6/15/2011 Tony Awards Recap

I predicted that The Book of Morman would win for best musical. I'm not sure that it should have won for best music however. There were so many good musicals on Broadway this year. I loved Sister Act, Catch Me If You Can, and The Scottboro Boys. I really loved Patina Miller's performance in Sister Act, but haven't seen Sutton Foster's performance in Anything Goes yet. Sutton's performance on the Tony's was really good, as was Patina's.  I also thought that Tony Sheldon was fabulous in Priscilla, but also liked Norbert Leo Butz's performance in Catch Me If You Can. It's a little difficult  to choose because Tony is a friend of our friend Peter Eyres from Sydney. We had a chance to meet Tony after the show in the bowels of the Palace Theatre. Talk about an experience. Tony was extremely nice and it was such a pleasure meeting him. I thought the Tony Award show was really a lot of fun. Neil Patrick Harris was a wonderful host and has an amazing ability to ad lib, or at least to rap without much practice. His last number was priceless. As was the opening number about how Broadway is no longer just for gay men! And then there is War Horse. I loved it more in New York than I did in London. This is a wonderful, heartwrenching play, and must be seen. I am glad it received the awards it got. They were deserved. It's a shame the Scottsboro Boys did not get more recognition. It is a exciting, passionate show with many amazing performances. They're supposed to do a tour, and if they do and it comes to your town, down miss it. I have to say, this was a wonderful year for Broadway. Even the musical shows that didn't make it had some great music, sets, and performers. And the variety of plays are some of the best we've seen in years.  I think the awards were pretty just, and pretty close to what I would have voted on.

6/11/2011 Judy's Birthday

Yesterday was Judy Garland's 89th birthday. Along with my friends Andrea, Armand, and John, we took a drive from NY to Ferncliff to visit her grave site. Andrea, John and I had done this 14 years ago on Judy's 75th birthday. Andrea has visited her site almost every year since then. There were a few bouquets of flowers there, but for a while we were the only ones there. We later found another Judy fan named Carol, who is a regular visitor there. Carol knows Ferncliff quite well and directed us to the sections where Ed Sullivan, Sigmund Romberg, Joan Crawford, Max Gordon (who produced My Sister Eileen), and Jerome Kern are laid to rest. Harold Arlen is also buried there, but outside of the mausoleum. It was a beautiful day and I took great joy in paying homage to one of America's greatest stars.

6/11/2011 Follies at Kennedy Center

Last weekend we journeyed to Washington to see the latest incarnation of Follies by Stephen Sondheim. This is my favorite musical and I have seen the past three major productions: Encores, Broadway Revival, and Papermill production. By far, up to this point I really liked the Encores production, the others I had problems with the casting. The Kennedy Center production was the most satisfying overall. From the set and lighting designs, to the exquisite costumes, to the wonderful casting, this production worked on all levels for me. Bernadette is a revelation, as she usually is. Jan Maxwell was a marvelous Phyllis. Ron Raines sang Ben beautifully, but I felt that because of his stature, his was a little miscast. Danny Burstein blew me away as Buddy! He sang and danced the role amazingly well. What a couple of years he has had, first as Billis in South Pacific and then his role in Women on the Verge. I had a chance to greet him after the show and congratulate him on his performance. He was very gracious. The other cast members were also memorable including Linda Lavin, Terry White, Elaine Elias, and Elaine Paige. Our friend David got Elaine's biography signed for us, and gave us a copy of Everything Was Possible (the book about the making of the original show in 1971) that was signed by Ted Chapin.  My only complaints were Regine's performance was pretty weak, and the ghosts of showgirls that were constantly present, got in the way of the action in a couple of scenes. Eric Schaeffer did an impressive job in directing Follies and we can only hope that producers will bring this $7 million dollar production to Broadway.

On this same trip we also saw the Cuban National Ballet perform Don Quixote at the Kennedy Center. I enjoyed the performance, but did not get to see their prima ballerina since she danced the show the night before. We journeyed to the Signature Theatre in Arlington, Va. to see the latest incarnation of Side by Side by Sondheim. It was a disappointment to me, except for the performance of  Nancy Anderson. We recently saw her in both productions of Yank (at Gallery Players in Brooklyn and York Theatre in Manhattan.) The other production was at the Studio Theatre. The play was Venus in Fur by David Ives. When this play was done in New York, Nina Arianda did the lead role and went on to do Born Yesterday and gain a Tony nomination. The cast at Studio was excellent and I enjoyed the give and take of the play very much.

We did see one major art exhibit also. It was the Gaughin exhibit at the National Gallery of Art. Most of the art works were from his time spent in Polynesia. I was impressed that not only was he a great artist, but a sculptor doing work in wood and ceramic. I am glad we saw the exhibit.

The other interesting event that happened while we were in Washington involves our friend David Tannous. Bill had met David about a year ago when he attended Giant at Signature Theatre for the second time. David was sitting next to Bill and they started talking. David is like us, he is an avid theatre goer. But he knows not only theatre, but art and all other aspects of the performing arts. He has become our liaison to the theatre scene in Washington. A local group decided to sponsor once a year an award to go to a deserving audience member in the D.C. area. David was nominated by two different theatre groups and won. We are very pleased for him, and since we do travel to Washington on somewhat of a regular basis, are glad to have made friends with him. He keeps us well informed about the Washington scene. Congratulations, David.

5/28/2011 Sister Act and Lucky Guy

We went to see Lucky Guy Thursday night at the Little Schubert theatre on 42nd Street. It stars Varla Jean Merman and Leslie Jordan. This is a musical about a young man who writes a song Lucky Guy foa contest in a local Nashville radio station and wins the contest. He comes to Nashville to record his song, but is greeted by Big Al, a shyster used card salesman played by Leslie Jordan (from Will and Grace). Varla Jean plays an over the top washed up country singing star. Leslie plays his usual schtick but has such a great fun way of eating up the scenery. But Marla Jean is fabulous as the diva. This seems to be a vanity production since it is written, produced and directed by Willard Beckham. I understand that the show is going to close this weekend. The music was not great, but it was a lot of fun. There seems to be a curse on the Little Schubert theatre. It is a nicely appointed theatre, but shows don't seem to have a very long run there.

Unfortunately, this show closed two days after we saw it. There was an article written in the New York Times about the financial loss to the producers a couple of days later.

5/23/2011 The Best is Yet to Come and War Horse

I saw War Horse at Lincoln Center on Friday night. This is the second time I have seen the show, having seen it on the West End in London. This was Bill's third time to see it, since he also saw it at the National Theatre in its original run. All I can say is wow! We had seats in the second row, just off center. The production is very impressive. Those actors who portray the horses (puppets) are amazing. They bring the horses to life. You reach a point where you forget there are three or four people operating them. Seth Numrich, who plays Albert, the young man who loves his horse, is remarkable.  The cast is extremely good, with the exception of Albert's father, who I felt was a little too over the top. The production values are very impressive, including the lighting and special effects. This is a show that should be seen, and I'm sure it will win the Tony for Best Play.

On Saturday afternoon, we ventured to 59th Street to the 59th Street theatres to see The Best is Yet to Come, a musical review of Cy Coleman's songs to various lyricists.  What a thoroughly enjoyable afternoon. The show has an amazing group of performers, starting with Billy Stritch leading the orchestra and performing a couple of songs. The remaining singers, David Burnham, Sally Mayes, Howard McGillan, Rachel York and Lilias White all have amazing Broadway credentials. And they don't disappoint. The show lasts a brief 80 minutes and could have gone on for hours. Cy Coleman is one of the most revered composers on Broadway, and wrote with many great lyricists. If I have any criticism, it is that David Zippel, one of his many collaborators, put too many of his songs into the mix. And they weren't the best of the songs. They relegated I'm Nothing Without You from City of Angels to a group number and didn't do the entire song. They also didn't perfom the amazing song My Friend, which was a standout in the show The Life. But the performances were amazing, and when Lilias White is on, she is spectacular. Her version of the anthem from The Life - The Oldest Profession - brought down the house, and rightly so, just like it did when she did it on Broadway and won the Tony Award for it. I think they have plans to move this show. I would love to see it go to Broadway, be expanded to two full acts, and also give it some dialogue to let us know about the remarkable career of Cy Coleman and his collaborators. Go see it, you will not be disappointed.

5/18/2011 Wonderland

Went to see Wonderland last Saturday before it closed on Sunday. A new actress, Morgan James was playing the lead that night. I must say that I enjoyed her performance almost better than Janet Dacal's performance which I had seen in previews. Bill tells me that when a show closes that it is a tradition that the understudy goes on for a performance. I had never heard this before. I think this is an extremely generous proposition, unlike the Eve Harrington situation in All About Eve.

I heard that on Sunday's performance that Darren Ritchie, the male lead proposed to Janet Dacal at the curtain call. How nice is that!

I am and have been a fan of Frank Wildhorn's shows for a long time. I feel that the critics are extremely harsh on him. I find that he writes very melodic melodies and although some of the lyricists that he works with don't always come up to his caliber, he will someday write a musical that people will take notice of. He has been extremely successful in Europe and I hope that we will see some of those shows being done in the U.S. at some point in time. At the preview of Wonderland, I approached Frank and had a nice chat with him. Back in 1995, I met him several times (mostly through his relationship with Linda Eder), and was a regular fan of his musical Jekyll and Hyde. I saw the Houston initial production, the pre-Broadway tour in New Haven and Baltimore, and on Broadway at least 5 times. I wish him continued success.

Gary

5/9/2011 The Book of Mormon

Last night we saw The Book of Mormon. All I can say is that I laughed throughout the entire musical. I found it to be extremely entertaining, very funny, full of clever inside jokes, and extremely musical. The entire cast was excellent, the sets clever, the costumes right on, and the music clever although derivative (which is part of the essense of the show.) Nothing here is sacred. After all this is written by the writer of South Park, and the musicians who gave us Avenue Q. What a combination. Both lead actors have been nominated for a Tony. They were both excellent, but my guess is that they will cancel each other out, and Tony Sheldon from Priscilla or Norbert Leo Butz from Catch Me If You Can will walk away with the best actor in a musical trophy. This show will not play in the hinterlands. It has too large a cast, and the subject matter will offend most of the rest of the country. So go see it in New York. You may not have another chance.