Tag, I'm It!
Tag, I'm It!Thanks to that bubbly effervescent Sarah at Adventures in the Endless Pursuit of Entertainment, who came up with a fun little meme for me this week in which she tagged all her blogbuddies. Since I consider myself one of them (hope I'm not too presumptuous, Sarah), it's saving me on a full-blown entry on a very hectic day.
Naturally, I'll wonder what friends like Esther at Gratuitous Violins, Chris at Everything I Know I Learned from Musicals and Jan at Broadway & Me have to say.
So here goes:
1. The first musical I ever saw on Broadway was (or if you haven’t seen a musical on Broadway): Cats. And I still came back to Broadway anyway!
2. The musical I would most like to see again is: the quintessential Gypsy and Guys And Dolls (my two all-time favorites)
3. The musical I never want to see again is: Cats and The Phantom Of The Opera (my two least favorite musicals)
4. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a woman I’ve ever seen is: Chita Rivera in Nine (2003) where the legendary actress literally stopped the show with her performance of "Folies Bergeres." I've only seen a standing O delivered mid-performance four other times -- by Jennifer Holliday in both the 2002 and 2007 Atlanta revivals of Dreamgirls at the close of "And I'm Telling You I'm Not Going," and twice at the close of Gypsy's "Rose's Turn," first by Bernadette Peters in 2003 (Broadway) and then again by Patti LuPone in 2006 (Ravinia).
5. The best performance in a Broadway musical by a man I’ve ever seen is: Harvey Fierstein in Hairspray, but Nathan Lane in The Producers is not far behind (although it wasn't until my third time seeing the show that I actually saw him...).
6. The person I wish they never cast was: All the stuntcasting that causes shows to jump the shark.
7. The person they should have cast was: Other Broadway babies.
8. My favorite Broadway choreography was in the show: Rob Ashford's impressive work in just about anything he attempts. But if I have to pick one of his shows, then let it be Curtains.
9. The lyric/line that always brings a lump to my throat is: "A bird cage I plan to hang/I'll get to that someday/A bird cage for a bird who flew away/Around the world" -- sung by Christine Ebersole in Grey Gardens.
10. The stupidest lyric/line I’ve ever heard is: "I'm not wearing underwear today/No I'm not wearing underwear today," from Avenue Q.
11. The first musical I had to go back and see twice was: The Producers (see my answer in #5)
12. The first musical I ever walked out of was: Are you kidding? It's never happened, even though I may have thought about an early exit.
13. The most under praised and overly deserving show in my opinion is: the 2002 production of Sweet Smell Of Success. At least John Lithgow won.
14. The most overly praised and under deserving show in my opinion is: Cats.
15. The song show tune I’m most likely to sing while I’m dancing around at home is: Lately, for reasons hinted at in my opening, it would have to be "The Bitch Of Living" from Spring Awakening. But there's also plenty of times I've sung "Cabaret" from the eponymous show.
16. If I could recast any role in a current Broadway musical with a performer of the past it would be: Edna Turnblad (Hairspray) with Zero Mostel.
17. If I could recast a current actor in a Broadway musical that was before their time it would be: Michael Cerveris as the King of Siam in The King And I.
18. The show they should never change a word of because it is already perfect is: Gypsy and Guys And Dolls.
19. The show I'd most like to get my hands on and rewrite is: Who am I to rewrite a show?! Good or bad, they are all someone else's pride and joy, full of hard work. If I knew how to rewrite a show, let alone write one, do you think I'd have this blog?!
20. The role I was born to play on Broadway is: Are you kidding? Me on the stage?! If I really had to pick one, it would either be Cabaret's emcee or Guys And Dolls Nathan Detroit. Now there's a range!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Adventures In The Endless Pursuit Of Entertainment, Blogs, Broadway, Broadway and Me, Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, Gratuitous Violins, Meme, Musical
posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Monday, February 04, 2008
8 Comments:
Great answers! I'd pay to see Michael Cerveris as the King of Siam. I'm not sure I have enough experience seeing Broadway shows but I'll give it a try.
But Steve, you as the emcee in Cabaret? No way! Much too dark and foreboding. It would be hard to think of a person you're less like than the emcee. But maybe that's the challenge. Nathan Detroit, ok. I'd love to see you reprise your role as Lt. Cable from "South Pacific." Or, if they ever make a musical from "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," you'd be great in the title role!
You mentioned you're a big fan of Rob Ashford...Wait till you see his choreography for Cry-Baby..it is incredible!
I'm directing a production of Guys And Dolls in Central New York at the moment... you should come check it out! Haha...
Interesting list... and I think Zero Mostel as Edna Turnblad would be amazing. That was really the best answer there.
Esther, As you know, I'm about the furthest thing from the Emcee, so my tongue was firmly planted in cheek. But I have certainly admired the actors I've seen tackle this role.
As for Lt. Cable, well, I could never hit the high notes I hit in high school ever again, but I'm looking forward to seeing Broadway's first revival of South Pacific with you and BroadwayBaby!
Speaking of which, BroadwayBaby, I can't wait to see Cry-Baby. But since I've never seen the film, should I see it first?
Finally, Chris, break some legs with Guys And Dolls. Tell us more about where in Central New York you're presenting the show.
Steve, I'm very relieved that you were kidding about the emcee in Cabaret! And I'm very excited about seeing "South Pacific" with you. It'll be my first Rodgers and Hammerstein on stage, and you'll finally have a chance to see it from the audience!
LOVE IT! But Cats? Come on! You love Wicked but you hate Cats? But Steeeeve! I saw it twice on tour and loved it. I love your answers for the casting. We definitely agree on that.
Esther, I've seen South Pacific performed two other times from the audience, including an early 2000 tour with Erin Dilly as Nellie Forbush. But I'm looking forward to seeing it yet again. The casting for the very first Broadway revival is terrific.
Sarah, To me there's no comparison between Wicked and Cats. I love the former and never liked the latter.
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