can’t find anything on it.

Any chance the Helen Keller musical is going to transfer?

R32, Paul Ford hasn’t actually seen a Broadway musical in 7 years. I live on his block (45th Street), and the last thing he attended in person was the Bette Midler “Dolly”, and he couldn’t get past the fact that the costumes for “Put On Your Sunday Clothes” were markedly more fluorescent than the original Freddy Wittops, so he sulked for the rest of the evening.

“They looked like CAKEWALKING HIGHLIGHTER MARKERS!!! It made me want to drink and act out sexually!!! And Mandy still owes me $50!!! I need to go to a meeting!!! Goodbye!!!”

An actual one-sided conversation I had with him in front of Kodama.

Yes, he’s one of those people.

Lots of those people here, too.

He was right about those costumes.

R32 it’s on his Facebook. It’s a public post so you should be able to see it. He comments on Megan’s….size….so if that offends you, be warned.

R34 I love the idea of him bitching to Mandy about $50. I wonder if they ever hooked up in the 80s. There was a period of time in the 80s when Paul was normal looking and Mandy was…Mandy.

There's a new Mandy back in town!

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1951, "Paint Your Wagon" opened at the Shubert Theatre.

I just looked up the original cast, and Kay Medford was the only familiar name. Should I be ashamed?

What? You've never heard of Olga San Juan??

No, but I'm spending some time on her Wiki page now!

Olga was married to an Academy Award winner and should have been one of the models at the Don Loper fashion show.

[quote]You people who are criticizing Audra's singing as Rose don't really know what you're talking about. The problem isn't Audra's vibrato, it's the timbre of her voice, which sounds very soprano-ish except when she's outright belting in a lower register.

I may not be a pathologist, but I can spot a corpse.

Whatever the reason, she's the wrong sound for this part.

Matt Donnelly(Variety):

#Wicked blew me away. I thought I’d like it, did not expect to be so emotional and struck by its weight. Ariana is a revelation, an earned laugh-a-minute tour de force. Cynthia’s angelic voice pays off in one of the most blazing endings I’ve ever seen. Chu levels up and dazzles.

Lineup for the annual Broadway commercial.

I wonder if this is Chu's way of apologizing for fucking up the debut of PACIFIC OVERTURES at the San Francisco Opera, which he discusses in his book.

That's a pretty damn weird and convoluted way of looking at this, R47.

I think you're weird and unnecessarily cunty for calling it weird. Who pissed in your goddamned Wheaties, cunt?

I'd feel shit for life if I pissed off Sondheim and the SF Opera as a kid, especially as I grew older and understood the gravity of what I'd done.

[quote]Any chance the Helen Keller musical is going to transfer?

Out of town tryout title-

"It's WATER, Helen!"

WAA WAA, The Helen Keller Musical

*

Can we interpolate "Hymn for a Sunday Evening" from Bye Bye Birdie? "ANNE SULLIVAN! ANNE SULLIVAN! Helen's gonna be taught by ANNE SULLIVAN!"

To be fair to everyone, Wicked always had a better chance of being a hit than other musicals.

This isn’t Cats or even Les Miserables.

It shares the Barbie/Taylor Swift demographic.

It doesn’t mean it’s the best thing since sliced bread.

[quote]It doesn’t mean it’s the best thing since sliced bread.

It doesn't mean it *isn't*.

Paul Ford and Mandy? I wasn’t aware that Mandy had ever done guys. Especially in the 1980s, when he was giving Hollywood a big try.

Wait. I don't know the story on Pacific Overtures and the SF Opera. Can someone fill me in, R48 / R49?

I just looked it up, R57, because I had no idea what they were talking about either. apparently, Chu was in the 1991 SFOpera production of Pacific Overtures when he was 12, and during a song, he skipped a verse. The conductor got all flustered and angry and Chu wound up having to make up lyrics to get everyone back on track.

Chu who?

Chu was a child actor in the premiere of Pacific overtures at the SF opera. He was absolutely terrible and got universal roasting by the critics, and the show was not seen as a success because if it. He talks about it in his autobiography, saying he never acted again because of it.

Thanks, R58, what an... obscure little factoid.

Semi-related: I'd love it if a major U.S. Opera company produced Pacific Overtures. I LOVED the production at DC's Signature Theatre a couple of years ago, but I imagine an opera company (or Encores?) will be the only opportunity to see/hear a production with a full orchestra ever again.

LA Opera did a FANTASTIC A Little Night Music about 20 years ago with Dana Ivy, Victor Garber, Laura Benanti, Michelle Pawk, Marc Kudisch, Zoe Caldwell and Kristen Bell. I guess it wasn't enough of a success for them to continue with what I'd hoped had been a new tradition of summer musicals.

Director John Chu

I think more opera houses are going to start adding more big musicals into their seasons, especially in smaller markets. Opera is slowly dying and adding in more musicals would help.

[quote]Chu was in the 1991 SFOpera production of Pacific Overtures when he was 12, and during a song, he skipped a verse.

Well, if he was 12, "the song" must have been Someone in a Tree. The conductor would have been totally justified if he killed the little bastard.

r63 - are there any U.S. opera companies currently doing that?

Deadline reviews "Maybe Happy Ending":

R65 I don't personally know the schedule for every opera company in the US. I know several have staged musicals in the past.

Why not? Are you not gay? Do you not wear a caftan!

[quote] He talks about it in his autobiography

He wrote an autobiography??? What a narcissist he must be

[quote]Well, if he was 12, "the song" must have been Someone in a Tree. The conductor would have been totally justified if he killed the little bastard.

I smell a future episode of "Elsbeth." (Or Law & Order.)

Yeah, a narcissist who brought groundbreaking Asian representation to Hollywood.

R71 Yes! Thank Buddha because it was a travesty we didn't have the wealthy Asian community represented on our cinema screens!

OH, THE INHUMANITY!!!!

[quote] Yeah, a narcissist who brought groundbreaking Asian representation to Hollywood.

Crazy Rich Asian, how groundbreaking! Let me write an autobiography because I'm so important and wonderful.

Because we ALL live by your lofty, cunty standards. Fuck off.

[quote] Because we ALL live by your lofty, cunty standards. Fuck off.

Poor baby. You seem so angry.

[quote]I'd feel shit for life if I pissed off Sondheim and the SF Opera as a kid, especially as I grew older and understood the gravity of what I'd done.

Actually, I'm unfamiliar with the incident you're referring to, and I haven't been able to immediately find any info on it through Googling. But regardless, I just find extremely weird your suggestion that Chu seeming to have done a great job on the film version of WICKED is somehow some sort of "apology" for whatever happened with the SF Opera production of PACIFIC OVERTURES -- which, of course, wasn't even written by Sondheim. I guess you were trying to be funny in a very sarcastic way, but it didn't work for me.

R76 In what universe is Pacific Overtures not a Sondheim musical?

^^^^Thanks, R58. If that's the extent of how Chu "fucked up" that production of PACIFIC OVERTURES as a child, it makes R47's post seem even weirder.

R77, sorry for the error in syntax, but of course I meant that WICKED wasn't written by Sondheim.

Basically r47 thought he had a fascinating anecdote from Chu's book and shoe-horned it into the thread in the most ham-fisted way imaginable

Correction: It was not the San Francisco Opera that did Pacific Overtures (it never has), but the San Jose Civic Light Opera. Google is your friend! (I live in SF and had never heard of the SFO doing the show and wanted to see if there were any production photos. I wish they would do it -- it's one of my favorite Sondheim shows and I've never seen anything but the YouTube video of the original production.)

You get the fact checking you deserve because you're all fucking hive of cunts. Fuck you pay me.

We're done. Your posting history is a no fun zone full of assholery. You seem like a very bitter person. 🚫

Who the fuck is Paul Ford? And is Bowen Yang not been at any of the "Wicked" events, surely SNL would give him a week off for the biggest event of his career?

That Deadline review of MAYBE HAPPY ENDING is very well written but so poorly edited. Don't any publications or websites employ ANY copy editors anymore?

R79 Sadly. Wicked might be actually enjoyable if Sondheim had done it.

Broadway box office:

[quote]Sadly. Wicked might be actually enjoyable if Sondheim had done it.

"Wicked" is actually enjoyable because Sondheim didn't do it.

Since when are there kids in PACIFIC OVERTURES, especially kids with featured solos?

R79 you had me fooled😵‍💫

R88 Depends on your definition of "enjoyable". If you like meandering plots and banal songs, including that screecher Defying Gravity, then sure...it's "enjoyable".

To be fair, it has gorgeous design. And, "Popular" is cute.

That's it.

So what if the kid fucked up a Sondheim song. Happens to the best of us.

The character is just called Boy in Pacific Overtures. Gedde Watanabe played him in the original Broadway cast and was 20 at the time.

It's certainly not enough to harass some rando queen on the internet who wanted to talk about Chu repaying his debt to musical theatre, ffs.

Wicked has gorgeous design?!

R92 If a 12 year old boy actor fucked up in a show Stritchie was in, she would have beat him to death with her cap.

^^^^That confused me as well, but apparently Chu played one of the characters in "Someone in a Tree" when he was only 12.

R95 Eugene Lee's scenic design and Susan Hilferty's costumes are the best things in the show.

R66: Grosses are out. Yikes when are they closing?

Why does Maybd Happy Ending cost over 18M? There’s no way they’ll recoup.

^^^Apparently, all that tech stuff was very expensive. But damn, $18m is A LOT.

I had heard some doubt expressed that the show would even open on Broadway, and if you'll recall, the opening was delayed, whether for technical reasons (which is what the PR said) and/or because the show wasn't fully capitalized.

Thanks R66 that actually sounds fun.

You don’t sound fun^

If Gedde Watanabe was 20 when he played Boy in Pacific Overtures, he would have been in his thirties when he played Long Duc Dong.

Ah. So?

[quote] If Gedde Watanabe was 20 when he played Boy in Pacific Overtures, he would have been in his thirties when he played Long Duc Dong.

Pacific Overtures: 1976

The filming of Sixteen Candles: 1983

GW's age in 1976: 20

The span of time between PO and 16C filming: 7 years

Thanks for playing, we have some lovely parting gifts for you.

OMG, he angered the sainted Sondheim? A 12 yr old child? He should have hanged himself from that tree! Angering Sondheim? I could see angering God, but SONDHEIM!!!

Poor Tom.

I'm sure Chu has been totally devastated by missing a verse when he was 12 and hasn't done anything since to make a name for himself.

Did Chu miss the verse at every performance or just one? If it was just one, the whole story and its effect on him seems overly dramatic.

R108, I saw Sunset Blvd last week and Tom Francis was out. Sadly his replacement didn’t have much charisma and threw the balance of the show completely off. The production totally sucks anyway, but the understudy made it suck balls:

Tom Francis sings Sunset Bld entrance. So much more magnetic and dramatic than his understudy could ever muster

[quote]r61 = 20 years ago with Dana Ivy

I'm sure Dana was a Desiree for the ages.

Especially as Judith Ivey was Desiree in that production, not Dana Ivey.

That was my point, r114.

I saw Tom Francis's understudy at the Sunday matinee and thought he was fine. The understudy on for Betty was quite good. I thought the whole production was a Brit director masturbating over a brit writer. And she was just weird, and Betty Buckley sang it much better. The bridge and tunnel crowd around me was going nuts, and there were 10 people who kept trying to start a standing ovation throughout the show, and were clearly pissed off we weren't joining them.

I saw Dana Ivey play Mme Armfeldt in ALNM at ACT in San Francisco about 10 years ago. DL Fave Karen Ziemba acquitted herself well as Desiree and Emily Skinner played the Countess like she was Annie Oakley. Patrick Cassidy was Fredrik and Paolo Montalban was the Count, both rather unmemorable.

Maybe Happy Ending earned some amazing reviews, but is it too little, too late?

I'll go out on a limb right now and say "Maybe Happy Ending" will win the Tony for best new musical. It's a little guy triumph story for the show, and the industry can never resist that. And when it tours, it will make a shitload of money.

Dear god "Tammy Faye" is an even bigger turkey than the word of mouth conveys. Bafflingly bad.

[Quote] The bridge and tunnel crowd around me was going nuts, and there were 10 people who kept trying to start a standing ovation throughout the show, and were clearly pissed off we weren't joining them.

Same thing I witnessed. The Bridge and Tunnel fools were raving about NS’s performance and started those irritable standing ovations. This is what happens when you watch America’s Got talent too much

I have a feeling Tammy will be gone by Christmas.

Word is Lear is going to open her reign at LCT with RAGTIME.

Well that would make sense.

Lear will bring Ragtime to LCT for a limited run and it will still lose a shitload of money and they'll be giving away seats in the final weeks.

Well, this looks interesting.

r126 I can only imagine what the program is going to look like. Pronouns galore!

Who here has seen “Death Becomes Her” and what did you think?

R122 I almost wonder if it’ll make it to Thanksgiving.

I absolutely believe that The Queen of Versailles has time to do all the work necessary to open at the Palace in late April. Cbenoweth’s chances of winning the Tony look better and better as time goes by.

R128: Of all the on bubble shows opening in the next two weeks, it's the most likely to make it to the Tonys.

[quote]the whole production was a Brit director masturbating over a brit writer

Pics please.

It's too bad NY got the Trumpy, faux-garde Sunset instead of the wonderful Bridge Theatre production of Guys & Dolls. I guess it's another case of America getting what they deserve.

[quote] I'll go out on a limb right now and say "Maybe Happy Ending" will win the Tony for best new musical. It's a little guy triumph story for the show, and the industry can never resist that. And when it tours, it will make a shitload of money.

Yes, what a wonderful thing for that little guy lead producer with a history of beating his assistants.

Lear is bring Ragtime to the Palace in January after Tammy Faye closes this year.

There's a production of Ragtime opening at Goodspeed in April. Would a Broadway revival kill that?

Is Ragtime able to transfer with Caissie Levy? She was a highlight but she is doing Next To Normal in London in the spring/summer.

[quote]Lear will bring Ragtime to LCT for a limited run and it will still lose a shitload of money and they'll be giving away seats in the final weeks.

Why do you say that? The City Center production was completely sold out a high prices for its two-week run, so I think there should be sufficient interest to keep RAGTIME going at the Beaumont for a few months at least. And we should all remember that LCT is a LORT theater, so their running costs are considerably lower than those of a commercial Broadway production.

I'm curious about terminology in musicals, just because. I was watching somewhere where they referred to the "act break"... which I interpreted as the big number that closes out the first act. I also read the other day about a description of the principal character's big solo in the second act (like As if We Never Said Goodbye in Sunset.) Anybody know what I don't recall?

R139, I don't fully understand your question, but "act break" is another term for "intermission" or for those brief pauses that in the action that are sometimes taken between acts, rather than full intermissions. I hope that helps.

Those photos of the Pasadena Pinkleton La Cage look like one of those re-imaginings of a classic musical by a Bright Young Thing in London these days.

The Sweaty Oracle is claiming there will be a bloodbath of closings, and that Tammy Faye won’t even open. He has a very mixed track record, but maybe producers are going to have to reconsider their approach.

Tammy Faye opens tomorrow, so there's little chance of it not opening. The question is how long it lasts after that.

Have there been any shows that didn't make it to opening night?

Try this page, R144. It's not a perfect source, as there's a lot of missing entries, but it seems to be getting edited-improved over time.

The actor playing Jean-Michel in La Cage in Pasadena is (1) very obviously gay onstage (and off), plus (2) he has cerebral palsy and walks with a walker. Just the kind of guy that conservative family would welcome with open arms!

[quote]Tammy Faye opens tomorrow, so there's little chance of it not opening. The question is how long it lasts after that.

Is this another Elton John score like "Lestat" where he proudly declared he wrote the whole thing in a week, turned it in and never looked at it again, with no participation in previews?

[quote]The actor playing Jean-Michel in La Cage in Pasadena is (1) very obviously gay onstage (and off), plus (2) he has cerebral palsy and walks with a walker. Just the kind of guy that conservative family would welcome with open arms!

How does that conservative family you speak of feel about everyone breaking into song every ten minutes? Unclench,, it's just a show.

Via @IndieWire:

Wicked Wows Oscar Voters En Route to Box Office Bonanza

“Wicked” was shown to Academy voters & media, Sunday afternoon, over 900 attendees, the biggest showing since “Oppenheimer,” (which went on to win Best Picture) & Wicked drew a big standing ovation.

[quote] It's too bad NY got the Trumpy, faux-garde Sunset instead of the wonderful Bridge Theatre production of Guys & Dolls. I guess it's another case of America getting what they deserve.

I thought Guys & Dolls was going to transfer to Bway. Are those plans off?

Either way, after seeing the "critically-acclaimed" Cabaret and Sunset Blve dreck from London, I don't believe Guys and Dolls is that great.

[quote] Is Ragtime able to transfer with Caissie Levy? She was a highlight but she is doing Next To Normal in London in the spring/summer.

She already starred in Next To Normal in London. She was nominated for an Olivier against Nicole S and lost.

R151, and I think she lost the Olivier for her performance at the Donmar Warehouse; which then transferred in the Spring to the West End. It was a great performance and production.

[quote]Who here has seen “Death Becomes Her” and what did you think?

I've seen it, and loved it. The audience loved it too. It will be a big hit.

Wonderful Town is replacing The Wild Party in the 2025 Encores! season. The Wild Party is being postponed.

R154, ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? Wild Party is the only reason I bought tickets!

So who plays Ruth?

Donna again at 65?

DL face Tonya Pinkins?

Joy Woods?

Billy Porter.

I thought Billy Porter was taking over for Nicole Scherzinger?

Why would they do Wonderful Town again? I’m guessing Ruth and Eileen will be black, in which case Joy Woods would be a perfect Eileen (if she can get two weeks off Gypsy).

[quote]Who here has seen “Death Becomes Her” and what did you think?

Saw it last night. Huge audience pleaser. Hilty, Simard and Sieber are great, and the production values are top-notch. The score didn't make much of an impression on me (not unlike Water For Elephants, another show I loved). The sound mix needs to be improved because a lot of the lyrics are impossible to understand. There is an actress playing Hilty's maid who appears in several scenes, has dialogue, and even has a song of her own in the second act. But she's only listed as part of the ensemble in the Playbill credits, and her song isn't listed. I wonder if she and her song were newly added to the show. She's terrific. Agree with the poster above who predicts this will be a big hit.

Brit theatre’s interpretation of American shows sucks arse. Across the board.

R144 yes.

Andrew Rannells lucked out. Tammy Faye should never have come over. It’s a mess. Music is terrible. Elton needs a nursing home. Not another theater.

Jinkx is indeed coming to "Pirates!"

The cast is complete. No big name as Mabel. But we do get Nicholas Barasch as Frederic.

[quote]Yeah, a narcissist who brought groundbreaking Asian representation to Hollywood.

Yeah, a regular Anna May Wong!

[quote]Yeah, a narcissist who brought groundbreaking Asian representation to Hollywood.

And did it very successfully.

R145, thanks for linking that list. I want to share that a few shows on that list weren't THAT bad. Mooney Shapiro's Songbook is one of my favorite shows, although putting it on Broadway instead of Off-Broadway may have done it in. Actually, a few of the shows were "ruined" by moving them from a successful (affordable) run somewhere else to the brutal economies of Broadway. And some were ruined by taking a perfectly good show and bringing in a new director or new star which completely derailed it.

The Charles Strouse/Lee Adams show A Broadway Musical is a good example. Its run at the Theatre at Riverside Church, directed by George Faison, was a totally different story and quite entertaining. Its Broadway iteration, rewritten by god-knows-who and directed by Gower Champion, was a fiasco.

Also, Me Jack, You Jill is listed as closing in previews. It actually had an opening on a Saturday night and closed on the same night. I know because I was there.

IMHO

The Wild Party and Wonderful Town.

Isn't that really kind of poking around at the bottom of the same barrel?

"Me Jack, You Jill" did close in previews and was never reviewed by the critics.

I think the last Broadway show to close in previews was Bobbi Boland staring Farrah Fawcett. I saw maybe the 4th or 5th preview. It was bad; like watching a rehearsal where the directer say "let's try to get through it once without stopping."

IF Donna Murphy played Ruth again, could she be nominated for a Tony since she didn't win?

Wonderful Town with Donna Murphy was among the top ten Encores shows. There’s a reason it was one of the few to move to Broadway.

[quote]Andrew Rannells lucked out.

Actually, he got himself out. Probably saw the handwriting on the wall early on.

Can Barasch sing as well as Rex Smith?

[quote]I thought Guys & Dolls was going to transfer to Bway. Are those plans off?

Where would it play, it looks like it needs a big empty warehouse.

Does Circle in the Square have the capability of doing all of the hydraulics?

R169 Bottom? Those are both good shows with great scores.

Certainly better than 99.9% of the shitty music in new musicals.

I'm confused by the ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical’...Rupert Holmes’ jazzy New Orleans-style reinterpretation of the Gilbert & Sullivan classic.

Is it all just G&S reorchestrated or did Holmes actually create some new material?

And, Ruth is a great comedic, charactor role...can Jinkx charm her way to a Tony nomination?

I thought Jinx stunk in the FOLLIES concert.

A fried spoke to Frank Loesser's daughter who said the London production won't becoming to NYC. No appropriate space.

That Guys & Dolls was enormous fun, but it was all about being at The Bridge which is a truly unique and glam viewing experience on the Thames and makes every production there seem better than it is (I've seen 3 of their productions). Oh, and discovering Andrew Richardson's hairy cleavage as the sexiest Sky Masterson imaginable, dancing with Hawaiian (sic)-shirted boys in the Havana gay club.

I don't think it would really go over so well on Broadway.

Yum! Hot otter!

R174 yes—that’s what lucked out means here.

The Brits have always loved Guys & Dolls more than Americans, but Hytner's production at The Bridge was one of the best productions I've seen anywhere in the last decade. It was magic. Too bad economics and real estate will deprive Americans of the experience.

[quote]Yeah, a narcissist who brought groundbreaking Asian representation to Hollywood.

Did Chu direct the scene in where the Asian woman shoots ping pong balls from her cooche?

R175-Better question. Is Nicholas Barasch hung like Rex Smith and will he also prance naked in his dressing room for visitors as Rex did?

The cast album of the Hytner GUYS & DOLLS is nothing special at best and quite poor at worst, the worst by far being the horrendous, humorless, vulgar performance of that woman who played Adelaide.

R130, VERSAILLES is just a total mess, and Kristin did a big interview just the other day and DID NOT MENTION IT. I think it will just go away, as it should.

Kristin is DESPERATE to win another Tony, so Versailles will open on Broadway.

I’ll see Kristin in anything but I’ll wait for the discounted tickets

Kristin is busy pushinng the Wicked movie...and, you know she must be getting compesation for doing so. It's not out of the goodness of her heart.

I'm sure it's a mutually beneficial thing, r192...

The cast of "Tammy Faye" performs on Good Morning America—

Personally, I'm glad it upset you so, r188. And you know exactly why,.

I'm also betting VERSAILLES never gets it together, never raises the money to come to Broadway.

I think the imminent reviews of TAMMY FAYE, many of which will point out that audiences don't want to pay exorbitant tickets prices to watch a vulgar musical about a selfish self-deluded billionairess at this time in history, will scare Kristin and her producers away.

[quote]the worst by far being the horrendous, humorless, vulgar performance of that woman who played Adelaide.

Maybe she had a cold.

[quote]Better question. Is Nicholas Barasch hung like Rex Smith and will he also prance naked in his dressing room for visitors as Rex did?

Really nice guy and I have the Penzance move Blu-ray signed.

Nicholas Barasch is quite talented, a great choice to play Frederick, but not remotely hot.

[quote]I thought Jinx stunk in the FOLLIES concert.

I legitimately can't tell if R180 is meant to be satirical or not.

Theatre gays, I was watching a YouTube, an interview with Tony Kushner, interviewed by composer Michael Friedman, who wrote Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson. The interview is presented by the Dramatists Guild Fund, the Legacy Group.

Of course, I thought Michael Friedman was really cute and wanted to know more about him, googled and discovered he died in 2017, age 41. From AIDS.

My question is, obviously, how does someone die of AIDS in 2017? In the U.S.? Does anyone remember the circumstances at the time? Was this confusing then? Does anyone remember this? So young and such a strange thing to die from, at that time and place.

R201 he was diagnosed late stage with the disease already quite advanced…by then, it was too late.

Yes, r201, how strange and unusual that a gay man would died of AIDS.

He was diagnosed in 2017, likely long after he contracted it. He started treatment, but it was too late and he died before it helped him.

R195, I can only assume you are implying racism on my part, but that's not the case, because I think Norma Donaldson is one of the best Adelaides on records. So stuff it.

Norma Donaldson shout out!

Sure, Jan.

Theatre threads are hotbeds of DL racism whether you old prissy queens see it or not.

Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson lasted too long to qualify for the shortest-running shows list, 94 performances compared to 1-20. So did Benjamin Walker's only other musical to date, American Psycho (54).

R207, only in the warped, reactionary minds of troublemakers like you.

R201 - that's terribly sad. Clearly, he was not getting regularly tested. Get tested, boys! No matter how 'safe' you may think you're being.

Ad hominems are all you've got. You've got the hard time you give non-white actors and crew here, the obsesssion with woke woke woke, and non-traditional casting, and the constant under-the-radar barbs.

Please enjoy sitting in your own 💩.

And I'm GLAD to cause you anachronisms trouble. You deserve every last bit of it.

I'm not an anachronism, but you are a ridiculously exaggerated stereotype of someone who sees racism everywhere, even with no evidence whatsoever. The person you're presumably trying to be is a good person, but most unfortunately, you are a horribly distorted caricature of that person.

Boring.

No one dies of AIDs. He died of complications from an HIV infection.

You’d think a gay website might, I say might, have posters with a minimal amount of intelligence on this topic.

[quote] Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson lasted too long to qualify for the shortest-running shows list, 94 performances compared to 1-20. So did Benjamin Walker's only other musical to date, American Psycho (54).

Earlier this year, Benjamin Walker went to London to be one of the leading men in yet another musical flop, the Rufus Wainwright-Ivo van Hove musical "Opening Night."

Can you two get a room?!

No one does of an HIV infection. They die from a random disease that they aren’t immune from because they have AIDS. AIDS is caused by HIV.

[quote]Can you two get a room?!

Preferably in a VERY remote place.

Of course The Queen of Versailles is coming to Broadway sooner or later. Some of you idiots out there claiming it won’t aren’t aware the score is by Stephen Schwartz, his first Broadway score since…uhh…Wicked.

[quote]No one dies of AIDs. He died of complications from an HIV infection.

Oh.....ok. Gotcha.

Where were you in 1991? We could have used such thinking then!

Yes, r220, because Jackie Siegel is as iconic as The Wizard of Oz.

Cole Escola to Be Considered for Leading Actor Category at 2025 Tony Awards:

R218 AIDS is not a thing. It is a label. A label shown to be irrelevant decades ago.

[quote]Yes, [R220], because Jackie Siegel is as iconic as The Wizard of Oz.

Well, both shows ARE about witches.

Oh, shut up.

r226 was meant for r224.

R224 good luck at HHS Bobby!

The legendary LORNA LUFT:

Hello everyone, I just saw the New York screening of the movie #Wicked, and here is my review...

This movie is astounding! It's epic, brilliant, touching and honest. It is breathtaking to look at ... the sets, costumes, makeup, performances, choreography, and the entire scope of the movie, is everything I wanted it to be.

I told the genius Director Jon Chu, that he had picked up the torch, the broom, and the wand, and carried it forward; and thanked him, for adding to the family.

Cynthia and Ariana are nothing short of magnificent! They take you on an emotional roller coaster, and you better hold on tight. Vocally, they both are phenomenal and jaw dropping! Their performances are honest, subtle, funny, and absolutely perfect.

The rest of the cast including #MichelleYeoh, #JeffGoldblum, and more, are also phenomenal!

I sat at the talkback after the movie, and listened to all of them talk about what it was like to make this epic movie, which was a lot of fun, and done with a great deal of love and respect for the original.

So all I can tell you, is go see it and be taken on the journey of the witches! And buckle up, because it's one joy filled ride!

L ❤️🌈

Next, they'll hire Jinkx Monsoon to portray Judy herself so she can give a roaring thumbs up for "Wicked: The Motion Picture We're All Sick Of Hearing About"

Friedman had a dark side, was a serious partier and they tried to bury that info when he died, but there was another story.

So does that mean he got what he deserved, R231?

That’s what I was wondering, R231.

I forget, does the New York Times post their reviews at 10 p.m. EST or 11 p.m. EST? So far (10:11 p.m.), there's been no Tammy Faye reviews yet.

It depends on what time the embargo gets lifted. The one for "Tammy Faye" must be set late since none have dropped yet, which is usually a sign the producers are expecting the worst. Let people get drunk at the party before the gloom sets in.

There were critics and other press people at Swept Away tonight. I guess the review embargo lifts after opening.

Deadline pans Tammy Faye.

R237: Gone by Thanksgiving? Christmas?

Here we go, the one we've been waiting for, the Times.

From the Times review: "Disjointed, strangely bland ... they ended up making her smaller than life."

"But narratively and emotionally, 'Tammy Faye' is always on shaky ground because it can’t decide if it’s a satire of televangelism and power-hungry faith salesmen, the tale of the rise of politicized religion, or the earnest feminist journey of an independent-minded woman. By trying to hit so many notes, none of them resonate."

"Oddly, the character shrinks in the spotlight as the production seems afraid to lean into what made Tammy Faye so distinctive in the 1980s."

Shoot, they might as well post the closing notice now.

"And should you fall, well, that's okay. You love the ones that you betray."

Just saw “The Hills of California.” RUN don’t walk to see it. Laura Donnelly is phenomenal. Hand her the Tony now.

Of course Friedman didn't get what he "deserved" -- what an awful thing to write. The point I was trying to make (rather ineptly, I guess) is that there was a "Big Lie" that surrounded his death, and I wished they had been honest about his trials and drug use. It was widely, widely known, and contributed to a lot of his behavior over the years.

231

Friedman was clearly a speed addict. It’s particularly sad that although he was well-loved by friends, he never allowed them to help him until it was too late. And yes, it is a cruel and unnecessary way to die post 1996.

Sorry, R244, you still haven't made your point. Please refrain from going for a third try. You've dug a deep enough hole.

NYT reviews "King Lear":

[QUOTE]Just saw “The Hills of California.” RUN don’t walk to see it. Laura Donnelly is phenomenal. Hand her the Tony now.

R243 - Loved it, too! Almost as much as The Ferryman. I had zero trouble with the accents, too. Yes, Laura Donnelly is great, though, my personal favorite was Leann Best as the bitter sister Gloria. But they're all excellent. So glad they brought the UK cast to NY.

[quote]Cole Escola to Be Considered for Leading Actor Category at 2025 Tony Awards:

So naturally this runs with a photo of Escola dressed like Rita Hayworth in "Gilda."

So that Monsoon creature nabs the role of Ruth - a woman’s role. How brave! How inclusive! It’s simply stunning to be denying an actress a job in favour of this confused man.

Another vote for Hills of California. A great follow up to Ferryman, but is struggling because it doesn’t have loud, violent manstory.

[quote] So that Monsoon creature nabs the role of Ruth - a woman’s role. How brave! How inclusive! It’s simply stunning to be denying an actress a job in favour of this confused man.

Especially because it is a role of "a certain age" in a musical. Think of all the tried and true musical theater actress we could have had in this part...

Edina Monsoon?

If I may play devil's advocate for a moment, the role of Ruth in PIRATES is written for a woman of a certain age who needs to be a great comic actress as well as have a singing voice good enough to meet the demands of operetta. Yes, it can and should be a "character" voice, but she still has to hit the notes. In addition to all of that, I'm sure the producers of this production felt they needed to cast a name in the role.

Perfect casting for Ruth in the past has involved such names as Patricia Routledge, Estelle Parsons, Kaye Ballard, and Angela Lansbury, , but offhand, I can't think of any current, middle-aged female star who possesses all those other qualities I mentioned above. Thoughts?

In any of the promotion for wicked, it never says that it’s only part one, did they change their mind or is it still in two parts?

Tammy Faye:

[quote]Directed by Rupert Goold (“Patriots”), usually the UK’s go-to guy for sleek and mechanical stagings, “Tammy Faye” is neither. Rather, it’s amateurish with lots of dead air and little focus.

[quote]The groaner jokes start right away in the opening scene in a proctologist’s office, where Tammy learns she has colon cancer and makes crude sex jokes to a gay doctor. No comment. No laughs, for that matter. Most of the bits are met with the same hungover silence you’d find in a Catholic church on a Tuesday.

[quote]At the start of Act Two, Tammy has the ticket-buyers at the Palace say, “I deserve to be here!” As penance for our sins?

How many times does Christian Borle have a crying meltdown?

[quote]In any of the promotion for wicked, it never says that it’s only part one, did they change their mind or is it still in two parts?

No, they did not "change their mind." It seems they never intended to add "Part 1" to the title. But this does bring up an interesting question, namely, what exactly will be the title of Part 2? Will it be "WICKED II" or "WICKED, PART TWO" or "MORE WICKED," or something else?

[quote]How many times does Christian Borle have a crying meltdown?

Probably started when he realized he sacrificed his reputation to be in this turd.

So, Jesse Green didn't review Tammy Fae or King Lear?

You know TAMMY FAE is dull when you read all those pans of the show and none of them are remotely funny.

Did nobody understand the assignment? Where was the kitsch?

R254 well when you ask Datalounge, the first choice is ALWAYS going to be KAREN ZIEMBA!

It's Tammy FAYE not FAE, you bitches!

I really hope those poor actors in Tammy FaYe get the day off today.

Kecia Lewis IS Ruth!

I'm guessing that Best Musical nominees will be Death Becomes Her, Operation Mincemeat, Buena Vista Social Club, and Maybe Happy Endings. Am I forgetting anything? I saw Operation Mincemeat in London and loved it. I think it will be the show to beat.

There's also Boop!, Old Friends and Real Women Have Curves as possibilities. The category in recent years has had five or six nominees, so I think there will at least be a fifth title. I enjoyed Mincemeat a lot in London, but worry about it on Broadway. I don't know that it is the pre-ordained winner.

Old Friends is not a new musical per se. It is a compilation of very well-known songs...not a new musical.

Maybe Happy Endings for the win. Will Floyd Collins count as a new musical? Will Jeremy Jordan finally get his Tony?

Re: Hills of California, I had no idea Donnelly was playing two characters. During curtain call, I was wondering "where is the actress who played the mother?' My friend had to tell me it was the same actress that played the daughter. Amazing performance.

[quote] I can't think of any current, middle-aged female star who possesses all those other qualities I mentioned above.

Certainly not ME!

Floyd Collins will almost certainly be in the revival category. It's the same reason as The Last Five Years. A substantial enough production history even before premiering on Broadway.

I feel bad for Bernadette. She *should* get the Barbara Cook legend nomination for Old Friends that Cook got for Sondheim on Sondheim a few years ago…but she won’t.

I saw Death Becomes Her last night. The sets and costumes were impressive. I did not think the same could be said about the rest of the show. I found the music not memorable and the humor overly broad and crasser than the camp of the movie. Lots of over the top mugging by Hilty and company. As if the director consciously tried to create the bastard child of Spamalot and Some Like it Hot but without any of the true humor of either. The audience, which skewers quite Gen Z, are it up (and were rude as hell, shaking their heads, cheering, and chattering as if they were at home watching til Tok videos….I know “get off my lawn whippersnapper!” comment by me). It will probably be a hit with out of town tourists.

Typos above sorry: skewed Gen Z; ate it up

As has happened with previous revues, OLD FRIENDS could be nominated for Best Musical, even though of course the score will not be eligible for nomination.

My first thought was that of course FLOYD COLLINS would never be considered a new musical, but I suppose equally strange things have happened in the past.

Don't forget SMASH!

OLD FRIENDS is as much a new musical as any of the Juke Box musicals.

What about “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil?” Isn’t that supposed to be opening this season?

[quote] Old Friends is not a new musical per se. It is a compilation of very well-known songs...not a new musical.

Not only have musical revues of pre-existing material been nominated for Best Musical (After Midnight, Swing!, It Ain't Nothin' But the Blues, Swinging on a Star, Smokey Joe's Cafe, A Grand Night for Singing, Five Guys Named Moe, Black and Blue, Blues in the Night, Tintypes, Sophisticated Ladies, Dancin', Bubbling Brown Sugar, Side by Side by Sondheim), several have won the Tony for Best Musical (Ain't Misbehavin', Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Fosse).

If "Old Friends" is halfway decent, I'd imagine the nominating committee will be falling over themselves to nominate a Sondheim show.

Mickey Jo of London LOVED "Maybe Happy Ending"

R282 the Olivier’s didn’t. They didn’t nominate Bernadette or DL fave Bonnie Langford for supporting!

How does Mickey Jo make a living?

[quote]If "Old Friends" is halfway decent, I'd imagine the nominating committee will be falling over themselves to nominate a Sondheim show.

Based on the cast album of the original concert version in London, it is NOT halfway decent. We'll see how much the show has changed, but I'm thinking not much.

When I went to see the execrable Deaf West production of American Idiot a few weeks ago at the Taper, there was a big banner up for Old Friends with Bernie and Lea. It's supposed to be landing in LA in late spring/early summer, so I guess they're coming with.

The Trump administration has decreed that all future Broadway musicals must star either Zachary Levi or Laura Osnes.

I honestly think casting a man to play a woman is pure misogyny, yet the rabid "You took a job AWAY from someone DESERVING!" is oddly silent about this "stunning and brave" gender appropriation, and gender "tourism" as the kids say! Standing up for actual women is gonna get you labeled a TERF!

I'll pipe down after the first white Effie in Dreamgirls opens on Broadway!

Julie Halston would be a perfect Ruth in Pirates.

^^^^Perhaps you're joking about that last bit, but if not: Julie Halston would be the first to admit she could not remotely sing that role.

[quote]—Catherine Zeta-Jones, perpetual ingenue

As seen in DL's perpetual joke.

I don’t use these words lightly, but #WickedMovie is a masterpiece. The way Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo transform in these roles gave me chills. They make such strong and distinct acting and singing choices that truly make these characters their own. Absolutely blown away!

Those Tammy Faye reviews are brutal. Probably the worst reviews I've read in quite some time. I hope Elton has better luck with Prada.

Why does Elton need "better luck"?

He has enough money.

And, he spends about 20 minutes writing those songs.

Fuck him.

For those of you praising THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA, I say, "Thank you!" In a previous THEATRE GOSSIP thread, I talked about how much I enjoyed the show after seeing it in London. I was thrilled that they were bringing over most of the British cast. As expected on DL, I was pooh-poohed, ridiculed, and dismissed. I feel better now. 😊 And R271, I, too, had no idea Donnelly was playing two characters. When I realized it during the curtain call, I was shocked. It only attests to the brilliance of Laura Donnely's performance.

It is a lousy title, though...

IMHO

I don't really trust the reviews for Tammy Faye given current American sensibilities. It may be garbage, but it's one I want to see for myself.

Jez Butterworth is a brilliant playwright. I feel like I need to make a concentrated effort to get to NYC to see The Hills of California because the regional theaters seldom produce his plays for the following reasons:

1) Huge casts which most regionals can't afford to do

2) Butterworth's plays require good actors who can do those accents, something few American actors can pull off

Yeah. JERUSALEM and THE FERRYMAN we're attention grabbers.

R298 I pray you're kicking yourself over your "we're" faux pas.

And, are you being serious or facetious?

[quote]I don't really trust the reviews for Tammy Faye given current American sensibilities. It may be garbage, but it's one I want to see for myself.

Didn't know Christian Borle posted on DL.

FWIW, I loved THE FERRYMAN but pretty much hated JERSUSALEM, and it seems many of my friends and acquaintances shared my feelings about those two.

I really enjoyed THE HILLS OF CALIFORNIA but, like many others, I had a huge problem with the accents. And I certainly agree that the title is terrible.

Lea Michele:

My first real night out away from my babies last night. But what a beautiful evening and so exciting to finally see WICKED!

The entire movie was incredible. I was so blown away and cannot wait to see it again.

Ariana Grande was a sensational Glinda. And my heart stopped watching Cynthia Erivo bring the house down (like she does so well) giving us the most incredible Elphaba.

[quote]How does Mickey Jo make a living?

He used to be a University Math teacher but he is now a full time YouTuber.

Wicked needs to gross a billion dollars just to pay for the marketing bill and all these cloying paid celebrity endorsements.

[quote]I'll pipe down after the first white Effie in Dreamgirls opens on Broadway!

Sure you will..

I saw Hills of California in London last year and while I was mostly engrossed as it plodded along, I found by the end it didn't add up to much I hadn't seen before - the whole was less than the sum of its parts. I thought the daughters all looked too old in the 1950s flashbacks and they all looked to be the same age (all around 18). The mother must have VERY pregnant around 1940 while she ran that seaside inn.

And the daughter who got plucked out for "stardom" showed no more talent or beauty or charm than any of the others. The character in the flashbacks was not in any way set up for what she became.

The sisters in the 1970s were each different well-worn cliches and hard to imagine all growing up in the same household. When the sister from California finally arrived in Act II I thought, oh that's why the daughters in the 1950s looked so old, so that the one actress could play that character in both time frames (I was wrong, of course). And besides the mother and sister, all of the many other characters in the long evening added nothing to the story, especially the men.

And for all the constant talk of sweltering summer heat in the 1970s, everyone was overdressed, especially the sister who arrives from the hills of sunny California in a fur coat.

It wasn't terrible, just ultimately rather disappointing. And I had no trouble with the accents.

"Perfect casting for Ruth in the past has involved such names as Patricia Routledge, Estelle Parsons, Kaye Ballard, and Angela Lansbury"??

Um, only one of those four women -- gifted as they all were/are -- actually had the kind of voice required for that music. Monsoon literally can't come near it.

I was disappointed with The Ferryman. So many actors on stage but for what purpose. I just don’t think it really worked unless you were familiar with Irish history. I’m passing on Hills.

"Elton John, must we continue this charade?"

R307 It's a new jazzy take on Pirates from Rupert Holmes...it's not going to be a night of "pure" Gilbert & Sullivan. I mean, just the fact David Hyde Pierce is in this, too. He's not that strong of a singer. The beloved Reed/Ronstadt/Kline Pirates was a pop lite version of G&S...this will be even more so. And, thankfully, so. Unless you're a G&S purist, those shows today are a bit of a slog.

Jinkx will successfully ham her way through that role.

The NBC shows are hyping Wicked for another straight week, and that's not even counting the making of special airing Tuesday.

"The cast of Wicked" is scheduled for Today on Monday. I'm assuming it's Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jeff Goldblum, and Jonathan Bailey, who are also scheduled for Tuesday's Kelly Clarkson. Kelly's got Kristin Chenoweth on Monday, and Kristin's also appearing on that night's Seth Meyers before capping her week with Thursday's Andy Cohen. Bowen Yang's doing double duty on Wednesday, with Today and Jimmy Fallon. Finally, Ethan Slater's on Friday's Today.

There is other, non-Wicked stuff. Andy Cohen's got Megan Hilty on Monday, the same day Jimmy Fallon's got Zoey Deutch. Ryan Eggold's appearing on Wednesday's Today. Kelly Clarkson has Nicole Scherzinger and Helen J. Shen on Thursday, the same day Seth Meyers has Rachel Zegler. And Today has The Avett Brothers and the cast of Swept Away on Friday.

Also, Gladiator II is being pimped just as hard, if not stronger, than Wicked next week.

R308 - You are, of course, free to have not enjoyed The Ferryman, but I'll disagree that a deep knowledge of Irish history was needed to appreciate the show. I had only a cursory understanding of The Troubles and I was utterly engrossed the whole evening. I don't know if this matters, but I saw the show later in the run, when the excellent Brian D'arcy James assumed the lead role.

R295 - I suspect you are right and that if you can make it before the run ends around Christmas, you should do it! The Hills of California will be challenging for the regionals to do it justice... given all the reasons you stated. It's hardly some revolutionary work of art that's going to shift the culture or anything, but, it is a deeply satisfying, meaty play, with high production values, fine direction from Sam Mendes and uniformly excellent performances from the British/Irish cast. I've got to say, I appreciate that Sonia Friedman continues to produce this ambitiously, without insisting upon huge names for the show, too. In the age of 90 minute 2 or 3 person cast plays with a desk and a chair for scenery, it's nice to see a non-musical play produced as grandly as this one is.

A lot of press were at Swept Away tonight. I'm curious to see how Variety and The New York Times respond to the show.

r311 Corporte synergy -- ain't it great?

[quote]"Perfect casting for Ruth in the past has involved such names as Patricia Routledge, Estelle Parsons, Kaye Ballard, and Angela Lansbury"??

[quote]Um, only one of those four women -- gifted as they all were/are -- actually had the kind of voice required for that music. Monsoon literally can't come near it.

R307, please enlighten us as to which of those women you think did NOT have the voice for the role. In my opinion, Routledge, Ballard, and Lansbury -- all of whom I saw and heard as Ruth -- definitely did. I added Parsons to the list because I'm guessing she did also, but I'm not sure about that.

[quote]Wicked needs to gross a billion dollars just to pay for the marketing bill and all these cloying paid celebrity endorsements.

The merch alone will gross a billion, and that's just from Theatre Queens.

R316 I love a vision of obese 60 year old theatre queens getting into fisticuffs with 12 year old girls over the Elphaba Barbie dolls at the local Walmart!

Will the film of Wicked finally put a dent in the box office grosses of Broadway's Wicked? I know history tells us that hit movies usually boost the source material's box office (well, in Chicago's case, anyway) but I'm wondering about it in this case. It'll sure be cheaper for a family to take their little girls to see the movie than the show.

I'm shocked I'm the first person to be posting this question here.

We saw Stereophonic last night. Was it always dull and interminable and mumbly, or has it been running too long?

It’s always been dull R319.

I saw it mid run and wondered what all the hullabaloo was all about

I like to look up retro showbiz news, and it's funny to me that at this time in 1968, there was controversy over whether or not the completed Hello, Dolly! movie could be released before the Broadway show closed.

R318 The Wicked grosses have gone up since promo for the film began, but I ultimately think that it won’t put a dent on them. They’ll return back to their normal eventually. I think being one of the touristy shows will keep it going.

Could be wrong but I believe in the case of the film of Hello Dolly! the rights were sold to Fox by Broadway producer David Merrick with the stipulation that the film could not be released until the original Broadway production closed. So, the film's business had no effect on the show, at least back then.

Are there other examples besides Chicago of a film of a currently running Broadway musical boosting its box office?

I doubt the Chicago movie is the cause of the show’s Bway success. The movie has been long forgotten

There are probably very few if any examples besides Chicago of a film of a Broadway musical opening while the musical was still running on Broadway.

Actually, Jersey Boys would be one, but the film was so awful it had no effect on the show one way or the other.

I’m tired of the “I’m shocked” troll at R318.

Go fuck yourself, grandma.

There were a handful in the '70s and '80s (Fiddler, Grease, Annie), but it definitely became more of a thing in the post-Chicago era, largely thanks to shows running longer. Phantom, Rent, The Producers, Hairspray, Mamma Mia!

Yeah, Annie ran for about 6 months after the film’s release.

R325: Well my Oscar winning turn certainly isn't forgotten. It was a long time ago I think I was 14 on that.

Mickey Jo hated Tammy Faye.

How soon we forget A Chorus Line ...

[quote]I doubt the Chicago movie is the cause of the show’s Bway success. The movie has been long forgotten

What an ignorant statement. The great success of the CHICAGO film had the very clear, extremely obvious effect of GREATLY boosting the box office popularity of the Broadway revival, which was still running at that time and is still running as we speak. My understanding is that the show's grosses have been generally declining in recent years, but they still can get a flurry of interest through stunt casting, for example, Jinkx Monsoon.

Wicked extends West End run into 2026

Rejoicify! The show is celebrating its 7000th performance

Wicked, the long-running West End and Broadway musical, has extended its run in London.

The show, based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, offers a unique perspective on the characters from L Frank Baum’s The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. It is the 10th longest-running production in West End history having just played its 7000th performance – and shows no sign of slowing down.

The movie of "Dear Evan Hansen" opened a few months before Broadway returned post-shutdown. It's hard to know for sure if the movie being so bad is what kept the show's grosses down after its return, but it couldn't have helped.

Tammy Faye is telling Tony voters to come next week. Like they have any shot whatsoever.

Looks like closing notice to be posted asap.

The movie version of Grease! gave the original Broadway production a boost. I believe it ran another 2-3 years after the film premiered.

The absolutely terrible film of HAIRSPRAY gave the show another 6-8 months.

The only thing wrong with the movie is Travolta, r339.

The lead in Hairspray was wildly uninteresting, the editing a joke, and the lack of structure to the musical numbers embarrassing. Burn the negatives.

r336 Their lead skipping the majority of performances probably didn't help either. And yet he continues to be cast. Jordan Fisher must give great head.

If off Broadway counts, the original run of Little Shop of Horrors lasted nearly a year after the movie.

Was The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas still on Broadway when the movie was released?

The Whorehouse movie came out on July 23, 1982. The show's return Broadway engagement closed on July 24, 1982. For that matter, Steel Magnolias (yes, I know it's not a musical) also didn't get much of a post-movie bump. The movie came out on Nov. 15, 1989, and the original off Broadway run closed on Feb. 25, 1990.

Dig deeper—did SOM winning Best Picture kill the Muskegon Players’ Theater in the Round road show?!

Sunset Boulevard wasn't part of the first roundup of Tony Awards determinations. Any guesses on what they'll decide with Tom Francis? He's billed below the title, but Joe was considered a lead role by the Oliviers.

[quote]Sunset Boulevard wasn't part of the first roundup of Tony Awards determinations.

What does that mean?

This, R348. Sunset, I guess, will get decided with the next batch of shows.

What about Bajour! The Movie?

R347. Alan Campbell was nominated for Best Actor in the original SB. George Hearn won supporting.

My guess is that by the time Tony noms come about, "Sunset" will get many, but will be one of those shows that comes up with 0. Just lack last season's "Cabaret."

A half-century later....

Hm, wonder if there is actually any news, or if that article is just based on the BBC Films page which has been saying 'in production' for years now

[quote]Are there other examples besides Chicago of a film of a currently running Broadway musical boosting its box office

Titanic.

Francis should get the lead actor nomination. It often gets lost, but when you start out narrating dead and wind up that way in the end, it's kinda your story. Or at least as much your story as her's.

Whatever the merits of her performance or her rivals, is Scherzinger out of contention for a Tony win just on the basis of the hat flap?

R357 I think it’s too early to tell.

Director Adam Shankman on WICKED:

Yes. It’s that good and better. I was floored by this extraordinary work of cinematic brilliance.

Congratulations to my friends at @universalpictures @jonmchu @chrislxd @arianagrande @cynthiaerivo @fayedunaway and everyone involved.

You’ve just made a lot of people’s favorite movie.

I hope she got her hat, then. It's not Tony, but it sure marks the moment.

WTF? @fayedunaway? Why am I just hearing this now, little homosexual boys?

It’s called the protagonist.

This isn't a medical thread.

I highly doubt that supposed Follies film is "in production". MAYYYYYBE pre-production, but, even then...

Here’s the Insta account of the kid who’s playing Tulsa in Antonio Banderas’ production of Gypsy in Spain. He just posted video of the curtain call. Going by the costumes it doesn’t look like a standard production of Gypsy.

He's absolutely rocking the Rita Moreno look!

[quote]WTF? @fayedunaway? Why am I just hearing this now, little homosexual boys?

@fayedunaway is Bowen Yang's Instagram handle.

Antonio's Gypsy looks like it was created in a laboratory specifically to annoy Datalounge theatre gossipers.

Why is Mamasita Rose wearing lingerie?

It looks the cast of Cabaret got drunk and did a flash mob.

Then again, Antonio could look at anything and see pretty.

The Spaniards have their own take on our musicals...

R370. How true.

It all becomes Almodovarian, for some reason.

Well, those boys in the Spanish Gypsy certainly gotta gimmick.

Jesus...a Follies film at this point will be a fuckin' trainwreck.

They'll probably update it and half the cast will be Black/Asian/in Wheelchairs.

None of the Swept Away songs are particularly memorable except Hard Worker.

I thought it was odd that then one show we saw this week that did NOT solicit for Broadway Cares was Tammy Faye.

I saw at Suffs on Wednesday and they had people in the lobby with the red buckets.

[quote] Director Adam Shankman on WICKED:Yes. It’s that good and better. I was floored by this extraordinary work of cinematic brilliance.Congratulations to my friends at @universalpictures @jonmchu @chrislxd @arianagrande @cynthiaerivo @fayedunaway and everyone involved.

After the movie version of Rock Of Ages and Disenchanted, Shankman needs as many friends as he can get.

[quote] I thought it was odd that then one show we saw this week that did NOT solicit for Broadway Cares was Tammy Faye.

Frankly Broadway should be soliciting for Tammy Faye.

Tryphena Wade (who?) will be Audra's standby in Gypsy.

Broadway shows never solicit for Broadway Cares while they're in previews.

If I show up at the theatre and Miss Wade is performing without advance warning, I'll get a refund and not go back. Audra's track record sucks.

We went to Tammy Faye last night; hadn’t it opened? It just struck because AIDS is a significant theme in the show.

After their blistering -- but totally accurate -- review of Tammy Faye, the TIMES tries to make up with a puff piece today about how Tammy Faye is worthy of being a musical. The show's and Elton's publicists must be in panic mode and pulling every chit they can. The article is ridiculous coming after universal pans. The Times just isn't what it used to be, and the Arts & Leisure section is a CAA mouthpiece.

R385, a story running today would’ve been planned and written well before the reviews for TF came out.

So, realistically, is Tammy Faye closing next Sunday, or Dec. 1, or ...?

Shows just don't close that fast anymore. It'll probably go to New Years.

Tammy Faye is such an obvious bomb that "bomb collectors" will now swoop in because it's a must see bomb. Which could sustain it through New Years.

Got the frame all ready!

"Not Since Carrie" is about ready for a sequel, or at least an updated edition.

Apparently the most recent Broadway show to not last longer than its first weekend was The Story of My Life.

I'd love a Not Since Carrie sequel. Would you keep Ken's original criteria, that if a show ran 250 or more performances, it's exempt?

And would the sequel be written by Ken “Banned From Broadway” Mandelbaum?

R393 Yes.

Or, a whole new book on "Shit Shows That Run Despite Being Shit Shows"

ie, a large number of Broadway shows of the last 15 to 20 years.

I'd like a side book on Broadway's worst revivals of the last 30 years.

It would be far more interesting if Ken Mandelbaum wrote a memoir about bootlegging shows, an oral history that could easily disappear.

R388: Typically when shows close, the notice always goes out two weeks in advance. In regards to Tammy, I don’t know how much exactly it needs to make each week in order to operate but if it doesn’t make that amount it’s not making it to New Years.

[quote]Shows just don't close that fast anymore.

What you say is generally correct, but according to reports, the theater has been alarmingly empty for recent performances of TAMMY FAYE, so I would not be at all surprised if it's gone by this coming weekend or the following.

Anyone wanna buy Chita Rivera's Tony for "Kiss of the Spider Woman"?

#WickedMovie is a spine tingling, hair-on-your-arm raising, tear-duct opening triumph.

Not wanting to leave the theater - and believe I will go back again and again - this is an instant classic that expands Oz in a way I have been craving for since seeing the 1939 film.

R400, we should archive your post as the ultimate and final death of Broadway's golden age. A legend like Chita should have her Tonys in a museum, not hawked to the highest bidder.

It keeps changing...

Deadline reviews "Elf The Musical":

NYT:

There's some great stuff on there, r400.

I'm surprised Chita's daughter is hocking her Tony for a couple grand. Guess it doesn't have much sentimental value to her. Does MLop know?

It'll go for more than a couple grand, r406.

r401 - is Jackson Vickery an adult?

Tammy Faye is just another line in the shows that are praised to high heaven in London but a klunker in NYC. This season alone has Cabaret, Sunset Bld, and Tammy Faye.

I'm over what the London critics think.

Is Sunset a "klunker"?

r401 Is Universal paying you to post here? With one exception, every one of yours posts in this thread is posting the comments of some random person from social media about Wicked.

[quote] Is Sunset a "klunker"?

Oh, yes. A complete and utter klunker. I came out of that wondering, What the F was that??

I agree with R411. ENOUGH. We’ve had sufficient.

I feel bad for all of these dames, when they go their awards are always auctioned off. Their children/relatives have no interest in their mother’s careers.

^^^But really, is it that important for people's Tony Awards to be in a museum? All of the awards look the same, and of course it's still a matter of public record that they won the awards, so is it really so bad if the physical awards end up in the homes of fans?

If Chita (or whatever celeb) wanted their Tonys and personal effects donated to a museum, or a school or wherever, they could have included that stipulation in their wills.

Perhaps in Chita's case, she felt the financial benefit her daughter might acquire from auctioning off her things was more important.

My partner has lots of Emmys, which are not displayed.

Once he’s gone, they will likely go to the dump.

R417 I’ll take them! Seriously…if it’s between the dump and my house, I will gladly take them!

Aside from those who claim EVERY musical they see on Broadway is "AMAZING!", Sunset is seen as a gimmicky mess, caterwauled at great volume for the not so discerning.

I mean, the show itself really blows and has always been a hot mess.

IndieWire ranked the 100 greatest movie musicals.

I'm wondering how all these people who are cheering Wicked actually got to see the movie before it's even opened.

Lots of screenings, r421. And they always include a few of the “film-going public” to juice them up.

We just saw #WickedMovie and it might just be the greatest stage-to-screen adaptation of all time. The performances, the sets, the direction, all do an insane justice to the stage show. I am shocked. It’s so damn good. WOW.

Is the movie still great if someone really hated the stage show?

It's like Lynn Stairmaster and Walter Monheit had a child!

R308- Hills has a small cast and isn’t about Irish History.

The Hills of California actually has a very big cast for a new straight play on Broadway, r426. Did you see it?

IBDB lists 17 actors playing 22 characters, not including understudies. Maybe not as big as The Ferryman but certainly far bigger than any casts of new American plays on Broadway in recent years. Many of them are extraneous to the plot so it'd be easy to forget them.

But you're right, it's not about Irish history.

why are all the WICKED raves on twitter? FUCK YOU.

That list of musicals is seriously messed up.

LOL at "Hills has a small cast".

It's Butterworth....has he ever done a play with less than a dozen actors in it?

The norm now in playwriting is to have no more than 6 at the VERY most...which helps explain why so many new plays are meh. Underwritten and developed.

[quote]That list of musicals is seriously messed up.

The rankings are definitely whack, but I appreciate its breadth. Lots of foreign and older movie musicals on the list, some I've never heard of and am excited to check out.

Also, I love Scorsese's "New York, New York," even though most people don't, so I was pleased to see it on the list—and fairly high at #44.

Universal must be spending well over $100m on promotion of Wicked.

I wonder if they have rights to all of Maguire's Oz books. Are they hoping to create a "Wicked Cinematic Universe" with mulitiple films set in Maguire's Oz?

With that kind of P&A budget, Wicked needs to make at least $900 million.

Wicked's schedule at my local cineplex is odd. It's opening this weekend--showing at the Dolby and Imax screens. By Thanksgiving, it moves to the regular screens so Moana 2 can take the choice screens.

If Wicked is supposed to be some massive hit, why would they do that?

R434 Because Disney has more power/money/clout than Universal.

I'll take your partner's dumps, R417!

R437 doesn’t get out to the movies too often….

Tammy Faye might limp to New Years but I think it's doubtful.

If Broadway theaters know they have a fall flop on their hands, I imagine some of them do secretly hope for a closing notice so that the theater can be ready for a spring opening.

R430, Butterworth's œuvre includes THE RIVER, with a cast of . . . three.

(Secretly four...shhhh).

Christ, there are movies on that list that are not musicals. "A Star Is Born" is not a musical, or "Cabaret", or "New York, New York". They are movies WITH music, but characters don;t break out in song. The music is performed onstage for an audience. The Broadway "Cabaret" is indeed a musical but Fosse killed all the songs and kept only the ones onstage. No one considers "Lady Sings The Blues" a musical and it was released the same year as "Cabaret and has a 32 song soundtrack. No difference.

I'll take a play with a half-dozen well-defined roles vs. ones from the '30s-'50s, with 30 actors, including 10 people who might as well be extras.

Speaking of extras, I was rather incensed that the cast of Death Becomes Her, other than the 4 leads, were listed as ensemble, even though some of them had actual parts with songs. I find that a slap in the face to those actors.

R442 doesn’t understand how the movie business works.

Well, I found Megan Hilty's DBH costumes a slap in the face to her figure.

Broadway needs to understand that right now, there are more shows than audience. It's sad.

[quote] I was rather incensed that the cast of Death Becomes Her, other than the 4 leads, were listed as ensemble, even though some of them had actual parts with songs. I find that a slap in the face to those actors.

That really is a very strange and awful state of affairs, especially in the case of Josh Lamon, who has a sizable role.

Are those DBH ensemble members listed in the song list by their name or their character's name if they're featured in the number?

And are their characters named in their bios?

I just checked. A couple of other characters are listed in the song list for DEATH BECOMES HER -- Luciano, Chagall -- but there is no listing in the bios of who plays those characters. It's stupid and disrespectful, and amazing that Equity let them get away with this. Then again, let's not get started on Equity....

Brooke is looking into it👽

NYT reviews "Shit. Meet. Fan.":

Deadline:

God, Maya Phillips is basically unreadable. Embarrassing.

With American psycho and Tammy Faye, does the Almeida in London score great reviews because theyre a trendy venue known for celeb connections? Both have bombed quickly.

Their Cat with Daisy Edgar Jones sold out in seconds as did Streetcar

First it was Patti's nose, now Kristin's forehead. Whoever chooses the thumbnails for Late Night's YouTube channel really hates Broadway divas. She looks like she's part xenomorph

Poor Debra Messing.

She had a career…once.

Let me tell you about Deb Messing......

‘Boop! The Musical’ Sets Jasmine Amy Rogers And Faith Prince To Lead Broadway Cast:

[quote] Broadway needs to understand that right now, there are more shows than audience. It's sad.

Plus so many shows are just tourist-focused crap

R459, let ME tell you about Deb Messing.

#WickedMovie is the greatest musical adaptation of all time! Perfection doesn’t even begin to describe Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande’s performances, both of who defy gravity with awards worthy performances. Jon M. Chu’s direction is both flawless and visionary, creating true movie magic with show-stopping musical numbers, phenomenal costumes and production design to create not only the most spectacular cinematic event of the year, but of the decade! @jonmchu thank you for the beyond PERFECT film! I will be an emotional wreck waiting for Part 2 next year!

Moviegoer overcome with emotion after watching Wicked movie.

CLEARLY, Universal's promo budget for this fucking film is way too high. Why else are they having some asshole intern (who should be "ff'd" to hell and back, fellow posters) post relentlessly on this podunk little forum of 12 elderly homosexuals?

The bad news is with these reviews, we are stuck with Cynthia Erivo forever.

[quote]The bad news is with these reviews, we are stuck with Cynthia Erivo forever.

That’s what they said about CATS, too. We finally got rid of that.

Will Cynthia and Arianna be competing for that Best Actress Oscar?

R468: Arianna is going supporting and Cynthia is going lead. I think Arianna has a better shot at a nomination than Cynthia.

[quote] I think Arianna has a better shot at a nomination than Cynthia.

Racist Hollywood!

R468, according to Scott Feinberg, if nominated, Cynthia would be in lead and Arianna in supporting:

Dear Lord, Chris.The Spooky Gay at r464 is utterly wearying.

Actors can campaign for their preferred category choice but ultimately the Academy can put them wherever they want.

The latest grosses are in.

R474: Yikes not a good week.

R474. Could this be sad last days for Chicago?

Was there any serious consideration to closing Chicago in the early '00s? Those numbers during the last years at the Shubert are sad.

We have our next Gatsby.

Also, the mention of Jeremy Jordan having "mammoth" casting news of his own has to be a clue that he is doing Floyd Collins, right?

The Hollywood Reporter gives 'Wicked' a thumbs up. A rave even!

Deadline:

The twitter reviews of Wicked are just too over the top to be real

[quote] We have our next Gatsby.

considering the universally midling reviews, I'm surprised that Gatsby is still playing

[quote] Could this be sad last days for Chicago?

I've always assumed it's pretty cheap to run, so it could withstand significantly lower grosses

I smell a Ton—er, Oscar.

On "Wicked", that's not Oscar buzz you hear, the buzzing sound is Sondheim spinning in his grave.

The reviews on Metacritic are okay, a 74 average so far.

Eat your heart out, R486.

Back in the Golden Age of musical theatre ('40s - '50s), the Broadway cognoscenti would rush to attend the out-of-town tryouts of new musicals. If those folks were gloomy at intermission then the creators knew they had a sure-fire hit on their hands. Quite a few posters here remind me of that.

Face it - 'Wicked' is going to be an enormous hit.

Even though Schwartz already has three Oscars, I'm still pleasantly surprised he didn't try to shoehorn in a new song in an attempt to win another. Maybe that's coming in Part 2.

Knew this was coming.

[quote] Even though Schwartz already has three Oscars, I'm still pleasantly surprised he didn't try to shoehorn in a new song in an attempt to win another. Maybe that's coming in Part 2.

Yes, apparently all the new music in Part 2

CNN breaking news *cue* dramatic (good) music.

I won tickets on the lottery for (back to the future I know lol) but they sent me row S, and I looked at the seating and it seems like the whole front half of the theater is not sold yet, so I'm wondering, will the ushers move those of us in the back closer to the front? I also noticed that the entire mezzanine is empty…

They will not. If you try to move closer, an elderly lezgay wearing a black turtleneck—with an eight dollar scarf—will give you side eye, with her one good eye. You’ve been warned.

So, Metacritic is saying Wicked has 36 positive and 8 mixed reviews but if you look at all those reviews with an under 80 score, they're all rather mixed.

They have a rather loose defintion of "mixed".

Glaaaaaaadiator II!!!!!!!

[quote]'Tammy Faye' Musical to Close

Why did I even bother?

Why do you think I headed for the hills, R498?

Poor Christian. Next stop, Billy Flynn.

Between Tammy Faye and Tales of the City, maybe Jake Shears needs to step away from the legitimate theatre?

If you follow Jake on IG it was very telling that midway through previews, his posts about Tammy Faye, which had been plentiful, stopped completely and everything became about his reunion with the Scissor Sisters.

What hit shows did he turn down for them, r501?

On FB today Michael Cerveris posted about the Tammy Faye closing and seemed to hint that the real story behind this disaster would eventually come out. Maybe I was misinterpreting him, but I think that was his intention.

[quote]maybe Jake Shears needs to step away from the legitimate theatre?

If he needs to take a break, he’s always welcome to come sit on my face anytime he pleases.

I like Jake, but why does he always look like he's just had a flashlight shone in his eyes?

Related thread....

Rave review for "Swept Away" from Jesse Green.

The Lina Wertmuller musical?!

Most semi-names who create Broadway musicals today have decided that all one needs to do is write a bunch of loud songs and throw them an a well-known IP, then hire whoever is willing to write the libretto, whatever that is!

In actuality, one can actually study seventy-five years of hit musicals and learn how one is structured and what all the hugely entertaining shows have in common, then find able collaborators to craft one. Throwing a bunch of pop songs at a recognizable title isn't part of that recipe.

It’s bad when there’s nothing I’m excited about seeing on Bway

Re the ridiculous post at R495: If this person sobbed through the entire movie, there's either something wrong with the movie or this person's emotional state, because obviously there are supposed to be lots of light and fun moments in it.

R512, or he’s getting paid to write that

If he's getting paid to write a positive reaction to the movie, he did an awful job of it. Embarrassing.

R508: The consensus seems to be that if you don't like boats and cannibalism then you're probably going to hate it.

[quote]Poor Christian. Next stop, Billy Flynn.

Even I didn't stay at that stop for very long.

Didn't Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Rodgers & Hart write a lot of pop songs and throw them at a recognizable title? Well, not always a recognizable title but those songs didn't exactly further the plot, what little plot there was.

SWEPT AWAY got lots of raves including a NY Times Critic's Pick but every description of the "plot" will sweep potential audiences far away from the box office.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1966, "Cabaret" opened at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Those "Swept Away" reviews are for the history books. So many "I really admired it, but I can't imagine anyone wanting to see this, and be prepared..." Can you imagine that marketing meeting today?

R518: Don't Broadway nerds read The NY Times' Theater section like it's the Bible?

I can't remember the last time I've read any feature in the New York Times theater section. It's deadly.

[quote]If he needs to take a break, he’s always welcome to come sit on my face anytime he pleases.

I have sufficient.

Avoid this cocksucker!

Weird that they're using a photo from the '05 movie to promote the '25 play, especially since Clooney is moving from the lead supporting role to the lead role in general.

Maybe Happy Ending is super-charming. It’s a small scale, musical, like Kimberly Akimbo or The Band’ Visit, and I found it very moving. Michael Arden’s direction was stellar. I think the show could grab the Best Musical Tony.

Michael Arden is quickly proving himself to be the smartest and hottest young director of Broadway musicals.

R526, what do you think Darren Criss’s chances might be? Is it a role/performance you would call Tony worthy?

Swept Oy-vey

[quote]what do you think Darren Criss’s chances might be? Is it a role/performance you would call Tony worthy?

He's pretty much a lock.

If he wins will Darren Criss thank AutoTune? How convenient he's playing a robot. (Truly, I have nothing against him as a performer, but the man cannot sing on key for very long.)

I'm sure it is a very worthy musical but I'm sorry I can't pay to watch Darren Criss. He's a desperate attention seeker and an extremely annoying straight ally.

Is opening night included in the weekly grosses?

Yes, r533, as is all the papering to friends and fans during the critics' nights. That's why opening week grosses are usually so low.

R534: Thank You.

I have an irrational dislike of Darren Criss. He seems like a nice enough and pretty talented guy but something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

I'm still recovering from Darren Criss' Hedwig, which was amateur night in the extreme -- the ONLY parts he could handle were the moments as Tommy Gnosis.

So, who's getting The Palace?

[quote]Michael Arden is quickly proving himself to be the smartest and hottest young director of Broadway musicals.

Agreed.

Unfortunately, Darren Criss has sometimes taken on roles he could not remotely handle vocally, such as Freddie in CHESS and Hedwig. Which is too bad, because he can be very good when he's well cast, sd in MAYBE HAPPY ENDING. Perhaps he needs a stronger management team.

Perhaps Darrin should just play robots.

Where else has he excelled onstage, r540?

I don't know when or where else he has excelled on stage, but he's certainly done some very good TV work, and he wasn't playing robots there.

R542: What good TV work - baring his ass in the Versace series?

Nothing wrong with playing robots, r542.

He won a bunch of awards including an Emmy for the Versace series. Some people clearly thought Criss was good.

[quote]Didn't Cole Porter, Irving Berlin and Rodgers & Hart write a lot of pop songs and throw them at a recognizable title?

No, they didn't. What shows specifically are you referring to?

In their era, each of those you named succeeded wildly for the most part in creating shows that were in sync with what audiences wanted to see and blended sophisticated song writing with a deft touch, often expert librettos and created enduring popular theater.

Who on earth might you be comparing them to who has created a musical in the last five years?

Sorry, but best actor in a musical will be a duel to the death between Joshua Henry and Jeremy Jordan.

[quote] He seems like a nice enough and pretty talented guy but something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

He has certain parts that clearly rubbed Ryan Murphy the right way.

What new show will Jeremy Jordan be in r547?

Jeremy Jordan into Floyd Collins. Worst kept secret on Broadway rn.

What about Joshua Henry? What is he starring in that will make him Tony eligible?

I can make out the A Little Night Music and Follies (of course!) posters, but what are the others? 🧐

I, um, think we'll need to see the video to fully work it out...

R552, that’s an Angel poster at the bottom right. I NEVER miss a Frances Sternhagen/Fred Gwynne musical!

You must be very busy then, r554!

[quote][R552], that’s an Angel poster at the bottom right. I NEVER miss a Frances Sternhagen/Fred Gwynne musical!

I would have loved to have seen that, r554!

It ran only 5 performances, Sternhagen garnered a Tony nomination, but lost out to Liza. The other nominees were Eartha Kitt and Madeline Kahn.

Tammy closes December 8

r557, see r492, r498, and r504.

Meanwhile, I'm still obsessing over the other posters in r552's post.

signed,

r556

“CATS - Now and…until 2019”

That’s right, R456. Almeida is in trendy Islington, seats about 325.

Also, Rupert Gould is a cunt.

Just got tickets for Streetcar with Paul Mescal. I thought that was pricey at $180’a ticket plus $150 BAM membership.

Since I live outside of New York, I started looking at other shows. Sarah Snook in Dorian Gray? $521. Clooney? $699. Denzel and Jake? $921.

Maybe it’s time to just go to regional shows. Let Broadway burn.

NYT gives Wicked a mediocre review.

Thanks, R545. I have never been a big Darren Criss fan until I saw him in his current Broadway show, but clearly, R543 has some weird issues with him. Maybe sour grapes?

R551, the other poster must be referring to the rumor that RAGTIME is transferring, a rumor that's a lot more believable now that TAMMY FAYE is closing so quickly and leaving the renovated Palace empty.

So Ragtime can flop for the third time?

With Ragtime's director soon to be running LCT, I don't think the lack of an available theater is exactly the issue. If Floyd Collins is a hit at the Beaumont, she can always move it to a Broadway theater to make room. And there will soon be more than The Palace available for Floyd.

R566, but FLOYD COLLINS doesn't open till mid-April. If RAGTIME is going to move anywhere, I expect it would have to happen long before that.

R565, as I and others have pointed out but you seem to have ignored, there's a new business model for some shows, including THREE recent Encores! shows: They can come to Broadway for limited runs and, if they are popular enough even for the short term, recoup their investment with a run of only a few months, thanks in part to the fact that premium priced tickets now exist.

Will Joshua Henry's role in RAGTIME be deemed a lead? I'd think that all of those roles would be Featured.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1999, "Putting It Together" opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

I think the top left card says Majestic Theater, so it might be a Phantom window card.

Wasn't Brian Stokes Mitchell nominated for Lead in the original Ragtime? Didn't he even win?

He and co-star Peter Friedman were both nominated for Best Leading Actor in a Musical, and they lost to Alan Cumming. Mitchell won a couple of years later for "Kiss Me, Kate."

"Floyd Collins" announcement:

All of those men's roles would have been considered Supporting back in The Golden Age of Broadway, r572

Tina Landau wanted Gavin creel for Floyd. What might have been.

Who's making the new thread?

R576, I've been posting on Datalounge since 2006 and I still don't dare. I leave that to the professionals.

Coalhouse is the leading male role of Ragtime.

One could argue Tateh is supporting…but they really bill the show as him, Coalhouse and Mother as the three leads

Wasn't Brian Stokes Mitchell nominated for Best Actor In A Musical?

Does anyone have a decent pun related to Death Becomes Her? Or maybe "depth," as a shout-out to Jeremy's new role?

Our old friend Michael Park is back.

[quote] as I and others have pointed out but you seem to have ignored, there's a new business model for some shows, including THREE recent Encores! shows: They can come to Broadway for limited runs and, if they are popular enough even for the short term, recoup their investment with a run of only a few months, thanks in part to the fact that premium priced tickets now exist.

Of the recent Encores! shows that have moved, Into the Woods sold well until Sara Bareilles and some of the production's original stars departed, and it was pretty much on fumes for the last two months of its run. Parade, which had more of an actual production surrounding it than the others, was justifiably acclaimed but also had a star that some audiences seem to care about. Mattress, even with positive reviews and a two-time Tony winner, hasn't set the world on fire. The likelihood of Ragtime becoming a premium-price magnet in the cavernous Palace Theatre with a cast of talents, but not stars, is far-fetched. Add to it that even this concert version of Ragtime features a larger cast and orchestra than all these other shows also makes it a big risk. Given that the Palace is likely to otherwise sit empty until Queen of Versailles is ready for next season, a limited run of Ragtime makes programming sense, but not financial.

New thread.

This isn't even a first world problem, but I'm annoyed that production art isn't being shown on IBDB. Tech error? On the other hand, it does reveal how few plays there are on Broadway.

Glad someone gave poor Michael Park something to do

You can see production art on the individual shows' pages, but not the current shows page. It just bugs me.

Adele Dazeem!

[quote]So, who's getting The Palace?

Me, of course -- and pretty damn soon!

Come back to the Palace, Tammy Faye, Tammy Faye

[quote] So, who's getting The Palace?

I'm! On! The Bill!

the Palace

What was the last bona fide hit at the Palace? Aida?

That was ages ago.

The 2009 revival of West Side Story recouped at the Palace. I think that's the last show there to do so.

R546, I wouldn’t say that the composers you mentioned created “enduring musical theatre.” What has endured from their shows are many glorious songs, but that’s not theatre.

Who's up for a Henry, Sweet Henry revival?

Bring back Home Sweet Homer!

It's time once again for The Grand Tour ...

Bosoms and Neglect!

BAJOUR!

LEMPICKA!