THEATRE GOSSIP #590: Hey ho, Let's Go! The Blitzkreig BOOP Edition!

589 linked below

Thanks OP!

Behind a paywall (and not yet archived), but this is exactly why many think Audra deserves a seventh Tony.

[quote]Do you call your Black friend “Blackie”?

Yes, but only because he's from Boston and resembles Chester Morris.

[quote]How do we find out when Audra's vacation is?

Call her travel agent.

r3, behind the paywall link below

Cynthia Erivo in a one-woman Dracula? Guess producers have found they can mint money when they only have to hire one actor.

I love you, OP!

You're in danger: Boop, Smash, Dead Outlaw, Stranger Things, and Curves.

Audra's vacation is June 30-July 6. Nothing against Tryphena, but how about bringing in a star to play that week?

I don't do stage

I wouldn't sit through another stunt like Dorian Gray if you paid me, especially a stunt by Cynthia.

Also, isn't it time we said good bye to Chicago, Hadestown, Harry Potter, Six and even The Book of Mormon?

[quote]I don't do stage

Or stairs.

R14: Who does?

Look for a big fare increase in Just In Time as it's become the hottest new ticket on Broadway. Even without the Best Musical Tony nomination. I bet they get a number on the Tonys anyway.

I loved it. And I really wouldn't dismiss another Tony for Groff by any means.

[quote]Behind a paywall (and not yet archived), but this is exactly why many think Audra deserves a seventh Tony.

I can see her lace front! I can see her lace front!

Broadway Box Office Has Finally Recovered, Overtaking Pre-Pandemic Returns for First Time:

A wig? On Broadway?

You’ve uncovered the greatest mystery of the 21st c. Pat yourself on the back.

Given Jodie Comer's Best Actress win in 2023 and Sarah Snook's likely Best Actress win this year, look for these 1-person gimmick shows to keep coming.

[quote]look for these 1-person gimmick shows to keep coming.

Not if the audience stops going.

The next gimmick show will be based on a relatively modern classic ... Jinkx Monsoon plays every role in Valley of the Dolls.

Broadway doesn't go for booze and dope!

I’m not sure Cynthia Erivo being cast as Dracula is the win she thinks it is.

R20 and R21, we do apologise. Both ours.

Of Dorian Gray, the less said the better. You would probably have equally enjoyed the same director's Macbeth, in which the action took place in the auditorium while the audience sat in clip-together fold-up seats on the stage. (You only know a fraction of our suffering.)

For budgetary reasons it is not unusual to have a one-actor play at the 100-seat theatre in which Prima Facie premiered. The NT production was overacted and over-directed to the point where it began to sound like Homer, instead of a professional, if traumatised, lawyer putting her case to the court of an intimate audience. Sheridan Harbridge played it here without the subtext Give Me the Olivier and the Tony or Give Me Death and it was fine.

I suppose at least the overseas productions are sending some money home to the inadequately subsidised Sydney theatres from which they sprang, so your trials are not in vain.

All our trials are in vain...It's DATALOUNGE!

Forget it Jake...

…it’s Broadway!

Andrew Lloyd Webber will be playing Noah Cross in tonight’s performance, with Patti Lupone as Evelyn.

The amount announced La Cage Aux Folles cast.

Norm Lewis *IS* Georges

Michael James Scott *IS* Alvin

^

The Muny

Sorry for autocorrect

What was the amount?

And it’s Albin, not Alvin. Sorry for autocorrect

[quote]A wig? On Broadway?

Someone say, " Wig"?

Nice piece in the NY Times about Tom Francis, so the Tony press campaigns are in fuull swing.

Hunky Tom loves New York and his new life. It seems pretty clear he won’t be sticking with stage acting when his “Sunset Boulevard” commitment is up.

Dracula or Nosferatu?

[quote]Michael James Scott *IS* Alvin

Who did they get for Simon and Theodore?

[quote]Hey ho, Let's Go! The Blitzkreig BOOP Edition!

Oh, dear.

This Cynthia Erivo news is funny because all throughout the most recent Oscar season, my friend and I were referring to Cynthia as “Nosferatu” because of those bejeweled talons. So you can blame us for manifesting this production into existence, however it may turn out!

I HATED Dorian Gray. I’m hoping for a major upset. Particularly, Mia. She hasn’t a shot, even though she has a shot.

I think Mia is a very possible dark horse candidate in that category. I would not count her out.

I'm really hoping Mia wins. Also wouldn't count her out.

I never get tired of posting this: both leads out of Death Becomes Her this afternoon

Does Ben Brantley’s rave for Audra help or hurt her Tony chances?

One can only think DBH must be a very tiresome show to perform.

R44 it is! It’s why I’m out 2-3 times a week!

R44, do you mean "tiresome" or "tiring?" There's a big difference :-)

Sorry, OP. Meant to post this earlier: you suck.

Tom Francis waltzing around at Marie's Crisis singing Sunset BLVD was clearly a Tony ploy. He might have won were it not for the Minxemeat guy.

No way Mia is winning the Tony.

[quote]He might have won were it not for the Minxemeat guy.

They are competing in different categories.

Will Boop or Curves be able to limp to the Tonys?

Chris Sieber also out of DBH this afternoon.

It's just weird to call out during Tony voting season if you are nominated.

And while scheduled, Nicole S. is also out of a bunch of performances in addition to her regular Tuesdays off.

They know in advance when Tony voters will be in the audience. If a nominee is out, they will reschedule the voters.

The OG Matlock just started. I don't usually watch it but i caught the opening credits and...

Maryann Plunkett *and* Alyson Reed

R39. I also hated Dorian Grey and it made me start hating Sarah Snook.

Apparently, many people who see DORIAN GRAY are so impressed by the energy of Sarah Snook's performance and the innovative use of video that they don't care that the show is a complete bastardization of THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY as conceived by Oscar Wilde. Oh, well, after all, how much does the OG author really know about his own work?

Seeing Sarah Snook running around the stage and sweating on big screens didn’t make for a fun night. It was ridiculous to cast a chubby middled aged woman in the part. Just stupid.

I completely agree, R58, but it seems this tremendous, fatal flaw of the show is just not at all an issue for many audience members. Probably those who have no knowledge of what THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY was meant to be by its author.

And the pauses?

They're the pauses that refresh

Uh...Mrs. Steele?

She was stoned that day!

Okay, I'm headed to The Muny for that cast. Hearing Norm Lewis sing "Song on The Sand" would be amazing. Do we know if they're using the original or revival orchestrations?

Do we care?

Has La Cage ever been done before with two Black men as George/Albin?

Last two notes of Audra's ROSE'S TURN:

"For" = Chest voice

"Me" = Head voice

Sorry, but link is only good for 2 days...

So what?

[quote]So what?

"So"= Chest voice

"What" = Head voice

Not what the composer intended.

How many dead horses have you gone through, r69? The rest of us have lost count.

[quote]The amount announced La Cage Aux Folles cast.

I hope you're joking.

La Cage Aux Folles is a TERRIBLE show and always has been.

BOOP? Really?

Does anyone under sixty-five know who Betty Boop even is?

Does anyone of any age care or think there's a musical in this material? I'm guessing the answer is "no". Jerry Mitchell is riding a string of flops, huh?

No.

Yes.

No.

Yes.

Only a bit over 500 posts to go...

A composer writes notes, not vocal techniques.

Styne write popular music, and was no purist. He was worried that Small World wouldn’t sell enough sheet music if it could only be sung by a woman. And the idea that Styne “wrote” Rose’s Turn is certainly a novel idea, since he was out fucking Sandra Church while it Sondheim and Laurents and Robbins put it together.

Jasmine out of both BOOP shows today.

Don't know that Sondheim ever said Laurents was there when he and Robbins put it together.

[quote]Does anyone under sixty-five know who Betty Boop even is?

This tiresome question again. This is DL. We don't give a fuck what the ignorant masses do and do not know.

Um, er…ignorant masses are right here, under your nose.

[quote]Does anyone under sixty-five know who Betty Boop even is?

About as many who knew who Little Orphan Annie was in 1977, r72.

About as many who knew who Pippin was in 1072…er 1972.

Are Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga going to present a Tony award together? That’s a natural, no, especially as neither was nominated?

It would be a lovely opening to the Tony Awards to have Bernie auditioning with a rehearsal pianist, tentatively singing “Broadway Baby,” soon joined by Lea and eventually the complete female cast of “Old Friends” who form a kick line for the big finish. It’s a great crowd pleaser in the second act of the show.

Of course since everyone in that show is middle-aged or older, the Tony’s will probably start with Cynthia Erivo singing some mediocre ‘special’ material where she’ll start big and get even bigger as the anthem ends in an all out screechfest, all to appeal to a ‘younger’ viewing audience that wouldn’t be caught dead watching the Tony’s and rarely goes to the theater anyway. Whereas the packed house at the Samuel Friedman which is the reliable audience for theater in NY, will be slighted.

I saw “Old Friends” at the matinee today, good, rousing fun, done with more precision and energy than in London. It’s a fine ensemble, Salonga is confident and swell though somehow generic, but Bernie is a marvel and looks terrific.

Multi-generational flirting...

R82 - cute idea, but of course they're going to have Cynthia open the show. It would be bizarre for them not to. Honestly, your idea is adorable, though, for an Old Friends performance during the telecast.

R92 I’d hate to hear what goes on in your head when jacking off.

Shivers!

R82^

"Rose must ONLY be sung in chest voice FOREVER!!"

[quote]Does Ben Brantley’s rave for Audra help or hurt her Tony chances?

I think it helps. Everyone knows Audra is doing a spectacular job. The ONLY question is does she have "to many Tonys?"

The article reminds everyone of the great artistry on that stage and how it's the artistry that should be awarded.

The NY Times article about Audra as Rose quotes Audra about her vocal choices:

“I realize that I don’t sing it like everybody else sings it, that people don’t think I’m a belter,” she said. “Whatever. I don’t care. I’m singing it with my voice, and in a way that keeps my stamina up so I can do it eight times a week.” Yet McDonald’s soprano is unleashed in “Rose’s Turn” only in its last section. That’s where the one modulation occurs, and it is, Einhorn said, “a good third higher than the original.” That allows an “emotional lift,” he said, that wasn’t happening with the score as written, and that the audience is hungry for.

McDonald sometimes deploys a guttural, almost raunchy voice in “Rose’s Turn,” summoning the great blues singers of the early 20th century. And she said part of what Rose has been “holding down” is the fury and frustration she can’t reveal because “Black women are supposed to behave in a certain way.”

And those infamous pauses:

Einhorn and Wolfe encouraged McDonald to make “Rose’s Turn” slower than is customary. She now freezes and takes her time when Rose first asks the big questions: “Why did I do it? What did it get me?” McDonald said “the first time I stood still and did it, I was like” — she inhales convulsively — “everything came up.”

Her artistic choice. Ok by me.

Audra's artistic choices create a completely original Rose. It's amazing to see.

Betty Boop merch for sale at Hot Topic.

[quote]About as many who knew who Little Orphan Annie was in 1977

Nonsense!

[quote]Does anyone under sixty-five know who Betty Boop even is?

There's a wonderful new invention called "the Internet" that allows anyone who is even mildly interested to get the answer to that question very quickly. With pictures! And original cartoons!

Now retired.

Nicole will be out of Sunset Blvd next Friday and Saturday.

[quote]Nicole will be out of Sunset Blvd next Friday and Saturday.

Betty can do it!

R80, I was 10 y.o. in 1977 and I knew who Little Orphan Annie and her dog Sandy were, and Daddy Warbucks and Punjab because the comic strip was in the paper.

Then I knew who Andrea McArdle and Dorothy Loudon were because I was a little fag.

How nice, r99. How nice for us all.

Ben's recent contributions to the Times remind me how little I miss his gelatinous prose. He probably needed a bib when writing that article.

R100, are you okay?

I was in college when ANNIE opened and I knew who Little Orphan Annie was but, like everyone else of my generation, I had never had any interest whatsoever in reading the comic strip.

And yet, I loved the musical ANNIE because it was a perfectly produced Broadway show (maybe the last of the Golden Age musicals), unlike the trash known as BOOP! Familiarization with the comic strip character really had very little to do with ANNIE's success.

[quote] McDonald said “the first time I stood still and did it, I was like” — she inhales convulsively — “everything came up.”

That’s more or less how I’d describe it as well.

[quote]About as many who knew who Pippin was in 1072…er 1972.

I went to high school with him.

I wasn't aware Betty Boop was a syndicated comic strip for forty years!

If R67 or anyone else wants to keep what's on that link, be it known that the Snipping Tool in Windows now gives you the choice of snipping either a photo or a video, just by clicking on the still camera or movie camera icons that come up when you open it.

It will copy anything that's on your screen, and after you press Start it gives you a countdown for starting the video. (Tip: Make sure the sound is on when you play the video, or it will record silence.) I don't know how long a video it will capture, but I've used it for up to a few minutes.

As the producer Mike Nichols shrewdly knew, ANNIE was essentially a Cinderella story...

Exactly, R108. If the show had told another story about Little Orphan Annie -- for example, some episode or episodes that happened AFTER she was adopted by Daddy Warbucks -- it might not have been a hit, even with all of the same people involved.

Ya think?

Not so much Cinderella. ANNIE employed exactly the same formula as a Shirley Temple movie.

I’m here for the Shirley Temple Grandin musical. Singing GOOD SHIP LOLLIPOP from inside the squeeze box.

Annie author Tom Meehan said that his inspiration was Oliver Twist, and the plot similarities are striking. Evil head of an orphanage. Rich benefactor. A locket. Comic baddies pose as someone they are not to reap a reward.

My cousin who has never seen a Bway show is visiting.

I want to take her to something glitzy and traditional. I’m thinking Boop or Smash. Which one is good enough?

For your cousin, literally anything is good enough. That side is not that picky.

DL fave Betty Buckley returns to Joe’s Pub this evening.

Are any of you bitches going?

I went last year and she did Send In the Clowns and Not a Day Goes By…but that was it on showtunes

Very interesting, R113. I didn't know that, but it makes perfect sense.

Of course, ANNIE also is a Cinderella story in the rags-to-riches sense, though she makes that journey by finding a new daddy rather than a handsome prince :-)

[quote]she makes that journey by finding a new daddy rather than a handsome prince

Tomato/Tomahto

Stay away from SMASH. Head-scratcher waste of money.

Boop! is not a world beater, but it's vastly better than Smash.

I’m thinking of seeing “Gypsy” the evening of June 12th. Can any of the devout Audra trackers tell me if they think she’ll go on that night? Perhaps use your divining rod?

Agreed, R119 and R120.

R121 - Turn on push notifications for the Chipotle app on your phone. If there's a Free Guac special that night, I'd keep your plans flexible.

Your cousin will have a much better time at Just in Time, far better than Smash and Boop!

Your cousin will have more fun with ten Elmos in Times Sq.

R.I.P. Charles Strouse

I say The Great Gatsby is a big, traditional musical with glamorous costumes, actual solid sets and Broadway professionals giving it their all in a familiar, accessible storyline. A lotta bang for your buck in that one.

Hairspray felt very golden age.

Charles Strouse obit

Cousin solution: whatever is cheapest at TKTs.

Aw, that's sad, but 96 is nothing to sniff at. Please keep John Kander in bubble wrap, NYC!

I wonder if Charles Strouse was frustrated by his latter career. Of course, most composers would KILL to have just one show as popular and enduring as Bye Bye Birdie or Annie (or... if we're being generous... Applause.)

That said, the man lived to be almost 100, but the last time he had a hit he was in his FORTIES. That must have been a little bit frustrating, especially as he saw some of his contemporaries, like Sondheim, Kander and Herman continue to have success into the 80s and early 90s. I'm sure the Annie royalties were comfort, though!

Strouse is a fascinating case -- a handful of big hits, plus countless disasters, almost all of which have scores one can still listen to with great pleasure. I'm still sad that his score for MARTY was never heard by a New York audience.

Professional cunts Paul Ford (r.i.p.) and Stephen Cole (the latter of whom ghost-wrote Strouse's memoir) characterize(d) Strouse as a quirky tightwad who didn't reveal anything like the entire truth about the issues surrounding his shows.

What successes did Jerry Herman have into his "80s and 90s"?

Herman's big hits were Hello Dolly (64), Mame (66), and La Cage (83).

Herman has a slight edge on Strouse because Herman has 3 huge hits while Strouse only has 2.

R133 - obviously, only the 80s part was applicable to Herman. What do you want, footnotes for every post?

If anyone has tkts for next Saturdays matinee of Floyd Collins be aware that Jeremy Jordan will be out

R134 I read it as into THEIR 80s and 90s, meaning their own personal ages.

Still, Strouse's two big hits were in 60 and 77. Herman's in 64, 66, and 83. So a span of 17 years for Strouse and a span of 19 years for Herman.

Both were cashing huge royalty checks until the day they died. Their estates still do.

How about that!

Though it may not have aged well, APPLAUSE was a HUGE hit in its day.

I know all of his post-Annie shows were flops. Were any of the well received critically? Or, a least, were any of the scores critically acclaimed? (not a rhetorical question... genuinely asking.)

[quote]Were any of theM well received critically

...that should have read

[quote] I know all of his post-Annie shows were flops. Were any of the well received critically? Or, a least, were any of the scores critically acclaimed? (not a rhetorical question... genuinely asking.)

Rags is probably the best of his flops, with a mostly gorgeous score. Dance a Little Closer, though it was absolutely horrendous in the theatre, has some beautiful songs as well.

I saw Strouse's musical of Marty, based on the Ernest Borgnine film, at the Huntington Theatre in Boston around 2000 and it was a lovely production, if somewhat too intimate for Broadway (where it never went). IIRC very pretty music and Rupert Holmes wrote the lyrics. John C. Reilly was perfect casting in the title role even if not the greatest singer.

R138 True. But, Applause never really seemed to make it into the canon of great American musicals. High Schools and community theaters shunned it.

It's really not a great show. Some good songs/numbers but the plot isn't that great. People would probably love it if it had actually been based off "All About Eve" instead of the not as interesting source material.

I thought a few of Strouse’s songs in Bring Back Birdie were OK. Robin Morse coukdn’t sing for shit, though. Nepo baby casting.

She couldn't act worth a tinker's fart, either.

Lee Adams is still alive at 100.

RIP Charles Strouse

Sorry, Jeremy Jordan will be out next Sunday (not Saturday).

[quote] Herman has a slight edge on Strouse because Herman has 3 huge hits while Strouse only has 2.

Well, Golden Boy was a hit at the time and is very well-regarded. And Applause was a huge hit in 1970, although it had faded into obscurity by the end of the 1970s. Plus Strouse had all his film/TZ scores, where Herman only had Mrs. Santa Claus.

Encores did Golden Boy in about 2004 starring Alphonso Ribeiro who was fantastic.

I thought it was a decent show for a star vehicle. The only problem is it requires a true charismatic triple threat like Sammy Davis Jr. and they just don't come around often.

[quote]George Clooney’s GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK to Air Live on CNN

He came, he saw, he conquered. Good For him.

He did not dump Biden in time. Minus 10 points.

If only Sonia Friedman thought enough of her audiences after turning a profit to do the same type of thing with "Merrily". Do they really think a movie of the stage production will make money? They should have aired it live on Disney Plus.

So, will George get the Tony?

I think he might as of today R153

Nope

Lee Adams, Charles Strouse's lyricist for "Bye Bye Birdie" and "Applause," among other shows, is still with us at 100.

Strouse was famously parsimonious

Just remember that the person responsible for "Applause" is also responsible for thrusting Bonnie Franklin upon us.

Blame Sally, r158.

Is that Rachel Harding on the right?

"Bonnie, I hope you'll remember: hands are for clapping, NOT slapping!" - unheeded advice at "Applause" rehearsals.

[quote] Strouse was famously parsimonious.

Here’s a story: Several years ago, the actress Katherine Cox did a favor for Charles, and recorded some tracks for a demo. They went to lunch together after. At lunch, Charles told Katherine that he had just closed the deal for movie rights for Annie, which was the most lucrative deal in Broadway history up to that time. After lunch they split the check.

Darren Criss is quite good in Maybe Happy Ending—and his vocals were surprisingly good. I’m voting for him over yodeling Jeremy J.

R162: "Katherine Cox"

Oh, dear.

Sorry, “Catherine” Cox.

But the score is lousy, R127, and most of the casting has been off the wall. Epic fail.

[quote]If only Sonia Friedman thought enough of her audiences after turning a profit to do the same type of thing with "Merrily". Do they really think a movie of the stage production will make money? They should have aired it live on Disney Plus.

I'm not sure there's ultimately that much difference between the video of MERRILY shot live on stage and shown first in theatgers thereafter and the live TV presentation of GOOD NIGHT AND GOOD LUCK on CNN. Especially not in this day and age, when undoubtedly both will soon be available for streaming and perhaps also on DVD and BluRay.

Hey, Sonia Friedman may be a cunt (if that's the implication), but she's still bringing us large ensemble, ambitious non-musical plays with great production values, without depending upon A list movie stars. Doubt anyone else would have brought us The Hills of California this season, with that incredible British/Irish cast. So... she's okay with me.

They're looking spectacular, Bernadette. That new husband of yours must be very happy.

r169...

[quote]Here’s a story: Several years ago, the actress Katherine Cox did a favor for Charles, and recorded some tracks for a demo. They went to lunch together after. At lunch, Charles told Katherine that he had just closed the deal for movie rights for Annie

Wait, something that happened around 1980 was "several years ago"?

So Vulture interviewed two Tony voters about how they were likely to vote and I couldn’t believe how lame most of their choices were, how moronic their reasoning, and how insipid their taste level was.

Happy it was just two of them, hardly representative. I hope.

But Cole Escola seems like a lock per The Rialto. Little agreement between the two on anything else, poor as their choices were individually.

R111, Shirley Temple movies were all Cinderella stories. WTF.

I'm fine with Cole winning Best Actor, but Oh, Mary! for best play? Please god no.

[QUOTE] So, will George get the Tony?

I think Cole is a near lock here.

Could Cole and George switch roles?

[quote] Could Cole and George switch roles?

Two bottoms. What would change? 😄

Maria Friedman was "Merrily's" director, not the producer or more importantly she is not the rights holder. She would have very little power to get a taped performance of the show televised. Ultimately it would be the Sondheim estate's call, then the other creatives would sign-off on it

Cole and George can ride a double dildo, and we can get a real man to piss on them in the process. That is always hot in porn.

That real man? Patti LuPone.

I hope the Tony voters can resist giving a Tony to George Clooney.

I thought Cole had this in the bag.

R179. How very P Diddy if you, Patti

R178, that’s why the people were trying to call out *Sonia* Friedman, the Merrily producer who is Maria’s sister.

Kushner has called Oh, Mary! literature.

Looking good for Maybe Happy Ending - Best Musical wins from the Outer Critics Circle earlier this week, and from the Drama League a minute ago.

Nicole won the Drama League! Audra wasn’t eligible because she had won before, so I don’t think it changes the race much.

Who was the male Drama League winner?

They only give one award for performance, with dozens of nominees.

Fuck the Drama League gave Oh Mary best play and best direction of a play.

Yeah everybody gets a participation trophy with the distinguished performance award so I don’t think Nicole’s win really tells us anything. On the other hand, I don’t see how Maybe Happy Ending loses next month.

r173, there was no "Prince Charming" in any of Shirley Temple's movies. Just as there is no "Prince Charming" role in Annie, or for that matter, in Oliver Twist.

With Maybe Haopy Endings being the front runner, it just shows the pathetic state of Bway this season.

It’s nice and pleasant. But Best Musical?

Maybe Happy Ending is actually good. It deserves the acclaim and nominations it has gotten.

They're *all* rags to riches tales, r190.

But Shirley Temple movies, like Annie, were often about young orphans "saved" by older male figures, unlike Cinderella, r193. And, not to beat a dead horse, the Temple movies were made during The Great Depression, when Annie takes place.

[quote]And, not to beat a dead horse

Too late.

And just like that ... R159's gay card is GONE.

^probably into his many folds.

You're entitled to you opinion, R191, but it seems clear that a great many people disagree with you.

So Clooney speaks to Jake Tapper for his book and then CNN broadcast his play the day before the Tonys. Hmm.

Having your final performance as the matinee on Tony day seems a bit odd. I guess it saves on having two parties.

Or staying up past his bedtime.

Isn’t this broadcast by CNN kind of a slap in the face to the people who paid all that money to see the play at the theater? As it turns out, they could’ve just kept their money and watched it at home for free.

Can Clooney win an acting Emmy for the CNN broadcast?

There is precendent, R202 -- Nell Carter's lone Emmy was for the TV performance of Ain't Misbehavin'.

And Hamilton. Though I wonder if the fact it's live will change eligibility

This weekend marks the start of the after-season cull. There'll be more to come, of course, but here's what's up ahead:

May 18 -- REDWOOD

June 8 -- OTHELLO, GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK

June 22 -- THE LAST FIVE YEARS, FLOYD COLLINS

June 28 -- GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

June 29 -- THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY, STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S OLD FRIENDS

July 6 -- JOHN PROCTOR IS THE VILLAIN, PURPOSE

July 13 -- SUNSET BOULVEARD

July 27 -- PIRATES! THE PENZANCE MUSICAL

Aug. 17 -- CALL ME IZZY

R205: Real Women Have Curves will be the next one added to the list.

Aren't all those titles previously announced closing dates, except Redwood.

Did anyone get through all of YELLOW FACE last night on PBS? I bailed after the first hour. I found it supremely unfunny. Not clever.

Yes, R207, I believe most or all of those shows other than REDWOOD were announced as limited runs, so they really can't be considered part of the "cull" that often happens when shows with open-ended runs close during Tony season, either because they receive no nominations or no awards.

[quote] Did anyone get through all of YELLOW FACE last night on PBS? I bailed after the first hour. I found it supremely unfunny. Not clever.

I saw it in the theatre, and thought, apart from Frances Jue's character and performance and the one scene with the reporter, it's not much of a play. It's a lot of flat narrative with very little dramatization.

From Wikipedia:

[quote]Face Value was a 1993 play by American playwright David Henry Hwang. It was to be the second Broadway production of the playwright's work, but it closed in previews on March 14, 1993 after only 8 previews, never officially opening. The production was scheduled to open at the Cort Theatre on March 21, 1993. It was directed by Jerry Zaks, with B. D. Wong, Jane Krakowski, Mark Linn-Baker, Mia Korf, and Gina Torres in the cast. The play cost $2 million and was one of the biggest lossmakers on Broadway for a play at the time. Its critical failure provided the inspiration for David Henry Hwang's Obie Award-winning play Yellow Face, which premiered in 2007 at the Mark Taper Forum and moved Off-Broadway to the Joseph Papp Public Theater.

[quote] The play [Yellow Face] was presented on Broadway by Roundabout Theatre Company for a limited run from October 1 through November 24, 2024, with previews beginning September 13

So, Hwang has written one great play, M BUTTERFLY, and one decent one, YELLOW FACE, that was inspired by one of the biggest flops in Broadway history. Otherwise, his career has been marked by lots of flops, definitely including his horrible rewrite of M BUTTERFLY, which received terrible reviews and closed quickly on Broadway. To me, YELLOW FACE is greatly overrated -- probably because some critics feel bad for Hwang, so praised him highly for a play that wasn't exceptionally good but at least wasn't a disaster. Sort of like grading on a curve.

I have a tough time watching any theatre on TV. The experience is always worse than live.

Someone should follow Hwang home and hit him in the face

For those who don't get it, I'm guessing R213's really sick joke refers to the incident described in this article.

This week ...

Monday -- Tom Francis on the 10 a.m. hour of Today; SMASH performs on The Kelly Clarkson Show

Thursday -- Michelle Williams and Jennifer Simard on CBS Mornings; SMASH performs on The Jennifer Hudson Show; Audra McDonald and GYPSY perform on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Friday -- Jonathan Groff performs on GOOD MORNING AMERICA and is joined by Gracie Lawrence on GMA3

THR interviews Jonathan Groff:

Smash hitting the talk show circuit to save the sinking ship.

I saw YELLOWFACE on Broadway and watched it again last night. I liked it more the first time, which wasn't much in the first place, but on TV I realized how wooden Danial Dae Kim was. He has almost zero comedic talent.

How great a play is M BUTTERFLY in fact? The recent revival, with Hwang's revisions, was a major flop, despite well-reviewed performances by the 2 leads.

Daniel Dae Kim's "comedic" performance might have been helped by a wig in the zany egg-beater styled hairdo sported by Hwang.

I wish I’d seen M. Butterfly with Anthony Hopkins. That was some serious psycho-sexual casting.

Thought the broadcast would help Jue win a Tony. Guess not.

[quote]How great a play is M BUTTERFLY in fact? The recent revival, with Hwang's revisions, was a major flop, despite well-reviewed performances by the 2 leads.

I thought it was clear that I was referring to the first version of M BUTTERFLY. As I noted, Hwang's rewritten version for the revival (or revisal) practically destroyed the play, and of course, matters weren't helped by a low-energy performance by Clive Owen and very poor direction by Julie Taymor.

No mention of the horrible rewrite of Flower Drum Song? DL is slipping!

I actually loved that Flower Drum Song revival. Don’t get the hate for it

[quote]I saw YELLOWFACE on Broadway and watched it again last night. I liked it more the first time, which wasn't much in the first place, but on TV I realized how wooden Danial Dae Kim was. He has almost zero comedic talent.

That's Tony Nominee for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play, Danial Dae Kim to you, Bitch.

[quote]No mention of the horrible rewrite of Flower Drum Song? DL is slipping!

I didn't think I needed to mention all of Hwang's flops by title. He's had so many of them....

I'll take one M. Butterfly over Sam Shepherd's entire catalog of horseshit.

[QUOTE] No mention of the horrible rewrite of Flower Drum Song? DL is slipping!

It sucked so fucking hard!

[quote]There is precendent, [R202] -- Nell Carter's lone Emmy was for the TV performance of Ain't Misbehavin'.

Also, Robert Morse won the Emmy for the PBS broadcast of TRU, the one-man show about Truman Capote.

George Hearn won an Emmy for his performance in "Sweeney Todd" that was taped in Los Angeles (and Angela Lansbury was nominated).

However, the category that both Hearn and Nell Carter won in (Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program) was discontinued after 2008. It was the same category in which Elaine Stritch won an Emmy for "At Liberty." They should really bring the category back; it's a fun one.

Robert Morse won his Emmy for "Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie" even though it was just a recording of the stage play.

The other nominees were:

- Robert Blake as 'John List' in JUDGMENT DAY: THE JOHN LIST STORY (CBS)

- Robert Duvall as 'Joseph Stalin' in STALIN (HBO)

- James Garner as 'F. Ross Johnson" in BARBARIANS AT THE GATE (HBO)

- James Woods as 'Roy Cohn' in CITIZEN COHN (HBO)

[quote]It sucked so fucking hard—Miyoshi Umeki

What a thrill to see Miyoshi Umeki and her foul mouth back on DL. Welcome back, plum blossom!

R179 uses consonants, proving they are not, in fact, Patti Lupone.

I hope someone someday writes the honest, thorough book on SMASH -- sort of like the No, No Nannette Book, and not a syncophantic account like most are. While I was watching this utter head-scratcher disaster, I kept thinking "How the Fuck did this happen?"

If so, R235, when I get my copy, I'm flipping directly to the chapter about Jesse Green's insane review.

What's most astounding about the Smash debacle is it was created by true theater pros - Stroman, Wittman, Shaiman, Rick Elice and Bob Martin. And producers like Neil Meron and Robert Greenblatt. Not that any of them are geniuses but surely you'd think they've been around long enough, several decades, and done and seen enough great and bad theater on Broadway that they'd know how awful their product was. How could they all be so self-deluded?

I think shows about Marilyn Monroe are simply impossible now. As subject matter, she is simply overdone and trite. There's nothing new to say about her and she doesn't represent anything relevant to today's audiences. I realize the show attempts to be more than just MM, but nevertheless, it's her image that's trying to drive and sell the show.

SMASH was hardly a show about Marilyn Monroe. It "used" her to set up the worst plot in history, but what I watched all night was a bunch of stupid characters make choices and say things that had no remote basis in reality. Once the insane plot twist got rolling, everyone acted like they had no idea what a contract is...And all the "Bombshell" numbers were just inserted to show a show was created, but had nothing really to do with anything. And not one honest emotion the entire night. I felt bad for the cast. They did their best with just awful material. I don't know why the show got a choreography nom. Like the score, it was the exact same shit that was on the series. Bergasse just does acro-chorus boy shit all night, and they just amp up the Musical buttons. Total crap.

So should I see it through tdf?

I found YELLOW FACE (live) such a slog to sit through. Its attempts at comedy were too hee-haw and there was this air of smugness about it, so self-assured of its cleverness. The set design compounded my boredom.

Hwang also wrote the horrid script for the painfully awful Soft Power.

So did the Hells Kitchen chorus boy whores in flip flops make their presence felt at the Ninth Avenue Food Festival today?

81 degrees and sunny. It was a fuckfest —still going on now.

Audra out of Gypsy today.

She had a bad knish at the Ninth Avenue Food Festival.

She’s out because I had tickets for today and she couldn’t bare to face me!

Grin and [italic]bear[/italic] it, Miss LuPone.

She’s out? Check the bathrooms at Chipotle.

TKTS

Does anybody know how many seats Broadway productions don't sell to the public? In other words, are there a certain amount of tickets that are not available to the public?

House seats are held back from public sale. Those belong to the production to allocate as they wish (if an actor wants to get a pair for friends, etc). Usually the unused ones are released at some point the day of the performance and become available to the public.

[quote]...that’s why the people were trying to call out *Sonia* Friedman, the Merrily producer who is Maria’s sister.

I did not know this! I was wondering who they were talking about.

Nevermind!

How many house seats are held back depends entirely on the production and how many involved have the "right" to have those seats held for their friends and acquaintances to buy. And please understand, the cost of the house seats to friends and acquaintances is the going rate, not necessarily a bargain. Again, it just depends on the production.

I used to wait on the cancellation line for house seats years ago. It was a great deal then. Now, with "anything you can get" ticket prices, it's definitely not worth the bother.

R254, but if any of those seats are still unsold within an hour or so of the performance start time, you can probably still get them for the lowest price those seats can be sold for.

Don’t the girls all get prettier at closing time

That might be true, r255, but it then starts seeming like an auction. They go down the line asking if anyone wants it at the top price and then as the price comes down people behind you can grab it at a higher price than you want to pay for it. As I said, not worth the bother.

R257, do they really do that when there is an actual cancellation line? Sounds crazy. I went to the box office of a hit show, I got there less than an hour before showtime, and they sold me a ticket that had a regular price of $199 for $99 -- no bargaining, no "auctioning." I'm sure it wasn't a house seat, but it was a good seat, obviously unsold with less than an hour to go before the show started.

I don't understand why OH, MARY! is such a phenomenon.

You had your day, Charles, and it was a lot longer than anyone might have expected.

Seeing Tony Kushner gush over Oh, Mary! during their talkback was embarrassing. But then I remembered that aside from Angels and Bright Room Called Day....what else has Kushner done that was great?

His adaptation of The Illusion is very good. Caroline or Change is excellent, mostly because of him, And I may be in a small group (as is anyone who calls Bright Room great), but I thought Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide was also very good.

Then you add the movies? He’s got a pretty good track record.

[quote]...what else has Kushner done that was great?

If you write "Angels in America," I think you're allowed to coast. Although, I'd love to see a revival of "The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures." I saw the production at the Public shortly after moving to the city, and I think about it often.

I saw Charle’s last play Isben’s Ghost and it was a fun evening in the theatre. I wish he still worked regularly

Btw, Kushner procrastinates to a destructive degree. “The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism” was commissioned by the Guthrie for a Kushner festival. They started rehearsals without a completed script, forcing actors to do previews with books.

Well said, R262.

R264 Ibsen's Ghost was just done last year. It's not like Busch hasn't worked in years. The man is also 70.

r261, Kushner's live interview with Sondheim a few years back uffered from the playwright's dizzy gushing and seeming lack of preparation.. It was very frustrating.

" Wonderful Town" gets ripped.

[quote]In his revival, which closed May 11, Levingston seeks to “recontextualize” Wonderful Town to include what the program calls “the full, multiethnic spectrum of New Yorkers who have made this town ‘wonderful’ all along.” His solution: cast black women as Ruth and Eileen, expecting that racializing the sisters “lends different stakes” to their story. We never learn what those stakes are, however. Levingston is faithful to the original book and lyrics, which contain nothing reflecting “blackness” or any hint of the real racial tension that would probably have manifested if the original 1930s characters actually had been black. Anika Noni Rose and Aisha Jackson are splendid performers on their own merits and gave entertaining performances as Ruth and Eileen, but the implications of their skin color went nowhere beyond performing characters that in all relevant contexts remained as white as Wagner’s Sieglinde did when Jessye Norman sang the role at the Met 40 years ago. If Levingston is “really interested to see the story of two Black [sic] women pursuing their dreams,” he should find a play on that subject.

[quote]This does not appear to be the “diversity” Levingston would prefer, but it is diversity, nevertheless. Nor did Levingston risk even basic alterations of the text to achieve what he wanted. Despite his directorial vision and Jackson’s African American background, her Eileen still wards off the flirtatious Irish cops by telling them that she is of Scottish and Swedish heritage, instantly belying the director’s fantasy that we are watching a black woman pursue her dreams or do anything else.

Kushner did a lousy job with the West Side Story remake screenplay. There’s a reason he didn’t get an Oscar nomination for it. His biggest mistakes were, in my opinion, changing Doc to Valentina and having Rita Moreno play her (although I think that was Spielberg’s idea originally). And setting “America” at around 9 am when people were heading for work with the iconic musical number reduced to something resembling a block party hoedown.

Agree about America losing its zing in the new placement. He should have keep the original film’s rooftop setting. I like Valentina. And I really like the way Riff was improved for the film.

"West Side Story" was never a movie that cried out for a remake.

Neil Simon wrote comedies and he won all the time. Why is everyone saying "comedies don't win?"

Wonderful Town sucked. Nothing more to say, really.

Who's Neil Simon?

I’ve stated my admiration for Kushner’s work, if not him personally, a few times on this thread. At the risk of sounding like an uncritical fan, I really loved the new West Side Story. The original movie, which I first saw on PBS while channel surfing late at night, is a great adaptation that feels bound to its period.

The newer one has less stagy performances and sets, and was a thoughtful conversation with the original. The deaths and poverty and threats feel real. It truly feels like they meet, fall in love, and Tony dies within a day. I love both versions.

As for Munich? That screenplay, and introducing Daniel Craig (Joe Pitt from London) at his hottest, is one of Kushner’s great achievements.

Isn't there an unofficial boycott of the Kennedy Center? So why is the tour of "The Outsiders" making a stop there?

Cameron Mackintosh used the excuse of contractual obligations for why Les Mis played there, so they'll probably go with that too

R272 The main reason WEST SIDE STORY was remade by "woke" Hollywood was to villainize the Jets (i.e. white men).

They come off so badly and the Sharks so saintly.

Hardly

I swear if I see one more YouTube ad for Maybe Happy Ending...

The new grosses are in ...

I’m sorry but how does Gypsy last until October?

How are Six and Harry Potter staying alive?

I’m sorry but how do you ask that about Gypsy but none of the other shows that are doing far worse?

You know why …

Someone should go ask her black friend…

Any day now, to any of the following ...

BOOP!

CHICAGO (I know, I know, that show's a cockroach, but still.)

GYPSY

HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD

HELL'S KITCHEN

REAL WOMEN HAVE CURVES

SIX

SMASH

STRANGER THINGS: THE FIRST SHADOW

Cabaret. Yikes. I wonder if they'll just shutdown after Orville leaves. Looks like Chicago might finally have to pack it in.

R288: Dead Outlaw too.

R288: I think they're all are safe until the Tonys but I suspect most, if not all, of these shows will be out of here by July 4th.

R283: It's just a gimmick for Tony voters.

Just back from a weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (after several years away for... reasons). Saw matinees of Fat Ham and Jitney, both very good productions that received strong ovations from audiences of, yes, largely white retirees (that and school groups are OSF's demo audiences). Fat Ham was packed, the house at Jitney was maybe half full. I enjoyed Fat Ham, but I'm not sure its Pulitzer was deserved (the ending comes out of nowhere). Must be a fun show for the cast, though.

I'm sorry to all the Dead Outlaw fans but this show is a certified flop. There's no other way to put it. The good reviews and Tony nominations have been out for a while and you think the show would've found its audience by now. While they have ramped up the marketing in the past week with two talkback events as well as an appearance on the Today show, I think their best chance at survival is a Tony win for Best Musical, which is looking remote at this point.

Dare I say, Tony nominations aren't what they once were for box office.

I dare you.

[quote]Dare I say, Tony nominations aren't what they once were for box office.

Neither are Tony wins, r195.

Nor is a rave in the NYT or being a critic's pick. Or rave reviews....

Hell's Kitchen had a huge weird drop off last week...did they cancel a show?

Dead Outlaw has been hovering around 85%. It's a smaller show so it can hang in there longer.

PLEASE let them kill Chicago...it's like a hundred year old grandpa on life support. Just pull the damn plug!

Chicago has an undesirable theater, low operating costs, and willingness to stunt cast just about anyone to sell tickets. Not closing.

It’s the very definition of cash cow.

The stunt casting bit hasn't really worked for quite awhile. I think the last time they had a decent spike was Jinkx.

If you think it will last forever, you're kinda dumb.

Milking a Broadway revival for a 29-year run takes real moxie.

That’s Roxie!

I would love to see a big, lush, deluxe revival of "Chicago," which won't ever happen thanks to the warhorse chugging along at the Ambassador.

The VanderPump Rules person and Jinkx both gave Chicago a boost and were brought back for return engagements. Alyssa Milano, Erika Jayne and the current plus size model were duds. Charlotte is coming back next week and, as great as she is, she won't sell tickets.

I think you mean "sputtering" along...

I think one of the biggest problems on Broadway is no one can figure out what audiences really want to see (other than movie/TV stars in anything). Especially when it's so expensive.

Many shows have 8000 or more admissions each week but the size of the theater determines the capacity percentage. So a show with 94% may sell less tickets than a show selling 84%.

Fewer!

[quote]Ibsen's Ghost was just done last year. It's not like Busch hasn't worked in years. The man is also 70.

How much money does he have?

Aargh! Joke ruined by autocorrect!

"Pron" not "pronouns"

Sorry - wrong thread.

Won't Chicago eventually step down to New World Stages where either the band becomes a combo and drops the baton conductor for a piano/conductor, or the actors play instruments when they're not acting or dancing, or the acting company does more doubling up, or all those things?

Real Women Have Curves And No One Cares

Sing out, R297. How much did Avenue Q gross last week?

Death Becomes Her, Buena Vista Social Club, Maybe Happy Ending, Operation Mincemeat have all announced tours.

Is that gonna be it from this season? Is the terribly named Just In Time tourable without a star?

Unless Boop wows at the Tonys, it seems unlikely.

Dead Outlaws is the type of indie show that arty theater companies and colleges will do. It doesn't seem tourable.

I suppose if it continues to be successful, Pirates could tour but it really seems like a success because of its stars.

Oh. I heard a rumor. Or, rather, a comment on a FB post that Bianca Del Rio was being considered to play the Emcee in Cabaret after Orville Peckenpoof leaves. Whether there's any validity to it, I have my doubts.

Bianca has played the role before, in New Orleans pre-Drag Race.

But, will they extend?

[quote]Won't Chicago eventually step down to New World Stages where either the band becomes a combo and drops the baton conductor for a piano/conductor, or the actors play instruments when they're not acting or dancing, or the acting company does more doubling up, or all those things?

Because this "cheesy concert version of Gwen Verdon's last excursion" ("Forbidden Broadway") that's been running for 50 years wasn't already stripped down enough?

Tom Hanks is coming to off-Broadway. And no doubt Broadway in the spring.

That sounds dull, or dreary.

R320: Who the fuck keeps giving Kenny Leon directing jobs?

[quote]Sing out, [R297]. How much did Avenue Q gross last week?

Probably quite a bit, since it's done a lot in regional and community theaters.

Is it really? Not being snarky, genuinely asking. Do they still use puppets or just have people act the roles? I ask because it seems the former would require a fair bit of investment into the puppets not to mention training the actors to do puppetry.

For some time now, I think the consensus has been that a Tony Award win for Best Musical almost always has a major, positive impact on the box office receipts of that show. The only exception I can think of is PASSION, which is a testament to how unappealing that show was, especially in its original production as so ineptly directed by its co-author, James Lapine.

[quote]how unappealing that show was,

Unappealing is a good descriptor.

Even unpeeled, it was still unappealing.

[quote]Even unpeeled, it was still unappealing.

Marin and Jere were absolutely appealing unpeeled. That was part of the problem. The show begins and you're immediately taken out of it. You're hearing them sing a pretty song, but your brain is asking a lot of questions.

Personally I have never had trouble listening to a pretty song and thinking at the same time.

Don't shoot the messenger but Audra is out of the matinee today.

On Denzel’s night off—

At surprise ceremony he receives Honorary Palme d’Or

R330 is Joy Woods

Careful, R330. In this case, simply reporting that fact with no comment whatsoever may get you insulted by some of the bottom feeders here.

[quote]Personally I have never had trouble listening to a pretty song and thinking at the same time.

People weren't thinking about the song, r329.

Regional theaters and community theaters rarely do recently produced musicals in their repertoires anymore. Nowadays, as ever, they resort to all the old standbys like Guys & Dolls, Into the Woods, Grease, Music Man, West Side Story, Dolly, Cabaret, etc.

I don't think any recent Broadway musicals, like Dead Outlaw, Buena Vista Social Club and Real Women Have Curves can expect to see any rights income in for their producers from those sources.

Maybe some of the more liberal college theatre programs will be producing some of that shit.

[quote]For some time now, I think the consensus has been that a Tony Award win for Best Musical almost always has a major, positive impact on the box office receipts of that show. The only exception I can think of is PASSION

The Tony for Best Musical also didn't really help "A Strange Loop." There was a brief post-Tony bump, followed by a steady decline.

Quality in Broadway has declined greatly.

So much of it now is Vegas mixed with Disney.

When someone does try and do something different (Redwoods) the material is so awful it can’t even survive having a huge star.

I don’t think an original musical (not based on a movie or book) that has GOOD music, costumes and a cohesive storyline, can be produced anymore.

In 1991 Forbidden Broadway was doing a song called Almost Like Vegas in New York, so it's hardly a new thing

I think that’s it for her Tony bid. As appealing as her history-making win would be, I think the appeal of honoring NS for her dazzlingly-sung performance, or to be part of “the making of a Broadway star” with Jasmine, is going to prove stronger.

“ some of the bottom feeders here”

This thread has only bottoms - no bottom feeders

You're no top!

You're not the Coliseum

You're no top!

You're not the Louver Museum

r337, I agree with all you say but I did very much enjoy Maybe Happy Ending, a very rare exception for me. Wondering if you've seen it?

R342 yes, I didn’t get to that one during my theater trip this year, but I do agree that one seems to be the anomaly of a good story, good songs and good production! I REALLY hope more follow suit!!

R331- Denzel's "night off"????

Seems to me he's been in Cannes for the last 6 days!!!! Did "Othello" go on vacation all that time?

Seems you’re wrong. Read the article.

Actually, the article is wrong. He got there last Thursday night.

Which would not be 6 days

Audra out, again, tonite.

SHRIEK!!!

R324 The puppets are usually rented. I'm assuming from costume supply places. And, it's not a particularly complex form of puppetry to learn.

R335 Lots of musicals from the last 25 years are produced by regionals/community theaters/colleges/high schools. Legally Blonde, which didn't even get a Tony nomination for Best Musical, is hugely popular. Also produced a lot:

Mamma Mia

Spring Awakening

Hairspray

Avenue Q

Spamalot

Putnam County Spelling Bee

Jersey Boys

Mary Poppins

In the Heights

Billy Elliot

Something Rotten

School of Rock

Come From Away is now available and I see tons of productions being announced

I loved Oh, Mary but Cole Escola he’s just not a good interview. He was terrible on Fresh Air this week and previously on CBS Sunday Morning.

He just can’t tell a good story, talk coherently about his past and he’s not the least bit funny no matter how hard he tries. I had to stop listening to the Fresh Air interview and I never do that.

An interesting thing with the Wonderful Town revival…When Ruth Sherwood is getting turned down for job after job, it seemed like a comment on racism.

{quote]Just back from a weekend at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival (after several years away for... reasons). Saw matinees of Fat Ham...

Shakespeare wrote about Fat Ham, but in his day, the character was named Falstaff.

I think Cole will win Best Actor but not win Best Play.

r350, I specifically said "recent" musicals. Like from the past 5 years.

Funny -- I've had mixed feelings about Escola, ever since being slightly underwhelmed by OH, MARY! Off-B'way, but the full version of the CBS/Mo Rocca interview moved me and showed that there's a fair amount that's interesting going on there.

Mom

Nicole singing I Am What I Am" at Miscast 2025

Cole performs " Iowa Stubborn" at Miscast 2025

Cole is quite the "creature" as an old casting agent/friend used to refer to some seemingly un-castable actors. Whatever will he do next?

[quote]Whatever will he do next?

Gypsy?

Fabulous Nicole! I think she's gonna win that Tony after all.

Not sure the lighting at r358 was doing what was intended on that see-thru gown.

"I Am What I Am" would have a lot more power if it had a better lyric. "No return and no deposit"? Guess he had to rhyme "closet." but please....!

Saw Boop tonight and I think Rogers would have the Tony were the show were not so profoundly stupid. Hope there;s a role for her soon, rather than the next Elphaba or a tour of The Wiz.

[quote]I specifically said "recent" musicals. Like from the past 5 years.

If that's what you meant, your comment is uninformed, because musicals THAT recent are rarely available for production by regionals and community theaters.

…because musicals THAT recent come from regionals and community theaters.

FIFY

Why would a musical that closed on Broadway 4 or 5 years ago be unavailable to regional and community theaters, r365? Maybe because none have been good enough?

Jerry Mitchell ain’t no dramaturge…

R367 Quit trying to dig yourself out of a hole. Most short run musicals DON'T get produced much after they close (though some do, with Legally Blonde being a prime example). VERY popular shows that are still on B'way usually aren't available for production until they close/stop major touring. And, shows that were popular don't necessarily become available the second they close or become available to everyone all at once. I know "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812" is only currently available for education use. Same thing with Mean Girls and lots of other recent shows. Dear Evan Hansen isn't currently available at all but you can bet it will get a shit ton of productions once it is. Same thing with Six. Kimberly Akimbo. Shucked. They're all gonna get productions nationally once they're available.

Face it. You don't know what the fuck you're talking about.

Thanks, R369, but the very obtuse R367 probably still won't understand, even with your perfectly clear explanation.

I know we’re all supposed to hate Chicago, but each time ‘I’ve gone—generally with friends that visit from out of town—it’s still a fun time.

I hope it keeps on playing. When it top shape, it’s a phenomenal show

[quote]Nicole singing I Am What I Am" at Miscast 2025

Jeeez, who thought that song could be over sung. That was awful caterwauling.

[quote]I know "Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812" is only currently available for education use. Same thing with Mean Girls and lots of other recent shows.

"Mean Girls" has a big Non-Equity tour running.

Can someone explain the non-equity tour thing?

I have a few questions.

1) when did this start? It seemed like even in the 90s national tours were equity and most had a tv star from the 80s or even a big theatre name attached.

2.) what is the point other than to cut costs for the producers. Do they really save that much money by being non-equity?

3) are the actors much better than community theatre level?

The origins of Non-Equity tours was they played only cities/theaters for 3, 4 performances and then need to move quickly. Sometimes they would play 3 cities in one week. The sets were greatly cut down, and to do that, you couldn't address the Unions' travel/hotel rules. It all came to blows with Cameron McIntosh's OLIVER! tour and Susan Stroman's MUSIC MAN tour. They were so large, they couldn't afford to tour that big a cast so that broke the damn and they went non-Equity and played full week cities. Equity responded with tiered contracts that helped solve it somewhat, but you still have the non-equity tours that go out after the full one-weekers are done. If the shows skew young (RENT, MEAN GIRLS) they can be okay, because they get talented kids right out of college (And they make good money on these tours, ironically). But for something like CHICAGO or ELF it's torture. But it's their only option in Moline, so they go. They play a lot of small college towns.

So why is something like "Water for Elephants" going out non-equity?

R375 thank you!

article from 25 years ago / variety

I liked but didn’t love “Operation Mincemeat” — fast-moving, intermittently clever, gender-bending (if that’s your thing. It seemed gimmicky and arbitrary to me). David Cummings’s broad acting creeped me out bigtime, though he deserves credit for for writing an inventive score and book.

The cast has razor-sharp timing with each other, the score is lyrically smart, but the music is totally forgettable, therefore so is the score as a whole. I like a tune and don’t understand why no one wants to write hooky melodies anymore. The single best song, “Dear Bill,” got the biggest, loudest, sustained hand in the show, and it’s what got Jak Malone his nomination, but he doesn’t seem likely to win. In fact I think the show will go home empty-handed on Tony night.

This is the other show currently on Broadway which illustrates how a good corpse can be put to use. I didn’t love “Dead Outlaw” either but it’s the better show than this one and it ‘s musical score is more varied.

See the Netflix movie about this unique act of wartime espionage. I watched it last night and enjoyed it much more than the show.

Saw Operation Mincemeat in London and really disliked it. Of course, didn't see the original cast, so maybe that makes a difference, but I doubt it. I did see the movie before it, (which I loved) so that might have made a difference as well.

I watched the Netflix film Operation Mincemeat (which dealt with the same subject matter) in preparation for seeing the show in London and can't imagine how I could have followed the show if I had not. But that said, I really enjoyed the show.

I'm betting Malone will indeed win a Tony for Mincemeat. None of the other nominees has a showstopper like his. And it's a great song.

So as I understand it…these productions are mounted where if they went the equity route (in year 2000, so god knows what it is now) they production would have to make $400,000 to be successful in each stop, where as if they went non-equity, it’s only $250,000 and the market also gets 5%. This also helps college towns and smaller markets get access to musicals touring instead of just playing the big cities.

The downside is the fast turnaround time of playing these stops, less protections for the actors, and less pay for the actors.

You also get lesser performers because they can’t be equity actors.

[quote]1) when did this start? It seemed like even in the 90s national tours were equity and most had a tv star from the 80s or even a big theatre name attached.

Denver in the 70s (off the top of my head):

Marlene Dietrich in concert

Eleanor Parker in Applause

Angela in Gypsy

Maggie Smith in Private Lives

Virginia Capers in Raisin

Jane Powell in Irene

Jean Simmons in Night Music

Ingrid Bergman in The Constant Wife

Deborah Kerr in The Day After the Fair

Carol Channing in Lorelei

Bette in Miss Moffat

and in 1982...

Mean Girls is about 30 minutes too long. It just doesn’t seem to end

I also watched the movie beforehand. I do not think I would have understood what was going on at all. I am in the "I liked it but I did not love it" camp. I saw it in London and I have no desire to revisit it. Great cast though.

OH, FUCK NO. Scott Ellis is directing James Corden in a revival of "Art" next Spring. Gotta run, I'm feeling my breakfast start to come up. Thar she blows.

Does anyone know how much it "costs" to have a show taped for the Performing Arts Library? Is it cheaper when they do it for Off-Broadway shows?

R382: Both Jeb Brown (DEAD OUTLAW) and Taylor Trensch (FLOYD COLLINS) do better work and give more sustained performances in their shows than Jak Malone does in OPERATION MINCEMEAT, where he’s just a cog in a well-oiled ensemble except for that one number. He’s a one-trick pony and just about any competent actor/singer would get the same response.

And I can’t speak to the performance of Brooks Ashmanskas (why didn’t he change that last name?) for SMASH, which I haven’t seen.

But I would think Danny Burstein would be the sentimental favorite for GYPSY because he’s fantastic in the part, giving Herbie tremendous warmth and heart. Normally during “Together Wherever We Go” early in act II we’re dying for the number to be over so they’ll get to all the fun at the burlesque house. That number was even cut from the 1962 movie version to speed things up, But here, Burstein’s enthusiasm amd love for Rose and Louise shines through and the number is adorable as is he. And when he finally tells Rose off and leaves her, it’s genuinely painful. He makes Herbie a real presence.

I’d vote for him.

Jak Malone looks like the Big Boy restaurant mascot.

I'll have a Brawny Lad.

George Wendt was a replacement in "Art" in its original Broadway run. I guess its small cast makes it a cheaper revival, but I'm not sure Corden is a big draw.

Is he playing the Victor Garber role?

Yes, Serge.

I don't know, r388, but I'd be curious as to what shows *didn't* get a recording that *should* have.

Corden in Art? Yeah, no. Corden in Funny Thing? Sure! (Just not with Scott Ellis barely directing.)

ART is just about the laziest, cheapest, undesirable choice Corden could have made for his Broadway comeback.

But it is art, is it not.

I wonder if they'll get two big names for the other roles.

Pedro Pascal in God of Carnage could work.

With Jinx?

Christ, Neil Patrick Harris is in the Art revival too. Pity the staff having to deal with those two. At least they get to look at Bobby Cannavale

Was anyone really crying out for an "Art" revival?

I hate Reza and her shitty plays.

R373 Yes, Mean Girls has a tour running...what does that have to do with the show not being available for licensing by regional and community theaters?

Jeopardy Masters S3E5:

Tony Winners, for 2000:

A: This legend kept up her one-word-show winning ways in 2022, following Tonys for "Gypsy" and "Evita" with one for "Company"

Q: Patti LuPone

Corden is playing Yvan. He's not sophisticated enough for Serge.

NPH is Serge.

R403-Better this cast than the one they announced 5 years ago with Alec Baldwin and John Leguizamo.

Who plays the artwork?

Audra.

Some articles, like this one, said Corden would play Serge. That seems to be wrong.

Nope. NPH is Serge.

Maybe they can update the discussion from a white canvas to a banana taped to a wall?

Corden is a Phyllis.

NPH is a MESS to deal with in theatre productions. DL fave Paul Ford wrote about how shitty NPH was to him during Assassins.

Laura Benanti IS Marmee!

Julian Ovenden IS Father March!

Christine Ebersole IS Aunt March!

("Jo-The Little Women Musical") Album is being released tomorrow.

I recall NPH taking the night off from Assassins the day the Tony nominations came out that year. He was snubbed so he snubbed the audience.

[quote]—Wasn't there already a "Little Women" musical with Sutton?

yes

Audra out tonite.

Danny Burstein gave the performance everyone expected. Nothing new. The Oliviers loved Malone, so will the Tonys.

Julian Ovenden is fucking hot

I want Bobby Cannavale to be in God of Carnage with Bobby Cannavale. And both strip down to their tighty whities.

Do you have inside knowledge, R420?

Maybe you’re right, but it’s easy for Herbie to be phoned in, “expected. nothing new,” and that’s not what Burstein does. He gives the part a real lift.

And why would Tony voters prefer an actor who delivers one good song but does nothing else special in an ensemble where they all play multiple parts? And a Brit actor unfamiliar to NY aidiences to boot. The nomination is enough, Malone winning would be a miscarriage of justice.

Julian has aged very well. Looks good with a beard too. Apparently he's done full frontal on stage, but I haven't been blessed to witness it.

Well, R420, Jesse Green predicted weeks ago that Jak Malone would sin the Tony, though he seemed to personally prefer jist about every other nominee.

But that’s very lazy voting seems to me.

Where to start?

I semi-loathed OPERATION MINCEMEAT, but I thought Jak Malone was terrific in it, and not just in his Big Number. (Most of his fellow performers are far too delighted by their own cleverness; he's actually playing those different parts while still delivering comedically.) I immediately assumed that the Tony was Malone's to lose, and I think that it's the obvious way to honor the much-loved hit.

Burstein is, however, superb as Herbie. The shrugging off of this revival here and elsewhere is a pity; it seems to me that an awful lot of people expected Wolfe to do a lot of Very Obvious Directing, when instead he handled the racial "adjustments" subtly and meaningfully and otherwise seems to have focused on really in-depth work with McDonald and Burstein -- which pays off in abundance.

I did a non equity tour about a decade ago. The pay was actually quite good. It was the hotels that could be bleh, but if you complained loud enough, you could get moved, or if it is was just one night, you just got through it. Now a lot of actors AirB&B and take a higher per diem.

R423, do you want Bobby to have a twin, or do you want Bobby to costar and strip to his undies with Pedro Pascal?

Chess officially coming back to Broadway in the fall.

Directed by Michael Mayer.

He who also ruined Funny Girl.

Worst kept secret is Lea Michele to star. The good news is she can sing the score.

I saw Julian Ovendon on the West End in My Night With Reg. I remember a long scene when he was wearing white briefs more than when he was fully nude. But I remember that too. His body was fantastic.

Apparently he’s completely straight.

In my head, he’s not completely straight.

I also saw My Night with Reg in London and he was beautiful, his dong was beautiful and his body was perfection. ....there was also another hottie (the "worker"). I do not remember much of the play.

A Malone win would be a "miscarriage of justice"? Please! Think Boyd Gaines was the only Herbie to win a Tony. Although Hadary and Dossett were nominated.

Current Tony odds.

R436: Who's ready for Darren Criss' insufferable Tony acceptance speech?

Not Helen J. Shin, that’s fer sure.

Maybe Liza? He was up her ass six ways to Sunday in that documentary…after meeting her ONCE.

“ Worst kept secret is Lea Michele to star. The good news is she can sing the score.”

The bad news is she can’t read it.

[quote]In my head, he’s not completely straight.

On Datalounge, NO ONE is completely straight.

Because no one is!

I wonder why Julian Ovenden hasn't had a more prolific career in UK film and TV. The first time I ever saw him was in the great miniseries FOYLE'S WAR as Foyle's dashing pilot son. As far as I can tell, he hasn't even done much on the London stage in many years, except for those "proms" and special event musical concerts, all with very limited runs.

Any DL UKers here have any insight into his lack of work or if he's working more and I'm just not aware of it?

[quote]David Cummings’s broad acting creeped me out bigtime, though he deserves credit for for writing an inventive score and book.

Agreed! Of course, this show features very broad acting by the whole case for much of the show, but Cummings' performance is SO horrifically broad all night long that I found it unbearable.

R440 because DLers are perverts.

I was being facetious lest there be any confusion. 😉

r442 He was Captain Von Trapp in the UK "Sound Of Music Live" and was on "Downton Abbey" as one of Mary's suitors.

[quote]Apparently he’s completely straight.

No curve whatsoever?

Julian is straight. His wife and I are friends.

R446 does he ever take a night off? 🧐

Yes, r446, but those were both about 10 years ago.

I'm sure he's been working since then, just surprised, with his enormous talents, there hasn't been anything high-profile, especially with the glut of UK TV and film we're now seeing.

Halitosis? Body odor?

What's Blondel about?

Julian Ovenden was way too short to play Captain Von Trapp on that live TV broadcast.

But not too short to play Death.

I watched Audra on Stephen Colbert last night.....she was singing with an Italian accent.

Some-a people sit on-a their butts-a ... got the dreams-a but not the guts-a.

It was weird.

The Harlem Candle Company is selling a "Gypsy"-inspired scented candle with the show's logo on both the box and the candle itself.

$54

I wish Ethel Merman had covered "Candle in the Wind."

We'll just have to make do with her disco album, r457.

[quote]I wish Ethel Merman had covered "Candle in the Wind."

Or In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida.

I want to see Julian in dad-son porn with Michael Kitchen.

R459-With Buddy Rich on drums.

r461, I first read your post as a reply to r460.

Eww

[quote]The Harlem Candle Company is selling a "Gypsy"-inspired scented candle with the show's logo on both the box and the candle itself.

And it's Chipotle scented!

Ovenden is in the upcoming NCIS series.

Ovendon is handsome, sings like an angel . . . and bland.

R466-To me, he tasted just like a crumpet!

Watching That Girl. Ann just told Jesse White that she was in the Lincoln Center revival of GYPSY with Ethel Merman.

R452 - Blondel is vaguely about the Richard the Lionheart legend. When Richard was coming back to England from the crusades, he was captured by Duke Leopold of Austria and then handed over to the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VI. The English didn't know where he was until his minstrel and companion, Blondel, roamed Mitteleuropa singing a song they had composed together. When he got to the right castle (Durnstein IIRC), Blondel heard Richard's voice answering him musically and this began the process of his release and return to his kingdom.

It's a slim story to hang a full length musical on. I saw the original production in London in the 1980s and what I remember most were a quartet of close harmony monks who acted as a sort of Greek chorus and a fairly inventive comic number by Prince John about how there were no rhymes for Richard whereas John... Most of it wasn't very good.

Thanks, r469!

Real Women Have Curves is hanging on until at least June 8 -- Justina Machado is plugging it on next Friday's The View.

I bought Stages at Dorothy's Surrender. I also meant to get Cinema but never got around to it.

Speaking of Lew Marie...

Gotta catch the train back to Brewster.

Ann's in Hollywood. Greg Brady and a Marcia lookalike go up to Ann to see if she was "anybody". When all she could tell them was that she'd been on Broadway, they looked dejected but decide she can sign in the *back* of their autograph books

R442 Ovenden must have great stage presence to earn his raves but he's bland as fuck on TV. His character on Foyle's War wasn't that interesting but he also didn't do much with it.

But, Foyle's War was really only good because of Michael Kitchen.

I’ve only seen him on tv and he’s great.

R453 = Addison DeWitt

Ovenden was fine in Foyle's War, doing what he could with a rather cliche-ed part (RAF flyboy). He certainly looked the part. Didn't he recently do a long UK tour of South Pacific? I know I saw a clip of it somewhere. And I don't care if he's straight or gay, it's not like I'm ever going to meet him. But I do appreciate the view.

Julian was a great George in Paris.

Julian as George in Paris.

Robert as Ben in Paris.

Lew Parker who played Marlo's dad in That Girl was in the running to play Herbie in the original Gypsy.

See how it all comes full circle!

That would make sense, r483.

Floyd Collins and Dead Outlaw’s latest little attempt to sell tickets.

R471: I suspect most of these shows are safe for now. I think we’ll see more closing notices after the Tonys.

They're hardly safe, r487. They're losing millions of dollars a week to keep running until the Tonys. And with little or no reward, post-Tonys. But yes, I suppose you could say that everyone receiving a pay check from them is safe for now.

[quote]Lew Parker who played Marlo's dad in That Girl was in the running to play Herbie in the original Gypsy.

Merman later made a couple of guest appearances, playing herself, on "That Girl." As I recall, in one, Parker was suspected of having an affair with Merman.

r476, Honeysuckle Weeks as Sam Stewart and Anthony Howell as Paul Milner were a big part of what made Foyle's War so watchable, at least for me. I loved that series, watched all of it at least 3 times now. Wonderful writing, a great premise and beautifully detailed production values.

I only watched it once through, but yes, Foyle's war was a perfect and perfectly satisfying television series

476 here...Adored Kitchens as Foyle. And Tony Howell was a humpy crumcake as Milner. He needed some nude scenes.

Could not stand Honeysuckle Weeks. She was insufferable. Always seemed like she needed to blow her nose. I kept hoping she'd be hit by a stray German bomb and leave the show in a Very Special Episode.

And, while I love the premise of the show, it really was a downer. EVERY character was awful. Apparently, everyone in Britain during the War was a nasty, collaborator, traitor, dickhead of some kind.

The Merm was approached by the producers of the Odd Couple TV show to make an appearance…as Jack Klugman‘s mother! Wish I could’ve been a fly on the wall to hear her response to that suggestion!

No you don't. It was horrific.

Attention: this is not a PBS nostalgia thread. Thank you.

Attention: All threads on the Datalounge contain a certain amount of nostalgia. Fuck you.

Someone say," Nostalgia"? Tell us about the first time you saw " Follies." Where was it? Who was in it? Ho did you react?

Taking your point: this is the Broadway thread, not a PBS pledge drive. There, that’s better.

I loved "Girl from North Country" last night on PBS. I wish more musicals and plays would get recorded and, after they close, broadcast.

[quote] Someone say," Nostalgia"? Tell us about the first time you saw " Follies." Where was it? Who was in it? Ho did you react?

Was a kid walking down Broadway with my family on matinee Saturday. Admired the artwork of the logo and marquee. Of course we weren't going to see that and still haven't seen it, but with most Sondheim shows there was a big "Last Weeks" sign out front.

We’ve seen your type here before. You can’t fool us r500

[quote]Tell us about the first time you saw " Follies." Where was it? Who was in it?

Bonfils Theatre

Denver

1973

Sally was portrayed by the *legendary* Miss Kit Andree.

Bless my insidious algorithm. After scrolling through this thread Julian Ovenden popped up on Facebook as a potential friend.

This week ...

TUESDAY -- Michelle Williams promotes Death Becomes Her during the 10 a.m. hour of Today and Sarah Snook promotes The Picture of Dorian Gray on The View

WEDNESDAY -- Lizzy McAlpine promotes Floyd Collins on CBS Mornings, plus Randy Rainbow (I'm counting him) on The Kelly Clarkson Show

THURSDAY --- Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and LaTanya Richardson Jackson promote Purpose on CBS Mornings

FRIDAY -- a Disney on Broadway medley on Good Morning America and during GMA3, Don Darryl Rivera from Aladdin, plus Justina Machado promotes Real Women Have Curves on The View

Girl From the North Country was shot for PBS so much more artfully than Yellow Face. But then, I found the former to be a much more satisfying evening of theatre than the later.

[quote]Someone say," Nostalgia"? Tell us about the first time you saw " Follies." Where was it? Who was in it? Ho did you react?

Someone in the "favorite Canadian" thread pointed out that four of actresses in the OBC were Canadian or Canadian-American:

Collins, Smith, d'Orsay, and DeCarlo.

Does anyone have inside scoop of when previews for chess starts? I’ll be in NY November 30 and would love to see this!

Now THIS is how “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” should be sung.

Sing out, Joanna Riding!

R508. Well, that was incredible. No screaming. No crying. No nervous breakdown. Very grounded and she sings the hell out of it.

Poor CHESS. This "new" version with more words and book by Danny Strong is arguably the worst yet, and I've seen them all. The best was the original London which treated it like a true rock opera and didn't try to give it order or meaning, but just let the music thrive. What Mayer and Strong have done is just ridiculous. The Kennedy Center audience I sat with just stared at the damn thing, and the reviews were terrible. What are they thinking? Everyone just saw Lea and Aaron in major roles/productions so it's not like everyone is going to rush out to see them.

[quote]Apparently he's (Julian Ovendon) done full frontal on stage, but I haven't been blessed to witness it.

R425 while others have mentioned his "big" reveal in My Night With Reg, I was blessed to catch him twice in the musical Marguerite with Ruthie Henshell. I loved this show, written by the Les Miz guys, but the score wreaked havoc on Henshell's voice. Ovenden had a brief nude scene which I viewed from the second row of the stalls. Yum.

First of all, Michael Mayer is a terrible director. As is Scott Ellis. And Kenny Leon. Yet all three have major productions coming next season.

Secondly, if you're going to re-write Chess, get a seasoned professional to do it. Yet another show announced which I'll refuse to pay to see.

So, No "Chess". No "Art". And no Tom Hanks in "This World Of Tomorrow" at The Shed.

What else will Scott Ellis be fucking up next season at Roundabout? Cole Porter?

Christ, you sound fun at parties.

I'm surprised Marguerite has, pretty much, disappeared. The score is gorgeous. And, it's not like Nazi collaborator musicals aren't popular. Coco was very successful.

R512 I was at Northwestern with Hanks’s co-author on the play, Jim Glossman. He’s a smart guy, a superb actor, and should bring a lot to the table—he worked with Jim Lehrer on stage adaptations of some his novels, at a theatre he (Glossman) ran in NJ. He’s also a true mensch. Whatever your reservations about either Hanks or The She’d, I think anything Jim works on would be worth seeing.

But not if it's directed by Kenny Leon.

I thought Ramin would be the Russian in CHESS.

R517. Shirtless

King Me!

Oh wait - that's checkers.....oh well......

Christian Dior me!

Oh wait - that's another show....

Oh, Mary! it was oh shit tonight. It could have been broken down to a five minute SNL skit.

That’s 90 minutes of my life lost forever.

[Quote] Well, that was incredible. No screaming. No crying. No nervous breakdown. Very grounded and she sings the hell out of it.

Also cold and boring

Joanna Riding is part of the ensemble in “Old Friends,” brought over from the London cast (along with Gavin Lee). She is blond and fit, more glamorous than she looked as Rose in the clip at R508, and acting like she’s having a great time. She sings Not Getting Married Today among other things.

Yes, her version of Everthing’s Coming Up Roses was grounded in reality but she definitely lacked star quality in what looks like it was a very drab production.

[quote]And, it's not like Nazi collaborator musicals aren't popular. Coco was very successful.

Gee, I wonder if there could possibly have been any other reason for Coco's success.

I thought all the theatre queens were exaggerating when critiquing Audra's Rose. Then I saw that Colbert performance. What a trainwreck. Also, what the actual fuck is going on with that accent she's using? Has it been identified? I can't tell if she's doing a bad Italian accent, a Southern accent or if she's just impersonating someone who got a ham sandwich stuck in their throat. How did someone so incredibly talented get this so wrong on virtually every level?

Well R525, she has 6 very well deserved Tony Awards and she's a huge megastar that can fill seats with her millions of ardent fans. She was just BORN to play that role!

Also: we can blame stinky Gavin Creel. He thought it was a swell idea.

Of course, he wisely died before it came to fruition so he never got to see his evil plan realized.

"Coco" was successful only as long as Hepburn stayed with it. Once Danielle Darrieux took over, it closed quickly. They might as well have replaced Hepburn with show killer Raquel Welch.

R526 Sondheim approved it also and died before it came to fruition also. It was typical that so many people who thought this was a great idea, died before the terror of this performance was unleashed.

[Quote] I thought all the theatre queens were exaggerating when critiquing Audra's Rose. Then I saw that Colbert performance. What a trainwreck. Also, what the actual fuck is going on with that accent she's using? Has it been identified?

You should ask your Black friend

Audra is brilliant in the role—heck even someone from the original cast with Merman commented that Audra is better.

She builds the role so expertly that excerpts on TV don’t do it justice.

r511 They wrote a musical about our maid?

Anyone who's alive today who saw Merman was either very young at the time, or ancient now. Either way, not a trustworthy critic.

Today's cast absences include Jeremy Jordan and both leads in Death Becomes Her.

Hilty was out last night.

[quote]Girl From the North Country was shot for PBS so much more artfully than Yellow Face. But then, I found the former to be a much more satisfying evening of theatre than the later.

Agreed. A good friend was a Tony nominator that year and I was surprised how moving The Girl From the North Country turned out to be and the PBS version captured that well.

[quote]Audra is brilliant in the role—heck even someone from the original cast with Merman commented that Audra is better. She builds the role so expertly that excerpts on TV don’t do it justice.

Such a vital point, r530, what is brilliant on stage most often doesn't transfer well to television. This is the reason they stopped doing the scenes from the Tony nominated plays on the Tony telecast. Performances that worked on stage were coming of flat or too big on screen and the actors have to choose between playing to the audience in the theater or playing to the camera. It's a calibration that you need time and rehearsal to make. I've seen Audra's Rose twice, once in previews and I thought it was fine but it was so different, I resisted parts of it. Saw it again after opening and I really got it. She's brilliant in it, even if you don't like what she does, ya gotta respect it.

[quote] [R512] I was at Northwestern with Hanks’s co-author on the play, Jim Glossman. He’s a smart guy, a superb actor, and should bring a lot to the table—he worked with Jim Lehrer on stage adaptations of some his novels, at a theatre he (Glossman) ran in NJ. He’s also a true mensch. Whatever your reservations about either Hanks or The She’d, I think anything Jim works on would be worth seeing.

R515, Me and my husband saw the premiere of this play at Shadowlands Ensemble a few summers ago (we have a summer place nearby and subscribe) Hanks was there in the small theater and sat in the back watching with Melissa Gilbert next to him. Her husband Timothy Busfield was in the play (presumably in the role Hanks will be playing) Busfield was fine, the play was , however VERY hard to follow and confusing. It took a while for the audience to understand that the main character was traveling through time. Once that was understood it was enjoyable but light. The cast was mostly NY actors let by Bus field the thing I remember the most about it was a truly funny scene where the main guy {Busfield) goes back in time and lands at a baseball game where a crazed fan was swearing and cussing about Babe Ruth in a flat Midwestern accent ( brilliantly played in a pitch perfect flat Midwestern accent by a NY actor who I've seen before in NY and on the tube but my elder gay mind isn't remembering at the moment) That and the haunting ending are what I remember.. BUT it was confusing as hell, I think most of the audience had no idea what was happening.

[quote] But not if it's directed by Kenny Leon.

hmmm.. Leon directed a great production of STICK FLY in Boston. He must make celebrities feel very comfortable because he tends to work with star vehicles almost exclusively now

[quote]Hilty was out last night.

When is she in?

I think Audra's Rose is something that has to be experienced in person, like Tyne Dailey's. Their acting of the role is the strongest part. Their vocals are not something that most people want to listen to in isolation. Just compare the Spotify streams of Gypsy with Audra to Sunset with Nicole.

[quote]she has 6 very well deserved Tony Awards and she's a huge megastar that can fill seats with her millions of ardent fans.

She can also empty seats when she calls out.

[quote] Hilty was out last night....When is she in?

She's too busy campaigning for The Tony.

The Audra hate on here is just bizarre.

Why do you think someone expressing an opinion about an actors performance or vocals in a role is hate? Or commenting on their attendance record. Audra has a spotty attendance record. It's a fact. Hilty and Simard also have spotty attendance records which are also criticized here. Exactly what screams hatred?

R535. I gather the play has undergone some revisions since then, and they may address some of the confusions you describe about the narrative sequencing.

Thanks, r535 I should have added to my comments that I assume, that like all new plays, it has been revised since the premiere. Are you connected with that production r535

sorry, I meant to direct my comments and question to r541

sincerely, r542 and r535

[quote]Hilty and Simard also have spotty attendance records which are also criticized here

Don't even try and pretend that they or others are criticised at the same rate as Audra.

As for whether it's hate or not - the fact that you immediately got defensive speaks volumes. A hit dog will holler.

R540 …gratuitous comments are easy to spot on this thread. Bigots tend not write very well on the DL.

[Quote] The Audra hate on here is just bizarre.

Pathetically, it’s mainly from people who haven’t seen this performance

Is it that Kenny Leon knows how to handle actors, or that actors figure Kenny won't challenge them too much?

So...who's going to get Best Actress in a Musical, Mary or Ethel?

Why would anyone just assume that criticism of a black actress' interpretation of a role that for decades has only been associated with white actresses has anything to do with race, especially in America in 2025?

[quote]So...who's going to get Best Actress in a Musical, Mary or Ethel?

Mary Schwartz or Ethel Hotchkiss?

I think Audra's Rose is something that has to be experienced in person...

Like cholera!

The obsessive Audra adoration on here is equally bizarre.

But, the same can be said for all Obsessive Diva Adoration.

[Quote] The obsessive Audra adoration on here is equally bizarre.

It’s not just here. It’s the whole world…

yes...The Tony Awards voters, Manhattan theater elite, are the arbiters of the WORLD!!!

R554x certainly more than you

541 here. No, not connected with the production, but in occasional contact with the co-author. I don’t know how much has changed since the production the other poster saw, just that it has continued to be worked on.

Patti LuPone gave a new interview to the New Yorker where she gloriously shits all over Audra McDonald and says they aren’t friends, a rift happened years ago, and intentionally says NOTHING about her Gypsy when asked about it.

Since r557 couldn't be bothered to link.

She looks ridiculous in the photo

[quote]“I’m so angry at whoever choked the stem right in the middle by making Times Square a pedestrian mall,” she said. When she was starring in “Company,”LuPone would carry a bullhorn and yell at pedestrians from her car window. “It’s impossible for us to get to work,” she told me. “And I said that years ago. So I start work angry. I can’t get to my theatre, because of the traffic pattern, because of the arrogance of the people in the streets. It’s a road. Get out of the street.”

...

[quote]LuPone was snapped out of her reverie by two chatty young women at the next table. “The whole city is so fucking loud,” she groused. “People have forgotten that they’re in public.” She leaned over to ask them, politely but firmly, “Ladies, excuse me, do you mind keeping it down just a little bit? We’re trying to have a conversation.” They obeyed.

She looks ridiculous in the photo.

….and she sounds ridiculous in the text.

[quote]The former chorus boy remembered that the athletes LuPone had invited to watch from the wings blocked the actors’ entrances, infuriating the cast.

That'd be that professionalism she's always on about

That's Our Patti!

Great interview! Thanks for linking, r558.

I find every time I'm about to develop some sympathy for Patti she says something that drives me away. She's clearly morphing into my generation's version of Elaine Stritch. I'm sure she'll still be bitching well into her 80s, 10 years from now.

Just exactly what was being said there about Mia Farrow and The Roommate?

Does Patti like anything? The article is just a litany of complaints and hatred. Everything is bad and beneath her. It sounds like a mental problem or just an old, grumpy New Yorker

Audra and Patti used to get along so well. (Or maybe it was just Audra in awe of a Bway legend). They did Passion together at Lincoln Center. I recall Patti showed up as a guest during one of Audra’s concerts. I assume it’s because they had much in common—Julliard, deep reverence for theater, etc.

I wonder what Patti did (it must be Patti)?

Patti and Nicole S getting along so well must be a similar thing—Nicole in awe of a Bway legend. Once Nicole realizes that all Patti does is bitch, she’ll be on her way knowing that she’s the new Lloyd Webber muse

Didn't Patti and Audra do a few seasons of Ravennia together?

Isn't Patti's admiration of Nicole her way of showing her disdain of Tony rival Audra?

Patti’s reaction to the question of what she thinks of Audra’s Rose is typical bitchery. Deep down she knows Audra found new breath in Rose while Patti, while incredible as Rose, just did the traditional thing

[quote]541 here. No, not connected with the production, but in occasional contact with the co-author. I don’t know how much has changed since the production the other poster saw, just that it has continued to be worked on.

Thanks r556, I looked up the production on "About the Artists" to refresh my memory of the co-author and cast and found a note from the editor stating the co-author of the play is not listed on credits. You might want to let your friend (the co-author) to update this credit list with his name. IF that matters at all.. not sure "about the Artists" can be relied on for a complete record :)

see link.

Yes, LuPone and McDonald were joined at the hip for a while, with lots of slobbering over each other. Some day we'll find out what caused the rift -- I bet it's a corker, and I bet I'll be Team Audra.

The way she zigzags from “I don’t give a fuck” Ice Queen to “why me why me” Eternal Victim is exhausting.

[quote]“It’s impossible for us to get to work,” she told me. “And I said that years ago. So I start work angry. I can’t get to my theatre, because of the traffic pattern, because of the arrogance of the people in the streets. It’s a road. Get out of the street.”

She's must think actors are royalty. She's being chauffeured to work and expect the masses to part for her. Leave earlier.

Line of the article for me is Kevin Kline's observation about their fraught early affair, "In the company we were known as The Strindbergs."

Come on, DL, who are The Strindbergs of our day?

I believe the rift happened when Patti insisted on the sound of Hell's Kitchen be turned down, and then the Tony Winning Kecia Lewis posted a video accusing Patti of using her White Privilege/show business clout to have this happen without any discussion with the cast. They came in one night and all their sound levels were different, and they didn't know what was going on. Audra didn't publicly defend Patti.

R575-Before you try to explain a rift, read the article. Whatever happened, happened before the wall of sound debacle.

Broadway is the cattiest and bitchiest segment of the entertainment industry. The performers and composers secretly, or publicly, despise each other.

Wow. Just read that interview. She's just an awful, angry person. Holding onto anger over a show from 35, 40 years ago? Still harping on Kevin Kline? Jesus...Grow up lady. I guess her husband gets through by a lot of pot.

She’s the reason Kevin Kline ended up at the WSC! That’s Patti.

I think the Edmonton Oiler who "broke Patti's heart" was hot and sweaty Glenn Anderson. In 1982 the Times reported that he had a note delivered to her while she was watching a Rangers game.

[quote]Between periods, Miss LuPone and Keith joined Jack Krumpe, the Rangers' president, in a private club. David Merrick, the producer, was also there, and Miss LuPone used the occasion to pitch for a certain role she dearly wants. Later in the game, a clubhouse attendant walked over and delivered a note from Glenn Anderson, a friend of hers on the Oilers.

I'm a Tony voter. Audra just got my vote for enduring that hateful cunt.

[quote]The press couldn’t get enough of Broadway’s breakout star mingling with New York’s home team, and rumors spread that LuPone was dating the Rangers’ curly-haired Adonis Ron Duguay. LuPone says they were just acquaintances. (She did date an Edmonton Oiler who broke her heart.) But she remembers berating Duguay when he went to “Evita” and spent part of the show flirting with his agent at the bar. He’s now dating Sarah Palin. “They’re perfect for each other,” LuPone told me. “They’re two of the stupidest human beings on the face of the earth.” Then she paused. “How do you say stupid without saying stupid? He’s a box of bricks.” (“Wow, that’s hurtful,” Duguay said, when I reached him by phone, adding, “I can’t imagine living my life being so hateful that way.”)

Says the man dating Sarah Palin.

Does it go this far back?

Maybe I'm a bit jaded. I am the same age as LuPone (in other words Paleozoic) and nothing she said in that article was the least bit surprising to me. I've heard her/my contemporaries say far more wicked things about each other in person than anything she dropped in that piece.

The difference with Patti is she says it PRINT. Who would be surprised she hates Audra and Glenn? They both encroached on her territory by taking roles she considered "HERS" although, of course are NOT and never were her property. She's negative on Kline because he was unfaithful to her when they were in their 20s. absurd. She probably hates Mia Farrow now for reasons she concocted but largely having to do with her IMPRESSION that O'Brien favored Mia and that Mia pulled the lost lamb act to get leverage.

Having said all that, she's right about the degradation of New York, the lower standards on Broadway and the tackiness of tourists.

How ironic she loathes Trujmp so much when both of them are all about airing grievances and playing the victim.

BRAVO r584!

[quote] How ironic she loathes Trujmp so much when both of them are all about airing grievances and playing the victim.

r584 here, being put in the position of having to defend Patti LuPone. Something I thought I'd never do LOL

HUGE difference between that hideous orange clown and Patti. Patti actually has talent and something to offer. Not saying she can't and hasn't given bad performances (who hasn't ) but she's intelligent, talented and possesses a sense of humor. ALL those qualities are aspirational for felon 47

Patti is 76. Why are any of you surprised/annoyed that she's still Patti?

"Don’t call yourself a vet, bitch" -- that's going to cause a LOT of problems. Dumb Patti, really dumb. And how has Patti done 28 Broadway shows? Unless she's counting all The Actor's Company shows, which ran for like 2 weeks? What a cunt.

tackiness of tourists.…. You mean those horrible people, from flyoverstan, without which Broadway wouldn’t exist?

[quote] you mean those horrible people, from flyoverstan,

Yes, the very ones. With the red hats.

[quote]without which Broadway wouldn’t exist?

Yes, the ones who pay ridiculous prices to see the hideous juke box musicals and yas queen minstrel show sassy musicals. Those are the very ones I am speaking about.

r576 Patti suggests it's from before that. But why take her at her word? She wasn't reticent in that interview about anything else, and yet wouldn't go into her issues with Audra. That makes me suspect r575 is actually right.

You know Kecia's cell phone is blowing up and she's prepping another video...Damn

Did Patti and Betty Buckley ever interact during their Broadway heydays? I don't see them getting along.

Speaking as an eldergay, Patti will always have a pass from me for her performance as Evita. She was phenomenal and sang the shit out of a score no one else can sing.

Everyone(!) has sung it. JHC…

How are we all feeling about Luke's reel?

Not pretty, not great.

Betty supported Patti during the Sunset debacle.

Why wouldn't she, r599? Patti *was* wronged (and so publicly) by Webber.