Aaaaaaaarrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh! Must. See. Hugh. Must. See. Hugh. From this soul-searing article in Playbill:

On April 30 Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman follows in the footsteps of Peter Allen, the late entertainer he memorably portrayed in Broadway's The Boy From Oz.

Jackman will play a one-night, by-invitation-only engagement in Las Vegas, one of Peter Allen's more frequent concert destinations. Jackman will play the brand-new Wynn Resort with his concert act, which boasts direction by Caroline, or Change's George C. Wolfe and choreography by Wonderful Town Tony Award winner Kathleen Marshall.

According to a recent report in the New York Post, Jackman is also considering bringing this new show to Broadway for a limited engagement. The Tony-winning actor will also return as host of this year's Tony Awards telecast.

Hugh Jackman received a Tony Award for his portrayal of the late Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. He received an Olivier Award nomination for his work in the London revival of Oklahoma! and an MO Award for his performance as Joe Gillis in the Australian production of Sunset Boulevard. Jackman's film credits include "The X-Men," "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold" (Golden Globe nomination) and "Van Helsing."

Of course, the good news is that this year, I'm going to the Tony Awards, and Hugh is the host. Yeah!

And if Hugh takes his show to Broadway, I'm in the front row, tossing my panties!

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

When I was down at the New York Musical Theatre Festival last September I went to a reading of Captain Louie, a new family musical by Stephen Schwartz (Music and Lyrics) and Anthony Stein (Libretto) based on the picture book The Trip by Ezra Jack Keats.

It is the story of Louie, who feels lonely in a new neighborhood. Looking for something to cheer him up on a Halloween Night, he returns to his old neighborhood friends in an imaginative journey on the wings of his favorite toy, a little red plane. If I remember properly it was described as being about friendship and the ability to make new friends and the importance of old ones.

It was a true reading, with all the kids sitting with music stands and just piano accompaniment. I was dazzled by the talent of the kids, entertained by the music (very easy on the ears), but underwhelmed by the story. Now there wasn't any choreography and I believe it was presented in a somewhat shortened version. So I promised myself I would go and see the full-up production if and when it came to be.

Good news! Captain Louie, opens at the York Theatre (NY, 54th St. off Lexington) on May 8 for a 6-week run. Captain Louie is directed Meridee Stein who co-produced with Pam Koslow and Kurt Peterson at the York (James Morgan, Producing Artistic Director).

Apparently, a tour is in the works for 2006-2007 and the Captain Louie CD will be available from PS Classics in May.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

My daughter's class did excerpts from Oliver! at her music night last night and they left us wanting more! They did two numbers: "Food Glorious Food" and "Oliver!" and Myrna played Mr. Bumble.

She was fantastic! What a star! And I am going to take credit for assembling an awesome Bumble costume and pinning a large pillow into her costume (w00h00 Mom!). She was wonderfully portly. Actually the whole night was musical theater -- the grade 4s did "Summertime" from Anne of Green Gables and the grade 6s did "Sunrise Sunset" and "Wedding Dance" from Fiddler on the Roof, complete with a bottle dance!

Minimal sets, but great costumes and wonderful piano playing by the music teacher -- way to go Mrs M!. The kids really loved doing the musical theatre numbers because the music is so great and it gives them a chance to be dramatic and and discover a different world than their own. (and also because dressed as orphans they got to wear bare feet and ripped clothes!)

There was also a wonderful performance by the grade 5 and grade 6 string ensembles. (Myrna is in grade six strings.) It was so cute with all the girls dressed in their orphan rags playing the violin! Way to go Mrs C!

Bravo Myrna! Encore! Encore!

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

UPDATE: Rosie's moved her blog from the somewhat sad sounding sub-domain "onceadored", using an equally lame Blogger template at blogspot.com (with the somewhat daunting tagline: *the unedited rantings of a fat 43 year old menopausal ex -talk show host * -married mother of four- read at your own risk - my spelling sux (add * ocd * adhd * lmnop * suv * dvd * y not me) to the much more impressive rosie.com.

Her traffic is remarkable...586 comments on her latest post! And lots of good Broadway stuff under a separate link.

It's sort of like blogging meets Haiku, meets Broadway, meets Flickr.

Here's a little taste:

slept with a guy named kevin
on the red eye
i 2A - he 2B
i worried about snoring
as i am told i do

blake says it sounds
"wike a weal scawry bear"
gentelman kev never mentioned it

i pulled into my house at dawn
all the twerps were up
a stampede at the door
midget rugby

also in attendence
my in laws
melanie and joel
kels red state born again parents
who - much to my suprise
i adore

when kel and i met
she was positive
they would never come around
the gay thing
was not ok with them
never would be

now we can't get rid of em

we have woven ourselves
into a real family
where a left wing looney
has a place
among the right wing righties

after baby bush won
i told them how upset it made me
to know they voted for him
how he did not consider our family
a real family
deserving of the same rights
all her other married kids had
i blah blah blhaed
for a good four minutes

when i was done
melanie said
"mermie is coming over tomorrow
she's bringing a baums cake"
and that was that

sometime after forty
u settle into yourself
there are many ways to be
in this world

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

E.Y. "Yip" Harburg, who wrote the words to "Over the Rainbow," "Old Devil Moon" and "Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?," was honored today (April 28) with a commemorative U.S. postage stamp. How cool is that?

According to this article in Playbill:

The United States Postal Service's new 37-cent commemorative postage stamp shows a picture of Harburg smiling on his older years, with the words "Somewhere over the rainbow skies are blue" floating around him.

I've always been a huge fan of Finian's Rainbow (and yes, I appeared as a chorus member in my High School production) written by Harburg (with music by Burton Lane) but I didn't know that Finian's Rainbow was the first Broadway show in which black and white performers danced together.

Apparently this was pretty typical for Yarburg whose passion for social causes "seeped into his shows". The article says:

A wildly playful writer who penned antic verse (and choice romantic lyrics) for the musicals Bloomer Girl, Finian's Rainbow, Jamaica, The Happiest Girl in the World, Darling of the Day, Flahooley and the film The Wizard of Oz, Harburg (1896-1981) was also fiercely supportive of liberal social causes. His political feelings often seeped into his shows, offering views on slavery, freedom, women's suffrage, class, the arms race, war and more.

Women's suffrage? Yip Yip hooray!

Of course, he is most famous for the classic "Over the Rainbow", co-written with Harold Arlen. It was named the number one film song of all time by the American Film Institute, and in 2001 it was chosen as the greatest song of the 20th century in a Recording Industry Association of America/National Endowment for the Arts poll.

Over the Rainbow...Finian's Rainbow...I guess he liked rainbows!

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

How did I not know about this?

There's still time left to catch the last concert (Paul Trueblood on Betty Comden and Adolph Green) in an amazing series called "Lyrics & Lyricists", which unbenownst to yours truly, has been running since 1970! Sheesh, I gotta get out more!

Lyrics and Lyricists 2004-2005 35th Anniversary Season

Tickets/Registration: 212.415.5500

PAUL TRUEBLOOD ON BETTY COMDEN & ADOLPH GREEN / MAY 14-16

ABOUT "LYRICS & LYRICISTS"

The granddaddy of American songbook programs, Lyrics & Lyricists was launched in 1970 when longtime Broadway conductor Maurice Levine and lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg took to the stage of the 92nd Street Y to talk about the then unusual topic of songmaking. The series has featured every great Broadway and Hollywood lyricist and composer, laying the groundwork for more recent series like Lincoln Center's American Songbook, Carnegie Hall's American Popular Song Celebration and City Center's Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert.

Lyrics & Lyricists has been one of the most popular series at the 92nd Street Y since its inception in 1970, when Arthur Cantor, a trustee of the Billy Rose Foundation, approached Hadassah Markson, then the director of the 92nd Street Y Music School, about presenting a music series focusing on lyricists. Markson enlisted longtime Broadway conductor Maurice Levine, who in turn enlisted lyricist E.Y. "Yip" Harburg ("The Wizard of Oz") to launch the series on December 13, 1970. Eventually, the ries expanded to include composers, and in 1984 went from first-person histories of the American musical theatre to a series of narrated musical revues. The series has featured some of Broadway and Hollywood's greatest songwriters, including Betty Comden and Adolph Green, Johnny Mercer and Stephen Sondheim.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

I definitely have to check this out when I'm at the Blogher conference in July (and tramping in my old stomping grounds in Palo Alto!).

It's the American Musical Theater San Jose, and they have an impressive season schedule. It's a really aggressive schedule of some of today's best-known musicals. This is what they did in 2004/2005:

CHICAGO
January 11 to 23, 2005

A CHORUS LINE
February 22 to March 6, 2005

LORD OF THE DANCE
March 15 to 20, 2005

TAPESTRY: THE MUSIC OF CAROLE KING
April 12 to April 24, 2005

CATS
May 17 to 22, 2005

MOVIN' OUT
June 14 to 26, 2005

THE PRODUCERS
July 6 to July 25, 2004

RENT
September 21 to 26, 2004

PETER PAN
October 26 to November 7, 2004

I can live without Lord of the Dance, but gosh, Tapestry: The Music of Carole King sounds really cool. From the site:

The Ultimate Theatrical Tribute to the Music of a Generation!

Our production of TAPESTRY: THE MUSIC OF CAROLE KING will be a high energy, dazzling show starring incredible singers and musicians in a two-hour theatrical tribute featuring some of the greatest songs of all time, including I Feel The Earth Move, You've Got a Friend, Natural Woman, Up on the Roof and Locomotion. Carole King's album Tapestry was one of the best selling albums of all time and stayed on the charts for over five years at its release and continues to top charts around the world to this day. You will be astounded at the list of songs Carole King wrote that were performed by some of the top artists from the past four decades including The Shirelles, James Taylor, and even The Beatles. Whether you are a die-hard fan of American Idol or whether you still have a weathered copy of the Carole King LP, Tapestry, you are going to love this show!

And this is what's lined up for 2005:

THE WIZARD OF OZ
September 13 to 25, 2005

LITTLE WOMEN: THE MUSICAL
October 11 to 23, 2005

WEST SIDE STORY
November 1 to 13, 2005

THE LION KING
January 20 to February 26, 2006

GYPSY
March 28 to April 9, 2006

HAIRSPRAY
June 6 to 18, 2006

I'd love to see how they produce this work...

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

Last Sunday's New York Times Arts & Leisure section profiled a new film called Show Business by Dori Berinstein, a filmmaker and theatrical producer. ("The Film About The Show Behind The Show" by Jesse Green, New York Times, Sunday April 26, 2005 ).

This film, which opened Monday April 27, 2005 at the Tribeca Film Festival, focuses on four musicals (Wicked, Avenue Q, Caroline, or Change, and Taboo) as they face their first performances, their opening night reviews, and their hopes for Tony awards. Okay, I'm loving it already and I haven't seen it!

I can imagine how fascinating the different journeys would be to watch, given how differently each of the shows ended up.

In the article Jesse Green interviews three of the directors of the four profiled musicals (Jason Moore of Avenue Q, Joe Mantello of Wicked, and George C. Wolfe of Caroline or Change) about their role in the process.

They talk about how the creation of a musical is an intimate, sometimes plodding process. About how a musical is a long, arduous emotional journey. (Yes and Yes). And they talk about the conflict that is inevitable when creative heads collide.

I loved the expression Peter Stone (a Broadway book writer) used to describe such conflict on a musical "Let me put it this way: The patient lived, the doctors all died."

Joe Mantello talks of experiencing sympathetic nausea when he hears of a show that is in trouble. He goes on to say "In a business that's full of schadenfreude, it's the last thing that I take any pleasure in."

But difficulties aside, they all share the passion, the joy, and the excitement of this fantastical musical theater business. As Jason Moore says, the part he loved in the movie was "that little girl who's crying when Kristen Chenoweth signed her Wicked CD."

Yep, I know how that feels.

Here are some tasty bits from the interview:

Q: I think the popular image, if there is a popular image, of what a director does is that he or she moves the actors around onstage.

MANTELLO: If you've done all the other work, the staging starts to stage itself. Sometimes I think that the main part of my job is to be a stand-in for the audience until they get there. So when I'm working with the writers, I say, "I don't get this." Or, "I'm confused: How do we get from here to here? What is the tone? What are you aiming for?"

Q: You become part of the story, in a way. It's not just the authors' story anymore, but yours.

WOLFE: And the performers' and the audience's, in turn. When you form a collaboration, particularly on a musical, be careful who you marry because that's who the child is going to look like.

Q: Well, that raises a question. In the movie, one of the songwriters on "Avenue Q" talked frankly about the conflicts he had with Jeff Whitty, the book writer, and how they were miraculously healed upon receiving the Tony Award.

MOORE: Imagine that.

Q: Is conflict inevitable in the development of a musical? Is it useful?

MOORE: What's tricky about a musical is that it's not just two people in a room. You've got a lot of heads butting up against each other. What our role becomes is to facilitate that conflict in a way that channels everybody's energies in the same direction. It may not be fun, and it may look awful, but eventually you get the thing on track. You have to keep your distance as much as possible to facilitate that.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

Funny, I was just talking about Roger Bart with my oldest daughter Myrna, when I read this article about Roger returning to The Producers on Broadway.

My daughter is practising some songs from You're A Good Man Charlie Brown for an upcoming audition and we were thinking how great it would have been to have seen Roger Bart (Snoopy) and Kristin Chenoweth (Sally) in the 1999 revival of said show.

They both won Tonys for their performances...sigh.

Anyways, then I got to thinking about how Roger Bart was the one redeeming feature of the movie remake of The Stepford Wives, and how much I enjoyed him on his stint on Desperate Housewives. And how he was a highlight of The Frogs when I saw it at the Lincoln Center last summer.

Then don't you know I go and read in Playbill that he's coming back to The Producers on Broadway May 3 to July 3 reprising his role as Leo Bloom (next to Richard Kind whom I know from Mad About You and Spin City: Who knew he could sing?).

I've always regretted not seeing Roger as Carmen Ghi , his original The Producers role.(although he'll do that in the movie version!) This is my chance to set things right! I wanna see him as a producer!

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

First it was Lionel Bart, then Mary Poppins and now, Anthony Newley!

While I was re-watching my The Ed Sullivan Show: The Best of Broadway Musicals DVD I was mesmerized by the segment of Anthony Newley singing "Who Can I Turn To". His voice, his movements, are uniquely compelling. But for some reason he, like Bart, doesn't seem to have retained his profile since his death in 1999, at least in North America.

I remember the first time I heard his voice -- listening to the record of Stop The World I Want To Get Off in my parents living room. I was first attracted by the whimsical art of the album cover, but once I listened I became a bona fide Newley fan! I became also became a fan of the score to The Roar of the Greasepaint -- The Smell of the Crowd as well, but I never saw either show on stage nor did I have the pleasure of seeing him perform live.

I also love the 1968 movie Sweet November, starring Anthony Newley and Sandy Dennis (he wrote the title song with Leslie Bricusse, his long-time writing partner). He always seemed to be on the verge of bursting into song which made the film so poignant and charming. I also happen to loathe the remake with Keanu Reeves and Charlize Theron, which is utterly without charm.

There is a great tribute site called "The Anthony Newley Appreciation Society" (also "officially recognized by the family of the late entertainer"), which outlines his impressive career:

ANTHONY GEORGE NEWLEY, who died at age 67, was an actor, singer, songwriter and director of unusual versatility; his career spanned more than 50 years and embraced film, repertory theatre, rock and roll, comedy revues, music hall and television.

He was the original East End boy made good, born illegitimately in Hackney and leaving school at 14. He then found success as a child actor, most notably as the Artful Dodger in David Lean's 1948 film OLIVER TWIST. Propelled by his role in OLIVER TWIST at the age of 17, Newley made his U.S. debut in 1956, appearing in six films that year. In the 1950s and 1960s, Newley was everywhere - on the screen, on television and, seven times, in the top ten.

His singing career came about almost by accident. In 1959, he took the part of rock and roll star Jeep Jackson - a spoof on Elvis Presley - in the film IDLE ON PARADE. A ballad from the film, I've Waited So Long, took Newley to the top of the British charts and started a three year run of hits which included Personality, If She Should Come to You, And The Heavens Cried and the novelty numbers Pop Goes the Weasel and Strawberry Fair. He also had two No 1s, with Why and Lionel Bart's Do You Mind? "So overnight I had this incredible power," he said years later. "I was a rock and roll singer and and it lasted for ten wonderful years."

His film appearances included DOCTOR DOOLITTLE and THE COCKLESHELL HEROES. But he is likely to be best known for co-writing and starring in the hit musicals STOP THE WORLD - I WANT TO GET OFF and THE ROAR OF THE GREASEPAINT - THE SMELL OF THE CROWD, as well as a number of best-selling hit singles, including What Kind Of Fool Am I?, The Candy Man and Goldfinger. In 1987 he and frequent collaborator Leslie Bricusse were inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

STOP THE WORLD was a landmark in the history of the British musical, notable for its freedom of form and cynicism of content as it charted the bitter-sweet rise of its central character, played by Newley, from teaboy to millionaire. For Newley, its lasting legacy was its songs. They included Gonna Build a Mountain and What Kind of Fool Am I? which sold more than a million records and became his signature tune.

STOP THE WORLD for which he was the director, star and co-author (with his longtime collaborator, Leslie Bricusse), was his greatest showcase. The show was conceived as "a simple, lighthearted satirical life cycle of the seven ages of man." (Namely, youth-and-adolescence, decision, sophistication, maturity, sagacity, retirement and senility.) In the UK, it played to packed houses for 15 months before transferring to Broadway in 1962, where it ran for 555 performances. An allegory about acquiring fame and power but ending up disillusioned, STOP THE WORLD was a tour de force for the star, who portrayed a symbolic Everyman named Littlechap.

In the States he became one of the very few British crooners to make it big on the US cabaret circuit (In Las Vegas he commanded the same attention as Tony Bennett, Dean Martin or Frank Sinatra) and his Cockney rags-to-riches story made him a chat show favorite. In 1977 he was voted the Male Musical Star of the Year in Las Vegas.

He had a gift for striking an emotional chord with a mass audience. But Anthony Newley was also an influence on David Bowie among later performers, because in all his songs he maintained a distinctively British voice, ending with his right arm extended for effect in his trademark signoff.

In addition to writing the score with Leslie Bricusse for 1971's film WILLY WONKA AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, Newley wrote the score for the 1975 film MR. QUILP (now broadcast on TV under THE OLD CURIOSITY SHOP) and, with Bricusse, the title song for the 1968 film SWEET NOVEMBER; and, finally with Bricusse, the songs for the 1976 TV version of PETER PAN. He also co-wrote with Stanley Ralph Ross the book, music and lyrics for the 1983 stage show CHAPLIN and created the 1985 revue ONCE UPON A SONG. Newley had been working for many years on a musical version of RICHARD III and sang some of these songs during his last New York cabaret appearance at Rainbow and Stars in 1996. The BMI database lists over 150 songs for which Newley wrote the music or lyrics. His four U.S. hit songs were Why?, If She Should Come to You, Pop Goes the Weasel and What Kind of Fool Am I? By contrast, he had 12 hit singles in three years in the U.K., all included in the 1997 CD, THE VERY BEST OF ANTHONY NEWLEY. Newley went from child star to pop idol, to composer, author, director and leading man and leaves an amazing body of work.

His third wife, Dareth Newley Dunn, described him as "a dear, sweet, loving friend and father ... consummate performer and ultimate composer".

Not bad, not bad at all.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

The other day, my friend Michael Rubinoff gave me a copy of the London Cast Recording of the new West End musical Mary Poppins. It might be one of the first copies in North America: It's not currently available in outside the UK, but Michael was able to get a copy from the Dress Circle Musical Theatre Shop, which is an unbelievably cool online musical theater store in the UK. They specialize in Stage Musicals, Cabaret, Nostalgia, Soundtracks, Karaoke, Comedy, Big Bands. From the Dress Circle Web site:

Dress Circle, nestled between Drury Lane and Leicester Square, in the heart of London's West End, is the World's best on-line store for Show CDs, Videos, DVDs, Merchandise, Sheet Music, Books and Gifts. If we can't get it -- No one can!

I looked for a copy of Lionel Bart's Twang!, which has been buried deeper than a Pharoah, and guess what...it actually returned a result! Now, this is a compilation of songs from British musicals between 1950 and 1975, but still, where do you find any Twang! recordings? From the site:

The soprano Gabrielle Bell and pianist Rex Walford open a portfolio of neglected songs from British musicals, including Twang!!, Grab Me a Gondola, The Buccaneer, Lady at the Wheel, Chrysanthemum and others. Gabrielle Bell’s freshness brings a breath of spring to 20 songs from a golden age.

Anyway, back to Mary Poppins.

I must admit I was a bit skeptical of the whole business. After all it is yet another film-to-stage production project, and a classic film with songs ingrained in my brain since childhood! But I am happy to announce I really loved it! The voices are amazing, and Laura Michelle Kelly who plays Mary has that same smooth, effortless quality of Julie Andrews' voice. Bert, played by Gavin Lee, has a completely different sounding voice from Dick Van Dyke, but I still love it.

The original Sherman Brothers songs are all there with new songs by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who wrote the Olivier award-winning HONK!. Now I love HONK! (and so does my daughter), and I think their songs are, as Cameron Mackintosh says in the liner notes, a perfect complement to the Sherman Brothers' material.

Hearing those Sherman Brothers' songs again in these new orchestrations really emphasizes how truly brilliant they were and still are. The new songs don't stand out the way the old ones do, but still seem to fit seemlessly, holding the whole score together. I'm already starting to hum one of the new songs "Practically Perfect". That song was written on spec for Cameron Mackintosh by Stiles and Drewe in 1993 when they were first approached about writing the new material.

One small disappointment was "Feed the Birds". In the movie there is a great swelling instrumental interlude which always gave me chills. In the musical arrangement there are always voices singing and I don't get that same chill. Now I haven't seen the show so maybe they do it there at another time.

Needless to say, I'm looking forward to seeing the show when it hops the pond!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

Andrew Gerle is the writer of the superb Meet John Doe, which was part of the inaugural 2004 New York Musical Theatre Festival.

Now he is directing a new concert series, called "ALLOY: Concert / Theater", which is a new fusion of American art song and theater featuring some of Broadway's greatest voices performing works by Ned Rorem, Jack Beeson, Charles Ives, and Samuel Barber in a dramatic setting. The show stars Rebecca Baxter, Suzzanne Douglas, Merwin Foard, Jenny Giering, Danny Gurwin, Rosena Hill, and Ryan Lowe.

The show is on Monday, May 2 at 8 pm, at the Miller Theatre at Columbia University.

All the performers and composers are listed on Andrew's Web site, and there are booking details at the Miller Theatre's Web site as well.

Check it out!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

Last night I went to see DECIDE, which defiantly bills itself as "THE Urban Musical".

It is written, directed, and produced by Stuart Knight, a 30-year old motivational speaker.

Stuart also acts in it alongside five other actor/singers. It plays every Saturday night in a loft on Queen Street West. It's a musical revue about deciding to be the master of your own life, making changes, relationships, connectivity, sensitivity, nativity, and hyperactivity (sorry, I can't seem to stop rhyming ever since I walked out of the show...). It combined dialogue scenes with songs and hip hop poetry. Lots of hip hop poetry.

Here is Stuart's explanation of the show's theme, from the Web site:

Why Did I Write This Show?

It's 2am in the morning and I've just been asked to come up with text explaining why I wrote this show. The answer is simple, turn on your TV at 2 am in the morning, channel surf for 5 minutes, and you'll know why.

When people ask me where I want to take this show, I am reminded of interviews of big time television executives. Almost always in those interviews, you'll hear a sentence saying "I want to take this to every household in the country." I'm always bothered by those kinds of lines because it assumes that people want you in their personal space. Does the idea of having my material rooted in every home in the country excite me? Of course it does; but, only if I'm invited. It's like a relationship, there's nothing worse than being with someone that you know does not want to be with you. So, when people ask me, where do I want to take this show? I want to be able to walk down the street and see nothing but open doors.

If you find that confusing, keep reading. If that makes perfect sense to you, stop reading now and go see the show next Saturday by reserving a seat off the Web site at www.decideshow.com.

Here's my quick summary: When the cast was talking I wished they were singing; and when they were singing I wished they were talking. And then I wished it would end.

First of all let me say that I applaud Stuart for doing it. He's out there doing live theater every Saturday and people are paying money ($20) to see it. So kudos for that. And the cast are extremely committed and gave it their all. So kudos for that too.

But overall it was a self-indulgent, preachy, pretentious, cliche-ridden show. Imagine a musical written by Tony Robbins, and you'll get a pretty good idea of last night's experience.

In my opinion the music and lyrics were amateurish. Every song was wailed a la American Idol to signify its emotional importance.

And Stuart likes to talk...a lot. I can't help but think that, as the writer, if he was really worried about the quality of the show he would get off the stage, cast another actor to play his roles and sit in the audience and watch it.

But I think the show has a bigger purpose. It is designed as a show and an after party where you mingle with the other members of the audience. You're invited to wear a Snuggle button if you wish to be approached for conversational purposes (a technique from Stuart's "Art of Conversation" workshop, we are told).

It is also designed as a springboard for Stuart's motivational workshops and other party venues (we were also invited to head over to the big hip hop party he was throwing on King Street that night). As a former marketer I really like this whole concept of using a show to market other stuff, but as a result I'm not sure the show itself receives top priority.

With all that being said, the audience (an urban, late '20s, early '30s crowd) loved the show, seemed to be having a good time, and they gave the show a standing ovation at the end.

Me, I stood up to leave.

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

My daughter is appearing as Mr. Bumble from Oliver! in her school play this week, so I've been spending some time thinking about Oliver!'s composer/lyricist, Lionel Bart (b. 1930 / d. 1999).

In short, Lionel Bart parlayed a massively successful '50s pop-song writing career into musical theater. He succeeded with Oliver! and Blitz!, and was personally and financially ruined by the flop Twang!! (maybe it was the second exclamation mark...).

But the real story is a lot more interesting, and comes with a much happier ending. In the interest of accuracy, I've included it here:

The comparative inactivity of Bart for many years tended to cloud the fact that he was one of the major songwriters of twentieth-century popular song. The former East-End silk-screen printer, was at the very hub of the rock 'n' roll and skiffle generation that came out of London's Soho club scene in the mid-'50s. As a member of the Cavemen with Tommy Steele he later became Steele's main source of non-American song material. In addition to writing the pioneering "Rock With The Cavemen" he composed a series of glorious singalong numbers, including "A Handful Of Songs", "Water Water" and the trite but delightfully innocent "Little White Bull". Much of Bart's work was steeped in the English music-hall tradition, diffused with a strong working-class pride, and it was no surprise that he soon graduated into writing songs for full-length stage shows. Lock Up Your Daughters and Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be were two of his early successes, both appearing during 1959, the same year he wrote the classic "Living Doll" for Cliff Richard. "Living Doll" was a fine example of simplicity and melody working together perfectly. Bart could mix seemingly incompatible words such as "gonna lock her up in a trunk, so no big hunk can steal her away from me", and they would come out sounding as if they were meant to be together. Bart was also one of the first writers to introduce mild politics into his lyrics, beautifully transcribed with topical yet humorously ironic innocence, for example: "They've changed our local Palais into a bowling alley and fings ain't wot they used to be."

As the '60s dawned Bart unconsciously embarked on a decade that saw him reach dizzy heights of success and made him one of the musical personalities of the decade. During the first quarter of the year he topped the charts with "Do You Mind' for Anthony Newley, a brilliantly simple and catchy song complete with Bart's own finger-snapped accompaniment. The best was yet to come when that year he launched Oliver!, a musical based on Dickens' Oliver Twist. This became a phenomenal triumph, and remains one of the most successful musicals of all time. Bart's knack of simple melody, combined with unforgettable lyrics, produced many classics, including the pleading "Who Will Buy", the rousing "Food Glorious Food" and the poignant "As Long As He Needs Me" (also a major hit for Shirley Bassey, although she reputedly never liked the song). Bart was a pivotal figure throughout the swinging London scene of the '60s, although he maintained that the party actually started in the '50s. Bart befriended Brian Epstein, the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, became an international star following Oliver!'s success as a film (winning six Oscars), and, although he was homosexual, was romantically linked with Judy Garland and Alma Cogan. Following continued, although lesser, success with Blitz! and Maggie May, Bart was shaken into reality when the London critics damned his 1965 musical Twang!!, based upon the life of Robin Hood. Bart's philanthropic nature made him a prime target for business sharks and he lost much of his fortune as a result.

By the end of the '60s the cracks were beginning to show; his dependence on drugs and alcohol increased and he watched many of his close friends die in tragic circumstances -- Cogan with cancer, Garland through drink and drugs and Epstein's supposed suicide. In 1969, La Strada only had a short run in New York before Bart retreated into himself, and for many years maintained a relatively low profile, watching the '70s and '80s pass almost as a blur, only making contributions to The Londoners and Costa Packet. During this time the gutter press was eager for a kiss-and-tell story but Bart remained silent, a credible action considering the sums of money he was offered. During the late '80s Bart finally beat his battle with alcohol and ended the decade a saner, wiser and healthier man. His renaissance started in 1989 when he was commissioned by a UK building society to write a television jingle. The composition became part of an award-winning advertisement, featuring a number of angelic children singing with Bart, filmed in pristine monochrome. The song "Happy Endings" was a justifiable exhumation of a man who remained an immensely talented figure and whose work ranks with some of the greatest of the American "musical comedy" songwriters.

In the early '90s his profile continued to be high, with revivals by the talented National Youth Theatre of Oliver!, Maggie May, and Blitz! (the latter production commemorating the 50th anniversary of the real thing), and the inclusion of one of his early songs, "Rock With The Caveman", in the blockbuster movie The Flintstones, in a version by Big Audio Dynamite. In December 1994 Lionel Bart's rehabilitation was complete when producer Cameron Mackintosh presented a major new production of Oliver! at the London Palladium, initially starring Jonathan Pryce. In a gesture rare in the cutthroat world of showbusiness, Mackintosh returned a portion of the show's rights to the composer (Bart had sold them during the bad old days), thereby assuring him an "income for life". With Oliver! set to make its North American debut in Toronto, Bart died in April 1999 shortly after overseeing the first major revival of Fings Ain't Wot They Used T'Be at the Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch, in England. He spent his last few years living alone in his apartment in Acton, West London and died after losing his battle with cancer. He had been able to experience a just and well-deserved reappraisal during his last years, with Oliver destined to continue in perpetuity.

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One of my favorite Broadway musicals and movie musicals of all time is Li'l Abner.

I have a soft spot for it 'cuz I played one of the wives (Put 'em back the way they wuz!) in my High School production of Li'l Abner many moons ago.

It has a fantastic score: I love the silliness of it and all the songs are super catchy, at least to my ear. I know it's not often mentioned as a "classic" but I love it.

But in the Friday April 22, 2005 Globe and Mail Review section the imminent release of the 1959 Li'l Abner movie musical on DVD was under the heading "Classics for Kids".

Huh? I mean, I take my kids to all kinds of musicals (my oldest saw Chicago when she was six) but I didn't think that was something the general population did.

The Al Capp comic strip always had very buxom women busting out of their shirts, and one of the characters in the movie is named "Appassionata von Climax". Not exactly Bambi, if you know what I mean. And Julie Newmar as Stupefyin' Jones ain't exactly Mary Poppins!

Li'l Abner a kids classic? Well don't that take the "Rag Off'n The Bush"!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

She's On Fire!

Wow, Kristin Chenoweth seems to be everywhere these days -- doing a Dolly Parton impersonation on Letterman, singing for Katie Couric, appearing in The West Wing, and filming the movies Bewitched, The Pink Panther, Asphalt Beach, Running with Scissors, and Stranger Than Fiction.

If that wasn't enough, according to this article in Playbill, she is now planning to star in the Universal Pictures biopic of Dusty Springfield's life.

Hollywood Reporter says that the biopic will be written and directed by Jessica Sharzer, the recipient of a 2002 student Academy Award for the movie "Speak," which she wrote and directed. The Springfield film, which will focus on the singer's life in the sixties and the recording of her classic album, "Dusty in Memphis," will be produced by Universal's Marc Platt, actress Chenoweth and Untitled Entertainment's Danielle Thomas. Springfield's manager, Vicki Wickham, will serve as a consultant for the motion picture.

Dusty Springfield was born Mary O'Brien in the U.K. in 1939. Her many hits included "I Only Want to Be With You," "I Just Don't Know What to Do With Myself" and "Son of a Preacher Man." The latter was released on her album "Dusty in Memphis," which is often regarded as her finest release. Springfield battled substance abuse and faced financial difficulties, although she did have another hit in the nineties when recorded the duet, "What Have I Done to Deserve This?," with the Pet Shop Boys. Springfield died of cancer in 1999. She was 59.

Now that sounds right -- acting and singing. I love Kristin, so don't get me wrong, but she's just not working for me on The West Wing. I saw her in Epic Proportions, a not-so-great play that opened on Broadway in 1999. She was very funny and she always exudes that special star quality, but I love her best when she acts and sings: Then she's totally unstoppable!

Even more exciting (for me at least) is that according to this article from Broadwayworld, Kristin will star in the final City Center Encores! production of the 2004/2005 season: The Apple Tree in May.

Kristin Chenoweth is set to star in The Apple Tree, the final Encores! presentation of the 2004-5 Season, it was announced by Artistic Director Jack Viertel and Music Director Rob Fisher. The engagement, which runs May 12-16, 2005, also marks Mr. Fisher's final production as Encores! Music Director - a position he has held for Encores! entire 12-year history. The production is directed by Gary Griffin.

The Apple Tree features music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick (Fiddler on the Roof, She Loves Me, Fiorello!); and a book by Messrs. Bock, Harnick and Jerome Coopersmith.

The Apple Tree is a unique and innovative evening of three one-act musicals about men, women and a little thing called temptation from one of Broadway's most beloved songwriting teams. Act I is based on Mark Twain's "The Diary of Adam and Eve", Act II on Frank R. Stockton's "The Lady or the Tiger?", and Act III on Jules Feiffer's "Passionella". Notable songs include "What Makes Me Love Him?"; "Go To Sleep Whatever You Are"; and "Oh, To Be A Movie Star".

Under the direction of Mike Nichols in his first musical outing, The Apple Tree opened at the Shubert Theatre on October 18, 1966 where it played for 463 performances. The original Broadway cast featured Alan Alda and Barbara Harris. The show was nominated for seven Tony Awards including Best Musical; with a win for Harris as Best Actress in a Musical.

I saw an old excerpt from this musical on Broadway's Lost Treasures.

It was an adorable scene called "Passionella" about a woman (Ella) who works as a chimney sweep during the day, and dreams of being a movie star at night. Then, one day her Fairy Godmother (on the TV) transforms her into a Marilyn Monroe-type gorgeous voluptuous blonde (Passionella). Barbara Harris played the role of Ella/Passionella and she was amazing. She also won the Tony for it.

I can totally see Kristin Chenoweth doing it. She certainly has the figure to pull off the voluptuous side of the character...I know that Letterman would agree based on the way that he ogled her the other night!

I'm wishin' and hopin' that I can see it!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

I just picked up a copy of the May 2005 Vanity Fair so this is a little late.

Inside is an ad for Reefer Madness The Movie Musical, which premiered on Showtime last Saturday, April 16.

Neato!

With music by Dan Studney and lyrics by Kevin Murphy it boasts a bunch of well-known names: Neve Campbell, Alan Cumming (from Cabaret among other things), Steven Weber (who was in The Producers for a short while) and Ana Gasteyer (from SNL and who is playing Elphaba in the Chicago production of Wicked).

The subtitle is: "The Feel-good Hit of the Year!"

I'll bet after you see it you'll be hungry for more...

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

About a month ago I published this post about the musical Little Women which told the story of Alison Hubbard and Kim Oler who won the Rogers Award for Little Women, and were then KICKED OFF THE PROJECT when it went to Broadway.

Well, here's a different, more positive spin on the Little Women story.

I got this message from Kaliya Hamlin:

Hey Suzy, I was noticing your Blog about Broadway. Great Material. I am based in California but I have been working with Little Women the Musical to get their Show Blog up and running. We have been live for over a month and the Cast is about to start posting. This may be a first for a broadway show -- cast blogging. The first posts will be up within the next few days. http://littlewomen.typepad.com is the blog address. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions and I would be happy to put you in touch with folks inside the show to talk about this development.

Cast blogging? I LOVE IT! What a great way to get an inside look at the show...but the cast has to be honest. If it's going to be interesting, it's got to be real. Let's hear about those Broadway rats...

Maybe we can get them to do a guest blog on Blogway Baby!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

I was watching another one of my The Songwriters: An Intimate Evening of Songs and StoriesDVDs last night. This one was devoted to Charles Strouse and Arthur Schwartz.

I really enjoyed the Charles Strouse segment as he threw in a couple of bits of acting. He and his Annie cowriter Martin Charnin did a mock backer's audition, feebly describing the concept of the show to a very rich backer (played by Debbie Shapiro who had an amazing voice). They play, she smokes, they play, she looks distant, they play, she smokes. Finally at the end her one question is "Annie has no pupils, how are you going to cast someone without pupils". Then "Good luck with your show" and she leaves. Very funny. I've experienced something similar...

Charles Strouse sure can write show tunes (Bye Bye Birdie was his first show on Broadway) but he is more of a shouter than a singer. (Dammit Jim, I'm a writer not a singer). It was another great sing and tell and he told the story about Annie being troubled and needing fixing and re-writing.

In one great story, they had finally written the song that would really help the show and then they promptly lost it. Since they were so stressed, neither could remember a note or word of it! After searching through bags of garbage and having a nervous breakdown, the conductor finally found it -- "Easy Street"! It's a great number, and it would have been a shame if it had ended up lining a gerbil cage. I also learned he wrote "Those Were The Days" for All In The Family! Kewl -- I love it when my two favs, musical theater and TV, dovetail!

I hadn't known that Charles Strouse wrote the music to Nick and Nora (book by Arthur Laurents and lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr.) so when my husband gave me the original Broadway Cast recording of it, I was anxious to hear it. Looking at the writers and the amazing cast list (Joanna Gleason and Barry Bostwick star, with Christine Baranski, Chris Sarandon, Faith Prince, and Debra Monk among other luminaries) I was puzzled as to why this wasn't a smash hit.

Now, I'm a hug fan of the Thin Man movies. My husband and I watched them so much while we were dating we decided to name our first born Myrna, after Myrna Loy. (If it had been a boy we would have called him Powell, after William Powell).

Maybe it's because I have such a strong vision of who these characters were from the movies, that the story as described in the liner notes ("Nick and Nora are forced to confront their own hidden demons...they also investigate their marriage, working on the case and their personal problems...") didn't seem very Nick and Nora-like. And to be honest I was underwhelmed by the music and lyrics.

Charles Strouse had played some tunes on that DVD that I had never heard before and instantly fell in love with ("Once Upon A Time" from the show All American starring Ray Bolger) so I was kinda disappointed in this CD. The songs never quite seem to measure up to the spectacular voices. However, the liner notes point out "The show features extended musical scenes, but it is not through-composed and gives equal weight to song and spoken word. Because of the fragmentation and unorthodox structure of many of the musical numbers, the score tended to be underappreciated by many at first hearing, and rewards repeated listening."

Hmm...maybe I should give it another listen...

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

Yikes! I've been struggling with Blogger the last 24 hours, and I think I've finally tussled it to the ground. It looks like Blogger has lost its DNS service, so when I've tried to post to www.blogwaybaby.com it couldn't find the sftp site. I was getting the following message:

005 Unable to connect to SFTP server: java.net.UnknownHostException: www.blogwaybaby.com

I fixed the problem by replacing the post to address from "www.blogwaybaby.com" with the actual IP address, and now I can post again. Sheesh.

I can't say I was blown away by Blogger's customer service. After going through their blogs and seeing no service outage warnings, I sent a Help message and got the following automated message 10 hours later:

Hi there,

Thanks for contacting Blogger Support. Since we cannot always respond personally to every message we get, we encourage you to check Blogger Help, where you can find answers to many common questions. Here are some of the top articles which could help you out:

CHANGES ARE NOT APPEARING ON THE BLOG
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HOW TO WORK WITH BLOGGER'S COMMENTS
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HOW TO HANDLE PROBLEMS WITH INVITATIONS
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HELP WITH HTML OR CSS CODE
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If you don't see what you need in these articles, you can use the search form in the upper right corner of any Blogger Help page. Be sure also to check our Status page and our Known Issues page. These cover many known bugs and current operational problems.

BLOGGER STATUS
http://status.blogger.com/

KNOWN ISSUES
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If your question or problem is not addressed anywhere in our documentation, please simply reply to this message and let us know. We will help you out as soon as we can. Thanks for your patience.

Sincerely,
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Geez guys, D it up, K?

Technorati tags: Blog | Blogs

I've always thought that the time was right for Plane Crazy, a Fun Feminism musical.

But I'm seeing more and more evidence that its time has come! First of all we all know that Menopause the Musical has been running for a while, and the Canadian hit We're Still Hot (similar topic) opened off-Broadway in January.

When I was in Chicago, I noticed a show called Respect: A Musical Journey of Women opening April 17 at the Chicago Center For The Performing Arts. It is billed as a musical revue celebrating women through American pop music, with more than 60 songs, including "What's Love Got To Do with It?" and "These Boots Are Made For Walkin'". Next stop: Plane Crazy on Broadway!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

The theme for the 2005 Stratford Festival is "Saints and Sinners".

Wow that was fast! Just a couple of days ago in my post on the Theatre Building Chicago Mini-Musicals I mentioned that we were given the theme of "Saints and Sinners" for our 10-minute musicals! So then Stratford comes along and steals that idea! Have they no shame? Well anyways, it's a weird coincidence. As part of the 2005 season they are staging my favorite Sondheim musical, Into The Woods, which starts in previews this week.

Here's the article from Playbill:

The Stratford production of Into the Woods is directed by Peter Hinton. Musical direction is by Berthold Carrière. The set and costume designer is Dany Lyne, the lighting designer is Robert Thomson and the sound designer is Jim Neil. Movement is by Julia Sasso and fight direction is by John Stead.

Into the Woods features Marion Adler as Lucinda, Thom Allison as Cinderella's Prince/Wolf, Kyle Blair as Jack, Peter Donaldson as the Narrator/Mysterious Man, Bruce Dow as the Baker, Barbara Dunn-Prosser as Cinderella's Mother/Giant's Shadow, Barbara Fulton as Jack's Mother, Susan Gilmour as the Witch, Christina Gordon as Cinderella's Stepmother, Stephanie Graham as Snow White, Lawrence Haegert as the Steward, Martha Henry as the Voice of the Giant, Laird Mackintosh as Rapunzel's Prince, Mary Ellen Mahoney as the Baker's Wife, Jodi-Lynn McFadden as Florinda, Dayna Tekatch as Cinderella, Jennifer Waiser as Little Red Ridinghood, Amy Walsh as Rapunzel, Heather E. Wilson as Sleeping Beauty and Barrie Wood as Cinderella's Father/Granny. Understudies are Mark Huculak, Phillip Hughes (also dance and fight captain), Robin Hutton, Chad McFadden and Valerie Stanois.

Opening is set for June 3. For ticket information, call (800) 567-1600 or visit www.stratfordfestival.ca.

I was also pleased to read that Jennifer Waiser is playing Little Red Ridinghood. I first saw Jennifer Waiser at an M. Rubinoff Productions Cityscapes Cabaret (which I hear will be starting up again soon: Yeah!) and I was really impressed.

She went on to play Little Sally in the Canstage production of Urinetown last summer and was tremendous.

Hello Dolly! is also a part of the line-up. Boy I haven't seen that on stage since I saw my sister in the chorus of an Earl Haig production back in the 1970s -- it's not easy to sing, walk and twirl a parasol at the same time! Should be a great season!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

The Howard Johnson's at 46th and Broadway in Times Square is finally being torn down.

The land is being sold for over 100 million fried clams! I can't tell you how many times I've walked past that restaurant and smiled at the "cocktails" sign that encouraged you to come in and have "a decanter of Manhattan, Martini or Daiquiri". Of course I never went in because it looked a bit too seedy, a bit too 1970s Times Square for me. And I guess nobody else did either, not even the Broadway actors. Although this article in Playbill says that the restaurant once employed Lily Tomlin as a Waitress and Gene Hackman as a Maitre'd:

Howard Johnson's, one of the last functioning remnants of the rough-and tumble, Runyonesque Times Square of yesteryear, will be torn down sometime this year, the New York Post reported April 19.

The restaurant and the land it sits on, a prime site on the northwest corner of 46th Street and Broadway, was recently sold for "more than $100 million" by longtime owner Kenneth Rubinstein to Jeff Sutton's Wharton Acquisitions. Sutton plans to flatten the four-story edifice and replace it with a gleaming new retail outlet.

The Howard Johnson's was built in 1955 and is the oldest, continually operated business facing directly on Times Square. Its squat dimensions once fit in nicely with the low-scale, slightly down-at-heel architecture that for a long time characterized the area. But the real estate revival of the late 1990s saw it dwarfed by glass towers and glossy stores like Toys 'R' Us and the Virgin Megastore. Increasingly, the venerable old institution looked like an anachronism.

In the years following World War II, Times Square boasted not one, but three Howard Johnson's eateries (including one directly across the way, on Seventh Avenue). The restaurants -- one of the first to be franchised nationwide -- teemed with locals and tourists alike, and matched the homely qualities of other eating destinations of the era, such as Lindy's. In his recent book "The Devil's Playground," James Traub described how people would line up down the street to sample the trademark fried clams and ice cream.

Hey, how about a show about a bunch of old maitre'ds and waitresses coming back to the Howard Johnson's the night before it gets demolished, a la Follies? You could have songs like "Too Many Happy Hours", "Could I Leave You Without A Tip?" and of course, "I'm Still Here Waiting For My Fried Clams!".

A moment of silence, please.

Technorati tags: Broadway Music Musicals Blog Blogs Theater Theatre Entertainment

There was a huge full-page ad in this weekend's paper for a new one-woman musical coming to Toronto called The Blonde In The Thunderbird, starring Suzanne Somers.

It will be playing at The Princess of Wales Theatre from June 16 to 26 in a pre-Broadway run. I'm guessing that it's before they start renovating for the LOTR musical which will open in The Princess of Wales next spring. Either that or Suzanne will get an unexpected chorus of Hobbits as her "back-up boys". Nasty.

Playbill also ran this article on the production, which runs down the pre-production history:

The Blonde in the Thunderbird at the Brooks Atkinston this summer will be none other than "Three's Company" star Suzanne Somers. The "one woman musical show" will play a limited run July 8-Sept. 3.

In the show, written and directed by Ken and Mitzie Welch, Somers will talk "intimately and honestly about her journey to become the successful and well-known performer and entrepreneur she is today, just as she did in her best-selling autobiography, `Keeping Secrets.'" She will also sing, her repotoire including well-known songs and tunes of her own composition.

The title refers to the role that first brought Somers attention: a mysterious blonde pursued by a young Richard Dreyfuss in the film "American Graffiti." She went on to much greater fame in the sitcom "Three's Company," in which she played the ditzy sexpot Chrissy Snow, one of two women sharing quarters with John Ritter.

Prior to coming to New York, the show will play an engagement at the Princess of Wales Theatre in Toronto, June 16-26. Blonde had its world premiere at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego, CA, in January 2004.

Like I said, I'm intrigued. I was in a bookstore the other day and there was Suzanne on a video screen making some sort of healthy dessert custard from one of her zillion cookbooks, and I thought to myself "you go girl".

She's managed to keep her profile up over the years in a positive, friendly way. When I saw the ad for the show I said "hey, that sounds like fun" -- not, "ick, sounds creepy".

So we'll see. I hope it does better than Farrah's show!

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

This Blue Man Group vs four Toronto theatrical unions feud is like bad case of genital herpes -- it just won't go away. Not that I'd know anything about genital herpes...it's just what I've read...

Another article in The Globe And Mail on Saturday April 16, 2005 ("Tangled Up In Blue" by James Adams) describes the participation and ticket buying boycotts of various Toronto unions and their affiliates (and U.S. Actors' Equity!) against the Blue Man Group, which is opening in June in our fair-ish city.

I can't say I was that excited about seeing Blue Man Group in the first place. After seeing the ads, watching excerpts on late night talk shows and hearing a friend of mine who saw it in New York describe the show in detail, I had no great desire to see it. Just not my cup of tea, that's all.

Blue Man Group has started its advertising campaign. The unions are lighting their torches. So which way is this thing gonna go? Will the union bring the Blue Meanies to their Blue Knees? Or will Torontonians, so desperate for some real blue theater (tired of just Baby Blue CityTV!), cross the picket-ticket line?

Will our mayor David Miller be able to resist the free opening night tickets and VIP limo service? Stay tuned.

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment

This is a FANTASTIC Broadway site called Maximum Broadway Radio that broadcasts Live 365.com Internet Radio with 24/7 showtunes! It's a BROADWAY RADIO STATION! I've got it running on my laptop now, and forever. Also includes links to a library of songs, theatres across America and a News section, which includes yours truly...

Here's a few facts about how Live 365.com works:

How is this legal?
Maximum Broadway Radio pays royalties via Live365 to both artists and song writers and abides by the regulations contained in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) which makes the broadcast legal. Thus, when you listen, you are supporting the artists who create the music.

How can I support the station?
Besides listening, the best way to support the station is to become a Live365 VIP. Packages start at less than $4 a month, and part of that fee goes directly to offset the cost of the broadcast. Plus, as a VIP you can enjoy the station without ads.

You can also support Maximum Broadway Radio by purchasing items through the BUY buttons on the Library pages.

What software do I need in order to listen?
You can listen with just about any music player that can play mp3 streaming audio. The most commonly used players are iTunes, Winamp, Windows Media Player, and RealPlayer. Live365 also has a player of their own that you can download at their download page.

Do you take requests?
Absolutely. You can request any song in the library directly from the Requests section. Feel free to email suggestions for shows or singers you would like to see added to the library.

Why didn't I hear my request played?
All requests must be delayed by at least 1 hour to comply with the DMCA. In addition, the DMCA places limits on how many songs can be played from the same album in a 3 hour period. Thus, it may take several hours for a requested track to play in order for the station to stay in compliance. Just sit back and relax. You'll hear some great tunes while you're waiting.

Technorati tags: Broadway | Music | Musicals | Blog | Blogs | Theater | Theatre | Entertainment