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Theatre Gossip #423: "Bruce Springsteen and Billy Porter In THE MUSIC MAN!" Edition

Because #422 has collapsed under the weight of its own tedium.

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by Anonymousreply 600June 14, 2021 11:56 AM

Civil behavior (well, DL standards for civility) is encouraged here. Which means, take your tired racist BS elsewhere.

Let's put on a show, kids!

by Anonymousreply 1June 8, 2021 10:54 PM

An actual new musical is coming to Broadway...

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by Anonymousreply 2June 8, 2021 10:57 PM

....co-written by Stephen Foster?

[quote]Conceived by Larry Kirwan, Paradise Square features a score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, with additional material by Masi Asare and Kirwan. The musical features original songs as well as a reimagining of the songs of Stephen Foster. Christina Anderson, Marcus Gardley, Craig Lucas, and Kirwan penned the book.

by Anonymousreply 3June 8, 2021 10:58 PM

Ahm jest sooo excited! Stephen Fostuh! Mothuh of Jeffuhson Davis! I"ll jest hol' mah breath!!!

by Anonymousreply 4June 8, 2021 11:02 PM

Rita Moreno talks to NPR about SS revising "America" lyrics:

But Moreno nearly didn't take the part. Just before she signed the West Side Story contract, she remembered a troubling verse in the song "America" in which she'd have to sing: "Puerto Rico. You ugly island, island of tropic diseases."

"And it suddenly occurred to me, Oh my God, I can't sing that! ... I can't do this to my people," she says.

Moreno says she was "this close" to turning the role down before Stephen Sondheim, at the request of a producer, changed the lyric to: "Puerto Rico, my heart's devotion, let it sink back in the ocean."

"And that's how Stephen Sondheim saved me from turning down this magnificent role," she says.

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by Anonymousreply 5June 8, 2021 11:07 PM

There are now 3 live TG threads.

But this is the only one worth posting in.

by Anonymousreply 6June 8, 2021 11:12 PM

11 years old? It's a stretch, but in the right light....

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by Anonymousreply 7June 8, 2021 11:18 PM

Yeah...like Rita really would have turned down a great role in a big Hollywood film adapted from a hit Broadway musical because of a problematic line.

Uh huh. Insert the "Bitch, please" meme HERE.

Unknown hungry actors don't turn down anything. If they do, they'll continue to be unknown hungry actors.

by Anonymousreply 8June 8, 2021 11:53 PM

No it's not r6.

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by Anonymousreply 9June 8, 2021 11:59 PM

I posted this on the (almost finished) previous thread, but what about Tracey Ullman as Stella in Follies?

by Anonymousreply 10June 9, 2021 12:15 AM

R10. I never miss a Tracey Ullman musical.

by Anonymousreply 11June 9, 2021 12:22 AM

Liza likes Chita, but not Rita.

She was insufferable on Fresh Air (and Judy should have won the Oscar for her heart-breaking turn in “Judgment at Nuremberg” that year. At least Judy never had to be dubbed.) Both Moreno and Chakiris were “sweep” wins—either Jackie Gleason or George C. Scott in “The Hustler” were more deserving.

by Anonymousreply 12June 9, 2021 12:27 AM

As I posted in the last thread, Tracey picks up choreography quickly...

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by Anonymousreply 13June 9, 2021 12:31 AM

r9 Loon, no one is interested in your phony thread.

by Anonymousreply 14June 9, 2021 12:32 AM

A thread, is a thread, is a thread.

Don't needle me you buttwhip.

by Anonymousreply 15June 9, 2021 12:38 AM

r13 you can't seriously plan on posting everything you do on [italic]both[/italic] threads now, do you?

by Anonymousreply 16June 9, 2021 1:07 AM

No, r16, no plans. Why do you ask?

by Anonymousreply 17June 9, 2021 1:29 AM

Oh, did you think I was also r10, r16? I'm not.

by Anonymousreply 18June 9, 2021 1:31 AM

There are going to be sooooooo many Broadway theaters available after Christmas.

by Anonymousreply 19June 9, 2021 1:32 AM

But I will ask again if anybody saw Ullman in Shrew.

by Anonymousreply 20June 9, 2021 1:33 AM

Rita was woke before we even knew what woke was!

by Anonymousreply 21June 9, 2021 1:39 AM

She has a feverous woke going on...

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by Anonymousreply 22June 9, 2021 1:43 AM

Yet Rita had no problem playing Googie Gomez who was a walking/talking stereotype.

by Anonymousreply 23June 9, 2021 1:54 AM

Andrew Lloyd Webber is saying he'll open his theatres on 21 June even if the government changes its advice, and he's willing to go to prison for it. Is he that hard up for cash?

by Anonymousreply 24June 9, 2021 1:56 AM

Well, a girl has to eat, r23, and....get a feather hat for the baby...get a feather hat for the baby... get a feather hat for the baby ...

by Anonymousreply 25June 9, 2021 1:59 AM

Oh, having found a non-paywalled article, it seems he actually is

[quote]The composer said he may have to sell his six West End venues if the government does not remove restrictions that have forced venues to run with reduced capacities. Speaking to the Daily Telegraph, Lord Lloyd-Webber also revealed he had remortgaged his London home, as the live entertainment industry struggles with the pandemic’s catastrophic financial impact.

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by Anonymousreply 26June 9, 2021 1:59 AM

Ugh, was gone for the afternoon and came back to that lunatic shitting up the other thread with his bitching and moaning and accusing everyone of being a racist like he was Goody Nurse in a revised version of The Crucible. Finally had to block his ass.

Now, to concentrate on more important things.... OP, this thread title is garbage.

by Anonymousreply 27June 9, 2021 2:02 AM

R27 Stop bullying OP.

by Anonymousreply 28June 9, 2021 2:14 AM

Listen, toots, if you're big enough to start a thread, you're big enough to take the heat when you suck at it.

by Anonymousreply 29June 9, 2021 2:21 AM

You should have seen Googie before I had TM remove the more troubling lines!

by Anonymousreply 30June 9, 2021 2:28 AM

Girls. girls, you're all pretty.

Has Tracy Ullman ever done a big stage musical? She's a fantastic performer and can sing. She might make a good Dolly.

by Anonymousreply 31June 9, 2021 3:23 AM

R2, sadly, there are at least three red flags on PARADISE SQUARE: (1) the producer is literally a criminal and one of the most loathsome toads ever to work in the theater; (2) the director apparently has NO talent and just happened to get lucky with a couple of early shows that he helped create Off-Broadway as a group effort, but the Broadway shows he has directed on his own outside of that group have all been flops; (3) the composer wrote the music for LITTLE WOMEN, one of the worst scores to be heard on Broadway in a very long time.

by Anonymousreply 32June 9, 2021 3:45 AM

R31 True. I adored The Tracey Ullman Show. Those dance numbers, so camp.

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by Anonymousreply 33June 9, 2021 3:45 AM

Tracey apparently was in Rocky Horror and Grease in the West End back in the '70s. I'd be curious to see her Dolly. Or, for a non-musical, her Billie Dawn (Born Yesterday).

by Anonymousreply 34June 9, 2021 3:49 AM

Of course, Tracey in Born Yesterday (or Bells Are Ringing?) would have been best ~30 years ago.

by Anonymousreply 35June 9, 2021 3:59 AM

Tracey Ullman did appear in a musical on the NY stage: A forgotten 2014 Encores! City Center week-long run of a stage version of "The Band Wagon." Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes were leads, and Ullman and Michael McKean played the Nanette Fabray-Oscar Levant parts. Also present: Tony Sheldon and DL favorite Michael Berresse.

by Anonymousreply 36June 9, 2021 4:17 AM

Oh JESUS, Just realized I have footage of Tracey in the early workshop of Starlight Express, which she was in early on.

Please hold while I upload it.

by Anonymousreply 37June 9, 2021 4:20 AM

I'm watching the stream of Touching the Void at the Old Vic. It's a four character play. The climber that "dies" at the beginning (Joe) has a sister. They've cast Joe as black and her as white. And it's completely taken me out of show for a spell. All I can think is that the theater company wanted to play politics and I'm no longer paying attention to the play. I'm thinking about all the bullshit that's been going on this year with We See You, White American Theater.

Why not just cast a black woman as the sister? None of these people are names, and the actress playing the sister is actually quite terrible, so it can't possibly be that they went with the best person for the role. And I don't even care that the real life climber was white. I don't know who he is, anyway. He may as well be fictional.

When did logic just get flushed down the toilet?

by Anonymousreply 38June 9, 2021 5:37 AM

^^ By all means, let's resurrect the same dead-end debate that killed the previous theater thread. ^^

by Anonymousreply 39June 9, 2021 5:44 AM

R39 But people are allowed to talk about how they feel. Even if you find their opinion lessens them, in your view...they are still allowed to express their opinion.

by Anonymousreply 40June 9, 2021 5:48 AM

Tracey Ullman in the first staging of Starlight Express at the RSC.

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by Anonymousreply 41June 9, 2021 5:51 AM

Tracey!

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by Anonymousreply 42June 9, 2021 5:52 AM

Fascinating.

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by Anonymousreply 43June 9, 2021 5:54 AM

Whoever choreographed Starlight Express must have watched the finale of Xanadu multiple times on their VHS.

by Anonymousreply 44June 9, 2021 6:05 AM

Arlene Phillips.

by Anonymousreply 45June 9, 2021 7:06 AM

[quote[[R39] But people are allowed to talk about how they feel. Even if you find their opinion lessens them, in your view...they are still allowed to express their opinion.

The thing is, r38/r40...one doesn't need to express the exact same opinion over a dozen times. It serves no purpose other than to make you look like a troll.

[quote]Tracey Ullman did appear in a musical on the NY stage: A forgotten 2014 Encores! City Center week-long run of a stage version of "The Band Wagon." Brian Stokes Mitchell and Laura Osnes were leads, and Ullman and Michael McKean played the Nanette Fabray-Oscar Levant parts. Also present: Tony Sheldon and DL favorite Michael Berresse.

I saw it, r36. Fun cast, but why the hell did they cast Berresse as a choreographer and never have him dance?

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by Anonymousreply 46June 9, 2021 7:53 AM

I know Berresse did technically dance at the end (purple suit), but I think that was literally it. Tony Sheldon was an unexpected pleasure.

-r46

by Anonymousreply 47June 9, 2021 7:59 AM

[quote]But people are allowed to talk about how they feel. Even if you find their opinion lessens them, in your view...they are still allowed to express their opinion.

Yeah, yeah we know. Opinions are like assholes, everybody has one.

It's just that in this case the pervasive stench makes it hard to tell which is the opinion and which is the asshole.

by Anonymousreply 48June 9, 2021 8:40 AM

Jesus....this thread isn't looking promising. Yet another shitty header. We apparently have a Tracey Ullman Loon running amuck and another Loon wanting to start competing threads for no good reason. Lingering threats to resume the fucking annoying "colorblind casting" debate.

I'd kill for a Follies revival discussion about now.

by Anonymousreply 49June 9, 2021 8:41 AM

The wokesters at All That Chat seem to be trying their damnedest to get Sutton Foster cancelled. It began with her affiliation with Rudin/Music Man, with some recently suggesting SHE use her power to recast the show (don't even get me started on how ludicrous that Pollyanna thinking is) Now they're going after her because someone on Twitter resurrected her doing "And I'm Telling You". It's from a live performance over a decade ago, where she plays up all the Jennifer Holliday affectations. Apparently those arbiters of taste and decency have deemed this as racist and as such, are demanding a reckoning for Foster. Really?? This is where we're putting our energies in this fight? FFS.

Holliday cemented an iconic, beloved performance that every musical theatre nerd knows every riff, grunt and lick of. Including Foster. I'm not saying Foster is the second coming below, but it's clearly being sent up comedically and with a ton of affection. These Twitter morons need to find ACTUAL injustice to go after. This feels closer to bullying and sour grapes than any ACTUAL social justice.

But based on the complete lunacy of the last gossip thread, it's no fucking wonder why we're here. Labeling someone or something as RACIST has almost become meaningless now given how fast and loose people are playing with it. Racism is a terrible, insidious thing. But throwing these accusations around willy nilly is reckless and counterintuitive to this fight. Wokeness was an important, worthwhile concept in its infancy. But it's devolved into an irrational inquisition...a meaningless cancel crusade. Meaningless for achieving any ACTUAL progress. It's bad for the arts, it's bad for society and as evidenced by the last thread, it's bad for the soul.

Now...what's it gonna be? FOLLIES? Margaret Hamilton in NIGHT MUSIC? Rita Moreno in GYPSY? Let's get on with it!

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by Anonymousreply 50June 9, 2021 8:43 AM

Here's a palette cleanser!

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by Anonymousreply 51June 9, 2021 8:54 AM

Angela would have actually been a great Phyllis (even if she looks like a Sally) - the smiling condescending passive aggressive politeness of a political wife more than the ice queen model of Alexis Smith

by Anonymousreply 52June 9, 2021 11:52 AM

[quote] [R2], sadly, there are at least three red flags on PARADISE SQUARE: (1) the producer is literally a criminal and one of the most loathsome toads ever to work in the theater; (2) the director apparently has NO talent and just happened to get lucky with a couple of early shows that he helped create Off-Broadway as a group effort, but the Broadway shows he has directed on his own outside of that group have all been flops; (3) the composer wrote the music for LITTLE WOMEN, one of the worst scores to be heard on Broadway in a very long time.

I saw Paradise Square at Berkeley Rep, R32, and while it wasn't fully baked yet, I thought it was mostly successful at its incredibly high ambitions. It needed to be fleeter of foot, particularly the first act, and there were some extraneous characters and storylines that needed to be trimmed, clarified or cut. As far as your points, my understanding is that said producer is in charge of the show creatively, but not financially. At Berkeley, the show was really driven by its musical staging and its especially sensational choreography, so the director wasn't able to harm anything. The composer is largely Stephen Foster in contemporary arrangements. There are new songs as well, but they blend seamlessly, to the point that it is hard to know what is and isn't Foster, though one of the new songs, "Let It Burn," is a particular showstopper.

by Anonymousreply 53June 9, 2021 11:56 AM

"Why not just cast a black woman as the sister? "

How about an Asian woman? Latina ( if that term is not considered racist now), or a disabled woman? Liberals, unfortunately, have exclusively equated "diversity" with black.

by Anonymousreply 54June 9, 2021 12:10 PM

In the Lehman Trilogy, when they get to the part where Ernest is writing “The Sound of Music” does the black actor play Julie Andrews?

by Anonymousreply 55June 9, 2021 12:33 PM

[quote]Wokeness was an important, worthwhile concept in its infancy. But it's devolved into an irrational inquisition...a meaningless cancel crusade.

People do like to be vindictive. Aggression is in our DNA and human nature does not change. That's why MEDEA and all her classical colleagues remain relevant. As a species, we are the same flawed mess we were 2500 years ago. Some of the prevailing ideas change with the fashions of the day, but we do not change. We are just as flawed as ever.

Denouncing others is another way to step on somebody so that one can feel just a wee bit better and a tad bit worthier. But it is still self-serving aggression.

By now, we should have gotten to seen Lillias White take on GYPSY. She might have given us an unforgettable Rose. But some people think GYPSY is about being white, instead of being about the complexity of human relationships and the pain we visit upon one another.

by Anonymousreply 56June 9, 2021 1:08 PM

[quote]Here's a palette cleanser!

I'm not a painter, but thanks anyway.

by Anonymousreply 57June 9, 2021 1:19 PM

By now, we should have gotten to seen Idina Mendel take on DREAMGIRLS. She might have given us an unforgettable EFFIE. But some people think DREAMGIRLS is about being black, instead of being about the complexity of human relationships and the pain we visit upon one another.

by Anonymousreply 58June 9, 2021 1:35 PM

R58 proves my point.

Thanks, doll. Have a nice day.

by Anonymousreply 59June 9, 2021 1:39 PM

R53, thanks so much for that post. You have actually given me a lot more hope for PARADISE COURT by explaining about the staging and the score. That said, I still can't believe anyone would work with Drabinsky after what he did, but I guess it might be okay as long as they keep him away from the money.

R59, no the truth is that R58 proves the hypocrisy of your "point." And of course GYPSY is not "about being white," but the argument against casting POCs in those roles has to do with historical inaccuracy. If people with your mindset have their way, all future theater productions, film, and TV shows will have so many POCs in leading roles in period pieces that younger people who watch them will come to believer that POCs were always fully 100 percent integrated into mainstream American society in all walks of life even as far back as the 19th century and earlier. And if you would argue "well, they can read books and watch documentaries to learn about the real treatment of non-white people in America in the past," my answer is that I doubt many of them will do that. As they say, those who can't or won't learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

by Anonymousreply 60June 9, 2021 1:49 PM

Trying to [italic]gently[/italic] steer this thread onto a track before I jump out the window-- [italic]And if the two debating loons are here, please chill and let others converse, too.[/italic]

Do any of the new BIPIC-centered shows interest sound interesting to DL theatre queens? why or why not? I'll start- I'm very eager to see "Trouble in Mind." I know it's not a new play but it's a work I'm looking forward to seeing produced

by Anonymousreply 61June 9, 2021 2:00 PM

Is Trouble in Mind like Losing My Mind?

by Anonymousreply 62June 9, 2021 2:12 PM

no but reading these threads is

by Anonymousreply 63June 9, 2021 2:16 PM

Again, the sad OP that doesn't know how to title a thread correctly is upon us

by Anonymousreply 64June 9, 2021 2:17 PM

Is Drabinsky even allowed on US soil?

by Anonymousreply 65June 9, 2021 2:21 PM

[quote] Is Drabinsky even allowed on US soil?

Yes. All charges in the US were dropped against him in 2018.

by Anonymousreply 66June 9, 2021 2:34 PM

Are her legs supposed to look like tree trunks?

by Anonymousreply 67June 9, 2021 2:37 PM

Trouble in Mind is a great play. Very funny. Very moving. I am surprised that there has not been a major NYC production since the 50s. But maybe it hits a little close to home.

JOHN NEVINS You're in it, aren't you proud to be a part of it all?

WILETTA MAYER Of what all?

JOHN NEVINS Theater.

WILETTA MAYER Show business, it's just a business. Colored folks ain't in no theater. You ever do a professional show before?

JOHN. Yes, some off-Broadway ... and I've taken classes.

WILETTA MAYER Don't let the man know that. They don't like us to go to school.

JOHN NEVINS Oh, now.

WILETTA MAYER They want us to be naturals ... you know, just born with the gift. Course they want you to be experienced too. Tell em' you was in the last revival of Porgy and Bess.

JOHN NEVINS I'm a little young for that.

WILETTA MAYER They don't know the difference. You were one of the children.

JOHN NEVINS I need this job but ... must I lie?

WILETTA MAYER Yes. Management hates folks who need jobs. They get the least money, the least respect, and most times they don't get the job.

by Anonymousreply 68June 9, 2021 2:37 PM

Anyone know where I can find a bootleg of the recent Lincoln Center My Fair Lady? Broke. Can’t pay a bootlegger. Thanks!

by Anonymousreply 69June 9, 2021 3:39 PM

Forget "Paradise Court" -- I want a musical version of "90 Bristol Court."

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by Anonymousreply 70June 9, 2021 3:56 PM

R60, thinking a little bit more about it, what Jason Howland did with the Foster songs is a bit like the Wright-Forrest musicals that used a composer's music, like Kismet, Song of Norway or Anya, though far more contemporary sounding than any of those shows.

by Anonymousreply 71June 9, 2021 4:04 PM

Should we cancel Norbet?

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by Anonymousreply 72June 9, 2021 4:15 PM

Thanks, r51. Jeter was incredible in Grand Hotel. He won a Tony for it, if I recall correctly.

Broadway Bares: Twerking From Home

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by Anonymousreply 73June 9, 2021 4:16 PM

[quote]Are her legs supposed to look like tree trunks?

"All the best actresses have legs like tree trunks!"

by Anonymousreply 74June 9, 2021 4:21 PM

Did we ever find out, r71, just how long Anya will wander?

by Anonymousreply 75June 9, 2021 4:21 PM

For the many LMM and Jimmy Fallon fans on this site.

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by Anonymousreply 76June 9, 2021 4:25 PM

[quote]Should we cancel Norbet?

Oh, dear.

But speaking of "Dreamgirls," I'm sure Eddie Murphy wishes "Norbit" had been cancelled.

by Anonymousreply 77June 9, 2021 4:27 PM

Are any of the returning B'way shows even close to building an advance?

by Anonymousreply 78June 9, 2021 4:43 PM

"It's from a live performance over a decade ago, where she plays up all the Jennifer Holliday affectations. Apparently those arbiters of taste and decency have deemed this as racist and as such, are demanding a reckoning for Foster. "

*

Had she only emulated Miss Lake Dardanelle, r50, she would have been fine.

by Anonymousreply 79June 9, 2021 4:50 PM

Why isn't the woke Anti-Rudin crowd screaming about Drabinsky? His fraud cost hundreds and hundreds of jobs. He was just as ugly with his assistants as Rudin (documented in many books), and there have always been some rumored "me too" stories with him. Why the silence?

by Anonymousreply 80June 9, 2021 5:12 PM

Rebecca Caine, original Toronto Christine Daae in Phantom, is certainly not being silent.

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by Anonymousreply 81June 9, 2021 5:25 PM

One thing that we will never see is a black Billy Bigelow. Even the SJWs will not approve of that.

by Anonymousreply 82June 9, 2021 5:53 PM

r80 you assume there is reason or logic involved with who they set their sights on. The Rudin stuff blew up because the woke army was mad that all the leads in Music Man are white, so this was the perfect conflation of the two issues.

by Anonymousreply 83June 9, 2021 6:04 PM

R82 Huh?

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by Anonymousreply 84June 9, 2021 6:05 PM

For one who is not an aficionado of these threads, can someone explain the title?

by Anonymousreply 85June 9, 2021 6:06 PM

Miss Helen Lawson and Miss Linda Hunt in "The Music Wimmin".

by Anonymousreply 86June 9, 2021 6:10 PM

I think the difference between Drabinsky and Rudin, for me anyway, is that Drabinsky's crimes were exposed, have been covered for two decades and he served jail time, which surely was a leveler. There were stories over the years that glorified and reveled in Rudin's bullying, but he never paid a penalty for it. He was allowed to proceed for decades with no reckoning or comeuppance.

by Anonymousreply 87June 9, 2021 6:17 PM

[quote]One thing that we will never see is a black Billy Bigelow. Even the SJWs will not approve of that.

Any more great wisdom you'd like to pull out of your ass and enlighten us with?

by Anonymousreply 88June 9, 2021 6:18 PM

is r82 the official death of theatre on DataLounge?

by Anonymousreply 89June 9, 2021 6:35 PM

Did you somehow imagine that theatre on the Datalounge was living r89?

by Anonymousreply 90June 9, 2021 6:39 PM

Has anyone seen the documentary about Drabinsky? It was my first exposure to his schemes. I knew that Livent had shit the bed and that he'd gone to jail, but I had never dug very far to find out what had happened.

I have to say that (and this may have been the way the doc spun it) my impressions after watching the doc were somewhat reluctantly admiring of Drabinsky. Because the way the doc told it, he was basically committing fraud to produce more theater. He didn't seem to be socking away money for his own personal gain, he was funneling money into new productions to create more shows (and to keep people working). I found that concept sort of Robin Hood-esque.

Of course, the more I read after the fact, I see that there was a lot more being done and a lot more mistreatment and non-payment to people who were caught in the crossfire, and that it was not as "simple" as the doc made it seem.

by Anonymousreply 91June 9, 2021 7:29 PM

Michael Riedel does a pretty good job of covering the Drabinsky story in his new book.

by Anonymousreply 92June 9, 2021 8:00 PM

I stopped at "basically committing fraud "....I've been the victim of fraud. I don't care if its a Broadway Robin Hood. And didn't he have a private jet?

by Anonymousreply 93June 9, 2021 8:23 PM

I love this song. Patti sings it softly and I love how she gently touches the back of the pianist. Often on a holiday when going to opera ballet theater or just for a drink I sing this song.

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by Anonymousreply 94June 9, 2021 8:57 PM

Some Berlin. Guest for Colm

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by Anonymousreply 95June 9, 2021 9:01 PM

Rare recording

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by Anonymousreply 96June 9, 2021 9:15 PM

R22 & R23 the role of Google Gomez in THE RITZ was written for Rita Morena. It was a mash-up of a comedy routine that Rita would perform at parties for her friends and the fractured English spoken by Broadway producer Adela Holzer. (I yam so dumps een dey down!). Terrence McNally recounted the story of seeing Rita perform the routine at a party. So Rita was not woke enough to not make fun of Latins in America, especially for her theater and film "people".

The funny thing is that Holzer produced THE RITZ on Broadway and never realized that Google Gomez was partly a takeoff on her. But Rita knew.

I worked on that production of THE RITZ. Two of my many memories of the time bringing the show to Broadway included:

- Wonderful Jack Westin eating a whole chocolate sour cream cake before going onstage. He loved food. His wife, Marge Redmond, was also very nice.

- Rita Moreno and Stephen Collins having an affair during the run of the show. In Washington, DC during tryouts, my hotel room was on the same floor as both Rita and Stephen, and I could hear/see Stephen go back and forth from Rita's room. Not sure if the affair started before they began rehearsals or after, Both were married at the time.

by Anonymousreply 97June 9, 2021 9:34 PM

A Patti performance

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by Anonymousreply 98June 9, 2021 9:35 PM

r97 - Did Rita dress up like a little girl?

by Anonymousreply 99June 9, 2021 9:37 PM

[quote]Wonderful Jack Westin

WESTON

by Anonymousreply 100June 9, 2021 9:39 PM

R98 She’s channeling some David Bowie look there.

by Anonymousreply 101June 9, 2021 9:42 PM

Welcome to 1965. Two boys can't can't possibly just sing a love song. Gorgeous vocals though.

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by Anonymousreply 102June 9, 2021 9:52 PM

I certainly hope they never decide to cast gay men in straight roles, that would completely take me out of a heterosexual love story because everyone knows a gay man does not want to sleep with women.

by Anonymousreply 103June 9, 2021 10:30 PM

That's a really lame false equivalency, R103. But ironically, your satirical statement is a perspective that has been accepted for many years as the actual perspective of the straight majority of filmgoers and TV-watchers, which has resulted in perpetuating the sad phenomenon of gay actors remaining firmly in the closet.

by Anonymousreply 104June 9, 2021 10:36 PM

[quote]Yeah, he's not a good actor, but I do believe he is making a point. The industry is still homophobic and doesn't allow gay men to play straight roles, and prefers straight men to play gay roles (and encourages it through awards). I'm just getting more and more pissed that the media is treating us like shit in comparison to other minorities. If it were a black man or woman speaking about a similar subject, they'd be stirring up people. For gay men, they only ignore, sidestep, "both sides" the story, or flat out go against us.

From the current Ricky Martin thread.

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by Anonymousreply 105June 9, 2021 10:50 PM

Suspension of disbelief is a hellva thing.

by Anonymousreply 106June 9, 2021 10:51 PM

[quote] One thing that we will never see is a black Billy Bigelow. Even the SJWs will not approve of that.

Doesn't the R&H organization make you petition them before going through with non-traditional casting?

by Anonymousreply 107June 9, 2021 10:54 PM

What's that, R104? Minority groups being ignored by the majority and being kept out of jobs they're qualified for? Keep going, you're almost there with working out what the entire point is.

Also, it's hardly just straight people - there's plenty of self-loathers who insist gay men can't play straight.

by Anonymousreply 108June 9, 2021 11:21 PM

R102 So Gavin's another who's gone blond now

by Anonymousreply 109June 9, 2021 11:31 PM

[quote]Doesn't the R&H organization make you petition them before going through with non-traditional casting?

Why would it? It sold the rights to its theatrical properties 12 years ago.

by Anonymousreply 110June 9, 2021 11:31 PM

There was a link to a Liza show in the previous thread and because I keep getting locked out I didn't get to ask a question that came up. Would she have been miscast if they had ever considered her for Dolly or Gypsy or Funny Girl? She is a good comedic actress and can sing and dance. Does anyone know if she was ever approached for any of these roles? Could she pull off Madame Armfeldt at this point?

by Anonymousreply 111June 9, 2021 11:47 PM

[quote] Could she pull off Madame Armfeldt at this point?

OMG, can you imagine? That'd be unintentionally hilarious. I'd pay to see it. Perhaps with Faye Dunaway as Desiree.

by Anonymousreply 112June 9, 2021 11:51 PM

Liza could never play Armfeldt because she WATS behaves like she's still Sally Bowles.

by Anonymousreply 113June 10, 2021 12:33 AM

ALWAYS ^^^

by Anonymousreply 114June 10, 2021 12:34 AM

That would be the most sequined Mme Armfeldt...evuh!

by Anonymousreply 115June 10, 2021 12:34 AM

Liza MIGHT be able to pull off Madame Arcati in "Blithe Spirit". Not sure her memory for lines is up to any live performance...

by Anonymousreply 116June 10, 2021 1:42 AM

R111 Madame Armfeldt? No. Dolly? Maybe. Funny Girl & Gypsy? Absolutely. She would have been great at the right time.

by Anonymousreply 117June 10, 2021 1:53 AM

Any ideas why she was never considered for those roles "at the right time?"

by Anonymousreply 118June 10, 2021 1:57 AM

Liza is too old for Gypsy.

by Anonymousreply 119June 10, 2021 1:59 AM

Sometimes I just like to watch this...

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by Anonymousreply 120June 10, 2021 2:01 AM

Have a friend who worked closely with Drabrinsky during the RAGTIME era. His office was right down the LIVENT hall. He worshiped him then but now hates him so much he'll leave the room if you mention his name.

by Anonymousreply 121June 10, 2021 2:07 AM

^ He still wants his back pay.

by Anonymousreply 122June 10, 2021 2:11 AM

I thought Liza was considered for Gypsy before Tyne Daly in ‘89. I think she turned it down because it was too much work.

by Anonymousreply 123June 10, 2021 2:19 AM

[quote]Any ideas why she was never considered for those roles "at the right time?"

DRUG ADDICTION

by Anonymousreply 124June 10, 2021 2:20 AM

Could the producers get insurance for Liza in 1989? Her attendance record for The Act and The Rink was not good. Lots of money was lost.

by Anonymousreply 125June 10, 2021 2:23 AM

Tyne was fabulous in that production of Gypey though she could barely sing it. But she did.

by Anonymousreply 126June 10, 2021 2:24 AM

What about Linda Lavin?

by Anonymousreply 127June 10, 2021 2:25 AM

Sorry, e and s aren't even next to each other on the keyboard and I fucked it up. Whatever.

by Anonymousreply 128June 10, 2021 2:26 AM

Lavin was a replacement and all that that implies.

by Anonymousreply 129June 10, 2021 2:29 AM

'Any more great wisdom you'd like to pull out of your ass and enlighten us with?"

That version of Carousel was in 2018. This is 2021 and the SJW movement and cancel culture is in full bloom. " How racist is the casting of a black man as a wife beater. It's a racist stereotype and must be shut down because it is triggering." You know it's true.

by Anonymousreply 130June 10, 2021 2:34 AM

[Quote] and all that that implies.

Tread lightly.

by Anonymousreply 131June 10, 2021 2:35 AM

[quote] Could the producers get insurance for Liza in 1989?

I don’t think it mattered. Arthur Laurents was in his 70s and he wasn’t sure if he’d be able to get another chance to do the show and make it as fabulous as he wanted it to be. He wanted a *star* for Rose. He figured since LuPone had done Anything Goes, she would eventually get her greedy teeth into Gypsy and at that time it would be over his dead body. He wanted to top off his legacy by having a mega hit Gypsy revival.

by Anonymousreply 132June 10, 2021 2:38 AM

And yet the deliberately color blind casting of Carousel at Lincoln Center in the early 90s is still one of the most glorious productions of any musical I have ever seen anywhere, despite a Billy Bigelow who didn't have the voice for role?

by Anonymousreply 133June 10, 2021 2:43 AM

Whatever you say, R130. You're the expert.

by Anonymousreply 134June 10, 2021 2:46 AM

Liza IS Aunt Eller!

by Anonymousreply 135June 10, 2021 2:50 AM

70 Girls 70

by Anonymousreply 136June 10, 2021 2:51 AM

Liza sang a great medley of Gypsy songs during her much lauded series of concerts at The Beacon in NYC. I swear 100% of that audience was gay men

by Anonymousreply 137June 10, 2021 2:53 AM

Audra would, of course, make a stunning Mama Rose

by Anonymousreply 138June 10, 2021 2:53 AM

Barbara Cook played Fanny but not Rose.

by Anonymousreply 139June 10, 2021 2:55 AM

[129] Lavin was, indeed, a replacement and a total bitch to work with. Sadly, she's convinced of her own star power and very difficult. For example, in the scene where Louise is getting dressed and made up for the first strip number, Lavin had been directed to stand downstage and face upstage to give Crista Moore focus in this scene. It is, to be honest, Louise's scene and Arthur Laurents had directed it to do just that. Lavin decided that people had really come to see her, so she proceeded to stand behind Crista while she made up, sharing focus with her. Crista protested, and Lavin got a note from stage management about the change, and an instruction to return to the original blocking. She balked, made ugly and Arthur Laurents had to either a) come back and do a brush up rehearsal to get her to do the original blocking or b) called her and threatened to have her replaced. She returned to the original blocking, but when she would turn upstage every night she would mouth thing like "bitch" and "cunt" to Crista as she tried to make up and carry on with the scene. I can't remember if she was brought up on charges by Equity but I think they were threatened. She was loathed by any and everyone who had to work with her in that production.

by Anonymousreply 140June 10, 2021 3:28 AM

Linda Lavin was......interesting as Rose. Very dark. Little charm. Not sure which but Sondheim or Laurents said she was closest to the real Rose. But her performance really dragged the show down.

by Anonymousreply 141June 10, 2021 3:29 AM

Maybe they meant La Lavin herself was closest to the real Rose, not her performance.

by Anonymousreply 142June 10, 2021 3:33 AM

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

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by Anonymousreply 143June 10, 2021 3:34 AM

Poor Ruthie Henshall only gets to replace these days, doesn't she?

by Anonymousreply 144June 10, 2021 3:41 AM

R140 Come, sit by me.

by Anonymousreply 145June 10, 2021 3:50 AM

"The only person who played Rose who really looked like her was Linda Lavin."

Sondheim/2009

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by Anonymousreply 146June 10, 2021 3:54 AM

Didn't Lavin admit that she was at a low point in her life during GYPSY?

by Anonymousreply 147June 10, 2021 3:58 AM

I expect Sondheim would revise that comment post Imelda.

by Anonymousreply 148June 10, 2021 4:00 AM

R108. you seem utterly confused as to what the "entire point" is.

by Anonymousreply 149June 10, 2021 4:07 AM

[quote]Have a friend who worked closely with Drabrinsky during the RAGTIME era. His office was right down the LIVENT hall. He worshiped him then but now hates him so much he'll leave the room if you mention his name.

Do you mean that he came to hate him when it was revealed that Drabinsky was a criminal? Or for some other reasons?

by Anonymousreply 150June 10, 2021 4:14 AM

The only good thing about Linda Lavin is that she's not Bonnie Franklin.

by Anonymousreply 151June 10, 2021 5:24 AM

"June Havoc saw Lavin's performance in Gypsy and sent her a photo of Havoc's mother, the real Rose Hovick, with a note of appreciation for Lavin's particular portrayal of the character."

by Anonymousreply 152June 10, 2021 5:29 AM

Liza as Fannie Brice? I doubt that she would have ever wanted to do Barbra's role. More likely that Barbra would do a film version of FLORA THE RED MENACE next year.

by Anonymousreply 153June 10, 2021 11:58 AM

oh good god save us from THIS

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by Anonymousreply 154June 10, 2021 12:19 PM

I love everyone in Rebecca Caine’s replies complaining about the Drama Book Store now existing as a receptacle for Lin Manuel Miranda, including former employees.

by Anonymousreply 155June 10, 2021 12:27 PM

Is there a link, R155? I’d like to read that.

by Anonymousreply 156June 10, 2021 12:44 PM

To Kill a Mockingbird reopens on 5 October. Orin Wolf replaces Rudin as lead producer. Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan-Bolger will be returning when it reopens.

by Anonymousreply 157June 10, 2021 12:52 PM

DL fav Amanda Kloots is profiled in the NYT

[quote]With her sister Anna Kloots, she wrote the book in six months, beginning two weeks after Mr. Cordero died. “I’m proud of the work we’ve done,” Amanda Kloots said last week, her long dancers’ legs stretched out on a couch at a friend’s West Hollywood patio. “But, you know, the story is so sad.”

Time is money doll.

[quote]The cycle of audition-rejection-audition-success prepared her for the process of asking every person she could think of to help her get to her husband’s bedside. “I probably would have dressed like a doctor and sneaked in if I needed to,” she said last week, kicking her sandals to the ground beneath her. “There was no stopping me.”

She's practically writing scenes for the Lifetime movie now.

[quote]People were messaging Ms. Kloots, asking what they could do. When she played music for Mr. Cordero and saw his vital signs improve, “I knew my mission,” she wrote in the book. She asked her followers to post videos of themselves singing and dancing at 3 p.m. Pacific Time to Mr. Cordero’s “Live Your Life.”

...

[quote]She received a stream of offers from marketers, film producers, TV writers and documentarians. “I was like, ‘No, no, no and no.’” But when Lisa Sharkey, a senior vice president at HarperCollins (and a one-time attendee of Ms. Kloots’s fitness class) contacted her about a memoir, Ms. Kloots pitched the idea of writing it with Anna, 32, who has always wanted to be a professional writer.

How quickly the no became a yes!

[quote]When Mr. Cordero was sick and Anna was living with Amanda and Elvis, she took notes, kept journals and recorded her sister’s conversations with doctors. When it came time to write the book, “I had this crazy database of information and notes,” Anna said, in addition to her sister’s archived Instagram updates.

Sounds like her sister started writing the book months before he actually died.

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by Anonymousreply 158June 10, 2021 1:04 PM

R156 She retweeted this tweet. I'd also recommend checking out her Twitter (@RebeccaCaine) as she has some choice comments to make about Drabinsky

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by Anonymousreply 159June 10, 2021 1:10 PM

"I love everyone in Rebecca Caine’s replies complaining about the Drama Book Store now existing as a receptacle for Lin Manuel Miranda, including former employees."

I guess they'd rather see it closed for good.

by Anonymousreply 160June 10, 2021 1:29 PM

[quote]To Kill a Mockingbird reopens on 5 October. Orin Wolf replaces Rudin as lead producer. Jeff Daniels and Celia Keenan-Bolger will be returning when it reopens.

Is that limited and then Kinear comes in, and what about Nick Robinson?

by Anonymousreply 161June 10, 2021 1:59 PM

Thanks, R159!

by Anonymousreply 162June 10, 2021 2:03 PM

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1982, "Torch Song Trilogy" opened at the Little Theatre.

by Anonymousreply 163June 10, 2021 2:04 PM

R163 However did Harvey fit in it?

by Anonymousreply 164June 10, 2021 2:07 PM

He went in sideways!

by Anonymousreply 165June 10, 2021 2:18 PM

[quote] The only good thing about Linda Lavin is that she's not Bonnie Franklin.

I'd rather watch either of them than the godawful and overrated Judith Light. She should have gotten her money back on acting lessons.

by Anonymousreply 166June 10, 2021 2:24 PM

Lavin was going through a nasty divorce during Gypsy. She was painfully thin and miserable.

by Anonymousreply 167June 10, 2021 2:36 PM

THR article about "Mockingbird":

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by Anonymousreply 168June 10, 2021 3:13 PM

I haven't been following the Drama Bookstore drama (hee!) on Twitter, so I'm not sure I understand.

Lin MM pretty much bought the store, and is reopening it. So why is everyone surprised/offended that Drama Books is now a shrine to Lin MM? Are they unfamiliar with Lin MM and his work?

by Anonymousreply 169June 10, 2021 3:13 PM

I went to Rebecca's Twitter page and saw lots of stuff about Drabinsky but nothing about the Drama Book Club. Perhaps she deleted it?

by Anonymousreply 170June 10, 2021 3:31 PM

Can someone briefly explain the Drabinsky affair?

by Anonymousreply 171June 10, 2021 3:40 PM

It's like the Dreyfus affair...

by Anonymousreply 172June 10, 2021 3:42 PM

Speaking of LMM: The teaser trailer for "tick, tick...BOOM!" has been released.

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by Anonymousreply 173June 10, 2021 4:28 PM

R163 With Estelle Getty, who then toured with it all the way to LA and was hired to GG?

by Anonymousreply 174June 10, 2021 4:37 PM

r173 I never miss an Andrew Garfield musical.

Especially one with Bradley Whitford playing Sondheim.

by Anonymousreply 175June 10, 2021 4:42 PM

[quote] Lavin was going through a nasty divorce during Gypsy. She was painfully thin and miserable.

That's still no excuse for being a cunt, Linda.

by Anonymousreply 176June 10, 2021 4:44 PM

I thought Lavin was good. Me and Clive Barnes.

by Anonymousreply 177June 10, 2021 4:50 PM

[quote] I thought Lavin was good. Me and Clive Barnes.

She was scary!

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by Anonymousreply 178June 10, 2021 4:55 PM

[quote]Lavin was going through a nasty divorce during Gypsy. She was painfully thin and miserable.

And so she decided to make everyone around her miserable, as well.

by Anonymousreply 179June 10, 2021 4:58 PM

[quote] when she would turn upstage every night she would mouth thing like "bitch" and "cunt" to Crista as she tried to make up and carry on with the scene.

r140 that's great gossip. Thank you. How do you know a juicy detail like that? Any more?

by Anonymousreply 180June 10, 2021 4:59 PM

Andrew Garfield looks strikingly like the late Jonathan Larson at R173.

I hope it's good.

by Anonymousreply 181June 10, 2021 5:01 PM

Since "Bedknobs and Broomsticks" is coming back, maybe they can make Julie Andrews the voice of the bedknob that controls the bed when they turn it to make the bed move? They used her voice for the parrot in "Dr. Dolittle" in London.

by Anonymousreply 182June 10, 2021 5:02 PM

Linda Lavin was a mostly awful Rose. A few inspired moments scattered throughout, but I mostly felt like I was watching an early dress rehearsal. She was a slightly better singer than Daly, but had almost none of her energy or humor. Daly seemed like odd, out of the box casting that shouldn't have worked, but it did. Lavin seemed like a much more natural fit for the role and she disappointed.

Maybe she did look and/or behave more like the real Rose, but whatever she was doing didn't make for very interesting or memorable theatre. The production itself is probably still the best production of the show I've seen. Wonderful sets, costumes, orchestra, and pacing. Just the right mix of comedy and drama when Daly was starring in it.

by Anonymousreply 183June 10, 2021 5:22 PM

Angela Lansbury was the best Rose I ever saw, in her singing, acting and dancing (she put in some high kicks in "Together"). She kept taking bows after the applause ended for "Rose's Turn", showing how absorbed she was in her delirium. Dolores Gray had a great voice, and she was quite effective, too. I liked Bernadette, saw her later in the run and Patti at City Center very good, too (vocals fine, acting = what you'd expect from Patti LuPone). Tyne Daly's acting quite good; you just saw she was going to be a pain in the ass to her daughter and never give up thinking she'd make it in show biz somehow; vocals were a bit rough.

by Anonymousreply 184June 10, 2021 5:28 PM

I liked Gisele MacKenzie as Rose.

I also saw the famous Joyce Dewitt GYPSY. It was awful, but Joyce was not bad.

by Anonymousreply 185June 10, 2021 6:55 PM

[quote]Maybe she did look and/or behave more like the real Rose, but whatever she was doing didn't make for very interesting or memorable theatre.

I can't imagine anything more irrelevant to a production of "Gypsy" than how much the star does or doesn't resemble the real Rose. It's the Laurents/Sondheim/Styne version of Rose that she has to focus on playing. It's a musical. Real life has nothing to do with it.

by Anonymousreply 186June 10, 2021 7:30 PM

Is it true that the Gisele version used the poodle Chowsie dressed as a lamb in the Little Lamb scene?

by Anonymousreply 187June 10, 2021 7:45 PM

I saw Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin, Bernadette Peters, and Patti LuPone on Broadway plus various other in summer stock. Merman, Lansbury, and Daly were the top three.

by Anonymousreply 188June 10, 2021 7:47 PM

I could have written R188 myself, and I agree with the opinion.

But I will say that Lavin, though not good, was at least interesting, because she gave completely different line readings than anyone else. At the same time, she was angry and charmless and got very few of the laughs (Merman and Lansbury were the champs in this regard).

So it was a fresh take on Rose, if nothing else. And it was nothing else, I'm afraid. You could call it an unattractive experiment.

by Anonymousreply 189June 10, 2021 7:52 PM

[quote]Is it true that the Gisele version used the poodle Chowsie dressed as a lamb in the Little Lamb scene?

No. That was the Shari Lewis version. And I got "featured" billing.

by Anonymousreply 190June 10, 2021 8:09 PM

R77 That was clever. I'd forgotten that NORBIT was released during the voting period and that is why many assume he lost the Oscar for DREAMGIRLS.

by Anonymousreply 191June 10, 2021 8:14 PM

R173 Pretty clever of LMM to cast Garfield, and therefore ensure he won't be the most tedious person on set.

Is that Lin doing the voiceover, or is Garfield just sounding very LMM-like for this?

by Anonymousreply 192June 10, 2021 8:14 PM

Another Rose that should’ve worked was Betty Buckley. But she only played the monster part of the role and left out the humor and charm. It was a very dreary production.

by Anonymousreply 193June 10, 2021 8:14 PM

R170 Yes, she deleted the retweet. Given the other tweets at the time I think her focus was on the Drabinsky part of the tweet.

by Anonymousreply 194June 10, 2021 8:16 PM

Lea Michelle will be the hungriest most conniving Rose yet in the 20 45 production!

by Anonymousreply 195June 10, 2021 8:50 PM

[quote] Another Rose that should’ve worked was Betty Buckley. But she only played the monster part of the role and left out the humor and charm.

Not to mention sang all of the sustained notes a semitone flat (per usual).

by Anonymousreply 196June 10, 2021 8:54 PM

Betty did a BBC radio production and her Roses Turn was one of the best I've ever ehard. Spectacular. So I was so excited about seeing her at papermill... it and she were terrible. Oh well...

by Anonymousreply 197June 10, 2021 8:58 PM

I wish I could have ehard it too.

by Anonymousreply 198June 10, 2021 9:00 PM

Oh for chrissakes, you bitches asked for it.

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by Anonymousreply 199June 10, 2021 9:01 PM

Wilkinson was a drunk, right?

by Anonymousreply 200June 10, 2021 9:03 PM

FOLLIES!!!

by Anonymousreply 201June 10, 2021 9:04 PM

This thread ain't big enough for the both of us, Medford.

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by Anonymousreply 202June 10, 2021 9:05 PM

Donna Lynne's Turn...

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by Anonymousreply 203June 10, 2021 9:06 PM

KayE dropped the E again. Was this during her Molly period?

by Anonymousreply 204June 10, 2021 9:08 PM

I was borrowing her 'e'.

by Anonymousreply 205June 10, 2021 9:12 PM

[quote] Lin MM pretty much bought the store, and is reopening it. So why is everyone surprised/offended that Drama Books is now a shrine to Lin MM? Are they unfamiliar with Lin MM and his work?

Yeah, yeah, we get that he needs this thing to be roof table but it’s still unintentionally hilarious to see his series of 12 collectable pins for sale before, like, scripts and books.

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by Anonymousreply 206June 10, 2021 9:21 PM

*roof table = profitable

by Anonymousreply 207June 10, 2021 9:21 PM

Kaye!

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by Anonymousreply 208June 10, 2021 9:32 PM

The HAMIL-TOTS adore LMM and will buy anything/everything he touches. That includes Drama Books and IN THE HEIGHTS.

These are kids who watched MOANA 5 years ago and have been watching HAMILTON regularly on Disney + since it dropped last year.

I am not kidding. There is a generation of kids who think LMM = musical theatre. Or perhaps, theatre in general.

by Anonymousreply 209June 10, 2021 9:38 PM

LOL @ LinPins! He really is quite the egotist.

by Anonymousreply 210June 10, 2021 9:41 PM

PS: just read that LMM is doing the new songs for live action LITTLE MERMAID, in production.

I wonder what Howard Ashman would think of LMM?

by Anonymousreply 211June 10, 2021 9:42 PM

I'm sure it's the tape speed, but Kay(e) Ballard's Rose's Turn is in one high ass key! It closes out about where you'd expect it to, but it's super shrill upfront. I've had friends who've seen Ballard do Rose (elsewhere presumably) and they all said she was scary good.

It's a shame she felt so bitter towards the end about her own career success. Talented lady!

by Anonymousreply 212June 10, 2021 9:58 PM

that rose's turn also sounds fast

Here's that blogger's page about the production with other clips

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by Anonymousreply 213June 10, 2021 10:06 PM

I think the tape speed on Ballard's "Rose's Turn" is fine, and the key doesn't sound high to me. The problem is that she screams so much of the song, rather than singing it. As someone else commented about, the first half or so is fine, but the the performance really goes off the rails.

by Anonymousreply 214June 10, 2021 10:08 PM

She gets back on course, though. The "for me"s are sung.

by Anonymousreply 215June 10, 2021 10:10 PM

with a Small World costarring Gavin MacLeod

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by Anonymousreply 216June 10, 2021 10:11 PM

None of you ancient bitches can match me.

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by Anonymousreply 217June 10, 2021 10:12 PM

Jack Cassidy was Kaye's Herbie years earlier.

Did those regional recordings of Susan Johnson ever make their way to the web? I think one of the shows was Annie Get Your Gun. There might have been a Gypsy among them.

by Anonymousreply 218June 10, 2021 10:13 PM

You know what I’m in the mood to see right now? Black panties.

by Anonymousreply 219June 10, 2021 10:17 PM

r219 Jack Cassidy has that effect on you?

by Anonymousreply 220June 10, 2021 10:22 PM

Jack Cassidy was a firecrotch.

by Anonymousreply 221June 10, 2021 10:25 PM

Michael Ritchie has been forced to "retire" from heading up CTG in Los Angeles. Expect his replacement to be a trans POC.

by Anonymousreply 222June 10, 2021 10:25 PM

Let an old pro like Miss DeFlumeri show you how it's done.

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by Anonymousreply 223June 10, 2021 10:44 PM

Lin Manuel Miranda was so miscast in His Dark Materials. I am sure the BBC got a lot of bang for their buck casting him, but Chris Pine of somebody should have played the character, who was based off a Western gunslinger.

by Anonymousreply 224June 11, 2021 12:09 AM

Did Hamilton do well in the UK?

by Anonymousreply 225June 11, 2021 12:10 AM

When I watched Hamilton on Disney+ recently, it was the first time I ever saw LMM perform. I was surprised at how high, pinched and non-masculine his voice was. Not that he was effeminate, but he had no masculine energy, he came off more like a neuter.

by Anonymousreply 226June 11, 2021 12:14 AM

Ask and you shall receive, R219!

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by Anonymousreply 227June 11, 2021 12:16 AM

I agree, R226. LMM is physically smallish and slight. He has a small speaking and singing voice (inclined to raspiness) that I find unpleasant. Not exactly Alpha Male energy.

I admire him as a theatre writer but I think he's completely underwhelming as performer.

by Anonymousreply 228June 11, 2021 12:18 AM

Raspy can be very Alpha.

by Anonymousreply 229June 11, 2021 12:20 AM

[quote] Did Hamilton do well in the UK?

It was doing well pre-COVID but was nowhere near the phenomenon it was on Broadway. Cameron Mackintosh is one of the lead producers there and his days of knowing how to market a show are waaaay behind him.

Does anyone know is CM wrangled his cut of the show in exchange for a deal on the theatre? He certainly didn’t have anything to do with it artistically. Yet to read his press, you’d think he wrote it and directed it himself.

by Anonymousreply 230June 11, 2021 12:26 AM

[quote]Lin Manuel Miranda was so miscast in His Dark Materials. I am sure the BBC got a lot of bang for their buck casting him, but Chris Pine of somebody should have played the character, who was based off a Western gunslinger.

To go from Sam Elliot to Lin Manual Miranda. What a downgrade.

by Anonymousreply 231June 11, 2021 12:36 AM

Ensemble number.

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by Anonymousreply 232June 11, 2021 12:37 AM

Prior to COVID-19, what else was doing especially well in London?

by Anonymousreply 233June 11, 2021 12:41 AM

Where did Tovah do Gypsy? In her garage?

by Anonymousreply 234June 11, 2021 12:42 AM

All this talk about which actress most resembled or evoked the real Momma Rose and yet Sondheim, Laurents, et. al. never met her.

by Anonymousreply 235June 11, 2021 12:51 AM

"Not to mention that Rose was delicate. Even Bernadette Peters was a little more robust than the real Rose. The only person who played Rose who really looked like her was Linda Lavin."

One word, r235... photographs

by Anonymousreply 236June 11, 2021 12:56 AM

Rose Thompson Hovick

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by Anonymousreply 237June 11, 2021 12:58 AM

[Quote] Where did Tovah do Gypsy?

Philly.

by Anonymousreply 238June 11, 2021 1:00 AM

After reading the article at r146 it's clear that what Rose looked like was of no importance to Sondheim and Laurents. They fashioned a character that would best fit the musical theatre story they were writing.

Loved reading about the collaboration between Sondheim and Landsbury. I never would have thought he could be so gracious when talking about his writing, giving credit to Angela where it was due. Great article, thank you for sharing.

by Anonymousreply 239June 11, 2021 1:03 AM

See for yourself

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by Anonymousreply 240June 11, 2021 1:11 AM

R227 - that Tovah clip KILLS me. The worst bit is that you sense that Tovah *thinks* she's killing it up there.

Oh and she did. She positively murdered that sucker. Not even the Roz Russell key could save this turkey!

by Anonymousreply 241June 11, 2021 1:26 AM

Why belt when you can switch to head voice?

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by Anonymousreply 242June 11, 2021 1:29 AM

TV Special Linda

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by Anonymousreply 243June 11, 2021 1:45 AM

I've heard Joyce DeWitt in the role. The poor dear was clearly bellowing to a CD backing.

by Anonymousreply 244June 11, 2021 1:46 AM

I love the bitchiness of Landbury that comes through in R146 's link.

I had a friend who worked for Lansbury and said she was a self-involved asshole. This was the first article that I have seen that hints at that side.

by Anonymousreply 245June 11, 2021 1:49 AM

I remember a comment that Lansbury made during her Night Music run that Desiree was a lower level talent because she tours.

by Anonymousreply 246June 11, 2021 1:50 AM

Thanks, R240, for that link. I really enjoyed Lavin in GYPSY when I saw the show live, but over the years I've read so many negative comments about her performance -- including, of course, Frank Rich's review -- that I was beginning to doubt my reaction, but re-watching just a bit of it now, I still think she was very good in the role. She may have portrayed Rose as a somewhat nastier character than others, but that's certainly a valid interpretation. and the performance was not without humor. And I think she sang and acted those songs really well.

by Anonymousreply 247June 11, 2021 1:52 AM

[quote]I had a friend who worked for Lansbury and said she was a self-involved asshole. This was the first article that I have seen that hints at that side.

Your friend's remark is literally the first bad word I've ever heard anyone say about Lansbury, and that includes people who have worked for and with her.

by Anonymousreply 248June 11, 2021 1:54 AM

By the time Lansbury did that interview with Sondheim at r146, (was she in her mid-80s then?) she had more than earned any self-involvement and self-entitlement that she desired. What a resume! We won't see the likes of her on Broadway ever again.

by Anonymousreply 249June 11, 2021 1:55 AM

The link at R146 no longer works. What's that about?

by Anonymousreply 250June 11, 2021 1:58 AM

R248, he wrote a lot for older actresses, but he said Lansbury was the only one who ever stiffed him. (After demanding that he throw in a lot of extra work.)

by Anonymousreply 251June 11, 2021 1:58 AM

R251, again, I've never in my entire life heard anyone attribute behavior like that to Angela Lansbury. So MAYBE your friend is telling the truth, but I'm betting there's another side to the story.

by Anonymousreply 252June 11, 2021 2:03 AM

The link just worked for me r250.

by Anonymousreply 253June 11, 2021 2:03 AM

R525, Lansbruy is the only one he has a negative word about. All his other stories are about actresses being sweet and generous.

by Anonymousreply 254June 11, 2021 2:08 AM

R248 in the 2010 rom-com MORNING GLORY, which is about a morning talk show, they allude to Angela Lansbury being a nasty person in real life. Patrick Wilson, who played one of the producers, said that Kim Jong-il was #1 worst person in the world and Lansbury was #2.

by Anonymousreply 255June 11, 2021 2:12 AM

Only on DataLounge can you find people bad-mouthing Angela Lansbury, truly one of the most beloved people in all of show business. Absolutely incredible.

by Anonymousreply 256June 11, 2021 2:27 AM

Please! Lansbury has survived for 75 years, or so, in a very tough business. OF COURSE she's a tough cookie. She wouldn't have lasted so long any other way. To suggest otherwise is absurd.

by Anonymousreply 257June 11, 2021 2:28 AM

LEAVE ANGIE ALONE!!!!

by Anonymousreply 258June 11, 2021 2:30 AM

This is a little random but I know there are traders/ masters of boots who frequent this thread so I thought I’d try my luck…

I’m looking for traders/ masters who were active around the mid 2000s and prior. I’m interested in 1st generation video and audio recordings (especially audio recordings of plays). If anyone was trading/ recording prior/ during the mid 2000s please drop me an email. I’m trying to ensure some of these recordings live on.

I would also be grateful if the user from the #410 thread who mentioned getting 1979 recordings of Sweeney and Evita from the master could send me a message. I’d really love to ask them a few questions.

I do apologise as I know this is rather unusual. Anyway, back to the gossip...

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by Anonymousreply 259June 11, 2021 2:59 AM

[quote]The production itself is probably still the best production of the show I've seen. Wonderful sets, costumes

We must have seen different productions because the costume they gave Tyne to wear was terrible. She has a barrel shaped body and that 1920s cinched waist only emphasized her barrel shape.

by Anonymousreply 260June 11, 2021 3:03 AM

[quote]Where did Tovah do Gypsy? In her garage?

As opposed to this version of Mame done in the UK, which I think was done in the theater lobby.

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by Anonymousreply 261June 11, 2021 3:23 AM

I've worked with Angela Lansbury several times and subsequently became friends with her and her husband Peter. She is one of the warmest, kindest, most hard working and frankly, rarest people I've ever been lucky to know. Both professionally and personally.

by Anonymousreply 262June 11, 2021 3:47 AM

r259 Try reddit.

by Anonymousreply 263June 11, 2021 3:47 AM

The Daly revival toured before broadway and was produced by the Weissler’s on the cheap but the tackiness was perfect for the show. Also this was probably the best trio of strippers ever.

by Anonymousreply 264June 11, 2021 3:48 AM

R261 Christ, the Brits can really fuck up a musical when they put their minds to it.

by Anonymousreply 265June 11, 2021 3:51 AM

Ouch. At least when Lucy croaked out the score, she had Ralph Burns and the Warner Bros. Studio Orchestra to back her up.

by Anonymousreply 266June 11, 2021 4:54 AM

R182: In all seriousness, Petula Clark could have made a fabulous Miss Price if they had done the show in the 1990s or early 2000s.

by Anonymousreply 267June 11, 2021 4:55 AM

Here’s another aspects of Gypsy productions to ponder, which used live baby lambs, where were they procured from and at what length of time were they slaughtered and served as rack of lamb to the cast?

by Anonymousreply 268June 11, 2021 5:53 AM

The lamb from the original movie wandered into the Warner Bros. commissary one day … and never returned.

by Anonymousreply 269June 11, 2021 5:56 AM

One thing I don't understand about GYPSY (stage show and movie) is that the lamb was Louise's birthday present because it was to be part of the new act, "Dainty June and her Farmboys." But we never see the lamb in the actual show when they perform on the Orpheum Circuit. In fact, we don't see the lamb again beyond that one scene -- nor any of the other animals, including Gigolo the monkey who is also taken from the book. I never thought about it until I recently read Gypsy Rose Lee's memoir. The whole Rose having a dream about a new act involving a cow and a farm setting was taken directly from the book. Gypsy describes what the act entailed and what the lamb and the other animals did. They often traveled with a menagerie that was part of their act, one way or another.

by Anonymousreply 270June 11, 2021 6:09 AM

I guess they wanted to minimize the amount of time the animals are actually on stage. Who cleans up the poop?

by Anonymousreply 271June 11, 2021 6:18 AM

Well, what did they do when Linda Lavin shit the stage?

by Anonymousreply 272June 11, 2021 6:33 AM

Take it to Phoenix, Arizona and ship it to Mel's Diner so he can sell it as chili!

by Anonymousreply 273June 11, 2021 6:34 AM

I don't know why some people eat chili. Doesn't that make you fart?

by Anonymousreply 274June 11, 2021 6:37 AM

Ask the cast of [italic]Woklahoma![/italic] Today, they wouldn't let the likes of Alfred Drake, Howard Keel, or Gordon MacRae through the door to audition. Not ethnic enough. Not gay enough. Not Jewish enough. Who cares if they could all sing like nobody's business?

by Anonymousreply 275June 11, 2021 6:39 AM

R272 Depends. They had her in Depends, she was so thin and scrawny it easily hid under her schmatta.

by Anonymousreply 276June 11, 2021 6:49 AM

This has officially become the most bizarre theatre thread ever.

by Anonymousreply 277June 11, 2021 7:04 AM

R267 no, just no

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by Anonymousreply 278June 11, 2021 7:32 AM

Pet never should have done that Webber show. Her voice never recovered from it.

by Anonymousreply 279June 11, 2021 7:42 AM

R279 what about her acting?

by Anonymousreply 280June 11, 2021 7:50 AM

I looked at the clip and the problem isn't so much her as the show's score barely fitting the time period it is supposed to be set in.

by Anonymousreply 281June 11, 2021 7:53 AM

[quote]Pretty clever of LMM to cast Garfield, and therefore ensure he won't be the most tedious person on set. Is that Lin doing the voiceover, or is Garfield just sounding very LMM-like for this?

I thought that was LMM doing the voice-over too. WTF? If he does that in the film, I will take a hard pass.

Petula Clark did not get entrance applause, as Norma Desmond in "Sunset Blvd"? Where the hell were they paying?

by Anonymousreply 282June 11, 2021 8:07 AM

R282, did you mean "what the hell were they paying" or "where the hell were they playing?"

by Anonymousreply 283June 11, 2021 8:18 AM

CM couldn't stand going so long without any real new hit show to produce/manage (what was the pig musical? and what number of Martin Guerre did he get to?) that he went to the Broadway producers and team of HAM and paid an obscene amount of money to buy it for London outright. Rumor is he offered $75-$100 million, and since producing in the West End can be so corrupt anyway ( that's why The Weisslers always put in their own teams) and they were already managing 4 U.S. companies, they said Sure. That's why Cameron's ego can run wild on the London production.

by Anonymousreply 284June 11, 2021 2:15 PM

Petula Clark is a thousand times better than that shitty score by that shitty composer.

by Anonymousreply 285June 11, 2021 2:15 PM

Hey! Get it right please: Sir shitty drunk composer.

by Anonymousreply 286June 11, 2021 2:16 PM

[quote] shitty score by that shitty composer.

I know that ALW is a crazy asshole, but I don't understand the hatred for (some of) his music. He writes some good things. I think Sunset is one of his most melodic scores (which means it's probably also stolen from some obscure opera arias, but still...)

by Anonymousreply 287June 11, 2021 2:27 PM

What part of the SUNSET BLVD score do fans like? Honest question.

I can understand the popularity of WITH ONE LOOK and AS IF WE NEVER SAID GOODBYE. I find them lyrically kind of "meh" but the melodies soar. But the rest of the score feels really tiresome and undistinguished to me. And I hate the title song.

by Anonymousreply 288June 11, 2021 3:10 PM

I think the Norma stuff is quite good, including "Surrender" and "The Perfect Year" as well, but everything else is pretty middling.

by Anonymousreply 289June 11, 2021 3:16 PM

The lyrics is insanely bad..."Paramount is Paradise"...."Sunset BULL-evard, head-line BULL-evard..."...."

by Anonymousreply 290June 11, 2021 3:20 PM

[quote] What part of the SUNSET BLVD score do fans like? Honest question.

The lyrics are not brilliant by any means and kind of ruin the score as a whole, but I don't hold ALW responsible for those. Lyrics aside, I like pretty much the whole Sunset Boulevard score. It has some lovely melodies, catchy rhythms, and interesting counterpoint. I would definitely enjoy a symphonic recording of the score sans singers.

by Anonymousreply 291June 11, 2021 3:26 PM

There was some article in the "NY Daily News" or somewhere around the time of the Lansbury "Gypsy" that somehow quoted her or attributed to her saying something a little negative about, I think, some of her audiences. When I saw the show, there was some woman who repeated the item and belittled Lansbury (though I don't know why the woman showed up at the theater to see the show then!). Otherwise, I've never heard a bad word about Lansbury. I've heard that she's a lovely woman.

by Anonymousreply 292June 11, 2021 3:32 PM

ALW writes melodies and then the lyricist has to write words to fit the melodies- it's not a collaboration and is some of the reason why the lyrics in his shows are often poor. He also prefers recitative (usually with poor lyrics) and/or having some music throughout so he can have input on every part of the show even if he is only the composer.

by Anonymousreply 293June 11, 2021 3:36 PM

Annie Get Your Gun

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by Anonymousreply 294June 11, 2021 3:39 PM

You Can’t Get A Man With A Gun

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by Anonymousreply 295June 11, 2021 3:40 PM

R293 He has to approve the lyrics though. He could be harder on his lyricist and tell him to do it again and make it better. Or he doesn't have the taste to know what is better. Maybe it's the latter.

by Anonymousreply 296June 11, 2021 3:41 PM

Tim Rice (for good and bad) remains the best lyricist ALW ever worked with, IMHO. I agree that none of his other lyricists ever attain the same level of competence as ALW as a composer. There's a lot of hack work.

Some artists just don't want to be challenged creatively, so they rarely work with their equals.

by Anonymousreply 297June 11, 2021 3:55 PM

R284 When you add in production costs, plus the refurb of the Victoria Palace, which ended up costing twice its original budget, I wonder if he'll actually see a profit large enough to make it worthwhile. Or maybe he considers it worth it just for the ego boost. Because I'm extremely bored, I did take a brief look through the company's financials, and turnover for the two financial years Hamilton opened 'only' saw an increase of £50 million, and that includes UK tours of Miss Saigon and Les Mis.

Whilst looking at the accounts, also noticed he paid himself £35 million at the start of lockdown in March 2020, just at the same time as he was sacking 850 members of staff. And in one of those coincidences that is just too good to ignore - the total cost of salaries the year before was...£35 million. But I guess his dividend was more important.

Also, the fake Edwardian decor he installed in the Sondheim is just tacky.

by Anonymousreply 298June 11, 2021 4:12 PM

Pulitzer Prizes to be announced at 1pm EST today:

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by Anonymousreply 299June 11, 2021 4:18 PM

Excuse me, but I loved BETTY BLUE EYES! The pig was adorable!

by Anonymousreply 300June 11, 2021 4:20 PM

I enjoyed when Lavin sang the GYPSY excerpt on the Tonys. So used to the OBC, I thought, "The songs sound nice when not shouted out!"

by Anonymousreply 301June 11, 2021 4:27 PM

[qupte]Please! Lansbury has survived for 75 years, or so, in a very tough business. OF COURSE she's a tough cookie.

She's 95 and she's a wonderful human being.

And ALW doesn't write wonderful melodies He steals them from Puccini and Ravel.

by Anonymousreply 302June 11, 2021 4:27 PM

NYT reviews "In the Heights":

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by Anonymousreply 303June 11, 2021 4:29 PM

Pulitzer Prizes? There were new plays in 2020?

by Anonymousreply 304June 11, 2021 4:31 PM

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1985, a revival of "The Odd Couple" starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers opened at the Broadhurst Theatre.

by Anonymousreply 305June 11, 2021 4:33 PM

What did ALW steal from Ravel?

by Anonymousreply 306June 11, 2021 4:34 PM

"Memory" from "Cats" is from Ravel.

by Anonymousreply 307June 11, 2021 4:37 PM

Ravel's "Bolero", more precisely.

by Anonymousreply 308June 11, 2021 4:37 PM

[quote]What did ALW steal from Ravel?

The beginning of Memories is Ravel's Bolero slowed down.

And "The truth is I never left you" is lifted almost note for note from Rudolf Friml's "Oh Rose Marie I love you."?

by Anonymousreply 309June 11, 2021 4:40 PM

[quote] Otherwise, I've never heard a bad word about Lansbury.

I've heard she and Sondheim were coke fiends back in the early 1980s.

by Anonymousreply 310June 11, 2021 4:45 PM

[quote]Pulitzer Prizes? There were new plays in 2020?

Pulitzer Prizes are not just for plays.

by Anonymousreply 311June 11, 2021 4:53 PM

in the 1980's, everyone was a coke fiend

by Anonymousreply 312June 11, 2021 4:54 PM

[quote]THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1985, a revival of "The Odd Couple" starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers opened at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Is it accurate to call that a "revival?"

by Anonymousreply 313June 11, 2021 4:54 PM

Speaking of Sally Struthers, whatever happened to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre?

by Anonymousreply 314June 11, 2021 4:56 PM

Lansbury's drug of choice in the 1980s was Total cereal:

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by Anonymousreply 315June 11, 2021 4:59 PM

[quote]Speaking of Sally Struthers, whatever happened to the Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre?

It died a decent financial death when the place went bankrupt. But it did some very good productions.

by Anonymousreply 316June 11, 2021 5:03 PM

[quote] in the 1980's, everyone was a coke fiend

Nell Carter went both ways: coke and Pepsi!

by Anonymousreply 317June 11, 2021 5:05 PM

[quote]I've heard she and Sondheim were coke fiends back in the early 1980s.

So, still no bad word about Lansbury.

by Anonymousreply 318June 11, 2021 5:07 PM

Merrily...

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by Anonymousreply 319June 11, 2021 5:12 PM

R311-No shit, putz, but on this particular page, it's about plays and musicals.

by Anonymousreply 320June 11, 2021 5:14 PM

r306...

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by Anonymousreply 321June 11, 2021 5:17 PM

Helen Reddy told ALW to his face she didn't think much of "I Don't Know How to Love Him" when she recorded it. And that was without mentioning Felix Mendelssohn.

by Anonymousreply 322June 11, 2021 5:34 PM

[quote] I remember a comment that Lansbury made during her Night Music run that Desiree was a lower level talent because she tours.

I don’t believe she said that. Lansbury has toured plenty in her career, Gypsy (a very long tour), Sweeney, Blithe Spirit, Mame.

by Anonymousreply 323June 11, 2021 5:42 PM

Sweden isn't that big a country for someone not to have to tour outside of Stockholm.

by Anonymousreply 324June 11, 2021 5:43 PM

Quick!

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by Anonymousreply 325June 11, 2021 5:44 PM

[quote] Sweden isn't that big a country for someone not to have to tour outside of Stockholm.

Except they never cast me in a movie about it.

by Anonymousreply 326June 11, 2021 5:45 PM

Oslo is in another country, Flo!

by Anonymousreply 327June 11, 2021 5:46 PM

r277 it's like a fever dream of all threads past. Gypsyfolliesunsetbuckleytovah

by Anonymousreply 328June 11, 2021 5:47 PM

Pulitzer:

Drama

Winner: The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall

by Anonymousreply 329June 11, 2021 5:47 PM

Interesting, R329. I think that was the play my friend and I had tickets for last year when everything got shut down. Perhaps it will be remounted now and we can try again.

by Anonymousreply 330June 11, 2021 6:11 PM

So they overlooked "Slave Play"!

by Anonymousreply 331June 11, 2021 6:12 PM

But what'shisname's bitching is for naught since they gave it to another African-American writer.

by Anonymousreply 332June 11, 2021 6:13 PM

[quote]The Hot Wing King by Katori Hall

I prefer the one in the kiosk in Washington Square.

by Anonymousreply 333June 11, 2021 6:15 PM

[quote] Tim Rice (for good and bad) remains the best lyricist ALW ever worked with, IMHO. I agree that none of his other lyricists ever attain the same level of competence as ALW as a composer. There's a lot of hack work.

I'll say. I couldn't even finish that [italic]Cinderella[/italic] song he wrote. It was Disney Channel-level bad.

by Anonymousreply 334June 11, 2021 6:16 PM

[quote]But what'shisname's bitching is for naught since they gave it to another African-American writer.

Has JOH already made some kind of comment about it?

by Anonymousreply 335June 11, 2021 6:16 PM

[quote]The lyrics is insanely bad..."Paramount is Paradise"...."Sunset BULL-evard, head-line BULL-evard..."...."

What's wrong with the former? I thought it was clever. And it gets the point across: they're happy working there.

by Anonymousreply 336June 11, 2021 6:18 PM

No, not publicly. He's probably examining his options, which are now limited.

by Anonymousreply 337June 11, 2021 6:18 PM

Slave Play wouldn't have been eligible this year. The play is more than 2 years old.

by Anonymousreply 338June 11, 2021 6:18 PM

R329 Quelle surprise!

by Anonymousreply 339June 11, 2021 6:19 PM

[quote] The lyrics is insanely bad..."Paramount is Paradise"...."Sunset BULL-evard, head-line BULL-evard..."...." What's wrong with the former? I thought it was clever. And it gets the point across: they're happy working there.

I hate to say it, but Martin Charnin did a better job of name-dropping the studios and major personalities of Old Hollywood.

by Anonymousreply 340June 11, 2021 6:20 PM

so did Comden and Green

by Anonymousreply 341June 11, 2021 6:21 PM

A heeby deeby deeby deeby dee!

A heeby deeby deeby deeby doo!

by Anonymousreply 342June 11, 2021 6:38 PM

God, that Amanda Kloots NYT article was really fucking tacky. I have a whole new wave of disgust for her. And her sister sounds even more horrible and opportunistic than Amanda.

by Anonymousreply 343June 11, 2021 6:39 PM

I really felt sorry for her even when other people had her pegged as an attention whore. My feelings have changed. Enough, Amanda.

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by Anonymousreply 344June 11, 2021 6:43 PM

Lavin was a little too cold and chilly in Gypsy, but compared to Betty Buckley, she was as charming and warm as Betty White. As evidenced in that video, Lavin at least landed a few laughs. Buckley landed maybe one the entire evening.

Whenever an actress tries to psychoanalyze Rose too much, they end up turning out really cold, sad, and dreary performances. The thing about Rose is that she has no self-awareness. Her humor comes from not knowing that what she's doing is ridiculous or harmful. She's blissfully unaware. Even in Rose's Turn, she realizes that what she's done over the years has driven everyone away, but her realization isn't that she should clean up her act to keep people around but to make a vow to be even more self-centered. Rose doesn't really change at all throughout the course of the story and probably never will.

by Anonymousreply 345June 11, 2021 6:48 PM

R345 - You nailed it. Gypsy is admittedly a 'musical fable'. Trying to psychoanalyze or layer too much Stanislavski onto the proceedings just winds up weighing it down. Merman's performance worked because she stuck to what was in the script. It tells the tale. Rose IS blissfully unaware. Within the context of the show, she's a bulldozer with one end in sight. Yes, there are layers within this construct, but the Merm got it right because she didn't add any psychological filagree. She played the text, sang the songs and let the show work. Less is often more with these well-constructed shows. Embrace the style of them and don't add anything on top. You need only look at that disastrous 2009 'Guys and Dolls' revival to see how badly it can go when too many layers get added.

On that note, I recently listened to a great interview with Jerry Zaks about his '92 Guys & Dolls. It was NOT working in previews. Part of this was in the casting of Carolyn Mignini as Sarah (too old for Gallagher and they had zero chemistry) but they also weren't letting the 'in one' book scenes play out as they should. He took a hatchet to some of his directorial excesses (which tried to modernize certain aspects) and pared it back to the basic storytelling. He also discovered that following the basic scenic transitions in script was as crucial as anything! Pretty fascinating, as it obviously became a huge hit.

As it happens, Stars in the House is doing a reunion of the 92 revival next week with Lane, Prince, Gallagher, De Guzman, Bobbie and Jerry Zaks.

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by Anonymousreply 346June 11, 2021 7:10 PM

[quote] I recently listened to a great interview with Jerry Zaks about his '92 Guys & Dolls.

I love the documentary on the making of that album. Peter Gallagher was dreamy back in the day.

by Anonymousreply 347June 11, 2021 7:14 PM

Seth is STILL beating that dead horse of an idea?

by Anonymousreply 348June 11, 2021 7:14 PM

r346 No Oscar winner JK Simmons?

by Anonymousreply 349June 11, 2021 7:15 PM

R347 - Someone kindly uploaded it to YouTube. It's a great watch.

(Everyone's teeth look awful in it though!)

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by Anonymousreply 350June 11, 2021 7:17 PM

[Quote] I don’t believe she said that. Lansbury has toured plenty in her career, Gypsy (a very long tour), Sweeney, Blithe Spirit, Mame.

You can believe what you like but Lansbury's comment struck me precisely because she'd spent time touring as a mature woman herself.

by Anonymousreply 351June 11, 2021 7:19 PM

He was an Idol, r347! I threw my black panties to him.

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by Anonymousreply 352June 11, 2021 7:31 PM

[quote] I recently listened to a great interview with Jerry Zaks

any info or link please r346?

by Anonymousreply 353June 11, 2021 7:48 PM

R353 - Here you go!

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by Anonymousreply 354June 11, 2021 8:30 PM

[316] Yes, Burt Reynolds Dinner Theatre did die a slow, painful death. Once a year, they would produce a Burt Reynolds star vehicle (read vanity project) for the great man himself. The one that is most notorious is ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST with himself as McMurphy. Typically, they were under-rehearsed and beset with technical problems. The set for CUCKOO'S NEST had a sunroom with a plexi glass roof that was flown into place as the walls moved in from the wings. As I say, always under rehearsed, on opening night the wall units moved in from the wings about 45 seconds too soon and overshot their spikes. As the roof was supposed to drop into place, there was nothing to support it and bits of the wooden support structure AND pieces of plexi rained down on the cast, who scurried for the wings. Burt sat stoically on stage while the disaster tumbled down around him. After the final pieces of the unit had fallen onto the stage, Burt turned slowly to the audience and dead-panned..."How do you like it so far?"

by Anonymousreply 355June 11, 2021 9:32 PM

[quote] Burt sat stoically on stage while the disaster tumbled down around him.

Luckily, he had his polyester rug to protect him.

by Anonymousreply 356June 11, 2021 9:34 PM

That's the kind of fun story we come here for!

by Anonymousreply 357June 11, 2021 9:36 PM

The mention of the 2009 Guys and Dolls reminded me of how terrible it was. Terrible in every fucking way.

Having seen the glorious previous revival, I kept talking it up to partner who had never seen any version of Guys and Dolls. When I dragged to the 2009 version, he was dumbfounded.

by Anonymousreply 358June 11, 2021 9:41 PM

[quote] When you add in production costs, plus the refurb of the Victoria Palace, which ended up costing twice its original budget, I wonder if he'll actually see a profit large enough to make it worthwhile.

Honey, the rich make money when they lose money.

[quote]did you mean "what the hell were they paying" or "where the hell were they playing?"

Sorry meant where were they playing, Where was this tour playing that no one applauded for the star of the show on entrance? Great reaction after the song. Just really surprised after a hundred years of NY theater going.

by Anonymousreply 359June 11, 2021 9:49 PM

Curious to know how Guys and Dolls could go so horribly wrong. I know Des McEnuffalready is fond of his techno-lights and cheesey projections but were there other things?

by Anonymousreply 360June 11, 2021 10:17 PM

[quote]I remember a comment that Lansbury made during her Night Music run that Desiree was a lower level talent because she tours.

Lansbury later clarified that she did not mean to disrespect actresses who tour, and pointed out that she had done so herself. She meant that the kind of touring Desiree is doing, constantly on the road from one lower-rung theater to another with no respite, indicated that she was not a major star (and probably therefore not a great actress), because major stars don't do that.

by Anonymousreply 361June 11, 2021 10:18 PM

The first time I ever saw Peter Gallagher was around 1972-73 in the long-running original production of Grease where he appeared as an understudy for Danny Zuko. He seemed to be about 10 years younger than everyone else in the cast but he was sensational and absolutely gorgeous and charismatic. I knew I was seeing the beginning of a starry career.....but was surprised that he never really became an A list leading man in Hollywood.

IMHO opinion he wasn't anything special in that Guys & Dolls revival even after they fired Carolyn Mignini. Jerry Zaks often had a blind spot for ingenues....witness Kathleen Mahoney-Bennett as Hope Harcourt in Anything Goes.

by Anonymousreply 362June 11, 2021 10:23 PM

Nathan Lane was excellent in that though he was doing quite a lot of Jackie Gleason imitating in his Nathan Detroit performance.

by Anonymousreply 363June 11, 2021 10:30 PM

I think the "tick tick BOOM" trailer looks really good. I'm looking forward to that.

by Anonymousreply 364June 11, 2021 10:31 PM

Love tick tick boom! I pray they didn’t mess it up

by Anonymousreply 365June 11, 2021 10:34 PM

Here's the link since r364 was too lazy to post it.

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by Anonymousreply 366June 11, 2021 10:34 PM

What’s a Vanessa Hudgens, that sounds like a hernia problem?

by Anonymousreply 367June 11, 2021 10:50 PM

I felt bad for Lauren Graham in that Guys and Dolls revival. She had a nice singing voice and stage presence, but she was so miscast as Adelaide. Not the right kind of funny at all. Like Toni Collette, I wish she'd come back and do another show. I'm sure their past stage experiences have scared them away.

by Anonymousreply 368June 11, 2021 11:09 PM

[quote] Not the right kind of funny at all.

How do you mean?

by Anonymousreply 369June 11, 2021 11:18 PM

Burke Moses was an excellent Sky replacement. Jonathan Hadary was a lousy Nathan replacement. I wish Lorna Luft had replaced Faith on bway. I heard great things about her Adelaide in the touring company.

by Anonymousreply 370June 11, 2021 11:21 PM

R368 Obviously you didn’t see her on Zoey’s Extendable Playlist, it was so painful and I was overjoyed she did not return for season two, but it did knock Steenburgen down to worst musical performance on the show.

by Anonymousreply 371June 11, 2021 11:22 PM

Underwhelming

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by Anonymousreply 372June 11, 2021 11:30 PM

Lorna highlights...

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by Anonymousreply 373June 11, 2021 11:31 PM

[quote] I wish Lorna Luft had replaced Faith on bway. I heard great things about her Adelaide in the touring company.

I heard she was molested.

by Anonymousreply 374June 11, 2021 11:32 PM

R366 He wasn't lazy, it'd already been posted in R173

by Anonymousreply 375June 11, 2021 11:48 PM

r372, that was painful and unfunny. She's simply too real to put over that song and the character comes across as dim-witted and pathetic.

by Anonymousreply 376June 11, 2021 11:49 PM

R376 She is trying so hard that it hurts.

by Anonymousreply 377June 11, 2021 11:54 PM

The Zaks revival was a musical comedy confection. The McAnuff revival was a turd wrapped in LEDs and neon signs. The set, which had these imposing but not remotely additive marquee signs framing the stage, was uninspired and drab. The LED backdrops actually managed to take you OUT of the show.

IIRC, McAnuff repurposed the era to the 1930s (instead of the 40s in which it was originally set) This added nothing other than more drabness. The costumes were garishly underwhelming (and non specific) and Lauren Graham and Oliver Platt had zero chemistry as a couple. They were also decidedly UNFUNNY. Craig Bierko made out of the best of the bunch, but only in relation to the humorless, joyous proceedings around him. I was stunned how badly they botched it. Especially when you consider what a love-letter to Broadway the 92 Zaks revival was. The Tony Walton sets, the William Ivey Long costumes...and those bangin' new orchestrations! Hell, I'd pay to see a revival of that revival!

Interestingly, Peter Gallagher was NOT happy in that show. He admitted in a NYT feature a year or two later that he felt like he wasn't seen as anything more than handsome face and 'name' from Hollywood. And specifically, that he wasn't given the support from Zaks to feel totally confident in the part. You can kind of see this insecurity in the 'Off the Record' doc. He left well before the year was out. Burke (Jerk?) Moses was a fine replacement and more assured. David Garrison and Jamie Farr were POOR Nathan replacements. That said, Lewis Stadlen did an admirable job evoking the best of Sam Levene, David Burns and Groucho on the road with Lorna -- who herself was poifectly proficient if not Faith Prince!

by Anonymousreply 378June 11, 2021 11:57 PM

Peter Gallagher has a Face. That's all.

by Anonymousreply 379June 12, 2021 12:06 AM

Bushel and a Peck....no better

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by Anonymousreply 380June 12, 2021 12:08 AM

Here's 22 minutes worth of press reel footage from the '92 revival. Technicolor-soaked and pretty damn delightful.

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by Anonymousreply 381June 12, 2021 12:08 AM

So wait, did Graham and Gallagher do Guys together and then they were on Zoey together?

by Anonymousreply 382June 12, 2021 12:16 AM

Graham is more of a Sutton Foster type. Earthy and more sarcastic funny. Not the ditzy clown Adelaide needs to be. It's just not in her wheelhouse. Graham can certainly sing, but the only role that comes to mind that she'd be good at would be something along the lines of The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods. She has the right sort of aura for that.

by Anonymousreply 383June 12, 2021 12:19 AM

Man, that press reel for the '92 GUYS AND DOLLS is one of the best I've ever seen. It really was an excellent production in just about every way, and on top of everything else, it had the great dancer and swoon-worthy Scott Wise leading the dancing ensemble in the crapshooters' ballet.

by Anonymousreply 384June 12, 2021 12:22 AM

"She has the right sort of aura for that."

Wry, r383?

by Anonymousreply 385June 12, 2021 12:23 AM

I guess Imelda had already left the production.

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by Anonymousreply 386June 12, 2021 12:23 AM

Wow, can’t believe The Hot Wing King won the Pulitzer. I thought it was quite mediocre.

by Anonymousreply 387June 12, 2021 12:23 AM

Is there any footage of the mid 1970s revival?

by Anonymousreply 388June 12, 2021 12:23 AM

Here's the 1976 production, r388....

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by Anonymousreply 389June 12, 2021 12:31 AM

At least we have Ernestine on audio...

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by Anonymousreply 390June 12, 2021 12:32 AM

R373 I take it Joey approved of her outfit.

by Anonymousreply 391June 12, 2021 12:33 AM

Audrey as Adelaide

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by Anonymousreply 392June 12, 2021 12:34 AM

The choreography to the 92 revival by Christopher Chadman was some of the most inventive and thrilling I've seen before or since. Evoked the best of musical comedy and really complimented the style Zaks and his designers created. He was a very worthy successor to Michael Kidd (who did the original).

Such a tragedy that we lost him to AIDS shortly thereafter. Chadman was also a Fosse protege/collaborator and starred in the 70s Pal Joey revival (in the title role). He was set to reprise his duties as choreographer with Zaks on the revival of FORUM (originally intended for the '95 season) but passed away before production began.

by Anonymousreply 393June 12, 2021 1:01 AM

Even though the '92 Guys & Dolls was a creative masterpiece, it was on TKTS all the time while the original cast was still playing.

Faith Prince had only done "Jerome Robbins Broadway" and had a showy, but minor role in the bomb "Nick & Nora" plus she had a few off-Broadway shows including being outstanding in "Falsettoland".

Nathan Lane had a few more Broadway credits, but nothing that really stood out. Right before G&D, he had a showy role in Circle in the Square's revival of On Borrowed Time.

So the producers were really taking a gamble on the drawing power of Prince and Lane.

by Anonymousreply 394June 12, 2021 1:48 AM

I still think the best "Guys and Dolls" on the whole was the London NT with Julia McKenzie and Bob Hoskin as Adelaide and Nathan, with very charming work by the late Ian Charleson ("Chariots of Fire") as Sky, but wondering how in hell Julie Covington's un-charismatic Sarah could ever have sung Evita?

by Anonymousreply 395June 12, 2021 1:49 AM

Hoskins, that is

by Anonymousreply 396June 12, 2021 1:50 AM

Julie Covington's is the best recorded EVITA.

by Anonymousreply 397June 12, 2021 1:53 AM

[quote] Faith Prince had only done "Jerome Robbins Broadway" and had a showy, but minor role in the bomb "Nick & Nora" plus she had a few off-Broadway shows including being outstanding in "Falsettoland".

I did a master class with her in the 1990's, and found her rather insufferable. She opened with a loooongng diatribe about the declining quality of Broadway, and said, "I mean look who they got to replace ME in King and I" (referring to Marie Osmond). I remember thinking, "Who are you again?" I wonder if Donna Murphy thought the same thing when Faith replaced her! Most of the time was her airing out her grievances with the theater world.

Nonetheless, she was brilliant in the '92 Guys and Dolls. Many times, crazies make the best performers.

by Anonymousreply 398June 12, 2021 1:53 AM

Prince doesn't crazy from your anecdote. Grand, sure.

by Anonymousreply 399June 12, 2021 1:55 AM

*doesn't sound

by Anonymousreply 400June 12, 2021 1:55 AM

I actually thought she was over-rated as Miss Adelaide, but really enjoyed her Anna in "The King & I". Also liked her on tv on "Spin City" playing opposite Richard Kind. Otherwise, her career didn't continue being stellar.

by Anonymousreply 401June 12, 2021 1:55 AM

Faith Prince was terrible in "The King & I". She was the only Anna I ever saw that waited for laughter on punchlines that weren't intended. She was playing the role for laughs when I saw it.

by Anonymousreply 402June 12, 2021 1:58 AM

She's continued to play leading roles on Broadway. She's done better than most.

by Anonymousreply 403June 12, 2021 1:58 AM

Did any of you see Gertie?

by Anonymousreply 404June 12, 2021 1:59 AM

I would like to have seen Faith play Dolly.

by Anonymousreply 405June 12, 2021 2:09 AM

Oh, me too.

by Anonymousreply 406June 12, 2021 2:11 AM

[quote] I would like to have seen Faith play Dolly.

r405 = Faith Prince

by Anonymousreply 407June 12, 2021 2:12 AM

R407 well it sure as fuck wasn’t Marie Osmond

by Anonymousreply 408June 12, 2021 2:13 AM

Marie Osmond actually got good reviews for her Anna in "King and I". Faith did play up some comedy, but it wasn't clownish like Lucy Ricardo doing the role or mugging like Dorothy Loudon.

by Anonymousreply 409June 12, 2021 2:22 AM

The celebrated '92 NT London "G&D"

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by Anonymousreply 410June 12, 2021 2:26 AM

Donna's replacement:

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by Anonymousreply 411June 12, 2021 2:27 AM

Faith's replacement:

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by Anonymousreply 412June 12, 2021 2:28 AM

It's funny how they've avoided Brits - apart from vacation replacement Angela Lansbury - post Lawrence.

by Anonymousreply 413June 12, 2021 2:29 AM

A Brit in a US "K&I"--but only on tour:

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by Anonymousreply 414June 12, 2021 2:32 AM

A little more Marie:

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by Anonymousreply 415June 12, 2021 2:35 AM

There's never been a major Emile who was actually French either. I think Lambert Wilson played the role in France but that doesn't count.

by Anonymousreply 416June 12, 2021 2:38 AM

Has there ever been an actual Vietnamese Kim in a major production of Miss Saigon?

by Anonymousreply 417June 12, 2021 2:41 AM

I saw Lawrence, R404. I was very young, so I don't remember the show well except for a few moments that stuck with me, such as the treatment of Tuptim when the King was about to whip her, because i didn't understand the psychology of the battle between Anna and the King.

All I remember of Lawrence, really, was her Shall I Tell You What I Think Of You?, which was my favorite King and I number (from the recording). Again, I didn't understand the ending of the song (about being kicked), becxause irony goes right over a little kid's head.

What I do remember of Lawrence was shortly after, on the day she died. I was in bed, and my mother woke me up because the TV was about to run a kinescope of Lawrence singing Getting To Know You, and it would have been my last chance to experience her at her best.

She really was the most amazing talent, but it's hard to articulate exactly why. She had a presence that I've seldom seen since from other stage people. Merman had it. Mary Martin. Bert Lahr. It was a kind of "No one else can do what this person is doing" thing. Mary Martin used to observe that this strange thing happened when she entered, that every head in the audience tunred to stare at her. These very odd people simply filled the theatre with themselves. Others could play their roles, and well. But they were unique and unrivaled, and there's no one like that anymore.

by Anonymousreply 418June 12, 2021 2:45 AM

The original...

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by Anonymousreply 419June 12, 2021 2:51 AM

^ 'cept for Celeste

by Anonymousreply 420June 12, 2021 2:57 AM

Dorothy had such a lovely sound...

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by Anonymousreply 421June 12, 2021 3:11 AM

It's a shame Collins didn't get the Lincoln Center "South Pacific." Florence Henderson's lack of an integrated sound is very offputting.

by Anonymousreply 422June 12, 2021 3:36 AM

[quote]....wondering how in hell Julie Covington's un-charismatic Sarah could ever have sung Evita?

Umm, you don't have to wonder, you can just listen to that fabulous recording, if that's not too much effort for you. Damn, but people make the strangest, stupidest comments on chat boards.

by Anonymousreply 423June 12, 2021 3:59 AM

I thought Julie Covington was awful as Evita.

by Anonymousreply 424June 12, 2021 4:11 AM

I think what also helped with the '92 Guys and Dolls was the feeling that a show was emerging from the vault. I know there were already plenty of revivals on Broadway by 1992, but it was still possible for a show to be rediscovered as it were. How often does that happen now?

by Anonymousreply 425June 12, 2021 4:22 AM

A show that had been made into a movie with Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra?

by Anonymousreply 426June 12, 2021 4:27 AM

R419, thank you so very much for that original performance footage of The King and I, which I had somehow never seen before.

Meanwhile, I have to comment on the '92 revival of Guys and Dolls, which I saw twice with its original cast. It was glorious. It was MUSICAL COMEDY HEAVEN. Several eldergays back then told me it was better than the original, including Faith Prince as Adelaide. I don't know anything about Prince and Lane in private but the way they played off of each other onstage was just so great. They both must just had to have loved it. The press reels posted above give kind of an idea of the quality about it but really don't suggest the way it played in the theater. Both nights we all went home exhilarated.

by Anonymousreply 427June 12, 2021 4:35 AM

It'll happen again when they revive They're Playing Our Song, R425.

by Anonymousreply 428June 12, 2021 4:37 AM

Yes, R428, because "They're Playing Our Song" was unquestionably the "Guys and Dolls" of its day.

by Anonymousreply 429June 12, 2021 4:43 AM

[quote]Even though the '92 Guys & Dolls was a creative masterpiece, it was on TKTS all the time while the original cast was still playing.

What does that mean?

by Anonymousreply 430June 12, 2021 4:44 AM

The show didn't sell out.

by Anonymousreply 431June 12, 2021 4:45 AM

TKTS is a discount booth, no?

by Anonymousreply 432June 12, 2021 4:45 AM

Lucky Josie de Guzman . She got fired from Nick and Nora during previews but was immediately cast in that Guys and Dolls revival.

by Anonymousreply 433June 12, 2021 4:47 AM

Vickie Clark replaced Prince in that Guys and Dolls revival when she went out on vacation. Nathan treated her like dirt. He wanted Prince back. He wasn't such a nice guy back in the day.

by Anonymousreply 434June 12, 2021 5:01 AM

What was wrong with Vickie Clark?

by Anonymousreply 435June 12, 2021 5:04 AM

When an orchestra member introduced themselves to Nathan at an event ("Nice to finally meet you" etc.), he replied with a cutting "Oh, we're meeting now?"

by Anonymousreply 436June 12, 2021 5:06 AM

Lane also refused to go on with certain understudies from The Producers, allegedly.

by Anonymousreply 437June 12, 2021 5:07 AM

Lane has always been an asshole. I worked on a show with him in the mid-90s and I used to frequently eat lunch at the Edison in between shows on matinee days, sometimes with friends, but sometimes on my own. One Wed I was by myself in the middle of a meal when Lane was seated opposite me at the next table. I barely acknowledged him, but at one point we did meet eyes, I nodded, and he made a sour expression. I looked away and busied myself with my lunch. The next thing I know, the asshole asked to be moved.

by Anonymousreply 438June 12, 2021 5:16 AM

[quote]Vickie Clark replaced Prince in that Guys and Dolls revival when she went out on vacation. Nathan treated her like dirt. He wanted Prince back. He wasn't such a nice guy back in the day.

Nathan Lane was never a nice guy. One of the biggest assholes I've ever worked with.

by Anonymousreply 439June 12, 2021 5:32 AM

Nathan was an asshole because he was repressing his inner homosexual.

by Anonymousreply 440June 12, 2021 5:35 AM

Nah, he's still an asshole.

by Anonymousreply 441June 12, 2021 5:37 AM

Aw, I heard Nathan is better since he got a nice boyfriend. Am I sadly uninformed?

by Anonymousreply 442June 12, 2021 5:38 AM

The Vickie Clark 'Nathan treated me like shit at G&D' story is now infamous. She's told it at least a couple times publicly. I've heard he got one of the understudies fired at 'The Producers' as well. Jeffry Denman's memoir about his year with The Producers sort of hints at the prickliness between the lines. Though I've also heard that his book soured him with Stro and Co. So who knows where the truth lies there!

On a first hand level, I ran into Lane backstage at one of his shows. Despite an intro from a fellow co-star, he was surly and didn't stop for any pleasantries. You could tell the co-star was embarrassed.

by Anonymousreply 443June 12, 2021 5:43 AM

Thanks for sharing your recollections of the 92 revival R427. There was a definite electricity in the theatre with that original cast. Even the show's lighting gave this incredible saturated glow to everything on stage. It really did feel like you'd entered Runyonland. The orchestra was so effortlessly brassy and jazzy. Even the painted, old fashioned scrims and drops had a thrilling whimsy to them (I know, MARY!) Above all, everyone in that theatre (on stage and off) seemed to be having the time of their lives. It's hard to explain but it was nothing short of magical.

I've often wondered what it would be like to REVIVE the 92 revival. Obviously the cast was perfection, but whether you got Nathan to return or some other younger star wattage in the roles, with Zaks at the helm and those designers, it could be a real treat to see again. I know it's a bizarre concept "a revival of a revival" but in this instance, it might be the only time it would be well justified. The kind of show Broadway could use to bounce back from this period!

by Anonymousreply 444June 12, 2021 5:55 AM

James Corden IS Nathan Lane!

by Anonymousreply 445June 12, 2021 6:14 AM

[Quote] he was repressing his inner homosexual.

Just the one, dear?

by Anonymousreply 446June 12, 2021 6:14 AM

[Quote] I know it's a bizarre concept "a revival of a revival"

The Rufus Norris production of "Cabaret" has been revived over and over in the UK.

by Anonymousreply 447June 12, 2021 6:15 AM

I meant to post somewhere above that when Faith Prince went in to replace Donna Murphy on vacation in The King and I it was one of the weirdest performances I have ever seen. Through her comic timing and and phrasing, she got a laugh on nearly every single line. Except that Mrs. Anna isn't written that way. It was just a bizarre performance.

I don't really like Donna Murphy, I avoided her King and I. When I heard Faith Prince was going in for her I bought tickets. But it was weird.

by Anonymousreply 448June 12, 2021 6:32 AM

Gavin MacLeod was surprisingly not terrible with the singing parts.

by Anonymousreply 449June 12, 2021 7:34 AM

Aren't Faith Prince and Donna Murphy the two belters the elder queens on this thread always snipe for singing a quarter-tone sharp??

by Anonymousreply 450June 12, 2021 8:14 AM

Any explanation of the thread title yet?

by Anonymousreply 451June 12, 2021 8:31 AM

It's a commentary on stunt casting and how Broadway does it while still acting though it is above such vulgarity.

by Anonymousreply 452June 12, 2021 9:13 AM

acting as though

by Anonymousreply 453June 12, 2021 9:13 AM

[quote] Aren't Faith Prince and Donna Murphy the two belters the elder queens on this thread always snipe for singing a quarter-tone sharp??

Murphy always sings flat. Always.

by Anonymousreply 454June 12, 2021 9:28 AM

Murphy is the Jerry Orbach to Prince's Helen Gallagher.

by Anonymousreply 455June 12, 2021 9:31 AM

I saw that G&D from the second row in the first week after opening, and I can add that Gallagher from that close was incredibly present and engaged with his costars - it was noticeable and memorable.

by Anonymousreply 456June 12, 2021 9:36 AM

Did Burt Reynolds ever do musicals at his own theatre? He did three movie musicals of varying quality.

by Anonymousreply 457June 12, 2021 9:46 AM

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

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by Anonymousreply 458June 12, 2021 9:47 AM

You queens are harsh. Faith was a surprising delight in King and I and I was thrilled to see her handle it. Her Anna was strong but funny, but it didn't feel like Faith being funny. I always thought it was cool for the G&D producers to hire her for their next show, doing something completely different.

by Anonymousreply 459June 12, 2021 11:42 AM

R361, if Lansbury actually said that, and I believe you that she did, then she has no clue what she's talking about and is entirely full of shit.

Caruso, Bernhardt, and Anna Pavlova all stepped away from the legitimate stage to take vaudeville bookings. Just ask Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne. Before movies were established, actors toured. "A Little Night Music" is set in 1900 and Desiree Armfeldt certainly precedes the movies.

La Lansbury was lucky that for 20 years, Hollywood spared her the necessity of touring.

by Anonymousreply 460June 12, 2021 12:43 PM

[quote]Desiree Armfeldt certainly precedes the movies.

Surely not when I played her!

by Anonymousreply 461June 12, 2021 12:52 PM

I remember a co worker telling me she went to see Guys and Dolls and Faith was out. She said Vicky somebody went on and was amazing. Didn’t miss Faith at all.

by Anonymousreply 462June 12, 2021 1:07 PM

Broadway has revived a revival a couple of times.

Cabaret in 2014 was basically reviving the 1998 version.

I think when Carol Channing did Hello Dolly in 1995, it was pretty much the same as the 1978 revival.

And when Yul Brynner did The King & I in 1985 wasn’t that a revival of the 1977 revival?

I think what makes it a revival of a revival is that, while the cast may change, the general look and tone of the show remains the same.

And of course opera has been doing that for decades. They pull out the same costumes and set from storage and mount the production as before.

by Anonymousreply 463June 12, 2021 1:07 PM

Fun fact: In Manhattan Murder Mystery, Woody Allen and Diane Keaton go to see Guys & Dolls and talk through the overture. So if you see someone talking during a performance, Woody Allen gave them license to do it.

by Anonymousreply 464June 12, 2021 1:13 PM

Geez, is Woody going to be blamed for everything?

by Anonymousreply 465June 12, 2021 1:14 PM

Guys and Dolls is the straight man's Gypsy. Discuss.

by Anonymousreply 466June 12, 2021 1:15 PM

I guess no one remembers Faith Prince's Bells are Ringing. Or cares to.

by Anonymousreply 467June 12, 2021 1:16 PM

Once the DL locates a straight man on a theatre gossip thread r66, the discussion just might begin.

by Anonymousreply 468June 12, 2021 1:19 PM

[quote] I guess no one remembers Faith Prince's Bells are Ringing. Or cares to.

So sad. She was perfect for the role.

I can’t make up my mind whether “Bells Are Ringing” could ever have a successful revival or whether it should be relegated to community theater status. It should work like “How To Succeed” has worked.

by Anonymousreply 469June 12, 2021 1:27 PM

I loved Faith in BELLS ARE RINGING. Mr. Kudisch, not so much. But so glad I could see it; great show.

by Anonymousreply 470June 12, 2021 1:42 PM

[quote]I've often wondered what it would be like to REVIVE the 92 revival. Obviously the cast was perfection, but whether you got Nathan to return or some other younger star wattage in the roles, with Zaks at the helm and those designers, it could be a real treat to see again. I know it's a bizarre concept "a revival of a revival" but in this instance, it might be the only time it would be well justified.

That certainly would have been a far better idea than giving us that horrendous Des McAnuff production.

[quote]Caruso, Bernhardt, and Anna Pavlova all stepped away from the legitimate stage to take vaudeville bookings. J

Appearances by huge stars on the vaudeville circuit were a completely different animal than the kind of touring that Desiree Armfeldt is doing in A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC. So maybe it's you, rather than Angela Lansbury, who don't know what you're talking about.

by Anonymousreply 471June 12, 2021 1:43 PM

In “Aspects of Love” Rose Vibert tours in theaters that don’t have any customers.

I don’t think you can say Desiree is a bad actress because she doesn’t pull in crowds. Touring used to be standard practice because Broadway would shut down in the Summer. Shirley Booth toured a lot, Elaine Stritch preferred to tend bar rather than tour. A tour was a fun way to bring a star or the originator of a role to people who couldn’t otherwise get to Broadway. But audience attendance depended on many things: the desire for people to go to the theater or see a specific show, economic conditions, weather conditions, etc. Audiences not coming doesn’t mean it’s a bad production.

by Anonymousreply 472June 12, 2021 2:02 PM

Faith Princes was neither faithful, nor a prince: discusss!

by Anonymousreply 473June 12, 2021 2:15 PM

please take a seat, r473.

by Anonymousreply 474June 12, 2021 2:21 PM

[quote]Elaine Stritch preferred to tend bar rather than tour.

Never knew that laying under it counted as "tending" bar.

by Anonymousreply 475June 12, 2021 2:22 PM

That Stritch comment seems right out of two old queens!

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by Anonymousreply 476June 12, 2021 2:25 PM

[quote] I don’t think you can say Desiree is a bad actress because she doesn’t pull in crowds. Touring used to be standard practice because Broadway would shut down in the Summer.

[quote] Caruso, Bernhardt, and Anna Pavlova all stepped away from the legitimate stage to take vaudeville bookings. Just ask Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne.

[quote] I don’t believe she said that. Lansbury has toured plenty in her career, Gypsy (a very long tour), Sweeney, Blithe Spirit, Mame.

OMG you're all assuming that 1900 Sweden is anything like Broadway, New York, or vaudeville. "The Glamorous Life" indicates that Desiree has spent a [italic]long[/italic] time touring—perhaps her entire career—which is why the kid rarely sees her and Madame nearly raised her.

by Anonymousreply 477June 12, 2021 2:28 PM

and r460 you have ZERO class

[quote] if Lansbury actually said that, and I believe you that she did, then she has no clue what she's talking about and is entirely full of shit.

by Anonymousreply 478June 12, 2021 2:29 PM

[quote] Never knew that laying under it counted as "tending" bar.

Elaine Kaufman probably didn’t pay Stritch much so Stritch made it up in drinks. “Elaine’s” was a writer’s and actor’s joint, so they didn’t tip well. Stritch probably told tourists that the place was named after her.

by Anonymousreply 479June 12, 2021 2:31 PM

you can talk about the other DL bitches like that but no need to be a cunt to Angie, especially when you're [italic]so[/italic] wrong. (And yes I know vaudeville wasn't only in America, But still.

by Anonymousreply 480June 12, 2021 2:33 PM

Speaking of “sweet in public and cunt in private” British actresses, where there ever any about Julie Andrews? Her being fierce about refusing the Tony must be a hint that there’s more to her than a sweet persona.

by Anonymousreply 481June 12, 2021 2:39 PM

Happy birthday, Uta Hagen (1919–2004)!

I spent some time at HB Studios but never studied/worked with Uta. Anyone have any stories?

by Anonymousreply 482June 12, 2021 2:42 PM

That article says Lane's husband "is a producer and a playwright." Anyone know what he's produced or written?

by Anonymousreply 483June 12, 2021 2:56 PM

R481. Julie Andrews turning down her Tony nom showed loyalty to her cast and to the show which is the opposite of bitchiness. At the very least Rachel York should have been nominated.

by Anonymousreply 484June 12, 2021 2:59 PM

EGREGIOUSLY OVERLOOKED.

by Anonymousreply 485June 12, 2021 3:01 PM

While I understand and on some level respect Julie's reasoning, OTOH, I feel like if she won, she could have easily said something like, "This award isn't just for me, it's for ..." and then name as many people as she can before getting played off the stage.

by Anonymousreply 486June 12, 2021 3:08 PM

[quote] I spent some time at HB Studios but never studied/worked with Uta. Anyone have any stories?

What do you want to know? She was a terrible mother, more interested in her career. She sat her daughter at a desk at HB Studio and never required anything more from her.

Her technique was decent but had its flaws. In her acting classes, she never assigned scenes from plays after 1960.

Slept with Paul Robeson while married to Jose Ferrer and all three were appearing in “Othello”. Rumor has it Ferrar walked in on them doing it.

Second husband Herbert Berghof must have had an enormous cock because she acted like he was a god. She went on and on about him.

by Anonymousreply 487June 12, 2021 3:27 PM

I saw Uta in an off bway play called Mrs Klein and I thought she was ok. Nothing more. I was expecting a goddess like Geraldine Page but she wasn’t even close.

by Anonymousreply 488June 12, 2021 3:39 PM

Uta damaged her career when she gave an interview where she called Broadway theaters “barns”. She was trying to say that it was difficult to create intimacy between actor and audience in a 1200 seat theater, but the implication was that Broadway theaters were not suitable environments for the “holy” act of watching a play.

by Anonymousreply 489June 12, 2021 3:47 PM

Is John Cullum the classic definition of working actor? He has a ton of Broadway, tv and movie credits and some people probably remember him from Northern Exposure, but he never reached stardom. He always does excellent work.

by Anonymousreply 490June 12, 2021 3:58 PM

Since she came up, does anybody have Geraldine Page stories?

by Anonymousreply 491June 12, 2021 4:10 PM

Uta Hagen desecrated the stage of the Lyceum in what was essentially a one-woman snooze fest called CHARLOTTE. She played Goethe's mistress. She and Berghof did the English translation of this West German play. I saw the preview before opening night and she was still being prompted. Well, she was the only speaking character on stage, so she had a lot to remember. Charles Nelson Reilly was her director and he played a non-speaking role who was also on stage for all, or most, of the evening. Mel Gussow praised her to the skies. It closed on opening night.

A few years later, she appeared in "Mrs. Warren's Profession" at the Roundabout. Really, really, difficult to imagine she was a successful madam. She was cold and hard and unappealing. Again.

by Anonymousreply 492June 12, 2021 4:13 PM

[quote] While I understand and on some level respect Julie's reasoning, OTOH, I feel like if she won, she could have easily said something like, "This award isn't just for me, it's for ..." and then name as many people as she can before getting played off the stage.

terrible idea

by Anonymousreply 493June 12, 2021 4:23 PM

I saw Uta Hagen in a 1986 production of Shaw's "You Never Can Tell." As Mrs. Clandon, a character who should be warm and charming, she was -- surprise -- cold and hard and unappealing.

by Anonymousreply 494June 12, 2021 4:23 PM

[quote]I saw Uta in an off bway play called Mrs Klein and I thought she was ok. Nothing more. I was expecting a goddess like Geraldine Page but she wasn’t even close.

A goddess like Geraldine Page, ha ha. They might as well have given complimentary bread and cheese when that huge ham was onstage.

by Anonymousreply 495June 12, 2021 4:24 PM

[quote] She was cold and hard and unappealing.

That seemed to be her calling card. She was that way in Mrs. Klein and in the movie “Reversal of Fortune” where she chews every piece of scenery and the audience is afraid she’s going to jump out of the screen and chew them. I’ll bet watching Uta is where Glenn Close learned how to play an over-the-top actress for Sunset Boulevard.

by Anonymousreply 496June 12, 2021 4:26 PM

Uta ... Uma ... Uma ... Uta

by Anonymousreply 497June 12, 2021 4:27 PM

Faith Prince in "Bells Are Ringing" must have sounded like a great idea, but I found her disappointing. She seemed uncomfortable in the role. Then again, that whole production was terrible, starting with the direction.

by Anonymousreply 498June 12, 2021 4:30 PM

You too can be taught by master teacher Uta Hagen.

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by Anonymousreply 499June 12, 2021 4:34 PM

[quote]Uta ... Uma ... Uma ... Uta —David Letterman, hosting the Tonys

"And then in walked Yma Sumac. So I introduced them. Uta, Yma, Yma, Uta . . . "

by Anonymousreply 500June 12, 2021 4:37 PM

[quote] "And then in walked Yma Sumac. So I introduced them. Uta, Yma, Yma, Uta . . . "

Followed by Ina Garten.

Uta, Ina, Ina, Uta, Yma, Ina, Ina, Yma

by Anonymousreply 501June 12, 2021 4:41 PM

Anne's Yma dream.

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by Anonymousreply 502June 12, 2021 4:51 PM

Geraldine Page was the worst acting teacher I ever had. Would shuffle in, looking and smelling like what was then termed "a bag lady", favored the women in the class over the men. Talked incessantly about Louis Jourdan and others she'd worked with. Ripped an actor to shreds over his scene one afternoon, after he had everyone in the class sobbing. Then went on to praise his scene partner, who was a woman and absolutely terrible. Finally stood up one day and said to her, "I've had enough of this bullshit" and never went back. A total; fraud as a teacher, but a great actress.

by Anonymousreply 503June 12, 2021 5:39 PM

Page suffered from dementia at the end of her life. Probably shouldn't have been teaching then. When in college, two friends and I asked to meet her backstage at BLACK COMEDY. We explained we were theater students from Northwestern and we were immediately ushered into her dressing room, where she was warm and funny and gracious. She invited us back for the next two nights we were in town and was delightful each time. We stayed with her in the room until the phone would ring. It was her husband Rip Torn and she would immediately high tail it out the door to meet him. I've always adore her.

by Anonymousreply 504June 12, 2021 5:52 PM

Jose Ferrer had no reason to complain about Hagen. He cheated on Rosemary Clooney all over the place after their marriage—even on their honeymoon, if rumors are true.

by Anonymousreply 505June 12, 2021 5:54 PM

It sounds like the Guys and Dolls revival had that magical chemistry between the four leads that elevates any show.

Regarding Nathan Lane, it's not like one more story is going to prove any point but my friend (kind, deferential man) worked at a theater where Lane was starring. He said he was nasty to everyone. Absolutely everyone.

by Anonymousreply 506June 12, 2021 6:13 PM

[quote]Did Burt Reynolds ever do musicals at his own theatre? He did three movie musicals of varying quality.

By varying quality, I guess you mean awful, god-awful and abysmal.

by Anonymousreply 507June 12, 2021 6:17 PM

Nathan Lane is on the record for hating himself.

by Anonymousreply 508June 12, 2021 6:33 PM

Former über Broadway gossip and Frank Rich wife Alex Witchel got it years ago...

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by Anonymousreply 509June 12, 2021 6:34 PM

After At Long Last Love bombed Mr Burt Reynolds wisely stayed away from musicals.

by Anonymousreply 510June 12, 2021 7:16 PM

[quote]Nathan Lane is on the record for hating himself.

He's hardly alone in his thinking.

by Anonymousreply 511June 12, 2021 7:18 PM

[quote]After At Long Last Love bombed Mr Burt Reynolds wisely stayed away from musicals.

"At Long Last Love" was released in 1975. "Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" is from 1982, and "Rhinestone" is from 1984.

by Anonymousreply 512June 12, 2021 7:25 PM

Is Burt in "Rhinestone"?

by Anonymousreply 513June 12, 2021 7:42 PM

[quote]Geraldine Page was the worst acting teacher I ever had.

Apparently you never studied under Zandra.

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by Anonymousreply 514June 12, 2021 7:50 PM

I had forgotten about Rhinestone. The third awful Burt Reynolds musical I was thinking of was Lucky Lady. He does “sing” in it. Much as Russel Crowe “sang” in Les Mis.

by Anonymousreply 515June 12, 2021 8:22 PM

I saw Uta Hagen in both Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Charlotte (albeit 17 years apart). Best performance to worst performance. Ever. Hard to believe it was the same actress.

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by Anonymousreply 516June 12, 2021 8:47 PM

I'd heard so much about Hagen, especially her Martha in Woolf, and was born too late to get to see her onstage. I never thought much of her in the few films I'd seen her in. When she started working again in the 90s off-Broadway, I vowed to see her, but I missed Mrs. Klein. So when she was announced for Collected Stories (in one of the umpteenth- but earlier- productions of that show) I made sure to see it. I thought she was remarkable in it and I was so glad I got to see her. I understand why she was so revered, but, based on her film performances, it doesn't surprise me that others might think differently.

by Anonymousreply 517June 12, 2021 9:08 PM

Her audio recording of Virginia Woolf is wonderful. And she was sick at the time.

by Anonymousreply 518June 12, 2021 9:09 PM

I interviewed her in her Washington Square apartment years ago. She was in a housecoat, drinking Cape Codders, and playing solitaire when I arrived. She was lovely and seemed lonely (HB had died). Kissed me when I left. Would have given anything to have seen her in the original VW. Anyone see the one-night-only reading she did years later?

by Anonymousreply 519June 12, 2021 9:25 PM

The original cast album of VW is a treasure, R519. She really is as great as they say.

by Anonymousreply 520June 12, 2021 9:34 PM

I hadn't thought of Lucky Lady. I actually thought we were considering All Dogs Go to Heaven as a musical.

by Anonymousreply 521June 12, 2021 9:37 PM

I’ve always has a huge crush on Nathan Lane. Too bad he’s such a prick. I was surfing YouTube and came across a PBS Alice in Wonderland with Kate Burton as Alice, A very young Lane was in it too—what an absolute cutie he was.

by Anonymousreply 522June 12, 2021 9:39 PM

I’ve loved Lane in almost everything he’s been in. I also saw Guys and Dolls with Jamie Farr replacing Lane, it held up so well.

I saw The Producers with Lane’s replacement. It seems that the producers demanded that the replacement play it like Lane. The whole show suffered because it was so forced. Lane can make anything funny—something so few can

by Anonymousreply 523June 12, 2021 9:41 PM

Wasn’t Faith Prince’s Bells Are Ringing a massive flop?

by Anonymousreply 524June 12, 2021 9:41 PM

Faith Prince's Bells Are Ringing was indeed a massive Flop, and was the first in many horrifying nights where those in the know sat there and thought "Why the Fuck does Tina Landau think she can direct musicals"? And then she did Spongebob Squarepants the Broadway musical which was also a massive flop.

by Anonymousreply 525June 12, 2021 9:50 PM

What has Faith Prince done lately, in the last 5-7 years? Does she still get work?

by Anonymousreply 526June 12, 2021 11:02 PM

[quote]I’ve always has a huge crush on Nathan Lane.

There's no accounting for taste.

by Anonymousreply 527June 12, 2021 11:35 PM

[quote]R256 Only on DataLounge can you find people bad-mouthing Angela Lansbury, truly one of the most beloved people in all of show business. Absolutely incredible.

The Manson Family LOVED her kids!

by Anonymousreply 528June 12, 2021 11:52 PM

[quote]R305 THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1985, a revival of "The Odd Couple" starring Rita Moreno and Sally Struthers opened at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Why didn’t they do FOLLIES together?

Sally as Sally!

by Anonymousreply 529June 13, 2021 12:36 AM

Because Sally likes Chita but NOT Rita.

by Anonymousreply 530June 13, 2021 12:47 AM

I worked with Faith about 10 years ago, she was fun but highly self-absorbed. At that time (and I think still) she was living in Sacramento, married and raising a son., I think because hubbie's job was based there.

by Anonymousreply 531June 13, 2021 12:47 AM

It’s so sad when self absorbed and self important can’t back it up with success

by Anonymousreply 532June 13, 2021 12:49 AM

When I was shooting my first film, we had an actress drop out and my casting director suggested Faith. It was a one day role, but it was very funny and a good scene stealer. I said to go ahead and make the offer. (It was an indie but a decent cast.) This was about 5-6 years after her Tony win and not much was going on with her. She turned us down in the cuntiest of ways, like it was so beneath her. It was no skin off my ass and we obviously got someone (actually the actress we initially hired was able to come in and do it because her schedule got shifted) but I always remembered how rude Prince was when she didn't need to be.

by Anonymousreply 533June 13, 2021 12:54 AM

[quote]but I always remembered how rude Prince was when she didn't need to be.

Sounds like something she may have picked up from spending too much time with Nathan Lane.

by Anonymousreply 534June 13, 2021 1:35 AM

[quote] I agree with the no-fly list suggestions above. If someone has caused such a ruckus that they've had to divert the plane or have security meet you at the gate, I don't know why they are allowed to just hop on the next flight on another carrier. They should be banned from flying for at least a period of time if not forever.

Oops. Mea culpa.

by Anonymousreply 535June 13, 2021 1:37 AM

[quote]R390 At least we have Ernestine on audio...

I adore that arrangement, and her performance. It’s the best version of the song I’ve heard.

by Anonymousreply 536June 13, 2021 2:23 AM

[quote]Faith Prince in "Bells Are Ringing" must have sounded like a great idea, but I found her disappointing. She seemed uncomfortable in the role. Then again, that whole production was terrible, starting with the direction.

It was a cheap production, they could only afford one bell.

by Anonymousreply 537June 13, 2021 2:26 AM

[quote]R443 I ran into Lane backstage at one of his shows. Despite an intro from a fellow co-star, he was surly and didn't stop for any pleasantries. You could tell the co-star was embarrassed.

How many times must I recount my witnessing him throwing a metal chair backstage in the late 80s ? ? ?

Maybe someone else can tell the story for me.

by Anonymousreply 538June 13, 2021 2:42 AM

[quote]I had forgotten about Rhinestone. The third awful Burt Reynolds musical I was thinking of was Lucky Lady. He does “sing” in it. Much as Russel Crowe “sang” in Les Mis.

Geeez Louise, Burt Reynolds made two musicals, "At Long Last Love" and "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas". "Lucky Lady" wasn't a musical. "Rhinestone" was Dolly Parton and Sylvester Stallone and that wasn't a musical either, just a movie with some singing onstage.

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by Anonymousreply 539June 13, 2021 2:43 AM

[quote]R488 I saw Uta in an off bway play called Mrs Klein and I thought she was ok. Nothing more. I was expecting a goddess like Geraldine Page but she wasn’t even close.

OMG, I had the same experience seeing her in “The Time of Your Life” at Circle in the Square. I thought she’d be a dynamo… but she was just okay. No more, no less.

I guess Shaw wasn’t her… [italic]milieu.

by Anonymousreply 540June 13, 2021 2:52 AM

^^ oh god… I meant “ You Never Can Tell."

Not “The Time of Your Life.”

by Anonymousreply 541June 13, 2021 2:55 AM

Thank you for sharing the Faith Prince story, R533. Always interesting to read first-hand accounts on here.

by Anonymousreply 542June 13, 2021 4:30 AM

[quote]I guess Shaw wasn’t her… milieu.

I remember reading the NYT review of that production of "You Never Can Tell," in which I found Uta Hagen to be a big ol' wet blanket. Of her performance, the Times said it was not the sort of role that showcased Hagen's strengths. So I guess it was Shaw's fault that she stank up the joint.

by Anonymousreply 543June 13, 2021 4:45 AM

Once a critics darling, always a critics darling, I guess.

by Anonymousreply 544June 13, 2021 5:27 AM

r541 - Will Saroyan ever write a great play?...

by Anonymousreply 545June 13, 2021 5:38 AM

Liza only performed one number onscreen in Lucky Lady.

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by Anonymousreply 546June 13, 2021 5:42 AM

During Netflix’s Halston, Liza refers to doing a movie with Burt Reynolds. It’s Lucky Lady

by Anonymousreply 547June 13, 2021 11:46 AM

From Vanity Fair: Early in the film, Kevin Rosario, played by Jimmy Smits, calls Stanford University to get information about paying tuition for his daughter Nina (Leslie Grace). While he’s on hold, a muzak cover of “You’ll Be Back” from Miranda’s other hit musical Hamilton plays for about 15 seconds. It’s an instantly recognizable earworm if you know what to listen for—and given Hamilton’s ubiquitousness in culture, it’s hard to imagine you don’t. Director Jon M. Chu told The Wrap that the Hamilton soundbite was very much intentional: “That was indeed a Lin idea, and we wanted to make it a Muzak version. It’s all part of the Lin-ematic Universe.”

I wonder how many heads on DL just exploded at the thought of a “Linematic Universe.”

by Anonymousreply 548June 13, 2021 11:53 AM

Will Lin receive a Kennedy Center honor next year? I mean after Debbie Allen the bar is set pretty low.

by Anonymousreply 549June 13, 2021 12:41 PM

I've always confused THE TIME OF YOUR LIFE with ONCE INA LIFETIME. Now I can also confuse them YOU NEVER CAN TELL.

by Anonymousreply 550June 13, 2021 12:43 PM

R549, I disagree. Allen has had a distinguished career in TV, film, and theatre.

I am a little surprised why she got one before liza

by Anonymousreply 551June 13, 2021 12:57 PM

I saw Uta Hagen in MRS. KLEIN and COLLECTED STORIES and they were two of the greatest performances I've ever seen. We do all seem to agree on the VIRGINIA WOOLF recording -- found it as a young gayling before I had ever seen anything professional onstage. Wow.

by Anonymousreply 552June 13, 2021 1:48 PM

To my great surprise, the OBC of VIRGINIA WOOLF is available, streaming, on Amazon. Uta Hagen, Arthur Hill, George Grizzard, Melinda DIllon.

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by Anonymousreply 553June 13, 2021 1:58 PM

Debbie Allen. TV: Fame. Theatre: Choreographed Carrie. Starred in Sweet Charity revival. Film: ? I’m surprised she got a Kennedy Center Honor before Topo Gigio.

by Anonymousreply 554June 13, 2021 2:06 PM

Thank you, R548. I felt like I should have recognized the Muzak, but didn't.

by Anonymousreply 555June 13, 2021 2:30 PM

I don't get the Debbie Allen honor either. Generous and talented woman, I'm sure, but not yet deserving. I think even her sister would have been more deserving.

by Anonymousreply 556June 13, 2021 3:15 PM

Sad to say, Debbie Allen's choreography has probably been seen by more people than that of any other living choreographer.

All those award shows....

by Anonymousreply 557June 13, 2021 3:33 PM

[quote]I disagree. Allen has had a distinguished career in TV, film, and theatre. I am a little surprised why she got one before liza

Liza won't get one now because the Kennedy Center waited too long. Part of the deal with the Kennedy Center Honors is that the recipients have to be at the ceremony and on the TV broadcast. Liza isn't well enough to travel to Washington and take part in the various events. I heard that she was approached a couple of years ago about being an honoree, but even then she wasn't up to it.

by Anonymousreply 558June 13, 2021 4:00 PM

I’m amazed it took them this long to honor Dick Van Dyke.

by Anonymousreply 559June 13, 2021 6:07 PM

Is Liza in such poor condition that she couldn't even travel to D.C. to receive a major honor? I believe she is wheelchair bound, but obviously, she could remain seated during the ceremony, as the other Kennedy Center honorees do for the most part. Liza did appear in some recent videos for her birthday, so it's not as if she's in such poor shape that she refuses to appear on screen.

by Anonymousreply 560June 13, 2021 6:18 PM

Yeah wheel that bitch down to DC!

by Anonymousreply 561June 13, 2021 6:19 PM

[quote]Liza did appear in some recent videos for her birthday

A short video shot in her home in which she sort of sang a song. Not the same thing as flying 3,000 miles, being wheeled up ramps at the Kennedy Center and attending related functions. I'm guessing she doesn't have the strength.

by Anonymousreply 562June 13, 2021 6:22 PM

[quote]I’m amazed it took them this long to honor Dick Van Dyke.

I thought long and hard about it, but that damn cockney dialect!

by Anonymousreply 563June 13, 2021 6:30 PM

I thought Larry Matthews would get the honor before DVD.

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by Anonymousreply 564June 13, 2021 6:47 PM

Maybe the powers to be don't think Liza is worthy of the honor. After all, she hasn't contributed as much to the cultural landscape of the US as Debbie Allen or LL Cool J have.

by Anonymousreply 565June 13, 2021 6:50 PM

[quote]Will Lin receive a Kennedy Center honor next year? I mean after Debbie Allen the bar is set pretty low.

The Honor wasn't just for her own successful performing career, she runs the nonprofit Debbie Allen Dance Academy and gives multiple scholarships to kids in need. Se gives back, so fuck you.

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by Anonymousreply 566June 13, 2021 7:00 PM

[quote] Yeah wheel that bitch down to DC!

If Madison Cawthorn can do it . . .

by Anonymousreply 567June 13, 2021 7:02 PM

It's criminal that Liza hasn't been honored yet!

by Anonymousreply 568June 13, 2021 7:08 PM

Bernadette Peters needs to be on that next Kennedy Center list. She'll be 74 next February!

by Anonymousreply 569June 13, 2021 8:45 PM

Peters doesn’t have one???!!

I’m not a huge fan but def think she should have gotten one over, say, Kennedy Center Honoree LL Cool J.

Yes, he has one

by Anonymousreply 570June 13, 2021 8:53 PM

[quote]Will Lin receive a Kennedy Center honor next year?

You mean another one?

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by Anonymousreply 571June 13, 2021 9:14 PM

Does Debbie have the kids recreate her choreography from Carrie?

by Anonymousreply 572June 13, 2021 9:35 PM

Cot-ton Blossom!

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by Anonymousreply 573June 13, 2021 10:12 PM

Ah, I see we're back to the "How dare the Black folks be honored!" line of thinking ...

by Anonymousreply 574June 13, 2021 11:06 PM

Bless your heart, r574.

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by Anonymousreply 575June 13, 2021 11:22 PM

Twenty-odd posts left ... rather than cause a shit show over #424, who wants to call dibs on making that thread?

by Anonymousreply 576June 13, 2021 11:32 PM

Whoever doesn't, r576, is allowed no bitching rights over the title.

by Anonymousreply 577June 13, 2021 11:55 PM

Like that'll stop them. The same poster who whines about post titles always whines about the OPs of the new threads waiting for the second this thread fills up - even when there's hours between the two. You could wait a week before creating a new thread and that bitch will still whine.

How about you're only allowed to bitch about the title if you post your own idea for the title.

by Anonymousreply 578June 14, 2021 12:10 AM

Theatre Gossip #424: In the Depths (a pun on the movie underperfoming at the box office)

by Anonymousreply 579June 14, 2021 12:28 AM

Debbie Allen's TV career is much more than FAME - at Cosby's behest she figured out A DIFFERENT WORLD (122 episodes) and made it into a hit. She's EP'd, directed or acted in 168 episodes of GREY'S ANATOMY, and directed lots of other episodics. All that is in addition to her 136 episodes of FAME.

She has steadily worked in television for the 45 years since her debut on GOOD TIMES in 1976, and shows no sign of slowing down. TV is where the bulk of her career has ended up being, particularly tv directing, though she's kept acting too.

Likewise, her Broadway cred includes RAISIN, replacing in PURLIE and AIN'T MISBEHAVIN', the WEST SIDE STORY revival, and directing CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF, in addition to SWEET CHARITY and the infamous CARRIE. She has three Emmys and has been nominated for two Tonys.

She's been successful in every type of performance (singing, dancing, acting), and as a director, producer, and choreographer. She's worked in film, television, and theatre. She's a long time arts advocate too, and she's more than deserving of the KC honor. She's actually a little young still for the Lifetime Achievement Awards that will start popping up for her in about 10 years.

by Anonymousreply 580June 14, 2021 12:47 AM

Strapless Fanny

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by Anonymousreply 581June 14, 2021 1:21 AM

[quote] Like that'll stop them. The same poster who whines about post titles always whines about the OPs of the new threads waiting for the second this thread fills up - even when there's hours between the two. You could wait a week before creating a new thread and that bitch will still whine.

There have been several posters complaining about the thread titles, especially this one. I should know because I'm one of them and I only complained once.

[quote] How about you're only allowed to bitch about the title if you post your own idea for the title.

How about you shut the fuck up if you don't know what you're talking about.

by Anonymousreply 582June 14, 2021 1:32 AM

Leslie was so good in that production @ r581. Every once in a while, she sounds a lot like a young Judy Garland.

by Anonymousreply 583June 14, 2021 1:34 AM

See how upset they get at the idea of having to put their money where their mouth is? We've got time, R582, why don't you tell us what the title of 424 should be? In fact, why don't you go ahead and create it right now, dazzle us with your humour.

by Anonymousreply 584June 14, 2021 1:37 AM

Oh, you must be the little bitch who came up with this winner, R584.

There, that's my 2nd time complaining about this title thread for anyone keeping score.

by Anonymousreply 585June 14, 2021 1:40 AM

R585 Third time actually, you whined twice at the start of the thread. And no, I'm not OP. So, do link to the thread you create with your hilarious title, we can't wait.

by Anonymousreply 586June 14, 2021 1:42 AM

[quote] we can't wait.

You might want to check again. You're in this alone, sweetie.

by Anonymousreply 587June 14, 2021 1:45 AM

[quote] Theatre Gossip #424: In the Depths (a pun on the movie underperfoming at the box office)

Did it really underperform, though? It did a little over $11m and was #2 at the box office. It's also available on HBO Max, AND people are still reluctant to go back to the movies, so I would say this is on par with expectations, if not a little better.

by Anonymousreply 588June 14, 2021 1:49 AM

If it didn't open at No. 1, it underperformed.

by Anonymousreply 589June 14, 2021 1:57 AM

Link to # 424

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by Anonymousreply 590June 14, 2021 5:20 AM

Whoop-Up!

by Anonymousreply 591June 14, 2021 5:37 AM

Kelly!

by Anonymousreply 592June 14, 2021 11:41 AM

let's

by Anonymousreply 593June 14, 2021 11:54 AM

immediately

by Anonymousreply 594June 14, 2021 11:54 AM

put all

by Anonymousreply 595June 14, 2021 11:55 AM

this behind us

by Anonymousreply 596June 14, 2021 11:55 AM

as the chorus boy

by Anonymousreply 597June 14, 2021 11:55 AM

said to

by Anonymousreply 598June 14, 2021 11:56 AM

Rex Smith.

by Anonymousreply 599June 14, 2021 11:56 AM

Bajour

by Anonymousreply 600June 14, 2021 11:56 AM
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