Theatre Gossip #370: Moulin Splooge! edition.

Link to old thread.

You're WELCOME.

How is Moulin Rouge doing? Is hottie Tveit getting praise? How nice does his ass look in early 20th century costuming?

Thank goodness, I can post again. This barring certain people from popular threads isn't working very well.

Anyway, how come there are not more revivals of the 90s "women's" plays. "Dancing At Lughnasa" "The Sisters Rosensweig" and "The Tale of the Allergist's Wife."

Very well, R2. It's selling at over 100% capacity, as of 10/20/19.

Wendy W. seems to have fallen out of favor. The revival of THE HEIDI CHRONICLES with Elizabeth Moss got mixed reviews and lost a lot of money.

I can't remember any other recent revivals of her work.

Thanks, OP. I was about to create a new theater thread myself when yours appeared. Thank goodness, because I do suffer from rejection issues.

How come Christopher Durang's plays, with the the exception of "Vanya and Sonia", etc. aren't done that often in NY these days? Are they done a lot in regionals? Lots of them are very funny, especially "Beyond Therapy".

The problem with The Heidi Chronicles is that it's really "of its time." It doesn't play well in today's "woke" society. Heidi seems to be more self-pitying than searching for feminism.

i think if NYC had a better off-Broadway scene that Durang would be revived more. His material seems to do better in smaller theaters than the large Broadway barns. But off-Broadway is on life support just waiting for someone to pull the plug.

Wendy always seemed smart and fun, but her plays reflect an intensely bourgeois white feminism that is very out of favor these days (and not without good reason). Few of us care that you "can't have it all" when women are sexually assaulted at their jobs, people of color are randomly murdered by police, and look who's in the White House.

RE Wendy W. I always got the impression that her plays were mounted as often as they were because of the producers' and director's' personal relationships with her. She knew how to work the room, and they were producing HER as much as producing the plays. Now that she is no longer alive, her plays have to stand on their own, and don't seem to be strong enough to do that. I saw most of her plays when they were first mounted, and I always felt that I was supporting her vision as much as the play. She's gone, and will soon be forgotten.

R4 Odd. I know that movie musicals are all the rage right now, but Moulin Rouge doesn’t seem like it’d translate well to the stage. Something that campy with a scale that large seems only really fit for the screen. I’m worried they’ll end up bastardizing it, like they did with Beetlejuice and Heathers.

It probably doesn't help that she has also fallen out of breathing, R5.

R11 I think if we get a female President at some pont, Wendy's plays might come back again, especially "Heidi Chronicles".

[quote]How come Christopher Durang's plays, with the the exception of "Vanya and Sonia", etc. aren't done that often in NY these days? Are they done a lot in regionals? Lots of them are very funny, especially "Beyond Therapy".

And "Beyond Therapy" bombed on Broadway, running for just a couple of weeks in 1982. I managed to see it despite the short run, and even I got a free ticket from Equity. The cast included John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest and a then-unknown David Hyde Pierce.

r11, I get your point. Here's Wendy, a nice Jewish girl who didn't find herself a doctor and settle down. Let's produce her plays and support her choice not to be trapped in the nice Jewish girl stereotype.

I feel that this is now the mission of the Public Theatre. Oh, Lin Manuel-Miranda! We must produce him because he's not white male. His voice must be heard! It seems like these days any dreck will be produced just because the writer is not white male.

How was it? That's a great cast. The play, when you read it, is hilarious. Unfortunately, Robert Altman totally screwed up the movie version, which had a fabulous cast as well. The play I think now has a great reputation, since folks still talk about it, at least in theater circles when they talk about Durang and his plays.

[quote]I think if we get a female President at some pont, Wendy's plays might come back again, especially "Heidi Chronicles".

I'm not so sure. Heidi comes across as a fag hag with the gay character. Wendy wrote a 1980s gay male which doesn't play as well today.

R17 I'm back to "Beyond Therapy" there.

R11, you nailed it.

As one friend of Wendy's once said, "There are bigger problems than who are you going to spend Saturday night with."

I think the paywall on the theatre gossip threads has certainly done away with one thing- The criticisms of the new title threads. I know I'm so grateful to have an open thread again that my desire to tear down a terrible title like Moulin Splooge is all but gone.

I think 70's and 80's feminism pieces like The Heidi Chronicles look quaint and not terribly inclusive now. If they changed the lead to a woman of color or a trans woman, I'm sure it'd be looked at as monumental again. Honestly, that's all it takes now.

[quote]How was it? That's a great cast.

I remember enjoying it and laughing a lot, R17, but of course 1982 was a very long time ago, so my memories are fuzzy. I do recall being not terribly surprised when it closed so quickly. As much as I enjoyed it, the play's gay characters and off-beat humor were not what was expected in a "boulevard comedy" back then.

[quote]I know that movie musicals are all the rage right now, but Moulin Rouge doesn’t seem like it’d translate well to the stage. Something that campy with a scale that large seems only really fit for the screen. I’m worried they’ll end up bastardizing it, like they did with Beetlejuice and Heathers.

I don't think it would be possible to "bastardize" the movie MOULIN ROUGE in a stage adaptation.

I loved BEYOND THERAPY on Broadway, and I think it could have and should have run. Durang blames its failure on the negative review it got from Frank Rich in the NYT, and he's probably right about that, because those were the days when a Times review was very influential.

R24 You’d be surprised. Broadway film-musicals can sometimes manage to take a shitty film and turn it into an even shittier musical. Look at Pretty Woman.

Good point, R25! But in this case, I hated the movie of MOULIN ROUGE so much that it's hard for me to imagine a stage version being worse, and even if it were worse, I wouldn't say the movie had been "bastardized."

Did anyone see Durang's "The Marriage of Bette and Boo"? That reads like a terrific play, and I bet Olympia Dukakis must have slayed when she did it originally. I saw, unfortunately, Durang's "Sex and Longing" on Broadway and while Jay Goede, who seems to have left the business, was gorgeous, it was a pretty bad play, though Dana Ivey had several brilliant scenes in it and Sigourney looked great as usual. Glad that Durang finally won a Tony for "Vanya", etc., though a shame they rushed his Tony speech on tv -- perhaps it would have been very funny if they allowed him to speak.

Ahhhh, Sex & Longing. I worked on that show. I could have written a book about it, but no one would have cared outside a handful of gossipy DL queens (whom I love!)

Jay Goede had one of the best nude scenes ever opposite the also lovely Alan Tudyk in "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told"!

The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told was the worst piece of dreck I ever read.

But the visuals were indelibly memorable.

[quote] Jay Goede had one of the best nude scenes ever opposite the also lovely Alan Tudyk in "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told"!

They did that so the audience wouldn't go blind looking at a naked Lea Delaria

I didn't see it when Lea DeLaria took over (I think it was Becky Ann Baker) and her character only went topless, and by that time it was Jesse Tyler Ferguson getting naked replacing one of the guys.

Good lord! Becky Ann Baker, Lea Delaria, Jesse Tyler Ferguson... did they hand out air sickness bags instead of playbills?

Well, Jesse Tyler Ferguson's character keeps his clothes on in the upcoming "Take Me Out" revival--unless the directors changes the staging anyway.

OP, is there a reason your thread titles are orgasm-centered? Are you not having any, is that it?

The last one was kind of cute, but this one is, frankly, just kind of crass and disgusting. Time for a changing of the guard.

[quote]We must produce him because he's not white male. His voice must be heard! It seems like these days any dreck will be produced just because the writer is not white male.

Racist much, r16?

LMM's plays are produced because they make a ton of money for all involved. "In the Heights" is a money machine, and "Hamilton" is a theatrical behemoth. He got the backers/producers for Hamilton because of In the Heights, and "Hamilton" is the kind of hit that will keep him in backers (and audiences) for years to come.

[quote]Well, Jesse Tyler Ferguson's character keeps his clothes on in the upcoming "Take Me Out" revival--unless the directors changes the staging anyway.

I would like that promise notarized before I see Take Me Out. I'm still traumatized from seeing him in a bathing suit a couple of episodes ago in "Modern Family."

LMM is an arrogant prick who can’t sing, but you have to admit, as a writer and director he has talent. Hamilton is impressive because of the way it’s put together and manages to wrap one of the most complicated historical stories into a coherent engrossing book. In The Heights is impressive because of the way it manages to take unsung lives of Washington Heights and turn it into a massive, engrossing story. His lyrics and dialogue are witty and poetic. If he didn’t feel the need to shoehorn himself into every single production he makes he’d be a lot more universally praised. But alas, his ego gets in the way and he makes himself the lead, which means we have to hear his nails-on-chalkboard singing voice. I suppose that’s why I prefer Hamilton to his other work, at least when he’s rapping he can’t shriek like a kicked dog.

I have never heard anyone say anything negative about LMM that would justify him being called "an arrogant prick."

You seem to have a real hatred for him, r39. Too bad, because it says more about you than it does about him. He was charming and sang well in Mary Poppins Returns (even though the film as a whole was a bit of a stinker), he was good in his cameo playing Roy Scheider in "Fosse/Verdon" and he looks terrific in the trailers for "His Dark Materials." Oh, and he was perfect for In the Heights, not "nails on a chalkboard" at all.

Why on earth does his success trigger you so much?

R40 Because he’s a poser, and the worst kind of poser to boot. He makes rapsicals about inner-city POC and markets them in a way that only rich white New Yorkers can access them. He pretends to be the voice of the working class hispanic community and yet he was raised by two rich college educated parents and attended K-12 on the Upper East Side. My problem with him is that he profits off of masquerading as something he isn’t and fancies himself the messiah of the barrio despite the fact that he would probably never set foot in a neighborhood that isn’t gentrified.

Also, R40, when you make yourself the lead in musicals that you write, produce, and direct that says a hell of a lot about you and your ego. But then again you sound like one of his crazy stans, so my points probably fall on deaf ears.

R41 And his sell out Father worked for Ed Koch. For that reason alone we are allowed to hate the CUNT

No, I'm not one of his stans at all. I listened to "Hamilton" once, but rap isn't my thing. (My favorite song was the King George one, a welcome respite from rap).

But you seem a little bit - unhinged - in your hatred for him. I mean, fine, anyone can have any opinion they want, but LMM is having a major career and is wildly popular. And there isn't really any evidence that he is any of the things you claim he is, or that he has some kind of nefarious motives. He's just someone whose luck and talent brought him to a "show biz royalty" kind of place, and he really enjoys it. But he gives back a lot, too, and in fact, Hamilton still has the lottery for seats for people who don't have a lot of money.

As for "only rich white New Yorkers " sorry, but that doesn't explain his shows' wild successes in Chicago, LA, London, SF - anywhere Hamilton has played, it's sold out. And its audiences are far more likely to be POC than "white."

Exactly r44. The unhinged LMM haters seem to be motivated out of pure jealousy. Wonder how they'd react/live if they had his kind of success.

Well, his acting (and Accent) in Mary Poppins bombs stunk. Will be interesting to see how Dark Materials pans out for him

I liked Mame.

R44 I don’t dispute that he’s talented, but if you think he makes media for POC working class audiences you’re crazy. I want you to go to New York, Chicago, LA, SF, or London and look at the audience. If there are more POC than white people then I’ll praise LMM as the best thing since sliced bread. Until then, I’ll stick with what I’ve seen from both his fan base and his audience, both of which are predominantly upper class white.

I look forward to seeing him in His Dark Materials. I think he’s a talented actor and a talented writer, but pretending like he doesn’t cater to the gentrification community is choosing to be blind. I don’t think he has any nefarious motives, I just think he’s a little bit of an asshole for pretending to be hand-in-hand with working class POC’s when he’s never been in the same boat as them and when he certainly isn’t now.

You can pretend like he’s not engrained in the NYC elite. That’s fine. I don’t care. I just refuse to sit here and pretend like he’s the Jesus of Queens.

[quote]Oh, and he was perfect for In the Heights, not "nails on a chalkboard" at all.

I agree. The roles that LMM wrote for himself in HAMILTON and IN THE HEIGHTS don't require better singing than he's able to provide. I'm sorry he's not going to be playing the part he created and wrote for himself in the movie of IN THE HEIGHTS, and has yielded it instead to Anthony Ramos, whose appeal largely escapes me. Sadly, I think maybe LMM gave up the role because he doesn't want to be perceived by people like R41as having a stranglehold on a leading role in everything he writes .

[quote]I don’t dispute that he’s talented, but if you think he makes media for POC working class audiences you’re crazy. I want you to go to New York, Chicago, LA, SF, or London and look at the audience. If there are more POC than white people then I’ll praise LMM as the best thing since sliced bread. Until then, I’ll stick with what I’ve seen from both his fan base and his audience, both of which are predominantly upper class white.

The complete nonsense of this statement is shocking and displays a total ignorance of how entertainment is monetized. People who are/were unable to afford full price tickets to HAMILTON, for example, and don't have access to (or don't make the effort to try to obtain) lottery or discount tickets can see the movie version when it's released. Theater tickets are very expensive whenever there is a demand to see the show, and it's very difficult to change that in any way other than making sure a certain percentage of low priced tickets are available to students or through lotteries, which HAMILTON certainly does.

STREEP/DURANG

R49 LMM is 20 years too old to play Usnavi. He was 10 years too old for the part on Broadway

However, hats covering the face....do.

I love how the anti-LMM troll is crediting him as an outstanding director.

Even he does not claim to be a director.

(And yes, there are plenty of people not on DL who call him "an arrogant prick.")

Bastardize Moulin Rouge?

Lololol.

I want you’re smoking.

Have some.....

I've really never understood when people get angry at writers/directors/producers for casting themselves in their plays, movies, or TV shows. Sure, sometimes they can look like vanity projects if they're not right for the role (or too young/old for the role), but most of the time, it doesn't bother me. You see a lot of actors producing their own work these days. Guess it's a good way to secure decent roles - write one yourself or produce a work you believe in.

Lin Manuel Miranda isn't my cup of tea, but I do believe he has talent and he's never offended me with the roles he's played or projects he's involved in.

R56 Did LMM have many roles on Broadway before In The Heights?

[quote]LMM is 20 years too old to play Usnavi. He was 10 years too old for the part on Broadway

First of all, LMM is only 39 and I would say he can easily pass for early thirties, even on screen. Secondly, I don't know if Usnavi's age is specified in the script of IN THE HEIGHTS, but if he were only supposed to be 20 or so, as you claim, I think the major plot point of his wanting to go home to the Dominican Republic would be a lot less powerful, because that kind of longing is much more acute in an older person. That said, maybe he agrees with you that he's too old for the part now, and maybe that's why Anthony Ramos got the part in the movie.

R58 Wow, he easily looked mid 30s in Heights.

Agree 100% with R56. I think the LMM hatred is ridiculous. I'm not some crazed stan of his either (I loved "Hamilton" but thought "In the Heights" was way overpraised and did not deserve the Tony for Best Musical) but all of these other things people are complaining about (he's arrogant, he's a phony, etc.) are all character assaults based on little to no evidence. From all accounts, he seems for the most part to be a pretty decent guy -- I've never heard anyone say that they've had unpleasant dealings with him or that he walks around thinking he's more important than anybody else. I think the only legitimate criticism one might make of him is that he's overexposed, which for all we know could've also factored into his decision not to play the lead in the ITH movie (because he realizes it, too).

[quote]Secondly, I don't know if Usnavi's age is specified in the script of IN THE HEIGHTS, but if he were only supposed to be 20 or so, as you claim, I think the major plot point of his wanting to go home to the Dominican Republic would be a lot less powerful, because that kind of longing is much more acute in an older person.

Totally agree. This plot point would make a lot less sense if the character were younger, so in my opinion LMM was actually the perfect age for the part.

You all is bitchy up in here!

You all is bitchy up in here!

Apparently Aaron Tveit is dealing with some pretty heavy depression right now. Yikes.

[QUOTE] Maybe it was like that production of A Doll's House where all the men were dwarfs and all the women were over 6 feet tall.

I saw this production! At the Kennedy Center some years ago. You forgot to mention that the children were played by those young people who have that rapid aging syndrome so they are like 8 years old but look like little old men and women. It was very freaky and uncomfortable.

Nora was completely naked on a swing at one point. The whole production was just disturbing.

If true, that's very interesting, R63, given that he's on such a professional high right now (i.e., biggest hit of the season/his career, likely Tony nom/possible win, etc.). Must be something personal (e.g., lover dumped him, family stuff, etc.). Hope he gets better soon.

R65 Working with Karen?

The Wasserstein plays I'm familiar with remind me of "very special episodes" of sit-coms: a serious social issue is thinly glued onto a standard yukfest to make it appear to be consciousness-raising and significant. "The Sisters Rosensweig" was like this.

[quote]Must be something personal (e.g., lover dumped him, family stuff, etc.). Hope he gets better soon.

Depression is not caused by an event in a person's life. It's a chemical imbalance inside the body. (That's people with TRUE depression and not these people just faking it because they want attention).

Lin was in his 20s during ITH and he looked age-appropriate for Usnavi--and very young in his scenes with Christopher Jackson, the one who actually looked too old for his role.

I don't love how Lin has been shoved down our throats, I agree he isn't much of a singer or actor, but I don't begrudge him his success and by all accounts he's a nice enough person. Maybe a bit calculating and politically savvy, of course, but that's how you succeed in this business.

Tveit has always seemed depressed to me. There's never been much "there" there. He seems void of any real personality and depression could be a factor in that. I wish him the best.

R67, you're right, but I'd rather have serious topics discussed with a little humor instead of with upmost reverence and respect.

wasn't able to post in the other thread but saw The Inheritance Part 2 this week, the orchestra looked full, not sure how much was comp. I got tix at TKTS. Audience was very enthusiastic at curtain.

Let us not forget that Wendy has an amazing vagina that scored Terence

The Inheritance is all over TDF.

Would love to hear your SEX & LONGING stories. I know Chris Durang a little through mutual friends and wish he were still writing.

Those late 70s/80s writers from Yale had a good run, but they never seemed to push themselves out of their comfort zone.

He's older, but I'd include John Guare in that crowd as well. Still writing about the same 5 things for 5 decades now.

[quote] You can pretend like he’s not engrained in the NYC elite

What does that mean, exactly? His fame is worldwide now, and has been for three or four years.the “New York elite” may love him, but so do a lot of non-elite New Yorkers, and plenty of people in other cities. And yes, his audiences are plenty diverse. You kind of sound like a “New York elite” yourself.

What five things would those be, regarding Guare, r75?

Ws, As, Ss, Ps and Ss.

I disagree.

R78 Isn't that four things?

Lin Manuel-Miranda crossed the line when he started shilling for American Express.

Meanwhile, over here in London, Annie Baker’s play The Antipodes is at the National. Anyone see the New York production? It has a great cast here but my god does it get boring. She’s another playwright whose work is of questionable merit outside the time it was written. I actually like her writing, but the plays themselves are seeming more clever by half. Very frustrating.

R82 -- Im heading to London next month, and would like to take in a play or two. I looked at the listings, and there was really nothing that jumped out at me. I like musicals, but wouldn't be caught dead seeing something like the Tina Turner show. I prefer more challenging theater. My favorite play is Dom Delillo's The Day Room, and my favorite musical is probably Sunday in the Park with George. Is there anything playing now -- or next month -- that I might have overlooked? Thank you.

R74, what is TDF? Not a New Yorker here and don’t know.

[quoteLin Manuel-Miranda crossed the line when he started shilling for American Express.

Is that the best you can do? Seriously? If you're going to insist on constantly posting about your hatred for LMM, couldn't you at least try to be amusing about it?

R84, it's a discount ticket service for people who are in the arts, teach the arts or who work in the theater industry. They gets tickets from Bway, Off, Off Off, Dance, Music, etc for really low prices. Bway musicals are about $50, plays are $45, off-bway lower, etc. You have to show proof of eligibility to join (but I don't think it's that difficult) and pay a yearly (low) membership fee.

[quote]what is TDF? Not a New Yorker here and don’t know.

TDF is Theatre Development Fund. They are an organization that runs the TKTS booth in Times Square (and other places) which sells unsold tickets to Broadway shows for up to 50% off.

R87 is correct that TDF does run the TKTS booth, but a TDF membership is something different, what I described above.

R86, sweet! Thanks for the info. (You, too, R87!)

TDF is not just for people in the theatre industry. Almost anyone can find an eligible category to join.

R83, yes, it’s a little thin on the ground over here at the moment. The only thing I’m excited about seeing is Touching the Void. It was at Bristol Old Vic and had tremendous reviews. Other than that, it seems to be mostly the New York big hits over here. I’ll post again if I think/hear of anything else.

[quote]Wow, he easily looked mid 30s in Heights.

How old did you think LMM looked in MARY POPPINS RETURNS? If you didn't know how old he actually is, I think you would agree that his age is kind of indeterminate in that film, anywhere between 30 and 40. Which is correct, because he's now 39, and POPPINS actually started filming about two or three years ago.

R91 Touching the Void onstage? Very K2

[quote] TDF is not just for people in the theatre industry. Almost anyone can find an eligible category to join.

Yeah, that's why I added some in my answer which you clearly skipped over.

The real problem with the Bway production of "Beyond Therapy" was it wasn't the same cast as the Marymount off-Bway production, in which the actors were infinitely better.

The Altman movie was terrible. And I love Glenda Jackson, Christopher Guest, and Julie Hagerty,

R27 I saw "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" back in the day and thought it was hilarious. I remember crying at one point, I was laughing so hard. It was one of the first plays I saw when I moved to NYC, and I felt so excited to be able to see it (a friend got us tickets).

Lin Trans-Smell Esmerelda is, frankly, the perfect artist for our low-standards age.....Smarmy, huckster, hard-sell, mediocre

R27 I tried to get a group to revive Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You. The refused as they all totally hates it, cunts

R83 the new translation of Blood Wedding at the Young Vic is excellent and worth checking out. The all-black production of Death of a Salesman with Sharon D Clarke will also have opened next month.

R100 The Miller estate have just given up now. Tell black stories, don't shove them in white history

R100, are people supposed to notice that the cast is black or is it meant to be an extreme version of "colour-blind casting" where, somehow, everyone happens to be black? Of course, I know the answer to my question.

How is this appropriation of Miller's play not some kind of cultural "whiteface"?

(the correct answer to my question @ R102 was: none of the above.)

Don't get me wrong, it might be very interesting to view Death Of a Salesman through a black cultural prism, but it ain't the play that Miller wrote.

R100 here - haven't seen the Death of a Salesman when it was in at the Young Vic. I will check it out, as Clarke is a brilliant performer, but I agree some plays more than others don't lend themselves to this casting. To have an entire production showing black men struggling to make it in America and not have race mentioned once in the actual text will really show a disconnect between text and performance

I don’t mind experiments like that. Shakespeare is abstract to us, so we never bridle at, say, an all African American production of Titus Andronicus. So why not Death Of A Salesman? It’s not like it erases the play. It’s an undisputed classic. It’s stood the test of time and can bear unconventional takes. I felt the same way about John Doyle's version of Sweeney Todd. I thought it was a complete and utter piece of shit, but why not? Sweeney Todd will be remembered long after John Doyle is forgotten.

I would like the Young Vic to produce the all-white version of " Fences." Or the all-Latino " The Wiz." Or the all-tranny " Quilters."

R68, your own statement makes it clear you are FAR out of your area of expertise when you discuss depression. There are many serious and accepted causes of depression beyond a chemical imbalance in the brain.

Please stop spreading misinformation about a serious topic.

As for Tveit, who wouldn't be depressed when under contract to perform that shitty show 8 times a week?

Of course, Death of a Salesman is about a family of Jews struggling to make it in America and their ethnicity is never mentioned.

I hated "Blood Wedding" at the Young Vic and the translation is awful. The only redemption is those two handsome men (Lover and Husband) fighting it à la Cirque du Soleil. Lots of chiseled muscles.

While In the Heights didn’t get me particularly excited, I’ll admit Hamilton is a work of genius.

It’s amazing to think the rap lyrics and the excellent music came out of the head of just one guy.

He deserves every bit of glory and money he can squeeze out of it

The score for HAMILTON makes me wretch. I don't much want to see his shows, but Lin-Manuel Miranda is a cutie and I'd like to lick him.

The idea of adapting Touching The Void to the stage is so asnine. The film was bad enough. I’d rather see Terra Nova again.

[quote]The real problem with the Bway production of "Beyond Therapy" was it wasn't the same cast as the Marymount off-Bway production, in which the actors were infinitely better.

Wasn't Stephen Collins in it Off-Broadway? I don't remember who the woman was. But the leads on Broadway were Dianne Wiest and John Lithgow, so I REALLY don't think the casting was the problem.

The problem with Beyond Therapy is that Prudence and Bruce were never as interesting as the supporting characters around. The Off-Broadway production had glamorous leads - didn’t Sigourney do Prudence - and critics didn’t believe they would have such problems dating. That’s why they went the other way for Broadway with Weist and Lithgow being less conventionally attractive.

Dianne Weist was wonderful in BEYOND THERAPY. She was the only reason to go, except for Jack Gilpin being endlessly cute at that moment in history.

Christopher Durang doesn't write very good plays. He is very smart and comes up with interesting ideas. He creates great exchanges and moments for his uniquely conceived characters. But he is not great at crafting it all into a play. He always relied on staying outside of the traditions of playwriting and posing it all to be outrageous. There are always lots of great moments for his actors to shine. But then they have to push on to the next great moment.

Durang's plays usually make for a stop and start, disjointed, tough slog of an evening. By being a one-act, SISTER MARY IGNATIUS avoided some of these pitfalls.

[quote]Are people supposed to notice that the cast is black or is it meant to be an extreme version of "colour-blind casting" where, somehow, everyone happens to be black? Of course, I know the answer to my question.

I don't think anyone knows the answer to that question, except in rare cases where a director or an actor makes a specific statement about the intent. We're just supposed to accept such casting even when it makes zero sense, as in the recent Broadway revival of Miller's ALL MY SONS.

[quote]To have an entire production showing black men struggling to make it in America and not have race mentioned once in the actual text will really show a disconnect between text and performance

Exactly

[quote]I don’t mind experiments like that. Shakespeare is abstract to us, so we never bridle at, say, an all African American production of Titus Andronicus. So why not Death Of A Salesman?

Why not? For the reason R104 stated so succinctly.

[quote]Of course, Death of a Salesman is about a family of Jews struggling to make it in America and their ethnicity is never mentioned.

But that doesn't matter, because I don't believe Willy Loman's Jewishness is supposed to have anything to do with the struggles he experiences in the play.

Agree that Durang isn't strong enough as a writer to warrant a major revival. SISTER IGNATIUS was a terrific evening in the theater, but it was very much of its time. I'd definitely go back in time though to see its original production, first with Elizabeth Franz and then with her replacement, Mary Louise Wilson.

[quote]The score for HAMILTON makes me wretch.

Oh, dear.

A Jewish playwright gives us a play about a family struggling in Brooklyn in the years following World War II. Of course the play is steeped in Miller's experience as a Jew. What an emotional time that was to be a Jew in Brooklyn. Linda Loman's "attention must be paid" speech should make it clear about the Jewish heritage informing the play.

If no one kisses a mezuzh, that's okay. That it is not a religious family does not exclude it being very much a Jewish family.

R117, so blackness matters but Jewishness does not?

That is the pretzels you twist in when you try to exclude some specific minorities.

A black Salesman seems very relevant even though no one talks about being black, just like it did not matter when Jewishness went unacknowledged.

The idea that black, hispanics, asians, characters have to talk about their ethnicity while white characters do not is bigotry disguised as pc-ness.

Hey, SJWs, is this cultural appropriation, or is it only when white people do it?

Maybe Tveit is depressed because his career never went anywhere after being given so many big opportunities and it never will explode and he knows it. Not to mention, his nasolabial folds are getting worse and worse. R98 Pretty much. I think years from now when people can step away from the zeitgeist, they'll see his work for what it really is. Unexciting, unexceptional, and uneventful. He is plain and simple. Can't sing worth a drop.

A black man having a mistress is RACIST!! Stop this all-black Death of a Salesman at once!

I hope it's an ALMOST all-black production, and they ignore Jason Alexander's skin color and age so he finally gets to play Biff.

Excuuuuuse me, r118, I was the first replacement.

R16, while I disagree with you about LMN, you are spot on about any dreck being produced just because the writer is not white male. Look at that awful play produced by that Asian female playwright last year. Fortunately, the SJW influence seems to be waning. Their limit for supporting SJW on Twitter causes seems to end when they have to spend their own money.

R123, I was with you right up until you said Tveit can't sing. That's the one thing he CAN do quite well. He can't act worth a damn but he's giving a flawless vocal performance in Moulin Rouge.

R128 That part was about LMM. I don't care for Tveit's voice though. I would rather Ewan McGregor.

POC can play any role they want, can appropriate any characters/scripts they want. We must give them anything they demand. White people are only allowed to play white characters.

R130 Yea I don't like that. I'm latino and think it should work both ways. Why not? I would LOVE to see an all white DREAMGIRLS. I'm not kidding. Everything should just be fair game.

The unhinged LMM hatred and thinly concealed racism are killing this thread. Thanks, everyone.

Stop calling it hatred. It's not. LMM is a very average talent. It's the truth. Knock it off. We are entitled to our opinion. Where is the racism in this thread? Because black people want all the parts? I'm Latino and my mother was black/afro so save it. If black people wanna play everybody then so can everyone else. PERIOD.

it's DL the racism is rarely concealed, thinly or otherwise

[quote]I'm Latino and my mother was black/afro so save it.

Sure you are, asshole. Blocked.

My mother had a black afro, but in 1975, so did all the other Jewish and Italian ladies in Syosset.

[quote] he's giving a flawless vocal performance in Moulin Rouge

r128 that's part of his problem- it's flawless and uninteresting

I saw Tveit in "Catch Me If You Can" and his performance seemed to me like the understudy was on. He was ok, but lacking in presence.

Tveit had a period where he was fairly attractive and had a nice voice. He's perfect for modern Broadway. Technically stellar, but bland and passionless. When he sings, I see music notes behind his eyes, not passion or actual thought for what he's singing about. I thought it was painfully obvious in the Les Mis movie. He was probably the best singer in the cast, but others like Anne Hathaway and Eddie Redmayne turned in far more lived in, passionate performances that overshadowed him. I didn't even rememberer he was in the film 30 minutes after it was over, but I still remember their performances.

Why must you make me break out the big guns....

R116, it’s interesting and provocative. It activates the audience to challenge their own perceptions. Unless they’re stubborn like you.

R141 No, it really isn't. And August Wilson thinks you are totally wrong. And he knew this 20 years ago.

R121, your logic escapes me. To me, Willy Loman's Jewishness doesn't matter at all to the plot of DEATH OF A SALESMAN because, as I noted, it has nothing to do with the struggles he goes through in the play. His struggles are all about hubris and a tragically misplaced belief that The American Dream is something everyone is entitled to and doesn't have to work for. But to have a traveling salesman in the late 1940s played by an African-American -- assuming that means the CHARACTER is supposed to be African-American -- makes no sense because, first of all, there probably were few if any African-American traveling salesman at that time, and if there were any, it goes without saying that racism would have to be considered and mentioned as a major cause of his struggles. Because we're talking about America in 1949, four years after the end of a World War in which the troops were segregated along racial lines.

Do you understand now?

MUST attention be paid?

Logic is unwoke

[quote]Logic is unwoke

Ain't it the truth :-(

Here is the specific quote about color-blind casting from August Wilson's keynote address at Princeton in '96:

[quote]To mount an all-black production of a Death of a Salesman or any other play conceived for white actors as an investigation of the human condition [bold]through the specifics of white culture[/bold] is to deny us our own humanity, our own history, and the need to make our own investigations from the cultural ground on which we stand as black Americans. It is an assault on our presence, and our difficult but honorable history in America; and it is an insult to our intelligence, our playwrights, and our many and varied contributions to the society and the world at large.

I highlighted "through the specifics of white culture" because that will be the crux of whether this production has anything interesting to add to the play. Will it just be a "white" story repurposed into a black parable? Will anything be gained by this [/italic]Hamilton[/italic]-in-reverse? We'll have to wait and see.

Actually, Hamilton-in-reverse is not correct. I should have said [italic]Hamilton[/italic]ization.

Here, have some eye candy. Not to take jobs away from its large cast and crew, but how is Aladdin still running in that barn? (Also, can they get whoever did the miking for the National Theatre's Follies to come over and hide the jellybean forehead mics? I didn't see a single mic or wire in the filmed NT Follies until very near the end.)

[quote][R16], while I disagree with you about LMN, you are spot on about any dreck being produced just because the writer is not white male. Look at that awful play produced by that Asian female playwright last year.

Could you be a bit more specific, Adolf?

I love his plays but in that statement above, August Wilson was full of bs. Nobody corners the market on suffering, we're all in the same boat and everybody dies.

Emphasize the commonalities, not the differences. THAT's what theater is about.

I mean, all those Chingy-Chongs have names that sound alike, but if you're going to trash a writer you should at least know their name.

DO NOT STOP TOTALMENTEDOIDO FROM PUTTING RACIST WORDS IN YOUR MOUTH!!!

The issue with Tveit is that he has a very clingy manager who has turned down a lot of opportunities for Aaron. There was a play called HIM at the Cherry Lane some years back about a closeted star, his lover and the star's female manager who was in love with him. Was it based on Tveit?

[quote]I love his plays but in that statement above, August Wilson was full of bs. Nobody corners the market on suffering, we're all in the same boat and everybody dies. Emphasize the commonalities, not the differences. THAT's what theater is about.

That's one way of looking at it. An idiotic one, but a way. If "emphasizing the commonalities" were indeed the point of color-blind casting, then it would be perfectly fine to have an all-white production of A RAISIN IN THE SUN. But, of course, that's not the point of it. And anyway, the Wilson quote does not focus on "suffering," so I don't know what the hell you're talking about.

R149, that new Aladdin's body is smoking hot, but holy crap! Why would a guy with a body like that, who should expect that he might be asked to take his shirt off onstage for one role or another, want to get a huge tattoo on his back? Answer: Some actors are REALLY STUPID.

R151 So glad the white guy knows more than August Wilson, how lucky we are to have his wisdom.

while i would not comment on the wisdom or effectiveness of an all black "Death of Salesman" without having seen what the director and cast could do with it, the comparison to Raisin is pure bullshit.

"Raisin" was all about racism and a white cast would of course be ludicrous, "Death" is not about race, but the American dream, which can, and should, belong to blacks as well as whites.

R157 Blacks men and white men in America live vastly different lives. But you actually know that.

R157, you do have a point, as far as it goes. But there are some plays with all-black characters, by August Wilson and others, that are not all about racism, and those plays would and should never be cast with non-black actors, either.

R 151, read the rest of his speech, instead of making rash statements: We do not need colorblind casting; we need theatres. We need theatres to develop our playwrights. We need those misguided financial resources to be put to better use. Without theatres we cannot develop our talents. If we cannot develop our talents, then everyone suffers: our writers, the theatre, the audience. Actors are deprived of material, and our communities are deprived of the jobs in support of the art—the company manager, the press coordinator, the electricians, the carpenters, the concessionaires, the people that work in wardrobe, the box-office staff, the ushers, and the janitors. We need some theatres. We have only one life to develop our talent, to fulfill our potential as artists. One life, and it is short, and the lack of the means to develop our talent is an encumbrance on that life.

I believe in the American theatre. I believe in its power to inform about the human condition, I believe in its power to heal, “to hold the mirror as ’twere up to nature,” to the truths we uncover, to the truths we wrestle from uncertain and sometimes unyielding realities. All of art is a search for ways of being, of living life more fully.

We who are capable of those noble pursuits should challenge the melancholy and barbaric, to bring the light of angelic grace, peace, prosperity and the unencumbered pursuit of happiness to the ground on which we all stand. Thank you.

Bway really sucks at this point.

Lots of shit vomited up on stage.

The prices make Bway an elite art form, like opera. And we see what’s happening to opera

Any gossip on Aaron Tveit? Who is he fucking? Gay, Straight, Bi?

R15 i got tickets from Equity in 1982 to Beyond Therapy/ c John LithgowBruce Dianne WiestPrudence Jack GilpinBob Peter Michael GoetzStuart Kate McGregor-StewartCharlotte David Pierce Broadway debut Andrew

CDAN had an item recently that Aaron was having an affair with a female cast member of ML. I can't remember her name though.

ugh that manager

Saw Death of a Black Salesman at the Young Vic. It’s a very solid production of the play, with some nice directorial touches and great performances - especially Sharon D. Clarke. (I thought Wendell Pierce was kinda hammy...)

But while having a black Loman family invites us to consider the play through a specific racial optic, the text - being the unchanged Miller play - doesn’t allow the production to address or resolve those tensions in any meaningful way. The significance of race becomes nothing but vague subtext, and so the whole endeavour ends up being far less revelatory than it thinks it is.

I think that the bigotry against blacks in the working world today is similar to that of Jews in the 40s. There is a vague distrust and a feeling like they are grabbing at more than they deserve. Many think it is is only by being liked that they can overcome the prejudice.

The vague subtext seems to work for both groups. But with the shift of anti-semetic targets from work to politics and audiences not able to read the scripts coded signals of Judaism (which were not strong even in the 40s), a black Willie Loman retains the point that a Jewish one no longer has.

Certain roles are gender and race specific and it's not bigotry to honor them. Norma Desmond is gender but not race specific. The flexible ones should be open to everyone.

It's taken me 42 years to climb those 8 steps.

All roles are gender specific.

Not true, R172: the Lead Player in PIPPIN, for one. His/her gender appears nowhere in the script of the show.

I believe Mary Sunshine in CHICAGO is usually cast as a man in drag since the first Bway production, but I'm not sure this is in the script. There's certainly no reason Mary can't be played by woman, as in the movie (Christine Baranski).

I will think of others.

R173, it is indeed in the script. A stage direction specifically says that Mary is revealed to be a man.

Spring played her as a woman, r173....

R166 yes he is although they’re both single so is it t an affair? and what’s CDAN?

R176, so is Aaron Bi, or straight?

Not really, R172. Puck and Caliban, for starters. Not to mention the history of casting young boys as women in Elizabethan theatre.

R175, you are aware that the 1942 film was not made using a script from the 1970s?

THe script of the musical specifies that Mary Sunshine be played by a man

The only reason Mary Sunshine wasn't played as a man in drag onscreen is because the illusion wouldn't have worked on film.

At this point, it hasn't worked on stage for years, but they keep doing it.

And the original libretto for Pippin designated the Leading Player as male. Only in the revised version from the 2000s is the role non-gender specific.

And R178- casting young boys to play women doesn't change the specificity of the role's gender. You yourself stated- Cast young boys to play WOMEN. If the role was not gender specific then the boys would not be playing women.

Most roles are gender specific. Puck and Caliban are male in the scripts. And those Elizabethan boys were playing characters that were female. Cleopatra, Juliet, etc are not of indeterminate gender. They were female characters played by male performers.

I believe someone posted here once that Edna Turnblad is required to be cast with a male.

[quote]CDAN had an item recently that Aaron was having an affair with a female cast member of ML.

Moulin LOUCHE?

Moulin LOGE?

Moulin LUXE?

I have no problem with productions that use casts of different races. The production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with James Earl Jones and Adrian Lester is still one of the best things I’ve ever seen. Just because an actor isn’t white shouldn’t mean that race has to be the theme.

August Wilson had his opinions, but not everyone agrees with him. I don’t. We have to stop looking at each other without using the filter of race. Using plays by white playwrights to do so seems a great way to do that.

[quote]And the original libretto for Pippin designated the Leading Player as male.

Actually, the original intent was that everyone in the chorus was the Leading Player. The part was going to be divided up amongst the various chorus members. Then auditions started and Ben Vereen really wowed them with his audition, so they dropped the idea of the chorus and assigned all the Leading Player material to Vereen.

Oh look....

Interesting assertion, R185. Funny how no biography, interview or any source backs up this claim.

[quote]Interesting assertion, [R185]. Funny how no biography, interview or any source backs up this claim.

Funny how you haven't been paying attention. It's been referenced more than once. Go do your research.

R188, where?

The biographies etc talk about how the Leading Player was originally intended to be an older man.

But I cannot find any reference to dividing the role up among the entire cast.

I just want great actors in great roles. I can deal with their color the same way I do at the ballet and opera.

Give me Lillias White as Mama Rose. Why have we been deprived of that for all these years? Bigotry. Racism. Stupidity.

No one wanted it, R 190?

[quote]Give me Lillias White as Mama Rose. Why have we been deprived of that for all these years?

Because Lillias White has a tendency to add more notes than are written. I think she's extremely talented, but her free form improvisation gets old very quickly.

Lilias White can't act, either

Well, here's her Fanny, r190.....

I don't care to see her fanny.

I think Leslie Uggams played Rose, so that barrier has been broken. I bet she was very good, too -- great voice and her acting was memorable in "Roots".

I was the person who was going to "Something Rotten!" in the last thread. Apropos of color-blind casting, this production had a black Shakespeare and a black preacher (the role played by Our Miss Brooks in the original) and a very white, very blonde actress as his daughter.

Cast of "Hadestown" plays a round of "Playbill -- The Game Show":

Why does color-blind casting only apply to blacks?

It doesn't, R201. It means Asian-American, Arab-American, and Latino actors are all also worth considering for roles traditionally cast with white actors.

Fun rumor this weekend...

Anne Hathaway (yes, DL's beloved AnnE) never seriously considered "Bobby" in the COMPANY revival....

Because she is exploring an updated and revised version of SONG AND DANCE.

R169 Idiot

R173 Idiot

R184 That makes little sense, as black people in the South at that time did not live that life, nor have that money, nor have the time or inclination to indulge a black man daring to be gay

R202 Sorry, it is fucking stupid, I do not want an Asain Mame, or an Asian Colette, it makes zero sense.

I am totally up August Wilsons' ass, write stories for the race, don't shove the in white theatre or white roles

R203 She cannot do the accent

R 202, it might mean that, but it has only applied to blacks.

[quote]Norma Desmond is gender but not race specific.

What makes you say that? Of course, there were no African-American movie stars in the silent film era.

[quote]The only reason Mary Sunshine wasn't played as a man in drag onscreen is because the illusion wouldn't have worked on film.

That's not the main reason. In the movie, Mary Sunshine's song is cut and she only appears as a character in the literal, non-fantasy portions of the movie, so it would have made no sense for a character who's supposed to be an actual reporter for an actual newspaper in the '20s to be revealed as a transvestite.

[quote]We have to stop looking at each other without using the filter of race.

You wanna try that again?

[quote] That's not the main reason. In the movie, Mary Sunshine's song is cut and she only appears as a character in the literal, non-fantasy portions of the movie, so it would have made no sense for a character who's supposed to be an actual reporter for an actual newspaper in the '20s to be revealed as a transvestite.

Well how do you know they didn't cut the song because they decided the drag thing wouldn't work onscreen?

Point taken, r207, but I think r206 had the actual answer. The film came up with a specific hook to get into the “vaudeville” songs from the play. Mary Sunshine as a transvestite with her song wouldn’t have fit the concept (similar to the reason “Class,” which everyone loved, was cut, although filmed, because it cheated the film concept.). I think “Little Bit of Good” was considered expendable for the film. “Me and My Baby,” which could definitely have been filmed as part of the concept, was cut, presumably for time. Same thing with “When Velma Takes the Stand.”

R205 is a flyover frau who clearly does not know how we do theater on the coasts.

R 209,You meant to write "..how badly we do theater on the coasts."

R 209, you obviously think that anyone from outside NYC really cares. The anti-colorblind casting posts are coming from the coasts, specifically NYC. No one else gives a shit about theater casting.

[quote]Well how do you know they didn't cut the song because they decided the drag thing wouldn't work onscreen?

It was probably a little bit of both, but I don't think they had to spend much time worrying about whether or not the drag would work onscreen, since I'm guessing they had already decided the having a female reporter turn out to be a guy in drag wouldn't work with the new concept of the storytelling. In the show, which is even more stylized, it made sense for this "woman" to come out and sing her soprano vaudeville number, and then be revealed as a man.

R206, you are a hot toxic mess.

[quote] Of course, there were no African-American movie stars in the silent film era.

How do you know? Have you never seen SHOW BOAT?

Cast whomever you want, but unless you are putting up your own money, make sure they sell tickets. It is called SHOW BUSINESS, right totalmentedoido?

Lillas White is nearly 70. Her daughters are children at the beginning of the show.

Yes, and because of institutional racism, in all these years we have not seen her Rose.

Exactly, r217. Same reason we haven't seen Cecily Tyson's or BD Wong's.

[quote]Lillas White is nearly 70. Her daughters are children at the beginning of the show.

I'm not seeing a problem here. --Barbra Streisand

[quote]Yes, and because of institutional racism, in all these years we have not seen her Rose.

I don't think that's totally it. While Arthur Laurents was alive, only actresses who HE wanted, and in productions HE wanted done, could do the role. As we saw with the Bernadette debacle, you didn't venture away from what Laurents wanted. And the reason Bernadette was chosen was because Laurents had a vendetta against Patti LuPone.

That's true for Broadway productions, R219. Just give Lillias a production in a regional theater with a good budget. But watch the non-profit board members shit their pants.

So, if it works for all races, where is the all-Asian "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"?

R221, I would love to see Celeste Den as Sister Woman.

Sandra Oh *is* Maggie the Cat

R13, are you off your meds? While there were some African-American actors appearing in films in the silent era, mostly playing island natives and servants and such, there were NO African-American movie stars even remotely close to the level that Norma Desmond is supposed to have to attained. You MUST know that's true, so unless you're weirdly joking, your post is insane.

As for the 1929 SHOW BOAT, that movie did have Stepin Fetchit in it -- do you consider him a movie star? Oh, and the African-American role of Queenie was played by Tess Gardella, in blackface, as "Aunt Jemima."

Sorry, the above response was for R213, not R13. I would love to hear more about the great African-American movie stars of the silent era.

Those wacky Duncan Sisters....

I'm not R213, but there was a thriving African American silent film industry, from 1909-1930, but more than 80% of the films are lost.

Thanks for that interesting bit of info, R227 (sincerely), but of course, the stars of African-American silent films were not huge, mainstream movie stars like Norma Desmond.

Amazing that people keep arguing an inarguable point with me.

[QUOTE] Amazing that people keep arguing an inarguable point with me.

I think you do have a point (I have not been part of this discussion), but do you have any idea how this kind of thing makes you sound?

You know nothing, R228. The point of my SHOW BOAT reference, my dimwitted friend, is that Julie LaVerne successfully starred up and down the river on the Cotton Blossom... and no one knew her secret. No one knew she had one parent who was black and, by the standards of the times, was herself black. No one knew until a racist stirred up trouble.

Hollywood has always been the place where people came to reinvent themselves and take their shot at the big time. Among actors, it is probably more common for them to be known under an invented name and persona than to be known for who they really are. Mary Nonna Dooley thought she needed to be more exotic and she became Nita Naldi. Theodosia Burr Goodman became Theda Bara. Marion Morrison became John Wayne.

So the point of the SHOW BOAT reference is that you don't know who you're looking at when you're looking at an actor. And we don't look to them for who they really are. We look to them for who they can make us believe them to be. Just ask Cathy Rigby who is not male and cannot really fly.

Norma Desmond might be just as black as Julie LaVerne. And, in any event, they are both fictional characters, devoid of real world genetics.

So what in the world is up your ignorant bigoted ass? It's too bad Diahann Carroll is not still here to set you straight on your view about black actresses playing Norma Desmond.

[quote]It's too bad Diahann Carroll is not still here

Unfortunately you did not end your statement there.

Evelyn Preer was a pioneering African American film star from the silent era into talkies, starring in 16 films before her untimely death at 36 from double pneumonia.

this thread is agony

For fuck's sake, can't someone talk about Follies for once???

Ladies and gentlemen, Tony nominee Polly Bergen.

R235, that Follies just looked AWFUL. Also, it’s supposed to be set in 1971. Why is Polly Bergen wearing that outfit? She looks like a ‘90s power dyke.

The NT Follies has very period-appropriate costumes. Even Janie Dee’s ugly pajama dress looked like it came from the early ‘70s. Even Traci Bennett’s hair looked period.

Miss Ethel Shutta!

[quote]She looks like a ‘90s power dyke.

Why thank you. Thank you so much r236.

[quote]that Follies just looked AWFUL. Also, it’s supposed to be set in 1971. Why is Polly Bergen wearing that outfit? She looks like a ‘90s power dyke.

That clip is not from the Follies revival (even though it was an awful production). That is Polly Bergen looking like a '90s power dyke on her own.

It was pretty bad, r235. Costume-wise,. Theoni was late in getting her sketches in to be built and she just was no longer at the top of her game. She died in 2011 at the age of 88.

Polly wore green the last time....

I enjoyed Moulin Rouge.......thought the entire cast was very strong.......the set and costumes were also stunning.......it is a different kind of theater experience.....but I enjoyed it.

In the Follies revival, Polly had a formless dress. Here she is on the Tony Awards. Miss Theoni just said, "Oh, fuck it. I don't have enough money to put one of the best characters in the show in a stunning costume, so I'll just grab a bolt of material, sew it up the side and call it good enough."

The "I'm Still Here" clip above is from the Drama Desk ceremony. This is Polly singing it in the revival.

I was especially impressed with the costumes of the Follies ghosts in the NT Follies. They were very accurate and authentic (1910s looks different from 1930s, folks). Why didn’t this production get a Broadway transfer? It was so much better than the Bernadette Peters version that started out at the Kennedy Center and then moved the Broadway.

And, yes, even Imelda Staunton was good (to the queens yelping about her being a weak Sally). She was incredibly affecting during “Too Many Mornings” in particular.

On Rosie....

[quote]The "I'm Still Here" clip above is from the Drama Desk ceremony.

I was referring to the clip at R235, not R243.

Here is Miss Tracie Bennett in the NT Follies.

Traci’s hairstyle in R248 is totally 1971.

[quote]Traci’s hairstyle in [R248] is totally 1971.

Also, I think Carlotta and Phyllis would be the two most up-to-date women. They would come to this event wearing up to the minute hairstyles and fashions. I can even imagine each one looking the other over to see if they were wearing "last season".

[quote]So, if it works for all races, where is the all-Asian "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof"?

Would you settle for "Murder on the Orient Express?"

Are they calling it Murder on the Asian American Express?

Actually "orient" is non-PC and geographically wrong anyway. The easternmost destination of the line was Stamboul, on the European side of the Bosporus, so technically the train never ran outside of Europe.

I thought "oriental" was the no-no term, not the "Orient", which was an area of the globe as opposed to the Occident. Are rugs now to be referred to as Asian rugs too?

When one loses one consciousness and recovers, does one become dis-asianated as opposed to disoriented?

That’s lame, r255. Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

orientalism=bad

The term “oriental” is only offensive when applied to a person. As an adjective for objects (like “oriental rug”) it’s still okay.

And the “Orient” was originally considered to mean the “Near East,” which included places like Constantinople (Istanbul).

[quote]Carlotta and Phyllis would be the two most up-to-date women. They would come to this event wearing up to the minute hairstyles and fashions.

Then the NT production failed. Not with Carlotta, Tracey's dress was perfect, although she still wasn't believable as a former vamp, but Phyllis' outfit was a big flop, ugly, stupid, ill-fitting. I can't believe someone didn't see that and see the designer right about it.

The other "modern day" dresses for the ladies were a very mixed bag.

R214: Outside of Broadway it's just called "theatre".

No form of theatre except for shit megamusicals ever turns a profit.

[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.]

1970s maxi-dress

Can anyone imagine another place on the planet where one could debate the appropriateness of the bow placement on a circa1970's maxi dress in a recent production of Follies?

This place never ceases to amaze me.

The aqua dress at r262 is an example of how Janie Dee's hideous Follies dress could have been improved (and not having her wear pajamas underneath would have helped, too). It was just an ugly, ugly outfit.

[quote]Why didn’t this production get a Broadway transfer?

Because there are exactly 11 of us demanding to see another version of FOLLIES on Broadway, or anywhere, ever, in this lifetime...

And we are all posting on this thread.

...ad nauseum

We could always resume talking about colorblind casting , R266.

Awkwafina as Phyllis!

[quote]I think you do have a point (I have not been part of this discussion), but do you have any idea how this kind of thing makes you sound?

If I make the factual statement that no major, mainstream film stars on the level of the (fictional) Norma Desmond existed in the silent film era, I think it's fine for me to state that my point is inarguable.

[quote]Evelyn Preer was a pioneering African American film star from the silent era into talkies, starring in 16 films before her untimely death at 36 from double pneumonia.

I'm sure that's true, but she was not a major, mainstream film star, which is why I think it's fair to say that her name is forgotten today except among serious film historians, whereas the names of Gloria Swanson Theda Bara, the Gish sisters, et al. are far better known even among more casual movie fans. And by the way, folks, I did not say that I think Norma Desmond shouldn't be played by an Africa-American actress, I was simply pointing out that, HISTORICALLY, no major film stars in the silent era were African-American.

R244, thanks for that clip. I remembered that Polly Bergen's horrendous back phrasing in "I'm Still Here" drove me up the freaking wall when I saw the show. I thought maybe I had mis-remembered how bad it was, but the clip you provided sure proves that my memory was crystal clear.

What Generations of Gay Men Hand Down in "The Inheritance":

Coming back to 2019, is Slave Play really a hit? Jason Alexander came and gave it a multi-tweet rave!

Slave Play can't even sell on TDF.

This thread has way too much pontificating, and it’s fucking boring. Doesn’t anyone have any SPICE? My kingdom for some juicy gossip!

[quote]The aqua dress at [R262] is an example of how Janie Dee's hideous Follies dress could have been improved (and not having her wear pajamas underneath would have helped, too). It was just an ugly, ugly outfit.

The costume designer didn't account for the fact that Janie had to dance in "Who's That Woman." I think the pajamas underneath were designed to help her move in a bulky costume.

Yes, I often find that adding pajamas to an outfit makes it far less bulky.

The role of Sally Durant Plumber will be played by....

I think the costumer may have been trying to copy Alexis Smith's costume from the original without looking like a copy.

She should have worn red....

The " intellectuals" on ATC love "Slave Play" as everyone knew they would:

Still digesting "Slave Play." Its final 25 minutes are so unsettling, they shook me, to my surprise. We get glimmers of the play's darkening tone in the final moments of the second (long) scene. Still, the last piece, that monologue and what follows, are so wrenching, they end up defining the whole experience for me. I walked 20 blocks, still in the plays grip.

What comes before feels all over the place. The play starts with a sort of Joe Orton version of "The Colored Museum," moves into a sustained SNL-styled send-up of arch academia/post-Esalen therapy, and then explodes with naturalistically excavated emotional catharses. Both Ato Blankson-Wood as the tortured Gary, and the stunning Joaquina Kalukango in the central role, pierce the farce-ruled consteruct of the two therapists and become dimensional characters, Kalukango taking charge of the final half hour with full-throttle reality and devastating command over her own humiliation, bidden though it may be in the play's story.

How do we respond to these tonal shifts? Do they help the play, throwing us from caricatured/parodied milieus to stark realism? Are we meant to feel the disconnect between the two-dimensional set-up and the all-too-human scaled climax? Is this turn-on-a-dime shift from heightened reality to "Disgraced" like shock and horror earned? I don't know my own decision, but the audience leaving was partially in tears, partially shaking their heads in disgust. Not a bad thing, admittedly. I can't shake Kalukango's performance (or Paul Alexander Nolan's, an unsung hero of this production).

The Inheritance, what a fugly little cast.

Really, R280? Why don’t you post a picture of your no doubt dewy visage.

R280 Well, your comment simply reveals that you are truly the ugliest soul imaginable. If your takeaway from The Inheritance is all about your personal taste regarding their physical appearance, then you are the sad one.

Because that's what that ensemble of actors, writers, directors, designers, and others made the show for--as your personal spank bank. Sorry they disappointed you.

Anybody know what's playing at the 'Dike?

Is the Michael T. Reynolds, whose death was announced on ATC, the same MikeR with the thighs? Or a different person?

Audra also raved about Slave Play on Twitter.

It won't take long to sort that out, R284.

MikeR does not go more than an hour without posting something hopeless.

It won't take long to sort that out, R284.

MikeR does not go more than an hour without posting something hopeless.

It's not MikeR. BTW, MikeR hasn't been posting for a year or two. He announced he would not be involved with ATC anymore awhile ago. That's why I wondered....if that was why MikeR withdrew (I.e. was he I'll?). Apparently not as far as we know. This person posted as Mike.

[quote]Audra also raved about Slave Play on Twitter.

That's because she wants a role in the movie version. Girl's getting up there in age and only got so many years left to get that EGOT. All she needs is the O.

Mike Reynolds, Ann and VJ started the site.

MikeR is Mike Rhone. Formerly closeted and Republican, he is now out and liberal. He’s the one with the stunning thighs, and a five-star rating as a sex partner.

Five stars on what site?????

Does Playbill Online have a hookup page?

R154 don't Tveit and Raul Esparza have the same manager? Papi's made some questionable career choices in recent years, I wonder how much of that has to do with her.

One of his ex lovers came on DL a year or two ago and wrote rhapsodies about Mike’s thighs, and said he was the best sex he had ever had, r292.

Mike Reynolds is a sweetie. Mike Rhone not so much.

R293. Yes, they do. She is an arrogant fool who fucks up their careers.

Mike Rhone is very entertaining, and he’s nice enough. I mean, he can be a little caustic now and then, but he’s generally a nice guy.

The Inheritance cast. Still fugly.

R298 AGREED.

R298 AGREED.

The super muscly guy who plays Jasper in The Inheritance (I think that’s his name - it’s the political guy who Eric Glass works for) and also plays the white son of Henry Wilcox was definitely not “fugly.” He is a hot Jewish guy with a beautiful chest and biceps.

From the back of the Orchestra the cast looked fine.

Here's another INHERITANCE cast member whom I would not describe as "fugly."

Again, Andrew Burnap.

Caroline's Turn....

I’m guessing that the “fugly” troll is himself outright hideous and probably hasn’t been fucked since 1971.

[quote]I’m guessing that the “fugly” troll is himself outright hideous and probably hasn’t been fucked since 1971.

Sound like a good guess to me :-)

I saw Caroline O'Connor as Rose in Leicester and she was fantastic - the video is from Australia.

I wish she had gone into the Imelda Staunton production along with Victoria Hamilton Barritt (the Louise in London was wooden during the strip). Some of the set design in Leicester was dreary, and the Tulsa's voice was average

I also saw a fat Tulsa with what looked like feathered hair in DC once.

[quote] and probably hasn’t been fucked since 1971.

I believe the appropriate term is "pre-Follies".

[quote]I also saw a fat Tulsa with what looked like feathered hair in DC once.

He got to eat all of Mr. Goldstone's egg rolls.

Yep, Inheritance. Still fug.

Aw, go jump off Steel Pier....

I saw the Gypsy in Leicester, too. The chorus boys in the June/Louise’s act were oiled up and wearing very little. Director didn’t really understand vaudeville or burlesque true to the period...!

Sad to see Daniel McDonald in that clip. He was genuinely talented. What a shame he died so young.

The Herbie at Leicester is the real life father of Richard Whatshisname from the London COMPANY. He kept losing his accent when the character would get emotional. Victoria Hamilton Barritt defaulted to shouting her lines in the dressing room scene. O'Connor was the only quality takeway from that production.

I came around to Janie Dee's outfit in FOLLIES. It was weird - not the same weird as the original red outfit - but there was nevertheless a link there. I didn't like her Lucy and Jessie dress. It looked like a mock up / thrown together costume.

Kevin Whateley from Inspector Morse was the Herbie in Leicester, and had a raspy Jimmy Durante sort of voice.

I thought the oiled up chorus boys on trapezes were hilarious in how out of place they were. Paul Kerryson must have been possessed by Joshua Logan.

No, the Morse guy was Staunton's Herbie, at Chichester.

[QUOTE] I didn't like [Janie Dee’s] Lucy and Jessie dress. It looked like a mock up / thrown together costume.

I agree with this. It looked cheap. Yet again, so did the whole Loveland sequence for the NT Follies so maybe it fit? I’m curious why they didn’t try to make that look less cheap when the show came back with Joanna Riding. I still laugh at Imelda’s Mae West boudoir blonde wig for “Losing My Mind.”

It’s funny to pick on these things because you really can’t not find much wrong with this production so we all zero in on Phyllis’s somewhat fail party dress. (It seemed like something Joan Allen would be wearing in The Ice Storm).

The follies numbers were the real wink link at the NT. Absolutely no conception of what they should be. “Losing My Mind” was just awful.

It is interesting how the NT could get so very much beautifully right with FOLLIES and then dress their leading lady in that grey piece o' shit costume.

It is equally fascinating how Janie Dee did not get it tossed out at the first fitting.

God youre right r318, all my Gypsy's are mashing together.

I have a work trip coming up, and I have two slots for theater. The Inheritance doesn’t fit unless I just want to see Part 2 and that cuts into the time to get laid post-show. So I am considering A Slave Play, The Michaels, The Height of the Storm, The Sound Inside, Linda Vista, Soft Power, or maybe throwing away money at Moulin Rouge. I get two - which should I choose?

See The Inheritance.

The Height of the Storm was such a letdown, the play doesn't go anywhere

Go ahead, waste your money on Slave Play........unless you are a SJW - You'll love it then.

[quote] The chorus boys in the June/Louise’s act were oiled up and wearing very little. Director didn’t really understand vaudeville or burlesque true to the period...!

"I may not know vaudeville, but I know what I like!"

And, r326, he seems to know what chorus boys like.

I've occasionally wondered if Charles Busch, writer/gender-bender performer, posts here. Or maybe just lurks on these threads.

Anyway--he's got a new play in January that sounds fun:

[quote]Busch’s newest play, The Confession of Lily Dare, tells the story of one woman’s tumultuous passage from convent girl to glittering cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame of a string of brothels—all while hiding her undying devotion to the child she was forced to abandon. Directed by Busch’s long-time colleague Carl Andress (The Tribute Artist, The Divine Sister), this comic melodrama celebrates the gauzy “confession film” tearjerkers of early 1930s pre-code cinema, such as The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Frisco Jenny, and Madame X.

That sounds fabulous, R328! There really were so many movies back then about women having given up their children and then being around them and not revealing the relationship. I’m also remembering Fay Bainter in White Banners (1938) and DL fave Olivia de Havilland in To Each His Own (1946).

I love that Busch does "deep cuts" in old movies.

Anyone can parody MILDRED PIERCE or STELLA DALLAS. It takes a true TCM queen to know THE SIN OF MADELON CLAUDET. Or R329's choices.

"The Confession of Lily Dare" is Busch's latest but has already been done in New York, at Theater for the New City in April 2018.

R323, see "Soft Power." I loved it.

"Soft Power" seems like another show with a terrible title. It sounds like the title of a 1970s self-help book.

Thanks, R331.

I think I've seen 2 productions there at TFTNC in all my time in NYC. Both were pretty awful. The Theater is always doing new plays and musicals, bless them, but I never hear about anything, well, good going on there.

I can't argue with you there, R334, even though I was in a musical review at Theater for the New City many years ago. Some of it was quite funny, but it was certainly a mixed bag.

I saw Soft Power in LA.

It’s an ambitious mess. There’s a lot that’s interesting, but it’s pretty scattered.

It would be interesting to see what changes they’ve made in the past year.

I just watched Mary Martin on Dick Cavett (1978). She was charming.

Has that video of Minnie Fae talking about Martin's lesbianism ever resurfaced on YouTube?

Big old gay avant-garde theatre coming to St. Ann's Warehouse in November: Schaubuehne Berlin's staging of "The History of Violence", directed by Thomas Ostermeier. Looks fun, and gay AF.

SOFT POWER looks like fun, maybe.

Here's some real gossip. The Devil Wears Prada is canceling its out of town in Chicago, and will do a workshop instead. Somebody finally came to their senses and told them how much work it needed.

Soft Power is just a mess, just like it was in California. It's just people writing a show about one thing, but then ends up just being pissed off Trump was elected and heads into this bizarre examination of whether Democracy still matters. Everyone involved is way too close to it. It's watchable and interesting but really unfocused.

They'd better hurry up with "The Devil Wears Prada" before Baranski gets too old.

Give it to Rachel York.

[quote] It’s funny to pick on these things because you really can’t not find much wrong with this production

Oh, so you saw it on a night Imelda was out?

^ Yeah, she stunk

That new Busch play was a snooze at Theater for a New City. Too long and not funny enough.

ATC reporting Mike R dead. The one who set up ATC with Minger.

To be clear Mike Reynolds.

r341 that is good real theatre gossip for here. Anyone know more ?

Prada has a weird team. Elton John writes an assortment of melodies and usually leaves it up to the team to turn them into a coherent score. (Billy Elliot was more Martin Koch than Elton.) And Paul Rudnick is doing the book, right? Has he ever written a good book? He’s a joke writer, a fairly funny one, but he doesn’t know how to tell a story.

[quote]That new Busch play was a snooze at Theater for a New City. Too long and not funny enough.

I disagree. I thought it could use some trimming and focusing, but it was basically solid and quite hilarious. The audience I saw it with did a lot of laughing, not snoozing

[quote]Prada has a weird team. Elton John writes an assortment of melodies and usually leaves it up to the team to turn them into a coherent score. (Billy Elliot was more Martin Koch than Elton.) And Paul Rudnick is doing the book, right? Has he ever written a good book? He’s a joke writer, a fairly funny one, but he doesn’t know how to tell a story.

I agree about Rudnick -- lots of critics have said that about his writing over the years -- but I think it might be okay in this case, because he can follow the template of the movie.

The concept of stage musicals based on movies has become nearly as tiresome as jukebox musicals (although that depth will never be surpassed). All we need now is a string of Marvel musicals and we'll have no need for this thread any more.

[quote]All we need now is a string of Marvel musicals

I can't imagine why there haven't been more after the resounding success of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."

DL fave Robbie Fairchild has a new BF.

Ashley is much cuter than both.

[quote]The concept of stage musicals based on movies has become nearly as tiresome as jukebox musicals

I couldn't agree more. I'm hoping that the failure ratio in recent seasons (PRETTY WOMAN, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, etc) will finally convince the money people that the success of the movie does not guarantee money in the bank on Bway.

Any predictions on how soon TOOTSIE will announce closing?

This doesn't seem like a quarter century ago.....

What do we know about JAGGED LITTLE PILL? Did anyone see it up in Boston (?).... I have watched a couple of videos and it looks like DEAR EVAN HANSEN redux

R359 It's OUR new musical. That's all I know.

So I have a question: I saw a full-page ad in The New Yorker recently for the Lenk-LuPone Company. It had the line "Originally Produced and Directed by Harold Prince" near the bottom. I've also seen this line (swapping in Jerome Robbins) on ads for West Side Story. Fiddler and Gypsy. None of the productions are exact copies of the originals (often, sadly), so I'm wondering why the nod, decades later, to Prince and Robbins? Is it some sort of copyright issue? When Hairspray is revived (which given the dreck of recent seasons cannot be soon enough) will there be a line on the window card "Originally Directed by Jack O'Brien and Choreographed by Jerry Mitchell"?

I assume it's a contractual thing.

R361 -- I assume that it is a contract issue, as well. I think in the old days, directors had more input into a show's book than they do now. It was probably a more collaborative act back then, but instead of getting a credit for co-writing the book, they probably get eternal credit for original direction.

Anyone see the Groff-Blanchard-Borle Little Shop of Horrors? Since they were going for a recreation of the original production I assume they didn't tone down the abuse of Audrey or rewrite the Urchins' "Chang-dah-doo" line in "Da-Doo" for wokeness sake. At least I hope they didn't. Any chance of a recording?

It was a very traditional production, with takes that were interesting and amusing but not revolutionary. Borle squeezed every laugh possible, Groff was very sincere, and Blanchard had a very Hollywood tough girl take. Everything was done with intelligence and wit. Apparently, they have already made the recording.

Does anyone know what kind of seats I could get with TodayTix $35 rush seats that unlock when available at 10 am day of? Are they always the cheapest seats or could they be anything that is available?

Cheapest seats sell out first. Anything available is what you will get, an orchestra seat if you are lucky.

It's too bad Miss Jackie Joseph never got to do the musical role.

[quote]Anyone see the Groff-Blanchard-Borle Little Shop of Horrors? Since they were going for a recreation of the original production

They will never in a million years be able to recreate the original production. That original production was one of the best things I've seen in a lifetime of theater going. It was the right cast, with the right direction and the right take on the material. If a time machine is ever invented, I encourage all of you to go back in time and see the original production. It WAS all that!!

[quote]It WAS all that!!

It WAS all that but a hit!!

[Quote] It WAS all that but a hit!!

You're posting that on a "Follies" Thread?

Little Shop ran for five years off Broadway, and toured to LA and London.

Vanessa Williams is starring in London’s West End in City of Angels from March to September. Rosalie Craig will also be starring.

Why is London getting "City of Angels?" It needs to be revived on Broadway!

Vanessa Williams is a very modest talent.

[quote]I can't imagine why there haven't been more after the resounding success of "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."

Abysmal as the show was, and morally despicable for causing all those injuries. SPIDER MAN ran two and a half years for 1,066 performances, and probably would have run longer and made tons of money if it weren't for the injuries and if the costs of the show weren't so astronomical (including money for lawsuits and settlements). So, sad to say, I wouldn't be at all surprised if we see more superhero musicals at some point in the future.....

[quote]I assume that it is a contract issue, as well. I think in the old days, directors had more input into a show's book than they do now. It was probably a more collaborative act back then, but instead of getting a credit for co-writing the book, they probably get eternal credit for original direction.

Yes, that's exactly right.

[quote]I assume they didn't tone down the abuse of Audrey or rewrite the Urchins' "Chang-dah-doo" line in "Da-Doo" for wokeness sake.

What's un-woke about the "Chang-da-doo" line? The man who sells the plant to Seymour is Chinese, and I believe Chang is an actual Chinese name.

I saw an amateur production that replaced Chinese man with blind man and they sang "blind, da-doo." Pretty much everyone in the cast was white, but I doubt it's an official variation in the script

They also had a female Mushnik, which worked

As bad it the Spiderman musical was, it was pretty freaking amazing. The sets and fight scenes were brilliant. The music was beyond atrocious. It sounded like Bono and Edge had never even seen a Broadway show before, and, from what I recall, they weren't available to collaborate or edit their contribution. If it had better music, it could have run for a long time. I know Taymor can be difficult, but she is also frighteningly gifted. I don't pin all the injuries on her. She hired people to flesh out the flight and fight scenes, and, I think, it should have been their responsibility to make sure they worked without injury. She had the vision; she should have been able to rely on the professionals she hired to make sure that her visions worked without hurting people.

I saw "Little Shop" tonight. Great show with a nice performance by Jonathan Groff and Christian Borle hamming it up (but quite funny). Jonathan is a real cutie and has a nice package in front (and a big butt in the back).

This thread really shouldn't devolve into a Spiderman discussion - but that story and book were beyond inconherently insane and that was 100% Taymor's doing. She should stick to staging and design

But you really want it to, don't you R 380?

All the reviews for Little Shop of Horrors seem to focus on Groff and Borle. What about Audrey? The original production is mostly remembered for Ellen Greene (as well as Audrey II and the score). Not to say the rest of the cast wasn't great.

R382, if the original production is rememberd at all, and few of us are still alive who saw it, it's because of the writing. The book and score are terrific. Without them, nothing else could have happened. It is always that way. If the writing is not there, it always shows.

Tammy Blanchard did not make a notable impression on me in this production. She was just trying so hard NOT to be Ellen Greene.

I had my doubts about Blanchard. I don't remember her being a terribly well sung Louise in Gypsy. Passable, but forgettable. I couldn't hear her trying to sing Audrey. It seems like a weird fit for her and it's not like she's a big marquee name, so you have to wonder why they wouldn't have found someone else who could really sing the score.

Does she play it like Judy?

Suddenly Seymour is a bit of a let-down when Groff is doing most of the heavy lifting.

[quote]Suddenly Seymour is a bit of a let-down when Groff is doing most of the heavy lifting.

The original score says the song is to be sung "with gospel fervor." Audrey must have a strong belt.

No one sings it quite like they do.

Unless you have these DL icons.

And, El Ultimo

Did Annie Golden ever play Audrey?

[quote]I know Taymor can be difficult, but she is also frightening.

There. Fixed that for you.

Re: SPIDERMAN... most of versions 1.0 and 2.0 are on YouTube. You can judge for yourself what a crapfest it is.

The poster who singled out the terrible Bono/Edge score is correct. It's abysmal. The physical production is hideous and the story makes little sense, even in the revised version.

I don't believe for a minute this monstrosity would have made serious money, no matter how long it ran, and regardless of the numerous injuries.

WEHT Lea Michele? Talk about the Incredibly Shrinking Career. I guess without Ryan Murphy propping her up, there’s nowhere for her to go.

Lea Michele was added to the "life's too short" list quite sometime back. She's known for being difficult to work with and since all she has going for her is a good voice, she's not worth the trouble. Many women her age can sing just as well, act better, and not be a pain in the ass. If you're going to be a cunt, you better make sure you have a really unique talent that can't be easily replaced.

Lea should return to the stage: people tend to forget how great she was as a kid in RAGTIME and then in SPRING AWAKENING.

She's too ethnic and unconventional looking to be a TV or film star, even after all the cosmetic procedures.

[quote]I don't believe for a minute this monstrosity would have made serious money, no matter how long it ran, and regardless of the numerous injuries.

We'll never know, but though I completely agree that the script and score of SPIDER MAN were garbage, I STILL think it could have run for years and made tons of money if it weren't for the injuries, and if the costs of the show weren't so astronomical (partly due to settlements for the injuries, the payout to Taymor, and so on ). More and more today, there are shows that become hits because of the branding, even if they're absolute crap. But also, hey, this is not a new phenomenon -- look at PHANTOM and MAMMA MIA!

[quote]WEHT Lea Michele?

I'm still in mourning for Corey, you unfeeling dipshit.

Poor Lea, couldn't make the Barbra Streisand template work. Couldn't make the Courtney Love template work. Maybe she'll try the Meghan Markle template next? Any dumb royals need a wife?

The set and some of the staging for Spiderman was spectacular. Rise Above was more or less the only good song in the score. Otherwise the score had the same Messiah-complex vibe that all of U2s work has had for the past 20 years, and the story disappeared up its own ass.

Oooooooh?

R383, Having seen the original, I agree, it was a great book and score. But the budding homosexual I was came away from it with a new musical theater goddess to worship. At the time we thought she'd be the next Streisand. Didn't happen, but she definitely gave an iconic performance that is remembered still.

Was Spiderman worse than King Kong?

[quote]Was Spiderman worse than King Kong?

Close, but I would have to say KONG was EVEN WORSE as far as the book and score were concerned. On the other hand, KONG didn't severely injure anyone in the company.....

P.S., I have learned that it's Spider Man, not Spiderman, which sounds like one of the names in a law firm :-)

I read The book Song of Spider-Man by Glen Berger. He was the book writer for the Taymor show. His book is a good behind the scenes tell-all of the whole production fiasco. Quick, interesting read and worth checking out.

I loved Soft Power. It's a lot of fun, and if you love musicals, it's even more fun. It was excellent in Los Angeles, has a terrific cast and production. A star turn for Conrad Ricamora.

As usual, NYC needs to dump on anything that LA got first and loved (and it was a big, award-winning hit in LA).

[quote]But also, hey, this is not a new phenomenon -- look at PHANTOM and MAMMA MIA!

Phantom and Mamma Mia both had musical theatre pros at the helm, who knew what to do and what could be done and how to do it without breaking the bank.

Thanks to her fluke success with "Lion King," Julie Taymore just acted like a big, spoiled kid who had a wide-open bank at her beck and call. She didn't have one iota of care for the financial health of the show, or for the health and safety of her performers.

King Kong and Spider Man were equally bad, but I abhorred King Kong, mostly because they attempted to update the story to make it more woke. That infuriated me. Does every fucking new show have to be about a strong women, usually of color? It is tiresome and so obviously pandering. The power of the King Kong story is that it is an allegory of racism. If you take that away, what do you get? A stupid story of a big ape in NYC. The staging of Spider Man was worth seeing, whereas I didn't have much love for the ape.

But racism doesn't only happen with white and non-whites, e.g. colorism.

Annaleigh Ashford was scheduled to play Audrey opposite Groff, but had to decline over a scheduling conflict. She would have avoided many of the cliches that hamper Blanchard's performance. And AA sings better, too.

I agree about the horrible Kong. If the producers want a woke show for the SJW generation, don't fuck with an iconic classic. Ruin your own show.

At least they didn't make King Kong into a white ape! Though I wonder if someone on the production team might have suggested it.

I remember Spider Man being Jaw dropping bad both times that I saw it. As I remember the special effects were hideously bad. The flying was incredibly hokey. Arachne had one good song the first time I saw it, but it was cut by the second time I saw it. (My memory was that she was the best thing in the show, but her part was cut to ribbons by the second viewing.)

[quote] I STILL think it could have run for years and made tons of money if it weren't for the injuries, and if the costs of the show weren't so astronomical (partly due to settlements for the injuries, the payout to Taymor, and so on ).

A show with "astronomical" costs can never make "tons of money," regardless of where the costs are coming from. This makes no sense.

[quote]Phantom and Mamma Mia both had musical theatre pros at the helm, who knew what to do and what could be done and how to do it without breaking the bank.

PHANTOM did indeed have musical theatre pros at the helm, most importantly Hal Prince, and that certainly helped. Who were the musical theatre pros at the helm of MAMMA MIA! Regardless of that, my point was that the quality of both shows is lousy as far as the writing is concerned, but they were huge hits anyway, MOSTLY because of the brands, which is why I wouldn't be surprised if one day we have a hit musical about a superhero.

[quote]A show with "astronomical" costs can never make "tons of money," regardless of where the costs are coming from. This makes no sense.

It makes no sense to you because your comprehension skills are lacking. I said the show could have made money IF the costs weren't so astronomical. And they wouldn't have been so astronomical if there weren't all kinds of extra costs in terms of money paid to actors who were injured, the huge extra expense involved in changing directors and THEN having to pay a settlement to Taymor, etc. Please see the article I've linked to here, if you care to enlighten yourself.

A totally accurate review of Kong.

It’s Spider-Man, with a hyphen.

Actually, it's Spider Woman....no hyphen

Phantom isn’t a great score, but it’s vastly superior to the dreck that was passed off as a score in Spider-Man, which was mostly unlistenable.

Speaking of race...I just finished watching the movie they made of American Son. I'm not quite sure what to think. I enjoyed it more than some of the reviews would lead me to believe i would, but it seemed to have a confused agenda. SPOILER.....While I recognize and admire the way it illustrated that black teens have to be more careful driving while black, it also made the point of illustrating that a black teen who was raised with all the benefits of the world would slip into being "ghetto" and hanging out in the projects at the drop of the hat, almost suggesting that is their natural state. It seemed to undermine the first point it was trying to make. The ending seemed inevitable, but, because of what led to it, the point was undermined.

[quote] Arachne had one good song the first time I saw it, but it was cut by the second time I saw it. (My memory was that she was the best thing in the show, but her part was cut to ribbons by the second viewing.)

Probably because the actress who played Arachne, Natalie Mendoza, suffered a concussion at the first preview and then left the show. They probably decided it was easier to cut the role rather than to recast. Or maybe after Christopher Tierney nearly died, no competent actor was going to risk joining the show.

Mendoza.....

Natalie Mendoza and the sexy as all fuck Max Beesley.

One pedestrian score after another cluttering up our musical theatre stages....

Ann Crumb died last night from ovarian cancer. RIP.

R422, Thanks! I knew it was an early performance, but I was not aware that it was first preview. Natalie Mendoza was wonderful. I am sorry she was injured.

Has anyone been to the Institute of the American Musical? It's crazy to think that there's a huge collection of bootlegs of iconic musical. Last thing I could find about the place was the owner struggling to preserve all the footage. Hopefully nothing was lost. I would love to see those bootlegs.

Another clip. Shows some footage of Julie Andrews in Camelot.

R375, we don’t need Judy Garland to play City of Angels for it to be effective.

Glad to see Vanessa Williams back on stage. She should be a more massive star. She’s gorgeous, sings and acts well. She has real star quality.

I interviewed Miles Krueger once. A big box of crazy but intensely (obsessively?) devoted to the history of musicals.

The London "42nd Street" was on Great Performances (PBS) last night. This was the version shown in theaters via Fathom Events a while back. Up next: "The King and I" with O'Hara, Watanabe, and Miles.

The insertion of "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" was a poor choice. Beefing up the role of Dorothy Brock does nothing to improve the narrative or advance the plot. It changed nothing. It was just four more minutes to get through before she breaks her ankle. Just get to it and get the old broad out of the way.

Didn't realize that Mason Reese was working for Miles.

Is 42ND STREET a better stage show now than it was 40 years ago?

I find the original movie fun and charming.

I find tap dancing to be a mega bore—that’s why 42nd Street was never exciting for me

I hated tap too until I saw Bonnie's spectacular waltz clog number.

Tap dancing is fascism on display.

I'm sorry to read about Ann Crumb's death. I enjoyed her very much in the NY and London productions of ASPECTS OF LOVE. As I recall a headline in London was "Ann Crumb: Toast of the Town". In the US though, her career floundered. She got the role of Anna Karenina in that lifeless musical version but supporting player Melissa Errico walked away with the career.

Melissa Errico has the career?

There's a reason her initials are M.E.

the quote was, 'It's no accident her initials are M.E.'

For the PBS King And I, I hope they subtitle Watanabe.

Turn on your Closed Captioning.

I saw that KING AND I when they played it in the movie theatre. It's not very good. I saw it 4 times at Lincoln Center with every cast change. Watanabe was awful. Hoon Lee should have done the recording. He is the definitive in my eyes. I've never seen 42nd street so I watched last night. I enjoyed the big tap numbers but that show is dated af and the Peggy Sawyer character is fucking annoying. I hated her. The show itself is pretty lousy with joyful songs. About King Kong vs. Spiderman, I walked out of Spiderman. I couldn't take it. I went into King Kong expecting to hate it and was irritated by the casting of a black girl but ended up loving it. I saw the understudy. Some of the writing was weird and the character was sometimes a little too modern and ghetto but I sat second row center and loved it.

Were all the understudies for the female lead in King Kong also black?

Who played Dorothy Brock in the 42nd St. broadcast? I presume Sheena Easton didn't return.

Bonnie Langford.

She was fine in the part, but not brilliant as Christine Ebersole was on Broadway in 2001.

R431 Did he show you any of the bootlegs?

DL fave Ashley Day-Night missed the TV/cinema recording, right? Pity.

One other thought about American Son that bothers me. MAJOR SPOILER. When the policemen told the parents what happened to their son, he said that he had stopped to buy a "nickel bag" of pot. Now how would the cop know he bought a nickel bag? It seemed the expression was intended to show that it was a small, inconsequential purchase, but it also struck me as being bad writing, because the cop would have had no idea if it was a nickel bag. It seemed liked sloppy writing to me.

Is American Son as racist as people who saw it on Broadway said it was?

R452 -- I thought it was. It seems to suggest that the natural state of black youth is "thug;" that even someone who grew up in a "white" world and went to an elite all-white prep school with no black friends automatically gets corn rows, wears low-slung jeans, and hangs around with other thugs when trying to find their "identity. "

Oh dear. Poor Ann Crumb. She got to play Norma....

[quote]I went into King Kong expecting to hate it and was irritated by the casting of a black girl but ended up loving it.

Are you serious? Except for the puppetry and some of the projections, the whole thing -- book, music, lyrics, design, even most of the casting -- was utter shit.

[quote]It seems to suggest that the natural state of black youth is "thug;" that even someone who grew up in a "white" world and went to an elite all-white prep school with no black friends automatically gets corn rows, wears low-slung jeans, and hangs around with other thugs when trying to find their "identity. "

Or....maybe the point of AMERICAN SON is that this PARTICULAR black youth chose to seek his identity by doing all of that, admittedly a very bad choice (and, as it turned out, fatal). Maybe that character is not intended to represent an entire race.

I haven't seen AMERICAN SON but the image of black manhood that young black males receive via pop culture (hell, even non- black males receive it via hip hop) is typically the gangsta/pimp thing. The flip is the cornball/simp (Wayne Brady has been tarred with that brush quite often). I don't think either stereotype reflects "nature"/natural state as suggested upthread.

Speaking of young males...

Have we discussed properly?

R455 I know but I think I enjoyed it because my expectations were so low. I got tickets last minute through a friend and figured since it was second row center, why not. I wasn't even gonna see it at all. Nobody talked shit about Kong more than me. haha. By that point I had already seen Tootsie and Beetlejuice and King Kong was ten times better. R446 The understudy I saw was black. I had seen Christiana Pitts in Bronx Tale and I couldn't stand her so that worked out for me because I did not want to see her again. I also loved the girl playing Annie in 42nd St last night. Her and Julian Marsh were the only two I liked. Tom Lister is a cutie and sexy voice. Was Peggy Sawyer #metoo? Julian Marsh kept sticking his tongue down her throat and she just stood there. Have the feminists seen 42nd st? I think their heads would explode. haha.

"Or....maybe the point of AMERICAN SON is that this PARTICULAR black youth chose to seek his identity by doing all of that, admittedly a very bad choice (and, as it turned out, fatal). Maybe that character is not intended to represent an entire race."

Possibly,, but he was positioned as "the face of the race," and the play was called "American Son." Clearly the author intended him to represent more than that singular person.

[quote] Her and Julian Marsh were the only two I liked.

Her and Julian Marsh? Really, r458?

Robbie Fairchild’s new bf is not nearly as handsome as his castoff, Ashley Day.

[quote]Robbie Fairchild’s new bf is not nearly as handsome as his castoff, Ashley Day.

And not as successful as Ashley. According to his IG, he's a freelance dancer in NYC who was in the national tour of "Wicked."

R457, Sam and Andrew sing it as lovers. I expected them to kiss with tongue.

So I guess Robbie is finally out.

Didn't he hashtag the post "roomies"?

Not that I see, and even if he did, "I love you so much" with fifteen hearts as a response from Robbie tells me what kind of roommates they are.

Ah, so they were being "cute."

[quote]Didn't he hashtag the post "roomies"?

The photo of Robbie and the new BF at R355 is from Robbie's IG and has the "roomies" hashtag. The photo above with all the hearts is from the BF's IG.

I see. Thanks. I mentioned the "roomies" because fangirls will grasp anything to disconfirm. Maybe Robbie decided on a soft coming out before his impending movie stardom with CATS.

A Robbie fangirl of my acquaintance is still holding out hope that Robbie and Tiler will get back together. Seriously.

Tom Lister did make a very hot Julian Marsh. You don't always get that. Clare Halse was wonderful as Peggy Sawyer. It's a dumbass role, but that young woman is incredibly strong physically and her dancing was clean and tight. The rest of the cast was all okay. Good enough to pretty good. But not exceptional.

Hasn't Robbie Fairchild been openly gay at least since he and others went public in their response to the whole kerfuffle over Lara Spencer's homophobic response to the news that Prince George would be studying ballet?

[quote]But he was positioned as "the face of the race," and the play was called "American Son." Clearly the author intended him to represent more than that singular person.

In what way was that character positioned as "the face of the race?" Was there some content to that effect in the play? And as for the title, I don't agree that it means what you think it means.

That 42ND STREET had no grasp of style or manner of playing musical comedy. You'd think they were an American company. A total disappointment.

42nd Street will be playing again several times over the next couple of weeks as it makes the PBS rounds

R460 *Julian Marsh and her.

Oh Dear!

She was shed

[quote] still holding out hope that Robbie and Tiler will get back together. Seriously.

Robbie could make an announcement tomorrow that he has seen the straight light and it’s pussy or nothing for him, and he and Tiler would still not get back together. It was an extremely ugly breakup, and Tiler, who was taken completely by surprise, was very bitter. Likewise her family.

[Quote] who was taken completely by surprise, was very bitter.

Tiler manages to be a dancer while also being deaf and blind?

Patti LuPone mini TV musical from 1984, Love Cycle, discovered! Also starring Priscilla Lopez, Walter Bobbie, Gordon Connell, Lonny Price, and Ellen Foley. Patti plays the vengeful ghost of a woman whose husband du ped her in a laundromat, and she’s been stealing socks and haunting the place ever since.

Did Ellen Foley audition for the original EVITA?

R478 haha.. Right! Like, who the hell would EVER believe Robbie Fairchild was straight. He's practically a woman! Come on!

THE INHERITANCE offering $59 for PART 1.

R482, is that a sign of trouble? That seems very cheap for a show that hasn’t even officially opened yet.

THE INHERITANCE is on TODAY TIX. And there are other discount offers. Not a great sign, but unsurprising.

I'm looking forward to seeing it. But I'm glad I didn't invest my $$$ in it.

I don't know, r480, but Julie Budd did, in a Chanel suit....if I recall correctly. Speaking of Peggy Sawyer, she's a stock character. Her charm rests on the actress' personal charm. Richert and Levering, while exceptional dancers, just didn't have it. Bernadette had it in spades in DaS.

I saw Parts I & II on October 12th for $159.

Fun fact: Pam "Mork and Mindy" Dawber auditioned for EVITA in LA and was on their short list. (Can you imagine?) Apparently she'd been training for it like a marathon.

THe next EVITA after PattiLu ended up being Miss Loni Ackerman.

I would like to see the footage that Meryl Streep shot for the Evita movie. I can just see her trying to put on an Argentine accent.

If Tiler was honestly taken completely by surprise in the sense of having NO IDEA Robbie was gay, then she was in severe denial and needed to have her eyes opened, even if it was a shock.. On the other hand, if she DID know he was gay and they thought they had an understanding, but then he decided to take off, that's a different story.

Oh, look!

Yet another filmed concert version of LES MIZ to add to our collection!

[quote] Yet another filmed concert version of LES MIZ to add to our collection!

PBS is pissing their pants with joy. Another week where they don't have to think about programming. They can just put this version on endless repeat and interrupt it every five minutes with begging for more money.

Does anyone know how the production deals with the British shows work? Didn't PBS help fund shows like Downton Abbey? Do they reap any money from the Downton Abbey movie? Or is Masterpiece Theatre a separate entity from PBS? Because I know that Masterpiece helps produce The Durrells.

I still want to see Liza's screen test, r488....

Originally the hoped for contenders for the Evita movie were Meryl, Barbra Streisand, Liza Minnelli and Bernadette Peters. I don't know that Streisand ever really considered it, but her fans were really pushing for her to do it. I think also a few people were pushing for Olivia Newton-John trying to work off her popularity with Grease.

I had always hoped they would get somebody a bit more bad-assed in the mold of Julie Covington. Was Debbie Harry ever considered?

And of course, Faye Dunaway couldn't stand that she wasn't considered, so she went and made her own tv movie about Evita.

R487 Dawber was one of the replacement Mabels for Linda Ronstadt is Pirates of Penzance

Didn't Ken Russell direct Liza Minnelli's EVITA screen test? Legend has it that she was sensational, and in surprising ways, but between Russell and Liza it was all considered too much of a commercial risk by TPTB, so that deal fell apart.

THE INHERITANCE officially opens on 11/17. Sales have been hovering around 70% of capacity since previews started. Not great, but strong reviews will probably push this near the top. But maybe not.

The Ethel Barrymore is over 1000 seats. I wonder if it would have been better to stage it in a smaller theater.

Oh god, how I wish Ken Russell had directed a movie of Evita starring Liza. Can you imagine? Levels of camp unimagined!

I think the overall effect of the end of Part I of The Inheritance would be greatly reduced in a smaller theater. But you’re right that it might have a hard time filling that many seats throughout its run.

Has the officially New York Times review for this production come out yet?

[quote]Oh god, how I wish Ken Russell had directed a movie of Evita starring Liza. Can you imagine? Levels of camp unimagined!

Oy, I still have some chocolate left over from Tommy. So, Liza luv, we're filming "And The Money Kept Rolling In". Now I want you to walk up to this teller window, in your white Chanel dress, and when you hear the playback "Never been accounts in the name of Eva Peron" a blast of chocolate is going to come out of the teller window and spray all over you.

Oh, that ish fabuloush. And I'll look jush like Mama when she did blackface. Let me just nip to the powder room for a hit of energy. After all, Andy had me at 54 until 4:00 this morning.

That was not chocolate. It was beans.

r500, It was (in order) , suds, beans, then chocolate.....

Patrick J. Adams has been cast in "Take Me Out" revival on Broadway -- from "Suits" to his birthday suit. I wonder if Meaghan Markle will attend -- though the Queen would probably not be cool with royalty seeing a show with lots male nudity I bet.

sorry, Meghan

I keep reading about the staging at the end of act one of The Inheritance. I will not be able to see the play, so can someone please spoil it for me? What makes it so powerful? Thank you

They've been discussing it at All That Chat at various times.

The Inheritance, so unoriginal and with such a fugly cast can’t even get near a real ticket price.

r504, if you've seen "Longtime Companion" you know.

Pam Dawber has a rather pleasant singing voice. She should have done more musicals.

Oh alright, R504. If you insist.

The entire cast breaks out in a roller-disco tribute to AIDS. Truly not a dry eye in the house.

[Quote] The entire cast breaks out in a roller-disco tribute to AIDS.

Don't spread misinformation. The whole routine isn't on skates.

Everyone knows she would be able to pull it off, R 488. Would anyone else? No. Case closed.

I'm certain M could correctly reference a reply, at any rate.

[quote]Oh god, how I wish Ken Russell had directed a movie of Evita starring Liza. Can you imagine? Levels of camp unimagined!

Oh yes! the wrestling scene between Juan and Che would have filled the place for years

At first glance, I thought r479's post read: "a woman whose husband DP'ed her in a laundromat"

Gives "pre-soak," "select load" and "sanitize" a whole new meaning.

Watched the hour-long documentary of the making of the Guys and Dolls revival (with Nathan Lane and Faith Prince) cast recording the other night. No drama, a la Stritch in the Company cast recording documentary; everyone seemed very congenial. (And some very handsome boys in the chorus; lovely Hot Box Girls, too. WHET to Scott Wise? Hey, look, there's Victoria Clark in the missionary band!) Watching it made me think, Is Guys and Dolls one of the few perfect musicals? I think it is.

[quote]Is Guys and Dolls one of the few perfect musicals? I think it is.

Yes, Guys And Dolls, My Fair Lady, Gypsy are pretty much universally acknowledged as perfect.

I'd add Kiss Me Kate, Oklahoma, South Pacific, The Pajama Game, Damn Yankees and Annie Get Your Gun, for their scores alone.

Dunno about Pal Joey. Its score is unbelievable.

I guess they made no reference to firings, then. Wasn't the Sarah Brown replaced before opening?

I would add She Loves Me to the list of perfect musicals. (Just not the most recent revival, which was directed to be too sit-commy and lacked the little dose of Mitteleuropean melancholy that makes the show moving.)

That G&D documentary came from the Dodgers, I believe. It was in their interest to make it look drama-free.

I’ll give a tiny bit of credit to Cameron Mackintosh for allowing the odd fight to surface in his BTS documentaries. Nicholas Hytner throwing a hissy fit over Schoenberg playing piano for the documentary crew during Miss Saigon tech rehearsals was priceless.

R517, as I recall, the documentary in question is specifically about the cast recording session for that GUYS AND DOLLS, not about the production in general, so they would have had no reason to mention the original Sarah being let go.

[quote]I’ll give a tiny bit of credit to Cameron Mackintosh for allowing the odd fight to surface in his BTS documentaries.

I vaguely remember that. I also remember that incredible moment in the documentary of the WEST SIDE STORY recording with Kiri Te Kanawa and Jose Carreras, conducted by Bernstein, where Bernstein blows up at someone -- I think the recording producer -- for giving pronunciation notes to Carreras during the sessions. I've always thought Lenny lost it not for that specific reason, but because he must have sadly realized during the sessions that the recording was going to be awful because of the ridiculous miscasting.

If Nathan Lane was involved... there was drama.

I remember when the G&D documentary came out and several people mentioned how drama free it was. Many people thought it was boring because it seemed like every moment was already rehearsed, unlike the Company documentary where the filmmakers just bobbed and weaved around everywhere.

In the G&D documentary, you didn't get people looking bored, like the woman in the purple dress who is fiddling with her Lee Press-On nail, standing next to Pamela Myers during the recording of "Another Hundred People". Or Donna McKechnie goofing around in the background during "(Not) Getting Married Today."

[quote]Tiler manages to be a dancer while also being deaf and blind?

Tiler's a Mormon. Being deaf and blind to gay husbands is a sacred part of the religion.

[quote]Richert and Levering, while exceptional dancers, just didn't have it.

Someone bring Mama her AK-47. I'm gonna pay a little visit to r485.

[quote]THe next EVITA after PattiLu ended up being Miss Loni Ackerman.

Loni Ackerman aced the part. Her strength was in being an exceptional dancer as well as singer/actress, so she was able to make "Buenos Aires" work in a way that poor, two-left-footed Patti couldn't. Of course, Patti had an inner fire that none of the other Evas were able to capture, but Loni was excellent and got raves in LA, which someone posted on the callboard backstage. Patti was furious.

Bring it on, Wanda!

I saw Loni Ackerman when it came to SFO. She was marvelous.

[quote] I saw Loni Ackerman when it came to SFO

It played the airport?

[quote]I saw Loni Ackerman when it came to SFO

[quote]It played the airport?

Well, when you're not as good as ME, you have to take whatever offers come your way. A girl's gotta eat.

[quote] Wasn't the Sarah Brown replaced before opening?

Yes. It was originally Carolyn Mignini (from Tintypes and the current Rose Tattoo). She was let go after a few previews. I think Josie De Guzman had been her understudy. Less than six months earlier, De Guzman herself was the one being replaced, from her role in “Nick & Nora.”

[quote]A girl's gotta eat.—Patti LuPone

It certainly looks like you’ve been following your own advice, Pats!

By the way, did you know I got 100% rave reviews when we opened? It was so lovely when Hal told me what a relief it was to finally have an Eva that all the critics liked.

[Quote] Loni was excellent and got raves in LA, which someone posted on the callboard backstage. Patti was furious.

That was Teri Klausner.

They'll always have Buenos Aires

So... who among us is going to the EVITA staged concert at City Center? It's going to be quite the event, given how unsatisfying that Bway revival was.

I have my tix and I look forward to swapping reviews here and on ATC.

Any truth to the rumor that Little Shop of Horrors recorded a cast album?

[quote] Loni was excellent and got raves in LA, which someone posted on the callboard backstage. Patti was furious. That was Teri Klausner.

Teri Klausner was the one who posted Loni’s LA raves backstage in NY? Well done!

Klausner was also a dancer, and also sailed easily through “Buenos Aires,” which was intolerable to Patti, who fell flat on her ass during BA on the LA opening night. But Klauser wasn’t nearly as polished an actress as Ackerman proved to be. Valerie Perry, who was Loni’s alternate in LA, was also a dancer and a good actress/singer.

Klausner was a kunt and got the kareer she deserved.

I saw Loni in “Evita” twice. She gave a nice musical comedy performance of the role. The New York Times didn’t care for her Evita at Papermill. Second-best indeed!

No love for Derin Altay?

Oh r479 Walter Bobbie should hang his head in shame for that performance. He’s clearly high on Brigadoon. Appalling accent. Mah engines canny take it captain.

Buenos Aires is a five minute number in a two hour singathon. It is not important to be a dancer.

Let us compare....

And....

Loni Ackerman was excellent dancing and singing the role. However, there were still moments in her acting where she thought she was still in "No, No Nanette." "Evita" isn't "musical comedy" and there were a couple of moments where it felt like she was ready to say, "Hey, guys, let's put on a show."

One of the Happies....

[quote] Valerie Perry

PERRI, not Perry. I think I saw her when the tour hit DC.

[quote] Is Guys and Dolls one of the few perfect musicals? I think it is.

The last Bway revival was absolutely shitty, so, no, it's not perfect. It's the same with the Bernadette Peters Gypsy. Not only was she completely miscast, the whole production was overdone. Not perfect either

R547, I don't understand your point. It IS possible to do a shitty production of a perfect show, if it's misdirected, miscast, etc.

R548, the whole point of being "perfect" is that it should be able to transcend shitty productions. Those couldn't

That's just silly, R549. Or worse.

It's like saying a prime steak can't be burned.

Wow, R549. Are you an idiot?

In answer to R551: Yes, it would appear that R549 is an idiot. Lots of people people think of GYPSY as a perfect show, but I'm pretty sure a production of it with leads who couldn't act or sing the roles properly, or who were very miscast, would be shitty.

Gypsy is not a perfect show for two reasons:

that insipid Little Lamb

During Rose's Turn, she sings "Momma's talking loud" However, that reference in the show got cut, so it doesn't really connect to what it was originally supposed to

R552 Lanie Kazan knows you are talking about her, and she will fuck your shit up

Miss...Debra...Monk!

Oh....and Cass Morgan.

R549, starring next month in TARD: The Musical Extravaganza.

R553, good points, but if you want to be technical about it, I don't know if any show is ABSOLUTELY perfect. SHE LOVES ME has a dud song or two, and that weird near-suicide thing in Act I. MY FAIR LADY has lots of grammatical errors in it, and the running time is maybe just a little too long. Maybe FIDDLER is perfect, other than "Now I Have Everything" and that "rumor" number feeling a little superfluous.

FOLLIES is perfect in its imperfection.

Why haven't they gone back and changed the lyrics of Rose's Turn from "Mama's talkin' loud" to "Mama's singin' out" like they did for the Lansbury production. Didn't another production use those lyrics, too? The Staunton version maybe? They make more sense.

I'm also confused as to why Sondheim changed the lyric of Lucy and Jessie in the last Broadway production of Follies from "sorrowful" or "pitiful", but didn't insist on keeping the new lyrics for the recent London production.

The Inheritance is running into the same problem that Harry Potter has and the Angels revival had. There's not a lot of people who want to sit for seven hours of theatre, no matter how much they love Hogwarts or The Gays. It's a real sales challenge.

Dear National Theatre: Your production of Follies is probably the best we'll see for awhile, but R559 is what the Loveland sequence is supposed to look like, not a bunch of letters on poles. More IS More!

[quote] It's like saying a prime steak can't be burned.

So it's not perfect

r562, please, not fucking FOLLIES again

There, r564, we went an hour with no FOLLIES mention.

Since HARRIET is a big flop, we can expect DL Darling Erivo to come back to Broadway soon....

I wonder if Stockard has any dishy Nanette or Conrad stories!

To come CRAWLING back to Broadway, r566. Please get it right.

The Legendary Linda Lavin on Returning to Charles Busch’s “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife”

Get offa her runway....

[quote]Since HARRIET is a big flop, we can expect DL Darling Erivo to come back to Broadway soon....

Is it a big flop? I hope so, because that's what she deserves. Tee-hee!!!!!

R571 The reviews would be described as cool

But how are her personal reviews? Is she still a potential Oscar nominee?

I think Errivo is very talented.

But I think she doesn't have the face for a film or TV career, to be uncharitably honest.

Here she is on AI with gay singer Jeremiah.

So. Who's gonna watch LITTLE MERMAID LIVE, DL?

SOFT POWER at the Public is the most embarrassing piece of shit in recent memory. I fled for the exits at intermission, as did many others. Ho Lee Fuk.

R567-I was there on Opening Night, which was also closing night. Stockard was onstage with her original nose.

[quote]SOFT POWER at the Public is the most embarrassing piece of shit in recent memory.

Oh, you haven't seen Tootsie?

I knew with that awful title that "Soft Power" would suck.

“Soft Power” like a power top who did too much coke.

Two weeks later, I can't remember a damned thing about Soft Power except the fact Conrad Ricamora was out, filming his fucking tv show again.

Soo.. it sounds like I don't need to see SOFT POWER.

Has anyone seen AMERICAN UTOPIA? I'm curious but I need the DL POV before I splurge on tix.

I assume it was just too gripping and trenchant, 578?

^r578 - Like Kay Fwancis, I have a little trouble with my "R"s.

[quotes]R56 I've really never understood when people get angry at writers/directors/producers for casting themselves in their plays, movies, or TV shows.

For some writers in some roles, it’s great - the perfect casting. They know the rhythms of the material and it draws on their sensibilities. It is a time honored theatrical tradition going back to Shakespeare, and before.

Other performers...not so much. For instance, I do not think Suzanne Somerset should perform her own material.

Sorry - typing on my phone. Tho I do think it would be funny if Suzanne Somers reinvented herself as a MAJOR dramatic actress, “Suzanne Somerset”.

I think she should call herself “Somerset Momm.”

Suzanne is now... Somers Eve--the Disposable Douche!

No, it’s her husband who’s the disposable douche.

I am now and forever The Blonde In The Thunderbird, you sad gay bitches.

Third midnight! Who's gonna start another fuckin' thread?

Suzanne Somers as Fosca would be HEAVEN!!

I feel we all must do what we can to fill this thread up, and bury the gasping carcass - -

Cilantro....

with very special guest Marie Osmond

"Written by Bruce Vilanch."

Why was Somers never a replacement Norma in SUNSET BLVD? Couldn't she have at least done it in Vegas?

Joyce DeWitt got to play Rose in "Gypsy" at the Bucks County Playhouse. Suzanne must have been green with envy!

Suzanne was busy playing herself in a SEARING TELEVISION MOVIE!

Suzanne is working on a sequel, “The Old Lady in the VW Bug.”