THEATRE GOSSIP #540: The MERRILY/ROLL/ALONG, HERE/ARE Edition

Please don't encourage the forward/slash troll. I can barely deal with the acronyms on this thread as it is.

It wasn't intended as encouragement, bur rather, making fun of.

Rodgers/Hammerstein and Steve/Sondheim would not approve

This slash (“/“) thing is really not very funny.

Not much generally is, r4, on a DL Theatre Gossip thread.

It's a bloody triumph!

In fairness I don't know if it was a bloody triumph or not. Looks a little budget Chicago to me.

How crazy that Ivo von Hove and his disciples and copy catters (I'm looking at you, Jamie Lloyd and Rebecca Frecknall!) are leading the revolution into 21st century successfully commercial theater.

Hmmmmm....maybe that should have been phrased commercially successful?

I've posted twice. Do I need to post a third time to get this thread to appear in my Thread Watcher?

Let's see.

Trailer for the production of RAGTIME at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. Sounds okay, but I loved the original Broadway production.

So what is everyone’s early Tony predictions?

Is it just Cabaret vs Merrily?

[quote]Do I need to post a third time to get this thread to appear in my Thread Watcher?

In case you're unaware of this, you can also get a thread to appear in your thread watcher by clicking on the eye icon to the far right of the thread title. If you do that, I believe it will appear in your thread watcher even if you haven't posted in the thread at all.

That has always worked for me, r13.

Broadway news? Honest, got nothing. I'm hoping to see The Shark is Broken before it closes.

I also need to see if Tom Hewitt is still in Hadestown. I seldom revisit shows that I'm not being paid to, but I'll make an exception for him.

I'm seeing Merrily in January... family have never seen the show, invited me to join. I saw the Encores! production, still not a big fan of the book for the show, but the score is really wonderful.

Merrily is more a cult than a show.

Discuss.

No.

I don’t understand Bloody Bloody Norma Desmond. After she shoots Joe does she roll around on his dead body?

[quote]I don’t understand Bloody Bloody Norma Desmond. After she shoots Joe does she roll around on his dead body?

That would be difficult, as his dead body is in the pool and remains there until the police arrive and he gets fished out. I'm sure this idiocy is just there for shock value. The show was always fourth-rate shlock, but now they truly seem to have made it worse with this production. If possible.

R18, and what's he doing in his lycra boxer briefs if he's leaving?

This thing is either the hit of the season or the latest addition to the Curse of Sunset Boulevard.

She shoots Joe, they embrace, she pushes him in the pool?

Brightman will apparently be delivering a triple threat after a kind: Brightman playing Christie Daae as Norma Desmond.

R21 Why doesn't the blood wash off? Is the pool imaginary?

Haven't seen this revival but I assumed it's Joe's blood splashing on her body and perhaps he doesn't fall into the pool. Is there even a pool in the production?

Guardian.

Maul below.

[post redacted because linking to dailymail.co.uk clearly indicates that the poster is either a troll or an idiot (probably both, honestly.) Our advice is that you just ignore this poster but whatever you do, don't click on any link to this putrid rag.]

The Times less convinced.

The Torygraph loved it.

Who's playing Sally in the upcoming Cabaret?

[quote]So what is everyone’s early Tony predictions? Is it just Cabaret vs Merrily?

Not so fast ....

[quote]Why doesn't the blood wash off?

I don't know....and they even used Bon Ami!

[quote]Who's playing Sally in the upcoming Cabaret?

Phyllis

I see that the entire cast of Six is getting replaced in December, after they've all completed a year with the show. I suppose that's one way to avoid stagnation and/or incompatability.

R35 That seems to be how it goes in London. ,maybe, as it is English producers, they are doing the same thing here now.

They asked me how I knew

My Sunset was through.

All I can express,

When the show's a mess

Blood gets on your dress.

Thanks for posting all those London reviews

[quote]“Shucked,” a musical comedy fueled by corn puns and country music, will end its run at Broadway’s Nederlander Theater on Jan. 14.

[quote]The show’s lead producers, Mike Bosner and Jason Owen, are not calling the step a closing, apparently because they are hoping that they will find another theater at which the show might continue its run. But the current Broadway season is shaping up to be fairly robust, and it is unclear if there will be an empty theater available for it.

‘Gutenberg! The Musical!’ got "meh" reviews. So what happens now?

I'm in London during the run so have to see it, but it feels more like a staged concert to me, an experimental experience staging. Still it will be interesting to see.

The thing I don't like about Scherzinger's casting is the same thing I didn't like about Ricky Martin in Evita (Evita itself notwithstanding.) When you get those pop affiliated performers their own fan base shows with no interest in anything except the performer. At Evita every time Martin came on stage they squealed like he was Elvis or Tom Jones and they were gonna throw their panties at him.

Purlie Victorious is... extending?

I don’t get it, r42. I’m going to New York in November and would gladly buy two tickets if they were good seats and maybe $150 each. For a Sat matinee, the entire mezzanine is open. They want $205.50 for the first three rows, except on the sides. For orchestra, it’s mostly unsold and the lowest price (back, extreme sides) is $155.50. They are selling premium at $300 each.

r41 I don't think Nicole ever had a "fan base" that was even 1/100th the size of Ricky's.

Shucked, SLIH, Hadestown, Kimberly, A Beautiful Noise, Purlie, all gone by January 7th. And Gutenberg.

Just reading that NY Times review of Gutenberg exhausted me.

And please add The Cottage and The Shark Is Broken to your list though I guess they'll be gone much sooner.

Why aren't producers mounting shows people actually want to see?

The solution seems pretty simple to me.

I refuse to believe they're that stupid, just stubborn.

But why?

It's not doing them any good.

Just bleeding them dry.

🤷‍♂️

What do people want to see, R47? And don't say," Follies."

r47 r48 -- see R32 and be patient!

Has anyone seen the Pre-Broadway tour of the Wiz?

I haven't.

R50, I'm going on Sunday and will report.

How to produce an Off-Broadway show.

In her finale mad scene, Norma believes she is finally getting to play Salome, who kisses the severed head of John the Baptist. That could get bloody for both parties.

Maybe this current revision should be retitled, "Sunset, Bloody Sunset."

[Quote] Francis pitches the cool cynicism of the hapless Gillis just right and displays enormous courage in a sequence that sees him walk out of the theatre and onto the street followed by a camera while singing the title song.

Oh that trick again

[Quote] Over the past few years Lloyd has been honing a directorial style that presents drama in black and white, stripped back and intense, revealing the bones beneath the skin

Directors and producers like the approach. The public, not so much

[Quote] The boldness of the concept is there from the start when on Soutra Gilmour’s artfully designed empty stage

Ditto

Since there's no staircase or mansion set, presumably there's no pool, either. They've throw out the playbook, so I'm guessing they stage it so she gets close to him and shoots him without the gun being seen until she steps back, both covered in blood. Maybe they stage it quite tenderly, so she seems harmlessly lost in madness and he's less angry than regretful... feeling guilty about aiding and abetting her delusion, so his last line "goodbye, Norma" is gentle and sorrowful, allowing for an embrace and then bang, she plugs the muthafucka. What I can't account for his why he's shirtless.

He is shirtless to compensate for the lack of set and splendour

R56 what's so courageous about being filmed singing and walking out of the theater onto the street?

"Kiss someone's wife, kiss someone's ass"

"u wot m8?"

This one's a bit more spoilery in the write up.... spoilery in the sense that we all know the story... the mystery is the staging.

But there's some pictures. It must be good because the staging is just nothing.

Francis pitches the cool cynicism of the hapless Gillis just right and displays enormous courage in a sequence that sees him walk out of the theatre and onto the street followed by a camera while singing the title song. There, Gillis bumps into Eliza Doolittle, and they head to the street where she lives.

Francis pitches the cool cynicism of the hapless Gillis just right and displays enormous courage in a sequence that sees him walk out of the theatre and onto the street followed by a camera while singing the title song. In the reasonably likely event he is the victim of knife crime, or trips over Glenn Close begging, emergency lyrics will allow Norma and Betty to declare their love in a somewhat shortened second act.

Remember when crashing chandeliers and helicopters on stage were all the rage? Now it's actors being filmed while wandering the dirty streets during a performance.

Until one of them gets mugged.

Funny / Forum, the one that works.

For early Tony predictions, I haven’t seen the show but just based on the reviews, it’s hard not to believe that Jonathan Groff isn’t on track to win his first Tony.

Has anyone heard anything about a Merrily Bootleg?

R70 Found the Kennedy Center.

Cabaret v Merrily? Cabaret would have to go some to match the unanimity of positive reviews that Merrily received.

New thread! took me awhile to find it.

Me too, r73. It didn't come up in repeated searches.

Also, no matter Eddie Redmayne's star casting and his Olivier award, in this new revival, the Emcee really remains a supporting player. And is so heavily made up and overly costumed, the actor almost becomes negligible.

Though I surprised my self by enjoying this London Cabaret last year far more than I though I would, I have a feeling the show will struggle to find audiences who don't want to pay exorbitant prices for a show they already know so well.

[quote]Funny / Forum, the one that works.

We started it.

[Quote] the Emcee really remains a supporting player. And is so heavily made up and overly costumed, the actor almost becomes negligible.

Except it made stars of Joel Grey and Alan Cumming.

Yes, r77, but I'm saying that in this revival, and despite Eddie Redmayne's stardom, the Emcee is somewhat sidelined and doesn't appear to be the manipulator of events he is in previous incarnations of Cabaret.

"Gutenberg" savaged.

[quote]I'm saying that in this revival, and despite Eddie Redmayne's stardom, the Emcee is somewhat sidelined and doesn't appear to be the manipulator of events he is in previous incarnations of Cabaret.

In what way is he "somewhat sidelined?" Has any of his material been cut? Is there somehow less focus on him in this production? Or do you just not know what you're talking about? Because it's hard to believe that Eddie Redmayne would allow himself to be "sidelined" to any extent.

Rabid audience members who truly believe they are seeing a maligned, misunderstood masterpiece with "Merrily" are like people who truly believe the 2020 election was rigged. There is simply nothing you can do or say to convince them otherwise!

I'm seeing it early in January, (don't ask) and after seeing the original Broadway cast in November '81 as well as the busy, earnest Encores staging, I have the feeling "Merrily" will just be getting even more of my money to witness how it still doesn't work at all, but with a very receptive audience screaming for more!

No "Hills of Tomorrow" and a brutally butchered "Rich & Happy"? Those parts weren't the problem!

Is this the Menier production of Merrily from 2012? I saw that one and loved it.

I think it's possible to find it a deeply flawed musical and still be rhapsodic about this cast. I certainly did. (There's so much that's enjoyable about the score.) And Fanny, if you're so certain about what's going to happen to you in early January, perhaps you should give away or sell your ticket to someone who'd appreciate it.

None of that matters, R81, because the audience doesn't care if the show is good. For Sondheimites, it's like a deprived addict finally getting a fix, and for others , it's a chance to see Harry Potter.

Yes, anyone who dares to enjoy this production is an addict. R84, put aside some money for therapy. You clearly have a weird chip on your shoulder.

Good to hear from a Sondheimite. Since the " Follies" filibuster dried up, you guys have been relatively silent.

Good review for Merrily in the Times this week. Groff gets major kudos. We're seeing it in November.

I agree with much of your post, R81, but of course it's not true that MERRILY "still doesn't work at all." The truth is that much of it works beautifully (still) and much of it is a mess (still, although some of the messy, badly written and conceived parts in the original version have been swapped out for new, equally messy and badly written and conceived parts over the years).

R86, I’m sorry you are so wounded. There is no Ben for you, not ever, any place.

Cabaret is going to BOMB!

An article in the Washington Post about the struggles of Here Lies Love. Some quotes—

[quote]“What I didn’t anticipate was really the struggle for it to find its audience,” said Diana DiMenna, one of the lead producers. “I’m flabbergasted that there are not lines of people around the block.” She is part of a core team of five lead producers who are attempting to innovate their way out of the doldrums afflicting “Here Lies Love.”

...

[quote]Educating potential patrons on the unique facets of “Here Lies Love” has proved tough, the producers said. The orchestra section of the theater had to be removed and the space renovated for the $22 million production. The party floor for audience members who opt to stand, and where most of the action occurs on moving platforms, displaced about 600 seats, reducing capacity to 1,100. Included in this smaller audience footprint are seats in a variety of configurations: banks of seats ringing the performance floor, dozens of rows of seats in the mezzanine, even a VIP section under the mezzanine.

....

[quote]“We are tasked not only with outputting artistic work, we are also tasked with creating the audience,” said Clint Ramos, the costume designer and another lead producer. He said that with a cast entirely made up of Filipino Americans, “Here Lies Love” had a goal of reaching a new cadre of fans. Indeed, as noted by Jose Antonio Vargas, another of the core producing group (and a former Washington Post reporter), on some nights those of Asian and Pacific Island descent make up as much as 25 percent of the crowd, when the norm on Broadway is in the single digits. ...

[quote]“You have an untraditional story told in an untraditional way,” lead producer Patrick Catullo said. “Then there is the layer of, ‘Okay, do you sit or do you stand? What is this experience?’ There are just so many more layers of introspection that you need to do for the consumer on a show like this.”

r80, they may have cut If You Could See Her.... but I don't remember for sure. As for your general question, all I can say is that, unlike other productions of CABARET, here the Emcee seems far more like a supporting player and isn't as immersed in and quite so insidious to the action of the show. And as I said in my initial post, the makeup and costume here far more disguise the actor wearing it all.

And I didn't mind that. As I also said initially, the production surprised me (and I saw the original Prince production 3 times) and I found it very fresh and engaging. More so than the Mendes/Cumming revival. But I do think it will be a tough sell to audiences who are simply weary of CABARET in any form.

r91 So basically the producers were shocked and outraged to find that they'd actually have to do some work, rather than just having success handed to them

If HERE LIES LOVE's producers have to explain to audiences why they should love the show and if they should sit or stand, they're in serious trouble.

Do Radcliffe fangurls yell "Harry!" when he's on stage?

I don’t think Cabaret will bomb but I think people are underestimating the mood of the country when it opens in the r spring of 2024.

Trump is predicted to be the nominee and could possibly win just a few months after the show opens.

The scene of the man wearing a swastika arm-band singing “Tomorrow Belongs to Me” hits different.

No, R92, they did not cut "If You Could See Her." And, for that matter, in this production the Emcee sings the bulk of "Tomorrow Belongs to Me," which as far as I know has never happened to me. So you're entitled to your opinion that the Emcee "isn't as immersed in and quite so insidious to the action of the show" here as in previous productions, but judging from the cast album, if anything it sounds like the opposite to me.

I question r92's understanding of the meaning of "insidious".

r81you probably shouldn’t go. Give the tickets to someone who can’t afford them rather than going in so angry. Maybe you should just stay home often

The Here Lies Love producers sound so stupid and clueless. This isn’t a game for amateurs

[quote]Now it's actors being filmed while wandering the dirty streets during a performance.

Yeah but is it really live and not pre-taped and he's standing there right off stage to make his entrance? Are they going to have him singing in torrential rain?

How many people could even see her from the audience?

[quote]Maybe you should just stay home often

The people Fanny calls friends often say the same thing

R102 that was anticlimactic.

I guess I was expecting something more?

It almost seems like she suddenly became self-conscious and rushed back inside.

r92, who said, "If you're weary of Cabaret, you're weary of life"?

When I saw MERRILY two weeks ago, the leads enter individually, and I expected applause for each of them, considering the house was full of fans. Especially for Radcliffe. There was none, surprisingly, suggesting that the quietude of the opening was being respected.

God bless Danny Devito but how is he going to make it through 8 shows a week. And the guy interrupting the curtain call for a selfie should be banned from every Broadway theatre. WTF

Wow, R107. Good for him I guess but I would never have the nerve to do something like that.

"Good for him"?

Fuck that guy. That was obnoxious. I was kinda hoping DeVito would whack him upside the head.

This is a terrible title and a lousy thread already. More Merrily? Are you that bereft of ideas, OP?

R109, I just meant good for him I guess that he was able to get away with it.

R109. Imagine pulling that stunt with Patti

Incidentally, I've always thought that MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG was such a stupid title.

It sounds like one of those stupid children's morning TV shows a la THE BIG COMFY COUCH or A LIKELY STORY.

Insidious: proceeding in a gradual, subtle way, but with harmful effects.

Exactly what I meant about Cabaret's Emcee. And what Eddie Redmayne doesn't quite achieve in this revival.

The title for MERRILY is based on a famous old children's nursery rhyme, you twat at r113.

Without the Graduation bookends, the show loses significant thematic material, both musically and dramatically

[quote]The orchestra section of the theater had to be removed and the space renovated for the $22 million production.

Tell us about it!

[quote]This is a terrible title and a lousy thread already. More Merrily? Are you that bereft of ideas, OP?

The other thread had reached 600 and no one had started a new one, so I thought of something quick. I don't think it's brilliant or even especially witty, but I think it's fine and certainly far better than many previous thread titles. So thanks for your input, but....piss off. And P.S., are YOU that "bereft of ideas" that you have nothing to offer other than to critique the title and the posts in this thread thus far?

[quote]Fuck that guy. That was obnoxious. I was kinda hoping DeVito would whack him upside the head.

He didn't have to whack him upside the side, but the fact that DeVito encouraged such asshole behavior was a really stupid movie. And P.S., is this the worst-staged curtain call you've ever seen? The actors were sort of blocking each other as they emerged, and it seemed like at least one of them almost tripped over those garbage bags.

It's a kind of a trend, r 119. It was the first preview, I think, and DeVito was caught off guard. He's a nice guy.

Wendell Pierce encouraged this kind of behavior by engaging an entitled audience member at the top of Act Two of Death of a Salesman. She had been disruptive during act one. Why she wasn't thrown out at intermission I will never understand.

When she started up again in act two, the stage manager stopped the show and told all the actors to leave the stage. Pierce almost did, but then decided to make it about him, and started talking to her directly, even offering to give her her money back? WTF? Why?

He gave her 15 minutes of fame, and bragging rights for the rest of her life. He prolonged the disturbance and destroyed the rest of the show for the rest of the audience. There was no way to return from that.

DeVito gets a pass from me. First preview, older guy onstage for the first time in a long time? It was a momentary error at the end of the show.

Pierce has always been a self-important asshole, and he knew better.

[quote]Wendell Pierce encouraged this kind of behavior by engaging an entitled audience member at the top of Act Two of Death of a Salesman.

But he didn't encourage it in the form of agreeing to take a photo with an asshole audience member. He made a very poor decision as to how to handle another disruptive idiot, but that's not quite the same thing.

R118. OP, you don't have to explain yourself to anyone. Thank you for starting a thread when most of us INCLUDING MYSELF were afraid to because someone was bound to criticize my title. You're a brave soul and your headline is just fine.

r120 will use any excuse to trot out that old Wendell Pierce story, always capping it with something about Pierce being self-important. Sounds like a personal grudge

Thanks, R122 :-) Much appreciated. Just a word of advice: No need to be afraid of sad individuals like R110 who have nothing to offer to a forum like this other than unwarranted criticism of others' posts or thread titles.

What a peculiar and inaccurate accusation, r123.

[quote]But he didn't encourage it in the form of agreeing to take a photo with an asshole audience member.

No, Pierce didn't take a photo - he only offered to give her money back personally, and even tried getting others to do it to placate her, because why? He rewarded bad behavior by giving her attention, and ruined the rest of the show for everyone else.

Unbelievably, Pierce was lauded for it, which is completely unbelievable to me. DeVito simply had a brief lapse in judgement after the show was OVER. It's not quite the same thing, for sure. What Pierce did was far worse.

I am not going to turn this thread into two (or is it three?) queens bickering, so I'm done with this topic (huzzah!). If you can't see the huge disparity here, we will just have to agree to disagree on this one, r119/r121/r123. Give poor old Danny a break, huh?

On that note, I'm with r122. OP did just fine.

Merrily is shallow. And lectury.

[quote] Imagine pulling that stunt with Patti

You’d pull back a bloody stump

Fair enough, R125. I see your point. Both De Vito and Pierce made bad decisions on how to deal with idiot audience members. And by the way, I am the OP, so thanks for your support there :-)

Please! It was a first preview and Danny de Vito was simply being cordial. Give him a fuckin' break. And curtain calls are rarely staged in time for the first preview. They've probably barely teched through the entire show once by then.

OP, I'm not your thread title criticizer, but it's sort of a custom on these threads to shit on the titles, sometimes seriously, sometimes jokingly. No one pays attention to it. I've done my share of the shitting (and I've done my share of the good AND the bad titles). Yours wasn't actually bad, but even so, it's more about tradition than anything.

[quote]And Fanny, if you're so certain about what's going to happen to you in early January, perhaps you should give away or sell your ticket to someone who'd appreciate it.

As bizarre as it sounds, I wouldn't miss it for the world!

[quote]Please! It was a first preview and Danny de Vito was simply being cordial. Give him a fuckin' break. And curtain calls are rarely staged in time for the first preview. They've probably barely teched through the entire show once by then.

Sorry, but if the director of a Broadway show doesn't have time to rehearse a three-person curtain call before the first preview, that's very unprofessional. On the other hand, I realize we're talking about the Roundabout....

That's what I'm saying, r88.

Because of the silly going backwards demand, we have Beth, a character we just met and have zero investment in singing the best song of the show, "Not a Day Goes By", but we can't really feel it much because her character has not been onstage very long. We can only guess who she is.

The leads are pretty unlikeable which is a surefire way to shoot your show in the foot, too. All of the '81 issues were there at the Encores "revisal", although somewhat louder, faster and ore sure of themselves! Millennials just love the OBC and fallen in the with a show in their minds which isn't really the show you get.

[quote]Give the tickets to someone who can’t afford them rather than going in so angry.

They are a gift and why do you think I'm angry? I'm not. You're projecting, hon.

They (Furth?) revised the script of Merrily so that you now care a bit more about Beth before she sings Not a Day Goes By. What really didn’t make sense was having Frank sing it in the original Broadway production, but that was because the actress playing Beth couldn’t handle it. I saw her do it an early preview, and she really mangled it.

I went to the Shed! I hated the escalators but I hated having to listen to David Hyde Pierce more.

[Quote] As bizarre as it sounds, I wouldn't miss it for the world!

Gotta hand it to a cunt who owns it.

[quote]Merrily is shallow. And lectury.

It's lecturey? You must not be familiar with Sondheim. All his shows are.

[quote] I went to the Shed! I hated the escalators

How did The Shed ever get fire-safety approval for all those escalators (and one entrance/exit)???

The FDNY harasses every black box space where you are 2 feet from an exit, yet let The Shed get a huge pass? Money DOES indeed talk.

[quote]It's lecturey? You must not be familiar with Sondheim. All his shows are.

Stupid comment, insupportable. I think we've seen similar posts from this troll before.

His lyrics are lecturey but that’s not necessarily a bad thing if they’re wise and/or moving. Careful the things you say, children will listen. Anything you do, let it come from you, and it will be new.

I saw the pre-Broadway tour of The Wiz yesterday in Cleveland.

Thoughts:

The girl playing Dorothy is a STAR and has an incredible voice.

The lady playing Eviliene lands the laughs and I could see her getting a supporting nomination.

The “new” orchestrations are derivative to the original. I wish they would have left well enough alone. For example, “Don’t Nobody Bring Me No Bad News” sounds odd in the beginning because it’s slowed down. She ends the song as a showstopper, but it doesn’t pick up until the end.

The score overall is sung well.

I’m surprised they got Wayne Brady to play the Wiz. This production cut his “Believe In Yourself” before Glinda sings the resprise, so now there is less to to do for him. I missed this too because it’s one of my favorite songs.

I think the production is in good shape and I enjoyed it…but I just wish there wasn’t a constant need to have new orchestrations when it was a big reason why the original was a huge hit!

How were the sets and costumes for The Wiz, r142?

[quote] The girl playing Dorothy is a STAR and has an incredible voice. The lady playing Eviliene lands the laughs and I could see her getting a supporting nomination.

Apparently you didn't think enough of them to remember their names.

[quote]I’m surprised they got Wayne Brady to play the Wiz.

"Pay no attention to the pansexual behind the curtain!"

R142 I actually didn’t mind the costumes….the set left a little to be desired, except I will say Evilene’s sweatshop design was fun.

I will say somebody on Broadwayworld mentioned the choreography was lackluster and I agree with that. The dance for the Ozians was pretty dire.

Also something different. Because Deborah Cox is a “name” as Glinda, they gave her Apperdale’s “He’s the Wiz” in act one so Apperdale no longer has a song

I believe you mean "Addaperle," a hilarious invented name. Apperdale sounds like a Connecticut lawyer.

Does the chorus still create the Yellow Brick Road? That was a highlight of the original.

I am so sick of snarky musicals about making musicals , which are just as bad as shows that describe themselves as " A Valentine to the Broadway musical"

R148 no on the Yellow Brick Road. That was kinda a bummer as well. Also the 3 guys (scarecrow, lion, and Tin Man) definitely embrace “friend of Dorothy theme” lol. Also the guy playing the Wiz. It will be interesting to see if Wayne Brady leans into the effeminacy or not. This is NOT a negative. I actually liked that the guys were clearly gay. It added to the bond between Dorothy and the guys. The girl playing Dorothy leaned into this as well and played the relationship like a girl with her gay besties.

R139 speaking of fire safety approval, has anyone been to the new Performing Arts Center at the WTC? A couple of weeks ago, I attended a recital there, and there were at least a half dozen fire wardens (with very visible, vaguely nazi-like red arm-badges) standing around to help direct the crowd should there be an emergency. They were very present after the performance, as the place is a LABYRINTH. I felt like I was on the set of the Tron remake. Finding the bathroom during intermission is an (unwelcome) adventure.

I don't see how they'll be able to ditch the need for fire wardens - the building is finished and there's nothing that can be done short of punching a hole through the pearlescent curtain wall and building a staircase directly to the ground.

I also have a ton of complaints about the seating and acoustics. It looks like each row is designed to flip around like a kebab, hiding the seating as-needed to reconfigure the space as a dance floor. But the center of gravity of each row is too far back, causing the entire row to wildly oscillate if someone fidgets in their chair on the opposite end. The seats are also incredibly uncomfortable, putting pressure mid-thigh because of the short length of the seats. The acoustics are flat - the room just swallows sound and there's no reverb or character. Wholly inappropriate for a piano recital.

R140 - undone by R141.

Mr. Apperdale is certain to let you have Patrick once he finds out you've gone into something steady like acting.

So Jordan Fisher misses the majority of his performances in DEH, patchy attendance during his brief period at Sweeney and yet still gets to join Hadestown? Why are producers encouraging shitty behaviour? Is he really that much of a draw? Especially once refunds are accounted for.

[quote][R140] - undone by [R141].

I don't think my comment was "undone" by anyone. Of course, SOME of Sondheim's lyrics are "lecturey," but I would say a very small percentage of them fit that category, so it's ignorant to describe his work as "lecturey" overall. For what it's worth, I've always considered "Children Will Listen" and "No One is Alone" (also lecturey) to be two of his lesser songs, largely for that reason.

I would say that the Redmayne MC IS insidious - that's actually a pretty good descriptor. He's not showy, like the previous MCs but the ending reveals why and it makes a lot of sense and is kinda terrifying. I agree that I don't think this will do well. It's dark dark dark. At least the Roundabout revival had Alan Cumming to entertain and while that didn't make it less dark, it balanced it out. This new revival is more intellectual and does not aim to delight at all. I did love that, to me, Herr Shultz and Fraulein Schneider seemed to be the leads and not Sally Bowles. I can say I was glad to see it, but did not really enjoy it.

[quote]I can say I was glad to see it, but did not really enjoy it.

I felt the same way about The Wild Party, r156. I appreciated it but I didn't want to be at *that* party with *those* people.

[quote]I would say that the Redmayne MC IS insidious - that's actually a pretty good descriptor. He's not showy, like the previous MCs....."

Are you joking? He overacts to a ridiculous, incredibly vulgar degree on the cast album. How is that not "showy?"

[quote]This new revival is more intellectual and does not aim to delight at all.

Again -- really???? Judging from the cast album, if anything this revival is anti-intellectual, with everything spelled out and sledge-hammered home in the most vulgar, off-putting way imaginable. Also,, everyone seems to be playing the ending from the beginning, which is always a very bad idea.

The Roundabout production of Cabaret was perfection with and without Cumming.

R159 - I agree.

R158 - I haven't heard the cast album. I saw the show - he was extremely deadpan and nihilistic throughout, same with Fra Fee who followed him in the role. Maybe it comes off differently on the album. I can only report on what I saw. I agree that a sense of destruction hangs over the show from the beginning which is perhaps why I didn't enjoy it. The Cumming version lured you in with laughs and his charisma but there is none of that here.

I thought Matt McGrath did a terrific job when he played the Emcee in the Mendes' production on Broadway. I also thought he did a fantastic job when he took over in Hedwig when it was off-Broadway.

RIP

You’re a dick r162

[quote] I haven't heard the cast album. I saw the show - he was extremely deadpan and nihilistic throughout,

I can't agree or disagree that Redmayne comes across as "nihilistic" on the cast album, because that word would never occur to me. But there's absolutely nothing remotely "deadpan" about his over-the-top vulgar and sleazy performance on the recording, so I can only imagine that you don't know what the word "deadpan" means. And by the way, this is one of VERY few cast albums recorded during a live performance in the theater with an audience (or rather, edited from recordings of several different performances), so there can be no argument that Redmayne took a very different approach to the character in a studio for the recording medium.

r164, why don't you stop making comments on a show you haven't seen and disagreeing with posters who actually have?

Believe it or not, sometimes cast albums can be very deceiving. If you just listened to the cast albums, you would think that Merrily We Roll Along, House of Flowers and The Grass Harp were very different shows from what was actually onstage.

Perhaps Barry Manilow and the cast of Harmony will dedicate their first preview to Suzanne?

Just got back from seeing " The Wiz." The singing was magnificent, but that's about it. They need to do a lot of work before it's Broadway worthy. The dialogue scenes were slow and not timed well, leaving gaps in the conversation.

Everybody knows the story, but the show does little, if nothing, to tie the scenes and musical numbers together; they just happen in order.

My biggest problem was with the choreography. I thought I was watching an Alvin Ailey recital, rather than a hard-hitting dance show. As a result, the show never soars. There is never a dance number where there is joy or a great explosion of energy. Some of it has to do with the orchestrations, but most is due to the choreography. It will never fly on Broadway. BTW, the Yellow Brick Road guys were dressed as black college drum majors, complete with mace, but did no dancing, just posing and appearing on stage.

The sets were okay with a few nice projections, but mostly one set piece in the center and lighting effects.

I left feeling a bit empty and disappointed... entertained by the singing, but very let down by pretty much everything else. Unless serious work is done, the show will not be a hit. Granted, this is the very first stop for the show, so they have some time.

The Rebecca Frecknall Cabaret is a much more sophisticated affair than the Sam Mendes production. It's not "vulgar," "off-putting" or "sledge-hammered" - all qualities I would ascribe to the Mendes production. The new production has a look and feel more like the grotesque and surreal art of Weimar-era German artists like Otto Dix, George Grosz, Max Beckmann and other Berlin Dadaists. It is also generally exceptionally well acted, which I hope holds over in the upcoming Broadway production. But those who wish to keep excoriating the production based on the recording and not actually seeing it can keep yelling at clouds if they so choose. Nothing will convince them otherwise.

R157, I had the same feeling watching King Lear. Interesting family, but not one I would ever want to spend time with.

I was glad it was just a play.

I guess people just go to theater for different reasons. For me, The Wild Party was thrilling and cathartic. It didn’t occur to me to evaluate it based on whether I wanted to be invited to the party or spend time with the characters. Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite plays, but I don’t have any desire to meet George or Martha.

[quote]Why don't you stop making comments on a show you haven't seen and disagreeing with posters who actually have? Believe it or not, sometimes cast albums can be very deceiving. If you just listened to the cast albums, you would think that Merrily We Roll Along, House of Flowers and The Grass Harp were very different shows from what was actually onstage.

The M.C. has very little spoken dialogue in CABARET. Most or all of that dialogue occurs during songs, or as introductions of songs. For this reason, I believe the entirety of Eddie Redmayne's performance is captured in audio format on the cast album, and I refuse to believe that all of his tremendously overacted vulgarity on the album could come across as "deadpan" or "not showy" in the theater -- ESPECIALLY not in view of the fact that, as mentioned, the cast album is culled from recordings made live in the theater during performances with an audience.

Also, what you wrote about the cast albums of MERRILY, HOUSE OF FLOWERS, and THE GRASS HARP is very true, but those are completely different situations from what we're discussing here.

What was cathartic about it for you, r170?

R171, have you seen much theater? It’s not just dialogue and music. My memories of the Mendes Cabaret, including Cumming, are as much about the visual composition and the actors’ nonverbal performance as the sounds they made. The look on Natasha Richardson’s face at the end of Cabaret is not on the CD, but it was the central moment of that production.

[quote]Virginia Woolf is one of my favorite plays, but I don’t have any desire to meet George or Martha.

You *are* indeed spending a few hours with them. It has nothing to do with *meeting* them.

I assume we are discussing the LaChiusa version, r172? Let me think: Eartha Kirt’s fuck you to the young and fragile (I was both then) in When It Ends. Queenie and Black singing People Like Us. The party ending, with people strewn across the stage like in a war zone. Toni Collette stepping into the light with no make up at the end of the show.

One of my favorite moments involved the lesbian character, Miss Madeline True. She was obsessed throughout the show with a drugged out flapper named Sally and sang about their unbelievable romance. At the end of the party, she cried out for Sally not to leave. The character looked at her and said what was maybe her only line: “Who’s Sally?”

R173, I've seen tremendous amounts of theater in my life. Are you really trying to argue that if a performance sounds egregiously overacted on a cast album, it could somehow could across as "deadpan" and "not showy" in the theater with the addition of the visual element? Because if that's what you're saying, I simply don't agree.

And if what you're arguing that Eddie Redmayne's performance on the CABARET cast album does NOT come across as egregiously overacted and horrendously vulgar, I'm providing this link so people can form their own opinions on that.

Curses! Foiled again!

r167 Clearly they need to bring in Lavarious Slaughter to punch things up.

I don't know what you mean by cathartic then, r175.

Lavarious Slaughter?

That's someone's name?

R171 - yes, exactly. The Redmayne cabaret all came together in exactly such a moment when he doesn't speak but his performance (which up to then had been very confusing) all of a sudden made sense. It was chilling.

Okay, R181. That sounds like pretentious B.S. to me, but I will honestly wait to see the show on Broadway if it indeed transfers, and I'll report back on my reaction then. But even if what happens at the end of the show causes me to reevaluate his entire performance, I still don't think there's any way his performance on the cast album could ever be described as "deadpan" or "not showy."

What's the deal with The Vessel? Someone spent $200 million and then let someone else build a theatre right in front of it? Is it true they are going to dismantle it?

R183, what does the theater have to do with it? It doesn't front up right against the Vessel. And also, the theater building is not very tall.

[quote] I'll report back on my reaction then

However will we survive until then?

That's up to you, R185. You don't have to :-)

[quote]what does the theater have to do with it? It doesn't front up right against the Vessel. And also, the theater building is not very tall.

Well according to the theatre's own website, it looks like it's blocking The Vessel and If invested $200 million on it, I'd be pissed.

You are wrong 187. Stop.

Guess we were all at The Wiz today...Datalounge day in Cleveland!. I gotta say, I loved it. The voices are incredible and the book revisions are spot-on. Like the original, it has great fun giving Black voice and Black culture to "The Wizard of Oz." Not sure about the bitching about the choreo, most of which is in the second act. The Emerald City dance at the top of Act 2 was fantastic (sort of a nod to the movie, I think) , No Bad News stopped the show, and Y'all Got it was fun. There's a real contemporary Black narrative throughout the show, and pretty sure I saw images from Black/African history carved into some of the sets (trees and houses). All the leads kill, and yes, the Dorothy is a star. I didn't get as much gay subtext except for the scarecrow at moments, and he was really charming. Costumes were great and some of the best blending of projections/video/sets I've seen in a long time. You can tell they're still finding their way in some of the scenes, but the show moved pretty quickly. A real crowd-pleaser.

HERE WE ARE is a fascinating trifle. Hope there's an audio recording, and Sondheim's work seemed fresh and young. Not the slog "Wise Guys" Roadshow" was. It's overall very experimental and very strange, which I loved, but I'm not sure the rest of the audience did. Dream cast delivers, and Hyde Pierce and Rachel Bay Jones have a touching act conversation that rocks everyone's world, but you do think "this should have been a song." The first act having so much music and the second having basically none (one quick opener) breaks your heart and just leads to disappointment. You just want them to sing. Too bad the composer died.

I think Merrily was the first of Sondheim's shows to have lecturey lyrics, starting with "Yesterday is done." Sung by unnamed characters directly to the audience like a Greek chorus, so it's the author's ideas and intentions, hence, a lecture. When the same comes out of a character's mouth, one can attribute it to the character, not the author, even though the ideas might be the same for both. Is "Epiphany" a lecture? Yes, but it's coming from a murderous, mad barber in the 1840s.

But after Merrily, Sondheim got more and more lecturey. "Growing Up" was added to Merrily in 1985 for the La Jolla production, and it sounds like it belongs in Into the Woods. But I despise it, and I always have; suddenly authorial wisdom.

Yes, but it’s coming from an anti-hero as he rationalizes letting go of composing and his friends. In fact, that song fulfills nearly the same function as Epiphany. It’s the lead justifying something we know he shouldn’t do. You might not like the song, but to call it a lecture is a stretch.

Sorry, R189, it needs a lot of work and changes. The show doesn't soar as it should and as it promises.

Speaking of the original Beth in Merrily, what is the story with Sally Klein, anyway? She resolutely refused to have anything to do with the reunion concert, and she’s neither seen nor mentioned in the documentary. She didn’t show up in the first pandemic Zoom reunion, but then she did do the second one where they all sang “Our Time” and she had one solo line (which sounded like she hasn’t sung for 30 years, which may be the case).

Does anyone know her scoop?

"Yesterday is done" has been a thread for SS years before. Look at the entirety of "One More Kiss" in FOLLIES: "all dreamers must awake" ""Never look back"; "all things beautiful must die." Or "Beautiful" from SUNDAY. Lecture-y? You can call it that, I guess, but that doesn't make the sentiments any less poignant.

Lecturey songs aren't necessarily bad.

Is Liaisons a lecture?

R194 if you were only known for one role in a flop musical where your singing was so poor that they took your one song away (but gave it back to the character with every actress after) would you want to be involved?

I recall reading some anecdote about Sally Klein and Merrily on here some years ago. From what I recall, Sally was invited to visit rehearsals in La Jolla and was pissed that "Not a Day Goes By," was given back to Beth. Maybe she convinced herself that giving it to Frank was a character choice.

Skip to 1:19:19 to hear Sally Klein's rendition.

Text from a 2014 Playbill article)

Joanna Merlin Original Tzeitel, Fiddler on the Roof, 1964 I auditioned four times for Jerry Robbins' Broadway production of Mother Courage and Her Children in 1963. I didn’t get the role, but Jerry called me into his office in the fall of that year to talk about my auditioning for Fiddler on the Roof. I told him I was not much of a singer. I had only sung on a Broadway stage once and that was to play the lute and sing a Welsh folk song in Anouilh’s Becket with Laurence Olivier. Needless to say, I was more concerned about interacting with my scene partner than the quality of my singing. I told Jerry I did not have a trained voice and had never sung with an orchestra. He assured me that would not be a problem. He wanted me to audition for the role of Hodel - a legitimate soprano! I went to a singing teacher to prepare for the audition and learned some songs in the soprano range. Shockingly, Jerry brought me back six times even though my vocals were hopeless, I felt quite embarrassed every time I auditioned. I knew I sounded terrible, but Jerry was determined to find a way to cast me. He arranged for me to work with Jerry Bock, the composer, and Sheldon on Hodel’s song, “Far From the Home I Love,” which I sang at my seventh audition. It was clear I couldn’t sing it. I knew it, Jerry and Sheldon knew it. Then Jerry Robbins did something unheard of for a Broadway director of his stature. He said he would come to my next voice lesson to hear everything I was singing. So, on a rainy day in November, we met at the studio of Carmine Gagliardi, my singing teacher, at 71st and Broadway. I sang several songs Carmine and I had worked on. When I finished singing a song from Irma La Douce, which was in an alto range, Jerry looked excited and said, “Sing that song at your next audition!” I was relieved as that range was less painful than my wavery soprano. At my eighth audition, I sang the song and Jerry and Sheldon (Harnick) shot up from their seats in the theatre and one or the other shouted, “She has a chest voice! She can play Tzeitel!”

That moment changed the course of my life. Not only was Fiddler historic, and an honor to be in the original cast, but I got to know Hal Prince, who produced Fiddler. The year after the opening, I had to leave the show because I was four-and-a-half months pregnant. The wardrobe department had reached their limit in letting out my wedding dress. Four years and two children later, Hal called me, out of the blue, and asked me to be his casting director. I cast the replacements for the last two years of the Broadway run of Fiddler. (Odd casting my own part!) Hal was in the middle of casting Company. This was the golden period of Prince-Sondheim musicals, and after completing the casting on Company, I did the original casting on Follies, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures, and other shows including Evita. After 14 years with Hal, I began casting films for Merchant Ivory as well as for Bernardo Bertolucci’s "The Last Emperor." None of this would have happened if Jerry Robbins had not come to my singing lesson

^wonderful

R199, thanks for posting that. I was surprised that Sally Klein's rendition wasn't all that terrible...just sort of okay. I wonder if the problem was that Furth's original book didn't set up this great song for Beth very well. After all, we've just met her in the musical and she delivers this big dramatic song even though we know next to nothing about her. I do think that has been fixed somewhat in the new production.

I saw an early preview and yes, Sally Klein came out and sang the song, and I was like, who IS that? I don't remember her singing was bad, though. But I must say in her defense, that nobody has done the Jackie Kennedy stuff even remotely as well...ever.

Another fascinating thing about "Not a Day Goes By" in the audio recording that R199 linked to is that the song was not yet orchestrated.

She also misses the beat and just keeps repeating “day after day” in her own personal tempo. They may have taken the song away not because she was bad (and we’re not seeing how she performed it, just the sound), but because the song was beyond her musical skills.

More interesting things on that MERRILY audio: "Now You Know" is MUCH longer, and at that performance, someone other than Lonny Price obviously sang that phrase with the very long, held note: "Best thing that ever could HAAAAAAAAAAAAAVE happened!"

I have seen a "Merrily" bootleg, but it must have been from a performance after opening because just watching a bit of the first preview bootleg it far more matches the show I saw on November 3rd, 1981.

I really enjoyed how the title song blends right into "Rich & Happy". I'm pretty sure it doesn't anymore, too bad.

If I live long enough I will see yet another production that recreates the original production line by line and note for note, and it too will be a hit!

[quote]I saw an early preview and yes, Sally Klein came out and sang the song, and I was like, who IS that? I don't remember her singing was bad, though. But I must say in her defense, that nobody has done the Jackie Kennedy stuff even remotely as well...ever.

Lucky for her she only had to sing 16 times.

Suffs coming to Broadway with Jenn Colella, Philippa Soo and Nikki M James with Shaina Taub

Interesting, R209. Kind of surprising that it's happening so long after the Off-Broadway production.

Was the Off-Broadway Suffs even successful?

While that Joanna Merlin story is fascinating, I find it utterly baffling why Robbins and Bock and Harnick and all of them watched 8 auditions before they realized she was a Tzeitel and not a Hodel. Jeeeez, she didn't even have the looks for a Hodel. And that Merlin never comments on that in her telling of the story.

R209 am I in this cast? Gang it’s been a while since I’ve been on Broadway, and it shows!

[quote]While that Joanna Merlin story is fascinating, I find it utterly baffling why Robbins and Bock and Harnick and all of them watched 8 auditions before they realized she was a Tzeitel and not a Hodel.

Me too. Maybe she just doesn't remember clearly what happened, so she made up an alternative narrative only partly based in truth?

Yes, especially because Hodel has little to do besides look gorgeous, singing that gorgeous ballad in a true soprano.

Tzeitel = comedienne; Hodel = singer; Chava = dancer.

Tzeitel Merlin

What's going on with the new ATG head?

The Under the Radar festival is back!

Sally Klein is fine in the first half of the song, but then she loses it. She even has to gasp a breath before she’s through with the “day after day” runs. It’s just not a good sound.

Anyone see Callum Scott Howells as the Emcee in the London Cabaret? He broke my hard little heart in "It's A Sin."

I'm becoming numb to the repeated stupid choices of producers bringing or moving things to Broadway. It's like they're purposely trying to kill it. Purlie Victorious, Fat Ham, Ain't No Mo, KPOP, Here Lies Love, Gutenberg, Melissa Etheridge, The Cottage, and now Suffs.

Suffs is gonna cost a fortune and will be gone by Labor Day.

[quote]Tzeitel = comedienne; Hodel = singer; Chava = dancer.

I would say most of Tzeitel's material is dramatic rather than comic. And Chava really doesn't have much more dancing than the other two sisters, as all three of them are in the "Chava" ballet, which is very short in any case.

I was merely speaking in generalities for theatrical purposes, r223. Please forgive me, but you're so literal.

And I think you'd have a very dull first act if your Tzeitel, and Motel, for that matter, couldn't land the comedy in their scenes, not to mention the humor in Matchmaker, Matchmaker.

So sad that Joanna Merlin has passed away. Lovely lady.

Link

Well, she was 92, after all.

[quote]I was merely speaking in generalities for theatrical purposes, [R223]. Please forgive me, but you're so literal. And I think you'd have a very dull first act if your Tzeitel, and Motel, for that matter, couldn't land the comedy in their scenes, not to mention the humor in Matchmaker, Matchmaker.

Sorry you think I'm being "literal," but I disagree, and I don't see the point in your "generalities" if they're inaccurate. You are of course correct that Tzeitel needs to have good comic chops for "Matchmaker, Matchmaker," but when you think about it, almost all of her dialogue throughout the show -- even her scenes with Motel -- are far more dramatic than comic. So to write that a "comedian" is necessary to play the role of Tzeitel is an odd way to phrase it.

Her Wikipedia page list her as the “casting director” for the original Sweeney, Evita, Merrily, and Into the Woods among others. Pretty impressive to have been involved in casting all those shows. I’m sure she had the scoop on Betty and Into the Woods.

Uh, r229, you left out the most important show...FOLLIES!

It’s all her fault—She couldn’t discern a Phyllis from a Sally!

Any interest in the three-day new production if THE FROGS? I saw the one with Nathan in Lincoln Center some years ago and remember nothing about it.

THE FROGS is a show that doesn't really need a production. You can get pretty much the same experience listening to the CD.

ribbit

I think Sondheim was correct in his assessment that THE FROGS was essentially a play for which he wrote some incidental songs, not really a "musical."

It's literal violence.

Betty Lynn paid tribute to Joanna Merlin on Instagram as did Donna Murphy.

[quote]Any interest in the three-day new production if THE FROGS? I saw the one with Nathan in Lincoln Center some years ago and remember nothing about it.

I didn't see it, but I remember Chris Kattan was shitcanned.

…and was never heard from again

In Sondheim's second volume of his lyrics he apologized for seeming to make derogatory comments about Lane's work on the revised Frogs production that played at Lincoln Center.

I also saw that production and remember nothing about it.

Well, I saw THE FROGS when it was originally performed at the Yale University campus swimming pool in the mid-70s. I was there applying to the Drama School (I got in!) and I remember little of the production except for the heavy smell of chlorine and and a misty smog hanging over the proceedings. Fun though looking at my program now to see the names of Meryl and Sigourney in the frog chorus. It was definitely more of a play (or spectacle, a cheap one) with music than a full out musical.

THE FROGS is not a great show, but it's a lot more entertaining than BOUNCE or ROAD SHOW or whatever the hell that thing wound up being called. Also more entertaining than PASSION, though I suppose that one wasn't exactly designed to be "entertaining."

The original production of THE FROGS was basically the original play with just a few incidental songs added, but presumably you all know that Sondheim wrote several more songs for the version that was presented years later at Lincoln Center. That's the version that will be done in the upcoming concert, so regardless of how anyone feels about the quality of the show, it is now a full musical. Unlike, apparently, HERE WE ARE.

Funny. I saw it at Lincoln Center also, and remember nothing about either.

I do remember Burke Moses looking yummy.

Kattan was a nasty coke hound, which was why he was 86'd.

And Broadway is officially dead. Who's planning the wake?

Yeah, R247, they definitely are grasping at straws to fill the empty theaters. On the other hand, there are still some big Broadway successes, like MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG and SWEENEY TODD, not to mention all of the shows that have been running at a profit for so long that some of us forget they're even still running, like BOOK OR MORMON, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING.

What I find most ironic is that they are filling these theaters with shows that are more geared towards Off-Broadway. Yet Off-Broadway is dead. Is there any way to bring back commercial off-Broadway in a larger way than just Little Shop of Horrors? Because for the past three seasons, I could name a good dozen or more shows that might have done much better off-Broadway than on. Or is there really no way to make money off-Broadway outside of the fluke hit?

R249 I know you’re talking about commercial (for profit) off-Broadway productions, but at least a lot of the theater companies are still doing good work off-Broadway.

Print advertising (ie. The Times) was always sited as the reason commercial off-Broadway was no longer viable - The Times didn't have "off-Broadway" rates. Well, fast-forward and The NYT is no longer even necessary for advertising. Could commercial OB make a comeback?

My Son's a Queer (how AWFUL is that title????) should be a The Orpheum in the East Village.

Has anyone seen JOB at the Soho Playhouse? Run sold out before the opening and there's a high demand for tickets. Allegedly.

$1.7 million for Merrily last week!

$600k for Here Lies Love.

And $1.93 for Purlie Victorius.

Sad about Purlie though I haven't seen it so blame me for its failure.

Obviously it's got a sure-fire title and some star power (even in replacements) but surely producers should do a case study of LITTLE SHOP and copy whatever it's done to succeed and get some more off-Broadway hits going. Or is it really just barely getting by and not returning much profit to its investors? More of a succes d'estime?

Titanique has been a huge hit off-Broadway.

I feel bad for Melissa Etheridge.

She's been grossing only like 200k weekly.

I remember she was popular in the '90s.

The musical ABOUT Neil Diamond managed to cross $1 million.

Melissa is at a tiny theatre, Circle in the Square.

[quote] Print advertising... was always sited as the reason

Oh, dear.

[quote]Melissa is at a tiny theatre, Circle in the Square.

Also, it looks like she's only doing 5 shows a week.

[quote] I saw the one with Nathan in Lincoln Center some years ago and remember nothing about it.

[quote] I also saw that production and remember nothing about it.

Do you remember breakfast? your name? where the keys are?

Any word on a CD for Merrily? I can’t believe they aren’t going to record one.

If Purlie is tanking, why isn't it on TDF more often?

R263, I can't imagine there's any possibility that there won't be a cast recording of this production of MERRILY. Of course, just because you haven't read any announcement of it doesn't mean it's not going to happen.

Melissa Etheridge's show had an Off-Broadway run last year. If she and the producers had known that Broadway was a possibility, I suspect that run would never have happened, but as it is, of course it must have gobbled up a large amount of her audience.

[quote]not to mention all of the shows that have been running at a profit for so long that some of us forget they're even still running, like BOOK OR MORMON, ALADDIN, and THE LION KING.

Ahem.

Bring back 'STOMP"!

Bring Back BIRDIE! (Not)

Any word on The Refuge Plays? I’m going to see it tonight. My friend was interested and asked me to go, so I said okay.

A very smart friend of mine saw it and highly recommended The Refuge Plays to me. Haven't seen it though. Let us know what you think, r270.

Thanks, R271. I will.

Etheridge is no Broadway Baby.

Isn't Refugee Plays like three and a half hours?

I still think Sondheim et al missed the mark when Mary reprises NOT A DAY GOES BY. We all know that she was in love with Franklin, since it's telegraphed to us right from the first scene. This musical moment just solidifies all the gossip. But what should have happened is that halfway through the number, Charlie should have joined her. The real surprise would have been to learn that Charlie was in love with Frank as well. Yeah, he ends up straight and married with kids, but the severity of Charlie's breakup with Frank could have been justified by more than Frank's absence from the team - it was that Charlie was in love with Frank, and that was the ultimate betrayal. What a lovely duet that would have been - NOT A DAY GOES BY with Mary & Charlie.

But as we all know, Sondheim nixed any real gay charterers or themes in his work, even when it would help the story.

imho

r275 No one would ever believe that two men involved in musical theater were GAY.

r275, Except the first London production of COMPANY, a man singing Could I Leave you in SIDE BY SIDE, and the two male lovers in ROAD SHOW. Oh, and the original lyric of We're Gonna Be Alright from WALTZ.

So you're wrong, and also misguided about the need for a gay element in MERRILY.

R277, I'm a bit confused what you mean about the original London production of COMPANY. Are you referring to casting Larry Kert (whose gayness was visible from space), and the infamous anecdote that followed:

Kert: Who do I have to fuck to get out of this show?

Sondheim: The same person you fucked to get in it.

I think r277 was refering to the first London REVIVAL.

It’s Refuge not Refugee. Jeez

[quote]a man singing Could I Leave you in SIDE BY SIDE

Isn't Sondheim on the record as having hated this?

Well, Gavin Lee is currently singing Could I leave you in Old Friends in London so fuck you, dead Steve!

And I saw Here We Are tonight. What a hot mess!!

Tom Kitt and Cameron Crowe to beat a dead horse.

At this point Crowe should give up on Famous and move on to "We Bought a Zoo: The Musical!"

Well, Tom Kitt writes a lot. He doesn't write a lot of good shows, but he writes [italic] a lot [/italic] .

If Sondheim had hated the SIDE BY SIDE version of Could I Leave You he could have blocked it.

Beanie on being Jewish.

imagine being the artist whose work might have been passed over so Almost Famous could be "retooled".

Did Cameron Crowe write a hefty check to the O Neill to make it happen?

[quote] I was the only Jewish kid in my community theater production of Annie. But my Dad paid for the entire thing, so I told them all to go fuck themselves.

SUFFS going into the Music Box. Hilary Clinton is a producer.

I really wish the League would lay down the law on these bullshit celebrity "producers" and make them ineligible to win a Tony for merely lending their names to a production.

It is embarrassing of the O'Neill Center to give time and space to a show written by a famous movie director that already flopped on Broadway.

[quote]I really wish the League would lay down the law on these bullshit celebrity "producers" and make them ineligible to win a Tony for merely lending their names to a production.

How do you know what their participation is? La Chanze is hands on with her shows and Whoopi was definitely involved and even flew to London which she's deathly afraid of, to over see their openings.

Hilary won an Emmy this year and previously won the Grammy. If she gets the Tony for SUFFS and then an Oscar then she is EGOT

I love Hillary. I voted for Hillary. I think having her as your "producer" is really dumb. You've alienated 1/2 the audience, and for the remaining you've raised a "WTF" does this mean?

[quote]You've alienated 1/2 the audience, and for the remaining you've raised a "WTF" does this mean?

Lol, sure, Jan.

r293 Why is Whoopi so scared of London?

Incidentally, that HILLARY AND CLINTON play a few years ago, starring Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow, was a major flop!

It closed early because of poor ticket sales.

r291 There's no chance that producers give up what's probably their number one way to raise money.

[quote]Incidentally, that HILLARY AND CLINTON play a few years ago, starring Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow, was a major flop!

shriek

r297, the flying not the city. [italic] Oy gevalt. [italic]

Whoosh

They should add an exclamation point to the title of Suffs!

I'm sorry but SUFFS makes me cackle. 😂

I automatically think of the SMURFS. 🤣

They couldn't think of a better title?

The 2004 HBO movie IRON JAWED ANGELS covered the same story and had a much better, intriguing title -- based on what one of their critics called the suffragists.

Which will close faster: Suffs or Days of Wine & Roses?

Suffs! replaced almost the entire creative team—save the director.

Did anyone else find Jonathon Groff's ass a major distraction? I couldn't concentrate with that big thing shoved in my face every time he turned around.

I sat in the second row at NYTW, and people who have commented in the past about how much he spits weren't kidding. It was distracting, and I felt bad for his co-stars. What is the deal with the spitting?

Change the name to SNUFF—S! and all of Hell’s Kitchen will be knocking on the box office door.

I sat in row J today r303 and his chin was always wet after a song and thought he was drooling.

sorry i meant r308.

R308, Angela Lansbury spit profusely when she sang out. When she sang “The Worst Pies in London” it looked like a summer shower.

Perhaps the theaters need to mark certain seats as being in the Splash Zone.

JG has always spat and always will. The Splash Zone line has been used before in this context.

[quote]JG has always spat and always will.

He doesn't swallow?

Seems insanely disrespectful to your colleagues, especially if he's done it for ages and never done work on stopping it.

I've seen two shows close up that were memorable for spitters. The first one was M. Butterfly with John Lithgow, which was one of my first ever plays. We were far back enough we were not in danger of being spat on, but close enough to be able to see it happening and to see the audience members in the first row ducking. Lithgow came to the very lip of the stage to perform a monologue and it was like "Singin in the Rain." It caused such a distraction that people in the first couple rows began to laugh.

The second one was the Raul Esparza production of Company. Raul spit so much when he sang, I don't know how he kept hydrated through each performance. This time we were in the 2nd row center towards the house right aisle and both my friend and I were rained on. It actually felt more like when you're driving through one of those nature preserves and a llama covers your windshield in phlegm.

R314, Lea Michele said that Groff is a chronic nighttime drooler and awakens to a wet pillow in the morning.

Elliott Gould had a major perspiration problem on stage.

I still marvel at how Barbra could have let him inside her between the sweating and the hairy back.

Antonio Banderas did a lot of spitting in Nine. It was kind of hot.

SUFFS!

I've seen Groff onstage several times -- 2 or 3 times in the original SPRING AWAKENING, twice in HAMILTON, plus a concert or two -- and each time he was outstanding not just vocally but in terms of incredible focus and presence. I never noticed a saliva issue -- which tells me not that he doesn't have one but that his performances have always been so strong that I'm not distracted by something like that.

"Spitting" makes it sound as he's hawking a loogie every 10 seconds, which is obviously not the case. I'm guessing that it's a function of his articulation -- perhaps part of how his sound always comes out so directly, with the lyrics always clear as a bell? -- and not just some random "rude" thing he does. (You've got to love how people like R314 have decided that this is some mannerism he does that deeply upsets his colleagues, while he blithely refuses to do a thing about it. No evidence for either of those things, but sure, say they're both so anyway.)

[quote] I never noticed a saliva issue

Oh Honey, it's legendary. They should have handed out ponchos for the first row like they did for "Evil Dead, The Musical" and the blood splatter.

I don't think he has control over it, r323, but lots of video exists showing how extreme Groff's spitting is.

He spat?!—his tops insisted he lube his own hole first…amirite?

[quote] He doesn't swallow?

Oh honey, don’t kid yourself.

200 posts about an actor, spitting… from a bunch of old farts who can’t hold their water or keep their teeth in.

Of which you are one, R328.

[quote]Lea Michele said that Groff is a chronic nighttime drooler and awakens to a wet pillow in the morning.

And she would know that how?

R330, They’re very close friends and certainly have slept in each other’s homes.

She showed him her vagina, for Christ’s sake.

I'm sure he was most grateful, R331.

I love the "Mary Poppins" scene in which Glynis Johns sings "Sister Suffs"!

I want Papi to spit on me.

I saw THE REFUGE PLAYS last night and my reaction was a bit mixed. The cast is first-rate -- Nicole Ari Parker is luminous in the role of lead character Early -- and the play itself is interesting but so much of it just felt like padding by a playwright more interested in writing an "epic" than including scenes that build character and advance the plot. (One scene, in act two, actually does reveal something important about a major character but is cloaked in babble about a water pump.) Some people left after the first act and it appeared even more after the second (because the theater isn't very big, my friend was concerned that this would be both noticeable and hurtful to the actors), though we hung in till the end and were very glad we did. The third act is terrific and really should have been the first because it draws the two main characters even more sharply plus showcases the great chemistry between Watts and Parker, which the play could've benefited from greatly in the first two acts. So in the end, not a total miss for me but a mixed experience at best, though one I'd still recommend chiefly due to the wonderful work being done by Parker, who is a real stage talent.

[quote]She showed him her vagina, for Christ’s sake.

If she did that to me, my pillow would be wet, too -- from vomit.

[quote]If she did that to me, my pillow would be wet, too -- from vomit.

Sweetie, it wasn't "Misery", he wasn't bound. It was all consensual.

[quote](You've got to love how people like [R314] have decided that this is some mannerism he does that deeply upsets his colleagues, while he blithely refuses to do a thing about it. No evidence for either of those things, but sure, say they're both so anyway

The word "seems" confuses you, does it? Mind you, given you're unable to correctly quote a post number, you're clearly addled. I'm sure his colleagues absolutely love being spit on.

I don’t have the attention span for a 3 act play anymore. I fully admit I have been ruined and now I want my plays at 90 minutes.

R339, And movies do not need to be longer than two hours.

I’m looking at you, Marty Scorsese.

Yeah, but at least you can watch a move at home and spread it over a couple of viewings.

R339 do you mean straight plays or musicals too?

R342 just straight plays. I can handle longer musicals.

I can handle the socks.

R343, When I attended a matinee of Torch Song Trilogy, I had no idea it was nearly three hours.

Enjoyed the play, but with tickets to see Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman that evening, my ass was sore.

R345, Make that nearly four hours.

Which part of “trilogy” did you not get…as to the play’s lengthiness?

But at least you didn't have to endue Michael Urie in the lead.

[quote] Enjoyed the play, but with tickets to see Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman that evening, my ass was sore.

You sure your ass wasn't sore beforehand?

Sweeney like it's running into spring, past Josh & Annaleigh who leave Jan 14. Interesting choice, I wish them well except for their monstrous ticket prices.

R350, We’re available.

Sounds like they have replacements lined up for ST. What are Audra and Will up to?

Ben Platt and Beanie or for a new interpretation, Norm Lewis and Billy Porter.

Josh Groban got a nose job when he was a teenager, right?

Saw I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE the other night and quite enjoyed it. A somewhat messy constantly tone-shifting book (which original author/librettist Jerome Weideman's son John is attempting to clean up) and with perhaps too many characters given a song but well worth seeing if only as a curiosity piece. Julia Lester as Miss Marmelstein once again steals the show, though Santino Fontana deserves bonus points for so comfortably portraying a charming heel.

I couldn't decide if the extreme intimacy of CSC helped or hindered the production. Serious musical theater-goers, don't miss it!

[quote]We’re available.

Sadly, we're not.

[quote]Ben Platt and Beanie

Be hard to sing about the Worst Pies in London when she's eaten them all

Weren't there rumors that it was going to be Chenoweth and Cummings? Or was that because of the Schmicago bit they did?

R358 the bad news is if it is them it will sell well…

R339 amen. I'm seeing Stereophonic this weekend and was surprised to find out it's 3 hours long. This had better be worth it.

Really curious to see who'll take over in Sweeney. I didn't want to see Groban and Ashford, but the right replacements may get me there!

The rumor on ATC is that it will be Sutton and Aaron T.

[quote] The rumor on ATC is that it will be Sutton and Aaron T.

Oh, well...that's one way to save $300.

Disorder & disarray!

Not since Suffs!

[quote]rumor on ATC is that it will be Sutton and Aaron T.

Sutton is booked for Once Upon a Mattress at Encores in January. In addition to which, she’s ten years older than Tveitt.

[quote]rumor on ATC is that it will be Sutton and Aaron T.

Sutton is booked for Once Upon a Mattress at Encores in January. In addition to which, she’s ten years older than Tveitt.

Move over Marat/Sade, make way for TVEIT/TODD.

R366, R367, Angela Lansbury was fourteen years older than Len Cariou.

R366, R367, Josh and Annaleigh do not leave until January 14th.

We could all be dead by then.

Saw Gardens of Anuncia. first preview. Sweet, surprisingly melodic for MJL, and ultimately deadly dull. And since it's the story of Graciela Daniele, why is there so little dancing? Andre Bishop was there, looking grim.

[quote]Sounds like they have replacements lined up for ST. What are Audra and Will up to?

Umm, Will Swenson does not remotely have the pipes to sing the role of Sweeney Todd. And neither does Aaron Tveit, so I hope that suggestion was a joke.

I love how DL inexplicably hates Aaron Tveit, but he always comes out on top!

Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez Take Lie Detector Tests:

Josh Groban And Annaleigh Ashford Set Final ‘Sweeney Todd’ Broadway Performances:

Jonathan Groff admits to spitting on Daniel Radcliffe, says he gets “wet” when he sings (us too!):

R373 has obviously never seen Aaron Tveit perform.

I just rewatched the Tonys when Lindsay Mendez won, and she’s much heavier now than she was then. Is it stress eating caused by her divorce? Or not losing the baby weight?

R379 I think it’s refreshing not to see someone jump on the Ozempic bandwagon.

Being a little plump is perfect for Mary.

Haydn Gwynne has passed away. So sad.

Link

Haydn in City of Angels

Holy cow! I had wondered when she dropped out of Old Friends what had happened, but this was crazy quick!

Diagnosis to death in only a month or so is horrifying. Fuck cancer.

[quote]I think it’s refreshing not to see someone jump on the Ozempic bandwagon.

I tried jumping on the bandwagon and it collapsed.

I'm shocked that My Son's A Queer is moving to Broadway. I saw it in London and loved it, but it was always heavily discounted, and even with that there were plenty of empty seats when I went. It's a very small show that belongs in small venues - shorts stints at arts festivals and that sort of thing. The humour is very British, as are many of the references in the show. Madge is delightful but I don't think this will go over well with US audiences.

R388 it's another stupid decision by the inexplicably clueless producers.

You're always bitching about the factory shows for tourists and now something different is coming and everybody is too stupid to get it.

Bitches, there may be a problem here.

[quote] You're always bitching about the factory shows for tourists and now something different is coming and everybody is too stupid to get it.

Maybe you're the one too stupid to get it. No one is saying it shouldn't be produced in NYC at all, just that it's a small show with a limited audience that is not going to bear up to Broadway prices and the tourist trade. It would be far better suited to a smaller, off-Broadway venue.

R378, I have seen and heard Aaron Tveit perform many times, and I stand by my comment that he does not have the pipes to sing the role of SWEENEY TODD. To clarify, I guess he might be able to hit all the notes -- though I'm not sure about the lowest ones -- and he MIGHT have the stamina to sing the role seven or eight times a week, but his voice is all wrong for the part in terms of timbre, range of colors, etc.

[quote]I have seen and heard Aaron Tveit perform many times, and I stand by my comment that he does not have the pipes to sing the role of SWEENEY TODD.

Well, Sondheim thought Johnny Depp could and Tveit is light years better than him.

No, R391, certain it's you. The line is: "I don't think this will go over well with US audiences." So venue's not an issue, though it was your dodge. Have a nice day, stupid.

[quote] No, [R391], certain it's you. The line is: "I don't think this will go over well with US audiences." So venue's not an issue, though it was your dodge. Have a nice day, stupid.

I'm not the person who made the original comment. Also, you weren't singling any one person out with your statement. You were making a blanket statement about everyone who has said certain shows shouldn't come to NYC, which is not what everyone has said. Perhaps that one person who made the above statement did, but you weren't singling him out. Until you got caught being wrong.

Care to try again, or do you just want to scurry off?

Love when the stupid queens here start going back and forth. Makes for such great reading

^^ that was facetious but you’re probably too stupid to get it

And your genius comment contributed so mightily to the discourse, R396/R397?

R395, For someone with no skin in the game you're sure huffy, missy.

Or should I say hissy? On the bright side, R395 is finally in possession of some thin skin.

I don't have a dog in this race, but I have to agree that MY SON'S A QUEER is going to flop badly on Broadway.

The title is stupid and it looks grotesque.

R392- and Audra has the wrong voice to play Billie Holliday too, right? I wouldn’t doubt Tveit’s ability to give a credible performance. Especially since he always plays roles seriously. This time, it would make sense.

Am I the only person who doesn’t worship Audra McDonald?

Is he a little homosexual boy or not?

[quote] I have seen and heard Aaron Tveit perform many times, and I stand by my comment that he does not have the pipes to sing the role of SWEENEY TODD. To clarify, I guess he might be able to hit all the notes -- though I'm not sure about the lowest ones -- and he MIGHT have the stamina to sing the role seven or eight times a week, but his voice is all wrong for the part in terms of timbre, range of colors, etc.

I'll be available in January.

R392, If only I wasn’t already committed to Gatsby.

[quote]And Audra has the wrong voice to play Billie Holliday too, right? I wouldn’t doubt Tveit’s ability to give a credible performance. Especially since he always plays roles seriously. This time, it would make sense.

Two completely different situations. I still stand by my comment that Tveit's voice is all wrong for Sweeney in terms of weight, color, and his style of singing. You are free to disagree, but I for one hope we never get to find out for sure, because I hope he won't be cast in the role

Well we wouldn't want to risk end of days, which it surely would be. I mean, Tveit... singing Sweeney. What's next, an ALW revival?!?

Nobody suggested Tveit as Sweeney would be an "end of days" scenario. So calm down, bucko.

Oh, honey. Reread R407. I've heard rads hiss less during a cold snap.

R410, I AM, in fact, R407. I do hope Tveit will not be cast as Sweeney, but if that does come to pass, I don't think it will cause the earth to stop spinning on its axis.

Yeah, kinda guessed, R411.

I'm wondering if the poster who is so horrified by Aaron Tveit as Sweeney is the same poster who was so horrified by Eddie Redmayne's performance as the Emcee, both judged without seeing an actual performance?

[quote]I'm wondering if the poster who is so horrified by Aaron Tveit as Sweeney is the same poster who was so horrified by Eddie Redmayne's performance as the Emcee, both judged without seeing an actual performance?

Yes, indeed, I am one in the same person. I judged Redmayne's performance based on the CABARET cast recording. If he and the producers feel his performance on the album is not representative of his performance in the theater, then maybe they shouldn't have released the album.

As for Aaron Tveit as SWEENEY, I don't think it's unreasonable to state that his singing voice is not right for the role based on the way he has sounded in NEXT TO NORMAL, the LES MISERABLES movie, GREASE on TV, MOULIN ROUGE, etc. If it were announced that Kristin Chenoweth was going to play Rose in GYPSY, I don't think you would be offended if lots of people suggested she wasn't right for the role based on everything she has done before.

Hilarious the way you diss me for "judging performances I haven't seen" when I'm SURE you yourself do that frequently, as do so many other people.

Whoever thought that Aaron Tveit could arouse such passions? Well, aside from in stage door twinks.

Actually, R415, there is not much "passion" involved in this discussion of Tveit -- at least, not on my part. I just don't think he'd be any good as Sweeney Todd, and I think it's silly that anyone ever seriously mentioned him for the part.

Redmayne is almost unintelligble in the Cabaret recording. I don't blame the earlier "audio only" critic in the thread.

VERY curious if this performance is much better live.

I love this show and hope whoever is cast can make the show last. I remember seeing clips of Alan Cumming that first piqued my interest in the early 200s0.

Is he hung? ‘Cause if he’s hung, he gets dispensation to sing out loud as Sweeney til the cows come home. Or until the latest BBC OR PINGA cums in Hell’s Kitchen.

r414, what did you think when Bernadette Peters was announced for GYPSY? What about Tyne Daly? Sometimes actors surprise you.

[quote]Redmayne is almost unintelligble in the Cabaret recording. I don't blame the earlier "audio only" critic in the thread. VERY curious if this performance is much better live.

The only way it could be "much better" live would be if he suddenly decided to deliver every line of his lyrics and dialogue in a completely different way, far less vulgar and offensive and not so horribly overacted. Which doesn't seem very likely.

Many thought Josh Groban was a questionable choice to play Sweeney Todd.

R419, lots of people questioned the casting of Peters as Rose in GYPSY because they felt she was the wrong physical and vocal type -- and some, though not of all, of those people felt the same way after they saw and heard her in the show.

As for Tyne as Rose, along with many other people, I suppose I was skeptical or at least curious about her casting only because I don't believe I had ever heard her sing at that point. Again, a very different situation from thinking Aaron Tveit is the wrong vocal type for Sweeney based on all of his past work.

Can't decide if the anti-Tveit poster is 16 or 80.

Speaking of gossip—remember gossip?—does anyone know why Jennifer Holliday dropped out of (or was dumped from) Pal Joey at City Center?

Ben Platt for Sweeney.

Beanie for Sweeney!

[quote]Can't decide if the anti-Tveit poster is 16 or 80.

And I'm sure you'll spend some sleepless nights pondering this burning question.

I think somebody's stuck in a soundtrack doom loop.

R424. She wasn’t willing to play Chez Joey.

Jennifer Holiday dropped out of Joey because she'll be replacing Annaleigh Ashford in ST come January and needs time to prepare.

R422, Like him or not, Aaron Tveit has a tremendous fan base and that is what producers want.

Aaron has said numerous times in interviews that Sweeney Todd is his dream role.

r431 = Wayman

Between SUFFS and LEMPICKA, it's a bountiful spring for lesbians on Broadway!

Will Jonathan successfully seduce Daniel before the limited run is over?

[quote]Aaron has said numerous times in interviews that Sweeney Todd is his dream role.

I was unaware of that, but....I think he's going to have to dream on.

Sweeney will be Norm Lewis and Audra McDonald.

Will Norm croon Sweeney's ballads?

Will Norm actually learn his lines?

Jennifer Holliday was actually the front runner for the witch in the 2002 into the woods, until Vanessa took it. It was down to Jennifer, Vanessa and Billy Porter.

Yes, seriously.

[quote] don't think it's unreasonable to state that his singing voice is not right for the role based on the way he has sounded in NEXT TO NORMAL, the LES MISERABLES movie, GREASE on TV, MOULIN ROUGE, etc.

They can change the music to fit his voice.

[quote] They can change the music to fit his voice.

Over my dead body! Oh, wait…

Norm played Sweeney in the off-Broadway production in 2017, after playing the role in 1999 at Signature Theatre. He was fine, and i wouldn’t mind seeing him do it another time. Carolee Carmello was fantastic.

Having seen the show in a dozen or so productions. I think Sweeney is a harder role to do extremely well. A great Sweeney also makes less of an impact on the overall production than you would think. But it matters less than the Mrs. Lovett casting. When she is not funny or is grating or can’t shift to the dramatic moments, the show sinks.

So, ridiculous as it seems to cast Tveit, the more disastrous casting idea would be Sutton or Chenoweth. Tveit is vocally wrong, but so was Michael Cerveris.

If they are just looking to wind down, Norm Lewis and Carolee Carmello would be great.

[quote]Tveit is vocally wrong, but so was Michael Cerveris.

I don't fully agree there. Cerveris does have more a tenor-ish timbre than one might consider ideal for Sweeney, but he also has great intensity in his singing -- something that the very bland Tveit lacks.

The reason everyone thinks it’s Audra or Sutton is because someone who claims to be an insider wrote in Broadwayworld that Lovett would

1) make the theatre people very happy

2) is a Sondheim vet who has never done Sondheim on Broadway.

Sutton did into the woods at the Hollywood Bowl and anyone can whistle at encores

Audra did all those Sondheim shows at Ravinia as well as the beggar woman in Sweeney with the NY Phil.

-so they both fit the bill.

If you want to get people in the seats, give them what they want - the most newsworthy people out thee right now... Taylor Swift and Gym Jordan!

Norm Lewis did Sweeney at the Kennedy Center for the Sondheim Festival. He was boring. I think Lovett is way out of Audra's comfort zone. But she would sell tickets, as would Foster. Lewis and Cerveris would not.

Audra couldn't GIVE AWAY tickets to her most recent Broadway ventures -- OHIO STATE MURDERS and FRANKIE & JOHNNY.

Norm Lewis did not play Sweeney at the Kennedy Center, Brian Stokes Mitchell did. Audra would bring something unique and fierce to Mrs. Lovett, but I don’t see her cancelling her concerts and doing this.

R446, Tveit would break box office records.

I like blue light.

Wrong thread!

Whatever happened to that Jersey Boys with Nick Jonas?

Time to hit the shack, Joey.

Lovett also has to be funny!! Is Audra ever funny?

Taron Egerton and Audra would make a lovely Sweeney and Lovett.

With Will Swenson as the Beadle.

I’m sure they will not hire anyone who has done either role in a prominent production. No Norm, no Carolee, no Stokes. And whomever they go with, it’s fun to speculate, who may have turned them down first

I hope its Sutton. She's best when she's a clown.

Shudder. I tried to keep an open mind for Music Manic, but she was awful. Lovett has to convince you in Not While I’m Around that she would actually kill a child. I’m not seeing it work with Sutton, just like I couldn’t imagine her successfully singing My White Knight or Till There Was You.

[quote]Norm Lewis did not play Sweeney at the Kennedy Center, Brian Stokes Mitchell did.

Correct, Norm played the role briefly as a replacement in the "pie shop" production of SWEENEY that was done at the Barrow Street Theatre. He was very good in it.

[quote]Audra couldn't GIVE AWAY tickets to her most recent Broadway ventures -- OHIO STATE MURDERS and FRANKIE & JOHNNY.

There is general agreement that Audra sells lots of tickets when she's in a musical but NOT when she's in a straight play. Unfortunately, the other thing is that when she IS in a musical, she tends to miss lots of performances. And I can only imagine her track record would be as spotty as ever in SWEENEY, because Lovett is not an easy sing.

It can’t be Sutton for Mrs. Lovett. She’s already booked for Once Upon a Mattress at Encores, at exactly the time she’d be rehearsing/performing Sweeney.

[quote] I couldn’t imagine her successfully singing My White Knight or Till There Was You.

She stank to high heaven.

Whatever happened to Sing Street?

Another fun choice might be Emma Thompson reprising the role. With the SAG strike, it might be a real coup to get her.

Baby Hughie

I find Emma fantastically twee. Twee is whimsy without wit. It's mimsy-mumsy sweetness without any kind of bite. And that's not for me.

Didn’t Sandra Bernhard do a spoof of Jennifer Holiday playing Mrs. Lovett in her stand-up act? Oh, wait, It may have been Steven Brinberg on a tangent in his Simply Barbra show.

R466, you should have signed your post as Audrey Hepburn :-)

R467, Steven Brinberg has imitated Lena Horne as Mrs. Lovett, but I don't believe he's done his version of JH in the role.

R461, Sutton would pull out of Mattress if Sweeney was offered.

How about Lypsinka for Mrs. Lovett using Angela's original cast album.

R469, I pulled out of Sutton regularly.

Sutton would be despised if she pulled out of MATRESS. Not by me, but by City Center.

[quote]Sutton would be despised if she pulled out of MATRESS. Not by me, but by City Center.

Get Carol to do it...again.

Thanks, R468, that’s definitely what I was thinking of. It was really funny.

“Wait, what’s ya rush, what’s the hurry, ya gave me such a…skehhhyahhh!”

Harvey and Rosie together again. Matthew and Nathan together again.

Seriously how I wish Leslie Kritzer weren’t doing Spamalot. How I wish Marin Mazzie weren’t dead.

[quote]Norm Lewis did not play Sweeney at the Kennedy Center, Brian Stokes Mitchell did.

Opposite Christine Baranski, who knows how to be funny.

Does anything that Sutton or Aaron would replace someone?

Swallowing one's pride can pay off in the long run.

Tony winner Dorothy Loudon replaced Angela in the original Sweeney. For a great part, you do it.

Sutton's an established star, r477. It isn't any different than Ethel doing Dolly. It isn't going to turn her into Lenora or Jana or Maureen.

Of course, r479, when would she get another chance to do it on Broadway?

Bernadette got to add Desiree and Dolly to her Broadway resume and she didn't have to play them for a lengthy period.

R476, Baranski knows how to be funny, but not at the Kennedy Center. She was very intimidated by the role and Sondheim was around rehearsals. A female friend in the show said she was constantly going over the lyrics backstage and in the bathroom. Unfortunately, the performance seemed mannered and a little mechanical, though it was fine. Less said about her Mame in the same theater, the better.

There was a moment where she really connected to the lyrics in the performance I saw. I think it was in By The Sea. You could see it threw her off, and she bombed the next lyrics.

I have never understood the love for Christine Baranski except sometimes in some supporting roles. Very one note.

And didn't she do Sweeney at the KC with Kelsey Grammer, not Norm?

Sutton is what modern theater folk might consider to be a " star." But, she's in the bottom 5% of true Broadway stars.

Does Baranski have a good singing voice?

[quote]And didn't she do Sweeney at the KC with Kelsey Grammer, not Norm.

As previously noted, it was with Brian Stokes Mitchell, who, unlike Kelsey Grammer, can actually sing.

Nooooooooo!

[quote]Does Baranski have a good singing voice?

Judge for yourself, although the audio quality isn't great.

She’s kinda whack…

Also, r485...

Wasn't there a revival of FLOYD COLLINS announced? I know one previously announced last year at Out Of The Box was canceled but I thought another one was in the works since then.

Ill tells ya who would see tickets.

A reunion of Idina Menzel and Tate Diggs,

[quote]A reunion of Idina Menzel and Tate Diggs,

I Do, I Do! ?

R492 THEY'RE PLAYING OUR SONG!

MAME!

OnlyFans, only for their fans!

[quote]A reunion of Idina Menzel and Tate Diggs,

Oh, dear.

R497. Geez. Sharon Tate.

Idina and Taye ... in a musical version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

[quote]Idina and Taye ... in a musical version of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Or a gender-reversed "No Strings."

Baranski did it with Fraser somewhere else. It’s on YouTube but I don’t feel like looking for it.

I’d rather not, if you don’t mind… my eyes!

What did Baranski do with Fraser?

Baranski doesn't sound too bad in that clip above. I just remember her as forgettable. But seeing her do I'm Still Here in Follies at Encores was painful. She sounded awful and couldn't hit some of the notes, and it's not that hard a song.

Baranski and Grammer

Watching r505, you can get a good idea how Sutton would perform it...

r505, that was downright painful. Not your fault, of course.

How about this Lady Macbethian interpretation?

Or This?

Does anyone know if John Cullum ever played Sweeney anywhere?

I’d pay another $600+ to see Staunton or Lea Salonga. To be honest, I’d go to see Sutton but only by myself and wearing an N-95.

This land, don’t belong to Virginia, my sons bleed, but not for the south. This land here is Anderson land by the strength of my hand and the sweat of my brow, for as long as the Lord will allow.

I could be wrong, but wasn't John Cullum first up for Sweeney?

I want to hear Lea's "The Worst Lumpia in London."

Imagine Cullum's Sweeney opposite Barbara Harris' Lovett.

Freedom, r512...

Slay, r515.

Preach R515

I saw Lea Salonga do Mrs. Lovett in OLD FRIENDS in London a few weeks ago. She was fantastic, funny and powerful.

The entire show was wonderful, a real surprise, as we just grabbed 1/2 tix that afternoon out of lack of anything better to see. Boy, were were we happy! Though I'd seen the televised version last year, seeing it all live was highly emotional, a real appreciation of the genius that was Sondheim. I understand sales have been disappointing, which is a shame, but I get it, as I had not initially been especially interested. If you're in London I highly recommend it!

Baranski is 71. Those examples of her singing were decades ago.

I would like to see an all Muppet Sweeney Todd. Miss piggy obviously as Mrs. Lovett maybe Oscar as Sweeney and Kermit as Anthony. Perhaps Grover as Tobias

You have to include one human actor, r521. It’s muppet law.

Holy shit, Baranski was so bad in that clip, she actually made Grammer go off-key.

[quote] I would like to see an all Muppet Sweeney Todd. Miss piggy obviously as Mrs. Lovett maybe Oscar as Sweeney and Kermit as Anthony. Perhaps Grover as Tobias

You're mixing Muppets and Sesame Street, which they tend to keep separate.

[quote]Miss piggy obviously as Mrs. Lovett

Someone already suggested Beanie

I actually like(d) the sound of Baranski's voice in its lower and middle registers; she never figured out how to handle higher-lying stuff.

The Encores! FOLLIES was fascinating, because in all of her dialogue she was superb -- underplaying to wonderful effect -- but the song was too much for her vocally. (Yvonne de Carlo had a wide compass, which the song exploited perfectly.) Amusingly enough, she got the part after Cybill Shepherd turned it down; Shepherd was never much of an actress, but she might well have hit the notes a lot better.

Please can someone get them to bring Toni Collette in for Mrs. Lovett? I'd fly to NYC to see that and pay top dollar for tickets

[quote]Someone already suggested Beanie

Then who would Cecil play?

r524 you’re fun

Toby, R528.

Saw Stereophonic at Playwrights Horizons and loved it.

3 hours long but really well done, loved the music and the performances were great.

Could be tedious if you’re not into music/albums.

It seems that Imelda Staunton decided she couldn't be bothered to think about a look for Mrs. Lovett. "I'll just do my hair and makeup the way I always do."

And apparently Michael Ball's Sweeney ate well, all those years he was transported for life.

Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz!

The Ball/Staunton production of Sweeney Todd was excellent - gorgeous set and staging. Johanna and Anthony were quite bland, but that's the only bad thing I can say about it.

I’m glad other people are saying the same things about Baranski. She is WORSHIPPED in the industry but I don’t find her singing pleasant. It’s interesting that Sondheim ripped Betty Buckley and Patti LuPone to shreds at regular intervals…but by all accounts was happy with Christine.

Baranski’s Mame was unimpressive.

I discovered Christine Baranski.

R531 I was at last night's performance. It was long and stuffed with tropes, but I was never bored. I had zero understanding of what goes on in a recording studio, and loved seeing all the drama and creative process around crafting an album. Gorgeous set and sound design.

For the Toni Collette fans, is your adoration for her musical comedy talent all based on seeing her in THE WILD PARTY? Or are there are other projects I'm forgetting? Obviously, I know she's a great film actress but where does all this confidence in her musical chops come from?

I’m one of the fans. I loved her in Muriel’s Wedding, but had zero expectations going into The Wild Party. From the opening number, you couldn’t take your eyes off of her. She also sounded great. She did a not very great guilty pleasure movie playing a dinner theater star paired with Nia Vardalos called Connie and Carla.

I don’t love her on film as much, but I would pay nearly anything to see her onstage again.

How are things downtown at Santino Fontana Wholesale?

[quote]all based on seeing her in THE WILD PARTY?

She really was *that* good.

DL fave Tonya Pinkins wrote in that Nothing Like a Dame book that Toni wasn’t a good enough theatre actress and was the reason Wild Party closed early.

Wow r543. I don’t have the book. Can you tell us the actual comment? That’s amazing.

[quote]DL fave Tonya Pinkins wrote in that Nothing Like a Dame book that Toni wasn’t a good enough theatre actress and was the reason Wild Party closed early.

Consider the source. Everyone but Tonya knows that was NOT the reason, or even among the reasons.

Tonya Pinkins gave another of my favorite performances in a musical in Caroline or Change, but that quote (if correct) is bullshit.

Wild Party was dark and in your face. Collette flashed her tits in the opening number, Mandy Patinkin’s first entrance was in blackface, and Marc Kurdish raped a teenage girl in a song. As someone said in the lobby on the way out, it wasn’t Guys and Dolls. It also wasn’t selling.

Is Janis Paige in STEREOPHONIC?

R547, I love you :-)

R547. Excuse me?

[quote] Collette flashed her tits in the opening number

Only for a few performances in previews.

But, yes, I agree. The Wild Party was dark and in your face.

R550, I'm pretty sure I saw THE WILD PARTY after the opening, and Collette flashed her breasts in that performance.

Toni was no Raquel...

The "commercial" for MY SON IS QUEER is on Facebook, It looks horrifying - the "son" is shown as a succession of drag Disney princesses.

It's an unpopular take, but I much preferred the Andrew Lippa WILD PARTY with Julia Murney, Taye Diggs and Brian D'Arcy James. I did love Collette but it seemed like everyone was straining to be soooo provocative/sexy/jaded whereas the other one at least had characters that were a bit more human. I'm not sophisticated in my music tastes and I also liked that score better. It was weird to see the same story told twice in one season.

The main thing I can't stand about the Lippa WILD PARTY is that almost every song is written in a different style, so the score is not cohesive at all in that way. Whatever criticisms may be leveled against LaChiusa's score for the other version, this one does not apply.

The Lippa Wild Party was the better one. Too bad they were blackballed by the press. David Kaufman, the critic at The Daily News, lost his job over his favorable review.

Did Collette actually do screen tests for the film versions of Chicago and Sweeney Todd or did it never reach that point?

If Scott Rudin was producing Sweeney Todd I bet he could have convinced Collette to be the repkacement. She owes him forvgetting her on the remake of Shaft after he sabotaged Jennifer Esposito on Day 1 by triggering a nervous breakdown over a very ugly wig,

[quote]It was weird to see the same story told twice in one season.

Why did they both keep the same title?

I wonder what alternative titles might have been used for THE WILD PARTY? Maybe QUEENIE AND BURRS? Maybe WELCOME TO MY PARTY for the LaChiusa? Neither one great titles.

They could have called it Follies! (The other definition!)

They called them The Wild Party for obvious reasons.

I'm sorry, I know this is heresy and all about my ignorance and unworthiness to live, but the Sweeney Todd stuff... Sondheim can be fucking incomprehensible to the undevoted. There, I said it. Flaying starts now.

[quote]Sondheim can be fucking incomprehensible to the undevoted.

That can be said of many brilliant artists.

Boy are you sorry on this thread!

But are you grateful?

[quote]I'm sorry, I know this is heresy and all about my ignorance and unworthiness to live, but the Sweeney Todd stuff... Sondheim can be fucking incomprehensible to the undevoted. There, I said it. Flaying starts now.

No, Sondheim can be "incomprehensible" to the ignorant, especially if they have no desire to grow in their appreciation of art. Sondheim's music and lyrics are complex in comparison to the relatively simple work of Jerry Herman, for example. But there's nothing "incomprehensible" about it for people who want to expand their artistic horizons beyond the basic and are willing to work just a little harder in paying more attention and also listening to some of Sondheim's more complex songs multiple times, rather than expecting to have full comprehension and appreciation after only one or two hearings. I think it's fair to say that SWEENEY TODD is generally considered a masterpiece -- and also, perhaps unexpectedly, it's one of Sondheim's most popular shows -- so rather than seeming to be proud of your negative feelings about the show, I think you should be ashamed of them. Now I leave it to others to continue the flaying, which you probably enjoy.

r566 stop helping

You are why they hate us

I said you’d be sorry!!

Speaking of Jerry Herman...

[quote]so rather than seeming to be proud of your negative feelings about the show, I think you should be ashamed of them.

Oh, fuck me! LOL. I now couldn't feel less worse. MARY!

I can't believe someone actually took the bait.

Well, it's a cheap seat at a cheap opera, but we sure got a high C.

Operetta, in fairness.

C– at best

Did everyone giggle when the producers of MILK AND HONEY (was David Merrick involved?) tried to pass of that show poster of their 3 stars?

Theatergoers knew who the stars were, r576.

Of course, they did, r577. They still coulda giggled.

Sorry you couldn't.

Niether WILD PARTY worked. I preferred the LaCuissa one, mainly because at least it was atmospheric. But they both missed the point, by making Queenie the lead based on the first line of the poem being about her. But Black is the protagonist (and the only really likable character.) It's his story, being pulled into it all and leading to his downfall.

One more week left of The Cottage, and Will Swenson in A Beautiful Noise. Four more weeks scheduled for Jaja's African Hair Braiding, The Shark is Broken and Melissa Etheridge: My Window.

That's crazy. It feels like JaJa just opened and that The Cottage has been around for months. I still cannot fathom who had the deep enough pockets to keep that turd running.

[quote]Oh, fuck me! LOL. I now couldn't feel less worse. MARY!

Not surprising. You seem very happy and confident in your stupidity and ignorance. Also, your comment was meant to irk people and cause strong disagreement -- and then, when you get that response, you double down. Have fun with yourself in your bubble of ignorance. I'm guessing you're the number-one fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber -- but only the stupid, lousy ones, from CATS on.

P.S. I really don't want to fuck you. REALLY.

[quote]Also, your comment was meant to irk people and cause strong disagreement

So you decided to give that poster exactly what they wanted, then? The only one looking stupid here is you.

[quote]If Scott Rudin was producing Sweeney Todd I bet he could have convinced Collette to be the repkacement. She owes him forvgetting her on the remake of Shaft

Toni Collette was in the remake of Shaft?

[quote]So you decided to give that poster exactly what they wanted, then? The only one looking stupid here is you.

I fail to see why that makes me look "stupid." I didn't want to let that other person's ignorant opinion stand without a rebuttal, whatever their motivation. But I suspect you and that person are birds of a feather, so I understand why your perspective is so warped.

[quote]I fail to see why that makes me look "stupid."

Yah, that'd be part of what makes you look stupid. Well, I say 'look'...

Toni Collette's singing voice also sounded great in the little-seen CONNIE AND CARLA, as I recall.

R586, if you feel that way about my posts, please let us know whether you agree with the other poster's statement that SWEENEY TODD and some of Sondheim's other works are "incomprehensible." And if not, please STFU.

You think *you* bitches have it bad.

r588 You're actually tripling down? Just a quick review, you admit that you knew that poster said that just to get a rise out of people and yet you still replied, and now you're trying to get me to feed that troll too? It's no wonder DL has become infested with trolls when there are posters like you willing to give them exactly what they want.

R590, I can honestly understand why you feel it's a bad idea to "feed a troll" -- for example, arguing with someone (as I did) who stated that much of Sondheim's work is "incomprehensible," but I don't necessarily agree, and I don't see what's so awful about me posting ONE comment in argument against that post. That probably would have been the end of it if you hadn't felt it necessary to insult me for responding.

Has anyone started the new thread?

New thread:

But not before…

BAJOUR!

STARMITES!

[quote]I wonder what alternative titles might have been used for THE WILD PARTY? Maybe QUEENIE AND BURRS? Maybe WELCOME TO MY PARTY for the LaChiusa? Neither one great titles.

As Richard Rodgers told Mary when she said that "Once Upon a Mattress" wasn't a hit title: "A hit title is a title of a hit."

DANCE A LITTLE CLOSER!

PRETTYBELLE!

NICK AND NORA!

SUFFS!