One of the hottest stories of the summer has been Canadian regional theater Blue Canoe Theatrical Productions' game-changing and gender-bended mounting of classic Pulitzer Prize-winning musical A CHORUS LINE featuring a male actor in the leading role of Cassie, now referred to as Casey. Today, Kingston actor Hunter Agnew speaks exclusively to BroadwayWorld about how he became involved in the production, the revolutionary take on the show envisioned by the creative team for this production as well as his own thoughts on portraying a character traditionally played by an actress - of course, Broadway legend Donna McKechnie famously originally essayed the part and won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress In A Musical for her efforts. Go inside the production and learn all about a buzz-worthy new take on a familiar classic below and be sure to check out BroadwayWorld's previous coverage of the production that closed late last month, available here.
This week, in honor of Tom Cruise's epic TONIGHT SHOW performance we look back at his best musical moments!
A music master reflects on some career highlights!
The Tony Award nominated ROCK OF AGES star teams with the Rock Of Ages band!
A fresh new take on a powerful CARRIE showstopper!
The director shares new details on BEAUTY AND THE BEAST!
TV's favorite serial killer comes to the stage!
In acknowledgement of the many exciting news items this week pertaining to THE WIZ, it is the topic of today's tribute.
A first look at the stars on set in BEAUTY & THE BEAST!
The Tony Award nominated ROCK OF AGES star teams with the Rock Of Ages band!
A remastered take on a cinema classic!
Show off your Broadway knowledge!
Revisit the sounds of this year's Best Musical!
Lines are blurring. Gender-bending is seemingly everywhere these days, from high fashion ads to news coverage to I AM CAIT, Queen Latifah as The Wiz and beyond. Furthermore, one of the most provocative and popular stories of last week was the news of a Canadian regional production of A CHORUS LINE casting a male actor in the leading role of Cassie, renamed Casey. With the additional angle of Broadway currently being abuzz with the appearance of stage and screen star Taye Diggs stepping into the iconic high heels of the titular character in the recently multi-Tony Award-winning musical HEDWIG & THE ANGRY INCH - itself centered on a transsexual character - it seems as though now would be the ideal time to consider some other musical theatre mainstays and how they could be re-purposed and refreshed with a gender-bended twist. Although certain roles seems tailor-made to such treatment, it is illuminating to consider the rich possibilities that could potentially be afforded in the experience of witnessing the right performer of perhaps the perceivably wrong sex tackling a role normally associated with the opposite gender. Who knows, maybe a female Phantom or a make Elphaba are not that wildly spurious or far-fetched to consider given the compelling performances that have been given by unlikely actors in roles traditionally portrayed in a certain way. Theatre is nothing without reinvention and these are my top 10 picks for musicals I would like to see taken on with fresh eyes and a new outlook.
54 Below is ready to show Tina Turner what Broadway's got to do with her!
Two theatre stars soap up on the small screen!
Relive the epic cycle by August Wilson!
A Lady Gaga hit done proud!
A Broadway regular makes a live album!
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