I watched the movie Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy over the weekend and bust a gut laughing! (Now isn't that a lovely visual...). Maybe it was the seventies schtick, or maybe it was Will Ferrell play-it-straight-so-it's-funny approach to "Ron Burgundy", but I loved it (ah, jazz flute...)

But I was really surprised at how much I liked Christina Applegate's "Veronica Corningstone", the aspiring anchorwoman. She's very funny, charming and doesn't mind being goofy. So this bodes well for her playing Charity Hope Valentine in Sweet Charity which opens for its pre-Broadway run in Chicago on February 23. (Too bad it didn't open on the 14th!). Denis O'Hare also stars.

It's directed by Walter Bobbie (Tony Award winner for Chicago) and choreographed by Wayne Cilento (Wicked, Aida) and if the flyer is any indication it looks like it will be a fun colorful set and costumes. I'm so hoping I'll get down to see it. It's just too bad Cy Coleman couldn't be there for opening night!

Let's hope Christina shows us fun, laughs, and good time!

The Los Angeles Reprise! Broadway's Best series, which presents classic musicals in a semi-staged concert setting, will offer mountings of On the Town, City of Angels and Zorba next season.

Leonard Bernstein, Betty Comden and Adolph Green's On the Town will kick off the new season at Reprise! at the UCLA Freud Playhouse. Previews begin Sept. 20 with an official opening Sept. 21. The musical love letter to Manhattan will run through Oct. 5.

Cy Coleman's City of Angels will follow. The detective-themed musical, which features music by the late Coleman, lyrics by David Zippel and a book by Larry Gelbart, will begin previews Jan. 24, 2006, and open Jan. 25, 2006. Featuring such songs as "You're Nothing Without Me" and "You Can Always Count on Me," City of Angels will play through Feb. 5.

The Reprise! season is set to conclude with Kander and Ebb's Zorba. The life-affirming musical will preview May 2, open May 3 and run through May 14, 2006.

The Reprise! series is currently presenting Stephen Schwartz's Pippin through Feb. 6. The production, featuring direction by Gordon Hunt, musical direction by Gerald Sternbach and choreography by Dan Mojica, stars Michael Arden as Pippin with Sam Harris (Leading Player), Jean Louisa Kelly (Catherine), Luba Mason (Fastrada), Mimi Hines (Berthe), Graham Phillips, Conrad John Schuck and Abe Sylvia. The current Reprise! season will conclude with Applause (May 10-22).

Chantelle writes:

"Shannon and I have a show coming up this Sunday called Pop Goes the Diva and the Red Marvel at the Rex Hotel from 7pm-9pm. It's quite different from Swing Rosie. I do an hour of superhero theme songs and Shannon does an hour of pop tunes all with a jazz feel. Come on out with your family if you have time. There's no cover at the Rex and they have pretty good food."

This sounds fantastic. "Superhero theme songs"? How fun is that? I don't know how we'll make it down today, but if we can squeeze it in, we'll try. All you Blogway Baby fans out there go and support Chantelle and Shannon!

I thought it would be fun to talk a little about my daughter, Myrna Conn (that's her in the middle in yellow, with glasses). I'm just so proud of her. She recently played the role of Billy in the City Youth Players production of Honk! She has also just finished her first film project as a Principal in Rebound, which is currently in post-production. Myrna has appeared on stage as Eponine in Les Miserables: The School Edition for Michael Rubinoff Productions, and she has numerous commercial singing and acting credits.

Her training includes frequent trips to New York for Camp Broadway sessions.

Myrna is a big lover of musical theater: She's a big "The Boy From Oz fan" ever since she got a chance to see Hugh Jackman live on the stage on Broadway. Hugh was utterly fantastic, and I think both Myrna and myself fell instantly in love with him. We also had fantastic seats, courtesy of my incredible husband.

Way to go Myrna!

In today's National Post (Video Reveals Different Kind Of Pajama Game, National Post Friday January 28, 2005 for a crappy register-blocked version, or the orginal story from the BBC here courtesy of BoingBoing) there is an article about an eldery British, devout Christian couple who discovered a topless woman speaking Italian on their Pajama Game DVD! Instead of the classic musical comedy starring Doris Day and John Raitt the couple found themselves watching Tettone che Passione, or Breasts, What a Passion!

My favorite quote from the article was the husband who said:

"It was a pretty raunchy, explicit film -- it certainly pulled no punches. My wife and I were very shocked but we watched it until the end because we couldn't believe what we were seeing".

That's his story and he's sticking to it! Hey, maybe it was their "Once A Year Day" so they decided to indulge! And maybe they didn't get "Steam Heat" but sounds like they sure got Steamy and Hot!

This is why musicals need to be workshopped first!

Now I can't wait to go out and buy a DVD of Pal Joey! Yeehah!

In the last few days I have posted a number of tidbits here at Blogway Baby which have, unwittingly, been connected by Montreal! Here goes...

Earlier today I published a post about the great music at the Montreal Jazz Bistro. Before that I posted about My Best Friend's Wedding Bacharach soundtrack, and Burt Bacharach studied music at McGill University, in Montreal! Before that I posted about a Canadian musical named My Fur Lady, written in 1957 by students at McGill University, one of whom was Galt MacDermot (yes the composer of Hair!) who was born in Montreal! And the post that talked about Charlotte Moore's new Canadian Musical Theatre CD? Well, the picture on the back cover of the CD is Charlotte at Expo 67 which was held in...wait for it...Montreal!

I wonder if any of them are connected to Kevin Bacon?

And where am I going in February? Montreal! Freak me right out.

My husband and I went to the Montreal Jazz Bistro last night to see Swing Rosie. I'd heard about this gig from one of the Rosies, Chantelle Wilson, who recently sang on my Plane Crazy demo session. She's the red head in the blond, brunette, redhead Andrews Sisters trio. It was packed! And what a great evening. We had an awesome table right in front of the performers!

The ladies (Kira Callahan, Shannon Butcher, and Chantelle Wilson), who were all dressed in black with long fuscia gloves, black forties pumps and "diamond" bracelets sang Andrews Sisters and The Boswell Sisters classics, backed by a hot swinging band -- Ka Cheong Liu (bass), Glenn Anderson (drums), William Sperandei (trumpet), and piano (I can't remember his name and he wasn't listed on the flyer -- so sorry!!). Some of my favorites included Elmers Tune, Rum and Coca-Cola and Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy. All this for only $12 cover -- wow!

Swing Rosie is going into the studio next week to record their debut CD "Swing Cool, Swing Hot", set for release Spring 2005. Run out, buy it, and beat me daddy eight to the bar!

Last night I watched My Best Friend's Wedding for the 100th? time. Hey, I had a lot of laundry folding to do...gosh darn, I love that movie! Even though Julia Roberts still didn't end up with Dermot Mulroney at the end, shucks! I'm still waiting for the sequel, where he leaves Cameron Diaz...

It was even more fun now that I've been to Chicago so many times so I could identify various landmarks and the hotel I stay in when I'm there.

As I was watching it occurred to me that maybe this movie would make a fun musical. Lots of silly love triangle stuff, scheming, chases, wedding planning, gay best friend, and they already have a group sing scene at the rehearsal lunch crab shack. I've always loved the Bacharach soundtrack of that movie, and for that reason it has always seemed like a very musical movie to begin with. How about the ending, where she dances with her gay friend, after losing her best friend/lover -- very bittersweet/life goes on ending like Sweet Charity (of course, not as bad) or Flora The Red Menace (Sing Happy).

Now if I could just find a couple of hundred thou' to buy the rights, then I'd really have something...

I had the absolutely funnest (yes funnest!) time last night. My producer friend Michael Rubinoff invited me (and I in turn invited Mitchell Kitz) to a Sing and Tell hosted by ScriptLab's Artistic Director and musical theatre writer, Jim Betts. It was held at Gerald Isaac's warm and inviting new studio. Jim has agreed to become ScriptLab's Artistic Director for the next three years, on the understanding that those three years will be exclusively devoted to the development of Canadian Musical Theatre. As you can tell by Jim's Website, Canadian Musical Theatre is something he holds very near and dear.

Jim stated that the purpose of the labs is to get together with writers, performers, directors and producers etc and catch up on what everyone else is doing, as well as to bring some of the more "senior" writers together (ie. legends like Leslie Arden, David Warrack) with some of the "newer" writers (ie. me, Mitchell Kitz). Jim wants to not only help develop new material, but archive existing Canadian musical theatre shows of which there is plenty but which has been sadly neglected. As David Warrack put it, when a regional theatre wants to do one of his shows (eg. All Stressed Up and Nowhere to Go) he has to go down to the basement and look through the Dominion bags full of old shows! I certainly had my eyes opened to the wealth of shows that have been written and produced all across Canada, but notably not in Toronto (which would explain, but not forgive, my ignorance).

So we all sat around the piano chatting and took turns singing a song from a Canadian musical -- past, present or future. We heard songs from favorite Canadian musicals, shows-in-progress and shows that were produced but not-fully-appreciated. I sang "Listen To My Heart" from Plane Crazy! It was one of the most friendly, supportive and interesting get-togethers to which I'd ever been.

Jim talked about an old show done in 1957 that he is trying to archive called My Fur Lady. Check it out -- the poster is to die for!

I also was lucky enough to buy a CD from Charlotte Moore (daughter of Mavor Moore). Charlotte is an incredibly talented singer who recorded a CD of all Canadian musical theatre songs (maybe Plane Crazy will make it onto Volume 2!). It is just fabulous!

I can't wait until next week's meeting!

Well I finally did it. I finally put in my application for the Toronto Fringe Festival! Over the past few years I've enjoyed Fringe shows to varying degrees (Top Gun, Sleepless, The Church of Dad, Ouch My Toe) but always admired the people who just went ahead and did it! Unlike the New York Musical Theater Festival, the Toronto Fringe is unjuried. This means shows are picked by lottery. Of course, my inside sources claim it's all politics, it's all who you know, it's all fixed. I would like to believe that I stand as little chance as everyone else, so I'm sticking with the "lottery story". I submitted Plane Crazy for the regular venue, and my kids musical Becky and The Booger for KidsVenue.

The draw is at Februrary 8 at 8pm! Wish me luck!

Great review from the Chicago Tribune on changes to Spamalot since I saw it last week. I agree that the cuts mentioned in the review below from today's Chicago Tribune aren't missed. The whole witch burning number was lame. And maybe that's why Hank Azaria seemed bored to me, since he just stands there in his pseudo Peter Allen number...

And yes, I did feel mildly uncomfortable with a bunch of Anglo-Saxons singing "You Won't Succeed on Broadway If You Don't Have Any Jews", especially with the large neon Star of David hanging down...and it wasn't even funny...

Oh, one more thing. unlike Michael Phillips, I really did NOT like the Vegas bit...

"By trimming the fat, Spamalot adds flavor

By Michael Phillips
Tribune theater critic
Published January 23, 2005

Five of my favorite words in show business are "out-of-town musical try-out," and one of the reasons is this: With an out-of-town musical tryout, audiences seeing the show mid-run often get a better version than the first-nighters. Having seen the substantially revised and improved Spamalot the other day, 10 days after the musical opened its pre-Broadway tryout at Chicago's Shubert Theatre, I'm here to tell you: Nobody misses the witch-burning number. Nobody misses the singing cow. Nobody misses the missing 15 minutes.

Director Mike Nichols, composer John Du Prez and librettist, lyricist and co-composer Eric Idle haven't been twiddling their respective thumbs, or anyone else's. It was a good time opening night, but as of the Jan. 19 matinee the stage version of Monty Python and the Holy Grail is no longer a good time. It is closer to a very good time -- close enough, I think, to transcend its larger, nagging questions of satiric intent and focus.

Helming his first stage musical since LBJ was in office, Nichols realizes he has a popular hit on his highly compensated hands. The national press, at least as represented by the New York Post and Newsweek, has already determined the probable smashdom of Spamalot. Broadway is hungry. Spamalot, which owes so much of its spirit (and too many of its jokes) to The Producers, is likely to become the biggest just-for-laughs Broadway musical since Mel Brooks made crossover hay.

Not only that: The Python musical is a less star-dependent lark than The Producers, a show that owed more of its initial buzz to Nathan Lane than Brooks would care to admit. Spamalot, which may (and should) turn out to be a full 40 minutes shorter than The Producers, is more of an ensemble piece. It requires a few good comics who can sing, and who can "do" Python without being slavish geeks about it.

Paradoxically, however, the cuts in Act 1 have done a helpful thing: They have given King Arthur (Tim Curry) a natural authority over the proceedings. The writers and Nichols haven't beefed up the Arthur role; they've merely cut away the dead wood not involving Arthur. Now, when Curry and the extremely valuable Michael McGrath (Patsy) sing "I'm All Alone," the number registers more strongly. It's the one song that gets at what Nichols, somewhat optimistically, discussed in pre-opening interviews as the class conflict theme -- and it's the right kind of funny, tinged with rue.

Sara Ramirez, who kills, kills, kills as the Lady of the Lake, no longer appears as the witch or the cow. It's better this way. It's too bad the funniest song in the polyglot Spamalot score comes so early: The song called "The Song That Goes Like This," at once a parody of Andrew Lloyd Webber's brand of bathetic balladry and, as delivered by Ramirez and Christopher Sieber, wonderful on its own terms. Ramirez's other big number, "The Diva's Lament," is more conventional, though Ramirez could sell the Spamalot audience just about anything. And that includes the special limited-edition "Golden Honey Grail" flavor of Spam, made possible by the good people of Hormel.

Opening night, Act 1 was the act with the biggest dead spots. No more. On the recent Wednesday matinee Act 1 clocked in at a supermodel-skinny 49 minutes, Act 2, about an hour. Idle and Du Prez may yet replace "Burn Her!," the late, unlamented witch number, with something else (and this time, something funny?) to introduce Sir Bedevere. As is, though, the revised Act 1 -- even with a blurry, halfhearted "run away!" scene at the French castle -- played like an act with a mission, holy or otherwise.

Then comes Act 2, which hasn't changed much, and which asks the question: Does Spamalot give too many regards to Broadway?

At one point in what we'll call the "plot," King Arthur meets up with the Knights Who Say Ni, who have more on their minds than merely securing a shrubbery. The king and his men, says the head Ni Knight, must stage a musical on Broadway. (In print two weeks ago I misstated that the put-on-a-musical idea came from Almighty God, not the Knight of Ni. Here is a correction. "In the Jan. 11 review of Spamalot, Almighty God was credited with the notion of King Arthur's knights doing a musical on Broadway. In fact, the idea came from the Knight Who Says Ni. The Tribune regrets the error.")

The best bits of Spamalot don't come entirely from the movie, and they don't come entirely from Brooks or "Forbidden Broadway." Like comic dybbuks, they come from somewhere in between two worlds. In Act 1, when the song "Knights of the Round Table" turns into a jazz-inflected Vegas spectacular, it's hilarious. It's worth it just to watch Ramirez do Liza Minnelli with a side order of Lorna Luft. And if Spamalot doesn't end up playing the Excalibur Hotel someday -- the Vegas resort gets enormous product placement here -- I'm the Chicken of Bristol.

But when Sir Robin (David Hyde Pierce) sings "You Won't Succeed on Broadway (If You Haven't Any Jews)," the joke is tired at best, wince-worthy at worst. I'm sure Idle means to be the right kind of offensive with this one. But the Anglo-Saxon comic perspective leaves the sight gags (a huge Star of David in lights, a Fiddler chorus line of grail dancers instead of bottle dancers) wanting, patronizing, pandering or all three. Similarly, when Sir Lancelot (Hank Azaria) offers a stirring defense of the castle-bound homosexual Prince Herbert (Christian Borle), it's pretty soggy writing. Lancelot's subsequent big coming-out number, "His Name Is Lancelot," is treated as a Peter Allen/Village People tropical bash. That's a start, but Azaria doesn't do much of anything in it. Les boys do all the work.

Now: How much of these issues are, in fact, issues? Idle and company settle for increasingly familiar showbiz targets, especially in Act 2, in terms of its spoofing. Yet Spamalot has too much else in its corner to thwart its lust for Broadway glory. Nichols, Idle, Du Prez and the rest of the company aren't resting on their laurels. The cuts and changes have already made it all more fun.

Meantime, in London, Idle's fellow Python founder Michael Palin recently told a journalist that Life of Brian might make a good comic opera. At this rate, the song "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" -- written for Life of Brian, but very comfortably interpolated into the Spamalot score -- may become the cheer-up number for the early 21st Century."

And speaking of nudie musicals...

I read an interesting article in the New York Sunday Times ("A Pile of Rubble Topped by Nudes. Now That's a Musical!" by James Ulmer, January 23, 2005 about director Stephen Frears latest film Mrs. Henderson Presents.

It's a quirky story about a bored English society woman, (Laura Henderson, played by Dame Judi Dench), in the 1930s who opened the first theater showing nude musical revues -- London's answer to the Moulin Rouge -- and made it a hit, even during the Blitz. The film sounds like great fun, with Dame Judi and Bob Hoskins (playing theater manager Vivian Van Damm). Especially so when Hoskins joins in and bares his behind (and front!) with the rest of the girls. The article quotes Mr. Hoskins, "All these young gorgeous creatures and there was Old Wrinkly in the back".

What I found really interesting was how Frears prepared for the film. Said Frears in the article, "Alan Parker once told me you can wing a movie, but you can't wing a musical." The article goes on to say Frears and his team discovered a book and saw a documentary on the world of Arthur Freed. From the 1940s to the early 1970s Freed's ability to lure top actors, directors, choreographers, and composers to work cheek-by-jowl in his MGM production offices delivered such classic musicals as Singin' in the Rain, Meet Me In St. Louis, and Gigi.

That model gave Mr. Frears the key he for which he had been searching. "Freed had figured out that you must have all these creative people working together in the same room," the director said. "You can't do it right unless they're all present and thinking the same way. So I got everybody into the same place -- the writer, composer, musical director and choreographer -- and worked it all out. Thank God we read that book."

Okay, now I gotta go find that book! And see the film when it comes to the
Toronto Film Festival in September!

Wow, Johnny Carson is dead. I. Am. So. Sad.

Johnny is part of a lot of special memories for me. As a kid, watching him host the Academy Awards. As a young adult, just married, watching him sign off for the last time. Bette Midler singing "One More For The Road", which left everyone in North America crying.

Oh Johnny, we'll miss you. Thanks for all the great memories.

"And so it has come to this. I am one of the lucky people in the world. I found something that I always wanted to do and I have enjoyed every single minute of it," Carson said to close his final show. "I bid you a very heartfelt goodnight."

Seriously, why hasn't there been an all-nude revival of Oh! Calcutta!?

There have been similar attempts, including The First Nudie Musical (1976) and the more recent Debbie Does Dallas (2002), but nothing has come close to the overall cultural impact. Oh! Calcutta! was a bold, innovative landmark in theater. It included the involvement of luminaries such as John Lennon and Jules Feiffer in its composition.

Called the "The World's Longest Running Erotic Stage Musical!", This famously bawdy review opened Off-Broadway in 1969 before moving to Broadway and then to a revival which ran for a record-setting 13 years. Lyrics and music written by The Open Window (Robert Dennis, Peter Schickele (a.k.a. PDQ Bach), Stanley Walden) who also as the pit band performed and sang most of the music. One of the original actors was Bill Macy, who subsequently hit it big on TV as Beatrice Arthur's malleable hubby on the popular feminist sitcom Maude, and who recently appeared in this year's Surviving Christmas (whoops). Ironically, he also played an uncredited juror in the original 1968 Mel Brooks movie of The Producers starring Zero Mostel (b. 1915 / d. 1977).

It's amazing how much things have changed since the '70s. Back then, Oh! Calcutta! was mainstream, and now ohcalcutta.com points to a skanky pr0n site. Although, ironically, ohcalcutta.com.au points to a what looks like a tasty Indian restaurant in Australia. Bit of a dodgy play by the restaurant on setting their URL to virtually the identically address as a pr0n site, but whatever.

I remember this show being advertised in all the newspapers. It's amazing how much more conservative our society has become...when a nipple can cause a ripple, and where sex has now become dirty.

How did this happen? How did we go backwards in our cultural acceptance of sexuality? One theory, which is interesting, is that the overwhelming mass of Internet pr0n has changed our conceptions of sexuality. Pr0n, as a business requirement, has become increasingly segmented into fetishes. Is pr0n's fetish focus forcing sexuality into the closet, as it appeals to our darker desires, while leaving healthy sexuality behind on the side of the road?

Maybe Oh! Calcutta! could revive the Toronto theater scene, taking advantage of our more relaxed Canadian moral values. Plus it'd be fun to appear naked on stage...

PACT is a member-driven organization that serves as the collective voice of professional Canadian theatres. For the betterment of Canadian theatre, PACT provides leadership, national representation and a variety of programs and practical assistance to member companies, enabling members to do their own creative work.

The PACT Communications Centre (PCC) aims to keep members, partners, government, the theatre community and the general public apprised of theatre related news, provide professional development information and resources, and encourage public appreciation of the art form. To this end, PCC co-organizes World Theatre Day events with the Playwrights Guild of Canada, maintains the PACT website including Canada on Stage, and publishes print and electronic resources.

According to the Globe & Mail, Mary Poppins The Musical has garnered the most Olivier nominations (British version of the Tony) EVER.

From what I've heard from my inside sources, it is a show worth seeing. When I first heard about this Disney project I was afraid that despite loving the movie, the stage version might be a tad saccharine and tired (a criticism that has been thrown at Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, The Musical). However, the buzz is that it is a lot darker, a lot truer to the original book, than was the movie. We get to know a bit o' the darker side of Mary (why is she still single?). It sounds intriguing...so how are they going to get those penguins to dance in 8 shows a week?

As for The Woman in White? Well I haven't seen it. I only know one person who saw it and how shall I say this...he loathed it.

London -- Mary Poppins and The Producers led the nominations yesterday for this year's Laurence Olivier Awards, honouring achievement in London theatre, opera, and dance during 2004.

Mary Poppins had nine nominations including best new musical, best actress in a musical for the show's star Laura Michelle Kelly and best actor in a musical for Gavin Lee, who plays Bert the chimneysweep.

The Producers received eight nominations. Co-stars Lee Evans and Nathan Lane are up for best actor in a musical. Leigh Zimmerman, who plays Swedish secretary Ulla, is a nominee in the best-actress category.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's latest West End show The Woman in White, which has been less well-received, had five Olivier nods."

Further to my previous post on the new cast for Fiddler on the Roof, it looks like the re-opening was a triumph, according to Playbill:

"Looking as if he could step in for Harvey Fierstein at a moment's notice, Ron Orbach hit the Minskoff lobby at intermission of Fiddler on the Roof Jan. 20 with a decidedly contented look on his puss. "I feel like the show's back," he said. "It went away for a bit."

In that feeling, the actor was not alone. A fair share of the "re-opening night audience" wore a similar expression, and their ovation at the end of the revival's 377th performance seconded the pervading notion that the Joseph Stein-Jerry Bock-Sheldon Harnick classic was now closer to its heart, humor and roots than what British director David Leveaux opened Feb. 26 with Alfred Molina.

The feeling was mutual on the other side of the footlights, too. "You feel the love coming from the audience," Fierstein admitted at the post-play party, held within the Zhivago-red walls of The Firebird, an elegant Russian eatery a few short blocks west of the Minskoff.

"I know it's a cliche, but it was a dream, and it has come true. To have the audience go insane like that -- and they've done that from the very first performance -- is incredible."

There's no question that they've taken a big gamble with Fierstein and everyone is waiting to see just how hardy Fiddler really is: Can it stand a revolving cast, and sit down permanently like Phantom et al?

"Credit for the off-beat casting director Leveaux passes on to Susan Bristow, who produced the show for The Nederlanders. "I was in Japan at the time this came up," he recalled. "Susan called me and said, 'Look, I'm thinking about life beyond Fred [Alfred Molina]. What do you think about Harvey? He has always been in the back of my mind as somebody who ought to play this.' The instant she said it, I thought, 'Yes, that's it. That's exactly where we need to go.' Harvey touches territory that perhaps was last seen in Fiddler when Zero Mostel played it, meaning you got a great clown on that stage. Fred came at it from the other end of the spectrum. The truth is you gotta be able to do both."

When my daughter Myrna came home from rehearsals for Judy and David's musical Pigmania (she plays a foxette) she told me that Mark Terene will be the director (as it turns out he directed last year's Judy and David March break show, Goldirocks).

Mark Terene is a well-known Toronto actor, having originated the role of Pumbaa in The Lion King and also playing Cogsworth in Beauty and The Beast, amongst many other roles. However, I first saw Mark perform in Pirates of Penzance when he was in high school at Earl Haig in the early '70s. He played "the very model of a modern major general" and I still remember that performance and how good and funny he was. I must have been only 10 or so at the time so it made a big impression. I became a staunch Gilbert and Sullivan fan thereafter.

It's interesting how theater experiences when you are young can stick with you for a lifetime. They become seared into your brain in a way that rarely happens when you're older. The other formative theater viewing experience I had was also a show at Earl Haig in the '70s. I remember seeing Jane Johanson, Tom Knowlton and one other guy, whose name I cannot remember, dance Steam Heat in The Pajama Game.

From that moment on I decided I had to play Gladys Hotchkiss at some point in my life. That goal was to be finally and fully realized at university in the Queen's Musical Theatre production of The Pajama Game in 1984.

It really is too bad they've cut so much of the theater arts programs out of the public schools...

Well, no wonder it is so cold: Hell has frozen over! I like a jukebox musical!

Yes folks, I went to see All Shook Up at the Cadillac Palace Theater in Chicago. I was able to get first row balcony one hour before show time, but the place was pretty much sold out. I didn't like Mamma Mia at all, mostly because they had force-fit my favorite ABBA tunes into a stupid story. Now understand, I'm a HUGE ABBA fan. I was big time into ABBA since I had a Swedish friend in high school, and I went through labor with my first daughter with ABBA tunes pumping out on the stereo.

But in Mamma Mia, every time somebody sang an ABBA tune, I longed to hear ABBA's original version. ABBA wrote goofy songs (and I love 'em), but made awesome recordings. So naturally I assumed I would feel the same way about the Elvis songs used in this musical.

How wrong I was.

This is a charming, funny, musical that is quite happy, thank you very much, just to be a musical comedy. The songs are definitely better integrated into the story (bits of songs are used throughout sometimes) than was the case with Mamma Mia. It's a simple story of a "wild one" aka "roustabout" who motorcycles into a small town in the 1950s and suddenly everyone is falling in love left, right, and center.

The music is fifties so it works with the story. The story has a predictable ending, but who cares? The journey is fun! The cast is just dynamite: To hear those great songs sung by amazing voices, with interesting arrangements was a pleasure. The only disapointment for me was the choreography which I expected to be spectacular, given the music, but wasn't.

And yes, 15 minutes into the show I thought: "I wish I could be in this show!". If they had sold a cast CD I would have bought it. They had some expensive-looking set surprises, but the show could have worked without them.

According to my inside sources, the actors were complaining to the union about some of the raked set pieces (they did look a bit dangerous to me) that the women had to navigate in pumps. However, you'd never know it, the actors were giving 150% all through the show.

The show is a crowd pleaser. The audience loved it, but the people next to me were surprised at how much they enjoyed the whole piece, not just the music, surprised at how much they laughed.

Hmmm, mabye I should give Good Vibrations the benefit of the doubt after all.

On the other hand, here's my hypothesis as to why I didn't like Mamma Mia, why I liked All Shook Up, and why I don't think I'll like Good Vibrations...

Both ABBA and The Beach Boys had goofy songs, but a very distinctive recording technique. All The Beach Boy songs (I'm also a big fan) sound a lot alike, but wow, what a great, unique sound they had. So when I hear them sung on stage, I yearn for the original.

Elvis, on the other hand, sang songs written by a variety of songwriters, and although he sang like no one else, the songs can be sung by other artists. It's like the classic songs that Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby or Rosemary Clooney all sang -- they could be covered by many (competent) artists and still be great. So when I heard those Elvis songs sung by great theater voices, I was satisfied.

And of course, they were better integrated into the story...

It's one of those things that makes you go hmmm...

Has the Blue Man Group already created a mess in Toronto without even putting on a show? As Richard Ouzounian explained in The Toronto Star, the Blue Man Group is going anti-union (woa! bad move in Canada, eh?) Have they taken Toronto for granted, as if it were some low rent version of an American city?

Richard Ouzounian, The Toronto Star, January 20, 2005:

"Blue is the new gold. That's the message Clear Channel Theatrical Entertainment was sending out yesterday at a media event to announce the imminent arrival in Toronto of that phenomenon known as the Blue Man Group.

The certifiably demented happening, in which three blue-faced performers create their own unique brand of theatrical havoc, now generates annual revenues in excess of $125 million (Canadian) and has been running since 1991. It's currently on view in five cities around the world.

Starting this summer, you can add Toronto this list.

"We always wanted to play here," Matt Goldman, one of the original Blue Men said yesterday. "We just had to wait until the time was right."

[Ed: Right for what? Not theatre, apparently...]

What it didn't have was the right technical requirements to house a show that is seemingly simple but incredibly complex. The Blue Man Group needed a refurbished theatre and now Clear Channel is forking out a reported $15 million to make it happen.

[Ed: That's the old New Yorker theater on Yonge Street]

As previously reported, Panasonic is coming up with a multi-million-dollar sponsorship deal to have its name on the renovated facility and all systems are go for an opening early in June.

[Ed: If the Blue Man Group doesn't fly, the damn theater will be too expensive for anyone to use! At least when it was dangerously disintegrating it was affordable!]

Goldman, Stanton and Wink were street performers (shades of Cirque du Soleil) who developed their "search for a community through art," in Stanton's words, in places as bizarre as the sidewalk outside of Manhattan's once-grand Copacabana nightclub.

In 1991, they set up shop at the seedy Astor Place Theatre on the Lower East Side. The critics raved, the crowds came and the show has been running ever since.

Boston followed in 1995, Chicago in 1997, Las Vegas in 2000 and Berlin in 2004. It's still playing to packed houses in those locations.

No wonder everyone involved is bullish that this will be the vehicle with broad enough appeal to turn around the perception that tourist audiences have abandoned Toronto since the SARS epidemic of 2003.

In Wink's words, "We'd like to think that some indie-techno-pop-musician would take his 7-year-old niece to see us and bring along his grandparents as well."

[Ed: Yeah, and I'd like a solid gold toilet seat, but that's not in the cards, baby!]

The 15-minute excerpt of Blue Man magic that was offered to the press had all the usual ingredients: flashing lights, splashing paint, a four-piece day-glo band and the Blue Men themselves -- fierce, loveable, inquisitive pieces of human dada.

[Ed: Well, that's what I look for in a man!]

The roles in the Toronto production have not been cast, but a group of more than 100 protesters showed up outside the Phoenix for an "informational picket" on behalf of Canadian Actors' Equity, protesting the fact that Blue Man Group is not a signatory to any union.

[Ed: I guess they feel actors should be seen and not heard?]

The two sides are meeting this Friday to try and work things out, but as a token of good faith, the Clear Channel organization sent out coffee to warm the demonstrators shivering in the sub-zero temperatures."

[Ed: What? No donuts?]

Where is Norma Rae when you need her!

Idina Menzel: You can't keep a Wicked girl down!

From Playbill, January 9, 2005

"Tony Award winner Idina Menzel, who was to play her final performance in Wicked Jan. 9, was injured during the Jan. 8 matinee of the hit Stephen Schwartz musical.

Shoshana Bean, Menzel's standby who was slated to officially take over the role of Elphaba beginning Jan. 11, played the Sunday, Jan. 9 performance.

It had been announced prior to the matinee that Menzel would make an appearance during the musical's final curtain call. The Tony-winning actress, however, surprised the sold-out crowd when she came onstage —- dressed in a red track suit -— to complete the final scene of the musical.

During the curtain call, Menzel was again brought onto the stage so she could take her final bow at what was to be her last performance as the misunderstood Elphaba. Menzel, according to the Associated Press, told the audience, "I love you all. It's been the best year of my life. Thank you."

Let's hope her ribs heal asap so she can begin shooting the movie musical Rent where she will reprise her role as Maureen.

Now, there's a super trooper!

Wow, this is kewl. The Barenakeds themselves getting into musical theater...maybe it really is a new renaissance. If I can think of one pop group that could work in the genre, it would be these guys.

From Playbill:

"If you had a million dollars, would you have ever bet that the Canadian pop group Barenaked Ladies would provide a musical score to a Shakespeare play at the prestigious Stratford Festival?

It would've turned out to be a good bet. The band that gave the world "If I Had a Million Dollars," "Jane," "Be My Yoko Ono" and "One Week" will be writing five song settings and incidental music for the 2005 production of As You Like It, directed by Antoni Cimolino, executive director of the world-renowned Shakespeare festival in Stratford, Ontario.

The group will record the instrumental music and festival actors will sing the songs during performances, which begin April 27 at the flagship Festival Theatre and continue to Oct. 30. Opening is June 4.

Tony Award-winner Santo Loquasto will design the production.

"This offers us an opportunity to present the audience with a marriage between recorded and live music," said Steven Page, lead singer for Barenaked Ladies, in a statement. "As You Like It has more songs built into it than any other of Shakespeare's plays, and they help to propel the plot and characters. More importantly, they serve to create the mood and the setting. It's very exciting to work as a team with Antoni and Santo to make their vision of Arden come to life."

Director Cimolino said, "As You Like It is a play that explores many kinds of love from the viewpoint of the young. In the spirit of youthful rebellion, the characters drop out of the envious and sophisticated world of the court in favor of the peace and simplicity of the country. I felt that a 1960s setting supported and made vivid each one of the play's themes. Barenaked Ladies are ideal collaborators on this project — their wit and energy are positively Shakespearean."

Okay, we seem to have this cell phone/pager thing licked. Every show seems to have a funny announcement at the start of the show and it's been a long time since I've heard one go off.

Now, if we could just turn off the audience.

Since when is it okay to talk through a musical? I guess people have gotten used to yapping in the movies...I mean the plots are not that difficult, what exactly do you need to explain to your date??

Since when is it okay to chew gum like a cow chews it's cud during a musical?. During All Shook Up (which I'll review tomorrow) I was seated next to a couple -- rich guy, gorgeous well-dressed younger blonde lady [Ed: Trophy?]. The lady spent the entire show chewing, no not chewing, popping, her gum. Yo, what's up with that?

Since when is it okay to cough up a lung during a musical? If you are in the late stages of the plague, perhaps you should consider coming in a bubble, or staying home!

Since when is it okay to arrive five minutes after curtain time? Why are people arriving so late? Do they think musicals run trailors like in the movies? Coming attractions?? I mean, come early and avoid having the box office double sell your seat to someone else (ie. me) an hour before show time. 'Cuz once I'm settled in my seat I ain't movin!

'Nuff said

I just wanted to formally thank Craig Wilson, a talented composer who is in my Theater Building Chicago Musical Theater Writers Workshop. I've been having a bit of trouble with collaborators over the first three assignments, and then I found out a week before class that my latest composer had quit the program without doing any of the work! So I was stuck with lyrics and no music, with only a week to go until "Friday at 4" (the line from A Class Act where the BMI workshop writers talk about performing their songs)

Craig jumped right in and volunteered to put my words to music. He had already worked with two other lyricists and written his own song as well, so this was above and beyond the call of duty. But within a week Craig had written great music that totally captured the intent of the lyrics, came early to practise the song with me and then did a great performance in class. Even John Sparks was impressed!

Thanks Craig!

I saw Spamalot on Friday night in Chicago. As you may note from my previous post, I was really, really looking forward to this musical, and I desperately wanted to LOVE it.

If the Chicago crowds enthusiastic love-in reaction is any indication, Spamalot is going to be a huge hit. And if the crowd in the "Shopalot" merchandise store (next door to the Shubert theater) is any indication, Eric Idle won't need to go out on another Greedy Bastard tour for a very long time.

The Chicago Shubert Theater feels like a tall rectangular box with four levels -- an orchestra, balcony, mezzanine and oxygen mask level, all piled on top of each other. My limited visibility ticket wasn't as bad as I feared. Although I was quite far away (last row of mezzanine) I had an aisle seat and unobstructed view. However, the floor of the level above me hung down low and cut of the very top of the set -- those Monty Python clouds. They do come down during the show so I saw them then. I'll admit the energy you get from a show is lessened when you are far away. Having said that...

Was I entertained? Uh huh. Did I laugh? Sure. Was I satisfied with the production values? Of course. Did I absolutely adore it, can't wait to see it again, can't wait to buy the CD and the sheet music, and most importantly did I want to be in it (that is my litmus test for a musical)? No. And I so wanted to love it. I love Monty Python, both the TV shows and movies. But I didn't love the musical.

The sets, and production are fun. The execution of special effects was fun. Not overdone, but just nicely done in keeping with the Monty Python spirit. A lot of the book was lifted straight from the film. But as well delivered as the bits were, I kept wishing I could hear Michael Palin or Eric Idle say the lines. Maybe part of the charm of Python humour are the Pythons themselves [Ed: Duh!]. The changed ending was a bit dodgy (nobody gets arrested) and a bit cheesy. Not Python cheesy-maker, but just cheesy. I won't give away details but the Grail quest takes on a different meaning.

I guess my three biggest bones to pick were as follows:

1. MUSIC: The best song was "Always Look on The Bright Side of Life" which was lifted from the Life of Brian. The other songs had clever lyrics, but pretty forgettable tunes, especially the uptempo ones. "Knights of the Round Table" always had funny lyrics but not the greatest tune. As one song in a film, that was fine. But in a musical they all sort of sounded the same.

2. MUSICAL PARODY: Okay, okay, enough already. Urinetown sort of did it, that whole breaking the fourth wall thing, (go and pee at intermission: Spamalot actually copies that line!) and quite frankly I'm a little tired of musicals that make fun of musicals (especially if it doesn't have the musical chops to back it up). Spamalot felt like it was spending a lot of time making fun of Andrew Lloyd Webber (complete with chandelier), making fun of the big Broadway ballad, making fun of breaking into song. That might have been fresh back when the movie came out in 1975, but it has grown stale in 2005. I for one have never had a problem of people breaking into a song, in a musical. For heaven's sake, I do it all the time just walking down the street! Musicals can/should make fun of society, and morals and stuff, but if you don't like the genre don't do a musical.

3. THE STARS: Tim Curry was great, sounded great and looked like he was having fun. David Hyde Pierce and Hank Azaria looked like they were phoning it in on their cell phones. They looked bored. Don't get me wrong I love those guys. Maybe 11 years of Frasier just sucked live theater right out of David. The Broadway regulars had much more energy.

I'm sure I'm in the minority. After all, I didn't like Phantom either, and it did OK at the box office...

I'm not usually a big SF fan (except for the fabulous works of Cory Doctorow, of course), and I was shocked when I read The Golden Globe by John Varley. From the jacket:

"All the universe is a stage...and Sparky Valentine is its itinerant thespian. He makes his way from planet to planet as part of a motley theater troupe, bringing Shakespeare--a version of it anyway--to the outer reaches of Earth's solar system. Sparky can transform himself from young to old, fat to thin, even male to female, by altering magnetic implants beneath his skin. Indespensible hardware for a career actor--and an interstellar con man wanted for murder..."

This is simply one of the best books on musical theater that I have ever read. The number of inside references to some of the classics of musical theater are simply too numerous too mention. I kept wondering why this book was published: How many SF fans are into musical theater? I would honestly read a chapter, and quickly flip to the front cover to make sure it was SF. God, what a great book. Go out and buy a copy today.

Gosh, everyone sure loves to critique the "Disneyfication" of Broadway. Their two big shows: Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King, (Aida closed in 2004), have changed the face of Broadway, and in mostly positive ways.

Their most important contribution, long-term, is that the "Disneyfication" of Broadway has cleaned up Times Square and made it "family-friendly". With the burst of construction of hotels and restaurants over the last decade, Times Square is now firmly "cleaned up" and should remain safe at night for many years to come.

I certainly wouldn't want to take my kids to Times Square circa 1980. By cleaning up the area, NY has made Times Square acceptable to families, and it helps make Broadway accessible to everyone.

Of course, everything comes with a mixed blessing.

Although I've seen The Lion King 4 times, and Beauty and the Beast 3 times, this is more a reflection of the fact that I have two Broadway-lovin' kids. These are great starter musicals, and they put on a good show. They've done a wonderful job of restoring two historic theaters. But darn it, they sit down FOREVER...

Broadway's not a theme park, and in order to remain vital there has to be a constant infusion of new major shows. I appreciate everything that Disney's done, but couldn't they rotate the shows a bit more, and create more vibrancy in the line-up? There is a great shot in Broadway: The Golden Age where they scan over the theater listings in the late '50s and it's literally one classic show after another.

Disney perfected the "limited time" marketing technique with their videos (they regularly put classic movies "on moratorium" so that they increase sales in the available period). Do the same on Broadway. Mount more shows, more often, and limit the runs so that each show becomes an event.

Oh yeah, and do The Little Mermaid on Broadway too.

This is good news...Kristen Chenoweth is releasing her second album. It's great to see Broadway stars making the transition to popular music. She has an amazing soprano...the uniqueness of her voice led Stephen Schwartz to custom write the part of Glinda in Wicked for her. Too bad she and Idina Menzel couldn't get along.

I saw them both in Wicked on Broadway and it was a wonderful experience. But you could feel the tension between the two actresses on the stage. I would love to know what was going through Kristen's head when Idina beat her out for the Tony. Ah, Broadway.

Anyway, still some great memories, and everyone's moving on now. Life goes on.

"The second solo recording from Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth is due in stores in April. Chenoweth, most recently on Broadway in Wicked, will sing a tune from the new CD — Diane Warren's "Borrowed Angels" — at a non-televised event for President and Laura Bush the day before the President's Inauguration.

A spokesperson for the actress told Playbill On-Line that the still-untitled disc will be released April 5 on the Sony/Integrity label.

About her upcoming record, Chenoweth had previously told Playbill On-Line, "It's going to be [called] something like 'Songs I Grew Up On.' It's an inspirational record. There will be a couple of Jesus songs on there," Chenoweth laughed at the time, "but mainly it's for anyone who just wants to be uplifted." Among the other songs to be featured on the disc are Faith Hill's "It Will Be Me" and what has become a signature tune for the performer, Marcy Heisler and Zina Goldrich's "Taylor, the Latte Boy."

I got an interesting letter in the mail the other day from a new theater group called "Stageplays".

Here's a snippet from the letter.

"How many new plays are on Broadway right now? If you guessed more than two, you are wrong! Look at the number of revivals and resurrections of plays past. And, if we look at the ghosts of the past, the present and the future [Ed: Insert a bizarre reference to A Christmas Carol that is totally confusing], without new play development the future will be very bleak [Ed: Note italics and bold on the word "very", which means it's really serious]

The good news? There is one company that is actively developing new plays. Stageplays Theatre Company (Stageplays) is a small company with a big passion and a strong belief that the theatre needs new plays and new playwrights...and an organization like ours to nurture and develop them.

Our presence in New York City is vital to the success of new play development. We hae a number of projects under development including:

Santa.com, a new musical for families. Santa's elves, pink-slipped by the Internet shopping craze, go on the offensive to save their jobs, and Christmas! [Ed: Oh goody, a dotcom musical. I hear that thems Internets are everywhere now];

Sharks, a tale of love and corruption in the casualty insurance industry [Ed: Ah, casualty insurance. That's what I was going to do if I didn't pick stews in the '60s];

La Llorona (The Crying Woman), a mystical drama with music on cross-cultural misunderstandings and the American multinational invasion of Mexico [Ed: Will this one have a big tap number?].

These new projects will have a significant impact on the fabric of our lives and raise the standard for the next generation of theatre artists to follow."

No Web site unfortunately, but you can contact them by calling "Laura at 212.354.7565"

Now, I'm all for raising money for new plays. But please, let's not do it with so much negativity. First of all, there are 430 theatres in NYC. Believe me, they're not all running revivals. There's a TON of new play and musical development out there...to which anyone who went to the New York Musical Theatre Festival can attest.

Secondly, don't ask me for donations. I'll invest. And I'll buy tickets. Donations are a low-percentage way to raise money: Offer to sell me something, and I might buy. Ask me for a handout, and hey, I'm busy funding my own musical.

I just hate it when theater people go begging. Treat it like a business for crying out loud, and the money will be a lot more excited about coming on board. Let's face it, there are some really compelling reasons to invest in theater. Firstly, the money to investors comes out first, and it comes out fast. Secondly, you retain all sorts of interesting downstream rights, especially on original works. Finally, you usually get to go to opening night, and meet all the actors, which is always a load of fun. Sell me return, sell me potential, sell me sex appeal. Please don't beg.

One of my favorite theater DVDs is the documentary of the recording of the cast album for Company.

Called a "monumental achievement" by the Los Angeles Times, Original Cast Album: Company is the "extraordinary documentary of the explosive recording session for Stephen Sondheim's Tony Award winning landmark musical."

The DVD is filmed on May 3, 1970, a few days after opening night. The documentary records an grueling 18.5 hour session, and Elaine Stritch is just too perfect. She is so, gee, Elaine Stritch-y...

Equity rules for cast albums is that the cast gets paid a week for each day of the recording session. If I didn't know better, ol' Stritchy pushes the session to a second day so that the whole cast gets another week. Or maybe not. You take a look and decide.

The documentary is filmed by D.A. Pennebaker, who is most famous for The War Room (the inside story of Bill Clinton's 1992 election campaign), but he also did another mind-blowing Broadway documentary called Moon Over Broadway that I'll talk about in the future.

Stephen Sondheim is wonderful in this documentary. He is such a dramatic genius, and so incredibly gifted. It's great to see him in action, at his prime.

I would love to put on a show or cabaret night and get all the great talented female singers in Toronto and do a night of musical theater songs: Women duets only! We're going to call it the Great White (North) Way...stay tuned for dates.

So I thought, what are my favorite duets? Hmmm...

1. Class from Chicago (my sentimental favorite: Having played Velma Kelly in Queen's Musical Theatre's production of Chicago, I've always treasured having sung "crotch" on stage)

2. For Good from Wicked

3. Marry the Man Today from Guys and Dolls

4. The Apple Doesn't Fall from The Rink

5. Ohio from Wonderful Town

Okay, maybe we could invite a couple of guys and do:

1. Agony from Into The Woods

My husband and I had a great dinner last night with Anne Fitzgerald and her husband Ian. Anne is a very talented entertainment lawyer (she just started as in-house counsel at Cineplex: Congrats Anne!). She's from New York (originally North Carolina) but just couldn't resist that legendary Canuck appeal and moved to Canada with her Canadian husband, eh? What fun was had.

Decent wine was drunk (for a change) and the conversation was sparkling (honest!) Anne is also the producer of the Evil Dead 1 & 2 The Musical, which garnered a great Ouzounian (Richard, that is) review when it ran in Montreal at the Just For Laughs festival. When you're talking musical numbers and blood dispensing/clean-up issues, you know you are in for a gory good time. Hopefully it will come to Toronto this summer and I'll be there, front row! (wearing a raincoat...)

Mark Hamill is currently on the cover of this month's Vanity Fair as a part of a big Star Wars layout (he and the other originals have been relegated to the inside of the inside flap). We all know him as Luke Skywalker, but did you know he can sing 'n' dance? Aside from the obligatory Muppet Show appearance, Mark originated the role of Tony Hart in Harrigan 'n Hart for three days in the early eighties, garnering a Drama Desk nomination for Best Actor in a Musical.

He also did several off-Broadway plays.

My connection to Mark Hamill and Broadway was when my husband and I went to see Damn Yankees with Jerry Lewis at the Marquis Theater.

As we were standing around waiting to go in, I spotted Mark also waiting anxiously to go in and hear Jerry Lewis say "Laaadies!!". My husband caught glimpse and proceeded to stare at poor Mark non-stop (I think my husband was under the influence of the dark side of the force) until he got uncomfortable and walked away (Mark, not my husband). So I too can say I've seen Mark Hamill on Broadway...

Husband rebuttal: In my own defense, I spotted Mark Hamill at the theater, and I was unaware of the passage of time as I realized that I was a few feet away from LUKE SKYWALKER, HERO OF MY CHILDHOOD. I just don't see how I can be blamed.

When I started reading Making It On Broadway (Actors' Tales of Climbing to the Top) by David Wienir and Jodie Langel, I thought "Oh, I've heard this all before". Well let me tell you I hadn't! This book should be required reading for every theater student. There are the ususal "the first time I went to the theatre I was hooked" stories. But there are a lot scary stalking stories (It doesn't seem fair for Broadway actors to be stalked -- if you are going to be stalked and attacked, at least you should be making a ton of money!!), lots of insight into the McShow mentality of today's Broadway, and yes, some incredible emotionally-stirring stories that remind them why they went into the business in the first place.

QUESTION:
I hear a lot of "old timers" talk about how hard they worked, never missing a performance, even if they were in a coma, and how lazy young performers are today. I wonder if the lack of the "hard work" attitude that performers from the "Golden Age" talk about might be fostered by the environment that performers must work in now -- rundown theatres that are basically disintegrating and hazards to health; the revolving door treatment of talent for long running shows like McCats, McMiz, and McPhantom, where the cast coming in don't ever get to work with the Director but are shown their blocking (if they're lucky) by the Stage Manager or the Janitor; the skyrocketing cost of theater even when the talent still can't survive in NYC on what they're paid.

Maybe the "hostile" corporate takeover of Broadway has fostered this demotivated employee mentality. Maybe young performers today are not inherently lazy, as is often suggested. As in most things in life, it usually comes down to mismanagement, not bad raw materials. The fish always rots from the head.

I watched Monty Python and the Holy Grail a couple of nights ago to refresh my memory in anticipation of seeing Spamalot this Friday in Chicago. Not only did I laugh my face off, but I also wondered about the transformation of the piece onto the stage.

The movie really lends itself to musicalization, which much isn't a stretch, but what about the