THEATRE GOSSIP #378: "DIANA, THE BLONDE IN THE THUNDERBIRD! OR THIS IS WHY WE CAN'T HAVE NICE THINGS" Edition

What's up and coming....

Miss Dorothy Loudon for GE.....

My God, Andrea McArdle was even sinister looking as a child. That must be why she doesn't get big Broadway roles, right? God knows she has more voice than a bunch of these little twerps put together, but there's something really scary about her and she's not terribly warm.

omg Ms Seabiscuit was even ugly as a kid!!!

how is this hag a star?????

musta had mega stage mommy

R2 That was FABULOUS!

Oh god I hated Annie. I hated it when it was new and I hate it still. I wished FDR in his wheelchair had rolled into the orchestra pit and Sandy had been run over by a piece of moving furniture.

Move over, HAMILTON: AMERICAN UTOPIA (with David Byrne) is gonna be a movie.

A Spike Lee movie.

Who's seen it? I don't recall much discussion here.

"How Do You Solve a Problem Like Medea?"

Damned with faint praise in New York mag. I hadn't realized what a major rewrite of Euripedes this version is.

seabiscuiit looks like skeletor.

Why does Spike 'resting bitch face' Lee alwys look like he needs to take a shit?

Looking forward to seeing Austin Scott in Girl From North Country.

"the original story was not just about a gang war. It was also about racism..."

...written and directed by a quartet of brilliant Jewish men, less than a decade after the end of WWII and the liberation of the camps...

...and Dick and Oscar tackled racism within three years of war's end in SOUTH PACIFIC...

R12, so WSS is an allegory of Auschwitz?

[quote]

[R474] It's not impossible to cast a show with real Puerto Ricans you fool. It's LAZY. It doesn't need to be a documentary. It should echo real life as much as possible to give an authentic experience to feel and discuss. Not fantasy land. Which I know you people love. Representation matters. —Anonymous reply 486

If we are aiming to echo real life as much as possible r486 shouldn't the male cast members be straight?

^^And I was so hoping this tiresome topic would be left in the previous thread.

But since we've reopened that can of worms...the last thing theater is, is "real life," especially musical theatre. It's crystallized, heightened and poeticized life, with characters and plot specifically selected to present an argument in condensed form. The ruination of contemporary musical theatre is the dumbed-down concretization and literalness of it all.

Who is the audience supposed to be for the SIX musical? A cast of six, a shitty pit band onstage for 75 minutes of screaming garbage and they want $229 plus fees per seat for previews? Who thought producing this on Broadway was a good idea?

R18 - I can see why that garbage was successful in England -- girl groups never went out of style there. The UK charts were filled with shrill, empty girl groups like Girls Aloud, The Saturdays, Little Mix, All Saints. Their popularity seems to be waning, so, of course, that's when the theatre catches on. I think it will flop in the US.

Anyway, did anyone make it to the Jerry Herman tribute. From reports, it sounds like it was lovely and that 'regular' folk had no trouble getting in despite being told by the theatre management that it was a private event that they would not be admitted to. Who produced the memorial and why were they so confident they could fill the entire theatre just with private invitees? Strange behavior.

29 piece orchestra played.

Setlist...

Overture from Mame It's Today.................................Marilyn Maye It Only Takes a Moment........Jeremy Jordan Wherever He Ain't..................Debbie Gravitte I Don't Want to Know.............Sutton Foster Gooch's Song.........................Lorna Luft Mame.......................................Ron Raines, Ensemble Bosom Buddies......................Klea Blackhurst, Tyne Daly If He Walked Into My Life.......Kristen Chenoweth You I Like.................................Jason Graae I Won't Send Roses................Michael Feinstein I Am What I Am.......................Leslie Uggams It Takes A Woman..................John Bolton Before The Parade..................Kelli O'Hara Hello Dolly...............................Betty Buckley, Ensemble Time Heals Everything...........Bernadette Peters The Best of Times...................Lee Roy Reams, Cast

Ugh. God, I hate DL. Sorry about the formatting in R19. Here you go. Have to make a double space after every line...

Overture from Mame

It's Today.................................Marilyn Maye

It Only Takes a Moment........Jeremy Jordan

Wherever He Ain't..................Debbie Gravitte

I Don't Want to Know.............Sutton Foster

Gooch's Song.........................Lorna Luft

Mame.......................................Ron Raines, Ensemble

Bosom Buddies......................Klea Blackhurst, Tyne Daly

If He Walked Into My Life.......Kristen Chenoweth

You I Like.................................Jason Graae

I Won't Send Roses................Michael Feinstein

I Am What I Am.......................Leslie Uggams

It Takes A Woman..................John Bolton

Before The Parade..................Kelli O'Hara

Hello Dolly...............................Betty Buckley, Ensemble

Time Heals Everything...........Bernadette Peters

The Best of Times...................Lee Roy Reams, Cast

R18 It's extremely cheap to produce. It's costing about $6 million to stage, and running costs are less than $500,000 a week.

From the previous thread...

[quote] Disney paid $75 million for the Hamilton recording....they must have gotten the movie adaptation rights for that much too, surely?

Uh, are you high? There’s no way LMM sold the movie rights to Disney when he could independently produce it and and have it be the first musical to make a billion.

R8, any idea what the 1995 murder case on which the new "Medea" is based.

Wonder if GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY has been made any less boring than it was at the Public.

The Nederlander Gestapo tried to force all of us to leave, then move away from the theatre, then threatened to call the police (NYC cops don't respond to assaults, and they're going to arrest people waiting in a line?). The Stasi kept walking up and down the line, insisting we were 'never" getting in without an invite, but we could see the botoxed, ancient altacockers showing up couldn't possibly fill the Orchestra. And, of course, when it was 10 minutes before the start, we were all led in, sent upstairs, and filled the center Front Mezzanine. The rear Mezz and the Balcony were empty. Persistence was rewarded by a terrific show, despite Betty Buckley. How does she still get work?

Jason Graae stole the show. Funny, spot-on, and athletic. He stopped the show, He and Leslie Uggams.

I honestly thought Leslie Uggams had died

Thanks for sharing that, R20.

It's a shame that so many of us didn't show up for Jerry's memorial (like me) because we were told we weren't welcome. I'm sorry to have missed those performances but also to have participated in a farewell to a very great musical theatre talent.

Apparently, the mezz and balcony were empty. It was so stupid not to invite the public

And they could have opened up the rear mezzanine and the balcony.

I really, really hate theatre producers. Greed + mean spiritedness + contempt for audiences.

Was Angela Lansbury there?

Medea:

[quote]uses the canon as an excuse to sneak in some deliciously forbidden prurience,

does bobby show dong?.......swoon

Why is Bjork referenced, OP?

Oh yeah, R13. Dick at Oscar really tackled it.

They took Michener's eight illegitimate De Beque children ranging from almost Nellie's age down to toddlers and born of a variety of different women from a variety of different ethnic backgrounds and distilled them down to two beautiful and perfectly matched China dolls.

Yes, they tackled racism and they tackled it hard!

Angela appeared in a film clip.

Queens over at BroadwayWorld.com hating "Unmasked" the Andrew Lloyd Webber revue at Paper Mill. They seem jealous that audiences are loving it. They actually know the songs as opposed to the Roundabout flop "Sondheim on Sondheim" that only Sondheimites liked.

What is wrong with me that I just don't' find much joy in theatre any more? Theatre overload? Am I expecting too much out of it now that I've watched theatre for decades?

Don't like overt social messages or being lectured to, R37?

R37, the insane rise in ticket prices certainly makes a dent in the joy. Add to it the fact that we will never see the likes of Pearl Bailey in "Hello, Dolly!" again, nor will we see Gwen Verdon and Chita Rivera in "Chicago." The tradition of performing that produced those musical stars no longer exists. Pop music is fine in its place, but its place is not the theater.

Finally, it is difficult to be open to the pretend drama of the theater when the world is falling apart around us, real drama is everywhere, and we feel as if our brains have been boiled in cortisol.

[italic]Mame[/italic] managed to make fools out of racists and anti-semites without being heavy-handed.

Would they have let Lucy come if she was still alive?

[quote]Would they have let Lucy come if she was still alive?

If she were still alive she'd be 110, so it seems unlikely that she'd want to make the trip.

She moved and sounded like a 110-year-old when she was Mame.

Ethel Merman would have to spend half the performance throwing the wine moms into the street.

My mom was going to the theater in the fifties to the early 60s and saw the original cast of a number of golden age shows. She said she used to get goose bumps. She saw the Midler Dolly and said there was nothing there. She said it's all gone. If you don't have Gower Champion drilling his dancers why would anything be there? The show has been coasting on its initial success for a very very long time. It helps that the Herman score remains lovely. With help from the unfairly maligned Bob Merrill.

[quote]Don't like overt social messages or being lectured to, [R37]? —Anonymous

right, we never had to listen to all that sjw crap back in the golden age

Exactly. No lectures.

That was different, R44. That was an America that was racially segregated and where the closet was effectively the law.

OP's picture looks like a real dog and pony show.

"Yes, they tackled racism and they tackled it hard!:

I'm glad you agree so readily! Of course it was prescient of Michener to have Nellie hail from Arkansas, a highly segregated state prior to the Supreme Court rulings in the 1950s--it looms in the background of the romance and explains her behavior. And masterful insight on the part of R&H and Logan to adapt and combine the two stories into a populist entertainment that also touched upon themes of intolerance and prejudice that were progressive for its era, certainly on the musical stage. You have to go back all the way to OH's SHOW BOAT for something comparable.

Yet she could still deal with him killing a man in self-defense.

You think the authors weren't aware of that irony? It's the contradiction in her soul that makes Nellie one of the most fully-rounded characters in the canon.

You think the authors weren't aware of the irony? It's exactly that pernicious contradiction in Nellie's soul that makes her one of the most fully-rounded characters in the canon.

you two are so tiresome.

Oops, sorry for the repost. DL went kerblooey on me.

Isn't the new Medea based on the 1995 case where the wife and mother drowned the 2 sons? If I recall correctly, the hot hick husband and bereaved father, then visited New York to cry on The Today Show and Good Morning America, was later seen partying at Scores right after the interviews.

I actually saw "The Blonde in the Thunderbird," and I'M STILL HERE.

aka CHRISSY'S FOLLY

I pretty much hated GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at the Public, but I'm curious as to why Sydney James Harcourt isn't continuing with the production. Anybody know? I hope for his sake it was because he got a better job. I hope they didn't replace him because they were unhappy with him. Believe me, his performance was one of the pluses of the show, not one of the many minuses.

[quote]My God, Andrea McArdle was even sinister looking as a child. That must be why she doesn't get big Broadway roles, right?

Andrea McArdle suffered from Jennifer Holiday Disease. Big belt voice and zero acting ability. Zero.

Holy cow, watch Miss Loudon go!

I pretty much loved GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at the Public!

At least when [italic]South Pacific[/italic] tried to send a message, they surrounded it in shirtless hunks.

Honestly, what Broadway needs right now is a drag queen revival of The Blonde in the Thunderbird. Don't change a word and have someone like Charles Busch play Suzanne.

I see what you did there, R47. Hee.

And my reference to Bjork would be a shoutout to Katina Lenk's recent performance at the Sondheim concert, where she was clearly (to some ears, at least) channeling the Icelandic songstress in new and unexpected ways.

R22 Movie musical? BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (2017), ALADDIN (2019), THE LION KING (2019) and FROZEN and FROZEN II are musicals and have all grossed over $1 billion.

R54 Are you thinking of Susan Smith?

So how is Disney gonna find a way to sneak references to "Hakuna Matata" and Baby Yoda into Hamilton?

I will definitely see the filmed HAMILTON in the theatre.... but I think Disney 1) paid too much for this version and 2) will be disappointed at the box office returns.

It's only a recording of the show. They shouldn't have waited so long to release it.

When HAMILTON is actually adapted as a movie musical, it's gonna require a lot of creative rethinking.

Well, Theatre Gossip friends, it's been a very trying day for me.

I went to visit my dear friend Imelda Staunton. She's been extremely busy and this is the first time we've been able to catch up in a very long time.

She *insisted* that we sit down and watch the tv broadcast of her in "Gypsy" as she hadn't seen it yet. I tried to encourage her to do something else, but, well, it didn't go so well as you can see by the attached video of her reaction.

[quote] So how is Disney gonna find a way to sneak references to "Hakuna Matata" and Baby Yoda into Hamilton?

Not as effortlessly as you quoted the [italic]Silver Spoons[/italic] theme song without even trying.

[quote]I will definitely see the filmed HAMILTON in the theatre.... but I think Disney 1) paid too much for this version and 2) will be disappointed at the box office returns.

Ah, but Disney didn't only pay for HAMILTON. According to IndieWire, they've bought themselves a whole frickin' LMM [italic]franchise[/italic].

Coming soon to a Disney Park near you: "Great Moments with Alexander Hamilton", a Siege of Yorktown dark ride, and Meet-&-Greets with Angelica, Eliza -- and Peggy!

Like Rent before it, Hamilton is a Zeitgeist-only phenom. It’s. Just. Not. Very. Good. Writing.

[quote]When HAMILTON is actually adapted as a movie musical, it's gonna require a lot of creative rethinking.

If you're implying that there will ever be a traditional film version of HAMILTON after the release of the film of the Broadway production, I don't think there's even a remote chance of that.

someone nice posted this full Broadway Barks concert of Bernie's from... I dunno...? Sometime in the past 10 years? Arthur Laurents and Mary Tyler Moore were still with us. She sings a few songs that I don't think she's every sung in concert, including some random (but very pretty) song Sondheim wrote for the film Reds.

I'm working on a production of Cabaret at the moment. Between the 75th anniversary of the Auschwitz liberation and the current political moment it's more timely than ever.

I haven't been to NYC in over 20 years, and doubt I will ever go back, so I have been dependent on bootlegs to keep up with the theater. For the last nine months or so, though, there has been a dearth of new bootlegs. It would appear that people are no longer filming shows, or, if they are, they are no longer distributing them. Has anyone else who relies on bootlegs encountered this? What do you think accounts for the decline in the number of shows being surreptitiously recorded? I'm very disappointed, because I rather enjoyed seeing what was being produced, and the quality of some of the bootlegs was quite good.

R75 Heaps of the National/RSC broadcast stuff from England can be found on the proshot musical subreddit.

It is bloody marvellous.

Maybe they are cracking down on the bootlegs. Youtube has a lot of curtain calls so people have the phones out.

Truly how does Scott Elliott have a career? B&C&T&A sounded like a bad idea but it sounds like his work - not just for staging but for some vision - is the worst culprit. As usual.

I think it's tough to record with a phone because the lighted screen will give you away

R75 As far as I know many of the prominent NYC "masters" have stopped, but people still do record shows and distribute them. You just aren't looking in the right places.

Maybe Hamilton has the right idea - it seems unfilmable, so why not just preserve the live performance. It should have happened with A Chorus Line.

[quote]Finally, there’s the full-fledged film adaptation of “Hamilton,” which is still up for grabs. That could be years down the line — long enough to build up a sense of nostalgia for the original musical. Fans will be able to get their “Hamilton” fix on Disney+ until then, once the filmed version is released there alongside other Disney hits like “Beauty and the Beast.” By the time a new version of “Hamilton” is produced and released, it could scratch a similar itch as the 2017 version “Beauty and the Beast,” a live-action version of the cartoon musical that grossed a record-breaking $1.2 billion worldwide — the kind of money only a Disney franchise can hope for.

I'm not sure why some posters here are convinced this will not happen OR that the show is not filmable. Miranda has said a number of times that he plans to do it as a movie musical, not only a recording of the stage show. It may take a few years, but this will happen sooner than Streisand's movie version of GYPSY.

Guess Gideon Glick isn't selling any tickets

R75 Well this is all about the hypocrisy of the bootleggers. They like to jack themselves off by claiming they bootleg to make theatre more accessible to the masses. However, the most prominent bootleggers have recently been whining about their boots being shared around outside their little circle, and so have drastically cut down on how freely they make their recordings available - and instead now sell copies of their "work" so they don't show up in the usual bootleg places.

If they ever do get caught, the fact they're now blatantly doing it for money will ensure their punishment is many times worse than it would otherwise have been.

R84 and others. R75 here. How would I go about finding these bootleg copies? I know you can't give names or web sites, but....maybe a hint? Thank you.

Actors and some other theatre folk have gotten very active on social media, condemning illegal recording and even calling out people who do it. (Have a look at some Broadway twitter.) It's not the "victimless crime" that some people perceive it to be. It's stealing a performance (human labor) and intellectual property without knowledge or consent.

Some of those performances might be lost to time without them.

Which is the very essence of live theatre r87.

[quote]Actors and some other theatre folk have gotten very active on social media, condemning illegal recording and even calling out people who do it. (Have a look at some Broadway twitter.)

These people are hypocrites. Patti LuPone always spoke out against it, but when a bootleg of her cabaret act at Les Mouches surfaced, she was ecstatic. And as r87 said, had that person not filmed the Les Mouches act, it would have been lost.

[quote] Actors and some other theatre folk have gotten very active on social media, condemning illegal recording and even calling out people who do it. (Have a look at some Broadway twitter.) It's not the "victimless crime" that some people perceive it to be. It's stealing a performance (human labor) and intellectual property without knowledge or consent.

That's a little high handed. Of course it's victimless. It's a public performance, so you're not showing anything anyone would not have been able to buy a ticket to.

Bootlegs have never caused theater to suffer financially. In fact, in the advent of the proliferation of stealth HD recording devices, Broadway has actually seen its highest grosses ever, so you cannot make a claim that bootlegs are stealing money. 99% of the people who trade in/watch bootlegs either will never get to NYC to see the shows or are such rabid theater fans that it's not an either/or situation to them.

Personally, I'm not a bootleg fan. They're usually poorly shot and I don't have the patience to sit through something where I'm missing half the dialogue because of audio limitations.

And yes, what R87 said absolutely.

R85 Reddit is probably the easiest answer, but I think most of the main Reddits for it are members only so you have to request permission to join

R86 I've seen those, Alex Brightman in particular. How obvious are these bootleggers than an actor on stage can spot someone doing it ten rows back? Must be so distracting to those sitting around them. And of course, raises the big question of why FOH staff aren't doing anything to stop it.

Meanwhile, Cameron Dallas had been reposting bootleg clips his fans have been recording of him until the producers had a word with him.

R91, FOH does not do anything because we live in a suing society.

Never has there been more synchronicity between form and function that Bernadette Peters performing at Broadway Barks.

Bootlegs would be less common if producers made content available. But what stops producers making content available are the unions. Britain broadcasts a whole lot more of their content (National Theatre Live, Royal Shakespeare Company) because some of the cost is subsidized. The US hasn't been able to work out a solution for that. In the 1990s, producers tried a pay-per-view model which didn't work. It's nice to see the announcement that Hamilton has been recorded for viewing. But it would be even better if we had more content available. Surely someone can find a business model that works?

[QUOTE]Britain broadcasts a whole lot more of their content (National Theatre Live, Royal Shakespeare Company) because some of the cost is subsidized

It should be noted that the NT stuff is only broadcast to cinemas, not even available on DVD.

I can't help but feel that the "blame the unions" line is just something producers use to cover up their greed. It's only fair that the cast and crew share in any extra revenue streams.

American utopia was awesome. Saw it twice. Last night went to gay swan lake. Loverly dancers. Shot show. Left at break.

[quote]It's only fair that the cast and crew share in any extra revenue streams.

They don't share in the losses, why should they share in the profits?

Because people deserve to be paid more for extra work. Or do you really think all that happens is a normal show with cameras involved?

I'm sure producers are the first in line to be handing back their fees when a show does poorly, right?

R98 Why should they get money for doing their jobs? They did not finance the show so they do not get a cut of the profits.

The fact that actors get applause every night, immediate positive feedback, should be enough compensation. Do you know how many millions of people work their asses off week after week and never get any positive strokes?

They're paid to appear live in front of set number of people. Filming the show changes that dynamic. Do you also think actors shouldn't be paid extra for (audio) cast recordings?

[quote]They're paid to appear live in front of set number of people.

Do they take a salary reduction when the house is only half full?

Bootlegs only enhance the reputation of an actor as they live long after the show has closed.

What aren't you getting that a recording that will be distributed worldwide is different a live performance that goes unrecorded? Are you the bootleg troll above? It's just your self interest fueling this debate?

I stopped watching bootlegs because they make me dizzy.

Actually, watching any show on TV or phone doesn't provide the same experience at all.

No, they don't. Bootleggers are a tiny niche of people. They do nothing to promote any performer's reputation.

yet, EVERY performer is desperate to keep videos of the shows they were in. EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM

[QUOTE]Why should they get money for doing their jobs?

Are you genuinely that insane? Work for free, do you? I can only assume you're trolling at this point.

[QUOTE]They did not finance the show so they do not get a cut of the profits

Neither do producers and yet they take a fat cut of the profits.

So.....I'm watching the Anyone Who Hates Kids and Dogs episode of MTM. In addition to Laurence Luckinbill. Carole King is in the cast (as Aunt Helen) but she's credited as Carole Larkey. It's also not on her very extensive IMDB page. Huh.

I didn't know Carole King acted.

Me neither.

The Library at Lincoln Center has been recording shows professionally for years, and has never paid anyone anything.

Maybe the fact that they won’t let just anyone watch any of these recordings is compensation of a sort.

R112, they will let just anyone watch the recordings. You just have to have a good enough lie. Saying you're doing research for a role you're playing in North Carolina often does just fine.

Here's her IMDB page, r110...

Miss Klein arrives at 23:20.

The Jerry Herman Memorial is up on YouTube. I don't understand what the fuss is about Betty Buckley. She's perfectly fine with "Hello, Dolly." The only real embarrassment is "Bosom Buddies." Poor Tyne Daly is lost a good part of the time, and Klea Blackhurst, as good a performer as she is, is too sincere and just doesn't have the comic acting chops to pull off those dry punchlines and make them funny.

Marilyn Maye is still Marvellous.

Betty Lynn Levi....

Kelli O'Levi.....

Bernadette...for some reason it's mis-titled as Kristin.....

It's Kristin doing her Bernadette impersonation. She does it as a party trick.

I used to film bootlegs for a couple of years and collected for about 10. I don't live in New York, so the cost of traveling to NYC and taping shows was high even 15-20 years ago. I stopped filming in large part because I would release a recording and before I had a chance to recoup my cost in cash or trade value everyone had a copy. I never came close to making any kind of profit and frankly filming a show was physically uncomfortable and I never really got to watch/enjoy the production I was taping. In short, it wasn't worth it and no one who traded recordings had any respect for the people who made them in the first place. It was a lot better when it was all snail mail, analog VHS and cassette tapes.

As R80 said there have never really been more than 5-10 prolific tapers, and they all sat in the balcony or mezz where the actors could not see them. Now everything is instantly on the internet/youtube instantly regardless of the silly 'not for trade until x date' rules tapers would try to impose.

Most bootlegs were traded on yahoogroups by with yahoogroups shutting down recently I don't know what will happen.

How was Lorna?

Doesn't Marilyn usually do her little kick in It's Today? Wonder why she cut it.

The old broads sounded great. True professionals.

R123 here she is

The only Herman Memorial performances that don’t seem to be online are Sutton Foster and Jason Graae.

Jesus, that broad is so old it’s disgusting to see her faking being pregnant.

r109 You have to go down to the ACTRESS section.

[quote]Would they have let Lucy come if she was still alive?

They could've communicated with her via Madame Mertzola.

[quote]Maybe they are cracking down on the bootlegs

I think it's just the opposite. Thanks to smart phones, everyone is taping now. The curtain call tapers are pretty blatant, which is fine. It gets the performers and ushers and staff used to it. And the ones who tape the entire show are no longer sticking out like sore thumbs.

All three of the recent Broadway Dollys are online, complete performances. What's interesting is that almost all the bootlegs are taped when Gavin Creel is out, so understudy Christian Dante White (and in one case, Santino Fontana) gets lots of exposure.

Now that Kirk Douglas is gone, who will Babs find that's old enough to play her father in "Gypsy?"

Lainie Kazan.

R132 Norman Lloyd.

I didn't realize that. Thanks, r129.

Sheldon Harnick.

[quote]Now that Kirk Douglas is gone, who will Babs find that's old enough to play her father in "Gypsy?"

Sondheim obviously. He already played the role on the OBC.

[quote]... and no one who traded recordings had any respect for the people who made them in the first place.

You are selling bootlegged copies of someone else’s work and complaining that people don’t have “any respect for the people who made (the bootlegs) in the first place.“

Unbelievable

When we saw SIX at ART I was reminded about Samantha saying “get the little girls and the gays will follow“. Hordes of extremely appreciative tweens who knew all the words. I enjoyed it, too.

R107: I've never heard those lyrics at 0:57. Were they written for the song and discarded during a tryout?

Ya know what we haven't watched in a while?

Yes, R138. Within the bootleg trading community only, the idea was that there was a basic level of respect for the people who spent their own time, money and most of all took the risk to make the recordings rather than simply post lists of shows/casts that they wanted and sat back while others actually fulfilled their 'wants'. Most of the big collectors/traders never made anything.

I am not making any sort of argument for the legality or morality of bootlegs. The other main reason I stopped making them was that I entered the business myself after college and saw the other side of the argument.

I will say that I rarely met an actor on the road or in New York who was really and truly completely anti-bootleg. As long as they didn't know they were being filmed at the time, most actors were very happy to see their performance preserved and sought out these recordings themselves (including internal company archival recordings). This was many years ago, and I think now social media and the complete collapse of boundaries between stans/fans and actors has changed that forever. You can make the intellectual property argument, sure, but what I see happening is that the actors are struggling to control their own images and the public perception of their performances overall in a world where every bad show/mistake/wrong note/mid-show call out is immediately broadcast worldwide on the internet without their control or consent. That, and the cellphones in their face from the first 10 rows are horribly distracting.

I remember Alice Ripley leaving a snippy comment on a Youtube video bootleg of her "Meadowlark" performance from a Paper Mill production. She didn't really have a leg to stand on, though. Her vocals were not the best.

[quote] I am not making any sort of argument for the legality or morality of bootlegs.

You spoke of respect. You don’t think that you are showing a lack of respect to the creators of whatever you’re filming and selling without compensation and against their wishes?

I spoke of respect INSIDE THE TRADING COMMUNITY ONLY between the people who MADE the bootlegs and the people who COLLECT the bootlegs and why I (and many others) stopped making the bootlegs, which was the original questing asked upthread.

Again, I am NOT making an argument for the morality or legality of making bootlegs.

[quote] She didn't really have a leg to stand on, though.

I know the feeling, sister!

[quote]The Jerry Herman Memorial is up on YouTube. I don't understand what the fuss is about Betty Buckley. She's perfectly fine with "Hello, Dolly."

She was not "perfectly fine." A woman who was known for her high belt voice but can no longer control it and so sings the high notes of "Hello, Dolly!" in a light soprano has no business still trying to play the role of Dolly. Plus Buckley has absolutely the wrong kind of personality for the role. Plus, in one part of the song early on, she SANG THE WRONG LYRICS to one of the most famous show tunes ever written, despite having just played the part for a year.

[quote]How was Lorna?

She played the comedy of "Gooch's Song" very well. Apparently, she has played the role, which was news to me. Unfortunately, her singing voice now has a huge wobble, maybe partly because of her health issues. Very unpleasant to hear.

I have to admit I'm not as worried about bootleggers as I am the people who are texting and Facebooking during shows. They seem to think no one notices them.

This, r143?

Oh, dear little Alice at R150.

Is that supposed to be a hint of a flirty French accent that she keeps slipping in and out of? Then hitting the Rs in "meadowlark" HARD--like she's a Canadian lumberjack?

She sounds more like a wannabe Anna Magnani. She sounds INSANE.

Bernie sounded GREAT on Time Heals Everything. I was really worried abou her voice after seeing her croak through Hello, Dolly (at least at my performance). The voice is, of course, diminished, but she's still got it.

I'm not familiar with Marilyn Maye, but she sounds remarkable for 91. I mean, she'd sound remarkable for 81.

You should check out earlier Marilyn Maye...the woman can SING.

I'm still trying to track down Marilyn Maye's "Hello Dolly" album. Her website is hopelessly out of date. They only take cheques for her CDs.

I do love Marilyn Manson’s Hello Dolly

[quote]All three of the recent Broadway Dollys are online, complete performances.

Link please.

Bootlegs are the way a good portion of the Queens at All That Chat and BroadwayWorld see their shows which is ridiculous since I have never seen a really great representation of a show. I saw a "Billy Elliot" once where the idiot taping actually put the camera on the floor to clap after each song.

I love bootlegs. It's great having a reminder of shows I've loved. Also, I don't have the money to see shows repeatedly so being able to see replacements perform in shows is great.

Why don't you second act?

I don’t have any problems with bootlegs either, especially now that people are just openly recording shows on their phones (which I do have a problem with).

I’m just amazed that someone can be so unaware that they can steal someone else’s work and sell it,and then complain that THEIR hard work is not being respected. They’re showing you more respect than you showed the cast and creatives.

It’s one thing to be a bootlegger, and another to be a complete and total hypocrite.

I disagree about BP. Thought her voice was in tatters on that video clip.

Frankly, there aren’t all that many shows nowadays that are worth recording.

I'm the poster who asked the question about the bootlegs. It is interesting to hear that Alex Brightman is vehemently anti-bootleg, because I have not been able to find a bootleg of Beetlejuice. I did, however, see a rather good one of School of Rock. I naively assumed that the bootleggers recorded the shows because of the love of theater, and their desire to share it with others. I suppose I should have realized it was a money-making venture to them, and now that it is so much easier to just post something on you tube or other online streamers, they can no longer control distribution, which, of course, cuts down on their income. It's a shame. Although many bootlegs were horrible quality, many of them were good enough to appreciate the show. Of course nothing can take the place of seeing a show live, but it is the next best thing for those of us who can't get to NYC.

What is r161? It's blocked from me seeing it...

Never mind, it was a post from someone I had blocked a while ago, I can't even remember why now

Bootlegs are history. Think what we could see if people had the means to make bootlegs years ago. Ethel Merman in Gypsy. The original Porgy And Bess.

[quote]Doesn't Marilyn usually do her little kick in It's Today? Wonder why she cut it.

Well, she will be 92 in a couple of months.

[quote]I disagree about BP. Thought her voice was in tatters on that video clip.

It was a memorial show, she was emotional and mourning.

Also, r68, her voice wasn't "in tatters".

^ r168

Once again, Theater Queens don't have the enjoyment gene, because they achieved nothing they need to attack others. Betty Buckley was delightful. It was an off the cuff loving tribute.

Ethel Merman is on That Girl tomorrow (2/7) at noon on AntennaTV

When Betty Lynn does the "Hello Danny, Hello Manny" bit, she likes to imagine all the gay chorus dancers she used to torture for looking at her brother.

Betty Lynn Buckley's gay brother, Norman

[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.]

Producers could all just bootlegging cold and make alot of money if they eventually released professionally shot versions of their shows

Saw Tina last night and was blown away by Adrienne Warren. She gave me chills multiple times, especially on River Deep Mountain High and Simply the Best.

It’ll be interesting to see if she wins the Tony or loses to Sharon Clarke like she did for the Olivier, but I can’t see anyone else this season topping her for Lead Actress.

Buckley was embarrassing at the Herman tribute. Blowsy and cheesy in equal measure.

This article is hilarious. As part of her argument that "hot" actors should not be cast as Seymour in LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, the author stretches her point by stating that Gideon Glick, who is currently playing the role Off-Broadway, "has suspiciously good bone structure for someone who’s supposed to pass as a geek." Arguing that Jonathan Groff and Jeremy Jordan are too "hot" (or too classically good-looking) to be well cast as Seymour is one thing (thought I'm not sure I agree), but to argue the same about Gideon Glick is something else again.

We all know bone structure is what makes a geek.

"Blowsy and cheesy in equal measure" is going to be the title of my autobiography - thanks, R178!

Jeremy Jordan is not... classically handsome. And Gideon Glick's typecasting is "not hunk."

R179 That article is hysterical. So we are capable of seeing past women playing men, people of color playing white historical figures but a good looking man playing a "geek" is system overload.

That article is pure clickbait. I doubt the writer believes any of it.

This is not the face of someone who should be talking about other people's attractiveness

"Gideon Glick" would be almost as good a name for the main character in LSOH as Seymour Krelborn.

(Although admittedly, "Suddenly, Gideon" just does not work.)

And this is the song they think will sell tickets...

[quote] Why don't you second act?

Sadly, I think those days are over. Most theaters check tickets stubs when audience members come back into the theater for the second act. It’s a shame. I second acted a lot of great plays and musicals in the 80s.

[quote]Producers could all just bootlegging cold and make alot of money if they eventually released professionally shot versions of their shows

The unions want too much.

[quote]The unions want too much.

And, in wanting too much, they wind up with nothing.

Oops, posted this on the wrong thread. Trying again:

Have we discussed Betsy Struxness' response to the HAMILTON film news? I remember a few people posting here a while back that she was fired from the show for being white--which I didn't really believe (imagine the lawsuit), but after reading her insta post it does seem like she probably didn't leave the show on the best terms. Anyone know what happened?

Honestly, I think Lin has fucked over a lot of people on his way to the top and one day it will all come to light. He's still too much of a golden boy for any criticism of him to really stick.

You must understand that none of this nonsense matters. When truly something worthy and first-class comes along, all the ersatz crap will fall by the wayside because QUALITY TEL:LS and audiences know it when they see it. Until then, they are perfectly content to while away the hours throwing their money at crap because

1. life is what you do while you're waiting to die and,

2. audiences, like nature, abhor a vacuum.

[quote]Honestly, I think Lin has fucked over a lot of people on his way to the top and one day it will all come to light

How delicious it will be when someone makes a Fosse/Verdon type series about him.

R176, I doubt there is that big an audience for most shows. Professionally shot versions would be a money pit.

What is the story with Lynn Nottage being kept prisoner in a bathroom?

Gillian....with accent

[quote]Gillian....with accent

Is she going to use the Bette Davis staccato accent?

Sheila Reid as Birdie is inspired casting.

r185 That is exactly what I expected the writer of that article to look like.

I wonder if the "Hawt Seymour" debate is just a PR stunt on behalf of LITTLE SHOP and Jeremy Jordan. I was amazed at the amount of press Gideon Glick got. He's undeniably talented, but fascinating? Not really.

Jordan is a very capable performer with a good rep among his peers but he never quite landed the way a lot of people expected. He was a replacement Tony in Laurents' WSS revival, but he got a lot of attention for BONNIE & CLYDE and then, of course, NEWSIES exploded. I remember seeing him on SMASH S2 and, while he was playing the one of the most obnoxious characters ever conceived for TV, the boy had "it." But "it" seems to have eluded him since then.

I watched the "musical" number at R188, and thought, oh Roger Bart, is THAT what you're going to be doing with that song?

Oh my.

The songwriters (Alan Silvestri and Glen Ballard) are the same (very successful) pop writers who brought you (the unsuccessful) stage musical, GHOST, by the way.

Can't. Wait.

Did Gideon Glick enter the Spring Awakening fold late in the process? I know he was a member of the OBC. I was listening to a podcast with a comedian who revealed that he lost his role in Spring Awakening when his voice changed. He then had to endure even hearing the score on the radio. I presume it was Glick who got the role, as he sings (or sang) relatively high.

It's far too late to make professional nelly bottom Gideon Glick happen. Why do you think they're rushing Jeremy Jordan in?

Can Cole Escola sing?

Jeremy Jordan never had IT. haha. I remember when he came out of nowhere and was being cast in everything as a hot guy with that scrunched up proletarian face. He's forgettable. I thought Groff was too good looking for Seymour but like someone upthread said, casting is so messed up at this point does it even matter anymore. Who cares.

What's the word on "Girl From The North Country"? Anyone at the dress last night?

R203 He's publicly claimed to be a top. Hilarious, I know.

Blouses exist.

r204: No. Another performer whose time has come and gone.

Inside a storied Broadway legend’s life and his friend’s tragic death:

This post is for whoever asked earlier about Lynn Nottage being locked in a bathroom at Lincoln Center:

Matthew Lopez talks about what he wanted to say in "The Inheritance" and what he didn't:

NYT readers react to "The Inheritance":

R200, Bonnie and Clyde was a wonderful musical with an excellent score. I don't understand why it didn't become a hit. Jeremy Jordan and Laura Osnes were great.

Suzanne Somers performing "Fifty Percent", Dorothy Loudon's signature song from Ballroom.

R214 I don't think it was the show itself, but Frank Wildhorn. He's been pretty much persona non grata on Broadway; their perennial whipping boy. The NY theater snobs couldn't wait to pounce on him (again)!

That said, ,though B&C lasted just a month on Broadway, it has been quite popular with high schools and regional/community theater. Every year there are always new productions. Even foreign productions (e.g., Korean, Japan, German, Czech) have been smash hits.

Jeremy Jordan Responds To Criticism That He's “Too Hot” To Play Seymour In LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS:

For what it's worth, Jeremy Jordan exuded sexuality in BONNIE & CLYDE. His singing voice and the cocky way in which he carried himself on stage were very enticing. I was seduced. LOL

[quote]Suzanne Somers performing "Fifty Percent", Dorothy Loudon's signature song from Ballroom.

Suzanne Somers killed it!

I don't know when I last heard a song so utterly massacred.

Though I hate to post this because it's advocating people losing their jobs, based on what I saw this morning, it's way past time for CHICAGO to be put out of its misery. Erika Jayne, who apparently got famous as one of the "Real Housewives" (I don't watch those shows, so never heard of her) has been cast as Roxie Hart in the Broadway production and was on TV this morning performing a number from the show. It. Was. Horrible. She sang and moved like Debbie from Accounting after she'd bought $500 worth of tickets to snare the lead in a local production at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Bumfucke, Ohio. And that's just my point -- this isn't Bumfucke, Ohio, it's Broadway, and for the prices that Fran and Barry charge theatergoers to come inside and watch this show, they should at least have the decency to cast people who can at least perform the roles with some semblance of competence. (And yes, I know we're talking about the Weisslers here, the original pinchers of every penny in town.)

If there was any doubt that they just do NOT give a fuck anymore, the proof was on TV this morning for all to see.

[quote]She sang and moved like Debbie from Accounting after she'd bought $500 worth of tickets to snare the lead in a local production at the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater in Bumfucke, Ohio.

The Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater was in Jupiter, Fla.

So, Broadway World's publicist has found the thread then

I have memorabilia from the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theater. A mug and a letter/envelope written to my older brother from an actor doing a show there. I can't believe there used to be so many dinner theatres. That's a whole world and era.

[quote] Suzanne Somers performing "Fifty Percent", Dorothy Loudon's signature song from Ballroom.

Except now it's down to twenty-five percent.

There was one song in Bonnie & Clyde that I thought would become a cabaret standard. Laura Osnes sang it early in the show, "How 'Bout a Dance?" One of the best numbers to come out of a new Broadway score in many years, at least in my opinion.

And despite the short run, there's a cast album.

Didn't Jeremy wear the same outfit it Newsies?

[quote]for the prices that Fran and Barry charge

Speaking of them, aren't they older than dirt? Who runs their empire now? Did they have any children? Is there a Fran Jr and a Barry Jr.?

R225, I also liked the duet between Bonnie and Blanche, "You Love Who You Love".

Jeremy refused to appear nude in the bathtub scene, as Stark Sands did when he originated the role of Clyde during previews.

[quote]Jeremy Jordan Responds To Criticism That He's “Too Hot” To Play Seymour In LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS:

I've spoken about this before on other threads. The problem with playing Seymour is that actors try to act geeky and it ends up pushing them into a cartoon characterization. Most actors move towards taking a Jerry Lewis approach to the character and it robs the character of heart. Little Shop is a deceptive show. It looks easy to do, but it's not. There are some rich aspects that haven't been tapped since the original production.

One of the problems of the show is how Seymour is sung. If an actor sings with a well trained voice, it emphasizes the shift between the book scenes and the songs. And I know that argument gets into a whole other field (example: should Sally Bowles be a great singer or a mediocre singer). But the music is not written for Seymour to have a Julliard trained voice, it's not in his character. And that works in the exact opposite for Audrey. Nobody expected lispy ditzy Ellen Greene to have a gospel belt and then when Suddenly Seymour comes around and she blows the roof off, and it's a thrilling combination of song and voice coming together to show the character's epiphany.

I've always found the disconnect between Ellen Greene's put on little girl voice and her belting very jarring.

r230 And how do you feel about Jim Nabors?

r230 = Kristin Chenoweth, the queen of little girl/opera voice shift

I don't think Kristi Dawn is quite the same thing. Greene is like hearing Jayne Mansfield or Marilyn Monroe drop the breathy schtick. It's all been an act.

R225, There's also an excellent quality bootleg video recording of the Broadway production in circulation.

[quote][R204]: No. Another performer whose time has come and gone.

Your comment made me think of Michael Berresse, r209. Went straight from a Joliet high school to Disney World, and from there to Broadway. He pretty much peaked in Kiss Me Kate, after a promising start as Fred Casely in Chicago. He was an amazing physical performer - he was on track to be an Olympic gymnast when a growth spurt ended that dream. Then came Fascinating Rhythm, a show seemed tailored to him as a breakout role, and it died an early death.

He actually can act. He played a priest in Matthew Lombardo's execrable High, starring Kathleen Turner as a nun!, but wisely bailed before it moved to Broadway. It (rightfully) closed the week it opened. He acquitted himself nicely as Mickey Marcus in Normal Heart in San Francisco. He had an odd run as assassins in a couple of forgettable movies. He directed the questionable teen favorite Title of Show on Broadway, and right now is directing an off Broadway show, Darling Grenadine. Next week he is playing a minor character in Encores Mack and Mabel.

An interesting and fairly respectable career. Around a dozen Broadway shows, a handful of movie and tv roles. He's a charismatic performer, and I always thought he'd end up more famous than he did.

I'm a big Beresse fan, R235. Interesting post. I really liked DARLING GRENADINE, one of the better new musicals I've seen lately, and he did a nice directorial job in that strange little space in the Roundabout's basement.

You didn't mention his turn in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, as Matthew Morrison's brother. He and the rest of that ensemble were just outstanding. That show remains one of my favorite musical theatre experiences.

Wasn't it Michael Berresse who climbed the set in Kiss Me Kate? Actor's Equity had ten shitfits and forbid him to do it as being too dangerous without a safety wire, but I think he finally was able to persuade them that he was enough of an athlete to do it.

Berresse and Tony Yazbeck do the "Hot Honey Rag" from CHICAGO.

[quote]I'm a big Beresse fan, [R235]. Interesting post. I really liked DARLING GRENADINE, one of the better new musicals I've seen lately, and he did a nice directorial job in that strange little space in the Roundabout's basement.

[quote]You didn't mention his turn in LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA, as Matthew Morrison's brother. He and the rest of that ensemble were just outstanding. That show remains one of my favorite musical theatre experiences.

That *was* a huge omission, r236. It was another example of what a good actor he is. There was nothing on the page for him, but he parlayed what little he was given into a lovely role. I'm not as big a fan of DG as you seem to be, but I agree he did a fine job with it. He did an even more heroic job on [titleofshow], which was obviously a labor of love for him, as it was co-written by his then-partner and now-husband, Jeff Bowen. Not a worthy piece of work, imo, but it definitely had its devoted followers. I doubt it would have made it to Broadway without Berresse.

[quote]Wasn't it Michael Berresse who climbed the set in Kiss Me Kate? Actor's Equity had ten shitfits and forbid him to do it as being too dangerous without a safety wire, but I think he finally was able to persuade them that he was enough of an athlete to do it.

He had to sign a waiver with Equity absolving him. For some time, his understudies were not allowed to attempt that feat, r237.

Here is is with Beth Leavel in Encore's No No Nanette.

What is Jeff Bowen up to? He's a lucky man, married to Berresse.

I don't see it with Berresse. That video reminds me of Bebe Neuwirth and Karen XoXo doing the same number. Karen had better legs but Bebe had star quality. And I don't even like Neuwirth.

So who here saw GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY (at the Public) who can advise whether it's worth a Bway ticket? Cause the word from the first previews on ATC is not good:

[quote]It veered into near parody. I kept seeing Corky St. Clair's hand. I don't want to be rude, and I respect the difficulty of writing and of the creative process, but I was stunned by how disappointing this was.

I'm inclined to follow this review but I trust you bitches to set me straight. I thought it was supposed to be wonderful, based on previous word-of-mouth.

I think Beresse has loads of star quality. He did the tour of Chicago for quite a while, playing Billy Flynn and doing it quite well.

He looks pretty good for a man in his mid-50s.

David Elder is another dancing elder-hottie in his 50s. He's done a lot, but hasn't had the opportunities that Berresse has had.

R243 lmao. GROSS.

[quote]I've always found the disconnect between Ellen Greene's put on little girl voice and her belting very jarring.

Yeah it just pulls you out of the realism of a show about a man eating singing plant.

[Quote] Yeah it just pulls you out of the realism of a show about a man eating singing plant.

Not all suspension of disbelief is created equal.

r220....

Saw GIRL at the Public and was bored silly. The musical numbers are lovely (I bought the recording) but the songs almost never had anything to do with the story. They merely served to interrupt—which was fine, because nothing was happening onstage. But I loved Mare Winningham. Maybe they improved it for Bway.

I never miss a Mare Winningham musicla!

And now for something completely different:

I'm upset that Broadway cares/equity fights aids has raised its prices for Broadway Backwards and Broadway Bares.

Broadway Backwards is now $100 for a balcony seat at the New Amsterdam theater.

Broadway Bares is now $75 for a balcony seat at the Hammerstein Ballroom.

I have gone to both these events several times over the years, but I think that they have finally priced me out.

[quote] I have gone to both these events several times over the years, but I think that they have finally priced me out.

Write it off on your taxes.

How dare a charity try to make more money. Deduct it at tax time.

Mare Winningham was fantastic at the Public.Despite the character’s mental illness, there was a charm and moral depth that I found deeply moving I am from Minnesota, and they even rattle off an address in my hometown. Winningham was like every woman from my childhood. Not a show for everyone, but great if it is for you.

r220.....

For absolutely no reason....

[quote]I don't see it with Berresse. That video reminds me of Bebe Neuwirth and Karen XoXo doing the same number. Karen had better legs but Bebe had star quality. And I don't even like Neuwirth.

I can understand that, r241. I've noticed that people either love Berresse or he leaves them cold. It helps if you've seen him live. He doesn't translate well on film. It does make sense that the clip that r238 posted reminded you of Bebe and Karen since they performed the roles of Roxy and Velma for years, and Yazbeck and Berresse only did them for a one night fundraiser. The roles weren't written for men. That's literally what Broadway Backwards is about, performing roles written for the opposite sex. On that note:

[quote]I have gone to both these events several times over the years, but I think that they have finally priced me out.

[quote]Write it off on your taxes.

[quote]How dare a charity try to make more money. Deduct it at tax time.

Seriously, r251. - and because r252 and r253 didn't say it, I will. You type poor. $100 for a charity prices you out?

[quote][R243] lmao. GROSS.

Now, you, r245, are just a cunt. What are you, 12? I'm surprised you didn't say "Ew, cooties!". Grow the fuck up. (I will say I'm not wild about the jacket Berresse is wearing, even if it is a Versace (which I think it is). Here's Berresse talking about a bunch of shows he's done, including the lamentable A Chorus Line revival. He comes across as quite genuine. Almost painfully sincere.

"BONNIE & CLYDE was a wonderful musical with an excellent score"

Nonsense, of course. One passably decent song does not a score--or show--make. And if a Frank Wildhorn musical pulled in millions, he wouldn't be persona non grata, no matter how bad it was. Just look at the hot messes on Broadway right now that are cleaning up...and nobody cares. Sad, sad, sad.

Berresse would have made a wonderful Pal Joey had they revived it when he was younger in a major production. I met him at an audition a couple of years ago, and he was very nice; he's an artistic director and/or director of an theater company(ies). The photo that someone didn't like a few posts above was probably when he was playing Bob Mackie in "The Cher Show". He was fine in a very easy role for him. Hey, it's still Broadway. I saw him in "Kiss Me, Kate", and his performance, especially his acrobatics were astounding.

[quote]Not a show for everyone, but great if it is for you.

"If you like this sort of thing, this is the sort of thing you'll like."

[quote]Berresse would have made a wonderful Pal Joey had they revived it when he was younger in a major production. I met him at an audition a couple of years ago, and he was very nice; he's an artistic director and/or director of an theater company(ies). The photo that someone didn't like a few posts above was probably when he was playing Bob Mackie in "The Cher Show". He was fine in a very easy role for him. Hey, it's still Broadway. I saw him in "Kiss Me, Kate", and his performance, especially his acrobatics were astounding.

I'm surprised Beresse didn't get cast in that Roundabout version of Pal Joey that Christian Hoff got and very quickly left. Hoff is only a couple years younger (or older. I forget).

The photo at r243 is from The Cher Show press, and MB did play Bob Mackie, but he wore a Godawful wig as Mackie, and that black and white jacket definitely belongs to Berresse. I've seen him wear it elsewhere. I've met him a few time, too, and yes, very sweet and charming.

Terrible footage of him as Casely in Chicago:

I think Baresse is an attractive guy but that photo of him is pretty bad.

A few years ago, over a gay dinner party, we were doing Great Performances in a Revival That Never Happened.

There were some very interesting choices. One was Pal Joey with Berresse and I forget what grande dame, and everyone said, "Yes!"

But someone who writes about theater a lot (and isn't very popular here) said it wouldn't work because Joey is a loser and Berresse exudes such command on stage, especially when dancing or even just moving around that it would throw the character off.

He said we're supposed to see a sexy young guy who is never going to make it out of third-rate clubs, whereas Berresse has only to enter for you to think, "Broadway."

And it's not comparable to "Liza sings too well for Sally Bowles," because Liza's overall portrayal of Sally was correct. Berresse would be just too expert to be Joey, and he wouldn't be able to hide it, because it's part of his DNA. He's just a born talent.

Did that person know Gene Kelly played Joey?

[Quote] He said we're supposed to see a sexy young guy who is never going to make it out of third-rate clubs

Gary Clayton for Pal Joey?

R263 That person is clearly an idiot and knows not a thing about musical theater because Gene Kelly, Harold Lang and Fosse all had huge successes in the role. And Sinatra played him on film! Though he was miscast because he was too old. At 30 he would have been terrific in it.

R264: Yes, that guy is an expert. He knows all the standard data and lots of niche stuff as well.

I know what he'd say about Gene Kelly--that his Joey was dancing to Robert Alton choreography and Alton didn't create expert moves and Kelly was not yet his own choreographer (as he later became). If you watch the surviving clips of the original 1940 Pal Joey numbers (just bits, really) and watch what Kelly does in his later movies, you see a complete difference in style. Kelly's Joey is above all charming; you can understand why Vera wants him. But in Cover Girl he's opening up a different character: angry, overtly masculine. It's not Joey at all anymore, but someone demanding and menacing.

I'm sorry, what are you and/or your friend arguing? Gene Kelly didn't yet have "it" when he played Pal Joey?

Then how did he get it so wrong when such charismatic commanding talented people had played the role to great acclaim? Even in those home movies you can see how terrific Kelly is. A charmer oozing charisma and a terrific dancer.

And Alton was one of the very best choreographers in the mid century. His musical numbers in film are among the very best. Unless you are alluding to the fact the he was creating dances for a second class nightclub.

No wonder this individual is not popular here. His perception is way off.

r267: Thats a very astute take on early vs. mature Kelly.

Berresse is a huge talent. His husband Jeff is naturally shy and guarded and for all the [title of show] fame, he is probably much happier writing than being on stage. I don't think he has done any stage work since.

r268: Kelly had 'it', but his mature persona was not as defined the way it became from COVER GIRL on (the role where he is often described as transitioning from hoofer to dancer). The Kelly of his first picture FOR ME AND MY GAL is much closer to the Kelly of PAL JOEY.

I think Michael Berresse and Steve Kazee look similar.

The Kelly of "Me and My Gal" wouldn't have risen above a third rate nightclub?

After COVER GIRL, Harry Cohn wanted to borrow Kelly again to re-team with Rita Hayworth for PAL JOEY (with Vivienne Segal recreating her Broadway role of Vera) but pig-headed Cohn refused to loan Rita to MGM in return.

r 272: They are both heels.

R258, What is nonsensical is that you post such an idiotic statement without ever having seen Bonnie and Clyde or even listened to the OBC recording.

R236, At one of the very first Broadway Bares, Michael Berresse performed an incredibly sexy solo dance number in which he bared nearly everything.

[quote]How dare a charity try to make more money. Deduct it at tax time.

Few people can itemize deductions anymore, unless they have a huge mortgage and substantial property taxes and contributions.

I wish Broadway Backwards featured more interesting offbeat material, but audiences only respond to songs they know.

Yes, i think $100 is a little steep for a balcony seat, especially compared to prices in recent years for the same event. Plus, there are two of us going so that's $200.

[quote]Berresse is a huge talent. His husband Jeff[Bowen] is naturally shy and guarded and for all the [title of show] fame, he is probably much happier writing than being on stage. I don't think he has done any stage work since.

The [title of show] gang created and performed in a show called Now. Here. This., but it never made it past the Vineyard theater, r270. Bowen seems content with his life with Berresse and writing ditties for Disney cruise ships.

[quote]...it wouldn't work because Joey is a loser and Berresse exudes such command on stage, especially when dancing or even just moving around that it would throw the character off.

Someone mentioned Berresse playing Billy Flynn on tour, r263, but he also understudied on Broadway. He and Tom Hewitt played Flynn as unlikable and vicious, a guy who you truly believed didn't care if Roxy Hart lived or died. He later played several characters in PARADE in LA, one of them the drunken reporter (a snippet of which can be seen in the link below. He also plays the Governor). He's definitely a good enough actors to have pulled off Pal Joey, but it is a moot point now. I'll be interested to see him as William Desmond Taylor in Mack and Mabel next week.

[quote][R236], At one of the very first Broadway Bares, Michael Berresse performed an incredibly sexy solo dance number in which he bared nearly everything.

It was the 6th Broadway Bares. He danced to Salt 'n' Pepa's "Body Beautiful", and at the midnight show, he briefly flashed the audience extreme house right when teasing the removal of his g-string before refastening it, before turning upstage and taking it off entirely. It was the shortest of glimpses, but was enough to see why he walks with such confidence, and why Bowen is a shy but happy man.

Footage of that exists in B&W. It was on youtube for a long time, but seems to have been scrubbed. My kingdom for anyone who can find it again.

R266 is an enraged queen who doesn't know what he's jabbering about. Fosse was a wonderful dancer but too lightweight an actor. When he tried to take over the lead in The Conquering Hero, the producers made him audition, and he flunked it--and that role was easy to play. His Joey was scarcely seen at all--as Harold Lang's understudy at a time when few actors were ever out, and then twice at the City Center for 11 performances each. That's hardly what anyone intelligent calls a Joey for the Ges.

Harold Lang, too, was a fine dancer and always willing to put out to get a part, but after he left ballet for musicals, he too got lightweight roles. He didn't play a dramatic part in a musical till I Can Get It For You Wholesale, way at the end of his career.

As for Sinatra, Pal Joey was completely changed around to fit him rather than the original conception of Joey.

Michael Berresse, unlike Fosse and Lang, is a strong actor with presence so powerful anyone playing with him learns the secret of invisibility. There's no comparison with the others.

And I've already explained how Kelly fits into the picture.

So now you can fuck yourself.

[quote]Michael Berresse, unlike Fosse and Lang, is a strong actor with presence so powerful anyone playing with him learns the secret of invisibility. There's no comparison with the others.

MB has a healthy ego, and I respect him as a performer a lot, but you sound unhinged. One of the things Berresse does best it to show his fellow performers in their best light. A good actor does not make his fellow actors invisible. I sincerely hope you're trolling, but either way dial it back a little, will ya? It's fucking creepy.

R281, you sound like you need help. Is that really because people are challenging your well-known but hated friend’s opinion of Pal Joey? It sounds stupid to me, too.

You can get some idea of Gene Kelly's Pal Joey if you watch him in misleading titled "Christmas Holiday", which is really more of a film noir, with Kelly playing opposite Deanna Durbin. He plays a charming but kind of sinister character who gets in trouble and whose escapades leads Durbins's character in the lurch and having to find work as a kind of Donna Reed-type prostitute in "From Here to Eternity", but here, with censors, one who sings in a kind of sleazy nightclub/maybe cathouse.

So whatever happened to Christian Hoff? Always thought he was hot back in the day.

The score for PAL JOEY is one of the greats. certainly among Rodgers and Hart's finest work. But the book remains a problem. I remember seeing it (twice) at ENCORES with Peter Gallagher (not at all a dancer, but fine otherwise), Patti Lupone, and Bebe Neuwirth singing "Zip." Lots of fun.

I didn't see the misbegotten revival with Hoff and Stockard C (who was 20-25 years too old for Vera even back then) but it sounded atrocious, and that they only made the book worse.

I definitely don't support the view that any actor/singer/dancer is either too talented or has too much star appeal to portray Joey. Or Sally Bowles, for that matter. These are lead roles in musical plays, and the songs are means of dramatizing the story. Not documentary films. Anything else is just tired BS, IMHO.

[quote]they only made the book worse

A fine Roundabout tradition!

"Yes, i think $100 is a little steep for a balcony seat, especially compared to prices in recent years for the same event. "

I would gladly pay $100 for Derek Klena to sing to me.

Barresse is a hot daddy. Do they have an open relationship and is he a top?

anyone blown any hot brway boys???

I blew a dancer from 42nd st.….insatiable asshole

I blew a dancer from 42nd St. too. And I worked with Barresse. He's a nice guy. I think he knows he's talented but doesn't throw it in your face.

Why would he? He knows he's not a star.

You bitches are delusional. lmao. Especially you R257. In his Versace jacket. haha. Nice name drop.

R266 Lang and Fosse were first rate Broadway dancers with the chops to electrify an audience. As I said they both had huge successes in the role. And even when Kelly was hoofing he was still a first rate dancer. Even Fred Astaire hoofed throughout his career when it suited the dance. You clearly haven't seen much.

'So now you can fuck yourself.'

Considering I never said this to you who really is the enraged and I must add nasty queen? Never question a queen who doesn't know what he's talking about. He becomes a hissing serpent.

Questioning 3 first rates talents for the role of Joey when their performances are part of Broadway lore is beyond bizarre.

Exactly. Why would anyone pay good money to see a Joey who was played as a third-rate talent? Bizarre.

[quote]You bitches are delusional. lmao. Especially you [R257]. In his Versace jacket. haha. Nice name drop.

Delusional about WHAT, r293? It IS a Versace jacket. It's just a factoid I found interesting. I hate to think about what Berresse paid for that thing. It's ugly as sin - but then I've never been a Versace fan.

Also, in order to be a name-dropper, you actually have to know or claim to know the name-droppee. I never claimed to know Versace, only to recognize his ugly damn jacket.

Now begone, you nasty twat.

These theatre threads can be so bizarre. Michael Berresse is not a star talent. Neither is Leslie Kritzer. They work. They pay their bills. But some here will swear up and down that they have "It"!?!?! You're fooling no one, ma'am/sir(s).

And to undersell Gene Kelly, while way overselling Michael Berresse... Holy shit. Is it because Berresse is gay?

Whatever....

[QUOTE]He's a nice guy. I think he knows he's talented but doesn't throw it in your face.

His recent posts here suggest otherwise

[quote]These theatre threads can be so bizarre. Michael Berresse is not a star talent. Neither is Leslie Kritzer. They work. They pay their bills. But some here will swear up and down that they have "It"!?!?! You're fooling no one, ma'am/sir(s).

[quote]And to undersell Gene Kelly, while way overselling Michael Berresse... Holy shit. Is it because Berresse is gay?

To be fair, I think it's only one loon doing that, r297/r298. I do admire Berresse. I get that he isn't for everyone. He does seem to have "it", but for a limited audience. I think he's a talented guy who's had an interesting career trajectory

[quote]He's a nice guy. I think he knows he's talented but doesn't throw it in your face.

[quote]His recent posts here suggest otherwise.

Right now, Berresse is rehearsing Mack and Mabel by day and still working on the direction of Darling Grenadine by night. I seriously doubt he is spending any time on DataLounge, r300.

[quote]And to undersell Gene Kelly, while way overselling Michael Berresse... Holy shit. Is it because Berresse is gay?

Mr. Kelly was exactly as gay as he needed to be, when he needed to be.

Change of pace, with some very sad news:

[quote]Tweeted this morning: Hello friends. I have some tough news. Late last year I was diagnosed with ALS. I have the best medical care in the world and the greatest support. My dear husband Danny has been an angel. I will get well. In the meantime, we fight and go forward. Keep us in your thoughts. We will keep you in our thoughts, and may you beat the odds against this terrible disease.

Rebecca Luker is an enormous talent (as is Danny) and this is very disturbing to hear. I don't pray, but I send her positive thoughts and wish her and Danny the very best.

That's very sad. Luker has been very underutilised in recent times.

[quote]Tweeted this morning: Hello friends. I have some tough news. Late last year I was diagnosed with ALS. I have the best medical care in the world and the greatest support. My dear husband Danny has been an angel. I will get well. In the meantime, we fight and go forward. Keep us in your thoughts. We will keep you in our thoughts, and may you beat the odds against this terrible disease.

[quote]Rebecca Luker is an enormous talent (as is Danny) and this is very disturbing to hear. I don't pray, but I send her positive thoughts and wish her and Danny the very best.

That is awful, and thanks for sharing, r303. It's been a tough year for them. Danny was out of Moulin Rouge with a severe injury, and now to learn he was also dealing with this. I'm reminded of Marin Mazzie and Jason Danielly, another Broadway couple hard beset. I've worked with all 4, and they are 4 of the nicest people and 2 of the most loving couples you'd ever know.

Heartbreaking news.

Sadly, ALS has no cure. My heart goes out to Danny and Rebecca. It's an evil, insidious disease.

That's heartbreaking to hear. Why the fuck can't this happen to Trump?

Did Annette Funicello have ALS?

Annette had MS.

Thank you, r308.

DL fave Joey Pollari lost his father to ALS a few years ago.

It seems that God does not like sopranos.

r311 = Patti Lu

r311 I don't know -- the first season was pretty good. But even I can't figure out the ending.

[quote]But even I can't figure out the ending.

Very simple ending. The guy goes into the bathroom, Tony is distracted seeing his daughter come in the door and the guy comes out and shoots in him in the head. Never sees it coming boom total nothing, or not.

[quote]It's far too late to make professional nelly bottom Gideon Glick happen. Why do you think they're rushing Jeremy Jordan in?

I've always cringed at his acting style, also his speaking voice. I only found out very recently by reading this five-year-old interview I've linked to that he was born deaf in one ear, and also that he himself is aware that he has a weird voice and body language but embraces all of that. In the interview (at the link), he also defends Julie Taymor, so....take that for whatever it's worth.

[quote]Jeremy Jordan never had IT. haha. I remember when he came out of nowhere and was being cast in everything as a hot guy with that scrunched up proletarian face. He's forgettable. I thought Groff was too good looking for Seymour but like someone upthread said, casting is so messed up at this point does it even matter anymore. Who cares.

Aside from his looks and his other talents, Jeremy Jordan has an exceptional singing voice of great range, power, and beauty. So much so that he would deserve to be a star even if he were less good looking and not an excellent actor.

[quote]I'm inclined to follow this review but I trust you bitches to set me straight. I thought it was supposed to be wonderful, based on previous word-of-mouth.

When I saw THE GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY at the Public, my feelings about the show alternated between intense dislike and extreme boredom. I agree with the comment above that a lot of it is so cliched, it almost comes across as a parody. Interesting that the audience response on the night I attended was very poor. One of the ushers seemed confused by that, I guess based on previous audiences and also the reviews, but I think my audience was just being honest and hadn't drunk the Kool-Aid.

Jordan was also quite good in the execrable AMERICAN SON.

There was nothing to "figure out" about the ending because the show wasn't about anything. Well acted, certainly, and compelling in its scene-to-scene...but what did it all up to? What was the point? Beats me. The exact same thing about MAD MEN--much ado about....? Only BREAKING BAD, with its extraordinarily simple but brilliant set-up, fulfilled its premise from beginning to end. That's called good writing and thinking things through.

R296 is the LOON. Really angry about my opinion on that ugly guy he keeps posting about. haha. You've got issues. I knew you wouldn't get the name drop joke.

Dead in here. Must be primetime. Speaking of finding chorus boys to entertain, in 1992 (were you even born in 1992?), you could have had Randy Wojcik, Scott Fowler, Michael Berresse, Joey Pizza or Randy Bettis. They rehearsed their routines in Central Park - and you could probably have found them in the rambles after.

...and yes, they won.

Cheesy fun, gay as fuck.

Dead in here. Must be primetime. Speaking of finding chorus boys to entertain, in 1992 (were you even born in 1992?), you could have had Randy Wojcik, Scott Fowler, Michael Berresse, Joey Pizza or Randy Bettis. They rehearsed their routines in Central Park - and you could probably have found them in the rambles after.

...and yes, they won.

Cheesy fun, gay as fuck. They even wore rainbows.

Folks have been watching the Oscars -- you know, the gay Super Bowl (besides the Tonys).

R321, imagine for a second if one year they decided to hold the Oscars and the Tonys on the same night. What on earth would we do?

True, and thank you, r321. I'm glad that Parasite won, but otherwise I was so bored that I had to post an old show starring Ed McMahon twice.

I don't particularly like to watch graphic war movies --- still haven't seen "The Deer Hunter" or "Saving Private Ryan".

[quote][R296] is the LOON.

You must be new here, dear r318. Matty is the loon. I'm not Matty.

[quote] I knew you wouldn't get the name drop joke.

Jokes are supposed to be funny, r318.

Versace made some ugly stuff, and for some reason, people still wear his shit.

Scott Fowler is still smoking hot at 52. Hot body and gorgeous face.

[QUOTE]the Oscars -- you know, the gay Super Bowl (besides the Tonys).

AMPAS gets something like $110 million in TV rights for the show (and somehow spends over $40 million on it). How much do you think the Tonys gets? $50 and a free subscription to CBS All Access?

Fowler is also still a very nice guy, r326.

He is a teacher now.

Gene Kelly was great as a hoofer, but when he put on stretch pants and a beret.....OH BROTHER......

It's sad to realize there's an entire generation that doesn't know what a Hirschfeld is

We know. We call it a sch, though.

MARY! me all you want, but I gave a sad little gasp at that Hirschfeld. He is sorely missed, at least by me.

But we have SQUIGS!

Why do Sardi's caricatures suck these days? Most of the time, the sketch doesn't resemble the person and it looks like something you'd get done at a fair. Caricatures should exaggerate features and stuff.

I still can't quite believe the skin tone they chose for Norm Lewis.

[quote]But we have SQUIGS!

We don't want him.

The Inheritance posting closing this week. Bank on it.

Sardis should dig deep and hire Glen Hanson. There is nobody better.

I love Robert Risko too...but Glen is The Master.

For no reason....

Kevin Conway has died.

R280, I went digging through my collection over the weekend and found a DVD copy transferred from the 1996 Broadway Bares VI commercial VHS recording, in color.

Berresse's solo dance is sexy as hell. He eventually strips down to a white jockstrap, which he unfastens and removes as a male chorus dancer swoops in and covers Berresse's privates with a hand mirror. Still, he shows lots of skin . . . his naked ass and thighs are incredible.

[quote]Sardis should dig deep and hire Glen Hanson. There is nobody better.

OK I approve. His Carol Channing is fabulous.

FOLLIES!

[quote]FOLLIES!

When was Pat Suzuki dropped from the show? Because that's clearly her on the right.

I fear R337 may be correct. THE INHERITANCE dropped almost 8% last week and sold at 49.7% capacity. No one would keep a show running at that rate of return for very long.

If anyone is curious about the play, or wants to support a contemporary gay male writer telling contemporary gay male stories, go see it now. I finally saw it last month and I'm very glad I did.

I have all the Broadway Bares dvds. You can buy them for $5 at the Broadway Flea.

r341

How's about uploading it to YouTube as an unlisted video?

R340, also Paula Kelly:

Can somebody upload the Barresse video? I would love to see that even though I might die from it.

And upload the Olsen Twin's dad from that short lived sitcom, while you're at it. Thanks!

There is a warning on all Broadway Bares DVDs that you are not to upload any portion. They threaten with legal action.

It is sad to think there is an entire generation who would say Mary and Ethel who?

Do you mean Christopher Sieber, r350? Did he do something sexy back when he was still svelte?

Damn, I went to get my haircut tonight and my barber, who granted is originally from Russia, but speaks perfect English, was asking about the Oscars. I told him I thought Renee Zellweger was great as Judy Garland and deserved the award for "Judy". He asked me who Judy Garland was! Granted, he must be about late 30s, and he did show acknowledgment when I mentioned the "Wizard of Oz" and "Over the Rainbow", but otherwise, he didn't know her. Amazing in how years ago when there wasn't tv during the 1940s people practically idolized movies stars. So, damn!

[Quote] Do you mean Christopher Sieber, [R350]? Did he do something sexy back when he was still svelte?

Yes. As I recall, he did a duo routine with, I think, his boyfriend at the time. It was superhero themed.

[quote]It is sad to think there is an entire generation who would say Mary and Ethel who?

There's a running gag built around "Mary and Ethel" leading up to "Drop That Name," from "Bells Are Ringing."

What luck that the five minutes Christopher Sieber wasn't a whale took place during a Broadway Bares.

Don't go and see a show during the week leading up to Broadway Bares, all the chorus boys are starving themselves and lack energy. Not to mention the effort it must take to avoid Jerry Mitchell during rehearsals.

The superhero theme is Batman and Robin. Christopher Sieber looks like a completely different person.

When was the first Broadway Bares?

[quote]When was the first Broadway Bares?

1992, at Splash!, r360.

Berresse is featured on the 1996 poster, but is not on the dvd.

[quote][R280], I went digging through my collection over the weekend and found a DVD copy transferred from the 1996 Broadway Bares VI commercial VHS recording, in color.

[quote]Berresse's solo dance is sexy as hell. He eventually strips down to a white jockstrap, which he unfastens and removes as a male chorus dancer swoops in and covers Berresse's privates with a hand mirror. Still, he shows lots of skin . . . his naked ass and thighs are incredible.

Don't be a tease, r341. Post it (please?)

[quote] Not to mention the effort it must take to avoid Jerry Mitchell during rehearsals.

But r358 he's engaged now!

R362-Yeah, that makes all the difference in the universe.

No joke: Audra McDonald is is going to be playing Blanche DuBois in STREETCAR at Williamstown this summer, with Bobby Cannavale as Stanley. Of course, the production will be directed by Robert O'Hara, of SLAVE PLAY notoriety.

Celia Keenan Bolger for Stella?

r365 Sweetie, it's 2020.

ANDREW Keenan-Bolger will be Stella.

I wonder if Andrew will demand a hot dog scene. Gotta show off his talent.

I remember Michael's Bares routine. It was nice - and as he walked upstage at the end, the strap of his jock was hanging down between his legs. Classy!

Carla Gugino (love her) is Stella.

Anyone else hearing rumors that American Utopia may extend? Maybe move to The Marquis?

R361 YIKES. They are selling those Broadway Bares dvds for $35 a piece! Like I said, go to the Broadway Flea in September and the Broadway Bares booth sells them for $5 bucks a piece. Totally legit and great quality HD for all the latest ones. Even some of the old transfers don't look too bad. The really early one's from the 90s look rough.

Looks like another Bob Dylan musical is going to crash and burn on Broadway. Did they not learn from the Twyla debacle Dylan doesn't belong in theatre.

[quote]No joke: Audra McDonald is is going to be playing Blanche DuBois in STREETCAR at Williamstown this summer,

Hopefully Audra will learn to act by this summer. She's great when she stays in her lane, but I've not seen the acting chops for Blanche.

Remember when people laughed at the news that Audra would be playing Billie Holiday? She blew everyone away.

That's what convinced me to never NEVER underestimate Audra.

Nobody puts Audra in the corner.

People on other sites are questioning Audra's casting in STREETCAR because of.....her age. Methinks perhaps it's because they're too afraid to address the real reason she's wrong for the role.

Wait! Carla is playing Stella and Audra is playing her sister? I'm not one of those who scoffs at color blind casting, but does this strike anyone as a bit unrealistic? At least cast another actress of color as Stella so it makes sense. Cannavale as Stanley is great casting since he's already basically played that role in Blue Jasmine.

[Quote] Wait! Carla is playing Stella and Audra is playing her sister? I'm not one of those who scoffs at color blind casting, but does this strike anyone as a bit unrealistic?

Well, Italians often married other (non-Italian) Catholics...

All three leads of this new Streetcar are a little too old for their roles. Why does Blanche keep getting played by a woman in her 40's or 50's? Isn't she supposed to be in her 30's? And Stella's supposed to be much younger, isn't she?

[Quote] At least cast another actress of color as Stella so it makes sense.

But if the casting is colorblind...

I want a Pete Seeger musical. With him playing himself.

R379 Blanche is 30; so is Mitch; Stella is 25; Stanley is around 28.

Shouldn't Blanche and Stella still menstruate?

My God, have they ever got the casting right for this show age wise? Every production and movie I've seen has everyone looking at least over 35 or 40 if not older.

If they're going by the script, we need an Emma Stone and Florence Pugh led Streetcar.

Because of the way it's always been cast, I always assumed Blanche was some Norma Desmond-esque 40/50 something whose looks are genuinely starting to fade. If she's only supposed to be 30, how much could her looks have faded by now? Has she been doing meth or something or is it really just all in her head.

On the same note, I always thought of Mitch as some 40/50 something who was just unlucky in love. I'm not sure if them being younger makes the story more hopeful or more tragic.

For those of us who say her in Master Class -- she is a great actress. Would love to see her take on Blanche. The director, however....

I think Audra has a good Blanche in her. Her overtrained theatre speak might actually fit this role, but casting Carla as her sister is definitely odd casting.

Did anyone see that all-black Streetcar from a few years ago? I remember watching clips and being surprised by how many laughs certain lines were getting. Was that intentional?

R385 I think back in the '40s, turning 30 was an even bigger deal for a woman. Especially a single/widowed woman like Blanche. Mitch is a 30-year-old still living with his mother. We mock people like that today, so you can only imagine back then when most men were expected to be settled by at least 25.

As for Blanche's fading looks, it may be partly neurotic, but also she was an alcoholic. She smoked cigarettes, too.

Everyone smoked cigarettes when this play was written.

R383, men menstruate too nowadays. Maybe the whole cast should be on its period. (That would explain a lot.)

[quote]Because of the way it's always been cast, I always assumed Blanche was some Norma Desmond-esque 40/50 something whose looks are genuinely starting to fade. If she's only supposed to be 30, how much could her looks have faded by now? Has she been doing meth or something or is it really just all in her head.

At one point in the script, Blanche refers to herself as "over 30." I don't remember if her age is specified more exactly in the stage directions, but I believe she's supposed to be in her early- to mid-30s, which as others have noted was considered a lot older in the 1940s than it is today, especially for an unmarried woman. And as for her fading looks, yes, that would be partly due to heavy smoking and drinking.

But it's the usual situation. If you were to cast a modern-day production of STREETCAR with a 32-year-old as Blanche, everyone would start screaming that she looks too young for the role, because 30 is the new 20, and so on. So you usually need to cast a Blanche who's AT LEAST 40, if not several years older, so she has the proper fading-beauty look.

Isn't Audra a little fat for Blanche?

The worst Blanche I ever saw was, unfortunately, Natasha Richardson, who was so toned and fit she looked like she had just arrived from Equinox and not Belle Reve... I left at intermission.

And as much as I like John C Reilly, he looked like a sack of mashed potatoes in this production, and acted like one too.

Audra is not playing Blanche DuBois! SHe's playing Noir DuBois!

Blanche is... not well. I don't think she has to be cast over the age in the stage directions. Nor do I think that Mitch's cruel remarks need to be based in reality. His words could easily be brought forth simply to wound.

Jessica Tandy was 38/39 and Malden was 36 in the original Streetcar. Kim Hunter was 26 and Brando was 24 and originally thought to be too young for the role.

I think Blanche is a rather mild and much faded 'beauty' and definitely not a hottie type like so many Blanches that get cast....I mean, the original was Jessica Tandy.

R395 LOL

R394 I still can't believe they cast Reilley as 'Stanley.' He's more of a 'Mitch.'

In musical news...

Bad news travels fast. GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY already has a bunch of dates available on TDF, and they've just started previews.

Does anyone know what their advance sale looks like? Assuming they have one.

Tandy looked striking. Her looks were suited to stage lighting.

Per the stage directions:

Stella is "a gentle young woman, about twenty-five." Blanche is "about five years older than Stella."

Upon her entrance, Blanche is described: "She is daintily dressed in a white suit with a fluffy bodice, necklace and earrings of pearl, white gloves and hat, looking as if she were arriving at a summer tea or cocktail party.... Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her uncertain manner, as well as her white clothes, that suggests a moth."

Yeah, that totally sounds like Audra.

Audra tends to histrionic. As suggested upthread, her theatricality might be suited to the role.

Natasha RIchardson, RIP, also used a very unfortunate to listen to kind of voice when she did the role. John C. Reilly is a Mitch, and I didn't want to see him with his shirt off. Amy Ryan as Stella was the only really good performance in that production.

Gillian Anderson affected a very irritating voice for much of the latter part of the play. I saw the cinema broadcast.

Uta.

Audra's revised "Blanche" description:

[quote]She is dressed in oversized Eileen Fisher knits in drab earth tones, chunky turquoise and silver jewelry, mittens and a knit beanie, looking as if she were arriving at a pot luck dinner or a homeless shelter.... Her delicate beauty must avoid a strong light. There is something about her lurching manner, as well as her dubious clothes, that suggests a stowaway. Or a lesbian pottery instructor."

Elaine Stritch might have made a fun Blanche. She'd have fought out Stanley though, same as she could have Marlon Brando in real life.

Elaine Stritch could have been one of Stanley's bowling buddies.

I always think of Blanche as not being very strong. I think it's interesting to see someone start her off as seemingly strong and slowly descend into madness, growing more and more fragile, but someone like Stritch seems like she'd fight to the death to keep her dreams alive and cut anyone who got in her way. A good quality for, say, Mama Rose (a role Stritch would have excelled at) but not for Blanche.

I remember thinking Ann-Margret struck a good balance between Blanche's strength and fragility when she did it in that TV movie. Jessica Lange played her fragile and insane from her first entrance, which left her nowhere to go as the story progressed. It's just much more interesting to see someone slowly ease into madness than being insane right from the get go and trying to out-insane yourself with each scene.

R410, your post reminded me of the review of Faye Dunaway's Blanche: "She didn't rely on the kindness of strangers, she damn well demanded it."

Elaine Stritch is a dyke and Audra is black and OLD. But the show must go on. I guess.

[quote]Gillian Anderson affected a very irritating voice for much of the latter part of the play.

Gillian Anderson played the whole thing as if she were channeling Tammy Wynette on a bender. But, then, that whole production was atrocious. I'll never forget the white plastic chairs, the glass kitchen tabletop and the drip coffee maker, while Blanche declaims "Only Poe! Only Mr. Edgar Allen Poe could do it justice!" You could not come up with a more boneheaded reading of the play.

Sing out, Blanche!!!

R412, please! Cicely Tyson is old. Audra McDonald is middle-aged.

[quote]and Audra is black

How observant of you.

[quote]Hopefully Audra will learn to act by this summer.

Wow I give you credit for not caring you come off as an asshole.

Audra can indeed act, although she hasn't really been cast in roles where she has to emanate the kind of gentility that Blanche is supposed to have, even if it has faded. Blanche is kind of a failed aspiring grande dame, even though she really is only about 30 or so in the play's text. Audra did play the instability and downtrodden aspects that were part and parcel of Billie Holiday though, so you never know.

I'm sick of her ugly ass. I'm sick of all of them.

[quote]My God, have they ever got the casting right for this show age wise?

R384 It's the same with GYPSY. The real Rose was 20 when Louise was born and 22 when June was born. At the start of the play, when the girls are around 7 and 5, respectively, she and the beau/agent who inspired Herbie would have been in their late twenties. Then mid to late thirties for the rest of the play. Only in the final two scenes would Rose be around 40. Gypsy Rose Lee began stripping in her late teens.

Tyne Daly, of all people, came the closest to how old Rose would probably be by the end of act II. I think she was in her early 40's when she did it. Bernadette was in her 50's, but God knows she looked about 35 or 40 when she did it.

It's just musical comedy folks, not a documentary.

I wanted to see Patricia Clarkson when she played Blanche. Did anyone see her?

Just like Telly playing 17 year old Aladdin. Theatre is delusional. Especially Broadway. R422 Shut up already with that same stupid lame excuse. Can't you come up with something new already? Fuckin asinine lame brain.

AB5 is killing local theaters in California. I saw a fundraiser at a show I went to last weekend for the company that put it on; they need $40,000 to comply with the new laws. I’ve heard, from them, of an opera company in Northern California having to close because they couldn’t afford what it costs to comply. This is going to have a real ripple effect on all sectors of the economy. This is going to limit the number of venues for people to begin their pursuit of the dramatic arts. This is more than just Uber and Lyft getting hurt.

Casting an Asian actor as Aladdin makes sense since the character is actually Chinese in origin.

R425 If you don't mind, could you please explain in layman's terms what AB5 entails? I'm still not quite sure what it is.

I saw her, R423, That was back in 2004, and to be honest, I don't recall very much about her performance. I was much more impressed by Amy Ryan as Stella,

I am reminded of poor, at that point, Tallulah Bankhead, playing Blanche Dubois in a disastrous performance that was sabotaged by her ardent and vocal fans, who roared and screamed with laughter at her every inadvertently campy line…

It would be interesting to see an age-appropriate Rose and Herbie. They usually cast unattractive, middle-aged actors, so it would be interesting and a breath of fresh air with a younger, attractive couple in their thirties. Rose was considered attractive and charming. She was able to charm her way through life. Though Louise was initially wary of 'Gordon' (as in the musical), she mentions in her memoir that Rose was equally smitten by him, like a schoolgirl, so he must've been good-looking.

I agree, R430.

If only I'd moved forward with my film version back in 2016!

I can't believe someone thought "let's get Kay Medford for this studio cast recording."

Oh...Kay...

R425 Yep. One of my local theaters cancelled one of their productions because of AB5.

[quote]Shouldn't Blanche and Stella still menstruate?

If Ivo were directing, they'd probably do it on stage.

I would have liked to have seen Lois Nettleton's Blanche.

*

Tennessee:

Prejudice is, of course, always based on ignorance, which finds a friendly second cousin in fear. I was entirely wrong about Lois Nettleton, who turned out to be one of the greatest actresses with whom I have ever worked. I regret that you can't see her Blanche, and I regret that we will never see her work in the plays of Edward Albee or Congreve or the Greek tragedies. I think her Medea would send us all rushing to the rivers in fear. She will never be allowed the opportunity to play these roles because she has been relegated to the lower extremities of acting by virtue of her association with television, and this is insanity.

JAN 4 Tennessee Williams on Lois Nettleton: Her Own Magic

Interview with Tennessee Williams Conducted by James Grissom New Orleans 1982

In these comments Tenn is referring to three productions of A Streetcar Named Desire that were produced in 1973 to commemorate the play's twenty-fifth anniversary. A Los Angeles production starred Faye Dunaway and Jon Voight, and was directed by James Bridges; Ellis Rabb directed Rosemary Harris and James Farentino at Lincoln Center; and Jules Irving directed Lois Nettleton and Alan Feinstein in a production that began at Lincoln Center and then moved to the St. James Theater on Broadway.

As unfortunate as the silver productions of Streetcar turned out to be, a gift was given to me in the form of Lois Nettleton. There is vicious theatrical prejudice in the world, and I have been--and perhaps will again be--guilty of it. I did not think that Lois was sufficient to my Blanche, and I came to this conclusion based on the fact that the bulk of her work had been in television. I found her proficient and professional, but I could not imagine that she would manage the role of Blanche. I offered no resistance, because, quite frankly, I was exhausted and disgusted, and I had come to believe that my opinions--and my work--had no place in the American theatre any longer. I simply acquiesced, and Lois assumed the role.

Prejudice is, of course, always based on ignorance, which finds a friendly second cousin in fear. I was entirely wrong about Lois Nettleton, who turned out to be one of the greatest actresses with whom I have ever worked. I regret that you can't see her Blanche, and I regret that we will never see her work in the plays of Edward Albee or Congreve or the Greek tragedies. I think her Medea would send us all rushing to the rivers in fear. She will never be allowed the opportunity to play these roles because she has been relegated to the lower extremities of acting by virtue of her association with television, and this is insanity.

No prejudice exists in the hearts and minds of those who saw her Blanche. Utterly real, terrified, her mind always aglow with the next fantasy, the next story, the next attempt at charm. I came to believe that she was actually losing weight throughout the play, but this was her own magic: She shrank herself, mentally and physically, with no aid from wardrobe, by virtue of walls closing in on her mind. She seemed always to be running from a blazing fire only she could see, but, by the end of the play, all of us could see it, feel it, note that we had been damaged by it.

I believed that she could seduce men; I believed that she could also nurture young boys and girls into the beauty of poetry; I believed that she represented the amenities and the ardor of an earlier, slower time, and now the world was automated, engine-driven, and there was no time for her necessary, if faded, charms.

I'm sorry I can't show you her work, and I'm sorry I can't write new plays for her. I wish I had the strength. I do, however, have the desire. I have the memory of her Blanche.

[Quote] She will never be allowed the opportunity to play these roles because she has been relegated to the lower extremities of acting by virtue of her association with television

If she coulda been, she woulda been.

No one can stop me!

Great interview....

Gwen Verdon interviewed by Rian Keating, 1983 Public Access

I wonder if Corden will have his own Schofield moment.

Some of you must be ATC posters. You get so pedantic about the actual age of stage actors or stage directions. Let's face it, 30-something in the 40s, or, even the 70s, was VERY different from 30-something today. If it works for the character, I don't give a shit what the actor's actual age is.

I have my doubts about Audra, but, as someone up thread said, I thought her casting as Billy Holiday was a massive mistake and she proved me wrong there.

[quote]Some of you must be ATC posters. You get so pedantic about the actual age of stage actors or stage directions. Let's face it, 30-something in the 40s, or, even the 70s, was VERY different from 30-something today. If it works for the character, I don't give a shit what the actor's actual age is.

You may not give a shit, but some of us do want to see it done differently, like getting age-appropriate actors playing the parts for once. They've done GYPSY every which way,, professionally, but never with thirtysomething actors as Rose and Herbie. And I ask, why the hell not? Frankly, I'm tired of GYPSY revivals for a while, but if done this way, I'd be very interested in seeing it. It would be a nice change of pace.

R440 I've wondered about him, too. I remember he used to have a talk show in the UK. At one point, he had One Direction on and had the blonde one pull down his pants to reveal his bare ass and then he proceeded to apply a fake tattoo of his (Corden's) face on his cheek. Even I was like, "That's very gay!" That was my first exposure to him, so I assumed that he was.

[Quote] And I ask, why the hell not?

Most actresses try put off playing mothers as long as possible, especially mothers of teens.

I guess, if we want a younger Rose, we can look at the high school and college productions on YouTube. Haven't seen a good one yet, but I've seen a lot who have tried to ape LuPone with every line reading and lyric as if their teacher just gave them a bootleg of the show and told them to copy it verbatim.

I think there are certain roles that get more interesting the more years you have on you. A role like Rose or Dolly even in the hands of a 20/30-something powerhouse feel odd.

At the same time, there are roles like Sally Bowles and Mame where, the older you cast them, the more pathetic they become. Who want to see a 43 year old Sally Bowles still thinking she's going to make it as a star with her crappy singing in a Berlin nightclub or a 67 year old Mame Dennis who drinks until all hours of the night and tries in vain to keep up with the times? It changes the shows a bit. The younger they are, the more understandable their behavior is, but the older they get, it just becomes sad that they still haven't grown up a little bit.

Are you seriously suggesting a higher schooler as Rose indicates how a younger Rose would be played in a professional production?

Black don’t crack so Audra can play 30

I'm available, and I'm the right age...!

[quote]You may not give a shit, but some of us do want to see it done differently, like getting age-appropriate actors playing the parts for once. They've done GYPSY every which way,, professionally, but never with thirtysomething actors as Rose and Herbie. And I ask, why the hell not?

The reason why not is that a person who was age 30 in the 1920s is roughly equivalent to a person being age 45 or 50 in the present day, and that's why casting an actress in her late 20s or early 30s to play Rose in GYPSY would look ridiculous, even if that conforms with the actual age of the real-life character.

Blanche shouldn't look like she can play linebacker either.

And yet, Chita Rivera was pursued in the early 1960s to play Rose in London. And other actresses like Susan Johnson played the role at that time. Some actors have a mature quality that manifests way before they reach middle age.

[quote]I have my doubts about Audra, but, as someone up thread said, I thought her casting as Billy Holiday was a massive mistake and she proved me wrong there.

I loved Audra as Billie. But Billie was black. Blanche is not. In fact, her "whiteness" is part of a dominant theme of STREETCAR -- i.e. the usurpation of the Aristocratic Old White South by the base, mongrel Kowalskis of a new generation. Fer Chrissake, "white" is even part of her name!

So, R452, you're suggesting that Stanley Kowalski (a "mongrel?") is less white than Blanche DuBois?

How.... interesting.

I hope Audra's next role is MAME.

Audra was fucking terrible in Lady Day. Honestly one of the worst stage performances I've seen the past 20 years.

[quote]So, you're suggesting that Stanley Kowalski (a "mongrel?") is less white than Blanche DuBois?

In terms of the play: Yes. He is constantly denigrated by Blanche as a "Polack", an "ape", and a "survivor of the Stone Age". Seems pretty clear that he does not meet her Old South standards.

[quote]Audra was fucking terrible in Lady Day. Honestly one of the worst stage performances I've seen the past 20 years.

Yeah well The Tonys and Drama Desk disagree.

[quote]Every production and movie I've seen has everyone looking at least over 35 or 40 if not older.

Vivien Leigh was 33 when she played Blanche in London, and 36 when she filmed the movie. Kim Hunter was 27 when she filmed the movie. People just looked older back then, cigarettes and booze took a toll. By the time people hit their 30s, a lot of them passed for being in their 40s. Leigh was especially cursed, with cigarettes, booze, tuberculosis, and bipolar disorder eating away at her beauty. It's amazing she looked as good as she did in her mid-30s given those circumstances.

"Blanche shouldn't look like she can play linebacker either."

She can act and play linebacker. Blanche is a STAR!

Jeez it's not smoking and drinking, it's a radical change in nutrition (steroids and hormones in food), and aesthetic.

I get so bored by these age arguments. The original Private Lives had leads in their early 30s and secondary actors in their 20s. Now the play is always performed with two old warhorses in the leads.

The problem is economics. Producers are not going to trust a role to a 20/30 year-old no matter how good. They want a 50 year old who can sell tickets. With very few exceptions, that includes 20 year-old from film and TV. (AnnE Hathaway is probably the only actress in her 30s with a big enough name to carry a musical. Natalie Portman, Emily Blunt, and (possibly) Amanda Seyfried might carry a non-musical play. )

Alex Newell is the paperboy!

No one has mentioned Cate Blanchett as Blanche ... I'm still annoyed that I didn't see it. Was it all that?

If you want to see Cate as Blanche, just watch Blue Jasmine. It’s basically the same thing filtered through a minor Woody Allen lens.

R423, I traveled to the Kennedy Center from NYC just to see Patricia Clarkson, she was magnificent as Blanche...the production was not up to her level though.

R423, I traveled to the Kennedy Center from NYC just to see Patricia Clarkson, she was magnificent as Blanche...the production was not up to her level though.

Oh, Streetcar!

I'm with you, r455. I thought Audra as Billie was an example of expert mimicry, nothing else. I would have rather stayed home and listened to Holiday's recordings. I was sure the critics were going to roast her, but no . . .

Speaking of Blanche, I saw Sandy Dennis do the role in Chicago in the 70s. She was quite good. She certainly had the fragility down pat.

You're all wrong. The worst Blanche I've ever seen was the pitiful Rachel Weisz in the Rob Ashford production at Donmar Warehouse. She played Blanche like a drunken heroin addict, and she was nowhere near up to the task. The production, with the exception of Stanley, was dreadful.

Sandy was wonderful on stage, r469. I saw her in Born Yesterday She was quite good in that as well.

Sandy Dennis as Blanche sounds wonderful. Her trademark vulnerability probably helped her out a lot with the role. She might not have been as much of a looker as most of the other Blanches, but that could have added to the drama a bit. Imagine knowing you've never been a great beauty and seeing what little beauty you do have circling down the drain.

R427, there was already a thread about it:

R453, you are a complete idiot as well as a race-baiting troublemaker. See R456 for a clear explanation of what you are too dense to understand.

[quote]I get so bored by these age arguments. The original Private Lives had leads in their early 30s and secondary actors in their 20s. Now the play is always performed with two old warhorses in the leads. The problem is economics. Producers are not going to trust a role to a 20/30 year-old no matter how good. They want a 50 year old who can sell tickets.

You're right, but there were also many cases back in the day of older stars being cast in young roles -- because they were stars. This would include almost every role played by Mary Martin after she achieved stardom.

[quote]I traveled to the Kennedy Center from NYC just to see Patricia Clarkson, she was magnificent as Blanche...the production was not up to her level though.

I also saw that production, and I agree. The actor who played Stanley is/was very hot but not really right for the role, and the direction of the show in general wasn't very good.

[quote]The worst Blanche I've ever seen was the pitiful Rachel Weisz in the Rob Ashford production at Donmar Warehouse.

I didn't see that production, but considering who directed it, I would say it had no chance of being anything other than awful.

R474, [quote]You're right, but there were also many cases back in the day of older stars being cast in young roles -- because they were stars. This would include almost every role played by Mary Martin after she achieved stardom.

In most of those cases, she was cast because she owned the property (Sound of Music) or the show was built around her (often by her "good friend" producer Cheryl Crawford.)

We don't really have shows built around a specific actor/actress any longer. Your comment also doesn't deal with the issue of the role being cast much older *in a revival*. The issue is when the role has been established to be a 20-30 something from the original production and it is now routinely played by actors twice that age.

[quote] Yeah well The Tonys and Drama Desk disagree.

Yeah, they've never gotten anything wrong before.

Thanks, R475, but there are still lots of examples of older stars originating the roles of younger characters in the original productions of plays and musicals back in the day. Too many examples to name, but let's start with Gertrude Lawrence in THE KING AND I (she was 53) and Ethel Merman in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (she was 38, and the character is supposed to much younger, especially at the start of the show).

How fast is "Girl From North Country" going to flop out? Word of mouth is terrible.

[quote] the issue of the role being cast much older *in a revival*. The issue is when the role has been established to be a 20-30 something from the original production and it is now routinely played by actors twice that age.

r475 makes a great point. We may never see another production of it, but [italic]Camelot[/italic] is great example - it's not about her choosing between a hot young guy and a daddy. Burton was 35 and Goulet was only 8 years younger.

[quote]Kim Hunter was 27 when she filmed the movie. People just looked older back then, cigarettes and booze took a toll.

I think it's also hairstyles and clothing. I think if Kim Hunter had a more flattering hairstyle, she would have looked younger.

[quote]How fast is "Girl From North Country" going to flop out? Word of mouth is terrible.

As I've said before, I pretty much hated the show at the Public, but at the time, I felt I was in the minority. It seemed like that production got several great reviews (including the Times) and had lots of very good word of mouth. But maybe I had a false impression of the word of mouth, and maybe some of the people who said they loved the show only said that because the Times loved it.

R480. Clothing and hair do have a lot to do with it. There was a rather infamous production of A Winters Tale at the Public where the first half was set in the late 1700s and the "16 years later" was about 1810. The problem was that the Empire style clothing made everyone look younger rather than 16 years older.

She must've been willing in bed, because Stanley could have done better than this.

Isn't there a line in the script about pulling Stella down off her pedestal and "you liked it" etc. Stella is a status symbol for Stanley. Her breeding is sufficient, she doesn't have to be a knockout. I guess people think Stanley = Brando.

R484 I think Stanley is supposed to be hot/sexy. Stella is dickmatized by Stanley; she finds it difficult to extricate herself and puts up with his abuse and boorish behavior because of his looks.

Sex appeal and good looks aren't always the same thing. Gillian Anderson's Stanley was not a handsome man. Though I agree that John C. Reilly was a step too far.

[quote]but there are still lots of examples of older stars originating the roles of younger characters in the original productions of plays and musicals back in the day. Too many examples to name, but let's start with Gertrude Lawrence in THE KING AND I (she was 53) and Ethel Merman in ANNIE GET YOUR GUN (she was 38, and the character is supposed to much younger, especially at the start of the show).

Mary Martin was out of menopause playing a little boy for Heaven's sake

But was she a white boy? Or Polish/White-Ajacent?

I loved Girl From The North Country at The Public. Thought it was beautiful. Want to see it again on Broadway. It's not a play. It's not a musical. It's a beautiful character study with songs.

R487 Speaking of PETER PAN, I hope to see a professional production with a young boy playing the part instead of a grown woman. When they did that live musical a few years back, I was hoping they'd go as far as even hiring a well-known young actor/singer for the part, just to do something different. Instead, we got Allison Williams and the whole thing sucked anyway!

Gary Clayton played Peter Pan a year or two back.

I saw a rather hefty Daniel Boys play Peter Pan in a musical version that deservedly went nowhere.

A new adaptation of "Peter and Wendy" at D.C.'s Shakespeare Theatre in December had a strapping young man playing Peter. Unfortunately, the new adaptation was terrible.

R489, that's fine that you liked GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY, but I thought the script was chock-full of cliches and also incredibly boring.

How many fucking versions of Peter Pan do we have to have? I can’t think of any other property so over-adapted and so over-programmed.

R495, It is in public domain now; so, you can expect numerous versions.

Question- do you count Bat Out of Hell?

Is a certain horrible power-agent's partner still stinking up "North Country"?

The Inheritance sent out a desperate "must buy this week" uber discount email this morning. It's over...

It's sad when you see a revival and it's the cast that is in need of being revived and not the play.....

R495 a few years' moratorium on any new adaptations or works derived from THE WIZARD OF OZ, PETER PAN, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, or CINDERELLA would be fine with me.

R500, I might make an exception for The Wizard of Oz...Goes Wrong, though The Mischief Theatre Company seem to have received a letter from their insurance company barring any more physical comedy.

[quote]Speaking of PETER PAN, I hope to see a professional production with a young boy playing the part instead of a grown woman. When they did that live musical a few years back, I was hoping they'd go as far as even hiring a well-known yo

This kid Josh Colley would have been perfect but all grown up now.

Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and A Christmas Carol all need to be put on a 25 year ban list.

I've been watching that kid Josh Colley. Not to the point of creepy. He can sing. Have you seen him in the Hamilton Schulyer Sisters number? It's on Youtube.

I saw Joshua Colley in the world premiere of A BRONX TALE at Papermill. He was a star. It's a crime he wasn't able to do Broadway. But he grew so fast. The kid who replaced him didn't even come close.

Josh steals this whole trailer with just 30 seconds.

...and then puberty hit. But, he was good.

They should've made him a eunuch to preserve his voice.

[quote]How many fucking versions of Peter Pan do we have to have? I can’t think of any other property so over-adapted and so over-programmed.

Walt Disney and Mary Martin did it best. What else can be done that hasn't already been done with it?

[quote] a few years' moratorium on any new adaptations or works derived from THE WIZARD OF OZ, PETER PAN, A CHRISTMAS CAROL, or CINDERELLA would be fine with me.

[quote]Cinderella, Alice in Wonderland and A Christmas Carol all need to be put on a 25 year ban list.

One could make a case that long copyright laws are one reason for such creative stagnation. Copyrights were never meant to last indefinitely.

R498, I guess that absurd, completely unnecessary article in the Sunday Arts section of the Times about nobody liking The inheritance in NYC did nothing for ticket sales.

Actually the chief purpose of that article, to prove to the world that the Times still has some power to sell tickets (which it has not for years) makes the show's demise all the more amusing.

So, should I see the inheritance, or not? And should I see both parts, or just part one?

Kids trying to sing down and dirty is always weird.

[quote]Walt Disney and Mary Martin did it best. What else can be done that hasn't already been done with it?

Apparently you missed the recent D.C. version, which turned the story into a female empowerment saga. Fine, but it was so clumsily executed and badly written. At one point, Wendy, Tinker Bell and Tiger Lily literally raised their fists in the air and shouted, "Girl power!"

Tiger Lily saying "I am woman, hear me roar" might actually have been mildly clever.

Mary Martin was not cast because she owned the properties. She was cast because she was a huge star and frigging brilliant onstage.

R507 He was great. It wasn't just his singing either. His acting was funny and adorable. The kid on Broadway was fine but I had seen Josh already. Josh did the baseball game on the radio scene so good. I was cracking up.

[quote]Josh steals this whole trailer with just 30 seconds.

Someone should have grabbed him off that stage, threw a red wig on him and done a Broadway revival of Annie.

Listen to his beautiful vocals here. He would have been an incredible Peter Pan. Puberty killed this voice.

[quote]Someone should have grabbed him off that stage, threw a red wig on him and done a Broadway revival of Annie.

Well, we had "AfricAnnie," so why not "TrAnnie?"

It's already been done Down Under.

Way ahead of you r519.

After that, I'll never say a word against John Huston's version again as long as I live.

R513 Are you serious? LOL! The far-leftists are getting out of control with their woke agendas/propaganda.

[quote]Why can't art just be art?

Because that would require artists to put their egos aside for the good of the art they create.

Go see it, R511, and make up your own mind. It's a major theatrical experience, whether you love the play or not.

I had my issues, but I really enjoyed the play and the production and wouldn't have missed it for the world.

Yeah, r511. Don't rely on the DL masses to make your decisions for you.

[quote]Walt Disney and Mary Martin did it best.

Yeah, well this never gets tired...

It doesn't get better than this.

Last year, Brazil put on a professional production of Jule Styne's PETER PAN with an actual male in the lead.

I know there's one queen here screaming how "boring" Girl from the North Country was, but I really enjoyed it - it's not a gigantic show, so don't go expecting FOLLIES or GYPSY. But at least its not another traditional "bio" musical or movie adaptation.

It makes no difference, R529. The #MeToo Movement SJW'S will Soo enough out a stop to Peter Pan altogether. NO WAY will they stand for him and those little boys to be holed up in the woods together.

[quote]little boys to be holed

Pics please.

Marsha Kramer who played Wendy in Duncan's Pan just passed away. Alex Winter of Bill & Ted was John.

[quote]I know there's one queen here screaming how "boring" Girl from the North Country was.....

I'm not the only queen here screaming that, and apparently the Broadway production is not selling, so word of mouth must not be as good as it was purported to be during the run at the Public. If anyone is interested, by all means, go see the show and judge for yourself. But I can't recommend it because, as I said, I thought it was terribly cliched and also deadly boring (probably because it was so cliched).

[quote] Marsha Kramer who played Wendy in Duncan's Pan just passed away. Alex Winter of Bill & Ted was John.

They had a 34 year old woman playing Wendy??

Wasn't Amy Ryan a 40-something Stella?

Amy Ryan was 35 when she played Stella, R536, and she certainly didn't read as too old for the part. It was at the Kennedy Center, not a TV production.

I'm surprised.

Thinking about jerry Herman, I gave Mame another listen. PIty the show can't probably ever get revived for its politics - about the South, about cliched women and more - but something about his lyrics emerged that made me realize why recent and current musicals really disappoint. He knew how to craft turns-of-phrase that were genuinely inventive and engaging, elevated with enough originality to stick in your mind without drawing attention to themselves as arty or treacly. Simple language, just better. "You coax the blues right out of the horn, you charm the husk right off of the corn" is really really good - especially compared to the prosaic lyrics we get today.

An all black version of MAME could sidestep some of that. Just don't cast Norm Lewis as Horace.

I mean, Beauregarde (is that his name?).

I agree, R539. Herman is underrated as a lyricist, IMHO. At his best, he created poetry with a heart.

Who's going to MACK & MABLE next week at ENCORES? I'll be there!

Better link to video here.

[quote] Who's going to MACK & MABLE next week at ENCORES?

I'll go if I'm abel.

Hee.

MACK & MABEL.

In other stage news...

This sounds.... um, interesting.

Girl From North Country is being revived in London already. It starts in a few months, I believe. It must have ben a big enough hit for them to bring it back so quickly. I wonder why that excitement has not traveled across the pond, especially since it seems like such an American story.

Brits tend to appreciate old American music more than Americans, particular music that falls outside "rawk" - folk, blues, soul etc.

I don't understand how GIRL is being marketed (if it's being marketed at all). They could be doing a hard-sell of the Dylan songbook to Boomers, who still constitute the largest Bway audience, and promoting new versions of those beloved songs, but I don't see them doing that.

I can see where selling generic "Americana" (small-town life! Dusty poor people!) would appeal to Brits more than to Americans (who rightfully ask, WTF is this all about?)

No one knows how to promote new theatre any more. Thinking about this, THE INHERITANCE, and some other recent events.

Could Girl From the North Country be sold in relation to FRIENDS? Or SEX & THE CITY? Get an intern on it, stat!

[quote] Who's going to MACK & MABLE next week at ENCORES?

[quote] I'll go if I'm abel.

I'll go if I'm cain.

R540 Norm is more of an Irene (or is that Vera?).

The reason Girl worked in London and won't on Broadway is The Brits don't care if the book to musical is either inane or inept. This why so many bad musicals -- Dirty Dancing, Thriller! Live, ...Jamie, run for years over there. They forgive them for being stupid.

I saw it at the Public as well, and didn't care for it. I agree, boring. The music didn't really fit the book.

[quote] Who's going to MACK & MABLE next week at ENCORES?

Mabel, not Mable. I wonder who’s doing the tailback? Might Bernadette actually appear?

Thanks for posting the Sandy Duncan Peter Pan clip, R527. I saw that production, and she was fantastic.

Sandy Duncan was terrific on stage no matter what she did. Her Roxie was one of the best ever...

Ruthie Henshall was terrific on stage as Velma. I couldn't take my eye off her.

Sandy should have won the Tony that year, instead of Patti.

"You coax the blues right out of the horn, you charm the husk right off of the corn" is really really good - especially compared to the prosaic lyrics we get today."

Yes, it is. Because it's specific imagery. But all the pearl-clutching about its "politics" is just silly. First off, the tone is satirical and knowing camp, with hypocrites and fools getting lambasted throughout. Do you think Lawrence and Lee and, later, Herman, didn't know what they were doing (check out L&L's INHERIT THE WIND, in which they take small-town ignorance and intolerance to task) ? Who cares what humorless SJWs--who have no sense of history or legacy--have to say about MAME? The work stands on its own without apology.

R560 Thank you! I was going to post something similar. I too don't see what is problematic about the show, and I'm a minority. So sick of white leftists being offended for me!

I saw a production of Mame about a year or so ago. It's got longuers - the script could use some judicious trimming. And it absolutely has to be cast to a fare-thee-well. The best there are (like the Bette Midler Dolly was). The diciest thing about it is Ito, most specifically his pigeon English. "Missy Dennis" and all that. With the scene at Peckerwood, well, it's the Deep South. There's nothing specific about blacks, it's just that we know how that Southern Plantation crowd thinks. But there are no specific lines.

Imelda might do it post Dolly.

[quote]Imelda might do it post Dolly.

Because Imelda has always seemed like such a fun person.

Imelda is completely lacking the glamour that Mame needs. And what about Tracie Bennett? Is her production not coming in to the West End?

The producers would be fools to bring it into the West End with Bennett.

She’s better casting for it than Imelda would be,

Levi and Sprouse to film musical comedy.

Are there any plans for a film of "The Book of Mormon?" Or even a filmed version of the stage show? I was thinking that the South Park guys might even consider making it an animated film.

The only person that could really pull off Mame would be Catherine Zeta-Jones. The role needs someone with a bit of style and glamour. They should film it and have Angela Lansbury play Mother Burnside.

Maybe pull in a song from the Jerry Herman trunk to have her sing. It would be great if she was in a wheelchair singing "Tap Your Troubles Away." Can't you see Angela Lansbury banging a cane on the floor and ordering her servants to "tap" their troubles away.

Catherine Zeta Jones' star has dimmed considerably. Renee Zelwegger is a more likely choice, at least for a movie, due to her recent Oscar win. CZJ actually could play Vera well.

Has Zachary Levi found the right girl yet?

Yes, she's coming down from Canada as soon as the Chrono virus ban is lifted

[quote]Has Zachary Levi found the right girl yet?

He only dates in Europe.

R562. It's pidgin English, not "pigeon." Pidgin is a linguistic term for a language created for the purposes of trade or business (usually a version of the economically dominant one) and used to allow exchanges and transactions. Pidgins either disappear when one or both groups become more fluent in the other language or take on permanent status and are then called creoles.

Renee Zellweger could play "Mame" as Judy Garland, as Garland was seriously considered for the original, though the insurance companies wouldn't cover her for fear she was unreliable. I know, not doable, but fun to think of.

Well, Tracy Bennett played Carlotta as Judy Garland, so walk ahead, Renee.

[quote]So walk away, Renee.

I only wish.

Have fun doing it.

I bet Liza has watched "Judy" at home. I wonder what she really thinks of it.

r572 he was married......for a few months...quicky bearding

That's barely enought time for a pencil moustache.

*enough

And the protests continue...

I'm not especially a fan of sexual harassment in the workplace, or of shaming those who've been harrassed, so I sympathize with the protestors. But I don't see how this is doing anything besides providing more (free) PR for this troubled production.

I have no intention of seeing this WSS, for a multitude of reasons.

[quote]Are there any plans for a film of "The Book of Mormon?" Or even a filmed version of the stage show? I was thinking that the South Park guys might even consider making it an animated film.

There was some talk about it a few years ago, but no real sense of urgency on the part of the creators. More like "Yeah, someday, we'll get around to it."

I think an animated version could be terrific.

[quote]There was some talk about it a few years ago, but no real sense of urgency on the part of the creators. More like "Yeah, someday, we'll get around to it."

Their first film was [italic]Cannibal!: The Musical[/italic], on which Troma screwed them over. As long as they can keep running [italic]South Park[/italic] into the ground, they will.

R583 Thanks for the link. I just signed.

R586 is he currently harassing people in his cast? Is he some kind of a danger? Or is this just about a mob of people wanting to stick it to someone? The ironic thing is this mob is now harassing HIM. THEY are the danger.

I'm a focus group of one on the fence about seeing M&M, and wow that clip does not make it look good ... Sills is too light and Socha looks 14

However, both were excellent in the Encores! excerpts done a couple of years ago.

Wish someone in NY would find out who these concerned citizens are. Go to their work and tell people outside they are trying to ruin a man's life and career, lets face it, if he is let go he is all but unemployable in NY. A man who has not been indicted, tried, or convicted of any crime, simply because they didn't like what he did.

[Quote] they didn't like what he did.

If you court the public, you can't cry about being subjected to the court of public opinion.

[QUOTE]A man who has not been indicted, tried, or convicted of any crime

Only due to timing. What he did is now illegal in New York.

And why shouldn't people protest behaviour they find reprehensible? Are you perfectly fine with "grab 'em by the pussy" too?

Of course you can, you silly ass. That's what civil law does exceptionally well.

Amar Ramasar ought to collect the names on that petition and sue every goddamned one of those people for tortious interference with an employment relationship. At a minimum. Maybe even defamation, depending on the facts.

But every person who signed that petition ought to be dragged into court and compelled by Mr. Ramassar to defend his or her actions.

Except all they're doing is stating facts in public. You sound like a fool.

The production has released a strongly-worded statement in support of Amar Ramasar.

""The management of West Side Story stands, as it always has stood, with Amar Ramasar. While we support the right of assembly enjoyed by the protestors, the alleged incident took place in a different workplace --- the New York City Ballet --- which has no affiliation of any kind with West Side Story, and the dispute in question has been both fully adjudicated and definitively concluded according to the specific rules of that workplace, as mandated by the union that represents the parties involved in that incident.... There is zero consideration being given to his potentially being terminated from this workplace, as there has been no transgression of any kind, ever, in this workplace. The West Side Story Company does not as a practice terminate employees without cause. There is no cause here."

Scott Rudin, of course, being well known for never firing people without cause...

No, R594. That petition does not merely state facts. Parts of it may be actionable.

And since the stupid petitioners have all identified themselves, they make it all so much easier.

And if you want facts, read the statement from the West Side Story company. The matter was taken seriously and it was investigated and the union was involved. The process was pursued to its conclusion. It is over. The people who continue to harass Mr. Ramasar at his place of employment and online should pay for any damages he incurs as a result of their actions.

R597 Top legal mind right here.

The real question is what Ramasar is, shall we say providing, that means the trio of Scott Rudin, Barry Diller and David Geffen are so keen to keep him employed, despite the negative publicity.

Well, it ain't a pretty face.

[quote]The real question is what Ramasar is, shall we say providing,

The Ramasar issue was completely overblown. He shared a naked picture of his girlfriend with someone. He didn't rape or sexually harrass anyone.

Can we put this thread out of it's misery? BAJOUR?!