THEATRE GOSSIP #507: The Someone Actually Questioned Angela Lansbury's Bona Fides to Be Considered a Broadway Star...

Previous thread:

That person is a moron.

And complete morons are rare.

I just remembered Angela died.

She’s my favorite actor. Enough said.

Okay, back to the conversation with the person who invested in Jekyll & Hyde, which was easily the most interesting thing to come out of the last thread....

Tell us how that came to be! Please!

[quote] easily the most interesting thing to come out of the last thread....

You mean even better than the guy who was upset Ramin Karimloo didn't stop in midstream at the diner urinal to have a chat with a crazy middle aged fan?

I only talk to fans who mention the delightful Kurstirica movie I did with the marvelous Marlon Brando

Questioning whether or not Angela Lansbury is a Bway icon and Star is just beyond trollish. Why even respond? It was meant to elicit an equally stupid reaction and it worked.

[quote] And complete morons are rare.

2016 -2022 would beg to disagree.

The Datalounge would beg to disagree.

So... no update on the supposed drama at the 5th Avenue?

*

A “something” in a completely unknown off Broadway theater posted on LinkedIn (lol) doesn’t merit much attention.

[quote] Why are fans so obsessed with if actors are personally nice? Groff is NEVER going to be your friend. Your interaction with him will be restricted to his work on stage or on TV. He's a great tipper!! How sweet. He paid someone's bill!! How sweet. He talked to me at the stage door!! How sweet. Who cares? HE WILL NEVER BE YOUR FRIEND.

So kind of Miss Lea Sarfati to join us and continue her 15 year campaign of gatekeeping Jonathan Groff.

He’s never going to fuck you, sweetheart.

Geez, [R503], the other poster was being a bit of a cunt, sure, but you should maybe switch to decaf.

Did I mean what I said? Of course not. But did that nasty old cunt mean what he said about me? Sure he did. So fuck him.

[quote]You mean even better than the guy who was upset Ramin Karimloo didn't stop in midstream at the diner urinal to have a chat with a crazy middle aged fan?

It wasn't at a urinal or in the men's room. Maybe that's where YOU choose to engage celebrities. How's that working out for ya?

Between this and the Thanksgiving Parade performance, it seems like Some Like It Hot either has a ton of tapping, or the producers really think that's going to sell tickets. Seems kind of exhausting.

Tapping currently seems to be the go to when a show doesn’t have enough writing or musical or singing or acting talent to keep it afloat. The lead can’t sing? Throw in a useless, meaningless tap number that goes on for eternity and builds to nothing. Is a show heavily advertising its tappers? RED FLAG. 🚩🚩🚩

Maybe spend a little more time with your voice teacher and a little less time in the tap studio.

*

Who is this Lea Sarfati of whom you speak?

Is she a Broadway Icon?

The show is exhausting, r17. And not just because of the tapping.

R600 from the previous thread:

Golden Rainbow is NOT Bajour and never will be.

Excuse me, r22, ex-c-u-u-s-e me. Did Bajour have a freewheeling patio number? I think not.

[quote]Between this and the Thanksgiving Parade performance, it seems like Some Like It Hot either has a ton of tapping, or the producers really think that's going to sell tickets. Seems kind of exhausting.

There is too much tapping in it, well past the point where it stops being entertaining. The show would have been far more effective with half as much tapping. But still, the excessive amount of tapping in it is not the show's biggest problem, not by a long shot.

Not just too much tapping, but in many cases, too many people on stage as if Nicholaw decided to shove as much activity into the numbers so that people wouldn't notice how unmemorable the songs were. That door slamming chase sequence - a borrow from HIGH BUTTON SHOES - was both overdone and too long; I'm surprised some of the cast didn't fall over each other.

That said, the sold-out audience went wild for the whole thing. This show is going to make a shitload of $$. Some folks gave Ghee a standing ovation after his/her/whatever big 2nd act number, which I liked until it turned all preachy and "And I Am Telling You" at the end. Still, I'm sure Ghee will snag the Tony.

All the big numbers in SOME LIKE IT HOT are just alike - none of them are memorable because they're all the same.

LMM goes Vegas! Three days only! Get your tickets NOW!

[quote]That said, the sold-out audience went wild for the whole thing.

Yes, they especially went wild for the chase sequence, but I agree with you that it was too long and not especially clever or funny. And there was a huge amount of tremendously annoying virtue signaling from the audience, with people cheering and whooping whenever there was some heavy-handed line or lyric about black power or non-binary empowerment.

[quote]This show is going to make a shitload of $$.

Well, I think the jury is still out as far as that goes.

[quote]Did Bajour have a freewheeling patio number? I think not.

It could have used one. But, then, what musical couldn't?

Did they move the Tony awards to Washington Heights so that Freestyle Love Supreme can come back to the show and lay an even bigger egg than they did last time?

According to the NY Times Julie Benko is one of the breakout stars of 2022. Good for her!

R14-To be honest, Groff isn't going to fuck anyone. He's a messy, bossy bottom.

I'd like to know who wrote the "Fly, Mariposa, Fly" number in SLIH. Because it sure wasn't Shaiman and Wittman.

[quote] To be honest, Groff isn't going to fuck anyone. He's a messy, bossy bottom.

As messy as me?

Who is this, now? I was distracted by the poorly proofed thread opener and had a slight seizure.

Angie Dickinson? She didn't do stage work. Not that kind.

[quote]According to the NY Times Julie Benko is one of the breakout stars of 2022. Good for her!

They must mean she has severe acne.

Some Like It Hot has a huge budget—and huge running costs. I wouldn’t bet on recoupment.

Don't be too sure, r29. Mrs. Lovett could offer al fresco dining.

[quote]Angie Dickinson? She didn't do stage work. Not that kind.

I suspect Angie Dickinson is a messy, bossy bottom.

Have you checked online for available tix for SLIH? No problem there as every performance there are lots of unsold seats. And January, February and March will see even more availability. A very bad sign for that mega-expensive production.

Some don't like it...

[quote]I'd like to know who wrote the "Fly, Mariposa, Fly" number in SLIH. Because it sure wasn't Shaiman and Wittman.

What makes you so sure?

SOME DON’T LIKE MY TWAT!

One wouldn't mention it except for the overwrought, unclear, rather creepy thread opener, so one has cause to note that, as far as "Angela Lansbury's Bona Fides" is concerned,

Oh, dear.

Yes, Virginia...

r45 Maybe don't criticise someone else's writing when you're going to do that to a sentence.

Merrily, we croak along.

So, any of you Queens actually seen Merrily? I want the dirt. Mendez seems one note and desperate, and Ratcliffe seems out of his depth. Is this the reality?

Casey Nicholaw is the luckiest of lucky fucks. Charmless tap numbers are his only trademark- and he is probably a gazillionaire with multiple international franchise productions of Aladdin, Mormon , Mean Girls and Elf. From chorus boy to go-to director- choreographer as fast as anyone and based on nothing except the dearth of directors.

The only qualifications you need to play Mary in MERRILY is to be frumpy and unattractive enough to establish why Franklin would never fuck you, to believably act drunk, and to belt the hell out of “Now You Know.” Mendez nails all of these things. If she seems one note and desperate it’s because the Mary character is so underwritten.

Radcliffe is not a strong singer but he’s giving a real Woody Allen-type neurotic performance and does a lot of physical comedy, mostly due to him being so tiny he just flies across the stage. He is so small that him standing side by side next to Groff is comical… Groff even picks him up and carries him on his back several times throughout the show.

Groff is the standout because the show is dead on arrival without a strong Frank. He doesn’t play him as an asshole, he plays him as a guy who got too caught up in the business and made some shitty decisions and you really feel his loneliness and regret.

Overall the production still has issues but this is arguably the best casting the show has seen.

R51 Thank you, darl. And good news about Lindsay. That Mary in London did my head in. All the shouting. And whilst the Frank was really fuckable, so unlikable.

This commercial says the show is hilariously funny but it looks tragic. Why have Sean Hayes and not see him or hear him?

So apparently there's going to be a UK production of the infamous Rebecca, with a new English translation, but the theatre is rather small so it'll be a new staging.

I wonder if the composer still wants to see it reach New York. CAN it, given the history? Or is it a title that now nobody would touch with a ten-foot pole?

Any word on who the last Phantom will be on Bway? Someone teased in the last thread that they'd "heard rumors" someone special would be brought in to close the show...but who? I haven't heard shit.

very concerned for the sweeney revival

josh can’t seem to keep his eyes open AT ALL when he sings in the beauty anniversary show

r56, it'll help explain why he doesn't recognize his own wife.

The many posters from the last thread who gleefully admit they stage door prove most commentors on here are clueless about how Broadway actually works. You gotta love Stage Door Johnnies for their enthusiasm, but less so for their understanding of reality or facts.

[quote]but the theatre is rather small so it'll be a new staging.

It was all about the coup de théâtre at 08:15, r54.

So who are going to play Jacob and Esau in the new production of Rebecca?

[quote]I suspect Angie Dickinson is a messy, bossy bottom.

That's MISS Angie Dickinson.

Oh my. This is a lot. And doesn’t support the folks who say she was good except for the official taping

The pathetic poster in the last thread that likes to wave at Broadway stars and hopes they wave back. Just so sad.

The coup de theatre right now is that Into the Woods is still tickets at premium prices for the final week for names that might as well be non -equity tour quality, besides Stephanie Block

So Oscar Levant was the 20th century's "most brilliant and unpredictable star"? Really? And if he's such an icon, why not name him in the promo?

I suspect that Oscar Levant play will be scorned by the eldergays like me who actually remember Levant's weird and explosive appearances on talk shows like Jack Paar's. And I wonder about the appeal of it for prospective audiences who have never heard of Levant. So that would leave the rabid Sean Hayes fans, who will be devastated to see him (attempting to) play a character so different form Jack.

[quote]The only qualifications you need to play Mary in MERRILY is to be frumpy and unattractive enough to establish why Franklin would never fuck you, to believably act drunk, and to belt the hell out of “Now You Know.”

I was with you up until the last part.

This might be worth revisiting Into The Woods again.

What were your best live theater experiences this year?

PARADE at City Center

INTO THE WOODS at Encores

KIMBERLY AKIMBO

Honorable mention to WHERE THE MOUNTAIN MEETS THE SEA (a play with music at 59E59), and Battery Park Dance Festival.

What's DL fave Julie Taymor up to, you may ask...

That’s what Julie Taymor was doing in 2006

[quote]The pathetic poster in the last thread that likes to wave at Broadway stars and hopes they wave back. Just so sad.

Almost as sad as you dwelling on it, r63.

[Quote] So Oscar Levant was the 20th century's "most brilliant and unpredictable star"? Really? And if he's such an icon, why not name him in the promo?

In a weird choice they name him barely audibly as some announcer introduces levant towards the end of the promo

R67 Let. It. Go.

Given she's doing the film version, it's actually fairly suitable to mention her name alongside Merrily.

I must’ve missed something, is there a show about Oscar Levant coming to Broadway?

Oh shit I forgot. Apologies

R43-Because it doesn't seem at all derivative of everything else they've ever written.

[quote]The pathetic poster in the last thread that likes to wave at Broadway stars and hopes they wave back. Just so sad.

No, Evan Hansen, there was no "waving" involved. It was a quick hello at conversational volume in an uncrowded diner as the Broadway star in question passed right by my table. Some people here seem incensed that I dared to use the fellow's first name, whereas under the circumstances I think it would have been stranger if I had said, "Hello, Mr. Karimloo." Obviously, it's VERY IMPORTANT to some people here to judge other people's behavior as inferior, and I think we all understand why that is. Pathetic, indeed.

R78, indeed, but that song is still somewhat pastiche-y. Shaiman and Wittman's songs aren't only derivative of their own stuff but of various old song forms, from HAIRSPRAY to MARY POPPINS RETURNS to this one.

So what’s going into The Maj after Phantom folds?

It's going to get a "major renovation". So if Shubert has any sense at all, they won't try to book anything yet, given the construction work is bound to throw up some nasty - and deadline-breaking - surprises.

The Jekyll & Hyde investment was a through a friend who knew the general partners, who were (sort of) Texas based. Only invested in Broadway, and it wasn't that much. I wasn't involved in the decisions about changing the show, but I remember some bullshit about a cut song setting some people off (including the composer) but the Broadway version was far better than the tacky ass tour I saw -- which made a lot of money, inspiring my Broadway investment. Investors aren't involved in the creative. They are stock-holders, essentially.

Times review of Eddie Izzard's "Great Expectations" isn't great:

Mark Izzard’s adaptation, which is faithful to Dickens’s prose while slashing it down to the barest threads, moves with such expediency that it can be tough to follow, even with whole characters and subplots excised.

Nor does Izzard’s performance, unlike Mays’s in “A Christmas Carol,” aim to make the story’s telling especially theatrical. By the time she reaches the second act’s dizzying tumble of action-packed resolutions, the viewing experience is less about being entertained than rooting for Izzard to cross the finish line with her assurance and charisma intact.

The production, directed by Selina Cadell, is simple almost to a fault, with velvet red drapes framing the stage (Piper also designed the set) and lighting, by Tyler Elich, that does the most imaginative work of any element to bring the story into the room. Music compositions by Eliza Thompson, the occasional trill of woodwinds between chapters, has the old-fashioned feel of a radio story hour, but sound design, which might have generated dimension and atmosphere throughout, is curiously absent.

Does Eddie get her tits out?

lmao Eddie Izzard is a real woman now?

What's that supposed to mean, R82? Asbestos are a given, but will they find an actual dead body or something?

r87 No, I just mean in general, any historic building which hasn't undergone proper refurbishment for 35 years (and having said that I'm assuming it was refurbed just before Phantom went in) isn't going to have a simple construction period.

[quote]Oh my. This is a lot. And doesn’t support the folks who say she was good except for the official taping

Is this from a rehearsal? Imelda's outfit looks very 1970s.

[Quote] So Oscar Levant was the 20th century's "most brilliant and unpredictable star"? Really?

r65 have someone else in mind?

r89 Looks like it's from the Old Friends Sondheim concert

Wow, Imelda's over-the-top rendition of "Everything's Coming Up Roses" is truly bad in that clip. What would she have done for an encore? Eat the audience?

[quote]Eat the audience?

Wouldn't be the first time.

Didn't the Wildhorn JECKYLL & HYDE begin at Ontario's Stratford Festival as part of its regular season? Am I remembering that correctly? I believe the director Robin....something....and some of the designers moved with it to Broadway though with a mostly recast company of actors.

What is inexplicable is that Sondheim LOVES Imelda and hates Betty Buckley and Patti LuPone.

Sondheim's dead.

Sondheim was a fucking anglophile.

They'll have to put real bathrooms into the Maj before it can re-open. And vacuum. They really need to vacuum.

R95, where do you get the idea Sondheim hated Patti LuPone? Maybe he didn’t care for her personally, but I think he appreciated her talent. Not as much as his fave Bernadette, though.

R99 She isn't a star.

Been a whole minute since we heard that story

A reminder that Patti was (allegedly) on Sondheim's "DNU" list for the first 2 decades of her career.

They obviously came to have a mutual respect, r102.

They were friends in Connecticut. All those theater people up there hung out. Even Mia.

I saw LEOPOLDSTADT tonight. I thought the last half was one of the most impressive things I've seen in 50 years of theatergoing.

I think that it was a brilliant decision to omit the intermission, even though it runs for a touch more than two hours. To put it simply, the audience shouldn't get a break. That would diminish the experience immensely.

And something remarkable happened, increasingly rare on Broadway -- no standing ovation. The applause was prolonged, fervent ,and reverent,; but I think we were too awed to stand.

[quote]but I think we were too awed to stand.

Correction: ...but I think we were too old to stand.

While audiences seem to be loving SLIH it’s not selling tickets, people are worried, it is a puzzling situation.

r83 Thanks for replying. Very interesting.

That cut song was, I'll assume, "Bring On The Men", a rousing number Linda Eder sings to introduce her prostitute character at a club. It was replaced by "Good and Evil" for Broadway, and that song, while fine thematically, isn't as much a crowd-pleaser.

I'm surprised to hear you say the tour was bad compared to Broadway. Everything I've read (which could have been from hardcore fans, who knows) was that the tour had a more sinister and engaging vibe, while the Broadway show messed that all up somehow. Frankly, the lyrics in the show are so weak and the storytelling so meh, I don't see how the tour would have been much better.

Did you get any return on your investment? Was there a required amount that you had to put in? I've never done this kind of thing, so if you're comfortable saying the amount, that'd be a neat perspective to have.

Did you get to meet Linda Eder? She seems really cool. Amazing voice.

R107, well when your humorless book writer says in a PROMOTIONAL interview that she doesn’t think there’s anything funny about a man in a dress, you can understand why an audience wouldn’t want to blindly drop two hundred dollars on a ticket to see your cross-dressing comedy.

Are Broadway publicists brain dead? Or are they hiring their junior press agents based on sob stories instead of their CV?

I wonder what the real plans are regarding Phantom on Broadway. Would the owners of the Majestic want to bring in new shows, to mix things up, or would they welcome Phantom right back in after renovations? Does CamMack even want to reopen the show in say, a year or so - I heard it requires two years of not existing before it can come back and be eligible for a Tony Award - or does he want to wait longer than that for another NY sitdown production? Is the idea to launch a shitty, scaled-down US tour in the next 5 years?

...in my fantasy, they'd renovate the Majestic with the express purpose of making it even more Phantom-friendly, and then bring back the Maria costumes and sets and Prince staging, only with better equipment so it can run another 30 years.

And again - who is rumored to be returning to the role for the final weeks??? I've heard nothing.

I'm surprised Imelda could sing it that well, honestly. And the performance wasn't terrible. I just can't get past her face. It's so...weird.

Cameron already showed his hand with closing West End Les Miz and then re-opening with the cheap version shortly thereafter, ditto Phantom. ALW has the top producing power on Phantom Broadway and you can be sure he will exert it. I have no doubt Phantom will be back sooner rather than later, perhaps with the original Hal Prince/Bjornson production.

Despite a flurry of possibilities it looks like Ben Crawford will finish out the run in the title role of The Phantom of the Opera.

A "flurry" of possibilities?

What...were actors throwing their headshots towards the Majestic, creating a whirlwind of applicants?

...weird-ass wording. I guess you mean, in spite of speculation about who would return, Ben Crawford's staying until the final curtain....right?

r112, God I hope you're right. I can't bear to see the sets and costumes changed. Maria just nailed it so damn well. There's literally no other show with better sets and costume design on Broadway. (Sorry Lion King, you're fine, but not amazing.)

How does ALW have more power than CamMack, though? I mean...the show's closing, and Andrew did not seem pleased about that. My impression was CamMack still has enough shares or whatever to call the shots/pull the plug/force changes/ditch Maria's work/etc.

ALW and his Really Useful Group company hold more power over the Broadway production than London, enough to call the shots. It was part of ALW’s deal with the Shuberts to get the Majestic. Shortly after that, Cameron is also famously hated on Broadway and never gets good houses because of solely being responsible for the Mark Hellinger sale to the church which he had final bid on and called their bluff - and they did; the church got it, and forever will own it apparently. Egg on face.

They should let a Howard McGillin or someone 'weighty' in the role close it out. Howard I believe remains Broadway's longest running Phantom, so it would make some sense??

Another option would be for Norm Lewis and his BBC to close out the rim as the first Black Phantom.

Even Christine was dickmatized

[quote] Norm Lewis and his BBC to close out the rim

Pics please.

What's the deal with Norm Lewis? Gay or not?

Sadly, Lewis will be occupied with the national tour of A Soldier's Play, so he can't do it.

Always remember

Norm Lewis cannot sing the role. It’s far too high for him. No one wants him back in it. And the poster up thread who wanted Phantom back for another thirty years. Lol. Gurl. No.

So what’s still to come? NYNY, Back to the Fucking Future, what else? And will Hot really flop? I hear Akim is far from hot even at that tiny theater

I was thinking SLIH might be fun, but after seeing that number on Good Morning America, I think this is one to pass.

Maybe if I got comped I would go, but I would not spend $10 on that.

They think it looks good on TV because of the ‘good old fashioned singing and Dan’ but they’re wrong. Borle looks maniacal, the Nicholaw choreography is flat, and the songs they’ve picked manage to be both generic and exhausting

Dan - dancing

Dancing Dan, he's a family man.

What exactly would a cheaper Phantom look like? Lots of fog machines instead of sets?

R126 plus the songs that they are releasing all sound alike. The number on GMA sounds exactly like the title song. And neither of them is good enough to want to listen to a second time.

Speaking of investing in theatre, I once had sex with a very hot, muscled hunk at Steamworks bathhouse in Chicago. He told me he had invested in The Producers and was nervous because it was about to open in NYC.

I remembered the early buzz being good so wished him luck.

Hottie hit the jackpot with that investment.

Not a fan of the show in any case, but, considering what they had to choose from, the choice of that particular SLIH number for GMA is inexplicable unless they were going out of their way not to scare anyone off who might be scared of women or men who dress as women.

I'm waiting for a bootleg of SLIH. That seems to be the only way I'll end up seeing it.

The SLIH number on the parade was also terrible.

R131, Mel Brooks went to Steamworks?

No, r135, it means r131 had sex with a little old lady at Steamworks

[quote] Another option would be for Norm Lewis and his BBC to close out the rim as the first Black Phantom.

Excuse me?

r137

Well Rob... how about he was the first on the broadway?

R129, a cheaper Phantom would look like either the current West End production, which doesn’t have the angel sculpture anymore or the horrific redesigned/directed version that saw yours in the US/UK. It’s all about Cameron changing it enough so he can block out the original designers estates from any box office percentages, that’s why he’s closing Phantom, he did the exact same thing with Les Miz. He’s a dreadful man, obsessed with money, which he hoards!

Poor Norm Lewis, The Phantom was his dream role and he couldn’t perform it, he actually left early, it was ruining his voice and the box office was tanking. While Ben Crawford over sings it to exhaustion, it’s a cakewalk for him, easy peasy. After the “surprise extension” there was some possibility of him not continuing in the role, but that’s not the case now, Hugh Panaro would have liked to return to close it out, but Ben is very well liked and respected by management. Surprise Phantoms “might” surprise during the benefit performance.

Robert Guillaume didn’t want to follow the blocking during his LA run and was curtly told, “if you stand there a candle with rise up and take you to the roof”…he quickly got over his hubris.

Michael Crawford will probably not make a return for the final performance as he’s been treated terribly by Cameron, who won’t spring for airfare etc, again, the guy is a cunt.

Phantom returning to New York at some point? Absolutely! In its original form, or at The Maj? Never.

ALW would love another movie version to be made but it’s crazy talk, a live tv version on the other hand…

I wouldn't be surprised if Merrily takes the Majestic in the Fall. Sell-out every night while Groff stays in it, then Cheap Phantom can move back in.

Majestic seems too big. Isn’t the production tiny?

All the more reason. Tiny production, massive profits, close it in 6 months.

A Scott Rudin production. The End.

Ben Crawford is out of the show pretty often and they,'ve added an alternate Phantom.

Jeremy Stolle is an amazing Phantom. He's got the voice for days, he's masculine and handsome, and he gets the tone of the show right. He was also an excellent Raoul, though I'm not sure if he still goes on in that role anymore.

Robert Guillaume was the first black phantom. He predates Norm Lewis.

As has been noted, r146, but not on Broadway.

Merrily should be in someplace like the Booth.

Does the new West End Phantom at least get rid of those dummies on the stairs for Masquerade? They look so ridiculous, I thought the mirrored walls used for the new tour version worked better at making it look packed.

Merrily should go in the Neil Simon. Full circle. But MJ's not going anywhere.

The Cabaret cast recording with Jessie Buckley and Eddie just leaked. I guess the official release is marred in legal problems.

It’s FANTASTIC if u are able to find it and listen

Jeremy still plays Raoul on occasion. He's dreamy.

R151. Where can we find it?

r151 That whole story is odd. That the announced - then quickly deleted - release date was in mid-January, and yet a couple of stores have already received their stock and put them on sale a month early?

Even the theatre kids of Reddit are shitting on 1776. Two comments in particular jumped out at me as a commentary on Broadway today:

[quote]At curtain call it seems the crowd was very reluctant about a standing ovation, which made me suspect that I was not alone in not liking the show.

[quote]It’s weird, people who I know for a fact hated the show (because they TOLD ME) have public social media posts raving about it.

[r153] it was briefly on Reddit where I heard it…but it was since taken down. Not sure where else it is

[quote]I wouldn't be surprised if Merrily takes the Majestic in the Fall. Sell-out every night while Groff stays in it, then Cheap Phantom can move back in.

The Friedman sisters allegedly want the Hudson. Merrily would move in after A Doll’s House ends its run.

The Ain't No Mo' thread, like the show, closes early.

R144 there is no alternate Phantom on Broadway. Ben Crawford is the principal eight performances a week actor in the role. There are several swings. He had Covid and then took time off for his wedding and scheduled vacation time.

R145 Jeremy is a wonderful performer, his Raoul is one of the best ever on Broadway. Ted Keegan is a fantastic The Phantom, older than most nowadays, but probably the best current actor essaying the role on any professional stage.

Whenever construction starts on The Majestic refurbishment, except big delays for its completion because that theater is in much worse shape than anyone admits. Especially the plumbing system. Just terrible.

From the thread linked in R158:

[quote]I am surprised Neil Patrick Harris doesn't want to do "TMM." That's the perfect role for him, and he has such a nice voice. I can’t say I'd go see him in it, since I dislike him as a human being, but I know many people who like him who would go see it.

Truer words…

Why was that thread closed? I only skimmed it but didn't see anything more inappropriate than usual.

Could it be that Sugar is better than SLIH? At least Sun On My Face and Hey Why Not were genuinely melodic. I can't imagine Shaiman coming up with anything that good.

Is there a 42nd Street train number in Hot when they go down to Florida?

Playbill.com lists Jeremy as alternate Phantom at certain performances.

When did the Phantom go handsome?

R164, Jeremy is the main cover for Ben but doesn’t go on unless because of illness or a scheduled performance off from Ben. Ted Keegan, Paul Adam Schaefer and Greg Mills all cover The Phantom, and Ted especially, has gone on recently. But Ben plays all eight performances, unlike the Christine track which, since the beginning, only plays six a week. There is no alternate Phantom instituted in any US/UK productions. Only Christine, in Germany/Japan the role has official alternates.

We’re there ever rumors about any names they tried to get for the original Miss Hannigan before Dorothy loudon?

There were even mannequins on the staircase when the show first opened that were pretty obvious. I thought it made that scene look cheap.

R165, it started way back when former Raoul’s were given the promotion to taking on the title role, although the “normal side” makeup was still very “ghostly/gothic horror” so it hid a bit of the handsomeness, it was very white/pale gray, and the exposed deformed lip was very pronounced. Once Hugh Panaro came back for his second run on Broadway, they warmed up the skin tone and loosened up the fit of the costume, making the character seem more normal, once the awful movie was unleashed The Phantom was then cemented as young and nearly an equal in age to Raoul. The show has suffered because of it, the current “resident global director” Seth Sklar-Heyn forces his ham fisted mediocrity on the entire franchise and has dumbed it down to a Disney Princess sparkle.

Swen talks about Fosse, creating I've Got Your Number in Little Me at 9:00 in

At least they got back to unattractive Phantoms when they hired Crawford.

Lon Chaney would never get the role today.

Liz Cheney might though!

Whaddabout Herbert Lom, r172?

Josh Groban desperately wants to play The Phantom, since that isn’t happening we’ll have to suffer through his Sweeney Todd, and if his placid play acting in ABC’s turgid Beauty and the Beast live production is any indication, it is going to be just boring and awful. Groban is the very definition of a lightweight talent. Meh-Fabulous for the Fraus and then some…

He's a regulah Rouvoun!

r167, Dorothy Loudon was a shoo-in for Miss Hannigan once Mike Nichols came onboard as producer and offstage genius after the Goodspeed run. He and Loudon had a long professional history and he owed her for not casting her in The Apple Tree on Broadway after she created Passionella in a long ago off-Broadway incarnation.

I'd also guess that because Hannigan was such an unglamorous role (brilliantly written though it is), it's not like a lot of Broadway divas were begging to play her (that is, before the show opened).

[Quote] The show has suffered because of it, the current “resident global director” Seth Sklar-Heyn forces his ham fisted mediocrity on the entire franchise and has dumbed it down to a Disney Princess sparkle.

r169, are you the same person who posts about Seth here all the time? It seems really personal. Would he not see you for Madame Giry or something?

[quote]I am surprised Neil Patrick Harris doesn't want to do "TMM." That's the perfect role for him, and he has such a nice voice.

I agree! He'd make the perfect Millie Dillmount!

I've seen small productions of Sugar, regional productions of Sugar, and the Tony Curtis tour. So in short, I've seen it done on a budget of two dollars and with more talent and resources lavished on it. It will always be a C- show, no matter who is in it or how they pull around the song list.

"Sun on My Face" is delightful, but "Hey Why Not?" catchy as the tune is, is utterly disposable. There's so much in the score that is that way, and I've particularly never liked "The People in My Life" which is too contemporary sounding or "It's Always Love" a really dreadful ballad.

They haven’t exactly entered the great American songbook.

Not even Penniless Bums, Mr. F.?

Angela Lansbury is no Anita Gillete.

Anita Gillette is no Penny Ful...oh, wait...she is.

[quote]Could it be that Sugar is better than SLIH? At least Sun On My Face and Hey Why Not were genuinely melodic. I can't imagine Shaiman coming up with anything that good.

Correct on all counts.

SLIH cast getting hit with Covid, infighting at 1776, and Jordan E. Cooper is telling everyone he’s not leaving Broadway, ain’t no way, Ain’t No Mo!

Wonder if Sierra will be asked to play Christine again before she gets too long in the tooth. She still looks young-ish even though she's pushing 40. She may not be the best to ever sing it but she sure brings a lot to acting the part.

Re Ain't No Mo: Why are they still going around claiming that Jordan E. Cooper is the youngest playwright in Broadway history? Queen Latifah repeated this false claim a few days ago, even though it has been easily disproven.

It's just depressing that Groban is going to be Todd in what I imagine will be the only revival of Sweeney Todd with a full orchestra in my god damn lifetime. Are there really enough cat-hording fraus visiting NY to justify his casting? Is he technically considered a tenor? Even if he isn't, the sound/timbre of his voice is all wrong for Sweeney.

That said, I can't think of anyone as or more famous than Groban with a powerful, deep, resonant Hearn/Cariou style voice.

Jeremy Stolle was a very tepid Phantom when I saw him cover the role in 2018. He had been doing so for some time at that point, and while he hits all the marks and sings proficiently. There's little acting, mystery or passion to the performance. It's all very acting-by-numbers. I've seen the show more times than I'd care to admit, but there's seldom been a Phantom that hasn't moved me in that final lair scene ("It's over now the music of the night...") but I felt absolutely nothing by the end of Stolle's performance.

Ted Keegan on the other hand is very much in the old school Phantom vein. Great acting choices, big presence, ghostly. And some killer pipes. More in the Panaro/McGillin/O'Leary mold. Which always has worked better for that love triangle. The young, hot Phantom trend has been slowly sucking all the sexual tension out of the show.

r159 is Ted Keegan playing specific performances? Or just randomly...?

r139 saying "never" regarding it's original (and best) form is like a knife to the heart. Do they seriously think it can be successful without Hal and Maria and Gillian's work? They made the whole thing come together. Change more than small things, and the show's flaws are completely exposed. That UK tour was utter crap.

...and to whoever said the mannequins in Masquerade are worse than mirrors - are you fucking kidding? The mannequins blend in somewhat and good choreo draws the audience's attention elsewhere (though they've changed the choreo a lot over the years), whereas with the crap UK tour, there's not even a freaking staircase. Just a big red room with shitty bastardized versions of Maria's costumes (to avoid paying her estate I guess?) and it's...just fugly as hell. Flat and dumb. Not exciting in the least. And the lair? Ugh. It's a messy bachelor flat. Awful.

Appreciate the inside info r139 (if you are an insider, that is) regarding the returns. Though...without Michael Crawford, won't people be pissed? I mean, he's THE Phantom to everyone on earth, so not paying for him to fly over and honor his involvement in the show? That won't go over well. Hugh coming back for the charity night makes sense, and I'd expect Howard McG as well, and maybe Judy Kaye (original Carlotta), but I think everyone is expecting Sarah Brightman and Michael Crawford and no less will be tolerated.

Didn't realize CamMack was bad to Michael. Obviously, Crawford was hurt by being screwed out of the movie version (was that Cam's fault?), but does it go further than that?

r190 I totally agree that the "Ramin" Phantoms - young and cocky - aren't what the show needs, but maybe producers thought it would help get fangirls in the seats or something to have younger guys up there.

It's so strange to see the pictures of the original cast, with a clearly aged Raoul (no offense to Barton), a youngish Christine, and then mid-life Crawford as Phantom. It gave the whole thing a certain dynamic. A 26 year old Eric playing with a girl's mind and channeling her dead father? Yeah, that doesn't work when there's only a 5 year age difference between them.

Can Crawford even sing anymore? If they brought him back for the last weekend of Phantom, could he croak out a tune, or is it all gone now? I remember he didn't sing at all at the last anniversary he appeared at, and audiences were bummed...

Of course, Brightman just lip-synchs so... *eyeroll*

Groban's casting might be a small price to pay to get a proper 26-piece orchestra playing the original Sweeney orchestrations.

He's definitely more a tenor (or what the kids might call a baritenor/lyric baritone) so I'm not super jazzed about his timbre attacking what should be sung by a bass-baritone. BUT I do appreciate his genuine passion for Sondheim, this show and the importance of doing it properly on the commercial scale it deserves after a lot of slapdash treatments.

But Groban aside -- the other tricky issue with casting ANY Sweeney Todd in 2022 is finding a contemporary musical theatre actor (let alone 'star') who has the legit baritone voice and theatrical GRAVITAS needed to pull off the part. The role is Shakespearean in stature and can't be faked by some Carnegie Mellon/CCM/NYU assembly line performer. That might work for a contemporary pop musical, but doesn't begin to cut it for this fare.

You need someone with old school classical technique (and instincts!) who can ACT foremost and SCARE the crap out of an audience. The singing becomes secondary. This is why Len Cariou was genius in the part. And why George Hearn was also very successful (though still no match for Len). John Cullum would've made a SUPERB Sweeney for this reason too given his classical background. Too many contemporary musical theatre actors are too lightweight to take on such a part. This is also my chief concern with Groban, as he fits that exact bill.

Groban also couldn't keep his eyes open while singing his number on "Beauty and the Beast". Hell, he'd probably cut Judge Turpin singing "Pretty Women" or touch him with his razor while singing with his eyes closed, screwing up the rest of the show [SPOILER sort of: he's not supposed to die till quite a bit later].

[quote]It's so strange to see the pictures of the original cast, with a clearly aged Raoul (no offense to Barton), a youngish Christine, and then mid-life Crawford as Phantom. It gave the whole thing a certain dynamic. A 26 year old Eric playing with a girl's mind and channeling her dead father? Yeah, that doesn't work when there's only a 5 year age difference between them.

In the 2004 film adaptation, Gerard Butler (Phantom ) was 34, Patrick Wilson (Raoul) was 30, and Emmy Rossum (Christine) was 17 at the time of filming in late 2003.

All three were/are very attractive.

And the Phantom's face wasn't all that disfigure. Just a little sunburned.

I'd say pink eye-ed with a touch of swelling. It was laughable.

The film definitely started the "young Phantom" trend.

[quote]I'd say pink eye-ed with a touch of swelling. It was laughable.

Thus, rendering his mask totally pointless. It came off more as a fashion accessory than a means to hide his disfigurement.

All this Phantom talk makes me want to see a theatrical version of Phantom of the Paradise. Could be a fun seventies retro piece. It has a good score that a new audience could appreciate. Has this ever been seriously attempted on Broadway? Also, what about The Wall? I could see that having a lot of crossover appeal with tourist dads.

So I guess all Broadway producers are just idiots now when it comes to casting? You would think the Beanie Debacle with Funny Girl would make them all SMARTER about casting but now we get a fucking snooze like Josh Groban as Sweeney?

WTF?

It's like casting Anson Mount to play Fonzie.

So, after tepid reviews and attendace at Sweeney Todd will Lea Michele swoop in to save the show again?

Darren Criss IS Sweeney Todd!

If he was able to carry a tune, a younger Christopher Plummer would've made one helluva Sweeney! He has the stature, menace and wicked sense of humor to pull it off.

It's that kind of old school ACTOR that's needed in that part. Rumor had it that Richard Kiley was courted for it at one point, but turned it down. His voice and presence would've been terrific!

Patrick Page would be an interesting Sweeney, but he doesn't have the star wattage to really put it over. He would've been an ideal Judge Turpin though...a real shame that fell thru!

Patrick Page is very good in the Apple TV + film Spirited. But Will Ferrell, Ryan Reynolds and especially poor Octavia Spencer can’t sing for shit. And there’s way too much tap dancing.

I think you all are underestimating Josh Groban. People won’t care that he can’t act. They will care that he has a good voice, is a star, will sell tickets, a full orchestra, and the New York theatre class are obsessed with Annaleigh Ashford.

This will be fine

[quote]It's like casting Anson Mount to play Fonzie.

I would watch the fuck out of that.

Two words:

ｓｕｂｓｔｉｔｕｔｉａｒｙ ｌｏｃｏｍｏｔｉｏｎ

[quote]...and the New York theatre class are obsessed with Annaleigh Ashford.

I don't know is that's true, since we haven't seen speculation on what part she could play in " Follies."

Anybody know if Cullum was approached for Sweeney? He would have been great. I wonder if he had been approached and turned it down.

Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme could have done the Las Vegas, Branson, And Atlantic City circuit.

He doesn’t have a “good voice” for Sweeney, R203. In fact, vocally he couldn’t be more wrong for it. You seriously underestimate NY cognoscenti who are all ready to shit all over this sad commercial enterprise. Sondheim shows are not commercial. And Josh Groban isn’t gong to be the one to make that so.

He's too old now, but I'm surprised Stokes never did Sweeney Todd. His voice was perfect even if his acting is usually terrible.

r210

He did do it somewhere... Kennedy center?

Stokes who?

Ben Stokes

The pathetic comments from the last thread:

"I don’t need their signatures. I just wave a small wave when I see a theatre celebrity and they have all acknowledged the wave"

Yes, at the Kennedy Center for the Sondheim Festival. Didn't make much of an impression on me at the time; I was just glad Baranski was out that evening and her understudy was pretty good.

[quote]We’re there ever rumors about any names they tried to get for the original Miss Hannigan before Dorothy loudon?

There was a major shift in tone (and cast) when Annie moved to Broadway. They desperately needed an actress who could make mean and drunk funny. And they needed *funny*.

Dorothy Loudon was the major choice for Hannigan. She grabbed the role because she knew it was *the* role on Broadway to have that season. Daddy Warbucks is a bore. Reid Shelton did his best but it’s a boring role. Andrea McArdle was really too old for the role and a terrible actress (and you could see Reid Shelton grimace when he had to pick her up because she was too big) but she could belt Tomorrow.

So with a boring male character lead and a near teenage girl who could belt one song, Loudon came in and delightfully chewed every bit of scenery. It’s one of the few times I’ve actually seen scene chewing work and improve the show.

I have it on good authority that the next show to go into the Majestic is the Ken Hill version of Phantom of the Opera. Cam Mac can mount it for a quarter of the cost and tourists won’t know the difference.

Have you ever seen Cam's estate in England? That has to take a ton of money to run. That man has to squeeze every penny from every property he has.

R215, There’s a boot in circulation where the u/s screws up the “A Little Priest” lyrics, but finds her way back with Stokes’ help and the audience loved it.

I saw Stokes. He tried to play Sweeney a la Anthony Hopkins as Hannibal Lecter. All stillness and interior. It didn't work. Baranski was fine, if just Baranski.

Claybourne Elder has stated in interviews that Sweeney Todd is his dream role.

The best Sweeney currently working is Michael Mayes who does the role on the operatic circuit. He has the voice and can scare the pants off you. He's also known for the lead in the opera version of Dead Man Walking.

Now that Annaleigh has done Sunday and Sweeney what other Sondheim roles?

Cinderella?

Sally Durant?

Bobbi?

I second the comments by R169 about bland cookie-cutter gay Seth Sklar-Heyn. He has brought his personal aesthetic (glossy dullness) to his "direction" of the show.

[quote] While Ben Crawford over sings it to exhaustion, it’s a cakewalk for him, easy peasy

I recently saw Phantom with Crawford and he's great in the role--not only does he ramp up the sexuality of the role, but he understands what it all really is--camp.

[quote]Sally Durant?

Her mentor was Sally in the first production of FOLLIES that I saw, r223.

[quote]The pathetic poster in the last thread that likes to wave at Broadway stars and hopes they wave back. Just so sad.

[quote]The pathetic comments from the last thread: "I don’t need their signatures. I just wave a small wave when I see a theatre celebrity and they have all acknowledged the wave"

What is really pathetic is that you have mentioned that twice in this thread, r63/r214.

What's it to you that an anonymous poster derives a tiny bit of joy from a fleeting moment of connection?

[quote]It's just depressing that Groban is going to be Todd in what I imagine will be the only revival of Sweeney Todd with a full orchestra in my god damn lifetime.

How old are you, and where do you live? Because there have been multiple performances of SWEENEY with full orchestra in New York and elsewhere. In NYC, there was the original Broadway production, two separate runs of the New York City Opera production, and two different New York Philharmonic presentations, plus the show has also been done with full orchestra in L.A. and D.C., to name only two others that I know of for sure.

Although of course Groban will not sing or act Sweeney in the way that Cariou or Hearn did, I don't think he's a bad choice for the role. To me, his voice has a darker timbre than most tenors, and also a plaintive quality that I think might work for Sweeney's music. And even though he's not a great actor, he seems to do well when playing inward, somewhat introspective characters, as in NATASHA, PIERRE. I suspect his Sweeney will come across as clinically depressed, which I think is a completely valid interpretation of the role, and I guess we'll see if he'll be able to handle the sections where more is needed, like "Epiphany" and "A Little Priest."

Sad emo Sweeney

[quote]In NYC, there was the original Broadway production, two separate runs of the New York City Opera production, and two different New York Philharmonic presentations, plus the show has also been done with full orchestra in L.A. and D.C., to name only two others that I know of for sure.

The one with the SF Symphony and Hearn/LuPone?

Right, that's another one. I momentarily forgot that the concert with LuPone and Hearn was done first in NYC with the Philharmonic and then in SF with the Symphony.

Josh Groban and Will Swenson should switch roles.

[r232] at home too!

I saw 1776 Sunday matinee. Covers galore. Best nap ever.

I wonder what will become of the Phantom sets after it closes in April. Will they put everything into storage? Toss em in the trash?

Incidentally, I wonder how things are in the McDonald-Swenson household?

OHIO STATE MURDERS got critical raves but is flopping at the box office.

On the other hand, A BEAUTIFUL NOISE got bad reviews but grossed $1.4 million last week.

as half of the phantoms singing is recorded. i can’t see why anyone can’t get through it 8 shows a week

same with christine. a lot of it is recorded including all of the title song

It's a reverse Star is Born, r237.

I flew to St. Louis last summer to see SWEENEY with the full Muny orchestra and a dreamy Ben Davis singing and acting the shit out of the role. Carman Cusack was great too. I can't imagine Groban being able to act this

Wait! Are Ben Davis and Ben Crawford two different people??

My guess is that Audra is thrilled that her marginally talented husband is finally finding some success.

We already had sad emo Sweeney Todd in the Tim Burton movie which had next to no humor. Why are people always so quick to take the humor out of everything to appear more serious? I keep seeing that in recent productions of Gypsy, too, and it pisses me off. Everything feels so one note and boring.

Audra is thrilled for Will. It makes things less awkward that he can be known as “That one guy from the Neil Diamond show” instead of “Audra McDonald’s husband”

[quote]As half of the phantoms singing is recorded.

Is it really half, or even close to half? I thought it was just the title song, for both the Phantom and Christine.

Will Swenson is a good actor, it's just that he has, or has had, major vocal issues -- which, presumably, are not obvious or a big problem in the role of Neil Diamond.

Saw SLIH - Saturday Matinee, Mezz. It was half empty. I liked the show enough. J. Harrison as Daphne was def the standout.

Look how smooth chill and easy this is (from 1971) compared to Hugh’s stressed and sweaty overkill.

Confidence man, indeed.

R222 what does he do to you after he scares your pants off?

The only singing which is prerecorded is the title song. Everything else in Phantom is sung live.

Ann and Donald can't get tickets for Angie in MAME. They have to make do with Mimi and Johnny in Funny Girl.

I've always loved that episode. A half hour tourist commercial for glamorous mid 60s Manhattan. Today I would kill to see Mimi and Johnny in Funny Girl.

Did Funny Girl play at the Majestic before it moved to the Broadway? So you had Dolly and Funny Girl playing across from each other with Fiddler one block north. When New York was New York. I wish I had known it then.

Thanks, R249. I figured R237 was just being an asshole, and I was right.

I don't undeerstand why Lew Marie couldn't pull some strings for those tickets for his beloved daughter.

R254, Didn’t he own a restaurant in Brewster, NY?

This is my desktop background...

The enormous Times Square ad paid off: "Hawaii" was the top-grossing movie of 1966.

Well, the book was big, r257.

I'll never forget when Sweet Charity was playing at The Palace at the time of that photo at r256, there were still upstairs "Taxi Dance Parlors" right there in Times Square, anachronistic as it may have seemed. I was just an innocent gayling back then, taking the bus in from the Jersey suburbs to partake in my first Broadway musicals.

Almost Famous closing January 8.

RACISM!

I remember seeing that great billboard in Time Square when I was a boy. What you can't tell from any of the pics I've seen is that it was a 3D billboard with the boats sticking out. The year before was even better with Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines on the same billboard having moving parts.

R259 lucky you. As a gayling I didn't start until the early 70s so I feel I missed a lot of great stuff; Sweet Charity, Mame, Cabaret, Zorba, Coco...

937 pages R258

Why even bother with the Almost Famous musical? So much work and preparation into something nobody asked for, nobody wanted, and clearly nobody cared about.

Tom Kitt hitmaier

Hitmaker

r264, probably an ego project for Cameron Crowe. He hasn't had a hit since..."We Bought a Zoo" 11 years ago? "Vanilla Sky" 21 years ago? When you have nothing better going on, nothing left to do but try recapturing your greatest hit(s).

Partial re post from someone over at reddit who saw Death Of A Salesman.

Yesterday was my first experience seeing Death of a Salesman. I had read the play in school and discussed its themes and symbolism ad nauseam, but what I found at this revival of Death of a Salesman was fresh, new, and added layers of intrigue to and already masterfully piece of American Theatre!

Let me be very frank, I LOVE the initiative the entertainment industry as a whole has taken since the events of 2020 when it comes to increased diversity and representation in each of its sectors. I think it has only aided in adding new layers of thought and intrigue for classic staples and opened the door for new and interesting works and discussions surrounding those works. Granted, there can always be more work done and improvements made, but progress takes time and it warms my heart to see the steps taken forward just in the last two short years.

All that being said, this production of Death of a Salesman was steeped with so much additional richness courtesy of its cast, in which, all of the major roles are played by Black actors. In a piece of theatre already so rich in themes and symbolism, the change in casting choices from what has typically been done to now, has added new layers to an already complex and interesting story.

Some of the main themes of the original work include things like the American Dream, Abandonment, Betrayal, Reality and Illusion. All of these themes were only emphasized and amplified by this cast. Willy Loman’s comments on the American Dream and being essentially thrown away by his company of 30+ years were only more biting and heartbreaking to watch as the events of the play unfolded. It added new levels of desperation to the discourse between Willy and Biff in regards to Willy’s struggle and will for Biff to “make something more of his life.” It added a new sense of pressure to an already stressful and complicated situation for this father and son pairing and Willy’s desire to not only achieve the “American Dream” for himself but also for his sons and future generations.

Two additional points struck me harder than I was expecting for a few different reasons. There are many moments in the play where Willy and his wife Linda Loman were talking about their mortgage payments and the other various bills that they had due each month. This moment in particular struck me as interesting because of the obvious nods to the consent struggle to get ahead for the plays’ characters but it also, I feel, really played into the current economic struggles of so many middle class and lower income households with the constant pressure from inflation. Even though this thought was delivered through the eyes of Black actors from the perspective of many years ago, its theme is something that is still pervasive for BIPOC and non-BIPOC alike. I think it’s something that is really relatable for any audience member that might walk through the doors of the Hudson Theatre.

A friend of mine works front of the house. Says the cast is talented but it's hard to tell from the material. Says the show is horrible but Crowe is obliviously very proud of it. Even though she hated the production of Company at least she had the score to listen to.

post was about Almost Famous.

I'm not loving the movie-heavy, revival-heavy lineup.

Are there no creative people out there anymore to tell new stories with romance, a lush score, a unique perspective and gorgeous design?

Is it such a tall order? Sigh.

R268, That Reddit poster had never seen DEATH OF A SALESMAN before yet the current production added layers and new layers and new layers and a new sense of pressure to the play. Stunning analysis.

'what I found at this revival of Death of a Salesman was fresh, new, and added layers of intrigue to and already masterfully piece of American Theatre'

Some people should never be allowed near a keyboard.

That SALESMAN analysis was created by ChatGPT, as will be the majority of posts here starting in 4-5-3-2 . . .

Linda Low vs. Linda Loman: Compare and contrast?

Could Sara Porkalob play both parts? How about Beanie Feldstein?

Didn't Lew Marie have an 'in' with the Merm?

[quote]Linda Low vs. Linda Loman: Compare and contrast?

I know one of them enjoys being a girl, r275.

[quote]How about Beanie Feldstein?

The only part Beanie Feldstein is right for in Flower Drum Song is the drum.

Who asked you r268?

Saw ain’t no mo tonight. I thought the playwright was the weakest part of the show - especially his meltdown at the very end where he strips down to underwear screaming and sobbing and carrying on 🙄

Thought the rest of the cast was truly fantastic. So much talent. Would love the show to stay open just for those 5 actors.

Glad I saw it.

What was the motivation for the outburst?

R276, Who didn’t?

Also, that post about Death of a Salesman doesn't even mention the parts of it that DON'T work at all with the casting of the Loman family as black, including absolutely no comment or discussion whatsoever of the intense racism they would have faced at the time.

R283, this is following Miller's lead. He makes absolutely no comment or discussion of the anti-semitism the characters would have faced at the time.

Miller was not interested in how bigotry affected the characters in the play.

I was going to tdf it before it closes; should I see it?

Interesting point, R284, but of course, the anti-Semitism that Willie and family would have faced in Brooklyn in 1949 is not remotely comparable to the racism that a black man and his family would have faced in that same place at that same time. Anti-Semitism wasn't a part of Miller's play because it did not need to be, and he wanted the theme and content of the play to be more universal.

But Miller didn't make the Lomans Jewish. So why would they face antisemitism?

But they were.

R287, Miller described the Lomans as Jews, even though he leaves the point unclear in the script.

And Jewish audiences have always recognized the family dynamics and speech rhythms of the characters as Jewish.

Longtime Jew here and I can say I've never known a Jewish boy to be called Happy or Biff, as a nickname or otherwise. Also, rarely knew Jewish boys to excel at football.

I have never known any non-Jew who went by the name Willy.

Actually, for that matter I have never known a human being who went by the name Happy or Biff.

I never pay full retail for anything. Oy.

Many Jewish boys of that generation had nicknames not related to their actual names.

Of course, Jewish boys had nicknames not related to their actual names, but NEVER Happy and Biff.

While we're at it, I have to say I can't remember ever knowing of a Jewish woman of the generation of Linda Loman with the name Linda. As I recall, Linda wasn't much of anyone's name until the 1940s, when film star Linda Darnell (born Monetta Eloyse Darnell) came into prominence.

I saw the current Death of a Salesman and really liked it. Making the Lomans a black family really had me looking at the play in a different way, a way that a play at this point in its lifespan can withstand. And this is NOT color-blind casting, most of the supporting cast is white which it where it gets interesting. Yes, we are looking at it from a 21st century lens but for me it totally worked.

R296, Linda Porter, Cole’s “wife”.

Well this thread just took a predictable turn!

Funny Girl broke the box office record grossing over $2 million last week.

R290 is exactly right.

Biff has always sounded to me like it might be nickname for a young WASP guy. Happy sounds like an unusual nickname for anyone of any gender, age, nationality, or ethnicity.

R290 reminded me of when Stewie attends a Jewish pre-school. 😂

I've known some wealthy Jews from Long Island that were pretty WASPY. None had those nicknames though.

A STRANGE LOOP inexplicably canceled last night's show after initially postponing it for 15-20 minutes. Nobody knows why.

They couldn't round up enough homeless to fill the orchestra?

Because they’ve finally just given up R304?

Interesting, R304. One can only imagine how much money they have lost on this production.

Wow R299. Lea’s successful return to the fold is complete.

[quote] Happy sounds like an unusual nickname for anyone of any gender, age, nationality, or ethnicity.

Balderdash, r301.

Except the Lomans are not waspy Jews on Long Island. And Linda Porter was nothing like Linda Loman in any way, shape or form.

I wanted to see Strange Loop before it closed. However, I’m not hugely interested in paying $200 a seat to a show that may or may not perform with any cast, much less the announced actors. There are many other shows to see.

R301, Was Biff friends with Buck?

Just saying waspy Jews exist 310 not that they are in that production. Maybe wiggle that sick out little eh?

[quote] I wanted to see Strange Loop before it closed. However, I’m not hugely interested in paying $200 a seat

Oh honey, were you born yesterday? There are PLENTY of discounts available for this thing. I'm pretty sure if you go the box office and can manage to sing half the theme to Fat Albert & The Cosby Kids, they'll comp you in.

I wasn’t sure where to post this but did anyone else see Edie Falco on The View yesterday?

She has a new face!

I couldn’t make out what exactly was different but it’s different and I don’t think it’s a “good l different either.

R315, Edie must have a mousetrap like pussy for Stanley Tucci to have left his dying wife for her.

[quote]Funny Girl broke the box office record grossing over $2 million last week.

This makes no sense to me at all.

[quote] Funny Girl broke the box office record

But I broke the furniture!

If anyone writes the true backstage story of "Strange Loop" it would make "The Amityville Horror" look like "Mary, Mary." What a shitshow. And a total financial debacle.

Edie's going to be playing Pete Davidson's mom in a new sitcom. Never thought of her as being funny.

[quote]Edie's going to be playing Pete Davidson's mom in a new sitcom.

YIKES!

And GADZOOKS!!!

Falco is in the new AVATAR movie as well.

A Shvartze Loop

[quote]Edie's going to be playing Pete Davidson's mom in a new sitcom. Never thought of her as being funny.

She won the 2010 Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for NURSE JACKIE.

She beat out Tina Fey (30 ROCK), Amy Poehler (RECS & RECREATION), Toni Collette (UNITED STATES OF TARA), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (THE NEW ADVENTURES OF OLD CHRISTINE), and DL fave Lea Michele (GLEE).

Edie Falco is very funny, given the right material. She was one of the highlights as the long-suffering Carmela on THE SOPRANOS.

She's looking age-appropriate but a bit... refreshed here.

Edie and Victoria Clark should find a project where they play sisters.

[quote] She won the 2010 Emmy for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for NURSE JACKIE.

Yes, but anyone who has ever watched an episode of Nurse Jackie can tell you that was category fraud. That show was not a comedy.

That being said, Edie can do comedy. She did a handful of indie films in the 90s, most notably Hal Hartley's early movies, and definitely displayed a flair for comedy.

Why did STRANGE LOOP lose a show last night? WTF is going on...

[quote]Funny Girl broke the box office record grossing over $2 million last week.

I'm glad I'm dead.

r319 Well give us the details then

Nurse Jackie was only categorized as a comedy bc the episodes were a half hour

Nurse Jackie was a dark comedy but when Falco got the Emmy, she said "I'm not funny!" in her acceptance speech.

[r327] thank you for posting the clip. Edie looks puffy! What causes that?

Rumors of backstage fights and bullying at STRANGE LOOP.

Strange Loop also canceled a performance last week.

According to the KitKatKlub Instagram page the new recording of Cabaret will be released on Jan 20 and is available for pre order now.

Is anyone going to see SJ Block as Norma Desmond in February for the Sunset Boulevard production?

I'm curious how it'll be staged. Block is a solid performer, no question...but she feels to me like the Betty Buckley alternate, you know? Mystery of Drood, and all that. She can belt, but I don't think I'll love her in quite the same way at all.

Even though she's 50 and technically the right age, Block doesn't seem to have what's needed in terms of age to portray the over-the-hill washed-up Hollywood actress.

I just hope they have Derek Klena in the bathing suit from the recent Bway production

R330, for anyone trying to find some bullshit correlation between shows flopping and their level of intersectionality -- beyond grasping at straws (and not taking into account historically the ratio of flops to hits, regardless of representation/subject matter) it's only FEEDING into this soft bigotry of low expectations for marginalized groups. THAT is racist. That is regressive and not remotely constructive in terms of representation or narratives about specific groups.

This crying wolf, attributing show closures to insidious racism among the theatre going public is absolute lunacy. Remember (the very white) Gabriel Byrne's one man show? Nope, didn't think so as it bit the dust prematurely. So many other factors go into why shows succeed and fail. Sometimes it's simply bad timing. Look at "Chicago" in 1975. It certainly ran and had its fans, but it really didn't HIT until 2 decades later when the public consciousness (and OJ) shifted.

The woke are the kings and queens of over-simplification.

Mike Todd and Billy Rose avoided intersectionality like the plague. They wanted hit shows.

[quote]This crying wolf, attributing show closures to insidious racism among the theatre going public is absolute lunacy. Remember (the very white) Gabriel Byrne's one man show? Nope, didn't think so as it bit the dust prematurely.

Also, ALMOST FAMOUS has just announced its closing after a very brief run, and that show is about as White as you can get with a big musical nowadays.

I think Debbie Reynolds' performance turned the movie "Mary, Mary" into something approaching "The Amityville Horror". Much as I liked Debbie, she could not play at that point the kind of sophisticated comedy required, and even though Barry Nelson tries valiantly, he's playing against someone trying, but failing to copy Barbara Bel Geddes' Broadway performance. Getting through that film is a touch slog, but I wanted to see what had been a long-run show on Broadway. Debbie got better by the time she co-starred with Dick Van Dyke in "Divorce American Style", but I think she also screwed up "Goodbye Charlie", another Broadway show, along the way.

"tough" not "touch" slog

Bway does New Years Eve.

[Quote] A STRANGE LOOP inexplicably canceled last night's show after initially postponing it for 15-20 minutes. Nobody knows why.

Nobody at all?

R345, Goodbye Charlie was mine!

Of course the struggle of the family in Death of a Salesman is much more interesting and hard hitting with the current cast.

Everyone knows that the exact same incidents happening to a black family show the struggle is real.

Think of how much more interesting the story of Donald Trump will be when he is played by Denzel Washington!

Cunty or not, what Lea is doing in Funny Girl right now is something to behold. You can debate the death of Broadway all you want, but at the end of the day, if someone is forking over $200 for a ticket, they WILL pay to see someone absolutely sing their face off to an incredible score.

Wow, victimhood certainly is in fashion, isn't it? "Something happened in my life that I don't like. So, it's RACISM! Everyone agree with me! Give me more things because I'm a VICTIM! No, your show sucks. That's all.

r340, maybe not, but as we covered in our discussion of her overacting and indicating in "Into the Woods," she certainly hammy enough to play Norma Desmond.

GO WOKE, GO BROKE.

R352, What Lea has done is extraordinary, and hopefully she is being financially rewarded for it.

I was one of the whiny naysayers about Lea when it was rumored she would take over. I was completely wrong. Talent is talent. She also seems to work hard and she’s been working since she was a kid. No nepotism either.

Good for her.

[quote]but I think she also screwed up "Goodbye Charlie", another Broadway show, along the way.

Maybe it had something to do with putting Debbie in a Betty Bacall role, r345.

What does Almost Famous closing say about diversity on Broadway?

What is the actual point of the buying out the performance concept? Is it that people will suddenly want to see the show if it stays open longer?

R358, Ahem!

R359 it says that Broadway isn't inclusive enough and doesn't market shows with POC because of institutional racism. Oh...wait...

I wish a reporter would call the cast of Strange Loop and ask them why the performance was cancelled. But of course they won't. Any how many performances has the lead missed, or left in the middle of shows?

Strange Loop was never any good. Period. Go away, fat whiny Usher!

I disagree. It's the best show on Broadway.

Strange Loop is an incredible show. Its subject matter is what’s keeping audiences away.

Is the subject matter keeping the cast away as well?

Edie Falco and Patricia Clarkson should play sisters.

Is it time for a revival of The Sisters Rosensweig?

Or Sideshow?

Major touché, r361!

Oh dear, r369.

I assume entire threads have been devoted to Gower Champion and Debbie's My Six Loves... with Eileen Heckart and Mary McCarty!

Hillary Clinton (@hillaryclinton): "After nearly 35 years, @PhantomOpera is ending its haunting of Broadway in April—so I had to take some family to experience the “music of the night” one last time!"

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1981, "Dreamgirls" opened at the Imperial Theatre.

Deadline reviews "The Collaboration":

*

‘The Collaboration’ Cancels Broadway Opening Night Due To Covid:

No great loss R377. Saw it last week and the Deadline review nails it. Dull and drama-free.

R343, actually Mike Todd and Billy Rose pioneered intersectionality.

Todd's Hot Mikado was one of the first all-black cast musicals--and it took place in Japan! You do not get more intersectional than that!

Or maybe you can get more intersectional--if you were Billy Rose and produced another "woke" adaptation. His Carmen Jones was the precursor to the current Death of a Salesman. It also took a Eurocentric classic and recast it with black performers.

And just like with Death of a Salesman, people said the black cast brought out themes that get lost in more traditional productions.

There's no standby for Paul Bettany listed anywhere. He must have one.

Hot Mikado

That Hot Mikado footage looks stunning. If that had gone into Circle in the Square, they would have had a big fat hit.

Did anyone attend Patti LuPone’s new show at 54 below? We’re there any song surprises that she doesn’t normally do?

I was surprised when Patti did her rendition of " It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp."

R384, Her “New York, New York” makes one forget Liza.

I thought The Collaboration was a steaming pile of shit, with Jeremy Pope's performance being the only redeeming aspect (but not enough of one to make the show worth seeing). It's getting exactly the reviews it deserves.

Interesting to note that the NY Times reviewer loved Pope's performance but the Deadline reviewer definitely did not.

[quote] Did anyone attend Patti LuPone’s new show at 54 below? We’re there any song surprises that she doesn’t normally do?

She opened with a cover of Elton John’s “The Bitch is Back.” Then she told the story that that song was her audition for Sondheim when she was trying to get a role in “Into the Woods.”

I found Pope to be far too gentle and polite. Not nearly enough of the feral animal. Great young actor but I'm not sure Pope has that uninhibited ferocity in him.

I hated the production. Truly a waste of time.

I enjoyed Pope in The Inspection, and I can’t wait to see it again when it streams.

The Collaboration’s opening night is being postponed due to a positive case within the company.

You don't say, R391?!

[r388] omg that’s amazing if true.

Lea Michele is giving a really fantastic performance in FUNNY GIRL, she’s hitting a grand slam and her hunger to be there is very palpable, it’s kind of incredible. The show, while still flawed with that mediocre book, is an absolute thrill to enjoy!

Calm down with Lea Michelle, jesus. She's just doing what she did on Glee.

Is the bar so low, are we so starved for powerful performances that her measured and predictable turn as Almost Barbra But Not Really is worthy of acclaim?

Julie Benko is infinitely more committed to her character, and it's not some "see, I TOLD YOU I COULD!" vanity performance.

Lea isn't there for the audience or the character....she's there for herself.

Lea’s illiterate pussy stinks.

Are Benko Thursdays selling out?

Julie who?

[quote]The show, while still flawed with that mediocre book, is an absolute thrill to enjoy!

What do people mean when they complain about FG's book?

I've only seen the movie. To me, the screenplay seemed slight, with Fanny being lead, Nick, supporting, and everyone else are bit parts. Fanny sings most of the songs, with Nick joining in a duet or two, but no ensemble numbers, which is strange for a musical about Broadway shows.

Is the stage show like this? I can't imagine the movie working on stage as is.

“Lea isn't there for the audience or the character....she's there for herself.”

And Streisand wasn’t?

And Fanny wasn’t?

I want, no demand, a musical about the gay hankie code!

Benko gives a medium level performance without a hint of Star power.

R395 Benko/Bean stan rearing its ugly head. 🙄

Fanny has sixteen musical numbers in the show R399. Ensembles join in occasionally. They’ve tried to give Nick another number to give Fanny a break, and they added an overlong awful tap number to also break it up. It’s not really like the film at all.

Medium is being generous R403.

Michele sang it well, which was only surprising because there are plenty of performances where she flailed. However, she still seems smaller than the role. Streisand’s neediness demands attention.. Lea Michele is just manipulating for pity.

And Streisand had the distinction of creating the role. Michele can merely be a decent imitation.

I saw Beanie in the production and one thing I will say is even though she couldn’t sing, the audience was on her side.

Lea sings well, but I’m not on her side.

That’s the difference

"Anti-Semitism wasn't a part of Miller's play because it did not need to be, and he wanted the theme and content of the play to be more universal."

Precisely. And that is why the imposition of "woke" (aka asleep at the wheel) values on plays where such considerations are irrelevant speaks volumes about the insight and intelligence level of theater production today.

"What do people mean when they complain about FG's book?"

It means they don't know what they're talking about. FG's book fuses together several myths that play off each other, but unless you have a supernova, mythic presence in the lead itself, those archetypes won't resonate. The fact that the show made Streisand one of the greatest stars in theater and film history is sufficient proof that, with the right casting, however elusive, the show can still work like gangbusters.

It's not Sondheim. R 412, so it will be panned on DL. Sondheim = good stories with no audience, but Trump-like devotion on DL.

R420, let’s not be naive. Explicitly Jewish stories would not appeal to large audiences in that era. Six years later, Broadway “All Lives Mattered” the Holocaust in the Diary of Anne Frank, which features Jews in hiding explaining Hanukkah to each other. Fifteen years later, Jerome Robbins harangued the creators of Fiddler on the Roof to make it less Jewish.

Death of a Salesman is one of my favorite plays, but the characters are archetypes. Tennessee Williams was able to give far more texture to his actors.

The stage version of FG is quite different from the movie version. I've only seen the stage version once, at a regional theater, and I remember being surprised at how different it was--especially the framing of the narrative and the songs that were cut out or added for the movie.

Since Streisand didn't have to sing live for the film, I'm sure she saw no need to include some of the numbers with other characters which were there partly to give her a break. Or even scenes with other actors.

So, should I see Death of a Salesman? I’ve never seen any production before, either on film, TV or stage

R415, most of what you wrote is correct, but the framing of the narrative is exactly the same in the stage version and the movie of FUNNY GIRL: Fanny is looking back at her rise to stardom and her romance with Nick on the day when he's coming to see her after being released from prison, wondering if their marriage is going to continue or not.

R417, if you've never seen it before, then yes. The 1951 movie with Frederic March isn't available as far as I know and the one with Dustin Hoffman should be avoided. Never seen the TV version with Cobb, but if it's like most "theater on TV" productions of the time, the actors' performances are likely to be too "big" for the TV screen.

Saw DOWNSTATE last night. Powerful, disturbing stuff. It has to be exceptionally tough to play roles like this, but the cast nails the self-deception these men indulge in.

The original book to FG is fine, and does the job. Unfortunately, the rewrite is worse.

The Columbia film of Death of a Salesman is on Amazon Prime. I was surprised at how poor and cheap it is (it's not the print, it's the film) given the big budget treatment given to screen versions of other major plays of the time.

The 60s tv version is on YT and is excellent at giving a sense of what the essence of the original must've been like.

I agree that the original book of FG is fine and does the job. The Cinderella-story and rising-star aspects of the plot are familiar but given a new spin because of the Lower East Side setting, and the details of the relationship between Fanny and Nick are not quite the same as in similar stories. I actually think the book of the show is better overall than some of the lyrics, which range in quality from excellent to just okay to quite poorly written.

Agree about Downstate. Bruce Norris has yet to fail.

Downstate was great, but why pay to have a dog that comes onstage for all of five seconds?

R424. Oh, I don’t know—ask Mary Zimmerman!

[quote]—Anne Francis, lying on the cutting room floor

Ho! What, there was no casting couch available?

[quote]but given a new spin because of the Lower East Side setting,

That's not really a new spin, r423. Also, how much of the plot is centered there?

R410, as I pointed out before, it is exactly right that Miller removed anti-Semitism from the equation.

So to complain that the current production does not acknowledge the racism that a black man would face, is simply to mistrust Miller. He did not wanted to make a universal statement and did not want bigotry figuring in.

So any portrayal of anti-semitism or racisms would go against Miller's strategy.

It is interesting that we have one poster saying the production is "woke" and the other complaining that it ignores the existence of racism.

Can you guys not get one story and stick to it?

[quote]That's not really a new spin, [R423]. Also, how much of the plot is centered there?

Fanny Brice's origin was on the Lower East Side, even if only a few scenes in FUNNY GIRL are actually set there. I think that gives a new spin, or at least a variation, on the Cinderella/rising star story.

R429, you completely misunderstood my point. I wasn't "complaining" that racism is not acknowledged in this production -- or, rather, is only fleetingly acknowledged through one new bit of staging -- in the current production of DEATH OF A SALESMAN. Of course it would not be, and could not be, clearly acknowledged, unless some of the lines were changed. What I meant was that the lack of acknowledgment of racism seems like a very strange omission when the Lomans are played as black characters, whereas the lack of acknowledgment of anti-Semitism in a more traditionally cast production of this play does not seem strange at all, since anti-Semitism would not have been such a major issue for the characters -- and, to repeat, that's not what Miller was writing about.

I'm surprised that you totally missed my point, as I think I made it very clear the first time, but I hope you understand now.

Are we saying that any serious play with a black cast is obligated to deal with white racism, or it is inauthentic? I think I see why people are avoiding plays with black casts.

No, R432, it's far more complicated than that.

[quote]The 1951 movie with Frederic March isn't available as far as I know

Why is that? Is it considered to be good?

I really don't think we can compare Miller's intentions when he wrote SALESMAN, just post WWII, to what his goals and expectations might be if he were viewing the play and the latest revival today.

Does anyone really think Miller wouldn't have been fascinated and intrigued by a Black family portraying the Lomans today?

The 1951 movie with Frederic March is on YouTube.

[quote]Does anyone really think Miller wouldn't have been fascinated and intrigued by a Black family portraying the Lomans today?

I don't know for sure, but I think he might have been unhappy with such casting for the very sound reason that if he had had it in mind to write a play about a black Willy Loman and family living in Brooklyn in 1949, of course it would have been a very different play than the one he wrote. A reliable source told me that Miller had a big problem with the casting of black actors as Charlie and Bernard in the George S. Scott production at Circle in the Square years ago, for that same reason.

Didn't Funny Girl last just as long with Mimi Hines as it did with Babs? People were going to see a famous show with a famous song and they seem to have been happy to see it with Hines. So even with its book problems audiences still found it very entertaining. And they probably weren't even thinking about book problems. They wanted to enjoy the score, Mimi Hines and see if there would be a happy ending or heartbreak. Either would work.

Every book Harvey revises he makes it worse. Just watch the original French film of La Cage. It's very wonderful. Of course the performances are beyond compare. In comparison Harvey's book for the musical is dreadful. It's a wonder this is the man who created the original Torch Song when everything he has touched since has the heavy weight of mediocrity about it.

I'm assuming the reason "Leopoldstadt" is doing so much better at the box office than "Ain't No Mo'" is more Jews go to the theatre than POC? Unless they get Kanye to replace Brandon Uranowitz.

I saw that production with Scott. And it did seem initially strange that they would have these friends. I didn't know it would be cast that way. But you went with it and it did not affect the dynamic of the play. It was an unforgettable experience.

[quote]Every book Harvey revises he makes it worse. Just watch the original French film of La Cage. It's very wonderful. Of course the performances are beyond compare. In comparison Harvey's book for the musical is dreadful. It's a wonder this is the man who created the original Torch Song when everything he has touched since has the heavy weight of mediocrity about it.

Agreed 100 percent. I could have written this post myself.

I really does seem that Harvey had only one good play in him -- or, to be more precise, one good trilogy in him. Worth noting that the few original plays he has written since TORCH SONG are just about as bad as his adaptations. Among the adaptations, the best of them (LA CAGE) is really not very good, and the worst of them (A CATERED AFFAIR) is horrible, with all of the others falling somewhere in between on the scale.

r441

Isn't Torch Song based on his life story? If so he didn't even invent that

But it's still an original play, R442, not an adaptation. Maybe he can only write successfully about his own life.

In 1983, Arthur Miller accepted an invitation to direct Death of a Salesman with an all-Chinese cast at the Bejing People's Art Theatre. It was huge success and proved the universality of his play.

It is said that somewhere in the depths of the British Museum sit the urns of the first Dataloungers ever. The inscriptions are faded, but one can still make this much out:

"DIONYSIA GOSSIP #ιε: Has Aristophanes Gone WOKE?"

[quote]R417, if you've never seen it before, then yes. The 1951 movie with Frederic March isn't available as far as I know and the one with Dustin Hoffman should be avoided. Never seen the TV version with Cobb, but if it's like most "theater on TV" productions of the time, the actors' performances are likely to be too "big" for the TV screen.

Both the 1951 movie with Fredric March and the 1966 TV production with Lee J. Cobb (both with Mildred Dunnock as Linda) are available on YouTube. I recommend the latter. It's abridged, but Miller himself made the cuts. Lee J. Cobb simply is Willie Loman, as opposed to Dustin Hoffman, who was acting, acting, acting all over the place.

I saw a video of Beanie in Funny Girl and she seemed as if she had the capacity to belt, because she did belt a few notes very well, but she decided to sing everything besides those few notes in shaky, Disney Princess head voice that lacked power. Maybe someone told her or she thought it would preserve her voice. Besides the vocals, she did make me root for her and it was a quality community/regional theatre level performance. If I'd plopped down premium prices to see it live, I might have been more upset. It's not a star performance, but it's mostly competent.

I was surprised that Jane Lynch was the one I found the most miscast and I usually like her a lot.

Her "big" belty notes were autotuned and amplified from the sound board.

[quote] In comparison Harvey's book for the musical is dreadful. It's a wonder this is the man who created the original Torch Song when everything he has touched since has the heavy weight of mediocrity about it.

Torch Song was his life so of course he could write that. He followed that up with a play called Safe Sex which is dreadful.

In the movie, it was not believable that Harvey would be pursued by both Matthew Broderick and Brian Kerwin in their prime.

[quote] In the movie, it was not believable that Harvey would be pursued by both Matthew Broderick and Brian Kerwin in their prime.

It's what we call suspension of disbelief.

A Catered Affair was right up his alley.

worst thread ever?

Until the next theater gossip thread, R453.

Harvey is a terrible writer. It's amazing how someone with so little talent thinks so well of himself. Well, maybe it's not so amazing. But Harvey's ego is gigantic compared to his talent.

Well at least he's nice to people. He's pleasant.

So is Derek K really playing Joe in Sunset in February? That feels like poor casting. He's too young to be a burnout.

Beanie's voice made Marissa Jaret Winocur sound like Ethel Merman in comparison. And Winocur's role in "Hairspray" would have suited Beanie rather than "Funny Girl".

Mimi Hines was pretty famous from tv at the time she took over from Barbra in "Funny GIrl", and she was said by many to have been quite excellent in the role.

Fredric March is one of the greatest actors in the history of cinema, a true chameleon, different in every role, rather than putting his star signature personality on them.

Also remember that Harvey workshopped Torch Song for a long time in the downtown theater scene. I can’t remember if La Mama gave him the chance but he workshopped it and got feedback and audience response for awhile before the show moved to Broadway.

I saw Ain't No Mo' and I thought much was fantastic. It is hard to be in a theater when a good portion of the audience is yelling and talking to the stage, which I understand and respect, but I don't necessarily enjoy. Not my style. But I would recommend it to anyone. Some brilliant stuff.

If you think Funny Girl has a strong book, you're an idiot.

It's just a string of vague incidents marginally tied to the life of Fanny Bryce and propelled by the songs and the hopefully charismatic personality and performance of the actress playing Fanny.

The creators of FG have made it clear they knew the show wasn't great but they tailored it around the talents of Streisand and gave her lots of fun songs to sing and some cute schtick to perform and they called it a day.

Act I gets the job done but Act II just meanders around until the show gets wrapped up.

Ideally, a musical has a strong book that holds up as a good play. That seldom is the case. And, certainly isn't the case with Funny Girl. It's terrible book and that and the fact the show requires a funny, charismatic star who can sing is why it wasn't revived for over 50 years.

The SALESMAN with Cobb and Dunnock is sitll the best one.

Must every show with black people contain mention of racism? Is that what makes white audiences satisfied?

Remember when every movie about gays had to end in our deaths?

The mainstream only accepts us if we suffer. It’s the same for blacks.

Who said Funny Girl has a strong book? I must have missed the post.

If you can find a copy of the book Salesman in Beijing it's a fascinating read. Mimi and Phil had a good run in FG but, remember, ticket prices were very low back then and it was on twofers so you could probably snag a great seat for $6 or $8.

[quote] I can’t remember if La Mama gave him the chance but he workshopped it and got feedback and audience response for awhile before the show moved to Broadway.

All three plays were done at La Mama originally. TST's original director was the one who had Harvey tell Ellen Stewart it was "a trilogy" so they didn't have to keep asking for a slot in her season for the next few years. Too bad that director got the boot when it moved to Broadway.

Any news on a SLIH cast recording? I know KA did theirs...

[quote] If you think Funny Girl has a strong book, you're an idiot.

Your [italic] delightful. [/italic]

you're. That was auto-correct, I swear.

and r460 is still the worst kind of cunt

R431, so you are saying blacks have to deal with racism but Jews do not always face anti-semitism.

That is an interesting idea. But I think it is self-deception.

I think the more likely thing is that you can look at white characters and forget they are Jewish, but when you see a black face all you see is their blackness.

I guess I just think that Miller was writing about something universal under capitalism. He was not writing about a specifically white experience.

Few actors have the "everyman" quality that Wendel Pierce does. In any project he is in, he becomes the voice of the audience, so casting him as Willy was a brilliant choice.

[quote] I was surprised that Jane Lynch was the one I found the most miscast and I usually like her a lot.

Same and same. I usually love Jane or at least find her the strongest performance in a bad show.

I can only assume she was cast to shift more emphasis to the comedy of the show, perhaps the thought was that shift might help Beanie. But yes, she was not a good match for the role itself or as Beanala's mother.

Jane Lynch was cast because Michael Mayer is a star-fucking hack. Simple.

She really couldn't have been further from what the role called for, not to mention being utterly unbelievable as Beanie Feldstein's mother. Not to defend Beanie, but Lynch's casting didn't help support Beanie's already hopeless performance.

[quote]Harvey is a terrible writer. It's amazing how someone with so little talent thinks so well of himself. Well, maybe it's not so amazing. But Harvey's ego is gigantic compared to his talent.

Unfortunately, several shows for which he did terrible work -- LA CAGE, NEWSIES, and now FUNNY GIRL -- have been hugely or mildly successful financially, and he even got some positive reviews for his work on those shows, so it's probably quite easy for him to delude himself into thinking so well of his own talents. Plus, of course, the basis of his ego is the reception of TORCH SONG TRILOGY, which is indeed very good work.

I bet beautiful young Carol Lawrence and Robert Goulet had great sex

He'd be stinkin' drunk and couldn't keep it up, r474.

R475. Liar!

Well this is the first I've heard about Mr. Goulet. The cast of Camelot must have been a feast.

[quote]Precisely. And that is why the imposition of "woke" (aka asleep at the wheel) values on plays where such considerations are irrelevant speaks volumes about the insight and intelligence level of theater production today.

Leaving aside your Tucker Carlsonesque value judgments, why the fuck are you bringing up musical grosses while trashing nontraditional casting of plays?

Plays aren't musicals. Plays never sell on Broadway. Ever. You know that, right?

They did once. But maybe never again.

R470, for the third time, my point was that the anti-Semitism that Willy and his family would have faced living in Brooklyn in 1949 is nowhere near as virulent as the racism that a black family living in the same place at the same time would have experienced from the White, non-Jewish and non-Black powers that were. ESPECIALLY since the Lomans are portrayed as very assimilated Jews. Now, if Willie had insisted on wearing a yarmulke while making his selling rounds, that would have been a different story.

As for your other comment -- "Miller was writing about something universal under capitalism. He was not writing about a specifically white experience." -- of course I agree, and I wrote nothing to indicate otherwise. So can you please try to learn to read more carefully before responding to posts?

[quote] remember, ticket prices were very low back then and it was on twofers so you could probably snag a great seat for $6 or $8

Very low by today’s standards. But salaries were a lot lower, too. $6 was equal to $56 by today’s standards. Not outrageous like today, but not cheap, either.

Please stop blathering about race and religion. No one comes here for that. In fact this should be a respite from it.

Gossip, darlings.

I agree, r482, especially all of these fatuous assumptions about Arthur Miller's intentions. Ridiculous!

Beautiful

There were Goulet gay rumors back in the 1960s/1970s.

I saw Goulet in Moon Over Buffalo and he was dreadful. Kept breaking character and laughing. Poor Lynn Redgrave looked like she wanted to slug him.

R483, why is it "fatuous" to discuss Miller's intentions with DEATH OF A SALESMAN?

I think YOU are fatuous. Or maybe just fat.

I’d like to circle back to my original question. I have never seen a production, nor read the play, Death of a Salesman, and now I have a tdf ticket for the show on January 4.

Should I see one of the movies first, or read the play, (I own a copy for some unknown reason,) before I see the production at the Hudson?

Or would it be better to go in cold? I don’t even know the plot; I don’t even know if the salesman actually dies.

Go in cold, r488. By the way, Rosebud is the sled.

R488. All you need to know; pay attention. Attention must be be paid!

Does anyone here collect playbills or souvenir brochures from shows?

Just curious. No judgement.

Is it for sentimental value, or resale value or...?

I have nearly ever Playbill from almost forty years of theater. I save them fir the same reason I save books I’ve read. There is no resale value, but it’s a great way to remember not only the theater history but what I was doing at the time.

Go in cold but know that at the end he is raped by his brother in law, has a nervous breakdown and starts mumbling something about strangers. And he tells his wife that she's a selfish dreamer and bang zoom she's going to the moon.

I keep all of my playbill and frame them with the ticket stub. Yes I’m a show queen

R493 I've a feeling you're just kidding, but to me it sounds believable. Makes a better opening than that car chase scene.

I had a friend who was a salesman.

And then he died.

[quote] why is it "fatuous" to discuss Miller's intentions with DEATH OF A SALESMAN? I think YOU are fatuous. Or maybe just fat.

Wow that Debate Club training has really stuck with you, r487. That was stunning, with the sun sparkling off your rapier wit. Now dive on it.

It’s truly frightening when the Lomans find out that Happy is a homosexualist.

Linda grabs the gun and cries, “How many bullets Willy? How many bullets do I have to take out all of you and still have one left for me? I didn’t sacrifice the best years of my life to listen to other women tell stories about grandchildren.”

[quote] Should I see one of the movies first, or read the play, (I own a copy for some unknown reason,) before I see the production at the Hudson?

Great plays stand on their own. Go in cold. You'll be fine.

Where "Breakfast at Tiffany's" failed, maybe "Mr. Yunioshi" will be a HIT.

DL fave, the Marvelous Michael Mayer.... he's unstoppable!

Actually sounds like a great premise for a play r500.

R488, there's nothing especially complicated about the plot of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, so I don't see any reason why you shouldn't go in cold. Just be aware that there are some flashback scenes; I guess those might be a big confusing at first if you don't know they're coming.

R497, may the holiday season bring you all the happiness you deserve. If you know what I mean.

I see nothing inappropriate or annoying about some of us wanting to discuss DEATH OF A SALESMAN in, umm, a theatre thread, but if you do, please feel free to exit stage right.

R500. I would actually see that. It sounds alot more interesting than most of the crap on Broadway.

r504 Are you really citing your "I think YOU are fatuous. Or maybe just fat." as [italic] discussing [/italic] Death of a Salesman ?

For many years now, the Metropolitan Opera has been run by Peter Gelb, who seems determined to run the company into the ground. Hiring Michael Mayer to direct any more productions there after his ridiculous Las Vegas RIGOLETTO is the latest proof of that. P.S. It seems to me that Gelb may also have been responsible for the recent, crippling cyberattack on the Met, because of his treatment of Anna Netrebko and other Russian artists.

No, you troglodyte a.k.a. R506, that comment was an intentionally childish INSULT directed towards YOU only after you insulted those of us who had been having an interesting discussion of DEATH OF A SALESMAN, including Miller's intentions in writing the play.

Gelb's treatment of Netrebko who is a Putin promoter was absolutely right. Go back to reading your NYPost, r507

Girls! Girls!

You're ALL cunts!

You'll recognize the flashback scenes in DOAS because the actors are even more cartoonish there than in the rest of the production. The two sons are giving "performances" which are especially heinous.

I think they cut the song for Linda Loman about Grant Avenue. Too bad.

Lindsay Lohan and Lindsey Graham should do a duet of "I Enjoy Being a Girl."

Bland performance style and voices have come up a few times. What is wrong w/ "the Carnegie Mellon/CCM/NYU assembly line"? Is it excluding too many people with unique voices or other things?

All I know about those schools is they are expensive given that most people won't make a living from the industry.

sorry r508, I'm not 483, I'm r482

r514 Well you answered your own question, it's an assembly line. And as with any assembly line, anything which doesn't match the generic model is either discarded or forced to match everything else.

R488 Spoiler Alert: He does.

I'd definitely go see "Mr. Yunioshi." It actually sounds fun.

The Met's classic production of AIDA is supremely beautiful. Why let Mayer come in and shit all over it? How stupefyingly pointless.

75% jokes notwithstanding, does anyone know how many shows Sara Porkalob hasn’t done? Amazing that the press who were all over Beanie is afraid to ask.

They also don't ask, don't tell about Spivey...

I follow BROADWAY COVERS on Twitter and Spivey is out at least 2 to 3 times a week.

r504, there's nothing fatuous about discussing DOAS and Arthur Miller.

What was fatuous ("silly and pointless") were the various claims by some posters concerning Miller's undocumented original intentions regarding Jews and Blacks and, even more so, about how he might view a BIPOC revival today. Yes, we can all dream about Arthur Miller, but......

Jason & Jean

from "Since the Opening Curtain, a Question: Is Willy Loman Jewish?" (NYT 2012)

Miller himself changed his view of Willy over the decades, evolving from a fierce defense of his indeterminate identity to a perception of him as an untethered Jew. Literary critics, especially Jewish ones, have long argued the point among themselves. Leslie Fiedler dismissed Willy as the “crypto-Jewish” product of Miller’s “pseudo-universalizing,” while Julius Novick maintained that the Loman family’s “separation from the roots ... is what makes them so vulnerable to the false values that undo them.”

So the intriguing question remains why Willy, as finally written, offers so little evidence of heritage. Miller, in a 1969 interview, insisted that the character’s “religious or cultural background ... seems to me irrelevant.” The contemporary playwright Tony Kushner, who is editing Miller’s collected plays for the Library of America, suggested that for Jewish writers in the mid-20th century, “there wasn’t a sense of shame about being Jewish, but of reaching for something universal, and there was some sense that the immigrant experience and the ethnic specificity would limit it.”

Miller did write overtly Jewish characters, starting in his 1945 novel about anti-Semitism, “Focus,” and continuing through two plays about the Holocaust, “Incident at Vichy” (1964) and “Broken Glass” (1994). So the decision to leave Willy’s identity indistinct represented a thought-through choice, not a chronic ambivalence about Jewish content.

Over time, Miller came around to acknowledging some Jewish specificity to the Lomans. In an essay published for the play’s 50th anniversary, in 1999, he described them as “Jews light-years away from religion or a community that might have fostered Jewish identity.” Thus sundered, they are left “on the sidewalk side of the glass looking in at the clean well-lighted place.” In the very absence of their Jewish identity, one might say, is its very presence.

[quote]What was fatuous ("silly and pointless") were the various claims by some posters concerning Miller's undocumented original intentions regarding Jews and Blacks and, even more so, about how he might view a BIPOC revival today.

I still don't understand why you think it's "silly and pointless" to discuss such matters, even though, of course, none of us has any idea how Miller would view a BIPOC revival of DEATH OF A SALESMAN today. And as for your other comment, please read the quote in R524, which I think is excellent support for non-"fatuous" discussion.

On a different note, I recently watched a 2008 documentary called THEATER OF WAR, partly about the production of MOTHER COURAGE in the Park with Meryl Streep and Kevin Kline. The film intersperses scenes of rehearsals for the play with a history of Brecht's career and the premiere of the play in East Berlin, starring his 2nd wife Helene Weigel.

The historical portion was the most interesting part, and it includes small audio bits of Weigel's performance as well as still photos.

I never saw the Central Park production - did anyone here see it? It's not really fair to judge Streep's performance based on the bits from rehearsals, including the dress, but I would say she didn't really have the kind of earthiness I would associate with the role. The first Broadway production in the 60's had Anne Bancroft, and I can see her in the part more so than Streep.

One funny moment in the documentary: at one point Oskar Eustis arrives at the rehearsal and goes up to Kevin Kline, giving him a hug and what looks like a kiss on the neck. Kline has a hilarious WTF look on his face.

My favorite line from Death of a Salesman is Willy's as he dies - 'It's like a movie in my head that just plays and plays, and it's not just the bad things I remember, it's the whole damned show.'

r525, I fully support and respect the post at r524 (is it yours?) because there's some real documentation there, not merely fatuous assumptions.

In this thread are we secretly competing to use the word "fatuous" more than any other DL thread?

Kudos to whoever can find an appropriate use of the word fatuous in the next title thread. But it has to be appropriate and not.....fatuous.

Top ten Broadway shows for 2022 .

[quote] 'It's like a movie in my head that just plays and plays, and it's not just the bad things I remember, it's the whole damned show.'

It's KILLING me that I know this quote and can't immediately place it. I want to say MACK AND MABEL.

Turn in your gay NFT r532.

Oh, yes. You're right. *sigh* *shame*

R527, you are going to Hell.

Take me Out canceled to tonite due to illness. Resumes tomorrow matinee.

Hopefully all is well with Tyler Weaks' delectable cock.

It's like a movie...

"They also don't ask, don't tell about Spivey..."

Asking would be LITERAL VIOLENCE!

Is it right that an Asian play a white person? Is that white face?

He's an Asian man playing a white man playing an Asian man.

Well this a bit rough.

Attention must be paid to Buddy.

r531 are you seriously quoting something called “newyorktheater.me”?

Ain't No Mo' closes tomorrow. Will anyone be going to this almost-certain EVENT?

[quote]Ain't No Mo' closes tomorrow. Will anyone be going to this almost-certain EVENT?

Is it definite or will some celebrity buy the house out and extend the inevitable another day?

AIN"T NO MO' is 100% certain to be produced at the more daring regional theaters around the country. It may have flopped on Broadway, but it ain't goin' nowhere! Jordan E. Cooper will be making moolah off of it.

Like that dreck Chicken & Biscuits. Horrible flop, yet the 2nd most produced play of the last year.

The 16 shows which will close in the next couple months.

Saw AIN'T NO MO yesterday. Not a big fan of audience participation and I'm not really the audience for it, but there was a lot I liked overall... but clearly the best thing about it was that cast! Amazing!

r542

momma doesn't know the words

r544, I'm not that poster, but to be fair, that site is just compiling the lists from other sites (NYT, New Yorker, etc.)

I'm not that familiar with it, but I have noticed it being included on the usual Reviews collections Playbill posts on opening nights, so it would seem to be at least somewhat legitimate.

Happy is a homosexual?

How much does it cost to buy out an entire theater for a night?

R553 It’s VERY expensive!

1016 seats in the Belasco.

You work on commission don't you R554? Big mistake! Huge!

Chicken n' Biscuits is very different than Ain't No Mo'. It's like comparing The Colored Museum to one of those chit'lin circuit plays that used to tour in the '90s like God Don't Like Ugly.

[quote]Hopefully all is well with Tyler Weaks' delectable cock.

Just Googled him. He looks like a more attractive Tom Holland. Where do I see his nudes?

[quote]AIN"T NO MO' is 100% certain to be produced at the more daring regional theaters around the country. It may have flopped on Broadway, but it ain't goin' nowhere! Jordan E. Cooper will be making moolah off of it.

I'm working on blocking right now!

R556 I just get really happy when they finally let her shop.

R552, show me a happy homosexual and I'll show you a gay corpse.

[Quote] Ain't No Mo' closes tomorrow. Will anyone be going to this almost-certain EVENT?

Why should they start now?

Did anyone see the very brief West Side Story revival that got permanently closed by the pandemic? I'm not sure that what's going on here works. But, I'm also not sure that it doesn't. It's an interesting idea. Doing a much less flowery Maria by a more obviously aggressive gang member (but still sung beautifully) for that contrast between his mannerisms and the lyricism of the song

Powell was truly exceptional. Show had good moments but video overpowered everything

r563

that was a topic of many posts... way over acting but probably the best sung version

Cue powell nude pic. And, go!

This thread needs some...pep.

Betty had some thunder thighs, didn't she?

That Powell video with the straight-acting arm movements is back?

Officially the worst thread ever.

[quote]That Powell video with the straight-acting arm movements is back?

He didn't seem very straight-acting in that clip.

Not even his arm, r570?

Powell almost marrying Wesley “Chipotle” Taylor feels like a fever dream. Talk about a 10 dating a 3.

During this holiday season, let's relive the magic of their love...

Cooper said “Ain’t No Mo’” was not given a fair shot to establish an audience. “There was no billboards in these Black neighborhoods where people could know that the play is for them,” Cooper said.“I’m trying to make a Broadway theater look like an HBCU homecoming,” he said.

Douglas Lyons, whose play “Chicken & Biscuits” debuted in 2021, noted that there has been an increase in productions featuring stories by and about Black people on Broadway, which he described as traditionally being “a predominantly white space.” Nonetheless, he added, “the audiences aren’t going to change overnight.”

“There has been motion and effort from the Broadway community and theater owners and producers to bring the work in, there’s just not historically an infrastructure for the audience to feel like they’re welcome into that space,” Lyons said.

Welcome? Anyone can buy a fucking ticket…

In the spirit of reciprocity, I demand to be treated like royalty when I attend basketball games.

[quote]those chit'lin circuit plays that used to tour in the '90s like God Don't Like Ugly.

In the '90s, it seemed like every other month, the Beacon Theater in NYC was running one of those plays. All I remember is a very loud commercial where a black lady is saying, "The darker the berry, the sweeter the juice" and the sound of an audience laughing hysterically.

WHET Wesley? After the breakup…he kinda disappeared

r578, he was in the Assassins revival at Classic Stage this time last year.

How many weeks did their so-called relationship actually last?

Taylor and Powell? They were together like...three years.

Looks like he did an industry reading for a new musical last month, and also turned up at opening night of A Christmas Carol.

Side question: Has the last Broadway Sex Thread been deleted?

[quote]Welcome? Anyone can buy a fucking ticket…

I think he means not holding the curtain for the audience to arrive 45 minutes late and frowning on the audience shouting remarks during the show.

Here's a new thread for when the time comes:

r583, looks like it. The link now goes to a blank page that says Not Found. I can't remember the last thing that was posted, or what might have gotten it banned.

I won't bother reposting them, but the nudes of the fellows we've been discussing yet again are of course in this thread at r13 and r24.

There are no "daring" regional theaters left to produce AIN'T NO MO' or even CHICKEN AND BISCUITS and SLAVE PLAY. Well, maybe a handful, but not enough to make those playwrights rich. ANM and SP may get produced in a lot of drama depts. but I don't know what kind of money that generates for the writers.

Someone on Reddit posted photos of the audience at 1776 tonight. Damn, that's bleak.

1776 is pretty much a nightly offering on my ticket papering service (but no one is supposed to know about that).

They LITERALLY cannot give tickets away to that fiasco.

I'll go to my grave insisting that the von Hove WSS was by far the best revival I've ever seen of the musical. And I'm far from a von Hove fan and really went into it expecting to hate it all. I was sobbing at the end, unlike any of the numerous WSS I've seen over many years. Truly gut-punching theater. Getting rid of all the too-familiar Jerome Robbins staging, the Sharaff costumes and Oliver Smith ballet scenery really helped. There was no distinction between the looks of the 2 gangs which made it all about unreasonable hate, which was revelatory. I know.......Mary!

And Isaac Powell was even out that night.

I really hope that 1776 signals the end of that entitled bitch Diane Paulus' NY career.

[quote]Well, maybe a handful, but not enough to make those playwrights rich.

I am curious which living American playwrights are making major money from their work. (And more power to them.) When I last looked, Lauren Gunderson was the most widely produced American playwright. (Look her up if you've never heard of her.) Is she wealthy? Is Lynn Nottage wealthy? Is Lucas Hnath?

It's an interesting question. Is there a way to know? I mean, we can't know what percentage they earn off their plays getting produced by community theatres, can we?

I'm not sure about Diane Paulus' directorial career ending, but having endured her 1776, I put most of the blame on her, including the sub-par performances across the board. SHE cast those women, and is responsible for their crap performances in a crap production. Absolutely the worst thing I've seen on Bway in many, many years.

r593, yes to all those playwrights seeing scores of their plays produced in recent years. And add Paula Vogel and Bruce Norris and Sarah Ruhl, to mention a few. For the most part, all of their plays are relatively cheap to produce (small casts and one simple set).

I posed the question about Lynn Nottage, then realized that she's also writing, producing, and even directing for TV and film. So she's gotta be making some serious bank there, over and above her theatre royalties.

In case anyone is wondering....

What Nottage, Vogel, Ruhl, Gunderson and Hnath are also doing is writing great roles for women. Thus, lots and lots of productions all over the place.

Is it Bajour time?

FIRST MIDNIGHT....

SECOND MIDNIGHT....

THIRD MIDNIGHT!!!

BAJOUR, gol darn it!

Huh?