I'm amazed at how many things I keep learning from doing this show every day. Yesterday, during the matinee, as we were performing the sons' section of 'Tradition', I discovered that I was holding my breath during certain pieces of choreography, which obviously inhibited my singing. I mean, you're reading that thinking, 'well duh, Ben'. You're right. Absolutely 'duh', but it took me six whole months to realize that. That's the odd phenomenon of this almost zen practice of eight shows a week in a long run.
Manhattan Theatre Club just hosted its annual Spring Gala last night, May 16 at Cipriani 42nd Street (110 East 42nd Street) honoring Marie T. Gallagher, Senior Vice President, PepsiCo, Inc. BroadwayWorld was on hand for the special night and you can check out photos below!
Manhattan Theatre Club hosts its annual Spring Gala tonight, May 16 at Cipriani 42nd Street (110 East 42nd Street) honoring Marie T. Gallagher, Senior Vice President, PepsiCo, Inc.
'God, Ben. We get it, we get it. Arts in school blah blah blah.' I know, I know, but I have to piggyback on last week and tell you about what I got to witness this week.
Manhattan Theatre Club will host its annual Spring Gala on Monday, May 16 at Cipriani 42nd Street (110 East 42nd Street) honoring Marie T. Gallagher, Senior Vice President, PepsiCo, Inc.
'Twas the night before the Tony nominations, when all through midtown
pretty much everyone was stirring. Especially that mouse (at least in pre-war buildings above restaurants).
The iphones were charging on bedside tables with care
in hopes that when the nomination list came out at 8:30, your name would be there.
The 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out last night to recipients in 18 categories, with two special awards and two honorary awards also bestowed. The Lortel Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center hosted byZachary Levi, star of Broadway's She Loves Me. This year's event was once again a benefit for The Actors Fund. BroadwayWorld is taking to backstage with the evening's winners and presenters below!
The 2016 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Achievement Off-Broadway were handed out last night to recipients in 18 categories, with two special awards and two honorary awards also bestowed. The Lortel Awards were distributed in a ceremony at NYU Skirball Center hosted by Zachary Levi, star of Broadway's She Loves Me. This year's event was once again a benefit for The Actors Fund. BroadwayWorld is taking you to the red carpet below!
The orchestra starts the waltz into 'Sunrise, Sunset'. Everyone is in place, Tevye sings, 'Is this the little girl I carried?' Nothing out of the ordinary, here. Then, four male ensemble members and the Rabbi slowly come up the upstage stairs from the trap, moving downstage center, where they slowly get into position with the chuppah (Jewish wedding canopy). One little problem, tonight. There's no chuppah (we later found out it had been broken). I look around the stage at my fellow cast members, who are all slowly registering this and getting that glint in the eye you get when you're about to crack up. Then, it hit me. Samantha Massell and I have a solo coming up in a second where we have to sing the lyric, 'Is there a canopy in store for me?' The irony of this is just too much for me and, no matter how hard I try, I sing this line with the stupidest grin on my face. I mean, you can't ignore it! I absolutely LIVE for moments like this. Happy accidents that keep things fresh, can breathe new life into the show, and remind us all that it's called a 'play' for a reason. It's supposed to be fun!
I must have been an incredibly naive 12 year old. As my family and I were leaving the Marriott Marquis Theatre after a performance of the revival of Annie Get Your Gun, we passed by the stage door. A hoard of people were crowded behind the barricades, eagerly clutching their playbills, sharpies, and cameras in hopes to snag an autograph or photo with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. We were watching from across the street. A security person was guarding the door, and would escort Bernadette and Tom as they made their way through the crowd, greeting their fans. Once they were done, they each got into the back seats of their respective black Lincoln town cars and rode off into the night. What I couldn't wrap my head around, at the time, was....where do they go?
Next week, FEINSTEIN'S/54 BELOW, Broadway's Supper Club & Private Event Destination, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz and beyond. To purchase tickets or for more information, visit www.54Below.com/Feinsteins or call (646) 476-3551.
I must have been an incredibly naive 12 year old. As my family and I were leaving the Marriott Marquis Theatre after a performance of the revival of Annie Get Your Gun, we passed by the stage door. A hoard of people were crowded behind the barricades, eagerly clutching their playbills, sharpies, and cameras in hopes to snag an autograph or photo with Bernadette Peters and Tom Wopat. We were watching from across the street. A security person was guarding the door, and would escort Bernadette and Tom as they made their way through the crowd, greeting their fans. Once they were done, they each got into the back seats of their respective black Lincoln town cars and rode off into the night. What I couldn't wrap my head around, at the time, was....where do they go?
I've coined this new term. The power of the beard has not only led me to bow before it in awe and reverence, but also offer it the illustrious status of being a verb. To beard is about doing far more than simply growing it. It's about experiencing it and LIVING it.
My trip to visit my girlfriend came to an abrupt halt. I had just gotten off a conference call with my agent and manager, 'Get to the airport as soon as you can. They want to test you for the CBS pilot.' I was sitting on a bench at Lambert-St. Louis Airport next to the check in counters, before you go through security. Anxiously, I clutched my backpack and suitcase waiting for my manager to call and give the green light to check in for my flight to LA. They were negotiating my contract and hadn't reached a deal (when you test for a TV show, your contract has to be signed before the screen test. And if you don't book the job, the contract goes in the shredder). I couldn't board the plane until the deal was closed, and the test was first thing the next morning. After an hour of limbo, I finally got the call. The deal had closed! Time to get the ticket. Of course I had already missed the initial flight, and they had to book me on a later one. This was my first exposure to (what I didn't realize, then) the actor's eternal state of in between-ness.
In between takes of a scene on 'The Good Wife' a few years ago, I was commiserating with veteran actor Zach Grenier-'Why is it that I'm completely relaxed in every shot EXCEPT my close up?' His response? 'Because this is for the ages. This will exist long after you and I are gone.' That's the weight you carry on your back in TV, film, and in the recording studio that you don't have in the theatre. In a play, there's always tomorrow night.
This weekend Jessica Vosk who plays Fruma Sarah in FIDDLER ON THE ROOF on Broadway took over our @BroadwayWorld Twitter account to give our readers a backstage look at a day in the life of a Broadway star!
Cast members from Fiddler on the Roof visited the Barnes & Noble on the Upper East Side (150 East 86th Street) yesterday, Friday, March 18th in celebration of the New 2016 Broadway Cast Album being released worldwide by Broadway Records. BroadwayWorld was there for the performance and CD signing, and you can check out photos below!
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