I can't believe it's May again. It marks a year since my audition process for Fiddler began. It also marks a year since I decided that if I booked the show, I was going to propose to my girlfriend on the stage.
On May 4, the 2016 Tony nominees flocked to the Paramount Hotel, where they met with the press for the first time since getting the big news. BroadwayWorld will be bringing you coverage from the epic day over the next month (so watch out for lots more), but for now, check out photos of Best Performance by an Actress in Leading Role in a Play nominee for Long Day's Journey Into Night, Jessica Lange, as captured by Walter McBride!
Bass legend Stu Hamm will be embarking on his “Solo Bass Songs and Stories Tour 2016” first of June! Having stunned audiences across the world with his innovative playing
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.
'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.
On December 31, 2015, legendary rock icons Mötley Crüe completed their 35-year touring career as a band with a spectacular final concert at Staples Center in their hometown of Los Angeles, CA, just 10 miles from the Sunset Strip where the band's infamous and decadent career first launched.
'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 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!
Below, check out the official trailer for JASON BOURNE, starring Matt Damon in hs return to the iconic role. The spy thriller hits theaters on July 29th. Jason Bourne - Official Trailer
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?
Oscar nominated and Golden Globe winning actress Anne Archer will return to the UK to star as 'Jane Fonda' in a brand new production of THE TRIAL OF JANE FONDA, written by seven-time Emmy award-winner Terry Jastrow, and directed by Joe Harmston, opening at Park Theatre on 13 July until 20 August, with a press night on 14 July.
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?
Celebrating 70 years, Indian Ranch in Webster, MA announced that Vince Neil, the legendary voice of Motley Crue, will be performing live in concert on Sunday August 21 at 2:00 P.M. Tickets go on-sale Friday, April 15th at 10:00 A.M.
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.
Tracy Letts' play BUG marks its 20th anniversary with a starry production at Found111 this spring.
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.
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.
'We are Russian Jews', my father would always tell me when I asked where we came from. From a very young age, I was curious about history; where people and things came from, origins, and remnants. Growing up in the US, I was used to the idea of the big melting pot - that a lot people here came from somewhere else for a better life. A lot of us, including myself, have very mixed backgrounds, and it can be overwhelming to piece together the puzzle that is your ancestry. Thankfully, we live in the golden age of the World Wide Web, and our collective curiosity and quest for a sense of identity and meaning has resulted in the creation of wonderful resources like ancestry.com.
The Buoniconti Fund to Cure Paralysis, the fundraising arm of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, celebrated its 30th anniversary in high-style tonight, treating more than 2000 of its friends and supporters to a star-studded extravaganza highlighted by a concert headlined by 'Mr. Worldwide,' the global music icon Pitbull, and the Italian luxury brand Brunello Cucinelli showcasing the company's Spring 2016 Collection thanks to Neiman Marcus Bal Harbour.
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