If you could win any original Broadway cast recording, which one would you want most?
That was essentially the question I posed via Twitter and Facebook over the past week in my latest SOB Contest. Since I have been feeling very much in the holiday spirit, I decided that my gift to some of my lucky followers would be the cast recording of their choice. I then drew the names of five lucky winners.
Congratulations to the following winners:
Lynn Gaillard (Carrollton, TX), who wanted and won [title of show] cast recording.
Jayson Kerr (New York, NY), who wanted and won The Scottsboro Boyscast recording.
Evelyn Sam (Briarwood, NY), who wanted and won The Lion Kingcast recording.
Alex Wolfe (Blue Bell, PA), who wanted and won The Scottsboro Boys cast recording.
To each of these winners, as well as to all followers, let me express my deepest appreciation for following Steve On Broadway (SOB)! To the winners, please note that once I have the cast recordings of your choice in hand, I will ship them out immediately, just in time for the holidays!
So, dear readers, if you had to choose any cast recording you just have to have in your collection, which would it be? Would it be one that is already in your possession? Would it be one you have been saving up to buy? Or would it be for a rarity that is just impossible to get? I'll be curious to hear what your selection would be.
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. In fact, I have even sprung for each of the cast recordings so that five lucky readers could enjoy listening to the ones they wanted most.
In the lead-up to this evening's long anticipated opening night for The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway, the marketing efforts in support of the musical just continue to innovate.
On Friday, representatives from the production alerted me to their website's new "reaction wall," which not only enables audience members to post their thoughts regarding the show, but aggregates the key words used most often in a cloud at the top of the page. Words like "history," "brilliant," "great" and "amazing" pop up with great prominence.
That the audience response is this potent comes as no surprise to me. After seeing John Kander and Fred Ebb's stunning musical during its Minneapolis tryout, I had many of the same reactions. And the positive buzz I continue hearing from those who have seen the production already at the Lyceum Theatre have me enthusiastically anticipating my return to the tuner on the Great White Way within the next few weeks.
It's a rare thing for me to use this space to tell those associated with any production to "break a leg," but in the case of The Scottsboro Boys, it comes from the heart.
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.
At the beginning of October, I noted how eight new shows were starting on Broadway this month and asked you to vote for the show you most wanted to see.
Credit certainly goes to Paul Reubens aka Pee-wee Herman for truly getting the viral nature of blogging, Facebook and Twitter. He mobilized his fans to vote and they turned out in droves. Other Broadway shows could learn a thing or two from his "get out the vote" campaign!
And is it saying something that two shows couldn't even muster enough votes that they earned a place on the list below "I don't want to see any of these shows"?
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.
It captures the spirit of the show in one fell swoop. I've been consistently and thoroughly impressed with the production's Website, poster and social networking skills on Facebook and Twitter. They clearly know what they're doing.
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.
The road to Broadway has been nothing, if not long and circuitous, for John Kander and the late Fred Ebb's The Scottsboro Boys. But this evening, the musical finally reaches the Main Stem as previews begin at the Lyceum Theatre.
The road's been long, not the least of which is because Ebb died over six years ago on September 11, 2004. Circuitous, because after enjoying a sold-out world premiere engagement earlier this year at New York City's Vineyard Theatre, the tuner was taken out of town for a real honest-to-goodness tryout in Minneapolis.
Just two months ago yesterday, I was extraordinarily fortunate to see the show on its opening night at the Twin Cities' prestigious Guthrie. I was pretty much blown away by Susan Stroman's inventive direction, her sterling cast (most of whom are coming to Broadway) and Kander and Ebb's evocative score. That's quite a feat to behold considering that it's based on the true Depression-era story of nine African-Americans falsely accused of rape in the Deep South.
Not only does the official Web site for The Scottsboro Boys offer up an excellent history of the show's namesakes, but it also describes the show as follows:
The Scottsboro Boys is the thrilling final collaboration by musical theatre giants John Kander and Fred Ebb (Chicago, Cabaret). This critically-acclaimed production comes to Broadway following a sold-out run at the Vineyard Theatre.
Directed by 5-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and featuring a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival), this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history with arresting originality. The show is based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s, in which 9 African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime.
Their shocking and inspiring story - told though a mix of innovative staging and piercing new songs -- demands to be shared. So gather 'round... and join The Scottsboro Boys on their remarkable journey.
If I hadn't already seen The Scottsboro Boys in August, this most certainly would have ranked as my personal pick in the poll question I've asked here. But make no mistake, I'll most definitely be making a point to see The Scottsboro Boys once again after it opens October 31.
The Scottsboro Boys may very well be the most important new musical opening all season.
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.
8 New Broadway Shows Begin This Month - Which Do You Most Want To See?
Last month, Broadway's 2010-11 Theatrical Season began in earnest as seven new plays and musicals started previews. October, the ante is upped as eight more shows begin their first performances.
With all of these new and revived plays and musicals, I invite you to respond to my latest SOB Poll below that asks, "Which of these productions do you most want to see?"
Please take a moment to vote in this poll, and feel free to provide your comments below as to why.
With no defense necessary, my verdict was easily reached. The Scottsboro Boys is sensational in virtually every way.
What makes this Susan Stroman-helmed tuner particularly noteworthy is its very production marks the final yet ultimately sanguine collaboration between one of the most durable duos in musical theatre history: John Kander and the late Fred Ebb, who passed away nearly six years ago. Through the culmination of The Scottsboro Boys, Kander and Ebb's prolific, unmistakable scores now stretch nearly 50 years.
Their magnificent musical is based on an actual cause célèbre surrounding the outrageous injustices endured by nine African-Americans, who were falsely accused of gang-raping two white women in a deeply prejudiced Alabama during the Great Depression. As guilty verdict after guilty verdict was thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court, the nine remained behind bars for years continuing to profess their innocence.
Proving once and for all that fact is far stranger and usually much more compelling than fiction, librettist David Thompson wisely hews his book quite close to what actually transpired, giving a plausible air of verisimilitude to the story. The liberties he does take serve to move the story along.
Additionally, Thompson -- along with Kander and Ebb's ingeniously sly score -- beats those lingering racist underpinnings left within our society at its own game by cleverly employing minstrel show devices to frame the story. In the hands of any less skilled director than Stroman, the effect could easily fall flat.
Stroman exceptionally executes this production frequently employing her creative choreography to brilliantly underscore the proceedings. Witness how she's creatively conceived "Electric Chair," using jolting humor to make a point. To say the least, it's one of many electrifying passages in the show's progression.
The thoroughly excellent cast prosecutes their roles with a spine-tingling sense of mischievous daring and danger. Without exception, they are in a word superb.
In an ironic about-face, the equally phenomenal Colman Domingo and Forrest McClendon each effectively put on a white face to portray a dizzying array of characters ranging from sheriff and deputy to lawyers and guards. As the lone white actor in the production, a fine David Anthony Brinkley presides as the Interlocutor, as well as judge and Alabama governor (Brinkley will be replaced on Broadway by John Collum, who originated those roles earlier this year at New York's Vineyard Theatre).
Each of the nine Scottsboro Boys is expertly prosecuted by Sean Bradford as Ozie Powell, Josh Breckenridge as Olen Montgomery, Derrick Cobey as Andy Wright, Jeremy Gumbs as Eugene Williams, Joshua Henry as Haywood Patterson, Rodney Hicks as Clarence Norris, Kendrick Jones as Willie Roberson, Julius Thomas III as Roy Wright, and Christian Dante White as Charles Weems. All have individual personality to spare -- and in the case of Bradford and White, quite literally, as they portray accusors Ruby and Victoria with aplomb.
When the nine first bound onto the stage in saltation through the rousing "Minstrel March" (which seamlessly segues into the devilishly deceptive "Hey, Hey, Hey, Hey!"), they're imbuing their characters with all the dashed hopes and dreams they describe shortly after in the gorgeous, Gospel-tinged "Commencing In Chattanooga." But from their crowded cell, when Thompson's libretto astutely gives way to the stark reality inherent in Alabama's rat-infested jails and prisons, each actor comes into his own.
Ultimately it's Joshua Henry's extraordinary turn as the illiterate, truth-telling Haywood Patterson that thrills. Henry astonishes in the minstrelsy "Nothin'" as he flawlessly maneuvers back and forth between a genuinely-delivered sulking, seething animosity toward being unjustly accused and a crafty caricature of the shameful blackface personna that's long since been discredited. His soaring, yet heartbreaking "You Can't Do Me" vanquishes over adversity, even if he's left to rot in jail.
Adroitly and satisfyingly concluding with a poignant depiction of a much more prominent historical event, nimbly offered by Sharon Washington as The Lady, the overall result is spellbinding.
I can testify that as gutwrenching, outrageous and absolutely beautiful as this musical is, The Scottsboro Boys is nothing short of an ironic triumph over evil. It will surely become a must-see on Broadway, and to that I'll confidently swear.
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.
(Click here for The SOB Review of The Scottsboro Boys)
This evening, The Scottsboro Boys opens at Minneapolis' prestigious Guthrie for its pre-Broadway tryout. The tuner is billed as "the thrilling final collaboration between by musical theater giants John Kander and Fred Ebb," with the latter having died on September 11, 2004.
As noted here over three years ago, the musical was initially conceived as The Minstrel Show and was to be presented in blackface. The musical provides a minstrel-style depiction of racial inequalities in the deep south during the Great Depression that Kander describes as "vicious."
Based on the notorious "Scottsboro" case in the 1930s (in which nine African-American men were unjustly accused of a terrible crime) this daring and wildly entertaining musical explores a fascinating chapter in American history with brilliant originality. This critically-acclaimed production, directed by five-time Tony Award winner Susan Stroman (The Producers) and featuring a book by David Thompson (who adapted the script for Chicago's record-breaking revival), comes to the Guthrie following a sold-out run Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre.
It should be noted that not every cast member from The Scottsboro Boys that's opening tonight is necessarily making his way to Broadway. John Collum, who created the role of the Interlocutor at the Vineyard and who will reprise that turn on the Great White Way, has been replaced in Minneapolis by David Anthony Brinkley. Jeremy Gumbs, who will portray Scottsboro Boy Eugene Williams in Minneapolis, is not yet listed among the players who will make their way to New York.
Since Guthrie Director Joe Dowlinghas stated, "The production that people will see here is very much the production they'll see on Broadway," I'll be in the audience for tonight's opening. Expect to see my SOB Review shortly after.
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.
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!
Which Cast Recording Would You Want Most?
