THEATRE GOSSIP #487: The Is Jonathan Groff a Sally or a Phyllis? Edition

Not only is the title shit, but for some reason, the thread doesn't show up when you search for "gossip 487"

Waiter! I'll have the soup Bajour, please!

It's too soon to show up, r1.

I have R1 blocked, and even though I'm the title naysayer around here, there's no point in piling on. OP knows he failed.

Is that going to keep you awake at night, r4?

The title fail? Nah, I'm used to it. Carry on.

While we have a minute, I'd like to highlight this comment from the previous thread:

[quote]Can’t imagine a more perfect Mary.

Jonathan Groff is an Emily Whitman

From one of the relentless cunts in the last thread:

[Quote] Not to belabor this, but:

Never a promising preface. [Italic] Always [/italic] means you’re going to belabor it.

I like the title. Short and clever. Thanks OP!

Did we ever find out who is Wendela?

What's taking the Music Box?

To go back to Pal Joey from the last thread, Zip was a satire of Gypsy Rose Lee, whose publicity gimmick was that she was an intellectual who stripped on the side. Was it merely coincidence her sister was cast?

In his New York Times review, Brooks Atkinson famously wrote "Although [Pal Joey] is expertly done, how can you draw sweet water from a foul well?" Apart from Linda, these are not nice people.

I like Julie Benko. She has a security on stage and a Broadway vet air. Beanie never had that. That said, Lea Michele has star quality. She just does. The hideous miscasting of Beanie Feldstein as Fanny Brice. Is already legendary.

Back then, nice, respectable people didn't strip. And back then, it was all about being nice and respectable. Joey was a dirty show.

The early 50s revival, inspired by the Harold Lang/Vivienne Segal recording, outran the original production. It was the first time a revival had ever done that.

(Many people think the Lang/Segal recording is a cast album of the revival. It's not. It was a studio cast recording that was so successful it inspired the revival. All the supporting parts are performed by different artists.)

Good Lord, I linked to the wrong Kelly/Pal Joey clips above. Here are the extended color clips. Thanks so much, youtube 1971FolliesFan .

[quote]If Merrily goes to Broadway, I'll bet Garfield replaces Groff.

I would have loved to see a Garfield Franklin.

If anyone were ever serious about making this show a hit, they'd cast a hot Franklin Shepard and give him a nude scene.

Yeah, the title doesn't work. Especially since we're apparently continuing with the same two (boring) conversations that were inducing yawns in the last thread.

You should have come up with a title that included "OMG! No One Really Cares About Pal Joey or Franklin Shepherd Because They Both Suck" Edition.

As for Jonathan Groff not being a leading man, someone needs to tell the Powers That Be who have been casting him as the male lead in television shows and theater for the last 14 years.

#actually Groff would make an interesting Pal Joey … emphasizing the eagerness to please > the sleaziness

I care about Pal Joey. One of the great but highly flawed shows.

[quote]If anyone were ever serious about making this show a hit, they'd cast a hot Franklin Shepard

Groff is playing him, so they did.

R12 A doll that's wound by a key.

r20 To such stunning commercial success, eh?

You can sort of make your own revival cast album of Pal Joey. Use the ORC which has everyone but Lang and Segal. Then take the Lang and Segal tracks off the studio cast. It’s not perfect, but it’ll do.

Fuck you, OP.

Word is that the NYTW website crashed for 20 minutes when premiere member tickets went on sale for Merrily yesterday. Season pass holders can’t buy tickets before the 24th. Getting general public tickets for this in September is going to be a bloodbath, it has no business being in such a tiny theater.

Isn’t that partly the “Harry Potter” factor?

Whenever a HP or Merlin cast member was in a West End play, it wasn’t worth going because of all the fans. They would applaud at every entrance and exit, take photos and then look at their phones and talk when the object of their fandom wasn’t on stage.

Speaking of Harry Potter, Rupert Grint is playing a villain in that upcoming M. Night Shyamalan movie where Groff and Ben Aldridge play two gays who get tortured by home invaders.

After Merrily, Groff just needs to work with Emma Watson to complete the Potter trifecta.

[quote]Getting general public tickets for this in September is going to be a bloodbath, it has no business being in such a tiny theater.

Which will, of course, make it seem as if there is an undeniable demand for a Bway transfer.

There's been a lot of Potter fans buying subscriptions to NYTW so they could book early, so I guess NYTW got what they wanted out of this

I got a pass and bought three tickets on Friday morning. There was good availability for all performances I looked at. It was $350 for a single pass, then $120 each for up to two guest tickets to Merrily. Not cheap, but not terrible either - plus I have a single ticket to 4 other plays.

[Quote] To go back to Pal Joey from the last thread,

Because……?

[Quote] #actually Groff would make an interesting Pal Joey

Geoff is sweet and handsome. Not however interesting

^as Geoffs normally are

Groff IS Vernon Gersch

There's a great recording of PAL JOEY with Jane Froman as Vera, Dick Beavers (who?) as Joey, Helen Gallagher as the perfect Gladys and Elaine Stritch as Melba singing Zip! It's on a CD with the soundtrack of WITH A SONG IN MY HEART, the bio of Jane Froman, played by Susan Hayward in the film, but with Froman's vocals.

That's the Original Cast recording of the revival, minus the two stars, because of contractual commitments, r38.

Before the CD that combined it with the soundtrack of WITH A SONG IN MY HEART, the 1952 PAL JOEY got released on its own as part of the Broadway Angel series.

The first version of "Zip" I ever heard was Jo Hurt on the 1950 Studio recording. Probably better than all of them except Stritch, who, though she didn't originate it, was definitive.

Back to Pinky Lee, referenced in the last thread. Here he is dancing with an incredible Barbra Stanyck, complete with splits and cartwheels in "Lady of Burlesque". Missy knew how to jitterburg, and Pinky was a great dancer, too. They start dancing in the scene because someone is causing a ruckus backstage, so they dance to cover up the noise for the audience.

Laura Osnes, the gift that keeps on giving.

[quote]In the months since that concert, Osnes was dropped from the line-up for a Disney Princess Tour and planned London concerts of Bonnie & Clyde that would have reunited Osnes with her original Broadway co-star, Jeremy Jordan. She is currently preparing to appear in Shiners at Woolworth Theatre in Nashville, which will reportedly combine elements of Broadway musicals, comedy, and circus-style acrobatics. The production is scheduled to begin September 23.

You forgot to mention Stanwyck's accomplished coffee grinder, r42.

Qu'est-ce que c'est, R45 ?

C'est ça, r46...

[quote]Whenever a HP or Merlin cast member was in a West End play, it wasn’t worth going because of all the fans. They would applaud at every entrance and exit, take photos and then look at their phones and talk when the object of their fandom wasn’t on stage.

That would've spiced Engame up.

Thanks for the Pinky Lee reminder/ He was IT on TV when I was a tot. That damn song is forever embedded in my brain, at least the first two lines, but could never remember the rest.

Don't underestimate Groff. He played quite a dark role in the movie The Conspirator, about the Lincoln assassination. He might well be able to pull off Joey, if you'll pardon the expression.

If you need smarm, Jonathan Groff is your go-to actor.

The perfect Joey would have been Michael Berresse, back in the day.

Jonathan Groff is the waiter who gets snippy with Phyllis.

Elaine Stritch *IS* Mary Flynn

Poor Laura was once the IT girl. Now she's playing stock in Nashville. Wonder if she's still close to Max Crumm since he posted how she should get vaccinated.

I don't think ANYONE gets close to Laura.

A few years ago you that Laura Osnrs would probably be rotating in and out of Into the Woods

Next thread title suggestion- Ye Olde Arcane Superannuated Thread of Historical Theatrical Pedantry, Minutiae and Old-Timey Blather, Bloviation and Gaysplaining Devoid of Gossip, I Wish that Hottie Booth Would Sitteth on My Visage Large Type Edition

SIDE SHOW

Phyllis Newman or Phyllis Diller?

Phyllis Rogers Stone

Was Groff w/ Mr. Spock at some point? I kind of remember DL gossiping about one of his relationships at one point.

If they were together, they seem like an awful pairing now.

[quote]Next thread title suggestion- Ye Olde Arcane Superannuated Thread of Historical Theatrical Pedantry, Minutiae and Old-Timey Blather, Bloviation and Gaysplaining Devoid of Gossip, I Wish that Hottie Booth Would Sitteth on My Visage Large Type Edition

You left out a reference to what's playing at the Music Box.

Absolutely, r62. They were quite the couple.

Phyllis Phallus

Fine...

I loved Phyllis Kirk as Nora Charles in The Thin Man TV series with hunky Peter Lawford, which I watched a s a kid in reruns before I even knew who Myrna Loy and William Powell were.

Didn't know ma Barkley could hoof like that.

Why produce a flop only once when you can produce it three times?

Man, life without Beanie has left you guys (I'd say queens but it's 2022) without anything to to gossip or bitch about. I like the thread's title... and will ask, is Martha Plimpton a Buddy or Ben?

More of a Dimitri r70.

She was a Ziegfeld chorus girl for a bit, r68. Can you imagine *her* Lucy & Jessie?

Oh my god, go outside for a few minutes and see if some sunlight will kill the mildew

Thank you for sharing, r73. You sound cranky.

Hi! Hi! Phyllis Lindstrom HERE!!

Stritch had to sing Zip in a stock production of Pal Joey in the nineteen fucking nineties? No wonder she drank.

I have a feeling Zip paid for a lot of scotch r76.

It's surprising Stritch never played Mama Morton.

[quote]Oh my god, go outside for a few minutes and see if some sunlight will kill the mildew

This line gets more hilarious every time it's used.

If Weissman is supposed to be Ziegfeld, why can't there be an aging Fanny Brice-style character in FOLLIES? I'm available, ya know.

Fanny Brice aged, but she didn't turn into a hippo, R80.

Malcolm and Boyd are not well.

Sally gets the My Man number in FOLLIES, r80..

Brice wasn't a Sally. She'd just get another husband. And another.

Helen Mirren *was* Cleopatra. She was 20 years old.

Who will be in the new Tony Goldwyn directed Pal Joey? Will it be at the Motherfucking Music Box?

R80, I think some productions make the Hattie character into a Fanny Brice type. Jayne Houdyshell sure mugged her way through the song.

Does anybody really *like* Pal Joey outside of its score?

Helen Mirren, like Barbara Cook, was more attractive old. Age gave the impression that both were more attractive in their youth than they actually were.

Ethel Shutta did a lot of business throughout the number. Shutta was drinking for at least part of the run, right?

How many people here have an AOL email address?

Still bitchin', eh, r91?

Shutta’s stage business made sense.

Houdyshell filing her fingernails was an action of a high school drama student.

I think Mimi Hines did the best cat kick.

r76 Speaking of which...

R95 the actress who portrayed that Stritch was not good. She’s too guttural for Stritch.

This one did a better imitation.

That's Christine Pedi at R95 who otherwise does a great Stritch here...

Weren't some of those parodies recorded multiple times? I think there's at least two Liza One Notes.

A new production of Pal Joey??? Audra IS Vera Simpson. Sara Ramirez IS Joey!!!

I'm surprised no one tried to mount a revival with Matthew Morrison and Kristi Dawn.

"Oh my god, go outside for a few minutes and see if some sunlight will kill the mildew"

All is well,/'Least as far as their friends can tell./Please ignore the peculiar smell,/There's no cause for alarm./Mildew will do harm.

"I think some productions make the Hattie character into a Fanny Brice type. Jayne Houdyshell sure mugged her way through the song.

No, when Brice did it, it wasn't "mugging" but a burlesque, with a specific target in mind. And more than likely would have been a send up of Yiddishkeit.

"Brice wasn't a Sally. She'd just get another husband. And another."

You think you're funny but you're a lame ignoramus.

Speaking of Phyllis Lindstrom, Cloris could have made an excellent Phyllis in Follies.

The Kennedy Center is doing a new "Guys and Dolls" in October.

Jesus. Is Mrs. Ray Stark posting here? Or one of her crotch droppings?

Is Phillipa Soo Jewish?

I actually think Cloris is a bit more Carlotta.

No but James Iglehart is

Question: Do today’s theater artists have the talent to do Golden Age musicals?

They may be able to sing the score, but there always seems to be something missing. Maybe it’s that they don’t understand the tone of these shows or don’t have the acting style needed.

Golden Age musicals often have shitty books. And no one comes up through vaudeville any more. Though, some may argue that Youtubers, TikTokers etc. are the new vaudevillians.

All of it r109

Sorry, I meant r108 @r110

For r62, because it's at least something that happened this century.

But then

But it's all good.

I don't think it's just the performers. Times have changed. I've seen multiple productions of GYPSY in recent years and every audience I've been in has not gone for the balloon girl's sister with the big tits joke. I don't think the Jockos were to blame.

Groff were also a thing for a hot minute. Creel performed a song in the aftermath called "Pretending Love," that wasn't too flattering to Groffsauce.

Zachary Quinto should play Kendall’s doppelganger on Succession.

*Creel and Groff were a thing

She'd also be an interesting Sally, r102.

Cloris as Sally, Joan Collins as Phyllis.

Inside Jonathan Groff is a fat boy waiting to be let out.

Groff's moobs rival Lea's rack.

Is Groff's mother hispanic or something?

R4 Did you block R1 because of his ugly four-letter vocabulary?

[quote] Inside Jonathan Groff is a fat boy waiting to be let out.

Just the one, dear?

Does John Gallagher, Jr. have a missus?

R126 Too messy.

He has drug problems?

R100-But plenty of people in the business have mounted Matthew.

R125-God knows he's swallowed or been infused by enough of them.

r129...stories ?

In the restaurant where I waited tables... Hoo boy, the stuff I saw.

Didn't Cheyenne Jackson try to finger Jonathan Groff at Splash?

More times than I can count, r133!

R132 saw Dolly Gallagher Levi conning the respectable businessman Horace Vandergelder.

[quote]Malcolm and Boyd are not well.

A certain troll needs a new shtick.

No one's asked about Kathleen Chalfant's gf in a while.

R137, no one’s asked about Holland Taylor’s gf either.

Well, thankfully no one has asked for more Michael Arden nudes.

Lea Michele and Jonathan Groff in a revival of Same Time, Next Year. Broadway 2024-25 season.

r139, the last time we talked about nudes a few posters were appalled by our immorality and offered a stern lecture. No one has dared mention such things since.

Doesn't Martha Plimpton look like she could have been Stritch's daughter?

Were Isaac Cole Powells nudes the topic of discussion?

No, Riddle's. Powell's haven't come up in a while.

No, Plimpton has a cute quality about her, sort of like Winnie the Pooh. Stritch was an attention seeking, repulsive drunk.

Although it would have been interesting to see them together in a production of Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf.

You need to learn to spell correctly, R145

Sorry r146. Virginia Woof.

Plimpton has always been pretty tart.

There’s a chasm of difference between tart and cvnt. Plimpton is the former, Stritch is the latter.

Hannah Waddlingham should be Miranda Priestley

I could easily see Plimpton as Ruth Sherwood.

Hannah Waddingham should also be one of the replacements in Into the Woods.

She should really just be in everything.

[Quote] Waddlingham

Shame!

R152 Oh...you obviously didn't see her play The Witch in the Regent Park production.

R152 Exhibit A.

r154, no, but I have seen this, and considering the current revival is barely-staged, nearly-concert version where she wouldn't have to run around that lousy set, I'm sure she would excel. This is wonderful.

Damn. That belt is like sandpaper.

I couldn't post this last thread, but as long as we're still talking about the Witch, I've always liked Julia McKenzie's Witch's rap.

Imelda's "Moments In The Woods" is good.

Ethan Mordden's Broadway Musicals on CD actually recommends the London into the Woods over the Broadway one precisely because of McKenzie and Staunton. He mentions that everyone prefers Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife, but he personally likes Staunton better.

'Golden Age musicals often have shitty books.'

As opposed to the musicals of today's books which are imperishable.

What's been the last great book of a Broadway musical, anyway? Doesn't matter if it won the Tony, or doesn't 100 percent hold up to scrutiny.

R162, City of Angels or The Secret Garden.

Staunton as The Baker’s Wife is on late Act 2 Sweeney Todd level of crazy.

Everyone loved Joanna Gleason because she got the message across without banging anyone over the head. All of Staunton’s musical performances start at DEFCON 1 level.

I love Julia McKenzie, but that Witch’s Rap is awful. Her rolled r’s wreak havoc with the lyric, and she totally loses the laugh on “but that’s another story …”

[quote] Ethan Mordden's Broadway Musicals on CD

Is that a book or magazine article or something else? I couldn’t find it.

A few clips of the Gilliam ITW in this news report

I am hoping it's a hit and does transfer to the West End just as a fuck you to the Old Vic and it's easily-offended staff

Leaving ITW for a moment -- have the Woke ever bowed to Sondheim and Prince for insisting in 1976 that the Broadway Pacific Overtures be cast only with genuine Japanese/Japanese American people?

While on it, does anyone know how Pac Ovs made it to the stage at all? What producer reads THAT treatment and is so excited about all the money it can make him that when he sees the rider saying he can only cast it with Japanese men, he goes right ahead? Was Max Bialystock looking for a new property? Despite the quality of the show, rarely can anything have had Surefire Flop decals as blazing as it had, from first idea to closing night. I know it was for the Bicentennial, but does that explain how they got away with it?

Saw the original Pacific Overtures.

It was a beautiful production. The music had me from the opening number, the production values were first-rate and the creative use of that massive space was brilliant.

Pac Ovs?? Did it play the Win Gar?

Which upcoming shows are we looking forward to trashing? Dea Sales? So Li It Ho? Dev Pra? KPo? Pia Less?

Wait! Lea M’s child is named ‘Ever’??

R112, I can just imagine the ways that sadist Quinto tortured Groff's needy bottom. /smh

I always imagined that Quito's character on AHS: Asylum wasn't too far off from the real Quinto.

I also hate Julia McKenzie’s Stay With Me where she uses soprano voice instead of belt.

Don't misunderstand me, R169. I completely envy you and that OBC is the production, of every musical ever, that I most wish had been beautifully filmed. It's just that if ever a show wasn't going to be a hit with audiences, that was the one. Quite aside from the whole Kabuki thing, and that it was being incredibly rude about the America everyone was supposed to be celebrating, it had no romance, indeed no plot apart from the general sweep of history, and Next! can only be described as scarifying.

Gimme a break, R170 and R171. I had already spelled it out in full in my post before that, unlike the acronym trolls who abound on here.

[quote] I always imagined that Quinto’s character on AHS: Asylum wasn't too far off from the real Quinto.

Groff was on a Netflix podcast where he spoke about an unnamed boyfriend who refused to fly in economy so when they went on vacations together, they would never sit together: Groff always sat in coach and the boyfriend sat in first class. The boyfriend would proceed to get rip roaringly drunk on the flights and tell the flight attendant to send his half-eaten snacks and the last sips of his champagne over to Groff’s seat in economy.

He was very obviously talking about Quinto before he got sober.

Wow, that Waddingham performance is awful.

I got to see Waddingham in ALNM in London (at the Garrick, same production that transferred to Broadway). I did not know who she was but she was sensational. Both the humor and the pathos were delivered perfectly. And she is so fucking gorgeous that you can understand the effect she has on everybody. I have been trying to find bootL*g but nothing. Sigh.

R179, just a bit.

"City of Angels or The Secret Garden."

No and most certainly no.

The last truly great book for a musical was URINETOWN, brilliantly conceived and executed. Before that you have to go all the way back to SWEENEY TODD.

[quote]The last truly great book for a musical was URINETOWN, brilliantly conceived and executed.

You're dismissed.

Hairspray. Funny, well paced concise. Keeps the story clean and moving forward but still lets the songs do the story and emotional work.

The best thing about the London recording of ITW is the beautifully audio engineered crash that happens at the beginning of Act 2 when the giant steps on the Baker’s house. The rest of it is… not good. Miscast, badly sung and acted.

Urinetown? lol. Gurl, bye.

[quote]Don't misunderstand me, [R169]. I completely envy you and that OBC is the production, of every musical ever, that I most wish had been beautifully filmed.

Surely you must know that the original production of PACIFIC OVERTURES was, indeed, pro-shot. So do you mean that you don't think it was well done? I know some people wish the sound recording were better, because it's a little thin and not in stereo. But other than that, I think it's a fine audio/visual record of the production, and very satisfying.

r173 God, it'd be the boring, vanilla, frau-safe version of Marlon Brando and James Dean.

The London recording of ITW is better than the 2002 revival though. The tempos were sped up and the songs don’t register.

R166: It's a book. If you go to Amazon and search "Ethan Mordden" under Books, it should be the first title in the scroll.

Alright we’ve got Waddingham Boggess and Peil for a LNM revival - add Tyler Ellis as Henrik - who can handle Fredrik?

I’ve always wished there could be an animated film version of Pacific Overtures which used that incredible OBC album as its soundtrack.

Steven Pasquale

[Quote] I’ve always wished there could be an animated film version of Pacific Overtures which used that incredible OBC album as its soundtrack.

Dream bigger, man.

Excited for a 'Pal Joey' revival, although I wonder if they'll use the book from the Plipton revival. I kinda hope they don't.

In Quinto's defense (for flying First Class), he was much better known, and had also been on a huge cult television show that was not that long ago canceled. I would imagine he'd be bugged and bothered throughout the flight in coach. Getting drunk and sending the snacks back is gross, of course.

I'll bet Groff flies first class now.

[quote]Getting drunk and sending the snacks back is gross, of course.

I'd take 'em.

Groff does not fly first class. He was raised Amish. Flying first class is a sin of pride.

The religious indoctrination of childhood stains as deeply as chocolate on a white shirt.

Groff was raised Mennonite. Close to Amish, but less restrictive.

Is it that he doesn't want to be proud or that he's frugal? Either way, what a thrill that must be for at least one out of every hundred coach passengers.

I'm not famous and I won't fly anymore unless it's at least business class. Flying is too horrendous these days. People are animals with no common courtesy. I can't even stand to sit next to anyone. I prefer to just get in my seat, put the bed down and sleep until the plane lands. I don't want anyone to talk to me, or breathe on me, or complain about their freedumbs.

I slept with one of Mako's understudies. He had a smallish but not negligible dick, a great body and was fun as Hell.

If they'd done "Pacific Overtures" in the '50s, we'd have gotten Mickey Rooney (in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" makeup) and Marlon Brando (in "Teahouse of the August Moon" makeup.)

[quote] I slept with one of Mako's understudies.

Now there's a story that oughta be worth a free Pink Squirrel at Don't Tell Mama's.

[quote]All of Staunton’s musical performances start at DEFCON 1 level.

Imagine what she's like in bed.

R204, 🤮

[quote]A new production of Pal Joey??? Audra IS Vera Simpson. Sara Ramirez IS Joey!!!

The new Pal Joey in the works is written for a white Vera and a black Joey.

What's taking The Music Box?

The August Wilson is taking The Music Box in the rear while The Gershwin looks on in bemusement.

Notorious swingers, The Lunt-Fontanne, is trying to get it on with The James Earl Jones and The Lena Horne.

But what about The James! People, please think about The James!

As if Lea flies coach

Zach should have payed for his bf to fly with him in first.

[quote]All of Staunton’s musical performances start at DEFCON 1 level.

And not only her musical performances. Did you ever see her in the movie TAKING WOODSTOCK, co-starring (speak of the devil) Jonathan Groff? Imelda reached new heights of unbearable overacting in that one, to the point that there was not an ounce of reality in her portrayal of the character.

Zach was a mean drunk. Miles dumped him for a few other reasons.

Have we ever discussed the Dan Dietz books here? He has massive volumes going through every Broadway musical production decade by decade. I just bought 1900’s Broadway Musicals, and I’m geeking out on it. They’re very expensive, about $150 per volume, but well worth it.

Didn't Richard Greenberg write the libretto for the Roundabout PAL JOEY? And wasn't there some homosexual element introduced into the plot? I think his adaptation had been done at a regional theater in Chicago or maybe Boston in the 1990s with Donna Murphy as Vera (curious as to who may have played the other roles).

I saw the Roundabout production (Joe Mantello cannot direct musicals and got VERY lucky with WICKED) but remember very little except the buckets of flop sweat streaming off of hot and hunky Matthew Ritsch's handsome forehead.

Speaking of Pal Joey, did anyone here see Stockyard Channing in The Rink?

"Groff does not fly first class. He was raised Amish. Flying first class is a sin of pride.

The religious indoctrination of childhood stains as deeply as chocolate on a white shirt."

No, dear. It's just cheap DL'ism.

Of course he does R195. Anyone who can afford it does. Coach is miserable. Flying is miserable period, but at least first class can mitigate some of the misery.

Stockard was very good in The Rink and the show was better balanced without Liza being Liza. Singing was thin compared to Liza but she played off Chita beautifully. I preferred her to Liza.

Well, plus Liza was on coke or coming down off coke through the whole run.

I wouldn't be offended by sending snacks back to me in coach. If there teeth marks, I would.

*If there were

It's funny about Groff back in coach while Quinto flew first class. Didn't Groff make his boyfriend sit way in the back balcony rather than beside him when he attended the tonys for Spring Awakening?

Donna in Chicago, September 23

R219 He most certainly does. He made millions off of Frozen.

It sounds like he was resentful about being the less rich one in a relationship with an older, more successful gay man. The tables have turned now, however, and he actually has a much more lucrative career than Quinto. I’m sure he makes his less established twink boyfriends fly coach now, just as Quinto did to him.

Donna has a similar face to Rue McLanahan. I guess it's a rhinoplasty + facelift(s) combo.

Quinto must have some decent Spock money. They made two or three of them, right?

I don't think Groff was resentful. He's frugal. Didn't he cycle everywhere while living in New York?

[quote]The tables have turned now, however, and he actually has a much more lucrative career than Quinto.

Citation needed

No actor who ever worked for Disney made millions.

Speaking of Hannah Waddingham playing the witch....here she is in the London production of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rices Wizard of Oz

English not your first language, is it OP?

r233 There's nothing wrong with the thread title. It just needs quotation marks before "is" and after the question mark to make it clearer.

O'Hara said her fee at the time of Parent Trap was 250K. Disney tried to talk her down. She said no that was her fee. Of course he got back at her by giving Hayley Mills star billing when it was in O'Hara's contract that she get star billing. Her lawyer told her not to fight Disney. Even if she won it wasn't worth the fallout.

I wonder how much MacMurray got for his films. Except for THM they were huge hits. And though Andrews didn't get points on Mary Poppins when it was in theaters I wonder if she gets money in perpetuity for the soundtrack and video releases. After all Peggy Lee though doing Lady and the Tramp for a straight fee when the video was released and became an enormous hit she fought Disney either for royalties or more money not sure which but she won.

"Urinetown? lol. Gurl, bye."

Yup, that's the extent of your sophistication.

R236 Indeed. Right up there with the wit of the Urinetown book.

PO was controversial at the time only for putting men in women's roles as in the style of kabuki. People in the Japanese community were bothered by this and wrote to the NY Times in protest. Prince stuck to his guns(thank god) and included women in Next unfortunately very weak and nowhere near what came before it.

By the way The Grand Kabuki came to the Met I believe it was in the 80s and it was one of the greatest things I've ever seen in my life. Breathtaking.

DeuxMoi just dropped that Ethan Slater has been cast as Boq in the Wicked movie.

Speaking of Martha Plimpton, I think she should try a Shelley Winters biopic.

Who would play Sally Kirkland?

RIP Devil Wears Prada

How would folks DLers feel about Nicole Scherzinger playing the witch?

Take two:

How would you DLers feel about Nicole Scherzinger playing the witch?

Jill Zaria is the Witch!

Nichole Shersingze is a tacky lounge singer.

Dreadful.

Well, r246, there's tacky lounges and there's...

Miss Ava Williams!

22:55

It deserved less than that R236.

[quote]Leaving ITW for a moment -- have the Woke ever bowed to Sondheim and Prince for insisting in 1976 that the Broadway Pacific Overtures be cast only with genuine Japanese/Japanese American people?

How soon we forget. ANTIFA had Sondheim and Prince declared Righteous Among the Nations back in 1997. It was all over the papers.

Osnes sues Post.

[quote]Broadway Star Sues Newspaper For Defamation

I guess she could use the money now that she's gone from playing principal roles on Broadway to singing for some circus in Nashville.

Surely The Devil Wears Prada will shut down forever in Chicago? There's really no one alive who can fix the problems there.

But it is the kind of grand flop that could be celebrated with a well-researched and juicily written expose. I hope someone smart was taking notes and keeping a diary.

It needs to come to Broadway for a truly grand flop. You haven't flopped until you flop on Broadway.

Anyone see Mary Testa in The Rink?

Chita & Stockard

petty is as petty does

R256, was she one of the workman?

R259 She danced the dream rape.

[quote]If they'd done "Pacific Overtures" in the '50s, we'd have gotten Mickey Rooney (in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" makeup) and Marlon Brando (in "Teahouse of the August Moon" makeup.)

No we wouldn't, R202. My original point was that even in the 70s Sondheim and Prince must have absolutely insisted on the casting the show got. There was no purity in casting on Broadway at that time.

Thank you, R186. That's a much clearer copy than the one I've seen, which was very muddy and in the wrong aspect ratio.

Couldn't they have gotten an actual hot guy who can sing for Franklin S in Merrily like Aaron Tveit or Jeremy Jordan? Count me as one not enthused for Groff's sissiness in the role.

Aaron Tveit is hot and can sing, but personality-wise he's a whole lot of nothing as a leading man, in my experience. (I thought that he was ideal in NEXT TO NORMAL, which I first saw Off-Broadway, but I've never been impressed by him once elevated to full lead, as in CATCH ME IF YOU CAN and MOULIN ROUGE.) Groff, by contrast, has tremendous stage presence and could be wonderful as Franklin.

Aaron Tveit as Franklin Shepard would turn the vacuum that is Merrily We Roll Along into an infinite black hole.

Franklin Shepard has never been played by any actor with personality in any of its many productions.

Disagree. Michael Hayden was terrific in DC as part of the SS Celebration.

R227 I think it’s just that they both have what’s referred to as terminal Irish face.

Michael Hayden should have had a bigger career, in NY theatre as well as TV and film. What happened?

Bland R268. He was quite stunning when he was beautiful and young, but there wasn’t much actual personality or evidence of real talent. Milquetoast. People got bored pretty quickly.

[quote] Couldn't they have gotten an actual hot guy who can sing for Franklin S in Merrily like Aaron Tveit or Jeremy Jordan?

Talent-wise, both Tveit and Jordan are a poor man’s Groff.

Just admit you get off on them because they’re “straight.”

Lol does anyone still believe that Tveit is Straight

R271 That’s why it was in quotations.

Regardless, it’s no surprise that DL would jump into traffic to sing the virtues of a closet case over an actor who has been vocally out of the closet for almost 15 years.

I loved Michael Hayden in Edward Albee's The Lady from Dubuque at Signature Theatre. I had had no experience with the play previously, as it was a quick Broadway flop (12 performances). Albee - never one to go the path you might expect - was depicting a couple where one of the two is succumbing to a terminal illness. Most entertainments, including most Hollywood weepies, focus on the dying person, but Albee wraps the play around the surviving spouse. Hayden went to some extraordinary depths of anguish. I think Brantley, in one of his better reviews, really captures the experience and Hayden's performance, even if I wished he wrote more about it.

I'd prefer Tveit and Jordan over Groff too.

With the right director Tveit or Groff could work. The role needs a sure directorial take to portray a backstory and magnetic cypher that is Frank.

Jeremy Jordan would have been a good Charley.

Michael Hayden had a far more interesting demeanor than Patrick Wilson. I compare them because they seemed to come to fame in NY around the same time, both in musical theatre. But Patrick has had some success in Hollywood which Michael never achieved.

and we only have sizemeat reports about Patrick.

Michael Hayden makes Patrick Wilson seem like Rip Taylor.

He could sing "Hung & Happy" instead of "Rich & Happy" and the entire show would make sense

You know, why isn't Frank's opening party an orgy? Why aren't all the party scenes in Merrily orgies? Why wasn't Company set at a birthday orgy?

Why wasn't Follies an orgy, other than the fact that they'd all need tetnus shots, getting it on in a soon-to-be-demolished building?

[Quote] Talent-wise, both Tveit and Jordan are a poor man’s Groff.

Tveit and Jordan sing much better than Groff does.

All of Edinburgh Fringe is abuzz about LIZARD BOY!

Thank God R 282 brought us back to " Follies," where every theater thread belongs.

Thoughts, theatre friends?

This is unsurprising to some of us who've gone back to live theatre. But still bad news.

So is there any future (or producer money) for "The Devil Wears Prada"?

Lovely Ladies, Kind Gentlemen the musical version of Teahouse of the August Moon was lauded for its progressive casting in 1970.

from the NYT article:

Around New York, and across the country, audiences remain well below prepandemic levels. From regional theaters to Broadway, and from local orchestras to grand opera houses, performing arts organizations are reporting persistent — and worrisome — drops in attendance.

Fewer than half as many people saw a Broadway show during the season that recently ended than did so during the last full season before the coronavirus pandemic. The Met Opera saw its paid attendance fall to 61 percent of capacity, down from 75 percent before the pandemic. Many regional theaters say ticket sales are down significantly.

These days the only live show someone can see for cheap is a rodeo.

Anyone else hear of the musician's at PHANTOM threatening a walk out over the heat? The A/C at The Majestic has been broken for years, and they've yet to fix it.

How cheap are they, r290?

[quote]Anyone else hear of the musician's at PHANTOM threatening a walk out over the heat? The A/C at The Majestic has been broken for years, and they've yet to fix it.

That's very hard to believe. Unless they think they can get away with it because the vast majority of the audience these days is from other countries where A/C is not so much takin for granted and is usually not set at frigid levels.

Yes, it's true and the AFM got involved.

Every production of “Merrily” misses the point by a mile.

In the beginning (end of the show), Franklin is celebrating Sputnik, which was Russian technology.

When you view Franklin as a closet Communist, it all makes sense. His need to parody the Kennedys, his friendship with Mary (Ayn Rand), his marrying a dumb hick from Oklahoma who won’t question his actions, it’s all there. And when Charley sings “Franklin Shepherd Inc” on live tv, he’s signaling that he knows Franklin is a pinko.

Merrily is a warning about Communists posing as normal Americans.

People are so stupid. Audiences have dropped because the theatres dropped the mask mandates so that the hillbilly tourists would come back… and no fucking shit that MAGA doesn’t want discount tickets to A Strange Loop.

They want cheap tickets to Music Man…which doesn’t exist.

The cultured theatre goers therefore don’t go out as much because they don’t want to catch Covid for the 4th time to be lectured from the stage about how awful Cis-white gay men are. The people that would agree with their sentiments aren’t paying for tickets.

The majority of ticket buyers are gay men and women.

What did they think would happen?!??

Tell me about it R231.

Television, records, and movies at the studio and on loanout.....$1500 a week tops.....and a 40 week guarantee.

And he owns my goddamned name.

Sally is back!

Sally plays Castle Frankenstein

Will she have a driver?

[quote]Why wasn't Follies an orgy, other than the fact that they'd all need tetnus shots, getting it on in a soon-to-be-demolished building?

Because Viagra didn't exist in the '70s.

I've seen "Merrily" a bunch of times, and the best production I saw was with Aaron Lazar, Wayne Brady, and Donna Vivino--and directed by DL fave Michael Arden.

the pill ya didn't take...

Here’s a photo of an early workshop rehearsal of Follies. Unfortunately, Mrs. James Goldman happened to pop into the rehearsal after a rather boozy lunch and nearly strangled Sondheim with her fox stole. The next day, casting notices were listed in Backstage for women 18-65 for a new Sondheim musical.

The simple reason audiences haven't returned to Broadway or most other theater is because the shows are not worth the ticket prices. Though even if they were free I'm not sure many more people would show up. Granted, theater has been in a huge artistic decline for decades but during Covid everyone got used to staying home and finding suitable entertainment on their computers. They got out of the habit of going out and realized they could be just as satisfied staying home.

I'm one of those people who used to see just about everything on Broadway and lots off-Broadway but now I only see a show once every other month or so. There's just nothing much that interests me.

Are people returning to other forms of audience-based entertainment in greater %s? E.g., movies? Concerts? Sports?

That's the real metric.

If there's a drop across the board, then Broadway may be no worse off than others on a relative basis.

Going to the theatre really has become deeply unpleasant.

Last show I saw (into the woods) was packed full with tourists - no one had a mask on - they were screaming and cheering like animals, there were children talking during the show and no one told them to shut the fuck up. I kept thinking I had paid $102 to be cramped in like live cattle in the rear mezzanine, I could barely see because the flyover fraus in front of me were learning forward. Oh and half the cast was out so I was seeing understudies.

Afterwards, I told myself I’m taking a break from going to shows unless it’s something I really want to see and it’s on tdf.

So I’m not surprised ticket sales aren’t great.

Aaron Lazar. Finally someone mentioned a Frank who isn't a bore.

R307, audience behavior was already like that before the pandemic. Going to Broadway shows (musicals, especially) had become unenjoyable so, after a lifetime of theatregoing, I no longer have the desire to attend Broadway.

I've been seeing mostly off-bway and downtown shows, and audience levels have been insanely low.

It's not sustainable. Difficult enough to keep a commercial show running. All the smaller theatres are deeply hurting for paying audiences.

(on the bright side downtown theatre audiences are keeping their masks on.)

I expect NY theatre companies to close in the next season that have been around for decades.

[quote]These days the only live show someone can see for cheap is a rodeo.

Laura Osnes is going to be singing at a rodeo after she wraps up her current circus gig.

*

This should pack em in!

[quote]I've been seeing mostly off-bway and downtown shows, and audience levels have been insanely low.

Well, I just saw THE BUTCHER BOY -- not exactly what one would think of as a highly commercial property -- and the audience was filled. I know it's a subscription theater, but still, it was just a regular performance, not the opening or a press performance or anything like that. What shows did you see with insanely low audience numbers?

Do we really need yet another revival of that play?

[quote] the audience was filled

no way of knowing if they paid

I saw the 2015 Encores production of A New Brain at City Center where the sexy Aaron Lazar played Jonathan Groff’s boyfriend. Ana Gasteyer was in it too and was quite fabulous, I recall.

The audience was full for The Butcher Boy when I saw it, but most of the elderly were gone after intermission.

Some photos of the Gilliam ITW

I was at last Thursday's performance of Into the Woods... rear mezzanine as well. Before the show a large group of teens all had their phones out, so I was already wondering which one I'd have to instruct in theater etiquette, but surprisingly, they all turned them off for the entire show. And also, although there was a bit too much cheering, for such a lyric heavy show, the audience was really attentive. No understudies.

Gilliam's ITW looks great. Whatever that is on Broadway should just close.

That Hollywood Reporter article at R302 is right on the money in its analysis of the insurmountable weakness in Merrily's story:

[quote]By the time we rewind to 1968, we get a refrain of the central trio’s “Old Friends,” a charming song heard earlier. But without the proper groundwork, their bond feels inauthentic no matter how much they sing about it, and their estrangement carries little emotional heft.

MWRA is a"howdunnit" (as opposed to a "whodunnit") but the drama never traces back any of the characters storylines to a surprising motivating incident; there is no "Rosebud" moment (a la Citizen Kane) where what we've witnessed suddenly gains new perspective. The plot is a series of small compromises (yes, like happens in life itself) that inevitably leads back to the main characters' idealistic youth. It's a fatuous observation by the authors and one the audience knows is coming from the beginning of the show. Where is the insight? The revelation? You know, the DRAMA?

Broadway, like Sondheim, is dead.

Broadway has many good tunes, though.

Why the fuck are we even mounting a Merrily revival in 2022? Into The Woods is extremely accessible and beloved by those in the flyover states, so that I get, but who outside of the theater scene really gives a fuck about Merrily?

"We", r325?

Who outside of the theatre scene has heard of the NYTW?

Daniel Radcliffe's millions of fans, perhaps, r325?

I'm sure they're good actors but I'm kinda shocked that The Public couldn't get a starrier cast for their Raisin.

Radcliffe only sold in H2$, right? I think Equus didn't do all that well.

Amy Sedaris passed, I heard, r329.

NYTW is mounting Merrily because with Daniel Radcliffe it will make money and generate huge publicity for the theater.

I imagine the Artistic Director approached Daniel Radcliffe and said, “We’ll mount any production you want.” I bet Radcliffe said he wanted Sondheim street cred and Merrily was what he chose, probably after seeing the London production.

Bless you, R186, that Pacific Overtures video is miles better than the other one I had bookmarked, which was very blurry and muddy-sounding. HOW I wish I'd seen it at the Winter Garden... (HOW I wish Lincoln Center would spend some money and revive it at the Beaumont now.)

Merrily with Radcliffe and Groff will sell on their names alone and easily be the most profitable production of this show to date. I think Groff is an excellent choice for Frank and will bring the role some likability and personality. He'd also be a great Bobby in Company which is another role that needs a strong personality to make any sort of impression since there isn't much on the page.

Both Merrily and Company are flawed, but Company is so frequently amusing and funny as little vignettes that you don't notice as much. You know something's missing, but the pacing is so fast that it doesn't bother you as much as you're watching it. Merrily has very low dramatic stakes and you never warm up to the characters no matter who's playing them. It's a fantastic score, but it really should just be done as a concert. It simply doesn't work. Some productions have come closer than others, but none of them have really ever been satisfying the way a great show should be.

Radcliffe isn't infallible. The Cripple of Inishmaan was a huge flop, but for some reason The Lifespan of a Fact did well. Equus did well for a while, but business dropped off. So he does business, but he's not guaranteed. However, I think Groff is a draw, maybe more of a draw than Radcliffe at this point, especially where musical theater is concerned. If it was just Radcliffe, coupled with the Merrily curse, I'd say it was not a guarantee, but this will be at least the size of Lindsay Mendez' ass.

Groff has never sold. He's not box office.

I don't think it's a good idea to cast a Bobby who pings.

Little Shop of Horrors begs to differ.

The delusion of the Groff fans here is hilarious

He doesn't ping he just seems like he grew up in a cult that worships corn.

Hon, he pings, he pings.

[quote] Little Shop of Horrors begs to differ.

Little Shop with Groff was profitable.

It's a shame that he Cripple of Inishmaan flopped. I really enjoyed it, and it's probably Radcliffe's best performance.

Why does Radcliffe refuse to do theatre in the UK?

Didn't he do a Beckett before the lockdown?

ALNM question...

Does it every explicitly say that Fredricka is Fredrik's daughter or it is just assumed by her name?

I’d love to be a fly on the wall at those Raisin In the Sun rehearsals with Tonya P. I’m sure it’s an interesting experience let’s say.

It is STRONGLY implied that she is his daughter.

[quote] The Public couldn't get a starrier cast for their Raisin.

Seriously. I was available!

[quote] Little Shop with Groff was profitable.

Yes, that was what I was saying.

He pings !

R273, God bless you -- I never dreamed I'd see THE LADY FROM DUBUQUE mentioned on DL, and not just mentioned but intelligently discussed! Hayden did indeed anchor that superb production, and though I didn't see the original, I've often wondered since whether it and/or others have missed the point by paying more attention to the Lady than the actual main character.

R296 has given a good account of why audiences have dropped off, but there's another factor too. All the straight couples I know who used to say they loved serious theatre, and went regularly, usually to straight plays, have stopped going. It IS partly the Woke factor, but it's mainly that what they really did was have a nice night out with friends every time they went to the theatre. Often they would meet different friends before different plays. When it became hard to meet for dinner and a show without risking Covid, they altered their "nice night out" arrangements and now they do something else and don't seem to miss the theatre at all. I imagine some of the same applies to opera and ballet.

I reckon that apart from the cultured-older-lady demographic, which is small and disappearing, very few straight people REALLY love the theatre, even when it's good. University-aged kids used to be another relatively reliable group, but they're only into Woke now, and they certainly can't afford Broadway prices. Hamilton may turn out to be known as The Show that Killed Broadway because of the ludicrous height at which it set its prices.

Seatgeek Rises On Broadway To Become Powerhouse Primary Ticket Seller:

Michael Hayden was also wonderful and very sexy as the lead in the AR Gurney play FAR EAST at the Newhouse around 2000. Maybe its was his NY theater follow-up after CAROUSEL? And he was also a great Prince Hal in LCT's HENRY IV opposite Kevin Kline's Falstaff a few years later. I think he was a last minute replacement for Billy Crudup. That was a gorgeous production, one of LCT's best.

R355 Did Laurents try to fuck him, as well?

R346, I don't have a script, but I thought Fredrika refers to Madame Armfeldt as grandmother at some point.

The character breakdown describes her as "Desiree's witty daughter who is very self-contained and formal with the precise diction of the convent-trained."

When I hear that guy Patel running for Congress, I keep thinking of "Glengarry Glen Ross" where someone keeps saying there are all these Patels (or something like that). It's supposed to be a very common Indian name, like Smith or Jones in the U.S. Not voting for him though.

Great post r353, except before Hamilton people said the same thing about The Producers and so on, so the historical raising of prices is a separate issue from your desire to blame Hamilton for the fall of civilization

[quote]R346, I don't have a script, but I thought Fredrika refers to Madame Armfeldt as grandmother at some point.

Because Fredrika is Desiree's daughter and Madame Armfeldt is Desiree's mother. Hence, Madame Armfeldt is Fredrika's grandmother.

R359, I have no desire to blame Hamilton for anything, but it was twice as expensive as the next most expensive thing I saw on Broadway the year before the pandemic, which does seem excessive. $850 on a Saturday night for any seat in the stalls without restricted vision. You can get a car for not much more.

Hyperbole is your middle name, r361.

[quote] Does it every explicitly say that Fredricka is Fredrik's daughter or it is just assumed by her name?

Here is the dialogue relating to Fredricka’s parentage, the only time it’s discussed:

Desiree: Oh, that was just Fredricka’s little stratagem.

Henrick: Fredricka? Your child is called Fredricka?

Desiree: Yes

Henrick: Ah!

Desiree: Really Fredrick, what vanity. As if you were they only Fredrick in the world.

I've heard rumors that Glynis Johns and Hermione Gingold did not get along during ALNM. Does anyone know what they might have bickered about?

"You drank my booze! I hid it in the lav!"

Yes, but why would Desiree give that name to her child just because she liked the name? And why would the playwright even touch on the subject if not to suggest that he was the father?

He probably is the father but Desiree doesn't want to come right out with it. That's for... Later.

PS. Does anyone remember if the child is in the Bergman film? Is she given a name?

Of course, Fredrik is the father. I can't believe anyone is questioning this. It's clearly what's intended.

What has happened to Datalounge when a Hugh Wheeler script is too subtle? Where is style, where is skill, where is forethought?

R368, There is no Fredricka or any other child in “Smiles of a Summer Night”

There most certainly is a child in Smiles of a Summer night, but it's a boy rather than a girl, Desiree's child, Fredrik. He's younger than the musical's Fredricka and has a very small role. But he's there, all the same.

That London Into the Woods looks just hideous. Awful design, ugly costumes.

I agree, r373, very over-designed. Nothing left to the audience's imagination.

Bath, not London

I LOVE that Lea Michele is probably off somewhere in Funny Girl rehearsal, shitting in Tovah Feldshu’s party city wig and you bitches are going on an on about A LIttle Night Music text

I think the designs for the Terry Gilliam ITW are freaking brilliant. But I get that the "toy theatre" aesthetic probably doesn’t have the emotional currency for an American audience that it has for the British. Do children play with those cardboard toy theatre kits in the US?

What's taking The Music Box?

What's taking The Nederlander?

[quote]I have no desire to blame Hamilton for anything, but it was twice as expensive as the next most expensive thing I saw on Broadway the year before the pandemic, which does seem excessive. $850 on a Saturday night for any seat in the stalls without restricted vision. You can get a car for not much more.

And a chorus boy for even less.

The Terry Gilliam ITW is just so ugly. Dark and ugly. Nothing new in that approach.

I'm taking the fucking Music Box BACK!

*

Chin strap!

Just a year after SLM, Babs was wearing a bikini in SOmerhing More

And then she gained something more and out went the bikini.

Babs claimed that she had a meeting for the OBC of Follies but that she looked too good at that time to be cast.

Another new Elton John musical, this one with Jake Shears and James Graham about Tammy Faye Baker. Katie Brayben as Tammy aye and DL fav Andrew Rannells as Jim. Opens in London in October.

Who is Katie Brayben when she's at home?

She won an Olivier for playing Carole King in Beautiful. I mean, Google is your friend and all that.

I never miss an Elton John and Jake Shears musical.

I sure as hell do, r391...

Ugh, why is Jake Shears still bothering? The world moved on from him years ago.

Getting back to ZIP!, I've never understood a couple of references in the lyrics.

Zip! It took intellect to master my art.

Zip! Who the hell is Margie Hart?

And.....

Zip! My artistic taste is classic and choice.

Zip! Who the hell's Rosita Royce?

Who were Margie Hart and Rosita Royce? Famous strippers of the 1930s?

I thought Jake Shears was writing a drag musical for Broadway?

Tammy Faye isn't drag?

Use your Google, r394.

Seriously, r394, the information's right under your nose. (Yes, they were both strippers)

Schopenhauer was tight. Down there.

r398=Blaze Starr

Sally Rand as well and I knew of her. But not Hart or Royce.

So how does the guy who composed Pal Joey also compose The Sound of Music?

r402: Booze

I am NOT chopped liver!

When was this lyric used? Never heard it before:

Zip! My artistic taste is classic and choice.

Zip! Who the hell's Rosita Royce?

What I've heard is: Zip! My artistic taste is classic and dear.

Zip! Who the hell's Lily St. Cyr?

See Lea Michele and Tovah Feldshuh in Rehearsal for Funny Girl

R395-I'm sure any new Elton John musical will be a drag.

Tech-impaired geezers are so tiresome. Learn to do a web search. Learn how to link an online source or a pic, if you're referring to one in your post.

The world will not spin backwards, no matter how much you miss the original production of "Follies."

[quote] except before Hamilton people said the same thing about The Producers and so on, so the historical raising of prices is a separate issue from your desire to blame Hamilton for the fall of civilization

the pricing of The Producers and Hamilton both DID absolutely contribute to the ongoing weakness of Broadway. These shows played a short game to maximize income while damaging the overall business model of the street. The public pays more and more for big-ticket shows and goes less and less often and never to mid-range shows which can't survive.

I seriously hope they rest age that hokey curtain call when Lea takes over.

according to this article about the Groban/Ashford Sweeney Todd:

Company will return 1/3 of its investment

{quote] Last season’s production of Company, which was written by Sondheim and George Furth and opened two weeks after Sondheim’s death, had 265 regular performances and closed at a loss. Buffeted by the Broadway shutdown, Covid-19 variants, pricey pandemic protocols and some mixed reviews, it will return about a third of its $13 million capitalization

Merrily is planned for Broadway

[quote] The [Merrily] director’s sister, producer Sonia Friedman — whose company is a subsidiary of ATG — signed investment papers with Chocolate Factory Productions and Patrick Catullo to raise $2 million to enhance the musical. The “current plan,” according to the papers filed with New York Attorney General Letitia James, is to present the first-ever Broadway revival of Merrily after the off-Broadway tryout.

[quote]Last season’s production of Company, which was written by Sondheim and George Furth and opened two weeks after Sondheim’s death,

That sentence makes it sound like Sondheim and Furth were like Jonathan Larson.

Josh Groban, at 41, is too young? Cariou was 39 when he played Sweeney.

Previews were playing and Sondheim went to a performance.

It's funny when people speak of elders today fleeing at intermission because of subject matter(that's what I assume. I know nothing about The Butcher Boy) These people in their youth were going to the original production of Hair.

They probably weren't expecting something gruesome.

R415 Hair was good.

r411 Given that Company got $8.85 million in an insurance payout when the pandemic hit, and then a further $9,897,200 as a SVOG, those are Rudin type returns. I wouldn't be surprised to hear threats of lawsuits from the investors.

[quote]And why would the playwright even touch on the subject if not to suggest that he was the father?

That's exactly why he touched on the subject. I don't understand your confusion.

[quote]Do children play with those cardboard toy theatre kits in the US?

I'm American, and, as a gayling, I would have killed for one of those.

If the rumors that Groff is out of the Merrily transfer due to a television commitment, I would love to Andrew Garfield come back to Broadway as Franklin.

Garfield is another Charley.

Shawn Mendes as Franklin.

[quote]In 2020, a year in which theaters were dark for nine and a half months, Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis earned $1.15 million in pay and benefits, more than any other nonprofit theater leader in New York.

...

[quote]The tax return, which details compensation for calendar year 2020, tells a different story. Eustis, one of the highest-profile figures in nonprofit theater since assuming leadership of the storied organization in 2005, was paid $901,000, up from $807,000 in 2019. Benefits and deferred pay were valued at an additional $255,000.

...

[quote]Among longtime senior staffers, Associate Artistic Director Mandy Hackett saw a 6 percent drop in her pay and benefits in 2020, to $222,000. Production executive Ruth Sternberg’s overall compensation dropped 11 percent to $226,000. In the past decade, Sternberg’s annual comp increased about 25 percent, Hackett’s was up 50 percent and Eustis’ compensation tripled, in line with the growth of the budget.

[quote]Do children play with those cardboard toy theatre kits in the US?

No, they play with these...

Just kidding, but ... making his triumphant return to Broadway, Cameron Dallas IS Frank.

Colton Haynes can sing a little.

Lea better not trying anything with Tovah. Tovah can be nice when she wants to, but she can be very tough. And her husband is a wheeler-dealer bigshot lawyer to boot.

I don't think Barbara Cook started to put on weight until after "A Grass Harp", with its wonderful score, was a quick flop. I don't know happened -- granted, there were rock musicals around that time, but couldn't she do summer stock in "Mame" or "Dolly" until something suitable came up on Broadway before she... well, took to drink and whatever led her to gain weight?

R421 I can’t see Groff committing to the NYTW run if he wouldn’t at least try to make part of the Broadway transfer work. He’s such a golden retriever.

[quote] Colton Haynes can sing a little.

Colton Haynes does everything a little.

Did Cook start drinking over Arthur Hill?

Could Cook have gone into "Who's Afraid of VIrginia Woolf" as a replacement Martha opposite Arthur Hill? She doesn't really bray though -- her voice was too golden on stage.

[quote] Lea better not trying anything with Tovah. Tovah can be nice when she wants to, but she can be very tough.

That’s generous.

We should start taking bets now on which of those two will be the first to make Julie Benko cry.

Cook was more of a Honey.

Even though this production doesn’t deserve it I’d love to see Lea make the show a success just to piss off Beanie.

Already done.

I wouldn't. Beanie alread dead. No need to piss on her corpse.

Beanie's grave needs to be set on fire

Some glowing reports of Benko on ATC too, and great audience response to her in the role.

Benko is nothing special. Beanie is gone. You don't need to keep trying to seel Benko to us.

*sell

I think when it comes to Lea getting her chance to do Funny Girl it will be a case of "Be careful what you wish for".

I had one of those Pollocks toy theatres, an elaborate model made of wood and plastic.

The characters were moved on metal doodads; you cut them out of a "tuppence colored" book, along with the backdrops. I had a book of pictures for Hamlet, based on the Laurence Olivier filming. Also an Alladin and a Robin Hood, which came with a script. One of the songs was a chorus for the bad guys using the music of O Tannenbaum.

Whenever there was a family party, I would set up my theatre in the living room, and my aunts, uncles, and cousins would run out en masse, except for my grandmother, who was too feeble to move. She would enjoy the show by herself, saying, "Lovely, lovely, just like Broadway."

Finally, someone would come in to rescue her, and while she was being helped out, she would say, "Is he one of Laura's boys?"

Then there was no audience left except my little black poodle, Baudelaire.

and btw the Music Box joke is deader than Myra Bruhl.

I’m available, fresh from my triumphant dropping out of Naked Boys Singing in a Las Vegas strip mall! Franklin Shepherd can have face tattoos, right?

Carter never did NBS -- he dropped out early in rehearsals or even before. David Hernandez, oo la la, even better, did do the show.

R446 That is what he said.

Hernandez has quite an erection.

Just wanted to mention Hernadez did actually show up, MIssyHissyfit.

Did Chris Salvatore end up doing the show?

Yes. He didn't last long, though.

Carter was fired from NBS for refusing the Covid vaccine.

I know some pissed off COMPANY investors. Lots of questions about weekly expenses, including exorbitant housing expenses for the Brits.

[quote]I think when it comes to Lea getting her chance to do Funny Girl it will be a case of "Be careful what you wish for".

Tell me about it.

Am I the only one who feels that Hugh Wheeler's book for A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC is frightfully overrated? Lots of smugness and camp substituting for actual wit. (1 of many low points, for me -- Mme Armfeldt's bit ending ". . . but to lose one's teeth is a catastrophe." Blatant Wilde imitation, but not within hailing range of its wit.)

*Frightfully*, Ortrud...

How did Company go from being the toast of theatre to kinda a disaster? Is Katrina Lenk to blame?

Patti Lupone and her fights, feuds and toilet tweets?

The concept, R457, and the fact that another revival was unnecessary.

Night Music's book is a masterpiece compared to most of the witless, clumsy efforts by most of the shows of that era.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1928, "The Lido Girl" opened at the Edyth Totten Theatre.

r394, the Lorenz Hart COMPLETE LYRICS mention those you mention as earlier versions of one of the refrains. They also print this one that I've never heard:

Hearing rhumba bands will drive me to drink Mrs. Perkins isn't red, she's just pink.

(Assume this was Frances Perkins, Secretary of Labor under FDR.)

R455 I agree with you. Wheeler's bon mots are awful. The script of the original film is so beautiful and I just know it from the translation in the subtitles! If you want beauty and wit it's entirely in the score. The other terrible line I remember is something about squeezing one's bosoms against a chair. Very very forced. I only listen to the obc and would never sit through it again unless I could see the glorious original production. Patricia Birch is still alive so why not reproduce the sets and costumes the designs of which I'm sure still exist and she could restage it. Prince brought out the best in her. Probably too expensive and not enough of an audience to pay for it.

Barbara Cook was already quite heavy when she appeared in The Grass Harp.

And she replaced Sandy Dennis in Any Wednesday, so clearly she's a Honey not a Martha.

But you could google all that, bitches, and not bother conversing on DL at all!

[quote]But you could google all that, bitches, and not bother conversing on DL at all!

But then I'd miss out on morbidly obese showtune queens waging war over 60-year-old music theatre trivia.

And where would we be then?

Is it overrated? Yes. (And I’ve directed it.) But r459 is right too - it’s still one of the best musical books. Now why all musical books are bad … that’s maybe a bigger conversation.

Has this been posted yet?

Sweeney Todd revival heading to Broadway?

That's a rather groovy outfit on Miss Ashford. She and Groban can follow up Sweeney Todd with The Brady Bunch.

[Quote] Has this been posted yet?

Yes r466. Best way to check is to READ

Less than 150 posts left so we better hurry. Should someone playing Sally Bowles be a singer? Why did the actres playing Sally Durant wear green?

I find Annaleigh a bit of a one-trick pony. You know how she'll approach a role and what she'll sound like before you see her. No surprises there. And Josh Groban...can he act? Is his pretty voice even right for Sweeney?

I'm so sick of revivals of shows that are always getting revivals!!!

Sorry, I totally disagree about Ashford. I saw her in DOGFIGHT off-Bway and she played three totally different parts, and was brilliant.

:Am I the only one who feels that Hugh Wheeler's book for A LITTLtE NIGHT MUSIC is frightfully overrated? Lots of smugness and camp substituting for actual wit. (1 of many low points, for me -- Mme Armfeldt's bit ending ". . . but to lose one's teeth is a catastrophe." Blatant Wilde imitation, but not within hailing range of its wit."

Overrated? Said no one ever but you. Blatant Wilde imitation? Not only witty but true. Wait till all the enamel on your teeth started shearing off at 50, leaving you looking like a hillbilly, and requiring your DDS to file down every tooth in your smile line, fit them with bonds to make them presentable, then present you with a bill for thousands of dollars. You'll be screaming "catastrophe" and then some.

But DOGFIGHT was a million years ago, r471. Long before Ashford settled into all her familiar tics and tricks.

[quote]THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1928, "The Lido Girl" opened at the Edyth Totten Theatre.

How many of you still have your Playbills?

R470, I find it hard to believe that you knew just how she'd be as Dot in SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE. I was pleasantly surprised.

My playbill for THE LIDO GIRL is in a frame, next to the broadsheet for FLORADORA.

Annaleigh was quite lovely in SUNDAY

Annaleigh Ashford as Rose

Annaleigh Ashford as Harper Pitt

Which one should I get?

Annaleigh Ashford in the Kit Andree Story.

Annaleigh Ashford in a revival of "The Lido Girl."

I would seriously have cast Miss Ashford in FUNNY GIRL. (My #1 choice -- IF she could sing it, which is far from certain -- would have been Nina Arianda.)

AA was wonderful in SUNDAY, especially Act 2. Hope the SWEENEY director, Thomas Kail, will guide her to a great Lovett. Groban I'm not nearly so excited about.

Annaleigh in Georgy! That’s the musical version of Georgy Girl with an exclamation point to give it a PUNCH.

Did Tom Springfield write the score?

Hey...there...

Annaleigh doing the "Boola Boola" (or even the entire role) in "The Girl Who Came to Supper", originally done by late DL fave Florence Henderson.

The Girl Who Came to Supper? Where do I sign up?

There is the Tessie O'Shea role -- for which she won a Tony -- but it was for Supporting. Which might not be a bad idea, if you can do a good Cockney accent.

Merrily on Broadway will be a HUGE flop. Sonia Friedman has obviously lost her mind.

Cheets Rivera has a book coming out! She's had some infamous examples of racism in her career (from George Abbot and Meredith "Shipoopi" Willson, no less) and major flops alongside the career highs. Will Mlop be mentioned? How honest will she get about Liza? Will she name names when it comes to this generation of choreographers, which she's already expressed disdain for?

[quote]Will Mlop be mentioned?

I assume Chita will dedicate the book to her, r492.

Chits won't spill the tea. I've worked with her and she comes from that generation who still worry about offending anyone because they worry where their next job is coming from.

Was anyone clamoring for another revival of Todd? after seeing Patti playing the tuba, I would have thought that it would have been put out to pasture.

I think it has more to do with her having...class, r494.

Speak for yourself

How *did* you let yourself go, r497?

Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd is laughable.

[Quote] Was anyone clamoring for another revival of Todd?

Please. It’s “Swee To.” Playing at the Lu Fon. Just ask r168. Jeez.

Rita will dish. Chita won’t.

Katrina Lenk was miscast R457 in a role never meant for a woman, and despite that, there were several lovely things about her performance. Not to mention that unlike other miscast people (cough BEANIE cough) she soldiered on and gave it what she could building up a lot of good will on the way. Company failed because it didn’t work. The production was dull and poorly designed and miscast across the board. Non existent orchestra was embarrassing. Direction was a mess. It is startling to see the financial divide between ITW (fine, nothing extraordinary) and Company, though. ITW isn’t really offering much more than Company. Can’t wait to see the horribly miscast Sweeney coming up. We’ll see how long that stays open.

I agree with you about Company not working, r502. I can't understand why there was so much love for that production, unless it's about Sondheim's death.

[quote] Company failed because it didn’t work. The production was dull and poorly designed and miscast across the board. Non existent orchestra was embarrassing. Direction was a mess

sorry, but no. The crowds going to Woods don't care about design quality, miscasting or direction. It's a fun accessible musical with a whole gang of name Broadway performers - that's also now a popular title for kids and adults that was also Disney movie FFS. Company is dense, unpleasant, and not at all known beyond the core Sondheim & NYC intelligentsia.

I like Annaleigh but I found her Dot to be lacking life and rawness R457. It was all very trained and accurate. Went back and watched Bernadette and was shocked by the amount of life (and chemistry with Mandy) she brought to the role, something Ashford and Jake lacked.

What love though R503? Because it won some Tonys? Critics were muted, at best. After Sondheim’s death there was no way it wasn’t going to win what it was nominated for. I don’t think anyone really loved Patti’s performance, and it wasn’t ever going to lose revival to a highly commercial production of Music Man, no matter the latter’s extraordinary ticket sales.

While I had many issues with Company I'd still say it was a hugely entertaining evening out, a true rarity these days. Just don't scrutinize all the directorial, casting and design choices too closely.

Would someone ever rewrite the lyrics to Zip? Would the estate allow it? Like Sondheim replaced the lyrics in I’m Still Here (although I think “I lived through Brenda Frazier” scans better than “Shirley Temple”.)

I unfortunately did not see The Lido Girl but I did see Edyth Totten in the compelling A Factory Magdalen. That's the one where she's about to be murdered by sluicing machine but is saved by a dog.

Sondheim replacing his own lyric is a little different from someone replacing Hart's, don't you think? And why would anyone want to? They reflect the popular culture of their era

Even the oldest DLers don't know who Margie Hart was, r510.

Margie seems an odd name for a stripper.

I'm not sure that DLers of any age are necessarily a useful yardstick, r511. In any case, do you want every lyric, novel, play, etc. revised to reflect a current slice of history or culture that you and your cohort can recognize?

I won't see Follies until they change Beebe's Bathysphere to a reference from the Marvel Universe.

R513, that’s the way Broadway went.

Cut the Indian song from Annie Get Your Gun

Change genders in Company and 1776

Add movie songs to the original score

Change specific ethnicities of characters

Encores sliced, chopped and diced every one of their shows.

R511 will go with you, R514.

What is a Reno?

[quote] Change genders in Company and 1776

One rewrote around the gender change, the other is merely about the actors playing the roles, which aren't changed

I would never go for wholesale changes of all the lyrics in those songs but "Margie Hart" is simply too obscure and is also not an intriguingly funny reference like Schopenhauer, Cobina Wright, Sally Rand, Brenda Frazier, Bebe's Bathysphere or even Herbert and J. Edgar Hoover. And to be honest, I never could understand any Melba singing "Margie Hart" I had to google the lyrics of Zip to find out who they were all singing about at the end of the song.

R518, it’s still not what the author originally intended.

oh dear, Evan Hansen.

bulge, beard, hairy shoulders. Lipstick kiss.

I have a big "what the fuck" for the casting of Groban as Sweeney. He's going to look ghoulish in that make up.

Too obscure for you, r519, but maybe not a problem for others. And Schopenhauer is "intriguingly funny"? You're showing--no, flaunting--your own ignorance.

Michael Ball to Josh Groban isn't that odd.

Ben Platt playing Madison Square Garden? Daddy does have money.

could Ben Platt become any more unattractive?

Slightly OT perhaps, but I am old enough to know who Evelyn West and her $50,000.00 treasure chest as insured by Lloyd's of London was.

Josh Groban's Epiphany is already hilarious in my head.

I wouldn't have thought so, r526, but evidently he can and has gotten more unattractive.

I lived through the Emma Thompson/Bryn Tercel Sweeney Todd, I can live through anything.

My god, Platt is unusually repulsive in that poster.

r525 Good god, it's the actual arena too, not the theatre.

$300 for "diamond" tickets, which includes a pre-show wine tasting with "eclectic" hors d'oeuvres, an autographed copy of the vinyl version of Reverie (which the website handily points out is his second album - shouldn't fans know that already?) and a post-show meet and greet with a no-doubt sweaty Ben, and likely a bitchy Noah whining "can we go now?"

Dont forget Beanie....she will be there to lend her bff support...

Just how hairy is that ass

[quote] Slightly OT perhaps, but I am old enough to know who Evelyn West and her $50,000.00 treasure chest as insured by Lloyd's of London was.

OT? Your age [italic] is [/italic] the topic, r527

Beanie for Johanna!

If they're going with Josh Groban for Sweeney, his replacement will probably be David Archuleta.

R532, several years ago, a papering service I was a member of had a performance of Brett Butler’s comedy act at Madison Square Garden. I knew it wasn’t the arena so I thought it was the Theatre. It wasn’t even the Theatre! They set up tables in the foyer in front of the Theatre! I thought that was the treatment Ben was getting.

The only thing comparable was when I saw Karen Mason singing Christmas carols at Macy’s perfume counter. Poor thing forgot the lyrics to some original song her pianist had written and he had to yell them out to her.

Seems that Ben's insistence on running MSG has fucked up the economics of his tour - in other places, like Tennessee and Minnesota, the top price is $500. But I guess the number of seats means he can't get away with that in MSG, so the top price is $200 cheaper in New York than elsewhere. That's got to be some kind of first

Beanie Feldstein *IS* Tuesday night Toby!

Nobody in Tennessee is going to pay more than $75 to see Ben Platt. Look for that leg of the tour to be canceled.

That Ben Platt believes he can be a pop star with a face like that proves being born rich really does make you delusional.

There are plenty of unfortunate looking popstars. Ben Platt isn't even unfortunate looking.

Does Beanie shave his shoulders for him?

Apparently NOT r544

If Lea made Groff look at her lady parts, the least Beanie can do is wax Ben’s shoulders.

You all missed Ben's ladies manicure in the photo.

R546 Lea only did that because she’s wanted to fuck Groff for years and was desperate to turn him. Beanie is gay so it’s not the same.

The Bryn Terfel (Lyric Chicago) Sweeney was awful on stage. I have loved Terfel in many things but hated his take. At least, there was Nathan Gunn (sigh)

I’ve always thought Josh Groban might be a sociopath, so he could be good in Swee To.

Does Ben have a hair "system" in place? No one under 50 has a hairstyle like that unless they're trying to cover up the seams.

R542 Mick Jagger wasn't/isn't exactly a Marlboro man nor Rod Stewart. But they did/do have sex appeal.

Post Malone...

[quote]Just how hairy is that ass

It doesn't matter, we have Lume now.

How long did it take Sondheim to change the fag line in Company?

Those tickets for Platt at The Garden went on sale a year ago. Nobody cares.

But why does he look like an entitled beaver in that photo?

Damn. I just looked at Ticketmaster for Platt's MSG show. Tons of tickets still available. The floor is mostly sold, with about 125 or so seats open, but the sides and back are chock full of empty seats. And of course, this is not counting any tickets being held by resellers who are still trying to unload them.

If his singing doesn't sell those tickets, his presentation of hole will!

Merrily tickets for second tier members went on sale this afternoon and the site crashed for 45 minutes. Several dates are already sold out, and there’s less than 20 seats remaining for the majority of the shows left.

I usually try and support gay artists because it’s hard in the world for a gay man to succeed, but I take glee in this guy’s failure. He’s only where he’s at because of his dad’s money. He’s a theatre queen pretending to be a “pop” star and nothing on earth is sadder than that.

Just looked at the Hollywood Bowl date for Platt and it's selling just as anemically as MSG. Yikes.

Hardly. Ben Platt could sing the score of his show.

Beanie IS Beadle!

Beanie ate the meat pies.

r542 you know it wasn't so long ago that you didn't have to look like a model or be fuckable in order to be big in music whatever genre you were in.

People used to be chosen on their talent alone. Take a minute. Let that sink in.

Oh,puhleeze,, r565. Things aren't any different than they used to be.

I’m a slut into daddies and bears and chubs and cubs and all the hairy and fat subgroups that are fetishised within the gay community.

But Ben, gurl - those hairy shoulders are nasty.

Who is the hairy porn performer who does a podcast? Teddy Bear? He pulls off the hairy shoulders.

[quote]Josh Groban as Sweeney Todd is laughable.

Never change, DL.

The Beanie "jokes" (which seem to entail just saying "Beanie!") are as tired as the Music Box jokes. Be clever or be quiet.( And no I'm not a 'hall monitor,' just a BORED participant here.)

In other words, we're gay and we're supposed to be clever.

A piece of trivia I'm surprised the DL hasn't brought up yet: Margie Hart's daughter is still alive and married to Donny Most from the 1970s television sitcom Happy Days.

Cole Porter also used Margie Hart in a song lyric

The critics think it’s utterly utter When Margie Hart starts churning her butter 🧈

Several of these Broadway composers seemed to know all about strippers. 🤔

Ben Platt is a grotesque. Josh Groban is not a Sweeney Todd, it’s gonna be dreadful with his dead eyed efforts, ugh Broadway is wretched these days…

Ben Platt: shoulders don’t match the fingernails.

Sweeney mostly comes off as a cypher. Productions usually rest on the Lovett.

[quote]He pulls off the hairy shoulders

So few can, r568.

Margie...

[quote] The critics think it’s utterly utter When Margie Hart starts churning her butter 🧈

That Porter lyric doesn't make much since outside the context of its song. The song is called "Farming" and it the gimmick is that all the celebrities of the day have taken up farming.

"They say that cows that are feeling milky

Give more cream when they're milked by Wilkie --

Farming is so charming they all say."

Zombie Margie...

I want to hoe... potatoes.

Ben Platt really is delusional to think he can fill huge arenas.

And, yeah, hairy shoulders CAN be sexy on a hot man....but, Ben Platt isn't hot. He looks like a 42 year old Jewish accountant who summers in Boca with his parents.

Josh Groban and Annaleigh Ashford in Sweeney Todd....jesus.

They're light weights. Those roles require acting, talent, and depth of experience. Groban and Ashford look like rejects from a 5 a day variety show at Knott's Berry Farm.

Bernadette Peters is a lightweight. Always has been, no matter how many tears she sheds while singing.

[quote] And, yeah, hairy shoulders CAN be sexy on a hot man....

Case in point...

All of downtown is abuzz... about KATE BERLANT.

Younger than springtime.... and twice as exciting.

That image of Ben looks just plain fug.

Imagine the photos from that shoot that they rejected!

Kate Berlant is relentlessly unfunny. She did some painful special on Peacock with John Early that I tried to watch, but couldn't make it through.

........

Kurt Peterson was way too cute in the early 70s not to have taken advantage of all the generous cock out there.

So, now the question is: how did a famous stripper, immortalized in songs by Rodgers & Hart and Cole Porter become utterly forgotten by the eldergays of Datalounge? Seriously, I had to google her to find out who she was. How did she fall into such obscurity?

I think the quick demise of Kurt Peterson's Broadway career after FOLLIES would indicate he didn't take much advantage.

New thread is up.

X

Some sad bitch couldn't wait to start the new thread.

At 594 posts? Are you mad?

Calm down, r596.

[quote]Groff has never sold. He's not box office.

It seems he really helped the Off-Broadway LITTLE SHOP to become a major hit while he was in it. And even when Groff was oddly miscast in that Bobby Darin tribute show at the 92Y, it sold out immediately, and lots of the tickets were bought by young fans of Groff who would never normally set foot into the Y.

SEESAW!

Happy trails...