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THEATRE GOSSIP # 491: They're Cheering Each Toot, They're Clamoring for Her Drama: The Return of Lea Michele Edition

The devil in the sleeveless dress shines; others seethe. Plus straight guy arm moves and hoochie hips.

Continue here.

by Anonymousreply 603September 15, 2022 5:17 PM

Previus thread:

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by Anonymousreply 1September 10, 2022 3:38 PM

Who got to keep the sleeves? They should go to the Broadway Museum (if there is such a thing.)

by Anonymousreply 2September 10, 2022 3:41 PM

Hips

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by Anonymousreply 3September 10, 2022 3:42 PM

"Previus"? I'll "Oh dear" myself.

by Anonymousreply 4September 10, 2022 3:43 PM

I heard they don't make Julie wear spanks anymore either.

by Anonymousreply 5September 10, 2022 3:51 PM

All this "fat girl" maligned because of the dress is ridiculous. If you shop at Chico's, there's a reason.

by Anonymousreply 6September 10, 2022 3:53 PM

Would be interesting to know what Sondheim really thought of her. Oh well...

by Anonymousreply 7September 10, 2022 3:54 PM

I'd like Timothy Hughes deep inside me. I'll wager he shows up in the cast for Sweeney Todd.

by Anonymousreply 8September 10, 2022 4:03 PM

Lea to King Charles: Don't Reign on My Parade!

by Anonymousreply 9September 10, 2022 4:10 PM

Lousy title, OP. And someone pretty much handed you an idea for a good one towards the end of the last thread. (No, it wasn't me.)

by Anonymousreply 10September 10, 2022 4:43 PM

Is it true there's gonna be an all-Black revival of Follies in 2024?

by Anonymousreply 11September 10, 2022 4:45 PM

Yes, they're going to call it Fo'llies.

by Anonymousreply 12September 10, 2022 4:46 PM

No, R11, black people have had enough oppression.

by Anonymousreply 13September 10, 2022 4:53 PM

Lea is out of both Saturday shows today! Just announced on Instagram.

Now it starts.....

by Anonymousreply 14September 10, 2022 4:57 PM

[quote]Would be interesting to know what Sondheim really thought of her. Oh well...

To whom are you referring?

by Anonymousreply 15September 10, 2022 4:57 PM

Maybe she has Covid, dear.

by Anonymousreply 16September 10, 2022 4:58 PM

If she had Covid, she'd be out for more than 2 performances, dear.

by Anonymousreply 17September 10, 2022 5:02 PM

How about Blackbirds of 1928, r11?

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by Anonymousreply 18September 10, 2022 5:02 PM

Adelaide Hall...

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by Anonymousreply 19September 10, 2022 5:03 PM

Adelaide Hall sounds like the name of a college dorm in Australia.

by Anonymousreply 20September 10, 2022 5:06 PM

Now folks we bring you live and in person

Direct from Phoenix

Lea Michele

Here she is at last

Twinkle in her eye

Hot off the press, strictly a mess, nevertheless

by Anonymousreply 21September 10, 2022 5:09 PM

Why did that hot mess from "Strange Loop" take off after "Some Like It Hot" in the Times?

by Anonymousreply 22September 10, 2022 5:11 PM

Nude Isaac Cole Powell as standby for Lea Michele

by Anonymousreply 23September 10, 2022 5:17 PM

A link would have been helpful, R22. I don't get why so many posters here are being so annoyingly enigmatic lately. Or maybe you're just lazy.

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by Anonymousreply 24September 10, 2022 5:22 PM

Things were going way too smoothly over at FG this week. Of course something had to happen to fuck it up.

by Anonymousreply 25September 10, 2022 5:29 PM

Was LM known for absences in Spring Awakening? Or did no one care?

by Anonymousreply 26September 10, 2022 5:31 PM

Possible/Probable Covid is keeping Lea out of the show. It’s not like she took off to go to a wedding.

by Anonymousreply 27September 10, 2022 5:33 PM

Here's the comment to which R22 was referring but didn't bother to quote or provide a link:

[quote]L MORGAN LEE I was invited to one of the open dress rehearsals for “Some Like It Hot” and remember sitting there thinking, “They are going to get celebrated for this, when what’s happening here is actually really irresponsible.” I remember leaving the theater feeling like they invited a few trans people to be in the space, but they didn’t ask our opinions. Even with “Doubtfire” and “Tootsie,” the big question just keeps coming up: Why do we need these stories today? I do have serious concern and question with how much our business seems to insist on using this trope, and my show [“A Strange Loop”] does not get a pass in any way.

by Anonymousreply 28September 10, 2022 5:36 PM

Lea drops out of Funny Girl

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by Anonymousreply 29September 10, 2022 5:36 PM

There’s been an outbreak of Covid at FG this week so everyone is behaving responsibly by keeping Lea out of the show.

by Anonymousreply 30September 10, 2022 5:45 PM

[quote] If she had Covid, she'd be out for more than 2 performances, dear.

Oh gosh, DEAR, I guess this didn't go well for you.

by Anonymousreply 31September 10, 2022 5:51 PM

I don't have sleeves OR symptoms!

by Anonymousreply 32September 10, 2022 6:02 PM

Hi Gang!! I’m always off book and happen to be free tonight if you need me at Funny Girl

by Anonymousreply 33September 10, 2022 6:25 PM

Does Vulva Toadstool have the ‘Rona, too? I’m still traumatized over that video of her in Gypsy where we can see her panties.

by Anonymousreply 34September 10, 2022 6:30 PM

Her dress twirled up

by Anonymousreply 35September 10, 2022 6:36 PM

[quote]R14 Lea is out of both Saturday shows today! Just announced on Instagram. Now it starts.....

Jebus. Can someone hire some actual professionals, please?

by Anonymousreply 36September 10, 2022 6:37 PM

JOSH LEWIS played Herbie opposite Tovah??

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by Anonymousreply 37September 10, 2022 6:40 PM

[quote]Previus

"o" dear.

by Anonymousreply 38September 10, 2022 6:59 PM

A bit late, r38.

by Anonymousreply 39September 10, 2022 7:02 PM

Aurora Spiderwoman deleted and turned off comments on that ICP video. The bitchiest comment I saw on there before I posted the link was along the lines of 'the jacket should be mustard, that's all I'll say'. So what did you bitches post?

by Anonymousreply 40September 10, 2022 7:04 PM

Some Like My Twat

by Anonymousreply 41September 10, 2022 7:09 PM

ICP?

by Anonymousreply 42September 10, 2022 7:09 PM

R42 Isaac Cole Powell singing Maria from west side story

I still see it

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by Anonymousreply 43September 10, 2022 7:27 PM

Just turned off the comments, R43. Not deleted the video.

by Anonymousreply 44September 10, 2022 7:41 PM

If I was J. Harrison Ghee, I'd be heading over to Strange Loop ready to for some wig pulling.

by Anonymousreply 45September 10, 2022 7:42 PM

r43

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by Anonymousreply 46September 10, 2022 7:42 PM

I was going to leave a comment earlier, but refrained, and came here instead.

by Anonymousreply 47September 10, 2022 7:54 PM

I'll leave this here

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by Anonymousreply 48September 10, 2022 8:11 PM

Lea is the Rami Malek of the theater world. She may get accolades for this, but she will never, ever be A list.

by Anonymousreply 49September 10, 2022 8:18 PM

R45. How about wig shitting

by Anonymousreply 50September 10, 2022 8:22 PM

[quote]A bit late, [R38].

Not necessarily, R39/R4/OP

by Anonymousreply 51September 10, 2022 8:26 PM

"Everybody's comin' down with Covid? Don't close down the show! Just throw Julie out there!"

by Anonymousreply 52September 10, 2022 8:32 PM

My god, the chemistry between Bob and Vulva was completely non-existent. Didn’t he also do it with his former Guiding Light co-star Kim Zimmer? Well, he was probably one of the hunkier Herbies .

by Anonymousreply 53September 10, 2022 8:56 PM

Did people pay thousands of dollars for Funny Girl seats this weekend?

by Anonymousreply 54September 10, 2022 8:59 PM

Josh Lewis has always been so fucking sexy.

by Anonymousreply 55September 10, 2022 9:01 PM

OK, who gave Beanie the Lea Michele voodoo doll?

by Anonymousreply 56September 10, 2022 9:17 PM

r48 Singing a third of the song with his hands in his pockets is a good idea for him

by Anonymousreply 57September 10, 2022 9:43 PM

It's fine to sacrifice me to COVID! That's why I'm here!

by Anonymousreply 58September 10, 2022 9:45 PM

Broadway.com has replaced Lea with Julie on their ticket sales page

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by Anonymousreply 59September 10, 2022 9:50 PM

Shouldn't Julie get some sort of Tony Award?

by Anonymousreply 60September 10, 2022 9:58 PM

I want Julie nominated against Lea. Just throw everyone for a total loop.

by Anonymousreply 61September 10, 2022 10:02 PM

Broadway's Best Fanny

by Anonymousreply 62September 10, 2022 10:07 PM

I like Julie, but shes not all that. Shes a trooper, thats all. Miles above Beanie, but still not leading lady material.

by Anonymousreply 63September 10, 2022 10:17 PM

Why is Fanny dressed like a the ringmaster of a 3 ring circus?

by Anonymousreply 64September 10, 2022 10:18 PM

R64, it's been well established that nothing about this production makes any sense whatsoever. It's been like an episode of Smash.

by Anonymousreply 65September 10, 2022 10:25 PM

r10, if there was a better title, someone else was welcome to start the thread. I waited until r595 in the old thread to start this one, pretty much the last possible moment to get a new thread started and cross-posted, in hopes someone else would first. No one did. (Though, given the response to Lea's Covid news, it seems people are indeed clamoring for her drama, so this is at least relevant.)

by Anonymousreply 66September 10, 2022 10:27 PM

[quote]Shes a trooper

Only as Private Schwartz, r63.

by Anonymousreply 67September 10, 2022 10:29 PM

[quote]Why is Fanny dressed like a the ringmaster of a 3 ring circus?

She needs to lose the skirt, r64.

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by Anonymousreply 68September 10, 2022 10:34 PM

The London Nicky Arnstein died due to inhalation of Chloroethane... Some articles say that it is used in pain treatment, others have said it's like Super Poppers. He died in Minnesota, near a renowned clinic, The Mayo Clinic. He'd apparently had chronic pain since a 2010 car accident. But he died in his rented apartment, situated near the clinic. Would this Chlorethane have been something prescribed for him by The Mayo Clinic?

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by Anonymousreply 69September 10, 2022 10:37 PM

I gave Beanie the Lea Michele voodoo doll, but even I didn’t think it would work this well this quickly!

by Anonymousreply 70September 10, 2022 10:44 PM

Voodoo is extra effective when done from a lighthouse, Jane.

by Anonymousreply 71September 10, 2022 10:53 PM

Jane L is so tall and Tovah F is so short... I'd love to see a cage match between them... the size difference would be hysterical.

by Anonymousreply 72September 10, 2022 11:12 PM

We found our next Phyllis and Sally, r72!

by Anonymousreply 73September 10, 2022 11:14 PM

I should have worn green...

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by Anonymousreply 74September 10, 2022 11:16 PM

Lea has Covid. She's out until 9/20

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by Anonymousreply 75September 11, 2022 1:15 AM

R66 - you quoted me in your thread-starter, so I'm delighted!

by Anonymousreply 76September 11, 2022 1:31 AM

A couple things about that NYT drag article:

1) Geesh, even the extraordinarily progressive STRANGE LOOP is not progressive enough for L. Morgan Lee. Truly there is no limit to complaint.

2) This section here gives me agita:

[quote] The musical adaptation of “Some Like It Hot,” a 1959 movie starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis and Marilyn Monroe, promises that the film’s plot and characters “have been updated for a modern audience,” and one of its lead actors is nonbinary.

Ho boy, "updates for a modern audience" really means "updates for a statistically minuscule percent but disproportionately vocal faction of far left elites." 99.9% of the paying audience doesn't need woke updates to anything. The original film still works like a charm.

by Anonymousreply 77September 11, 2022 1:40 AM

r75

the wigs are safe until the 20th!

by Anonymousreply 78September 11, 2022 1:43 AM

I hope photos from that Bar Mitzvah party Lea attended don't go viral.

by Anonymousreply 79September 11, 2022 1:55 AM

God bless Julie Benko. She really does deserve a special Tony for her service. Or at least a starring role of her own in something.

by Anonymousreply 80September 11, 2022 1:58 AM

Man the wig shit “jokes” are tired. You’re like a toddler saying “poo” and cracking himself (and no one else) up

by Anonymousreply 81September 11, 2022 2:00 AM

The trolls here are like jackals. Once they get something in there teeth, they shake it until it’s well beyond dead.

by Anonymousreply 82September 11, 2022 2:01 AM

“Their”

by Anonymousreply 83September 11, 2022 2:02 AM

R69 Who lives, let alone dies, in Minnesota?

by Anonymousreply 84September 11, 2022 2:09 AM

Prince

by Anonymousreply 85September 11, 2022 2:42 AM

Dylan

by Anonymousreply 86September 11, 2022 2:42 AM

Rose

by Anonymousreply 87September 11, 2022 2:44 AM
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by Anonymousreply 88September 11, 2022 2:48 AM

[quote]r81 Man, the wig shit “jokes” are tired.

Not in comparison to the whining about “woke” casting.

by Anonymousreply 89September 11, 2022 2:48 AM

MN born

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by Anonymousreply 90September 11, 2022 2:49 AM

I have a question. Because Lea is over the title, I’m assuming everyone gets a refund, however the grosses would have already been posted. So this week will look normal. The grosses will dip when people get their refunded ticket correct? So we won’t know how the grosses are affected for several weeks?

by Anonymousreply 91September 11, 2022 2:59 AM

R89 Jesus, sweet baby jesus, don't even mention it, whore.

by Anonymousreply 92September 11, 2022 3:00 AM

Miss Carol Lawrence '78!

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by Anonymousreply 93September 11, 2022 3:40 AM

Everyone working on Broadway knows the cast of "Strange Loop" have been and continue to be unhappy about everything. The show will be lucky to make it to January...

by Anonymousreply 94September 11, 2022 3:44 AM

💃 [italic] If She Can Make It There

She'll Make It Any Where 🎶

by Anonymousreply 95September 11, 2022 3:50 AM

R94 Why are they unhappy?

by Anonymousreply 96September 11, 2022 4:13 AM

That’s kind of a borderline awful song @ r93. Is it from a show?

by Anonymousreply 97September 11, 2022 4:25 AM

Put away your wallets.

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by Anonymousreply 98September 11, 2022 4:53 AM

Megan HiIty's sister killed.

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by Anonymousreply 99September 11, 2022 4:58 AM

Yes, we know.

by Anonymousreply 100September 11, 2022 5:00 AM

This isn't about a musical but today I saw the play Prima Facie, a proshot National Theatre production starring Jodie Comer from Killing Eve. The theater was full.

If you want to see a great one woman performance go see it. Check National Theatre website or this spring catch it on Broadway. Truly outstanding.

by Anonymousreply 101September 11, 2022 5:10 AM

Funny Girl, the issues keep coming.

Curse of Barbra?

by Anonymousreply 102September 11, 2022 5:12 AM

Maybe they should hire Laura Benanti as an alternate Fanny.

by Anonymousreply 103September 11, 2022 5:28 AM

Josh Groban has such dead, vacant eyes when he acts. Maybe that will actually work for ST? I would think something like The Phantom would be a better fit for him, he’s a stilted energy in theater.

by Anonymousreply 104September 11, 2022 5:43 AM

[quote]Funny Girl, the issues keep coming. Curse of Barbra?

Yes! Let's go with that!

by Anonymousreply 105September 11, 2022 6:47 AM

I don't understand. Is the character of Jerry in Some Like It Hot now non-binary or is the non-binary actor playing the role as a heterosexual man? Why would Joe be friends with a non-binary person in the 1930s? Seems like they'd be in very different cliques.

The one thing I appreciated about that article was the idea that it is now passe to make fun of men in dresses - I agree with that and understand how that could present danger to trans people and is, just generally, transgressive and coarse. But these men are running for their lives. Their disguise is keeping them alive. The humour rises out of the mistaken identities, like all good farce, and in Jerry's case, getting lost in his new identity. That seems a much shorter and more difficult arc to navigate if the character is non-binary.

by Anonymousreply 106September 11, 2022 12:27 PM

[quote] This isn't about a musical but today I saw the play Prima Facie, a proshot National Theatre production starring Jodie Comer from Killing Eve. The theater was full. If you want to see a great one woman performance go see it. Check National Theatre website or this spring catch it on Broadway. Truly outstanding.

It's part of the National Theatre's cinema series but is otherwise not a National Theatre production. Agreed that it is fantastic and Jodie Comer is remarkable in it.

by Anonymousreply 107September 11, 2022 12:29 PM

Josh is The Beast.

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by Anonymousreply 108September 11, 2022 12:39 PM

But why the fuck should it matter that one of the leads is non-binary? It’s as relevant as knowing they’re vegetarian or their favourite genre of music. What does the character and narrative require? That’s what’s important.

And secondly, audiences won’t know a performer’s pronouns, and if they do they won’t remember, or rather probably won’t care. Irrespective of how an actor may self-identify, if their character is gendered, if the narrative denotes a gender, if the costume and make-up and choreography denote a gender, the audience will read them as being of that gender.

Does nobody know anymore how theatre works? How theatre generates meaning? No wonder everything is so shit.

by Anonymousreply 109September 11, 2022 12:40 PM

[quote]Is the character of Jerry in Some Like It Hot now non-binary or is the non-binary actor playing the role as a heterosexual man? Why would Joe be friends with a non-binary person in the 1930s? Seems like they'd be in very different cliques.

My understanding is that the character now discovers that he’s non-binary (or trans or what have you) over the course of the story. He puts on women's clothing and something clicks.

That’s what I’ve been told anyway; not sure how accurate it is.

by Anonymousreply 110September 11, 2022 12:44 PM

R109, theater is another casualty of the woke.

by Anonymousreply 111September 11, 2022 12:44 PM

Well R110, that seems plausible but not something they'd be shouting from the rooftops in 1929. I don't think. Could be interesting.

by Anonymousreply 112September 11, 2022 12:49 PM

Nothing is allowed to be fun

by Anonymousreply 113September 11, 2022 12:54 PM

If Josh Groban is playing everything now, can he play Fanny too?

by Anonymousreply 114September 11, 2022 1:02 PM

Jerry (Daphne-Jack Lemmon) is obviously a starring role in Some Like it Hot so I wonder if the show will now be obligated to always cast the role with non-binary actors/understudies and how that will work out? Then again, it's Broadway so maybe there are many more non-binary actors out there on the street than I realize.

by Anonymousreply 115September 11, 2022 1:23 PM

Oh so they're making SLIH into shitty trans propaganda.

by Anonymousreply 116September 11, 2022 1:30 PM

Josh Groban is not really an actor

by Anonymousreply 117September 11, 2022 1:31 PM

[Quote] no, just another shitty movie to stage musical

by Anonymousreply 118September 11, 2022 1:31 PM

[Quote] Oh so they're making SLIH into shitty trans propaganda.

No, just another shitty movie to stage musical

by Anonymousreply 119September 11, 2022 1:32 PM

True, R119, but Some Like it Hot is a classic film, not some junk from the 80s or 90s.

by Anonymousreply 120September 11, 2022 1:42 PM

We need a non binary MAME and we need it now!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 121September 11, 2022 1:47 PM

All the harder IMHO to make it great, r120. How do you cast roles created by Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Joe E. Brown and even Tony Curtis, not to mention Billy Wilder's brilliant script and direction?

by Anonymousreply 122September 11, 2022 1:48 PM

Billy Porter as Mame, Ben Platt as Little Patrick

by Anonymousreply 123September 11, 2022 1:51 PM

[quote]Josh Groban is not really an actor

Well, he did attend Carnegie-Mellon in Musical Theater, so he must have some ability. Of course, he did drop out when he got the recording contract. His class at C-M also included Josh Gad, Leslie Odom, Jr., and Rory O'Malley.

by Anonymousreply 124September 11, 2022 1:51 PM

Julie Benko IS Gooch!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 125September 11, 2022 1:54 PM

[Quote] True, [R119], but Some Like it Hot is a classic film, not some junk from the 80s or 90s.

That makes it worse

by Anonymousreply 126September 11, 2022 2:06 PM

[quote]All the harder IMHO to make it great, [R120]. How do you cast roles created by Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, Joe E. Brown and even Tony Curtis, not to mention Billy Wilder's brilliant script and direction?

With Tony Roberts, Robert Morse, Cyril Ritchard, and Elaine Joyce?

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by Anonymousreply 127September 11, 2022 2:06 PM

[quote] Rita Moreno will serve as the night’s narrator.

Because she’s too fucking old to sing and dance.

by Anonymousreply 128September 11, 2022 2:24 PM

Here we go: Some Like It Hot "promises that the film’s plot and characters “have been updated for a modern audience,” and one of its lead actors is nonbinary." Another bland musical version of a delightful film that has had its comedic guts removed to placate Broadway's woke very vocal minority. "Highly anticipated," now a likely "sure to miss."

by Anonymousreply 129September 11, 2022 2:26 PM

Osgood: Do you use a bow or do you pluck it?

Jerry/Daphne: Neither....I just slap it!

by Anonymousreply 130September 11, 2022 2:50 PM

I cannot read a Michael “Lunesta” Paulson sentence without falling asleep

by Anonymousreply 131September 11, 2022 2:56 PM

I laughed at r130 and know he’s being facetious. But is the dialogue at r130 lost on today’s generation? Do they have familiarity with the culture that produced jokes like that?

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by Anonymousreply 132September 11, 2022 3:11 PM

R110 is correct. The Jerry character realizes through the course of the show that s/he likes the dress and can finally be his true herself. Because SOME LIKE IT HOT must really now be about trans empowerment. They are also now bringing in elements of racial struggle, which I applaud in the right piece. But in SOME LIKE IT HOT?

This is a sad modern attempt to apologize for or "fix" the original perfect film. As the elites of contemporary New York theater have declared, nothing written before 2010 is palatable to today's audiences and MUST be fixed and MUST address hot-button social issues.

So what do we get? London's LEGALLY BLONDE and Chicago's THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA. SOME LIKE IT HOT will face the same fate.

by Anonymousreply 133September 11, 2022 3:13 PM

Why must everything be updated for " modern audiences"? Are the new theater goers that obtuse that they can't relate to a classic work? Of course, they probably have never seen a movie made before 2000. It must be code for " woke."

by Anonymousreply 134September 11, 2022 3:14 PM

I always felt there should have been a Gay New Mame

Thomas Roberts is Mame

Don Lemon is a bitchy Vera

Anderson Cooper is Gooch

Gio Benitez is Sally Cato

Vaughn Hillyard is Patrick

Sam Champion is Mother Burnside

by Anonymousreply 135September 11, 2022 3:36 PM

I used to work with a guy who refused to watch black and white movies. He wanted to be a film director.

by Anonymousreply 136September 11, 2022 3:36 PM

FG has to hire an extra cover for Mrs Brice and her buddies. She was hired on Friday and went on yesterday afternoon with the script. There were something like 12 cast members out including the Fanny understudy. It will be a miracle if they don’t end up canceling performances. And, God, please protect Tovah. No one hug her!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 137September 11, 2022 4:07 PM

Tovah is ovah!

by Anonymousreply 138September 11, 2022 4:11 PM

Maybe it's for the best that Tovah eats off paper plates.

by Anonymousreply 139September 11, 2022 4:22 PM

Lea Michele is literally a disease ridden whore.

by Anonymousreply 140September 11, 2022 4:22 PM

Why isn’t Beanie joining Ben Platt on his America Stadium Tour? They could do a few duets.

by Anonymousreply 141September 11, 2022 4:27 PM

[quote] Jerry (Daphne-Jack Lemmon) is obviously a starring role in Some Like it Hot so I wonder if the show will now be obligated to always cast the role with non-binary actors/understudies and how that will work out? Then again, it's Broadway so maybe there are many more non-binary actors out there on the street than I realize.

I'm pretty sure this will be the first and last time we see this particular musical.

by Anonymousreply 142September 11, 2022 4:46 PM

[quote] My understanding is that the character now discovers that he’s non-binary (or trans or what have you) over the course of the story. He puts on women's clothing and something clicks.

[quote] [R110] is correct. The Jerry character realizes through the course of the show that s/he likes the dress and can finally be his true herself. Because SOME LIKE IT HOT must really now be about trans empowerment. They are also now bringing in elements of racial struggle, which I applaud in the right piece. But in SOME LIKE IT HOT?

How did the idea of another musicalization of [italic] Some Like It Hot [/italic] first come about? Did they have this trans-identity idea first ("Hey this story could actually about a trans awakening!"), or did they simply want to take on the material, for some reason, and then found they needed these STUPID plot and character points to avoid getting flamed or canceled?

by Anonymousreply 143September 11, 2022 5:02 PM

And here's another thought: If the Jerry character looks beautiful in their (!) female drag (instead of outrageously funny) where's the humor? Where's the fun?

by Anonymousreply 144September 11, 2022 5:05 PM

Oh silly r144. It's not about humor or fun, it's about [italic] empowerment [/italic] and [italic] reimagining [/italic] - two words I never need to hear again.

by Anonymousreply 145September 11, 2022 5:19 PM

By the way, speaking of reimagning, do we know for sure which is playing which in the Groban / Ashford [italic] Sweeney [/italic] ?

Surprise!!

by Anonymousreply 146September 11, 2022 5:20 PM

The REAL Fanny Brice will be on TCM shortly.

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by Anonymousreply 147September 11, 2022 5:34 PM

Flo Pugh >>> Flo Ziegeld

by Anonymousreply 148September 11, 2022 5:36 PM

>>> Flo Ballard?

>>> Flo Henderson?

>>> Flo-Jo?

>>> Flo Foster Jenkins?

by Anonymousreply 149September 11, 2022 5:38 PM

Peter Francis-James (Flo Ziegfeld in FG) must be protected at all costs. He must spend the rest of his life playing President Obama in all media.

by Anonymousreply 150September 11, 2022 5:56 PM

>>>Flo Nightingale?

>>>Flo Lacey?

>>>Flo Italy?

by Anonymousreply 151September 11, 2022 5:59 PM

Heavy flo.

by Anonymousreply 152September 11, 2022 6:12 PM

Flo from Progressive

by Anonymousreply 153September 11, 2022 6:17 PM

Orinoco Flo

by Anonymousreply 154September 11, 2022 6:54 PM

Flo's Yellow Toes

by Anonymousreply 155September 11, 2022 6:55 PM

>>> "Kiss My Grits" Flo?

by Anonymousreply 156September 11, 2022 6:56 PM

You bitches claim to love FOLLIES, but you forgot about ME!

by Anonymousreply 157September 11, 2022 7:58 PM

Flow Gently Sweet Afton

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by Anonymousreply 158September 11, 2022 7:59 PM

You were a Flossie, not a Flo, r157.

by Anonymousreply 159September 11, 2022 8:00 PM

[quote]What About Transphobia?

[quote]ROSS In “Chicago” there’s Mary Sunshine. I will not steer away from saying that the role of Mary Sunshine is definitely deeply problematic. I haven’t fully processed it, because I understand where it sits in the show, but it’s jarring for me — it actually makes me flinch. I clap, because his voice is beautiful. But it’s almost as if I am vicariously experiencing that moment, and thinking that today that could happen to me — that someone would want to try to disrobe me.

I'm sorry. WTF? The role of Mary Sunshine is deeply problematic? Pulling the wig off Mary Sunshine is not about you and your fears that "someone would want to try to disrobe [you]." It's about theater and artifice. I have never read Mary Sunshine as transgender. Isn't the entire part based on the idea that nothing is as it seems? Am I hopelessly passé? Are Kander & Ebb too?

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by Anonymousreply 160September 11, 2022 8:13 PM

R160 Is the guy in the photo having a stomach cramp?

by Anonymousreply 161September 11, 2022 8:18 PM

I find the character of Velma Kelly deeply problematic.

by Anonymousreply 162September 11, 2022 8:26 PM

I find getting up in the morning deeply troubling. Breathing and the act of existence triggers me.

by Anonymousreply 163September 11, 2022 8:29 PM

I can understand why someone might be disturbed by the character of Mary Sunshine. Someone who reports on untoward happenings happens to be the most untoward of all.

by Anonymousreply 164September 11, 2022 8:31 PM

The act of existence? You're dumb.

by Anonymousreply 165September 11, 2022 8:32 PM

[quote]I understand where it sits in the show, but it’s jarring for me — it actually makes me flinch. I clap, because his voice is beautiful. But it’s almost as if I am vicariously experiencing that moment, and thinking that today that could happen to me — that someone would want to try to disrobe me.

MARY!

by Anonymousreply 166September 11, 2022 9:10 PM

[quote]someone would want to try to disrobe me

I feel absolutely confident this will never, ever happen.

by Anonymousreply 167September 11, 2022 9:11 PM

L. Morgan Lee knows the only reason he has a Tony nomination is because he's a tranny, not for any particular talent he thinks he possesses, yes?

by Anonymousreply 168September 11, 2022 9:13 PM

"And Audra McDonald only has all those Tonys because she's black."

by Anonymousreply 169September 11, 2022 9:15 PM

The cretins in that NYT should be thrown in the trash.

by Anonymousreply 170September 11, 2022 9:38 PM

I'm sorry, but anyone who thinks Mary Sunshine is transphobic is a complete moron. What a complete crock. "Chicago" is a musical VAUDEVILLE. Or at least was originally conceived as one in 1975. Mary Sunshine plays up the Julian Eltinge / Female Impersonator archetype (he was one of many). Yes, at its most simplified it amounts to a drag act, but it's also celebrating/playing up an entire theatrical convention!

How anyone can paint it as transphobic is beyond insane. It's a complete misreading of history and centuries old theatrical tropes. If the "Some Like It Hot" plot rumors above are remotely true, it sounds like they're gone and ruined a classic. The whole thing will come across as a big, wokey anachronism. And that's a shame, as I love Shaiman, Wittman and Nicholaw.

by Anonymousreply 171September 11, 2022 9:40 PM

[quote] "And Audra McDonald only has all those Tonys because she's black."—Same ol' DL shit.

Careful straining yourself with that reach, hon.

by Anonymousreply 172September 11, 2022 9:43 PM

Dont worry. When the Furries get their due, nobody will pay attention to trans.

by Anonymousreply 173September 11, 2022 9:44 PM

Honey r171 everything is transphobic.

by Anonymousreply 174September 11, 2022 9:45 PM

[quote]If the "Some Like It Hot" plot rumors above are remotely true, it sounds like they're gone and ruined a classic. The whole thing will come across as a big, wokey anachronism.

And taking a classic comedy and trying to update it so as not to offend modern sensibilities worked SO well for the musical version of "Tootsie."

by Anonymousreply 175September 11, 2022 9:45 PM

"Agreed that it is fantastic and Jodie Comer is remarkable in it."

Unfortunately, the play disintegrates into a Hallmark problem drama by its conclusion. Statistics are not metaphor. Which is too bad, because it's such a great vehicle for an actress.

by Anonymousreply 176September 11, 2022 9:52 PM

[quote] And that's a shame, as I love Shaiman, Wittman and Nicholaw.

I was with you up to here.

by Anonymousreply 177September 11, 2022 10:41 PM

R160 - You're 100% correct.

by Anonymousreply 178September 11, 2022 10:44 PM

Oh dear - Tovah can't sing in the clip of Gypsy - but I'm sure she acted the shite out of it. She studied voice with the Callaway's mother, who presumably was able to teach her something. But, her own kids didn't study with her, so maybe not.

by Anonymousreply 179September 11, 2022 10:57 PM

FB post from the Funny Girl cover who went on yesterday on book as mentioned above. Such a great theatre/"the show must go on" story.

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by Anonymousreply 180September 11, 2022 11:16 PM

Facebook links? Really?

by Anonymousreply 181September 11, 2022 11:18 PM

Broadwayworld link if you prefer.

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by Anonymousreply 182September 11, 2022 11:19 PM

Well, this sounds... odd.

But at least it's 2 biological women as leads, presenting as biological women.

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by Anonymousreply 183September 11, 2022 11:26 PM

Angel, Angel, Down We Go

by Anonymousreply 184September 11, 2022 11:44 PM

R183 And what sweet relief it is!

by Anonymousreply 185September 11, 2022 11:46 PM

Is there any audio of Tovah singing Who Taught Her Everything?

by Anonymousreply 186September 11, 2022 11:54 PM

The Song of Bernadette as a Broadway musical? Written by Frank Wildhorn?!

Oh sweet Jesus, leave her alone. That film was only successful because it was 1944, the darkest year of WWII, and audiences needed something to get through the night.

by Anonymousreply 187September 11, 2022 11:57 PM

No worries. In a couple of weeks there'll be videos of Tovah in FG that will be reposted here for years to come.

by Anonymousreply 188September 11, 2022 11:58 PM

Though my corpse rots in the grave, my song^ lives on!

by Anonymousreply 189September 12, 2022 12:13 AM

[quote]But at least it's 2 biological women as leads, presenting as biological women.

It's a workshop. By the time it is cast, a black trans woman will be St. Bernadette.

by Anonymousreply 190September 12, 2022 12:20 AM

Have to make the show updated for modern audiences.

by Anonymousreply 191September 12, 2022 12:20 AM

Fine. Set A Little Night Music in 1970s Oklahoma

Let Reba play the one who sings Clowns

Is that “updated”?

by Anonymousreply 192September 12, 2022 12:26 AM

Is The Song of Bernadette in public domain? The original German novel might be, because Werfel has been dead 70+ years. Same question about The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, is the original book public domain, because there are multiple musical versions.

Walter and Jean Kerr wrote a Broadway bomb play version of The Song of Bernadette years ago.

by Anonymousreply 193September 12, 2022 1:01 AM

MARY, MARY, r193!

by Anonymousreply 194September 12, 2022 1:11 AM

"The Song of Bernadette" should be the title of a Bernie Peters jukebox musical.

by Anonymousreply 195September 12, 2022 1:26 AM

I'm certain there will be hordes of flyover tourists at the TKTS Booth thinking that it is, r195.

I can still remember that lovely old tourist lady requesting tickets for The Scarlet Pumpernickel all those years ago. God knows what she thought she'd be seeing.

by Anonymousreply 196September 12, 2022 2:00 AM

R194, Jean Kerr is beaming from heaven.

by Anonymousreply 197September 12, 2022 2:02 AM

I heard someone at the TKTS booth ask for Barefoot in the Park with George. (I've posted this here and elsewhere before.)

by Anonymousreply 198September 12, 2022 3:26 AM

Is there a cast album r198?

by Anonymousreply 199September 12, 2022 3:42 AM

I was in line at TKTS in the 80s. Behind me was a middle-aged, conservatively dressed couple, presumably husband and wife. They were perusing the titles available, and when something struck them of interest, the woman referred to a brochure which contained a synopsis for each show. Noticing that La Cage Aux Folles was on the board and that it was playing right across the street at the Palace, the husband asked, "What's that about?" The wife riffed through her guide, gave it a quick read, paused, and said in a calm and steady manner, "It's about these two lumberjacks."

by Anonymousreply 200September 12, 2022 4:19 AM

"Kiss My Grits", Flo!

by Anonymousreply 201September 12, 2022 5:02 AM

They’re making The Ghost & Mrs. Muir into a musical?

by Anonymousreply 202September 12, 2022 6:06 AM

The Ghost and Mrs. Muir won't be in the public domain until 2049. Song of Bernadette is in the public domain.

by Anonymousreply 203September 12, 2022 12:05 PM

Song of Bernadette could be the best religious musical since the Shroud of Turin.

by Anonymousreply 204September 12, 2022 12:06 PM

Into the Light.

by Anonymousreply 205September 12, 2022 12:39 PM

A Jennifer Warnes musical?

by Anonymousreply 206September 12, 2022 12:40 PM

Linda Eder IS The Blessed Virgin

by Anonymousreply 207September 12, 2022 1:01 PM

[quote] FB post from the Funny Girl cover who went on yesterday on book as mentioned above. Such a great theatre/"the show must go on" story.

And the refund they gave to the audience because they had to have an actor on book was...?

by Anonymousreply 208September 12, 2022 1:10 PM

Hush, r208. We must fangurl over "cute" stories.

by Anonymousreply 209September 12, 2022 1:12 PM

(quote)I heard someone at the TKTS booth ask for Barefoot in the Park with George. (I've posted this here and elsewhere before.)

And those people pay for tickets, which support Broadway, which brings money to your city, which allows your city to " function" ( if that's what you call it.)

by Anonymousreply 210September 12, 2022 1:33 PM

r210 = Triggered

by Anonymousreply 211September 12, 2022 1:38 PM

There was a flop West End musical about St. Bernadette but it was just called Bernadette. Without a punctuation mark, unfortunately. Future Love, Actually/My Fair Lady actress Martine McCutcheon was in it when she was a kid.

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by Anonymousreply 212September 12, 2022 1:58 PM

Someone should musicalize 'Black Narcissus' instead.

by Anonymousreply 213September 12, 2022 2:08 PM

Black Narcissus would be more appropriate for an opera.

by Anonymousreply 214September 12, 2022 2:14 PM

I thought Black Narcissus is Billy Porter's nickname.

by Anonymousreply 215September 12, 2022 2:48 PM

[quote][R210] = Triggered

Yep. In your city's dire situation, you should be thankful that anyone would want to come there and spend money, rather than make fun of them. You're not superior anymore ( if you ever were).

by Anonymousreply 216September 12, 2022 3:02 PM

[quote]There was a flop West End musical about St. Bernadette but it was just called Bernadette. Without a punctuation mark, unfortunately.

Yes, didn't the Four Tops have a hit with the big opening number?

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by Anonymousreply 217September 12, 2022 3:17 PM

[quote]They’re making The Ghost & Mrs. Muir into a musical?

The title is too similar to my new book, "Ghosted By David Tyler Muir."

by Anonymousreply 218September 12, 2022 3:18 PM

I don't know R160, that was the one thing I agreed with in that NYT article: I can see where the "unmasking" of Mary Sunshine and what it implies would be problematic in this day and age. Unless we saw prior to that the character was intentionally masking themselves to deceive and persecute others - the intentions would almost have to be darker than they currently are to warrant that unmasking. It's not so much the context in the original piece but what it means today: transgender people - even gay people when they come out - are perceived in some corners as being duplicitous, deceptive and dishonest. The unmasking of Mary Sunshine probably reads much more cruel these days than originally intended and by ignoring the larger social context, the show could unwittingly be encouraging and advocating that kind of treatment as well as the displaced notion that a trans person is being deceptive when asserting their true self. I can see the complications there and the would encourage a re-positioning/re-imaging of that role. Y'know, it's been done that way for decades. Violence against other people, trans or gay or otherwise, is not worth one sight gag in a show that still has plenty to offer beyond that.

The non-binary Jerry thing...I guess we'll wait and see. Could be a miraculous reinvention. Or not.

by Anonymousreply 219September 12, 2022 3:21 PM

Why are the cast members of "A Strange Loop" unhappy?

by Anonymousreply 220September 12, 2022 3:36 PM

Wouldn't you be if you played to an audience of 7 every night?

by Anonymousreply 221September 12, 2022 3:40 PM

Unlike many Broadway musicals, there's nothing joyous (for want of a better word) being celebrated in A Strange Loop. I can see how that would be a drag to perform 8 times a week, especially for Black performers playing to a mostly White audience. And, even compared to something like Fun Home, depressing material for sure, there's not really much emotional release at the end.

by Anonymousreply 222September 12, 2022 3:47 PM

It's a big stretch to think that audiences are so easily persuaded that seeing Mary Sunshine unmasked would cause "violence" against trans people.

by Anonymousreply 223September 12, 2022 4:14 PM

The only thing that causes violence against trans people are the stories trans people make up about violence against them.

by Anonymousreply 224September 12, 2022 4:18 PM

Strange Loop is a sophomoric chore.

by Anonymousreply 225September 12, 2022 4:32 PM

Lena Hall as the new Audrey in LITTLE SHOP.

I like her.

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by Anonymousreply 226September 12, 2022 4:33 PM

I would call it a *humongous* stretch, r223.

by Anonymousreply 227September 12, 2022 4:35 PM

ALMOST FAMOUS is doing a promo ticket giveaway--with NYC record stores!

What's a "record store," beloved elders?

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by Anonymousreply 228September 12, 2022 4:44 PM

Kids like vinyl these days. The records look like big pieces of colorful candy.

by Anonymousreply 229September 12, 2022 4:47 PM

[r226] she has Katrina Lenk disease, where she sings with a foreign sounding accent of unknown origin.

by Anonymousreply 230September 12, 2022 4:49 PM

Almost Famous isn't worth sitting through even for free.

by Anonymousreply 231September 12, 2022 4:50 PM

"The Song of Bernie Sanders" could be the best political musical since "Fiorello!"

by Anonymousreply 232September 12, 2022 5:17 PM

Oh, how I love this...

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by Anonymousreply 233September 12, 2022 5:21 PM

Almost Famous is a guaranteed flop. Why did I even bother to spend the energy to write that?

by Anonymousreply 234September 12, 2022 6:35 PM

Tom Kitt has flop after flop: Superhero, The Visitor, Flying over Sunset and perhaps Almost Famous. Why do people keep hiring him?

by Anonymousreply 235September 12, 2022 6:45 PM

R219, while I appreciate the thought you put in into your post, I have to say I find your argument very odd and convoluted. Of course, it all depends largely on how one interprets the Mary Sunshine reveal, and THAT depends partly on exactly how it's played. I've always felt that it's played as a vaudeville bit and is completely inoffensive for that reason.

Also, silly as the whole idea may be, Mary Sunshine is supposed to be a man pretending to be a woman, for whatever reasons. I don't think trans or non-binary people think of themselves as "pretending" to be another gender.

by Anonymousreply 236September 12, 2022 6:50 PM

Flying Over Sunset has got to be one of the weirdest Broadway musicals, and not in a good way. Who was that show for?

by Anonymousreply 237September 12, 2022 6:51 PM

[quote]Almost Famous is a guaranteed flop. Why did I even bother to spend the energy to write that?

For the write-off?

by Anonymousreply 238September 12, 2022 7:14 PM

What is all this unmasking shit? Mary Sunshine is part of the vaudeville. The “unmasking” isn’t against her/his will. She’s part of the razzle dazzle world. “Things are not always what they seem” - that’s what she’s there for.

by Anonymousreply 239September 12, 2022 7:17 PM

Mary Sunshine is based on Julian Eltinge, who was a huge drag star in the 1910s and 20s. Just another vaudeville trope like Bert Williams etc.

by Anonymousreply 240September 12, 2022 7:22 PM

Maybe they ought to include info about the inspirations for all the characters in the Playbill. How many people really know what vaudeville is/was?

by Anonymousreply 241September 12, 2022 7:24 PM

R241, how many people are concerned about the Mary Sunshine reveal? No one. It's a shocking and fun moment. Let it be.

by Anonymousreply 242September 12, 2022 7:26 PM

The "Strange Loop" cast is unhappy about a lot: Having to perform 8 shows a week, winning a Tony but not selling any more tickets, the lack of Black audience members, understudies. .

by Anonymousreply 243September 12, 2022 7:30 PM

Why do you suppose a real woman (well......Christine Baranski) was cast as Mary Sunshine in the film of CHICAGO?

by Anonymousreply 244September 12, 2022 7:31 PM

[quote] The "Strange Loop" cast is unhappy about a lot: Having to perform 8 shows a week

Did they think they'd somehow only have to do four shows a week?

by Anonymousreply 245September 12, 2022 7:44 PM

Rr44, the musical numbers were changed from literal vaudeville turns into Roxie imagining them. The Mary Sunshine reveal wouldn't have worked as well with that format.

by Anonymousreply 246September 12, 2022 7:49 PM

^r44

by Anonymousreply 247September 12, 2022 7:49 PM

The film Chicago wasn't presented as a vaudeville. The musical numbers were in Roxie's head, so it'd be kinda odd for a female gossip columnist to suddenly be a drag queen in Roxie's fantasy sequences.

by Anonymousreply 248September 12, 2022 7:49 PM

Well, r240, they *did* cancel the Eltinge...

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by Anonymousreply 249September 12, 2022 7:52 PM

Here's the new James Earl Jones Theatre, with its most distinctive feature restored - the illuminated blue glass proscenium arch. It is the only active Broadway theatre designed by Thomas W. Lamb. (His other Broadway theatre is the gorgeous Mark Hellinger Theatre, lost to the idiocies of religion).

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by Anonymousreply 250September 12, 2022 9:06 PM

Wow. That was the first theater I ever worked in. I cannot believe how different it looks. That mezzanine bar area, especially. It looks both stunning and somehow sacrilegious. I wonder if they tore out my old dressing room.

by Anonymousreply 251September 12, 2022 9:13 PM

That mezzanine bar is in the new modern annex that was built next door.

by Anonymousreply 252September 12, 2022 9:15 PM

[quote] I wonder if they tore out my old dressing room.

You mean the one that you mopped nightly?

by Anonymousreply 253September 12, 2022 9:18 PM

Modern annex? If you're facing the front of the theater on the street, is it to the left or the right? (I don't live in NYC anymore and have not been to the Cort since The Cripple of Inishmaan, and haven't worked a show there since An American Daughter, which was 25 years ago!

by Anonymousreply 254September 12, 2022 9:18 PM

To the right

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by Anonymousreply 255September 12, 2022 9:37 PM

Interesting. So they built into the alley of the theater? Odd. I will definitely take a peek next time I'm in town. Thanks.

by Anonymousreply 256September 12, 2022 9:40 PM

The neighbouring building was redeveloped, this was built as part of that development it seems

by Anonymousreply 257September 12, 2022 9:43 PM

R226, I never noticed that Lena sings out of the side of her mouth before. I like her and the guitarist.

by Anonymousreply 258September 12, 2022 10:26 PM

Awwww, that alley next to The Cort was where Papi Raul would always go off to smoke when we did The Homecoming in 2007.

by Anonymousreply 259September 12, 2022 10:41 PM

[quote] Violence against other people, trans or gay or otherwise, is not worth one sight gag in a show that still has plenty to offer beyond that.

How ludicrous. The character of Mary Fucking Sunshine has never led to trans violence by any degree of separation. It's the equivalent of a RuPaul queen taking off her wig at the end of a set. The moment does not need to be rethought because one real-life tranny was triggered.

by Anonymousreply 260September 13, 2022 2:15 AM

Bring on the girls!

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by Anonymousreply 261September 13, 2022 3:17 AM

I think a tranny is now playing Mary Sunshine.

by Anonymousreply 262September 13, 2022 3:21 AM

the lovely Julian

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by Anonymousreply 263September 13, 2022 3:27 AM

Julian Eltinge. What would he think of today's gender politics. Ridiculous or liberating? Would he go by he, she, or they?

by Anonymousreply 264September 13, 2022 3:47 AM

R264 Sir.

by Anonymousreply 265September 13, 2022 4:23 AM

Hadestown now has its first female-identifying Hermes, Playbill.com tells us.

I find the use of this turn of phrase fascinating and a little odd, not least because the director uses ‘woman’, and also effaces White’s own gender agency. I‘m unaware of any other instances where she has defines herself as ‘female-identifying’.

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by Anonymousreply 266September 13, 2022 9:38 AM

no one know what the fuck is ok to fucking say.

by Anonymousreply 267September 13, 2022 11:24 AM

Brilliant analysis, R67. 🙄

by Anonymousreply 268September 13, 2022 11:27 AM

^Thanks!

by Anonymousreply 269September 13, 2022 11:29 AM

I feel bad for Lilias White. She has the voice and the drama to be a star…but she didn’t quite get there. I wonder why Audra succeeded but Lilias didn’t

by Anonymousreply 270September 13, 2022 12:09 PM

Ho w about her for Hadestown. She really needs a Tony.

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by Anonymousreply 271September 13, 2022 12:32 PM

I think Lizzo is a great rep for the Glutton-America Community.

by Anonymousreply 272September 13, 2022 12:40 PM

Lizzo for St. Bernadette!!!

by Anonymousreply 273September 13, 2022 12:46 PM

The Music Man closing January 1st.

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by Anonymousreply 274September 13, 2022 12:54 PM

Love the pic.😆

by Anonymousreply 275September 13, 2022 12:56 PM

[quote] I feel bad for Lilias White. She has the voice and the drama to be a star…but she didn’t quite get there. I wonder why Audra succeeded but Lilias didn’t

Audra is a deeper actress and has a more expressive, versatile voice.

Although White looks and acts like she has a huge voice, it's not that big. She riffs up a storm, but when you expect a huge black lady voice to come out, a smaller black lady voice comes out. It's somewhat disapointing actually

by Anonymousreply 276September 13, 2022 12:58 PM

So, Music Man, despite breaking records for months, is a flop. Ooooookkkaaayyyy.

by Anonymousreply 277September 13, 2022 1:04 PM

[quote]My understanding is that the character now discovers that he’s non-binary (or trans or what have you) over the course of the story. He puts on women's clothing and something clicks.

Um, but, didn't the movie itself hint at that? Jerry in the movie gets very excited about all the girlie gifts Osgood gives him right from the start, he loves staying out late dancing with Osgood and he loves being engaged, and by the time we get to the end I thought it was by no means clear that after "Nobody's perfect" he was going to get off that boat and never see Osgood again. I didn't get the impression it was about Osgood's wealth, but about being treated like a lady. Osgood was making Jerry HAPPY. By contrast, the totally straight romance of the other two is pretty nasty, really. What I'm saying is, the only change you'd need to make to the movie to make it clear Jerry has made the discoveries suggested by the quote above, is have Jerry smile in relief and delight after the famous last line. Wilder's ending is better, because it does leave us in suspense about the outcome, but it's all about being literal today.

Am I the only one who read the original like that?

by Anonymousreply 278September 13, 2022 1:12 PM

I suppose the difference is that the movie plays Jerry enjoying being a girl as a source of (some will say homophonic and/or transphobic) humor. No doubt the musical will play it as meaningful and semi-weighty.

by Anonymousreply 279September 13, 2022 1:22 PM

Did anyone see trans Roxie’s debut last night?

by Anonymousreply 280September 13, 2022 1:27 PM

R279, I'm sure audiences read it that way, but when you compare the two romances, even from today's point of view, it really is the queer one that comes off far the best. Maybe Wilder is laughing at the audience's laughter.

by Anonymousreply 281September 13, 2022 1:49 PM

[quote] Wouldn't you be if you played to an audience of 7 every night?

Hey, at least it will make a great story for cabaret shows later in life.

—Patti LuPone, star of The Baker’s Wife, playing Washington DC in a blizzard

by Anonymousreply 282September 13, 2022 2:08 PM

No star replacement for Hugh? Wonder if they tried very hard.

by Anonymousreply 283September 13, 2022 2:15 PM

[quote] how many people are concerned about the Mary Sunshine reveal? No one. It's a shocking and fun moment.

It’s no longer shocking. Everyone knows it’s a dude.

by Anonymousreply 284September 13, 2022 2:19 PM

Has Dame Edna been canceled? How is her (his, their) career doing?

by Anonymousreply 285September 13, 2022 2:28 PM

R277-It's the new Broadway formula. Charge obscene amounts for tickets, have the greed and audacity to charge $76 for Standing Room, then close in a year or less, claiming nobody made any money. Always worked for Rudin!

by Anonymousreply 286September 13, 2022 2:57 PM

There's more story behind MUSIC MAN closing than this article contains. (Hugh out to campaign for an Oscar? Okay. And absolutely no mention of Sutton Foster as a box office draw, even miscast.)

If the article is to be trusted, Scott Rudin has some very odd notions of stardom: apparently, only Jeff Daniels and Hugh are irreplaceable, unstoppable box office draws.

[quote]“The Music Man” will have played a paltry 358 performances, making it one of the shortest runs ever for a totally sold out show.

I'm okay with that.

by Anonymousreply 287September 13, 2022 3:07 PM

I don't know if Dame Edna was ever officially canceled, but her last Bway engagement tanked. And Barry Humphries joined the anti-trans bandwagon early on.

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by Anonymousreply 288September 13, 2022 3:10 PM

The sad part about Humphries comments ?....Hes right.

by Anonymousreply 289September 13, 2022 3:25 PM

Have at it, Sondheimites!

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by Anonymousreply 290September 13, 2022 3:26 PM

[quote] “The Music Man” will have played a paltry 358 performances, making it one of the shortest runs ever for a totally sold out show.

The Bierko/Luker/McCormick/Leonard ran for 699

by Anonymousreply 291September 13, 2022 3:28 PM

And was a hell of a lot better!!!!

by Anonymousreply 292September 13, 2022 3:31 PM

It’s a ridiculously ill-conceived production. Recasting and rehearsing is expensive. They made a shit ton of money. Better to pocket their huge profits and call it a day.

It’s Boy From Oz, Part Deux.

by Anonymousreply 293September 13, 2022 3:39 PM

[quote][R277]-It's the new Broadway formula. Charge obscene amounts for tickets, have the greed and audacity to charge $76 for Standing Room, then close in a year or less, claiming nobody made any money. Always worked for Rudin!

Where has it been claimed that "nobody made any money" on this show? Has there be an announcement that it will not have recouped by the time of its closing? Maybe I missed it, but there's no such statement in the brief article linked to above.

by Anonymousreply 294September 13, 2022 3:46 PM

The article says every producer outside of Rudin stands to lose money R294.

by Anonymousreply 295September 13, 2022 4:11 PM

Ben Platt for Harold Hill! Beanie Feldstein for Marian! Julie Benko for Mrs. Shinn!

by Anonymousreply 296September 13, 2022 4:15 PM

Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes could have replaced Hugh and Sutton.

by Anonymousreply 297September 13, 2022 4:23 PM

Or Andy Karl and Orhef

by Anonymousreply 298September 13, 2022 4:27 PM

R298, Typo or fat shaming?

by Anonymousreply 299September 13, 2022 4:29 PM

oh shit! Orfeh.

by Anonymousreply 300September 13, 2022 4:30 PM

Can Channing Tatum sing?

by Anonymousreply 301September 13, 2022 4:32 PM

[quote]The article says every producer outside of Rudin stands to lose money [R294].

What the article linked to at R274 says is, "Some investors may lose their shirts." That sounds pretty vague to me.

by Anonymousreply 302September 13, 2022 4:32 PM

It's pretty specific if you're no longer have a shirt.

by Anonymousreply 303September 13, 2022 4:33 PM

[quote]The article says every producer outside of Rudin stands to lose money

Stepping back sounds pretty profitable.

by Anonymousreply 304September 13, 2022 4:37 PM

Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes = SNORE

by Anonymousreply 305September 13, 2022 4:43 PM

The Music Man was grossing $3.5 million/week.

by Anonymousreply 306September 13, 2022 4:44 PM

Ben Platt FLOPS at the Hollywood Bowl. Largely empty, heavily papered house. Didn't stop them from pulling out the fireworks at the end of the show. This is nepotism at its finest. He's not untalented, but the mass appeal he believes (and his "team" believes) he has is GROSSLY overblown. He should've played the Greek or the Ace Hotel DTLA.

by Anonymousreply 307September 13, 2022 4:45 PM

^^but on the other hand, he's not talented, either.

by Anonymousreply 308September 13, 2022 4:48 PM

Were these dates booked before the Evan Hansen movie came out?

by Anonymousreply 309September 13, 2022 4:49 PM

The dates were probably booked when he was in utero.

by Anonymousreply 310September 13, 2022 4:52 PM

That Kelly Clarkson cover is not great. The number of people claiming ownership of Sondheim now that he can't hear them is pretty astonishing.

by Anonymousreply 311September 13, 2022 4:53 PM

Good thing Steve is dead! He tore me a new asshole for playing around with his songs, I don’t think he’d be too kind to Miss American Idol!

by Anonymousreply 312September 13, 2022 5:08 PM

The irony of The Music Man closing is that Hugh Jackman isn't likely to be nominated for an Oscar for The Son, which already received tepid reviews wherever it premiered recently (Telluride? Venice?). I never liked Florian Zeller's The Father but you couldn't fault the performances. Apparently, given the narrative construction of The Son (and it's inane superficiality and poor treatment of mental illness) Jackman's performance doesn't really work.

They're obviously thinking that Hugh is going to have the same prospects as Anthony Hopkins did - but these are totally different things. Firstly, Hugh is NOT Anthony Hopkins. Also, The Son is even worse than The Father - and whereas Hopkins was able to wring empathy from audiences despite the hoary conceit of the enterprise, Hugh's character doesn't present the same opportunity. But, of course, people are thinking Florian Zeller = Oscar. What a joke.

Who knows? Audiences are so stupid, maybe it will catch on. More likely another failed Oscar bid from Jackman like 2018's The Front Runner when poor Hugh thought two years into the Trump administration, someone would care about, erm, Gary Hart. Oh, Hugh. All those people are going to lose their jobs for nothing. It's probably killing him to do TMM anyway.

by Anonymousreply 313September 13, 2022 5:12 PM

I'll always love Steve for writing "Meadowlark" for me, though.

by Anonymousreply 314September 13, 2022 5:13 PM

I'm ashamed to say that 2 friends on my FB over the weekend posted about going to see Ben Platt in concert. Good gawd. Immediately unfriended them, of course.

by Anonymousreply 315September 13, 2022 5:13 PM

R314, you fucking bitch.

by Anonymousreply 316September 13, 2022 5:13 PM

They finally made a movie of The Front Runner?

by Anonymousreply 317September 13, 2022 5:14 PM

Platt's concert sounds pretty full and the audience sounds receptive.

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by Anonymousreply 318September 13, 2022 5:16 PM

R317, not the classic gay novel. It was a re-telling of Gary Hart's ill-fated Presidential campaign which no one was interested in during the Trump years. Must seem quite quaint.

by Anonymousreply 319September 13, 2022 5:19 PM

Kelly Clarkson for Sally! Laura Benanti for Phyllis! Follies 2032!

by Anonymousreply 320September 13, 2022 5:38 PM

Damn, the weekly grosses for Into the Woods dropped more than $800,000. It looks like Sara Bareilles was the big draw, after all. (And maybe also Phillipa Soo.)

by Anonymousreply 321September 13, 2022 5:43 PM

Put Jewel into it!

by Anonymousreply 322September 13, 2022 5:44 PM

Kelly Clarkson ought to find out from her American Idol/movie partner Justin Guarini how to sing Broadway music properly. He was extremely impressive when I saw him at Encores in "Paint Your Wagon". Very much in the proper style too. Really good.

by Anonymousreply 323September 13, 2022 5:48 PM

Clarkson is a pop star.

by Anonymousreply 324September 13, 2022 5:53 PM

r288 Not anti anything. He is correct.

by Anonymousreply 325September 13, 2022 5:54 PM

What an absolute nightmare R296.

by Anonymousreply 326September 13, 2022 5:56 PM

I'd prefer Jane Lynch for Harold Hill. Melissa Benoist for Marian.

by Anonymousreply 327September 13, 2022 5:57 PM

Philippa Soo??? Ahhahahhahahahhahahhahahahah

by Anonymousreply 328September 13, 2022 5:58 PM

BAWL SACK!

by Anonymousreply 329September 13, 2022 6:00 PM

I think it was a big mistake to put ONLY X MORE WEEKS TO SEE THE ORIGINAL CAST in the ITW ads. Made some people think they had to see the originals because the show wouldn’t be as good with replacements.

by Anonymousreply 330September 13, 2022 6:02 PM

How quickly they forget that a replacement can tranform a show, far exceeding the the fiasco it was before...

by Anonymousreply 331September 13, 2022 6:05 PM

Is there very little scenery in this production of ITW? At Broadway prices? The original had quite a bit, starting with the giant leg outside the theater.

by Anonymousreply 332September 13, 2022 6:05 PM

Dont forget about me...

by Anonymousreply 333September 13, 2022 6:06 PM

[quote]It's pretty specific if you're no longer have a shirt.

I'm sure you think that's hilarious (despite your typo), but I till say that the statement "SOME investors MAY lose their shirts" is pretty vague. In fact, very vague.

[quote]The Music Man was grossing $3.5 million/week.

Exactly. If any of the investors "lose their shirts," they should call for an investigation of Rudin, whom we all know is still running the show.

by Anonymousreply 334September 13, 2022 6:08 PM

Did Donna Murphy do number$ for her Dolly performances?

by Anonymousreply 335September 13, 2022 6:08 PM

What - 4 performances so far, Lea? Yes, we know you're covid positive, but still... wait till you're opening to announce you've saved Broadway.

by Anonymousreply 336September 13, 2022 6:08 PM

"your" that is

by Anonymousreply 337September 13, 2022 6:08 PM

Honey, with sold out shows and climbing ticket prices, you can bet your ass I saved this shitshow...elevating it from a High School musical to a true Broadway event. Fuck off hater

by Anonymousreply 338September 13, 2022 6:12 PM

[quote]I till say that the statement "SOME investors MAY lose their shirts" is pretty vague.

Still say. Sorry.

by Anonymousreply 339September 13, 2022 6:17 PM

Benko kept it running until you came along, and she's still keeping it running until you return. Not a Lea hater, just telling the truth. Lea sounds really good in the clips released. Get a grip.

by Anonymousreply 340September 13, 2022 6:18 PM

I'd wager Hello, Dolly! could still be running with any number of perfectly well-qualified women in the lead role instead of shutting it down once Bette, Bernadette and Donna left. It certainly worked for the original production. I saw the tour in San Francisco, and while Betty Buckley left something to be desired as Dolly, the rest of the production was a treat, one that had nothing on its mind but to entertain. (Fine, I might have toned down some of the day-glo sorbet costumes for the chorus.) But I do think The Music Man is a harder show to cast (or re-cast) correctly.

by Anonymousreply 341September 13, 2022 6:19 PM

Benko kept it running until Lea came along, and she's still keeping it running until you return. Not a Lea hater, just telling the truth. Lea sounds really good in the clips released. Get a grip.

by Anonymousreply 342September 13, 2022 6:19 PM

Wasn't Rudin sued by some Dolly investors, saying they barely made back their investments which was totally at odds with attendance and financial reports they saw during the run?

by Anonymousreply 343September 13, 2022 6:19 PM

Put Nathan Lane in as Harold. Hill is really a character part anyway (Robert Preston started as a movie villain). Take out some of the dancing, and he'd still be entertaining as hell.

by Anonymousreply 344September 13, 2022 6:21 PM

sorry for the repeat post - system acting funny.

by Anonymousreply 345September 13, 2022 6:23 PM

Matthew Broderick and SJP could take over the leads.

by Anonymousreply 346September 13, 2022 6:23 PM

Familiar names like Sean Hayes and Kristin Chenoweth would've been decent draws for MM.

by Anonymousreply 347September 13, 2022 6:24 PM

Kristin's been there/done that, r347...

by Anonymousreply 348September 13, 2022 6:25 PM

Oh yeah, R348. But would she have said no?

by Anonymousreply 349September 13, 2022 6:27 PM

Taye Diggs and Adele Dazeem might have been fun.

by Anonymousreply 350September 13, 2022 6:30 PM

R331, You betcha.

by Anonymousreply 351September 13, 2022 6:32 PM

Hopefully they'd put the keys back for Kristin (though they lowered them for her on tv for some reason). Folks at the network must think the general public isn't used to, or are scared, by sopranos! Matthew was not good as Harold Hill.

by Anonymousreply 352September 13, 2022 6:33 PM

Speaking of Ms. Dazeem, anyone else see her flogging her clothing line on QVC last month? I believe it was called Encore.

by Anonymousreply 353September 13, 2022 6:33 PM

Speaking of replacements, Aurora has Susan Lucci, Cheryl Ladd, and Marilu Henner on their channel. They each perform "You Can't Get A Man With A Gun" and each of them is terrible. Susan Lucci's singing is especially dreadful.

by Anonymousreply 354September 13, 2022 6:34 PM

Benko didn’t keep anything open R340. She’s an understudy. She’s not selling tickets. Period.

by Anonymousreply 355September 13, 2022 6:35 PM

Remember that Roger Friedman author of that "article" knows very little and is writing only bitchy opinion. It's not like he did research or got fact.

[quote] So hundreds of people lose their jobs. Some investors may lose their shirts. But someone’s got to pay for those 76 trombones.

Hundreds of people also GOT jobs from the show happening at all.

by Anonymousreply 356September 13, 2022 6:36 PM

r343 I don't think they actually sued, but they kicked up a fuss, and all of a sudden Rudin was able to increase the return to investors

[quote]But for a hit that grossed $128.19 million (more than any revival in Broadway history not called Chicago), some investors have been grumbling. While the production recouped its $15.9 million investment last winter, a detailed report of its finances disclosed that backers only made 5% on their buy-in as of last week.

[quote]Possibly in response to the report, the show's LLC distributed additional checks over the weekend. Several investors confirmed today that another 5% had come in, with a note saying more was on the way. This makes the musical's financial picture a bit more rosy than initially disclosed.

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by Anonymousreply 357September 13, 2022 6:39 PM

Was Joy Behar seriously asked to take over when Midler left? Or was she only joking?

by Anonymousreply 358September 13, 2022 6:41 PM

[quote]Hopefully they'd put the keys back for Kristin (though they lowered them for her on tv for some reason). Folks at the network must think the general public isn't used to, or are scared, by sopranos!

There's a general feeling that high soprano and tenor keys in Broadway scores need to be lowered at least somewhat for the film versions, to make them sound more natural. This is nothing new. Even some of Shirley Jones' keys in THE MUSIC MAN were somewhat lower than Barbara Cook's.

by Anonymousreply 359September 13, 2022 6:45 PM

They should have asked Verdi soprano Aprile Millo to take over from Bette Midler. The are dead ringers for each other, and Millo could have gotten a few months of business from Met Opera fans.

by Anonymousreply 360September 13, 2022 6:46 PM

[quote]Aaron Tveit and Laura Osnes could have replaced Hugh and Sutton.

Laura is busy these days singing at a rodeo.

by Anonymousreply 361September 13, 2022 6:48 PM

Steve with some sass about Streisand

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by Anonymousreply 362September 13, 2022 6:51 PM

A well to do ugly bootlegger?

by Anonymousreply 363September 13, 2022 6:57 PM

[quote] Has Dame Edna been canceled? How is her (his, their) career doing?

Dame Edna is at least a zillion years old.

That said, I don't care for the drag queen schtick but Every Dame Edna Bway show was absolutely hilarious

by Anonymousreply 364September 13, 2022 6:59 PM

[quote] They should have asked Verdi soprano Aprile Millo to take over from Bette Midler.

Millo is up to around 300 lbs at this point

by Anonymousreply 365September 13, 2022 7:00 PM

There was a rumor that Nathan was asked whether he'd be interested in replacing Bette (he wasn't). It wasn't without precedent. Merrick asked Jack Benny and his good friend George Burns whether they'd be interested in being replacement Dolly and Vandergelder (they weren't).

by Anonymousreply 366September 13, 2022 7:11 PM

Danny LaRue played Dolly successfully in the regions, and less successfully in the West End.

by Anonymousreply 367September 13, 2022 7:12 PM

How about Harvey Fierstein as Dolly

by Anonymousreply 368September 13, 2022 7:13 PM

They should have asked RuPaul to play Dolly. They could have raised the Pearl Bailey keys.

by Anonymousreply 369September 13, 2022 7:17 PM

RuPaul is made for the cameras, not live performance.

by Anonymousreply 370September 13, 2022 7:18 PM

Tell me about it, Reebs!

by Anonymousreply 371September 13, 2022 7:22 PM

I wonder what the Streisand recording was that Sondheim didn't care for. He said lovely things about her in the past including something about how, when he saw Funny Girl, it was the first time he saw someone able to sing and act at the same time.

by Anonymousreply 372September 13, 2022 7:29 PM

Back To Broadway.

by Anonymousreply 373September 13, 2022 7:33 PM

I honestly think some of the issue with The Music Man and finding Hugh's replacement is how the whole role was re-conceived (arguably ill-conceived) as a tap-dancing song and dance vehicle. While impressive, I think the whole show leaned too heavily into the choreography and Hugh leading the charge. It would have to be radically reshaped with another star, especially if they went with a non-dancer.

I honestly think the excessive hoofing aspect undercuts the character of Harold Hill. While he might be a little long in the tooth, a Bryan Cranston would make for a fantastic HH. In fact, any number of Hollywood leading men, and leading character actors might have made for a fascinating HH. A Tom Hanks or Ryan Reynolds would absolutely destroy in the part. They need basic musicality voice-wise -- it's really more an acting part, as evidenced by Preston's magical turn.

by Anonymousreply 374September 13, 2022 7:33 PM

[Quote] it was the first time he saw someone able to sing and act at the same time.

!

by Anonymousreply 375September 13, 2022 7:34 PM

Could Zac Efron pull off Harold Hill?

by Anonymousreply 376September 13, 2022 7:35 PM

Stritch @r375, you could never sing. And your only acting choice was “loud”.

by Anonymousreply 377September 13, 2022 7:38 PM

Nope.

by Anonymousreply 378September 13, 2022 7:40 PM

Oh, please. Streisand in A Delicate Balance (Of Off White)? I think not.

by Anonymousreply 379September 13, 2022 7:40 PM

I would agree with R341 that they could've left 'Dolly' running another couple of years with a revolving door of ladies. It would've continued to follow the 'ethos' of the original Merrick production (which Rudin was DEFINITELY trying to pay off), wherein they brought beloved stars of the past (and present) into the role and tailored it around their unique shtick.

The Music Man, as conceived by Zaks/Carlyle, doesn't allow this flexibility at ALL. The Stroman revival, which was far superior in every way, really allowed for different Harold Hills to be dropped into the existing fabric of the show. I'm actually surprised they didn't consider this from the outset. The production was way too Hugh-dependent.

by Anonymousreply 380September 13, 2022 7:41 PM

I thought Sondheim was referring to the amateurish tape when he wrote ‘I hope you enjoy THIS more than I did.’ and it was just awkwardly placed after the thank you for Streisand.

by Anonymousreply 381September 13, 2022 7:44 PM

Marin Mazzie passed away four years ago today. What a loss.

by Anonymousreply 382September 13, 2022 7:45 PM

r381 He says "...than I did that." so he's obviously referring to the Streisand record. The 'that' pretty much rules out your interpretation.

by Anonymousreply 383September 13, 2022 7:51 PM

[quote]I hope you enjoy THIS more than I did.

r381, He wrote...

[quote]I hope you enjoy THIS more than I did THAT

by Anonymousreply 384September 13, 2022 7:51 PM

She was wonderful. Such a strange thing that she has no Tony wins either. But she was beloved -- her memorial filled the Gershwin theater with some of the biggest names in theater.

by Anonymousreply 385September 13, 2022 7:52 PM

They should've got Barbra to do Hello, Dolly! for a bit after Bette. At least she would've been the right age for it. She could've done like 8 weeks?

by Anonymousreply 386September 13, 2022 8:15 PM

Roz Kind *is* Tuesday night Dolly.

by Anonymousreply 387September 13, 2022 8:18 PM

Lea!

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by Anonymousreply 388September 13, 2022 8:22 PM

Someone on Insta refers to a Streisand version of Shall We Dance? Anyone know what they were referring to?

by Anonymousreply 389September 13, 2022 8:34 PM

"Shall We Dance"

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by Anonymousreply 390September 13, 2022 8:45 PM

[quote] her memorial filled the Gershwin theater with some of the biggest names in theater.

ALL the biggest names in theater couldn't fill the Booth Theater

by Anonymousreply 391September 13, 2022 9:36 PM

[quote] Millo could have gotten a few months of business from Met Opera fans.

ALL the Met Opera fans couldn't fill the Booth Theater

by Anonymousreply 392September 13, 2022 9:44 PM

Yes Dame Edna is hilarious.

We saw her do her show in Indy and a group of folks came in about 15 minutes late. She stopped the show and had us all watch them take their seats. She asked them where they were from and they said they were from Carmel - which is just north of town.

She paused and then said: "I came here all the way from Australia and I got here on time....."

by Anonymousreply 393September 13, 2022 9:49 PM

The funniest thing is it was Doris Day's retirement group.

by Anonymousreply 394September 13, 2022 9:51 PM

Sorry, but I think it's foolish to think that a show like DOLLY could have the long-lasting appeal on Broadway now that it had in the 1960s. In spite of Bette's great success with the revival, times (and ticket prices) have simply changed too much.

And while 60s audiences might have thrilled to the likes of Ginger Rogers, Betty Grable and even Martha Raye and Phyllis Diller, we just don't have older actresses with that kind of nostalgic appeal that would kill in the role and endlessly put butts in seats nowadays. I mean who seriously could have succeeded Bette on Broadway for longer than a month or 2? Was Bernadette really financially successful as a replacement? Betty Buckley? Carolee Carmello? Hah! Could someone like Jean Smart, for instance, sell premium tix for more than a few weeks?

That production had huge running costs and needed to make well over a million and a half a week to be profitable. And audiences now have too many other streamable options to watch their old favorites......if the very notion of "old favorites" even exists any more.

by Anonymousreply 395September 13, 2022 9:57 PM

R393 That's the best part of an Edna show. S/he is unparalleled at riffing on whatever's happening in the room. And so brilliant at poking fun at people, mostly without them even knowing it.

by Anonymousreply 396September 13, 2022 9:58 PM

Goldie Hawn!

by Anonymousreply 397September 13, 2022 9:58 PM

Reunite Brian Stokes Mitchell and Audra McDonald to replace Hugh and Sutton

by Anonymousreply 398September 13, 2022 9:59 PM

[quote]Has Dame Edna been canceled? How is her (his, their) career doing?

Barry Humphries is 88 years old and is essentially retired. I don't think he's focusing on his career these days.

by Anonymousreply 399September 13, 2022 10:47 PM

He's currently focusing on a fruit cup.

by Anonymousreply 400September 13, 2022 10:49 PM

I thought Kelly sounded great, actually! Lovely pop voice and good for her singing Sondheim.

I'm confused about Music Man-- Hugh is out promoting THE SON and is not going to return at all? I couldn't quite tell from that 411 article. That's can't be right--he'd come back and do the very end, no? Or is he already back?

by Anonymousreply 401September 13, 2022 11:27 PM

Someone needs to tell Hugh he’s not getting the Oscar

by Anonymousreply 402September 13, 2022 11:39 PM

R395 Cyndi Lauper could have been a fun Dolly Levi.

by Anonymousreply 403September 13, 2022 11:50 PM

Dame Edna was hilarious when playing at the Booth and Sandy Duncan was doing Chicago at the Shubert.

S/he said: "Don't be too noisy! The possums next door at Chicago will hear what a real audience sounds like. Little Sandy Duncan will have a glass pressed up against the wall listening."

by Anonymousreply 404September 13, 2022 11:58 PM

I would have gone with "will have her glass eye pressed ug against the wall listening."

by Anonymousreply 405September 14, 2022 12:00 AM

That would be difficult since Sandy doesn't have a glass eye.

by Anonymousreply 406September 14, 2022 12:03 AM

That would be difficult since Sandy doesn't have a glass eye.

by Anonymousreply 407September 14, 2022 12:03 AM

"The Stroman revival, which was far superior in every way," Which is damning with faint praise. That production didn't have an original idea in its head (down to the casting of the Preston sound-alike leading man), didn't understand the comedy, but when Harold Hill revealed the marbles to be marshmallows BEFORE the chaos in the library, well....there's nothing more to say.

"Am I the only one who read the original like that?" Of course not. It's a sly, subtle and subversive notion about a straight man in a dress who discovers he enjoys being a girl. Which is why it's hilarious. A literal, sledgehammer and agenda-driven approach would only destroy it.

by Anonymousreply 408September 14, 2022 12:21 AM

[quote]R377 Stritch, you could never sing. And your only acting choice was “loud”.

[italic]LINE ! !

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by Anonymousreply 409September 14, 2022 12:36 AM

Ben & Benie aren't having a good year

by Anonymousreply 410September 14, 2022 12:41 AM

Yeah, that Stro MM revival was really just OK, nothing special, except for the beautiful and gorgeous-voiced Rebecca Luker.

by Anonymousreply 411September 14, 2022 1:19 AM

Susan Stroman is a nice, super-professional lady. And a fun choreographer.

But a brilliant director of musicals? No.

by Anonymousreply 412September 14, 2022 1:22 AM

Stroman did good work on THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS.

by Anonymousreply 413September 14, 2022 1:27 AM

Who had the glass eye? I, too, thought it was Duncan.

by Anonymousreply 414September 14, 2022 1:31 AM

She has no sight in one eye but is her own eye.

by Anonymousreply 415September 14, 2022 1:34 AM

[quote]Kelly Clarkson for Sally!

Justin Guarini for Ben!

Clay Aiken for Buddy!

Katharine McPhee for Phyllis!

Ruben Studdard for Roscoe!

Fantasia for Hattie!

Ace Young and Diana DeGarmo for Vincent and Vanessa!

Presented by Simon Cowell Productions

by Anonymousreply 416September 14, 2022 1:34 AM

Dame Edna/Barry Humphries has Parkinsons...has for a few years now...thats why hes retired and we never see him.

by Anonymousreply 417September 14, 2022 1:37 AM

Did he have many wives?

by Anonymousreply 418September 14, 2022 1:38 AM

Right or wrong, you could have gotten some pop singers of a certain age with musical comedy experience to play Dolly ... Maureen McGovern, Toni Tennille ... hell, Pia Zadora!

by Anonymousreply 419September 14, 2022 1:48 AM

Not on Broadway. The big enough names wouldn't want Bette's leftovers. And the one who would do it would underperform at the box office.

by Anonymousreply 420September 14, 2022 1:53 AM

*ones who would do it

by Anonymousreply 421September 14, 2022 1:53 AM

R372, Sondheim's comment about Streisand in FUNNY GIRL was the opposite of what you recall. He said that it was very striking how she acted in the scenes but then became a singer in the songs -- i.e., the acting stopped.

by Anonymousreply 422September 14, 2022 1:55 AM

[quote]Millo is up to around 300 lbs at this point

So, just change the lyrics to "find me some other laps, fellas!"

by Anonymousreply 423September 14, 2022 1:58 AM

Barry Humphries aka Dame Edna was the undertaker Mr. Sowerberry in the original production of Oliver! He sings That's Your Funeral on the OLCR. The song was either cut for the US or not recorded for the OBCR, I forget which.

by Anonymousreply 424September 14, 2022 2:31 AM

Did he play Fagin in the '90s?

by Anonymousreply 425September 14, 2022 2:33 AM

Could Bernadette still play the Witch in ITW?

by Anonymousreply 426September 14, 2022 2:37 AM

Isn't her voice close to shot?

by Anonymousreply 427September 14, 2022 2:44 AM

I believe he did, R425.

Just to be clear, Dame Edna is not a "trans" or "drag" thing and never was. There has never been any suggestion that Humphries was gay or enjoyed cross-dressing in life, or that there was any confusion in his own mind between his dapper, highly cultured, three-times-married self and Edna. Edna has always owed more to pantomime Dames than to drag queens.

In the early 1960s Humphries used to have whole shows full of monologues in which he played different characters. From memory all of these apart from Edna were male. But Edna was such a hit she gradually took over the second halves of the shows, and eventually took on a life of her own. She was originally developed on a regional tour of Twelfth Night, in which Humphries played Orsino, to entertain the rest of the cast on the bus. Humphries did just the voice, and in it he would "predict" what the ladies in the next country town would have to say to the cast, eg explaining what treats they would have provided for the after-party. One of the cast was the author of Summer of the Seventeenth Doll, who suggested Edna take the stage in the company's Christmas revue. Humphries said, "But who would play her?" He had to be persuaded he could do it himself. He continued to play a couple of other (male) characters, at least in Australia, for most of his career.

Edna then developed as a stinging send-up of Humphries's middle-class mother and her complacent set. (If she is an alter ego, it is his mother's voice in his head that comes out.) Her clothes were originally very drab (cardigans and shapeless straight skirts, etc.) The "superstar" thing developed during the 70s as Humphries's international career took off. By then Edna had already been in existence nearly 20 years.

And yes, Humphries is now well into his 80s and, as far as I know, retired. Very much not cancelled in Australia, where he is regarded as a national treasure. He would probably enjoy being cancelled, though, having always been politically and socially conservative.

by Anonymousreply 428September 14, 2022 3:12 AM

R428 I interviewed Humphries years ago and there were 'interesting' conditions. I could not ask questions about Edna, Les Patterson as characters he played, but rather as separate identities and their own people. It made for an interesting time. We had fun discussing the lonely death of Sandy Shaw. and his Kiwi bridesmaid.

i do remember I made him laugh over how the Queen would send her congratulations for his 100th Birthday. He was classy and funny.

by Anonymousreply 429September 14, 2022 3:25 AM

Benny and Barry, two of a kind---and hilarious. And here's Benny!

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 430September 14, 2022 3:28 AM

[Quote] the lonely death of Sandy Shaw.

Do you mean Kathy Kirby?

by Anonymousreply 431September 14, 2022 3:36 AM

R431 Oh shit, Sandy Stone, one of his early characters.

by Anonymousreply 432September 14, 2022 3:38 AM

[quote][R372], Sondheim's comment about Streisand in FUNNY GIRL was the opposite of what you recall. He said that it was very striking how she acted in the scenes but then became a singer in the songs -- i.e., the acting stopped.

Thanks. The other version of the comment that someone attributed to Sondheim was ridiculous. As if anyone would think Streisand (or anyone else) was the first person they had ever seen who sang and acted at the same time.

by Anonymousreply 433September 14, 2022 4:30 AM

Saw Oklahoma in LA tonight

They apparently cut the boots from the dream ballet. And no cornbread.

by Anonymousreply 434September 14, 2022 7:24 AM

[quote]I interviewed Humphries years ago and there were 'interesting' conditions. I could not ask questions about Edna, Les Patterson as characters he played, but rather as separate identities and their own people. It made for an interesting time.

I interviewed Humphries about 20 years ago when he was on tour with one of the shows he had done on Broadway. The publicist for the show gave me the choice of interviewing Barry Humphries or Dame Edna. I chose Dame Edna, figuring the results would be a lot more fun.

by Anonymousreply 435September 14, 2022 7:34 AM

[quote]They apparently cut the boots from the dream ballet. And no cornbread.

They should have cut the ballet. It stinks anyway.

by Anonymousreply 436September 14, 2022 7:37 AM

[quote] She has no sight in one eye but is her own eye.

Sandy Duncan in

"I AM MY OWN EYE"

by Anonymousreply 437September 14, 2022 7:38 AM

Dame Edna was on an episode of Donahue and I actually by some miracle got through to the studio operator (they asked for callers) - I asked what Edna would say to Madonna. (A dumb enough question to get asked, and it did.)

Edna responded: "Why?"

Whether it was to Madonna or me, not sure.

by Anonymousreply 438September 14, 2022 7:40 AM

And to continue the story at r404, Sandy Duncan had a picture made and interrupted Dame Edna’s show one night to present it.

Offsite Link
by Anonymousreply 439September 14, 2022 11:24 AM

Zac Efron for Harold Hill!

by Anonymousreply 440September 14, 2022 1:03 PM

[quote] Susan Stroman is a nice, super-professional lady. And a fun choreographer. But a brilliant director of musicals? No.

I've pretty much hated every show she's directed, and, at this point, actively try to avoid her shows.

People always bring up The Scottsboro Boys (which I didn't see). But it were so good, why was it a gigantic flop? Except for The Producers, which was a success mainly because of its cast, have her shows even been big hits?

by Anonymousreply 441September 14, 2022 1:23 PM

[quote] People always bring up The Scottsboro Boys (which I didn't see). But it were so good, why was it a gigantic flop?

Because Americans do not want to be told how racist they are.

It was her best show, post-Producers, by far. I had some issues with it (the book took a while to really get into gear, and a few songs were not as sharp as they might have been if Fred Ebb had lived to see it produced), but it was audacious, smart, and beautifully staged, designed and performed. It received chilly reviews from both NY Times critics, which killed it in its crib. A serious, challenging musical like that really needed the NY Times behind it. But audiences truly failed it even more.

by Anonymousreply 442September 14, 2022 1:34 PM

I pretty much gave up hope for Broadway when the excellent and powerful productions of JOURNEY'S END and THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS failed to run.

by Anonymousreply 443September 14, 2022 1:50 PM

[quote] Damn, the weekly grosses for Into the Woods dropped more than $800,000. It looks like Sara Bareilles was the big draw, after all. (And maybe also Phillipa Soo.)

wow even worse than it seems. Gross dropped $823K; next biggest drop was Potter at $269K. And Woods had the lowest % capacity at just under 68% (just below Kite Runner), a 30% drop from the prior week; No other show dropped more than 4%.

It looks like it was all Sara

by Anonymousreply 444September 14, 2022 2:01 PM

It looks like it was all the Sondheim queens have already seen it.

by Anonymousreply 445September 14, 2022 2:04 PM

And kids are back in school now, so less families seeing shows.

by Anonymousreply 446September 14, 2022 2:05 PM

" Fewer families..."

by Anonymousreply 447September 14, 2022 2:23 PM

Sara was the draw and the magic of the Encores cast

by Anonymousreply 448September 14, 2022 2:31 PM

Tony winner Aaron Tveit would kill as Harold Hill.

He's now 40 and this would propel him into adult roles, once and for all.

He also has a huge fan base.

Team Aaron!

by Anonymousreply 449September 14, 2022 3:13 PM

Aaron? Is that you?

by Anonymousreply 450September 14, 2022 3:25 PM

[quote]I pretty much gave up hope for Broadway when the excellent and powerful productions of JOURNEY'S END and THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS failed to run.

I understand your feeling, and I too loved both of those productions, but the truth is that there are not nearly enough people willing to pay current Broadway prices for a show that's very disturbing, upsetting, and/or sad in some way, no matter how excellent that show is. Which is why if DEATH OF A SALESMAN (for example) opened today, it would probably run only a few months at most.

by Anonymousreply 451September 14, 2022 3:28 PM

I’m sorry but Aaron Tveit won’t sell tickets if Stephanie J Block can’t

by Anonymousreply 452September 14, 2022 3:50 PM

Are Block fans called Blockheads?

by Anonymousreply 453September 14, 2022 4:38 PM

I saw "Scottsboro" in LA (with Hal Linden) and thought it was outstanding. I too couldn't figure out why it hadn't been more successful.

by Anonymousreply 454September 14, 2022 4:49 PM

Oh Jesus, the TIMES is writing about HAMILTON again. Because the translation to German is something we're all supposed to care about?

by Anonymousreply 455September 14, 2022 4:59 PM

The craziness continues at FG. New Mr Ziegfeld stepped into the show last night with just a few hours of rehearsal. It’s a miracle they haven’t had to cancel any performances.

by Anonymousreply 456September 14, 2022 4:59 PM

Aaron Tveit is a charisma vaccuum.

by Anonymousreply 457September 14, 2022 5:12 PM

Dat cock tho, R457

by Anonymousreply 458September 14, 2022 5:15 PM

Pic?

by Anonymousreply 459September 14, 2022 5:16 PM

[quote] Oh Jesus, the TIMES is writing about HAMILTON again. Because the translation to German is something we're all supposed to care about?

But no show ever has ever been translated into another language EVER.

It is amazing how everyone at the NY Times lines up to suck LMM's cock in a hungry attempt at clicks.

by Anonymousreply 460September 14, 2022 5:22 PM

Like they never did it for Sondheim.

by Anonymousreply 461September 14, 2022 5:24 PM

Sure, after he was dead.

by Anonymousreply 462September 14, 2022 5:34 PM

[quote]I saw "Scottsboro" in LA (with Hal Linden) and thought it was outstanding. I too couldn't figure out why it hadn't been more successful

Again, not counting revivals of classics with major stars, there simply aren't enough people willing to pay today's ticket prices for any show that's very disturbing or depressing. The last hit show I can think of that fit that category was SPRING AWAKENING, and even that one only ran for two years.

by Anonymousreply 463September 14, 2022 5:35 PM

From the posts of the DL theater queens, you'd never know he was dead.

by Anonymousreply 464September 14, 2022 5:36 PM

I would like to see the foreign translations for A Weekend In the Country, A Little Priest and Please Hello!, bitte y s'il vous plait.

by Anonymousreply 465September 14, 2022 5:55 PM

Do tell us more, r457. Be as graphic as you can.

by Anonymousreply 466September 14, 2022 6:05 PM

I need to see the Tveit tcock.

by Anonymousreply 467September 14, 2022 6:06 PM

You have silly needs, r467.

by Anonymousreply 468September 14, 2022 6:10 PM

Der Yiddisher Pinafore is a special treat.

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by Anonymousreply 469September 14, 2022 6:14 PM

A lot of the best shows aren't usually financial hits due to darker subject matter. Even something like Gypsy rarely makes any money no matter who plays Rose. One of the greatest scores and books of any musical, but the story itself leaves a bad taste in people's mouths because what it has to say is fairly depressing and it ends on a downer.

More people probably see themselves in Rose than they'd like to admit and don't like to be reminded of their own failed dreams and ambitions when they go to the theater. Instead of using it as a learning experience or seeing it as a cautionary tale, they'd rather have chorus girls, spectacle, pop songs shoehorned in, and chandeliers falling in front of them than be challenged. It's always been this way, but it got a hell of a lot worse starting in the 80's and it's become harder and harder to present these kinds of stories.

by Anonymousreply 470September 14, 2022 6:35 PM

Aaron Tveit would be the WORST fucking Harold Hill imaginable. Great voice but zero warmth, zero charm, zero funny. I'm amazed he's had the career he's had.

by Anonymousreply 471September 14, 2022 6:47 PM

Tveit was a passably attractive blank onscreen in SCHMIGADOON, as he usually is. I don't get the fandom.

by Anonymousreply 472September 14, 2022 6:50 PM

Gypsy doesn't make a profit because it doesn't speak to modern audiences. It, like Dolly, is an old fashioned musical shaped around a powerhouse lead. That's not enough UNLESS that lead is a star in her own right.

Midler is that level a star. So far, the women who can handle Mama Rose are not.

by Anonymousreply 473September 14, 2022 6:54 PM

Bette Midler made an unholy mess of Rose in the GYPSY TV version. Just saying.

by Anonymousreply 474September 14, 2022 6:57 PM

R474, yes, she overacted her heart out, but it was a hit.

by Anonymousreply 475September 14, 2022 7:01 PM

Dolly is a charm part. Rose is not. I don't think Gypsy is really an old fashioned musical. Even the June & Boys number isn't straight up old fashioned entertainment, its function is to show up Rose's lack of taste and talent.

by Anonymousreply 476September 14, 2022 7:02 PM

That lack of taste and talent explains why Rose's kids' act never got anywhere. Her failure genes is a theme that runs through the show in many ways. One comes up as early as Some People, when she speaks of getting the act on the Orpheum Circuit, and that she dreamed she was "in Mr. Orpheum's office."

But there was no Mr. Orpheum. It's not a name, it's a buzz term, like Majestic Theatre or the Palace. There was no Mr. Palace, either. It's Sondheim's clever joke to use "Mr. Orpheum" to show how clueless Rose is.

And I have to admit that after all these years, i never got the joke till it came up in Ethan Mordden's Broadway Musicals on CD book, like just a few days ago. It made me wonder how many other Easter eggs Sondheim or Laurents might have included in the show. The whole thing is that Rose is shrewd and pushy, so she can get something out of life. But she doesn't have the gift, the wisdom, or whatever it is. She's a failure, and that's why Gypsy is a downer, however brilliant.

Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

by Anonymousreply 477September 14, 2022 7:45 PM

[quote]yes, she overacted her heart out, but it was a hit

...and no Emmy to show for it!

by Anonymousreply 478September 14, 2022 7:53 PM

[quote]Dolly is a charm part. Rose is not.

Rose *has* to have a modicum of charm, r476. Wiley charm was part of the real Rose Hovick's arsenal. You shouldn't see a shift until Roses.

by Anonymousreply 479September 14, 2022 7:57 PM

Rose rips into people like her father in her first solo. She can't be a pill, but...

by Anonymousreply 480September 14, 2022 8:02 PM

[quote]Rose rips into people like her father

Her father would be well used to Rose's ways by then, r480. Charm wasn't going to work with him.

by Anonymousreply 481September 14, 2022 8:05 PM

Tell me people think you’re getting old without telling me people think you’re getting old. Lili Cooper was just cast in the Estelle Parsons/Angela Lansbury role in The Pirates of Penzance.

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by Anonymousreply 482September 14, 2022 8:05 PM

I believe you mean the Patricia Routledge role, r482.

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by Anonymousreply 483September 14, 2022 8:14 PM

Yes, but I wasn't sure if everyone on here would know who she was and how old she was back then. You say Estelle parsons and Angela Lansbury in the context of "old" and everyone gets it.

by Anonymousreply 484September 14, 2022 8:15 PM

A charm part isn’t about charming the other characters

It’s about charming the audience.

The audience sees Rose use her charm to manipulate.

by Anonymousreply 485September 14, 2022 8:16 PM

FFS,,,,theyre changing the location to New Orleans ? Why cant people just leave well enough alone ?

by Anonymousreply 486September 14, 2022 8:17 PM

This is the Theatre Gossip thread, r484, I think we know who Patricia Routledge is.

Fair enough, r485, but if Rose doesn't charm the audience in parts, you're going to end up with a Betty Buckley performance.

by Anonymousreply 487September 14, 2022 8:26 PM

Sad/difficult shows sell if the music is palatable. Les Miz is a 3 hour and 20 minute downer. But we all get a good cry at the end (when Patti LuPone decides to show up for her final song).

by Anonymousreply 488September 14, 2022 8:28 PM

Rosie O’Donnell would make an interesting Rose. Something tells me she could easily scream at a teenage daughter for two hours.

by Anonymousreply 489September 14, 2022 8:31 PM

[quote]Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

Harumph.

by Anonymousreply 490September 14, 2022 8:33 PM

[quote]Dolly is a charm part. Rose is not.

And yet three actresses have won Tony Awards for playing Rose: Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly and Patti LuPone.

by Anonymousreply 491September 14, 2022 8:36 PM

Lilli Cooper is one of the most pedestrian talents ever to trod the boards.

by Anonymousreply 492September 14, 2022 8:36 PM

[quote]Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

You want Jerry Herman, r490? Get Jerry Herman.

by Anonymousreply 493September 14, 2022 8:37 PM

A little distance has shown us all that every one of the many seconds we spent with Rosie O'Donnell were a total waste of our precious lives. Life has been so much better since she disappeared into her pot hazed craft basement.

by Anonymousreply 494September 14, 2022 8:55 PM

[quote]But there was no Mr. Orpheum.

WHAT? Next you'll be telling us there was no Mr. Radio!

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by Anonymousreply 495September 14, 2022 9:02 PM

I never knew what RKO stood for.

by Anonymousreply 496September 14, 2022 9:03 PM

Lilli Cooper is still quite a young woman, about 31. Ruth in PIRATES OF PENZANCE is supposed to be considerably older, but I'm guessing the Roundabout didn't think it was important to cast the part that way in a one-night-only benefit concert. That said, aside from her age, I think Lilli is terribly miscast in the part in terms of the style of performance and comedy that are required.

by Anonymousreply 497September 14, 2022 9:14 PM

Is Mr. Rialto still alive?

by Anonymousreply 498September 14, 2022 9:23 PM

[quote] Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

Forum and Night Music?

by Anonymousreply 499September 14, 2022 9:26 PM

I wish Scott Ellis would stick with hack TV direction.

by Anonymousreply 500September 14, 2022 9:39 PM

[quote] yes, she overacted her heart out, but it was a hit.

Applicable to her Gypsy AND her Dolly......

by Anonymousreply 501September 14, 2022 9:42 PM

I’d rather see Rosie play Ruth in POP.

by Anonymousreply 502September 14, 2022 9:56 PM

;quote]Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

Assassins?

by Anonymousreply 503September 14, 2022 9:57 PM

[quote] Lilli Cooper is still quite a young woman, about 31. Ruth in PIRATES OF PENZANCE is supposed to be considerably older,

Ruth is 47 years old. It’s in the lyrics.

by Anonymousreply 504September 14, 2022 11:34 PM

How old is her sister, Eileen, r504?

by Anonymousreply 505September 14, 2022 11:39 PM

[quote]Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?

[quote]Forum and Night Music?

Umm, I would say you're half right. NIGHT MUSIC ends happily for most of the characters, but there's quite a bit of sadness in it, and one of the main characters dies just before the final curtain.

by Anonymousreply 506September 14, 2022 11:59 PM

I saw the Pirates casting news last week but had no memory of Cooper being announced as Ruth, so I thought you all must have been talking about a new announcement and she replaced the originally cast Ruth. But no...it really was her all along. Forget the age discrepancy; couldn't they have found an actress in New York who isn't completely forgettable?

by Anonymousreply 507September 15, 2022 12:39 AM

I never knew Aaron Tveit has a girlfriend. Was this their first public appearance together?

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by Anonymousreply 508September 15, 2022 12:40 AM

One of Aaron's better performances. With Gavin Creel.

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by Anonymousreply 509September 15, 2022 12:43 AM

Idk people seem to be missing Lili Cooper’s key qualification

by Anonymousreply 510September 15, 2022 12:46 AM

Better? The NPH/Burtka one was better.

by Anonymousreply 511September 15, 2022 12:47 AM

Why did I think Lili Cooper was out?

by Anonymousreply 512September 15, 2022 12:47 AM

The happy endings are probably why Forum and Night Music were two of Sondheim's most profitable shows. You could say Company and Into the Woods have somewhat happy, if bittersweet, endings.

Audiences tend to remember the endings as they walk out and that's what most people base their initial opinions on. How did they feel when they walked out? They like that sense of closure even if it's a tad depressing. It probably doesn't help that productions of Gypsy in particular tend to make the final scene more and more bleak with each production. It's such a far cry from the ending in the original production and '62 film where Rose and Louise walk away laughing and on good terms. Then again, that ending never felt 100% earned to me either. They've tried to make the ending of Follies less bleak as well with not-so-great results. I'm not so sure most audiences like those kinds of fake happy endings where they feel unearned and tacked on either.

by Anonymousreply 513September 15, 2022 12:57 AM

Another hundred people just walked out of the show.....

by Anonymousreply 514September 15, 2022 1:05 AM

And yet they've managed to keep Cabaret going by making it darker...

by Anonymousreply 515September 15, 2022 1:11 AM

[quote] Umm, I would say you're half right. NIGHT MUSIC ends happily for most of the characters, but there's quite a bit of sadness in it, and one of the main characters dies just before the final curtain.

Madame Armfeldt doesn't die in a hail of AK47 gunfire. It's a musical comedy death, in between swelling music cues. Night Music is an elegant puffball. Despite some of the characters expressing their various regrets along the way, I think you may be stretching to remove it from a "feel good" classification.

by Anonymousreply 516September 15, 2022 1:12 AM

[quote] Yes, but I wasn't sure if everyone on here would know who she was and how old she was back then.

MARY! Look at that! A theater qween who fancies herself MORE superior to the royalty on this board!

by Anonymousreply 517September 15, 2022 1:13 AM

Go Julie!

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by Anonymousreply 518September 15, 2022 1:22 AM

And HARMONY, which has been in development since WW2, will close after 2 months.

by Anonymousreply 519September 15, 2022 1:27 AM

[quote]Madame Armfeldt doesn't die in a hail of AK47 gunfire. It's a musical comedy death, in between swelling music cues. Night Music is an elegant puffball. Despite some of the characters expressing their various regrets along the way, I think you may be stretching to remove it from a "feel good" classification.

Sorry, I think YOU are the one who's stretching. Despite the fact that, as I noted, NIGHT MUSIC has a happy ending for most of the characters, I think it's far too angsty and bittersweet to ever classify it as a "feel good musical," though I will happily agree that the ending leaves audiences feeling a lot better than they do at the end of most of Sondheim's other shows.

by Anonymousreply 520September 15, 2022 1:30 AM

When is my darling Lea back on the boards?

by Anonymousreply 521September 15, 2022 1:30 AM

R521. Next Tuesday.

by Anonymousreply 522September 15, 2022 1:39 AM

Re: Night Music

Any musical described by its creators as “whipped cream with knives” is not a feel-good musical.

by Anonymousreply 523September 15, 2022 1:41 AM

[quote]Any musical described by its creators as “whipped cream with knives” is not a feel-good musical.

Ha! Exactly. I really don't think we can expect that the marriage of the Malcolms has been fully healed by the events of the show, nor should we necessarily expect that Ann and Henrik will have a happy marriage, even if she is obviously a much better match for him than for his father.

by Anonymousreply 524September 15, 2022 1:44 AM

Sunday In The Park With George is not miserable...

I find the end uplifting, and beautiful. I adored the paris production, and the moment during Sunday, (Act I1One Finale), and George, played by Julian Ovenden, (who I would like anal with), actually enters his painting, and revels and luxuriates in it...and it is utterly gracious and a beautiful moment. A total coup de theater.

it always makes me cry, with joy.

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by Anonymousreply 525September 15, 2022 1:52 AM

The original question was, "Did Sondheim ever write a really feel-good musical?" I think the only two that fit that classification are ....FORUM and, I suppose, maybe SATURDAY NIGHT. Oh, and maybe THE FROGS?

NONE of the others could seriously be called "feel-good musicals," even if the endings of some of them are cathartic and even uplifting.

by Anonymousreply 526September 15, 2022 1:56 AM

Any musical that leaves me feeling thrilled by what I've just seen I consider "feel good." Gypsy, Night Music Sunday, Into the Woods, Company, even FOLLIES qualify for me. Conventional "happy endings" are often boring.

by Anonymousreply 527September 15, 2022 2:19 AM

[quote]Madame Armfeldt doesn't die in a hail of AK47 gunfire.

Not yet she doesn't.

by Anonymousreply 528September 15, 2022 2:27 AM

Sondheim didn’t write Meadowlark for Betty Buckley. He didn’t write it at all.

R393- Dame Edna didn’t stop the show. That was the show. She did it every night.

Susan Stroman is absolutely a brilliant director. THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS was arguably the best directed musical of the last 20 years. (THOU SHALT NOT was an experiment that just didn’t work out. Another director couldn’t have made it better. ) And the music is MORE than “palatable.” No hyperbole, it’s also has the best score in the last 20 years though you could make arguments for Ave Q and Hamilton.

Yes, BP could still play the witch in ITW.

Ruth is supposed to be an old maid. 47 years old. (An OLD 47). Cooper is basically the worst possible casting here. Do they not know the story? Lillias White would be a better choice.

by Anonymousreply 529September 15, 2022 3:33 AM

This thread could use some Fred and Mrs. Steele...

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by Anonymousreply 530September 15, 2022 3:54 AM

Someone clever should do a little research and post the 10-15 longest running Broadway musicals of all time. How many would you bet are "feel good" musicals?

by Anonymousreply 531September 15, 2022 4:09 AM

Fiddler must be on there, r531, and it isn't "feel good".

by Anonymousreply 532September 15, 2022 4:12 AM

Fiddler's 17, r531...

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by Anonymousreply 533September 15, 2022 4:15 AM

[quote]Any musical that leaves me feeling thrilled by what I've just seen I consider "feel good."

If you want to use that as your definition, so be it, but that's not the generally accepted definition. No one other than you would ever seriously classify FOLLIES as a "feel-good musical." The very thought is laughable.

by Anonymousreply 534September 15, 2022 4:15 AM

Personally, I think the number (r530) is great fun, but is it any wonder why Fred Astaire high-tailed it over to RKO when he got a look at how he was presented and photographed in MGM's Dancing Lady? He didn't return to Metro for 7 years.

by Anonymousreply 535September 15, 2022 4:16 AM

Actually, very few of those longest-running musicals could be strictly classified as "feel good" in the standard old-fashioned sense of the term, like Mama Mia, for instance.

by Anonymousreply 536September 15, 2022 4:19 AM

How is FIDDLER not feel good? Does it make you feel bad?

by Anonymousreply 537September 15, 2022 4:20 AM

[quote]How is FIDDLER not feel good? Does it make you feel bad?

No, Captain Literal. That's not what the phrase means.

by Anonymousreply 538September 15, 2022 4:22 AM

They certainly don't have the insouciance of...say...Ankles Aweigh, r536. Not many *gam* shows on that list.

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by Anonymousreply 539September 15, 2022 4:22 AM

There's a lot of poignancy in Fiddler, r537. The ending isn't exactly a laugh riot.

by Anonymousreply 540September 15, 2022 4:26 AM

R534 THANK YOU for saying exactly what I was thinking. I typed it out, then deleted it. R527's Orwellian re-definition of "feel good" is idiotic.

by Anonymousreply 541September 15, 2022 4:30 AM

Some long-running "feel-good" musicals are NEVER revived. I give you "The Magic Show." Similarly (although it's too soon, perhaps) "Hairspray," "The Producers," "Avenue Q," "Jersey Boys.""

by Anonymousreply 542September 15, 2022 4:31 AM

Eh, I don't so much care about "feel good" so much as I care about "trapped -- but happy -- which isn't too bad for the end of a musical."

by Anonymousreply 543September 15, 2022 4:32 AM

Hairspray has been revived a couple of times in the West End, no? That's probably mostly down to Michael Ball, though.

by Anonymousreply 544September 15, 2022 4:33 AM

[quote] No hyperbole, it’s also has the best score in the last 20 years though you could make arguments for Ave Q and Hamilton.

[italic]Avenue?!?![/italic] Stop. Just stop.

by Anonymousreply 545September 15, 2022 4:33 AM

^Q!

by Anonymousreply 546September 15, 2022 4:34 AM

I don't think it's a question of feel-good or not, I think it's a question of how hard it is to come to terms with a show. The Epidemic of Stupid is the main problem for musical theatre at the moment. Sondheim's shows are predicated on the idea that an audience which likes Shakespeare and Shaw will come to a musical if it has the dramatic interest of a play. It would be hard to find an ardent Sondheim fan, certainly before 1990, who wasn't also someone who went to theatre in general. Likewise, he was heavily rejected in those early years by some (not all) musical theatre lovers who couldn't "get" him at all and thought the music was nondescript and the lyrics confusing. You can't make musical theatre money off the number of trad theatregoers who exist, even on Broadway.

The Epidemic of Stupid, as reflected in audiences since the 80s, has been supported by shows like Lloyd-Webber's post-Rice hits, the jukebox shows and the likes of Six. The people who go to them go "to a show", not to the theatre. They want to be "taken out of themselves". They want big and loud or romantic and sugary. Les Miz is essentially a melodrama with music, very grand and sweeping and about a world the audience can't relate to at all, so it also suits this type of showgoer.

Meanwhile, devoted theatregoers are being slapped in the face repeatedly with the wet fish of Woke, so it remains to be seen whether they will rally and still be there when the pendulum swings back to somewhere tolerable for the average thinking person, or whether they will flee to other forms of the arts. If they don't stay, Sondheim's shows might have to be redisovered in 100 years.

by Anonymousreply 547September 15, 2022 4:36 AM

Let it burrrrrrnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

by Anonymousreply 548September 15, 2022 4:38 AM

Hairspray just followed Moulin Rouge! into a mainstream theatre in Melbourne. It's still running now.

Jersey Boys has been done two or three times in Australia by commercial companies.

The Magic Show depends on a lead who can do magic tricks.

by Anonymousreply 549September 15, 2022 4:40 AM

[quote]r521 When is my darling Lea back on the boards?

[quote]r522 Next Tuesday.

I thought people with covid quarantined for 2 weeks?

by Anonymousreply 550September 15, 2022 5:05 AM

[quote]Dame Edna didn’t stop the show. That was the show. She did it every night

Pull the rolled up Playbill outta your ass.

by Anonymousreply 551September 15, 2022 5:16 AM

I had no idea "Mary Poppins" lasted 6.5 years. And I'm amazed "Newsies" lasted even 2.5.

by Anonymousreply 552September 15, 2022 6:11 AM

R522, as in C U Next Tuesday, Lea?

by Anonymousreply 553September 15, 2022 8:20 AM

R550, it's 10 days. The general Covid protocol is to isolate for 5 days after a positive test and wear a mask for 5 more after that to avoid infecting others. Most Broadway performers can't go on wearing a mask, so a positive test has generally become an automatic 10 days out.

by Anonymousreply 554September 15, 2022 8:25 AM

I wish Beanie could have worn a mask onstage.

by Anonymousreply 555September 15, 2022 8:28 AM

Any mask.

by Anonymousreply 556September 15, 2022 8:28 AM

Aaron Tveit was born to play Harold Hill.

by Anonymousreply 557September 15, 2022 8:51 AM

R508, the gossip (scandal?) is that Ericka Hunter was newly married when she was in the ensemble of Moulin Rouge and met Aaron Tveit. She had an affair with him, got caught and quickly dumped/divorced her husband. The crazy Aaron stans hate her as though she's the only woman to ever do this and he's not also at fault.

by Anonymousreply 558September 15, 2022 9:36 AM

But I thought Aaron played for OUR TEAM?!?!?! This is crushing news.

by Anonymousreply 559September 15, 2022 11:36 AM

Aaron is a lot like Matthew Morrison. Typical attractive Str8 guy in musical theatre that exclusively dates women, but is queeny enough to have gay rumors.

See also Jeremy Jordan and Derek Kelena

Very few leading men on Broadway are actually gay

by Anonymousreply 560September 15, 2022 11:44 AM

Aaron Tveit ain't no fag.

by Anonymousreply 561September 15, 2022 11:58 AM

Very true R560. And those straight guys LOOOOOVVEEE to gay bait all the flaming and stupid producers and queens in the industry that just eat that embarrassing shit up with a spoon. Same thing happens in the classical arts world.

by Anonymousreply 562September 15, 2022 12:31 PM

I’m going to say Company has a happy ending given the smugness of Being Alive as if there aren’t plenty of people without partners or spouses who are perfectly happy with their situation. Being Alive flatters the very couples and institution that the musical skewers for two hours - an unhappy ending would illustrate how much marriage is like a prison from which most couples plan Shawshank-like escapes.

by Anonymousreply 563September 15, 2022 12:56 PM

Sondheim’s original song for the ending of Company, “Happily Ever After”, might have made you happier, r563.

Company doesn’t “skewer” marriage, it presents it as complicated. But “Being Alive” also recognizes the human need to love and be loved, and the contradictions of human connections.

by Anonymousreply 564September 15, 2022 1:09 PM

What R564 said. R563 is wrong.

by Anonymousreply 565September 15, 2022 1:15 PM

Why does minimally talented / charisma free Lili Cooper keep getting cast in prime roles on Broadway ? I've heard Lillias White is up to her same bag of tricks by rifting her way through her songs in Hadestown. Ugh, just sing the fuckin song Lillias!!!!!!!

by Anonymousreply 566September 15, 2022 1:27 PM

[quote]no one know what the fuck is ok to fucking say.

Reminds me of what Anne Frank wrote in her diary before her family went into hiding from the Nazis: "You are scared to do anything because it may be forbidden."

by Anonymousreply 567September 15, 2022 1:53 PM

r553 you beat me to it! i wanted to post the same but was locked out.

i know it's an obvious joke, but i liked it! Thank you!

by Anonymousreply 568September 15, 2022 1:56 PM

[quote]Very few leading men on Broadway are actually gay.

Worth discussing, I think. Just read A WONDERFUL GUY, a recent collection of interviews with some of the leading men of Bway, which included old vets like Joel Gray, John Collum, and Len Carious, etc. as well as these younger/middle-aged guys:

Brian Stokes Mitchell

Marc Kudisch

Michael Cerveris

Norm Lewis

Will Chase

Christopher Sieber

Norbert Leo Butz

Christian Borle

Raul Esparza

Gavin Creel

Cheyenne Jackson

Jonathan Groff

Fewer than half of those I've listed are openly gay/bisexual.

by Anonymousreply 569September 15, 2022 2:31 PM

[quote] They're Cheering Each Toot

Farting on stage was MY thing!

by Anonymousreply 570September 15, 2022 2:33 PM

How many are secretly gay/bisexual?

by Anonymousreply 571September 15, 2022 2:33 PM
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by Anonymousreply 572September 15, 2022 2:34 PM

So young.

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by Anonymousreply 573September 15, 2022 2:39 PM

[quote] How many are secretly gay/bisexual?

Actors have a very fluid sexuality. The DL's 1950s era understanding of sexuality does not apply.

I've been involved in theater for decades and I know several men who are happily married in het relationships and have been for years. But they've embarked on occasional gay flings almost as a vacation of sorts. And some of those guys access that portal, so to speak, through the roles they play.

Some are truly bi and certainly being out and gay isn't going to really kill your career options on stage, but most theater actors try to keep personal lives a mystery so that they aren't identified with one thing or another.

by Anonymousreply 574September 15, 2022 2:41 PM

Tveit, Klena, and Jordan are really, really pretty though. Prettier than anyone in that book.

by Anonymousreply 575September 15, 2022 2:43 PM

r568, I was surprised no one had made it yet. Great minds, etc.!

by Anonymousreply 576September 15, 2022 2:53 PM

Yes, I assumed Dame Edna welcomed latecomers the same way every evening - there are always latecomers - but she did stop what she was doing to talk to them....

Sally Struthers did the same thing in GREASE when as Miss Lynch she lectured latecomers about how they were supposed to be there when the little hand was on the eight and the big hand was on the twelve.....

by Anonymousreply 577September 15, 2022 3:04 PM

[quote]Farting on stage was MY thing!

Beanie Feldstein in "The Le Pétomane Story"!

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by Anonymousreply 578September 15, 2022 3:41 PM

She's in the attic, r567.

by Anonymousreply 579September 15, 2022 3:45 PM

Derek Klena is beautiful. Period.

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by Anonymousreply 580September 15, 2022 3:48 PM

[Quote] Aaron is a lot like Matthew Morrison. Typical attractive Str8 guy in musical theatre that exclusively dates women, but is queeny enough to have gay rumors. See also Jeremy Jordan and Derek Kelena

And Howard McGillin!

by Anonymousreply 581September 15, 2022 3:49 PM

R580 Wow, Derek Klena could have been a runway/magazine model if he'd wanted.

by Anonymousreply 582September 15, 2022 4:04 PM

Howard IS gay.

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by Anonymousreply 583September 15, 2022 4:05 PM

[quote] Susan Stroman is absolutely a brilliant director. THE SCOTTSBORO BOYS was arguably the best directed musical of the last 20 years. (THOU SHALT NOT was an experiment that just didn’t work out. Another director couldn’t have made it better. ) And the music is MORE than “palatable.” No hyperbole, it’s also has the best score in the last 20 years though you could make arguments for Ave Q and Hamilton.

Thanks for your input, Susan

by Anonymousreply 584September 15, 2022 4:06 PM

Many a head was turned when they were introduced to Derek during " We Are the World" Broadway version at 2:03

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by Anonymousreply 585September 15, 2022 4:07 PM

Did you notice how r581 signed his post, r583?

by Anonymousreply 586September 15, 2022 4:15 PM

Next thread for when the time comes:

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by Anonymousreply 587September 15, 2022 4:20 PM

[quote]Aaron is a lot like Matthew Morrison. Typical attractive Str8 guy in musical theatre that exclusively dates women, but is queeny enough to have gay rumors. See also Jeremy Jordan and Derek Klena

I personally see nothing "queeny" about Morrison, Jordan, or Klena. And though I guess Tveit has a nice trim and wiry body, I've always thought his face is below average on the attractiveness meter.

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by Anonymousreply 588September 15, 2022 4:21 PM

I was going to say you jumped the gun, but that title is worth it!

by Anonymousreply 589September 15, 2022 4:22 PM

Signs I've spent too much time on DL: after reading all the reports of Tveit hooking up with twinks during previous shows, the Hunter news made me think of the Van Johnson/Evie Abbott/Keenan Wynn story, where Johnson broke up the Wynns' marriage to get himself a beard (since she was the only person he would marry, so MGM made the Wynns divorce so he could marry her). Obviously not comparable here, since I doubt Tveit has that much power (or a studio behind him), but that's what came to mind.

by Anonymousreply 590September 15, 2022 4:24 PM

Miss Nichols...

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by Anonymousreply 591September 15, 2022 4:34 PM

Tveit has gotten the most TV work

by Anonymousreply 592September 15, 2022 4:44 PM

Matthew Morrison straight ? Aaron Tveit straight ?

Stop...just stop....youre going to make me wet myself

by Anonymousreply 593September 15, 2022 4:45 PM

[Quote] after reading all the reports of Tveit hooking up with twinks during previous shows

?

My recollection of Tveit mention in these threads is that he keeps his relationships/flings to himself. There was no consensus on his sexuality. Unlike, say, Matthew Morrison, who was very busy running through Broadway chorus girls.

by Anonymousreply 594September 15, 2022 4:46 PM

I'm guessing at your age, everything can make you wet yourself.

by Anonymousreply 595September 15, 2022 4:46 PM

[Quote] I had MM

Details? How many inches (you and him)?

by Anonymousreply 596September 15, 2022 4:48 PM

The next thread should have a Feel Good Fiddler Edition title thing going on. Just sayin’.

by Anonymousreply 597September 15, 2022 4:49 PM

It already exists r597. check r587, learn to read, and shut up

by Anonymousreply 598September 15, 2022 4:51 PM

[quote]Aaron is a lot like Matthew Morrison. Typical attractive Str8 guy in musical theatre that exclusively dates women, but is queeny enough to have gay rumors.

Only if you overlook the fact that Morrison is gay and closeted.

by Anonymousreply 599September 15, 2022 4:58 PM

Never enough

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by Anonymousreply 600September 15, 2022 4:58 PM

Bajour?

by Anonymousreply 601September 15, 2022 4:59 PM

BAJOUR!

by Anonymousreply 602September 15, 2022 4:59 PM

[quote]I had no idea "Mary Poppins" lasted 6.5 years. And I'm amazed "Newsies" lasted even 2.5.

"Newsies" was never meant to play Broadway, that was a bonus. It was designed to be a touring show but was such as success at Paper Mill they decided to move it. The only reason it closed was the set was so expensive and designed for travel they didn't want to have to build a new one to tour.

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by Anonymousreply 603September 15, 2022 5:17 PM
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