THEATRE GOSSIP #354: "There Shall be Wailing and Gnashing of Teeth" Edition

Funny, I thought that quote was from King Lear, but apparently it's from the Bible…

Good job, OP.

[quote] Laura Donnelly won the Olivier for THE FERRYMAN and the role was written for her by her partner about her family. she and Paddy Considine are very much the leads in that play, and justly so -- or, now, were, since they have both been replaced.

Yes, one could argue Considine is the lead of what's really a very ensemble show, but Donnelly, while definitely the largest female role in the show, is still playing a supporting character. And had they positioned her there, she would have won hands down.

And to add to my list of shockers- NONE of the fantastic performances by the many talented supporting actors in The Ferryman. Yet they went with Gideon Glick.

Many Tony voters are not as sophisticated as one would hope

Donnelly's character is the reason THE FERRYMAN exists -- if you don't believe me, ask Jez Butterworth. To petition her for supporting especially after her Olivier win as leading would have been nasty.

[quote] I would say Torch Song is a surprise, but the fact that they went out of their way to make the determination that, and justify why, Harv would be eligible for a Tony for it pointed to it getting in. Worthless nom.

What does this mean?

[quote] Bebe Neuwirth the saving grace?? Huh? Not only did she clear her throat every three seconds (does she have nodes?) but the poor lassie couldn't pronounce HAMMERSTEIN or GUETTEL --- shades last year (or whenever it was) of the even dimmer Katherine McPhee, who could barely read.

Do you think anyone WANTS to do this gig? Celebs barely want to go to the Tonys if they aren't nominated.

I don't care about a single nominated show.

Who cares whether or not they want to do it? The shocking truth is how ill-educated they are, not least in the theatre of all topics !

The clips from Sylvia Fine Kaye's "Musical Comedy Tonight" were fun to see in the previous thread. To this day, I can't see Sylvia's name without picturing her leaning against a piano, pontificating about musical theater.

Laura Donnelly’s role is absolutely the female lead. The entire plot revolves around her.

DL Fave Jen Tepper is spinning:

Listen. We have always been the Outlaws. We have never been the Prom King and Queen. We have always kept making work we believed in, despite years and years of bad reviews and set backs and rejections of all kinds. And finally after more than a decade of persevering, a miracle happened. 300 million+ people decided Be More Chill was great and powered us all the way to Broadway. And now there are people in those seats screaming how much they love our show each night. Our show that was made by a bunch of scrappy artists in New Jersey who wanted Ned Vizzini's message about being a messy, imperfect human to reach a new generation. Our show that was skewered at every turn but kept going because of the power of human beings who cared, and knew it was important and powerful. I always quote Joe Iconis, but today I'd like to quote the immortal lyrics of Lauren Marcus: "But we don't need no rave reviews/ We keep on playing 'cause we choose to play/ We choose to play!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" If there's any lesson here, it's keep making the stuff you care about, no matter what. No matter WHAT. It is so incredibly hard and it is so incredibly worth it. The people have spoken and the revolution continues 💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗

Mary!

I'm sure the show's lousy, but I have to admire Tepper's attitude.

Jennifer Ashley Tepper IS Hillary Clinton --- or maybe King Lear?

Wil the producers of Moulin Rouge pull a Weinstein and gift us with a preview on the Tony Awards?

[quote] Donnelly's character is the reason THE FERRYMAN exists -- if you don't believe me, ask Jez Butterworth. To petition her for supporting especially after her Olivier win as leading would have been nasty.

[quote] Laura Donnelly’s role is absolutely the female lead. The entire plot revolves around her.

And Waiting for Godot revolves around Godot. Your point?

(and the play does NOT revolve around Laura Donnelly at all.)

[quote] I would say Torch Song is a surprise, but the fact that they went out of their way to make the determination that, and justify why, Harv would be eligible for a Tony for it pointed to it getting in. Worthless nom.

[quote] What does this mean?

This year the committee decided to award the author of a play up for Best Revival if that play had not previously won the Tony for Best Play. Since Torch Song Trilogy had, Harvey would have been ineligible. But the committee determined that he had done enough revisions on the show to be eligible (which he did not. He cut a scene.) So they clearly were planning on nominating him if they went through that whole announcement.

Wow...Panic at the Disco already. So many shows, so many noms, and no clear winners. Never forget the legacy of shows with highest nominations -- spongebob, Steel Pier -- that went home empty.

OMG R17, you just reminded me about "This Ain't No Disco" which was this season (albeit OB) and I went into PTSD mode.

I really think the Tonys should go back to combining the technical categories instead of doing play and musical. especially when they don’t even televise them. If you’re gonna expand the categories to 5 nominees, that’s almost like giving participation nominations. You do a show, you get a nomination.

Unless you're Head Over Heels, of course.

R8, remember when she railed against rock music in musicals? She said that younger people came to the theater and wanted to hear contemporary music but went to off Broadway to hear it. Because the quality wasn't high, they deserted Broadway. Well, that's what she honestly believed.

And incidentally, they used to cover technical categories on PBS, maybe it was only for a few seasons. Again, Sondheim and company felt it was an insult to not be on the network telecast as opposed to public broadcasting.

[quote]The people have spoken and the revolution continues

What does she mean? What revolution?

I saw a bootleg of the LA Ain't Too Proud to Beg, and thought it couldn't be more by the numbers if it tried. Maybe I'm just sick of hagiographic musicals -- and, admittedly, not a huge fan or the Temptations -- but I didn't care for the show. I was shocked at the incredible reviews it got when it opened on Broadway, and even more so at its nomination. Does anyone know if it got that much better between LA and NY?

I wonder if the reviews are genuine or more political identity bullshit?

[quote]remember when she railed against rock music in musicals

I do remember that, R20, especially her dismissal of "Hair" with a quick wave of her hand. I chuckled and chalked it up to her being from another era. A classier era admittedly.

R23

WTF

Yeah, I was shocked about Ain't Too Proud, as well. The LA critics give everything in theater a good review and they couldn't even muster more than a meh, so I figured it would tank in NYC.

I haven't seen Ain't Too Proud but the Tonys would have never heard the end of it if they didn't shower a black show with nominations in this political climate.

[quote] You do a show, you get a nomination. Unless you're Head Over Heels, of course.

What on earth are you talking about? There were close to 10 shows completely shut out.

American Son Gettin' The Band Back Together Head Over Heels Pretty Woman: The Musical Ruben & Clay's First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show Straight White Men The Lifespan of a Fact The Nap The New One True West

The set for Ain't Too Proud is Motown's turned around...I'm not kidding.

Beetlejuice? Really??

R25 meaning it only got raves in NY and Tony nods up the wazoo simply because it's an all black show.

R24, I don't know if classier, because she said that rock musicals had all the charm of dirty dishwater (not that but something like that).

The poor sod further up who goes on and on trying to denigrate Laura Donnelly's role in THE FERRYMAN really is making me laugh. I suggest s/he READ or SEE the play before replying further, since Caitlin Carney is the absolute fulcrum of the play, and was written by Jez for his gf Laura to be exactly that. Maybe the poster above got confused and walked into COME FROM AWAY by mistake.

If Ain’t Too Proud didn’t exist, there would have been a notable absence of actors of color nominated in the male categories. There’s Andre DeShields, Robin DeJesus, Jeremy Pope for Choir Boy, and the Temptations.

That's because there weren't that many actors of color this season on Broadway. Whom else might they have nommed? LaTanya Richard Jackson? The ghastly Pedro Pascal from LEAR? Methinks not, McGee.

[quote] If Ain’t Too Proud didn’t exist, there would have been a notable absence of actors of color nominated in the male categories.

AND BOY WOULD CYNTHIA ERRIVO HAVE THINGS TO SAY

The nominations themselves are a shitshow. Nothing of any particular interest.

[quote] The poor sod further up who goes on and on trying to denigrate Laura Donnelly's role in THE FERRYMAN really is making me laugh. I suggest s/he READ or SEE the play before replying further, since Caitlin Carney is the absolute fulcrum of the play, and was written by Jez for his gf Laura to be exactly that. Maybe the poster above got confused and walked into COME FROM AWAY by mistake.

I've seen the fucking show and I loved it. And I think Laura Donnelly was magnificent and deserves a Tony. I've only said this several times. God, you're dense.

Who gives a fuck if Jez Butterworth wrote the show for his wife? It still doesn't make the character a lead. She should be in Featured and it's a shame she's not because she has zero chance to win in Lead, could have easily taken the award in Featured, as no one there deserves it, and will now go home empty handed because of category fraud. Now, has my position gotten through your thick fucking skull yet?

[quote]If Ain’t Too Proud didn’t exist, there would have been a notable absence of actors of color nominated in the male categories.

And? That just confirms that it's all about quotas.

The best time I had at the theatre was SUMMER, although it wasn't going to get nominated for anything (the choreography was great especially)

Many people of color in BEETLEJUICE? TOOTSIE?ANYTHING this season?

This list of nominees should terrify CBS. I'm guessing the families of the nominees will be watching and that's probably it.

So "Grief is a Thing With Feathers" sold out at St. Ann's. Because of Cilian Murphy? I can't believe it's because every is eager to see another Enda Walsh piece.

R28: American Son Gettin' The Band Back Together Head Over Heels Pretty Woman: The Musical Ruben & Clay's First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show Straight White Men The Lifespan of a Fact The Nap The New One True West

Wow, the names of Broadway shows just keep getting longer and longer.

Well, Lilli Cooper did earn a very undeserving nomination in the most overcrowded category in musical this year so there is that.

American Son

Gettin' The Band Back Together

Head Over Heels

Pretty Woman: The Musical

Ruben & Clay's First Annual Christmas Carol Family Fun Pageant Spectacular Reunion Show

Straight White Men

The Lifespan of a Fact

The Nap

Go fuck yourself

The New One

True West

[quote] This list of nominees should terrify CBS.

Oh fuck CBS. I'm so tired of hearing about how the Broadway community needs to totally screw over their own so that CBS doesn't stop broadcasting the show. The people who want to watch the Tonys are going to watch the Tonys. It doesn't matter what gimmick they do or if it's on broadcast or cable (I mean REALLY this is a distinction in 2019 when I can watch TV on my air conditioner?) the audience will be the same. They should move the thing to a Broadway theater and stream it on Netflix or something.

Summer was last year and got at least one nomination for LaChanze.

In my opinion, Derrick Baskin would not have received a Tony nom if it wasn't for the quota system. His acting in ATP is rudimentary at best. Whereas Jeremy Pope deserved both of his noms.

I'm thrilled that there were no noms for the the awful STRAIGHT WHITE MEN, but I'm sorry there was no room for any noms for LIFESPAN OF A FACT, which I really enjoyed. Specifically, I'm sad there was no nom for Daniel Radcliffe, who never seems to get any Tony love. And he was REALLY good in this show, I would say his best performance on Broadway thus far. Does anyone have the impression that he's disliked in the industry, for some reason? Based on the few times I've seen him interacting with people up close, he seems like a really sweet guy. Anyway, yes, his nomination might also have helped the Tony telecast's ratings at least a bit, especially if they had involved him in the entertainment portion of the show. I guess they could still do that, but I'm pretty sure it's not gonna happen.

The Tonys Show is one of two advertisements for Broadway. Les Moonves helped keep the show alive on CBS. Now that he's gone, maybe the show will be also. If the two-hour commercial is not on television, Broadway only has the Macy's Parade to publicize itself.

[quote] Broadway only has the Macy's Parade to publicize itself.

What the fuck are you talking about? Ever heard of a thing called the internet?

[quote]Daniel Radcliffe, who never seems to get any Tony love.

Hey, watch it!

[quote] Does anyone have the impression that he's disliked in the industry, for some reason?

I think some theater types don't consider him "a real actor" which is a bit unfair.

I"m exhausted already, and its only the first morning of Tony season.

Radcliffe is great on stage and far better than a lot of other stage actors, especially the dull ones that have just come from theatre school or the chorus. I always find his snubbing suspect as well.

You know if he were a person of color, he'd have several nods by now, including this year.

I think it's time for a revival of "The Blonde In the Thunderbird."

YESSSSS....

Made my day r58 Thank you

Buy my Vagisizer, r59, that's thanks enough!

I don't understand the community not supporting Radcliffe. He has been on Broadway 4 times in 10 years, is not an asshole, loves theater, champions it, and is there for the work. It really makes no sense.

It's simply heightism.

It does make sense. He's a white male.

It probably doesn't help that he's perceived as a film actor, first and foremost. Theater people can be territorial. But if he were female and/or a minority, he would easily override that hurdle.

[quote] It probably doesn't help that he's perceived as a film actor, first and foremost.

It didn't hurt us.

Denzel Washington’s three nominations have all been matters of egregious pandering. What a slap in the face to black men who can actually act!

I feel like there's a shit stirrer here trying to make a discussion of theater into a discussion of racial politics in America and it's tiresome.

R64 but there was major backlash immediately afterward, which ended up hurting Radcliffe the following year when he was snubbed for HOW TO SUCCEED...

R66 pointing out the elephant in the room is not being a shit stirrer. I just have the guts to say what others can't seem to. Instead they feign "that's strange that he's so snubbed" or "it doesn't make sense." It's a fact that being a person of color and female these days is beneficial to getting an automatic nomination and rave. Radcliffe doesn't benefit because he's none of those things.

[quote] Radcliffe doesn't benefit because he's none of those things.

I know! Won't someone think about the feelings of the wealthy white straight man for once?

[quote]I just have the guts

Do us a favor and keep those things off of the rest of us.

Is Jacob Wohl gay? He's cute in some pics.

Radcliffe will be doing ENDGAME with Alan Cumming at The Old Vic in January 2020.

Radcliffe is a lovely guy, but he wasn't that exceptional.

Usually if there is a POC jukebox musical with wholly interchangeable actors, they all get nominated because the main prerequisite is - they are POC

Radcliffe's show closed too long ago for him to be remembered. And the reviews for him and the show were only OK. There's no vendetta there.

I saw The Ferryman and can barely remember Laura Donnelly beyond her first scene at the kitchen table and I suspect most Tony voters and nominators feel the same, stupid as we may be.

Are there any costume people here who can explain how Torch Song got a Best Costumes nom? Mercedes Ruehl looked awful and everyone else was in tee shirts and jeans.

Wasn't Ephraim Sykes in Hairspray Live?

GLENDA JACKSON WAS ROBBED.

No Best Play for "Network" either.

Nor should there have been. A pointless evening.

bump

R15/R38/moron, did you actually see the play or just enjoying being a contrary loon? The entire plot DOES revolve around Donnelly’s character. All the events in the play are triggered by the revelation that a certain character closely linked to her has been found dead after several years. Another character closely linked to her is also dead by the play’s conclusion. Jesus, can you get THAT through your thick skull?

TORCH SONG got a Costume nomination because Urie wore a dress.

Those characters are closely linked to many of the characters.

Yes R76 he played Seaweed.

[quote]Laurie Metcalf will be up for her third Tony in three years for her fierce-yet-fragile performance as Hillary Clinton in “Hillary and Clinton.”

I think they meant wins. If she were to win, it would be her third Tony in three years.

R85 and next year will be her 4th Tony in 4 years for Virginia Wolffe

She won't be winning this year.

And the TONy nominators continue to shit all over Joe Mantello. Ivo van hove? Oh, please.

I could be wrong, but it feels like a show is guaranteed a costume nod (and many times a win) if the outfits are drag or fabulous.

THE FERRYMAN loon really is a new brand of psychopath. Oh well, it takes all kinds. Laura doesn't need you. thankfully; she's got Jez, an Olivier, and now a chance at a Tony.

R88 Yeah, poor Joe--only two Tonys to his name!

Glenda Jackson was so drearily shrill and larynx-scraping as Lear BEFORE her Tony snub, one only wonders what she will be like tonight. Those poor daughters.

Hopefully she won't pull an Ian McKellan on the audience.

Oh yeah Ethan Hawke - he should have been nominated - brutal category this year tho

We already saw that years ago in "The Music Lovers"; it was enough, though maybe the lesbians beg to differ.

[quote]Hopefully she won't pull an Ian McKellan on the audience.

What do you mean, r93? Never heard this story before.

Ian McKellan did the storm scene stark naked.

r80=moron

It's McKellEn with an E

Thans, Sirina!

Thanks

R97-And he was obviously prepared for a quick round of golf.

r97 Didn't F Murray Abraham do the same thing in Lear at BAM?

Can someone who saw TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD explain Aaron Sorkin's adaptation being so egregiously overlooked?

Is it not good work? Is it dislike for Sorkin? What's the deal?

I'll bet he's having a much bigger meltdown than either Nathan Lane or Glenda.

Why don't they just give Bob Mackie his Tony now?

The whole cast of The Boys in the Band was overlooked, and it wasn't nominated for Best Revival. Ryan Murphy must be livid.

It looks like Tootsie is winning Best Musical.

R106

Best Performance by an Actor in a Featured Role in a Play

Bertie Carvel, Ink Robin De Jesús, The Boys in the Band Gideon Glick, To Kill a Mockingbird Brandon Uranowitz, Burn This Benjamin Walker, All My Sons

Uhhh...it WAS nominated for Best Revival.

R108, Well, never mind then.

I hope Robin de Jesus wins. The rest of that category at R107 is... uninspiring.

Not nominating the best in some categories makes the Tonys even less relevant. Shame on the nominating committee.

McKellan might be much older now, but google him for his nude scene in "Priest of Love". Him being naked in "King Lear" was a rather large matter. I didn't hear anything about F. Murray Abrahams's Lear though.

[quote]a rather large matter

Hee!

Andre De Sheilds was naked as Lear in Classical Theater of Harlem's production.

I hope Robin and Andre both win their categories.

Competition for Best Musical Looks Fierce While Best Play Race Narrows:

Is something wrong with me that I have less than zero interest in seeing INK? A friend just asked me to see it with him.

R117, the same exact thing happened with me -- a friend had tickets to INK and asked me to go but I made an excuse because I just have zero interest in seeing it. Not saying it's not good, just that the subject matter doesn't really move me.

I went to INK, even though it felt more like an obligation than an anticipation. I thought it was great--entertaining in the first act, searching and probing in the second act. Carviel was great and Miller deserved a nomination.

No scores, no musicals.

[quote] [R15]/[R38]/moron, did you actually see the play or just enjoying being a contrary loon? The entire plot DOES revolve around Donnelly’s character. All the events in the play are triggered by the revelation that a certain character closely linked to her has been found dead after several years. Another character closely linked to her is also dead by the play’s conclusion. Jesus, can you get THAT through your thick skull?

The play is three hours and a lot happens between the discovery of the body and the end of the show that has ZIP to do with Donnelly's character. My guess is you came in, quickly fell asleep, woke up when they started shouting at the end and thought you watched the whole show.

You're also an unhinged, frothing at the mouth cunt, so I do hope this raises your blood pressure even more, fatty.

I thought Adam Driver was amazing in BURN THIS...one of the most wonderfully out there performances I've seen in years. I hope he wins.

Poor Keri Russell, who I love on TV, was painfully average.

Keri Russell has always been painfully average.

Tootsie or Hadestown?

The Tony nominating committee deliberately avoided the fatal mistake the Oscars made in the 70s nominating Glenda Jackson two years in a row when she stole her second award from a much more deserving winner. There was actually a meeting about this.

R125 Umm....Jackson's second Oscar was in 1974, three years after her first. The year after she won for Women in Love she was nominated (and could have fairly won) for Sunday, Bloody Sunday (Fonda won for Klute--I think they were equally good).

I agree she didn't deserve it for A Touch of Class, but I'm not sure any of the nominees were standouts (I loved Babs, but I was sixteen). but if you're going to froth at thr mouth, at least get your facts right.

Bad episode of Fosse tonight. They totally fucked with the timeline. Pippin wasn’t still in rehearsals when Fosse was nominated for an Oscar for Cabaret. Pippin opened in 1972, Fosse got his nomination in 1973. And Fosse won his Tonys for Pippin AFTER his Oscar win for Cabaret, not before. And we don’t give a fuck about Fosse-mostly because Rockwell doesn’t appear to have a clue how to play him. And Candy Brown was MUCH cuter than the bitch they cast to play her.

[quote]THE FERRYMAN loon really is a new brand of psychopath

It’s the same person as the Anti-Tootsie Troll. And sounds remarkably like a storied loon of recent days gone by,

True, R127, although I read the bio the show is based on, and Fosse was not a kind person. Talented, yes. Kind, no. It would be nice, though, if Rockwell showed some charisma in the role, but, alas, he does not.

Whatever explanations have been given here for why Daniel Radcliffe has never gotten any theater awards recognition (not only the Tonys), I would think the fact that he's a HUGE star would have helped override all of that -- especially this year, when he was excellent in LIFESPAN OF A FACT. And in this case, I don't think the fact that the show closed long ago would have been that big a factor. I don't think people have "forgotten" that Daniel Radcliffe was on Broadway in LIFESPAN OF A FACT. In my opinion, he was not very good in EQUUS or HOW TO SUCCEED, probably because, in both cases, he was working with talent-free directors. But I thought he was quite good in the McDonagh play and, as I said, excellent in LIFESPAN.

R127 As opposed to a "good" episode of Fosse, which would be...?

I agree that episode was especially dreadful. Note the line that Reinking was so good that she didn't have to sleep with Fosse. Of course, she does. I wonder if they'll show that she Fosse and Jennifer had a three way going on for a long time.

Jennifer who, R132?

Any guesses on what the ratings will be like for this years Tony Broadcast?

Why wasn't a woman of color represented in the Pippin scenes? The fabulous Candy Brown was in the original production and she is black....bad oversight for those in the know......Jennifer Nairn Smith a gorgeous dancer from Australia who was also in the movie All That Jazz.

"Fosse was not a kind person. Talented, yes. Kind, no"

You know what John Ford said about "nice" people? They have no point of view.

Give me a bastard every time.

R135. they did have an African American dancer for Candy. She was in the Manson Trio. Was Leland Palmer represented? I mean, this show is so ridiculous that we're searching for familiarity.

I don't think they called her Jennifer in the show but she was the one that Fosse tried to assault and she kneed him in the balls. In the books, it happened in Fosse's apartment and he tries to rape her but they watered it down by having it happen on the street. I also don't think he took Manson Trio away from her because of it. I don't think she ever had it, it was always Candy Brown and Pam Sousa.

She was a Balanchine dancer and was obviously the model for the Victoria Porter character in ATJ although she was talented and Porter was not. But it was a weird Fosse revenge to make her untalented.

R61, it stems from when he was the biggest young male movie star on the planet, fresh off Harry Potter, and wouldn’t host the Tonys. It would have been a ratings bonanza for the entire industry and the broadcast. He snubbed them, they’ll snub him. They show their contempt in backhanded ways, too, like pairing him with Katie Holmes to present one year. She towered over him. The one thing you can always count on from Broadway is the best of them are still just the AV club geeks who think they’ve become the cool kids. Boy do they have chips on their shoulders.

According to the episode of "Fosse", the girl Fosse tried to assault, then cut from the dance routine, then offered to buy him a drink. Were they trying to say she wanted to get her part back again, so she then agreed to sleep with him?

Who was the guy Gwen was dating at the time? I heard she dated Jerry Lanning at one point. I forget what name he said after hitting Bob intruding on Gwen and him in Gwen's bedroom.

Also, one of the titles had, after saying Bob won all those awards, that it was 1973, "14 years after Gwen's last Tony award. For Christ's sake, I don't know if they've mentioned she had won 4 already, plus she had starred in the very successful "Sweet Charity" (another Tony nomination). I mean to do this in an episode where her show closed opening night is very misleading about Gwen's career in those years, especially since this show has been non-linear. Also, the tv show got it wrong about her show's closing and said it was closing the next day, not opening night.

Michelle Williams continues to impress; very moving especially with the actress playing Joan Simon. It almost looks like a young Gwen Verdon is playing herself in this, even when the makers of this get the facts wrong or play fast and loose with them. Rockwell is just very dark, not very much variety in her performance at all, which is surprising since he usually is at least quirky enough to be interesting and add some shadings. This isn't really happening with his Fosse.

in "his" performance, regarding Rockwel

The revisionist history of Lifespan of a Fact going on here is nonsense. That play was milquetoast, and remains one of the few shows I have seen in recent years to receive a standing ovation. Outside of Jesse Green's self-serving drivel, even the warmest of reviews were tepid. I agree Radcliffe is a perfectly adequate performer who is occasionally great and should have one maybe two nominations by now (and is a great cheerleader for Broadway, and who as a tiny little firecracker is probably a great fuck), but ignoring him for Lifespan was one of the easiest decisions Tony voters could have made.

Lifespan had minimal buzz even while it was playing. I don’t think it got any outer critics or Drama Desk nominations either. It’s no surprise that it’s forgotten now.

And Radcliffe’s category was jam packed. Jonny Lee Miller, who is currently starring in a Best Play nominee and got great reviews, got left out too. If there is a conspiracy theory about anyone, it should be him, especially with his being left off the OCC and DD lists as well. Is he liked as a person? I find him very attractive.

You do all realize that the Tony nominators no longer meet and discuss the nominations? They haven't done that for many years. They simply all just vote, privately. So there's no "conspiracy."

Can anyone here even remember who wrote or directed Lifespan of a Fact?

I didn't think so. And it was just a few months ago.

What's cool about the Tonies is that it's genuinely unpredictable who will win a lot of the categories ... other than for poor Glenn, that's not often as true anymore at other awards

Yeah, we might as well think there was a conspiracy against John Lithgow, too.

This year has a few more races than usual, but I think there are a couple of locks, and a few likely wins that we could start calling. Locks: Oklahoma! for Revival of a Musical; Elaine May for Best Actress in a Play; Tootsie for Book of a Musical; Hadestown for Score of a Musical; Beetlejuice for Set Design; Cher Show for Costume Design. Likely: The Ferryman for Best Play, Best Director; Bryan Cranston for Best Actor in a Play; Ali Stroker for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Not sure Oklahoma is a true lock as opposed to very likely. There will be some voters who really like Kiss Me Kate, and probably a significant percentage who HATE Oklahoma and will vote for anything else. Do those two groups add up to 51%? I’m not sure, but possibly.

My theory is that even voters who don't like this Oklahoma! may vote for it because it takes a risk and is at least a bold interpretation of a classic musical. Voters will congratulate themselves for voting for the edgier production. The Kiss Me Kate is so pedestrian that I cannot imagine anyone mustering up enough enthusiasm for it even as a counter vote. It would be a race if Kiss Me Kate were a better production. The current Kate is also not nearly as good as the 1999 revival, which I think enough voters remember. The 1999 revival wasn't perfect, but had a lot more going for it than the new one, particularly some better casting, design and direction.

I don't think Cranston is all that likely for Best Actor in a play. Possible, but that's about it.

[quote]According to the episode of "Fosse", the girl Fosse tried to assault, then cut from the dance routine, then offered to buy him a drink. Were they trying to say she wanted to get her part back again, so she then agreed to sleep with him?

That story is right out of Wasson's book. The actual girl was Jennifer Nairn-Smith. She's on the right in this picture, with a long red wig. (Reinking is in the center behind John Rubinstein, Kathryn Doby is on the left). Nairn-Smith and Fosse did end up becoming good friends, but I don't remember what it said about whether she actually slept with him or not. I don't think so.

My theory on Cranston: with Network left out of the Best Play race (where it would not have won anyway), voters will want to reward the production's outstanding element, which is Cranston's performance. It's been a big hit, and they may wish to honor Cranston for committing for this extended run and carrying the show on his shoulders. Jeff Daniels has a shot at it, if voters feel like Mockingbird got screwed by the nominators, and Daniels has never won - and there is that Tracy Letts win against Tom Hanks for some precedent. But I think they'll throw other awards to Mockingbird, and give it to Cranston in this case.

I don't think there's a conspiracy against Radcliffe. Lifespan was a rental at a non profit that closed months ago and didn't really make an impact despite people liking it. Who exactly would be promoting it?

RE: Mockingbird, I'm not the least bit surprised it wasn't a nominee for Best Play. Sorkin took much that was great about the novel and added a lot of unnecessary urban snark and a lot of extraneous updating. Network often ruined what was great about the film. so I'm happy it too was overlooked.

I guess y'all are right that LIFESPAN was long enough ago, and had a short-enough run, that there's no conspiracy in Radcliffe not being Tony-nominated in a crowded field. But i do think it's a shame, because it was his best work, and he's apparently a sweet guy and a huge star who keeps coming back to Broadway.

By the way, if it's true that he has ever been snubbed by the Tonys because he declined to host the telecast, I think that's awfully unfair. Hosting a major awards show is a very difficult and tricky job that requires a special type of talent and personality, and he may simply not have felt up to it. So I hope that story isn't true, and it's just something someone made up.

Personally I don't think he'd be a very good Tony host.

Does anyone know why Radcliffe chose not to host the Tonys?

Given his penchant for live theatre, you'd think he would have jumped at it.

Or was he actually asked in the first place?

Someone above wrote that Radcliffe was asked to host the Tonys years ago but declined, and the person above suggested that's why he has been snubbed by the Tonys ever since. I have no idea if this is true or complete bullshit.

The timeline involving Joan Simon is sort of screwed up in that 4th episode. I was in the lobby of The Imperial on October 23rd, 1972. waiting to go in because I was watching celebrities arrive. I was all of 16, and walked up to Neil Simon because I was a budding playwright and he was my hero. Joan was with him. She didn't die until 1973, yet the episode posits she was too ill to leave the hospital prior to the PIPPIN opening. They're getting a lot right in the series, but they're also getting a LOT wrong.

The reason Mockingbird and Network didn't get noms is pretty obvious. If you know Network, what's on stage is at least 80 percent the screenplay. The playwright -- and he said this in many interviews -- didn't really add much. Mockingbird is a great, great story, and its power is retained, but the adaptation is fairly straightforward, and in a season with a lot of exciting new, original plays, it just didn't rank high enough. There's no big conspiracy. Just taste and common sense.

The only new material in Network were the two unnecessary speeches that EXPLAINED everything for the audience prior to curtain.

Network also had an epilogue that was new.

I don't think anyone was saying Radcliffe was egregiously snubbed this year as opposed to a more collective snub. The guys ticks every box for a Tony nominator to salivate over, yet has continually been ignored.

[quote] It’s the same person as the Anti-Tootsie Troll. And sounds remarkably like a storied loon of recent days gone by,

Yes, when you're not making your point, pull the old MATT THE LOON accusation.

How is the Tony nominating committee selected? I can't find anything online about the process. I was wondering how someone is chosen to be on the committee.

R152, Fosse, Reinking and Smith were involved in a three way living arrangement, so yeah, she did fuck him and her. You know how much he loves the 3ways. Smith got fed up early on and wrote him a note saying "A three way to nowhere. I'm out". Fosse even dramatized it on ATJ.

[quote] pull the old MATT THE LOON

I absolutely will not.

[quote]I don't think anyone was saying Radcliffe was egregiously snubbed this year as opposed to a more collective snub. The guy ticks every box for a Tony nominator to salivate over, yet has continually been ignored.

Thank you, that's exactly what I meant.

I'm genuinely surprised by Michelle Williams' Verdon. I'd have never thought she had it in her, but she's brilliant. Rockwell seemed like the one who'd be brilliant as Fosse and, so far, he's been fairly one note and dull.Maybe it's the writing. It's also so hard to get invested, because I keep thinking All That Jazz did it better and within 2 hrs. I still marvel how Fosse was even able to make that film and paint himself as such an asshole. He gets points for being self-aware at least.

Things I have learned in this thread:

You can watch the Tony Awards on your air conditioner.

Will someone please post instructions on how to do this? Thank you.

I see the horribly untalented Nicole Fosse finally found a way to make it in show biz- by forcing her childhood self down our throats.

My slutty hot theater friend told me recently that DL fave Andrew Keenan Bolger AND DL villain Kevin Spacey both have huge penises. Is this commonly known?

AKB's performances with The Skivvies are proof enough. Also, Travis Kent has a real hot ass.

Pictures of Andrew’s penis have leaked, but they get pulled pretty quickly when they pop up (no pun intended).

Fosse/Verdon is NOT a documentary, for god's sake. They get the big stuff right.

Where do they er pop up?

What I find brave about Fosse/Verdon is that they make it clear he was just a fucked up asshole. Sure, talented, but human carnage with everyone else he touched, tried to relate to. Last night's scene of his pressuring the dancer was so painful to watch, and it took guts to allow the "hero" to look like that. Even though there are glimpses of this in ATJ, he is represented as a lovable rascal in that film, and you don't really consider the damage he inflicted. And Michelle Willams is amazing. Can't wait to see her desperation for CHICAGO to grow...

I think the name of the Jennifer Nairn-Smith’s character was Sherry. Ron was the name of Verdon’s boyfriend. For some reason the male lead of Children! Children! was named Don in the show but in real life his name was Dennis (Patrick).

Can someone who has seen HADESTOWN please explain to me wtf this is? I'd forgotten how bland Reeve Carney is...

R179, it looks like they're not using the real names of any of the girls he slept with in Pippin. The movie made it seem like he fucked all of them except Candy Brown. The names are easy to find and I suspect all of them didn't want their identities revealed or it was fiction.

Let's guess what the TONY TV ratings will be this year!

What was Ron's real name?

"What I find brave about Fosse/Verdon is that they make it clear he was just a fucked up asshole"

Brave?. More like trendy and oh-so-fashionable to tear down the gods. Fosse was human---yeah, and? What's the point? Where's the insight?

R182, my guess is that they will be low. After all, the nominations came out yesterday and all the theater queens can talk about is a television show. Doesn't seem like much interest.

You know what else are low? Grosses for The Prom.

I don't hate [italic]Tootsie[/italic] (the movie), I just think it falls short of the hype surrounding it. It's annoying to constantly hear some movies being hyped up as better than they really are while other shows are torn down as being worse than they really are.

The Fosse/Verdon series just makes Fosse seem like a talented asshole, who felt entitled to all the pussy he wanted. That's not a particularly new or interesting story, and it was better done in "All That Jazz," where we had a better sense of Fosse's own interiority, because he was filming a version of himself. This makes Verdon the more interesting character and one whose story we haven't heard over and over (it's not "A Star is Born" in that regard), and I think Williams is doing a great job of showing us Verdon the person who had to perform onstage and off as a survival mechanism, and also as someone who, whatever her own demons, managed to live a productive and what seems like reasonably coherent life.

What I'm struck by, more than anything else, is how bad the writing is--at one point last night I turned to my husband and said, "There was fresher dialogue in the 1933 film of 42nd Street." Also, the cross-cut editing pales in comparison to the distinctive "looks" of films like "Cabaret" and "All That Jazz," making it seem like a wan ghost.

Will I continue watching it? Of course.

Is Hadestown as bad as it looks?

Is it at least better than the movie version of [italic]A Chorus Line[/italic], R188?

Gwen Verdon was definitely dating Jerry Lanning (from Mame!) around 1972-73. I would n't see them together on the upper wset side (near Lincoln Center).

Is there a reason Joan Simon and her death are such a major part of the series? I'd rather they spent more time on Gwen's pre-Fosse life.

R188 What my cats left in the litter box was better than the movie version of A Chorus Line. It's certainly more compelling than ACL, but I've never been a big fan of that show, onstage or on film.

Holy smokes, that clip from Hadestown looks dreadful. I know it's been getting good reviews, but it hold absolutely no interest for me. I hope it does well, because it is so rare to have a musical on Broadway that isn't a franchise, but, wow, how did something like that get produced?

[quote]Or was he actually asked in the first place?

No. The person who said he was asked and turned it down was lying. His whole story is made up.

[quote][R188] What my cats left in the litter box was better than the movie version of A Chorus Line.

The drag queens of my planet consider it a delicacy.

[quote]Is there a reason Joan Simon and her death are such a major part of the series? I'd rather they spent more time on Gwen's pre-Fosse life.

Joan Simon was Gwen’s best friend and her death was devastating for Gwen. I thought the scene was well written and really well acted. They did not do a great job of setting that up, though, so we understood the importance of Joan Simon in her life

It seems like they have chosen not to deal with Gwen’s pre-Fosse life, except for the story of her “marriage” and first child, and the opening night of Can Can.

[quote]I would n't see them together on the upper wset side (near Lincoln Center).

Well if you wouldn’t see them together, how do you know?

[quote]I see the horribly untalented Nicole Fosse finally found a way to make it in show biz- by forcing her childhood self down our throats.

The story is about her family and she is a big part of it. You do realize kids are around their parents A LOT. Maybe yours hid you in the attic, they didn't.

[quote]It seems like they have chosen not to deal with Gwen’s pre-Fosse life, except for the story of her “marriage” and first child, and the opening night of Can Can.

It ain't over yet.

[quote]Jeff Daniels has a shot at it, if voters feel like Mockingbird got screwed by the nominators, and Daniels has never won

Exactly. Bryan Cranston already has a Tony Award. Daniels, who has been much more loyal to the NY stage over the years than Cranston has, does not.

[quote]All That Jazz did it better and within 2 hrs

Yes, but strictly Fosse's story. What ATJ did not do as well is Verdon's story, which is the best part of Fosse/Verdon.

Andrew Keenan-BULGER showing off.

[quote]More like trendy and oh-so-fashionable to tear down the gods. Fosse was human---yeah, and? What's the point? Where's the insight?

You must not be paying much attention. Fosse was blazingly talented, brilliant, but the waste he laid with the horrible way he treated people is immense. Surprisingly, they went easy on what happened with Stephen Schwartz (and found a kid who really looked like him). Schwartz had a horrible time with Fosse on Pippin, although he came to the conclusion later than most of Fosse's ideas were the right way to go.

It makes total sense that the actor Gwen was fucking was Jerry Lanning, and knowing that, the actor they hired to play him was perfect. Gwen did a summer stock tour of "Damn Yankees," in either '73 or '74, while she was waiting for Chicago to happen. Lanning was her Joe Hardy then. I suppose there was a nod to that fact in TV Gwen claiming he was her Joe Hardy for the benefit performance of "Whatever Lola Wants."

[quote] Is there a reason Joan Simon and her death are such a major part of the series? I'd rather they spent more time on Gwen's pre-Fosse life.

I'd rather they killed off Nicole with the cancer.

The Anti-"Laura Connelly is a Lead" Troll, who is also the Anti-Tootsie Troll, is now the Anti-Nicole Fosse Troll as well. Congratulations on the breadth of your hate!

I think Jerry Lanning was featured and sang on an episode of "Make Room For Daddy".

Fosse was bad, had demons, used women and discarded them, yet isn't Jerome Robbins supposed to have been worse? Did Fosse rage at people in rehearsal like Robbins was known to?

[quote] The Anti-"Laura Connelly is a Lead" Troll, who is also the Anti-Tootsie Troll, is now the Anti-Nicole Fosse Troll as well. Congratulations on the breadth of your hate!

You're a little obsessed with me, aren't you? It's creepy. Don't make me have to get a restraining order. In fact, I think we'd all be happier if you blocked me.

Also, I don't hate Laura Donnelly at all. In fact, quite the contrary. I've said many times I think she was amazing and I wish she'd win the Tony. You're rather stupid.

He did, r208, although not on the level Robbins did. Read what both Schwartz and Kander and Ebb have written about how he treated them. His treatment of people, usually women, away from rehearsal was far worse.

In Robbins' case, he was apparently a monster during rehearsals, but there isn't any real evidence that he treated people poorly in his personal life.

[quote]It's annoying to constantly hear some movies being hyped up as better than they really are while other shows are torn down as being worse than they really are.

I totally agree with this statement.

I know I am late to the party, but I just watched a bootleg of After Midnight. Wow, it was not what I expected. I thought it would be a static show with all the same old songs I've heard more than enough in my life, but it was monstrously good. The band was incredible, the choreography was out of this world, and the dancing and singing were spectacular. Does Isabel Toledo, who did the costumes, still have a career? I know she designed one of Michelle Obama's outfits, but I have not heard anything from her since. She is gifted. And why didnt After Midnight tour? It looks like it would have been easy to load in and out for short bookings, and the cast was not large. I think it could have done well on the road.

[quote]I think Jerry Lanning was featured and sang on an episode of "Make Room For Daddy".

Jerry Lanning played rock-and roll-singer Randy Twizzle in the episode "The Twizzle" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show. " He appeared with his mother, singer Roberta Sherwood, on other '60s sitcoms. In a 1964 episode of "The Lucy Show" titled "Viv Moves Out," Viv and her son move out of Lucy's house after an argument and are replaced by mother-and-son entertainers played by Roberta Sherwood and Jerry Lanning's brother Robert Lanning, whose constant practicing drives Lucy crazy.

[quote]Jerry Lanning played rock-and roll-singer Randy Twizzle in the episode "The Twizzle" on "The Dick Van Dyke Show. "

I remember that episode; he also sang "This Nearly Was Mine" from [italic]South Pacific[/italic] to prove he was more than just a one-hit wonder.

"the waste he laid with the horrible way he treated people is immense."

That's just soap opera plot. So I'll ask again: what's the point? What's the insight?

The Broadway revival of "Angels In America" part 1 & 2 is now on YouTube. Not a bootleg.

Is it the Broadway version with Lee Pace in for Russell Tovey, or is that the same National Theatre broadcast that was shown in the US several times?

The latter.

Anyone know who that guy Adam Kantor is jerking off with on that leaked skype video is

Jerry Lanning had an album out at some point in the late 60s. I see it all the time in thrift shops and record stores.

In later years he was on a slew of soap operas. (As one was, regularly, if/when a working actor in NYC)

*sweetly*

What video is that, R219?

[quote]Anyone know who that guy Adam Kantor is jerking off with on that leaked skype video is

R219 wins the Tony for the Perfectly Grammar Free DL Post of 2019!

We've made it so far without a post-nominations closing notice. Do we think there will be one announced on Monday?

[quote] Schwartz had a horrible time with Fosse on Pippin,

Let’s be quite clear, Schwartz is no fucking angel.

This is why I'm tired of the stereotype of the gay men as "drama queen," i.e. shit-stirring instigator of conflict: I've seen heterosexual men (and women) do it more often, and it's ugly. Yet when we do it, it is extrapolated onto all of us.

What needs to be talked about a little more clearly, which he himself did I n ATJ, was the depths of Fosse’s Dexedrine/speed abuse. It can really twist a personality and make it much darker and angrier if that tendency is already there. It also breaks down inhibitions concerning sex and can make people do aggressively sexual things they wouldn’t do in normal company. It can ALSO heighten creativity. Given Fosse’s output the year he won Tonys Emmys and an Oscar, and ended up hospitalized with an amphetamine induced psychotic break, I have no doubt that A LOT of Fosse’s behavior (including the suicidal ideation described at the end of the last episode) can be explained by the Dexedrine and Seconal abuse. It can absolutely ruin you. I’m not making excuses for him, I’m just pointing out it was a massive influence on his behavior across the board.

Coming from an area in the business similar to his and usage similar to his, I speak from experience.

Just like when Henry Warnimont almost hit Punky Brewster because she wouldn't give him his pills.

The only currently running show with zero nominations is Pretty Woman, and I don’t think it will close until Labor Day. So I don’t think there will be any post-nomination closings.

There could be post-ceremony closings, notably The Prom. Gary might close early, although it’s scheduled to close August 4 so Rudin might just let it run until then. A bunch of the plays have scheduled closings already set.

Who knows what the King Kong story is.

I saw Tootsie on its first night in Chicago. I’m curious as to how much it has changed. The book was quite funny; the score, forgettable. The Julie character was undeveloped and there was no relationship with the director to create a conflict for Michael.

Can anyone comment on how the Chicago and Broadway productions differ?

Link to Adam Kantor skype?

Are they singing about Kukla....

CHER for The EGOT!

Nobody has posted any new bootlegs online in forever. Was there a crackdown?

More like a lack of shows worth the effort to go through the trouble of bootlegging.

Let's not forget that Lanning sang divinely as the older Patrick in MAME.

R233, There are far fewer active bootleggers today than 5-10 years ago.

I want a complete breakdown of how shitty Fosse was to Schwartz and why anyone here thinks he should deserve that.

R236, is there a reason why there are fewer bootleggers today? I would have thought there would be more rather than less now that cameras are smaller.

I spoke with a friend of mine who's also friends with Leslie Kritzer. This person said that she was kind of devastated that she wasn't nominated for BEETLEJUICE and was embarrassed to go on stage the night of nomination day. I saw the show during its D.C. tryouts and honestly thought she was the best thing about it. I would consider her one of the big snubs of the day.

I rarely have any real gossip to post on these threads so I wanted to pop in with that tidbit.

Leslie Kritzer was the only thing I would have nominated for Beetlejuice. I don't understand why she didn't get a nomination.

Do people still do dexedrine and seconal or do they have new names?

If no one will post the Adam Kantor Skype video can someone who saw it provide details?

R237: There's a good account of the Fosse-Schwartz Pippin war in Carol de Giere's Schwartz bio.

If you go to Amazon and call the book up, you can browse most of the relevant pages.

I can't believe that Kritzer was embarrassed to go onstage. Now, I could see Reeve Carney being embarrassed, as he was the only main character in his show not to be nominated.

Reeve Carney didn't deserve to be nominated; Leslie deserved it more than anyone else in her show.

So Chasten Buttigieg went to the Prom. Will his extension social media presence help?

No one in the audience cares about Leslie Kritzer. She needs to get over herself.

r180 anything in HADESTOWN performed out of context never works. You have to just see the entire show to enjoy it. And Reeve Carney is indeed the weakest link.

r194 the clips are always dreadful. It's not a show that can be performed out of context.

[quote] No one in the audience cares about Leslie Kritzer. She needs to get over herself.

I disagree. The show was a complete bore unless she was on stage.

Did anyone else go to the Fathom Events "42nd Street" (the recent London revival) last night? It was quite enjoyable. I didn't realize until I got home and researched a bit that two of the main parts (Dorothy Brock and Billy Lawlor) were not played by original cast members. But they were both excellent. I think the director did a decent job of filming -- mixing up close-ups and long shots -- but there were a few places where I'd have appreciated more wide shots showing the entire stage. The music and orchestrations were great, and of course the choreography.

Has any show EVER looked good performing on the plaza at the Today Show? Sometimes, I wonder why they bother.

r248 is that you Vadim?

All joking aside...I agree with you.

However...she is a professional and she was nominated for everything else including a Drama League - she will get over it. Tony voters factor in many things not just performance.

Predictions:

Best Musical HADESTOWN Best Revival: Oklahoma Best Direction: Daniel Fish Best Book: Robert Horn, Tootsie Best Score: Anais Mitchell, Hadestown Best Actress in Musical: Stephanie Block, Cher Show Best Actor in a Musical: Santino Fontana, Tootsie (Possibly Brooks Ashmanskas but I think the Prom is getting shut out except maybe him) Best Featured Actress in a Musical: Ali Stroker, Oklahoma Best Featured Actor in a Musical: Andre DeShields, Hadestown

Choreography: Camille A Brown??? I HAVE NO CLUE

No I'm not Vadim. I hated Beetlejuice. I thought it was bad. I don't think it deserved a Tony nomination for Best Musical. Leslie Kritzer was funny and really the only time I laughed during the show. Whether or not that translates into a Tony, who knows. In any case she should get her ass out there and do the show and cash the checks while she can.

I saw this play, IN THE CLOSET, in D.C. and it was really great. A limited Off-Broadway production opens this month. Funny, heartbreaking, unexpectedly moving. And the playwright (Siegmund Fuchs) is very good-looking. He often attends performances. He did a Q&A at the theater after the show we saw. I would describe the play as a kind of gay version of Three Tall Women.

Opens May 29th.

r253 I think she should have been nominated too I get it I do. But sadly, politics comes into play sometimes. She will be just fine though.

R239-I seriously doubt Leslie was "embarrassed" to go on after not getting nominated. She's more professional than that and your friend is full of shit. She might have been crushed, but she's a helluva lot more professional than NPH, who called out for the evening performance of "Assassins" in 2004 when he was snubbed for the TONY. I remember it very well, because I was in the audience that night. Now THAT was embarrassing.

R256 is the reason why people don't come to this thread to provide gossip anymore. What I posted is 100% true.

Also -- and it has to be said -- you type FAT.

R226, the drugs didn't help but Fosse's problems were mostly with women and that stemmed from his sexual abuse as a young man. It was chronic for years and especially in those days, boys being sexually molested wasn't spoken about, especially if it was by "desirable" strippers. It certainly shaped his attitudes towards women. In Dancin' he had a sequence called American women and he depicted them sucking their thumb and shaking their pelvis.

[quote]she's a helluva lot more professional than NPH, who called out for the evening performance of "Assassins" in 2004 when he was snubbed for the TONY. I remember it very well, because I was in the audience that night. Now THAT was embarrassing.

Wow did they actually announce he was out because he was snubbed on the loudspeaker? Must have, unless you are assuming something about a total stranger.

R257-Wow, really? people don't come to this sight to report gossip anymore? Now that's some FAT news!

Chaste Butt

Anyone know what the story is about the writers of Magic Mike, the Musical walking out. Sounds juicy...

R259-Some of us are more privy to information and details than others.

Does Bertie Carvel have a big cock?

[quote]Whether or not that translates into a Tony, who knows.

I think it is safe to say that we know.

Wait, The Magic Mike writers quit? Aren't they in workshop? I have friends involved...

R264 Wouldn't it be marvelous if Carvel's nickname for it was "Fudgie the Whale"!

Or Cocky Puss?

Would losing the Magic Mike musical be any real loss? I can't imagine it topping the film.

"Topping the film"....What wonderful imagery.

[quote] Wow, really? people don't come to this sight to report gossip anymore?

I'm not the poster you're fighting with, but yes, there used to be A LOT more gossip on here, but it's gone to shit.

Speaking of gossip, does anyone remember that tidbit about Wes Tay-Tay shitting the bed during a hookup in D.C. while he was there for "Cabaret"? There was something about there literally being a piece of corn in it (which spawned many Chipotle jokes here for awhile).

Wow...It's true! So Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey walked?

Only POC should win Tony’s.

Tonys, R274.

How will a musical still go up on November 30 when the composer and lyricist just walked out? Also, wonder if this is the show someone posted recently about huge creative differences which people assumed was the Michael Jackson musical.

I thought Magic Mike's promo video made it look really promising...

OK, I should probably give Magic Mike, the Musical! points for being an original piece (prequel) rather than the film brought to stage, but as I read the synopsis, I thought they really ought to get Brendan O'Carroll to write the script.

My guess is they will just bring over the highly successful London version that has been selling out since it opened.

R279, my understanding is that what is playing in London is a strip show, not a book musical.

And what's wrong with that, r280? It sounds perfect and a huge improvement over the film.

I've worked with Leslie Kritzer and she is the female equivalent of a true mensch. A performer who brings great togetherness to a company....she always makes something positive of every situation. A wonderful leader (Julie Halston is the same).

On the day of the noms Leslie posted congrats to ALL the Tony nominees and said something to the effect that she couldn't wait to get to the theater that night and perform Beetlejuice. I'm sure it was very hard on her but she took the high road.

I"ll take a strip show.

[QUOTE] I'm sure it was very hard on her but she took the high road.

Good for her. She's wonderful in Beetlejuice. Maybe she'll win the Drama Desk for her performance.

R226

MARY!

R284, there’s always a reason someone is overlooked. I’ve noticed that people who snub others are the ones who get snubbed. Maybe there’s a trail of those people around. She has been supposed to be the next big thing since the early 2000s. Why isn’t she clicking?? I think it’s personality somehow. What else could it be?

Why was Glenda Jackson snubbed? Not that she even gives a fuck about awards.

Glenda Jackson won last year and people do not really enjoy her Lear.

I love Leslie Kritzer in general, and I loved her in BEETLEJUICE in that main supporting role she played, but I couldn't understand why they also had her play that secondary role of the dead Latina beauty queen. The only reason I could think of for that was that it was an attempt at an award grab, so maybe some of the nominators took it that way and reacted against her?

Re Glenda Jackson: Why do people KEEP SAYING she doesn't care about awards, she doesn't give a fuck about awards, and so on and so on, when she accepted the Tony she won last year and seemed very happy to get it? Fine, maybe she didn't care about awards in the past, but it looks to me like she cares about them now.

I've heard that many people are leaving King Lear at intermission. It's DOA.

I wonder how pop-rocker Bryan Adams feels about being so egregiously overlooked for his PRETTY WOMAN score. It's his first songwriting for the theatre, isn't it?

He will never be Stephen Sondheim now.

There is nothing good about Pretty Woman, including it's insufferably mediocre score. I think Adams has talent, but it is not on display in the score.

Is Tootsie's score as bad as Pretty Woman's score?

Leslie Kritzer either has a bad agent or bad instincts herself. She’s super talented but can’t seem to get cast in a hit.

Rob McClure has the same problem. So does Andy Karl to some extent.

What's the over/under on Fosse/Verdon actually *showing* Verdon's showstopping moment in Can Can instead of just her being hauled out on stage afterward for an ovation? Or do the creators just assume that the only audience for F/V is show queens and theater nerds who already know about her performance? Frankly, I can't imagine who else is watching this series anyway. I wish the series would dial back Fosse's shitty treatment of women and the soap operatics and just focus on Verdon being his muse. How he created shows -- and showing performances from those shows -- are the only parts of F/V that I find interesting.

It sounds like Andy is hot to do more TV, but it keeps not happening for him. I think he had a pilot that didn't get picked up, so he signed on to PRETTY WOMAN.

He's a major talent. But they're not really creating (good) new musicals for his type.

[quote] CHER for The EGOT!

She'll have to be nominated for a Tony first.

Come back to the five and dime, Cher!

What creative differences could there be in a version of MAGIC MIKE? Maybe someone wants the shirts to come off first and someone else wants the shoes to come off first.....

R296 He looked like an over plucked Essex Boy on SVU, way too fucked up face

R299, the dispute is in how they can change Magic Mike into a female empowerment musical. There are differences.

I saw a video of Leslie Kritzer singing a Funny Girl song at Sirius Radio. She doesn't have it.

I also recall doing Liza in an attempt at a viral video. Again: No.

Have Beth Leavel play "Magic Mike", who deploys a cadre of strippers to solve crimes sexily.

I’ve worked with Leslie It’s ALWAYS about her No love loss there

As someone of this generation (or the last, I guess), I've always been perplexed by the adoration of the modern belters - shriekers, really. All those Elphabas - damn near all of them left me cold. I'll concede that Idina Menzel is charming in interviews, but that's about it.

Bertie Carvel had a weird secret marriage to an unknown aspiring actress right before Ink started. She posed for paps at Ink’s press night so they’d obviously been ripped off who she was, but she hid her wedding ring in her jeans pocket. Carvel was later photographed bending his ring finger unnaturally inwards to hide his own wedding ring. It’s all v odd.

Carvel's wife, Sally Scott, is absolutely lovely and was on Bway a few seasons ago in KING CHARLES III.

I think if you look at the nominees in Featured Actress Musical category the comedic performance that Sarah Stiles is giving a masterfu comedic performance that cannot go unnoticedl. Ali Stroker and Amber Gray were locks. I thought Kritzer would get a nomination (not a win that is probably Stroker's) but Mary Testa a well-liked Broadway vet and Lilli Cooper...….that was the surprise that took the Kritzer spot I believe.

What is more surprising to me is the other noms Beetlejuice got. But I am happy for everyone over there.

What hit show of the last 10 years should Leslie Kritzer been cast in?

Btw, she was just about the only great thing about that Honeymooners musical, playing Alice Kramden.

Can we please change the topic. Leslie Kritzer is not happening. Time's up.

R305 The only Elphabas up for a Tony are Stephanie and Lili Cooper. Whats not to love about them?

(I'm confused that you hate 'all the Elphabas' - unless it is because Cooper got the wrong nom?)

[quote]I've heard that many people are leaving King Lear at intermission. It's DOA.

Could be because it's three and half hours with intermission and the seats at The Cort were designed for only people that have shows on TLC. My knees were screaming by intermission.

Wasn’t Scott’s role in King Charles III more or less non-speaking? She played the ghost.

They have such a strange relationship. Everyone who knows them was shocked that they finally married.

Something for my fellow eldergays: I was listening to the SiriusXM old radio show channel this afternoon and they had the very first "Jack Benny Program" from 1932(!) with special guest vocalist Miss Ethel Shutta!

I can't imagine referencing charm and Idina in the same sentence, R305. She seems like a raving egotistical bitch in every interview I've ever seen of her.

Cat kicker.....

What would an ideal role for Andy Karl be?

[quote]What's the over/under on Fosse/Verdon actually *showing* Verdon's showstopping moment in Can Can instead of just her being hauled out on stage

Her showstopping moment in Can Can was a ballet, The Garden of Eden Ballet. Hard to show even with a real dancer, even harder when your star isn’t a real dancer.

Pack up your apples girls and back to the trees.....

The most egregiously overlooked performance on or off Bway this award season?

The exhumed and hologram-reanimated corpse of Oscar Hammerstein in "Sincerely, Oscar."

Can we re-animate Merman? Mary Martin? Richard Burton?

I saw TOOTSIE on Wednesday and hated it and there's next to nothing I truly hate. Sarah Stiles and Andy Grotelueschen are the best things about it; funny without going overboard, something that the actor playing the director and the reality star seem incapable of being. Lilli Cooper has a beautiful voice but her Tony nom should have gone to Leslie Kritzer or Bonnie Milligan.

The geriatric audience I was in loved it, which only solidified my overall impression that it's outdated garbage.

Santino was fine and I mean just that, he was fine. It's not a star turn by any means. He's such an uptight and vacant performer that it's hard to really root for him, IMO. Give the Tony to Brooks Ashmanskas, who--and I can't believe this is something I can actually say about Brooks--is giving a less flashy but much more layered performance in a better show.

Careful, R322. It's against the rules around to hate Tootsie. You might be accused of being someone with the initials MTL.

Ok, a little older topic, but I'm just seeing it now.- Did anyone see the NTLive screening last year of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf with Imelda Staunton, Conleth Hill, Luke Treadaway and Imogen Poots?

Just watched it. Man, Imelda really is just terrible onstage. I haven't seen such a dichotomy between an actor's film work and stage work since Glenn Close. Fantastic on film, just putrid onstage. The production all around is terrible and miscast. Luke Treadaway is doing some sort of clenched jaw thing that's out of left field. Poots is her usual non-existent self and when Imelda isn't blowing out her voice, trying to give the people on the next block a free show, she and Hill feel like they're just trying to get the lines out. There's not a bit of connection to anything they're saying.

What a mess.

Everyone has finally realized we were sold a bill of goods with Glenda Jackson and all the nonsense about the greatest British actress finally returning to the stage. Most actors of a certain age could have knocked the Three Tall Women part out of the park but Lear has sadly exposed all her tricks and weaknesses. .

I did see the Woolf broadcast. I didn't think much of it.

Imelda isn't terrible on stage, though. She had the audience eating out of her hand in GYPSY. I saw two peformances in a row, Saturday matinee and evening.

Have there been any great British Martha's? I believe Billie Whitelaw was a bust. Ditto Glenda. Diana Rigg didn't even rate herself in the role so she nixed a Broadway transfer.

I saw the Bill Irwin/Kathleen Turner production. I didn't love it, and I thought Turner was shockingly blah, but Bill Irwin was a revelation. I finally realized the man had talent, after all these years. A well deserved Tony.

I skipped the Tracy Letts/Amy Morton production because I thought A:OS was a steaming pile of shit, but now I wish I'd seen it because I've since become a big fan of Carrie Coon and at the time, I'd not heard of her.

I have less than zero interest in seeing Eddie Izzard and Laurie Metcalf face off against two extras from The NeverEnding Story.

Did anyone in DC see Tommy at the Kennedy Center? Peter Marks raved about it. Said it was ready to move as-is. I have a friend who thought the adult Tommy didn't quite have the high notes. Also commented on Wesley Taylor's weird accent, which was zeroed in on one of our threads here.

I'm not sure anyone will ever top McAnuff's production. I've seen a few and they all fell flat. And Wesley Taylor? They're already at a disadvantage.

Of all the shows to revive, is Bway really clamoring for TOMMY?

I like the score a lot, but it is a deeply dissatisfying book. I saw the McAnuff production. Maybe it was late in the run, but it all felt a bit tired, overloud, and pointless.

I saw that McAnuff tour in the 90s and rather enjoyed it. I'm not sure I ever understood the "book" but loved the music.

I would love to see a revival as a vehicle for Tommy Tune's return to the Great White Way

I saw Glenda Jackson in Strange Interlude many years ago on Broadway. Very good, not great

No--it's TRAMMY.

A glorious revisical about a differently abled transwoman who becomes a pop culture messiah... and then remains differently abled!

What about a revival of NO NO NANETTE?

I want to see Tommy Tune makes good on his promises. Let's re-animate Barbara Cook.

I saw Strange Interlude and thought Glenda was horrible in it - one of those British technical performance with not one ounce of truth in it. I was shocked when she got a Tony nom.

I want to see Debbie Reynolds and Patsy Kelly in Irene

[quote] I want to see Debbie Reynolds and Patsy Kelly in Irene

My guess is both were up in the ol' gal at some time or another.

[quote] I would love to see a revival as a vehicle for Tommy Tune's return to the Great White Way

As what, the broomstick in [italic]Bedknobs and Broomsticks[/italic]?

Tommy Tune was shockingly frail in that Encores version of Lady Be Good, and that was four years ago. No one expected him to tap like he did when he was younger, but his whole performance felt tentative.

[quote]I want to see Tommy Tune makes good on his promises. Let's re-animate Barbara Cook.—Lady in a wheelchair.

Ali Stroker IS Barbara Cook!

What's with all of the Glenda J. hate? She is giving a commanding performance daily that is a must see. Unfortunately the rest of the show is a mess (and I thought Ruth was the 2nd worst Fool I've ever seen out of more than 15+ other productions I've attended in my life) but it is still worth your while to go see her.

I don’t think Glenda Jackson’s performance was that amazing, but she was much better than Ruth Wilson, who got to show us she could do two different accents in the same evening, but forgot to show us why we should care about her characters.

If they tried to bring [italic]Tootsie[/italic] into the present day, why not [italic]Network[/italic]? The idea of a network dying in the ratings and resorting to sleaze because they can't compete any other way is still current, and even more so now in the age of streaming and internet. It's hard to shock people and create social outrage. It makes me wonder whether the movie, as great as it is, was a warning or a self-fulfilling prophesy.

[quote] (and I thought Ruth was the 2nd worst Fool I've ever seen out of more than 15+ other productions I've attended in my life)

Who was the #1 worst?

[quote] Who was the #1 worst?

The guy on here who accuses everyone of being Matt the Loon.

If everyone is, then no one is.

Kristin C and Laura B are going to have to watch Stephanie J get a lead actress in a musical Tony before they do

[quote]want a complete breakdown of how shitty Fosse was to Schwartz

Everyone thinks Fosse was making fun of Kander and (especially) Fred Ebb in ATJ, but when they expressed their indignation, he assured them that it really represented Schwartz. And although they cast a pretty good double of Fred Ebb, a lot of those same over-the-top demonstrating the song qualities are true of Schwartz, too. Fosse banned him from Pippin rehearsals ultimately, which was a big blow for him on his first Broadway musical (Godspell had only been off-Broadway at that point). Kander and Ebb have a lot to say about Fosse in that book Colored Lights, and most of it is not good.

Well, I hope the idiot who insisted on the initial Fosse/Verdon thread finally got it through his thick skull that the man using breath spray while gazing at a hot male dancer following “Take Off With Us” in ATJ was indeed a fictionalized version John Kander and NOT a producer. John Kander even ended up with a chorus boy as a long-time partner (Albert Stephenson).

"Now Sinatra will never record it."

[quote]John Kander even ended up with a chorus boy as a long-time partner (Albert Stephenson).

He picked him up in "The Act," and they've been together ever since (now they're married). Here's Albert, on the right, surrounding Liza with the other chorus boys.

And here's a quote that exemplifies why the Broadway musical is dead: "“Sideways is an incredible film that has never really been quarried for its franchise potential. With movie-to-Broadway musical adaptations so popular, this seems a natural first step.”

Inspiring.

OK R315

I'll bite. What interview have you even seen where Idina came off as bitchy and egotistical? Kristin and Idina both come across as lacking the usual self awareness of your average high schooler rather than being egotistical and while Kristin can play up being bitchy in interviews with people who like that sort of thing, Idina usually comes off as kind of daft and inarticulate. Stephanie J Block (the Elphaba up for the Lead Actress Tony) can deliver a bitchy, egotistical moment. But she doesn't come across as actually being that way for real.

Ruth Wilson is an odd duck. I find her compelling, but cold, distant, and weird, and that’s across both her TV and stage work.

[quote]Have there been any great British Martha's?

Diana Rigg (paired with the amazing David Suchet) was terrific in the role. My favorite Martha ever. I wish they’d taken it to Broadway.

I bailed on the Staunton Virginia Woolf midway through the 2nd act. Poots kept swallowing all of Honey's lines. I don't think she understood them. Treadaway at least stopped sounding as though someone taught an android to be a bad actor. And I'll say one nice thing about Staunton- for an old broad, she's got a decent body.

If you're annoying enough to be considered Matt the Loon, that should be enough of a warning sign. Not to mention that because he uses so many IP addresses, he's often quarreling with himself.

Any mention of Matt = block. Shut the fuck up about it.

One can imagine how a Fosse/Sondheim collaboration might have turned out.

We had Fosse/Bennett collaborations. Something like that.

Haven't seen much about it posted here but I saw ALL MY SONS the other night and was shocked at how old-fashioned and trite it came off.

I'd begin by blaming director Jack O'Brien and the set he approved. The play didn't stand a chance up against all of the fake bright green foliage decorating the entire proscenium arch and just about every other square inch between the houses upstage. It all looked like a very artificial diorama at the Museum of Natural History. This was especially problematic as the first scene in the play is all about a tree that's been struck in a storm but one can't find the tree because of all the other greenery.

The actors didn't stand a chance playing against all that but what was Annette Bening trying to do with lowering her voice two octaves? She seemed to still be trying to find her character.

And though I believe color-blind casting can work, it didn't here. It's too distracting watching white and black actors playing brother and sister when their father is such a major unseen character. And Michael Hayden and the black actress playing his wife were totally unbelievable as a couple, not necessarily because of their skin color, but because of their stilted bad acting.

I'm sorry I didn't see the Simon McBurney/Lithgow/Weist revival which was apparently less naturalistic. Not sure if that's the solution but I don't think taking a Father Knows Best Until He Doesn't is the right approach any more.

I must look for Jesse Green's pan of this revival. I'm very curious about his take on it.

[quote]We had Fosse/Bennett collaborations. Something like that.

When did Fosse collaborate with Michael Bennett? Or do you mean Bennett/Sondheim?

[quote](and I thought Ruth was the 2nd worst Fool I've ever seen out of more than 15+ other productions I've attended in my life)

[quote]Who was the #1 worst?

Donald Trump

Not to mention, r355, that SIDEWAYS started out as novel and is essentially filmic in conception and a quintessential road movie. As wrongheaded an idea for the stage as Mack and Mabel.

Love the photo at R354. Isn't that the adorable Roger Minami second from the right? I believe that was his only Broadway credit. Whatever happened to him? 'Arthur in the Afternoon' was the only bright spot in that turd of a show

[quote]And though I believe color-blind casting can work, it didn't here. It's too distracting watching white and black actors playing brother and sister when their father is such a major unseen character. And Michael Hayden and the black actress playing his wife were totally unbelievable as a couple, not necessarily because of their skin color, but because of their stilted bad acting.

Yes to all. Michael Hayden, what a sad case. I'll bet he thought he would be a lot better off at this point in his career than playing the minor role he's now playing in ALL MY SONS. I used to know someone who used to work with him, and that person made it sound like Hayden made some REALLY bad career choices. So I guess that's why he's where he is now. Or maybe the main reason is that his looks have, of course, faded, and that's what people really wanted him for.

With that face, Andy Karl would be perfect as Howard The Duck. A new family musical!!!

There was a misbegotten stage version of SIDEWAYS done at La Jolla that Des NeverEnuff directed a few seasons ago though I don't know if it's the same one going forward.

The idea of turning Sideways into a musical is right up there with turning Little Miss Sunshine into a musical. And we all know how that turned out.

The "shock" about Glenda Jackson, Mockingbird, etc...is hilarious to me. The Tony nominators really did great this year. A variety of publicists and their flacks -- namely Riedel -- spend months "parroting" conventional wisdom that is basically propaganda put out there by CAA or WME, and when it doesn't play out like its "supposed" to, everyone is SHOCKED. Please. I saw Lear. Glenda just barks at everyone all night. It's often painful. And Mockingbird as a play is good, but its not great, and the other nominees actually are either very good (INK) or great (Ferryman, Constitution)....The only surprise for me in the nominations was Yazbeck for TOOTSIE, because he's really asleep at the wheel on that one.

[quote]The "shock" about Glenda Jackson, Mockingbird, etc...is hilarious to me. The Tony nominators really did great this year. A variety of publicists and their flacks -- namely Riedel -- spend months "parroting" conventional wisdom that is basically propaganda put out there by CAA or WME, and when it doesn't play out like its "supposed" to, everyone is SHOCKED. Please. I saw Lear. Glenda just barks at everyone all night. It's often painful. And Mockingbird as a play is good, but its not great, and the other nominees actually are either very good (INK) or great (Ferryman, Constitution)....The only surprise for me in the nominations was Yazbeck for TOOTSIE, because he's really asleep at the wheel on that one.

I agree with all of that except -- would you really describe "Constitution" as great? I don't think it's bad, but it's ridiculously overrated, and it's NOT a play.

Tweet by Paul Rudnick:

During today's Senate hearing Lindsey Graham sang "If He Walked Into My Life Today" from Mame, dedicating the gut-wrenching ballad to "a very special someone who is currently on tour with Wicked", and who he's never met, "but has admired on Instagram.”

Hee. I love Paul Rudnick on Twitter. Most of the time he really nails the bitch wit that I always hope to find on DL.

I loved "Constitution." Best surprise of the season. Yes, it's a play.

[quote] And though I believe color-blind casting can work, it didn't here. It's too distracting watching white and black actors playing brother and sister w hen their father is such a major unseen character. And Michael Hayden and the black actress playing his wife were totally unbelievable as a couple, not necessarily because of their skin color, but because of their stilted bad acting.

Wait, I'm confused. Didn't Rebecca Miller just deny the production the ability to use color blind casting which led to the original director jumping ship?

Some of you on this thread have a really warped sense of the life of working actors. Leslie Kritzer, Andy Karl, Michael Hayden, and so on... they're all working on Broadway. Yeah, maybe at some point they (or the public) thought they'd be bigger stars, but sheesh, they could all be doing A LOT worse.

R365 I couldn’t disagree more. We thought All My Sons was thunderously good

Rebecca Miller objected to Ann and George Deever (brother and sister characters) both being cast as black as she felt it would lead to an unwarranted discussion of racial relations in the play which was not Arthur Miller's intention. And I agree with her on that. But I think the casting as it stands here is highly problematic in its own right.

I always wonder how we will look back on this idea of color blind casting in 20 or 30 years and suspect it will be deemed ridiculous. But I imagine for now it's a trend (perhaps even momentarily healthy) that we have to get through.

Yeah, if George is black and Ann is white, I think it leads to the very discussions she seems to have wanted to avoid, and opens up even more if there's also an interracial couple (Michael Hayden's character & wife). I'm not really sure what she thinks she's accomplished or kept from happening with this particular cast as opposed to what the original director had planned.

Elaine Stritch is still dead.

[quote]I loved "Constitution." Best surprise of the season. Yes, it's a play.

It's a play in your opinion. In my opinion, it's not, except in the loosest definition of a play. I might have liked it if I saw in a small Off-Broadway theater with no hype going into it, despite its total lack of any coherent structure, but on Broadway after all that hype, I thought it was extremely overrated.

[quote]Some of you on this thread have a really warped sense of the life of working actors. Leslie Kritzer, Andy Karl, Michael Hayden, and so on... they're all working on Broadway. Yeah, maybe at some point they (or the public) thought they'd be bigger stars, but sheesh, they could all be doing A LOT worse.

I agree with you about Leslie Kritzer and Andy Karl, but not Michael Hayden. He never had any major follow-up to his Billy Bigelow in CAROUSEL. I don't think anyone expected him to remain a musical theater leading man, because he didn't have the voice for it, but he could have had a far better career in straight plays if he hadn't made such bad choices. His next Broadway gig after CAROUSEL was as a REPLACEMENT Cliff Bradshaw in CABARET, which was probably his first mistake, and he's done nothing of much significance on Broadway since then. His last Broadway show before ALL MY SONS was FESTEN, 13 years ago. And his role in ALL MY SONS is not a good role to begin with, plus he's miscast in it.

[quote]I always wonder how we will look back on this idea of color blind casting in 20 or 30 years and suspect it will be deemed ridiculous. But I imagine for now it's a trend (perhaps even momentarily healthy) that we have to get through.

I hope you're right, but unfortunately, I think "color blind casting" is here to stay, partly because no one is allowed to object to it for fear of seeming racist. Except August Wilson, but unfortunately, he's dead.

[quote]Rebecca Miller objected to Ann and George Deever (brother and sister characters) both being cast as black as she felt it would lead to an unwarranted discussion of racial relations in the play which was not Arthur Miller's intention. And I agree with her on that. But I think the casting as it stands here is highly problematic in its own right.

Yeah, seems like she made a big deal out of this without thinking it through. Is she a dim bulb?

[quote]Yeah, if George is black and Ann is white, I think it leads to the very discussions she seems to have wanted to avoid, and opens up even more if there's also an interracial couple (Michael Hayden's character & wife). I'm not really sure what she thinks she's accomplished or kept from happening with this particular cast as opposed to what the original director had planned.

Except it HASN'T led to that kind of discussion (except on chat boards where people can be anonymous), because people are afraid to discuss it, other than to profess 100 percent support for color-blind casting, for fear of being labeled racist.

Magic Mike was a bore of a movie.

I can’t imagine it being a thrilling stage musical no matter who wrote it

Am I the only one who absolutely no desire to see any of this season’s musicals?!

I want to see Christine Pedi in a starring role on Broadway

Don't hold your breath.

Glenda Jackson was robbed. For three hours no one takes their eyes off her when she is onstage even if she isn't speaking.

Oh dear, bet he sounds like Ja'mee, Private Schoolgirl

[quote]He never had any major follow-up to his Billy Bigelow in CAROUSEL

Not onstage, but he did in TV. His career was healthy for about five-six years, and then fell apart

Hayden was great in Albee's Lady from Dubuque at Signature. Best performance I've seen from him.

R391, that production and its Blanche both sound insufferable.

Does it bother any biological woman in theatre that some would have them now compete for roles with transgendered actors?

Just wondering. Roles like Blanche are scarce enough already.

Rex loved All My Sons

[italic]First paragraph[/italic]: Let the applause begin. As one of the sorriest seasons in New York theater history is limping to a close, Broadway at last has something wonderful to write home about. The Roundabout Theatre Company, at the American Airlines Theatre, has just opened a polished, moving and beautifully mounted revival of Arthur Miller’s postwar drama All My Sons, meticulously directed by Jack O’Brien with an extraordinary cast headed by Annette Bening, Tracy Letts and Benjamin Walker that only a fool would ignore, dismiss, or dare to overlook. This is as good as it gets...

[italic]Last two paragraphs[/italic]: Next, you can applaud O’Brien’s fluid direction, which clearly defines the differences between the characters’ goals. And finally, there’s the cast. Without exception, the actors are splendid, but especially Letts, who invests the role of Joe with a soft and tender concern for the people he loves that contrasts with the rugged individuality of his ruthlessness in business, and Bening—distinguished, agonized and totally hypnotic as a woman trying to cope with the loss of everything she believes in.

Best of all, I applaud the refusal of Miller’s daughter Rebecca to allow anyone to wreck the purity of her father’s writing with gimmicks and preposterous changes. So All My Sons soars again, with its original values intact, stronger and tougher than ever. To everyone involved, a full round of cheers for a rare chance to experience an evening of nuanced power, urgency and art.

Michael Hayden was also a spectacular Prince Hal in LCT's monumnetal HENRY IV (directed by Jack O'Brien with Kevin Kline as Falstaff) and he was also quite good as the lead in one of AR Gurney's better plays FAR EAST, also at LCT.

After those, I'm afraid there wasn't much follow-up.

[quote]Rex loved All My Sons

I doubt they returned the sentiment.

Hayden was also in "Enchanted April" on Broadway with a grown-up Molly Ringwald, though that was mostly memorable for Michael Cumpsty losing his towel and thereby showing his ass to the audience (and I guess his front to the cast upstage of him).

Of course RR is 100% correct. He has become quite the standard-bearer of discernment and taste, and, boy, do we need him now! Get him on the NYT!

I can hardly believe my eyes.

When did Jack O'Brien start posting on DL?

If RR becomes the new standard, the Times' new slogan should be "Ruh Roh!"

I was hoping that on this week's Fosse/Verdon we'd get the fantastic opening number of Pippin -- anything to show the TV audience why Fosse was considered a genius and not just a dickwad. But, no. (I saw the original production of Pippin, if not the original cast, and Magic To Do was just gasp-worthy in its inventiveness.) How about showing us Ring Them Bells from Liza With a Z? No? Fine. I'm guessing we're not going to see much of Chicago either. This show....

R404, you’ll be seeing “Cell Block Tango” in the final episode next month.

How much do you wanna bet Cell Block Tango will look more like the movie and less like the show?

You mean hyper-edited beyond belief? Look, here's ankle! A wrist! Someone's back!

That's exactly what I mean, r407.

Michael Hayden tried Hollywood for several years, which took him away from NY. He had good reason, he was attractive when young. He had a couple of failures, and didn’t really come off well in the shows he was on, and that was it.

Michael Hayden looks like 7 miles of bad road, IMHO.

Damn, age is a bitch.

[quote]We thought All My Sons was thunderously good

The thunder was the best thing in the production

[quote] Does it bother any biological woman in theatre that some would have them now compete for roles with transgendered actors?Just wondering. Roles like Blanche are scarce enough already.

I'm a gay man and it bugs the fuck out of me. What is this shit?

That's what the TOOTSIE musical should've been about. A straight man pretending to be trans in order to land an acting gig, a la VICTOR/VICTORIA.

I'm watching the Live From Lincoln Center broadcast of Contact from 2000, and goddamn, Sean martin Hingston was a goddamn hot piece of ass. WHET?

[quote]That's what the TOOTSIE musical should've been about. A straight man pretending to be trans in order to land an acting gig, a la VICTOR/VICTORIA.

Interesting. Can V/V be done anymore because of this issue?

Excuse me if i just drop this in here but I just discovered it. Primarily for for R%H fans.

If you like your R&H done by a large, lush, first rate orchestra, with a conductor who gets it and superb vocalists -- here is a 2010 BBC proms concert devoted to their music. Julian Ovenden is a wonderful Billy Bigelow and Rodney Gilfrey a great Emile de Becque but all the singers are superb.

Really wonderful performances. One and three quarters hours long, you might want to take it in in parts, but if you love this music, you don't want to miss this.

^ Meant to add that British conductors don't always get American music quite right but this Proms' conductor knows exactly what he's doing and it's perfect, And the orchestra is totally with him.

That conductor is John Wilson, and he has a strong affinity for American show music. Two years ago he did a full concert production of "Oklahoma" which was excellent (DL fave Robbie Fairchild was Will).

This is Wilson and his orchestra doing "Mame" - complete with dance music. The way it's been shot is amazing, you feel like you're see the dance, but it's just the musicians. When the singers come in at the very end after the dance, you'll see Sierra Boggess, Julian Ovenden, and Seth McFarlane. Watching Seth try to walk to the front of the stage as he mouths the lyrics not very convincingly (because he doesn't know them) is amusing.

So I've been googling and have discovered the fantastic British conductor and Broadway lover John Wilson. I'm in love.

Why hasn't John Wilson and his orchestra been discussed here before? Or has he?

Sorry, r419 and r4420, your replies hadn't shown up for me when I posted r421 and r422. Thanks for the info.

whether or not Sideways is a good idea for a show, the statement "quarried for its franchise potential" is bone-chilling

"Malfoy" sings "Put On Your Sunday Clothes" at The Proms.

This is my favorite John Wilson Broadway moment:

e419, linked below is the broadcast of that John Wilson/BBC Proms Oklahoma! concert you mentioned. Fabulous. Wish the sound was a just a bit better.

r421, that 2012 Proms John Wilson on Broadway concert sent this eldergay show queen into musical comedy heaven. Rarely get there anymore. Thanks.

[quote]I was hoping that on this week's Fosse/Verdon we'd get the fantastic opening number of Pippin -- anything to show the TV audience why Fosse was considered a genius and not just a dickwad. But, no. (I saw the original production of Pippin, if not the original cast, and Magic To Do was just gasp-worthy in its inventiveness.) How about showing us Ring Them Bells from Liza With a Z? No? Fine. I'm guessing we're not going to see much of Chicago either. This show

Better we saw the creation of the “Manson Trio” which was the basis of the commercial that anyone alive in the NY tr-state area at the time knew every note and hip move by heart. When commercials ran a full minute.

And the other 119 minutes were at the Imperial.

Unfortunately, I think the Dolly is rather underpowered in that John Wilson "Sunday Clothes" clip. It's made worse by seeing that Caroline O'Connor is singing, essentially, chorus, and knowing how great she would have been as Dolly.

The last time we discussed John Wilson, two or three years ago, someone who said he knew said Wilson's boyfriend was one of the guys in the orchestra.

Is "guys in the orchestra" a euphemism for "boys in the band", r431?

This is also a better performance than what they are currently serving up at Studio 54.

Thanks for sharing that, R417.

R428, that's just it. We didn't see the creation of it. It was used as a device to show what a douchebag Fosse was to take the dance away from the Jennifer character. It was also a chance to ennoble Ann Reinking as the great dancer who wouldn't sleep with Fosse and underscore Verdon being a selfish cunt. We don't even hear why they're called the Manson Trio.

Why did Verdon put up with Fosse's infidelity? She never divorced him.

That BBC Proms clip shows exactly the reason Scott Ellis is such a hack. His version at Studio 54 is uninspired and sloppy. There are no laughs because there are no characterizations to draw from. Wilkof and Mulheren stopped the show with that number back in 1999, mainly because Michael Blakemore knew how to direct a musical comedy. Ellis has never had a clue. He must work cheap, which would explain why Roundabout gives him every musical revival. What's next? A Scott Ellis production of "City of Angels"/ He could really fuck that one up good.

[quote] Why did Verdon put up with Fosse's infidelity? She never divorced him.

Classic Doormat Syndrome.

I never found Fosse attractive, but he was legendarily great in the sack. Catnip to the ladies.

I thought Fosse was adorable as a young blond in the MY SISTER EILEEN movie musical.

Based on his surname, I thought Fosse was at least part Italian-American, but no:

[quote]Fosse was born in Chicago, Illinois, on June 23, 1927, to a Norwegian American father, Cyril K. Fosse, a traveling salesman for The Hershey Company,[3] and Irish-born mother, Sara Alice Fosse (née Stanton), the second youngest of six.

Can you imagine what a nightmare it would have been if Fosse's original choice, Richard Dreyfuss, had played Joe Gideon instead of Roy Scheider?

The current Kiss Me Kate also has Paul "Where's the fire?" Gemignani, conducting with his trademark indifference. "Brush Up Your Shakespeare" is performed at the tempo of "let's get this over with."

Gemignani could probably conduct this show in his sleep; maybe it shows.

Scheider really was terrific in ALL THAT JAZZ. He had some of Fosse's physicality and edge. And yes, sex appeal.

Dreyfuss has always been too doughy and leaden for a role like that.

Dreyfuss is a terrible actor.

[quote]Rex loved All My Sons

Well [bold]OF COURSE[/bold] he loved that trite shlockfest and pissed all over "Oklahoma".

Jared Kushner's Observer employs one of the finest theatrical minds of 1953.

[quote]Best of all, I applaud the refusal of Miller’s daughter Rebecca to allow anyone to wreck the purity of her father’s writing with gimmicks and preposterous changes.

WHAT is he talking about? How has the color blind casting of the current production "wrecked" the play any less than the slightly different, originally planned color blind casting? It sounds like RR literally doesn't know what was planned as compared to what actually happened.

"performed at the tempo of "let's get this over with."

Yes, contemporary Broadway's "rain tempo" syndrome, mentioned in an earlier thread.

Richard Dreyfuss wasn't Fosse's first choice for Joe Gideon.

The studio more or less forced Dreyfus on Fosse, who always wanted Roy Scheider. After a very short time of shooting, Dreyfuss was out and Scheider was in.

R450-I didn't think Dreyfuss ever got to do one scene of that movie, even in rehearsal. I've always been told there was a delay in the filing of ATJ, so Dreyfuss moved on to another project.

Thank God.

Forgive me if this has been posted already, 451 posts is too much to wade through, but I thought this would be catnip to Follies followers.

Scheider WAS terrific in All That Jazz. He was sexy and believable as a dancer and a genius. I suspect that he brought a sexual magnetism to the role that Fosse did not have in person. Simply because he was that much better looking. It seems pretty clear that all the women throwing themselves at Fosse (or giving in to his demands) did it because he had power over them and their careers. You didn't see a lot of famous models waiting to be womanized by Fosse. His so called attractiveness was somewhere between situational and coerced. Roy on the other hand was a hot daddy.

Actors of color should have access to all roles. White actors should only play white characters, but if a POC wants the role, they should have it.

One of the Fosse bios said that Fosse wanted to play Joe Gideon after Dreyfuss left, but the producer or studio (or maybe both) said no.

Maria Friedman and Anita Dobson are replacing Judy Kuhn and the one playing Yente in the Fiddler revival in the West End.

Adam Kantor sex tape

LOL at Seth McFarlane in R420's link.

Oh, give it up.

R458 So much makeup, so little talent

[quote]One of the Fosse bios said that Fosse wanted to play Joe Gideon after Dreyfuss left, but the producer or studio (or maybe both) said no.

It was Gary Morton

Will Chase is out of Kiss Me Kate tonight. Roundabout actually called and left a voicemail. Is it worth switching shows, even if I can’t get to see it it another time? I’ve seen almost everything else other than Hadestown.

Will anyone really notice? This is the guy who was on the Times Square billboards for Miss Saigon, right?

I like Will Chase. He reminds me of someone I used to know.

I think Will Chase is sexy af. He reminds me of a long-term fuck bud.

For clarification, I wasn’t planning to take him home tonight. Though I also used to date someone like him. How is his performance?

Extremely average.

Will Chase was out when I saw the show. His understudy did just fine. I don’t know what I missed but people don’t seem to think Will Chase is all that amazing in the show.

He also doesn't look so hot any more.

It's interesting- Kelli O'Hara is a little too placid, and Will Chase is almost entirely frantic throughout. Opposing problems.

How is his appendage?

Will Chase has BDF. And I think he is getting more handsome as he ages.

Will Chase is hot but it's a shame about his personality. Grade A asshole.

R473 care to elaborate?

Ask his ex-wives.

Don't tell me he's a wife beater.

Imelda Staunton seemed to do nothing but shriek in both Gypsy and Virginia Woolf. Not a hint of charm or nuance.

I agree about her Gypsy (and I wasn't crazy about her scenery-chewing in Follies last year either), and I can't understand why Sondheim raved so about her Rose.

R477 R478 Don't forget her insane screaming in 'Virginia Woolfe'. I think she needs to step away from the stage and figure what it ever did to her to make her want to hurt it so much.

Sondheim saw her play it on stage, you didn't.

I've seen Imelda in Sweeney Todd and Gyspy on stage. She was great. 2 for 2.

I saw the broadcasts of Imelda in Virginia Woolf and Follies. She did some good work in Folies bur ultimately she wasn't quite right. I really didn't like "Losing My Mind", it was almost like they were going for a sequel to her "Rose's Turn". She didn't impress me as Martha, though she didn't bray her way through it as suggested abovs.

Actually, I did see her play Rose on stage. And I thought she was awful. But not as awful as her Sally, which I saw on broadcast.

It would have been fun if they had shown them rehearsing the lyric for what became the Manson Trio and Fosse deciding to cut the lyric and just work with the music. They could have shown Steve Schwartz having a hissy fit about it, that would have been cute.

[quote]I can't understand why Sondheim raved so about her Rose.

Sondheim's raves should be taken with a grain of salt. She praises everyone who does his shows.

JESUS. Look at Alex Brightman's pudgy, disgusting hands. Why are his fingernails (painted for Beetlejuice, presumably) so tiny?

r357 by odd duck do you mean her mouth ?

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

[quote]LOL at Seth McFarlane in [R420]'s link.

He looks so awkward in anything live-action. That's why that Western movie of his failed. Even the musical number was a letdown because the staging was barely better than something off of [italic]Wonderful World of Disney[/italic] in the 1990s.

Understudy has a great true baritone vnd was cornfed cute. Not an amazing production, but the show is not amazing to begin with. Having survived other Scott Ellis productions, this was fairly decent.

Those are some gorgeous portraits at the link R484 posted. But why won't Brooks get his skin tags removed?

Although they are not visible in the photo at R486, Will Chase has -- or used to have -- tattoos ON HIS FINGERS. I think he's talented but I guess kind of dumb and trashy, and totally miscast in KISS ME, KATE.

I have a friend who has worked closely with Will Chase who also says he’s an asshole. She didn’t give any details beyond something along the lines of “tread carefully if you ever interact with him.” Sad, because I think he’s sexy as hell and extremely talented.

Alex Brightman’s fingernails are tiny because he bites them. It’s quite disgusting.

Started a new Broadway Sex Thread: https://www.datalounge.com/thread/23788521-broadway-sex-thread-2019

Will Chase is missable.

Those saying how hot Will Chase is CANNOT have seen him recently in KMK.

He's simply not.

R492 - nope. Look again. No way those tiny nails are a result of biting. The entire nail section is minuscule. It's a deformity.

Chronic nail biting plus nail fungus. Trust me.

Sheridan Smith is battling mental illness, right?

R498 She just had a booze/food breakdown after the death of her father. and the loss of a TV award she thought she would win.

And having to go on stage every night in Funny Girl, knowing how awful she, and the production was

[quote]Ted Chapin is president of The Rogers & Hammerstein Organization in New York.

I can't believe the National Theatre didn't have a proofreader or editor who would have caught that.

If I hated The Temptations back in the day and still hate them now and think "Ain't Too Proud" is grammatically an abomination: should I go see the show?

Yes. It sounds right up your alley.

I’m surprised Will was snubbed for a nomination. He has a name these days

Perhaps his being an asshole was a factor.

The truth is that it's not an especially good production. Kelli sings it beautifully but is just too well-bred-vanilla for the role; Will's just okay; you wonder why they revived it at all--particularly that the Marin Mazzie revival (even though it's ages ago) is still pretty fresh in everyone's mind.

r505 That Mazzie revival had its faults, but Marin wasn't one of them and neither was hot piece Michael Berresse, who managed to sell tickets on his performance alone despite singing the biggest turkey in the show. Nothing in this new revival reaches the perfection of Marin or has gotten as much notice as Berresse's, well, can we call it coup de theatre?

This KMK didn't even get Tony noms for Set or Costume Design, which really tells you how misguided it is.

Imelda was a terrific Rose onstage, although I wished she hadn't missed the charm quotient of the character. And she was a lovely Baker's Wife, although not as good as Gleason. Who could be?

I can hardly bear to think of anyone other than Gleason in that role.

[Quote] She just had a booze/food breakdown after the death of her father. and the loss of a TV award she thought she would win.

No, what she just had was a twitter rant over the death of her dog. She accused her fiancee's mother of killing the dog. She also claimed that the mother AND Smith's fiance threaten Smith daily and if Miss Sheridan "disappears", Mom & Son will be responsible...

Smith apparently deleted said rant and apologised, writing that her dog had been killed by another dog...

What the Constitution Means to Me is absolutely a play, and is, in fact, brilliantly structured so that it seems like Heidi S. is talking to the audience extemporaneously when she is absolutely on a tight book. The debate is looser, but that too is structured. WTCMTM is a different kind of play than Broadway usually gets and definitely shows its explorative downtown roots, but it is a wonderful work from start to finish. And a play.

Count me among those who departed King Lear at intermission. Jackson is not at fault here, and for her I almost stayed. But those seats are amazingly uncomfortable at the Cort, and it was two hours in before intermission even happened, and during that ridiculous storm sequence I started counting down the minutes till I could pee and flee. Sam Gold's work is total shit here, from start to finish. When you see great actors like Jayne Houdyshell and Elizabeth Marvel floundering on stage like they are here, the finger can and should be pointed at Herr Director.

Anyone else seen Pain of My Belligerence? Great first scene (and it's a long one), then the play falls apart. Great to see Hamish Linklater's ballsack though.

And a question for the Eldergays: Was Curse of the Starving Class a revelation back in the day? I found this new production at the Signature to be looooong and ponderous, and when you start a show with a coup de theatre, you better follow it up with some decent stuff. People on either side of me fled before the intermission, never to return. Weirdly, the last act really worked in a way that the first two did not, and it didn't hurt that there was full frontal nudity from a young stud to keep the audience entertained.

Isn't Will Chase one of those guys who tends to get cast as the love interest to a first billed female star? No one puts him in a "Will Chase vehicle". Maybe he's pissy about that. He's scarcely more than a starlet, without the youth.

John Wilson is a frickin' genius and his orchestra is heavenly, as are the BBC Proms performances. The cute bf plays clarinet in the ensemble. Why they haven't toured the States is a mystery...

Will Chase not only has a big dick, but is one as well.

I find it hard to believe that Will Chase is a dick//asshole. I've always found him endearing in everything I've watched him in.

It's called acting, R515.

He's probably deleted the evidence by now... but he was under fire a couple years ago for being a real cunt on Twitter.

I've seen John Wilson in concert many times. I'm usually underwhelmed with his singers, though - even Julian Ovenden, whose style I find rather affected (I think it's the Brit trying to sound American thing). I tend to enjoy when Wilson teams up with Sondheim fave Kim Criswell.

I didn't enjoy the CD of his I bought, though. Maximised, over compressed sound, as I recall. And I didn't really like the singers.

Kim Criswell owes her post Broadway London career to Wilson. Her Prom appearances with him have been remarkable.

Not at all. She owes it to John McGlinn. That's how she got het recording contract with EMI.

Is Kim Criswell the one who insulted Sondheim somehow and he forbade her from ever appearing in his shows?

[quote]Ted Chapin is president of The Rogers & Hammerstein Organization in New York.

[quote]I can't believe the National Theatre didn't have a proofreader or editor who would have caught that.

Many a new "d" will come

Before they do

Excuse you. Criswell has played the Witch in Into the Woods, in Derby no less.

Doug Sills was a perfect Fred Graham in KISS ME KATE at the Shakespeare Theater in Washington, DC two (or three) years ago.

I saw Criswell in "Call Me Madam" some years ago at Goodspeed, and she knocked it out of the park. So much better than Carmen Cusack and the right voice for it as well.

Do Will Chase and Andy Karl have comparable careers? comparable cocks?

Do they even know each other?

They've both appeared in lots of flops, but are both talented.

I was thinking about who could play Stein/Stone in a revival of "City Of Angels". Wouldn't Andy Karl and Nick Cordero be perfect?

Make that Stine/Stone.

I wonder if Doug Sills was offered KMK at The Roundabout but passed on it because of the John Guare play he's now doing at LCT.

Surely, Will Chase wasn't anybody's first choice??

He would be mine!

Looking back, someone has put together a series of news clips of Julie’s refusal of a Tony nomination. This was a major breaking news in NY. CNN even brought in former mayor.

In hindsight, would she have done that if she knew that was going to be her last musical and thus last chance at a Tony?

She would be EGOT by now.

[quote] Perhaps his being an asshole was a factor.

I'm not sure what you're trying to say.

[quote] Anyone else seen Pain of My Belligerence? Great first scene (and it's a long one), then the play falls apart. Great to see Hamish Linklater's ballsack though.

Halley Feiffer's career is baffling. She hasn't got an ounce of talent, yet her plays keep getting produced. I understand there's a modicum of nepotism there, but surely it should be used up by now. Jules Feiffer wasn't THAT big of a deal.

[question]And a question for the Eldergays: Was Curse of the Starving Class a revelation back in the day? I found this new production at the Signature to be looooong and ponderous, and when you start a show with a coup de theatre, you better follow it up with some decent stuff. People on either side of me fled before the intermission, never to return. Weirdly, the last act really worked in a way that the first two did not, and it didn't hurt that there was full frontal nudity from a young stud to keep the audience entertained.

It's time for everyone to come clean. Sam Shepard (as a playwright) is the biggest case of Emperor's New Clothes ever perpetrated on the Off-Broadway scene. His plays are excruciatingly dull. True West is a fucking CHORE to sit through, as is Buried Child. Curse of the Starving Class feels like something a student wrote. Shepard was actually a decent actor, but he outright stunk as a writer.

Sorry, I have no idea why that showed up as question and not quote above. I suppose the logical answer is I typed question, but I sure don't know why I'd have done that.

SPOILERS- wanted

So what is the coup de theatre a the beginning of Curse of the Starving Class.

In the off-Broadway production of Curse.... in the 1980s with Kathy Bates, the coup was certainly young nude Bradley Whitford carrying that fuzzy lamb on stage.

Unforgettable image.

R540, I remember the lamb, I don't remember nudity in the Signature Theater production in the 90s (?). I do remember a really fake looking penis for the urination scene.

Finally catching up on those John Wilson PROMS clips above! Thanks to everyone who posted them.

How have I missed these all these years? Are they regularly part of the London theater season? When do they usually perform?

Has Marc Kudisch ever played Fred in KMK? That seems like something that should have happened at some point.

In the summer, R542.

I loved the PROMS videos as well, thank you to whoever posted them

John Wilson leads concerts throughout the year. He's done tours with his own orchestra and conducted local orchestras. He claims to have transcribed MGM charts from the recordings as the originals don't exist. He'll often play a movie otchestration over the theatre one.

Wasn't Brandon a bully in his own theatre queen community, though? Hey mayn't be as you see him.

slightly OT, but the last night of the Proms, the old British reserve dissolves and they let their (freak) flag fly.

Is that the Royal Albert Hall where the Proms perform? It looks immense.

yes

Nick coredero. Why??????? He’s just not good. In anything. Don’t get it

So, they are recreating the Keystone/bathing beauty ballet?

R552 yes I read that they are doing the original Robbins choreography.

This is the other rarely seen one from JRB that's amazing.

The link to the new Broadway sex thread doesn't work.

Speaking of which, do we think Jonny Lee Miller and Bertie Carvel give each other blow jobs backstage during INK. Always amazing to think that JLM was married to La Jolie.

Glenda Jackson is the worst thing about that LEAR -- cold as ice. No one seems to have told her that the play is about a fond and foolish old man awakening, however belatedly, to humanity. One second of Robert Stephens or Derek Jacobi have more power and pathos than all of non-Dame Glenda's larynx-scraping.

[quote]gotten as much notice as Berresse's, well, can we call it coup de theatre?

If coup de theatre = hot ass and huge basket, then yes, we can call it that.

Bernese may still have a great body but he looked horrible as Bob Mackie in Cher.

[quote]Is Kim Criswell the one who insulted Sondheim somehow and he forbade her from ever appearing in his shows?

Yes, but he was speaking about Broadway or major productions. He wouldn’t care about Derby. But thf whole thing happened during casting for the DC Merrily which is 30 years ago. I doubt he cares about her or what she does now. In fact, at this point, I doubt he even remembers who she even is.

How did Criswell insult Sondheim?

She freed one of his subs.

R543 Isn't Marc Kudisch already just like Fred Graham?

[quote]I saw Criswell in "Call Me Madam" some years ago at Goodspeed, and she knocked it out of the park

If you could get past how fat and obnoxious she’s gotten, yeah.

Marc Kudisch in tights is not an image Broadway needs to see at this point.

Only if every single woman in midtown has learned to stay away from Bertie, r555.

I saw his butt in the "WIld Party"; my friend still calls him Marc Tuchas. He apparently did full-frontal in something out of town "The Highest Yellow" or something like that. Haven't seen him lately.

Not much to see there.

Speaking of Marc K: do you remember this?

24 years ago!

Cute boys of Bway and cute dogs.

AWWWW.

I see Chris Sieber is back up to 300 lbs again. Good. He's an asshole.

That pics looks like 2006, especially Andy Karl.

Sleaking of Sieber, is that Broadway Bares video online and has the Adamn Kantor vid been linked here yet?

Chris Sieber is an asshole, too? Say it ain't so! I used to adore him as a kid in that Olsen Twins sitcom TWO OF A KIND.

It's funny, seems to me the Roundabout KISS ME, KATE received mostly very favorable reviews, undeserved in my opinion, but now it seems like everyone who's talking and writing about it didn't like it and is finding the same huge flaws in it that I did. And I'd like to think it wouldn't have gotten a Tony nom for Best Revival if it wasn't one of only two shows eligible in the category.

[quote]What the Constitution Means to Me is absolutely a play, and is, in fact, brilliantly structured so that it seems like Heidi S. is talking to the audience extemporaneously when she is absolutely on a tight book. The debate is looser, but that too is structured. WTCMTM is a different kind of play than Broadway usually gets and definitely shows its explorative downtown roots, but it is a wonderful work from start to finish. And a play.

I just don't agree, and that's fine, but don't say "it's absolutely a play" like it's not a matter of opinion. Maybe I should say it's a very poorly structured play, but obviously, you don't agree with that, either.

[quote]I wonder if Doug Sills was offered KMK at The Roundabout but passed on it because of the John Guare play he's now doing at LCT. Surely, Will Chase wasn't anybody's first choice??

Interesting thought. Will Chase is SO miscast in it, even more so than Kelli. But didn't he do one of those Roundabout one-nighters of the show with Kelli a couple of years ago? So I guess they've been thinking of him in the part for a while.

By now Kelli is closing in on Martin and Merman as inividuals for most appearances in Broadway musicals. Other than Sweet Smell of Success how many were original cast.

To her great credit, Kelli showed us that South Pacific is still wonderful musical theatre.

Douglas Sills is wonderful but utterly wasted in the hideous John Guare play. As is the rest of the cast, which includes DL fave Will "Mr. Audra" Swenson.

Did anyone read the Guare play before committing to producing it? Or is Lincoln Center so indebted to Guare that he has a lifelong free pass?

No fool like an old fool.

I just saw a production of South Pacific at a local community theater (Smithtown PAC) and it was really good. I guess the music and book are indestructible (it did play 1,925 performances in its original run) but the cast and crew here did a commendable job -- they got all their laughs, and all the well-earned tears, and delivered the tunes with verve and gusto, and subtlety where required.

By now Kelli is closing in on Martin and Merman as inividuals for most appearances in Broadway musicals. Other than Sweet Smell of Success how many were original cast.

4

Dracula

The Light in the Piazza

Nice Work if You Can Get It

The Bridges of Madison County

Guess Broadway does reward mediocrity.

Could Kelli pull off MAME?

Will Jake G fulfill his music theatre dream: a great big fat revival of BARNUM, with him in the title role?

I smell TONY!

Ohara should have gone out with the touring company of Hello Dolly. She's around the same age as Channing was when she did the show first.

O’Hara as Mrs. Malloy maybe. She totally lacks the larger-than-life star power required to be a memorable Dolly.

R581, Buckley on tour is showing that lack of larger than life star power didn't stop her.

Kelli will be fully inhabiting the Alexis Smith role in an eagerly anticipated revival of PLATINUM. Helmed by Bartlett Sher at Lincoln Center.

I'm seeing Darren Criss in the Richard Cox role.

R582, if you saw Betty stretch out those Dolly costumes, you'd know that she is larger than life.

Sieber is not an asshole, come on. 300 pounds? Maybe. He's fatter than Brooks these days!

Kelli would be fab in a reworking of Richard Rodgers’ flop musical I Remember Mama. With Nathan Lane as Uncle Sven.

Ushers!

They help make the MAGIC happen.

When Times Square was disgusting...

And we preferred it that way!

Speaking of Doug Sills, I could swear I saw a profile on OKCupid with his picture recently. Is he single?

FIRST MIDNIGHT!

R504, you're not kidding. I haven't seen it mentioned elsewhere, but that woman really porked up. Must have been too many BBQs in Texas.

Are there any musical revivals announced (or rumored) for next season?

R592 Is The Music Man next season?

What ever happened with the Amber Riley Dreamgirls? She and the show would have cleaned up this season.

R593: Oh, good God, what are they going to do to that to make that "woke" and "relevant"? Make everyone transracial, transsexual, transspecies, and then have them turn into a ball of intergalactic space goo after the last chorus of "Gary, Indiana"?

SECOND MIDNIGHT!

Pipe Dream. Huh.

How could it have failed?

Almost Bajour! time -- has anyone started #355? link please if it exists, cause the search engine ain't been workin'

Bajour!

THIRD MIDNIGHT!