Time Hardly Stands Still For Alicia SilverstoneAlicia Silverstone, the Golden Globe and Emmy-nominated actress known primarily for her film work ("
Clueless"), recently concluded her much-praised sophomore effort on Broadway as part of the acclaimed production of
Time Stands Still. It was such a marked departure from her 2002 performance in
The Graduate -- which, for the record, I actually enjoyed -- that there's even talk in some circles about Ms. Silverstone's chances for a Tony nomination, although we never broached that possibility with her.
Last Friday, I joined with fellow theatre bloggers Patrick Lee (
Just Shows To Go You) and Kevin Daly (
Theatre Aficionado At Large) by way of the
Independent Theater Bloggers Association (ITBA) in a half hour telephone conversation with Ms. Silverstone. I asked her, "What did you take away from your Broadway debut that has informed your stage work since?"
Alicia Silverstone replied:
I had only done one play before that (Carol's Eve, 1993).
(In The Graduate) I learned a lot from Kathleen Turner, who is awesome. She came to see me in Time Stands Still and was so proud of me.
She took me under her wing and treated me with so much respect from the moment we started working on The Graduate. I remember when we were in Baltimore, before we came to Broadway, and after the first night she said to me, “That was really good, darling, but tomorrow maybe you will have your voice down about four notches.” I was screaming. I guess I was so excited and nervous that my voice got very high.
After originating the role of
Time Stands Still's Mandy Bloom last year at Los Angeles'
Geffen Playhouse, Ms. Silverstone was the only prinicipal to stay with the play through Broadway. Nevertheless, she said of the latter experience, "I came humbly to the rehearsal room. It was so electrifying that I didn't want to leave (even) to go to the bathroom.
Laura Linney became like a big sister to me."
Telling us, "Theatre people are the best," it's no wonder this actress with an infectiously sunny disposition is already contemplating her next stage outing. Although currently filming "
Butter" with
Hugh Jackman,
Rob Corddry and
Jennifer Garner, Ms. Silverstone somewhat wistfully told us her dream would be to do a production of
Romeo And Juliet. But she said that after seeing
Janet McTeer perform in
A Doll's House, she'd really love a chance to tackle the role of Norma Helmer.
Just don't expect her to do a musical any time soon; she says, "I'm not a trained singer. I'm interested in it but I've never practiced singing."
To read another take on our interview, please visit
Just Shows To Go You.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
In keeping with the new Federal Trade Commission (FTC) regulations that unfairly discriminate against bloggers, who are now required by law to disclose when they have received anything of value they might write about, please note that I have received nothing of value in exchange for this post. Labels: A Doll's House, Alicia Silverstone, Broadway, Hugh Jackman, Interview, Janet McTeer, Kathleen Turner, Laura Linney, Play, The Graduate, Time Stands Still
A Steady Rain (The SOB Review) - Schoenfeld Theatre, New York, New York**1/2 (out of ****)There are star vehicles, and then there are superstar vehicles.
A Steady Rain easily offers the most revved-up four-on-the-floor to hit the Great White Way this season.
With a couple of the silver screen's biggest names,
Daniel Craig and
Hugh Jackman, taking turns at the wheel of this full-throttled two-hander, it's no wonder
Keith Huff's 90-minute play has already been breaking Broadway box office records.
In his Main Stem debut, Craig is nothing short of a revelation. Here, the mustachioed British thespian completely loses himself, accent and all, in the role of Joey, a flawed, yet dutiful Chicago cop desperately trying to stay within the lines. Craig's excellence suggests that despite the dapper duds he's become accustomed to as 007, he's at heart a character actor of the first order.
Craig's Joey is a recovering alcoholic. His newfound sobriety opens his eyes to the damage his lifelong police buddy Denny (Jackman) is inflicting upon himself, his family and even his community. As murky and outside the lines as Denny's self-destructive path becomes, Joey remains loyal to a fault, even putting his own career on the line.
As much as I forgot I was watching "Daniel Craig, movie star," I wish I could say the same for Hugh Jackman. While the latter turns in a completely riveting performance, he simply can't doff his star persona quite the way he did when he triumphed as
Peter Allen in
The Boy From Oz. Yes, he is good and he's deeply intense as the drug-addled, infidelity-proned Denny, but perhaps because of
John Crowley's direction, I still saw Hugh Jackman, and that became a distraction, albeit a pleasant one.
As for the play itself, Huff's writing is cliché-driven and lacking in originality. He even borrows a key plotline out of a
real cop drama that played out over a 13 year period just
90 miles to the north of the Windy City. To say we saw where he was hauling us from a mile away would be an understatement.
Fortunately, with Craig in the driver's seat,
A Steady Rain steers into arresting play anyway.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Steady Rain, Daniel Craig, Hugh Jackman, John Crowley, Keith Huff, Play, The SOB Review
Will Steady Rain Open Box Office Flood-gates?Yesterday came
official news that
Hugh Jackman and
Daniel Craig are Broadway-bound this September in what is sure to be one of the 2009-10 Theatrical Season's hottest tickets.
The dynamic duo will bond as Chicago cops in
Keith Huff's
A Steady Rain, directed by
John Crowley, who received a Tony nomination for helming
The Pillowman in 2005.
As everyone knows, neither of these two actors are just another couple of pretty faces.
Jackman, of course, scored bigtime with his heartbreaking take on the late
Peter Allen in
The Boy From Oz back in 2003. Almost in spite of the lackluster material, the Australian actor soared high above it, winning praise, adoring fans and a permanent place in the hearts of Broadway theatregoers with his Tony-winning performance.
As for Craig, although this marks his Broadway debut, he's an established stage presence in London theatre circles. Long before he captured the public's attention as James Bond, he first made his mark doing Shakespeare in the
National Youth Theatre when he was just 16. Craig burnished his stage credentials with West End roles, including in the
Royal National Theatre's original London production of
Angels In America; Craig played four roles, including Joseph Porter Pitt.
A Steady Rain made its debut at the tiny
Chicago Dramatists in 2007 under the direction of Russ Tutterow. At the time,
Chris Jones of The Chicago Tribune described the two-hander play as:
...a gritty, rich, thick, poetic and entirely gripping noir tale of two Chicago police officers whose inner need to serve and protect both consumes them and rips them apart.... [T]he storytelling skills of this Iowa-trained playwright are truly remarkable.
A Steady Rain will pour at the
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre beginning September 10 with opening night slated for September 29. The limited engagement will run through December 6.
Expect a deluge at the box office (American Express cardholders get first dibs tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. EDT via
Telecharge). If it goes dry, then the economy is really much worse than any of us thought.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Steady Rain, Broadway, Chicago, Daniel Craig, First Word On New Show, Hugh Jackman, John Crowley, Keith Huff, Play
Gone With The Wind The Musical?According to
Fox News,
Gone With The Wind is now destined to become a Broadway musical by way of London. According to the story,
Hugh Jackman is being eyed for Rhett Butler. The story will more closely follow the novel by Margaret Mitchell meaning it will be darker than the
1939 flick.
Before I say "Frankly my dears I don't give a damn," I'll have to learn more before casting aspersions on the move. More to come later!
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: Broadway, Film, Gone With The Wind, Hugh Jackman, Musical
Jackman Receives Hero's Welcome HomeNow that
Hugh Jackman has returned home to his Aussie roots with his arena-style performance as
Peter Allen in
The Boy From Oz, what have the critics said?
Sandra McLean of
The Courier Mail effuses that this was: "[A] virtuoso performance that ended in a standing ovation and confirmed that this guy is disgustingly talented."
Martin Ball of
The Age gushes: "[W]hat a wizard of a show it is. What began life eight years ago as a musical has now become an arena spectacular, and while Allen and his songs are the ostensible reason, this is really The Hugh Jackman Show."
In the
North Shore Times, critic
Catherine Zuill states: "A powerful presence on stage, Jackman was clearly very much in command and confident that this dazzling musical production originally written by
Nick Enright for a much smaller stage, could work on a larger scale."
The
Sydney Star Observer's Martin Portus notes: "Tickets aren't cheap but, in short, Jackman delivers in spades and so does the show....If Peter Allen would have had any complaints, it might have been that Jackman gets more billing than his story. It's really Jackman's own cabaret show, resting on his effortless charisma, engagement and skills. He holds every minute of our attention."
Who can blame the Australian media for getting caught up in the frenzied celebration of one of their country's best-loved current stars? Perhaps the most unbiased point of view came from the outside looking in -- from
Variety's David Rooney, who, instead of fawning all over Jackman's Australian homecoming, delivers a fair perspective: "It's as much a concert platform for a returning local boy made good in Hollywood as it is a life story of Peter Allen. And that's no bad thing....While Jackman is clearly playing a part, mincing and cavorting and flirting up a storm, there are equal parts of his own persona at play with Allen's. The strong sense of an international star acknowledging his roots, eager to give something back to the country he came from will ensure this show an enthusiastic welcome across Australia."
While
The Boy From Oz was not, in and of itself, a great show on Broadway, and while the
gay subtext has been dumbed-down for the supposedly open-minded Australian masses, there's no mistaking the brilliant performance by its Tony-winning star, Hugh Jackman. And that alone would be worth the price of admission back home Down Under.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:The Boy From Oz Goes Home Tonight (August 2, 2006)
He's Back! The Boy from Oz Returns Down Under (July 5, 2006)
Labels: Australia, Critics' Capsule, Hugh Jackman, Musical, The Boy From Oz
The Boy From Oz Goes Home TonightIf you've ever had a chance to travel Down Under, you'll know that the trip seriously messes with your mind when it comes to time. Even though it's still August 2 stateside, my friends are long since up in Melbourne and Sydney, going about their Thursday. In that spirit, I want to remind them that tonight
their time marks the triumphant return of
The Boy From Oz to Australia -- this time with confirmed Broadway star
Hugh Jackman in tow.
In what is being billed as
"a brand new production of the original musical especially designed for the arena stage," The Boy from Oz will tour Australia and feature Chrissy Amphlett as
Judy Garland and Angela Toohey as
Liza Minnelli, as well as a supporting cast of 40 and a 25-piece orchestra.
If you missed the New York run of
The Boy from Oz, this may be your final chance to see Hugh Jackman in the role that added "Broadway star" to his growing curriculum vitae. OK, so the show may not have been the greatest I've ever seen, but Jackman really proves why he was so deserving of his Tony.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for tickets.Related Stories:He's Back! The Boy from Oz Returns Down Under (July 5, 2006)
Labels: Australia, Hugh Jackman, Opening Night, The Boy From Oz, Transfer
Casting Call (Week Ending May 21, 2006)
Although theatrical news over the past two weeks has largely been devoted to late 2005-06 season openings, as well as award nominations and wins, there has also been a significant number of announcements pertaining to upcoming productions and their casts.
While the casting news that may have received the most buzz has been that surrounding Hugh Jackman and his participation in the Taylor Hackford-helmed workshop of
Leap of Faith (based on the 1992 movie with Steve Martin), perhaps the most noteworthy report surrounds recently-minted Academy Award-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman’s return to the stage in LAByrinth Theater’s
Jack Goes Boating. I last saw Hoffman in the haunting semi-autobiographic Broadway portrait of Eugene O’Neill’s family in
Long Day’s Journey Into Night a few years ago in which Hoffman co-starred alongside Tony Award-winners Brian Denehy, Vanessa Redgrave and Robert Sean Leonard. In
Jack Goes Boating, beginning this winter, Hoffman will be joined by John Ortiz and the always delightful Daphne Rubin-Vega.
As for Jackman, it’s clear that his participation is much in demand as he’s also been rumored to be sought for a new Joe Mantello-helmed Broadway revival of
Pal Joey, as well as
Stop the World, I Want to Get Off. Celebrated choreographer Matthew Bourne’s name has also been attached to the
Pal Joey revival. As Jackman demonstrated through his triumphant, Tony Award-winning portrayal of Peter Allen in
The Boy From Oz, he can turn even the most dubious of roles into a tour-de-force performance. He was absolutely remarkable. The only drawback in that show was that he was compelled to impersonate the nasally Allen rather than using his glorious, natural voice. Regardless of which production he’s ultimately attached to, I’m looking forward to once again enjoying this gifted performer.
Other recent and noteworthy casting includes. . . . Disney’s announcement that Donny Osmond -- often the perennial Joseph in various productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat -- will soon be the new Gaston in the long-running Broadway hit
Beauty and the Beast. I’ll be interested in learning whether Osmond has seriously bulked up or will simply use padding to play Belle’s dim suitor . . . . Tony Award-winner Chuck Cooper will join 80s pop idol-turned-Broadway actress Deborah Gibson in Van Hill Entertainment’s production of
Saint Heaven, a spiritually-toned musical love story that begins performances at the Stamford (CT) Center for the Arts, June 1-11. I last saw Gibson in the role of
Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Cinderella opposite Eartha Kitt’s fairy Godmother several years ago. . . . Jeremy Kushnier, Andy Karl and his real-life wife Orfeh will star in the musical version of
Bright Lights, Big City. Karl, whom I originally saw in
Disney’s On the Record in 2004, has made quite a name for himself over the past year, particularly with his Off-Broadway role in the much-lauded
Altar Boyz, as well as his lead role in
Slut.
Bright Lights, Big City -- the new adaptation of the famed Jay McInerny novel -- will descend on Philadelphia’s Prince Music Theater, beginning June 14 for a limited premiere engagement. . . . and finally, Linda Gray leads the casting in the stage adaptation of
Terms of Endearment, which has already been announced as part of the upcoming season in both Houston and Hartford in 2007. Gray is undoubtedly best known for her years portraying Sue Ellen Ewing on television’s “Dallas.” But more recently, she assumed the role of Mrs. Robinson in the stage version of
The Graduate.
Expect more exciting casting news in the weeks ahead.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Click here for Jack Goes Boating/LAByrinth ticket information.
Click here for Beauty and the Beast (Broadway) tickets.
Click here for Saint Heaven tickets.
Click here for Bright Lights, Big City tickets
Click here for Terms of Endearment (Houston Alley) ticket information.
Related Stories:Casting Call (Week Ending June 7, 2006) (June 7, 2006)
Labels: Beauty And The Beast, Casting Changes, Donny Osmond, Hugh Jackman, Jack Goes Boating, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Pal Joey, Philip Seymour Hoffmann, Stunt Casting, The Boy From Oz
