THEATRE GOSSIP #498: The "Everything's Coming Up Porkalob and LuPone" Edition

Link to the old thread:

Porkalob and LuPone sounds like a particularly arcane new food sensation.

Thinking of these two women, the only think coming up is my breakfast.

Hottie Andy Karl got his flu shot. Have you?

Some interesting cuts on this recording. But I don't know who about half of these people are.

Porkalob & LuPone - The new Filipino-Italian fusion restaurant.

Satti LuPork

If anyone is interested, the Cast Recordings subreddit posted what might be the entire recorded Sondheim library on the MegaNZ site. Here is a link to cast recordings. I don't know if it's 'complete' but there's a lot of stuff there to add to an incomplete collection.

Are my brilliant recordings listed in the subreddit?

They really are gems gang!

I'd like to take a Sondheim break for a few years at this point

So, will the furor, disdain and mockery of this new 1776 and the Porkalob scandal result in less woke-conceived re-imaginings of the classics? Or will there only be more because of the inherent shock value?

R11, actually the ticket buying audience will determine re-imaginings of classics.

...and LOL for anyone who thinks 1776 is a classic. It's more a curiosity that pops up every decade or so.

Sorry, it's a classic.

I’m going to see “A Little Life” at BAM next Saturday night followed by a Sunday matinee of “Leopoldstadt.”

R13, can you even name one song?

Go play your violin, r15.

r15, look sharp.

Would you like some molasses with your rum, r15?

Sit Down, J'Awnne (they/them)

I didn't see 1776 onstage until the first revival. I enjoyed it, but the book is far better than the score, which I'm not a big fan of. I liked the Encores presentation even more, which was sorta woke. I don't need to see this one.

1776/1971

[quote] Would you like some molasses with your rum, [R15]?

Hilarious--the only song you know about is the one mentioned in all the news reports of Pork. You're basically admitting you have no idea what any of the songs are .

[quote] look sharp.

Now, try to hum it

1776 is so not a classic. It's a show whose book is so strong, the songs aren't even necessary. Ever attempt to revive it has been a resounding flop. It belongs on the Encores stage, not on Bway

I referenced *four*, r22.

[quote]I’m going to see “A Little Life” at BAM next Saturday night

I do not know about the rest of the Datalounge, r14, but I for one condole you on this unhappy circumstance.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm so, so, so sorry. I'm so very sorry!"

When Tovah leaves FG, Patti will be there to take her place.

[quote] I referenced *four*

Yes, google is amazing

Didn't need to google, r28.

Patti: "There are no plays on Broadway!" The casts of Leopoldstadt, Death of a Salesman, Piano Lesson, Topdog/Underdog, Ohio State Murders: "Sit Down, Patti, Sit Down, Patti, for Godsakes Patti, SIT DOWN!"

She means that she's not getting offered any good plays. It's All About Patti, as ever.

She's right about plays on Broadway. They don't run more than a season, if that. Of course, producers don't help, announcing limited runs and charging a fucking fortune for tix.

Why should they run for more than a season? Productions atrophy fast. Long runs don't help the health quality of Broadway, just the coffers.

Here's hoping the continued pandemic breaks the stranglehold 'Broadway' has on what is defined as good professional theater.

Lower your expectations for the Stoppard, r14. A very mixed bag.

[quote] Some interesting cuts on this recording. But I don't know who about half of these people are.

Is that a measure of their worth, or your limited knowledge?

LuPone and Porkalob Bring the Offstage Emotional Drama Onstage in the Non-Equity Non-Binary Production of the New Musical:

"'night Mother!"

Controversial. Provocative. Shocking. And this time the rage is real!

"I may give 76% this time, hoes!" - Porkalob

"A no admission for dumb people policy will be strictly enforced! IQ tests will be given at the box office." - LuPone

Featuring the blockbuster duets: "My Uncomfortable Truths" and "Figure it Out"

Leopoldstadt is grossing more than $1 million a week. There is a market for plays if they are great. Anything less than that, Netflix is just as good.

When is The Ferryman going to be adapted to a film? I loved that play.

R39 It was filmed on stage, but the writer was unhappy with it....

Well Nixon thought 1776 was enough of a hit that he needed to ask Jack Warner to censor it

Ah yes, Richard Nixon, ever grounded in reality.

Patti LuPone *IS* Matron Mama Morton

Non-Equity Tour

The Garth/Equity suit....Best show of the season. His ego is insane, as usual, but some of Equity's actions/mistakes are pretty eye-popping.

1776 is not a classic. It’s a forgotten relic that will be even more forgotten after this DOA revival.

Wait, Garth is suing Equity, and not the other way?

Fine, r45, fine, moving on...

[quote]1776 is not a classic. It’s a forgotten relic

So utterly forgotten that a revival is currently on Broadway.

Actually, Pati is perfect casting fir "'night, Mother". With Glenn as the daughter.

It won't end in suicide, r49.

Reset Night, Mother in Canarsie with Patti as the mom and Olivia Colman as the daughter.

Anything, ANYTHING reset in Canarsie is a must see.

Did Eydie ever do Funny Girl?

[quote]So utterly forgotten that a revival is currently on Broadway.

For the thousandth time, it's not a revival, it's a " Re-thinking to reflect modern times."

[quote]Actually, Pati is perfect casting fir "'night, Mother". With Glenn as the daughter.

Pati Jinich? I think her accent would be distracting.

We should all take a break from Sondheim, but not until after the top secret, invitation-only memorial being held next month. See you there.

R53. Edye never did Funny Girl. Steve talked her out of it.

Steve probably did a few Funny Girls.

[quote][R53]. Edye never did Funny Girl. Steve talked her out of it.

She wouldn't do it without him, r57.

And he wouldn't play Eddie Ryan?

Playing Eddie Ryan was good enough for me.

Patti's in the new American Horror Story show set in NY sex clubs, right? Is she showing her flapjacks again?

Patti has had enough of low quality scripts so she's gone to work with Ryan Murphy!

[quote]So utterly forgotten that a revival is currently on Broadway.

[quote]For the thousandth time, it's not a revival, it's a " Re-thinking to reflect modern times."

Re-thinking? I hate that word. It's a return.

R12 R15 R22 R24 R45 is an idiot (or idiots) of the highest degree, with no knowledge of the canon beyond the 2 CD set of CATS. Thank God he/they are resigned to a basement in the outskirts of Des Moines.

Composer Lucy Simon has died. I vaguely recall enjoying The Secret Garden cast recording when I was in middle school, but don't think I'd heard any of her other work. I should give The Secret Garden another listen.

You've never heard anything of The Simon Sisters?

Oh shit. I had no idea she was Carly Simon's sister.

Those old nose jobs were a crime.

The Simon Sisters

Carly always looked mixed.

Joanna Simon

I liked her score for The Secret Garden although the climactic bit from “Come To My Garden” is a plagiarization of “Tara’s Theme” from Gone With The Wind.

Bring back Charlie and Algernon!

R74, that was already posted a couple threads ago.

[quote]I liked her score for The Secret Garden although the climactic bit from “Come To My Garden” is a plagiarization of “Tara’s Theme” from Gone With The Wind.

No, it isn't. The opening interval is the same, but the rest of the melody is very different. There is nothing remotely approaching plagiarism, so shut the fuck up.

The Broadway “canon.” Snort. Broadway is barely fifty years out of the music hall and vaudeville. Spare me your Broadway “canon.” You can talk to me about a Broadway musical canon when it’s existed for hundreds of years. Until then… pfft.

FWIW, there’s a revival of Secret Garden coming to LA in the spring with its sights set on Bway.

I rarely go to Bway plays anymore. At least for the crazy ticket prices, if I go to a musical, I get singing and dancing and acting.

Plays rarely are that interesting

We are already besieged by trolls in this thread -- R79, R77. R73, et al.

HELP!!!!!!

They don't seem remotely like trolls to me r80, just posters with opinions.

HELP!!!!! yourself motherfucker.

R77, it's over 100 years since musicals like Irene, and almost 100 since Show Boat. The musical has travelled a very long way from My Sweet Little Alice-blue Gown to The Room Where it Happened.

Chekhov and Wilde were still writing only 15 years before Irene, and I think most prominent contemporary playwrights would allow them as canonical. They were among the founders of the modern theatre. Theatre was a wilderness of sensationalist melodrama (rather like the modern American cinema) for a hundred years before Ibsen and Chekhov, so sniffing that the musical had just pulled itself out of vaudevlle isn't a convincing argument because straight plays had done the same only 25 years earlier.

Dear R81, people who would post things like "plays rarely are that interesting" are not "posters with opinions," they are almost certainly trolls. Although I supposed another option is that they could just be idiots with no taste or intelligence, in which case I apologize for mischaracterizing them as trolls.

R82, I appreciate your effort, but PLEASE don't waste your valuable time and intelligence arguing with that shit-stirring, ignorant cretin. Let's just please leave him to crouch beneath that bridge, where he belongs.

Speaking of plays, add Top Dog/Underdog to the season's plays that have gotten raves: Salesman, Cost of Living, Piano Lesson.

Not really expecting the same for the musicals.

Nonsense R82. 2-3 minute ditties based broadly on operetta do not a musical canon make. Broadway has always been pastiche and musically derivative and always will be.

Those raves for Top Dog will radically sell 100 more tickets a week. It's always been a critics fav, audience flustered.

"The opening interval is the same, but the rest of the melody is very different"

Incorrect. After the octave interval it replicates the next three notes exactly of the third phrase (with the harmonic progression slightly adjusted) of the Steiner tune. Not enough for a plagiarism suit (which, I believe, requires a seven-note facsimile) but close enough for jazz.

Did someone say Jazz?

Linda, if you haven't mastered them by now, no amount of practicing is gonna do shit.

R62 No! My eyes! Never again

R9 You mean your one hit song from 1982?

Lucy Simon was a lovely lady. She also couldn’t find middle C without assistance.

[quote] Nonsense [R82]. 2-3 minute ditties based broadly on operetta do not a musical canon make. Broadway has always been pastiche and musically derivative and always will be.

While the early musical theatre shows of the 20th century are silly and disposable, their songs often were not. Jerome Kern, just for an example, was an incredibly sophisticated composer with many innovations within the traditional musical theatre song form. The amount of scholarly analysis devoted to "All The Things You Are" alone could fill bookshelves. Are you really dismissing the standards that emerged from the likes of George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Vincent Youmans, DeSylva Brown & Henderson, etc., as mere "ditties"?

Did someone add a good quality rip of Cleo Sings Sondheim to that folder?

Neither the Miller or Wilson received raves. I plan to give away my ticket to the former on the basis of those "raves."

Canon (Definition): a general law, rule, principle, or criterion by which something is judged. Hence, applicable to Broadway as well.

"Broadway has always been pastiche and musically derivative and always will be."

What a bizarre statement! EVERYTHING is derivative and indebted to something else: Mozart to Haydn, Offenbach to Mozart, Johann Strauss, Franz Lehar and Arthur Sullivan, Jr to Offenbach, Romberg, Friml, Herbert, Kern and Rodgers to...but why go on?

[quote]but why go on?

And yet you do.

Maybe that poster is getting at that Broadway is at best middle brow.

"The Inheritance" is better in LA than on Broadway.

The post-war, Golden Age of Broadway, musical and otherwise, was indebted to the strength, appeal and accessibility of middlebrow intelligence and feeling. We shall never see its like again.

Does Hara-Kiri await, r99?

[quote]The post-war, Golden Age of Broadway, musical and otherwise, was indebted to the strength, appeal and accessibility of middlebrow intelligence and feeling.

Bullshit, r99...it was the gams.

[quote]Are my seams straight?

Yes r101, but your gams are decidedly crooked.

"Darling, the legs aren't so beautiful, I just know what to do with them."

Dolores Gray had a hot ass.

Was it a womanly ass r104?

The legs are the last to go.

What a wonderful picture r106!

A Little Life in fucking DUTCH?

How to take a horrendous novel, turn it into a play and make it even worse.

Never trust anything Charles McNulty writes. Ever. Total hack. Let's all be reminded of his rave for "Almost Famous" and his encouraging review of "Diana." When you look up "hack" in the dictionary, his 8 x 10 presents itself.

The long-held rumor about Lucy Simon was there her (then) little known assistant Jeanine Tesori wrote the best elements of that show. She was apparently incapable of writing anything beyond a basic, simple melody (ala Mel Brooks) and someone else had to do the real work.

Why would Tesori write a show for someone else?

[quote]After the octave interval it replicates the next three notes exactly of the third phrase (with the harmonic progression slightly adjusted) of the Steiner tune.

That is factually incorrect. Only the first three notes of "Come to My Garden" are the same as "Tara's Theme," and even there, the value of the first of those notes is not the same. And of course, no one but you would ever argue that the use of an octave interval to be plagiarism of another melody.

I'm certainly not going to bother to link to the written music or to recordings to prove my point, but anyone who's interested can easily do so.

I'll write my own tweet

And I'll make a scene

My tweet will not be

Just rude or obscene

My tweet will stir up shade

When drama unfurls

It's not my business

But I will fight with the girls

Come on Twitter all

And you'll see is my tweet

Oh Steve what a sight

Cast me on Broadway

And I will put up a fight

It's my view

So I will fight you

If you dare to disagree

Oh I'll write my own tweet

My own tweet

And I'll hype it so!

[quote]A Little Life in fucking DUTCH?

Yes, and of course, the pretentious twats who make up the BAM audience will make sure it sells out for every performance, and after seeing the show, they'll swear they loved it even though they really hated it.

Can someone who is not even vaguely interested easily do so as well, r112?

I saw Twelfth Night in Russian. It was the most enjoyable Shakespeare production I've seen.

That nonsensical rejoinder becomes you, R115.

Inheritance being better in LA than on Broadway is an extremely low bar.

R116, can you speak Russian, or did the show have English titles?

Exhibit A---measures 5 and 6...

It had surtitles.

Exhibit B--measures 5 and 6

The only difference being the first note is a half note.

Something interesting happened with AuroraSpiderwoman on YT.

They had uploaded a clip of Bernadette Peters performing “I Know Things Now” from the Sondheim concert in London earlier in the year. He didn’t name Bernadette or tag her but just uploaded it. Of course the theatre queens were thrilled.

Now it’s gone.

Was it Bernadette who complained? Cameron McIntosh?

Patti LuPone for no good reason?

Fell asleep while trying to read an article about the Porkalob brouhaha.

They need to get over theyselves.

Interesting, r123. I watched the beginning of it yesterday.

Yeah, me too, R125, I watched the whole thing just yesterday. Odd.

[Quote] people who would post things like "plays rarely are that interesting" are not "posters with opinions," they are almost certainly trolls.

Or all the tourists who refuse to play inflated prices for people just talking about depressing things.

When no play lasts more the a season, stop calling everyone a troll and figure out how to get people to the theatre

Barbra break!

I doubt Bernadette got it taken down, R123. Back in 2019 I gave her CD of a soundboard of Sunday in the Park with George from opening night. She was positively thrilled about it. Unlike Patti, Bernadette seems pro-bootleg. Perhaps she got it from Sondheim. Sondheim loved bootlegs.

[quote] Only the first three notes of "Come to My Garden" are the same as "Tara's Theme," and even there, the value of the first of those notes is not the same. And of course, no one but you would ever argue that the use of an octave interval to be plagiarism of another melody.

For those of you Sondheim worshippers: I know for a fact that every note of music he ever wrote had been written by many people before. So, don't call him a genius; plagiarist, perhaps.

You're an idiot, R130. "Every note of music"? What a lie.

He was heavily influenced by those who came before him--Debussy, Ravel, Britten + Kern, Berlin, Porter--but that doesn't make him a plagiarist.

[quote]Bullshit, [R99]...it was the gams.

Gam, singular.

There's a Gam in My Soup!

[quote]Gam, singular.

Triggered.

I hope r130’s tongue is in Sondheim’s cheek.

R131, I’m pretty sure r130 was joking

But he is correct. Every individual note had been written before. Sondheim was not the first to write a D#.

But, obviously, he just put them into different orders than others did.

Thanks for the cunty, condescending explanation, R136. I mean, I've never encountered biting sarcasm on DL before, so I guess that's on me. "Terminally humorless" indeed.

Sorry, R131, you got played big time. And we're all laughing at you.

I'm not sure what to think about this

thanks so much for explaining this, r136.

Now. Who among us has been invited to the Sondheim memorial?

Even in the Golden Age of Broadway (whenever that might have been), serious plays usually did not run longer than a season. And those plays were often able to make a profit in one season.

The multi-season runs were for the likes of popular and intellectually unchallenging entertainment like Arsenic & Old Lace, Life With Father, Tobacco Road, Abie's Irish Rose, Mary, Mary, Never Too Late and any number of Neil Simons.

I imagine the very occasional Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams and William Inge plays were the rare exceptions to play a second season.

R139 Thanks for that! Ann Sothern had a very strong voice, and her interpretation is a bit different in terms of her phrasing at times. She's not really helped by the orchestra, at least in how it sounds in the audio clip, at times. Her monologues before "Everything's Coming Up Roses" and "Rose's Turn" are also included, and she sounds like a very effective Rose indeed, strong-voiced, sometimes charming as Ann Sothern certainly could be, but also having a musical nervous breakdown during "Rose's Turn".

Ann's voice got mighty thin up top. It's great to finally hear her in the role, though. Someone said that she tended to do the "Mama's talkin'" part in a Jazzy way. She obviously didn't at that engagement. Who was Joanna Lester? Big in Stock?

R122, in the phrase "Come to my garden," the third and fourth notes are the same, whereas in the opening phrase of "Tara's Theme," the fourth note is lower than the third. Also, the "Come to my garden" phrase has a total of five notes, whereas the "Tara's Theme" phrase has four. Additionally, as you yourself noted, the Lucy Simon melody starts with a half note, whereas the Steiner melody starts with a quarter note.

In my opinion, those THREE differences in the course of four or five notes makes the two melodies sound quite different, certainly different enough that any charge of plagiarism is ridiculous. Thank you for providing images of the sheet music, but I am surprised you did so, since it proves you wrong rather than right.

Mr. Patinkin, I only PLAY your maid.

And poorly.

When and where is the Sondheim memorial?

If you were invited r147, you would know.

Was there a dress code? Fetishwear?

The Sondheim memorial details are top secret. See some of you there!

R141 beat me to it.

Yeah, plays seldom run more than a season. Just because a play only runs for 4 or 6 or 8 months doesnt' mean it's not a good play or production. Far from it.

The idiot up higher (no, I'm not going to bother to look) who suggested otherwise is an idiot.

The trend towards the decades long runs of certain musicals isn't really a good thing.

Well, it is for the people getting paid to do it but creatively, it's a snooze.

"in the phrase "Come to my garden," the third and fourth notes are the same, whereas in the opening phrase of "Tara's Theme"

Nice try, but I wrote up above that it resembled (but for the half note) the THIRD phrase ("at last I found you"), which it does.

There are a finite number of notes. Sometimes three or four will be in the same order in different songs. Get over it. It shouldn’t make it plagiarism.

Insufferable pedant.

Welcome, Chromolume!

Dear god.... this is the most tedious TG thread ever.

FOLLIES, Beanie, Lea come back.... (come back little Reba!)....

All is forgiven.

Here's Sondheim deconstructing the complexity of "All The Things You Are," one of those early 20th century 'ditties.'

Goddamn

Here's the Kessler Twins to add a little entertainment value to the thread.

[quote]Who was Joanna Lester? Big in Stock?

She was Vicki Lester's less talented younger sister.

Oh R128. No. Just…no.

Go to L, r160.

Ditch this idiotic thread before it self-destructs.

R112, you’re wrong. It’s the exact same first five notes of “Tara’s Theme,” not three. And since those five notes are used in the climax of the song (the final line) it’s painful to listen to. A direct steal from “Tara’s Theme.”

I wonder if the Winter Garden will host a limited run after The Music Man and before Back to the Future, or if all that time will be spent preparing for BTTF. Just what kind of technical stuff is needed?

*

R165-Sure. Patti in Concert.

Beanie is ready, willing, and able to take over Porky’s roll.

Big Asses to Rum

To slaves?

Let’s talk about the real concern here: Andy Karl’s face. What happened?

Fillers, mainly. Like Efron.

I guess now it's a choice between having a natural old face and looking like a scary blow up doll.

Frankly, I prefer a natural old face.

Looks like Porkabob not only aims to kill Broadway, but this thread.

Mandy & Rebecca

Eh, I don't know if it's the worst thing for a Theatre Gossip thread to linger a little. I'd rather have that than 400 posts of "You're wrong!" and "No, YOU'RE wrong!" just so we can move to the next one.

Vicki's on Bones right now...

That Deschanel girl on Bones looked like a total bitch. I bet she was because has she found work since the show got cancelled?

Well, I will say that the quality of this thread is certainly on par with the quality of most Broadway shows.

Come back, little Reba! We need a better thread, right now.

You'd have to ask C-List Actor, r178.

Please don't. No one needs him back here.

Oh piffle, r182.

Waiter! Is the porkalob fresh today? No? Then I'll have the lupone ... with a light cream sauce.

The Lupone is a hambone dish?

Bernadette Peters' sister seems... modest.

Had no idea, r186.

I usually never complain about the quality of the theatre threads because they’re always a pile of hot garbage, but this particular thread is really fucking ghastly. Do better.

If they're "always a pile of hot garbage," why do you bother? Please don't let the door hit your ass on the way out.

[Quote] I usually never complain about the quality of the theatre threads because they’re always a pile of hot garbage, but this particular thread is really fucking ghastly. Do better.

Ok r188, whaddya got?

Why are Broadway commercials so bad? So little creativity- just a bunch of women in Party City costumes screaming at the camera or photo and pull quote montages that look like bad perfume commercials.

I know that the creative agencies are useless, but why do producers put up with such lifeless advertising?

PS other than your pithy and eloquent rejections of 1776 and the Broadway ‘canon,’ including the evocative:

[Quote] pfft

Hair color, face work-Karl is trying to hold onto his straight-guy-handsome juvenile niche as long as possible. When it becomes impossible it’s gonna hit hard. What roles can he gracefully age into?

r191 broadway folks like to say reviews don’t matter anymore but they can’t come up with any other messaging but review quotes. Sad.

Bernadette Peters’s sister’s bio is hysterical…but at the same time…what could she write?

“Yes….I’m the sister…no….I’m not friends with Steve…I’ve seen the Golden Globe three times. I try at my job!”

Part of the requirements of being a successful and effective casting agent (or any agent, come to that) is to have a reputation for being a successful and effective casting agent. Can't blame a gal for tooting her own horn.

So it seems the ad and logo for Kimberly Akimbo is supposed to remind people of the original logo for Great Adventures theme park in New Jersey. You'd have to be ancient to remember that.

Has Andy Karl always had that weird old man tint to his hair? I have been watching some old episodes of SVU from 2015-16 where he was recurring and he has the same off-auburn color there. I was looking at it and thinking it seemed like a bad dye job.

Andy doesn't need fillers in that cock, tho.

More drama in the theater, this time at the Atlantic.

She sounds like a fucking nightmare to work with.

[quote]I usually never complain about the quality of the theatre threads because they’re always a pile of hot garbage, but this particular thread is really fucking ghastly. Do better.

Okay. You go first.

[quote] I told the technical director that I was asthmatic and couldn’t work with fog as it was a trigger

What else, can't work with an audience present? Can't work under artificial lighting?

R188 You're late.

The "this thread is terrible" cunting happens just after the initial overture. We're now past the entr'acte.

Timing, bitch, timing.

Phew re that R200 post

Someone needs to tell Portia the difference between "tenant" and "tenet," the word she should have used.

AN ACT OF VIOLENCE

I'm asthmatic and theatrical fog doesn't trigger me in any physical way however I always hate when lighting designers use it in a production. Not because of any issues of taste (I really like the moody atmosphere that fog creates as well as the way it enhances lighting effects) . No, whenever I see fog being used on stage I brace myself for the inevitable paroxysms of coughing from the hypochondriacs on the audience.

in the audience (apologies)

By the way, stress can be a trigger for asthma as well as make it much, much worse. The [italic]fear[/italic] of a bad attack can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. It is a scary thing. I feel sympathy for the actor who is "telling her truth" at R200 because no doubt the danger she felt she was in as her symptoms worsened was very real, however I also feel sympathy for the technical crew who were confident that there was nothing in that fog that was in any way harmful for this neurotic actor.

[quote]1776 is so not a classic. It's a show whose book is so strong, the songs aren't even necessary. Ever attempt to revive it has been a resounding flop. It belongs on the Encores stage, not on Bway

You just described every Sondhein show he wrote after "Gypsy".

R211 and whoever he is quoting both sound confused. A musical whose book is stronger than its songs does not belong at Encores. And no one has accused the songs of Sondheim shows of being weaker than their books. Quite the opposite.

🥱 🤮 🥱 🤮🥱 🤮 🥱 🤮 🥱 🤮🥱 🤮

This thread could use some Vidal Sassoon...

There is no thread in the history of the world that requires any Vidal Sassoon.

If R215 doesn't look good, then we don't look good!

Well, I look just fine.

Fine Miss June Allyson @ r215, *don't* update your hairdo...

And we don't appreciate her leaving her bladder pads on the night stand, either.

No, no, June...

R220. I’ll bet Judy Canova was a great Pauline.

I don't DO her, R221.

[quote]A musical whose book is stronger than its songs does not belong at Encores. And no one has accused the songs of Sondheim shows of being weaker than their books. Quite the opposite.

Thank you.

Is that Judy Canova at r220? I thought it was Don Knotts.

Andy Karl isn't even 50 for a couple more years. Just like Brent Barrett, he has started having work done way too early, and just like Brent did, he's going to look freakish by the time he's 55.

Who are the two nobodies on that Nanette program? I recognize June and Dennis Day and Judy Canova , but not the other two.

Nanette was such a huge Broadway hit, I'm surprised they couldn't get a starrier cast for the national tour.

Nobodies!

Cast ... Pauline Judy Canova ... Lucille Early Sandra Deel ... Sue Smith June Allyson ... Jimmy Smith Dennis Day ... Billy Early Jerry Antes ... Tom Trainor Bill Biskup ... Nanette Dana Swenson ... Flora Latham Laura Waterbury ... Betty Brown Connie Danese ... Winnie Winslow Gwen Hillier

You can hope for "starrier" names but No No Nanette requires real triple threats for the roles of Lucille and Billy, not nostalgic charm. They really carry the show.

Nobody, r227....NOBODY???

R196, there are no such things as a “casting agent,” only a “casting director.” And Bernadette’s sister would give you the same withering look if you identified her as the former that she would if you had mentioned her sister.

RAISIN IN THE SUN is going to cause a lot of chat. Some perplexing choices that push the running time to 3 hours, at least last night. They've added a character (no, not the ghost), perhaps from an earlier version? Some good performances, some not. Glad I saw it, but . . .

Is there a dream ballet r231?

Or at least a coup de theâtre?

It's as layered as lasagna.

Any dream Skipper?

Here's the new addition to the production.

Yes, there is a coup.

Regarding the article at R200 -- the initial complaint sounds very serious and she was right to be concerned. But then it devolves from there. The director and playwright chose to diversify the cast, which is great. But the accusations about the "erasure of Blackness" sure seem to be missing the forest for the trees.

R221. She was fun—I saw her in it at the Schubert in Chicago in 1972 or 73. Virginia Mayo as Sue (okay, not memorable), Elliot Reid as Jimmy (same—and Anne Rogers splendid as Lucille (my parent saw her as Eliza in MFL years before) and Tony Teague as Billy (very good).

We fled The Public's RAISIN IN THE SUN at intermission. We've heard Act Two gets more interesting, but at 90 mins, we'd had sufficient.

Has Porkalob been fired and deported back to Manila yet?

R189 YAAAAWWWWWNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN. 😴😴😴😴😴😴💤💤💤💤

She certainly should be R241.

Pork Fat would love to be fired so she could be a cause celebre. Her best punishment would be to get stuck in that show forever.

Porkalob and Portia starring in side show

[quote]We've heard Act Two gets more interesting,

The freewheeling patio number really gets things going, r240.

The twist at the end of the Patti LuPone "'night, Mother" is that it's the audience that commits suicide.

[quote]The long-held rumor about Lucy Simon was there her (then) little known assistant Jeanine Tesori wrote the best elements of that show.

Actually, it was Michael Kosarin who was the uncredited co-writer of Secret Garden.

Shubert not Schubert, damn it!

The Canova girls...

Would Kimberly Akimbo benefit from a freewheeling patio number?

How soon until Porkalob is playing Bloody Mary on a Norwegian cruise with David Hasselhoff as Emil de becque

[quote]Would Kimberly Akimbo benefit from a freewheeling patio number?

You just tell me what *doesn't*, r251.

It would be a great addition to the next revival of Oklahoma!

Bernadette's sister was an actress. It must have been tough living in Bernie's shadow. She made a respectable living as a casting agent after giving up the ghost on an acting career. But, what's kept her comfortable has not been a moderately successful casting work, but her shrewd NY real estate investments from the 1970s which now earn her a ton of passive income and, if she were to ever get into trouble, she could easily sell for at least $10-15 million. So, good for her!

I saw them in cabaret as the Lazarra Sisters.

Beanie will make a terrific Nanette in the upcoming revival!

Anyone else hear they are recording FUNNY GIRL tom'w?

Has Andy Karl also done something to his mouth? I think he dyes his eyebrows as well.

Lighter hair would flatter more.

God, I've wanted Andy Karl inside of me ever since I first spotted him as the UPS guy in the musical LEGALLY BLONDE, He wore that uniform well.

Were Annie Golden and Peter Gallagher a couple back in the day?

And once again, the mere wit of typing B-E-A-N-I-E sends someone like r257 into paroxysms of hysteria

[quote]I'm asthmatic and theatrical fog doesn't trigger me in any physical way....

I didn't realize you were a spokesman for all asthmatics, R208. Everyone is different. What triggers an asthma attack in one person may not trigger an attack in someone else.

[quote]If you are in close proximity, there may be certain fog inducers that trigger your asthma, and some that do not. Unfortunately, just like everybody’s asthma is different, the only way to find out is to see what happens.

That fog-averse lady and Porkyslob should be made to do productions of ENDGAME together….for all eternity.

[quote]I usually never complain about the quality of the theatre threads because they’re always a pile of hot garbage, but this particular thread is really fucking ghastly.

R188 = Gloria Upson.

Helen Shaw's shredding of A Little Life is delicious.

I have read Yanahigara's novel and it is pure pornography, in the sense that Jude's abuse are relentlessly described. She take pleasure in them. The novel is bad, the relationship between Jude and William is a woman's fantasy. Nothing to do with real life. I am seeing the adaptation next week but I doubt that I will stay for the two acts.

I also think that if the novel had been written by a man it would have been accused of child pornography.

Hated the book. HATED the book.

Boring, uninspired and phony.

Yanagihara has said that every character and plot device in A Little Life is consciously dialed up to an extreme. So the the highs are as high as possible (great career success, physical beauty, winning an Oscar) and lows as low as possible (agonizing violence and abuse, tragic deaths) .

This makes the novel less believable and a much harder read, but it also explains how she approached the characterizations and plot developments.

I always picture Orfeh as a Strong Black Woman.

I always picture Orfeh as a wailing Israeli.

I always picture Orfeh pegging Andy Karl.

Do you really think Andy Karl has a butthole?

Oh, I made him one r275.

😂

[Quote] Chicago welcomes fashion icon and entertainer Isaac Mizrahi in the role of “Amos Hart” for a limited three-week engagement, starting Monday, November 7 through Saturday, November 26.

Roxie should shoot him instead of Fred.

R275 I'm not sure, but I would like to be on that expedition team.

There's a difference between a play running a season because it was contractually scheduled to do so, well-written, challenging, financially accessible to a wide audience and making a profit (and closing to make room for another work that will attempt to engage and/or speak truthfully i.e. the point of art) and a play running a season because it's derivative, uninspired, and those who want to see it can't afford to do so. Patti made an excellent point but there will always be those too stupid to understand/deliberately misconstruing her comments to prove a nonexistent point.

Everyone is stupid except you r280

[quote]Chicago welcomes fashion icon and entertainer Isaac Mizrahi in the role of “Amos Hart” for a limited three-week engagement, starting Monday, November 7 through Saturday, November 26.

Thereby depriving an actually trained performer a paycheck. Imagine going through theater school, years of chorus work, and tough days on the road, only to be supplanted by a mediocre clothes designer.

Except of course if his one hire helps keep the show running and employing everyone else

Is Andy Karl in the Roger Bart Broadway Sizemeats Pantheon?

Fans of Yanagihara’s book will probably like the stage adaptation. It’s a polarizing novel that has some very ardent fans.

A friend of mine who saw the show this past weekend said that a couple of people fainted during the show and there was an intermission exodus of several people.

Mizrahi went to the High School of Performing Arts and has a successful cabaret act. It’s not like casting Anna Wintour as Velma Kelly.

Mizrahi would have been better cast as Mama Morton.

I can't imagine one person buying a ticket to see Chicago because of Mizrahi's appearance in the show, except for maybe his mother and she's dead.

Mizrahi is the epitome of a self-deluded dabbler.

Oooh, fashion design looks like fun, I'll try that!

Oooh, costume design looks like fun. I'll try that!

Oooh, directing looks like fun, I'll try that!

Oooh, cabaret looks like fun, I'll try that!

Oooh, Broadway - that looks like fun, I'll try that! Whaddaya mean, I can't play Roxie??? I quit!

Karl's penis is exceptionally thick.

You can actually see a young Isaac Mizrahi during the audition sequence in the movie "Fame." He's the one dressed as the Fool doing Shakespeare with a jester head on a stick.

And what qualifies the current Roxie to be on broadway? A few episodes on AHS and Pose? We’re talking about Chicago. There has been more ludicrous casting than Mizrahi.

R288 some people would call that a jack of all trades -- or even a renaissance man.

[quote]It would be a great addition to the next revival of Oklahoma!

I'll bring the wheels!

Figure it out!!

Orfeh keeps Andy's balls in a sterling silver box on her vanity.

How does one even pronounce “Orfeh”?

Carefully r296.

Very, very carefully.

Andy is doing that terrible rusty brown hair color that never looks real. That and the extreme fillers have made him look like The Madame puppet.

If Straight Line Crazy were on Broadway, Ralph Fiennes would be a major contender for Best Actor In A Play. The rest of the cast is meh. But Fiennes is the reason to see it. Btw, best David Hare work in years.

Will anyone ever hire Asthma Lady again?

If the asthma lady knew she had asthma, why didn't she have an inhaler with her? Asthmatics don't wait until an attack to get one.

Beanie should be in Chicago as Roxie!

How about Beanie as Sally Bowles in CABARET. She doesn't need to be a good singer.

Has anyone seen Leopoldstadt? I’m going this weekend and was curious.

[Quote] How does one even pronounce “Orfeh”?

Or Fay.

Who names their kid Orfeh?

Darfur Orfehs

Who names their kid Orpah?

[quote]Oh, I made him one R275.

Made him one or tore him a new one?

[quote] Karl's penis is exceptionally thick.

Delightful to contemplate but r289 on what are you basing that report?

It was so embarrassing back in 2015 when everybody bought into the LITTLE LIFE craze. I attempted to read the first few pages and could not believe how heinously bad the writing was. Every plot detail I learn makes the whole thing seem even more insane. Glad to see some New York reviews finally treating it like the garbage it is.

So you read two pages of a book and decided all of that? You seem very…impressionable.

Why did it get so many awards/accolades back then?

I started watching the production of A Little Life on a bootleg (which looked fantastic) and was bored silly almost immediately and threw in the towel.

[quote]Has anyone seen Leopoldstadt? I’m going this weekend and was curious.

Yes, I've seen it. Any other questions?

[quote]So you read two pages of a book and decided all of that? You seem very…impressionable.

That's not what R311 meant and not what he wrote, which you would understand if your reading comprehension wasn't somewhere around the second-grade level.

"Pork Fat would love to be fired so she could be a cause celebre."

There's your role for Andy Karl!

"Has anyone seen Leopoldstadt?"

Here. I was disappointed. The family tree is hard to keep track of in succeeding generations; certain scenes, however historically tragic, are overly familiar from movies and television, and have had more impact; important plot points are relayed facilely after the fact (a real head-scratcher, that). The most compelling scene (in the first sequence) concerned a wonderfully-played debate arguing assimiliation vs the necessity of a homeland (oh, and the one with the bare-chested dragoon). But overall I was never emotionally engaged or moved. Just my opinion.

Anybody see Death of a Salesman? Would love some input. Thank you.

You seem kind, r315.

Regardless of what r311 may have meant, he rather smugly congratulates the critics for finally catching up to his assessment that the piece is "garbage" which is (a) not accurate and (b) unsupported by anything in his dismissive post. You want us to crown him with a laurel wreath?

I'm just here to start shit.

Well, I read all of "A Little Life" and calling it garbage is far too generous.

I need Andy Karl's thickness in me quite deeply.

"A Little Life" sounds like the middle school version of "The Life."

What are the many awards that it won?

Shortilsted for Booker Prize, finalist for National Book Award, 2015 Kirkus Prize for Fiction. Sorry you didn't like it, guys, but a great many people did (including me). Can't believe anyone who thought it was worse than garbage could soldier through all of those pages. Must have a lot of time on their hands.

Goddamn. This MAY BE the worst theatre thread yet. At this point, I LONG FOR BAJOUR!

[quote]Can't believe anyone who thought it was worse than garbage could soldier through all of those pages. Must have a lot of time on their hands.

It reads quickly, it wasn't boring, and I felt a desperate unfortunate urge to partake in the cultural moment.

Why is the carb faced and supremely juvenile Ben Crawford missing so many performances as The Phantom? Too many late night cheeseburgers? Is he exhausted from his TikTok hijinks? Is he hanging out with Beanie?!

Speaking of massively thick dicks, whatever happened to that Crazy For You revival starring Tony Yazbeck?

RAISIN! is back.

Semi off topic but Eric McCormack posted about Leslie Jordan and conspicuously left out Megan

We'll Never Stop Producing Jukebox Musicals No One Asked For, Vow Craven Theatrical Producers!

[quote]Music publisher Primary Wave Music has partnered with the Michael Barra-led production company Lively McCabe Entertainment to produce and license new stage musicals featuring the work of Primary Wave's catalog of music, which includes songs by such artists as Prince, Bob Marley, Stevie Nicks, Whitney Houston, Def Leopard, Olivia Newton-John, and Boyz II Men, among others. The partnership is being made official with several projects already in active development, notably a stage adaptation of the 1988 film Mystic Pizza that has already been produced by Ogunquit Playhouse and Engeman Theater. With a book by Sandy Rustin, the musical initially featured original songs penned by Primary Wave client Melissa Etheridge along with pop hits made famous by John Mellencamp, Debbie Gibson, and Phil Collins. The most recent iteration, which played Engeman Theater earlier this year, was fully a jukebox musical with a score comprising songs from Etheridge, Prince, Carnie Wilson, Chynna Phillips, and more.

Prince would be rolling over in his grave.

Producers are determined to change Broadway into Las Vegas.

Producers are going to change Broadway into Las Vegas even if it kills theatre.

To be fair, as a kid I assumed Broadway WAS like the Vegas strip, with majestic theaters and flashing billboards lining up both sides of the street.

Then one street over was off-Broadway with lesser fanfare.

[quote]Producers are determined to change Broadway into Las Vegas.

You mean it's not already?

Which Broadway house corresponds to the Flamingo?

The Brooks Atkinson, I imagine.

Will they dim the lights for Leslie Jordan?

At least, the footlights?

Ethel's throwing a ball tonight...

Was Gypsy Rose Lee the first Broadway stunt casting replacement? She couldn't sing all that well.

r323, we're sorry you decided to let us know you're into pedophilic misery porn/travel porn. Must have too much time on your hands.

She only did Du Barry for a month, r340.

Curves Ahead

Ricky Schroeder (no, not that one) is now Mrs Jerry Mitchell. Congrats!

Is *Mrs. Jerry Mitchell* Ricky's fashion show name?

Hello, Everybody. This is…Mrs. Jerry Mitchell.

All that time mopping up the cum puddles on the outside deck has paid off.

So, is Mrs. Mitchell picking out her silver spoons?

Don Loper will NOT be calling!

r349

He dead

[quote]Curves Ahead

More like CURVEHS, right?

R344-So both the bride and the groom cheated on each other before the marriage and will live happily ever after.

Is Patti too old for a revival of Ballroom? She’d probably oversing Fifty Percent.

She's got much better things to do, but I now I want to hear Jean Smart sing Fifty Percent.

Does Orfeh have curvehs?

Life of Pi is coming to Broadway in the spring. I read the book a long time ago, but don't remember anything except the plot setup.

So what black actor will play the young protagonist in " Life of Pi"? Or will Broadway whitewash it? Or will they change it to a young woman?

More importantly, does it have a freewheeling patio number?

For no reason...

Two things

- BAJOUR has a bubbly period score. Good fun! I'd love to see it with the book.

- The New Mrs. Jerry Mitchell is the ultimate pass around party bottom. I'd love to see his assuredly smooth pink hole.

Saw Life of Pi in London. There's no play there, but the puppetry and stagecraft are satisfying. The Tiger is remarkable.

She wasn't invited to come...

I love Julie Benko.

[quote]Does Orfeh have curvehs?

Orfeh loves her loofah.

Offenbach wrote an operette just for her, Orfeh Is In the Underworld.

"Orfeh and the Orca"

I'm so old I remember when Orfeh bit Bo Derek's leg off.

Orfeh was terrific in Broadway's "Saturday Night Fever", she should have been nominated. Met Donna Pescow years later and asked her if she saw the show and she did and loved Orfeh's voice.

[quote]So what black actor will play the young protagonist in " Life of Pi"? Or will Broadway whitewash it? Or will they change it to a young woman?

Incidentally, London is getting NEWSIES for the first time next month.

You guessed it, their Jack Kelly is black.

The way they reveal it in this teaser is kind of funny.

White newsie, white newsie, white newsie, white newsie, white newsie, white newsie, BLACK!

😂🤣

Based on that UK Newsies clip, I’d give it a hard pass.

The next Broadway gig for Beanie?

I'd love to see a revival!

You're kidding, right r361? Count how many times the word "gypsy" is heard in the lyrics.

No one cares R364.

Speaking of Newsies, Corey Cott and his hairy chest were the bad guy on SVU this week. His first scene had a very open chested shirt, and the fur was mesmerizing. Although it looks like he might be sharing Andy Karl's bottle of Just For Men for his head.

I saw Orfeh years ago in the Village doing a bio-musical about Janis Joplin. She blew the roof off the place--what a voice!

Has Porkblob been fired yet?

Fired for what? She actually brought publicity to the show. They should give her a raise

[r379] I see the lady in question has entered the chat!

Welcome to Datalounge!

The queens seem nice at first but in the words of Cybill Shepherd…watch your back!

No one is going to see that execrable 1776 revival because of Porkblob. Please. 🙄

There is no such thing as bad publicity

Tell that to Rudy Giuliani.

Well this is nice.

I'm sad for London audiences that they never got to see the original Broadway production and now they'll have to be satisfied with this less than scintillating version. I never understood why Tom Schumacher wouldn't get behind Newsies.

[quote]I never understood why Tom Schumacher wouldn't get behind Newsies.

Apparently because, if I understand correctly, it wasn't his idea. What a putz.

Rumor has it Schumacher tried to get behind several of the Newsies.

The real newsies were betwixt the ages of 9-12. Why did they make them into hunky young men for the musical?

Because its so easy to do a 8 show a week Broadway musical with a bunch of 9-12 year olds.

Agreed

Funny Girl cast recording with Lea seems to have been done over the weekend

Denee Benton back in as Cinderella in ITW. I saw her at City Center and thought she was letter-perfect. Just lovely.

[quote] Because its so easy to do a 8 show a week Broadway musical with a bunch of 9-12 year olds.

Annie did it

Newsies isn't Annie.

R394, no where near as successful.

But cuter butts.

Whatever one thinks of Beanie…I feel bad for Jane Lynch. She will go unrecorded as well.

Jane Lynch is not really a singer. It's not shame. Anyway, the lighthouse has no music setup.

This really must be a historic first -- the first time ever that a Broadway musical (a revival, in this case) has opened to hugely negative reviews for the star, then the star immediately began missing a huge percentage of performances and then left the production entirely after only a few months, then another star was brought in to rave reviews, and now the delayed cast recording will feature the new star, while it almost seems as if everyone is trying to pretend the original star was never even in the show. Incredible on one level, but not so incredible when you look at who makes up the producing team.

You neglected to mention that a standby got great word of mouth and kept the show running long enough for over a month for the replacement star to get ready to step in.

Nathan Lane back on Broadway. It will be interesting seeing him work with British actress Zoe Wanamaker, who I love. Danny Burstein will play their son. Seems like good casting.

r400 = My cunt understudy Julie.

[quote]Incredible on one level, but not so incredible when you look at who makes up the producing team.

Who?

[quote]You neglected to mention that a standby got great word of mouth and kept the show running long enough for over a month for the replacement star to get ready to step in.

Sorry, no disrespect to the wonderful Julie Benko. I was just focusing on the unprecedented situation with the cast recording.

R403, do you really need help to look up the producing team for FUNNY GIRL?

Julie is a trooper, but lets be honest, shes not THAT great...still high school level. Multitudes better than Beanie, but still lacking. Yes, I did see her. Good, but not great. Still lacks the charisma.

Danny Burstein is playing Nathan's son? Aren't they around the same age, or within 5 or 6 years of each other? I guess if Angela Lansbury could pull off playing Laurence Harvey's mother on film when she would have been 3 years old and having him...

[quote]Julie is a trooper

I'm pretty sure she's not in the Highway Patrol.

Wow r377, I saw that. I didn’t remember that it was Orfeh!

I lost my heart to Julie Benko.

I don't enjoy Benko's choices. They seem disconnected.

[quote]You neglected to mention that a standby got great word of mouth and kept the show running long enough for over a month for the replacement star to get ready to step in.

Kept the show running? What exactly is this spin? They needed her to fill a gap, calling that 'kept the show running' is ridiculous. Especially when you look at the grosses when she was in

[quote] You neglected to mention that a standby got great word of mouth and kept the show running long enough for over a month for the replacement star to get ready to step in.

Lol, Benko wasn’t keeping anything open, dear. It was a curiosity until Lea stepped in. Your grandma could have kept the show running at 50% box office for a month too. This narrative you keep trying to spin of some third rate understudy doing something is beyond tired.

[quote]Your grandma could have kept the show running at 50% box office for a month too.

Well, the audience would have needed to enjoy a dead woman singing that score.

Zoe Wanamaker and Nathan Lane in the same show? They’ll be able to see that performance from Pluto. Both are overly theatrical in their performance style.

There will be drama and one will withdraw due to artistic differences.

If Beanie's replacement would have been a typical standby performance, they could have hired Aaron Tveit for Fanny, who seemed like the standby when he was the lead in "Catch Me If You Can".

Zoe or Nathan will be replaced at the last minute by Patti with her new equity card.

[quote]Danny Burstein is playing Nathan's son? Aren't they around the same age, or within 5 or 6 years of each other?

Based on the description of the show, I imagine Burnstein's character will be in the present day looking back at memories of his parents (so Lane's scenes wouldn't be present day.)

Danny Burstein played Jennifer Saunders' son on Ab Fab in the 2000s. Nathan was already old back then.

Yes we heard R405 all right already.

[quote]Orfeh was terrific in Broadway's "Saturday Night Fever", she should have been nominated. Met Donna Pescow years later and asked her if she saw the show and she did and loved Orfeh's voice.

But the really big news here is that you met DL icon Donna Pescow, TV's Angie.

I don't see Aaron Tveit as Fanny. Now, Thomas Barbusca...

I'll be more curious of the rehearsal room dynamic between Nathan and Bart Sher.

Nathan, who loves to be encouraged to ham it up by the likes of Jerry Zaks and Bart Sher, who intellectualizes everything and tones it all down to sub-zero degrees.

Danny Burstein is 58. Nathan is 66. Eight years apart.

I knew Danny back when he was an adorable 28 year old. I was in college. Had he swung that way, I'd have been all over him.

They should have gotten Thomas Barbusca to star in a Peter Pan revival.

He killed it when he played the part in a GEICO commercial several years back.

My family still quotes it.

Hey cool. we get commercials in our threads now.

Now, now, r426, chill...

I wonder if this means that Lane isn't going to stay with Square One (or whatever they ultimately call it); David Ives has said publicly that they're looking for a theater for spring 2023.

I guess Death of a Salesman with Lane and Laurie Metcalf ain’t happening either.

R429 Wasn't it Virginia Woolf?

I thought it was Same Time, Next Year.

It was Arsenic and Old Lace, you dumb queens.

As long as it wasn't "On Golden Pond"...

Or ImeldaGYPSY.

I could have sworn it was No Time for Ginger.

Rupert Everett and Metcalf closed Virginia Woolf in previews thanks to Covid.

R436 Thank you.

Maybe Nathan might consider "Everybody Loves Opal" at some point.

Then stop bringing it up repeatedly R419.

No you calm down, R427. You need to switch to decaf.

[quote]I guess Death of a Salesman with Lane and Laurie Metcalf ain’t happening either.

Finally, some good news from Broadway.

R418, Burstein didn’t play Edina’s son Serge (Josh Hamilton) on AbFab, he played Serge’s boyfriend.

Congratulations to DL favs Patti Murin and Colin Donnell who are expecting baby #2. She’s 42 and he just turned 40.

I wonder when the kids will find Daddy's butthole pics.

Help the kids out by posting the butthole pics here.

Of course Patsy Murin would still be fertile at 42. She's a frau cubed.

God Ben Platt is just sex on a stick aint he

[quote]Now, Thomas Barbusca...

How did Thomas Barbusca enter the conversation? How utterly random. (Loved him in The Mick, though.)

I think it's the hair.

Ugh. Splatsy Urine. Hasn’t she been canceled yet? She’s awful.

Platt is still awful.

Plattsy and Patsy. Who's worse?

Platt makes Mandy P. seem less insufferable.

Platt hasn't been accused of assaulting his co-stars.

Only their eyes.

[quote]Platt makes Mandy P. seem less insufferable.

I'm not a Platt fan, but now you're going too far.

The new dumbass editor of Playbill tweeted that she was upset that Leopoldstadt was making a million a week and the current black plays weren't. She took it down and apologized after realizing that people thought she was attacking Jews instead of white people

R458. She’s a keeper.

[Quote] The new dumbass editor of Playbill tweeted that she was upset that Leopoldstadt was making a million a week and the current black plays weren't. She took it down and apologized after realizing that people thought she was attacking Jews instead of white people

I love that.

New Dumbass Playbill Editor for Wednesday matinee Edward Rutledge!

Here's my cunt leading lady singing the title song for Do I Hear A Waltz?

How'd she snag that part?

r446, not that hard to find.

[quote]Danny Burstein is playing Nathan's son? Aren't they around the same age, or within 5 or 6 years of each other?

Danny Burstein is an actor, he'll act young.

Interesting that of all the things that have been pulled from L P S G over the past few months, all of his photos and videos are still there. These have to go against their new rules. He must not have reported them, either because he doesn't know they're there, or figures it's better not to acknowledge them and confirm they're him? (Or simply doesn't care?)

R466 I like his cock, and want to give him kisses.

He's smart not to acknowledge them.

OMG any guy who fingers his own asshole on camera is clearly looking for cock.

Did David Boreanaz finger his hole?

R374 - Dear God. .0000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000001% of the world population is offended by the word "gypsy." And they can suck it up. And most likely won't ever see BAJOUR.

I think all she tweeted was "How can we get the people seeing LEOPOLDSTADT to see other plays?"

Lower ticket prices?

Never trust a deep trans.

r470, I don't believe so.

[quote] Danny Burstein is an actor, he'll act young.

Step aside, bitch! That’s my territory.

r472, yeah, at first glance it reads like she's saying people should see other plays INSTEAD. It would have been better if she'd included a TOO at the end (as in, how do you get all those people seeing Leopoldstadt to ALSO see other plays), which I would hope is what she meant.

I couldn't bring myself to watch the Boreneaz clip. He looks so middle aged. I read speculation that he was talking to a man.

Ugh, Platt is mediocre in that clip.

Why would you want the audience seeing Leopoldstadt to see other plays? Those people are already doing their part. Why aren’t you working to bring in new audiences?

Google “preaching to the choir.”

[quote]David Boreanaz Masturbating His Cock

Ummm...what else would he be masturbating with?

No one wanted to see TOPDOG/UNDERDOG the first time around. And OHIO STATE MURDERS will only prove that Audra doesn't equal box office.

Plays never sell well on Broadway regardless of content or quality, so it's unusual to see Leopoldstadt selling so well. (devoted Jewish audience base, yes. Still.)

If Ms. Tran knows the secret how to get tourists to see something besides "Aladdin", she should step up.

r481, I think the Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune revival already proved that.

Why isn’t Beanie in Parade at City Center?

Because she isn't, r484.

Beanie should make her big comeback in an Encores! PAL JOEY.

Beanie isn’t in Parade because fat girls didn’t exist back then…unless they were the sideshow in the circus.

Great, an editor who isn't precise in her use of language . . . seriously, can we start hiring people on the basis of competence and experience instead of identity check boxes?

Just say “Beanie“ one more fucking time, I dare you, I fucking dare you, say it.

BEANJOUR!!

R482 You seem lost.

Thanks for posting that clip of DO I HEAR A WALTZ at r362.

Sweet number but was there ever a leading lady as dull as Elizabeth Allen? Talented and pretty, yes, but soooooo bland. Did they (esp. Arthur Laurents) not take a cue from the casting of Katharine Hepburn in the film and Shirley Booth in the original play that Leona was a character part and needed an actress with some decided quirkiness to play a midwestern spinster schoolteacher. And isn't it odd that Sergio Franchi's character never gets to sing a chorus of the title song (even if he sang: "Yes, you do hear a waltz...")?

Did Sondheim talk about all this in one of his books?

Sergio Franchi lacked a welcoming vagina...

She posted that she wanted to know why people were seeing Leopoldstadt more than her 3 other examples. She was insinuating racism. The reality is, a lot of the people seeing that show will also see the others. Her real concern should be why minority audiences don't support these plays.

Why does Raisin in The Sun fall apart? What is the departure from the text that ruins it?

Tran interviewed me back in the American Theater days. I found her closed minded and biased, and unwilling to hear anyone's opinions but her own. She'll be out of Playbill within a year. Playbill is not journalism. It's owned by the Broadway press agents who get the articles done the way they want them. One of their former editors admitted it when he resigned (I think he's doing Podcasts or something now...). That tweet would piss off a lot of people, which is your only job when you write for American Theatre. When you write for Playbill, get on your knees...

R489

Re PARADE: the real Leo Frank was 10x better-looking than Ben Platt.

A young Matthew Broderick would have been ideal.

R498 The young Brent Carver was X10 hotter than Ben.

Leo looks like a muppet

Phil Birsh, though retired as EIC, won’t let that kind of madness run riot at Playbill, she’ll be gone asap.

Man, what is with the amount of self-sabotage going on lately? You'd think that people never want to work again.

"Both are overly theatrical in their performance style."

Um, that's why they call it the theatre---DOH!

I was watching an episode of SVU from a few years back and could have sworn I saw our old pal Melissa Beth Miller as an extra. I knew she would have inflated it to some sort of "featured" role on her resume if it indeed was her so I looked her up and came across her NYT real estate article again and had to re-read it.

I cannot believe how badly her parents botched that whole apartment search. The place she wound up in was a shithole and cost $525 more per month than the place she initially wanted, which her parents forbade her taking because it was the first place she saw. Then she found another place in a great area that sounded even better for $2300 a month but her father wouldn't let he take it because it was "in a tourist area where you could buy pizza for a dollar." So she winds up in a crap place for $2500 a month that is smaller than the other places, had no A/C, and has construction going on all day.

Someone give this poor wretch a role somewhere.

The THIRD phrase of Tara’s Theme is the EXACT melody of “Come to my Garden”! Idiot.

R178- she is the nicest person in the world. We still keep in touch (I chatted with her last week) and she is lovely. During Bones, even while she was dealing with 16 hour days, she was there for me while I was dealing with bipolar disorder. She even bought me a book that really helped. When I did an operetta in Oregon during our holiday hiatus, she came. She also left a gift at the stage door for me. When I’ve applied for jobs, she has agreed to be a reference. But she’s nice to everyone.

Was Boreanaz jerking off for/to a woman?

And r178- Emily starred in the Netflix series “Devil in Ohio” that was recently released. She also had a role in a season of “Animal Kingdom.” But it’s a tough business. Tough for anyone to get work. Emily was great on “Bones” btw and should’ve gotten at LEAST one Emmy nomination. It was an underappreciated show.

R507- I don’t know.

R196- there’s no such thing as a casting agent

Thanks for sharing, r506. Very nice to hear.

R282- it bummed me out. It’s a role I’ve been wanting for years and it’s not like I’m an absolute nobody.

Wow....the bitch is complaining that Leopoldstadt is more successful than other plays.

What a stupid bitch.

Yes, it's shocking that a successful West End transfer of a Tom Stoppard play about Jewish life in the early 20th century is doing well on Broadway.

(insert eye roll)

As for Death of a Salesman, it's not doing well because those actors aren't stars in the US. People will only go see Death of a Salesman if it has a name in it they recognize so they can brag to friends, "oh, yes...we went and saw the Dustin Hoffman play the other night.

Also interesting that 1776 has a higher percentage turnout than supposed hit Into the Woods.

And, Porkie got a 1% increase over the week before!

Well, .76%

Leopoldstadt is two hours and ten minutes long without an intermission?!?!?!?

That's ridiculous!

And, inhumane!

[quote]As for Death of a Salesman, it's not doing well because those actors aren't stars in the US. People will only go see Death of a Salesman if it has a name in it they recognize so they can brag to friends, "oh, yes...we went and saw the Dustin Hoffman play the other night.

I'm willing to bet that the all-black casting of the traditionally white Loman family turned some off, too.

People are really getting tired of that.

[quote]I couldn't bring myself to watch the Boreneaz clip. He looks so middle aged.

When a well-known person such as Boreneaz makes a j.o. video, don't they generally try not to show their face?

[quote]I'm willing to bet that the all-black casting of the traditionally white Loman family turned some off, too. People are really getting tired of that.

You mean besides the people who won't shut up about it on DL?

R518, non-traditional casting has become the norm for shows about white people. Enough so that noise was made about the Stoppard play having a white cast.

I'd say, yes, that there's an audience statement being made about wanting authentic casting in some kinds of plays.

And the Diep Trans of the world aren't going to subtly guilt trip people spending time and money on shows that don't interest them.

Hamilton works because it was designed to be cast nontraditionally. 1776 not so much.

When you just reflexively bash whitey, you're gonna make mistakes.

Go woke, go broke!

So another Jesse Green “this production is bad but I’m not allowed to say it” review

I was at "Leopolstad" last night. Full house. It is a bore of a play. I was very disappointed because I love Stoppard.

More classic films should be adapted into plays. Like 'Speed' and 'Miss Congeniality.'

The Brits love turning popular '80s/'90s American films into musicals: FLASHDANCE, DIRTY DANCING, THE BODYGUARD, GHOST, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, and now BACK TO THE FUTURE.

You make a good point, r471, but fail to mention that Bajour was a huge flop and hasn't improved with age.

It just needs a new book!

[Quote] When a well-known person such as Boreneaz makes a j.o. video, don't they generally try not to show their face?

I think the person screenrecorded a cam2cam session. Boreanaz may have been naive enough to think that the other person wasn't recording him.

[quote] How can we get the people seeingLEOPOLDSTADT to see other plays?

That post is in no way racist, even if you're [italic] looking [italic] for it. It's a good question. LEO is the one hit play of the season, and it would be good for everyone if those folks went to a couple of the other show, from The right says the left racializes everything. This is that.

[quote] And the Diep Trans of the world aren't going to subtly guilt trip people spending time and money on shows that don't interest them.

She didn't guilt them or fault them. You're projecting.

[quote] When you just reflexively bash whitey, you're gonna make mistakes.

She didn't bash anyone. She [italic] asked.[/italic] Wow....the bitch is complaining that Leopoldstadt is more successful than other plays. What a stupid bitch.

You're just trash.

and I'm [italic] bad [/italic] at italics.

And you don't know how to use Italics correctly.

FYI Aaron Neil is a British actor of color portraying a Jewish man in Leopoldstadt.

I haven't been following, but how's The Piano Lesson doing? Samuel L. Jackson's a name, isn't he?

It may be shallow and obvious observation but I'm sure a big part of the draw of Leopoldstadt is the promise of grand sets and gorgeous costumes, as well as a large cast in a sweeping European multi-generational saga. FWIW the ticket buyers feel like they're getting their money's worth. Very different vibe than spending time with a quarreling Black working class family in a row house. I imagine even Black audiences want something with more epic glamour for $100+/seat.

Black audiences can't identify with Death of a Salesman, because it features a family with a father actually in the house.

[quote] Her real concern should be why minority audiences don't support these plays.

Because Bway producers have done next to nothing to cultivate minority audiences. Just sticking a play with black people on stage doesn't mean minorities will suddenly show up in droves to an artform that generally excludes them.

Do young people go running to the opera if there are young cast members in one?

[quote] Bway producers have done next to nothing to cultivate minority audiences.

How does one cultivate and interest in something? I doubt I'd be able to cultivate an interest in rap music to my grandmother.

The other part of the problem with Black plays is that Broadway has come back from the pandemic and the racial reckoning determined to prove how not racist it is. And so we're getting a half dozen Black plays at once, and it is too much for the market to bear. Right now, there's Ain't No Mo, Death of a Salesman, Ohio State Murders, Piano Lesson, and Topdog/Underdog all trying to reach both frequent playgoers and Black playgoers. Most people can't afford to see 5-6 Broadway plays within a few months, and so a number of them will fail. And then Broadway producers will blame Black audiences for not showing up.

Why don't Tyler Perry plays come to Broadway?

Let's not forget that two of those plays have been done to death in NYC. Death of a Salesman is up there with Gypsy and The Glass Menagerie as a play we never need to see in NYC in our lifetime again.

And Top Dog/Underdog has now been produced three times in under 20 years and has never been a huge seller.

[quote] Samuel L. Jackson's a name, isn't he?

Yes, and that name is SAMUEL. Mr. Jackson if you're nasty!

[Quote] as a play we never need to see in NYC in our lifetime again.

Are you using the royal We?

We as in the current theatergoing public.

Death of a Raisin

Beanie and The Blacks Broke Broadway!

[quote]The other part of the problem with Black plays is that Broadway has come back from the pandemic and the racial reckoning determined to prove how not racist it is. And so we're getting a half dozen Black plays at once, and it is too much for the market to bear. Right now, there's Ain't No Mo, Death of a Salesman, Ohio State Murders, Piano Lesson, and Topdog/Underdog all trying to reach both frequent playgoers and Black playgoers. Most people can't afford to see 5-6 Broadway plays within a few months, and so a number of them will fail. And then Broadway producers will blame Black audiences for not showing up.

Exactly, Can you imagine what would happen if five straight plays -- or even five musicals -- with gay people as the main characters and gay story lines opened at once on Broadway? Or five plays specifically about the Jewish experience in America? Let's not forget that the revival of Neil Simon's BRIGHTON BEACH trilogy was such a flop that the first play closed very quickly and the second production was canceled. There are multiple reasons why LEOPOLDSTADT is a hit, and I think the "snob hit" factor is a major reason, as it was for THE COAST OF UTOPIA.

Anecdotally, I've gleaned from recent conversations that the demand for "representative casting" AKA "woke" casting is definitely cooling off. I attended a casting meeting recently where a very prominent lead producer made it clear to a very prominent casting director that this production is only looking for two things in casting: Marquee names that make box office and are able to play the role or, absent that rare commodity, "even more to the point, they need to be able to act these goddamn roles" There was a pause, followed by "let's represent the piece. everyone you bring in has to represent the piece first and foremost" The casting director simply said "Got it" and everyone knew what was being discussed. Producers have simply not seen a return on diverse casting/programming and focusing their season on diversity. The "movement" has had impact and diversity in casting and programming is here to stay to a reasonable degree, but trying to correct the inequities of society through casting and programming has not been and will not be profitable. Where did we get the idea that "serving the community" is a retail proposition of giving people what they think they want, rather than the revelation of seeing yourself in a play/character that shares none of your background or cultural references? Affirmation /aspirational casting is also in its final days. People have lost money and lost face. Frankly, the entertainment business has never really been, nor never can be "inclusive" it is exclusive by nature. Everyone has to jump through some hoop, talent, appearance, notoriety, nepotism. Nobody gets an entertainment career at any level (regional to Broadway) without leveraging one of those things. Do you know how many people come to NYC every year aspiring to work on Broadway? Thousands. Less than a fraction of a percent of whom will ever get a Broadway job. ALL those thousands are excluded for a variety of fair and unfair reasons. I also talked recently with a prominent television show runner who told me everyone was getting frustrated with their casting directors having to spend "hours and days" verifying and looking for actors whose ethnicity exactly match the character" The myth of "they are out there but they just haven't gotten the chance" is bullshit. People underestimate the skill of actors because the good ones make it look easy. This person went on to tell me that this "spiraling waste of time that just ends up with us having to rewrite the character eats up the casting director's time that she should be putting into looking at the legit tapes she's requested from agents for talent" Also same person told me that "woke" ignores older super talented diverse actors who actually have the experience to show up and do a job because of their age. It's massively hypocritical that middle age and older diverse actors are not being afforded opportunities, while those with a "woke look" are given consideration they haven't EARNED. Long post, sorry but the gist is, people are losing money and getting bored. it's going to change

"Casting agent" and "casting agency" are not used all that frequently, but they are used. For example, if you Google "Telsey," you will see the company listed in some places as a "casting office" and others as a "casting agency." Also, you will find links such as "Best Casting Agencies in NYC."

[quote] How does one cultivate and interest in something? I doubt I'd be able to cultivate an interest in rap music to my grandmother.

It will take a generation. You have to expose people to it little by little--first by showing racially and ethnically relevant theatre. Just putting Black people in a classic play doesn't suddenly make it speak to modern audiences. You have to make the tickets affordable so that it's not just for tourists. You have to go to schools and make presentations. All of this takes lots of time and effort, but in a generation it can generate a new audience.

An example of what happens when you don't actively generate a new audience is opera. It's dying quickly because the artform made no effort whatsoever to get younger and minorities to understand and appreciate it. Orchestra music is another.

Where's that Worst Thread Ever troll when you need him? Now that we've once again landed in the anti-diversity discussion, the thread is ready for him to make that proclamation.

Twitter: Where no casting is diverse enough.

Datalounge: Where no casting is white enough.

Theatre Gossip threads: Where nothing NOTHING is good enough.

[Quote] while those with a "woke look" are given consideration they haven't EARNED.

Is this so very different than casting a pretty person because of that quality?

What do we mean by woke look? A person of color with natural hair?

[quote]An example of what happens when you don't actively generate a new audience is opera. It's dying quickly because the artform made no effort whatsoever to get younger and minorities to understand and appreciate it. Orchestra music is another.

Yes, and more specifically, this huge problem was caused, more than anything else, by the lack of music and arts education in the schools.

[quote]Is this so very different than casting a pretty person because of that quality?

None at all, but audiences like to look at pretty people and will buy tickets to see pretty people. Same with nepotism (best entry level to the business)

Be aware my point is not that this is fair or ideal

R547 You are absolutely correct about the casting directors having to spend hours and days verifying the ethnicity of actors. My best friend is a casting director and was casting background and small roles for a movie that had to be Native American actors. The production company told her that she had to verify with each actor/person that they have a certain percentage of Native American ancestry/blood/whatever before they could even be considered or even to just be a background extra. Days and days were spent taking care of this. It was so crazy and time consuming, she swore she would never do another movie like that again. The money wasn’t worth the time she spent dealing with getting all the verifications from the actors.

[quote]Marquee names that make box office and are able to play the role

Beanie: 0 for 2.

It's funny how this thread frequently complains about people who aren't white playing white roles but yet wanting Native American people to play Native American people is a bridge too far.

r547 here, Interesting that people are assuming that my post was addressing casting of African American actors. Not the case. Casting Directors have NO trouble creating a slate of outstanding Black actors and actresses for a role. And it's great when someone everyone knows is very capable gets a job they wouldn't have gotten 10 years ago because of racism. The problem gets serious with things like this: You have a gay or sexually ambiguous character, and production tasks you with knowing the sexuality of the actors being considered. Agents are hip to this now and are telling clients not to play gay roles because the audience in today's climate that they ARE gay. Acting itself has become devalued to the point that people think it is simply "representing who you are" when it is not that at all. Another scenario: Pacific Asian, Native American. Latino vs White etc.

[Quote] You have a gay or sexually ambiguous character, and production tasks you with knowing the sexuality of the actors being considered.

That's legal?

[quote]What do we mean by woke look? A person of color with natural hair?

a direct quote from a client who requested this, " what I mean is basically not white (Caucasian) can be mixed race, preferably not straight hair, someone racially ambiguous", ...."visible tattoos or piercings are fine."

Same person a year later: " solid training and or a solid amount of big co-star and or guest star roles"

[quote]It's funny how this thread frequently complains about people who aren't white playing white roles but yet wanting Native American people to play Native American people is a bridge too far.

You are yet another example of someone with shockingly low reading comprehension. NO ONE wrote anything like that.

[Quote] You are yet another example of someone with shockingly low reading comprehension. NO ONE wrote anything like that.

Did someone not write about the "too much trouble" to cast ethnics a few posts up? They made a point that producers even want ethnic background roles to be played by people of the same ethnicity?

[quote]That's legal?

Excellent question. I would have thought the racial quota system that's apparently now in place for casting, at least in some cases, would have to be unquestionably illegal. And maybe it is technically, but whatever, it's happening A LOT.

[Quote] a direct quote from a client who requested this, " what I mean is basically not white (Caucasian) can be mixed race, preferably not straight hair, someone racially ambiguous", ...."visible tattoos or piercings are fine."

[Quote] Same person a year later: " solid training and or a solid amount of big co-star and or guest star roles"

Are these mutually exclusive, though?

OK, C-list actor, I stand corrected about Emily Deschanel. However her sister Zooey seems to be a total flake and I happened to work on a set of a primetime network series with their father Caleb who was an absolute bastard, incredibly nasty to crew and day players. Needless to say he was never invited to direct another episode.

[Quote] I would have thought the racial quota system that's apparently now in place for casting, at least in some cases, would have to be unquestionably illegal.

Why? There's nothing personal about skin color. You can tell it on sight.

[Quote] However her sister Zooey seems to be a total flake

Doesn't she do a lot of projects? I think she has a successful music career. Busy lady for a flake...

[quote]Are these mutually exclusive, though?

Not at all mutually exclusive. What changed was the priority. The priority went from "Find me someone who looks like this" to "find me someone who can show up and play this role like a professional.

They are not mutually exclusive, just the priorities came into focus

Is this Porkolab influenced?

[quote]Did someone not write about the "too much trouble" to cast ethnics a few posts up? They made a point that producers even want ethnic background roles to be played by people of the same ethnicity?

But the point was about putting the onus on the casting director to determine that EVERYONE cast as a Native American character, for example, has to be Native American down to a certain acceptable percentage of blood heritage -- even in this case, where the percentage of actors with Native American ancestry is extremely low. Of course, it also happens with Laitino, African-American, Asian, and even sometimes Jewish characters. Soon, if this hasn't already happened, NO ONE who doesn't have an "acceptable" amount of ancestry that matches a certain character will be allowed to play that part, even if they are clearly the best one for the role in terms of talent, experience, looks, etc., Can you not see the idiocy of this?

Does it ever happen with white characters?

[Quote] even in this case, where the percentage of actors with Native American ancestry is extremely low.

Then why not rewrite the piece? Make it a chamber piece and use the Native American talent you can find.

[quote]Is this Porkolab influenced?

547 replying here. No, it isn't really. Porkalab, in my view, is a victim of what she doesn't know. Her public mess just adds a log to the funeral pyre of this approach to casting. Btw, I cannot speak about her performance as I haven't seen 1776

[quote]Does it ever happen with white characters?

Does what ever happen with white characters?

[quote]Why? There's nothing personal about skin color. You can tell it on sight.

Umm, okay, I think we can all agree on that. What I'm saying is that we apparently now have a situation where certain non-POC actors are being passed over for roles, including non-POC roles, in favor of POC due to a quota system, even when the non-POC actor clearly deserves the part in terms of talent, experience, etc. I hope that's clear now.

R548, that still doesn’t change the fact that people who work in casting refer to themselves and want others to refer to them as casting directors, not casting agents. Those who use the terms “casting agent” and “casted” are ignorant.

[quote]that still doesn’t change the fact that people who work in casting refer to themselves and want others to refer to them as casting directors, not casting agents. Those who use the terms “casting agent” and “casted” are ignorant.

You are quite correct. It is a huge faux pas to refer to a casting director as a "casting agent" They bristle.

I'm trying to think of recent gay projects where the actor has been assumed to be gay... Can you think of some? Michael Cimino (Love, Victor) made a point of saying that he's straight. Eric Dane plays a gay father in Euphoria. No one presumes him to be gay. Kit Connor, Nicholas Galitzine (sp), the str8 American who played the lead in The Inheritance on both sides of the Atlantic...

[Quote] in favor of POC due to a quota system, even when the non-POC actor clearly deserves the part in terms of talent, experience, etc.

Hasn't there long been a quota system? The black friend is a well known trope. You're talking about leads? Hamlet with dreads?

[quote]I'm trying to think of recent gay projects where the actor has been assumed to be gay... Can you think of some? Michael Cimino (Love, Victor) made a point of saying that he's straight. Eric Dane plays a gay father in Euphoria. No one presumes him to be gay. Kit Connor, Nicholas Galitzine (sp), the str8 American who played the lead in The Inheritance on both sides of the Atlantic...

It's a more recent issue casting directors (NEVER call them casting agents) have encountered. The debate about straight actors playing gay roles has recently crept into casting discussions. I am not going to ask an agent if their client has ever sucked a dick. I'ts ludicrous. Lots of people have had one or two same sex experiences who don't identify or live as a gay man. Note this doesn't seem to be an issue with gay female characters. I never ask agents "how does your client identify" because I have an enormous respect for acting.

At one point, the original Bway production of THE INHERITANCE was actually promoting the show by disclosing that almost all of the cast (John Benjamin Hickey notwithstanding) was actually straight men.

Bad, BAD call on their part. It gave the haters more ammunition to despise the play and everything about it.

For the record, I actually liked THE INHERITANCE and most of the performances. But what a genuinely stupid way to market a play about gay men and the legacy of AIDS.

Saw "A Little Dong" (aka "The Cost of Living" last night.

I was seated too far back and to the right to get the full view, but it seemed it could have been a prosthetic..

Anyone with a better view care to comment?

Also, how does a real actor with cerebal palsy keep a beautiful otter gym body?

Mozgala stars as John, a graduate student at Princeton who lives with cerebral palsy. The stage directions describe his first entrance this way: “John enters in a wheelchair. He is beautiful.”

I guess it all boils down to one's understanding of the meaning of the words "agent" and "agency." Obviously, a press agent for an actor functions very differently from an "agent" who negotiates the contracts of jobs for that actor, etc. I do notice that Telsey pointedly describes itself as a "casting office" to avoid using the word "agency," but I do see the word used in reference to them and other casting companies (or offices or agencies).

547 here again, I forgot to sign my last post at 582 reminded of a convo with a colleague working for a major network who told me they were given a pilot policy memo stating that trans women actors could be considered for trans, female and some male roles. Biological female actors cannot be considered for trans roles or male roles unless they identify as males.

Can you imagine the clusterfuck that ensued trying to implement this ridiculous policy. I told a retired casting maven about this and she told me she laughed and then literally broke down in tears.

Well, Harry Styles tried to market "My Policeman" by claiming that the intimate scenes were about love and not just two men "going at it" (or words to that effect). I can only presume a publicist had been briefed to target str8 women in the promo and let them know that "icky" anal and other such turn offs were not going to be in their face as a viewer. I expect the initial Inheritance promo had a similar underpinning, i.e. "Get Heterosexual Women to watch our project!"

[quote]how does a real actor with cerebal palsy keep a beautiful otter gym body?

Let us just be grateful and leave the "how" up to him.

[quote]Hasn't there long been a quota system? The black friend is a well known trope.

That's absolutely not at all what I meant.

[Quote] trans women actors could be considered for trans, female and some male roles.

Do you mean that the creatives were open to changing a character to trans when not originally written as trans?

[Quote] The problem gets serious with things like this: You have a gay or sexually ambiguous character, and production tasks you with knowing the sexuality of the actors being considered.

I knew how to check

Gregg Mozgalla, from "Cost of Living"

(By the way, he really enjoys doing the nude scene: “To show my body within the context of the play, that was super exciting,” he said.)

Why is Broadway so hell bent on cultivating black audiences? Is that the only minority in existence?

The late 2010s and early 2020s will be remembered as a Dark Age for the arts (film, television, theater) because of Woke Culture, which disregards talent and hard work in favor of racial/gender/whatever quotas.

[Quote] Also, how does a real actor with cerebal palsy keep a beautiful otter gym body?

Ryan O'Connell hasn't done too badly when he puts in the effort...

What is Justin Huff doing these days? His hiring happened, what--five years ago? Yet he's the talk of the thread.

[quote]I expect the initial Inheritance promo had a similar underpinning, i.e. "Get Heterosexual Women to watch our project!"

How would that be expected to work? They made it clear that the two-part play was all about gay men and their relationships, but they thought if they put it out there that most of the actors were straight, that would be enough to prompt straight women to buy tickets anyway? If that's an example of the way the producers thought, no wonder the production was a flop.

[Quote] The late 2010s and early 2020s will be remembered as a Dark Age for the arts (film, television, theater) because of Woke Culture, which disregards talent and hard work in favor of racial/gender/whatever quotas.

Care to throw out some projects and actors you have in mind who typify this Dark Age?

***Firing, not hiring.

[Quote] How would that be expected to work? They made it clear that the two-part play was all about gay men and their relationships, but they thought if they put it out there that most of the actors were straight, that would be enough to prompt straight women to buy tickets anyway? If that's an example of the way the producers thought, no wonder the production was a flop.

Well, fandom is often based on the perception of availability...

BAJOUR MIDNIGHT!

Someone start a new thread....

New thread: