Casey Mink - Page 2

By all accounts, Kate Baldwin is pure Broadway Baby. Having made her Great White Way debut in the 2000 production of THE FULL MONTY, she went on to star in Broadway's THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE, WONDERFUL TOWN, and the celebrated 2009 revival of FINIAN'S RAINBOW, banking a Tony nomination for the latter. She will also, thrillingly, return to the boards this spring, starring as Irene Molloy alongside Bette Midler in the overdue revival of HELLO, DOLLY! And yet, in EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE, Baldwin's most recent string of concerts at Feinstein's/54 Below, audiences were in for nary a show tune amongst her versatile and surprising set. At the second of the four shows on October 27, Baldwin made clear her intent: not to elude her Broadway background but to highlight the other colors of her voice along with her own musical affinities.

Once a theatre kid, always a theatre kid, and even after Hollywood has called, one cannot seem to elude the song and dance beckoning of their Broadway roots. For proof of such a personification, look no further than Matthew Morrison, the smooth-crooning triple threat who made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of FOOTLOOSE back in 1998, and went on to star in several stage productions before becoming a household name as the earnest glee club teacher on the once-must-see series GLEE. Making his Rainbow Room debut on October 24, the second-ever performer in the venue's new LIVE! From the Rainbow Room series, Morrison attempted to toe the line between his Broadway past, and his evident yearnings to also traverse through the genre of more contemporary pop. What was made clear by this 70-minute set, though, is that Morrison is irresistible in his element of Broadway and jazz standards, but veers dangerously close to wedding-singer shtick when delving into Hot 100 tunes.

Ana Gasteyer is a true renaissance woman. Having been a cast member on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE for six seasons, she subverted some expectations after leaving the sketch show by going on to play Elphaba in WICKED, originating the role in Chicago's sit-down production before eventually taking her Green Girl to Broadway. Gasteyer has also had extensive success in the concert capacity, and she is now preparing for a major milestone in any solo performer's career: her debut at the Cafe Carlyle. BroadwayWorld spoke with Gasteyer ahead of her Carlyle shows, the first of which is on October 25, about the differences between SNL and eight shows a week (both are grueling, but disparately so), why she yearns for the emotional connection of performing live, and whether or not Donald Trump makes her miss being in the trenches of live comedy.

On the penultimate night of the 2016 Cabaret Convention, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, 11 fantastic cabaret artists---those who are celebrated in the form as well as those who are emerging alike---assembled to salute the late and legendary Sylvia Syms. The evening, hosted by one of Syms' closest confidants, the critic Rex Reed, was brassy, delivered wonderful anecdotes, and was ultimately very moving musically, much like Syms herself. A black and white photograph of Syms, accurately capturing her maternal warmth, hung high inside the Rose Theater at Jazz at Lincoln Center throughout the evening, which was formatted in two distinct segments. Act One was comprised of each performer taking to the stage alone to sing one of Syms' lesser known cabaret staples, or the songs which she "rescued" from obscurity such as those cut from golden age musicals. Act Two saw the performers again take on a Syms staple, but those which were more well-known hits and standards, displaying the full range of Syms' nightclub chops.

This spring, Kate Baldwin will appear in one of the most highly anticipated shows of the season, the Bette Midler-starring revival of HELLO, DOLLY! Baldwin will once again be portraying the fun-loving and yearning Irene Molloy, a role which she had previously taken on at the Paper Mill Playhouse a decade ago. Prior to stepping back into Molloy's shoes, though, Baldwin will return to Feinstein's/54 Below to perform a brand new solo show, EXTRAORDINARY MACHINE, singing the songs of some of her favorite artists. Busy as she is, BroadwayWorld had a chance to chat with Baldwin ahead of her four-show engagement at the cabaret venue, the first of which kicks off on October 25. Baldwin, sincerely affable and reflective, shared the 'full circle' nature of costarring alongside Bette Midler (she may have once made the ill-advised decision to sing 'The Rose' at a middle school talent show), how she uses her solo concerts to introspect her life and career, and why she, like many others surely, often asks herself, 'What would Gavin Creel do?'

Often, when performers get their big break at a young age, they spend the ensuing years of their career attempting to escape out from under that encompassing shadow. For Adam Pascal and Anthony Rapp, who met in the original Off-Broadway production of RENT in 1995, that is only half true. In the 20 years since that groundbreaking musical about visionary but disease-stricken bohemians launched their careers, both performers have gone on to perform plentifully inside the theatre and aside from it. However, both Pascal and Rapp have spent the last two decades not basking in the bygone glory of having once starred in a cultural phenomenon, but with the celebratory awareness that each subsequent opportunity likely may not have fallen into their paths without having done so. For proof of such a mentality, look no further than the duo's two-hander string of shows at Feinstein's/54 Below, ACOUSTICALLY SPEAKING: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP, the first of which kicked off an impressive 11-performance run on October 8. That title, though, is in part misleading. Although there was ample reflection on behalf of both parties in regards to the near quarter century since they met, the evening consisted of two distinctly separate shows, save for the exception of a select few songs which the two performed together.

The Cafe Carlyle is one of most renowned venues for cabaret in the country, seeped in history so rich it could fill a PBS special. In no way, though, does its historical significance relegate a show to seriousness. Take, for example, two-time Tony Award winner Christine Ebersole (42ND STREET, GREY GARDENS), who returned to the Cafe Carlyle for the start of what is her impressive sixth engagement at the supper club on October 11. Buoyant and self-effacing, Ebersole made it quite clear to her audience, through both her song selections and banter, that silliness and poignancy can walk hand in hand, often times to a more moving effect than either component on its own. Additionally, the very title of Ebersole's show, AFTER THE BALL, encapsulates a duality of its own, of both the specific relief and now-what sadness which accompanies the turning of life's pages. That page for Ebersole currently refers to her now-empty nest, having recently sent the last of her three children off to college. Fittingly, Ebersole kicked off her set with the song from which she got her show's moniker, "After the Ball," by Charles K. Harris. Melancholic and lilt, the song was prescient in underlining the evening's intent to investigate---with humor, introspection, and splendid tunes---this new chapter of Ebersole's life.

The 27th Annual Cabaret Convention, presented by the Mabel Mercer Foundation, kicked off on October 18, putting forth performances by some of the most iconic cabaret artists which the arena has to offer, as well as introducing new but equally captivating talent of the art form. Hosted by KT Sullivan, a cabaret stalwart herself, the evening moved briskly through an impressive 19 performers, each of whom was accompanied by their very own pianist--- if they weren't accompanying themselves, that is.

Christine Ebersole will make a triumphant return to the Cafe Carlyle on October 11, kicking off what will be her sixth engagement at the legendary Upper East Side venue. Believe it or not, though, the two-time Tony Award winner (42ND STREET, GREY GARDENS) still finds cabaret to be the most intimidating performance capacity for an artist, but simultaneously the most rewarding. Prior to her run of shows, BroadwayWorld had a chance to chat with Ebersole about what it's like to perform in a space so richly seeped in history, as well as how she is able to craft a narrative for each of her concerts that is resonant of the current space in which she finds herself. Additionally, Ebersole divulged her hopes for the future of WAR PAINT, the new musical which she starred in this summer from the creative team behind GREY GARDENS, and what it was like to finally work alongside Patti LuPone, after having known her for 40 years.

They say you only have one shot at a first impression, but in her Feinstein's/54 Below debut, Cady Huffman started her show twice. The double-take beginning was not attributed to a mistake or a technical difficulty; to the contrary, Tony Award-winning Huffman (THE PRODUCERS) was very intentional in her duality, indecisive to which of her entrances she preferred. It is only fitting that Huffman began her show with such a duplicitous start, as notions of the disparate pierced through much of her show, TOMBOY, SHOW GIRL. As that title suggests, through the 85-minute set, Huffman explored the binary of gender roles, particularly in show business. However, she also touched upon the juxtapositions of youth and experience, comedy and poignancy, weariness and the still-genuine love of show business she's maintained through decades of slogging through it.

In preparation for her return engagement at Feinstein's/54 Below, Melissa Errico was looking for answers, but she ended up with far more questions. In fact, much of the Tony-nominated mother of three's life and career as of late seems to be cloaked in indefinable uncertainty. She recently penned an op-ed for The New York Times detailing the confounding reality of being an actress who is not yet old but no longer 'an ingenue' and yet continues to work in the business of Broadway. Errico is all too aware of the current impasse of her life and, in an embrace, she dedicated her show, FUNNY, I'M A WOMAN WITH CHILDREN, to that very not-knowing. Nearly all of her songs throughout her performance on September 20---the first of four in her run---had the central theme of questioning because, as artists have done for centuries and which Errico set out to do this evening, to make sense of life through art is any creator's most powerful capability.

It is an actor's intent as old as time not to become boxed into a certain type of role or performative style, be it the ingenue, the sassy sidekick, or the bad boy too smolderingly handsome for his own good (not the worst problem to have, frankly). One essential key to eluding that conundrum is the laser-sharp understanding of who you are as a performer, outside of a given character or show. So what happens, then, when actors known primarily for their roles in musical theatre take to the stage to perform purely as themselves? The question was answered at Feinstein's/54 Below's Broadway Sings Their Own concert on August 29, as eight vastly disparate performers stepped into the spotlight, each to perform two original songs they wrote themselves, stripped of characters to hide behind.

Keala Settle has made a name for herself in the Broadway landscape due diligently portraying supporting roles, be it the bigoted Shirley in Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Norma in 2013's Hands on a Hardbody (a show-stopping performance for which she earned a Tony nomination), or the affectionate but no-nonsense best friend in Waitress, her current gig. However, in her solo concert debut at Birdland on August 22, singing the music of Frank Wildhorn, who also accompanied her performance, Settle valiantly demonstrated she is no mere sidekick.

'At last, at last, at long last.' These are the lyrics which ushered in the emotional climax of Broadway's Bright Star, the North Carolina-set musical which burned fast and, well, bright this past season on Broadway. So, too, did these lyrics close out the solo concert debut of the musical's incandescent star, Carmen Cusack, at Feinstein's/54 Below on August 9. Fittingly so. This time last year, Cusack was little known in New York, having established herself as a bona fide star in the West End, as well as regionally in touring productions of Wicked and South Pacific. Cut to the summer of 2016, though, and Cusack has made one of the most celebrated Broadway debuts in memory and was Tony-nominated in this year's Actress in a Leading Role category (the same one deemed too full for Audra McDonald). It is no wonder, then, Cusack wasted no time capitalizing on her newfound cachet, booking three concerts at Broadway's supper club, before swiftly adding a fourth due to demand.

Andy Mientus won a fictional Tony Award on television before ever actually having appeared on Broadway. However, following his concert debut with Teen Commandments at Feinstein's/54 Below on August 2, the first of a two-show engagement, it became clear that his fake Tony win may very well have been prophetic. The evening did not consist of a traditional, career-introspective set, and though there were a few covers (a mashup of Justin Bieber's 'What Do You Mean?' with Beyonce's 'XO' a highlight among them), as well as a selection from Spring Awakening, which Mientus appeared in this past season on Broadway as well as on tour in 2008, the intent was to introduce Manhattan Kids, a new musical that Mientus has been intermittently at work upon for years, alongside Teen Commandments (made up of Brett Moses, synth and piano; Van Hughes, bass and acoustic guitar; Nicholas LaGrasta, guitar, bass, keyboard, and computer; and Hampus Öhman-Frolund, drums). Though the majority of the plot was not divulged, through the selections performed it was made clear that the musical is audacious in both its story and its musical style.

In traversing her career through the songs and stories that have brought her to this point, it is clear that Jennifer Damiano's journey belies her age. Yet, through her one-woman show Jennuinely at Feinstein's/54 Below on July 29, the second of what was originally a three-performance engagement (two more encore performances have been added to her schedule), the Tony-nominated Damiano gave the impression of a young woman who has seen it all in her decade-long career. That's not to say she isn't happily embracing the unexpected twists and turns in what's still to come. This is, after all, someone who starred in the perilously ill-fated 'Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark' and lived to tell the tale.

'Broad: A term originated in the 1930s meaning woman. Less respectable than 'lady,' but much more respectable than 'bitch.' Broad: An independent, aggressive, assertive woman, usually in show business. Broads sing loud, are sarcastic, and are in your face. Broads are generally moderately attractive or better, never seen without their best dresses and perfect makeup, and they know how to compete and win in a man's world.' This is how Lesli Margherita began her one-woman show at Birdland Jazz on July 25, the second of a two-performance return engagement at the club. Reading from a music stand so as not to mince words, Margherita recited the dictionary definition of her show's eponymous moniker, because if nothing else, through Broad, Margherita wanted to make sure her audience understood one thing: Broads like her will never be deterred.

When preparing to watch Lorna Luft perform in concert, it is impossible not to feel nostalgic about her late mother, the legendary Judy Garland. Perhaps no one is more aware of this conundrum than Luft herself. And yet, at her return engagement to Feinstein's/54 Below on June 22 (the opening of a three-show run) performing a show celebrating Gay Pride Month, Luft managed to pay homage to both her mother's influence on herself as well as her enduring cultural impact, while also reminding audiences why she's had staying power in this industry in her own right. And yes, there was a juicy Judy story or two.

Sheryl Lee Ralph talks to BWW about her new show 'Instant Mom,' playing Jennifer Hudson's mom on 'Smash' and the role she would love to do on Broadway.

Sheryl Lee Ralph talks to BWW about her new show 'Instant Mom,' playing Jennifer Hudson's mom on 'Smash' and the role she would love to do on Broadway.