THEATRE GOSSIP #380: Mack and Mabel wasn't a match made in heaven, but "Love Life" will searching for "Mr. Right"

Carrying over a question from the previous thread. In Encores "Mack & Mabel" is "Tap Your Troubles Away" sung by a woman or man?

It's sung by a woman, Lottie and company.

[quote]It's sung by a woman, Lottie and company.

Thanks. I wasn't sure if they were going to follow a previous concert version and have a male sing it.

Barry Weissler was at the Friday night performance of MACK & MABEL. Make of that what you will.

Oh, and just before the performance started, I saw Weissler in a LONG embrace with Michael Riedel in the orchestra right aisle. Make of THAT what you will.

I'm not ready to see Kim Kardashian West as Mabel Normand, or a line of Real Housewives either.

Having never seen M&M before, I was actually a little delighted to see how "Tap Your Troubles Away" fit into the story. It's surprisingly dark and Sondheim-esque for a Jerry Herman show.

Incidentally, has there ever been a truly great stage musical about Hollywood? City Of Angels, M&M and even Sunset Blvd all have great moments, but not entirely successful. And Singin' In The Rain never really works onstage.

Michael Berresse actually made it up a flight of stairs probably going 4 or 5 steps at a time - amazing!

Was Tap Your Troubles always staged with a bloody-handed Mabel weaving in and out of the chorus?

Also, someone said William Desmond Taylor was played as a bisexual. If so, I missed the gay part in this production. (although his ass still looks great.)

This staging proved why the show will NEVER get a Bway production. But the OBCR is still a treasure.

William Desmond Taylor's murder is still a cold case; Mabel apparently saw him that day, but not implicated in his murder. This was not covered in the musical though.

Try as anyone might, Mack and Mable still kinda stinks.

I’ve been dying to see M&M forever— and yet I’m out of town on vacation right when Encores! does it!

I hope someone made pirated it, although pirate videos often make me dizzy

It's a wonderful score, but really the only Jerry Herman show was a revivable book is Hello, Dolly. It's slight and silly, but it does flow well and audiences still love it. La Cage is alright, but I'm sure today's audiences would wonder why everyone made such a big stink about being gay. After all, it's not like they were trans sex workers of color who are the only people who are truly suffering in the world and ignoring them is literal violence.

[quote] This was not covered in the musical though.

It is. Not much, but it’s there.

R12, even with Bette Midler, Hello, Dolly! seemed so creaky and dated.

I can’t imagine there would be a ton more revivals without you get audiences wondering, WTF?

^you get= younger

Apropos of nothing, I want to add endorse R570's comment from the previous thread:

[quote]I think Kander & Ebb are underestimated simply because they are not Sondheim, and I don't think they ever intended or desired to be.

[quote] Incidentally, has there ever been a truly great stage musical about Hollywood?

While not considered a 'great stage musical', I thoroughly enjoyed A DAY IN HOLLYWOOD / A NIGHT IN THE UKRAINE, with a couple of nifty songs by Jerry Herman (uncredited).

Back to M&M for a second. Those of us in the cheap seats couldn't see very much of the three large photographs that dropped from the fly loft during the entr 'acte, but the center one looked like Jerry Herman's chin. (At the talkback, Jack Viertel talked about stealing the idea from Jerry Zaks' 1987 production of ANYTHING GOES at Lincoln Center, where Cole Porter's photograph was lowered during the curtain call). Were all three photos of Jerry Herman?

Due to an unspecified illness, Sarah Jessica Parker will not appear in Friday night’s performance of “Plaza Suite’’ at the Emerson Colonial Theatre, according to a Colonial spokesman.

Parker’s absence will reduce by 50 percent the star power of “Plaza Suite,’’ and is certain to be disappointing news to ticket buyers eager to see her perform opposite her husband, Matthew Broderick.

Broderick, who has been costarring with her in the pre-Broadway tryout of Neil Simon’s 1968 comedy, is scheduled to appear as usual on Friday night. Erin Dilly will play the roles usually played by Parker.

Asked whether Parker will be able to appear in the final two performances of “Plaza Suite’’ on Saturday, spokesman Robert Jones replied: “As this is an illness-related matter, we do not have any more information at this time. If we receive news of any absences for the final two performances, we will provide updated information when it is available.’’

[quote]I wasn't sure if they were going to follow a previous concert version and have a male sing it.

"Tap Your troubles Away" was written to be sung by Lottie (originally Lisa Kirk). In 1976, Tommy Tune did the show at Kenley (with Karen Morrow as Mabel) and in Florida (with Lucie Arnaz as Mabel), and though he played Bob Fitch's part of Wally, they gave him "Tap Your Troubles Away."

[quote]After all, it's not like they were trans sex workers of color

They will be in MY production! And it will all be captured by onstage cameras!

At one point on Friday night Michael Berresse grabbed another guy’s ass on stage to make the point that William Desmond Taylor was bisexual (or gay).

Was Plaza Suite at the Colonial reviewed by the Boston area press?

[quote]William Desmond Taylor's murder is still a cold case

There was a fantastic book published in the 1980s called "A Cast of Killers," that basically solves it. Author Sidney Kirpatrick was writing a biography of King Vidor and discovered a hidden trunk full of documents - it turns out in 1966 Vidor decided to solve the Taylor murder case and write about it. The advantage Vidor had is that at that point, there were still a lot of people alive who had been involved with Taylor and/or were on the periphery of the murder case. Vidor did indeed solve it, and had a lot of primary evidence that is hard to ignore, but he finally came to the conclusion that writing about it and giving all that attention to the sad story behind it would be hurtful to some of the still-living people involved (particularly Mary Miles Minter).

It was Vidor who first came up with all the details of Taylor's gay lifestyle, which was pretty much unknown at the time.

Wow, so they actually canceled a performance on Thursday when SJP first became ill.

[quote] In 1976, Tommy Tune did the show at Kenley (with Karen Morrow as Mabel) and in Florida (with Lucie Arnaz as Mabel), and though he played Bob Fitch's part of Wally, they gave him "Tap Your Troubles Away."

In 1988, there was a concert version of Mack & Mabel done in London. Tune sang "Tap Your Troubles Away" in that concert as well.

Audience comments from Boston. Apparently SJP knew her lines, at least, but Broderick did not (gee, what a surprise).

I saw the film of PS when it opened at RCMH. I was a kid but it seemed dated and unfunny even then. The final act was that forced haha TV sitcom funny. With a few early 70s sexual references to appear hip(LESBIANS!) Why anybody would want to do it today is bizarre. Barefoot in the Park is more timely.

'A Cast Of Killers' wasn't favourably reviewed in the NY Times, R123, and this was by someone who knew some of the characters in the book and is also (mis)quoted in it.

R24, A lobby full of disappointed ticket holders were told the performance had been cancelled.

R28, that wasn't a review, it was a letter to the editor by Robert Giroux who, surprise surprise, was pissed because he had his own version of the Taylor murder case that he was working on, but Kirkpatrick scooped him. Giroux's book, "A Deed of Death," was published three years after Kirkpatrick's, and was tepidly received.

There is also William Mann's "Tinseltown," published a few years ago, with a fanciful "solution" involving someone not previously a part of the Taylor story, and Charles Higham's Murder in Hollywood from 2004 with yet another solution.

Kirkpatrick is not a brilliant writer, but he does cleverly lay out Vidor's investigation and the way he went about it and the things he discovered. All of that information is Vidor's, not Kirkpatrick's. All of the source interviews were conducted and recorded by Vidor. Among other things Vidor discoverd is that the famous "setting of the scene" portrayed in the press - that the bungalow was overrun with various Hollywood and press types, including Mabel and Mary Miles Minter, as Taylor's body lay in the center of the parlor, was completely inaccurate. No such crowd gathered at the scene. Vidor came up for the most compelling solution as to why two different witnesses saw wither a woman leaving the house, or a man in a long overcoat, and also comes up with the best motive (which as a side issue alludes to Taylor's homosexuality - his butler, Henry Peavey, was an African-American who was well-versed in the type of men Mr. Taylor liked).

The truth is, if you had asked someone with a little bit of knowledge about who the killer was in the decades prior to the 1980s, the answer you would most likely have gotten was the actual identity of who it was. It was no big secret in Hollywood, although the person was never going to be charged (and paid enough to make sure that didn't happen).

I wonder why they chose Plaza Suite over California Suite. I seem to remember that California Suite was a better movie, if not a better play.

California Suite is not a great show, r31. Its success as a movie has a lot to do with the cast (Maggie Smith, Michael Caine, Jane Fonda, Alan alda, etc).

Of course, Plaza Suite isn't really a good show, either.

Lots of drama going on at Beetlejuice. One of you has to know the inside scoop?

R30, surely the person you allude to is dead now, so can't you tell us who it was?

I was reading about the death of William Desmond Taylor on Wikipedia. And they have a story about gossip columnist Florabel Muir trying to get the butler to admit that he did it and it sounds like the plot of a comedy short. She takes him to a grave and tries to scare him with a sheet to represent a ghost. Were people really this stupid?

Saw M&M today and what bothers me the most is how inauthentic the book is. I know it's not a documentary but some things are so glaring. Taylor was killed in 1922 and yet for some reason, they decide to make it after talkies came in. And why add the character of Fatty and not acknowledge the scandal that happened in 1921? Interesting to note, Mabel met Mack at Biograph Studios in Hollywood when they were both working there. She was already an actress. And though she had cleaned up her act and gotten off the drugs by 1927, when she got married, she died 3 years later from tuberculosis. I enjoyed much of the show and thought Doug Sills was great and Socha was good but somewhat miscast. The talkback was very interesting too.

Who was at the talkback, r36?

I'm guessing Sarah and Matthew didn't want to do California Suite is because they didn't want two other stars.

Most of Simon's work is a bit dated besides maybe Fools (since it's a period piece/fairy tale), Barefoot in the Park (minus the 60's telephones and such), and The Dinner Party (one of his strangest, but most timeless plays). Even his musical books like Sweet Charity and Promises, Promises feel very much of their time and revivals have never quite worked.

[quote]Even his musical books like Sweet Charity and Promises, Promises feel very much of their time and revivals have never quite worked.

Every major revival of SWEET CHARITY that I know of has worked just fine and has been successful. The Broadway revival of PROMISES, PROMISES did fairly well also, despite being directed by the most talent-free hack in the business and also somewhat miscast. Anyway, the problems in that show are inherent in the source material.

Yes, it's true that both shows "feel very much of their time." What's wrong with that?

In the last thread, someone mentioned the idea of reviving They're Playing Our Song. I wouldn't mind seeing that.

Alexandra Socha did a fine job singing and acting as Mabel. I've seen her a couple of times before and thought this was her strongest appearance yet. But she lacks a certain star quality. She sings and moves well, is a decent enough actress... but it's not enough to really make her stand out.

Doug Sills, who I like very much, sounded tired vocally and captured Sennett's gruffness but without any real charm. This was not his finest hour.

I don't think a lot of the creative choices did this production of M&M any favors. Did the set have to be so cheap looking and hideous? Why was so much of the show so dark (ie, lighting), particularly in Act 1? Why move the overture to the entracte, and only feature the photos of Jerry Herman at that point? As pointed out, the show still kinda sucks. Some of the score is divine. Encores was never going to reinvent M&M, but it could have cast it in a more favorable light.

Speaking of Doug Sills, I think I saw his profile on OKCupid a few years ago. Very handsome guy and I recognized him right away (but no, I didn't send him an email).

The Sweet Charity revival worked because of Debbie Allen's name. It flopped quickly with Reinking and Mckechnie on the road.

This is the new modern dress/translation of Cyrano with James MacAvoy. Don't think the updating adds much, but only just started.

Mack and Mabel doesn't work because the book doesn't work. And the book doesn't work because they got trapped in trying to do a Mack Sennett/Mabel Normand musical romance biography when there actually wasn't enough of a relationship there to create a strong story. They should have just called it "Zach and Zuzu" and have the characters be acknowledged as somewhat based on real people while leaving them free to create a better/more logical plot.

I don't get why they were so wedded to the idea that it just HAD to be Mack and Mabel...they were names from 50 years prior to the original musical and not exactly big draws to a 70s audience...unless their target audience was maybe only made up of people IN their 70s.

no one cares about mack and freaking mabel

I think the "overture" heard on the cast album is in fact the show's entr'acte.

WEHT to Socha in Fun Home ... she still seems bitter about whatever happened there

In the original, it was the entr'acte, r48. Champion hated overtures (the original Dolly didn't have one, nor did Carnival, The Happy Time, or I Do I Do). But Herman insisted it lead the album as the "overture" when the cast album was recorded. And when the show was prepared for licensing, it permanently became the overture, and eventually Herman had a real entr'acte written.

The FUN HOME situation was sad. No real scandal to report. Socha was having mental health issues (I believe her mother was very ill at the time) that impacted her ability to perform. It was handled as gracefully as possible but I'm sure it's painful for Socha to look back on for many reasons.

"Michael Berresse actually made it up a flight of stairs probably going 4 or 5 steps at a time - amazing!"

Then there was this. At 3:00

Berresse still looked and moved great at M&M yesterday, but he did sound a little out-of-breath dialoguing after one of his dances.

Age catches up with us all.

M&M is never going to Broadway again. The book sucks, and who the fuck would go?

Didn't Dolly eventually add the overture on the OBC(just a Lang arrangement of the title song. Anyway I assume it was Lang.) to the Broadway run in the second year to allow people to settle into their seats?

I think the portraits of Herman were used at that point because the orchestra was front and center then, not pushed way back as they were through most of the score. And the pictures were dropped just as the entr'acte swelled into the "When Mabel Comes In to the Room" song. It was for me the only really impressive moment of the evening.

I saw Baresse pat the guy's ass and thought it was more of an "atta boy" than a flirtation.

The Hello, Dolly overture in the Midler revival was cursory at best. It's over before you know it.

"I don't get why they were so wedded to the idea that it just HAD to be Mack and Mabel."

Because M&M came at the height of the nostalgia craze, when (in a pre-Turner Classic Movies age) college campuses showed all-night marathons of silent and Laurel and Hardy and Busby Berkeley films (I know--I attended one at Seton Hall University in the 70s); when old issues of Liberty Magazine were reprinted; when fashions were influenced by the remake of THE GREAT GATSBY, and THE BOY FRIEND and NO, NO, NANETTE were revived on Broadway; when revisionist nostalgia yielded such classics as CHINATOWN and FOLLIES. Believe me, with the publication of books like THE SILENT CLOWNS and THEY HAD FACES THEN, damn near everybody knew who Mack & Mabel were.

And it's a great title which conjures up a magical era in movie going. No matter what was going on behind the scenes. Also the middle-aged and older Broadway audiences of the 70s were going to the movies to see their films when they were children and teens.

[quote] Were people really this stupid?

No one living in the US under the current presidential administration has any business questioning the intelligence of previous generations.

[quote]And why add the character of Fatty and not acknowledge the scandal that happened in 1921?

Blame that one on Francine Pascal, Michael Stewart's sister who did script revisions (a lot of them) after Stewart died. When the show was originally written, Arbuckle's widow Minta Durfee was still alive. She would not okay his depiction on stage. So the decision was to not portray Mabel's two most famous co-stars, Arbuckle and Charlie Chaplin, and to only suggest Marie Dressler (in the character of Lottie). The Arbuckle scandal wasn't dealt with because he wasn't in the show.

Francine Pascal decided what would make M&M work would be to turn the character of Wally into Fatty, and to use real names (Kessel and Bauman) for Sennett's money men. Frank Wyman, Jerry Dodge's character who is secretly in love with her, got changed into Frank Capra.

The problem is, she did almost no character work, so you're seeing "Wally" from Mack & Mabel with Fatty Arbuckle's name attached.

[quote]Interesting to note, Mabel met Mack at Biograph Studios in Hollywood when they were both working there. She was already an actress

No, the Biograph Studio was in NYC, not Hollywood. Mack met Mabel there. She had been doing some modeling and extra work, but he saw the potential of her talent, and gave her bigger roles. He left for Los Angeles in 1912 and she followed him. Biograph stopped making movies about three years later.

R46. Or they could have called it “The Zulu and The Zayde”!

Yes, sorry, I meant in New York, r61, but she had already done a lead directed by Griffith before working with Sennett.

Well, considering it bombed, (despite its lovely score) I guess those nostalgic audiences didn't have THAT much nostalgia for "Mack" or "Mabel"

It's like thinking an audience today would be delirious over "The Smothers Brothers Musical!"

A seven-week run is certainly a failure, especially for a big David Merrick musical with big names attached.

And there's no question that the problem lies in the book. I still remember the moment when Robert Preston was talking to the audience with Jerry Dodge standing nearby in the shadows as a kind of ghost (?), and Preston saying that he always suspected Dodge was in love with Mabel.

But this came out of nowhere--it wasn't supported by anything that had already transpired. I suppose it was stuck in to beef up a slim plotline, or maybe there actually had been a subplot about Dodge and Mabel and it got cut back during the tryout.

But I have to say that, even though the show was a good score without a show, it still played very well because of the talent involved. That is, you knew it wasn't what it should have been, yet you were entertained. And if you liked musicals, of course you couldn't miss it. I saw it twice, and it was even better the second time.

I think M & M is one of those odd musicals that is too different things at once: a total misfire and a good time at the theatre. But I know it's never going to work, especially not with Michael Stewart's talentless sister screwing up all his old projects. He must have named her as his executor--because there has to be someone--and now no one can dislodge her.

Mack & Mabel is one of those shows that was its best out-of-town before they tried to "fix" it.

The problem with M&M in 1974 was that it was a very traditional musical, that turned very dark. Audiences were not ready for that in 1974.

I think there was actually some fallout due to Follies which was three years earlier (1971). Audiences went to Follies expecting a nostalgia fest like No, No, Nanette. They were pissed that they got an adult drama, which actually takes a rather jaundiced view of the audience's nostalgia. M&M was considered a similar "bait and switch". It did not help that it starred Robert Preston and everyone was expecting Music Man II.

I remember negative word of mouth about Mack & Mabel due to the drug theme and the "unhappy" ending. Also, M&M was considered rather strong for the time. "Take your Troubles Away" offended some people due to the language. (Yeah, I know it seems quaint today.)

The early 1970s was an interesting time for musicals. They were no longer family friendly. Even Grease (1971) was definitely PG-13 if not R for the times. I remember a negative word of mouth campaign about Two Gentlemen of Verona, including that the whole thing took place in a toilet.

[quote]with Jerry Dodge standing nearby in the shadows as a kind of ghost

And method actor that he was, a month into the run, Jerry Dodge helpfully became a real ghost.

The NYT said "chemical poisoning," and that he had been treating a "sinus infection," but that was it, and his death remains something of a mystery.

If Broadway is catering to moviegoers from half a century ago, how about PETER & CYBILL?

Well, M&M was supposed to be the jewel in the crown of the ENCORES season. It was.... okay.

I'm hoping Victoria Clarke does something amazing with LOVE LIFE, which she's directing next. The cast is good. We'll see.

No one cares about the "revised" THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE after that. No one.

The City Center website describes [italic]Millie[/italic] as "a raise-the-roof tribute to the indomitable spirit of New York and the diverse people who call it home" and says it "it celebrates the birth of modernity—that engine that has long driven both women and immigrants to create lives for themselves."

An interesting and forgotten precursor to "Mack and Mabel" is "Hollywood Cavalcade" (1939, in Technicolor) with Alice Faye and Don Ameche , which though largely fabrication also gets some things historically right - Sennett was an advisor on the film and appears at himself in a banquet sequence, (which also features a cameo by Al Jolson). Mabel was a stage actress when Sennett discovered her) and goes off in interesting ways that M&M doesn't (Sennett and Norman formed their own production company, and Alice and her co-star Allan Cutis does the same thing) Briefly , from Wiki:In 1913, "Director Michael Linnett Connors (Don Ameche), chooses Broadway star Molly Adair (Alice Faye) to be in his next film. Although she is in love with him, she marries her co-star Nicky Hayden (Alan Curtis), wrongly thinking that Connors thinks of her only in terms of movies. Connors misunderstands her and fires her, but with that his career quickly declines with the beginning of the sound era." The Bathing beauties and Ketstone Kops care there The slapstick silent film bits (in sepia in the original release) features Buster Keaton, Ben Turpin , Snub Pollard and Chester Conklin as Kops, and and the inevitable pie fight happens accidentally (as in M&M) with Alice getting socked with the custard several times. The movie was a modest hit , but audiences were disappointed that Alice, (Fox's biggest musical star) did not sing a note.

R64: I’d rather watch [italic]Mack & Mabel[/italic] than sit through any more tributes to the malignant narcissism of Baby Boomers and how they destroyed American culture.

At least Victoria Clark isn't performing in LOVE LIFE. I'm a charter subscriber to ENCORES and have an enviable 5th row center seat. This may be my last year, given the tepid M&M, plus the weird changes they seem to have planned for TMM. LOVE LIFE better be good.

The original William Desmond Taylor from Broadway: "All My Children's" Palmer Cortlandt! I wonder if James Mitchell danced in the show. He didn't get to sing a note, even after a major role in the big hit "Carnival".

R71 Interesting analogy that I just thought of after seeing "Mack & Mabel". The same year's "Rose of Washington Square", also with Alice Faye, was a disguised version of Fanny Brice's story. The same year that "Mack & Mabel" was on Broadway, Faye made her long awaited return to Broadway in "Good News" which also flopped.

None of the Mack & Mabel reviews I read even mentioned that Michael Beresse was in it! He’s so hot. Any sex stories?

Now we know why Viertel wanted to hold out on doing M&M until now. It wasn't that he couldn't get the rights-he really wanted it to coincide with Mabel's 90th birthday. Of course, the exact date changed from night to night. yesterday, Mack announced, during the coda, she died on Feb. 23rd. Friday night, it was the 21st. Only Saturday night did they get the date right. LOL.

I looked up Jerry Dodge, not ever having heard of him before. I had no idea he'd done so much, including original companies of Bye Bye Birdie, George M. and was the original Barnaby in Dolly.

And his obit said he died from chemical poisoning while treating a "virus infection."

"The City Center website describes Millie as "a raise-the-roof tribute to the indomitable spirit of New York and the diverse people who call it home" and says it "it celebrates the birth of modernity—that engine that has long driven both women and immigrants to create lives for themselves."

In other words, expect a black Millie and a change to a women's empowerment musical. Maybe Mr. Meers as the money grubbing white man, or maybe, the two Chinese men overcome all obstacles and become members of Millie's cabinet, after she is elected president. Broadway is becoming tiresome with all of the woke shit.

"The Perpexed" at City Center is the biggest crock of shit Lynn Meadow has ever foisted upon her public. And her lame direction doesn't help the inane play by Richard Greenberg. It also shoves one of the most annoying actresses ever in our face. Greenberg is an elitist has-been. Stick a fork in his pontificating ass. He's done.

WHo is the annoying actress?

I went to see WSS yesterday (no Tony) and I was very afraid. I loved it. I thought it was magnificent, and the (male) visuals were incredible.

R81-Has to be Ilana Levine. She's dreadful.

R79. Actually, since it is starring Ashley Park, we are likely to have a Korean-American Millie. I think that's the whole point of Encore's decision. It will no doubt inspire the creators to revise it to remove the racist Asian stereotypes that were tired when the film came out (the film managed to make Bea Lillie unfunny and Carol Channing dull--good work, George Roy Hill!).

R84 Shoo-sho.....Shoo-sho.....

Sad story re. Bea Lillie's death.

Retirement and death Lillie retired from the stage due to Alzheimer's disease. Julie Andrews remembered that Lillie, as Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie (filmed in 1966 and released in 1967), had to be prompted through her lines and was often confused on set.[citation needed]

Lillie died in 1989, aged 94, at Henley-on-Thames. Huck died of a heart attack the next day, and the two were buried in the churchyard of St Margaret's in Harpsden, Oxfordshire, near Henley-on-Thames.[8]

[quote]WSS yesterday (no Tony)

Seems that would change the story substantially.

R77, Viertel finally got permission to do Mack and Mabel after Michael Stewart's talent-free sister saw the two numbers that were done for the Encores "Hey Look Me Over" collection of numbers and gave her okay. I'm guessing that Herman also had to approve it, but maybe by that point he had given up his hopes of a big revival, even with Francine's crappy, revised book.

As for the unwanted return of Thoroughly Modern Millie, I wonder if that had something to do with Viertel's ouster. The mission of Encores was not supposed to be giving creators the chance to re-do a musical to make it P.C., which is what Tesori and company are doing by eliminating the stereotypical Asian villains and casting an Asian actress as the lead character. As Forbidden Broadway accurately described the original production of Millie, it was "the worst 'best musical' winner ever." No one was clamoring for its return, and if it did have to be revised Encores is not the place to do it.

R86, an even sadder story regarding Bea Lillie:

They trotted her out for the opening of a reconstructed British music hall in Santa Monica sometime in the 1970s. I don't know if she needed the money or if someone though the trip to LA would be good for her, but it was pathetic. Even as a teenager, I realized that it was cruel and the worst kind of exploitation.

I do wonder what happened to the Music Hall interior. Probably in a landfill somewhere.

I saw Plaza Suite Saturday night in Boston. Both Broderick and Parker were clearing dealing with colds, whatever, with Broderick hacking the most. Some strategically placed water around the room. They were still pretty great, and if you can let yourself go, its a very funny night. They really nailed all three plays in their own ways. I don't think Simon got enough credit for this one. It's so solid.

I loved MACK & MABEL last night. Saw the closing performance. Yes, the book is terrible, but that score! I'd been listening to the cast recording for two decades and yesterday was my chance to finally see the show up on its feet.

I do think it's fixable, this show. But that book needs lots and lots of work. And I doubt that can happen.

As I walked home last night, I thought: What shows right now will be right for Encores! in 50 years? Will have a score that justifies a re-look?

So few pass that test.

And yes, the idea of this woke MILLIE makes almost everyone I know gag.

R80 is correct. THE PERPLEXED is THAT SHITTY.

I care, r69!

R89 That is sad. Reminds me of when they trotted Kate Smith out on the Emmy's and everybody sang "God Bless America" to her.

There’s also no way Encore's Millie can compete with the reunion concert from a year or so ago with Sutton and Kudisch and that amazing original cast. The piece itself isn’t worth revisiting.

[quote] I'm a charter subscriber to ENCORES and have an enviable 5th row center seat. This may be my last year, given the tepid M&M, plus the weird changes they seem to have planned for TMM.

Really? To me, the problem with TMM is that Encores! is doing it at all, regardless of how many changes are being made to the show. What an unbelievably bad choice.

[quote]As for the unwanted return of Thoroughly Modern Millie, I wonder if that had something to do with Viertel's ouster. The mission of Encores was not supposed to be giving creators the chance to re-do a musical to make it P.C., which is what Tesori and company are doing by eliminating the stereotypical Asian villains and casting an Asian actress as the lead character. As Forbidden Broadway accurately described the original production of Millie, it was "the worst 'best musical' winner ever." No one was clamoring for its return, and if it did have to be revised Encores is not the place to do it.

All true, but the irony here is that, for the original script of TMM (the stage musical), Dick Scanlan went out of his way to try to politically correct the plot and the character, not only by making the Muzzy character black (which makes zero sense for the story) but also by hammering home the point that the two Asian characters aren't really villains, they're in cahoots with Mrs. Meers only so they can earn enough money to bring their mother to the U.S. But, yes, they're still helping kidnap young women into white slavery, so I guess that will be, ummm, cleaned up for the new version, which I have absolutely no interest in seeing.

Ironically, M&M might actually work better as a movie musical. Then you would have to do rewrites anyway. But with Jerry Herman gone, who’s in charge of his estate?

TMM is always going to be crap no matter who is in it. It was a stupid movie to begin with and the revisions in the stage version only made it worse. That they can only do a woke-fied version to do it at all is proof there’s no there there and that the toxic racism is unavoidable without making it anachronism as fuck. Let’s face it: pre-1970s America was racist as fuck.

I saw INHERITANCE PART 2 last night. Tony Goldwyn killed that shit. AMAZING. I like Part 2. Despised Part One.

Anachronistic as fuck, I mean.

Lot's of angry queen MILLIE hatred here. You're all wrong. I'm assuming this is all from the entire original cast of "Sweet Smell of Success" or 'Urinetown." The bitterness of the Urinetown authors is legendary, and decades later, feel that their little skit of a show was "robbed." They still talk publicly about it. MILLIE is a great pleasure cruise musical, and will last long past all the others.

[quote] MILLIE is a great pleasure cruise musical

Which is where it belongs. On cruise ships.

Saw Bernie going backstage Saturday night at City Center. Startled to see her hair color up close and the tightness of them curls. Looked like she had white powder on her face. At least, her tits were covered up. Had a quasi-Fellini-esque aspect to her.

And, also saw Stro in the outer lobby--or, I think it was she? Wearing her trademark black pants suit. Very face-lifted or could it had been Renee Fleming?

Tons of scary ancient show queens and young ones too. Everyone was so loud and badly dressed. Overhead one old queen asking a younger one if he knew who Barbara Cook was!

Everyone is right. Millie wasn't a very good movie and, as always, Broadway didn't improve upon the source material when adapting it for the stage and just made it worse.

[quote] MILLIE is a great pleasure cruise musical, and will last long past all the others.

Maybe that’s how they should’ve billed the musical about the sinking of the Titanic.

Agree about Goldwyn. It's a shame that he's not eligible for a Tony nomination. No one even remembers that Hickey was in it.

After seeing both parts THE INHERITANCE twice, with both Hickey and Goldwyn, I felt Hickey was more believable as a grounded billionaire, but Goldwyn was more emotionally expressive in Part II.

But neither is served by a script that essentially uses the character they played as more of a device than anything else, and just discards him at the end, in favor of some weird, tacked-on, you’ll pardon the expression, fairytale ending.

I thought the original stage Millie was 'woke.' I guess there's now a new woke. So they'll need to keep updating these musicals for whatever stands for diversity and inclusion for that moment at whatever time of day. It will be a travesty if there are no gays of color, lesbians, drag queens(maybe not?), transsexuals and autistic and physically disabled people along with undocumented immigrants. If there are any white males(straight or gay) noisy walkouts will be needed to interrupt performances to show audiences that this is unacceptable.

I would love to see Lois Smith and Paul Hilton both get nominations. They were both standouts.

All three leads were good, but they're all straight, so I don't care if they get nominated (though yes, I know Paul Hilton is also straight). I'm not a person who feels only gay actors should play gay roles, but for something like this, I feel like more of a mixed cast might have brought some further depth to the performances.

As for nominees for future Encores!, I’d love to see GOLDILOCKS. That show hasn’t been done since it flopped in 1958. Great score, and a funny book. (Though, come to think if it, the plot is not dissimilar to M&M, though not dark at all.) The challenge would be several ensemble dance numbers, not to mention all that Egyptian scenery for the finale, in a satiric homage to “Intolerance.”

R109, most flop musicals need a new book. Goldilocks just needs a new title.

R102, Well, did the young queen know?

I don't see what the big deal is about racism in regard to Asians in TMM. They are funny looking, have small dicks, and say stuff like " Harro." Pure gold! No, making fun of Asians is acceptable, since they are mere parodies of real people anyway. " Sum Tin Wong," " Ching-Chong," " Me Love You Long Time." Hysterical!

Which ending did the Encores Mack & Mabel use?

There are still lots of great shows that Encores could be doing instead of Millie. I'd love to see Rodgers and Hart's By Jupiter, especially since Boys From Syracuse was one of the best Encores shows ever. (Don't get me started on the wretched Roundabout revisal with a putrid new book by Nicky Silver.) The 1960s Off-Broadway cast recording of By Jupiter is a lot of fun. Maybe Encores hasn't done it because the original orchestrations are lost, though.

did encores actually do Rachael Lily Rosenbloom?

R67-There's no mystery to Jerry Dodge's death. He was one of the early victims of AIDS, and his lover, Michael Stewart died of the same thing. Did Lenny Baker die of "chemical poisoning", too?

1974 is pretty early.

r96, guess I wasn't clear. The fact that they're doing TMM at all is a scandal, but doing it with an "updated" social conscience is even worse. May pass altogether on this one.

And the score of URINETOWN far surpasses that of TMM, especially if you take away the contributions to the latter of G&S, Victor Herbert, Van Heusen, and Tchaikovsky.

R112, I must protest!

!974 may have been pretty early, but he developed Karposi's Sarcoma pretty early. AIDS has been around longer than 40 years. Lenny Baker got sick in 1977.

Stewart lasted until 1987.

Do we know for sure Jerry Dodge had KS?

Also, Baker was said to have had throat cancer (though him I definitely believe was AIDS related).

I'm not trying to refute anything. I'm honestly interested and fascinated with the possibility of the disease having been around that much earlier. I've always suspected Michael Stewart died of AIDS, but you'll never get anyone to admit it.

Some of Jerry's boyfriends are still around.

R123, Care to name names?

Nope.

Am I the only one who doesn’t consider it a coincidence that AIDS was discovered around the same time the rates of obesity and autism also started going up?

R115, no they didn't.

Is there anything there that makes it worth reviving? Some of its personnel ended up in [italic]A Chorus Line[/italic], and when they referred back to it, they called it “Rachel Lily RosenBOMB (And Maybe We’d Better Forget It.”)”.

Sorry about the extra quote.

I saw "Goldilocks" at Musicals Tonight about 15 years ago, with just a piano, and it was a lot of fun. The actress playing the Pat Stanley was wonderful and the cute guy playing the lead looked like he was checking me out during some of his numbers. Apparently Elaine Stritch checked it out as well, though she didn't have lots of fond memories of the production. I'd love to see it done with a full orchestra, as its charts are fabulosi!

Stritch checked out the show, not me, as we weren't at the same performance.

Show they can do now maybe that Viertel is gone:

Destry Rides Again

Redhead

New Girl in Town

Your Own Thing (for the off-Center series)

Oh, Captain!

Darling of the Day

The Happiest Girl in the World

among others

I saw the original Goldilocks. I remember its being very funny, especially in the western film they shoot. And the last set, an homage to the Babylon sequence in Intolerance, really was colossal.

Some long time ago I had to interview Agnes de Mille, and I could see she took me for some no-nothing kid. To earn my cred, I started rattling off descriptions of the Goldlilocks staging, things that only an aficionado would remember. And she really was sort of stunned. Those old pros always think that only the hits matter, that no one cares about their flops.

They say that "Goldilocks" was a terrible title, but the key art of Stritch dancing with a sardonic bear made the show look appealing.

I have the LP and perhaps it was the title, the bear and that it was by Leroy Anderson, whose name I knew from "Sleigh Ride" and other instrumental delightful pieces, that enticed me to buy it. I hadn't heard of the show before really, and it was a favorite from the time I heard its wonderful overture. Stritch, Ameche, Russell Nype, Pat Stanley and Margaret Hamilton are wonderful on it. But its title really makes you think it might be children's musical, something maybe to take the tykes to for Christmas or something. The bear and Goldilocks are only referred to in one song. So the title is really misleading and should have been changed. Maybe if they do it, they can come up with a catchy subtitle or give it a new title and subtitle it a "funny Hollywood musical escapade" or something like that.

Since we are talking about Goldilocks, what about Jennie? Everyone I know who saw the original said that the melodrama parodies were hysterical.

"Jennie" isn't really the good of a score. Even Mary Martin couldn't sell it that well. Others may feel different, though I really like Mary's recordings.

Now, "Drat! the Cat!" has a really good score and apparently Joe Layton's dances were supposed to have been really funny.

[quote] Broderick, who has been costarring with her in the pre-Broadway tryout of Neil Simon’s 1968 comedy, is scheduled to appear as usual on Friday night.

Due to illness, Miss Parker's role will be played that night by her understudy, American Pharoah.

[quote]Lot's of angry queen MILLIE hatred here.

Erin Dilly must post on DataLounge.

[quote]I saw the original Goldilocks. I remember its being very funny, especially in the western film they shoot.

It wasn't a western as much as a melodrama a la "The Villain Still Pursued Her." That was mid-Act One, then the act closed with them shooting a "pirate" number. Then, in Act Two, the Babylonian Fantasy number you mentioned.

R138, has Miss Parker still got hoof and mouth disease?

Yes, it was a western. There were Indians attacking a cabin while Stritch was sending for help by Morse code.

[quote]They trotted her out for the opening of a reconstructed British music hall in Santa Monica

The Mayfair Music Hall, r89! The long time host was Bernard Fox, better known as Bewitched's "Dr. Bombay." The theatre was seriously damaged in the 1994 quake and was closed. The interior of the theatre was demolished in 2011, but the facade still exists.

Jessie Matthews is another British big name who appeared there in the early 1980s.

Better pic of the Mayfair

The "Mack & Mabel" script is a model of play construction compared to the "Goldilocks" mess.

Doesn't she also shatter a prop baby? I swear I'm not making that up.

The DRAT THE CAT score is really third-tier quality. Sure, SHE TOUCHED ME is wonderful, and SHE'S ROSES charms. But there are too many numbers (filler, really) that are DOA.

Even the fundamental geometry of romantic relationships in TMM was mishandled at the final curtain. The prescient URINETOWN, on the other hand, remains the last great American musical, brilliantly conceived and executed from start to finish, and will continue to be produced when the other stuff is consigned to the dustbin of oblivion. The authors' umbrage is more than justified.

It’s prescient because San Francisco is turning into Shit City, USA.

E105 I know! It's such a crime. He Really should be nominated and win. I saw Hickey and the difference in strength and presence and emotion, my goodness. Goldwyn was incredible last night. INCREDIBLE. So was the understudy for Adam/Leo. The original guy was one of the things I disliked most when I first saw it. R108 I think Walter, Margaret, and Toby will be nominated and rightly so. Shame about Tony Goldwyn. I wouldn't be surprised if Eric Glass is nominated also, although he was clearly ACTING. I couldn't take him seriously. I really like PART 2 and might even catch it a third time. He needs to cut some of the bullshit in Part One and use only what's necessary to set up for Part 2. Yeah the ending is sweet but I really didn't want things to end bad for Leo after seeing Bradley James Tejeda last night potray it. The original guy was one of the one's also clearly ACTING to me and too trained when I orginally saw. What a difference. That's why I can see some of the problems were in the casting.

I'm sure all DL posters on these theatre threads will be happy to know that the 1958 tv production of HANS BRINKER AND THE SILVER SKATES is currently streaming on Amazon Prime, with dreamy Tab Hunter in the titular role. It's primitive, innocently, idiotically goofy and astonishing, all at the same time. The divine Peggy King gets to moon over Tab in a decent song, Carmen Mathews rules the roost and ice skating sequences (with Tab holding his own) absolutely thrill. It's an ingenious idea for a tv musical and worth a trip down memory lane.

The 1982 British TV production of "Barnum" starring Michael Crawford is also available on Amazon Prime. It's on my watch list but I haven't watched it yet.

What about The Act

[quote]What about The Act

A star vehicle tailored to Liza, with a couple of good songs, but best left in the past, where it belongs. There's a book, sort of, but to call it perfunctory would be kind.

[quote]What about The Act

Nobody wants to watch Liza lip sync for 90 minutes. Did she ever make it entirely through the show actually singing every song?

Dorothy Loudon sang Liza's songs better than Liza.

[quote]Produced by Cy Feuer and Ernest Martin (“How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying”), the show brings home some realities. Item: Rising costs have pushed its Saturday night orchestra seats to a record $25.

Wow, $25 bucks for Broadway orchestra seats.

[quote]Dorothy Loudon sang Liza's songs better than Liza.

So did Beyonce.

Forgot to mention....the credits that roll for HANS BRINKER are just incredible. I will say no more...

Was the Encores TAP YOUR TROUBLES AWAY as good as this?

Also for Encores: Plain and Fancy Prettybelle Panama Hattie

[quote]URINETOWN, on the other hand, remains the last great American musical, brilliantly conceived and executed from start to finish, and will continue to be produced when the other stuff is consigned to the dustbin of oblivion. The authors' umbrage is more than justified.

Whatever happened to those authors? I don't think they ever wrote another show, did they?

I didn't love URINETOWN as much as some of you, but it was certainly original, and hands down better than TMM.

They should do a rebroadcast of the 1973 Reader's Digest Version of Tom Sawyer. It starred Johnny Whittaker, Celeste Holm and Miss Jodie Foster.

Despite its chilly reception here, I think THE INHERITANCE was still an "event" play that the Tony nominators will find hard to ignore; therefore, I predict it will get at least 5 nominations in the following major categories: Best Play, Director of a Play, Leading Actor in a Play (Kyle Soller), Featured Actor in a Play (Paul Hylton) and Featured Actress in a Play (Lois Smith). Not saying it will win any of them (though I do think Hylton and Smith stand the best chances), just saying I think it will be represented in these categories, plus it may also get some noms in the technical categories.

Also for Encores; Jimmy, Georgy, Ari, Molly and Look to the Lilies.

I wish there was an Encores for British shows. They have so many memorable flops there, truly awful shows that would make fun concerts.

Metropolis would be a good choice.

I love ENCORES (despite it all) but I'm also glad that there are " lower rent"options available in NYC as well.

I saw PANAMA HATTIE last year at Musicals in Mufti... which is exactly where that show belongs. It was entertaining, it was mindless, it was by no means a first rate production. HATTIE simply doesn't deserve a first-rate revival. It's not strong enough material. A lot of shows from yesteryear aren't.

I want ENCORES to stick to its mission of mining (mostly) underappreciated gems, that is, shows that deserve a full orchestra and an appreciative, literate audience.

The URINETOWN librettist had a play produced and the team recently had THE STING mounted at Paper Mill Playhouse. I also think they had a musical version of THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT in development for some time.

Misplaced link in the above post...meant as a companion piece to TAP YOUR TROUBLES AWAY. Good stuff!

[quote]Which ending did the Encores Mack & Mabel use?

Baayork's fix of the "happy" celluloid ending, r113

[quote]Was the Encores TAP YOUR TROUBLES AWAY as good as this?

That version is pretty, r159, but the number itself is very dark. In this Encore's version, Berresse's Taylor goes deeper and deeper into debauchery, and is shot to death near the end.

R156, fascinating article. Thanks

We have a Urinetown loon FFS. That show is wafer thin, both book and score.

Baayork? What did she have to do with M&M?

Coco with Dame Wintour making her singing, acting and dancing debut.

"Panama Hattie" just has about 4 good songs; DL fave Klea Blackhurst (ok, maybe not all your faves as there's an anti-Klea troll) did a fine job in it, with an otherwise good cast, but it's really not even as fun as "Happy Hunting" which they and Klea did a few years prior.

Thanks for that, r159. I wasn't familiar with Anna Jane Casey.

Musicals Tonight many many years ago did I Married an Angel which was wonderful and I saw twice. I chose not to go to the Encores presentation because I knew it would be a snooze and I heard it was. One of those what in the world were audiences thinking back then shows. It is actually delightful.

Encores' On Your Toes was dreadful. I saw it and could not believe the dull nature of it. I have very happy memories of the terrific early 80s' revival when there were still people around who could pull off this kind of featherweight entertainment and make it sensational.

Answer to Goldilocks question:

Yes, Stritch killed the baby.

It was a prop baby, of course. She was killing Indians who were invading the cabin, and she couldn't find a real weapon, so she grabbed the doll and smashed an Indian with it. That's when shooting stopped and the whole stage went silent. It was the climax of the movie shoot.

[quote]She was killing Indians who were invading the cabin, and she couldn't find a real weapon, so she grabbed the doll and smashed an Indian with it.

Pfffffft. Call me when she uses a baby as a battering ram.

Any early word on Ricky Ian Gordon and Lynn Nottage's opera adaptation of Intimate Apparel at Lincoln Center?

I want to add my little bit about M&M. I saw it at the original run at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. I was a 9th grader and I lived just a short distance from the Music Center so I second acted it almost every night. They sold student rush for about $2 but it was more fun to sneak in. I did both and what was so weird is that the show was totally different every night. I mean totally different. I wish I kept notes but all I know is that they changed everything, dialogue, songs, dances, everything. When it left LA, it was a pretty good show, I thought. Who knows what happened between LA and Broadway but this was a case where being so far out of town was not necessarily the best decision.

I'm half-joking, but what about an Encores! run of Starmites?

[quote]I'm half-joking, but what about an Encores! run of Starmites?

If they asked Sharon McKnight to recreate her Tony nominated role, I think she might just be able to squeeze it into her busy schedule.

As long as we're scraping the bottom of the barrel for Encores! suggestions, how about "Via Galactica" or "Dude"? I mean, someone has already suggested "Rachael Lily Rosenbloom."

Someone posted a link to part one of the National Theare's Cyrano with James McAvoy. It is fantastic! I, alas, can not find part two. Does anyone have a link for it? Thank you.

Encores Presents "Doonsbury".

[quote]As long as we're scraping the bottom of the barrel for Encores! suggestions, how about "Via Galactica" or "Dude"? I mean, someone has already suggested "Rachael Lily Rosenbloom."

Why not "Oh! Calcutta!" or "Let My People Come?"

I believe Encores has only revived one operetta ("New Moon"). That was a lot of fun. Why not "The Vagabond King" or "The 3 Musketeers"? Would love to see Kristi Dawn in one of them (since she dropped out of "New Moon").

How about Ethel Mae Potter in "The Chocolate Soldier?"

Musicals Tonight's "Drat! The Cat!" was immensely enjoyable.

Cole Porter's Something for the Boys the musical where Ethel Merman's tooth filling intercepts Nazi communications was fun as well as the Gershwins' Lady Be Good.

R185 Here ya go, love. Glad you are liking it. Unlike their excellent Saint t Joan, I don't find the mdoern dress adds much.

But McAvoy looks like he would throw a mean fuck, what a pocket gay.

I have all the plays and musicals simulcast. Any requests?

R192 Thank you! If you're taking requests, do you have the Ivo Van Hove Hedda Gabler or the Danny Boyle Frankenstein? And then of course, there's Follies.

"The Gay LIfe" - beautiful score, originally starring DL legend Barbara Cook, now sometimes called "The High Life" - though not about homosexuals or being high on drugs

"Two's Company" with either Kathleen Turner or Sigourney Weaver in the Bette Davis role

"Plain and Fancy" - another show originally featuring Barbara Cook - about the Amish

They revived "Let My People Come" a few years ago, but without nudity -- WTF? I guess the bar didn't permit it, but Earl WIlson Jr. who wrote it (and was very nice to speak to) was there.

Now I'm fascinated by Jerry Dodge but there is almost nothing about him online. Every hit is usually about his film counterpart, Danny Lockin, and his murder.

If you upload the Follies, please do so in Acts. I think Youtube lowers the resolution if the runtime is 2 plus hours. It would be great to see it in 720p or 1080p. Thanks.

Follies.

R193 Benedict as Frank. Shall post the former Mr Jolie as Frank tomorrow.

R193 Johnny Lee as Frank.

YT won't let me post Hedda Gobbler. I presume the service also hates fucking Vo Hoe.

R200 By any chance do you have 'The Cherry Orchard', 'Antony and Cleopatra' and 'Of Mice and Men'? I know some of them weren't broadcast live so I know it's rather unlikely. Thought I'd ask anyway. Thanks.

If up have Hangmen, Fleabag, and the Andrew Scott Present Laughter, that would be a lovely treat. There have been so many NTLive broadcasts, and I want to see them all!

Yes, I've been looking for the Present Laughter for a while. Woulld love to see that!

Speaking of PRESENT LAUGHTER, MOMA is showing a television version with Peter O'Toole later today.

Really, the McAvoy Cyr is actually good? It looks devoid of nose and panache, like the recent musical edition.

Wow, thank you very much R192. I had not realized that McAvoy was that short, that good an actor, and that hot. When did that happen?!? I loved Act 1, and look forward to watching Act 2. Thank you for posting it.

Good suggestions for Encores musicals in the future. "The Grand Tour" is now the only Jerry Herman musical that I have never seen on stage (not including his early Off Broadway revues) although that was one he really did not want to write. I've been hoping for either "I Had a Ball" and "Bajour", two camp flops that are filled with energy, silly stories and fun scores! Maybe "Golden Rainbow" at some point. 54 Below did a concert version fairly recently.

R142-Using Ben Gazzarra's dick?

Saw the NT Live production of "All My Sons" from the Old Vic last night at IFC. Because of that shit Roundabout debacle last season, this one couldn't move to Broadway. The show would have swept the TONYS. Sally Field was incredible and Bill Pullman has somehow turned into George C. Scott. The whole cast was remarkable except for the creepy astrologer next door. Terrific, terrific, terrific.

Didn't The York do "The Grand Tour" a few years back with Jason Graae? If what Graae did at Jerry's memorial was any indication, he must have been perfect in the role.

A good Brit production of an American property? The DL Theatre Gossip thread won't allow that.

If it ever happened, R210, it would be accepted here quickly.

Mighty big "If."

If Encores ever decides to shut down permanently, I sincerely hope that the last show they do is Bajour.

Well, I can second R208 post about All My Sons. Sally Field was amazing. I don't understand why she isn't given the same respect in this country as Judi Dench or Maggie Smith. Colin Morgan was outstanding as the son.

Sally Field is given a shit-ton of respect in the US. Even when the production is not well recieved (like Glass Menagerie), Field is praised to the skies!

Bullshit, R214. If you asked the average person on the street who a great American actress is, virtually nobody outside of Times Square would say Sally Field.

I recently had a similar conversation at a dinner with five other people, and Sally Field the one living performer that everyone agreed was a great actress. And none of these were people involved in the arts. Even Meryl Streep and Glenn Close did not get everyone's vote.

Saw the NT Live Cyrano at a theatre last week (yes, I paid). When it started I thought “oh, shit, no” but not very far in I was mesmerized. McAvoy is terrific and the take on it incredibly fresh and touching.

On ATC they are arguing that Eva Peron and Hamilton were not well-known at the time their musicals came out.

This contributes to the idea that musical theater enthusiasts are dumb.

Where is the first part of Cyrano, please? I cannot find it.

Certainly, everyone haunting ATC is dumb.

And does not have $10.

[quote]Maybe "Golden Rainbow" at some point.

I can't wait to see the freewheeling patio number.

Sherry!

I adore you, r221.

R223, if you adored him, you would have posted this:

I adore you, too, R223. I couldn't find the album art featuring the freewheeling patio number but was hoping that someone else would post it.

I knew where to find it because I introduced the referral of Eydie's patio number as "freewheeling" to DL. It may be my only claim to DL fame.

Encores could also do "Dear World" - might Bernadette be up for it?

"The Good Companions" by Johnny Mercer and Andre Previn has a wonderful score, all about a roving theatrical troupe. Mufti did it some years ago, but I'd love to see a full production with orchestra.

R227 I saw the Mufti production with Tyne Daly, but I'd glady go see a full staging with a full orchestra.

[quote]This contributes to the idea that musical theater enthusiasts are dumb.

Sometimes I think you have to be either dumb or sadistic to take the kind of abuse we musical theatre lovers take from both Broadway and Hollywood. Broadway got so sick of Hollywood changing things of theirs around that they returned the favor: they took popular movies and turned them into literal and uninspired spectacles with unmemorable on-the-nose songs.

Las Vegas has become more interesting than either at this point. It never claimed to be highbrow.

High Spirits

Irene

I Love My Wife

The Happy Time

Judi

Yes! to High Spirits with Ruth Buzzi playing Madame Arcati. Great score too.

Oh darn, R233. I was looking forward to seeing Ruth in "Evita".

I want to see Faye as Ruth Buzzi.

[quote] I want to see Faye as Ruth Buzzi.

Then Gladys Ormphby would be hitting Alan Sues with her purse instead of Tyrone F. Horneigh.

Just before Tyne did DEAR WORLD at mufti with a small band she did a concert version in LA with a26 piece orchestra. They wed the original orchestrations to the Thompson revised book (which I heard took some doing) and the result was glorious. What a fun night.

Harriet Harris would be great Madame Arcati if Encores ever gets around to High Spirits.

The big problem is, the show ain't all that good. A few high points. But... eh.

Alma Cuervo has played Madame Arcati in High Spirits. She already knows the words. Just hire Alma.

Don't think Jason Graae did GT in NY, but he did do it in LA. He was great. Not a first-class show, but has some lovely songs, including "Marianne"; Barbara Cook sings it beautifully on one of her albums.

Saw Carol Kane do Arcati in HIGH SPIRITS at Mufti. She was terrible, I thought. And the show really needs stars; the songs aren't necessary, fun as they are.

R201 They are the holy grails, and were never captured, fuck it.

R202 Yep, shall post them, except Present Laughter, also never captured.

R209 I have that, and shall try to post

Fleabag for now.

I saw George C Scott an actor I never liked in Present Laughter and he was wonderful. Patton doing Noel Coward! I was shocked and delighted. A terrific production.

I never cared for George C. Scott, either. It's not that I didn't think he was talented. Just a chemical reaction, I guess. I think we all have aversions to certain performers who seem to be well liked by most other people. Jack Nicholson is another actor I tended to avoid.

Here's Hadley Fraser and Theo James singing "You're Nothing Without Me" at the first band rehearsal for the West End revival of CITY OF ANGELS.

I had no idea Theo could sing.

Sally Field in All My Sons.....Bill does look so much like George C. Scott.

They did it as a tab version?

Has "Mack & Mabel" ever been tried as a movie within a musical? Meaning that the ending plays that the entire show has been a movie that Mack is plotting? It was all in his mind?

Hey, it worked for the movie version of Chicago!

Enough with the Mack and Mable. Let's talk about what is/is not going on now? Is Girl From The North Country doa? How big a hit will Company be, and will Sondheim be alive when it opens? Will "Caroline" finally get its due? Who is going to see Jagged Little Pill these days?

Sorry to disagree but Bening & Letts & Walker were better in All My Sons

R247 People with pepper spray and cell phone addictions (for Jagged Little Pill), that's who!

R219 Here, you blind slut.

Thank you r250. I got so excited that I missed it. You will be forever my hero.... Thank you again.

Jesus - Theo James is so damned cute, AND can sing.

Theo James was the ONLY reason to watch Sanditon on PBS. (Bonus points for his two gratuitous skinny-sipping scenes, though.)

Skinny-sipping? Ha!

"Sorry to disagree but Bening & Letts & Walker were better in All My Sons"

But best of all were Richard Kiley and Jamey Sheridan. THAT was a production.

Anyone seen Jagged Little Pill? Worth a visit?

Jagged Little Pill was ridiculously bad. For a musical that pretends to be about things that matter, it was one of the emptiest and dullest I've ever seen. Everyone just screeches and whines all night, and we're somehow supposed to think this crap MATTERS.

I've seen a good bootleg of it, R256. It does seem to cover all the woke subject matters -- adoption, racism, opioid addiction, porn, white entitlement, lesbianism, rape, etc -- but I was shocked at how much I enjoyed it. Despite the subject matters, it is very funny, surprisingly light, and has a lot of heart. If I had to the chance to see it live, I definitely would.

LOVING the Follies upload....on my third viewing.

No! Brits can't do musicals! Wah!

Would love to see a revival of Ain't Misbehavin.

That Follies, as a production, is easily the best since the original. Loveland could use a lot of work and Imelda Staunton is a bit miscast, but it's the closest I've ever seen that show to legitimately working as a whole piece.

r261 Could you find the musicians now?

[quote] Would love to see a revival of Ain't Misbehavin.

The very talented Camille A. Brown (Once on This Island, Choir Boy) is directing and choreographing a revival for Westport Country Playhouse and Barrington Stage Company this summer. If it's good, I can imagine someone wanting to move it.

I've been wanting a revival of Ain't Misbehavin' for *years*. I saw the last preview of the original Broadway cast, and it was heaven. I'll be interested to see what, if anything, the above-mentioned revival does with the lyrics to "Black and Blue" ("I'm white inside, but that don't help my case/'Cause I can't hide what is on my face").

R240 Thank you!

Colin Morgan was exceptional. A truly great performance.

Greg FUCKING Kinnear as Atticus Finch????? Is Rudin trying to close the show? Is he out of his mind?

The Broadway Backwards cast is great this year!

DO you have the part two of AMS? THanks.

All My Sons is another one that needs to be retired. Since the 1970s, NYC has seen a major production once a decade.

No one is forcing you to attend.

Scott Rudin casting Greg Kinnear in MOCKINGBIRD is probably a ploy to slow down sales so he can send Richard Thomas out on tour in August and have The Shubert Theatre for the Nathan Lane DEATH OF A SALESMAN by next Spring.

They're going have to change those "It hasn't played to an empty seat" ads.

Was Ted McGinley unavailable?

Or Craig Kilborn?

R240, what do you mean "Present Laughter" was never captured? Do you mean as a bootleg? Because it was definitely done as part of the National Theatre Live. It showed in December, and I believe it's about to have another showing.

[quote]As long as we're scraping the bottom of the barrel for Encores! suggestions, how about "Via Galactica" or "Dude"? I mean, someone has already suggested "Rachael Lily Rosenbloom."

Why the fuck not? Wasn't the original idea of Encores was to put on low budget concert versions of shows that weren't hits? I'd go see all three of those.

R227 What they mean is that certain NTL productions were broadcast live in cinema whereas others were given to cinemas on DVD with an encryption key. I believe 'Present Laughter' was one of them as is 'Of Mice and Men'. 'Cat on a Hot Tin Roof' was supposedly on DVD but somehow someone got their hands on it and the encryption key, so 'Present Laughter' may end up on the internet eventually. When the productions are broadcast live, Marty (I think that's his name), intercepts the broadcast, downloads them and uploads them to the internet. That's how they're obtained. I know schools with soon have access to the NTL productions so maybe more will become available.

[quote] Wasn't the original idea of Encores was to put on low budget concert versions of shows that weren't hits?

NO.

The mission was to perform quality shows and scores that are no longer produced and no longer heard. It was a wonderful opportunity for the public to discover this work. It was not to produce cheap concert versions of shows that weren't hits. That describes that awful production of CHICAGO. But, no. That was not the mission.

The only time I have ever encountered a production of One Touch of Venus was at Encores. That's the kind of thing it was created to do and that's what it should be doing yet today. But the way you express it makes me think you must be on the Board of Directors.

I think the original idea of Encores! was not simply to stage flops, but to give shows that were possibly overlooked or had strong scores or other redeeming values a chance to be heard again and reevaluated. Then again, they are doing "Thoroughly Modern Millie," so who knows what the hell the purpose is now.

A theater out in Los Angeles, the El Portal, just did a re-imagined version of the 1976 flop "Rockabye Hamlet." I was going to go, but I thought the tickets were ridiculously overpriced for that venue, which doesn't exactly attract top flight entertainment. This is the kind of place you wouldn't dream of spending more than $35 for a ticket unless it was something very special. (I saw Bea Arthur's one woman show here after she did it on Broadway.) And those kinds of bookings are few and far between.

Thank You R200 but I believe both are Miller as Frank but a big Maawaaaahhh! Did you see it live? Is it true both actors did the birth nude and only wore the loincloth for the taping? I ask because i can't imagine how hard it would be to do all that crawling and flopping down on the floor with no protection at all. I'd still be in pain.

[quote]Has "Mack & Mabel" ever been tried as a movie within a musical? Meaning that the ending plays that the entire show has been a movie that Mack is plotting? It was all in his mind?

The original ending did that. Mack explained that he couldn't leave the audience with the despair of Mabel's sad end, and he would show them how the story would have ended if he had been filming it. And they did a slapstick wedding routine, with Mack & Mabel walking off into the sunset together. That's the ending that played the LA, St. Louis, and DC tryouts. It was toward the end of the DC run (just before Broadway) that Champion cut it and went with the ending that is partially captured on the album. If you look at the Mack & Mabel dress rehearsal clips on YouTube (which were done toward the end of the LA run), they have the complete original ending.

Greg Kinnear doesn't strike me as such a terrible choice to replace Ed Harris in "Mockingbird."

At least it will give the role a modicum of sex appeal.

R284, what was the Broadway ending. I saw the LA version.

The Broadway ending is on the OBC, although there's a bit more dialogue than they recorded. Mack says, in effect "We got the money together, made the movie, and then the studio never released it. That was that. And on Feb 23, 1930, Mabel Normand died. The last reel was over, & movies weren't movies anymore. Well, that's it, kid. Not so funny, huh? But then, you always did want a love story, didn't you? Let me add just one Sennett touch: I love you, Mabel Normand. So long, kid." Only the last part, from "Well, that's it, kid" is on the CD. Preston plays it beautifully.

That's a bad show, with a few good songs. But songs with lyrics about what is "funny" are NEVER "funny."

Why not Over Here? You could get Annie Reinking to do the jitterbug again and a derrick to lift her.

Seriously, it's a fun show and a lot of the music is really good.

He hasn't got the RANGE, dearie!

I just hope Funny Girl never hits the boards again as anything but a concert. Seeing the London production made me realize how lousy the book is for that show. Excellent score, but without Streisand or someone who's an equally great belter AND comic, there's no point.

Last night's Jerry Herman tribute at the 92nd Street Y. I'm speechless over Ryan Vona. Hubba hubba. The chest hair is glorious.

Show was quite good. Directed by Cady Huffman. She's looking like Anita Ekberg when Anita managed a Hertz Rental at Fiumicino Airport in Rome in the late 60s. Cady's Amazonian and zaftig now and was wearing a Merry Widow showing beaucoup de bazoombas. Look what happened to Ulla.

That’s nice that Cady has managed to parlay her “avoirdupois” into a new, middle-aged Anita Ekberg look. Of course, Cady’s sliding pretty quickly towards 60. What will she do then?

[quote]Why not Over Here? You could get Annie Reinking to do the jitterbug again and a derrick to lift her. Seriously, it's a fun show and a lot of the music is really good.

Apparently there's an issue over the rights.

Huffman was part of that swath of featured performers from the late 80s through the early aughts who won completely undeserved Tonys and then pretty much disappeared. Throw her in the pile with Randy Graff, Michael Maguire, Debbie Gravitte, Grethe Boston, Scott Wise, Scott Waara, Anthony Crivello... (and throw in Jane Adams, even though she wasn't in a musical).

R202 Hangman Act One. Nice set.

R279 Thank you for covering that. I found his tone kinda cunty and you covered the situation well

R283 EEEk. Sorry. Shall find the Benedict Frank. I am most dreadfully embarrassed.

Sally All My Sons Act Two - Shall find it, sorry to pause you.

Anita Ekberg? Or Thelma Ritter?

R202 Hangman Act Two.

Morrisey could get it.

Beautiful Thong on stage is lovely.

Adore the film lots. This is coarse and beautiful.

As it should be.

R299 If you have This House I'd be ever so grateful

R302 Sorry honey. Has never surfaced, as far as I know.

R299 Thanks again. You have brought joy!

Oh my, yes, R293. Oh my, yes!

Ryan Vona, high schooler.

[quote]Huffman was part of that swath of featured performers from the late 80s through the early aughts who won completely undeserved Tonys and then pretty much disappeared...(and throw in Jane Adams, even though she wasn't in a musical).

You may feel that Jane Adams didn't deserve her Tony, but she has not disappeared. She has been very successful on tv.

R240, wow! Thank you so much!

R305, what a gorgeous voice for a high schooler! He doesn't "feel" the song at that stage, but he will be a force in NYC as he matures.

Cady Huffman is taking part in a Jerry Herman tribute at Feinstein's/54 Below.

I saw Ryan Vona as Seymour at Sharon Playhouse. He is a cutie and sweats A LOT.

Even better, R310!

[quote]what a gorgeous voice for a high schooler! He doesn't "feel" the song at that stage, but he will be a force in NYC as he matures.

I hare when amateurs sing with their hand on their chest.

[quote]Huffman was part of that swath of featured performers from the late 80s through the early aughts who won completely undeserved Tonys and then pretty much disappeared. Throw her in the pile with Randy Graff, Michael Maguire, Debbie Gravitte, Grethe Boston, Scott Wise, Scott Waara, Anthony Crivello... (and throw in Jane Adams, even though she wasn't in a musical).

Really? I would say all of those Tony winners were deserving except maybe Huffman (she was very good in the part, but Kathleen Freeman should have won for THE FULL MONTY) and Michael Maguire (who mostly won because he was pretty to look at, although he did sing well, but also I'm sure the Tony nominators and voters didn't want to be viewed as snubbing LES MIS).

Debbie Gravitte seems to be like the only one of these folks who still seems to be performing, at least in the NY area, at Encores or in clubs. Scott Wise, I don't recall his being particularly a standout in "Jerome Robbins' Broadway" where there were lots of very fine performers. Gravitte certainly had that "Mr. Monotony" solo as well as other chances to shine in the show. Maguire was tall, sang well, certainly in comparison to the guy who somehow got cast as Marius (a huge disappointment after listening to Michael Ball on the London cast recording). Gretha Boston was very good, except she was like one of the first to wear that distracting mic on her forehead; she seems to have disappeared. Huffman was very good in "Producers" as well as in "Will Rogers Follies" a few years before, so that may have helped her win. Randy Graff, excellent in "City of Angels", used to work a lot more -- she wasn't a one-hit wonder. Waara seems to have disappeared from the business; he was charming in "Most Happy Fella" but don't recall his competition that year.

Almost 40 years ago....

Debbie sings Betty.

Even for the eighties, Debbie's styling was horrid.

I thought Debbie Shapiro was a better name than Gravitte. Saw her in "Perfectly Frank" on Broadway, a revue of Frank Loesser songs, and she was terrific.

Almost 10 years ago....

Can we get back to FOLLIES? By the way, Debbie was Sally to Dee Dee Canova's Phyllis at L.A. City College.

The son is very cute.

Ack- I just bought a ticket for Hangmen. I had no idea it was done on NT Live or I would have sought it out and saved my theater slot for something else. I do love McDonagh, but he's hit or miss.

He sounds better singing pop.

The COMPLETE Sally Field All MY Sons....sorry about that.

Thanks, R324. I watched part 1 yesterday and I knew you'd come through.

R314, it's true that Randy Graff doesn't work all that often nowadays, but she did win a Lucille Lortel Award for Featured Actress in THE BABYLON LINE at Lincoln Center in 2017.

R324 You are truly a GOD! Thanks so much

Thank you to whoever put up Frankenstein.

That was one of the best things I've seen in quite some time. And so much more faithful to the novel than the other adaptations.

Agreed, R328. I saw it twice in the (movie) theater, so I could see Cumberbatch and Miller swap roles. I thought BC was the better doctor and JLM the better creature, but they were both very good. I was surprised the production never came to NY (with or without its two leads). It would look great at the Beaumont.

And *many* thanks to our NT Live poster for blessing us with all these shows. (I, too, would like to see Present Laughter, but understand that probably won't happen.) Is One Man, Two Guvnors available? That may be the funniest show I've ever seen.

Debbie Gravitte, Debbie Shapiro, Debbie Gravitte Shapiro, Debbie Shapiro Gravitte is the loudest and most vulgar performer I have ever seen on Broadway and I go back to Vera Violetta at the Winter Garden in 1911.

r323 he became Fiyero on Broadway yesterday

OK, this is definitely 'Benedict as the Monster' in Frankenstein. Sorry about before.

Is Sam Gravitte a gay?

Thank you so much to the poster who has linked the videos of the NT productions. They are wonderful. The NT does not broadcast in movie theaters near me -- nor do they offer the videos only for rental -- so I am thankful that the generous poster has linked some of them on here. Thank you.

Both of Debbie's twins are gay. There's a straight, non-twin son as well.

R329 One Man Act One.

R329 Act Two.

R336, the first video is blocked in the USA

R338 indeed. By the BBC

Shall transfer to my Google drive.

R338 indeed. By the BBC

Shall transfer to my Google drive.

I guess that must have been a re-upload? Or did the BBC recognise the file that quickly?

That quickly. Is because of a John Bishop interview with Corden. Go figure.

During the meanwhilst...

Hansard, with Dame Lindsay Duncan.

R332 Not to be an ingrate, but the Benedict C. Frankenstein video seems to be dubbed over in Swedish or German or some such tongue.

R344 here. I just heard a "nyet," so I'm guessing Russian.

They're even dubbing these broadcasts? Well, well, well.

Is there a link to part 1 of Hansard? Thank you! I am so excited to watch all the NT links. Thank you for taking the trouble to post them.

R347 That's the whole thing.

I used to think Debbie's husband, Beau Gravitte, was a hottie back in the day (and still very handsome today). He was on a favorite short-lived sitcom of mine back in the late '80s/early '90s called "Doctor Doctor" but doesn't appear to act any longer.

When Gregory Harrison left "Trapper John, M.D.," Beau Gravitte took over as the new young doctor, but I think the show was canceled soon afterward.

r350 Blame that on Lorna Luft as Nurse Libby Kegler.

Beau G played Victoria Clark's back-in-the-States husband in LCT's "Light in the Piazza." back in 2005. Surprisingly that's his only credit on ibdb. I thought he'd done more.

I have barely understood a word of the past couple of dozen replies

[quote]Both of Debbie's twins are gay. There's a straight, non-twin son as well.

Sam's twin is a female. I had no idea she was a lesbian.

The trailer for the new version of "Blithe Spirit." I think it's premiering at Cannes. There doesn't appear to be a single line of Coward left, at least in the trailer.

What....the....???

I saw Sam in Almost Famous in San Diego and he's got an amazing body.

I enjoyed Perfectly Frank enormously and Shapiro was sensational.

It looked cheap which is why the Times(Rich?) tore it to shreds but the performers were wonderful.

Though it's obviously not high on the list of concerns on the planet right now, since this is the theater thread, I will ask the question here: if Coronavirus continues to spread and cases begin to pile up in a higher number, how much do you think going to the theater will be affected? People may become a lot less willing to sit in an enclosed space with strangers, which would cause ticket sales to drop like a stone. (I'm sure this would also be a major concern for movie studios.)

Perfectly Frank was much better in the LA production than the NY one. Debbie Gravitte was in both, but LA had the advantage of the fabulous Pam Myers, who socked across the Betty Hutton songs among other things. Pam didn’t want to go to NY, though, because her son was very young. They gave some of her material to the mediocre Jill Cook. If the LA version had played NYC, it might have done better.

OK just transferring non Ruskie Frankenstien and Act One of One Man...phew.

This is Things I Know To Be True. The opening ten minutes are exquisite

[quote]The trailer for the new version of "Blithe Spirit." I think it's premiering at Cannes. There doesn't appear to be a single line of Coward left, at least in the trailer.

Leslie Mann Oh no thank you and Judi Dench is as funny as running over a kitten. Angela Lansbury was laugh loud hilarious on Broadway.

[quote]The trailer for the new version of "Blithe Spirit." I think it's premiering at Cannes. There doesn't appear to be a single line of Coward left, at least in the trailer.

It's only "based on" Noel Coward. It's not an actual remake. I think it's a lot like the Bewitched movie they did years ago. Take an idea and completely pad it out so that it's nothing like the original.

Holy shit- Ryan Vona is a hairball. Mmmmmmmm.

No one said “remake.” And “based on” is the credit every adaptation gets. They should say it’s “suggested” by Coward’s play, which is a credit that’s been used in several of these cases.

For the life of me, I can’t figure why they would cast Leslie Mann as Elvira, who in this version appears to be American (which, of course, Mann is. Some Americans are able to do convincing Brit accents, though). Additionally, at 48, Mann is ten years older than Dan Stevens.

Looking at the IBDB for "Perfectly Frank", in the cast was David Ruprecht, who is the host of one of my latest go-to-anything but politics on tv little pecadilloes, reruns of "Supermarket Sweep"; it's just fun watching folks go through grocery stores trying to get the most in a few minutes to win another minute to get $5,000. Reprecht is very cute in one of his usually out-there sweaters. I saw the show but don't remember his singing. In fact, I forgot that Jo Sullivan was in it, but Debbie Shapiro was fantastic.

I think Virginia Sandifur was also in Perfectly Frank. Rupprecht had been in the show in LA as well as NY.

OMG- that production of All My Sons is shockingly terrible. Pullman fares best, with Sally trying hard, but the rest of the cast is just awful. Ann and Chris are monstrously bad, as is the doctor's wife. And so poorly directed. Good god!

A huge problem with "All My Sons" is the play itself.

Totally agree r368. Field is shrill with too many instant peaks and valleys, Pullman is too casual, and the son is a milquetoast. Every choice in Roundabout’s was better — Letts had classic but fake Midwestern bluster, Bening was on edge but with a mighty core, and Walker was simply heartbroken.

Why did The Times send that uber German dyke to review "Molly Brown"? It takes a lot to be such a bad critic you get fired by the NY Post, but she did. Her reviews are usually weird. Remember the "think piece" where she praised "Bat Out of Hell"? WTF?

Speaking of the Times, Brantley raved about Lucas Hnath's latest play, "Dana H.," about his kidnapped mother:

That Blithe Spirit looks miscast. Emilia Fox (who's made up terribly in that trailer) should be Ruth, with Isla Fisher as Elvira. Leslie Mann should have been let go.

That uber dyke is Corsican, not German.

Shame Cumberbatch had to wear pants in the televised Frankenstein. At the NT he was as naked as a jaybird and the whole theatre was his gynaecologist. He wasn’t shy.

And how was his sherlock holmes, r375?

I refuse to pay to see a paywalled NYT review. I used to subscribe and cancelled last year because of their pathetic duplicity and coddling of Nazi mentality.

[quote]At the NT he was as naked as a jaybird and the whole theatre was his gynaecologist.

Did he have a nice vagina?

How has no one yet posted Vona’s “Ginger Top” number from PARAMOUR?

The Ryan Vona Troll needs to stop pushing.

R380, I know this may come as shock, but there can be more than one of us who’s not interested in discussing whatever thousand-year-old show you ancient queens here are on about this week.

R377, you get 10 free articles a month and can see more in a private window.

Also, your local library probably gives members free access to the Times online.

That's how I read the Times every morning.

Based on that trailer, the "Blithe Spirit" movie looks godawful. I'll stick with the David Lean movie, thank you.

FOLLIES!

And about fucking time too r384.

Follicles, the sequel to Hair

Follicles would be the prequel, not the sequel.

And it's still not funny.

The problem with Blythe Spirit is that it is exceedingly misogynistic, and it really doesn't work if the misogyny is toned down. None of the characters are particularly likeable (by design). Nowadays, they always try to make Ruth "the nice one". She isn't and doing so ruins the play.

Also, Madame Acarti is supposed to be a bicycle riding, tweed wearing, "jolly hockey sticks " kind of country woman. She is the antithesis of the scarf draped, artsy-type traditional medium.

R383 The David Lean Blithe Spirit really isn't that good either. To be honest, the play is kind of a clunker. The last Broadway revival had a spectacular as usual Angela Lansbury, but the rest of it just kinda sat there.

Madame Arcati is well drawn eccentric character trapped in a dead common comedy of manners.

All this talk about Blithe Spirit reminds me that I was lucky enough to see Rex Harrison and Claudette Colbert on Broadway in another British comedy Aren't We All back in 1985.

Although it was not by Shaw, it was very enjoyable, and it was a rare treat to see those two live on stage. I remember that Harrison was apparently losing his sight, and he moved around the set by touching the backs of chairs, tables, things like that, very discreetly, but if you knew what to look for, it was easy to see.

It was great to see Harrison and Colbert, but they had supporting parts in a play in which both Lynn Redgrave and Jeremy Brett were both wonderful.

Harrison wasn't too rare, as he did the revival of "My Fair Lady", "Heartbreak House", "The Kingfisher", and "The Circle" among other shows. Not apparently a nice man, but a wonderful actor. Claudette Colbert was a rare sighting though.

Original trailer...

R393 I saw that production of The Circle. Glynis Johns was wonderful. Stewart Granger was fine. Rex Harrison fell asleep on stage -- literally. I also saw that production of The Kingfisher. I fell asleep in the audience.

[quote]The problem with Blythe Spirit

Oh, dear.

Hail to thee, Blythe Danner - Streep thou never wert.

A bit of gossip about The Circle. Glynis Johns was a total bitch and went through dressers like Kleenex. The solved the problem by hiring a woman who was deaf.

That reminds me of the character Olympia Dukakis played in "The Marriage of Bette and Boo" whose husband has been saying horrible things to her, and she goes deaf and says, jubilantly when he starts talking to her, "I can't hear a thing. It's wonderful!"

Finally, One Man Two Guvernors Act One.

^Act Two

R400 -- I'm afraid the link for Act 1 still does not work. Thank you for trying, though.

It's working perfectly for me, R402. The link is fine. The problem you are experiencing is on your end. But it appears to be something that can be resolved.

Get to work!

You probably have Link Previews turned on. Look at the Settings tab above your saved threads.

P.S. If you have the Follies in 720p or above, could you repost it to your Google Drive?

R405 will check

Debbie's Tony....

Yerma

Can't there just be a separate thread for FOLLIES? I'm so tired of that damn show.

When a man is tired of Follies, he is tired of life.

r410 = Dmitri Weissman.

True, r410....

“I’m tired of livin’ and scared of dyin’.”

The very best rendition at 18:10.......

Into The Woods - Regent Park

You will never get rid of Follies comments. Datalounge is pretty much NYC eldergay focused and they are the primary demographic for the show.

Thank you, thank you, thank you therealstevegray for all of these videos! The Sondheim makes me wonder whether you have Merrily, too?

The National Theater Sunday in the Park with George with Maria Friedman and Philip Quast was tremendous. If there is any video of that floating around, it would lovely to see it again.

R418 Yes, I do

R419 No, have searched, not sure it was captured. have the paris production.

R418 Yes, I do

R419 No, have searched, not sure it was captured. have the paris production.

Beetlejuice will be moving to The Barrymore. They're working on the set redesigns now.

Here's the idiot the Times now has reviewing -- we're in PC hell.

Then THIS is the thread for you, r366! Meanwhile, Dina Rae is showing pent-up shopping enthusiasm!

Wow, Jenna Russell is great in that Merrily. The costumes, though, are hideous.

I don't think Vincentezzi is on staff at the Times. I think she's just a freelancer. They use a number of freelancers these days.

Sounds like Caruso was a nightmare in Beetlejuice

[QUOTE]But tension had been building among Caruso and her producers and co-stars. Production sources say that she’d been missing performances. When she did show up, a source says, her behavior was “eccentric” and “erratic.” Alex Brightman, who plays the title character, was especially annoyed at her “lack of discipline,” another source says. “She and Alex did not get along at all. But the whole cast was getting fed up. Everybody was relieved to see her go.”

[QUOTE]Several sources say that the producers decided to let the 18-year-old “frame her departure whatever way she wanted to,” which resulted in her Feb. 21 Instagram post.

I think she's about to find out her hopes of TV work are optimistic.

R409 I said that threads ago. haha. Yhey won't listen. It's here to stay.

Elisabeth Vincentelli is a smart, funny and perceptive reviewer. I've enjoyed her writing and as a regular guest on Theater Talk.

She has never seemed particularly PC in my experience.

R426, Caruso is 18 years old with a history of mental illness (which she's been open about) and a pushy stage mother. It may well be that she wasn't ready, mature, or well enough to give eight performances a week and withstand the pressure and expectations that come with being a lead in a Broadway show. The producers have a role in this mess too, for allowing the situation to deteriorate to the point that giving her the boot was the only option.

Brightman is no picnic to work with either. Extremely high maintenance. That he couldn't "get along" with an 18 year-old girl says something about his maturity and professionalism too.

I wish Caruso the best. She's talented, but Broadway may not be the place for her.

Vincentelli's reviews are a joke. She actually gave an all out rave to "Something's Rotten."

Australian hottie Peter Saide, who was in Desperate Measures among other things and looked quite splendid the several times he did a "Skivvies" performance, has died suddenly at 36. He had some kind of medical situation a few weeks ago which led to his having surgery. He had recovered and was doing okay as of Monday, but then something happened.

Vincentelli's review of The Unthinkable Molly Brown was spot on. In fact, she was kind.

Curious Incident...

therealstevegray is my hero.

The dyke from the Times is an appallingly bad reviewer with freakish, outlier taste. She should stick to bumping pussies...

The dyke from the Times is an appallingly bad reviewer with freakish, outlier taste. She should stick to bumping pussies...

Is there a way to save the videos to a drive before Youtube deletes them?

I use youtubeconverter.io

Use the site at your own risk, though.

(I also use NoScript, to cut down on popups, which might take me to other sites, viruses, spyware etc.)

R400, I hate to seem ungrateful or greedy, but I'm afraid the YouTube link for part one of One Man is not working. Part two works fine. If you could give us the name that it is saved as on YouTube, maybe we can search for it there.

[quote]Vincentelli's reviews are a joke. She actually gave an all out rave to "Something's Rotten."

So it irks you when someone enjoys a show you didn't?

The other problem with Caruso was, SHE SUCKED IN THE SHOW.

I saw a bootleg of Beetlejuice, R442, and thought she was quite good. It was one of Wynona Ryder's most iconic roles, so she has that image to compel against, but I thought she was wonderful. Who knows if the information we are reading about her departure is true? It is a shame if mental issues have temporarily derailed her career; I hope for her sake that is not the case.

R440 Act one has been reposted on this thread. Use your eyes

Imelda in Gypsy

No one asked for that battleaxe.

R446 Misery deserves company.

Poor Imelda. What went wrong with that performance? She's the right type and has a decent enough voice for it, but why did she feel the need to play Rose insane from the get go? It makes for a very uncomfortable night in the theater. Was that the concept? Let's drain all the humor and warmth out and make her a monster from a 60's psycho biddy movie?

People say that it was a very different performance in the theater than on video.

[quote] Misery deserves company

But what show does Dolores Claiborne deserve?

R448 R449 Didn't someone come on here with a story that they were told to speed it up on performance day as it was running long...Which does not explain why she plays the role like THAT.

I know that Act 1 of One Man has been posted twice, but neither link opens for me. I'm using Safari, so I will try to open it in another browser.

I hate to be one of those people, but I did see Imelda live in Gypsy and that video is an abomination. I really don't know what happened by the time they got to filming that production, but she had a lot more nuance, warmth, and humor in the performance that I saw. She was just about definitive. She really brought the manic craziness in "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn" where it was needed, but she was much more human throughout the rest of the show. If you just isolate her "Rose's Turn" from the rest of the video, she's brilliant, so at least that bit was preserved. Seeing her do that was the first time I really felt I understood that song.

I thought the video of her as Sally in Follies came out a good deal better, which says a lot since she was horribly miscast in that role for starters.

I'm another poster who saw Imelda in person. Someone should post one of the audios (I don't think there are any video bootlegs - there were warning signs all over the theatre). The difference is fascinating.

Has Imelda ever commented on the discrepancy?

I saw her live as well and have one of the audio recordings. There really is a big difference. The only video bootleg I've seen of her is this one and it's fairly similar to the video recording.

Why not post the audio recording somewhere? It would finally shut up the naysayers.

[quote] [R448] [R449] Didn't someone come on here with a story that they were told to speed it up on performance day as it was running long...Which does not explain why she plays the role like THAT.

I call bullshit. I've also seen the NT Live Follies and Virginia Woolf videos and Imelda is strident, loud and braying in both of those, as well. In VW she starts pitched so high, within five minutes, she's got nowhere to go. She is a monstrously awful theater actress.

R458 Her Martha really is, just awful.

R459 Act Two.

R460 Act Three.

I was with Imelda the day after "Gypsy" was broadcast. Below is her reaction.

What have the theater producers done to prevent the spread of coronavirus on Broadway?

How has the box office been impacted?

That Woolf Act II has already disappeared off YT.

R464 No it hasn't. Little early to be drunk.

I don't understand Imelda at all. She's a great film actress, but she seems better known for theatre and I find her theatre work to be mostly awful. I feel the same way about Betty Buckley. She's better on film than on stage. Any warmth they have on screen leaves them by the time they hit the stage and they're cold as ice. I'm terrified to see what Imelda does with Dolly. I imagine she'll play her as the single most annoying and braying matchmaker of all time. You'll be praying for her to choke during the Harmonia Gardens sequence and let everyone be.

FOLLIES! They have to post here, right?

Have you seen Imelda on stage?

R443 I saw BEETLEJUICE. Caruso was the best thing about it.

[quote]You'll be praying for her to choke during the Harmonia Gardens sequence and let everyone be.

For some reason, I initially read this as "You'll be praying for her to choke during the Hermione Gingold sequence and let everyone be."

[quote]but why did she feel the need to play Rose insane from the get go?

Why do you think it's her decision? Love it when people think the star has total control of what they do on stage. There is a director who might have told her to play her that way or the very least watched her thru rehearsals and signed off on the portrayal. It's professional theater not the Pepperpot Playhouse in Raytown.

Caruso was good onstage, but dear god, that voice on the cast recording. Shrill and nasal and annoying as fuck.

I’m sorry if she has legitimate problems, but I'm betting she’s just another social media-addicted, entitled narcissist.

I think the weird part about Imelda playing her insane from the start is that, in the audio recordings and live audience reports, she didn't do that. It's something that either happened towards the end of the run or strictly for the video recording. Did the video's director come in and re-direct the actors as well? You'd think that'd be a big no-no.

Lonnie Price directed the TV recording. He never does bad work, of course...

R472 I haven't heard the recording but when I saw the show I thought she was doing the affected whiny baby pop girl voice of today. I thought it worked for the character. Not something I wanna listen to.

I liked Lonnie Price’s direction on the NY Philharmonic production of Company that was shown on PBS. I thought it was the funniest that the book scenes had ever been presented. I wonder what he did right on that show. His concert productions of Candide and Camelot, on the other hand, were abysmal.

Anything that keeps him from appearing on stage and singing, though. Voice teachers could use him as an example of vocal habits of what not to do.

All he does is stage concerts.

All he does is stage concerts.

R479 He did direct the Merrily documentary as well.

R479 He did direct the Merrily documentary as well.

Is Elvis posting here?

Lonnie is Patti LuPone's director of choice. She loves him.

I think Company turned out well because they had no time to rehearse so all the actors probably just used their natural instincts instead of being forced to fit into some stupid "concept." I agree that it's probably the funniest production of that show that I've ever seen. You had a bunch of truly talented pros letting loose.

[quote]It's professional theater not the Pepperpot Playhouse in Raytown.

I actually saw Martha Kay Pine do a stunning Rose in "Gypsy" at the Pepperpot Playhouse back in '91. It was a truly transformational performance, and I'm sure that's what led to her getting her award-winning role in "Medea" a few months later.

I'd like to have seen Martha Raye as Rose. Talk about your big mouth...!

Is there a link to the video of the NT Hangman?

R487 Look back in this thread.

Ethel Merman = Best sung Rose (and the funniest, too) Tyne Daly = Best overall acted Rose (and the youngest), but the thin singing was a liability. But she's the best Rose as mother of children, by far. Patti Lu = Most deserving Rose, and she was pretty great too. And the oldest. Angela Lansbury = hardest working Rose, really giving it her all. But slightly miscast, too graceful. Bernadette = Meh. Bette Midler = can't actually deliver written dialogue, at least in that TV movie. Rosalind Russell = most underrated Rose, actually very good in the role. Imelda Staunton = worst overall Rose, didn't seem to understand it, or how to make it work. Charmless, and the singing didn't make up for it.

Any questions?

Mary!

I recently read a review of the Encores Mack and Mabel. It said that Time Heals Everything is its 11:00 number. Wouldn’t that be Tap Your Troubles Away?

[quote] (Don't get me started on the wretched Roundabout revisal with a putrid new book by Nicky Silver.)

We won't!

[quote] (Don't get me started on the wretched Roundabout revisal with a putrid new book by Nicky Silver.)

We won't!

Funny you should say that, I actually thought "Time..." occurred too early in the 2nd act. It seems like a kind of benediction, doesn't it? But overall, that show doesn't work anyway, so, what the hell.

[quote]Angela Lansbury = hardest working Rose, really giving it her all. But slightly miscast, too graceful.

Lansbury gave the role a very different interpretation. She made Rose more kooky. She's the only one who made "Together Wherever We Go" work.

Disagree. Tyne... was great in Together.

Imelda also made "Together" work when I saw the show.

R299, thank you for the 2nd act of Hangman. Where is the 1st act?

[quote]Disagree. Tyne... was great in Together.

Not from where I was sitting. She hauled that barrel shaped body around the stage, but didn't have the dance athleticism that Angela had. If you like Rose being played as a "trucker in drag" then that's what you got.

If you listen to that live audio with Ethel, she gets laughs that none of the others got. She gets a laugh on "My first husband was an Odd Fellow."

The Ethel audio is a little odd. It wouldn't suprise me if it was from her Closing Night.

R498 ....right above it...

Tyne Daly had planned to do the tv version of Gypsy. Then when Bette Midler expressed interest, Artie Laurents said, "Tyne who?" Tyne was mighty pissed off at that. So they gave her the mother role in the Jason Alexander "Bye Bye Birdie."

Tyne was pissed off the network. I think it was the same network on which "Cagney & Lacey" aired.

*pissed off with the network.

Exciting news for our favorite couple.

They should keep Colin's phone away from the baby/toddler/tween/teen/graduate.

Just to (further) chime in, I saw Imelda's Gypsy and thought she was fantastic (saw Tyne's, too, and ditto). When I saw Imelda's Gypsy on PBS, I thought, "The hell....?" I had some quibbles with the production (community-theater-quality sets, for one) but was glad to have seen it/her live.

Kudos again to our NTLive poster! Thoroughly enjoyed "Hangmen." Although I can't quite picture Dan Stevens in the Johnny Flynn role soon to be on Broadway, I hope the NY version has the same set designer because that pub set was great. I could practically smell the stale ale through my screen. And I couldn't figure out where the sets for the prison and cafe scenes came from or went.

R508 Cheers. The Hangman sets are fantastic, as is the staging of most British productions.

Paper Mill releases their stupid clues for next season,. I happen to know all the show but I'll let you try. As with this year, there will lots of empty seats. And yes there are actually five clues to five shows.

Thank you for posting the NT shows!! Just downloaded Hangman for future viewing

R463, this doesn't exactly answer your question but the theater community is beginning to respond:

R472, even a cursory look at Caruso's social media would tell you that she barely posts compared to most actors around her age. She's not very active on Twitter either.

DL faves Patti Murin and Colin Donnell are on the Hallmark Channel RIGHT NOW in a cinematic gem called LOVE ON ICELAND.

R514 Has she commented on his leaked cock shots?

Your post just gave me diabetes, r514.

I take it they won't be reviving [italic]Flower Drum Song[/italic] any time soon unless David Henry Hwang wants to re-rewrite the libretto to shoehorn in more bad Asian jokes.

[quote]If you like Rose being played as a "trucker in drag" then that's what you got.

Jacqueline Susann IS Rose!

[quote]Let's drain all the humor and warmth out and make her a monster from a 60's psycho biddy movie?

They could rename it "What Ever Happened to Baby June?"

Riedel's column:

It looks like [italic]Seussical[/italic] on heroin.

I just started Merrily. I'm confused- Is Jenna Russell pregnant or just fat?

R522 Fat and loud.

Was Mary always supposed to be fat or did they change it because Jenna is a porker?

R524 Bernie Berstien is playing the role in the film. Make of that what you will.

I really dislike the show. The score is lovely, but these characters are all irritating and unpleasant and I'm not sure why anyone would want to spend time with them. And the book is awful. But then again, it's George Furth, who wrote one of the worst books ever in Company.

[quote]They could rename it "What Ever Happened to Baby June?"

That's more honest about the dark side of child stardom than [italic]Gypsy[/italic] considering how Blanche ends up at the end. Yet in real life, Rose Hovick was a murderer. You won't learn that in the show. Except this time it was the stage mom who turned criminal, not the ex-child stars who never really became stars until adulthood. Even then, when did June Havoc ever open a movie, be it [italic]Gentlemen's Agreement[/italic] or [italic]Can't Stop the Music[/italic]?

[quote]Yet in real life, Rose Hovick was a murderer.

In real life, Rose Hovick was a lesbian. Herbie was really Henrietta.

Actually, the real Herbie was a Jewish man named Sam Gordon.

R529, and in one of the sister's books, it is implied that he was a pedophile who was with Rose to get to the girls.

[quote] (Caruso) told The Post’s Barbara Hoffman last year that she changed her blocking every night in Seattle, throwing off the other actors. “Just trying to keep it fresh!”

She sounds like a real team player.

Any bets on how many seats will be available at this year's hideous SHEN YUN at Lincoln Center?

[quote] Was Mary always supposed to be fat or did they change it because Jenna is a porker?

Mary has referred to herself in the first scene as “fat, drunk, and finished” since the original production.

COMPANY previews begin Monday. Who's got tickets?

Is it just me? Or has a lot of the anticipatory buzz for this evaporated?

Patrons from discount/ticketing services at THE PERPLEXED at MTC (95% of the audience, I imagiine) are being specifically warned that they are FORBIDDEN from leaving at intermission:

[quote]"Patrons were told not to leave at Intermission presumably because otherwise everyone would leave."

Hee.

I'm seeing "Company" next Friday with a friend who was more interested in it than I was.

Please share your thoughts then, R536! I'm more interested in the DL seal of approval than whatever the NYT has to say.

Will do, R537.

I saw this production of Company in London and loved it. But I have a feeling that it'll be another of those West End shows (like the Trevor Nunn Oklahoma or Groundhog Day) that just doesn’t make the leap when it crosses the pond. British directors don’t always know how to cast, let alone direct, American actors.

I'm seeing DIANA - THE MUSICAL on Monday. haha. I didn't know they are filming a MERRILY movie and over the next 20 years. Released in 2040! Sondheim won't even be around to see it! Maybe no one will. The director will be 80 by then! haha. I get it but its such a bizarre concept to actually do.

I'm seeing DIANA - THE MUSICAL on Monday. haha. I didn't know they are filming a MERRILY movie and over the next 20 years. Released in 2040! Sondheim won't even be around to see it! Maybe no one will. The director will be 80 by then! haha. I get it but its such a bizarre concept to actually do.

[Quote] British directors don’t always know how to cast, let alone direct, American actors.

Is there a particular knack to directing American actors vs. British actors?

[quote]Sondheim won't even be around to see it!

At least half of the people who currently post on DL theater threads won't be around to see it.

[quote] At least half of the people who currently post on DL theater threads won't be around to see it.

And those that are around won't want to see it

The truth, in my opinion, is that most Brit directors -- Trevor Nunn, Marianne Elliot, and so on -- don't know how to direct American plays or musicals AT ALL, regardless of whether the casts are American or British. When these shows are done in London, audiences there like them because they have poor taste when it comes to Brit productions of American shows, i.e., they're not sensitive to what's bad about the productions because they don't know how good those shows can be when properly directed and well cast. There have been some exceptions, but I think my comment is accurate as a general observation.

Wow, Dan Stevens is unrecognizable in the Broadway production of Hangmen. He’s also great, as is the rest of the cast and the whole production. Amazing set, too.

Are you talking about the broadcast linked above?

R547 No

[quote]Mary has referred to herself in the first scene as “fat, drunk, and finished” since the original production.

Ann Morrison was slightly heavier in 1981 than the stickpole she became later in the 80s, but she wasn't actually far. I think Heather MacRae was the first actually fat Mary, in La Jolla. There have been non-fat Marys (Celia Keenan-Bolger for one) - I think her perception of herself as fat could just be her low self-esteem talking. Unless of course it really is a tubby actress playing the part.

You know who else describes herself a fat?

*as fat

And when Judy Kaye played her, she was!

For no reason.....

Whoever have the Ethel Merman and Imelda Staunton 'Gypsy' audio would you be willing to put in on a Google Drive and post the link? I'd be forever grateful.

Two of the productions of Merrily I have seen (out of three) Mary wore a fat suit in the first scene.

[quote] The truth, in my opinion..

r545 you know those are two different things, right? Pick one.

It's True, It's True, It's True - Artemesia on Trial.

It's True, It's True, It's True - Artemesia on Trial.

It's True, It's True, It's True - Artemesia on Trial.

^ Fuck, sorry for the double post.

it's not just you -- for some reason, this thing is double posting sometimes - happened to me on another thread

All My Sons with Zoe Wanamaker and David Suchet, for comparisons sake.

So which shows did Jack Viertel really hate and stopped getting done at Encores?

I think "On Stage" needs a revamp. Many weeks it's like Frank D just doesn't have much to talk about and is struggling to fill airtime. Why the hell doesn't he let Roma come on and do her reviews like she used to?

I'm curious if Diana will find any audience. At one point, I thought the Meg and Harry drama would help, but now I'm skeptical.

The "Diana" commercial sounds kind of "American Idol"-esque in sound; the real Princess Diana liked Elton John and John Travolta (disco). Has anyone heard the score yet?

Diana was not an intellectual; in fact, she was a poor student. I believe shes dropped out of university. But she loved the glitz and glamor of Hollywood et al.

This is lovely....

R567I have never heard Diana was mistaken for an intellectual. Ever

R569 She wasn't.

[quote]I think "On Stage" needs a revamp. Many weeks it's like Frank D just doesn't have much to talk about and is struggling to fill airtime. Why the hell doesn't he let Roma come on and do her reviews like she used to?

Because he's a selfish, entitled, no-talent whose family apparently bought his career (such as it is), which is probably the main reason why he's so territorial. On a somewhat related note, is there any update on Roma Torre's age and discrimination lawsuit against NY-1? This is the most recent article I could find on it right away.

Because...

Wish Patti had smuggled Jonyty over in her vagina.

Audra McDonald and Will Swenson were at the Martin Sexton concert at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook Series last night.

She looked great - big curly hair, black leather pants. Will is aging very nicely!

wow r562 watched some of that and it wipes the floor with the Pullman/Field version. This one and the Letts/Bening seem equally superlative. I teared up at both more than once.

Are Max von Essen and Daniel Rowan no longer a couple?

Anyone have an update on the Palace's lifting? I assume it's going to plan, but I still feel wary about the whole thing.

Thanks for the Routledge clip. I met her years ago at the house of a friend in Ann Arbor. They had done DARLING OF THE DAY together and became fast chums. She couldn't have been lovelier. And god, I wish I had seen her performance in that show.

Max and Daniel must be kaput. They’ve totally scraped each other from their IG’s. When they were a couple they posted almost daily pronouncements of everlasting love.

Looks like Max got custody of the cat.

[quote]She looked great - big curly hair, black leather pants. Will is aging very nicely!

WTF? Do you have any idea where you are?

Rolf & Liesl

[quote]She looked great - big curly hair, black leather pants.

Sounds like she is dressing like Oprah in the early 90s.

[Quote] Looks like Max got custody of the cat.

Max's pussy is central to his existence.

R582 Closeted power dyke?

AIA MA Part One.

AIA MA Part Two.

AIA MA Part Three.

AIA P Part One.

AIA P Part Two.

AIA P Part Three.

Hope somebody enjoys Angels, I was decidedly underwhelmed.

Good lord, R573. That was hideously overwrought. And not terribly musical.

FIRST MIDNIGHT!

[quote]AIA MA Part One.

Geez, I can feel Nathan Lane's spittle just from the picture.

R593 Anuerism territory.

Theatre kids online (which is to say, no one on these beloved threads) are all abuzz about SIX.

Who's seen SIX?

I saw SIX in London. I suppose you could say it's the Brit equivalent to Hamilton; a modern take on historical subject matter (swapping out race for gender and rap for girl groups, of course). But it's slighter and far less interesting, than Hamilton, not to mention less emotionally compelling. My friends in the UK all adore it, but I couldn't quite get into it. Some fun tunes, but not much else. At least it's short.

Next thread here.

Whoop-Up!

Baljour!

Baljour!