k.d. Lang in After Midnight- Page 2

[broadwaydevil]

Posted: 1/6/14 at 12:32am

Thanks for clarifying perfectly marvelous, I haven't been there since Peter and the Starcatcher and I guess I had forgotten. I think my point about them making every attempt to hide it until just before the lights went down still stands. Obviously she could have called out at the last minute, but I'm somewhat doubtful.

[fromafar]

Posted: 1/25/14 at 12:44am

Mmmmm-- wish I could see her in this. Just visited youtube for a taste -- search for her and "fever" and also "black coffee." Don't know if ellington, but smoky big-band numbers.

[macnyc]

Posted: 1/25/14 at 10:40am

^^^ I think I'll need to make a return trip to After Midnight!

[RippedMan]

Posted: 1/26/14 at 12:02am

I just wonder if the same understudies will be used for all the replacements since those tracks don't change.

[Gothampc]

Posted: 1/26/14 at 12:29am

I saw k.d. Lang advertise this on PBS. Some people look good with a bit of weight on them, she's not one of those people.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 1/26/14 at 1:07am

If only she could sing, Gotham.

[Patash]

Posted: 1/26/14 at 9:15am

I got an email from Playbill.com with a new code for After Midnight beginning Feb. 11 -- with k.d. Laing. But I submitted dozens of dates and it only says "invalid code", so yesterday in the city I went to the box office and tried for Sunday, Feb. 16. Code doesn't work -- they said the whole weekend has been blacked out. I'm not sure why I couldn't get any other dates to work online.

[fromafar]

Posted: 1/26/14 at 11:54am

To Patash, from "Variety":
Each [guest] artist will perform four songs in “After Midnight,” not in a straight set but in numbers interwoven throughout the evening’s loose thematic structure. Even those individual songs can change, based on an artist’s preferences, although each choice will fit the mood of the moment.

“I’m up for staging new things and choreographing new things and relighting them if we need to,” says director-choreographer Warren Carlyle, who staged Jackman’s 2011 concert outing “Hugh Jackman, Back on Broadway.”

[Patash]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 11:35am

I saw a new Playbill discount and went to the box office, but found the weekend of Feb. 14 to 16 was blocked out. Drat. This week, however I got an emailed one from Ticketmaster which worked and I booked pretty good orchestra seats for Sunday, the 16th at 3 PM (our first anniversary!). Now I'm a little worried why they took the discount block off that. Is there any indication k. d. may not be doing the show that day?

[ACL2006]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 11:45am

I have to wonder why they haven't announced anyone after Toni Braxton's run with the show. Braxton's scheduled to leave March 30. I wonder if the producers are looking to close the show by then.

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 12:37pm

I guess the grosses haven't been that great, which is a shame. The producers need to get Beyonce in there as the special guest. (Kidding!)

[gstrus2]

Posted: 2/6/14 at 1:03pm

Maybe Amber Riley could do it? Pure speculation, but I'd love to see her go in! (She has in NYC recently, and tweeted about some meetings she had).

[RippedMan]

Posted: 2/7/14 at 1:17am

I doubt it's very expensive to run.

[macnyc]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 11:32am

I'm curious as to how kd lang handles the role. Has anyone seen her?

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 11:53am

Sorry, I posted this in the wrong thread:

I loved this show at City Center and on Broadway. But I have to say that the video clip of KD Lang in performance on this site completely killed my desire to go see it again with her. Maybe she's better live than on the video, and maybe she will get better with more performances, but that clip looks godawful.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 12:58pm

That's funny I had the opposite reaction, StageStruckLad. Well, not the opposite. But I did think that lang's voice sounded great and that she looked like she was already, in her very first performance on stage, having a ball. I think part of what makes this show so infectious is that you can just see and feel how much the performers on stage are enjoying themselves. She also looks like she's lost a little weight since I last saw her and her white tux is exactly the look I was expecting for her. The "business suit" on the first number is a bit dull, though.

She's obviously no where near Fantasia's level, but I think that was a special case of star, creative talent and material connecting perfectly. Would I rush out to see Lang? No, but I certainly wouldn't be put off by her--especially given that she sings 4 out of, what?, 26 numbers in this revue? Will be interesting to see what kind of pull she has at the box office.

[DottieD'Luscia]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 1:18pm

Was the house full?

[followspot]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 1:23pm

Liked the clip too. Seeing this tomorrow night, and really looking forward now to hearing those big velvety notes live!

Fantasia was a perfect match, of course. Amber Riley was good. kd looks like she's having a blast and ready to knock it out of the park. Can't wait!

Updated On: 2/12/14 at 01:23 PM

[Up In One]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 4:30pm

Couldn't see the video but I thought the vocals were amazing. Not a fan so I haven't followed Lang, has she done an album of standards? Definitely worth giving a listen on Spotify or Pandora if she has.

[followspot]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 4:45pm

^^ The closest she's gotten to a full standards album is her Grammy-winning duets album with Tony Bennett, "A Wonderful World," but she's covered many classic standards from various genres and eras both on her own albums ("Drag," "Hymns of the 49th Parallel," and "Shadowland" especially) and as a guest on soundtracks and compilations.

Updated On: 2/12/14 at 04:45 PM

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/12/14 at 8:56pm

UpInOne - if you enjoyed her sound on those videos, she has a good deal to recommend in her back catalog as followspot outlined. I'd say her original songs from the last few years aren't as strong as her prior work, but her voice is still wonderful--pretty much the definition of a "velvety tone". She clearly has strong instincts for standards and jazz, but she also flavors her delivery with a touch of her Alt-Country roots. There's always just the slightest twang. I adore her duet of "Moonglow", first performed with Tony Bennett on his 1994 MTV Unplugged album (video link below). I think "Moonglow" might offer some insight into how she'll be performing "Stormy Weather". She mentioned in a recent interview that she intended to sing it much "smaller" than it's usually sung to truly connect with the heartache in the lyrics. Also, her hugely successful 1992 album Ingenue is pretty much an adult contemporary masterpiece worth checking out.


VIDEO - k.d. lang and Tony Bennett - "Moonglow"

[blaxx]

Posted: 2/14/14 at 2:50am

Judging by a video is classic. Lang to me was way better than Fantasia and the show was wonderful with her in it. What a voice! Most of all, she has an incredible presence.

How is this show not a front runner for best musical in everyone's books? It is one of the best things out there.

[followspot]

Posted: 2/14/14 at 8:42am

Lang brought the house down last night. Her "Stormy Weather" alone is worth admission, and "Zaz Zuh Zaz" raised the roof. Didn't think she'd top Fantasia, who turned out to be a delightfully perfect fit with the "After Midnight" concept, but lang feels like a true "guest star" (as the role indicates) in the vein of a Frank Sinatra or Tony Bennett, and somehow even more commanding and present in the proceedings. Lang has always been a slightly reluctant star, which made her casting here something of a head-scratcher. But she appears to be having the time of her life, and taking the audience along with her. Enjoyed the fact that her songs were made gender neutral and that she performed "On the Sunny Side of the Street" opposite female dancers (Fantasia's were male) — the producers are keeping true to tailoring the guest star numbers to the guest star. I don't know what the majority perception is of what lang can do, but last night the audience was on their feet, minds blown. What a voice!

And can't say enough about the epic ensemble of singers, dancers, and musicians. Zaz Zuh Zaz!

(p.s. — NONE of the videos of this show do it justice — "After Midnight" is the "livest" live show on Broadway.)

[HorseTears]

Posted: 2/14/14 at 8:57am

Great to hear the show's in such good shape. Sounds like lang is great fun in the role. Sometimes the best casting is the most unexpected. Does Lang do any scatting? I was pleasantly surprised at how well Fantasia scatted--especially in "Zaz Zuh Zaz" when I saw the show last year.

[followspot]

Posted: 2/14/14 at 9:27am

^ Lang didn't do what I would call classic "scatting" (which I agree, Fantasia nailed), but she puts her own twist on the call-and-response in "Zaz Zuh Zaz" that's just as fun. :)