THEATRE GOSSIP #520: Demon Barbers and Debated Revivals

Prior thread

I find it odd that a production that makes such a big deal about its large orchestra playing the original Tunick orchestrations uses some chintzy sounding synthesizer version of the score in a lot of their Instagram videos. Surely they have the rights to use underscoring from the OBCR? They certainly had no problem using the much larger orchestrations from the film in some of their preview/teaser videos. I know it's a tiny detail. It just seems like such an odd choice. Probably made by some underpaid intern.

Three Tall Women: The Musical!

If only Jeanine Tesori could write a decent power ballad, this would get her some attention.

I imagine the cast of SWEENEY will be heading into the studio to record the album very soon. It'll be interesting to see if Warner Music (Groban's label) will foot the bill?

[quote] It'll be interesting to see if Warner Music (Groban's label) will foot the bill?

Who will sing his role if they deny him permission to record on another label?

Did anyone post Loudon’s Sweeney? Not as good as Lansbury. It’s strange because music hall was right up Loudon’s alley and yet she overplays it and uses ten different accents while doing it.

From the previous thread:

[quote]thanks so much for your remembrances/impressions of BILLY in the West End. I totally forgot a young Elaine Paige was in that. It makes sense that it's perhaps too intrinsically British for American audiences (including the source material/film upon which it's based).

There was actually a short-lived American TV series called "Billy" in 1979 that was based on :"Billy Liar" and starred Steve Guttenberg in the title role.

Fuck yeah! Steve Guttenberg was HAF when young.

[quote] I really do not understand the praise for ST.

[quote]Of course you don't. This is DL. — DL hates everything!

No, it's not DL, it's because he's not a Sondheimite who would have given ole Steve a standing ovation for simply doing his morning constitution.

Groff is not much of a movie box office draw, his movie flopped and is already streaming on Peacock.

Billy Porter *IS* cast recording Sweeney Todd!

Still the best.

Josh Groban may be a singer but his acting skills need work IMHO.

Oh and when did JG get a dad bod, or is that just padding or something?

Saw the Hytner Guys and Dolls last week and let me tell you it's the most fun I've had at a musical since the 1960s (yeah, I'm that old).

But directorially the show is a hot mess, sloppy choreography, the hordes of standees being pulled and pushed by ushers around the stage platforms most distractingly, awkward staging and anachronistic props and costumes abound. Were those lit up WALK/DON'T WALK signs and Daily News metal boxes with coin slots really around in the early 1950s? The Hot Box Girls perform Bushel and a Peck in sleazy black leather fringed cow girl costumes with metal buckets and lewd carrots. And are minks considered too sensitive now to be used in Take Back Your Mink (here we have the cheapest white fake fur)? Oh, and the big brawl in Havana takes place in a gay bar with gays in Hawaiian shirts and short shorts!

But the leads are all loveable and give knock out performances and the Sky Masterson, handsome Andrew Richardson is so swoonworthy he will become a DL fave as soon as he's better known. According to his school credits, I think he's American as is the Miss Adelaide. Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat deservedly got 3 encores.

Anyway, the show was worth the trip to London and I can't imagine it won't find its way to Broadway to replace Here Lies Love at the deconstructed Broadway Theater once that show swiftly folds.

R10, the movie wasn't a huge hit or anything, but Universal gives most of its films a quick turnaround from theaters to streaming, so that doesn't mean anything. M3GAN was a much bigger hit, making almost 100 million, and it still hit Peacock a month and a half after its theatrical release, just like Knock at the Cabin.

One theatre queen analyses three different Mrs. Lovetts.

Angela Lansbury

Helena Bonham-Carter

Patty LuPone

[quote]Sit Down Your Rocking the Boat

Oh, dear.

Len Cariou AND Victor Garner were at ST opening night. Where was Betsy Joslyn?

R16, I’d look both ways to make sure LuPone isn’t headed your way. Misspell her name and she kills you.

[Quote] You're such a "huge fan" of the show that you've seen "so many" productions and presumably enjoyed at least some of them.....but now you've suddenly decided that you're "over" new productions....but you bought tickets for this one anyway? You seem a bit confused.

Actually I’m not confused at all. You, however, have reading comprehension issues.

I like Sweeney but have seen so many productions, I don’t need to see yet another one. It was my partner who bought the tickets to the current production, not me.

I’ve been so spoiled by the Angela Lansbury’s Mrs Lovett that, despite having seen many play the role, no one even comes close. It’s always the most disappointing part of any Sweeney Todd I see

Now I'm having visions of Angela Lansbury's Mrs. Lovett leading the ensemble in Sit Down, You're Rockin' the Boat. And it almost works...

Annaleigh does a splendid version of Worst Pies. She makes it her own.

Angela Lansbury was the best choice.

R6, I looked at Louden's Worst Pies and I liked it a lot. It was very different than anyone else I have seen play the part--Louden's Lovett does not have the despair most others play, so I am looking forward to seeing the rest. Her Lovett is ready to take on the world.

It also shows how great Lansbury is. Louden (like Julia McKenzie) can actually sing the role pretty well. Lansbury was working within some vocal limitations, but made those limitations integral to her characterizations.

From the prior thread: [quote] Why can't the combo of Groff and Radcliffe be credited? Why either or?

This person is correct.

[quote] Actually I’m not confused at all. You, however, have reading comprehension issues.

Oh, no, it's the insufferable reading comprehension troll.

This is a Theatre Gossip thread r27. We are ALL insufferable reading comprehension trolls.

I have a NUT ALLERGY!

[quote]Victor Garner

Who?

[quote] I looked at Louden's Worst Pies and I liked it a lot. It was very different than anyone else I have seen play the part--Louden's Lovett does not have the despair most others play, so I am looking forward to seeing the rest. Her Lovett is ready to take on the world.

Speaking of misspelled names ...

[quote] yet she overplays it

Dorothy Loudon overplaying a bit?

Who coulda thunk it??!???!

[quote] Groff is not much of a movie box office draw, his movie flopped and is already streaming on Peacock.

No, but I never said he was. The movie was a flop (and wasn't very good, but most of Shyamalan's films are terrible), but if you do a little digging, you'll find that the core M. Night audience stayed away because there was a gay couple in the lead. I can't tell you how many negative comments I read either on the YouTube pages of the trailers or where the old IMBD message boards have now migrated to... it was shocking how angry and resistant people were to there being a gay couple as the protagonists, and how they would not see the movie because of that. I actually think that's what killed the box office.

And it's a shame because, while the movie wasn't all that great, it was one of the best portrayals of a gay couple I've seen in mainstream films. They just were a couple, a family with a daughter. And that's what they were in the book it was based on, so no one can accuse Night of pandering to any *woke* politics. It also made narrative sense for it to be a gay couple as opposed to straight due to the choice that needed to be made (without going into detail for spoiler reasons). But mainstream horror audiences just do not want to see that. I think the failure of this film did more harm to seeing more things like this than something like Bros, which was never going to cross over.

That being said, the movie did open at #1, so it's a tiny victory. Groff can claim that he was part of a film where a gay couple were the leads and which opened at #1 at the box office. It's something. And I hope another filmmaker will try again.

Daniel Radcliffe's "Franklin Shepard, Inc." on the previous thread may be the worst I've yet to see. Hard to believe the best version was almost 42 years ago sung by a man who made the unfortunate choice to become a director.

Groff was sitting with Leah last night at The Ragtime concert. They looked adorable.

I think Groff's popularity and stardom has only just begun to grow. Like many out gay actors in the UK, he's choosing his roles carefully and it's paying off. And he is truly and unreservedly loved within the Broadway community. I remember standing behind him to be admitted into a play at the Delacorte and he hugged the young female usher who welcomed him with great enthusiasm, also showing his lack of snobbery.

R35 Who is Leah?

[quote]Who will sing his role if they deny him permission to record on another label?

Zombie Dinah Shore

[quote]Groff was sitting with Leah last night

STILL speaking of misspelled names ...

[quote] Fat Ham Sets 2023 Broadway Bow

Ugh, I thought we'd heard the last of Porkablob.......

[quote] Actually I’m not confused at all. You, however, have reading comprehension issues. I like Sweeney but have seen so many productions, I don’t need to see yet another one. It was my partner who bought the tickets to the current production, not me.

You initially wrote not just that you "like" SWEENEY TODD, but that you are a "huge fan" of the show -- so much so that you have seen "so many" productions. And yet now, suddenly, you have decided that you don't need to see "yet another" one, even though this is a major Broadway production with a full orchestra. I have no reading comprehension issues, I just think it's very weird of you to all of a sudden stop wanting to see any more productions of a show you love.

Also, if your partner went ahead and bought tickets without asking you in advance, even though it turns out you have so little interest in seeing the show that you felt the need to post on DL about it, maybe you two should learn to communicate more effectively.

R40, are you okay? That article is from December 22, and Porkalob has nothing to do with FAT HAM, which begins previews on Broadway in about two weeks.

Sorry, I meant that article is from December 5, 2022.

Puking as I type:

NO.

I would prefer that a mediocre performer not destroy the quality of a song just to "make it her own."

R42 R43 Oops on the date. Didn't notice.

The Porkablob bit was a joke.

The original Johanna was Sarah Rice. Betsy Joslyn played the tour, and can be seen in the video.

Carry on.

Betsy was still a member of the ST OBC. In the ensemble.

R46, sorry, I just got the joke. I didn't get it at first because, although I despise Porkalob for obvious reasons, I don't really think of her as "fat."

R49 well, she's 75 percent fat.....

Brain-dead, but not fat.

[quote] the Sky Masterson, handsome Andrew Richardson is so swoonworthy he will become a DL fave as soon as he's better known. According to his school credits, I think he's American

Born in Canada, raised in England R14. But, yes, he is swoonworthy.

Oi, he's hot!

I'm guessing that Nick Hytner himself probably swoons over Andrew Richardson the way he did over Michael Hayden all those years ago, and the way he probably did over several members of the cast of THE HISTORY BOYS, and......

RAGTIME CONCERT at Minskoff Theater was amazing. The orchestra is probably the best I'll hear all year. The entire cast was incredible, I completely forgot it was not staged and these people are a generation removed from their roles as idealistic immigrants, explorers, etc. Never seen the fully staged version and really want to now.

Any idea why this has been popular with some regional theaters but not been revived?

I liked how confused little Coalhouse the third was at the end during the final bows, like "Whoa, is this applause for me?"

Lea Michele came out after intermission to introduce a quick In Memoriam section honoring deceased cast and crew.

Sometimes concerts are a little boring looking but the lighting and projections worked so well w/ the story. Entertainment Community Fund shows are must sees now.

I saw Mickey Jo, Will Swenson, and a whole lot of producers (possibly a shrunken down Scott Rudin?).

[quote]Any idea why this has been popular with some regional theaters but not been revived?

RAGTIME was revived on Broadway in 2009, and though that production was excellent, it was sadly not a success, running only about two months. (Despite the short run, I'm surprised you were totally unaware of that revival, as it's quite easy to check such things.)

Who is Mickey Jo?

In other Sweeney Todd news, a Chicago production of ST won a bunch of Jeff awards.

[quote] Oh and when did JG get a dad bod, or is that just padding or something?

Josh got the dad bod when he turned 40.

[quote]Lea Michele came out after intermission

Does her husband know?

[quote] Lea Michele came out after intermission

Was there a wig to shit in?

Just looked at ticket prices via Ticketmaster and OOF. Are there any other places to purchase tickets to Broadway shows in advance?

R61, best best if possible is to go to the box office (or have someone do that for you), that way at least you can avoid all of the exorbitant extra fees.

Christ, Solea Pfeiffer got cast in the all-black Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park. How the fuck does she keep getting cast? She's horrible.

Thanks for the tip R62!

Ragtime is meh.

[quote]Ragtime is meh.

It's certainly no "Shucked."

The past week of performances (8) for BAD CINDERELLA is - well - bad. The show grossed $8,267 less than the week before.

Theater geeks are taking bets it won't last till Memorial Day. If it does, it's ALW's own money being thrown into the production to keep it going.

I think R52 posted the wrong picture with his description.

‘Phantom Of The Opera’ Grabs Another $3M; ‘Sweeney Todd’ Sells Out For $1.4M:

r68, you'll eat your words when you see Andrew Richardson in the flesh.

There's a rumor (or rumour) going around London now that Brian Cox's costar in his Long Day's Journey Into Night next fall will be none other than Meryl Streep.

[quote]Zombie Dinah Shore

Now *that* would be a drag act I'd watch.

R71 Intriguing.

British actress Stefanie Martini looks like a young Patti LuPone. How about a biopic?

R71-I shudder to think what the ticket prices would be.

WTH is that woman wearing in R74's post? A heart surrounding her bosom? A lot of cleavage on display... God it looks like something a hooker at a Reno brothel would wear!

I keep rolling my eyes at all the posters on ATC and BWW who keep trying to suggest Groban isn't an actor. As if any of the current Broadway leading men have ANY more acting ability than Josh. They keep making him out to ONLY be a singer...a voice! But that describes MOST of the leading men on Broadway these days. Including former Sweeney Norm Lewis.

I for one think Groban is absolutely an actor with fine chops. He might not have the requisite gravitas for this part, but I'm willing to bet he's far more accomplished in his abilities than MOST of the NYU/CCM/Carnegie Melon grads being churned out and swooped up by Telsey and Co.

Groban would have made a fine Anthony in ST a few years ago, methinks.

Cox memorably played one of the sons in the movie version of David Storey's "In Celebration," a play that owed a lot to "Long Day's Journey into Night." I'd love to see him as James Tyrone.

I'm late to the chatter on Kimberly Akimbo, but is there any buzz on Justin Cooley for featured actor? It's an impressive Broadway debut.

r77 wins

Carnegie Melon? Is that where Victor Garner and Leah Michelle went?

The rant about NYU/CCM/Carnegie "Melon" grads seemed familiar, so I did a search. Given that "Mellon" is consistently misspelled, I'm assuming these are also you, r77?

RE: THEATRE GOSSIP #516: "THE PIE SHOP HAS TO BE ABOVE THE MEAT PARLOR" EDITION Telsey and Co, Tara Rubin...they've built their careers over the last 15+ years by hiring boringly proficient CCM/NYU/Carnegie Melon grads and trying to spin them as Broadway's next stars. (03/02/2023)

RE: THEATRE GOSSIP # 492: The "C U Next Tuesday, Lea" Edition Julie Benko is even more ordinary than the crop of CCM and Carnegie Melon grads currently barking on the Great Bright Way… (09/19/2022)

Get a life

Wasn't Carnegie Melon the strip club right above the Howard Johnson's on Broadway?

Is Carnegie Melon related to Thornton Melon? Any relation?

R33, you neglected to mention that the gay couple in Groff’s film have an adopted Asian-American child, who I gather was extremely good. But this might have been a Woke bridge too far for general moviegoing audiences who ultimately rejected it.

Just back from Camelot. A long and boring night at the theatre. It is no wonder why Camelot is not revived often. The book sucks and the score (shoot me) is not that great. A pity because I think Burnap is perfection in it. Soo and Donica are also very good, but Burnap is at another level for me. But what a boring show.

[quote]R9 it's because he's not a Sondheimite who would have given ole Steve a standing ovation for simply doing his morning constitution.

It's MELLON, you fat whore!

[quote] you neglected to mention that the gay couple in Groff’s film have an adopted Asian-American child, who I gather was extremely good. But this might have been a Woke bridge too far for general moviegoing audiences who ultimately rejected it.

I hadn't read many complaints about that, but it could have been that the gay couple was enough for them to complain about.

And yes, she was very good. The whole cast was good. Not a bad performance among them, though some roles were smaller than others.

R83, R90 - It's called AUTOCORRECT ya cunts!

Wait, some roles were smaller than others? What's that all about?

Dumb ass, I was saying that everyone was very good in it, despite the size of their roles. They each made a lot out of little material.

Fucking people on here can't read.

And if you don't pronounce Mellon properly the fuckin' gates won't open

Apparently, the bad Cinderella can only be bad for 6 shows a week now

Josh Groban actually briefly went to C-M but left as soon as he got a recording contract. So, had he stayed, he actually would have been one of those Ccm/C-M grads

so for all the chatter saying NY NY isn't selling, they did 400k for 2 performances last week

There was a short segment on WNYC with and interview with 4 Sweeneys. Honestly, Groban's singing sounded absolutely glorious

[insert SWEENEY joke about "No sir, it's grocer..." here]

R92 No autocorrect anywhere would do that.

Voice dictation, perhaps.

Anxiously awaiting Chris Perfetti in "King James" at MTC. It's on Today Tix.

[quote]And it's a shame because, while the movie wasn't all that great, it was one of the best portrayals of a gay couple I've seen in mainstream films. They just were a couple, a family with a daughter. And that's what they were in the book it was based on, so no one can accuse Night of pandering to any *woke* politics. It also made narrative sense for it to be a gay couple as opposed to straight due to the choice that needed to be made (without going into detail for spoiler reasons).

I agree with most of this, but not the last sentence. The "choice that needed to be made" would be completely nonsensical with ANY sort of couple at the center of the story. I assumed this ridiculous idea must have come from M. Night, but then I read that it's in the source material as well, although there are some HUGE differences in the plot towards the ending.

So Little Shop is on TKTS for 20% off, the discounted tickets are $103 dollars? Since when did Off Broadway charge $125 bucks?

Just tell us the plotvtwist or whatever….there’s nothing to spoil about a months-old movie

r104 Since they could get people to pay that much.

R104-After Groff left, it was no longer worth seeing.

[quote] I agree with most of this, but not the last sentence. The "choice that needed to be made" would be completely nonsensical with ANY sort of couple at the center of the story.

Well, that's subjective. If you go along with the plot, then you buy it. If you don't, you don't. The entire plot can be seen as nonsensical. What I was saying was that with a straight couple, the choice would seem more evident because of the way society views motherhood, and women in general. But with two men, it could potentially become much more of a mystery, depending on whether or not the writer does or does not tip the characters' hands and reveal too much about who they are and what their motivations are, which I feel like Night tread it pretty well. I wasn't super surprised by the choice, but it wasn't evident from the very beginning.

And yes, I know it's OT, so I'll do my best to curb the conversation about it, but I was responding to a direct question.

Zelma's voice seems like it would still sound contemporary on a Broadway stage...

[quote]I agree with most of this, but not the last sentence. The "choice that needed to be made" would be completely nonsensical with ANY sort of couple at the center of the story.

[quote]Well, that's subjective. If you go along with the plot, then you buy it. If you don't, you don't. The entire plot can be seen as nonsensical.

Yes, exactly, that's my opinion: The entire plot is nonsensical.

I too am sorry for the OT discussion, but of course it's not completely OT as Groff is primarily a theater star. I hope he gets more leads in more movies with better scripts.

two insufferable queens carping back and forth is not a "discussion."

[quote] PRIMA FACIE: "Full producing team announced for ‘Prima Facie’" by Broadway News' Caitlin Hornik - "Joining James Bierman’s Empire Street Productions are Elizabeth Armstrong, Barbara Broccoli, Caiola Productions, Kristin Caskey, Echo Lake Entertainment, Eilene Davidson Productions, Eleanor Lloyd Productions, Faliro House, FilmNation Entertainment, Dale Franzen, L.T.D. Productions Inc., Holly Anderson Levow, Stephanie P. McClelland, Olympus Theatricals, Rachel Sussman and The Shubert Organization."

This is insane as usual.

For r105.

(Also, unsurprisingly, the ending of the book was better. The movie predictably wouldn't go there, but it was much more interesting and unexpected,and the movie's ending was too cliched.)

[quote]two insufferable queens carping back and forth is not a "discussion."

Are you the "Insufferable" Queen? The one who KEEPS ON USING that word to attack others, even when it doesn't apply? If so, piss off. And though my conversation with the other poster was largely OT, it was indeed an adult conversation, not "carping," which is more your speed.

On a more relevant note, I've never seen a show at Irish Rep (though I've been interested in a few). What connection does Love Letters have with Ireland? Or is no Irish connection required for shows there?

I like Benanti enough to be interested in this.

Thanks to R114…I now know I didn’t miss anything by skipping the flick.

Why hasn’t Dancin’ released more video? I’ve only found that original Dancin’ Man piece and yesterday’s underpowered and of course very abridged GMA performance of Sing Sing Sing which didn’t do any justice to the experience in the theater.

Really good video is that show’s only shot I think

Why doesn't Matthew do Love Letters with his wife? That would be a DRAW!

Matthew wants to get out of the house.

....or barn as the case may be.

Desperate for attention, chapter infinity: white eyeliner

[quote] Are you the "Insufferable" Queen? The one who KEEPS ON USING that word to attack others, even when it doesn't apply? If so, piss off. And though my conversation with the other poster was largely OT, it was indeed an adult conversation, not "carping," which is more your speed.

Thank you. I was just about to post something similar. We were having a completely respectful conversation.

Billy Porter is going on a concert tour.

For when you want to be in an arena even more empty than Ben Platt's shows.

I found this in the Broadway Sex Thread. Derek Klena refers to Stephanie Block as a *legend.*

Can we just retire all use of this word (as well as "icon") since clearly no one knows what either actually means.

[quote] two insufferable queens carping back and forth is not a "discussion."

It's wonderful!

And they're not insufferable! Sometimes they only have a minute!

Not amusing at all, r126.

[quote]Billy Porter is going on a concert tour.

Interesting. As far as I know, he blew out his singing voice years ago, and now can only sing non-challenging music in a very limited range with no high notes.

Sourpuss alert at r127!

I hope he's booked smaller venues than Ben Platt did.

Billy should hire Jinx Monsoon as their opening act. Jinx sells tickets!!!!!

You know what Sweeney Todd never needs? A lot of choreography.

The freewheeling patio number absolutely *does*, r132.

Not to mention the Beggar Woman's jazz hands every time she sings 'Alms, alms.' Who approved that?

Does she throw in Luigi arms, r134?

SHUCKED is fun. Sergius on ATC has spoken.

I looked, r136. There also appears to be two very diverse opinions on Vanities.

[quote] Josh Groban actually briefly went to C-M but left as soon as he got a recording contract. So, had he stayed, he actually would have been one of those CCM/C-M grads

DL’s beloved Groff was also set to attend Carnegie Mellon, but then deferred his admission for a year to do a regional tour and never ended up attending.

Who is mouth-loving the massive Groban dick these days?

Saw THE THANKSGIVING PLAY tonight and it was a slog. The most amusing part of the evening was some Florida frau (overheard her talk about where she was from pre-show) huffing and puffing out of the theater 2/3rds through the show, but other than that, it was an interminably long SNL sketch. Absolutely nothing to say.

So josh Groban can do Sweeney 8x/week but bad Cinderella can’t?

And Annaleigh as stritch would say, it’s not the work it’s the [italic] stairs [/italic]

There are only 7 performances of Sweeney each week, R141. The opted not to have an alternate because they knew it wouldn't sell.

Review Roundup says:

Massive Groban dick?

Hmm, finally something that might make him interesting to me.....

I saw Sweeney.

Groban has zero gravitas or rage. Ashford is all cartoony business and should have been reined in. Kail’s direction is inept. Set sucks.

No danger, no stakes. Happily, it is the greatest musical ever written, so it can withstand this treatment.

Josh is horse hung

"Josh is horse hung"

Shaggy Jewish guys often are; they're also great in the sack.

Well I'll be!

[quote] His father is a descendant of Jewish immigrants from Poland and Ukraine. His mother's ancestry includes English, German, and Norwegian.

Yup, between Pole/Ukraine and German, he's got several of the "horsemeat" countries in his tree.

R134 they should've adjusted it to "palms, palms..."

Justin Cooley is wonderful in Kimberly Akimbo. He and Vicki Clark are fantastic scene partners. I hope he's recognized during awards season.

[quote]Christ, Solea Pfeiffer got cast in the all-black Hamlet at Shakespeare in the Park. How the fuck does she keep getting cast? She's horrible.

All-black cast? Where's the diversity?

How is the chatroom chatter on NYNY?

[quote] How is the chatroom chatter on NYNY?

Kind of strange. I've been reading, so I will try to encapsulate. The kids at Broadway World mostly seem to like or love it, with a few outliers. All That Chat has been mostly negative, as has Show Score. The detractors seem to feel it's not a disaster, but that it is derivative of other, better shows about New York. Generally, most agree that Act 2 is better than Act 1 and that there are too many storylines. Anna Uzele faring better than Colton Ryan. Some feel Stro has delivered a few big numbers but that they seem almost arbitrary to the show and make it feel like a revue.

We walked out of Thanksgiving Play at Playwrights Horizons in what seems like eons ago. I don't understand why Second Stage keeps dredging up this crap.

Hamlet isn't all Black. Greg Hildreth and others. It does seem predominantly Black

That SWEENEY review roundup on BroadwayWorld lists both the Variety and Wall Street Journal reviews as "thumbs-up," which I'm sure they were, but then they quote only negative excerpts about Groban's performance. Typical for that site.

Video: Wesley Taylor taught Meryl Streep the opening dance steps from A Chorus Line:

SHUCKED just sent out their Tony voter letter a week before opening....Hmmm....

I ask again, how does Chipoltle ass keep getting hired?

He knows the opening dance steps from A Chorus Line.

[quote]You know what Sweeney Todd never needs? A lot of choreography.

You know what Sweeney Todd never needs? Another fucking revival.

You know what Sweeney Todd needs? A better director than Tommy Kail.

Reaction to previous thread:

R 15-Cynthia Erivo was incredible onscreen in the underrated “Bad Times at the El Royale.”

I believe Shen Yun raises money for a cult that is anti-gay.

R 72- I realized such a dream in 1998 playing Kim MacAfee in BYE BYE BIRDIE: IN CONCERT WITH AN ALL MALE CAST at Rose’s Turn in the Village. My husband insists it’s the best thing I’ve ever done.

Richard Skipper played Carol as Dolly in Hello Dolly. And Steven Brinberg did the same with Funny Girl. I can’t remember which coast it was on. NJ maybe?

R 238- yes, you are missing something. It’s a sitzprobe. It’s not about acting. It’s just about singing along with the orchestra for the first time.

R 248- that is not how Donica’s hair is styled in the show.

R 567-Just a couple days ago, I got Merrily tix for $89 each at the box office. Don’t buy tickets online. They’re way more expensive. Got tickets for Sweeney for $69 each. If you don’t live in NYC, find someone in NYC to do it for you.

Melchior is absolutely the lead in Spring Awakening. WTF? Not only did Groff gets fans from SA and Hamilton. He also has fans from his 2 TV shows and many films he has starred in. And then there’s Frozen too. Did anyone mention Little Shop was a hit while he was in it too? Oh and his recent movie dethroned Avatar 2 at the box office.

R42- FAT HAM began previews over a week ago.

My last 2 comments were reactions to this thread

r166 - Guess what's on all day on ION/Mystery.

[quote] Guess what's on all day on ION/Mystery.

A miniseries about the continued employment of Wesley Taylor?

Don't be silly, r168. C-list actor is.

R165 Why did you put a space between R and the number? If you write them together it automatically links....?

[quote] Guess what's on all day on ION/Mystery.

Matlock and Touched by an Angel, whatsit got to do with the theah-tuh?

In Broadway's 'Parade,' Two Husbands Share the Stage — and One Even Understudies the Other:

As 'Sweeney Todd' returns to Broadway, 4 Sweeneys dish about the difficult role:

Vanity Fair photographs many of this season's major stars:

r171 see r169

R165. Have you been living in a cave? You’re days late and dollars short with your outdated comments.

[quote][R165] Why did you put a space between R and the number? If you write them together it automatically links....?

It would have linked to the posts in this thread, r170. r165/c-list actor was referring to posts in the THEATRE GOSSIP thread #519. The last post he referenced properly.

[quote]Matlock and Touched by an Angel, whatsit got to do with the theah-tuh?

Was Bones on as well, r171? C-list actor was an ensemble character on that show for many years and has performed on Broadway.

R177 And he is neat.

R173 -- That NPR reunion between the 4 Sweeneys was a real squandered opportunity. It's a short 7 minute listen and the damn interviewer winds up doing most of the surmising.

I realize it's radio, but this was poorly produced and a missed opportunity. The PR wags behind the revival should've filmed an hour long discussion and put it up on their socials.

[quote] —Melchior is not “the” lead—is one of multiple leads: George is a cameo

I'll give you one thing, you sure don't give up, even when you're completely wrong.

The roles of Melchior, Wendla, and Moritz are all leads and close to equal in size and importance, but I suppose it's arguable that Melchior is the central character of SPRING AWAKENING, if only because he's the only one of the three left alive at the end of the musical (and its source material).

Melchior is the lead. Wendla is the lead female, but most of her story is wrapped up in Melchior. Moritz dies 2/3 of the way in and disappears until the end. He's not a lead.

Ring a bell, r166?

woww!

Why bother linking comments to the former thread at all even if properly linked? As if anyone is going to go back and check.....

[quote]Melchior is the lead. Wendla is the lead female, but most of her story is wrapped up in Melchior. Moritz dies 2/3 of the way in and disappears until the end. He's not a lead.

Wrong. Moritz is definitely a leading role. Much of the story focuses on him, and he is in several scenes without Melchior. Same for Wendla. You don't know what you're talking about.

[quote] Wrong. Moritz is definitely a leading role.

John Gallagher Jr’s Featured Actor Tony begs to differ.

Melchior is the heart and soul of the show, and is definitely the lead.

And Groffy is dreamy as fuck.

I know it's the first preview, but why does the orchestra sound so lifeless and lumbering? They sound like the pit in a high school production.

Deadline reviews "Life of Pi":

R189, I'd guess it's due to it being recorded on some android phone rather than professionally

This we should be able to comprehend:

As written: three co-leads.

As billed for Tony purposes: two co-leads and one supporting.

As enjoyed by anyone seeing the show: three co-leads.

Mainstream press always fucks up theatre interviews.

I’m 2006 the NYT did a feature on Barbara Walsh and Elaine Stritch on Joanne in Company that they decided not to run.

Then there was the interview between Patti LuPone and Stephen Sondheim from last year that was actually bland and unconvincing. It takes a special kind of fuck up to make Patti LuPone seem bland

I saw SHUCKED under duress, and ended up leaving with a big smile on my face. Think it will be a hit.

Robert Horn is... relentless.

Who's his BF?

Theatre Twitter has been buzzing about RAGTIME nonstop since Monday.

Who was there?

This is not a critique of Kelli O’Hara, but Jesus: what a magnificent instrument Marin Mazzie had.

[quote]John Gallagher Jr’s Featured Actor Tony begs to differ.

Well, Tammy Grimes won a Featured Actress Tony for her huge, leading, title role in THE UNSINKABLE MOLLY BROWN, and William Daniels was going to be nominated as Featured Actor for the huge, leading role of John Adams in 1776 but he refused the nom. So your argument is a weak one.

I did leave SHUCKED at intermission. Not into 2 hours of dad jokes with simple songs between.

[quote] Wrong. Moritz is definitely a leading role. Much of the story focuses on him, and he is in several scenes without Melchior. Same for Wendla. You don't know what you're talking about.

You're gonna die on that hill, fine, whatever.

Could you hurry it along, Camille?

There are no leads in "Spring Awakening" Darling, it's an "unsamble" piece.

Yeah, curious if any of you made it to the Ragtime concert. Seems like it was a special night.

Speaking of Ragtime, does anyone remember that in the lead up to that year's Tony Awards CBS had commercials for the Tonys running in which the V/O literally said "And... who will win Best Musical? The Lion King or Ragtime?" I mean, of course everyone knew it was between those two shows, but I thought that was so disrespectful to the other nominees. I'm actually surprised they got away with that.

CBS is trying to make GAYle King the new Walter Cronkite - what do you expect from them?

I've learned, through working for them and watching them fuck up again and again, to expect absolutely nothing from CBS.

Not to get involved in the discussion, but the categories were different back when Tammy Grimes or Tom Bosley were playing their leading roles. If you were below the title, you were in the featured category. In fact the year Bosley won for Fiorello, the lead category was called "Musical Star."

[quote] You're gonna die on that hill, fine, whatever.

Or you both could.

[quote] Not to get involved in the discussion, but the categories were different back when Tammy Grimes or Tom Bosley were playing their leading roles. If you were below the title, you were in the featured category. In fact the year Bosley won for Fiorello, the lead category was called "Musical Star."

It's still the case that if you are billed below the title, you will be placed in the featured category, unless the producers or general managers ask for special consideration from the Tony Administration Committee for an actor to be moved up to Leading categories (or the reverse, which also happens).

Yes, r208, but if someone was playing a true lead role such as Molly Brown or Fiorello, they would be over the title now.

We should be getting the next round of eligibility decisions soon, right?

What can we expect from Sara Porkalob this year?

r211 - 75%

[quote] Or you both could.

There's no "both." There's one person claw clacking about how there's no lead in SA and there are several people explaining to him how that's not the case.

[quote]Yes, [R208], but if someone was playing a true lead role such as Molly Brown or Fiorello, they would be over the title now.

If you are saying that, back in the day, no Broadway stars in leading roles were billed above the title, you're dead wrong. And P.S., in the opinion of many people, an oddity of FIORELLO! is that the title character is more of a supporting/featured role than a leading one.

I put a space because those were from a different thread.

Everyone in Leopoldstadt is featured, right?

This sounds glorious. I hope we get complete videos of some of these songs released, at least.

How much money do the SHUCKED producers have to spend on advertising? I can't escape that thing...

How's Kelli's Back to Before?

Probably similar to Josh’s Epiphany

Uh, r214, try reading it again. Broadway stars were always above the title unless they weren't considered stars yet, such as Tammy Grimes and Tom Bosley who were under the title and playing the lead, yet were up for featured. You may not think Fiorello is not the leading character in Fiorello, but most people would. He's in almost every scene.

Robert Horn’s partner. 24 years together

Anniversary post

[quote]Uh, [R214], try reading it again. Broadway stars were always above the title unless they weren't considered stars yet, such as Tammy Grimes and Tom Bosley who were under the title and playing the lead, yet were up for featured. You may not think Fiorello is not the leading character in Fiorello, but most people would. He's in almost every scene.

Sorry, the wording of your original post was very confusing. And as for FIORELLO!, although he is in almost every scene, he does comparatively little singing in the show, which is why some people view the role as not equivalent to the leads in other musicals.

And whether or not Tammy Grimes' name was above or below the title for MOLLY BROWN, it was beyond ridiculous for her to be nominated as a featured performer, as that role is clearly, unquestionably, without any doubt whatsoever the lead.

Robert Horn is a terrible writer.

Stop the presses. jOH farted

[Quote] “I need to get back to my actual writing,” he said, “because while it’s been really exciting to support other people, I am still an artist, you know, so I need to create my art.”

Oh fuck off

I'm for anything that keeps JOH from writing.

Robert Horn has been hired for years to write "joke passes" on many Hollywood films and Broadway shows (including Hercules). As we saw in Tootsie, he can't write characters, he writes jokes. They are funny jokes, however.

I didn't laugh once during Tootsie.

[quote] I'm for anything that keeps JOH from writing.

Can we somehow get him to stop talking too?

Kelli O’Hara is great on Gilded Age but her theatre performances leave me cold.

Yes,, r183! The script said Zack sings “Aquarius” but then the writers went on strike. We finished that episode before picketing with them. The music rights guy came up to me the day before shooting and said “You’re singing Love is A Many Splendored Thing.” So I went home, figured out what part of the song I’d sing. And the rest is history,

By the way, I played Moritz in the 2001 workshop with Lea, Gavin Creel, and Michael Mayer (in a role that was cut) so I kind of know the show. I’ve read the play too. Melchior is the lead.

I'm glad they went with Splendored, r233.

Yes r206- it wasn’t Lead Actor or Actress. It was like you said, it was for Stars.

R224- as I said, there was no “Lead” Tony. It was called Best Performance by a “Broadway Star.” You can watch this on YouTube.

R232- did you see South Pacific?

60 TONYS 60

Something I can't figure out about NYNY: for years, Freddie and John told anyone who'd listen that their first pass at writing Theme from New York New York failed miserably because they wrote it to be a traditional love-letter to NYC. De Niro correctly identified it as trite, they went off in a huff and came up with something a million times better....and it was specifically their pissed-off energy that gives the song its drive. They've done countless interviews through the years saying this, it's in their autobio, and Lin-Manuel Miranda and John in fact just released a video recreating that exact story with LMM playing De Niro.

So knowing this, why on earth would the creative team make the entire show that builds to the song a traditional love-letter to NYC??? What's onstage, the leading man, the book, and the plotline is missing the energy of the city and the drive that makes the song exciting! It's all so safe and bland.

[quote]Theatre Twitter has been buzzing about RAGTIME nonstop since Monday.

I bet Lea made it a priority to shit in that little girl's wig.

THE PEOPLE CALL IT FAG-TIME!

Hated TOOTSIE, had a great time at SHUCKED, loved John Behlmann in both. Go figure.

John Behlmann should have a much bigger career than he does. He's hot, has a great body, can sing, and is a great comedy performer. The only person connected with Tootsie who deserved a Tony nomination was him, certainly not the completely forgettable Andy Grotelushen (and the always horrible Sarah Stiles).

Santino Fontana didn't deserve to win, either. Should've gone to Alex Brightman or Brooks Ashmanskas.

No, Santino deserved nothing. He's the epitome of bland.

I've never understood how Burr was a lead in Hamilton. Yeah, he's the antagonist but he's not on stage for large amounts of time. It's an important role and also hard to categorize but...not really a lead. IMO.

Mortiz is also a bit of an odd sized role, too but...

Not a lead. Show centers on Melchior. In a show that is very much an ensemble piece.

His role seemed more important because LMM can't sing or act well.

I have a ticket to Camelot on April 15. I am going to sell it when it arrives in my account. Camelot is a special show to me, and I bought it before I knew Sorkin vacuumed out all the magic, pageantry and enchantment. There's a 50/50 chance I will hate it, and I'm not willing to take that risk.

I suspect your post belongs in one of Datalounge's Underwhelmed thread r249.

It’s always funny to me when the lady playing Julie in Show Boat is considered for the Lead Actress awards. She sings one song in Act one and then disappears for the rest of the act and is gone for all of act two, except 5 minutes.

And yet somehow she is considered a lead!

NYNY makes ON THE TOWN seem even more revolutionary 80 years later.

R223, wow. Hot couple when they were young

[quote]Moritz is also a bit of an odd sized role, too but...Not a lead. Show centers on Melchior. In a show that is very much an ensemble piece.

It's true that much of the show centers on Melchior, but to repeat, it's also true that there are several scenes that focus on Moritz or Wendla, and in some of those scenes, Melchior is nowhere to be found. So all of this is arguable, but it's foolish for anyone to come right out and flatly declare "Melchior is the leading role" or "Moritz is not a leading role."

Moritz and Wendla exist in relationship to Melchior. Either could disappear without affecting the other’s story. Only the lead, Melchior is indispensable and only Melchior has a future changed by the drama.

Moritz is the Carrie Pipperidge of the 2000s!

Right, 255. Melchior could accurately be described as the protagonist of SPRING AWAKENING, so he is "the lead" in that sense. But the play and the musical are so deeply concerned with and spend so much time on the tragedies of Wendla and Moritz that, in my opinion, they are absolutely leading roles ALSO. They are certainly not featured roles. Understand?

P.S. It's worth noting that the final scene of the original play is quite different than that of the musical, and in the play, Moritz -- or, rather, Moritz's ghost -- is the last one left alone on stage to deliver a heartbreaking monologue.

[quote]is the last one left alone on stage to deliver a heartbreaking monologue.

I much prefer the freewheeling patio number the musical uses to replace it.

Suffered through Tootsie. Endured Shucked. The problem with both was the absolute relentlessness of the jokes. They become like comedy pin pricks after awhile, and you just think, WTF? It's all very pavlovian. Tootsie had a sophisticated score; Shucked has a forgettable, country easy-listening one. But it's the same style book for both. Weird.

Tootsie had a sophisticated score?? Did you forget to take out your air pods that night?

David Yazbek has written some excellent scores, but "Tootsie" was not one of them.

Tootsie was a hack job by the entire creative team.

The ultimate example of “we have a title that will sell, so let’s just throw anything on the stage and cash out” syndrome that’s infected Bway lately.

[quote]we have a title that will sell

Really overestimated that, didn't they?

Is Shucked a title that will sell? At least more than a $39 ticket?

I remember on a previous Theatre Gossip thread, someone said they saw Carolee Carmello on some show and they thought it was Big Rosie Greenbaum from Laverne and Shirley. Then someone else chimed in and said she's another in the Broadway tradition of female performers who are wonderful onstage but horrific in front of the camera. If most of these Broadway performers could make money doing TV or movies, they'd do it because the paydays are so much more. DL fave Karen Ziemba is another except I think she's a drag onstage as well.

is this guy a good theater reviewer?

"I'm a full time theater critic on YouTube."

His parents must be so proud!

He seems insufferable but I enjoy him.

Is he the hidden sibling of Billle Jo, Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo from "Petticoat Junction"? Maybe from "movin' kind of slow" Uncle Joe?

[quote]He seems insufferable but I enjoy him.

Tell me more about enjoying insufferable people r268.

One of DL fave Karen Ziemba's best performances captured on camera doing "Sooner or Later" with Bill Irwin at a Sondheim concert.

R271, that is Exhibit A as to why Ziemba can't get off Broadway.

He's a bit long-winded, it's become a little too much about his lifestyle but he's all right.

R272 You know she's playing to a big audience in Carnegie Hall there, not just to a camera?

R251 I think that Julie is thought of as the lead because the origami Julie Helen Morgan was such a huge singing and I think radio star when Show Boat was written. It would be like casting Celine Dion in a new show - she would get the lions share of the publicity and be thought of as the lead. Poor Helen Morgan was an often sick alcoholic so I other than the “shuffle” spends most of her time singing on a stool. ….. Plus non musical theater fans tend to refer to the “Ava Gardner” Show Boat - not the Kathryn Grayson Show Boat. I know everybody already knows all of this - I can feel the eyeballs rolling!!

Argh - I wrote Origami Julie instead of Original Julie! I’d like to see an Origami Julie and a Fusilli Gaylord .,,,

[quote] I can feel the eyeballs rolling!!

Sounds slimy.

Origami isn't a pasta like Fusilli though...

[r275] I agree with everything you wrote, it’s just odd to me that when it comes time for awards Lonette McKee was nominated for Lead Actress for the 1983 Tony, the lead Drama Desk nomination for the 1995 revival and Sally Burgess was nominated for the Lead Actress Olivier for the London revival.

[quote]Is he the hidden sibling of Billle Jo, Bobbie Jo and Betty Jo from "Petticoat Junction"? Maybe from "movin' kind of slow" Uncle Joe?

No, r269, but he has two brothers - Marty-Jo and Moe-Jo.

Even if SHUCKED gets some solid reviews, I doubt there will be audiences willing to pay more than $75 (if that!) for their best seats for that kind of light-hearted tired businessman show.

At this point in time, can any Broadway musical afford to run on that sort of box office numbers even if they're selling out?

Where are ryhog and NewtonUK to provide the conflicting answers?

R278 “ Origami Julie” sounded like the bit on Seinfeld when Kramer got into making Pasta Statues. He made a Fusilli Jerry and presented Bette Midler with a “Macaroni Midler.”

When I first read "Origami Julie" I thought, oh, is that some hip new theatre phrase the cool kids are using now? Then, I remembered I was on DataLounge and it was just some eldergay theatre queen with clumsy fingers.

Origami Julie is *no* Ikebana Magnolia...

[quote]Where are ryhog and NewtonUK

A motel in Passaic.

I did an April fools joke one year re Scott Siegel .... I said that Scott Siegal was going to do a weekend extraganza because someone who was supposed to do that weekend at Town Hall backed out and they were stuck as it was part of Town Halls yearly benefit. No one made a comment. That Monday three days later was "Broadway by the Year" and in the program was an announcement the SIegels were doing a weekend extravaganza. I was fooled and everyone thought I had known about this.

PorkChop is Origami Julie.

I think SHUCKED will get solid reviews and WOM will be a big boost. And I predict a passel of Tony nods.

Karen Z was a terrible Roxie Hart. So miscast.

Shucked *could* be helped by the limited amount of new scores this season, but they could also turn around and nominate the music from some play, which I always think is a cheat.

[quote]Plus non musical theater fans tend to refer to the “Ava Gardner” Show Boat - not the Kathryn Grayson Show Boat.

What about US?

*

[quote] DL fave Karen Ziemba is another except I think she's a drag onstage as well.

That explains why she looks like a man! Karen Ziemba’s a drag queen.

Franklin, Charley and Mary? Who’s Lead? Who’s Supporting?

Well, by the rules of C list and his fellow dizzy queens it could only be the role played by J Groff…it is canon.

R292. Jesus H. Christ, that’s offensive even by 1936 standards…hell, by 1896 standards. I did not really need to see that🤯💩

Is Irene done, r296?

R298 “Move Over Darling”

I'll bet good $$ that SHUCKED will get a best score nom before a play does. The songs are good.

[quote]Karen Z was a terrible Roxie Hart. So miscast.

Miscast in what way? I didn't see her in the show, but I would think that would be a very good role for her.

And I am telling you...

Karen Ziemba is very talented and good in a variety of roles. She was excellent in NY City Opera's production of "110 in the Shade" as Lizzie, great in "Contact", really good (though not given a good 11 o'clock number in 'Steel Pier", and when I went back to see her as the replacement in "Crazy for You", she was so much better than the person who originated the role, that the show took on much more vitality and played even better. She's also a very nice lady, indeed.

r288, SHUCKED's WOM (word of mouth) so far is pretty middling. There are certainly fans but just as many naysayers.

[quote]she was so much better than the person who originated the role,

You are far from the only person to feel that way, r302.

Karen was too perky and squeaky clean for Roxie. Same could be said for Sandy Duncan but she pulled it off beautifully.

No, Sandy was 20 years too old for Roxie.

[quote]Franklin, Charley and Mary? Who’s Lead? Who’s Supporting?

I know this is a joke but the NYTW production was the first time I saw Merrily performed, and I was surprised by how small the Charley role is. Friedman makes it clear that this is a story about Franklin and his two friends. The whole show revolves around his character, so much so that it’s really a memory play from his perspective.

While I am sure Groff, Radcliffe and Mendez will all be run as leads for the Tonys, technically Radcliffe and Mendez are really supporting actors in this production.

[quote] I suspect your post belongs in one of Datalounge's Underwhelmed thread [R249].

Sorry to underwhelm you Mr. Sorkin, but I am on topic here. Why don't you go wha-wha-wha til the DL police show up and delete my post.

Why don't you delete yourself? Permanently, in real life.

Anyway, I listed my ticket for the April 15 matinee on DL for $100 if anyone wants it.

Aaron Sorkin’s very contemporary book is of a piece with Bartlett Sher’s concept and direction of CAMELOT: It’s all about grounding the story and action as ‘realistically’ as is possible given that this is a fairy tale.

Burnap, Soo and Donica are very conscientious and diligent in constructing their performances, but not a one of them has star quality or magnetism, and while there is romance in the idealism of the story, there is no chemistry between any of the principals. Soo and Danica sing nicely, Burnap sings adequately (barely) but none of them project especially well or really lands their numbers. Sorkin’s updates have just exchanged one set of problems with another, the show is still inwieldly with too many characters and abrupt changes of tone. There is stark elegance in the costumes and some of the imagery, but the stage often looks under-populated so the big numbers don’t pop as they should.

And yet. That idealism for Camelot still comes across and the audience tonight was very enthusiastic. And I found I was happy to see and hear this show again despite the stuff that doesn’t quite connect or catch fire. Face it, it’s always gonna be a problem show with a good score.

R306. You can never be too old to play Roxie.

r308 you're super crazy. What's Karens? What DL police? Do you think Aaron Sorkin is defensing himself [italic] here [/italic] against the likes of [italic] you [/italic] ? You want him to delete himself because you disagree?

What Karens, not what's Karens. But you still NUTS

[quote]While I am sure Groff, Radcliffe and Mendez will all be run as leads for the Tonys, t

I wouldn't be so sure if I were you. I would be willing to bet that both Radcliffe and Mendez will be considered for Tonys as featured actors.

r314

I agree with you... it's the smartest move

oh please let's talk about Spring Awakening biting some more okay

biling. I hate auto correct sometimes.

Interesting comment from the editor/writer Benjamin Dreyer (Dreyer's English) on CAMELOT:

[quote] New Camelot is about 5 degrees away from being the story of a well-meaning gay man in a politically advantageous marriage who falls hopelessly in love with a beautiful Frenchman and, unable to consummate the passion, pushes the Frenchman on his wife, and his wife on the Frenchman. They should try that. P.S. One of the biggest choices is to remove every iota of magic from the story. I'd have made it about the end of the era of the supernatural (the withdrawal of Merlyn and the debate over the apparent resurrection from the dead toward the end of the first act) and the dawn of (and brutal failure of) pure rationalism, but no one asked me.

[quote]oh please let's talk about Spring Awakening biting some more okay

[quote]biling. I hate auto correct sometimes.

Somehow, I don’t think autocorrect is the problem here

Wow, you are a true dickhead R312. You could have ignored my comment but deigned to critique me, and you get defensive when I stand up for myself.

I’d bet dollars to donuts there are more people in your life that hate you more than love you.

You’re pathetic in every conceivable way.

Don’t even respond to this comment, please. Do yourself a big favor and get back to demanding revivals of Follies, which you have fond memories of seeing back in ‘71, when your were 50.

FYI: You don't seem to know what deign means.

Just put them on ignore 320. It's not worth it.

Karen Z is a bore in everything she does. No star quality whatsoever. It might be her meh face

It's her lopsided titties.

[quote] After that, with each audition, Winkler wondered whether he should disclose his trans male identity to casting directors.

Yeah, because they'd never know otherwise.

[quote]biling. I hate auto correct sometimes.

You fucked it up AGAIN.

The role of Mary Flynn is typically campaigned as Best Leading Actress

What about Jenna Russell as Mary in Maria Friedman's London production of MERRILY? Was she nominated for Lead or Featured? Or did this Samantha Spiro person replace Jenna after the Donmar?

Jenna Russell shouldn't have been nominated for anything. She was fucking dreadful.

[quote]Tootsie was a hack job by the entire creative team.

Well they did the quick change curtain call well.

The only reason Tootsie's curtain call went over so well was because everyone was thrilled that the evening was finally over.

Piss off, R331. Although the score was lackluster, TOOTSIE was a very entertaining, hilariously funny show overall, with a wonderful performance by Santino Fontana.

Samantha Spiro won the lead actress for the 2001 revival. Jenna Russell was nominated for lead actress for the recent revival.

[quote]biling. I hate auto correct sometimes.

We've had quite enough bile on the subject of "Spring Awakening" as it is.

[quote] Piss off, [R331]. Although the score was lackluster, TOOTSIE was a very entertaining, hilariously funny show overall, with a wonderful performance by Santino Fontana.

Who in the production are you related to?

Sure, and we all know that " a very entertaining, hilariously funny show overall" runs 8 months on Broadway. That's what happens...yes.

Tootsie was misguided from the downbeat. Right composer, wrong book writer, worst director. DOA, and Chris Jones did them a great disservice by giving them a "it's The Producers!" review in CHICAGO. They didn't change hardly anything for New York. After the opening, with no great reviews, they ran a full page Times ad of Carol Burnett saying how much she loved the show.

Carol Fuckin' Burnett...

I have no love of Tootsie...but what's wrong with Carol Burnett?

Theatergoers tend to be older. Anyone reading the NYT in print is likely older. Anyone who might be interested in a musical based on a nearly 40 year movie that has no relevence to anyone under the age of 45 is definitely older. When you have nothing else, doesn't it make sense to target older people with a reference that means something to them?

Was the Charley role nominated for Lead?

Radcliffe has been snubbed for a Tony nomination several times, it would be nice to see him rewarded for Merrily. But Groff outperformed him on every level in the off-Broadway production. He would only really be competitive in Featured, unless he gets snubbed again.

Jenna Russell? The one who was also a dreadful Michelle Watts recast on EE?

EE? Is that a shoe width?

[quote]Who in the production are you related to?

Your mother.

Sorry, but that's exactly sort of childish response your childish question deserves.

[quote]Sure, and we all know that " a very entertaining, hilariously funny show overall" runs 8 months on Broadway. That's what happens...yes.

I meant that the show was very entertaining and hilariously funny IN MY OPINION, to which I am entitled and in which I am far from alone. Lots of good shows have not lasted long on Broadway -- can you possibly be unaware of this?

[quote]Tootsie was misguided from the downbeat. Right composer, wrong book writer, worst director.

Not only do I disagree with you about the quality of the show overall, we don't even agree on the one thing you liked about it. I thought Yazbek's score was the weakest element of the show, and again, many people seemed to share my feelings, so in this opinion you definitely seem to be in the minority.

[quote] Sorry, but that's exactly sort of childish response your childish question deserves.

I would expect nothing else from someone who thought Tootsie: The Musical was quality.

[quote]I would expect nothing else from someone who thought Tootsie: The Musical was quality.

I never used the word "quality," but to repeat, I did find it very entertaining and funny. And judging from the audience response at the performance I attended, I was by no means alone in my feelings. So you're entitled to your opinion, but please stop shitting on the opinion of others, because it makes you sound like an insufferable asshole.

I agree--I could not believe how Radcliffe disappeared on stage in the NYTW production. He's physically slight, of course, but he just wasn't there after "Franklin Shepherd, Inc." I can't stop thinking about it, because I like him as an actor so much. But Groff and Mendez blew him away. I think it's a directorial issue as well--there was a clear decision to put Groff at center, rather than a trio, which is what I think the authors wanted originally.

[quote] So you're entitled to your opinion, but please stop shitting on the opinion of others, because it makes you sound like an insufferable asshole.

I can imagine what sitting next to you at the theater would be like.

Also, since you haven't figured it out yet, there are at least 2-3 posters in this thread complaining about the quality of Tootsie. I should know since I'm one of them and all the posts aren't mine.

Yet, here you are, the lone Tootsie defender.

[quote]I think it's a directorial issue as well--there was a clear decision to put Groff at center, rather than a trio, which is what I think the authors wanted originally.

Other than the focus on Groff as Frank at the very start of the production, when he enters alone, can you explain what you mean by this comment? Because, after that opening moment, I didn't get that from this production at all. On the contrary, I think the focus was very much on the three leads, as it should be. I did feel there was way too much focus on the character of Gussie, but that's mostly because her role has been expanded so much over the years -- to the show's detriment, in my opinion.

[quote]the lone Tootsie defender

What is the place of this character in the Marvel universe?

[quote]But Groff and Mendez blew him

Pics please!

Can NYC ban drag musicals on Broadway for a while? They're all so tiresome and redundant.

You could choose not to attend r350.

No shit, R351. You could also choose not to reply to comments you don't like.

It seems we have an abundance of dumb cunts on this thread today.

[quote]You could also choose not to reply to comments you don't like.

Just exactly how hard is it to see with that log in your eye?

[quote]It seems we have an abundance of dumb cunts on this thread today.

R352 lives in a glass house, if you know what I mean.

Wow, a Tootsie spat! One never knows where these threads will take us.

There are more people squabbling over Tootsie in here than attended it on Broadway!

There's nothing I'm looking forward to more than the next 240+ posts of "You're wrong!" "No, YOU'RE wrong!"

Poor Andrew Rannells. He was the only lead of the Tammy Faye musical that lost the Olivier. Now he is a two time Tony loser and Olivier loser.

Any other feedback about Thanksgiving Play? All I'm hearing is: Gobble Gobble

Girls! Girls! You're both heinous cunts!

Friday night I saw the final performance of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the theater at Saint Clements. It was a pretty good production, but the curious thing is that the Cat at the center was very underwhelming and the real stars of the show were Brick and Big Daddy; their their act two scene together was very exciting and moving. Big Mama and Sister Woman also stood out.

Sorry that Cat wasn’t as convincing. I know that previous Cats are big slips/lingerie to fill but this Cat wasn’t up to the task.

Jodie Comer just won the Olivier for Prima Facie but I really wonder if the show will be as hot a ticket, even with great reviews, as their outrageous prices seem to indicate. Not that it/she aren't good, but do many people here really know her or want to see her in a one person show or even know what Prima Facie means? And those publicity photos of Jodie in her magistrate's wig aren't exactly peaking my interest.

But what do I know? Is it selling well?

[quote]I know that previous Cats are big slips/lingerie to fill

Marjorie Main's comes to mind.

I like Santino Fontana.

Anyone seen the Zadie Smith play at BAM or the play about using Grindr in India at Soho Rep? Either worth seeing?

I think you answered your own question, R365.

Ha. Touché, R366. Still... interested in hearing from anyone who's seen either production.

The Mescal-led Streetcar is totally going to do a limited engagement on Broadway, right?

Has Bad Cinderella Closed?

R362. It is a barrister’s wig not a “magistrate’s wig.”

R362 She shows clearly she is not a trained actress.

Gwen Verdon was 50 when she originated Roxie in the musical. Her age isn’t important.

[quote]And those publicity photos of Jodie in her magistrate's wig aren't exactly peaking my interest.

Dorothy, just because you have to walk around lookin' like an English lawyer doesn't mean everybody has to.

If EVITA came out today, Che would be nominated in Lead Actor.

He has as many songs and stage time as Eva. Perhaps a smidge more.

Mandy Patinkin won in Featured Actor and Patti LuPone won Lead Actress.

Neither was billed above the title.

FYI: Lucy Mame is free to watch on YouTube's Movie & TV Channel.

[quote] The Mescal-led Streetcar is totally going to do a limited engagement on Broadway, right?

Can the Irish leprechaun do an American accent convincingly?

Mescal's American accent in STREETCAR is impeccable, as were all the UK actors in the production. Those young actors really get great training in speech and dialects these days, as seen on so much US TV and film, as well as stage, where they're cast as Americans. Patsy Ferran made a choice not to go too heavy on a Southern accent and IMHO it really helped the characterization. There was little languid posturing in her Blanche, much more of a fevered energy and intensity that kept driving the play forward. A revelation seeing a 30 year old actress play a 30 year old character. And I've seen numerous productions over 40 years but not until this production did I realize how much more stage time Blanche has than Stanley.

Mescal's film schedule seems to be so crowded I can't imagine there's room for a NY run.

Tootsie is now traveling across America in a Non-Equity tour that is getting pallid reviews and weak box office everywhere.

TOOTSIE Food Fight!

The Sign in Sidney Brustein's window is announcing they're going to the JONES today -- opening before the Tony cut off. Thoughts DLers?

[quote] Tootsie is now traveling across America in a Non-Equity tour that is getting pallid reviews and weak box office everywhere.

That poor thing is still going? I would have thought they'd have put it out of its misery by now. When it played in LA, you couldn't give tickets away.

Does anyone know if Jessica Lange went to see 'Tootsie' on Broadway?

I'll bet even Ellen Foley didn't go see Tootsie on Broadway.

Love Ellen.

R380 I saw Sidney Braustein at BAM—the second act was interminable. Rachel Brosnahan and Miriam Silverman were great. Oscar Isaac had his moments.

At Tootsie, Melchior has better seats than Moritz.

Tootsie made Moritz kill himself.

'Brustein's' set can be elevated even higher from the stage in a proper Broadway house.

I think it would be hilarious if they did this for the sole purpose of nominations and then the production didn’t receive a single one.

They could never pull it off in less than 4 weeks to qualify for the Tonys.

[quote]And those publicity photos of Jodie in her magistrate's wig aren't exactly peaking my interest.

Oh, dear.

[quote] It is a barrister’s wig not a “magistrate’s wig.”

Hey, a wig's a wig.

Do people who get cast (or "casted," as some of you prefer) in "Tootsie" proclaim they got a Tootsie role?

One's interest is

PIQUED

not

"peaked"

"Miss Channing is ageless."

Not THIS Miss Channing.

Did someone say my name?

Or mine?

Why does that Carol Channing dummy look like Betty White?

[quote] Why does that Carol Channing dummy look like Betty White?

Why does that doll looke likt Katie Finneran?

I wonder if a big part of the appeal of Sydney Brustein was seeing it at Bam, for double hipster, cognoscenti points. I wonder if Broadway will reduce its luster.

Is this doll better or worse?

I think she might frighten small children.

Rachel Brosnahan has a substantial fandom from MRS. MAISEL, so I think there's an audience. And Oscar Isaac, of course.

Actually, r396, that's the best photo I've seen of Stockard in some time.

Doll #1 looks like Glenn Close. Doll #2 looks like Georgia Engel after she has been dabbling in the Ben Nye.

Who names their kid Stockard?

R406 No one, it's a stage name.

Who names their kid Sigourney, r406?

ALSO a stage name.

Really, r409? Who knew?

Dolly Doolittle? Eliza Levi?

[quote]r225 Robert Horn is a terrible writer.

I thought this said WAITER.

Susan is the real first name of Stockard Channing and Sigourney Weaver.

What was their beef with that name?

[quote]Is this doll better or worse?

The doll at R402 looks more like Shari Lewis than Carol Channing. Whether that makes it better or worse is hard to say.

R413 Who knows?

Excuse me, r414, ex-c-u-u-u-s-e me. *This* is a Shari Lewis doll...

[quote]Excuse me, R414, ex-c-u-u-u-s-e me. *This* is a Shari Lewis doll...

I would have guessed a young Ann Miller.

The only other play revival this season is that crappy Doll's House so I think Sidney Brustein has a good chance of taking the Tony, especially of voters want to reward the ghost of Lorraine Hansberry. The Lead Actor in a Play is also iffy this season so Oscar might have a good chance winning, too.

I'm excited to have a second chance to see it. I passed on it at BAM because I didn't want to schlep to Brooklyn where I lived throughout the 1980s.

[quote]I would have guessed a young Ann Miller.

Oh, honey...

Winners of this year's Kleban Prize for new musical writers. At $100K per, it's a nice little chunk of change, as these things go.

(Just noting that they're both white cis men. No further comment from me...)

worst thread ever?

[quote]I think it would be hilarious if they did this for the sole purpose of nominations and then the production didn’t receive a single one.

Weren't the reviews for "Brustein" just kind of meh? I would think of this as not being very threatening to the Tony prospects of "Doll's House," which got fairly glowing reviews if I'm not mistaken. And Jessica Chastain's Oscar should trump Rachel Brosnahan's Emmy in the race for lead actress in a play.

[quote]worst thread ever?

Are you new here, r421? It's not even the worst THEATRE GOSSIP thread ever.

For fun, here's Victor Garber hosting the Tonys as Applegate from Damn Yankees. At the very end, Gwen Verdon and Jean Stapleton flank George Abbot, who was only a few weeks shy of 107.

That doll looks like a dollar store G.

Then again, G always looks like a dollar store G, so....

[quote] I would think of this as not being very threatening to the Tony prospects of "Doll's House," which got fairly glowing reviews if I'm not mistaken. And Jessica Chastain's Oscar should trump Rachel Brosnahan's Emmy in the race for lead actress in a play.

I don't think any of the Doll's House reviews were really flat out raves, though it received some generally positive notices, while others were much more mixed. Even those that admired Jamie Lloyd's approach felt that the play also suffers to some degree as a result of his cold, clinical aesthetic, and that it was the least rewarding of his recent productions that played New York (meaning Betrayal and Cyrano). The show is also sort of flatlining, with good but not great business.

Further, I think the Best Actress race is not really Chastain vs. Brosnahan (if her play moves). I expect everyone will lose to Jodie Comer.

Neil Patrick Harris Joins Broadway’s ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ For Limited Guest Star Run:

Peter Pan Goes Wrong should have been the title of NPH's autobiography.

Tootsie was so obviously a money grab, desperate to attract tourists to pay ridiculous prices because they know the name of the movie.

Everything about the production was subpar

I sure hope that if there are only two eligible productions for Best Play Revival that they just skip the whole category. They never should have made separate categories for Revival.

Actually, I forgot but this season also included the revivals of Death of a Salesman, Top Dog/Under Dog and The Piano Lesson. But if I forgot them, so will the voters. I still think voters will want to reward the home-grown Sidney and Lorraine rather than that still-born pretentious Nora and Henrik.

Ah, okay. I thought it seemed strange that there were only two candidates. But I'm not going to be in NYC at all this whole season, so I haven't been paying as much attention.

Salesman and Piano Lesson were not great, but Topdog was as good as, and in some ways, better than the original production. I haven't forgotten it at all.

R411 it’s the Sally Ann Howes / Edward Mulhare doll. Tip Sally Ann upside down and flatten her dress and you will find “”Ascot Edward.”

Poor Stockard Channing. Takes the surname of her husband and then they divorce and she has to carry that name around for professional purposes.

R411 why did they give the Carol Channing doll the famous Ascot Gavotte gown?

If Stockard Channing married Sybil Danning they'd be the Channing-Dannings.

[quote] Neil Patrick Harris Joins Broadway’s ‘Peter Pan Goes Wrong’ For Limited Guest Star Run:

Christ! The first Goes Wrong play was funny, but we’re now, what, five installments in? Their shtick has long outlived its usefulness.

Hello gorgeous!

Since we're comparing....

Did they just add a Streisand nose to their Cybill Shepard doll?

Someone please tell Michael Mayer that even this FUNNY GIRL feels more lifelike and animated than his.

[quote]Poor Stockard Channing. Takes the surname of her husband and then they divorce and she has to carry that name around for professional purposes.

So what? Who cares?

[quote][R411] why did they give the Carol Channing doll the famous Ascot Gavotte gown?

I'm guessing they had already done a My Fair Lady doll, r435, and they had all the fabric and trims left over and needed to use them up. They figured they were both oldy-timey and nobody would notice.

R434 well, she used her surname Stockard as her first name, so she was in dire need of a new last name.

Stockard Stoppard?

[quote]r413 Susan is the real first name of Stockard Channing and Sigourney Weaver. What was their beef with that name?

Ever since childhood I’ve experienced an almost visceral rejection of the name Susan. (Maybe because I never knew one.) There’s no imagery associated with it… though now that I think of it, there WAS Susan B. Anthony.

Suzanne is okay, but Susan is bland and stupid.

R385 I had the complete opposite experience. It felt like the second act flew by after the never-ending first act, and I thought Oscar was better than Rachel (though both deserve Tony nominations. I did get Katya Campbell instead of Miriam Silverman for Mavis, and it felt like the strength was more in the part than in the performance.

[quote]Suzanne is okay, but Susan is bland and stupid.

At least it's not Karen.

Thanks for the posts with images of the different dolls (not those Neely!). That Ann Miller has quite the "crotch forward" pose... did Ann ever put it out there in such a vulgar manner?

And that Streisand! Tits up bitch! Tits up! Impressive.

One of the leads is out of Camelot until the 11th, but I don't know which one. I'm going Wednesday night. Anybody have info?

Will they? Won't they? Do they? Don't they?

R449 nothing on the theater boards yet. I saw the show yesterday and everyone was in it.

I was gifted with 2 comps for CAMELOT for this Friday night which I assumed was because it's a critics' performance. Is it not? Or is it a Jewish holiday??

This is the week leading up to Easter. I had no idea anyone in Camelot was such a devout Christian.

I'm gonna drum you right off DL, r445.

Well, the theater news day is over, and no Sidney Brustein announcement...just a rumor?

Have you checked his window?

Okay, that clip at R440 was quite adorable. Which one of you bitches did it?

Fuck equity and their strike

[quote] Well, the theater news day is over, and no Sidney Brustein announcement...just a rumor?

It is being announced tomorrow.

[quote]Actually, I forgot but this season also included the revivals of Death of a Salesman, Top Dog/Under Dog and The Piano Lesson. But if I forgot them, so will the voters.

Umm, the voters won't forget them, because they will have been reminded by the nominators. What a strange comment.

Today is April 3. If one of the leads in CAMELOT is going to be out of the show until the 11th, can we assume it's COVID?

Damn. This dude can sing! Makes me want to find (a cheap) ticket to Shucked.

And, don't come from me. Newell (is perhaps a touch greedy) and uses all pronouns (she/he/they).

Will it have a folksy appeal like Pump Boys/Dinettes?

She's too thin.

U.S. PREMIERE

AVA: THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS

04.04 – 05.07.2023

WRITTEN BY

ELIZABETH MCGOVERN

DIRECTED BY

MORITZ VON STUELPNAGEL

BASED ON THE BOOK “THE SECRET CONVERSATIONS” BY

PETER EVANS & AVA GARDNER

Cousin Cora playing Ava? That's a laugh.

Eldergays, tell us about Titanic. What were your thoughts on the score, the show overall, the scenic design? Was it a punchline before it became a hit? Or... whatever you call a respectable two-year run and the Best Musical Tony.

Too thin? At 61, Elizabeth McGovern is too damn OLD to play Ava Gardner, unless the story is about her making EARTHQUAKE in 1974.

She's also lacks Gardner's glamour or acting chops.

I think some of TITANIC's score (by Maury Yeston) is actually quite lovely. The book (by Peter Stone) is pretty terrible (and as I recall, was extensively revised in previews).

The direction and production design remain among the worst I've ever seen for a major Bway musical. The sets and costumes were hideous. The staging of the ship tilting and sinking were laughably bad.

I don't know if it's salvageable (hah!) as a stage musical, but I'd see it again if someone gave it an overhaul.

r122 Oh leave Billy alone. Let him have his fun with his eyeliner and tour and whatever else. With the way the GOP is coming after gay people, we're lucky to have someone like him living his best life. Is it a bit much? Sure, fine, but christ, he's put in the years. Let him enjoy himself! Better that than him pulling a Liberace and living in the closet, right?

Yeah, r128, it's true his voice doesn't have anywhere near the range it once did...so for him to aim to tour and become "the male Whitney Houston" is like...maaaaybe 20 years too late for that. But maybe he'll hoarse his way through something decent on tour. He's still crazy talented even with a reduced range. Hell, he SHOULD have had a bigger career given his range and ability years ago. And if Barbra and Judy and so many others can tour when their best vocal years are behind them, why can't Billy?

How DID the ship sink and tilt, r468?

All I remember is that Rosie O kept plugging this show on her talk show, but I didn't see the appeal. The timing of it was suspect, after the success of the film. It felt tacky, like the multiple Phantoms that popped up after ALW's success...

anyone think there'll be a Dancin' cast recording this time around?

Who is in Little Shop of Horrors right now and are they good?

Was thinking of seeing the show in 2 weeks but wanted to see a good, solid, belty Audrey. If Audrey ain't good, the show ain't good, you know?

R472 Audrey is a nepo baby.

[quote]All I remember is that Rosie O kept plugging this show on her talk show, but I didn't see the appeal. The timing of it was suspect, after the success of the film. It felt tacky, like the multiple Phantoms that popped up after ALW's success.

The TITANIC musical preceded the James Cameron film.

It had been in the works ever since the wreckage was discovered in 1985 and finally premiered in April 1997.

In June, it won all the 5 Tonys it was nominated for -- Best Musical, Best Book, Best Original Score, Best Scenic Design, Best Orchestrations.

Cameron began working on the TITANIC script in 1995 after visiting the underwater site.

Principal photography was from September 1996 to March 1997.

The film was slated for a July '97 release, but it went overbudget so it was moved to December. And the rest is history.

[quote]And the rest is history.

Rather dull history.

R472

Geez, can we go back to Follies rather than talking about hideous dolls?

Or perhaps Follies dolls?

Is Barbie a Sally Doll or a Phyllis Doll?

Anyone know why there is no longer a Tony for Orchestrations? I'm reluctant to post on ATC and get a thousand-word answer from Alan Scott.

They are announcing the new Audrey today and Twitter is convinced it’s MJ Rodriguez.

I guess they want that Jinxx Monsoon money.

It's happening...and it's getting in, in time for the Tonys.

Only 80 performances? Who do they think they are? Jodie Comer?

That number at the beginning of TITANIC of everyone boarding the ship was thrilling, especially knowing what fate had in store. The rest of the musical was indeed wonky.

So basically a last minute Tony grab. I hope this backfires on them. But it won’t. The Tonys are notorious star-fuckers

The girl from Shucked was pretty good, but I just can't bring myself to see it, even if the reviews are decent. I've been duped too many times (CONTACT being the ultimate dupe - the Emperor's New Clothes of musicals)

R466 In 1997 TITANIC was absolutely a punchline before it was a "hit." Coming in, the jokes about a disaster of a musical wrote themselves. The rumor mill was going overtime that they had a lot of tech trouble in previews, with writing cuts and changes coming pretty much up to the day the show was frozen. They even changed the logo. So there was a lot of whispered gossip about how bad things were going at the theatre.

The original Broadway production of TITANIC wasn't a financial hit, though those original investors must have recouped by now from subsequent productions. It ran nearly two years on Broadway. But if you go back and read the initial set of Broadway reviews, they aren't as enthusiastic as one might think.

Brantley/NYT, linked below, said, " 'Titanic,' which opened on schedule last night at the Lunt-Fontanne Theater, doesn't sink. Unfortunately, that is also probably the most exciting thing that can be said about it. At its worst, this extremely ambitious, er, vehicle is simply hokey and stereotyped; at its best, it's an admirably efficient piece of narrative, able to squeeze in a vast roster of characters, assorted chunks of technological and historical information, slews of statistics and themes ranging from class conflict to human hubris, all with minimal confusion."

Arguably, Rosie O'Donnell "made" that show with her relentless plugging which seemed to be borne from a genuine enthusiasm for the show. There's no question that helped them get the Tony, and once they had that, they were far better set on the path to success. It was the beginning of her show's power and people realizing that suddenly Broadway had a regular national television advocate again on a show that a lot of people who fit the Broadway demographic watched. Coming out of some very rough years, the theatre community was all about getting on board with Rosie's show.

Of all the major musicals that year, THE LIFE, STEEL PIER, JEKYLL & HYDE - it was THE LIFE that received far more Tony nominations and won the other Best Musical awards: Drama Desk, the Drama League, and the Outer Critics Circle. But its subject matter wasn't family friendly/educational, nor did it feel prestigious and historical like TITANIC did.

JEKYLL ran the longest of them all, but its original production also closed at a financial loss/without recouping. JUAN DARIEN was the other nominee (beside THE LIFE, STEEL PIER, and TITANIC) to keep JEKYLL from getting a slot.

The Cameron film's release was, at the time, the biggest blockbuster film ever. It came out in December 1997--after the Tonys where the show won, but while the Broadway production was still running, so the runoff interest from the movie certainly gave the kind of box office jolt even money can't buy.

THE LIFE became even more of an also ran when it simply did not get the regional, stock, community theatre, and school productions (or performances of its music). Decent-to-top-quality regional productions of TITANIC have popped up, not all the time, but with some regularity. I'm not sure if THE LIFE even did a first national tour. TITANIC certainly did, and then some non-union tours after that. It's certainly the best-regarded musical from that season.

There have been clips of regional productions of TITANIC (some of them immersive--ha ha) that seem to grant the show a longer life than was originally predicted. I enjoyed it onstage and play the CD frequently.

[quote] The timing of it was suspect, after the success of the film.

Titanic the movie opened on December 19, 1997

Titanic the musical had been playing on Broadway for almost eight months by then, having opened on April 23, 1997

Signature Theater did a decent job addressing the physical production challenges. It was adapted in a Seoul production. There was talk of a Broadway revival based on this, but Covid and Eric Schaeffer’s ouster from sexual harassment charges ended all that.

One thing that the original production guy exactly referenced that was the moment when they realized the ship was in danger. The rich passengers and the crew were all in denial. Then a cart slowly started sliding across the stage, revealing the ship was tilted.

Signature did a nice job with the actual sinking. They had bodies and chairs and objects suspended from the ceiling so it looked like they were underwater.

It’s a show that just misses being good, over and over. Great score that doesn’t fully come together.

That cart was a coup de théâtre!

It's official:

It may be official, but it's completely inane.

THE LIFE was never going to get the HS and community theater productions of other shows, simply because of its subject matter.

Nobody wants to see the community theater version.....cast with full figured frauette Amanda Kelly Jane Tammy or whatever her name might be, who gets all the leads in all the shows no matter what.....shaking her fat ass at the audience moaning about the oldest profession.

OK, who has the photos?

Are they Jesselicious?

Oscar and Rachel were both excellent in the show, would deserve the nominations, and it's also great that the JEJ isn't going to sit empty after the Room fiasco. Win/win.

JEKYLL did recoup on Broadway.

Well it’s still gonna sit empty

[r497] not after they paid MY fee

why the hell is JOH part of the Brustein producing team.

He wants a Tony

Seeing all these theatre diva dolls has reminded me.....do they still create those adorable Broadway Bears?

Like Kevin Chamberlin?

"Schmigadoon," season 2.

The last series was in 2012, r503. I worked on one.

r503...

Why did they stop doing the Bears. r503? They always seemed to bring a ton of money for Broadway Cares.

JOH being a producer ensures no Tony. If you don't believe me, ask the producers of The Inheritance.

I don't know if it was part of it, r508, but I'm sure they were running out of "classics" and who would get the Funny Girl bear, Beanie or Lea? Sleeves or no sleeves?

Last week's numbers slight dips, but overall okay. SHUCKED still not getting any momentum. AKIMBO and HOT holding on.

[quote] He wants a Tony

I'm not particuarly rooting for Brustein, but I would LOVE for JOH's only Tony to be for someone [italic] else's [/italic] play.

It looks like Jordan Donica was MIA at Miscast last night. Could he be the Camelot lead who will be out until the 11th?

Did we discuss? I looked upthread.....

It may have recouped by now, but it did not recoup during the run, R497. But hey, neither did Millie, Legally Blonde, Addams Family, or Seussical and now they are well in the black and familiar to the world at large as musical theatre titles.

R490, I second your positive description of the Signature Theater's production of TITANIC. It was an "immersive" production, well-staged and very well-sung. If it had moved to Broadway, it might have done well at Circle In The Square, since the production was designed to be done in the round.

In 2016, a London production of Titanic was done at the Charing Cross Theatre - a postage stamp stage that has housed some ambitious revivals. While this production of TITANIC was done more traditionally, it was nonetheless a huge success and extended its limited run.

I was lucky enough to see all three productions (Broadway, Signature, London), and each amplified the beautiful score and the sad and moving stories. TITANIC is by no means perfect, but it can be very effective and emotionally satisfying.

imho

Here's a video of the London revival of TITANIC.

Don't forget...

I saw a late-90s tour of 'Titanic' when I was a kid and all I remember is that cart! A very memorable moment indeed.

Titanic has some nice music. But otherwise, meh.

Matias de la Flor is the understudy for Lancelot for Camelot gala performance 4/4/23. Latin hottie.

Would have loved to see "Titanic": The Musical at Serenbe Playhouse on the water. Cool use of the lake. They also did "Miss Saigon" and had an actual helicopter buzz the audience

I think the highly peculiar set designs for the original Broadway TITANIC turned off a lot of people to the emotional stories the musical was trying to tell. Not that the designs weren't very interesting and original in their own way, just perhaps not the best choice for a commercial Broadway show.

I was walking through a Broadway costume shop and one of the fabric painters was painting a rose on a bodice panel. I asked her what it was for and she said "Titantic". I asked her if I could throw an ice cube at it. She gave me a blank look and said...no.

Jordan Donica had Covid-19 and missed the first week of the two week run of Into the Woods at encores.

Is Covid-19 a gay diseases??

[quote]I was lucky enough to see all three productions (Broadway, Signature, London), and each amplified the beautiful score and the sad and moving stories. TITANIC is by no means perfect, but it can be very effective and emotionally satisfying.

I saw the Broadway production a couple of times and also saw the Signature production, and I agree with you. No, it's not a perfect musical, but I think it tends to be dismissed too easily, perhaps because it does strike so many people, as it did me, as a strange story to musicalize. But then, when I first heard about "Sweeney Todd" prior to its Broadway opening, I thought, "That doesn't strike me as a story that really sings." And no, I'm not comparing the two shows in terms of their respective quality. But Sondheim himself once said that anything can be a musical.

After today, just 22 days left of the Broadway season.

r472, new Audrey coming in May if you want to skip Apatow. (I did find it suspicious I couldn't easily find a recording of Apatow singing the role.)

Jesse Green praises Alex Newell, but nothing else in Shucked, but is still relatively generous toward it.

[quote]Puns, the pundit John Oliver has said, are not merely the lowest form of humor but “the lowest form of human behavior.” The academy agrees. In the 1600s, no less a literary luminary than John Dryden denounced lowbrow verbal amusements that “torture one poor word ten thousand ways.”

[quote]You may know how that one poor word feels after seeing “Shucked,” the anomalous Broadway musical about corn that opened on Tuesday at the Nederlander Theater. For more than two hours, it pelts you with piffle so egregious — not just puns but also dad jokes, double entendres and booby-trapped one-liners — that, forced into submission, you eventually give in.

Still it got a lot more positive reviews than I would have expected (or thought it deserved).

Quote [forced into submission, you eventually give in.]

Move over, bitches! I'm about to get my 2nd undeserved Tony!

from R514's article:

[quote]"A Strange Loop," a story about a black, gay theatre nerd, was a surprise success.

It was?

I know it won the Pulitzer and was nominated for a bunch of Tonys, winning for Best Musical, and has an upcoming West End transfer, but did it not close after 6-8 months at a loss, even after stars were buying out certain performances to ensure its longevity?

And towards the end, multiple performances were being canceled. It came close to becoming the shortest-running Best Musical winner.

It closed at a complete loss.

Hardly a complete loss. All those "producers" managed to buy themselves a Tony. Hudson bought her EGOT. Money well spent!

Hudson being an EGOT is a loss for us all.

R528 She's the thin Beanie.

SHUCKED got the reviews I expected. Mostly positive and a few grudging negatives. I want to see it again.

Jesse's review of SHUCKED basically says "Don't see this unless you have nothing else to see."

Yes, r420. Imagine 2 white "cis" men winning something! It's almost as if it were based on merit!

Titanic's opening is still one of the five best openings in Broadway history. Thrilling, using an empty stage and a ramp with glorious music and singing

Anyone attending or know someone attending the final performance of Phantom?

I feel like ALW and CamMack may have cheesed off so many veterans of the show that few beyond the expected ones (Ramin, for example, who is happy to steal focus) might return. It would be so great to see longtime veterans of the show getting to take a bow.

It's sad to think Michael Crawford, Brightman, Judy or any of the others from the first few years would stay away out of disinterest. Something tells me that might be the case...

Speaking of "Phantom" ...

r487 there was someone here two or so threads ago who claimed to be an investor in the original Jekyll & Hyde, saying that it did in fact recoup just before it closed. It's the first time I'd heard that...but maybe they knew what they were talking about. Or maybe they didn't. Everywhere else indicates the show never earned back it's investment.

Does Apatow's daughter have an understudy/alternate in the role of Audrey who performs on certain dates?

People are so afraid of offending people they don’t poison pen reviews anymore.

I bet if Moose Murders opened today, it would get good reviews because people would be afraid of the Twitter mob.

Dumbing down the culture is not just the fault of the audiences but also the fault of the hapless critics

It didn't seem like any of the critics held back for Bad Cinderella. The knives were certainly out for that mess.

Maude Apatow has had probably the best attendance record than any other Audrey. She even hit her head and suffered a concussion during the performance but finished the show.

[quote] She even hit her head and suffered a concussion during the performance

How could anyone tell the difference?

[r549] you should be the critic for the NY Times

No thanks. You couldn't pay me to sit through Shucked.

[Quote] Jesse's review of SHUCKED basically says "Don't see this unless you have nothing else to see.”

Even if it got the greatest reviews ever, this is exactly how i would treat it

Am I missing something or are these Broadway 'news' sites really stupid?

[quote] In its first week of post-opening night performances, “Sweeney Todd” grossed $1,734,930, an increase of 24% from the previous week. The revival played to standing-room-only crowds. Notably, the production is only playing seven performances per week.

The prior week was full of press comps, no? So of course a hit has an increase in its gross. It's a meaningless statement, no?

Link for quote above

of course R541. we must dismiss anyone that has made the gravest offense against society-daring to keep the penis that we we born with

How is Sidney Brustein even going to get all the nominators in to see the show in time

The debate about theatrical set design (or the complete absence thereof) continues.

(This designer seems a bit thin-skinned, if you ask me. Honey, the work should speak for itself. And I liked PARADE.)

How boring is the Parade set?

[quote]here was someone here two or so threads ago who claimed to be an investor in the original Jekyll & Hyde, saying that it did in fact recoup just before it closed. It's the first time I'd heard that...but maybe they knew what they were talking about. Or maybe they didn't. Everywhere else indicates the show never earned back it's investment.

Well it was filmed for TV and home video and surely that money is included.

Happy birthday, Laurie Beechman. ⛅️

Laurie really was the best. I wish she had lived to do a Sondheim show

Project NINE

Casey Garvin is on for Borle in SLIH today.

I get what that designer is saying. If a design is "simple" then it's assumed the designer is just being lazy/cheap/untalented.

Same thing with costumes if they're contemporary period...'Oh, I guess the actors are just wearing their own clothes"

Simple doesn't mean it's not a good design.

Though, there's also the overuse of "simple" when it's just an excuse for producers/theater companies being cheap. But, that's more "basic" than simple.

Lortels getting awards season off to a wild start by not nominating Groff OR Radcliffe

Does anyone still go to.....The Lortels?

How in the world could Groff not get nominated? He got unanimous raves

It’s because the categories are gender neutral so less opportunities for nominations

Fewer opportunities.

Hey musical fans! Who's watching UP HERE?

[quote]Up Here, the much-buzzed-about rom-com from Tony-winning writer Steven Levenson (Dear Evan Hansen, tick, tick…BOOM!), writer Danielle Sanchez-Witzel (The Carmichael Show); Tony-winning Hamilton director Tommy Kail and Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony-award winning songwriters Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez (Frozen, Coco, WandaVision, Book of Mormon), is set in New York City in the waning days of 1999, following the extraordinary story of one ordinary couple as they fall in love. The Up Here soundtrack features 21 original songs written by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez, also Executive Producers on the show, who were inspired to create each of the 8 episodes as a mini-musical. Each song is integral to the storyline addressing the voices of doubt, fear and insecurity swirling in the principal characters’ heads.

Another song.

R570, is that a movie?

Gender neutral categories are such horseshit. Give it a rest.

R572 TV.

r573, do you also think that directiors, composers, writers and designers should be in separate categories due to their gender?

Writing doesn't have a gender, r575, roles do.

R576 Meh. What is good for the goose. Surely having gendered categories for writing and directing would give more attention to women in those trades.

Whatever, r577.

Camelot is so boring. Don't waste your money.

But how is Jordan Donica?

The LCT revival of CAMELOT is godawful. So much worse than some earlier posters on these threads prepared me for. A joyless, boring slog of a show.

I am not Philippa Soo's biggest fan, but she was the singular standout for me. She sang the score beautifully and acted it decently. Andrew Burnap may be a fine actor, but he cannot sing, and his boyish turn as Arthur felt all wrong (in what universe did a force of nature like Richard Burton play the same role?) . Jordan Donica was out sick--a double shame for me, because his understudy (Matías De La Flor) gave one of the worst performances I've seen in recent memory: he spoke-sang his way through Lancelot's songs when he wasn't busy being terrible in the book scenes.

Overall, the casting is mystifying: the Round Table (which we never actually see) should be teeming with masculine energy, so why are they all bald, portly, and approaching 50? Why is Morgan Le Fay even in the show, since they removed her song and her magic? It's all wildly underpowered vocally, which is criminal, since the score is the show's only asset. At least the orchestra sounded nice.

Matias is the 2nd understudy. The real understudy is also sick, along with Jordan.

to clarify: we see Arthur's knights (more often than we should). When they gather around a table in Act 2, it's rectangular. Which makes about as much sense as the rest of the evening.

Really--this cast is not good. The production is not good. Sorkin's rewrite is dreadful.

New Thread is up

ooh, we missed our chance to call it

CAMEL-NOT.

When Bart Sher drops the ball, he really drops the ball.

Aaron Sorkin has managed to turn CAMELOT into a 3-hour episode of THE WEST WING that no one asked for.

And not in a Take Me Out kinda way

LMAO!

Yes, if only there was a naked shower scene with Andrew Burnap …

New thread....thanks R585

I feel like I hated CAMELOT more than most of the audience (except for the vicious queens behind me who kept laughing inappropriately). But I would describe the audience response as "tepid." Lots of polite golf claps. Obligatory standing ovation at curtain, but only some of the audience.

I hope the critics torch this revival, but I strongly suspect they won't.

This isn't a revival - it's a deconstruction.

It's a fucking war crime, is what it is.

It's a shonda!

Thanks, R591, except we started a new thread at R584

It's a bird

it's a plane

it's the end of a thread

BAJOUR!

It's a plane!

Well, I hate R584's title so much that I might suggest we use R591's instead.

Imagine marrying a woman, she takes your name, but you get divorced, Then she makes your name famous as a leading lady, while you (with better looks than her) gets relegated to "good looking character actor?"