Age On StageEver since
August: Osage County premiered at
Steppenwolf two years ago, I've heard one common "complaint" about one member of its cast, "
Sally Murphy (pictured, far left) is
way too young to be playing the role of Ivy Weston."
No matter that Ivy is written as a 40 year old woman.
Oh I know, I know. Sally Murphy certainly doesn't look anything close to 40. After all, her last Broadway role prior to
August was as the young, baby-faced Tzeitel in the 2004 revival of
Fiddler On The Roof. But truth be told, Sally Murphy was born in the fall of 1962, making her just a tad older than Ivy Weston. Murphy isn't getting older, she's getting better.
More recently, I've been struck by the number of people (including yours truly) who found an incongruity in matching
Jayne Atkinson (pictured, middle) with Rupert Everett (pictured, right) as her husband in the recently departed Broadway revival of
Blithe Spirit. No, no one was musing anything about real-life sexual orientation. Instead, I kept hearing, "Jayne Atkinson's Ruth looks way too old to be the wife of
Rupert Everett's Charles."
As my dear friend SarahB at
Adventures in the Pursuit of Endless Entertainment has continually reminded me, the lovely Atkinson was made up to appear older than she really is. Because in actuality, Atkinson -- born on February 18, 1959 -- is a mere three months older than Everett, who was born on May 29, 1959. Ironically, I didn't hear a soul complain about the stretch of Everett being paired with
Christine Ebersole as his first wife Elvira. The eternally youthful looking Ebersole celebrated her 56th birthday just three days after Atkinson turned 50.
My point in all this? Our ageist culture does a tremendous disservice to individuals of all ages, actors and otherwise, as it tries to peg people into stereotypes based on age or lack thereof. Since we've seen color-blind and to a lesser degree gender-blind casting, maybe age-blind casting should be seriously considered, too. The stage is perhaps the best laboratory to make it happen.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: August Osage County, Blithe Spirit, Broadway, Christine Ebersole, color blind casting, Jayne Atkinson, Rupert Everett, Sally Murphy
Best Laugh On Broadway (Abridged)Folks, seriously, if you're not reading
Broadway Abridged, you need to start now.
Gil Varod is a genius. He now takes aim at
Blithe Spirit via
Twitter -- well, as if the show's stars were tweeting. I laughed so hard I started crying.
You can follow Gil Varod on Twitter @
DidYouSayGil and Broadway Abridged @
BwayAbridged; if you'd like to follow me, I'm @
SteveOnBroadway.
Enjoy!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Blithe Spirit, Broadway, Broadway Abridged, Gil Varod, Twitter
Blithe Spirit (The SOB Review) - Shubert Theatre, New York, New York*** (out of ****)Talk about truth in advertising. With a virtuoso performance by one of the greatest stage actors of our time,
Noël Coward's
Blithe Spirit certainly lives up to its name.
Any chance to see
Angela Lansbury tread the boards is more than worth the effort. But as Madame Arcati, the legend effortlessly demonstrates the merry agility and grace of someone half her age. Lansbury packs more acting into her seemingly simple expressions and nimble, free-spirited movements than many actors exhibit in a lifetime.
Fortunately, Lansbury shares the stage of
Blithe Spirit with a top drawer cast, including
Rupert Everett (in his dashing Broadway debut as novelist Charles),
Jayne Atkinson (hilarious as his second wife Ruth) and
Christine Ebersole (luminous as Charles' deceased wife Elvira, who's not only been summoned from the dead by Madame Arcati during a seance, but she refuses to leave).
Initially, Coward's comedy made its West End debut a mere two months after the infamous Nazi
Blitz on the United Kingdom had ended. Britain had suffered through nine devastating months of bombings that killed more than 43,000, half of them in London. No wonder audiences at the time were so eager to embrace such a mirthful show, even one that used the dead to liven spirits.
Fast forward 68 years to the current production.
Michael Blakemore's steady direction has polished the "improbable farce" up nice and shiny. And with its sterling cast, the resurrected
Blithe Spirit sparkles anew for today's audiences needing a perfect escape.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit, Christine Ebersole, Jayne Atkinson, Michael Blakemore, Noel Coward, Play, Revival, Rupert Everett, The SOB Review
"It's Like The Golden Globes For Theatre!"Last Friday, the
75th Annual Drama League Awards were presented to honor the best on Broadway and off.
Award winners included:
Distinguished Revival of a Play:
Blithe SpiritDistinguished Revival of a Musical:
HairDistinguished Production of a Play:
God Of CarnageDistinguished Production of a Musical:
Billy Elliot - The MusicalDistinguished Performance:
Geoffrey Rush -
Exit The KingUnique Contribution to the Theatre Award:
Angela LansburyDistinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre:
Sir Elton JohnThe Julia Hansen Award for Excellence in Directing:
Arthur LaurentsAfter attending last year's Tony Awards -- certainly
Broadway's equivalent to the
Academy Awards -- I was thrilled to attend the Drama League Awards.
Shrek The Musical star
Christopher Sieber, one of the
71 nominees for distinguished performance, quipped to me, "It's like the
Golden Globes for theatre!"
And so it was with nearly all of the nominees assembled for a wine-filled luncheon on a three-tiered dais that reminded one nominee of a large "
Match Game" set (it looked more to me like a celebrity telethon minus the telephones).
The glory of the Drama League Awards is that while there are all those nominees ranging from the
famous Oscar-
winning stars to the actors who've just experienced their first major breaks Off-Broadway, they all have an equal opportunity to say a few words. And they do it with such a welcome flourish.
Despite the fact they were all vying for one award, the sense of community they shared as actors was palpable. It was truly incredible and one of the best celebrations of the theatrical art form I've ever enjoyed.
Founded in 1916, the Drama League bills itself as "America's best-kept secret for theatre lovers." Click
here for more information on how you, too, can become a Drama League member.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Angela Lansbury, Arthur Laurents, Awards, Billy Elliot The Musical, Blithe Spirit, Drama League, Elton John, Geoffrey Rush, God Of Carnage, Hair
Casting Couched In RumorsI love my friends.
They know I don't normally traffic in gossip, but they keep sending rumors my way anyway.
RUMOR:Angela Lansbury will defy her own self-imposed stage retirement by taking on the role of Madame Arcati in the upcoming Broadway revival of
Noël Coward's
Blithe Spirit.
TRUTH:While no further casting has been announced beyond
Christine Ebersole and
Rupert Everett (in his Broadway debut),
Variety's original September 29 story on the revival
stated:
No further casting has been announced, although Angela Lansbury and Rupert Everett are said to be on the wish list.
Given that director
Michael Blakemore managed to snag Everett since that initial report, spirits (and hopes) are running high that it's only a matter of time before Lansbury says yes.
UPDATED (10/14/08, 9:30 a.m.): According to Playbill (hit tap to SarahB), Angela Lansbury will
return to the Broadway boards in Blithe Spirit. It is true!RUMOR: Cheyenne Jackson's first post-
Xanadu ride across a Broadway stage will be as Sky Masterson in the
upcoming Broadway revival of
Guys And Dolls, which has already cast
Oliver Platt as Nathan Detroit.
TRUTH:Sure, the
message boards on Broadway World are fanning the flames, no doubt fueled in part by
Michael Musto's August dreamcasting of Mr. Jackson as Sky, as well as a little dish from
Perez Hilton, who says:
Other cast members have not yet been announced, but we're hearing hottie Cheyenne Jackson will be part of the revival.
But to date, there's really nothing to substantiate the rumor, nor is there anything to negate it.
RUMOR: Teen heartthrob
Zac Efron will replace
Daniel Radcliffe in the current Broadway revival of
Equus. TRUTH:
Efron tells
People:
No. I think it's a great role but I was not approached.... (But) I think it's important to always diversify, change it up and play different characters.... I think doing musicals all the time would get stale.
TALLY:One rumor is
true, another is squelched and the third remains just that for the time being.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Angela Lansbury, Blithe Spirit, Broadway, Cheyenne Jackson, Daniel Radcliffe, Equus, Guys And Dolls, Rumor, Zac Efron
More Than In Spirit: Ebersole Will Be Back On BroadwayWith the nation, let alone the world, holding its collective breath as our do-nothing Congress apparently has yet to grasp that the entire global economy is on the line, it was a relief to read a
welcome message providing some modicum of escape.
Christine Ebersole is returning to the Great White Way in an improbable farce:
Blithe Spirit. Ebersole will portray the eponymous ghost named Elvira.
This will mark the second Broadway revival for
Noël Coward's three act farce, which made
its Rialto debut on the cusp of America's entry into World War II on November 5, 1941. It was a celebrated and -- given the time, no doubt -- a most welcome success that not only lasted 657 performances at both the
Morosco Theatre and
Booth Theatre, but managed to enjoy a
return engagement of another 32 performances at the Morosco with four of its original principals --
Mildred Natwick,
Philip Tonge,
Clifton Webb and
Peggy Wood -- intact.
Leonora Corbett portrayed Elvira in the first incarnation, while
Haila Stoddard haunted the latter.
The
first revival of
Blithe Spirit was mounted at the
Neil Simon Theatre in March 1987. Under
Brian Murray's direction, the production lasted a mere 104 performances. In a bit of serendipitous casting, the production starred
Blythe Danner as the Blithe Spirit, alongside such talent as
Richard Chamberlain,
Judith Ivey and
Geraldine Page, who received a Tony nomination.
While the rest of the cast has yet to be announced,
Michael Blakemore is set to direct the production that will begin previews on February 26 and open in March at a Shubert Theatre "to be determined."
Any chance I have to enjoy a little mirth during a time of crisis sounds good to me, and even better, I can't wait to see Ebersole perform again. My only question here is this. Whatever
did happen to those
announced plans to mount
Grey Gardens in London?
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Blithe Spirit, Broadway, Christine Ebersole, First Word On New Show, Michael Blakemore, Noel Coward, Play, Revival
