Well, well, well...what a fantastic evening!

Tonight at Hurley's was the NYMF 2005 Creative Team Mixer AND I'VE NEVER HAD SO MUCH FUN...

We talked to a MILLION people, and it was very exciting to see how many people want to work on Plane Crazy.

Right now, Plane Crazy is looking for a Director -- here's a quick description:

We are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall movies on DVD *and* VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to see Down With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray and The Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.

We are interviewing this week, so if you're interested please let me know asap...send an e-mail to suzy at planecrazythemusical dot com

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

OK, I'll admit that this week might be getting the best of me...

I'm in NY for a party Tuesday night...then back in Toronto for Wednesday...then back to NY for Thursday and the Tonys...and not sure WHEN I'll get back to Toronto.

I'm busy apartment and Director hunting in NY, and trying to explain to my family why I won't see them for he rest of the year...

And you know what? I don't remember the time when I had this much fun...

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

Here's a neat post for all you lyricists and other wordsmiths out there...from this article in Merriam-Webster Online:

What a lovely bunch of vocabularians (persons who make up new words) you are! Lasterday (refers to any day before today) we squinched (action required to fit something into a space that is slightly too small) a schmiglet (a small unit of measurement) of your awesomtastic (so wonderful the words just meld in your mouth) one-of-a-kind entries into this space in preparation for our Top Ten reveal. With so many chizzy (awesome, super, happening) creations to choose from, we admit to becoming a bit flusterpated (a state of being flustered that's so intense, one's actions and words become bound up) and fahoodled (confused, esp. when trying to think of too many things at once). We craughed (to cry and laugh simultaneously), we troddled (to wander around without knowing of doing so), and finally decided to use the schwack (a large amount) of multiple entries received as the basis for the Top Ten -- this is, let's not forget, all about favoritism.

From the thousands of submissions we received, here, then, are the ten words (not in the dictionary) entered the most often:

Top Ten Favorite Words (Not in the Dictionary)

1. ginormous (adj): bigger than gigantic and bigger than enormous

2. confuzzled (adj): confused and puzzled at the same time

3. woot (interj): an exclamation of joy or excitement

4. chillax (v): chill out/relax, hang out with friends

5. cognitive displaysia (n): the feeling you have before you even leave the house that you are going to forget something and not remember it until you're on the highway

6. gription (n): the purchase gained by friction: "My car needs new tires because the old ones have lost their gription."

7. phonecrastinate (v): to put off answering the phone until caller ID displays the incoming name and number

8. slickery (adj): having a surface that is wet and icy

9. snirt (n): snow that is dirty, often seen by the side of roads and parking lots that have been plowed

10. lingweenie (n): a person incapable of producing neologisms

(via BoingBoing)

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From this article in Playbill:

Melissa Errico, the soprano most recently on Broadway in Dracula, will offer a free concert at The Living Room June 6.

Errico will premiere songs from her upcoming solo album, which she will record this summer with composer Michel Legrand. Show time is 8 PM.

Melissa Errico began her professional career portraying Cosette in Les Misérables, and she followed with leading roles in Anna Karenina, My Fair Lady, High Society, Amour, Dracula and the City Center Encores! productions of Call Me Madam and One Touch of Venus. She appeared in a production of Threepenny Opera at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and Errico's recent Off-Broadway credits include Finian's Rainbow and Aunt Dan and Lemon. She will also star in the Hollywood Bowl presentation of Camelot Aug. 14. Errico's debut solo recording is titled "Blue Like That."

The Living Room is located in Manhattan at 154 Ludlow Street. Although there is no cover, there is a $5 suggested donation as well as a one-drink minimum. Visit www.livingroomny.com for more information.

This show sounds like a blast...and it's free...and I'm in New York...I'm in!

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From this article in Playbill:

Character actor Eddie Albert died May 26 at his home near Pacific Palisades, California, at the age of 99, leaving behind him decades' worth of performances on stage and in film and television.

The likably gruff, square-jawed Mr. Albert was perhaps best known for gentleman farmer Oliver Wendell Douglas he created in the 1960s sitcom "Green Acres," but his accomplishments in the theatre and in movies were equally impressive.

He made his Broadway debut in 1936 in the short-lived comedy O Evening Star. Later that same year, Garson Kanin cast him in a starring role in Brother Rat, which was produced by George Abbott.

Two more big roles follows: Room Service, a comedy produced and directed by Abbott, and The Boys From Syracuse, the classical musical by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, in which he played Antipholus of Syracuse.

Among Eddie Albert's most memorable early film roles were Ali Hakim in Oklahoma!, a recovering alcoholic in Smash Up and a cowardly soldier in Attack. He earned an Academy Award nomination for Roman Holiday, the film that introduced Audrey Hepburn to the world. In it he played reporter Gregory Peck's sidekick, the womanizing beatnik photographer Irving Radovich.

That comic characterization would have been almost unrecognizable to audiences in the late '60s and '70s who were used to Mr. Albert's portrayals of autocratic, easily vexed stuffed shifts. In this mode, he played Cybill Shepherd's frosty father in 1972's The Heartbreak Kid (another Academy Award nomination) and Warren Hazen, the corrupt prison warden in 1974's The Longest Yard. And then there was the stuffed shirt of stuffed shirts, lawyer Holmes in "Green Acres," who did farm work in shirtsleeves and business vest, battled daily with the nonsense of the local yokels, and turned beet red at his wife Eva Gabor's sweet-natured dizziness.

The well-known theme song for the popular sitcom ("Green acres in the place for me/Farm living is the life for me") was sung by Mr. Albert, who by then had had more than his share of experience on the musical stage.

He will be missed.

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I'd been meaning to pick up a CD of Bobby Darin's greatest hits for a long time. The other day I was in a bookstore (which I'm sure the Oxford English Dictionary defines as "a store where they sell knick-knacks and CDs") with 30 minutes to kill while my daughter was at her tap lesson. I was browsing through the CDs and found The Bobby Darin Story -- Mack the Knife. I just thought it was a collection of his hits: You know, "Mack The Knife", "Splish Splash", "Dream Lover", "Beyond The Sea". And it was produced by the music industry giant Ahmet Ertegun, so I figured, how could I lose?

Bobby recorded his first LP That's All which included "Mack The Knife". Taken from the album and issued as single, it became the biggest record of 1959, selling over 2,000,000 copies. As Bobby says on the CD, "...it changed my life forever..."

Musical theater has a way of doing that...

The coolest thing about the CD is Bobby's narration, wherein he chats a bit about his start in the biz. After the first five songs he says "You better hurry up and turn the record over before I crash into the label..." This is followed by crashing sounds and then he says "Somebody bring me some bandaids!" High-lariously cool...sometimes I really miss vinyl!

Another curiosity about the CD is that it contains three songs ("Mack the Knife", "Artifical Flowers", and "Clementine") that are either very sad or gory, set to hot swinging rythms and sung with great hep pep.

Especially odd is "Artificial Flowers" which is a very morose song about a 9-year old orphan girl (whose parents have died) who makes artificial flowers for rich society ladies until her little fingers go numb from the cold. She is eventually found dead, covered in ice, and still grasping her shears. All the while Bobby Darin is swinging his little heart out! Very peculiar, but very entertaining!

So why post this on Blogway Baby? As I'm sure you know, "Mack The Knife", Bobby Darin's biggest hit, is written by and comes from the Threepenny Opera by Kurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht.

And with the recent movie Beyond the Sea with Kevin Spacey, can a Broadway stage adaptaion (Splish Splash!) be far behind?

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One of my favorite movies of all time is Grace of My Heart, a great faux autobiography with a character that is a combination of Carole King and Carly Simon in the era of the Brill Building.

BTW, if the Big Guy is listening, if I get to come back again, I want to work in the Brill Building in the early '60s.

From Amazon:

This movie is an homage to the Brill Building era (the late 1950s to the early 1970s) of pop-music glory, providing a perfect match between writer-director Allison Anders and her excellent cast. Illeana Douglas plays a singer-songwriter (loosely modeled after Brill recording artist Carole King) whose life runs emotionally parallel to popular music trends. John Turturro is a stand-in for "wall of sound" producer Phil Spector and Matt Dillon is a thinly disguised version of maverick Beach Boy Brian Wilson. It's a bit too schematic in the way the central character is always in the right place at the right time, but as a tale of fame and romantic highs and lows in the '50s and '60s the movie is funny, touching, and sincere. It's a lively and loving tribute to timeless music and the colorful characters who created it.

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So Blue Man Group is now on the offensive. They've published "An open letter to the community from Blue Man Group" on page R5 of today's Globe and Mail.

Methinks they've left out a few important details, which is the answer to the question: "Why they can't use Equity members?"

Here's the text of the ad in the Globe:

An open letter to the community from Blue Man Group

Much has been written about us since we arrived in Toronto, and most of it has been accurate and extremely positive. The theatrical union leadership's attempt to create controvery surrounding our production has certainly taken us by surprise. We offer this letter of introduction so that you may get to know a little more about us.

Over the course of our 17-year history, we have thoughtfully and carefully built an organizational structure that supports our employees as well as our projects. We are a unique organization; our employees are collaborative contributors to our various artistic endeavours, which include theatrical shows, touring concerts, albums, film and TV scores, commercials, short films and more. To our knowledge, there are no other business models that support the kind of creative company that we have developed.

For our Toronto production, we have hired Canadian actors and musicians, a Canadian crew, as well as Canadian management and support staff. Some of these individuals are members of unions, and some are not. We respect their decisions either way. We are an equal opportunity employer and have always been open to all qualified personnel. It is an employee's choice to join a union -- not an employer's place to require it.

Despite assertions to the contrary, we have met with theatrical union leadership in Toronto. In total, 10 meetings or conversations have occurred between our respective representatives from January 21 through May 16. Our goal has been to establish an amicable relationship with the unions. However, this objective was made difficult, if not impossible, by their leadership's threats, questionable rhetoric and coercive tactics.

We disagree with union leadership's assertion that only productions staffed completely by union members are "professional." Blue Man Group has performed for close to 10 million people in 100 cities in five countries with touring concerts and permanent productions. We have a Gold record, a Platinum DVD and a Grammy award nomination. We have won Drama Desk and Obie awards, as well as Audience and Critic's Pick awards, and have appeared in hundreds of national and international television programs. We prefer to let the audience be the judge of our production values and professionalism.

Throughout our history, we have continually valued and supported our artists, crew, management and staff. Without any agreement with a union or association, we have always offered salaries that typically exceed union norms, as well as competitive benefits. We offer superior job security, conflict resolution, employee development, and health and safety committees in each of our theatres, and we do so by choice. Our people, many of whom have been with us for more than 10 years, are the lifeblood of our company. Our long-term success and the high calibre of talent that we have been able to attract are ample evidence that our employees are well-paid and well-treated.

With the exception of the theatrical union leadership, we have felt enthusiastically welcomed by the people of Toronto and Canada, who are excited about a new show and opportunities within their community. They have embraced and show support for what we are bringing to Toronto:

* An internationally acclaimed show specifically retooled to reflect our new Toronto home

* A new, state of the art theatre built by Clear Channel and Panasonic on Yonge Street, adding to the economic health of the surrounding area

* 70 Canadian jobs for performers, musicians, production, management and theatre staff

Blue Man Group chose to develop work in Toronto because of its historically sophisticated and intelligent theatrical audience, and we look forward to becoming active contributors to this vibrant cultural scene. The best and brightest from Canada's vast talent pool have an open invitation to join us in creating an outstanding theatrical production. And we now invite the people of Toronto to experience the most exciting Blue Man Group production to date when we begin previews on June 7th.

Sincerely,

Blue Man Group

Thanks, Blue Man Group, for blinking first...

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

On Wednesday night I took the whole fam-damily to see Ain't Misbehavin' at the Bluma Appel Theatre. What a great show! I saw it originally about 20 years ago when it was first making the rounds and became an instant fan of the revue. Back then, I had already been familiar with much of the music, but wasn't familiar with Fats Waller.

The Toronto production stars Jackie Richardson, Kim Richardson, Divine Brown, Starr Dominique, Doug Eskew, and David Lopez. What a great cast!

They all had such great voices and really knew how to use them -- a little thing I like to call "dynamics". The two men were fabulous -- one moved like has was made of rubber (David Lopez) and the other played a great Fats Waller character (Doug Eskew). Great numbers included "Black and Blue", "Honeysuckle Rose", "The Joint is Jumpin'", "Ain't Misbehavin'" and "Lounging at the Waldorf".

The band was great too. The kids loved every minute of the show (even if they didn't quite get the "Viper" song, which was a real highlight of the show...) and joined in heartily during "Fat and Greasy"!

I know it was a Wednesday night, but the house wasn't very full. In fact the four of us snuck into one of the boxes for Act 2. Did I mention how much I LOVE boxes? I saw Urinetown in a box and it feels like they are putting on the show just for you.

Parents: Go out and buy tickets to this show and bring the whole gang. It's a great night of great music and great performances.

And don't forget: Get some cash for your trash!

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

As the Toronto opening of Blue Man Group draws ever closer, the unions are laying down the law!

Equity (check out their billboard), the Toronto Musicians Union and IATSE have started a ticket boycott campaign of Blue Man Group, opening in June at the Panasonic Theatre. This is because, according to ACTRA:

Blue Man Group still refuses to negotiate union agreements or hire union performers, musicians and crew.

In an e-mail I received today from ACTRA, it said:

ACTRA Toronto supports the boycott and will be joining our sister unions in rallies and other events to pressure Blue Man Group to come to the table.

I guess the unknown variable here will be whether the public in general cares about this whole Blue Man Group versus the unions thing. Will they join in the boycott? Or will they buy tickets anyways? Perhaps if Blue Man Group incorporated some ABBA music into their production they could ensure themselves a sold-out crowd...

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

In an article in the Sunday New York Times ("How Do You Spell Smackdown" by Jesse McKinley The New York Times, Sunday, May 22, 2005) the drama for best new musical was described as a David and Goliath showdown.

According to the article:

For a while, it was all so simple: the big-money musical almost always won big at the Tony Awards. Then came "Avenue Q". For those not steeped in Broadway legend, about this time last year, Tony watchers were convinced that "Wicked", a $14 million crowd pleaseer with $1 million a week in sales was going to win best musical. But in a furry little heartbeat, there was a surprise: "Avenue Q", a quirky Off-Broadway puppet musical that had jumped to Broadway, won. It was an upset that thrilled anyone who ever rooted for an underdog, and perhaps more important, it changed the way people look at the Tony game.

Hmm...I thought Avenue Q went straight to Broadway, but maybe I'm wrong...

Anyways, the big brute this year is Spamalot "the brand name with the $27 million advance" and the little guy is another(?) little Off-Broadway musical that made its way to the big time: The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. The interesting angle here is that David Stone, one of the leading producers of last year's Goliath, Wicked, is "back in the race with this year's potential David, Spelling Bee.

The article goes on to say:

"A lot of people think David Stone got robbed last year", (BB Editor: Not to mention Stephen Schwartz!) said one major Broadway producer, who has no money in either show but would not allow his name to be used because he doesn't want to offend either camp. "And I think that feeds a Spamalot backlash".

Oh, the intrigue...the s-u-s-p-e-n-s-e!

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

According to this article on Playbill:

Susan Brinkley, who produced the long-running Off-Broadway rock musical Hedwig and the Angry Inch, pleaded guilty May 24 to taking $48,000 from film and television directors Carl and Rob Reiner, and "Seinfeld" producer George Shapiro.

Brinkley accepted the money in 2001 with the understanding that it would be used to produce a play written by Annie Reiner, Carl's daughter. Instead, said Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, she put the money into Hedwig. When the Reiners and Shapiro filed a complaint, the office of state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer arranged a settlement in which Brinkley was to repay the trio and accept a lifetime ban on optioning new theatre projects. However, argued Morgenthau, Brinkley proceeded to repay the debt by stealing money from the nonprofit Ensemble Studio Theater, where she served as executive director.

Yeesh, what was she thinking? It was supposed to be for his daughter's play, for goodness sake. Did she think that Carl wouldn't notice?

I'm Not Sure I Wanna Be a Producer!

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

I was in New York this weekend and watching the NYC promo channel. They always do a bit on the current Broadway shows and show footage from the shows. It was Sunday and they were featuring Mamma Mia!, and showing shots of all the different productions going on around the world (Korea, Japan, Australia and so on...) and they said there are currently 14 productions of Mamma Mia! going on around the globe. Wow! Then I remembered, they need to revise that and make it 13.

On Sunday May 22 the Toronto production finally met its "Waterloo".

That's right, according to an article in the Toronto Star (O Mamma, Such A Fine Run by Richard Ouzounian, Saturday May 21, 2005) Mamma Mia! is leaving after 5 years, 2,044 performances, and $200 million in box office receipts.

Wow. Considering I was shunned in high school for being a huge ABBA fan, that's amazing.

And Toronto was key to launching the show worldwide. According to Judy Craymer, a producer on the show, "In many ways Toronto has been responsible for Mamma Mia! Its success here gave us the confidence we needed to take the show around the world"

The original Donna, Louise Pitre, went on to open the show, along with her young co-star Tina Maddigan, on Broadway. Louise went on to earn a well-deserved Tony nomination.

Inexplicably, I've never been a fan of the show (which is odd since, like I said, I LOVED ABBA in high school). But maybe I got off on the wrong foot. I saw it in Toronto when it first opened with Louise Pitre. She was great, but I had purchased seats right underneath the speakers. It hadn't even dawned on me that this being more of a rock and roll show than traditional musical, it would be HEAVILY ampliphied. So my husband, daughter and I watched most of the show with our fingers in our ears to keep them from bleeding. Now maybe they adjusted the sound over the years, and maybe if I had been in the front row balcony, I would have been standing and cheering. But that's all water under the bridge now.

Cheers to everyone involved with the Toronto production of Mamma Mia! over the years! As Richard Ouzounian said in his article, "And, best of all, it made a lot of people happy."

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

OK, this is my last Plane Crazy post for a while...promise.

Finally, I can stop blowing my own horn. In today's Toronto Star (New Link, New York by Richard Ouzounian, Toronto Star May 25, 2005) Richard Ouzounian talks about Plane Crazy and the New York Musical Theatre Festival. Front page of the Arts & Entertainment section, no less! I must say, it is very, very cool to see your name in print (especially when it's for something good!).

Here's a bit of the article:

Two musicals with Toronto clout behind them have been selected for the "New Links" program of the prestigious New York Musical Theatre Festival, taking place in Manhattan next September. Plane Crazy is a musical by Toronto-based Suzy Conn that will be presented by independent producer Michael (Game Show) Rubinoff. The author describes it as "a fun, upbeat musical about feminism set against the backdrop of glamour and innocent sex appeal of the swinging '60s jet age. A time when Stews Were Sexy and the World Was Sexist.

The New York Musical Theatre Festival is the largest musical theatre event in North American, with 141 events across 26 venues, 46 concerts, 332 performances, 7 seminars, 39 movies, and almost 1,000 performers and musicians.

Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus!

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I'm still shaking with excitement now that it's official: And I just wanted to make sure that I had mentioned to everyone that Plane Crazy IS GOING TO BE IN NYMF 2005! YIPPEE KI EH! YEAH! w00h00! ALRIGHT, OUTTA SIGHT!

I'm skin tight and ready to fight: We're going to put on an awesome show!

Most exciting of all, Playbill posted the list of Next Link shows today in this article...and there I am. Wow, my name in Playbill. Finally! Here's a taste:

The Producer for Plane Crazy at NYMF 2005 is Michael Rubinoff (based in Toronto), and the Associate Producer is Kendra Bator (based in NYC).

Right now, we are looking for a Director. Specifically, we are looking for someone who "gets" the mid-'60s time period that we are working in. This will be someone who loves classic musicals like The Pajama Game; who has all the Doris Day-Rock Hudson-Tony Randall movies on DVD and VHS; who doesn't understand why people weren't standing in line to see Down With Love; and whose favorite contemporary musicals would include Hairspray and The Producers. The Director will work closely with the Producer to assemble the rest of the creative team.

We also need a great Casting Director, with the same "gets it" qualifications.

If you're interested, send me an e-mail at suzy at blogwaybaby dot com

You can order Plane Crazy merchandise off the Plane Crazy Web site. And buy a ticket! Come see a great show!

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

HOLY CRAP!

I haven't been this excited about news since I found out I was pregnant (both times). But this time my baby is Plane Crazy: A true work of love if there ever was one.

Here's the lowdown: Plane Crazy has been accepted into the Next Link Project at the New York Musical Theater Festival. Of 325 submissions, only 18 musicals are chosen to be in the Next Link Project.

As Blogway Baby readers know, Plane Crazy is a fun, upbeat musical about the modern women's movement set against the backdrop of glamour and innocent sex appeal of the swinging '60s jet age. A time When Stews Were Sexy and the World Was Sexist (TM).

This year's Next Link jury included Rob Ashford (Tony winning Choreographer for Thoroughly Modern Millie), Thomas Cott (former Artistic Director of Musical Theater Works), Joanna Gleason (Tony winner for Into the Woods, currently in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Kevin McCollum (Producer of Avenue Q and Rent), Susan H. Schulman (Director of Little Women, The Secret Garden and The Sound of Music), and Jack Viertel (Creative Director, Jujamcyn Theaters; Artistic Director, City Center Encores!).

The show will be produced in late September, in New York, as part of the Festival.

NYMF is the largest musical theatre event in the world. The core of the Festival are the eighteen new musicals for NYMF's Next Link Project, but the Festival also includes a staggering 141 events across 26 venues, 46 concerts, 332 performances, 7 seminars, 39 movies and almost 1000 performers and musicians.

NYMF was recently recognized with the prestigious 2004 Jujamcyn Theatres Award, given annually to a "resident theater organization that has made an outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent for the theatre."

At least seven of last year's Next Link shows have been optioned by commercial producers and/or are planning off-Broadway or other runs.

I'm going to enjoy this news for a couple of days, and then I will start "officially freaking out" with production logistics.

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

I had the great pleasure of being invited to and attending a special blogger meeting in New York on Sunday. One of the producers of Little Women, Scott Freiman, and Kaliya Hamlin, a blogger who worked on setting up the Little Women cast blog (see my previous post) invited a group of female and theater bloggers to come and see a matinee of Little Women and then have a dinner after. Unlike Blogway Baby, most of the blogs represented were not theater-specific blogs. The attending blogs included:

culturekitchen

Elayne Riggs' Reality-Based Journal

tuaw.com

Identity Woman

Blogway Baby

napsterization

Political Gastronamica

MuniWireless.com

Betsy Devine: Funny Ha-Ha or Funny Peculiar?

The reason for the blog meeting was that Scott Freiman was pioneering a blog advertising strategy for Little Women.

Little Women is not an expensive show (relatively speaking) coming in at about $5.6million. It sounds like a lot but compared to the $14 million of a Wicked or a Spamalot, it is cheap. However, that doesn't leave a lot for traditional forms of advertising. So Scott was hoping to build enough blogging buzz over the summer so that when the kids go back to school in September tickets sales wouldn't completely evaporate.

Unfortunately, the 3pm matinee that we saw was the closing show on Broadway. I guess they just couldn't make it work financially. However, the tour starring Maureen McGovern (but not Sutton Foster) will start in August and the cast blog will turn into a touring blog. The closing came as a bit of a surprise for everyone (so what else is new!) and some of the touring show had already been cast before they knew the Broadway production was kaput, so some of the Broadway cast is left without jobs. Tough business.

I have never been to a closing show before. The atmosphere was electric. The audience could hardly contain themselves as each cast member entered for the first time. I must say the cast was spectacular. Maureen McGovern sounded amazing, as did Sutton Foster. Sutton Foster was great at Jo March -- you could feel her energy desperately trying to get out from under those long weighty dresses of the times. It was like she was trying hard not to break into a tap number from Thoroughly Modern Millie! But every member of the cast was fab -- every voice was beautiful, really. And at the end, there wasn't a dry eye in the house.

After the cast had taken their bows Sutton Foster gave a short speech (Maureen McGovern was already crying her eyes out by this point) thanking everyone involved with the show onstage and behind the scenes. Then she introduced Donny Beck (at least I think that is his name, I had a hard time making it out through Sutton's teary delivery) the House electrician who was retiring in a month and who had spent 46 years in the business with 60 shows. She said what an honor it was for Little Women to be his last show. And then I started crying and I didn't even know this guy.

Then we headed over with Scott Freiman to Angus McIndoe, the restaurant right next door to The St James Theatre where The Producers is playing. Angus McIndoe includes as its investors Nathan Lane, Matthew Broderick, Mel Brooks, Tom Meehan, and Frank McCourt! It was a great evening, talking Little Women and blogs!

Best of luck with the Little Women tour!

In my opinion, every 9-year old girl in America should see this musical...can a tie-in to American Girl be far behind?

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

Wow, this is an interesting idea. Product placement in live theatrical productions. It's been happening on movies and TV for a while (with American Dreams Kraft and Campbell's product placement the most egregious examples), but now it's coming to the world of live theater.

I LOVE IT!

Hmm. Let me think: "United Airlines Crazy"? "When You Chase A Dream You'd Walk A Mile For A Camel"? "That Was Then, This Is Now The Time For Johnny Walker Red"? "Hey Baby, You've Come A Long Way"? "Dancing On Air Nikes"? "I Wanna Get Married With A Tiffany Diamond"? "What Do Women Want: Whiter Whites With Clorox"? "I'll Teach You How To Fly The Friendly Skies"?

HELP! Someone stop me before I completely sell out my whole show...

Here's the full article from AdAge.com:

TEQUILA BRAND PLACED IN BROADWAY'S 'SWEET CHARITY'
Neil Simon OKs Script Change to Hype Product
May 23, 2005
By Lisa Sanders

NEW YORK (Adage.com) -- As part of a product placement campaign in Broadway's Sweet Charity, playwright Neil Simon approved a script change to promote Gran Centenario tequila, according to the deal makers.

Jose Cuervo's tequila has been woven into the script, the stage sets and the advertising and promotion for 'Sweet Charity.'

The arrangement was the latest brand integration success by Amy Willstatter, president of New York-based Bridge to Hollywood/Broadway, who specializes in inserting product promotions in and around live theater productions.

Last fall, spirits marketer Jose Cuervo was looking for a unique way to generate buzz in the U.S. for its little-known premium tequila Gran Centenario, but the company only had a modest budget to work with.

Executives at Jose Cuervo's advertising agency, Omnicom Group's Arnell Group of New York, introduced Carlos Arana, Jose Cuervo's managing director, and Onute Miller, Gran Centenario's brand director, to Ms. Willstatter. She brokers agreements between various marketers and Broadway productions and works on retainer with Spotco, a New York agency focused on theatre advertising (clients include Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, Avenue Q and Sweet Charity). After hearing about Gran Centenario's goals, she reviewed Spotco clients and came up with Sweet Charity, the Neil Simon revival about a hard-luck dancehall hostess searching for a good man, as the show that best met the tequila's brand attributes. The show opened in April.

"The play is a fun environment," Ms. Willstatter said. What's more, with a new-to-Broadway leading lady, Christina Applegate, best-known for her long-running role on TV's Married with Children, Sweet Charity potentially brings to Broadway a new generation of theatergoers -- just the sort of upscale, experience-oriented consumers Gran Centenario was looking for.

Ms. Willstatter previously signed Pfizer Women's Health, Procter & Gamble Co.'s Olay Regenerist and Anheuser-Busch's Michelob Ultra to sponsor the Broadway and national tour productions of Thoroughly Modern Millie. She also made British Airways the official airline of the National Theater in New York and arranged for Hennessy to be the opening night sponsor of Raisin in the Sun at the Royale Theater.

Marketing competition in the tequila category is increasing as its reputation has evolved from a drink often associated with frat-house bashes to one that's increasingly common at more sophisticated affairs. U.S. sales of high-end and super-premium cases rose 29% to 1.2 million cases in 2004 over the prior year, said David Ozgo, chief economist of the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S.

With Ms. Willstatter as the go-between, Sweet Charity's producers Barry and Fran Weissler and the Gran Centenario team hammered out a deal. Talks began with the suggestion of putting the tequila logo on Sweet Charity ads. For the marketer, "that wasn't enough," Ms. Miller said. "Ours is a unique brand." She and Mr. Arano concluded they wanted a deal with three components: a product mention in the show, incorporated in a natural, unobtrusive manner; an uncontrived product placement; and promotional and public relations programs to build brand awareness among the marketer's target audience.

To Mr. Weissler, having products placed or mentioned in his shows is not a new concept. "There's nothing different here than in sports or movies where marketers co-promote a film," he said. But he sets limits on what he'll do to marry art and commerce. "We never, ever distress a script." With this Gran Centenario example, the producers and playwright replaced a line, "I'll have a double scotch on the rocks" with a mention of the premium tequila. "We didn't bastardize the script, and [playwright Neil Simon] OKed the change," Mr. Weissler said. "We always pass sponsors by authors."

In addition to having the Gran Centenario mention written into the script, the tequila's logos are integrated into the show's set in one scene, and the product has been the drink of choice at Gran Centenario-sponsored parties thrown during the pre-Broadway shows as well as its New York opening, all attended by the cast, their friends and a select group of invitees. Specialty cocktails featuring Gran Centenario created by well-known bartender Dale deGroff are featured at those fests as well as in the Al Hirschfeld Theatre where Sweet Charity plays and at nearby bars.

A print ad, adapted from the tequila's current print campaign, runs in Sweet Charity Playbills (where, on one of the credits pages, Gran Centenario is thanked for its "generous support"). Gran Centenario promotes the show through ads and events, and the show's ads mention the tequila.

Neither the marketer, Mr. Weissler nor Ms. Willstatter would comment on the financial specifics, other than to describe the arrangement as a flat-rate package structured as a "step deal," in which payments were made in increments. Ms. Willstatter, a proponent of cash deals rather than barter agreements for branded entertainment on Broadway, explains that she's trying to "make Broadway competitive with other forms of media, such as TV and radio."

One major difference, of course, between Broadway and TV or radio, is that measuring the effectiveness of a product mention or a sponsorship is art rather than science. While Mr. Weissler and Ms. Willstatter deliver their marketing partners demographic data like income of their audiences, the definite impact on audiences is not tracked. "We don't poll theatergoers," Mr. Weissler said.

But Gran Centenario's Ms. Miller does monitor Gran Centenario consumption in the theatre as well as in nearby bars. She watches the tequila's distribution in stores and bars where theatergoers shop or frequent for indications that Gran Centenario is gaining popularity.

Asked whether she's concerned about the outcry from some over the inclusion of the tequila in the play's dialogue (one paper wrote, "Sponsorship should not mean authorship, or the license to tweak creative work to make it sell when it should simply sing."), Ms. Miller said no. "We believed it was the correct fit. The press has built brand awareness."

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I got my half-price ticket at TKTS for La Cage Aux Folles. Great seat, third row!

Boy is this show ever full of Jerry Herman-esque numbers! Uh...wait a minute...that's because it's by Jerry Herman (and Harvey Fierstein who wrote the book)! This show is nominated in four categories for the 2005 Tonys including Best Revival and Best Leading Actor in a Musical for Gary Beach (or was that actress...)

Robert Goulet has recently joined the cast as Georges and his voice is in spectacular form. Listening to him sing, it's really hard to believe he is 72. He has a really nice feeling of being totally relaxed and comfortable on stage and he plays the straight man beautifully. Only a bit of stiffness in his movement suggests he's been at this a long time.

I also really wanted to see Gary Beach as Albin, since I missed him in The Producers as Roger Debris. Albin was played by Nathan Lane in the American movie version of La Cage Aux Folles, called The Birdcage which WASN'T a musical, but WAS directed by Mike Nichols who is up for a Tony this year for his direction of Spamalot, which IS a musical...and of course you know Gary and Nathan played together in The Producers.

It was great seeing Gary in a leading role -- his voice is fabulous and he is very funny with great physical humor. I also feel like I got to see a bit of Roger Debris up there on stage last night. (BTW, in Gary's bio in the program it said that the movie version of The Producers is coming out in December: I can't wait!)

However, it was Les Cagelles who stole the show. These are the gender-bending chorus line of male dancers dressed as women who perform in Georges' club.

Holy Transvestite Batman, those guys are amazing!

Kudos to the choreographer, Jerry Mitchell, who is also nominated for a Tony. These guys combined the power and athleticism of male dancers with the flexibility and style and sexiness of female dancers. And they had to do it in heels!

The stage has been extended so the orchestra is exposed in the middle of the stage by two holes (like two nostrils). In one scene the dancers jump over these two holes and land on the other side in splits. You don't hear an audience gasp often, but they did last night. And of course William Ivey Long went to town on the costumes which garnered him a Tony nom as well.

I have to admit it is not my favorite Jerry Herman score. I think "We Are What We Are" is my fav number. In my opinion, it is not as melodically memorable as his most famous works, Mame and Hello Dolly!. And perhaps not as lyrically clever as the subject matter would suggest. And while the book is very funny, the shock factor has gone out of the subject matter and setting (at least for me), so it really has to stand as a typical love story and clash of the in-laws kind of story. Maybe that's where I felt I wanted more from the score.

Having said all that, I had a really good time, and so did the rest of the audience -- so who's complaining? I also get to cross Robert Goulet and Gary Beach off my "must see live" list.

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I went to the most beautiful concert on Thursday night with the whole family.

I was called The Song Is You! The Life and Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II, and it was a Benefit for the Daily Bread Food Bank, North York Harvest Food Bank, Ontario Association of Food Banks, and the Canadian Association of Food Banks.

I told you to go a couple of weeks ago in this post, so if you missed it, you've only yourself to blame!

It was held at The Hummingbird Centre for the Performing Arts, and was produced by Milton Zysman and GrandNight Productions.

It starred the amazing vocal talents of Elizabeth Beeler, Fred Love, Charlotte Moore, Marcus Nance (who blew my mind with his rendition of "Old Man River"), and Noel Edison and the Mendelssohn Singers.

The arrangements and musical direction were brilliantly done by David Warrack, and the highlight of the evening was the direction and narration by Richard Ouzounian who took what would have been a special evening and made it truly magical.

As the title promised, the evening was all about Oscar Hammerstein II. Richard Ouzounian narrated the Oscar Hammerstein II story, which was incredibly engrossing. I'm assuming Richard wrote it: It was fantastic. I hope he posts it online somewhere.

One thing I found very interesting is that Oscar Hammerstein II had a "barbell" career. At one end, in 1927, he created Show Boat, the first "book" musical and the source of a number of timeless classics. After a few more line drives, he went through a TEN YEAR DROUGHT of flops. That must have been HARD. It wasn't until 1943, paired with Richard Rodgers, that he created Oklahoma!, generally regarded as one of the most influential musicals of the 20th century. Along with Rodgers, he went on to create some of the greatest classics of musical theater, including Carmen Jones, State Fair, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, Me and Juliet, Cinderella, Flower Drum Song, and, of course his masterpiece, The Sound of Music, which he didn't live long enough to see succeed.

One particularly stirring moment of the show was Richard's narration of the story of the song "Edelweiss", from The Sound of Music. Apparently, "Edelweiss" was Oscar's final song, before he died of stomach cancer. The combination of the narration and the beauty of the song was haunting, and it had every hair on my body standing, and again now as I write this.

I was particularly intrigued at how an event like this came into being, especially in Toronto. Now, I don't mean to criticize my birthplace, but let's face it: Toronto is a rock 'n' roll town. Our musical theater business, such as it is, primarily caters to tourists. As an aside to any former Torontonian tourists reading this post: Please, please come back. We're sorry about all those mean things we said about you. The people are friendly, the water is safe -- just don't eat the meat...

Well, as is true with most things, it looks like The Song Is You! The Life and Lyrics of Oscar Hammerstein II is the brainchild of one very unique individual named Milton Zysman. Here's a really interesting piece on the genesis of the show from the GrandNight Web site:

A brief note on Milton Zysman, our Producer

"The Song Is You" is the brainchild of Milton Zysman, 68, a Toronto inventor, film producer, author of scholarly papers on catastrophism, manufacturer of mattress handles, and man about town. Visually handicapped since his early 30's, Milton came to the food bank cause by helping a friend, Bob Spencer, former Executive Director of The Ontario Association of Food Banks. Bob needed a plan to raise money for a food-processing kitchen. Milton helped organize a number of dinners, but soon became bored with this shop-worn technique. His brother Simon explains what happened next:

"Milton lives on Mars, actually; he visits Toronto once in a while. While here in the summer of 2003, my brother set himself up as Grand Night Productions, and borrowed $20,000 from the bank. Setting out to raise at least $750,000 for the food banks by touring Canada, he pitched the idea of a gala performance - an original musical revue celebrating the words of Oscar Hammerstein II. It would be presented to capacity audiences paying top dollar in the biggest venues in Canada. Where did he get the idea that it could be done? It's just something Milton thought he'd enjoy attending himself! That's Milton. Where would the development and performance budgets come from? From everywhere! That's Milton again."

He approached the food banks, and The Mendelssohn Singers. They signed on. After sending a draft script to New York in March 2004, Milton found to his delight that The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization were sympathetic; they have since become his most important backer. Their grand rights licence carries only a token royalty, a benefit worth more than $200,000 to the Canadian tour. With that, a lot of chutzpah, and help from our many other supporters to date, there's going to be a show on May 19th.

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I think every writer, producer, director, and performer should stand on line at TKTS once in while. Today I waited an hour (not bad really given what a beautiful day it was). I enjoy my waiting time as I get to people-watch and people-listen (I guess that's also called eavesdropping!)

The conversations range from the devoted theater fan (discussing the dialogue by Edward Albee in Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf -- do Kathleen Turner and Bill Irwin do it justice?) to the tourist fresh off the bus (Isn't Mamma Mia! that musical with songs by that Australian group ABBA? No silly, it's Danish!)

A lot of people want to see really well-known musicals, like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King and Chicago. Stand on line for a while and you get a much better appreciation of why producers want well-known stars in their shows, like Christina Applegate.

It seemed as if everyone on line who was waiting for Sweet Charity tickets had never heard of the show, and they just wanted to see the Married With Children TV star.

Given that, I'm really curious as to whether hiring those people who walk up and down the lines handing out flyers really makes a difference. Are people open to seeing something that isn't on their short list? Inquiring minds want to know!

Movin' Out, which I absolutely loved, often gets a bum wrap since it is "just dancing and no talking at all...". Chicago is often criticized by people who have seen the movie first and then were disappointed by the sparseness of simplicity of the stage production ("it was kinda plain...I liked the movie better because it had more chairs and stuff...")

Actually I've heard this comment many times before standing on line at TKTS. Is it because people have forgotten why we go to see live theater or is it because producers have been training people to expect lavish visual spectacle and special effects?

This is the varied nature of a Broadway audience -- sophisticated theater fan to clueless tourist. Not everyone is on the same page. But they all want to see a show and they are all willing to line up and wait an hour to have the chance to pay $50 for a ticket. God bless 'em all!

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According to this article in Playbill, The Donald (not O'Connor, the other one...) sings "I'm gonna wash that contestant right outta my hair and send 'em on his way" instead of saying "you're fired"!

No, this is not a task for the contestants on the TV show The Apprentice wherein they have to produce a Broadway show in one day. They are actually doing The Apprentice on Broadway! Apparently it will be a love story set within the reality show. Interesting idea. I'm curious to see who they get to write it...

Here's my submission for consideration:

How are things on The Apprentice?
Are the guys and gals still fighting there?
Will there be a song about the task,
and need I ask,
applause for Donald's hair?

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I love it when two of my favorite things combine -- TV and musicals, and now Star Wars and musicals!

According to this article in Playbill:

As posters around London feature Ewan McGregor flashing his lightsaber in the recently opened "Star Wars" movie, the actor makes his West End musical debut May 19 when Guys and Dolls begins previews at the Piccadilly Theatre.

McGregor plays the gambler Sky Masterson, with Jenna Russell as Sarah, the doll he sets his heart on. Tony Award winner Jane Krakowski plays Miss Adelaide with Douglas Hodge as Nathan Detroit. Also amongst the line-up are Niall Buggy, Gaye Brown, Sevan Stephan and as Nicely Nicely Johnson -- the role which made Clive Rowe's career in the NY staging -- Martyn Ellis.

I'd love to see what Jane Krakowski does with Adelaide's Lament -- I loved her rendition of "Call from The Vatican" in the recent revival of Nine!

"I Got The Force Right Here..."

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The best book EVAR!

My fabulous husband gave me a copy of The Theatermania Guide to Musical Theater Recordings, which on the surface may sound a bit like a phone book.

But it is so much fun!

The back cover says:

Reviews of more than 1,000 recordings of more than 600 shows, including information on composers, lyricists, and principal cast members, plot outlines, notes on outstanding songs, record labels, and individual ratings from five stars (superlative) to zero stars (not recommended).

They include all the cast recordings made for a particular show, usually pointing out which is the best one. From famous shows to not-so-famous shows (i.e. ones I had never heard of before, such as Juno) are listed, including lots of interesting details -- for example, whether there is dialogue recorded, who did the orchestrations, if there were changes versus the production. It's like catnip for a cast recording fan!

Plus scattered through the alphabetical listings are "Top Ten All-time Favorite Lists" -- of playwrights, singers, composers (such as Barbara Cook, John Raitt, Kristin Chenoweth, Fred Ebb, and many more)

For example the book lists playwright/librettist (he wrote the book for Kiss Of The Spider Woman) Terrence McNally's Top Ten choices as follows:

1. The Pajama Game (good choice!)
2. A Funny Thing Happened On the Way To The Forum
3. Gypsy
4. My Fair Lady
5. Show Boat
6. Annie Get Your Gun
7. The King and I
8. Guys and Dolls
9. The Music Man
10. Porgy and Bess

I had bought the cast recording of I Had A Ball, a 1962 musical comedy starring Richard Kiley, Karen Morrow, and Buddy Hackett purely on spec -- it looked intriguing.

Listening to Karen Morrow belt out "Almost" and "I Had A Ball" was amazing so I was wondering if she had done anything recently. A quick glance at my new book and I discovered that Karen Morrow is on the Miss Spectacular cast recording, Jerry Herman's latest piece.

I had seen it in stores but didn't pick it up. After reading, "...there's also a love song, 'No Other Music,' that's one of Herman's finest ballads; happily, it gets a perfect reading by the great Karen Morrow." I decided I’m definitely going to go out and pick it up!

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A composer friend of mine told me he is going to Miami to shoot some video of a dancer he knows there.

"Oh really," I said, "and who would that be?"

"Cuban Pete" he said.

Wow! Cuban Pete! That guy is super famous! I mean, Desi Arnaz gave him the nickname Cuban Pete! Apparently my friend is really good friends with Pete -- he's his personal videographer. So how cool is that!

Here's a great link from the Planet Salsa Web site on the Mambo craze that gripped North America in the 1950s, and the role that Cuban Pete and his dance partner Millie Donay played.

And of course that got me thinking of Mambo Kings, the movie (with Armand Assante and Antonio Banderas, the latter who starred in the Nine revival on Broadway with Jane Krakowski who I mentioned briefly in a previous post!) which showcased Cuban Pete and Millie Donay on the dance floor.

Which got me thinking of Mambo Kings the Musical (produced by Daryl and Jordan Roth) which is coming to the Broadway Theater in NYC this summer.

Which made me think about writing this post.

Mamma love Mambo!

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So very, very sad. According to this article in Playbill:

Frank Gorshin, the actor, comedian and impressionist known for playing the frisky Riddler in the 1960s TV series "Batman," died May 17 after a battle with lung cancer, emphysema and pneumonia, a spokesman said.

Mr. Gorshin, 71, appeared in Broadway's "Say Goodnight, Gracie" in 2002-03, and in a national tour of it, playing the late comedian George Burns -- complete with gravelly voice, cigar, and receding silver hairpiece."

On stage, he made his Broadway debut in 1970 as the star of the musical "Jimmy", based on the life of New York Mayor Jimmy Walker. He also starred in touring or stock and regional companies of "What Makes Sammy Run"; "Promises, Promises"; "Peter Pan"; "Prisoner of Second Avenue"; "Deathtrap"; "Doubles"; "Ah, Wilderness!"; "On the 20th Century"; "Breaking Legs"; "Guys and Dolls"; and most recently "The Sunshine Boys", co-starring with Dick Van Patten. He also appeared in New York City in Gilbert and Sullivan's "Princess Ida."

Not only do I have vivid memories of his Riddler from TV's Batman (I'm sorry but Jim Carrey didn't even get close...) but one of my favorite Star Trek episodes of all time starred Frank Gorshin with his face painted one half white and one half black.

I would have liked to see him perform on stage...

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They're calling it the Canadian MUSIC Hall of Fame.

Not the Canadian ROCK AND ROLL Hall of Fame or the Canadian COUNTRY Music Hall of Fame. And according to an article in today's Toronto Star ("The Envelope, Please: T.O. Wins Music Shrine" by Jordan Heath-Rawlings, Toronto Star Tuesday May 17, 2005) it's scheduled to open in June 2007 in a brand new $38MM building at Yonge and Dundas.

Plans for the physical hall include a three-foot main area, featuring interactive exhibits, administration offices on the top floor and two stores, some featuring the "Oh What A Feeling" brand used to market popular compilations of Canadian music.

The Canadian Music Hall of Fame started inducting artists in 1978 but it existed only as photographs on a wall at the academy's headquarters. Currently it's housed online at the Juno Award site.

So why no mention in the article of any planned Musical Theater exhibits?

After all, the article does say that Bobby Gimby's trumpet (he wrote the 1967 centennial song Ca-na-da) will be there and Glenn Gould's peaked cap, scarf and finger gloves will be there. So it sounds like it will profile more than just that crazy rock and roll that the kids love so much!

I'm willing to grant that the article may not be completely thorough as to the detailed plans, but I have a sinking feeling that musical theater (writers, producers, performers) will be completely overlooked. For crying out loud, we don't even have a category at the Junos, unlike the Grammys...

What about Brent Carver who won a Tony for The Kiss of the Spider Woman? Or Louise Pitre who started this whole Mamma Mia! phenomenon in Toronto? Or Leslie Arden? Or Garth Drabinsky? Or Anne of Green Gables? Billy Bishop Goes To War? Or Galt MacDermot who wrote the music for Hair? Or Plane Crazy?

If you visit Jim Bett's Web site you'll see that Canadian Musical Theater is alive and well! Would it kill them to devote just a teensy weensy corner to it?

The article goes on to say:

I think if we had a different location that wasn't quite as sexy as Yonge and Dundas, it might be more of a challenge.

Now I have many words to describe the corner of Yonge and Dundas but "sexy" isn't one of them...

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