Bart's Back: Bad Omen?It's never a good sign when one of the key principals in a new show is out with an injury, but that's the case with
Roger Bart in
Young Frankenstein.
Bart has been sidelined, at least temporarily, with a lower back injury. As a result, he's missed some performances since the October 13 matinee.
First I heard of it was via
Chris Caggiano of
Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, who posted his scathing review of the show on Monday. Chris saw understudy
Matthew LaBanca in the role of Dr. Frederick Frankenstein, whom he described as "game and energetic, and almost letter-perfect in his knowledge of the role. The audience didn't seem to care that the actor playing the title character was out." A pity about the show itself.
Over at the
New York Post, columnist
Michael Riedel uses the opportunity to joke about the show:
Roger Bart, will be out at least until the weekend due to a bad back. (And he hasn't even read his reviews yet.)
Riedel goes on to say that the dark horse in this year's Tony derby may very well be
Cry-Baby, especially since the buzz he's hearing out the
Hilton Theatre ain't that great about
Mel and his new show.
What's that line from the "
Cell Block Tango"? Something about "He had it coming!"?!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Buzz, Chris Caggiano, Cry-Baby, Everything I Know I Learned From Musicals, Mel Brooks, Michael Riedel, Musical, Roger Bart, Young Frankenstein
San Diego Opening Is Catered AffairWhile significant media coverage has centered on the two Broadway-bound musicals due to open this fall (
Young Frankenstein and
The Little Mermaid)
, A Catered Affair has been quietly unfolding in San Diego. Tonight, the world premiere of this other film-based tuner opens at the city's
Old Globe Theatre.
A Catered Affair finds its roots in the
Paddy Chayefsky teleplay for the 1955 broadcast of "
The Philco Television Playhouse" (starring
Pat Henning,
Thelma Ritter and
J. Pat O'Malley) and subsequent
1956 feature film written by Chayefsky and
Gore Vidal (starring
Bette Davis,
Ernest Borgnine,
Debbie Reynolds,
Rod Taylor and
Barry Fitzgerald).
The new musical version is helmed by
John Doyle -- minus his earlier conceit of having actors double as musicians -- and includes a book by
Harvey Fierstein and music by
John Bucchino. The only double duty on display comes from Fierstein via his starring role as Uncle Winston. Other cast members include
Faith Prince,
Tom Wopat,
Matt Cavenaugh and
Leslie Kritzer.
Set in the 1950s,
A Catered Affair centers on how "Bronx family ties are strained when a couple decides to give their daughter the grand wedding they never had." Self-described as "stunning...funny, heartwarming and uplifting for audiences of all ages," the musical is already accomplishing the kind of positive buzz via
New York Post's Michael Riedel that all other comers could only hope for: "Possible sleeper here for the Tony Awards, especially if the industry sours on Brooks' $450 tickets for
Young Frankenstein."
While I won't be able to travel to San Diego to catch the world premiere running through October 28, I'm looking forward to feasting on Fierstein's latest feat on Broadway, due at the
Walter Kerr Theatre on March 25.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Related Stories:Which Upcoming Broadway Musicals Will You See? (June 15, 2007)
Fierstein To Musicalize Bette Davis' Fave Flick (March 21, 2007)
Labels: A Catered Affair, Bette Davis, Broadway, Buzz, Faith Prince, Film, Harvey Fierstein, John Doyle, Leslie Kritzer, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Riedel, Musical, San Diego, Television, Tom Wopat
Can Pirate Queen Be Salvaged?
This morning,
New York Post's
Michael Riedel holds out hope that the notorious salvage operation might be working:
Insiders say the new script is much more action-driven that it was before, and that (Graciela) Daniele has made more fluid a production that had been a static pageant of pretty stage pictures. ([Frank] Galati's still on board, but Daniele's calling the shots.) The show's still heavy on Irish dancing -- you know, happy peasants jumping around without moving their arms -- making The Pirate Queen something of a "Riverdance With Oars." But, by all accounts, this isn't the same show that opened -- and nearly sank -- in Chicago.
Despite those changes, the buzz I continue to hear on the show is far from positive. But there's still more than a week to go before critics can founder the tuner, which is currently drawing a capacity of about 80%, for good. If the $16 million musical sinks, it would become one of the biggest flops in Broadway history.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Labels: Broadway, Buzz, Chicago, Frank Galati, Graciela Daniele, Musical, Rewrite, The Pirate Queen
