New York City: May 2005 Archives
Well, well, well...what a fantastic evening!
Tonight at Hurley's was the NYMF 2005 Creative Team Mixer AND I'VE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN...
We talked to a MILLION people, and it was very exciting to see how many people want to work on Plane Crazy.
Right now, Plane Crazy is looking for a Director -- here's a quick description:
We are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall movies on DVD *and* VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to see Down With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray and The Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.
We are interviewing this week, so if you're interested please let me know asap...send an e-mail to suzy at planecrazythemusical dot com
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OK, I'll admit that this week might be getting the best of me...
I'm in NY for a party Tuesday night...then back in Toronto for Wednesday...then back to NY for Thursday and the Tonys...and not sure WHEN I'll get back to Toronto.
I'm busy apartment and Director hunting in NY, and trying to explain to my family why I won't see them for he rest of the year...
And you know what? I don't remember the time when I had this much fun...
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From this article in Playbill:
Melissa Errico, the soprano most recently on Broadway in Dracula, will offer a free concert at The Living Room June 6.
Errico will premiere songs from her upcoming solo album, which she will record this summer with composer Michel Legrand. Show time is 8 PM.
Melissa Errico began her professional career portraying Cosette in Les Misérables, and she followed with leading roles in Anna Karenina, My Fair Lady, High Society, Amour, Dracula and the City Center Encores! productions of Call Me Madam and One Touch of Venus. She appeared in a production of Threepenny Opera at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Errico's recent Off-Broadway credits include Finian's Rainbow and Aunt Dan and Lemon. She will also star in the Hollywood Bowl presentation of Camelot Aug. 14. Errico's debut solo recording is titled "Blue Like That."
The Living Room is located in Manhattan at 154 Ludlow Street. Although there is no cover, there is a $5 suggested donation as well as a one-drink minimum. Visit www.livingroomny.com for more information.
This show sounds like a blast...and it's free...and I'm in New York...I'm in!
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In an article in the Sunday New York Times("How Do You Spell Smackdown" by Jesse McKinley The New York Times, Sunday, May 22, 2005) the drama for best new musical was described as a David and Goliath showdown.
According to the article:
For a while, it was all so simple: the big-money musical almost always won big at the Tony Awards. Then came "Avenue Q". For those not steeped in Broadway legend, about this time last year, Tony watchers were convinced that "Wicked", a $14 million crowd pleaseer with $1 million a week in sales was going to win best musical. But in a furry little heartbeat, there was a surprise: "Avenue Q", a quirky Off-Broadway puppet musical that had jumped to Broadway, won. It was an upset that thrilled anyone who ever rooted for an underdog, and perhaps more important, it changed the way people look at the Tony game.
Hmm...I thought Avenue Q went straight to Broadway, but maybe I'm wrong...
Anyways, the big brute this year is Spamalot "the brand name with the $27 million advance" and the little guy is another(?) little Off-Broadway musical that made its way to the big time:The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The interesting angle here is that David Stone, one of the leading producers of last year's Goliath, Wicked, is "back in the race with this year's potential David, Spelling Bee.
The article goes on to say:
"A lot of people think David Stone got robbed last year", (BB Editor: Not to mention Stephen Schwartz!) said one major Broadway producer, who has no money in either show but would not allow his name to be used because he doesn't want to offend either camp. "And I think that feeds a Spamalot backlash".
Oh, the intrigue...the s-u-s-p-e-n-s-e!
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OK, this is my last Plane Crazy post for a while...promise.
Finally, I can stop blowing my own horn. In today's Toronto Star (New Link, New York by Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star May 25, 2005) Richard Ouzounian talks aboutPlane Crazy and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Front page of the Arts & Entertainment section, no less! I must say, it is very, very cool to see your name in print (especially when it's for something good!).
Here's a bit of the article:
Two musicals with Toronto clout behind them have been selected for the "New Links" program of the prestigious New York Musical Theatre Festival, taking place in Manhattan next September. Plane Crazy is a musical by Toronto-based Suzy Conn that will be presented by independent producer Michael (Game Show) Rubinoff. The author describes it as "a fun, upbeat musical about feminism set against the backdrop of glamour and innocent sex appeal of the swinging '60s jet age. A time when Stews Were Sexy and the World Was Sexist.
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is the largest musical theatre event in North American, with 141 events across 26 venues, 46 concerts, 332 performances, 7 seminars, 39 movies, and almost 1,000 performers and musicians.
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I'm still shaking with excitement now that it's official: And I just wanted to make sure that I had mentioned to everyone thatPlane Crazy IS GOING TO BE INNYMF 2005! YIPPEE KI EH! YEAH! w00h00! ALRIGHT, OUTTA SIGHT!
I'm skin tight and ready to fight: We're going to put on an awesome show!
Most exciting of all, Playbill posted the list of Next Link shows today in this article...and there I am. Wow, my name inPlaybill. Finally! Here's a taste:
The New York Musical Theatre Festival has announced the 18 jury-selected musicals that will be part of the Next Link Project of the fest, to be held September 12 to October 2 in midtown Manhattan.
"After reviewing almost 400 scripts -- nearly double last year's submissions -- the NYMF selection committee has chosen a fresh, diverse collection of new musicals to be presented," according to the May 24 announcement.
The Next Link works are production-ready scripts that will receive full stagings for a handful of performances in repertory in the hope that NYMF is "the next link" to a wider regional or commercial life.
The Producer for Plane Crazy at NYMF 2005 is Michael Rubinoff (based in Toronto), and the Associate Producer is Kendra Bator (based in NYC).
Right now, we are looking for a Director. Specifically, we are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randallmovies on DVD and VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to seeDown With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray andThe Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.
We also need a great Casting Director, with the same "gets it" qualifications.
If you're interested, send me an e-mail at suzy at blogwaybaby dot com
You can order Plane Crazy merchandise off the Plane Crazy Web site. And buy a ticket! Come see a great show!
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HOLY CRAP!
I haven't been this excited about news since I found out I was pregnant (both times). But this time my baby is Plane Crazy: A true work of love if there ever was one.
Here's the lowdown: Plane Crazy has been accepted into the Next Link Project at the New York Musical Theater Festival. Of 325 submissions, only 18 musicals are chosen to be in the Next Link Project.
As Blogway Baby readers know, Plane Crazyis a fun, upbeat musical about the modern women's movement set against the backdrop of glamour and innocent sex appeal of the swinging '60s jet age. A time When Stews Were Sexy and the World Was Sexist (TM).
This year's Next Link jury included Rob Ashford (Tony winning Choreographer forThoroughly Modern Millie), Thomas Cott (former Artistic Director of Musical Theater Works), Joanna Gleason (Tony winner for Into the Woods, currently in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Kevin McCollum (Producer of Avenue Q and Rent), Susan H. Schulman (Director of Little Women,The Secret Garden and The Sound of Music), and Jack Viertel (Creative Director, Jujamcyn Theaters; Artistic Director, City Center Encores!).
The show will be produced in late September, in New York, as part of the Festival.
NYMF is the largest musical theatre event in the world. The core of the Festival are the eighteen new musicals for NYMF's Next Link Project, but the Festival also includes a staggering 141 events across 26 venues, 46 concerts, 332 performances, 7 seminars, 39 movies and almost 1000 performers and musicians.
NYMF was recently recognized with the prestigious 2004 Jujamcyn Theatres Award, given annually to a "resident theater organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre."
At least seven of last year's Next Link shows have been optioned by commercial producers and/or are planning off-Broadway or other runs.
I'm going to enjoy this news for a couple of days, and then I will start "officially freaking out" with production logistics.
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I had the great pleasure of being invited to and attending a special blogger meeting in New York on Sunday. One of the producers of Little Women, Scott Freiman, and Kaliya Hamlin, a blogger who worked on setting up the Little Women cast blog (see myprevious post) invited a group of female and theater bloggers to come and see a matinee of Little Womenand then have a dinner after. Unlike Blogway Baby, most of the blogs represented were not theater-specific blogs. The attending blogs included:
Elayne Riggs' Reality-Based Journal
Betsy Devine: Funny Ha-Ha or Funny Peculiar?
The reason for the blog meeting was that Scott Freiman was pioneering a blog advertising strategy for Little Women.
Little Women is not an expensive show (relatively speaking) coming in at about $5.6million. It sounds like a lot but compared to the $14 million of a Wicked or a Spamalot, it is cheap. However, that doesn't leave a lot for traditional forms of advertising. So Scott was hoping to build enough blogging buzz over the summer so that when the kids go back to school in September tickets sales wouldn't completely evaporate.
Unfortunately, the 3pm matinee that we saw was the closing show on Broadway. I guess they just couldn't make it work financially. However, the tour starring Maureen McGovern (but notSutton Foster) will start in August and the cast blog will turn into a touring blog. The closing came as a bit of a surprise for everyone (so what else is new!) and some of the touring show had already been cast before they knew the Broadway production was kaput, so some of the Broadway cast is left without jobs. Tough business.
I have never been to a closing show before. The atmosphere was electric. The audience could hardly contain themselves as each cast member entered for the first time. I must say the cast was spectacular. Maureen McGovern sounded amazing, as did Sutton Foster. Sutton Foster was great at Jo March -- you could feel her energy desperately trying to get out from under those long weighty dresses of the times. It was like she was trying hard not to break into a tap number from Thoroughly Modern Millie! But every member of the cast was fab -- every voice was beautiful, really. And at the end, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.
After the cast had taken their bows Sutton Foster gave a short speech (Maureen McGovern was already crying her eyes out by this point) thanking everyone involved with the show onstage and behind the scenes. Then she introduced Donny Beck (at least I think that is his name, I had a hard time making it out through Sutton's teary delivery) the House electrician who was retiring in a month and who had spent 46 years in the business with 60 shows. She said what an honor it was for Little Women to be his last show. And then I started crying and I didn't even know this guy.
Then we headed over with Scott Freiman to Angus McIndoe, the restaurant right next door to The St James Theatre where The Producers is playing. Angus McIndoe includes as its investors Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Tom Meehan, and Frank McCourt! It was a great evening, talking Little Women and blogs!
Best of luck with the Little Women tour!
In my opinion, every 9-year old girl in America should see this musical...can a tie-in toAmerican Girl be far behind?
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I got my half-price ticket at TKTS for La Cage Aux Folles. Great seat, third row!
Boy is this show ever full of Jerry Herman-esque numbers! Uh...wait a minute...that's because it's by Jerry Herman (and Harvey Fierstein who wrote the book)! This show is nominated in four categories for the 2005 Tonys including Best Revival and Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Gary Beach (or was that actress...)
Robert Goulet has recently joined the cast as Georges and his voice is in spectacular form. Listening to him sing, it's really hard to believe he is 72. He has a really nice feeling of being totally relaxed and comfortable on stage and he plays the straight man beautifully. Only a bit of stiffness in his movement suggests he's been at this a long time.
I also really wanted to see Gary Beach as Albin, since I missed him in The Producers as Roger Debris. Albin was played by Nathan Lane in the American movie version of La Cage Aux Folles, called The Birdcagewhich WASN'T a musical, but WAS directed by Mike Nichols who is up for a Tony this year for his direction of Spamalot, which IS a musical...and of course you know Gary and Nathan played together in The Producers.
It was great seeing Gary in a leading role -- his voice is fabulous and he is very funny with great physical humor. I also feel like I got to see a bit of Roger Debris up there on stage last night. (BTW, in Gary's bio in the program it said that the movie version of The Producers is coming out in December: I can't wait!)
However, it was Les Cagelles who stole the show. These are the gender-bending chorus line of male dancers dressed as women who perform in Georges' club.
Holy Transvestite Batman, those guys are amazing!
Kudos to the choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, who is also nominated for a Tony. These guys combined the power and athleticism of male dancers with the flexibility and style and sexiness of female dancers. And they had to do it in heels!
The stage has been extended so the orchestra is exposed in the middle of the stage by two holes (like two nostrils). In one scene the dancers jump over these two holes and land on the other side in splits. You don't hear an audience gasp often, but they did last night. And of courseWilliam Ivey Long went to town on the costumes which garnered him a Tony nom as well.
I have to admit it is not my favorite Jerry Herman score. I think "We Are What We Are" is my fav number. In my opinion, it is not as melodically memorable as his most famous works,Mame and Hello Dolly!. And perhaps not as lyrically clever as the subject matter would suggest. And while the book is very funny, the shock factor has gone out of the subject matter and setting (at least for me), so it really has to stand as a typical love story and clash of the in-laws kind of story. Maybe that's where I felt I wanted more from the score.
Having said all that, I had a really good time, and so did the rest of the audience -- so who's complaining? I also get to cross Robert Goulet and Gary Beach off my "must see live" list.
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I think every writer, producer, director, and performer should stand on line at TKTS once in while. Today I waited an hour (not bad really given what a beautiful day it was). I enjoy my waiting time as I get to people-watch and people-listen (I guess that's also called eavesdropping!)
The conversations range from the devoted theater fan (discussing the dialogue by Edward Albee in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf -- do Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin do it justice?) to the tourist fresh off the bus (Isn't Mamma Mia! that musical with songs by that Australian group ABBA? No silly, it's Danish!)
A lot of people want to see really well-known musicals, like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and Chicago. Stand on line for a while and you get a much better appreciation of why producers want well-known stars in their shows, like Christina Applegate.
It seemed as if everyone on line who was waiting for Sweet Charity tickets had never heard of the show, and they just wanted to see the Married With Children TV star.
Given that, I'm really curious as to whether hiring those people who walk up and down the lines handing out flyers really makes a difference. Are people open to seeing something that isn't on their short list? Inquiring minds want to know!
Movin' Out, which I absolutely loved, often gets a bum wrap since it is "just dancing and no talking at all...". Chicago is often criticized by people who have seen the movie first and then were disappointed by the sparseness of simplicity of the stage production ("it was kinda plain...I liked the movie better because it had more chairs and stuff...")
Actually I've heard this comment many times before standing on line at TKTS. Is it because people have forgotten why we go to see live theater or is it because producers have been training people to expect lavish visual spectacle and special effects?
This is the varied nature of a Broadway audience -- sophisticated theater fan to clueless tourist. Not everyone is on the same page. But they all want to see a show and they are all willing to line up and wait an hour to have the chance to pay $50 for a ticket. God bless 'em all!
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According to this article in Playbill, The Donald (not O'Connor, the other one...) sings "I'm gonna wash that contestant right outta my hair and send 'em on his way" instead of saying "you're fired"!
No, this is not a task for the contestants on the TV show The Apprentice wherein they have to produce a Broadway show in one day. They are actually doing The Apprentice on Broadway! Apparently it will be a love story set within the reality show. Interesting idea. I'm curious to see who they get to write it...
Here's my submission for consideration:
How are things on The Apprentice?(sung to the tune of "How are Things in Glocca Morra?")
How are things on The Apprentice?
Are the guys and gals still fighting there?
Will there be a song about the task,
and need I ask,
applause for Donald's hair?
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I'm so excited that I'm going to the Tonys this year, but here's my big question: Will I recognize her without the green make-up?
Today, Playbill announced that Idina Menzel will be a celebrity presenter at the 2005 Tony Awards.
In this article, they went on to say:
Idina Menzel, who won a Tony Award last season for her performance as Elphaba in Stephen Schwartz's "Wicked", will be among the celebrity presenters at the 2005 Tony Awards.
The actress, who will also appear in the May 18 episode of the UPN series "Kevin Hill," announced the news on her official website. Menzel will also be seen in the upcoming screen adaptation of "Rent", reprising her stage role as Maureen. That film is set to hit theatres in November.
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It looks like Billy Crystal's admonishment to theater goers (Billy Crystal to Cellphone Users: "Stick It Up Your Ass") has worked: 700 Sundays has been extended until June 12. Read more in this articlefrom Playbill:
Billy Crystal's 700 Sundays has announced it will extend on Broadway through June 12. The theatre's next tenant, Lennon, will bump its start to July 7 and opening to Aug. 4.
Tickets for the final extension will go on sale May 17 at 10 AM.
"Billy's been delighting audiences with 700 Sundays and we congratulate him on his enormous success," producer Allan McKeown said in a release. "We fully understand his desire to extend a few weeks. We look forward to moving into the Broadhurst Theatre with Lennon after he has completed his successful run."
The musical Lennon recently announced that it would skip its scheduled Boston run following its world premiere at San Francisco's Orpheum Theatre and head right to New York for previews starting June 28 and the original opening night, July 28.
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