2011-08-31 Recent Theatre

Bill and I decided to return to see Catch Me If You Can once more before it closed. Boy, am I glad we did. I think this show got short shrift from both the critics and the public. It was so much fun, and had such a great cast. Norbert Leo Butz was amazing as Carl Hanratty, and Aaron Tveit was sublime as Frank Abagnale, Jr. The entire cast was really into the show and it had jelled amazing well over the months since we had seen it. I loved this show and am sorry it is closing. Norbert was amazing once again in his signature number, "The Man Inside the Clues." A bravo performance from someone who claims they never had dance classes, and a real Tony award winner.

Next on the list is Death Takes a Holiday, a Maury Yeston musical. I have been a fan of Maury Yeston since I first heard Grand Hotel, Nine, and then Titanic. He also composed a wonderful song cycle called December Songs which Andrea Marcovicci recorded. I enjoyed Death Takes a Holiday. Not a great show, but extremely enjoyable. And what a cast: Rebecca Luker, Linda Balgord, Matt Cavenaught, Mara Davi, Jill Paice, Max Von Essen, Don Stephenson, and Kevin Earley. This is one of those shows where the original lead was replaced because of vocal issues. The original lead was Julian Ovenden, an actor from London. He was replaced by Kevin Earley, who I found to be completely captivating. Bill had seen Julian in a musical in London called Marguerite, which I did not see but have the cast CD of. I understand that he was amazing in the role of Death/Count Sirki, but I did love Kevin's interpretation of the role. Rebecca Luker had an amazing song called Losing Roberto. It was for me the highlight of the show. I really enjoyed this show and hope that it has a life after the Roundabout Theatre.

We finally saw Anything Goes with Sutton Foster at the Stephen Sondheim theatre. I loved this show. I have been fortunate for designing the set for two productions of Anything Goes in my career. I have seen the Patti Lupone version of the show at Lincoln Center, and I have listened to the many recordings for many years. So why did I love this production? One name! Sutton Foster! She was amazing. She performed the Kathleen Marshall dance routines without breaking a sweat. She has a great sense of humor, and is the consumate performer of our time in musical theatre as far as I'm concerned. But the entire cast was excellent, from Joel Grey to Laura Osnes (discovered on the tv casting of Grease), to Adam Godley, and finally Colin Donnell.
And what a treat to see John McMartin ( original cast of Follies 1971) and Kelly Bishop (from the original Chorus Line). Once again Kathleen Marshall shows that she is a consummate choreographer/director justly winning the Tony for choreographer. And the same can be said of Sutton Foster. She won the Tony Award for best actress in a musical. This is a wonderful production and should be seen.

2011-8-04 Zarkana

I have been  a fan of Cirque du Soleil for many years. At last count, I think I have seen 12 of their shows over the years. By far, the best were "O" in Vegas and The Beatles Love in Vegas. Totally different but unique in their own way. Cirque shows have an amazing ability to get the audience totally involved and captivated. Even in the mediocre shows such as Zumanity, there are things to love. I remember after seeing Zumanity in Vegas, we were in the elevator of the time share apts. at the MGM Grand and the audience participant from that night was in the elevator with us. He had pictures of him with the cast, and told us that the entire company was so nice to him. What a treat that would have been to have met the cast. He was a good sport and went along with everything they did to him that night. And to me, that's what Cirque shows are all about. The have a resonance about them that other circus shows lack. Their production values are amazing. You are totally entertained throughout the experience.

And such was the cast with Zarkana at Radio City. The plotline was ludicrous. They used a very good Canadian performer to represent Zarkana, but the story line made very little sense. The music was okay, but not overwhelming (where is Celine Dion when you need her!) But the circus acts were unbelievable. I have seen men flying through the air on ropes before, but not with a woman dangling below him! All the acts were excellent. The sets, lighting and techical brilliance sets this Cirque show apart from many others. It was truly a spectacle.

And the audience loved every minute of it. They even flew one of the clowns way out over the audience. I turned to Bill and said, sure they can fly the clown, but they can't fly the wicked witch of the west in "Wicked." Truly amazing.

If you haven't seen Zarkana, go see it. You will love it. I look forward to my next Cirque experience. And so should you!

2011-07-30 Pancake Hollow Primer by Laurence Carr

My friend Larry Carr just published a novel called Pancake Hollow Primer: a Hudson Valley Story. Larry is a prolific writer, dramatist and teacher. Bill and I love to visit Larry and his wife Kay in October each year on Pancake Hollow Road in Highland, New York. The area is very picturesque and we enjoy apple picking down the road at Wilklow Orchards. On our last visit, I took a few pictures around their wonderful home. Larry asked me to specifically take some photographs of an old red barn on their property. To my surprise, he asked if he could use one of the photos on the cover of his novel, to which I said yes. He has credited me on the back cover of the book for the cover photo. I love the way he wrapped the picture around the cover of the book. When I last saw him a week ago, he told me that the book is selling very well in the Hudson Valley and that it is in its third printing. The book was published at Codhill Press for any one interested. I am totally thrilled that one of my photographs is now in print on the cover of his book.

Happy Birthday, Jerry Herman!

Today is Jerry Herman's 80th birthday. I have been a fan of Jerry's music almost all of my life. I saw Carol Channing perform Hello Dolly on the last tour she did in 1995 in Houston, Texas. On that same tour in New York, I went to Tower Records and met most of the cast including Jerry Herman himself, again on his birthday when they presented him with a cake. I also met him on the street in New York after a Jerry Herman tribute at Town Hall. I have seen La Cage in all it's incarnations in New York.  I saw Mack and Mabel in Ohio and London. I saw Mame with Angela Lansbury in the last New York Production, and in Washington with Christine Baranski. I loved the Grand Tour with Joel Grey on Broadway. Saw A Day in Hollywood also in New York,. I even did a set design for Dear World, which is still one of my favorite scores.  I own all of his CD's of all of his shows. He writes amazing songs, and has the ability to capture the spirit of everything he writes. He is an American treasure. Happy Birthday, Jerry!

7/9/2011 The Adams Family

We finally saw the Addams Family musical last night. Both Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth are long gone, but Roger Rees and Brooke Shields are holding forth as Morticia and Gomez Addams. Rees is a standout. He is every bit the star of this show. His timing is impeccable and although he doesn't have a great singing voice, he is thoroughly convincing in the role. Brooke Shield comes back to Broadway after a few years and is quite adequate as Morticia. I 'm sure she will get better in the role as she goes on. The audience loved the show. It has many humorous moments in it, and has a good supporting cast in Adam Grupper, Heidi Blickenstaff (great performance), Brad Oscar (a second great performance), and Jackie Hoffman. The music is not that memorable, but serve the proceedings well. The set was great. And the puppetry of Basil Twist was a lot of fun. I can see why the show is still running because it has a real sense of humor and pays homage to Charles Addams. 

7/2/2011 The Cherry Orchard in HD

Zoe Wannamaker

We attended a screening of Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard broadcast live from the Olivier Theatre in London on Thurs., June 30 at BAM Cinema. This is the latest production that they have broadcast (somewhat) live in that it is recorded at a live performance of the shows. Previously we have seen London Assurance, Fela, and A Disappearing Number. Cherry Orchard starred the wonderful Zoe Wannamaker, who we have had the privilege of seeing in London in His Girl Friday and Battle Royale, and in New York in Awake and Sing! Her performance was marvelous in all of these productions.
If you have not seen one of the high definition broadcasts presented by the National Theatre Live, it is a wonderful experience. They film the productions immaculately, provide the best of England's actors and actresses, and give us a chance to see shows that may not come here.
The next production is in Sept. and it is called The Two Guvnors. It looks to be very funny. This is a modern day take-off of the Italian writer Goldoni's play called The Servant of Two Masters. We did a production of the play when I was at Akron University, and had great fun with it. Look for the National Theatre Live showings, I don't think you will be disappointed.

6/27/2011 Getting My Act Together

Gretchen Cryer (top) Nancy Ford (bottom)

We attended the two production of I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road/Still Getting My Act Together last night at York Theatre. Getting My Act Together was one of the first shows I saw in New York when it was performed on Bleeker Street at Circle in the Square downtown starring Gretchen Cryer, who wrote the show with Nancy Ford. I was so impressed with Gretchen's performance that I waited for her to come out and greeted her. Thirty years later York revived Getting My Act Together starring Jenn Colella this time. I liked her performance, but Bill was not taken with it. In Still Getting My Act Together, Gretchen came out as the same character 30 years later, and we discover what she had been going through in those 30 years. I really enjoyed the show. It needs a little cutting here and there, but it was a lot of fun.

While waiting for Still Getting to take our seats, I spotted Karen Ziemba. I attended Akron University in the theatre department when Karen was dancing with the Ohio Ballet. I have seen most of Karen's shows here in New York and have been a fan of hers. I went over to her and told her that I was at Akron U at the same time that she was there, and she may have seen the set and lighting I did for Dames at Sea. She was extremely gracious and mentioned that she had just completed a workshop for a musical written by Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (two of my favorite lyricists and composers) and Susan Stroman the choreographer. The plotline was about Degas and the ballerinas he painted. She said it was a wonderful experience. I then congratulated her on all her success. In the theatre, she was sitting across from me, and when a joke was made about moving back to Ohio, she glanced over at me and smiled. We both knew that we would never do that in a million years!

So it turned out to be an interesting evening, finally getting to say hello to Karen after all these years, and seeing Gretchen Cryer perform again on stage.