In keeping with the 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.
As previously announced, Sutton Foster will star as Reno Sweeney. Joel Grey will portray Moonface Martin, it was announced on September 30. The rest of the cast is yet to be announced.
In addition to using the revised 1987 book from Timothy Crouse and John Weidman, this mounting of Anything Goes will be produced in its full glory, according to Roundabout's Artistic Director Todd Haimes. (Is Haimes taking a cue from frequent criticism that too many recent Broadway revivals have been whittled down to chamber pieces that are spare on the orchestrations?)
Anything Goesmade its Great White Way debut at the Alvin Theatre (now the Neil Simon Theatre) on November 21, 1934. With original libretto written by Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse. Ethel Mermantriumphantly led its titanic cast of more than 60 (which included a little known actress named Vivian Vance, who'd later find fame as Ethel Mertz on "I Love Lucy"). The production would close nearly one year later on November 16, 1935, after 420 performances.
The first and only Broadway revival of Anything Goes was mounted in 1987 by Lincoln Center at its Vivian Beaumont Theater. Using Crouse and Weidman's revived book, the show starred Patti LuPone as Reno opposite Howard McGillin as Billy Crocker, along with the late Bill McCutcheon as Moonface Martin and Anthony Heald as Lord Evelyn Oakleigh. Together, they would earn four of this revival's 10 Tony nominations. In addition to McCutcheon scoring a win, the revival won three Tonys, including for Best Revival. The revival of Anything Goes lasted nearly twice as long as the original, closing on September 3, 1989, after 784 performances.
Will today's audiences get a similar kick out of the upcoming revival? With one of Porter's best scores, count me among those hoping it's positively delovely.
Previews begin on March 10, 2010, with opening night set for April 7.
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.
Shrek The Musical (The SOB Review) - Broadway Theatre, New York, NY
*** (out of ****)
After just now reading Michael Riedel's grim assessment for Shrek The Musical's box office, it dawned on me that I've been remiss in providing my own assessment for the show itself.
You know what? It's not that bad. In fact, it's actually pretty funny and quite often borderline brilliant. The show deserves a larger audience.
Aside from the wonderfully versatile Daniel Breaker, whose take on the Donkey is nothing short of inspired lunacy, I realize I may just be about the only person on the planet who hadn't seen any of the wildly successful "Shrek" films first. For some reason, I always resisted seeing the animated features, so I was surprised by how often I found myself laughing early and often at this fairy tale satire, aided by Jason Moore's frequently ingenious direction and Tim Hatley's magical flourishes.
In fact, David Lindsay-Abaire's book offers a far superior and roundly satisfying first act. Not only does it completely engage with its sly skewering of Disney and Broadway fare alike, but it becomes a ginormous gutbuster when Christopher Sieber's hilarious Lord Farquaad lampoons both DreamgirlsandWicked in less than six deliciously delirious seconds. It's moments like those that Jeanine Tesori and Lindsay-Abaire's score occasionally soars.
Shrek's top-drawer cast is led by the enormously talented Brian d'Arcy James in the title role. I've often said that this is one criminally underused actor. He imbues his Shrek with healthy doses of humor and heart. He's also fortunate to be supported by the aforementioned Breaker and Sieber, along with the absolutely fartastic Sutton Foster as Princess Fiona, who manages to fly her freak flag quite well.
If you're looking for an escape from all of today's headlines that only an ogre could relish -- and let's face it, who isn't?! -- as well as a musical where you can see all your money up on the stage, Shrek The Musical is just the ticket.
The best review came from USA Today's Elysa Gardner, who embraced the show with three and a half (out of four) stars: "Like other musical adaptations of hit films, Shrek, which opened Sunday at the Broadway Theatre, leans heavily on winking satire. There are the usual nods to more fully realized shows, from Gypsy to A Chorus Line, and Jeanine Tesori's blandly ingratiating score doesn't feature any songs you're likely to be humming 20 years from now. But Shrek, which draws from William Steig's book about a lovable ogre and the DreamWorks animated movie that it inspired, is nonetheless a triumph of comic imagination with a heart as big and warm as Santa's. It is the most ingeniously wacky, transcendently tasteless Broadway musical since The Producers, and more family-friendly than that gag-fest."
Calling it "sweet and busy, nice and big, and, every so often, extremely lovable," Newsday's Linda Winer is lukewarm: "The fact that Shrek makes us think more about its market than its achievements, alas, says something about the shortage of real inspiration in the show itself. Director Jason Moore's production has an extraordinary cast -- including Brian d'Arcy James as a deeply endearing hulk of an ogre -- and marvelous prosthetics for the swamp-green monster with the plunger ears and Cyrano nose. But given the beloved source, not to mention a seriously bright creative team, we can be forgiven for expecting more than a paint-by-numbers fractured fairy tale from DreamWorks' first challenge to Disney on Broadway."
Despite concluding that "Shrek: The Musical plays it safe," New York Post's Barbara Hoffman awards three out of four stars: "[I]t takes nearly all of Act 1 before Shrek: The Musical starts to sing. And when it does, it truly comes alive.... With a soft Scottish drawl that hews close to Mike Myers' original, Brian d'Arcy James gives us a multilayered ogre -- a mix of vexation, anger, humor and woe -- made all the more amazing by the fact he's emoting through green rubber. He has a fine voice and a warm rapport with Princess Fiona (the unsinkable Sutton Foster)."
Noting how Shrek "certainly has things to like, even if it's sometimes ungainly," Joe Dziemianowicz of New York's Daily News offers a mixed assessment: "When (Foster)'s onstage singing, dancing or burping (Fiona's a princess, but not so fair), the production comes close to achieving liftoff. But by and large, it stays earthbound - fine, not great. The same goes for the score by lyricist David Lindsay-Abaire and composer Jeanine Tesori. It never soars, but the songs are pleasant and fit the story."
Branding it a "leaden fairy-tale-theme costume party," The New York Times' Ben Brantley is not completely dismissive: "Aside from a few jolly sequences (nearly all featuring the hypertalented Ms. Foster), this cavalcade of storybook effigies feels like 40 blocks’ worth of a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, accompanied by an exhaustingly jokey running commentary. Shrek, for the record, is not bad. The maiden Broadway venture of DreamWorks Theatricals (a stage-oriented arm of the company that made the movie), in association with Neal Street Productions, it is definitely a cut above the most recent offerings from its creators’ direct competitor in cartoon-inspired musicals, Walt Disney."
Asking, "Why isn’t Shrek the Musical great?" Bloomberg's John Simon is every bit as tepid: "The good news is that it is done very well; the bad news is that it is done at all. When is the musical theater going to learn to let cartoons lie? Not that William Steig’s original book and its serial movie animations are bad, but they are terminally self-sufficient. A big, expensive Broadway musical needs to have grown-up as well as kiddie appeal.... Under Jason Moore’s sprightly direction, the performances are uniformly engaging. Multitalented d’Arcy James’s Shrek is as lovable as an ogre with bad breath and other odors can be, and then some. As Fiona -- even after sundown, when she turns into an unsightly ogress -- Foster is as enchanting as ever, with unbeatable comic timing and singing and dancing to match."
Given last week's dismal box office -- Shrek only attracted a capacity of just 52.3% -- producers had to be hoping for much better reviews than they received. They'll now have to pin their hopes on building buzz among Broadway audiences if they're to make it past January.
With all the changes taking place for the upcoming Broadway tuner Shrek - The Musical, no one would accuse you of being an ogre for wondering whether the show will be DOA.
Given the underwhelming Variety review for the Seattle tryout, which stated:
It also has plenty of flaws, but none necessarily fatal ... (Brian) d'Arcy James and (Sutton) Foster are a delight -- separately and together... Sadly, the same cannot be said of d’Arcy James and (Chester) Gregory. For some reason, the grumpy-ogre-plus-pesky-sidekick formula ... falls flat here, not helped by the static staging of some of their scenes.... Or it could be that the role of the donkey would be better suited to a character actor than to a singer-dancer — even one as accomplished as Gregory. Gregory doesn’t fare much better with his other partner, the dragon, played sometimes by (Kecia) Lewis-Evans alone, sometimes by a phalanx of women, sometimes by a puppet and sometimes by a combination thereof.
it probably came as no surprise yesterday when it was announced that Gregory and Lewis-Evans will not be transferring to Broadway with the rest of the cast, especially after the Dreamworks chief Jeffrey Katzenberg admitted that critics' reviews had been "spot on." Passing Strange's breakthroughstar Daniel Breaker replaces Gregory (and suddenly the musical has become more appealing to me, a complete Shrek virgin, who has never seen any portion of the film franchise). Lewis-Evans' role as the dragon is reportedly being substantially reworked.
As if that wasn't enough, it had been previously reported that choreographer-director Rob Ashford had been brought in "to provide 'a fresh pair of eyes.'" However, Ashford's presence has yet to yield an official credit.
Whether or not all of these changes will shore-up Shrek remains to be seen. But given the overall positive response I've had from many Seattle audience members, the upcoming alterations may very well make the difference between Shrek success and just anotherYoung Frankenstein.
I don't mean to be an ogre, but could it be that I'm the only living person who hasn't seen any of the Shrek movies?
I'm not exactly sure why I never took them in, but the longer I've gone, the less interested I've become. Perhaps I've avoided them because I've been told that they're too smarmy for their own good, and I've never been able to shake that notion.
So it's against that backdrop that I find myself less than excited about the upcoming Shrek The Musical, which already begins its out-of-town tryout next month in Seattle at the city's 5th Avenue Theatre -- the very same venue that proudly launched Hairspraysix years ago.
The 5th Avenue Theatre describes their tryout:
This summer, the most beloved swamp-dwelling ogre of all time will make his theatrical debut in the World Premiere of Shrek The Musical, at The 5th Avenue Theatre. This all-new production is based on Shrek’s adventures in the classic William Steig book and Oscar-winning film. Joining Shrek on his journey from the swamp to the stage will be his wisecracking sidekick Donkey, Princess Fiona, Lord Farquaad and a chorus of everybody’s favorite fairytale creatures. With more layers than ever and a completely original new score, Shrek The Musical proves there’s more to the story than meets the ears.
Shrek The Musical is due to land at the Main Stem's Broadway Theatre in time for previews starting November 11, with an opening night slated for December 14.
Now, if there is anything to get excited about, it's that Jeanine Tesori (Caroline, Or Change) is writing the music for its score. The fact that Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (Rabbit Hole) is supplying the lyrics and book should also have me intrigued, but we all know what happend during his previous musical effort. Knowing a thing or two about monsters is Tony nominated director Jason Moore (Avenue Q), who helms the show, yet the choreography comes from Broadway first-timer Josh Prince. You see, everything I see as good is somehow tempered.
OK, another positive is that the criminally underused, Tony-nominated Brian d'Arcy James returns to Broadway in the title role. Tony-winning actress Sutton Foster will portray Princess Fiona; regular readers will recall that it wasn't until my fourth attempt to see her that she was actually performing in a show, but on the plus side, I thought she was incredibly talented when I finally saw her. Other cast members include the Tony-nominated Christopher Sieber as Lord Farquaad, Chester Gregory II as the Donkey, Kecia Lewis-Evans as the Dragon and the Tony-nominated John Tartaglia as Pinocchio.
Nevertheless, with the lackluster critical success of recent filmtranslations to the stage, along with some early negative press already appearing in some important quarters, I'm left still feeling a bit like a bogeyman.
So, I ask you, dear readers. Should I bite the bullet and see the "Shrek" trilogy on film? Will it have me thirsting for the stage incarnation?
The Flight Of The Conchords (The SOB Review) - Orpheum Theatre, Minneapolis, MN
** (out of ****)
If you're a regular reader, you'll know that I'm not one to see much in the way of television. But when I find a show that truly resonates with me, I try my best to watch it religiously.
Such is that case for one of my more recent favorite television discoveries, HBO's inspired "The Flight Of The Conchords" series that stars New Zealand's "fourth most popular folk parody duo" Jemaine Clement and Bret McKenzie as the eponymous band making their way in New York (the other night during their 2+ hour performance in Minneapolis, I learned that even a duo can be called a band -- after all, even a solitary person can be a "one-man band").
Like a great Gotham musical, each half hour episode offers a perfect blend of comedy that ingeniously segues into Jermaine and/or Bret breaking into song. Their ironic sense of humor and timing is captured in a truly brilliant and entertaining fashion.
What made the show even more appealing to a theatregoer like me was that it offered my first real opportunity to see Broadway actress Sutton Foster perform (until Young Frankenstein, I had been zero for three in my repeated attempts to see her on the Great White Way) -- and as Coko, Foster offers an egalitarian performance sans any trace of glamor that you'd swear she checked her ego at the door. I've also enjoyed the FOTC's superfan Mel (Kristen Schaal, now a regular on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"), who singlehandedly underscores how at its etymological root, "fan" was most definitely derived from "fanatic."
Oh that seeing this dimeric duo in person would take me away. Instead, I learned that these latter-day not-ready-for-primetime-players' material is much better suited toward television.
Instead of soaring, The Flight Of The Conchords actually came perilously close to crashing and burning during their gig that mixed their satirical set of songs with often labored interstitial comedy bits. In fact, at one point, Brit even said, "I think we've been derailed" when they virtually lost control of their show to a considerable slice of the audience. Much to my horror and chagrin, somehow, members of the crowd began to think they were part of the performance. Instead of ignoring the obnoxious and even belligerent cat calls, the duo's improvised response only seemed to encourage more of the same.
Yes, some of their reactions were indeed funny, particularly after one female fan yelled, "I want to marry you" to which Jermaine and Brit mused about the potential for marrying the entire audience. However, they had tremendous difficulty getting back on track. It didn't help matters that the duo kept dropping almost everything from their set list to musical instruments, as well as Brit knocking over his microphone into the front-row. The unfortunate effect was that they seemed ill-prepared to cope with this Minneapolis mob. And make no mistake, that's exactly what The Flight Of The Conchords were dealing with.
Fortunately, the musical highlights helped to quiet the crowd a bit. Inspired tunes like "The Most Beautiful Girl In The Room," "Business Time," "Hiphopopotamus vs. Rhymenoceros," "Inner City Pressure," and their tribute to David Bowie were all included in their set. As an added bonus, they managed to come back to the stage for an encore consisting of three tunes -- that, despite Bret's repeated notice that they were running out of time thanks to the audience's ridiculously rude antics.
I'm not sure how audiences throughout the rest of the United States will respond to The Flight Of The Conchords, but I can only hope they'll at least allow the duo they came to see get their act off the ground.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
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Don't Quit Your Night Job (The SOB Overview) - Zipper Theatre, New York, NY
So where are all the cool kids known as Broadway Babies hanging out after hours?
Look no further than a dozen blocks or so south of the Great White Way to the illustrious Zipper Theatre, where on a monthly basis, Don't Quit Your Night Jobkeeps the midtown theatre party going with fresh and funny improv.
Given the very nature of improv, some pieces work better than others, but you can't help but admire their spunk. My favorite bit was watching Sutton Foster and Andrea Martin compete in a hilarious obstacle race buttressed by a bloviating Broadway bent.
And to boot, all proceeds from the March performance -- a mere $20 to get in the door, although get there early in April to secure a halfway decent seat -- went to benefit Wendy Wasserstein’s Open Doors Initiative, a mentoring program offered through the Theatre Development Fund (TDF) that provides small groups of high school students an in-depth introduction to live theatre and dance.
So if you want a chance to hang out where all the cool kids are, check out Don't Quit Your Night Job.
While I've been highly critical of the aforementioned offenses, I also have been able to separate those issues from my enjoyment of the show during its Seattle tryouts. As cathartic as dissing it with a stinging review might have been, I'm the first to admit that I rather liked Young Frankenstein.
The real test with tonight's opening and tomorrow's reviews is whether the critics can do the same, or if they'll use the "this was too much like the movie" line to pile on. Find out tomorrow in my critics' capsule.
Or perhaps more incisively, is it worth $450 per ticket? That, my friends depends entirely upon your point of view.
Personally, I could never bring myself to spend that kind of money on a theatre ticket as I think I've already made abundantly clear. But if all things are truly relative, I can tell you that I enjoyed this nearly Broadway-ready Young Frankenstein much, much more than Jersey Boys, where the top seats fetch a farfetched $351.50.
Over this past weekend, I flew to Seattle to take in the out-of-town tryout of Mel Brooks' Young Frankenstein,and I can tell you it has monster hit written all over it. Yes, plenty of tinkering remains to be completed (can somebody please give a hand to sound designer Jonathan Deans -- the entire first couple tunes were so muffled that I could barely understand what was being sung), and yes, it currently runs about a half hour too long (vooof!), but overall, Brooks' latest film-cum-stage musical is funny, funny, funny.
And in answer to the original question, yes, it's pretty darned good, too.
Given that I saw the show only days into its first previews, what's remarkable is the nearly excellent shape in which Young Frankenstein already is for a show that will be further fine-tuned in the weeks ahead.
Credit Brooks and Thomas Meehan for embracing all of the signature lines and hysterical bits from the film and running with them. They're not only all here, but the rapt audience clearly anticipates each one, cheering enthusiastically as each is delivered with relish (now I finally know how all those Monty Python fans felt during Spamalot).
Yet, Brooks and Meehan expand on the story by offering up a more fully-realized Elizabeth thanks to a wickedly funny Megan Mullally, and Igor via an absolutely hilarious Christopher Fitzgerald -- Wicked's original Boq -- in an uproarious breakthrough performance that makes you all but forget Marty Feldman.
Fortunately, they're not alone. For my first-time ever, I finally sawSutton Foster perform and got to see what the fuss is about; not only can she sing and dance with the best of them, she's a voluptuous laugh riot to boot as Inga. Her "Roll In The Hay" had me rolling in the aisle. As much as I hoped to see Cloris Leachman recreate the role of Frau Blucher, there's no better substitute than the pricelessly droll Andrea Martin, who delights with nodding approval from neighing horses; her "He Vas My Boyfriend" underscores her comedic versatility. And while a monster of few words, Shuler Hensley makes for about the most lovable bogeyman ever -- just ask Mullally, who sings down the house with her risible "Deep Love."
The toughest role certainly falls on former second-stringer and Tony-winner Roger Bart, who finally graduates to a leading role with plenty of comic pizzazz. While it takes a while for his Dr. Frederick Frankenstein to rise to the heights of Gene Wilder from the silver screen version, his winning madness and heart ultimately win the audience over.
Despite sprinklings of vampires and werewolves, surprisingly few of the tunes by Mel Brooks capture the lunacy of The Producers, but as noted above, this is still a work in progress. Although I still recall the strains of the aforementioned "Deep Love," along with "Together Again For The First Time" when Frederick and Igor forge their bond, if I were to guess which tunes would go away to speed along the narrative, I'd suggest the throwaway "Welcome To Transylvania" or the needless "Please Send Me Someone" by the one-scene Hermit.
Perhaps it's for these reasons that the real showstopping tune turns out not to be a newly written Brooks piece, but instead, Irving Berlin's borrowed "Puttin' On The Ritz." Like a Busby Berkeley extravaganza, this signature tune catapults Young Frankenstein to the highest heights of hilarity.
Thanks to the unique vision of director/choreographer Susan Stroman, these Transylvanian hills come alive, not only with the sound of music, but also with enchanting stagecraft. Robin Wagner has outdone himself with Frankenstein's laboratory alone, but when you add everything from a ocean-going ship to Frankenstein Castle's grand hall, add a dose of Marc Brickman's enchanting projection designs and throw in Peter Kaczorowski's brilliant lighting design, suddenly there's more magic than you can shake a beaker at. Then, of course, there's William Ivey Long's wide-ranging costume design that bridges New York chic with Transylvania geek.
I fully trust that the final product that bows on Broadway will be precision perfect, but this is as abby-normally terrific as you can get this early.
Just to get you caught up on the musical theatre version of musical chairs, the highly popular Grinch played last season at the Hilton Theatre, current home to The Pirate Queen. A move to another theatre may on the surface appear to assure that The Pirate Queen plans to be around for a while, right? Wrong.
Earlier this year, when it was announced that Mel Brooks' The Producerswould vacate the St. James Theatre, it was almost in the same breath that they announced Brooks' Young Frankensteinwould take its place...at the St. James. But since Young Frankenstein needs a home that will last presumably beyond the Holiday season -- and since its creative team was already spied practically measuring the Hilton's curtains a few short weeks ago -- it stands to reason that The Pirate Queen is likely to post its closing notice very soon. It didn't help that the tuner received exactly zero Tony nominations on Tuesday.
After nearly a year on Broadway in her Tony nominated turn as twenties starlet Janet Van DeGraaff in The Drowsy Chaperone(and longer than that if you count the Los Angeles tryout), actress Sutton Foster is set to depart the production on April 15.
Co-star Georgia Engel (pictured above right, dancing the "Toledo Surprise" with Foster) will exit the show on April 1. Seems like a perfect day for the lovably ditzy Engel.
I had been told earlier this week that Mullally signed for the show. I've also heard that the producers have decided against casting the venerable Cloris Leachman, who created the Frau Blücher role on the silver screen. The rumblings I've heard not only deem her too old (Leachman is, in my opinion, a remarkably young 80), but also indicate that Young Frankenstein can really only begin anew if it's completely recast. Somehow, those neighing horses will never be the same.
Having said that, another of my fave actresses, the redoubtable Andrea Martin, has supposedly been in the running to assume the role of Frau Blücher. But like Chenoweth, she's reportedly mulling over her own potential television deal. Same goes for Roger Bart, who played Igor in the much-ballyhooed reading of Young Frankenstein last October.
One thing that does seem certain is that the out of town tryout will be in Seattle this summer. Personally, I'm already planning a trek to America's Emerald City to see whether this Broadway bound tuner measures up, regardless of who's cast (although it sure would be nice to finally see Sutton Foster...).
Have you ever purchased a ticket for a show, long in advance of the performance, only to be disappointed with the words, “In the role regularly played by [insert name here], tonight’s performance of [insert character’s name here] will be played by [insert name of understudy/standby/swing here]”? Has that frustration only been compounded knowing it was the star or one of the stars whom you specifically paid to see in the first place?
If your answers to either or both those questions were yes, I invite you to share with me the name of the show and the performers who skipped the performance. I also invite you to share what your reaction was to that news and whether you thought the understudy/standby/swing adequately measured up to your expectations of the show….that is, aside from your initial disappointment.
Why do I ask? Well, my reasons are twofold.
One is that it used to be the mark of a consummate professional if the thought of missing a performance was anathema to the actor's fundamental make-up. There is plenty of lore about very ill stars who heeded the call that “The show must go on.” Ethel Merman certainly comes to mind as one trouper who'd never miss a performance -- in fact, the great Elaine Stritch worked a vignette into her eponymous one woman show (Elaine Stritch: At Liberty) about her role as Merman’s standby during the run of Call Me Madam back in 1950. So confident was she that Merman would never let anything keep her away from performing that Stritch confidently took on a concurrent role in another show at the same time all the way up in Connecticut.
Shortly after she won her 2002 Tony for Thoroughly Modern Millie, I made tracks to the very same Marquis Theatre to see her perform. I even bought a ticket for a sure-to-be-there Friday night performance. But when I arrived, she was out and her understudy was in. While I enjoyed the show, I couldn’t help but wonder if I would have enjoyed it more with Foster.
Fast forward to March 2005 when I went to see Little Women. My desire to see the show was completely founded on the hope I’d be able to see Sutton Foster finally perform (OK, I also wanted to see the incomparable Maureen McGovern). But when I arrived, I learned once again that Foster was a no-show (in her defense, I later learned that she was ill). Regardless of the reason for her absence, I was underwhelmed by the show. However, when Foster was subsequently nominated for her second Tony, I couldn’t help but feel cheated in missing this rising star once more.
So it was with a bit of trepidation that I entered the Marquis Theatre on Sunday afternoon. I knew that Sutton Foster was portraying Jane Roberts/ Janet Van De Graaff and had earned a third Tony nomination for the role. So when I saw those dreaded words on the board, “In this performance, the role of Janet Van De Graaff will be portrayed by…” my heart sank. I had even joked in advance about the possibility of her being out. At the Marquis, I was told that she and Borle tied the knot and were now vacationing for two weeks in Hawaii.
The additional irony is that Foster's character in The Drowsy Chaperone is contemplating leaving the stage to marry her beau, Robert Martin. I couldn't help but wonder if that irony wasn't lost on Foster.
Now, I don’t necessarily hold Foster responsible -- I mean she did get married, after all. Yet when you’re paying good money to see a thrice Tony-nominated star only to find her away from each of the shows for which she was nominated and for which you’ve paid specifically to see her, I think you can be forgiven for starting to wonder what the deal is with her or the show or the ticketing companies.
Personally, I track sites like Playbill and Broadway.com on a daily basis, not only for the latest theatrical news, but also to ensure I’m not disappointed when I step foot into the theatre and learn that a star is out. It would have informed my decision when I purchased my ticket on June 15 if her absence had been announced or if Ticketmaster had listed key dates when Foster would be absent from the production (of course, that’s assuming that the impending Foster/Borle nuptials were already set). I certainly would have planned appropriately.
Another huge disappointment was when Nathan Lane began his serial absences from The Producers in early 2002, reportedly due to strained vocal chords. Of course, I had purchased my tickets for that show way back in May 2001 and anxiously awaited my turn in seeing the dynamic duo of Lane and Matthew Broderick. They were the reasons why I wanted to see the acclaimed show (as good as Brad Oscar was, it wasn't the same). Fortunately, in early 2004, I finally got to see the real deal Lane/Broderick team as they celebrated their triumphant return to the show.
Did Sutton Foster’s absence make me enjoy The Drowsy Chaperone any less? Well, yes, strictly from the point of view that I’ve yet to be able to see her perform. I keep hearing how great she is, but I wouldn’t be able to tell anyone with my own first-hand knowledge. Thankfully, she has an exceptional understudy in Andrea Chamberlain, who is very ably filling her shoes (my personal review will be posted soon). But will it give me pause the next time Foster’s in a show when I decided whether or not to see it? You bet.
...Are there more theatre afficionados out there now than ever before? Broadway topped the 12 million attendance mark for the first time in its long, storied history. Grosses for the year grew 12% to $861.6 million. CBS estimates that its Tony Awards television audience attracted 7.79 million viewers, up 1.29 million from last year and it's the second consecutive year with an increase. Each of the major winning productions received sizable bumps in box office success as of Monday morning. What's more, even touring productions have enjoyed a successful year overall.
...Were Bruce Vilanch and Allee Willis (pictured above) separated at birth? I've met and love them both. But after seeing Willis -- nominated for a Tony as part of the songwriting team for The Color Purple -- on the Tony Awards, I was struck by just how much she resembles a beardless Vilanch. Just curious!
...Would you send a note to a performer prior to buying tickets to see if he/she is actually planning to be in his/her role the night you're planning to attend? I'd really like to see The Drowsy Chaperone but am nervous that Sutton Foster will stiff me for the third time (she was a no-show just a couple weeks after she won her Tony in Thoroughly Modern Millie and then again last year when I saw Little Women).
...Isn't Barbra Streisand being just a tad bit greedy asking $350 and $750 for tickets to her tour?
...Don't Tony Awards count for anything? Months after it was announced that John Travolta got Harvey Fierstein's Edna Turnblad role in the new movie version of "Hairspray," I'm still scratching my head, especially since Travolta hasn't had a decent film since his last comeback in "Pulp Fiction." It's a shame that Hollywood couldn't stick with Fierstein, who made us all but forget Divine from the original movie version and earned a Tony to boot.
...Didn't Sunday's Tony clip of Jennifer Holliday and the commercial for the movie version of "Dreamgirls" get you excited to see this show on the silver screen later this year?
...Isn't it a little insulting to American audiences when London productions get rewritten for the Broadway stage? I saw Taboo and Bombay Dreams on the West End and thought they were great, but then saw them desecrated here. Why must producers mess with success? I shudder to think what they'll do to poor Billy Elliot - The Musical!
Rain: A Tribute To The Beatles Limited run extended through May 31, 2011 (Show will go on hiatus starting January 15 and reopen at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on February 8)
Rock Of Ages - Open-ended run (Show will go on hiatus starting January 9 and reopen at Helen Hayes Theatre in March)
As someone who has been involved in both politics and public relations, it's no wonder I love watching theatre. Good or bad, it's the raw energy of seeing a live performance that gets my adrenaline pumping. From the moment I saw my very first Broadway show ("Annie" in London in 1979), I was hooked. Now I see as many as 70 shows each year ranging from soaring musicals to two-hander plays. And these eyes just may be in an audience near you!
