I think the context missing when discussing Lea Salonga in the Ragtime concert is that the role of Mother had no history of being cast with a non-white actress, while West Side Story has had many productions (and a film adaptation) where Maria and other roles have been played by white actors. Salonga would never have been cast in a full production, so it was the only chance for her to do the show. Sierra has not only already played Maria, she's admitted she was wrong for it! Not
I also got orchestra seats for around $40 (including fees). Full cast was in, so I'm guessing Stubhub people just overestimated the demand for this show.
I agree with those who think that if this is supposed to be celebrity casting, it's definitely odd choices. I'm sure Tamyra Gray will be great, but one of the many things Home for the Holidays has showed us is that reality show contestants don't sell tickets. And Norm Lewis is wonderful, but he's not super well-known outside of the Broadway community. Also, Agwe's a pretty small role for him at this point, in my opinion.
I was just reading some of the bios of the creatives in the Muny announcement, and I noticed that Camille A. Brown (whose work I loved in Once on This Island) is apparently choreographing a 2018 Broadway revival of Pal Joey. Was this previously announced? I assume it has to be happening in the fall.
I'm not sure it would be possible to fully blacklist Barbour from the industry. Unfortunately, even though he got a very light punishment, he still served more time than many other abusers.
That being said, I don't think he should have been cast in such a high-profile role at this point, especially since Phantom has such a large amount of teen girl fans.
September 1st is a big date in Harry Potter, so I'm not surprised that it's sold out already.
I managed to get three tickets in the $40 range for August 8th. Feel like I could have gotten an earlier Wednesday (most weekends were sold out of the cheaper tickets), but I'm just glad I got in at all!
Literal lines were changed after Natasha was cast as a black woman. Every role in the show was played at some point (either principally or an understudy) by a POC. Save this for a show like Hello Dolly, Dear Evan Hansen, or Bandstand.
Renee is in her 40s and Mimi is supposed to be 19. It may have worked on the stage but on TV? To me Ben is the only obvious choice, but I'd love Rachel Bloom as Maureen and Amber Riley as Joanne.
To be fair, Sara has said that she'd be open to the idea of a female Dr. Pomatter. But I feel like it'd probably happen in another production, if it ever did happen.
Well, it was certainly crazy, but I got the Disaster poster I've been wanting, so I'm happy! I also got some playbills, a Ragtime (2009), Nice Work if You Can Get It and Tonys 2017 shirts, a note from Kinky Boots signed from Billy Porter, a Playbill Broadway Yearbook I didn't yet own, and two of the Public Theater buttons. I also got a button (one of the few items I could afford on my budget) from the Comet table once things had died down in the late afternoon.
Hi all. A group of friends and I are going to see Bandstand tonight, and we've ended up with an extra ticket. It's in the rear mezzanine, for $55. Please contact me ASAP if you're interested, since the show is tonight!! Thanks!
For anyone who is seeing the show September 2nd and 3rd (unfortunately not me, though I will be there this weekend), Blaine Alden Krauss has just announced he'll be playing Andrey/Bolkonsky at those performances. I believe Belton had scheduled his vacation before the show announced closing.
Xanadu. I was 12 at the time, and it was the only thing we could get at TKTS. This was before my theatre obsessive stage and I knew absolutely nothing about the show. I was literally crying in front of the TKTS booth. It's very embarrassing now, as the show was hilarious and fun and made a lifelong Kerry Butler out of me.
Newsies. My school went and I was not super interested, especially since the other option was the OBC of Pippin. But the show really won me over in the end.
