December 2007 Archives

Nothing says Christmas like Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's festive JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR. I remember listening to JCSS on Christmas day when I was a kid and the album first came out in 1970. I was only seven and those opening electric guitar strains totally freaked me out (they still do).

So this Christmas, to get our kids in the holiday mood, we took the kids to see this wonderful holiday classic at The Paramount. I was especially excited since the first time I saw this musical on stage was back in '93 in Toronto when I was pregnant with my first child. She kept kicking during the show, so I thought it was only fair that she see it from the outside this time.

I was delighted to find out that Ted Neeley was once again playing Jesus. He was Jesus in the Toronto production I saw back in '93, and of course in the Norman Jewison 1973 film. Incredibly, he is 67 years old and can still wail like, well, like the son of God. He is so wonderfully calm and majestic on stage, and beautifully takes his time with each lyric. It turns out that Ted Neeley has spent much of his career playing Jesus:

From this Wikipedia entry:

"Ted Neeley is best known for his vocal range and his role in Norman Jewison's 1973 film Jesus Christ Superstar. In the Broadway version of the stage musical he was the Christ understudy, and in the Los Angeles stage version he played the title role of Jesus Christ. In 1969 Mr. Neeley played the lead role of Claude in both the New York and Los Angeles productions of Hair.

Ted Neeley released a solo album in 1974, called "1974 A.D.". He was a frequent musical guest star on network variety programs and as a guest actor in network dramas during the 1970s and 1980s.

Twenty years after first playing the role, Mr. Neeley gained renewed success, and a new generation of fans, in the lead role of Jesus Christ in the 1990s touring company of Jesus Christ Superstar. This modernized version of the original production included a day-glow temple scene, and a glass crucifixion cross that elevated above the stage and was lit from within. From 1992 to 1997, the hugely successful tour criss-crossed the nation multiple times.

As of 2007, Neeley is in the middle of yet another critically acclaimed production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Billed as his national "farewell" tour of playing the role of Jesus Christ, this new production is a stripped down version with staging and set limited to a few risers."

We all came prepared with earplugs, but the sound on this production was good -- not too loud. It was a fairly sparse production, but that didn't take away from the music and the performances. Tiffini Dodson as Mary Magdelene was terrific and the supporting cast was great.

However, I didn't love Aaron Fuksa's (King Herod) mugging or his breaking the fourth wall, although the audience did seem to love it. And I can't say I loved Corey Glover as Judas. He is famous for being the lead singer of the band Living Color, but spent way too much time riffing away from Lloyd Weber's melodies, and didn't seem quite desperate enough. Of course, in all fairness, I'll never get the amazing rendition of Judas done by Carl Anderson in the movie out of my head.

Needless to say Jesus ascended to heaven after the crucifixion. However, everytime I see actors lifted up on wires the only thought that goes through my mind is: "Oh God don't let them fall, Oh God don't let them fall". Thankfully, He didn't let me down.

We spent the rest of the afternoon singing songs from the show while doing some last-minute Christmas shopping in Pacific Place.

Technorati tags: Broadway Musicals Musical Theatre Musical Theater Movie Musicals Theatre Theater American Theatre American Theater New York City The Fabulous Invalid Times Square

I went to see the review LOVE IS LOVE at The Village Theatre First Stage. LOVE IS LOVE is a new musical revue conceived and directed by Martin Charnin (yes, he of ANNIE fame!). It was written by Catherine Lloyd Burns, Martin Charnin, Larry Doyle, Martha Moffett, Ellen Pall, Richard Reiss, Debra Spar and Ayelet Waldman, with music and lyrics by Richard Gray and Martin Charnin.

This is an entertaining musical review about the different aspects of love, the different forms it takes, and what we'll do to get it. LOVE IS LOVE stars an incredibly talented cast of four women: Shelly Burch, Ann Evans, Charity Parenzini, and Maggie Stenson. Apparently, the show has been already been through two test-runs at The Village Theatre, and one at the Moore Theatre in Seattle, and have re-worked and re-vamped and re-sequenced the material for over a year.

When you read Martin Charnin's bio in the program, you'll find yourself thinking about how little you've done with your own life! This is what appeared in the program and it's frikkin' incredible:

Originated the role of "Big Deal" in the Broadway production of WEST SIDE STORY, singing "Gee, Officer Krupke" for 1,000 performances. Subsequently, he has been the director, lyricist, composer, librettist, or combination of the aforementioned for over 100 production sincluding ANNIE WARBUCKS, JOAN OF ARC, LOOSE LIPS, IN PERSONS, THE FLOWERING PEACH, CAN-CAN, CAFÉ CROWN, MIKE, THE FIRST, ON THE SWING SHIFT, A LITTLE FMAILY BUSINESS, MATA HARI, THE NATIONAL LAMPOON SHOW, LENA HORN: THE LADY AND HER MUIC, I REMMBER MAMA (Music by Richard Rodgers), STRIKE UP THE BAND, and in London, BAR MITZVAH BOY, three productions of ANNIE, and a revival of BLESS THE BRIDE. His Tony Award-winning ANNIE, which he wrote the lyrics for, created and directed, is the 21st longest-running musical in Broadway history. He has directed ANNIE's nine national companies as well as companies in Amsterdam and Australia. He has collaborated with and directed among others, Peter Allen, Harold Arlen, Marvin Hamlish, Alan Jay Lerner, Fred Astaire, Ann Margaret, Danny Kaye, Johnny Mathis, Bill Murray, Bebe Newirth, Bernadette Peters, Sarah Jessica parker,Gilda Radner, Chita Rivera, Susan Sarandon, Joan Rivers, Jon Stuart, Shirley MacLaine, Barbra Streisand, Carol Burnett, and even Catherine Zeta-Jones ("Molly" in the first London production of annie in 1978). He has conceived and directed seven musical-variety television programs, including Anne Bancroft in THE WOMEN IN THE LIFE OF A MAN, GEORGE M, 'S WONDERFUL, 'SMARVELOUS, 'S GERSHWIN, COLE PORTER IN PARIS, GET HAPPY, DAMES AT SEA, and THE ANNIE CHRISTMAS SHOW. He has received two Tony Awards, six Grammy Awards, three Emmy Awards, three Gold Records, two Platinum Records, six Drama Desk Awards, the Peabody Award for Broadcasting and another Grammy Award for Jay-Z's rap album Hard Knock Life. His writing a musical (Score by the late Harold Arlen), ROBIN HOOD, with Thomas Meehan and Peter Sipos, and a one-woman musical for his wife and former ANNIE "Star-to-Be", Shelly Burch, THERE'S ALWAYS ONE MORE SONG TO SING. In the Pacific Norhwest, where he now resides, in 2007 he directed SHADOWLANDS at Village Theatre, and Rodgers & (a concretized tribute to his former collaborator).

Whew!

I particularly like the title number, LOVE IS LOVE, and the hilarious "Share our Joy" monolgoue by Larry Doyle, which involves both Lamas and cocaine. 'Nuff said.

I do hope the show continues to have a life. I did have one question, and that is why aren't there any men in the show? Why just the female perspective? I'd love to be able to ask Martin that! Maybe we'll meet up for coffee in Issaquah…

Technorati tags: Broadway Musicals Musical Theatre Musical Theater Movie Musicals Theatre Theater American Theatre American Theater New York City The Fabulous Invalid Times Square




 

OK, forget what I said about Seattle audiences not responding to the Jersey-isms.

Last night's audience went nuts at every Jersey reference. And, I had to fight hundreds of women for the "most embarrassing arms waving and screaming" award during the show.

All I can say is it was a party!  The cast was in exceptional voice as well and were really "on", feeding off the audience energy.

Run out and buy a ticket before they are all gone. You won't be sorry -- my hand to God!

Opening night at the 5th Avenue Theatre was the fourth time I've seen JERSEY BOYS. My "first time" was November 2005. It hadn't been open for too long so I was able to get a really good ticket on the day of the show. The crowd must have been entirely from New Jersey because every time there was a reference to "Jersey" there was huge applause and woohooing.

In New York, whenever they talked about "...we put Jersey on the map...", or a "...Jersey Contract...", the crowd went wild. And when Bob Gaudio talks about how their fans weren't wearing flowers in their hair or trying to levitate the Pentagon, but were flipping burgers, shipping out, or pumping gas, the crowd went wild. It was quite something to see that 'hood reaction!

Seeing it in Seattle was slightly different.

Don't get me wrong, by the end of the show everyone is dancing and screaming and loving it. But understandably, some of the Jersey-isms were met with a more understated reaction. Perhaps because the Seattle audience members were the people who had tried to levitate the Pentagon!

This is a great production! I loved it and was so glad to get a chance to see the show again. It really is well crafted and runs like clockwork. Everyone in the cast is terrific -- Christopher Kale Jones as Franki Valli (just curious, is it a requirement that the actor who plays Franki Valli must have a triple barrel name?), Deven May as Tommy Devito, Erich Bergen as Bob Gaudio and Erik Bates as Nick Massi.

The ensemble is fabola as well and they all play multiple roles (it's hard to believe that there are only three women in the cast). I especially liked John Altieri as Bob Crewe. And all the Jersey Boys were so friendly at the opening night party, taking time to chat with fans such as myself. And the original Broadway Jersey Boys were the same way -- really friendly and down to earth and willing to take pictures with fans and chat. Must be a Jersey thing.

However, I have to agree with Misha Berson's review in The Seattle Times that the sound was a tad loud at times, which is unusual for the 5th Avenue Theatre which aways has great sound.  As she mentioned in her review, "...with the volume cranked up high (on a few tunes, make that assaultively high), this music struts along to a pugnacious beat."

I'm off to see it again tonight (that makes five times)! Hurry and get your tickets, 'cuz if you don't see it you'll find out that Big Girls Do Cry!

Okay, this looks like the most amazing frikkin' concert ever. Daniel Reichard, classic American Songbook songs, Black and White television Christmas specials…these are a few of my favorite things!
 
I loved Daniel Reichard in JERSEY BOYS (which I saw three times in New York), and had a super blast at his NYMF midnight Kegger concert , so I can't believe I'm going to miss his Black and White Christmas concert again. I think I'm going to ask Santa for tickets to next year's concert!
 
From the Broadwayworld.com article:
 

Daniel Reichard, who stars as Bob Gaudio in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical, Jersey Boys, will appear in his own concert entitled "Daniel Reichard: Christmas in Black and White" at The Metropolitan Room (34 West 22nd St., between 5th & 6th Ave) on Monday, December 17 at 9:30 PM.

"Christmas in Black and White" brings us back to the unforgettable music of the Great American Songbook.  Backed by a chamber band wearing only their finest black and white threads, Daniel will sing his favorite tunes by Gershwin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Johnny Mercer, Lerner and Loewe, Rodgers and Hart, and others! The show reflects on the feeling you would get from watching those classic black-and-white Christmas specials.  As the evening progresses, the show turns to color, and a celebration of the holiday season will begin.

Tickets to "Christmas in Black and White" are $30.00 each plus a 2 beverage minimum. Reservations can be made by calling The Metropolitan Room at 212-206-0440.

 Boy, I miss New York.

My favorite Sondheim show!

INTO THE WOODS is the show that got me loving Stephen Sondheim. The first time I saw it was in Toronto, in a production starring Louise Pitre as the Witch. It was love at first sight. Not only were his words masterful (duh!) but the melodies really swept me away.

I laughed, I cried, I tried to keep up! After that I've seen the DVD of the Broadway production starring Bernadette Peters as the Witch, oh, about a thousand times.

Joanna Gleason as the Baker's Wife is incredible (she won a Tony for her performance). And Bernadette was truly fantastic. Yes she could be humorous at times, but she always portrayed a weightiness that made what she said matter to the other characters and to the audience, whether she was ugly or beautiful.

I saw the 5th Avenue Theatre-produced INTO THE WOODS on Opening Night, which was very exciting (duh!). What a great show, with great production values. The whole cast was fabulous, the music was fabulous, and it had a fabulous set, creating the perfect "woods" effect. (After all, these guys spend a fair bit of time running in, out, and about the woods!).

In this production, Little Red Riding Hood was cast as a young girl (the extremely talented Ireland Woods. Boy, she has the most amazing name ever!) instead of a girl on the verge of womanhood. The audience loved her, but it did add some new dimensions to her scenes with the Wolf, and with Jack. I've always seen Jack and Red as sort of the same age, both verging on adulthood, and then coming together to help one another at the end of the show.

Also new to me was Milky White being played by a real person (Eric Brotherson). I loved this! It added so much more to the whole quest, and Eric was amazing on all fours for the whole show!

Congrats 5th Avenue!

THE WOMEN -- is that the name of the play, or a description of the audience?
 
That absolutely fabulous play, THE WOMEN written by Clare Boothe Luce, and directed by Warner Shook, is playing at ACT (A Contemporary Theatre) in Seattle until December 16. See this great gallery of videos, here.

I was lucky enough to see it yesterday in great seats (second row of the balcony…although my vertigo acted up a bit). We took the kids as well (tickets for students are only ten dollars!) and all had a wonderful "Jungle Red" time. And I could count the number of men in the audience on one hand!
 
My first memory of THE WOMEN was, of course, reading the MAD Magazine movie parody when I was young. I always remembered that one, so I jumped at the chance to see it live! Also, my oldest daughter's vocal coach, Anne Allgood plays Edith Potter in the play. Edith spends the entire show pregnant, or nursing, but that doesn't stop her from smoking and drinking. After all it is 1936! There's a hilarious bit when Edith blows ash off her newborn's nose. 'Nuff said!
 
This was an amazing show with amazing talent. This show brought together some of Seattle's finest female actors, including Anne Allgood as Edith Potter, Suzanne Bouchard as Mary Haines, Julie Briskman as Sylvia Fowler, Emily Cedergreen as Peggy Day, Deborah Fialkow as Miriam Aarons, Peggy Gannon as Maid, Elizabeth Huddle as Mrs. Morehed, Elise Hunt as Jane, Suzy Hunt as Countess de Lage, Laura Kenny as Miss Fordyce, Jennifer Lyon as Crystal Allen, Marianne Own as the Spa girl, and Anne Kennedy as part of the ensemble. Many of the women played mutiple roles as well.
 
And shout out to the scenic designer (Mathew Smucker) and the costume designer (David Zinn). The sets and costumes were unbelievable. Everyone even had a special "Jungle Red" curtain call outfit!
 
What intrigued me was how "not dated" the play felt, and how engaged the audience was. You could hear gasps, oohs and ahhs, cheers, and of course, laughter. I guess love, and war, are timeless!
 
Hurry up and get tickets before it closes!

 

Here they go again! My, my how can I resist it?

I just heard on the radio today about the impending movie musical version of MAMMA MIA! The following article came out in April, so I'm a tad behind the times:

Mamma Mia! First the musical, now a movie
Independent, The (London), Apr 20, 2006
by Louise Jury Arts Correspondent

When Abba fan Judy Craymer persuaded Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus to let her turn their back catalogue into the musical Mamma Mia!, no one predicted it would become a multi-million-pound international hit.

And now the blockbuster show is set to win an even wider audience on the big screen, after it caught the imagination of the actor Tom Hanks and his production business partner Gary Goetzman. Their company, Playtone, has signed a deal with Craymer and the Abba songwriters for a film version, scheduled for release late next year.

Catherine Johnson, who was an impoverished single mother when she wrote the original script, is to produce the screenplay, which will stick closely to the stage plot, Variety magazine reported yesterday.

The show tells the story of a young woman who, on the eve of her wedding, invites three men from her mother's past, any one of whom could be the father she has never known, back to the Greek island where she has been brought up. In a riotously entertaining evening, a couple of dozen Abba hits including "Dancing Queen" and "Take a Chance on Me" propel the narrative along.

Tom Hanks! Go figure! I'm betting Playtone will do a great job ("That Thing You Do" is one of my all-time favorite movies). And what is it with impoverished single mothers from England? First J.K. Rowling and now Catherine Johnson!

I was a humongous ABBA fan in high school, but didn't fall in love with the musical when I saw it in Toronto. The cast, including Louise Pitre, was great, but perhaps the ear-splitting volume dampened my enthusiasm. Maybe I just missed hearing ABBA sing their hits. Who knows? But I’m willing to give the movie version a chance to win me over...as long as they don't cast Uma Thurman as Donna!

Another new feature here at Blogway Baby: YAG.

That's right -- we'll be going back into the Blogway Baby archives and re-posting articles from the past. You'll see YAG, 2YAG, and 3YAG posts on a regular basis.

Back to the future, baby!

The League of American Theatres and Producers and Union One, the stagehand union) have reached a tentative agreement (no details have been made public, but I believe somebody has to give up their firstborn…).

Although the deal is not completely ratified yet, the stagehands have gone back to work, which means Broadway is open for business! Yeah, we finally have someone to draw the curtains!
 
To celebrate this momentous occasion, a free concert starring a myriad of Broadway stars was held at The Marquis Theatre at noon on Friday, November 30.
 
From this article in Playbill:

"A hush fell on the capacity crowd, who were all admitted free-of-charge, as the lights dimmed for the beginning of the celebratory event, which was simply titled Broadway's Back!

From the darkness came the familiar Drowsy Chaperone line, "I hate the theatre." Drowsy's Man in Chair (who, of course, loves the theatre) spiced his opening monologue with references to the strike, noting that Sophocles never had to worry about load-in costs, that he'd rather have been in the Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre for the new Tom Stoppard play (Rock 'n' Roll) than home watching "Heroes" and that the 19 days without Broadway were the "worst three weeks of my life." He concluded by announcing — to wild applause — "Broadway's long, dark night is over!" The lights came up to reveal Bob Martin, one of the Tony-winning creators of Drowsy Chaperone's creators and its original Man in Chair.

Martin went to his onstage refrigerator to see what he could offer the audience to drink, but it wouldn't open, so he called for help, which arrived from the wings — two stagehands (more applause). They were able to open the uncooperative appliance, which revealed two-time Tony winner Bernadette Peters inside.

Peters sat Martin back in his chair as she belted out "There's No Business Like Show Business" from Annie Get Your Gun (Peters performed that show on the Marquis stage a few years back). The fridge opened again, and (almost) all of Broadway poured forth, including cast members from A Chorus Line, Rock 'n' Roll, Spamalot, Young Frankenstein, Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Chicago, Jersey Boys, Hairspray, The Phantom of the Opera, Avenue Q, Rent, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Mamma Mia!, The Seafarer, Xanadu, Grease, The Drowsy Chaperone, Spring Awakening, Les Misérables, Legally Blonde and Wicked.

Cheyenne Jackson, Jonathan Groff, Max von Essen, Laura Bell Bundy and eventually the whole ensemble joined Peters in the Irving Berlin show-biz standard as a giant "Broadway's Back!" sign was displayed.

Man in Chair then took a few moments to chat with the folks filling his apartment. He spoke with the Jersey Boys about their first show back with a new Frankie Valli (Michael Longoria) and with Seth Fisher of Rock 'n' Roll about this season's plethora of plays. Martin was then interrupted by a knock at the door.

In walked Bob Saget, Drowsy's current Man in Chair, who said he'd heard music the other night, liked it and wondered if he could borrow the recording. "You can't just come over to someone's apartment and ask to borrow their Gypsy without specifying which one," Martin said. He finally ushered Saget out the door with a Linda Lavin bootleg, turned around and was interrupted by another knock ("David Hyde Pierce, David Hyde Pierce," fingers crossed).

The knock, however, came from none other than four-time Tony Award winner Angela Lansbury, who'd come to sing Mame's "We Need a Little Christmas" to give Broadway's holiday season a boost. Lansbury, in wonderful voice, began the classic tune and was then joined by Kerry Butler, Stephanie J. Block, Lea Michele and the whole ensemble, finishing with "Broadway's back in business now" as confetti fell through the entire theatre."

Boy, I miss New York.

Technorati tags: Broadway Musicals Musical Theatre Musical Theater Movie Musicals Theatre Theater American Theatre American Theater New York City The Fabulous Invalid Times Square

 

So, at this point I think the whole Internet has written about the Greenpeace "Mr. Splashy Pants" phenomenon.

Quick summary: Greenpeace started a "name the whale" poll: They included a list of glorious whale names, including the usual list of suspects and Hawaiian Sea Gods:

Aiko, Mira, Kaimana, Aurora, Shanti, Amal, Manami, Malaya, Sedna, Talei, Veikko, Cian, Anahi Echo, Paikea, Kigai, Yarrindi, Babu, Moya, Suzuki, Bumi, Gana, Nurani, Madiba

They also included the name "Mr. Splashy Pants".

Guess who the Web voted for? Yep, we can't elect a President, but boy -- we can name a whale "Mr. Splashy Pants" in two seconds flat.

Here are the current voting stats:































So, here's my contribution to the Mister Splashy Pants phenomenon -- Mr. Splashy Pants: THE MUSICAL! Here's the opening:

(Sung to the tune of "Fly Me To the Moon")

Mister Splashy Pants,
You need a name to call your own,
Humphrey, Libertad, Kaimana,   Shanti or Jerome,
In other words,
Who you are,
'Cause babycakes,
You're a star!

or

(Sung to the tune of "There's Nothing Like a Dame")

There ain't nothin' like a whale,
Nothing in the world,
Not a ferret, nor a quail,
No, there's nothing quite like a whale.

Technorati tags: Broadway Musicals Musical Theatre Musical Theater Movie Musicals Theatre Theater American Theatre American Theater New York City The Fabulous Invalid Times Square