THEATRE GOSSIP #601: Closing Notices Galore

Continued from the prior thread (please use that thread first)

Am I supposed to know who that is, OP?

R2 Sorry, that's from a recent production of American Psycho in Houston. Robert Lenzi is playing Patrick Bateman.

Shouldn’t the women’s nails be manicured more and bright red to match American Psycho’s 80s aesthetic?

That's all well and good OP, but why does Patrick Bateman have an extra right foot?

r5 I wasn't looking at his foot......

[quote] While we discuss....whatever's left to discuss before new shows open, we can stare at the lovely white underwear.....much better than his attempts to sing.

Have you heard the score? It doesn’t really matter whether he can sing or not

Yeah, let's do musicals about delusional psycho killers. That's what we all need right now.

You can audition for Dreamgirls, too!

Robert Lenzi is adorable.

Best production of Dreamgirls I've ever seen is the bus and truck company that came to Broadway for a limited summer run and ended up staying for several months. Lillas White and Sharon Brown were Effie and they were both superb.

[quote]Lillas White and Sharon Brown were Effie

Side Show style?

Most memorable production of Dreamgirls I've ever seen was at a high school auditorium in Harlem. Effie flipped the table over during "And I'm telling you..."

[quote]Effie flipped the table over during "And I'm telling you..."

Did she sit on it?

Dreamgirls hasn't been on Broadway for over 30 years.

OP loses a lot of points for not including new DL fave Barry Williams in the thread title.

R16 I deserve to be chastised.

So is Queen of Versailles sunk by Kristin’s latest antics or was it sunk anyway?

I'd guess the latter, r18.

[quote]Sorry, that's from a recent production of American Psycho in Houston. Robert Lenzi is playing Patrick Bateman.

He's got the undies, but why isn't he splattered with blood? Isn't he supposed to be a psycho killer?

Queen of Versailles is sunk because it's a shallow idea, led by a shallow star influenced by the shallow woman who created the IP, put together by a very shallow producer. DOA because they all have no idea how awful it is to do her MAGA loving story now.

It’s a splayed big toe, R5. Those of us born without webbed toes can stretch out our toes.

R17 /OP

You're no longer a Big Man on Campus.

Chenoweth is for me one of the great stage talents of our time. It's heartbreaking to see her on Team Kirk.

Barry Williams could play Johnny Bravo covering "Cadillac Car" in the new "Dreamgirls."

KC might be a great talent but she is devilishly tough to cast. I could only stomach her in TWENTIETH CENTURY.

I'm not convinced she's "on team Kirk" more than she's a "both sides" type who is genuine in her religiosity and equally genuine in her love for the LGBTQ community. I mean, the woman was encouraging her followers to vote for Kamala last year. I like to think that she... foolishly... was equating Kirk with the average conservative Christian (many of whom are, no doubt, in her extended family in Oklahoma.)

People with whom she shares a religion, but diverges from them when it comes to politics and social progress. But IF that is the case, I think her team's advice for her to stay silent following the blowback she received online is foolish and allowing us to "fill in the blanks" and assume the worst about her.

Clearly, Kristin has no "team" because if she had a "team" they'd have been watching out for her and never would have allowed her to comment publicly about Kirk.

And, I'm sorry, there's just no excuse for her stupidity and insensitivity, "team" or not. This is just as bad as the whole Patti kerfuffle.

Lots of seats available for Cabaret's closing performance on Sunday.

Come Back To The Five and Dime, Barry Williams, Barry Williams

I Did it For You, Laura Linney.

or the upcoming season's surprise smash (you can quote me!, "Stay Away from the Stage Door, Billy Porter Billy Porter."

R28 - don't think you know what we're referring to. A friend of hers published screenshots of a text exchange they had where she claimed she was aware of the backlash, she was very sad about it, she wasn't MAGA at all, but that her team had advised her not to comment further.

And what the fuck are you talking about. Of course she has a team -- agent, manager, publicist etc. Are you nuts?

Broadway's Cabaret Stops Mid-Performance After Actor Is Rushed to Hospital for Health Emergency:

First photos of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in "Waiting for Godot":

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1977, a revival of "Man of La Mancha" opened at the Palace Theatre.

KC is finished on Broadway. Stick to concerts, hon.

After what Camille Brown did to the Gypsy choreography, this Dreamgirls will be DOA.

Dreamgirls with Tituss Burgess, J. Harrison Ghee and Billy Porter. It's gonna lay em out in the aisles.

Exactly, r38. Gypsy seemed to indicate she had no idea how to tell a story through dance. And she's not only choreographing Dreamgirls, she's directing it.

r33, I knew exactly what was being referred concerning Kristin. My use of the quotes around "team" didn't give you a hint that I meant "team" facetiously?

What's the point of a "team" if they're not guiding and supporting her before she makes those blunders? And if she's not smart enough to consult them then her stupidity and insensitivity are there for all of us to see.

[quote]First photos of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter in "Waiting for Godot":

Looks to me more like they were reviving Fiddler.

I think Bennett learned from FOLLIES and Prince and it informed his Dreamgirls direction.

I have an acquaintance who invested in QoV. After the last four days, he’s convinced he’s lost his entire investment (which I think was $50,000, or two units).

Who in their right mind would think that a musical about conspicuous consumption in this day and age would be a money maker?

BTW, the producers of “Fiddler on the Roof” earned a $1,574 return on every dollar they invested in 1964.

The smallest unit back then was $1,000, so if you bought in at the entry level, (like the old fashioned type of Bway “angels” who’d invest in a couple of shows a year, almost as a lark), you walked away with over 1.5 million.

[quote]Lots of seats available for Cabaret's closing performance on Sunday.

It could have run for many more months if they had thought to cast Barry Williams as the Emcee.

An all Brady Cabaret.

Christopher Knight IS Kit-Kat Club Patron #4.

[quote]BTW, the producers of “Fiddler on the Roof” earned a $1,574 return on every dollar they invested in 1964. The smallest unit back then was $1,000, so if you bought in at the entry level, (like the old fashioned type of Bway “angels” who’d invest in a couple of shows a year, almost as a lark), you walked away with over 1.5 million.

"If I AM a Rich Man."

I’m surprised the Brady’s never did much Broadway except when Maureen stepped in as Rizzo.

1) cash grab for the star

2) yokel gets to tell people back home they saw a movie star!

This is everyone's last warning: STOP posting about Barry Williams or anything Brady. You have been warned.

Some strange person is obsessed with relating investment returns to Zero’s landmark show.

Ugly.

Okay R50, Barry is off-limits because you're so easily triggered and lacking all sense of humor.

So let's discuss Susan Olsen's upcoming performance in Cabaret as Fraulein Kost... the slutty Nazi-lover in Frau Schneider's home.

Thoughts DL? Olsen playing a Nazi - yea or nay?

I remember reading very dire stuff about Maybe Happy Ending before it opened, and then it became a big hit. Queen of Versailles is also directed by Michael Arden, so I'm going to give it a chance on that basis.

Two *very* different properties and themes, r53.

Jan Brady in "The [George] Glass Menagerie!"

Chris was the cat’s meow 🥵

Ann B. Davis and Mary Treen in repertory: "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" and "Oh, Kay!"

Based on his direction of Maybe Happy Ending and Parade, I have faith that Michael Arden will make Queen of Versailles interesting at the very least. Even if it's a big flop, I think his work will be compelling. He's really the only truly promising young director working on Broadway musicals right now.

And he might be a big brat and some of the other things DL talks about....

I think what will do it in, r58, is the subject matter.

[quote] I’m surprised the Brady’s never did much Broadway except when Maureen stepped in as Rizzo.

Barry Williams starred on Broadway in "Romance Romance" opposite Alison Fraser.

Like Evita, r59?

The real self proclaimed Queen of Versailles is a pig. And a bore I don't know why anyone thinks her life story is worthy of a Broadway musical. She must be bankrolling it.

No, r61, not like Evita.

[quote]The real self proclaimed Queen of Versailles is a pig. And a bore I don't know why anyone thinks her life story is worthy of a Broadway musical. She must be bankrolling it.

Next up: Laura Benanti in "Melania, the Whore of Slovenia!"

That I'd see, r64.

Mike "I'm the only Brady to be in a huge hit movie" Lookinland was probably "on Broadway" in the sense that "The Towering Inferno" probably screened in a Times Square cinema!

"Uh, I was in FOUR Broadway shows, bitchez!!!!"

So is Billy Porter headed for a revival of Moose Murders?

R67. Hold my curling iron.

Robert Reed was a replacement in Deathtap on Broadway

Deathtrap

DEATHTAP might be an apter title for a show starring Robert Reed.

[quote] This is everyone's last warning: STOP posting about Barry Williams or anything Brady. You have been warned.

Well, SOMEONE is NOT having a sunshine day!

Don't forget about Alice!!!

So for the last months of huge losses for CABARET, who pays those bills? The investors? The theater? I don't understand Broadway accounting...

Bialystok and Bloom, LLC pays, r75.

KKC, LP R75 and R76. Get it, Kit Kat Club LP. Money comes in, money goes out, very little left.

There was a time when I wanted to see Idina Menzel as Leona Helmsley.

Why aren't we singing the praises of adorable Jonathan Groff who just shows up every day giving a stellar highly-energized performance, never misses a show and never seems to whine?

R79. Fuck that

On Thursday Matinee, we saw HERCULES at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. The musical, based on the Walt Disney Animation Studios 1997 film of the same name, with music and lyrics by Alan Menken and David Zippel, and a book by Robert Horn and Kwame Kwei-Armah, has had a few previous iterations. Wikipedia tells me that it had its world premiere at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, Manhattan, New York, as part of its Public Works program in 2019. A revised version of the musical played at Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, New Jersey, during the 2022–23 season. And finally, the first international production and world premiere of Hercules opened at the Neue Flora in Hamburg, Germany, on March 24, 2024, and was directed by Casey Nicholaw. It is the first Disney stage musical to be developed in Hamburg.

Once again, Nicholaw is helming this new West End production. It’s a big show, with a really impressive set, a lot of terrifying monsters, and a fabulous 5-girl Muse Chorus – each one of them sassy and smart with big voices and lots of attitude. Unfortunately, they can’t make up for the obvious flaws in the production.

At our performance, we had an understudy on for Hercules. He was fine if you like tiny twinks with muscles – more of a Herculese, if you get my drift. He was an obvious recycled Aladdin. He had a nice voice. At least I think he had a nice voice, because the orchestra was miked so loudly that it drowned out most of the singing throughout the entire show. I don’t understand why some shows have perfectly balanced sound, while others seem to get it so wrong.

A lot of the (camp) humor was lost in delivery, especially from the tall actor playing Hades. There are so many actors who could do this role in their sleep (Alan Rickman, we miss you), but this one did not quite make the grade. I can’t be bothered to look up his name.

There’s a character called Phil who is Hercules’ sidekick, trainer, and mentor. Again, an understudy played the part – adequately but not great. My husband leaned into me and whispered, “Where’s James Monroe Iglehart when you need him?” Imagine my surprise when I learned that Iglehart had played the part in previous productions.

I must mention that the audience loved the show – at least it seemed that way from the cheering and the standing ovation at the end. And the special effects and sets did keep me engaged throughout the show. And those wonderful muses! The show has been expanded musically with 25 musical numbers listed, so lots of songs. I’m sure this Disney extravaganza will ‘go the distance’ and make it to Broadway if they can keep the running costs down...

...and hire James Monroe Iglehart!

Probably because he's gay, R79. We can't stand successful, trouble-free gay men round here.

Hercules was panned in The NY Times, which makes it less likely it’ll come over here without a lot of work. Although maybe nobody listens to the NY Times these days.

Disney's Hercules should be an easy adaption to do. Maybe that's the problem. Too easy to just phone it in and get something that belongs on a Disney World stage more than it does on Broadway.

On Thursday evening – our final night in London – we saw the wonderful production of THE PRODUCERS – a scaled-down version of the Broadway smash hit recently transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory.

Right up front, I must admit that a good friend – Trevor Ashley – is in the production playing Roger DeBris, so to say that we might be prejudiced in favor of loving this show would be more than fair. We’ve known Trevor for almost twenty-five years, when he was a skinny drag queen doing shows in Sydney, Australia. He’s come quite a distance since then and now lives in London, although he works all over the world. In 2023, Trevor competed on the second season of Queen of the Universe and placed as the runner-up when the finale aired. And he does a fabulous Liza in his own voice!

Seeing this production just reminded me of what a solid, funny book the show has. Add to that the clever lyrics and the tuneful score. Just cast it well, and direct it with a tongue firmly in cheek, and you can’t miss. This production hits all the marks. And it has aged well!

It’s truly an ensemble piece, and I’m loath to single out any particular performer... but I will. Andy Nyman (as Max Bialystock) and Marc Antolin (as Leo Bloom) are fantastic, especially Antolin. What a joy to watch them play with vaudevillian precision. But they’re not alone. Harry Morrison‘s Nazi playwright, Franz Liebkind, is outstanding, backed up by a chorus of dancing pigeons. I think he was better than Brad Oscar on Broadway. And Trevor steals the show with his Keep It Gay Number, as well as his Springtime for Hitler, where he arrives via chariot. There were numerous sight gags, and the singing/dancing/acting chorus (especially the little old ladies with their walkers) deserved the standing ovation they received.

And thank you, they got the sound right. The orchestra is on a platform behind the set and matches the performances perfectly. Kudos to Tony Award-winning director Patrick Marber for pulling this all together in a perfect gift wrapped in a bow of comedic brilliance. I was surprised to learn that there hasn't been a production in the West End for more than two decades. I hope the rest of London enjoys this revival as much as we did.

imho

The Producers score is meh on a good day.

The Producers has a funny book and some killer numbers.

If you have a very talented cast (especially the two leads) and a competent director, it should be a decent show.

R75 The producer/producing company pays the bills out of the money they've raised or out of their own pockets.

Theaters are rentals. Though the major theater landlords will also be partnering producers on shows, too. It's complicated.

Shows will run at a loss as long as someone is paying the bills. Though the unions will shut you down pretty quickly if you don't meet payrolls.

I saw Maureen McCormick in GREASE and loved every single minute of it. I went backstage afterwards to tell her how much I loved her.

r85- why would you be surprised? The show opened on Broadway only 24 years ago.

Ugh. Showkiller Beanie Feldstein is on this season of Only Murders in the Building.

She's not bringing ANYthing to the party.

Someone is determined to make her a STAR!

Only problem is, she's bland; not comedically gifted (though she seems to think she is); fat; and unattractive.

She's basically Wendie Jo Sperber except for the fact Wendie Jo Sperber was hilarious and talented and adorable.

[quote]Shows will run at a loss as long as someone is paying the bills.

...and unless another show that looks like it's going to be a hit wants the theater.

NY Times on "Art" : Meh

NY Times on "Galas" : Meh

I want a Baby Jane musical, with Patti as Blanche and Bernadette as Jane.

R93 beat me to the punch —

Paying $25 for Galas is a bargain.

Art should pay you to see it. ($500 orchestra seats)

I thought Beanie was fine but the season is distinctly mediocre thus far.

Distinctly mediocre would be an improvement over the past several seasons, r96.

The Times needs to hurry up with the decision to name a chief theater critic. Now they're using b- and c-list stand-ins.

R98, I'm getting the impression that they may not hire one "chief theater critic." We'll see.

Yeah, I thought the point of them firing the four critics (across theater/film/TV etc) was to replace them with a cheaper rotating cast of critics.

You could be right. But they should find at least one who stands out the way Ms. Vincentelli and Ms. Collins-Hughes do not.

[quote]I want a Baby Jane musical, with Patti as Blanche and Bernadette as Jane.

Patti as Jane, Audra McDonald as Blanche.

Marc Kudisch in the Victor Buono role.

Patti is definitely a Jane, not a Blanche. Bernadette would be interesting as Blanche.

Audra always looks like she can spontaneously levitate at will, so no one would buy her as Blanche

Lea Salonga would rock Blanche, especially if they give her a good inner monologue to belt to the rafters

Constance Wu (Who?) is not happy. So, Connie, when you played Audrey in Little Shop it was a win for diversity casting but when a white actor replaced a diverse actor it's a crime. The worst part is she makes Andrew Barth Feldman sound like a jerk then goes on to bitterly point out that this has not affected the box office. Fuck off you untalented twat.

Constance Wu, by her own admission, has considerable mental problems. She is someone who for her own happiness should never go near social media by herself again.

The JustJared story really makes Wu sound off her rocker. She kept posting and posting how she said he was very nice to her but she eneded up feeling disappointed. Then she added this:

[quote] It's hard to keep speaking up when it feels like no one is listening in this new era. It's exhausting and increasingly lonely.

It's crazy that in 2025 she still thinks other people have to bear the burden of her feeling exhausted when no one listens to her--this is like Roxane Gay in 2018. But then of course she ends by saying ABF has to take responsibility for the producers' casting choices--when she's the one avoiding responsibility for her own feelings.

I would not want to go near this woman with a ten-foot-pole.

There's a reason why no one in the film industry wants to work with her. And, honestly, she's ok but nothing special. I saw her play a smallish role in the Bill Murray movie The Friend and she made no impression. The dog gave a better performance.

[quote]"I’m sorry to the thousands of people on BD Wong’s petition whose signatures...the producers have yet to publicly acknowledge."

In what way, exactly, did she want those signatures "acknowledged?" Statements about the controversy have been made by the creative team of MAYBE HAPPY ENDING, as well as by the female star, Helen Chen.

Cuntstance Wu strikes again.

For fuck's sake, he's already just in there as a temp replacement. An Asian man is returning to the role. What more does she want? Asians are not being ignored by one person playing a role for a few weeks.

It's not like they made Andrew's eyes look Asian.

[quote]NY Times on "Art" : Meh

[quote]NY Times on "Galas" : Meh

Datalounge on NY Times critics: Meh

Constance Wu needs to go away - along with this entire manufactured “controversy.”

If the creative team believed the part should be Asian, one would assume they would’ve casr an Asian. Now shut the fuck up. This whole “being seen” is exhausting.

Agreed, 112. And one of the saddest parts of this whole mess is that several artists whom I previously respected signed the petition. I won't name them, but my feelings about them have changed greatly :-(

[quote]The Times needs to hurry up with the decision to name a chief theater critic. Now they're using b- and c-list stand-ins.

What ever happened with/to Margo Jefferson. I thought her reviews were intelligent and thoughtful. Did she piss someone off?

Margo is nearly 78. The Times probably wants someone more hip and it touch with modern culture.

Margo was a terrible theater critic. She never reviewed the show -- just the "era" around the show.

I agree on Beanie. She must have the best agent in the world, one who has photos of someone, because the profile of jobs she gets isn't anywhere near her talent level. (Can you imagine how amazing Annaleigh would be in that part on OMITB?). I so wished Alex Watchel or Michael Reidel were around during the Funny Girl debacle. The truth was so carefully hidden. When I saw Beanie in the show, I couldn't believe what I was hearing and seeing. They must have seen how bad she was in the rehearsal room, but for some reason they ignored it, and then...well, we all knew how it blew up. I've heard stories that Leah was rehearsing months before she was announced. And how delusional that Beanie thought she could play that part.

R117. Didn't Beanie's father and brother bankroll that production? She had no business playing that part.

The Times is not going to have chief critics. That all died with the recent firing of all their chief critics. It will largely be written by AI in the next year or so. Critics don’t sell papers or get clicks.

Just saw photos on BroadwayWorld of the one night only concert of Rufus Wainwright's OPENING NIGHT (based on the Cassavetes film) and among the cast are Sara Bareilles, Darren Criss, Betsy Wolfe and.....Patti Lupone. Patti is seen among the cast in the concert but does not appear in the after party photos posing for the camera.

No mention (no outrage!) in the BWW chatroom or on All That Chat....or anywhere.

Weird.

Opening Night in London got extremely negative reviews and closed early.

R120. The big Patti controversy was bullshit and most people realized that once the dust settled. Even Kecia shut up about it.

Kecia has not shut up about it, she’s just not been asked about it because despite Broadway twitter calling her a star and a veteran, no media press have interviewed her in over a year.

No one cares about Kecia Lewis who 99.999% of people didn’t know existed until the Post started talking about her dust up with Patti.

Oof. The Mamma Mia number on the Today show was rough

Actor David Wilson Barnes died of cancer in July and no one has either reported on or posted about it. He was only 52.

R125. You are not kidding....Yikes!

Saw "Caroline" at MCC the other night. If I was a subscriber, I would have cancelled my subscription the next morning. An embarrassing, badly-written piece of shit that doesn't deserve a full-scale production. It trivializes an important topic like trans youth and makes the topic secondary to a lazily plotted domestic drama. It would get a failing grade in a college course. Fuck MCC.

Any agent who would tell "Beanie" she was talented enough for FUNNY GIRL must hate her (copious) guts.

Shouldn’t Mamma Mia be easy by now? Any community theater can do it…

Dolls I’m going to NYC in November, here is my show list. Am I missing anything good?

Friday evening: Marjorie Prime

Saturday matinee: Chess

Saturday night: Ragtime

Sunday matinee: The Baker’s Wife

Sunday evening: Christine Ebersole at 54 Below

Monday: Chicago (there are only 2-3 shows that have Monday performances)

r130 Yes. Even an Asian-American one.

Such a wonderful actor. RIP

[quote] Actor David Wilson Barnes died of cancer in July and no one has either reported on or posted about it. He was only 52.

Surprised and saddened by this news. Was he ill? I believe he worked until very recently.

R131, go see Heathers instead on Monday night.

Patti is keeping a very low profile. No doubt she committed to this engagement before she showed us all again what a fetid cunt she is.

Abd I can only imagine the frosty temps backstage.

r131 - do you like live music? The Mingus Big Band used to do Monday night residencies at various clubs in NY and they are FANTASTIC.

R135 r137 thank you so much for the suggestions!! 😊

I went to Buena Vista Social Club yesterday. Wow! Such a lovely show. It’s focused squarely on the music of course, with a general plot about the singers caught in the Cuban revolution, but the performers were Off the Charts!!!

Loved it!!

Awhile back several people posted about the new production of FOLLIES at the Cygnet Theatre in San Diego. I saw it last night and was absolutely blown away! Incredibly well sung, acted, and directed -it's definitely a FOLLIES for the ages. If you can make it to San Diego between now and October 19 this production is truly worth the trip. Don't just take my word for it -the critic's reviews are glowing, too.

I don't know that this, or any, production will convert a non-FOLLIES fan, but then what would? For the rest, this is as good as it gets. I'm going back to see it again.

OP, The pic of this thunderpant wearing stranger reminds me a dept. store mannequin. I believe there's a washcloth stuffed inside where it counts since the entire area reminds me of when I open my sock drawer..

Hideous poster at R140. "Follies"as slasher flick.

FOLLIES

*IS*

I know what you did last summer!

Helen Shivers

*IS*

Sally Durant Plummer

[quote] "Follies"as slasher flick.

a/k/a The Fan

R131 is missing everything good.

What a bonekiller weekend in Manhattan.

I just got a direct mail piece for the Cheno show. I can't imagine artwork and images that are more off-putting. So this is a musical that celebrates shallow commericialism/Real Housewives shit?

I’ve gotten three in the mail in three weeks. I smell a flop.

I have decided not to go see QOV after her IG post. I was not very interested given the poor word of mouth from Boston, add the price (although not too bad given BO pricing), and her... a pass. I also smell a flop...

Sally's hair doesn't look "too bleached" to me, r140.

She is a brunette in this production, and referred to as such. Not an important change to the text.

A new musical picks up where Cinderella's fairytale ends. Wasn't that already covered in Into The Woods? Are there no original ideas left?

This is so weird. I know the actress playing Sally in that Follies. We did a series of local commercials together when I was a young, dumb aspiring actor in San Diego. Thankfully, I recognized my lack of talent and moved on from that world. But she was great.

I also saw her on stage several times -- one of those actresses that is always employed in smaller regional theatres -- and she was legitimately wonderful every time. I can imagine her being a very good Sally. Wow, what a trip!

I’ve been waiting for a Cheno flyer but hadn’t gotten one

You can grab mine—in the recycling bin of our service vestibule. The porter does not pick up until 7pm

We're off to see FOLLIES in San Diego (Saturday Matinee). This follows our tradition of seeing as many productions of FOLLIES as we can. I'm actually excited about this one, although I've avoided reading any reviews until after I've seen it. If you'll be attending that performance, stop by and say hello. I'll be the old geezer sitting downstairs in the center.

Oh, wait...

And you'll be wearing a green carnation, r155.

Oh, wait...

LOL both R155 and R156. When I saw the show I wouldn't say it was a young audience by any stretch -but Cygnet's audience skews older as a rule anyway. No green carnations in sight -in fact, most of the audience looked straight as can be. Hope you enjoy the show as much as I did. :)

Follies II: The Return of Benjamin Stone - The exhausted partiers try to leave the decaying Weissman theater but the doors are locked and a wrecking ball is knocking through the bricks - and guess who's at the controls. With Heather Langenkamp as Carlotta.

Kristin Chenoweth responds to outrage over Charlie Kirk comments:

In one of her online comments mourning Kirk, Chenoweth said she "appreciated some perspectives" of his.

Has she clarified exactly WHICH perspectives she "appreciated"?

[quote] Is there a role for Barry Williams in Dreamgirls? —The "Gotta keep Barry Williams in the Mix" Troll

He could play the role Eurkel did in the movie.

[quote]He could play the role Eurkel did in the movie.

Eurkel was how the Urkel character was known in Europe.

[quote]Has she clarified exactly WHICH perspectives she "appreciated"?

No, and I doubt that she ever will, as that may mean stepping into the treacherous waters of abortion rights and Israel/Palestine.

Anyone see Weathergirl in London? It's soon to be (or already is) at St. Ann's.

r164 Do they include "It's Raining Men"?

[quote]Anyone see Weathergirl in London? It's soon to be (or already is) at St. Ann's.

The Estelle Parsons story?

If Kristin understood her own religion, she would realize CK was a charlatan. Who then, who would buy her album and go to her flyover country concerts?

She was only a runner-up at the Miss Oklahoma state pageant.

Oklahoma has one of THE best records in Atlantic City at Miss America—she couldn’t cut it.

Ugg-ly

[quote]Oklahoma has one of THE best records in Atlantic City at Miss America

Tell me about it.

Midgets don’t do well at Miss America. She wasn’t American enough.

She’s no Anita Bryant.

Anita was no Mary Ann Mobley

How on earth did Idina put up with this fake bitch?

Collins!

EVERY NIGHT, R174!

That 1959 Miss America clip brings back cherished childhood memories! I was only a wee gayling and it was the first time I watched the pageant but back then it seemed like the equivalent of the Presidential election if not the crowing of an American monarch.

Chills!

Does Miss America still exist?

It does—but a ghostly shadow of what it once was. The 21st c. was not kind to the pageant.

As this is a Broadway thread, let’s take a look at the crowning of our very own Miss America—Vanessa Williams.

Listen to the crowd, and look at the finalists—as soon as the first runner-up is announced, everyone knew Vanessa was the winner. She admitted later… as the four other girls were named, even I knew I had won it….

We saw Liz Callaway in Boston last night, and as she launched into “Meadowlark” my sweet-natured, quiet husband turned to me and said “I HATE this song.”

And when that husband came down this morning, he found that you had died. Correct?

A beaut young man appeared before me. In my ass.

HONK!

Mary Ann Mobley may have been Miss America, but she couldn't cut it as The Girl from UNCLE.

[quote]A beautiful young man appeared before me. In my ass. —Carole Schwartz

Or rather, in my husband's ass.

[quote]Mary Ann Mobley may have been Miss America, but she couldn't cut it as The Girl from UNCLE.

She couldn't cut it as the White Snow Princess either.

[Quote] Listen to the crowd, and look at the finalists—as soon as the first runner-up is announced, everyone knew Vanessa was the winner. She admitted later… as the four other girls were named, even I knew I had won it….

I watched it on TV. The idea of a Black Miss America seemed so impossible to me that I didn’t think Vanessa would win. She was my favorite throughout. For a sec, I believed it was all for naught

The final five were all worthy (Alabama was the possible outlier). But she was pretty much a slam dunk once she arrived at the pageant. There’s been many stories about it—

Any other year in that era—Suzette would have had it in the bag…

I saw Barry Williams in Romance/Romance. And he was very good.

But I wish I'd seen Scott Bakula, especially since he was then in his prime.

R188, I wonder if Alison Fraser would be able to do a compare/contrast for us: Scott vs Barry!

[R60]: I saw Barry Williams on Broadway in “Romance, Romance,” and he was very good. So was Alison Fraser.

Underrated musical. Lovely score. Too bad it hasn’t had much attention. It would be good for schools and colleges. And, of course, Encores!

Pippin

It’s too bad Robert Reed never played ZaZa.

Maybe there’s still time for Barry?

Step aside Beanie and Lea ... here's how it's done!

[quote]It’s too bad Robert Reed never played ZaZa.

Reed was a Georges, not a ZaZa.

He was an ACTOR, R194! He could play any role!

R193, her first line is so painfully disappointing. I couldn’t bear another. Although I bet Zmed and Ballard were decent.

Katie Brayben, who made an unfortunate debut on Broadway as the title character of Tammy Faye, will be playing The Baker’s Wife in The Bridge Theatre’s production of Into The Woods starting in December.

ITW director Jordan Fein is that young American director wunderkind who can't seem to get arrested directing in America.

Kate Fleetwood as the Witch?? Blech. Hated her in that awful recent Master Builder atrocity on the West End opposite Ewan McGregor. She's married to some Brit director.

But then I'm sick of Into the Woods and sad it will undoubtedly clog up The Bridge for the next 2 years or more.

[quote]He was an ACTOR, R194! He could play any role!

You mean like "Funny Girl" extraordinaire Beanie Feldstein?

Has anyone seen Masquerade or the revised Phantom or whatever it is? Everything about it is either top secret or no one cares.

R200 It is so expensive that I do not think regular posters are attending.

For some reason, there was a HUGE line of people waiting hours in advance to get in to see the matinee of THE OUTSIDERS yesterday, which was also the day of the Broadway Flea Market. My only guess as to why the line formed so early was that it might have had something to do with the fact that yesterday was scheduled as the final performance of the lead, Brody Grant, but I still can't understand how getting to the theater hours early was to anyone's benefit. Maybe some of them hoped to see him entering the theater, but I really don't think there was any chance of that happening at 10:30am.

On a related note, apparently Grant missed a tremendous number of performances during the run, including a full-month's hiatus, all of which was kept very quiet. It's amazing to me that something like that can happen without the producers feeling it necessary to release any statement at all through the show's press agents. If anyone knows for sure (rather than gossip) why Grant was out of the show so often and could post the reason here, that would be really interesting.

anyone knows for sure (rather than gossip) why Grant was out of the show so often and could post the reason here, that would be really interesting.

SEPSIS!

R190

Totally agree. Underrated score and show. Especially the first act, which is nothing short of wonderful.

R200, I know many people who have seen it, and none of them have come out of it with much to say either way.

I also think they made a mistake making it a 21 and up show. Phantom was always one of the most family friendly Broadway shows. Seems like they’re unnecessarily limiting their audiences just so they can give you a glass of champagne?

was there ever a good book or lengthy article written about Bill Ball's years at ATC in San Francisco?

R205, given the ticket prices for MASQUERADE, I strongly doubt there would be many (or any) kids in the audience even if it wasn't a 21-and-up show.

Not sure about a book but I was lucky enough to grow up in SF experiencing the Bill Ball ACT. Not only productions he directed but many by other directors under his leadership. Those productions remain for me the best theatre I have ever seen.

The only show I've seen at ATC was Street Scene in 1975.

Several of the great 1970s/80s regional theatres like ATC had resident companies of fabulously talented actors who actually made a living in those cities. Also The Guthrie, Arena Stage, Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Rep, Yale Rep, The Old Globe. Seeing those actors play a wide range of characters in classic as well as new plays was always a treat.

Theatre has changed so much in my lifetime.

It was all just an ACT?!

Have there been any good books written about Wayman Wong's years at ATC in World Wide Web?

Wayman Wong’s puns are unbearable. Especially his pork puns. Buh-DUM-bum.

What was great about many of these regional theaters was that they actually were repertory companies who staged multipled productions at the same time. If you came in from out of town, you could see two or more shows in one visit. Also great fun to see actors play very different roles in different plays in one week.

Call me basic, but I freakin’ loved Masquerade. It’s like they took all the best parts of the show, cut out the filler/boring parts, and present it all 3 feet from your face. It’s a well-choreographed operation, I was surprised how seamlessly the people were moved from room to room. We went in a group, donning sparkly tuxes and had so much fun. Yes, it’s cheesy but it works. It also helped that I had Hugh Panaro as my Phantom. It was a treat to hear him do Music of the Night from just a couple of feet away.

R210, I live outside Springfield, MA and they had a terrific little professional theaterwith a core group of actors named StageWest. I saw wonderful productions there... it was founded by Steve Hays and then run by Martha Richards with Eric Hill and then Kate Maguire replaced Martha. Eric and Kate have been out in the Berkshires for decades now at BTG.

Spfld is a small city and had entered a severe decline in the 80s through the 90s, so StageWest closed up shop. The same for Worcester Foothills theater... I saw some memorable productions there, including a production of Gurney's "Dining Room" that was just pitch perfect.

[quote]yesterday was scheduled as the final performance of the lead, Brody Grant

Did he show up?

r216 I remember hearing about StageWest in the 70s when it was run by the great Broadway character actress Rae Allen. Was that before your time?

Hartford Stage also did brilliant work in the 80s when Mark Lamos was its Artistic Director. And at that time Olympia Dukakis (before her movie fame) ran a regional theater in NJ (I think in Montclair) called The Whole Theater (terrible name).

I would pour (pore?) over all those old annual Theatre Worlds back then, completely engrossed in all the seasons of plays and actors and personnel at all those regional theaters.

Pore.

So will there be an actors union strike?

Queen of Versailles is having a bad go of it.

They keep posting photos on their Instagram and everyone (rightfully) keeps spamming their posts with questions about KC and her recent comments. Their moderators keep deleting all the comments, so their posts have 10-20 approved comments. Lol

That coupled with atrocious ticket sales (prior to and during the scandal) makes me think this show will be the first turkey of the season!

Whoever that guy is in OP's link is smokin' hot.

[quote]Queen of Versailles is having a bad go of it.

When it closes they should bring back "Redwood"!

Micky Jo stuck his nose in the KC issue for a full 30+ minutes.

The guy in the OP photo is Robert Lenzi, who plays the lead in AMERICAN PSYCHO. He is indeed gorgeous, but in my opinion, maybe not quite enough WASP-looking to be the perfect Patrick Bateman.

R218, yes, Rae Allen is way, way before my time. I think my attendance at StageWest started in the 90s.

And yes, to Hartford Stage with Mark Lamos at the helm! I some beautiful productions there.

Chenoweth is a phony and lots of people knew this moment was coming. Why would she even want to play a POS like the self proclaimed Queen of Versailles. She should go back to tv.

I hope QoV at least gets a cast recording.

It would have been so easy for Kristin Chenoweth to have avoided all of this even only she had used her head for a minute before commenting.

This is how Kristin feels.

She went through it with the 700 club show debacle in the early aughts.

She’s a strong Christian. (Whatever that means)

She will not apologize for that.

Nobody's asking her to apologize for that, r230.

Being a good Christian does not mean supporting racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia. In fact, for many of us it means being against those things.

R50. Do you sit home alone every night wondering why people laugh at you and call you pathetic?

Do you think they've realized releasing the video of "Champagne Dreams" was a BAD idea? It must be killing sales, it is so average, and she sounds so-so on it.

I've known Kristin for a long time, even though we're not close. And even though she can be A LOT she's really a lovely person. And she does not support racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia.

I have a feeling she felt bad about a guy who died leaving behind a wife and two kids, so she felt a need to sympathize. I don't think she follows his more extreme beliefs, or even has knowledge of them.

[quote]I don't think she follows his more extreme beliefs, or even has knowledge of them.

She does now.

Perhaps I'm being naive, but couldn't she just say that, R235? Instead of being vague and evasive about which of Kirk's views she supported, couldn't she just come right out and say, "I spoke prematurely, out of emotion, without stopping to think about what the man stood for or really considering his views on the issues. I apologize for that." The longer she evades a specific answer, the more people are going to think that she really does support his views on race, gender, immigration, etc. If she doesn't support those views, she needs to say so. Anything else looks like trying to get away with something.

I've seen Ms. Chenoweth on stage, but I've never met her, so I'll take R235's opinion of her as valid. All the more reason for her to just speak out directly (in my opinion).

But WHY does she feel she must comment on EVERYTHING and ANYTHING???

Does Jonathan Groff do that?

Way too many people think they have to comment or 'make a statement' on EVERYTHING.

Even people who aren't famous.

Though it also should be said that if celebs DON'T make a comment on certain things, they get hounded about it.

Regardless of what one may think about the man, Kirk's murder was horrific and shocking. Lots of people who don't normally speak out chose to comment on social media, including Kristin Chenoweth. I certainly wouldn't characterize her as "commenting on everything and anything," just because she posted about this.

I really don't follow social media, so I don't know how much Jonathan Groff posts -but he is certainly very outspoken in interviews!

I think many of us, celebrities included, need to learn how to post our sympathy without making political statements. If Chenoweth had said, "How horrible! I feel so sorry for his wife and children." and left it at that, no one would even have noticed it.

[quote]I really don't follow social media, so I don't know how much Jonathan Groff posts

I seem to recall Jonathan Groff saying he does not do any social media at all, but perhaps I’m wrong about that.

Like all “Christians,” they just ignore the racism and homophobia in their cult. Kristin likely knew all about Kirk because that’s the circles mid-Western Jesus freaks run in.

They think he’s the second coming because they haven’t a clue that so much of what he said was hateful

Just saw an interesting interview with Jessica Lange on Insta (can't remember who was interviewing her or who posted) and she said that she and playwright/director Michael Cristofer were working on a project in which she'd portray Marlene Dietrich in her later Las Vegas years.

It sounded like Burt Bacharach would also be a character in it but not clear if it was just a 2 character play....or, for that matter, a film as opposed to a play. But Lange said she felt confident to sing as Dietrich because Dietrich really couldn't sing, lol.

[quote]But WHY does she feel she must comment on EVERYTHING and ANYTHING???

How true.

Kristin, just learn your lines and don't comment publicly on any current events.

No one cares what you think.

The last Vegas appearance I can find, r243, is 1962 when Marlene was 61. Jessica's 76.

Jessica Lange played a Marlena type character on a season of American Horror Story and she was outstanding.

76 is the new 61, r246!

I saw Dietrich at 70 in '71.

[quote]This is everyone's last warning: STOP posting about Barry Williams or anything Brady. You have been warned.

Perfect way to guarantee lots more Barry Williams posts.

R240, no, she shouldn’t have just posted “How horrible! I feel so sorry for his wife and children.” The wife is an ideological monster, too. She deserves zero sympathy. The best thing for her to do was to be totally silent about it,

Barry Williams IS matinee Marlene Dietrich!

oh for fucks sake, stop.

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: In 1982, "A Doll's Life" opened at the Mark Hellinger Theatre.

The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble:

I saw A Doll’s Life. Rats and mice and fish!

The one thing that article doesn't really address is the Broadway musical in in trouble because no one knows how to write them or direct them anymore.

We don't have any genius creators. The performing talent is there, if homogenous.

R258 AIDS is partly to blame...it wiped out a whole generation of potential. And, even if they weren't all going to be the next Michael Bennett, it wiped out people who would have been teachers to the generation after them.

R259 is exactly right. We lost an entire generation of creators and teachers.

I think one thing that's being lost in the Kristin backlash is that her team most likely advised her to give that fence-sitting clarification because of a very real worry about the MAGA crowds attacking her for ANY perceived criticism of Kirk. It's still her own damn fault for making those stupid initial statements on social media. Although she's earned the criticism, they may feel making her a target for the Circle Kirk happening right now on the Right is not advisable. Honestly, I can understand why that may be good advice right now.

R253m do you know if Barry Williams used his social media accounts to comment on Charlie Kirk's murder? Did he offer thoughts and prayers?

Many are pointing out that r255’s article from the NYT is conveniently timed in the midst of negotiations for the production contract.

What they don’t address is the pricing model in place after Covid. Undiscounted tickets are nearly double. What seems to be happening is that prices are set ridiculously high if you buy them in advance, but discounted when they don’t sell.

The double whammy for out of towners is that hotel prices have also gone up a lot, due to restrictions on short-term rentals like AirBNB.

^r263 THIS!!

I don’t live in NYC, so I travel in to see shows. I have to buy tickets in advance to plan my trip, but they are so much more expensive than waiting for mailers and discount codes later on. (But by then, I’ve already bought my tickets)

That coupled with horrible hotel pricing and transportation, makes going to NY a “once or twice a year thing” instead of an every couple of months.

I’m sure others feel the same way.

R264, living in DC, I’m definitely in that boat. I’ve cut back. I go solo, I buy season tickets (MTC), or I just avoid the latest vapid musical adaptation of a movie I didn’t really enjoy. The industry now actually makes less off of me.

For example, when I look at Chess and see tickets running from $275 to $500, I decide the show is probably not worth it for me. I’m curious enough to pay $175 to $250 a tickets and it’s showy enough that I would take my partner. So they make zero dollars from me, and I’ll go see an entire season at CSC for less.

After surviving Some like It Hot, I decided it’s ok to miss the big shows and still see a lot of great theater.

I also travel in to see shows. The hotels around Times Square are incredibly expensive and this year I have already decided not to travel to NYC in November. I used to do it six times a year, but not anymore. I still see all the shows that I want to see but I miss a lot of Fringe shows, and mostly opera and concerts. Subscriptions have all been canceled. There was a time I could afford it monthly but not anymore.

And all this is happening when overseas tourists don't want to go to the US at any price.

Someone I know who's very well off is a former New Yorker who now lives in Connecticut. He was and is heavily involved in the theater industry. If Broadway shows AND hotels were more affordable, he would be in New York seeing shows several times a month, but as it is, he is here far more infrequently.

If anyone farted it was that obnoxious fat ass.

[quote]The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble:

Nah, it just needs new blood. The old regime is tired and are producing boring shows.

[quote]Micky Jo stuck his nose in the KC issue for a full 30+ minutes.

He says there are two shows coming up in the new Broadway season that he refuses to see, but of course refuses to say what they are.

You’re ticket that he fails to say them, but you don’t share where he is talking about them? Ok.

The two shows are for sure Little Bear Ridge Road (Rudin) and probably Queen of Versailles (Chenoweth).

Ah, KC = Kristin Chenoweth and not Kennedy Center.

Who is Mickey Jo?

[quote]Who is Mickey Jo?

The special needs Bradley sister.

I live in Southern Calif. and made three trips to NYC between 2009 and 2019 and each time I saw eight shows (probably 90% musicals) over six days (six evening and two matinee.) I also stood in line at TKTS for most of my purchases. As I get older (I'm 73), I can't see doing that anymore. And I'd probably have a hard time finding eight shows I want to see these days.

R264 mailers and discounts come before previews still arrive, before previews LOL

Transportation is too expensive? The subway is $2.90 with free transfers…you guys are insane.

I just saw “Prince Faggot,” liked it a lot and think it’s a good play. Though in some ways reminiscent of “Charles III,” which had a Broadway run some years ago, it ups the ante by making Prince George a rabid S&M bottom in thrall to his brown-skinned boyfriend. Interpolated throughout are monologues by some of the actors, who talk about their real lives and experiences as gay and trans people.

Even as I write this, I realize it sounds like terrible, ‘woke’ agitprop, but it worked wonderfully for me as very humane drama which made me realize how impossible it would be for a gay heir to the throne and his consort to maintain their sanity in an insane media environment. And as one of those gay men who has had a more than passing interest in the Royal Family, it has cured me of that by rendering the whole concept of the royals as ridiculous and obsolete in our world. It properly reduces them to irrelevence compared to our real lives as queer people threatened by political and religious reaction. Many of you have gotten there already, and good for you. For me this was somewhat revelatory.

Now changing the subject dramatically, have any of you yet seen the new opera “The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay”? The NY Times review by Joshua Barone (who he anyway?) is mixed to mostly negative but it hasn’t dampened my ardor to see it. In preparation, I’ve been rereading the novel, which is wonderful, and which I would rank with “Ragtime” and (yes!) “Follies” as classics that capture something important about America at particular periods in popular culture.

Ragtime the book is a classic…not the adaptations, nor the Fellowes ripoff.

R278. I only pay $1.45!!!!

R278, that post was referring to non-local transportation. I can only speak for Amtrak, but that’s gone up - just not as much as hotels and Broadway tickets, which have nearly doubled.

Boo hoo.

Hotel deals are a dime a dozen—🙄

And when a New York hotel charges a dime, I'll book one.

[quote]The one thing that article doesn't really address is the Broadway musical in in trouble because no one knows how to write them or direct them anymore.

[quote]We don't have any genius creators.

[quote][R258] AIDS is partly to blame...it wiped out a whole generation of potential. And, even if they weren't all going to be the next Michael Bennett, it wiped out people who would have been teachers to the generation after them.

[quote][R259] is exactly right. We lost an entire generation of creators and teachers.

This old chestnut again? The AIDS epidemic was 30-40 years ago. Broadway was doing very well through the '90s, 2000s, into the 2010s.

The inconvenient truth is that white men have been the real talent behind Broadway (and Hollywood) as producers, directors, writers, composers, choreographers, etc.

Thus, the talent is there, but they're not being hired due to politics or for being the wrong color/sex. DEI is anti-meritocracy and discriminates against white men.

It started gradually in the 2010s, but it accelerated post 2020/George Floyd riots, when Broadway (and Hollywood) became woke and fired a lot of white male writers/creatives and replaced them with women and POC.

Since going far-left in the past decade, Democrats have adopted socialism, which disregards talent and encourages indolence and tardiness. In fact, they now consider it "racist" if you expect people to be industrious or punctual, because white men are generally hard-working and on time for things.

I predict that in the near future, MAGA/Republicans will create their own entertainment industry that will leave Broadway (and Hollywood) in the dust, because they champion meritocracy and capitalism, which rewards talent and hard work and inspires innovation.

That will attract a lot of talent that is currently being ignored.

At the end of the day, it's called show business, not show charity.

Ask Google, "How is the Kennedy Center doing?"

"In the wake of a leadership overhaul in early 2025, the Kennedy Center is experiencing significant financial and artistic turmoil. Former President Donald Trump took over as chairman and appointed an interim executive director, sparking boycotts, program changes, and a sharp decline in ticket sales. "

Has Chess started previews yet?

Poor Elaine's really going to have put on her acting face to have to endure that Lea hag screeching what was one of her definitive performances.

Maybe she'll have an Aretha "Great gowns, beautiful gowns" remark on standby.

[quote] The Broadway Musical Is in Trouble

Broadway is committing suicide by trying to turn itself onto a theme park, as demonstrated by the Phantom haunted house walk through and all the safe, pre-sold movie titles they’re making into musicals

But as Lloyd Richards reminds us, Broadway is not the only theater out there, and live theater isn’t going anywhere. It’s the art form humans created third (maybe fourth, if you consider sex an art form)

R285, I’ve endured plenty of flop Broadway musicals written by white men. In fact, the overwhelming majority of Broadway artistic staff is composed of white men. They have no problem getting hired - look at nearly any Playbill.

Do you care to substantiate?

I wonder what happened to the videoszwhich were shot for the proposed Broadway museum at least ten years ago. Christina Aguilera performed something from Evita, y’all!

There's no magic in the theatre anymore. It died with Prince, Fosse and Bennett. And when Tommy Tune retired. Everything is just so ordinary and that includes the actors. It's scary that people are mesmerized by Jamie Lloyd',s ridiculous shit staging. A robotic Norma Desmond with no heart and soul? No thanks. Blood soaked grim looking actors at the curtain call? Fuck off.

[quote]I predict that in the near future, MAGA/Republicans will create their own entertainment industry that will leave Broadway (and Hollywood) in the dust, because they champion meritocracy and capitalism, which rewards talent and hard work and inspires innovation

Hey Miss Cleo, it's already here, it's called Branson.

Oh, hello, R285...

🎶 "Klan, Klan, Klan went the Grannnyyyyyy!" 🎶

THIS DAY IN BROADWAY HISTORY: The revival of the ‘erotic’ revue OH! CALCUTTA opened on Broadway on September 24, 1976, at the Edison Theatre. It went on to run for an exceptionally long time, closing on August 6, 1989, after 5,959 performances, making it Broadway's longest-running musical revue and the eighth longest-running show in Broadway history.

It was devised by British critic Kenneth Tynan, with contributions from writers such as Samuel Beckett, John Lennon, Sam Shepard, and Jules Feiffer. It was directed by Jacques Levy and choreographed by Margo Sappington, featuring a beautiful nude pas de deux. The music & lyrics were by Robert Dennis, Peter Schickele, and Stanley Walden.

Universally panned by the critics, it nonetheless became a popular show with tourists – especially Japanese tourists. The general consensus is that the whole avant-garde attempt was sophomoric, and in spite of the many celebrity names associated with the piece, the show was not bad, it was just boring.

I thought Sunset Boulevard was wrongheaded and incoherent, but I can’t deny the power of the staging. Bennett, Prince, and Fosse each have multiple examples of taking poor material and elevating not by interpreting the stupid texts, but by directing a whole other show. That’’s what Jamie Lloyd did.

R278

We were talking about traveling into NY with transportation costs.

Im visiting for a few days in the fall.

It’s $1,200 for 4 nights hotel (and I am staying in the cheaper options)

$578 for my flight

I’m seeing 5 shows with those tickets being combined, $790.

So I’m at $2,600 for my trip thus far, and that doesn’t include the subway, Ubers, food, and any souvenirs.

I’m not a rich eldergay with disposable income

[quote]Bennett, Prince, and Fosse each have multiple examples of taking poor material and elevating not by interpreting the stupid texts, but by directing a whole other show.

If there are "multiple examples" of this, can you please give two or three? The only show I can think of that remotely fits your description is PIPPIN, and I wouldn't characterize that as "poor material."

It's obvious who r285 is.

Conservatives aren't good creators. Despite the rise of the Conservative Right, they're terrible at creating art and entertainment other than wrestling, Nascar, Branson, Kid Rock, and bland shit that never/very seldom has any crossover appeal. Oh, and talking heads on podcasts. That's about it.

It boils down to, creative people are usually smarter people and smart people aren't conservative assholes because they're smart enough to know better.

You can’t make decent art without empathy.

R296 that’s you’re issue: it’s quite reasonable for that length of a visit.

Not just empathy, R300. You can't make decent art without having something to say to the world beyond, "I got mine. Fuck you!"

PATRICE

You're welcome.

I saw the matinee yesterday of Moulin Rouge. Both Wayne Brady and Taye Diggs were out.

The cashier said "Wayne Brady called out sick. And Taye Diggs just quit the show for unknown (to him) reasons."

So what gives?

Patrice Munsel was on TV a LOT when I was growing up. Never to any positive effect as far as I was concerned. Totally forgettable.

R301 but that is why Broadway is dying, which was the point of the thread.

How is $3,000 reasonable for a 4 day trip?

Do you know how many Americans have $3,000 just laying around to see Broadway shows?

90% do not, which is why the Broadway model is not sustainable.

It’s cheaper than a trip to Disney World. LOL

And roughly the same artistically.

[quote]Patrice Munsel was on TV a LOT when I was growing up. Never to any positive effect as far as I was concerned. Totally forgettable.

I mostly remember her singing around the campfire with the Campfire Girls.

That Campfire Girls commercial with Patrice Munsel really brings back memories for me, because when I was a kid, I was friends with one of the girls who has a big, fairly long closeup in it. I remember it made here quite a mini-celebrity for awhile, because that commercial was shown A LOT.

The NY hotels that the over 50 who attend Broadway theater are costing $400-$900/night this fall. The over-50s do not want to bother with hotel "deals" and the like and are staying home.

R304-THE CASHIER????

Honey, you were at the deli on 42nd and 9th.

I love that the “cashier” told a random ticket buyer that Taye Diggs just quit a Broadway show in the middle of his run, for no good reason, like he is Michael Riedel from the Post!

What is the job title of the box office ticket seller?

R313, that's nearly exactly what he said: Taye Diggs just quit and he didn't know why.

MARY!

I just Googled and found that Taye Diggs was supposed to be in MOULIN ROUGE through September 28, which is only three days from now. Does anyone know for sure if he actually left earlier, and if so, when and why?

Maybe Happy Ending grosses are stable without Criss. So much for the anti-Feldman crowd.

A MAGA whore has entered the conversation at R285.

[QUOTE] It's obvious who [R285] is.

, the gay manatee? Or one of the ugliest men to have ever walked the Earth, Matt Anscher? I’m assuming it’s one of those two crypt-keepers.

The Loon (Matt), r320.

Yes, R321. That thing. Someone linked a photo of it once and I instantly saw why he is so angry at life.

That Encore production of Damn Yankees used the original Fosse choreography.

He's lost a lot of weight, r322. There's a video on Google of him "busking" to raise money because his car broke down, and he doesn't have a good voice but he certainly is ... uh, energetic.

I believe the correct term is "Ticket Shop Girl".

Or, Boy.

[quote]I believe the correct term is "Ticket Shop Girl".

[quote]Or, Boy.

Or Bottom.

r324 - link please!! (And... one should note... large weight loss can actually be a sign of uncontrolled Types Fat Diabetes)

[quote]Patrice Munsel was on TV a LOT when I was growing up. Never to any positive effect as far as I was concerned. Totally forgettable.

And, as Carlotta, Miss Patrice Munsel. (From a 1987 Houston production. Other cast members included Juliet Prowse, John Cullum, Marilyn Maye and Harvey Evans.)

Told this little anecdote many time before on DL but on 1970 I was an apprentice at a one of those Straw Hat Circuit summer stock theaters on the northeast coast and Patrice came through in a production of I Do! I Do! in which she starred opposite Kerwin (The 7th Voyage of Sinbad the Sailor) Matthews though she alone got billing over the title. But then, she was pretty fab and he was kind of unmemorable, if still very handsome.

So many typos ^^^^^^

Sorry!

Ah, Summer Stock. Makes me misty... thinking of that Indian summer during the Obama administration in which MikeR ravaged me backstage at the San Jose Stage Company during intermission of No No Nanette.

I can still feel the sticky Corinthian leather of his dressing room Davenport pressed into my flesh as, MikeR, wearing only his Act II tap shoes, thrust with a vigor that would have dazzled even Ann Miller.

Barry Williams molested me during the Melody Top summer stock production of Follies.

Now, now, now Lorna, we all know you're OLDER than Barry... perhaps you were the predator? H'mmm? Lusting after Johnny Bravo, really!

I like blue balls. Like those on grandpa smurf

Nicholas Braun & Kara Young To Star In Off Broadway Revival Of Pulitzer Finalist ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’:

R331, I call bullshit. MikeR is non-equity. Since when does a non-AEA actor at a small San Jose company rate a private dressing room?

So I've heard from 2 good sources that Versailles has not fully raised its money and they are in tech, the most expensive period for a show.

R338. Maybe the widow Kirk can cough up a few bucks.

R337 Jesus Christ why did I pick THIS to make my grand return to Broadway?

Is there a revival of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels I could slip into?

Is it a grand return if you're basically a stand-by?

So does this mean they fired Jesse Green and then rehired him at a smaller wage/non contract role?

Or was this always about spreading the critics thinner and/or focusing on "online content?"

R340 - Gretchen Wyler, standby for Miss Bacall

Jesse Green should have been fired after helping ghostwrite that awful Mary Rodgers memoir. It was so ugly.

WTF, R343? I thought that SHY was terrific, and Green was hardly a ghost writer on it -- he's clearly credited on the cover, and the many footnotes are all his.

I loved Shy. I read it while staying at the Hammerstein farm, which used to be a B&B. When I read the part about Mary Rodgers meeting Stephen Sondheim, I got a little thrill realizing that I was right where it happened.

This thread is going fast and I feel like we haven’t discussed Tyne Daly and her star turn in Gypsy nearly enough.

I was re-reading Moby Dick the other night...

It's about this whale....

A younger Tyne Daly (pre-GYPSY) would have made a fabulous Ruth Sherwood in WONDERFUL TOWN.

[quote]This thread is going fast and I feel like we haven’t discussed Tyne Daly and her star turn in Gypsy nearly enough.

Speaking of subjects we haven't discussed nearly enough, I would just like to remind everyone that Barry Williams's 71st birthday is September 30th.

Mr. Williams is ageless...

The ticket prices are just too high for the schlock Bway is producing nowadays.

I don’t need to see another movie-to-theatre transfer where the movie is reproduced, often word for word.

It’s a money grab, which apparently isn’t making anyone much money nowadays

Barry Williams IS Madam Rose!

Tyne Daly IS Herbie!

Harrison Ghee IS Gypsy Rose Lee!

Jinkx Monsoon IS June!

[quote] A younger Tyne Daly (pre-GYPSY) would have made a fabulous Ruth Sherwood in WONDERFUL TOWN.

Tyne Daly was all set and advertised for Ruth Sherwood in "Wonderful Town" for the 1994 New York City Opera production. Daly withdrew and an utterly forgettable Kay McClelland replaced her. Daly's former "Gypsy" co-star, Crista Moore, was Eileen.

And just prior to the City Opera "Wonderful Town," Tyne Daly had played Hildy in the first Comden-Green-Bernstein musical, "On the Town," in a staged concert that aired on PBS and was commercially released on VHS.

Is Barry Williams a Ben or a Buddy?

Maybe this should be a separate thread but...

do y'all have classic/popular musicals that you've "had sufficient of"? In other words, you've just seen too many productions of them, or too many in recent years, to get much enjoyment from yet another production?

For me, I could use a break from Into The Woods...Mamma Mia....Sweeney Todd...Little Shop of Horrors..Mamma Mia is fun junk and the others I think are terrific shows but I've just seen so many productions of each.

Oh...Cabaret! Great show. Done a lot.

[quote]Is Barry Williams a Ben or a Buddy?

He turns 71 on Tuesday, so he's more of a Hattie now.

Would Barry have been a Frederick or Carl Magnus?

Would Barry have been Sweeney or Judge Turpin?

Would Barry have been John Wilkes Booth or Sam Byck?

The list goes on and on. If only there had been a "Broadway in the Ozarks" theater in Branson, MO!! Mr. Williams would have thrilled over and over and over!!!

R353 - you know, Jinx would probably make a fun Tessie, actually. I know she's probably becoming too big a name for such a relatively small role, but I could actually see her making a meal of that one.

Not that we should get a Gypsy revival before Jinx is old enough to play Mdme. Armfeldt.

Mdme. Armfeldt makes an appearance in Gypsy?

You are so naive, R361. You probably still think 9/11 wasn't an inside job. That Covid jab is really messing people up. Yes, Mdme. Armfeldt makes an appearance in Gypsy, though she's undercover as "Electra". The time machine is implied. Sheesh.

I love you, r293

Mamma Mia's book is really, truly terrible. I swear, the writer looked at the Muriel's Wedding film poster for inspiration and came up with a different story (including a wedding) in about 20 minutes. It is truly razor thin soap opera level storytelling.

The reason the show (and the film) worked at all was the music, the deep love and nostalgia for ABBA, and the fact that the band was no longer together or appearing on stage. The members of ABBA involved with the musical wisely tapped into that pent up interest/demand/appreciation/nostalgia.

Mamma Mia's book owes much more to "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell."

[quote]Is Barry Williams a Ben or a Buddy?

Robert Reed was a Phyllis.

R366, curious minds want to know... if Florence performed in Follies, was she a Sally, Phyllis, Hattie... who? WHO would Florence have been?

It’s true about Mamma Mia. Even Meryl seemed embarrassed on screen with some of the things she was asked to do and say!

I agree that Mamma Mia is a dreadful show, but what saves it is the mini concert at the end, it has the audience on its feet and everyone leaves thinking they just saw a good show.

And that mini concert really makes a difference, when I saw it in London, the audience was cheering and enthusiastic, and then I saw it on Broadway months later, and the audience sat there with their arms folded. Blecch.

Mamma Mia is trash made for flyover tourists. The movie was trash, too.

The movie was fun and Meryl looked like she was having a blast. Not every movie has to be Citizen Kane.

R362 - Now you have me imagining Hermione Gingold singing Ya Gotta Get a Gimmick

Mamma Mia hit the big time on Broadway for two reasons : ABBA nostalgia + 9/11.

The End.

[quote]Barry Williams IS Madam Rose! Tyne Daly IS Herbie! Harrison Ghee IS Gypsy Rose Lee! Jinkx Monsoon IS June!

And whoever posted this IS NOT remotely witty or funny.

Someone should forward these two threads to Barry

[quote]Mamma Mia's book is really, truly terrible.

Agreed, the book is beyond terrible overall, and the stupidest plot point in it is that the daughter would invite those three men to her wedding WITHOUT TELLING HER MOTHER that she invited them until they show up. Utterly ludicrous, even for a silly musical that has nothing on its mind. But also, the "humor" in the show was infantile and I can't remember a single solid laugh in it.

R376 = Carolee Carmello

Surely, all of that young fit bronzed flesh prancing around in speedos and bikinis is part of the show's charm, no?

[quote]The movie was fun and Meryl looked like she was having a blast.

Meryl was miscast. Surprising, right?

That role had Olivia Newton John's name all over it.

The second Mamma Mia movie was better. It doesn't pretend to have any stakes and is thus a solid C+/B- movie. Meryl's afterlife cameo is a momentary gaffe. Cher entering via helicopter to sing Fernando is glorious.

R369 yes, the concert too, absolutely - I should have mentioned that in my post.

The original movie was sorta fun in a hey kids let's put on a show sort of way, and because the stars just dropped their usual facades and gave into the silliness. Baranski landed the tone of it all perfectly.

This is a Broadway thread, not a shitty movie thread.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

If Florence did Follies it would be later in life, and she'd play Heidi -singing "One More Kiss."

Barry Williams would have been a great Count Carl-Magnus.

And for those pondering Jinx Monsoon in Gypsy, see Lily Savage in the role for a good approximation:

The Mamma Mia movie is fun to watch with a tween. They eat that shit up. But it is total schlock.

There’s not one show you named, R357, that I care to see again anytime soon. Maybe if I were introducing a newbie and could see it through their eyes, I’d do Into The Woods or even Little Shop. But for a night out with just myself, I could use a ten year break from every show you named.

[quote]do y'all have classic/popular musicals that you've "had sufficient of"? In other words, you've just seen too many productions of them, or too many in recent years, to get much enjoyment from yet another production?

R357, I just turned down getting tickets for a production of GUYS & DOLLS in Washington, DC, in December (with DL favorite Julie Benko as Sarah). The last production I saw was in London at the Bridge Theatre, and it was quite enjoyable. After that, I said to myself, "That's it for G & D."

But, I did book tickets for the production of Fiddler On The Roof at the Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA. I'm fairly certain that Fiddler will soon be moved to the "had sufficient of" column.

Good lord, they just did Guys & Dolls in DC a few years ago at the KC with Stephen Pasquale and Philippa Soo. Does DC really want to see it again that soon and with an inferior cast?

Honestly, there only seem to be about 20 musicals that are produced over and over AND OVER again.

Gypsy

Cabaret

Fiddler

Grease

Company

Into the Woods

West Side Story

My Fair Lady

Camelot

Kiss Me Kate

Anything Goes

The Sound of Music

Little Shop...

Sweeney Todd

The King & I

South Pacific

Bye Bye Birdie

How to Succeed...

Annie

and the aforementioned Guys & Dolls

ENOUGH ALREADY!

What works are there to substitute them with, r387?

Follies, R388.

A lot of the most successful newer shows (I mean from the the last 20 years or so) are probably either not available or the rights are too expensive for a lot of productions. But there are a decent number of second-tier shows that should get done more often - The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, A Gentleman's Guide, Something Rotten, City of Angels, etc.

Avenue Q is one that seems to get done to death.

I saw that production of Guys and Dolls in London. Walking in, it was on my list of shows I could live without ever seeing again. Walking out, it was on the list of shows I'll likely never see done so well again. It wasn't even the original cast! It's not often that a replacement cast lives up to the original reviews.

I saw Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and A Gentleman's Guide pre-Broadway and agree they (along with City of Angels) are well worth another go.

If I had to pick just one show that I never want to see again, it would be "Chicago." For reasons not worth getting into, I have seen the cheesy concert version more times than anyone should be subjected to. And I loved the show originally. But I wouldn't even want to see a fully staged version at this point.

R216, I worked at StageWest the year Sharon Gless did Watch in the Rhine. Elaine Stritch was supposed to play the matriarch but had a meltdown and was fired. She was replaced by Kim Hunter.

What a year that was! I feel like writing a book about what was going on behind the scenes.

I would read your book.

[quote]What works are there to substitute them with

There are a lot of smaller musicals that are gems that deserve another look

Goldilocks

Bajour

The Rink

Platinum

Barnum

They're Playing Our Song

70 Girls 70

Runaways

Enough with Sondheim as well. Those shows have had more revivals than a Texas church.

Two movies I would like turned into musicals:

It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. Probably too large of a cast, but plenty of material for character songs and good choreography.

Cold Turkey. A story about an entire town trying to give up smoking.

I'm going to assume that there were zero problems with Hunter, r393.

No, Kim Hunter came in and was perfectly sweet.

It was touch and go because it was the first time Gless had ever done stage work (greatly encouraged by Tyne Daly). Stritch was the first to be cast and actually recommended Gless. Everyone was nervous that Gless might pull out and it was her name that was selling tickets. And nobody was going to come see a three act Hellman play without a major name attached.

There was a wonderful revival of The Rink at Southwark Playhouse in London a few years back -It made a very strong case for the show in a more intimate setting. The other titles R395 mentioned are certainly worthy -but I don't think have enough name draw for a major revival. Kander & Ebb's name should mean a lot -and it might if the Spider Woman film does well - so maybe there'd be a shot for The Rink or 70 Girls. Goldilocks, Platinum, and Runaways are a pipe dream. In fact, Pipe Dream is more likely to get a Broadway revival.

Who’s been cast in the Sigourney Weaver role in the Cyndi Lauper/Theresa Rebeck musical adaptation of Working Girl in La Jolla?

Andy Karl will be starring in Beetlejuice next month…in Dubai.

The problem with The Rink is that the mother gets raped.

I think Best Little Whorehouse in Texas could stand a Bway revival.

[quote]I think Best Little Whorehouse in Texas could stand a Bway revival.

It needs some revisions. It’s like Mame in that it’s become quite dated.

Who can top or even equal Tune in staging and choreography, r402?

Barry Williams could do a big, splashy revival of TWO BY TWO!

Let's have a revival of The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public!

[quote]Let's have a revival of The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public!

I saw that on Broadway. Awful show. Donald and Marla were in the audience (I think because Marla was assessing if she could replace Dee Hoty).

R400. Leslie Kritzer will be paying Katharine Parker. She seems a little old for it since, I think, Parker and Tess are both around 30 in the movie.

[quote]They're Playing Our Song

DL needs to let this one go. A gem it is not.

Add Once Upon A Mattress to the list of shows I don’t need to see again.

On the list of the shows that I will not miss I would mention...

[quote]it was the first time Gless had ever done stage work (greatly encouraged by Tyne Daly). Stritch was the first to be cast and actually recommended Gless. Everyone was nervous that Gless might pull out and it was her name that was selling tickets

Considering her hammy-as-fuck "drunk acting" on that Cagney & Lacey season that won her an Emmy, I imagine Gless had no problem playing to the last balcony, R398.

Different people look at things from different points of view, R411.

[quote]I think Best Little Whorehouse in Texas could stand a Bway revival.

[quote]It needs some revisions. It’s like Mame in that it’s become quite dated.

IIRC, the main critical gripe against BLWIT is that there's no plot/character development or forward motion, really. The sheriff threatens to shut down the Chicken Ranch, sluts and studs sing and dance, then the sheriff shuts down the Chicken Ranch.

Carlin Glynn was very charming with this winsome song.

(Which was snatched away from one of the hookers and moved to Act II to give Miss Mona a semblance of a character.)

Can there be too much Sondheim, R395?

R387 I guess it depends where you live (or, if you can afford to travel to NYC or London to see all the big revivals).

Here in Seattle, several of the shows on your list really haven't been done much in the last 15 years or so. We haven't had Gypsy, Fiddler, Company, Anything Goes, The King and I, or South Pacific done locally, by a major or middling theater for many years. TBH, I wouldn't mind seeing a good production of anything of those shows.

The rest on your list have all been done...some of them, many times. Though, I'd happily see a good production of How to Succeed...it's one of my favorite shows.

R416 Well, yes, if it's Into the Woods or Sweeney Todd....they're hugely popular shows and produced constantly.

I'd kill to see a good Follies, Company, or A Little Night Music.

R393, I remember the learning about Stritch's firing after it had occurred... I wasn't that involved in SW to know the inner workings of the production. However, I do remember thinking that Eric Hill has some serious balls to fire Stritch. He was young back then, Stritch's hiring was a coup for little StageWest...

Do you remember if Martha Richards was the Managing Director at the time? I don't think Watch was produced when Kate Maguire had joined the staff.

R412, I don't recall Gless over acting in the show. She was quite affecting as the daughter with the children just out of Europe.

Good show, Watch on the Rhine.

Can The Datalounge select who you kill, r418?

If you are tired of those shows, r387, there is a shockingly easy alternative. Go see the many, many other shows being produced.

In DC, you could see Play On! or Damn Yankees. In New York, only one show (Little Shop) on your list is currently playing, so the world is your oyster! Soon, you could also see The Baker's Wife, By the Seat of Our Pants, or Spelling Bee. There are also many shows on Broadway, many new musicals in small productions, and regional theaters doing less common work. You could even see a play if the horrors of Guys and Dolls are too much for you.

When Goldilocks or The Rink or Pipe Dream get produced, do people show up in the numbers needed? It seems the market has spoken.

The reality is that most people, especially those under 40 or those who don't live in major cities, are unlikely to have seen many of the shows on your list.

The problem with the “overdone” shows is that too many productions are just goofy and that creates a feeling that the opportunity was wasted. Also eternal runs have the theater going public weary.

Cabaret is an example. It’s a great musical. But the Mendes production ran on too long making everyone exhausted. Then they roll out the ridiculous Redmayne production and beat the show to death.

The all female 1776 is another wasted opportunity. I’ve never seen a stage version of it but I certainly wasn’t going to see that goofy production.

Chicago is another. Great show, the minimalist staging worked but it has run too long and regular theater goers are now sick of it.

Additionally, “let’s try this” productions are often wasted opportunities. Audra Gypsy may have been an interesting idea on paper but we’re sick of Gypsy.

And female Bobby in Company was a production that took up space that a stronger revival could have filled.

r421, thanks for the lecture, but for starters, I do avoid those over-produced productions, though I did see both the latest Cabaret and G&D (in London) and the Audra/Gypsy.

But I've also sought out many rarely produced revivals at Encores over the years and I saw that Pipe Dream a couple of seasons ago in the Berkshires (the production was so dreadful it was impossible to judge the show), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (delightful!), the all-female 1776 (also unnecessarily dreadful) and I have tickets for the upcoming Baker's Wife at CSC.

My sadness is that less famous titles....just off the top of my head....A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Cole Porter's Out of This World, George M, The Happy Time, Carnival, The Boys from Syracuse, Li'l Abner, New Girl in Town, so many others....are rarely given smart productions that could engage unfamiliar audiences as much as the well-worn titles.

But I get it, sadly, most of the audience is afraid of what they don't know. I, for one, just stay away.

I mean, I stay away from most of the over-produced revivals.

Bajour? You can't be serious. "The gyp is back in gypsy/And the gypsy's back in style!" And that is just one lyric among many that are currently offensive.

Whorehouse can't work anymore because popular films and movies have since then been very honest about the lives of prostitutes, and the big lie of how happy they all are at the "little ol pissant country place" just doesn't fly. Most hookers live desperate lives of addiction and abuse. Watch "The Deuce."

[quote]Li'l Abner,

It's so dated!. Instead of doing as written in comic book style, they should update it as Japanese anime!

Sutton Foster in "Sarava!

Whorehouse is more hard hitting than you remember.

I don’t mind these “overdone shows” I’m a younger gay in flyover country so I didn’t see past productions and grateful to finally see these classics

Barry Williams IS "Fiorello!"

To those asking about dinner theatre, The Dutch Apple in Pa puts on a real show.

[quote]Carlin Glynn was very charming with this winsome song. (Which was snatched away from one of the hookers and moved to Act II to give Miss Mona a semblance of a character.)

I'm pretty sure the person it was snatched away from was A CHORUS LINE alum Pamela Blair, in the role of Amber/Angel. That left Blair without a solo in the show, which must have been quite a blow. I'm a little surprised she didn't quit when the took the song away from her.

[quote]Whorehouse is more hard hitting than you remember.

Are you joking? Because it really isn't.

The Dutch Apple sounds (and smells) like a Dutch Oven......

It's time for a revival of The Drowsy Chaperone.

Billy Porter IS Miss Mona!

R419, I’ll tell you about StageWest over a couple of posts.

Watch on the Rhine was the second show in the 1989-90 season.

At that point, Eric Hill was the golden boy at StageWest. However, StageWest was losing subscribers and single ticket sales. Hartford Stage was a short drive and they were doing amazing work and NYC was an hour and a half away and Springfield had both easy train and bus access to NYC.

There was an effort made to find out why subscribers were canceling and the message came back loud and clear: audiences couldn’t stand Eric’s wife Ellen being cast in every show. So for the 89-90 season, Ellen was banished from StageWest. I think she spent the season in one of the Texas Regional Theaters. And you’ve heard the saying, “While the cat’s away…”

The Board brought in Martha Richards, strong lesbian from California, who I believe was brought in as Managing Director to counter Eric’s excesses. Unfortunately, I don’t think she understood New England ways.

Enter Elaine Stritch!

To be continued.

R433 sounds like Valley of the Dolls but Pam Blair, God rest her soul, was no Neely.

Alex Winter posted on Bluesky that he had a reunion w/Sandy Duncan and her husband at the opening night of GODOT.

Is it time for a Hairspray revival?

Hairspray is a quality feel good show and it definitely needs to be revived. Jinkx Monsoon IS Velma Von Tussel!!!!

R438, Martha may not have understood "New England," but she understood the bottom line and she was a terrific person, i think she got shafted in Spfld.

BTW - you make very good point geography and population size made the viability of two equity houses very difficult, especially after the financial crisis of 88, 89, 90.

But please continue dishing!

Barry Williams....

[quote] Several of the great 1970s/80s regional theatres like ATC had resident companies of fabulously talented actors who actually made a living in those cities. Also The Guthrie, Arena Stage, Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Seattle Rep, Yale Rep, The Old Globe. Seeing those actors play a wide range of characters in classic as well as new plays was always a treat.

Can definitely relate, Growing up near Cleveland Ohio, in the 70s we attended (as a family) The CLeveland Playhouse regularly. They had a resident company for ages, who lived in Cleveland, raised children and made a living as professional actors in the midwest! Going to those productions shaped my lifelong love of going the theater. and my partner was friends with one of the kids of a couple who were part of the company. They performed year round from autumn to the spring in Cleveland and then the company brought a few productions for the summer to Chataqua NY. One of the actresses in the company

Also in the company was an actress who gave a talk at CSU one afternoon about "a life in the theater" it was very interesting in general but what stood out was her good humored complaint that a fellow class member from school had grabbed up all the good parts and there wasn't much left for the rest of the class... My partner learned a few years later, that actress taking all the good roles was none other than Meryl

The productions were usually good, some great some not so great. In the late 80s the board fired the artistic director and the company disbanded. A new Artistic Director was brought in and she fired the resident company, which caused a stir. She brought in a core group of actors she had picked and did some rather cutting edge stuff for cleveland. I remember seeing and being absoulutely blown away by AS IS, and another play about Quaker school teacher working in a Scottish Ghetto which sounds like a bore, but was very exciting. Also saw a great CARNIVAL on the mainstage. The producitons were suddenly better, but very controversial and the board fired the Artistic leader and it was back to the usual stuff.

Ah.. that was a time

I saw plays at the Erie Playhouse, but those were always local actors.....never got to go to the Cleveland Playhouse or any of the Pittsburgh theaters bringing in stars, nor any CLO shows.

For what it's worth, Pam Blair got out of Whorehouse as soon as she possibly could. Unfortunately, her follow up was King of Hearts.

At this point, why bother opening Queen of Versailles? It's clear that nobody's expecting it to last long.

"Church Choir Comedy"?

[quote]Alex Winter posted on Bluesky that he had a reunion w/Sandy Duncan and her husband at the opening night of GODOT.

I wouldn't have recognized Sandy Duncan. Those "Peter Pan" wires seems to be lifting her face now. Her husband used to be hot.

[quote]For what it's worth, Pam Blair got out of Whorehouse as soon as she possibly could. Unfortunately, her follow up was King of Hearts.

But then she got into the original casts of “The Nerd” and “A Few Good Men.” She had a good run creating original roles.

R432 that was horrible

r450 yeah, he was handsome

Once again, Kristin's "team" makes terrible choices for her. Oh well. Versailles will be gone by January.

Will it even last until January?

Continuing on with the StageWest story.

Elaine Stritch and Sharon Gless met while Betty Ford-ing. Elaine for glug glug and Sharon for sniff sniff. Sharon had wanted to do stage work but was a bit intimidated by a live audience. Elaine recommended Sharon to StageWest and told Sharon she (Elaine) would teach her stage acting. StageWest and Springfield were the perfect place for Sharon to work because Springfield audiences were very friendly, New York critics wouldn’t travel that far and Boston critics came when they felt like it.

StageWest was the other half of a parking garage, but it was a nice intimate theater. A long set of stairs led down to the lobby. At the top of the stairs was a Pizzeria Uno, which back then was good eats. Pizza skins and a dumb monkey after a show was my go-to meal!

Pre-rehearsal- Sharon Gless shows up and Artistic Director Eric Hill, who is also directing the show, asks if she wants a tour of the stage (the stage was a thrust stage with audience on three sides - important note for later!) Sharon is excited to walk on the stage. The show currently playing was Educating Rita. She was friendly with everyone and seemed excited to be there. She was staying in a hotel two blocks from the theater. Every night they would put a small bottle of amaretto on her pillow. Since all she was drinking was strong black coffee, she would bring the bottle to the theater the next day. Midway through the run, the green room looked like a liquor store. I took a few bottles and made an amaretto cake.

One piece of gossip to earn my presence on DL: She came into the rehearsal room one morning and casually told everyone in the rehearsal room that she had slept on top of the bed covers because Housekeeping forgot to turn down her bed.

To be continued.

Don Correia is a very successful realtor. Not sure how much Sandy has worked since she left Finding Neverland after two days.

Aren't Eric Hill and Kate McGuire, who has long run the Berkshire Theatre (Festival) Group married? But Eric doesn't seem to direct there much anymore, if ever.

R458, yes, Eric and Kate have been together for decades, since they met and sparks flew and clothing was tossed aside back at StageWest. Eric has had health issues, he definitely slowed down over the past 5 years, Kate's still running BTG... their mainstage is closed for an extensive overhaul - BTG stages shows in Pittsfield proper at The Colonial and in Stockbridge at their Unicorn theater.

More R393/R458!

r456 - your stories are fun! But... what the hell are pizza skins and dumb monkeys??

R437, don't even joke about it, because someone would totally take that direction.

The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas 2026: All Trans and Non-Binary!

FtM and butch cis women as the dancin' Aggies instead of hot shirtless chorus boys. Drag queens as the working girls. Billy Porter as Miss Mona (for two weeks only).

As someone who has worked in some of the finest regional theaters in the country for several decades, I can tell you that one of the reasons they're now failing is the unfair impression they give to potential younger (meaning under 50) audiences who think of them as the "local" neighborhood theater and therefore amateurish. Nothing could be further from the truth, of course, but how do you convince the younger crowd to come in and see it's not community theater?

And in an ironic twist, I've known of many theater artists - actors, directors, designers - who travel from NYC to work at a particular theater, love the city....for example San Francisco, Boston, Minneapolis....move there to try and have some stability with work from that resident theater, and are eventually treated as "local" talent and not as precious as artists hired from NYC.

R461. Dylan Mulvaney IS Angel! Latrice Royale IS Jewel!!!

[quote]Whorehouse can't work anymore because popular films and movies have since then been very honest about the lives of prostitutes, and the big lie of how happy they all are at the "little ol pissant country place" just doesn't fly. Most hookers live desperate lives of addiction and abuse. Watch "The Deuce."

R426, audiences in 1979 were generally aware that hooking wasn't a musical comedy in real life.

See Taxi Driver and numerous lurid network TV specials like the below from 1976.

Best Little Whorehouse was based on a 1974 Playboy article about a real brothel that got buzz because it wasn't the usual narrative of exploitation and tragedy. It read like ... well, source material for a musical comedy.

If BLW can't work today, it's because it's too quaint for an era in which everybody's whoring themselves on social media, Onlyfans, and Chaturbate. There's no naughtiness or edge.

[quote]what the hell are pizza skins and dumb monkeys?

Pizza skins were mashed potatoes in the Pizzeria Uno deep dish crust with sour cream on the side.

Dumb monkey was a banana split and they had a tiny plastic monkey hanging off the side of the bowl that you could take home.

Yes I’m a fat whore.

[quote] Whorehouse can't work anymore because popular films and movies have since then been very honest about the lives of prostitutes, and the big lie of how happy they all are at the "little ol pissant country place" just doesn't fly. Most hookers live desperate lives of addiction and abuse. Watch "The Deuce."

To add to R464's point, the audiences seeing Whorehouse didn't need television's The Deuce to tell them about prostitutes. They were only four blocks from the ACTUAL Deuce.

Schmigadoon coming to Broadway. Dec. 15 concert reunion of Bridges of Madison County.

Tune was able to cover the faults in a show with his signature, stylish showmanship. Without it, I don't think Whorehouse, My One and Only, Grand Hotel or Will Rogers' Follies will get a Broadway revival anytime soon. Maybe NINE if Jake wanted to do Guido.

If it weren't so damn expensive, I'd love to see Jerome Robbins' Broadway again. That show was an embarrassment of riches.

I think it's time for a revival of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

Nathan Lane’s gay sitcom is dead to me.

And the screams could be heard down Columbus Avenue.

[quote]I think it's time for a revival of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

R470 = Patricia Routledge, who's now 96 and can't wait around forever.

[quote] Nathan Lane’s gay sitcom is dead to me. And the screams could be heard down Columbus Avenue

Like the cast and wanted to like it but I binged it first week and didn't laugh once.

First Ragtime performance, I believe?

Joshua Henry sounds fabulous. She... sounds fine. But both of them really lack that spark and magic that Stokes & Audra had. Also.. is that tiny band reflective of the actual production's orchestra? That would be sad if even Lincoln Center couldn't afford a full orchestra anymore.

NY Times not throwing around "Critics' Picks" like they used to when Jesse was #1. This is now a bad thing.

The Times did not like Waiting for Godot.

Jesus Christ are the next two threads going to be all about how Nichelle isn’t as good as Audra (who we just spent 15 threads rightfully shitting on for Gypsy)

No R478, the next thread is going to be all about Barry Williams' return to Broadway... a fevered fantasy of a few DL denizens and personally? I can't wait! It will be fabulous! Barry as Herbie! Barry as Herbie! Barry as Herbie!

Now there's a 2-fer... Williams and Gypsy in the same post!!

Enough with Barry Williams..... it is not funny.

Today is Barry Williams birthday. Let's honor him by never mentioning his name again.

Like that's ever stopped The Datalounge, r480.

[quote]Enough with Barry Williams..... it is not funny.

I agree. At least he didn't make it into this thread title.

R477-The Times didn't understand Waiting For Godot.

There. Fixed it for you.

Well, face it, R484, neither will anybody else who goes to see it for Keanu Reeves.

After all the bad reviews and negative word-of-mouth, I had no desire to see the NYC immersive production of CABARET. But we were in Madrid and decided to check out the production there. Although it was in Spanish, I figured I know the show well enough that I could understand it. It also helped that ringside, cabaret table seats in the middle of the action were only $100 each, and a bottle of Rioja wine was $21--VERY much unlike the outrageous prices charged on Broadway. Also unlike Broadway, our phones were not covered with stickers, and we were allowed to take pictures during the pre-show hour of festivities with the Kit Kat girls and boys mingling with the audience and performing songs cut from this production. There were two hunky Kit Kat chorus boys who were happy to pose for pictures, including this cutie.

I thought the first act was terrific, with superb performances from all the cast. Our Sally looked like a young Catherine Zeta-Jones, Cliff looked like Michael Rupert, and Fraulein Schneider looked like Betty Buckley. The emcee was a trans woman, and she played the role like TIm Curry in Rocky Horror.

Where this production lost me was the second act. I enjoyed the opening number "Mein Herr" with Sally performing with the new Kit Kat Klub male hunks, but having her sing "Maybe This Time" as Cliff was leaving her made no sense at all. And her drugged-out or drunk (maybe both) performance of the title number seemed like a major mistake. But the worst was to come in the finale. As usual, Cliff sang a reprise of "Willkommen" and experienced a Follies-like Benjamin Stone breakdown with the other characters reprising bits of their numbers. Four of the cast members stripped naked and stood in the back area (including the two hunky boys and Herr Schultz, and then the emcee stripped stripped naked and sobbed while she joined them. That's when I learned that she was a trans woman who had had the surgery, with her vagina on display. I'm guessing that they were all bound for a concentration camp, but then there was a nuclear-explosion-like blast (bombs over Berlin perhaps), and the show ended. Directorial overkill, anyone?

Can anyone who saw the NYC or London stagings confirm that was how those productions ended?

R486, you saw a completely different production. The NY/London one has a very different ending. Your one sounds like a riff on the Mendes production.

A “young Catherine Zeta Jones?”

How is that possible???

[quote]Where this production lost me was the second act. I enjoyed the opening number "Mein Herr" with Sally performing with the new Kit Kat Klub male hunks, but having her sing "Maybe This Time" as Cliff was leaving her made no sense at all.

I have never seen or heard of a production that had this song placement, which sounds ridiculous.

I studied avant-garde theatre in college, including Waiting For Godot -and I don't get it either. I have seen professional productions with amazing actors, but the play just doesn't do anything for me. It is not enlightening, entertaining, funny, profound, or thought-provoking. The only reason to see the play is for the actors, and Bill and Ted ain't it.

[quote]The Times didn't understand Waiting For Godot.

In defense of The Times, I never fucking have either.

Please repost your review in Spanish…it may be ever slightly more interesting

The StageWest Saga Finale Part 1

Elaine Stritch showed up on the first day of rehearsal in her usual bag lady clothes (I never saw that white hat leave her head. I think she slept in it). She pulls a paper bag out of her purse and announces loud enough that they heard her in Agawam: I’m a diabetic and I need a refrigerator for my insulin.

Eric Hill offers to show her the stage (remember thrust stage) and she declines saying she never looks at the stage before performance. This pisses Eric Hill off. Everyone looks at a model of the set except Stritch who says, “I can never make sense of those things.”

After introductions, everyone sits down for a table read. To her credit, Elaine gives a good reading and the dynamic between Stritch and Gless is looking to be incredible from a character viewpoint. At the end of the day, it’s announced that rehearsals will be from 11:00 am to 7:00 pm. Elaine pipes up and mentions she has diabetes and needs to stay on a proper eating schedule and rehearsals need to accommodate that. A meeting between Eric, stage management and the Equity Deputy is convened and it’s decided the rehearsal schedule will change to be 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.

The next day blocking begins. Stritch immediately starts questioning everything. Why is that chair there? This table is not well placed for my entrance. At the end of the day, everyone’s nerves are frazzled.

The next day blocking of Act 1 continues and here is where things really go downhill. Eric tells Stritch to walk downstage and “cheat out” a bit to her right. She questions why she would be delivering lines to her right. Eric tells her so the audience on that side can see her face. She says, “What audience?” He says, “It’s a thrust stage. There is audience sitting there.” She bellows, “I know what a thrust stage is.” Every other person in the room wishes they were anywhere else. A break is called. The rest of the day is spent trying to move forward.

Third day, Eric Hill comes in looking like he drank the Connecticut River’s worth of booze. He was expecting to be blocking Act 3 and Act 1 is still not finished. Stritch comes in ready to be Stritch. Stage Management has positioned chairs around the set to mimic audience seats of a thrust stage. Sharon Gless has been sitting around doing nothing because her first entrance is with her family and that scene was scheduled for an afternoon blocking when the children are out of school.

I can’t remember the exact incident when the final blowup came but it was in the afternoon because the children were there. Eric and Stritch just started fighting and Stritch was in high drama mode (and it’s probably wrong of me to say but she was giving a performance like I’ve never seen before. It was amazing and yet terrifying). It ended with Stritch and Eric agreeing they couldn’t work together and Elaine bellowed, “Where’s my insulin?” She took her brown bag and walked out. One of the children said, “What’s going on?”

It had been agreed beforehand that Stritch needed a few days off. She was filming an episode of The Cosby Show as Rooty’s teacher. The agents behind the scenes agreed that the Cosby filming would be the official reason why she couldn’t continue at StageWest. A call was immediately placed to find any available actress over the age of 60 and Kim Hunter was in rehearsal three days later.

While Kim Hunter was charming in the role, I always wished that Stritch had been able to tame her demons because she would have been so interesting opposite Gless and given the story more depth.

The StageWest Saga Part 2

Gless says in her autobio that she drove around that night trying to find Stritch to convince her to stay. I question that for a couple of reasons. First, Gless and Stritch were staying in the same hotel. Second, Gless didn’t have a car, so who was driving her? Third, can you imagine being in an AA meeting in the greater Springfield area and tv star Sharon Gless pops in and says, “I’m looking for Elaine Stritch.” And lastly, how many AA meetings go on in Springfield MA on a weeknight?

When Gless finally caught up with Stritch, she says Stritch said Eric didn’t know what he was doing. I can’t agree with that because Eric had very definite ideas about the theme of the play and how it should play. I often wonder why Stritch agreed to do a show in a small Western MA theater. Maybe she always hoped to do a Hellman show?

Eric Hill drew a black X over Elaine’s face on her headshot and hung it in his office. He spent the rest of the season drinking, banging an intern and trying to deal with the pressure of being an Artistic Director in a financially troubled, but artistically thrilling, regional theater.

The next two shows were A Christmas Carol and The Boys Next Door which would bring other actor challenges, although not as high profile as Stritch.

I love that tale R393/R494. And I saw A Christmas Carol and The Boys Next Door that season. TBND was really affecting. Was Xmas Carol performed more than once at StageWest? I saw version with a lovely framing device that worked really, really well.

Thanks for the dish - that Stritch; she was a handful and a half and just for the sake of being "Stritch."

Kudos to Kim Hunter for taking the role. I remember watch WotR and enjoying it.

R495, the 89-90 season, the framing device was that Eric Hill played grown up Tiny Tim and narrated the story.

The Asian guy who played the lead in Boys Next Door did LuPone Anything Goes in the chorus and was a replacement Engineer in Miss Saigon on Broadway. Alan (sorry can’t remember his last name at the moment, but he was such a nice guy.)

Is it wrong of me to side with Stritch in that story?

Not wrong per se, but an explanation is needed.

Devil Wears Prada extended until September 2026. Vanessa extended her contract until next April. I guess they're making money.

[quote]Not wrong per se, but an explanation is needed.

The explanation was Stritch being Stritch and she has exhibited this behavior throughout most of her career. It was the same behavior she used with Susan Harris when auditioning for Golden Girls.

LOVE all the StageWest stories! Thanks so much for posting, r494.

As a professional theatre vet of almost 50 years I can easily see all the Stritch stuff happening. She was clearly her own worst enemy.

[quote] The explanation was Stritch being Stritch and she has exhibited this behavior throughout most of her career.

Yeah, I was always an unprofessional drunken cunt so cut me some slack.

I worked with Elaine Stritch for exactly one week on Broadway. She was doing LOVE LETTERS with Cliff Robertson. She would arrive at the theater very early and sit in the house until she was ready to go to her dressing room. While there was very little preparation needed for her performance, she was nonetheless very friendly, very professional, and never a problem. I would sit with her sometimes and chat, and she was always very nice to me. I know all these other stories about her diva tantrums are true, but perhaps because of her age or the ease of the performance, she was never anything but a charming woman with me.

love this stage west gossip, even though I never worked there. A significant amount of the blame on with Elaine quitting that production falls squarely at the feet of Eric Hill. Stritch was famously difficult by 1989, and she had a playbook you could set your watch by: Bully the director, challenge everything, mouth off about everything under the sun, just generally be a cunt and often, but not always deliver on stage. George Wolfe had her number, she craved validation and more than that she craved a stern, strong usually male voice to put her in her place. You needed to do it early and firmly and with copious praise and she'd be singing your praises. He should have asked around about how to handle her because she was bigger than stage west by orders of magnitude and he should have been firm and and full of praise and she would have been fine.

This is going back to the 90s but there was a script going around called THE DANCING MAN. It was a two hander older woman/young man thing and Stritch did some readings of it and some producers wanted to do it Off Broadway as a commercial run. Stritch was her usual self during the reading stage but was excellent in the part and the young guy (can't remember his name but he's been in some things and is still around) was also excellent and they were good together. Stritch INSISTED they put it on Broadway, producers didn't think that was right, so she insisted on something like 10lk a week. Completely out of control demands.. so it didn't happen. The producers put together a bare bones workshop with Sada Thompson and the same young man and it worked, but it really needed Stritch's grizzly quality to make it worth moving and it died. Just an example of how she was her own worst enemy so often. She also had a habit of just deciding to stop paying agents when she thought they'd gotten enough from her.

What a piece of work she was, but even Albee said she was the best Martha in Virginia Wolfe. Undeniable talent but undeniable pain in the ass.

One more very funny thing from StageWest. During the Watch on the Rhine run, they had Sharon Gless greet guests after the show. One night two nuns came up and said, “We have a great idea for a show for you! A nun who goes around solving murders.” 😂 Everybody wants to be in show biz. I think Sharon was already in pre-production on the tv show The Trials of Rosie O’Neill.

[quote]A nun who goes around solving murders.

Barbara Cook didn’t speak fondly of her in her memoir.

She kept trying to tour a concert show with her but Stritch kept turning her down.

We all know why.

R506 - broadcast while Sharon was at StageWest. There’s a reason why they don’t allow nuns to be tv producers.

Stritch was a narcissist. Not necessarily a malignant one like Trump, but still an attention-hogging pain in the ass who had no clue how to consider other people's feelings.

Oh, and it's on tonight. Belinda Lang as Mrs. Clam is amazing.

If I was going to blame Eric Hill for any of the Stritch mess it would be for his naivete in even thinking for a moment that he could control her and not understanding that Stage West audiences would be just as content with any number of more familiar if less-talented character actresses in that Hellman role.

TBH, great as she could be, Stritch was always Stritch in whatever she did (even Parthy in Show Boat!) and I can't imagine her as that noble dignified matriarch in Watch on the Rhine.

*

R496, yes! That's the production of A Christmas Carol I was referring to in my post. Whoever thought of that framing device for the show deserves a clap on the back and round of applause.

Regional theater could be quite magical for devoted audiences... there were actors in a company people enjoyed over and over, StageWest had that intern company who performed in a version of the Suzuki method which left audiences cold, but some productions were pretty incredible.

So many years have gone by, whatever happened to Ellen Lauren (Hill's first wife), Kelly Maurer, Will Bond...

Bond was a cast member for a SW production of Ayckbourn's "Taking Steps" and man did he deliver in that show! That was my introduction Ayckbourn's work and over the years I've read his plays and seen productions of his shows.

[quote]Regional theater could be quite magical for devoted audiences... there were actors in a company people enjoyed over and over, StageWest had that intern company who performed in a version of the Suzuki method which left audiences cold, but some productions were pretty incredible.

Pat Suzuki had her own method? And here I thought she was just Miss Ponytail.

Pat Suzuki wouldn’t want to train in the Suzuki method. It was murder on the knees, feet and joints and involved a lot of yelling and banging sticks on the ground. I don’t know why Eric Hill was so taken with it. I didn’t think it made actors any better.

For The Full Monty at Paper Mill, rumor was eventually it more or less went like this: there was a room where everyone else rehearsed and got things done, and a room where Elaine rehearsed.

Even if you booked her "in concert" or cabaret or whatever, she insisted on turbulence and general awfulness. Heard a firsthand account of a harmless gay in a resort town who booked her show and put her in a nice hotel suite, where he said she threw furniture off the balcony. I had him repeat the details to be sure he meant she literally did that, and he said she did. It was probably light plastic or rattan furniture and not metal, but still.

It's easier to just go with someone who is every bit as famous and talented as Stritch was, even someone moreso, for the same money and have a lovely time instead of a horrible one.

At approx 52:00 marker

Gene Nelson, Jacques d'Amboise with Hermes Pan choreography and great 1961 vintage Main Street Disneyland footage

whoops / 44:00 marker^^^

Michael Rupert said in “A Wonderful Guy” that Stritch was the worst person he ever worked with with, was a horrible person, and humiliated him in rehearsals.

One wonders if The Full Monty in Papermill was worth it?

So, the "c" word gets tossed into multiple, MULTIPLE comments about Lauren Bacall (who has her own thread here in DL_land), who never did the awful, hurtful, manipulative things that are ascribed Stritch, but I haven't that term affixed to Elaine.

I don't get it. Really, I don't get it.

I saw Stritch in A Delicate Balance and thought she was awful. I know I'm in the minority here but she was the weak link in an otherwise glorious cast. I was glad she lost the Tony.

It’s time to repeat these wonderful stories that someone posted on DL a while ago. Whoever did it, thank you again!

A friend was a stage manager of A Delicate Balance. Two stories: 1. He’d go to “collect valuables” (an important task for an assistant SM). He’d knock on Stritch’s door, she’d growl “Come in!”, and she’d be sitting there in the nude practicing the accordion (a sequence in the show). Tits on either side of the instrument. 2. One night he came in early and found Rosemary onstage with a shoulder bag placing props into it (I distinctly remember a wooden cigarette lighter shaped like an apple). My friend said, “Rosemary, you can’t remove props from the set!” RH: “Then YOU tell HER to stop playing with them during my monologues!!! She’s shameless!” And indeed, when I saw it, Stritch did everything but make balloon animals to pull focus from both Rosemary and Grizzard.

Couldn't disagree more, r521.

PRADA is a big hit in London. Expect 2, 3 years....It's not a great musical (Elton's work is really lazy) but it is a really fun time. Not surprised it's selling.

This must have killed Sondheim. Even Lucy Mame wasn’t this bad.

Stritch wasn't good, and was wildly miscast, but there was something interesting and compelling to watch. in her performance. When I saw it, she wouldn't move forward to sing a phrase until she knew her exact intention and had confidence and a connection. As a result, a five minute song ran almost eight minutes. My friend (who didn't know the show, but was a fan of Stritch) leaned over during the song and said, "Something is very wrong."

Bernadette made it worth going, both Alexander Hanson and Leighann Larkin were both great. I had seen the previous cast, and it didn't help that Aaron Lazar was gone and that the Anne and Charlotte were still there. It's hard to imagine any cast fully overcoming the dreary set and the poor direction.

She might have been miscast and not very good but still to have seen Bernadette and Elaine must have been an event.

I regret deeply missing the production

I was supposed to see Kathleen Turner at the Ogunquit Playhouse but she was out the night I was there.

Elaine Stritch killed Sondheim. She shredded a master craftsman and stomped all over him.

From the grave, Ethel Merman was shouting, “Elaine, just sing the fucking song!”

r527, it really was an event. Lansbury and Zeta-Jones were a different kind of event - but both gave stellar performances (Zeta-Jones seemed confused by the cameras on her Tony performance and gave a very weird performance nothing like onstage). Bernadette changed a lot of people's minds who didn't like her in Follies. For me, she capped her career as a leading lady when she went into Dolly and gave a much better performance than Midler. Who was her own event.

Ah, Liaisons.

She was misdirected in FOLLIES, r529.

[quote] Stritch did everything but make balloon animals to pull focus from both Rosemary and Grizzard.

I really did Laugh Out Loud at this!

R530, I don’t disagree. I liked her in DC - from the opening, it was Sally on a mission in a red dress. She danced in Who’s That Woman like she had been practicing the steps in her living room ever since the Follies closed. In NY, she was a morbidly depressed woman with memory issues and faulty tear ducts.

Eric Schaeffer. Yeesh.

[quote]it was Sally on a mission in a red dress

In which Bernadette looked *fabulous*. Sally shouldn't look *fabulous* until Losing My Mind.

But in fairness, R52, Eric Schaeffer directed that production of FOLLIES both at the Kennedy Center and then on Broadway.

I've only seen video of Bernadette's Sally, but, related to the red dress, I couldn't take my eyes off her in numbers like Who's That Woman because she moves across the stage with such poise and outright sexiness. I know she's not known as a triple threat, but she's always known how to MOVE.

Whether that's "Sally" or not, I'll leave to the eldergays to debate. I've never been particularly invested in that show despite its gorgeous score.

[quote]I know she's not known as a triple threat

She dances/danced well enough to be a triple threat, r535.

I'm not saying she doesn't dance well. I'm just saying she would never be billed as a prime example of a triple threat -- like a Chita. So, when she does dance -- or even just move in a choreographed manner -- you get to see that true dancer instinct and technique revealed and it's quite thrilling.

When I was in high school she did a show with San Diego Symphony billed something like "Bernadette Peters: An Evening of Song & Dance" and at one point in the show she literally flicked a scarf around her mic stand flirtatiously for a few seconds and said something like "technically, this was billed as an evening of song AND dance."

Mabel required dancing...

I can’t believe one poster has commented over 400 times

Which poster would that be, r539?

[quote]In which Bernadette looked *fabulous*. Sally shouldn't look *fabulous* until Losing My Mind.

It was better than Imelda entering in a green dress and saying, “I should have worn green.”

[quote]And indeed, when I saw it, Stritch did everything but make balloon animals to pull focus from both Rosemary and Grizzard.

She did the same to Barbara Cook at rehearsals for the Follies in Concert event. Barbara was singing a beautiful song, and everyone was in awe of her performance, yet the camera captures Stritch rummaging through her purse, pulling out shoes, and making a big distraction.

Golden Girls never would have been the long running hit it was with Elaine instead of Bea. Bea had her moments and could be difficult, but Elaine would have been a million times worse. The producers would have wound up replacing or firing her.

I never got the praise for At Liberty either. It was no Lena Horne: The Lady and her music.

They clearly wanted to make Elaine some coveted treasure, but the fact that half the show was bullshit remembrances speaks volumes.

[quote]Bea had her moments and could be difficult,

Bea didn't upstage others. She didn't need to.

Now that I can't get behind. At Liberty was a triumph.

Agree, r545. It was all Elaine at her very best.

Can "obsessives about Stritch, Merman, Audra and Bernadette" please start your own thread.

Thanks!

R542, in Sondheim and Co., it's said that during a Cook song, Stritch undressed totally during the rehearsal. A comment like "when Elaine let's it all hang it, she really let's it hang out." Everyone was laughing so hard that no one focused on Cook.

[quote]Can "obsessives about Stritch, Merman, Audra and Bernadette" please start your own thread.

Amen! Then we can get back to discussing TRUE Broadway notables -- like Barry Williams.

Follies!

[quote]Can "obsessives about Stritch, Merman, Audra and Bernadette" please start your own thread.

Too late for that.

Another story from a cast member of that ALNM: At the sitzprobe everyone was anxiously waiting to hear Bernadette sing "Clowns" and just before she did, Stritch started to furiously paw through her purse for her insulin equipment.

This is a theatre GOSSIP thread and I spilled some gossip about Stritch being fired.

[quote]Michael Rupert said in “A Wonderful Guy” that Stritch was the worst person he ever worked with with, was a horrible person, and humiliated him in rehearsals. One wonders if The Full Monty in Papermill was worth it?

The dressing rooms were on the first floor at Paper Mill and if you walked by at night and the blinds weren't closed you could see right in. I heard they had to put window film on hers to block the nightly view.

I think for the Company cast recording they scheduled Stritch last because they knew she would pull some shit and delay the entire recording session.

Are we supposed to be able to smell the body odor from the fifth row?

I loved both Lena Horne's and Elaine's one-woman shows, but comparing them is like comparing chalk and cheese. Moving on: Anyone seen Art or Godot or Punch?

Actually, R555, it is standard procedure to save the solos for the end of the session. You have to pay everyone an extra rate for studio time, so you always plan to record the big chorus numbers first -dismissing performers as you go along to reduce the cost of the session. At the end you have the orchestra and the stars who have solo numbers, and sometimes you record the orchestra so you can send them home and just have the stars. Orchestral numbers like overtures are usually done first thing as a warm-up for the players while the singers are getting settled in and ready.

A friend of mine saw ART last week, R557, and he absolutely hated it -So I'm thinking it must be pretty good. (This friend has terrible taste...)

I won't get to see this production, but I saw the play in London four times and loved it.

Fasten...

That new play version of Dog Day Afternoon starring Jon Bernthal and Ebon Moss-Whatsit seems like a guaranteed hit, worthy of investors' dough.

R549, I heard a rumor (well, I'm just making this up) that Barry Williams has put out feelers that he's looking to play Dimitri Weismann in any upcoming revivals of Follies!

[quote] Can "obsessives about Stritch, Merman, Audra and Bernadette" please start your own thread.

Apologies. Shall we resume our roundtable discussion on occult themes in Strindberg's later works?

[quote]I heard a rumor (well, I'm just making this up) that Barry Williams has put out feelers that he's looking to play Dimitri Weismann in any upcoming revivals of Follies!

And his brother Jesse can play Ben.

[quote] And his brother Jesse can play Ben.

"I'll tell you fascinating tales of my adventures, make you laugh..." *dicks flops out*

Is anyone else watching The Sound of Music on TCM? HAPPY BIRTHDAY JULIE!

Speaking of Betty, just found this gem! Betty and Bonnie at The Muny!

R557 - I have seen all three productions. Anything in particular you would like to know about them?

I have it on good authority that Barry WIlliams has signed to play Buoso Donati in Il Trittico at the Met next season

Stritch was appalling in A Little Night Music. Just godawful. Worse, I had seen Angela Lansbury do that same part properly just a few months prior.

That said, let's give her her due. She was fucking brilliant in A Delicate Balance. And At Liberty was top-notch entertainment from start to finish. She may have been difficult, but she wasn't dull.

I have it on good authority that Barry Williams will be playing Elaine Stritch in “The Dry Years: Bigger, Better, Bolder.”

Was Ben Gazzara gay? I don’t understand why he would date Stritch except for a beard situation.

Barry Williams turned 71 on Tuesday. WOW. Someone on FB posted photos of him on the beach when he was 20, filming the Hawaii scenes for TBB. Wow - what a body on him as a young man.

Funnily enough if Ben Gazzara was gay, Stritch definitely had a type because she left him for Rock Hudson!

[quote]she left him for Rock Hudson!

Girl got around.

If you're bored (like me) check ticket availability for Queen of Versailles. Tons of empty seats. The producers must be concerned and pissed off. It will be gone by January 1st.

Anyone Can Whistle '95

below info/ link may refer to clip above R567

Lauren Bacall opened in the national tour of the musical Applause in St. Louis during the week of September 20–25, 1971, at the American Theatre.

Bacall performed in the show's original Broadway run from 1970 to 1971 before touring with the production. The tour featured a nearly identical cast and creative team, though it was eventually beset by poor attendance and ended early.

Can you imagine if a big movie star did a tour of a musical these days and it closed early due to poor attendance?

I believe Applause did play the MUNY 1971

July 5–11: Applause – Lauren Bacall

July peformance dates would explain the swimming pool footage

[quote]The tour featured a nearly identical cast and creative team, though it was eventually beset by poor attendance and ended early.

I'm confused, r578. If that tour ended early, why would they have sent out the Eleanor Parker tour?

The tour started doing poorly when Bacall left and Eleanor Parker replaced her. Sad but true. Anne Baxter had a great success replacing Bacall on Broadway but it closed one month after Arlene Dahl took over.

I loved At Liberty! When disciplined, Stritch can hold the audience in the palm of her hands

Unfortunately, soon afterwards, Bea Arthur’s one woman show was presented on Bway. Any other time, it would have been heralded but, in comparison to At Liberty, it was just fluff.

Bacall's departure wasn't noted at r578.

I saw that production at the Muny.

Elaine knew this show was *her* legacy, r583, plus there was no one for her to upstage.

Yeah, that's definitely The Muny. You can tell those were the old lights and the set is not a touring set.

Who played Eve in that post-Broadway tour? I don't think that's Penny Fuller.

Patrice Munsel did a bus and truck of Applause. And I think Pia Zadora was in it though not sure who she played.....

R589, she played Pia. No, really. The character that Bonnie Franklin played was named Bonnie and they just kept changing the name to whichever actress was playing the part. The part is now officially "Bonnie". I'll bet Pia was really good.

R588. Virginia Sandifur (FOLLIES!) was Eve but Penny Fuller said in an interview that she was too young and not working and they begged her to join the tour. I think Penny played SF and LA. Penny also said she loved Bacall and they remained close friends.

Alexis did Margo in '73.

Knowing Alexis' proclivities, I'm sure she did, R592. And a few other women as well!

[quote]Elaine knew this show was *her* legacy, [R583], plus there was no one for her to upstage.

And yet it was the Brits who filmed the show and not the Americans. The Brits love their brash fishwives.

I saw Alexis Smith in Applause at the Kenley Players in 1973. I barely remember Smith, but I do remember Zadora popping out of a box (I remember her largely because at the time I'd never seen the name Pia, never mind Zadora.) If I'd gone back five years later I could have seen Barry Williams and Maxene Andrews in Pippin.

[quote]I barely remember Smith

Well, *that's* sad.

r583 I've never seen "At Liberty" but I loved Bea Arthur's one-woman show.

I did see At Liberty, and it was an amazingly memorable night of theatre. It's easy to dismiss Stritch when all you really know of her are anecdotes and YouTube clips. She was a force on the stage -absolutely magnetic. I never saw Merman, but those who did say she was the same. It's really hard for later generations to understand the power of stage stars of yore. Even if they were filmed, film never comes across the same -and performing styles change and evolve over time. Film performances are eternal, but stage performances are truly ephemeral.

I sat in almost the last row in the balcony for At Liberty.

She was mesmerizing even that far away

R571, you wrote, I have it on good authority that Barry Williams will be playing Elaine Stritch in “The Dry Years: Bigger, Better, Bolder.”

I thought the show was, "Elaine Stritch in “The Dry Years: Blind, Bitchy, Blotto (what dry years?)." But I'd big bucks to see Barry belt out Ladies Who Lunch!