Results tagged “Suzy Conn” from Blogway Baby
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Go, go, go Trinity!
I'm super duper excited about The 5th Avenue Theatre's JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT playing October 10 - November 1, 2009.
And it's not just because the show is super fun, and I've watched the Donny Osmond DVD a thousand times.
And it's not just because Anthony Fedorov (former American Idol runner-up) is playing Joseph.
And it's not just because the cast will be wearing spandex unitards and golden cow heads (I hope!).
No, no, no it's because my daughter, Trinity is in the children's choir! How cool is that! Over 150 kids auditioned and Trinity got in!
She's been in rehearsals twice a week since August... and things really heat up next week. Soon she'll be rehearsing every day! Luckily she has a few friends in the choir and we've put together a massively intricate carpool (actually the other moms have done most of the organizing, I just try to remember to show up when it's my turn!)
So, when JOSEPH starts, three out of four of the Conns will have been on the 5th Avenue Theatre stage -- Myrna was a performance intern in HELLO DOLLY, I had a walk-on in HELLO DOLLY, and of course, Trinity is in JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT.
Now if I can jut get my husband Grad up there...
Stay tuned for more posts!
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We're back!
Yes, following last year's smash hit SAVE AS... (I get so many comments on that darn sweatshirt!) The Village Theatre's KIDSTAGE Company Originals program will be back for another exciting year of writing and performing an original musical! And I am pleased to announce that I will be back as Writing Mentor/Lyricist!
Here is the 411 from Suzie Bixler at The Village Theatre:
We are currently seeking writers and composers (ages 16-20) for our Company Originals program.
Company Originals is a program functioning out of Village’s KIDSTAGE division that produces theatre for young people by young people. For more than six years, Company Originals has produced shows using the best young talent in the area as writers and performers. Company Originals is also seen as a breeding ground for tomorrow’s top talents. In the last few years, Company Originals participants have gone on to college at Boston Conservatory, University of Washington, Tisch School of the Arts, University of Southern California Writing Program, Biola Film School, Cornish College of the Arts, Carnegie Mellon, Penn State, University of Arizona, College of Sante Fe, Occidental, Point Park, and many more, several on performing scholarships. Past participants have also performed locally at venues such as Village Theatre Mainstage, Seattle Children’s Theatre, 5th Avenue Theatre, Showtunes, The Paramount Theatre, Civic Light Opera, Seattle Public Theatre, and ACT.
KIDSTAGE Company Original productions are original musicals written by a student writing team, advanced performers, and emerging theatre artists. After a competitive audition process, students will create and perform their own original musical material under the mentorship and guidance of a professional writing, composing, and directing team. The program will culminate in a one night workshop to be performed on the Village Theatre Francis J. Gaudette Theatre. The process will also include additional workshop readings with musical theatre professionals and a Seattle school. The Company Originals production is written by, for, and about teens, and it addresses some of the most important issues facing teens today. Past original teen works include: trust me., Last Exit, In Your Eyes, A Perfect Fall, and Save As.
We are specifically looking for very committed writers and composers or those that are interested in learning more about these disciplines.
Writers will meet twice weekly (Mondays & Fridays) after school starting in October. Actors will join the process in January and a series of workshop readings starting with Seattle musical theatre professionals and a Seattle school will occur in February and March. The project will culminate with a staged reading of the musical on the Francis J. Gaudette Stage on Monday, April, 2010.
Tuition for the program is $500 (scholarships and work-exchange available for those who qualify.)
The application is due on September 18 and can be found on our website.
If you are interested in being an actor in the program, auditions will be in late November. Information will be posted on our web-site soon.
Thank-you!
Suzie Bixler
KIDSTAGE Programs Manager
Village Theatre
303 Front Street North
Issaquah, WA 98027
Office: (425) 392-1942 x147
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Wake Up and Smell the Bacon in Missouri! Or is that show me the bacon....
I am please to announce the production of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND at the State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Missouri! Yes, this November 2009 will see the return of Pigling Bland, Aunt Pettitoes and the whole crazy gang! This will be the third production of the musical that I (I being me, Suzy Conn) wrote (book/lyrics) with Mitchell Kitz (music), following a debut in Toronto (at the Toronto Fringe Festival), and a second production in Chicago at Theatre Building Chicago last summer.
THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND, based on the book by Beatrix Potter (no relation to Harry Potter), tells the story of the adventures of a young pig (Pigling Bland) who sets off to market with his younger brother, is interrogated by a policeman, pignapped by a farmer, teased and tormented by a cat and dog and eventually falls in love with a beautiful female pig . The two escape and....well... I can't give away the ending, now can I?
THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND will be directed by Eric Yazell, and is scheduled to run from November 16 to November 21, 2009 at the Stauffacher Center for the Fine Arts in Sedalia, MO!
And here's a bit of trivia -- turns out Sedalia, MO hosts the annual Scott Joplin Ragtime Festival!
More posts to come... oink!
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Dear Mister Mercer...
The 5th Avenue Theatre’s Adventure Musical Theatre (AMT) program put on a performance of my musical THE MERCER GIRLS for donors at Downstairs at the 5th on Tuesday May 12. Very, very exciting! The 5th Avenue Theatre commissioned me (Suzy Conn) to write the book, lyrics and music for a new musical based on the true story of The Mercer Girls, eleven women who travelled from the east coast to Seattle in 1864.
THE MERCER GIRLS is still on tour around Washington state schools, but the cast (Charissa Bertels, Jason Kappus, Christian Duhamel, Jon Lutyens, Anne Kennedy, Sara Parish, Elise Campello, and stage manager Jen Geisler) made a pit stop at DAT5 to do their 95th performance of the show!
We started with a lovely wine and cheese reception beforehand, and then David Armstrong and Bill Berry introduced the show, talking a bit about the AMT program in general, and THE MERCER GIRLS specifically. This is the 15th year of AMT, and in their first year they only performed at 20 schools!
It was great to see the amazing set again, and marvel at how the cast sets it up and packs it away after every performance and stuffs it into a van with all the costumes and props!
The show was awesome! The last time I saw THE MERCER GIRLS performed was back in the first week of the tour, and the show has gotten so much tighter and everything is humming along like a well-oiled musical machine! It was extremely rewarding to see the show so beautifully performed. They only have two more weeks of shows before the run is over. I’m going to miss this cast, so I’m definitely going to catch another school performance!
Thanks to the cast, crew and everyone involved at The 5th Avenue Theatre for making THE MERCER GIRLS a success!
Next year AMT will be touring JOURNEY WEST (the Lewis and Clark story) in rep with BEST OF NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF. I am proud to say that my musical version of LARRY GOT LOST IN SEATTLE made the cut and will be part of BEST OF NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF!
For more information and to book an AMT show at your school, contact Anya Rudnick at The 5th Avenue Theatre.
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An evening of song and dance with the fabulous Krystle Armstrong!
Krystle Armstrong is holding a “THOROUGHLY NEW YORK” evening of song and dance on Monday April 27th at 7:30pm at the Broadway Performance Hall (get your incredibly cheap $20 tickets now here ). Krystle, who most recently played Ermengarde in the 5th Avenue’s production of HELLO DOLLY, and also Belle in BEAUTY AND THE BEAST at Village Theatre, is a fabulously talented triple threat! She sings, she dances, and she acts (all for one low ticket price of $20)!
I first met Krystle when she taught my daughter Myrna tap, and then went on to work with her in the week long MERCER GIRLS workshop I did last Fall (she played Miss Annie May Adams). Krystle will be accompanied at the piano by Christian Duhamel another amazing performer who did the MERCER GIRL workshop, and is currently on tour with the Advenutre Musical Theatre production of MERCER GIRLS!
From her poster:
“Krystle Armstrong has performed at many of Seattle’s finest venues, including The 5th Avenue Theatre, Village Theatre, and Seattle Children’s Theatre. Come join her in an evening of story, song, and dance, with musical numbers from some of Krystle’s favorite roles, including “Gimme Gimme” from the hit show THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, “Someone To Watch Over Me”, a classic Gershwin favorite, and many more! This evening will be topped off with a surprise raffle, with items from from show tickets, to dinner for two at some of Seattle’s best restuarants!”
Krystle is trying to raise money to go to New York to pursue her dream of being on Broadway. So buy your tickets, and bring some cash to buy raffle tickets and have a ball!
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Dolly'll never go away again... Well, it's over folks. My time as a Performance Intern in the 5th Ave Theatre's production of Hello, Dolly! officially ended on March 29, 2009... Sad panda. However, it was a hectic and amazing month of performances that I will always remember!! I have learned so much from this experience, and I felt so privileged to be able to share the stage with some of Seattle's best talent :) Unfortunately, it was such a busy time that I was not able to make daily accounts of my adventures, but here is a wrap-up post that will summarize the crazy month I just had...
So, the day after opening night, I wasn't feeling so well. It wasn't until after Sunday Clothes that it got really bad, and sure enough, I got sick backstage. :( It was so bad that I didn't go on stage and was sent home at intermission! It was very very sad to hear MY song!!! go by without me there on stage to enjoy it... Sigh. But that's show biz. Fortunately I felt better the next day, and was able to go back to doing my thang on the 5th Ave stage =)
One of the most special performances would probably have to be when my mom went on for her walk-on role! April 26th, Suzy Conn graced the stage as train rider/waver/kiss blower in Put on Your Sunday Clothes. She looked awesome in her white costume, big hat, and lace up boots :) A post from her point of view to come, stay tuned!!!
Closing Night (or should I say...day...hehe) was unbelievably bittersweet. It had been such a crazy, tiring night... 8 shows a week and then getting up early to go to a full day of school the next day? Not to mention homework? Yikes. But even when I thought I might not make it to the curtain call, it was worth it, for the audiences always went crazy at the end! What can I say, who doesn't like Hello Dolly? :D The closing party was at Palomino, and I definitely had enough pizza to last me for the rest of the year :P It was nice to be able to say some last goodbyes before the inevitable post-show depression :S
To sum it up, I had the best experience of my life doing this show. I learned so much from watching and performing, and I hope this isn't my last show at the 5th Ave Theatre! I hope all who were able to got the chance to come see this amazing production with the most amazing cast ever, and I will never forget how nice everybody was to this little intern! Speaking of, shout-out to the brilliant interns :D
TOTAL (goal=150): 202 HOURS
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Lock up your chandeliers!
The national tour of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is coming to Seattle’s Paramount Theatre Sept 10 – October 5.
I’m especially excited to see this production since my friend, Richard Todd Adams, will be playing the Phantom! Rick played Raoul in the national tour almost ten years ago. Rick is an amazing performer – not only does he have a gorgeous voice but he is a master on the piano as well. He toured with 2 PIANOS, 4 HANDS (the hilarious Canadian musical that indeed involves not only two piano, four hands, but four legs as well) as well as appearing in THE WOMAN IN WHITE and THE PIRATE QUEEN on Broadway.
I met Rick in New York when he starred as the dashing pilot Brett Mansford in the 2005 NYMF production of PLANE CRAZY!
Congrats Rick!
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I got this great comment from “Diane” on my Braniff post (Braniff Airlines: The World's Greatest Airline?), so I thought I’d share it with y’all:
WHAT A GREAT SURPRISE! I WAS SEARCHING FOR A POSSIBLE "ALUMNI" OF BRANIFF EMPLOYEES BUT FOUND YOUR SITE INSTEAD.
I BECAME A RESERVATIONIST IN KANSAS CITY FOR BRANIFF, TRAINED AT LOVE FIELD IN DALLAS FOR FIVE WEEKS BEGINNING JANUARY, 1967. WHAT A JOURNEY IT WAS. BEFORE COMPUTERS, WE USED A BUNKO-RAMO MACHINE IN AN OFFICE WITH NO WINDOWS NEXT DOOR TO TWA. A YEAR LATER WE MOVE TO A NEW BUILDING WITH IBM AND HAD TO LEARN TO USE THE NEW COMPUTER SYSTEM IN ONE WEEK.
OUR UNIFORMS WERE THE FUSHIA, POLYESTER, WITH A FRONT ZIPPER, MATCHING FUSHIA PANTYHOSE & THE FAMOUS PUCCI SCARF. AND THEY WERE MINIS.
WHEN OUR ROUTE TO HONOLULU WAS APPROVED, I HAD THE UNBELIEVABLE EXPERIENCE OF FLYING FIRST CLASS IN A 747. SHERATON GAVE EMPOYEES A WEEK'S FREE STAY AND I THINK MY FLIGHT PASS WAS $30.00 OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
MY GIRLFRIEND AND I USE TO TRADE DAYS SO WE COULD GET THE SAME FOUR DAYS OFF AND FLY TO ALCAPULCO WITH MAYBE $40.00 EACH FOR EXPENSES. SOMETIMES WE'D BRING OUR KIDS WITH US. FUN! FUN! FUN!
YOUR ARTICLE HAS REALLY BROUGHT BACK GREAT MEMORIES. IT WAS THE BEST OF TIMES AT THE WORST OF TIMES. THE LAST TRIP I TOOK WAS WITH MY SON, MOTHER AND BROTHER. WE HAD JUST ARRIVED IN DENVER FROM COLORADO SPRINGS WITH 3 DAYS OF ADVENTURES AHEAD OF US. THE NEXT MORNING WE WOKE UP TO THE NEWS THAT BOBBY KENNEDY HAD BEEN SHOT AND KILLED. WE FLEW BACK HOME TO KANSAS CITY THAT DAY.
What a time to fly!
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I’m super excited to see the Roundabout Theatre Company’s production of Rodgers and Hart’s PAL JOEY, which begins performances November 14 at Studio 54. I’ve never seen PAL JOEY on stage, only the film version with Frank Sinatra. And I love Christian Hoff! He totally rocked in JERSEY BOYS. Of course I’ve loved Stockard Channing ever since I saw her in the 1973 movie “The Girl Most Likely To…”.
Do you need another reason? Well here’s one – my friend and performer extraordinaire, Kathryn Mowat Murphy is also in the cast! Kathryn was the assistant choreographer and part of the ensemble in the 2005 NYMF production of PLANE CRAZY! Boy, can that girl dance! Congrats Kathryn!
According to this article on Playbill.com:
Complete casting has been announced for the Roundabout Theatre Company's new fall production of Rodgers & Hart's Pal Joey, already set to star Tony Award winners Stockard Channing and Christian Hoff and Tony nominee Martha Plimpton.
Directed by Tony winner Joe Mantello, with a revised book by Tony winner Richard Greenberg, the musical, produced in association with Marc Platt, will begin performances Nov. 14 at Studio 54 toward a Dec. 11 opening.
Creating a population of Chicagoans in the John O'Hara-inspired tale of a heel who dreams of owning a nightclub will be Robert Clohessy (as Mike), Mamma Mia! veteran Jenny Fellner (as good girl Linda English), Urinetown alumnus Daniel Marcus (as Ludlow), Wicked actor Steven Skybell (as Ernest), Timothy J. Alex, Brian Barry, Bahiyah Sayyed Gaines, Lisa Gajda, Anthony Holds, Nadine Isenegger, Mark Morettini, Kathryn Mowat Murphy, Abbey O'Brien, Hayley Podschun, Matthew Risch, Krista Saab and Eric Sciotto.
The 1940 musical — with a score by composer Richard Rodgers and lyricist Lorenz Hart — is considered one of the landmark "link" musicals between fizzy old-fashioned musicals of the 1920s and '30s and more psychologically charged shows in which darker colors of characters were revealed. Pal Joey is a sort of musical comedy character study about an ambitious performer, Joey Evans, played by Jersey Boys veteran Hoff, who seeks the affection of a married woman in the hope that she'll fund his dream of owning a nightclub (Channing plays older, richer Vera Simpson, who dryly sings "Bewitched" and "What Is a Man?" as well as the duet "Den of Iniquity"). He loses his soul along the way.
The score also includes "A Great Big Town (Chicago)," "You Mustn't Kick It Around," "Take Him," "Zip," "Plant You Now, Dig You Later," "I Could Write a Book," "I'm Talking to My Pal" (a song that had been dropped from the score during its out-of-town tryout, but is now restored), and more.
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Shout out to my friend and composer extraordinaire Seth Weinstein who has just released a new CD!
Here is the email I received from Seth:
I'm delighted to report that my CD of solo piano music, CONVERSATIONS WITH CHAGALL, is now available at CD Baby.
The 62-minute CD contains two of my original compositions: CONVERSATIONS and THE CHAGALL SUITE. CONVERSATIONS, a musical meeting between the Belarusian painter Marc Chagall and Elvis Presley, is a synthesis of Russian-style classical themes, Jewish klezmer music, romantic ballads, rock, blues, and gospel. THE CHAGALL SUITE is an eight-movement contemporary classical piece inspired by eight different themes of Chagallian artwork.
More information about the CD, including sound samples, track listings, and explanations of the music:
http://sethweinstein.com/chagall
Get the CD now - only $15!
http://cdbaby.com/cd/sethweinstein
Also, I'll be performing the Chagall pieces this fall in Germany, Wisconsin, and New York:
9/18 - Osnabrueck, Germany - Lutherhaus
9/23 - Mainz, Germany - Erbacher Hof
9/26 - Siegburg (Bonn), Germany - Siegburger Stadtmuseum
10/25 - Appleton, Wisconsin - Appleton Art Center
10/30 - New York City - Museum of Biblical Art
Road trip to Germany! (I guess technically it would be a boat or plane trip…)
Congratulations Seth!
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Or, Goodbye Eddie Bauer, Hello Dolly!
On Monday, August 25, I was lucky enough to be invited to the opening celebration for The 5th Avenue Theatre’s new downstairs education and rehearsal space, which has been officially named “The Marilyn Sheldon Rehearsal and Education Center”. Marilyn Sheldon (second bio) is the Managing Director, and the heart and soul of The 5th Avenue Theatre. For those "in the know," it's called DAT5!From the evening’s keepsake program:
“Because The 5th Avenue Theatre was constructed in the 1920s to be a vaudeville house and was later converted into a motion picture theatre, there weren’t backstage needs and technical space wasn’t required. As a result, backstage at The 5th Avenue lacks virtually all of the trappings of more modern musical theater venues.
The Board of Directors, under the leadership of Norman B. Rice, authorized a plan to consolidate all production-related activities, known as Downstairs at The 5th. This plan includes a full-sized mainstage rehearsal hall, education center, maintenance building and inventory facility.
Downstairs at The 5th makes the overall operation more efficient, produces a substantial yearly cost savings, and provides a more focused work environment, allowing us to fully invest in the artistic product.”
I’ll drink to that! The 5th Avenue has used Theatre Puget Sound (TPS) over at the Seattle Center for rehearsing all their shows. Don’t get me wrong, TPS is great, but there was always the problem of never having a room big enough to match the size of the actual stage, so they always had to reblock everything once they got to the theatre!
And I can speak with some authority that the heating and cooling systems in TPS are due for an overhaul!
When Eddie Bauer moved out of their basement space, The 5th Avenue Theatre suddenly had a viable option to solve their logistical nightmares! After a lead donation by Sheryl and Peter Neupert of $1.22 million, the renovations were underway!
The opening celebration was so much fun! Not only was it so exciting to finally see the space finished (love the big “5th” on the glass doors facing the food court!) but there was yummy nibbles and of course, a wonderful musical performance. Martin Charnin’s great song “Upstairs at O’Neills” was given new lyrics by Rich Grey and became “Downstairs at the 5th”. With Resident Musical Director Ian Eisendrath on piano, Billie Willdrick, Chad Jennings, Carol Swarbrick and Eric Polani Jensen sang up a storm. Then Patti Cohenour sang ‘Take Care of This House” from the show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
All in all, a wonderful celebration of a great space. I’m looking forward to doing the workshop of THE MERCER GIRLS there in September!
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The above video is THE WORLD ANTHEM, created by Christopher Judges in an effort to save the world morally, psychologically, and environmentally. The slideshow that accompanies the song is touching, with pictures that encourage you to reach out with love and care for everyone. Especially the one that appears at 3 minutes and 18 seconds. 'Tis no other than our good friend Hollie Howard, in a Venus Flytrap-licious pose, in the NYMF 2005 production of Plane Crazy! w00t!
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Starting this Tuesday, August 5, the A Chorus Line national tour will open at the Paramount Theatre as part of its Broadway Across America series (I saw Avenue Q there in June). I saw the 2006 Broadway revival when I was last in New York (agh too long ago), and I've seen various community theatre productions + the movie. I love this show, it is so funny, smart, and fabola. I can't wait to see it.
There's a cool article in the Seattle Times that tells you more about the show and its revival, etc...
Extra bonus - long time friend of the show, (and by the show I mean PLANE CRAZY, as she played Holly Banks in Plane Crazy's NYMF production), Hollie Howard is starring as Maggie in the national tour! Yay, happiness! She is just amazing. Talk about your triple threat! And on top of that, she has the best head shot in the world. I can't wait to see Hollie in the show!
For ticket information, visit here. Quickly, A Chorus Line will only be at the Paramount Theatre until August 10!!! =S
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For those of you who have been waiting for hours for the past three days, refreshing the BlogwayBaby home page every 5 minutes in the hopes that a new post would appear, I'm very sorry. My mother and I went to San Jose to see Wishful Drinking (post to come), Carrie Fisher's one-woman show about her life and such. 'Twas excellent.
We stayed at the Fairmont San Jose, which was the best hotel ever. It was across the street from both the San Jose Museum of Art and the Tech Museum of Innovation. It was also walking distance from many restaurants and stores and such. There was a Starbucks 2 minutes (walking) away, and the San Jose Repertory, where the show was, was probably 4 minutes (walking) away. I definitely recommend this hotel if you plan on staying in San Jose, and want to have a good time.
We got room service by the pool (delish chicken and cheese quesadilla) and read historical fiction novels about the Tudors... :D Plus, we definitely saw Carrie Fisher. Like at the pool. No jokes. So we stared at her as she walked into her hotel room which had a patio that opened out onto the 4th floor pool. Mark Hamill/Marie Osmond moment...... for Suzy Conn =O
So, I will be posting again this week. I know you missed me >:-)
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A pig, a spider and a lamb walk into a barn…
I’m so excited to see the play CHARLOTTE'S WEB at Youth Theatre Northwest on Mercer Island, running August 1 to August 10.
Based on the classic book by E. B. White about a little pig named Wilbur with a strong will to live, and a very talented spider, it is a perfect summer play for the whole family.
Of course, I'm a wee bit biased, since my daughter Trinity is in the play! She's the Lamb, as well as a Spectator and a Fair-Goer. They're in pretty seriously intense rehearsals right now and they open next Friday.
CHARLOTTE'S WEB is the second show in YTN's summer series. Next up is Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical CINDERELLA running August 22- 31.
On a special note, this is Youth Theatre Northwest's 25th Anniversary and they have quite the line up planned for the season including INTO THE WOODS, WIZARD OF OZ and FIDDLER ON THE ROOF!
For tickets to CHARLOTTE'S WEB call 206-232-4145, or visit their website.
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Here I go again!
I get it! I finally get it! I saw Mamma Mia yesterday and absolutely loved it. I can't wait to go back and see it again. Meryl Streep is my favorite superhero this summer! Take that Batman!As background, I was a gigantic ABBA fan when I was a teenager (I also loved disco, there I said it). My best friend was Swedish and she introduced me to ABBA and she always got the latest album ahead of everyone else. I was hooked. ABBA was standard fare at sleepovers, and we'd dance around the pool table in her basement (I always wanted a pool table!) to Mamma Mia. Yeah, yeah, the cooler kids hated ABBA, but I've never considered myself cool. I liked all kinds of music, but there was something about those arrangements, those voices, those melodies, those cute Swedish inflections that just made me get up and dance, and sing along.
So of course I was excited about the stage musical production of Mamma Mia when it came out in the early 90s. However, when I actually saw the musical in Toronto, with Louise Pitre as Donna, I really didn't like it. Maybe it was because the decibel level was so high it made my ears bleed, or maybe because the arrangements sounded different. Or maybe it was the silly storyline. I don't know but I never bonded with the musical for some weird reason.
For some reason I'd been really excited about the release of the movie. Maybe because I heard that two of my cuties, Colin Firth and Pierce Brosnan, were cast in the movie. I love Meryl Streep but I was skeptical about her vocal prowess. But the trailers looked really exciting and fun, so the girls and I went today.
I totally loved it. I laughed, I cried, I boogied.
I finally felt the feeling of twirling joy I used to feel when listening to the ABBA records. The Greek island setting was perfect, the colors, the sun, everything. Meryl Streep is amazing as Donna Sheridan, and she has a great voice and totally inhabits the character. It's like she's dancing around inside an ABBA song. I don't mind the silly story line, and I love the way the movie is a musical, full stop. No apologies needed for breaking out into song and dance, whether you are a main character or part of the "greek chorus" of villagers. I mean, isn't that why you do musicals in the first place?
And let me just say that Colin Firth has a great voice. Very folky, but with a surprisingly high level of musicality to my ears. Pierce Brosnan isn't a singer per say, but Remington Steele slash James Bond can do no wrong in my ears. (Hmmmm, I think I know what age group this movie is targeted at…). I'm not as familiar with Stellen Skarsgard who played the third "dad", but he was good too!
The whole cast rocked (Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper, Julie Walters) but one of my favorites was Christine Baranski. She was hilarious.
And did I see cameo shots of Benny and Bjorn in the movie? Methinks I did!
Make sure you stay for the credits!
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THE SHOW GIRL MUST GO ON!
As I write this post, I’m wearing my super cool "Bette Midler The Showgirl Must Go On" T-shirt! My husband and I finally got away on a much deserved "awaycation" (we already had a "staycation" with the kids earlier in the month. The final leg of our "Hot and Sweaty 08" tour was Las Vegas (following triple digit weather in Palm Springs)) to see Bette Midler in concert at The Coloseum at Caesar's Palace, as well as Donny & Marie (yes, I'm over 40, duh!) at the MGM Grand's Hollywood Theatre. But more on D&M in another post…
We don't smoke or gamble, so there is really only two other (legal) things to do in Vegas - see a show and hang out by the pool. Friday night we sent to see Bette Midler in The Coloseum, the ginormongus 4,000 seater theatre that was built for Celine Dion. It is currently being shared by Elton John and Cher. You can't get more seventies than that! We had bought our tickets a while back, so we had awesome seats, although there was a large screen for those seated in the nosebleed seats.
What an awesome show! Bette started with "Big Noise From Winnetka" and "The Show Girl Must Go On" and came out in a sparkly silver pantsuit, very Vegas. She had three amazing back up singers (The Staggering Harlettes) an amazing band, and a great line up of chorus girls (The Caesar Salad girls, with as little dressing as possible!). It's hard to believe she is 60 years old, running back and forth across that huge stage, and jumping up and down in a mermaid costume while singing and dancing! She is so funny, and so much fun to watch. Of course, no body sings with such emotion as Bette. She's the only singer I know who can make me cry just by singing. She did a crowd-pleasing set of her hits:
In The Mood, From A Distance (which she sang barefoot, in contrast to her usual six inch heels!), Do You Wanna Dance, The Rose (which included audiences waving their cell phones back and forth like lighters), Hello in There, and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy.
She also did wonderfully zany segments as the finned "Dolores Delago" and "Soph", the oldest living showgirl -- "they gave me a f%@#$%ing chihuahua?"
Bette closed the show with Wind Beneath My Wings. I could listen to her forever!
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Shout out to my friend Seth Weinstein, who wrote the music for HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE IN 90 MINUTES. I met Seth when he did a fabulous job musical directing my show PLANE CRAZY at NYMF in 2005. I loved HOW TO SAVE THE WORLD AND FIND TRUE LOVE when I saw it in New York. I saw Hollie Howard (who played Holly Banks in PLANE CRAZY) in the role of Violet Zipper and she was amazing. It's really a great show, so go get your copy today!
From an article on Playbill.com:
A cast recording of How to Save the World and Find True Love in 90 Minutes, which played Off-Broadway's New World Stages/Stage 5 Nov. 4-Dec. 31, 2006, is now available.
The recording features the original Off-Broadway company, including Michael McEachran as Miles Muldoon, Anika Larsen as Julie Lemmon and Nicole Ruth Snelson as Violet Zipper with Stephen Bienskie, Natalie Joy Johnson and Kevin Smith Kirkwood as The Greeks.
The CD, which was recorded January 2, 2007, at Avatar Studios in Manhattan, also features conductor Seth Weinstein on keyboards, Jonnah Speidel on piano, James Bettincourt on bass and Greg Germann on drums.
The complete track listing for How to Save the World follows:
Prologue
Love or Fear
I'm Afraid of Everything
The Country Song
The Melon Ballet
Why Are All the Good Men Unconscious?
The Voices in My Head
I'm in Love With a Terrorist
Who I Am Matters Not (I)
Love Is Violet
Yoga Class/Fifteen Minutes
I Want to Know You/Read My Mind
He's a Pussy
When the Music Played
We Can Save the World and Find True Love
Save the People
Who I Am Matters Not (II)
Oh, God The Company
Read My Mind
With book and lyrics by Jonathan Karp and music by Seth Weinstein, How to Save the World. . ., according to press notes, is set at the United Nations and concerns "a cowardly bookshop clerk, a sexy diplomat and an idealistic slacker [who] confront their deepest fears when an office romance leads to international crisis."
Christopher Gattelli directed and choreographed the Off-Broadway run. The creative team comprised Beowulf Boritt (set design), David Murin (costume design), Jeff Croiter (lighting design) and Peter Hylenski (sound design).
The CD, priced $14.95, includes a 16-page color booklet with lyrics and photos. For more information visit www.howtosavetheworldandfindtruelove.com.
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Today, July 11, musical theatre writer Suzy Conn (PLANE CRAZY, THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND, BECKY AND THE BOOGER, THE MERCER GIRLS) and her husband Grad Conn are celebrating 21 years of marriage! Wow! Now that's something to write about!
Here are a few other notable historical theatrical events for July 11…
From an article on Playbill.com:
1915 A King is born today... in the form of Yul Brynner. Brynner will, of course, go on to star as one half of the title of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, The King And I, opposite Gertrude Lawrence. Brynner will go on to play the role in numerous incarnations of the production, as well as in the film version (for which he won the Academy Award), and a short-lived, non-musical 1970's sitcom called "Anna and the King."
1985 Alan Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings, a comedy about a family's reunion for a traditional English Christmas, opens at the Joyce Theatre. The American Theatre Exchange production was helmed by Pat Brown. The play ran previously in London and then made its American premiere at Houston's Alley Theatre in Texas before making its way to Off Broadway.
1989 Sir Laurence Olivier dies today. The celebrated actor of stage and film was 82 years old. Olivier appeared on Broadway and in the West End in a large array of roles, ranging from Shakespearean tragic heros Hamlet and Caesar to lighter fare like No Time For Comedy. As a stage director, Olivier staged the London bow of A Streetcar Named Desire, starring his wife, Vivien Leigh. Film credits include his Academy Award-winning version of "Hamlet," which Olivier also directed, and "Clash of the Titans."
1998 After playing 12 previews and 240 regular performances in William Luce's Broadway bio of John Barrymore at the Music Box Theatre, actor Christopher Plummer will kick off an eight-city tour of Barrymore tonight. The Broadway production closed Nov. 2, 1997, but Plummer took some time off to rest from the role which won him the 1997 Best Actor Tony Award, as well as a Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award.
2002 Comedian Robin Williams hones a new standup act in Robin Williams Live on Broadway, which plays a 3-performance limited run at the Broadway Theatre, starting today.
Here's the next 21 years of marriage!
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I've been commissioned to write next spring's AMT (Adventure Musical Theatre) show for the 5th Avenue Theatre. I'm really excited about this project because I had a blast working on this year's show, NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF 2, which incorporated two of my pieces, LARRY GETS LOST IN SEATTLE, and DAISY THE FIRECOW. I also had the great pleasure of attending a number of performances at elementary schools around Seattle. It was so incredibly rewarding to sit and watch the kids watch the show. Everyone should visit a school during one of these performances, and then they'd realize how important musical theatre is to education. In case your school missed it, they are touring NORTHWEST BOOKSHELF 2 again, this fall. Check out the 5th Avenue's website for more information.
When the 5th Avenue Theatre approached me about writing a musical about "the Mercer Girls" I was immediately interested. After all, who didn't love Bobby Sherman in "Here Come The Brides", that cheesy tv series supposedly based on the story of the Mercer Girls. And Perry Como singing "Seattle" as the theme song was a total plus! Turns out, it wasn't totally historically accurate! Well knock me over with a feather!
Needless to say I spent a great deal of time researching the Mercer Girls, ordering out of print books from Amazon, and renewing books from the Library several times over. It really is an incredible story, especially when you realize a) how young these women were, and b) how different life on the two coasts really was. It wasn't the same as flying from New York to L.A.!
One particular woman, Elizabeth Ordway, was especially interesting to me. She was a true suffragette, and didn't let the fact that she was an unmarried woman get in her way of pretty much shaping education in the Northwest. Of course, she often used her initials, L. M. Ordway, so that people wouldn't know she was a woman!
And Asa Shinn Mercer was quite the character. We sometimes forget that the government hasn't always been involved in everything aspect of our lives. Back in the 1860s, sometimes you just had to go and "do it" if you wanted to get it done! And Mercer was definitely a "don't ask permission now, beg forgiveness later" type of guy.
We're doing a table read in August, and a workshop in September, and starting rehearsals January 2009! Hmmm, I wonder if Bobby Sherman is available…
I'll keep you posted!
From the 5th Avenue Theatre website:
A Brand New Musical... THE MERCER GIRLS
February 2-May 29, 2009
On May 16, 1864, the first eleven "Mercer Girls" reached Seattle. The women were recruited by University of Washington President Asa Shinn Mercer and sailed to the Puget Sound area from the East Coast to work as teachers and to increase the population of women in the Washington Territory. The cost of the trip was $250 and the people of Seattle were eager to welcome the women into their community while finding them new homes and jobs in various schools. The women were full of hope and aspiration, but life in the new city was often difficult. This original musical follows the journey of the Mercer Girls and their experiences in the fast growing town of Seattle.
Your students will travel on an unforgettable journey from Massachusetts to Washington during a time when the city of Seattle was new and hopes were high. Enjoy a lively, entertaining musical and learn about the women who became the teachers, as well as the wives, mothers and grandmothers of the founding families of the Puget Sound area.
Time
50 minute performance, plus a 5-minute question-and-answer period.
Audience size
Maximum attendance is 300 students per performance. For a larger number of students, schools must book a double performance.
Cost
Western Washington locations: Single Performance - $600 Double Performance - $800
Outside Western Washington locations: Single Performance - $875* Double Performance - $1,150*
Payment may be made in advance or at the time of the performance. * Share the news! Get another school in your area to book a show and receive a $100 discount! Book both Northwest Bookshelf 2 and Mercer Girls and receive a $150 discount.
To schedule a performance
The AMT Touring Company visits schools throughout Western Washington, and in select locations throughout Central and Eastern Washington. For more information and to book a performance, please call 206.625.1418 or email educationprograms@5thavenue.org. Available dates fill fast, so we encourage you to contact us as soon as possible.
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I'm very excited about the opening of my kids show THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND at Theatre Building Chicago on Wednesday July 9!
I (Suzy Conn, in case you didn't already know) wrote the book (adapted from the Beatrix Potter book) and lyrics, and Mitchell Kitz wrote the music. It's a really fun, coming of age pig story. THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND first appeared at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Theatre Building Chicago is putting on our show as part of their "New Musicals for Kids" series.
Here are the details of the TBC production of THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND:
Production Team
Director: Jenny Stafford
Music Director: Brandon Magid
Choreographer: Anthony Apodaca
Stage Manager: Garrett Stibb
Set Design: Julie Eberhardt
Costume Design: Andrea Davies
Cast
Pigling Bland: Andrew Redlawsk
Pigwig: Casey Whitaker
Cat/Aunt Pettitoes/Policeman: Caitlainne Rose Gurreri
Dog/Alexander: Christian Vernon
Piperson: Anthony Apodaca
THE TALE OF PIGLING BLAND runs at Theatre Building Chicago until July 24.
For more information and to order tickets, check out the TBC website:
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What a party!
I took my oldest daughter Myrna to see the Seattle Men's Chorus "Funniest Songs" concert with special guest star Leslie Jordan (better known as Beverley Leslie, the hilarious nemesis of Karen Walker on Will & Grace). His Seattle Men's Chorus appearance is one of the first stops on his book tour for "My Life on the Pink Carpet" (we bought a signed copy of course!).
Seattle Men's Chorus is a wonderfully large choir complete with upper first tenors, lower first tenors, upper second tenors, lower second tenors, upper baritones, lower baritones, upper basses and lower basses! Whew! Talk about trying to find your note!
Dennis Coleman is the artistic director, Eric Lane Barnes is the assistant artistic director and Evan Stults is the accompanist of the Seattle Men's Chorus. This concert was choreographed by Kathryn Van Meter, who directed Myrna in LAST EXIT at the Village Theatre. Before I go any further I have to mention Kevin Gallgaher, the ASL interpreter for the Seattle Men's Chorus. While all ASL theatre interpreters do a great job, Kevin is in a class by himself. Not only was he signing, but he did it in a very uniquely rhythmic, theatrical way. We found ourselves listening to the choir, but watching Kevin! He was aweseome.
The evening was fantastic. They started with "Comedy Tonight" and ended with an encore of "Dancing Queen" and Leslie Jordan dressed in gold, go-go dancing on a pedestal. How they got there resulted from a combination of wonderfully funny renditions of wonderfully funny songs like "He Vas My Boyfriend", "Deep Love", "Every Sperm is Sacred", "Be a Clown" and "Sordid Lives", and the hilarious, sometimes touching anecdotes of Leslie Jordan -- growing up in Tennessee with a penchant for bridal dolls and football captains ( along with a father in the military)! He even had a funny story about Debbie Reynolds.
And speaking of Debbie Reynolds, she will be the guest star at the Seattle Men's Chorus "Singing in the Rain" concert in March 2009.
I'm going to get my tickets for that now!
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Well, they got their act together and now they are taking it on the road! That's right, I saw the first public performance of Northwest Bookshelf 2 at Maple Elementary a couple of days ago. I think that the word "adventure" in the title "Adventure Musical Theatre" actually refers to the adventure that the actors are on! Every school is a different adventure. Sometimes they perform in a big gym, where there is lots of room, but the sound is really boomy. Sometimes they perform in a multipurpose room where the space is a lot smaller and there are stairs to contend with -- there goes the original blocking! Sometimes the musical director (Danny Sullivan) doesn't always have a clear view of the actors. I like to call it "guerrilla musical theatre". Either way, the actors, musical director and stage manager are up for it, and quickly adapt.
The performance at Maple Elementary was great. The whole student body (K-5) was there. It's fun to watch both the students' and the teachers' reactions to the shows. Kids especially love the visual gags, and outrageous costumes. The shows are written as real musicals with lots of word play, but are based on simple stories, so they appeal to both the teachers and the kids. The next performance I saw was at Sanislo Elementary. It was a much smaller school, in a smaller space, so it felt like a more intimate performance. These kids really liked it and like the Maple Elementary kids, asked lots of questions (there's always a question about costume changes!).
This is such an amazing program that the 5th Avenue runs. Watching the kids' reactions is so rewarding as a writer because you know you have made a positive difference in a child's day. And hats off to the troupe -- not only do they give 100% at each performance, they have to set up and break down the set themselves (with the help of Sara Barnes the stage manager) before and after every performance and load it back in to the van!
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Roy Scheider, who starred as Bob Fosse in one of my most favorite movies ever, All That Jazz, has died. I know he wasn't a musical theatre performer but he did such an amazing job in that film. Whenever I'm tired, I still look in the mirror and say "It's showtime!"
Roy Scheider, a character actor who in the 1970s found an unlikely career as a leading man, died on Sunday afternoon in Little Rock, AR, the New York Times reported. He was 75 and lived in Sag Harbor, N.Y.
Mr. Scheider, who was born in Orange, NJ, in 1932, was imbued with a naturalistic, rough-hewn intensity, and a lean, masculine face which suited the film industry of the 1970s, when experimental directors were searching for actors with greater street authenticity. His breakthrough came in 1971 when he played a pimp in "Klute," and, the same year, was Det. Buddy Russo, Gene Hackman's partner in the brutal police thriller "The French Connection." The latter part earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
He won international stardom as the police chief of a small harbor town trying to grapple with the arrival of a killer shark in the blockbuster "Jaws." Playing opposite Robert Shaw's deranged seaman and Richard Dreyfuss' excitable scientist, Mr. Scheider's realistic performance anchored the horror thriller in a humane reality. He also appeared in "Jaws II" three years later.
His second and last Oscar nomination came for Bob Fosse's autobiographical movie musical "All That Jazz," in which Mr. Scheider, lean, bearded and clad in black, played an onscreen version of the self-destructive choreographer-director as he veered toward professional and personal disaster. The film called upon Mr. Scheider to sing and dance, as well as act; his success in acquitting himself in these fields surprised many critics.
Following youthful forays into the military and sports (his broken nose was the result of the New Jersey Diamond Gloves Competition), he moved to New York to try acting. His professional debut was at Joe Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, playing Mercutio in a production of Romeo and Juliet. He won an Obie Award for his appearance in the play Stephen D in 1967, and made his Broadway debut in 1965 in a William Ball-directed production of Tartuffe at the ANTA Washington Square. Other theatre credits include The Alchemist and The Year Boston Won the Pennant.
Mr. Scheider returned to the theatre in 1980, appearing with Blythe Danner and Raul Julia in Harold Pinter's backwards-traveling play about infidelity, Betrayal. It was directed by Peter Hall and played 170 performances.
In 2003, he starred in the title role in Christopher Trumbo's work Trumbo at the Westside Theatre.
He continued to work in films into the 1980s and 1990s, but his opportunities were not as memorable as his landmark '70s movies. Among his credits of this time were "Blue Thunder," "2010," "52 Pick-Up," "The Fourth War" and "Romeo Is Bleeding."
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Or, Is this thing on?
BlogwayBaby is back baby! For all of you wondering where heck I've been I apologize. I moved from Toronto to Seattle this summer with the whole fam damily, and it consumed my every waking moment (other than when I saw the pre-Broadway tryouts of YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN and LONE STAR LOVE, but more on those shows later). On top of it all I sprained my ankle the day the truck arrived at our new place. No, I wasn't carrying a sofa upstairs on my own - I stepped off a curb looking up when I should have been looking down. I really have to work on that whole walking-and-chewing-gum-at-the-same-time thing.
So now that the kids are back at school, I've learned all the state capitals, my ankle is healing, and I don't have to travel from Starbucks to Starbucks like a gypsy to get my internet access, Blogwaybaby is back.
I'm blown away by the quantity and quality of theatre out here in the Pacific Northwest. They like it, they really like it! But seriously, theatre (or should I say, theater) is just a regular part of life here. It's amazing! I'm looking forward to seeing and being involved in lots of truly great theatre.
And on top of all of that, I can buy wine and beer at the drugstore!
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I'm intrigued!
I got an email from my friend Randall David Cook, who wrote SAKE WITH THE HAIKU GEISHA (see my previous post ), who has written a new play called FATE'S IMAGINATION which is being produced by Gotham Stage Company.
Here is the info from the email:
Hello there!
I'm sending this notice out later than I had intended, but I wanted to let you know about the new play I have opening Off-Broadway. It's a sexual and political drama titled "Fate's Imagination," and previews start this Friday (May 25th) and the show opens officially next Thursday (May 31st). Right now the play is scheduled to run through June 17th (with a possible extension to June 30th).
The cast is great, the director's done a wonderful job, and the designers are first-rate. (The sound designer, in fact, won an Obie two nights ago!)
This play is quite a departure from "Sake with the Haiku Geisha," and I'm very excited to be presenting such different work to the theater-going community. I feel very fortunate to be having my second Off-Broadway show open just a year after the first, and one reason that is happening is because so many of you, my friends and supporters, came to see the show and talked about it with your friends. Word-of-mouth helped sell out the last week of the run of "Haiku Geisha," and once again I am hoping that the play being presented will be worthy of discussion.
Below is all the basic information about the play, but I'd like to specifically invite you to two important performances next week: Tuesday, May 29th and Wednesday, May 30th. Those nights are critics' nights, so it's imperative to have a decent-sized house so reviewers can see and feel how an audience responds to a work. So if you can come next week on one of those two performances, please do so!
At the end of this e-mail I've provided $20 discount codes for all preview performances and $30 for all tickets thereafter. A limited number of $45 tickets are also being sold for opening night, and those tickets include invitations to the opening-night party for cast and crew and friends.
Many, many thanks! Hope to see you at the theater!
Much affection,
Randall David Cook
PS. The play contains strong sexual situations and nudity, so better not to bring any child who hasn't at least reached puberty!
Gotham Stage Company presents The World Premiere of FATE'S IMAGINATION
A limited engagement running May 25-June 17 *****
LILAH: I'm old enough to be your mother.
BROCK: I know.
LILAH: Does that turn you on?
*****
A Presidential candidate on the verge of making history… A young reporter on a path of discovery… And a teacher desperate to escape from self-imposed isolation
Three unique individuals, three different paths, one point of intersection
Last year Gotham Stage Company teamed up with playwright Randall David Cook for its inaugural production, "Sake with the Haiku Geisha," resulting in a bold production embraced by audiences and critics alike. Now Gotham is back Off-Broadway with another daring play by Cook. A searing sexual and political drama, "Fate's Imagination" is directed by Hayley Finn. The talented cast includes: Donna Mitchell ("Mona Lisa Smile", "Syriana", "Pollock", "The Ice Storm"), Elizabeth Norment ("A Touch of the Poet" and "Plenty" on Broadway, last year's Off-Broadway critical darling "Dead City") and Jed Orlemann (Jack O'Brien's Tony-winning "Henry IV" at Lincoln Center and "The Normal Heart" at the Public).
--Please note: This play contain strong sexual situations and nudity.--
Where: The Players Theatre 115 MacDougal Street New York, NY 10012 (West side of MacDougal Street, between West 3rd Street and Minetta Lane)
By subway: Closest subway: A, B, C, D, E, F, Q to West 4th Street. Walk south on 6th Avenue to West 3rd Street, then east to MacDougal Street, then south to the theatre.
Showtimes: Tuesday-Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Saturday and Sunday matinees at 3:00 p.m.
Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission
To purchase tickets: Please call 212-352-3101 or visit www.gothamstage.org
Discount codes and specials: Preview week (May 25-May 30): use GSC1 for $20 tickets Opening night (May 31): $45, includes invitation to opening night party June 1-June 17: use RDC01 for $30 tickets to any show
Congrats Randolph and Break a leg!
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Well, I completed my off-Broadway trilogy last night by seeing SAKE WITH THE HAIKU GEISHA, a play written by Randall David Cook, at The Perry Street Theatre. I really enjoyed this show, and it has inspired me to see more off-Broadway productions.
From the review in The New York Times:
Randall David Cook's new play, "Sake With the Haiku Geisha," a collection of five anecdotes inspired by the playwright's own experience as an English-language teacher in Japan, is an often observant, witty evening about the ways in which other cultures can unexpectedly impinge on our own individual experience.
This elegant and precise production by the Gotham Stage Company, staged by Alex Lippard, combines Western realistic and Japanese Noh theater techniques. It is at its best in the first half of the 100-minute, intermissionless evening, as three 20-something English-language teachers are invited to share their stories on the last night of their visits to Japan. The uptight British graduate of Oxford, the gay but virginal American Southerner, and the hostile and sarcastic Canadian woman reveal small epiphanies that have affected their ways of dealing with loss, isolation and death, epiphanies that have their origins in the confusing culture in which they find themselves.
The three instructors are in Japan because they are "running from themselves," but the grace of the playwright's language and observations happily obscures this pedestrian insight. The other two anecdotes of the evening are less fortunate. As the Japanese host tells the story of his own family's decision to embrace English as a second language, Mr. Cook's powerful description of the effects of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs becomes lost in a vague if well-intentioned plea for communication. The anecdote about the Haiku Geisha herself, a traditional hostess who speaks only in the poetic form most associated with Japanese culture, turns out to be a predictable tale of true love confronting the threat of an arranged marriage.
As a hostile and sarcastic Canadian woman myself (tee hee), I enjoyed the bizarre, funny, and touching honesty of the westerner's vignettes.
The actors were incredible as well, playing a wide range of characters, all completely believable. I love it when a piece is written so you are not only entertained, but you get the feeling that you are getting a glimpse behind the closed door of personal experiences.
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I'm just watching High Society right now and WOW...what a great movie. I've seen it a million times on afternoon TV in the '70s, but I haven't caught it in a while.
With a score by Cole Porter,High Society is a musical remake of The Philadelphia Story, which originally starredCary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart. From Amazon:
In 1940, Katherine Hepburn's movie career was in desperate condition. Her 1938 film BRINGING UP BABY, although recognized as a Howard Hawks's masterpiece today, was at the time a box office failure. The failure signaled the temporary end of demand for her talents in Hollywood, although she had HOLIDAY in the can (and costarring, like both BRINGING UP BABY and THE PHILADELPHIA STORY, Cary Grant). So, she went back to the stage, in a play written specifically for her, and the subsequent hit was an unexpected and triumphant return to the screen for Hepburn. Her career never looked back again, especially when two years later she teamed with Spencer Tracy for the first time. Ironically, she originally requested that Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy play the Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart roles.
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY is such an extraordinarily well-done film that one can watch it repeatedly, reveling each time in new and hidden details. It strikes the perfect balance of being spectacularly well-acted, hysterically funny, and delightfully silly while maintaining an elegant veneer. The cast is nearly overwhelming in its quality, with Hepburn and Grant turning in especially fine performances. Jimmy Stewart is also superb, though he won an Oscar for this year that he probably didn't deserve. The Academy in 1940 may have been giving him the award as an apology for not having won the year before for MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON. Unfortunately, this meant that Jimmy Stewart's best friend Henry Fonda failed to win for one of the finest performances in the history of American cinema, as Tom Joad in THE GRAPES OF WRATH. Still, although the Oscar clearly should have gone to Fonda, Stewart manages a great turn. He and Grant manage a great moment when Stewart adlibbed a hiccup, and Grant, not batting an eye, adlibbed, "Excuse me." The rest of the cast is flawless. Too many excel to mention, but special mention must be made of Roland Young as Uncle Willie, Virginia Weidler in a marvelous turn as Tracy Lord's precocious younger sister, and the erstwhile Errol Flynn nemesis Henry Daniell as the devious and unscrupulous Sidney Kidd.
Although this film holds up magnificently upon reviewings, there is nothing like seeing it for the first time. I remember vividly how exciting it was to watch this in the lamentably demised Lincoln Theater in New Haven, Connecticut, having absolutely no idea how the film was going to end only five minutes before the closing credits. Who will Tracy marry? Will she marry? How will the film managed to tie up all the loose ends.
I have a list of my all time favorite lines from films. One of my favorites comes from this one. On the morning after Tracy has gotten rip-roaringly drunk, she has almost no memories of what happened, but what she does recall makes her fear that she might have been in a compromising situation with Jimmy Stewart. After Stewart assures the confused and fearful Tracy Lord that nothing happened because she was drunk and "there are rules about that sort of thing," the infinitely relieved Tracy says, "I think men are wonderful."
The film has managed to permeate our culture in subtle ways, from inspiring musical remakes, to providing famous adult movie stars with their names, to providing foundations for jokes (in the Rocky and Bullwinkle adventure "The Ruby Yacht of Omar Khayyam," whenever Bullwinkle sees his jewel encrusted small boat, he mutters under his breath, "Yar, yar").
First of all, Grace Kelly is GORGEOUS. I don't think there's anyone like her today...the only person that approaches her in the looks department is Nicole Kidman, but Grace Kelly is much more natural to watch (prolly 'cause she's not fighting off an Australian accent while she's acting), more graceful, and more naturally beautiful.
Celeste Holm (who originated the role of Ado Annie -- singing "I Cain't Say No" -- in Oklahoma on Broadway, and who is still alive) and Frank Sinatra do a fantastic number with all the wedding gifts called "Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?" It is a wonderfully inventive number where they use the different pieces of wedding silverware to modify their voices and to create sounds and movement to punctuate the song. Pure movie musical magic.
And Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong do a number together called "Now You Has Jazz" that is pure scat heaven. Plus, I loved the mansions...I want a mansion in Newport for Christmas!
As an aside, there's a big "hangover" scene near the end which makes me think "I'd hate to be hung over in the '50s"...all those tight dresses and formal clothes don't make a hangover look like much fun. Track pants are the only way to go if your head's on fire...
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Well I finally saw The Producers in New York! Last night I went to the St. James Theatre to see Richard Kind as Max Bialystock and Roger Bart as Leo Bloom produce Springtime For Hitler.
Great seat -- S2 -- the last row of the orchestra on the center aisle. The theater is so intimate that I felt incredibly close and the sightline was great. I really think that is part of the reason for the early demise ofThe Producers in Toronto. I saw it there on opening night and I was up in the nose bleed balcony of theCanon Theatre and you miss so much of the business and energy on stage. My new policy is, if you can't see the actors spit come out of their mouths, you're sitting too far back! Ideally, you can feel it too!
I loved the show! Richard and Roger were AWESOME. Richard Kind played Max Bialystock. He really harkened back to Zero Mostel's Max in the1968 movie. He had a nice combination of decrepitness and lovability. He was loud, brash and very commanding on stage. And great facial responses and business throughout the whole show -- he could really milk a moment.
Everyone knows I love Roger Bart. But really, he was great as Leo. His physical and vocal humor is great and his singing chops are perfect for the role. The two had a really nice energy between them as well. The blue blankie stuff was hilarious, not cloying and forced as it had been in Toronto.
There was one moment when Roger Bart almost lost it in the scene where he is quitting his clerking job and tries to hand over his visor. It was stuck, and he kept tugging at it. You could see the smile forming on his face. I love stuff like that. Also the scene in Roger Debris apartment when he is interacting with Carmen Ghia (played very campily by Brooks Ashmanskas) there was a neat positive energy between the two of them, since Roger Bart had been nominated for a Tony for the Carmen Ghia role!
The whole cast was great -- Frans Liebkind (John Treacy Egan), Roger Debris (Jonathan Freeman) Ulla (Angie Schworer) and the ensemble too.
And the little old ladies were fab!
The whole thing clocked in at almost three hours, but didn't feel long to me. Interestingly, they've cut the little dialogue bit that Roger Debris has during "Springtime for Hitler" when he is sitting on the stage a la Judy Garland. But they did do the tap challenge.
I just love this show. I know not everyone does but the music and lyrics are great and I've always had a soft spot for Mel Brooks' humor since my dad was a big fan. People say the reason it didn't run in Toronto, was that it is a "New York" show. I guess, but the audience (which was packed) appeared to be mostly tourists.
Did I mention I had a good time?
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According to this article in Playbill:
The musical adaptation of The Color Purple is winding up a summer workshop with its star La Chanze before its upcoming Broadway run this season.
Production spokespersons previously confirmed (May 3) to Playbill.com what a casting notice revealed -- a June 13-July 12 workshop was being held in New York City with a projected production on Broadway this fall.
The new musical based on the well known Alice Walker novel (which inspired the better-known film) made its world premiere at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre in fall 2004 and is readying its New York debut. With a number of theatres now becoming available, an announcement regarding dates is expected shortly.
The story of "The Color Purple" centers on Celie, a woman who endures insurmountable hardships within her own family and struggles to find her identity and love. The production warns that it "contains adult situations."
Wow. Adult situations...I wonder if that means there will be a scene about
Celie going to the airport only to find her flight has been cancelled and she has to wait hours in line to re-book and then finds out she won't be able to fly home for two days 'cuz everything is booked. That's the situation this adult found herself in at La Guardia tonight!
Also, I can just imagine the Variety headlines:
If The Color Purple loses money: "The Color Purple is in the Red!"
If The Color Purple makes money: "The Color Purple is in the Black!"
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Suzy Conn turns 29...yet again!
To quote the infamous Holly Banks"...and that's why I'll stay 29 'til I die..."
Here I am in New York City, working on my musical...is there a better way to spend your birthday? Well, I guess if my family were here it would be better, but it's pretty darn good! And my friend (and New York producer on Plane Crazy) just treated me to a lovely continental breakfast (which included two much-needed Americanos). Now it's off to Midtown for more meetings...
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I'm in training for theLOTR musical!
I went to the TKTS line in New York on Friday in the blazing heat and sun and thankfully most of the tourists were absent, the smarter ones staying cool in theHershey Times Square store or Virgin Megastore. I was able to quickly score a ticket for Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Longacre Theatre on 48th.
The play stars Bill Irwin (who won a Tony for leading actor in a play) as George; Kathleen Turner (who was nominated for a Tony for leading actress in a play) as Martha; Mireille Enos as Honey; and David Harbour as Nick.
This was my first play that had three Acts with two 12-minute intermissions! Act 1 is "Fun and Games", Act 2 is "Walpurgisnacht" and Act 3 is "The Exorcism".
Wow was it ever long -- it started at 8 pm and ended at 11 pm (way past my bedtime...). I kept myself alert and awake by changing seats after each intermission until the last hour found me in the Second Mezzanine with a handful of other people (it was cooler up there for some reason) with my legs comfortably draped over the empty chair in front of me. Those New York theaters are a bit hard on long-legged knob-kneed gals like me!
Don't get me wrong -- I loved it! The whole cast was great. My favorite was Bill Irwin -- he has such great body language that he uses to define a character, and so many levels of intensity -- you are always working to see if he is being jolly, sarcastic, furious or whatever, as you would if you were meeting someone for the first time, as his guests in the play were. My second fav was Mireille Enos. Honey is the smallest role as the somewhat proper wife of Nick, who gets drunk on Brandy and spends a fair bit of time vomiting in the bathroom. My guess is it's a hard role to play (doing drunk realistically is never easy) and make an impression amidst Irwin and Turner, but she did.
Kathleen Turner was great, a real powerhouse. But I found she sort of blustered through at one level of intensity.
Although the play is long, it doesn't feel draggy. There is a lot of repetition in Albee's dialogue but it doesn't feel repetitive. Instead, it feels natural, the way people would actually talk to one another. Especially between the the old married couple George and Martha.
In the Playbill programme, Bill Irwin describes it this way:
Edward Albee is an alchemist. If his scripts were to show up without his name on them at a regional theatre, the dramaturg would probably say, "This is a talented guy, but we've got to get him to cut back." He repeats himself. But an alchemic magic happens. You feel it onstage. There's mundane back and forth language, and then it will elevate -- and then suddenly some storytelling