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If you've been a longtime reader of Steve On Broadway, the name Jon Michael Hill is not new to you. In fact, I first wrote about this gifted young actor in this space on July 10, 2006 when he was performing in the excellent Bruce Norris play, The Unmentionables.
Even as the booming off-stage voice instructs the audience to silence their cell phones, a menacing, cocky young man named Etienne (Jon Hill) saunters down the aisle looking as if he might not belong before finally calling out to the audience that they should not bother staying for this show. Of course, it's all a ruse, but it's clearly designed to set the stage for the play and challenge some preconceived notions about race and appearance even before the performance begins.
More recently, I provided many of you with your more recent introduction to his talents when I wrote this past July 16:
Take a close look at the smiling face to the left. Examine it very carefully. Because this is the exciting face of tomorrow's Broadway.
Ever since Hill made his impressive Broadway debut in the superb Superior Donutsthat opened October 1, he's been the subject of a lot of good buzz that amounts to so much more than just a sugar rush. Flush with great reviews and even some well-deserved Tony talk, Hill is making a name for himself on the Great White Way.
It may be a month overdue, but The New York Times is finally sitting up and taking notice. In a terrific story by Patrick Healy, Hill is profiled and assessed by his peers, including director Tina Landau, who states:
“Jon was one reason I said, ‘Count me in,’ ” said Tina Landau, a Steppenwolf ensemble member who directed the play in Chicago and New York. “He’s completely mercurial. He can do everything and its opposite. That’s so exciting to see in a young actor.”
Like I've said before, keep your eye on this exciting young actor. By swinging by the Music Box Theatre and seeing him perform this fall, I have no doubt that you'll have bragging rights in someday saying -- when he's a major star -- that you saw him when.
Dave Itzkoff at The New York Times Arts Blogs wrote, a bit snarkily:
Just when we were starting to remember Patti LuPone as a luminescent if detail-oriented theater star -- and not, say, the sort of person who brings an entire show to a halt when she catches an audience member snapping photographs of her -- she goes and does it again.
The Las Vegas Sun reports that Ms. LuPone, the two-time Tony Award winner, stopped in midperformance on Sunday night at the Orleans hotel when she saw an audience member using an electronic device.
“What were you doing?” Ms. LuPone asked the audience member, according to The Sun. “I promise not to be mad at you. Just tell me, what were you doing — videoing? Taking photos? Texting? I really want to know.” The fan, wisely, did not respond. Ms. LuPone then threatened to have the fan thrown out if it happened again, before she resumed singing “Don’t Cry for Me, Argentina.”
Ms. LuPone earned an unwanted recording credit earlier this year when audio of her berating an audience member who tried to take pictures of her at a January performance of “Gypsy” was posted on YouTube.
Your story about my stopping my concert in Las Vegas on the New York Times ArtsBeat blog was forwarded to me.
I found the tone of your report very snide and feel compelled to write you to ask -- what do expect me, or any performer for that matter, to do?
Do we allow our rights to be violated (photography, filming and audio taping of performances is illegal) or tolerate rudeness by members of the audience who feel they have the right to sit in a dark theater, texting or checking their e-mail while the light from their screens distract both performers and the audience alike? Or, should I stand up for my rights as a performer as well as the audiences I perform for?
And do you think I’m alone in this? Ask any performer on Broadway right now about their level of frustration with this issue. Ask the actor in Hair who recently grabbed a camera out of an audience member’s hand and threw it across the stage. Or ask the two Queens in “Mary Stuart” (Harriet Walter and Janet McTeer) how they react to it.
I find it telling that my story elicited 47 comments from your readers while a few other stories on the blog elicited a handful, with many getting 0 comments. It certainly touched a chord with people, almost all of whom sounded like audience members, who share in my frustration with what threatens to become standard behavior if no one speaks out and takes action against it.
This has been going on in my career for 30 years since I starred in Evita, and, you’re surprised I stop shows now?
Sincerely, Patti LuPone
As someone who was there for that now fabled penultimate performance of Gypsy, I can tell you that I much prefer an actor who stands up for her rights as a performer and those of the audience by doing exactly what's she's doing.
Thank you, Patti! You and the polite members of your audience deserve better.
Somehow, I completely missed this, but nothing gets by the ever-sharp eye of Esther at Gratuitous Violins.
She takes on one of my all-time favorite theatre critics, Frank Rich, for this comment at last week's discussion of August: Osage County, sponsored by The New York Times:
By the way, many of the most vicious reviews are written on theater blogs, and they can’t be stopped either.
I'm with you, Esther. I don't read too many blogger reviews that are outright vicious, and in fact, I think the one critic out there who seems to take the most glee in being so is none other than the Grey Lady's current lead critic.
But I will say this: I miss the days before Mr. Rich transferred over to the Op-Ed pages. Not because I'm upset by what he has to write over there, but because as a theatre lover, I felt that I had a kindred spirit writing reviews for other theatre lovers. "Butcher of Broadway," indeed.
Perhaps it was inevitable that the "Gray Lady" would finally succumb. After all, noted critics like The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout have been on the leading edge of the blogosphere by posting stories since 2003.
But yesterday, The New York Times' very own theatre critic Ben Brantley began his unique online journey....in London. Brantley will be haunting West End theatres over the course of the next 21 days to see a whopping 28 shows.
Mused one John Walker, who commented on Brantley's first post (yes! you can actually finally fire back at New York's most controversial critic) , "28 shows in 21 days? You won’t have time to reflect on any of the ideas / issues properly. I suggest one show every two or three days."
Welcome to the blogosphere, Ben, where everyone's a critic!
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!
