THEATRE GOSSIP #334- The role usually played by Patti Murin in this SJW production of Oklahoma will be played by...

[quote] This OKLAHOMA actually did feature a (visibly) disabled person, Ali Stroker, as Ado Annie. She was luminous and charismatic; she nailed the showstopper "I Cain't Say No," and it was 100% believable that the boys couldn't stay away from her. I don't think a single person in the audience cared that she was in a wheelchair. I think that's the issue. Not that people with disabilities or illnesses shouldn't perform, just that they shouldn't take on roles that they're really not up to.

Ali Stroker was in the Spring Awakening revival and was quite good.

Why do you think Torch Song didn't succeed on Broadway this go around?

[quote]Why do you think Torch Song didn't succeed on Broadway this go around?

A few reasons, but I don't think word of mouth has been anywhere near as good as the reviews. I wonder if Second Stage is in BIG trouble with their purchase of the Helen Hayes. First we read that the purchase almost didn't go through because they had trouble raising money. I think LOBBY HERO was a hit, but then STRAIGHT WHITE MEN was kind of a flop, and now TORCH SONG is a definite flop. (Second Stage apparently did not produce TORCH SONG on Broadway, but even if it's a rental, it can't be good to have a flop that's closing a month early.)

I didn't see the revival of TORCH SONG but the thing that made the original work was Harvey F and Estelle Getty. Those performances have to be unique and really strong for the play to hold up.

Torch Song was startling and original in its day. But it’s old hat now. There’s drag everywhere. It’s become mainstream. Hell, this time around, Torch Song wasn’t even the only drag-themed show written by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway.

Drag and high school girls who like to wear pink and be bitchy might possibly be over-represented in theater right now. But at least drag is theatrical fun.

Ali Stroker is beyond delightful in this production of Oklahoma! The audience loved her.

I bet Ali is nicer than Crazi-Patti!

TORCH SONG had nothing going for it but decent reviews. No stars, for one. (And don't tell me that Urie and Ruehl are stars—not the kind you'd go out of your way to pay for. ) And I'm among those who thought Urie—whose work I've admired—was annoying as hell.

Ali and the dude that plays Ali Hakim are the best

Torch Song (Trilogy) has always been an off-Broadwday play. It works well in intimate settings. And you can't just put any actor in the roles of Arnold and the mother. Part of the greatness of the show was Harvey's voice and face. You have this gravel voiced mack truck doing drag. It just doesn't work with Urie. And part of it is that it's a dated story. IMO, the trans movement has really spoiled drag. Drag was a specific genre of performance. It was never about men wanting to be women. And then the trans came in and confused everyone so that now drag = trans.

I want to see a production of Flower Drum Song set during China’s Cultural Revolution and Linda is sent to a prison camp for re-education right after “I Enjoy Being a Girl.”

The real question is whether Dumplin' will be turned into a Broadway show before Dolly dies.

Cats has begun filming. So exciting.

I kind of love Ian McKellan as Gus.

It will be fascinating to see how they pull this off... the timing will be auspicious since it will be coming 6 months after THE LION KING, which undoubtedly will be huge (probably biggest movie musical ever). 2019 is the year of the cat, apparently. Curious how much ALW updates the score and what the new material is like. I can't imagine they will go uber contemporary, although they'll have to get rid of those 80s synths... but, maybe they're so cheesy they are cool again? It works for STRANGER THINGS...

As far as I know, there are no more poems from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats that Lloyd Webber hasn't set to music for Cats. Not that Memory is from that collection. Not that he needs an Oscar or anything.

ALW has already said he's written at least one new song and there's a new character (Victoria). I'm more interested in how much the orchestrations are adjusted... the soundtracks for EVITA and PHANTOM are absolutely breathtaking in that regard (the vocals less so) and he always has total control of the musical side of his movies, so I'm optimistic. According to his autobiography, Eliot's widow gave him lots of unpublished material and sketches of ideas, so I assume there is text to utilize for new songs if not outright having a lyricist come up with something in the vein of Eliot ala "Memory".

Victoria ain’t a new character. She’s the white one in the stage version. Know you’re fucking facts, R18.

I bet there will be new music for Old Deuteronomy. You don't hire Judi Dench and then make her sing that god-awful "Moments of Happiness."

Sir Ian as Gus really is a stroke of fucking genius.

Fosse with two LA ACL graduates. Don't know who is next to him, but middle is Charlene Ryan who played Sheila and to her left is Renata Vasselle who covered Cassie. Neither played the roles in NY.

Ali Stroker will win the Tony. Mark my words.

How she'll get up there to accept it, I don't know, but she'll win for sure.

I wish most contemporary musicals and "revisals" would be sent to prison camp for re-education.

Watching MFL on TCM...Wouldn't It Be Loverly? is precisely why Eliza would NEVER walk out at the end of the show. The song establishes the very premise which is ONLY fulfilled for her--and, by extension, the audience--with her permanent return at the final curtain. Walking out might have been appropriate for Bernard Shaw, but MFL was written by Alan Jay Lerner, the most romantic optimist of them all, and not to honor his work at written is...well...being a Christian woman, I can't say it!

They probably can't resist giving a Tony to someone disabled, yes, so it's good to know that in this case, she's really earned it, wheelchair or no. Speaking of people who don't let a disability stand in their way, did anyone see the "The King and I - Live From the London Palladium" in its very limited run in movie theaters? For those who were wondering whether Ruthie Ann Miles'/Lady Thiang's cane would be a distraction, I'd have to say no. I thought it fit the character very well and Ruthie's performance was just as intense as it was in New York, if not more so.

Get some fucking class, cunt at R218. Victoria is the one singing the new song - see that, new information, not cunty old news? So easy, yet (apparently) so hard.

r18 Among the three works you cite, the orchestration for Cats sounds the most of its time, synthesizers and all, so I do hope Lloyd Webber gives it a wholesale reworking.

Know your grammar, r19.

Agreed, R27. I would love to know what ALW would have done with the SUPERSTAR film orchestrations had he had full reign. I admit I do love the movie orchestrations, but Andre Previn was such a strange choice to be in charge. From what ALW says in UNMASKED, he and Rice were relatively laissez-faire with the enterprise beyond being coerced by Norman Jewison into penning that bizarre new song for the priests ("We Are Decided") for purely political reasons. Their brief visit to the set in Israel was quite harrowing, apparently.

Harrowing in what way, r28?

I don't know, I think the stage orchestration for Superstar could have worked on film either as is or with just some doubling up on certain instruments. I found the movie orchestration a bit lush. The songs lost a lot of their bite.

I'm curious -- did anyone see Superstar when it was at the Mark Hellinger? Thoughts?

Same question as r30. How about the 1977 revival? Did Lloyd Webber hate that too?

r29 here. Sorry, I was referring to the concept album orchestration, which may or may not be the same as the stage orchestration.

It's going to be tough to choose the Best Actor TONY next year when it comes down to Cranston vs. Daniels.

Do you guys really think that ALW has ANYTHING to do with his orchestrations other than saying, “I want them to sound full and lush?” He plays his songs on a piano, and actual musicians fill them out for him. Do you queens actually imagine he’s sitting around writing out the 2nd clarinet part?

I’m sorry but Cats the musical movie will bomb.

r34 That is not at all my understanding of how Lloyd Webber works. That may be how Sondheim works with Tunick, but not Lloyd Webber. That's why he is usually credited or co-credited as orchestrator of his works, including the three mentioned by r18. (I'm aware of one exception: Joseph).

Cranston is unbeatable - you can be Jeff Daniels and be giving a solid performance in a hit play and still not win a Tony

Torch Song was awful.

It's early for Tony predictions, but for Best Actor in a Play, how about Cranston, Daniels, Tracy Letts, one of the guys from The Ferryman, Dano and Hawke. Snubs for John Lithgow and perennial groomsman Daniel Radcliffe.

Sondheim's involvement in orchestrating his work is a good deal more involved than "make it sound full and lush." Tunick has given interviews in which he describes Sondheim's involvement.

[quote]Torch Song was awful.

Didn't see it but for a variety of reasons I have confidence in your take on it.

Why do you think Urie's performance was universally praised?

Yep, no way even Daniels can beat Cranston for the Tony.

Let's put all the chorus girls in Oklahoma in wheelchairs, too, and see where that gets us. Sheesh!!!

"Let's put all the chorus girls in Oklahoma in chairs, too....."

Obviously you're unaware of what they've done with the Dream Ballet.

I think its great that casting is opening up. I love the idea of talented qualifed performers who are disabled being hired. What I hate is the SJW agenda of LOOKING for someone who is other abled or non traditional and CHOOSING that person to represent a political agenda rather than an artistic one.

Annette Bening will not be much of a threat to Elaine May's Tony.

Her role in All My Sons is just that of the long-suffering wife to the lead. It has no big dramatic scenes except to react and sympathize with her husband. I wouldn't even be surprised if her producers try and get her nominated in the Featured category to up her chances though I think Joan Allen has that category wrapped up.

If American Son is still running I could see Kerry Washington getting a nom for Best Actress. And, of course, there will be Laurie Metcalf as Hillary and Glenda Jackson as Lear (I also think voters might be reluctant to award her 2 years in a row).

Elaine May will get it as the career-capper award.

I actually think the dream ballet might be improved by that wheelchair idea. It consisted in large part of a long long dance by a bald woman wearing an oversized sequined shirt that said "Dream Baby" on it. She galloped up and down the stage -- really galloped hard, imitating a horse, maybe? I kept waiting for something to happen or some elucidation, but it never came.

Agree re: the colorblind/abilityblind casting. It's great if the actors are so talented that it's really not important what color/ability they are. It's not great if it's some self-aggrandizing ploy on the part of the production to prove how woke it is. It can also be incredibly distracting. I saw the Donmar production of King Lear with Derek Jacobi. Two of his daughters were as white as Jacobi and Cordelia was black. It lent a bizarre and extremely distracting subtext to the play (maybe Lear disowned Cordelia because she's obviously someone else's daughter?) Why didn't they have the courage of their convictions and cast black actors as Lear and all his daughters? That would have solved the issue and been even more woke, for those who care about such considerations.

I would love to see Oklahoma reimagined with a cast of wheel chair bound Siamese twins. Oh, the nuances it would explore!!

Don't forget. Jeff Daniels has Scott Rudin behind his show. That will make a huge difference.

It's interesting how careers can turn quickly. Both Patti LuPone and Bob Gunton were sweating it out in the chorus of "Working" which opened and closed in one month, May 1978. And by September 1979, both were starring on Broadway as the Perons in Evita.

R43 We think it's a great idea!

The disabled Laura from Sally Fields’ Glass Menagerie didn’t even get a Tony nomination, R25 and she for good reviews. You may be over estimating the voters focused on PC issues rather than great acting.

Children!

This show takes liberties. The Legend of Lizzie had closed by the Summer so there's no way Midge could have seen it. In fact, it was a bomb having only played two performances.

Fun fact: William Daniels (1776 and St. Elsewere) was in it.

Oops, I meant that for the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel thread -- r55

Janet should have done MAME....

Anyone seen the Yiddish Fiddler on the Roof?

it's really good. unlike some of these others, it's not a gimmick, just very solid perforamnces and a very cool experience

Plus, Jackie Hoffman!

Well, nothing's perfect.

Has anyone seen The Prom?

Loved OKLAHOMA! but agree the dream ballet was terrible. Had no relation to the rest of the show.

Doesn’t matter, R50. Cranston’s got the Tony on lockdown.

And now for a peppy, stringy non sequitur!

[quote]Doesn’t matter, [R50]. Cranston’s got the Tony on lockdown.

Jeff Daniels is a two time nominee and Cranston won just a couple of years go. Daniels has not only Scott Rudin but Aaron Sorkin.

I saw The Prom. It was awful.

Hatred for The Prom on here is out of control. I liked the show as did 100% of the friends who’ve seen it.

I don’t get why this place seems to get such glee from savaging a fun, peppy, not very deep but highly entertaining show with a gay positive message.

I don't have a problem with the Yiddish Fiddler. It at least makes sense the characters would have been speaking Yiddish; unlike the Caroseul where the biggest problem everyone had with Billy was that he was an abusive carnival barker and not a black man.

[quote]I saw the Donmar production of King Lear with Derek Jacobi. Two of his daughters were as white as Jacobi and Cordelia was black. It lent a bizarre and extremely distracting subtext to the play

Agree with R48's points, though I don't think people seemed to react much to Condola Rashad's casting as the daughter in "Doll's House 2" last season, though I could be wrong.

I think Janet Blair, based on seeing her on Amazon TV in "One Touch of Venus:, would have made a marvelous Mame. Did she do it regionally? She had an excellent singing voice, and I commend her especially to our lesbian friends, she really was very sexy.

Yes, she did do it, I think on tour.

Have you actually seen Cranston and Daniels’ performances, R66? I have. There’s no comparison. Tony voters will vote overwhelmingly for Cranston. Rudin and Sorkin’s involvement mean bupkes.

Janet's Vera was none other than.....

Why was Stritch so difficult in her later interviews. Somebody would ask her a simple question and she would get angry and bellow at them, but never totally answer the question. Even when they threw her softball questions.

She mistook cantankerous for charming, r74.

R73 Wow, that probably would have been practically as wonderful as Lansbury and Bea Arthur in the original. Plus Blair was sexier and had a truly beautiful voice.

Here's a bit of Janet Blair (starting about :28); otherwise it's Russell Nype stripping down to a wifebeater. Blair's voice is really gorgeous in some of the other songs not on the trailer.

[quote]Torch Song was startling and original in its day. But it’s old hat now. There’s drag everywhere. It’s become mainstream. Hell, this time around, Torch Song wasn’t even the only drag-themed show written by Harvey Fierstein on Broadway.

I don't disagree, but the fact remains that the new TORCH SONG got rave reviews and I think sold out Off-Broadway last year. Of course, that's not the same as Broadway. And also, it has been pointed out that pretty much anybody who wanted to see this people in that play already did so last year, hence the flopping of the transfer.

[quote]Ali Stroker is beyond delightful in this production of Oklahoma! The audience loved her.

That's because Ali Stroker has talent and was not cast in OKLAHOMA! primarily or solely for inclusion purposes, as compared to the casting of other performers in other shows (and maybe also in this show, i haven't seen it).

[quote]I don't know, I think the stage orchestration for Superstar could have worked on film either as is or with just some doubling up on certain instruments. I found the movie orchestration a bit lush. The songs lost a lot of their bite.

Most of the orchestrations in the JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR film are very, very similar to the originals on the concept album, which I think are excellent and pretty much perfect.

[quote]I think its great that casting is opening up. I love the idea of talented qualified performers who are disabled being hired. What I hate is the SJW agenda of LOOKING for someone who is other abled or non traditional and CHOOSING that person to represent a political agenda rather than an artistic one.

Thanks for making that vitally important distinction, which seems to be lost on a lot of people

[quote] Annette Bening will not be much of a threat to Elaine May's Tony. Her role in All My Sons is just that of the long-suffering wife to the lead. It has no big dramatic scenes except to react and sympathize with her husband.

Not really true, she has a few big moments, including a meltdown that leads to the big reveal at the end of the play.

[quote]Hatred for The Prom on here is out of control. I liked the show as did 100% of the friends who’ve seen it. I don’t get why this place seems to get such glee from savaging a fun, peppy, not very deep but highly entertaining show with a gay positive message.

Only explanation is pretension. Some people are so insecure, they think it makes them look bad if they like any show that's not a heavy drama or a rigorous intellectual exercise.

[qupte]Agree with [R48]'s points, though I don't think people seemed to react much to Condola Rashad's casting as the daughter in "Doll's House 2" last season, though I could be wrong.

Two reasons, I think: (1) DOLL'S HOUSE 2 was written, designed, directed, and performed in a very non-realistic style, but also (2) I think some reviewers and regular audience members who were distracted by Rashad's casting might be reluctant to say so for fear of being labeled racist.

[quote]Why was Stritch so difficult in her later interviews. Somebody would ask her a simple question and she would get angry and bellow at them, but never totally answer the question. Even when they threw her softball questions.

It could have been unhappiness with her life and/or fear of death, or maybe she was consciously trying to live up to her rep as a hard-bitten, irascible broad.

[quote] Why was Stritch so difficult in her later interviews.

A lethal combination of diabetes and alcohol. Diabetics can become quite vicious when their diabetes is not properly regulated.

Oh r78 doing 10 topics in 1 post doesn't work

"I think its great that casting is opening up. I love the idea of talented qualifed performers who are disabled being hired. What I hate is the SJW agenda of LOOKING for someone who is other abled or non traditional and CHOOSING that person to represent a political agenda rather than an artistic one."

YES! Yes to all of this! I've worked in casting and seen very talented actors who deserved a role get pushed out to fill some diversity quota and I think that's a shame, especially when the more diverse actor isn't right for or up to the demands of the role. I've been involved in productions where the original choice for the role could sing, act, and dance up a storm, but they were swapped for someone who could sing and dance, but not act a lick. The production suffered for it, too, so I like to think that's the ultimate revenge.

I wish more people understood that the two things that will make your play, musical, movie, etc. stand out are a great script and a great cast. Everything else is wonderful, but it's not going to make a bad play good or a bad actor less distracting. Really take your time in casting, because it can make or break a show. No show is truly fool proof.

[quote]I've worked in casting and seen very talented actors who deserved a role get pushed out to fill some diversity quota and I think that's a shame, especially when the more diverse actor isn't right for or up to the demands of the role.

This happened with at least one of the roles in BE MORE CHILL Off-Broadway, and I assume it will happen again with the Broadway transfer. It really is a terrible shame, and if I were the person of non-color shunted aside for this reason, I'd be furious. But of course people in that position can't complain about the injustice, or they would be attacked and ostracized.

Janet Blair used to get tetchy when people confused her with Mary Martin, replying "No, I'm the one who likes MEN." So much for lesbian charm.

How extensive is the nudity in the upcoming "Choir Boy" which is moving to Broadway? Are the guys cute? I missed seeing this off-Broadway and head that it was good.

Janet Blair was hot! I watched her opposite Rosalind Russell in "My Sister Eileen" recently. Really lovely.

That is a great movie, r86. Even got Roz a nomination!

As a little gayling I remember Janet Blair being a big star on TV variety hours in the 1950s, and IIRC lots of attention came from replacing Nanette Fabray opposite Sid Caesar on his show. My father thought she was an sexy eyeful after Nanette and Imogene Coca before her.

I get Russell Nype and Nipsey Russell mixed up.

I remember Janet Blair as Henry Fonda’s wife in a short-lived TV series.

Was that yellow zebra striped costume Mame wears in It's Today! ever a good idea? It really overwhelms Janet Blair.

I think Lansbury had two versions, one with sleeves like Janet's and the original design which had straps (or was it just sleeveless?). When Celeste Holm did the show she told them she didn't wear yellow and the costume was redesigned for her in pink, even though the entire scene had a pallet of yellow, silver and black.

I couldn't find any Janet/Sally photos, but this says it's her in the footage but the sound board recording is from NY. Alexis really wouldn't have been in the chorus with her looks and height.

" ...this place seems to get such glee from savaging a...not very deep...show..."

Thank you for coming to the point so readily.

Amen, r59. There is nothing more infuriating than to see a classic work, created by people at the top of the game, eviscerated and have inane, fatuous "ideas" imposed upon it.

Sorry, I can't see why Cranston should win a Tony, There is nothing singular about the performance (or the unnecessary production) we haven't seen before. He was far superior as LBJ and richly deserved those accolades.

I swear it's the same two people who keep coming to this thread to trash THE PROM. We get it, you hate lesbians and effeminate gays. Go work out your misogyny and self-loathing somewhere else.

I saw it a few weeks ago and it's fine. Some of the jokes will feel dated in a matter of months but they can update them. It deserves a shot and is very far from the worst thing to open this season.

Ginge invites us.....

[quote]even though the entire scene had a pallet of yellow, silver and black.

Oh, DEAR!

My God, how tall WAS Alexis Smith? She towers over everyone else in that clip. I can see why they were trying to get Sigourney Weaver for that awful Roundabout revival. She definitely has a similar look.

Has anyone ever thought about Allison Janney as Phyllis? She'll be too old by the time another revival or, God forbid, a film version gets made, but I just saw her in the role and she might be fairly amusing.

Don't forget me, r96!

R45, I tend to agree, but sometimes, I think there needs to be an agenda, or a conscious decision to remind us that there's no reason why the casting always has to be traditional. I've seen too many shows lately that have an all white, or majority white cast, for no good reason.

In terms of disabilities, I saw Hadestown in London and one of the women in the ensemble is missing a forearm. It takes away absolutely nothing from the show or her performance. She could still sing and do the choreography. That's all that's needed. I couldn't help but think of how many roles this young woman missed out on because directors couldn't see past the disability that had zero bearing on her ability to perform many parts. And maybe, seeing her will make another theatre professional think in the future "Well, if that girl could do it, why not consider these actors for my shows?"

Arena Stage in DC is currently doing Anything Goes with a black Reno Sweeney, black Billy Crocker, and Asian Harcorts. It didn't change anything about the show as written. For the director to (presumably) consciously choose minority actors just highlights the fact there's no reason why these characters- in a silly musical comedy that has nothing to do with historically accurate race relations- need to still be cast as lily-white Anglo-Saxons in 2018, as though nothing about America's make-up has changed since Cole Porter wrote it in the 30s.

The agenda needs to be to cast who is best in a role or who will fill the most seats. All types considered. But when you start casting BASED on a disability or race, that’s dumb. And to cast with the “no Caucasian submissions” caveat bullshit is just as reprehensible.

Well a total loon is headlining in Frozen, Ms. Patzi NoMurin Postin Bad Stuff ESQ., why can’t we push in a sassy dame in a wheelchair?

Why not indeed.

That Arena production is seriously lacking in several key roles. Lots of their colorblind shows feature cast members who just aren’t that good. Corbin Bleu is the only one who is consistently good in this one.

R100 The issue is all types aren't considered. I don't believe that directors and casting directors see people of all races and types for a role, and the best person for the role happens to be white 90% of the time on Broadway.

It's like how after blind auditions were introduced in orchestras, professional orchestras went from 95% male to 60% male. These actors aren't auditioning in a vacuum. Directors are already casting based on their biases to prefer white people. Why shouldn't some directors get to cast based on race?

Were any of you bitches at the opening of To Kill A Mockingbird tonight?

R 104 you sure have a lot of presumptions there. And it’s 2018 - there are more non-Caucasian performers on broadway than Caucasian. Quit citing old stats

THR reviews "To Kill A Mockingbird":

R106

Is that true, because that sounds pretty made up.

On the contrary, R106, R104 is just trying to give a balanced view to the discussion of colorblind casting beyond just "isn't it a shame that all these unqualified actors of color are taking jobs away from more talented white actors." And "citing old stats" is perfectly valid so long as they're (still) accurate and support the point you're trying to make, which is what R104 was doing.

Variety:

To Kill a Mockingbird is probably one of the best books to ever be written by a person.

I think it's interesting that they are billing Mockingbird as the "last book we read as a nation."

As my friend pointed out, what about Harry Potter?

[quote]To Kill a Mockingbird is probably one of the best books to ever be written by a person.

As opposed to all of those great books written by antelopes?

"what about Harry Potter?"

Or FIFTY SHADES OF GREY....

That production blurb is just piggybacking on that silly PBS series (Great American Read?) that aired this past year. TKAM won the popular vote.

MOCKINGBIRD is the most overrated American novel in history (including GATSBY) and the reverential tone of reviews for the stage adaptation just parrot that. If it was correctly ascribed to Harper Lee's BFF Truman Capote, a gay pariah, I'm sure things would have worked out quite differently, then and now. Truth hurts. But, c'mon.

Has the Girl from North Country transfer died?

What are the best books written by an alien

If I'm not mistaken, there will be two vacant theaters this spring: the Hayes and the Lunt Fontanne. Any word on tenants?

Then we'll do Tea at Five at both theaters and I'll stay all night!!!!

"Mockingbird" reviews are generally positive. Perhaps Jeff Daniels will give Bryan Cranston a run for his money after all.

For the last time: Bryan Cranston is not winning the Tony. If anything Bryan and Jeff will split the vote and Michael Urie will win and bore us all with a speech about how difficult it is to play a drag queen.

No one cares about Splatsy Urine. Enough already.

No, the most overrated and overtaught is Catcher In the Rye. Mockingbird is a distant second, along with Gatsby.

I have not seen Yiddler and have no plans to.

[quote]I have not seen Yiddler and have no plans to.

Your loss, it's great.

The "Mockingbird" reviews are very solid but not really raves. But then, "Network" didn't get raves, either, except for Bryan Cranston's performance.

I think Daniels will win, for the same reasons Peck won over the far more complex O'Toole in Lawrence of Arabia. A much admired actor (I think Daniels is an excellent actor) for playing a character that makes white peopl feel okay about race. Not Daniels fault (and he has deserved many awards over hHe years), but it's the role not the performance that will win.

I hate Patti Murin just because she gets to fuck Colin Donnell.

[quote]If I'm not mistaken, there will be two vacant theaters this spring: the Hayes and the Lunt Fontanne. Any word on tenants?

Does it matter, this is Datalounge, they will both suck.

[quote]I hate Patti Murin just because she gets to fuck Colin Donnell.

We don't know that. With her anxiety issues, I'm not sure exactly how much actually goes on between them. He may find succor in other places. Or maybe if he did his manly duties, she wouldn't have so much anxiety.

R130, they're the new Jen Cody and Hunter Foster of Broadway. And you see where that went...

R130

There are actual studies that show straight men apparently enjoy sex with mentally unstable women the most. Her craziness is a feature not a bug.

Since Cranston is obvi going to win, can we switch over to the competition between Celia KB and Latanya Richardson Richardson Jackson Jackson for Featured

Aren't there only about 4-6 plays on Broadway this year? That significantly makes the odds greater than someone is even going to be nominated, let alone win. Years ago, there were so many more that were still running at the time nominations came out, let alone great performances that might have been remembered from shows that had closed. It's like "Survivor" from tv.

No one will remember Michael Urie's performance in 5 months. I think it will be Daniels, as much as people love Cranston people will feel like he just got one. Also as wonderful as Cranston is, the whole show is a giant distraction.

[quote]Or maybe if he did his manly duties, she wouldn't have so much anxiety.

You mean all this drama might be because Colin is restricting her access to the legendary Donnell dick?

I'm late to the party and I only know her name and the fact she's in Frozen because I follow him on Intagram. Can anyone catch me up on what the beef is with her?

[quote]You mean all this drama might be because Colin is restricting her access to the legendary Donnell dick?

Of course, I have no idea, but I do wonder what went SO wrong with her first marriage, to Curtis Holbrook, that she apparently refuses to discuss it at all or even mention his name in her tweets and such, nor does she even allow mention of the marriage in her Wikipedia entry. One can only imagine....

Having just seen Network, I firmly believe Jeff Daniels will win (even though I haven't seen Mockingbird).

Cranston is ridiculously hammy....not a wit of reality to his performance. He plays the character like he's in a farce.

David Burtka going into the Prom?

[quote]Cranston is ridiculously hammy....not a wit of reality to his performance. He plays the character like he's in a farce.

Really? I think there's a lot of subtlety to his performance, except when it should NOT be subtle, like when he's having a breakdown. Care to explain in what way you think he "plays the character like he's in a farce?" Somebody else described what Cranston is doing as "schmacting," but think you and that other person are just throwing around words and phrases you don't understand to try to look knowledgeable.

[quote]David Burtka going into the Prom?

Only if Neil isn't planning a family getaway.

[quote] I'm late to the party and I only know her name and the fact she's in Frozen because I follow him on Intagram. Can anyone catch me up on what the beef is with her?

She's frequently absent from Frozen because of "anxiety" or some other millennial disorder. How people can even notice this or think that Frozen is any better or worse, is a mystery. When people have called her out on her inability to perform the essential duty of her job (performing) she has teamed up with the people who run the Broadway World message board and banned people and all sorts of other nonsense and now people are angry that they have nowhere to discuss and compare the various Mean Girls cast members.

[quote]She's frequently absent from Frozen because of "anxiety" or some other millennial disorder. How people can even notice this or think that Frozen is any better or worse, is a mystery. When people have called her out on her inability to perform the essential duty of her job (performing) she has teamed up with the people who run the Broadway World message board and banned people and all sorts of other nonsense and now people are angry that they have nowhere to discuss and compare the various Mean Girls cast members.

Great summary :-)

[quote]David Burtka going into the Prom?

Yes, but then when the reviewers respond to his performance negatively or don't mention him at all, he will quickly bail on the show. Like he did with the other one.

I'd rather hear about Colin Donnell's legendary cock.

Colin Donnell is so good looking, I don't think it really matters how well endowed he is or isn't. And that's saying something :-)

Wait, what happened to Jen Cody and Hunter Foster?

I first saw Colin on Arrow and he was killed off way too soon. Then he was on The Affair and was killed off way too soon. I watched a little of Chicago Med but those shows are so ridiculous I found it impractical to watch it just for any shirtless scenes he might have. But he is definitely a very handsome guy.

[quote]Cranston is ridiculously hammy....not a wit of reality to his performance.

In that case, he's a shoo-in to win.

It's ridiculous how much I love this. ^^^^

[quote]Wait, what happened to Jen Cody and Hunter Foster?

Precisely.

That would make the Tony voters ridiculous as well, r152.

Jimmy Davis, who plays Will Parker in the OKLAHOMA! that's transferring, is family. Absolutely lovely, talented, cute guy.

The Daniels loons on here slay me.

Cranston has the Tony on lockdown like Glenda Jackson had the Tony on lovkdown with Three Tall Women. Daniels will get far less votes than Cranston.

[quote] Daniels will get far less votes than Cranston.

But will he get far fewer votes?

R137 The Patti Murin meltdown is best explained by the poster who got himself banned for spamming the board after going on a rage spiral on Sunday night.

Basically the mods didn't really go nuts on the board until Sondheimite sent Patti a personal message about his own suicide attempts where he included his own name and made it clear that he considers his own mental illness to be justification for hate-spamming BWW. (Rather than a reason why it really needed to be stopped.)

It really doesn't have much to do with her missing shows so much as how she talks about her anxiety in social media. Her haters already hated Frozen.

All the Murin murass is pretty much missing from ATC -- unless the moderators have banned it. Anyone know?

r141, I felt like Cranston was constantly winking at the audience: "See how wacky and outrageous I can be??" He never expressed any sincere desperation about the state of society nor was he ever in any danger of realistically breaking down emotionally . The character's stunts were all made to look like a big lark, a practical joke. And this was all in extreme closeup on that screen.

Yes, its a big bravura performance and the audiences love him but he barely scratches the surface of this highly complex man. It's all very insincere, simplistic and lazy, and all the worse, because we now have seen it all played out in real life in far more scary circumstances.

I think the Tony voters will reward Jeff Daniels.

[quote] I'd rather hear about Colin Donnell's legendary cock.

Not to generalize, but wouldn't it be out of the norm for someone named "Colin Donnell" to have a large penis?

He must have something, because I've heard him sing off-key in musicals.

Who cares about Colin Donnell? He’s so miserable with her he’s gained at least forty pounds.

Wait: so Sondheimite's been banned from BWW?

I actually think Patti Murin missed only one (highly publicized by her) performance of Frizen for anxiety reasons.

The recent brouhaha was about personal and vacation days that meant she would be out of the show. People on the chat boards complained (unreasonably it seems) and Patti tweeted about it.

If Patti had just ignored the chat board crazies, we’d be talking about Follies instead.

I'd rather talk about Patti LuPone. At least she shows up and usually delivers some excitement.

He's not THAT good looking.

I'd rather talk about Gretch.

Burtka in THE PROM in what role? Sieber's?

Hunter Foster and Jen Cody are tacky but nowhere near as insufferable as Murin.

Also... The producers of THE PROM can't seriously think Burtka will sell tickets, right?

It would be a shame if they threw a talented actor like Seiber out the window for the sake of a few PR photo ops of NPH supporting his hubby. Then again, maybe Seiber has another gig. Or, ya know, this is just a silly internet rumor.

[quote]wouldn't it be out of the norm for someone named "Colin Donnell" to have a large penis?

Only if one believes Irish stereotypes. Colin Farrell’s leaked sex tape proved the only Irish Curse he has is it might be too thick for some people. Besides which, Donnell’s mother is French. He’s only half Irish.

But which half, r173?

From the looks of this, Colin isn’t packing.

Per The Times' review of Mockingbird (largely laudatory) it would seem Sorkin's script focuses largely on the trial, throwing out or vastly reducing everything else in the book. JGreene made no mention of Boo Radley in his review, and I thought perhaps Sorkin had thrown Boo out with the rest of the bathwater. However, Boo is in the cast list accompanying the review. Thank Jeebus. The Radley subplot always breaks my hard little heart.

Leaked sex tape?

R177 where have you been? It's been almost 15 years.

I also hadn’t heard of the sex tape. Off to Google I go!

There is no sex tape and he wasn't a thing 15 years ago. Next!

[quote]Who cares about Colin Donnell? He’s so miserable with her he’s gained at least forty pounds.

Apparently he has had an issue with weight fluctuation for some time. Somebody told me he really gained a LOT of weight during rehearsals for ANYTHING GOES and then I guess had to crash diet or whatever to lose it all in time for the opening. So maybe he has his own issues to match Patti's :-( But when he's at a good weight, he's really gorgeous, as in this pic.

Perhaps R173 is thinking of Cheyenne Jackson’s leaked j/o tape.

The sex tape is a reference to Colin Farrell. Someone mentioned him (and the sex tape) above when someone was wondering if Colin Donnell suffered from the 'Irish curse.' The poster who mentioned Farrell was making the case that not all Irishmen are hung like a baby.

[quote] Why do you think Torch Song didn't succeed on Broadway this go around?

I saw it off broadway and, with the trimming of an hour, it barely had any impact at all. Urie did a bad Harvey imitation.

I was so surprised when it announced a transfer because it was so disappointing.

Off Broadway, Urie reminded me of Arnold Horshack from Welcome Back Kotter. But I though he was very funny and very good in the first act, less so in 2 and 3.

[quote]Per The Times' review of Mockingbird (largely laudatory) it would seem Sorkin's script focuses largely on the trial, throwing out or vastly reducing everything else in the book.

A trial with a foregone conclusion, and not an uplifting one. Doesn't exactly make me want to rush out to see it.

I don’t want to see another version of to Kill a Mockingbird. The book and movie are great. I’d rather shoot myself than see yet another version, a play. What next, a musical version??

I think there are 19 productions eligible in the play categories for the Tonys this year. So there are a lot of potential nominees. I think Cranston is going to win again, though. That the rest of the cast sucks highlights his performance even more. He and Elaine May are probably going to carry through to the podium in June, unless Glenda Jackson’s Lear is phenomenal or Nathan Lane or Andrea Martin are given the right kind of role in Gary.

Jackson’s Lear has so much buzz. I doubt she’d win two years in a row

I didn’t realize Frozen was still playing. It’s such a shit show

Numb3ers just started and Kelli O'Hara just.....oop.....they bumped her off.

I think Colin Donnell is extremely good-looking, but his body has always been so blah that it takes away part of his hotness. I’m not into the whole roided gym bunny look, but Donnell doesn’t seem to exercise at all.

Jon Hamm is like that also. Great face, body has no tone at all.

R187, I was at the world premiere of Mockingbird! at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo in 1971. Monte Markham was Atticus and he was riveting. And Brock Peters reprised his film role.

[quote]I saw it off broadway and, with the trimming of an hour, it barely had any impact at all.

It's not true that "an hour" was cut from the original script of TORCH SONG. I'm guessing more like 15 minutes in total, at most. It's really annoying when people make up things off the tops of their heads and just post them as facts. You probably also think half an hour was cut from THE BOYS IN THE BAND.

[quote]I think Colin Donnell is extremely good-looking, but his body has always been so blah that it takes away part of his hotness.

That's my point, his body has not always been "blah." Sometimes it has been very nice, as per the photo I linked to above. He looked amazing in that musical of MEASURE FOR MEASURE at the Delacorte.

[quote]I was at the world premiere of Mockingbird! at the Studio Arena Theater in Buffalo in 1971. Monte Markham was Atticus and he was riveting. And Brock Peters reprised his film role.

I envy you. That sounds great. Especially the Brock Peters part. Do you remember if they beefed up the part for him at all?

Did everyone see Gregg Edelmnn on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel?

I honestly don't think this revival of Torch Song would have benefited in any way being an hour or even 15 minutes longer. I mean.....c'mon!

And I think all of the actors will be forgotten come Tony time.

Mrs. Maisel is boring.

[quote]I honestly don't think this revival of Torch Song would have benefited in any way being an hour or even 15 minutes longer. I mean.....c'mon! And I think all of the actors will be forgotten come Tony time.

I kind of agree, but it sure is funny how the reception changed so much for the worse from Off-Broadway to Broadway. Except Brantley.

I didn't like Torch Song off-Broadway and I stated it here.

You've all just caught up with me.

[quote]She's frequently absent from Frozen because of "anxiety" or some other millennial disorder.

Patti Murin is too old to be a millennial. Cut-off is 1981.

I would love for Ms. Murin to do a show with Patti LuPone or Diana Rigg. Can you imagine what they would have to say (publicly) about her mental health days? It's one thing when it's the mean BWW posters who "don't understand what it's like!" Are all her actor friends going to run to defend her when Patti LuPone tells her to suck it up and do her job?

R200, she is discussed here just enough to soon be filed in the not-worth-it pile by the powers that be who all check in on these theatre threads. There are plethora talented actors who have been...eh...frozen...out of the business for far, far less. But-bye!!

R201 Can't Colin stand up for her if it comes to that?

The Colin Donnell rumors go back several years, to when there were sex and dick discussions on here all the time. There was some Broadway dresser who was giving the scoop about several Broadway types he had dressed. That’s where the BBDC started.

Wow Patti Murin is older than I thought. She’s 38, two years older than her husband.

How weird that Disney cast someone just a couple of years shy of 40 as Anna in Frozen.

With my Tony and being the highest paid actress alive, starring in 3 of the biggest hits ever made, I feel especially hopeful for Hunter and Cuddles... I mean, Jen. It gets better, if you have what it takes to make it in this industry. If.

r194 are you r78? I told you that putting so many topics in one thread is annoying

From today’s Washington Post review of the New Adventures of Old Mary Poppins movie:

[quote]Sadly, although Miranda is a deft and effortless dancer, with a genial singing voice, there is little, if any, chemistry between him and Jane. And while affable enough, the creator and star of “Hamilton” has little screen presence. Don’t even get me started on his cockney accent, a vocal misfire that makes Van Dyke’s mangled vowels sound good.

Glad people are starting to realize he sucks as a performer

I think anyone who’s seen Miranda on stage without stars in their eyes has already realized he’s just adequate as a performer. It’s cool to see him perform in his own stuff, but I’m sure others do it better. When I saw Hamilton, Leslie Odom Jr was wiping the floor with him. It was almost the Aaron Burr show, which made for an interesting dynamic.

I don’t know how Miranda gets hired for things he didn’t write.

I have the suspicion Lin's going to end up not unlikely Anthony Newley.

R80, it is you who are the definition of annoying

[quote]Wow Patti Murin is older than I thought. She’s 38, two years older than her husband. How weird that Disney cast someone just a couple of years shy of 40 as Anna in Frozen.

Agreed, and also, didn't she say when she missed a show or two of FROZEN due to an anxiety attack that she had had these attacks before during other shows and Disney knew about it? So given that she's more than twice the age of the character and also has serious emotional and mental health issues, what conceivable reasons could Disney have had in casting her? Does she know where some bodies are buried?

Lin probably has made $50 million from Hamilton so far. Don't worry about him.

R205, they were so intent on being Tony Award winners, but they blew it. Now they're remembered (if at all) as Tony Award whiners.

R211, yes, because how much money you've made is what determines your competence. Like, for example, President Trump.

Anthony Newley had a terrific singing voice, and was giving fine acting performances back as the Artful Dodger in David Lean's "Oliver Twist". His shows produced lots of standards that were performed and covered on tv shows and on recordings all the time. He also had wonderful stage presence, maybe a little too much, as he could be a bit much, but he certainly was really talented. Plus he was married to Joan Collins! And had a big enough ego to write a self-therapeutic, but terrible movie in which he appeared nude. That's a lot of stuff in a brief history of Mr. Newley. Miranda is pretty genial, but boring on stage, but not an actor or singer. I saw him in Encore "Merrily" and he was just sort of there.

Don’t forget Anthony Newley’s brilliant final screen performance in The Garbage Pail Kids Movie.

R208, producers (and Lin's agents) will bend over backwards to help him achieve whatever he wants on the acting side because all are vying desperately for nt he movie rights to Hamilton. Once that is settled, we’ll see how much he will be given a pass for his markedly mediocre acting and singing.

[quote]Lin probably has made $50 million from Hamilton so far. Don't worry about him.

You're just guessing.

I don't worry about Lin. $ or no $. I do worry about the standard of art, life, and sanity as we know it.

Where are we?? Imagine--10 years ago, in 2008, a stranger walks up to you and says--"In 2018 the following things will be 100% true. Just wait."

Donald Trump will be the President of the United States.

Bruce Jenner will be a woman named Caitlyn.

And Lin Manuel-Miranda will have a Kennedy Center Honor of Artistic Excellence, a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, an "Actors Talk Acting" Variety magazine youtube clip between himself and other well-known actress-Lady Gaga, be on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine, star opposite Emily Blunt in a new Disney Mary Poppins, and lastly--and obviously--have more money than god. Any god. Anywhere.

The Caitlyn one I'd buy into first.

Under the typical royalty rate, Miranda should be getting 6% of the gross. Hamilton has grossed $452 million on Broadway alone so far. That would be $27 million for Lin, not including the tour (which is probably grossing more than New York at this point), Chicago, and London. And the cast album.

It must be nice to be sitting at home and getting a check fo $250,000 or more in the mail every week, week after week. For something you did the vast majority of the work back in 2015. Writing a blockbuster musical is the way to perpetual riches. He, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Stephen Schwartz probably look at each other and smile.

Don't forget Metcalf as Hillary - never bet against Metcalf to win an award (tho she didn't swing an Oscar)

[quote]Under the typical royalty rate, Miranda should be getting 6% of the gross. Hamilton has grossed $452 million on Broadway alone so far.

Yeah, but that's before taxes.

[quote]It's really annoying when people make up things off the tops of their heads and just post them as facts.

Hey R194, you mean like saying Colin Donnell was in a musical version of Measure For Measure at the Delacorte when it was actually Love’s Labours Lost?

[quote]but terrible movie in which he appeared nude.

In what movie did Anthony Newley appear nude?

[quote] Yeah, but that's before taxes.

But I'm sure he's been introduced to lawyers and financial planners that can help him avoid taxes. These days a rich person can set up a trust or a non-profit and avoid paying taxes. Anytime you see a famous person starting their own charity, it's to avoid paying taxes.

R205/R212 why do people forget Christopher Sieber's role in that mess? He also joined their "Give the Tonys Back to Broadway" petition and actually wrote on his Facebook (and I quote):

[quote]"Here's the deal....when you receive an award that is purchased for you...does it mean anything?! CZJ?! A big booooooooooo! But,congrats to the other winners....

And even if he paid the taxes, he's still rich and getting richer with each passing day.

For R223.

Thanks r227. Does he show just ass or do you see full frontal?

[quote]I saw [Lin-Manuel Miranda] in Encore "Merrily" and he was just sort of there.

Speaking of another current thread subject, how was Colin Donnell in this Merrily? I thought his singing on the recording was spot on.

Enjoy

I can't stand to look at him.

but it's sort of entertaining on mute.

Comparing Ali Stroker in OKLAHOMA! to that non-entity who played Laura opp. Sally Field's (very good) Amanda in GLASS MENAGERIE is a fool's errand. One is an artist, the other is not. End of discussion

Looking forward to Sally at the Old Vic in London just as Ms Bening will be playing the same part on the Great Diverse Way !! XOOXOXXOXO

"As a performer," r207?

r229, for you.

Do we have any definite locks for the acting in a musical categories?

[quote]Great Diverse Way

Please don't tell me that's what clueless SJWs have started calling it?

It has nothing to do with skin color. It was because in the early days the lights brightened up the night sky in a flashing white. They still do.

R218, can you imagine how envious the Broadway hacks 20 years and more older than Miranda feel right now as they sell out directing and creating one shot movie adaptation and jukebox musical safety another? Names like Nicolaw, McAnuff, and other big shots who used to rule the coop??

That would be shit musical and after another

[quote] And even if he paid the taxes, he's still rich and getting richer with each passing day.

And a little less rich after manager and agent's cuts

R237

It was literally an advertisement for Edison's electric distribution system. Incandescent lights were bright and white and replaced the warm yellowish glow of gaslight.

I know Broadway casts get a set fee for the cast album but do actors get a cut of the soundtrack?

Yes but only when the soundtrack recoups which is rare.

Disney knows what it's doing in casting LMM.

All the Hamilton kids who think Little Shop was the first musical ever will rush out and see it.

They couldn't care less about Mary Poppins.

And all of us tired queens will go see Angela feed the birds.

[quote]Hey [R194], you mean like saying Colin Donnell was in a musical version of Measure For Measure at the Delacorte when it was actually Love’s Labours Lost?

I do apologize for that, but it was just a momentary lapse, not an intentional misstatement of fact.

[quote]I know Broadway casts get a set fee for the cast album but do actors get a cut of the soundtrack?

What soundtrack? Anyway, I believe the answer is that the ensemble people do not get royalties on the cast album (if that's what you're asking), and stars normally don't either, but I guess anything can be negotiated,

Some of these kids don't know real performing talent. Over Thanksgiving, my niece in her 20s was playing all these little musical skits from James Corden and High School Musical. I asked her to put on a YouTube video of Eleanor Powell dancing with her dog. They couldn't believe the incredible dancing she did (and how well she trained the dog). Showed them some Vera-Ellen and Fred Astaire as well. Kids are being short-changed in what they think is talent nowadays in many things.

I seem to remember Santino Fontana, who played Hans in The Frozen movie, saying that he got a set, not very large fee for Frozen, with no royalties from the film or the soundtrack. He was saying that because Frozen was so successful financially, people thought he was now rich, and that wasn’t the case.

[quote]Kids are being short-changed in what they think is talent nowadays in many things.

It's amazing how mediocrity is now readily accepted. For instance, when I read YouTube comments of young people praising Hugh Jackman's singing in LES MIZ, my heart sinks.

And I say this without snark or sarcasm and maybe even with a warm heart, The kids who have an uncle that shows them Eleanor Powell are lucky indeed.

I know someone who sang on the movie soundtrack to Frozen. He got checks for a long time after the movie came out. I’m sure Santino did as well.

R250 , I apologize that he may have said that about the film and I extrapolated to the soundtrack. You are right that most performers on a soundtrack get something for each unit sold, while most film actors do not.

I think Amy Irving’s voice is on the Yentl soundtrack, and at the time, it was said that Streisand gave her a ring or something to give up the revenue from the soundtrack, which ended up being a lot more than the ring was worth. I don’t remember the details; maybe someone else does.

R249 I'm the uncle. Kisses and hugs to you. You made my day! Here's Vera-Ellen as my treat to you.

Colin Donnell has some nice, meaty pecs. Love a man with some substance to him!

I remember feeling so bad for Sally Field being stuck in that awful Glass Menagerie. It was so poorly conceived from start to finish. She was excellent as was Mantello (too old for the role, but brilliant) and Wittrock (whose jeans had to have been sewed onto him they were so tight). The girl playing Laura was awful and I felt terrible, because I knew she clearly wasn't picked for her talent, but for her disability, which makes no sense for the story. Laura can have a limp, but she's not wheelchair bound. It went against the text completely.

IT didn't help that the entire thing was staged as though we were peeking into the cast's first table read. with regular street clothes (and I don't think the house lights went down until 30/45 minutes into the show). Just one strange choice after another.

All performers in animated films get royalties for years and years.

Just for the record, the current production of ANYTHING GOES at the Arena Theatre in DC is excellent, and the Reno Sweeney is great. The colorblind casting does not diminish the show at all. And kudos to the chorus - all of them triple threats.

IMHO

I'm guessing the real point he wanted to make was that Disney got super rich off Frozen not the voice actors. In spite of being a billion dollar movie - Menzel and Bell and the rest did not get $20 million dollar bonuses to go with the sort of paychecks the men who star in superhero franchises get. Santino didn't get to negotiate for more $ with the follow up shorts because he played the villain and was done.

Also want to mention that the Billy Elliot currently playing up at the Signature Theatre in DC is also excellent. One of the boys is probably the best Billy I’ve ever seen and his dancing is first rate. The ballet between Billy and his older self is spectacular, because the theater is so small and the dancers are flying over your head like a Cirque du Soleil act. Matthew Gardner, the young director, gets better with every show. Can’t wait until he gets a crack at Broadway.

Hi, Matthew!

Did Rubicam's Business College have wheelchair access, r254?

If Santino didn’t like the terms of his contract, then why did he sign it? And why should Disney give extra money to its performers? If the movie had flopped, Disney would have lost millions, it was taking all the risk.

R261 They gave Robin Williams a huge bonus for Aladdin, as he was seen as so important to the films success Now they use desperate nobodies and pay them peanuts

They're paid the amounts their unions negotiated for.

Santino wasn't complaining he was obviously just letting people know that in spite of being the male lead in a billion dollar film, he doesn't own a private jet or anything.

I think one of the teenage Elsas complained or was complained about for getting union pay for a line of singling - but she got more for her one line of singing when that song went platinum.

Frozen was made AFTER the near disaster of Tangled and they had substantial expensive late rewrites. (With a $300 million budget Tangled barely made that back, I'm sure Mandy Moore got a nicer contract and more upfront than Idina Menzel when Frozen was made for half the budget of Tangled. But Idina was far from ungrateful when Disney changed their mind and decided to release her Let It Go as a single in 2014.)

Kristen Bell especially appears to have set herself up psychologically for the film to be her Princess moment as well as work she could do while pregnant and/or losing baby weight. She has taken having a hit single (Do You Want to Build a Snowman went platinum) and all that as a hilarious boost and continued her career exactly as before (Veronica Mars, TV stuff, constantly shilling products she may or may not like, and that wine mom movie franchise...) - rather than pretending she is the next Tom Cruise because Frozen was so big in Japan.

Agree with you, r257 (and258?); Arena's production is wonderful. As for Billy Elliot, I'm afraid I may have seen the very slightly less talented boy. He was fine, but I understand from others that the other kid is breathtaking.

And Matthew Gardner is a treasure. His Passion earlier in the season was remarkable.

r264 is apparently unaware of Kristen's hit sitcom on NBC.

[quote]But Idina was far from ungrateful when Disney changed their mind and decided to release her Let It Go as a single in 2014.

I thought Demi Lovato did the single?

[quote]Lin probably has made $50 million from Hamilton so far. Don't worry about him.

50 million? yeah maybe a month. I'd guess Hamilton will easily make him a billion eventually

Currently, HAMILTON is grossing nearly $3 million weekly on Broadway. Remember when just 5 years ago even reaching $1 million was a milestone?

there are also publishing rights to the music, subsidiary rights and countless touring companies hauling in cash every week.

R267

Demi's version was released in 2013. After Idina's version blew up on youtube, etc Disney realized they should release it as a single for her too and it went platinum 5 times. Idina isn't bitter about that.

R266

Kristen Bell's hit sitcom is so much better than the hype that it still seems like another one of Bell's cult-hit achievements to me. My point was that she isn't sitting around whining that she hasn't been given the big bucks Scarlett Johansen gets (or Cruise or RDJ) because Frozen was a smash -- she literally went to sing-alongs in the theater to hype up audiences, jumped at the chance to do follow up shorts and the sequel, and then proceeded to continue on with her career as before. The Good Place and the Bad Mom movies are both examples of regularly budgeted enterprises where she isn't getting paid loads more than everyone else that have been hits. One reason everything she is doing seems to turn to gold is that she is still doing funny, smart stuff and she hasn't used her Frozen status to bleed every project dry by demanding $10 million just to show up.

Her husband has admitted that when he married her, he was the one making more money -- only to suddenly have her 'pregnancy job doing a little voice over work' turn into this huge thing. But her success after Frozen has really been in keeping with who she has been all along and isn't some orchestrated reward from a grateful Disney.

R271, couldn't have been written by a better manager, congrats Emily!!

I was going to guess r271's her mom.

I'm happy for Kristen. She seems like a good egg. I love when good things happen to good people.

I can't remember where I read it so I can't provide any links, but apparently the crew of Love's Labour's Lost complained (good-naturedly) about how Colin Donnell's mic pack got so sweaty. I don't know if this will elicit "ooh" or "eww" around here, but there you are.

I thought it was odd that Love's Labour's Lost had an otherwise original score but then interpolated that cheesy pop song "To Be with You". I only know it from the recording; maybe it makes sense in performance context. It was done boy band style. The score has a great song "Love's a Gun".

Would I be alone is saying "Who is Kristen Bell?"

Ali Stroker is the only lock in the musical categories.

Besides being in a wheelchair, she is spectacular in the role. And really doesn't have much competition so far. It may also be the only Tony Oklahoma wins.

[quote]The score has a great song "Love's a Gun".

Incidentally, LOVE IS A GUN is the title of the new Bonnie and Clyde movie starring Chloe Grace Moretz and Jack O'Connell. I wonder if they'll utilize that song?

R276 there have been extensive paragraphs a few posts above that explained who she is and what she has been in.

You're not much of a theatre queen, r276.

I love the score of that Love’s Labours Lost production. Lots of great songs. So sad we lost the composer to AIDS not long ago.

The Washington Post review of Anything Goes was mixed, at best. That comports with the word of mouth. Here’s how the WAPO critic puts it:

[quote]Ross’s Reno Sweeney isn’t the kind of dancing dynamo that drove Kathleen Marshall’s thoroughly razzmatazz Broadway revival, seen on tour here in 2013. Ross’s formal-sounding singing is more concert than nightclub...

And he says this about Corbin Bleu:

[quote]The engine hums pretty well, though the revival isn’t solid gold. As winning as Bleu is, his singing could use more leading-man muscle (he has a soft Gene Kelly thing going on), and romantic sparks seldom ignite amid all the hellzapoppin’ comedy, which can wear you down with its aggressiveness.

So a Reno who cannot dance and leads who cannot sell the score. Guess that’s why they’re begging people to go.

[quote]Frozen was made AFTER the near disaster of Tangled and they had substantial expensive late rewrites. (With a $300 million budget Tangled barely made that back,

I didn't know that TANGLED did so poorly, and I'm surprised and sorry to hear that. I liked FROZEN, but I think TANGLED was the better movie overall.

It'll be interesting to see what the Tony committee rules about Leavel and Ashmanskas. IMO they'd have a better chance of winning in Featured but the roles feel slightly more appropriate for the Leading category...

Nobody begged me, r282, and I thought it was swell.

I didn't see the Sutton Foster production, but I did see LuPone and McGillin do it at the end of the 80s (I think) and another a century ago with Hal Linden. This one had its weaknesses in comparison, but I enjoyed it.

Ethel Merman didn’t dance when she did Reno Sweeney, and I hear she was very good.

I don't think LuPone did much dancing either as Reno. She kinda peaces out mid way through the song, lets the chorus take over, and taps back in for the finale. I think this is the issue with modern musical theatre performers. They're all perfectly fine at singing, dancing, and acting, but no one really stands out or is exceptionally brilliant at any of them. They used to structure shows based on the talent they chose. If you were writing a show for Merman, you wouldn't give her big dance breaks or great dramatic monologues. You'd give her a bunch of great zingers and loud, exciting songs to belt. If you were writing for Ann Miller, you'd add a fabulous tap dance break in at least one of her big songs. It seems like they don't tailor roles to actors anymore. Sondheim was always great about that. He'd change keys if need be and try different things.

Robin Williams..."You realize now when you work for Disney why the mouse has only four fingers — because he can't pick up a check," he joked to the magazine."

[quote]So a Reno who cannot dance and leads who cannot sell the score. Guess that’s why they’re begging people to go.

Of course, Reno wasn't originally conceived as a dancing role. It was rejiggered that way for some famous revivals, with people like Ann Miller and Mitzi Gaynor, and of course Sutton Foster. But if the leads at Arena are the wrong types for their roles vocally or stylistically or whatever, and were cast just because they're people of color, obviously that's not a good thing.

No one wrote songs for Ann Miller. She never created a role on Broadway before Sugar Babies and her numbers in film were mostly old songs or were written for others (Shaking the Blues Away, Tom Dick or Harry, etc) rather than originals.

R289, that seems odd as the critique of Ross is that her voice is too classically trained. I would think it would be easy to find an AA actress with more of a nightclub sound. There has to be more to her casting than her skin color.

R291, agreed, so who knows why she was cast if in fact her voice is wrong for the part? (I haven't seen the show, I'm only going by what people are saying here.)

[quote]I haven't seen the show, I'm only going by what people are saying here.

Your first mistake.

This is her singing Blow Gabriel... I don't know if this is how she sings in the show, but she has more of a gospel sound than a classically trained sound here,

I have no desire to see any production of Anythnng Goes. However, if you think Arena cast any actor simply because of their skin color, you are showing your ignorance/propensity to bigotry. Their casting pool (DC- based and national) is extremely deep.

What does that have to do with it, R295? Arena has made a very strong point of casting people of color in traditionally "white" roles for quite a few years now, so what I meant was that in this case they might have made that the priority over suitability for the role. Like they did when they cast OKLAHOMA! some time ago.

Washington DC is nearly 50% black. Of course any theater there is going to try to make its casting reflect its audience.

R294

That sounded like a woman belting her face off to me. I guess you saw black and assumed she was more gospel.

It was always intended to be like 'call and respond' church music.

R296, maybe you are missing the point, which is that AA is not a casting choice in and of itself. Audra McDonald, Cynthia Errivo, and Tonya Punkins are all black, but bring vastly different qualities. In the Oklahoma! production you reference, the Laurey was miscast and it had nothing to do with her race as much as her brittle stage presence. Though to be fair, she was cast because the original actress was fired in previews because it was discovered she could not carry a tune.

Let's not forget that Miss Leslie Uggams replaced Patti LuPone in Anything Goes.

[quote]Besides being in a wheelchair, she is spectacular in the role. And really doesn't have much competition so far.

Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you!!!!!

[quote]Though to be fair, she was cast because the original actress was fired in previews because it was discovered she could not carry a tune.

How do they get all the way to previews and discover a lead can't sing?

Arena Stage and Molly Smith.

[quote]Maybe you are missing the point, which is that AA is not a casting choice in and of itself. Audra McDonald, Cynthia Errivo, and Tonya Punkins are all black, but bring vastly different qualities. In the Oklahoma! production you reference, the Laurey was miscast and it had nothing to do with her race as much as her brittle stage presence. Though to be fair, she was cast because the original actress was fired in previews because it was discovered she could not carry a tune.

R299, maybe YOU are missing the point that AA can of course be a casting choice -- or at least enter into casting choices -- when a theater is making a definite, absolute point of casting a certain percentage of the leads in a show with AA people, like some sort of quota system. And maybe sometimes, some people are cast more for that reason than because they're suitable for the role. Ironically, the Laurey is not the person in OKLAHOMA! I was specifically referring to. Rather, I was referring to the Curly, who was not AA but Hispanic (or Latinx, if you prefer).

You are really pursuing a strange line of argument, r304. I am supposed to have read your mind?

The super hot Nicholas Rodriguez was likely cast for his leading man looks and voice as well as his race. He also played Billy Bigelow and Freddy Eynsford-Hill at the same theater. Does it not occur to you that he might have been cast as much for his talent and his type as for his race?

R305, obviously I'm not a fan of his talent, but yes, I guess you're right that he might have been cast because the people at the theater agree with you on that point and not with me.

R306 don't you get it? We're supposed to be color-blind when casting people of color and color-conscious when casting whites.

I don't think that woman has the wrong voice for Reno at all. I was expecting a voice like Barbara Cook or some shit. That was belting and Reno is a role for a belter, so I'm not seeing the issue.

That's a true casting crime right there - casting a belting role with someone who only wants to sing in head voice. God, that's rough. All those people asking for Audra to play Mama Rose one day. Bitch, are you out of your mind? She'd be fucking terrible with that voice. I don't want to see her in that role for the same reason why I don't want to see Kelli O'Hara or Laura Benanti in that role. They're talented, but couldn't sing it right.

I hate to wade into this argument, but I saw the Arena Stage Oklahoma, and the very point of it was to reimagine the frontier as being diverse and also, like Hamilton, to make an analogy between America's strivers then and now - so the casting was not random or accidental even if it's totally fair game to criticize the individual choices or performances - for my money Rodriquez was a great Curly and E. Faye Butler was a great Eller, tho Maureen Lipman is still the greatest ...

Color -conscious casting usually means considering people of all ethnicity for roles, when ethnic identity is not an issue of the play.

Some people use the term color-blind, but I think it is the opposite of that.

TANGLED was nowhere near a disaster. It had the sixth biggest Thanksgiving opening ever, and on a budget of 260 million, made 600 million worldwide. It made 200 million domestically. It did very, very well.

Splatsy is a fucking MESS in that White House concert R298. Jesus Christ, the hair, the dress, the terrifyingly aggressive demeanor, and she basically screams the entire thing. She keeps turning her head away from the camera on high notes (a tired singer tic) because she doesn’t have them. She’s clearly vocally tired. America was terrified of her, and rightly so.

[quote]TANGLED was nowhere near a disaster. It had the sixth biggest Thanksgiving opening ever, and on a budget of 260 million, made 600 million worldwide. It made 200 million domestically. It did very, very well.

Thanks, I guess whoever posted otherwise was thinking of another movie, or is simply misinformed. I really do love TANGLED, so I'm glad it did well.

R311 Add in marketing costs and that's a loss. Utterly ridiculous budget in the first place.

The CATS movie ..... I thought Hooper ruined the LES MIZ Film. Just horrible. And they’re being so coy about “special technology” to transform the actors in CATS. What is it ?? Are they going to be in cat stockings, with cgi enhanced faces ?? This could be really weird.

What saddens me about the CATS movie is that the premise of SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION will no longer work. How will they stage the play after that?

R312 = Betty Buckley touring in BumFuckNowhere

TANGLED was not a flop. It came on the heels of PRINCESS AND THE FROG, which was a disappointment to Disney. In fact, FROG's underperformance convinced Disney to discontinue 2D animation, while TANGLED's success convinced them to go the 3D route. Initially, FROZEN was going to be hand-drawn when it was still called THE SNOW QUEEN.

Also, Disney blamed THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG's failure on its title (they thought that 'princess' and emphasis on the female character kept the boys away), so they retitled RAPUNZEL as TANGLED, which in turn caused THE SNOW QUEEN to be retitled FROZEN.

R282 has the proper read on the Arena production. Many of my friends who've seen it also came away very underwhelmed. It's not that Reno has to dance but, in this production, it looks like they expected her to but this actress cannot do it. She also had severe pitch problems. That clip at R294 sounds pretty terrible to me, and she was worse than that in the actual show I saw. If you cannot hear her intonation problems in that video, then you're either being a contrarian or you're tone deaf. I thought Corbin Bleu was a winning presence, but the whole evening was off-kilter because the Reno was so weak. Black, blue, red, or brown, it's not a good performance.

My discussion of Tangled was very much based on how it was still perceived when Frozen was released. It was confusing because all my friends with children had LOVED the movie - but in animation circles it was literally the end of anything that was not 'Cal Arts.'

Looking back on it, I think much of the perception was shaped by the fact studios were making public excuses about the gender imbalance in big budget movies as well as the way animators were being treated. (It was later found that there was wage fixing going on among the studios - so the pretense that the animation department was an out of control expensive failure was probably a part of that.)

$260 is still one of the biggest of big budget movies and the industry attitude about Tangled was how it 'proved' that big budget projects really should not be female oriented in any way. (Right before Frozen came out one of the biggest stories about it to make headlines was that the head of Disney animation complained that it was too hard to animate female characters because they had to be pretty and emotional.) I guess some amount of the material I read about Tangled was really just Disney propaganda having to do with allowing Lassiter to have more control over all of animation.

But Disney still does not treat Tangled like it is a franchise tent-pole. I guess that may be a good thing, because they did kick it back into a 2-d TV production with Alan Menken back on board to write lyrics.

Thanks for that R300, you have to hand it to Leslie Uggams, always game and always a pro. She'd been in showbiz 36 years at that point! And I loved the glimpse of Rex Smith and Rip Taylor in that video too, even though they weren't in the foreground for that number.

I'm bored. Time to put on my capris and flats.....

She's certainly more effortless at tap than Patti was, r322. I saw Jerry's Girls where she also effortlessly tapped next to Chita and Dorothy.

The thing r316 about Cats is it just started filming last week and it is coming out a year from now. That doesn't give them a lot of time for extensive special effects / CGI....Got to assume it is going to be pretty much "Cats" costumes...

R325 so Best Makeup Oscar instead of Visual Effects?

Craft Services will be provided by Friskies.

Is it too late to hope that a spreading case of feline distemper breaks out on set and halts the Cats movie production?

Marcia-Marcia-Marcia just decided she WILL play Juliet.

For absolutely no reason.....

Can we draft Maureen McCormick to appear in The Prom?

[quote]and Tonya Punkins are all black

Tonya Punkins - What a bitch!

[quote]How do they get all the way to previews and discover a lead can't sing?

Beats me.

As a director Molly Smith Smith is a great Girl Scout leader.

Lupone’s Ladies who lunch aired today on BBC and Sondheim changed the lyrics.

“Here’s to the girls in their prime. Aren’t they too much. Keeping house but Clutching a copy of Time just to keep in touch.”

I get people today don’t know “Life” magazine but I miss “girls who play wife.”

Who clutches a magazine these days? Does nothing rhyme with Huffington Post?

Here’s to the girls who play mom/Aren’t they too much?/Keeping house but bookmarking Bloomberg.com/Just to keep in touch

R337 LOL

[quote]Here’s to the girls in their prime. Aren’t they too much. Keeping house but Clutching a copy of Time just to keep in touch.”

What an unfortunate rewrite. Makes me want to see this COMPANY even less.

[quote]Here’s to the girls who play mom/Aren’t they too much?/Keeping house but bookmarking Bloomberg.com/Just to keep in touch

That actually is a far better rewrite. Seriously.

The "mom/dot com" rhyme is genius. I bet Steve would even agree.

Here’s to the girls who are new. Aren’t they too much. Keeping house but watching The View just to keep in touch.

The ones who root for McCain and think that Joy is a pain

I saw that Company less than a month ago and the original lyric about LIFE was still there (and was quite jarring as it's modern dress) so I guess this change is very new.

R340 Steve who?

It's a much funnier line, but aren't there too many syllables with "bookmarking bloomberg.com" for the melody line?

Yes, there's audio of Patti singing this song in the first preview with the original lyric. They must have changed this recently. I was wondering if they'd do something about it, since it seemed to clash with the whole modern aspect of this production.

"Here's to the wives on the go / Aren't they too much / Keeping house but clutching the latest "HELLO" / Just to keep in touch

And yes, I know Hello is a Brit mag and nothing to do with New York. But do British audiences know that?

Here's to the Meghans who lunch. Aren't they too much? Attention whoring through life and marrying a dunce.

Are you drunk, r348? That’s all that could explain your post.

R344 "Keeping house but clutching a copy of Life" and "Keeping house but bookmarking Bloomberg.com" both have 11 syllables.

[quote]Here’s to the girls who are new. Aren’t they too much. Keeping house but watching The View just to keep in touch.

This doesn't scan.

Bookmarking scans with “clutching a” . Bloomberg dot com scans with copy of Life (or Time).

Someone should email that lyric to Sondheim.

Wait. Patti was singing this on BBC? BBC what? Radio, TV...? Some more context, please.

I randomly stumbled upon this when searching for something completely unrelated. John Kerr and France Nuyen in South Pacific, 1958....

John Kerr and France Nuyen, reunited at the LA stop of the South Pacific national tour, 2010

And here’s John Kerr today!

Yes, you're. It must be the visual that threw me off.

Let's hope that Sondheim uses the lyric so that r337 can sue him.

*yes, you're right.

And John in his prime...

He looks rather ordinary there.

Although the three part internal rhyme is gone (too much, clutching, keep in touch)

R359 nice bulge!

And here are John Kerr and Deborah Kerr (no relation) in "Tea and Sympathy," which they did both on stage and screen.

[quote]Yes, there's audio of Patti singing this song in the first preview with the original lyric. They must have changed this recently. I was wondering if they'd do something about it, since it seemed to clash with the whole modern aspect of this production.

There must still be dozens of lines and situations in the show that "clash with the whole modern aspect" of it, but I guess no one is supposed to say that because Sondheim was on board.

Changing "a copy of Life" to "a copy of Time" completely obliterates the brilliance of the original lyric -- these women experience copies of life rather than real life itself. But since it's still so close to the original lyric, that only points up how much of a clunky letdown it is, whereas going to something different like Bloomberg.com is a much better idea. Of course, the best idea would have been to just leave the show at is, about a male Bobby and set in 1970.

"Playing mom" doesn't fully work as a substitute for "playing wife". One can play wife and then get a divorce. Once a mother always a mother.

I agree with others that it's better than Sondheim's rewrite, though.

I think "play mom" works just fine. "Mom" is a role someone can play, successfully or not, just like wife or husband or dad or paramour or whatever.

John Kerr's career has always been totally inexplicable to me. He was only average in the looks department and, on the basis of his performances in the movies of SOUTH PACIFIC and TEA AND SYMPATHY, a very mediocre actor. Maybe he made it just for being brave enough to play gay (or presumed gay) in TEA AND SYMPATHY on stage?

[quote]"Playing mom" doesn't fully work as a substitute for "playing wife". One can play wife and then get a divorce. Once a mother always a mother.

There's a difference between 'mother' and 'mom.' My birth mother was an asshole. Luckily, a friend's mother became my surrogate mom and still plays that role.

"Play wife" implies a superficiality, trying on a role that can be easily discarded. One can't "play mom" in a similar fashion. Even a deadbeat mom is still a mom.

Tea and Sympathy's concern isn't about being gay, but what constitutes manliness and masculinity. Big difference.

"Tea and Sympathy" was a very hot property because of its "daring" theme of homosexuality (it was a very homophobic play and movie, of course), which is no doubt why John Kerr got to do the movie version. "South Pacific" is harder to understand (plus his singing had to be dubbed).

[quote]Tea and Sympathy's concern isn't about being gay, but what constitutes manliness and masculinity. Big difference

You sound like you're quoting a press release from the original movie. It most certainly is about being gay. The character of Tom is seen as a homosexual because be isn't "manly." He even goes to see the town pump to try to prove to himself he isn't a homo. In the mind-set of the '50s, being gay=being feminine=not being a "real man." It's a play that certainly hasn't aged well. In the end, Deborah Kerr saves Toms from the scourge of homosexuality by sleeping with him.

R368 I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. It is very easy to be a mother. All it takes is a functioning uterus and nine months of incubation time. A mom is the person who gives her life to the raising of a child. A person who willingly accepts the burdens, responsibilities, heartbreaks, and joys of raising a child. Thus, not every mother can (or is willing to) be a mom.

Likewise father/dad.

I see your point but I don't think your personal distinction between mom/mother has widespread acceptance that would make it entirely useful for the aforementioned song lyric aimed at a general audience. Now, a lyric like "Hello, mother" could give an impression similar to what you're talking about, but that's because of the greeting aspect combined with "mother", not the word "mother" alone.

Yes, that's what in the minds of the characters, r371, but that's not what the play is about. Just like, say, The Miracle Worker is not just a problem drama about a handicapped person.

[quote]r19 Victoria ain’t a new character. She’s the white one in the stage version. Know you’re fucking facts

[bold]#Justice4Victotia

What IS The Miracle Worker about? The Patty Duke Troll has put me off seeing it. And did any of you see Suzanne Pleshette as Bancroft's replacement?

Prime/Time may not be as devastating as wife/Life, but it's not bad, given that "prime" deals with age, etc. "Just to keep in touch" doesn't have to same payoff, though, and, to my mind, runs counter to the idea (if I'm concerned about growing older, I'm always holding back Time, and not trying to keep in touch with it).

Did someone say "Lehman Engel'?

A few threads back, someone mentioned that the name joke in "Barcelona" is now "Randy"/"Andy". It's foolish to hope, but did they switch it to our better suggestion, "Oscar"/"Tony"? Also, I forget -- did anyone mention if "Have I Got a Girl for You" is cut or extensively reworked?

Finally got a copy of the 2002 'Funny Girl' concert, anybody see it live? Some of it really works, but copying Barbra does not. Thought Lillias just nailed it, individual and sexy.

[quote]Why was Stritch so difficult in her later interviews. Somebody would ask her a simple question and she would get angry and bellow at them, but never totally answer the question. Even when they threw her softball questions.

She was a thoroughgoing cunt of the highest order. Even sober, she remained a dry drunk.

This interview was yanked until after she died.

[quote]r111 To Kill a Mockingbird is probably one of the best books to ever be written by a person.

As opposed to a cat?

[quote]r143 She's frequently absent from Frozen because of "anxiety" or some other millennial disorder.

Can't she carry a support animal, like a hamster, in her pocket onstage?

Patti Murin has triumphed against having mental illness and baby teeth in her 40’s, she’s a survivor!

The other Patti - LuPone - was unbelievably fun and funny and smart on Michael Ball's UK radio programme this past weekend -- worth a listen - and you get a sneak preview too of Ladies Who Lunch in this show's version.

R321, “Tangled” made a ton of money, budget or not, relaunched the Disney princess stable with CGI animation, and is now part of the fold. It did not fail and is not considered a failure. Your lengthy, weird post does nothing but split hairs, and no one cares about Cal Arts eyerolling devotion to their particular visual style outside a tiny group of now deposed and avoided animators like that #metoo creep who was fired from Pixar. I mean, really.

Are you functionally retarded? Tea and Sympathy is 100% about being gay. This is one of the DUMBEST things I’ve read here in nineteen years, and that’s fucking saying something.

Jesus Christ that insufferable fake idiot interviewing Stritch... what a moron. Who cares if she ripped him to shreds? She never suffered fools gladly, and by that age she really didn’t care. Good for her. And wtf is “WorldOver.” Lol, the interview was pulled? Hunny, whatever that is didn’t have an audience or venue in the first place.

I loved the story that T&S was not produced in France because nobody saw a problem with Tom in the first place. To the French producers there was no story there.

R390 what about in England? Their men sound/act rather fey.

"Have I Got A Boy For You" is in the revised Company and doesn't work at all mainly because the husbands who sing it are all cast as unappealing and unattractive character types who you could never believe were friends of Rosalie (Bobbi) Craig.

Very bad casting! Is this the best of London musical talent? Is this what Marianne Elliott thinks NYers are like?

It will be interesting to see how it's cast for the NY transfer (other than Patti) and whether it's tweaked some more for NY audiences.

R391, good question. Most of the school stuff, e.g., playing a female role in play is normal in England.

This Company will flop unless it’s being presented by one of the nonprofits for a limited run. Once again, an example of a vastly overrated production that’s “great” by British standards

LOL that interview with Stritch is hilarious. She reads that smarmy fool for filth and then some. I’d love to see the stuff they cut out. Ha!

The interviewer is Raymond Arroyo, who is on the Eternal Word network. He also works for Fox subbing in for Laura Ingraham.

He's a truly terrible interviewer--in a league with Richie Ridge--but Elaine was a truly terrible woman.

I'd rather see Stritch interviewed than any of a number of shallow phonies.

I didn't realize those were the only options, r399.

[quote] This Company will flop unless it’s being presented by one of the nonprofits for a limited run. Once again, an example of a vastly overrated production that’s “great” by British standards

I don't know, was the Raúl Esparza version a nonprofit? I could be wrong but I thought it had a fairly respectable run.

R397 - WHO?

Patti was coy about transferring to Broadway in the interview, and not because of the horrible Sondheim lunch rewrites. She said she’d only go to Broadway if the rest of the cast transfers, so who knows? Broadway might have a different Joanne.

Hopefully. I can't stand LuPone.

Are you a teacher in Texas, r377?

Galt McDermot is dead.

Is James Rado still a skater boi?

[quote]Tea and Sympathy's concern isn't about being gay, but what constitutes manliness and masculinity. Big difference.

Oh, for heaven's sake. Of course I understand that, but the point is that Tom Lee in TEA AND SYMPATHY is THOUGHT to be gay by a lot of his fellow students, and I think few young actors would have been brave enough to accept a role like that in the 1950s. Understand?

[quote]Yes, that's what in the minds of the characters, [R371], but that's not what the play is about. Just like, say, The Miracle Worker is not just a problem drama about a handicapped person.

But none of that changes the fact that the central character in TEA AND SYMPATHY is absolutely perceived as gay (and taunted for being gay) by his fellow students. So I stick with my opinion that it took some bravery on John Kerr's part to play the role, even though the play isn't primarily "about" homosexuality.

[quote] Galt McDermot is dead.

As a young gayling, endlessly listening to the OCR of HAIR, I always thought Galt (far right) was the handsomest of the three creators.

He also wrote the music for one of Broadway's most notorious flops, DUDE

TWO of Broadway's most notorious flops, the other one was called VIA GALACTICA. But he was a great composer.

I believe the Raul/Doyle Company was a commercial run. It played at the Barrymore for just under the length of the '06-'07 season.

Michael Arden directing a workshop of Parade this week starring Mark Platt for Roundabout.

I listened to Patti's new Ladies Who Lunch and she's fabulous as always, but did the orchestrations sound like a bad MIDI file to anyone else? There was something so weird about them. Didn't like them at all.

[quote] Michael Arden directing a workshop of Parade this week starring Mark Platt for Roundabout.

Mark Platt is an actor now?

I can't tell if it's the recording quality, but I hear the weird MIDI orchestration thing, too. It sounds like a track your aunt would sing along to at a karaoke bar.

[quote]r390 I loved the story that T&S was not produced in France because nobody saw a problem with Tom in the first place. To the French producers there was no story there.

In her autobiography, Ingrid Bergman mentions doing TEA & SYMPATHY in Paris. Clothes by Chanel.

Yes he's made all the money he needs and his life's ambition has always been to play Leo Frank

I never saw the show, but the poster for DUDE showcased what just may have been the best ass in the history of Broadway advertising

R417 the man has such lofty ambitions!

Or at least to move the story of Leo Frank to Broadway starring his son.

[quote]She said she’d only go to Broadway if the rest of the cast transfers, so who knows?

In other words, Patti’s giving a big “fuck you” to American actors. Well fuck you, too, Patti.

I'm not sure that was her intent, r421. I think her focus likely was on expressing solidarity and loyalty to this cast; she's praised them to the skies consistently, not only for their talent (in her view) but for the positive atmosphere they've created during the run.

[quote]r396 LOL that interview with Stritch is hilarious. She reads that smarmy fool for filth and then some. I’d love to see the stuff they cut out. Ha!

Long term alcoholism gives you brain damage like that - where you can no longer read social situations. He's paying her a compliment, thrilled to be sitting down with her, and she goes off the rails.

What a miserable side she had.

[quote]r396 He's a truly terrible interviewer--in a league with Richie Ridge--but Elaine was a truly terrible woman.

The thing that's so weird about her is she doesn't have a drop of dignity.

And that BRAYING at the crew she starts the interview with ... !

[quote]Galt McDermot is dead.

Does this mean we can go back to talking about "Hair" instead of Patti Murin?

And this wasn't a set of behaviors that Stritch developed late in life. She's loud and crass in the Company documentary (and Prince and Sondheim are so patient with her) and obnoxious in the Follies in Concert film.

[quote]Michael Arden directing a workshop of Parade this week starring Mark Platt for Roundabout.

Who is Mark Platt?

Jeez, how petty. Who gives a shit?

[quote]R426 And this wasn't a set of behaviors that Stritch developed late in life. She's loud and crass in the Company documentary (and Prince and Sondheim are so patient with her) and obnoxious in the Follies in Concert film.

I think it kind of became an attention-getting schtick for her.

Yes, we're all LOOKING AT YOU, Stritchy ... but you look so[italic] infantile.[/italic] Can you please grow the fuck up?

[bold] : (

Isn't Ben Platt too young and... doughy to play Leo Frank?

Yeah, the new orchestrations for Ladies Who Lunch are weird. That rhythmic keyboard thing is very off-putting and tinny. The attempt is laudable, I guess; it kills that very dated samba feel. But what the hell is supposed to be now? EDM?

[quote]r425 Does this mean we can go back to talking about "Hair" instead of Patti Murin?

HAIR has such an amazing score. I saw a semi staged concert version in L.A. with Steven Webber, and when each song started, I was thinking, "Oh my god! I [italic]love[/italic] this song!!" It's just amazing standard after standard.

Do we know who did the new orchestrations?

Re: L.A. production of HAIR with Steven Weber:

Jennifer Leigh Warren was Shiela (tho this clip is from another event)

CHANEL, r416???!!!

[quote] Patti was coy about transferring to Broadway in the interview, and not because of the horrible Sondheim lunch rewrites. She said she’d only go to Broadway if the rest of the cast transfers, so who knows? Broadway might have a different Joanne.

She's so dumb. Take the fucking job.

Patti will come home when we impeach Trump.

Fingers crossed it happens soon and the fucker takes Pence with him.

In the "Ladies Who Lunch" discussion, some people are missing out that Joanne is singing it. "Mom" really doesn't make sense because Joanne never talks about children. She DOES talk about marriage (I've done it three or four times). So her experience as a "wife" is markedly more important to what she sings than "mom".

But she's singing about a wide variety of "ladies," she has observed, r438, not just herself and her experiences.

[quote]But she's singing about a wide variety of "ladies," she has observed, [R438], not just herself and her experiences.

She PRETENDS she's singing about a variety of ladies, but all the ladies she describes are her. She has nothing in her life but booze and fags. No children, no sex, no career. SHE is the ultimate lady who lunches.

The amazing this about the Stritch interview is most people have no idea who she is and would never give her the time of day, yet the man interviewing her was a fan and therefore she was extra shitty to him.

That happens a lot I think

R441 how do you mean?

[quote]r435 CHANEL???! (Headmaster's wives.......everywhere)

Well, it was understated Chanel.

It was late 50s Paris, after all!

[quote]The amazing this about the Stritch interview is most people have no idea who she is and would never give her the time of day, yet the man interviewing her was a fan and therefore she was extra shitty to him. That happens a lot I think.

I think you've hit the nail on the head. It's a weird phenomenon, but it does happen sometimes with nasty, unstable, impaired people like Stritch.

[quote]I'm not sure that was her intent, [R421]. I think her focus likely was on expressing solidarity and loyalty to this cast; she's praised them to the skies consistently, not only for their talent (in her view) but for the positive atmosphere they've created during the run.

Presumably because there's no one in the cast whom LuPone feels remotely threatened by or in competition with, as opposed to the dozens of people she has trashed in her memoir and in numerous interviews.

Those new orchestrations for The Ladies Who Lunch are truly ghastly. Does their orchestra consist of one piano and someone on a Casio?

Not r441, but I wonder if he meant that she followed the old Groucho credo: she wouldn't join any club that would accept her as a member.

I think Stritch just had no inner censor/filter.

Major boundary issues!

Didn't Patti claim that she passed on the Broadway Les Miz because the original London company was so special? It was propbably more about wanting to stay a leading lady on Broadway. That resolve may have even been strengthened by Women on the Verge, whose leading lady she thrashed.

She said in her Michael Ball interview that their Les Miz company was perfection, and wouldn't be replicated in NY. I had the impression that it was about more than just wanting the camaraderie; I think she said that the harmony in that cast (like the harmony in this Company cast) enhanced everyone's performance.

I worked with Elaine Stritch once. This was after she (supposedly) stopped drinking. She was *the* attention whore of all attention whores. She came to the first rehearsal and announced that she was diabetic and had to have her insulin at certain times and had to have a certain eating schedule. There were roughly 60 people in the room and I'm sure at least someone else was diabetic.

Kim gave plenty shapely silhouettes.

[quote]She said in her Michael Ball interview that their Les Miz company was perfection, and wouldn't be replicated in NY. I had the impression that it was about more than just wanting the camaraderie;

Yeah, and she was the weakest link. Leaving me onstage alone singing responses to a Fantine that couldn't get her ass on stage.

"A matinee, a Pinter play" is another line in "The Ladies Who Lunch" that doesn't really make sense in a modern context. Why didn't Sondheim change that one? Also, why the hell is "dolls" considered a more modern or less offensive word than "girls?" How strange. Anyway, I thought LuPone was miscast as Joanne when she did that NY Philharmonic thing, and I still do.

Maybe it was too heavy a lift to drill down into every single lyric, and he just chose to fix the really glaring ones. Who knows? Would you rather have him fix minutiae or finish Bunuel?

R441 There was a story told on one of these threads about Elaine doing some kind of event somewhere, and a fan volunteered to drive her around, and Elaine berated the fan telling her she had to clean her car if she wanted Elaine to ride in it.

I wouldn't doubt that story for a second.

[quote]Maybe it was too heavy a lift to drill down into every single lyric, and he just chose to fix the really glaring ones. Who knows? Would you rather have him fix minutiae or finish Bunuel?

If it's a choice between the two, then of course I'd choose the latter. I just think it's interesting which lyrics in COMPANY Sondheim felt he need to change and which he didn't. Anyone have any insight on that "girls" to "dolls" change? Has he commented on it? Because that one seems REALLY strange to me.

Maybe because that's something Patti says a lot? I wonder if it's been interpolated into her dialog--that would make it less strange.

Harmony, huh? Didn't one of her Les Miz say that she'd taken to writing fiction. Not too mention Ms Ensemble Trained ducking out of ensemble work. Add in the sniff sniff and retiring to her dressing room to read Interview magazine, so in its thrall was Patti that she missed her cue...

So she lied.

Was Helen Shapiro really Cameron Mackintosh' first choice for Fantine or did she just get the call before Patti? She had been Nancy in the London Oliver! revival that preceded the Moody/LuPone Broadway one.

[quote]There was a story told on one of these threads about Elaine doing some kind of event somewhere, and a fan volunteered to drive her around, and Elaine berated the fan telling her she had to clean her car if she wanted Elaine to ride in it.

I will tell a nice story about Elaine Stritch. Then I will follow it up with a cynical notation.

For the Company Original Cast Reunion Concert, Pam Meyers didn't have anything appropriate to wear (ie formal evening gown type). So Elaine went into her closet and found a suitable dress for Pam to wear. That was a very nice thing to do.

Elaine was very well known for overbilling. When she made "an appearance" even at charity events, she would go on a shopping spree and bill the producer of the event. So charity events, where she was expected to keep her personal costs low, she'd go out and buy an entire new wardrobe, dress, shoes, even underwear and bill it to the producer. So I imagine she had intended to wear Pam's dress and then when she had an excuse, she gave her dress to Pam and went out and splurged on a new outfit.

How the rich stay rich...

Was anyone here involved with that revue with Stritch and Margaret Whiting? I believe Dolores Gray withdrew. I would guess it was due to her memory problems but I could well imagine Stritch and Gray clashing.

Didn't Stritch get her first leading lady role on Broadway thanks to Dolores Gray, who had been announced to star?

Since we’re on a Stritch roll, do we know why Barbara Cook ended their friendship?

R424 I do not BRAY!!! (Braying.)

I wasn't aware they ever had a friendship, r465.

I'd guess that Cook was pretty spiky herself, although certainly not in Elaine's league. Still, a friendship between them was likely bumpy.

Barbara Cook spent several pages in her memoir trashing Stritch and saying she would never work with her again after they had a huge eruption during a charity concert in the early aughts.

I’m sure she would have elaborated in her wheelchair rotating stage stage show that never was

R433 That was the "Hair" with apparently very good lighting during extended nude scenes. I saw some video with Stephen Webber, who was cute, but what about footage of a young and cute and nude Sam Harris? But you can spare us footage of a bare Marissa Jaret Winokur please.

That was for R432 , sorry, but anyone with footage is welcome to reply.

Why wouldn't "a matinee, a Pinter play?" still "make sense in a modern context?" There have been three well-received Broadway revivals of Pinter in the past five years...and, yup, we still have matinees. Of course it's relevant.

[quote]Since we’re on a Stritch roll, do we know why Barbara Cook ended their friendship?

Probably because Stritch wouldn't stop loudly yakking about her damned shoes while Barbara was trying to rehearse "Too Many Mornings" for "Follies in Concert."

Did Elaine Stritch ever play Martha opposite Arthur Hill in "Who's Afraid of Virigina Woolf"? Hill was apparently dating Cook (or having an affair) while doing the show "Something More" (which featured relatively shapely Barbara in a bikii) which broke off and left Cook turning to the bottle unfortunately. Hill could have been something else besides alcohol Elaine and Barbara had in common -- well, at least some connection to him.

R472, the cultural touchstones mentioned in the song (such as optical art, Mahler, Pinter, etc) were all fashionable in 1970.

Optical art is now largely forgotten. Mahler is not the current rediscovery. Pinter is not writing new plays. Caftans are a punchline.

To sing it in a 21st century context makes it a song about fraus rather than elite au courant New Yorkers.

What, exactly, was Patti's beef with Sherie Scott in Women on the Verge?

We weren't discussing Mahler or caftans, but Pinter, who still retains an intellectual, elitist cachet (just this week, BBC aired a broadcast of THE BIRTHDAY PARTY with Toby Jones). Fraus wouldn't even know who or what a Pinter is. If anything, I'd venture to say most of the modern elite don't even bother attending the theater anymore (opera is more likely) unless it's an overhyped bit of silliness like HAMILTON.

r473 has it correct, except the song was In Buddy's Eyes. If Barbara Cook and Elaine Stritch were friends up until Follies In Concert, then that moment would have killed it. As you can see in the video (starting at 2:06), Barbara is trying to rehearse and Elaine is busy trying on a pair of shoes, knowing that she is distracting Barbara and the rest of the rehearsal. Barbara was too nice. If it had been me, I would have stopped the music, taken those shoes and shoved them up Elaine's "stritch".

Sherrie Rene Scott, who I've seen do excellent work in "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" and "Aida", could not pull of playing a Spanish lead in "Women on the Verge". Laura Benanti was hilarious and rather walked off with the show, though Patti had a very good number in a supporting role. Perhaps Patti thought that if Sherri had been better and not so miscast that the show would have lasted longer?

pull "off", sorry. No editing feature.

But didn't Stritch guest at one of Cook's late period concerts in NY/London? I think Stritch wasn't on the album of it, though she was referenced in the patter. It wouldn't surprise me if they were more showbiz friends than genuine - like Oscar Hammerstein and Ann Miller.

The FOLLIES shoe episode did not kill their friendship. That came much later after performing together in Cook's concert at the Met an in a benefit concert. Stritch was impossible and drove everyone crazy preventing proper rehearsal. She was not included on the issued recording of the Met concert. Cook vowed never to work with her again. Stritch persisted with the friendship and continued to phone Cook in the following years.

Thanks, R475, for explaining for that other poster what should be obvious. To reference "a matinee, a Pinter play" in a show set in the present day sounds very dated, no matter how many Pinter revivals there may be. Almost as dated as "a matinee, a Williams play"or "a matinee, a Simon play" would sound. If anything, maybe Sondheim should have changed it to "a matinee, a Stoppard play," because at least he's alive and still writing and still having shows produced in New York.

Pinter is fine.

I like the mom... bloomberg.com line too. But since some DL-wit here wrote it and not Sondheim, it isn't likely to go in.

Pinter is having a huge exploration right now on the West end Stage at the Pinter theater. Caftans are what we're all wearing right now as we type this. Some things don't age.

[quote]Pinter is having a huge exploration right now on the West end Stage at the Pinter theater.

That would be nice if COMPANY took place in London.

Even in London, I'm sure, Pinter is not considered "au courant" and chic and fashionable right now. The whole point of "The Ladies Who Lunch" is that's the kind of stuff the ladies are into.

r478 Is Barbara singing this in a higher key?

Yes, in FOLLIES IN CONCERT, Barbra sang "In Buddy's Eyes" in a higher key than the original as sung by Dorothy Collins in the original.

I guess a 'Potter play' would fit for America, since those Harry Potter things are the only 'au courant' theater for fraus right now.

(Seriously. Who is our current reigning playwright in America? Sorkin seems to be all alone in his fame but who wants to sing that...)

Given the concept of the new COMPANY, maybe the reference should have been changed to a female playwright whose names scans with the lyrics: "A matinee, a Nottage play."

Why can't it be[italic] "A matinee / A sucky play..."[/italic] ?

Cuz that's what we gots now, an' YA ALL KNOW IT!

Since Patti is singing it, "A matinee, a fucking play..."

[quote]R473 has it correct, except the song was In Buddy's Eyes.

Thanks, R478. The moment I posted that I realized I had written the wrong song title. Oh, for that DL edit function.

Per her Instagram, Patti Murin and Colin Donnell are on vacation in Jamaica.

I was so hoping someone would start up the Patti Murin discussion again.

Just what we need, another revival of another misbegotten flop.

A matinee, a Murin play, perhaps a piece of Lin-Manuel. IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII'll sink to that!

Trust me: if you've seen the latest less-than-enthralling Stoppard play, you'd stick with Pinter.

Lin-Manuel wishes we would overanalyze his lyrics the way we do Sondheim's.

[quote]Why can't it be "A matinee / A sucky play..." ? Cuz that's what we gots now, an' YA ALL KNOW IT!

You're a little behind the times. Right now, the best shows on Broadway are plays, not musicals, most of which indeed are kind of sucky.

R501 -- but they are not plays geared to the ladies who lunch.

R499

Especially a Stoppard play done in America.

But then ladies don't really lunch like that any more. And the ones that go to matinees all come in through buses and tunnels, not the Eastside.

Come to think of it, Patti is perfect!

R502 Angophiles are so fucking annoying! At the moment, for me they're behind Deplorables and SJWs. Can't stand any of those motherfuckers!

Aghhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!

If I were that fan, I’d tell Stritch she needs to clean her cunt before she rides in my car, R455.

Pleshette was fine, so was Brennen. Read the damn play R377. When Bancroft left, two actresses were up, Arthur Penn only had a short time for the put-in, He had worked with Suzanne Pleshette before and could do more with her quickly, so she got Broadway and having more time to work with Eileen Brennen she got the tour.

[quote]That was the "Hair" with apparently very good lighting during extended nude scenes. I saw some video with Stephen Webber, who was cute, but what about footage of a young and cute and nude Sam Harris? But you can spare us footage of a bare Marissa Jaret Winokur please.

Do you mean Steven Weber. The guy from Wings? He's SUCH a zaddy. I wanna see this video!

R500 Why bother analyzing lots of false rhymes. Just declare him a genius and pay the royalties.

R508, oh, if only we'd gotten Steven Weber and Tim Daly headlining a nude production of City of Angels ...

[quote]That was the "Hair" with apparently very good lighting during extended nude scenes. I saw some video with Stephen Webber, who was cute, but what about footage of a young and cute and nude Sam Harris? But you can spare us footage of a bare Marissa Jaret Winokur please.

I saw it. Marissa Jaret Winokur's nudity made me gay.

So funny . . . I saw that and don't remember the nudity at all.

I guess I'm not lecherous enough. I was there for THE ART!

The PLAY??? Just read Wikipedia, R377

The Miracle Worker is a story about the blind leading the blind.

Well, the not quite blind leading the blind...and deaf and mute.

THE MIRACLE WORKER is a play about Suzanne Pleshette curing a patient's erectile disfunction.

She has to bring in a young Patty Duke . . . it's quite shocking!

How about this for the ladies who don't lunch, or eat breakfast or dinner either....

What does zaddy mean?

The cast of the London COMPANY is pretty damn wonderful (the scene on the bench between Rosalie Craig and Matthew Seadon-Young as Theo is a playlet in itself) and Broadway as usual won't be able to match it (as they couldn't with Hytner's CAROUSEL, except for Audra; Nunn's OKLAHOMA!; the Warchus FOLLIES by comparison with the returning London one; Peter Hall's legendary London production of ORPHEUS DESCENDING, recast for the worse on Bway) -- but why go on? The Broadway talent pool is tragically diminished and they are all just shiny, shellacked versions of one another -- which is why they can all be interchangeably dropped in and out of shows at random without it making a blind bit of difference. Were there ANY supporting performances of note in the Boyd Gaines or Raul Esparza COMPANYs (except for Veanne Cox)? Nope, not one. Case closed. And, yes, the Esparza one was entirely a commercial engagement and lost money, unlike Doyle's SWEENEY TODD, with Patti, which was actually a hit.

No wonder Patti doesn't want to go home. Oh, and there's Trump, too. (Maybe HE could play Larry ..... YIKES!

Critics don't seem to know how to deal with letting America know that Lin is dreadful in Mary Poppins...

British do better with ensemble shows, but not star driven vehicles or traditional musicals. I suffered through 42nd Street last year, which made the Ferryman seem like a breeze.

isn't that what everyone's doing already, r509?

The Waverly Gallery, To Kill A Mockingbird, The Ferryman, Lifespan of a Fact: All made for the ladies who currently lunch.

Galt MacDermot was the most prolific composer I ever worked with. He could crank out out tunes by the hundreds. Many of them were terrible, but he had no ego and was not invested in defending any of them. If you didn't like a song or it didn't work for the moment, he simply ditched it and wrote another. That's how he wrote HAIR.

He was a quiet, ordinary, unemotional guy who lived in Staten Island, and was not part of the mainstream theater scene in New York City. He LOVED workshopping projects, whether they were successful or not. He also loved working with partners and with actors, and would write material for his favorites. If you met him in person, you would not have a hint of his artistry and popularity.

I worked with Galt on three Broadway shows in the 1970s - one hit and two flops. I also did a workshop with him, that featured Nell Carter, one of his favorites. I should have thanked him for keeping me employed. To me, he was loyal and a gentleman.

Rest in Peace, Galt.

Cranking out hundreds of terrible tunes is prolific?

I don't think prolific requires quality.

LMM is TERRIBLE in Poopins. Like genuinely horribly awful. Embarrassing. Not even adequate. The only thing that saved him from firing was his Hamilton pedigree, but fortunately for America, this movie will definitely end his Hollywood career.

The sale of the rights to Hamilton are the only thing which will end his Hollywood career, unless he has another big hit show.

Agreed 100% R526, the movie is a charming little piffle, some outstanding orchestrated moments, excellent child actors, a serviceable Blunt who succeeds, fun songs, but LMM stinks up the joint and then some! Really a zero with every self aware peep, embarrassing. Sad.

LMM seems to be untouchable. I'm afraid he's around for the long haul, forever in our faces on social media along with his parents, his dog, and his sisters and his cousins and his aunts.

[quote]and his sisters and his cousins

Whom he reckons up by dozens

[quote]and his aunts.

lol R529

I actually find him charming. But I haven't really even listened to the entire cast album of Hamilton much less experienced the hype of the show with him as the star. I've overplayed a few songs, admired the grammy performance and the White House thing on youtube. Without having his fame in perspective, he really comes across as the happiest fanboy to ever be allowed to sing with people he admires in public.

I love his attitude because he seems to really admire a lot of people who I admire.

Indeed, r530. Thank you.

I understand the appeal of his boyish charm, but for me the shine went off after Hurricane Maria, when he claimed quite brazenly to have "written" a song about the tragedy. As most know, said song was "Maria"--same tune, same lyric but with the addition of a sung compendium of every village in Puerto Rico. I am positive that he had the permission of both Sondheim and the Bernstein estate: my gripe is that he repeatedly referred to it as "my song" and "the song I wrote about the hurricane."

R533

He is still so much more likable as a celeb than Kanye and Pete Davidson and whatever real housewife has the spotlight.

I immediately thought of Maria from PYW which makes a whole lot more sense.

Lin is extremely capable and incredibly likable in Poppins. He fits in perfectly. And the movie will make a ton-o-cash.

That's a pretty low bar. I say he's spinach and I say to hell with him.

anyone here know Jim Rado? He is still alive and lives in NJ. I think he must be one of the richest men on the planet

Is "Girl from North Country" going to Broadway? What is the latest?

[quote]LMM is TERRIBLE in Poopins. Like genuinely horribly awful. Embarrassing. Not even adequate. The only thing that saved him from firing was his Hamilton pedigree, but fortunately for America, this movie will definitely end his Hollywood career.

An anonymous theater queen says he's terrible, WHAT a surprise. Just read Deadline's review and they called him perfect. Gee which to believe?

TGOV is a terrific score. But it needs a large cast and was such a part of the zeitgeist of the early 70s it is unrevivable.

It is not a period piece like Hair. And honestly has there ever been a successful revival of Hair which at least has name recognition and had a few huge hit singles which are still remembered today?

Young performers today can enjoy playing hippies and flower children but it is impossible for them to collectively inhabit those roles. The movements, the attitudes. It is like when even the most experienced chorus dancers attempt to do swing. I'm like no please don't. It is embarrassing. And in period movies when extras are supposed to couple dance they move as if they've never heard music before in their lives.

Who said Broadway was dead?

[quote]Season to date, Broadway passed the billion mark – $1,033,018,108, to be exact – a 17% jump over last year at this time, and about 82% of potential. Attendance of 8,064,910 is 10% higher year-to-year.

Broadway is fine. Musical theater is on life support.

Oh, there's one or two numbers in TGOV that are passable, but the rest is strictly disposable stuff, like most scores that come out of the Public. I'm still recovering from The Human Comedy---never have I heard such cacophony from a Broadway stage...until the present era.

Theatre queens get my vote for discernment and taste over agenda-driven critics any day of the week.

Adam Pascal covering for Andy Karl for a week in Jan. I don't buy him as to the manor born

The title song? Where's North? Night Letter? This is what you consider passable?

Dear lord it may not be Rodgers and Hammerstein or Gershwin but we should have such terrific joy filled music today.

Adam Pascal should have done a nude spread around the time he was in Rent. He was at his peak hotness then.

I still think he has the worst voice of any one I've seen on Broadway who has done leads in more than one show.

And yet, Karen Morrow tells of Merman pointedly talking loudly throughtout a performance of Morrow's at party.

[quote] I actually find him charming. But I haven't really even listened to the entire cast album of Hamilton much less experienced the hype of the show with him as the star. I've overplayed a few songs, admired the grammy performance and the White House thing on youtube. Without having his fame in perspective, he really comes across as the happiest fanboy to ever be allowed to sing with people he admires in public. II love his attitude because he seems to really admire a lot of people who I admire.

I agree with you completely about L-MM, especially with your last sentence.

[quote]Adam Pascal should have done a nude spread around the time he was in Rent. He was at his peak hotness then.

That would have been awesome. I saw him on the street in a sleveless shirt not long after RENT opened, and....DAMN!

[quote]The title song? Where's North? Night Letter? This is what you consider passable? Dear lord it may not be Rodgers and Hammerstein or Gershwin but we should have such terrific joy filled music today.

I'm with you. Rest in peace, Galt MacDermot, and thanks for everything.

THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE!

[quote]THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE!

A young couple left at intermission, so me and Irving moved up and took their seats.

Company West End has just posted a video on social media. It contains snippets of musical numbers by most of the cast. Can't be sure this is the cast recording, but whatever it is it suffers from the same bland orchestrations and singing. I remember thinking the first time I heard any of the score that it sounded homogenized, and I still feel that way. All the vitality's been bled from it.

R545

Andy Karl doesn't really seem like a rich privileged bastard either. That is half of why he has success playing the role. If you were to have to identify him as a super-hero type, Andy Karl is definitely more of a corn-fed Clark Kent/Superman rather than a spoiled, broody Bruce Wayne. Adam Pascal is definitely one of the X-Men. So I don't really know what my point is. Neither of them really seem like they should be running Bruce Wayne Industries. I guess we should be grateful that Legally Blonde was the 2004 'hit' and that Spiderman Bring in the Dark didn't reshape Broadway theater. (Except I am so sick of these movie remakes.)

Isn't there a full frontal shot of Adam Pascal out there? I could swear I've seen it.

Why was "Take Me Out" never made into a movie?

What production of TAKE ME OUT is that photograph?

I was not a big fan of TAKE ME OUT, but it might have made a good movie if properly directed and cast.

[quote]I was not a big fan of TAKE ME OUT, but it might have made a good movie if properly directed and cast.

"Properly cast" = with the biggest penises in Hollywood.

[quote]r551THE LEGEND OF LIZZIE!

[quote]r552 A young couple left at intermission, so me and Irving moved up and took their seats. - Theater Patron, 1959

It's been a play, a ballet, an opera, a movie . . . [italic]why [/italic]have we been robbed of a musical?

Could there ever be a stronger Act 1 closer than FORTY WHACKS?

You Can't chop yer Poppa up in Massachusetts!!

"Bridget, Bring Me the Axe!"

"Pears in the Hayloft Ballet"

"Cross-Examination of a Crosspatch" (patter number, with soft shoe)

It would kill ya to include a link, r562?

Patti says in that Michael Ball interview that she'd do it in NYC if "certain members of the company" come with it - which is different from demanding that the entire company do it. I imagine she wants Rosalie Craig first and foremost, and maybe the guy who plays her husband if she's got a good rapport going with him. Richard Fleeshman might be allowed over anyway, since he's already starred on Broadway. I don't think she should expect much more than that.

When the bitch opens up her wallet and becomes producer, she can make her demands.

Until then, she is a PUBLIC performer, at the mercy of THE PUBLIC!

Didn't Alison Frasier do a musical about Ms Borden at some point?

Fun to see young Carol Lawrence in the chorus of that Lizzie Borden number. (She's the one who shouts "District Attorney!" when asked who Ebenezer Burney is).

There was a rock musical version of Lizzie Borden. I saw it at the NAMTA New Musicals festival one year. It's pretty awful.

I should like to put Patti on First Refusal for the role of Abby Borden in my epic FALL RIVER LEZZIE. She is assured the number "Girls...Girls!"

Someone let her know.

The new social media vid of COMPANY doesn't represent at all how it sounds in the theatre - it does have one of the best musical minds going, Joel Fram, at the helm, and he has done amazing work on this. But at least you do get a few seconds of Richard Fleeshman's abs - and junk ...... PHWOAR !

COMPANY is yesterday. FALL RIVER LEZZIE is [italic]today!

R569 I saw that 3 years ago or so at Village Theatre here in WA.

It was just shrieking.

r550, Hollywood is like the mean clique in high school. They find unbridled, wide-eyed, child-like enthusiasm from a GROWN MAN to be barely-tolerable, not just mildly annoying. Look at the way Blunt and Krasinski conduct themselves. While LMM runs all over town like a puppy with a hard-on, the Krasinski's have just been anointed Hollywood's new power couple. It's Krasinski's Ivy-League dignity and Blunt's British stiff upper lip that wins the day, in Hollywood. Not the over-eager birthday boy who expects everyone to be just as enthralled as he is watching him open his own presents and blow out his own candles. We're bored and want to go home. He better cool it.

R571 I saw Company in the theater last week. The sound of the band--great pitch from all instruments, tight rhythms, wonderful builds to numbers--really impressed me. Good to know the name of the person at the helm.

Has this new Company video you're all going on about been posted on DL?

Here you go ...

Let's try again.

Maybe the third time will be the charm?

Please! Help!!!

It's on Facebook. I can't seem to link to it. Richard F's body is worth the price of admission.

Turn off link previews. Or maybe this link to their Instagram page will work.

No, it didn't.

I just watched the COMPANY vid on Facebook. The title number, anyway, of course it still sounds kind of '70s, despite the attempt to water that down, which was a mistake. Does the whole score sound like that?

[quote]The new social media vid of COMPANY doesn't represent at all how it sounds in the theatre -

I am so tired of hearing this. Just like the Imelda Staunton GYPSY vid didn't at all represent her live performance, right?

Both the New York and LA Times massively pan "Mary Poppins." And all the smart critics point out how mediocre Shaiman and Whitman's work is. So much for their Oscar!

Link to NYTimes

So are we going to make the next thread about Mary Poppins?

"It’s perhaps unsurprising that the songs by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman — who have done memorable work elsewhere — are the gravest disappointment." -- OUCH

[quote]r585 Both the New York and LA Times massively pan "Mary Poppins."

The should have cast Suzanne Somers. She was available.

When will they learn?

I wish someone would post one of the Imelda GYPSY bootlegs. I am so tired of the assertion that she was a failure in the role. She wasn't. And I'm not a Brit, nor do I generally enjoy Brits playing Americans (in musical theatre, especially).

Did anyone see CZJ in ALNM and then see her sing "Send In the Clowns" on the Tonys? The latter was terrible, the former wasn't.

Question for the New Yorkers: How's the Palace work coming along? Nobody's shouted "TIMBER," have they?

R591, agreed that her Tony performance was a true abomination. None of us who only saw that performance could understand how it was then possible for her to actually win the Tony other than for being a movie star.

Actually r594, everyone who saw the show at the beginning of the run thought it was brilliant. Granted, she became unstable towards the end of the run (and that is quite evident in the tony award performance that you mention) but her work on the stage was quite good and the award was deserved. You don't win or lose an award based on your performance on the stage of Radio City.

While CZJ's Tony performance is a mess, even in retrospect (stillness, Catherine ...), it's not as much of a trainwreck as I remembered.

I was so nervous, making my Broadway debut so very young. My husband gave me some medication to calm my nerves. I hadn't had medicine delivered nasally before then, but, again, I'm so naive that perhaps I was merely unaware of how things work on Broad-way. It worked out very well for me. Blessings to all.

Good to know, R595. Just that, for those of us in the hinterlands who only saw the Tony performance, it was perplexing but do completely understand it had nothing to do with that specific performance, of course.

The poster neglected to mention that DL Scourge Lin is the only performance of the Mary Poppins Returns film that the NY Times. LOVED.

So Mary Poppins returns to Cherry Tree Lane in drab British depression era clothes. From where does she keep up with fashion? And where has she been through the devastation of WW l and the high life of the 20s when all the bright young things were doing their thing? At the end of the first film Jane and Michael have completely forgotten about her which pisses off the parrot. Now what happens when they see her again decades later? Do they think holy shit we forgot about you? Or who the hell are you?

Well if I were interested enough I would see the film. But I'm not. Though exactly what does the balloon lady do? Prepare to fight the Nazis with witchcraft?

[italic][bold]LINE!