THEATRE GOSSIP # 493: The "Jill Clayburgh's Spring Has Definitely Turned To Fall" Edition

I swear to Christ you fags need to let me handle the new threads from now on.

R1 Why?

What have you done to impress us?

Lately.

For one, I number them correctly.

BroadWAY doesn't go for Mexican valium.

How about starting over my thread when we're all clean and sober?

Jill, you're dead. Stay that way.

Eh, you capitalized THEATRE GOSSIP and remembered to include "Edition," and it's nice to get a break from Funny Girl. A respectable job, OP.

Someone asked on the last thread how did cotton mouthed, fat/thin Broadway.com golem Paul Wontorek get a gig that he’s horrifyingly inept for, interviewing people on camera. Seems that arena never attracts talent, look at the Broadway “tv” personalities, Frank DiLella of NY1(he pays them), Corine Cohen who posts from Port Authority, Paul who bullies his way in since the company he’s an employee of produces the segments, he can’t sit, he can’t smile, he’s unprepared for every shot. Says “yeah” 167 times in less that three minutes of torture. At least Broadwayworld’s Richie Ridge is a beloved fixture for decades, not a great interviewer, but knows his history. We the days of Broadway Beat. It’s slim pickings for anyone with charm and skills. All white gays too, MARY!

The way Paul Wontorek says "social media" makes me want to shoot myself. He's a fraud.

Is Jill Clayburgh a Sally or a Phyllis?

I would fool around with thin Paul Wontorek.

I would aim my car at fat Paul Wontorek.

Jill Clayburgh is a Phyllis.

What I love about Paul and Ritchie is they are theatre queens like the rest of us and have a respect for history,

Is Erica a Phyllis or a Sally?

Erica is a Sally minus.

From the previous thread, re the Pippin reunion

[Quote] Sad how all those incredibly sexy Pippin chorus girls all look like broken housewives now.

The men aged too. And How do you look after 50 years, you misogynistic fuck?

Can they get Irene Ryan to participate??

R12, yes theater queens, unfortunately not capable to be on camera in the instance of Paul. Ritchie is Ritchie and a treasured guy, just wish his stuff looked better.

OP, you stupid bitch.

OP is dancing as fast as he can!

So what do we do now, start a new properly numbered thread?

There's certainly nothing worth saving on this one.

Isn't this the properly numbered one? The last was 492.

Yes it is...this IS the thread

Lea loves oral, a deep throat champ. Do you think she’s already gagged on Ramin’s magic stick yet?

OP: An Unmarried Poster

Dancing as fast as he can

Ramin is only interested in himself

Saw The Cost of Living tonight at MTC's Broadway theater. I'm a bit baffled by the good chatter I'd been hearing, I found it very tedious, almost 2 hours without an intermission. And confusing. But to be honest I wasn't sure if I was just confused by some plot points, the time line and some jarring character motivations or if the playwright was intentionally creating a puzzling mystery. In any case, I was not intrigued.

There is a nude scene with the young actor who is physically challenged both in real life and in the play that is quite compelling, however. And I've always found David Zayas to be a hot papi. They are not in the nude scene together, however. It'll probably get rave reviews as it (inexplicably) won the Pulitzer a few years ago.

I’ve met Ritchie. He’s creepy.

Jerry Herman Salute--Jerry Herman, Georgia Brown, George Hearn, 1988 TV

Sorry, R6, but someone has posted an HD clip of Lea doing The Music that Makes Me Dance.

As we know from his IG Ramin is built. In the FG costume though it looks like he has no ass

I’ve heard rumors on this board and others that Ramin and his wife have had issues. I’m sure him being separated from her for long periods of time and the fact that tons of chorus girls are probably throwing themselves at him, doesn’t help matters.

I wonder how she handles these things.

How often does Jordan Roth go to his office and work?

I've noticed lately that Jordan only gets about 35-50 LIKES on his photo shoots on Facebook. Even my dog can easily score 100 or more. Has the theatre community had it with him? Maybe he's more popular on Instagram?

[quote]Even my dog can easily score 100 or more

Pics please.

Lea sounds fabulous R31. I’m genuinely astonished by all the clips I’ve seen of this production. It’s a park and bark. Does Fanny do anything but stand center stage in “dramatic” light with a bare stage behind her, one set piece at most, and sing directly out to the audience during her solo numbers?

WHO ON EARTH thought that was the correct decision when you have someone opening the production who literally CANNOT SING? What absolute torture that must have been for the audience. How did the producers and directors NOT SEE AND HEAR what was directly in front of their faces and do everything they could to distract from Beanie’s complete failure of a voice?

Of course, once you have an assured, talented singer the entire production transforms, because that’s what FG requires. A SINGER. I really don’t get it. What the fuck were they thinking? They should have fired Beanie and hired Lea the second Beanie walked in and was incapable of singing. Did they think she was going to magically acquire a fantastic voice in the six week rehearsal period? Because based on the staging it sure looks like they were staging it like Beanie was some great vocal artist.

Why would they fire Beanie when they heard her singing? They hired her AFTER hearing her singing...

It all goes to prove that Beanie's family produced the FG revival, uncredited, of course.

I wonder if her family's money was also somehow behind her casting as Monica Lewinsky in that dreadful Ryan Murphy series? I mean.....Beanie as Monica? It made no sense, only proven by the actual performance.

Someday, all will be revealed in one of those Vanity Fair-styled exposes.

Ms. Block being brilliant.

Who is Ritchie?

[Quote] It all goes to prove that Beanie's family produced the FG revival, uncredited, of course.

If that were the case, they'd find an excuse to close it, not add to Beanie's humiliation by replacing her.

Watching Block made me appreciate the brilliant simplicity of Joanna Gleason even more.

Has Joanna Gleason's "work" settled?

[quote] If that were the case, they'd find an excuse to close it, not add to Beanie's humiliation by replacing her.

Are you kidding? If my daughter had done such a piss poor job after I bankrolled her, she would have stood by silently if I had to dig up the corpse of Brice herself and reanimate it in order to see some return on my investment.

R37 love that expression “park and bark.” Never heard that before.

I truly think that they thought Beanie's "charm" and comic timing so successfully deployed in her movies would compensate for her singing failures. But they didn't.

r41 Rob and Laura's kid.

[quote]Can they get Irene Ryan to participate??

See R595 in the previous thread.

Scarlett, r41.

Do we think Lea would have won the Tony over Joaquina Kalugango in Paradise Square? I think a nomination would have been certain.

[Quote] Are you kidding? If my daughter had done such a piss poor job after I bankrolled her, she would have stood by silently if I had to dig up the corpse of Brice herself and reanimate it in order to see some return on my investment.

Your parenting wouldn't produce a Beanie, dear.

No problem, r31. I meant titles referencing Funny Girl. I knew avoiding all mentions of the show and its lead actresses would be impossible.

That’s awful R40. Jesus Christ.

I didn’t see Gleason in the original, but saw her in the 10 year reunion concert, and despite being sick and going up for a seconds in “Moments” her performance was one of the most charming and well acted things I’ve seen on a stage. She was just wonderful. I feel very lucky to have seen it, even though it wasn’t a full production. I love Bernadette, but don’t remember her or anyone else being as wonderful as Joanna in that reunion. There’s a reason she won the Tony.

Richie Ridge does not spell his first name "Ritchie." Where did you queens get that from?

r51 Absolutely

Lea Michele vs. Lea Salonga: Discuss.

R55, you should seek out the filmed original production of Into the Woods. Peters is magnificent (not to take anything away from Gleason's own performance) and was wrongly left out of the nominations that year, I suspect, because of category issues.

How many of the sailors in SOUTH PACIFIC did Joshua Logan fuck?

All of them?

Peters is never magnificent.

Sugar sings from SOME LIKE IT HOT.

What say we, showqueens?

CBB

From the previous thread:

[quote] Phantom is beautifully staged, directed and has a wonderful score. Fine, it came out in '88. So what? I really think it gets shit on simply for having succeeded in a way no others have.

Nah, some of us pegged PHANTOM as having a cheesy, derivative, poorly crafted score and some pretty awful lyrics from the beginning.

She *stinks*, r63.

HELLO!!!!

A Darker Shade Of Blue has the same melody as one of the numbers from Smash. Duh. It's amazing how these two composers always seem to recycle their own work.

Who'll bet me Bareilles will return for the last 6 weeks of the run?

Here's a penny, R68. I'll take whatever side you don't want.

Oops, make that...

The Life and Sad Ending? I thought the old cunt was still kicking.

Lea sounds like every Jewish girl in the world with a big voice; competent but unexceptional. And she breathes in the middle of every damn phrase!

Maybe she needs a chorus boy to sit at the piano and teach her how to sing the score.

Good thing Elaine Joyce had a sorta hot body and the blonde thing going for her back in the day.

Because that face was never much, was it? She looks like Polly Holliday's inbred cousin at R66.

Is Goop a Sally, a Phyllis, or a Syphyllis?

Goop needs to Slap That Bass then steam her vajayjay

I think Sara B will return. She might have some planned absences but there’s a good chance she’ll come back. If they’re making a big deal about CAST FOR THE FINAL EXTENSION coming soon it had better be something good like Sara and/or Bernadette and not Joyce DeWitt as Granny.

Her old nose, r74...

She couldn't be worse then Mama, r75.

Blythe Danner performs that number like she’s a not very lithe 90-year-old.

Lillias White-Knuckling It. I heard hear a little over a year ago in a small room and she sounded great, so hope she was just having a bad night.

Lilias White is the very definition of oversinging. Cannot stand her.

Of course I’ve seen the PBS broadcast of ITW R59. Come on. Bernadette is great in that, which is why I was surprised she was so meh in the concert. As was everyone else really. The former kids like Danielle Ferland had aged out of their roles and vocally struggled, some had completely given up careers and were out of practice, etc., Chip Zien was such a blank he might as well have not been there, but I never really liked him in the extraordinarily thankless Baker role. Still, having missed the original, it was lovely to see them all together, and I like I said Joanna was great.

Miss Elaine Joyce in "Funny Girl."

Elaine Joyce: The Poor Man's Joyce Bulifant.

Or maybe that should be the other way around.

That clip of Stephanie J. Block was indeed brilliant. Thank you.

Did the Tony voters know that Bernadette would be leaving the show after 6 months or so? Maybe she was being punished.

I thought she rescued the show. Didn't Sondheim make a plea for her to join the cast so the funding would come together?

Yes. Betty Buckley was originally to do the role but our Mr. Sondheim was having [italic]none of it!

Over on ATC they're saying that HERE LIES LOVE will finally open on Broadway this season.

The Witch isn’t a great role. The Bakers Wife is.

Here’s the Witch run down:

1) Betty Buckley does the original workshop

2) Ellen Foley does San Diego Try-out

3) Betty Buckley does the two week pre-Broadway workshop. Depending on who you ask she is either fired or she quits negotiations

4) They reach out to Patti LuPone. At this point the Witch only has Boom Crunch and the wrap. Stay With Me (which was written for Betty Buckley) isn’t finished. LuPone wants Cinderella and auditions. They aren’t interested and offer her The Witch. She accepts the role but negotiations break down and she walks away.

5) Bernadette is asked to save the day, but they know she can’t stay long.

6) Bernadette accepts the role.

7) Suzanne Somers auditions to replace Bernadette but blows the audition as does Gretchen Wyler.

8) Phylicia Rashad is cast to be first replacement for Bernadette, who leaves after 5 months

The people on ATC are always so full of shit.

Gretchen Wyler, r92???

Lea Salonga has a more naturally beautiful voice than Lea Michele, but she seems to only have the one girlish gear.

Lea Salonga is 51.

The story about Patti auditioning for the Broadway production of Into The Woods since Anything Goes opened a month prior to the opening of ITW--they were directly competitive shows during the exact same time period-- and Patti was clearly set for AG for some time prior to it going into rehearsal.

[r97] here is the story directly from Patti LuPone

She must have auditioned for the San Diego production. The poster's timeline is wrong.

They should have tried firing Beanie out of a cannon. That would have distracted from the awful voice! Who doesn't love to see someone fired from a cannon?

Finally got around to watching r40's clip, and r43 said it better than I could. Brilliant simplicity vs that relentless mugging. Bareilles went a little bigger in some of her comedy, but was still grounded enough that it didn't seem over-the-top, and she was positively subdued compared to this. Block has an impressive voice but it seems wrong for the song, and the whole performance is so big and broad. And don't get me started on whatever Andy Karl was doing at the beginning. At least the people in the balcony seats knew someone was clearly playing to them.

Didn’t Patti audition to replace Bernadette in SITPWG but they went with Maryann Plunkett?

I still can't believe someone cast both LuPone and Christine Ebersole in a show and then didn't have their characters interact!

I believe so, r102.

It's surprising that they even let LuPone audition for Dot.

r103

They sang together throughout and had a big scene together at the end of Act 2.

I see from Instagram that Isaac Cole Powell is on Fire Island filming an American Horror Story episode with Russell Tovey, Zachary Quinto, and others. Which led me to his Instagram page. Of all the stuff of his that's been posted here, no one mentioned that he posted a video of his bare ass while swimming nude last month? Or did I miss it?

Well, we've already seen the front.

She doesn't have Bernadette's vulnerability, r105, but I would have liked to hear how she did with the songs.

"You've got to move HONK" etc.

It's proven that she and Mandy sounded pretty swell together, r110.

[quote]R92 7) Suzanne Somers auditions to replace Bernadette but blows the audition

Oh, what might have been!

Did Patti see Beanie in Funny Girl?

I would LOVE to hear her take : o

Amazing that Fran and Barry never brought Suzanne in to play Roxie. She’s no Christie Brinkley but she probably could have handled it.

The fact that we never got a Suzanne Somers Witch is one of the great injustices of our time. You think it's too late to plug her into the revival just to witness that beautiful train wreck?

Well I guess I'm still the Sheriff.

They hired her after they heard her on a fucking Zoom audition R38. They never actually heard her in a room or miked for that matter. It’s fucking ridiculous.

One can somewhat understand why Beanie was cast. She was so far removed from what people would expect from someone playing that role and strange casting choices like that have been known to occasionally breathe new life into a familiar role, but she just didn't have what it took. She tried, but even she had to have known this wasn't going to end well.

Those saying she can't sing are absolutely wrong. She can sing, but not this role. Her voice is light and doesn't have the heft and power required to pull off those showstoppers and no amount of comic timing or charm would make up for it, because Funny Girl doesn't have a very good script to begin with. For a show called Funny Girl, it isn't very funny and it's up to the actress to make something out of not a lot. It's not like Gypsy where, if you cast someone like Tyne Daly, you can still look forward to how she'll interpret the dramatic scenes even if her voice isn't the best.

It functions better as a concert with a dynamic singer with a big voice. Lea has that quality. She's an uninspired choice, but she's a choice that has what it takes to pull it off and the audiences and box office are responding accordingly.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1974, a revival of "Gypsy" starring Angela Lansbury opened at the Winter Garden Theatre.

I don't think Lea Michele does have that quality. She bellows and I guess that is enough for some.

Isnt Country Kitchen Buffet closing soon Beanie ?....run along

r119...

Lmao if Beanie "can sing" then I should be the next American Idol. Her voice is horrible! Anyone who saw her live in FG has the headache to prove it.

But to those defending Michael Mayer and Sonia Friedman's decision to cast Beanie, don't forget: they already did the show in London with Sheridan Smith and should have been well-aware of the pitfalls of the role and the absolute necessity for a really strong singing voice, which Smith just barely delivered. And there was absolutely no search for a star.....or anyone.... beyond Beanie. And Beanie's comic skills? Her schtick is all limited to being an apologetic chubby klutz.

I just can't imagine how the Beanie casting came about without heavy financial participation from her family. It's really the only explanation.

There are other Broadway performers who have eked by with unpleasant voices.

Just picture, naked Ramin as Nick and naked beanie as Fanny .

You could say similar about Sharif and Streisand...

But it actually happened with Omar and Babs...

Did Babs fuck anyone who looked like Sharif BEFORE she became a star?

No No Nanette revival in the works with Beanie as Flora, Marta Plipton as Lucille and JM J Bullock as Uncle Jimmy. Aiming for the Nederlander. The role if Nanette not cast at this point.

Lenora!

That was a bunch of nonsense Beanie at R118.

The next replacements for "Funny Girl" will be Fantasia and David Archuleta.

I'd like to hear Fantasia sing that score, r133.

Would Julie stay on? She'd be going on a lot for Fantasia if so...

Yawn ancient history r135. She's never had attendance problems after Color Purple. She was young and unprepared for that.

Stage musical of THE NOTEBOOK! Songs by Ingrid Michaelson (the pop singer/songwriter).

What say we, DL?

PS: NOTEBOOK features DL fave Maryann Plunkett (in a caftan!) as the oldest version of the female lead (there are 3 actresses in the part).

Yet one more musical version of A CHRISTMAS CAROL, with a score by the DEAR EVAN HANSEN dudes!

With Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds, the John Raitt and Gordon MacRae of their generation(s).

[quote]Lmao if Beanie "can sing" then I should be the next American Idol. Her voice is horrible! Anyone who saw her live in FG has the headache to prove it.

Beanie can sing, but when she belts, her voice has a very bright, piercing sound to it that some people love (especially young girls who sing like that themselves) but others find very annoying and hard to listen to.

The Notebook song has one line repeated over and over, and seems to think it's rhyming 'home' with 'home' and 'home.' Also do each half of the couple change race throughout the evening?

So it's a mashup of The Notebook and Soul Man?

Michael Paulson from the New York Times could describe an orgy involving goats, monkeys, warm maple syrup, dollops of ecstasy and no participants hung under 9 inches and still make it sound boring.

Is there any footage of that available r142?

R127, Barbra had an incredible body, Beanie has something more akin to the corpse they pulled out of the lake in The Silence of the Lambs.

YouR143-You'd have to contact John Barlow.

Lol wow R144. John Simon lives.

R127, No she didn't--Babs was pear-shaped. She had some good features--beautiful neck, for instance, and a terrific sense of style (or knew the right gays). Like Brice, herself, Babs could be really elegant.

Lea Michele is so damn short that elegance is tough for her, but I do love the way she can power up her voice during a power ballad. She really doesn't have a face for film, so I'm glad she's back on Broadway, it really is where she belongs.

Beanie's voice is small and thin. Yes, she can sing--at the level of literally thousands of community theatre sopranos. Her voice is passable in a role where singing isn't the focus. Desiree in A Little Night Music, for example, was written as a role for someone with star quality. "Send in the Clowns" was written when Sondheim realized that Glynis Johns had a small, but lovely voice and Hal Prince had directed the scene to focus on Desiree. I've sometimes wondered if part of the reason "Send in the Clowns" was Sondheim's one popular hit because it's the rare SS song that's truly easy to sing.

Glynis Johns didn't have a lovely singing voice.

[Quote] Yawn ancient history R135. She's never had attendance problems after Color Purple. She was young and unprepared for that.

She has only done a limited run on Broadway since, correct?

[quote]Glynis Johns didn't have a lovely singing voice.

No, but she had an expressive one.

And a distinctive one.

The implication that Beanie might some day play Desiree is disturbing.

Glynis was such a stylish performer. Compare her doing "You Must Meet My Wife" with another benefit performance with Sally Ann Howes in her place.

Howes is fine but unexceptional, and absolutely NOT a scene stealer.

Our Glynis will turn 99 on October 5th,

I wish this had the whole song...

I'm actually using Sondheim's description of it--yep, that's my one bit of Stephen Sondheim trivia. I heard him doing a Q&A back in the 80s at a college (After Sweeney, before Merrily). Someone asked him about "Send in the Clowns" and talked about how much they loved it. Sondheim looked like he'd heard that a thousand times before (and was bored by it), but talked about how the song came to be. The musical heavy lifting was going to be done by Len Cariou, but Hal Prince had directed the scene in such a way that Desiree really needed to have the song. Between that and the realization that Johns had a voice of a sort, "Send in the Clowns" was born.

And I learned about small voices needing shorter phrases. You can tell a lot, even over Zoom, about how big a person's voice is by phrasing and song choice.

And I sincerely hope that Beanie never plays Desiree, but she could manage the notes of "Send in the Clowns"

And, Glynis Johns was never cast in a role requiring a strong, powerful voice.

She also has charisma and a unique voice.

The Beanie person is a character actress best suited for small, supporting roles as the "funny fat girl".

Glynis had a character voice like Tammy Grimes did. Tammy did just fine on the Broadway stage.

I'd love to know how Tammy Grimes came to work with Jack Nitzsche. How did anyone think she might have a pop hit?!

[quote]Between that and the realization that Johns had a voice of a sort, "Send in the Clowns" was born.

Glynis had song previously on screen in "Mary Poppins."

^^ . . . had sung previously ^^

Johns had done musical movies in the 1940s and early 1950s, right? Kay Kendall would have been a delicious Desiree.

[quote] The next replacements for "Funny Girl" will be Fantasia and David Archuleta.

Yes! That would be awesome!

Beanie's voice is community theatre level, but she can carry a tune. I've heard hundreds of young girls who sing exactly like her. It's that typical nasal belt that's so popular with young theatre girls these days and, yes, it's incredibly unpleasant.

When you say popular with, are you implying that it's deliberate? A stylistic choice?

r164=Simon Cowell

R166, as far as training goes. I blame it on Disney--it's the Disney Princess sound. (I'm not R165.)

R161, I know, I'm just remembering what Sondheim said. It's possible he was referring to how her voice sounded outside a studio and what he could work with in terms of range, support, etc. in a live situation.

FWIW, he also talked about being really happy with his score for Sweeney Todd, but I think everybody knows that.

The late Victoria Mallory and Len doing "You Must Meet My Wife". From afar, Victoria looks not a day older than when she did the original Anne. Watch her help Len when he goes up on a line. Vicky was having an affair with Len during the show before eloping with Mark Lambert. She had Kurt Peterson too, so she was busy.

[quote]so she was busy.

She was a SLUT!

Was Victoria good on the soap opera?

Victoria Mallor, Glenn Close, Betty Bacall... Len Carious had quite the dance card.

Did it dangle from his wrist on a fetching ribbon?

If Glyns weren’t a singer, why were she casted in Mary popins?

She done shagged PL Travers, innit.

*3* GIRLS *3*

[quote]r171 Was Victoria good on the soap opera?

let The People decide!

(she plays Leslie in the first and last scenes)

Oh, she's quite stilted, isn't she.

I hate when actors do that awful bad punctuation thing. "It could never. hurt. me."

R147, Babs had great tits. Beanie has spoiled fried eggs on her chest.

Great? Surely you jest...

R181, those are nice boobs, freed from that bikini top, the are respectable B cups, ready for action.

I saw Victoria Mallory in the 1966 West Side Story revival, Follies (x2) and ALNM (x4). She was competent and pretty with a sweet voice but hardly star material. I suppose the same could be said for Kurt Peterson, whom I also saw in the 1971 On the Town and Dear World.

B cups no more.

She kept messin' around with her boob pads.

That looks more like years of gravity and no bra than a boob job, r184.

Anybody who is trying to say that Barbra Streisand didn’t, and currently doesn’t, have a better body than Beanie Feldstein, is outta there freaking mind. Beanie is nearly morbidly obese, the back fat on that young woman could feed a colony of our beloved Darfur Orphans and then some! She’s fat, she’s slightly agreeable onscreen and DOES NOT HAVE A GOOD SINGING VOICE. Stop typing that, stop. They rebalanced her every second during her ill fated Funny Girl stumbles. Watch her destroy a song during the Midler KCH’s telecast. Nightmare fuel!

And she breastfed Jason far too long!

Jason Gould has better tits than Beanie Feldstein!

Vicky got much, much better on Y&R. She started understanding camera technique and became one of the real ladies of Daytime. Very well loved by the cast and crew. One of the perks of doing daytime was that she now had something of a name and was able to do stock at places like the Muni. Michael Bennett wanted her to play Morales in ACL, which is completely wrong but her birth name is indeed Morales.

[quote]Jason Gould has better tits than Beanie Feldstein!

Probably less hairy, too.

Mallory danced as well?

She did Maria in WSS, so I'm assuming she did, r192.

R192, she danced quite well but it was what you'd expect. Ballet accented and somewhat restrained.

How do you rate Carol's dancing?

Carol's problem was that she was pretty and could do it all...but without distinction.

Jason Gould IS Flo Ziegfeld!

Carol Lawrence also played Fanny Brice.

And made a point of calling Streisand ugly.

Have any images of Babs Cook's Fanny ever shown up on the internet?

At the beginning of her career, Victoria Mallory was part of a theater company called The Prince Street Players. They were one of the best production companies for children’s theater. I saw several of their productions and it ignited in me a love for theater.

More Prince Street Players with Victoria Mallory (and yes, a performance like this today wouldn’t see the light of day due to “yellow face.”)

I know there was a separate thread on it at one point, but it seems to have dropped off my follow list. I started reading Mary Rodgers' autobiography and it is very good. The only thing I don't love is all the footnotes, 75% of which are unnecessary. Since I'm reading it on Kindle, it means that every 10th sentence is highlighted in blue, I click on it and a pop up footnotes appears. It's making reading the book go very slowly. I could just ignore them, but I'm much too curious.

Here it is, r203. It's almost full anyway.

I found the footnotes a bit distracting for the first 10 or so pages but then just got accustomed to them, I guess, because I really came to enjoy Green's asides and points of view. IMHO reading SHY slowly was a pleasure, each page to be relished.

I know, Mary (Rodgers)!

I definitely see your point, R205 and would agree with you except I have it on loan through my library's overdrive e-book program and I feel like it's going to take me more than 21 days to read it. And by the time I'm able to get it again (if I don't finish) I'm gonna forget everything.

I checked out the book Tinderbox, about HBO, earlier this year, not realizing it was 900 pages. I went through three cycles of reading it and still didn't come close to finishing, and each time it was 6 weeks in between. I have less time these days to read, and only usually do it in bed before going to sleep, so depending on how tired I am, it's 30-60 min per night. I've also noticed I've become a much slower reader in that I find I have to read passages more than once sometimes. I blame that on the internet and the way it's affected my attention span.

Oh, sorry, I forgot to say thank you, R204, for the link.

Why doesn’t Birdland’s Cast Party captain Jim Caruso do Broadway journalism stuff, he’s a natural and knows how to guide an intelligent interview. He did a few things for Broadwayworld and was great. They used to have a few fun on camera people, including actors interviewing fellow cast members and it was a treat to watch. Now, like with the Wontorek drivel, it’s this blank fawning that never gets past the pr notes, or it’s the host nodding for ten minutes without adding anything to the conversation. The industry brings in money, why are the press sites devoted to it so lacking in substance?

I remember Wontorek being a little Uncle Monty with some of his interviewees, who were twentysomething males, of course.

Has a new generation arrived on this thread or something? Why the repetition of all these Glynis John’s stories? Is someone practicing for an oral exam….?

I never had to practise.

Bone up on your spelling, Betty Lynn.

Beanie Feldstein in talks for the role of Anne Egerman in the revival of ALNM. Nene Leakes in talks for the role of Desiree Armfelt.

My mother always did my typing.

And, sometimes you can’t type well with a cock in your mouth.

Has Norman found love again?

Poor Jean Harlow...

^^ still, better than Beanie.

Club My-O-My: New Orleans Vintage Drag

^^ still, better than Beanie.

Better Than Beanie; a Memoir

by Julie Benko

Fatter Than Beanie: A Memoir

by Chrissy Metz

Flicking My Beanie: Family Car Trips

by Jonah Hill

Beanie is history. Give it a rest. 🥱

It’s like you think just saying’Beanie’ means you’re clever

Shubert, Nederlander and Lincoln Center Theater are all above title producers of Audra in Ohio State Murders

[R166], as far as training goes. I blame it on Disney--it's the Disney Princess sound. (I'm not [R165].)

I don't associate the thin, nasal belt we're talking about with "the Disney Princess sound" at all, certainly not based on the Disney movies I know. I don't think Jodi Benson in THE LITTLE MERMAID or Paige O'Hara in THE LITTLE MERMAID sing anything like that, thank heaven.

What about Paige O'Hara in Beauty and the Beast? Idiot.

R228, I apologize for the two typos in my post, but I am not an idiot, and my point stands. To me, the singing voices of Jodi Benson in THE LITTLE MERMAID and Paige O'Hara in BEAUTY AND THE BEST sound nothing at all like Beanie Feldstein's singing voice.

r228 is a jerk with a tiny cock who likes to call people 3rd grade names.

Girls! Play nice.

Oh, who am I kidding. It's a TG thread on DL.

[quote] Shubert, Nederlander and Lincoln Center Theater are all above title producers of Audra in Ohio State Murders

They need to share in the losses. I admire Adrianne Kennedy's experimentation and I even like some of her plays. But this is going to be a critical success and a financial flop. I ask for the thousandth time: why must everything land on Broadway to be considered a success?

Because if you want Audra to star in your play, you will need to charge Broadway prices in order to be able to afford to pay her salary.

[quote]Shubert, Nederlander and Lincoln Center Theater are all above title producers of Audra in Ohio State Murders

Does that mean that if they don't show up to a performance I can get my money back?

Judyhontas

Better question-When is Audra going to appear in a show everybody will actually want to see?

Supposedly she did that with the Billie Holiday show, even though she seemed to be channeling JZ Knight rather than Billie herself.

Harvey's choices for " Kinky Boots" film. Ugh.

Here is DL fave Phylicia Rashad as the Witch. Almost an hour of material.

I’m not a big fan of her voice I have to say.

Here’s the link

What song from Smash does Darker Shade Of Blue sound like?

Neely O’Hara is in talks to be the new Roxie Hart in CHICAGO

Wow! Did Rashad land one major laugh as the Witch? Cold as ice and the voice isn't very powerful at all. Passable, but nothing to write home about. All that she had going for her in this role was her beauty and regal quality.

Phylicia Rashad doesn't have one comedic bone in her body.

All she can do is bland regality.

I wonder who thought it was a good idea to cast her. That "regal quality" really isn't a plus.

Whose idea was it to cast her in anything? She's always terrible.

True. I was just imagining Lapine or Sondheim saying "I know! Let's get Phylicia Rashad!!"

[quote]Neely O’Hara is in talks to be the new Roxie Hart in CHICAGO

The name on everybody's lips is gonna be NEELY!

Finally...a Roxie that *sparkles*!

I FUCKING SPARKLED!

They had difficulty casting The Witch, right? The show is an ensemble piece and most stars don't want that. And they needed a name, so...

So Nancy Dussault is a NAME!

Her connection to Bajour makes her a legend, r252...

Nancy Dussault was a bargain ME!

It's time for ME to be the star in a new show. ME! Time to end the blacklist.

Hey, how was I supposed to know all them little brats in ANNIE were real kids? Sheesh. One kid sees a little beav for five seconds during a quick change and suddenly I get recast. I'm sure Dottie Loudon didn't wear any damn underwear on stage either!

Is it just me or does the empty, vapid look in her eyes work for the role? This is not a slight against Pam. She seems like a sweet woman and I've always rooted for her, but I wonder how much of this was intentional and how much of it is her trying to think of the next line. It's an endearing performance.

Why would you root for Pam Anderson? What exactly has she ever done that has courted blind support?

She seems sweet and eager to please.

She has exactly one good line delivery (I'm older than I ever thought I'd be) and her singing is adequate

Pamela Anderson is rather redundant in the role when Melanie Griffith has already played it. Melanie aced the monologue. No clips on YT of her singing and dancing, unsurprisingly.

Griffith is the one who comes across the best. Her singing was no better or worse than most of the others who have played the role.

With singing.

R249

I have been summoned

At the time she was in Into the Woods, Phylicia Rashad was on the number one show in the country - several years running. The Cosby Show at the time was a juggernaut, people forget that in light of Cosby's legal issues. And although its popularity was starting to wain, she was a huge name at that time and a real get for the show in terms of stunt casting.

Wain? Oh, dear.

stunt casting? she's already been in 3 Broadway shows, including understudying Deena in Dreamgirls.

if you're going to gaysplain things for us r264 get your info - and spelling - straight

I saw the yellow-skinned dancer in a regional production of ITW in the ‘90’s as the Witch. He was brilliant, comedic, vocally strong, and brilliantly acted. Mot bad for a “straight “ dude.

[quote] I saw the yellow-skinned dancer in a regional production of ITW in the ‘90’s as the Witch.

Who’s that?

Billy Porter auditioned for the Witch in the 2002 revival. Old friend Sondheim liked him but none of the other creatives were interested.

There goes my date with Doug!

Grease had *Rosie O’Donnell* much more talented than Rashad.

[quote]Wain? Oh, dear.

You rang?

Rita Gardner has died at age 87.

"Old friend Sondheim", r270?

Audra KILLED at The Palladium tonight. It was filmed for a streaming service.

Who’s watching the bitch playing Roxie in this Brazilian production when the two chorus boys on either side of her are so fucking hot?

Question for the Audra fans: if I wanted to buy one her CDs (yeah, I'm that old) which one would you recommend? And I'm not so interested in the newer composers. TIA!

AUDRA...Swingin' at the Copa

AUDRA - Part Time Performer, Full Time Diva!

[quote]Phylicia Rashad doesn't have one comedic bone in her body.

Hmm, really? Did you never see her in THE COSBY SHOW?

R278, you probably would like her cd with the NY Phil, Sing Happy.

Why wasn’t Audra Lindley considered as a replacement witch?

[quote]Why wasn’t Audra Lindley considered as a replacement witch?

Beats me. Why wasn't Joyce Bulifant considered?

[Quote] And I'm not so interested in the newer composers

You mean like those damn crazy kid like Porter and Gershwin?

When Phyllicia Rashad was announced as the replacement for The Witch, I don’t think she was thought to be in the same league as the other performers.

Then she lived up to that estimation r286.

not on her best day.

Priscilla Barnes IS The Baker's Wife.

Rashad wasn’t a barrel of laughs on Cosby. She was the straight woman he bounced jokes off of. Peters was great and got the laughs. Betsy Joslyn’s quirkiness worked very well in the role. Nancy Dussault was ok and Ellen Foley was meh.

Audra sounds a zillion times better live than on recordings. Yes, she has a gorgeous voice, but her concerts display such a wonderful personality that's hard to re-produce on recordings.

Her banter with the audience is among the best of all performers I've ever experienced.

[quote] Audra KILLED at The Palladium tonight. It was filmed for a streaming service.

Is this a concert?

Jodie Sweetin IS the Witch in ITW!

Anybody buy (or even see) anything interesting at the Broadway Cares flea market yesterday?

Word on Twitter was that the Flea Market was a shitshow, R294: crowded, people were rude, lots of crap merchandise, etc. I skipped it.

The flea market was a disaster. The attendees were fucking rude, maskless, and clueless. I'll never do it again.

[quote]R___ And I'm not so interested in the newer composers

[quote]R285 mean like those damn crazy kids like Porter and Gershwin?

With their savage, [italic]uptown[/italic] sound!

The Bway Flea is just more evidence: in 2022, know what the worst aspect of being a theatre-lover is?

Other theatre-lovers.

Just. The. Worst.

I went the flea market once as a kid and saw Judith Light's bald head. Fun times.

Such wit, r299.

Bea Arthur would have made a good Witch in 1988.

Nobody goes to the flea market anymore. It’s too crowded.

Betsy Joslyn was completely wrong for the Witch, couldn’t sing it at all, and was totally forgettable.

ITW’s first summer on broadway had a wonderful cast which was a mixture of originals and replacements. Mary Gordon Murray was the closest to Gleason without stealing from her (I’m looking at you Kay McClelland), Dick Cavett stepped in as the narrator, Chip Zien was the Baker and Betsy Joslyn played the Witch. They were a very tight ensemble.

[quote]Betsy Joslyn was completely wrong for the Witch, couldn’t sing it at all, and was totally forgettable.

I didn't see her in the show, but why would she have had any problem with the singing? I think you're just being overly bitchy about this.

Betsy

Gavin Creel and Joshua Henry recording "Agony"

Cast recording out on digital/streaming in 4 days. CD on December 2. Vinyl next March.

[quote] I think you're just being overly bitchy

is that like being overly rich, overly thin, or overly hung?

[quote]Anybody buy (or even see) anything interesting at the Broadway Cares flea market yesterday?

I got one of Beanie's used Maxi-Pads!

r309 see r224 and r225

[quote]I got one of Beanie's used Maxi-Pads!

Bloody Hell!!!

I never to the Flea Market because I don't need any crap.

R200 there are one or two photos of B. Cook and George Hamilton in rehearsal for Funny Girl, but I can't link them because they're on a closed Facebook group. She's not big by any means, but she's on her way. The fresh faced ingenue she wasn't (nor should she have been, she would've been about 40 by the time she did FG) but her hair was a mess and her face looked ruddy and bloated. I think '67 was the first of her real hard drinking years.

And Bobby Kennedy hadn’t even been assassinated yet.

R314 Wrong chanteuse. Bobby Kennedy's death was the final push that toppled Rosemary Clooney over the edge. Barbara Cook owed her breakdown to a failed love affair and general lack of direction after aging out of her ingenue repertoire. Both of their stories (and Julie Wilson's) are covered in "The Night And The Music," a fun read about the early 90s cabaret boon.

Who are you now?

I tried to donate playbills, souvenir books and theatre related hardcover books to the flea market but they won’t accept anything that isn’t autographed so I threw them in the trash.

I tried to donate a ride in my bussy. They hung up on me.

R317, just do what my friend does: He autographs them himself with famous people's names.

Lovely r307.

R313, which group is it?

Barbara Cook had a far longer career than most of the comparable classic Broadway soprano ingenues like Joan Robertson, Jan Clayton, Isabel Bigley, Jo Sullivan, Patricia Morison, Doretta Morrow, Inga Swenson and Carol Lawrence. Julie Andrews was probably the only lady who was more successful and that came with film stardom, and to a lesser degree, the same might be said of Edie Adams.

It's the problem of being an ingenue, a sweet young thing - what do you do when you age out of roles? Whether by desire, ambition or necessity, Cook reinvented herself and ultimately was awarded with a Kennedy Center Honor. Can you imagine any of the other ladies achieving that?

I mean, I *was* on a long-running sitcom ...

And 110/Shade and Baker Street weren't ingenue roles.

Lovely to see that again, R325. She looks great there too.

[quote]Barbara Cook had a far longer career than most of the comparable classic Broadway soprano ingenues like Joan Robertson, Jan Clayton, Isabel Bigley, Jo Sullivan, Patricia Morison, Doretta Morrow, Inga Swenson and Carol Lawrence.

Joan Roberts?

Jan Clayton was the first mom on TV's "Lassie." I saw her recently in a late 1950s episode of "The Millionaire" on Decades, a Camp Lejeune channel.

Patricia Morison may not have had a long career, but she certainly had a long life, dying at 103. Here she is at age 100 singing snippets from "Shall We Dance?" toward the end of this short interview. She was the final Anna opposite Yul Brynner in the original production.

[Quote] she certainly had a long life, dying at 103

Like no one on Datalounge

And a most lovely Mrs. Anna she was...

R328 Patricia was legend, I was just ignoring that silly sausage.

103 is the new 93!

This thread could use some Olga San Juan...

Cook lost a lot of weight in the early 1980s. Unfortunately she had begun putting it back one by the time of the FOLLIES concert.

Olga on Broadway...

So, I met Joe Layton when he came to NZ in 1987 to direct Aloha, a favour to his friend, Bob Magoon who wrote the smash Broadway hit, 13 Daughters... it was meant to end up playing endlessly at a Theater in Hawaii, but that never happened. On opening night Robert Helpmann turned up. His hands were heavily weighed down with many, many rings. He face was lined like a dead Redwood.

Anyhoo, Patricia Morrison came over to play the lead when they remounted for a NZ tour that never happened. I needed up having dinner with her and her partner, and she was a tiny, cultured, little old lady. She loved that I had heard of the smash Broadway Musical, Quilters. On stage that night, she was amazing. Her presence filled the theater, and her voice was still in fucking good shape. It was the first time I met someone who was human and normal,and then, onstage, she was amazing.

I believe from the clip, Joe was paying tribute to the classic Helen Lawson number, with those floaty things...

Patricis Morison was best known as an ingenue?

Olga San Juan was pretty damn impressive! I always enjoyed her on the OCR of "Paint Your Wagon", and she was a bundle of great energy in that clip above. One really had to project and know how to sing back then on Broadway.

[quote]Patricia Morison was best known as an ingenue?

Lilli Vanessi is no ingenue.

Will Beanie one day be a Phyllis or a Sally? Or does she have the guts and grit to pull off a Carlotta?

Nice costumes on the chorus boys, r336

Personally, I prefer my chorus boys a lot less pixelated.

She’s a soprano who couldn’t sing a role that was written for a belter, dipshit R305.

[quote] Cook reinvented herself and ultimately was awarded with a Kennedy Center Honor

Not just *a* Kennedy Center Honor

but

A tribute that was so superb, all other tributes must be compared to it (and are destined to fall short)

Barbara looked amazing after her c. 1981 weight loss, even though it lasted about six months before she started packing it on again. But she always had a pretty face and a great head of hair.

[quote]She’s a soprano who couldn’t sing a role that was written for a belter, dipshit [R305].

I made my comment before someone posted that clip of Betsy Joslyn singing "The Last Midnight," and now that I've watched it, I stand by my original comment. I think she belts just fine in the parts of the song that need to be belted.

R343, it's clear that you have no knowledge of vocal quality or singing technique whatsoever, but that's no reason for you to lose your shit and call other people names just because we know more than you do.

I went to the flea market and nabbed a Tuck Everlasting t-shirt in mint condition and a Chicago refrigerator magnet!

Claps for R346!

Oh man Imelda as Dolly will keep this site in business another decade

Lol R346, I’m quite literally a classically trained singer that works all over the world. But I’m not going to argue with anonymous random old Broadway stan queens about my qualifications, resume, or education which you couldn’t touch if you’re life depended on it. You don’t know what you’re taking about, dipshit.

I saw Betsy Joslyn on tour as the Witch. She’s a very light soprano who mixes in the top to fake a belt sound. She doesn’t actually belt. And she was completely forgettable and miscast as I said above. Bye.

Many singers are classically trained and sing very badly. And have no idea what they are talking about.

Oi, Dolly!

[quote]I saw Betsy Joslyn on tour as the Witch. She’s a very light soprano who mixes in the top to fake a belt sound. She doesn’t actually belt.

Some of us would say that's a perfectly legit way (pardon the expression) to sing a belt role, and some of us might even prefer it to the sound created by women who indulge in raw belting and then, when they have to sing in a higher soprano register, their voices suddenly sound like they are another person.

Also, it seems to me that if Sondheim and Lapine were unhappy with the way Joslyn sang The Witch, they would have had no reason to cast her, as she never had a name that would sell tickets. But whatever, you can continue to believe that you know what you're talking about.

I appreciated Barbara Cook’s concerts because she would always do one song without a microphone. She had an amazing voice.

[quote]She’s a soprano who couldn’t sing a role that was written for a belter, dipshit [R305].

Bernadette's a belter, r343?

Bernadette is definitely not a belter as everyone in the audience of Song & Dance found out.

They need to get Carson to play Vandergelder. .

“The Worst Pies in London” in Portuguese?

I don’t mind if I do.

BEARKING NEWS!

Neely O'Hara out at CHICAGO!

BroadWAY doesn't go for booze and dope!

and after Sweeney, they knew Betsy and knew what she could do so I'm putting my money on the creative teams and not the dipshit-calling dipshits here. And then they hired her again for Sunday and had her understudy and fill in for Dot. And she stood by for Bernadette in The Goodbye Girl.

What do we think this is about? Does Dolly need fixing after all these years?

"Staunton met with Jerry Herman a couple of months before he died in December 2019. The tunesmith gave permission for Staunton and Cooke to switch around the show’s opening scenes and change one of its songs."

[quote]Bernadette is definitely not a belter as everyone in the audience of Song & Dance found out.

She can, or used to be able to, belt pretty well when she wanted to, but I agree that she was never what would really be classified as a belter. Come to think of it, very few of the other women who've played the witch on stage could accurately be described as belters. And, of course, that applies to Meryl Streep as well. All of which is more evidence that the person in this thread who thinks he knows everything there is to know about singing and different voice types REALLY does not.

Who worked with Robert Kalfin? passed away this week (April 22, 1933 – September 20, 2022)

Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater (1991) is a book by Davi Napoleon about the onstage triumphs and the offstage turmoil at the Chelsea Theater Center of Brooklyn. It includes biographies of the three co-directors, Robert Kalfin, Michael David, and Burl Hash, and anecdotes about behind-the-scenes activities at the Chelsea.

It is also a history of the funding crisis for the arts in America. It explores the theater's socioeconomic milieu in the 1970s. There are stories about attempts to censor the arts and describing increasing anti-arts sentiment in this country.

The Chelsea Theater Center was founded in 1965 and closed in 1986. It was in residence at the Brooklyn Academy of Music from 1968 to 1978. Before and after that time, it worked in theaters in Manhattan, mainly the Westside Theater.

Glenn Close, Frank Langella, Christopher Lloyd and Meryl Streep were among the actors who worked at the Chelsea. Directors included Des McAnuff, Hal Prince, John Hirsch, and Alan Schneider.

In 1965, when Robert Kalfin founded the Chelsea, there were few nonprofit theaters in New York. During the next ten years, new theaters opened, funding sources decreased, and costs rose. Many nonprofit theaters started to do conventional work that would attract audiences. Kalfin and his partners, David and Hash, continued to do innovative work.

Critics often said that the Chelsea stretched the boundaries of theater. Spectators subscribed to seasons before they knew what the Chelsea would produce the following year. On the other hand, there were many clashes behind the scenes.

I remember seeing Betsy Joslyn (the only time I've seen her) as Miss Crabtree in a dreadful new musical at Goodspeed about The Little Rascals in the early 1990s. She was not the problem. Does anyone else remember that musical? I'm spacing - was it a post-Annie special from Martin Charnin?

Joslyn must have been held in high regard for a while, at least, as she played the coveted lead of Nora in Hal Prince (can't remember who composed the music) and Comden & Green's A Doll's Life, though perhaps the resulting flop reduced her to understudying and replacing.

Chapter titles 1 Wherein Robert Kalfin uses his salary to pay for Chelsea's first off-Broadway contract production in order to attract media attention and funding and thereby loses his partners and his space.

2 How Chelsea finds an ideal, inexpensive space in a major cultural institution which rarely attracts Manhattan audiences and where agents don't send performers to audition.

3 Wherein Chelsea's empathic Caucasian director discovers exciting Black plays and gives militant performers a forum for their views, and how this results in a major triumph for the young theater in an international tour which the actors abandon in Zurich.

4 In which Chelsea mounts three major productions, moves two shows off-Broadway for unlimited runs, is featured on the front page of the Arts and Leisure section of The New York Times and can't get funding to finish the season. Again.

5 How Chelsea soars on borrowed wings.

6 Wherein Chelsea creates a Manhattan annex to house Brooklyn successes. How it opens shows, books shows, and rents spaces to other producers at the Westside Theater while continuing to move Brooklyn productions to inappropriate, overpriced rental houses.

7 In which commercial interests rally for art while artists sabotage a revolutionary production. Chelsea wins major awards for best off-Broadway and best Broadway show of the season but doesn't make any money. Audiences, theater artists, and critics take note, while funding sources make note of the growing deficit.

8 How Kalfin defends art from an experimental playwright, a Tony-nominated actress, a Hollywood star, his partners, his board, and a tribe of Indians. While backstage tensions grow, Macheath hangs.

9 Wherein Chelsea condemns the prince and aborts the family, parts three and four.

10 How a monster loses its heads.

11 Wherein we continue Chelsea, the story of a house.

12 How Chelsea cancels a season in order to pay its debts and cannot secure subsequent funding because it has not been producing plays. Our story reaches a happy end, of course.

Comments "I have vivid memories of Bob Kalfin. His laughter, enthusiasm, and intensity. He made us all feel special and a part of something important...This book is interesting to me because it explores group dynamics...How does one maintain an organization that is created out of the passion and spontaneity and chemistry of certain key individuals?" Glenn Close

"A brightly written, thoroughly absorbing account of one of the most innovative theatrical companies of the last five decades. Clashing ideals, opposing personalities, economic hazards and withal superb and original productions are all part of Davi Napoleon's narrative and make up a beguiling chapter of our theatrical history." Thomas Lask, book reviewer The New York Times.

"Bob Kalfin is a unique man and Chelsea on the Edge is a fascinating account of the unique theater he created. I doubt we will ever see the like of such a theater again." Frank Langella

"I believe this book documents a tragedy. It is a metaphor for the change in the priorities of our society. It follows a diminishing curve of moral responsibility emphasized by the government's unwillingness to acknowledge the place of art in the quality of our lives...They tell me that it's only cyclical, that times will change, that the worship of Mammon will give way to daydreaming, impracticality, naiveté, idealism. Perhaps they're right. After all; there once was a Group Theatre; there once a Mercury Theatre; and there once was the Chelsea." Hal Prince, from the foreword

Was the Chelsea Theater Center ever located in Chelsea?

As I remember it was already in great turmoil when I arrived in NYC to begin my career in 1978. But the Chelsea was very much the prototype for all those non-profit theater companies that followed (some with far more success) like Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, Roundabout (though they originally just did bad revivals), the WPA and the Vineyard a little later on. There was also Circle Rep, wildly popular throughout the 70s, that might have even preceded The Chelsea.

But Kalfin was still considered a god amongst those people.

Now I want to see the rest of "Aloha"!

The Hudson Guild was also one of those non-profits back then, if anyone here is old enough to care.

It was a great time in NY for off-Broadway and new American plays and those companies were producing far more with far less but the boldness and impetuosity and sheer talent often paid off. Of course, everyone was paid peanuts to work all-nighters but it was the only way to get the shows produced.

[quote]Kay Kendall would have been a delicious Desiree.

Except for her having died 14 years before it opened.

The only people who attend the flea market are those desperately sad wannabe theater queers on Twitter who then post about all the awesome stuff they bought there, then they go back to their church jobs. It's pathetic.

[quote] Roundabout (though they originally just did bad revivals),

And here they, 45 years later, doing a non-binary “1776.”

Imelda's Dolly will really live up to the show's original title and be a damned exasperating woman. I hope she screams at Ephram during her monologues. I want her to find the raw anger in Dolly and really reinvent the piece.

I jest, I jest. But you know that's probably what's going to happen.

I think the "would have been" takes that into account, r369.

Imelda's Dolly is compensation for the fact that we never got to see Bonnie Franklin's, dammit.

[quote]Not just *a* Kennedy Center Honor but a tribute that was so superb, all other tributes must be compared to it (and are destined to fall short)

In which Glenn Close and Patti LuPone shared the same stage.

[quote]The tunesmith gave permission for Staunton and Cooke to switch around the show’s opening scenes and change one of its songs."

I wonder if she wants to do "Just Leave Everything to Me" instead of "I Put My Hand In"? It's a mistake, if she does.

[quote] I. Kupcinet

Don't forget about Irv's cunt wife.

She could give Mary Rodgers a run for her money in the cuntress sweepstakes.

R375, that was a great tribute, except for Sutton, who just didn't belong on the same stage as the others.

[quote] In which Glenn Close and Patti LuPone shared the same stage.

And then everyone's lives changed with just five words:

"Ladies and gentlemen, Audra McDonald."

[quote]R372 Imelda's Dolly will really live up to the show's original title and be a damned exasperating woman. I hope she screams at Ephram during her monologues. I want her to find the raw anger in Dolly and really reinvent the piece.

Will Beanie go overseas to recreate her smash success as Minnie? Everyone in London must be clamoring to experience her magic for themselves!

Ooh I just love all the pompous circumstances of the Kennedy Center Honors.

Pomposity in Washington D.C? Well, I neva!

Well...........I, for one, think "Just Leave Everything to Me" is a vast improvement over "I Put My Hand In." What's your problem with it, r376?

Now, whether or not Imelda can handle it is up for debate.

She could probably manhandle it r383.

Imelda's gonna play it just like her character from 'Finding Woodstock'

If she uses this arrangement as opposed to the one used in the film, it could work...

btw...Dorothy Loudon would have made an incredible Dolly.

Too slow, Dottie!

Imelda charmed the audience in "Together Wherever We Go." She'll have no problem with Dolly.

[quote]Joslyn must have been held in high regard for a while, at least, as she played the coveted lead of Nora in Hal Prince (can't remember who composed the music) and Comden & Green's A Doll's Life, though perhaps the resulting flop reduced her to understudying and replacing.

Larry Grossman. I actually saw that show when I was in high school. All I remember about it is that it was very murky looking and boring. First time I ever saw George Hearn onstage and he was great, though.

R388 She was awful.

[quote] Ooh I just love all the pompous circumstances of the Kennedy Center Honors.

And you were so close!

Barbara Cook was a good singer. A positive singer.

Imelda's popping eyes and clacking dentures and playing 110% from the beginning will doom her Dolly as it did her Rose......the audience will beg for an intervention for Horace as it did for Herbie.

R393 Her Martha was a train wreck as well.

A Doll's Life's Betsy...

Betsy's A Doll's Life...

London audiences love Imelda.

Now that Moreno's done with "One Day at a Time," it's MY turn to reboot it. And believe me, I can put the boot in reboot, kick Franklin to the curb and slap her quite viciously! This is fucking IT, bitches!!

I've only seen the filmed version of Imelda's Gypsy, and that after hearing raves about her performance from all over (including Sondheim, who said in an interview that she was the best Rose ever or something like that). I was flabbergasted. She was deranged and over the top from her first scene. I felt the same about her Sally and her lunatic rendition of Losing My Mind. I just don't understand all the enthusiasm for her work in musicals.

Imelda didn't play the end from the beginning in "Follies". You're thinking of Bernadette.

[r399] Hi Patti LuPone! Welcome to DL!

[Quote] I've only seen the filmed version of Imelda's Gypsy,

I've seen the filmed version, which was played too fast (I blame Lonnie Price) and lost damn near all nuance. I also saw three performances at the Savoy. The show played like gangbusters with Imelda.

R402 Then how did it all go so very wrong when filmed?

She was playing as if she were on stage, even if she was, she was mic'ed for recording and the director should have told her to reign it in while filming

Does Dolly have the word “everything” in any of her songs? Because as Rose in Gypsy Staunton was never given a note that the word “everything” is not pronounced as “evruhthing” by Americans.

[Quote] Then how did it all go so very wrong when filmed?—pace does not explain the yelling and endless anger

Endless anger is your impression. It's not fact. She did play "Small World" like she was angry. Nor did she yell it.

*She didn't play "Small World" like she was angry.

Imelda is taking lessons from Tovah on how to play Dolly as Irish.

[quote]Imelda is taking lessons from Tovah on how to play Dolly as Irish.

I played her as Irish before Tovah did!

That Kennedy Center Honors Tribute to Cook was the most star-studded tribute I’ve seen!

Audra especially was amazing. Even awardees Streep and Yo-Yo Ma were mesmerized

So I guess Imelda will be singing "Just leave everuh-thing to meeeeee!"

Horace is gonna hit Dolly in the head with a shovel and dump her into his cellar.

My god. Just watched that Barbara Cook tribute again.....just no words. Breathtaking.

I'm gonna go watch it right now. Thanks, DL!

And I wouldn't care for Imelda as Dolly. Too intense.

Still hoping for Glenda Jackson as Mdme. Armfeldt.

[quote]Now that Moreno's done with "One Day at a Time," it's MY turn to reboot it. And believe me, I can put the boot in reboot, kick Franklin to the curb and slap her quite viciously! This is fucking IT, bitches!!

Imelda, I see you as more of an "Alice."

I started watching The Kennedy Center, but the first person is Laura Osnes and I got Covid watching it

[quote]r397 London audiences love Imelda.

Yeah, well they love King Tampon and that weather-beaten old cunt Camilla, too.

And foreskin

It is unforgivable.

[quote]The tunesmith gave permission for Staunton and Cooke to switch around the show’s opening scenes and change one of its songs."

Replacing "I Put My Hand In" with "Just Leave Everything to Me" might work okay, but what can "switching around the opening scenes" possibly mean? What scene could conceivably begin the show other than the one that begins it as written?

Will the head butler from Downton Abbey take a bow as Horace?

r421 see r357

Variety reviews "The Griswolds' Broadway Vacation."

Beanie is in talks to star in the new Broadway musical “Butternut Squash”. Your guess is as good as mine.

Who doesn’t play the squash?

They had me at Butter.

Side Show with Beanie and Chrissie Metz?

“Evermore and always, we’ll be two though we’re four”

In a Facebook group about cast albums, Bruce Kimmel posted this story about meeting Robert Weede, the original star of Most Happy Fella. It’s a sweet story, but those last lines…really? That’s sure not the Kimmel I’ve seen online. He posts some of the nastiest and most arrogant comments I’ve ever seen: “I saw him do it in 65 at a theater in the round - a life-changing experience for me and I went backstage and met him after the matinee. He was the kindest and sweetest and most genuine person - asked me if I was a performer (I was) and how everything was going, then invited me to be his guest at the closing performance that evening, and invited me to attend the cast party after. I stayed and went to the cast party and he introduced me to every person there, including the director - who hired me a few weeks later to do another in the round show at a different theater. I suspect such kindness has gone the way of the dodo bird, but I've tried to live my life by his example.”

Never, ever trust a man named Bruce.

I did see Imelda as Rose, live, and she was fine. Yet the one element of the character she didn't provide was charm. Maybe she was saving all of the charm at her disposal for Dolly.

Also, one of the few musicals that really doesn't need tinkering is DOLLY. Like it or not, it's a well-oiled machine.

Happy 65th birthday, WEST SIDE STORY.

(Okay, a coupla days late.)

Livin' da Linda Lavin!

London England??

I’m sure her rendition of the theme from Alice will go down a treat.

[quote]London audiences love Imelda.

Proving again what we've always known: Londoners don't understand the Broadway musical. There have been a few honourable exceptions where a company has managed to do justice to one, but audiences can't tell one of those from the other shit they like.

The words Imelda and nuance do not belong in the same sentence.....or paragraph for that matter.

Her bug eyes and clacking dentures are on full display in everything she does.

Is Imelda at true "diva" to gays in the UK? Do they adore her and follow her the same way that Patti, Bernie, Barbra, and Audra have their passionate gay fandoms?

I don't quite see it, but I'm not British.

So...Funny Girl weekly grosses have surpassed weekly grosses from the ENTIRE RUN.

I think Imelda is beloved by housewives in the UK.

Who in their right mind would pay to listen to Linda Lavin sing for even an hour?

Was Imelda ever this cute?

If Lavin had arrived in London a month earlier, she could have sung had the Queen's funeral.

Believe it or not, LuPone exhibited spades of charm and humor in her Rose. She's my favorite Rise

RISE, GODDAMMIT!

Guess what's on right now, r429...

r447 Supposedly the reason that show was featured on "ILL" was because Desilu was an investor.

[quote] If Lavin had arrived in London a month earlier, she could have sung had the Queen's funeral.

"There's a NEW queen in town....and she's feeling GOOD!"

Not supposedly, r448, they were.

Lea saves Funny Girl. Up a million a week from the summer. Over 1.6 million a week. At her peak Beanie, made 1.2 and that lasted for a few weeks.

Suck it haters.

Could someone tell about LaBelleGarfield and MadameAstin and this notorious condom? Please write in code.

When is the press invited to review Lea in FG?

It was supposed to be three weeks from her debut. I wonder if they’ve moved it because of her Covid? She doesn’t really need the time. It’s a complete performance.

Maybe Tovah needs the time!

[quote]R446 RISE, GODDAMMIT

After a while, I start hearing that ending as, “Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! WRIIIIIIIITHE!”

That's the final nail in Beanie's coffin. What a massive scandal/humiliation!

[quote]After a while, I start hearing that ending as, “Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! Writhe! WRIIIIIIIITHE!”

Cindy Brady IS Joanne!

Lea went from being canceled to selling out on broadway and I couldn’t be happier for her. And I’m not even a fan. But this canceling shit has to stop.

Funny Girl's grosses are approaching Hamilton's? What world am I living in? How long is Lea signed?

This shitting shit has to stop too.

From all accounts, it sounds as if Lea is being a regular angel during this run. It'll probably take another 5/10 years for most of the people canceling her to believe that she's cleaned up her act for good, but it'd make a nice redemption arc and give her a little good will if she keeps it up.

Look like the critics coming back to FG already

I think it’s less about living Lea as a person and people wanting to spend money to hear the songs sung well. Even Supercalifragilistic Julie Benko was so-so singer. Lea was made for this role and people love this score and she sings it well.

I hope this opens producers minds that musicals starring people that can actually fucking sing the goddamn songs will sell!

What was the R # for the link to the Barbara Cook tribute?

R375

Danke R466

McDonald may offer swell banter but I wish she would be more specific with her interpretive choices in her musical material. It's all beautifully sung...and, unlike the transcendent Barbara Cook, all sounds the same, IMO.

"What do we think this is about?"

It's about nonsense, of course.

R468, Go see Audra in concert or in a show. Her interpretations are stunning. Once at a concert, she sang "It's not easy being green" by Kermit in the first Muppet Movie.

By the end, the entire audience was in tears.

I consider her the heir to Barbara Cook in that regards.

I'm not even much of an Audra fan but her singing to Barbara Cook brought tears to my eyes.

R469 that song was not in the first Muppet movie

Audra at Lincoln Center was very one note. But her Billie Holliday as played by Grover was excellent.

Grover Dale?

Saw Lea Michele in Funny Girl today and it was the performance of a lifetime. People were crying and applauding and cheering and standing at random. I know she's not eligible, but how can we get her a Tony?

Give that regards to Audra

If you like popular song, sung in an operatic style, then Audra is your gal.

I do think to appreciate Audra, you do need to see her live... I hated her until I saw her in Anyone can WHistle

I saw her standing in a doorway in the pouring rain before (if I recall correctly) the invited dress for Annie Get Your Gun.

Since there's no opera thread, I'll post here that fans should absolutely see Sondra Radvanovsky in Cherubini's Medea at the Met before it packs up in October. It's not an outstanding piece of music, but Radvanovsky is thrillingly intense. I enjoyed it more than almost anything at the Met last season.

Audra apparently sang "Rose's Turn" at her latest concert. Looks like a Gypsy revival with her is becoming a possibility.

Does anyone know if she actually belted the song or did it in head voice? I'm having a really hard time imagining that song performed in head voice.

Imelda is playing all the classic female roles. Can’t wait to see her Maria von Trapp.

Did Chris Colfer not sing it in head voice?

A Doll's Grind...

Everybody's Turn...

[quote] I'm not even much of an Audra fan but her singing to Barbara Cook brought tears to my eyes.

That last two minutes of the tribute moves my very soul.

Returning to an earlier comment re: the eternally youthful and elegant Patricia Morison... Is Valens anecdote confirmation that she was family? I'd heard rumors over the years and she never married, so assumed she did indeed hate men...

[quote]r375 In which Glenn Close and Patti LuPone shared the same stage.

I hate how Glenn Close always shoehorns her way into these Broadway tributes. She’s a gifted actress… she’s not a great singer. And she sounds quite bad in her number.

LuPone spilled that they had to stay late after the show so that they could get a usable take of Glenn's Losing My Mind.

Who put the “fuh” in Funny Girl?? Beanie Fieldsten!! Never forget!!!!!

[quote]R488 LuPone spilled that they had to stay late after the show so that they could get a usable take of Glenn's Losing My Mind.

Well, where’s THAT take, I’d like to know.

R486 Well, she was with her lovely female companion, and yes, she was family.

r489 that's your third arbitrary 'Beanie!' post on this thread. You've been warned.

[r491] Hi Valens! You used to be fabulous with hard to find things. Do u by any chance have video of “Old Friends” the Sondheim concert from London Cameron McIntosh produced that had Bernadette Peters sing Losing My Mind?

Also while I have you, audio of Merrily We Roll Along with Samantha Spiro’s “Like it Was” she won the Olivier for Mary Flynn.

"Make Our Garden Grow" always moves me no matter who sings it.

Was there any reference for Patti singing "Come Rain or Come Shine" to Barbara Cook? Fabulous rendition, Patti at her best (and looking the best I've seen her in her later years) but just wondering about the song selection.

Happy 60th birthday to Roger Bart.

Hopefully he and his, uh, considerable talents are celebrating today.

For that matter, why did Sutton Foster sing a song from Anyone Can Whistle to Barbara Cook? What am I missing?

Barbara Cook used to sing that song a lot in her concerts R495.

I wasn’t aware that they’d even found the POS. Possible sentence of 1-3 years for taking someone’s life? Outrageous.

Good! How dare he kill Sister Lisa??!??

LET HIM FRY!

[quote] Since there's no opera thread, I'll post here that fans should absolutely see Sondra Radvanovsky in Cherubini's Medea at the Met before it packs up in October. It's not an outstanding piece of music, but Radvanovsky is thrillingly intense. I enjoyed it more than almost anything at the Met last season.

Thanks for the recommendation! Just bought a ticket for the end of the run based on your rave.

How long is Lea M is Funny Girl?

I guess I should buy a ticket sometime.

Lea, Ramin and Tovah are scheduled to stay until June. That’s pretty impressive considering most replacements these days don’t stay longer than 3 months.

"Come Rain or Come Shine" and "Everybody Says Don't" were songs Barbara Cook sang often in her concerts.

Interesting that no one dared sing "Ice Cream" or "Glitter and Be Gay." I wonder if Kristin Chenoweth had been invited to join the ladies? Her absence is noteworthy.

Those Kennedy Center concerts must be grueling for the people being honored. Having to listen to other people interpret your signature songs with a big smile on your face.

any thoughts on 1776 on GMA today?

After intense voice and dance lessons, we’ll be ready to welcome Beanie back in Funny Girl in July 2023!

I'm sure it was bittersweet for Julie, r506.

[quote]she was with her lovely female companion, and

The lovely female companion who dined on Pat's perfumed pussy was named Isabelle, and she was a hoot!

[quote]r509 I'm sure it was bittersweet for Julie

Julie Benko deserves a Congressional Medal of Honor.

R511, thanks, Julie...

With the Times rave, Lea has completely defeated the rancid stench of mediocrity that Beanie heaped upon the show, the beast of Broadway has been exorcised! All hail Lea!

here's the link r513 was too smug and selfish to share. Still not a "Critics Pick"

"Both vulnerable and invulnerable, kooky and ardent, she makes the show worth watching again. She can’t make it good, though. Michael Mayer’s production is still garish and pushy, pandering for audience overreaction."

Jesse Green is such a bitch to shit on Julie Benko in the review of Lea.

here's the quote r516 was too smug and too selfish to share.

[quote] "Benko, who is still the Thursday night Fanny, sings the role very well, so you never worry, as you did with Feldstein, that she might not make it through the songs. Then too, Benko gets closer to the dark heart of the comedy, backfilling its shtick with something like anger. Still, good as she is, her voice and the rest of her performance don’t yet match; she even has a different accent when acting the role than when singing it."

[quote] This would have been Yonekura’s fourth stint with the Broadway company of “Chicago” after having first appeared as Roxie Hart in the musical’s Japanese production in 2008. A replacement for Yonekura will be announced shortly.

r489, yes, we know.

I thought the whole point to "Theatre Gossip" threads was smug selfishness.

r517: you, sir, are an asshole. enjoy your day.

Poor Beanie’s toilet, she’s gonna be inhaling those Little Debbie’s snack cakes after reading THAT review!

Both NY Times and Wash Post are rave reviews. Tried to post them, but DL wouldn't let me.

[quote]r516 Jesse Green is such a bitch to shit on Julie Benko in the review of Lea.

[bold] #Justice4Julie

"The lighting by Kevin Adams would make a rat clap..." What does that even mean, Jesse?

Are we sure it isn't Jesse Ventura writing these reviews?

Well it wasn’t me

Rats like dark, dimly lit rooms to scurry around in?

1776?

1776 would make a capybara clap!

The headline on that NYT review should be:

“LEA MICHELE TRIUMPHS - AND WITHOUT A LIGHTHOUSE KEEPER!”

1776 will probably give audiences the Clap.

It would’ve been funny if Green had ended his review by saying: “And no worries that all this praise will go to her head because Lea Michele can’t read.”

Bitches!

“Ice into slush” is right up there with “layered as a lasagna,” Jesse.

Lea Michele will Flip Your Wig!

[quote]She even has a different accent when acting the role than when singing it."

This is not uncommon. Some people's accents when they speak, whether British or New Yorkese or whatever, are less obvious when they sing. In the film of FUNNY GIRL, Streisand herself speaks most of her dialogue in a New York/Brooklynese accent but she only uses it sometimes in some of her songs, for example, "I'm the Greatest Star," "You Are Woman, I Am Man" and, of course, "The Swan," which is a pastiche of a Yiddish dialect number. In most of the other songs, including "People" and "Don't Rain on My Parade," she doesn't use that accent at all. So I hope Jesse Green doesn't think this phenomenon is unique to Julie Benko, because it certainly is not.

Thanks for explaining that to us, pedant.

You’d think Julie Benko was the combination of Mother Theresa, Elizabeth Taylor and Michelle Obama based on the defenses you queens keep spewing.

R536, I thought it was worth pointing out that Barbra Streisand, who originated the starring role in FUNNY GIRL, did the same thing -- speaking with a New York accent but singing without one -- that Jesse Green criticized Julie Benko for doing. He probably didn't even notice that Streisand did this, and I'm guessing you didn't either, so I think my post was worthwhile, Oh, and P.S., you clearly have no idea what "pedant" means.

[quote]You’d think Julie Benko was the combination of Mother Theresa, Elizabeth Taylor and Michelle Obama based on the defenses you queens keep spewing.

You'd think you were a combination of Elaine Stritch, Imelda Marcos, and Patti LuPone, based on your bitchiness.

Was Jesse always this bad a writer?

[r540] YES!

[quote]You’d think Julie Benko was the combination of Mother Theresa, Elizabeth Taylor and Michelle Obama based on the defenses you queens keep spewing.

Substitute " Patti" for "Julie Benko" and you'd be correct.

R493 I am on a break. Have an audio of the Old Friends concert, but the audience is so annoying, is unlistenable. Hopefully the rumoured film will be released some day.

Think that merrily is still on Youtube, is that the awful Friedman version?

I would hardly call 96 "old age."

60 is the new 30!

Stephanie is so focused on belting the notes that she blows the joke.

She's no Stefanie...

Wow, that rendition is shite.

Block and hubby are no Steve and Edie.

This thread needs some Linda Hopkins...and it's EYDIE, r549!

Sebastian Arcelus desperately needs a decent haircut.

Milky White is the true star of this production!

Nevertheless, I'm thrilled that Jesse Green took the occasion of his re-review to lambast in no uncertain words most of the other aspects of Michael Mayer's rancid production.

Has anyone seen the West Coast Production of the Inheritance yet ? Thoughts ? Reviews ?

Set your DVRs, bitches . . .

Lea is on Jimmy Fallon tonight!

My friend is bothering me to go see The Inheritance out here (and I saw, and loved, the Bway production), but I am so underwhelmed by this cast, and the Geffen is such garbage the past decade. And who wants to sit in a theater for three hours with a mask on? I told him since this will be his only shot to see it, he should go, but to keep expectations low.

Stephanie's interpretations of the songs (based on clips online) seem obvious and stale, while Sara's were surprising and fun.

[quote] Has anyone seen the West Coast Production of the Inheritance yet ? Thoughts ? Reviews ?

It only started on Sept. 13. They haven't quite finished the first performance.

I really enjoyed Inheritance on Bway but def don't want to see it again

New ITW cast recording has dropped and it's lovely.

So is ITW Sondheim's most "popular" show, his biggest hit? Or would that be Sweeney?

What old broad did they get to play the Vanessa Redgrave/Lois Smith role at The Geffen? It seems like the possibilities out in LA would be endless.

You do all realize that the Geffen production of The Inheritance is an entirely different one than played London and NY? Different director, etc.

Is she a DLer?

r564 She's too likeable to be a DLer

She's fat enough.

Sara B is so delightful on the new ITW recording. Makes me wish I had seen her in the show.

who's the creepy blonde playing the Baker??

Suzanne Somers?

R564, She's exactly right and describes every jukebox musical to a T

[quote] You do all realize that the Geffen production of The Inheritance is an entirely different one than played London and NY? Different director, etc.

But the same script...

[Quote] What old broad did they get to play the Vanessa Redgrave/Lois Smith role at The Geffen?

Priscilla Barnes.

The Times review almost makes me want to see it again. Almost...

It's hardly a rave for Lea when they point out that comedy is not really her thing...

No, R572, the old lady will be played in alternate performances by Deborah Van Valkenburgh and Lydia Cornell.

R571, With Tuc Watkins in the JBH role.

Is the staging that different from NY?

It’s a very simple staging.

They added a dream ballet, r577.

I disagree. The INHERITANCE staging in NY was brilliant.

Love that Jesse Green took down the Benko stans and he’s absolutely right. Raves for Lea. Suck it.

[quote]Love that Jesse Green took down the Benko stans

He did nothing of the kind. The only thing as bad as a silly, mindless stan is a silly, mindless hater, like you.

^ Sure, Jan. Lol. 😭😭😭🤡

I'm happy to read that the 'Medea' opera is good. I have a ticket for around Halloween. It's my 'spooky' show this year. Last year was 'Little Shop of Horrors.'

[quote]Milky White is the true star of this production!

It will be even more apparent when Lens Dunham takes over the role.

[quote]What old broad did they get to play the Vanessa Redgrave/Lois Smith role at The Geffen? It seems like the possibilities out in LA would be endless.

I was quite insulted when they asked me.

More Disney

Have you seen Ramin’s body? No one is looking at his face.

[quote] You do all realize that the Geffen production of The Inheritance is an entirely different one than played London and NY? Different director, etc.

Yes, which is why no one is all that thrilled to see it. And the "old broad" is an actress named Tantoo Cardinal. So that should tell you the level of interest there was for actors in doing this play out in LA. The other "big names" are Tuc Watkins and Bill Brochtrup.

Hey R564, I know her - or at least did at one time. Kymm (I know, I know) was friends with my former roommate - we lived together from 98 - 01. She was at a bunch of parties we had, and at different functions and outings. Very funny lady. I remember, she took a black and white photograph or me and my cat at the time. It’s one of the best pictures ever taken of me.

Lost track of her after we moved on, glad to see she’s still around.

I’ve read that Ramin is strictly Hetero. It seems by his Instagram that he is completely straight.

Does anyone have any REAL dish that that isn’t 100% true?

He fucked me with a fondue pot, r590.

Cheese, chocolate or hot oil?

Yes.

[quote] The other "big names" are Tuc Watkins and Bill Brochtrup.

Funny, I thought they were the same person.

Ramin spent four months kissing Beanie. If he’s still straight after that then there’s no hope.

I loved watching Ramin's muscles writhe under his black turtleneck whenever he sang in 'Chess' down in DC.

[quote] Ramin is strictly Hetero

news to some of us

If anyone ever produced a nudie MEN OF BROADWAY CALENDAR Ramin would be January. Problem is who would be the other 11 months. Pickings are slim.

[quote] Funny, I thought they were the same person.

They pretty much are the same. The only difference is that when you needed a mid-level gay actor to play a gay role in something on tv or local theater twenty years ago, you cast Bill. Now you cast Tuc. Yet they are relatively the same age.

FOLLIES...