Results tagged “Tours” from Blogway Baby

It's time to see WICKED again!

Usually WICKED isn't on the top of my list of shows to see when I'm in New York. Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but I have seen it twice -- once on Broadway with the original cast, and once in Chicago. As well, we did the backstage tour, bought the t-shirts, sheet music, and the CD! Finally, you have the feeling it will run forever, so what's the rush?

Maria Eberline, a friend and extremely talented musical theatre performer, is making her Broadway debut in WICKED in July! Maria was previously in the first national tour as understudy for Elphaba and Nessa. She took a quick break to get married to Rick Todd Adams and have a baby, and now she is back to work in WICKED (ensemble/Elphaba and Nessa understudy) on Broadway! And she looks as gorgeous and svelte post-baby as she did pre-baby. How is this possible?

Congrats and break a leg Maria!

I laughed, I cried, I sang along!

I am embarrassed to say that I had never seen SHOW BOAT on stage before! Yes, I'd seen scenes from the movie (thanks to THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT!) several times, and yes, I knew a lot of the songs, but no, I'd never actually seen that seminal musical. SHOW BOAT with music by Jerome Kern, and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, is based on the novel SHOW BOAT by Edna Ferber. The Village Theatre production is directed by Jerry Dixon, choreographed by Stanley Wesley Perryman and is music directed by Bruce Monroe and Tim Symons.

I was excited to see this production of SHOW BOAT because a friend of mine, the extremely talented Richard Todd Adams (who starred as Brett Mansford in my musical PLANE CRAZY in New York, and most recently played the Phantom in the national tour of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA) is playing Gaylord Ravenal. Rick is a great leading man because not only does he have an incredible voice, but he also has a wonderful sense of comic timing!

I was also looking forward to seeing Kathryn Van Meter in the role of Ellie May Chipley. I worked with Kathryn on the Village Theatre KIDSTAGE production of SAVE AS..., so I was really looking forward to seeing her onstage.

From the SHOW BOAT program:
Climb aboard for the story of SHOW BOAT, a show that spans 47 years in the lives of Cap’n Andy Hawks and his troupe of entertainers. The curtain opens aboard the Cotton Blossom, a showboat docked in Natchez Mississippi. A handsome riverboat gambler, Gaylor Ravenal, is charmed by Magnolia Hawks, an aspiring performer and the daughter of Cap’n Andy. Meanwhile, the company’s leading lady, Julie, and her husband Steve are struggling against persecution by the law as an interracial couple, which was considered a crime at the time. One of the most majestic scores in musical theatre buoys this vivid chronicle of changing lives in changing times and the passion, pride, love, and betrayal of the period.

I loved this show! I was so surprised at show contemporary and fresh and alive the whole show felt. I can only imagine what the audience reaction must have been like in 1927 when it originally opened on Broadway!

The whole cast was amazing. I could listen to Rick’s voice all night long, and together with Megan Chenovick as Magnolia, it was a perfect duet. I didn’t realize Old Man River came so early in the show. It was beautifully sung by Ekello Harrid Jr. And Kathryn was simply delightful alongside Greg Allen as Frank Schultz! And the whole show skipped along nicely at 2 hours and 45 minutes. The sets and costumes and orchestra are terrific as well. All in all, a thoroughly delightful evening.

Fish gotta swim, birds gotta fly, and I gotta go see SHOW BOAT again!

Dear Mister Mercer...

The 5^th Avenue Theatre’s Adventure Musical Theatre (AMT) program put on a performance of my musical THE MERCER GIRLS for donors at Downstairs at the 5^th 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 95^th 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 15^th 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 5^th 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.

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!

One Singular Sensation! (lol tis a bit overused but WHATEVS)

Last week I saw the Saturday matinee performance of A CHORUS LINE's national tour at the Paramount Theatre. It was CRAMAZING! Oh my goodness, I think this was the best production of CHORUS LINE that I've ever seen. This tour opened in Denver, CO at the Buell Theatre on May 4, 2008. Seattle is the 5th stop on the tour.

The cast was stellar. Of course, my favorite was Hollie Howard as Maggie - see her bio here (scroll down). Notice how under "Favorites" there's the one, the only PLANE CRAZY! She was also fantastic as Holly Banks in the NYMF 2005 production of PLANE CRAZY. Other favorites included Jessica Latshaw as Kristine, Colt Prattes as Al and u/s Mike, Clyde Alves as Mike, Gabrielle Ruiz as Diana, and Kevin Santos as Paul! However, everyone was really good and brought a new dimension to their character that I had never seen in any A CHORUS LINE production before.

The set was the same as the Broadway revival that I saw in New York (which closes today... tear). Simple yet powerful. The choreography was old school CHORUS LINE (well of course) and... everything was just fabola. Paul's speech moved me (and my dad, the fantastic Microsoft employee and avid theatre fan Grad Conn) more than ever before, and What I Did For Love was even more poignant with Gabrielle Ruiz's spectacular performance as Diana Morales... who coincidentally sings my favorite song in the show, Nothing.

In conclusion, WOW. I would definitely count this show as one of my favorite theatre experiences ever, and you should definitely check it out if it's coming to a theatre near you! Check out the tour schedule here.

A moment of silence please!

Four Broadway shows are closing today, Sunday June 26! Brooklyn, La Cage Aux Folles, On Golden Pond and Mark Twain Tonight! are all making their final performances today. Too bad they couldn't hold on until after the holiday weekend...

Also closing today is the hit touring company ofThe Producers...

According to this article in Playbill:

After June 26, there will only be one company of The Producers playing in North America.

Following its last performance in Fort Worth, TX, on June 26, the second national tour of the smash Mel Brooks-Thomas Meehan musical will leave for a three-week Tokyo run and then shut down.

According to a statement, "As The Producers...is such a significant property, Mel Brooks and Susan Stroman want to personally supervise the creation of the next incarnation of the touring production. In doing so, the caliber of the show will be maintained while being able to meet the physical demands of the upcoming route. The scheduled tour has been delayed one year to accommodate the schedules of Mr. Brooks and Ms. Stroman, both of whom are committed to completing and promoting the film version of the musical..."

Hmm...