Theater Opinions/Commentary

[jo]

Ellen,

The score is sublime, with such beauties as "Old Friend"

If you have sharp eyes, you can spot young Hugh (very, very briefly) singing that song with the likes of Julie Andrews, Michael Ball, Lea Salonga, etc., in the finale of the tribute concert for Cameron Mackintosh. That was from his Oklahoma! days and where he was introduced to the London crowd prior to the opening of the R&H musical.


I have been curious about Kiss Me Kate -- one musical that we have speculated as excellent material for Hugh in a revival -- but it had been cast before he decided to go back to theatrical roles. Re Paul Gemignani - wasn't he the musical director rehearsing young Hugh in the clip from Sunset Boulevard ( from the documentary feature)? Patrick has become a fulltime musical director in any musical performances of Hugh.


It looks like Kiss Me Kate received very good reviews! Maybe it is something to see besides when Hugh's tour comes to the MSG? I was thinking that of Moulin Rouge ( soon to open, around MSG dates) might also be worthwhile looking up. With Aaron Tveit.

Jo

[jo]

Oops - it looks like Roundabout Theatre is selling tickets for Kiss Me Kate only up to June 2, 2019.

www.roundabouttheatre.org/get-tickets/2018-2019-season/kiss-me-kate/performances

Interesting coincidence -- I did see Kelli O'Hara in a long-ago revival of Pajama Game as presented by Roundabout Theatre.


Jo

[mamaleh]

Jo, you got the first name right. But it was Paul Bogaev who was sent to Australia to rehearse young Hugh in the Melbourne production of SUNSET BLVD.

Ellen

[jo]

LOL - he looked different, when I checked his photo up

Paul B was trimmer.

Jo

[mamaleh]

Saw a recent performance of BEETLEJUICE, the new Broadway musical based on the classic comedy. Alex Brightman takes his SCHOOL OF ROCK wild guy persona up about a thousand notches as the titular sneaky, rude and disgusting—but somehow likable—escapee from the netherworld. Act 1 is fairly similar to the film, while Act 2 shifts the focus and takes off in new directions. I was especially impressed by Sophia Anne Caruso, the teenage girl playing Lydia (the Winona Ryder role in the movie. The show starts to fall apart somewhat in Act 2, but it supplies a lot of funny moments, and Brightman and Caruso command the Winter Garden theater stage throughout. The songs are so-so but the sight-gags and scenery are eye-popping. Discounts are available.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Won the digital lottery last night for what is probably the season's best-crafted new musical, TOOTSIE. (In terms of delight, it's in a dead heat with the equally charming THE PROM.) Santino Fontana pulls out all the comedic stops in the famous Dustin Hoffman role from the 1982 film as chronically unemployed actor Michael Dorsey who resorts to reinventing himself as Dorothy Michaels to finally land an acting jog, this time not in a soap opera but in a Broadway musical. The show provides more laughs than I have heard at any Broadway musical all season, courtesy of Fontana and co-stars Sarah Stiles, Reg Rogers, Julie Halston and especially John Behlmann as a would-be actor from a TV reality show hired for name appeal whose primary talent is ripping off his shirt at inappropriate moments. The score by David Yazbek (THE FULL MONTY, WOMEN ON THE VERGE OF A NERVOUS BREAKDOWN, THE BAND'S VISIT) is bouncy, clever and witty and seems a slam-dunk for this year's Best Score Tony. A standout ballad, "Who Are You?," is sung by both Fontana and the object of his affection, his costar in the musical-within-the-musical, played by Lillil Cooper, who has a lovely voice and stage presence. The script is updated to include references to the MeToo movement, with Fontana's character necessarily undergoing more personal growth than Hoffman's did. That seriousness aside, this show is a real smile-and-guffaw inducer. Highly recommended. At the Marquis Theater.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Jonny Lee Miller (ELEMENTARY, TRAINSPOTTING) and Bertie Carvel (MATILDA) are electrifying in the exciting British import, INK, a true story about the rise of tabloid journalism in the late 1960s in England. Miller is Larry Lamb, a reporter of humble origins who was never promoted when employed at the uber-successful Mirror newspaper but whose talent is recognized by upstart Aussie publisher Rupert Murdoch (Carvel), who appoints him editor of The Sun. The latter paper is practically dead on its knees, especially in the shadows of the behemoth Mirror, but Murdoch thinks he knows how to make The Sun not only successful but a daily that outdoes the Mirror: be loud, brash and give the people what they want. They learn, however, that their credo may beget unfortunate consequences. The entire cast is superlative. Special note should be made of the delightful Andrew Durand, who plays The Sun's long-haired photographer. I remember him fondly from HEAD OVER HEELS, in which he disguised himself as a woman through most of the show. Very much recommended. At the MCC Friedman Theater.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

I'd never seen the original or the first revival of Lanford Wilson's dark comedy BURN THIS, so I have no basis for comparison, but I rather liked the new revival starring Adam Driver and Keri Russell. Driver, in the role originated by John Malkovitch, plays an acerbic, highly eccentric restaurateur (ok, he’s something of a lunatic) who's in mourning for his late gay brother (an accident victim) yet detests what had been his orientation and lifestyle. (The play was first produced during the height of the AIDS crisis.) The late brother had been roommates with a choreographer, played by Russell, and another gay male (platonic friend). Russell and Driver begin an on-again, off-again but torrid affair, interrupted now and then when she remembers she has a steady boyfriend. Brandon Uranowitz, the surviving male roommate, comments on the unlikely relationships going on around him and has some of the funniest lines in the play. Both Driver and Uranowitz are Tony-nominated. At the Hudson Theater. Not bad, better with a discount.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Giving in to my curiosity about the new production of OKLAHOMA! at Circle in the Square, I opted for a cheap standing room ticket. I'm glad I didn't spend more. While I enjoyed the performances--especially Mary Testa's wise (until the new ending, anyway) Aunt Eller, Ali Stroker's hilariously libidinous Ado Annie and Patrick Vaill's vulnerable Jud--I thought much of the direction a misfire. Yes, it was a darker portrait of life in pre-state Oklahoma, and that's fine, but somehow I can't imagine the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization approving a production that so drastically changed the ending of the show in tone and substance. It seemed to me like a melange of hootenanny with a jazzy dream ballet borrowed from the Alvin Ailey group a few blocks north. Maybe I sound like an old fogey, but .... This revisal/revival will likely win the Best Revival Tony, but I say the emperor has no clothes. The new take was intermittently interesting, but I cannot jump on the bandwagon of those praising its innovation to the skies.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Caught a recent matinee of GARY, a dark comedy described by its playwright Taylor Mac as a sequel to probably Shakespeare’s bloodiest play, TITUS ANDRONICUS. Nathan Lane, in whiteface clown makeup, leads a trio of palace servants/slaves in charge of cleaning up the pile of dead bodies in the aftermath of war. He’s aided by Kristine Nielsen and Julie White, both farceurs as adept as Lane. But for all their magnificent clowning, they can’t make GARY a watchable play—it’s just too tedious and heavy-handed. At the Booth Theatre through June 16.

Also saw a revival of DYING CITY featuring Mary Elizabeth Winstead as a young widow who receives a surprise visit from the twin brother of her late husband, who died under mysterious circumstances as a soldier in Afghanistan. I found this production rather flat, with little of the tension of the original I’d seen about a decade ago starting Pablo Schreiber in the dual roles of the brothers. At Second Stage.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Saw HILLARY AND CLINTON today. It's a so-so dramedy that probes what might have transpired in a hotel room in New Hampshire between Hillary and Bill Clinton when she made her initial, unsuccessful bid for the Democratic nomination in '08. The play, at the Golden Theater, is fairly slight, and only about 80 minutes. But the performances by Laurie Metcalf and John Lithgow as the titular characters are top-notch. I loved their interplay. Recommended only with a substantial discount.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

The latest revival of Terrence McNally's FRANKIE AND JOHNNY AT THE CLAIR DE LUNE at the Broadhurst Theatre has less than two weeks to go in its run, but it's worth seeing, especially if you can grab a rush seat. Mine yesterday was just $40 for a sixth row orchestra center seat. The two-character comedic drama deals with the romantic entanglement of two emotionally (and in one case physically) damaged people who work at the same diner, one as a waitress, the other as a short-order cook. Many people probably were attracted by Audra McDonald in the costarring role, but for me the standout was Michael Shannon. He comes on like gangbusters, a true house afire in his weirdly intense wooing of his coworker. My only demur: The second act becomes a bit redundant; IMHO the play probably could have been shortened by a good 10-15 minutes without sacrificing any of its integrity. The limited run was supposed to last several weeks longer but owing to poor ticket sales, it's ending July 28. Recommended, especially via the rush.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

If you're an Annie Golden fan (HAIR, THE FULL MONTY, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK) , I suggest rushing to Gramercy House at 27 Barrow St. in the West Village to catch BROADWAY BOUNTY HUNTER before it closes on Sunday. It's a very funny--goofy, even, but in the best way--campy musical. Ms. Golden portrays a somewhat fictitious version of herself, unable to find a job and bizarrely recruited to be a bounty hunter in South American for a particular drug lord who also runs a brothel. Hint: he also has some ties to the Great White Way. Don't bother trying to see if it makes sense, just enjoy. Golden is in great voice, and the score is bouncy and hummable.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

BAT OUT OF HELL, a jukebox musical drawing from Jim Steinman's songs written for Meat Loaf ("Paradise by the Dashboard Light," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," "I Would Do Anything for Love"), is running at City Center through September 1. If you are a fan of songs associated with Mr. Loaf--as the NY Times always referred to him, which cracked me up--and his music, I would heartily recommend a visit. The story was written by Steinman, too, so he has worked the songs in probably more organically than you'd see in other jukebox musicals. The plot concerns a forbidden love (naturally) between the teen daughter of Falco, the ruthless man who runs Obsidian (what is left of New York City after an environmental disaster) and the head of a gang of counterculture teens forever frozen at 18 years of age because of the catastrophe. Yes, it's wacky and over the top in many ways and extremely loud, but hey, it's rock 'n' roll. Plus the performers are spirited and very talented. I especially enjoyed the energetic and hilarious "Paradise" number performed by Bradley Dean as Falco and his estranged wife Sloane, played by Lena Hall (HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH). It's worth the price of admission alone.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

SCOTLAND, PA, playing Off-Broadway at Roundabout's Pels Theater, is a charming, darkly comedic musical based on MACBETH, of all plays. The setting is now a one-horse town in Pennsylvania circa 1975, where an ambitious young woman exhorts her happy-go-lucky husband, both of whom work at a fast-food burger joint, to get ahead by performing some nefarious needs. The music is not very memorable, but the show is entertaining enough, and often quite funny--although the transitions to very serious scenes is a little jarring. I especially liked the concept of three hippies in the woods standing in for MACBETH's three witches. All the performers are fine, especially Jay Armstrong Johnson (ON THE TOWN revival) as Banko, a clueless but sweet stoner who also toils in the burger palace; and Alysha Umphress (also ON THE TOWN revival, plus SMOKEY JOE'S CAFE revival) as one of the hippies. Recommended. Discounts are out there.

THE GREAT SOCIETY at Lincoln Center stars Brian Cox (Stryker in X2: X-MEN UNITED) as President Lyndon B. Johnson in the throes of coping with civil rights issues and Vietnam. It's perhaps not quite so enthralling as the playwright's previous play about LBJ (ALL THE WAY, which starred Brian Cranston), but it's nonetheless fairly riveting with finely tuned performances from a large cast enacting all the major players of the period: LBJ, Robert F. Kennedy, Robert MacNamara, Martin Luther King Jr., George Wallace, Hubert Humphrey and many more. In a bit of unlikely but interesting casting, Richard Thomas plays Humphrey. Recommended. I saw it via Today Tix rush, which was $35 plus convenience charge.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

This third Broadway production of BETRAYAL is the best I’ve seen. I’d never seen Tom Hiddleston on stage before, so I was wondering how he would fare. I’m happy to report that he was quite impressive. He gave great nuance to his character, that of a cuckolded husband. The play by Harold Pinter isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, and frankly it was never a particular favorite of mine, but I was curious to see this production. I’m glad I did. As an added incentive, there were some $25 seats available, which offer I took advantage of. At the Jacobs theater.

After consistently losing the MOULIN ROUGE! lottery, I decided I would simply go via standing room, which I have never minded. It usually affords a very good, unobstructed view. And there is a comfortable place to lean on while you are standing. Yes, $50 is a little steep for standing room, but when you consider the usual price for this hit musical is $200 and up, way up, it’s not bad relatively speaking. I’m glad I went. It’s a colorful, boisterous stage version of the popular 2001 movie with a lot of humor as well as heart. The costumes and sets are absolutely eye-popping amazing. I had a great time at the show; I may even go again, assuming I finally win the lottery. One of my favorite performers, Danny Burstein, costars as the flamboyant emcee along with Aaron Tveit as the smitten poet and Karen Olivo as the star of Burstein’s extravaganza. At the Hirschfeld Theater.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

FEAR, playing Off-Broadway at the Lortel in the West Village, has gotten some nasty reviews on theater chat sites, but I found it intriguing, tense and well acted. The couple of plot holes didn't faze me as the performances were strong enough to overcome any flaws. Enrico Colantoni, whom I remember from the film GALAXY QUEST and the TV series JUST SHOOT ME, is quite powerful as a neighborhood watch commander who believes a teen in his Princeton development is responsible for the disappearance of an 8-year-old girl and holds him against his will in an abandoned shed. The play is short, only about 70 minutes, but feisty. Lots of discounts are available.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

The recent 10-performance City Center presentation of the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical EVITA was so good, it was hard to process that it was basically thrown together in less than two weeks. Someone I'd never heard of, Solea Pfeiffer, played the title role, and she really knocked my proverbial socks off. I'd seen other Evitas (lamentably, not Patti LuPone's), but Ms. Pfeiffer's was the best-acted of them all. Her voice was great, too, as was everyone's in the cast. Jason Gotay's interpretation of the narrating Che character was a bit more low-key than I would have expected, but his quietly sardonic tone proved effective. My only demur: the choreography was less vibrant than I hoped for and sometimes redundant, but when you take into consideration how quickly the show was put together, I didn't consider that a major flaw. I don't think this production will transfer to Broadway, as the most recent revival was dependent on Ricky Martin to put behinds in seats; when he vacationed the grosses plummeted. I'm glad I caught this one.

OUR DEAR DEAD DRUG LORD begins as a very funny tale about a quartet of silly, jabbering high school girls in 2008 Miami who cebrate the lives of "dead leaders" by trying to summon their spirits to their treehouse clubroom, mostly notably the late drug kingpin and mass murderer Pablo Escobar. The dialogue is crisp and revelatory as to the girls' superficial concerns and overwhelming self-interest. But as the 85-minute play progresses, it becomes evident that the girls are slightly unhinged, that they harbor secrets about their backgrounds and that they are heading to a very dark place. In a 180 from the initial tone, the ending is shockingly violent and chilling. Off-Broadway at the McGinn-Cazale Theater on the Upper West Side. Recommended if one is not offended by extreme stage violence.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

JAGGED LITTLE PILL at the Broadhurst is probably the most serious "jukebox" musical I can think of, as it treats some very sober subjects, including racism, homophobia, opiate addiction and sexual assault, to name just a few. The score is comprised of selections from Alanis Morissette's songbook plus a couple of original songs she wrote for the musical. The book, by Diablo Cody (JUNO), dissects a typical American suburban family. Outwardly, they are all shining examples of success in pursuing the American dream, but there is a dark side to their lives that they keep hidden. Elizabeth Stanley is wonderful as the mom with a secret in her past who has resorted to buying Oxycodone from the street after her doctors will no long write her prescriptions. But the standout for my money was Lauren Patten in the role of the gay teen lover of Stanley's daughter, whose "You Oughta Know" practically blew the roof off the theater. There are playful moments--especially at the beginning and the end--but overall this is a thoughtful, dramatic show whose themes will stay with you. Recommended. It's a NY Times Pick, so discounts may dry up very soon.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

Recent wrap-up: After many years, I finally succumbed to my hubby's wish to see BLUE MAN GROUP. I know lots of people love this famous troupe and their performance art with crazy objects and audience participation, but unfortunately their antics grew tiresome for me. I did like seeing my husband happy during the show, though.

GREATER CLEMENTS, now closed at Lincoln Center, was a tense family drama whose climax hit like a visceral punch to the gut. The story had to do with an older woman in an Idaho mining town facing two pressing concerns: the failure of her mining museum owing to the town’s bankruptcy and her troubled adult son’s increasingly fragile mental state. The acting, especially by Edmund Donovan as the young man, was first rate.

THE CONFESSION OF LILY DARE, Off-Broadway at the Cherry Lane theater in the West Village, is more my speed: funny, campy and starring one of my favorites: Charles Busch. This hilarious play spoofs '30s film melodramas as only Busch (THE DIVINE SISTER, TALE OF THE ALLERGIST'S WIFE) can as playwright and performer. If you're in the mood for an absolute hoot, there's nothing like seeing Busch in drag but taking it seriously as high drama (which only makes it funnier) as he progresses from prim schoolgirl to chanteuse to madame in a high-class bordello in early 1900s San Francisco to wrongly convicted murderess. Highly recommended if campy fun is your thing. It's certainly mine.

Finally won the TINA: THE TINA TURNER MUSICAL lottery. Star Adrienne Warren is still wearing that ankle brace resulting from an injury she incurred on stage last month, but that never slows her down. She is indeed a force of nature as the wild, wigged and super-talented R&B singer Tina Turner. As in the movie WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO WITH IT?, the musical charts the ups and downs of her momentous life, pre- and post-superstar status and her fateful pairing with mercurial musician and wife-beater Ike Turner. The book may be a bit creaky, but the performances largely shine; although for me, the heavy Southern accents sometimes obscured my understanding of bits of dialogue. Still, it's an entertaining whirlwind of an evening. The post-curtain call version of "Proud Mary" especially offers everything the audience wants. Recommended.

Ellen

[mamaleh]

My very busy February roundup:

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has since closed, but it was one of the best in this long-running series of affectionate spoofs of Broadway. My favorite segment was "Wokelahoma!" which poked fun at the oh-so politically correct and bizarre recent revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic. Great fun.

BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE was a movie I semi-fondly remembered from the late '60s. The wry comedy about longtime friendly couples feeling as though they should be into New Age philosophies, including the so-called sexual revolution has been made into an Off-Broadway chamber musical to, I must admit, little effect. While some of the songs are lilting and jazzy, as sung by Suzanne Vega (she appears as a band singer outside of and only commenting on the action), the parts don't add up to much as a whole. I went to see it largely because of a hefty discount and because Michael Zegen, Midge Maisal 's husband in the MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL series, plays Ted, but it's mostly a bland, blah affair. One to skip.

I had been curious about GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY because the score is taken from Bob Dylan's song catalog and Martin McDonagh, a playwright I admire, wrote the book. So when I won this Broadway lottery (I kept losing it when it first played downtown at the.Public) , I gave it a try. Sorry to say, I was highly disappointed. The story of various families in a Minnesota town trying to overcome the difficulties of the Depression could have been more involving but neither my husband nor I found much to like. The lighting is overly dark, and songs are sung in a fashion I was not expecting: gospel style, blunting the Dylan influence I was expecting. I enjoyed a few of the performances--most notably those of Mare Winningham, Jay O. Sanders and Marc Kudisch--but that was not enough for me. Your mileage may vary. At the Belasco.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER is a charming, bittersweet chamber musical at Playwrights Horizons. A young contemporary woman is trying to put together the pieces of her ancestral past and learns from letters and the help of a New York Public Library librarian about the mysterious circumstances involving her grandmother and a World War I soldier. The score is sweet and evokes the period nicely. Recommended.

MACK & MABEL, City Center's most recent Encores! production, hit all the right Jerry (HELLO, DOLLY!) Herman notes. The recently deceased composer-lyricist had stated long ago that the M&M score was his favorite of his works, and no wonder: "Time Heals Everything" and "I Won't Send Roses" are perfect torch/love songs, while "Tap Your Troubles Away" and "Look What Happened to Mabel" recall the jaunty period of early movie-making when Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand were silent cinema favorites. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011. While the score soars, the book has long been seen as problematic, so it's very doubtful the show, which flopped in 1974, will reappear on Broadway.

HARRY TOWNSEND'S LAST STAND at City Center II's theater is a charming comedy-drama of the sometimes thorny relationship between an aging father and his 40-ish son, ably played by Len Cariou (the original Sweeney Todd) and Craig Bierko (Harold Hill in the 2000-2001 revival of MUSIC MAN). Interestingly, I just read that the play has abruptly closed because following Bierko's decision not to renew his contract past March 3, the 80-year-old Cariou found it discomfiting to rehearse and work with a new costar and simply quit. I do wonder if this will affect any future projects for Cariou. Will he retire? I wonder. Whatever his future, I am always amazed when very elderly actors are able to memorize all those lines when half the time I can't remember where I put my keys.

Ellen

[ruby]

Mar 4, 2020 9:52:24 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

My very busy February roundup:

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has since closed, but it was one of the best in this long-running series of affectionate spoofs of Broadway. My favorite segment was "Wokelahoma!" which poked fun at the oh-so politically correct and bizarre recent revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic. Great fun.

BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE was a movie I semi-fondly remembered from the late '60s. The wry comedy about longtime friendly couples feeling as though they should be into New Age philosophies, including the so-called sexual revolution has been made into an Off-Broadway chamber musical to, I must admit, little effect. While some of the songs are lilting and jazzy, as sung by Suzanne Vega (she appears as a band singer outside of and only commenting on the action), the parts don't add up to much as a whole. I went to see it largely because of a hefty discount and because Michael Zegen, Midge Maisal 's husband in the MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL series, plays Ted, but it's mostly a bland, blah affair. One to skip.

I had been curious about GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY because the score is taken from Bob Dylan's song catalog and Martin McDonagh, a playwright I admire, wrote the book. So when I won this Broadway lottery (I kept losing it when it first played downtown at the.Public) , I gave it a try. Sorry to say, I was highly disappointed. The story of various families in a Minnesota town trying to overcome the difficulties of the Depression could have been more involving but neither my husband nor I found much to like. The lighting is overly dark, and songs are sung in a fashion I was not expecting: gospel style, blunting the Dylan influence I was expecting. I enjoyed a few of the performances--most notably those of Mare Winningham, Jay O. Sanders and Marc Kudisch--but that was not enough for me. Your mileage may vary. At the Belasco.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER is a charming, bittersweet chamber musical at Playwrights Horizons. A young contemporary woman is trying to put together the pieces of her ancestral past and learns from letters and the help of a New York Public Library librarian about the mysterious circumstances involving her grandmother and a World War I soldier. The score is sweet and evokes the period nicely. Recommended.

MACK & MABEL, City Center's most recent Encores! production, hit all the right Jerry (HELLO, DOLLY!) Herman notes. The recently deceased composer-lyricist had stated long ago that the M&M score was his favorite of his works, and no wonder: "Time Heals Everything" and "I Won't Send Roses" are perfect torch/love songs, while "Tap Your Troubles Away" and "Look What Happened to Mabel" recall the jaunty period of early movie-making when Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand were silent cinema favorites. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011. While the score soars, the book has long been seen as problematic, so it's very doubtful the show, which flopped in 1974, will reappear on Broadway.

HARRY TOWNSEND'S LAST STAND at City Center II's theater is a charming comedy-drama of the sometimes thorny relationship between an aging father and his 40-ish son, ably played by Len Cariou (the original Sweeney Todd) and Craig Bierko (Harold Hill in the 2000-2001 revival of MUSIC MAN). Interestingly, I just read that the play has abruptly closed because following Bierko's decision not to renew his contract past March 3, the 80-year-old Cariou found it discomfiting to rehearse and work with a new costar and simply quit. I do wonder if this will affect any future projects for Cariou. Will he retire? I wonder. Whatever his future, I am always amazed when very elderly actors are able to memorize all those lines when half the time I can't remember where I put my keys.

Ellen

. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011.

A friend recorded all of his SF one man shows. It’s a real treasure trove of hughness. The clip I still play regularly is I Won’t Send You Roses. He does it so beautifully.

[jo]

Mar 4, 2020 9:52:24 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

My very busy February roundup:

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has since closed, but it was one of the best in this long-running series of affectionate spoofs of Broadway. My favorite segment was "Wokelahoma!" which poked fun at the oh-so politically correct and bizarre recent revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic. Great fun.fun

If they had not closed - would their treatment of the West Side Story revisal even be more fun?

MACK & MABEL, City Center's most recent Encores! production, hit all the right Jerry (HELLO, DOLLY!) Herman notes. The recently deceased composer-lyricist had stated long ago that the M&M score was his favorite of his works, and no wonder: "Time Heals Everything" and "I Won't Send Roses" are perfect torch/love songs, while "Tap Your Troubles Away" and "Look What Happened to Mabel" recall the jaunty period of early movie-making when Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand were silent cinema favorites. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011. While the score soars, the book has long been seen as problematic, so it's very doubtful the show, which flopped in 1974, will reappear on Broadway.

I can't seem to contextualize how a song from Mack&Mabel can be part of Hugh's personal musical memoirs ( since the Toronto show, eventually retitled BackOnBroadway, has resonance with his career and personal favorites), given the storyline of M&M. Unless he put it in the context of the Golden Age of Hollywood, although the M&M musical was not written till 1974, but it took place at that time in Hollywood... I never saw the show but read up on it a lot because Michael Ball did a fairly recent revival in the UK.

Here's a clip of Michael singing it, but I'm not sure if it is directly from the show --

[jo]

Ellen,

Interestingly the original Music Man, Robert Preston, played the lead in the original Broadway production of MACK AND MABEL.



Jo

[mamaleh]

Mar 4, 2020 15:17:04 GMT -5 ruby said:

Mar 4, 2020 9:52:24 GMT -5 mamaleh said:

My very busy February roundup:

FORBIDDEN BROADWAY has since closed, but it was one of the best in this long-running series of affectionate spoofs of Broadway. My favorite segment was "Wokelahoma!" which poked fun at the oh-so politically correct and bizarre recent revival of the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic. Great fun.

BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE was a movie I semi-fondly remembered from the late '60s. The wry comedy about longtime friendly couples feeling as though they should be into New Age philosophies, including the so-called sexual revolution has been made into an Off-Broadway chamber musical to, I must admit, little effect. While some of the songs are lilting and jazzy, as sung by Suzanne Vega (she appears as a band singer outside of and only commenting on the action), the parts don't add up to much as a whole. I went to see it largely because of a hefty discount and because Michael Zegen, Midge Maisal 's husband in the MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL series, plays Ted, but it's mostly a bland, blah affair. One to skip.

I had been curious about GIRL FROM THE NORTH COUNTRY because the score is taken from Bob Dylan's song catalog and Martin McDonagh, a playwright I admire, wrote the book. So when I won this Broadway lottery (I kept losing it when it first played downtown at the.Public) , I gave it a try. Sorry to say, I was highly disappointed. The story of various families in a Minnesota town trying to overcome the difficulties of the Depression could have been more involving but neither my husband nor I found much to like. The lighting is overly dark, and songs are sung in a fashion I was not expecting: gospel style, blunting the Dylan influence I was expecting. I enjoyed a few of the performances--most notably those of Mare Winningham, Jay O. Sanders and Marc Kudisch--but that was not enough for me. Your mileage may vary. At the Belasco.

UNKNOWN SOLDIER is a charming, bittersweet chamber musical at Playwrights Horizons. A young contemporary woman is trying to put together the pieces of her ancestral past and learns from letters and the help of a New York Public Library librarian about the mysterious circumstances involving her grandmother and a World War I soldier. The score is sweet and evokes the period nicely. Recommended.

MACK & MABEL, City Center's most recent Encores! production, hit all the right Jerry (HELLO, DOLLY!) Herman notes. The recently deceased composer-lyricist had stated long ago that the M&M score was his favorite of his works, and no wonder: "Time Heals Everything" and "I Won't Send Roses" are perfect torch/love songs, while "Tap Your Troubles Away" and "Look What Happened to Mabel" recall the jaunty period of early movie-making when Mack Sennett and Mabel Normand were silent cinema favorites. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011. While the score soars, the book has long been seen as problematic, so it's very doubtful the show, which flopped in 1974, will reappear on Broadway.

HARRY TOWNSEND'S LAST STAND at City Center II's theater is a charming comedy-drama of the sometimes thorny relationship between an aging father and his 40-ish son, ably played by Len Cariou (the original Sweeney Todd) and Craig Bierko (Harold Hill in the 2000-2001 revival of MUSIC MAN). Interestingly, I just read that the play has abruptly closed because following Bierko's decision not to renew his contract past March 3, the 80-year-old Cariou found it discomfiting to rehearse and work with a new costar and simply quit. I do wonder if this will affect any future projects for Cariou. Will he retire? I wonder. Whatever his future, I am always amazed when very elderly actors are able to memorize all those lines when half the time I can't remember where I put my keys.

Ellen

. I've always liked "Roses," especially so when HJ threw it in for only one performance of his Toronto one-man show tryout in Toronto back in 2011.

A friend recorded all of his SF one man shows. It’s a real treasure trove of hughness. The clip I still play regularly is I Won’t Send You Roses. He does it so beautifully.

I remember his heartfelt rendition. But did HJ sing it in San Francisco? I attended the first (if I recall correctly) week of SF performances and don’t recall his including that song, only that one time in Toronto. Did he perform it during the later perfs in SF? At the first perf in Toronto he said something about Patrick V. introducing him to the song earlier that day during rehearsals. He liked it and was still learning it, but would be singing it only that evening. Or am I misremembering?

Ellen