Just this very morning, I happened to be listening to Sondheim: A Musical Tribute on my morning jog. (You know, the 1973 concert tribute Burt Shevelove staged on the LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC set.) Sure enough, here was Nancy Walker's bang-up version of "I'm Still Here". Not word perfect (she slipped up on the line "Sorry, I thought you were hooz-is..." but absolutely nailed the arc
I respectfully disagree with your point. Unlike impressionist paintings, Shakespeare plays and many (not all) Sondheim musical plays, the particular brand of comedy Neil Simon wrote really does seem to me to have an expiration date. How many I Dream of Jeanie or Gilligan’s Island episodes seem funny to us today? The 60’s sitcom rhythms of many Simon comedies have not aged well to my ears, whereas the deeper emotions in Brighton Beach M
Idina Menzel - Skintight at Geffen Sep 10
2019, 11:27:27 AM
I saw the Geffen production just 2 days ago. Bang-up cast, high-gloss set, very broadway caliber production all around. But bit by bit you realize each of these characters is a nasty piece of work and each of their successive monologues takes more and more patience to sit through. Idina Menzel seems to have decided her character suffers undiagnosed bipolar disorder which made you want to throttle her when she launched into one of her many tirades. It was a treat to see Harry Groener onstage but
Like others have stated, people who compulsively pursue underage sexual partners have a dangerous kink that can often harm youngsters, sometimes irrevocably. But they are not by definition monsters, as you seem to think when you write: "This is disgusting. Why would a successful young gay man even want to get with a kid so young? Gross... Something is clearly wrong and you deserve what you get."
Is the pianist a victim? In a way, everyone with a kink condemned by so
I feel only pity for Luminaire and others who have such a kneejerk reaction to folks who find themselves attracted to underage guys or girls. Whoa to Luminaire should they discover they themselves have some kink in their sexual makeup equally taboo to society at large. Once not so long ago, adult guys simply loving other adult guys was viewed with the same disgust you now display toward the unfortunate pianist.
Protect kids, sure, but also learn empathy. Everyone deserves so
Please God let the next 20 years bring a more thrilling way to gossip about the goings on on Broadway than this old board. I promise to contribute my unvarnished opinion on the MERRILY film in 2040 if I can still find the buttons on my laptop...
My question is would this be a full-fledged musical or not? A 10-episode arc means either A) apportioning the existing 10 songs written for the original show over the 10 hours of the project at the rate of about one per hour, or B) writing new numbers. The second option would scream of hubris, and the first option would hardly give me a fully musicalized show.
Maybe they're gonna dust off all those trunk songs that weren't good enough to make the cut first time out.
Couple of questions come up reading all this-- If they already shot the scene with the 3 leads at their youngest, wouldn't that be the Graduation scene/ valedictorian speech and "Hills of Tomorrow" rather than "Our Time"? Or do we know for a fact that that version of the show has been chucked for the movie?
Do we get "Rich and Happy" or "That Frank"? Do we get "The Blob"? "Honey?" "Growing Up"? There ha
Mark Hellinger Theater returning? Times Square Church looking for larger space? Aug 29
2019, 01:01:08 AM
I haven’t been in the Hellinger since working all those months on LEGS DIAMOND, the show that closed the house for good as a Bway theater. Views from that luxurious 2-story lobby are etched in my memory for all time. Has anyone here been inside in the last 30 years? Are any of its beautiful treasures still intact?
Falsettos in London premiere controversy Aug 25
2019, 06:05:36 PM
As a Jewish theatergoer, I’m surprised no-one’s brought up Alfred Molina’s woeful miscasting as Tevye in the revival of Fiddler from the early aughts. His innate goyishness combined with the director’s own resulted in a FIDDLER that seemed for all the world like a Chekhov play about generic Russian peasants. Any production of Falsettos would do well to heed that cautionary tale.
Andre De Shields and Bat Out of Hell Aug 23
2019, 07:53:58 AM
The whole original cast of AINT MISBEHAVIN’ (no G) was electric onstage! So simple in retrospect— five livewire performers, a hot onstage band and pure magic happened every night. This was the original jukebox musical compared to which all others fall very short. One of the greats that made the 70’s perhaps the greatest decade of musicals in history.
Best and favorite Aug 20
2019, 11:45:08 PM
Best and favorite show remains OBC of A LITTLE NIIGHT MUSIC. But I have gotten ridiculous enjoyment from Pearl Bailey and Carol Channing’s respective revivals of HELLO DOLLY in the 70’s and GUYS AND DOLLS revival from ‘92. Recent favorites include BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY and GROUNDHOG DAY, though they are both pieces too flawed to be considered bests.
West End CAROLINE OR CHANGE revival at Roundabout in 2020 Aug 19
2019, 02:46:41 PM
I’ll be as excited as the rest of you to see this revival next year, but coming at it from a different direction. I went to the original Bway production expecting to see the show that all of you love and revere so, only to be left unmoved and frankly not a little bored. I’ve gone back and listened to the OBC cd over and over, understanding clearly what the show wants to accomplish, and still falling short for me. (Maybe I’m hyper sensitive to the depiction of the Jewish family as a bunch of mone
Rodgers and Hammerstein on Revivals (Question) Aug 19
2019, 06:38:50 AM
The above comment just reinforces Ol Blue Eyes’ thesis: most of those playwright’s works feature casts where African Americans are in the majority. Had they cast CAROUSEL with a chiefly African American cast, Billy Bigelow’s color would have ceased to be an issue, and the depiction of that character with all his flaws would have had nothing to do with race.
Haven't changed my avatar since I joined in 2012-- it's Boris Aronson's gorgeous sketch of the tree in PACIFIC OVERTURES to match my name. Suddenly last week some stranger showed up in its place. How can I get my original one back? (Asked by a technologically challenged luddite.)
Moulin Rouge cheaper tickets Aug 10
2019, 10:51:21 PM
A week ago I bought 2 center orch seats from Ticketmaster row P 102,103 for $199 for the Thurs matinee on Oct 3. $199 isn’t cheap but it’s not $340 either
but absolutely nailed the arc
