Something You Did - 2008 - Off-Broadway Articles Page 2

This past week the DC theatre community lost one of its visionaries with the passing of Artistic Director/Director/Performer/Mentor Jerry B. Whiddon at age 77. For twenty years Jerry served as the Producing Artistic Director Of Round House Theatre. The company was born out of Street 70 which Jerry helped start in 1970.

Today’s subjects Edwaard Liang and Dwight Rhoden make up two fourths of the choreographic team for The Washington Ballet’s program of Moving Forces. The production will be presented in the Eisenhower Theater at Kennedy Center on October 24th through 26th.

Performances are now underway for the Broadway premiere of The Queen of Versailles. Previews begin on October 8. Meet the cast of The Queen of Versailles here and read bios of the show's stars and cast!

Since Giselle opened in Paris in 1841, its poignant themes of betrayal and mercy have been captivating audiences worldwide. With music by Adolphe Adam and choreography based on Petipa’s late-19th-century revivals, Giselle has become the epitome of Romantic-era ballet.

Farmers Alley Theatre is presenting Come from Away.  Come from Away is a musical with book, music, and lyrics by Irene Sankoff and David Hein. It is based on the events in the Newfoundland town of Gander during the week following the September 11 attacks, when 38 planes, carrying approximately 7,000 passengers, were ordered to land unexpectedly at Gander International Airport. The characters in the musical are based on actual Gander residents and stranded travelers they housed and fed. Come From Away at Farmers Alley Theatre runs September 25th- October 26th, with an American Sign Language interpreted performance on Saturday, October 4th at 2:00pm.  We had the chance to interview the Director and Costume Designer for Come From Away, and see what Kathy Mulay had to say, as well as her thoughts on Come From Away.

BroadwayWorld talks to Brian Copeland about 'The Waiting Period,' his searingly honest and surprisingly humorous life-saving solo show which will have its 500th performance September 20th at The Marsh Berkeley, coincidingBrian Copeland could easily point to any number of impressive achievements from his multi-faceted career. As a standup comic, he’s opened for icons like Aretha Franklin and Smokey Robinson. His seminal theater piece Not a Genuine Black Man still reigns as the longest-running solo show in San Francisco theater history. For 5 years, he co-hosted KTVUs Mornings on 2, and for 27 years hosted his own radio program on KGO. Related to the latter, he will be inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame next month, something of which he is particularly proud. But – if you ask him “What is the most worthwhile thing you’ve ever done?” he answers without hesitation, “The Waiting Period,” because it has actually saved people’s lives. I spoke with him recently to learn more about this uniquely impactful solo theater piece, which will mark its 500th performance on September 20th at The Marsh Berkeley. As has become standard practice for The Waiting Period, tickets are free of charge. Based on his personal experience, the piece is an exploration of depression and suicidal ideation, its title referring to the state-mandated 10 ten days that must elapse between purchasing a gun and taking possession of it. For Copeland, those ten days were literally a lifesaver, and so he felt compelled to share his story. Although he’d long struggled with depression, back in 2008 he was faced with an unimaginable chain of events that was more than he could handle. Within a short time, the grandmother who’d raised him died of a stroke, his wife announced out of the blue that she wanted a divorce, and he got into a horrific accident that totaled his car and necessitated spinal cord surgery, putting on his couch in a neck brace for three months, popping Vicodin. Thoughts of suicide became inescapable so he purchased a TomCat, planning to use it to end his life. Against all odds, he managed to “white-knuckle it” through the waiting period while the most acute aspects of his depression lifted just enough to stop him from killing himself. But, as Copeland says, “The thing about depression is it’s never cured – it’s better, it’s worse, it’s manageable, there are times when it’s absent - but it’s always a hair trigger away from something, from some catastrophe or some chemical imbalance.” Once the fog had lifted at least temporarily, he seriously started rethinking his experience as someone who believes in finding reasons for things. During that period, a young man within Copeland’s circle committed suicide at the age of fifteen and Robin Williams killed himself as well, although the complicating factor of Lewy Body Dementia had not been made public at that time. Copeland took those incidents like a blow to the solar plexus and began to explore what he could personally do to help prevent such tragedies. He was encouraged to bring his own struggles to light by his publicist, who happened to have represented film icon Rock Hudson in 1985 when the actor announced to the world that he had AIDS, thereby removing some of the stigma from that disease. The publicist suggested to Copeland that by going public with his story maybe he could do the same thing for depression and suicidal ideation. Copeland had received his mission. Collaborating with the Bay Area’s guru of solo performance, David Ford, Copeland set out to “create a show about depression that wasn’t depressing,” making sure to include enough reality-based humor to draw audiences in and counterbalance the heaviness of the topic. As he puts it, “the comedy makes the drama much more impactful, and the drama makes the comedy funnier because it’s a release.” The Waiting Period opened at The Marsh in 2012 and became an instant sensation, winning awards and getting extended multiple times. After a year or so, Copeland realized he couldn’t keep performing the show on a regular basis because it required him relive some very dark and harrowing episodes. But he felt he could continue to do the show on an occasional basis, maybe twice a month or so, without seriously endangering his own mental health. He also talked to Stephanie Weisman, artistic director of The Marsh, about making the show free of charge to audiences so that cost wouldn’t be a barrier to attending. Weisman readily agreed to having a GoFundMe campaign was set up to cover basic production costs like theater staffing. Copeland and his publicist then placed calls to various industry contacts and were stunned by the outpouring of support from celebrities like Glenn Close, Ed Asner and Lucie Arnaz, whose lives had been personally touched by depression and suicide. Fast forward to 2025, and Copeland is now embarking on the 500th performance of The Waiting Period on September 20th, timed to coincide with Suicide Prevention Month. Copeland remains committed to continuing to do the show because he knows the profound impact it’s had on the lives of so many people, from the letters he’s received and follow-up conversations he’s had. Just one example: a woman planned to jump off the Golden Gate Bridge one Sunday morning and stopped off at her favorite café enroute to savor one last coffee and pastry before ending her life. She noticed the San Francisco Chronicle “pink” section lying on her table and thumbed through it while finishing her coffee. It happened to contain a brief article about The Waiting Period that noted a performance would be happening that very afternoon. She was intrigued enough to alter her plan - slightly. She decided to flip a coin and if it came up heads, she would proceed straight to the bridge; if it came up tails, she would go see Copeland’s show first. It came up tails, and so she went to see The Waiting Period, the core message of which is “If you’re thinking of doing some kind of harm to yourself, tell someone first.” When the play was over, she remained in her seat crying for another twenty minutes, then called her sister to tell her what she was thinking of doing, and her sister got her help. Or there’s the story of a woman who struggled with depression and her husband always wondered why she couldn’t just lighten up and smell the roses. She basically dragged him to The Waiting Period, and afterwards he said to her, “That’s what you’ve been going through? I had no idea.” And that’s the thing with depression: it is so misunderstood. It’s not something that can be cured by thinking happy thoughts. As Copeland says, “You know, we’re dealing with a disease, and yet people are ashamed of it. There’s such shame and stigma attached to it, and I want people to know they have nothing to be ashamed of, any more than if you had Lou Gehrig’s Disease or muscular dystrophy or cancer. You wouldn’t be ashamed of those afflictions. And the world, society, would be a lot more sympathetic.” As a comedian and talk show host, i.e. someone who earns his living projecting amiability and cheerfulness, Copeland makes a perfect communicator for that message. If someone as seemingly light-hearted as him can suffer from depression, then it can truly happen to anyone. When he started debuted The Waiting Period in 2012, some people were quite surprised to learn that he’d ever wanted to kill himself. And yet, what sticks with him most over the years is the number of people who’ve approached him after a performance and whispered in his ear that they, too, are “one of us,” as Copeland refers to those who experience acute depression. Some of them are people Copeland knows well and are in the public eye, people he says you would never guess struggled with the disease. Toward the conclusion of our conversation, Copeland tells me, “If there’s nothing else at all worthwhile I’ve done while I was here, at least there are a couple of people walking around who might not be here.” I tell him that’s a statement most of us can’t make, myself included, and he responds, “You don’t know that. That’s the thing. I’m fortunate enough that I’m in a position where people are able to reach out and tell me. But you don’t know who you told to have a nice day to, who were planning on doing something and ended up not because of your kindness, you know, in tipping the barista and saying they did a good job one day when they thought they were worthless and were going to do something right after they got off work. There are stories like that, and those stories are real.” (Header photo of Brian Copeland by Joan Marcus) --- The Waiting Period will play its 500th performance 5:00pm, Saturday, September 20 at The Marsh Berkeley, 2120 Allston Way, Berkeley. Additional dates are soon to be announced. Thanks to the support of generous donors, general admission tickets are FREE. Supporters may donate $50/$100 for reserved seats, funds which make it possible for others to see the show at no cost. To order free tickets or reserve seats, please visit themarsh.org. with National Suicide Prevention Month.

Read BroadwayWorld's interview with Eli Bauman, the writer, composer, director, and producer for 44- The Musical, the satirical Barack Obama musical, Off-Broadway.

After years of developing a revised version of the 1986 musical with Danny Strong (who has written the new book), Michael Mayer is finally ushering the final product back to Broadway, where it hasn't been seen in almost four decades. Before rehearsals began, Mayer checked in with BroadwayWorld to tell us all about how he's setting up the board to create a Chess for 2025.  ​

Rachel Potter (“The X Factor,” Evita) will sing selections from her new album at this live concert. The 8/11 concert will also feature guest singers from the album including Ali Stroker (Oklahoma!), Christine Dwyer (Wicked), and more.

Superman has his cape. The Lone Ranger has his mask. And John van der Put has a spikey green felt dragon costume. Yet once he slides into his outfit, he transforms from van der Put to Piff the Magic Dragon. The Las Vegas headliner will bring his magic show to town Sept. 10 at the Southern Theatre (21 E. Main Street in downtown Columbus).

Based on the 2010 movie, Burlesque The Musical makes its London debut this month. Lena Lenman began her journey as a burlesque performer in 2008 and has been producing her own cabaret show 'Hundred Watt Club' for the last 14 years. In this article, she asks: 'What impact will the musical have on the actual UK burlesque industry?'

In The Broadway Era, Ashley Wool reflects on her journey to becoming an original cast member of the Broadway musical How to Dance in Ohio, celebrated for its groundbreaking representation of neurodiversity. Read a conversation about the upcoming show

Next week, 54 BELOW, presents some of the brightest stars from Broadway, cabaret, jazz, and beyond, including Laura and Linda Benanti, and more! See the full lineup here!

The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical is a “gonzo” terrific new musical currently running at Signature Theatre through July 13th. Today’s subjects are two of the reasons the show is so successful.

When it comes to “Star Trek,” George Takei has been there from the beginning, when the now iconic “Theme from Star Trek,” by composer Alexander Courage, first invited television viewers to go “where no man has gone before.”

This summer, a new exhibition at The Carle celebrates the wide-ranging career of author and illustrator Grace Lin at The Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art. Learn more!

San Antonio, this is a show you absolutely do not want to miss! It runs May 9-June 1, so do yourself a favor and grab your tickets to set sail with San Pedro Playhouse on their grand adventure!

The Oratorio Society of New York (OSNY) under Maestro Kent Tritle brings the world premiere performance of ALL SHALL RISE, by composer Paul Moravec and librettist Mark Campbell, to Carnegie Hall on May 5. It concludes their American Voices trilogy of choral works—this one about the history of voting rights in the US.

Noted reviewer Leonard Maltin gave STOP MAKING SENSE four out of four stars and called it  one of the best concert films. The staging was ambitious: set pieces float in and out of the frame while screens project random images and words behind the band.

Josefina López, the celebrated Mexican-American award-winning playwright and screenwriter best known for creating and authoring the play and co-authoring the film Real Women Have Curves, was an undocumented five-year-old immigrant when she migrated with her family from San Luis Potosi, Mexico, to the United States in 1974 to settle in Boyle Heights. And on April 27, she will be making her Broadway debut when Real Women Have Curves: The Musical opens on Broadway!

I have had a couple of run-ins. I've been married three times. I have three kids that I know of. I was doing things and I never thought I would be a Tupperware lady. I was doing things that normally weren't panning out from where I was from. My mama said, “I'm not pretty enough to work at this strip club!”

This time, the reader question was: How often do Broadway musicals change their titles after Broadway? We're unpacking the history of shows that have been renamed.

 Hart Theater Company will continue its season with the revered rock musical 'Next to Normal,' in the company's new space, the Regent Street Black Box at the Eccles Theater in downtown Salt Lake City. 

Eli Bauman talks about the musical comedy he wrote, composed and directs, 44, The Unofficial, Unsanctioned Obama Musical, playing at the Kirk Douglas Theatre through March 23rd.

As Broadway prepares to reckon with the effect of McCarthyism on journalism in the new drama, Good Night and Good Luck, go deeper into the history of the Red Scare and its long-lasting implications for artists on Broadway and beyond.