THEATRE GOSSIP # 494: The "Tuc Watkins and Bill Brochtrup Are Big...It's the L.A. Theater Scene That Got Small" Edition

I use J.R. Watkins products

Link to previous thread:

Don't use other #494 that had the same title as #493...that was a boo boo!

I"m tempted to fly down to LA to see The Inheritance because I know none of the LORTs in Seattle will do it...the cast is too big and all of our big theaters are too poor/cheap to produce a show with that large of a cast budget.

Bill B looks like he's packing more than Tuc.

Tuc's is perfectly respectable, I'm sure.

Ramin's bod looks quite fine in "Funny Girl", but it would be ruined if his tats were showing, as fortunately they are not, covered by his robe. He also can't dance -- his turns are pretty comical (not intentionally) when he does that added number for Nick.

Is Tuc still with Andy Rannells?

Insufferable for sure

how so, r7?

I'm not a fan of what Stephanie J. Block is currently doing in ITW, but this interview is pretty interesting for the theatre aspects rather than the food aspects.

This: "we got the call two or three weeks before we needed to start," makes it seem like they very much weren't the first choices, which isn't surprising, and makes me wonder who the producers were pursuing but couldn't get.

I want Sara back into ITW for Christmas!!!!

Are you naughty or nice?

The Locher Room did a very good interview with Tuc this week.

"Are You Ready, Tuc Watkins?"

I wanna see Tuc's tush.

I wanna see Tuc's bush.

I wanna see Tuc fuck.

If The Inheritance is produced like the London/Broadway production, it's not necessarily that expensive as there's basically no set and the actors rarely change costumes - and the young guys never even wear shoes. No star names needed as the salaries can be kept at a favored nations minimum. Of course, *****SPOILER ALERT****** there's the huge group of guys who have enter at the end of Part I but a nearby college could probably supply them for some class credit.

Why would anyone care to hear what those three mediocrities think of Sondheim, R7?

Exactly r18. But they will have [italic] so much [/italic] to say

They inherited the Sondheim mantle.

Tuc suddenly looks rather old and haggard in the show with NPH

r21...hes 56...pushing 60

Rannells must be REALLY good to those kids...I cant explain it any other way...

Maybe he's REALLY good to the dick

But has Mary Rodgers ever written about Tuc?

r24 Tucs kids are his everything. It doesnt matter if Rannells is the best lay hes ever had. If the kids didnt like him, hed be long gone.

[quote] there's the huge group of guys who have enter at the end of Part I but a nearby college could probably supply them for some class credit.

The Geffen is right on the edge of UCLA’s campus

R26, They both scrubbed each other from their social media accounts months ago.

What will Lea be singing from Funny Girl on Jimmy Fallon tonight?

r14,

r29, "People."

Listening to Soo's "On the Steps of the Palace" on the cast recording just reminds me how good she was.

And it makes this seem even more unfortunate.

Wow, that really is ufortunate, R33. Was the requirement for all the ITW replacements that they indicate til the cow comes home?

Indicating is the new subtlety.

[Quote] Was the requirement for all the ITW replacements that they indicate til the cow comes home?

The cows as white as milk

I read on Broadwayworld (which means it has a 20% chance of being true they wanted Sherie Rene Scott and Norbert Leo Butz as the Baker and Wife

Cast Isaac Powell as Cinderella’s Prince and he and Krysta can indicate all over the stage. Fun, until someone loses an eye.

Damn, is everyone in that ITW dressed in pale orange?? And that Cinderella dress is so badly fit.

Krysta Rodriguez always looks like an unmade bed

Remember Lear deBessonet, known hater of musicals, "directed" it. The actors are not going to be directed with any style. Its up to them to bring something to the roles.

The costumes over at the St. James are appalling and awful..

Too bad Flo Klotz croaked. She could have brought some style.

Can Southern California audiences handle the guilt and introspection required from viewing a performance of "The Inheritance"? Not to mention when I saw it here in Boston they "spruced it up" with a bunch of modern debates about Trump and MAGA politics.

r32 thank you!!! A favorite. That was lovely.

I know she's 100 years old, but can you imagine if Bernadette did the The Witch for a very short run before the production closed? That would be my kind of stunt casting.

Remember years ago when Tuc said he found the gays on modern family obnoxious and couldn’t relate to the characters and Jesse Tyler Ferguson responded on Twitter like a whiny little bitch?

Loved that.

r46 will you be my date to see her? we'd have a blast!

R48 - you got it, toots!

Lea’s People on Fallon.

She sings it beautifully but I’m not entirely sure she understands what the lyrics mean.

r49 aww, thanks! I'm blushing.

R50 - I still don't have much interest in this revival for some reason (and I usually prefer revivals over new musicals.) That said, yes, she does sing it beautifully. She seems connected to the lyrics, too. It's not THAT complex a song.

That was a strange key change from intro to verse.

This Into the Woods revival just looks like utter shit. Nothing I've watched or listened to is the least bit impressive. And R33's clip confirms my opinion. Did that girl win some kind of fan lottery to be in the show? What a huge pile of shit.

My partner, who is lukewarm on musicals and Sondheim, leaned to me at the intermission of Into the Woods and whispered, “this is perfect.” Unlike r54. he had the disadvantage of actually seeing the show before issuing an opinion.

Har the luckiest people in the hworld. Such an irritating tick.

I saw it with the original cast. It was wonderful. So glad I got to see it.

But I agree that every clip of the replacement cast has been godawful and makes the whole thing look disastrous.

A perfect pile of shit, R55.

I walked out of ITW (current production). Couldn’t stand the screaming animal flyover audience, was in rear mezzanine, a child was behind me talking while loudly eating candy, I couldn’t see anything (frau in front of me was leaning forward and had sunglasses perched on her head) and Bareilles and Creel were out. Love the music, love Sondheim… but it’s actually quite a long show.

Left before intermission. No regrets (except the money for the ticket obviously). Vowed to be more discerning in seeing anything on Broadway these days. Times Square is a nightmare, the seats in the old theaters are so cramped (and I’m not even a fat whore), the audiences are out of their minds and half the time it’s understudies. Not worth the money.

Yes I know… MARY!!!!

R50 thank you for a timely and complete post with a helpful link and then you state your opinion. A+

One of my favorite comments on DL in a long while is the above poster who asked if Krysta Rodriguez (better known as DL fave Wesley Taylor’s fag hag) won a fan lottery to be cast in Into the Woods.

Between the reports here about into the woods, and the Jesse Green observation about the funny girl Audience, Broadway does indeed sound like hell these days

I'm very glad I got to see the original cast in this revival. I loved every single one of them, with the exception of Patina Miller, whose performance was surprisingly amateurish -- lots of indicating all over the place -- and she doesn't really have the comedic chops for The Witch's funnier moments. Her iciness suited her role in Pippin, but not here.

Everyone else, though, was WONDERFUL.

r63, I agree Miller was the weak link, though for the opposite reasons. I actually found her very funny, but completely lacking in gravitas. There was no real menace, weight, or emotion in her performance, which robbed the Witch of many of her best moments.

People. People who bitch about theatre. They’re the nastiest people on the lounge.

R64 - I didn't mean to suggest that I thought she was successful in The Witch's more dramatic moments. Candidly, she just didn't work for me at all -- in lighter, funnier moments and in Act II's more dramatic moments.

Has anyone seen Montego Glover in the role?

Peters playing the Witch would get me there again, probably at a very high price. They did a reunion at BAM in 2015 that featured the principals and their major songs. She put on a fake nose and gave the best performance of the Witch I have ever seen, without leaving her chair.

Granted I love her voice, but this is beautiful…

R67: Convince R59 not to be such a sourpuss, and we'll make a double-date at The James!

[QUOTE] Can Southern California audiences handle the guilt and introspection required from viewing a performance of "The Inheritance"? Not to mention when I saw it here in Boston they "spruced it up" with a bunch of modern debates about Trump and MAGA politics.

You’ve clearly never read the play as those “modern debates” are in the original text.

r68, indeed. Yet what strikes me most now after watching the video of Block's take on on the song is how natural Bareilles' hand gestures are. She does use her hands a lot, but it's not the relentless flapping or using them to indicate every line and meaning that Block does. Everything Bareilles does there is so light and natural. Even in a recording studio and out of costume, it's brilliant work.

For comparison for those who missed it in the last thread, Block's flapping (and relentless mugging).

[quote] Was the requirement for all the ITW replacements that they indicate til the cow comes home?

Seriously, wtf is going on with these ITW clips? The singing and acting is fucking terrible. In what world is Krysta Rodriguez anyone’s idea of a soubrette soprano princess?

I doubt there are screaming audiences at Leopoldstadt. Or Death of a Salesman.

r69 this is shaping up to be a grand double-date, I can't wait!!! Love, r48

Tuc Watkins is sort of hunky. Bill Brochtrup never was.

[quote] She sings it beautifully but I’m not entirely sure she understands what the lyrics mean.

NO ONE knows what the lyrics mean, including the lyricist or the composer. They’re infamously some of the most inane nonsensical lyrics in the history of musicals.

r59 thanks for your assessment, that would have driven me nuts too. I haven't been to a show since pre-pandemic, but all the comments on various threads about unruly and loud audiences have been the only mitigating factor in keeping me away from Broadway. Oh, and the prices!

r66, I haven't heard good things about Glover. Here's the clip. Like all the others, it's not great. (The best part is one of the comments: "Why she look like E.T"?)

Bareilles really is lovely - beautiful voice and very appealing performer - and she can write and compose music. Very talented. Appears very grateful for her success and seems grounded.

I actually don’t mind that Bareilles in the clip above. It’s the best I’ve seen out of the others in the current cast who don’t have a damn clue. It’s not great, but it’s not bad.

R79 - oy. That was just an... odd performance. The weird over the top hyperventilating? How was Heather Headley at City Center?

I have to say, I've never seen anyone come close to Bernadette's Stay With Me. Not only beautifully sung, but exquisitely acted. And the actress playing Rapunzel is so integral to the success of this performance. The way that the Witch manipulates her throughout until she finally relents and sinks into her embrace? Just perfect.

Honestly, it never hit me until now, but you can almost see a thread between this moment in Into the Woods and Bernadette's eventual portrayal of Mama/Madame Rose in Gypsy.

I think the rehearsal footage of Headley is all that's come out. But even here, she's better than Miller and Glover.

Audio only

I saw Headley's performance and found it too over-the-top fierce. I'm sure others will disagree.

It's a harder role to nail than it would seem--maybe because Bernie's performance seemed so effortless.

While Tuc is still good looking... it seems that age and I'm assuming he's a smoker, it's all caught up with him

R85 - I see what you mean. Too strident. Although I know she's only in her early 30s, what do we think about CZJ as The Witch?

(This is just fantasy casting... obviously I know CZJ isn't going to be the third or fourth Witch in a short-running revival of Into the Woods)

Cynthia Ervivo should have played The Witch but she has better options these days.

*Erivo

Tuc is not a smoker. Being healthy is important to him.

[quote]That was a strange key change from intro to verse.

I'm pretty sure that's exactly what happens in "People" as recorded by Streisand for the original cast album. P.S. The orchestra in that Fallon clip sounded a whole lot better than the orchestra in the theater. Maybe it was larger and/or comprised of different players?

[quote]For comparison for those who missed it in the last thread, Block's flapping (and relentless mugging).

You don't seem smart enough to realize that a performance calibrated for a large Broadway theater, with a balcony yet, is very likely to look too busy and too broad when viewed in close-up by way of a video. Stephanie J. Block is a wonderful performer, and I'm sure her Baker's Wife comes cross just fine in the theater.

[quote]Cynthia Ervivo should have played The Witch but she has better options these days.

I imagine she would be fine as the the Witch, but let's please keep in mind that there is no reason why that particular role ABSOLUTELY HAS TO be cast with a black woman. Because if anyone did try to make that a rule, it would be discriminatory and illegal.

Tuc needs to tuck in it. He's old. He's OVAH.

I saw most the original cast of this ITW and it was truly perfect. Miller was out as the witch, but her understudy, making her Bway debut, was the excellent, she became the main character

R91 - yes, the orchestra sounded much better than the pit band at Funny Girl. Do we think they're somehow not the same musicians but studio musicians hired just for the Tonight Show performance?

Yes, R94, that's my guess. Or maybe that orchestra consisted of the pit musicians with several instruments added, which would certainly improve the sound.

I love how menacing Headley sounds as the Witch. I'd've seen the new revival if she'd been in it.

Why have Tuc's Vienna Sausage when you can sample my bratwurst?

I agree that Block is a wonderful performer, r91, but not so much in this role. I'm sure Sara B is a tough act to follow, but the contrast is jarring. People (including Sondheim) frequently say of Sondheim's stuff that you don't have to decorate it, and Sara didn't. Block did.

Yes, could they please take those extra players and put them in the pit???? Use some of that million extra Lea is bringing in a week.

[quote]I agree that Block is a wonderful performer, [R91], but not so much in this role. I'm sure Sara B is a tough act to follow, but the contrast is jarring. People (including Sondheim) frequently say of Sondheim's stuff that you don't have to decorate it, and Sara didn't. Block did.

I think you have to "decorate" it a little when you're playing in a large theater, and also depending on the show. I don't think performing A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC in an intimate theater would work with a lot of hand gestures and what you call "indicating," but performing INTO THE WOODS in the St. James does. Just my opinion, and I'm standing by it.

[quote]Yes, could they please take those extra players and put them in the pit???? Use some of that million extra Lea is bringing in a week.

This production, like the fairly horrendous Broadway revival of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, started at the Menier Chocolate Factory. When NIGHT MUSIC transferred to Broadway, the orchestra was not increased in size, so I believe we literally heard six or fewer musicians playing that gorgeous score in a Broadway production, and the result was so pitiful that Sondheim actually wrote a letter to The New York Times about it. The main producer at Menier is/was also a producer of the Broadway transfers of both shows, and I suspect he would never okay a larger orchestra for FUNNY GIRL, because he apparently just doesn't care about that.

R101 - Are you sure about that? Sondheim sent a letter to the NY Times complaining about the small Night Music orchestra? Surely a Broadway transfer couldn't have happened without Sondheim's blessing? My impression is that he was... far more tolerant of those teeny tiny revivals than a lot of his fans were.

R102, as I recall, what happened was that one of the higher-ups in that production of NIGHT MUSIC was foolish enough to make a comment in an interview, or maybe it was in a letter to the Times, that the production would have had a larger orchestra if Sondheim had requested it. Then Sondheim wrote in reply that if he had known this was the case, he would have made such a request. His response seemed coy and sort of playful on the surface, but it did address the point that many/most people felt that "orchestra" was inadequate in terms of size.

Sondheim didn’t complain about actors dragging instruments around the stage and playing them incompetently in two major NY productions of his, so… 🤷‍♂️

If Sondheim picked apart or bitched about every revival of his works, producers would have stopped doing them. And I'm sure he liked seeing his works given new life, even if they weren't perfect. And he wasn't about to demoralize the actors.

LOL at the well informed opinion

Stephanie J. Block is a wonderful performer, and I'm sure her Baker's Wife comes cross just fine in the theater.

You're entitled to your opinion, r106. In mine, she did entirely too much flapping about.

Yes, Tuc approaching the age of 60 is absolutely TRAGIC. I'm sure you bitter, landlocked queens look so much better.

I logged in to respond to r91/r100, only to see I have them blocked, obviously for good reason.

Just so there's no confusion, I'm r72, the one who posted the video of Block's flapping about, but I'm not r107, so there are at least two of us who are describing her performance that way.

And r91/r100, I saw the show with the original cast of Bareilles/Soo/et al., and none of them felt the need to "decorate" their performances in that same large theater or do the indicating Block, Rodriguez, and others are. Bareilles's performance was essentially the same as it was in the studio recording in r68. She didn't have to make hand gestures for every fucking emotion and mug relentlessly, and still managed to convey every emotion clearly to the audience in that large theater (and Soo was hilarious and charming without doing any of the things Rodriguez is attempting. And Henry wasn't as embarrassingly broad as Karl is there.) To be called stupid by someone with your clear lack of intelligence or discernment is truly a compliment, since you obviously don't have a clue.

Sorry--that should be Creel, not Henry.

I might have missed it but has anyone who posts here seen Funny Girl?

If so, how was it?

r111 Barbra absolutely deserved that Oscar.

Why did Headley not transfer to Broadway?

I saw Funny Girl and it was hideous and awful in every way.

[Quote] Just my opinion, and I'm standing by it.

Of course you are, dear.

I want Tuc inside me. Quite deeply.

[quote]Why did Headley not transfer to Broadway?

I can only guess. She may have had another project lined up, but also, she is famous for declining to do eight performances a week in an extended run of a show, so even if she was available for the ITW transfer, the producers may not have wanted her if they had to find an alternate.

The production of Into The Woods at City Center Encores was a smash because of two things

(1) Sara Barrelis

(2) Heather Headley.

Having unmade bed, Krysta Rodriguez, “sing” in an ill-fitting dress and Stephanie Block Elphaba belt the word “Beans” doesn’t match the Encores 1 and 2.

R109, I'll respond to you even though you have apparently blocked me and won't see the response:

Of course, whether or not Block is doing too much with her hands and is "mugging" in her performance of that number in ITW all comes down to a matter of opinion, BUT I do think the people who are bashing her son't quite realize that acting with a lot of gestures and facial expressions is going to come across very differently when viewed in close-up in a video as compared to when it's experienced live in a large theatre like the St. James. And yes, I do think it's ignorant of anyone not to realize this, especially if they pretend to have a firm knowledge of theatre.

Why wasn't Block cast as The Witch?

Nikki Renee Daniels would be a good choice for Baker's Wife.

Will they make a soundtrack recording of Beanies Funny Girl? And, I has a question. If noone likes Beanie why was she casted in the first place?

[quote]Will they make a soundtrack recording of Beanies Funny Girl? And, I has a question. If noone likes Beanie why was she casted in the first place?

Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear. Oh, dear.

All well and good, r119, but at least one of us who disliked the flapping Block (1) realize perfectly well the differences between viewing a perfomance on a large stage and on a video; and (2) did see her on the stage. But thanks ever so much for the lesson.

Beanie was half casted and half nepotismed.

I second r123's Oh, Dears. Crikey.

Lansbury is doing a lot in the excerpts of her Rose's Turn on stage. It still reads fine on screen. A phony performance is a phony performance, from whatever distance...

r121, I would love to see that. (I was actually wondering if a Black actress had ever played the Baker's Wife in a major production.)

Originally I thought this production was determined to only cast the parts a certain way--the witch has to be played by a Black actress, the baker's wife has to be white, Cinderella has to be a woman of color, etc. But Andy Karl's going to be replacing Henry as Rapunzel's Prince this month, so that's clearly not the case. I wish they had shaken up some of the other roles. Daniels, or plenty of Black actresses, would be great as the baker's wife, and there are plenty of white actresses who would have been more interesting choices than Glover as the witch.

If Sara Sara Bareilles comes back to Broadway in the future, what role would you like to see her in? I was not a fan of the gender-reversed Company revival, but she would have been a more interesting Bobbi, I think.

Why was Bareilles so terrible in Jesus Christ Superstar?

They are doing a FG cast album with Lea. This was part of her deal and what caused Beanie to exit early.

Jesus, the Sara Bareilles fans on here are bordering on insanity.

r132, as opposed to the perfectly reasonable Stephanie J Block fan(s)?

Gittel Mosca.

[quote]Will they make a soundtrack recording of Beanies Funny Girl?

I think r123 meant to ask if they will make an ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST soundtrack of Beanies Funny Girl.

I went to the dress reherasal of ITW at City Center, not excited at all, having seen the one in the park that I thought was dreadful. I had low expectation, to say the least, but 5 minutes in, everyone could tell we were seeing something special. Everyone was amazing, (with the exception of Lauren Mitchell as the evil stepmother...oy) The actor playing Repunzel's Prince was sick, but the understudy was so good it was hard to believe he wasn't cast originally. Heather Headley seemed to have taken playing the witch literally, and I wasn't quite sure if that would work, but she was genuinely scary in the beginning, and then got funnier and more off the wall as the show continued. It was rather inspired, looking back on it. And she certainly sang it better than Bernadette ever did. It was pretty thrilling. Bereilles was almost as good as Gleason, and that's saying a lot. And Neil Patrick Harris got every laugh and then some. Denee Benton was also lovely as Cinderella. Never bothered to see it again, as I knew it could never be bettered, just very grateful I was there.

Oh, and let's not forget, the first two shows at Encores that season were disasters and Lear Debessonet's name was mud by then, so that even lessened expectations even more.

She has a redundant middle name, r129.

For those who saw the Encores! version: how were the extraneous choruses of old folks and young'ns blended in? How many were there? Did they come from the aisles or from backstage? And at what point in Children Will Listen did they appear? And finally, if you saw the transfer did you miss them? Thanks!

R135, Broadway cast recordings are not soundtracks. "I has" is incorrect grammar. Beanies requires an apostrophe. The past tense of "cast" is "cast" and not "casted."

And, FWIW, I assume (and hope) R122's post was a joke.

Soundtracks often aren't soundtracks.

And "noone" is not a word.

[quote]I think [R123] meant to ask if they will make an ORIGINAL BROADWAY CAST soundtrack of Beanies Funny Girl.

Let's hope not. Since it's not the ORIGINAL Broadway cast. Nor is it a soundtrack.

I like Sierra Boggess singing On The Steps of the Palace.

It is the original Broadway cast, with Lea Michele.

And Tovah!

r140, check out their other posts. That's what passes for wit with r122.

The original Broadway cast would be the one with Barbra Streisand in 1964. This is not even the original Broadway revival cast since that would be with Beanie Feldstein. This new recording will be the Broadway revival replacement cast.

It won't be labelled as such.

[quote]I know she's 100 years old, but can you imagine if Bernadette did the The Witch for a very short run before the production closed?

Did you hear her sing during the Tony Awards? To play the Witch now she'd need Donna Murphy backstage dubbing her.

[quote]All well and good, [R119], but at least one of us who disliked the flapping Block (1) realize perfectly well the differences between viewing a perfomance on a large stage and on a video; and (2) did see her on the stage. But thanks ever so much for the lesson.

Stephanie J. Block is a respected, Tony Award-winning performer, and the fact that you keep referring to her "flapping" and employing other insults to describe her performance of that song from INTO THE WOODS is inappropriate. You are 100 percent entitled not to like the performance, but to phrase your opinion so disrespectfully and insultingly makes it not worth hearing, in my opinion. That is all.

R148, they will probably call it the The New Broadway Cast Recording.

They shall call it THE LEA MICHELE ALBUM.

Color Me Lea

Lea Superman

Sara B IS Sonia Walsk! Gavin Creel IS Vernon Gersch!

Butterflea

[quote] Lear Debessonet's name was mud by then,

Her name is still mud. For the first time in Encores! history, an entire show is postponed by several months. Why is LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA now in June? Under L.dB, the show only goes on when convenient.

[quote]Her name is still mud. For the first time in Encores! history, an entire show is postponed by several months. Why is LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA now in June? Under L.dB, the show only goes on when convenient.

A lot of us are curious about this. I'm guessing that one of the announced principals had some sort of conflict arise, but that's only a guess. Maybe there's something else going on here. I wonder if we'll ever know the reason?

R119 how many times are going to say it?

R117 why do t you [Italic] not [/Italic] guess if you don’t know? Headley is in the 3rd or 4th season of a series.

To refer to Block's "flapping" is disrespectful, r150? I guess I should apologize for offending your delicate sensibilities, but...nah.

I wish we could have R150 permanently banned from the board. Every time he posts something (which I have blocked) I have to manually erase the message number from the column

r157 Apparently not muddy enough to prevent Madison Wells fund her plans to direct a new musical

“Ask the tree”? What kind of bullshit is that?

R153, My Name is Lea.

Simply Lea

I love the word soubrette.

Soubrette

Soubrette

Soubrette

I prefer soubriquet, r166.

Any word on The Notebook musical in Chicago? That sounds like catnip for fraus.

Soo sounds lovely but she’s boring onstage. Creel is a yawn. Bareilles’ “then a mooooment” is worth everything.

[quote]To refer to Block's "flapping" is disrespectful, [R150]? I guess I should apologize for offending your delicate sensibilities, but...nah.

No apology necessary, seeing as how your opinion is worthless. Ditto R161.

Well, you know the old saying r170: Opinions are like assholes. Everybody has one.

Of course, in your case, your opinion stinks worse.

I’m surprised they haven’t reached out to Bernadette to close the show even if Donna Murphy sweetens the high notes!

I wonder if Stephanie J Block would be pleased to know how much conversation her flapping maneuver has created? It’s reaching Beanie territory.

Isn't Tuc Watkins a bit insubstantial to be playing the contemporary equivalent of Henry Wilcox from Howard's End. He's not exactly supposed to be somebody who's just skated through life on their looks.

Though The Inheritance is mostly a soap opera anyway.

Look for Lea in a revival of Seesaw with Derek Klena in the Ken Howard role. And Special Guest Star Rupaul in the Tommy Tune role.

r166, there used to be a line of low-priced dresses called Sue Brett. Get it? I didn't, for years.

Tuc has a nice body, but something about his face seems off.

Yes, enough about Block's flapping! More attention should be paid to the weird fingertip tapping and finger tenting thing she does, the latter of which is distinctly Mr. Burns from The Simpsons. It's in MITW, and also in It Takes Two here (:16-:30)

I don’t think BP can go in as the Witch since it’s been established as a role for a black person in this production. Cynthia Erivo would raise hell if a white actress took over. Happened with Mandy Patinkin and the Comet.

That Lea Michele performance of People was absolutely lovely.

She can shit in my wig anytime.

[quote][R166], there used to be a line of low-priced dresses called Sue Brett. Get it? I didn't, for years.

How long did it take you to figure out this one?

[quote]I don’t think BP can go in as the Witch since it’s been established as a role for a black person in this production. Cynthia Erivo would raise hell if a white actress took over. Happened with Mandy Patinkin and the Comet.

I highly doubt Bernadette will go in as the Witch, but if that ever did happen, I'd just like to see that angry, shit-stirring beeyotch Erivo try to make an issue of it.

Isn’t Erivo busy making the 18-hour Wicked movies?

She is busy being shit, and looking like a pig.

Bernie should take over in ITW. It’s not a strenuous role and she can probably still sing it. She’s replaced twice before so that can’t be an issue. Btw, Betty Lynn was interviewed on NY1 tonite and said Sondheim wrote Stay With Me just for her. I’m more interested in hearing why she was fired.

Indeed, r176.

not nearly as long, r181. nice one.

Betty Lynn, and probably a ton of other people, can make up whatever shit they like about Sondheim now. And they do.

Bernie doesn't have the voice to play the Narrator.

well Betty claimed that BEFORE Sondheim died as well

r189, surely r185 was suggesting Beanie could replace as Milky White (or the puppeteer at any rate). I'm pretty sure that performer only sings as part of the chorus.

Ha! You all were talking about Bernie, not Beanie. My bad.

Stop saying BEANIE

R193 Chill out, Julie.

Is Beanie a Bernie? 🤔

Neither Bernie nor Beanie has much of a voice left

Bernadette Peters *IS* Tuesday Night Narrator!

Bernadette is 74 and Patti is 73. Ethel died at 76 and Mary at 77.

And you’re older than all of them r198

Ethel was overweight and drank like a fish.

Tuc is so hot. I’d pay good money to gargle his nuts.

I wonder if we'll get some new production announcements this week. I think it was the Post that said Cinderella is slated for the Imperial.

r176 i use to work for Sue Brett catalog! didn't know it was a play on soubrette!

Which will be worse, the Neil Diamond show or almost famous?

Chad Kimball for The Witch!

I generally hate bio-jukebox musicals, but word on A BEAUTIFUL NOISE is pretty good. And Will Swenson is a talent. OTOH, it's the dreaded Michael Mayer directing, so who knows.

Advance word on ALMOST FAMOUS, by contrast, is not good. (Full disclosure: I was underwhelmed by the movie. But a lot of folks loved it, so the show has a big built-in audience.)

A BEAUTIFUL NOISE is the music of Neil Diamond so how did they ever come up with the title for the show?

Anyway, I suspect that the show won't be very good, the reviews will be awful (very low tolerance these days for any jukebox musicals and no critic wants to encourage them) and the run will just depend on how many Diamond fans are really out there. Just my opinion, but I don't think he ever really had the nostalgic kind of love of The 4 Seasons.

Just saw Sing Street, closing in Boston tomorrow and allegedly headed (back) to Broadway. I enjoyed Once, but this is no Once.

Ken Davenport is producing A BEAUTIFUL NOISE.

That speaks volumes about quality.

Sing Street was not good.

Almost Famous was way worse.

Hmmm...maybe this should be its own thread but what are movies you're surprised haven't been adapted as stage musicals?

Has anyone tried to do "A Star is Born" or "All That Jazz"? They both seem adaptable.

Or, Yentl for that matter.

"To Sir With Love"!

On Moonlight Bay, the delightful Doris Day movie musical would work terrific onstage!

Though, it would never happen. It's too nice.

And, too white.

It could be adapted for a nonwhite cast.

"Dawson's 50-Load Weekend - The Musical."

[Quote] "Dawson's 50-Load Weekend - The Musical."

The Chorus boys would have to prepare by following themselves around for a year.

Why does she always default to hostile?

[quote]Bernadette is 74 and Patti is 73. Ethel died at 76 and Mary at 77.

Mary Schwartz and Ethel Hotchkiss?

r213 sweet idea! love that movie.

r217 cause the fucking audience had to go and step on her opening notes.

To be fair, R217, the title of the song is an admonishment. And most of the lyrics mean nothing at all, so it's pretty hard to act them.

[quote]I doubt there are screaming audiences at Leopoldstadt.

If there were it would be less out of place. Scariest show on Broadway.

Scariest? Please explain

It's about the Holocaust, R223.

Does anyone below the age of 60 even remember Neil Diamond?

You could have said the same about the 4 seasons in 2005. It’s as much about the show as the subject. Haven’t we learnt that by now?

Lea is great in the video posted by R217. Good for her - she fully deserves all the recent plaudits and it yet again reinforces the WTFness of this production’s original casting.

But Jesus fuck - that audience is dreadful. Wait for her to finish the song before getting to your feet, idiots.

R226, and none of those shows lasted long either

Yes that was my point. 🙄

Umm, R228, I'm sure that was R226's point -- that the Broadway shows with music by John Lennon, The Beach Boys & Donna Summer were flops because the shows themselves were terrible, NOT because people are no longer interested in John Lennon, The Beach Boys, or Donna Summer.

Exactly r230

R226's point is valid. Donna Summers, John Lennon, and the Beach Boys all had fascinating lives, and Lennon and Brian Wilson in particular created a couple of the greatest songbooks of the 20th century.

Is there anything inherently fascinating about The Four Seasons? Or their music? I think not. But JERSEY BOYS is a solid, entertaining show.

I LOVED Summer—mainly because I grew up loving Donna Summer. I could easily see however that the show was only for big fans and that ticket sales would dry up after the fans saw it

Jersey Boys was awful.

Are any of Neil Diamond’s songs even in the current popular culture?

Does anyone even care about his life?

Did Diamond ever get a Kennedy Center Honor?

Did the Donna Summer musical address the Adam & Steve comments?

If you spend time in karaoke bars (and regrettably, I have), you will see that Diamond's songs ("Sweet Caroline" et al) are Boomer classics that younger audiences also love, perhaps for their campy, crowd-pleasing quality. His music has also been placed in rom-coms and TV shows for decades now.

So yes, younger audiences recognize his songs, even if they don't know him as a performer.

Wasn’t Jersey Boys the first of the jukebox bio shows?

It seemed fresh at the time, but now the genre is cliché.

[quote]Are any of Neil Diamond’s songs even in the current popular culture?

Yep.

Definitely.

Kennedy Center.

Was Rhinestone Cowboy used in "Pose"?

[quote]Did Diamond ever get a Kennedy Center Honor?

Yes, the same year as Barbara Cook.

"Sweet Caroline" has become the anthem of Fenway Park in Boston.

A Little Sondheim Music at MUNY!

[quote]Performing the work of the late, Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer-lyricist are Broadway's Ben Davis, Bryonha Marie Parham, Matthew Scott, Emily Skinner, and Elizabeth Stanley with a special appearance by St. Louis native Ken Page.

The recent Henry V with Kit Harrington, which featured a vomiting entrance had Prince Hal singing along and dancing to Sweet Caroline.

I think we can all sensibly agree that Neil Diamond (or at least his music) is a known quantity to wide audiences.

Moving on: here's a completely original musical, at least. Anyone know anything?

SHUCKED is the new title for HEE HAW, THE MUSICAL. It's been kicking around for some time.

Make of it what you will.

It doesn't bode well that the only theater they could persuade to put up this iteration is in Utah.

HEE HAW with a black queen in a veil?

Shuck my pushy!

They should do a Sylvester musical with Alex Newell.

I would SEE a Sylvester musical with Alex Newell, who might be great in it.

I have less interest in a Hee-Haw musical than in... anything under the sun.

How about A Handmaid's Musical! r254?

Damn!

r256 meet r217

R217. Sorry. Didn’t see 217.

That's about the only thing Alex Newell would be tolerable in- a Sylvester musical. But it could be great.

Alex could sing the Sylvester parts AND the Martha Wash parts.

Those thick white spats on Lea only tend to shorten her already diminutive stature.

Milli Vanilli: The Musical

Thanks for posting, r256. I didn't see r217 either.

She sings it impressively, but does anyone else find the staging pretty terrible? The way the others are just standing there in a clump, so at one point she has to turn her back to the audience to address them? It's just so static. If this is any indication of how the rest of it is staged, I understand the complaints about Mayer's direction. (I've never seen a production of Funny Girl onstage though, so maybe it's an issue with staging this song, but if just feels like this should be much more dynamic and exciting, despite Lea's best efforts.)

[Quote] Milli Vanilli: The Musical

That could be fascinating, actually. It would be controversial with the white writer-producer-vocalist behind the curtain, and the dancing black front men in front.

Can anyone really explain Michael Mayer's success? He is truly talent free.

[Quote] if just feels like this should be much more dynamic and exciting,

Could use more tugboat.

Was curious so went looking for other versions. It's definitely Mayer and not the song. I don't love Kritzer's take on this, but at least it's really active and they have her doing things.

Hell, even Pia's take is more active.

I think it would have been much cooler if the curtain fell instead of Lea running upstage. Did Beanie run or was it too strenuous for her?

Beanie ran for the the oxygen tank.

How embarrassing to imagine Beanie in this awful revival and yet with the reportedly insane whooping and hollering and standing ovations from her deluded fans. What has become of NY audiences??

Michael Mayer is a *HACK*

I know because I had to work against his guiding hand in order to be a star!

Ah, was this the same staging for Beanie, or did they restage it for Lea? If it's the latter, it's inexcusable. If it's the former, and they limited the action because Beanie didn't have the stamina, then it makes a bit more sense. Still terrible, but at least justifiable. (They still should have restaged it for Lea then.)

Beanie is mentioned 32 times on this thread.

Michael Mayer is no Louis B. Mayer

[quote] How about A Handmaid's Musical!

Any story can be musicalized. Some stories require more creative talent than others, but nothing’s off limits.

[quote]r50 She sings it beautifully but I’m not entirely sure she understands what the lyrics mean.

What’s to understand? It’s a very simplistic song.

"Beanie Eisenstein was the stage manager at the Belasco".

There's already A Handmaids' Tale opera, written in 1998 by Paul Rodens. It was revived earlier this year by English National Opera.

It don't mean a thing without the "!".

[quote]Beanie is mentioned 32 times on this thread.

But who's counting?

I know she is a running gag _ but - wow - Pia Zadora has a pretty fantastic voice!

r273=bean counter

The name on everybody's lips is gonna be Beanie, R273.

As in, why can't anyone shut the fuck up about.....

BEANIE!

She's over, she's done, pack it in, give it up, hon....

I mean....BEANIE!

I find it funny there are people on here screeching about discussing Beanie because she's no longer in FG. Is this not the home of endless discussion on the original Follies?

[quote] find it funny there are people on here screeching about discussing Beanie because she's no longer in FG. Is this not the home of endless discussion on the original Follies?

DL posters love to reminisce about flops.

R237 They did address the alleged homophobic comments briefly in a speech before the performance of Friends Unknown.

And this is our bible, r286...

Can we talk about BEANY instead?

A general question, crossing over from the Luke Evans thread. I’m not a singer or musician, but why, to my ear, do so many non-Americans sing with a “flat American accent”?—Luke’s singing referenced in that other post is just an examples. My curiosity goes beyond Broadway or the ‘Great American Songbook’….is it style, musicality, mimicry?

I’m genuinely curious to hear from trained singers or someone with a background in the music business, etc

Why doesn’t Beanie go on as the Witch in ITW in blackface? They do greenface in Wicked. What’s the diff?

Maybe, since Neil Diamond went to my high school, Erasmus Hall in Brooklyn, in tribute they can rename "A Beautiful Noise" and have it as "A Beautiful Nose".

As long as it doesn't co-star Laura Noses!

More Lea. "The Greatest Star"

[quote] Could use more tugboat

Aw thank you R266 but I’m no longer in the show

[quote]Can we talk about BEANY instead?

We could always talk about Beano.

Can’t we go back to talking about Stephanie J Block’s hand flapping?!?!

somethin bout lea michele still so unlikeable huh.

No glamor. No mystique.

Michael Mayer isn't even Oscar Mayer!

This Mayer wouldn't win MY election!

[quote] We could always talk about Beano.

Beanie's voice did sound like a never ending fart, so.....

You're all talking about Beanie like she's dead. You do know she's out there, somewhere, regaining her strength, and one day she will make her grand return to Broadway.

[quote]"Dawson's 50-Load Weekend - The Musical."

Any show where Beanie Feldstein can't be cast as the lead is gold in my book.

At last! Crystal-clear footage from the Weissler's 1999 revival of Annie Get Your Gun. Jeff Calhoun's choreography looks amazing here.

So...Laura Osnes did a Go The Distance parody during 2020....called Keep Your Distance....

Huh.

Isnt she an anti vaxxer?

Susan Egan sang the lyrics about vaccines...

Here it is

She didn’t get vaxxed. Don’t know if that makes her an anti vaxxer

Was this posted already? It's Deadline's review of Lea in "Funny Girl":

Good to see from that clip of "I'm the Greatest Star" that the number has been restaged so Lea doesn't have to do most of the second half of it while standing halfway up a ladder, as Beanie did. Instead, Lea hoists herself up on the piano -- something which I doubt Beano could have quite managed.

Penny for your thoughts, kids!

It's as if a women's softball league in Cleveland decided it would be fun to put on 1776.

And move it to Broadway.

I feel like the 1776 revival was a deleted scene from Waiting For Guffman that accidentally became real

I like how they're all yelling at John to sit down while none of them are sitting. Dancing and twirling chairs, in fact. Such storytelling! Revolutionary!

Calling it now, 1776 will be the first early-closing production of the season. speaking of which, hooray for The Kite Runner for hanging on. At this point, it might as well ride out its last four weeks.

R292. You’re not the only one who went to Erasmus Hall!

From the moron Greg Evans review

[Quote] finding a comfort level with her cast mates that [italic] Feldman [italic] didn’t always reach

What’s the context for “Who Are You Now?” It’s Fanny’s first song?

It's nice to see in the 1776 clip that Carolee Carmello has kept up that glorious head of Titian red hair. So there's that, at least.

[quote]Good to see from that clip of "I'm the Greatest Star" that the number has been restaged so Lea doesn't have to do most of the second half of it while standing halfway up a ladder, as Beanie did.

The ladder was frequently out on worker's comp during Beanie's run.

[quote]She didn’t get vaxxed. Don’t know if that makes her an anti vaxxer.

Laura Osnes refused to get vaxxed even when her employment depended on it. I'm pretty sure that makes her an anti-vaxxer.

I have an employee about Osnes’ age who requested an exemption. We didn’t discuss it, but I got the sense it was more about her concern over having a child than politics.

The 1776 bit shows what happens when lesbians are not only stage managers but head of costuming, too.

[quote]Calling it now, 1776 will be the first early-closing production of the season.

I think you're right, and I also predict that the mini-tour they have planned after Broadway will not happen.

[quote]Calling it now, 1776 will be the first early-closing production of the season.

It's a "reimagining" that absolutely no one was asking for.

Merrily We Roll Along tickets are on sale to the general public tomorrow at noon.

Will it be a bloodbath?

[quote]I doubt there are screaming audiences at Leopoldstadt. Or Death of a Salesman.

correctomundo, i saw them both and there was no screaming. ditto for The Piano Lesson

Deadline reviews "Leopoldstadt":

NYT:

Tovah will be out of FG on Tues and Wed.

Leopoldstadt sounds interminable.

I don't know why I thought "Leopoldstadt" was going to be one of those 5-hour jobs but it's only 2 hours and 10 minutes.

Alex Newell in FUNNY GURRRL

This thread has proven that theatre...especially Broadway...is dead.

Leopoldstadt sounds depressing as fuck. Congratulations on your newest Snob Hit, Tom Stoppard (and co-producer ... Lorne Michaels!).

Beanie and Alex as Dollie and Whoreis

Some of the historical events and themes mentioned in the "Leopoldstadt" reviews are touched on in a very formulaic framework in the movie "The Woman in Gold." It's a great subject: maybe Stoppard can do it justice.

R325 Can't they just recast it with men? Bliss over at Equity diversity would have a fit, unless they were all POC (and only one demographic matters).

*Nancy Drew* Titian, r319?

R248, I know nothing about the show, but I loved Behlman in The 39 Steps.

LEOPOLDSTADT was even better in London when it was 3 hours long and 2 acts. Having seen it there and on Broadway, I fear it's lost a little bit of its emotional core and detail. But I'd still recommend it over just about any play I've seen on Broadway in the last few years. Magnificent performances all around, especially David Krumholtz and Brandon Uranowitz. Gorgeous design and staging.

And as an unexpected bonus, an incredibly sexy young actor (with an unforgettable shirtless scene), recreating his roles from London, Arty Froushan. I bet we'll be talking more about him on DL.

dumbshit morons at Deadline can't even state the plot of Leopoldstatd right. There is no fucking "war widow"

Damn. Lea even does a kick while singing "kicking me." Oy.

She's a modern-day Charlotte Greenwood.

Gotta laugh at a Charlotte Greenwood reference.

Cue Charlotte Greenwood...

So does Branuran finally win a (featured) Tony for this or will they all cancel each other out

It will just feel like 5 hours r332

Bill B was in NYPD Blue? Haven’t heard of him since.

R315 it’s a limited run at a not for profit with a built in prepaid subscriber audience. It may not set any box office records, but it’ll finish its run as planned, barring any COVID outbreaks.

[quote]Bill B was in NYPD Blue? Haven’t heard of him since.

He had a recurring role on "Major Crimes," the follow-up series to "The Closer."

worst thread ever?

R351 oh yes, I forgot. I watched every episode. There were plenty of gay actors in it.

[quote] Did the Donna Summer musical address the Adam & Steve comments?

Yes, at the end, there's one line where she said she got caught up in a moment at a concert when the audience was yelling something about it--and she said it, but really didn't mean it as an insult--more as a joke.

Don't know what research the writers did on that to see what the motivations were or if it really even happened.

Donna Summer’s gay slur should’ve been the end of Act 1 and she should’ve spent ALL of Act 2 atoning for it and then she died.

Oh R354, it happened!

I love Lea but her DROMP needs buoyancy. It’s a statement, sure, but it’s also an urgent self-discovery. The character changes direction and suddenly has the wind at her back, to her it feels momentous. She’s giving in to being a complete and total fool for love.

BEANIE joins INTO THE WOODS!!

As....The Woods!

^Oh, enough already. ^

Give it a rest, R358.

Obviously she’d be the giant and they’d kill her with her Funny Girl reviews.

Would you like a fat girl instead?

Curb the standing ovation.

[R315] it’s a limited run at a not for profit with a built in prepaid subscriber audience. It may not set any box office records, but it’ll finish its run as planned, barring any COVID outbreaks.

Maybe, maybe not. I seem to remember at least one limited-run show at a "not-for-profit with a built-in prepaid subscriber audience" being so poorly received that it did not complete its announced run. Although I wouldn't bet on it, I would not be very surprised if 1776 is so poorly received that it, too, will close early.

SPACE DOGS!

Now I keep saying Krumholtz & Uranowitz like Ulla says Bialystock & Bloom.....

I can’t believe ALW's Cinderella is actually coming in. I mean, WTF…?

Who is playing Cinders?

Is its title really "Bad Cinderella"? And not in the Michael Jackson way of meaning "bad".

Yep. No thank you.

Why not cast Deb Messing in 1776 and put it out of its misery.

Ouch.

How punk rock....

Bad Cinderella sounds like a stripper anthem waiting to be borne.

I'm a Bad Cinderella, got my boyfriend in the shower. I'm makin' six bucks an hour. I'm a Bad Cinderella...

The title of the show will be the title of the reviews.

"Bad Cinderella - How True!"

"Bad Cinderella Not the Michael Jackson Bad"

"Bad Cinderella Ain't Good"

I'm a Bad Cinderella

Yeah!

I'm a Sexy Cinderella

Fuck yeah!

*slams pussy into floor*

Shucked is talking the Nederlander in the Spring.

We call it the "Dur."

I saw "Cinderella" in London. It was, in fact, Bad. Very bad. At least they're honest about it in the US.

Are men playing Martha and Abigail in 1776. Seems only fair.

[Quote] Shucked is talking the Nederlander in the Spring.

And what about Jived?

[quote]worst thread ever?

Not at all. The 14,000 Meghan Markle hate threads are much worse.

[quote]Why not cast Deb Messing in 1776 and put it out of its misery.

Or bring in Raquel Welch as a replacement. She closes everything.

R371 - OH GOD. There isn't enough cringe in the world!

That Andrew Lloyd Webber; so hip, so edgy!

Will Lloyd Webber be doing this with his other musical titles? "Bad Evita"? "Bad Phantom of the Opera"? Bad Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat"?

[Quote] "Bad Evita"?

Elena Roger?

Paulson drank the p.r. kool aid and printed the Cinderella propaganda. The show didn't get good reviews in London...

Marry Me, r388

Oh, God. Why'd you have to remind me of Elena Rogers.

She was horrid --completely wrong for Evita--yet she was somehow the toast of the town in London.

He already did “Bad Phantom”.

But it ended up more like “Bad Raoul”

It was a bloodbath for me for Merrily tickets. I logged in right at 12 and was 2,456 in the queue... I didn’t get a ticket.

I’m bummed

[quote]She was horrid --completely wrong for Evita--yet she was somehow the toast of the town in London.

That's London for you.

R363, you’re likely thinking of Lincoln Center, which has a membership program, not a subscription.

Just wait until the run is extended, R393. You'll have your choice of seats.

I saw this 1776 and actually liked some of it very much, some of it not at all. It's got some powerful conceptual ideas that are very interesting, but just not always carried out that well, and some very questionable casting in re of the talent (not the sex or color). Unfortunately, the clip from their GMA performance probably did more harm than good, as that number, taken out of the context of the staged set-up of the show and highly presentational concept. looked quite foolish.

But, in any case, I'll be very surprised if most of the reviews aren't at least respectfully favorable, if not raves. I think reviewers will be intimidated about criticizing anything as woke as this. And the positive reviews will keep the show running through its intended run if not even beyond. Lots of regular theater-goers will want to see it just out of curiosity.

As for the planned tour of the show, I'm honestly quite curious how the tour of the OKLAHOMA revival is doing out on the road. Is it selling in fly over country? If so, there's no reason why 1776 wouldn't do as well.

Nothing will befall us/ that’s worse than Diane Paulus.

I know there's no way to know this, but I wonder how much of the fervor over Merrily tickets is related to Sondheim at the show and how much to the cast -- especially Radcliffe and, to a lesser extent, Groff.

I'm actually not that crestfallen about not getting tickets because I kind of assumed such a small theatre would have a tiny band, not a full orchestra. Kind of over hearing Sondheim's scores squeaked out by 8-10 piece bands.

" *Sondheim AND the show" that should have read

Can Beanie be slotted into "1776?"

R401 Does she have a cock?

Roxie - Pamela Anderson

Roxie - Phyllis Haver

R391 yeah, she got an Olivier nod in London but was snubbed by the Tonys though they nominated her Peron (Michael Cerveris).

Even Drama Desk ignored her but nominated Cerveris and Ricky Martin.

When the cast performed at the Tonys, they did "And the Money Kept Rolling In and Out" because, you know, Eva doesn't have a thing to sing in that number.

R290 do you mean why do Brits sound American when they sing?

It's because American is the default accent. According to linguists/historians, the English that the British and American colonists spoke in the 17th century was closer to the standard American accent.

In the 18th century (post-Revolutionary War), the British adapted Received Pronunciation (aka King's/Queen's English) to distance themselves from Americans. In turn, the Americans simplified British English spelling (e.g., colour to color).

Sorry, that should be 18th century (1700s) in the first paragraph and 19th century (1800s) in the second paragraph.

Here's the thing about the MERRILY revival - if it's really good, it will move to Broadway and then we can all see it. Don't sweat it. And hopefully Groffsauce will be doing a TV series and unable to transfer and be replaced by Andrew Garfield, who was always their first choice, anyway.

And if it's not good, you'll have saved yourself lots of money and schlepping down to that East Village rat trap.

1776 won’t close early. It’s produced by Roundabout which is a non-profit theater, generously supported by taxpayers like you and me.

LOL

Radcliffe - 99% Radcliffe and Groff together in a show - 1% Sondheim - 0%

Groff is a Sally, Radcliffe is a Phyllis.

I don't care about Tuc one way or the other but I hope he dumped that skeevy A. Rannells. Maybe he is a really nice guy but his autobiog was full of "poor me"s and falling in love with every chorus boy who walked through the door.

Radcliffe is *not* a Phyllis, for chrissakes.

R239- Leader of the Pack was a bio jukebox from decades before Jersey Boys.

[quote]Here's the thing about the MERRILY revival - if it's really good, it will move to Broadway

It will never be really good no matter how loud the Sondheimites scream, but that doesn't mean it won't transfer for six weeks or so.

[quote]And hopefully Groffsauce will be doing a TV series and unable to transfer and be replaced by Andrew Garfield, who was always their first choice, anyway.

Garfield doesn't replace, Dear.

And Ain’t Misbehavin’ was a jukebox show a decade before that.

Did Ain't Misbehavin' have a plot, r416, or was it a standard revue?

Beatlemania was a bio jukebox.

And the poor woman at 0:36 is still wondering what she saw. She asked her daughter-in-law for tickets to Lawrence Welk.

Radcliffe is an Ethel Barrymore Colt.

Ramin Karimbo is a god. I'd love to see him and Tuc Watkins doin' the nasty.

[quote] Garfield doesn't replace, Dear.

Well, if he opens it on Broadway, it wouldn't be considered a replacement and he'd be eligible for a Tony.

So vain.

Will Beanine be cast in BadCindy?

Garfield has a Tony - that would be more of an incentive for Groff

I think the poster above was asking about a *bio* jukebox musical.

Shows like Ain’t Misbehavin were a collection of songs, but they didn’t tell the story of Fats Waller. Doesn’t Jersey Boys use the music to tell the story of Frankie Valli?

Wasn't there a bio-jukebox musical about Buddy Holly?

I’d pay to see Lea and Jonathan do “They’re Playing Our Song.”

Michael Mayer has a gift for discovering and showcasing future stars.

Kristin, Sutton, Gavin, Lea, Jon G, John G Jr, Allison J, and others. It’s no coincidence.

[quote]Ramin Karimbo is a god.

Is he starring in that new show, Kimberly Karimbo?

Yes r426, there was.

Can it be that there's never been a juke box musical about Elvis, featuring his songs? Will Lisa Marie not allow it?

R418

I saw it three times in LA, @ the old Shubert in Century City (Avenue of the Stars!). One performance was a h.s. field trip, but just for the “honors class.” It was cutting edge live “mixed media” for the time. 🤷🏻‍♂️

*Also where I saw Evita with Patti (not sure what my dad was thinking when he took us—likely a reminder of his time in NYC, and hitting the town for a show).

No Merrily has ever been great. I doubt this one will be

^multi-media

Prediction: no matter how good or bad this Merrily revival is, prepare yourself for a flurry of reviews and essays telling us that "audiences in 1981 just weren't ready for it" in a way that we are now. Allegedly.

Because it's freaking Sondheim, and that's how NY critics make sense of his failures.

[quote]I think the poster above was asking about a *bio* jukebox musical.

R425 LEADER OF THE PACK (1985) was a bio jukebox musical about the life/career of singer/songwriter Ellie Greenwich, à la BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL.

It closed after 3 months but still managed a Best Musical Tony nod. Its only one. It lost to BIG RIVER.

Daniel is too a Phyllis and he won’t bump into chorus boys like Mrs. Bruce Paltrow.

Garfield is more likely to have more movie commitments than Groff.

I've never seem a Merrily that works. Should remain am almost-was. And a great score.

R438, I’m curious what makes a musical “work” in your view? I have never seen a production of Merrily where I wasn’t deeply moved by Our Time. Since that song encapsulates the show’s meaning, it’s hard for me to say it didn’t work. The show takes the audience exactly where it intends.

In Rehearsal with Elvis Presley Broadway Musical "All Shook Up" - Cheyenne Jackson & More

Whoa the rehearsal clips of G&D look dire

Got to meet Cheyenne at the Broadway Cares Equity Fights Aids Annual Flea Market. He showed up even though it must have been a bummer with the matinee that afternoon being the show's closing show.

I've seen numerous revisals of Merrily (including a film of the Maria Friedman production, the Fiasco production a few years ago, the Arena Stage version and the original and I have to say the--except for the lame staging and costumes, the original was the best. None of the "improvements" improved anything--in particular, cutting the graduation/Hills of Tomorrow scene was a mistake, IMO; among other reasons, without the Hills of Tomorrow we don't realize that Frank has been falling back on a melody he composed at 18.

Come from Away is a show that will never be revived.

Liza could have made it work.

R305- LOL! I’d go if I was nearby! $10 is a steep price though.

Come From Away is hugely overrated as a piece of theatre, with a really mediocre book and score. I think it will continue to be done regionally but it will not age well.

R446, it clearly says Seniors pay $5. Who are you trying to kid thinking you’ll pay $10?

Well, r436, it *did* have Darlene...

I'm surprised Leader of the Pack hasn't become an Off Broadway staple.

Liza's "Water Under The Bridge" is so dreadful.

R450, perhaps Leader of the Pack would have lasted much longer as an Off Broadway production. On the other hand, I'm forever thankful that the Tony Awards captured young, sexy Patrick Cassidy.

Leader...

Was Leader of the Pack just ahead of its time?

Thanks for not linking the dire rehearsal footage of G&D upthread, r441.

The world is finally ready a Shangri-Las musical.

And that's called Bad.

[quote]Prediction: no matter how good or bad this Merrily revival is, prepare yourself for a flurry of reviews and essays telling us that "audiences in 1981 just weren't ready for it" in a way that we are now. Allegedly.

No, that won't happen. I think there's a general consensus as to why the original production of MERRILY flopped, and even Sondheim and Hal Prince were very honest about that in later years.

What's G & D?

R404 The Amos Hart in that 1927 film (which I looked at a bit -- thanks) is absolutely adorable.

There's already been one, r456...

R452 You should have seen Patrick Cassidy when he was the QB for Beverly Hills High’s football team. Swoon!

R452, His impressive bulge was forever preserved on film in "Longtime Companion".

R413, Neither was I.

I think the raves in London for Elena Rogers was because she is actually Argentinian playing a historical Argentinian icon, not Broadway diva Patti LuPone.

I think the problem with Elena Rogers on Broadway was that she wasn’t or even trying to be Patti LuPone, whom Americans think is Eva Peron.

It’s the reverse of when Patti did Master Class in London and played Maria Callas as if she were Patti LuPone/“Eva Peron” and the critics were like “…enjoyable, maybe….but nothing to do with Maria Callas.”

Also, as those you’ve been know, the Donmar Warehoise where that revival of Evita originated is nothing like the size of a Broadway house. It’s tiny. So obviously Rogers” performance didn’t scale.

[Quote] I think the raves in London for Elena Rogers was because she is actually Argentinian playing a historical Argentinian icon, not Broadway diva Patti LuPone.

Patti didn't play Eva in London.

R428 Hi Michael.

Several things to comment on:

In London, the idea was that Cinderella was slightly overweight, awkward and goth. The actress herself was atypical to the Cinders trope. Yet in America, ALW has cast this gorgeous and glam lead. Now she's no rebel; she's just impertinent. Already makes no sense.

The NYTW Merrily is Maria Friedman's version. The film of her London production from a few years back was a dud. Typical of the British, it sucked out all the American Broadway brassiness that made the original so unique. It went for "character" instead. And there's not much character there, no matter how much the actors emote. The material is a parable told in a Broadway idiom. It's not realism.

Also, there is no "if" it will move to Broadway. It will move to Broadway. It's already in the works. Dippy Sonia Friedman, Maria's sister, is producing. Two British women tackling a famous flop about Broadway. Some will hail it as an artistic success. Some will insist that "it finally works." It's definitely an off-Broadway box office success for NYTW. But it still will not work, no matter how badly the Sondheimites and fangurls want it to. MERRILY never works.

First mistake is cutting the graduation bookends. Second mistake is replacing "Rich of Happy" with the sub-par "That Frank." Third mistake is adding "Growing Up" which does not fit in with the score's Broadway sound. Fourth mistake is the newer reduced orchestrations that make a show about Broadway sound like a show in a garage.

And no production will ever beat the flawed original.

Do they have anything to do with the Merrily movie?

[quote]Patti didn't play Eva in London.

Maybe you should try reading that post again, and maybe you'll understand it the second time. Or maybe not.

which writer makes critics cum faster, Stoppard or Sondheim?

R468, are you one person who keeps posting basically the same thing over and over?

I think almost everyone agrees that MERRILY does not work well overall BUT the parts of it that do work, including almost all of the songs, are so good that it's certainly worthwhile to keep reviving the show so people can continue to enjoy the good and great things about it even if we all continue to complain about its many flaws.

[quote] Several things to comment on:

Never a promising opening line. Almost always insufferable.

R465, why on earth did you think the 2006 Evita revival in London was on at the Donmar Warehouse? It was at the Adelphi on the Strand. That whopper of a mistake alone invalidates your entire post.

As opposed to your "contribution," R473, which is limited to bashing someone else for a perfectly fine post. See you next Tuesday.

[quote]Why on earth did you think the 2006 Evita revival in London was on at the Donmar Warehouse? It was at the Adelphi on the Strand. That whopper of a mistake alone invalidates your entire post.

Also, it's Elena Roger, not "Rogers." We're not talking about Ginger Rogers as Evita.

And....the problem with Roger's performance as EVITA on Broadway was not that "it didn't scale," the problem was that she couldn't sing the role effectively.

Girls, Girls! Sondheim is dead, get over it, move on.

I love Merrily We Roll Along and was super bummed I didn’t get a ticket even though I logged on right at 12pm.

I love the score and don’t mind the story.

I think a lot of people don’t like it because they see themselves in Mary Flynn and don’t like that. Drunk, miserable in love with the hot guy that doesn’t love back. Dreams dashed.

But then again everyone *thinks* they are a Gussie

[quote] But then again everyone *thinks* they are a Gussie

Ah yes, the blousy broad who throws iodine in another character’s face because she’s not getting her way. She’s a charmer.

[quote]Well, [R436], it *did* have Darlene...

R449 - Apologies for my ignorance, but I had no idea about this show. I didn't realize the wonderful Darlene Love had done anything on Broadway prior to Hair. Honestly, it was the fantastic 20 Feet From Stardom (and her annual Letterman Christmas appearances) which first introduced me to Darlene sometime when I was a teen in the late 90s/early 2000s. At the time, I didn't know her history with River Deep, Mountain High. While no one can beat the intensity of Tina on that original recording, THIS performance Darlene did on Letterman is a close second. It's just... stupendous. And not just because of Darlene's incredible vocals -- the entire production (M.D.'d by Paul Schaffer) -- from the augmented CBS Orchestra, to the background singers does one of the finest jobs of replicating that Phil Spector Wall-of-Sound in a live setting I've ever heard. It's thrilling!

[quote] I’m curious what makes a musical “work” in your view?

I have to come out of the show with a nice level of satisfaction--one gets that if the plot makes sense and isn't contrived or filled with easy stereotypes; if the songs are tuneful and are placed where a good script called for a song; if the actors were committed to their (fully-drawn) characters; if the director moves the actors in a creative way.

So many parts have to come together for a show to "work" at every level. Sure, Merrily is a shows about classmates growing old and looks at the good and the bad of their past--but in the end of every production, I just didn't care. In fact, my partner had to remind me that I actually saw one because it left my mind so quickly.

I was doing grunt work for LEADER OF THE PACK producers (McAnn/Nugent) at the time. When it was first staged (at the Bottom Line), it was basically a concert and absolutely thrilling. A huge hit, impossible to get in, etc. When Liz and Nelle took it over, they decided it had to have a "book" and hired someone to write one. It was mediocre at best and tried to be a bio of Ellie Greenwich. As the previews went on, they pared down the book, but it still was cumbersome. (BEAUTIFUL did it better years later.) The show just didn't work, but had it been presented in its original form—as most of us knew, but those gals were stubborn—it could have run a long time.

For me MERRILY never works because of Furth's book. Songs are great, clearly, but the dialogue doesn't get us where it should. It's just blah or arch or sour when it should be as smart as the music. That's why for me it will always be the ultimate concert musical, weeding out the bad stuff.

[quote] I think the problem with Elena Rogers on Broadway was that she wasn’t or even trying to be Patti LuPone, whom Americans think is Eva Peron. It’s the reverse of when Patti did Master Class in London and played Maria Callas as if she were Patti LuPone/“Eva Peron” and the critics were like “…enjoyable, maybe….but nothing to do with Maria Callas.”

I go to the theater to see LuPone's take on Peron and Callas. They're not documentaries, they're theatre.

[quote]r465 Also, as those you’ve been know, the Donmar Warehouse…

Our alter personalities?

I just wish we’d get a published script for Merrily. Every other Sondheim show’s script has been published. Even “The Frogs” and “Saturday Night”. But not Merrily.

r486...

Has there ever been a worse book writer than George Furth?

Ken Ludwig Douglas Carter Beanie Feldstein

Thank you, r487.

They’ve promised and pulled this script before. Let’s hope they really release it next February.

[quote] I think a lot of people don’t like it because they see themselves in Mary Flynn and don’t like that.

A lot of people don’t like it because it’s NOT GOOD.

[quote] That's why for me it will always be the ultimate concert musical

The ultimate concert musical is JCS or Chess. Sondheim’s musicals don’t really work in concert because there’s not really enough… music.

[quote] The ultimate concert musical is JCS or Chess. Sondheim’s musicals don’t really work in concert because there’s not really enough… music.

Truthfully, the lyrics and script don't matter much in Chess or JCS--it's the bombastic music that takes center stage. THAT's why they make good concert musicals

Speaking of Evita...

Just watched a Dick Van Dyke episode which featured a certain Miss Chickee James...

[quote]Nancy James dressed in sequins in the 1950s when, under the stage name Chickee James, she performed at Manhattan's legendary Latin Quarter nightclub.

[quote]She made several television appearances back then and dated Joe DiMaggio and Steve McQueen.

[quote]She was the owner of a Merrick cosmetics store, Silk and Pearls, in the early 1960s when Richard Kulp came in to sell her a background-music system. Even after they married in 1965, his wife rarely talked about her days as a New York City showgirl.

[quote]"You would never know," he said. "She didn't talk about it. Very humble."

[quote]Nancy Kulp died on Nov. 5 after suffering a heart attack at the couple's Massapequa Park home. She was 83.

Musical Theatre West in Long Beach have apparently decided Tab Hunter was just too damn masculine in Damn Yankees

Would you compare MERRILY to THE GRASS HARP and HOUSE OF FLOWERS? That is, musicals with brilliant scores but unworkable books? Yet those other two are rarely of ever revived.

A major scandal is breaking about the Sean Hayes Oscar Levant play right now. It'll be interesting to see how it's resolved.....or not.

do tell!

Grass Harp and House of Flowers aren't Sondheim, r497.

[quote]Truthfully, the lyrics and script don't matter much in Chess or JCS--it's the bombastic music that takes center stage. THAT's why they make good concert musicals

That's a weird way to phrase it, seeing as how, of course, all of the lyrics are included in concert presentations of musicals.

I think what you meant to say is that the plots or stories don't matter much in CHESS or JCS. If that's what you meant, I'll agree with you about CHESS but not JCS. And the MAIN reason why those shows come across so much better in concert than Sondheim's musicals is that all of the latter have quite a bit of spoken dialogue (though SWEENEY TODD somewhat less so), while the former have virtually no spoken dialogue.

JCS is sung through, without even very much recitative. It’s basically a song cycle already.

I thought Lonny Price's Candide was a good argument for doing it semi-staged concert style.

What exactly was so bad about Lauren Mitchell's performance in Into The Woods at Encores?

I didn't realize that TOPDOG/UNDERDOG started performances.

Neither did the ticket-buying public.

I've seen two productions of The Grass Harp and the Encores! production of House of Flowers. Merrily We Roll Along is like Carousel, My Fair Lady and Cabaret next to those shows, despite the wonders of their scores. The Grass Harp is incredibly precious and dramatically inert. It's just deadly to sit through. I have a feeling that House of Flowers has more to recommend it, but the especially poor Encores! production did it no favors.

I saw a production of " The Grass Harp" once in which the highlight of the intensely dull evening was the very last moment when the spot operator missed lighting the character by five feet.

R498, Involving his daughters? Are all three still alive?

Is it a scandal that could prevent its opening?

Is it the nude dream ballet?

I saw THE INHERITANCE PT 1 & PT 2 on Saturday……Tuc & Bill were fine…Bill’s character(s) are more likable….but I knew Tuc from my early days in WeHo - 1990 and maybe knowing that he lived through and in the middle of AIDS years, it made his character relatable…I saw Tony Goldwyn in the play in NYC in 2020 and he was good in the role but preferred Tuc. The LA theater is very small compared to the Broadway theater. The actor who played Toby Darling had big shoes to fill and he pulled it off.

The end of Part 1 is still emotionally leveling…probably more so for those of us who lived thru those times….I still get tears in my eyes when I replay that scene in my mind….I sat next to 2 seventy year old women and asked them what they thought after the 2nd intermission…the play is very graphic and there are a couple of full frontal moments…they thought the play was very powerful….I would love to know what 20-30 something gay guys think of the play…as a 60 year old gay guy who has lived in LA from 1989, there is almost a level of PTSD in the lens I view this play thru…..my generation lived through this and it is a history lesson or just a story for the younger generations..

I actually liked Lauren Mitchell in the Encores Into the Woods. I guess the cheese stands alone

Beautiful post, R512.

THE INHERITANCE end of part 1. SPOILER if you haven’t seen it I dare you not to cry.

to R482 Both of them are and were very difficult. I have the scars to prove it. God rest Liz's soul. Nelle and I were on a film production panel together once at NYU. After it was over al the students came over to speak to me and not her. I'm sure I was on her her hit list after that lol.

Thanks r515, so much. Thought I couldn't be moved yet again by that scene. But I'm weeping. (The music is magnificent.)

Was the whole play pro-shot like that?

The Gown of Destiny

[quote] Was the whole play pro-shot like that?

No, that was just for the press reel. They did not get a chance to film the show for the TOFT collection because of Covid.

That was lovely, r518. Did she score her feller in the next reel?

I don't know, r520. I hope so, given that she was a wallflower. I certainly think the audience deserves to see her *in* the gown.

I hear LCT is doing a workshop of a new play based on the Tom Wolfe article Radical Chic, directed by James Lapine. Anyone have any guesses who's playing Lenny, Felicia and Bobby Seale?

I guess brilliance like the Inheritance is how you get straight people out of the house and into a theater Mr. Eichner.

Cunt

[quote] if you haven’t seen it I dare you not to cry.

I saw it at the Barrymore and did not cry. But my eyes did roll.

I saw “Merrily We Roll Along” for the first time at Gallery Players in Brooklyn in the early 2000s. I absolutely loved it. Being 30 at the time, I was right in the middle of the story and I cried at the end. It absolutely “worked.”

Growing up in Oregon, the local community theater did Leader of the Pack and I loved it (and the plot). Then my high school did it and I was in it. Good times.

Ain’t Misbehavin isn’t a jukebox musical. It’s a revue.

R526 you loved 2 shows? Get out. DL doesn’t like your kind.

R512 - since you asked how younger men reacted, I can speak for myself, at least. I was a (late) 30-something when I saw The Inheritance on Broadway. I'm now a 40-something. Unfortunately, I only got to see Part 1, but I loved it, too. And, yes, that ending of Part I was incredibly moving. So simple, so effective. The cumulative effect had me balling and I'm not generally an easy crier.

I'd rather see an interesting, if flawed, new production of MERRILY than an over-produced revival of THE MUSIC MAN or HELLO DOLLY!

r523, considering The Inheritance was a flop on Broadway that was going to close after just four months (only to have Covid close it four days sooner)...bullshit.

I would like your take on Losing My Mind and Lucy & Jessie, starting at 2:07:14

Looks like the Geffen production of The Inheritance also has Excellent or Good availability left for almost all dates, so its "brilliance" certainly isn't bringing out straight audiences either.

Straights had no problem keeping the original La Cage running for several years.

In order to appeal to straight audiences, the musical of LA CAGE pointedly avoided even as much as a kiss between the two male leads. In contrast, BROS has a couple of rather explicit sex scenes, including a moment of anal sex, which, ummmm, is NOT what most straight audiences want to see.

had me balling

Oh, dear

1776 looks like a college show in terms of its production values, especially in act 1. And there’s some real bad acting up there. Paulus doesn’t make a convincing case for the all-female casting.

[quote]The cumulative effect had me balling

Get a room!

Don't bother watching the Spanish FOLLIES at R531. It's subpar and pointless.

Yep, THE INHERITANCE was indeed a Broadway flop. It got very mixed reviews. Even though people cried at the highly manipulative end of the Part 1, most people were unimpressed with the whole. It had plenty of empty seats because general auds weren't coming.

The Tony win makes it a seem like a contemporary prestige piece. But cut to 50 years from now, when most of us are dead, and it'll be as remembered as LUTHER.

Well, thank you Judith fucking Crist at r538.

I said to just go to Losing My Mind.

C'mon, what's this about the Oscar Levant play?

R531, I did just go to "Losing My Mind" and "Lucy and Jessie." You asked for our takes, I gave you one. Now you're wounded? LOL

Will Beanie go into To Kill. A Mockingbird as the retarted Scourt?

[quote]Will Beanie go into To Kill. A Mockingbird as the retarted Scourt?

Why, was she tarted in "Funny Girl"?

[They did not get a chance to film the show for the TOFT collection because of Covid.]

Not so--TOFT recorded both parts of "The Inheritance" on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the day before the shutdown. TOFT had already scheduled this as the production was already set to close on Sunday, March 15.

The TOFT "Inheritance" preserves Tony Goldwyn rather than the creator of the role, John Benjamin Hickey.

What TOFT did not manage to get was the 2020 Broadway revival of "West Side Story."

I’m another 30-something who was too busy rolling my eyes at the end of the first part of The Inheritance to cry. It’s a shamelessly cloying trick, manipulative and dramatically unearned and is deeply cynical.

The Inheritance is a shallow, facile play that isn’t as half as clever as it thinks it is.

Kim Criswell has been seeing to it that the Merrily script remains unpublished.

I was very taken with the Madrid Benjamin Stone when I saw the production live. I shall see if his enigmatic quality comes across in the video recording.

[quote]R546 Kim Criswell has been seeing to it that the Merrily script remains unpublished.

Well, she agreed it needed work.

Unfortunately for her…

Does anyone find Kim Criswell enjoyable? There’s something really unpleasant about her voice, a piercing and metallic edge, that rubs me the wrong way.

You could say the same about Betty Lynn.

The clip from The Inheritance definitely brought a tear to my eyes.

I have never understood the "manipulative" complaint about a piece of art. To my mind, the very purpose of art is to manipulate. The manipulation may be emotional or intellectual or even spiritual, but if it doesn't manipulate you is some way, what is its purpose? The thrill of a well executed dance number, a beautiful symphony or an evocative piece of sculpture; aren't these all inherently manipulations?

In the twenty-first century, if I am paying hundreds of dollars to experience a performance, you fucking better manipulate me.

"In order to appeal to straight audiences, the musical of LA CAGE pointedly avoided even as much as a kiss between the two male leads. In contrast, BROS has a couple of rather explicit sex scenes, including a moment of anal sex, which, ummmm, is NOT what most straight audiences want to see."

I guess I haven't seen a lot of musicals. But of the non-gay ones that I've seen, it seems like there's rarely explicit sex. And the kisses tend to be fast - not a lot of prolonged making out and hardly ever tongue. The movie versions, of course, may be different (though are they?).

Longtime Companion already did the same thing.

R552 - I totally agree with you, but I think that the 'manipulation', the response that may be elicited by a work of art has to be earned, or at least arise from within and as a result the internal logic established by that work of art. For me, the ending of the first part of The Inheritance didn't do that.

It's a play about rich (featuring a literal billionaire) white New Yorkers who, despite their supposed cultural sophistication, are blithely ignorant of very recent history. I found the characters unlikable and dramatically dull, the narrative uncompelling. It's a play about a handsome white dude who learns about that this thing called Aids, but only after potentially getting his hands on a large piece of real estate in Upstate New York. Clearly, reading a fucking book was too much hard work. And we know this was a valuable learning experience for the character because of the TEARS and SNOT and the EMOTIVE MUSIC. At best, it's very cheap theatre. It's as manipulative as having a cute puppy run across the stage.

At worst, it is exploitative. I have friends who lived through the catastrophe of the 1980s. Who lost so many friends and lovers, who are survivors themselves. And for Mathew Lopez to use that trauma for schlocky dramatic effect half way through his faggified six-hour stage episode of Sex and the City? He can fuck off.

AIDS hit the rich as well, though.

[quote]R545, still annoyed to fuck years later

Perhaps if you relaxed, you might enjoy fucking more.

Thank you, R555. You perfectly articulated my feelings on the play. And, to top it all off, the main character falls in love with a Republican. Fuck off with that. It was inert as drama, juvenile as a character study, and offensive to the memories of those lost to AIDS.

Roy Cohn was lost to AIDS. AIDS doesn't confer sainthood.

[Quote] Perhaps if you relaxed, you might enjoy fucking more.

Of that I have no doubt, R557 :)

[quote] And, to top it all off, the main character falls in love with a Republican. Fuck off with that.

That could have made an interesting play but in this case it didn't.

R555 sounds close to the mark for me, but I’d be a bit less angry and more just disappointed by the whole thing.

Great comment, thanks. It made me think back about what that play did and didn’t do for me☮️

[quote] I guess I haven't seen a lot of musicals. But of the non-gay ones that I've seen, it seems like there's rarely explicit sex. And the kisses tend to be fast - not a lot of prolonged making out and hardly ever tongue.

There's usually a mid-Act II kiss underscored with the show's ballad, with a giant swelling of the orchestra (a metaphor for a giant swelling elsewhere?). Look at Marian and Harold on the footbridge, Cornelius & Irene in the courtroom, Sky & Sarah, etc etc. Albin & George should have kissed.

Did the recent Menier production add one? If not, I wonder why.

[quote] In the twenty-first century, if I am paying hundreds of dollars to experience a performance, you fucking better manipulate me.

Applies to live theater. And escorts.

R555, Extremely well said. Hear hear!

Except you have one flaw: He now goes by Matthew López.

Yes, the 40-something "Latin" man added the accent mark right prior to Tony nominations.

[quote] Yes, the 40-something "Latin" man added the accent mark right prior to Tony nominations.

And he had his foreskin restored, just in case.

What happened between him and Connor Jessup?

[quote]What TOFT did not manage to get was the 2020 Broadway revival of "West Side Story."

In a way, that's a pity, because it would have been nice to have an audio-visual record of that production as documentation of one of the worst theatrical debacles in history.

Isaac Cole Powell's moves should be taught in school.

You missed my point, R553. Of course, I didn't expect to see any explicit simulated sex or even prolonged, deep kissing in the musical LA CAGE AUX FOLLES, but my point was that they avoided having even one quick, affectionate kiss, as a way of playing it safe. A kiss was added at the end of the show for the first Broadway revival, and I think for the second one as well (I don't remember for sure).

I made a mistake of my own. I meant "Latine."

Even in 2022, the straights prefer their gays (ie, gay men) to be loud, fey, sexless clowns onstage, on film, and on TV.

But while we're assigning blame: it's not like gay men turn out in great number to support plays, movies, or musical performances that center gay men accurately. Because--let's be honest--we don't. BROS, THE INHERITANCE at the Geffen are just the latest examples. Unlike other minority groups, we do not support our own.

(And no, being a FOLLIES-obsessed Sondheimite doesn't count.)

Billy Eichner is plenty loud. PLENTY.

I kissed a boy in La Cage. And I liked it.

Matthew Lopez is kind of a hack.

r572....How many gays do you think there are ?....its a small percentage of the population, not half, not 1/3....and certainly not enough to support a film or theater production long term.

Altar Boyz?

[quote]But while we're assigning blame: it's not like gay men turn out in great number to support plays, movies, or musical performances that center gay men accurately. Because--let's be honest--we don't. BROS, THE INHERITANCE at the Geffen are just the latest examples. Unlike other minority groups, we do not support our own.

As others have pointed out, gays are very supportive of gay-themed movies, plays etc. that are generally considered good or excellent, and that have been reviewed accordingly. I'm sorry, but your comment is really ignorant.

WHY????????WHY?????????WHY???????

R579, Hey, Botox isn't cheap.

Weren't Michael Ball and Prince Edward once lovers?

Never!

[quote] Not so--TOFT recorded both parts of "The Inheritance" on Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the day before the shutdown. TOFT had already scheduled this as the production was already set to close on Sunday, March 15.

Are you 100% sure of this? I only ask because I was told by a cast member that it didn't happen. I'd be thrilled to hear it had, because I would love to know the production was preserved.

Hopefully someone can come up with a good thread title and start the new one in time to post the link here before this one closes....

I'm surprised Ryan Murphy hasn't shot "The Inheritance" for TV. It would be less redundant than his "Boys In The Band" remake.

I was really all geared up to see Death Of A Salesman. I'd heard all the hype, read the London reviews, but nothing could have prepared me for the giant piece of shit I saw last night. The fact the Lomans are Black was the initial attraction for me, and the notion is credible. However, the direction is cringe-worthy, all style with no substance and the performances are eye-rolling-ly over the top. It looks like an experimental high school theatre production in which no cast member understands their character. The idiotic sound effects, the blues music, the amateurish set...absolutely nothing works except Biff's final exit. Every brilliant innovation this director has conceived of undermines the play. Arthur Miller must be spinning in his grave. It's a typical Brit interpretation of a work by a playwright they idolize. There are laughs from the audience in all the wrong places, and I just got more furious as the hours went by. Its' no wonder the set is so sparse; the actors must have eaten most of it since previews began.

R362 couldn't agree more. I LOATHE the faked standing ovation and the pressure to join in.

But how to stop it..?

It seems like the kind of thing made for an HBO prestige miniseries. I hope even Lopez (sorry--I don't know how to add the accent) is smart enough not to let Murphy get his hands on it.

[quote]gays are very supportive of gay-themed movies, plays etc. that are generally considered good or excellent, and that have been reviewed accordingly

Examples, if you please.

For the record, the box office success of Brokeback Mountain (back in 2005!) owed far more to younger straight women than to gay men of any age, FWIW. And the Bway revival of ANGELS IN AMERICA was not commercially successful.

Who is the current Phantom?

The Playbill site lists an alternate but I thought the lead was Ben Crawford right now...

Also...which shows still do in person discount tickets day-of? I have never used apps for that, and don't want to start.

Today on MeTV+'s episode of "Family": Tovah Feldshuh thinks she might be Sada Thompson's daughter!

Does anyone who posts here actually go to any shows? Thanks to the one post who saw THE COST OF LIVING and offered an opinion. Most of these posts are just knocking shit they've never seen. Basement dwellers.

Thread # 495

Your link goes back to this thread, r593

R593 is FIRED and EXPUNGED from the DL.

r592, there's a comment six posts before yours from someone who saw Death of a Salesman literally last night. What are you bitching about?

(And yes, plenty of us see shows, like the unfortunate Inheritance.)

Sorry, folks, the standing ovation for absolutely everything is here to stay.

I first saw it in the 1980's in DC. When I moved to NYC, I was thrilled it wasn't the case here. ...and then it started. First, Bway shows and then even to opera. No matter how crappy the show, the audience will be on its feet.

Thread # 495

Was the profanity really necessary, R598?

The Inheritance doesn't have to be two plays. After the emotional ending of the first play, it's all downhill. (I found the Inheritance's first act end more affecting than the similar moment in Longtime Companion--maybe because I was younger when I saw that movie and deeply in the closet.)

It needs to be joined into one like the Harry Potter plays.

Profanity masquerading as wit. Fail.

Goodbye all.