Theatre Gossip #372: "Imagine THE INHERITANCE, But With A Cast Of Really Hot Guys."

Link to the old.

In case you missed it: CATS trailer, redux.

I'm gonna re-post this so everyone will know to rush out and buy their copies.

from previous:

[quote]Is Jeanine Tesori incredibly prolific as a composer? Does she just write fast? Is she easy and pleasant to work with? Anyone got any insight?

I ask because I'm not a fan of her music (despite repeated effort on my part) and she's so ubiquitous in new musicals. Tesori just isn't very good, and there are so many lesser-known writers with real talent.

CATS is now a reality show competition? This is less disturbing than the first trailer but does nothing to change the appearance of a complete disaster. Aside from Dench, I can’t think of a cast featuring more actors and performers I loathe and avoid. Somehow I missed Rebel Wilson was in it.

Tout le monde awaits the coming of CATS!

Where's the really hot guys then?

I am not interested in this Cats film at all. I've seen it on stage and it was shit, in a film it's going to be even more shit.

Yea CATS is the dumbest thing ever written and produced. Blame the weird boomers.

Which one of you wrote this?

I bet whoever wrote it included Marin Mazzie but not Dolores Gray.

The late critic John Simon continues being DESTROYED on social media by theatre folks calling him out on his sexism, racism, & homophobia.

Good times.

Hopefully God will treat John Simon better than John Simon treated Liza Minelli.

Saw Jagged Little Pill. The book by Diablo Cody is a hot mess. Obviously, the high point is "You Oughta Know" which is sung beautifully by the lesbian character who is upset her bi girlfriend is sleeping with a guy. The plot didn't really merit that song, but at least it delivered. The mother opioid addict is the main plot line, with many subplots thrown in. Never try to fashion a musical around songs so specific.

I never miss a Diablo Cody musical!

I never miss an opioid addict musical....

Speaking of nodding off....

[quote]Don’t miss the exclusive world premiere of Sleepless, the enchanting romantic musical comedy based on the original screenplay Sleepless in Seattle.

Wake me up.... in time for the TONY Awards!

When is the musical of "Scarface" coming in? I want the complimentary bags of pixie dust under the seats!!!!!

Re-BECC-uhhhhhhh!!!

To the poster who put that picture of a supposedly "young" Vivian Vance -

Your pic is from "The Blue Veil," only a year before Ethel.

Here is a real picture of young Viv

Viv would have made a great Mame. Or Vera. Or Dolly,

That Jonathan Groff ballad from "Frozen 2" sounds an awful lot like "Glory of Love" from the second Karate Kid movie. So these guys just get a pass?

I remember when Lucy was announced for the Mame movie, there was a rumor that Viv was going to play Vera Charles and Gale Gordon was going to be Mr. Babcock.

Viv was born for noir....

Did she make a play for Sidney Poitier?

Well, she certainly had the face for mood lighting. Or even better, radio.

I starred in REDHEAD, bitches. How did this thread become about Vivian Vance?

Oh DEAR!, r25.

Ooopsy, I meant WILDCAT. It's the breakfast gin talking, hee.

Because she was funnier than you, bitch.

Potentially the only thing worse than a jukebox musical is a jukebox musical that tries to shove songs in to a story of some sort when they clearly were not written with an overarching story arc in mind. God I hate jukebox musicals.

Welcome to LA? How did Patti get to perform this? PR for LA Olympics back in 84? As a Patti fan I’m happy but still wondering.

Leslie Uggams said "No."?

Several shows doing poorly. If the show brings in less than third of its potential it cannot run for long.

[quote] The late critic John Simon continues being DESTROYED on social media by theatre folks calling him out on his sexism, racism, & homophobia.

How punishing!

[quote]Hopefully God will treat John Simon better than John Simon treated Liza Minelli.

I hope God punishes you for your mistreatment of Liza's surname.

PHANTOM is now selling about par with TOOTSIE (~64% capacity).

Will we live to see PHANTOM close?

And THE INHERITANCE is down by 13% last week. Looks like those reviews didn't help.

R36 I wish I could "inherit" the guy in the jockstrap.

I try to miss as many contemporary musicals as I can.

[quote]And THE INHERITANCE is down by 13% last week. Looks like those reviews didn't help.

The NY Times review was quite tepid, so I'm sure that didn't help at all.

Speaking of non-contemporary musicals, I finally got around to watching that Great Performances 42nd Street from the Drury Lane in London. I've seen the original film but never the stage version. The production itself was impressive enough (I think I counted 24 chorus girls and 12 boys, thanks to the Pause button), but the acting was so yelly and miles-broad (not that the material calls for any subtlety, but still). But props to the chorus coming over the giant staircase at the end; that was worth sitting through the rest of it.

Then I watched the Much Ado from last summer's Shakespeare in the Park. Awfully broad, but enjoyable. I'd love to see Danielle Brooks and Grantham Coleman, the Beatrice and Benedick, a lot more (I know her from all the scene-stealing she did in OITNB, but he was fiiiine, er, new to me). I always think Much Ado works best as a period piece; if it's set in the present why would anyone care so much that Hero supposedly slept around?

Kinky Boots is on Great Performances this Friday, and I'll be giving that a miss, but thanks, PBS, for airing all these shows! You're doing the Lord's work, and lots of little budding theater kids in flyover land appreciate it.

[quote]the acting was so yelly and miles-broad

I know what you mean. But it was the Drury Lane, so I'm not sure they had much of a choice. It's a terrible house for musical comedy.

I disagree, r41. It’s a perfect house for musical comedy. I’ve seen several there. As for actors having to be yelly and broad, the Drury Lane has had amplification for years now. Like 50 at least.

I didn't mean amplification, I meant the size of the house. It's so wide and and deep (and tall, for that matter). 2,200 seats when they keep the upper balcony open. When a good joke hits, you have to wait forever for sparse laughter to make its way around the house and get back to the actors. Just my experience anyway.

How long do you think Company will last before they replace Lenk with a bigger name?

Patti down under....

I wonder if they tried to get Sheena Easton back to play Dorothy in the filmed version of the West End "42nd Street."

This is absolutely fabulously wonderful....

R45 She has told it was the only time she was able to sing the score go out and have fun after the show.

[quote]How long do you think Company will last before they replace Lenk with a bigger name?

I doubt the show will run long enough to need replacements, but we'll see.

[quote]She has told it was the only time she was able to sing the score go out and have fun after the show.

When LuPone did EVITA on Broadway, she was able to go out and do a club act afterwards.

The producers were stupid to open The Inheritance in the fall...it's prestigious awards bait theater. They should have opened in spring to benefit most from awards nominations.

Preview it starting in February; open in March; noms in April; hopefully wins in May/June, then run for the rest of the year IF it wins awards.

[quote]The producers were stupid to open The Inheritance in the fall...it's prestigious awards bait theater.

Agreed. Especially stupid to open a two-part show, with two separate, full-price admissions, at this time. For people to make the time commitment and empty their pockets for a two-parter like that, the show needs to be a major event with major awards buzz, etc. I heard even HARRY POTTER is slipping, and that has an incredibly popular movie franchise and great reviews behind it.

I don’t think even Harry Potter will have the legs to last season upon season. I see it closing in 2-3 years

Dear Evan Hanson is a contemporary musical worth seeing as is Book of Mormon.

Katrina Lenk just got a recurring role in a new Edie Falco TV show for CBS. No idea if it shoots in NYC (as they both live here) or in LA.

I predict she spends TONY season in COMPANY and then is gone in a shot. Hollywood beckons.

Oy, Patti @ R45.

That hair. That jumpsuit.

Good interview, though.

[quote]But props to the chorus coming over the giant staircase at the end

Excuse me?

If I recall correctly, she said in Australia she was finally able to perform the score comfortably.

I wonder why Ashley Day took his vacation when they were going to be filming 42nd St? His replacement was the understudy, and he was very bland and not nearly as good looking as our Ash.

How many posts before the thread gets paywalled and it dries up for weeks before mercifully ending?

Ashley said "No Lulu, no Day."

[quote]I wonder why Ashley Day took his vacation when they were going to be filming 42nd St? His replacement was the understudy, and he was very bland and not nearly as good looking as our Ash.

Yeah what the hell was up with that? Was there a specific, really important reason why he couldn't be there for the filming? If not, what an incredibly bad move on his part.

Ashley needed to sit by the phone the day of the filming on the slim chance that Robbie Fairchild would call and say he wanted to get back together.

Miss Rosalie Craig was on a recent episode of Doc Martin. Company really raised her profile.

In the video at R45 LuPone at times sounds and looks a lot like Barbara Jean on the day of her breakdown.

Who is Barbara Jean?

Barbara Jean English?

Sheesh!

Per R21: here's the link.

It sounds like a mash-up of a lot of truly terrible "inspirationall" anthemic power ballads from 1980s movies. (Remember when the marginally interesting 70s band Chicago got really shitty and maudlin and became super-successful around that time?)

Yes, it sounds like that. Uggh.

The.....breakdown.

EVITA highlights from the City Center limited engagement.

A mixed bag, but I enjoyed it.

Ugh. I don't like that Disney voice of the Eva.

It's been so long since I've seen the original costuming. Is it customary to dress the mistress like she's straight out of "It's a Hard Knock Life"?

Eva has no idea why she's raising her arms except to strike the Evita pose

Looks dreadful

The young Eva's singing was painful.

Young Eva added almost nothing to this production. She couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance, and couldn’t act. The one aspect of adding her to the show that was sort of effective was when creepy tango singer Magaldi put his arms around her and caressed her when she was supposed to be 15. Other than that, she trudged through the show carrying her suitcase as a sad memory for older Evita. Which made no sense, since Evita had triumphed from lover to lover. So why would older Evita look back sadly at her young self with a suitcase?

Oh dear r70 . Young Eva’s voice is thin and strained - just bad noise. Older Eva is ok in the lower registers but when she pushes the voice it thins out considerably and becomes extremely harsh. The actor playing Che doesn’t seem to connect with the lyrics at all - just posing and over-emoting. That must have been a looooong couple of hours.

R77 It was.

I love EVITA but I nodded off several times during the City Center production

I nodded off at City Center during Act I. I nodded off at home during Act II.

I had free tix to Evita at City Center . I feel bad for whoever paid for them. I have yet to see this show staged/performed correctly.

[quote]She couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance, and couldn’t act.

A triple threat!

Young Eva must be a pop singer because, with her pop inflection and thin voice, she certainly has no business in theater.

Both of those girls are talent and voice free. NEXT.

The performance from "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" on the Macy's parade just now was HOT! That is definitely going to sell tickets (and, I'm sure, make the switchboard at NBC light up with a few complaints about Adrienne Warren's dress that was just barely long enough to cover the goods).

It's that time of the year--the start of the holiday season!

I love this clip--but they're lip-synching, aren't they? I never thought so until watching it just now.

R77 I so agree. It’s all wrong. Was the video made to sell more tickets?

Thick thighs...

R88 It's padded. R83 In the program I think it said she's on Nickelodeon and has lots of followers on social media. haha.

[quote]Young Eva added almost nothing to this production. She couldn’t sing, couldn’t dance, and couldn’t act. The one aspect of adding her to the show that was sort of effective was when creepy tango singer Magaldi put his arms around her and caressed her when she was supposed to be 15. Other than that, she trudged through the show carrying her suitcase as a sad memory for older Evita. Which made no sense, since Evita had triumphed from lover to lover. So why would older Evita look back sadly at her young self with a suitcase?

This is part of a reinterpretation that began with the film of EVITA, in which the song "Another Suitcase in Another Hall" was given to the young Eva. It's supposed to show us that she was a "victim" of sexual relations before she became a predator, and therefore gain our sympathy for the character. Unfortunately, that's not what the authors originally wrote, so it screws up the story and the character.

R86, for that clip, someone took the stereo audio of "Turkey Lurkey Time" from the original cast recording and synched it up to that Tony Awards performance. But anyway, although few people seem to realize this, I'm almost 100 percent sure that the three dancers never actually sang the number, regardless of the credit on the cast album. It was sung by the show's "orchestra voices." The choreography was far too demanding and extensive to have expected those women to sing the song as well as dance it.

It was sung by the show's "orchestra voices."

Or was it pre-recorded with the original girls and they just lip synched?

The singing isn't good enough to just be from the women in the pit. There's a bit of "church lady soprano" in there (i.e. Donna McKechnie).

[quote]Or was it pre-recorded with the original girls and they just lip synched?

That's possible, but to me it sounds like the orchestra voices as we hear them in the other tracks on the cast album.

[quote]The singing isn't good enough to just be from the women in the pit. There's a bit of "church lady soprano" in there (i.e. Donna McKechnie).

I don't know what you mean by that. Those orchestra voices women were excellent singers with huge ranges, and I don't hear Donna McKechnie's voice -- or Baayork Lee's -- anywhere in those vocals. I guess Bacharach is one of the few people still around whom we could ask for a definitive answer, if he even remembers.

That's my point. The vocals aren't good enough to be just the pit singers.

Listen to "again" ("and he's back again") and "when" ("we both know when") after 4:50. Those are the vocals of someone who's moving (i.e. the women on stage doing choreography), they're not impeccable, undestandably. They're also not very well miked. The pit singers come in quite noticeably around 5:55 ("ba-ba-ba-baaaaa") and they carry the rest of the number, vocally.

Speaking of thanks....

Is anyone else besides me looking forward to Ricky Ian Gordon's new operatic version of Intimate Apparel this season?

Ricky Ian Gordon is still a thing?

Anyone seen The Young Man from Atlanta with DL semi-fave Jonny, er, Jon Orsini?

R98-It's like watching old Southern paint dry.

R94, the vocals on that clip sound VERY different -- a lot more ragged, a lot less smooth -- than the vocals on the cast recording, which is what I was referring to. In the video clip, it actually sounds like the dancing women, or at least one or two of them, are singing along with the orchestra voices, which is not what I hear on the cast album.

Hi.

We are so not TOOTSIE!

This has been pitched down, right? Can anyone with a good ear, and familiarity with the singer, say how much it's been pitched down? A step? A step and a half?

Pitched down from what, the Sinatra version? Yes, it is in a lower key, I'm not sure how much lower.

When the Company revival opens on Broadway, will Patti LuPone be Tony nominated in the Best Actress or Featured Actress category?

The black-cast DEATH OF A SALESMAN in London is stunning. It takes half the play for this white person to get used to the black actors, but it creeps up on you; and as in any good production of SALESMAN the play overwhelms. Terrific direction which impressed me more than any particular performance. Great judgment to have cast Bernard, Charlie, Howard with white actors.

[Quote] Pitched down from what, the Sinatra version? Yes, it is in a lower key, I'm not sure how much lower.

Pitched down from where Gavin Creel usually sings. His voice is not that deep (as at the link).

Not to be a SJW, but what does "get used to the black actors" mean?

I genuinely cannot imagine what that is supposed to mean. Do they have unfamiliar accents? Does the dark skin make it harder to see facial expressions?

R104, Patti’s Olivier win was in the Featured Actress category. Elaine Stritch got a Best Actress nom originally, but I’ll bet Patti goes featured for the Tony. It’s her only chance for a third Tony.

But if Patti's name goes above the title, can she still be Featured?

It was above the title in London, but maybe the Oliviers have different rules. But the rules are frequently broken. Thinking below-the-title Donna McKechnie winning as Best Actress. It would be up to the rules committee, I guess.

R107. I assume the poster means that, since Miller's play was written about white working class Jews is post-WWII America, and the Lomans have typically been played by white actors, it might take a scene to adjust one's past experiences to a different racial depiction of the characters--zjust as it might take a bit of adjustment to see Miyoshi Umeki (some say, the flowerlike...) as Blance duBois. Particularly since she's been dead for dome years.

I know you're trying to imply the poster is ...gasp... racist, but that's not how I read the post. I read it as someone who admired the acting sufficiently that he made the suspension of disbelief and entered the world of the production, a more generous attitude than yours.

And I am fully in favor of racially diverse casting--I enjoyed seeing James Earl Jones as Grandpa and Kristine Nielsen as Penny in You Can't Take It with You, even though in lufe they would be doubtful biological father and daughter. And I'm not ready for an all-white A Raisin in the Sun, because, history.

I'm surprised Sinatra never got Sondheim to write aversion of I'm Still Here for him. I'm sitting here imagining him singing it as written....

^ a version

[Quote] And I'm not ready for an all-white A Raisin in the Sun, because, history.

I suppose Jerri Blank's wasn't exactly all-white...

Actually Young Eva's voice was pretty good in the theater, but I couldn't help but notice her nod to Patti LuPone, since like Patti, you couldn't understand this Eva's lyrics either most of the time. Grown-up Eva was actually really good when heard in the theater.

R101 I am not box-office either, despite also playing the lead in "Honeymoon in Vegas"

No, R111, I was not trying to imply anything. I just could not figure out what he meant.

I doubt your idea that seeing black actors in those roles is very likely. Unless he has seen Death of a Salement once or twice a year for the last few decades, no recasting is going to take that long to get over.

Although, I remember a neighbor saying that Hoffman playing Willie as a small Jew instead of as a big WASP (as in previous productions) made her appreciate the play in a different way. But that is different than saying it took half the play to adjust.

R54, the Edie Falco TV series that Katrina Lenk is recurring in is shot in NYC even though it's set in LA. Falco plays the LA police chief. God bless Falco for insisting the show shoot in NY. It goes until Christmas so Lenk has plenty of time to prep for Company.

Although now that you mention it, it is hard to imagine a non-racist interpretation of the remark, since it implies that the idea of blacks trying to move ahead in America or having the same generational conflicts as white characters is hard to get used to.

The irony of course is that Miller and the early productions downplayed any Jewish identity for the Lomans. Scholars and more recent productions have made the character's Jewsihness more obvious, but for some reason letting them be more obviously Jewish in the late 40s was seen to be as alienating for audiences as having a black Loman family is for some today.

[quote]Great judgment to have cast Bernard, Charlie, Howard with white actors.

Really? I think it's a huge mistake to have Charlie and Bernard played by white actors when the Lomans are black, as it implies THAT'S why Bernard is getting ahead in the world while Biff and Happy aren't. Years ago, I saw the George C. Scott production of DEATH OF A SALESMEN, in which Charlie and Bernard were played by black actors. That worked brilliantly, because we saw that Bernard was getting ahead because he takes school seriously, whereas Biff thinks he is some sort of prince who is owed the world (because that's what his father has taught him) and is content to just be a high school football star with no prep for the future.

[quote]And I'm not ready for an all-white A Raisin in the Sun, because, history.

So you are coming right out and stating that historical accuracy only applies to black roles being reserved for black people, not to white roles being reserved for white people? Even when casting those roles with people of color makes no historical sense whatsoever, like the ridiculous casting of the recent Broadway revival of ALL MY SONS?

[quote]Although now that you mention it, it is hard to imagine a non-racist interpretation of the remark, since it implies that the idea of blacks trying to move ahead in America or having the same generational conflicts as white characters is hard to get used to.

It doesn't imply that at all. It implies that the roles of the Lomans have always or almost always been played previously by white actors. So it takes some people some time to get used to them being played by actors of color, in the same way that I'm sure it would take many people a LOT of time to get used to the characters in August Wilson's plays being cast with white actors. Which will NEVER happen, nor should it.

The difference is that August Wilson emphatically placed his characters in black culture whereas there really is not anything specifically white about the Loman's situation.

And what "getting used to"? You're watching a play---the actors are in front of you. What is there to "get used to?"

I find it hard to believe that everytime Willie enters an audience member would think, "Wait! He is black--I though he was white. Oh wait, I thought the same thing the last four times he entered. I just keep forgetting."

[quote]The difference is that August Wilson emphatically placed his characters in black culture whereas there really is not anything specifically white about the Loman's situation.

The Lomans' world was the white middle-class world of the white middle class New York City suburbs of the 1950s. And, HISTORICALLY, there would never have been a black traveling salesman in America in the 1950s, because there was too much overt racism then for that to have occurred. So if you represent Willie Loman as a black man because he's played by a black actor, you are erasing the overt racism of America in the 1950s. Unless you're saying that Willie should not be perceived as a black character even though he's played by a black actor, but that would be a completely ridiculous argument.

Yes, there were black traveling salesmen, including two of my great uncles back in the 40s and 50s.

Did you really think white salesmen were going to go to the wrong side of the tracks to peddle their wares to black-owned businesses?

Or did you mean that since black salesmen did not deal with white retailers, they did not count?

[quote] more recent productions have made the character's Jewsihness more obvious

r119 do you mean Brian Dennehy or Phillip Seymour Hoffman?

Schmuck.

R105-And once again, you're not getting a transfer of the London "Death Of A Salesman" because Scott Rudin won't let it come in. He's withholding rights until Nathan plays Willy Loman in the spring of 2021.

With Cyndi Lauper as Linda and Randy Rainbow as Biff. Attention must be paid, bitches.

R125, I think Dustin Hoffman was the first to play Willie as Jewish in a major production. I think Dennehy and PS Hoffman returned to the generic white WIllie (although I did not see those productions).

Other productions outside NY played the Loman's as a Jewish family, although it is still not the most common interpretation.

^^^ sorry for the apostrophe

"Get used to the black actors" means that the notion of the Lomans as *white* is imprinted in my brain. I think that might be true for many white persons who read the play in school with white students and white teacher, saw Cobb and Dunnock on TV, Scott and Wright in the seventies revival, Dennehy and Franz in the nineties revival, etc. It takes some time to undo the notion. This production undid it.

[quote]And once again, you're not getting a transfer of the London "Death Of A Salesman" because Scott Rudin won't let it come in

And because Sharon D. Clarke, the acclaimed Linda, is already booked in the spring for a Broadway transfer of "Caroline, Or Change," which, if it matches the London reception, may run quite a bit longer than the original did.

[quote]With Cyndi Lauper as Linda and Randy Rainbow as Biff. Attention must be paid, bitches

You forgot Matthew Broderick as Charley.

Is it just skin color that does this? Or is it when you see a fat actor play a role previously played by skinny actors? Or tall actors playing roles you only saw short actors play before? Or when you see Frank Langella play Nixon? Or Olivia Colman take over Elizabeth II

[Quote] I had free tix to Evita at City Center . I feel bad for whoever paid for them. I have yet to see this show staged/performed correctly.

I was lucky enough to see Evita done in Regents Park last summer while vacationing in London. It was amazing! The staging was a complete refresh and Evita was more coy and young than the rushing train that LuPone made her. I absolutely loved it.

I believe it’s transferring to the West End soon and maybe will make its way to NYC.

[Quote] The performance from "Tina: The Tina Turner Musical" on the Macy's parade just now was HOT! That is definitely going to sell tickets

For a moment I thought I should get tickets too but then remembered that detest these jam-songs-into-a-thin-storyline musicals

r133 you're tiresome this holiday weekend. Let's have gossip

I'm visiting my parents and they are watching the Cowboy channel which is showing multiple episodes of The Virginian. Poor Lee J. Cobb. He goes from playing one of the American theater's most iconic characters to being a recurring judge on a mediocre TV western.

Let me guess. R136 is white.

RE: A Raisin in the Sun. Yes, I am saying that one standard applies to plays with black characters and another to plays with white characters (especially those "in the canon"). Because the former are fewer and provide the many talented black actors looking for work with opportunities and because, given the history of the US, most plays centered on black people make their experience of being black intrinsic to the play. I think white actors playing black roles--outside of classrooms or a few experimental productions--still feels like blackface (whether literal or figurative). Maybe that will change over time, but, for now, I don't want to see Daniel Day-Lewis in "Fences." Theatre, like life, does not play on equal footing, where consistency of practice is the only way to be "fair."

saw Forbidden Broadway last night. it was one of the best editions I've seen in the many years I've been. Jenny Lee Stern's rendition of "Zellweger Smells In My Part" was a showstopper. As was her "Hello, Dolly Madison."

I believe Rudin wants Andrea Martin for Linda. This DOAS should be a laugh riot.

Among other things, Andrea Martin is 72 years old.

I usually think of Willy and Linda Loman as early 50-ish, in that broken, sad way that people that age looked and acted in mid-century America. But still 50-ish.

And Bette was how old when she played Dolly?

Entirely too old, R143.

A Scott Rudin Death Of A Salesman should be as unwatchable as the Denzel Iceman Cometh.

Someone like Olivia Colman will probably end up playing Linda.

I never need to see another version of DATC in my lifetime. I'm not sure I need to see a revival of anything by Arthur MIller.

I see producers and actors hellbent on reviving Miller over and over again because it appears to be a sure thing, critically and commercially. I don't really see the public clamoring for any of it, however, particularly younger, newer audiences. DATC just doesn't mean much to people under age 40-50.

Is Miller still taught in schools?

Here in the UK, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, and A View from the Bridge all regularly feature on high school curricula. Productions therefore inevitably come with their own in-built audience, especially in regional theatres.

That's because the British cherish the written word and a well-told story much more than their idiot American cousins.

DATC, R147?

Sorry, I meant DOAS. Not sure what DATC means.

R151, I was thinking Dicks And The City, the show Darren Star really wanted to do.

Andrea Martin? Will Linda be on a trapeze?

I can play Linda.

I used to think that Miller's plays were old and stodgy, and a bit like medicine, until I saw a bootleg of the last revival of All My Sons. It was stunning, and, given the recent problem with Boeing, it was still relevant. I haven't seen Death of a Salesman since I was a kid, but I suspect that it will still be relevant, what with the declining middle class.

R149 WTF? They still teach Miller in high school. My niece had to read THE CRUCIBLE and DEATH OF A SALESMAN and he just graduated this year.

God, I hate Anglophiles!

I meant 'she.'

It' s okay that your niece identifies as male. But, shouldn't you refer to your niece as "They," since you seem to be so woke.

[quote]The staging was a complete refresh

The Regents Park Evita was hideous. Like something John Doyle with no resources would cook up. Truly vile.

New York would laugh it out of town in fifteen minutes.

What play/show is OP's picture from?

[quote]I usually think of Willy and Linda Loman as early 50-ish

Linda, yes. She can't be older than early 50s-ish because she needs to play younger Linda, too

But Willy is specifically 63 in the script.

It's okay, R156/R157, she/he/it/gizmo can use the pronoun of her/his/its/gizmas choice in this time and place. All My Non-Gender Conforming Offspring is still a great and relevant show.

No one was taking about "All My Sons," r162.

We were discussing "Death of a Straight, Cis-Gendered, Usually White Salesman."

Who is 63 in the script.

I'm a bit surprised that Arthur Miller is such a big deal in UK schools. It's not as if there's a shortage of home-grown talent: Stoppard, Pinter, Osborne, Bond. Oh yes, Shakespeare.

I'm American. If I were teaching drama lit to young people, I might have them read "The Crucible." But I don't think any other Miller would be on my short list. I'd be sure to include Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Thornton WIlder, and Lorraine Hansberry, though. I'm undecided which living dramatists I'd include.

Patti is completely wrong in every way for Joanne, and everything she does in LWL is a mess. It is not a song that is meant to be “sung.” She may have won the Olivier because England doesn’t know shit about NY’ers, but it would be a genuine shame if she won a Tony for it. I doubt it will happen.

Tell me about IF/THEN, musical fans.

I hardly remember it playing on Bway, but apparently it ran over 400 performances and was nominated for a lot of awards. Written by the NEXT TO NORMAL dudes, starring Idina. It sounds a bit like the movie SLIDING DOORS with the double-sided plot.

Was it great? Was Idina memorable? It's only 4-5 years later, but it seems to have been forgotten.

It stank to high heaven, r166.

Potential nifty idea for a show, not realized as richly as one might have hoped.

I sat through IF/THEN wondering what I might be thinking of it had an actual actress (Julia Murney came to mind at the time) been cast in the leading role(s). With Idina Menzel at the helm, there was lots of wailing but precious little characterization -- kind of like watching Bette Davis in DEAD RINGER barely differentiate between the twin sisters.

I gave it another go when offered a free ticket to the tour -- only to realize within seconds of its beginning that OF COURSE the leading lady had been directed to replicate Idina's "acting" and "singing" as closely as possible. Sigh.

[quote]Linda, yes. She can't be older than early 50s-ish because she needs to play younger Linda, too. But Willy is specifically 63 in the script.

What are you talking about? All of the Loman family members appear in flashback scenes, but no one expects the actors to suddenly look younger in those scenes.

[quote]Patti is completely wrong in every way for Joanne, and everything she does in LWL is a mess. It is not a song that is meant to be “sung.” She may have won the Olivier because England doesn’t know shit about NY’ers, but it would be a genuine shame if she won a Tony for it.

I haven't seen this new production of COMPANY yet, but that's exactly how I felt about LuPone's performance of "The Ladies Who Lunch" in both that Sondheim gala several years ago and in the New York Philharmonic performances of COMPANY with Neil Patrick Harris in the lead.

[quote]I hardly remember it playing on Bway, but apparently it ran over 400 performances and was nominated for a lot of awards. Written by the NEXT TO NORMAL dudes, starring Idina. It sounds a bit like the movie SLIDING DOORS with the double-sided plot. Was it great? Was Idina memorable? It's only 4-5 years later, but it seems to have been forgotten.

I'll pretty much echo what R168 wrote. The concept was intriguing, but the actual script and direction were a mess, plus Idina is not a good enough actress for that kind of role even if the script had been better.

[quote]But I don't think any other Miller would be on my short list. I'd be sure to include Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Thornton WIlder, and Lorraine Hansberry, though. I'm undecided which living dramatists I'd include.

I think that Tennessee Williams ad Lorraine Hansberry would be too sentimental for the Brits. I agree with Albee and Wilder.

"Not sure what DATC means."

Death of American Theatrical Culture.

One of the (many) problems with If/Then is that we couldn’t invest ourselves in the lead character's story, because we were constantly being yanked into an alternate version of it. It became an intellectual exercise and failed to deliver the emotional goods. Though God knows it tried. And tried and tried and tried.

It was doomed from conception.

I really liked Idina in If/Then. Thought she wrung every drop of emotion she possibly could out of that script. But the book was a series of (boring) vignettes pretending to be profound and I couldn’t name one of the songs with a gun to my head.

If/Then= So/What

If you were going to teach "Great American Playwrights of the 20th Century" to students, you'd have to include Eugene O'Neill and August Wilson.

I wonder if August Wilson’s plays will still be regarded as classics decades from now. Of the great American playwrights, who besides O’Neill, Miller and Williams still have a number of well-regraded plays? Look at poor Neil Simon, whose work fell from favor even before he died.

^well-regarded, of course.

Simon was never that well-regarded. Since the 60s there have been any number of articles and papers pleading his case, but overall he acknowledged as a commercial success, not a great writer.

But to answer your question: Shepard, Fornes, Albee, Wilder still have a number of highly-regarded plays.

[Quote] The Regents Park Evita was hideous. Like something John Doyle with no resources would cook up. Truly vile.

Yes, it was a sparse set, but it totally made sense when performed in the park and let the audience focus on the story and music.

Can you even imagine LuPone rolling around the staircases like this Evita did?

Totally worked for me

I know Maria Irene Fornes is an inspirational writer to a number of playwrights. There's a revival in NYC right now of "Fefu and Her Friends." I saw a production of it in the 90s, and didn't quite get it. "Promenade" is a lot of fun. But was she really a great playwright?

Also, Sam Shepard? And not, say, David Mamet? Shepard always struck me as a fashionable success in his time, but I'm not sure those plays have held up even as well as Mamet's.

Some of William Inge's plays are still done - PICNIC; COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA; THE DARK AT THE TOP OF THE STAIRS; BUS STOP

John Guare?

Terrence McNally?

Lillian Hellman?

Clifford Odets?

R180, I think Mamet is not so well-regarded now, but he will come back again in the future just like Albee and O'Neill did after long periods where they were not so highly regarded.

Fornes is one of the greats. Mud is in my opinon her greatest play and is revived constantly. Conduct of Life is less often seen, but almost as great. The Danube is also pretty great.

For some reason New York usually only gets to see her minor works revived. Fefu is popular with colleges because of its novelty and all female cast, but you do not see it much revived professionally. Promenade is fun, but not a great work.

While John Guare has written some great plays he has written some atrocious ones. That is why he is unlikely to ever really be counted one of the greats.

Terrence McNally. Seriously? He is a hack.

Lillian Hellman wrote effective plays but they are too simplistic and with her black and white characterizations.

Clifford Odets is wonderful and so ripe for reappraisal. I think that if his plays were only a little easier to produce he would be put in the first rank. But you so rarely get to see his work which has prevented his reputation from catching fire.

[quote] I'm undecided which living dramatists I'd include.

Me!

I'm actually surprised Neil Simon isn't revived more often. Cast a few big names and the tourists will love it. It's not great art, but I've never found his work offensively awful. Most of them play like 2 hour sitcoms, but I don't think every show has to pack a big emotional wallop. There's a big audience for shows like that. Sure beats tripe like Slave Play and Tootsie.

We said "living," Mrs. Gifford.

Re: Neil Simon--I'm eagerly awaiting the reception to the PLAZA SUITE revival with SJB and hubby Broderick. I can't remember: has there been a major Simon revival since the aborted BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS a decade ago?

It will be interesting to see if the Broderick-Parkers can make Simon hip again.

[quote]While John Guare has written some great plays he has written some atrocious ones. That is why he is unlikely to ever really be counted one of the greats.

I think he has arguably written one great play, SIX DEGREES, and that one is very arguable either way. There's a lot that's wrong with it (including the homophobia), and the main reason it was so successful is that the real-life subject matter is so fascinating -- not because the writing is so great, which it isn't. If the writing were better, the Broadway revival might not have been a huge flop.

I agree that bad John Guare is really... atrocious. Some years back I read LYDIE BREEZE and LANDSCAPE OF THE BODY. Really not good. And BODY struck me as quite homophobic, even for the 70s.

There was a poorly received Barefoot in the Park revival a decade or so ago with Patrick Wilson and Amanda Peet. It was Roundabout I believe, so of course everyone was miscast and the show didn't work. I wouldn't blame the script itself for that. Roundabout has a habit of fucking up everything they get their hands on.

it wasn't Roundabout r190 it was that hack Scott Elliott

[quote]has there been a major Simon revival since the aborted BRIGHTON BEACH MEMOIRS a decade ago?

When was the Nathan Lane-Matthew Broderick "Odd Couple"? Wasn't that more recent?

That was back in the 2005-2006 season, R192.

Not to be confused with the gender-bending version from the 80s.

Not more recent. "The Odd Couple" with Lane and Borderick opened in October 2005 and ran about 7 months. The reviews were mostly meh.

Omg.

^^Broderick.

In another twenty years, Neil Simon is likely to get revivals as nostalgia period pieces a la Noel Coward. Or maybe he'll go the way of Ivor Novello...

[quote]Or maybe he'll go the way of Ivor Novello...

You mean sucking as much cock as he can get?

The new rules are inconsistent, with twisted logic. Black actors can and should play every role, even if that role is historically White. White actors are only allowed to play White roles, but the first order of business will be to offer it to a Black actor. White actors must fully support not being able to make a living, because Woke.

R183. About thirty-five years ago, I was teaching at what is now the University of Nebraska at Kearney. As part of arts outreach, the Omaha Magic Theatre brought a production of Fornes' Mud, featuring one of the OMT's founders, JoAnn Schmidman, in the female lead. Before the performance began, I noticed a short, unassuming middle-aged woman setting up a table with materials from the Theatre. I told her I was excited to see the production because I was a real Megan Terry fan and I saw she was listed as director. She smiled and I went in to take my seat. it was a powerful, stunning production. There was a talkback after the show, led by the director, that quiet, unassuming woman with whom I'd spoken earlier--who was, indeed, Megan Terry. For the rest of my time at Kearney, they invited me to Omaha whenever they did a show. They were lovely people, doing very experimental work--especially for mid-z80s Nebraska (even Omaha).

Of course, my other colleagues in theatre and speech couldn't be bothered to go to the FREE Fornes performance--they were too busy mounting things like Brighton Beach Memoirs and the "daring" production of "Hair" (which omitted the nude scene, of course). I was not sorry to leave after three years.

Neil Simon has written some great plays. "The Odd Couple" and "Barefoot in the Park" are both excellent plays dealing with relationships. I have always enjoyed "Prisoner of Second Avenue" even though it's largely forgotten today. I think Broadway doesn't revive him so much because every regional theater and community theater and college produces Neil Simon. They are usually money makers for those venues. Why spend money on a Broadway production when you can see the show playing in your neighborhood?

R201. Especially when the local dentist and the part-ziti me are probably as good in Plaza Suite as Broderick and SJP are likely to be.

I've been compared unfavorably before, frequently here on DL.

But no one's called me "part-ziti me" before.

I have a whole thing about carbs. You could at least respect that.

R199, trust me, I am a white actor and we have a much easier time getting roles than my black colleagues do.

And yes, there really are a lot of advantages to being white. Maybe you are new to the United States, but it has been like that for a long time. If white people could play black roles that would not be fair, though I can understand why someone who is unfamiliar with U.S. history and is not aware of what has been going on in our culture for the last 100 years might think otherwise.

R204 - then you are not an actor in the game right now or you'd be more aware of what's going on in this industry outside of the woke tweets and articles you read.

R205, maybe it is that you just are not good enough.

If you are a white performer who cannot get work, I doubt it is because of lack of roles. If anything, this last year there have been more roles out there for white guys. The more likely explanation is that you just are not good enough.

Well since i'm an assistant at one of the big 3, I don't expect to be cast as an actor. Anyway, you truly don't know what you're talking about. I'm saying that without any malice. White men don't get appointments unless they are a name

Is anyone gonna tell us where OPs pic comes from?

r208 Isn't it from one of those nude plays in the '90s? Or Broadway Bares?

It's from "Naked Boys Singing", before it closed off-Broadway with the original choreography, as pictured in a NY Times article; it was revived soon (it's now just 1 performance a week usually) after but using new choreography, losing a few numbers and the cast down to about 6 from the original 8.

R207, but black men can just walk in off the street.

Right!

And the no-name whites who get cast.....oh, I guess there are none.

Naked Boys Singing is still playing? What a piece of utter shit

I actually went and saw Naked Boys Singing last weekend for the first time in years. It was sad. Just awful. Four guys in the cast. Renting the stage from another show and theater. There was a full set hidden behind a black curtain. I felt so bad for those actors. I was cringing. They were not anyone I wanna see naked and some very small penises.....One show a week. Why even bother? It was almost a full audience though.

[quote]Naked Boys Singing is still playing? What a piece of utter shit

Once The Gaiety closed down, decrepit eldergays needed somewhere to go see naked boys onstage. The fact that they are singing gives it a legitimacy of culture.

I was surprised to see that the "Naked Boys Singing" movie is streaming for free on one of those obscure streaming channels that's on my Amazon Fire TV.

Kathy Kirby....

Anyone seeing JAGGED LITTLE PILL? Thoughts?

Catnip for Singapore/Fling (duh)

Broadway is locking up cellphones because audience members can't control themselves:

Andy Cohen Gifts 200 Tickets to Broadway's "The Inheritance" for LGBTQ Locals on World AIDS Day:

You're still garbage, Andy

I'm always amazed at how EVERY thread on the DL can be the site of white man's whining about lost preeminence. It's really something.

This Sammi Cannoid person who directed Evita at City Center typifies what I worry about with a new breed of directors, imposing their POV onto texts that can't support it and thus making the production more about them as woke directors than about what's been written

Theatre Gossip threads are a (small) clusterfuck of racist trolls. They've always been lurking here, spoiling for an argument.

Don't engage them. Just don't.

R222 Go watch Slave Play again, and get back to us on what the state of black theater is.

R225, a lot of plays by white authors are also "boring polemic shit," so not sure what your point is.

R226 All black theater is lecturing dull shit that nobody wants to see. At least August Wilson could deal with race AND tell a fucking story. Just being lectured for hours does not appeal to the audience.

R224 August Wilson was racist? Had no idea.

[quote]August Wilson was racist? Had no idea.

He used to stipulate that production companies should hire African-American directors to direct his plays. There was one black director that made an entire career out of directing Fences at regional theaters. That's all he did was go from theater to theater directing that play.

B&B

I saw Black and Blue back in the day and would love to see it brought back. It was fantastic entertainment.

August Wilson said that money needs to be spent on developing black playwrights who can speak on the AA culture in America, using black actors, directors, and production staff. He was against taking roles meant for white actors and have black people play them, as they did not reflect their experience, just the experience of the writer as originally told through a white actor. He's right.

The Naked Boys Singing movie was just as lousy as the stage show, but I did find the ginger kind of hot...

No, he's not. That's bullshit, r231.

Marion McClinton, Interpreter of August Wilson, Dies at 65:

R203. I'm still laughing--damn you, autocorrect. I tried to type "part-time realtor." Where the ziti came from is anybody's guess. Would that make MB a portion of bow-tie pasta?

R233 Ok Greta.

R232. care to explain your comment?

^ He wants to fuck the ringa Rose.

More B&B

Thanks, R239! Those dancers can get. it. (Great band, too.)

I didn't know they filmed this. I only watched the first ten minutes. Tommy + Willa = absolute magic.

Wilson is a complicated case. He was dismissive of other black writers--of other writers in general--claiming not to read or see any contemporary plays. He often spoke as if there were not regional theaters dedicated to black work ignoring the work of major companies like Penumbra or Crossroads. Rather than support them himself with a premiere or some special endorsement, he gave his plays to a primarily white theater, Yale Rep. And berated other for not supporting black theater.

His plays are pretty creaky, overwritten and preachy. But audiences adored them, so he became a 800-pound gorilla.

Slave Play sucks. It is not "black theater." It is a commercial cash -in using the techniques of better writers (like Jackie Sibblies Drury, Adrienne Kennedy, and Suzan-Lori Parks, but without their insight and humor.

Speaking of "Slave Play," one thing that DLers were looking forward to was Paul Nolan's nudity. I saw the abortion of a play when it was off-Broadway, but was treated to a face full of his beautiful ass. Has the same nudity transferred? Is more seen than what you can see in an overhead mirror and the ass shot? Surprised there hasn't been much discussion on this.

And now.....

I think MB prefers cannelloni.

Do you need to see both parts of the inheritance to fully enjoy it?

Part one is often on TDF, and the consensus seems to be that it is better than part two.

So, will seeing part one be enough?

^^^More than enough. The nudity is in Part One, if you care.

Slave Play was terrible. And the fact that the author thinks of himself as The Voice of Black Theater is just sad.

[quote]Slave Play was terrible.

What about Jimmy? I love Jimmy.

Jimmy!

Slave Play would never have been produced if the author was white.

You know what would have made a better play? A play about a black dramatist who writes a thoroughly average piece with some "daring" racial themes and is feted by the "woke, celebrity establishment."

Why does PBS censor words that pass muster in many other venues, such as in their recent broadcast of "kinky boots," which bleeped out shit and tit, to name just two

Are they so afraid of losing their funding that they do not want to offend the least discriminating viewer? Nobody who would be offended is actually watching PBS anyway

PBS knows that their core constituency is (very) elderly crones with money, hence the over-representation of opera, classical ballet, classical music. It's still 1975 in that world.

Younger viewers may stop in to PBS but they don't really support PBS, which is a shame. But I understand why they feel it's not about them. (And I write this as a NYC kid who grew up with great programming on channel 13.)

Beth Leavel as Miranda Priestly? Well, OK.

NYT theatre top 10 ignores. THE INHERITANCE.... It is over now.

[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.]

sadly, true R258

That video at R258 would be a lot better if the person who captured it didn't keep commenting about the shouting white woman, so it's hard to hear exactly what she's saying.

Deserved or not, I do think "Slave Play" will win the Best Play Tony. Nothing else on Broadway, not even any of the musicals, has been talked about more this year, not to mention JOH has become quite a celebrity in his own right (as well as a master at working the media). That is why I feel, at this point, his victory is all but assured.

As for "The Inheritance," which was thought by many to be the preordained winner prior to its opening and tepid reviews, it will have to settle for consolation prizes, some of them major (like perhaps Stephen Daldry for Best Director) and others minor (like tech awards). That will at least give them the ability to sell the play on the road as a Tony award winner and (hopefully) increase its appeal to regional theaters for many years to come. It's also helped by the fact that the play has a minimalist set and virtually nothing in the way of special effects (e.g., no flying chandeliers or angels crashing through the ceiling), so shouldn't be very costly to stage by smaller theater companies.

Yeah, sell that Slave Play Tour...playing all those middle America houses...heh,heh,heh...

[quote] You can’t buy this kind of PR.

Of course you can.

Yvonne's on the bus&truck road with her version....

[quote]As for "The Inheritance," which was thought by many to be the preordained winner prior to its opening and tepid reviews, it will have to settle for consolation prizes, some of them major (like perhaps Stephen Daldry for Best Director) and others minor (like tech awards).

What on earth makes you think THE INHERITANCE will win any tech awards? (I don't think it will win Best Director, either.)

[quote] Deserved or not, I do think "Slave Play" will win the Best Play Tony. Nothing else on Broadway, not even any of the musicals, has been talked about more this year, not to mention JOH has become quite a celebrity in his own right (as well as a master at working the media). That is why I feel, at this point, his victory is all but assured.

I don't think Slave Play has it in the bag by any means. Best Play could go to Hangmen, The Lehman Trilogy, or The Minutes. Hangmen is not McDonagh's best play, but it's pretty entertaining, and he's never won. Rudin will pull out all the stops for Lehman. The Minutes has a starry cast, and is a raucous evening. I think it's too early to call that race.

R265, I don't mean to imply it's a given, I'm just saying that may be the best way the voters have of splitting up the awards between "The Inheritance" and "Slave Play." If "Slave" wins the top award of the night, the tech categories may be all that prevent "Inheritance" from going home empty handed. But it's also possible another play (like "Lehman Trilogy") steps up and takes those away, too. Nothing is guaranteed.

It's December....a tad early for Tony predictions.

R267, I just don't think there's anything about the sets, lighting, costumes, or sound design of THE INHERITANCE that would be likely to win any awards. SLAVE PLAY has a far better chance in all those categories.

This thread is sorely lacking in glamour....

I saw the revival of Kushner's "A Bright Room Called Day" last Friday night at the Public. Still a problematic play but yet I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. The cast is very good with the standout being Michael Urie, who is very affecting in the second half. It's 3 hours but they go by pretty quickly.

I'm glad to hear that, R271. I'm curious about BRIGHT ROOM but haven't yet bought a ticket. Word of mouth elsewhere is very mixed.

Isn't one of Streep's spawn in Bright Room?

I guess Leavel getting Miranda in The Devil Wears Prada is payback for Streep landing her role in the movie version of The Prom. How is Streep supposed to sing that role exactly? She's not much of a belter.

I'm going to make a couple of predictions about THE INHERITANCE.

It will not win BEST PLAY Tony, but it will be nominated.

It will not recoup its investment in this Broadway production. It's not selling that well, and that's probably not going to improve.

After this run, the playwright will (and should) consider a major rewrite, turning his 6-hour, 2 evening marathon into one 2.5-3 hour play. The revised version will ultimately return to NYC, probably off-Bway, where it will win raves and possibly, awards.

Grace Gummer, R273, who plays Paulinka.

She is eerily like her mother, except a very ordinary actress. It makes it clear how talented Streep truly is.

[quote]After this run, the playwright will (and should) consider a major rewrite, turning his 6-hour, 2 evening marathon into one 2.5-3 hour play. The revised version will ultimately return to NYC, probably off-Bway, where it will win raves and possibly, awards.

I don't think that will ever happen, because that would essentially mean the playwright admitting that the thing never needed to be six hours long in two parts to begin with, and anyone who paid to see the two-part version because it was marketed as an "event" was a sucker.

As for your other predictions, forgive me, but they all seem very obvious. THE INHERITANCE is, indeed, not selling well, and there's no reason whatsoever to think sales will improve even if it does get a few noms for Tonys and other awards.

I walked out at intermission on the Carnegie Mellon production of A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY last year. Didn't like the play, but I have never been Tony Kushner's biggest fan.

How about Nolan's ass?

Paul Alexander Nolan's body in general, and his ass in particular, is spectacular in SLAVE PLAY, plus the sex scene he has at the very end of the show is hotter than hell. All kidding aside, for those who are into that sort of thing, like me, I would say it's worth the price of admission even if you don't like the rest of the play.

But what DID you think of the rest of the play, R281? Yay or nay?

I went to see the play off-Broadway specifically to see Nolan naked. The play sucked donkey dicks,a true piece of shit, appealing only to the pseudo-intellectual " woke" population. I was nodding off , sick of hearing the very same thing for the third time, when Paul dropped his pants and started fucking. I smiled and concentrated on the two luscious globes. After it was finished, I went back to sleep, hearing the same thing for the fourth time.

Thanks, R283. Is it full-frontal or does Nolan keep his back to the audience?

[quote]when Paul dropped his pants and started fucking

Even if the audience couldn't see it, you have to wonder how an actor can do such a graphic sex scene in the nude and not get a hard-on (though I'm sure the actress he's in the scene with is very grateful he doesn't).

[quote]She is eerily like her mother, except a very ordinary actress

My bitch of a sister is stealing my routine!

R284, the scene was played with a large mirror angled over the bed, so some members of the audience could probably see his front while he was sitting on the bed. Unfortunately, I was too far back to take advantage of the angle. A play is not an atmosphere for erection, especially having lines to speak. But, the clenching ass made up for it.

I was sitting in just the right location to see Nolan's dick. It wasn't erect, but it sure was purty.

Also, that Gummer spawn in the Kushner play has one scene where her outfit makes her look just like her mother in the movie, "Julia". It's the hat.

The Prom has started shooting at soundstages in LA, according to a hair guy I follow on Instagram.

James Corden confirmed that info on Jimmy Kimmel last night.

R281 here. I liked a lot of the play overall, but the therapy scene is about TWICE as long as it should be. Cut 20 minutes from that scene, including the digressions and repetitions, and you'd have a much better play. And then we wouldn't have to wait so long to see Paul Alexander Nolan simulate fucking VERY realistically in the hottest sex scene I've ever seen on stage.

...

R253 Thomas Bradshaw writes very "out there" plays which push the button as far as all kinds of nudity, sex, etc. and parts of them are actually very well-written, yet he hasn't, at least to my knowledge, ignited the kind of SJW's point of view in his plays that "Slave Play" has.

Are you fucking kidding me??? Thomas Bradshaw is a HORRIBLE writer.

Paul Nolan in underwear getting a spray tan.

Christ he's a butterface.

Has Broadway really come to this? Getting excited over a nude scene of an actor who isn't even attractive? Call me when Armie Hammer or Henry Cavill disrobes on stage. That might be worth a ticket.

It's the only interesting thing in the shit show

Bradshaw has some reputable theater companies and some well-regarded actors in his shows. They are provocative -- most of them have simulated sex and nudity -- and actually very interesting to see. Maybe that's the author of "Slave Play" protesting.

I'm still waiting for inheritance part 2 to come on tdf

[quote] Maybe that's the author of "Slave Play" protesting.

No dear, just someone unfortunate enough to buy a ticket to one of his plays.

The only reason he gets any traction is because he's black.

R299, I'm almost certain that's how my friend finally saw Part 2 (he'd been waiting for it to pop up on one of the discount sites and it finally did), so hang in there.

I actually think that major cuts are needed for the first "act" of SLAVE PLAY. We get what they are doing after five minutes of each "scene." The gay couple bit feels interminable. Talking about dicks, the play really should show Sullivan Jones' dick--even if it were a prosthetic. We know why she is fucking him (and why her husband enjoyed watching them fuck.)

[quote]The gay couple bit feels interminable.

That's the part with Jimmy, right? I haven't seen the play, but I have imagined until now that that's the part I'd find most interesting.

I thought Michael Urie in BRIGHT DAY gave the same harried gay guy performance he's given before. Thought the play seemed endless, but the power of Kushner's writing was nonetheless vivid.

Speaking of Streep spawn, I didn't realize she has a third actress daughter, Louisa. A friend says that of the three girls, she's the one to watch.

I'm unable to open the tdf website, since last night

I hate to say it, but this Bright Room Called Day proved to me that the show would be better without the interruptions. It would organically make the same point Kushner is trying to make on a meta level. Art is not enough to fight politics. His rewrite shows that he seems to understand the play’s problems - I have no idea why he is not willing to address them. As in Angels, his character writing is always strong - but he doesn’t trust it or the audience.

Why is that sad sack of a human being, James Corden, cast in musicals? Do produces honestly think people flock to see him? His acting talents are non-existent and his singing is mediocre. I'm tired of seeing him. He's taking work away from actual talented people. Ridiculous.

While I don't like Corden, R307, I recognize that he is a decent actor and singer. I think he's insufferable and a complete insincere tool, but he's got skills. I remember reading the London reviews of "Two Guvnors..." and they all raved about his acting. That was the first time I had heard of him. You might not like his schtick, but he can act and sing. Do people like him? I don't know. What are the ratings of his talk show? He is still on the air, so I assume some people are fans.

Between "Inheritance" and "Slave Play,"

seems the most important job Broadway needs today

is an editor.

R300 The author of "Slave Play" is also black, so he's getting traction at the moment.

[quote]Has Broadway really come to this? Getting excited over a nude scene of an actor who isn't even attractive?

Agreed that Nolan's face is not very attractive, but his body MORE than makes up for it.

[quote]Bradshaw has some reputable theater companies and some well-regarded actors in his shows. They are provocative -- most of them have simulated sex and nudity -- and actually very interesting to see. Maybe that's the author of "Slave Play" protesting.

[quote]Bradshaw has gained notoriety only because he pushes the envelope SO FAR in his plays. Like the one that had one of the actors actually masturbating on stage -- not to completion, but with a full erection, NOT a prosthesis. And I agree with the poster above that Bradshaw wouldn't get produced if he were a white man. P.S. One of the theater companies that has produced Bradshaw is The New Group, which over the years has become more and more DISreputable.

Sorry, that was not meant to be a quote:

Bradshaw has gained notoriety only because he pushes the envelope SO FAR in his plays. Like the one that had one of the actors actually masturbating on stage -- not to completion, but with a full erection, NOT a prosthesis. And I agree with the poster above that Bradshaw wouldn't get produced if he were a white man. P.S. One of the theater companies that has produced Bradshaw is The New Group, which over the years has become more and more DISreputable.

Nolan is not unattractive. His hair is always a mess. If he had better styling, he would be a lot more attractive.

Better, R313?

Agreed, but aside from his hair, Nolan's face can sometimes look a little skull-like, I guess maybe due to very low body fat. I STILL think his phenomenal body makes up for it :-)

Much better hair.

Corden was fine as the Baker in Into the Woods. He's a likable and skilled enough performer to be watchable. He doesn't have a bad singing voice either. I don't know him personally and don't know anyone who has had an encounter with him, so he could be a total douchebag, but I don't hate him. He's in the same camp as Lin Manuel to me. I don't really care that much about them either way. At worst, they're inoffensively bland.

[quote]Why is that sad sack of a human being, James Corden, cast in musicals?

He's the British Nathan Lane. He really came into his own with "Gavin & Stacey" where he and Ruth Jones basically created supporting characters for them to play who were more interesting than the leads Gavin & Stacey. But in G&S, he basically plays the loveable but fat fuckup character.

I always wonder why people had Corden the way they do. I thought he was absolutely terrific in ONE MAN, TWO GUV'NERS. I've never bothered with his talk show. And I sure as hell don't have any interest in that CATS nightmare.

Do we think SLAVE PLAY is a potential musical?

Sondheim once said anything could be a musical.

SLAVE PLAY AS FREE AS THE WIND BLOWS AS FREE AS THE GRASS GROWS CUZ THAT’S SLAVE PLAY.

Any story CAN be a musical.

But some stories require much more talent to musicalize than others.

[quote] [R300] The author of "Slave Play" is also black, so he's getting traction at the moment.

Yes, I realize that. I am refraining from comment because I haven't seen his work. (And I have no plans to see Slave Play so I'll let you all duke it out over that.) I have seen Bradshaw's work and he is a fucking terrible writer.

Jill

The best this year according to Time magazine:

[quote]I have seen Bradshaw's work and he is a fucking terrible writer.

To put it mildly :-)

...

Jill Haworth is terrific in that clip.

Didn't she also sing it a few years later at one of those "anniversary" Tony Awards, without the black wig?

The Best Musical this year (so far) is David Byrne's show, but I don't think its eligible to be considered "Best Musical." There's no way the stodgy Tony committees would do it.

On in an hour....

The Dick Cavett Show

TONIGHT, 6:00 PM ON KTTVDT4 11.4, 30 MIN

ELAINE STRITCH Elaine Stritch jokes about life in London, balancing life and theater and conquering alcoholism...

AND

The Dick Cavett Show

TONIGHT, 6:30 PM ON KTTVDT4 11.4, 30 MIN

ESTELLE PARSONS

Estelle Parsons talk about her time on The Today Show, working with Arthur Penn in "Bonnie and Clyde," and performing in her interactive play "Miss Margarida's Way.

Brief pause for a random TV/theatre note:

This afternoon MeTV showed the highly-emotional 1960 episode of "The Rifleman" from season 2 called "The Vision" in which Mark McCain becomes gravely ill and his father, Lucas, is by his bedside not knowing whether his son will live or die. On his sickbed Mark has visions of his late mother by a river and listens enraptured as she sings to him. The actress who played his mother was the late, great Marian Seldes.

[quote]ELAINE STRITCH Elaine Stritch jokes about life in London, balancing life and theater and conquering alcoholism...

So, Dick Cavett's show was scripted, then.

The Rifleman

Marian Seldes and stage and High Rollers vet Miss Ruta Lee on Perry Mason.....

Posted on the MTM show thread.

WTF is this fuckery? I think I was still drinking and drugging when this happened.

That TV special was an embarrassment of embarrassments, r335.....

[quote]Marian Seldes and stage and High Rollers vet Miss Ruta Lee on Perry Mason

Why is neither Marian nor Ruta wearing a hilarious 1950s hat?

If I recall correctly, r337, Miriam doesn't have much time to wear one as she's the one who gets bumped off at the beginning.

And Ruta wears hats so well....

I guess the ludicrous hats are mostly in the courtroom scenes, R338.

Not always....

After the utter abortion that Byrne's Joan of Arc at the Public was 3 years ago, I vowed I would never see another one of his shows.

David Byrne played Joan of Arc?

I missed that one.

How did it compare to Falconetti?

David Byrne's portrayal was flaming

"Sondheim once said anything could be a musical."

The subtext being, artistry can redeem any subject matter. BIG difference.

Mine was soulful.

"opera, classical ballet, classical music. It's still 1975 in that world."

And thank God for it. It's the last bastion of taste and artistry in today's woebegone, pedestrian society.

I for one picture R348 in a muumuu, all 300 pounds, petting a shih-tzu.

With a floral silk scarf draped over the top of the lampshade.

[quote]You can’t buy this kind of PR. [re: nutso lady at Slave Play talkback]

[quote]Of course you can.—"Dumb racist white lady," cashing her check from SpotCo

I'm pretty sure she's genuinely insane. It would appear her name is Sky Boles., and a quick google shows that a woman of that name has both been arrested for crazy shit like this and been involved in some wacky lawsuits. This is a thread she started on Broadwayworld. Her first post has been replaced by moderators, but her other posts in that thread remain. An even crazier thread announcing her intent to sue the playwright was quickly deleted.

This is one of her BWW rants from the link above [SPOILER ALERT! #4 in her screed is a mild spoiler of the play. Also, it's long as fuck]. Here 'tis:

"I REALLY WANT EVERYONE to hear me on this: I am a woman who has been abused, both in domestic violence situations, and by general bigotry, and Slave Play is a horribly racist play and extremely demeaning to women:

1. The Author of the play goes to Yale and has no understanding of actual hardship people suffer or problems people face in intimate relationships

2. One of the characters in the play says that White People are a virus and we're contaminating everyone else with our very presence, before you get mad, what if I said that about black people? You would be mad right? It's not different for white people, racism, is racism, someone is saying that a group of people is at fault for something they didn't do, and they are justifying it with things that didn't happen to them. It's racist.

3. It's DEMEANING TO WOMEN, every woman in the play is portrayed as incompetent, unsure of herself, overly frivolous, or generally angry and wishing to be degraded for no discernible reason at all.

4. There is a semi-rape scene at the end they don't tell you about

5. They REFUSE TO GIVE REFUNDS even if you are deeply offended or hurt. House Manager Tom Bruckner also implied it was My Fault that I didn't get a refund, because I didn't walk out in the middle of the show, and "if you were that offended, you could have left", how is this different from any victim blaming, is it my fault that I was sexually assaulted because I didn't have the courage to say no? (I mean in real life).

6. A rich man who has never suffered, generally insulting a lot of people he knows nothing about - it's not about race, and it's not about sex, it's about a person who knows nothing about suffering making hateful and ugly assumptions about people he knows nothing about, and congratulating himself on his "controversy". Please don't support this man.

7. As a person who has been abused, who has been sexually assaulted, who has, in my own personal and real life, been marginalized, I can tell you, this play is no less offensive than if I, a white woman, were to put on black face and sing "mammy", which before I saw Slave Play, was the most insulting thing I had ever seen in media..... please, do not see this hateful and hurtful diatribe that is demeaning to all people, and especially demeaning to those who are forced to pay to watch it.

Finally, this is no reflection upon the actors, people have to make a living."

r349 and r350, You omitted: "...and listening to 78s on a gramophone with an ear trumpet."

Slave Play would be offensive if it were good. As it is, it's like a Yale Drama School graduate thesis.

OMG. Did you all know that Princess Leia attended the My Fair Lady Premiere in the West End?

Thanks for the Jill Haworth clip - it made me go to the Times Machine of Monday, November 21st 1966 - Walter Kerr gave it a rave but with one exception - Miss Haworth. He called her "Pretty but essentially flavorless".

He tasted her?

This crazy woman going on about Slave Play is another version of the left eating itself. Clearly, she's the type who wants trigger warnings before every book, movie, play, TV show, etc. if it deals with anything even remotely troubling. What's interesting is her using that whole "black people are racist, too" thing that people on the far right love to use. She's like a weird mix between an insane far left freak and an insane far right freak. I don't understand her at all.

Oh, the play does suck, though.

JAGGED LITTLE PILL opens on Bway tonight!

Squee!

I wish JLP was better! I wanted to love it.

R356 That was really awful of Walter Kerr to do, and possibly the implications of that review really hindered Jill Haworth's career after that. I've spoken to and read reports of people's reactions to Haworth's performance in "Cabaret" and many think she is definitive, the best Sally Bowles they ever heard and saw. On the recording she sounds perfect. Liza was wonderful, too, but something must have ticked off Walter Kerr when he wrote that review about Haworth.

[quote]Clearly, she's the type who wants trigger warnings before every book, movie, play, TV show, etc.

She's the type that wants attention. If you're offended by something, you write the author or the producers or an Op Ed in the Times. Attention whores stand up in public and make confrontational spectacles of themselves for the instant gratification it gives them.

And a good writer or producer would say, "I'm glad my work shocked you. It was meant to shock. It was meant to get you to think."

Edward Albee said that he wrote "The Goat, Or Who Is Sylvia" because adultery was so common that it no longer shocked anyone.

[quote]This crazy woman going on about Slave Play is another version of the left eating itself......What's interesting is her using that whole "black people are racist, too" thing that people on the far right love to use.

The woman does indeed seem to be crazy, but that doesn't mean she's wrong about black people being racist, too. OF COURSE some black people are racist. That goes without saying, it's just a question of degree and percentage, both of which are hard to determine. Are you REALLY arguing otherwise? Do you believe it's impossible for a black person to be racist?

[quote]Do you believe it's impossible for a black person to be racist?

Far left liberals will indeed argue that that is impossible. Their theory is that in order to be racist you need to be in a position of power and since black people are not in a position of power, they aren't able to be racist.

Miss Newmar accepting...

[quote]Far left liberals will indeed argue that that is impossible. Their theory is that in order to be racist you need to be in a position of power and since black people are not in a position of power, they aren't able to be racist.

Thanks. I am aware of that argument, but of course, it's bullshit even if it's true that black people are still not in a "position of power," and I think that's highly debatable..

I will never understand the obsession with all things Stritch. I just read one of the biographies, and its painful to read because she was just an awful, mean, crazy drunk to everyone, and while great when she got on the stage, she left carnage everywhere. Why the fuck is this celebrated all over the place? There are living actresses who have a careers just as great as Stritch's and they don't get half the press Stritch does and she's been dead for years. It's the worst, dark aspect of old queen culture -- celebrating the camp "mean mommy." And she was just a fucking awful human being. Enough already.

Looks like Cabaret was Haworths only Broadway credit.

It's definitely possible for a black person to be racist, but she seems the type who wouldn't say that. In fact, she seems the type who'd actually applaud someone for writing a play that says all white people are racist. That's what's so strange about her.

It's clear that people use the term "racism" without even understanding what it means: "prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

How did Jill Haworth miss out on a Tony nomination for Cabaret that year if she was supposedly so definitive? I’m not doubting that, I’m just curious. Lotte Lenya was nominated in the lead category for playing the very supporting character of Fraulein Schneider.

Stritch was at least always a dependable talent. You knew that, even if she forgot her lines, she'd find a way to keep the audience entertained. Few performers have that ability. She was a true creature of the stage. I think that's why people put up with so much of her bullshit. She might be lucky that she died before all this #MeToo/#TimesUp stuff where people are openly outing entertainment industry assholes (like the Faye Dunaway incident this year).

[quote]How did Jill Haworth miss out on a Tony nomination for Cabaret that year if she was supposedly so definitive?

Because, while some people thought she was definitive, the NY Times reviewer didn't like her performance -- probably because he didn't understand the character. And that carried a LOT of weight in those days.

[quote]RACISM: "Prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism directed against someone of a different race based on the belief that one's own race is superior."

I don't completely agree with this definition. I'm not sure that black people who hate white people as a group feel that black people are "superior" to whites, but they definitely and strongly hate whites anyway.

[quote] His plays are pretty creaky, overwritten and preachy. But audiences adored them, so he became a 800-pound gorilla.

Wilson's writing is pure poetry. It's so wonderful just listening to his characters speak.

Sally Bowles must have been a pretty radical character at that time. She was delusional, fun loving, and a total whore who gets an abortion. You didn't see that in a lot of musicals at the time. Maybe she was just a very polarizing character.

Jill Haworth had a decent film and TV career - not stardom, but she kept busy. It could have been even better than it was, but Otto Preminger, who gave her her break with "Exodus," signed her for five years, and refused to let her take two offers - the title role in "Lolita," and Lisa in "David and Lisa."

Kerr was just a moron. His review was brutal toward her.

Am I the only person who isn't wowed by Jill Haworth in that clip?

Just saying.

She's better here.....

Wouldn’t she have been a tad long in the tooth to play Lolita?

Baz Bamigboye has tweeted that Samantha Barks will play Elsa in the West End production of Frozen.

[quote] Wouldn’t she have been a tad long in the tooth to play Lolita?

Not the original. Haworth was born in 1945 and the original was made in 1962. So she would have only been 17-18.

"Lolita" filmed in Nov 1960 to March 1961, so Jill Haworth actually would have been 15 at the time.

Poor Samantha Barks. So wonderful in the LES MIZ film, but starring (!) in PRETTY WOMAN on Bway didn't do a freaking thing for her.

Walter Kerr was an untalented would-be playwright (his wife was nominally better), so he took out his bitterness in his reviews. His book on Tragedy and Comedy is quite dreadful.

Walter Kerr was also tone-deaf when reviewing musicals.

Samantha Barks has a lovely voice like most of modern Broadway, but she's dull as hell to watch...also like most of modern Broadway.

All of Walter Kerr's books are terrific, from TRAGEDY AND COMEDY to THE SILENT CLOWNS, and all the anthologies of his writings in between. He was also one of the very few critics, like Michael Feingold, who loved musicals, understood what made them tick, and wrote about them with erudition and appreciation.

Is it any surprise that people on DL do not understand the difference between bigotry and racism?

Actually, they demonstrated they understand the difference, both by looking to the dictionary and by referencing the view that POC cannot be racist because it requires a system of oppression. But you clearly have a narrative you wish to pursue, so you missed that completely, r388.

Racist: a person who shows or feels discrimination or prejudice against people of other races, or who believes that a particular race is superior to another.

So yes, this also applies to black twitter where they freely disparage white people for being white.

This is so completely wrong and inappropriate....

That it seems completely appropriate here.

THR reviews "Jagged Little Pill":

Actually his Yale Drama School thesis was the abominable "Daddy", which Alan Cumming had the balls to do last season. Harris is a lousy playwright, but no one has the good sense to tell him.

Saying whites are racist is racist.

How were Mr. Cummings' balls, by the way? And the rest of him for those of us who didn't attend. Apparently there was all of him on display, as well as his co-star in that show.

Oh dear lord, are we really going to have a discussion about Alan Cummings' dick and balls? Because I've been traumatized enough this year already.

[quote]are we really going to have a discussion about Alan Cummings' dick and balls?

r396 I, for one, am going to extend the discussion just long enough to thank you for saying "dick and balls" instead of "junk."

The NYT review of JLP is a rave and a critic's pick.

Jesse Green was good when he was at New York Mag now he seems to have lost his mind

R395- His dick and balls were pretty much like the rest of him. Pale, thin, and humble.

Will we ever hear a true COMPOSED musical theatre score instead of pop schlock on Broadway again?

Broadway musicals are the equivalent of tentpole movies--mostly nowadays adapted from movies--overproduced, underwritten, well-sung, variously acted and directed mostly to teenage girls and tourist families.

A dreadful state of affairs for the most part

I always heard that Jill Haworth was very inconsistent in the part. Some performances she could be brilliant and others not so much. I thought she was great when I saw her. But the definitive Sally was Julie Harris, according to Isherwood himself. As someone once said, "Member of the Wedding" made her famous, but "I Am a Camera" made her a star."

[quote]Actually his Yale Drama School thesis was the abominable "Daddy", which Alan Cumming had the balls to do last season. Harris is a lousy playwright, but no one has the good sense to tell him.

Yeah, that play was indeed abominable.

But the pool was good.

[quote] As someone once said, "Member of the Wedding" made her famous, but "I Am a Camera" made her a star."

While I generally like the work that Julie Harris does, her Sally in "I Am A Camera" was too polished. I would never believe that Julie Harris would be up for a menage a tois or even be up for sex with Cliff. She gave the same type of performance that Audrey Hepburn later gave in Breakfast At Tiffanys: restrained finishing school party girl. She dips her toe in the water of hedonism, but never jumps all the way in.

Liza gave more of that performance, but she did it out of wide-eyed wonderment.

I've always thought that the song "Don't Tell Mama" was more than just a Kit Kat performance. Sally connects with the song because she's lived it. I'd like to see a Sally that has more depth: on one hand she's a free spirit who pushes the boundaries but on the other she's confused because she isn't getting the life fulfillment she craves by pushing the boundaries.

I recognize that "I Am A Camera" and "Cabaret" were working off different versions of the material, and Julie worked with what she had, but she seemed a bit too repressed to be a full blown Sally Bowles, skulking through the underbelly of pre-Hitler Berlin.

Yes...I am a camera....

Christopher and His Kind (the REAL "I Am A Camera")

[quote]Will we ever hear a true COMPOSED musical theatre score instead of pop schlock on Broadway again?

Why would we? If one does appear, it will just get ripped to shreds like all of the other recent ones have been.

[quote]Will we ever hear a true COMPOSED musical theatre score instead of pop schlock on Broadway again?

Broadway audiences have changed. Audiences these days want pop schlock. That's why "Mamma Mia" was such a hit. Long gone are the legit musical scores.

[Quote] Am I the only person who isn't wowed by Jill Haworth in that clip?

[Quote] Just saying.

Me neither. I think Judi Dench puts over the material with more distinction on the London Cast recording. (I also really like Barry Dennen as the Emcee.)

R410, and composers and lyricists know how risky it is to do a Broadway show. Even if you take a year to compose one, the chances of a flop are very real so sticking to music for the masses makes more financial sense. And truthfully, there aren't a lot of composers who dream of Broadway success. Just like there are a dwindling number of performers who dream of Broadway.

Actor Richard Easton died at home, Monday evening, December 2nd. May he rest in peace.

Dame Judi Sally.....

The 1966 Tony Awards opened with the full version of "Willcommen" - was this racy for 1968 television audiences? It's still pretty amazing to watch.

It would maybe kill ya to link it?

Yes, Mein Herr...

R415

[quote][R395]- His dick and balls were pretty much like the rest of him. Pale, thin, and humble.

There is nothing about Alan Cumming that is "humble".

I'm surprised at what a bad dancer Joel Grey was in that clip. You can see him thinking about every move, especially in the beginning; none of it seems organic. I know it was a different interpretation and choreography, but Joel Grey's tentative moves make you appreciate Alan Cumming, who made every move seem like it was inevitable.

[quote]I'm surprised at what a bad dancer Joel Grey was in that clip. You can see him thinking about every move, especially in the beginning; none of it seems organic. I know it was a different interpretation and choreography, but Joel Grey's tentative moves make you appreciate Alan Cumming, who made every move seem like it was inevitable.

Alan Cumming made every move seem like it was designed to shock for shock's sake. Not much talent involved there.

If that's how Joel Grey comes across to you in that clip, maybe it's because the number was being performed in a different space? His dancing sure doesn't come across that way in the movie.

Joel Grey was an excellent dancer. There are clips of him dancing on variety shows in the 50s and 60s and in "George M" where his tapping is quite fine. The Emcee was based on a second-rate or third-rate flop-sweat inducing performer Grey had seen in some nightclub, so his interpretation was very different from Cummings. Plus since Grey's performance is immortalized in the movie, it's more likely at some point performers (and directors) in revivals might start going back to that style rather than that of Alan Cummings, valid as it was in that production.

Here's Joel Grey back in 1951 on tv as proof as a song-and-dance man.

Joel had Wessonality!

R414 Anyone have any info on this recording? Is it a bootleg or was it shot for something? I would love to know.

Judi rehearsing....

Jesus...the original ensemble for Cabaret had like 40 people in it!!!

More Judi....

Close but not quite, r426....

R427 "The Good Companions" has a wonderful score by Andre Previn and Johnny Mercer. They once did a Mufti or concert version of it over at the York Theater in NYC. It should be better known -- delightful story of traveling performers. John Mills had a very nice singing voice, too on the OCR.

What was the last composed musical that was not a flop? A Light In the Piazza?

Are you clear on your own question, R430?

You may not care for their scores, but they were, in fact, composed. And they are far from flops:

HADESTOWN

THE BAND'S VISIT

DEAR EVAN HANSEN

COME FROM AWAY

WAITRESS

HAMILTON

THE BOOK OF MORMON

SPRING AWAKENING

Shall I go on?

You're right, of course, R431. Clearly, I had a massive brain cramp. Onward!

Anything can happen in the theatre!

Really! Even a Maury Yeston revue!

I made a swell Sally!

Were all the Sally replacements American?

Penny was Jill's standby so it looks like it.

^^ "As a matter of fact, she changed her hat each hour"??

R431. I am not R430, but I think you proved his point. All of the scores you mentioned veer strongly to the pop end of Broadway, and don't echo classic theater construction. The one possible exception might be The Book of Mormon, which, for all of its edginess, is really constructed like an old-fashioned musical, and it is all the better for it. That is not to say that the other plays in your list are bad, but they don't hew to the classic musical structure.

Oh gee....

Didn't Frank Gorshin have a full-frontal nude entrance at one point in that show, since nudity on stage was the latest after "Hair" ? He was kind of cute when he was young.

Rosalie Craig makes an appearance in the current season of "Midsomer Murders". She was also on an episode of the current season of "Doc Martin." West End "Company" really upped her star status! Maybe by the time Follies makes it to Broadway, she can play Young Phyllis.

Is the guy in the OP photo tormenting the others by displaying his pretty hole?

Not that I ever read about, r440.

[quote]But the definitive Sally was Julie Harris, according to Isherwood himself

The whole movie is on YouTube, you can judge for yourself. Shelley Winters as Natalia Landauer and Laurence Harvey in the Isherwood part.

Sorry, R438, but R430 didn't mention anything about musical theater scores that "hew to the classical musical structure," he only asked what was the last composed musical that wasn't a flop.

So your response was quite useless, but thanks anyway.

[quote]Didn't Frank Gorshin have a full-frontal nude entrance at one point in that show

No, but Victor Moore had a full-frontal nude entrance in "Of Thee I Sing." It was quite shocking for the time.

Anyone know why the West End production of Waitress didn't have the same reaction as New York? So glad Adrienne Shelly's work lives on though.

What show is OP’s photo from?

How could the critics adore Jagged Little Pill but not The Inheritance??!

Re: Jesse Green

When you review for the NY Times, you are required to present the view of the newspaper. I had a friend who reviewed for the times. More than once he had a review returned to him with a note telling him what that his review did not represent the views of the NY Times. (Yes, he did not last long.)

Re: Sally Bowles

What Isherwood probably meant is that Julie Harris was closest to Jean Ross, the historical Sally Bowles. (FYI, Jean Ross was the mother of mystery writer Sarah Caudwell.)

It's true that some critics liked Jagged Little Pill, Jesse Green chief among them, but it got lots of mixed and negative reviews from major sources like Washington Post, New York Magazine, Daily News/Chicago Tribune, New York Post, and Wall Street Journal, among otgers. I don't think they are going to have an easy time of it. I think it will spike for a bit, and then start eating up its advance, and then go soft when other musicals come in this spring. It was already losing steam in previews, which means word of mouth is not strong.

TMZ got Rosie with Ally Sheedy opening night, they said it was great and said there was a standing ovation in the middle of act two for as Rosie described her "a young little actress", to which Ally chimed in her name Lauren Patten.

This article says the same...

Ron Leibman is dead to me....and Jessica...and Linda.

I found the headline of Jesse Green's "Jagged Little Pill" review especially annoying (yes, I'm aware Green didn't write the headline): "With ‘Jagged Little Pill,’ They Finally Fixed the Jukebox." I don't know who "they" are, but the idea that jukebox musicals just needed to be "fixed" is insipid. Jukebox musicals need to be shown the door.

JAGGED LITTLE PILL is just another Evan Hanson wannabe like "Be More Chill". A lazy one too. At least More Chill has an original score. Jagged Little Pill is guilty of the same pretentious promo as Inheritance, calling it "OUR" new musical. Telling us and pushing Inclusiveness. 447 I think WAITRESS is too Midwest Americana for them. Look at the stuff that takes off there. I mean, they just LOVED the INHERITANCE. They are more out of touch than American audiences even.

The word of mouth all over NYC and social media about JLP: "I really wanted to like it more." So it being a NYT pick is yes, a surprise to many.

I'm an old fan of Alanis, but I think I'll pass on it, unless someone actually presents me a free ticket.

I forget the Time's original take on WAITRESS, but that show has been critic-proof. Incredibly successful. Who is "they" you refer to, R455?

Do we really need a revival of The Musica Man with 51 year old Hugh Jackman? This is one show where I think they could have done an all black cast and I would actually go to see it rather than another mediocre production.

If someone wanted to use Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster so much, why not put them in a revival of "City of Angels"? They could play the writer and his wife.

Sutton is under the title? Interesting.

[quote]Sutton is under the title? Interesting.

Hugh's beard-wife is not going to allow anyone to take the glory away from her cash machine, er, I mean husband.

[quote]Sutton is under the title?

Her contract specifies she gets to be under Hugh -- but she didn't realize it meant for billing purposes.

[quote]The word of mouth all over NYC and social media about JLP: "I really wanted to like it more." So it being a NYT pick is yes, a surprise to many.

I think it's kind of hilarious and also annoying that so many people make SO BIG a deal over whether a show is chosen as a NYT "critic's pick" or not. In deciding whether or not to see a show, you would think people would attach more weight to what's actually written in the review to describe the show than just going by a thumbs-up or thumbs-down. But I guess this is partly because tickets are so expensive these days that people are often looking for an excuse to skip certain shows, and if a particular show is not a "critic's pick," they can use that as the excuse. I'll bet a LOT of people are using that as the excuse for skipping one or both parts of THE INHERITANCE.

The fact that Scotland PA. and Jagged Little Pill both received critic’s pick status tells you all you need to know about the state of reviewing at the Times.

[quote]Sutton is under the title?

It's called "The Music Man" not Marian The Librarian". Foster should be thrilled with what she has.

If most of us stop reading a Times review after "critic's pick" (or lack thereof)....

It's to avoid having to actually READ an entire Times review from one of those gaseous windbags.

I also think the word-of-mouth is what's killing THE INHERITANCE at the box office, not the mediocre review from the Times or elsewhere. Or it not being a critic's pick.

I just overheard another one of those convos between 2 men (I'm assuming they were gay) last night about how disappointed they were.

That conversation is happening everywhere, beyond DL. I expect an early closing notice before the end of the year.

Jason Tam was so adorable when he did ACL. What the hell happened?

With THE INHERITANCE you also have to pay twice. Even with discounts it's a couple hundred dollars to see the complete show.

Send some good wishes to Sally Struthers who fell on ice this week at The Ogunquit Playhouse where she was playing in "Annie". Had to have surgery. Would have loved to see her Miss Hannigan.

Sally decided she'd rather raise funds to support the orphans.

[quote]With THE INHERITANCE you also have to pay twice. Even with discounts it's a couple hundred dollars to see the complete show.

Didn't "Angels in America" open its two parts over two consecutive seasons? That may be what "Inheritance" should have done, open part one this season and part two the next. Perhaps that would've made it easier for people to pay for two separate plays (or rather made them more willing to pay for two separate plays).

[quote]I also think the word-of-mouth is what's killing THE INHERITANCE at the box office, not the mediocre review from the Times or elsewhere. Or it not being a critic's pick.

I'm sure it's some combination of all three, plus other negative factors. I really do think that, with ticket prices so high nowadays, people are looking for excuses NOT to see shows -- or, to put it another way, they really want to know which shows are not must-sees.

[quote]I expect an early closing notice before the end of the year.

Me too.

[quote]Didn't "Angels in America" open its two parts over two consecutive seasons? That may be what "Inheritance" should have done, open part one this season and part two the next. Perhaps that would've made it easier for people to pay for two separate plays (or rather made them more willing to pay for two separate plays).

What SHOULD have happened is that the play should have been edited down to one three-hour play to begin with -- or, rather, should have been written as one three-hour play to begin with, keeping all the good stuff and throwing out all of the redundant, melodramatic bullshit. If the producers had done what you're suggesting, Part Two would never have made it to Broadway. We've heard reports that, even in London, Part Two wasn't as popular as Part One, and there were fewer performances of Part Two there also.

Might it still get a screen adaptation? I can see the BBC doing it as a mini-series.

[quote]Might it still get a screen adaptation? I can see the BBC doing it as a mini-series.

Or HBO or Netflix. I'm sure Ryan Murphy would find it an enticing project to pursue.

R456 The "they" I was referring to are the Brits. I was responding to R447. He asked why didn't it get the same response there like it did in America. I loved WAITRESS. Loved the movie too when it first came out.

R471 You got it wrong. In London Part 2 sold better. It got sold out for the last weeks even.

R470, the difference is that for The Inheritance production was already complete and there was not the same level of hype.

If they just opened with Part One there was a good chance that they would have to keep it on expensive life support to be sure it was still up by the time Part Two opened.

Perestroika was still in rehearsal after Millenium Approaches opened. The Iheritance is a straight transfer from a complete London productions with the same cast.

^^^^ Especially if Part Two was the more popular part.

Part 2 in London featured Vanessa Redgrave, and that probably boosted its sales signicantly.

Part One is the better, more emotional part. Part Two gets caught up in the plot, which begins to tax even the most forgiving audience members

Is there any chance The Inheritance might be tightened for filming? People may complain about Old Hollywood but they often knew how to improve a stage piece when it transferred to the screen (e.g. "The Sound of Music").

Why would they film a theatrical flop?

Aren't they filming "The Prom" or whatever uninspired title it had.

Yes, they are, and it was a flop. But, the producers think that the message to teens will make it like a new Glee or High School Musical. It won't be. But, there is no audience for The Inheritance. Hell, the gays think it sucks.

Is there an audience for "Boys in the Band"?

And will "Boys In The Band" play the Paris Theatre?

West Side Story better be fucking awesome, they're charging over $100 for everything except the last few rows of the rear mezz. The first 10 rows of the rear mezz in that giant barn are $109+

Didn't that Isaac guy (Tony in the upcoming WSS) go on a social media deleting spree recently? Did he have some sort of meltdown?

The whole cast is having a meltdown.

[quote] And will "Boys In The Band" play the Paris Theatre?

Bet on it unless they go the Broadway route like they did "The Irishman" and do the Belasco again.

Netflix now owns the Paris Theater, so it is more likely to use a house they own, than to rent a house they don't.

I thought the Paris was closed/closing?

[quote]I thought the Paris was closed/closing?

Netflix paid the landlord a shitload of money and they reopened and are playing "Marriage Story" in a mandatory NY run for Oscar consideration.

[quote] Netflix now owns the Paris Theater, so it is more likely to use a house they own, than to rent a house they don't.

Netflix doesn't own the Paris, they lease it just like City Cinemas did. This year they have two major Oscar runs at the same time, one at the Paris and one at The Belasco. There has been no official release date yet but when they decide to release "The Boys In The Band", they might wait until the end of the year award season, if the Paris is available, yeah that would be playing it.

Too bad Netflix couldn't save the Apollo or the Gaiety.

What better theatre for Ryan Murphy's oeuvre than The Gaiety.

[quote]Netflix doesn't own the Paris, they lease it just like City Cinemas did. This year they have two major Oscar runs at the same time, one at the Paris and one at The Belasco. There has been no official release date yet but when they decide to release "The Boys In The Band", they might wait until the end of the year award season, if the Paris is available, yeah that would be playing it.

Whether Netflix bought the Paris or has a long-term lease on it (I'm not sure which), they now have full control of the theater indefinitely, so I don't know what you mean by "if the Paris is available."

I do not have high hopes for this West Side Story.

Someone on the interwebs is already calling it LEAST SIDE STORY.

R493, I think you meant the Adonis, not the Apollo

I'm still not sure whether I should see the inheritance part one through TDF and either skip part two or wait till it appears

Seeing West Side Story tomorrow at the invited dress. I'll report back.

[quote]so I don't know what you mean by "if the Paris is available."

The Paris wasn't available for "The Irishman" so they rented the Belasco. As I said before, Netflix had TWO pictures in release at the same time, they might also when "The Boys In The Band" is ready. Not rocket science.

R500. I want to know EVERYTHING.

Alyson....

Speaking of Alyson, this seems perfect for those of us who missed Marilyn: An American Fable.

BOMBSHELL!

You know you wanna see it.

Lucas Hnath's "The Thin Place" is a brilliant surprise. Not a big fan of his, but this one really grabs the audience by the tits.

The Inheritance would make a great movie. The writing is very accessible and the plot moves forward smoothly.

That said, it would make more sense on HBO or Netflix than a traditionally released movie

I dare say that The Inheritance might work BETTER as a movie.

r498 You're absolutely right. Thank you for the correction.

I managed to see the original production of “Cabaret” twice, at the Imperial, in May of 1967. The first time was with understudies Penny Fuller as Sally, and Signe Hasso as Fraulein Schneider. Fuller struck me as somewhat strident, as I presumed a Broadway singer/actress should be, and I don’t remember Hasso much at all.

The second time I saw it, only one or two nights later, both Haworth and Lenya were back. Watching Lenya was an event; it felt like seeing Weimar Berlin in person. Not a great actress, and certainly no great shakes as a singer. But who cared! She’d seen it all, and got out in time to tell the tale. (I was learning German at the time, and fascinated by the period. Because of “Cabaret,” I went on a Kurt Weill kick, and got all the lp’s I could find of his music.)

Haworth’s Sally, though, was a different kind of experience. There were layers to the character as she played it, as if there were warring elements within her. A need for validation under the glitter of deliberate shock, daring you to care. That husky speaking voice, already affected by liquor and cigarettes. And a way she sang, like the character, untrained, yearning for a skill she just lacked.

Was she consciously doing this, or did director Prince use her actual personality to create this impression? I suspect a combination of both. Concurrently pulling you in and pushing you away at the same time. Whatever it was, it was an impression that lingers in memory. During her final, definitive solo title song, she began on the stage of the cabaret, then, with the tale of her friend Elsie, a thick charcoal grey curtain of what looked like shiny 1/4” recording tape, suddenly fell from the proscenium behind her, and we were transported into her head, seeing her inner truth, all her inner terror, and her angry defiance in the face of it. She is a survivor after all.

“Cabaret” was a transitional piece, a combination of traditional show elements, with commentary about them, and even, literally, holding up a mirror to the audience.

And Haworth was its conflicting, conflicted heart. Minnelli’s great in the movie, but I always thought she was too much the performer at all times. Haworth was much truer to what the character was meant to be. Minnelli impressed you as a great performer. But it was Haworth who helped you see your own reflected inner fears.

Memorable art is always unsettling.

For those of you referencing "The Rifleman" with Chuck Connors a couple of hundred posts back [click to reveal full image]:

Thanks, johnspike/R510. That was a very cool remembrance of things past.

Going back again a couple of hundred posts, I saw The Will Rogers Follies with most of the original cast but Marla Maples had replaced as Ziegfeld's Favorite. She was actually cute in what is basically a cameo part that requires nothing more.

TWRF has a mediocre to non-existent book but a great score and works fine with a good cast and good production values, which Tommy Tune's original production had in spades.

Is Jagged Little Pill like Dear Evan Hansen just in pill form? 💊

[quote]Watching Lenya was an event; it felt like seeing Weimar Berlin in person.

No! Not Weimar Berlin!?

Is that a legitimate question, R515? If so, I'm embarrassed for you.

I tried watching Spongebob - The Musical? but had to rip my ears out, after stabbing my eyes out. Jessica Christ, what a pile of shite.

R515, Weimar was Jeannie Berlin's dad. He was known for his cabaret work on both sides of the Atlantic.

Tony Goldwyn is (temporarily) replacing Andy Cohen bestie John Benjamin Hickey in THE INHERITANCE.

Will Goldwyn raise the Hotness factor and boost ticket sales? He was definitely looking good onstage in NETWORK.

I’ve already seen Both parts of The Inheritance, but I have to say that I would love to see Goldwyn in the role of Henry Wilcox. I honestly thought that Hickey was one of the weaker parts of the show. And Henry is described as some beautiful golden god when his eventual husband first meets him in 1981. Much more believable description of a young Goldwyn.

The only one to ever describe John Benjamin Hickey as a beautiful golden god is John Benjamin Hickey.

So Beetlejuice is moving? Wow, Rudin really does have THE power with The Shuberts.

Says who?

It's not moving; it's closing. The New York Times using the headline "forced out." Ouch. But the Shuberts promised Hugh The Winter Garden, so The Winter Garden it is...

The Winter Garden!!!

I'm stuck for something to watch in an hour and I'm settling on this....

The Flintstones

SEASON 6 • EPISODE 3 • RETURN OF STONY CURTIS • ANIMATED / CARTOON

When superstar actor Stony Curtis (voice of Tony Curtis) arrives in Bedrock to shoot his latest film, Wilma and Betty win a contest that requires him to serve as their "slave" and tend to household chores, and to appease Fred, Stony gets him a job as stuntman on...

Did Stony Curtis ever appear on the show with Ann-Margrock?

Oh no! Wouldn't you just know it? Wilma's already got her beauty mask on when Fred brings Stony home.

[quote] No! Not Weimar Berlin!? —Psssst, who the Hell is Weimar Berlin?

the cranky uncle who gave me shit for writing christmas dreck for the goys

[quote]But the Shuberts promised Hugh The Winter Garden, so The Winter Garden it is...

FYI, insiders in the biz of show refer to it as "The Winter." In our quaint shorthand.

"The Garden" would refer to "Madison Square Garden."

Jinx, R530!

Oh, I love Weimar being Irving Berlin’s gay brother! That deserves a place in DL memehood.

Why is John Benjamin Hickey leaving “The Inheritance?”

I saw him in both parts last October, and enjoyed his down-to-earth presence, even though his character was pretty much shortchanged by the script, leaving him in Part II as more or less a discarded device.

Hickey is leaving (temporarily is the official word) to go "direct" his buddies SJP and Matthew Broderick in the much-anticipated revival of PLAZA SUITE.

And when I say "direct" I mean "ensure their Starbucks orders are correct and punctual while SJP and Matthew proceed to direct themselves and anyone left standing around them."

Muriel killed the recent Funny Lady thread and the most recent LUCY/MAME thread. WTF?

Deleted them or just paywalled them?

Pay wall.

[quote]Muriel killed the recent Funny Lady thread and the most recent LUCY/MAME thread. WTF?

It's right here you little baby...

Paywalled, fucker, just like r538 said

But, look, we're at 541 here and no paywall! Yet.

[quote]Paywalled, fucker, just like [R538] said

Then pay the goddam $1.50 and stop bitching.

R510 Thanks for that great description of the original "Cabaret"! Jill Haworth sounds wonderful on the recording, perfectly in character, and many others have told me she was wonderful in the role, despite Walter Kerr's pan.

At least with Tony Goldwyn playing the part, you could understand why the Eric Glass character would marry someone who is a self hating Republican.

Ruh-roh!

This smells like trouble (well, more trouble) at WEST SIDE STORY.

Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker and her funky moves are out, the ghost of Jerome Robbins as interpreted by Serge Trujillo is in. Weren't the new dances part of the reason for this revisical in the first place?

Don't fuck with perfection.

WSS was recently revived, even though it seems almost never to go away. And always in a form we instantly recognize. There is no artistic reason to revive it at this time in its classic easily recognizable form. It hasn't been neglected or forgotten. Not at all.

Hiring Ivo von Hove and giving it a new vision is a reason for this otherwise unneeded production. I'm not saying it is a great reason, but it is a valid reason. However, they have to let the man do his work. Maybe he will show us something great, something we've never seen and never had. Jerome Robbins' choreography presented on newly-designed spare sets is going to be a big ol' bore. Let someone else see what's to be found in the writing, or just leave the thing on the shelf for 10 more years. At least. Maybe 25 years would be better. Then give it a fresh look.

At least Karen Finley was not hired to direct. Oh, what Tony and Maria might have gotten up to with some yams.

Flipping the channels. Oh, look what's on....Nixon/Taymor!

De Keersmaeker is maybe the only living choreographer who is Robbins equal. Without her, who wants to see this?

I hate that black wig. And it looks totally '60s.

I would have been interested in seeing a WSS that completely throws out the Robbins choreography and takes liberty with pretty much everything. I've seen the original, classic staging enough times to last three lifetimes. I never need to see it again. But to see a completely fresh take on it, even if it turns out to be horrible? I would so be there.

Remember Cameron Diaz ANNIE?

You would have thought Rudin would have learned his lesson with that POS Carousel before hiring a hack like van Hove to direct this.

What IS the mindset of a Broadway producer in the current age?

Are they just wealthy and stupid? There was a time when producers had savvy and strength.

Now there are none. Is it because there are no sole producers anymore? It is all produced by a dozen or more?

I'd rather see them try ACL without Bennett's original staging and especially without his original choreography.

The current production of ACL at the Signature Theater in Arlington apparently had to get special permission from the Bennett estate to use different choreography. But I saw it and the only thing I saw that was different was a kind of miniaturization of some of the large group rehearsal numbers due to the smaller stage.

But, like, the Cassie dance was exactly the same.

What did "like" add to that sentence beyond a Valley Girl affect?

Without Michael Bennett, it's just SOME CHORUS LINE.

Unfortunately.

I don’t know - I just felt like writing it that way, R557. Is that a huge problem for you?

Do you have anything of actual substance to add to any of the ongoing discussions or are you just here for all-around cuntitude?

Good composition and language usage are always of actual substance!

[quoteWhat IS the mindset of a Broadway producer in the current age?

Are they just wealthy and stupid? There was a time when producers had savvy and strength.

I was at a discussion last night where Daryl Roth was one of the participants. She's a pretty intelligent lady, and well-spoken. But her world view is a little, um, rarified. There was a question from the audience about an unknown writer trying to bring her work to theatrical producers, and Roth's first response was, "Well, an agent helps."

Never thought of that one, Daryl. That changes EVERYTHING for unknown writers on their way up.

She offered about as much personal insight in her response about inflated ticket prices.

Daryl Roth. Don't look to Daryl Roth for self-awarness or personal insight. She's filthy fucking rich like you can't even imagine. She can (and probably does) pay someone to be introspective for her.

That stated, she has shown herself to have good taste in the properties she has chosen to present in New York City. She's good at jetting all over, seeing productions that are getting good buzz and then footing the bill for moving them to NYC. That's a big deal. Some of the rich dilettante producers of Broadway have godawful taste and zero skill at identifying quality.

She has also been known to say, "I have five Pulitzers." She doesn't. She put up the money to present five plays that went on to be awarded Pulitzers. The distinction between having a Pulitzer or five, and not having any Pulitzers at all probably requires a degree of introspection from which she is insulated by her money. She did, after all, buy herself a bank and turn it into an off-Broadway theater which she named after herself.

But she has demonstrated a good eye for a good play.

Spoilers ahead:

I saw the dress rehearsal of West Side Story. The rear of the stage is a huge Imax style screen, on which we see either close-ups of the actors on stage (there are people roaming the stage with video cameras), or karaoke style videos. This is apparently the only part of the show that Ivo Van Howe is interested in, because there is a pretty tepid staging of West Side Story playing out in front of this screen, although one learns to ignore the flesh and blood actors, as these performers are overwhelmed by the immense images projected. So, during Officer Krupke, we see video of various acts of police brutality. During A Boy Like That, we see video of a bloody Bernardo running in slow motion. During America, we see images of a smog choked Manhattan. At other times, we have a sort of Google Earth experience, with people singing and acting in front of a roaming video of industrial parts of New York.

There is no feeling of time and place. Despite the book of the show trying to pull us back to the 50s, the actors are heavily tattooed. The Jets have several black members, which makes it seem odd that there is such antipathy towards "spics." There is a gay man who works in the wedding dress shop, and during America (they use the boys vs. girls movie version) he dances with the girls. It's Woke Side Story.

There is no balcony scene. After Tony sings Maria, Maria herself enters, and they sing Tonight on the bare stage.

Only Tony can really sing. About half of the choreography is pretty good, although I hear they're going back to the Robbins choreography. The Rumble is great, playing out with rain pouring on the stage.

I think this production deserves praise for creating such interest in this 60 year old musical. If this was the traditional West Side Story, I don't think there would be a lot of talk about it. Too bad it isn't better (although they have a really long preview period.) Is there anything cheesier than the avant garde?

Oh, god. Van Howe just LOVES having it rain on the stage. He did the same fucking thing in his version of A View from the Bridge.

well at least all the actors are onstage. when he did The Damned at the Armory, during the Long Knives/Orgy scene, only the two main players were "live" on stage, all the others were projected on the huge screen

Do they serve plantains and tostones during intermission??

What the fuck is the point of theatre that *isn't* about the live actors onstage?! If I wanted to watch people on video, I could stay home and watch TV for free. If I wanted to see people on an IMAX screen, I could, ya know, go to an IMAX movie.

Anyone else think this WSS is gonna tank?

Van Howe just needs to stop before he gets his claws into Gypsy and projects a bunch of flopping stripper tits behind the strippers in You Gotta Get A Gimmick.

[quote]Anyone else think this WSS is gonna tank?

At this point, it's more a question of whether it tanks with a whimper, or with a bang.

While I feel bad for (most of) the performers involved, I won't be sorry to see this fail. A lot of people in theatre feel the same way, and for a number of reasons.

So every show queen in Manhattan is running to The Broadway to see this WSS before its changed back to The Robbins' choreography. It's a little bit like the phone calls that went out once CARRIE started previews. You will want to say "you were there". I know 5 people going. I love Broadway!

[quote]There is a gay man who works in the wedding dress shop, and during America (they use the boys vs. girls movie version) he dances with the girls.

Holy crap, really?

[quote]What the fuck is the point of theatre that *isn't* about the live actors onstage?! If I wanted to watch people on video, I could stay home and watch TV for free. If I wanted to see people on an IMAX screen, I could, ya know, go to an IMAX movie.

well in fairness, all the actors who were only projected in The Damned were totally nude. maybe they were ok with their jiggly bits being recorded at a distance in an empty house, but less inclined to show their wares to a live audience.

"I think this production deserves praise for creating such interest in this 60 year old musical. If this was the traditional West Side Story, I don't think there would be a lot of talk about it."

RIght, no interest, no talk. It's only a staple of theatres, opera houses, stock and amateur companies all over the world (right now it's playing at a high school down the street from me). And it's broadcast on television all. the. time. WSS has nothing to prove to nobody (or Riff, Diesel and A-rab, for that matter).

Saoirse Ronan IS Mama Rose!

I'm just praying we get to see David Geffen screaming at Scott Rudin at the back of The Broadway, while Barry Diller is cruising the bathroom.

R551 R555 YES. R563 Sounds dumber than I thought. A big computer screen is so lazy. "Woke Side Story". haha. Of course it is. No balcony scene? Should be a sin. Thanks for reporting back. I was only interested in seeing the new choreography. That sucks. Now, I don't know. If Isaac is the only one in the show who can really sing, then that's a problem. haha. They made it rain during Once on this island too.

R577, take your meds, PLEASE.

Why not take it back to the original -- instead of Americans vs. Puerto Ricans, it was supposed to be Jew vs. Gentiles.

Then we could have lyrics like

A goy like that, who killed your brother forget that boy and find another One of your own kind Bagels and lox mind.

Per Playbill:

[quote]Though the musical has frequently grossed over $1 million in recent weeks (including breaking a house record over Thanksgiving week), the Shubert Organization, which owns the Broadway theatre and 17 others, has enforced the eviction as the production did not hit its contractual "stop clause" figure for two consecutive weeks in the spring. Its grosses hovered around $820,000 in May.

What a transparent facile excuse

There are Black Jets??? I thought racism was at the core of this show.

Of course. Haven't you heard of Jet Black?

R578 Hi Wes 🖑

R578 Hi Wes 🖑

And yet one more Theatre Gossip Thread heads to fond oblivion, running on fumes....

And FOLLIES.

[quote] I think this production deserves praise for creating such interest in this 60 year old musical.

I don’t think it’s this production. It’s the Spielberg movie version, which got a ton of press during its filming this summer. This Van Hove revival is just basking in the after effects of all that positive press.

This is like the HAIR revival with Ellen Foley happening at the same time as the HAIR movie with Ellen Foley.

I remember Ellen Foley in the HAIR movie (in "Black Boys") but I didn't know about a HAIR revival.

Why didn't Ellen Foley have a bigger stage career?

Here she is now. I think that's Laurie Beechman at left. Don't recognize the other woman.

Fabulous, but this look doesn't exactly say "Summer of Love" to me. More "Saturday's Generation at Bloomingdales."

Here's Ellen before she got canned (for Bernadette) in INTO THE WOODS out west.

The third woman is Debi Dye.

She should have kept the long hair.

FIRST MIDNIGHT!

So the producers wanted to make WSS the next Oklahoma? If they wanted to truly be avant garde, they should have cast Wes as Tony and Isaac as Martin ( Maria).

Has WOKE-LAHOMA recouped its investment for the Bway run?

Second midnight!

I'm starting a new thread. TOOTSIE and Ellen Foley's dead Bway career would have wanted that.

New thread, kids.

Everyone play nice, now.

Follies!

Follies!

Follies! Sucks

Night Court!

Thank you, and good night

Replaced again!