Avenue Q: The Road From East 15th To 50th StreetAvenue Q has long been a little musical about firsts.
First musical to mount a serious (and successful) campaign to win the Tony for Best Musical.First musical to immediately forego the national tour route in favor of a sitdown (and not so successful) Las Vegas production.
First musical to offer "full puppet nudity," as well as puppet sex.First musical to present its version of a presidential debate, dubbed "Avenue Q&A" in which Rick Lyon and Jennifer Barnhart operated George W. Bush and John Kerry puppets, respectively.First musical to host an online contest to change lyrics (President Barack Obama's inauguration necessitated a change from the show-closing line "George Bush is only for now").Now, in perhaps the biggest firsts of them all,
Avenue Q will be the
first hit* Broadway musical to ever transfer to an Off-Broadway venue.
During yesterday's Broadway closing, producer
Kevin McCollum made the surprise announcement that the little tuner that could would in fact move just a tad more than five blocks from the Great White Way's
John Golden Theatre at 252 West 45th Street to Off-Broadway's
New World Stages at 340 West 50th Street. According to
The New York Times:
[T]he Off Broadway production would likely use a smaller group of musicians, as when it was performed at the Vineyard Theatre in 2003, and that some reorchestration of the music might be needed. Otherwise, it will use the same sets (and same puppets), and the show’s creative team, including its director Jason Moore and book author Jeff Whitty, will remain with the show. Casting for the Off Broadway production was not announced.
It should be noted that by vacating the Golden Theatre,
Avenue Q was already leaving one of Broadway's smallest theatres, which has a capacity of 805. But for fans, this was very welcome news.
While
Avenue Q made its initial debut during the 2002
National Music Theater Conference at Connecticut's
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, the show's first New York production came in March 2003 at the tiny 120 seat Vineyard Theatre on East 15th Street. Just four months later,
Avenue Q made the highly successful leap to Broadway, opening on July 31, 2003. Talk about a quick ride to the Great White Way.
Later that same fall, I saw
Avenue Q and enjoyed myself, even though I have to admit being caught a little off-guard by the level of delight the show took in "Schadenfreude." But the original cast --
John Tartaglia,
Stephanie D'Abruzzo,
Ann Harada,
Jordan Gelber, Lyon, Barnhart and
Carmen Ruby Floyd as Gary Coleman (
Natalie Venetia Belcon was out the night of my performance) -- possessed such a sweet sincerity that I rolled along with it. It wasn't until
I took in the first national tour in early 2008 that I was really put off by its overly cynical, mean-spiritedness. In retrospect, I chalk it up to being in too large of a venue with a cast that could not deliver irony quite the way the original did.
At least with
Avenue Q's transfer to the intimate New World stages, its producers won't have to worry about it becoming lost in too large a house. The question will be whether its too-be-announced cast can deliver the goods.
* Thanks to Alicia for correcting me. Apparently there was another musical to go from Broadway to Off-Broadway, but it was no Broadway hit.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Closings, Firsts, Jennifer Barnhart, John Tartaglia, Musical, Off-Broadway, Rick Lyon, Stephanie D'Abruzzo, Touring Production, Transfer
Avenue Q To Ride Off Broadway Via September ExitWhile the 2004 Tony Award-winning Best Musical
Avenue Q still resides on Broadway, it's simply for now. The little adult puppet musical will close on September 13 after playing 2,534 performances.
Avenue Q began as a "million dollar idea" initially conceptualized for television by
Jeff Marx and
Robert Lopez. But as it progressed, it took shape as a downtown musical with
Jeff Whitty providing its book in time for its original mounting at New York's
Vineyard Theatre. From there, it transferred to midtown to Broadway's
John Golden Theatre, where it opened July 10, 2003.
When I first caught the fledgling little
Avenue Q during the 2003-04 Theatrical Season with its original cast -- long before it was awarded the 2004 Tony for Best Musical -- I enjoyed its devious humor that tracked an ingenious parallel universe with television's "
Sesame Street." I vividly recall a fun time was had by all.
I was less enamored with the
current touring production when I caught it several years later, perhaps in part because of its unprecedented, all-out
campaign effort to win the Tony back in 2003, coupled with the
producers subsequent sell-out to Steve Wynn and Vegas
instead of touring. But I give the show and its creators enormous credit for having lasted so long and inspiring new audiences to enjoy live theatre.
Those die-hard
Avenue Q fans can take heart. The show still continues to
tour nationally, with stops scheduled through at least one year forward. Then there's the successful West End production that opened to
mixed reviews three years ago last Sunday.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Closing Notices, Jeff Marx, Jeff Whitty, London, Musical, Robert Lopez, The Vineyard
Avenue Q: Apparently No Final Winner For NowGeorge W. Bush is no longer the U.S. President. But for now,
Avenue Q is simply replacing his name in the musical's final tune "For Now" with a test of four possible substitutes. They include:
Recession!
Prop 8!
This show!
Mother-in-law!
Yawn.
With the possible exception of the self-deprecating "This show!" none of the tryout lyrics have the brilliant snarkiness that the original lyric had.
As you may recall, the tuner's producers staged a little contest last month among fans to seek a replacement lyric. According to
Playbill, the production received over 2,000 entries. The judges --
Robert Lopez,
Jeff Marx and
Jeff Whitty, as well as the show's producers -- have settled on the four finalists. Those lyrics will be tested over several performances to "gauge the response and audience reaction."
Perhaps I'm quibbling here, but doesn't announcing what they are in advance undermine the potential hilarity of each? Part of the fun in seeing
Avenue Q for my first time back in 2002 was hearing that inspired, and at the time, somewhat subversive line without any indication it was even coming.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Barack Obama, Contest, George W. Bush, Jeff Marx, Jeff Whitty, Robert Lopez
For NowIf you're anything like me, you've had a major concern since Election Day.
No, not on whom President-Elect
Barack Obama would appoint to his cabinet or just how soon he'd be able to heal the world.
No, it's been that pesky lyric from Broadway's
Avenue Q. You know the one in the closing number "For Now" in which
George W. Bush's name is among the many rejoinders on what's only for now. I've been wondering what they're going to do with it after the current occupant of
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue leaves office.
Now we know. Apparently the creative folks at
Avenue Q have also been contemplating the question. And instead of coming up with their own two syllable lyric, they've launched a contest to enable their fans to replace it.
According to the
Avenue Q site:
It's of the most-loved lyrics in AVENUE Q. But starting January 20th, "GEORGE BUSH IS ONLY FOR NOW" must be replaced, and WE NEED YOUR HELP!
Submit your idea for a 2-syllable replacement lyric for "GEORGE BUSH" -- and you could win a bunch of cool AVENUE Q stuff, including a revised script that includes YOUR LYRIC!
To enter, click
here. It's as easy as that.
According to
Playbill:
The winner will be announced Jan. 15, 2009, and the new lyric will be performed in Broadway's Avenue Q at the Golden Theatre beginning Jan. 20, 2009, the day Barack Obama is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States.
Avenue Q producer Robyn Goodman said in a statement, "We thought it would be fun to find out what people today think is as expendable as George Bush. Audiences have cheered the line since the show opened and people are curious — what's next?"
Creator Robert Lopez added, "I've gotten so many unsolicited ideas from friends and strangers over the years that it seems only fitting that we solicit a few more."
The contest begins Dec. 22, 2009, and runs through Jan. 12, 2009. To enter visit http://www.avenueq.com/.
The winning entry will be selected by a panel that comprises Q creators Robert Lopez, Jeff Marx and Jeff Whitty and the show's producers. The winner will receive a prize package including an autographed program and poster from Avenue Q, a cast recording, a copy of the Avenue Q coffee table book and an autographed copy of the revised script with the contest winner's lyric included.
Good luck!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Barack Obama, Contest, George W. Bush, Jeff Marx, Jeff Whitty, Robert Lopez
He's No Theatre QueenSacramen-to's
Califor-nia Musical Theatre -- which is currently presenting the lesbian-themed
The Color Purple and is slated to run the gay-friendly
Avenue Q early next year -- found itself in a firestorm of controversy when
it was exposed earlier this week that its artistic director
Scott Eckern had financially supported the state's
Proposition 8.
That measure, which narrowly passed in last week's election, strips away the right to marry for the state's gay and lesbian population.
Of course, it didn't seem to matter to the majority of Californians that
straight people have long been undermining the institution of marriage or that the biggest proponent for the measure was a
church that formerly embraced polygamy or that the world
didn't end when the state's gays and lesbians began marrying or that voters were taking granted rights away from a select group of people who they deem not good enough to be allowed to marry, yet they're more than OK when it comes to paying taxes.
According to the Sacramento Bee, after Eckern's support for the measure was revealed, "Gay and lesbian artists called Monday for an artistic and audience boycott of California." Undoubtedly, that is what led California Musical Theatre Executive Producer Richard Lewis to convene an emergency meeting of the board of directors and issue the following statement:
Any political action or the opinion of Scott Eckern is not shared by California Musical Theatre. We have a long history of appreciation for the LGBT community and are truly grateful for their longstanding support.
By yesterday, Eckern, who had been with the California Musical Theatre for 25 years and professes to have a lesbian sister, resigned in midst of the maelstrom.
According to the Bee, the embattled artistic director released a statement in which he "said that he 'honestly had no idea' that the contribution would spark such an outrage and made the donation to act on his belief as the traditional definition of marriage be preserved."
His statement also said, in part:
...after prayerful consideration to protect the organization and to help the healing in the local theatre-going and creative community.... I support each individual to have rights and access, and I understand that in California domestic partnerships come with the same rights that come with marriage.... I definitely do not support any message or treatment of others that is hateful or instills fear.... This is a highly emotional issue and the accusations that have been made against me are simply not true.... I am disappointed that my personal convictions have cost me the opportunity to do what I love the most which is to continue enriching the Sacramento arts and theatre community.
Now, as regular readers know, I am completely and unabashedly a vigorous proponent of our First Amendment right to Free Speech. Make no mistake, I will defend Mr. Eckern's right to donate as he chooses, however misguided I happen to believe he was (I mean
really! What was he thinking?! Doesn't he realize he's biting the hand that has fed him for the past 25 years, as surely many within musical theatre's base are gay, including his top subscribers, donors, artists, casts and crews?!?!)
Having said that, I also must defend those who were exercising their right to vote with their pocketbooks against the theatre by boycotting it. Why would any of them want to continue supporting an organization that had as its artistic director, the individual whose vision is supposed to be open to all the possibilities, someone who would cash in on his gay base and essentially saying, "We'll take your dollars, including for shows like
The Color Purple and
Avenue Q, but you'd better not be married!"
In retrospect, in reaping what he has sown, Mr. Eckern was probably not best suited for the occupation he has abruptly left.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, California, California Musical Theatre, First Amendment, Musical, Proposition 8, Sacramento, Scott Eckern, The Color Purple
Avenue Q (The SOB Revisit) - State Theatre, Minneapolis, MN*1/2 (out of ****)When I first caught the fledgling little
Avenue Q during the 2003-04 Theatrical Season with its original cast -- long before it was awarded the 2004 Tony for Best Musical -- I enjoyed its devious humor that tracked an ingenious parallel universe with television's "
Sesame Street."
I vividly recall a fun time was had by all.
So why was it that when I saw the
current touring production during its recent pass through Minneapolis, I felt like a square peg in a round hole. Have I just become that much older, or is the material not all its cracked up to be?
Snarky, juvenile, mean-spirited and too smart by half were some of the thoughts that came to mind during the performance. Not to mention that I sat and pondered, "Did this
really win the Tony for Best Musical???"
Something with the touring production just didn't click for me, although it
wasn't the fairly decent cast, consisting of, in part,
Robert McClure (Princeton and Rod),
Kelli Sawyer (Kate Monster, Lucy and others),
David Benoit (Nicky, Trekkie Monster, Bear and others),
Cole Porter (yes, seriously, as Brian) and
Jennie Kwan (understudy for Christmas Eve). They at least gave it their all.
Maybe it just doesn't play well the second time around.
Or maybe it was the poor sightlines from my seat (I couldn't see one very significant portion of the stage from my
first seat, and after shifting over, I got stuck behind the bobble-head from hell -- it sucks to be me).
Or maybe it was the fact that it was nowhere near as intimate as the Broadway version (at 805 seats, the
John Golden Theatre ranks as one of Rialto's smaller venues. Meanwhile, Minneapolis' gorgeous State Theatre is downright gargantuan with over 2000 seats. Surely, this show must be seen in a much smaller venue to be truly appreciated).
Or maybe it was the incredibly obnoxious drunk women behind me (they were abhorently cavalier after they toppled over their sticky drinks, which in turn flowed directly under my feet -- it really sucks to be me).
Or maybe I was still harboring a bit of ill will toward the show for its unprecedented, all-out
campaign effort to win the Tony.
Or maybe I could still recall how days after winning the Tony, the
producers sold out to Steve Wynn and Vegas
instead of touring, at least initially (it didn't last very long at the
Wynn Resort's specially built 1200 seat theatre, maybe thanks to a little bit of well-earned "Schadenfreude").
Or it could just be that since first seeing the show years ago, I saw
Dori Berinstein's insider look documentary "
ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway" in which
Avenue Q was prominently featured (watching that, it struck me that although
Robert Lopez and
Jeff Marx were clearly having a great time writing the score, theirs was really the story of how two slackers lucked out. Their collaboration -- at least the portions shown in the documentary -- didn't inspire. Nor did it seem like the making of great art as they "labored" over rhyming simple words with each other).
Or it could be that I just am tired of mean-spirited, smug, politically-correct crass crap (masquerading, ironically as politically incorrect) that tries to be smart, but ends up feeling juvenile?
Or maybe I'm just too old.
No matter what it was, I just was no longer having much fun, perhaps with the exception of the still brilliant video sequences. In retrospect, I now have to concede that the London critics were
right.
Well, whatever.
Alas
, Avenue Q is still touring, as well as playing London's West End and Broadway.
For now.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Avenue Q Broadway tickets.Click here for Avenue Q Tour tickets.Related Stories:Avenue Q Deal: I'll Drink To That! (December 1, 2007)
Dori Berinstein - The SOB Interview (November 7, 2007)
ShowBusiness: Year In The Life Of Broadway (October 16, 2007)
London's Avenue Q Reviews: Everyone's a Little Bit Low Road (June 29, 2006)
Avenue Q Settles Into West End Neighborhood Tonight (June 28, 2006)
Broadway's Gamble on Vegas No Sure Bet (June 6, 2006)
Ann Harada to Reprise Avenue Q Role in London (May 8, 2006)
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Dori Berinstein, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Musical, ShowBusiness The Road To Broadway, The SOB Revisit, Touring Production
Avenue Q Deal: I'll Drink To That!Yet another Tony Award-winning Best Musical is now offering audiences the chance to see a performance at discounted prices without having to resort to the long lines at TKTS.
Avenue Q was one of the nearly thirty shows shuttered by the Broadway stagehands strike that ended this past week.
In an effort to bring back the buzz, the production is offering savings of up to 45% off on various seats through February 12.
Seats ordinarily selling for $111.50 (orchestra, front mezzanine and rear mezzanine rows A-C) are now just $72.50 for Friday evening, Saturday and Sundy matinees. That's a savings of over 35%. For performances during the week (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday evenings), tickets are just $61.50 -- a discount of nearly 45%.
Also included in the offer are tickets priced as low as $46.50.
All you need to do is click
here and enter code
AQPBX99 or call Telecharge at 212.947.8844.
The fine print on this deal reads as follows:
All prices include a $1.50 facilities fee. Offer valid for select performances through 02/12/08. Not valid for performances 12/17/07-1/6/08 Subject to availability and prior sale. Not valid for the first ten (10) rows of the Orchestra. Limit 8 tickets per order. Normal service charges apply to phone and online orders. Offer may be revoked at any time. All sales final. No refunds or exchanges. Not valid in combination with any other offer. Blackout dates may apply.
Look for other offers in this space. I'll post them as I become aware of them.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Dori Berinstein - The SOB Interview (November 15, 2007)
ShowBusiness: Year In The Life Of Broadway (October 16, 2007)
London's Avenue Q Reviews: Everyone's a Little Bit Low Road (June 29, 2006)
Avenue Q Settles Into West End Neighborhood Tonight (June 28, 2006)
Broadway's Gamble on Vegas No Sure Bet (June 6, 2006)
Ann Harada to Reprise Avenue Q Role in London (May 8, 2006)
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Musical, Special Offers, Ticket Prices, Tickets
ShowBusiness - The SOB Contest!
You've read
my glowing review.
You've read
my interview with three-time Tony winner
Dori Berinstein.
Now read on for how to win either a DVD copy of "
ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway" or a poster of the documentary film, courtesy of Steve On Broadway (SOB) and
Liberation Entertainment!
To "enter," all you have to do is type in your e-mail address on the right hand column of Steve On Broadway and press the "Subscribe Me!" Feedblitz button. Not only will you automatically receive a free Steve On Broadway e-mail each day, but you'll also be entered in the contest! (And if you're already a subscriber, you'll automatically be entered!)
You must subscribe in order to be eligible.If you want to double your chances, simply link your blog to Steve On Broadway and let me know you've done so by leaving a comment below. (If you already link to Steve On Broadway and
aren't listed among SOB's Daily Reads on the right hand column of this site, please let me know so I may add you to my blog roll).
That's all there is to it. It's that easy! Best of all, there's no purchase necessary to win.
The SOB Contest ends on November 22 -- hopefully, you'll have something to be thankful for!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Dori Berinstein - The SOB Interview (November 7, 2007)
ShowBusiness: Year In The Life Of Broadway (October 16, 2007)
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Caroline Or Change, Documentary, Dori Berinstein, DVD, Legally Blonde, ShowBusiness The Road To Broadway, Taboo, The SOB Contest, Wicked
Dori Berinstein - The SOB InterviewIn introducing my very first Steve On Broadway (SOB) Interview, I'm pleased to present my Q & A with Broadway producer, documentary director and three time Tony Award winner
Dori Berinstein (pictured in photo by Anita and Steve Shevett).
My questions touched on everything from her superb "
ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway" documentary film (now available on DVD) to the possible stagehands strike to her work with
Legally Blonde.
In turn, she provided some terrific, candid comments, including on the one Broadway show that did
not grant her access, why
New York Post's
Michael Riedel needs to find new friends, plans for taking
Legally Blonde on tour and to London, and other intriguing irons she currently has stoking in the fire.
Here's Dori Berinstein - The SOB Interview:
Steve On Broadway (SOB): “ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway” is clearly a labor of love. I enjoyed it so much, I viewed it twice. How long had this documentary been percolating and what was your inspiration?
Dori Berinstein: Thank you! I loved every second making the film.
I read
William Goldman's extraordinary book, "
The Season," about the 1968 Broadway season behind-the-curtain, when I was in college. I was completely captivated. After years of dreaming about one day producing Broadway shows, I knew then, that I also wanted to bring that vibrant, creative, passionate and insular world to life on film.
SOB: I’ve previously described your documentary as a year in the life of Broadway. Was that your original vision?
DB: I wanted to capture a Broadway season inside out. Of course, so much happens over the course of a year. It's impossible to anticipate which shows will hit and which will struggle. I knew going in that our specific story would unfold as the season progressed.
SOB: The 2003-04 Theatrical Season you chronicled coincided with the last chapter of the
PBS documentary, “
Broadway: The American Musical.” Did that documentary inform any of your decisions going into “ShowBusiness” on where to focus?
DB: Not at all.
I know the team behind "Broadway: The American Musical." They're tremendous.
Our projects, though, we're entirely different.
Michael Kantor aspired to chronicle the Broadway musical throughout the 20th century for television. His epic work spanned 6-parts and relied heavily on archival footage, still photos, on-camera interviews, etcetera.
"ShowBusiness," a feature film, is far more specific and personal. We dove into the dramatic lives of a handful of performers, creators, producers, etcetera ... behind-the-curtain during the course of a specific year on Broadway. We were committed to going wherever our story took us. Choices made by other projects were irrelevant.
SOB: While you devote time to virtually all the major shows of Broadway’s 2003-04 season, you focus primarily on four major musicals of the year --
Avenue Q;
Caroline, Or Change,
Taboo and
Wicked -- why these?
DB: Focusing our storytelling on these four shows was an excruciating task. There were so many extraordinary stories to tell about the season. Editors
Richard Hankin and
Adam Zucker were tremendous partners creatively. Ultimately, we focused in on
Avenue Q,
Caroline,
Taboo and
Wicked for three primary reasons:
One, each show had such a unique "road to Broadway," and each show was jam-packed with extraordinary talent, on stage and behind-the-curtain.
Two, the personal stories --
Jeff and
Bobby,
Euan,
Tonya....etcetera -- elevated our story, we believe, making it much more than a "Broadway" film. We wanted our audience, whether or not they were fans of theatre, to get lost in their roller coaster experiences over the course of the year.
Three, we liked the way these four stories could be interwoven and leave our audience with a sense of what it takes to launch and run a show on Broadway.
We could have made the same film with four plays from that season. It was an extremely difficult choice.
SOB: You offer plenty of drama, whether it’s the tensions among the
Avenue Q team or Euan Morton discussing his resident alien status or even just showcasing the bitter cold winter months’ impact on Broadway. How were you able to gain such incredible access from such a wide range of shows and talent?
DB: The Broadway community ... the actors ... the producers ... the publicists ... everyone ... was extraordinary. I am deeply grateful.
The Broadway Unions and Guilds and AFTRA supported our project from the get go, making it all possible.
I imagine being an "insider" ... a Broadway producer for nearly 15 years, helped tremendously. The community knew I shared a deep love of theatre, and while I wanted to paint an honest, accurate picture -- I wasn't looking at all to make anyone or any show look bad.
SOB: Conspicuously absent from your film was
Hugh Jackman’s Tony vehicle
The Boy From Oz. Was that a conscious decision?
DB: I would have loved to capture the creative evolution of
The Boy from Oz. There were 37 show that season.
The Boy From Oz was the only show that denied us access.
SOB: Which of these shows did you have a chance to personally see in their early stages, and which do you believe ultimately enjoyed the greatest metamorphosis?
DB: I had the great good fortune to see each of the shows early on.
Of course, tremendous work was done on
Wicked between their out-of-town run in San Francisco and their Broadway launch. You really don't know what you have, no matter how great the book ... the score ... or the cast, until you get a show up on its feet. Not every creative team, though, dives in and makes such radical changes before coming in. The way the show evolved, and the choices that were made, were quite remarkable. The results speak for themselves.
I also tremendously admire the work done to adapt
Avenue Q to Broadway. Off-Off Broadway, the show was tremendously intimate. Transferring to a larger venue presented huge challenges. How can that intimacy be preserved in a much larger space? From set design, to staging, to storytelling, incredible work was done to make the transition seamless.
SOB: Of all the shows you featured, did any one become a favorite of yours?
DB: I was so close to each show that season. There was no way to have favorites.
SOB: I loved the kibitzing among the theatre critics and pundits. How difficult was that to accomplish, and was there any reason why
Ben Brantley and
John Lahr were interviewed apart from the rest?
DB: I was eager for the critic "lunch" to be as organic as possible. This group of critics knows each other. Lunching together, chatting about the season, was very conceivable.
Ben Brantley and John Lahr wouldn't naturally be part of that group. I did feel their perspectives were very important -- Brantley, as the lead theatre critic for the tremendously powerful
New York Times and John Lahr, a wonderful writer and great defender of
Caroline, Or Change.
SOB: Michael Riedel makes an astute observation in your documentary that “My peers who are not in the theatre do not go to a theatre, it has fallen off their entertainment landscape.” What must live theatre do to get back on that landscape?
DB: Michael needs some new friends!
I think Broadway has come a long way in 5 years.
Wicked,
Lion King,
Beauty And The Beast, in particular, certainly catapulted interest in Broadway by a younger demographic.
Shows like
Avenue Q,
Rent,
Spring Awakening and
Legally Blonde also have had, and continue to have, a huge impact on teen and young adult theatre-going.
When I look at the shows now in development for Broadway next year and beyond, I see tremendous diversity ... shows that are sure to bring in audiences of all ages.
SOB: You’re currently represented on Broadway through
Legally Blonde. Did you get the box office bounce you were seeking from the
MTV experiment?
DB: We are thrilled with the response to
Blonde on MTV. The ratings surpassed everyone's expectations and our CD catapulted to #1 on
iTunes. Clearly, we're going to benefit from the MTV airing for many years to come. Given the great nationwide response, I suspect we'll continue to see the positive impact of the MTV airing as the
Blonde U.S. Tour kicks off late next summer.
SOB: In making this documentary as an accomplished Broadway producer, did you learn anything new that surprised you about the theatrical art form?
DB: When you work on a show as a producer, an actor, a creator ... you're myopically focused. Time is scarce ... you barely know what's happening outside your theatre walls. It was fascinating to see inside each of the shows that season and realize, irregardless of scope ... of pre-promotability ... of talent involved ... that they all shared this fierce passion for what they were doing. The risks, creative and financial were stark, for everyone. It didn't matter if it was a small play or a giant musical. It's that passion, that risk, that commitment to the art that unites the community. It was thrilling to see.
SOB: I’ve been covering the ongoing labor dispute with the stagehands. Any thoughts on how the current impasse can be broken?
DB: Wish I knew! So hoping the dispute can be resolved without a strike.
SOB: What’s next for Dori Berinstein?
DB: I've just completed post production on a new documentary, "Some Assembly Required," about kids competing in a national toy invention competition and am nearing the end of principal photography on another doc, about the
New Jersey Nets Senior Hip Hop Dance Team.
For Broadway, several new projects I'm tremendously excited about are in the works. As those brew, focus continues on
Legally Blonde in New York, the upcoming U.S. Tour and our launch in London.
SOB: Thanks so much for joining Steve On Broadway (SOB)!
DB: Thank you Steve!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:ShowBusiness: Year In The Life Of Broadway (October 16, 2007)
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Caroline Or Change, Documentary, Dori Berinstein, DVD, Legally Blonde, ShowBusiness The Road To Broadway, Taboo, The SOB Interview, Wicked
ShowBusiness: Year In The Life Of BroadwayDoes all the talk of labor woes on the Great White Way have you already searching out an appropriate substitute should the shows go dark? If so, there's a new DVD that may be just the ticket.
Whether it’s the cold depths of the winter doldrums or the soaring heights of a Broadway opening night, “
ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway” packs it all in. (I was provided with a special advance screener.)
This new documentary film by
Dori Berinstein follows the backstage drama of four of the most talked about shows from the 2003-04 Theatrical Season --
Avenue Q,
Caroline, Or Change,
Taboo and
Wicked -- from inception to openings and ensuing critical reactions to Tony night. A Broadway producer herself, Berinstein was afforded considerable backstage access to capture all the highs and lows in one remarkable package.
One of my favorite recurring segments in this 104-minute documentary (along with more than an hour of excellent extras) is the kibitzing of Broadway critics and columnists -- including
New York Post's Michael Riedel, former
Variety critic Charles Isherwood and
Newsday's Linda Winer, among others -- who gather to dish on which shows they think will make it, as well as those they think will flop. Most amusing is how flat-out wrong Riedel is about the prospects for both
Avenue Q ("Going for an audience that doesn't exist") and
Wicked ("It has a lot of problems"). There's even a couple cameos by none other than the great Ben Brantley of
The New York Times.
The documentary made me lament never having seen
Tony Kushner and
Jeanine Tesori's
Caroline, Or Change. Through the unfiltered access, the viewer gets an inside look at their painstaking effort to get it just right. And to see its extremely animated, ardent director
George C. Wolfe is worth the price of the DVD alone, especially in tenderly admonishing one of his young actors to be more genuine by saying, "That moment is almost dangerously perilously close to being so incredibly inauthentic that it’s frightening.”
On the flip side, the juvenile nature of
Avenue Q is exposed, including the contempt between librettist
Jeff Whitty and the scoring duo who came up with the concept back in 1999 (beginning as a "million dollar idea" for television),
Jeff Marx and
Robert Lopez. There's a revelation on how cavalier they were in writing their work, especially in comparison to the angst Kuschner and Tesori clearly felt in striving to hit just the right note.
Yet when Marx and Lopez realize their success is for real, you can’t help but be moved. There's an especially cute moment where they ask
Boy George for a photo (George refuses), but their excitement is palpable pondering how they’ll be up against him for a Tony (
guess who wins?).
Boy George delivers one of the most impassioned critiques within the entire documentary: “The critics, the people that are supposed to be championing, you know sort of holding up this great artform are the people that are destroying it. That’s the biggest irony of all you know. It’s like don’t go on about how we must save this you know valuable artform and then do everything you can to make it fail. Because if you’d stop shows like
Taboo being successful or just being on Broadway all you’re ever going to have is
Andrew Lloyd Webber for the rest of your lives.”
Fortunately for audiences, Berinstein's wonderful documentary preserves the revered and the panned for generations to see how four very different shows made their way to the Great White Way. For anyone who loves theatre, or even simply has one favorite among these four primary shows, this documentary delivers.
The DVD of "ShowBusiness: The Road To Broadway" is available starting today.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Avenue Q, Broadway, Caroline Or Change, Documentary, DVD, Musical, Taboo, Wicked
London's Avenue Q Reviews: Everyone's a Little Bit Low RoadWith the much-anticipated West End opening of
Avenue Q at London's Noël Coward Theatre now history, the critics have paved their mediocre to middling reviews with a general lack of enthusiasm, if not outright condescension toward this Broadway export. A common critical theme was that this decidedly American (
read: New York-centric) musical has not lived up to its highly subversive advance billing.
Perhaps the most scathing reviews came from
Alistair Macaulay of the Financial Times and
Dominic Cavendish of the Telegraph. In his seriously sarcastic review, Macaulay leads with, "To clinical addicts of industrial cuteness, and to those who like American musicals that tell us How To Lead Our Lives Better, and to those who crave another musical devoid of any musical interest whatsoever, let me heartily commend Avenue Q;" Macaulay closes his review by calling
Avenue Q a "tiresome little blancmange."
Cavendish is considerably less charitable, sniping, "Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's tame beast of a show lumbers up a cul-de-sac of one-note satire before hitting a brick wall of anodyne schmaltz. By the second half I found myself mentally rechristening it Avenue ZZZ."
Michael Billington of the The Guardian and
Benedict Nightingale of The Times each bestowed 3 out of 5 stars to the show, which for the record
is better than average. Yet each found sufficient fault with the tuner. Billington's beef: "Underneath the show's glancing satire there is the inevitable feelgood ending in which we're reassured that 'everyone's a little bit unfulfilled.' Having started from the premise that 'life sucks,' the show ends with the hint of false cheer that goes with musical territory."
Nightingale sums up his review channeling how
Avenue Q's theatre namesake Noël Coward would have viewed the show: "He'd have regretted the relative lack of sophistication. He'd have deplored the jokey teddy bears and the cloying tribute to altruism that closes proceedings. Just like me last night."
The kindest review I found came from
Paul Taylor of The Independent, who still manages to find fault by noting, "What's less attractive is the lack of real bite. Compared to
Jerry Springer: The Opera, another satiric spin-off from television,
Avenue Q is about as genuinely subversive as 'Friends.'"
Will British audiences have a different take than most critics, or will this production go away as fast as the Las Vegas version? I'd put money on the latter.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets to Avenue Q.Related Stories:Avenue Q Settles Into West End Neighborhood Tonight (June 28, 2006)
Broadway's Gamble on Vegas No Sure Bet (June 6, 2006)
Ann Harada to Reprise Avenue Q Role in London (May 8, 2006)
Labels: Avenue Q, Critics' Capsule, London, Musical
Avenue Q Settles Into West End Neighborhood TonightThe Tony Award-winning Best Musical of 2004,
Avenue Q, opens this evening in London's Noël Coward Theatre.
Anyone disappointed by the significant editing done to the Las Vegas production will be happy to know that London audiences will see a version more closely resembling its New York sibling. However, the only original cast member to make the trek across the Atlantic to the West End is Ann Harada as the hilarious Christmas Eve.
While I mostly enjoyed the Broadway production back in the first year of its run at the Golden Theatre, I never thought it was deserving of its Tony win -- I just don't believe it's ultimately going to be that enduring of a show. I also have to admit to walking away perplexed by how mean-spirited I found it. I'm not necessarily a fan of pint-sized Gary Coleman, but I was taken aback by the wicked humor cast in his direction. But apparently, British audiences will only see a character named "Gary."
Will British audiences be queuing up on the avenues of London to see this production after tomorrow's reviews come out? I'll be reporting on what the critics have to say tomorrow.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets to Avenue Q London.Click here for tickets to Avenue Q New York.Related Stories:Broadway's Gamble on Vegas No Sure Bet (June 6, 2006)
Ann Harada to Reprise Avenue Q Role in London (May 8, 2006)
Labels: Avenue Q, London, Musical, Opening Night
Broadway's Gamble on Vegas No Sure BetDays after Avenue Q's producers proved victorious in snagging the Tony Award for Best Musical a couple years ago, they stunned the theatrical world by announcing that they were eschewing a national tour in favor of what appeared to be a quick Vegas cash-in at the Wynn Las Vegas. Despite a much-ballyhooed opening only last September, the shortened show has already come and gone.
Now comes word from another major Vegas venue -- the Luxor -- that its direct-from-Broadway hit Hairspray will close this Sunday. Hairspray had only opened this past February.
What went wrong? My contention is that in the effort to make a quick buck, the casinos pressured the productions to shrink their shows into 90-minute performances that could easily move audiences in and out. By selling out, producers of these two bona fide Broadway hits gutted the hearts out of what made them so successful in the first place.
I find it somewhat amusing that the only show left standing for the moment is the full-length, unretouched Mamma Mia! that continues to pack them in at the Mandalay Bay. But woe to the upcoming Phantom — The Las Vegas Spectacular that begins performances at the Venetian this coming Monday, June 12 in a dramatically shortened 95-minute version.
Perhaps audiences realize that shorter isn't necessarily better. What's going on in Vegas proves that abbreviated shows shouldn't count on staying in Vegas.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Hairspray (Las Vegas) tickets.
Click here for Mamma Mia! (Las Vegas) tickets.
Click here for Phantom - The Las Vegas Spectacular tickets.
Labels: Avenue Q, Billy Elliot The Musical, Broadway, Closing Notices, Hairspray, Las Vegas, Mamma Mia, The Phantom Of The Opera, Wynn
Ann Harada to Reprise Avenue Q Role in LondonThe West End mounting of the Tony Award-winning
Avenue Q just got better with the announced addition of my personal favorite original cast member, Ann Harada. She will return to the role she created first Off-Broadway and then on the Great White Way with her feisty Korean character, Christmas Eve. She was absolutely delicious stateside, particularly in production numbers like "It Sucks to Be Me" and "Everyone's a Little Bit Racist."
Don't get me wrong, original leads John Tartaglia and Stephanie D'Abruzzo were completely deserving of their Tony nominations, especially considering their puppeteering charms, but I always felt that it was Harada's outstanding supporting role that stood out. Somehow, she was shut out of the Tony nominations. Perhaps the Olivier Awards will give Harada her due. And to my London friends, make sure you plan a visit to
Avenue Q once it opens on June 1.
Click here for tickets.Labels: Ann Harada, Avenue Q, Broadway, London, Musical, Transfer
