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BWW Blogs: 'The Showtune Mosh Pit' for December 29th, 2009
By: Paul W. Thompson Dec. 30, 2009
THE LATEST IN UNAUTHORIZED GOSSIP AND BUZZ FROM THE HEART OF CHICAGO'S SHOWTUNE VIDEO BARS, AND MUSICAL THEATER NEWS FROM CHICAGO TO BROADWAY
by Paul W. Thompson
Overheard this half-year under the showtune video screens at Sidetrack and the Call:
And now, just when you thought it was safe to eat that last Christmas cookie and make plans for New Year's Eve, one more year-end wrap-up list appears! But, because "The Showtune Mosh Pit" debuted in the first week of August, this is a half-year list (well, five months, but who's counting?).
Since then, we've brought you (by one count) 125 different topics (seems like a lot!). We've talked about shows, yes--musical Theater Productions on Broadway and off, in the Loop, the 'hood and the Burbs, institutional and storefront, Equity and non-Equity, new works, revivals, tours, tryouts, sit-downs and home-growns. We've brought you TV shows, books, movies, births (Idina and Taye's baby), deaths (RIP, Erich Kunzel and Patrick Swayze), cabaret performances, concert appearances, recordings, video clips, Grammy and Jeff Award items, sketch comedy, ballets, benefits, administrative news, celebrity sightings and more. I'm exhausted!
But what are the topics we (and by "we," I mean you!) have talked about the most during this half-year? We've scoured the archives to bring you our first-ever Mosh Pit "Top Ten Hot Topics" for the latter half of 2009! And without further ado, here they are!
10. "Yeast Nation." The first full-blown production of this new work by the authors of "Urinetown," Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis, played from mid-September to early November (after an extension) at the American Theater Company in Lincoln Park. Was that Barbara Robertson ("Wicked") in a rain poncho? And are they all playing yeasts? Yes, and yes. Subtitled "the triumph of life," I'm not sure the production was a triumph, though it may have been a stepping-stone to something else. And we sure were talking about it.
http://www.atcweb.org/onstage/yeast.html
9. "Cabaret." This stunning local production of the timeless Kander and Ebb classic was one of the highlights of the early fall theatrical season. The Drury Lane Theatre in west suburban Oakbrook Terrace has been doing great work lately, and this may have been its hottest ticket recently. In my review of the production, I called actor Patrick Andrews "a revelation" as the Emcee. He was supported by the best New York and Chicago talent, including our resident frau-diva, Rebecca Finnegan, "thoroughly compelling" as Fraulein Schneider. With this "Cabaret," director and choreographer Jim Corti achieved what I called "an extraordinary night of theater," in which the staging was "seamless, courageous and frequently state-of-the-art." Other observers felt the same, and the buzz about it all was deafening.
8. "In The Heights." The national tour of the 2008 Tony Award champion for best new musical made Chicago its first lengthy stop in December (it's still here through the end of this week), and we were eager for it! We also can't stop talking it up, now that we are all seeing it. Lin-Manuel Miranda isn't starring in the show for which he crafted the music and lyrics, but the production has heated up our winter something fierce. Long may it tour.
http://intheheightsthemusical.com/index.html
7. "South Pacific." The national tour of the 2008 best revival Tony-winning production (by Lincoln Center Theater) originated in San Francisco, but again, we got it early--though at the suburban Rosemont Theatre (rather than downtown), and only for a single week in late November. (The cast sang live on WFMT-FM while they were here, too.) All doubts about the conversion of this production from modified thrust to traditional proscenium seem to have been cast aside. We only wish it would come back! Rodgers and Hammerstein have never been so timely--or are they always timely?
http://www.southpacificontour.com/
6. "High Fidelity." The first professional post-Broadway production of this 2006 musical played Chicago in late summer and early fall, directed by Peter Amster and produced by star Stef Tovar's Route 66 Theatre Company. Restoring the show to its Chicago locale (mirroring the show's film source) and converting the old "Tony and Tina's Wedding" space at Piper's Alley into something more akin to a rock club than a theater may have been the keys to its buzz-worthy success here. Dropping by Sidetrack for a cast promo appearance didn't hurt either!
Note that Michael Mahler, who was announced to appear in "Yeast Nation," stayed with "High Fidelity" and didn't make the move to the ATC show. We also understand that future national productions of HF are in the works, based on the Chicago version of the show. Lyricist Amanda Green sure seemed pleased with what she saw on the night I saw her there.
5. "Nine." Broadway baby Rob Ashford has been hoping to replicate his huge success with the movie version of "Chicago" with this film adaptation of the 1982 Tony-winning musical with a score by Maury Yeston ("Titanic"). The hype has been building all fall about the multi-Oscar winning cast, the three new songs and the fabulous 1960s Italian looks and locales. The film opened locally on Christmas Day to a decidedly mixed reception. But we in the Mosh Pit have been talking about it at a fever pitch, and we continue to debate the merits of this film for some time to come. Those of us who have loved the score for nearly three decades are glad to share its glories with a new generation of fans. And that younger generation is eager to understand the allure.
http://www.nine-movie.com/#/home-page
4. "Million Dollar Quartet." After opening at the Goodman Theatre in the fall of 2007, this show about Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins transferred to the Apollo Theater on Lincoln Avenue, where it has now run for more than a year. A Broadway production will begin performances in New York at the Nederlander Theatre on March 13, 2010, and (frustratingly) we do not yet know if any or all of the current Chicago cast will make the leap. But what a success story this show has become here! And we wish it (in whatever incarnation) the very best of break-a-leg luck in the Big Apple.
http://www.milliondollarquartetlive.com/
3, "Jersey Boys." We love our Jersey Boys, even though they are about to leave us! After a run of over two years at the Bank of America Theatre, and much work at connecting to the theatrical and the broader community here, this show, just now getting its just attention after opening in the wake of the "Wicked" juggernaut, is shutting down on January 10, 2010. But it weathered the economic melt-down, and for that we are all certainly grateful! The current JBs (Dominic Scaglione, Jr., Michael Cunio, Michael Ingersoll and Shonn Wiley) capped off their run with an appearance on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" this fall, and why not? Who loves you, pretty baby? We here in the Mosh Pit do!
http://www.jerseyboysinfo.com/chicago/
2. "Glee." After a teaser broadcast in May, Mosh Pit residents made do with repeated viewing of that "Don't Stop Believing" clip until the FOX-TV series officially debuted in September. Wednesday nights weren't the same! The talk about the songs, the downloads and CDs, the cast, the humor, the pregnancy and marriage plotlines, and guest stars like Kristin Chenoweth (done ), Jonathan Groff (promised) and Idina Menzel (rumored) has been fast and furious, almost like Lea Michele's channeling of Barbra Streisand during the recent "fall finale" episode. Can we make do until new episodes in April? Are two CD issues enough? What did south suburban native Jane Lynch buy at the 900 North Michigan Shops when she was spotted clothes shopping there on Christmas Eve? (You didn't know that, did you?) Will the excitement ever die?
And the Nunber One Mosh Pit Hot Topic is:
1. "The Addams Family." If you don't know about the world premiere pre-Broadway try-out of the new Andrew Lippa musical playing now through January 10, 2010 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre, then why are you reading this article? (LOL) Seriously, this is world theatrical news that continues to unfold here, and we have been talking about it all fall. Even with a book by "Jersey Boys" creators Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice, who clearly have reason to love Chicago, we have lead producer and Chicagoan Stuart Oken to thank for all this gothic mayhem and excitement we've been experiencing locally. Plus, member of the phenomenal cast have been making official and unofficial appearances around town, and we are thrilled about it all!
Word of mouth about the production has been improving somewhat since performances began in November, and it was announced this Tuesday in the New York Times and elsewhere that director Jerry Zaks has been officially hired to "show doctor" the production from now until its Broadway opening in the spring. Later in the day on Tuesday, word came that the first three New York performances have been cancelled, pushing back the start of performances at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre until March 8, 2010. Frankly, I look on this as a good sign that the show really intends to take its Chicago learning and working experiences to heart, and to let Zaks work some magic and get in a full eight week working transfer. Hopefully, this "old-fashioned big Broadway musical" will be realize all the potential we Mosh Pit types have been talking about so feverishly. Perhaps Lane, Neuwirth, Mann, Carmello, Chamberlin, Hoffman and the rest of the talented cast will get what they deserve--a great big hit!
http://www.theaddamsfamilymusical.com/index.php
And so, there you have it, the very first semi-annual list of "Top Ten Hot Topics!" I hope you agree that this is the right list, and if not, let me hear from you! I look forward to compiling the next list at the end of June, and, until then (and until next week's regular column), I'll see you under the video screens.....Happy New Year!--PWT
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